Chương 23

Builder Ellen"… and that's basically how it ended," Adventurer Ellen finished. It was an interesting story that gave a lot more information about some of the side effects of the duplication they'd been experiencing. Shared Skill Enhancer unlocks was a good thing to know about, and it also confirmed the theory that their Class unlocks were carrying over, even if a different 'lineage' of Ellen died. Ellen still rankled at being here talking instead of working.

She had a lot to do, and every minute sitting here discussing things was time she could be spending to plan out the very necessary tasks needed before the very unavoidable winter deadline. Hunter Ellen seemed to be the only one who understood her need to focus. It was unusual to have all five in one place at the same time, though.

"I've almost hit Level 8 myself. Good to know what I'll have available." Hunter Ellen leaned back against the travel pack and rubbed her chin while Village Ellen set out some bowls of stew. Hunter Ellen was a better cook, by now, but Village Ellen had been catching up fast and also had that flair for serving that looked so much more efficient. The whole thing was a little weird, seeing the contrast between Village Ellen and Adventurer Ellen.

"I think I shouldn't announce that I own the place until the Briar Thorns leave." Merchant Ellen accepted the bowl and set it on her lap to cool. It was a warmish day, considering autumn was closing in, but a nice warm bowl was still pleasant to have there. Ellen had found the clay bowls tucked away in one of the ruined buildings, and about half of them had been salvageable. More than enough for the small cluster of Ellens.

"Only if they don't stay too long," Ellen sighed.

"We need that ridge beam as soon as possible, and it will be easier to get if they know they're doing it for the lord of the land. Four days, that's as long as we can wait. I can find other chores for us in the meantime." Adventurer Ellen flopped over on the pile of blankets they'd gathered.

"Boring. Every time we get together you all start talking about planning and stuff. I don't really care as long as it gets done. Just tell me what to lift with my mighty thews, weaklings." Village Ellen giggled at that, and even Hunter Ellen had to smile. As impatient as Adventurer Ellen was, they all knew her whining was just because she didn't know how she could best help. Fortunately, Ellen knew.

"If you're bored, go grab the axe and go out to practice cutting down some trees. It takes technique, you'll need to try it on a few small ones anyway." Ellen pointed over to the axe.

"Don't pick anything too close to us, we want to keep the tree line mostly intact for now. Maybe start on one of the ones in the road."

"Great!" Adventurer Ellen hopped to her feet, clapping her hands.

"Will do! I'll probably be pretty useless during winter, so I'll try to do all I can before then! I'll come back with like, thirty trees!"

"We only need three!" Ellen called after her, then rolled her eyes and turned to the other three Ellens, who were trying not to laugh out loud.

"I doubt she can get three before nightfall without collapsing from fatigue. It's like she doesn't even know how much effort it is…" Merchant Ellen sighed wistfully.

"I don't know, I kind of miss having that enthusiasm and wide-eyed wonder. How many of us could have fought through a dungeon and still remained cheerful like that?"

"I mean… any of us, I guess?" Hunter Ellen tapped her chin.

"We aren't that different I feel. We just choose to approach life differently because we can, now."

"Well I think it's adorable." Village Ellen huffed as she settled into the blanket they all shared.

"She has such a zest for life! We're going to have to make sure no scummy sort sweeps her off her feet, you know. I'm sure she'll be popular with the boys once the adventurers start coming to town." Ellen glanced at Hunter Ellen, who shrugged back with a raised eyebrow. Somehow, Village Ellen was the only one who still thought about romance lately.

"I'm sure you'll be flirting with all of them first, so I wouldn't worry about that." Merchant Ellen said what Ellen had left unsaid, in a mild and dry tone.

"Drunk and flirtatious sorts leave better tips." Village Ellen smiled smugly, one finger twirling in her slightly curled hair. She always looked so impeccably presentable now, from a smooth and uncreased dress to a bounce and shine to her hair. Ellen was almost envious, if not for her other self's flighty nature. She shook her head to dismiss the thought. How had she thought of her other self that way? Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Hunter Ellen sighed and waved a hand.

"Not really important. We have to get things ready. Merchant Ellen, do you think you can get that ridge beam ordered soon enough?" The answer was a shrug.

"If the Briar Thorns are gone, it'll basically be the same day. Builder, if you have the dimensions we need, give them to me before we split up today. I can put the order in then, but I'm not sure how long it will take."

"Realistically if you're the landlord now, he'll prioritize it. So probably as soon as he can do it." Hunter Ellen looked over at Ellen questioningly. She shrugged back.

"Maybe a day, two on the outside, unless they just don't have the material on hand. If that's the case it will get complicated. We'll need to order from another place, and that could get both expensive and messy."

"Great." Hunter Ellen looked at Merchant Ellen again, and sighed.

