I was of course unsurprised to learn that Keeper would not take my money to rent a room. I did, however, manage to convince him to let me stay in a less expensive one. Not that I had really seen a lot of difference between the Merchant’s Rest’s ‘best’ room and the room I was in other than that there was no glow stone and the window was smaller. And after having handed him and Miranda what turned out to be like ten years’ wages for an ordinary person, I decided that my conscience was clear.

So once lunch was over, I decided to hit the Mayor’s office. I almost took Meg with me, for cultural interpretation or whatever, but I decided that having an eighteen-year-old barmaid speaking for my Song-Magedness would probably be just as weird as any direct missteps I might make. I could always claim to be a traveler from a long way off who didn’t know the local customs that well. This would have the benefit of being the absolute truth, too.

The Town Hall was just down the square from the Merchant’s Rest. Keeper assured me that the Mayor would be in there and wouldn’t be doing anything he’d mind a Song Mage interrupting. So I moseyed on down the way. Well, if you can nervously mosey. There was definitely some nervous going on. A guardsman I didn’t recognize - not a big surprise, I knew exactly one - was standing outside the door, looking extremely bored. And more than a little hot. The sun was shining and while I was comfortable enough in my light clothing, he was wearing a helmet and chainmail and looked a bit red.

“Good morning,” I said politely. “I’d like to see the Mayor. Is he available?”

The guardsman looked at me dubiously.

“He’s here, but was there something important you needed to tell him? If you just have a message or a petition, you can give it to the sergeant.” There was an unspoken ‘… kid.’ appended to this. I heard it loud and clear.

“I’m the Song Mage who, um, had the difficulty at the Merchant’s Rest yesterday,” I responded. “I thought I’d say hello to be polite. I’m a traveler, but Keeper says that’s how you do things around here.”

His eyes got big under the helmet. Apparently news had spread, because he didn’t question the (almost) twenty-year-old in plain clothing claiming to be a Song Mage. He just nodded fervently, looking more nervous than I felt.

“Oh, of course, Master Mage,” he said. The words were tumbling out of him. “I’m sure the Mayor would like to make sure that you’re all right. Terrible that those two threatened you. Please, Parisi’s not like that. I hope you’re not an… I mean, please, go right in. Just tell the sergeant who you are.”

“Thank you,” I said, relieved that we weren’t going to have a humorous misunderstanding that ended up with him trying to clap me in irons and me zapping him as one would expect in most isekai stories.

“You’re welcome,” he said, looking relieved himself.

I went in through the very sturdy doors - most of the buildings I’d seen had thick doors, and heavy shutters on the ground floors. I wonder if that’s in case of a big bandit attack or a monster surge or something, I thought to myself as I entered a large… entry room? It was a big room with a few tables and whatnot . At one end, was a door that just screamed ‘Mayor’s Office,’ even though there was no sign or anything. Next to that was one of the tables. Another man in uniform was sitting at it looking at papers. There was a helmet and a chainmail shirt on a rack behind him. He looked up as I approached.

“Hello,” I said. “I’d like to see the mayor.” He opened his mouth but I hurriedly added, “My name’s Chris Erikson, I’m the Song Mage from last night at the Merchant’s Rest.”

His mouth shut just as fast as it had opened. He had a little bit better poker face than anybody so far. All he did was nod lightly, as if he’d known exactly who I was the whole time. After a breath, he responded.

“Good afternoon, Master Mage. I’m sure the Mayor would be happy to meet you. Please wait a moment.” He got up and knocked at the door, but opened it and slipped inside without waiting for a response. I was tempted to go up and put my ear to the door, but I figured that was just asking for trouble. A few seconds later, he opened the door again, this time waving me in.

