“How much time do you think has passed in my homeworld?” Zalan asked Rep once they were underway. Zalan didn’t like the idea of being in a coma so long as he was in this world. He wondered what Asher was thinking, seeing him sleep for so long after he visited.

“Not much time at all, I would venture. Seconds, maybe,” Rep said, juggling the idea in his mind.

“You sound pretty sure,” Zalan said.

“I was inspired with the information,” Rep answered.

Zalan raised an eyebrow.

“The same inspiration that brought you to help me?” Zalan asked, slightly skeptical.

Rep’s eyes got a faraway look as he turned away from Zalan abruptly.

“Indeed,” Rep said.

“How much do you know about this source of ‘inspiration?’ What did you see?”

“I would rather not say,” he said, wincing as he bit the inside of his lip lightly.

“I really wish you would,” Zalan said.

“Perhaps later. Let us focus on the journey ahead,” Rep answered.

Zalan sighed through his nose, incredibly frustrated that Rep seemed to not want to answer one of his most pertinent inquiries. He tried to get the question out of his mind with another question.

“What’s the plan from here? How long will it take for us to get to the castle from Oriton?” Zalan asked.

“The Castle of Docrun is a few days’ journey from Oriton. We will rest at the guild to heal ourselves, then I will need to make some money for us to purchase supplies needed for the way. Food, mostly, as there are five of us now. In the meantime, I hope you will take the time to train,” Rep said.

Zalan threw a nervous look at Fran who was walking ahead of them, occasionally throwing a small fireball from her palm and manipulating its trajectory midair before it dissipated into nothing.

“I guess I could do with some more training,” Zalan admitted anxiously.

“Splendid. Then, that is our plan,” Rep said, not having read Zalan’s hesitations.

Later on the journey back to Oriton as the travelers shifted in their order, Rep and Zalan found themselves next to Gorb and behind Fran and Yelsa, who were arguing about something inconsequential. Zalan tried to listen in, and it sounded something like they were talking about Yelsa’s home and whether it existed. Rep leaned toward Gorb with a hint of apprehension to ask a question,

“Gorb, why is it that you are working for this Yelsa?”

Zalan still hadn’t figured out why Rep had earned the right to call Gorbonifus by his nickname. Level Three couldn’t have been that strong.

“She pays,” Gorb replied, his face inscrutable to Zalan.

“But I feel this work is strange for you to take part in. Why are hired guild members under Level Ten guiding her to Elementals? This sounds like something for her own guild to take part in,” Rep said.

“She has no guild,” Gorb replied.

“But is she paying you enough to do this job? It is normally a high price to take someone to an Elemental,” Rep asked.

“She pays very well,” Gorb nodded.

“Then—and I do not mean any offense—but why did she hire the two of you rather than someone more experienced?” Rep continued.

“No one believed her when she discussed the reason as to why she had to find an Air Elemental, specifically,” Gorb said, then lowered his voice. “She claims to be from Aetheria. She wishes to fly back home in the clouds.”

“Is she insane?” Rep asked, sounding genuinely curious, not an ounce of malice in the question.

“Not that I can tell. Except that she pays us much better than she ought to. Ten gold coins for the first trip, now twenty for the Homeseeker. But I take it that she is simply well-off and eccentric rather than insane,” Gorb said.

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“What do you intend to do with all that coin?” Rep asked. Judging by the size his eyes went, Zalan determined they were talking about a small fortune.

“We must pay the dues on Mother and Father’s home. The rates went up this year and Mother refuses to pay. We need to put a stop to that,” Gorb said.

“Good on you to keep your parents in their home,” Rep said.

Gorb scoffed loudly, a smile almost breaking on his face. He shook his head.

“That was not our concern. We want to prevent a massacre,” Gorb said.

“Your parents would be killed for not paying?” Zalan asked, stunned.

“No, nothing like that,” Gorb waved a hand dismissively. “However, they would try to evict my parents for not paying. Mother would not go out without a fight. And Father, in his love for Mother, would die rather than see her be disappointed. So, the two of them would kill dozens before they would be removed from their home. Though, at that point, they might be considered for execution. We wish to prevent that.”

