It didn't happen as fast as she would've liked, but her friends eventually cut open several of the monster's veins. Slow growing trickles of dark red blood dripped down its body and stained the dirt beneath its feet.
The blood loss slowed its movements, Ellen noticed as she ran right to avoid a lazy overhead swing. That was good, because she was starting to become fatigued.
She waited for the staff to hit the ground, then sank to her knees. She was hot and sweating all over. This was the most moving and dodging she'd ever done in her life.
She glanced at the monster. It was preparing another attack, an attack she was far too tired to avoid, but as it raised its staff into the air, it collapsed backwards to the ground and lay still.
Ellen collapsed as well, albeit voluntarily. The fight was over, and they'd won.
Her friends gathered around her. They were hot and sweating as well.
"It's still twitching," Ludendi said, panting, "but I don't think it's getting back up anytime soon."
"There's no way they can reject us from the Fortress Brigade after this," Trevor said.
"Who would've thought it could bleed that much," Barry said with a quiver. "I don't think I'm going to be hungry for a while."
Ellen looked up at them and smiled. Not only were they brave, they also worked very well as a team. If the dimension started dying tomorrow she'd have a perfect group to leave with.
"Are you alright?" Ludendi asked her. "It didn't look like you got hit."
"She's probably exhausted," Trevor said. "She had the hardest job out of all of us."
"Where did you learn to move like that?" Barry asked, impressed. "I don't remember seeing you run like that during our training."
"I... I figured it out as I went," Ellen admitted. She was thankful the monster had such slow attacks. If it had swung any faster, her time in the Fortress Brigade would've come to a sudden end.
She tried to sit upright, but she didn't have the strength to move.
"Can you bring me to its body?" she asked.
Barry scooped her up in his arms first, then asked, "What for? Are you going to finish it off?"
"I need to check something," Ellen claimed.
Barry carried her towards the monster, which lay sprawled out on its back, the ground around it stained red and emitting a fiercely sour stench.
"Bring me close to the foot," Ellen said, and Barry did just that.
The monster was still twitching, just like Ludendi had said. For an awful, hate filled thing, its hardiness was commendable.
Ellen stuck her knife into its foot. Her full strength returned. "I'm okay now. You can put me down."
Barry set her down on the red stained ground. "What did you do?" he asked.
"I was just..." Ellen couldn't think of anything. It didn't help that Barry, Trevor and Ludendi were all watching her, awaiting an answer. "Um..."
She was relieved to see Brendon and Lindsey charge out from behind a row of houses; their appearance distracted her friends. A dozen black clad soldiers followed right behind them. Even more ordinary people stuck their heads out into the open but kept their distance.
"It's about time they got here," Barry complained.
Ellen put her knife away. She might tell them about its power eventually, but not today.
Ludendi and Trevor joined her side and then they waited. Brendon, Lindsey and the soldiers gathered in a line before them.
"Your four just keep finding new ways to get into trouble," Brendon said. "Especially you," he told Ellen. "But at least you can take care of yourselves."
"Was anyone hurt?" Lindsey asked.
"Someone fell off the wall earlier," Ludendi said. "They... they're not in good shape."
Lindsay led the soldiers forward. "Stay back here. We'll take a look."
"What about this thing?" Barry asked, pointing to the monster. "It can't move around anymore, but it's still alive."
Brendon pulled his great axe off his back and started stretching. Some part of his body popped with each movement he made. "I'll take care of it. If you don't like the sight of blood and guts-"
Ellen bolted forward. Watching the monster bleed everywhere was enough for her. Whatever Brendon had in store for it was bound to be much more gruesome.
Her friends followed.
"He could've at least thanked us," Barry grumbled. "That's twice we helped them out."
"You know they're thankful even if they don't say it," Ludendi said. "That's just how those old soldier types are. We might be like that, eventually."
"It looks like there's already a big thanks waiting for us," Trevor said.
