Having followed Zoe’s directions, Hector now found himself in front of a rather impressive looking building. While it wasn’t particularly large, the facade had intricate designs and was made of marble that gave it a grand look. Giving any onlookers the feeling that the building wasn’t for everyone, but instead, for an exclusive few.

Walking up to the door, Hector wasn’t sure whether to knock on it or simply enter. Deciding to try opening the door first, Hector turned the golden colored knob as it gave way and fully turned. Opening the door, Hector was greeted by a rather sumptuous view. While the entrance hall wasn’t very large, it was decorated in a very luxurious manner than made Hector feel out of place the second he entered the hall. Although remembering the suit he was wearing, he felt very fortunate about it and thanked the voice once more in his head.

White pristine tiles covered the floor. While on it, a waiting area created with expensive red furniture surrounding a circular wooden coffee table, that Hector didn’t doubt was made out of some expensive wood, immediately greeted him. On the right side was a wall where a door could be seen. While to his front lay a reception area where a man dressed in a luxurious suit was staring at him, clearly evaluating the new visitor. To the left of the reception area, a stairway leading upwards could be seen. And, while it wasn’t locked like the door to the right, Hector was sure that the receptionist wouldn’t allow him to freely go upwards.

As he approached the receptionist and had the opportunity to better look at the man, he noticed that the man had an ederly and stoic appearance, with his grey hair and facial hair complementing his look. While Hector was staring at the receptionist, the receptionist called out to him, “And how may I help the gentleman today. Do you require of one of our musicians services?”

“Uhh No… sir. I’m here because I was told that I could join the Musician’s Guild if I wanted to find work.” replied Hector.

“Is that so Mr…” answered the receptionist with a questioning tone.

“Hector.”

“Mr. Hector…” responded the receptionist while giving Hector a glance that asked if that was all.

“...Oh uh, Dubois. My name is Hector Dubois.” answered Hector awkwardly.

“Very well Mr. Dubois” responded the receptionist with a bit more cordiality towards the young man. “Now tell me, does the gentleman have any references or certificates that could be used in determining whether the gentleman is qualified in joining our guild?”

Hearing two things that he didn’t have, Hector felt his confidence waver a bit as he stammered in response, “I uhhhh, don’t have either of those… But I’m confident in my musical abilities as well as knowledge in musical theory. So if you have any tests I could take to-to prove that. I’m more than willing to.”

“Is that so.” answered the receptionist rathered unimpressed. “If the gentleman doesn’t have any documents to prove his qualificability, then I’m afraid I can not allow you to join our guild.”

Feeling a bit shocked at how quickly he was being turned away, Hector asked “Can’t I at least prove my capabilities?”

“You can.” responded the receptionist in a very matter-of-fact way, “You can prove your capabilities by providing a certificate from an accredited institution or through reference by a trustworthy source. As for us, I’m afraid we don’t evaluate every person who walks through that door. If we did, we would be occupied giving exams to every bard and street performer that thinks they have any modicum of talent. Now Mr. Dubois, if there is nothing else we can do for you, please make your way out through the door.”

Although Hector wanted to put up a protest, the look in the receptionist’s eyes, as well as the way the receptionist soul was resonating, told Hector that his presence wouldn’t be tolerated for much longer and it would be for the best in he left. Thus, leaving with his tail tucked behind him, Hector made his way back into the street. Once outside, Hector kicked the ground as a feeling of frustration came over him.

Hector had been rather overconfident in that he would get an opportunity to showcase his unparalleled talents. Instead, he was turned away before he even had a chance to and was now left to wonder what to do from this point on.

Deciding to worry about it later, Hector continued to aimlessly wander around the city as he distracted himself with the unique view of a fantasy city.

With a few hours having passed. Hector once again found himself in the plaza. This time, sitting on an empty bench beside an equally empty barrel, the only thing keeping him company. He had wandered aimlessly around the city for a while, and had even managed to get himself lost before by a struck of luck, or maybe divine protection, finding himself back in the plaza where it all began.

Hector had enjoyed walking around the city, taking in the rather familiar architecture as well as the not so familiar people that encompassed this interesting world. Not only were the beastmen different from his world, but even the people themselves had some differences, as Hector had seen hair and eye colors which simply could not be found naturally in any person back in his world. He also enjoyed seeing the little differences that had arisen in this world thanks to magic, as opposed to his magicless society which was dominated by secular technology. While he hadn’t paid any mind to them at first, the light posts interspersed throughout the streets were clearly something that shouldn't belong to such an era. Nonetheless, this city would be lit up at night as almost all cities back in his world since the start of the modern era were.

