DTK 30.2

“I thought you were staying on the cliff!” I shouted as I threw myself out of the water and scrambled towards Gerald.

“Oh — oh shit!” He said, uncharacteristically stepping forward and summoning his shield. “I said no baiting giant monsters at me!”

He was shouting, but the monster was stuck on the other side of the river. I recalled the needles again, stuffing them into my belt.

“Run, idiot!” Sandy yelled as she appeared on the other side of the river again, this time going for a leg. The monster stumbled down again as she cut at its leg, our stacked wounds growing deeper.

Then the monster shifted. It was subtle, but the entire floor shifted. More illusions of it appeared, all roaring simultaneously. I blinked, and the first monster was gone.

“Oh fuck.” Sandy said. Then she ran, jumping over another river. The rivers around the monster, an arena delineating a line he couldn’t cross, all glowed at once.

“Gerald!”I said. “Run!”

He recalled his shield and ran with me, jumping over the next river. The copies of the bear spread out. Sandy was no where to be seen, having reactivated stealth and disappeared into the other side of the forest.

“What’s going on?” Gerald asked, looking up over the forest.

“I don’t know! It turned invisible.” I said.

“It made copies of itself!”

“They’re just illusions!” I said. Then I followed up. “I hope. They were just illusions before. But it could’ve switched places with one while invisible. That means we have to treat them like they’re all real…”

I started throwing needles, popping the monsters like balloons and causing them to drift away into smoke. Then they reformed a few seconds later.

Out of paranoia, I threw another needle into one of the freshly reformed bears.

It landed it its chest. The monster roared.

All of the illusions grew the same wound.

“Sandy!” I shouted. “SANDY!”

“Here.” She said, panting.

Water was dripping off of me.

“I’ve got a needle in the real one’s chest.” I said.

Then, as if to spite me, the same needle slowly grew out of each of the illusions.

“Nope.” Sandy said. “We need a new plan.”

“Gerald.” I said. “Run.”

We ran.

Half way back, I almost tripped on my lost sewing needle, leaning down to scoop it up and then running to catch up. The bears spread out around us, a wall of semi corporeal monster flesh chasing us to the boundary of the forest.

Sandy threw herself at the rope, climbing.

Gerald dug his fingers into the cliff and climbed at her side. The sight made me stop for just a breath before I grabbed the rope and climbed myself.

The monster roared angrily below us, still a few circles away but catching up. The illusions of it spread out to light up the rivers around us, a wall closing us in. If we were still stuck down there, we would have to guess which one was real and try to avoid it, or risk being pinned in a wall.

Sandy pulled the rope up while I recalled the thrown needle. The monster roared as it flew out of its chest.

Then Sandy laid on the ground, staring down.

“Aw fuck. How low do you think we got it?”

“Dunno.”

“It’s about half.” Gerald said. “Another 50 hp or so.”

“Wait, you can see that?” Sandy asked.

“Yeah.” Gerald said. “Can’t you?”

“No!” She replied. “I thought you were too afraid of monsters to come down.”

“Well…” Gerald said. “I was leaning over and I fell. Then I heard the fight start and ran to you.”

“You… fell?” I asked, leaning over the edge of the cliff. Sure enough, there was an impression of Gerald’s shiloutte stamped into the ground. I turned to him. “Are you okay? Are both of you guys okay?”

“Huh? Oh yeah, I’m fine. Physically. I’ll never be able to look at a bear the same again, though.” Gerald said, staring down below.

“How did you fall?” Sandy asked.

“I was worried!” Gerald said.

I sighed. 

“Maybe it’ll be easier tomorrow. We have to see what your dad has planned.”

Sandy grunted an affirmative.

“Got anything to dispel invisibility?” Sandy asked Gerald.

He shook his head.

“Don’t have the metal for anything.”

“We will after tomorrow.” I replied. “Let’s go.”

“Gwen?” Gerald asked.

“Yeah?”

“Can I crash in your workshop?”

I blinked at that. I supposed it made enough sense if he was trying to avoid his parents.

“We don’t have a bed in it.”

“That’s fine.” He said.

I turned to Sandy who just shrugged at me. Then we snuck out of the dungeon. Going from the nearly night-time light of the third floor to the now mid-day sun of the second stung my eyes, only to dip back in the dark.

“Does it always take you this long?” Gerald asked. “You might get stuck like this.”

“Got stuck before.” I said with a shrug. We split up with Sandy at the exit to the dungeon and looped around the town to the workshop.

Then we paused outside.

The light was still on.

“Wait here.” I said. “I’ll go check whose in there.”

I crept up to the door, pushing it open slowly. My mom’s eyes jumped to me instantly.

“Gwen!” She said.

She was sitting at a table. More of the furniture had been pulled from the wall, some of it now in various states of repair. Tea steamed infront of her.

Behind her, a mannequin was covered in a finished miners outfit.

She followed my gaze to it, then smiled.

“That’s for Gerald.” She said nonchalantly before returning to stitching something else together.

“Oh yeah, speaking of, uh,” I started.

“You called?” Gerald asked. Mom’s eyes widened a little. I resisted the urge to slap my own face.

“I didn’t.” I said.

“Oh.” He replied, staring awkwardly.

“He was wondering if he could sleep here in the workshop for a… night or two?” I asked.

Mom smiled.

“Sure, dear. I’ll get you a blanket… though we don’t have a soft pillow to spare.

Gerald slunk into a chair near the mining outfit before reaching out and touching it. He smiled madly at it.

After staying to chat for a bit, I left them behind in the workshop, heading to bed. We had a busy day tomorrow.

The breakfast conversation was awkward.

“Pass the salt.” Marieth said.

Terry nodded, sliding it over. Her eyes glanced at Gerald and away from them.

I eyed the meat of this morning with suspicion. It was definitely some kind of monster meat — a lesser gift from Henri that had been saved for a few days.

“So.” Marieth said. “When are you going to the Academy?”

“Mari!” Mom said, pushing her shoulder, but all three of them stared down Gerald like hawks.

Gerald choked on his food, stopping for a second to clear his throat.

“I’m… not.” He said. The table erupted, each of them asking a different question simultaneously. Gerald flinched back, an armored gauntlet appearing on his hand for a second before he dismissed it. That reflex was going to get him in trouble.

The conversation went quiet at it.

“Excuse me.” He said, stepping back from the chair and walking out of the house.

Marieth ever so slowly grabbed his plate and scraped it onto her own before continuing to eat as if nothing happened.

“Is he not coming back?” Terry asked.

I shook my head no, feeling my face flushed.

Then I continued eating breakfast. I needed the energy for later.

“How long ‘til Valjean finds out?” Marieth asked.

“Oh, next time he’s here, maybe days, maybe weeks.” Terry replied.

“I’ll run a bet on it.”

“Mari!” Mom admonished her.

“Do you think he’d pose for a potrait?” Terry asked.

I shrugged noncommittally and dumped my plate.

“Ask him for me!” Terry said.

“Tell him to bring a pillow if he is going to sleep in the workshop tonight.” Mom said.

“And to take a bath.” Mari joined in.

I ran out of the house and into the workshop, finding the hunter suit mannequin already empty. Where was Gerald?

Probably at Sandy’s if he wasn’t at his house. With a sigh, I started heading that way.

Today we had some more rocks to mine.