As the date for the big concert got closer, Wolfgang invited the party and a few others to a final main rehearsal. Prof already gave pointers to everyone in the band, on how to make a true Earth show, but how the different parts fitted together, he hadn''t seen yet. Unfortunately, they couldn''t include the mages in the rehearsal, since it was held in a barn in a small village just outside of Saugarten. Prof had, however, full confidence in them. For that kind of money, he expected nothing less than perfection. The mages were Greenskins, striving for excellence, so his trust was validated.


    Hopefully.


    As it transpired, the band was good, but by far not the best Prof ever heard. The talent was there – Wolfgang invested some effort to find musicians, who in fact had a Talent Perk – the Skill… not so much. Not exactly, in any case. All the respective Skills were around 200%, and Prof could finally place a finger on what that Level exactly meant. Back on Earth the band, Mythrillhead to be precise, never would have made it big, despite all the talent. They could have made it biggish and could have made a living out of playing music, but they weren''t on a level of the most well-known bands on Earth.


    That was even without Prof knowing or understanding anything about playing instruments. His Skills even confirmed that, with each on an almost non-existent Level. Someone, who actually played any instrument or could notice mistakes, would probably have an even worse opinion.


    Be as it may, the band wasn’t bad, and with most songs unknown to the locals, it probably was fine. As Mini used to say, What could possibly go wrong?


    Of course, Mini was an irresponsible, crazy Vampire, and from Prof''s point of view, most things did go wrong, not long after she made her declaration. The better question Prof asked himself, was how badly wrong could it go. The worst-case scenario he could come up, with was that Myrthill and or the concert flopped, and they just threw a lot of money out of the window. They actually and finally had money to spend on fun things, that may or may not have an impact later on.


    Honestly, how bad could a simple concert go? It simply couldn''t lead to, for example, widespread riots, a civil war, or such. It was just music!


    “So, what do you think?" Wolfgang asked after they played a dozen songs.


    “Not bad. You all got the stances and moves, all right, but sometimes it feels a bit wooden or forced…”


    “Yeah, we know. We all have [Art: Performance] on quite a low Level, it''s hard to find musicians, who not only have that Skill on a high Level but can also play well and have a Talent too. At least people, who are willing to join a no-name band like ours. What about the music? It is more important than the performance."


    “Well, you know, I''m not a musician, but I think, you are doing well. Not exceptional, but well." Prof wasn''t good in pep talk (of course, there was a Skill for that too…), but he always though, honesty was way better than giving empty platitudes or telling professionals what to do, all covered up by filler and longer than necessary.


    “Do you think, the public will like it?”


    “I don’t have the faintest clue. I don’t exactly know, what Greenskins like, you see. I, for my part, do like it. Back home, you could make a living with this.”


    “Good. Guys, we will play the next few songs with magic!”


    “You didn’t do it with the previous songs?!?”


    “No. We wanted to give you a baseline first. Guys! One, two, three!”


    Well, if previously Mythrillhead was a (maybe) C-listed band, with magic they catapulted themselves right to… above A-list. Something in the magic touched Prof''s inner self, the rhythm just captivated him and launched him straight to orbit. Figuratively, of course. Space travel needed a little bit more than three guitars, a set of drums, and musical magic. But on Arkadia... Well, he would have heard about colonising one of the moons. Probably.


    The three songs, the band played with magic enabled were finished all too fast.


    “Oh, yeah, that was much better!”


    “More, gimme more! I deserve more! Now!”


    “Mister Wolfgang, that was fantastic! I could march into battle with that music!”


    “Yessss. Louder than everyssssing elsssse. Louder than everyone elsssse.”


    Even the background decoration was nodding furiously. Almost headbanging, despite the music ending. Well, well, well. The first groupies may have been born.


    If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Wolfgang, however, was rolling his shoulders.


    “MYTHRILL is good, but I don’t think, I can play all the songs in one go, especially, if I cast spells. My axe is too heavy for that. I think I will play only every other song."


    “No, no, no!” Mini looked immediately desperate “You are the best player in the band and you are the band leader! Oh, wait! I have the solution!”


