Cora trudged down the dilapidated road. The cobblestones had grass and other plants growing in between them and were for the most part cracked and chipped. A faint hint of past glory could be seen from the ornateness of the few bricks remaining along the fast disappearing curbs.
Cora had never thought that her book would be so out of date. It had taken her to an artificial cave inches deep in dust and debris. She had an inkling that it hadn't started out as one since the floor had been paved and etched with the teleportation circle. That had been the only pristine thing there though she wasn't sure if that was because the energy used had burned away whatever trash may have landed on it.
The outside of the structure had been crafted to resemble a cave. That had been at odds with the brick and mortar interior. There had been little holes to let in light, some of them blocked. Without those, Cora feared that she wouldn't have been able to actually find her way out. The room had been connected to another darker hallway that led to an easily moved swinging door.
When she'd turned around to look at where she'd exited, she'd found that the door was fashioned to look like a giant boulder. That had had her blinking. Looking further, the entire thing was in a hillside in an otherwise flat piece of forest.
Cora had simply started walking along the road beside the hillside, figuring that it would eventually take her to the little town that was her destination. She had to admit that she was a bit worried since the teleportation circle had been so well hidden.
Cora looked up as she finally reached the end of the forest. The compass on her status told her that she'd been traveling south since exiting, and she had a vague idea that Wilderven was somewhere to the northwest of her position. That she owed to the Mayor title since the mere thought of where Wilderven was had given her a mental ping.
In the distance, she could see houses and buildings built of stout logs and bricks. If she kept at her present pace, she'd be there soon.
*****
Cora stopped at the entrance to the town, staring around with wide eyes. The bricks some of the buildings were built with were more than familiar as she'd seen some of their cousins lining the road on her way to the town. The explanation of where they could have gone was now answered.
She had to revise her estimation of just how big the road had been in its heyday. From the sheer amount of bricks she was seeing, it had to have been bigger than she'd imagined from its remnants.
Cora transferred her gaze from the buildings to the inhabitants. They were large, burly and possessed of skin in various shades of green. Clad in clothing of various styles, they milled around like people in any normal town, laughing and talking.
"Oy! You!" A voice blasted next to her, causing her to jump.
She turned to see a guard standing next to her, glaring down at her. He was clad in worn chainmail and leather with a hefty spear slung over his shoulder, the tip of it gleaming in the afternoon sun. His eyes were narrowed under a mop of dark green hair capped by leather helmet.
"Yes?" Cora returned, taking an involuntary step back. She blinked up at him in shock even as her mind registered everything she'd seen in the past few minutes.
"Stupid human," the guard growled, lifting up one hand threateningly.
Before it could come down and send Cora back to her spawn point, wherever that would be, the guard was smacked on the back of his head by a hand the size of an iron skillet.
"Oy! What's that for?" He bellowed, turning around to confront the female standing behind him with a peeved look on her face.
"Stupid man," the female said, her tone obviously angry.
To Cora's surprise, the guard backed down, even groveling a bit. She looked from the guard to the newcomer and back again.
"Don't worry about Ufgar. He's been in a snit since he got assigned guard duty," The female gave Ufgar a push to move him along and smiled down at Cora. "So, what's a human mayor doing here?"
"Mayor?" Ufgar muttered, taking another look at Cora. His eyes widened. "Sorry, ma'am, sorry!" He stammered as he stumbled back a bit. Then he scurried away.
"What just happened?" Cora asked, watching as he disappeared into the crowd to a surfeit of laughter.
"Who, him? Assaulting a mayor is a serious offense, after all," the female said. "I'm Sala, assistant to Mayor Aulan." She stuck out a giant hand in Cora's direction. "And you are?"
"Oh, I'm Cora, Mayor of Wilderven," Cora added hurriedly as she gingerly shook a few of Sala's fingers. "How did you know I was a mayor?"
"It's floating above your head, dear," Sala said, taking back her hand. She gave a friendly, fanged smile. "Now, what are you looking for in our little town?"
Cora untied the small sack around her waist and pulled out an ear of blood corn.
"Ooh! Ruby Red!" Sala cooed. "And such a bright, healthy color at that! I haven't seen any since I was a kid. I thought the strain had died out."
"I was hoping to trade for something I need," Cora ventured.
"Well, let's see," Sala said cheerfully. She led Cora through the square, greeting people and steadfastly ignoring the curiosity directed towards her guest. "What sort of things are you looking for?"
Cora's head kept swiveling as she trotted behind Sala. She wasn't concerned about losing her; Sala was dressed in a vibrant green and pink outfit with swirls of gold. It was like a mishmash of a business suit and a harem outfit. Seeing other females dressed in similar outfits while manning stalls and haggling, Cora figured that it was considered a type of uniform.
"I was hoping to find regular corn and perhaps some stones?" Cora said. She tried to surreptitiously regain her breath as they came to a stop in front of a large stall. "Do you have any of those things?"
"Hmm, for stones, I would suggest trying for Avalegham. They specialize in stones and the like, don't you know. For the things vegetable related, I would suggest talking to Ufkim here." Sala nodded towards the owner of the stall who came forward with eyes bright with curiosity.
"Hello there, young Mayor," Ufkim said, smiling widely. "Haven't seen a human in these parts in a long time."
"How long is a long time?" Cora asked, taking in the quintessential farmer's outfit that he wore. She wondered just where they got that much denim from.
"Long enough," Sala cut in with a glance at Ufkim who shrugged. "Our little friend wants to trade some ears with you. Looks top grade, too."
"I'll be the judge of that, Sala. You go on, now. We'll be done in a few minutes," Ufkim said, staring steadily at Sala. After a moment, Sala rolled her eyes, harrumphed and stalked away.
