Chương 93: (B2.29)

29) Stage Ellen She'd only really existed for less than two weeks, but in that time Ellen had grown used to being the center of attention. It was what she was good at, and she reveled in it now, even as she grew more and more worried about her sister self's quiet brooding. So it was a surprise when she walked out of the Guild only to find a small crowd down the street who were… not looking at her. They hadn't even noticed her yet!

Truly, it was an anomaly she had never considered ever since taking that attention-grabbing Perk. She was there to be the most bombastic Ellen possible, and it was so much fun to be that! So why weren't people looking at her? As one of the more acrobatic Ellens, she didn't wait for the crowd to clear. Spying a barrel near the Guild Hall, she leapt up atop it to bound upward, grabbed the lip of a window, and scrambled up to the roof.

A quick hop to the provisioner's store right next door brought her in closer to the gathering, allowing her to peek over to see what was going on. She groaned.

"We really just want to get to the Guild," Hunter was saying, her face slowly edging into a scowl.

"I don't really care what the other us did, I'm just a hunter who needs to talk to a few people and grab some supplies."

"Please just let us through," the other Ellen said. Ellen guessed it was one of the more domestic ones… probably Fisher or Cobbler, but she didn't know them well enough to distinguish either at this distance.

"My other self isn't really good with people, and we've been on the road for days and even ran into bandits. I promise you'll learn what's going on soon." What a terrible combination for this. Ellen rubbed her forehead and sighed before she dropped down, using the gutter to slow her descent at first. She kicked off the side of the wall and landed nimbly atop the hitching post nearest the crowd. She clapped loudly, then tucked fingers into her mouth to let out a sharp, piercing whistle!

Belatedly, she wondered about that. She could never manage to whistle that way before. Sounded like something Bookkeeper or someone should contemplate… or maybe Hunter, she always liked talking about that sort of thing. Many of the heads of the crowd turned toward her, so Stage tossed out her idle thought and placed hands on her hips.

"HEY! Can't you see they're tired and want a little rest? What's the matter, you never seen a bunch of identical people before?" She let out a grumpy huff and hopped down to ground level.

"What do you think? I look pretty good with a tan, don't I, huh?" The crowd didn't disperse, but the momentary distraction allowed Hunter to grab the more timid Ellen's hand and yank her to the side, pushing roughly through a few of the onlookers to dash into the alley beside the provisioner. Ellen helpfully activated her Perk and did a twirl, keeping the eyes on her.

"Tan or no? Which would you prefer?" Ellen shouted with a laugh. She pointed to a girl about her age in the crowd, noticing the lack of a marriage bracelet.

"You're blushing a little! If I got a little warmth to my skin tone, would you be willing to rush off on adventure and maybe a bit of romance?" That threw the crowd further off balance, though the girl reddened into a bright flush and covered her face. Ellen winced… she'd teased to distract, but she really didn't want to end up with a girlfriend out of this. Romance wasn't really her style, at least not yet.

She was saved by a man who appeared to be the girl's older brother tugging her aside, giving Ellen a dirty look on the way. Ellen promptly let the whole affair slip from her mind, focusing instead on the remaining crowd.

"It looks like we'll be having a redhead gathering! If you'd really like to know what is happening, perhaps you shouldn't pressure them unduly. Plenty of us are willing to talk to the crowd!" She lifted a finger and wagged it.

"In due time." By now she was sure that Hunter and the other Ellen had gotten away, so Ellen smiled to the crowd and whipped about, almost skipping toward the Guild. She was still low in level compared to professionals, so she was sure a few of the crowd could catch up with her if they really wanted… but there was a big difference between blocking someone's path with a crowd and grabbing them in pursuit. With all the violent deaths recently, nobody wanted to rock the boat and do anything risky.

Ellen ducked into the Guild and sighed, as she immediately heard the Guildmaster demanding answers as well. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"It's magic," Cobbler said with a shrug. Ellen was pretty sure this was Cobbler. The moment she walked into the room the scent of oil and leather hit her, even across the room.

"I know she sounds dismissive, but we don't know the details either," Hunter reassured.

"We tried to hide it for a while, but with the dungeon nearby that's just getting to be impossible, so we might as well let people know. We're just passing through on our way to the capital, anyway." The Guildmaster frowned.

"So which of you is registered then? And which of you died? You do know one of you died, don't you? Foul play was suspected." Like most experienced adventurers, she immediately went to solving the problems she had in front of her… and fraud would likely be the first she'd think of.

"It's complicated," Ellen said with a smile.

"We're all registered, don't worry. Trying to give us another card wouldn't work anyway. Where did Anroll go, anyway?"

