Rep rushed to Junill’s side, eyes wide and shaking. His hands trembled with fear as he reached out toward her, then stopped himself. He picked up something on the ground next to her. His hand quivered.

“She took it off!” He sounded greatly relieved. Rep held up the Indefatigable Iron that was wound to a torn necklace. “She lives!”

Zalan recalled that the Indefatigable Iron was an Artifact that allowed someone to have full, unwaning energy at every moment they had it touching them. But the moment they took it off, the wearer would collapse into a sleep that they couldn’t be awoken from until they repaid their sleep debt to their body. If one never took the Artifact off, they would collapse dead.

“Good that she lives,” Oshrad nodded. He turned to Zalan. “Now, where do you wish to go to get your sword? Valens? Or perhaps the forge near the Granite House? They do phenomenal work. It is where Ma gets most of her weapons.”

“What, do you intend to leave Junill like this?” Rep asked, appalled.

“Why not? She cannot provide us any service and she clearly wished to sleep like this,” Oshrad pointed to her.

“In the middle of the day? The fires of her forge were still running!” Rep said.

“She left the door unlocked,” Oshrad stuck a thumb toward it.

“We need to watch over her until she comes to! Use your Elemental Earth to prop her up so she sleeps more comfortably,” Rep said. He pulled out a pouch he normally held food in and placed it under her head.

“Why? It is one thing to offer to watch over, but why does she need a bed?” Oshrad asked, sounding slightly annoyed.

“Because!” Rep said sternly. “Do I not have Ma’s authority? Should I tell her how you spoke to me when I gave you a reasonable task?”

Oshrad rolled his eyes, unfazed by the threat. Nonetheless, he used his Elemental Power to build a small pillow for Junill’s head. Then he built a low wall and covered her from the heat of the flames around them. Rep nodded, appreciating his assistance and went back to looking over the swordsmith. Zalan stood awkwardly, not sure what he should be doing. Oshrad read his expression.

“We can keep an eye on her. You can go and store your money away in the guild and we will wait for you here,” Oshrad suggested.

Zalan looked nervously between the door and Rep. Things didn’t tend to go well when he was separated from Rep in this realm. When he trained with his friends Fran and Gorb, he almost died to a monster called a Sickly Gargoyle that poisoned him. When he fought in the Elemental Rage Tournament when Rep was incapacitated, Zalan did things he regretted against his rival Slauson. He still bore the scars of his regrets all over his face and skin. He ran a hand through his hair and stared at Rep.

“Rep, what do you think?” Zalan asked.

Rep was totally focused on Junill, not a word making it to him.

“Rep?”

“Do you need his permission?” Oshrad asked, as though speaking to a child.

“No, I just thought it would be good to ask,” Zalan said, his eyes on the ground.

“Stay if you wish, but we will be fine here.”

Zalan reluctantly nodded his head and turned to the door. The Journey House guild was close to Junill’s forge. And he was safe in Oriton. There were no monsters between the guild and the forge. Plus, he couldn’t rely on Rep to do everything. He was supposed to go back to his own world at the end of this journey. Rep wouldn’t be there for him anymore. He would have to be independent, and it was a good time to start while he was still in a safe area. Taking a deep breath, Zalan pushed the door open and left the forge.

As soon as he stepped outside, he felt naked. Like he was a foreigner that didn’t speak the language of the land. He looked around for robbers, despite there never having been shady characters on this side of town. He walked briskly to Journey House, hoping to end this little excursion as quickly as possible. His walk turned into a jog. He tried to seem casual about it, but couldn’t even convince himself that there was a reason to move so quickly.

Arriving at the guild, Zalan rushed within. He took a few moments to breathe on the other side of the door. Everything was fine. He was feeling less urgency the longer he was separated from his friend. There was nothing to be afraid of. Everything would be fine. He relaxed his muscles.

He looked up and saw Heron inside, filling his pack for an upcoming journey. One of the heads of Journey House. Heron stared at Zalan’s interesting entrance.

“Zalan,” Heron acknowledged with a raised eyebrow.

“Hey, Heron. Where do I leave valuables in this place?”

“A good question. This information is only for guild members to have, so stay tight lipped. Every bunk has a secret compartment below it. Claim an empty one and store your things within. Try not to tell others where we stash our things,” Heron said politely.

He sounded cordial with Zalan, like he saw him as a fellow guildmate now. Zalan appreciated it so much that the one interaction alone justified being an official member of the guild.

“Thanks.” Zalan nodded.

He walked over to the cot he was transported to whenever he used the Homeseeker. He knelt down and found a hidden opening to the floorboards. Pulling it open, he found nothing within. The compartment was wide enough for him to store things like a sword and some clothes. He dumped out the majority of the gold from his pouch. Heron looked over, interested.

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“Quite the fortune. Did you inherit it?” Heron asked.

“No, I got it from Castle Docrun. Part of a dragon’s hoard.”

“The Elemental Dragon you spoke of before?” Heron sounded less skeptical than last time.

“Yeah, that one.”

“Would you mind me asking how you were able to defeat it? Keep this between us, but I do not think I would be able to take one on myself,” Heron confided. Zalan was comforted by his humility.

“Yeah, I had the help of some friends. It took five of us. One of my friends, Fran, died while fighting it. But she put up a great fight. I’m almost certain she’s the reason the rest of us survived,” Zalan said sincerely.

“Fran!” Heron yelled, grabbing Zalan by the shoulders. “Fran is dead!?”

“Ummm… Yeah, did you know her?”

“I brought her and her brother into the guild! I always knew Fran would go out fighting massive creatures, but I didn’t imagine she would meet her end so soon,” Heron said, sounding remorseful. He released Zalan’s shoulders then gripped him again. “How is Gorb?”

