Bog Standard Isekai

Brin stood in front of the building and checked the address again. His [Memories in Glass] preserved the address perfectly, but he had the mad urge to go through his luggage and find Hogg's letter again to check with his eyes again, because this couldn't be the place, could it?

Sion and Rhun hadn't gotten off the train with them; they were making a circuit of the whole line so they'd end up back where they'd started and Sion could get to work taking over his family's branch in the city. Brin had gotten directions from an attendant on the train who'd been a little confused about why he'd wanted anything to do with this part of town.

He'd noticed that while Steamshield seemed to be living in the future, the future wasn't evenly applied. In the nicer part of town, only self-propelled vehicles were allowed. The poor areas still used horses, and while there seemed to be some kind of system for cleaning the streets, horse dung was just pushed into the gutters rather than actually removed.

This was, literally, a crappy part of town. The building he'd been led to might have been an elegant factory at some point, and still bore traces of finer-than-necessary architecture and design, but now it just looked like it should be condemned. There were wooden boards covering the windows for the bottom two stories, and a good quarter of the five-story structure was covered in ivy.

Still, Brin had a couple pieces of evidence that they were actually in the right place. The first was the fact that this building was warded against illusory snooping, which wasn't a cheap thing to set up. The next was the fact that Marksi was grinning and twitching his tail in eager anticipation. He smelled someone in there that he recognized.

Brin bit the bullet, squared his shoulders, and stepped up to the door. He knocked. The wood looked so old that he expected it to feel spongy, but it was surprisingly firm under his knuckles.

A moment later, Jeeves answered the door, revealing an incongruently respectable hallway. It was clean and warm, and the wallpaper was pristine, nothing like the outside.

The Shadow Construct was a little different, too. His overall features were the same, but he looked more real, more human. Less like a shadow creature and more like a real person who just so happened to have no color to his skin or clothes.

"Jeeves! Great to see you! And that means Hogg is home, too, right?"

"Oh, indeed young master, and if I am not too forward, please allow me to express my personal delight at seeing you whole and hale. Had you sent word ahead, we surely would have met you at the station," said Jeeves.

"Yeah, I would've sent word, but I didn't really know how," said Brin.

"Why should you? You have people for that," said Jeeves. He clapped twice, and soon a group of [Footmen] arrived to take his luggage. "This is the servant's entrance, by the by. Tonin here will take you through the front doors. I'll let the master know you've arrived."

One of the [Footmen] stayed, a level 25 that [Wyrdic Inspect] identified as Tonin. The Skill also gave Brin the strong impression that his version of [Footman] was highly martial. In fact, it might have just as easily been called [Footsoldier].

Tonin had thin black hair slicked straight back, piercing eyes, and a protruding nose that gave Brin the impression he was being stared down at by a vulture.

He greeted Brin with a smile that was somehow both humorless and welcoming. "If you'll follow me, my lord."

"Yes, but sir, or Sir Brin are more appropriate in my case," said Brin, following the [Footman] back outside and towards the other side of the building.

"It is the opinion of Lady Lumina and my employer your father that the First Son of Edelor must be a lord and not a sir," said Tonin.

Brin sighed. "Then that's what we'll do."

"Very good, my lord. It's also the opinion of your honored father that I might serve as your personal valet, at least while you're staying here in the city house. Servants have limited permission to enter the Tower grounds," said Tonin.

It was horrible to say, but Brin didn't really care about this right now. He wanted to see Hogg again after so long and get caught up on the news and the schemes. Being introduced to some random servant wasn't on his list of immediate needs. But a little bit of impatience now could cause a lot of trouble down the line, especially if this was someone he'd interact with every day. He forced himself to stop and give Tonin his full attention.

"What do you think, Marksi?"

Marksi felt like it was only natural that he should have humans that served him, and wasn’t sure why Brin didn’t accept right away.

"I will, of course, see to your dragon's needs. Even before your own," said Tonin.

"Good answer. How comfortable are you with... strangeness, for lack of a better word? Me and Hogg can get up to some pretty weird stuff sometimes," said Brin.

"You'll need to clear a very high bar to consider yourself stranger than some of my previous employers. You can count on my discretion... and my equanimity," said Tonin. He spoke with an air of snobbish disapproval, but Brin got the feeling that was just the way his face was. He could only be four or five years older than Brin, but he had the eyes of someone who’d already seen the whole world and wasn’t impressed by any of it.

"Where did you serve?"

"I can provide references from the Carmina family, the Offriers, and the Countess Daffolina of Borger," said Tonin.

"Good," Brin nodded. "But I meant militarily." He wasn't one-hundred percent sure of course, but he thought he saw something in Tonin's bearing that reminded him of the way that the Frenarian heavy infantry were taught to stand and walk.

Tonin's eyes widened by a fraction and he said, "I took a tour during the troubles with the stone giants near Manabito. But how did you know?"

"You have the look."