"Had to look into something," Hunter replied.

"I'm surprised we're the first here since the Adventuring Party revealed themselves. I guess we can prep our poor Guildmaster here for the stories that come through once some of the other adventurers wander in. It was getting too hard to hide the fact that there were so many of us, so we ended up just showing everyone." Ellen grimaced.

"Whisper won't be happy to hear that, but I guess you couldn't wait for us to finish our work here. We were just getting ready to head back to the village, too! If you'd waited one more week…" Cobbler shrugged at her.

"They didn't really talk it out with all of us, either. Village Ellen was pretty annoyed by it, but she adapted. I'm pretty sure nothing will get her ruffled these days." Tired of just listening to incomprehensible chatter, the Guildmaster cleared her throat and rapped on the counter.

"You did not clearly answer my question. Do all of you have Guild memberships? What name are you under? This isn't a free watering hole."

"Ellen Tember," Ellen replied quickly.

"That's what they've been trying to tell you. We're all the same person, so we're all with the Guild. Any of us can activate the card because we're all Ellen. It's-" She was about to launch into a more in-depth explanation when the door opened again, letting in a loud rumble of thunder. It was coincidence, but it certainly managed to get everyone to look toward Anroll striding in as if he'd used her Eyes On Me Perk all by himself.

Rain was tumbling down outside in heavy sheets, despite the fact that the sky had barely held any clouds only minutes earlier.

"Problem, sir?" the Guildmaster asked. It occurred to Ellen that she'd never learned the woman's name. Considering she was obviously an experienced adventurer now retired, that was an oversight that brought a flush to her cheeks. Whisper probably knew, but her other half wasn't here. She had to think for herself. Anroll's eyes flicked from Ellen to the two others who just arrived, but he showed no surprise at how the new Ellens had now revealed themselves.

"How many of you are in the city right now?" The question came out sharp and abrupt, with Anroll shaking out his cloak and draping it over a peg. He hadn't been out in the rain long, but it still had a layer of dripping water.

"We just arrived," Cobbler answered readily.

"So four of us, I guess?" Hunter mused, rubbing her chin.

"Unless Whisper duplicated without me knowing," Ellen added in a worried tone. The soft grunt from Anroll carried his worry and annoyance all at once. He slumped into a chair near the counter, arm over his forehead.

"Whisper's in her room, last I checked. Are there any of you girls unaccounted for? Because I just caught a glimpse of one while I was out. Didn't get a full view but there aren't many your height and hair color around." Ellen shook her head.

"It wasn't me, then. I've been in the Guild, and these two just walked into the city. If Whisper is in her room, and nobody else has left the village, it must be someone else. Unless we got more Ellens in the village after these two and they somehow beat them here."

"They would have had to move pretty fast," Hunter pointed out.

"Possible, if they were moving alone and dedicated their Class to movement, but unlikely. The only plausible option is um…" She glanced at Anroll.

"If Village split off somehow… but the timing isn't right for that either. Even she'd need more time to build up her abilities before she could outpace us. The only reason I suggest it is we still don't know what sort of limitations she'd have if she split." A loud groan rose from Anroll as he ran his hands down his face.

"There's always the chance it was a coincidence… just another girl that looked like you. But if there aren't any unaccounted for Ellens… we'll have to assume the worst while we figure out what to do. Max, do we have any other adventurers due in? Looks like we might have a doppelgänger or possibly a loose lycanthrope. Probably the former… I can't imagine the latter would happen without my niece getting word to me."

"Plenty are coming by," the Guildmaster replied warily. Ellen tried to commit to memory that her name was Max… Maxine? She did have a slight accent, so the name might just be foreign. While Ellen thought, Max continued.

"The first few from the dungeon should return any day now, and I have no doubt we'll be getting more in town soon. You've tried to keep it quiet, but we're getting murders and accidents all over. You know what that sort of thing does."

"Which means they'll all learn there's more than one of us," Ellen muttered aloud.

"I guess it will be easier with Whisper able to move freely while I'm here, but you do know there's another option, right, Uncle?" Anroll nodded slowly, but didn't bring up the idea in front of Max. Ellen sighed and looked toward the other two Ellens.

"At least we can be sure there isn't some mass replication back at the village. Mister Gaspar is gone now, but I'm sure he'd be rushing back if something happened. What are you two doing here anyway?" Cobbler smiled back at her.

"Just passing through for supplies or to catch a caravan to the capital. We thought it would be better if there were two of us to make the trip and um… deliver the news." Anroll winced.

"Oh… okay. Good luck then. Guess we have the easy fight here." Ellen sighed.