She turned around. The monster had reached the edge of the pristine road. It had ten legs on each side of its long body, she saw now, each one covered with dark scales.
Tear started firing arrows at it right away, but the soldiers, despite having their weapons drawn and ready, didn't do much of anything. They stood in a daze, not even attempting to fight off the abomination.
The monster's long, red tongue shot forward and grabbed one soldier by the neck. He hacked at the powerful organ with his axe, but his awkward attacks didn't leave so much as a scratch.
Ellen watched in horror as the tongue dragged the soldier kicking and screaming towards the monster's slobbering maw. Not only had she set fire to the village, but she'd also condemned its only defenders to an awful death.
But as the trapped soldier disappeared into the monster's mouth, the others finally came to life.
"Kill the beast!" one shouted, then bolted forward.
"Cut its gut open!" another added, following along.
The others roared in agreement.
In a flash they had the monster surrounded. Some positioned themselves right beside it, their weapons aimed at its legs and body, while others kept their distance. Violet energy swelled around them as they cast their magic weapons at the monster. Swords and axes and halberds rocketed forward towards the monster's head and neck.
Tear fought alongside the second group. She had two phantom bows out beside her. Each time she fired her own bow her phantom bows fired with her. Together they shot at least twenty, maybe even thirty arrows every few seconds. Alice, who'd charged in with her golden sword in one hand and her knife in the other, was trying to join the first group, but every soldier she bumped shoulders with was quick to shoo her away.
They had more than enough strength to kill or at least keep the monster busy, so Ellen turned her attention to the burning homes behind her. There was no way she could stop the flames on her own, but she could at least make sure the buildings were the only thing they consumed.
She looked first into the home the sink had hit. With one wall already destroyed she could see the whole interior, and there were no signs of life anywhere inside.
She ran left towards the neighboring home. Already a part of the roof had collapsed and flames were spreading around the interior. She peered inside several windows and fortunately didn't see anyone.
The next home was a different story. Through the first window she checked she spotted a crying child surrounded by bits of burning wood as well as an old woman asleep in her bed. At least, she hoped the woman was asleep.
Ellen ran for the front door. It opened easily enough, but the black cloud of smoke that jumped out at her gave her pause. There was even more inside the home. The ceiling glowed bright orange.
For a second she considered backing away, the roof might collapse any second now, but she couldn't ignore the crying child. It was her foolish decision that'd put him where he was now, and she had to save him.
She charged inside and rushed towards the child, careful not to step on any bits of burning wood along the way. It was so hot it felt as if she'd stepped into an oven. A cloud of black smoke lingered directly overhead, threatening to suffocate her should she dare breathe.
At least the child was light. She scooped him up with one arm then turned towards the door.
"Help me!" someone cried.
It was the old woman. She was awake now and frightened, very frightened.
"I'll come back for you," Ellen said.
She regretted saying anything. Smoke went into her mouth, down her throat and into her lungs, sending her into a coughing fit.
The old woman didn't listen. Her hand shot forward and grabbed Ellen's wrist. "Help me!" she begged.
Ellen tried pressing forward, but the old woman's grip was so tight she couldn't move. "Let go!" she managed to shout between coughs.
It made no difference. The woman held on tight. "Please!" she cried.
Why couldn't she realize how much danger they were in? If she didn't let go soon, all three of them would die here.
Ellen coughed so hard she dropped the child. Hearing him bounce off the ground made her cringe, but at least she had a free hand now. She tore her knife from its sheath then slashed at the old woman's hand.
The old woman let out a painful cry and pulled her hand back. Ellen felt awful for attacking her, but it had to be done if any of them were going to survive.
She scooped up the child again and took off running. Her attack had given her a small boost of energy, and she made it outside without delay.
The monster was still upright and thrashing around, much to her to dismay, but the soldiers had only suffered one loss and Alice and Tear were both alive and well.
Ellen set the child down beside the pristine road. "Stay there," she told him, unsure if he was old enough to understand her, then returned to the burning home.
There was even more fire and smoke inside now. She put her knife away, took a deep breath then darted inside.
The old woman saw her coming and, unsurprisingly, recoiled away in fear. But then she looked up at the orange glowing ceiling and her demeanor immediately changed. "Help me!" she begged.
She threw her blankets aside and tried climbing out of bed, but her arms and legs were sickly narrow. Just sitting upright seemed to cause her a great deal of pain. There was no way she'd be able to walk on her own, so Ellen moved up beside her bed and allowed the old woman to climb onto her back.
With the old woman, who was surprisingly light, latched onto her, Ellen made her way to the front door. She watched the ceiling as she marched forward. It seemed to be sinking lower and lower every second. Any moment now it could collapse on top of her, either killing her instantly or pinning her down so that the fire could have its way with her.
But the ceiling held and so did her lungs despite all the smoke she'd inhaled.
She set the woman down beside the pristine road then collapsed to the ground in a coughing fit. The woman and the child were coughing too, but they were alive and well and the fire hadn't yet spread to any more houses.
