The forest stretched on. David led the way, his mana sight scanning for the faintest glimmers among the roots and underbrush. I hope Sophie is keeping track of the way back.

  The ice blossoms had been a victory, but they still needed more—anything they could trade for coin or food. Once the ‘selling’ issue was resolved, that is.

  Sophie walked a few steps behind him, quieter now. Maybe she was tired.

  David spotted a faint flicker to the left, tucked between the gnarled roots of an old tree. A faint yellow hum—likely more tern, or something related.

  He gestured silently, crouching beside it. Sophie joined him a moment later, her expression focused again.

  “Not much,” she murmured. “But every bit helps.”

  David nodded, carefully cutting the stalks and brushing the soil back into place.

  They kept moving, ducking under low branches and stepping lightly over roots. More scattered herbs followed—nothing remarkable, but enough to ease the pressure in David’s mind.

  If there was one thing he was sure of, it was how desperately they needed money.

  Then—Sophie grabbed his sleeve.

  Before he could speak, she yanked him backward into the nearest bush. Dry leaves scratched his cheek as he stumbled down into the underbrush, landing hard beside her.

  He opened his mouth—but she raised a finger to her lips and pointed.

  David turned his head slowly.

  Through a gap in the foliage, they saw a trio of small, hunched creatures sniffing at the dirt. Boarlets.

  Despite being only about as tall as David himself, they looked menacing. Their thick muscle was covered with rough bristle and their tusks curved forward like blades.

  One of them snorted, pawing at the ground with a hoof.

  David’s breath caught as Sophie pulled him back. They crawled away, avoiding anything that could alert the monsters.

  They weren’t the most dangerous thing around, not by a long stretch, but there were three of them. And they were fast.

  David’s hand brushed a stick—it snapped with a soft crack that echoed through the trees.

  His heart threatened to jump out of his chest as he looked toward the beasts.

  One of the creatures let out a short, guttural bark. The others twitched but didn’t react. Leaves shifted overhead. They didn’t hear it.

  Relief washed over him, but adrenaline still thundered in his ears.

  Slowly, he turned to Sophie.

  She nodded.

  They crawled on, moving with painstaking care, not speaking until they’d put real distance between themselves and the monsters.

  When they finally stood upright again, David exhaled shakily. His hands were trembling.

  “That was too close,” he muttered.

  Sophie nodded again. “We’re done for today.”

  No argument from me.

  Neither of them spoke much as they retraced their steps.

  He knew the risk and this time they were lucky to avoid confrontation.

  But what of the next time? And the one after that?

  That was the problem with luck… Sooner or later, it ran out.

  The door creaked open, and David stepped into the room with Sophie close behind.

  It’s been barely a day so far, and the place already felt like home. It was safe, unlike the forest.

  Sophie strung up bouquets of frost blossoms for drying, careful not to damage the petals. The flowers crackled faintly with leftover mana, but no longer exuded the deadly frost aura.

  David took out the vegetables and cut them into chunks. A simple, yet hearty soup. He filled the pot with water from the barrel. He started rummaging through the small satchels they got from the general store the day before.

  There it is.

  One of the main things they received was a bag of salt. He added a generous amount to the pot.

  Soon, Sophie was done preparing the herbs. She came up to him and tasted a bit of the boiling soup.

  “It’s good” She didn’t complain, but she didn’t smile either. “Could use spice. Maybe some herbs?”

  David was puzzled. None of what they picked was particularly fragrant.

  Sophie was already rummaging through her satchel. She pulled out long, thin leaves and crumbled them in her fists.

  David sniffed. “What’s that? Smells strong.”

  “I don’t know.” Sophie shrugged. “But it’s safe. I chewed on it in the forest.”

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

  David blinked slowly. Compared to monsters… sure. He shrugged too and added the leaves to the pot.

  He left the stirring to Sophie and sat at the table. He flipped open Aura’s old alchemy notebook.

  The pages were worn, but her script remained clean; All her scripts; the notes switched between common, ancient and runic writing without hesitation.

  It used to exhilarate him, the way the purification rates and ritual diagrams came alive in his head… But not anymore.

  With Aura being too tired to actively tutor him, his progress had plateaued. Even then, she only knew alchemy. He wanted more. A chance to explore every school of magic.

  I’d kill to have a real teacher. He chuckled dryly.

  Nonetheless, he kept reading. Memorizing the combinations of runes, hoping a revelation would come his way.

  Soon the words stopped settling in his head. He was fidgeting, unable to focus.

  It was getting late and the door still hadn’t opened.

  Aura and Bert had left at dawn.

  David considered going out to look for them, but he didn’t even know where to start.

  So he stayed. Read. Waited.

  Until the food was ready– and then some more.

  The door creaked again, much later than it should have.

  David looked up from the notes. Aura stepped through, leaning on the frame for a second. Bert followed, silent, his shoulders squared but sunken.

  Aura smiled, but her eyes were dulled by fatigue.

  “We’re back,” she said.

  Bert gave a quiet grunt and sat down without a word.

