"A Quest Of Friends"

[Thundertail]

OCC: I had to double post... Sorry!

IC: Bentfeather and company, doctor Forschie’s office.

The exceptionally long walk took much less time to Fountain Square and doctor Forchie’s office than Bentfeather first remembered, obviously from the fact that the guards that accompanied them bade the onlookers to give them a wide berth. As the group stepped inside the reception area, the receiving nurse immediately led them to the rear examination room, where their guards silently greeted their counterparts there and replaced them in the room. The air hung heavy with incense and an underlying odor that reminded Tebo of captain Shamus’s fishing boat back at the harbor as he walked in with his mentor on his shoulder. The doctor was hard at work on a form laying on the table in the center of the room, bespectacled features beetled in scrutiny. Bentfeather squawked, but this did nothing to waver the doctor’s concentration.

“One minute…”, doctor Forschie said absently before rising to face them. “Ah! Sir Bentfeather! So good to see you…”, he looked puzzled. “How did that ointment I gave you work out?”

“Fine, just fine.”, said Bentfeather. “It cured the discomfort of my molting like a charm…”, then he noticed the form on the table. “Is this why I was summoned?…”

“Yes, I’m afraid.”, said the human. “It seems this poor soul has no name… We were hoping you could give him one.”, he went to a sink in the corner of the room to wash his hands.

“Let me take a look…”, Bentfeather said as he prodded Tebo closer by tugging on a sideburn. Obviously Tebo had never seen a dead body before, and his look suggested the boy was pretty unnerved! “Bend closer!… Don’t be afraid, he won’t hurt you!…”, whispered Bentfeather.

He had Tebo walk all around the table, taking in every aspect of the remains; and though he could not tell too much on the build of the human for his horizontal position, Bentfeather saw he was just under six feet tall and of medium to heavy weight. They both traveled back to the head, as the face was turned away from their previous position, and bent feather took a good look at the face. He pondered a moment, thinking of all the humans he had seen; and came up with the only one who remotely matched the face he was seeing now, making a sigh before speaking.

“I think you should have stayed in Sauropolis, Frank Scratt…”, he said to the body, then turned to the guard. “His name is Frank Scratt, owner of a curiosity emporium in Sauropolis.”, at this Tebo gratefully backed away. “My former Partner utilized his talents to provision expeditions, and went with him as a guide on an expedition to the Outer Island.”

“What is he doing here?”, the doctor said, guards wanting to know too.

“I have no idea, but there must be some kind of connection between this and my Partner’s notebook he delivered to me.”, Bentfeather said. “Also there was a note.”

“What did it say?”, asked the guard. “The note, that is…”

“Basically it informed me of the death of Nicolai Sanders, chief librarian of the Waterfall City library and my Partner.”, said Bentfeather. “Also it said not to notify the authorities, and that proper arrangements would be made.”

“And you did that…”, stated the guard. “Which means that, what ever is going on here, you are implicated too!”

“It looks that way…”, Bentfeather realized. “I thought nothing of it. Especially when an artifact was sent from that expedition to the Archaeological Guild...”

“Where is the artifact located now?”, asked the guard.

“Why, in their headquarters by now, I assume…”, the Microraptor informed them. “They take the bottom floor of the Maze Building on the other side of the city.”, he gulped. “They examined it at the library, and we took a good look at it.”

“What was it?”, the guard asked.

“It was the stone bust of a Tyranosaur.”, Bentfeather told him. “It had strange glyphs; and Tebo here found an amulet inside when he manipulated something on it.”

“The amulet glowed strangely…”, Tebo said, regaining some of his courage. “It made the larger saurians present have headaches…”, he gulped too. “I don’t know why…”

“You got all that?”, this the guard said to his Corythosaur Partner, who was taking notes the whole time. “We will have to run this by out Investigators first, then see if there are any charges against you.”, he glared at the Microraptor.

“But I’m innocent!…”, protested Bentfeather.

“Never the less, please do not leave the city until we say so.”, said the guard, turning to his Partner. “We should question the Archaeological guild…”, he turned back to Bentfeather. “You may go now… Thank you for your co-operation.”

“Wait!…”, shouted doctor Forschie. “What about the body?”

“I’m sure you know some funeral directors…”, said the guard, and they both turned to leave.

“Have no fear, doctor.”, Bentfeather said after they left. “I will fund his funeral… Least I can do for an ascociate of my former Partner…”
_

IC: Bentfeather and company, Waterfall City library.

Tebo and Bentfeather rushed back to the Waterfall City library, now possessing more things to think about than just tutoring Hazen Baker. They knew there wasn’t much they could do about the current situation that Bentfeather had inadvertently been drawn into, only wait and see what the guards and their investigators came up with. It was probably nothing anyway, but with the evidence of Frank Scratt laying in state at doctor Forchie’s office, any nefarious thing could be going on!

They passed the front desk without even looking at Jake who had taken Mizzy’s place after Noonmeal had been served, and made their way through the rows of shelves to Study Room 3. Inside they saw hazen reading a book to Redcrest, who sat squat in a human style chair by his side, looking intently at the pictures in the book while Hazen read aloud what was on the pages. By some miracle he had kept her destructive habits somewhat at bay, for only small things on the study table were knocked over; and nothing of consequence had been damaged, so in the pair walked in as Bentfeather flapped to the table and landed before them.

“Thank you for your patience in that time of crisis…”, Bentfeather told him. “Please stop reading, and we will start your planned assignment.”, he smiled. “After a brief explanation of our actions this morning as well as another announcement concerning you, that is.”

He paced as Tebo sat near the head of the table. “Concerning what just transpired, it would seem that there is something amiss concerning the expedition my former Partner went on.”, his hackles rose as he told Hazen about whose body that was. “And so, as it turns out, I am implicated in this fiasco. Frank Scratt sent me that notebook, and told me not to tell anybody; and now he shows up dead!”

A thoughtful look and he looked Hazen in the face. “The artifact has within it an amulet that does strange and magical things to saurians. It is in waterfall City right now, at the Archaeological Guild‘s offices in the maze building.”, he paced some more. “I do not know what connection all of this has with the murder, but it seems I must help out as much as I can to clear my credibility.”

Hazen gave some insights on what might be happening, then Bentfeather spoke. “That could be true, but nothing is known for sure besides those facts.”, he smiled. “I can let you go over the details and look at the notebook if you like. Maybe, with your outside world insights; you might be able to come up with a solution!”

As Redcrest squawked for attention, Tebo got her attention for another moment while Bentfeather continued.

“And now my friend, thus was the bad news.”, said the Microraptor. “The news I have gotten for you might be very good news indeed!… Yesterday I was visited by officer Ajax and his Partner Olu, the ones you had a sample of guard duties with. They came to me to present you with a grand opportunity.”, he pulled the scroll out of the bag he had left on the table from before. “His superiors have deemed the work you did worthy of merit, and it showed them that you are indeed guard material. They wished me to present you with this invitation to take cadet training in Sauropolis."

Hazen balked slightly, perhaps due to a concern with his new charge, Bentfeather figured. “Now, they do not expect an answer right away. In fact, I was informed that the invitation expires after a year, and you have that long to make your decision.”, he chuckled. “I told them that it was for the best as you still need to complete my tutelage, and they require their cadets to have passed at least Beginner’s class or it’s equivelant.”,

At last he handed Hazen the scroll, who unwrapped it and began to read it. Among the paperwork, which included the invitation letter and an application to fill out; a small chit spilled to the table, and Bentfeather read what was on the note. It was a promissory note to be turned in to a money trader for an amount of Drachs, and the amount the chit was for was for fifty Drachs! After going over the rest briefly, Hazen looked at the small note questioningly.

“They must have thought your work exceptional indeed!…”, Bentfeather told him. “They actually paid you for the trouble!”

After this mild surprise, Hazen Baker went on to tell them of his and Redcrest’s decision; the news of which both Tebo and Bentfeather could not have been happier!…
_

TAG: Hazen, any and all!

[o8jedi]

IC: Hazen Baker and Redcrest, Study Room 3, Waterfall City Library

Hazen was thoroughly shocked. Bentfeather knew the deceased?! He listened intently to Bentfeather's story. Although the artifact had some intriguing details, he was more concerned about the well-being of his friend. "They couldn't possibly have a case against you. What motive would you have for murdering him? Besides you have an alibi; you haven't left the city since I was entrusted to your tutelage. Clearly, he wanted the journal kept in a safe place from whoever was endangering him so he sent it to you, one of the most important librarians in Waterfall City!" Another thought entered his mind, but he didn't want to say it quite yet: If whoever wanted that journal got to Mr. Scratt, they probably found out who he sent it to. Why else would the body be here? Even though Bentfeather offered him the opportunity to examine the journal himself, Hazen didn't give an answer. He was afraid of getting drawn into this situation, especially now that he had to look out for Redcrest's well-being as well.

The other business concerned his recent job-shadow of two guards. Apparently, they offered him a scholarship to their academy in Sauropolis. Hazen shook his head. He couldn't accept. Sure, he did alright for traffic control, but he was nowhere near as effective at being a guard as others could be. Despite his teacher explaining he had a year to take them up, he couldn't imagine why he would enroll at all. Despite what they may say, he wasn't a cop, plain and simple. Still, the fifty Drachs were a handy thing to have. He pocketed the note for a later exchange.

"Actually," Hazen said, as he walked over behind Redcrest, "I have good news of my own." He put an arm on Redcrest's shoulder. She looked up and beamed in kind. "Last night, Redcrest and I decided to become Life Partners. Her father approves and . . . I feel fantastic." He smiled at Tebo and Bentfeather, who expressed their approval of the pairing and their blessings. Redcrest seemed to enjoy this attention she was getting as well, nuzzling Hazen's stomach with her head. Hazen looked down at her and smiled.

As he thought about how close he had become to Redcrest, he began to think again about Bentfeather. While what he felt about Redcrest was special, he couldn't deny that he was concerned about Bentfeather as well and he'd hate to see something bad happen to him. He cleared his throat. "I don't mean to shift gears so abruptly but, I think I'd like to see your journal," he said, "and I think that you may need to get some bodyguards. Some people that you trust as much as you do Tebo." The looks he got back was a bit off-putting, but he explained his reservations. "Look, the guy got rid of the journal for a reason. And if they got to him, they may have learned that he sent it to you. I think you're in grave danger."

TAG: Bentfeather, Tebo, any and all.

[Thundertail]

IC: Tebo Lewis and Bentfeather with Hazen Baker and Redcrest, the Waterfall City library.

Bentfeather pondered the possibility that Hazen suggested, and just could not believe his ear slits! To have the fact that a distant ascociate be found murdered in the bowels of the city was unheard of in and of itself, but to think that he, himself was in danger of the same fate was almost too impossible to believe! In all the annals of recent Dinotopian history, such a thing was impossible; in fact, the whole situation he had found himself in was impossible! And yet, thus was the situation; and Hazen was right in his concern that he would certainly be next on the killer’s list. At Tebo’s concerned touch, Bentfeather paused his musings and spoke.

“I just did not realise what I got myself into… What ever Nicolai Sanders has uncovered on the Outer Island, it seems to be ground shaking enough to get people to do these things.”, he huffed. “I’ll wager that it was humans that have done this!… They are always getting into trouble and breaking the rules!”, then he looked at them both. “Present company excluded, of course!…”

“But if you are in such danger, shouldn’t you tell the guards, as Hazen said?”, Tebo asked, straightening his friend’s head plumage.

“Perhaps, but I posess a high profile.”, Bentfeather told them both. “Everybody knows me, and if any evil deed was done to me, people will immediately notice.”, he thought a moment. “But I agree that it is time to protect myself… The first thing to do is to do the thing I should have done when I first got that cursed journal: I need to go to the Mayor and see if he can be a help.”

“Shouldn’t we warn the Archaeological Guild as well?”, Tebo suggested. “If they could be after you and your journal, they would no doubt be after them and that artifact too…”

“Such genius!…”, Bentfeather smiled at him. “But the guards were going there to question them about the artifact. I’m sure they would confiscate it for evidence… Or at least post a guard on it.”

After further conversation all around, a plan was made to organize what they needed to do. “So, I have the journal at home. I should go get it to present to the mayor for study, and I assume you wish to read it too.”

“I think that after we get the journal, we should go to the Archaeological Guild and see about the artifact.”, Tebo suggested. “They would be more able to decipher it.”

“A good idea, but what about Hazen?”, Bentfeather said. “I’m sure you wouldn’t want Redcrest tagging along…”

Hazen was concerned about Redcrest, for innocents like her should not be mixed up in all of this; and besides, she was becoming too cranky with all the adult talk going on around her! “All right. You go drop her off at home, and I will give you my address.“, he did so. “And we will meet there shortly.“

“Well everybody…“, Tebo said. “So much for today’s classes!…“, and this made the others chuckle as they presently left their separate ways…
_

IC: Tebo Lewis with Bentfeather and company, the Waterfall City library.

At first Tebo thought they were going directly to Bentfeather’s flat down town, but his mentor flew a detour to his office. “Where are we going, my friend?…”, he panted as he tried to keep up through the library.

“I had been taking notes on the journal.”, Bentfeather replied as he flew into his office and onto the desk. “I think they might come in handy with the mayor…”, he then hopped to a drawer and had Tebo open it.

“You have really been mooning over this…”, Tebo said as he pulled out many scrolls, Bentfeather sorting out the ones he wanted. “You must miss Nicolai very much…”

“I always had a penchant for research.”, the Microraptor told him, pointing to a satchel for him to place the scrolls in. “His notes were a mystery to me, and I just had to try and decipher them.”

“I hope that it will shed some light on this mix-up…”, Tebo shouldered the bag.

Bentfeather hopped onto Tebo’s shoulder and tebo turned to go when they both saw a uniformed guard and his Corythosaur Partner standing in the doorway, and their familiar faces told them they were officer Ajax and Olu. They saw that Bentfeather and Tebo were about to leave, and Ajax held up his hand to halt them; whom stopped dead in their tracks.

“Where do you think you are going?”, Ajax asked accusingly. “We have orders to collect you and take you to the mayor immediately.”

“Kind sirs, we were about to go to the mayor;’s office ourselves.”, Bentfeather told them. “We were collecting material pertainent to this morning’s murder, and present our speculations to him.”, he turned to Tebo questioningly. “The notebook of my former Partner is at my flat, and we were going there first.”

“I see…”, Ajax said. “If this is so, we feel compelled to escort you to where you need to go.”

Feeling helpless by the imposing people before them, Bentfeather sighed. “Very well…”

Tebo and Bentfeather led the way through the library, the patrons wondering why the chief librarian was being led away; and the other librarians there wanting to protest but dared not. Outside the group took a sedate pace toward Bentfeather’s apartment house, several blocks away from the library. The group climbed the stairs to the floor the apartment was on, but paused when they saw his door was open slightly! Imposing all their guard skills, Ajax and Olu quickly and quietly pulled the door open and rushed inside the cramped apartment; which was barely bigger than a walk in closet. Not a soul was there, but the entire place was a shambles; books and bedding strewn all over the place, and it was fortunate that nothing breakable was broken, but it looked to them that the whole place was clumsily searched!

“My… Word…!”, Bentfeather flapped in once the guards said it was all clear. “Who would do such a thing?…”

“Maybe the killer was looking for the notebook…”, Tebo suggested, and the guards nodded.

“I… I do not feel safe here…”, Bentfeather flapped into Tebo’s arms. “But at least they did not get the notebook!…”, this he whispered into his ear.

“What are you saying?”, Tebo asked.

“You need to file a report on this.”, Ajax said officially. “This type of vandalism is a punishable offense…”

“Yes, of course…”, Bentfeather told the guard. “But the perpetrator did not find what he was looking for… I guarantee that!”

“What do you mean?”, Ajax asked.

“That shelf on the floor. Set it upright…”, Bentfeather requested and Olu complied. “The third shelf from the bottom, slide the right upright section forward… Now slide the back panel to the right.”, A thin space was revealed in the back, and the notebook stood there for all to see! “The shelf has a false back!… I keep many of my valuables there…”

“Clever!…”, Ajax said as Olu handed him the notebook. “We will carry this to the mayor’s office for you… safer that way…”

Unknown to anyone in the room until now, Hazen Baker now stood at the door, Benteather’s Dromeosaur landlady standing beside him; and both had the look that they had heard all or part of the conversation. All of a sudden the landlady let out a terrible yell!

