Danke walked through the roughly structured streets of Cochon. Winding his way through unevenly cobbled roads. Making his way up and down the town's dirt side paths.
As he did so he noted the passersby and residents. Most of the town seemed to be made up of humans. With the majority of those humans being Ouestians wearing subdued colors, and wool based clothing that Ouestians tended to wear. There were also a lot of Midlanders, like he and Wis were pretending to be.
The Midlander fashion sense seemed to vary. Either leaning towards the linen and cotton styling of the Estians, or leaning towards the wool and hide clothing of the Ouestians. The coloration of their clothing either being blazingly bright and vibrant or dark and subdued.
Besides the humans there were a number of short and wide folk that Danke recognized as being dwarves. The males wore thick beards. The women didn't have beards which was different from the dwarves Danke knew from his homeworld. Both males and females wore thick horned helmets, which were as much a ceremonial and cultural headdress as they were a practical clothing choice.
Other than the Dwarves, there were tall, slender bodied humanoids with pretty faces, a heavy magical aura, and pointed ears. Elves. They were clothes that were made of plant fibers and carried magical blades and bows. They all had a sense of arrogance to them and moved with a natural grace that reminded Danke of some of his more insufferable cousins.
Those particular children had been sired by one of his father's more annoying wife. Who had also been an elf and while they weren't sensitive enough to know what lay beneath Danke's skin, they could sense that there was something there, which made them try all the harder to make his life miserable. Lest he be a threat to them.
Finally, there were a number of men and women, walking around with beast-like features. Many of them possessed at least animal ears and a tail. The men tended to be a much more hirsute than the woman. There were also a couple of folks who simply seemed to be humanoid animals. Danke knew those too… they were beastfolk.
"Hm… There's more non-humans around but this world seems a lot like my old one." said Danke.
"Well, master. That's perfectly natural. The cosmos is made up of countless iterations of various key universes. Each iteration's foundation is more or less the same, and the differences between them could be considered minor, at the surface level, if you haven't wandered far enough along the sequence." said Wis.
"Sequence?" said Danke.
"The sequence in the iteration, master." said Wis.
"So wait, are we close to my old world now?" said Danke. Absentmindedly wondering if Wis' words on the inconsistency of Abwickeln's time-stream meant that he might one day be able to pop into his hometown and say hi to his mother and his one non-sh**ty sibling.
"No, master. Not at all. Universes ruled by dark gods and the like, are isolated since their administrators tend to be more irresponsible leading to troubling results. To avoid contamination, or ill-effect on the bright and gray universes, as well as to dissuade attempts at expansion by the generally overambitious rulers of those darker timelines, dark universes are kept in their sectors within this portion of the cosmos." said Wis.
"Ah...Alright, then. Wait, so...Abwickeln isn't the only higher-energy realm?" said Danke.
Wis laughed.
"Of course not...The cosmos is infinite and there are countless universes, multiverses, and ultraverses in existence. All operating parallel to one another." said Wis.
"Wow...Okay, so its no big deal that this world is basically a medieval old-timey version of my world then." said Danke.
"Actually, master… The point I was trying to say is that this world isn't a time-delayed version of your world. Both your world and this one are completely independent. Both worlds are iterations of a key world, that would probably be only vaguely recognizable to you. A key world with archetypes that you only feel are similar because you are only looking at the surface level. If you look deeper, you'll find that both worlds possess majorly different governing laws and mathematical principles."
"Nh… I only got about half of that, but I'm getting the sense that the cosmos is like some giant computer or massive library with all the worlds and planets acting almost like big simulations or petri dishes or whatever…" said Danke. Frowning.
"Hm, maybe you're understanding after all." said Wis. Her expression suddenly somber.
"Whatever… I'm just going to take that to mean that this world is a world with a more high fantasy setting, rather than more technologically advanced low-fantasy world I came from. Hopefully this world is less grimdark and sh**ty than my old one." said Danke. Grumbling. Tossing his shoulders and shaking his head as he decided not to care anymore.
"If it helps to think of things along those lines, master… Then please feel free to do so." said Wis. Her expression lightening up in response Danke's irreverent tone.
The conversation changed to less heavy topics such as whether the food being sold from the stalls would be tasty and whether they'd be staying at an inn or if they'd simply retire to Danke's inner-world when they were done doing what they needed to.
Finally they reached their first stop of the day, a mid-sized, run-down, wood and brick building, with a sign with the words "Winter's War Hounds"hanging above the entrance.
Danke opened the door and gestured for Wis to enter before he did. Wis seemed to struggle for a moment. Fighting the urge to insist that she be allowed to hold open all the doors from now on. Till finally she simply blushing stepped inside.
The inside of the building wasn't much to look at. There was a small front room with a front desk covered in litter and a wooden plate that held the remains of someone's lunch. There was also a bell on the desk.
Danke walked over and began to ding the bell. Dinging it several times for three seconds before stepping away from the desk.
A few minutes later, a man rushed out from the back of the building. The man was young. Moderately tall, and slightly stocky. He had a face that had an odd mixture of stubble and baby fat. His hair was dirty-blond and his sleepy eyes were dark blue.
