Chapter 29
Witnessing it happen was the worst part.
Ellen winced as Builder Ellen hit the floor. The hard stone did not yield, and while she didn’t see too much blood, the sharp cracking noise wasn’t a good sign. She looked away quickly, clapping a hand over her mouth.
She remembered killing a goblin and the desperate fight there. Even if she’d chosen to be the merchant for the group of Ellens, she still had a history as a previous Adventurer Ellen. The stress of combat hadn’t hardened her to the idea of death, though. If anything, Ellen thought she might have lost her taste for violence because of those memories.
Healer Ellen was already rushing to Builder Ellen’s side, and in turn Apprentice Ellen was following, a distraught look on her face. Ellen looked away, and in a strange way that let her know that there was no helping the fallen girl.
She knew Builder Ellen was dead.
She knew this because she saw the blankets underneath the stretched-out cloth of the tent material bulge upward into two lumps, with only a faint glimmering at the top forming into two tumbles of red hair. It was such a quick moment that Ellen almost missed it by blinking, so close it was to being instant.
Ellen had been through waking up like that three times now. She’d thought she’d handled the most recent one well, but that was nothing compared to the two new Ellens that sat up in bed while the others were fretting over Builder Ellen. The two new girls looked at one another, then looked around at what was happening… and immediately got to work getting dressed.
Clothes were in a box next to the ‘bed’ under the tent, and Ellen watched as, without a word, one of the new Ellens rummaged in the box, passed a new set of clothes over to her new twin, and then pulled one out for herself. As the two started to get dressed, they finally caught the attention of the others when they spoke.
“Mason or Carpenter?” One said to the other.
The second glanced at the wall next to her, making a decision on the spot. “I’ll be Mason.”
“Got it,” the other replied. “I’ll be Carpenter Ellen.”
Healer Ellen looked up, worry in her expression. “Sorry I couldn’t do anything to save you. At least it looks like you didn’t suffer.”
“There are worse ways to go,” Mason Ellen said as she tugged her hair out from the collar of her shirt. “Merchant Ellen, do you mind telling me where to take the donkey? I want to go down to the village and see if they have a mason to learn a few things from, see if I can’t pick up a specific Perk like Apprentice Ellen managed.”
Ellen frowned at the two. “You seem to have really quickly settled into your roles. Did you plan ahead in case this happened? Not that it isn’t a good idea I guess, but I feel a little uncomfortable planning for our own deaths.”
“Oh it’s nothing like that,” Carpenter Ellen reassured. She crawled out from under the tent fabric, slipping on some sandals kept nearby just in case an Ellen died. “I—or I guess we—had been thinking about how it would be useful if we could pick up some masonry-related knowledge anyway. So when I woke up I thought that would be a natural way to go. Mason Ellen agreed with me because, well…”
“I’d thought the same thing,” Mason Ellen finished. She also crawled out and stood up, stretching lazily. “So when Carpenter Ellen asked, I just had to figure out which one I wanted. Nice of you to give me the choice by the way.”
Carpenter Ellen smiled. “Well, not that nice. I just couldn’t decide! So I forced it on you.”
They both laughed, and Ellen shook her head at the lightheartedness the pair had, considering their corpse was only a few yards away and still warm. The worst part was… she couldn’t even blame them. She’d put together her plan within minutes of waking up as well, and it was wildly divergent from her twin’s.
Ellen glanced over at a clattering noise, to find Hunter Ellen wasn’t in sight. The realization that the pulley anchor setup was already on the other side clicked just then. She got the meaning immediately.
“Okay everyone!” Ellen called out to the others to get their attention. “Come on girls, let’s get the body handled and then get back to work. We know where we need to lift so we can finish this while the new girls are training up their levels, right? It’s a big day once we get this in place! We should have a real house soon!”
“We’ll handle the body,” Healer Ellen offered. She grabbed Apprentice Ellen—who was still filthy from her chimney accident—and pulled the unprotesting but sulking girl back to the fallen Ellen. “This would be a lot harder if she were truly dead.”
Ellen watched as the pair carried off the corpse, a shiver running down her spine. She turned to the other three, two of them new and fixing up their clothing, and Hunter Ellen stepping back inside. Only once the pair had left did she speak.
“Is it me, or are the fifth generation girls a little creepy?”
Mason and Carpenter looked at one another.
“It isn’t just you,” Hunter Ellen replied, reaching through the window to push away an inquisitive Diane. The donkey was getting impatient to return to the village by now. “I’m not sure it’s because they’re fifth generation though. The Adventurer line was always a little weird. Weren’t you, Merchant?”
That prompted a blink from Ellen. “Me?” She pointed to herself. “I was just trying to be helpful.”
“You were!” Mason and Carpenter chorused that together, then giggled at one another. Carpenter stepped outside to head for the workshop, where she could hear but be out of the way.
Mason picked up as if Carpenter hadn’t joined in. “You were helpful, but going out and doing that was really risky and bold. Just like Adventurer was. You were just doing it in a way that was with money instead of a spear.”
