"A Quest Of Friends"

[Thundertail]

IC: Bentfeather and company, at Honey Hall, and beyond.

Officer Ajax was in slightly better spirits as he walked back to the tavern where he had left the rest of their group, but he kept his face serious as he walked down the lane so nobody he passed would know anything was up. The talk he had given both Hazen and April should have them tone down their sparring a bit, so he hoped; for the friction evident between the two was disturbing the others in the group, this he was seeing in them all - including himself!

He opened the batwing doors and stepped inside, seeing the rest with the leader of the town Clem Purguity; and all were enjoying animated conversation over pastries and sweetened drinks. Frik looked up and stared at him knowingly, then he sat as he tried to listen and catch up with the conversations that went on during his absence. Looking over, he saw little Redcrest half asleep in Artemis’s embrace, Polongo looking on intently; then all three silently rose, and Seamus accompanied them and their daughter out toward their sleeping paddocks. With a nod and a smile, Ajax bid Olu good night a few moments later; and soon all that were left was Frik, Frak, Clem and himself. It was at this time that officer Ajax took the opportunity to speak.

“My lady, we should discuss the direction of our route.”, he said. “There are not a lot of towns along our present course.”

“Though we are well south of the Rainy Basin, no one wishes to settle anywhere near there.”, Frak replied.

“But now that our two cohorts are properly chastised, we may now travel in peace…”, lady Natasha said.

“I take it that you are the dispatcher…?”, Clem said. “Facilitating discipline on the road must be a trying task!”

“True.”, Ajax said simply. “I try to keep the workers in line, and I try to boost their morale with extra rest stops and extracurricular activities; but I am having a time with those two!”

“Are they brother and sister?…”, then Clem feared the worst! “Is he a cad?…”

“More so she was treated wrong by other suitors, and takes revenge on any male.”, Ajax said, figuring to tell the truth as he surmised it. “He tries to be nice, but she takes it the wrong way… I hope my talk will make them behave…”

“Well, I hope everything turns out all right wit them - and with your expedition as well!”, Clem said, getting up. “Since I am an early-riser, I must now depart. Your rooms are on the upper floors, and one of the maids will show them to you.”, he turned as he approached the batwing doors. “Have a wonderful evening!”, and he was gone.

As the doors slowed to a stop, Ajax felt it was safe to speak. “In my opinion, and in light of what Postal Bird 76 told us; I think we should go to canyon City and co-ordinate our actions with theirs.”

“That might be the best course of action.”, Frik said. “But there still is the matter of our pursuers to consider. If they discover my ruse, they will continue to chase us with redoubled vigor.”

“The mayor also indicated that he may have us be captured by them.”, Frak reminded. “If they do, they will most surely take us to Nicolai Sanders’ stronghold on the Outer Island.”

“But what are we supposed to do then?…”, Bentfeather asked. “In the state he is in, he would most likely have us done away with!…”

“He wants the notebook, the artifact and the amulet hidden within.”, Ajax said. “And because you just happen to be involved with this, he would no doubt try to coerce you into his master plan.”

“Well, that won’t work!”, Bentfeather said haughtily. “I may be his Partner, but I’m a Dinotopian first!”

“Noble words…”, Frik said. “But re-acquaintance may bring out your loyalty toward him, and this is perhaps what he is looking for as well.”

“But for now, our present course…”, Ajax repeated.

“We are a day’s travel from the Tokta range…”, Frik said. This was a pass that separated the Rainy Basin from the Belt Road, and any wrong turn within that range would either bring you into the Basin, or into dangerous territory controlled by highway robbers and pirates. “From there is several days until we reach the Vagar Wastes and the ruined city of Ebulon.”, Ebulon was used as an outpost to train Skybax pilots.

“There is danger ahead…”, Ajax commented. “Hardship, rationing and thieves…!”

“And don’t forget the carnivores.”, Frak said. “If we make a wrong turn, we might be in the territory of a rogue Tyranosaur!”

“Oh, my goodness…!”, Bentfeather commented.

Things being pretty much settled a short time later, they all decided to turn in for the night; and even though their minds were made up, none of them felt any easier for it…
_____

IC: Petronas, Peter and his two thugs. Just leaving the Blackfish tavern.

The hostler at the Blackfish Tavern was wrong about how much time it would take for peter triceratops would take for him to recover from his blisters, a malady graciously provided by his relentless cohort Petronas Stenoychosaur; for instead of taking several days, it was only just shy of two days before the triceratops yearling to feel well enough to walk about his stall without pain. Petronas had told him to get better as quickly as he could, and the lad made every effort to do so; and even though his feet ached so badly, he never gave sign of it to Petronas, and most definitely to the hostler. Peter knew how important it was that they catch bent feather and his new friends, for they had the things needed so badly for Nicolai Sanders and his master plan to work.

While they were there at the Blackfish tavern, their human thugs made good on their claims at being expert thieves and pickpockets; for the things they had managed to swipe were valuable, and could be sold for enough money to get them by. Even though Petronas hated most humans he had ever met, he was somewhat impressed at the criminal talents these two showed. As the hostler made his final diagnosis on his Tricerastops charge, and discharged him from his services; Petronas had the humans prepare their cart as he paid the overpriced doctor and feed bill as he silently wished him all sorts of bad times, and then led peter out of the barn.

“Thanks to you, we are many days behind Bentfeather.”, Petronas whispered to Peter as they hitched him up. “Hope you’re happy…”

“It wasn’t my fault.”, Peter replied. “You were the one pushing me!…”

“Button it!”, Petronas said, hopping aboard the cart. “We’re heading south. You do remember how to tell direction, don’t you?…”

Instead of replying, Peter grunted and headed past the Blackfish Tavern proper toward the road that would lead them down the turtle tail peninsula. His pops described this road, saying the going was fine for many miles; then it would change into the swampy morass that would bury wagon wheels and swallow any unsuspecting person in a flash, a fate he secretly wished on Petronas! There were few outposts down this road, at least until they reached the coast; and those they might encounter were populated with rather primitive Dinotopians, ones that would rather live off the land and forage than living in a more civilized manner. These were the ones Petronas would wish to trade the trinkets and jewelry the two humans had lifted from patrons of the Blackfish Tavern for supplies and such, but if they were backwards as they feared, no one thought they would get all that much for them.

Onward they rolled down the road as it dipped and turned through the ever increasing jungles of the area, and all were aware of the eerie noises creatures of this forest were making. At a stop Petronas had the humans grab themselves a weapon, and he chose a crossbow from their miniature arsenal; meaning to show anyone who wished to intrude another chain of thought. Somewhere in the back of his mind Petronas could not help but think he had left a few things out, and asked each one of the humans if they knew how to use the swords they now sported; a question they both answered positively to, but the Stenoychosaur had his doubts by the way those two idiots were holding them!

By nightfall they had their first encounter with the indigenous citizens of this area, for a band of Harpymimus crossed the road in front of them; bags for foraging around their necks and babbling on in their own language, hooting and hissing as they noticed the cart. They made no move toward them, just jibbered to themselves and tried to go about their business; but the humans chased them off, yelling and waving their swords as they chased. Within moments they were back under way, but by nightfall their cart had gotten stuck in the first mud bog they encountered…
_

TAG: Hazen, Seamus, April, Artemis, Redcrest… Any and all!

[o8jedi]

IC: Hazen Baker, stables, Honey Hall
_

Hazen finished the tea and leisurely walked back to the tavern, deciding it was better to enjoy some company rather than wallow in self-pity. When he was down the stairs, he saw Polongo and his family leaving for the stables. Redcrest stumbled along, obviously very sleepy. Hazen smiled and figured that he should bid the young one good night. He followed them out and entered the stables, just as the larger Lambeosaurs were bedding down. Artemis was humming a hadrosaur lullaby as he stepped up.

Polongo looked at the human approaching and smiled. "You are looking better, young sir."

"Thank you," Hazen said. "I feel better." He knelt down next to the large nestbox and saw Redcrest's eyes fluttering, on the verge of going asleep. "Hey, there," Hazen said.

"Haysa," Redcrest said sleepily. Her mouth curled into a smile.

"I just wanted to say goodnight to you," he said as he rubbed her neck affectionately.

"Night-night," Redcrest breathed sleepily as she closed her eyes and drifted off.

Hazen smiled at the little one and whispered, "Pleasant dreams." He looked up at Artemis, who was also beaming at her only daughter. "You are very lucky to have a husband like Polongo and a daughter like Redcrest."

Artemis looked at him. "You flatter me," she replied. "Though I regret not being able to enjoy their company under more pleasant circumstances."

Hazen nodded in agreement and leaned against a post. "I regret that as well." He sighed as he quietly envied Artemis' happiness in this time of duress. He shook his head. "Especially April," he confided.

Artemis hooted softly, knowing how Hazen obviously fancied her Partner. "Worry not your head about how you appear to April. She has told me about how you made up, but don't overwhelm her."

"Oh, I know about that," Hazen said. "I offered her a nice cup of tea and she made for the door faster than a gold medal sprinter."

Artemis chuckled at the comparison, but replied, "That's not exactly what I mean." Hazen raised an eyebrow. "Sometimes what is needed for the flames of love to grow is more air. But too much air can put it out."

Hazen nodded, thinking he understood the metaphor. "So I should give her space and time for her to see if she wants to pursue a relationship."

Artemis nodded. "But don't expect anything to happen soon, if it does at all." she said, "after all, she is on duty. And she may not want you to be a suitor to begin with."

Hazen nodded again. "So what you're really saying is that I should let this die." Artemis didn't say a word, only to reinforce Hazen's belief. "Well," he continued, "I do appreciate your advice and I hope you have a good night. Breathe deep, Artemis. Polongo."

Polongo snorted sleepily when he heard his name mentioned. "Seek peace, Hazen," replied Artemis. She laid down in the bedding and closed her eyes, joining her family in restful sleep.

Hazen went back to his hotel room and prepped for bed. He wasn't going to lie to himself; Artemis did have a point. His attempt to court April may, in the end, be a Sisyphean task. Still, the romantic adage that it is better to have love and lost than not to have loved at all rang in his head. The real April was still an enigma to him; like a thoroughly mixed-up Rubik's cube. He would go insane if he didn't truly understand her; if he didn't get the correct patterns on the correct sides. While there would probably be many months before they would part ways, he felt like time was of the essence. Like it or not, Artemis did suggest a potential course of action. At this point, he was willing to try anything to get April to open up more to him.
_

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

[Thundertail]

IC: Tebo, Bentfeather, Frik, Frak, Ajax and Olu. Leaving Honey Hall.

Even though Tebo Lewis had been dozing off at the tavern after that delightful meal, he had heard every word of the conversations that went on that evening; and even though he didn’t make many comments on what was happening at the time, he had his own feelings about them. As he began to go to sleep in his and Bentfeather’s room above the tavern, he began pondering these things; but as he worried them over in his mind, his tossings and turnings gave him little rest - nor for those of his Partner!

If it were true, there would be a lot of dangers ahead; and it seemed to him it would be necessary for him to learn how to use a weapon, no matter how much it went against what he believed in: Weapons are enemies, even to their owners. The only times he had picked up implements that could be used as weapons, he had used them as their makers intended for them: Knives for cooking or whittling in his spare moments, axes for chopping wood, poles and staffs for prodding certain things within reach; but not to do anybody any intentional harm! He resolved to take things as it went as far as the use of weapons, and hoped that he would be taught the proper way to defend himself by those that would train him - officer Ajax would be a better candidate for that training as April seemed way too rough! Their course of action as far as those who were evidentially chasing them were a mystery to him, for why wish to be captured by those who would wish to do you harm? It would be much better to run away from them or hide than to have such a dangerous and fool-hearty confrontation. It seemed to Tebo that, when there were humans lurking about alone by themselves, they more often than not reverted back to their uncivilized selves; and the fact that there may be robbers and pirates and other despicable lowlifes along the way ahead only proved to him that you could bring mankind to civilization, but you could not make them partake!

