Her coins, she remembered. Her friends would enjoy seeing her coin collection. It might give them a bit of nostalgia.
She reached into her tunic pocket, and found nothing.
Ellen startled. Where were her coins? They'd been in her pocket ever since she left the Forlorn Dimension. She'd been separated from them briefly during her trek through Amadeo's castle, but she managed to reunite with them with help from-
A sharp pain shot through her head. It hit so hard she lost her balance and fell sideways into her door. She would've crashed into the ground if Barry hadn't darted over and grabbed her.
"Are you alright?" Barry asked, sounding tense.
Ellen gazed into his eyes. For a second they seemed to be glowing yellow, but then she blinked and they looked normal.
"I'm alright," Ellen said. Whatever had come over her was gone now. So were all the memories regarding the location of her coins.
She nudged Barry away and stood on her own.
Barry still looked worried. So did Ludendi and Trevor and Brendon.
"I've been sick," Ellen explained. "I thought I was better, but I guess not."
"I haven't eaten all morning," Brendon said. He gave Ludendi and Trevor a pat on the shoulder, added "I'll give you girls a chance to catch up" then walked off.
Trevor shot him a dirty look, but Ludendi only snickered.
Barry still looked worried.
"I'm alright," Ellen assured him. "I just have a small headache. A few days ago I couldn't even get out of bed."
She took his hand. Barry gripped hers, and Ellen smiled. He was just as strong as she remembered.
She had so many questions for them. Ellen hurried them into her home and sat down on her bed. "How did you get here?" she asked eagerly. "And how did you find each other?"
Her friends sat down around her, and they took turns explaining what they'd gone through after leaving the Forlorn Dimension.
Explorers from Barry and Trevor's families had run into each other within a month of the Monad Fortress's evacuation, Ellen learned. Barry and Trevor both went out with those explorers on their next expeditions, which was how they met, and then Barry went to live with Trevor for a few weeks. At the time Ludendi was still recovering from the injuries she'd received during their mission into the Primeval Forest, but by a stroke of sheer luck Trevor managed to open a rift that brought him and Barry straight to the dimension housing Ludendi's family.
"It's uncanny how you found me so fast," Ludendi intervened, to which Trevor responded by flushing red.
She finished their story, which involved a great deal of aimless wandering through too many dimensions to count. Along the way they ran into several people they knew from the Monad Fortress, the last two being Brendon and L.L., who brought them here.
After the story was over, Ellen gazed into space. While she was glad to finally have her friends back, something still bothered her: the luck of it all. Not only had her friends found each other almost effortlessly, but then they'd found her in under two weeks and without having encountered a single monster along the way. It was all too good to be true.
"Aren't you glad to see us?" Ludendi asked.
Ellen startled. "O-of course," she stammered. "I'm just surprised how easy it was for us to meet again. Even in my dreams I don't get this lucky."
Her friends smiled at her. Ellen smiled back.
She relaxed after a moment, but her friends kept smiling. They did not move or speak or even blink.
Ellen's heart sped up. There was something off about them just like there was something off about Amadeo. In fact, there was something off about this entire dimension.
The scenery changed again. Her home was gone, replaced by the same strange chamber she'd seen briefly during her last hunt with Amadeo. Unlike before, the vision didn't immediately fade. She had a moment to look around, during which time she spotted something bright and yellow sitting in the very center of the chamber.
Whatever it was, she couldn't get a good look at it. As soon as she tried examining it, a bright white light invaded her vision and forced her to look away,
The light soon faded. Ellen opened her eyes to find four worried faces staring down at her.
She was laying in bed, she realized, and her friends and Tear were watching over her. "What happened?" she asked weakly.
"I think you're getting sick again," Tear said, sounding worried. "I'll bring you some food and water. Don't go anywhere until I get back." She hurried off.
Ellen sat upright. She felt lightheaded but healthy. "Do you want me to show you around our village?"