“Come in,” I heard a man say, so with a nod to the sergeant I did just that. The room was so clearly an office, other-worldly or not, that I couldn’t help but smile. To the left of the entry was a nice desk with a man who I’d guess was in his late fifties sitting behind it. On the wall was a big piece of slate with what looked like rough chalk on a little shelf beside it, with a large table with a few chairs facing it. On the table were a few stacks of what looked like fairly off-white paper. Or parchment. Or something. They were covered with writing that I could read, though I didn’t try. The sergeant slipped out as smoothly as he’d slipped in, closing the door behind him.

“Welcome, Master Erikson,” said the mayor, standing and walking around the desk to shake my hand. The sergeant’s poker face had nothing on this guy’s. He didn’t so much as bat an eye at the badly-dressed, teenaged Song Mage. And he used my name like he’d always known it. I shook back and he gestured to a chair in front of the desk.

“Please sit down,” he said. I thanked him and did so, after which he returned to his own seat. “To what do I owe the honor of your visit?”

“Well, I’m a traveler,” I said. “Where I come from we don’t make quite as much, um, it’s not such a big deal to be a Song Mage. I hope I’m not interrupting.” His expression said that talking to random Song Mages was the most important thing he could possibly imagine. It was creeping me out, to be honest.

“Of course not, Master Erikson,” he said quickly. “I’m so sorry that you were troubled last night. Rest assured that those two will learn that Parisi doesn’t tolerate people attacking Song Mages. They won’t do that again.”

“Mostly I was upset that they hurt Meg,” I said. “Maybe I overreacted. I don’t want them crippled or hung or anything.”

The poker face broke a little at this. He looked vaguely surprised. Yep. Power. Equals. Asshole.

“Each of them is going to get a whipping. But don’t worry, we’re not savages. We won’t cripple them. Are you sure that that will satisfy your honor?” This last had some feelings of ‘are you here to demand more?’

“That’s fine, if that’s what you do here,” I said slowly. “I don’t mean to cause a fuss. But Bald… I mean, Garlack or whatever his name is did scare Meg pretty good, so some punishment seems to be in order.”

“If it satisfies you, then that’s fine,” he said. “No trouble at all. But now I’m curious. What would they do to them where you’re from? Where is that, by the way?”

Whoops. I did not want to have this conversation.

“Long way away, nobody’s ever heard of it,” I said quickly. “And since nobody was badly hurt, we’d just put them in jail for a while. Maybe make them pay a fine.”

“For attacking a Song Mage?” he said, the poker face slipping again. He was shaking his head a little bit, as if this didn’t make a lot of sense. “It must be a very easygoing place you’re from.”

“Well like I said we don’t make a big fuss,” I responded. This is just getting more and more complicated. “Anyway, thanks for taking care of it.”

“Of course, Master Erikson,” he said. “Is there anything else I can help you with?”

“No, I just wanted to say hello. Keeper said it was the polite thing to do in your country and I like to be polite.” I gave him my best honor-roll student smile. Then I realized something. “And I’m sorry, speaking of polite, I didn’t get your name.” Guardsman John had said what it was yesterday but I didn’t remember.

“I’m Mayor Raoul,” he said, apparently surprised that I cared.

“Nice to meet you, Mayor Raoul,” I said. “I’ll probably be in town until at least the Song Fair, so if there’s anything I can do, let me know.”

This definitely surprised him.

“That’s very kind of you, Master Erikson,” he said. “And of course if there’s anything I can do for you, please tell me right away. We don’t get many Song Mages in Pirisi and I’m glad to have you here.” He paused. “And thank you for helping Keeper. He’s a good man, we’d hate to lose him.”

“It was my pleasure,” I said, trying to be cool. I think I pulled it off. I definitely didn’t let it slip that I’d almost wet my pants when Baldy pulled that sword or anything. At least, I’m pretty sure not.

With a few more pleasantries I was back out of the office and on the street. Frankly, I’m not sure who was more relieved to have me out of there. But now it was time for something much more entertaining.

Shopping!

