He hated these kinds of power plays. But went along with it. Not that he had another choice.
“Yes, you are correct”
“We find ourselves at an impasse… the young lady you helped apprehend last night, she is one of the undesirable parts of this town, not only because of her occupation mind you. But because of something far beyond her control. her origin.”
The guild Mistress continued.
“I would not suggest for her to get into indentured service to a young man like yourself, that would be scandalous. But the Lawmaster had other ideas” She grabbed a mug from her table and continued.
“He has been convinced that this is a way for her to reform herself. Her contract will only place her under your care for 2 winters, after that, she will be freed.”
“Wait a minute. Her origin? What do you mean?” he was puzzled.
“It is not something for me to discuss,” Helga said cryptically.
“You mean to suggest that one of her parents is some kind of bigshot?” Helga did not answer. But her silence was confirmation enough.
“The Lawmaker?” She snorted and shook her head.
“That frivolous dick, Hah!” Helga said with a dismissive laugh. She shook her head and then pointed up.
She meant higher… she must be related somehow to the local lord…
He rubbed his face.
“I… I can't ensure her safety. I probably can't even protect myself.” he whispered.
She chuckled at that.
“Grow a pair boy! You are a Legacy. Don't disgrace those who come before you…” She paused and shook her head “To even suggest that you would not be able to fight for yourself. Heroines and Heroes are forged from Legacies, well that and early graves, but you don't seem to be like the idiotic type, ignorant? perhaps. hot-headed? Yes, if the reports from interrogation are correct, but foolish or idiotic? No.”
He knew what she was doing. Deep down, he knew that she was toying with his sense of pride, but something inside of him did not care.
“How can I be sure that she won't slit my throat as I sleep?” Magnus asked. Only to get a snort in return with an underhand comment about ignorance from her.
“Indentured service comes with certain perks, normally we would just put an enchanted obedience shackle on her wrist, one attuned to you. It would prevent her from harming you in any direct way. But her benefactor paid for the extra service. She will be magically stamped, with the same effect, but more costly. But it ensures that she does not break her hand and slips the shackle away, releasing her from the item’s influence.” Helga then paused for a second “it would ensure your safety and prevent her escape, no matter what she did”
“So you would brand her like an animal?” he could not stop himself from asking.
“Better that than losing a hand, and then being sent to the salt mines. That would be the regular punishment for her crimes. Basically a death sentence without the axe swing”
“Can't she be indentured to somebody else?” Magnus asked. But Helga shook her head.
“It's either you or she loses the hand and the mines. Theoretically, but her benefactor will find a way to convince you. Either way” She finished.
“So I don't get a choice?” he almost answered baffled.
“Not really, what you get is a sweet bonus, she will be delivered with her own gear, fully healed, and you get 30 gold coins for expenses.” Helga paused. “This is the best deal I managed to negotiate for you”
“And why would you do that?” he did not believe that Helga would go out of her way to get them a good deal. What was the catch? What was she getting from this?
“Yesterday night, Alameda Osvald the Chief in charge of Guard post 8 came and told me about you, about the fact that you would be registering the next day. And that this whole thing would happen. So I went and negotiated on your behalf, as a future guild member. Nothing more, nothing less. I look after my own.”
He doubted that. His face betrayed what he was thinking, but she just laughed.
“Besides I get a bigger cut of the guild tax if you get a bigger reward. So there is that”
“Fucking taxes” Magnus grumbled, making Helga laugh out loud.
“Well, that settles this whole affair. I will be notyfing…”
Magnus interrupted her.
“I still do not like the fact that I am being forced to get a slave”
She looked at him offended.
“Indentured service is not slavery, people retain certain rights. I will let someone from the Ethics department know that they must instruct you on the nature of the punishment that the young lady will be undergoing. Don't get me wrong, I don't approve of the choices she has made in her life, but I would never even consider placing anyone under SLAVERY” The last word was said with such venom that he almost flinched.
“Yes, ethics department, whatever, let's get this over with”
He sighed for what felt like the 100th time since he got to this world.
Helga Guided them outside her office and then called for someone working for her in the guild.
A middle-aged man appeared shortly after and he introduced himself as “Mathias Something, Ethics director and Guild Counciler”
Magnus got distracted by the Man’s long and thin mustache that seemed to dance as he spoke.
“Just explain it as if i was five years old.”