    Mini ran outside, where Binky was parked, happily munching on some Gremlins, rummaged through her bags, and after a few minutes, came back triumphantly. She was waving the polka-dotted bandana around, she appropriated from the loot in the Valley.


    “Here. It is red, and it helps with holding and using heavy weapons!"


    Since Wolfgang’s axe was in effect a two-handed battleaxe with six strings attached to it, handing over the bandana was actually a good idea. For Mini willingly parting with any of her clothes or loot, she must have really fallen in love with Mythrill. Or, since it was Mini, fallen in lust. The latter was more likely.


    Or she just had one of her usual crazy motives.


    After a short break, the band played the other half of the playlist, with low-intensity magic infused into the playing. At certain points, a larger spell was cast, and Prof suspected it gave more weight to the overall lyrics and rhythm. It was clear, the band gave thought to where those bursts of magic should be placed since it gave everything a rhythm on its own. It was a long time since Prof attended a concert on Earth and an even longer time since he was able to see one of the Big Names.


    This was better.


    If Prof ever went back to Earth – not that he planned to do it – and could only bring one thing with him, it would be music magic. He would feed it to Big Name bands! It would be epic! No, legendary! Fuck that, not even mythical could cover it!


    Well, most likely, he would just bring a crazy expensive piece of jewelry or gem back and would be set for life.


    Walking back to the city, happily chatting, they were accosted by the not-Guildmaster, an older-looking Goblin in rich clothes, and a few bodyguards not far inside the city limits.


    “Klavierspieler! What do you think you are doing? I have explicitly forbidden to play that vulgar and violent music!”


    “You can''t ban music! Especially not our original music, left behind by our most honored ancestor! This is hindering and preventing!"


    “Hah! Don’t try to lawyer yourself out of this! No one is hindering and preventing you to become excellent! No one is preventing you to play regulated music, Granite or Clay, that is. You may even play foreign music, even if I don’t understand, why anyone would. You just aren’t allowed to play this new music of yours. It’s not for Greenskins. It’s not excellent!”


    “So, you are taking advantage of your position of control and acceptance to hinder cultural progress by controlling the populace’s access to information that is not regulated by yourself?”


    “Uhm, what?”


    “Sir, I think, the honored Redcap meant, you are oppressing different cultural possibilities. And that you are abusing your position." Prof helped the not-Guildmaster out. It was important to be polite to figures of authority and help them out if they found themselves in a bind.


    “You, Pinkskin! Stay out of this! You are just a vagrant with some money, this concerns the not-Guild and the Greenskins, not you!” The figure of authority in question rejected his participation in the discussion.


    How rude.


    Oh, that was probably Prof’s Parvenu Perk influencing the reaction. It was a long time since it had raised its head – in fact, the last time was back in Smallgrovewell. Prof thought it strange, that the Elves weren''t influenced by it, but then again, Foxy was somewhat shielding him and most Elves probably hated his guts even without that Perk.


    “The Human is right, though." Wolfgang said, "You are abusing your position to regulate music and oppress your fellow not-Guild members!”


    “This… this… is outrageous! Klavierspieler, you have been warned! If you continue with this concert of yours, it will have consequences! Heed my words!”


    “You can’t forbid me from playing MYTHRILL!”


    “Yes, I can!”


    “No, you can’t”


    “Yes, I can!”


    “Come on, folks, let''s get back to the tavern." Prof dragged Wolfgang away before the discussion fully degenerated into a childish back-and-forth. He thought grown men would handle such issues with more grace. At least, no one started waving weapons around. Not even Mini.


    However, the whole thing was ominous – it didn’t bode well for the future, if the guild master, who was responsible for musical entertainment was threatening with consequences.


    “Don''t worry, Prof." Mini consoled him "He is all bark and no bite. You know what, we will bring Binky with us, so you won''t be so scared!" She even patted his head.


    “Miss Minerva is right, though." Bianca added, "We should be prepared for battle."


    “It’s just a concert! What could the guild master do? Sing us to death?”


    “You do realize, [Magic: Sound] could do just that? It literally can create a magical sound that hurts and can even lead to deafness and in certain circumstances, death."


    “Wouldn’t that be contrary to being excellent to each other?”


    “Theoretically, yes. But you know, theory and practice are different things.”


    That was just fantastic.