For this I do want Meg, I thought to myself. I mean, once they find out I’m a Song Mage, they won’t dare cheat me, but I don’t want anybody giving me their store for a nickel, either. I suspected that seeing a Song Mage coming in the door of most stores was more a cause for dread than for happiness in your average merchant. Meg would know what a fair price was and I could at least try not to bankrupt anybody.

I went back to the Merchant’s Rest, saying a quick hi to Keeper, who was polishing glasses like any good fantasy tavernkeeper, and then stuck my head back in the kitchen. Hard to say who jumped harder, Meg or Miranda, when I said “Hello?” I smiled but very carefully did not laugh.

“Sorry, ladies,” I said. “I was just hoping to borrow Meg for an errand. Can you spare her, Miranda?”

“Of course, Master Chris…” she started to say.

“Miranda, please don’t ‘of course’ me unless you mean it,” I said, still smiling. “Meg likes to help and you have a lot of work to do. Where I come from my mother would be giving me dirty looks for not offering to help myself, since we’re practically family now.”

Her eyes got huge.

“Master Chris,” she said hurriedly. “I could never ask a Song M… I mean, a guest to help in the kitchen. I got along fine when Meg was small and I’ll get along fine now.” This seemed to give her a little Mom-spirit, and her face firmed. “So if you need her, you take her. This is my kitchen and what I say goes.”

“Okay,” I said, grinning. “Meg, can you come with me?”

Meg quickly wiped her hands and face, which were both a little red, and nearly ran to where I stood by the door. We’re going to have to keep working on this, I thought to myself. I thought she’d loosened up a bit.

“Of course, Master Chris,” she said, beaming. “Where are we going?”

“Shopping,” I said. “I, uh, you remember, I lost my baggage. I need some spare clothes and stuff.”

Realization flowed over Meg’s face.

“Yes, that’s right,” she said in an almost comically exaggerated tone. This was presumably for Miranda’s benefit but she was getting carried away fast. “In the woods. Yes, let’s go see if we can find something for you.”

After we slipped out the front door of the inn, I said, “Meg, remind me never to let you play poker.”

“What’s poker?” she asked. “I don’t know that game.”

“It’s a card game,” I said. “Do people play cards here?”

“I’m not sure what you mean by playing with… small papers?” she replied, looking confused. We had stopped a few steps from the door to chat, and I blinked at how the word ‘cards’ had translated back and forth.

Then I smiled. It must have been sort of an evil smile, because Meg looked… concerned.

“Oh, this is going to be fun,” I said. “My family is full of absolute cardsharps. I know all the good games. And how to bet on them. Mostly for chores and candies, but still…” I was gleeful at the prospect of fleecing a whole world of rookie card players. Then something else occurred to me.

“People do gamble here, right?” I asked. “Like, play some kind of game and bet on the outcome, or on a horse race, or… I don’t know, who wins the Song Fair? Something?”

“Of course,” she said, with a hint of the Tone. “Mostly on dice, they come out in the tavern most nights. Or horses. And of course, on the Song Fair. There’s more betting on the Song Fair than anything else.”

“Oh, good. Well, cards is just another kind of game you can gamble on. Or play for fun.” I gave her what I hoped was a less predatory smile. “We’ll find somebody to make us some and I’ll show you.”

“That sounds nice,” she said. “I like games. I’m really good at checkers.”

I boggled for a moment at the idea that they had checkers but not cards. Then I realized that compared to most card games, checkers was very simple, the equipment could be as basic as rocks and scratches in the dirt, and lots of cultures had something like it. For all I knew what Meg was good at was actually more like Go or something. Then I had another thought.

“Meg, do you know what a printing press is? Do you have them here?”

“I… think so?” she said hesitantly. “It’s a… machine you can use to print things on paper? I don’t know how they work, except I know that only really rich people use them and it takes a long time to make the prints. I’ve seen merchants with books with pictures in them, they’re very expensive.”