“He’s… I mean he was pretty sad about it. Exactly what you’d expect when someone close to you dies…” Zalan said, his voice trailing in reflection. “But I helped him get home so he could bury her.”

“Good on you,” Heron said, patting his shoulders kindly. He threw his pack over his shoulder. “I see now why Rep recommended you. I am glad to see there was a good reason to bring you into the guild.”

Zalan felt strange. A good strange. Like he’d made a friend and was reminiscing. He never thought he would be in this different reality long enough to have stories to tell others. He smiled at Heron in gratitude.

“Anything I can get you while I am out?” Heron asked.

“No, where are you going?” Zalan asked.

“I have just gotten word there is a Basilisk out near the Elemental Rage Tournament. I hope to find it, slay it, and gain a Level,” Heron said.

“How did you hear about it already? I thought it was like a two week journey from the tournament grounds to Oriton,” Zalan said.

“How else does one get information beyond their means? Madam Hikma of course!”

Zalan smiled, starting to get an understanding of Madam Hikma’s knowledge. She had been at the tournament with him and he brought her back with the Homeseeker. He wondered what other tricks she employed to gather information behind her two different colored eyes. Then, he started to wonder why Heron would risk going up against a Basilisk that needed dozens of fighters just to scare it off.

“You’re going to hunt something that big just to gain a Level?” Zalan asked, considering that Heron could be an adrenaline junkie.

“Indeed. I am Level 12. When you reach Level 10, it becomes significantly difficult to gain Experience from most monsters. Killing small creatures gives you no Experience. But a Basilisk will certainly give me something. Some people call the Levels beyond Level 10 the Death Levels, as you always have to put your life on the line to gain further Experience,” Heron explained.

Zalan had forgotten the fact that Experience gained was based on the strength of the monster killed. He knew that Roaches gave him less than one Experience when he was Level 3. He was Level 5 now, and suspected Roaches would never give him Experience again.

“Farewell, Zalan. May your quests go well.” Heron smiled warmly and waved.

With that, he nodded to Zalan and walked out of the guild. Zalan was alone. He felt ambivalent about it. He had spent so much time with others in this world that he didn’t know how to act when on his own. It was like he was his own species. He was the only one that truly knew what it meant to be from a different world. It was good to be able to breathe and reflect in a safe place like his own guild.

Zalan took account of his things. He had fifty gold coins on him, still a fortune by anyone’s standards in this realm. He had the Homeseeker at his hip in his pocket. He felt for the Reversal Stone before remembering that it was gone, degraded away. He wondered if using it on a flower was a good use of that Artifact. It was definitely better than any alternative Ma had planned for him and Rep.

He flexed his hands and let a spark of lightning dance between his fingers. He felt so grateful to have the power. It gave him some semblance of control on this realm. Where there were so many otherworldly and unnatural things to him, he had embraced a new power and made it his own. It felt comfortable, like a pre-existing sixth sense. He had forgotten how he felt without the power coursing through him. He didn’t look forward to the part of his future where he wouldn’t have access to his lightning anymore after returning home.

“You cannot enter without first having gained permission by a member of the guild,” Zalan heard Heron outside. It sounded like the beginning of an argument.

“I already told you that I know members!” another voice came sharply.

It was escalating quickly. Those arguing both sounded like they were getting at one another’s throats. Zalan recognized both voices but wasn’t certain whose was whose. One was definitely Heron, but the other sounded just muffled enough to escape him. Zalan made his way to the exit to see what was going on. He opened the door and stopped cold, shock written on his face.

“Zalan, do you know this man?” Heron asked abrasively. “He insists on going inside the guild, but he has no representative to invite him.”

“Of course he knows me, I taught him everything he knows!”

Zalan stared in disbelief.

Instructor Nold stood before him, smiling at Zalan.

Zalan took a half-step back. Nold was supposed to be so far from Oriton, but he’d returned in less than three days.

“Nold?” Zalan said, baffled.

“I told you he knows me,” Nold said to Heron. Heron rolled his eyes.

“Look at you! You should be proud of yourself! Your face seems to have retained much of your experiences from the tournament,” Nold pointed out Zalan’s scars.

“What are you doing here?” Zalan asked.

“I told you I would assist you with your quests after the tournament. And now here I am,” Nold presented himself proudly.

“No, I mean… How did you get here so fast? Did you use an Artifact?” Zalan asked.

“No, I had no need of Artifacts to return to Oriton. I had energy in my legs and the wind at my back,” Nold said proudly.

That didn’t make any sense to Zalan. There was no way he could even run that far in three days. Something was missing.

“Are you inviting him into the guild as your guest?” Heron asked.

“No need for that anymore, I will not be entering. I just wanted to speak with my student,” Nold assured him.

“I see. Farewell, then,” Heron waved, heading to one of the exit walls of Oriton.

“So, have you spoken to Hikma and gotten your next quest? Where are we traveling to?” Nold asked.

“Ummm…” Zalan felt sick. He wished Rep was here to help him dissuade Nold from coming. He didn’t know how to answer.

“Do we still need to see, Hikma? Is that it?” Nold asked, already ready to move that way.

“No, she gave me a quest. We need to go to the Island of Remains,” Zalan said, regretting revealing the information as soon as he did.

Nold stopped moving, searching Zalan’s face for any sign of a joke. Nold tried to look casual, but an eager smirk fought its way to his lips.

“Oh,” Nold said, trying and failing to sound relaxed. “That sounds dangerous. I would be happy to assist you in safely reaching your destination.”