Bog Standard Isekai

Brin still had hesitations about the idea of looting the town. Surely all of this belonged to the relatives of those who'd died? It was impossible to think that none of them had other family. This little hamlet had a small enough population and it was near enough to Fortmouth that he doubted it was as insular as the Bog towns. But no one else seemed to have any hang ups.

"Will this place even have anything worth taking?" asked Govannon. "Other than Sion's treasure."

"Sion's treasure is all bound for him, but I'll let you keep what else you find here," said Cid.

"There was a public house, so at least we should find some wine," said Hedrek.

Mal laughed and slapped Hedrek's armored shoulder. "It should go without saying..." He looked again at Hedrek, and noticed the big guy only looked confused about what was so funny. "No, perhaps it should be said. We won't eat or drink anything we find in this place. The curse has been lifted, but that doesn't undo any mischief it got up to in the meantime. The food that hasn't rotted will all be poisoned, and best leave the clothes alone, too, unless you find something worth paying a high level [Laundress] to fix them up."

"So what should we be looking for?" asked Cid.

"Most everything else. For me, I'll take what I can of gold and jewels and leave the rest. Rocking chairs and wardrobes aren't worth the hassle," said Mal.

"Moonstone. That's what they mined here. I'll bet there's a cache of it," said Brin.

Brych admitted finding a small piece clenched in a corpse's fist, but he was certain he could find more.

"It's very pungent," he said. "Stronger than copper, but not as much as pyrite."

No one else could smell anything, but they trusted his nose. He led them to one of the caves where only a few feet down from the entrance, a false wall had been put in place. It was nothing but a patch of hardened mud on the stone, but Brych claimed he smelled moonstone behind it. Breaking through, they found wrapped bundles containing thirty pounds of the stuff.

"What's this stuff used for again?" asked Brych.

"I think the main thing is that it can be sold for money," answered Meredydd. "Which brings us to the question, how is the split going to go? Are we going to share it with..." He gazed up the cave towards the girls and the pages.

"I suppose it's your opinion that we shouldn't?" asked Aeron with a sneer.

Meredydd put his hands up. "I'm not giving an opinion, I just think we should decide, is all."

Aeron responded, "Of course. And I suppose I could already guess what your opinion would be, if offered."

They were saved from further bickering by Brych. "Someone's here."

Back up at the top of the mine, a [Scout] in the Order of the Long Sleep's uniform was waiting for them. "You can't be here! You can't have that!" he snapped, pointing at the bundle of moonstone in Meredydd's hands. "We need to get out of here now! You're lucky you haven't already tripped the curse. I've seen birds fly in here and rot away to bones before they hit the--"

"Take care that you know to whom you speak. And how," said Cid.

"Sir. Sorry, sir. But we really must depart," said the [Scout].

"The curse is destroyed. Through our own efforts and the excellent support of these hirelings, we've managed to free this town. Were you not watching the fight? Did you not see the bonfire?" asked Cid.

"I saw the bonfire, sir," said the [Scout].

"Let me lay it out for you. This town fell into enemy control. We conquered it, bringing it into the Order's control. As such, I have the right to claim everything here under pillage rights. I could claim the clothes off the villager's backs if there were any left alive," said Cid.

"You could claim it for the Order! Only a quarter of it should go to you. And you don't just grab what you want willy-nilly. There is a proper way these things go!" said the [Scout].

"The proper way of things is for the commanding officer to decide," said Cid, growing a bit icy. "Come. Let me show you what we've found here, and you can tell me what you think we ought not to have."

Cid grabbed the [Scout] around the shoulders and pushed him forward, away from the rest of the group.

Brin could help but wonder how such a stickler for the rules ever became a [Scout]. Wasn't that normally a [Rogue] evolution? He'd been offered it, though, so clearly that wasn't always the case. Still, he bet that the man's objection to all of this was coming from trying to cover his own shame. He'd been assigned to watch this place, and with his senses, there's no way he didn't see them coming. He should've been here to help fight the curse. He could've helped against the dragon, too, if he'd wanted to.

Still, Cid was good at this sort of thing, better than Brin in any case. He'd sort it out.

"We're in trouble," came Cid's voice. He was using the helmet's intercom, so only Brin could hear him. Brin flicked his attention back to Cid and the [Scout], but all seemed normal.

"What's wrong?"

"Sion's things. He wasn't wrong about the regular split. The Order is going to take a three-quarters share," said Cid.

"Threaten him," said Brin. "He's a coward. He should've helped us."

"I can't kill him for it, and any investigation will show he's in the right about the loot. This is my fault. I thought we'd been able to hand off Sion's things before returning to the Order. I can't believe I forgot about the [Scout]!"

"Calm down," said Brin. "What can we do?"

"If Sion were here, he could claim it for himself. As the one in command, I could make a field decision that would stick," said Cid.

"Oh, good. Because Sion is here," said Brin.

"Just what I was thinking," said Cid.

Brin put a sound ward around himself and the men, who'd been watching him have a silent conversation with Cid. They knew what that looked like by now, so they knew there were probably some new orders coming through.

