Scouring Majula

by Matthew Satterlee

  Once inside, she dug out a sleeping bag and went straight to sleep.

  Her breakfast bread was small and stale. Her stomach recoiled at the mere sight of it, but Ellen forced it down.

  "If you're upset now," Brendon said with a chuckle, "you're going to be in tears tomorrow. We have just enough food for dinner, and then we're out."

  Once everyone was outside and ready, she took the lead again. Another long, seemingly endless stretch of road lay ahead.

  The others followed her closer than ever. Was their fear giving them strength, or was her exhaustion causing her to slow down? Regardless, she picked up her pace.

  At least the monster that had been stalking them before seemed to be giving them a break. It would eventually show its face and at the worst possible time, but hopefully it would keep its distance until they found supplies.

  Her stomach started growling around midday, but while Brendon was willing to give her a brief break to sit down, he kept his backpack sealed up tight.

  "We're going to look around again," L.L. said. "I don't expect we'll find much, but anything is better than what we have now."

  "Go ahead," Brendon said, waving them off. He set his backpack aside and sat down on the pristine road. "Just don't stay gone for too long. I might not be able to get back up."

  L.L. set off into the forest. Sycamore, Tear and Alice followed.

  For a moment Ellen considered going with them, but then she eyed Brendon. He was red in the face and breathing hard. If a monster showed up and attacked, things were not going to end well for him.

  "Don't look at me like that," Brendon said. "I might keel over before the rest of you, but you're not going to last much longer if something doesn't change soon."

  "Sorry," Ellen said.

  She felt bad for him. The search for her friends had yet to start. There was a long road ahead, and Brendon was not getting any younger.

  "I'll stick around long enough to get you back with your little friends, but there's no telling what kind of shape I'll be in after that." Brendon glanced towards the forest. "You can go search with them, if you'd like. I'm not going anywhere. And I'm sure if they find something, it'll be eaten long before it gets back here."

  "This isn't the first time I've been lost in a forest with no food," Ellen said. "I'll survive." Of course, her stomach had something inside it right now. There was no telling what sort of shape she'd be in tomorrow or the day after.

  "When was the first time?" Brendon asked. "Was it that mission I sent you out on?" Ellen nodded. "Sorry."

  It was true that he had given her and her friends the mission that had brought them to the Primeval Forest, back when she was still in the Fortress Brigade, but he was not the reason they'd ended up separated.

  She quivered. If nothing else, at least this dimension had been kind enough to not throw any colossal monsters at her. Not yet, anyway.

  "Everyone's on their way back now," Brendon said, sounding energized again. "It looks like they found a few scraps."

  Ellen glanced into the forest. Not only were the others still heading away from her, none of them were carrying anything but their weapons. "Um..."

  Brendon shook his head. "Maybe I was... Never mind."

  She'd never seen Brendon looked so frightened before. "Do you feel alright?" Ellen asked.

  "It was probably another vision," Brendon mumbled.

  Was the sickness that had taken the two men going after Brendon now? The thought made her uneasy. "Another vision?" Ellen asked. "How many have you had?"

  "I've been seeing people and... other things out of the corner of my eye ever since we came here." Brendon heaved himself up. "I can usually tell when they're fake, but some of the recent ones have been so potent-" He shook his head, then chuckled. "At least if this sickness of yours is real, your village might be real as well."

  How he could still laugh despite the hallucinations haunting him Ellen couldn't fathom. "Maybe we should leave this place," she said. Alice wouldn't like that plan, but they could easily return once they resupplied.

  "It might come to that," Brendon said quietly. "I don't know if this sickness is a permanent thing or if it'll fade away once we leave, but we're going to have a hard time rescuing anyone when we need to be rescued ourselves."

  "Those two men I met said they were leaving the dimension," Ellen said. "It sounds it'll fade away if we-"

  She quieted down. The others were on their way back, and Brendon probably didn't want them to know about his hallucinations.

  L.L. emerged from the forest first, then came Sycamore, Tear and Alice. Their empty hands said everything.

  "Let's get going," Brendon said. He grabbed his backpack and threw it onto his shoulders. "We're going to find this village or drop dead trying."

  Ellen continued leading the way forward. She moved faster than ever. Not only did they need to find a source of food soon, but there was no telling how much time they had before Brendon's sickness spread to all of them.

  It wasn't long before her feet started to ache again, but there was no time to worry about them now. There was no time for anything.

  Nighttime soon set in and there were still no signs of a village anywhere. The only trace of civilization consisted of yet another abandoned watchtower.

  Ellen made her way inside, grabbed a sleeping bag and lay down. Tear immediately fell in beside her.

  "I'm not sure how much longer I can go on," Tear said quietly. "I thought you said this village was close."

  "Those men told me it was close," Ellen said, "but I-"

  Her stomach interrupted her with a painful growl. Once it settled down, she closed her eyes and slept.

  The sky was still orange when she left the watchtower. Her body was tired and aching all over, but she still had the energy to continue the trek down the pristine road, at least for a little bit longer.

  The others followed right behind her. They didn't speak a word all morning. They were probably keeping their eyes peeled for food, or maybe they didn't want to think about just how dire their circumstances really were.

