"Aren't you a ferocious little thing," Kilroy said, smiling down at her. "Since you hit me with an attack, I think it's only fair that I get a freebie on you."
He puckered his lips and started inching his face towards hers.
Ellen struggled with all her strength, but she couldn't pull herself free. He was going to land a kiss on her and there was nothing she could do to escape.
One of Kilroy's hands brushed against her knife. He immediately dropped her.
Ellen stood up feeling confident. She had embarrassed herself in front of the judges earlier, but her performance now had surely made up for it.
A small trickle of blood dripped from Kilroy's hand onto the floor. "That's a sharp little thing you have there," he said, his voice strained. His movements were strained as well. "Let me cover this up then will continue." He hobbled over to a collection of boxes in the corner and dug out a first aid kit. "Age might be catching up to me," he mumbled.
The others gathered around Ellen.
"You've done this before," Barry said, impressed.
"You certainly made us look like a joke," Trevor said mournfully.
"You're not from around here, are you?" Ludendi asked.
"I'm new here," Ellen agreed, fearing there was already a rift between them.
But Ludendi smiled. "We'll catch up with you, just don't leave us too far behind, okay?"
Ellen smiled back. It was too early to call them friends, but they were at least heading in the right direction.
She wanted to mention their rooming situation to her, but Kilroy rejoined them first, his hand covered with a crude linen bandage.
"All four of you know the basics," he said. "And then some," he added, glancing at Ellen. "That's great! I hope you don't mind being bruised up too badly. It's only going to get worse from here on out. Now we're going to see how good you are with your magic weapons."
While the others all looked excited, Ellen tensed up. It was about to become painfully obvious just how different she was from all of them.
She stuck to the back of the group as Kilroy led them to the far end of the training hall, where several target dummies made of crude scraps of metal stood spread out in a line.
"Show us your swords, Barry!" Kilroy said.
Barry stepped forward, faced the center dummy and raised his sword over his head.
"And always remember: substance over style!" Kilroy added. "Each time you worry about striking a fancy pose, you'll have one less teammate returning to the fortress with you."
Barry froze up. A grim look spread across his face.
Ellen felt bad for him. He had never looked that confident to begin with, but now he looked especially pitiful, like a lost animal whose master abandoned him.
"Give it a shot!" Kilroy urged.
Barry unfroze and started slashing his sword through the air. With each swipe came a burst of violet energy, then a magic weapon identical to the sword Barry wielded shot forward. They headed right for the target dummy. A small number hit, but the majority veered off course and crashed into the wall. Barry's pace was slow and steady to such a degree that he made the act of creating magic weapons seem almost mundane.
"Firm and efficient," Kilroy said. "If you work on your aim you could easily keep your enemy on the defensive and render them unable to fight back." Kilroy shoved Trevor forward. "Your turn!"
Trevor held his poleaxe above his head and started concentrating. For a moment it looked as if he'd frozen up from fright, but then a large shower of violet energy erupted into the air around him. Ten magic weapons appeared beside him and above his head. They shot towards the target dummy one at a time. Few hit. The rest ended up stuck in the wall.
"Your weapons have a lot of power behind them, but that preparation time is going to get you in trouble," Kilroy said. "If you had someone to shield you then you might be alright. In the meantime, I would focus on ramping things up faster."
The word shield made Ellen flinch. Their group definitely had a shield, but probably not the type they had in mind.
The magic swords and poleaxes started dissolving into the air.
Kilroy gave Ludendi a nudge forward. "Let's see what those butter knives of yours can do!"
"They're going to put everyone else to shame," Ludendi boasted, "that's what they'll do!"
She stepped forward and outstretched her arms. Violet bursts of energy arose right away. A spinning ring of magic knives appeared around each of her hands.
"I saw a woman from the special forces use an attack like this with her swords," she said. "It won't be today, but I'll show her up eventually!"