The easterly course they said they would take did not bother Tebo too much, for they seemed to be well away from the Rainy Basin for now; and if they took the right path through the passes ahead as he had overheard, they should be in little danger from carnivores. If they passed that area, avoided the human predators and any other dangers; then there was the Great Desert to consider; for they would be skirting the foothills beside that sea of sand, and heat and thirst would be a consideration for them all. If Ebulon was the place that legends had said it was; then the ancient edifice would prove the most frightening of all for Tebo Lewis. Ebulon was a Skybax training facility for two-year cadets, where their flying and fighting skills in the air were tested, and the symbiosis between the pilots and flyers cemented together like no other time for them, but this did not frighten Tebo more than actually meeting a Skybax. As a boy he had an accident with a Skybax, who painfully knocked him down in the street; and even though apologies were accepted, Tebo had had wild fears of the creatures ever since!

Tebo was asleep now, going over that event in his mind when Bentfeather gave him a nip; making the boy sit upright with the pain! “Wha…? Huh?…”, he mumbled.

“When you dance, you are supposed to be standing up!…”, Bentfeather scolded. “What’s the matter with you?…”

“Oh, I’m sorry, my friend…”, Tebo turned to look at his comrade. “It’s just that… I’m worried about what lies ahead…”

“Everything will be all right, my boy.”, Bentfeather said. “The going looks rough right now, but we are well protected; and everything is being arranged so we will be safe.”

“I guess you’re right…”, Tebo yawned. “It’s just that…”, he trailed off.

“It’s just what?…”, asked Bentfeather, stroking his friend’s cheek. “You can tell me anything, you know…”

“Well,… When I was a little child, I had a bad thing happen to me with a Skybax.”, the boy said all at once. “I was standing at the edge of a road, and one came swooping in…”, the fear in his eyes told more than the story. “She knocked me down!… She came over with that big beak!… I was so afraid!…”

“How terrible!”, said Bentfeather. “But I’m sure she was sorry she did it…”

“She apologized and everything.”, Tebo sniffed. “But ever since that day, I have been deathly afraid of the Skybax… The first day I picked up Sarah Warner from Beginner’s class, there was a statue of a Skybax over the door. I was so afraid of it, I could not go anywhere near that door!…”, he gulped. “I guess I’m just a coward…”

“You are NOT!”, Bentfeather soothed. “You had a terrible experience as a child, and it manifests itself every time you’re reminded of it.”, he snuggled. “I personally know many Skybax, and they are as nice as can be. Maybe at Ebulon you’ll meet a few nice Skybax friends for yourself!”, he patted an arm as Tebo drifted off. “Now don’t worry your head…”, this Bentfeather whispered because he was falling asleep too.

In the other guest rooms of the tavern, others of their group were just falling asleep too; or at least trying to for the import of their next steps were concerned. Both Frik and Frak lay in their sleeping nest, eyes open and staring up at the ceiling; both planning how they were going to set out in the morning, but both doing it their own way. Ajax slumped into his bed after tending to his friend down in the paddocks, concerns ranging from the status of the mission to the well being of all of their group, drawing a blank again and again over the relationship Hazen Baker was having with April Manchester and their demeanor with each other; and he winced as he wondered if his conversation he had with them had little effect on this matter, sighing as he tried to put it all out of his mind. Seamus seemed excited about the whole affair, so it seemed; and Polongo looked like he had gone on similar expeditions all the time, and both went to sleep with this air of excitement.

In the morning all woke up in their own ways, tending to what they needed to tend to before going out and gathering by the stables. By now the routine of setting out was like second nature to them all, and both Randy and Polongo were hitched to their carts without anybody telling anyone else what was needed to be done. However, this was to be a special debarkation; for the path they were to go had very little outposts, and the gathering of food and other materials they would need would prove to be few and far in between. Frak set off around honey hall to procure what they would need for the trip, like extra water-skins and other survival implements of which there would be sorely needed; and Frik stood there among them to brief them all on what they were going to do, and which course they were going to go.

“Friends, one and all…”, lady Natasha said in her usual persona. “As many of you have gathered, we are about to leave this fair community for parts unknown to many of you. We have decided to take an overland route, and converge at Canyon City. This route will bring us across lands hostile for natural reasons as well as others.”, she bowed. “I must admit that I had no intention to have you go through all of this, and I apologize in advance any hardship this journey might cause to any and all of you.”, she lifted her head. “Mister Ajax will tell you the course in which we shall travel… sir?…”

“We have decided to travel roughly east, as we have been doing these past few days.”, Ajax began. “On our first leg of this journey, we will follow the headwaters of the Jubilia river, as we have been doing since Rhumsburg, to it’s source in the Tokta range; and then, if all go well, we will try for the Belt Road.”, he stopped to gauge reactions. “We must be careful in the Tokta range as the passes within are confusing, and some lead into the Rainy Basin; but others can lead into the territories of thieves.”

“Oh goody! Between a rock and a hard place…”, Randy said.

“We must be careful on the Belt Road as well.”, Ajax went on. “For the Road leads to Chandara, and their realm populated with less than reputable people.”

“It would be prudent, therefore, to avoid all these places.”, Bentfeather concluded.

“We can not.”, lady Natasha said. “Great haste must be made if we are to get to Canyon City in time to co-ordinate out actions with our allies there.”

At this time Frak was returning, procuring a human helper with his pushcart to transport all of their new supplies. Nobody needed to be told to help out and stow the new gear into both carts. Lady Natasha recompensed the lad and he was off; and they all got the same idea as they mounted both carts and their steeds, then they headed out of the paddock, onto the street and down the eastern road onward to their destiny…
_

TAG: Hazen and company, any and all!

[o8jedi]

IC: Hazen Baker, about to depart from Honey Hall

Hazen splashed some water on his face from the handy washbasin. Not only did he need to wake himself up, he figured that it would help get rid of some of the grime he had accumulated from days on the road. As the water sloshed around and stopped rippling, he angled his face to see his reflection. The tea was doing wonders. Not only had his bruising lessened, leaving yellowish blotches on his skin, his black eye was wide open, as if nothing had happened. Perhaps he would be back to combat training sooner than expected.

After getting dressed, he looked at his glasses, remembering how bent they were after the fight. He tried to finagle with them some more, but one of the joints was proving to be weak and he avoided placing undue stress on it. Luckily, it still functioned and he was able to wear them almost normally, but they now slid down his face occasionally due to the lack of pressure on his head.

After finishing his morning dose of tea, he went to the stables to prepare for their departure. Habit drove most of the actions, but Hazen was having some difficulty with a particularly heavy load of food. As he was about to call for some help from Seamus, who was tightening a few straps on Polongo's harness, a feminine voice said, "Here, let me help you." He turned to see April stooping down to give him a hand. They hefted the food onto the cart and moved it into position.

"Thanks," Hazen said with a smile. He looked for another piece of equipment to load.

April replied, "You're welcome," and went off to find Ajax to discuss how they will handle patrols today. Hazen breathed a sigh of relief. So far giving her room was a bit easier than he surmised, but he still wanted to try and have another friendly conversation with her. Artemis, who was looking on, gave a low grunt and nodded in his direction. Hazen returned the gesture with a smile.

Later, Lady Natasha began their briefing on what was to come. Hazen was somewhat excited to hear that they were going to Canyon City. He had heard and read so many comments of admiration regarding members of the Skybax Corps from Gideon Altair to William Dennison and beyond and he was excited to see their headquarters and walk among them. While Hazen didn't think he would ever be in a military role, he always fancied himself as a pilot and the Skybax Corps were the best thing to an air force this island had.

That said, the route was going to be perilous. Between the prospect of thieves, a vast desert, and the fickle citizens of Chandara, there was plenty to be worried about. He glanced at Redcrest, knowing that she could very well become an unintentional bargaining chip and he was not going to let that happen under any circumstance. Frak then returned with even more supplies and, once they were loaded, Hazen hopped into the cart and they were off.

The journey thus far was still a very easy one as the dangers were still many miles off. During a break, Hazen and April had another sparring session, since April figured that it would help Hazen maintain some muscle memory. While they were a fair distance from Ajax and Tebo, who appeared to be starting his own lessons in armed combat, Hazen could see in between bouts that Ajax was pleased with their now civil demeanor. He could also tell that he was getting better and better. He had a few close calls from leaving himself open, but he was still able to recover and block a few of April's surprise strikes. "You're doing very well," she said to him.

Hazen began another bout and spoke during the exchange. "Thank you. I owe it all to my teacher." He tried to quicken the pace, which was slower than usual due to his injuries, but he began to exercise still-tender muscles and lowered his weapon. April stopped as well. Hazen moved around to walk off the pain he felt.

April spoke. "Don't stress yourself too much. I can see that you're wanting to steadily advance but you are still hurt."

Hazen relaxed and leaned on his staff. "If I was still healthy, how good would you rate me? Just curious."

April replied, "You still have much to learn; I can tell by that statement alone. However, you are one of the fastest learners I have ever known. Not even the top human in my graduating class has progressed as fast as you have in such short time."

Hazen gave a jocular grin. "If you say that person is you, I'm going to officially declare you as hopelessly without a life."

"Oh, it's not me, I assure you," April replied, "although I was hot on his heels."

"That's almost just as bad!" Hazen said with a light chuckle. He took an en guarde stance again as they resumed their sparring. By the end of the session, their movements became almost synchronized even at the slower pace. Had an outsider not known what was going on, they might have thought they were dancing.
_

TAG: Ajax, Tebo, Bentfeather, Frik, any and all!

[Thundertail]

IC: Bentfeather and company, miles from the Tokta range.

The going had been pretty easy since leaving Honey Hall, the hard-packed dirt road was as well maintained as those diligent townspeople could make it. The Jubilia river, now just a stream a mere twenty yards wide, meandered in a gully that the road skirted to their right; burbling over rocks and rippling through other obstacles. To both their left and their right they saw small knolls of rock intermingled with rills of ancient sandstone peeking at them from the thinning forests and steepening landscape. The road grew steadily steeper too, and contained more twists and turns the farther away from Honey Hall they went; and as they neared a pool at the base of a tiny but wide waterfall, they stopped for the evening.

With everyone knowing their roles as they set up their campsite, it was set up in a matter of a half hour - tents and all; and all helped out unhitching their pullers so they could go about their business. The first thing that Randy did was go to the pool and bathe the vermin off his hide, and Polongo went directly to his family; but it was Tebo’s turn to help Seamus with their meal, and he got to work peeling tubers for their stew-like concoction after foraging for firewood brandishing the hatchet. He was in the middle of his forth potato when officer Ajax approached him, the boy noticing only when the man was right near him.

“You handle a knife like a cook.”, said Ajax. “Do you wish to handle one like a warrior?”

“All I wish to do is help everyone.”, said Tebo. “Even if that help requires I go against the Codes.”

“Let me see that knife.”, Ajax requested, and Tebo handed it to him handle first. “No!… Like this:”, he grabbed it and poised the point out like one would point a pen. “Your opponent must see the point facing him.”

“So he will get the point and leave you alone?…”, Tebo offered.

“Witty…”, Ajax said, handing him the knife. “Now, you try it…”, Tebo tried like he saw, but his grip was loose and watery. “Hold it firmer, so your opponent can’t do this…”, he slapped the knife to the ground.

“Hey! Don’t wreck my cooking implements!”, Seamus said from the fire.

“Sorry…”, Ajax said. “We’ll use mine…”, he began to lead Tebo away.