A crowd of well over a hundred was gathered on the road ahead. They started clapping.
Ellen felt flustered. After having such a rocky entrance to the fortress, she never expected to have a crowd this size give her and her friends a round of applause. While they'd yet to be officially accepted into the Fortress Brigade, there was time for that later. For now, she enjoyed the praise.
Chapter 10
Eventually the crowd dispersed, and Ellen went with her friends to the training hall.
Kilroy was giddy and ecstatic when they arrived. "I'm so proud of you four!" he said. "I've had teams kill their practice monster in a heartbeat, but a full blown wild monster? One that's two stories tall? I've never had such a team on my hands before!"
"Ellen did all the hard work," Ludendi said. "We were dead weight for most of the fight."
"You'd be burying us right now if it wasn't for her," Barry agreed.
"And you'd be rebuilding a large part of the fortress," Trevor said.
Ellen enjoyed their praise, but they deserved credit as well. "There's no way I could've killed it with just my knife," she said earnestly. "I needed all of you."
"The world is dangerous," Kilroy said. "We all need each other to survive. Don't forget that." He spun around and hurried off towards his office. "I just have one little bit of paperwork I need each of you to sign, and then you'll officially be a part of the Fortress Brigade."
Once Kilroy was out of sight, Trevor asked, "Are all the monsters out in the wilderness going to be as large as that one?" He quickly added, "I'm not afraid, I'm just... curious."
"There are a lot of monsters that size," Ellen said, "and some are even bigger."
Trevor didn't look particularly thrilled by her answer.
"Our first mission is just a practice mission," Ludendi said. "We're not supposed to run into any monsters, but..."
"But we can't even get outside the fortress without being attacked," Barry said. "What do you think is going to happen when we're out in the wilderness?"
Their confidence was fleeting. "We beat that monster without getting hurt," Ellen said, hoping to cheer them up. "The next one we fight will be even easier now that we have experience."
Maybe she shouldn't have mentioned that there'd be a next one, because now her friends looked even more nervous.
Kilroy returned with four paper contracts, four feather pens and a vial of ink. "Make sure you read these over completely before you sign your names. This is your last chance to back out without a penalty."
Ellen accepted the contract Kilroy handed her. One glance told her she was in trouble. She'd never seen so many strange, undecipherable runes in one place before. A dotted line sat at the very bottom for her name, or so she guessed. How it was going to get there was a mystery.
Her friends all seemed to know exactly what the runes said; Barry was already signing his contract and Ludendi and Trevor were getting their pens ready.
She buried her face in her contract, hoping nobody would notice her plight. She wished she was back outside battling a monster. At least then she'd have a chance to fight back.
Barry joined her side. "Need a hand?" he offered. He pried the contract from her grasp, then pointed to the first paragraph. "First, you have to accept that if you're injured or killed while out on a mission, nobody in the fortress can be held responsible." He pointed to th
e next paragraph. "You also have to agree to complete at least one mission before you retire. If you don't, you can't rejoin the Fortress Brigade, you can't join the Fortress Guard, and you can't ever hold an administrative position." He smiled. "So basically it's saying we have nothing to worry about as long as you're our team leader." He handed the contract back.
He was a lifesaver, and Ellen was glad to have him around.
She raised her pen to the dotted line and froze. "Um..."
Barry snickered and started pointing to runes for her to copy.
Her scribbles looked very little like their source, but seeing her name written for the first time filled her with a strangely satisfying feeling.
"Well..." Barry looked away, seemingly embarrassed for her, but Ellen was too enthralled by the sight of her name to care. "It was a good try. I'm sure you'll do better next time."
Kilroy collected their contracts. "You're all done here! The only time you'll have to visit this training hall is when you're about to start a new mission, or when you're handing in your supplies." He waved them away. "Try to enjoy the rest of the day. Starting tomorrow, you're going to be sleeping out in the freezing cold wilderness."