She swiped both her knives through the air, one after the other, and her whirling rings shot forward. One fell apart in midair, the knives scattering around the ground, but the other hit the target dummy head-on.
Ludendi quickly outstretched her arms again and created more knives. Her second wave also formed into rings, a shape she seemed very fond of, and so did the fourth, fifth and sixth, after which she was panting so hard she looked like she might pass out.
"How was that?" Ludendi asked with a proud smirk.
"Impressive," Barry said.
"Terrifying," Trevor said. "I hope you don't ever take your anger out on us."
"If you can keep that up during battle," Kilroy said, "you'll make a great addition to any team. Now we just have one person left..."
Ellen was already trembling in place. She shook even harder when everyone turned to her.
"Just do the best you can," Kilroy said warmly. "I know I called this an assessment, but there's no actual fail state. Not today, anyway."
"But I can't," Ellen mumbled.
"Don't worry so much," Barry said. "Even at your worst I'm sure you're still better than me."
"You put on a great show earlier," Ludendi said. "You're not allowed to hold anything back now!"
"If you can fight that well with your knife," Trevor said, "your magic weapons should knock us off our feet."
Ellen appreciated their support, but it couldn't change who she was.
"Start with the basics," Kilroy said. "Close your eyes and picture your knife in your head. Once you see it, reach out and grab it."
The best explanation was probably a demonstration. Ellen closed her eyes and tried focusing on her knife. Even picturing it in her head was a struggle. She could almost imagine the shape, but it always appeared pure white and very crystalline.
"Now reach out and grab it!"
She tried to imagine herself grabbing the white knife, but it exploded into a hundred fragments before she could move her hand.
Cries of pain erupted around her. She opened her eyes to find the others laying sprawled out on their backs. They looked hurt. "Sorry," she said quickly, "but I can't do it."
"It's like I said," Trevor grumbled. "You'll knock us off our feet."
Kilroy stood up first, then the others. "Have you ever tried carrying another weapon?" he asked.
"I have," Ellen said, "but it doesn't make any difference." She lowered her head. Her chances of being accepted into the Fortress Brigade were looking very poor.
"Maybe it has something to do with your knife." Kilroy reached towards her. "Let me take a look at it."
Ellen dodged backwards so quickly it left a sharp pain in her ankle. "I-it's just a normal knife," she stammered.
"So you can't fight with a magic weapon." Kilroy pondered. "I've heard rumors about people like you, but I've never met one myself."
"But I can do this," Ellen said, thinking of her shield. The translucent blue barrier appeared around her and encased her body.
The others looked at her in awe. She doubted any of them had ever seen such a sight before. How could they have, when she was likely the only person in the world with such a shield?
She dropped her shield and explained, "My shield will repel any magic weapon that comes near me, I just can't move while it's active. Other people can hide inside it and it'll protect them as well."
&n
bsp; She summoned her shield again, hoping they'd test it and see for themselves. There was likely no place in the Fortress Brigade for someone who couldn't fight with a magic weapon, but there might be room for someone with a shield that made them and anyone close to them impervious to most attacks.
"Let's test it," Ludendi said. She raised her right hand into the air, created another swirling ring of knives then hurled them at Ellen.
All eight hit her shield and bounced away. One went straight back at Ludendi. She dropped to the ground to avoid it.
"What was that for!" she complained.
She had no control over where the weapons went after they hit her shield, Ellen wanted to say, but Trevor already had six poleaxes aimed her.
"It sounds too good to be true," Trevor said, then his weapons shot forward.
All six hit her shield and bounced off. Once went right for Ludendi. She hugged the ground tight to avoid it. "Just stop already," she begged.
Barry raised his sword, pondered for a moment then lowered it. "I don't want to push my luck. I'll just take Ellen's word for it."
Ellen dropped her shield. "I can't control where the weapons go after they're repelled," she said quickly. "Can I still join the Fortress Brigade?"
"There's no reason you can't," Kilroy said. "With a talent like that, you might even get moved to a special forces team."
