Evaristo has joined the lectern.

Jasper, an unflappable scoundrel, 2 Redrain Guards arrive, following Deva.

Captain Curls, an attentive, ebony guard poodle, Aspira arrive, following Quenia.

Evaristo is standing by the lectern and bows or waves to people that arrive. Those that have met the bard-captain before might be struck by how absolutely DIFFERENT he looks; gone are all the fine, exclusive clothing, and almost all of the jewelry, and his outfit is extremely understated. He has also somehow managed to comb that hair to something mostly tamed. "Hello, hello," he says with a near timid voice from up there.

Trouble, the waddling raccoon arrives, following Giada.

Merek walks along and into the place, looking to see what the lecture on logistics is about. He seems to be wearing his dark attire, with the scarf along his features. The man finds a place to settle in.

The Marquessa of House Igniseri has braved the squalls! Of snow, that is. She's trudged herself all the way over to the Upper Boroughs from the Lyceum, which is a trek indeed for a southern woman of her nature. And the reason? To come to the lecture of course. She's dressed for warm weather, and is tightly wrapped in a warm cloak, brushing off the few flakes of snow that manage to land on her in the windy winter wonderland once she gets through the doors. She quickly moves out of the way and goes to find a seat, giving the event runners a rather curious look.

Quenia has joined the cushioned benches.

Caprice brings Winter in with her, dressed head to toe in frosty colors. Her demeanor doesn't match; quick, warm smiles are offered for faces familiar and not as she seeks out a chair. She dips a curtsey for Medeia, murmuring, "Good to see you again, my Lady!" and... lingers a bit longer near Evaristo, surprise evident in her expression. "Mm. It's been a while, Mockingbird. You're looking well." Sincere if a bit...puzzled.

"Miss Caprice, so nice to see you," Evaristo replies, bowing his head courteously at Caprice. There's no charming smile, nor any jokes. It's like he's been exchanged by his boring twin.

Giada slips into the classroom, finding a place in the back to hold up a wall. Long legs cross at the ankle as she leans back, a thumb hooked casually in her belt. Waddling in behind her is a portly.. chubby.. fat. There's a fat raccoon following her and settling by her feet, kept loyal by the extension of a round hardtack biscuit. Evaristo and Medeia both receive small smiles and nods of greeting, but the Mirrormask seems content to hang back unless otherwise bid.

A table has been brought in with a selection of snacks and drinks for guests to select from, with Medeia's assistant Klavdiya on hand to assist anyone. The lady herself is standing to the side of the lectern, a respectful distance from Evaristo, also greeting people as they come in. "Thank you all for coming, we'll get started shortly. There will be a few presentations today!" She dips her chin to Caprice, and then gives Evaristo a signal to start at his leisure while she finds a spot on a bench to rest.

"You look really familiar. Didn't we just--?" Vague yet blunt, that's Deva. This is directed toward Evaristo as she looks the same as usual, slightly messy and tired and dressed like she just rolled in from some dusty adventure. She beams a smile at Medeia as she finds a seat to flop into, sprawling with no grace whatsoever.

Evaristo checks composure and performance at hard. Evaristo is successful.

Evaristo checks composure and performance at hard. Botch! Evaristo fails completely.

Evaristo checks composure and manipulation at hard. Evaristo is successful.

Evaristo checks composure and manipulation at hard. Evaristo is successful.

Evaristo walks stiffly over to stand by the lectern table, clearing his voice. "Greetings," he says and then looks out over the gathering, giving Deva a nod. "Ahem, we met recently. Yes. In the shrine." He stacks his papers together and looks down at them and there's a long, awkward pause there before he suddenly starts talking.

How can a bard be SO BORING? He drones on in the same tone of voice, speaking about efficient trade routines on the sea, including how to stack goods in the smartest way. About smart ways to handle dock procedures, and so on and so on. The topic itself COULD be interesting, and more strong-willed might still retain good information from him on this.

However, at one point, his monotone boring lecture totally cracks as he steps aside to show some of the graphs he's putting up on the wall, something to do with economics part of the whole trade. Unfortunately, one of the graphs definitely got a very, uh, phallic shape, and the bard-captain hadn't realised - he cracks up laughing. "Oh gods," he breathes. "Oh HANG ON, it's upside down... well, I guess this isn't a 'rise to the occasion' sort of graph, more of a....limp..." Hysterical giggle ensues and he has to spend a minute finding his composure again. This might actually make people more alert, even if the rest of his lecture drones on similarly. It is probably the strangest lecture ever given, and might only be remembered for it's phallic graph. He speaks for about half an hour, and then murmurs something, stepping aside for the next guest speaker.

Evaristo subtly checks an odd little pendant around his neck once he's stepped to the side. He shakes it a few times, looking faintly dubious.