Barry, Trevor and Ludendi gave a cheer then darted outside.
Ellen followed. She briefly glanced back at Kilroy to see him wiping something that might've been tears from his eyes, then hurried outside.
"What should we do now?" Ludendi asked. "Let's... let's not go outside the fortress. We'll have plenty of time for that tomorrow."
"We're pretty much heroes," Barry said. "Let's just take a walk and see how many people recognize us."
All the praise they'd received earlier just about overwhelmed her senses, so Ellen stuck to the back of the group. It didn't help. People all over the fortress recognized them and went out of their way to thank them. Too many to count made a beeline right for her. They had all sorts of questions about her shield and how she learned to summon it, none of which she could answer, not having any idea herself.
They crossed paths with Brendon after a while. "So the four of you finally joined the Fortress Brigade. When's your first mission?"
He sounded more worried than impressed. "We're leaving tomorrow morning," Ellen said cautiously.
"I'm sure you'll do your best," Brendon said. "Just don't let this one victory go to your heads. There's no telling what else is going to slip through the holes in our defense."
He walked away.
"I had a feeling these attacks weren't just random events," Trevor said. "A team outside the fortress didn't do their job, and monsters slipped passed them."
"That does make sense," Ludendi said. "But why weren't they doing their job? Did something happen to them?"
Ellen had a guess: the team wasn't alive to do their job. There might be several teams that weren't alive anymore, but that wasn't a topic she liked to dwell on, not when today was going to be their last day in the fortress for several days. "We should get something to eat," she intervened.
Nobody disagreed, so she led them to the monster meat vendor. The smell of cooked meat lingered in the air around him.
"You're still just a skinny twig!" he greeted her. "Have you actually been eating all the food I sell you?" He glanced at Barry, then turned to Ellen and whispered, "Is he taking it from you? I'll beat him up if he is."
Ellen couldn't help but smile. "No, I've been eating it."
"Well good!" The man pulled several skewers out from below his grill and started piling strangely familiar green bits of cooked meat onto them. "You eat for free today. This batch came from the beast you killed earlier. It wouldn't be fair if I charged you for it."
He handed one skewer to Ludendi, Barry and Trevor, and two to Ellen.
"I guess it's pretty fitting that we kill them then eat them," Barry said. He tore a piece of meat from his skewer and swallowed. His eyes opened wide. "It tastes good!"
Trevor looked at his skewer and shook his head. "I can't do it. I don't see food, I just see that giant monster bleeding everywhere again."
"It's your loss," Ludendi said, snatching the skewer from his hand.
Ellen tore into her meat right away. It was just as good as always. In her head she could still picture the bloody red pool the monster had left behind, but it didn't hinder her in the least.
Her friends started arguing while she ate. Barry wanted to stop by the tavern again, and Ludendi and Trevor had nothing but ill remarks for him.
"Let's try it," Ellen said, and Barry smiled.
The same middle-aged woman who sent them away every other time they visited the tavern was watching over the front counter when they arrived, but now she had a smile on her face. "I heard about your stunt earlier," she said. "Since today's a special occasion, I'll let you kids sit at a real booth this time. Just watch those weapons. I usually don't let anyone in here armed."
She picked a booth in the corner of the tavern. Ellen sat down beside Barry, who looked more ecstatic than she'd ever seen him before. It was no wonder. This was one of the few times since they'd met that something had worked out for him.
Trevor and Ludendi sat down across from her.
"Just sit tight and I'll bring you something to drink," the woman said. "It's going to be water, so don't get too excited."
"We're making progress," Barry said with a grin.
"I'm surprised," Ludendi said. "I thought you were wasting our time again, but I guess you were right for once."
"I know what I'm talking about... sometimes."
"There's a first time for everything," Trevor said. "And I'm sure there's a last time as well."
The woman returned after a minute carrying a tray with eights mugs on top. "I tried to spice it up a bit, but like I said, it's just water."