"You kind of blacked out in the middle of talking to us," Ludendi said, a crooked smile on her face. "Maybe you should stay in bed for now."
"I think it'll be alright," Barry said. "If you fall I'll be there to scoop you up."
"You should at least eat before you do anything," Trevor said. "Your friend Tear told us you've been skipping meals a lot recently. You're probably too sick to realize how famished you are."
She didn't feel hungry, but Ellen couldn't deny that she'd skipped a lot of meals in the last few days.
She stayed in bed until Tear returned. Tear brought her a plate with a few chunks of roasted monster meat, some fresh carrots and a mug of water.
Ellen devoured the monster meat in one swoop, then turned to her carrots and ate them one at a time. There was nothing wrong with them, they simply didn't have the same appeal as a greasy, fried nugget of meat.
Even after she finished eating, her stomach continued to growl. Trevor was right. She was more hungry than she'd realized.
"You haven't changed at all," Ludendi said. "Don't you ever get tired of monster meat?"
"Do you want another plate?" Tear offered. "You did help bring back all of that meat. I don't think anyone will complain if you take more."
"I'm alright," Ellen said. She took a few gulps of water from her mug then set it aside and stood up.
She stood still for a moment, half expecting to blackout or at least lose her balance, but her body held up.
"Do you want to see the rest of our village?" she asked.
"I don't think there's a whole lot to see," Ludendi said, sounding snarky, "but there are a few of your friends we haven't met yet. Why don't you introduce us?"
Tear moved off by herself. "I still have some laundry I need to take care of. If Ellen gets sick again, make sure you bring her back here."
"I'll get in bed with her and hold her there if I have to," Barry promised.
It took all the strength Ellen could muster to stop herself from cringing. She couldn't imagine how it was possible, but Barry seemed to have become even more sappy while they were apart.
She led her friends outside. "That's Alice's and Amadeo's home," she said, gesturing to the house beside her own.
As if given a cue, Alice and Amadeo left their home, their hands clasped together. They headed for the farm beside their house, completely unaware of their audience, but only made it partway there before they stopped and began expressing their affection for each other.
"That's, um-" Ludendi made a noise halfway between a cough and a gag. "I guess they're in a relationship? That's, well, if you're okay with that-"
Ellen felt uneasy, and not because her sickness was making a comeback. This had to be the worst possible way to introduce Alice and Amadeo.
"I've seen a lot worse," Trevor said plainly.
"You've probably been a part of worse," Barry said, giving Trevor a playful jab with his elbow. "That girl-Alice is her name? She looks really familiar. I think I've seen her somewhere before."
"She's my-" Ellen paused. What was Alice to her? She wasn't technically her sister, although that was probably the most apt description. "After I left the Forlorn Dimension..."
She explained the rumor she'd heard about the Pillar of Immortality, then told her friends about her journey through the Brazen Dimension. Her story sapped the liveliness right out of them.
"It sounds like
you had a rough time," Ludendi said mournfully. "But you did make a lot of new friends along the way. That's something to be grateful for."
Ellen agreed. "After I left the Brazen Dimension-"
"Brendon told us about that castle on our way here," Trevor interrupted.
"You sure know how to get into trouble," Barry said with a smirk. "I'm glad you came to your senses. You sounded like a completely different person in that story."
"Did he tell you what happened after we left Amadeo's castle?" Ellen asked. She was not completely sure herself. That part of her memory was still hazy.
Her friends all nodded.
"So... what happened?"
Ludendi smirked. "Are you quizzing us? You were there, we shouldn't have to tell you."
"Sorry," Ellen mumbled. "I've had trouble remembering-"
Alice came running over, a big smile on her face. "My friends!" she blurted out.
Ludendi, Barry and Trevor looked confused, until Ellen told them: "She has all of my memories. She remembers everything we went through in the Forlorn Dimension."
As odd as that sounded, her friends seemed to understand. Aside from the occasional glance at her stomach, they greeted Alice just as warmly as they'd greeted her earlier.
