Chương 86: (B2.22)

22) Whisper Ellen"Here, have another mead," Stage murmured soothingly. The wooden cup slid across the table to be placed in Whisper's half-numb fingers. It was her second. Ellen knew that if she finished it, she'd end up a little tipsy. She lifted it to her lips and took a mouthful of the tingly sweetness, letting it linger before swallowing. It was a thin mead, but at this time of year that was all that the Guild had available. Anything nicer would be in the super expensive places, of which Merriweather had few.

Tipsy would be nice right now, she thought. The Guild was pretty quiet today, which was something of a surprise. The last few times Whisper had peeked in, the place had been thoroughly swamped with adventurers and in some cases, prospective adventurers. Groups of youthful, wide-eyed and eager souls just like the first Ellen had been half a year ago. A thought that once again threw her down a wonderful, blessed distraction.

"Do you think we should have the same birthday as the first?" Ellen mumbled, slumping into her chair.

"Or should we make our birthday early spring? It seems weird to have been born and a couple weeks later have a birthday. Or maybe the Ellens who try to be like the first one should have the original birthday while we have a new one? Or should we all have a new one? What do you think, Stage?" Her sister looked at her oddly, then sighed with a little rub behind one shoulder.

"Nervous about what they'll find out? You helped with the capture, I'm sure they'll do a good job and didn't mean to shut you out." For once, Ellen wished she and her sister had honed whatever shared relationship the Adventuring Party had. She knew she could if she wanted, but the way they coordinated was already good and their differing personalities were an asset here. She sighed heavily and leaned, resting her head on Stage's shoulder.

"It's not that," Ellen muttered.

"They didn't kick me out of the interrogation. I asked to not be put in it." Stage tucked an arm around Ellen to give her a light hug, but her voice was curious.

"Why not? It's good experience, and you're good at it I think. At least, you were pretty good with that Cane or Cale or whatever his name was." Ellen took another swallow of mead, swirling the amber liquid around while she composed an answer.

"Mmm. Cale was already terrified of me for some reason. I think he thought I was going to torture him in some truly grotesque ways. I like how interesting my Class is, but I… when we captured this one I panicked at first. That's when I stabbed him."

"Well he is a murderer," Stage pointed out with a soft voice.

"That sort of person being stabbed… it's okay. You didn't enjoy it did you?" Shaking her head, Ellen denied that… but then her voice grew quieted.

"No, but it was um… thrilling at the time. I didn't enjoy stabbing him, but I liked the… the danger. The rush of needing to make a decision like that. You probably remember it, we felt it when we first awoke and realized Cale was there." Stage rubbed her back lightly as she nodded in response.

"Yeah… I remember that. So what's wrong? What are you worried about?"

"I just don't think it's what the original Ellen would have done," Ellen grumbled.

"I mean, we both want to be different than her, but I didn't stop to think what kind of person I was becoming. Now I'm thinking I might not like who I am if we stop being who we were. I didn't want to be there until I figure out what it is I want." Anyone else might have balked at how she said that convoluted statement. Stage, while she might not mirror her thoughts the way the Adventuring Party shared their thoughts, still knew exactly where she was coming from and winced.

She chewed her lip and considered how to reply, but Ellen wasn't done.

"Anyway," Ellen continued.

"That isn't really what worried me. A little, maybe. But defending myself in the heat of the moment is fine, even if it got my heart pumping. It was after that I just… he was down and helpless and said something that made me mad, so I kicked him. Not lightly either. I just wound up and tried to make it hurt, and that felt good. I don't really want that kind of thing to feel good." Stage considered that for another few seconds, then patted Ellen on the back.

"I don't think you're enjoying it now. So that's good. You were still excited and feeling a rush when it happened, right? And now that it's gone… you feel bad about it. I don't think either of us are bad people or even bad Ellens, we're just very um… enthusiastic. I wear a mask all the time, and I think we're a lot different from the other Ellens… but I like what we have. Don't let one thing that happened change everything." By now Ellen could feel the pleasant giddiness setting in.

She probably shouldn't drink any more… she'd never really been one for alcohol anyway. Mead was a rare exception, a drink she actually liked quite a lot. This was kind of mediocre in flavor and bite, but it was enough. She knew if she had a third cup she'd regret it in the morning, though. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

"Maybe," Ellen finally mumbled.

"You're right, I shouldn't let this stop me from being me. I should just… be more careful."

"Exactly!" Stage said brightly.

"Leave the stabbing to me! I don't want to kill anyone, but at least I'm pretty good at it if one of us has to do it. Try not to do more of these missions without me, okay? We work really well together… and if I'm there you shouldn't need to worry about stabbing anyone!" That was… not exactly as reassuring as Stage probably intended it to be. Ellen tilted her head to look at her self-sister, opening her mouth to protest the whole idea.

