"A Quest Of Friends"

[Thundertail]

IC: At the meeting of the Archaeological guild. The meeting heats up!

Sir Bentfeather looked over at Hazen sitting where he originally was before he rose to make his speech, noticing the forlorn look on his face; and seeing the lad was no closer to understanding Dinotopian ways than he was before, and the Microraptor looked up from staring before sir Mondor prompted his attention once more. Sir Tarion’s observations of the artifact at Ebulon was not conclusive by a long shot, for he had not seen the Tyrannosaur artifact nor the amulet within in action like he had; and he figured to cut to the chase and tell all when prompted; but the court was in an uproar as it slowly digested the things brought up in the past half hour to hear anything further, but then Gantor Delaney tapped the gavel at Mondor’s direction to bring order once again.

“Let us continue…”, Mondor said when silence reigned. “Sir Bentfeather, do you have anything further to say?…”

“After we were captured by sir Petronas and his group, a group of militaristic Dromeosaurs took over.”, Bentfeather related. “Ooh!… They were a nasty bunch, let me tell you!… They treated everyone in a very un-Dinotopian way, and even treated Petronas’s group in like manner…”

“Were these Dromeosaurs from the Outer Island?”, asked Hood.

“Yes, they were.”, Bentfeather told him. “And I expected them to be uncivilized; but the way they treated us was even worse!”

“Would they know the nature of the artifact you had?”, Hood inquired.

“They may have, but I’m not sure.”, said Bentfeather. “All they said was they were sworn to return the artifact to it’s original hiding place and guard it.”

Just then the doors opened, and in lumbered Peter Triceratops under heavy guard, and all discussion stopped as he was shown a place. Mondor looked his way and made an announcement. “We will hear the comments of Peter Triceratops at this time…”, he bellowed, then spoke normally to his son. “Please step up to the podium…”

“Yes, father…”, Peter replied.

“Peter, do you know anything about the artifact?…”, Mondor asked kindly, then smiled. “The real one, not the copy you saw…”

“After we captured sir Bentfeather and his group, sir Petronas would not even let me near it.”, said Peter. “I was too afraid to try looking at it after those saw-toothed little monsters showed up; and after I botched stealing it from the Archaeological guild in Waterfall City, Petronas would not even talk to me about it.”, he bent his head. “So no, I never even saw it…”

“Very well then.”, Hood responded. “Then can you at least describe the layout of the temple complex?… That is assuming you had free run of the place…”

“I’ll try…”, Peter said, then went on about all he saw there. He stressed that he was only allowed certain access to areas, and that his task there was to help power the water generation system there; but he described every place he was allowed to go, and even tried to describe the runes and utilitarian artifacts he saw lying around. After he was done, his father nodded at his son’s attention to such detail, and then spoke.

“Thank you, son…”, said Mondor. “That will be all…”

“Aren’t you even going to speak about my crimes of murder?…”, Peter asked accusingly.

“This meeting is not about whether you are guilty, Peter.”, Mondor scolded. “We are conducting an investigation of an Archaeological nature… This is NOT a court of law!… You are dismissed…”, the guards led Peter out of the court room.

“What was the true nature of the artifact?”, Hood asked again after the courtroom settled down.

“Well sir, the artifact was more than just a receptacle for an amulet made of Sunstones…”, said Bentfeather. “It was a controlling device for a temple complex whose true purpose is still a mystery to me…”, he looked to Tebo. “Son, maybe you can tell something of it… After all, you pushed the buttons!…”, Bentfeather prompted the boy.

“Your honors.”, Tebo Lewis bowed slightly. “I was the one that discovered that the artifact was not just merely an inanimate object. I discovered that if you depress the cartouches in certain ways, things happen to it. I discovered that, if you push the far right rune, the jaws would open to reveal the amulet.”, he stopped a second. “I can only guess that if you used the runes in different ways, other things would happen…”

“Thank you, son.”, said Bentfeather, then addressed the court. “I was with my former Partner when he revealed what the artifact and amulet were really for. It was to be used for a device that would control the minds of all dinosaurs on Dinotopia!”, gasps! “I assume that the complex sends out this energy through some means, links up with the other Sunstones on the island and effect the minds of saurians; making them extremely susceptible to suggestion.”, he looked around. “Humans are not effected, but with the dinosaurs under that spell; the humans would quickly be under control by force.”, he remembered a detail from his cage. “Iron objects block some of the effects, but not totally.”

“You mean that the temple complex on the Outer Island was some kind of ultimate weapon!?”, Hood exploded. “This is a catastrophe!!!…”, he calmed by only a little bit. “Who, by the fate of reason, could have devised such a thing?…”

“When Nicolai Sanders was in my presence, he was delusional from his sickness.”, began Bentfeather. “He had indicated that he has discovered that the complex was created by king Othgar…”, Bentfeather cringed. “The poor human actually thought he WAS king Othgar… And it was his destiny to take over where Othgar had left off.”

“But why…?”, hood asked.

“King Othgar had evidentially made the place as revenge for the sinking of Poseidos.”, Bentfeather told him. “For that to happen to his beloved city, all of Dinotopia would suffer… His mistake was passing away before his plan could be implemented… And now my poor Partner is dead as well…”, Bentfeather wept, comforted only by Tebo’s touch.

“How was the complex destroyed?”, Mondor asked. “There were reports that the mountain became an active volcano, but the Geology guild indicated that the mountain was long extinct.”

Tebo saw that Bentfeather could not speak yet, so he took over somewhat. “Well your honor, everyone on the expedition was captured and put in the dungeon - all save for sir Bentfeather, who was at the clutches of Nicolai Sanders. He nodded at the rest before he went on, and Bentfeather marveled at his timid friend, now picking up the slack like a true friend would. “Postal Bird 76 infiltrated the complex to tell us that the complex would be attacked, and we were to be prepared to evacuate. We escaped, and…”

“How did you escape?’, Millis asked.

“We were all chained up and locked in strong cells, but little Redcrest over there took it on herself to begin our escape.”, Tebo smiled at the little one. “She saved us all!…”

“You did, little one?!…”, Millis said so as to not frighten the child.

“Perhaps she could tell us about it herself.”, Mondor suggested. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?…”, this he cooed. “It’s ok… We won’t bite!…”, Redcrest stood up, unsure, and needed Hazen to stand by her before she opened her mouth…
_

TAG: Redcrest, any and all!

[o8jedi]

IC: Redcrest, Hazen Baker, and company, Treetown Council Chambers, The Little One Begins The Stories
_

Redcrest was surprised to learn that the grown-ups wanted to hear how they got out of that cold, dirty dungeon. She stood up tentatively and immediately got stage fright. She looked back at her parents who gave encouraging coos. It took one look at the Triceratops for her to decide that she needed someone there with her. She reached out and grabbed Hazen's hand, tugging him up. Hazen rose and stood behind her. "Just tell them how we got out."

Redcrest hesitated before beginning. "A-after the mean ones brought us to their scary cave, they put us in these cages. Mama and Papa weren't in the same one as me and Hazen wasn't, too. Just Seamus and Tebo and the boy Pakaseflasaurus. They were all chained up, but I wasn't. A mean, scary, beaky one kept telling me that they were gonna cook me and he gave us icky food!" She made a disgusted noise, which brought chuckles to those present.

"The icky food was slippery and I pretended to want more of it and the scary, beaky one kept bringing it to me. When I had a lot of it, I smeared it on me and squeezed through the cage. I then took a long chair and stood it up. When the scary one came back, I knocked him over with the chair and jumped on it until he got tired and took a nap." Hazen smiled at this comment knowing that she didn't quite understand how getting knocked out worked. Redcrest continued, "I then grabbed the keys and gave them to Hazen and he freed our friends."

"Is that all?" asked Millis from on the dais.

Redcrest hugged Hazen because she was nervous and didn't want to continue telling her story. "If I may, your honors," he said. With a nod of approval from Mondor, Hazen continued. "Shortly after Redcrest brought me the keys, I freed myself, Officers Manchester and Ajax, Lady Natasha, Frak, and Tebo. With our numbers, we were able to subdue the remaining guards in the dungeon and rescue our larger companions. Using the armory in the dungeon, those of us who could grabbed weapons to make our escape. Tebo then left us to find Bentfeather." Hazen was about to continue when he was interrupted.
_

TAG: Tebo, any and all!

[tarion]

Revelations

It wasn't long after little Redcrest's explination that Tarion felling slightly ridiculed, embarassed and uneasy stepped out of the meeting and out onto the outside balcony. With a sigh he leaned against the balcony and looked out over the area.... was what he was doing worth being lonely and friendless for most of his life? Tarion had failed to aknowledge this earlier but, he had been alone for most of his archeological career, and despite his lack of attention he had made several aquaintances, but no real friends. He had missed most of his own childhood, at the age of 10 it seemed like he had lost so much time studying runes and ruins, only to fall short and be miss guided by answers that eluded him.

Tarion blinked and then breathed in as deeply as he could, taking in the aroma of the lush air around him.... with a sigh his mind began to ease and he smiled.... it became apparent to him what he had to do.

With a light heart and something of a adventurous childish air he walked back into the meeting and sat down waiting until the end to announce the conclusion he had arrived at.

[Thundertail]

IC: The Treetown council. Everyone tells their tale.

“What an exciting tale!…”, sir Mondor said as he considered things. “You two work well as Partners… Perhaps I should reconsider my opinions about Dolphinbacks, eh?…”, he chuckled. “And now I wish to hear everyone else’s rendition of the tale…”

“But sir Mondor!”, Hood cut in. “Shouldn’t we continue discussions in a more professional manner?”

“I think that any insight, even if it is in a perilous manner, is useful to our investigation.”, said Mondor. “Perhaps sir Bentfeather can suggest one of his friends to tell their tale…”

“Perhaps officer Ajax and his cohorts can tell their story.”, Bentfeather said. “You don’t mind, do you?…”

“Of course…”, officer Ajax rose, and April, Olu and Artemis stood where they were at attention. “Your honors…”, he bowed. “After our capture and travel to the Outer Island, we were incarcerated in strong rooms deep under the temple complex fashioned to be a dungeon. There were no real inscriptions on walls or other artifacts that we could see, but once we were imprisoned, Postal Bird 76 proved the complex had an extensive ventilation system. After little Redcrest liberated the keys for us, we quickly broke free and subdued the prison guards.”

“We performed the standard anti-infiltration tactics to find our way out, subduing any guards along the way while taking into consideration there were non-combatants with us.”, April took over. “It would have been a lot easier if some of our group hadn’t been separated from us…”

“How so?”, Hood asked.

“Tebo Lewis went to rescue sir Bentfeather.”, Ajax told them. “And lady Natasha went with him.”

“You did, boy?…”, Mondor exclaimed. “Why would you do a fool thing like that?…”

“Sir Mondor, he is my Partner!”, Tebo said bravely. “I love him, and I would do anything to save him… Even risk my life to rescue him!”

“You could have gotten killed!”, Hood said. “Did you have any way to defend yourself?”

“I had a sword, sir.”, Tebo said. “Officer Ajax taught me how to use a sword along the way.”

“I did my best, sir…”, Ajax commented. “However, he is only as skilled as a novice…”

“I knew this, and went with him to cover his back.”, lady Natasha explained. “Of all the guards that nearly killed him, it was a wise maneuver on my part, if you ask me…”

“Indeed…”, Mondor said. “And you found and saved sir Bentfeather…”, he considered. “And you confronted Nicolai Sanders all by yourself?…”

“He was a far better swordsman than I.”, Tebo nodded, remembering the battle. “And also far stronger than I.”

“Tebo fought bravely for me.”, Bentfeather told them. “A better friend no creature could have!”

“Yet still, it took my shot from a commandeered crossbow to bring him down.”, lady Natasha pointed out.

“Why didn’t you shoot him sooner?”, Tebo asked, turning to her.

“You were in the way.”, Natasha defended. “I was waiting for a clear shot!”