“BENTFEATHER!… What have you done to your room?!”, said she in saurian. “I can’t leave you alone for a minute and you have a wild party…”, she was livid! “Just look at this mess!…”

“Please calm down, ma’am!…”, Ajax shouted, Olu warbling for her to be calm too. “We were retrieving something from here, and found someone had broken in and ransacked the place.”, he calmed as she did.

“Who’s going to clean up the place?”, her hands were on her hips.

“Miss Francine, I will pay you double my rent if you would tidy my room while I’m away.”, Bentfeather bowed. “I have an urgent appointment with the mayor right now, and do not have the time.”

“Very well.”, she said after a pause. “But from now on, you can not bring guests here…”, she stormed off, leaving Hazen shrugging.

As she stormed out of sight, Bentfeather, Tebo and the guards acknowledged Hazen for the first time; and no introductions were needed as they all left Bentfeather’s flat and made their way to the Council Chambers, Olu shushing Hazen with a finger as they left…
_

TAG: Hazen, any and all!

[o8jedi]

IC: Hazen Baker, Hall of Hadrosaurs, Waterfall City

It pained him to do this to Redcrest, but it had to be done. She burbled her complaints as Hazen wrote a note, explaining that he was going to be out on a late-night field trip with Bentfeather and that he had to leave his Partner back at the flat. The last thing he needed was for her to get hurt or, worse, kidnapped. After finishing the note, he knelt down so he was eye level with her. She pouted and sniffed, not wanting to be left alone again. "Redcrest," he said, "I'll be back as soon as I can. You need to stay here and don't let anyone in, no matter who they say they are. If it's your Papa or Seamus, they'll unlock the door. If it's me, I'll sing 'Mr. Blue Sky.' Remember that song?" He quickly sang a few bars in case she needed reminding.

Redcrest nodded, still upset, but she got the point.

Hazen hugged her tightly. "I'd like to take you with me, but I don't want you to get hurt. It would be even worse for me if that happened than leaving you here." He eased up on the hug, but she was still clinging onto him.

"No go!" Redcrest said, "Me scared!"

"I'm scared, too," Hazen said as he pried her off him, "and it's okay to be scared. But real bravery is doing the right thing even when we're scared." He held her shoulders. "Can you be brave for me?" Redcrest nodded slightly. Hazen gave her a kiss on the crest. "I'll be back as soon as I can. Remember, don't let anyone in. Even if they say they're Papa, Seamus, or me!" He closed the door and heard the click of the lock (which he taught her how to trip). For the moment, she was safe.

He fought back the urge to cry as he made his way to Bentfeather's apartment, the address of which had been given to him earlier. When he found the apartment, a commotion was already going on. He peeked in and saw both Bentfeather and Tebo as well as the two guards he shadowed. The place was a mess. Clearly it had been ransacked. A shrieking voice next to him made him jump. Evidently, it was Bentfeather's landlady and she seemed every bit as ornery as Miss Dullclaw. For a minute, he wondered if all landlords and landladies were as cranky and demanding as they were.

When she left, Hazen peeked his head in. He was about to say something, but they made their way to the Council Chambers. When they were inside the building, Hazen quietly said, "We're making a mistake. We could have learned a lot more back there about who may have broken in." Bentfeather tried to assure him that since the prize wasn't discovered, the intruders had failed.

"I'm not so certain," Hazen replied. "There may have been more information there than just the journal. Things like -- oh, I dunno -- names and addresses. Names like 'Tebo Lewis' or 'Hazen Baker.' You know, people who you care about. They find out who we are and where we live. Then they do something really bad. And they say, 'Unless you give us the journal, more of the same will happen.'" Hazen stopped, trying to prevent himself from causing a scene and drawing attention to themselves. "At least back there, we could have learned more about who may have been able to break in, or talk to people who may have seen it happen. There could have been hairs or fingerprints or scales or some other trace that we could find them by. To be honest, I don't know what's worse: Dismissing an active crime scene as unimportant or having your landlady tamper with evidence. Back home, people go to jail for doing those things."

Both by interruption and by running out of things to say, Hazen didn't say any more. He knew the guards were doing everything they could to get to the bottom of this matter, but he felt that they may not have their priorities straight. In any case, he held his tongue as they entered the Mayor's chambers. One thing he knew, he wasn't going to be as reserved if he didn't agree with whatever decision they came up with inside those hallowed halls.

TAG: Bentfeather, Tebo, any and all.

[Thundertail]

IC: Tebo, Bentfeather and company, the Waterfall City council chambers.

The group climbed the steps of the council chambers without word as the doors swung open to accept them, and the court guards there allowed them in without protest; whispering to officer Ajax that they were to go to the mayor’s private chambers around behind the main chambers, one leading the way. As they walked, comments were whispered about what just transpired, and what it had to do with the murder and the other things going on.

After hearing Hazen’s concerns officer Ajax told him what really transpired. “It may have looked like we gave sir Bentfeather’s apartment a scant investigation, but that was not so.”, he turned to Olu. “Most dinosaurs have an exceptional sense of smell, and my friend had given the place a full scrutiny.”

After Olu’s warbling explanation of what he found, Ajax translated. “He said that he found prominent smells of sir Bentfeather, lesser smells of his land lady and the various maids; and the recent scent of a human was there, but he did not smell like either you or Tebo.”

Olu said something more to be translated. “He said that there are over a thousand distinct human smell variations that he has been trained for, and looking for a single human with those specific variations he found would be like finding a specific fish in a lake.”

After Hazen voiced his concerns about having his or Tebo’s name be discovered for ransom purposes, Bentfeather took over the conversation. “I do not think the culprit would discover your names there.”, said he. “All of the records of my curriculum with you two are in my office in the library. I seldom bring my work home with me!”

After Hazen‘s last comments left his lips, Ajax cut him off. “Have no fear, Hazen Baker!”, Ajax nearly commanded. “We of Dinotopia have our ways of discovering the perpetrator of a crime, and the one who has ruined your mentor’s apartment will be put to justice…”, then he thought. “However, your Outside World insights into solving crimes are most intriguing; and may yet be a help in this case, but first it might be prudent that we investigate in our own way for now…”

“Hush!…”, Bentfeather whispered as they got close to the mayor’s chamber doors.

The council guard silently pushed the door open, then stepped aside so the group could enter; disappearing back the way they had come as soon as this was done. Once inside the chamber they saw the mayor sitting in a tall chair at his ornate desk, going over things before him before looking up at the five of them. He did not smile, nor did he seem angry; but the stern look on his face said that this private meeting was not going to be a pleasant one.

“We have collected sir Bentfeather and his ascociates, as per orders…”, officer Ajax announced, both guards saluting Dinotopia-style. “We have also brought all evidence they may have had.”

Ajax looked at the mayor in a concerned way before telling him the rest. “Sir Bentfeather informed us that his former Partner’s journal was kept at his apartment; but when we got there we found that it had been ravaged by an unknown human before we got there.”

“Heavens! Was anything missing?”, the mayor asked.

“Not that I know of, your honor.”, Bentfeather said sadly.

“Sir Bentfeather had the journal well hidden.”, Ajax said. “We took it into our possession for safekeeping.”, he reached into Olu’s saddle bag and deposited Nicolai Sanders’s journal onto the desk.

“Very well. You may stand at ease over there…”, the mayor indicated a wall of tapestries to the left; and both Ajax and Olu immediately did as was told.

“Well, my friend. It seems there is a lot to do concerning you…”, this the mayor addressed to Bentfeather. “We now have a dead body on our hands, and it seems he was murdered. And now it looks like one of Waterfall City’s most prominent citizens is involved to the point of having his privacy invaded! If you would, could you please explain to me what, exactly, is going on?…”

“Lord mayor,…”, Bentfeather began, bowing; and so did Tebo, and Hazen figured he better too. “Though I do not know the exact circumstances involving the death of Frank Scratt, he was involved with an expedition to the Outer Island, of which my now deceased Partner was involved with.”, he began.

Bentfeather described the day the Skybax courier had given him the parcel containing the journal, as well as the letter attached to it announcing the death of Nicolai sanders; as well as the fact that it told him not to inform the authorities on the matter, that everything would be worked out on that end. He said that he thought little of the request, and went on to mourn his deceased friend; all amid his teaching of his three students, and the subsequent losing of one of them shortly after the concert. He said he had been deciphering the journal in his spare time, noting that it had been written with many hands including Nicolai’s; and many of the passages had been scratched out or otherwise edited. On the day that he heard that an artifact had been delivered to the Archaeological Guild, and they were in the middle of examining it; he thought that everything was resolved, and finally an answer could be found. When he heard of the murder in the bowels of the city, and finding out it was one of Niciolai’s business ascociates from the expedition; he feared that there was something more to be said of the matter, and the fact that his apartment had been ransacked proved that he would be next on the killer’s list!

“…And now I’m afraid to go home again!…”, Bentfeather nearly cried.

“There, there!”, the mayor soothed. “We will get to the bottom of this, I guarantee you!”

“Sir Bentfeather.”, Tebo said softly. “If you want, you could stay at my father’s place until this is solved.”

“That’s kind of you, child…”, Bentfeather said, sniffing. “But you need not put them in danger as well!”

“That is all well and good.”, the mayor said. “But now we must try to figure out just what to do about this…”, he looked around before speaking. “First off, let’s go over what we know so far. Sir Bentfeather has told his account. Now, what can any of you add to this mystery?”

“Well, when I inspected the artifact, I found it held an amulet inside.”, Tebo said. “When exposed to light it did something to give the Triceratops Archaeologist there a headache…”, he thought. “Perhaps the amulet does magical things to dinosaurs, and the person who killed that man wants it for some purpose… Perhaps it can be used to control dinosaurs somehow…”

“That’s a thought…”, the mayor considered. “That person must not get that amulet!… Is the artifact secure?”, this he addressed Mungo his assistant who hovered in the shadows to the right.

“Yes sir.”, Mungo said as he neared the desk. “Two teams of guards are at the Maze building right now.”, he placed an unrelated piece of paper in front of the mayor for him to sign later. “Two next to the artifact and two at the entrance. No one gets in or out without someone knowing!”

“Very good!”, he saw Hazen’s look and nodded. “And what do you have to contribute to this mystery?…”, hazen told them all that was on his mind.

“Yes, those are all good observations and suggestions.”, said the mayor. “Perhaps we could employ those things later on, eh?”, then saw the worried look onBentfeather’s face. “Have no fear, my friend! Even though your home was invaded, things will get better…”

“I can not go back there until this is over!”, said bent feather. “What if the killer comes for me while I sleep?”

The mayor chuckled kindly. “My friend, when I go on inspection tours and such, it is a dangerous preposition for me at best. This is why where ever I go, I employ body guards to protect me from nefarious people.”, he gave a shout. “Frik!… Frak!… Please come out!”

The tapestries moved and wriggled directly behind Olu and Ajax, who scurried aside as twin Pachycephalosaurs made their way out from behind them; from passages hidden by the tapestries themselves, and they approached the desk silently as they bowed their domed heads. Both Tebo and hazen looked quite taken aback by their looks, for Pachys possess an angered look all the time whether they are angry or not. Olu and Ajax came near as well, wondering whether this pair was a threat or not, but the mayor waved them back.

“There you are…”, the mayor said. “These two are diligent and strong… Why, one of them can easily defeat officer Ajax’s steed easily!”, he looked at the group and got serious after that uncalled for comment. “Um,… Frik and Frak. You are to escort sir Bentfeather and his charges, and guard them against any untoward thing that might happen to them. You are to do this as inconspicuously as possible, and try not to interfere in their normal daily tasks. Do you understand your instructions?”

“Yessss, your eminenccce…”, said Frak hissingly.

“We will obey, sssir.”, Frik said in a more feminine hiss.

“You may now get acquainted with your new charges.”, the mayor told them all…
_

TAG: Hazen, any and all!

[o8jedi]

IC: Hazen Baker, Mayor's Chambers, Waterfall City

This wasn't the first time that Hazen had encountered Lord Mayor Masteson, however he was a bit of an imposing figure. This person carried a lot of power and he knew that it would be best not to get on his bad side. He figured that it would be best to keep himself restrained unless their decisions became absolutely ridiculous.

Bentfeather then began to relay his story. Much of the details of this mystery were coming to light to Hazen for the first time. An amulet that could influence dinosaurs' thoughts? That would be a very powerful tool indeed. When he was called on to speak, Hazen cleared his throat. "Well," he began, "I must admit that what you know now is what I know. However, it is my recommendation that we begin to investigate anyone who could have any desire for this artifact. I suggest we start with the expedition's benefactor." He received a questioning look from those assembled. "Look, expeditions require backing. And whoever paid the bills may have attached certain caveats, like first choice of any artifacts found. And if this person knew that such an artifact could have existed and they didn't get it, they'd see it as defrauding them in some way so they might have resorted to these extreme measures." He looked at Bentfeather. "And not just the primary benefactor, but anyone who had a stake in it, human or Saurian. After all, one could just hire someone for the break-in; give them some sense of separation." The reply from the Mayor came across as condescending, but he maintained his composure.

A few moments later, two Pachycephalosaurs appeared from the shadows. Hazen gasped in surprise. While it was good for any dignitary to have a Secret Service of sorts, it didn't really help calm Hazen's nerves. Why did they have to be so intimidating? At the Mayor's insistence, they were invited to get to know them better. "S-so," Hazen said, clearly unnerved by their presence, "Frik and Frak. Interesting names. Are you two related?" A snort came back in reply. "Okay," he said, backing away. He had a feeling that this was going to be a long couple of weeks with these two around.

After pleasantries were exchanged, Hazen walked close to Bentfeather and whispered, "Call it a hunch, but I don't exactly trust these two. Something about them just doesn't seem right." His mentor reassured him that they were perfectly capable of doing their jobs. "I just hope you're right," Hazen said as he resumed his position behind Tebo.

TAG: Any and all!

[Thundertail]

IC: Tebo and Bentfeather and company, the mayor’s chambers.

The female Pachy, one of mayor Masteson’s bodyguards, sniffed both him and Bentfeather with an accusing look; her male counterpart doing the same with Hazen, both natural born Dinotopians knowing it was their way of identifying either suspicious persons or their new charges. This knowledge did nothing to quell Tebo’s uneasy feelings about this man-size saurian with crimson-painted head scutes that surrounded her misshapen dome, for her way of doing it left no room for modesty! Hazen seemed to be having the same problem with Frak as the young man backed away slightly at the dinosaur’s scrutiny.

“H…hello, ma’am…”, Tebo stammered.

“Have no ffear, human…”, Frik said. “It isss merely a formality…”

“Yes, yes… It is impolite to stare!”, Bentfeather said as she finished with him. “So lord mayor, what do you suggest we do now?”

“Well, the first thing is to have that notebook deciphered…”, said the mayor.

“I have taken the liberty of doing that myself!”, Bentfeather said proudly. He indicated to Tebo that he should give over the contents of the satchel bag he was carrying. “I had been doing it in my spare time…”

“Yes, this would be a help.”, said the mayor as he opened the bag to deposit the many scrolls, but did not undo them. “I will have the Archaeological Guild examine them right away.”

“Pardon for asking, lord mayor; but did any of the other scientists and expedition members make it back yet?”, asked Bentfeather.

“Why no. I do not think they did…”, the mayor was unsure. “I could have the Archaeological Guild check their roster… Do you know of any others that went on the edxpedition?”

“Only the few that helped pen my Partner’s notebook.”, Bentfeather told him. “I know many of them by name as they had signed many a correspondence to me over the years.”

“Of course, most of it was done by Nicolai Sanders, my good friend…“, Bentfeather said as he flipped through the journal to certain points. “Here is one from Farquais Roch, third procurer of the Archaeological Guild…”, he turned several pages. “This one is from Petronas Stenoychosaur, his subordinate.”, more pages. “I think this one was penned by Rolf Bondu, who often provided transportation; and this one is from Frank Scratt, who provisioned the expedition….”, he went to several more differently penned inscriptions, then closed the book.

