Sam took Gavin back to her family residence, located in an estate in the centre of town. It was a large compound fenced with elaborate hedges and contained a series of buildings made from irregular cut stones, perfectly fit together, the most prominent of which was their destination.
“Hey Sam. Are you like, rich or something?” Gavin asked, looking around the expansive grounds located near the centre of town.
From inside the walls the outside world may as well have not existed, the city smells and sounds were absent and the hedges blocked out all but the tallest of the other houses and buildings around them.
“For this town” Samania laughed hollowly “my parents are both retired Wardens, mother is the director the guild in this town and father is a merchant, though he is currently the elected mayor as well”
“So, how much flak will you catch over what happened today?”
“Some. Gail wasn't from one of the great families, her family pooled their resources to get her powers, they- they won't be an issue.” Sam said with a sigh “Allan is, was, the second cousin to the heir of the Wayfarers house, one of the old nobility from the area. They're quite influential. My family will shield me from any official punishment, but I'd expect they'll try something unofficially”
“Punishment for what? Is this not a you knew the risks situation?”
“Theoretically yes, but in practice a great house has lost an important family member and I, as their leader, am responsible for them out in the field.”
“But not legally?”
“Technically yes, legally too, there will be an inquiry. Regardless of that outcome, my name will be tainted in this town for a long time. I won't find anyone ready to sign up under me until the memory of Allan and Gail fades.”
“And people have long memories?”
“Yes. I may have to leave town to find a group who will have me as a member, let alone a leader.”
“Is being a leader of a party important to you?”
“It was. I expect it's not something I can realistically achieve now.”
“Something my mum always used to say, if you think you can, or you think you can't, you're right.”
“There's more to being a warden than just believing you can so intensely you just get everything you want”
“Not with that attitude.” Gavin said condescendingly “take me. Came into this world a few hours ago, got some cool magic powers, by next week I bet you I do something fuckin epic.”
“What do you mean?”
“I fully intend to get some insane magic powers then become the best wizard ever.”
“I think your goals might be a little lofty, you don't even have a plan”
“No, but I can make one. The goddess in charge of research just gave me the literal playbook for doing busted shit. Give me some time and I bet I can break the system.”
“You sound very sure of yourself.”
“Lady. Back on my world I'm a bit of a nerd. My favourite thing in life is to find loopholes and exploits, no one is going to stop me now it's actually real and I've got a literal god egging me on.”
Samania led Gavin inside, they stepped over a circle of silver runes set into a complex geometric diagram inlaid into the stone floor, the second their feet touched it he felt a flare of magical energy engulf them that felt like a fresh breeze on a summer's day. The grit and grime he’d accumulated over the last few hours sloughed off him in a wave as if his skin were a well oiled skillet. The gunk congealed in the centre of the diagram and subsumed itself into an aperture that vanished from sight once it had cleared away all of the filth.
“What the shit was that?” Gavin asked.
“Oh, just a ritual circle that cleanses anything dirty.”
“How does it work? How does it decide what's dirt and what's not? If I walk through here with a pot plant will it eat all the motting mix?”
“No, I’ve never really thought about it though, that’s a good question.”
She led him through a large ornate foyer, down a wide hallway and into a dining room the size of Gavin's flat, set with a long wooden table and fine cutlery as if ready for a meal that was about to be served.
A man servant stood waiting near another door that led out the other side of the room.
“James, this is Gavin, he is my guest, please extend him every courtesy.” Samania said formally.
Turning to Gavin she added “I need to go and find my father to tell him about today if he doesn't already know. James will get you anything you need, you should take your things back now, I may be gone some time.”
“You wouldn't know if, ahh, what's this called again? Bonesmasher? bonesnapper meat any good to eat?” He asked looking up the description in his inventory
“It is considered quite the luxury as is most monster meat that isn’t poisonous or otherwise undesirable.”
“Good one. I've got some here, you reckon we can cook it up for dinner? There's probably enough for the whole whanau.”
“I'm sure the chef would not object.”
“Sweet, any chance of a snack in the meantime? I haven't eaten anything since yesterday, unless a healing potion counts as food?”
“Healing potions have little nutritional value, though they can temporarily stave off the effects of malnutrition” said James, taking Gavin’s offered meat parcels. He left through the door Gavin had noted earlier then returned a minute later with a platter of cheeses, crackers, and assorted chopped vegetables and set it on the table.
