<div class="floatright">(http://imgur.com/8QgaW5H.png)</div>Steward Algers shifted one hand to his desk as Miyuki spoke and with a pencil made notes on a bit of paper.  He seemed very cool and professional, but at the same time she could tell he was appraising her every word, movement, and action with a very critical eye.  He seemed to accept Miyuki's mention of lands he hadn't heard of with an acceptance that seemed almost out of place to her, but moved on from it into further questions.<strong>"Mmm yes, I do believe it was one of our guardsmen,"</strong>he acknowledged with an almost bored tone in his voice,<strong> "Tell me, how familiar are you with the dulcimer?"</strong><br/><br/>He offered her a chair with a wave of his hand, though he continued standing as he rattled through several dozen questions about her bardic and musical skill.  Most were rather mundane, familiarity with composers Miyuki had never heard of, songs she didn't know, and the like.  Even her responses which might seem to be negative he simply took in stride, always making notes on the piece of paper.  Sometimes he asked for clarification on questions that seemed simple and easily answered, and other times he accepted answers that seemed to be rather complicated and warranted a follow up.<br/><br/>But then he started getting into questions that seemed rather personal and strange.  Questioning her discretion, her ability to keep secrets, what sort of jobs she'd taken as a musician that had payed the best, what other sorts of jobs she'd done in her life.  Slowly over the course of the questioning Miyuki's past came out and while some people might look down upon prostitutes, sacred or not, this older half elf simply took every reaction with a calm and cool, almost emotionless reaction.<br/><br/>He nodded and looked over his notes and said,<strong> "I think, Miss Konayama," </strong>Miyuki having already corrected him on the placement of family versus given names,<strong> "That house Saari <em>might</em> be very interested in hiring you for your services.  Either in the short term on an as needed basis, or perhaps more if you're looking for a wealthy patron.  But before we can discuss that, let me thank you for coming in today."</strong>He opened a drawer on his desk and fished out a large leather sack that jingled with coins.  Fishing two fingers into it he withdrew five gold coins and stacked them precisely on the corner of his desk nearest Miyuki.<strong> "These coins are yours, for coming in to meet with me today.  You can of course take them and leave, but if you're willing to bear with me for a bit longer, I have a few tasks I'd like you to preform.  Do them well and we can talk about potential future employment."</strong><br/><br/>He walked to one of the room's cupboards and removed several items, bringing them to the desk and setting them down.  The first a sheaf of musical notations.<strong> "How long would it take you to memorize a composition like this, and be able to play it without the notes from memory alone?"</strong><br/><br/>Miyuki took the notes and looked them over.  The style of notation was different then what she was used to in her homeland, but there were enough similarities that she thought she could figure out the differences in notional style in a short time.   Especially if she had her instrument's in hand to practice and hear the changes as she worked through them.  As for memorizing the song, that would be easy once she figured out exactly how the notions worked, an hour, maybe two.  Miyuki had always been good at remembering her songs once she'd practiced them a few times.  She answered the man and again he marked her answer on the paper.  Then he held out to her a strange hourglass shaped instrument, which he identified as a dulcimer.<strong> "Do you think you could play this even though you are not familiar with it?"</strong>Again she answered her response and he noted it down.  Then he held out a long black strip of cloth and two small bundles of fabric, tightly bound no bigger then the tip of Miyuki's pinkie finger tip.<strong>"How well do you think you can play while blindfolded and with your ears plugged?"</strong><br/><br/>That question threw Miyuki for a loop.  It would not be difficult to play her lute or her flute blindfolded, they were as familiar to her as her own body.  But a new instrument might be more difficult.  However to be ear-plugged, that would be a challenge for a musician, as the feedback from the insturments would be off.  She'd have to play on routine and instinct.<br/><br/>The steward said,<strong> "I'd like to test your skills.  First play me something, anything on that dulcimer.  Then try to play the composition in those notes.  Then if you feel you can, do the best you can at trying to play it while blindfolded and deafened.  Do you think you can do this  Miss Konayama?"</strong><br/><br/><br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">ooc</div><div class="spoiler_body">I need a series of performance rolls.  The steward lets Miyuki have time to familiarize herself with the instrument before her first attempt at playing something.  As long as the first roll isn't a 1, she realizes that it is out of tune and can tune it properly.  She'll realize that this is the first test, and one that any musician should pass.  (unless you roll a 1 and critically fail of course, lol)  There is no failing the test otherwise.<br/><br/>The second test is trying to preform the music on the papers that he has given you.  I'll need a second performance roll, but with a -2 penalty for the unfamiliar notational style and unfamiliar musical instrument.<br/><br/>The last test is trying to remember the song, and play the unfamiliar instrument while blind and partially deafened with the earplugs.  Make a third performance roll with -4 to the skill check.</div></div>