Hmm. Block prints, but no movable type? I wasn’t exactly an expert on printing, but I knew that woodblock prints were around a long time before the printing press with movable type. I wonder if that counts as too much sciencing? Better just do woodblock printed cards or something. This is like being a time traveler as much as it is being isekai-d.

“Master Chris?” said Meg tentatively. “Is everything all right?”

Shaking my head, I brought myself back to the here and now. “Sorry, Meg. I was just thinking. I know about lots of things that you don’t have, but there are… rules… about what I can and can’t tell you.”

“Why?” she asked with surprise. I looked around. There were people walking to and fro, but none near enough to hear a quiet conversation.

“I’ll explain more later,” I said in a low voice. “But the secrets of my world could do a lot of damage. How long would it take a powerful Song Mage to destroy a city?”

This question seemed to throw her for a loop. She just stared at me, brow furrowed, for a minute, before answering.

“I guess… it would depend on their gift? And how strong it was? A Song Mage with the gift of Fire could burn a city pretty fast, he could light fires everywhere he could see if nobody fought him. As fast as he could move around.”

“In my world,” I said, feeling a strange dread instead of the excitement I would have expected, “We have weapons that can destroy an entire city in literally the blink of an eye. Weapons a single person can carry that can kill dozens in a matter of seconds. And we have something even more dangerous, that I’m not allowed to tell people from your world about. The Voice told me so.”

“What… what could that be?” she almost whispered. I had obviously frightened her.

“Ideas,” I said somberly. “Ideas about how the world works. How to find out more about how the world works. It’d be centuries before your world could build the city-destroying weapons I told you about. But these ideas are what makes it possible to build them. I’m not allowed to give them to you. You have to find them for yourselves, in your own time.”

Meg leaned against the wall of the inn, looking a little dizzy. “Compared to that… the power of a Song Mage is nothing.”

This made me laugh, and she started.

“Meg, I know things about how music works that you don’t know, either. Those I am allowed to share. Don’t think that you know what the power of a Song Mage can do. I don’t think many people on Laroha do, really. The Voice sounded absolutely smug about the idea of me using my knowledge.” I still called the Entity the "Voice" in my head sometimes, especially since that's how I'd first described it to Meg.

She was starting to get that worshipful look again now, so I managed to shut up. Or at least change the topic.

“But we can talk about that later. I can’t change the world with one pair of underwear to my name.” This made her blink and then she giggled. It was absolutely adorable.

“That’s better,” I said. “Now, that looks like a general store.” I pointed at a building across the square with a sign that in fact said, “William’s General Store.” Or at least that’s how the Leveling System translated it in my head.

“It is, Master Chris,” said Meg, her voice firming up. “William runs the store. He bargains pretty dearly, but he knows me and he won’t dare cheat a Song Mage.”

“I’m not worried about anybody cheating me, I said. “I don’t want people giving me everything they own for two coppers because they’re afraid of me. I need you to tell me what a reasonable price is for stuff so I can be fair.”

She smiled at me. “That’s so noble, Master Chris,” she said admiringly. “To worry about ordinary folk when you’re a Song Mage.”

“Well you better watch out,” I said teasingly. “Because you are also a Song Mage, so if you want to be fair, you’ll have to be careful too.”

Meg goggled.

“That’s right… I… but we…” She sputtered then got her thoughts in order. “Are we going to tell people? Nobody knows I’m a Song Mage. They won’t believe it. They’ll think I’m putting on airs. Or that I’ve gone mad.”

I just shrugged. This was way outside any cultural context I had.

“Up to you, Meg,” was all I said. “I won’t tell if you don’t.”

“Let’s… not,” she said, her voice firming again.

She’s adapting pretty well, I thought with a smile. So hopefully now Laroha has at least two Song Mages who won’t fit the asshole mold.

“Okay,” I said. “So, can we go shopping now?”

Meg took my hand with a laugh and we headed for the store.