SSD 5.10 - Employment

Your regularly scheduled chapter has arrived again. So enjoy!

“Every employer deals with two mutually opposing paradigms. Giving your employees enough experience to level and grow, and therefore be more useful, weighs against both: sacrificing the levels and experience that could have gone to another, and the possible loss of any talent that gains sufficient knowledge and power. Fail to provide enough capacity to grow, and you run the risk of not being able to hire anyone but the incompetent or desperate. Provide too much, and you will lose the very talent you have fostered.”

-From a bloodstained, hardbound and dented, copy of Leveraging Employee Resources: A Guide for Management, pulled from the twisted ruins after a cataclysm, next to skeletal remains with a cranial fracture.

==Caden==

The new rewards were rather nice, if nothing else that was demonstrated by another flood of patterns automatically being added, but that was secondary to my current purpose. If the only thing that my stroke of luck brought me was this, then that was fine, but I was hoping that was the incidental, rather than primary, benefit.

For the moment, Masteoa was looking at me. It was a rather familiar look by now.

Who knew worshipful adoration would feel so obnoxious?

Oh well… at least I can say I actually did something to earn this.

That did, slightly, make the situation better. The hope that the adoration was a temporary situation, caused by the sudden change of fortune, helped even more. Gratitude I could deal with.

“Still need to talk about that job,” I said, smiling and acting like nothing major had been done, looking off toward the happy slogi for a moment. One of the other shards was still happily taking care of them, and even if I could feel everything that shard did, I still wished I wasn’t responsible for this.

Made the mess, get to clean it up.

Masteoa visibly collected himself, carefully wiping away tears, and I turned back toward him fully as soon as he was back in control. His eyes shone a little, and there was a faint redness and inflammation around them, but I wasn’t going to be mentioning it.

Yeah, that’s right, we are men. No feelings here, nope, none whatsoever. Just macho posing and taking about cars… or would that be carriages here… chariots? Funnily enough, this would actually be the right place for that. Would a stable count as the equivalent of an auto mechanic…?

Regardless, no emotions here, it’s just raining… inside the stable.

To be fair, with the walls crosshatched to leave gaps, that was substantially more possible in this building than most, but even so…

I absently waved off the errant thoughts. I might have a dozen full shards, but somehow I managed to have far more points of view than merely that.

“Yes, s- Lord Caden,” he finally managed. “What exactly would you want of me?”

“For now,” I said, “I would have you interact with animals and monsters…” Seeing the faint alarm on both his and Brosta’s faces I hurried to continue. “Yes, I know that would normally be dangerous. I can… subdue them, I suppose you could say. They won’t act fully as they ought to, but it should still help you gain new experience. And if you are ever injured anyway, I will ensure you are healed. I assume that your level is fairly low, and that your class is not particularly advanced, correct?”

Masteoa looked slightly ashamed, but he still answered, if softly, “Yes, Lord Caden.”

“For most people,” I said, “that might be a problem. For me, that is exactly what I want. You have the capacity to change and grow, fairly rapidly, and are not already far down a different path. I assume it becomes more challenging to change your path as you progress, correct?”

I saw Brosta nod, while Masteoa managed to get out a “Yes.”

Right, her.

“I thought so. It wouldn’t make sense, otherwise.” Allowing cross classing without restrictions is always too powerful. “Brosta, would you mind stepping outside for a few minutes?”

She nodded, murmuring a quiet, “Yes, Lord Caden,” before leaving.

Hopefully that will make Masteoa more comfortable opening up.

“Eventually, I would want you to become something like a monster strategist, or possibly even a monster tamer or breeder. There are a few things that would be very useful: finding the strengths and weaknesses of the various monsters, how to use them effectively, modifying them to suit various purposes, taming some to be less aggressive and more domesticated, and so on.”

That last point, the idea of having monsters domesticated, was more significant than it seemed. And not just because I want to be able to cuddle with things that don’t act slightly zoned out. Societies often advanced to address problems, and small innovations added up to enable larger ones. However, if domesticated animals and monsters could fill that role, then things like tractors, motorized or magical trolleys, and so on, might not be needed at all. Hell, even a fire monster that lived in a stove and ate food scraps or wood, producing flame and heat in exchange, might be possible. I simply didn’t know.

