Kat hid a laugh behind her hand. Elijah gave her no such courtesy and let out a loud guffaw.

“You let a snot nosed brat steal our deer? That’s just rich. It took hours to build that stupid little sled as well.”

“We could always go get it back,” Avery said, crossing her arms. “It wasn’t even on my list of priorities at the time.”

“It’s okay!” Kat said, realizing their chances of leaving soon were waning. “I’ve got a lot of travel rations in my bags.”

“You sure?” Avery asked.

“Yes! Let’s just go. Please,” Kat begged. “I don’t want to get attacked by bandits again.”

“If you insist,” Elijah said, shrugging carelessly. “Let’s get moving, then. It’s probably for the best, since I don’t feel like getting questioned about yesterday’s fun little incident.”

Kat walked over to the stables and stepped inside. She threw her travel packs over Nelly’s side and then led the horse back outside and hopped onto its back with a smile. The three of them then headed through the town towards the southernmost gate.

Luckily, the town was still waking up and nobody bothered the trio as they left. The sun passed overhead as hours crawled by. The path was well worn from many years of use, but the edges had become overgrown with wild grass and weeds.

The sloping countryside slowly started to grow sparser. Greens turned to yellows and browns, although the weeds poking through the cracks in the packed dirt road still managed to retain their color.

When the sun shone directly overhead, the three travelers ground to a stop at the side of the road next to a large flat-topped rock. Kat hopped off Nelly and rummaged around one of her travel packs for a few moments before pulling out a square package wrapped in brown paper and another similarly wrapped package that was long and slim.

She set them down on the stone and turned back to the horse, pulling out a leather water skin and setting it beside the packages. She unwrapped them, revealing a long loaf of bread and several thick strips of some sort of jerky.

“Eat as much as you’d like!” Kat said, tearing off a piece of bread and quickly devouring it. “I have plenty.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Elijah said, licking his lips and taking a piece of jerky large enough to serve as a dinner plate. He took a large bite out of it and found himself pleasantly surprised.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

The meat, which he’d expected to be tough and dry, was rich and full of flavor. Subtle hints of heat mingled with a sweet, smoky flavor. It was chewy and soft, with tiny specks of spices that provided a pleasant texture.

“This is really good. What is it?” Elijah said through a mouthful of jerky.

‘Wyrm Jerky!” Kat replied excitedly. The dark bags under her eyes had faded slightly and her eyes had taken on a very faint red tinge. “My master made it himself. He learned to cook from a renowned traveling chef. He promised to teach me once I get back.”

Avery grabbed a considerably smaller piece of jerky for herself and took a bite out of it, chewing thoughtfully and swallowing before she spoke.

“Elijah’s right. This is really good. Your master is a very talented chef. If you decide becoming a mage isn’t for you, this would be a very good alternative. I’d pay to eat this.”

“Thank you,” Kat replied, taking a piece of jerky. “I’ll admit that I’m not a very good mage. I might end up doing just that.”

“What exactly can you do, magic wise?” Elijah asked before taking another bite.

“I can make a really small fireball and I’ve got a bit of telekinesis,” Kat muttered. “I haven’t had the chance to level up much, so my spells are pretty pitiful. The basic Mage class isn’t particularly strong, but there are a lot of opportunities to get a stronger class.”

“And how do you do that?” Elijah asked, his eyes sharpening.

“When you hit level ten, fifty, one-hundred, and every hundred levels after that, the System offers you a Class Up quest. I’ve heard they get pretty hard, but I’m sure you can imagine that the later classes get crazy strong as well.”

“And what class is your master?”

“He’s a Flame Sage. It’s one of the level fifty classes, although he’s somewhere in the high eighties,” Kat said, her eyes sparkling. “He’s amazing. He can fight entire low level dungeons on his own! I could introduce you guys to him, if you’d like. He took me in when I arrived in this world and he helped me figure a lot out. I doubt he could help you as much since you seem so capable, but I'm sure he’d be able to do something.”

“That would be wonderful. We would love to meet him,” Avery said, tearing off a piece of bread.

Elijah nodded in agreement. He finished off the last of his jerky and grabbed the water skin. He popped it open, poured a stream of water into his mouth, and then closed it again.

The others finished eating a few minutes later. They stood up, packing what little remained of the food, and Kat hopped back onto Nelly. With the sun now starting its descent towards the ground, they started back off along the road.

Daylight faded and the sky turned a dull pinkish red as the sun set behind the clouds. As they trekked onwards, a large shadow started to form at the horizon.

“That’s Volville!” Kat exclaimed. “We’re only an hour or two away now.”

“Good. I’m looking forward to sleeping in a bed,” Avery said.

The dirt road they were walking on merged into one made of paved cobblestone. By the time the sun was about to finish its arc through the sky, they were nearly upon the city. The silhouette of the city grew sharper.

Elijah could make out the tops of hundreds of buildings behind the city’s large walls. A single tall tower loomed over everything else, lit brightly by several large braziers hanging from it.