The day was cloudy, but still pretty light. It didn't feel that cold either. Perfect for a first day as apprentice. I was the first to arrive. I was pretty nervous about being on time, so I looked around for the others. Maybe they had already gone somewhere else. But then Sallo arrived. Apparently I was really early.

  Usually Sallo was the first, so he was surprised to find me already there. He explained that coming early for apprentices was a formal rule, but not really enforced in this group. They would even wait a while if you were late, as long as it didn't happen too often. Then Nicchy and Thomias joined up. Nicchy gave me a filled water bottle and some beef jerky. We would be out all day, so it wasn't a luxury to have plenty to eat and drink. I had completely forgotten about it, so I thanked Nicchy from the bottom of my heart. She waved it off saying it was her duty to take cate of the new ones.

  Roodon came running along and right behind him Terron showed up, which explained why Roodon was in such a hurry. Terron grabbed a clipboard and took attendance. His job was partly making sure apprentices didn't stray too far, a little bit fighting monsters, but mostly paperwork. I guess its the same whichever world you go. After Terron was done he took the lead to the city gate.

  The forest didn't start immediately after the city wall. First there was around 300 meters of grassy field before the first trees started. Terron explained that the field was well maintained and trees were culled before they could grow. It was so that the guards could shoot any monster that targeted the city. Apparently it wasn't common for monsters to leave the forest. Even if they did, at most they would take a few steps out before going back again. But every now and then when the monsters overpopulated, they would storm the city with a bunch at the same time. If that happened it was an emergency for everyone with a related job to come and help.

  As a ranger, Catch would have to directly fight the monsters. I would have to tend to the wounded with the alchemists and doctors, though inexperienced as I was, my tasks would be simple. It made me uncomfortable that this was something that could happen, but Terron reassured me it was such an anomaly that if you are lucky, you could live your whole life without seeing it even once. But in case it did happen a system was set in place to reduce casualties. I took this as a red flag and assumed I wouldn't be part of the lucky generation.

  The trees were sparse at first, but became denser the further we came. Nicchy pointed out a few plants on the way, but explained that they were going over it quickly, because they decided to go deeper into the forest today, looking for the rarer plants. To make it that far we had to keep the pace and not slow down to collect plants of lesser value.

  The deeper we came, the more apparent that strange, comfortable feeling became. Like a weighted blanket, it became ever cozier. Though as relaxed as I felt, I saw the rest of the group didn't share the same emotions. They were constantly looking around them with worried expressions on their faces. Especially Terron couldn't keep his eyes on the path for more than two seconds. People had stopped chatting about trivalities and even Nicchy stayed silent.

  Eventually Terron signalled for a break. The apprentices let out a collective sigh and together with them I sat down on the nearest rock. The others were slower to sit down, but eventually everyone was drinking their water and eating whatever snacks they had packed. They started to relax a bit and softly talked again. Except for Terron, who stood watch. At a moment like this it seemed too much of a burden for just one person to be responsible for the safety of a whole group. He couldn't even have a proper break and needed to stay vigilant. No one else seemed to have a problem with it, perhaps because they were used to it.

  Terron mumbled under his breath something about how weird it was that they hadn't run into any monsters yet, which I found weird, because I had seen them. I had seen the leaves rustling, I had seen the tracks of a creature that had neither hoof nor paw, I had seen a deer in the distance, with just one antler and large, red eyes. They just chose to be there and not engage. What did they expect animals to do?

  After about 15 years we were good to go again. And it wasn't that long until we slowed down severly to collect plants. Nicchy told me to just dig up anything I saw and check in with Sallo for which plants were better and which parts we actually needed. The plants here weren't so different from what I was used to. They all had roots and leaves, and some had flowers. Its just that I couldn't tell any by name. Maybe I would be able to if that memory fog actually cleared up, but for now I was left with the feeling I would be able to recognise them if there were any memories to match them with.