When he entered the front room and realized that he didn't know who was there, the man seemed to freeze. Turning rigid.
"Er...H-, Hi, I'm Harrison Winters. Feel free to call me Harry. Everyone else in town does. I'm the owner and proprietor of Winters Warhounds. If you're here with a job, I'm afraid we might not be able to help you at the moment because…"
"You're currently lacking in bodies. We know. That's why we're here." said Danke.
"To buy us up?! If you're with that snake Beaumont trying to buy me out again, you best leave right now, while I'm still being polite." said Harry. His tone immediately changing. His voice becoming lower and rougher, as his aura became increasingly intense.
"Ah, no… We're not with Beaumont's Boars. Perhaps we should have introduced ourselves first, I'm Danke Schoen… And this is Wisdom Schoen, my ... wife(?). We're from… not-here...and we heard there might be work available at your blade-company for those with the skill." said Danke.
"R-, Really?" said Harry. His tone skeptical but clearly hopeful.
"...Yes." said Wis. Her tone lacking inflection, though her cheeks bloomed like roses.
"Oh, thank all the gods! I mean... *ahem* I don't suppose you two have brought any kind of proof of your skill or some kind of curriculum vitae."
"Nope." said Danke. Shaking his head and shrugging with his palms up.
"....Well, happy to have you anyway!" said Harry. Smiling widely. Losing his steely eyed look and melting back into a dopey-eyed teddy bear.
The man's desperation doubled his strength as he guided the two towards the back of the building. An area that served as an untidy mixture of storage space and office space. A space filled with desks and crates, and desks made out of crates.
Danke and Wis soon found themselves seated at a desk that was even messier than the one in the front room had been. Harry sat across from them. Speaking far too quickly as he went over the employment contract.
The general gist of the contract was that it was an agreement to follow orders while on the job. There was an exclusivity clause where they were expected to work exclusively for the company and not dally with the company's rivals and enemies. There was a clause that held them from attacking their workmates except under extenuating circumstances.
There was also a leniently worded clause that asked them to keep in mind that they may be asked to come to the company's defense in its time of need…
The fact that this was more of an advisory statement than a hard requirement was part of why Danke had chosen to come work for a blade-company rather than joining either the hunter or mercenary guilds. The guilds made their emergency defense, or emergency-mission clauses, into a requirement.
This clause could also be invoked by the kingdoms in which the guilds were located, if the kingdoms needed bodies. Joining a guild meant risking being drafted into the war.
Danke had no interest in getting mixed up in the war, thus here he was.
After, Harry read through the clause, Danke did so as well just to make sure there were no surprises. Then he let Wis read the contract too, because A) this affected her as well and B)Danke trusted her judgement over his own.
Since Wis saw now issues with the contract he and officially signed onto the group. Adding his signature to the company's ledger of employees. Noting all the names that had been crossed out and reasons that had been supplied in the lines below those names.
There were quite a few people who'd either died off, quit, or mutinied. The number of deaths was relatively normal for the trade. However, seeing how many people had mutinied made Danke worry, about his plan's success but the data floating in the collective unconsciousness of the town, and trickling through from the akashic plane, seemed to hold Winter's Warhounds as being a reputable if unlucky company.
"Oh… and one last thing." said Harry. Getting up and then coming back with a large glowing stone.
"What's that?" whispered Danke.
"The local's call them truth stones. Their used to verify statements and make oaths magically binding." said Wis. Also whispering.
"Hm? Will that be a problem." asked Danke.
"I doubt it." said Wis.
"I just need to confirm that you guys, are really here as employees and not...you know. Secretly plants from who knows where. I hope that won't be a problem." said Harry.
Danke and Wis exchanged a look before Danke shook his head and said,
"Not at all."
"Good. Good. Alright. Just put your hands on the stones and answer these questions. Otherwise, I'll have to fire you before we can really get started." said Harry.
"No problem." said Danke. Placing his hand on the glowing tablet. His hand overlapping with Wis' which was already on the stone.
"Do you swear that you and those behind you are not members of the sworn enemies of the Winters clan?" said Harry.
"I do." said Wis.
"Yeah." said Danke.
"Do you swear that you are not an agent of the enemies and or competitors of Winter's Warhounds, and their parent group the Swords of Four Seasons?"
"I do." said Wis.
"Yes." said Danke.
"Do you swear to work for and not against, the War Hounds as a member of the company and not scheme against the company or act on the behalf of the company's rivals without announcing your decision to leave."
"We do." said Danke and Wis.
"Excellent… Well, uh...I guess that's it. I look forward to seeing you guys tomorrow? Is tomorrow good for you guys?" said Harry. Looking between the two pretty strangers.
Danke paused a moment, realizing that Wis was looking at him. Which made him realize that he was the only one with a clear idea of their plans for the next few days.
"Tomorrow sounds good, we think." said Danke.
"Excellent. Guess I won't have to cancel on old Mr. Johanson after all." said Harry. Beaming.