"We're finishing up a big harvest today," Alice said afterwards. She headed for the farm. "Let's have a big dinner later. We can talk more then."
"Sure thing," Ludendi said. She looked to Ellen. "It's really strange. Even though she's your twin, she's a lot nicer than you." She quickly added: "Not that you're mean or anything! It's just that she seems a lot more social."
Ellen shot her a frown. "Alice takes care of our farm," she explained. "She usually has help from Sycamore, who-"
He had to have either been spying on them or conveniently passing by, because Sycamore popped out from behind her house and came running over, his long white coat flapping behind him. He stopped beside Ellen then started eyeing her friends.
"So these are the estranged friends you've told us so much about," Sycamore said thoughtfully. "We've seen so little proof of their existence I was beginning to think you'd dreamed them up to cope with some of your deep seated mental issues, but it looks like they're real after all." He shrugged. "Now that they're here do you think you can stop calling out their names in your sleep? It's pretty hard to sleep with you wailing all night long."
Was that true? Did she really cry out her friends' names in her sleep? The thought made Ellen's face warm up. She had to turn her back to her friends; their smirks were too much to bear.
But if she really did make so much noise in her sleep, why hadn't anyone said anything until just now? Tear was probably too nice, but she couldn't imagine Brendon or especially L.L. keeping quiet.
Sycamore and her friends soon finished introducing themselves, then Sycamore left for the farm. "If any of you are really bored," he said as he walked away, "feel free to give us a hand over here!"
"We'll... we'll think about it," Ludendi said cautiously. "I'm honestly really exhausted."
"Me too," Barry said with a yawn. "It's bad enough that the ground is so hard, but then I had Lindsey-I mean L.L. kicking me awake." He looked to Ellen. "I still can't believe you left the Monad Fortress with those special forces people instead of us."
He had a sad look on his face. So did Ludendi and Trevor.
"I wanted the three of us to stick together," Ellen said, "but your families... and they needed help... and..." Her eyes became wet. She didn't like reliving the Monad Fortress's final day. Not only had she been separated from Ludendi, Barry and Trevor, but two of her other friends had died. "We're together now!" she blurted out. "That's all that matters."
A strange sense of longing swept over her. It was too powerful to ignore. Ellen outstretched her arms and grabbed her friends and hugged them tight. Ludendi and Barry and Trevor hugged her back. They didn't say anything, and they didn't need to. Their warm embrace was all she needed.
She pulled away after a moment, then wiped the tears from her face.
"Not to be pushy," Ludendi said, "but do you think you can find a place for us to sleep? We'll need one if we're going to be staying here."
Ellen was taken aback. "You're... going to live here?"
"Maybe not live," Ludendi said, "but I'm sure you won't mind if we stay here for a few weeks. I've been cooped up with my family ever since we left the fortress and let me tell you-" She shook her head. "Anyway, I could use a break from them."
"I've been living in a dank cave for weeks," Trevor said with a small shudder. "I'd much rather sleep on the ground here than go back to that."
"Just whip out that special knife of yours," Barry said, "chop down some trees and start building us a house. We'll wait here until you're done."
Ludendi jabbed him with her elbow. "We don't need anything like that. Do you mind if we sleep in your home? We have our own sleeping bags. All we need is some space on the floor."
Her own home would not work, not with how often Tear walked around half dressed. "You can stay in the communal hall," Ellen said quickly. "Brendon, L.L. and Sycamore sleep there already, but there should be enough space."
She led them to the communal hall. Their backpacks stuffed full of supplies rested beside the door. They grabbed them on the way in.
Ellen looked over the interior. Between Brendon, L.L. and Sycamore's sleeping bags and belongings, the barrels of food, the oven and the bath, the communal hall was running out of space.
"That's probably enough space there," Ludendi said, eyeing an open spot on the floor to the left of the front door. "Is it alright if we sleep there? We can always sleep outside if we need to."
