The next day, David sat cross-legged on the grass in front of their hut, fidgeting with a smooth stone he’d found while Aura bustled around the room. He used to just stare at the planet in the sky but that elicited worried looks from passers-by. His excitement from earlier had simmered down, leaving him restless.

  He wanted answers—to learn more about alchemy, about mana, about anything that might give him some sense of control in this strange new world. Instead, he was sitting here, watching people visiting the smithy or working the vats.

  Aura’s voice broke through his thoughts. “Marco, I need you to do something for me.”

  His head snapped up. Finally. He scrambled to his feet, nearly tripping over a stick in his haste. “What is it?”

  Aura laughed softly, ruffling his hair as she walked past him. “You’re eager today. And healthier! That’s good. I need you to run an errand.”

  An errand? David’s enthusiasm dimmed slightly, but he nodded anyway, masking his disappointment. “What kind of errand?”

  “I’m running out of herbs,” she said, pulling a small wicker basket from a hook on the wall. She handed it to him, her expression warm but firm. “Go to Sophie’s house by the square. She might have gathered what I need already. Tell her it’s for me, and she’ll know what to give you.”

  Herbs. For a moment, David’s hopes reignited. Maybe this was about alchemy! “Are these for a potion?” he asked, trying to keep his voice casual.

  Aura smiled but didn’t answer directly. “No, but they’re for something special. Think you can handle it?”

  “Of course!” David said quickly, puffing out his chest. “I’m not a baby.”

  Aura chuckled, kneeling to match his height. “I know you’re not. Just stay safe, alright? The square isn’t that far, but the roads can be uneven.”

  David nodded confidently, though a part of him bristled at her protective tone. “I’ll be fine.”

  With that, Aura gave him a gentle push toward the door. “Take your time. And don’t forget to thank Sophie.”

  As he walked through the foul-smelling air, he looked around at the village. David adjusted his grip and started down the dirt path, focusing on Aura’s directions. The square wasn’t far, she’d said—just past the tannery and through the main road. Easy enough.

  As he walked down the road, he realized Aura might have had a different perception of distance than he did.

  With short legs that he wasn’t even fully adapted to, it took a while until he saw the square in the distance. He walked as fast as he could, but kept his eyes peeled on his surroundings.

  For what he first dismissed as a small village, there was surprisingly many people going about their business. Some were taking breaks from the farm work, their faces sweaty and with dirt-covered seed bags at their sides. They sat around a well, drinking water and chatting.

  Others carried wood from the direction of the forest towards the opposite side. Maybe they are building new homes?

  The square came into view, it was quite busy, but not what one would expect from a ‘square’, if only because it was circular.

  As he looked around, he could see six roads connecting the whole village, forming a rather large plot of flattened ground.

  The square had a large wooden pole in the middle and was surrounded with stalls and what looked like shops – David had yet to witness any money in this world, but by extension, it probably was in use.

  His eyes strained to follow a woman carrying a dyed bolt of cloth to what looked like a warehouse when he stepped on a patch of uneven ground.

  He stumbled forward, his arms flailing as he tried to catch himself, but gravity won out. He hit the ground with a soft thud. A cloud of dust rose around him, stinging his nose.

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  “Great,” he muttered, pushing himself up on his hands. “Real smooth David.”

  Before he could fully recover, a pair of hands grabbed him by his armpits and lifted him to his feet. “Are you okay, Marco?” a girl’s voice asked, her tone light and slightly amused.

  David coughed, waving away the dust as he turned to face her. Her green hair was tied neatly behind her head, and her bright blue eyes radiated joy.

  She moved with a confidence that didn’t match her childish looks – she was far older than his body, but probably not older than 17. She brushed off his sleeves, fussing over the dust.

  “Uh… thanks,” David said, feeling his cheeks heat up as he stepped back. “I’m fine.”

  The girl stepped back too, crossing her arms as she gave him a once-over. “You don’t recognize me, do you?” she asked, her lips curving into a pout.

  David blinked, caught off guard. “Should I?”

  She huffed, planting her hands on her hips. “I work my hardest to help Aura! Her son should at least know my name!”

