The village was quite easy to spot once she knew what to look for. Ves'ra had been confused at first - the grassy hills had suddenly been replaced by huge golden grasses. They were so tall in fact that she wasn't able to see anything apart from the grasses around her.

She spotted the human village only from above. Human houses were very different from kobold ones. They were bigger - unsurprisingly seeing as most humans were half again as tall as she was - and didn't look like they were built from any material she knew. When asked she was told most houses were built out of processed wood which was then painted.

It was a few hours before midday when they arrived at the village, later than she thought when looking at the size of the buildings. The houses were even bigger than she thought, which explained the long time they needed to cross the fields, even the smallest house was several times her height.

They didn't have anything to sell for such a small village - the caravan only toured the biggest settlements and traded stuff most villages didn't need. After only a short break to warn the village of the remaining bandits they moved on - they still had half a day remaining.

---

Arvog spotted the human city five days after passing the village. It was hard to miss really - huge walls of stone that were as tall as most trees in the forest. The city was in the middle of a huge valley between the hills - bigger than any she had seen so far. The human driver next to her told her that the mages that helped build the city were responsible for that!

Instead of moving all the stones they needed for a city as huge as this they just excavated the stone beneath the soil and used that to build the walls she was now seeing.

The city was perfectly circular, with three entrances, one for each road leaving the city. The houses within were nearly as tall as the walls themselves, obviously held up by magic she couldn't comprehend. They neared the city from the south - opposite from the huge castle that held the city’s leaders.

The free cities - a small state of thirteen cities were governed by the seven most powerful guilds in these cities: The Adventurer’s Guild, The free Merchants, The Blacksmith’s Association, The Mercenaries Guild (really just a grouping of several groups of mercenaries to ease finding work), The Enchanter’s guild, The Alchemists Guild and the General Craftsman Guild.

Each of these guilds sent two representatives in the castle who then governed each city. The cities themselves were largely independent from each other and would only band together in a time of war.

She had Arvog land on the wagon she was hitching a ride on - an unpleasant experience because she had nowhere to put her tail - because he had to be registered as her familiar to be protected by the law. Once they arrived at the gates - huge wooden contraptions reinforced with magic - the caravan master called for her.

Happy to move again she jumped from the wagon and went forwards, with Arvog hot on her heels. Together they went to the front, where they had to wait for the people in front of them to enter the city.

Once they were in front of the line Ves’ra could see a human sitting at a small table with two small boxes and several sheets of paper in front of him. Unlike the other humans guarding the entrance he was not clad in the same clothing - he was probably important.

“Hello esteemed merchant, a good day to you.”

“Good day to you too.”

“I assume you are Argen of Redrisk? May I inquire why your caravan has been delayed?”

“You are correct. We have been attacked by bandits a week from the city.”

“We assumed as much, there have been no lone travellers from Redrisk for quite some time. The council planned to send a bunch of adventurers to scout the road. I take it you took care of them?”

“We did. My young companion spotted their scouts and we were able to turn their ambush onto themselves. On that note, she will need full papers for herself and her familiar.”

“A kobold? There aren't many of you in the free cities.” The man said and turned around. “ LITAVIS GET OVER HERE, SOMEONE NEEDS PROCESSING.” He yelled.

“Litavis will be over shortly. He’ll get you everything you need.” He then turned towards the merchant. “You’ll cover for the entrance fee for your caravan?”

“I will. I will also pay for a full package for the kobold.” He said and took out a strange card, pressing it against one of the contraptions on the table. He turned back towards her afterwards. “I will ready your reward at the guildhall, just ask them about me and tell them your name. I hope we’ll see each other again.”

They were joined by a human woman moments later, so she wasn't able to answer before she and Arvog were practically dragged in a small room just inside the walls.

“So you’ve never been to a real city before huh? Well it doesn't matter, we’ll get you sorted in no time. You can understand me can you?”

“Of course I can!”

“Very good. Sit there, this will take a bit. I take the wyvern is your familiar? That's quite impressive, I know few mages that would even attempt to.”

The indicated chair was obviously not built for a being as small as her - or for beings with a tail - so she turned it to the side for at least a little comfort.

“Oh, sorry about that, we don't get to process many beings with a tail, should I get a chair that fits for you?”

“No, that's fine. What now?”

“Now you will be issued the most important object you ever held. The merchant you came with was generous enough to pay for a full package, so you’ll get several functions on top of your identity. So let’s start: Name?”

“Ves’ra.”

“You are a kobold are you not?” “Very good. Age?”

“A year and a four months.”

“That's quite young, well it doesn't matter. Seeing as you have a familiar you’re awakened too. What's your magic?”

“Storm.”

“Storm, that's a rare one, you’ll probably hear something from the enchanters guild soon enough. Does you familiar have a name?”

“Arvog.”

“Good, good. Are you a core mage?”

“What's a core mage?”

“So you are not, what a pity we always need more of that. Anyways you are young so you’ll have enough time to get there.”

“WHAT'S A CORE MAGE?” She asked, slightly irritated with the rapidfire question.

“Core mages are the most powerful mages in existence, they form their mana into a crystal core and increase their mana reserves several times.”

With that the woman started ignoring her and inserted her energy in the contraption on the table between them. The pattern the slightly yellow energy formed before entering was incredibly fascinating and captivated her for the entire time it happened.

Once the human was done the contraption stirred and a metal card left it she concentrated on her again, mentioning Ves’ra to pick it up.

“Did you cast magic today?”

“Yes.”

“How much, is your mana still mostly your own?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Now you’ll have to insert your mana into the card to bind it to you, once that happens you’ll be able to identify yourself by doing so again. If any changes happen then you’ll have to be reevaluated.” Ves’ra did as told, and the card absorbed all of it. Once done she did so again the card lit up in a green light.

“Good, now scamper off. I want to go back to sleep again.”

Ves’ra compiled happily, she had a huge city to explore. She would search for the merchants first she resolved, the humans world seemed to revolve around money and she had none of it.