“I take it I lost my helper…”, Seamus groused and continued stirring.

Once on the other side of the cart that was pulled by Randy, Ajax hopped aboard and looked through the crate that held their small arsenal of weapons. He hopped down holding a pair of small daggers in their sheaths, seeing the unknowing look on the boy’s face. Seeing this, Ajax smiled and handed Tebo one of the tiny weapons. Silently he showed him how to take the knife out by taking his own out slowly, and presently Tebo understood that he was to do that. When he was ready, Ajax squared off with him and spoke.

“Now, since knives are such dangerous weapons, I will start you off extremely easy.”, he said. “Before we begin, do you have anything to say?”

“No, but from what you said, you will not teach me as miss April teaches Hazen.”, Tebo said, trying to get the dagger in the right grip.

“Now, ready yourself…”, Ajax said. “Swing your knife at me…”

“I’ll hurt you!”, Tebo said.

“I’m well trained.”, said Ajax. “As you are a beginner, you would never get your knife near me…”, he straightened. “Now, come at me…”

“Here goes…”, Tebo lunged with the knife, only to have it deflected by Ajax’s.

“Good… Now try from another direction.”, Ajax readied.

Tebo said nothing, but reversed his swing. Ajax blocked it just as easily as the first, then had him try again, only faster this time. Tebo made another lunge, then two quick ones from opposite sides; and they all were deflected without officer Ajax trying very hard. He bade the boy to crouch and try from a low point of view, and Tebo had his knife knocked away from every angle. Tebo decided to switch these positions up a little, and alternately stood and crouched, trying to get his knife past Ajax’s; but the trained and experienced guard countered every one of them. Within an hour, Tebo was getting tired; and Ajax saw this and slowed his defenses as well, and all of a sudden Tebo dropped the knife, panting.

“Very good for your first time.”, said Ajax, who hadn’t even broken a sweat. “You show great potential.”, he smiled as he picked up Tebo’s knife. “Maybe if you practice a little, you may become better.”, officer Ajax handed Tebo both the dagger and it’s sheath.

Just then they both noticed something that had been going on since they started Tebo’s lesson, or rather the lack of said activity; for just then officer Manchester and Hazen Baker discontinued their sparring match. The strangest thing about this was the complete lack of injury on the part of Hazen, and the face of miss April that didn’t possess the look of extreme anger this time! Tebo and Ajax looked at each other in bewilderment, then chuckled slightly as they parted ways; Ajax going to Olu and Tebo going to Bentfeather.

“Is dinner ready yet?”. Bentfeather asked, remaining silent as he had seen most of Tebo’s activity with the guard.

“Should be…”, Tebo greeted his friend with a back rub. “Friend, do you think I am doing the right thing… learning how to cause harm?…”

“One must do what is necessary.”, Bentfeather told him. “We are living in dangerous times, and learning how to protect oneself merely goes with that danger.”

“But weapons are enemies, even to their owners…”, he displayed the sheathed dagger. “I do not wish to have enemies so close to me.”

“You are a true Dinotopian, noble in the ways of peace.”, Bentfeather told him. “The ways of war disturb you, even though it may be necessary to partake.”, the Microraptor smiled. “I suppose that, as my apprentice, you never dreamed such instruction was possible.”

“That is the truth!”, Tebo said. “My thoughts were that I would merely read about the great battles, not be a participant!”

“Sometimes one has to fight for what one holds dear.”, said Bentfeather. “Such course is necessary when the integrity of Dinotopia is at stake. It is also true when one’s own life hangs in the balance.”

“You are wise…”, Tebo told him.

Suddenly Postal Bird 76 floated in and landed by Bentfeather’s side. “There is no one around for miles.”, he reported, for it was his turn to scout the area by air. “We should be safe here for the night.”

“That is good to know.”, Frik had overheard him. “I suppose my ruse with our pursuers is paying off!”

“Food’s ready…!”, Seamus yelled a moment later, and all gathered to dine.

Amid the light conversations wafting around the campfire, their present destination and their goals were repeated and commented on; and with this sharing of views Frik and the rest could gauge how each would react to the oppressive journey ahead, even though the real difficult times would not start for some time to come. This serious banter was broken up by the less than witty comments made by Randy, causing mild chuckles throughout the group; and also from the childlike antics of Redcrest, who took to visiting each and every one around the campfire whether the one she visited wished it or not!

These bits of entertainment went on until the sun went down, and presently all decided to turn in for the night; and the order in which they went to bed was based on age, youngest to oldest. It was Olu’s turn to post the first shift guarding the camp, and several hours later it was officer Ajax’s turn; and through the insistent prodding of his mate, Frak took the dawn shift. As Frak’s shift ended, everyone roused from their slumber one by one; their sleep most restful due to the murmurings of the small waterfall they had camped next to, and all took their time breaking down camp…
_

TAG: Hazen, any and all!

[Thundertail]

Petronas, Peter and their two thugs (Adding a third and forth), at Bluebottle.

Maybe it was a combination of the gruesome trip down the Turtletail Peninsula and the increasing heat going this far south that caused the growing animosity between Peter Triceratops, Petronas Stenoychosaur and their two human thugs, or maybe they were naturally cranky that made them so mean; but it seemed that the news they heard as they inquired through the town of Bluebottle that drove them to such violence toward the giver of that news, for everyone in the whole group was absolutely livid as they beat the man to a pulp. They stopped this activity in a secluded alley behind a dockside warehouse as the man lay still, laying in a pool of his own blood; the quartet silently going through in their minds how to dispose of the body.

“You know what we have to do, don’t you?…”, Petronas’s voice grew low in his extreme anger, and all the rest knew this anger wasn’t for them in particular - but they remained silent for fear it would suddenly be vented on them. “We must find a way to catch up with Bentfeather and his dislikable friends.”

“What do we do with him, boss?…”, one human asked, pointing at the body of the warehouse’s dispatcher at their feet.

“Get rid of him. Dump him in the bay when it’s dark…”, Petronas waved it off. “Do I have to think of everything?!…”, the human backed away, knowing he was close to his wrath!

“But boss, the human said that no parties like you described ever departed from here.”, Peter reminded. “No such groups had passed this way for YEARS!”

“Bentfeather must have gotten to the owner of the Blackfish Tavern first.”, Petronas surmised. “He must have paid her off to lie to us - I’ll kill her for this!…”, his eyes flared, then he paused in thought before speaking. “And the only way they could have gone was that eastern road before the Tavern; where I lost their scent thanks to that grotesque Stinkroot patch…”

“Don’t tell me we have to go past THERE again!”, Peter groused.

“No, idiot!”, Petronas sneered. “They’re probably miles away from there by now.”, he paced and turned. “Our only way to head them off is to take another course.”, he paced some more. “We must travel back up the eastern coast of this peninsula, and try to make it to the Belt Road from there.”, he stopped to stare at the Triceratops. “We need a guide…”

“Boss. There’s activity coming from out front…”, one of the humans announced quietly.

“What is it?”, Petronas whispered, annoyed at being disturbed.

“They’re looking around…”, mumbled the other. “They’re calling someone’s name…”

“Probably looking for this guy…”, Peter kicked at the body next to him.

“Great!…”, Petronas groused softly. “Look. You two hide this mug pronto. We will look for a place to hide…”, he grabbed Peter by the horn and led him out the other side of the alley, leaving the two humans to their dirty work.

He led his Triceratops cohort out the alley and through the side streets, looking for an adequate place to stay; but instead, and after washing what ever gore from their secret murder and checking up on where they hid their cart, they went into the nearest tavern in the area. This one was a dive, pure and simple; and sported patrons fresh off the sea, and all sorts of hoodlums and riff-raff seemed to wash up on shore around here! Both Triceratops and Stenoychosaur sat or took places as were their anatomy and surveyed the dangerous area before the barkeep sauntered up; for this place seemed to be staffed entirely out of Dromeosaurs and this aged specimen sported rotted teeth unbecoming his true carnivore ancestry.

“What you have…”, he spat. “And no scuffing the floor…”, this he addressed to Peter.

“I’ll have an ale, and he will have a cold Jinka.”, Petronas told the surly creature; but at Peter’s protest, scolded softly. “All you deserve…”

“Right away, Mack…”, said the barkeep, wiping the grimy table with a rag that was twice as grimy. “Um,… don’t bother the regulars, ok?”…”

“Who? Us?…”, Petronas said innocently.

“Yeah, you!”, the Dromeosaur spat again, wheeling toward the bar; then turned to the rest of the patrons. “And don’t bother the tourists, either!…”, he left.

Seconds after the Dromeosaur barkeep went around the back of the bar did the conversation and carousing resume, the whisperings within now containing speculation on the new customers. Wide eyed, Peter looked around while trying not to make eye contact with any of them; loose crowd containing smaller saurians, but there were a few swarthy humans mixed in for good measure. Almost none of them were of the four footed variety, and comments soon became louder and louder on that point; many of them directly aimed at Peter’s larger form.

“Some folks should use the paddocks…”, came a shout.

“Maybe he don’t know better…”, shouted another, and the barkeep hushed them.

“Don’t mind them, kind sirs.”, said the barkeep as he brought their orders.

“It was my mistake, I assure you.”, Petronas commented, taking a drink. “I try to treat him well, especially the hard road I had him pull… Sort of a reward, you understand…”

“Aw, don’t take these mugs too seriously…”, said an Ovaraptor that walked up and helped himself to a seat. “They’re just jealous because yer pal has a bigger brain!…”

“May I help you, sir?”, Petronas inquired.

“Names Vox, Vox Weemis…”, the creature offered a hand that wasn’t shaken. “Own a cargo company…”

“Hello…”, Peter said.

“I am Phineas, and this is Paul.”, Petronas introduced for both. “We are on a trade journey, but there was a mix-up with our transportation at the docks.”

“Aw, never trust ships!… They sink!”, Vox told them. “Over land is the way to go these days.”, he looked around. “There was a big ruckus up at the docks a little while ago… Gossip’s been going all through town.”

“Do tell…”, Petronas encouraged, hoping he’d go away.

“Solomon Purdy, the owner of the Seadog docks, is missing, they say.”, Vox told them. “Some say it’s foul play…”

“Who do you suppose done it?…”, Peter asked.

“Around here, they simply blame the newcomers…”, Vox told them, chuckling with eyes smiling because his beak would not. “But never mind that… I think I can help you get to where you want to go.”, he leaned forward. “For a price, if you‘re interested.”

“Well, I don’t know…”’ Petronas said, pretending to think. If they could get him to guide them to the belt road, and then have him meet an ‘accident‘; then all would be well! “What do you think, Paul?…”

“D-don’t ask me…”, Peter stammered, unused to the new alias. “I just pull the cart.”

“Than I’ll handle things, eh?”, Petronas chuckled. “Um, all we really might need is guidance to the Belt Road. Our contacts are in Chandara, and…”

“Then you need a guide!”, Vox said. “And perhaps another cart… And another puller besides…”

“Perhaps…”, Petronas looked around at all the rowdies taking an interest in their conversation. “Um,… is there any other place we could discuss this?…”, just then his two humans arrived, looking around until they spotted them. “Ah!… Here are my two constituents…”

“There you are, boss…”, one of them said as they wandered over.

“This is the forth pub we checked out, and…”, the other was cut off.

“And your errand is done, then.”, Petronas smiled, but his eyes told them to clam up! “Excellent!… Um, I am just discussing another possibility for the completion of our trade journey with this fine person. Please, sit.”

“Anyway Phineas, meet me at the Loggerhead dock, last wharf in the northern harbor.”, Vox told them. “I got a warehouse there.”, he sipped his much stronger drink. “I must consult my constituent too, you know!”, he got up and left.

