Chương 13

Hunter Ellen At first, she'd almost missed it. Her Awareness Perk was far from perfect, and could pass things by if they were unremarkable enough. Ever since the mine, Ellen had tried to be more attentive without relying on the System, and here it had paid off. The brush was different, as if it had recently died, which is what prompted her investigation.

"Another hole in the mountain? Is this an older mine?" Builder Ellen's nervousness showed in her voice quavering near the end. She didn't remember her previous self's death—much like none of them ever remembered their last moments—but rushing into another mine had definitely given her mind some worries. Ellen shook her head.

"No, and you shouldn't come in here at all. It's much more dangerous than the mine. You can take a step just inside if you want, or just stay out here. Adventurer Ellen should take a peek though." The Ellen in question was leaning on the spear haft, looking doubtfully at the opening. Ellen didn't blame her… it looked pretty mundane. A roughly human-sized opening, slightly taller than it was wide, which led into the mountain.

The edges were fresh and rocky, as if the dirt had slid away or been torn off, exposing oddly smooth stone. The only hint that something was amiss was in the unnatural lack of tracks or disturbances at the entrance. None of them had Tracking, but even Adventurer Ellen noticed that after a few seconds of staring at the yawning mouth. Her eyes opened wider as the likely explanation dawned on her.

"Are you serious?" The adventurer asked that in a hushed tone, almost giddy with excitement.

"Take a step in and find out." Ellen just had to grin back at her, while Builder Ellen continued to look bewildered. Eagerly, Adventurer Ellen hurried in, and Ellen had to step in behind her and grab her arm.

"Woah! Don't go too far, we should be careful! At least light your lantern!" As soon as she passed the threshold, she was greeted by the same message she'd seen earlier—the one that made Adventurer Ellen so excited. SYSTEM NOTICE You have entered [UNNAMED DUNGEON]. Reluctantly, Adventurer Ellen not only stopped, but backed up several steps to take a deep breath. By now, Builder Ellen had figured it out, and clasped her hands together under her face, which held a wide-eyed look of shock.

"A dungeon? Here? And nobody knows about it?" The artisan bit her lip, then tucked a finger up to gnaw on her knuckle. Did they all still do that? Ellen had thought she'd kicked that habit years ago.

"Pretty sure it's new," Ellen answered with a shrug.

"It isn't even named yet. I haven't gone very far in since I didn't have a torch or anything, but you do know what this means, right?" Adventurer Ellen clapped her hands together loudly.

"I sure do! We can go on adventures right here without finding a new place to stay!" Ellen sighed and opened her mouth to explain, but Adventurer Ellen wasn't done yet.

"Also, just reporting a new dungeon is a huge reward! Who needs a tiny handful of marks when you can have crowns? This is worth more than months or even years of Bronze and Iron Tier jobs!"

"Exactly." Ellen nodded firmly, and she saw Builder Ellen was fanning herself and daydreaming… probably about actual crafting tools.

"Don't spend it all in your head, we need a lot of things here." Adventurer Ellen was undeterred, staring into the dark void of the mountain.

"Do you think what Uncle Anroll said was true? That they haven't had any new dungeons for thirty years?"

"I mean… he may have been exaggerating, but you're close enough to me to know my answer to that." Ellen stifled her annoyance at that. It was true that the various Ellens had diverged a little, but they were just pursuing interests and hobbies now that they could distribute them. They were still fundamentally the same person, with the same history and loyalties. Probably. Adventurer Ellen was already trying to light a spark for the tinderbox so she could get her lantern lit.

Builder Ellen naturally noticed this eagerness to explore and pursed her lips in worry.

"Are you actually going in there? We haven't had much luck with caves…" Builder Ellen's strained voice was understandable, even if Ellen knew she wasn't the coward she seemed to be. It was a true statement, too. Every death so far had been in a cave, if they counted the mine as a cave. The tinder cloth finally sputtered, and Adventurer Ellen gently fanned some tinder.

"I mean… if we—or I—am going to be an adventurer, you have to take risks. Odds are this time, if I'm careful, it'll be fine." The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. She lit the lantern, then squinted at it.

"Running low on oil, but should be more than enough. This time Hunter Ellen will be with me, watching my back. I'll only go to the first chamber, take a look at what's there, then turn around. If we can tell the Guild even a little bit about what the dungeon is like, that's like… double, remember?" Ellen sighed, "I don't remember volunteering for this…"

"Did you have to?" Adventurer Ellen winked.

"I could tell you were wanting to go almost as much as I was. That's one of the reasons you were so eager to show us today before it got too late, wasn't it?" Ellen couldn't deny that. She made a face, then bent down to string her bow. With a secondhand bow like this she couldn't afford to keep it strung all the time, so it took her roughly a minute and a half to tighten the strings and test the tension.

"I'm not sure how useful a bow will be in a new dungeon," Ellen grumbled.

"But I can keep eyes on your back at least. And I can make sure you don't get ahead of yourself and try to 'just take a peek' at the next chamber as well, or something." The adventurer rolled her eyes.

"Yes, mother." Her lantern was dangling from her belt now, and she passed her spear to Builder Ellen.