“The rest are mysteries to me… They were probably porters or other such persons needed for heavy work on expeditions…” Bentfeather guessed. “But why would they be allowed access to expedition research material, of which the journal would be considered?”

“Things get curiouser and curiouser!…”, mayor Masrteson said helplessly. “But if you think you have given us as much information as you can for now, perhaps we should let you go about your business.”

“I think that’s all for now, sir…”, Bentfeather said. “Let’s go, boys”

At Hazen’s concerns over leaving Redcrest at home alone, Bentfeather said. “By all means, go run to collect your charge.”

“Shouldn’t we stick together?…”, Tebo said. “I mean, under the circumstances…”

“There are two of usss…”, Frik said.

“There will be two groupsss…”, said Frak.

“I will go with sir Bentfeather and Tebo…”, Frik said.

“And I will go with mister Hazzzzzen…”, said Frak.

“A capital idea…”, the mayor said. “Go ahead… Run along now!…”, he made a shooing gesture. “I suggest you go about your normal business until you are called upon again.”, all nodded.

Surprisingly enough, Frik and Frak scampered out behind the tapestries where they emerged; and shrugging, officers Ajax and Olu approached them. They escorted Tebo Bentfeather and Hazen to the front of the courthouse, saying good bye briefly before Ajax had a thought.

“Hazen. Do you still have that whistle we gave you?”, he nodded. “Well, I’d wear it on you at all times from now on if I were you…!”, he mounted Olu. “It’ll be safer that way…”, and off they rode.

Bentfeather and Tebo said brief farewells to Hazen, and they all went their separate ways…

_

IC: Tebo and Bentfeather, on the way to the library; Frik trailing them.

“Where did Frik go?”, Tebo asked quietly.

“I haven’t a clue.”, Bentfeather said while on his shoulder. “But it is best not to worry over it… I feel safer already!…”

Frik and Frak left the council chambers by a side service entrance, and the mated pair immediately went their separate ways after a head nuzzle; Frak sniffing the air to locate the direction that Hazen had gone. Frik went in the opposite direction, off to complete her disguise; which the Copro cart around a corner would make a perfect touch, patting her hands in it and rubbing some all over her body. At a crate in the alley next to it she had stowed away pauper’s attire: ragged tunic and threadbare saurian sandals, of which she donned swiftly before finding a pile of chimney ash to smear over her as well. Now she looked and smelled like a poor beggar, and nobody would be the wiser!

It was late in the afternoon, and both Bentfeather and Tebo had forgotten Midmeal, Eveningmeal swiftly being prepared by homeowners all along the street; and this made both of them hungry! After looking around again for their bodyguard, they came up to a corner bistro where tables were set out on the sidewalk, small fountain burbling many yards away in the square. They sat and waited for the waitor to take their orders, and when done he scurried off to have the order filled. As they waited, they noticed many of the patrons and other people walking about on the street. They instantly became more tense, wishing Frik would show up soon!

Right after the food was placed before them, a group of three swarthy types sat at the table two spots away, and immediately began laughing and joking among themselves. A lone pauper soon came into the area, grime soaking her saurian snout; smelling the food and staring at the other patrons while they were eating. These people soon became annoyed with her, and shooed her away from their tables. Then the waif shuffled toward Tebo and Bentfeather’s table, harrumphing forlornly as she paused.

“Please kind sirssss…”, said she, and Bentfeather’s eyes widened in recognition! “A morsel for a starving Dinotopian?”

“Why certainly, young miss!…”, Bentfeather said as he pushed an orange from the bowl of fruit centerpiece toward her. “And I hope your fortune improves!”

“Blesssss you, sssir…”, the waif that was Frik said and turned away with her prize. She was seen leaning against the base of the fountain, peeling the orange many moments later.

“Aw…! Ain’t that sweet…!”, said a swarthy human a few tables over. “Why make nice to a sewer rat like that?!…’, his cohorts chuckled.

“It’s the Dinotopian thing to do to help out someone who’s down on their luck!…”, Tebo scolded. Grumbles came from that table. Many heads from other tables turned.

“Hush, Tebo!…”, Bentfeather whispered.

“You better listen to your bird, boy…”, said the other human at that table.

“He knows how to keep himself out of the frying pan!…”, said the Stenoychosaur with them, and guffaws arose.

“I suggest we finish up quickly and leave!…”, this Bentfeather urgently whispered. He turned to the fountain and saw that the waif that was Frik was gone!

“C’mon boys!”, said the obvious leader of the group after a few moments. “We sail with the tide…”, and they all raggedly rose and left without paying!

As they watched the thugs saunter down the street, Bentfeather and Tebo let out a sigh of relief; and so did nearly every patron that remained. As they bowed to continue their meal, Tebo noticed the beggar - whom he didn’t know was Frik - return to their table from another direction entirely. In her hands were the rinds of the orange she had eaten, and placed them on Tebo’s half empty plate. Her finger lingered on the slip of paper she placed under the rinds and winked at Tebo; and it was then he knew who this waif was!

“Blesss you both for the food…”, said she. “I bid you farewell…”, and she immediately turned and went in a direction tangent to where the three ruffians had gone.

Tebo took the paper and opened it. “What is this, friend?…”, he offered it to Bentfeather.

“Let’s see…”, Bentfeather began to read it silently.

“I am off to trail those hoodlums.” , it read in quickly written script.
“I suggest you go to the library and go about your business.
I will return to you later on. Act natural.
Discuss nothing to anybody along the way.
Discuss nothing to your co-workers.”

“Relax!”…

“I guess that explains things…”, Bentfeather said as he handed the note to Tebo, fishing in his tiny bag to pay the bill.

After Tebo read the note, he balled it up and placed it under the orange rinds; then he smoothed over Bentfeather’s head feathers before his mentor hopped back onto his shoulder. They walked more cautiously now, knowing that Frik was no longer with them; and made the straightest route possible through the city to the library. Their nerves did not calm down until long after they were safely inside the library…
_

TAG: Hazen, any and all!

[Thundertail]

IC: Frik, undercover in the city.

It was an extremely easy task for Frik to follow those three hooligans through Waterfall City, even though she kept back almost a full block from her quarry; for the stench the trio gave off was even worse that her own at the moment, and she wished she had the sense of smell that humans have so it would not be so great! She kept in the shadows mostly, shambling along like the beggar she was pretending to be; and every time one of them ventured a look in her direction, she would pretend to have her attention focused on something else. They were heading for the warehouse district near Steep Street, and she knew that area well; so she ducked into a cargo chute access tunnel to manifest her next disguise change.

Around a dim corner she halted to take off her tattered tunic, reversing it to reveal another shade of drab color; then took out an equally tattered bandanna from a pocket on that side to form a kerchief around her crimson painted head scutes. Looking like a totally different pauper, Frik shuffled out of the cargo chute entrance at a different gait than she entered. Their smell was less prominent when she emerged, but strong enough to track them down once more; and their footprints emerging from an errant puddle told the rest of the tale of where they had gone. The front of the Mosasaur Shipping company’s warehouse loomed up in front of her, their trail leading straight inside the front door; but she skirted around to the alley between that warehouse and the adjoining warehouse to eavesdrop.

The light was retreating from the sky, but her excellent night vision brought her to a slightly open window behind a tall stack of wooden crates; and a dim light shone through the window that she crouched to the ground under. There she caught pieces of conversation that would certainly incriminate anybody inside!

“…had the perfect chance, and you louts ruined it!…”, said an unknown human that was neither of the three, and murmured shouting prevailed.

“But boss! There was too many people!”, said one of the ruffians. Shouts of agreement.

“That street rat caused a scene!…”, said the Stenoychosaur. More agreement, followed by a vague accusation.

“Never mind!…”, a Triceratops bellowed. “Now that the artifact’s under guard, my father won’t let me near it!”, groans.

“We need that notebook.”, said the strange human ominously. “I send you to get it, and you failed!… You couldn’t find yer head with both hands!…”, chuckles.

“I looked all over the place!”, protested the other ruffian. “How’s I to know he’d hide it so well?”, more shouting argument resumed.

“Forget it!”, the Triceratops said. “I do not care how you do it. You grab that bird or mister Scratt won’t be the only one swimming in the Polongo!…”, this silenced them all!

“You heard him!”, the unknown human shouted. “Move it!…”, the shuffling of hurrying feet was heard, so Frik hurried to get to her own work.

In the pocket she extracted a small bottle of strong smelling moonshine, then she began to sprinkle it all over her; leaving the bottle tipped over on the cobbles. She slumped to the ground and pretended to be in a drunken stupor in the alley. Many moments later a trio of running feet paced by, only the Stenoychosaur noticing her in disgust, and ignored her just as quickly. Once they were well out of sight did she get back up and creep down the alley after them. She screeched to a stop at the back of another warehouse where a cross alley was seen, and many yards to the left to a place where a loosely nailed board was that she twisted upward at the back of another warehouse; swinging it closed as she entered the other warehouse.

This was where she had stashed a full set of clothing, far better than what she wore now. In an alcove there was a wash basin, where she hurriedly cleaned the smell and dirt off herself; then she chose a wardrobe that was befitting a well-to-do dinosaur, colorful tailored tunic, jewels to accent her domed head and some makeup and perfume that would show she was a dinosaur of letters. Once done she tossed her old clothing behind some crates and nearly pranced out into the front dispatching area of this warehouse like she owned the place, large handbag that accented her attire swaying on it‘s strap. At the dispatcher’s desk she stopped by the mustachioed human dispatcher; who smiled in recognition of a friend before speaking.

“Well, lady Natasha!”, he said. “Is your cargo properly inventoried?”, Rolf was compensated by the council to use his place as a safe house, and told to improvise for the sake of the unknowing workers in his employ.

“All is fine, Rolf.”, Frik, alias miss Natasha to him, said. “I plan to have all my cargo moved to Pteros soon…”

“I can arrange the transport, ma’am…”, Rolf said and bowed. “If you go into the office, I can arrange the papers…”

“Maybe soon.”, she told him. “I must first contact my buyers.”

“As you wish…”, said Rolf. “Would you care to stay for tea?”

“No, thank you.”, said she. “I have a previous engagement.”

“I understand, ma’am.”, Rolf bowed again. “Have a wonderful evening!…”, this at her back as she left before he finished.

Frik indeed had a previous engagement, for if what she had overheard were true, sir Bentfeather was in grave danger tonight! She passed workers finishing up out in front of the warehouse, smiling sweetly as could be before rounding a corner. Once free of them and nobody was present on the street, Frik fell into a saurian dash, and ran as fast as she could through the Sunstone illuminated streets. Every now and then a passer by or two would be seen walking here or there among the buildings, and she slowed her pace to a slow but purposeful walk as they went by; then would immediately break into a sprint when all was clear, ever closer to the library.

The hooligans had evidentally taken another rout through the city, her nose told her so. She assumed they were going back to sir Bentfeather’s apartment, figuring he would sleep there tonight. She felt a little relieved that her charges would be where she was going, and not there! She was quite winded in her rush through the city, and paused many moments at the base of the great stone steps before the library; thinking of her next ruse to tell any employees still inside so late at night. Her composure returned as an idea hit her, and she regally climbed the steps and pushed the still unlocked doors inward…
_

IC: Frik, Bentfeather and Tebo, the waterfall City library.

Mizzy looked up from her paperwork at the front desk of the library to see a rich looking Pachy staring at her, waiting for assistance. “Good evening, ma’am… The library will be closed in about an hour. How may I help you?”

“I am planning a trip to Pteros, and I would like to study some maps.”, said Frik. “Do you know if you have any that would show a more southern route?… I have relatives along that way, and could stay with them during my trip…”

“Why yes, I think we just might have what you need!…”, said Mizzy. “Please go to the Cartography department. Row Cappa, map section. Down the main aisle, take a left and the second right. There is a study table there. You can’t miss it…”

“Thank you, child!”, Frik said and went in that direction.

She had been to the library many times before, and knew the layout well; and made it to the cartography area with no problem at all. Frik set her bag down on the table and searched around until she had several maps and books, of which she spread out onto the table to make it look like she was busy researching. Next she sat down, took out many pages of special court stationary and began to write correspondance to several people, then began on the report forms necessary for her position; as an hour passed she was all done with that, and began to write another note.

Bentfeather paced the desk in his office, and was doing so ever since he got there; head hackles raising and lowering in worry. After many moments of this, Tebo could not stand it and halted his mentor in his tracks with an embrace. It was short, but seemed to have it’s effect; and Bentfeather smoothed his own feathers before speaking.

“I think I’ll start the paperwork…”, he said suddenly. “It will pass the time until the mayor’s bodyguard shows up…”

“Pleaase don’t worry, sir.”, Tebo said, grasping a tiny hand. “We are very secure in here as it is. The doors lock, and Mizzy will let us know if there’s trouble coming.”

“I know… What do I got to worry about?!”, Bentfeather chuckled nervously. “Um,… Why don’t you finish up the chores on the floor.”, he bent to his work. “I’ll be all right…”

“That’s my Partner for you…!”, Tebo piped, smiling as he closed the door behind him.

Tebo patrolled many aisles of the library, looking for things to do; and saw that in many sections, there were many tomes and scrolls laying about on tables or in saurian reading machines or other places they did not belong. Sighing, he went down to one of the storage areas and located a book trolley; then began to go around the library, collecting books and placing them in their proper places in the shelves. A little way into this task, Tebo noticed the Sunstone lamps were being turned off; and realized that it must be getting really late indeed! He hurried around the corner to the Cartography department and saw this saurian lady hard at study, and put on his best librarian voice before he spoke.

“Excuse me, ma’am…”, he announced as he wheeled the cart closer. “The library is about to close…”, then he recognized her as Frik! “Oh, it’s you…”, he stopped at her hushing finger.

“Oh sir, could you help me?”, Frik said. “I’m having trouble finding a correct route. These maps do not show the interesting spots in the towns I will pass through. Could you please find these books for me?…”, she passed him a piece of paper with Bentfeather’s name on it. “It would be a big help…”, she winked.

Tebo looked at the note and nodded. “I will do my best, ma’am…”, and Frik smiled as she mimicked pushing the cart. Tebo nodded and went back to his duties.

Instead of continuing his duties, Tebo pushed the half completed cart into a corner and ran to Bentfeather’s office. He carefully opened the door as his mentor was pretty nervous already, and the slight noise would no doubt disturb him. He walked to the desk, seeing him still hard at work, and placed the paper on the paperwork before him; and only then did Bentfeather raised his head.

“Frik is here…”, Tebo said softly. “This is from her.”

“Then let’s see what she has to say…”, Bentfeather said as he read, and his eyes widened a moment later! He began over, reading aloud this time for Tebo’s benefit.

“Sir Bentfeather.” , Bentfeather read in a somber voice.
“I have finished trailing the hooligans from the bistro this evening.
I have reason to believe that the incident was a failed attempt to abduct you.
I fear that your life is in far graver danger than I first suspected!
I followed them to a warehouse near Steep Street,
where they were talking to persons who set the abduction up.
They want your notebook, and they want the artifact.
One perpetrator is the son of one of the Archaeologists, and is of the Triceratops tribe.
They can not get the artifact for the high security now there.
They could not find your notebook at your apartment.
In leiu of the notebook, they will take you;
and no doubt force you to answer questions concerning it.
Perhaps they might use you for ransom to obtain the artifact.
Which ever hypothesis is true, you must remain hidden and protected until this is solved.
I suggest you both find sleeping arrangements here in the library.
It will be easier for me to guard you both here, when you are in one place.
I will contact Frak and the others concerning my findings in the morning.
Good night, and have no fear; for I will be close by all night long!”

“My word!…”, Tebo exclaimed. “Why is this happening!”

“Who knows, my boy… Who knows?…”, Bentfeather sighed. “But let us do what she says and try to get to sleep…”, he gazed out the window with a worried look. “I shan’t sleep a wink tonight…”

“I hope there is a spare room up there…”, tebo said as Bentfeather took transportation on the boy’s shoulder, and up to the sleeping dorms they went

Frik had excellent hearing, and even though the lights were out she could hear the light shuffling of several sets of feet on the wooden floor of the library. Up near the front she could hear the front desk clerk closing the front doors and locking them; and the snick of her switching off the lights. Before she turned off the ones in the cartography area, Frik had cleared off her table and stuffed all her paperwork into her bag; rolling up the mapos and placing the books back where they came. By the time all the lights were out, she had disappeared from the area, and was among the shelves.

