Chương 38

Mason Ellen Autumn had turned to early winter, and with it the weather had become more brutal. Ellen was no stranger to cold and snow, but the house she had grown up in was more modern and carefully-constructed. The new home was more primitive, especially without the benefit of internal walls. Two stone pillars helped support the ridge beam above, though only the first floor's worth were actual stone.

Wooden beams had been needed to prop up the main supporting beam the rest of the way, and Ellen was wary of that despite Carpenter Ellen's reassurances. Not that this structure of a house was strange, but when everyone was still Tier 2 in their Class, they aren't hardened professionals yet. Implementing it all correctly was going to be difficult. Ellen had repaired the pillars and what damage she'd found in the walls.

Once she had progressed to Hearthmaker, various flaws and damage that had been considered minor and inconsequential to her before now stood out painfully. Her mortar had been ready faster than expected, but even using it to patch and repoint the damage was imperfect. Once applied, it would need to set… and being in the cold mountain winter had made that much, much more difficult. She was pretty sure they got it all done in time, but now that the temperature had dropped, they'd be finding out very fast.

If the mortar hadn't set properly before that freeze, it would be crumbling early.

"Got it!" Apprentice Ellen hopped down from tying off another hide to the rafters above. She held out her arms, helping Healer Ellen down with a soft 'oof' of catching the other girl, then setting her to the floor. The sharply-peaked roof left a lot of empty air up above, so Ellen had suggested using some of Hunter Ellen's less pleasant-looking pelts and some cheaper purchased cloth to make a ceiling above. It wasn't perfect, but it would slow the heat loss. Ellen thumped the door frame and nodded.

"How's it looking from out there?" Through the door, Carpenter Ellen called out an answer.

"I think we've gotten it!" Sealing the frame was the last big job they had, and it had finally been finished. Ellen stood back and shivered as Carpenter slipped through the door and quickly shut it behind her. The wood had been covered in pelts from the inside, attempting to add insulation to the simple wood that made up the door. The Settlement Interface showed the Longhouse as being 87% functional now, and that was a huge step up.

Apparently anything above 80% was acceptable as being a finished building, so now everything else was just winter-proofing. Tonight was the big test, since a light flurry of snow had started outside about an hour ago. If their thatching were really correct, that shouldn't be a problem at all. Ellen was pretty sure the chimney was fine, as well. It had taken a lot of work to get that safe and functional. It had looked fine, but inspection had shown quite a few cracks and flaws in the old masonry.

Repointing it had been more hurried than she'd liked, but Apprentice Ellen was surprisingly helpful once she stopped playing with the flue. The forced air through it had been annoying, but she'd belatedly realized the draft from the 'goofing off' had helped find some of the cracks to be addressed. It had been worth it, though. A fire crackled in the fireplace, radiating warmth over the large room.

The tent was no longer needed, allowing the ever-growing 'bed' of furs and bedrolls to be pulled nearer to the hearth, where they could all sleep near the embers. The kitchen area nearby had plenty of pots and boxes—no cabinets or cupboards yet, but that would come in time. The stone floor had been cleaned and a few pelts turned into rugs. More pelts than just Hunter Ellen could provide… but that, once more, would be fixed in time.

"The fire is going, it's safe to shut the window," Ellen told the others, settling before the fire to rub her sides for warmth. Even inside it was cold… at the moment. With the window shut, the last major source of a draft was gone, leaving only minor leakage. The temperature was already getting warmer, though calling it comfortable would have been a stretch.

"You know," Healer Ellen began.

"If and when another of us dies, we should consider a Scholar Class. I'm curious how rushing the Class with our banked experience affects things. Like how Mason here just said something like that. I knew that, in the back of my mind, but I didn't think of it until she said it." Apprentice Ellen wiped off her hands and wandered over while Healer spoke.

"Maybe but I think all my descendants will be powerful mage-warriors." She toppled over, sprawling herself in Healer's lap with her face planting in the soft furs. She'd been powering through her mana all day, so the poor Ellen was almost certainly exhausted. Healer lightly pet her sister-self's hair in that weird way Ellen didn't quite understand, as if the two were both the same person and completely different. This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Merchant took a seat at the other side of the sprawling mass of furs and blankets, tucking her feet in for warmth.

"I've thought about trying to chart out what sort of professions we should pursue if any of us die again, but that sounds like a dangerous direction to go in. Especially since so far we've all made our decisions based on what we wanted, not because what we were told."

"I agree." Hunter Ellen spoke from the corner, still wearing her own furs as she contemplated the entire house.

"The moment we start saying things like that, we're giving one Ellen priority over the others. I think I should be in charge, but I know none of you would agree to that unless it were about hunting. I'm not sure we need anyone just to make decisions right now. If we need a task organized, we'll just ask the one who knows the most about it."