She eyed the monster. Despite all the blood spewing from its body, it hadn't slowed down at all. In fact, it seemed to be moving faster than ever. It spun in place, its two rear-most sets of legs kicking at anyone nearby. The soldiers spun with it, attempting to stay beside it so that it could not reach them with its tongue or its axes, but they were having trouble matching its pace. One soon fell behind, and the monster cut his chest open. The soldier collapsed into a bloody mess.
Ellen forced herself up then moved onto the pristine road. The fire would not cause any casualties, at least not in its current state, but the monster had to be stopped before it killed someone else.
The monster stopped spinning, and all of its dim yellow eyes locked onto her. Then it charged forward.
Did it recognize her? It had licked her cheek earlier. It must've enjoyed its sample if it was willing to drop everything and come after her specifically, but for some odd reason she didn't feel flattered.
Ellen turned around and ran. Why it was chasing her didn't matter, she had to escape.
The heavy, monstrous footsteps came closer and closer. Tear was right, the monster was faster than her.
Something warm and wet wrapped around her neck. It was powerful as well. It had no trouble stopping her in her tracks nor pulling her backwards to the ground.
It was the monster's tongue. It had caught her.
The tongue tightened around her neck, preventing her from breathing, then started pulling her in.
Ellen clawed at it with all the strength she could muster, but it did no good. The monster had more muscles in its tongue than she had in her entire body. She tried reaching for her knife and even managed to pull it from its sheath, but then her hand got caught underneath her for a second and her knife slipped away.
It was over. She had no way to escape the tongue on her own and the soldiers would never reach her in time. Her life
was over and all that remained for her was to become food for a hideous abomination that probably didn't even need to eat to survive.
She didn't want the monster's slobbering maw to be the last thing she ever saw, so she closed her eyes and waited. Hopefully someone in the village would give her a proper tombstone so that her friends might one day discover why she had broken her promise.
Her torso lifted off the ground first, then her legs. Any second now she would disappear forever into the monster's stomach.
Something hard struck her body. It hurt, but it didn't feel like she'd been eaten. And she could breathe again; the tongue had loosened its grip.
Ellen opened her eyes. She was on the ground again, and a bloody monster tongue lay beside her. Someone had cut her free. She hadn't the faintest idea who, but there was no time to worry about it now, not with the monster stomping around furiously right behind her.
She got onto her hands and knees and crawled away as fast as her trembling body could move. Once she'd made it a safe distance from the road, she paused and looked back. The monster's neck and head had been impaled two dozen times over by crimson swords; L.L.'s crimson swords.
L.L. charged down the pristine road and stopped before the monster. Brendon followed right behind her. Then came Sycamore and the village chief and a dozen new soldiers.
Where they'd all come from Ellen couldn't imagine, but she was glad to see them.
The other group of soldiers approached from the rear. Alice and Tear were still with them. A surge of violet energy swept through the area. Both groups raised their weapons and created a solid wall of deathly sharp metal. The swirling masses of blades shot forward together, and the monster, already injured and bleeding out, fell dead to the ground.
Sycamore rushed to Ellen's side. He handed her knife to her then asked: "You're not hurt, are you? I'll get some medics over here if you are."
Despite having almost been burned to death, strangled and nearly eaten, Ellen's worst injury was a scrape on her hand. "I'm alright," she said. "What happened to you? And Brendon and Lindsey?"
"I found my two friends," Sycamore said, a dumb smile on his face. "They were tired out, but safe. Then I ran into the chief and told him what was happening. You'll never guess how he reacted."
The village chief was on the road behind Sycamore, shouting so loud Ellen had no trouble hearing his commands. He wanted most of the soldiers to gather buckets and start putting out the fire. Another small group was to scour the village and search the damaged homes for survivors. He spoke with such energy she had trouble believing he was the same chief she'd met earlier.
"He stared at you in a daze," Ellen said.
"Exactly," Sycamore said. "But then I dragged him into the village and forced him to look at all the out of control fires destroying his home. That woke him up real fast." He glanced over his shoulder at the fiery cluster of homes. "It's a good thing that fire-" He paused. "That sounded horrible, but still, that fire was the only reason I was able to reach him. Who knows where you'd be right now if it hadn't started. It was also pretty lucky that we ran into Brendon and L.L. on the way over. They'd gotten completely lost in the dark. Well, Brendon had gotten lost. L.L., on the other hand-" He shuddered.
That fire was her doing, Ellen wanted to say, but the old woman, helped along by a soldier, and the child she'd rescued earlier were walking towards her.
The woman flashed her a smile, then lunged forward and hugged her. The child wrapped his small arms around her leg.
"Thank you, dear," the woman said. "Sorry if I gave you a bit of a scare back there. Never in a million years did I think I'd wake up surrounded by fire and brimstone."
"Thank you," the boy said, his voice weak and nasally.
The duo released her, thanked her again, then moved away.
"That has to make you feel good," Sycamore said afterwards.
If she had not started the fire herself, the duo's kind words might've warmed her heart, but as it were, Ellen felt only numbness. She'd gambled so much and only through sheer luck and good timing had she come out ahead.
"I'm going to join the cleanup crew," Sycamore said. "I can't help much during a fight, but I know I can make a difference here." He took one step forward, then stopped and glanced back at Ellen. "I'm sure they can use your help as well."
