Chapter 20: Veil of Blackness

The Girls of Ohmer Chapter 20: Veil of Blackness

Scott led the party of adventurers along a narrow path that led up a gentle incline to the ridge line of of a large mountain range.  The path was lit by dapples of sunlight that fell through the foliage above them. It was a beautiful morning for a hike with a slight breeze that rustled the leaves around them.

The group had been following this path for two days since exiting the cave that concealed the crystal castle. The ascent was gradual and they made good time, despite the many stops to encourage Vay to continue on. After the first day it became apparent that Vay just wasn't in a walking mood. Hilario hefted her up on his shoulders and she rode contently. Actually she was delighted to be eye to eye with Scott and nearly so with Tom who was the tallest of all.

When Bear Dog became fatigued she changed onto bear form and trundled along at a tireless pace, even giving Erika a ride from time to time. Erika tended to prefer walking, rather than suffering the jostling ride on the bear for too long.

"We're almost there." Scott announced. " Just another couple of hours and we'll crest the ridge. After that we have s steep ascent to the ninth gate, bit that shouldn't be more than a few minutes trek."

"Speak for yourself," Tom said "my poor feet are killing me!"

"My feet are fine Tom!" Hilario added. "I could walk all day."

Tom grimaced at his enthusiastic friend. " we'll then maybe you'll set that girl down and carry me the rest of the way!"

"Ok Tom! Whatever you want. Would you like to borrow a little dress from Vay as well?"

The girls giggled at the thought of the gangly old man wearing a dress and  riding on Hilarios shoulders. The laughter was infectious and pretty soon Tom was laughing as well.

The bear followed along behind too preoccupied to appreciate the humor. She was sniffing left and right, marveling at the complexity of scents that rode on the breeze. She smelled leaves and dirt and the normal woodsy smells, but also things that she had never really noticed before. Only now they were very easy to differentiate. She smelled berries from a quarter mile down slope, a rabbit was somewhere among them. She smelled honey in a hive, an old campfire, some sparrows and a mouse. Not only could she smell each distinctly, she could pick up nuances as well. For instance she knew that the mouse had eaten some corn recently, not fresh corn but corn that had been dried for storage.

Having been a dog for more than a week had given Bear Dog a new appreciation for her gift. In the past she had spent most of her time in human form, changing into animal form for minutes or hours at a time, but never staying that way for even a day.

After a straight week as a dog, she learned a lot about her capabilities, about the way the world was perceived with a different brain. She learned the benefit of a different perspective, not only visual perspective but mental as well. Furthermore, she learned that the experience of form lingers. Having been a dog for an extended period of time had served to embed some of the characteristics of a canine so that they lingered after she changed back to being a girl. She found that her sense of smell retained it's sharpness. Also her night vision was vastly improved along with her night vision. She felt a calm confidence intermixed with a greater need to be part of the group, to contribute and be accepted. All of these things were known to her alone.

 From an outsiders point of view she was not much different accept that her left eye retained the blue splotch that marked the dog, and she was much more helpful around the camp. This last change was greatly appreciated by Erika who for the first time had some reprieve from constantly keeping watch over Vay.

For her part, Vay was doing very well for a five year old girl on a dangerous adventure. Sometimes she cried because she missed her mommy and Nina, but mostly she took things in stride. It helped that she was actually going along, doing her little part, rather than being left behind with a babysitter. Tom was even helping her to refine her talent. The first night they camped on the approach to the trail He had pulled Vay aside and instructed her about her hurricane scream.

To her it seemed like a sing song game, but that's just because Tom knew how to teach effectively. By the end of the "game" Tom had taught Vay the secret of modulating the frequency of her scream. Using a song about low low lows and high high highs, he encouraged her to change the pitch of her scream. At the highest tones it became inaudible, a focused beam that could burn a hole through a tree. At lower tones it also became inaudible but caused a sort of molecular breakdown shaking the tree to splinters.

Vay had difficulty holding these extreme tones but Tom assured her that with practice she could hold them for a long while. He also warned her that she could do terrible things if she were not very careful in how she used her power.

Hilario asked Tom if he thought it was wise to teach such deadly skills to a little girl. "She would have figured it out in time," Tom replied "It's best that she have a guiding hand instead of blundering into it. Besides that little one saved all of us back at the menagerie, she can be quite useful."

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Emelia hid under a veil of blackness. Despite her new found power, she could find no escape from this fortress. She had found the one and only exit but it was guarded by a veil that had tried to consume her when she attempted to pass.