As the weeks went by, the preparation for the big concert was taking shape. Wolfgang was actually able to find two good guitarists, Wilhelm and Theodor, and a passable singer, Sandra. Wilhelm was an Orc, Theodor a Goblin, and Sandra a Hobgoblin. The interesting thing with their new singer was, that her Perk Talent: Singing was not as good as Wolfgang’s, but her Skill [Art: Singing] was actually higher. What that exactly meant, Prof didn’t know, and Wolfgang’s explanation wasn’t exactly helpful either. Skill could obviously substitute Talent to a degree, but to be really good in a field, one needed both.


    As Wolfgang was all right with her performance, Prof was content with the choice. More so, after he learned, Sandra was considered a very cute Hobgoblin. After that, he only needed to convince her to wear clothes fitting for a heavy metal… khmm... mythrill singer. Well, he tried, but 80% in [Convincing] was only enough for boots, knee-length linen pants, and a sleeveless shirt. Even that was considered borderline scandalous in Greenskin territory. They weren''t Elves to flash skin, after all.


    Prof also found out, that the drummer Wolfgang had was the same Ogre drummer who followed them from Castle Seeblickstein. And she was actually female, named Adeltraut. How one could determine if an Ogre was male or female, Prof did not know, and for some strange reason also didn’t want to know.


    “Do you have a playlist, Wolfgang?" Prof asked "What songs the book contains, to begin with? What Granite or Clay do you want to turn into Mythrill?"


    “Turn Clay into Mythrill? I haven’t thought about that!”


    “Yeah, everything is better in Mythrill.”


    Wolfgang grinned like he had an idea already. Turning G-Pop into Mythrill should be possible, no? Surely, the outcome would be awesome! Hopefully. Maybe making Clay hard and heavy should be postponed until the masses were acquainted with the old classics – or in case of Arkadia, the new classics.


    Wolfgang started to play the songs, he planned to perform on stage. Prof was right, he actually knew each and every last one from Earth. The only difference was the lyrics, which were naturally in Greenskinian. Prof wasn''t exactly sure if they were exact translations, or what was changed – most songs on Earth were in English, and being from a not-English-speaking country, he was a bit hazy on the meaning, to begin with. Well, that, and most people remember only the chorus part. Be it as it may, hearing iconic songs in a different language was a strange experience. The Traveller, who translated the lyrics was quite good in Prof''s opinion, some of the songs had even a better flow than in English.


    After only a dozen songs, Wolfgang stopped and looked expectantly at Prof.


    “Yes?”


    “What do you think?”


    “More or less good, but what about the rest?”


    “What rest? This is what I want to present.”


    “No, no, no. The concert would be too short with only a dozen songs. Could you do, say, thirty or so? You want to present Mythrill to the masses, not just give a short appetizer.”


    “Yes, most likely we could do thirty. It would be hard but doable. Maybe with a break in the middle?”


    “Good, good. What other songs do you have?"


    “LET ME BRING YOU MYTHRILL!" With that shout, Wolfgang started to go through the book''s content.


    “No. No. Maybe. That’s crap. Yes. Maybe. Oh, yes! No. Maybe. Definitely! No. No. No. Maybe. Hmmm… Maybe. Yes. No way. Maybe…” Prof was rating the songs after Wolfgang played maybe a minute from each. It was strange – he couldn’t articulate a lot of things, he knew back on Earth, but here he was, rating songs from Earth, remembering them clearly. However, he wasn’t able to describe other songs or give the notes for them. Of course, he wasn’t able to do that on Earth too…


    “All right, that would be almost thirty. You will still need a few others, and you should prepare a couple in reserve if the audience demands an encore. Let''s see… Are there famous Granite or Clay songs you could transform into Mythrill?"


    “Sure! See, there is this ancient song for battle. It should be good for the opening. Do this: Clap, Clap, Stomp. Good. Again. Again.” Surely, it was not that song! It couldn’t be!


    It was. If a metalhead brought songs from Earth, how could he forget that one?


    “Wait, Wolfgang. What is this? Play it faster, harder, heavier!” The way the Greenskins played it, was actually slower and softer than what Prof remembered. “Still no. Faster! Harder! Heavier! Louder! I wanna hear heavy riff with heavy bass! Let that axe whine! You already know, how to play Mythrill, play it!”


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    After a few tries, Wolfgang got what Prof was saying. The result was even better than the original if someone was to ask for Prof''s opinion. Of course, no one did, not knowing the original. Or that there was an original…


    The transformed songs Wolfgang offered were unknown to Prof. It wasn’t all that surprising, Greenskins were making their own music for a long time, and developed the examples they were given into interesting directions. Not everything was about Earth.