“If you'd like to be alone I will be behind that door, call if you need anything.”
“That's a bit awkward, you can sit and have a yarn if you want, you hungry?”
“If you prefer” said James sitting at a chair beside the one Gavin picked.
Gavin dove into the food with gusto. Relishing the new flavours.
“Mate, this stuff's all excellent. That cheese with the red bits in it is top tier, what's it called?”
“It’s Dilworth Farms Dire Rat milk cheese.”
“Dire rat cheese? "No kidding” said Gavin, crunching down a cracker loaded with another slice “and what are these?” Gavin said, pointing at a small bowl of little pink berries.
“Hazleberries.”
“Huh, They’re pretty good.”
“As you say” James said matter of factly
“Right, anyway, this stuffs all new to me. We don't have hazleberries or dire rats, bonesnappers, magic or even real gods.”
“You don't have gods?”
“No, we do, just not real ones… so far as anyone can tell.” Gavin said.
“You have fake gods?”
“My world has religions based around gods that, so far as I'm aware, no one has convincingly proved even exist, is that good, Soliece?”
“It is.” came a disembodied voice.
“Cheers mate.”
“Was that?”
“Yeah, I think she likes me. Got anything to drink mate? I'd kill for a beer, or even a water?”
“Right away sir” said James, looking perturbed. Someone so casually talking with the gods was definitely going to be trouble.
James left again and returned with a pint of frothy ale in an ornately decorated pewter mug.
“Legend. You having one too?”
“Not while I'm working.”
“Fair enough. Hey, I’ve been wanting to ask, how much do people abuse their power here?" Gavin asked, changing the subject “I understand people can become ludicrously strong, what stops someone with the power and inclination from just exterminating whole countries and making them again in their own image?”
“Authority is tied heavily to power. A warlock of the third tier may be able to push around a tier two all they like, but if they’re part of a guild there’s going to be someone stronger they’ll answer to eventually.”
“Sam said she was part of the adventurers guild, are there others?”
“Wardens guild. There are, the main one in these parts is the Starbourne wardens guild, there's also the guild of magic users and the demon hunters union, they're the main ones but they tend to push each other out of the rural areas.”
“push each other out? there's turf wars over who gets to kill monsters?”
“non-violent ones, yes. We’ve had some horrific wars in the past so any hint of someone sowing those seeds gets cut down hard and fast.”
“Big stick diplomacy. We have that where I’m from too. Some countries invented explosives powerful enough to wipe out whole cities in one big bang, once several countries had them, no one could use them, so conflicts between nations have become small proxy wars in poorer parts of the world to ravage them for their resources”
“It seems peoples nature spans whole realities” James mused
They ate in silence for a while, Gavin processing his thoughts and coming to terms with how his new world worked.
“I've got a few things I'd really like to do after I've finished, I have a book I'm pretty keen to start reading. Also, I'm not super keen to keep wearing this pelt all day, you reckon I could get some proper clothes to change into? Also, what time is dinner, and also also, how do you tell the time?”
The estate has a study down the hall and to the right, I'd be happy to show you there at your convenience. I can take your measurements and find suitable attire for the evening, additional clothes can be arranged later. Dinner will be at sun down, you can tell when that is because the sun will be down.”
Gavin finished his platter of food with some small help from James who picked at it to be polite, then showed Gavin to the study down the hall which turned out to be a large room richly furnished with desks and leather chairs, rows of bookshelves lined the walls and a windows half the size of a wall looked out over the grounds. It looked like the sort of room you'd imagine two retired lawyers smoking cigars and laughing about poor schmucks they'd fleeced for all their money sitting in while enjoying a quiet whisky or two.
James then waved a small device over Gavin that hummed and vibrated. He explained it recorded and stored Gavin's clothing measurements. Satisfied, James left to get Gavin something to wear.
Hebegan to pour over his new book, it became immediately apparent that it had been tailor made to get him up to speed as quickly as possible. Soliece apparently had an understanding of how he thought, The powers were laid out like his electrical regulations test books, in sections according to category but with comprehensive notes to explain the fundamentals of how they worked and how powers could synergise with each other and where they wouldn’t as well as a thorough index that referenced everything he thought to check. He started with the abilities Soliece had given him that he had yet to unlock, mentally flagging other abilities of interest and dismissing even more as he became more familiar with what they actually did. He figured she had given them to him for a specific reason and should start there to figure out why.
