"Aaron is just a peasant boy, but he will be missed if he disappears. So you can take his place."
Brian looked at the handsome, red-haired fighter "So I'd end up like him? That doesn't sound too bad."
The Wizard smiled. "You'll look just like he did when he came in here on the centaur's back."
That made Brian think. "Uh, what did he look like then?"
"Like THIS!" The Wizard gestured at Brian, who gasped and fell to his knees as heat and pressure slammed into him from all directions. His clothing crumbled to dust, showing the already slender Elven body getting smaller and thinner.
When the sensations stopped, Brian stood shakily and looked down at himself. "I'm a little kid!" It was obvious that the filthy arms, legs,rounded tummy, and tiny nub of a penis belonged to a small child. The Wizard waves his hand again, and a section of air shimmered and became a perfect mirror in front of him. He stared in a combination of shock and amazement at the dirty, naked little boy reflected back at him. He had a tangled mat of copper-red hair that hung to his shoulders, and looked as if he had never bathed in his life.
The Wizard nodded. "About 6 years old, an orphan who lives on the charity of townspeople. You will soon be expected to start working to earn your keep, but have no fear. With your knowledge and abilities, you will have your choice of many fine jobs. Stableboy, shepherd, field hand, perhaps even an apprentice to a blacksmith. A whole new life!"
Brian did not like the sound of that. "But I can do way more than that! I can read and write, do math, and I know about all sorts of modern technology. I could.." His voice trailed off when he saw the Wizard and Tye both grinning. "What?"
Tye chuckled. "What is ten times ten?"
Brian blinked. He knew what ten was - that was two hands worth of fingers. Huh? There was some kind of mark or symbol that meant ten, but he could not recall it. And ten hands of ten fingers? The idea was not comprehensible to him. "I... I don't know."
Tye nodded. "You remember being older and living in another world, but you have the knowledge and skills of a typical peasant 6 year-old. Which is pretty much nothing."
"But you have at least a few months more to play in the mud with other little children, each day forgetting more of your past until you really are nothing more than a peasant who belongs in this world."