Crimson Hail and the Secrets of Valour — Chapter 4: A DJ in the making

The reception was an enormous circular room with a huge chandelier. The walls had patterned wallpaper, on which were hung framed pictures of people dancing. Crimson barely soaked it in before he was called away. They walked to a balcony which overlooked the main stage complete with elevated podiums in each corner, and a multitude of lights above the room. At the sight of his impressed face, Marx gave a smug smile.

‘That’s where you’ll be playing.’ She pointed towards the stage. Crimson knew the deal Maham got him would be good, but he wasn’t aware of just how good it was until now. How could he, an unknown DJ, justify getting so much attention? To calm his nerves, he decided to set up, imagine a crowd in front of him, and start playing on a low volume.

Changing tracks, adjusting the volumes, interjecting samples and repeating endings, he was in a comfortable place at last. He heard footsteps walking up the stairs towards the stage then saw Marx with a few bottles in her hand and a nervous look.

‘Hey, the club’s about to start so I thought I’d bring you these.’ She placed the bottles in front of him. ‘All right, your set’s for two hours and–you wanna get votes, DJ Mag right?’

‘Yep’.

‘Sweet! I’ve got you covered. Good luck,’ she smiled, tapped his shoulder. This is it; he was on his own now. He needed to focus and stay calm.