"What was that about?" Cora asked, staring after Sala's departing figure.
"Just people being nosy," Ufkim said with a chuckle. "Now, what were you looking to trade? We've a few minutes before she arrives with her backup."
"Why does she need backup?" Cora asked, alarmed.
"Boys never explain nothing," a new female cut in, clad in blue and green. "He's trying to be diplomatic, but let me be blunt. Sala wants to know how you got here; she just hadn't gotten around to asking yet."
"Git, Serene! Those peaches need sorting before the kids come to pick them up," Ufkim said sourly.
Serene flashed Cora a reassuring smile before returning to the back of the stall. Cora shrugged. She was sure that if she was Sala, she'd be wondering just how Cora got to their town as well.
"I used the teleportation circle," Cora responded. "Now, I have blood corn to trade for anything else that can be grown."
"Ah, blood corn and teleportation circles, is it?" Ufkim laughed. "No wonder she's got a bee in her bonnet. Didn't know that thing still existed."
Cora followed Ufkim to one side of the stall. She pulled out an ear of her blood corn. He took it with an approving hum that made her a little bashful from pride. Then he pulled out a scale and weighed it.
"You've how many to trade?" Ufkim said, fishing out a notebook from under the stall counter.
"I have twenty," Cora said. She glanced around the stall at the multitude of fruits and vegetables. "Do you have anything easy to grow? I still have to rebuild things, so something easy would be best."
"And probably harvestable," Ufkim said with a judicious look at her. "How did you get to be a Mayor at such a low level?"
"I ran into dragons," Cora said with a sigh.
"Oh," came from her surroundings before the gossip and chatter rose up like a wave.
The sound made her realize that people had stopped talking to hear her answers. She glanced around, but everyone had already gone back to what they'd been doing beforehand.
"Dragons can be temperamental," Ufkim acknowledged. "Bad business that, but good for you at least," he added. He swept a gaze over his stall. "What about some sea corn? You're growing blood corn, but this is also a good choice."
"What's sea corn?" Cora asked fascinated as Ufkim passed her an ear of corn with kernels of a pure, nearly translucent blue.
"You mill this, you get a slurry best used for feeding fish, filling ponds, and purifying wells. It's also good for filling the wells as well, but you need an area with a strong dose of water element to grow it." Ufkim paused, glancing towards the northwest. "Wilderven, is it? You probably have a bit of work to go before that."
"How about this?" Serene said, appearing at his side and slapping a vine into his hand before disappearing again.
"Ah! Now what about this? Water berries," Ufkim said. "If you want to eventually grow anything water related, then you need to prep your soil. Water berries will do this, and you don't have to tend them while they grow. Just plant, water once and come back when they're done. Perfect for a low level like yourself."
Cora eyed the vine in his hand. It was a rather withered green with a few flowers dotting its surface. Beads of green resin had bubbled from where it had been cut.
"It produces berries?" Cora asked.
"You can eat the berries or turn them into juice. Of course, the dried berries are much in demand in the human cities. I'm sure you'll be going that way eventually," Ufkim gave her a once over. "Not now, of course, too dangerous."
"I'll take them," Cora said, inspired.
If she could grow enough, she could dry them and take them with her on her next foray. Something kept telling her that she shouldn't take the blood corn with her to any of the human cities. Then again, if Nate's story was to be believed, people were PK'ing simply for cottage deeds. What would they do to her for the chance to be a mayor?
"Then I'll trade you fifty seedlings for your twenty ears," Ufkim said.
Cora nodded, producing the rest of her ears. Ufkim placed them into a covered basket as Serene appeared again, a basket with little bundles of soil with greenery poking out of their tops in her arms. She deposited it in front of Ufkim and took the covered basket.
"I'll go make seeds," she murmured before disappearing back the way she'd come.
"Here you go," Ufkim said, handing over the basket. Then he paused. "This is a bit big for you. Hmm...perhaps they'll fit in that little sack? But you'll have to hurry back. They can't stay in a sack for that long, only a few days at best."
"Thank you," Cora said, transferring the seedlings from the basket to her sack. She gave it a longing glance before sighing, making Ufkim smile.
] "How about I give you a couple peaches as well since you can't take the basket?" Ufkim said, walking towards the back of the stall. He returned a few minutes later, two peaches clutched in his hand. "Here. You can eat them or plant them, your choice."
"Thank you," Cora said with a happy smile. She glanced to the northwest. "Do you know if there's a road back to Wilderven? The teleportation circle didn't seem to have a setting to send me back."
"Because you're too low-leveled, most likely," Ufkim said with a knowing nod. He nodded in the direction of the entrance to the town. "I would hate for you to walk, but as long as you make it to the Wildlands, you'll be fine with that title over your head. Makes you a bit of a target elsewhere though."
"It does?" Cora frowned.
"Stop scaring the girl." Serene reappeared, her hands a bit red with corn juice. "You could walk, but I would suggest going soon. Sala's a bit broody."
"Truly? Well, I need to go give that man a piece of my mind," Ufkim said, his face clouding up.
"Girls grow up. I keep telling you, and spoiling the boy isn't going to make him a better guard," Serene retorted. She turned Cora towards the entrance. "Go to the entrance, tell Ufgar that Serene said to take you to at least the forest entrance to the northwest, and go before Sala returns with her man."
"Is it really so serious," Cora protested.
"A broody girl is a paranoid girl," Ufkim said with a resigned shrug of his shoulders. "Come again, little mayor. Perhaps next time, I can introduce you to my new grandkid."
Cora grinned as she trotted back towards the entrance. This place was far more interesting than the beginner village had ever been.