Her night vision was as good as her hearing, and she maneuvered through the shelves without making a sound, listening for the telltale sounds fo feet on the floor. From the direction of sir Bentfeather’s office, she heard tebo’s feet make their way toward the back stairs; clumping noisily as he fumbled for each step, and she silently followed them to the bottom of the stairs to listen.

Three rooms on the right Tebo had found a vacant room with a bed and a nest box, and figured it would be as good a place as any to bed down for the night. bent feather tiredly flitted to the nest box and fluffed it to comfort while Tebo took off the majority of his clothes, turning down the linens so he could sit there for a moment. After mutual good nights, tebo switched off the lamp and turned to find a comfortable spot.

Many moments later they were just getting to sleep, but Bentfeather tossed and turned. He was still mulling over the import of the note Frik had given him; and shivered at what it implied, not because it was especially chilly! Finally he could not stand it and sat up, seeing his friend over in the bed slowly falling to sleep himself. The Microraptor thought it over carefully, then flew to the head of Tebo’s bed; then he hopped down on it and nestled himself into the crook of Tebo’s shoulder. As he gradually nodded off, he could feel Tebo’s sleeping embrace tighten; and it was with this that he at last began to comfortably drift off himself.

Frik was listening to these stirrings, and decided to quietly ascend the stairs when these rustlings ceased. She used her nose and located the room they had chosen, and silently and slowly turned the knob. The door made no noise as she slipped inside and closed it, but she noticed there was no other place to readily sleep - not even a human chair would accommodate her. Frik went to the bed, seeing the two innocent beings sleeping peacefully; both mad and sad that these two could get themselves mixed up with such skullduggery. Frik felt sorry for these two, and silently vowed to help them through this crisis.

At length her weariness overcame her, and she sought any place to lie down. She chose the hard wood floor inches away from the door, for if anyone who would enter she would be instantly alerted. Her eyes darted from each sleeping figure to the window to the door for a long time, and then she could no longer keep alert any more; her plans for protecting Tebo and Bentfeather drifted down the path of unconciouseness a short time later. Her kind needs very little sleep, and she was up and out of the room long before the first rays of light made itself known on the horizon…
_

OCC: Think I'm overdoing it a little here?...
_

TAG: Hazen, any and all!

[o8jedi]

OOC: I don't think you're overdoing it. BTW, sorry for the delay in a reply. Bit of a hectic last part of the week.

-

IC: Frak, following Hazen Baker, Waterfall City

Frak wondered to himself why this human wouldn't just relax. The human was very clearly heading to one of the major residence halls in the city, but his body language showed that he was uneasy about the whole thing. As long as he was around, the human would have no harm come to him! Still, far be it for him to judge what might be going through that human's mind. His pauper's disguise drew a couple glances from passersby, but they gave him pitiful looks before returning to their business. So far, so good. He would need to rendezvous with Frik tomorrow and see if she learned anything but for now, his task was to keep this human safe.

~

Perhaps if Hazen was able to see Frak and know where he was, he might have been able to relax. He had plenty to be nervous about, from hoodlums that may have wanted to capture him and interrogate him about what he knew to someone taking Redcrest for the same purpose. He maintained a brisk pace on his way back to the Hall of Hadrosaurs. Occasionally, he'd glance behind him or look at shop windows and see the reflection, but it looked like he was okay. He thought there may have seen some dirtbag in rags before, but he thought little of it and continued.

He arrived at the room and tested the door. Still locked. "Good girl," he said quietly. Then, a little louder, he began to sing, as per the plan to let Redcrest it was really him. "The sun is shining in the sky. There ain't a cloud in sight. It's stopped raining. Everybody's in the play and don't you know it's a beautiful new day. Hey-ey." After getting through the first chorus, the lock tripped open and Hazen stepped inside.

~

Frak saw the door he stepped through. It appeared to be some hadrosaur's abode. Perhaps his Partner's. He ducked into a nearby alley and began to write a quick note, as well as changing his disguise. He now wore the trappings of a tourist: bag slung over him, colorful bands, and a visor on his head. He came back to the door and knocked on it.

~

No sooner had Hazen closed the door behind him than he knelt down and hugged Redcrest. "You miss me?" he asked her. Redcrest nodded. A tummy rumble indicated that she was hungry. She hadn't had anything for noonmeal and, now that Hazen thought of it, neither had he. He stood up and said, "I'll make you some food, okay?" He ran some water and was about to put it on to boil when he heard a knock on the door.

He looked at Redcrest and said, "I need you to go to your room for a bit, okay?" Redcrest recognized his nervous look from earlier today and did as she was told. After grabbing a human-sized fire poker, Hazen slowly opened the door and saw a Pachycephalosaurus standing outside. He had a bewildered look on his face. Not daring to put himself at a disadvantage, Hazen said, "What do you want?"

The Saurian looked around, still confused. "Excussssse me, kind ssssir, I sssseem to be a bit losssst. Could you direct me to Commerc-sssss-e Square?"

Hazen sized up the Saurian again, recognizing him as Frak. He quickly mulled over whether or not he should play with this ruse or not. It was against his better judgement, but he decided that it would be best to trust him, if only this one time. "Y-yeah," Hazen said. He set the poker down and opened the door wider. He took a step outside and made gestures with his hand to indicate direction. "You need to head down this street for three blocks, make a right, and it should take you right there. Can't miss it."

As Frak listened to these directions, he slipped a piece of paper into Hazen's pocket. "Thank you very much, ssssir. Breathe deep." He then started on his way.

"Seek peace," Hazen replied. He went back inside and locked the door again. "It's alright!" Hazen called back to Redcrest, "You can come out." He put his hands into his pockets and discovered something that wasn't there before. He pulled it out. A note! He went over to the kitchen to read it.

Mister Hazen,

It would be most wise of you to minimize your travels tonight.
Although I had not noticed any parties with an interest in where you were going,
it could be because you are not as well-known as Sir Bentfeather.
In any case, we cannot allow your identity - or what you know - to be compromised.
Furthermore, you should relax. I sympathize with your concern, but your
mannerisms will draw even more attention to yourself.
I will try and contact Frik tomorrow morning to share information.
Good night, and have no fear; for I will be close by all night long!

Hazen folded the piece of paper up and threw it into the fire, figuring it would be best that no trace of Frak's ever meeting him exist. He turned and saw Redcrest, who had been watching him read the note all this time. He looked back at the pot of water, seeing that it was starting to boil.

"What that?" asked Redcrest.

"What was what?" Hazen replied, trying to cover it up.

"That paper. How come it's in stove?"

"It was a note," Hazen said. "Grown-up stuff."

Redcrest huffed, not liking how all this grown-up stuff was happening. She tromped out of the kitchen and too her room. Hazen sighed to himself. He wished he could tell her what was going on, but not only would she not fully understand it, but he didn't want her to worry any more about her Partner than he knew she already did.

After several minutes, eveningmeal was ready to be served. He kept the pots simmering on a nearby plate as he walked to Redcrest's room. "Redcrest," he called. "It's time to eat." Silence. "Redcrest," Hazen said, "I'm serious. Your meal is going to get cold." He tried to open the door, but it was locked. "Redcrest, come on!" He knocked on the door a couple more times before it finally opened.

There was something about a young child's genuine anger that pierces straight to the heart. It was clear to Hazen that, regardless of species, this was true. Hazen sighed. "Look," he said, "I'm sorry that I've been keeping secrets. But believe me when I say that I don't want you to be hurt."

Redcrest didn't change her expression. She merely sidestepped him and went to the kitchen table. Hazen sighed and started to plate their meals. The silence as they ate was deafening. At least she was eating; that pleased Hazen. Then again, she was probably so hungry she could have eaten anything. When they finished, Hazen did the dishes while Redcrest returned to her room to sulk. When he finished, he went into the room, hoping to cheer her up.

Redcrest was sitting in her nestbox with her back to the door. Hazen stood at the threshold and said, "Hey. Wanna talk for a bit?" Redcrest nodded slightly and chirruped an affirmative. Hazen came in and thought about how he should handle this. In the end, he climbed rather awkwardly into the nestbox and sat down next to her. "How do you get into these things?" he said, trying to get her to smile. Fortunately, she did.

After getting settled in, he looked at the Saurian child. Hazen sighed and said, "Redcrest, I know that you don't like feeling left out. I know Papa isn't here that much and neither is Seamus. I can only imagine how sad you feel about me, your Partner, treating you like they do. It's not that I don't like you or that I don't want you around. It's just . . . hard to explain."

Redcrest looked up and said, "How come?"

Hazen sighed. He knew that she needed to know what was going down and he got tired of lying to her. "It has to deal with . . . bad people. And they want to hurt my friend Bentfeather; remember him?" She nodded. "And I'm afraid that they may actually do it. And I'm just worried, that's all." Hazen gave her a hug. "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you sooner, but there's a lot of things that are happening that's kind of scaring me."

"Be brave," Redcrest said, echoing what he said to her earlier today.

Hazen smiled. "I will," he said.

That night, Hazen informed Redcrest that he would be spending the night here. After getting ready for bed, Hazen was about to let her sleep when she wailed out of fear. Hazen turned to look what was going on. "There!" she said, pointing at the window. "It gone!"

Hazen climbed into the nestbox to comfort her. "What did you see?"

"Scary thing. Had a big head with pointy things!" Hazen tried to put the image together and he figured that it must have been Frak.

He smiled slightly and said, "Hey, I won't let him hurt you. He's gone now 'cause I scared him away." Redcrest began to calm down. "There we go," Hazen said. "Time to go to bed now." He was about to get out of the nestbox when she grasped his shirt.

"Stay," she said. Hazen looked at the window and the door before looking back at Redcrest. The look of terror and panic in her eyes made him realize how wrong it would be to let her sleep alone tonight.

"Okay," Hazen said. "I'll stay here tonight." He did his best to get comfortable in the nestbox with her and got under her blanket. She scooched closer to him and put an arm over his chest. "Have a good night," Hazen whispered to her.

"Night-night," Redcrest replied back. Hazen rubbed a hand down her neck, trying to soothe her to sleep. Soon, she was out and Hazen drifted off soon after that. Just as he went out, he saw the silhouette of a Pachycephalosaur in the window. "Good night, Frak," he mumbled slightly.

TAG: Any and all!

[Thundertail]

IC: Tebo Lewis and Bentfeather, morning at the library.

Tebo Lewis awoke in the dorm area of the library, lightly stretching to uncover his eyes. There was something soft in his arms, and he thought it was the pillow; but the soft thing stirred and stretched of it’s own accord, making him jerk away slightly. Finally the feathery form uncurled to reveal the bleary form of his mentor, Bentfeather; and his image became all that much clearer after he reached and put on his spectacles. By this time Bentfeather had figured out where he was, and was seen looking at him sheepishly.

“Um, please excuse the intrusion last night…”, Bentfeather said with a stiffened jaw. “I guess I was more scared than I thought…”, he looked to the nest box on the beaureau with guilt.

“It’s all right, my friend.”, Tebo said turning to a sitting position. “It made me dream I was a little boy again, and I had a plush Stegosaur doll I used to sleep with… It was quite a comfort on dark nights back then...”

“I used to snuggle with Nicolai that way…”, Bentfeather remembered. “Humans are warm when they’re sleeping…”

“Well,… Any time you need to be warm, by all means!”, Tebo smiled and smoothed his morning plumage before getting up to get dressed.

“Where do you suppose Frik slept last night?…”, Bentfeather flapped to the beaureau. “From the stealth she shows in guarding us, it could have been anywhere…”

“She was here. In this room.”, Tebo said, sniffing. “She was wearing some perfume last night, and it’s strongest here, by the door.”

“And she got in and out of here without us even knowing!…”, Bentfeather hopped onto Tebo’s shoulder. “Her professionalism is amazing!”

“What do we do now?”, Tebo said. “Today’s another day, but under the present circumstances...”

“Well, since we know nothing more than we did last night, I suggest we go about our daily business.”, Bentfeather said. “Don’t we have a class today with Hazen?”

“Yes, and there is the Debate Club that we need to cater… I looked at the roster last night!”, Tebo said. “It seems their topic for discussion today will be ‘flowers‘…”

“They will argue about anything!…”, Bentfeather chuckled as they went down to his office.

_____

Little did any of them know, Frik was nowhere in the library when they woke up; for she had been up since dawn, first chore being to search the whole library and locate every entrance and window. Her next task was to scan the outside of the building to detect any possible way someone could enter unseen out there, and try to actually enter from those places to test the difficulty and time involved in the task; for then she could calculate how long it would take for someone to enter, and show how long it would take for her to do so if the situation called for it.

This done, Frik walked away from the library, across to the city proper; off to find Frak, her mate, and see how he fared during the night. She knew his smell well, and found him near the Hall Of Hadrosaurs; under an awning still asleep!

“Wake up!…”, Frik whispered, prodding him gently. They nuzzled. “How went it?”

“I kept looking in on him where his charge stays.“, Frak told her. “I circled the whole block many times until I could no longer stay awake.“

“You should not look in like that, dear.”, Frak scolded. “You might have frightened them both!”, she looked around at the waking sounds softly manifesting themselves. “And there was no need to patrol like that… Just basic surveillance of the entrances would do… And if you asked, you could have slept inside, in a warm bed!…“, she patted his dome, smiling. “You’re not too good at this, aren’t you?”

“How did yours go?”, asked Frak whisperingly, and when she told him what transpired with her last night, the male Pachycephalosaur was outraged! “I insist we tell the proper authorities at once!”

“Shh…!”, she hushed. “Please remember, I hadn’t actually caught them in doing anything wrong.”, she said softly. “We must wait until they do something incriminating before they can be apprehended. It would only tip them off if we send guards to arrest them at this time, and we would never know who was at the bottom of this.”

“I guess you’re right, my love…”, said Frak.

The street was beginning to wake up, as stirrings were heard strongly in all the buildings. “Look, you continue guarding mister Hazen, and I will go back to guarding sir Bentfeather after filing our reports.”, she nuzzled him and quickly scampered out of the area.

The citizens that were just getting up soon left their homes to go about their daily business; and Frik strolled right along with them, briefly chatting with this or that passer by as she went to her next destination. At a kiosk near the head of the street she stopped, and gently shook the attending Postal bird awake. This one in this kiosk was a cohort of hers, and though he went by the name of 74, his real name was Derek. He hitched and thrashed where he sat a second, and then recognized Frik for what she was, but addressed her by her alias anyway.

“Good morning miss Natasha.”, said he. “How may I be of service?”

“Just wonderful, my friend!…”, said she, then passed over several rolled up notes. “I would like these sent to my constituents, if you don’t mind.”, actually, they were to go to the guard barracks, the mayor’s assistant, the Archaeological Guild, the Investigator’s beaureau and the speaker for the Dinotopian Council in that order; and reported of what transpired last night.

“Have a lot of business prospects, I see…”, Derek commented.

“There is a lot going on.”, Frik agreed.

“Well, I’m sure everything will turn out well.”, said he, summoning several of his cohorts and assigning their destinations.

“Those are my hopes too.”, Frik agreed, and swiftly left before the small squadron of Postal Birds took off.

Frik, dressed in her good attire though she had worn it all night, regally climbed the steps and pushed the doors inward; but even though she was not the first patron of the library, she was pretty close. She nodded at Jake manning the desk and went directly to the cartography department once more, spreading her ficticious research out on the table before sitting. It was many handfulls of moments before she smelled Tebo coming near in an adjoining aisle, and several more before he wheeled a book trolley into the area. She put on her best airs and spoke.

“Well, there is that charming young man who helped me last night!”, Frik said. “Are you the curator to this establishment?… What is your name, if I may ask?”

“I am Tebo Lewis, an apprentice librarian.”, said Tebo.

