Outside Influences

Bel felt around her growing cores, tracing out the strokes of the abilities that were available. She’d spent that last week fighting, mostly desert eagles, and she had advanced to the fourteenth threshold. There were a lot of interesting options from her gorgon path – options to grow sharp claws of brass, sharpen her vision and glare from a greater distance, send creatures into convulsions with her glare, or to grow hard scales over her body. That last one was out of reach at the moment, because Flann and Jan had forced her to take some “practical” abilities. A couple of them she could appreciate, like the one that improved her bone density and another that helped her maintain her muscles. The others were boring stuff that let her digest food better, digest weird things, and retain most of the water than she consumed.

The mischievous old men had failed to warn her that those abilities would also make relieving herself a less pleasant ordeal, something she found out only after they made a meal out of the roots of a nearly indestructible bush. The experience had almost been enough for her turn around and give up her mad flight back to the Barrier.

That experience aside, she found herself feeling surprisingly free. She still missed her siblings terribly. Especially James. She had never spent this long apart from him before.

Ah, thinking about it makes me feel lonely again. Back to looking at these abilities…

Lempo’s Path only had a single new ability available, one that would shatter things. What things? Rocks? Armor? Bones, still in the body? All of those, probably. Bel’s mother offered some scary stuff. Kjar’s Path had the vision and jumping abilities that she’d previously seen, and also had an expensive ability that would grow blazing claws on her hand.

It’s the kind of thing that James would go crazy about. I bet blazing claws were common on those teevee shows that he liked.

The familiar sensation of a clod of sand smacking her between the shoulder blades broke her out of her reverie.

“Stop daydreamin’ kid! You got a bird to kill!”

Bel’s snakes flipped irreverently in Jan’s direction. “Sure thing old man!”

She laughed at the meerkat’s sputtering indignation and drew her weapons.

Over the last week, Bel had discovered that she didn’t mind traveling. The fighting helped to clear her mind and the old men were surprisingly good company, even if they did just want to get her away from where their grandchildren lived.

The two of them had gone beyond the bare minimum. Jan peppered her with advice on her abilities while sharp-eyed Flann had given her pointers on hiding and ambushing in the desert. She’d gotten ample opportunity to practice and improve her abilities while hunting birds, and, as a bonus, they were delicious when Flann roasted them to perfection.

Bel licked her lips as she tracked the oncoming raptor. She knew its patterns now: it would close at an incredible speed, its legs blurring over the desert before it leaped to to impale her upon its sharp claws. Their attacks were deadly for the unaware, but their consistency was a weakness that Bel had learned to exploit. The young gorgon tensed her muscles as the bird utilized its ability to blur forward. She waited for three beats of her excited heart before she glared.

The eagle wobbled, just a bit, but with its unnatural attack speed it could barely control its flight. Just like the first bird she’d killed, it lifted its wings for balance but one of the gigantic raptors wings dipped too low and touched the sand, sending out a spray of particles. The sudden drag sent the bird pinwheeling over the sand, its legs flailing to regain control of its momentum as it kicked frantically against the loose ground.

Bel didn’t give it a chance – she ran straight for it, weapons at the ready. The eagle managed to get its two feet planted firmly on the ground just before she arrived. She rolled over the hot sand to dodge under a frantic snap of its hooked beak. As she bounced back to her feet she thrust a fist into its neck, making skin contact and creating a soft spot with liquify, which she used to plunge her dagger deep into its neck. The normally stiff, protective feathers practically melted under her touch, and her dagger went in elbow deep. The blade easily reaching the bird’s vitals buried within its neck. The body collapsed with a shudder, and Bel pulled out her arm to quickly clean it on the sand.

“Yer gettin’ pretty comfy with this, girl,” Flann praised.

“So you think I’m ready to take on a spearhead?”

The fox just laughed. Bel had only seen one of the feared flying reptilian creature a single time, but Jan had thickened their sandy cover and insisted that they hunker down by the side of a large sand dune until it went away. Bel was curious about how much stronger it could be than the enormous eagles, but Jan insisted that she just run away if she encountered one.

The grumpy meerkat erected a dome of sand around them, hiding their kill from the desert scavengers.