"We're also going to have to figure out how to explain to the village our situation, sooner or later. You and Adventurer Ellen or maybe even Builder Ellen can pass for one another easily enough you can frame it as being Village Ellen's sister, but Village Ellen doesn't really look like us any more. And if I walked down there, everyone would know something was wrong." Ellen blinked at the statement, looking at Village Ellen, then Hunter Ellen.

She was so used to thinking of them as 'Ellens' that she hadn't noticed the small divergences over the last couple weeks. They were subtle, but they were starting to be more pronounced as time went on. Village Ellen just carried herself differently. She smiled more, and her smile was gentler and less exuberant than the others. Her hair was worn differently, her body was ever so slightly softer. With work she could probably pass as a different Ellen… but the fact that they'd have to work at it was concerning.

Beside her, Hunter Ellen stood out even more boldly. She'd been outside far more often than even Ellen herself, or Adventurer Ellen… and was one of the 'oldest' Ellens. Unlike their mother, Ellen tanned more easily than burning… and Hunter Ellen displayed that as a very gentle bronzing of the skin of her face and arms. Her clothing had pelts and furs on it, and various harnesses she'd added. She kept her hair tied back and out of the way, instead of loose and free. Most of all, she smelled different.

Not bad, but more wild and earthy. Anyone who had met both the 'twins' would pick her out as being different immediately.

"I haven't figured that part out, yet." Merchant Ellen sighed, her shoulders slumping in defeat.

"We can't rely on the twins story that much longer. It's worked so far because most of the village is busy with their own stuff, but once we start ordering building materials and reaching higher Levels—if we can avoid dying—they're going to know something is up. Maybe they'll follow one of us, or maybe notice that we have Perks that don't match what we were doing yesterday. Eventually, they'll know." Ellen nodded in agreement, then she gestured to the buildings around them.

"If we want this place to be a home, we're going to need materials. We'll have a road. And once the adventurers start exploring the dungeon, they'll wander the woods nearby. We're going to be found and have to explain a town full of identical redheads."

"Heaven?" Village Ellen teased.

"Hell?" Merchant Ellen joked at the same time. Hunter Ellen tried her best to glare at both of them, but she couldn't stop herself from cracking a smile and breaking into laughter after just a few seconds of the stare. Ellen giggled too, and soon all four of the redheads were laughing loudly. As they calmed and wiped their eyes, the noise faded. Ellen shoveled the last of her stew into her mouth—the seasonings really made the rabbit and potato and onion far more flavorful—then she sighed and leaned back.

"We'll have to think of something before winter ends, maybe before. We'll also have to figure out what's going on with the name and that whole Bloodline thing, but public face first. If we're careful we can partially hide our situation, but we should really start getting outfits that can hide our faces and hair. Much easier to go into Merriweather unnoticed, at least." The distant crack and crash of a tree down the mountain toppling over brought the conversation to a halt.

Hunter Ellen cocked her head, listening, then let out a little snort.

"Huh. What do you know, she actually did it." Hunter Ellen shrugged to the others.

"I guess she figured it out after all. Hopefully without it landing on her head."

"That isn't very nice!" Village Ellen put her hands on her hips, but didn't stand up from her seated position.

"She's just energetic! She survived the dungeon, I'm sure she can manage chopping down a few trees!" The moment of Adventurer Ellen's defense was ruined as Village Ellen glanced toward the bedding in the corner—as did Ellen herself and the other two Ellens. All were silent for a few heartbeats before everyone turned back to look at one another.

"Anyway," Hunter Ellen spoke up, interrupting the awkward silence.

"I'll see what I can do once I start hunting the deer this week. Better pelts would be good, but I'm not sure I have the skill to make us nice cloaks. We may need to buy those. By which I mean, Merchant Ellen needs to buy those, unless one of us wants to become a tailor."

"I could try, but I am a little busy preparing the inn for the expected new guests." Village Ellen sighed as she said that, then climbed to her feet. She gathered up the empty bowls and hurried over to the wash basin to clean them, before they got all crusty and gross. Ellen was proud of the basin. It had been a bit of carpentry work to practice on, and she felt it had come out well. The original basin was long gone, but all she'd needed to do was carve and smooth one, then seal it with some resin.

It mostly fit into the basin depression in the old tavern's stone counter, so they could wash things and toss the dirty water out the nearby window. Merchant Ellen made a face, grimacing at the idea.

"I guess. The dungeon run was almost a crown's worth of money, we could use that to get more winter wear."

"You really hate spending money," Ellen laughed.

"It's a lot more fun to make money." Merchant Ellen scowled, then gestured to the ruined buildings.

"Besides, this is going to take a lot of money to fix up, even if we do most of the work ourselves." Ellen and Hunter Ellen both nodded… and then two more voices spoke up from nearby.

"Um, sorry to interrupt…"

"We really liked those boots."

"Could someone fetch our body?" Everyone looked over to the bedding again, only to see two naked redheads with the blankets pulled up around them for decency. Both were blushing brightly at the awkwardness of the situation now.

"Sorry," the new Ellens said in unison. Every Ellen sighed.