And it was this sight that Hector was waiting for. He was currently just relaxing on the bench, waiting to see this magical moment where light would be brought to a fantasy city thanks to the miracle of magic. While waiting for this, he passed the time looking at the inhabitants of the world, wondering what type of lifestyle they were living, trying to guess at their occupations, and where they were heading to for the night.

He saw a group of four dressed in an odd getup. Or well, it wouldn’t really be odd in this world, he thought. While they would have passed as cosplayers in his world, this group was a genuine adventurers party, and one composed of veteran’s at that. He wondered where they were returning from, what adventures they had gone on, and how they were planning to celebrate their accomplishments tonight, as they seemed to be in quite a good mood.

He saw a young mother carrying her daughter on her arms as she returned from shopping, and wondered if such a peaceful and carefree sight would have been seen in contemporary times on his world. He saw a man wearing a dark-brown hooded cloak, and seeing that he was of a dubious character due to the resonance of his soul, wondered if he would be causing trouble tonight to some unfortunate soul. He also saw the rather curious sight of man leading a wolf type beastwoman by the hand, and seeing how their souls resonated with each other, Hector had many, many questions about how things worked in this world.

With the sky darkening as the sun began its descent under the horizon, the lights turned on while there was still a good amount of light in the sky. Staring at this sight, was a rather unimpressed Hector who witnessed the magical moment.

Now it’s not to say that Hector was disappointed in the magic behind this. For he thought it was incredible the way in which they all lit up at the same time. The problem however, was that there was still enough light in the day to offset the splendor of an artificially lit night. Since they didn’t seem to work by electricity, but instead through crystals not unlike the one on the statue of the lady, Hector thought they would turn on when the sky turned dark, almost like sensors. It was because of this believe that Hector had expected a more magical scene, one where the night sky was suddenly lit up by these magical lamp posts. Although thinking it more clearly, this result should have honestly been in expectations. After all, if the purpose of lamps are to make the roads visible, then it wouldn't really make much sense for them to turn off once it had already become pitched black, leaving people to navigate through the darkness for a short while.

Releasing a sigh, Hector decided that this was a good sign that he needed to truly think about the impending issue that was drawing nearer and nearer. And that was where he was going to be spending the night. Thankfully, since he was a god, he seemed to be immune from many of the inconveniences that plagued all mortals. Mainly being hunger and the need to sleep. It didn’t mean that he couldn't sleep or feel hunger, as Hector had already dozed off earlier while sitting on the bench from boredom, as well as felt the pangs of hunger after walking by a restaurant that was letting off a rather tantalizing aroma. Regardless, his body didn’t necessarily need either food, water, or sleep to survive. Which was quite an incredible advantage for Hector, as it mean he could technically make use of all twenty-four hours of the day.

However, it wasn’t as though Hector could really take advantage of this. Unlike back in his world, Hector didn’t have any tests he had to study for, errands to do, work that he had to do, or really anything he could do in his free time like reading or watching movies. He was currently penniless in a foreign land, without a place to return to for the night, and it didn’t look like his situation would be improving anytime soon. Continuing to look at the people moving around the plaza, with all of them seeming to have a purpose in their movements and actions, Hector couldn’t help but regret not having taken Zoe’s offer of having her find a job for him. At least then Hector would have something to do and not feel as though he was simply passing the time aimlessly, which was giving him a feeling of restlessness that he really wanted to rid himself of.

He had wanted to join the musicians guild, but now knew it would not be an easy affair. For if he wanted to do so, he would either need to enter a musical academy which required money. Or have someone vouch for his musical talents, preferably someone with influence in the city. Meaning to join the musicians guild, Hector needed money and connections, two things that the newly arrived him didn’t have.

Continuing to sit on the bench, Hector continued to pass time idly observing the people walking by. Soon, the darkening sky began to turn orange and red, creating a beautiful scene unlike the one he had been waiting for. He wasn’t the only one who appreciated this sight, as quite a few people also turned to look at the gradient colors of the sun before resuming with their activities, although a few couples could be seen staring for longer. Looking at the statue of what he had learned was the Goddess of Water, he felt the view of the water reflecting the colors of the setting sun inspire him, and not knowing how to make use of this inspiration, Hectors eyes landed on the empty barrel to the right of his bench that had been kindly keeping him company this entire time.