“Indentured servants are people that work for you, the Penace Shackle prevents them from attacking you. Indentured servants also have basic rights, you can not order them to harm themselves, and they can refuse orders that would harm them in a direct manner.
The brand will also trigger when you are under direct threat. It would work as a compulsion for them to help and save you, never at the cost of their lives. But if the danger is acceptable in their minds, they would feel obligated to help.”
Mathias twirled his awesome mustache as he did a pause.
Magnus felt another headache coming but decided to ignore it. Mathias must have caught how uncomfortable he was, so he continued.
“Overall it's a much better alternative for certain individuals, they have forsaken their right to freedom, and with the magic Stamp as a deterrent, there is almost no need for supervision from outside parties. There will be reports seasonally. And any misconduct done with the penal individual will be punished as if the individual was a free inhabitant of our great empire.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
If the individual under your care becomes crippled or killed, you will be interrogated by a Lawmaster under a truth spell for mishandling, the charges that could result could vary from simple abuse of power to murder, depending on the level of malicious intent involved.”
“So you are telling me: Don't be stupid. Don't try to abuse your power. Treat them as people, dont expect them to charge a hydra for me if I go pocking the beast. And finally, don't try to actively get them killed?”
“More or less,” Mathias said with a nod. Then procured a little booklet and passed it along. “Any other information can be found here,” he said as he handed it to Magnus.
“Well. I can't read or write…” he said embarrassed once again.
“Just give me a second,” Mathias said, then swiftly disappeared into to the hallways of the guild. Promptly returning with another book.
“It is my belief that Miss Blunt is literate, she should be able to teach you when you have spare time.”
And then he handed him a book with pictures.
He was about to complain about receiving a book designed for children but stopped himself.
“Thank you.” he managed to say. Before pocketing both books inside his rucksack.
“So what is the best way to earn money around here?”
“We are at the frontier so there are monsters plenty, but you already knew that. Besides the tamed dungeons under the city, The Endless Green Sea is also plagued with Wild Dungeons, but those are quite a bit more dangerous. Finally, you have the basic contracts that you can take. The most common for Stone Rank adventurers are harvesting quests. Ether of monster materials, mana stones, or plants. That is if you are not interested in traveling and staying in town. If you want to travel, you could take an Escort Job. although traveling comes with its own risk.”
“Highwaymen,” He said while nodding. The counselor looked at him funny but Magnus ignored his look, dismissing it as a Lost in Translation due to his skill.
“Alright. Let's get this over with.”
Magnus was guided to a different room, one that Mathias said was the bounty office. There he was presented with 27 gold coins 2 electrum and 14 silver squares, the tax of 10% was withdrawn from both bounties, which meant that from 30 gold coins, he lost 3 and since 1 electrum was 20 silver squares he got to pay 6 silver squares as tax for 3 electrum.
In the end, his coin pouch was much heavier, and he was happy with it somewhat.
Not so happy to have a new companion. But that is not here nor there.
He has been instructed to sit at one of the benches in the common room and wait for his ward to arrive. He would think of her as his ward from now on. No need to be an asshole about it.
As he waited he decided to go back and check on his abilities. Since he got interrupted last night with dinner and never relly went back into it.
He willed for his status to appear and then expanded on Giants constitution.
- Giants Constitution (Jotun, Might) Mutation (passive): WareDireBear [Enhancing]
Description: “Me big and Strong. Never cold! (Enhanced Strength, Constitution, and Cold Resistance. Mutation side effect: Size Enhancement, Skin pigmentation)
He stopped for a moment and looked at his hand, So he was not crazy!? And here he thought that the Blueish tint of his skin was some kind of hallucination or something.
It was barely noticeable at the moment, but it probably will become more prominent as the ability progresses.
He decided to check the other abilities before he got sidetracked and distracted once again.
- Martial Instinct: (Aesir, Martial, Passive)
Description: Your ancestors laugh at you, but they don't turn their back on you. Passive ability that helps you instinctively in the use of weapons and armor.
- Impale: (Vampiric Red Dragon. Chaos, Chaos)
Description: Dice, dice, and more dice. Actively channel Aether to impale a random enemy with anything that is available at random, strength of ability depending on Chance.
- Body Enhancement: (WereDireBear. Strenght, Enhancing.)