Ellen shook her head. She'd done enough helping for one night. Plus her neck, face and hair were covered with monster saliva, making her sticky to the touch. It was not a substance she cared to be coated with.
She made her way to the pristine road, careful to avoid the lines of people hauling buckets of water around, then headed for the visitor center.
L.L. was amongst the bucket haulers. She stepped out of line and blocked Ellen's path. "Every time I turn around I'm saving you. You're such a helpless child. Can't you do anything by yourself?"
There was something very off about the way L.L. spoke, but she was too exhausted to worry about it now. Ellen slid passed her and returned to the visitor center.
Nothing remained of the buildings across the street except for scrap wood, ashes and a few embers, but the visitor center itself was intact. She made her way up to the second-floor bathroom, stripped her clothes off then climbed into the bathtub. The water was bitter cold but as long as it cleaned the monster saliva away she didn't care. The bar of soap someone had left nearby helped a lot.
After finishing her bath and drying off, she dunked her tunic and pants into the water. A very crude way to wash them, but they too were sticky with monster saliva.
Ellen hurried back to her room, set her tunic and trousers down atop the dresser then climbed into bed. Sleep came easily enough, but she woke back up when Tear arrived.
"I've never carried so many buckets before," Tear quietly complained. "My arms aren't going to work for a week."
She lifted up the blanket, then gasped in surprise.
Ellen shot upright. "What's wrong?"
"W-where are the rest of your clothes? Usually you..."
"I had to wash them," Ellen said. She still had her undergarments on. Why Tear was so surprised she couldn't imagine.
Tear's face turned bright red, then after a brief pause, she smiled.
"Why don't you sleep on the floor tonight," Ellen said, perhaps more angrily than she should have, but something about the way Tear was examining her bothered her a lot.
"O-okay." Tear grabbed a spare pillow then ducked out of sight.
Ellen lay back down and closed her eyes. In addition to Brendon's hallucinations, L.L.'s heightened aggressiveness, Alice trying to isolate herself and Sycamore's lack of confidence, she now also had to deal with Tear looking at her differently. It was going to be a struggle, but she still had some confidence she could keep everything together.
Chapter 11
Ellen woke up the next morning to find her old clothes sitting folded in a neat pile on the end of her bed. Not only were they clean and dry, they also felt soft. A second set of similar clothes sat beside them. Someone, probably Tear, had not only washed her clothes for her, but she'd also brought her new clothes as well as a backpack to keep them in.
She felt bad for being so short with Tear last night. She'd have to apologize to her the next time they were together.
She dressed herself, packed up her new clothes then grabbed her knife and buckler and headed outside.
The village was alive with activity. Large crowds of people, all of whom looked alive and alert and not at all like zombies, were hard at work, hauling away debris, bringing in new materials, and tending to the injured.
Not everyone was cleaning up. While she searched for Tear, she passed by a boy who looked to be a few years younger than her. He was seated on the edge of a porch, swiping at a piece of paper as if it was a monster and his pen a weapon.
The boy paused and glanced up at her. "Oh, sorry, I get a bit carried away sometimes." He offered Ellen his paper. "I'm writing a short story. It's still a bit rough, but you can read it if you'd li
ke. It's about a magical realm called the Brazen Dimension."
"I don't know how to-" Ellen froze. Anger swelled up in her chest. She deeply hoped she'd misunderstood him, because if he was really writing stories about the Brazen Dimension, things were going to get ugly. "What is it about?"
The boy looked worried. "The... Brazen Dimension?"
Ellen lunged forward and ripped the paper from his hands. "What do you know about that place?" she demanded.
"It's, um, w-well..."
"Tell me!"
"I've never been there myself, but-"
His voice trembled as if he was facing a monster head-on, and he would be, if Ellen's suspicions proved true.
"I've only heard stories about it," the boy said. "Wonderful stories. Men from my old village used to go there all the time."
"Did you used to live in a small village surrounded by fields of yellow grass?" Ellen asked. "And was there a forest nearby? One with a tall watchtower near the middle? And did you leave because the sky started turning black?"
"Y-yeah, that sounds like my old home." The boy swallowed. "Did you used to live there as well? I don't remember you."
Ellen's hand crept towards her knife. For now she was able to restrain herself, but if the boy answered yes to her next question, there was no telling what would happen. "Did you ever write a story about a stone called the Pillar of Immortality?"
The boy perked up. "I did! That was probably one of my more imaginative works. The idea came to me while I was listening to one of the hunters talk about his recent mission. He said he spotted a mysterious green stone way down at the bottom of the dimension. It was probably just a weird rock or some kind of mineral, which is boring, so I stretched the truth a little." He paused. "I think I have a copy of that story with me. If you'd like to reread it-"
That was all she needed to hear. Ellen pulled her knife from its sheath and strode forward.
"Wait, hold on!" Tear came running over and blocked her path. "What are you doing, Ellen? Stop!"
"It was him!" Ellen snapped. "His stupid story was the reason I went to the Brazen Dimension. Everything I went through-"
Scouring Majula Page 9