Bel eyed the eagle’s enormous corpse. “Are you sure I can’t take whatever ability is making it move so fast? I’m still at the fourteenth threshold, and I don’t think this one is going to push me over.”

Flann eyed her skeptically. “You want to bury yourself in a dune? Splatter your brains against the nearest rock?”

“I’ll be careful,” Bel argued, “besides, I’ve got tough skin.”

“I knew some turtles that tried it out,” Jan chimed in.

Bel’s eyes lit up. “Oh really? Could they fly?”

“Yup,” Jan nodded. “They went up… and up…”

The two old men shared a look and finished together. “…and then they came down!”

Bel frowned. “They came down and then what?”

“Smashed themselves to pieces.”

Bel blanched as she pictured the poor turtles. “Oh. I guess I’ll just gather the essence then.”

“Good girl,” Jan praised her.

But I want to fly, she moaned internally. She wasn’t crazy though, and she certainly didn’t have any wings. Maybe one of the weird mutation abilities from Dutcha can solve that for me? Her minor body modifications meant that Bel never had to suffer through a stiff back again, but she was sure that she could do more with a stronger ability.

Bel put her hands against the eagle pulled out its essence.

“I’ve still got lots of space to learn abilities,” Bel said. “I think I’ve mastered my current ones well enough.”

Jan looked at her skeptically. “If you fill up your cores with weird stuff, then you won’t have free mana ta keep yer glare and liquify goin’. Are ya just ignoring all the words o’ wisdom we’ve been tellin’ ya this past week?”

Bel rolled her eyes. “But I have so many options – shouldn’t I take one?”

“Like what?”

“Well…” Bel lifted her fingers and started counting off options. “Brass nails or claws from the gorgon abilities would work well with liquify. Kjar’s constellation has a claw ability too, and I think that those ones are magical fire.”

“Ya just think that sounds impressive, ye don’t even know what it means.”

“Uh, moving on, there are more gorgon things. I could gain the eyes of a huntress to see farther and use glare from a greater distance. Or I could enhance glare so that it also sends things into convulsions!”

“What the point of glaring from far away if ya can’t attack from that far?” Jan challenged. “And why do ya want convulsions?”

Bel grumbled. “There’s also an expensive ability from Lempo that breaks solid things.”

“Any solid things?” Jan asked, eyebrow quirked.

Bel shrugged. “I guess. It’s pretty expensive, so it had better be good, right?”

Jan snorted. “Or it’s just a waste.”

“That sounds nifty though,” Flann chimed in.”

“Don’t join at the end of the conversation,” Jan grumbled.

“What about that one that’ll cover your body in scales? I thought that one sounded good,” Flann continued.

“It was also expensive. Also, I, uh, don’t know if I want to be covered with scales,” Bel admitted.

The fox snorted.

Jan slapped her on the wrist. “Don’t just take abilities that ya think sound nifty and avoid ones that don’t. My advice is, learn ta use what you’ve got really good and wait for some powerhouse abilities. Take a few useful ones, like huntress’ vision, if you want, but leave more mana free.”

Flann summoned a small ball of flames over his hand. “You need lots of free mana to do stuff like this! If you fill up on weird stuff then you’ll end up with only your mundane weapons for fightin.”

Jan poked her in the stomach. “The one thing yer missin’ is a good ranged ability or a way to close quickly. Wait for somethin’ like that.”

Bel gestured at the giant eagle’s corpse. “You mean an ability like what they’ve got?”

Jan tutted at her. “One that doesn’t splatter yer brains all over the ground when ya use it.”

“Speaking of the bird though,” Flann said with a grin. He pointed at some some choice cuts of meat that he’d prepared. Then he ran over and shooed the riding lizards away before they made off with lunch.

“Damn lizards! Eat the scraps!”

Bel laughed. “Isn’t that a bit much?”

Jan nodded. “Bit much for lunch, but we’ll get Flann to dry some out for jerky so you have somethin’ to take with you.”

“Oh.” Bel’s snakes dropped sadly over her shoulders. She’d almost forgotten that this was her last day with the old men.

