I Built This City Chapter 28: Chapter 28

Read chapter 28 of I Built This City by ThePudding on NovelPedia.

Builder Ellen “Three… two… one… HEAVE!” It was becoming obvious that the various Ellens had started to have diverging ideas on how to live their lives by now. In spite of that, they were all, at their core, the same girl. This was pretty useful in times like this, where they all had to coordinate perfectly. None of the four Ellens below had any hesitation or doubt as to the exact moment they needed to pull the rope. Merchant Ellen may not have known the details, but she had remembered enough about construction to ask for a block and tackle. Ellen was grateful for that, and she’d spent most of the morning setting it up and anchoring it to the wall. Material Sense gave her a great feeling of where to brace the pulley system, and now they were very close to a major milestone. “Okay, one more time,” she called out. “Three… two… one… HEAVE!” The shout prompted the other four Ellens—all except Village Ellen—to pull once more, finally lifting one end of the ridge beam up to the cradle that Ellen had prepared for it. Slowly, with her direction, the heavy wooden support was guided into place, leaving the rest of the beam angled down onto the stone floor below. Ellen brushed away the notifications for the experience she got for leading the team. She was still a long way from hitting Level 9, so paying close attention to the bonuses would be needless anxiety. A quick inspection of where the beam was mounted satisfied her with a nod. “Good work, everyone!” Ellen called out to the others below, getting their attention. “We have a lot more to do, but as soon as this is mounted, the rest will be a lot easier! Take a break for now while I figure out where to put the shear legs for the second half!” Merchant Ellen flopped to the stone floor, braced against the inside of the wall, and let out a long breath. “Whew. I’m glad, because this is a lot of work! Are you sure you can get a roof on this place in time?” Ellen sighed. “Depends on weather, but probably yeah. The ridge beam is the toughest part.” She walked carefully along the top of the stone wall to sit down over the others, feet dangling and tapping heels against the blocks of the wall. “If we can get some nice and straight crossbeams and planks from the mill, that will help. I can carve some of our own, but green wood will warp over the winter.” “How do you know that? Does your skill tell you?” Healer Ellen passed up a cup of water, moving to do the same to everyone who had been lifting. She looked up curiously at Ellen, frowning. “You haven’t gone down to learn from a carpenter have you?” “No,” Ellen confirmed. “Most of this was stuff we heard about when we were young. I think taking the Artisan Class makes it easy to remember relevant things we learned as a child. I guess every Class does that. The rest I’ve kind of figured out for myself using the Perks and Skill Enhancers.” “Interesting idea.” Hunter Ellen didn’t sit, she just leaned against the wall while she sipped her water. Of all the Ellens, she was the most fit now… it had been a few weeks, and she was already leaner and showing more muscle. The slight tan she’d picked up looked odd next to the other Ellens, who were mostly identical and pale. Merchant Ellen looked over at the quiet Hunter , frowning. “That’s a good point though. I don’t remember anyone telling me how to do the thing with the brains when we were younger at all.” She tilted her head up to look at Ellen above her. “Are you sure about this?” Hunter Ellen answered for her. “We weren’t, I had to ask a few questions in town back when I first started.” She tapped her temple. “You don’t remember it because you’re from a different line. Adventurer Ellen never picked up on this before you split off from her to be a moneymancer.” Ellen snorted at the term. “You’ve gotten pretty good at it, Merchant Ellen.” “I practiced through all my early levels, just like you did.” Merchant Ellen stretched out her legs with a sigh. “I kind of like the name though. Moneymancer. I wonder