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
The empower intellect one was obvious, he would definitely be trying to do something magic based and if Sam was correct that it was absolutely essential to have he should probably also assume the others were too. The teleport power was interesting, it was a long range teleport power on a long cooldown that could transport him and others over fairly long distances. Deconstruct seemed like the oddest choice, though the one that fit in with his other abilities the most, he could already loot monsters, and his class ability to visualise plans in his mind seemed to be pushing him towards a crafting build.
At some point James returned with a set of new clothes, it looked like fairly normal attire for someone wanting to go to a renaissance festival. A thick blue doublet with flaps that extended part way down his thighs, it knotted in front with silver cord. Dark brown pants that looked comfortable and practical for everyday use as well as a white undershirt and some glorious breeches. Gavin gladly took them into his inventory then equipped them by dragging the items over his avatar, happy to finally be wearing pants again. James then showed him to a large, if sparsely furnished bedroom, with A crisply made double bed, small desk, empty armoire and empty bookshelf. Gavin set to work again, trying to find some combination of abilities that would go infinite or otherwise break the rules.
Samania came to collect Gavin at dinner time. He didn't even notice that the sun setting, the area around his desk had become bathed in a warm light while he sat and dimmed when he stood to leave.
“That's neat” Gavin said looking at the desk quizzically
“It's a simple enchantment. It feeds off your excess mana while you sit there to power itself.”
“Huh, cool. I'd be interested to find out how that works.”
“There will be some books on artifice theory in the study, though I doubt they’d be anything more than a basic introduction though maybe father has something more advanced, there are a few books in there he only bought to make himself look more learned than he is.”
“No worries, the more I learn about the world here the more I think I need to know.”
“Not having any luck breaking the system?”
“I mean, I've had a couple hours of study, give me a couple days and I'll probably have something. I haven't even read over a fraction of all the powers I can unlock right now.”
“Do you need help with that? I have a mentor that’s skilled in magical theory.”
“Ahh, I'd like to have a go at it myself for a start, how was your meeting with your old man?”
“It was- fine. There will be trouble, but it won't be serious.” Samania said with a slight hitch in her voice.
“Hey, everything will work out fine, yeah?” said Gavin, squeezing her shoulder reassuringly.
“They were my responsibility and I got them killed.”
“They made their own choices too Sam, you might have been in charge, but don't use that as an excuse to take away their agency.”
“Thanks. It's just, well, I guess I feel a bit like I shouldn't have been the one to survive.”
“I think we might be able to help each other, I plan on getting wildly powerful, so if you show me the ropes I can be that friend you need.”
“I’d like that”
“What about your mum?”
“She's away on guild business for a few days. She is aware of the situation but can't spend time to deal with it now.”
“Gotcha. Let's get dinner then, James said the chef would cook up that dinosaur meat.”
Gavin followed Sam back to the dining room where a grizzled middle aged man sat. He was handsome in a rugged outdoorsman sort of way. His eyes locked on to Gavin as he walked in the room and followed him all the way to his seat. He has the distinct impression of walking into a tiger's cage or accidentally stumbling into Gengis Khan's war room.
“How's it going mate?” Gavin asked, holding a hand out to shake. “I'm gavin, nice to meet ya”
“Griffon Starbourne” said the barrel of a man, grasping a vice-like hand around Gavin's.
It wasn't a painful squeeze, just unmoving. Gavin felt like he would be powerless to resist anything Griffon did if he wanted to do it.
“My daughter has told me about you at length over the past few hours, and what you did for her,” he said, glancing at Sam.
“She didn't make up some story about my dashing heroics did she?”
“I don't believe she made up anything” Griffon said, turning his hawk gaze back on to Gavin again.
“I bet not a lot gets past you eh? You're not crazy powerful or anything?”
“Even humble merchants usually need start-up capital, and the best place to do that is killing monsters. I’m more powerful than most, but not as much as some.”
“Right. Well, anyway, yeah, I jumped in to help Sam when she was in a tight spot. Managed to not die while she finished off that bonesnapper.” Gavin said pointing at the tray of meat that a servant had just bought into the room.
“You looted that with a looting power?”
