A few minutes later, the pair were walking down the road with a heavy wicker bushel basket swinging slightly between them. It was filled with bicolored apples. Joe and Rhiley were both happily crunching on one of the crisp fruits.

Even though their heights were drastically different, a clever bit of engineering negated the issue. A ring of rope was tied through each handle about two feet long. This added a foot to Joe’s grip. With Rhiley holding the basket handle and Joe holding the rope loop, the basket ended up just about level between the two of them.

At first, Joe was worried about the young man tiring out carrying the forty-pound basket to the village. After a few minutes, he realized the young farm boy was struggling less than he was. Which was especially sad because Rhiley didn’t even have a class yet. The system only became available once a child reached the age of twelve.

‘Well, that is a bit embarrassing,’ Joe thought. ‘I may be investing some of my assigned points into Strength and Vigor, just so I’m not such a wimp.’

The village of Crowfield was as quaint and pretty up close as it had been from the hillside. Most of the houses had flower patches or window boxes. The road was made of hard, packed dirt with no mires of mud or filth. The houses were almost all one or two stories, though a few had a third floor.

The people were dressed in simple apparel, but the clothes were well cared for and clean, at least as much as one could be expected from a farming community. Villagers waved to Rhiley and called greetings by name. They seemed to take no particular notice of Joe, but he could tell they were curious about him all the same. Every few seconds, he received another,

Someone has failed to assess you.

He couldn’t blame them. Joe knew how small towns were. Everyone noticed the out-of-towners. To be fair, he was looking right back at everyone around him as well, though he lacked the skill to glean any additional information. He was amazed to see such a variety of races right there in front of him.

Humans seemed to be the most common, but only barely so. There were elves that seemed to glide as they walked. The dwarves did just the opposite. The bearded pair by the blacksmith shop seems to trudge with every step. A satyr was working at a loom on his porch across from a reptilian woman who was plucking deadheads from her garden. A being with bark-like skin and fern-like hair waved to Rhiley and then turned back to speaking with a feline-looking neighbor. An avian man with owlish features and a bright orange vest glided through the trees to land on the village green.

As he and Rhiley walked into the center of the hamlet, a tiny boy, only a few inches over Joe’s knee, dashed up to them. The young man had a shock of brown hair spiking out at all angles and a spring to his gait.

“Hey, Rhy,” the kid exclaimed in a voice that somehow did not match his childish stature. It was too gruff for someone seemingly so young. With a quick sidestep and darting fingers, the boy flicked an apple up into the air over Joe’s head and caught it on the other side of his body.

“Thanks,” he said to Rhiley, looking Joe over but not addressing him.“I’m heading to the fishing hole with Kip. Let me know if you want me to find you a pole.”

Surprisingly, even though he clearly gave Joe that look of an assessment, no notification popped up for it.

“Just don’t take Mister Dudley’s pole again, Kaid,” Rhiley replied. “That got me in trouble last time. And sorry. Can’t. I am helping Joe today. This is Joe. He healed Ma. … Well,” Rhiley drawled out that last word. “He made her better. We are going to try and find a spell he can use to fix it all.”

“So, no fishing,” Kaid huffed, looking a bit sad. Turning to address Joe directly for the first time, he added, “Well, hope you find what ya need, Mister Joe. I just got back on Missus Dellham's good side again. Be a shame …”

The strange boy’s words faltered off as the diminutive youth realized the rest of that sentence would have been awful for Rhiley. “Um. Nevermind. Um. If you do get some free time, Rhy, come find me by the river.” Pole in hand, the small figure dashed off. Joe caught an embarrassed facepalm just before the kid disappeared behind a stack of hay bales.

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“That is Kaid,” Rhiley explained. “He is a lot of fun.”

“How old is he?” Joe asked, trying unsuccessfully to mentally match the boy's mannerisms and voice to his minuscule physical frame.

“I don’t know. He’s a gnome, so it's hard to tell with them. They grow up slower, and they live a really long time. I think he is probably around your age, but he gets along better with us kids than he does with grown-ups. I think it’s a gnomish thing. … Or it could just be Kaid.”