“Ah, don’t be glum. Just don’t go pickin’ a fight with them arrowheads and you should be fine,” Flann consoled.

Jan waved a finger at her. “And if ya see any cat girls in the valleys you’d best steer clear, you hear?”

“Cat girls, giant lizards, all bad,” she agreed.

“Just follow the Vagari hills and you should make it back to the mountains,” Flann added.

“Got it, just like the last ten times you told me.”

“I just don’t want you to get lost, like a certain old guy we know.”

Jan glared at the two of them.

Bel grinned. I’m going to miss these two.

When they finally came into view, the Vagari foothills broke the monotony of the desert sands. They were a spur coming down from the Spine mountains and extending into the desert, like painter’s brush dragging color onto the dull scenery. The hills and the mountains trapped some moisture, sheltering a fertile area that was hidden from the rest of the Golden Plains. Splotches of green spilled from the folds in the land and teased Bel’s senses, but she’d been warned to steer well clear due to the dangerous wildlife that the region supported.

Jan assured her that if she stayed on the arid side of the Vagari she could still tap the occasional cactus for water as she made her way back to the Spine mountains and the Barrier. From there she could look for another way to cross over – after all, the Dark Ravager’s people must have had another way to cross before they set up their artifacts on both sides of the Barrier.

Bel looked at the unbroken line of undulating ground that lead back to the mountains. The actual Spine was somewhere beyond the horizon, just a vague splotch at her current distance. She slumped as she thought about the lonely walk ahead of her.

“Sorry we can’t come with ya,” Jan apologized. “I’ve still got a great-granddaughter to visit.”

“It’s okay Jan. I appreciate that you’ve taken me this far. Take care of Scruffles for me.”

“Terrible name for a riding lizard,” Flann moaned.

Bel laughed. “Well, you can rename him when I’m not around.”

There was a long, awkward pause before Jan loudly cleared his throat. “Well, g’luck. We feel bad turnin’ you out like this, but we’re not dumb enough to pick a fight with a demigod.”

Flann’s whiskers twitched like he wanted to say something, but in the end he sighed. “Look us up if it’s ever safe,” he said sadly.

Bel smiled. “Will do.”

Flann nodded and then turned his lizard away. A moment later Jan’s sandy cover hid them from her view. She hoped that they hadn’t seen the tears she was furiously rubbing from her face. They hadn’t said it out loud, but it was obvious that Bel was doomed. The only way it would ever be safe for her to be around other people would be if the Dark Ravager was dead, and that kind of thing was definitely beyond her abilities. Bel was grateful that the two old men had stayed with her this far despite the risk.

Jan was a great great grandfather – Bel was going to punch the hell out of Rikja if she ever met the angry fire mage again. Bel grinned at her own bravado and set off, ducking into the low scrub that clung to the sides of the hills to provide cover from aerial hunters.

“Okay Bel, you’ve got this,” she said aloud. It had only been a minute, but already the silence without the old men was stifling.

If she was being honest with herself, the chance of her finding a way to slip back through the Barrier was slimmer than finding a pearl on the beach with her eyes closed. The Dark Ravager’s people will catch me first. Or maybe I’ll be eaten by something. Hopefully I’ll give it indigestion.

She glanced up at the sky and the Blade of Heaven. The gods and goddesses didn’t really live there, but it gave her something to look at.

“Hey, mom, Kjar, Dutcha: if you’re getting tired of watching me wander around out here, I’m not too proud to accept a little hint.”

Bel waited for a moment, but there was no response.

She shook her head vigorously, tossing her snakes around. No reason to be so glum.

Bel put her lips together and tried to whistle, but she only succeeded in making an annoying breathing sound that would drive Beth crazy. James had tried to teach her to whistle for years in Technis’ basement, but she had never figured it out. It wasn’t like she had anything else to do though, so she kept at it.

She stumbled over the uneven ground for hours, practicing her whistling as she went until her lips felt dry and cracked. Then she plucked some spiny fruit that Jan had told her were good for water, chewed on some jerky, wrapped herself in blankets, and went to sleep.

Alone, in the dark, on the side of a small mountain, in the middle of nowhere.