The strong current carried Astrid down the river rapidly, taking her far away from the spear-headed deer. Trying to return to shore proved futile, so all she could do was keep her head above the water, which drained her stamina.

She tried not to panic, as it would only make her situation worse. It was easier said than done. It had been years since she had last gone swimming, and even then, it had only been in calm water. Back then, she had yet to mature enough to unlock skills. Without an unlocked swimming skill, she had no abilities to aid her.

A poorly timed inhale sent water into her lungs, and she coughed for what felt like forever to clear them again. In the meantime, it was only luck that prevented a fatal collision with a rock. Her health was still at two hit points, and the stress of her situation slowed her recovery rate to almost nothing.

Just as she thought she wouldn’t be able to last any longer, the trees thinned, and the farmland opened up in front of her. The current slowed enough for her to gain her footing, and she was able to wade to shore. As she dragged her exhausted body up on land, she collapsed on the muddy ground, breathing hard.

Her stamina was almost depleted, and Astrid wondered if she would be able to get her hands on some stamina potion. Maybe some heath potion as well would come in handy. Today had been way to close a call, and that was despite her best effort to be careful. She decided to ask at the apothecary when she delivered the plants she had gathered.

The sun was about to set, but if she got up now, she could still make it through the city gate before it was closed for the night. She decided to make herself invisible first, as walking into the city wet and covered in mud would attract too much attention.

The fact that she was becoming more and more reliant on the gifts she had received from the god of Deception bothered her, but what else could she do? This world offered little aid to an orphaned child, so she was just doing what she had to do to survive.

She pushed herself back up on her feet and staggered toward the city gate. She managed to sneak in just before it closed. Most of all, she wanted to go back to the inn for dinner but decided that she should complete the quests first. She set off toward the temple of medicine, as she had a pretty good idea of where it was.

She found it in the city center, next to the temples dedicated to the other gods. She made herself visible again, removed the amulet, and made sure she appeared as her adult persona before walking inside. Immediately a woman in a white dress rushed up to her.

“Are you hurt?” she asked with concern in her voice as she tried to guide Astrid towards a bed in the healing area of the temple.

“No, I’m fine,” Astrid said. That was probably a lie, but she was confident that her health would recover by itself before tomorrow. Also, getting healed might involve removing her clock, and that would reveal her identity as a child.

“Are you sure?” The woman was clearly not convinced.

“Yes, I just came to deliver some plants I found in the forest. It’s for the quest you posted.” Her new bag was still soaked from her trip down the river, but its magic should have kept everything inside nice and dry. She pulled the Water moss from her inventory, and the woman’s face lit up.

“This is fantastic,” the woman exclaimed as she took the Water moss from Astrid. “I’ll go inform the high priest, and he’ll find your reward. But first, let me show you a room where you can wash up a bit.”

Ten minutes later, Astrid left the temple again. She had cleaned the mud off her body, changed into the second dress she had bought, and received the reward. Now she was on her way to the apothecary. The woman at the temple had given her directions, so it was easy to find.

She entered the store and went up to the desk, as it was the only furniture in the room except for some benches along the walls. She waited a minute, but no one approached her.

"Hello,” she called out, and an elderly man stepped through a door behind the desk.

“The store is closed for the day. You can come back tomorrow or go to the temple of medicine if it’s an emergency.”

“I’m just here to deliver some plants you requested.”

“Oh, hand them over so I can see.”

Stolen story; please report.

“Here they are,” Astrid said, putting the plants on the desk.

“Thank you,” the man beamed. “We have tried to get some of this for months with no luck.”

“Don’t you have anyone in the city who can go gather these in the forest?” Astrid had wondered about that before and wanted to know how things had gotten to this point. All the farmers around here should be able to identify and harvest the plants with no issue.

“With all the monsters running around, no one wants to go too far outside the city gate, even though we offer a good price for the jobs these days.”

“You can get to the river without entering the forest. Can’t you pick Water moss there?”

“We could, but a lot of industries use that plant, and the area near the city has been depleted.” He pulled something out from behind the desk. “Here’s your reward.” Three large copper clinked as they landed on the desk.

“Thank you.” Astrid said, and put the coins in her inventory. “Do you by any chance sell something to replenish health and stamina?”