“What’s that all about?”, the first one whispered as the doors swung to a stop.

“Never you mind…”, Petronas told them both. “Go take Peter to the cart, hitch him up and take him to the Loggerhead wharf, like he said.”, when he noticed their lack of action, he yelled: “Well?.. Get going!…”

Both of them sprung up out of their chairs, miffed but not wishing to unleash their employer’s wrath; and Peter had simply rose and headed for the door without them a few seconds ago, hoping the other patrons there would think he wasn’t with them. They had hid their cart down an alley several blocks from the tavern, hidden under tarps to make it look like some stored cargo or something; and when the humans got everything ready there, Petronas joined them and they all found their way to Loggerhead Wharf via many wrong turns through the streets…
_

TAG: Hazen, any and all!

[o8jedi]

IC: Hazen Baker and company, Camp, outside Honey Hall
_

After their sparring session, Hazen and April returned to camp in time for dinner. As a welcome change of pace and attitude, both of them had pleasant expressions on their faces. Artemis looked at the two and gave an approving snort. After relinquishing his quarterstaff and taking a seat by the campfire near the Lambeosaurs, he breathed a relaxed sigh. The sparring session was a thorough workout and just the act of sitting down was a welcoming sensation. Portions of Seamus' stew was passed out and Hazen dug in like a hog no more than a half-second after saying, "Thank you." Redcrest giggled at the sight, causing Hazen to stop and think over how his appearance was looking to the others. "Sorry," he said. "Guess I was hungry." A round of chuckles made their way around the party.

After the meal, light conversation had begun to circulate around the campfire. Redcrest, apparently too antsy to go to bed got up and started to poke her head into various conversations, asking, "Whatchya doin'?" to each person. Hazen thought it was cute to see her run around like that, remembering a time when he would do the same thing. Artemis shook her head and was about to get up to try and corral her, but Hazen said, "I don't mean to tell you how to raise your child, but I think it might be better this way. She'll have used up her energy and will go to sleep sooner."

Artemis looked at the human. "You probably are correct, but it is also important to teach proper etiquette at an early age." She got up to get her daughter, leaving Hazen to wipe the metaphorical egg off his face.

The kettle on the fire began to bubble, telling Hazen that the water for his medicine tea was hot enough. He grabbed the pot and began to brew his requisite dosage. Once his tea was made he spied April, who finished getting her evening briefing from Ajax. She walked over to him and said, "Ajax was surprised to see us sparring amicably."

Hazen nodded after taking a sip of the bitter brew. "Yeah," he replied, "I saw him with Tebo not far from where we were. The surprise was evident on his face." He smiled and April returned it.

April took a seat next to her pupil. "So what do you think about our destination?"

"I can't wait," Hazen said, not concerned about containing his excitement. "Ever since I heard about it and the Skybax Corps, I have wanted to at least visit it. Have you ever been?"

April shook her head. "The Corps is greatly admired in Dinotopia. I don't think there's a human guard who hasn't at one time thought of being a Skybax rider when they were young. But as one grows older, one learns where they are most needed."

Hazen nodded. "I can empathize. I remember seeing movies about hotshot pilots who take on daring missions and pull off amazing maneuvers. When I was young, I'd play like I was one of those pilots. In fact, some of those sequences inspired me to go into cinema in the first place."

"So you have a love of the sky!" April remarked. "Why didn't you pursue joining the Corps?"

"Well," Hazen said, "my acclamation schooling isn't exactly complete, for one. Besides, music can cause the spirit to soar higher than any Skybax could ever go. Plus, Redcrest is a sweet child; I wouldn't dream of not being there for her." Hazen took another swig of the tea, nearly finishing it.

April nodded approvingly at his duty to the hatchling Lambeosaur. She looked at the bowl and what little tea there was left over. "I never got a good sense of the aromas from your tea."

Hazen looked at her, surprised that she would bring that up. Perhaps she felt more comfortable around the campfire and in public. He looked at the bowl and remarked, "I don't think there's much there for you to get a good smell, but I'll let you borrow the bag." He got out the bag in which the tea ingredients were kept and handed it to her.

April opened it slightly and took a deep breath. With a few coughs and a sneeze, she said, "Yes, it's definitely medicine," chuckling at her reaction. Hazen chuckled as well trying to have her not be self-conscious about it. April continued. "It's a shame that they didn't add any aromatic ingredients. Arctus listus isn't exactly known for its smell."

Hazen nodded, "Well, the doctor knows best," he said. "But it's only a few days more. Then I can get to some better drinks. Something that maybe we both might like."

April's smile faded rapidly and she stood up. "I have a few things I need to do before retiring for the night."

Hazen decided not to press the issue, remembering Artemis' advice to not pressure April. "Of course," he said. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yes," April said with a tone of relief in her voice. "Breathe deep, Hazen." She then went off to another part of camp.

"Seek peace, April," Hazen replied as he started to his tent.

The next morning, they packed with a reduced sense of urgency, given how well they have eluded their pursuers. The day's leg of the journey was also very enjoyable. Among the green foliage, large, craggy mountains hung in the distance, providing a stunning contrast in the landscape. Hazen had read some condensed reports that there may be ice age mammals living in those mountains and tried to imagine the looks on the poor Saurians' faces when they came face to face with these creatures.
_

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

[Thundertail]

IC: Petronas, Peter and company, the Loggerhead Wharf in Bluebottle.

“This must be the place…”, Peter Triceratops said unenthusiastically, looking at the ramshackle warehouse, wobbly dock and uneven dockside buildings; all were equally weatherworn, and hadn’t seen paint nor repair from the rough weather and salt air for quite some time. “Boy I wish this was another place!…”, this he mumbled.

“Just relax and let me do all the talking.”, Petronas told them all. “In other words, if you think you got something to say or if they ask you something, don’t say it!”

“What are you going to say to them, boss?”, one of the humans wanted to know as they unhitched Peter.

“That depends on how far in they want to go, but for now we are just negotiating for a guide.”, said Petronas, watching them make a complicated thing out of the simple job of unhitching. “I was hoping to recruit them to help us all the way to the Outer Island, I’m sure that if they hear of mister S’s plan, they will be all for it!…”

“Just like you recruited all of us?”, Peter asked.

“What do you think?”, snapped Petronas as he led the way up to the huge bay doors that were closed. “Hello, the warehouse…!”, this he shouted.

A moment later the door slid aside with the help of a large saurian snout, huge beak telling that the owner was ceratopsian by nature; but the nearly complete absence of horns obscured the creature’s true identity, and the rumpled and pale hide told of the creature’s extreme age. She backed out of the doorway and into the shadows once more, the creature’s femininity detectible only when she bellowed.

“Hurry up and come in…”, said she, and Petronas and company did as this ancient creature told them, Peter gulping at the huge beast as he passed by her as she quickly closed the door.

“Thank you, ma’am…”, Petronas said in passing.

“Vox’s in back…”, she told him instead of returning the courtesy.

They went past the usual crates of goods, loose goods and secret goods concealed by tarps before finding a secluded space in a rear corner of the gigantic space, space partitioned off by walls of crates. The swarthy Ovaraptor sat in the only seat there amid a square, cheap table; skewering his food from a small pot fresh off a pot-belly stove behind him, which smelled of meat. After swallowing, Vox looked up, eyes twinkling at his new guests.

“I got to move from here…”, he said offhandedly. “That’s the last rat in the place!”, then he got up and offered his hand again. “I take it you met Hydra…”

“Hello, Hydra…”, Peter greeted.

“Clam up!”, Hydra snapped.

“…What she said…”, Petronas said, then addressed Vox. “Now, we were speaking about the possibility of you guiding us…?”

“That’s right!”, Vox said. “And we will, too. The only matter to settle is how much you are willing to part with.”, he looked at Hydra, nodding. “We could guide you to the Belt Road, like you said earlier; but what you might really need is guidance to Chandara…”, he got up and went outside via a smaller door, the rest following.

“I see from your cart that you aren’t carrying much cargo.”, he surmised by the tarped crates. “May I inquire the cargo you are shipping?”

“You may not…”, Petronas said, but too late as he had pulled away a tarp and pried up a crate lid with his claws.

“I see…”, Vox closed the lid quickly. “And I take it you are NOT delivering these to a museum or some place like that…”

“Very well. I must confess that my cargo and destination is not as it seems…”, Petronas searched for words. “The truth is, these weapons are for someone on the Outer Island, for protection in that carnivore-infested land…”

“Ok then… I see what’s going on…”, Vox turned to him. “A year ago, an expedition was lost on the Outer Island. Several months ago an artifact was delivered to Waterfall City, and at about the same time a human was found murdered in their cargo chutes.”, he paced to Peter. “And yesterday the Harbormaster of Bluebottle went missing…”

“Are these the same persons?”, Hydra asked.

“Sir, do you know you bear a striking resemblance to sir Petronas, of the Archaeological Guild…?”, Vox told him, then turned to Peter. “And do you know that you strongly resemble Peter Triceratops, son of sir Mondor, also of the Archaeological guild?…”

“I am so sorry, sir for deceiving you with our aliases.”, Petronas struggled. “But we needed them to remain anonymous.”

“Well, if you’re here and you’re supposed to be lost, and have weapons to boot; then there must be something serious going on here.”, Vox conjectured. “What, exactly, did you find on the Outer Island?”

“The most amazing thing ever!…”, Petronas began as they all went back inside the warehouse. “A whole temple complex inside a dormant volcano, full of treasure and valuable artifacts!…”, He began to really lay it on the pair, enticing the two with tales of the most amount of valuables they could possibly imagine; and after about twenty minutes of this tale, Petronas was reaching his conclusion. “You see, within the artifact is a key to more power than anything else in the world.”, he looked sad. “Someone found out about the artifact, and took it away. We are simply going after this person so we can return it to the Outer island…”

“And once there, the ultimate treasure is ours!”, Vox concluded. “And who was it that took the artifact?”

“Sir Bentfeather Microraptor, of the Waterfall City library.”, Petronas told him.

“He went missing as well…”, the Ovaraptor said. “He can’t carry something as heavy as that…”, Vox commented.

“He has the help of several people and two carts.”, Petronas told him. “Four humans, three Hadrosaurs, two Pachys and an Ankylosaur.”, he thought. “If I weren’t so unsure, I would swear that they might be a band of trained professionals…”

“You might be unaware of what we do to professionals!…”, Vox chuckled. “Anyway, for a generous cut of the treasure, we’ll help out in any way that’s necessary… Right Hydra?”

“Sure, but if any of your two humans touch me, I’ll STOMP them!…”, said Hydra, and Petronas’s two humans backed away.

“I already did once!”, Peter put in softly, she chuckled.

“Hush!…”, Petronas scolded. “Now, you mentioned another cart…”

“This one over here…”, Vox went to the side where paddocks lay in ruin. In one of them was a gypsy-like covered cart, rickety but still serviceable. “It’s where I sleep, but it has many other features…”

Vox mounted the rear stairs of the contraption, went inside and pulled out something long, heavy and metallic. It was on a skid and was about four feet long; for cannons of this size were still very heavy. It was a deck cannon, taken off the shipwreck of the Rosemary that went down in the mouth of the Polongo River nearly three hundred years ago, Vox explained. That ship sported eight heavy cannon and two of these light deck cannons, and divers salvaged all the ammunition for this small bore weapon they could find. Gunpowder and wadding was no problem to come by, as Chinese descendants that were adept in making gunpowder were plentiful on Dinotopia.

“Yep!… This thing can even stop a T-Rex in his tracks!”, Vox went on. “I got the other one, too!”

“This cannon might be just what mister S is looking for to conquer the island.”, Petronas told him.