Description: Punch holes in walls, and uproot trees with your hands!... Actively channel Aura into your body to enhance it to perform feats of speed and strength beyond your basic capabilities at the cost of stamina and body integrity.
Well, shit. He would have to test Impale thoroughly, and not in any sort of dire combat, also he would not be able to rely on it in any sort of way.
At least not at this level, maybe future ranks would improve the ability, but for now, it was almost useless except as a surprise wildcard.
Martial instinct was really useful for him, the only experience he had with weapons and armor was the few in-between times he went LARPING with his friends. And that is no experience at all.
And finally, Body Enhancement, which was what he probably used yesterday when he Smacked his indentured servant when she was trying to rob him.
“I guess” he wondered out loud as he finally got the gist of his abilities.
He closed his eyes and tried to find the aura, and was able to find two distinct energies inside of him. Like two wells of power, one was located on top of his heart and the other one on top of his brain, he assumed that Aether was in his brain and Aura in his heart, if he had to guess about the bubbling feeling he experienced the day before.
Finally, he took out the pouch with gold and willed it to go into his inventory. The coin pouch dematerialized as if the laws of conservation of mass did not apply to it. He chuckled at the sight.
“Crazy,” he told himself.
“What did you just call me?” He was interrupted as he saw two people standing next to him.
They must have sneaked in while he was distracted.
“Not you. I was just…” he stopped himself. There was no reason to explain. “Never mind.”
He looked at the two people in front of him.
“So, how do we do this?”
“A drop of blood here,” Said the guard as he placed a glowing parchment on the table.
Magnus wanted to make a joke about deals with the devil, but once again stopped himself from doing so in case of the inquisition of some shit.
“Fine” he took out his Knight Dagger and poked at his finger with a slight push. He has never actively harmed himself, but with two people watching him like hawks, he was too embarrassed to fail at this.
The Dagger was sharp. Deadly sharp and in the end the blood sealed the deal. The parchment went up in flames and the little motes of ash flew up and towards Nessa Blunt, who hissed in displeasure or maybe pain.
He looked at both of the women with pointy ears.
Because Of course, Fate would have it that he gets a friking Elf as his first not slave companion.
Then he remembered that this world was based on a wish-fulfillment fantasy videogame… and it made sense.
Busty Blushing Elven Maids are a thing.
They seemed very similar now that he looked at them side to side.
He looked back and forth a few times, his mouth opening and closing. Part of him wanted to ask, but part of him did not really want to acknowledge something that even the Guild Mistress refused to mention out loud in private. He was prideful, not stupid.
“I guess that will be all,” he told the Officer. Who patted the other Elf on the shoulder. Nessa hissed at her under her breath like a feral cat.
The officer saluted and then turned around with a clap of her heels before marching away.
“Sit,” Magnus said as he pointed at the bench seat across the table from him.
She rolled her eyes at his command but still followed it.
“Young Lady, don't be giving me an attitude like I am the cause of this situation to begin with. Let's rewind a bit and remember who tried to rob who?”
She gritted her teeth and mumbled something under her breath.
“What was that? I could not hear you.”
“I said, fucking Legacys, If I knew I would have never tried…” she trailed into an awkward silence.
“Yes, well, that is that. Now the only thing we can really do is make the best of our situation.” Magnus rubbed his eyes and temples.
“Where you part of a gang?” She looked at him offended. “Ohh sorry for assuming that the person who tried to rob me of my possessions might be involved in some other shady business.”
“No,” she said through gritted teeth.
“Will anyone come looking for you?” Magnus asked.
“...no,” she said, but he did not like the pause she took to answer.
“I guess your… Accomplice might come” Her eyes went wide. With Fear (?) he could not place it.
“I have nothing to say to you” she spat to the side.
“Well, let's get this over with, you will lead me to them, and then we will make sure that im not stabbed while I sleep.”
“She would never!” Nessa snapped back.
“So it's a She. Good to know” Magnus said with a nod.
“Lead. The. Way. To. Your. Accomplice” He emphasized each word.
Mathias told him that as long as he was not ordering her to harm herself she could not refuse his order. Yes, he knew that there were ways to work around being ordered to do stuff. But that came with practice and preparation. Not a thing that she had right now. Magnus knew that he was a wild card. Unpredictable, and he liked to keep it that way, for now.
She hissed as the mark probably burned her into compliance. And then he followed her a few steps behind her.