Ellen smiled. While fighting alongside her guardian she was little more than a clumsy tagalong, but now there was a chance she might end up in one of the most prestigious teams available.
Ludendi, Barry and Trevor all looked glum. Ellen felt bad. They were the closest things she had to friends, and she was already thinking about leaving them behind.
"Of course, that's still months or more likely years away," Kilroy said. "You're not going to join Galvin's Special Forces before you complete your first mission, let alone your first assessment." He clapped his hands together. "Now here's the fun part of the assessment. For me, that is."
He picked up a bucket of wooden training weapons and smiled.
Once the first sword was thrown, Ellen took off running. Kilroy wanted to see how well they could dodge and maneuver, she assumed. It was a barbaric exercise, but it was also very fitting, considering they lived in a barbaric world.
Her friends, as she hoped they'd soon be, ran with her, and Kilroy chased them. "Pretend I'm a monster!" he roared as he hurled weapons at them. "These weapons will only sting, the real ones will take your heads off. A few bruises now might save you from getting decapitated later!"
Ellen ducked and dodged around his weapons as if her life depended on it; it usually did. Only once near the end of the exercise did a sword strike her. It flew between her ankles and tripped her.
Barry stopped and helped her back up. "The four of us are in this together," he said with a smile. "Let's show him what we can do, Special Forces Ellen."
He kept holding her arm even after she was back on her feet. He had a strong, firm grip. "T-thanks," she said.
"Monsters aren't going to give you a break and neither am I!" Kilroy roared, then he heaved a sword at her.
Ellen saw it coming but was too infatuated to move. She didn't need to, because Barry guarded her with his body.
He flinched when the sword struck his back. "I like you, but I can't take too many more of these. Let's get going."
"Okay," Ellen agreed, then they ran.
They kept going until Kilroy doubled over and collapsed onto his back. "That's enough for now," he said, panting.
Ludendi, Barry and Trevor collapsed right after. Ellen slowed to a stop and caught her breath.
"Those weapons stung quite a bit," Trevor said between breaths. "Are we going to be issued any armor?"
"About that," Kilroy said, a laugh on his tongue. He heaved himself up. "For someone as young as yourself, armor will just slow you down, tire you out faster and make it easier for your enemies to hit you. And trust me, they'll grind you into dust if you give them a chance."
Trevor's voice became very quiet. "Oh..."
"But if you need a set of flexible clothes or better shoes, I can help you with that next time." Kilroy clapped his hands together. "I just have one more thing to show you before I set you free."
He headed for one of the side hallways, which was long and dark with a thick metal door at the end. Ellen followed right behind him, curious to know what he kept locked so deep inside the training hall. Ludendi, Barry and Trevor hurried to their feet and ran to catch up.
"I've spent a lot of time telling you about monsters," Kilroy said, "but I've yet to actually show you one."
The footsteps behind her went silent. Ellen glanced over her shoulder at the others, who stood frozen in place with frightened looks on their faces.
What were they afraid of? They probably hadn't fought too many monsters, but they had to have at least seen one before. Or could they really be that sheltered?
Ludendi pressed forward. "We were just... never mind. Don't worry about us."
Barry and Trevor hurried after her.
"You'll be seeing lots of these if you join the Fortress Brigade," Kilroy said as he approached the heavy door. He removed a hatch from the center then stepped aside.
Ellen looked first. The door led to a small arena. A pitch black monster with a gelatinous body, thick arms, and fingers the size of her hand was trapped inside. She hadn't seen one like it before, but there was nothing special about it. She was more curious to know how they had trapped it down here without injuring it.
Ludendi and Barry peered inside next. Frightened looks spread across their faces in an instant. It was as if they'd never seen a monster up close, which could very well be the case. They quickly backed off.
"It's really a m-monster," Ludendi stammered.
"An ugly one, too," Barry said.
Trevor looked inside last. "It's an unsettling looking creature," he said flatly. "Are they all like that?"