“Mister S?…”, Vox didn’t miss much! “I assume you are referring to mister Nicolai Sanders, chief librarian of Waterfall City?… Whom was claimed to be killed on the Outer Island on the same expedition you were on?…”

“Correct.”, said Petronas, sighing.

“Then he didn’t die after all!”, Vox replied. “This is going to be such a grand reunion!”

“How do you know all this?”, was Petronas’s question. “And how do you know Nicolai?”

“Sir, when you been a shipper of less-than-legal goods as long as I have, you get connections all over the place.”, Vox preened. “Sometimes I know things long before they happen, and that’s what makes me so successful!”

“As for mister Sanders, I never met him before in my life; but there’s a first time for everything, is there?”, he looked around at Petronas’s motley crew. “Now, don’t you guys think we all should get prepared?”…
_____

IC: Bentfeather and company, on the verge of the Tokta Range.

Even though the road they were traveling on was smooth and wide, their twisty course was taking them continually uphill, and the strain on both pullers was evident by how they strained and grunted. The rocky knolls seen through the forest was becoming more and more prominent as the thickness of the trees diminished with the gradual increase in altitude. Fortunately the weather was on their side, for there seemed to be nary a rain cloud in sight; and even though the mists of the cool mornings brought chill for everyone in the group, this quickly dissipated with the sun.

They at last cleared a rill in the landscape and took pause at the sight that was now before them, for an alpine range of softly rolling meadows encased in conifers and hardwoods met their eyes; a sight most beautiful to see in this nearly deserted landscape, for dark dots of indigenous life made itself known as the creatures meandered amid the rolling meadows in the far distance. As they made their way down into this valleyed landscape, they presently noticed signs that civilized creatures had passed this way before; for down in a level spot at the base of one meadow sat a rickety looking old shack, boards bleached with age and standing askew amid the barren spots of many ancient campfires.

“Do you see that?…”, Bentfeather pointed.

“What is it?”, Tebo Lewis asked.

“Who would live way out here…?”, Postal Bird 76 said.

“That appears to be a communal hospice house.”, officer Ajax told all of them. “Built long ago, by the look.”

“Nobody has visited it in a long time…”, lady Natasha said. “It is in a state of disrepair…”

Seamus saw it too, and explained that these types of hospices are set up all over the island in remote places; and their purpose was to provide shelter for any passing that way, especially made for travelers passing by in winter, where shelter would be most needed. Every visitor to a hospice was required to provide upkeep for the hospice, and stock it with wood or other supplies for the next occupant; for help like this was the Dinotopian thing to do, and greatly appreciated by future travelers that would pass this way. The group had been approaching the hospice all this time, and stopped their carts in the clearing near by.

Ajax dismounted Olu and stalked up to the shack, listening intently for anyone currently occupying it; but as he swung the door open on it’s only hinge, found no one living there but the tiny animals that made this meadow their home. Randy and Polongo were unhitched, and when done winked as Randy trotted out into the middle of the meadow to graze; Polongo slowly meandering to his family. April dismounted as Tebo hopped off the cart and briefly explored the shack after Ajax vacated it, and all the rest got down to explore the general area and stretch their legs.

“No one is here, but the hospice has no supplies.”, Ajax said. “Perhaps animals have eaten it all…”

“Tebo, why don’t you go get some firewood.”, Bentfeather suggested. “And make sure to get an extra load for the hospice.”

“All right…”, Tebo got the hatchet and turned for the stand of conifers near the edge of the meadow; where he spotted a fallen tree just inside the tree-line.

April decided to go in that direction too, mostly to scout the tree-line for unfriendlies; but wished to be alone for the time being. Artemis went to the tree-line too, but scouted around the perimeter toward a tall escarpment that skirted that section of the meadow; and Hazen wanted to do this too, but decided to stay at the campsite instead. He took out his guitar and began to pick notes randomly for a while. Ajax, Seamus and Olu had been inspecting the integrity of the shack all this time, and decided to bolster it up for safety’s sake before using it to sleep for the night; but since they had inadequate tools to do a professional job, propped the leaning side with a long and thin log Tebo had struggled into the clearing. Olu used his weight to carefully lean the shack level while Seamus and Ajax wedged the pole under the shack’s only windowsill to hold it stable, and a cursorily shake later Olu deemed the shack safe enough to use.

“All right everyone…”, lady Natasha shouted so all in the area could hear. “Please gather round…”, and paused until they all did. “Now, we will be staying here until mid-day tomorrow. We have enough supplies to get us to the edge of the great desert, but we might not have enough water. The streams around here will be the only safe water supply this side of the Tokta Range, but there is no telling when we will get more on the other side. I suggest we fill all our water bags before we leave here, and scout ahead for water from now on.”

“Fodder might also be in short supply from here on out.”, Frak told them. “I suggest we load up on the fodder around here before we leave as well.”

“We are at a crossroads in this spot.”, Ajax said. “I suggest we observe constant surveillance of the area, and post double guard while we are in this spot.”

“There are all sorts of indigenous persons in this area.”, Bentfeather said. “Most of these persons live in a more wild state, and may be dangerous. We should act friendly with any we meet, but I must remind you not to be too trusting of them for now, for they will be unpredictable.”

“I guess that is all the instruction for now…”, Frik smiled as she looked at each and every one. “If mister Seamus has completed our Noonmeal, I think it is time we get to that; and later set up the rest of the camp after we rest up…”

“I’m all for food…!”, Randy came back, still munching his latest mouth full. “And for rest!…”, he squatted to the ground where he stopped, and this brought chuckles from many in the group.

Presently Seamus served their meal, choosing instead to prepare it all himself; and all partook in relative silence. Once done Tebo and Ajax set up only one of the tents as some of them were to sleep in the shack while April and Hazen decided to do a little sparring, and 76 flew around the meadow several times with Bentfeather hot on his tail; which was more of an exercise than actual surveillance, though both were on their agendas for the flight. After everything was set up, Tebo and Ajax decided to do a little sparring on their own; the guard introducing his student to the sword instead of a dagger, which proved a comical sight as the lad would be gyrated to the ground with each swing!

The sun was beginning to sink as all performed their duties or otherwise rested from the trip so far, and many conversations wafted through the camp as time wore on. It was just at this time that 76 and Bentfeather came in for a landing on the back of Polongo’s cart, both out of breath and having the same tale to tell.

“Someone’s coming…!”, Bentfeather panted. “From a northern path!…”

“It is a caravan!”, 76 reported. “Six Mammoths and three Apeycamalus…”, he dipped his bill into provided water. “They normally do not leave the high peaks!”

“Mammoths?!”, Tebo asked, for he had never seen one before. Hazen stood in wonder at the news as well.

“Here they come now!”, Bentfeather pointed.

In a lower end of the meadow the were in came several deep brown figures, made tiny for the distance and appearing fuzzy from the shimmer in the distance. Soon skinnier grey forms manifested themselves, flanking out as the room in the meadow allowed them to. They walked with a slow and purposeful gait, long brown trunks and bone white tusks swaying, the proboscises on the smaller forms doing the same. As they grew in their sight, the group could see that humans also rode atop these gargantuan mammals; garb as well as saddles in a definite Oriental weave, and these people also looked left and right in their travels. Before the caravan got to within many hundreds of yards of the group, they stopped to spy the group before them.

After a brief conference between both human and mammal, they decided to move on; veering to the left many hundreds of yards away, on a course to meet up with the road that straddled the spine of the hilly meadow. This way, Bentfeather surmised, led to the southern tip of the Forbidden Mountains; and would eventually take this group of Arctic creatures to their home, the Tentpole of the Sky. Before moving off completely, the lead Mammoth paused to regard the group of friends a moment; then she raised her furry trunk and trumpeted both greetings and farewells as she joined the rest of her caravan.

The whole time everyone in the camp looked on at this miraculous spectacle in awe, for rarely did such creatures venture out from their home; and it was unknown as to how many of these noble beasts still existed on Dinotopia. Bentfeather made the comment that was in everyone’s hearts as he spoke and broke the silence of the moment: “What a miraculous thing…”, he said…
_

TAG: Hazen, any and all!

[o8jedi]

IC: Hazen Baker and company, Near the Tokta Range
_

The sight was an incredible one to be sure. Dinosaurs were a miraculous sight to be sure, but seeing Mammoths made a sense of wonder Hazen hadn't felt since he was a child (or, really, since he first saw Waterfall City) come back to him. He had seen full-size reconstructions of mammoths in museums, but they paled in comparison to the real thing. They moved with the same manner as an African elephant, but their thick fur coats added another dimension that was captivating.

Once they left and after Bentfeather spoke, Hazen said aloud, "Ho-ho! That was incredible." He glanced at Tebo, who was just as captivated. Hazen smiled and clapped the young lad's back. "Isn't the world awesome?" he said before going to help Seamus prepare Eveningmeal.

Once it was served, Hazen took his seat. He sat near April to discuss the training thus far. "You are doing very well," April said. "Your reflexes are being honed to a great standard and you are almost as fast as I am."

"No way," Hazen said back after swallowing. "You must be joking."

April looked up from her bowl. "I am no idle flatterer. I don't think there is much more you can learn from me."

Hazen turned and smiled. "Well, thank you. You're very kind." He stole a moment by taking in her presence before going back to the meal, a gesture that April no doubt picked up on.

She, too turned back to her meal and said, "That being said, you still need to be conditioned. I recommend a thorough cross-training regimen so you're not spending all your time in the cart. Agility is one thing, but you also require strength to effectively defend us."

Hazen nodded. "I suppose that starts tomorrow."

April replied, "Indeed. I suggest you get rested up before tomorrow morning." She stood up to take care of her dishes.

Hazen sighed as she left. Even with this more passive approach to courting her, he felt as if it wasn't working as well as it should have. Perhaps it was the situation making him even more anxious than normal. After all, many people spend years in friendship before proper courting begins, why would she see anything in him after over a month of traveling together? Furthermore, the sense of mortal danger and the possibility that he may never see her again, even if they both survive, gave him all the more motivation to try and solidify something.

It was because of Hazen's now gloomy visage that caused little Redcrest to take notice. She sat down next to him and gave him a hug. This snapped him into reality and he looked at the hatchling. He returned it, saying, "Thank you. I needed that."

Redcrest looked back at her Partner. "Don't be sad," she said.

Hazen sighed. "I don't mean to be. I'm just worried."

"How come?" she asked.

Hazen hesitated for a bit, wondering how he could put it in terms she could understand. "I'm worried about my friends here. Just that when this is over, if I'll ever see them again. I'd miss them a lot if I didn't."

The young one gave an understanding warble. "You could send 76," she suggested.

Hazen looked at the postal bird and chuckled; apparently she thought all postal birds were 76. "It would help," Hazen confessed, "but it's entirely different than being with them." He sighed and gave her still-developing crest a rub. "It'll pass, Redcrest. Don't worry. But thank you for the hug."

The hadrosaur smiled back at him before she heard a call for her to go to bed. She had been assigned to sleep in the shack, but she felt uneasy about going in. Hazen stood up. "Don't worry," he said. "I'll be there, too." He took her hand and led her inside.
_

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

[Thundertail]

IC: Bentfeather and company, just entering the Tokta Range, becoming lost!

The night grew dark and chilly, and all eventually decided to go to bed; and doling out who would take first watch, April was picked for that honor. The night grew cold and still for the group slumbering at the camp, and the campfires were a welcome relief from both the cold and any unwanted visitors to the camp; and as Hazen, Seamus, Redcrest, Tebo and Ajax had the comfort of the hospice shack, the rest slept under the stars for their size. The night wore on, and through Artemis’s shift and Olu’s shift, nothing unusual manifested itself. In the morning, and since they were not to depart until noontime; they lagged around the camp, slowly making sure that everything was all right as far as their camp was concerned. As Hazen and April went off a short distance to do more practicing, Tebo went in the other direction with Ajax; and instead of the heavy broadswords they practiced with yesterday, the weapon of Ajax’s choice was a much lighter but longer rapier. This Tebo’s lighter stature could wield much better as the weapon was designed more for lunging than slashing, and before long he was fending off Ajax’s attacks somewhat better than he did with the swords; though his comical parrying like he saw in illustrations of fencing in books at the library made Ajax laugh so much that Tebo’s counterattacks worked sometimes!