"This makes sense to me." Carpenter was still standing, her fingers tracing up one beam she'd set against the stone wall to help support the rafters.

"We shouldn't be going out as much anyway. I'm still a little worried about our food situation, but I'm pretty sure the winters here are going to be a lot worse than what we knew. I've heard the mountains are worse for that." Healer sighed.

"We are a little short of food, but I think Hunter can manage to catch enough to make up the difference. It would be helpful if we could just go into the village, but I am not sure we'll ever be able to trust the entire village with our secret."

"Maybe we shouldn't have revealed the dungeon." The muffled statement from Apprentice—too lazy to lift her head up—got the mature and reasonable response of Merchant sticking out her tongue.

"It's fine," Hunter countered. She finally moved over to join everyone else, and Merchant scoot aside to make room… but Hunter didn't complete the trip. She stopped to start stripping off her outer layers first, to let them air out, so she could join the others more comfortably.

"We had no money and were desperate. Besides, we'll eventually be revealed somehow, and this way we can profit from the dungeon." Hunter sighed and shook her hair out.

"With this many, we'll be found someday, unless we split up and went different places." Merchant nodded.

"That was my idea. We have all winter to dig in and figure out how to handle it when people do end up here. Once we're established, maybe we can be a curiosity instead of something strange. And since the dungeon is on our property, they wouldn't want to endanger that." Carpenter tugged a blanket up as she sat down and shivered.

"Unless they just decide to wipe us out and take it for themselves."

"The Theocracy might try it, but Thallis won't." Merchant shook her head.

"It's registered under our real name. I know we aren't Gramps, but I think they'll still want to avoid getting on the wrong side of the family name. I don't like leaning on that, but we aren't really in a normal situation."

"We haven't been in a normal situation ever," Healer pointed out.

"And the most normal we ever were, we ended up dead. The first Ellen would have been the last." Ellen shivered a little, as well. She gathered up one of the blankets and settled next to her sister-self. Carpenter shifted just enough to allow her to squeeze in closer to the fire, without comment.

"At least she finally got a proper burial. Thanks for handling that, you two." Ellen sighed, trying to shake away the thoughts. She wasn't sure how the two handled dealing with the bodies so easily, but at least she was skilled enough now to make a crude stone marker instead of a shallow grave. The 'Ellen Cemetery' was a morbidly fascinating place to visit… and she still wasn't used to it. Apprentice just raised a hand in a wave as if to say it wasn't anything important.

She didn't even look up from where her face was buried in fur. To distract herself, Ellen just looked around the home. The stone slabs for the kitchen were still in place—freshly cleaned, of course—as well as a few other amenities. A little cubby held the chamberpots, keeping the smell away, and the washbasin was now fitted properly into the stone counter. It was a good, solid building… just outdated. Better ventilation would be needed, more reinforcement in some places…

and it would definitely look better with an actual second floor and a proper wall between the kitchen and the main room. That would have to wait until a proper stove was present, though. None of that could stop the pleasant feeling of accomplishment Ellen had right now, though. They'd done it. They'd made a home in the span of a few months, with their own… multiple hands, admittedly. Every time she thought that, it hit her again what an accomplishment it was.

Sure, it was old, rickety in some places, and badly in need of furnishings… but it was theirs. Outside, the wind howled, and one of the shutters rattled.

"Looks like we're really into winter now." Carpenter sighed and listened to the rattle.

"I'll fix that later. I think next Level I'll get something that lets me adjust wood and things."

"I've been wondering about that," Hunter noted aloud.

"My Landkeeper required the ability to manipulate mana as well, but I have no idea what it needs it for. Will I be casting spells or does it need it for something else? I don't really know anything about magic Classes since original Ellen wasn't intending to get one. Do you know anything, Apprentice?" Finally, Apprentice rolled over so she was facing the rest of the Ellens.

"Not about that Class, but not every Class that uses magic casts spells. You probably knew that, we were taught it. But if I had to guess you have a class with abilities similar to a Druid or something. If it isn't heavily magic-focused, you probably won't get spells, just more interesting Abilities and Perks."

"Hm…" Hunter tapped her chin.

"So I don't need to know how to use the Mana Manipulation Perk?" Apprentice pulled herself up with a groaning sigh.

"Maybe, maybe not. Look, I'm a little worried that your Class stretches you too thin. It sounds like some sort of Hybrid between a lot of Classes. But if you want to be prepared just in case… I'll start teaching you all how to use your mana. It'll be a nice activity while we're stuck in the house." Ellen lifted an eyebrow at the offer. Apprentice was the group's goofball, so the idea of her teaching everyone sounded… unrealistic. Apprentice and Healer both flashed identical smiles, and Apprentice shrugged.

"Why not? We're all Ellen, and Ellen should learn."