Making poisons hadn't been a skill I had picked up by accident, and I had become damn good at it.

When Lucas had been sick, herbs were some of my early attempts to ease his pain. The medicine from the hospital treated the disease, but it left him miserable, feverish, and uncomfortable all the time. I attempted to steal from a local medicine woman who worked deep in the slums, but she caught me. It was one of a few times my attempts at thievery had ever been noticed. Oddly enough, she didn't punish me. Instead, an outstretched hand offered to teach me all she knew. Said I 'had the careful fingers and quick mind for it.'

What did I have to lose?

Amid all the scandals and setups of the city, Lady Ole (as she called herself) taught me the way of the alchemist. According to her the art of alchemy was lost to this world, and passing it on to me was her way of ensuring the practice survived. She made attempts to teach me the art of medicine, but despite my nearly inhuman knack for herb identification, preparation, and poison concocting, it was like the tools for healing fell apart in my grasp. Beyond a simple coagulation paste everything I made to heal turned out bad.

"You have the touch of darkness..." She had mused, "a talented devil's apothecary."

My confidence was shot, feeling useless to help Lucas, and a tad...monstrous. She must have noticed.

"Silly bird." She snorted, whacking me over the head with a dusty leather-bound book. "Good, bad, none of this matters. How will you use it?"

After this, she gave me her home-brewed concoctions to help Lucas. They had worked.

My eyes stung in the bright light of the day as I emerged back out from the depths, a stark contrast to the dim, flickering oil lanterns of the fighting arena below.

Had I passed any herb shops on the way here? Poisons were my specialty, but there were a lot of unknowns. Did this world have any of the same plants? With the same names? How about the equipment used in preparation?

Regardless, I was confident in time I could figure out anything this world threw at me. The only true unknown was how long I would be set back, not if I could do it.

'I have to believe that.'

After leaving the Outreaches, I flipped a single silver coin into the palm of a carriage driver to take me to 'the nearest botanical market.' Carriage rides were expensive, a luxury of the rich to use comfy seats and horses to travel around, so a ride across much of the city wasn't cheap. While less than ideal to spend silver, the days of sleeping outside and scrounging off stolen bread took a toll on my already weakened body. Although I felt much better than I had been upon arrival in this world, I wasn't at all back to full health. Rest was essential. Besides, I had no idea where I would begin to look for an herbal shop. Carriage it was.

Luckily the driver didn't blink twice at the request, and I opened the door to the polished, sturdy wooden vehicle and made myself comfortable as the reigns cracked. The sound of hooves echoed rhythmically in front of me. Roads passed by, dotted with stalls and stores. People shut and opened shutters with the shifts in daylight while children played with rough leather balls and homemade dolls. The sky was clear, the cold, rainy weather from earlier in the week washing away to a dry, comfortable day. I realized I didn't know what season it was. If this place even had them. I also didn't know the date.

My palm felt cool as I met my head to my hand. How much time had passed on earth?

What was Lucas doing?

I bit at my cheek, brows furrowing. There had been a growing tension since that night with Diane; almost like using magic had taken something out of me I couldn't get back. It was causing me to have subtle mood swings, just like now in the moments when my mind wasn't busy with something else. In fantasy magic usually just restored itself. Maybe it was, and I was interpreting things wrong. Finding someone who knew about magic would be helpful, but even if I did it would require admitting to them how little I knew, and what I was capable of. Could I trust someone with that? I thought back to the strange sigil marked on Diane's palm, considering what sort of power had been shared between us. Right now I had a gambling deadline to meet, but afterward, it would be time to go back and visit Diane...and run a few tests with her.

The carriage came to a stop. Outside the window was a bustling market. We were back in Trevel. Thanking the driver, I exited the carriage and headed directly forward, following my nose. Herbs had a strong smell you couldn't mistake for anything else, and they were coming from inside the windowless store in front of me. It was crafted with exceptionally dark wood and an iron-laced door, all likely to keep light out of the building to protect the more sensitive plants. I couldn't help the smile that crept across my lips. Herbs were comforting, a familiar constant in my life. It felt good to be working with them again.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

The door weighed half a ton to my straining, pathetic muscles. A full-body lean against the wood opened it just enough for me to slip through, closing with a dusty slam behind me. I hacked out a cough.

'Once I get a bed...maybe some exercise. If I am not too lazy.'

Relaxing and being comfortable is the best, after all.

My eyes peered, adjusting to the darkness. Taking off my bandage would've been nice, but far too big of a risk in the middle of town. Once adjusted, my heart skipped and twirled at the sight in front of me.