"Who's our fastest rider?" asked Brin.

Brych stepped forward, but then Govannon pulled him back and stepped forward himself. "It's me. You know it's me."

"Loathe as I am to say so, I have to agree with Gov," said Aeron, and a few others nodded as well.

"Ride back to the Order, as fast as you can go. Find Sion. Tell him that we've freed Talra, so unless he's here to claim his possessions personally, the Order will take most of it as the spoils of war," said Brin.

Faces darkened at the news, with Meredydd looking most affected.

"It'll be faster if I go, too," said Davi. "If you can spare one of your horses."

"You'll just slow me down," said Govannon.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"I can at least give you a head start. And truth be told, my day off wasn't supposed to go overnight," said Davi.

"You're going to be in trouble," said Brin.

"[Bards] don't really get in trouble. And it wouldn't be the first time some commander's aide got drunk and slept in. They won't blink twice," said Davi.

"It's past noon!" objected Meredydd.

Davi met his eyes and didn't respond.

"I gotta get a job in the command camp," Meredydd muttered.

"Go," said Brin, and clasped Davi on the wrist. "And thank you for coming. It means a lot that you're still willing to jump in on my mad adventures."

Davi shrugged. "This one was tame compared to what we normally get up to. But come by some time when it's not an emergency. I miss it when we could just hang out."

"I will," he promised.

Govannon was already saddled and ready, and cast dark looks of impatience at Davi.

Davi chuckled with good humor, grabbed his pack, and swung up easily onto Brin's horse Nobility. "Waiting on you now."

They disappeared to the sound of galloping hooves, and Davi's oud urging them onwards.

Brin moved so the men were between him and the [Scout]. He shucked off the armor, and Cowl scooped it up into his pack. Then Brin started to cast an illusion on himself.

This was going to be a lot trickier than anything he'd normally try. If Sion were here in person, a simple Mirror Image would take care of everything, but Sion was currently beyond the range of his Invisible Eyes. That meant he had to do the illusion from scratch, like painting a picture.

Brin summoned a fleet of directed threads, some for shoes, some for pants, others for every single piece of clothing. He didn't bother with his hands, but his face took more work than everything else put together. A full twenty directed threads worked together to draw Sion's face from [Memories in Glass].

It took a while--his perception of time sped up with so many threads that he couldn't be sure exactly how much time. Cid and the [Scout] were walking back when Brin was putting on his final touches. He was gratified to see Hedrek put his large body between Brin and the other side of town where the girls and pages were still working.

"He's right here!" Cid announced.

"Ah ha ha, that's right! Did you not see me before? It's no surprise! We humble [Merchants] of Prinnash cultivate humility above all virtues!" said Brin. He suddenly remembered to switch his status. Hopefully, the [Scout] hadn't already [Inspected] him.

Call Light Through Glass leveled up! 57 -> 58

Wyrdic Hide Status leveled up! 26 -> 27

Just in time, then.

"You. You're Sion Wogan," the [Scout] said suspiciously.

"My good man, who else could I possibly be?" Brin said.

"You're the heir of the Wogan Mercantile Group?" asked the [Scout].

"Please, you speak as if I am the only heir," said Brin.

"I'll need to report this to my superior," said the [Scout], looking back at Cid.

Cid nodded. "Then I suggest you go quickly. I'd like a word with him as well, I think."

Suddenly, the [Scout] didn't look all that eager to leave, but Cid nudged him along until they were finally away from prying eyes again.

"Should I put my helmet back on, or keep the disguise in case he comes back," said Brin.

"Put your helmet on. I doubt it'll work a second time. It's not that good," said Brych.

"Maybe to [Watchful Knight] senses it's not, but I think--"

"Brych is right. The nose is all wrong," said Hedrek.

"Who else could I possibly be?" mimicked Rhun. "Only you talk like that." The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the NoveI(F)ire.net

Brin's time was marching at three times the normal speed, so it was hard to make good comebacks.

"And what's with the voice?" asked Rhun. "Sion is a man of Prinnash! He doesn't have an accent."

"This is how he talks!" complained Brin. He put his helmet back on. "It is! He sounds exactly like this."

They heckled him mercilessly and only stopped when the girls caught up, though Cati pouted when no one would tell her what was so funny.

There was still a lot to do. The girls and pages were tasked with the gross work of going from house to house looking for anything worth keeping, while the men moved the moonstone and Sion’s boxes. Talra’s valuables and the moonstone were all put together in the best-preserved house for the Order to pick up later, while Sion’s things went with them.

It wasn't until they had all of Sion's boxes loaded on the wagon and they'd started back towards the war camps that Brin thought of what he should've said. They could check the scoreboard! The System had all but verified that his ruse had worked.

By then, they'd all moved on. The men were on their horses, the girls and the pages on the wagon with Cati driving. Amai, sensing a moment of privacy, was whispering to Cati barely louder than a breath, but Brin's Invisible Eyes heard.

"...I mean, I knew, but it's one thing to know and another thing to see it for yourself. We're dolls to them. That's why. That's why they think they can... That's how it is."