Brin readjusted his idea that Tonin's face was disapproving by nature, because for a moment he seemed to preen, looking very pleased by the idea that he had the look of a soldier.

"Next question. What’s your opinion on Jeeves? How do you feel about taking orders from a Shadow Construct?" asked Brin.

"Please refrain from implying I suffer from any sort of prejudice. Mr. Jeeves is an able manager and a firm but fair task-master. Bedelia... is also under the employ of Master Hogg. I'm sure she fulfils her role aptly, whatever that may be."

Brin sniggered. "Oh man, I forgot about Bedelia. I bet she's absolute hell to live with. You know, once she... no, story for another time."

"I will prepare my nerves in anticipation," said Tonin, with the tone of someone who has never needed to prepare his nerves for anything.

Brin probably would’ve had more questions if this was a normal job interview, but this was a guy that Hogg had already hand-picked. That was a better recommendation than any amount of interrogation Brin could come up with. "You know what? I think we're going to get along just fine."

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"I am delighted to hear it," Tonin said evenly. "Then by your leave, I'll make the change now."

Brin didn't know what he meant at first, but a quick [Wyrdic Inspect] informed him that Tonin's Class had changed to [Valet].

"Oh, whoa! You don't have to change your Class for me," said Brin. No doubt it was just the System awarding him with a Class change for getting a promotion at work, but the way it happened made Brin intensely uncomfortable.

"This is the way of things in Steamshield. You will acclimate, I'm sure.”

Brin wasn’t sure about that at all. It was an affront to the gods, is what it was. You weren’t supposed to force a person to change his Class for you, and Tonin had put Brin in the position of being near to violating that commandment. He tried to think of a secular explanation for his misgivings so that he wouldn’t end up quoting scripture at the man like the weird church kid he was trying not to be. But that was interrupted when they made it to the front doors.

“Now, we've arrived." Tonin threw open the weather-beaten doors to reveal a grand entry hall.

The entryway was as grand and opulent as Brin had ever seen, and he noted with amusement that it was laid out in much the same fashion as the entryway to the Wogan Estate that they'd visited in Blackcliff. Gwyn's little demonstration of largesse had obviously affected Hogg more than he would admit.

The man himself was sitting in an upgrade of his normal black leathers, more like a suit and less like a trenchcoat. He held a newspaper and there was tea on a tray sitting next to him, and was pretending not to notice Brin had arrived.

He glanced up, said, “Oh, it’s you,” and then looked back at his newspaper. Marksi was already there, nudging his head against Hogg’s leg and purring. Hogg reached down to scratch behind his head ridges without looking away from the paper.

Brin wasn’t sure what his first words to Hogg would be when he got here, but the words that came out were, “You dick!”

Hogg raised his eyebrows.

“That’s upside down, by the way.”

Hogg looked at his newspaper again, turning it to the front to check both sides. “What? No it’s not.”

“You had to check,” said Brin. “And that tea is cold. And you made me go around to the front entrance so you’d have time to get in place and act like you barely noticed I arrived and… and seven months!”

Hogg rolled his eyes. “Oh, here we go!”

“You’re right, here we go! Seven months imprisoned in some frozen little abbey!” said Brin.

“See? I knew you were going to get like this. I knew it!”

“Of course I’d get like this! Seven months!”

“Why is that my fault? It wasn’t my decision. That was Galan and Lumina,” said Hogg.

“You could’ve gotten me out of it,” said Brin.

“And why should I have? So what? So someone finally forced you to go a few measly months without setting yourself on fire on an altar to your own ambition. Boo hoo. You look good by the way. You look a lot better.”

“Oh, no you don’t. You don’t get to say I feel better, and I’m not afraid of my own mind and tormented by waking nightmares anymore. You don’t get to say that the peace and the silence of the monastery worked and that it was the only thing that kept me from seeking shelter inside one of my split personalities, maybe losing my real self forever,” said Brin.

“Alright. I won’t say any of that,” said Hogg.

Brin sighed. “You look good, too, you old jerk.”

“I feel good! So where do you want to start? Do you want to see the incredible feats of magic I’m capable of now after spending a year here in the Tower with the resources of an [Archmage] and nearly unfettered access to magical knowledge? Or do you want to see the cool stuff I tried to reinvent from your world?”

Hogg used sound magic to blank out that last sentence to anyone but Brin. That must've made Tonin feel that his presence was becoming awkward, because he said, "Then I shall prepare your rooms. Do you have instructions on how you would like them appointed?”

“Nothing for now,” said Brin. “I’ve been sleeping on a bedroll in the dirt or a cot on a stone floor for more than a year. As long as you can do better than that, I’m fine for now.”

Marksi glanced at Brin in annoyance. Sleeping areas were very important, and Brin shouldn’t be so flippant about it!

“Oh, Marksi might want to supervise,” said Brin.

Tonin didn’t show any sign that he saw that as an odd thing to say. “Then if you’ll follow me, Master Dragon.”

