"Excuse me," I heard from behind me, "do you need help? Are you perhaps lost?"

It was a strangely muscular man in a gray robe with a red sash bound around his waist.

I was indeed lost.

I followed the instructions of the first person I asked where to find the church exactly but they must have been wrong because I have been at the point where it should have been but it was nowhere to be seen.

I couldn't look over the houses to see if I could spot the top of the church.

This was still a nicer part of the city, so I thought it couldn't hurt to talk to this man, "yes I am. Can you please tell me where the church is?"

"Would I?" He asked rhetorically, "you're almost there." He pointed with his finger, "just follow the road down from here and when you meet a crossroad turn left once."

"Thanks," I nodded my head in gratitude.

"Would you like me to accompany you?" He asked, leaning forwards a bit.

"No, thank you," I didn't need the assistance and I didn't want to be accompanied by some stranger.

I went on and just after a little while I saw my destination.

As far as buildings went this church was the biggest one I've seen so far but after the mansions, I had seen before I wasn't awestruck as far as size went.

I knelt down in one of the pews and looked around. The four giant windows by the altar were each decorated with an image of gods made out of colorful glass.

I closed my eyes and clasped my hands together. I prayed for my mother’s soul and for my father, wherever he might be or what has happened to him I still didn’t know but I prayed nonetheless. I prayed for me and my future, for the rest of the village, for those who still remained.

I have accepted my life here as it is and how it will be.

I felt like crying.

I was there until my knees started to hurt after I had stood up I wasn't upset that I felt so weak. I couldn't do anything against it, but a part of bettering myself was that I had to accept it.

Going outside again I thought that now I had to care for myself I should go prepare something to eat, maybe chat with some of the locals and get a recipe for something simple to actually learn how to cook.

-

I put some firewood into the fireplace next to the dried grass.

This house, like Eeming’s other one in Karia, had running water so I already poured some water into the pot hanging above it.

My decision was to make vegetable soup.

I sliced all kinds of vegetables into small pieces and threw them into the pot, also some pieces of bread.

It would be no culinary masterpiece but this was more than enough for me.

I had already started missing my mother's cooking and eating with her and my father at a table, together.

This time I would be alone.

I had to adjust, cooking for myself, cleaning my own clothes, and starting the fire on the fireplace.

The normal way to light fire would be with flint and steel or just not letting it go out completely in the first place.

I could go and borrow some from my neighbors…

Rather not, I was in the 'high society', I think they'd find it rather distasteful to borrow something, even fire.

I recalled back at how the tester in the guild had done it. He just lit it without anything at all.

If he could do it then so could I, right?

I took some of the grass and put it on the floor. It was made out of stone so there was no danger of it catching fire.

Hovering my hand above it I breathed in deep, this has to be somewhat like drawing out arella. I'll just do the same thing I did back at Eeming's house in Karia but now with fire, that can't be too hard.

My palm began sweating then my armpits and forehead, it wasn't just a drop each, more like I had worked a hard day under the blazing sun on a field.

While sweating buckets I managed to produce a stream of fire and my arm flew back a bit, it felt like I just shot a bow.

It was surprising how easily I could control it, the problem was that I didn't want to create such a big amount of it. Thankfully it didn't keep up for too long and the stream stopped.

After the spectacle I had just performed was over I violently puked on the floor, projectile vomiting on the burning heap of grass.

But it wasn't the food I had eaten earlier this morning, it was like the jelly I had conjured up out of my hand a week ago.

It wasn't the usual radiant translucent blue but a dull gray with dark red streaks through it.

Having found my composure again I search for something with which I could shovel up the mess I had made and threw it away.

I took a wet cloth and cleaned up what remained. At least now I knew that I could do something like that.

While scrubbing the floor I noticed there was something under the stove, by its shape it couldn’t have been anything else.

It was a book, I reached to grab it and dirtied my hand with the soot and cobwebs that gather at the stove's bottom.

It was in horrible condition and I had to thoroughly dust it off to even read the title,

“A spoon full of aid”, no author credit.

It was a strange title and it got me curious about what it could have been about.

I flipped through the pages and selected one by random and started reading a paragraph.

“A spoonful of flour mixed with sugar will work wonders against those whose innards decided to fall through.”

By the end of the sentence, I already had enough.

It must have been for housewives or for those who had to take care of children.

I couldn’t imagine it being Eeming’s, it most likely belonged to another servant or even Eeming’s wife’s who had lost it some time ago, judging by the dust it had collected.

I could still read it, there must have been some medical knowledge or the like I could learn from it.

Or maybe have some rest for the moment.

I still wanted to eat something and the vomit has put out the fire, so I started a fire the traditional way.

And after I ate the horrible meal that I made for myself and washed up a bit I thought about going into the city again, search for another pastime that didn't require a hundred percent of my attention.

But following the little experiment I had enough for that day, it had absolutely exhausted me so I just lay down and slept.

I had more than enough time to do something tomorrow.