By midmorning, a small band of foraging Iguanodons made their way across the rolling meadow; phalanx spread out in a wide swath for even grazing of their number, and paused their concentration when they were a mere hundred feet from their camp. These beasts were semi-wild, and could only speak their tribal language; but with the help of Bentfeather’s expertise on many languages, accepted their apology at disturbing their peace. At a request by lady Natasha, she had Bentfeather ask on which road they should go from here to arrive at the Belt Road; and the matriarch of the herd stated that to go south, one would need to go east then west, but this proved to be too difficult to comprehend. Instead of explaining, the lead Iguanodon trotted to the top of the spine of the meadow, Bentfeather on her head and lady Natasha hot on her heels; where the panoramic view from there revealed peaks of many small mountains in the distance and hundreds of small rolling valleys fingering their way up to their peaks, the result of a huge lava field that had eroded into the landscape now before them. Each small valley was too steep to cross with their carts, and the only way through them was to follow the maze-like course through them; and the matriarch bellowed that if they wished to go the direction they wished, to follow the flow of the land. Trotting back to her herd, and Bentfeather and lady Natasha back to theirs; the Iguanodons decided to take up where they left off and grazed in the other direction.

“That was very informative…”, Bentfeather said as he landed on one of their carts, others gathering in preparation of the news the Iguanodons imparted. “Although it was given in a primitive way…”

“Such creatures who live in the wild often take natural views of the ways of the world.”, lady Natasha told him, then addressed the group. “We should be leaving here by midday. I suggest we begin to pack up while our Midmeal is being prepared.”, she looked around. “Please make sure the area is well cleaned, and we should restock the hospice shack…”

“Did they tell us the correct way to go?”, Ajax asked, putting away the rapiers.

“They said to basically follow the ravines and valleys yonder.”, Natasha told them, pointing toward the rise in the meadow. “They said: ‘To go south, one must first go east then west.’…”

“That means to follow the lay of the land.”, Bentfeather said. “Like they do.”

“We have scouted in that direction.”, Ajax said, Olu nodding. “Those ravines snake off in every direction, and it would be easy to get lost.”

“Then we must be careful.”, Frak said. “I hear those ravines can lead one into the Rainy Basin!”

Moments later Seamus announced that Midmeal was ready, and all congregated around his cauldrons to have bowls doled out to them; and as they served themselves, each discussed how they were to load the carts and who was to travel in which cart. A suggestion to go and fill up all the water-skins they had acquired in Honey Hall was followed, and Tebo and April went to the stream near the tree-line down the slope from the meadow; this done while the rest loaded the carts.

As all with their caravan became ready, all mounted the carts or steeds of their choice; Polongo leading the way this time to the crest of the meadow. They took the path that led east, through the other end of the meadow and down among the conifers; where the rocky ravines seemed to close in on them as the day wore on. After this area, lasting for many miles, the path smoothed out into a series of many rises fingering off toward all directions of the compass; and only by the setting sun did they discern what they thought was the correct way to go.

After several more miles of these gradually sloped ravines, the trail became too dark to see; so they stopped and set up camp for the night, lighting fires for comfort as well as security. After the day’s long trek through the confusing landscape, they all gradually nodded off to sleep save for the ones assigned to post guard that night; and a pair of greenish eyes shone in the dark well into the forests around them, waiting for the guards to fall asleep or otherwise drop security for the owner of those eyes to strike!…
_____

IC: Petronas, Peter, Vox, Hydra and their two humans; on leaving Bluebottle.

It didn’t take them long to load and prepare the two carts, but the two humans accompanying Petronas made a huge project out of it; that was after they scoured the docks for supplies to steal so they could get under way, their back pain complaints being the major reason for their slow loading. Even though neither of their two new co-conspirators said little about their pasts, one could tell that both had lives both rough and resourceful; for Vox’s silence mixed with his experience at organization told of his experience with shipping, and Hydra’s general silence and aloofness told Peter that there was no doubt a whole lot of heartache behind her broken-off and filed-to-a-stump of a horn. But if there was any hidden trauma in any of the ones pursuing bent feather and his company, they were using it as fodder for the determination they showed as they at last left Bluebottle and began down the road that skirted the coast of the Turtletail peninsula later on that day.

The two carts made it out of the town by the northern road that crested the low escarpments that was the border of the town and circled around to the wide and long beach beyond. Here Peter caught up with Hydra as she pulled the gypsy wagon, pulling his smaller cart along side her to her left; wishing to make conversation with her, but knew enough not to pry. After a few moments of him alternately looking at her and concentrating on the sand that oozed between his toes and made him put extra effort in his pulling, she turned to him and scowled.

“What are YOU looking at, pup…?”, Hydra snapped.

“Um,… nothing…”, he mumbled. “I, ah… I was just thinking that you pull the cart of yours really well, considering…”

“What are you talking about?”, she turned. “Spit it out!”

“Well, I never met a really old one of your kind…”, Peter said all at once. “I mean, my pops is nearly ninety, and…”, he was cut off!

“You think I’m old?!\…”, she huffed. “Well, I’ll have you know that I’m much younger than I look!…”

“I didn’t mean…”, he was cut off again!

“I’m only in my late forties, for crying out loud!”, Hydra said. “I guess the reason why I look this way because of the fire…”

“Oh, no!…”, Peter said, concerned. “I’m so sorry!…”

“Don’t be. It was my fault anyway…”, Hydra told him. “See, when I was about your age, I was assigned to the mills at Cornucopia. My job was to pull the turn wheels that ground the wheat to flour. Every day from sunrise to sunset, just pull and pull, around in circles!…”, she turned her head. “I wasn’t getting nowhere!… Literally going around in circles!”

“Mill work is a noble profession…”, Peter said philosophically.

“I couldn’t take it any more!”, Hydra continued, bellowing. “One day things just snapped. I went berserk and broke free from the harness, but I didn’t stop there - no sir!… I broke down every piece of machinery there and wrecked everything, and my horn broke off. The destruction trapped me right where I was, but somehow the ovens caught fire; and the whole place burned to the ground, and me with it!”

“How terrible!”, Peter said.

“I got out, but just barely.”, she said. “The people found out I did it, and banished me from town. They wouldn’t even have the healer treat me!…”, she had a tear. “I finally got my burns healed, but it was too late; and now I’m scarred all over for life!… I later had my horn filed down smooth, but it will never be the same again, either!”

“I’m awful sorry…”, Peter said.

“Don’t be. It’s my fault…”, Hydra repeated, then suddenly got tough. “Now when I met Vox, he was taking any dinosaur that could pull a cart… And I liked the money he and I was making…”, she turned her head. “Now leave me alone!…”, gulping, Peter slowly drifted back behind her cart.

While that was going on, their drivers stared at the path ahead. They were traveling well past the tidal zone of the beach, where roads could be made without worry of them being washed out; but they were still constructed with sand, and this made them alternately crack their whips in order to spur their pullers to go faster. Suddenly Vox turned to Petronas and nodded as the Stenochosaur looked at him.

“You know what I’m gonna do with all my loot?…”, the Ovaraptor called. “I’m gonna buy everything on the island!…”

“Well, I’m in it for power…”, Petronas told him. “I’m going to be the mayor of Waterfall City, then I’ll have the guards take over every other city on the island!”

“Hey, to each their own…!”, Vox said. “Say, maybe we’ll do business together one day. You never know!…”

“We might at that.”, Petronas knew to keep the little pipsqueak busy with thoughts like this, for he knew mister S might just have him killed anyway! He played along just the same. “I might need a good business liaison when I get established…”

“You think like a crook…!”, Vox chuckled. “I like that!”, then presently the wagons went into single file.

Petronas’s two human thugs thought they had it made, for instead of having to walk along side the carts, they could now ride inside the gypsy wagon in style! They had to be careful where they sat, Vox had warned them; for some of the crates amid the ones from Peter’s cart they loaded in here were loaded with gunpowder, and any wrong jolt could set it off! They tried to make the best of things as they were jostled left and right from the pullings of the much stronger Monoclonius pulling this cart; but since they were not busy walking, they had plenty of time to go over the things that led them to this situation.

The first one, slightly older with a balding and graying head, used to be a dock worker before being hired by mister S to go on the Outer Island expedition as a handler; but never would have guessed he would be told to go with that overbearing toad in the next cart to help take care of this kind of mishap! The other human, a younger dark skinned lad who was a fruit picker on the Island, and asked to help guide them to the primitive Dromeosaur tribes; couldn’t even guess before all this happened that he would be on an adventure like this, but his former talents as a street urchin in Culebra made him an expert pickpocket and petty thief! The only thing they could agree on was their lack of co-ordination when procuring the things Petronas asked for; and now that Vox was apparently there outranking them as well, they thought they had better plan their dirty work a little better.

So yer’ sayin’ that a light touch makes all th’ difference?”, asked the older one. “My best caper is by knifepoint!”

“You need to limber yer’ fingers, an’ keep them sensitive.”, said the younger. “That way you jes’ slip ‘em in an’ out without him knowin’…!”

“Ever heist in a gang?”, said the older one. “Me’ favorite one is one distracts the pigeon, and the other does the heist!”

“How you do that?”, asked the younger one.

“Jes’ walk up to the guy an’ ask: ‘Know what time it is’, or ‘Which way to so-and-so street’…”, said the older. “Doesn’t matter what you ask, just so long as the rube is lookin’ at you instead of the robber.”

“What if the guy finds out?”, asked the younger.

“Well, for me, I act like an upstanding citizen.”, said the older. “I get all het up and say: ‘You stay there! I’ll get him!’… And then I run off after them!”, he smiled “Works ever’ time!…”, both laughed as the cart went on it’s merry way.

Before long they went along to the end of the beach, trail slowly inclining up a narrow escarpment toward the semi-tropical trees at it’s apex. As the road dove deep into this jungle, both wagons slowed as the passability of it decreased until it was only wide enough for them to squeeze by single file. Along with this thickening jungle, evidence that the way ahead was not as kept up as it should be made themselves known as rocks and muddy ruts put strain on the pullers; causing both drivers to break out the whips once more!

Miles into the jungle and nearing the end of daylight, they came onto a barely discernable crossroads; marked by an overgrown sign sporting the name of their next place to stop: Fimli, which was a smaller fishing and trade village that was perched into the escarpments that was prevalent for shoreline along this side of the Turtletail Peninsula. As they descended the switchbacks down to the town proper, Petronas told his humans to gather more supplies once they stopped and scouted around for a place to stay; and Vox knew a few places to stow the carts away from prying eyes, indicating that they should stay near them for security’s sake. Presently they all bedded down for the night, sinister dreams formulating in their minds…
_

TAG: Hazen, any and all!

[Thundertail]

OCC: Oopsie! Another double postie!...

_____

IC: Bentfeather and company, through the Tokta range - and their dangerous detour!

Even though the going was smooth through the wide but steep finger valleys that made up the Tokta Range, the whole are seemed to be set up as a maze for the twisting and turning paths they followed. In some areas the going was so narrow that they had to pass through single file through some tight, rocky areas; and there were many ways to go through the myriad of small passes, many going left and right at uneven intervals as they tried to choose the correct northern passage through them. They were unknowingly going steadily uphill most of this time, but could not tell this for the lay of the rills they were traveling through; but suddenly they knew they were going the wrong way as the sunset was happening in a spot where it shouldn’t. They dejectedly decided to camp there for the night as it was getting dark, and they would try to figure out where they were in the morning.