“I am lady Natasha, and I must make commendations on your fine service…”, Frik said. “Is the library curator currently available? I must tell him or her!…”

“He is preparing to teach a class at the moment, but I will see if he is available.”, tebo told her, trying to play along without smirking. “If you would follow me?…”

Frik got up and followed tebo and his cart to where he stowed it temporarily, which was on the way to Study Room 1. They both nodded or otherwise greeted a few patrons in their own way along the way, and Tebo held the door open for the regal looking Pachycephalosaur. As the boy looked inside, Tebo saw Bentfeather go over a few things in a book before raising his head and smiling.

“Well, well!…”, said he. “Come in, come in!… To what do I owe thius visit?”

“Your apprentice does excellent work.”, said miss Natasha, AKA. Frik. “I wish to tell you this personally.”

“He does, doesn’t he…”, Bentfeather said as Tebo closed the Study Room door to drown out the noise the Debate Club was making down the hall. Frik turned suddenly to listen at the door a second before speaking.

“About the matter I made known to you last night,…”, Frik said in a no-nonsense tone. “I have sent word of my findings to my superiors and all concerned parties. The only thing to do is to wait for their decision of what to do about it. In the mean time, my mate and I will continue to protect you and your cohorts from harm.”

“Er,… about your method of guarding us…”, Bentfeather said after digesting what she said. “Is it wise to guard us in such a stealthy way?”

“Rest assured, it is the only way.”, Frik smiled. “The method in which we guard insures that those that might do you any harm think you are not guarded. Thusly they will try other nefarious things and increase the possibility of their capture.”

“And I assume we are to go along with these ruses?”, Tebo asked.

“Precisely.”, Frik smiled at the boy, taking him aback. “And your performance so far is exceptional. Keep up the good work!”, she turned to Bentfeather. “I think he makes a wonderful actor!”, she sat at one of the chairs around the table.

Frik seemed the saurian of few words, so both human and Microraptor shrugged and continued preparing for todays lesson; and her staring at their progress did nothing to impede their progress. About an hour later the door opened, and Hazen Baker cautiously walked into Study Room 1, a small saurian trailing a short distance behind him; and both found their places in the room before noticing the visitor that was already there, and many moments later someone knocked at the door several minutes later. Frik knew from the smell that her mate had arrived, and rose to open the door…
_

TAG: Hazen, Redcrest, any and all!

[o8jedi]

IC: Hazen Baker, Hall of Hadrosaurs, Waterfall City

-

Hazen stirred the next morning, surprised by the weight that was on his chest. As the world came into focus, he looked down at the torso of the young Lambeosaur stretched out over him. Little Redcrest was still sleeping soundly. Hazen noticed a little pool of Saurian saliva that had formed on his shirt (which he neglected to take off last night) and groaned slightly. It was a pity that he didn't have a change of clothes handy for just such an occasion. Oh, well; live and learn.

He carefully pried her off his form and slid out from under her, gently easing her back down in the soft straw of the nestbox. After dusting himself off, he went to prepare some breakfast, only to find that Seamus and Polongo were there. "Oh!" he said, "I wasn't expecting you to be here."

"It is our home, after all," said Seamus. "The question is why are you here?" Hazen suddenly felt put on the spot and took a step back.

"It not that we don't like you," said Polongo, "just need to know if should expect you."

Hazen smiled, relieved. "Well, Redcrest and all. She saw a shadow last night and wanted me to make sure it didn't get her. Must have fallen asleep waiting for her to do the same." He walked up to the table to see what they were eating. "To be honest, I think it would be better if I stayed here, however I know you're tight on room."

"We agree," said Seamus, "If you don't mind sharing the room with Redcrest, we may be able to accommodate. I share Polongo's room and neither of us mind." Polongo grumbled in agreement.

As he took a seat, Hazen nodded, seeing their point of view. "Perhaps," Hazen said, "but I don't want to be a security blanket either. One of the books I've been reading on young-rearing stresses the importance of giving them the opportunity to learn and grow by themselves and one way is to give them their own room." Hazen sighed. "Still, if this will help make both our lives easier, it might be wise if I started moving."

Seamus smiled. "I'm sure good fortune will smile on us soon. And you'll be able to have your own private space as well as Redcrest. I know a good set of movers. I'll have them bring your effects here."

Hazen nodded. "Thank you," he said. After he gave his address to Seamus before he and Polongo went back to the markets, he went about making sure Redcrest was ready for the day.

After feeding her and making sure all his books were gathered, he took her hand and started out to the library. Redcrest sulked slightly, remembering how boring it was yesterday. "I promise it won't be like it was yesterday. We'll have time for games and I'll make sure Sir Bentfeather makes class fun, too." She didn't seem convinced and Hazen sighed. He knew that balancing a child and classes was exceptionally difficult and now he empathized with young, single parents on an entirely new level.

While passing through Juggler's Square, a small crowd gathered around one of the street entertainers. Hazen knew they had time and he said to his Partner, "Come on, let's see what's going on." Hazen helped Redcrest get a good view of the entertainer. The dinosaur was dressed up in colorful clothes, wore a curly-haired wig, and was juggling several weighted clubs. Occasionally, he would do a flourish and the audience would applaud.

After he finished his routine, he called, "I need a young, brave volunteer." Redcrest, like all the other children, raised her hand. The juggler looked around and said, "You there, miss!" pointing at Redcrest.

Redcrest excitedly looked at Hazen and he said, "Go on!" She ran out and the juggler said, "I need you to sssstand here in front of this wall. Now whatever you do, don't move." Redcrest nodded as the juggler pulled out several balls. He prepped himself and bounced them against the ground and the wall. Redcrest tensed up, afraid of getting hit. Cheers came out from the crowd and Redcrest grinned.

Once the routine was over, the juggler gave a few bows. Redcrest had never seen a Saurian with hair before and she went to examine it. Hazen realized what she was doing and said, "Redcrest, look with your eyes, not your hands!" She didn't hear him over the cheers and applause. She grabbed a hold and with a swift yank, removed the wig. The cheers turned to laughs as the Saurian played up this unfortunate mishap. Redcrest caught a look at the juggler and her eyes went wide. It was spikey like the shadow she saw last night. She squealed and ran back to Hazen, dropping the wig.

Hazen gave her a few reassuring pats before looking at the Juggler. Seeing the dome made him recognize Frak, who gave him a sublte motion telling him to play along. Hazen picked up the wig approached him and said, "I'm sorry about that. She's very curious and she hasn't quite gotten out of the grabby phase."

"It's alright, kind ssssir," said Frak as he grabbed the wig back. "It happenssss more often than you think!"

Hazen smiled back. "Still, here's something for your troubles." He held out a few coins and Frak put his hands up.

"Really, it isss no trouble at all. Her assistance was reward enough." Frak looked at Redcrest, who was still hiding behind Hazen and clutching his pant leg. He looked down and smiled at her. "I may look sssscary, but I didn't hurt you, did I?" Redcrest slightly shook her head. "It'ssss perfectly alright." He held out a hand in friendship.

Hazen looked at Redcrest. "It's alright. He won't hurt you." Redcrest tenatively held out her hand and Frak took it in his. Redcrest began to relax her grip and smile back at the Pachycephalosaur. "There," Hazen said to his charge as the last of the crowd dispersed. "Thanks for the show," he said to Frak.

"Until nex-sss-t time!" said Frak as he donned his wig again and went off.

"Come on," Hazen said to Redcrest, "Let's go." The two then returned to the library. After learning that they were to be in Study Room 1, they went there. He opened the door and stepped in, a bit surprised to see Frik occupying a seat. Redcrest stopped in her tracks, seeing another scary-looking Saurian. Hazen coaxed her in and helped her into a chair, pulling out some more paper for her to doodle on.

Then came a knock on the door. Frik rose and opened it, letting in another Pachy. Even though he was wearing different clothes than before, he recognized Frak. Redcrest, however, did not. She yelped a bit and leaned closer to Hazen for protection. "It's alright," Hazen whispered to her. "They're friends." Something important must have happened, he thought, for why else would their bodyguards be here?

-

TAG: Bentfeather, Frik, Frak, any and all!

[Thundertail]

IC: Bentfeather, Tebo and company. Study Room 1.

Even though the gravity of their current situation loomed heavy in Study Room 1 now that their bodyguards were in the room, Bentfeather took on a light air and smiled at each and every one. A plan would no doubt need to be hatched concerning how these two highly skilled Pachys guarded Hazen, Redcrest, Tebo and he; and he waited like all the rest there to hear what they had in mind. In the mean time, Redcrest fidgeted on her chair with a look of boredom. He turned to Tebo while smiling at the little one.

“Could you please find something fun for this darling to do, Tebo.”, he said sweetly. “I’m sure she would not like sitting there while we are talking…”

“Yes, sir Bentfeathewr…”, Tebo got up, searching the shelves; then coming back from one with several items which included a few thin books and a small box. “Redcrest, want to play?…”, he called, and the dinosaur slid out of her seat.

While that was going on, Bentfeather looked at the twin saurians expectantly; Hazen doing the same. For Hazen’s sake, Frik repeated what she told Bentfeather and Tebo before the lad entered; Frak nodding at the facts, and when finished Hazen took on a thoughtful look. Though both Frik and Frak partially agreed with hazen’s comments a few moments later, they knew that nothing drastic needed to be done until the council debated over it; and told Hazen so in their own ways.

“This is all well and good.”, Bentfeather broke in. “But we can not go about our daily business with someone out to do me in!”, he flapped to the center of the table. “We need to do something about this, and be quick about it!”

“Please understand, sir Bentfeather.”, Frik said. “If we do anything that would tell your adversaries we know something is up, who knows what they will do? They might outright kill you, or steal the artifact guards or no; or any number of things you could imagine - or worse, nothing at all. They might simply go away, and we will never be able to solve this mystery.”, she looked at him sternly. “Do you want the killer of Frank Scratt get off unpunished?…”

“Well, no but…”, said Bentfeather.

“Then we must come up with a plan, and co-ordinate it with the council.”, Frik said simply.

“But we must do nothing until the council decides what course is best.”, said Frak. “We must go about like we have been; only it will be much safer for all of you because you will be guarded.”

“That’s a relief.”, Tebo said from the floor. “Until I figured out your method of guarding us, I thought you had abandoned us!”

“Like I said.”, Frik repeated. “We guard in a way that makes it look like you are not being guarded. That way who ever is out there that wishes to do you any harm will think they will get away with it.”

“And then we step in, and they’re in for a big surprise!”, Frak smiled.

Redcrest had gotten bored with the books, so Tebo was opening the small box, which contained a set of dominoes. As he began to set them up, Redcrest would tip one or more over; giggling at Tebo scrambling to set them back up again. He stayed her hand a few moments while he finished setting most of them up, then had her push an end one over; which sent the whole array cascading to the ground! She yipped and cooed at the entertaining display, and motioned for Tebo to do it again. Everyone else turned their attention from this to the conversation they were in the middle of.

“But just suppose the council decides action needs to be taken.”, Bentfeather continued. “What should we do?”

“I have made a suggestion in my report to the council.”, Frik told him. “It states that, for the safety for all concerned as well as that artifact, we should arrange to have you and it disappear from Waterfall City.”

“How are we to do that?”, asked Tebo as he toppled his latest domino creation, a spiral pattern.

“We are adept in disguise and stealth.”, Frik told him. “We could arrange for you all to slip out in the middle of the night…”

“Or in broad daylight, under the ruse of being someone else…”, added Frak.

“To a secret destination.”, Frik gave Frak a glare. “There it would be safe to start your lives anew.”

“But what if the ones after us find out, and track us down?”, Bentfeather asked.

“Then you will still have us, by your side protecting you…”, Frik told them. “You see, not only is it our duty to protect you; we are personally concerned for your safety.”, she looked at Bentfeather, and he saw in her eyes the sentiment was true. “It is not right to have innocent and good folks like you mixed in with all these nefarious things…”

“For that, I’m glad!”, Tebo said as he and Redcrest finished playing. “You may look scary to me, but you are good folks too!”, Redcrest hugged him before returning to her seat beside Hazen…
_____

IC: Mondor Triceratops and son Peter, The Archaeological Guild at the Maze building.

Mondor Triceratops walked the Maze building in despair, it’s labyrinth of halls and chambers were still a mystery to him as he entered an unused room or dead end, as was the maze’s purpose. The headquarters of the Archaeological Guild lay on the bottom floor of this gargantuan building complex, but he chose to wander the upper floors when he was deep in thought; and always got a little lost as his mind wandered the horsetails in search of the answers to the problems he had. One of those things was what to do about that cursed artifact discovered on the Outer Island, for to study it would require they see it in it’s full light and examine the amulet secreted within; but the accursed bauble gave off a painful aura that prevented him from getting near, and the frustration of not knowing what it was irked him to no end!

Another thing that bothered him - but on a more personal manner - was his son Peter. The yearling wanted so bad to be an Archaeologist, and the boy did study hard; but he lacked direction, always wanting to take the shortcuts to the truth in Archaeology. He had no intention to follow protocols, just leap to the facts without any research at all and expect great things. If he was to get anywhere at all with him as he was his mentor, he would have to show him that there are no shortcuts in life; and it was best for all if he would follow procedure, and take instruction seriously!

The boy had refused these many months the assignment Mondor had given him, to go to the Time Towers and do research on the Water clock of Nallix and write a paper on his findings; which was study fodder all apprentice Archaeologists go through in their training, but the boy thought he could get by with what was already said about the giant device. More so, Peter kept on insisting that he could decipher the Tyrannosaur head artifact from the Outer Island; a task that would even test the skills of himself! As Mondor puzzled over his son’s obstinence on these matters, a short spike poked into his side, breaking him out of his concentration at an intersection.

“Hello, poppa.”, said Peter, the two-thirds size Triceratops. “What you doing?”

“Thinking.”, Mondor told him. “And I suggest that is what you should be doing.”

“I have!”, said the lad. “I decided I want to help you any way I can with that new artifact… I’ll even clean up the museum for you!”

“Please Peter. Do not bother me with that artifact again.”, Mondor sighed. “You know as well as I that you may not see it until it is fully deciphered.”

“But I know how to decipher it!”, Peter insisted. “All I need is a few minutes and it’s secrets can be uncovered…”

“Is this what you want?”, Mondor asked.

“Yes!”, said Peter. “More than anything!”

“How do you expect me to give you what you want when you won’t even do what I want?”, Mondor asked his son. “Months ago I gave you an assignment, and still you refuse to do it! How can you expect to be a good Archaeologist if you do not follow instruction?”, the boy backed away at his father’s show of anger. “Until you go to the Time Towers and study the Water clock of Nallix, you will never set eyes on that artifact… And that is my final say on the matter!”, he stomped.

Backing away further, Peter vented some anger of his own! “FINE!…”, said he, and ploughed into the corner of the intersection as he left; gouging a large chunk of masonry loose as he did so, and stomped away out of sight.

Mondor shook his head in despair as he watched his son leave. The boy had too much of his mother in him, that was a fact! He longed for the day when he could pull him aside and teach him the nobility of his tribe, to give him pride in his kind and to allow him to see the greatness he could achieve. As if he did not have enough on his mind, for all these things going on around the island caused many things of the past to be discovered; and between his professional woes and his personal ones, he feared his personal profession would suffer.

By some miracle as he walked pondering these things, he had inadvertently found his way back down to his office. Tablets and scrolls lined the shelves there, mixed in with the odd bone or skull; and a Triceratops-sized desk littered with research paperwork was the centerpiece of the stone chamber. Fortunately, this room was on an outer wall, and light from an upper window hewn out of the yard thick wall trickled down to illuminate the space. At a flapping noise from that direction, Mondor looked up and saw a Postal Bird enter and circle in for a landing on the desk. Mondor bowed and so did the Postal Bird, then the miniscule creature spoke.

“I have a written note from Lady Natasha…”, he placed it on the desk.

“Please read it, if you would…”, said Mondor as he was ill-equipped to unroll it.

“Of course.”, said the bird, spreading it out flat on the desk.

