Bog Standard Isekai

"I predict that any moment now, an army of goblins will appear from the south, having been hidden by illusions until now. Their goal will be to push the people of Canibri out of their town, north to follow the original evacuation," said Cid.

Brin had been following the logic until now, but this part didn't feel right. "I've been flying my Invisible Eyes around there for more than a day now. I'm not perfect when it comes to seeing through invisibility, but I doubt they'd be able to hide an entire army from me."

"Keep looking," said Cid. "In the meantime, we need to figure out what to do about this invisible assassin."

Brych chimed in. "Brin can make more of those decoys and turn us invisible again."

"He's seen that trick. He'll be looking for ways to verify that we're real and not made of glass," said Brin.

"It may still be our only option to move about the town. They won't be able to invite me to their leadership meeting if no one knows how to find me." Cid considered the illusory map Brin had left on the wall, tapping his cheek. "I think I'd like some suggestions. I don't like the idea of simply wandering around town hoping that the assassin will take another swipe at us."

"We should leave town," said Brych. "It'll be harder for him to hide out in the open space, and we can use that time to look for goblins."

"Yes, but what if we find them? If there truly are enough goblins to threaten a town, then there are enough to overwhelm a Lance," said Anwir.

"That's a good point." Brin stood and started pacing. "You know, if I wanted to kill a bunch of knights, I wouldn't send an assassin. I'd send an army that the knights were honor-bound to defend against. I'm starting to come around to Cid's idea that they really will attack the town. If they can remove us, then they can evacuate the town like they'd planned in the first place."

"We can't trust the soldiers the [Herald] brought. We don't know about the town watch. And the commoners won't be on the walls, not unless they're invited. They need to be warned. No, they need to be organized. I've seen first-hand how effective a militia of commoners can be, but it won't just spring up on its own," said Brin.

Cid started rubbing his temples. "I see where you're going with this."

"Yeah," said Brin.

"We're going to have meetings, aren't we? Lots of meetings," said Cid.

"Unfortunately," said Brin.

"Why is this my life? I'm a [Knight], for Sezorat's sake. Maybe I don't want to wander around talking to people! Maybe I want to fight an army of goblins!"

"If it's any consolation, I have a feeling that we're going to do some of that, too," said Brin.

Cid sighed. "Very well. We'll move in a group. We'll visit the guilds first and go from there. No illusions, no glass copies. I believe Rhun can protect us reasonably well, and I don't want to tip our hand too soon."

"In that case, I'd like to move separately," said Brin. "I want to warn my family."

"And tell them what?" asked Cid.

"I could guide them to that secret tunnel under the tower and get them out of town," said Brin.

"Are you sure the open road is really safer than here? No. Warn them if you wish, but shepherding them away from town is unseemly. If it really is safer to evacuate, then we should tell everyone to do that," said Cid.

"Fine. I'd still like to split up, though. Sion gave me a letter of introduction from the Wogan group; I might be able to get the [Merchants]," said Brin.

"Ha! Will the walls of Canibri be protected by the scammers and cons?" Rhun asked, drawing a chuckle from some of the other men.

"By their bodyguards, hopefully. Though I can't say for sure if any of those are any good," said Brin.

Rhun laughed again, folding his arms. "A fair point."

"Very well. I'll trust you to stay alive. The rest of you are with me," said Cid.

Brin let the illusions guarding the Lance fall, and there was a moment leaving the building where they all held their breath, wondering if the assassin was nearby and waiting to ambush them. Nothing happened, of course. Brin expected the next attack to come when they were asleep, or possibly when one of them wandered away from the group like he was about to do.

They went their separate ways and Brin stayed visible; if he was going to get attacked he'd rather it be now instead of when he wasn't fully alert. Nothing came.

He sent Invisible Eyes ahead of him with the goal of picking out sight lines. The assassin liked to shoot from far away, so Brin took extra care for what parts of the city had long enough streets that you could see a far distance. There weren't that many–the place they'd been ambushed before was honestly the best spot. He took care to keep to narrow, windy streets so that the assassin would have to attack from nearby.

Now all that was left was to decide where to go. Sure, he could go talk to Nesta and Lan, but to what end? Cid was right that getting them out of town wasn't an option, and he couldn't promise that he'd protect them. No, going there now would put them in more danger; after the stunt he'd pulled in Mordelet's tower, people would notice where he went.