"Imagine all the terrible creatures you've seen in your nightmares," Kilroy said, "then add a thousand more to the mix. That's how many different types of monsters there are."
Trevor didn't respond. His voice seemed gone. He was sweating quite a bit, however.
"You'll be fighting that one before you're officially made into a team. If that sounds like something you'd enjoy, then great! If it's not, then there's no shame in calling it quits before you commit to something you'll regret later." Kilroy put the panel back in place. "That's it for today. I'll see all of you tomorrow. Or at least, I hope I'll see all of you."
Ellen watched her new friends scurry away. She enjoyed their company, but given their reactions just now, there was no telling if she'd ever them again.
Chapter 5
Ellen followed Kilroy to his office, then asked, "Has nobody here ever seen a monster before?"
"I can tell you're not from around here," Kilroy said with a smile. "In fact, I believe you came here today, right?"
Ellen agreed.
"This is a safe dimension. Everyone here loves to practice with their magic weapons, but most of them haven't seen a monster except from far away. Even if they have, it was probably dead or crippled or cooked. They don't know how dangerous the world can be. That's why people like you are so valuable, and that's why I was so eager to get you here. Your presence alone gives the others confidence. I'm sure you can teach them a lot about the wilderness, assuming you plan to stay."
"I'll s-stay," Ellen stammered. She felt ashamed, all the time and energy she'd spent worrying she would be turned away from the Fortress Brigade was wasted, and also relieved. She had a place for herself now, a place where she could meet others who might be willing to stick with her once the decay started spreading.
"Anything else? Do you have your introductory paperwork and your housing situation handled?" Kilroy asked, and Ellen nodded. "Make sure you get a good night of sleep. I don't know where you wandered in from, but I'm sure it wasn't an easy journey."
Ellen didn't know where s
he wandered in from either, she'd passed through a dozen different dimensions on her way here, but she was tired.
It was dark when she stepped outside; the normal type of dark, not the dark from the death of the dimension.
She followed the familiar stone road Kilroy had dragged her down earlier back to the courtyard. Dozens of brightly burning torches attached to the sides of buildings lit up the area, and a fire burned on top of each of the fortress's five towers. They were massive fires that would attract monsters from miles away, yet nobody around her seemed the least bit worried.
She stopped near the center of the courtyard and glanced up at the sky. While it still wasn't much more than a spec in the distance, the dark patch had already doubled in size.
She frowned at the patch. It would take months, or if she was lucky, years for it to spread across the whole sky, but there was no stopping it. The Forlorn Dimension was doomed.
Several others around the courtyard were looking up at the patch as well, making guesses about its meaning. Most thought it was a cloud of some sort. They were so terribly mistaken Ellen couldn't help but feel bad for them.
Ludendi was amongst them. She flashed Ellen a smile then walked away.
Ellen followed her back to the dormitory. Ludendi still had no idea they were roommates. It was going to be an odd night.
The old woman behind the front desk greeted her when she arrived. "Welcome back, dear," she said. "It's quite late. You'll keep your voice down and head straight to bed if you know what's good for you."
Ellen eyed her. It sounded like a threat, but the old woman's voice was so sweet and warm she had trouble believing it. But there had to be some truth to it, because the hallways leading to her room were deserted.
Ludendi was unlocking their door when she caught up to her.
"Do you need something?" Ludendi asked.
"The woman downstairs assigned me to this room," Ellen said cautiously. "We're roommates now."
Ludendi stayed silent, and for a moment Ellen worried she might protest her presence and send her off to be alone, but then Ludendi smiled. "That's okay, come inside!"
The room was dark, lit only by a faint ray of light shining in through the window, until Ludendi lit a candle on the desk. She then put her knives away in the chest, kicked her shoes off and sat down cross-legged on one side of the bed. "You can keep your things in the chest if you want. There's more than enough space for both of us."
Forlorn Dimension Page 4
