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    Village Ellen(s)

     

    When Ellen opened her eyes, it was with a sigh of frustration.

    She knew the rafters above her. The raspy, rough drag of the blanket on her naked skin. The light press of another naked girl at her side.

    She had died again.

    At least when she sat up in this bed, she wouldn’t knock heads. It was warm in the room, since autumn hadn’t yet arrived and the room was in the attic. Lauren and Tobias had been very nice, but having a private room to herself—even in this place that had far more room than it usually needed—was a luxury she normally couldn’t afford. The attic was more for storage than a place to live, but it had given her a rickety cot and a space with some privacy. Privacy and for the last two weeks, a home.

    A home for her… and sometimes for her copy.

    “We weren’t anywhere near the cave,” her duplicate grumbled, also sitting up.

    Ellen nodded and rubbed her head. “Something else must have happened. A wild animal attack, or an accident. At least we know it isn’t confined to the cave. I’m not sure if that’s good or bad news.”

    “We’re alive, aren’t we?” The other Ellen also sighed, then tensed up suddenly.

    From below, Lauren’s voice called out, “Bea? Is that you? When did you get back?” A pause. “Is Trisha with you?”

    A quick look at her other self confirmed that they both knew the problem. They’d been reduced to only one usable pair of clothes between the three—now four—Ellens, and those were all in the wilderness. The only things here to wear were the borrowed dress and (thankfully) two pairs of sandals, at Hunter Ellen’s insistence.

    One of them would have to be ‘Bea’ and declare themselves Village Ellen until the other found a new nickname. And the decision needed to be made quickly.

    “Odds,” Ellen whispered. She threw her hand out, and immediately realized her mistake. She was playing against her other self.

    Of course they both threw two fingers.

    Without missing a beat, the other Ellen—now Village Ellen—leaned over and called out to Lauren.

    “It’s me! I was just talking to myself! Um, give me a minute, I was just changing clothes!”

    Ellen was already ducking behind one of the wooden boxes the inn used for storage, as she heard Lauren starting up the stairs. The attic was full of these, most packed with junk or old rags. A few broken items or chipped pottery and dishes, spare furniture parts, the usual things in storage. Before, it had been clutter. Now it kept her hidden as the older woman poked her head up.

    Village Ellen smoothed out the dress, blushing faintly as she adjusted it. Unfortunately, one of the things in short supply between the Ellens was underthings, and Adventurer Ellen hadn’t dropped any off at the inn yet. She was still in a better position than Ellen, who was hugging an arm to her chest and trying to squeeze behind the box as much as possible.

    “I must have been so distracted not to have heard you come in. Did you have a good time?” Lauren’s friendly greeting once again made Ellen feel guilty they couldn’t tell the truth about why they needed a room. But who would believe them? She’d just have to make it up to the woman and her husband when she struck it rich or something.

    Village Ellen smoothed her dress and smiled. “I’m not sure yet, but Trisha seemed pretty excited. I’m not sure if she’s staying here tonight, but I think she’s going to stay in the area for a few days, at least.”

    “Oh good,” Lauren sighed. “I know you two want to get on with your adventures, but you’ve really been a great help to us here. Tobias and I aren’t getting any younger, you know! We have a few wagons stopping in and I’m going to try to convince them to stay the night, if you’re up for helping.”

    Ellen was pretty sure she’d heard another innkeeper say that line about not getting younger on her trip from the capital. Did they have some sort of training camp or manual for this?

    The gentle and agreeable smile Village Ellen gave Lauren made Ellen realize at last why the others gave her such odd looks. That isn’t how she’d pictured herself at all! She bit her tongue and waited as the two headed downstairs, then hurried over to the bed, curling the blanket around herself.

    Until she got some clothes, she couldn’t go anywhere. Stuck in the attic, naked and at Level 0.

    Actually Level 2 already because she’d managed a bunch of first time bonuses in that brief moment of panic like ‘hiding successfully’ and ‘settled an argument’. She checked her status.

     

    ATTRIBUTES
    Strength: 8
    Agility: 8
    Endurance: 8
    Willpower: 8
    Affinity: 8
    Perception: 8

    SKILL ENHANCERS

    STAMINA: 80/80

    MANA: 80/80

    CLASS: CLASSLESS 2

    EXPERIENCE: 240/400 (7,840 Banked)

    PERKS

    ABILITIES


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    Ellen’s eyebrows shot up. That was an awful lot of banked experience. In fact, that meant she’d started with 8,000 banked experience when she woke up, which was just enough to get to Level 7.

    Level 7 was what her Level had been when she had died.

    “Interesting,” she whispered to herself.

    But what could she do while trapped in the attic? She’d been well-fed when she had ‘died’ apparently, because she wasn’t hungry, but she would still be stuck for hours while the others came back with clothes.

    Unless they’d died as well…

    She shook her head quickly. No use in thinking about the possible worst outcomes. Whether Adventurer Ellen was bringing clothes or not, she needed to make herself busy or she’d just shiver uselessly. But what could she do while hiding here that could give her first time bonuses? Especially while remaining undetected? The noise from a few merchants downstairs would cover any incidental noises, but she couldn’t do anything loud.

    Ellen looked at all the broken furniture, storage boxes, candle wax, and other items half-forgotten in the attic.

    “Let’s see how far I can stretch this,” she murmured.

     


     

    The lighting wasn’t great in the attic to begin with, but as evening fell it got worse. On top of that, Ellen was starting to get pretty hungry. She had water by her bedside, and a chamberpot, but actual food wasn’t kept up in the attic. The temperature outside was also dropping, and lately the nights had been cold even down in the village, away from the mountain winds. The attic wasn’t the warmest place, and only the heavy blankets protected her when she wasn’t sharing the bed with another Ellen.

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