Zalan tried to assess whether Gorb was making a joke or whether he really believed that his parents would have the strength and ability to kill dozens of people. Zalan didn’t see any indication that Gorb was messing around, but he also had a hard time reading Gorb’s facial expressions.

“We are close!” Rep said excited as he pointed at the city of Oriton in the distance.

“How are you going to make money once we’re home?” Zalan asked him.

“I shall do small jobs that earn me about a bronze coin each. I will go home to home, asking whether they would like to save time in starting their fires tonight, and use my Elemental Power to start it for them,” Rep explained.

“That’s amazing,” Zalan said, again being impressed by the small feats that these powers were able to achieve. When he first thought of these powers, he thought they were exclusively weapons, but he saw so much more use in them. Air to keep smoke out of your face, or to make an umbrella, or start fires for others. He wanted his own power to have additional utility like that.

“Perhaps when you are stronger, you will be able to start fires with your power as well,” Rep said.

“I might even be able to help now if the firewood is dry enough,” Zalan considered.

“No, you should focus on training,” Rep said with certainty. “You should not take on a dragon at such a low Level. And Fran and Gorb have already agreed to instruct.”

“Great,” Zalan said slowly, Gorb’s inscrutable gaze not reacting to his sarcasm.

The sun slid low in the sky, ready to hide itself behind the horizon. At that time, they were back at the gates of Oriton, the guards atop the walls greeting Rep, Gorb, and Fran as familiar faces. Once inside, they went straight to Journey House and each slept until their wounds were fully healed. Zalan discovered that the room leading away was specifically for the women of the guild, separating the men and women into two large suites. Zalan was asleep the longest, having much of his body to restore. When he woke up and stretched his newly rejuvenated body, he noticed there was a scar left on his hand from where he cut it open to spill blood for the Elemental.

“Hey, my hand isn’t healed all the way,” Zalan said to Rep.

“Not all wounds are healed by rest. Some leave marks, especially the wounds we inflict on ourselves,” Rep said.

“So, I’m stuck with this?” Zalan asked, looking over the light red line across his palm. He wondered if his real body was affected by this. Was all of this being treated as a nightmare in his brain? Stuck in a dream?

“Indeed,” Rep said, gathering a few things and heading for the door.

“Where are we going?” Zalan asked, following.

“Not ‘we.’ I am going to get us some money for the journey to the castle. You can train in the courtyard behind the guild,” Rep said.

“Right now? We just got back,” Zalan complained.

“It is not as though you require any more rest,” Gorb said from behind him.

Zalan spun to meet his unemotional gaze. Then, Zalan sighed and waved off to Rep who headed outside.

“Who is ready for training?” Fran popped in from her quarters. Yelsa remained inside.

“Yeah, I suppose,” Zalan shrugged and grabbed his sword to go to the training area.

“Where are you headed?” Fran asked, tilting her head.

“Rep said the courtyard was this way,” Zalan pointed.

“We are not training in the courtyard,” Fran laughed. “How are you supposed to get experience that way? We are going outside the walls.”

“But Rep said we would train in the courtyard?” Zalan said.

“Oh, but Rep said I could not play today,” Fran said in a mocking tone, pantomiming wiping tears from her eyes, then snapping up. “What is he, your father? More importantly, is he your instructor right now?”

“Well, I mean…” Zalan stopped when Gorb stood to his full height and flicked his chin upward, a silent order for Zalan to go out the front door. “All right, fine.”

Zalan opened the door and saw how the town was shrouded in a red hue, the sun right at the brink of taking its rays to the other side of the world. He turned back to Gorb and Fran who were right behind him, no room for him to head back inside.

“Won’t it be dark soon?” Zalan asked.

“All the better for your training! You cannot always expect to be fighting things in daylight,” Fran smiled.

“But Rep said…” Zalan trailed when Fran raised an eyebrow, a disparaging remark just behind her lips. “Yeah, okay, let’s go.” Zalan muttered.

“Excellent. I know the perfect place to fight some creatures that will be at your skill level. You will be able to use your power in combat as well as get some training in with your sword,” Fran said, excited.

“They had better not be Roaches,” Zalan grumbled as they approached the nearest exit to Oriton.

“Oh, God, no!” Fran’s face scrunched in distaste. “I hate Roaches. No, these creatures are nothing like Roaches. They are far more dangerous.”