Following his instincts, Hector flipped the barrel so that the underside was on top. And then, letting his feelings dictate his actions, Hector began to play on the barrel as though it was a conga. Immediately after doing so, Hector noticed that something was clearly wrong, or would it be better to say, that things were going a bit too right? He was definitely playing a barrel, a common wooden barrel that could be found anywhere. However, the sound coming out of this barrel wasn’t the pathetic imitation a drum that could be normally heard from a cheap barrel or wooden box. Instead, the sound coming out of the barrel, while not exactly sounding like the genuine article, sounded to Hector far more alike to a drum than he would have expected.

As Hector continued to play the barrel, producing an uplifting and rhythmic beat reminiscent to the rumba played in Cuba, a few people started to gather around as Hector put on a show for them. Feeling that a few instrumental sounds were missing, Hector began to whistle as he was once again amazed at the sound he was able to produce. Instead of the limited whistling sounds that humans can produce, a wide arrange of sounds that mimicked the instruments he had in mind could be heard. Not only that, but the sound of his whistling was much louder and was carried for a longer distance than should be possible.

While this style of music was foreign to the citizens of the city of Szeged, those who were around Hector couldn’t help but be drawn to the music he produced. And how could they, Hector thought to himself. For he could see that the conga-like sound coming out from the barrel and his whistling weren’t the only oddities, but the music itself he produced was odd, as it had an inherent power to it. That is, the music that Hector produced was filled with the divine power of the god of music, drawing those who heard it towards him and having their souls resonate to the sound..

As the souls of those who heard his divine beats continued to have their souls increasingly resonate to Hector’s divine music, people began to move their bodies, compelled by the music and its beat to do so. Seeing the rather awkward movements of those who had decided to dance, as they undoubtedly didn’t have experience which such music, Hector adopted a bright smile as he continued to play the barrel, increasing the tempo of his beating as he encouraged more and more people to dance to his music. After a few minutes of playing in which more and more people joined in on the dancing, Hector finally put a pause to his music as he gave the spectators a moment of respite. Seeing that a few people had clearly enjoyed themselves, Hector couldn’t lie to himself and said that he did not enjoy having people dance to the beat of his barrel, even if part of the reason they had in the first place was because he had subtly compelled them to as a result of his divinity.

While he was watching the reactions of the crowd, which were giving Hector a few applauses and whistles, a man came up to him and dropped a few coins inside his hat that lay to his left. Seeing this, Hector picked up his hat and held out in front of him as a few more people came up and dropped a coin or two inside the hat. Seeing this, Hector wondered if the reason why the voice had given him such an ill-fitting hat was because he foresaw this event happening. Deciding not to mind it, Hector put the hat on the floor in front of him as he looked up, now noticing that the sun had completely set on the horizon and that day had turned to night. Now, Hector was finally able to witness the beautiful picturesque sight of this fantasy city at night lit up by magic.

Feeling inspired once more as a result of this beautiful sight as well as the crowd around him. Hector began playing once more. This time, he decided not too simply play a random beat, but instead chose a song he had heard before. Although he had no prior experience playing the song, or that he didn’t know the language it was in before, none of it mattered. For Hector could now play any instrument, speak any tongue, and could rely on his divinity to guide him in playing any song, melody, or tune. Thus, allowing his instincts to guide him, Hector began, “Quimbara quimbara quma quimbamba…”

In a city like any other, on the last working day of the week, as it was customary for most to not work on the last day of the week, many people could be seen walking around at night as they enjoyed a moment of respite from the grind that was daily life. This day however, was unlike any for the inhabitants of Szeged. For in one of the many plazas in the city, an exotic sound, a somewhat incomplete sound, but an exciting sound nonetheless, could be heard. All of this produced by a simple barrel, whistling, and the singing of a man in a manner that none could have believed to be possible before. And it was this exotic sound that caused all who heard it to be drawn to it, and then compelled by it to allow their bodies to celebrate to its tune. Soon causing a festival to begin in the plaza, on that pitch-dark summer night lit up by the yellow glow of magic crystals.

Not too soon after it had begun, the spontaneous festival had managed to grow to a rather large size, causing the city’s guards to make their appearances not to soon after that. However, instead of stopping the ruckus, the guards entered the fun as they joined the rest of the spectators in dancing and merry making. Along the way, some joined in on the singing, a few bards added their own touches to this never-before-heard of style, and many, many people danced allowed their bodies to dance to the rhythm. Nonetheless, the center of it all continued to be the curly haired man playing the barrel, having the entire festival moving to his beat. It was in this way that many passed the next two hours, enjoying the exotic sounds and losing themselves in merrymaking with strangers and dancing to the beat. It was thus that such an extraordinary night that many would remember for the rest of their lives, occurred in a rather ordinary day, in a rather ordinary city.