abraxaslogs | [open] a fantastic public charity event!

Who: Jaskier, open to all of the Free Cities!
What: The bard is holding a concert at Cadens's Old Public Hall in order to raise money for its renovation!
Where: Cadens
When: The end of March, a bit after the eclipse/Singularity event shenanigans
Warnings: None. This is a family-friendly event. :)

The Event

[Flyers hand-written and posted around the city of Cadens promise many a thing: a lovely night of community and belonging, beautiful decorations, a precious place to bring your bonnie sweet (the most important.) Jaskier fully intends on this being the perfect date night; the more lovers who become closer thanks to him, the better. The hall will see a larger audience than it ever has before! And hopefully more money will be thrown at it than ever before.

Of course, that’s what this is: a charity concert being held to raise funds for the old Cadens speaking hall, a large hall that has long fallen into disrepair. Through the efforts of Jaskier (and mostly) Alucard, restoration of the hall has begun. However, it has far more renovations ahead of it, and coin will be needed.

The concert is meant to be a grand time, but, it is about the money. This is a charity event, technically. But there's no reason he can't have fun with it.

And since Jaskier does nothing by halves, he has gone fully all-out. At the concert, any goers will be free to partake in:

+ free food (courtesy of himself, Alucard, and Sam's cooking, generally fresh bread, rolls, sweets, cheeses, and various finger foods and slices of roasts)
+ free wine and local juices (mostly paid out of Jaskier's pocket)
+ flowers will be given out, though it is STRONGLY IMPLIED a donation is expected (bouquets can be purchased for your honey, as well)
+ Nadine will be going around the crowd and providing small samples of tonics and potions

There will also be a small raffle that Jaskier will be running. Tickets can be bought for a small fee, and ticket holders can win small prizes of bouquets (courtesy of yours truly), a box of fresh pastries from the local bakery, an array of prized feathers from his pet toy gryphon, or a slightly fancier bottle of wine. The ultimate prize will be a free song written personally for you by Jaskier, all topics and requests accepted. Yes, it is a grand prize. For the small prizes, you can decide whether your ticket is a winner or a loser!

Please, remember to keep your behaviors amenable, fair citizens of Cadens. This concert is for charity, and no roughhousing, fighting, or generally ill tempers will be suffered. And as an event on city property, it is meant to remain completely neutral. No politics or you'll be kindly escorted outside the event!]

The Old Public Hall

[The Cadens Public Hall is an old, large speaking hall hosting distinctive architectural features that are strongly Thornean in influence. Like the old days, the concert is mostly meant to be standing-room only; the second floor mezzanine has been blocked off due to unsafe conditions (mostly old, rotting floorboards.) There's a slight musty smell that lingers despite Jaskier's best efforts to hide it.

His attempts to hide it are vast in number: every where one looks are richly colorful groupings of flowers, tied to pillars, hanging from strings of semi-magical lights that have been criss-crossed over the main concert area to mimic the sight of stars, and growing from pots meant to hide dusty corners. Illusionary birds fly and flutter about, adding spots of color and life to the old hall.

Small tables and chairs have been set out the entrance for folks to eat and relax at while music fills the hall and spills out.

Jaskier himself headlines the music, accompanied by a flautist, a drummer and a cellist. Songs that he performed at the Summit are part of his set: a song that venerates the magical accomplishments of Thorne (which may earn some grumbles from local Cadenites, but that same magic flows through the hall itself, amplifying the music and preventing echoing and regulating temperature.) His ballad about Lyfbringr, one of the gods of Solvunn, features, with a slightly baudy edge to it. But most prominent are several songs about the Free Cities themselves: bastions of hope for those who have lost their home, rich mixing pots of culture and people, with fantastic advances in technology.

Peppered among the songs are general fun, upbeat songs. As the night draws to a close, the songs become slower and softer, meant for dances between lovers.

Between sets of songs, Jaskier can be see moving through the crowd, shaking hands, dancing, and showing off his precious new pet toy gryphon named Mog, with black fur and feathers and an owlish face. (Yes, you can pet him.) Mog accompanies him on stage as well, flicking his tail and sleeping inside his lute case.]

Speech, Speech, Speech

[Like all good events, it must begin with a speech.

At the beginning of the concert, while his band behind him plays quiet music, Jaskier takes the head of the dais that is acting at the stage, giving the concert-goers a hearty bow with a sweep of his large, feathered hat.]

Hello and greetings, my fellow citizens of Cadens! While you may not know me -- though I highly doubt that, if you've ever stepped foot into a local tavern -- I have been dwelling in your city in some time now as the conveniently-dubbed Summoned. I am the Master Bard Jaskier, and tonight we have gathered for a few hours of good will and merriment.

I have been welcomed into your city ever since I came here by chance, and have long wanted to give back in what ways I can. This concert is being held for the good of the very hall we stand in, long having fallen to disrepair in lieu of other pursuits -- important ones, I'm sure! -- by the city. However, as a musician, I have high respect for any such beautiful place, and I have recently began working tirelessly with an anonymous patron and friend to restore this grand old beauty for the use of all Cadens citizens.

Please, peruse the first floor of the hall to see our recent work in restoring and preserving historical Cadens architecture. There is free food and drink for all -- though, if you're a known glutton, learn a bit of restraint for the sake of the children. [Laugh track.] There are small gifts available in return for donations at the stands just ousdie. There will be collection plates placed around the tables, and by the door -- you'll see that lovely young man there, yes? He'll be glad to take your coin off your hands! [Another laugh track. He's hilarious, he knows.] All donations will go straight to the restoration of this historic hall.

By your leave, lovely gents and beautiful dames, I bid you a wonderful night. May your hearts be light, and your coin purses even lighter!