A few strides further brought the two of them to the general store. It was one of the biggest buildings in the village. Even though it appeared only to have two floors, it surpassed the height of the three-story building across the street. It was colorfully painted in burgundy red with yellow trim and bore a huge front porch. Two large windows flanked the double doors, displaying fabric, ceramics, and other such wares. Open-top barrels held hoes, shovels, and rakes.

As the pair neared the open doors, Joe could smell the interior even before he crossed the threshold. Cinnamon, honey, and earthy herbs were all mixed together on top of a dry greenhouse smell: maybe seeds, or fertilizer, or both.

Rhiley shouted as he entered the store. “Hello, Missus Eldauk, I have the apples Dad picked for you,”

Even though the boy bellowed his news within feet of other shoppers, there was not a single sour look. As a matter of fact, an elderly man tousled Rhiley’s hair with a friendly grin. If Joe had shouted like that in a store when he was a kid, his parents, and the patrons would have been far less pleased. The culture here must be much more communal and outgoing than the more reserved public manners where Joe had lived on Earth.

Joe missed a step with Rhiley as a towering Jotun woman stepped out from behind a set of shelves. Joe had seen the Jotun option during the race selections, but there was a big difference between reading about it and coming face to face with a seven-foot-tall woman. The only reason he hadn’t seen her was because the shelves were built on her scale, each one close to ten feet tall.

The giantess was wearing a blue dress with an apron over it. Her overgarment was covered in pockets, each one probably as large as Joe’s satchel. It was obviously as functional as it was for keeping her clothes tidy.

“Good morning, Rhiley. How is your mother?” she said in a rich voice. It was deep but still feminine.

“She’s much better. Thanks, Missus E. This is Joe. He is a healer, but he just crossed over today.”

“A healer,” she exclaimed, her azure eyebrows rising. "And a Newcomer. That is wonderful. I don’t think we have seen one brought by the One Above in twenty years."

Her face settled into a smile that gave Joe the feeling of calculation as if there was something more behind the words that followed. "I am Gurda Eldauk. My family runs the General Store. If you need store credit, I am sure we can come up with an arrangement. Potentially, your healing for goods here at the market.”

Her immediate, direct enthusiasm aroused Joe’s telemarketer sense. She was a bit too quick with that offer. While she very well might be being straight with him, this felt suspiciously like one of those cold-call sales pitches that popped up on your phone.

As hanging up was not an option, Joe tried disengaging. “That is a very nice offer, Missus Eldauk. This is all very new to me. I’d like to get my bearings before making any deals just yet. If that’s ok with you?”

“You will find that the Clan of Eldauk is one of the most respected families in this community. The benefits of partnering with us are quite well-known. Just ask young Rhiley here. Why, for that bushel of apples alone, his father is gaining six gold as credit here at the store,” she extolled.

“Oh, but Da is giving the credit for the apples to Joe for helping Ma, Missus E. he is going to look to see if you have any skill crystals that might be good for him. Maybe something he can use to make her all the way better.”

“Very well,” she replied. Joe could tell she was not yet done trying to employ him, but after glancing back at the customer she had been helping, she decided to put her pitch aside for the moment. “Joe, the crystals we have are there in that case. See that red leather book there,” she stated, pointing to a volume on the wood counter over the curved glass display case. “You will find the prices of each crystal written in there. When I am done weighing seed for Admeadeon, I will come back and get any you are interested in.”

As the towering woman headed back around the shelf, Joe and Rhiley stepped up to the case. It was filled with stubby crystal points about three inches long and an inch and a half wide. There were five colors of crystal, which Rhiley stated were associated with the five attributes. The Strength crystals were red. Green for Vigor. Dexterity stones were yellow. The crystals for Perception were true blue, and the Spirit ones were violet. The crystals also had metal bands that were wound around them. Most had a single copper band, but a fair number had two bronze rings. There were two skill crystals that had three silver bands. Joe guessed that the bands indicated the rarity of the skills inside the stones.

Taking up the book and sitting down on an unopened barrel, Joe started leafing his way through the little red ledger. He could barely contain his excitement. These skills would be his first real set of choices in Illuminaria. He had ten gold coins and six gold credits to spend on them.

This was really the best day ever.