  David’s mind raced as he scrambled to connect the dots… Until a splitting headache hit him like a truck.

  His body flared up and he broke out in sweat. Memories assaulted him, filling his mind. Green hair. A girl with a basket of herbs. Sophie. She saw her many times before. He was looking for her.

  The Sophie in his mind overlapped with the one in front of him and the tapping of her foot brought him back. “Oh! Sophie,” he said quickly, hoping to cover his lapse. “Sorry. I, uh… I was confused.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him but didn’t press further. “What are you doing out here, anyway? Shouldn’t you be with your mom?”

  “She sent me to find you,” David said, holding up the basket. “She needs herbs.”

  Sophie’s expression softened slightly, and she nodded. “Oooh. Good for her, I found what she needed earlier today. Alright. Come on.”

  She turned and entered a small house near the edge of the square, motioning for David to follow. He trailed behind her, feeling a mix of relief and embarrassment.

  This wasn’t exactly how he’d imagined this errand going. What the hell was that? His body was around 8 years old, maybe the memories of that period were slowly getting back to him? Yet another thing to investigate.

  Sophie stopped in front of the door and hugged an older man. “Pa, I’ll be going to Aura’s to deliver some herbs.” She went inside without waiting for a response. The man shouted after her “Alright! Ask Bert if he’s done repairing my axe!” Sophie yelled her acknowledgement back as she began pulling small bundles of herbs from a large basket.

  Unable to hold back his curiosity, he slowly followed her in and walked up to her. “What’s that?” David said, pointing at a large fiery-red bundle of petals.

  “Goddess!” Sophie startled. “Don’t do that to me! Working in the forest makes me a scaredy cat.”

  “Sorry, sorry, didn’t mean to.” He apologized, but he still eyed the bundle expectantly.

  Sophie turned to look and a smug smile entered her face. “That, little Marco, is the special thing your mom needed!” She paused a while. “It’s petals of a firebloom - I had to go reaaally deep for it.”

  David had no idea what a firebloom was, but from her expressions he could easily guess that it must have been impressive to find some. “Woah! You’re the best!” He shouted in a most childish tone he could muster.

  She blushed slightly and chuckled “Well, at least you got that right!”. Soon she was done packing the herbs, enough to fill two small baskets. “Alright! We got fresh Voel, dried liferoot and firebloom.” She handed him one of them and insisted on going with him.

  David sighed but didn’t argue. Together, they started back toward Aura’s house, the weight of the herbs shared between them.

  As they walked, Sophie chattered constantly and about anything – How she would marry a gallant knight or about Alice, whomever that was, being mean to her. David listened quietly, trying to absorb the information but the endless torrent of names and places he didn’t know was quite hard to follow.

  Despite his best attempts, he could not recall anything about the incredibly interesting herbs. Where were the memories when they could actually prove useful?

  When they reached the hut, Aura greeted them at the door, her smile warm as she took the herbs from Sophie. “Thank you, Sophie. And thank you, Marco. You did well.” As she inspected the basket she almost jumped. “You found more!"

  Sophie bowed her head, her face flushed. David preferred the way she reacted to his praise—it felt more honest. “At this rate, I’m going to drive firebloom and ice thistle into extinction with how much you keep asking for” she teased.

  Aura’s expression clouded for a moment, her brows knitting - but she quickly returned to her normal, lighthearted tone. “Don’t worry about that. Thanks to you I finally have enough!”

  Sophie waved goodbye to Aura and went towards the smithy. David watched her go, his mind already turning to his next question for Aura. He’d hoped this errand would lead to something more exciting—something alchemical.

  He tugged at Aura’s dress as she carried the herbs to a shed and sorted through them. “What is it, Marco?”

  “What are those herbs for?” He repeated his earlier question.

  A look of concern went through Aura’s face again. She hid it just as quickly this time. “It’s for mommy’s special project! She’s been preparing it for a looong time, you know? And it’s almost ready!”

  Her conversation with Sophie hinted at something massive. Something worth hiding – just the kind of stuff he wanted to learn about. But no matter what he asked, Aura’s lips were sealed.

  He would uncover her secrets… eventually. Right?