Deva checks composure and etiquette at hard. Deva fails.

In the back, Giada listens impassively, her olive green eyes shrewd and sharp on Evaristo as he drones. He at least has her attention. She may not react much, but there's a definite sense of intent focus.

Lost in a fit of laughter that she can't contain, Deva has to get up and excuse herself to the hallway for a few minutes. She's an adult. This is fine.

Medeia checks composure at normal. Medeia marginally fails.

Giada moves off to the side now, leaving her poor wall unattended. She writes out a note when coming across writing implements, handing it down to Trouble. "Brother Aelgar."

Medeia really should have double checked that all the graphs and charts were in place and... hung properly... before starting the lecture. Which inevitably has her staring off into space, just a bit, she's listening! Until the graph is pointed out. A giggle escapes her, rather loudly, which she covers with an affected coughing fit.

Well. How does one follow such an act? Caprice's eyes are heavy-lidded through at least half of Evaristo's lecture, attentiveness drifting into daydreaming and abruptly back as the man's graph inspires a giggle-fit. She's still a bit off-kilter when she takes her turn at the lectern - forcing a brighter smile, and introducing herself and listing some vague qualifications to the room before before launching into details on the fine art of haggling - and staunchly defending why overemphasizing things such as bruises on fruit and so on shouldn't be considered a lie.

Evaristo is a better listener than he is a talker, at least today. He is watching Caprice with rapt attention, even nodding along, or looking surprised by some of her points, and writing them down in a well-used leatherbound note-book. When she is done, he smiles at her. "Thank you, Miss Caprice! A good lesson for us all."

Giada returns to her wall, listening to Caprice's lecture. There's a faint smirk as bruises are brought up, but the quartermaster still doesn't interject. She's a quiet and attentive attendant.

Medeia checks intellect and propaganda at normal. Medeia is successful.

A messenger arrives, delivering a message to Giada before departing.

THere's no need to fake a coughing fit for Caprice's lesson on haggling, thankfully. Medeia listens carefully, even though she would never be caught attempting to haggle - she's a /Lady/, after all. Even so? The information is welcome. And now that means it is her turn to speak. She stands slowly and moves to stand at the lectern. "I'd like to start by thanking Messeres Evaristo and Caprice for sharing their valuable knowledge. I believe most of you know me, Lady Medeia Eswynd..." A list of titles and projects is rattled off quickly to provide some clout for her lesson. "I'll be talking on the finer points of communicating your trade - from marketing your business to working with clients." And then she does, at length. She imparts the knowledge of convincing the public they want something with ease before she wraps up. "And that's all there is to it! Now, we'll be here to answer any questions. Please feel free to stay, chat, and eat all that food over there."

Giada looks up as a messenger in House Thrax livery arrives to deliver a missive to her. After reading it, she tucks it into her bag. "C'mon, Trouble." She lifts her hand silently. "Sorry," she murmurs. "Seems I have a meeting. Nice talks."

Trouble, the waddling raccoon leaves, following Giada.

Evaristo stands up now and bows to Medeia. "Thank you, a very illuminating lecture on propaganda. I have done some work on that, but I definitely learned a few new angles here." He seems to be sliding back more to his normal self here, and is moving to grab a drink and some snacks. "I can make copies of my notes if anyone's interested," he offers generously. "And the graphs."

"Do the graphs come in flesh tones?" Caprice inquires innocently.

Evaristo almost splurts wine over anyone near, but manages to cover his mouth with a hand. "...I can arrange that," he replies, shoulders shaking with laughter.

Medeia snickers, but doesn't hide it this time. "I'm glad, and happy to help you with any further information you might wish on the subject," she replies to Evaristo. "Caprice, I am hopeful that the information you provided might help me better understand the seeming magic my protege performs in the markets. She's impressive and it often goes right over my head."

"Keeping abreast of fashion as you do, my Lady," Caprice dips her head to Medeia, "is actually quite the boon for tracking trends. I suspect certain types of coral will be all the rage when the weather warms," she adds with a quick grin.

Merek has joined the line.

Speaking of fashion - Evaristo shudders, looking down at himself. He's clearly suffering here, so he drinks heavily, to take some of the pain away. The pain of wearing boring clothes. "I've actually been doing some more haggling the last few weeks, I had a longer break - I was focusing more on the jewelry part of business," he admits. "It's definietly /fun/ to look for that perfect deal."

"I'd like to know more of street level economics. It seems often used in a lot of places, it's definitely worth knowing," Merek notes, while he takes a drink from the flask with him, then he leans back, "The logistics are certainly. Interesting to know, thank you for the lecture, what I saw of things."

Jasper, an unflappable scoundrel, 2 Redrain Guards leave, following Deva.