  Midday passed by without incident, then when the afternoon was just about over, Ellen spotted something odd in the distance ahead.

  A tree without branches stuck out of the middle of the pristine road. A wooden sign hung from the side.

  Ellen ran forward and studied the sign. Several words she didn't recognize had been painted on to it, as well as an arrow that pointed forward and a few small houses.

  Were they finally nearing their destination, or had Brendon's sickness spread to her? "I hope this is real," she mumbled.

  Tear pushed her out of the way and examined the sign. "It says Village of Majula," she said. "We found it!"

  She bolted forward. The others followed.

  Ellen ran after them. She didn't have the strength to keep up much less take the lead, but it didn't matter. Not only had they crossed what had to be a significant chunk of the dimension without any significant issues, they'd also found, for the first time since she'd left the Monad Fortress, another piece of civilization.

  Chapter 8

  Ellen soon ended up in the lead again. Despite their excitement earlier, none of the others had the energy to maintain a sprint.

  Already she could see wooden roofs rising above the trees in the distance ahead. They looked intact, as if they not only had people maintaining them but living beneath them as well. Several chimneys were belching smoke. Since it was too early for the fire and brimstone to have caught up to her, that had to mean there was people living in those houses and maintaining pleasant house fires or possibly even workshops and industry.

  "Do you think they'll welcome us in?" L.L. asked. "We were generally welcoming to anyone who visited the Monad Fortress, but I can't say I'm familiar with how the rest of the world operates."

  "They might be bandits, thieves or slavers," Sycamore said, suddenly sounding very worried. "I've heard people like that exist."

  "If someone wants these swe
aty rags of mine," Brendon said, "they don't have to steal them. I'll hand them over."

  They had more doubts and speculation, but Ellen tuned it all out. All she cared about right now was finding something to calm her angry stomach.

  The forest of pink leaves soon gave way to the Village of Majula. Ellen paused in the entrance and looked around. It was no Monad Fortress, but after being surrounded by pink trees for what felt like months, it was a pleasant change of pace.

  The pristine road let straight through the village, interrupted only by the occasional well. It was surrounded on both sides by tight clusters of wooden homes and other buildings, at least three hundred, and the occasional field of crops. Dozens upon dozens of people were present. Most were roaming the pristine road or the dirt paths leading from it. Others tended to the crops or simply lingered. Nobody was armed, and each person looked healthy and well-fed.

  "So they're not going to attack us or even rob us," Sycamore said, "but are they going to at least acknowledge us? We are new here. I don't think it's asking too much that they give us a welcome to our village or even a hello."

  "It is odd," L.L. said, "but we don't exactly stand out. They probably think we live here."

  Ellen eyed her. She was the only person in the village wearing a cowl, or a uniform. Had she had it on so long that she'd forgotten it existed? And her crimson swords were impossible to miss.

  Brendon chuckled. "I think we stand out plenty." He gave the village a quick scan. "Well, they seem harmless. Let's see if we can find their leader."

  "I'm going to look for Amadeo," Alice said, then she took off into the village.

  "Just don't-" Brendon paused. "I guess we can't really tell her not to stay out too late. She should've at least waited until we found some kind of lodging."

  "I'll keep an eye on her," L.L. said. "I doubt she'll leave this village without us."

  Brendon looked weary. "If she does find this friend of hers, I'm not sure she's going to want us around anymore."

  Ellen's felt uneasy. Even if Alice didn't hate her, she no doubt liked her friend much more. Would she abandon their group after she found him?

  She followed Brendon into the village. He stuck to the pristine road. There were villagers heading in both directions, some of whom he scraped shoulders with, but none of them gave him or her or anyone in their group so much as a glance. She managed to pass through half the village without garnering a single acknowledgement.

  "This place is kind of like a ghost town," Tear said quietly, "except we're the ghosts."

  "If we're ghosts do you think they'll notice us swiping some of their food?" Sycamore asked. "Because I could really use something to eat and it doesn't look like we're going to find any food wandering around this."

  "Just hang on for now," Brendon said. "I think I found someone who can help us."

  He gestured to a bearded man lingering beside a well up ahead. He was middle-aged, fit and one of the better dressed villagers. He wore a button up shirt, spotless beige trousers and black shoes so polished they shined.

  Brendon stopped beside the man, who did not seem to realize he existed. After spending a moment lingering in silence, he leaned towards L.L. and quietly asked: "How do I start?"

  Ellen felt bad for him. Just a few weeks ago he'd been the leader of the Monad Fortress's special forces, his strength recognized by everyone, yet nowadays he was just another unimportant drifter like her. It had to have been a painful demotion.

  "Excuse us," L.L. said sharply. The well-dressed man glanced at her.

  "We're new here," Brendon said cautiously. "You look like you might be a leadership figure."

  "Yes, I'm the chief here," the man said with the blandest tone imaginable.

  "We're very low on supplies," L.L. said. "Do you have any food or water you can spare us? We'll find a way to compensate you."

  "Yes, we have those things." The man faced forward.