“To Mondor Triceratops, of the Archaeological Guild.” , it read.
“Greetings to you, from a good friend. I am writing to you today about
the artifact received by your guild from the Outer Island.
I regret to inform you that it is my belief that said artifact is in
danger of being stolen. More so, I suspect that your son may be
involved in this plot. I have overheard parts to a plot illustrating
said theft, and trust in your expertise to prevent it. You are always wise
in these matters, my friend; and trust you will do the right thing.
If you plan to do what I think you are going to plan, you may store
the original with my firm. Tell no one else of this other than your trusted
cohorts, and by no means tell your son what you are doing. I will assist as
I may when the time comes… Breathe deep, Lady Natasha.”

“This is terrible!”, Mondor said.

“Do you wish me to repeat the message?”, the Postal Bird asked.

“NO!…”, Mondor said loudly, then whispered. “I mean no… And please do not repeat what you read to anyone”, he looked at the bird sternly. “The fate of the Archaeological world hangs in the balance!…”

“I understand, sir!”, said the bird. “Mum’s the word!”, he got ready and flapped back out the window.

At first Mondor did not know what to think! To receive word that someone was going to steal an artifact right out from under his frill while guarded was detrimental enough; but to find out his own SON may be at the bottom of it was almost too much! No wonder the boy was so interested in the artifact: to get close enough to steal it, presumably with the help of other despicable persons! He closed the office door and thought, anger mixing in with despair getting in the way of any rational thought. Where did he go wrong with the boy? He didn’t think that his stern way toward him was enough to cause him to associate with common thieves, but something must have. Mondor was on the verge of weeping for his treacherous son, sorrow would not do the news justice!

At last an idea at last hit him, one that would preserve the artifact for proper study; but even though it would probably not be him that would unlock it‘s secrets, some day someone would. It is well known that most artifacts could not be put on display in museums as they were too fragile or valuable for public display. In many cases mock-up copies needed to be made, where artisans would re-craft them from cheaper materials and made to look identical with the originals; which would be stored in secure warehouses or other storage facilities while the fakes were put on display.

Discreetly leaving his office and making his way through the labyrinthine hallways, Mondor opened the door to the room where the Reproduction department lay. Many saurians and humans were at workbenches, hard at work in the many procedures having to do with artifact restoration and reproduction; overseen by the flitting form of their Harpymimus overseer. Instantly the smallish creature spotted him, and scampered over to his side; where both bowed in unison before the tiny one spoke.

“They are restoring some memorabilia from the Arthur Dennison house.”, said he. “Do you require our services?”

“I think so, Willis…”, Mondor said. “I have an artifact, and the job must be secret.”

“You don’t say!”, Willis said. “What are the specifics of your request?”

“Follow me…”, said Mondor as he led the way to his office.

At length, the conversation they had dealt with the exact specifics in which the reproduction artifact would be made. It would be copied to exactness on the outside, and it would possess the same weight; but many of the original features would be missing. Though the glyphs and cartouches would possess identical coloration and arrangement, and every crevice would be mapped exactly; the interior workings would not be there, for it was to be made of thick porcelain, and not of solid stone. Lead weighting would be affixed on the inside, and the surface would receive the same likeness in wear.

Instructions given, Mondor allowed Willis to leave to complete this monumental task; and several days later the task was complete. In the dead of night the original artifact was crated up and secreted out of the maze building; and the artificial artifact took it’s place, none but a few any the wiser…
_

TAG: Hazen, any and all!

[o8jedi]

IC: Hazen Baker, Study Room 1, Waterfall City Library

Hazen listened intently as Frik and Frak told the assembled their idea. Even he had to admit that their reasoning was sound. Much like the Witness Protection Program, Tebo and Bentfeather would be given new quarters and, if he understood correctly, new aliases until this affair was resolved. That was all well and good for Bentfeather and Tebo, but what about himself? Redcrest took a seat by Hazen's side after she played with Tebo and Hazen smiled at her.

"Listen," he said, turning back to the Pachys, "I appreciate all you have done for us and I can't thank you enough for it, but I have to know what you have intended for me."

"Pending approval, you would have to flee as well," said Frak, "given what you know."

Hazen stood up, not happy with that answer. "With all due respect, I'm not as involved as Tebo or Bentfeather. I may be a friend, but on first glance, I'm a casual friend at best. There's no reason for any conspirator to believe he'd let me in on something as big as this."

"Do you want to take that chance?" asked Frik, simply and pointedly. "These people have killed at least one person, do you want to be the next?"

Hazen paused, knowing how much his own life meant to him. He looked back down at Redcrest. "Besides," Hazen said, "I can't leave. I've got my music lessons to take and my Partner to look after." He blinked a few times. "I'm not leaving her and I'm not going to take her away from family, which she needs just as much as she needs me." He glanced at the two bodyguards, firmly making his point.

"We understand," said Frik, "however arrangements can be made."

"'Arrangements?'" Hazen asked, but his comment was ignored. More plans were being made and Hazen was beginning to feel decidedly left out of the conversation. He looked down at Redcrest and smiled. "See, even grown-ups can be left out."

Redcrest asked, "What happening?"

"They're talking about whether or not they need to have them hide from the bad men I told you about. And it may turn out that I need to go hide as well."

"No!" Redcrest protested as she clung to him. "No go!"

"I won't let them take me from you," Hazen said back. "I promise. I'd be so sad to know if you went back to what things were before I met you." A decision had been reached and Hazen looked up to hear what they had in mind.

TAG: Bentfeather, Tebo, any and all.

[Thundertail]

OCC: Here is where things really start moving, 08jedi. Time to set into motion the things discussed in our PM’s…
_

IC: Frik at Rolf’s shipping company.

The handlers brought in a small wooden crate, and mister Rolf checked the label on the side. It was another piece of cargo addressed to miss Natasha’s care, and by the way the human workers were struggling it was probably very heavy! He didn’t help them, just directed them where to put it, in the far back of the warehouse; where many of miss Natasha’s crated things lay. It must have been special cargo indeed for it to arrive so discreetly and without prior notification. But that didn’t matter as it was accompanied with all the proper paperwork.

What he could not understand was why the Archaeological Guild would send her the parcel in the first place; but his job was not to question why. His task was to just store it for her and wait for her approval before shipping it; and so far no word of the latter was evident, so back in her storage area it went. As the last of the workers handling the crate emerged from the bowels of the warehouse, miss Natasha came sauntering in view; and regally sat in the waiting area at the front office. Rolf rushed in and bowed at the female Pachycephalosaur.

“Ah! Miss Natasha!”, said he. “Your latest acquisition is now safely with your other cargo.”

“You do excellent work.”, said miss Natasha, alias Frik. “And it arrived undamaged?”

“Of course, my lady.”, said Rolf. “The handlers just finished up.”

“I feel much better now…”, said she. “I was worried for security.”

“May I inquire what it is?”, asked Rolf. “If it is at risk, I should know what it is so it can be guarded.”

“I am not at liberty to say…”, miss Natasha said with suspicion. “But I trust your facility is safe enough.”, she winked. “Just so long as nobody knows it is here…”

“I see.”, Rolf said. “Well, I am always at your service - no matter the circumstances!”, he smiled in a cheesy way.

“I will have it shipped out soon.”, said she. “I will arrange everything, co-ordinate all the arrangements, employ my own carts and crew and notify you the day it is to be shipped.”

“I understand, ma’am.”, said Rolf. “You can count on me in anything you would have me do.”

“Thank you, mister Rolf.”, said Frik playing lady Natasha. “I’d be at a loss without you.”…

_____

IC: Bentfeather and Tebo, around the library and around town.

A day or so passed, and no strange things happen to Bentfeather and Tebo other than regular things. Their guards remain anonymous from the rest of their friends and cohorts, but are evident only to them as they get used to their various disguises. Their would-be abductors made no real attempt to perform their deed, but one or all of them were noticed by either Bentfeather, Tebo or their guards in passing; sometimes looking forlorn at yet another failed attempt. Their duties never wavered as they hosted many of the city’s prominent groups or clubs at the library, and all concerned conveyed themselves like nothing was going on; even though the ambient tension of waiting for something to happen gradually increased as time wore on.

Bentfeather never returned to his apartment, and had the majority of his things there moved to the library as that was the only place he actually felt safe. Tebo Lewis seldom visited his parents or old friends at Mosasaur Harbor either, preferring to stay close to his new Partner to keep him comforted as the stress of what was going on was wearing the poor creature to a frazzle! Even though Tebo’s parents asked him when he was there what was going on, he would never actually say the truth; merely saying that a lot of things were happening, but everything was turning out fine.

Tebo rolled his book trolley through the library thinking of these things, placing books and scrolls where they belonged and grabbing abandoned tomes from tables or other places where they didn’t belong like he usually did. Frik was not evident at the library at this time, but he knew she was close by as she had discreetly told them she would be out doing errands today, but not to worry as the city guards would be visiting soon with some cadets today.

As he passed the front desk, he stopped to chat with Jake who was sitting there, who informed that there was nothing amiss; and then made a comment about the rich looking female Pachycephalosaur who asked about the maps, and how she was taking a shine to Tebo! Tebo just shrugged off the comment and replied that he knew where the maps were; then Jake reminded Tebo that it was his turn to collect the books that were at large in the city. Gasping in shame that he forgot, Tebo parked his book trolley down the hall from Bentfeather’s office\; in an effort to see if his mentor needed him for anything during his planned absence. Tebo composed himself before he gently knocked and let himself in, and saw he was listening to a Postal Bird relaying a message. Tebo knew not to disturb his mentor when he was busy with someone else, and just stood there at the doorway and waited for this business to complete itself.

“…May have to flee Waterfall City.”, Tebo overheard the Postal Bird as Bentfeather nodded. “All outside arrangements are being made, and you are advised to pack for an extended trip. The destination will be withheld until actual time of departure, and all concerned parties will be notified same.”, the bird took a breath. “Best of luck, mayor Masteson… End of message.”

“Thank you, noble flyer.”, Bentfeather said formally. “Such large news from such a small fellow.”

“I have also been informed that I will be going along too.”, said the bird. “I am to assist in any way I am able.”, then the Postal Bird noticed Tebo. “AWK!!…”

“Have no fear!… This is my cohort and current Partner, Tebo Lewis.”, Bentfeather tried to calm him. “Um, Tebo… We are going on a little trip. Want to come?”

“If this is a ploy to try and lose me, you have another thing coming!…”, Tebo said in mock anger. “You can count me in on this one!… I always wanted to see Dinotopia in person!”

“Oh, this is not a pleasure trip.”, Bentfeather said as the boy closed the door. “It is feared that those thugs that tried to snatch me might do it. Besides, the Outer Island artifact may become stolen. The court and the mayor has decided to allow us and the artifact to discreetly leave the city to avoid any untoward event.”

Voicing his fear of the danger involved, Tebo then asked his question; but to the boy’s surprise, Bentfeather asked if he could come along with him on his errand! Tebo cautioned about the danger in doing this deed too; but Bentfeather said that they should convey their business in a natural way, saying not to fear because Frik and many of the guards would no doubt be near by. Against his better judgment, Tebo chose not to pursue the subject; and they both went down to get the heavy duty pushcart thoughtfully prepared by Mizzy, and was out on the streets many moments after that.

At length they made it through many streets, crowds slowing their progress a little bit; but many would calmly step out of their way. They made several stops, collecting this or that tome at residences or from people in the streets; and even collected several Drachs as late fees to be processed later back at the library. Near the center of Fountain Square, the water from the fountain partially obscured some sounds in the area; and this was why they didn’t notice the medium sized Triceratops they both knew until the yearling was nearly face to face with them!…
_

TAG: Hazen, Redcrest, any and all!

[Thundertail]

IC: Bentfeather and Tebo with Peter Triceratops, out in the streets of Waterfall City.


Peter Triceratops was so frustrated at his father, for he would never let him see that artifact from the Outer Island. He could decipher it, he knew; and he knew the reason why his father wouldn’t let him see it was NOT because his co-conspirators wanted it for the Grand Plan, for nobody but he and them knew of it. Poppa just didn’t have enough confidence in his own son to do a good job on it - or at least that was what his Poppa thought! Curse him anyway! Once the artifact was back in the hands of the expedition, Poppa would be singing a new tune… That was for sure!

He stomped through the streets, and he pitied anyone who got in his way. He grumbled at a sheepish little human girl, who ran behind her mother crying; then stepped hard into a puddle that splashed an Ankylosaur in his cart, snorting at the warty beast when he tried to complain.

Peter saw two of the seven cronies he was affiliated with, sneaking their way through the crowd; and not knowing why those two stupid humans were doing down this street, and meaning to sit on them the next time they met! Soon his head sagged down to think of the job he gave his other louts, for they botched every opportunity to grab that bird chief librarian; and it would serve Bentfeather right any mishap his cronies would inflict on him, for the little pipsqueak had failed him on every subject ever taught by him… The bird was way too meticulous in his lessons!

Suddenly he looked up at the familiar pushcart coming directly for him, scrawny dark skinned human pushing it bent over in extreme effort; and what sat perched on the parasol awning atop it was none other than that bird, Bentfeather! Seeing a perfect opportunity, Peter licked his beak and ploughed straight on through; veering just in time to avoid collision, but close enough to see the scrawny human struggle to avoid the crash! As both parties stopped to survey any damages and apologize for the near accident, recognition seemed to slowly dawn on both Bentfeather and Peter.

“Ah! It’s the son of the city’s finest Archaeologist!”, Bentfeather called. “That was a close one, Peter. Are you all right?”

“I’m fine sir, and you?”, said Peter innocently. “Sorry. I didn’t see you…”

“That’s all right, my boy.”, said Bentfeather. “I guess you were preoccupied…”

Among the crowd around them, a guard pranced into view; high atop his Corythosaur steed, innocently making his rounds or so it seemed. He was one assigned to keep an eye on Bentfeather, and he knew that book collections would invariably be made; but wondered why, in all sanity, would he go do the task in person! Unseen by him or his steed, the thugs that were in the street saw them; and discreetly made themselves scarce!

“Say sir. Who is this?… Your new apprentice.”, Peter’s nose horn pointed at Tebo.

“He’s my new Partner, actually…”, Bentfeather told him.

“Aren’t you Partners with Nicolai Sanders?”, asked the Triceratops, as if he didn’t know!…

“Nicolai Sanders passed away recently…”, said Bentfeather.

“Oh, no!…”, Peter said, pretending to be shocked. “I’m so sorry to hear it!… Is there anything I could do?”

“No, that’s fine…”, Bentfeather said.

“…Your name is Peter Triceratops, right?”, Tebo asked suddenly, looking up from a ledger.

“Yes…”, Peter wondered why he asked.

“It says here you owe the library three books.”, Tebo explained. “One of them is from nearly five years ago, and the other two are almost a year overdue…”, he consulted a fee table. “If you do not have those books to give to us now, you owe the library almost twenty Drachs!”

“Tebo!… Not now!…”, Bentfeather discreetly scolded.

By now Peter spied the guards, who were innocently sauntering up the street; neither moving away or getting closer, but making the yearling Triceratops nervous never the less! Here was the perfect opportunity to grab him, and the crowd was bad enough; but now there were guards around, and now he saw why it was so difficult for his thugs to get Bentfeather! He thought quick as he cleared his throat, then kept up his innocent demeanor.

“That’s ok, sir.”, Peter said, then turned to the scrawny human. “Look. I don’t have the books on me, and I don’t have any money on me, either… I will stop by the library later and drop them off… Is this Ok?”

“I guess so…”, Tebo said, putting the ledger down.

“Of course it’s all right!”, Bentfeather agreed. “Now let’s get a move on. We got to collect the rest by sundown, you know!…”

“Yes! And I have another engagement across town, so I must go too…”, he smiled.

Peter turned and paced with purpose out of the area, both guards keeping an eye on his back the whole time. Tebo shrugged at the Corythosaur guard and lifted the heavy pushcart once more…


_____

IC: Mondor and Peter Triceratops, the Archaeological Guild at the Maze building.

Peter Triceratops, miffed at yet another botched attempt to abduct Bentfeather, decided to go back home; even though his situation at home with his Poppa was not exactly like any normal situation, at least he could go there and pretend that normalcy reigned. He figured to try one more time to ask to see that artifact, and maybe this time his desires would be met. He would approach his Poppa, frill in hoof, and apologize for his outburst earlier; and maybe his Poppa would be convinced of the earnestness enough to grant him his wish. He searched the Maze building, for he learned the layout of the place a long time ago; and found him in another research area, reading inscriptions on a gold-clad stone tablet absently.