"[Knights] are a different breed. Most soldiers aren't half as strong," Cati answered.

"It doesn't matter. What are we supposed to do against something like that?"

"I don't know about you, but I mean to get stronger," said Cati.

"But that strong?"

"I'll have levels, at least."

The girls kept their voices so quiet that most couldn't even hear the sound of whispers, but of course Brych heard everything as well. It wasn't too long after that he moved his horse up next to Brin's.

Brin was now riding the horse Davi had come in on, just so he could make sure that he'd get it back to its owner. That meant that he had to look up to see Brych on his warhorse.

"How... how do we tell her that we're not like that? That we're not like the soldiers in the army over there that hurt her," said Brych.

"There's no way to do that, and there's no reason to try. You know you're a good man. That's enough," said Brin.

"But how do I even go about talking to someone like that?" asked Brych.

Brin squinted at Amai, trying to see what Brych saw, but no matter what angle he looked from, Amai was completely average. If anything, Cati was the interesting one, if only because of her unflappable personality. He shook his head. "You don't. There's no request you could make that won't sound like a demand. There's no comment you could make that won't seem overbearing. Hold back and let them approach you."

Brych clenched his jaw. "That's it? That's how it's going to be for us?"

Brin laughed. "You act like it's a death sentence. There's no girl in a warcamp that's dying for male attention, but that's not real life. I'll bet they're all over you when we finally go on leave. And it's only commoner girls we're talking about. You can approach girls at your own station."

Brych drew himself up higher, looking surprised. "Who's at my station?"

Brin shrugged. "Beats me."

Two hours later, Brych saw dust on the horizon, of two horsemen riding hard. A short time after that, Brin identified them. It was Govannon and Sion.

When Sion arrived, he was breathless and sweating. Brin had never understood that. How did you get tired from riding? The horse did all the work.

"My friends. My friends, I cannot possibly..." gasped Sion.

"We'll wait until we're safe in your office to discuss it. We don't know who might be listening out here," said Cid.

Brin could have silenced them all, but he agreed with the sentiment. Sion had probably connived some plot to reward them for this, and he meant to bask in his victory as long as he could before that.

Surprisingly, Sion agreed. He accepted a canteen of water from Cowl, and then Brin switched back to himself while they waited for the approaching [Scout].

The [Scout] took one look at Sion and said, "You aren't Sion Wogan. You aren't the man I spoke to a few hours ago."

"My good man, who else could I possibly be?" Sion asked, spreading his hands out in apology.

Brin smirked at Rhun as if to say 'see?' Rhun glared back, mouthing 'lucky guess'.

Cid dismissed the [Scout]. As much as he didn't believe they were being straight about Sion, there was also nothing he could do about it. Then they were clear. They talked about small and simple things the entire way back.

Later in the evening, when they crossed into the Commoner's Camp, Cati whooped in celebration. "I just got a new Class!"

Brin [Inspected] her to find that there was no Class Selection dream time for her; she was already a [Caravaneer]. "Is that the one you were going for?"

"It was one of the better options. This is going to be great!"

The wagon gained a new speed and a lot of stability for the short ride to the public house where Sion made his office. He took a deep breath of satisfaction and then launched into the expected ambush. "What a wonderful day. Even after you take your seventy-five percent--"

"No," said Cid.

"Out of the question," said Brin.

"Surely, after all you've done for me, you wouldn't object to taking–"

"Friends don't count favors. You told me that. How can you possibly talk about paying me for doing something I wanted to do for free?" Brin said.

"Aha, but they are not my friends!" said Sion, pointing at the Lance.

"No, they owe you a debt of honor for saving them at Canibri," said Cid.

Sion winced. "Surely you know, you must know, that I had much to gain from helping you at Canibri. I couldn't live with myself if I led you to believe that you were in my debt."

"I know the way that [Merchants] operate. You're never serving just one end. What does it matter? We had a lot to gain from fighting that curse. I bet half my men leveled up from it. Am I to deduct that gain from our debt of honor to you? Of course not. That's not the way it works," said Cid.

"Twenty-five percent. You will give me the dignity at least of accepting twenty-five percent. And see here! It isn't as much as you think. This stuff is valuable to me because of its variety, not necessarily its net worth. I offer a few potions each, things that might help you in the field," said Sion.

Mal stepped forward, tipping his hat. "I wouldn't mind sampling–"

Sion's voice cracked like lightning. "You have already been paid! Begone, vagrant!"

Brin had always heard that Prinnashian [Merchants] could be absolute devils to people who tried to haggle with them, but he'd never seen it in person. Mal shrunk under Sion's furious glare, and slunk away with resentful mutters.

Sion's easy smile returned as if it had never left. "Now, about your reward."

"Oh, so it is a reward now? I've already told you..."

The lines were drawn. The opponents faced each other, neither willing to cede any ground. Each was completely convinced as to the righteousness of their own cause. Brin didn't know if he'd win against Sion here, but he knew it was a battle worth fighting. And then, rest. They still had twelve days left of leave after this, and he meant to make the most of it.