  Brendon and L.L. stood watching him. Neither seemed to know what to say next.

  "He's probably succumbing to his sickness," Ellen said, remembering the two men she'd run into a few days ago. Both had ignored her at first, believing she was an apparition. "Everyone here looks like-"

  "There is no sickness!" the well-dressed man blurted out.

  There was a startling amount of anger in his voice. Several villagers stopped and looked his way.

  "We need your help," Brendon said, his voice firm now. "Can you spare us some supplies, or are we wasting our time here?"

  "Yes, supplies, of course," the well-dressed man said. "This way."

  He took one step forward, then his eyes went to Ellen and he froze.

  It was not a simple glance. He seemed to be sizing her up, but for what exactly? His expression was flat and impossible to read.

  After a few seconds he looked to Tear and did the same.

  "Are these two yours?" the well-dressed man asked Brendon.

  "We're traveling together," Brendon said cautiously. "We have a third-"

  Alice came running over. She was moving so fast she almost crashed into the well-dressed man. "I think he's here," she said, her voice racing. "They said I should ask the village chief." She glanced up at the well-dressed man. "That's you, isn't it?"

  The chief glanced at Alice, then his gaze jumped back to Ellen. He was no longer sizing her up. Now he looked frightened.

  Brendon chuckled and gave him a hard pat on the back. "It's not your sickness getting to you," he said. "The two of them are-" He cut off, seemingly at a loss for words.

  "They're twins," L.L. intervened.

  "I see." The chief spent another moment eyeing Ellen and Alice, not looking completely convinced.

  "I'm looking for someone," Alice said, then she described Amadeo's physique. Afterwards she drew her golden sword and shield and added: "He has a sword and shield just like these."

  "Yes, I've seen those before," the chief said. "He went north out of the village. Maybe a day ago."

  "We have to go!" Alice said excitedly.

  She tried to take off running, but L.L. grabbed her by her wrist and held her in place. "If you head out there now, you'll collapse from hunger before you find him."

  As if given a signal, Alice's stomach let out a loud growl. "Maybe you're right," she mumbled. "But we need to leave first thing tomorrow," she added, sounding almost pitiful.

  "We can do that," Brendon said, eyeing the chief, "but only if our friend here spares us some supplies and gives us a place to sleep tonight."

  "Yes, of course," the chief said flatly. He set out down the pristine road. "This way."

  Ellen followed, but she kept her distance. The others stayed even further back. She hoped it was the sickness affecting the chief and the other villagers, because there was no other way to explain their strange behavior. Even now, despite having made it very clear she wasn't an apparition, the villagers still acted as if she didn't exist. Their bodies were up and moving but their minds seemed to be asleep. The chief wasn't much different, but he at least had a small spring to his step.

  "I'm glad we're leaving tomorrow," Tear said quietly. "There's something very wrong with all these people. They don't seem human at all. They're more like zombies."

  "Stay alert while we're here," L.L. told her. "That chief had his eyes on you. He might be planning to make you into one of them."

  She spoke loudly, but if the chief or any of the villagers had heard her, they didn't show it.

  But Tear heard her loud and clear. She responded by darting forward and latching onto Ellen from behind. "I don't think I can shoot someone with my bow," she said, her voice shaking. "If someone comes after me, will you stick your knife in them?"

  Ellen winced. She might've threatened to stick her knife into people in the past, but she'd only ever actually stabbed one person, and only because he'd attacked her first. But Tear looked genuinely frightened, so she answered: "Okay."

  The chief turned right onto a dirt road, continued forward a bit, then stoppe
d beside a two-story wooden building with dark windows. "Our visitor center," he said, then he pushed open the front doors. "Bedrooms upstairs. Food in the back. Ask the clerk if you need help."

  Ellen hurried past him. He was warming up, but she still didn't trust him, not after how he'd sized her up earlier.

  The visitor center was spacious. It had two long wooden tables in the center and a staircase off to the side, near the back. A female clerk lay asleep with her head down on the desk in the corner. Lanterns hanging from the walls and the ceiling lit up the interior.

  The others followed her in, then the chief slammed the front doors shut and left without another word.

  The noise caused the clerk to stir, but she stayed asleep.

  "I don't think we need to worry about them coming after us," Brendon said. "I'm more worried they're going to run us over with a wagon, or leave us to starve."

  Sycamore sniffed the air. "I'm not so sure about that," he said, then he bolted towards the side hallway. "I think I smell something good over here."

  He disappeared inside, then returned a moment later carrying a platter full of meat, cheese and fruits.

  He smiled. "The people here are strange, but they sure know how to stockpile food. There's enough back there to last for weeks."

  Ellen ate until her stomach was so full it hurt, then forced down a few more nuggets of meat. This was the first time in weeks she'd been able to eat without worry and there was no telling when she'd have the opportunity to do so again.

  For a moment she almost felt at ease, then Brendon said: "This is monster meat, and it's fresh. You know what that means?"

  There were monsters nearby. Ellen reached behind her back and double checked her knife and buckler. It'd been over a week since she'd needed either; an unfathomably long time to go without battling a monster. Something told her she'd be needing them real soon.