“Now friends!… Enough of that!”, Bentfeather scolded. “The important thing is we’re all here, and in one piece!…”

“True…”, Mondor interjected. “Let us please continue…”

“Your honor, we made our way through the maze of passages; but then we discovered the main entrance was swarming with Dromeosaur guards.”, officer Ajax went on. “Then Peter Triceratops was seen, making his way to another entrance.”

“He saw us, but did not confront us.”, April said. “Instead he informed us that he was going for another way out, but didn’t care whether we followed him or not!”

“I suppose, in his own way, he was trying to rescue us too.”, Ajax said on Peter’s behalf. “The way he was going we found the way out, and all during our escape from the volcano’s fury; and complained very little the whole trip to Culebra.”

“That sounds like him, all right!…”, Mondor chuckled. “So you’re saying he should be commended, not condemned…”

“He did do his part.”, Ajax said. “And that, at least, is something.”

“Yes, I will make note of this for his pending trial…”, Mondor stated, then saw Hood readying to prompt more information. “Sir Bentfeather, what happened after Nicolai Sanders was subdued?…”

“I wept bitterly…”, said Bentfeather, but changed tack. “Um, the machinery in the chamber beyond had just then reached a critical stage, so we brought our attention to it.”, he looked uncertain. “The door to that chamber was made of iron, and shielded the effects from us until It was opened.”

“Both lady Natasha and sir Bentfeather seemed immobilized, and I didn’t know what to do.”, Tebo told the court. “Sir Bentfeather told me to place him back in the cage so he could speak coherently, and he told me what had to be done.”

“The panel inside that controlled operations had to be shut down, but since I did not know how to do it, I had him destroy the control panel.”, said Bentfeather.

“All I had to work with was the weapons that went with Nicolai’s suit of armor, so I used the battle axe to break it.”, Tebo told them. “I was too weak to damage it, so Bentfeather had me use the strength of lady Natasha to do the job.”

“Tebo told me to start smashing the machinery, and I could do nothing to resist!”, said Natasha, eyes wide with the memory of helplessness. “That machine was evil!…”

“How, exactly did you destroy the machine?”, asked Hood. “And please describe the configuration of the objects within.”

“When the artifact was placed on a pedestal, it seemed to clamp upon it; and would not release no matter how hard one tried. When the artifact broke free, then the machinery in the chamber began to go wild.”, Bentfeather went on. “The amulet fit into a slot on the panel made for it directly behind the pedestal that held the head in a panel of glowing runes and gemstones, and had to be pried out with the battle axe.”

“When lady Natasha destroyed the tyrannosaur artifact, the pedestal it was on began to sink into the floor.”, Tebo told them. “We did not notice this because we were busy removing the amulet.”

“The hole left by the pedestal went all the way down to the magma chamber.”, lady Natasha said. “Soon lava began to well up from that hole.”

“That was the controller for the flow of power to the machine.”, Bentfeather added. “The amulet was obviously a governor for the control panel.”

“We had no time for further observations.”, Tebo said. “We soon found we had to flee the lava!”

“We ran and ran, avoiding the areas already being engulfed with lava, until we found the main entrance.”, lady Natasha told them. “And once outside we found we had to run for our lives; for the entire mountain was erupting!”

“We knew we were all but dead…”, tebo shuddered. “But then some Skybax came and lifted us up to safety!”

“Distant observations showed that the entire southern third of the Outer Island was inundated with lava and pyroclastic flow.”, officer Ajax reported. “Nothing will grow there for many generations to come.”

“If that is all, I think we should adjourn and parse over this information…”, sir Mondor said just then. “We will notify you in private if we need further information…”, he turned to Gantor Delaney. “You may dismiss the court…”

The gavel fell, and the spectators who witnessed the meeting were allowed to leave first. As before Teton flew to the group and began to lead them out of the courtroom, but a worried Tarion came in to see the meeting was already over; so he lingered near the podium and waited to get sir Mondor’s attention…
_

TAG: Any and all!

[tarion]

"You Only Live Once...."

Tarion remained seated in the stands as the rest of the council left the audiance chambers until at last only he, Asrial, and the Archeological guild remained inside, with a sigh Tarion rose to his feet and walked calmly down to Sir Mondor and calmly placed on hand on Mondor's side, while his other hand held all of his complete works bound in a folder.

"Sir Mondor... may I have a word with you?" Tarion asked being as polite as he possibly could.

Sir Mondor looked slightly rushed for some reason but still retained his strong amount of patience and turned to Tarion a slightly forced grin on his face, curious as to the events a few other members of the guild remained behind, partially to wait for Sir Mondor, and partially to see what Tarion had to say.

"Speak you peace Sir Tarion, I have other matters to attend to as well." Mondor said with a curt nod.

Tarion nodded, "Then I shall get right to the point, Sir Mondor, what I witnessed today has given me a revealing insight at my own life. Ever since I was old enough to walk and read I have spent my time learning ancient runes and studying ancient ruins, but never have I gotten to truely live." Tarion looked down and shuffled his feet a little showing the first signs of how uneasy and still childlike he really was. "I realized today that really only have aquantances, and no real friends, because I'm never in one place long enough to make any friends, I have nearly sacrificed all of my own childhood in hopes and dreams of making discoveries." He looked up and seemed on the verge of crying , "It is for this reason that I feel I must retain what amount of my childhood I still can, Sir Mondor, fellow members of the Archeological Guild, I am officially resigning from my post as a archeologist, lenguist, and translator. While I will never forget the events that transpired here, I realize that I get to live my life once, and to have a life time without friends... would be a life I could not bare to live, however I do not leave this guild with nothing to remember me by, I am giving you my entire collective works and documentations, everything I have ever studied or translated or colaborated on is in this binder, use it as you see fit."

Indeed the news of his resignation hit the Archeological guild rather hard, their youngest and most promising member had just thrown the towl in... so to speak, in light of the fact that he felt he practically had no life. Heavy hearted a fellow member took the binder from Tarion as Sir Monder spoke again.

"It is a shame to lose one so promising and early in their career as you Sir Tarion, but before you go answer me this... did you intend to continue your search for the mother sunstone?"

Tarion nodded, "For the longest time that had been the only thing on my mind, a sunstone so powerful it could power the whole of Dinotopia for an entire eon, such thoughts were the fancy of my dreams, and while a majority of my documentation leads one to find that the Mother Sunstone may actually exist, the odds of me finding it now seem hardly likely, I feel that it would be better found by those more professed in the world of archeology than I, If I might, I only request that you look into my research and make an effort to complete that which I did not."

It seemed as if now Tarion had gathered intrest from the guild as one member asked him, "Sir Tarion.... What do you plan to do now?"

Tarion gave a meek smile and looked around at the guild then to Asrial, "I plan to live the life I've been missing, starting by learning what it is like to actually be a kid.... and I think I know just the people to help me out with that."

With that Tarion turned and began walking away from the Guild after a moment he turned and faced them bowing, "Breath Deep My friends."

They responded with a slightly joyful "Seek Peace." and then Tarion rejoined up with Asrial, and together they set off to find the others, Tarion in specific began looking for the one person who probably knew more about being a child than the rest of them.... Redcrest.

Tag: Any and All

[Thundertail]

IC: The conclusion of the meeting, and decisions for all.

Mondor Triceratops considered Tarion’s impromptu resignation for a few moments more, this being merely one of many things his still agile mind was processing; but he still worried about one of the most promising pupils, one who claimed to have studied so hard his personal life suffered. His thoughts turned to another of his pupils, one whose lineage matched his own; and yet one who fell so far off the beaten path that now his very life may be in peril, two contrasts that unnerved him in it’s similarity. Secretly he envied sir Bentfeather, his students; whom were coming about nicely in their diverse lessons, one native born and the other coming from parts unknown. And though both Tebo and Hazen had very different upbringings indeed, they worked so well together that they seemed like brothers. If only…

“Sir, what is your conclusion of the testimony of sir Bentfeather’s group?…”, Hood asked for the second time, this time the words registered in his ears.

“Well, according to what they said, I would think that any study of the temple on the Outer Island would be a moot point…”, Mondor told him. “The artifact and all that went with it was a weapon of mass mayhem… It was a fortunate event that the temple was destroyed, and it was fortunate that sir Bentfeather’s group made it out of there alive…”

“I suggest we take all the testimonies and compile a paper on it right away.”, Millis chirped. “It would put a new chapter in the history of king Othgar!”

“I think you have enough work to do in compiling papers on the ancient library!”, Hood told him. “Remember, you still have to edit the accounts and omit the ways off the island…”

“And remember, the omitted information must be made available to the Explorer guild so they can possibly find and confirm or disprove their existence…”, Mondor reminded. “Which reminds me… Who of the Explorer guild is currently in Treetown?…”

“I I believe Horace Chiptooth is still around.”, Gantor Delany, whose duty it was to stay until all persons to leave the courthouse, said as he descended from the podium. “I think his friend Flatfoot was seen last week too.”

“Friend, both of them are retired!”, Teton squawked. “Horace is in his nineties and can’t walk without a cane, and Flatfoot went blind many years ago!”

“Oh!… I must send my regards…”, Gantor reconsidered. “Is there any others we could summon?”

“Maybe I have a suggestion!”, Millis said. “Sir Kyle and his partner Wally Dorgan is near by in Poktook. They helped find the ancient library in the first place by locating the lost caravan that first discovered it. They reported it to the guild, and our study of the place progressed from there.”

“A good idea, but weren’t they busy exploring a tunnel near Halcyon rumored to be a passage to the World Beneath?”, Hood reminded.

“Well, perhaps they are back now.”, Millis canted. “Rumors said that the passage was crumbling away…”

“We could send Postal Birds to notify them…”, Mondor said. “But he would need help… Apprentices and the like…”, he considered. “And I have some perfect candidates that might be those apprentices!…”

“Who?’, Hood asked.

“Why, sir Bentfeather’s apprentices, of course!…”, Mondor chuckled. “Tebo Lewis and Hazen Baker are plucky and smart, and are extremely capable for mere teen humans… We should send for them and see what they think…”, he smiled. “I would certainly like to see what Bentfeather thinks when he loses his apprentices!…”, he chuckled.

After a moment sir Mondor had another thought. “We should also summon sir Tarion as well…”, he said. “Perhaps we could coax him to perform one more task as a professional artifact linguist…”

“What scheme are you cooking up, sir Mondor?”. Hood asked his superior.

“You never mind about that…”, Mondor told him. “Let’s just say that if all goes well, Dinotopia will have it’s own crack Explorer team!…”

Sir Rivers, who was silent during most of the meeting, chose to speak then. “If you ask me, nothing here adds up!”, fortunately, he said it softly enough for none to hear…
_

IC: Bentfeather and company. The arrival of decision making correspondence.

After the meeting, everyone was basically allowed to do what ever they wanted; and most of Bentfeather’s group had retreated to their quarters, discussing what they would do that night. Also discussed was the plans for them all to go back to their homes one day, but none of them knew the plans the Archaeological guild had for some of them. Tebo was back with his friend in their rooms in their borrowed treehome across town; both trying to choose what they would wear to the town’s farewell feast rumors they heard told them about; and Bentfeather thinking it was all bother as this time he chose a deep orange cloak to go with his shock of reddish head plumage. Tebo struggled with the sarong prepared for him, complaining the sash was too low on the garment to hold it up if he should bow. That was what Postal Bird 793 flew into as she skittered onto the headboard a moment later.

“Awk…, the Archaeological guild would like the presence of master Tebo Lewis in sir Mondor’s quarters right after Morningmeal tomorrow…”, said she.

“What is the reason for the visit?”, Bentfeather asked for the confused boy.

“He did not say…”, said 793, then got confidential. “But rumors say they are having trouble locating members of the Explorer guild.”

“Even though one should know better than to completely believe rumors…”, Bentfeather considered. “Do you think this has anything to do with this meeting?”