It was a shot in the dark, but the thought presented at least one possible way for society to survive. Maybe going too far in that direction would still trigger whatever metric The System was using to decide if another apocalypse came, but it also might not. I hoped, of course, that any and all precautions would be unneeded, but I wasn’t prepared to simply bet that I was going to succeed.

Hope for the best, prepare for the next apocalypse.

Somehow, I don’t think my twist on the saying will catch on.

Masteoa was rather obviously thinking about his situation, his lips pursed and brow furrowed.

What else… well ask, duh.

“Also,” I said, “I’m not entirely sure about what is currently included in,” I waved my hands vaguely, “all of this. I’ll pay you, of course. I assume they provide lodging of some kind while you are out here, and food… Honestly not sure what they normally do for you, when you are home, either…” I trailed off, and then shrugged.

“Still, it shouldn’t be a challenge for me to provide anything you need.”

“Since I work for the guild,” he said, “rather than a noble, I don’t have to live near the stables all the time. I am here, of course, since I am caring for everything, but that is not the normal situation. I stay with my family, unless I have one of the shifts where I sleep at the stable, on hand for any adventurers that might need me. My clothes are paid for, of course, and they provide food when I am working, as well as all the tools.

“Normally,” he said, standing a bit straighter, “I make two and a half coppers a day. A full tetra-dimid a week, and a full dimid every month. Most nobles wouldn’t pay people with my job that much. The guild says they pay more because they don’t have to house us most of the time. The advancement is restricted, of course, but that is the same everywhere.”

Only two point five copper a day, ouch. Eh… well I don’t actually know what everything costs, other than that merchant was absolutely overcharging all the adventurers for the alcohol. Though I suppose there was the danger of hauling it out here, the time it took, plus a very limited supply… Either that or alcohol is ridiculously expensive here. Considering that historically beer was often drunk more than water… that would be odd.

Wait… a tetra-dimid a week? That’s twenty five copper, so either he is very bad at math or a week here is ten days, making the month forty days or four weeks, to make it a full dimid every month. That begs a question…

‘Zidaun, just to make sure, is a week is ten days, with four weeks to a month? And how long is a year?’

‘Yes Caden, and a year is usually eleven months, but it can vary. This year was unusual, things extending all the way out to about twelve months. It can get as low as ten months, too.’

‘Very good, thank you Zidaun, go back to what you were doing.’

‘Yes Caden.’

An orbit with variations as large as a month or two… yeah that is not stable at all. That’s what four hundred to four hundred and eighty days, with the average falling at four forty? Ten percent variation in an orbit is ridiculous. GAIA already told me that things would go badly if The System were removed, just more proof of The System maintaining things, I suppose.

I might have zoned out a bit too long, because Masteoa was back to looking nervous.

“Not a problem, I was just thinking about what I would need to do to provide housing,” I lied. “I’m already planning to do a fair amount of construction-” Yeah, like a whole city. “so adding in a house for you is not a problem, as well as some furnishings. Neither is food, clothing, or tools. And I am happy to pay you at least as much, and certainly more as you level or change classes. Do you have anyone you would need, or want, to bring out here? Any children, a partner, or perhaps members of your family as a whole?”

He shook his head. “Don’t have any children yet, Lord Caden, nor a partner.” He looked down for a moment, his eyes lingering on a small bag on his belt, a coin purse, where the money had gone. “Saving never left me much to do anything else. Certainly not enough to support a family of my own. And my family… not sure if they would want to leave, or…” He looked at the bag again, a flash of a smile emerging for a moment.” Well, I would have said I wasn’t sure if they could afford to come, but I could arrange for that. Still, they would need work to do… Maybe I could bring some of my younger siblings, or cousins, take some of the load off of the rest of the family? I could afford to buy them apprenticeships, now. Assuming anyone here will even want to offer one.”

I could have offered them all jobs, transplanted his whole family. Hell, I could just pay them all whether they were working or not. That wasn’t what I wanted though. Choice was important. I could have simply bribed him, or just used my authority to essentially conscript him. I might have to present myself as a power, simply because I was a power, and allowing myself or others to forget that could have consequences, but abusing my authority would quickly grow into a habit.