“She’s right,” Hunter agreed with a short nod. “You’re much more aggressive and energetic than the rest of us. Except Healer, she seems to have gotten a full measure of caution.”
Ellen scratched her head. “I guess so.” She was silent for a few moments, mulling that over… before another thought distracted her. “If we’d been smart, we would have gotten the donkeys to pull the ropes for us.”
“They needed their rest,” Hunter countered. “Dragging that thing up the hill through the forest was a trial for them. Didn’t you see how out of breath they were? At least the trip back will be easier for Diane.”
Melissa wandered over, as if to remind everyone she was here as well. Ellen squinted at the black cat with white paws laying on the donkey’s back, as if it were normal to lay there. Melissa’s motion didn’t seem to disturb it at all. The feral cats were definitely getting used to the strange, loud humans being around all the time.
“Have we thought about what we’re going to do when one of these adventurers that shows up inevitably finds an inn staffed by identical girls?” Ellen asked the others. “For that matter, do we have enough food for the winter?”
“I think the deer I killed will last us two or three weeks, once I’m finished smoking and preserving it.” Hunter Ellen shrugged. “Combined with small game, and… it might be tight if we keep growing. But if I can manage to snag another deer or ideally two, we should have enough to get through the winter. We have plenty of potatoes in the cellar though.”
She looked over toward Mason. “Now that you’ve split, do you think Carpenter might have time for some barrels or something?”
“Barrels are kind of specific, they’re a lot harder than you’d think,” Mason Ellen replied with a frown. She tightened the rope as she finished tying it off. “You’d have to ask Carpenter after she’s Leveled up. Whoops… I should stop doing things until we get to the village, I just got a Level.”
Ellen sighed. “Fine, I’ll get like… a barrel of pickles or something while I’m in town. We can store the pickles in some of the pottery and use the barrel for storage. Maybe some salted herring if they have any left.”
“And beans,” Hunter Ellen added. “More beans. You brought a good amount but we already have six mouths to feed. Seven if you count Village Ellen but I think she’s spending the winter in the village. And we need to account for if we get more Ellens. How much money do we have left?”
“About twelve crowns.” Ellen grimaced. “But I need to buy cloth and clothing, and that’s a lot more expensive than food. Don’t worry, I’ll get us supplies, just don’t expect anything fancy.”
Carpenter Ellen called out from nearby. “Don’t worry, Merchant Ellen! I trust you like I trust myself!”
Mason Ellen’s snicker was loud enough to hear.
With a quiet sigh, Ellen rubbed her sides, trying to warm up her hands. “I’ve heard of people who had trouble living with themselves, but I never expected this. Hopefully I can get to Level 9 before I hit Merriweather.”
“How close are you? I hit Level 9 a while ago actually,” Hunter Ellen said. “I picked Tracking so I can hopefully find game more easily.”
Ellen closed her eyes. “I’m not far off. A little over 600 experience? I took the Market Eye Skill Enhancer, and if I can get Appraisal before I get to Merriweather, that will be a big help. It’s kind of exciting, getting this high so fast. Have you thought about what your Tier 2 Class will be, yet?”
“I’m not sure,” Hunter Ellen sighed. “It’s still a long way off. Those last two will be a lot harder, I think. If I’m offered the standard choices, maybe Bow Hunter or Survivalist. I do seem to be doing a lot of stuff aside from hunting.”
She had a point, and Ellen opened her eyes and made a face at that. “Yeah, I know. Of course I know. Getting to Level 9 in a few weeks is pretty good without a dungeon. Do you think you can get to 11 by the end of winter? That would be pretty fast, but you’re doing so much…”
“Hey we’re back!” Apprentice Ellen called out, hopping in with Healer Ellen close behind. “Let’s get this roof raised! Raise the roof! Come on, Carpenter, show us what to do!”
“I’m Mason, and it’s the same thing you were doing before.” Mason sighed as she leaned out the doorway. “Carpenter! They’re back! Get out here and guide them on finishing this roof beam so we can all go back to our own stuff!”
Ellen flinched, because Mason was yelling right next to where she was standing. Rubbing at her ear she scowled, but Mason just grinned back at her.
“Sorry, I didn’t think about that,” the other Ellen apologized. “Come on, let’s go out and get Diane ready—if we can yank her from the overgrowth—while you tell me what I need to know. Maybe you can get some mentoring experience for it.”
“Better not.” Ellen frowned. “I’ll just tell you only what you need. You’ll want to focus on getting Artisan-aligned experience as much as possible.”
Mason shrugged and reached for the sleeping cat to pet it. “I’m not sure it matters as much after we’ve unlocked the Class, but maybe I shouldn’t experiment right now. You’re right, I’ll be careful.”
“Don’t pet that cat you’ll get fleas!” Healer Ellen yelled.
Mason paused and glanced at Ellen. “How’d she know?”
Ellen laughed. “Maybe they aren’t quite as different as we thought.”