“My job is not to deduce conclusions…”, she scoffed. “Mine is merely to deliver messages!… Master Tebo, I will send your confirmation of his message.”, she bowed and flew back out the window.

“I wonder what sir Mondor could want…”, Tebo wondered as he finally got the sash right.

“I haven’t the foggiest…”, Bentfeather said, flapping to his side. “But knowing him, it would be unwise to refuse the invitation!…”, and they stepped out in search of where the feast might be.

Many of the other Postal Birds had similar tasks to do that evening, but none but one had the task of delivering sir Mondor’s message to Hazen Baker; but he could not be found in his assigned quarters, and poor Postal Bird 1214 was at a loss as to where he mazy be. Nobody told him that the little saurian he was with was actually his Partner and he her caregiver, so he had no clue that he was once again in her presence; so he flapped all over the arboreal city in search of his intended recipient. Pretty much the same could be said for Postal Bird 997, whose task it was to find sir Tarion and give his invitation from sir Mondor for tomorrow morning. He had no clue that he would not be in his quarters nor with his friend in town, but off in search of something he lacked; and seeking it in someone whom did not know he needed what she had.

Not looking where he was going, Postal Bird 1214 dodged around a nocturnally strolling Brach and zigzagged into the barn that Polongo and randy was staying; and little Redcrest was visiting his papa with Hazen Baker in tow. He landed in Randy’s half eaten fodder and righted himself as he looked around. Just then Postal Bird 997 flew into the barn from another direction, landing expertly on a railing as his cohort flapped to his side having recognized that Tarion was there as well. Both birds looked at each other, nodding comeraderally; and thinking the other was going to let them speak first, both birds spoke together.

“I have a message for…”, they both said and cackled at their foir-pas.

“Um, my message is for Hazen Baker, from sir Mondor…”, 1214 said.

“And my message is for sir Tarion, also from sir Mondor…”, said 997.

“You are to meet with him at his quarters directly after Morningmeal.”, 1214 said.

“My message is identical for you as well.”, 997 told him.

When asked the nature of the meeting, the older Postal Bird 997 replied. “We do not know anything. We just deliver messages…”, 1214 chuckled before speaking.

“We will send confirmation of receipt of this message.”, said he.

“Have a wonderful evening…”, 997 said, then turned to his cohort. “Let’s retire for the night, before it becomes too dark to fly!…”, both nodded and flapped out the nearest window.

“Things just keep getting stranger and stranger!”, Randy commented, was given sidelong stares for the comment and the group went back to what they were talking about…
_

TAG: Any and all!

[tarion]

Tarion had found his way to Redcrest’s and her parent’s location, upon arrival he found that Polongo was already there and had engaged the adults in some form of conversation, Asrial bid Tarion farewell for the time being as she intended to meet with him later. Tarion heaved a slightly heavy sigh which brought the attention of the group to him, though he had not meant to do so. The first to address him was Hazen Baker, the traveling minstrel they had known during their journey, and immediately one of the first observations made was that Tarion didn’t look himself, something seemed…. Different about him, the fact was that Tarion was not at all in his usual get up of leather bound cuffs, collar and shin guards, nor did he have his satchel with him, for the first time in his life, Tarion looked his age, and seemed a lot more frail than usual, almost even lost.
Tarion had gone silent at the inquiry of his being there, and only looked at his feet, unsure of how the others would take to the news he was about to share, finally after heaving a heavy sigh he looked at the group, his face beaming with courage and plainly stated, “I have resigned from the Archeological Guild” this left some of the adults a bit speechless, of all the times for Tarion to have changed his mind, he chose now? When asked why Tarion replied with his same solid answer as before, that he had wasted to much of his now nearly gone childhood just studying runes and ruins, instead of living, he actually had no friends, and practically had no life, Asrial was a rare exception as the two of them were intended to be betrothed so their meeting and friendship was only assured.
Tarion shuffled his feet a little seeming uneasy, for the first time he found himself unable to explain his actions further, and seemed even a little illogical, however he pushed himself to continue on, he looked at Hazen, and Redcrest and gave a rather heartwarming smile as he asked the one person who seemed to know so little about the world, while also being one of the most intelligent in their group to become his teacher. When asked the question of what he would be taught, he gave his most simple reply in his history, “To live, to spend the rest of what I have of my childhood being a child, and not some predestined scholar.”
To his surprise the answer came in the form of a tag on the shoulder from Redrest as she ran off into another part of the inn, Tarion stood there befuddled for a moment, before being informed that she had started a game of “tag” with him and that he was supposed to chase her and tag her back. With a nod Tarion took to trying to find Redcrest.
It took quite some time to get Tarion to loosen up and actually play, but once he did, it was quickly discovered that not only was he a natural at games where logic and speed were involved; he actually had a “Fun side” to him. The adults had called Tarion, Redcrest, and Hazen in for some refreshments nearly two hours later, when while inside cooling off, two postal birds arrived, one was directed towards Hazen Baker, the other to Tarion. Tarion swallowed unsure of what was going to happen, for as soon as he heard that the message was from Mondor, he was almost certain that this call had something to do with his resignation, but all that was simply said was to meet Mondor, after Morning Meal… this left Tarion with a collaboration of mixed emotions, unsure of what to make of the situation, however it was best to not ignore the head of the Archeological guild, so he thought it best to attend.
Tag: Everyone Involved.

[Thundertail]

IC: Bentfeather and company. Mondor’s little surprise.

The night was most restful for someone with so much on his mind, for sleeping in the forest was a thing a creature of his kind was born to; and seeing the morning greet him was a simple luxury granted to one so old. His assistants Whitenose, Phineas and Angee were already hard at work; arranging his route back to Waterfall City, procuring provisions for the trip and compiling all correspondence and organizing paperwork to present to the Waterfall City council once he arrived. The life of one so important was not an easy one, to be sure! He stretched and nosed his way out of the stall and into the dappled sunshine, towards the paddock entrance where his fodder would be; then he munched dutifully as he thought of all that went on yesterday, the meeting culminating in his plan to bolster the ranks of the Explorer guild. With nearly everything on the island explored already, finding those that would want to find something rare was a terrible task indeed.

Finishing up with his meal, his assistants returned; and promptly began to prepare his harnesses and baskets for the long trip home; helping him don the strapping so he could carry the majority of their load, seeing as how he was the largest and strongest of their group. When Mondor sent those Postal Birds last night to master Tebo, Hazen and Tarion, he had only expected to see the three of them; but was quite shocked to see their mentors and most of their friends arrive as well, but figured that since they had been together for so long they had grown quite attached with each other. He shooed his assistants away so he could turn and face the group now at his paddock gate, look of wondering on theirs and an extremely thoughtful look on his; and sighed as he looked at each and every one of them before speaking, but sir Bentfeather beat him to the punch and spoke first.

“Lord Mondor…”, he bowed atop Tebo’s shoulder. “My cohorts say they have received word from you, that you wish to speak with them?…”

“Correct…”, Mondor nosed the paddock gate open so they could all enter. His assistants returning to complete their harnessing. “First off, the meeting and your individual parts in it had been considered,… and the conclusion was that the ruins you found had to be destroyed anyway to keep Dinotopia safe… Therefore no accountability on your parts will be charged for it’s destruction…”, he looked thoughtful once more. “On the other hoof, the discovery of the ancient library bears special note…”

“How so?”, asked Bentfeather.

“When word gets out on the discovery, and the fact that many will try over time to retrace their steps off the island; those ways need to be discovered and confirmed they are there at all, and confirmed of their safety before their need of destruction for safety’s sake…”, Mondor told them. “The ways of the Explorer are needed, but our best efforts have turned up few… Their creed is all but unused here on this island, and new ones must be trained before the creed all but vanishes…”

“What are you saying?”, Bentfeather asked.

“I have contacted some retired Explorers, and they are too old to be of service any more…”, Mondor told them. “Also there are a few other Explorers that I have sent word, but have not as yet gotten reply… I intend to have trained a group of young adults to undertake training in the ways of the Explorer… I have seen through their actions thus far that a mere few would be perfect for such a profession…”, he looked up and scanned the faces of Tebo, Hazen and Tarion before continuing. “I believe that sir Tarion, master Hazen Baker and master Tebo Lewis would be perfect as Explorer trainees…”

Jaws dropped at the revelation, but soon Bentfeather broke the silence. “But sir!… You can’t be serious…”, he turned to his two pupils. “Tebo and Hazen are too young to be traipsing about thusly… Hazen is a mere Dolphinback, and is only just beginning to know our ways… He has a lot of growing up to do, and needs to make a few decisions in his life before taking on such a project… He has already had several offers for choice in profession, but his answers have always been inconclusive…”, he bowed at Mondor. “And besides, I have a little surprise to award Tebo when we get back to Waterfall City…”

“And what is that?”, Mondor asked.

“Well see, I was not merely training him to just be a regular librarian…”, he turned to the lad. “I was going to groom you to be Chief Curator of the Waterfall City library…”

“Me sir?…”, Tebo could not believe it.

“I kept on giving you hints on the way back, boy…”, Bentfeather smiled.. “You never would have guessed!…”

“Congratulations, Tebo Lewis… Or should I say ‘Chief librarian Tebo Lewis‘?…”, Tebo almost blushed! “But master Baker seems older than young Tebo…”, Mondor said. “One of that age should be able to say their own minds…”, he stared at Hazen, who gulped. “Son, what is it that YOU really want to do?…”

After Hazen’s stammering reply to the six ton beast, the rest considered what he said as Mondor’s attention turned to sir Tarion. “I am sure you are wondering why I chose to speak to you last…”, Mondor said, and Tarion nodded.

“I have been thinking about your dilemma as well…”, he continued. “These two humans and their cohorts are busy trying to grow up; but you seem fixated on the notion of growing DOWN…”, hr drew breath. “Perhaps you may find solace with persons of your own age level, not with mere hatchlings…”, he looked at Redcrest, who had attached herself to Tarion’s leg. “You need not revert to that of a hatchling to regain your childhood years,… but what you aught to do is find camaraderie in your peers, and to meet your childhood half-way...”

Mondor then looked at the rest of the group. “This was another facet of why I decided to revive the Explorer’s guild…”, he took a smug look as his assistants hitched up the last sack he was to carry. “Tebo had the intelligence mixed with the will to defend it, Hazen shows the love and protection for the group and Tarion would have been the one to know just what it is they would be looking for.”

Sir Mondor turned to leave Treetown, his assistants either in tow or riding his back; but he stopped after two strides to speak once more. “I must rush off to Waterfall City, and facilitate the legal defense of my son, Peter…”, he told them. “We should meet again there soon… Farewell, one and all…”, and he turned his tail east and began to disappear between the trees, leaving everyone to wonder. Sir Mondor’s journey would not begin for several hours yet, for he just had to visit his son in the detention paddocks first… just a little family business!…
_

TAG: Hazen Baker and Tarion!

[tarion]

Delima

Tarion stood out in the open quite dumbfounded, he had only just resigned when he was already being called back in, and the nerve of Sir Mondor, to tell him how he should adjust to living?! Hazen and Bentfeather tried to advise Tarion but only left him more puzzled, as their words of wisdom simply seemed to be circular reasoning, when looking at Asrial, he saw an expression of being at a loss as well. Redcrest who had taken to hugging his shin seemed to be the only one who had a straight answer for him. Redcrest looked Tarion right in the eyes and nodded as if to egg him on. "You get to go on an adventure, I'll have to wait until I'm older to get to do that on my own."

Tarion shook his head and frowned, "No, it's not that at all, Mondor is after something, wish I knew what...."

At his words both Hazen and Bentfeather seemed to become critical thinkers they began to examine the ideology of what Mondor could possibly be concocting.

Tarion sighed and patted Redcrest, "I'm Sorry Redcrest, but as it is now I may have to leave for now, but don't worry I will be back to play again." Tarion then looked to Hazen and shook his head again, "Hazen, I'm sure you're weighing your options, but concider this, if you go with me, you will be forced to leave behind your life partner, and I do not wish to separate the two of you, nor You from Bentfeather; Tebo, so I shall instead ask for an alternative team, The two of you will have much greater responsibilities than this."