The two departed, and when they were out of earshot, Hogg said, “You ok with that guy? I was worried you’d get all fussy about having a personal servant.”

“He changed his Class for me. I don’t know how I feel about that. He said that’s normal here, but...” said Brin.

“Oh, you don’t know the half of it.” He pushed the newspaper into Brin’s hand, and then went to the Jobs section. For a moment, Brin was distracted by all the different Class names that were desired. [Metal Binder], [Bolt Fastener], [Steel Cutter], and the like. Then he read a little further in one of the job openings.

Heartworth’s Stains desires to hire seven [Mixers]

Class Reset sponsorships available. Full pay for [Children], full and a half for [Mixers].

He skimmed the rest of the jobs section, and he noticed that more than half of the entries had that condition. Class Reset sponsorships.

“They pay people to reset their Class?” asked Brin.

“It’s how they get the specific Class they want. Even if you get [Child], they can still get one Skill they want out of you with [Emulate].”

“This… this is heresy,” said Brin.

Hogg held up his hands. “I’m not endorsing it. I’m just telling you how it is, here. But what do you think about Tonin? He’s a really weird kid, but good at what he does. So, the type of person you like best.”

“It does feel a little weird having a servant,” said Brin.

“You won’t believe how easy life can be if you have people manage all the parts you don’t want to deal with. Especially if you want to climb the fifties, you’ll need people to take care of the prep work so you can get to the important parts.”

Making progress in the high levels had never been something Hogg wanted to talk to him about–he’d always insisted that Brin would be better off “getting his head right” rather than trying to power level. Apparently, his stay in the monastery had fulfilled that condition. He chose the question he wanted to ask first. “What about after 60? That seems to be the place where most people get stuck.”

“Anyone who can get to 60 can get to 70. It’s not fast or easy, but the System practically holds your hand. The problem is whether or not you’re allowed to level past 60. But you’ve already fixed that little problem quite nicely with your Oath to Metlion,” said Hogg.

“I’ve been thinking about your Oath. To Lumina. You’re not the kind to swear an Oath like that, and she’s not the kind to demand it. I keep thinking that if it were me, I would ask Lumina if I could just tell people I’d sworn to her,” said Brin.

Hogg shrugged. “Well if you did that, you realize that you’d still have to keep the Oath just the same, right? If anyone saw you openly disobeying her commands, you’d be exposed, and then they’d make you swear for real. Probably to someone much less considerate. Anyways, enough about the Oaths I may or may not have sworn."

Brin shook his head. "So what did you make from my world?"

“Come see,” said Hogg.

Hogg led him across the entrance hall to a narrow corridor, just a tiny closet really, but hung up on a wall was a black box, connected to a wire in a wall. There was a mirrored surface with a number pad embossed in the front, and he could sense sound enchantments. A booklet hung from a hook near the device, and inside were seven names, with four-digit numbers next to each one. Lumina was one of the names.

“Is this a telephone?”

“Exactly!” Hogg grinned. “Give it a try!”

It didn’t look like a telephone from his world, past or present. Rather than a microphone and receiver you could pick up, it seemed that a sound receiver and projector was built right into the front of the device. He tapped the four numbers for Lumina, and waited. He wondered if there would be a ringing, or just a wait in silence.

Instead of either, a dreadful voice came from the voice projector. “In preparation of the accounted days when all things crumble and the watching void takes back creation from the light and plunges all into darkness two great brothers shall be driven from the serpent, the elder of them shall overcome the pyrrhic fire and a bloody sea, the grove of Gehenna, northern realms on flame, contaminates all the land westward…”

Hogg growled in disapproval and pushed a button to turn the thing off.

“What is this?” Brin asked shaking his head.

“Oh Nedramus’ Beard. It’s gone bad again. This doesn’t happen if we switch out more pieces for enchantments, but the point of this is to make it with as many mechanical parts as possible. It’s the wires, I think. Something is getting in there and then following the messages back and corrupting the Mana core.”

“Wait, what does that mean?”

“Just what I said. It’s gone bad. It’ll need to be refreshed. How did your people deal with demons corrupting your communication platforms?”

“We didn’t,” said Brin.

“So what, you just all went collectively insane? That tracks, actually.”

Brin shook his head. “It’s not like that.”

“Sure, it’s not. But let’s move on. The next invention is really neat,” said Hogg.

Brin paused, because [Wyrdic Inspect] was telling him something about Hogg’s new clothes.

Bog Standard Gentleman’s Attire

“That suit. It looks like satin, but that’s leather, isn’t it?” asked Brin.

“Oh, this thing?” Hogg said, plucking at a lapel, “It’s not as tough as my regular stuff, but I had to have something decent to wear to the Tower.”

“It’s Bog Standard… It’s leather…” said Brin.

“You’re right on the money,” Hogg said with a cheeky grin. “Perris is in town.”