The Universe Key

Chapter 2: Welcome to Villurb

Emilaba is a vast and magical land. One land filled with big cities, small towns, baron deserts, lush forests, great canyons, and tall mountains. It is a land filled with people and potential. It is the land that the Zaubators call home and it's the land they swore to protect. Towards the center of Emilaba is the beautiful farming town of Villurb. Villurb has miles and miles of fields for growing crops and hundreds of barns for raising livestock. The farmers of Villurb produce almost all of the food that the people of Emilaba eat. This town might just produce something else ... a hero.

A 14 year old boy named Brilan lives in this town. His morning is just beginning. He opens his eyes and gets out of bed. He looks out his window to see vast fields of grain growing tall in the morning sun. A pleasant sight to wake up to. He gets dressed and calls out to his little sister "Clara!" he pauses for a moment to wait for an answer and hears nothing. 

"Clara!!" he calls out a little louder this time but still he doesn't hear a response. "Where is she this time?" he thinks to himself. Clara is only eight years old she shouldn't be by herself. He goes down the hall and looks in her bedroom only to find it empty. Brilan feels exasperated and annoyed. Clara has run off like this a couple of times before. She doesn't go far though. Brilan will have to find her before he goes to the forge. 

He gets himself ready for the day by changing out of his pajamas and putting on his street clothes. He goes to the kitchen and gets himself a roll of bread for breakfast. Then he grabs his backpack and he's out the door. He has to go down to the forge for his apprenticeship. But first he has to find Clara.

While the town of Villurb is mostly made of fields it does have a beautiful downtown area where people live, work, and sell their produce in shops. Brilan goes downtown to look for Clara. Sure enough that is where Clara is. She's outside the local bakery cooking up a mischievous scheme. She's teamed up with a friendly alley cat in an attempt to take something from the baker. She holds her feline friend in her hand and goes up to a dog that is calmly hanging out just outside of the bakery door.

"Okay, you know what to do." Clara whispers to the cat as if it can understand her. Regardless the cat did know what to do. Clara drops the cat on the ground and it goes over and starts fighting the dog. The dog starts barking and hitting the cat. While the cat starts hissing and clawing at the dog. These two animals get into a legitimate skirmish. Clara runs into the bakery and goes up to the baker, Mr. Barcey who had just pulled a batch of apple fritters out of the oven.

"Mr. Barcey, Mr. Barcey! Come quick! Your dog is out there fighting an alley cat! I think it's feral!" Clara yells at the kind baker.

"Oh no, not again!" Mr. Barcey yells as he puts down his apple fritters, takes off his oven mitts and runs outside to break up the fight. While Mr. Barcey desperately tries to calm down his dog Clara grabs a small sack from behind the counter of the bakery and starts putting all the newly baked apple fritters into the sack. She does it quickly and as soon as the sack is filled with tasty treats she runs out of the bakery and down the street. With Mr. Barcey preoccupied with breaking up the fight between the cat and dog he has no idea what Clara has just done.

As Clara runs away with the sack full of treats. She just so happens to run into Brilan who is walking in the opposite direction. "Clara there you are. You had me worried." Brilan says.

Clara slyly says "Oh hi Brilan, I can't really talk right now. I'm having a busy morning and I really got to go..." Clara tries to get past her brother but Brilan puts a hand out and stops her.

"Are you stealing again?" He says in an exasperated and disciplinary tone.

Clara snaps back with "No I'm not Mr. Barcey just gave me this batch of apple fritters." Brilan says "Mr. Barcey is nice but he's not that nice. Go return 'em."