At the end of his speach Tarion turned to Asrial and smiled, "Asrial, my love, I am sorry, but it appears I may be the only one that can help Sir Mondor with what it is he needs, please wait for me to return, and I promise, once I finish this, you can have me all to yourself... Ok?"

Asrial smiled and nodded, " Alright Tarion, I'll wait, forever and a day if I must, just... be careful ok, and show this world why you're the youngest member of the Archeological guild of Dinotopian history!"

Tarion smiled, it was true he had earned his rank far sooner than any other, and the simple fact that his ability to translate linguistics and ancient runes made him that much more of a rarity, he only hoped he would have more of a chance to be right this time, his analysis of the tyrannosaur skull shaped machine had fallen short of his usual experties.

With a heavy sigh Tarion bid the others good day and returned to his private quarters alone, once there he sat down and began pouring over every resource he had, from his most basic books to his most advanced, covering everything from geography, to archeology, to linguistics, to the study of ancient ruins and runes. In fact he speant so much time alone studying that he had gone past two meals of food without eating, he barely stopped for bathroom breaks, and once it grew dark he lit a candle, and continued until the candle burned out and it was too dark to continue. Exhausted and mentally strained he stepped outside for some fresh air the drive to answer the questions he sought seemed rekindled, but only as a mission an assignment of sorts, he had no wish to go back to the life he had just left, but to simply say "no" would appear rude. Tarion was turning around to head back inside and sleep what little he could when his feet ran across something in the dark, upon picking it up, he found it to be his collective works returned to him, with a note. To tired to read it, he simply took it inside with him and set it down he'd bother with the documents tomorrow, for now he needed rest, and without another thought Tarion passed out onto the bed and was unconcious.

Tag: Everyone involved.

[o8jedi]

IC: Hazen Baker, Redcrest, and company, Treetown, After the Meetings and a New Assignment
_

Having concluded giving their depositions, the party were ushered out of the chambers. "I thought that went rather well," Hazen opined to no one in particular, although he was still somewhat miffed that he was ignored in his plea for honesty and openness about potential ways off the island. Without needing much of a prompt most of them went on their separate ways for the rest of the day. And, with an open schedule, Hazen approached April.

She had exchanged a few words with her commanding officer before she saw Hazen approaching. "You certainly can be passionate," she commented, referring to his statement to the Archaeological Guild.

Hazen smiled. "If something touches me so," he replied. As he walked by her side, he didn't seem to mind the fact that she was still in her dress uniform. In fact, he found that she wore it well. After some small talk, Hazen offered a suggestion. "Perhaps we can spend Noonmeal together?" April chuckled, shaking her head. "What? It's a common request," he said.

"You have to remember that I'm not used to this," she said, covering her face feeling the beginnings of a blush coming on.

Hazen laughed as well. "Don't worry, I'll cure you of your bashfulness." More chuckles. "Seriously, though," Hazen said, "There's a bistro not too far from here that has some of the best-smelling food I've known since we left the Outer Island. It'll be perfect." Hazen took her hands. "Just you and me," he said with a smile.

"And me!" shouted Redcrest as she scampered toward the couple.

Hazen turned to the little saurian, "What are you doing here?" he said, hiding his disappointment with potentially spending an afternoon with the girl he loved.

"Mama and Papa wanted me to play with you for today." Hazen glanced at April, wondering what the two older Lambeosaurs had in mind. April merely shrugged in response.

"Well," Hazen said, "You're never a bother to me!" He took her hand and the three of them went to get something to eat.

An afternoon of exploring was capped by their returning to the paddocks where Polongo and Randy were staying. Artemis and April had to go on some sort of guard-related errand and they said their goodbyes to those assembled. In a poignant moment, Redcrest nuzzled her mother and wished that she could play with her, to which Artemis said that she will soon.

Shortly after their departure, Redcrest spied an intruder nearby and she clung to Hazen's pant leg, shy. Hazen turned to see who it was and he was surprised to find that Tarion was there. "Something the matter?" Hazen asked.

Tarion then asked if Redcrest would teach her how to be a kid. Hazen almost balked at the suggestion. It would have taken a lot of time alone with books to ruin one's ability to be a kid and Hazen was certain Tarion hadn't spent that much time sequestered in some lonely study nook.

Redcrest studied the adolescent, not unlike how she first studied Hazen when they met at the hatchery. Finally, she walked up to him and tagged him before running outside. Tarion stood there somewhat confused. He asked for clarification and Hazen said, "Simple; you're it." Tarion still had a blank expression. "Come on," Hazen said, "you've never played Tag?" Tarion shook his head sheepishly. "Lesson one about childhood: have fun. It's basically the foundation on which a childhood is built." As Tarion took it in, Hazen went outside. "You are still it, you know," he said, running after his Partner. Tarion finally got the idea and began loosening up, proving Hazen correct in his initial assessment. As the game progressed, Redcrest began to seem less shy about her new saurian friend. She began scampering alongside him, not unlike what she did with Hazen.

When evening rolled around, Hazen was helping Redcrest get ready to go to bed. As she curled up, he asked, "What made you want to help Tarion?"

"He looked like you did," Redcrest said, "Nice but sad."

Hazen smiled, thinking back to her initial assessment of Hazen back at the hatchery. "I think he's a bit happier now," he said. He gave Redcrest a little hug before bidding her goodnight to do the same. As he drifted to sleep, he thought about the message he received earlier, wondering what Mondor had in store for him.
_

The next morning, Hazen had rendezvoused with Tebo and Tarion. Redcrest had tagged along, as did Bentfeather did with Tebo. They went inside and heard what Mondor had to say.

Needless to say, Hazen wasn't particularly thrilled about being trained in another line of work, especially working by the commission of the Archaeological Guild. Even if he did confirm a safe way off the island, he was convinced that the Guild would cover up that information like they did at the meeting.

Besides, it seemed as others had plans as well. He was happy that Tebo was going to be named Bentfeather's successor and he hoped his tenure would be kind to him as he was sure it was kind to the Microraptor.

Mondor turned to Hazen and asked him what he wanted to do. Hazen looked back at the Triceratops and said, "To be honest, I pictured myself as a bit of a musician. I've been studying at Sir Ludwig's back at Waterfall City before this whole ordeal began and I was pretty sure that this was what I wanted. Now, I'm just trying to make sure that Redcrest is safe and happy and that I can continue pursuing my other matters." Feeling everyone's eyes on him, Hazen said with a sigh, "I guess I could go on this errand, but I really don't want to."

After Mondor explained himself and why he assembled that group, Hazen felt somewhat ashamed for how he handled things. Soon, the Triceratops had begun his return to Waterfall City and Hazen glanced at the other two, who were also in their own thoughts. Breaking the silence, Hazen said, "Great. Now what do we do?"
_

TAG: Tebo, Tarion, any and all!

[Thundertail]

IC: Bentfeather and company. Preparing for home.

The morning meeting with sir Mondor reminded everyone of their business that transpired at Treetown and this reminded them of their homes, and how badly they wished to be back there; and with little fanfare they went to pack and arrange meeting with the rest of their group so they could depart. The reason why Seamus and Polongo was not present at the meeting with Mondor was they were busy readying their new cart and seeing if there was any cargo in tree town bound for Waterfall City, and the reason why lady Natasha and frak was not was basically the same thing; for they had purchased one of the carts that brought them from the coast to here, and they were traders at heart as well! Officers Ajax, April, Olu and Artemis were also missing; but their reason was of the more official kind, taking their prisoner, Peter Triceratops, off the hands of the local guards. Seperately they knew today was the day they had to go, and prepared both physically and in their own minds where they were bound to go; and collectively they knew where they were to meet.

So by early afternoon they trapsed to their meeting spot by ones and twos, meeting at the obelisk where two streams converged and split apart; chatting quietly among themselves as the rest straggled into view, and noticed two more members of their group than when they started out. Tarion stood there with a sheepish look on his face, head bowed and almost seeming to beg to go along; and his girlfriend Asrial stood by his side, looking at him as he silently waited there with their things. Most of their group merely looked at them briefly before going back to readying their caravan for departure; but Redcrest noticed her new friend right away, and walked right up to him to wave. Keeping with his caregiver duty, Hazen followed to make sure she didn’t run off; and smiled as he crouched at her side. Tebo nodded at them in passing, and Bentfeather flapped near them as Postal Bird 76 arrived at long last.

“I see we have some new traveling companions…”, Bentfeather pointed at Tarion and Asrial. “Tarion, are you going to Waterfall City as well?…”

As Tarion confirmed his destination, Bentfeather smiled. “Well, you are welcome to travel with us, if you like…”

“I think we are all here now.”, lady Natasha said as she hopped down from Seamus’s cart. “I’m afraid we are only down to one cart this time, so most of you will have to walk and carry some provisions…”

“And don’t worry about pulling your cart the whole way.”, Randy told Polongo. “I’ll switch off with you at each rest stop.”, he turned to Peter, who was being guarded by April, the Treetown guards in the periphery of the area still eyeing him suspiciously. “And I’m sure Peter would like to help out too… Wouldn’t you?…”

“Why not…”, Peter said with very little enthusiasm.

“Then I think all is well!”, officer Ajax observed. “If we are all ready to go, I suggest we begin with very little delay.’, he expertly mounted Olu, and both turned to the embarking group. “Let’s move out!…”

Frak hopped aboard Peter, who seemed happy to have him there; and Seamus got aboard the wagon, his Partner Polongo pulling the cart into motion. Tebo sat at his side with Bentfeather on his shoulder; and Postal Bird 76 scampered into a basket just behind the front seat. While Ajax rode Olu, April rode Artemis; and Redcrest and Hazen took an empty niche in the back of the cart, but lady Natasha, Tarion and Asrial chose to walk along side the group. All those with spare room and could carry a load wore their packs as they saw fit, and began to leave the area of ground that Treetown loomed over; but the occupants of the town were not finished yet, for they all came out in droves to wish them farewell, the Brachs and other large saurians booming their farewells as the group passed where they were.

The din of the well wishing diminished the further away they got from Treetown proper, noise being muffled by the dense tree trunks and the rills and folds in the ground beneath their feet. Pretty soon the myriad of paths that encircled every trunk converged into one well worn road of dirt, heading approximately west as the land would allow; and by evening there loomed a signpost at a “Y” junction in the forest. The sign read in both saurian and human “Hookwood” pointing down the left fork and “Redwick” down the right; but before the group decided on their direction, they reasoned instead to set up their camp for the night…
_

TAG: Tarion and so on, Hazen and so on!

[tarion]

Setting out

The following morning Tarion woke early to gather his supplies, the note he had been given along with his documents read, "Sir Tarion, the Archeological Guild has deemed it fitting that you retain your documentation for now, as it may prove useful during your upcoming training and expadition, best wishes from all of us."

Tarion grinned a little and sacked the documents in his satchel, then gathered the rest of his supplies, which wasn't much.

Approximatly an hour later, he found himself in the company of his dearly beloved Asrial, who already had her supplies ready as well. They waited near the entrance a grand total of about ten minutes before the rest of the traveling group began to show up, first the guards and Peter triceratops, whome Tarion recognized to be Sir Mondor's son, then Polongo and Randy the cart pushers, Then came Lady Natasha, Hazen Baker, Redcrest, Sir Bentfeather and Tebo Lewis. Redcrest was the first to aknowledge that Tarion and Asrial were now in their numbers and went over to Tarion, Hazen of course followed. When inquired about where they were headed by Sir Bentfeather, Tarion nodded and replied that they needed to take Asrial home, and he had things to do and prepare for.