Since they did not know where they were, and probably in dangerous territory; it was decided to double the guard for the night. Officers Olu and Ajax took the first shift, each taking opposite corners of the campsite and slowly walking the perimeter until it was the end of their shift. The next shift was manned by officers Artemis and April, each doing a similar sweep of the campsite as the hours wore on. Frik and Frak took the sunrise shift, bolstering their somewhat diminutive sizes with a crossbow setup each.

All night the creature stalking them stayed in the forest, watching their campfire light diminish to nothing; and seeing they were too well protected, decided to get a little sleep herself. Her clan was stalking Muttabutasaurus many miles away, and she was the rear vanguard to prevent any from getting away; and if she failed in this task, her low stature would be diminished even further. But the news of these interlopers was important to her clan too, and it would do her well if she dispatch them herself; for nobody dare desecrate the territories of the Allosaurus without paying dearly! With this thought she slowly crept out of hiding as the light grew in the sky, and she quietly made it to the trail they would no doubt come to as they entered the near by clearing.

As the morning woke the travelers as it had done so many times on this journey, they began to break camp and prepared themselves to right their course through this dense hilly forest. “Those mountains do not look familiar…”, said Frak.

“Those must be the Forbidden Mountains.”, Ajax said. “But they are more to our south, and they should be to our north.”

“Few persons have seen this side of the Forbiddens.”, lady Natasha yawned as she put her crossbow away. “I fear the worst, and the worst means that we have strayed into the Rainy Basin.”

“We’re WHERE?…”, Randy gulped.

“We must leave here immediately!”, Bentfeather said. “I suggest we head south with all due haste!”, he had Tebo resume his packing, only quicker this time.

“Be calm, friend!”, Ajax told him. “If we scurry through the wilderness in a panic, we shall become all the more lost.”, he scanned the trees. “Let us approach this logically…”

“Logic would have us turn about and go the way we came.”, Frak said, helping Seamus hitch Polongo to his cart.

“The way we came was too twisty for me…”, Tebo commented. “I was really confused!”

“Let us take the high ground over there.”, Ajax pointed to a low hill within a small meadow nearly a quarter mile away. “That way we can get our bearings…”

Eventually they all agreed that this was the best course of action, and they finished packing up their camp before mounting carts and steeds. Ever so cautiously they made it to a path that would lead them toward the small meadow in the distance, both guard teams on high alert fanning out slightly ahead of the group. In the trees they went single file, older pair of guards taking the rear while the younger ones traveling ahead. In the denseness of the forest and just behind a knoll of rock near the path, the Allosaurus waited as the front guards passed by her; and continued to do so as the rest passed by. As they all made it out into the foot of the meadow, she bolted around the knoll and charged out into the meadow; heading off everyone before the import of her presence was known, and she roared profusely as the whole convoy screeched to a halt!

“What do I do?…”, Randy whispered, instantly in a defensive stance.

“Don’t move!”, Bentfeather whispered back as Ajax and April tried to flank the toothy monster, who snapped at them as they got close.

“Begone!…”, yelled Ajax, brandishing sword, Olu capering and ready for defense.

“AWAY…!”, yelled April, Artemis feigning to charge many times.

“Wait everyone!”, cautioned Bentfeather. “Maybe I can reason with him!…”

“What are you talking about?…”, Tebo shouted. “Flee everyone!…”

“No, wait!… I know many languages… Even carnivore speech.”, the wizened Microraptor explained. “But to do so, I must get close or he won’t hear me…”

“I’m sure he’d like an appetizer before the main course…”, Randy stammered sarcastically as the beast was mere yards away from him. “Go right ahead…”

“I need a diversion…”, Bentfeather said, thinking quick. “Postal Bird 76. Would you like to help?”

“No sir!”, 76 said from his basket. “But since we’re all dead anyway…”, he hopped out. “What do I do?”

“All you do is fly near him as close as you dare.”, Bentfeather told him. “Let him get interested in you enough so I can land on him…”

“You’ll get killed!”, Tebo made motions to restrain his Partner. “I won’t have it!…”, but he was too late as Bentfeather flapped up and around the convoy.

76 took this as his cue, and flew out to the behemoth carnivore, around his head and all about. The Allosaurus snapped at the little gnat-like Postal Bird as he flew by, he squawking and making as much noise as he could as he flapped by. In the mean time, Bentfeather circled the scene below, silently cheering his friend’s efforts as he waited for the right opportunity to land; and as that moment occurred, he landed right between the Allosaur’s eyebrow ridges. Noticing the intrusion, the Allosaur shook his head and tried to shake off the miniature parasite; efforts slowing with the realization of the futility of the task, and quickly concentrated again on the convoy before her.

As 76 flew back to his basket with much relief, he saw Bentfeather perched atop this man-eating monster; wondering what the crazy dinosaur had in mind. Bentfeather latched onto the right eyebrow ridge as the beast continued to try to shake him off, and then found an excuse to be in such a dangerous situation; for the poor creature was literally infested with tiny red mites, who burrowed into the skin and must cause him great distress. Bentfeather went right to work picking and eating these vermin as he noticed a slight change in the creature’s demeanor, for he was slowly calming down and allowing this process to commence.

“Heta!… Skafti…!”, Bentfeather growled in his earslit, which meant ‘Don’t worry, we come in peace!’.

“Kdopi- Fuggah…!”, the Allosaur growled, which meant ‘You are in my territory!’.

“Uloge… Mauldoo… Thak-Pozz! (we are on a trip bearing something valuable.)”, said Bentfeather growlingly. “Pau-freth… Barrado…(we are lost, and are sorry.)”,

“Habra Gan-sovali…Vizz-Combotta… Sef-souli Scrart (I am Deathflower, and my job is very important.)”, she growled. “Ragoth… Letara-sorolpho… (My clan is hunting others.)

This exchange went on for several moments more, Bentfeather stating in her language that they were being pursued by others that would steal the treasure they had; and they would stop at nothing to get it. Deathflower chortled and boasted that if any more intruders showed up in her clan’s territory, they would be destroyed; and said she would tell the rest of her clan this, and gain status. She gruntingly complained that she was one of low status, and forced to take this rear position in the hunt that was going on today; the fact she was reminded of by the low rumbling in the ground felt by her feet, which was the footfalls of the hundreds of Muttabutasaurusses her clan was herding this way as they spoke.

“Tadra-gith… wasa-rowth tamanta… Gand-tran forgh-zouli…?(Would you lead us away from here if we go without trouble?)”, Bentfeather asked.

“Tharon abuk-tsechee…! (If you finish your service!)”, Deathflower chuckled, indicating the mites he had stopped removing.

Bentfeather began to comply, then looked over to the carts. “76. Could you lend a help… This is a big job!”

“What do I do?…”, 76 whispered after flapping over, receiving a few near misses with her teeth as Bentfeather hung on.

“She is infested with vermin.”, Bentfeather told him.

“I do not eat insects…”, said the bird.

“Just pluck them and discard them!”, this Bentfeather snapped. “Hurry or she will grow angry!…”, 76 began to comply, wishing the fates he was some place else!

“Thek-frund… chizpara kdopi, Gan-sovali? (Which way out of your territory, Deathflower?)”, Bentfeather asked growlingly twenty minutes later.

“Zouli-etch… (That way.)”, she pointed southeast with her great snout as Bentfeather and 76 avoided her snap as they flew off. After a rumbling sigh, Deathflower moved off the path and melted back into the forest, awaiting the prey her clan had scared up.
_____

OCC: The above is my own rendition of the Tyranosaur language, which is a dialect close to that of Allosaurs (Like someone from New England trying to understand how someone from North Carolina speaks, for example…). Phonetically speaking, it is done with low growls and hisses, and is mostly in the infrasonic range as Tyranosaurs speak it (Try pronouncing it while gargling, and that is about what it sounds like if humans try to pronounce it! LOL!). If you want a nearly complete file of this language I made up, PM me and I will send you a copy in a L-O-N-G reply back!…
_____

IC: Continued…

Bentfeather and Postal Bird 76 made the greatest haste to leave the lone Allosaurus named Deathflower and get to the carts, both panting as they landed on the seat of the cart being pulled by Randy. Adrenaline was high in all passengers, pullers and protectors as they watched the beast disappear back into the forest, Ajax and April forming a defensive line in the direction the beast had gone. As soon as all were calmed down enough to think, both Randy and Polongo made the decision to make as much distance from the area as they could; and none of their passengers could disagree with their logic.

“What was THAT all about?…”, Tebo shouted over the increasingly approaching footfalls. “Sounded like you told him off pretty good…”

“What I did was apologize to HER for trespassing into her clan‘s territory.”, Bentfeather told everyone sitting there. “She was a rear vanguard for the rest of her clan, who is hunting the dinosaurs that are coming this way… and her name was Deathflower.”

“Deathflower…”, Randy gulped as he struggled to a trot. “Lovely name…”

“That means this place will be a killing field before the day is long!”, Ajax, who rode Olu astride the cart, said. “We must be well away from here before that happens!”

“I’m all for that!”, Randy said.

“What else did you talk to her about?”, lady Natasha asked.

“Well, she is a low ranking member of her clan.”, began Bentfeather. “If she tells them she saw us off, that might improve her status.”, he thought. “I asked forgiveness for trespassing, and she accepted if 76 and I removed her vermin… We must take the pass over there to our left, which will send us to the other side of the Forbiddens.”

“That is good news.”, Ajax stated. “We must make it to the other side.”

“I thought we were goners for sure!…”, Tebo said.

“Now Tebo, you know that carnivores are not evil, just hungry by nature.”, Bentfeather told him.

“But what they’re hungry for!…”, Randy said, shuddering.

“Actually, Deathflower seemed pretty nice for her kind.”, Bentfeather told everyone conversationally. “She could have done battle with us, but saw reason in our earnestness for our mistake; and decided to be lenient this time.”

“Our little service had a hand in our survival too, no doubt!”, 76 said.

“She seemed to enjoy it…”, Bentfeather admitted. “It shows that a good deed breeds others in kind…”, he smiled at Tebo. “And people aren’t necessarily as they seem!”

“What was that other jabbering you were doing with her?”, 76 asked.

“I told her that we were carrying something of value.”, Bentfeather said. “And that there are others chasing us that want it.”, he turned to the Postal Bird. “Deathflower said that she will tell her clan about this, and they will see them off if they trespass in their territory.”

“I pity those guys…”, Randy smugly said, which got them chuckling…
_

TAG: Hazen, any and all!

[o8jedi]

OOC: Yeah, that was my bad. Sorry. RL kinda got in the way.

IC: Hazen Baker, the Rainy Basin
_

News that they had stumbled into unwittingly stumbled into Rainy Basin had put everyone on edge. The last thing they needed was to come face-to-face with a Tyrannosaur or worse: A group of them. Hazen stayed in the center of the group, preferring to keep his partner as close to him as possible while her mother was out on patrol duty. They came to a small meadow, which made Hazen feel better. After all, there weren't any trees surrounding them that could be hiding any unfriendly predators.

That sense of relief quickly dissipated as he heard a blood curdling roar. He turned behind him and saw a large theropod. "Holy..." he said. Redcrest gave a terrified bleat upon seeing the large meat-eater in the distance. Hazen turned to her. "Stay close to me," he said as he picked up his staff, what little good that would do against this monster. A commotion went on ahead of him. People screamed flee but Bentfeather surprisingly flew to the Allosaur. "You're crazy!" Hazen shouted at him.

