The group followed behind the mayor as they headed to his office. Once they arrived, there were still people inside who were gathering their survival supplies. The mayor didn’t pay them heed as he opened the door to his head office.

Leo would struggle to describe the level of exasperation that was on the mayor’s face. His once pristine office was now filled with shattered chunks of ice and splattered with blood. The water poured out of the door.

“Sorry, sir, things got out of hand here,” explained Philips.

The mayor shot him a look, “Clearly.”

He headed down the hall while the group pursued. They kept pace while the mayor went down the winding halls of the building. He finally reached a small room far away from anyone else.

The door opened to reveal a small office. There was barely enough room to fit the group inside, as the stacks of paperwork suffocated them on all sides. Mayor Vanceroy sat behind the small table that functioned as a desk.

He grabbed a pen and paper, “This office should be safe from someone overhearing. Leo, please tell me everything that you can about the situation.”

Leo took a breath, “So, you already know most of what happened from Philips and Marem’s point of view. Thankfully, I was able to learn about the missing gaps of knowledge.”

Leo knew he had to be careful with what he shared. While he trusted the mayor to help, he had secrets that would be best kept to himself. Primarily the fact that Cordylia was aware that he’s an otherworlder.

She had mentioned that otherworlders couldn’t resist her effects during their fight. This meant that there had to be others like him, but he didn’t know what that meant for him. Koram didn’t mention them when Leo admitted his origins, so he wasn’t sure who would know and who he could trust with this knowledge.

“To start, I am an adventurer from Irontree. It’s a small village from across the Koraha desert. There was a powerful dragon that threatened the lives of the villagers that I was barely able to stop. This dragon claimed that it was a calamity,” explained Leo, as he attempted to be as vague as possible.

“How does this tie into Faelde City?” asked the mayor.

Leo elaborated, “Because it was a calamity that took control of your city. She referred to herself as Cordylia, and she used some form of fungus to control the minds of everyone involved. I was able to resist her effects and defeat the source of her control, but she isn’t dead.”

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

The mayor’s eyes filled with fear, “So she can still take control of us?”

Leo let out a sigh, “I don’t know. At the very least, she likely can’t take control of everybody. What I do know is that she is still out there and still a threat to Kalpania. Marem and I were headed to Edheim to inform the king about the calamities. There may be even more calamities out there, and we need to get the kingdom involved.”

Mayor Vanceroy’s face began to sweat. His eyes were wide and filled with fear, as his leg began to shake from anxiety. Leo watched as the mayor wrestled with the idea of a world ending threat. The only sound in the room was the rhythmic tapping of the mayor’s leg.

“Gods, these truly are trying times,” the mayor muttered.

He took a deep breath, “This is a threat far grander than I could comprehend. Thank you two for coming to our aid in our time of need. Although we can’t spare much to help you, I can give you two a letter with my seal. It will help you secure an audience with the king.”

Marem spoke up, “Thank you, that would be much appreciated, sir.”

The mayor dug around a nearby box until he pulled out a small piece of parchment and wax. He wrote out the details he knew and what he had heard from the others. The parchment was signed and rolled up, as he placed heated wax to keep it closed.

Leo noticed that the mayor pressed his ring into the wax. The strange pattern on the ring was now transferred onto the seal. It was handed to Marem, and she secured the letter within her bag.

“I am grateful for all that you two have done and have told me. Sadly, I must cut our meeting short, as I must oversee the town. The people need to know what happened, and we need to work on rebuilding,” stated the mayor.

Philips opened the door and the group shuffled out. The mayor headed down the hall with a purpose, as Philips lagged behind to talk with Marem and Leo.

“I do need to go, but please, take this,” he handed them a key.

He interrupted their confusion, “It’s the key to an apartment on main street. It’s my place, so feel free to use it for today. I heard some plans for a small feast to celebrate, and I think you two should stay for it.”

Before they could give him a response, he bolted down the hallway to catch up with the mayor. They looked to find that the key had an address written onto it. Their supplies were already packed, so they decided to stop by Philips’ apartment.

The walk there was filled with cheers and calls of admiration. Word of their importance in saving Faelde city seemed to spread like wildfire. It didn’t take long for them to find the apartment.

It was a simple wooden building with a blue painted exterior. They walked in to find a home relatively empty save for the numerous bookshelves. Each wall was dedicated to tomes that all seemed to discuss ice magic.

Marem had beelined for the bedroom, as she needed some actual rest after the day she had. While she had fallen unconscious earlier, sleeping in a bed was the only way to really sleep in her opinion. Leo decided to find other ways to occupy himself until the feast.