Crops

Mallory had acted early in the morning when most people were out working on the fields or were tending to their farmland.

It was the best time to catch them when they were out in the open and to draw attention to herself.

Simply solving the problem on her own and out of sight would not be beneficial to her in any way and she needed to gain the attention and support of the villagers quickly.

The faster that it progressed, the faster that she could get to the heart of the matter.

Even if the problem was solved, it could just happen once again if she did not find out how it came to happen or who was behind it.

Mallory went on to explain. "This curse.. it seems to the the type that targets the soil and plants. As for the effects, I have a guess of my own. Reports state that crop yields have not been that good for some time and have been decreasing further recently.

I believe that this is the reason why. I do not know why someone would want to do something that would affect everyones livelihoods but I plan to get to the bottom of this. Village head, who is the owner of this land?"

The village head reluctantly pointed towards the distance where there was a small wooden shack. "Over there."

Mallory nodded then motioned towards him. "You must stay by my side and assist me during this investigation. If you so much as try to impede my investigation then I will not hesitate to report it back to the city lord."

Mallory had some idea of what type of curse it was, why it was cast and the effects it would have on not only the village but also Visa City.

The less supplies that Visa City gain and the less trade that passes through the more vulnerable they would be to attacks.

The amount had been reduced to an amount that it could be used to manage the city and feed its people but if there was one single missed batch of supplies or a sudden war then many would starve within the walls of Visa City.

All that needed to happen was a simple cut off of the supplies and those inside would soon run out of what they had.

They would have to be forced to step outside of the protection of the walls and would have to fight off any forces that had been moving outside.

The less food and the prioritising of certain people in the city would lead to riots from the common people which would create weaknesses on the inside of the walls that would allow those placed inside as spies to open the gates or destroy more vantage points.

Mallory did not know the whole story and who was behind it so it still needed to be investigated but she did have an idea of what type of curse it was and what it did.

It was a weak curse that was spread out around the area within the soil and spread to anything that was growing within it.

The curse had the characteristics of a pollutant or made the soil more infertile so that the successful crop yields had become less than before and they would not be the best possible grown crops if they had grown in that environment.

So many crops would be spoiled before they could be harvested but the main issue was that the curse was only placed in certain areas while there were others that had their lands free from it.

It was simple to guess that there was competition among the villagers and there were some who had some involvement in what happened whether they knew about the curse or not.

Her efforts to purify the land from the curse would not remove the damage that had been done and those crops that had grown under those conditions would be far from satisfactory for humans to consume.

The land would need time to repair and new crops would need to be planted again without a curse being placed on the land so it was important for Mallory to identify the person behind it and to give hope to those who had suffered.

The door was knocked on and a worn out looking malnourished man had opened the door and shouted angrily. "I am not selling my land! Leave me alone!"

It was like people came to bother him often with such propositions to sell his land.

Another clue had been placed in front of Mallory right away which helped her draw her own conclusions but she did not make a hasty decision right away. "Ahem.. I am a part of Visa City. 'Little Witch' Mallory of the Seshat familia is what the people of Visa City call me. I wish to talk to you about what you just said and to ask you some questions. May I come in? How about we talk over some breakfast? My treat!"

Mallory spotted that the man was not in a good condition and that he was wasting away within his home so she decided to use her own supplies that had been brought with her to get him to open up to her.

The malnourished man had seen Mallory remove some wrapped packed lunches from her bag then drooled. "Come inside please!"

Mallory showed a smirk as she had turned her head towards the village head. 'This really is not how you figured things would play out huh?'

The village head silently followed behind and listened to the man explain his own story to Mallory.

The man was very upset as he explained. "I am not the first person this has happened to. There have been others that suffered the same as I have but they either sold their land, accepting some form of deal with others or had died due to them running out of Valis and supplies. It was like it had just happened out of nowhere and affected a small portion of our land but it slowly grew larger and became far worse as time passed."

Mallory nodded in response and asked. "Can you provide the names of those that are still within the village that have suffered the same as you? A list of those that have approached you and who they are affiliated with will be useful too."

Mallory could see that the man's aura was very clean as if he had lived a very honest life while her eyes turned towards the village head which caused a slight frown to appear on her face. 'I would rather put my trust in someone like this rather than the village head but I cannot let this aura thing determine who is in the wrong here. It is not yet certain if the village head had any knowledge of this happening or had any involvement in this.

He should have known something with how it involves important matters between the village and Visa City. It is strange enough if he acts like he knows nothing of what is happening in his own village.'