For ideas about the general mood of the music:

Youtube Bardcore Playlist

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Inej turns when she's addressed, a sales pitch of sorts, except it's for a free sample. She smiles softly and considers it for a moment.] I'll take one of those conditioners.

[Her hair is almost always pulled into a braid, but it can be a pain to tame, and anything that might help that process along, sounds like a good investment.] And if I find I like it, where would I find you to obtain more, later on?

Here you go.

[Nadine offers a small glass bottle of pink, shimmering, thick liquid.]

And that would be Green and Baum's Oils and Alloys. I'm an apprentice there. And a student at the medical academy.

[She's still just begun her higher medical education, she's still very proud of herself. It's nice to have things to be proud of - a steady job in a well established apothecary, her studies. She finally feels like she's doing something with her life here.]

I'm Nadine Cross.

Thank you. [She smiles brightly and tucks the bottle into her own small pouch at her side. She makes note of the apothecary name and decides to go by and look around soon.]

Inej Ghafa. I'm a recent transplant from Solvunn, since the Summit. I came here to be with family that was here. [Becacuse it's so much easier to just explain it that way, and Jesper is family to her.]

I know what that's like. I came here from Thorne.

[A week or two before the Summit, which Nadine still can't believe. All that effort and money to do it the back alley way, and then the Summit. But sometimes you find yourself under a curse that way.]

For...pretty much the same reason. Having people here.

[Nadine would understand. None of the people she considers family are in any way related to her. But they're family just the same.]

This must be a hell of a change from Solvunn.

I think it helps. Not being alone, in this place. Everything is so different from my home in some ways. Some things, I think, don't change no matter where you are, though. [Like war and strife and uncertainties.

She laughs softly and nods.] It truly is very different. I liked it there, but Jesper could not have prospered in a place like that. We were only just talking about it when the Summit happened. I couldn't believe my luck. Meant to be, I suppose.

[Though 'meant to be' can often be the sort of throwaway statement people say for convenience, there's something much more genuine in the way Inej says it; she actually seems to believe that sentiment wholeheartedly.]

Being alone here would be...yeah, it would be really hard.

[Nadine's lucky that she has Julie, can't imagine trying to navigate this world with no one from her own. Even if they hadn't (really) known each other beforehand. It makes all the difference.]

This world isn't much like mine at all. Every day I'm running into something I've never seen or heard of. But I've been here...uh, a long time, now. I was with the first group of summoned they brought in. I'm starting to get used to it.

[Thankfully, as this is home for her. She can't go back to her own, not now. Even ignoring the glimpse into the possible future she'd been given, she doesn't think she could just go back to being nothing but Flagg's queen.]

But I know what you mean. About...things that are supposed to be.

[Inej had, by all rights, been on her own. She'd realized Matthias was here during the casket mission but had not seen him again, and Jesper confirmed he was gone by the time he'd gotten here. It's been a strange time since she arrived in this world.]

My friend from Solvunn was in that first round as well. She escaped from an awful situation in Thorne, based on what she told me.

[She hasn't liked anything she's learned about Thorne, thus far, and can't quite see it changing any time soon.

She smiles.] Some things just are, I think.

Edited 2022-04-03 18:21 (UTC)

[Nadine nods at that.]

Yeah, that's when I got out of Thorne. Essentially. It's a long story.

[Nott had still been within the borders of Thorne, but...it's the part that's ignored. There was no royal presence in the city. But whatever plans had once been lain that required staying in Nott were long gone. It hadn't made sense to stay at this point.]

A lost of us left then. It wasn't a great situation, back then, no. I've heard they're doing better now, but...I don't have any reason to trust Thorne. I don't have any reason to trust the Free Cities either, I guess, but I don't have a reason not to.

[She nods her understanding.] Nothing I've heard about Thorne sounds worthy of any trust.

[Solvunn was, in a way, more her style than the Free Cities, but the pull of people from home was far stronger than anything else.] I'm still learning about the Free Cities, though.

So am I. I can tell you about the Academy of Medicine and most of the apothecaries and herbal shops around here, but that's about it.

[Nadine hasn't had much opportunity to just explore - she's never been to this part of the city, for example. Cadens is huge, and her schedule is on the busy side with work and classes and everything else.]

I've heard the museums are really impressive, though. I'd like to see a few of them when I have the time.

Perhaps we could go together? I think I'd like to see the museums and learn more of the history of the place. [She smiles softly. She needs more connections here, she feels like she's got no ground under her feet. And while that isn't always necessarily an issue for her, it would be nice to get some solid footing in the city.]

That would be nice. There's one that sounds like a natural history museum, if you have those where you come from. Skeletons from things that live in the desert and exhibits about plants and animals that live in the area.

[Nadine is curious about the unique wildlife - she knows some of the plants already, with her herbalism training and class on medicinal local flora - but little about the wildlife. Or even the biomes beyond right outside Cadens itself.]

I don't have a lot of free time, but I'm sure I can find some.

That sounds fascinating. If you can find time in your schedule, I can work around it, mine is mostly free most days. [She doesn't have a steady job yet, just picks up various odds and ends around town, or running errands for Mags, mostly.]

I can probably set aside a weekend. It'd be good for me to take a break, anyway.

[She knows she's been working harder than she ought to, it's just the easiest way to cope with her recent losses. And between classes, her job, and her own side business making potions and ointments and the like...well, it's easy to keep very busy.]

I'll drop you a note when I know what my schedule's looking like. It'll be fun.

Aboslutely. That would be lovely. [She smiles brightly.] If you ever need to find me, I'm at Mag's inn.

[open] a fantastic public charity event!

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