Cain led the group to the front gates, which were hastily opened to allow their arrival, and got his first look at the inside of M City. It was a simple place, full of wooden structures covered in clay plaster and painted in a variety of neutral colors. Despite being in one of the most dangerous places on the planet, the city really reminded him of Beginner's Valley. Poor, basic and bland were the best ways to describe the city. If you ignored the current condition of the place that is.
The place was an absolute disaster zone. Every house looked run down, there were malnourished refugees everywhere and the city now smelled like fresh blood on top of unwashed bodies, not a pleasant combination.
"It looks like you have had a hard time of things since the change in the Mana levels," Cain says to the Mayor, a middle-aged Magic-type demon, with red feathered wings, who looks more than a little bit burned out.
"You have no idea. The next city to our East fell to a flight of Chimera the day of the change, and we were flooded. M City was just a trading outpost, they had ten times the citizens that we did, on top of which now none of the merchant wagons are traveling, so we haven't had any new supplies of food." The demon sighed. They really have had the worst of luck with this natural disaster.
"You haven't sent out hunting parties? We're on a farm, so there is food, but most of the nutrition comes from Magical Beasts." Cain asks, a bit confused at the situation.
"We had thirty awakened fighters this morning, including the refugees. Assuming that no more of them die from injuries, we should have twenty-two now. If we sent any of them out and they found a safer spot, they likely wouldn't come back, so nobody was willing to suggest hunting parties." The mayor sighs
"Plus, it's magical beast's meat, only the desperately poor would hunt them for food." one of the guards points out.
"You haven't tried it, have you? Here, take a bite." Laura reluctantly offers the guard a piece of her jerky.
"What's that made from? It's incredible, and the level of mana in it is nearly as good as a lesser potion." The guard exclaims, his eyes opening wide at the taste of the meat.
"That's Purple Leopard. There are dozens of them dead around the city right now, if you collect them to make a huge pot of meaty stew for the people here. I don't know what you have for vegetables though." Cain informs him and the man thinks for a second before answering.
"Not much. The gardens have been looted dry already, and the only druid we had left the day after the change, annoyed with all the people bothering him."
That's not surprising, most druids are reclusive and don't like to live in the city to begin with. If hundreds of people suddenly wanted to talk to him when the trading wagons didn't show up, he probably fled at the first opportunity.
"I have some druidic magic, as a Treant. Perhaps I could help?" Prana suggested, pulling a handful of small potatoes from her inventory.
That's not even enough for her own breakfast, but with Druidic magic, she could turn that into a fully grown potato patch in under a minute. The druid class isn't easy to get, or every farmer would want to have one in the family, so in a situation like this, she's making a great case for herself to be their champion. All she needs is just a bit more power and she would be a ringer for the job.
"Outside the walls isn't really safe, so do you have a large empty garden that I could work with?" Prana asks hopefully, gesturing around the town.
"We certainly do. Guards, go collect all those corpses, then skin and butcher them. Once you're done, store them in your inventory. We will be living off that meat for the next few days. Now, dear guests, if you will follow me, the former residence of the local druid has a garden over two acres in size." The mayor rambles out a set of directions while walking quickly towards an enormous redwood tree.
"I like his style. He built right into a living redwood tree." Prana declares with a smile, but the Mayor coughs uncomfortably.
"He actually grew the tree around a small cabin before the city walls were built. During the Great War, he was a hermit that lived on the edge of town, and over time, the city simply grew around him until he couldn't take it anymore. The influx of requests for his time was simply the last straw for him, not the entire cause of him leaving." The Mayor explained.
The garden was in incredible shape, though devoid of plant life at the moment, and the Mayor stationed guards on the streets around the residence to keep hungry or curious locals from interfering with what was coming next.
Prana carefully cut the small potatoes in half, then buried them in the soil before stopping. "Um, does anyone have water magic? Mine only creates a clear poison, and while I can eat what grows in that, it would kill everyone else."
"I've got an endless water bottle." One of the guards suggests, before Moana points at herself, offended.
"Hello, Leviathan here. Of course, I've got water magic. Though letting the locals help would be best. Why don't we send someone to look for a water mage?"
One of the guards runs off and returns a few minutes later with a small child in his arms, drawing confused looks from everyone gathered.
"Hey, don't look at me like that. I've been taking her out hunting to build her level. Nana here is a proper level sixty-five water mage." The proud father insists, then sets the little girl down so she can help out where needed.
"Alright sweetie, what I need you to do is make it rain all over the garden while I make the plants grow. Can you do that for me?" Prana asks gently and the little girl gives her a huge smile missing three front teeth.
"Yep yep. I can make amazing rain pretty lady." Nana giggles, giving a twirl as if that helps prove her point.
"Alright, let's see that rain," Prana tells her, and a gentle drizzle begins to fall over the garden and a section of the surrounding city.
"A bit heavier. I'm going to grow these plants very fast, and they will need all the water they can get." The demonized Treant insists as green leafy stems begin to appear above the ground, spreading all over the garden in seconds.
The rain turns to a full on downpour, which is sucked up by the growing plants in an instant, They grow into large bushes, then small white flowers open and Prana signals for the rain to stop.
"Now I just need to do the last little bit, and revitalize the soil, and we're all done." She declares as the soil drys up and the leaves begin to turn brown on the plants.
"Perfect. Now, grab an Earth Mage, or some workers and dig them up. No, on second thought, I'll use my vines. It's better if random people stay out of the garden." hundreds of small vines extend from her hands into the ground, pulling up plants laden with heavy root clusters of potatoes.
They have all grown attached to each other, since the Treant's magic grew the garden from only a handful of separate plants, and they come up relatively easy, with her vines shaking the excess dirt from the tubers before pulling them free into a huge pile and returning the rest to the garden, where her magic turns them to compost in seconds and the vines till the soil to mix the nutrients back in.
"I'm not as good as a real druid, the ground will take a bit of time to recover, but I should be able to grow a garden every month," Prana informs the Mayor proudly.
She might not be the strongest combatant, since she focuses on control skills, but her extra benefits would do a lot for this city, and Prana sees it as a golden opportunity to become the local Guardian.
Cain too sees it as a great benefit. Prana is a good person, and having good people in charge nearby would really help not only keep the farm safe but keep things from getting out of hand on a large scale.
"Would you like to run for Guardian Miss Prana? They are holding the selection next week, and the others are all boring warriors." Nana, the small water mage asks, making her father blush with embarrassment.
"I am certainly considering it. You all seem like decent people, but first, let's get that stew started. There are a lot of hungry people in town, and we've got fresh meat and potatoes."
Most of the Potatoes are moved to an underground cellar on the property, clearly designed by a druid, as they have storage magic on them to prevent rot, and the cellar itself is enough to provision the city for months. The shelves are bare though, and look hastily cleared, so either the Druid himself cleared them, or the residents and refugees grabbed everything they could.
If that was the case though, they shouldn't look so hungry. Unless a few were hoarding their gains from the rest.