Still, I can help him make an informed decision.

“I’ll be building more to support all the adventurers,” I said. “I’m sure some of the people who come, the smiths, merchants, coopers, and so on will need some extra help. There is lumber and ore in my dungeon, someone will need to process that. I doubt all of them will have apprentices. And,” I waved my hand toward outside, “I’m given to understand that some kind of outpost will be built here. I cannot say I know exactly what will be needed, but I know that some people will be needed to build it, maintain it, guard it, and continue the host of professions that arise with civilization.”

He gave me a bit of an odd look when I mentioned people acting as guards.

“Not a fan of guards?” I said.

Masteoa got a bit red in the face. “Uh, it can be a very honorable profession…” he said. “It is just strange to consider some of my family in that role.”

I nodded. “Yes, I understand.” Problems with authority, which makes sense, given how nervous he is about the nobles. Police can certainly make people uncomfortable back home. “People have mixed experiences with people in that role.”

“I suppose you would know,” he said slowly, “since you see everything.”

I smiled, nodding.

“I… think I would like to try. I mean… I would like to accept your offer, Lord Caden,” he said. “However, I cannot simply abandon the stable. I’ll need to wait for my replacements to show up, but then… I would like to accept.”

I smiled broadly.

“Excellent. You know… I might be able to expedite a replacement for you. The local guildmaster actually asked to meet me. I guess I have something to discuss, in addition to whatever he wants.”

Masteoa swallowed.

“Would that be Guildmaster Kraring Greim?” he asked.

“Yeah, actually, why?”

“He’s very high level. People say he is crazy… He is nice enough to people like me though. Just… I’ve heard a lot of people complain about him, over the years, how he just trampled over what they wanted.”

I’m either going to love or hate this man.

“Hmm, guess I’ll just have to meet him and see,” I said. “That’s for later, though, I’m going to bring back in Brosta for a moment. Unless you have anything else you need?”

“No, thank you.” He smiled a bit, even if there still was an edge of uncertainty.

He’ll get over that. Just have to show that I won’t hurt him.

I strolled up to the door, grasping the rough iron handle, and pulled it open. The door was stiff, the hinges crude, but they had been oiled well, as so there was only a faint rasp as the metal rubbed slightly.

“Brosta, would you come back in for a moment, please?”

I healed her, taking considerably less time than it had taken to heal Masteoa. It would have taken less time, regardless, since she was considerably more healthy than him, but my ability to directly change her pattern meant that I could have healed all of her in only moments. However, I decided to slow the healing process down, deliberately going slower.

Partially, this was to watch how the pattern changed as she healed, trying to understand what was going on. Mainly, however, I didn’t want to reveal that I could actually heal much faster. It was better that this seem like a more involved process.

Like Masteoa, she opted for me not to heal the exposed skin directly, since she wasn’t sure what the change would look like, but was happy for me to remove any perceived imperfections under her clothes. Instead I offered another solution.

“I can heal the base layer of skin,” I said. “Skin actually has many layers, and people constantly lose the outer ones. If I heal that layer, any changes will show up gradually as the new layers of skin grow into replace the old ones. It shouldn’t seem like such a sudden change. I can leave any scars in the layer alone, if you like.”

She equivocated for a moment, before speaking up.

“Eh, to the frozen hells with it. I’m only going to get this chance once. Repair the entire layer, please.”

And so I had. I suspected she would be very happy with how she looked soon enough. Freckles and such would stay, as they ought to, being part of the natural complexion, but a hundred tiny bits of wear would soon be nothing but dust.

After that, I thanked her for her help, even as she tried to do the same to me, then helped Masteoa to feed the slogi, replacing everything that was used. Their eyes started to droop after they ate, and they were soon back to being a cuddly ball of fur.

Sadly, that ended, so I went outside and let the crowd know that I would be leaving. I was tempted to create a proper road in the area I controlled, perhaps straighten out the buildings…

No, best to let them handle that. If I don’t like how things are done once a professional works on it, I can always change it then.

As soon as I placed my body back into storage, I had planned to go me with the guildmaster, however some of my facets had finished their tasks. For the first time, one of them got the chance to play with my newest skill, Spatial Elasticity.

I would need to completely redo all my planned designs.