  “You’re late,” Sophie said gently, putting the pot over fire to warm up the food. “We’ll have soup in a moment.”

  “Thanks, sweetie.” Aura sank into a chair. “Smells good.”

  David watched them carefully. Aura’s chest heaved up and down. Bert looked like he might fall asleep sitting up. Their clothes were dusty, hands red and raw.

  “How was it?” David said.

  Aura waved a hand. “It was fine, Marco.”

  “What kind of work was it?”

  “Nothing special,” she said. “I was doing purification, Bert was preparing billets.”

  For twelve hours straight. But David didn’t mention that.

  “We’re tied to the work camp, apparently refugees can’t work anywhere else.” Aura added, almost offhandedly. “But we’ll manage.”

  David didn’t know what to say. The words scraped at his throat.

  “Like… forever?” he asked.

  “No. Not forever.” Aura smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes.

  For the first time, Bert raised his head a little. “We’ll save bit by bit and buy citizenship.”

  “How long?” David’s chest was tight, expecting the worst.

  “Just a few years.” Aura said, her voice casual.

  He was stunned.

  But before he could even form a response, Sophie barged into the conversation. “I’ll work too. It will be faster then, right?”

  Aura froze mid-spoonful. “No.”

  “But—”

  “No,” she said again, more firmly. “You would only be allowed to do hard labor. You’d break your back before the week’s over.”

  Sophie looked like she wanted to say something more, but bit it back. Aura was probably right.

  But the image of her hands and her tired smile weighed heavily on his mind.

  “…Could I help with alchemy?” he asked. “With you?”

  Aura’s shoulders softened a little. “You won’t pass the examination yet,” she said. “But If you keep studying, we’ll get there.”

  He nodded. But it wasn’t enough.

  How long would it take for him to learn? Weeks? Months?

  Would Aura and Bert last that long? It had been one day, and they already looked half-dead. They didn’t even get to rest after the journey.

  If they kept going like this, they’d collapse before David even had a chance to help.

  He couldn’t just sit and wait for that. He massaged his temple as he tried to focus.

  Can’t find work. Can’t sell herbs. Learning’s too slow.

  He thought of the woman with sharp eyes and shady intentions, who had approached them in the square.

  At the time, he’d been highly skeptical… But surely in such an oppressive city, there must have been groups that worked with refugees.

  Seeking out gangs was not a pleasant idea, especially with his past experiences, but he didn’t have many options.

  Aura and Bert finished their soup and lay down without ceremony. Sophie blew out the lamp.

  David lay down too, but he stayed awake, eyes open.

  He didn’t know if he could find the woman again. And even then, she could turn out to be a con artist.

  But he would try.

  He had to.

  David stirred awake to the soft rustle of movement.

  The room was dim, bathed in early gray light. Aura and Bert were already up, moving quietly to avoid waking the others.

  She tied her hair back with a strip of cloth. Bert was slipping on his boots, his motions stiff.

  “Good luck,” David whispered from his blanket.

  Aura turned to him, offering a tired smile.

  Bert paused before looking back to him. “Don’t do anything… dangerous, alright?”

  “I won’t,” he said.

  They left without another word.

  Once the door clicked shut, silence returned. Sophie rolled over on her side, groggy but awake.

  “They’re gone already?” she mumbled.

  “Yeah.” He responded, but then fell into silence as he thought.

  Could he help Aura and Bert alone? It would be safer to include Sophie in his plans.

  “We need to do something.” He finally said.

  Sophie sat up and rubbed her eyes. “You’re thinking about the woman from the square, aren’t you?”

  David was a little surprised, but he nodded. “Maybe it’s worth the risk.”

  Sophie blinked slowly, the last remnants of sleep leaving her face. “Want to find her?”

  He nodded. “Said she could help us sell things. I’ll bring some Voel and Tern—just enough to test if she’s honest. If it works, we’ll sell the frost blossoms.”

  “And if she’s not?”

  “We don’t have much to lose.” David said.

  “Right.” She frowned. “How do you wanna do this?”

  “I’ll go alone.” His voice was firm. “If I don’t come back, someone needs to tell Aura and Bert. Or… do something.”

  Sophie stared at him for a moment longer, then nodded. “Sure. You better come back safely then.”

  He moved to the corner where their gathering bags were stored, careful not to jostle anything else.

  He packed a handful of dried voel leaves and a few stems of tern—nothing that would be missed if things went wrong. Then he slid them into the bottom of his satchel and covered it with a cloth.

  No one on the street needed to know what he was carrying.

  David stood by the door and glanced at Sophie one last time. She was sitting on the edge of the bedroll, arms wrapped around her knees, watching him.

  He hesitated. “We’ll be okay,” he said.

  “Just go already.” she replied softly.

  He stepped outside and briskly walked down the stairs. The shady woman… She could be their ticket to salvation. Or a massive disappointment.

  Outside, the morning air was sharp and noisy. The streets of the refugee district were already stirring.

  Time to find the fence.