He decided to go straight to the [Merchants]. First, he wanted to talk to the largest trading group in town. The reason for that was simple. He wanted to talk to a servant before meeting a member of the [Merchant] family, because it would feel more friendly and less demanding to show his letter of introduction to a servant and ask for an appointment than it would to march in and shove the letter straight in their faces.

After a half hour of scanning the city with Invisible Eyes, he settled on the Earwood Store and Trade Goods Enterprise. They had a decently large general store, a pretty big workshop for repairing wagons, and a few warehouses for their products. He would go straight to their headquarters, though, a half-disguised office building built into the back of their store. A bit more snooping revealed that the head of the company was named Ifan Earwood. He was ready.

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He approached the door to the offices, which had no sign out front and didn't look terribly official, but which he knew led to a rather fancy sitting room. He knocked three times.

A [Footman] in a fine black suit opened the door. He took in Brin in his armor, no doubt [Inspecting] him, and then said, "Welcome, sir Brin. To what does the Earwood Enterprise owe this honor?"

"Oh, I don't mean to be a bother, but I was hoping to set up an appointment to speak to Master Ifan Earwood," said Brin.

"Of course. Come in, and I'll fetch him immediately," said the [Footman].

"No need for that! I can come back whenever is most convenient for him. I don't mean to barge in like this; I just didn't know how else to set up an appointment. I'm terrible at these things," said Brin.

The [Footman] nodded knowingly. "Why do I get the feeling that you're far from terrible at these things? No, that won't do. You must come in. What [Merchant] would dare impose upon a knight?"

"I'm the one imposing on you, aren't I? Oh, but I have references. Here..." Brin pulled off his gauntlet, accidentally revealing Lumina's ring. Then with his hand free, he reached for his satchel and pulled out the letter of introduction from Sion, handing it to the [Footman].

The [Footman] didn't make any sign that he noticed the ring or the signature of the heir of the Wogan group, but Brin could tell he had from the way that his skin took on a grayish tint.

"I'll deliver this immediately. You're... quite sure... that you won't wait inside?" the [Footman] asked.

Brin let the poor man sweat a full ten seconds before saying, "You're sure I won't be a bother?"

The [Footman] let out a sigh of relief. "Quite sure."

"Then why not?"

Brin allowed himself to be led inside and sat on an extremely plush armchair. There was already a cup of steaming tea and a tray of cookies waiting for him on a side table. He took a sip and it tasted like... tea. Yeah, definitely tea. The cookies were absolutely delicious, but he worried that he wouldn't have anything to say about the tea. He [Inspected] it, and the single cup cost a whopping four silver. Burn him, they'd set out the good stuff.

He noticed a serving girl, probably only a year or two older than him, crossing a hallway on the other side of the room. He said, "Psst. Over here."

She looked at him, visibly steeling herself, probably wondering if she would get away with pretending not to notice that some random scary-looking knight and then pasted on a plastic smile and walked over to him, dropping into a curtsy.

Brin lifted the cup. "What's this taste like to you?"

She didn't move to accept it. "Sir, Cabrinon tea is prized for its soft and smooth feel. It tastes strongly of lavender and has subtle traces of sour, reminiscent of lemons."

"Perfect! You're a life-saver. I never know how to talk about this stuff. I'm completely uncultured, you see."

"Will that be all, sir?"

"Yes, thank you."

She looked extremely relieved that that's all he wanted her for.

"I'll see that you have another cup," she said.

Brin tossed back the rest of his tea and said, "Thanks, but you could fill it with wash water for all that I'd know the difference."

"As you say, sir," she said with another curtsy. She took his empty cup and swished away. When she was safely across the room again she looked back once, smiling, and then was gone.

Ifan entered soon after. He was much older than Brin expected, maybe in his seventies, with a full white beard and a bald head. He slightly flushed, as if he'd run the entire way here from wherever he'd been.

"Oh dear, oh dear, I haven't made you wait too long, have I?" he asked, wringing his hands.

Brin stood, and Ifan gestured for him to sit again. "Oh no, you don't need to stand for me, sir, we're humble folk here. Certainly too humble to need a letter of introduction from the young master of the Wogan Mercantile Group! Please, sit."

Brin kept standing and held out his hand to shake. "No, please, I hope I didn't interrupt your work."

"Interrupt? How could you possibly interrupt? We bow to precedence and good sense in this household!"