Not long after they set out on the open road making their way gradually back to Waterfall city, Tarion and Asrial had opted to walk the journey due to lack of carts, and to keep himself occupied Tarion pulled out his notes and documents and began reading over them, he considered it light reading, but this was mainly due to the fact that he was well traversed in his own wrighting for most others his documents would be hard to understand and often would require secondary research to make sense of what he was talking about in most of it, Tarion examined the group and decided that if anyone among them could understand his documentation as well as he could, it would probably be Sir Bentfeather, Tebo -to some degree-, Peter -once again to some degree- and maybe Hazen Baker -with a few pauses for definitions and descriptions- Asrial would know a little of what he talked about, as she had spent time with him, but most others would be lost by the first paragraph.

It was while they were journeying that Tarion began to notice several interesting features in his documentation reguarading the mother sunstone, each ruin he had visted had lead him across the whole of Dinotopia but, when tracing the paths something began to emerge.... a centeral point, almost as if it was a location that was hidden until the other ruins had been searched. Tarion pulled out a map of Dinotopia with it's geography and traced the paths over it, then sighed.... the central location point was somewhere he did not want to be... the Rainy Basin. Tarion narrowed his eyes and began to think it over, was there actually a ruin in the Rainy Basin? as many times as Tarion had passed over and around it, he had never gone through for fear of the carnivores.... the thought of having to go to a ruin in the heart of such territory was utterly mortifying.

As the group began setting up camp that night Tarion remained seated pouring over his notes and cross refferncing his maps.... something still wasn't adding up, each ruin he had been to had said something about the mother sunstone, almost as if sequenced to tell a story, but there was still a part that seemed to be left out right in the middle of it all. His work seemed to be catching the interst of a few members of the group for while he worked Sir Bentfeather, and Hazen Baker both joined him. Hazen began examining the maps while Sir Bentfeather went back and forth between looking the maps over and questioning Tarion.

Tarion felt he was close to makeing a break through when a small chirp threw off his train of thought and made him loose his concentration, looking up, he saw Redcrest across from him, he looked eager to play again, and was wanting Tarion to join in.

Slightly upset and mentally exhausted over the amount of time he had spent working, he decided to call it quits for the night, and put up his documentation, much to the disliking of Sir Bentfeather who had taken to reading his journals and notes, and only agreed when Tarion said he could continue reading them throughout the journey home.

After having put his things up Tarion went over to Redcrest non chelantly. Redcrest watched him with interest, as Tarion walked around then out of nowhere tagged Redcrest on the tail and ran off to another part of the camp calling out "Tag you're it!"

Asrial watched and giggled, it was good to see Tarion having fun for once, he normally seemed so quiet and focused all the time. Asrial walked over to Lady Natasha wanting to strike up a conversation, although she seemed unsure how, she started by introducing herself, and then asking Lady Natasha how she had ended up in this band of traveling wonderers.

Tag: Everyone involved

[Thundertail]

IC: Bentfeather and company. Tarion’s comprehension of childhood.

The first morning on the road made itself known by the dappled sunshine coming through the leaves of the trees they were under, for they were not out of the woody environs near Treetown just yet; but the routine of the road bade them to get up swiftly and begin to break down their camp. True to his word, Randy donned the harnesses and backed himself into the cart; allowing Polongo to have Seamus ride him plus all the supplies they could carry. April’s job was to attend Peter, so she chose to ride him instead; leaving Artemis to ride free - but had Hazen place Redcrest on her back so she could ride her mommy’s back (Again including all the supplies she could carry.). Tebo took to driving the cart, his friend Bentfeather riding along side him, and since Tarion wanted to study unfettered (He could study without worrying about watching where he was going.); he decided to ride the cart at Tebo’s side as well. The rest chose to walk like yesterday, shouldering their packs as they had done before; and before the morning was long they were ready to head out, at last deciding to take the road leading to Hookwood since that was the closest direction to waterfall City from there. The road sloped down gently toward a narrow stream, of which officer Ajax said was the beginnings of the Polongo river; and they crossed this stream no less than three times, two of these times was with the aid of first a rather rickety wooden bridge and then a sturdier stone bridge.

By mid morning, and after completing only half of these maneuvers; Tebo looked over to see Tarion still pouring over his notes and scrolls, and the saurian had been doing this for hours, he thought. Was he just as studious with the books when he was apprenticed at the library, he thought. He remembered that study was extremely boring any way you looked at it, and he often seized any opportunity to have fun; but the creature beside him only seemed to want to study, and anything like fun was foreign to him. He began to remember the games he had played with his papa on long trips across town; things to do while waiting to get to one’s destination, and smiled at a game he remembered. He turned sidelong to Tarion and began to speak.

“This is going to be a long trip, you think?…”, Tebo got no response. “When I was young, we used to play some games to pass the time…”, again nothing from the engrossed creature!

“Er,… What were those?…”, Bentfeather took the narrative instead.

“Well, one game was called ‘I Spy’…”, Tebo looked over, no interest. “You see something, but don’t say what it is exactly; but then you describe it by saying a few words about it. Then when someone says the correct answer, it‘s his or her turn to find something to describe.”

“I remember the game!”, Randy said from in front. “I used to play it with my pa too!…”, the beast smiled at the memory.

“Sounds like fun…”, Bentfeather said. “Who wants to start?”, this was directed at Tarion, but he was still reading!

“I’ll start.”, said Tebo after nothing was said by Tarion. “Let’s see…”, he looked around, then smiled. “ ‘I spy, with my little eye’ something tall, something old…”, but was stopped at a shout!

“A tree!…”, Randy said with victory.

“Was that going to be your answer, Tarion?”, Tebo asked, but gave Randy a shut-up stare!

“You’re right, so now it’s your turn!”, Bentfeather told Randy. “Go ahead.”

“Here goes… ‘I spy, with my little eye’ something round…, something older…, bumpy,…”, and he was cut off.

“Sandstone with igneous quartz with flecks of mica schist!”, Bentfeather shouted, and landed on the large boulder by the side of the road a hand full of yards ahead.

“Huh?”, Randy inquired.

“This rock, silly!”, Bentfeather hopped on his head as he came closer, then noticed Tarion’s continuing lack of interest.

“That was it!”, Randy said in the mean time. “Your turn, sir Bentfeather.”

“ ‘I spy, with my little eye’…”, he scowled. “Something square… words are on it…”, he hopped right on Tarion‘s scroll! “You are reading it!…”

Tarion looked up to see sir Bentfeather staring murderously at him, and when the Microraptor spoke he knew to listen carefully! “Put… the books… AWAY!!!…”, Bentfeather glared, then hopped to Tebo’s shoulder. “Do you not think you study those things too much?”, Tarion began to comply, rolling up his scrolls.

“I had heard that you were a good scholar at apprentice school, even for one so young. All you cared about, they say, was your study.”, Bentfeather looked at him again, and Tarion lowered his head. “But your peers said that you had no time for them. You wouldn’t socialize, and you barely acknowledged their existence.”, he looked ahead. “Now I hear you resigned from the Archaeological guild, the very kind of profession you love… And why?”

Tarion tried to begin to explain, but was cut off. “You want what you didn’t have time for as a child.”, Bentfeather told him. “You want the joy you would have gotten, but the trouble is you don’t know how to get it.”

“When I was an apprentice librarian, I used to study just as hard as you did.”, Tebo said. “But I always made enough time to have fun, and I always remembered to surround myself with friends.”

“Knowledge and greatness means nothing if you don’t have friends to share it with you.”, Bentfeather looked over and saw Asrial many feet behind the cart between Frak and lady Natasha., and smiled. “And having one friend is a good start… But you should have more!…”

“You can never have too many friends, Tarion.”, Tebo told him.

“And all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy…”, Randy quoted from the front of the cart.

“That said, who was going to be next?”, asked Bentfeather.

“That was you, sir Bentfeather.”, Randy said.

“Very well then!”, Bentfeather smiled at Tarion. “ ‘I spy, with my little eye’…”

The cart as well as the rest of the caravan went down the road to Hookwood, the four occupants playing a very old and popular game for many miles down the road; and even though Tarion did not guess at all the clues, he had to admit this activity was a lot more enjoyable than pouring through his notes all day. Pretty soon for them the day waned and nightfall began to make it’s intention known in the sky, but for them they wondered where the time went; and neither Tebo, Tarion Randy or Bentfeather ever wanted it to end…
_

TAG: Tarion, Hazen, any and all!

[tarion]

It's All Fun and Games.

The next morning came Early for Tarion, enticed with the descovery he had made last night, he felt it appropriate to make all the effort he could to find out anything and everything involving any likely ruins in the Rainy Basin. As camp was packed up and the convoy was preparing to move out, Tarion found himself taking a seat next to the boy Tebo Lewis, who was driving the cart with Randy pulling, also riding along was Sir Bentfeather.

The group hadn't even taken off yet when Tarion broke out his supplies and notes and began his search for specific information, something key... something curcial... something he must have missed.

Soon Tarion found himself lost in his studies, sure to others this might seem boring or no where near fun, but for him, it wasn't a matter of work or having too, the truth was he thoroughly enjoyed studying ancient ruins... he always had, even when he was barely over being a hatchling and was able to walk on his own. What was more interesting was that even before he was enrolled in the Archeological Academy, or joined the guild, he already had a rudementary understanding of runes and dead languages, it had always eluded him as to how and why... but for some reason he just knew it. Somewhere as if far and distant he heard the faint sound of Tebo talking, it seemed un improtant and generalized so Tarion continued to pour over his work completely uninterested, that is... until while reading a pair of clawed feet landed in the middle of his maps and journals, staring at the feet, Tarions first response was... (Please don't curl your toes, it'll ruin the maps!) but upon looking up he noticed it was Sir Bentfeather, who seemed to have a rather stern look on his face... something told Tarion it was a good time to listen.

Tarion was then given a strongly worded lecture, by three other members of the party.... and although he felt he was arriving close to an answer for once, the persistance of the three was starting to drive him mad, with a heavy sigh, he closed his eyes and tried to calm himself as he rolled his scrolls up and folded his maps, then closed his journals calmly. He looked around at the other three awaiting to see their signs of content expressions, when satisfied they turned back to the road and continued on.

Tarion had to take a few seconds to watch and see what the three were doing, it was a game of some variety... one where the main player would state the phrase "I spy with my little eye" then describe what they were seeing and the other's had to guess.... it took Tarion a total of half one turn to get the jest of how the game was played, he looked over to Redcrest for advise, only to see him napping. Randy grinned and looked up, "I spy... with my little eye, something in the sky..." he was intereupted by Tebo who responeded, "A cloud?" but Randy shook his head, "It moves yes, but cannot be seen with the common eye" Tarion laughed... which surprised everyone.... the fact that he even had a sense of humor at all. "It's a Quetzuquatulous" Tebo gave Tarion a confused expression and Tarion felt it best to explain, "He sees a Skybax, and if I'm not mistaken..." Tairon looked up and squinted... sure enough at a much higher altitude Sora was flying over them. "He sees Sora, my skybax steed."

Randy nodded, "Very good Tarion, although that was a little to our advantage, as most saurians have better vision than mammals do... no offense" he added quickly to Tebo Lewis

Tebo nodded, "It's alright, and good job Tarion...so that means it's your turn"
Tarion nodded and smiled... he wanted to pick something that would be hard for the others to guess....
Suddenly a grin crossed Tarion's face, "I spy with my little eye... something... green"
All at once Tarion was getting three different answers, "The grass?" Tebo answered, "The moss?" Randy replied, "The Tree leaves?" Sir Bentfeather answered....
Tarion Shook his head, "No, no, and no" Tarion's grin widened as he reached towards his face and pulled one of Sir Bentfeather's microfeathers off his snout and chuckled.... "It was one of Sir Bentfeather's feathers."
This threw the others for a slight loop, that he was so detail oriented... was sort of uncommon among juvenile saurians.

The game continued for some time, and while Tarion would guess at some and leave others alone to give the other players a chance, when it came to his turn he felt he should lower his standards of play a little and made is observations a little easier.