She handed a mug to Barry first, then Trevor and Ludendi.
An old man sitting across the tavern slipped off his seat and hit the ground with a thud. He didn't get back up.
"That can't be good," the woman said tensely. She fumbled a fourth mug from her tray, thrust it into Ellen's hands then took off across the tavern. "Enjoy."
The liquid inside the mug was a dark orange color she'd never seen before. Ellen sipped it cautiously.
A miserably bitter taste washed over her. Her whole body quivered. "This... tastes strange."
Her friends tried their drinks.
"I don't think I've had this flavor before," Trevor said. "It's... odd."
"It's definitely new," Ludendi said. "I'm not sure I like it."
Barry finished his drink then slammed his empty mug down on the table. "So what do you think will happen tomorrow? Are we going to become even bigger heroes, or will this be the last night anyone sees us alive?"
He had a dozen different ideas of his own, and Trevor and Ludendi had even more. Sometimes they found a monster too strong for anyone to fight, and it destroyed the whole fortress, while other times they returned home and took over as leaders of the fortress, which led to an argument over who'd get to sit in the throne.
"Let Ellen have the throne," Barry said after a while. "She's our team leader, after all. The three of us will be her advisors."
"T-thanks," Ellen said. She hadn't the faintest idea which throne he was talking about, but it was kind of him to offer her one.
She took a sip from her mug. Her drink never stopped tasting bitter, but it did bring her a sense of warmth and comfort she had never imagined a simple mug of water could deliver.
"We haven't heard your ideas yet," Ludendi said. "What do you think will happen tomorrow?"
Ellen took another sip then answered "I, oh, um... m-monsters-"
She stopped. Those weren't the words she wanted to say. What was happening to her?
She only then noticed their table was swaying back and forth. Her eyes shot open. The walls were moving as well. Something big was heading towards them. "I think we're under attack."
Her friends glanced around the tavern.
"No, I don't think we are," Lud
endi said cautiously. "Are you feeling alright?"
"It's probably all that monster meat she ate," Trevor said. "That thing was a green ball of pus that bled everywhere. How can you eat something like that without getting sick?"
Ellen slumped onto her side and burst into laughter. There was nothing funny about Trevor's comment, it was more disgusting than anything, but she couldn't contain herself.
"It was definitely tainted meat," Trevor concluded.
"We should bring her back to our room and let her rest," Ludendi said.
Rest sounded good. Ellen tried to push herself up, but she only made it a few inches before her hand slipped and she fell back onto the bench. Then she laughed. She could dodge a monstrous staff a dozen times over, but sitting upright was too much of a challenge.
Her friends helped her to her feet, then she latched onto Barry's arm for support. She didn't have a choice. The whole world was spinning now. How the three of them moved so easily with the ground constantly shifting beneath their feet she couldn't imagine.
The ground outside the tavern wasn't any better. "This is a really strange place," she muttered. "How come it's doing this?"
None of her friends answered. They were probably too distracted by all the spinning and twirling going on around them. At least Barry didn't seem to mind having her cling to him.
He was leading her to her room, she hoped as he dragged her across the fortress, but then he stopped near the courtyard. A look of shock spread across his face.
Was it a monster? The area seemed too calm, but Ellen started reaching for her knife anyway.
A sight on the road ahead made her pause. A small brigade of soldiers was marching towards them. Brendon and Lindsey were near the front, walking beside a man with armor so thick she was surprised he could move.
"That's Galvin!" Ludendi said.
"He's probably here to thank us for earlier," Barry said with a grin.
"I'm sure they're just passing by," Trevor said.
Ellen squinted at the group. They were spinning too much for her to get a clear view, but she did see Galvin, a man whose name she'd heard spoken a hundred times in the last week alone. She couldn't take her eyes off his bright orange beard. "He looks like a clown," she said. "Even my hair isn't that strange."
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