The Homeseeker: An Elemental Adventurer LitRPG

Chapter 27 - Morloch the Manipulator

The five travelers left Poppyville in high spirits, carrying an air of excitement from the previous day's festivities as well as having rested in comfortable beds behind protected walls rather than camping outside. They traveled close to the river, knowing that it would eventually lead to the Castle of Docrun that they could now see at a distance ahead of them.

Fran, Gorb, and Rep were discussing the games they participated in the day before. Zalan was feeling inspired after having watched so many Elemental professionals the previous day and was spending all his focus trying to imbue his blade with lightning. Yelsa watched him work intently, but quietly, kept a modest distance away to not be affected by errant sparks and shocks. He could get the lightning to stick to the tip for a good two seconds, but nothing as robust as the fully imbued blade Fran could summon at a whim. It was nice to see some progress, as tiny as it was. A few seconds of the tip of a sword was better than not being able to do it at all. Even in his small acknowledgement of success, he felt Yelsa watching from over his shoulder. It felt weird for her to watch him without offering advice like the others in his group normally did.

"So, what are you gonna do once you get home?" Zalan asked, becoming shy with her silence.

"What do you mean?" Yelsa asked.

"I mean what's the goal once you're home with the Homeseeker? What next?" Zalan asked.

"The goal is to go home. That is everything," Yelsa replied.

"You're not planning on visiting people or anything like that? Just home?" Zalan asked, clicking his tongue as he was unable to keep the lightning any further than just the end of the blade.

"Once I am home, visiting all of my friends and family will be trivial, given that they are also at my home," Yelsa said. "What about you, what are your plans for when you return?"

"I uhhh... I was gonna visit my mom," Zalan said, his voice low.

"An admirable goal," Yelsa said. "What is your mother like?"

A frown on Zalan's face was the instinctual response to her question. Then, he took a few moments to reflect. Slowly, a faint smile crawled its way to his face.

"Loving. Super generous. A doctor too. She taught me everything she could about healing others. And her smile... just the best. I felt like I could do no wrong in her company. I was supposed to visit her a lot sooner, but..." Zalan trailed, a lump of guilt appearing in his chest. Yelsa looked pleased, seeming satisfied by his reply.

"Visiting must be nice. Where I am from, everyone is always nearby, right at home."

Zalan lowered his sword to look at her.

"Everyone is at home? Don't people ever leave?" Zalan asked.

"No," Yelsa replied with certainty.

Zalan gave her a funny look, confused by her response.

"What about you? You wouldn't be here if you didn't leave, right?" Zalan asked.

Yelsa's face didn't show any emotion, but she cracked a few knuckles in response. Zalan raised an eyebrow at her, urging the question.

"Yelsa, are you really from a city in the sky?" Zalan asked.

"Yes! I knew Gorbonifus and Fran would try to convince you otherwise! Of course I am!" Yelsa snapped. "Why would I want to get the Homeseeker if my end goal was not to return home?"

"How should I know? But alright, fine. I still believe you're from the cloud city. But then why are you here? On the ground and not in the sky?" Zalan asked.