In what seemed like no time at all they were already once again making camp, and Tarion, having played most of the journey this time around sat down at the camp fire and sighed.... something still tugged at his mind, he longed to show Sir Bentfeather his work, for he was almost certain that Sir Bentfeather could be of assistance, but....at the same time.... he was unsure of if he should after how Sir Bentfeather had scolded him today. It was a debate that still ran through his mind as the night grew dark and fellow partymember began to sleep, then the idea hit him.... there may be away to have Sir Bentfeather become involved in their new venture... Tarion allowed himself a small grin, knowing that if the loophole worked he'd be going around the authority of Sir Mondor, but at this point Tarion really didn't care, after all it was Sir Mondor that dragged him back in, when he was trying to go to a normal life. Tarion took a few of his journals from his satchel that night, which started with his first discovery of the runes describing the Mother Sunstone, and contained all of his notes for the next three ruins he had visited, he then quietly slipped them into Sir Bentfeather's and Tebo's Supply bags that the carried and then went to an open area to sleep. If anything would get Sir Bentfeather interested in what it was Tarion was doing, it'd be those journals.

Tag: Everyone involved

[Thundertail]

IC: Bentfeather and company. Events on the way to Hookwood, and a surprise when they got there.

The road continued on for miles, and the group riding in the cart soon became tired of the game; and they all fell silent as first Polongo and then Peter took the lead, the rest just keeping up as their smaller legs carrying their packs were finally beginning to give out. A short rest was called for, and some that were walking decided to ride instead, Hazen was unused to such exertion and hopped aboard, and Redcrest was tired of riding her mommy and clambered up after him; and since he had little experience driving a cart, Frak climbed up and took the reigns, right after Peter was ushered into the cart’s harnesses.

Setting out again, Bentfeather decided to go over the treaty from the Outer Island penned by Falokar and his fellow carnivores; for he was supposed to present it to the high council on their behalf, and he had to practice giving their speech. Shuffling through his many notes and papers, He saw a sheaf of papers and scrolls penned by a hand other than his own; and as he scanned through several articles, he knew that these were the notes that Tarion was referring to concerning the Mother Sunstone! He had scanned these same notes back in Ebulon, but never really studied them at length; but he admired Tarion’s writing style and the way he had drawn the conclusions he came up with, and he had to admit the lad tried hard enough!

Tarion was obviously trying to attain the approval of someone he could look up to, they way he hid his notes here; but Bentfeather knew this was motivation befitting the inner child Tarion really was, and knew just what to do. He refreshed himself on reading the notes up to the point where he left off last time and put the notes away, switching to the treaty contract for the rest of his session of reading; putting his satchel away quickly and finding his way back to Tebo’s side, who was walking along side Peter and trying to tell the forlorn beast a funny story.

“… So the Parasolophus sneezed, and the cliff fell onto the cave the Veloceraptors were hiding in…”, Tebo was saying. “He said later there was nobody around to say ‘Bless you’…”

“Hello, you two!”, Bentfeather greeted. “I see you are getting along…”

“I never really got to know Peter.”, Tebo said. “Seems he had the same kind of childhood I had, been through the same kind of stuff.”

“The kid’s OK…”, Peter rumbled. “Even though he tried to get the fines for the books I had from the library…”

“Well, you did owe us the books…”, Bentfeather scolded. “And paying the fines is the punishment for that.”

“My papa said he returned the books and paid the fines.”, said Peter. “I guess that makes things all right…”

“At least they’re back.”, Tebo said. “Now others can read them.”

“And I learned that, if you’re going to borrow something, return it in a timely manner.”, Peter said, and walked a little faster in his harness.

“A fine boy!… So smart, learning like that!…”, Bentfeather said, seeing movement in the corner of his eye. “You take after your father like that…”

Bentfeather knew Tarion was about, but made no indication of the fact as he saw his chat with Peter was waning. He wanted to ignore any encounter with him, especially if it would concern his Mother Sunstone theories; so Bentfeather continued avoiding him for most of the trip. They encountered no danger the rest of the way, even though officer Ajax went on patrols aboard Olu to make sure; for only the lone traveler or small caravan of persons were the only things encountered, and the indigenous wildlife he saw were of the benevolent kind. Once again it was deemed necessary to stop, several of the party complaining that they should have brought another cart or two; and they made camp just on the outskirts of Hookwood.

At this rest stop, Bentfeather knew he could not avoid interacting with Tarion; but he vowed to himself not to mention anything about the discovery in his satchel if he did, knowing the lad would sooner or later confront him on it. Besides, he still wasn’t finished with the overly detailed account; and he hoped to at least be finished with it before he was to give his opinion of the piece so he could give an intelligent conclusion. Pretty soon he was busy himself helping the larger dinosaurs with his services, for somewhere during the trip a plague of ticks had invaded them all; and Randy, Peter and Polongo were the ones these tiny beasts seemed attracted to the most. The plague was so intense that Bentfeather recruited the services of Postal Bird 76 to help, and those not too busy with camp business were asked to help groom their friends. Fortunately Tarion’s attention was drawn between helping with this task and all that was going on in the caravan; and was so busy interacting with everyone to do anything but say brief words or merely nod at the Microraptor thus far, but Bentfeather knew the time would come. The only thing was he was hoping the encounter would be a bit later as he nipped one of the nasty devils off the base of Randy‘s tail and ate it, seeing the lad rake many off from under Peter‘s frill; and seeming to enjoy the humanitarian task in the process, (Another part of his social development being performing kind things to others.) and Bentfeather smiled at the engrossed lad despite himself.

Once bedded down for the night, Bentfeather settled down and went to his satchel, feigning to go over Falokar’s proposal once more; but instead began to read more of Tarion’s papers, and scanned them for many hours by lantern light. The one thing that struck him a suspicious thought was the way his statements was worded; for they seemed very familiar despite the fact they came from the hand of a super intelligent child, for it was almost identical to some of the tomes he had seen in the library back in Waterfall City. In fact almost all of Tarion’s research seemed to have come from someone else, for the lad was too young to have gone to and seen all the places that was mentioned here in his tomes; and Bentfeather soon drew the conclusion that, for him to have amassed such a collection of clues as to the whereabouts of the Mother Sunstone, he would have had to have gotten his information almost solely through the various libraries around Dinotopia, and that his search for the artifact had just barely begun. He would need the support of credible persons, and sufficient funding to head an expedition to find it; and probably this was the reason why he had placed his literature in the Microraptor’s satchel in the first place!

With this he put the paperwork away, headed off to Tebo’s sleeping bag and turned in for the night; for between all the hard work of pest control and study, his little body was exhausted!…
_

(Morning)

They all got up and routinely broke down their camp, Polongo taking to pulling the cart again as it was his turn; and within an hour they were on their way again, and before the next hour was up they found themselves within the midst of a mere seven small buildings. This was the village of Hookwood, just a small community of four families running a small farm in the middle of the forest; and from the small patches of garden plots they encountered along the way, their main crop export was Arctus Longevus, and their other plots had crop in it only sufficient for their own consumption. The group looked for many a turn of the township for a place to stay for a rest, but there seemed to be only households; and the barns looked merely big enough for crop storage and the town’s few saurian residents, but the worst part of being there was that the whole place seemed to be deserted!

They all walked back to the supposed center of town after leaving the cart at the most hospitable household, officer Ajax and company looking into each building in military fashion; and came back after twenty minutes to confirm the absence of anyone around, and telling the rest they could stop shouting for anybody to come out. Postal Bird flew up and scanned the area with his superior vision, and came back saying that most of the residents seemed to be in a far clearing; and they were busy harvesting their crop, then Bentfeather explained that Arctus Longevus had to be harvested quickly and preserved to increase it’s potency for market. At Hazen’s confused look, Bentfeather explained further; saying that it was used to retard aging and improve health, and almost all Dinotopians claim that a human taking ’Trilobar Tea’ could live as long as two hundred and fifty years! As this was being said, the townspeople harvesting noticed a Postal Bird in the air above them, and were beginning to return to their home; many coming back to see who was visiting them so unexpectedly, and within a short span of time many had returned to see.

“I am sorry, fine sirs and madams…!”, yelled one young human, his Iguanodon friend close behind. “We were at harvest, and did not expect anyone…!”

“That is fine, lad.”, Bentfeather flew over and landed on the human’s friend. “We were not really planning to stop here… Just passing through…”

“What news?”, the young man asked. “Where do you hail from?”

“Waterfall City.”, Bentfeather said. “We are actually returning there, from an adventure wild and dangerous.”

“Do tell!…”, the lad said, and Bentfeather began their tale.

In the mean time the rest had stopped to rest and tend their sore feet, Ajax watching as many of the rest of the small community began to return; but what he didn’t notice was the lone Triceratops watching the whole exchange from a far tree line nearly a mile away, who sensed the officer’s gaze and melted back into the foliage. Going back to where they were camped, Mondor told his assistants Whitenose, Phinneas and Angee that Bentfeather’s group had arrived; they berating him for delaying their travel, and he explaining that he just had to see his son once more. Instead of arguing with them further, he told them to prepare the special cart he had purchased in Lacuna; which was just north of Treetown, and hidden deeper into the forest. He had wanted to present the cart, a Rickshaw type taxi-cart that most of them could ride in, to the group as a thank you for taking care of his son; and wanted to do it in Treetown, but they had left too soon for him to do so. Well, if Bentfeather’s group would just stay in Hookwood long enough; they would get the cart sure enough. Mondor thought as he turned and made his way back to his lookout spot.

“A wonderful story! You must be famous!”, said the lad. “But please, would you not reconsider not staying? The elders would no doubt like hearing your tale.”

“Perhaps…”, Bentfeather looked around. “My group may need a longer time than expected to rest.”, he thought “Do you have a paddock or rooms where we could stay?”

“Perhaps one of the storage barns.”, the boy said, and was stopped at the grunting of his Iguanodon friend. “That is until the rest arrive with the harvest.”

“That would be fine…”, Bentfeather said and went to tell the rest.

As they were led to one of the storage barns, the rest of the town began to show up; and they were overjoyed at the prospect of hosting their unexpected guests, and put them up as good as their meager resources allowed. The town gathered and listened to Bentfeather’s tale, the rest of his group adding their roles they played in it. Once meals were prepared for them and the pullers and the steeds of their guards were put up in the barn, Bentfeather decided to wander alone in the near by forest.

Bentfeather found their Trilobar-laced fare somewhat unsettling, so he decided to search for his favorite fare. The forest the town was nestled in would no doubt contain trees that were rotted, and insects galore would no doubt live in them; and he flapped off in search of the most likely fallen tree, maneuvering around the trunks in near twilight. That was why he did not see the looming figure in the foliage near by as he landed on the bark of a log; and he didn’t hear the infrasonic breathing many yards away; and only until the figure begin to move did the little creature turned with a start, fearing it was a Tyrannosaur or some other nasty carnivore!

“Oh dear!…”, he squawked, seeing the Triceratops and figuring it was one of the townspeople looking for him. “You scared the daylights from me!…”

“I am sorry for the intrusion, sir Bentfeather…”, said Mondor. “But I wished to meet you unobserved.”

“Sir Mondor!…”, Bentfeather bowed, recognizing him at last. “But weren’t you on your way to Waterfall City…?”

“I still am, but I wish to see my son first.”, said Mondor. “And also to thank all of you personally for taking such good care of him…”

“We all know you appreciate it, sir.”, said Bentfeather. “There was no need to express it so…”

“There is another thing.”, Mondor stood aside to reveal a contrivance as yet hidden in shadow. “I have been spying on your progress to here… Your lack of progress tells me your group is having a hard time with only the single cart… This is why I have acquired another cart for many of you to ride in…”

“You shouldn’t have done it…”, said Bentfeather, then bowed. “Your generosity will not go unappreciated…”

“Now go back to your meal, my little friend…”, Mondor smiled. “And please do not tell your group until morning… I will be along then to deliver the cart…”, he turned and melted back into the gloomy forest without preamble…
_

TAG: One and all!