"It's okay," Ellen assured her. "If you end up staying here for a while, we'll probably build a new home. It's been awhile since we-"
She paused. How long had it been since they'd last built a home? Had they ever actually built a home, or had they simply found the village as it was now? She couldn't remember.
"I think we're starting to lose her again," Trevor warned.
Barry dropped his backpack and rushed to Ellen's side. He wrapped his arms around her torso so tight she couldn't move an inch. "Do you feel sick? I'll carry you back to your bed if you need me to."
"No, I'm alright," Ellen said. "I just had trouble remembering something."
Barry released her and took a step back.
A few distant memories came back to her. "We didn't build any of these buildings," Ellen explained. "We found them. They were in really bad shape at first, but we fixed them up and moved into them."
"And you didn't get attacked by monsters while you were working?" Trevor asked, surprised.
"It's really safe here. It's a lot like the Monad Fortress... when I first found it. There are a few monsters lurking around, but they usually keep their distance."
"I didn't think safe places like this existed," Barry said. "It sounds like something out of a dream."
Ellen hesitated. Between the safety of the village, the sleeping monster she'd encountered yesterday and her friends showing up out of the blue, her life had been awfully convenient lately. It felt very much like something out of a dream.
She eyed Barry, who smiled pleasantly at her. If this was all a dream, and he was nothing more than a vision created by a monster or some kind of sickness or some sort of otherworldly entity, why would he rouse her suspicions like this?
Her heart sped up. This was not the first time she'd had a thought like that. But when had the other occurred? And where?
The same pain that had knocked her off balance earlier struck again. It felt as if her head was about to split open. She stumbled sideways into Barry, who wrapped his arms around her and held her upright.
"I-I feel sick," Ellen stammered. "Can you take me home?"
Barry obliged and walked her back to her bed. He also offered to lay down beside her to keep her warm, to which Ludendi and Trevor responded by forcing his arms behind his back and dragging him outside.
"
Just make some noise if you need anything," Ludendi said, peering back inside. "We're not going anywhere today, and I'm sure your other friends will be listening too." She flashed Ellen a smile then closed the door.
Ellen stayed in bed for hours, drifting in and out of sleep. The pain in her head didn't get any better.
Tear eventually brought her dinner: even more nuggets of monster meat. And carrots too, except they were boiled this time.
"I shouldn't have let you go hunting yesterday," Tear said sadly. "It's my fault you're like this."
"That's not true," Ellen said.
"Yes it is!" Tear argued. "I knew you were sick, but I let you go hunting anyway. I could've stopped you, but I didn't. This is all my fault."
Ellen wanted to tell her she was wrong, but Tear looked like she might cry. "I won't go anywhere until I feel better," she said instead. "Amadeo will be fine on his own, or maybe my friends will help him hunt. They said they're thinking about living here."
In an instant the pain in her head vanished. She wanted to sit upright, but something told her Tear wouldn't react well to that.
"I hope they stay," Tear said, smiling. "We can use the help, and wouldn't it be nice if our village became just like the village we found in Majula?"
Ellen's eyes shot open. That was another name that'd completely slipped her mind: Majula. It was the dimension she'd gone to after leaving Amadeo's castle. She'd gone there to help Alice find-
Her head erupted with pain. It was so awful her vision started to blur. Tear tried shouting something to her, but her senses were so distorted she could not make out a single word she said.
The pain subsided after a moment. Ellen relaxed into bed.
She looked up at Tear, whose face was damp with tears. "What was that name you said? M... Majula?"
"Majula," Tear said, her voice weak. "That's the dimension we visited after we left Amadeo's castle."
"What did we do there?"
"We wandered around aimlessly for a bit, and eventually we came across a nice village, but we didn't stay long."
"Why?" Ellen asked. "Why did we leave? Didn't we go there to find someone?"
Tear didn't answer. Instead, she stared silently off into space.
Scouring Majula (Ellen's Friends Book 3) Page 14