    Some of the songs were actually good, some not so much. On the other hand, some transformations of good songs were bad, and mythrilled versions of not-so-good ones were actually perfect. Prof and Wolfgang were sitting together till well after midnight to select a few local songs and find a perfect sequence for the concert.


    “I think, it will be good for now.” Prof finally said “Bring your band tomorrow, and show it to the girls. Let’s see what they all say. We can still fine-tune everything.”


    With the special effects, the band, and the playlist taken care of, some of the largest hurdles were taken care of. Wolfgang''s relatives were also willing to build the stage and provide beer. Bianca, who was tasked to order mugs, paintings, and shirts, was also able to complete the given task. The only problem was, the potters, printers, and tailors were demanding a high sum for that kind of large-scale rush order. Thankfully, the jeweler was able to sell one of the items just in time, since they already started to run out of cash.


    And just as they received the money from the jeweler, they immediately started to run out of cash again. They had to pay the potters, printers, the brewery, the carpenter, and the owner of the racetrack. Who would have thought, putting a concert together would cost so much?


    Since the whole thing was free, they were already operating at a loss. But hey, everything for culture, no?


    At least, the Greenskins were excellent to each other and weren''t overcharging their services. Back on Earth, the suppliers would just tuck another zero to the end of the bill. That, and one would have to pay for things, which were completely unknown in Medieval Wonderland!


    The only thing they were missing was a couple of background dancers, underdressed cute females. And underdressed cute females to work the bar. They had only one yet, and Mini couldn''t exactly be described as cute. Well, maybe from a distance. Bianca and Sharpclaw declined the honor, and Greenskin females weren''t exactly ready to present themselves in underwear. At last, it was agreed to put the background into skimpy, but not overly scandalous costumes – to Mini''s chagrin, because she was fully prepared to perform in her chain bikini. The thong one. Even so, they weren''t able to find anyone.


    The situation was saved by Bianca, who one day was complaining about walking into a brothel, thinking it was a bar. According to her telling, the owner wasn''t sure at first if she was a customer or wanted to apply for a job. Bianca, on the other hand, did not understand, why the owner wanted her to "work at a bar", and kept asking, who she wanted. A language barrier can do that to everyone. The situation was cleared by one of the girls, who actually spoke Bergian.


    “That’s it!” exclaimed Mini “We should hire prostitutes!”


    “Ah, come on, Mini. I’m sure, you could find company for yourself everywhere. Why pay for something you could get for free?”


    “Because prostitutes have Skills and most likely Perks! But I''m not talking about having a good time. Maybe later. I meant, as girls for the bar and for the background! The boring costumes you came up with aren''t exactly scandalous, surely, a prostitute would be willing to wear them! Maybe we could make them even a bit or a lot shorter!"


    “Actually, that isn’t a bad idea. Not the shorter costumes.”


    “You do know, I always have the best ideas! I will visit the brothel tomorrow! Do you want to come? We could have a good time, and you finally would be able to be laid!”


    “This is business, Mini, not fun! I will come but just to keep you in check.”


    “Oh, you could even bind me up, and have your perverted ways!”


    “Let’s not do that.”


    Prof was expecting a modern, western brothel with females in sexy underwear, not that he had ever visited such, but what he found was rather a posh bar where females were showing ankles, or, in case of the more brave, even knees. The clothes worn would be considered normal everyday wear back on Earth, or pronouncedly conservative in the Domain. Well, Prof spent too much time with Elves, who considered clothing unnecessary. And were gorgeous. Suddenly finding himself in a culture, where people were able to wear normal clothes, was a shock, and Prof still wasn''t used to it.


    As they found out, Greenskin prostitutes, or rather pleasure providers, worked at brothels not because their only Skill was with… No, actually, they worked at brothels exactly because their Skills and Perks lent themselves to that kind of work. Doing a job, one was not excellent in was considered very bad manners by the Greenskins, so every khmmm… professional provider was indeed professional. Working a bar while not being excellent in the task wouldn’t be done by any of the females, who worked the bar for a living. However, Prof was able to hire three girls, who were willing to dance in the background. While showing knees.


    Three, plus Mini should be enough.


    Prof also got a contact to the waitresses’ not-Guild but was told, he should forget the planned costume uniform. He should be grateful if the waitresses would be willing to wear boots or show ankles. Prof thanked the owner and left to tick off the last point of the list.


    Mini stayed for… whatever reason. Prof did not want to know. He started, however, to wonder, if the Vampire was in truth a Traveller in disguise.