[tarion]

Anticipation

The following morning Tarion woke next to Asrial and nuzzled her lovingly, then rose with the rest of the group and tried his best to act as if nothing had happened the night before, with him stowing his notes away to Sir Bentfeather's satchel. He and Asrial took up places near the cart walking along holding hands and seeming to just enjoy time together. He payed little to no attention to Bentfeather during their travels, except to only notice that during the whole walk Sir Bentfeather had not said one word to him at all nor even so much as looked at him.... although Tarion was curious, he felt Sir Bentfeather had his reasons and was probably busy... even though it was killing Tarion to ask Sir Bentfeather for his analysis of his research, most of which he had concluded himself simply by translating runes from older and decaying Ruins, true his start for the research had begun at the Waterfall City library, and most of that part of his research would be in what Sir Bentfeather was reading, but the other half, the half that he had left with Tebo, contained all of his own finds, which were much more detail oriented and slightly more wordy, his translations tended to be a little more accurate than the research from the library as well... the most important feature to his research was something he had kept to himself the entire time, his map of the ruin locations, most of which had been removed from maps due to the want for secretcy. If Sir Bentfeather went along with his research, Then Tarion would show Sir Bentfeather the map, if not.... well then Tarion would have to attempt working toward his goal on his own... he only hoped that in due time Sir Bentfeather, or Tebo, one would notice the second set of documents, and take to reading them.

It was later while the group was setting up camp that Tarion was ready to approach Sir Bentfeather, when it came to his attention that a plague of ticks had infested several of the adults... Tairon made it a point to get rid of as many as he could and then followed by examining Asrial head to toe to make sure she was alright. Once things had calmed down for the night Tarion was about to make his move towards Sir Bentfeather when Asrial destracted him and engaged him in a conversation that lead to cuddleing with each other.

The following day didn't hold much excitement for Tarion, they had traveled about half the day before arriving at what appeared to be a small farm area.... they were offered room and bed for the night, which Sir Bentfeather gladly accepted for them, and in doing so the group now found themselves a little closer to home... but Tarion was no closer to his goals than he had been back in Treetown.... feeling slightly diseheartened by this fact, among other things, he ended up trying to spend most of his time there alone... so as to clear his now buzzing and discombobulated mind.

Tag: Everyone involved.

[Thundertail]

IC: Bentfeather and company. The gift and it’s benefactor.

Bentfeather quietly went back to where his new partner was already asleep, the accommodations provided by the people of Hookwood being Spartan but cozy; and said not a word to the lad as he slipped in near his pillow, and woke him slightly. As Bentfeather tried to drift to sleep, his mind could not fathom why sir Mondor was there; and conducting dealings most mysteriously indeed! Even though the gesture of providing another cart for comfort in travel would be an appreciated gesture, he suspected there was something more to the beast’s random act of generosity; and there were only two reasons why he would act thusly, one being more obvious than the other. His first assumption was the fact that his son, Peter was with them; and going to Waterfall City for a trial to be judged for his misdeeds, and any parent of a convicted criminal would be there to support their errant offspring - good or bad. The other reason was more obscure, but Bentfeather’s fine talent for deduction could only reason that the fact that young Tarion was also with them could hold a bearing on Mondor’s continued presence among them; but his overactive mind had already put in a full day’s service, and it was pointless to think about things any further anyway.

Bentfeather finally drifted to sleep many moments later, having absolutely no dreams at all and having his slumber feel like only a few moments; and woke groggy and muzzy in the head, and requiring Tebo to gently jostle him awake. Once revived, Bentfeather seemed to have no memory of what transpired last night, nor who he had encountered; and that was why it was as much of a surprise to him as anyone else when sir Mondor arrived in the small center of Hookwood amidst them, this after the group had eaten and were just about ready to get under way once again. The shock of the impromptu appearance wore off, Mondor chose to speak.

“Greetings, one and all…”, he said. “I have decided to join you on your trip back to Waterfall City…”

“This is all such a surprise, sir!”, Bentfeather spoke first. “Of course we can not forbid you from coming with us, but one has to wonder why…”

“Ah, my friend!… Wouldn’t you all like to know!…”, Mondor chuckled while winking at the Microraptor; his assistants, Whitenose, Phineas and Tilly removing the harnesses from his back. “First off, a gift for taking care of my son so well…”, he stepped aside to reveal a wide Rickshaw-like cart that could handle eight or more humans easily. “I had followed you from Treetown, and saw you were having difficulty traveling…”

“This is awfully generous of you…”, said Bentfeather.

“Indeed!”, Ajax added. “Many of us are ill-suited to walking such great distances.”

“Who will pull that cart?”, asked Tebo.

“I’ll do it!”, Randy piped up, as Polongo was going to pull the other cart.

“No, let me.”, Peter said. “Papa, I want to do it.”

“Ah, my son is learning!…”, Mondor turned to him. “Certainly you shall… Pending your guards’ permission…”

“Very well then.”, Ajax said after conferring with Olu. “You know, he has been very helpful on this trip…”

“Takes after his father…!”, Mondor chuckled. “Um, don’t you think the morning’s getting long?…”

“Yes, we must go if we are to get to Waterfall City before the end of the week.”, lady Natasha said as he and Frak began to prepare Peter.

“Over here, laddy…”, Frak led the beast to the cart.

Many moments later the group, with the addition of four extra persons and a cart, was ready to go; setting off in the direction of Waterfall City, or as close to the direction as their intended course allowed. Mondor could sense as they walked along after receiving moderate farewells from the sparse citizens of Hookwood, and the questions he perceived from the thoughtful looks from some of the rest of the group were many and diverse; but the wise beast simply walked along in the middle of the group, strategically letting those that wished to ask their questions to ask them in their own time. Seamus asked Polongo to travel a little faster as it was their turn to take the lead as they crested a rise in a small field, the cart they were operating devoid of occupants aside from their load of provisions; honked and yelled as they at last made their goal, Randy being the one in their way as the Ankylosaur begged forgiveness.

Mondor chuckled at this exchange, having not witnessed trailside banter in a long time; and the fact that his assistants showed no such imagination during trips, made him chuckle all the more. Angee fell back and took a position in the group next to Randy, Phineas merely stayed seated in the frill saddle aboard his superior and Whitenose chose to flap her way to the Rickshaw to roost beside Bentfeather and Postal Bird 76; whom decided to ride perched on the wide rail at the front of the contrivance. At last he took a look at Peter, winking at him as the boy looked in his direction; and Peter put in extra effort in his pulling to show he was a good sport, and Mondor was glad that his presence was brightening the spirits of his son! And thusly the group made their way through the wilderness to the next town, and out of sheer boredom many conversations ensued all along the caravan…
_

TAG: Any and all!

[o8jedi]

IC: Hazen Baker, Redcrest, April Manchester, and company, On the Road
_

The long road back to Waterfall City continued to stretch on and the party continued with great anticipation. Although there were long stretches of boredom, the little things that made it more enjoyable were what were gave Hazen a great deal of pleasure. At one point, little Redcrest had climbed onto the back of her mother and rode her like April did. Artemis carefully galloped, making the ride more fun. Hazen couldn't help but laugh as he walked on the road, taking this in. "I thought it was physically impossible for young Hadrosaurs to have a piggyback ride on their parents' back," he remarked to Seamus MacEwan, "I'm glad I've been proven wrong."

Seamus smiled and looked at the young ones from his position at the reigns. "It is indeed a beautiful thing to see bonding between a parent and their young. No matter the species."

Hazen smiled. "I've learned so much about family since coming here. Namely, what it means to raise one." Feeling fatigue coming in, he hopped onto the cart and took a seat in the shotgun position.

"Well, you do have a hand in raising Redcrest," Seamus noted, "so your education has been direct."

Hazen smiled. He glanced at the young saurian, who was encouraging her mother to go faster. "It's more than that," he said. "I've never seen any family be this . . . happy. What a wonderful impression it has left."

Seamus glanced toward the Dolphinback. "Were your views on family that horrible on the outside?"

"No," Hazen said. "Mine was your standard nuclear family: mother, father, siblings. We really weren't dysfunctional, either. It's more seeing things from the other side. And I totally want in on it..."

Seamus chuckled. "Are you certain that the lass agrees with you?"

Hazen turned back to Seamus after glancing at April, the lass in question. "It's still too soon in our relationship to discuss things like that," he countered. "I want to make sure that our regular lives won't rule out that possibility."

Seamus nodded. "A wise move, I'm sure. Although one shouldn't dilly-dally either."

Hazen took that advice in stride as he got comfortable on the cart seat, taking in the natural beauty as they passed.
_

The travel went easily and soon they entered a quaint town. So small, in fact, that Hazen reckoned that he could throw a stone from one side of town to the next. He helped Redcrest out of the cart and surveyed the area. The town was apparently deserted, which was confirmed by a cursory inspection of the settlement. "How come no one is here?" asked Redcrest.

"Could be a lot of reasons," Hazen said. "Bad food, illness, or they could just be..."

"Out working!" 76 called from the air. He flew down to the others and said, "They are in a clearing not far from here. They appear to be harvesting their crop of Arctus longevis."

"Why does that sound familiar?" Hazen mused aloud. So many plants of the genus Arctus had filled his biology books back at Waterfall City that he couldn't conjure it up immediately. Thankfully Bentfeather explained that it prolonged life up to 250 years. Furthermore, it had to be picked early on to maximize its effectiveness. "I don't recall ever sampling Arctus longevis," Hazen observed, more to himself than to anyone in particular, "though I'm not sure how I feel about being able to see my great-great-great-grandchildren grow up."

Soon, a pair of citizens came to greet them, a younger human and an Iguanodon. As introductions were made and requests were given, Hazen took the liberty of showing Redcrest how things worked on a farm. "You see," he explained, "everyone has a job, usually suited to their strengths or what's need to get done. Everyone pitches in to help make the plants grow and then, when it's ready, it gets picked and taken to the barns and from there, they get shipped out to the rest of the island. Everyone helps out and everyone benefits."

"Kinda like Dinotopia," Redcrest observed in that childlike way where they say something, but don't exactly realize what they are saying. "Almost everywhere we gone, everybody is nice and helps us."

Hazen was struck by the profundity of that statement. In nearly every aspect of the farm, it exemplified the whole of the Code of Dinotopia. Those that immediately came to mind were One raindrop raises the sea, Others first; self last, Give more; take less, and Survival of all or none. Even the swords were literally beaten into plowshares. Weapons are enemies, even to their masters. "I never really thought of it that way," he confessed
_

As the group left Hookwood, Redcrest was scampering beside her playmate Tarion and Hazen still had an expression of bitterness across his face. He politely remarked, politely of course, during the previous night's Eveningmeal that Arctus longevis had one of the most interesting flavors he ever experienced. It was certainly bitter, but the aftertaste lingered on and on and on. Even now, he was trying in vain to cleanse his palate. April couldn't help but notice his expression and chuckled. Since her prisoner was already at work pulling a cart, she was given some time for some mild socializing. "You know, it is rude to pretend you like something when, in reality, you don't."

"On the contrary," Hazen countered, "I did enjoy it. I'm just not used to this aftertaste."

"To be honest," April said quietly, "I'm not a big fan of the aftertaste either."

Hazen almost burst out laughing. "I suppose it's the Listerine of Dinotopia!"

"Listerine?" she asked.

"It's a brand of antiseptic mouthwash back home, noted for its intensity," he explained. "The benefits of using mouthwashes like that are well-documented, but people don't like using it because of the horrible sensations."

April shook her head. "What a funny name for something," she mused.

"It's actually named after someone," Hazen explained, "George Lister, the father of antiseptic medicine." He continued to regale her with stories about the Outside World as they journeyed on.
_

TAG: Tarion, Bentfeather, any and all!