All across the ceiling hung dried bundles of trimmed leaves and wilted flowers. The aroma of sage, perfumes, and lavender tickled the senses, changing slightly with each step further into the cozy room. A short counter to the right was empty of attendants. Ahead, tiered shelves along the walls all lined in rows held bags of dried roots, jarfuls of yellow tinctures, and silk pouches full of powder. Everything was marked with worn, ragged paper, names neatly inked on. The paper was rough to touch, and many of the jars left a thin layer of dust on my finger as I peeked at their contents. Row by row, I eyed up the stock. Row by row, I experienced surprise, followed by a muddled confusion.

'How...?'

What sort of coincidence was it that many of these were the same herbs I used on Earth, with the same names?

'Mandrake root, Thelby Fern, Dwicken, Hobble moss...'

I recalled how other things had been the same so far, the design of houses, and how the time period resembled historical Europe. A hefty sigh passed my lips as I was left with more and more questions about what this place, the Myther Dominion and beyond, really was. It almost seemed to be another version of Earth, a slight deviation filled with different lands and mystical secrets. Maybe it wasn't strange that the plants would be the same...there were still horses here, and they were called horses. Kingdoms were kingdoms. Birds flew in the air. Humans roamed the streets.

I could only be thankful things weren't all a complete mystery. Heaven knows plenty of other things were.

'Like magic. My magic. And the religion...Ysid? Was that the God's name?'

My ears perked. Someone was coming. I didn't sense negative intent, so I pretended to be lost in the aisles.

"...Can I help you?" A young female voice queried. I let out a surprised yelp, wheeling around as I yanked my hood off. Eyes wide, a soft blush coated my cheeks. My dark hair had been preemptively tied in a low ponytail, the common style for men with long hair.

"Apologies, miss." I offered, catching my breath, keeping my voice low, "You startled me. I- I wasn't trying to sneak around or anything! Just...fascinated by your collection."

Seeing that I was harmless, the girl rolled her eyes. She was young, not much older than me, but had an odd look in her pale eyes that suggested she was wise beyond her years. Thick blonde hair was pulled back in a neat braid, and tied around her tanned neck and thin waist was an apron smeared with ash, liquid, and colorful stains. Over her head and covering her ears was a thick black wool cap, similarly covered in the markings of messy labor. Tan lines near her shoulders suggest she spent a fair bit of time in the sun, likely out collecting the hundreds of herbs that filled the shop.

I offered her a gentle smile, eyes darting back and forth from her appearance, too shy to gaze right at her.

"I was hoping to find someone who could help me with herbs. I need to go out and collect some, but I'm not sure the best way out of the city...or where I'd find the right environment."

A gloved hand came up to scratch her freckled face. "Is nothing in here to your liking, kid?" She asked, almost unwilling to believe it. "I've got all the best stuff. You won't find a soul in Sonhest who prepares it at as low a price as I do." She stated, giving me a confident, snooty grin.

"I...I am fulfilling a request for someone. If you could just-" I began, preparing to ask her for directions, but paused abruptly when I sensed something strange.

It was like the feeling I had gotten that night with Diane, when that buzz of energy had raced through me, urging me to act. That same sensation was present in the room, but not within me.

It was within her.

'...This girl can use magic.'

Plans had changed.

"...Can I pay you to lead me out of Sohnest?" I queried, lowering my head and meeting her gaze with my single, innocent gray eye.

"Ha!" She laughed, leaning against the wall, "And lose profit from closing my shop all day? Yeah right. That'd cost you three silver." Eyeing me up and down, my appearance didn't give her confidence I could pay more than a few coppers.

Three silver coins clinked as I pulled them from the pouch. These were the last of my coins, but I didn't make it apparent that was the case. It would be too suspicious to spend the last of one's money to search for herbs that would be cheaper to buy. Then again, she didn't know that what I was looking for wasn't in this room. None of these herbs were directly poisonous after all.

What I was truly buying from her was time. Not her time away from the shop, but time for me to find a foothold; to scope a weakness I could hang over her in exchange for answers about magic. Or at the very least, to remove her from the city to a place she couldn't run, so I could create a weakness.

Her eyes sparkled with greed. She raised an eyebrow, looking at me.

"Really?" Her eyes swapped between staring at the coins and my pleasant expression, "All this for me? I mean, I can be your guide. Whatever sort of place you are looking for, well, not a soul in Sonhest knows those woods like I do." She bragged, putting both hands on her hips.

I gave her a warm smile and bowed in thanks, handing over the coins.

She snatched them from me, scratching one with her thumb to test its validity.

"Seems you are working for a big shot, kid. You ready to head out now?" She mused, tucking the coins away in her pocket. Her hand shot out towards me. "I'm Yiriel. Can call me Yir, if you'd like."

"Yes, I am...and it's Piere," I said, giving her a throwaway name from that squire at the murder scene. "A pleasure to have your company."

The hunt had begun.