“Poppa…”, Peter said sheepishly as soon as he got his attention. “I got something to say to you, and…”

“Peter, there is something that needs to be said to you too…”, Mondor told him.

“You first, Poppa.”, Peter said meekly.

“I have been thinking about your attitude lately; and though it is not what I expected of a son of mine…”, Mondor began. “I think things could have been different if I listened to you in the first place.”

“What do you mean?”, Peter asked.

“What I mean is perhaps I should do the thing that would make you happy before I ask you to do the thing I want.”, said Mondor. “You seem to think you can decipher that artifact from the Outer Island, and you are adamant about it. Deciphering it is almost too hard for even me to do; and maybe if you give it a try and fail at it, you’ll see how difficult Archaeology can be.”, he turned to him. “What I’m saying is yes, you may go and try to decipher the artifact. The only catch is you MUST go to the Time Towers and decipher the Water clock of Nallix right after that.”, he smiled at Peter’s broadening smile. “Will you do this?”

“Yes Poppa!…”, Peter said excitedly. “Of course I will!…”

“Oh Peter…”, Mondor announced as Peter was turning. “What was it that you were going to tell me?”

“Oh,…”, Peter nearly forgot! “Well, I was just going to apologize for shouting at you yesterday… I was out of line…”, he hung his head.

“Well, us Three-horns are well known for not hiding our emotions!…”, Mondor chuckled. “Apology accepted!… Now if you would excuse me, this tablet needs translation.”

“Bye Poppa…”, Peter smiled as he left. “And thanks!…”

Peter walked out of the maze building many moments later, happy in the knowledge that the expedition’s plan would soon come to pass. He traipsed the streets in a roundabout way back to the Mosasaur Shipping company, hoping not to be followed; and went inside the warehouse amid all the early afternoon workers. He sought out two humans that were in on their caper and told them that it would be all clear to steal the artifact that night; and to collect all things they would need for the job - and for fates sake, don’t botch it up like they did with kidnapping Bentfeather! Once he told them in secret a hidden way into the Maze building, Peter left the Mosasaur Shipping company warehouse and took another indirect way back to the maze building.

He went into his private study and gathered his tools for studying artifacts, placing them into a satchel before meeting his father near where the Outer Island artifact was stored; father explaining to the guards there that Peter was going to examine the artifact, then Mondor left Peter to his devices. The guards were curious, and gave the yearling Triceratops little room to examine the object; so Peter looked up at them and spoke.

“Um guys…”, said he. “Would you mind waiting outside the room. You’re in my light.”, they nodded and left the area.

He went back to work, or made appearances to seem so; and waited for his cronies to arrive in the room from a back entryway, scowling at them as they made it there nearly an hour later. The two humans quickly crated up the artifact as quietly as their uncouthness would allow, Peter shushing them at any errant noise they made; and soon the crated artifact was ported out of the room and out of the building, none of them any the wiser that the artifact was a well-crafted forgery! As soon as his thugs were out of sight, Peter decided to make his own get-away, and walked up past where the guards were now stationed; then stopped to make it look good.

“Um,… I’m going out for Eveningmeal.”, Peter told them. “Do you want me to bring you back anything?”

After a brief conference between the two, the human guard replied. “Thank you, no.”, Peter nodded and left the Maze building, he knew it was for the last time!

When he got back to the Mosasaur Shipping company warehouse, Peter found it closed; but a loading dock door was open and he slipped inside. He made his way to the back in the dark, following the dim light of a lantern to where his two thugs and several others including the Stenoychosaur thug stood around the half opened crate containing the artifact; and they were arguing over something like they always did when together, but they seemed to be arguing over the crate!

“Did I miss anything?…”, Peter asked.

“You missed plenty!”, said the Stenoychosaur. “These morons dropped the crate on the way here!”

“Is anything broken?”, he asked.

“We’re just checking it out now.”, said one of the humans that helped carry the crate.

“If the thing’s broken, I’m going to do the same service to your head!”, said the Stenoychosaur. “Then I’m going to put you back together and let mister S do it to you all over again!”

“Enough of that!”, yelled Peter. “Just get it out and let’s take a look…!”

Both humans and the others removed the wooden pieces, pulled aside the padding and extracted the ugly Tyranosaur bust, then two of them placed the artifact on a work bench near by; but as Peter moved up to examine it, the Stenoychosaur elbowed in and started turning the object carefully. At peter’s complaint at being edged out of the examination, the Stenoychosaur gave him what for.

“Stay out of the way!”, said he. “I may look like a common hooligan, but this is only a ruse. I was in on the original expedition to get this thing.”, he looked at everyone with a sudden air of importance. “I am sir Petronas, assistant to Farquais Roch, third procurer of the Archaeological guild; and if he had any vision at all, I would not have had to kill him on the Outer Island!”

“Sir!… I didn’t know…”, Peter said.

“Oh, shut up;… and let’s look at this thing…”, Petronas said as he bent to examine the bust.

Petronas looked the thing over from the front and back, top and bottom, and found no abnormalities so far. The weight was correct, but the ancient thing bore little sign of wear; and the lack of damage from erosion was his first clue on the nature of the artifact. As he turned it further, he saw the differing hues of stone looked practically painted on, and not applied like the notes he had said. The third thing that told of the artifact’s artificial nature was a tiny chip under the snout of the bust, showing the object’s porcelain nature. Petronas pushed the bust away in disgust, then glared at all of them in the same expression as the Tyranosaur bust!

“I must say you all did a marvelous job in stealing this thing.”, said he without humor. “The trouble is you stole a FAKE!… I think someone tipped off the authorities, and one of you did it!…”

“IT… WAS… A… FAAAAKKKEEE!!!”, Peter bellowed. He thrashed his horns around, making all of them duck out of the way, and knocked the artifact on the floor to break in three pieces. “It was right there…! I just can’t understand it!… I should have known my father would pull a fast one!…”, all this he said as he stomped the artifact to hundreds of pieces.

“Calm down,… calm down!”, Petronas said as he put his weight on his horns, trying to slow him down. “Let’s think this through… You had no idea this happened, and you told no one. Right?…”, Peter nodded as he calmed. “And none of you blabbed…”, the rest denied it in their own ways. “There is only one course of action: We must get sir Bentfeather, for he must know where it is. We need his Partner’s notebook because the key to the secret of the Outer Island is in there…”

“Well…? Don’t just stand there…!”, Peter yelled. “Get him!… I don’t care how you do it, but I want him in front of me within the week!…”…
_

Tag: Hazen, any and all!

[o8jedi]

IC: Hazen Baker, Hall of Hadrosaurs, Waterfall City

"Be careful with that," Hazen said as a couple Gallimimus brought in his guitar, "it has a lot of sentimental value." The way one was carrying it, under his arm while holding one end of a trunk, made him beyond nervous. However, once they set both the trunk and the guitar down, he breathed a sigh of relief. He was thankful to Polongo for enlisting the aid of these movers so he could make a new home closer to Redcrest and even more thankful that, due to his position and distinct lack of employment, he was easy to move.

"Will that be all, Mr. Baker?" asked one Gallimimus.

"Yeah," Hazen replied. "Thank you very much. You can send us the bill."

"It's been paid for in advance," remarked the other one. Hazen was pleasantly surprised, but wasn't about to argue that point. He showed them to the door and thanked them for their assistance. He then turned to Redcrest, who was playing with some toys in the living room so as to keep out of the way. He was grateful that there wasn't any class today as this would give him some more time to spend getting properly settled in. Plus, Redcrest wouldn't be bored out of her mind as she typically was on those days. He sat down next to her and grabbed a toy, joining in on the game.

Once Redcrest's interest in the toys ended, she asked, "Sing a song!"

"That's not a very nice way of asking," Hazen said back, trying to instill a sense of manners.

"Can you please sing a song?" she asked again.

Hazen smiled. "Much better." He got up and went to her -- or rather their -- bedroom to get his guitar. No sooner had he closed the door when he heard tapping against the window. A postal bird! He walked to the window and opened it, allowing the bird to come in and perch himself on the sill.

It cleared its throat and said, "This is a private message for Mr Hazen Baker." After Hazen confirmed his identity, the bird continued. "Our operatives have indicated that the danger for Master Bentfeather is growing constantly and, therefore, the council has decided that he may have to flee Waterfall City. Given what you know, you are to accompany him as well. Arrangements are being made at the destination, which will be revealed at the time of departure. You should pack for an extended stay." Unknown to the both of them, Redcrest peeked her head in through the door after hearing a strange voice. Her eyes went wide, scarcely believing what was reaching her earslits. The bird continued, "I will relay more information to you personally when the time to depart is near. End of message."

Before Hazen had a chance to reply, a harsh bleat came through the air. Redcrest burst in and latched onto Hazen's leg, convinced that this and this alone would keep him here. The bird squawked, afraid that the secret was out. Hazen put a hand up, staying the bird. "It's alright," he said, "She's my Partner and far too young to be involved in anything." Hazen then knelt down and held her close, cooing softly and trying to comfort her. He looked back at the bird. "While I respect the council's wishes, I need to know what will become of my charge. If it involves separation in any way, I refuse to cooperate."

The bird ruffled its feathers, apparently annoyed at this mammal's show of stubbornness. It did have the answer and was forced to reveal it. "Rest assured that your charge will accompany you to your destination. I cannot say more at this time." With that, the postal bird took off. Hazen looked back at Redcrest, who was happy to hear that she wouldn't be left alone again. With the smile that Hazen gave to her, he let her know that he was happy, too.

He stood up and looked around the room. "Well," he said, "I know I'm already packed." He glanced at his still unopened trunk before continuing, "but you, on the other hand, is a different story." He looked around for any suitable pieces of luggage, but not really finding any. "The bird said we need to be packed for an extended stay, so I would suggest getting your favorite toys and keeping them handy. I'll see if you have any nice garments that you might need taken along." Redcrest went back to the living room to round them up.

He examined her armoire, finding a few fancy collars and what appeared to be Saurian waistcoats. He picked a couple ensembles and laid them out on his bed, thinking it would be a bad idea to get straw from Redcrest's bedding on them. When he turned around, Redcrest came in with her arms full of toys. Some were even dropping on the floor. She dumped them on the ground and said, "All here!"

Hazen chuckled, shaking his head at the little one's exuberance. He sat down on his bed and said, "I don't think we can take all those toys. I know I've got some room in my trunk, but we need to be able to move quickly."

Redcrest looked at the pile of toys. "But they all my favorite," she protested.

Hazen sighed. "Sweetie," he said. "I know you love them all, but we'll come back. And they'll be waiting for you. So, I want you to try again and pick the ones you know you absolutely can't live without."

Redcrest again looked at the pile. "I need them all!" she said.

"Oh, boy," Hazen said to himself, wondering how he'll be able to negotiate this one.

TAG: Bentfeather, Tebo, any and all!

[Thundertail]

IC: Mayor Masteson’s office, the council chambers.

It was a messy turn of events indeed, mayor Masteson thought as he read through the reports that came from many sources throughout the beaurocracy of his reign. It was especially messy concerning his chief librarian and the circumstances concerning that murdered human Frank Scratt, for what was Dinotopia coming to when such deplorable skullduggery existed. He realized fairly early on that he had no choice but to allow the edicts of his two trusted personal guards Frik and Frak in this matter. Only those two could pull this risky business off; for they had the ingenuity and know-how to keep everyone from getting killed, he hoped! Mungo scuffled into the chamber with yet more reports conveyed by his bodyguards, which told of news of their progress.

“Everyone knows that they may have to flee…”, Masteson said after seeing the first document. “Frik has arranged transportation, but extra accommodations may need to be procured if all are to go along.”

“It’s a shame about Peter Triceratops.”, Mungo said. “Mondor said he hasn’t seen him since the theft.”

He had read the reports of Mondor, and his directives to facilitate the forgery to throw off those would-be thieves, and was saddened by the betrayal of his son Peter who was in league of those hoodlums. “At least the artifact is in a safe place…“, said the mayor.

“But it may not be for long.“, said Mungo. A new report said that the artifact was now in a safe place, but it warned that it would not be safe for long unless it was secreted out of the city. “It is fortunate that it is going with Bentfeather and the rest.“

“And it was nice of his cohort Tebo to volunteer his father’s Ankylosaur Partner for the trip.”, Masteson reflected. “I’m so glad that I could help allow Randy to come along, for he will pull the other cart of supplies.”

“And Postal Bird 76 was gracious to go along too…”, Mungo said as he offered another scroll. “No doubt the expedition would need communication.”

“But to have sir Bentfeather dress like a Postal Bird!…”, Masteson scoffed. “It’s undignified to have one of such high stature being treated like a common courier!…”

“Miss Frik has strange ways…”, Mungo said. “But she is usually most effective.”

“Yes, but I’m still worried as to what danger we’re sending them into.”, Masteson said absently as he read a report from the guard training facility in Sauropolis. "I mean, sir Bentfeather is too used to being in the city, and not out in the wilds. His apprentice is no better. Tebo is too meek to be roughing it like this. Either way, this is going to test both their mettles.”

“I’m sure it will, sir.”, Mungo said.

“And what about Bentfeather’s other apprentice?”, Masteson asked. “Hazen Baker is a newcomer to these shores, and barely understands our ways. It is not fair for him to be implicated in this. His education is far from finished!”

“If he were to be left behind, he could inadvertently divulge what is going on.”, Mungo said. “That could lead those nefarious persons right to Bentfeather and the artifact.”

“At least Polongo and his Partner is going too.”, Masteson commented. “That would mean Hazen’s little charge - Redcrest was it? - will be going along too. The lad has taken quite a shine to her, I’ve heard.”

“It was fortunate that the Waterfall City guards allowed officer Ajax and his steed to accompany them too.”, Mungo said. “They also will be well disguised.”

“And this is also great news!…”, Masteson indicated the report he had read. “The guard training facility has a graduated class leaving for their assignments; and on that roster is Polongo’s mate and her human Partner April Manchester. Their first assignment is to guard the expedition!”

“Then all is well, sir.”, said Mungo.

“That it is, my boy!”, Masteson said. “Notify Frik and Frak that they have my personal permission to proceed with everything.”

“Right away, sir.”, Mungo bowed and scurried out to blow his Postal Bird whistle…
_

TAG: Hazen, any and all!

[o8jedi]

IC: Hazen Baker, Hall of Hadrosaurs, Waterfall City

It took him a while, but he walked out of the room with Redcrest narrowing her selection of toys and personal effects to a reasonable amount, frayed nerves, and an even more mottled head of hair than it usually was. Noting the time, he decided that he should get a leg up on preparing eveningmeal and went to the kitchen.

Redcrest, done with her sorting, came out to see what Hazen was doing. When she saw that he was making food, she tugged on his pant leg. "Can I help?" she asked.

Hazen looked back at her and smiled. "Sure," he said. "Wash your hands and I'll help you make our fruit salad."

Redcrest excitedly went to the washbasin and dipped her hands in the water before shaking them out, saying, "All ready!"

Hazen chuckled and said. "Here, I'll show you how to do a good job." He walked over to the basin and scrubbed his own hands. "Just do it like I do." Redcrest did her best to mimic the human's motions. "Okay," Hazen said after he was satisfied that she did a good job, "now we're ready."

He went back to the counter and got out a bowl. "What we're going to do is mix up a bunch of fruit together. I'll cut up some mangoes while you put these berries in the bowl." He pushed three baskets to his charge. She excitedly put emptied the contents into the bowl and looked over at Hazen, wanting more stuff to put into the mix. Hazen chuckled again. "You need to give me time to cut these mangoes!" he protested.

"I'll help!" she said reaching forward.

Hazen stopped cutting and held out a hand. "I don't think you should be cutting fruit," he said. "Knives are sharp and I don't want you to get hurt." Redcrest frowned slightly and turned to the bowl. "But," Hazen continued as he reached in a drawer," You can mix them up so we get a good mix." He handed her the spoon and she jabbed it in the berries, moving the spoon around quickly, causing a couple berries to fly out. "Slowly!" Hazen warned her. "We don't want to smoosh the fruit or make a mess." Redcrest heeded the advice. "That's better!"