What followed was five solid minutes of Ifan bowing and cringing and apologizing for existing. Brin refused to back down and met every apology with another apology, and every confession of humility by insisting that he was even lower. He flat out refused to sit until Ifan did, which meant that neither of them sat no matter how many times Ifan begged him to.

It only ended when the servant girl entered the room with another cup of tea, which Brin took standing. He took a sip. "This is outstanding, by the way. I taste lavender, but also a subtle trace of sour, reminiscent of lemons. Oh, and such a soft and smooth feel. What is this?"

Ifan's eyes lit up, and he sat on an ottoman without seeming to notice what he was doing. "You really like it? It's a local delicacy, you know. I'll have someone fetch a satchel for you to take with you."

Brin sat as well. He sighed and put his head in his hands. "Alright. You got me. How could I possibly refuse that? I just wish there was something I could do for you."

Ifan looked smug. "No need. We measly grifters exist only to serve the true men, our protectors."

Brin scowled. "Don't give me that. My friend Sion is a good man, and more of a 'true man' than most of the [Warriors] I've ever met. I don't let him talk like that and I certainly don't want to hear it from you."

"I apologize, sir–"

"Apology not accepted. Not until you show me some face and give me something I can do for you," said Brin.

Ifan winced. "Then perhaps... well, I must admit I have some curiosity. There are rumors going around that your Lance was seen entering Lord Mordelet's residence this morning."

"Oh, I can tell you about that," said Brin. This was perfect, since this was the entire reason he was here. "We went looking for Lord Mordelet to get answers about the evacuation, and instead we found a vampire sitting in his chair and feasting on his servants. We killed the vampire, of course, but instead of answers we just found more questions. Where is Lord Mordelet? And why the evacuation? I haven't seen any sign of goblins."

"You think the goblin threat is real?" asked Ifan.

"Well, it hardly matters to us either way. If they don't exist, so much the better. We'll find and arrest the ones who made the claim. If they do exist, then we'll fight and protect the town. Our duty is clear either way," said Brin.

"Yes. It's enviable, in a way. My own duty is rarely so cut and dry," said Ifan.

"I do have one worry. If they come, then we'll fight... I just hope we won't fight alone. Most of the soldiers in this town are connected to the people who called for the evacuation. I worry that they want this town to fall."

Ifan leapt to his feet. "You won't fight alone. I'll stand with you!"

"No, Ifan, I could never ask you to do that."

"Then my men. We have some strong people. Common Classes, true, but they can hold a spear and a shield. I'll send my guards, at the very least," said Ifan.

"No, I could never ask you for that," said Brin. "Those guards are needed to protect your goods! Especially with all the unrest we've seen lately."

Ifan deflated. "True. True. Well, I'm sure I'll find some way to aid you."

Brin was slightly confused. Had he misread this conversation? That wasn't on script, what Ifan was supposed to do was keep insisting that he'd send his men to help fight until Brin reluctantly accepted.

He could flip the script now and demand their help, but he wasn't sure if that would work. From his time with Sion and his uncle, he had learned that the best way to get what you wanted from a [Merchant] of Prinnash was with meekness and friendship. If Ifan said he couldn't help, he really couldn't.

"No need," said Brin. "Sir Gurthcid is already out talking to the leaders of the guilds. I'm sure Canibri will have all the defenders it needs."

"I hope you are right," said Ifan.

"I hope this is all a moot point and the goblin army never arrives," said Brin.

"I'll toast to that. Wine! We must have wine!"

Brin didn't get any more promises out of the Earwood Enterprise, but he did get an introduction to several more [Merchant] groups. While they were still exchanging niceties that dragged on for another two hours, he noticed the Earwoods sent out a dozen servants to spread the word.

By the time Brin left and was able to drop in with the next [Merchant] group, they already knew everything he wanted to tell them. They also gave him the same answer Earwood did; they wouldn't commit their guards and made vague promises of aid.

That night when he met up with his Lance, he wasn't completely sure if he had anything to show for it. Cid had seen a lot more success, with more than two hundred men committed to begin drilling formations and assigned positions on the walls. Lan, Brin's half-brother was one of them, which he had mixed feelings about.

That night, Brin saw several people leaving town, all going separate directions. The [Herald] thundered out of town atop a horse that shot him across the landscape faster than a motorcycle on the freeway. The [Merchants] had put together two groups going east and west. Heavily armed and armored men who guarded [Messengers] on their way. No goblins barred their path for as long as Brin's eyes could follow them.

For better and for worse, the world was going to find out what was going on in Canibri.