“Yeah, I unlocked it just today.”
“Finding a demon soul on your first day is unusually lucky, most full adventurers can go months or years without seeing one.”
“I did actually get another one off this eel demon thing I killed, but it’s a super lame water breathing one.”
“You should be careful with that information, two in a day is suspicious, you might draw attention from the sorts of people that would kill for that sort of luck.” Griffon said, giving him the impression that it wasn’t just a figure of speech.
“If it's all the same, I'd rather fight monsters than people” Gavin said, trying to diffuse the sudden intensity Griffon had in his eyes.
“Don't we all. Speaking of, you killed a Giant eel?” Griffon asked, lightening his mood.
“Lesser, it did seem pretty big though.”
“Just one?” He asked, leaning forward.
“Yeah.”
“Odd that it was by itself, they usually come in hordes.”
“That wouldn't have been ideal,” Gavin laughed. “It was in a really small pocket dimension, the bubble smaller than my hand, does the size of the space change how many monsters are there?”
“It does, yes. It is very unusual that two dimensional spaces would manifest so close together though.
“Could the magical barrier thing be all skewy after I popped through?”
“Not my area, I’m afraid. Samania said you solicited a bribe from Soliece but wouldn't elaborate.”
“She bribed me not to do a thing I am definitely not going to do” Gavin said, enunciating his last words more loudly and clearly.
“Which is?”
“She isn't super keen on me spreading some information from my own world to your world.”
“Samania told me you weren't from this world. You're a new arrival. I'm informed your kind tend to bring trouble with them and die early” Griffon said, his unblinking eyes not leaving Gavins.
“Well, if it's any consolation, I'd guess trouble is unavoidable, people seem to get really fighty around me, not exactly sure why, though I fully intend to live a long and prosperous life, preferably as close to the top of the food chain as is physically possible.”
“You seem very sure of yourself,” Griffon said, finally settling into a relaxed pose.
“Mate, back home I spend my days obsessing over details of fictional characters with fictional abilities to do the most broken things possible that no one on the planet has thought of or tried. Now the magic powers are real and I can have them. I'm going to break the magic meta or die trying, preferably without the dying part.” Gavin said, his genuine excitement shining through as he smiled toothily.
“Gavin bet that he was going to break magic combination theory within a week” Samania chimed in.
“Is that right?” Griffon laughed, a deep mirthful sound that scrubbed away all of his simmering intensity in an instant.
“Sure is,” said Gavin, skewering one of the dino-steaks onto his plate as well as a host of foreign foods “What's magical combination theory?”
“Just that powers tend to even themselves out, people have managed to find specific powers that work well together but no one has managed anything that makes them meaningfully more powerful than someone else of a similar skill level” Griffon said
“Sam said some powers were a lot stronger than others, like, there's the empower intellect power Soliece gave me, it's clearly better than half a dozen other powers that do the same thing.”
“At lower levels yes, the numbers are definitively better, there are powers that are more useful or powerful than others, but there are enough of them that the most powerful combinations aren’t appreciably better or worse than any others we’ve found. Also, at higher ranks the magic is more about force of will than the strength of the powers themselves.”
“Well, I'm not saying I’m better than everyone on this world, but I am working with perfect information of any and all of my possible powers. They do tend to have annoyingly wishy-washy descriptions, but I'm pretty sure something has to go infinite in there” Gavin said.
“In that case I have a proposal.” Griffon said, seeming to decide Gavin had passed some test.
“Propose away” Gavin said relaxing in his seat, forcing himself not to put his feet up.
“You stay here and train under Samania and her tutors, we provide you with some solars as compensation for helping bring my daughter home safe, as well as a small stipend. You join Samania's adventuring team when she deems you worthy. If either party wishes to break the agreement we will each negotiate terms in good faith at such time as that becomes necessary.”
“Lord Starbourne, I believe we have an accord” Gavin said, leaning over the table to shake starbournes hand again.
“He is your responsibility now, Samania, his performance will reflect on you from now on.”
“Yes, father,” Samania said, her expression inscrutable.
The remainder of the meal went quickly, Gavin wolfed back his meal then retreated to his room to study late into the night. He was feeling pretty good about the day, all things considered, and absolutely determined to make good on his promise.
He took extensive notes, opening a new notes tab in his interface to compile his ideas and possible abilities to add to a short list.