"Hold on to this while I'm in there. It looks a little too tight to be using this. Hunter Ellen, let me use your knife instead, I'll give you mine for a sidearm while we're in there." Without complaint Ellen quickly unbuckled her larger knife and passed it to her other self, then seated the smaller one at her hip instead. It was a relief to see that Adventurer Ellen—despite her excitement at delving into the new dungeon—was thinking through how she'd approach the problem.

That was less impulsive than she'd expected.

"If it starts to get dark, head back to Onroc," Ellen told Builder Ellen.

"We shouldn't take that long, so if we aren't coming back soon, then… I guess you'll probably find us in camp. That'll really hurt for equipment, but we'll figure something out."

"If you say so…" The quieter Ellen gripped the spear tightly and sighed.

"I hope it doesn't come to that. Good luck, you two."

"Thanks, Ellen!" Both of the other redheads said that in unison, not even stopping to laugh about it before stepping into the darkness. Ellen had never been in a real dungeon before. The cave had sort of been like one, but a 'dungeon' in the sense of what they were exploring was different. Formed by magic and constantly evolving, dungeons had become increasingly rare over the centuries. No one really knew why… or why they would eventually just 'die' and stop spawning monsters.

Usually this dungeon death would lead to instability and the dungeon's eventual collapse. Likely this was because dungeons were high in mana—the magical energy that everyones Perks, Abilities, and magical spells ran off of—and once the dungeon was dead that mana ceased flowing. Any support it gave to the unnatural archways and tunnels within faded, and the crushing weight of the earth and rock above would eventually defeat the barren tunnels. Neither girl spoke, at first.

Until they knew what kind of dungeon it was, that would be dangerous! Ellen followed behind her adventurous twin by several paces, keeping an arrow nocked in her bow. Adventurer Ellen moved slowly, caution born from their uncle's and grandfather's stories keeping her enthusiasm in check. When had Ellen become the responsible one? The tunnel was too narrow for the two of them to go side by side.

The odd, magic-smoothed surface of the walls caught the light in unnerving patterns, even when the tunnel widened slightly. It wasn't a complicated layout, fortunately. New dungeons rarely were, so that part seemed to match the stories. When the passage widened, Adventurer Ellen drew her borrowed knife. It was supposedly rare for dungeons to have loot in the first chamber… but monsters were more common.

Usually something that was just a variation of the local wildlife, according to her uncle's tales, but that could be a lot of things. She hoped it wasn't monster kittens. Adventurer Ellen paused just inside the larger chamber. Ellen couldn't make out what it looked like from where she was, but Adventurer Ellen helpfully described it in quiet, quick words.

"It's about… five yards deep and… maybe eight wide." Her voice was barely above a whisper, but carried easily up the tunnel to Ellen.

"I don't see anything in here, but there are two exits at the other end. It splits like a wishbone."

"Okay, you've explored it. Now come back." Ellen hissed the words with a sudden feeling of dread. A completely empty first room just… twinged her instincts. Maybe it was her Awareness or maybe it was just pattern recognition of Adventurer Ellen's overconfidence. Her 'twin sister' was just too brazen.

"Nuh, we still don't know anything about the dungeon," Adventurer Ellen whispered back.

"I won't take the tunnels, I just want to see a little more of the chamber. Maybe I can learn something." Ellen suppressed an angry grumble as her twin stepped in further. The wall partially obscured the lantern's light, paradoxically making it easier for Ellen to see now that the glare was lessened. A better lantern wouldn't have had that problem anyway, but beggars can't be choosers. It gave her a chance to spot the scuttling motion heading toward Adventurer Ellen's leg.

"Look out!" The cry came even as Ellen loosed an arrow in a smooth and practiced motion… as practiced as she could be after a day spent shooting at targets. In other words, it was quick, but clumsy and off-target, sailing high over the bulbous arachnid shadow that was already pouncing at the other Ellen's side.

Ellen never learned if it was lucky wild flailing or actual skill on Adventurer Ellen's part, but the pounce of the spider was interrupted by the large knife, slicing the thorax from the abdomen in a clean, single cut. Ellen quickly dismissed some first time notifications, then yelled again, "Other side!" Adventurer Ellen stabbed blindly this time, but it managed to split open the abdomen. Even in the hazy darkness, Ellen could see the ichor spray from the strike…

but she could much more distinctly hear her twin's cry of pain and the violent yank of her leg backward. She didn't waste any more time. Four long strides met the staggering Adventurer Ellen halfway, where she hooked an arm around her other self and lent support to the wheezing, gasping girl. It was only a few steps before the stumbling feet Ellen was helping along stopped moving at all, forcing her to drag the limp, whimpering body up the tunnel.

A quick look behind her confirmed that the spiders were more interested in clustering around the fallen lantern than in pursuit, so Ellen adjusted her grip and focused on hauling her other self upward and out, now even more panicked as she heard no protests from the apparently unconscious girl.

"BUILDER! She's hurt! Get ready!" Ellen cried out, her legs aching and burning from the strain of dragging a girl exactly her size up the slope as fast as possible. Her arms were trembling by the time she crashed through the desiccated undergrowth that partly hid the dungeon entrance, dropping Adventurer Ellen to collapse on her back and pant heavily. Builder Ellen was there, rolling the injured girl over to check on her. She said nothing as Ellen's panting breaths eased her aching lungs. That wasn't a good sign.

At last, she heard Builder Ellen speak again.

"I think we should head back to Onroc and tell the new girls what happened."