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  Terron looked like his job had just started, even though he had been working hard this whole time. Every now and then he made some noise and we were supposed to look at him and get closer if needed. His eyes were everywhere and he looked ready for anything, though nothing happened. It made me a bit nervous. If the danger was that high, what was I doing here, with my eyes on the ground? But nothing happened. It stayed quiet until Terron called us to head back.

  Even though I worked to the best of my abilities, the other apprentices had collected more than twice as much as me. I guess thats the result of practice. I just hoped I wouldn't be a burden that didn't collect enough plants.

  The way home was silent as well. At first everyone seemed nervous to still be that deep into the forest, but the closer we came to the city, the more exhaustion set in. Though it was worse for me than for the others, no one seemed to have the spare energy to make idle chat.

  When entering the city, Terron talked a bit to one of the guards, but I couldn't hear what they were talking about. As soon as we entered the city we split ways. Herbalists and apprentices went to the herbalist building, while Terron went off somewhere else. Paperwork probably. We were led to some kind of lobby where the apprentices sat down while Nicchy and Thomias collected our plants. There were about two hours of daylight left. Nicchy and Thomias were supposed to help sorting for another hour, but apprentices were free to do what they wanted with the rest of the day.

  What we wanted to do was not move for a while. At first we just sat in silence, but the others quickly regained their energy. Especially Sallo was chatty. He went on about his first day and how he was way worse than me. He also told me that with Roodon they had to turn back early, because he didn't make it a full day at first. Roodon face turned red a little and he yelled back all of Sallos mistakes that he could think of in that moment. I was too exhausted to make conversation, so I just sat there and nodded. But to be honest, it did make me feel better.

  Especially Roodons reaction made me chuckle a bit. Alchemists werent supposed to be out in the field all day. Once we progresses in our apprenticeship we would spend less and less time outside, but if every day would be like this, I could understand why some people wanted to be herbalists.

  After Sallo asked why I was a new apprentice at my age I told him I was new here. I obviously didn't tell him the whole story. I didn't tell him I came from another world and I didn't tell him I had memory loss. I only told him I had to move here and had been here just a few days and how I liked it so far. Sallos eyes lit up. He jumped up from his bench and dragged me along outside. Roodon had to come too, though he didn't seem to like it at all.

  We went to as many new places as the time allowed and still had only seen about the quarter of the city closest to the gate. The north gate, apparently, as there were five more gates. There was a really impressive playground that was built mostly from logs and rope, and children climbed all over it and played tag and other games. There was also an abandoned house. The children claimed it was haunted. It certainly wasn't maintained in the last few decades, so I could see why they thought so.

  There was also a small stream flowing through the city. Was that the same stream I was following when I first got here? It wasn't large enough to do anything useful with, other than grabbing a bucket of water, but the children loved to play here during warmer days.

  When the sun was about to set we parted ways. We all lived in the same area and luckily I recognised it around here. When I went inside Catch seemed nervous.

  "I'd rather you come home a bit earlier. What were you doing anyways? I thought the apprentices would get off early."

  I shrugged my shoulders.

  "I was just walking around with Sallo and Roodon."

  What was with him that he wanted to know where I was at all times? Its not like being out in the dark is instant death. Its not even illegal. Its just a bit more dangerous and staying inside is considered good behaviour. And here I was: inside. The sun hasn't even completely set yet. As I had an internal monologue about how much bullshit this was, Catch seemed relieved.

  "I'm glad you are making friends, but I'd still like it if you came home a bit earlier."

  Talk about overprotectiveness. But I made some agreeing sounds. Its not like I'd want to be outside even more after already having been outside all day.

  After that Catch acted like nothing had happened. I couldn't forget so easily, but still tried to not bring the mood down. Catch had tried so hard for my sake, I should not be grumpy in his house. And today I discovered this world had something that resembled a tv. A small, mostly see through plate that acted like a projector once Catch did his magic stuff. Its just that every movie was its own tv. And it wasnt even really a movie. It was like a recorded theater performance. Can be good, I guess, but for a magic world they sure lacked special effects.