Her words died on her lips as Stage started giggling, although that didn't assuage Ellen's worries completely. Maybe Stage had been joking… but the old Ellen wouldn't have joked about something like that so easily. Movement caught her eye before she could figure out what to say. Ellen had noticed the old man speaking to the Guildmaster, but she had toggled on her Contact Trace and looked over the room earlier, so she knew he had nothing to do with the man being interrogated or the priest who had died.

She could still tag a third person, but she was already low on mana and didn't see the point. What was interesting now was how he was shuffling toward Ellen and Stage, or at least their table. The common room at the Guild was less for drinks and socializing than it was for planning, so if he was coming over she knew it would be more than a casual social call. Fortunately, Stage also knew this, and knew her well enough to know she wasn't in the mood to talk business.

The Blade Orchestra rose to her feet to intercept the grey-bearded man before he could even ask to seat himself.

"Sorry, but my sister and I aren't up for any new tasks," Stage said with a smile.

"We're only in town for some personal business, and as soon as that's taken care of we'll be gone! I hope you weren't looking for some escorts, because we don't know when we'll be leaving exactly." The man chuckled, stroking his beard. Ellen immediately sat up straight, the warm fuzziness of the mead starting to clear up. Stage saw her sudden attentiveness and took a step back as Ellen narrowed her eyes. An old man with a grey beard wandering into the Adventurer's Guild was odd but far from unheard of…

many retired adventurers or merchants or other professions visited for various reasons. Approaching the adventurers, though, narrowed the possibilities quite sharply.

"I do apologize, my dears, but I am told that one of you is the owner of the land holding the newly created dungeon?" The old man lifted a hand right after asking, to forestall any protests.

"I have no intention of arguing with you, I'm simply taking the opportunity to pass along some information. Two of my companions already went to the nearby village in an attempt to find you, it would be rude of me to try to do their job for them." Stage glanced back at Ellen, silently questioning what they should do. Ellen merely crossed her arms and glared at the aged man.

"One of us might be. Look, I don't want to be rude, but we have our own problems and it's been a long few days. Just get straight to the point and we can either ignore you or handle it." A raspy laugh lifted out of the elderly gentleman's throat.

"I haven't been treated with such disrespect in many a year! Somewhat refreshing. Very well, I will not waste much of your time." He folded his hands together.

"I come from the Thallis Royal Magic Academy, and I simply need to know if one of you owns the dungeon. A formality, you understand…" Ellen sighed and flicked her card up, letting the name flash for the old man. She'd practiced keeping the rest of the card's text covered, since they hadn't figured out a way to prevent it from showing a random Class from all the Ellens.

"As for ownership, it's more of a joint ownership, but that gets complicated. Make it quick, Grand Mage." He nodded, then paused, looking down at his unremarkable robes.

"You're old enough that you're either some kind of researcher or administration," Ellen explained impatiently.

"And if you are here to tell us something, then you aren't going to be a researcher, as if you were you'd want to ask us stuff instead. I doubt the Academy would send someone your age just to send a message, so you must be someone important, but we all know the Academy's Archmage isn't here and isn't expected back for years, so that leaves a Grand Mage." Stage clapped her hands and giggled, "My sister is pretty smart! So is she right?" Another chuckle, and the man sighed, "Yes, I suppose you got me.

There have been some concerning developments over the last months and especially recently, a phenomenon that appears to be spreading and could have dire consequences. I have sent a few mages to the village to attempt to study this, but they will need your permission, of course. If you may at least indulge to listen to them, I'm certain they can explain the problem to your satisfaction." Ellen gave a thumbs up gesture, rather than continue being aggressive.

"We know. Mana instabilities and stuff, that's what causes a dungeon to form in the first place. We're working on keeping it from getting worse, and we'll get help if we think it's going to get too bad. Nobody wants a dungeon break." The man relaxed.

"Ah… I see. Shall I send a message to the others to expect you back soon? I suppose I could offer my carriage if you are leaving shortly…" Offering that made Ellen flinch internally. This was getting messy… there were too many Ellens in play.

"It's fine, there are others at the village who can handle that kind of talk," she answered aloud.

"I won't tell you there's nothing to worry about, but we know the risks and we're worried about the same thing. We appreciate the Academy's concern, we all want what's best for Thallis. At least we should." A clap of his hands and a smile lit up the man's face.

"Ah, good, good. Just do not be overconfident here. I really would recommend listening to the others. If there is anything I can do to make this easier, please let me know." Ellen almost told him to get lost, but she knew their time as a secret was short. She didn't want to reveal them yet, but she could enlist some help from the Academy here. She pursed her lips, then smiled.

"Actually, there is something…" She straightened up.

"The dungeon has access to a local mana plume. Should we start to worry?"

"Ah," the elderly mage sighed, his expression hardening.

"Now this… will take some time to explain." Lovely.