“As I said earlier, the store is closed, so I can’t legally sell you anything. However, I have something I can give you. Wait here.” The man went back through the door and returned a moment later with a box.

“This is a medicine box. It has potions to replenish all your stats. Also, some balm to heal burns and infections. And a few antidotes to cure poison. And several rolls of bandages. Basically, anything you could want when you’re away from the city.”

“I can have this for free?”

“Sure, no one buys them anymore. We used to sell a lot of these, but that was before...” he trailed off. Astrid wanted to know what he was about to say but sensed that he preferred not to talk about it. Instead, she changed the subject.

“Do you know where the dye house is?”

“It’s down by the harbor.”

Astrid put the medicine box in her inventory and bid the man goodnight. While she had been in the store, it had gotten dark outside, and she decided that visiting the dye house could wait until the morning. It would likely be closed for the night by now anyway.

Instead, she walked back to the inn, eager to get some dinner as she hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast, a fact her stomach loudly complained about.

She entered the inn, and the innkeeper greeted her.

“Good evening, Astrid. Is your sister not with you?

"Um,” Astrid said, taken aback by the question. Being two people at the same time was proving to be more difficult than she had thought, especially with the innkeeper keeping track of who came and who left. If this continued, she would have to think of some other solution, but for now, she had to convince the innkeeper that everything was fine. What would even be a plausible explanation?

“Isn’t she in the room?” She asked uncertainly.

“No, we went to check an hour ago to see if you wanted dinner, but the room was empty.”

“Then I’m sure she’ll be back soon.” I am trying to end the discussion.

“It’s not a good idea to let children roam the streets on their own after dark. It can be especially dangerous for young girls, if you know what I mean.”

Astrid didn’t know but pretended she did. She was clearly expected to.

I’m sure she is fine,” she said. “My sister is a smart girl.”

“I’ll keep an eye out for her anyway and let you know if she’s not back in an hour.”

“There’s really no need for that.” Astrid protested. Why did this innkeeper have to be so kind? It made her situation more complicated.”

“It's no problem at all.”

“Well, I’ll be in the room then.”

“Don’t you want your meal?”

“Give it to my sister when she comes in.”

Astrid headed towards her room, deep in thought.

What do I do now? If my “sister” doesn’t come in, he’ll get suspicious, she thought as she ascended the stairs. The only solution she could think of was to somehow get outside unnoticed, change her persona, and then go back in. Then she could hopefully eat.

She didn’t dare walk through the innkeeper in the main room to go through the door. Sure, she could make herself invisible, but it only worked if no one was looking for her, and only so long as she didn’t do anything that would give herself away. Opening the front door would definitely get noticed.

She had seen no other doors, though she was sure there had to be one for the workers to come and go. Likely near the kitchens. That would also take her past the innkeeper and, therefore, not be an option either. It would be too risky.

She entered her room and looked around for a solution. The window might be able to provide a way out. It was small, but she should be able to get through. She went and opened it. The street below was dark and deserted. She was only one floor above ground level, but her health was still too low to risk jumping.

That left climbing. She had climbed enough trees as a child and even unlocked the skill when monsters chased her up a tree, though she hadn’t paid attention to the skill back then. That meant she had a good idea of what she was capable of when it came to climbing and the ability to find the best route. The wall would be a challenge, but not undoable. There were plenty of places to place her hands and feet, but most were quite small.

She swung herself out the window, holding on tight while searching for footholds on the wall. Once she found something to stand on, she carefully let go of the window edge with one hand, finding someone else to hold onto.

Her arms were burning from the straight of clinging to the wall as she slowly descended. Too tired to hold on any longer, she jumped the last few feet. She landed safely and made her way back inside the inn through the front door. This time as her 14-year-old self.

"Sigrid, good to see your back safely.” The innkeeper greeted her the second she entered. “Your sister just came in. I’ll get someone to bring you some food, so go find a seat.”

“Thank you,” she said, and went to find a seat at an empty table. Around her, other patrons were drinking and laughing. She was not used to having so many people close by, and it made it hard to relax and enjoy her meal. Therefore, she ate her meal quickly and went back to her room, getting ready for bed. She was just about to fall asleep when she received a new quest.