Crow doesn’t hide his bemused expression at the expatriate’s correction. In truth, while he dearly appreciates quality instruments, he’s a reluctant connoisseur of their particular
manufacturers’ prestige: keeping abreast of the plethora of villainous factions, cults, and conspiracies infesting the Land seldom leaves him time to savor fellow
musicians’ latest compositions, let alone the works of famed instrument-crafters! But his nonplussed look at seeing one of the infamous Dilisnyas
burbling on about the violin’s provenance, like a numismatist cooing over a mint-quality Old Borjian “sun’s-glory” platinum, should stand in for mild embarrassment at his misidentification.
Even with this improvement in mood, Brother Dilisnya’s self-absorption is obvious … not exactly an
endearing trait, yet one that serves Crow’s purposes, if the aging grouch is as blind to others’ feelings – and
motives – as his words imply. A
hobbyist, this Borcan is, and indeed no bard, nor likely any
real threat: a man so focused on his own viewpoint and possessions is an unlikely candidate to take enough interest in ‘Brother Crow’s’ doings to notice anything amiss. The VRS spy provisionally sets aside his concerns regarding
this Fraternity member, to concentrate on his other three waking opponents.
(Still, any man who professes to
admire an instrument, yet still refers to the ‘prized’ item as an impersonal “it”, isn’t living up to
Crow’s standards as a caretaker. The spy makes a mental note to learn just
where in Richemulot Paolo Dilisnya now resides, before the FoS gathering’s end: if what Buchvold’s told him is correct, the man’s
library might well be worth a rifling in future … and the mere thought of
two precious Delamatis languishing in the hands of
this dabbler, who plainly thought to buy his way into artistry, while natural talents as potent and riveting as
Duchamps made do with substandard instruments, readily justifies his intervention.)
The
other bards’ reactions are more encouraging; although their perceptiveness carries its own dangers, Quiret’s and Torrens’s sympathy for his sly put-down of the wizard implies they’ll likewise be amenable to ‘Brother Crow’s’ viewpoint in the future. He winks appreciatively at Quiret’s likewise-taunting reply to Dilisnya’s query (when the violinist isn’t looking, of course), then beams gratefully at Torrens when the Mordentish gentleman invites him to take a turn ‘on stage’.
“Why, sir, how could I even presume to match the Honored Brother’s
exacting perfection of form? Any other classic favorite would surely pale in comparison,” he replies mildly, in a continuation of the ‘Tease-The-Wannabee’ game he and the half-elf have serendipitously struck up, at Dilisnya’s unwitting expense. A slight bow in the violinist’s direction is returned by the Borcan emigrant, still contentedly in the dark.
“Then again, perhaps something
endemic would be fitting. Are you gentlemen familiar with Souragnien folk music’s twelve-bar harmonic progressions? The ‘call-and-response’ vocal motif which accompanies and inspires it? No? It’s rather...
novel, I’ll admit, but remarkably fresh and enlivening, to say naught of 'catchy'.
“I’ve been experimenting over the past few days, you see, and would much appreciate your opinions. If I may…? Oh, don’t worry, I’ll
not butcher any piece known and beloved to any of us … nor step on worthy Brother
Yarek’s toes, either! If none of you are averse to the
harmonica, I believe we’re due a change of pace from strings.
“Now, this
first signature-technique of the style is a slight drop in pitch, or ‘bend’, which is applied to any one of the odd-numbered notes of the major diatonic scale, with the exception of the tonic note itself. It’s a counterintuitive change, to step outside the classic scale, but I for one was amazed at how the mood of a passage can be transfigured by that slight deviation! Just to demonstrate its effect for starters, let’s see what it can do to salvage a
truly wretched piece…”
The chorus of simultaneous groans that herald the opening notes of the late, unlamented Raoul Dumont’s trite “
Alas! My Love Is No More” gradually abates, as Crow’s best treble harmonica picks up the clichéd ballad, shakes out the piece’s wrinkles, re-dresses it with shuffles, repetitions, and Duchamps’ spirited glissandi – a technique that comes naturally for the mouth-organ – and, in short, makes it worth
listening to.
By the time the impromptu blues-lesson is over, and he’s capped off his medley with the 'turnaround' coda to the traditional lament “
La danse le deuil du Feu Follet” – an eminently-suitable piece to close upon, as Mme. Solobre’s backyard garden is by now alive with fireflies – ‘Brother Crow’s’ reputation as one who thinks outside the box seems secure. And, in viewing the other men’s reactions to his unorthodox choice of styles, Crow-the-
spy has a better sense of which among them is the most open-minded and receptive to radical techniques … or
ideas. Such knowledge will certainly come in handy for the future, if the black-curled infiltrator has any say in the matter.
A pleasure indeed, to blend
music with his work ... and to savor the irony of seeing arrogant FoS members attending so closely to techniques a penniless, blind
sharecropper had taught him! Besides which,
Buchvold now owes him five gold pieces.
(Really, the Borcan illusionist should know better, by now, than to bet that “Mr. Crow”
couldn’t get the famed Ibelios natha Quiret to listen to bloody
showtunes….)
It’s a good finale to his performance, and he lets the vigorous discussion that follows run on, until the Fraternity members’ debate over Souragnien music has traveled full circle. Only when the participants, both ‘pro’ and ‘con’, have exhausted all options but to repeat themselves, and
Simon Torrens has pledged to exhibit his own skills in the event a decent keyboard can be tracked down in this soggy realm,
and a wearied Paolo Dilisnya has excused himself early to retire for the night, does the VRS agent at last put his
other gamble of the evening to the test:
“Brothers, as our colleague has already departed, and we’ve three long days of lectures in store for us, and
two of us have upcoming presentations to prepare for, perhaps it’s best if we not while away
too much of the evening in debate. Certainly, we’ll have cause to come together again, in celebration, once Brother
Yarek has presented his discoveries to the Fraternity-at-large!
“But for now, as we’ve some time away from the more scholastically-inclined Brothers – away, too, from our rather
precise associate – perhaps I might introduce another topic of interest … something that
you, Songmaster, might find particularly relevant, given your own upcoming panel appearance. Indeed, something that might be to the advantage of us all, as a brotherhood
within the Brotherhood … provided, of course, our
‘exacting’ colleagues deign to give credit where credit is due.” This time, the VRS spy shifts to
Vaasi as he speaks the word “exacting”, to ensure that Brother Yarek isn’t excluded from the reference.
“You see, brothers, I’ve a puzzle I’ve been working on – unsuccessfully – that
you might be able to help me with.” The curly-haired infiltrator drew a folded paper from his inside jerkin-pocket, opened it out flat on the veranda’s tabletop.
“Pardon my ignorance, gentlemen, but what might you make of
this? I’m afraid it’s got me stumped, but if I tell you the tale of where and how
I came by it, perhaps you can help decipher its meaning. Oh, and if any of you know how to nullify toxins – and alcohol – or if Madame Solobre keeps
smelling salts in the house, we definitely ought to rouse Brother Skully: this very much concerns
him, too….”
The bards gather round the table, the gnome is roused, the document's cryptic content is dissected ... and the
kitties are snared without protest.
[OOC: "
To Be Continued" If you want to know what the spy is up to
now, either wait until Nathan and I reveal it, or find an excuse for your PC to ask Quiret, Skully, and/or the other NPC bards what happened at their little get-together.
[Don't blame me if the French song-title's grammer is screwed up, BTW: I had to use an online free translator, so have no clue if it's right or not.
]