By the time the meal was prepared, Polongo and Seamus MacEwen had returned. "Welcome back!" Hazen said. "I'll plate the meal. You two just relax." Hazen went to the counter to serve the meal.

"Papa!" called Redcrest she greeted her father. Polongo rumbled something back to her as they exchanged a greeting.

Seamus removed his cap. "Fantastic!" he said. "This is a very welcome thing to come home to, indeed."

Hazen shrugged back. "Well, since I'm living here, I figured that I need to start pulling my own weight."

Polongo then chimed in. "Funny you say that."

Hazen gave him a weird look. "We're not getting evicted are we?"

"I explain over Eveningmeal," replied the male Lambeosaur. Once everyone was seated and mid-way through their meals, Polongo spoke again. "While at work, I got a message from the Mayor. We will be moving."

Hazen had a slight suspicion that Bentfeather's recent troubles were responsible for this relocation. "Any idea where?"

"Wouldn't say. We just pack and meet up with others in morning."

"T-tomorrow?!" Hazen said. All he was told was that they had to be ready. "I have to admit that this is unusual."

"I agree," said Seamus. "They could have sent a Postal Bird, but some male Pachycephalosaur slipped me a note when he paid for a bag of one of our most famous blends. Something big must have happened and I wonder why it involves you."

Hazen was beginning to be more confused. "Why me?"

"You tell us," said Polongo. "The note mentioned you specifically."

Hazen was flabbergasted. "But surely you can't believe some random Saurian."

"It had the Mayor's seal embossed on it; you can't forge that," said Seamus.

Hazen knew the jig was up and he had to come clean, to an extent. "Look," Hazen said, "there isn't much that I can say because of the danger involved, but someone I know is in grave danger over a very important object and some group of people are after them. Mayor Masteson thought it best that they relocate everyone involved until this blows over." Hazen sighed. "I'm sorry about this. I know how hard it must be to set up a new business in unfamiliar territory."

Polongo gave a reassuring burble. "No worry. We needed to make more connections outside the City. We hoped my mate would return to help look after Redcrest so we could do that, but we must follow the Mayor's wishes."

Hazen smiled, pleased by their understanding. "Well," Hazen said. "We've got a lot of work to do before sunset. I say we get to it."

"I agree," said Seamus, getting up from the table.

Redcrest chirruped at Hazen. "That means all my toys can come!"

Hazen smirked. "I suppose so. Talk about luck."

TAG: Tebo, Bentfeather, any and all!

[Thundertail]

IC: Bentfeather and Tebo, the last day at the library.

All the arrangements were made, and Bentfeather signed the last paperwork he would sign here for a while; but it would have been a lot easier without the Postal Bird goggles over his eyes, and the blue and white striped scarf always got in the way as he looked down over the paper. This paper would be in an envelope for both Jake and Mizzy, saying that they would be in charge of the library until he returned; but he would not be able to tell them in person, rather they would find out when they went looking for him and Tebo after they noticed their absence. Tebo was to come by in a few minutes atop the cart provided by the council that was pulled by Randy Ankylosaur, and he was to meet them out by the loading area near the back of the library.

“Oof!…”, Bentfeather grunted as the goggles slid down on his nose. “How do you see in these things?!…”

“You are supposed to wear them atop your head when not in use...”, said Postal Bird 76 as he watched his charge’s fumbling. “Now remember, when the cart arrives, just get into the basket like I do and stay hidden… Try pretending to be asleep, and I will handle everything.”, His orange and red scarf flapped behind him as he flew to the windowsill in hopes of seeing the cart’s progress down in the street. His goggles fit much better, and stayed on his brow like it grew there.

“It’s a shame I have to leave all this behind…”, said Bentfeather as he placed the letter prominently on his desk. His personal effects were still in the office, and most of the rest was down in a storage area in the basement of the building. “At least I can bring a few things.”, the few bags he had contained mostly research material pertinent to their journey; the rest contained a scant few pieces of clothing, money and other bare necessities.

“You are supposed to travel as light as possible.”, said 76 as he turned to Bentfeather. “Us Postal Birds do not carry personal items; and besides, there is limited space on the carts.”, He saw a largish cart being pulled by an Ankylosaur. “Now we must fly!…”, he flapped off and out of sight.

Bentfeather sighed and took wing, aiming for the window; and caught sight of the bird as he maneuvered to follow, and he caught up with him as they both landed on a rail near the loading dock door. His luggage was already down at the loading area, which had been graciously ported there by Frik disguised as lady Natasha, and she was waiting down there for Tebo, Randy and the cart to arrive. As the waiting continued, all involved grew all the more antsy.

“Where are they?”, Bentfeather asked, looking around.

“I just saw a cart approaching from the other side of the building…”, 76 stated. “They should be here in a few moments…”

Just then a cart rounded the corner, Ankylosaur puller trundling down the lane behind it; and atop it in the driver’s seat Tebo sat looking around, done up in a turban and Turkish robes and sporting a false handlebar mustache. The cart was of Copro cart design, but smaller and never used for that purpose. The turreted front end could allow the cart tight turns, and the front wheels were smaller to facilitate that kind of maneuver. It used to belong to a group of travelers, and had a tiny sleeping cabin directly behind the driver’s seat; and the rest of the back could hold many tons of cargo. It was painted in many festive colors as one of the former owners had no doubt been affiliated with a circus or a gypsy troop, but the years had weathered it so the colors were muted nearly to nonexistence.

“Well, here we are!…”, Randy Ankylosaur nearly yelled as he came to a stop in front of them. “Ain’t this cart neat?… It pulls real easy, too…!”

“Hush!…”, Tebo said as he hopped down. “We’re supposed to be doing this in secret!…”

“Sorry…”, Randy hung his head.

“I believe that time is of the essence.”, lady Natasha told them all. “I suggest we all load up and proceed as quickly as possible.”

“May I suggest we dispense with any greetings until we are well under way?”, 76 asked. “The less people hear, the better our chances of leaving unnoticed.”

“An excellent suggestion!”, Bentfeather said, winking at Randy. “I can’t wait for the next secluded place!”

While all this was going on, both Tebo and lady Natasha loaded Bentfeather’s things into the cart; placing them as far forward as they could, which was directly under the sleeping cabin in front. 76 saw the Postal basket some carts were required to carry for transporting Birds to other locations, and were sometimes used for communication from one convoy to concerned parties elsewhere as the current purpose would be. He flapped to the basket and undid the thong securing the lid, and at a nod beckoned Bentfeather to get inside. The Microraptor did as was indicated, and hunkered down inside; glad that the interior was padded and quite cozy for what it was. 76 stayed on the brim of the basket to oversee the loading; and when that was done, both Pachycephalosaur and human boarded the cart.

“Ok Randy… Let’s get going!”, Tebo Lewis said, shaking the reigns.

“Which way?…”, Randy asked, turning his armored head.

“I think I had better lead the way…”, lady Natasha said as she took the reigns from the boy.

She led the cart through the streets, past the morning throngs off doing what they do every day; and both she and Tebo acted as normally as they could, pretending to be picking up a simple shipment like the hundreds of other legitimate carts doing the same thing throughout the city. That was why the several humans, one Triceratops and one Stenoychosaur that was looking for them never noticed their progress; even though they were looking in vain all over the city. Randy turned a corner at her cue, and went in the general direction of Steep street; pausing at each intersection at the direction of the crossing guards directing other lines of wheeled and pedestrian traffic down the streets of their desires.

Another turn led them to the warehouse district of the city, rows of shipping companies loading and offloading lines of carts of every description, which were tended and pulled by beings of every description. In this chaos they were virtually invisible to any prying eye, for they looked exactly like anyone here requesting loads of goods to be shipped to all points of Dinotopia; and that was exactly what Frik wanted them to look like.

She had Randy pull up right along side of Rolf’s shipping company, and noticed that her pre-arranged consignment of crates were waiting for them at one of the loading docks. Handlers were already loading the wooden boxes even before their cart stopped, and didn’t stop until the deed was done only three minutes later. They did a masterful job of loading, as each box was locked in tight, and the load was balanced for the most efficiency during travel.

This done, lady Natasha thanked the workers and had Randy pull the cart aside so other carts could have access to the dock, parking down a narrow side alley next door that was in line of sight of the loading area. It took nearly an hour, but presently a Lambeosaur pulling a cart smaller than theirs was seen coming up the street; a scraggly looking Pachycephalosaur and an older human was in the driver’s seat, and a younger human was in the back with a hatchling in tow. To their left was a mounted guard clad in red with a face obscured by a Romanesque helmet, the steed was also a Lambeosaur. Even before the cart came close enough for Tebo to recognize Hazen Baker, lady Natasha could smell her mate on the driver’s seat; and as the cart stopped, everyone on both carts regarded each other before any of them spoke…
_

TAG: Hazen and company, any and all!

[o8jedi]

IC: Hazen Baker, Hall of Hadrosaurs, Waterfall City, the previous night

Hazen did his best to help his benefactors and, really, his family the best he could. Polongo had went out to fetch his cart from his stall back at the market. Seamus, on the other hand, stayed at home, knowing instinctively what Polongo would require for his personal effects. Hazen dug an old, dusty trunk out of a cubby in the living room and lugged it into master bedroom. "Here you go!" he said before setting it down with a satisfying thud.

Seamus lifted the lid. "Good," he said before setting in a few clothes. "I guess you can double-check everything before Polongo arrives. We'll load up the cart so we can leave early in the morning."

Hazen nodded as he went to find Redcrest. She had assembled the rest of her toys in a group, wondering where she could place them. He smiled and went to his trunk. "I think we may have some more room here." He opened it and did his best to make some more room. It took a little finagling, but the lid was latched tight. Everyone was now ready. All they needed was for Polongo to return home.

~~~~

Polongo had just finished slipping into the harness and started to wheel his way home. The streets were a bit too quiet and he felt a bit uneasy. If Hazen was right and that a dangerous game was afoot, he didn't want to be captured or harmed. It still boggled his mind how any Dinotopian would want to abduct another, but he didn't dare question the will of Lord Mayor Masteson or the Council. He moved unusually quickly and he drew the attention of a guard coming down the street.

"Excuse me!" called the rider. "Is there a problem?"

"No problem," replied Polongo as he turned to face the source. "I was just . . ." To his surprise, he saw a very familiar face. "Is it really you?" he said.

The guard's mount, a Lambeosaur quickened her pace as she got to close Polongo. The Saurian counterpart said, "You shouldn't be so loud, mister. We are here on official business to guard you."

Polongo smiled. "I can't think of anyone better suited for it, my love." Polongo rumbled softly as he nuzzled his mate's head. She reciprocated the gesture while her partner, face obscured by a Romanesque helmet, looked on, smiling at the reunion.

~~~~

A subdued tension had settled on the household back at the Hall of Hadrosaurs. Hazen had picked up his guitar, playing a simple little progression and trying to keep his mind off the fact that Polongo hadn't returned yet. Then again, he didn't know how far the stall was from the apartment, but he could sense something was up.

Seamus picked up on the tension, which was reflected in how Hazen was playing his instrument. "Relax, laddie. He is dragging a cart behind him, after all."

"I suppose," Hazen said, stopping. "But I've never had to make a quick getaway like this before."

"Polongo knows the city like the back of his hand. He won't draw any undue attention." Seamus then peeked out the window and saw his partner. "See, he's coming right now . . . with a pair of guards." He sat up and squinted. "Is that . . .?"

Hazen's nerves then shot through the roof. "Who? Who is it?" he demanded to the human. Seamus had stood up and opened the door, heading outside to confirm what he saw. Hazen then got up, reluctantly following him. Redcrest tagged along, also curious. By the time he was outside, Seamus had already caught up with the party coming down the street.

Hazen stood there and allowed them to return home. Based on the body language between Polongo and the Saurian guard, which he identified as another Lambeosaur, he figured that they were close. Then it clicked. He remembered that Polongo's mate was undergoing guard training. Perhaps this was her! Redcrest, unfamiliar with the smell of her mother, grabbed Hazen's pant leg and hid behind her partner. Hazen looked down and said. "I don't think they're going to hurt you. In fact, I think you'll get along with them just fine."

The female Lambeosaur caught a glimpse of the little one hiding behind a human and gasped. "Is that . . .?" Polongo nodded back.

The rider quickly dismounted and whispered, "Go on. I'm sure you have a lot of catching up to do."

The Lambeosaur quickened her pace and stopped in the light from the window. Redcrest shirked back even more. Hazen smiled at the mother. "It is an honor to meet you. My name is Hazen Baker. I'm Redcrest's Partner." The mother gave a welcoming look, pleased to meet this young man. Hazen turned to the little one. "Redcrest, I think it's time you said hello to your mother."

Redcrest eased up her grip and took a couple steps toward. She recognized her mother from the picture, but seeing her in the flesh was an entirely different matter. "Mama?" she asked quietly. The female nearly broke down in tears as she stepped forward and affectionately nuzzled her daughter. Primal memories return to Redcrest and she chirruped back.

Hazen smiled broadly, seeing this reunion. He looked at the guard walking up, who was still wearing his helmet. "Are you here to help us out?" he asked the guard.

"We are," said the guard succinctly as he reached for the strap to his helmet.

Hazen held out a hand. "I'm--"

"Hazen Baker, American Dolphinback who arrived on Dinotopia some six months ago, student to Bentfeather, and, apparently, partner to Redcrest," interrupted the guard. "We've been properly briefed before heading here and I recommend that you don't talk about it anymore."

Hazen, hand still out, was a bit surprised at the tone of voice the guard. "You take your job seriously, Mis--" His eyes widened as the helmet was removed and he hung on to the "s."

The guard was a female. And what a female she was. She appeared to be in her mid-to-late twenties and had to have some sort of Persian blood in her, judging by her dark hair, facial structure, and slightly tanned complexion. When she turned to face him, he caught a glimpse of the most emerald green eyes he had ever seen. No one, not even in Hazen's wildest dreams, looked as attractive as she did. He hoped for a smile, but he was denied it.

The guard then began speaking, turning Hazen's initial "mister" into "miss." "April Manchester, at your service." She then put her helmet into Hazen's still outstretched hand. "Artemis has motherly duties to attend to, so I'll go see if you all are prepared." She walked inside leaving a still gobsmacked Hazen in his place.

Seamus saw the episode from afar and chuckled to himself. He knew first-hand what April was like and he wasn't surprised that the Dolphinback would have gotten such a less-than warm reception from her. Hazen finally snapped out of his stupor and looked at the chuckling man, shooting him a glare before walking inside to assist the guard.

~~~~

Just before dawn, Frak knocked on the door. April, who had been acting as a sentry, let the Pachycephalosaur in. He carried a bundle of clothes; costumes for the humans to wear during their trek. Everyone was then woken up and given the opportunity to prepare for the journey. By the time Polongo had been hitched up to the cart, everyone was dressed. Seamus was wearing an Asian-inspired ensemble, complete with a conical hat. Hazen, on the other hand, wore a cloak over a simple tunic and pair of trousers.

As they stepped out into the cool morning air, Hazen pulled the hood up over his head and took a seat in the back of the cart, crossing his arms and trying to look inconspicuous. Artemis nudged Redcrest to take a seat there as well. "Don't worry," Hazen said to the Lambeosaur. "I'll keep her safe." Artemis gave a soft rumble as April mounted her. Once Frak and Seamus were at the driver's seat, the cart began to roll with a slight jolt.

Redcrest looked at Hazen's slight silhouette under the hood. Hazen turned to her and smiled. "Want to play a game?" he asked her. Redcrest nodded. "We're gonna play 'Statue;' whoever can be the most still until we arrive at the dock wins. Ready?" Redcrest got in a comfortable position. "Go." A couple rounds of that game were enough to keep others from paying too much attention to the cart and kept Redcrest occupied, as she often pointed out Hazen's movements.

A little over an hour later, they arrived at the docks. Everyone disembarked and prepared to load their barge. "Nice weather we're having," remarked Seamus, trying to be nonchalant.

"Yeah," Hazen said back. "Hopefully a storm won't roll in anytime soon."

TAG: Bentfeather and company, any and all!