[tarion]

Amusing Revelations

The journey started the next day with something of an unusual surprise, Sir Mondor had joined the company, and was bearing the gift of an extra cart, not complaining about the new ride Tarion and Asrial quickly gathered themselves into a cart that was soon being pulled by none other than Peter himself. Tarion did his best to keep his mind away from Peter, Sir Mondor, and even Sir Bentfeather, given as if he tried to say anything to them, he felt he'd come off as being too pushy with a subject. Instead he started off the trip along side Asrial and a few other companions with something of a rarety, he started telling a story, it was more of a myth really but it was entertaining none the less.
The story had been about a young saurian prince who had run away from home after his father died, in fear of having to take responsibility for the whole kingdom. As Tarion went along he noticed a small gathering of the group had moved closer to the cart to listen to his story, among those not counted were Hazen , Seamus, and April, all of whome were involved in some other set of events, yet even Redcrest, and her mother were among those now listening. As the story went on Tarion began to grow more vivid in his descriptions fleshing out the characters and the plot even more, explaining the events in full detail. By the time he was done a good four hours had passed. After a small amount of comotion with a traveling man and his iguanodan partner, the company moved on and Tarion took to picking up what appeared to be one of his journals, except it wasn't it was a book that Tarion had been working on for some time through his travels, not a journal exactly, but really a sketch book of things he remembered or thought interesting. As the caravan moved on through out the day he became lost in sketching, that is until he felt a pair of small clawed feet land on his shoulder, not surprised in the least he heard the Familar voice of Sir Bentfeather who seemed to be under the Impression that he was studying, or at least at first he thought so... but after a second glance at the book took notice that not only was Tarion doing anything but studying, but he had a real hand for drawing! As it were Tarion had been in the process of drawing a beautiful plant that basically amounted to a much more vivid and larger prehistoric rose. Upon finishing the piece, Sir Bentfeather inquired as to if he might be allowed to look through the other pieces that he had done, which Tarion approved of. It didn't take long for Sir Bentfeather to find that the boy had a natural tallent, and could only wonder where such a thing would have come from in someone who spent more time looking at texts and maps than anything else.

Tarion on the other hand had allowed his concentration to slip and found himself once again thinking of the mother sunstone.... a topic he had most wanted to avoid around Sir Bentfeather... at least for the time being... and even more so around Sir Mondor, who had barely said anything about the artifact in question since the meeting in Treetown. The group had ended up stopping for the night on a farm, which didn't bother Tarion in the slightest.... he got to his feet and unloaded his baggage, as well as taking Asrial's before heading to a space for them to claim for the night, he was soon joined by Redcrest, who insisted that they play a game of some sort.... Tarion smiled and nodded, then suggested that they play an new game, instead of tag all the time... this perked up Redcrest's intrest... and Tarion felt it necessary to bring in a few more players, to which he brought in Asrial, Tebo Lewis (with some hesitation) and even Lady Natasha, whome he had feared would have been too busy. Once the other's were gathered he insisted that they play the Funny Face Contest, and that Lady Natasha would be the Judge while he, Asrial, Redcrest, and Tebo competed against one another on teams, it would be him and Redcrest on one team, against Asrial and Tebo -after Asrial's suggestion for her and Tarion to face off-
The game lasted until evening meal, and surprisingly enough even into the later night, as both sides kept a fairly even score, and the winning team had to win by a margine of five points.

At last it was ended in a draw, only because of the fact that Redcrest's parents suggested that she needed to have been nesting well over an hour previously. To that end Tarion could have kept going on his own, but the match would seem one sided, so Lady Natasha, Tarion, Asrial and Tebo, decided to call it a draw, and perhaps finish the game at a later date.

Tarion was soon bedding for the night as he nuzzled Asrial lovingly and cuddled her close before falling asleep.

Tag: Everyone involved

[Thundertail]

IC: Bentfeather and company. Separate conversations on the way to Mollusk Town.

The way down the road was smooth for a change, and Bentfeather sat perched on the front rail of the wide Rickshaw, watching the scenery along the way while looking at the hind end of one of the causes of their recent adventure. He chuckled slightly as he looked in that direction, then noticed the giggling from the other Microraptor perched on the same rail; and turned in brief embarrassment as he noticed Whitenose looking his way.

“What is so funny?”, she asked suddenly.

“Oh, nothing…”, Bentfeather stammered. “It’s just this situation…”

“What do you mean?”, she asked.

“Well, it’s just that one of my nemesis’s is right here with us, and I end up staring at his tail…”, Bentfeather pointed.

“Oh! That IS funny…”, she giggled. “Say, do you remember back at the library?… We were there, studying that artifact?”

“I remember…”, Bentfeather said after thought. “If I remember, you were too busy to chat.”

“So were you.”, Whitenose told him. “You were so busy trying to impress Mondor.”

“Well, I had to play the perfect host!”, Bentfeather told her. “I was the assistant curator, you know!…”

“Let me tell you, I noticed you.”, she turned to him. “I know you were older than I, and more important… I guess we were both too concerned with our careers to chat.”

“Well, we don’t seem to be very busy now.”, he smiled. “Please tell me about yourself…”

The conversation went on for nearly an hour, both Microraptors sharing snippets of their lives; and through it all a budding friendship began to grow, right there in front of Tebo and everyone in the Rickshaw. Though some made comments during their conversation, none could tout them their choice in subjects or opinions. After a lengthy spell, Bentfeather hopped aboard Peter because he spied mites begin to burrow into his back; and Whitenose joined him, and they worked their way forward until Bentfeather spied Mondor striding next to his son. His curiosity to his presence among them made Bentfeather flap to the older Triceratops, whom shuddered as if warding off flying insects until he turned to see the tiny creature who was his equal; and hooted greetings as he allowed Bentfeather access to his nose horn.

“Welcome aboard, my friend!…”, Mondor hooted. “What brings you here?…”

“Oh, nothing…”, Bentfeather lied. “I noticed mites on your son, and was seeing if any was on you…”

“Well, I was getting rather itchy…”, Mondor considered. “Under the frill, if you don’t mind…”, when he noticed the lack of movement, he took a better look at Bentfeather. “You look concerned…”

“I was curious…”, Bentfeather began, but Mondor guessed.

“What am I REALLY doing here…”, he chuckled. “My friend, I am here for multiple reasons…”, he looked toward Peter. “One was to give my son all the moral support a father can give… I must be with him until his trial… I must vouch for him…”

“And then there is that murder business…”, Bentfeather surmised.

“I must try my best…”, Mondor looked worried, but became mirthful an instant later. “And there are my other interests!… We need to revitalize the Explorer guild, and I wanted to see first-hoof how my recruit candidates perform…”

“They have all been a treasure on our adventure.”, Bentfeather said. “They all have unique attributes that have proven most useful…”

“I was even considering suggesting that Peter participate…”, Mondor told him. “Hazen is a caring lad if he only knew it… Too bad he is a Dolphinback, and still not fluent in our ways…”

“I have been trying to teach him.”, said Bentfeather. “But his Outside World sensibilities are still too strong.”

“I still wish you would reconsider withholding young Tebo…”, Mondor told him. “His knowledge of literature would surely be a benefit…”

“He does not really crave the active life.”, Bentfeather smiled. “But it is good that he can when the chips are down!”, Bentfeather looked at the mirthful eye. “Don’t get any ideas!…”

“No worries, friend!”, chuckled Mondor. “Now Tarion, on the other hand… He is a true professional… never have I seen one so intelligent and diligent… “, he looked real earnest. “You know that he had graduated the youngest in any Archaeological class in history?… he was only six when he received his diploma!…”

“Such a bright boy…”, Bentfeather agreed. “And so insistent…”, he looked concerned. “Do you know that he had slipped his paperwork concerning the Mother Sunstone into the satchel I keep my own paperwork in?…”

“Do tell!”, Mondor said. “You know, he did similar to me in class… Put his research for his exam paper in my desk before the test, he did!…”

“I guess he just wants to get noticed, is all.”, Bentfeather said. “He wants so badly to gain approval all the time.”

“I think you’re right, my friend…”, Mondor agreed. “What did you think of it?… His research, that is…?”

“Well, it’s very wordy, for one… No spelling mistakes…”, then Bentfeather turned to Mondor, still on his horn. “I noticed that his research bears striking resemblances to the research others have done in the past… Somala the Wizened had made many of the same observations as he, and Forrest Madrid of Poktook took many of the routes that Tarion described…”, Bentfeather looked thoughtful. “Either the lad really went to those places and observed all those things, or he has raided the knowledge of the Waterfall City library!…”

“Now don’t sell the boy short, friend!…”, Mondor cautioned. “He is very smart, and very resourceful… He could have very well done honest research on his papers… He has too much honor to cheat and get his information from a mere library…”, it was the Triceratops’s turn to look thoughtful. “In fact, I was thinking of making the pursuit of the Mother Sunstone a project for the New Explorers once the ways off the island as described by the ancient library ruins are discovered…”

“Perhaps that is a wise course of action…”, Bentfeather said. “It will satisfy his insatiable curiosity about it, and solve that mystery once and for all…!”, this he whispered as he noticed Tarion’s interest in their conversation from the Rickshaw.

“Indeed!…”, Mondor said. “And now my friend… If you would perform a service?…”

“Oh!… Right…!”, Bentfeather hopped to his friend’s back in search of vermin.

Further back in the convoy and near the end of the line, Randy trundled along; his share of their provisions on his back, and his mirthful mood had turned into one of dutiful travel. Beside him walked Angee, Parasolophus features bobbing and dipping as she walked; every now and then she would look his way, wondering why he looked so familiar. She had seen dozens of Ankylosaurs in her day, and through her travels with sir Mondor knew many personally; but she had never really met Randy before Treetown, and yet still his demeanor seemed to spark memories. Randy turned every now and then to look at her, not speaking to her for his newly discovered shyness with females; and merely giving her a cheesy smile if her glance turned his way, of which she would flirtingly return before turning her attention elsewhere. Out of sheer boredom, Randy attempted to start a conversation with her; hoping it would not turn into an intellectual one as his degree of education was somewhat lacking.

“So,… Where you from?…”, he inquired after a while.

“Bonabba, originally.”, Angee told him. “But I lived in Sauropolis most of my life.”

“Oh, I was hatched in Poktook.”, said randy. “Then papa moved us to Waterfall City… There I met my Partner, and we been buddies ever since!…”, he smiled.

“Then I took classes and got interested in Archaeology.”, Angee went on. “I was assigned to sir Mondor before he was elected guild head, and I’ve been his assistant ever since!”

“My Partner works on Mosasaur harbor.”, said randy. “I pull his ferry barge from the docks.”

“I’ve been there before!… Maybe that’s where I saw you.”, Angee told him.

“Yeah?… I pull the Liopleurodon, the one with the red and blue awning?…”, Randy told her. “Ever see it?”

“Why yes!”, she said. “And that was you…”

“Small island, isn’t it?”, Randy said and she chuckled.

“Tell me about it!…”, Angee placed a forepaw on his scutes.

“Know why I’m here instead of there?…”, Randy asked and she nodded. “See the boy on the Rickshaw, the one that sir Bentfeather is always around?…”, she nodded. “Tebo Lewis is my Partner’s son… I’m kind of keeping an eye on him…”

“He’s a fine boy, I hear.”, Angee said. “He will go far.”

“Yeah… He’s got a better chance of things than me…”, Randy became thoughtful. “For me, just give me a barge to pull and I’ll be happy!”

“You sell yourself short.”, Angee told him. “For what I heard you’ve been through, I bet you’re the bravest Club-tail this side of Canyon City!”

“Awwww!”, Randy blushed and became silent for a while.

Many such conversations occurred on the way to Mollusk Town, mostly about this and that; but to each involved with these conversations, they were just as important as the others going on at the same time. During one of the last rest stops before actually entering Mollusk town, and after their nearly silent meal; everyone contributed suggestions and hypotheses about what was in store for them next…
_

TAG: One and all!