THE KEEPERS RISE

Chapter 15 - Black Sheep - Part 2

*Remember to click the play button to listen to the soundtrack as you read!*

Ozul had gone very still. Standing in place wasn't exactly unusual for him, but his normally swishing tail had completely frozen. "Ozul," Ivy quavered, "is everything-"

"We didn't even try to fight back," he said bitterly.

Velda replied, "Of course we did! Without Will'ym's rift and Titus and Lenora's fire, we never would have made it onto the ship. Not to mention how Pecci stunned all of those officers! I had no idea she could do that."

"That's not what I mean. We all have the training in our specialties to be tough opponents individually, but together, we look to each other too much." His tail started to move again, rather rhythmically. "Don't get me wrong, we should be working as a team, but we shouldn't be waiting for strokes of luck like what Pecci and Will'ym did. You could have let us know that you knew how to teleport, by the way," he told Will'ym over his shoulder.

"It's called riftwalking," Will'ym returned, crossing his arms. When Ozul continued to give him an expectant look, he begrudgingly added, "I'm sorry."

"We need to communicate more," the feluna ranted. "We can use telepathy, for crying out loud! If Will'ym had told us what he was going to do, we could have all attacked in sync and gotten away together."

Ozul resumed staring out the bridge window, and Ivy looked to Will'ym and Velda with wide eyes. A few seconds passed, and then the Border's ghostly sheet rammed through the ship in a fraction of a second. Though most of the bridge was still in shadow, the Gray starlight lent color to the walls and screens again, and the air gained its familiar faded appearance.

In the newly colorful silence, Will'ym said, "You're right. There were a lot of better ways to handle that situation. We're not used to communicating as a team yet, but there's only one way to change that." The tarrephaene gestured for Ivy and Ozul to join him and Velda farther back in the bridge. "Though I'm sure Dameon will be sending help soon, it would be wise to learn how to use this ship's weapons and controls in preparation for when we catch up to the Red Wolves. Does anyone else besides me have piloting experience?"

Ivy was about to say something when Ozul piped up. "I learned a little about how to build ships from one of my more eccentric tutors, if that helps." He smiled fondly at the memory.

"That's good enough for me." Will'ym looked over the team. "Ozul, you stay with me. We can learn to maneuver this thing. Velda, Ivy, check the ship for any sort of weapons systems, manual or otherwise. You're also welcome to explore, but defense and offense should be our main priorities." They all nodded and went their separate ways. Ivy took out her own key card, and she and Velda headed into the dark hall, using their stones to light the way.

Velda had gotten used to Will'ym's extreme height, but Ivy's was nothing to scoff at either. She was certainly taller than the tallest of most other humanoid species. Velda was surprised that she'd never been close enough to the elf to get a good sense of how different she was. "I never expected Ozul to be so vocal," Ivy told her once they left.

"Why is that?"

"He seemed very casual and optimistic when we first met. That's changed."

Velda smiled wryly. "We're all changing. I think it suits him."

"Maybe."

Velda became transfixed by the variety of painted creature engravings on the doors and along the halls. They had passed the hydra, unicorns, and dragons, and now smaller groups of doors were marked with different creatures, many of which neither of them recognized. Ivy stopped as the familiar designs became more distant. "The dragons and unicorns marked living quarters, if I remember correctly," Ivy said. "Perhaps these rooms have other uses." She cautiously walked to the closest one, which had a strange black creature with wings, claws, and paws emblazoned on it, and used her key card to open it.

The room appeared to be empty. Velda peered inside and searched the walls for any sort of distinguishing feature, but there was nothing but cold metal. The space provoked unwanted memories. Cha, can you check this out first?

As you wish. The vaya emerged and floated warily into the room, stopping before a long shelf at the back wall. On it was a variety of swords and shields, but more noticeable were the bows. Though Velda had some experience with simple archery from her training on Khar'tohan, this was her first time seeing bows in such a formal setting.

She curiously walked across the room to the shelf and picked up one of the bows. It was clearly expertly constructed, with a strong, balanced grip and ornately carved points. The wood was a light brown, and though it had hints of blue, it seemed remarkably normal. As unreasonable as she knew it was, Velda had expected Dark Continuum weapons to be simple, angular, and black, or at least darkly colored. The Dark obviously had an eye for color and craftsmanship.

Ivy examined the shelf from a distance with a skilled eye. "Kathumi are known to use bows, but I never realized their skill in crafting them. Those are incredible. Mine hardly compares."

"You're an archer?" Velda immediately realized that this was a silly question, since she'd seen Ivy's prowess with a bow before.

"I prefer bows since hunting is so prevalent on my planet." Ivy stepped forward and took a bow out of the orange stone around her neck, comparing it with the one Velda was holding. Then, curiosity dancing across her features, she leaned her bow against the wall and took the Dark one from her friend. She bent one end of the wood slightly between her hands, then experimentally pulled the string back, stunning Velda with her flexibility and reach.

Handing it back to Velda, she said, "This bow looks to be made for battle. It's powerful and probably nearly unbreakable." She glanced back at the shelf and picked up another much smaller Dark bow. It had red marks on the wood to remind the wielder where their hand and the arrow went. "This is a child's bow. How wonderful that they teach their children archery so early."

"But why are all of these weapons sitting in this empty room?" Velda pondered.

Cha's voice from behind them was startling. "It is a practice room."

Velda turned and saw the vaya floating above a mark on the ground: a straight white line. She gasped, "It's just like the training area on the Stargazer!"

"Why would it not be?" the vaya said. "The Dark has weapons just like everyone else. They must train with them as well."

Velda and Ivy checked the practice room for anything else of note, and finding nothing, they moved on. As they continued towards the back of the ship, where they tacitly assumed any weapons would be housed, they looked through a few more differently labeled rooms in the hallway block. From disorderly offices to equally chaotic living spaces, they all proved useless. The two Keepers finally reached an intersection and were about to continue straight when a low moan echoed through the left passage.