Surprisingly, Bentfeather didn't get eaten right out of the air, thanks to 76's deft runs as a diversion. Hazen looked around the convoy to make sure that they weren't being surrounded by other Allosaurs like lions around a herd of antelope. Fortunately, it appeared to be just the one. Still, he couldn't take his chances. Especially since Ajax, Olu, April, and Artemis were focused on the one that Bentfeather was perched atop now.

The Allosaur made no motions, which kept Hazen even more concerned about the possibility of ambush. Soon, he began to hear low growls and hisses. "What's going on?" he said quietly to Seamus, who stood near the quick release for Polongo's harness.

"I don't know," he said. "He may be talking."

"Trying to coordinate an attack?" Hazen asked as Redcrest clung on to his leg.

"No," said Seamus, "I don't think so. I think the Microraptor's talking to him."

"Great," Hazen observed. "We've got a beast who wants to eat us all and we're using diplomacy. How very Dinotopian."

Everyone was on high alert for the better part of a half-hour when suddenly, Bentfeather flew from the Allosaur and he turned tail. Hazen was stunned. "I-it worked!"

"Never mind that," said Polongo, "let's go!" He began to pull on the cart again. Hazen hefted Redcrest back into it as they quickly left the meadow, heading in the direction that the Allosaur indicated (and Bentfeather translated) was the way out.

After a few tense moments, Hazen also sat down on the cart. "I think I'm gonna have a heart attack." He leaned against some of the supplies. "Oh, my God. I can't believe that we encountered a theropod and lived."

April, who along with her guard compatriots regrouped with the others once they resumed their trek, rode next to the cart. "You know that Sir Bentfeather is a theropod, right?" she reminded him.

"You know what I mean," Hazen said back. "I never want that to happen again."

Artemis strode closer to the cart to nuzzle her daughter. April observed, "I think we can all agree on that."

Hazen nodded. "I'm just glad I didn't have to put that training to use. Not that I think it would have been effective."

"Training can't anticipate everything," April said to him, "however you did the right thing by keeping a cool head and staying with the group. If you're in doubt, look to us for guidance."

Hazen smiled, hearing those words of affirmation. "I just hope we're not being led into a trap."

April scowled slightly. "Bentfeather said that she was covered with mites. We did her a favor. They may not accept the Code, but they are still feeling beings."

Hazen bit his lip. "So when will we do some more conditioning?" Hazen asked, hoping to change the subject.

"With the deserts on the other side of the mountains, I doubt we will do much conditioning to conserve water. Once we reach civilization, though, we will resume."

Hazen nodded. "Right," he said. The last bits of adrenaline made their way through his system and began to feel exhausted. He scooted further into the cart and closed his eyes for a quick powernap. After what they went through, he needed one.
_

TAG: Bentfeather, any and all!

[Thundertail]

IC: Bentfeather and company, out of the Rainy Basin.

The convoy made great haste to get away from the meadow they were previously in, both carts bouncing along as fast as their engineering would allow and their two guard teams taking the flank at a trot. They had found the path that Deathflower had indicated, and followed it quickly as it snaked through the rolling, forested hills. Bentfeather had retreated into the Postal Bird basket to try to calm himself from the extremely stupid and dangerous thing he had just done, but couldn’t as he berated himself for putting everyone in the convoy at risk! It was a good thing that Deathflower was of a noble breed or else things would have been quite different indeed; and he hissed and grumbled to himself in frustration at that near disaster.

“You are one brave creature…”, postal Bird 76 said from his corner, still wiping the foul tasting insects from his mouth. “Confronting one of the island’s most ferocious carnivores…”

“We could have all been killed!…”, Bentfeather spat. “You especially!… It was a good thing she was an agreeable creature…”

“Don’t fret so.”, 76 said reassuringly. “With your diplomatic skills and knowledge of her language, you saved us all… And got directions out of the Rainy Basin as well!…”

“But we shouldn’t have gotten lost in the first place!”, Bentfeather told him. “This trip is turning out to be one big disaster!…”

“Well, those passages back there were pretty confusing…”, 76 told him. “I hear they fool even the best trackers.”

“Fah!…”, said Bentfeather as he wriggled out of the basket and crawled up to The shoulder of Tebo Lewis.

“Looks like there are ravines up ahead…”, Tebo said conversationally as he noticed his friend. “Officer Ajax says we should be out of the Rainy Basin by nightfall.”

“It won’t be a moment too soon for me…”, and as Bentfeather said this, everyone in the convoy heard the roaring growls echoing through the forest behind them, coming from dozens of Allosaurus throats as they tore their prey to shreds; and the braying and bleating bellows of the hundreds of Muttabuttasaurus they had trapped. The slaughter had begun many miles to their rear. “Come on, Randy!… Let us hurry!…”

“I’m on my way, boss!…”, Randy redoubled his pace.

“It has begun…”, lady Natasha commented as she came out from the sleeping compartment behind them, and Frak poked his domed head out as well. “How far away are from that?”

“Several miles away, from the sound.”, officer Ajax, atop Olu, said as he came along the right side of the cart. He had left April and Artemis to cover their backs. “We should be safe from the carnivores now that they feed.”

“The foothills are in sight.”, Tebo repeated to them all. “And the Forbiddens are near by.”

“That is a relief!”, Frak said. “I thought that was the end of us all!”

“That must be the way to go…”, Bentfeather pointed, interrupting him.

What they all saw through the thinning forest was the beginnings of a narrow canyon, a channel that was carved through the increasingly rocky terrain by either rain water or lava flows eons ago; and even though the channel fanned out and redoubled as they passed through it, they all seemed to be going in the same general direction. Instead of the ground sloping down into them, the trail climbed steadily upward; they seeming to climb between giant stone fingers perched atop the saddle of the mountains appearing as they looked upward. As they read the terrain, they saw a clear passage between two short twin peaks; and both Tebo and Seamus steered their carts into the gradually deepening and climbing ravines.

Hours and hours passed, and they dared not stop for meals as they were still on the fringes of the Rainy Basin; and their progress was encouraged by the upslope gradually leveling off and forming a plateau between the twin peaks. Here the walls of the rocky canyon they were in rose nearly to the peaks beside them, and rills of water cascaded down the walls in spots; runoff from the mountains above, which gradually changed direction as the plateau began to turn into a down-slope as they approached it at least an hour later. When the canyon turned once more, a vast panorama met their eyes; and as the bleak landscape broadened out before them, it put their spirits into an all-time low!

In the far distance grew the pale yellow of rolling sand dunes, and before them lay a vast landscape of rocky scrub and parched spotty forest; and the windy updrafts that met their faces was quite hot indeed, for such was the nature of the Great Desert of Dinotopia. Every native born one of them had heard tales of lost caravans succumbing to thirst and heatstroke, never to be seen again; and fewer still who had traversed that wasteland ever came out the same as when they went in, and many had survived only to lose their sanity! As everyone looked at the vastness before them, shudders running down their backs - and even Hazen had these feelings, but it was mostly for exhilaration than dread - before Ajax took charge again; having the whole convoy halt as they came out onto a section of stone ledge the size of a football field.

“Before we continue, we should prepare for this desert journey.”, he announced as he dismounted. “We must fill all our water sacks, and forage for what ever you can find for food.”, Immediately Tebo scampered down and started looking for water, Bentfeather and 76 flapping off to help.

“We are up against hard times ahead, my friends.”, lady Natasha said as everyone did their part to make a camp. “We must ration both food and water from now on… There is no telling when we may find more…”, the clattering of Seamus’s cooking utensils reminded everyone they were hungry.

After everyone was unhitched and the camp settled to normal, officer Ajax had Hazen, April and Artemis scout the area for anything to eat; Redcrest tagging along as she needed the exercise. Being a scrub desert, the place had an abundance of cacti and other tough herbs that were edible; but it also contained hidden dangers like poisonous snakes and insects to worry about, so he had both Hazen and the pair of guards take their staffs to ward off anything they might encounter. They were gone for many moments when Tebo arrived back in camp, having a bit of bad news to tell.

“There isn’t a drop of water anywhere…”, he said as he wiped sweat from his neck. “The desert goes on and on…”

“Hail friends!”, Bentfeather came back a few seconds later. “There is water up the hill!”

“The rivulet we found disappears, though…”, Postal Bird 76 said as he flapped to Bentfeather’s side. “It goes into a chasm, and seems go underground from there.”

“By the sound of the water falling, it must form an underground cistern.”, said Bentfeather. “We can fill our water skins there.”

“This is good.”, Ajax said as Seamus offered him a bowl of mystery concoction. “We can do that in the morning, when the weather is the coolest.”

As the evening meal was being served, Hazen and his charge along with officer Manchester came back from their foraging; and they each told of their unsavory encounter, adding their sacks of cacti, herbs and other tubers they found into both of their carts. As they took their meals, comments of what happened over the past week wafted through the campsite. As the sun began to retreat over the bleak horizon that created a kaleidoscope of color in the sky, the temperature began to markedly drop as it finally disappeared in the sky; harboring in preparation for going to sleep for the night, only this time they lightened their guard as the landscape was so sparse that sound flowed over it like water across a roof. The only thing that woke the group was the steadily climbing temperature as the sun prepared to rise the very next morning…
_

TAG: Hazen, one and all!

[o8jedi]

IC: Hazen Baker & company, the edge of the desert
_

Redcrest's stomach rumbled as they made their way through the pass that the Allosaur told them about. "My tummy's growling!" she complained.

"I am, too," Hazen said to reassure her. "But we'll have a meal soon."

"You said that hours ago!" she retorted. In reality, it was only about 20 minutes ago, but a child's perception of time was vastly different from that of an adult's.

Hazen was tempted to grab a piece of fruit for her to munch on until they reached safety, but he was very much aware of how much supplies would play a part in their ability to traverse the desert and he didn't want his good intentions to spell potential doom for the group. A short while later, a vast wasteland appeared before their eyes. They had reached the desert.

To say it was lifeless would be untrue; even the Sahara has life. However the few signs of life did little to allay any concerns he may have had about going out there. It could be worse, though. It could have been nothing but rolling dunes. As Hazen surveyed the landscape, the theme from Lawrence of Arabia came into the back of his mind.

After they announced that they'd make camp here, chores were divided up. Ajax determined that Hazen, April, and Artemis were to scrounge for food from the desert life. "I must admit that I don't know what we can eat out here," Hazen confided.

"Don't worry," said April. "As part of our training, we had to learn how to survive in the wilderness of Dinotopia, including the desert. Just stay close to me and I'll identify edible plants."

Hazen nodded. "Let's get to it," he said as he took a couple steps toward the vast desert.

"Hold on," April said. "There are many dangerous creatures out there, not unlike in the Southwestern United States. We'll need our staves." April grabbed the two staves that they used to spar with and tossed one to Hazen. Artemis already got her implement.

As they started off, Redcrest scampered beside them. "I wanna come, too!" she said.

Hazen looked at the young one. He knew she had been bored out of her mind for many days and she was more than restless during the rides. "Well, I don't mind if you come if your mother doesn't," he said, turning to Artemis.

The large Lambeosaur nodded and hooted an affirmative. Redcrest's face lit up and she took her place in the middle of the group.

No sooner had they started out before April was already pointing out tips for foraging. "As you can see, there's a lot of dormant vegetation. These aren't any good to us. If it was the wet season, perhaps, but they are too dry for us to eat. What we need to look out for is any flowering shrubs or cacti." Hazen nodded as he heard this.

They approached a bush with many pink flowers. Redcrest smiled upon seeing the pretty plant. April approached it and plucked a fruit. Artemis joined in as well, filling up a handy sack. "This is a good one," April explained to her pupil. "This fruit has excellent water retention, a must for any plant that lives where there's little water for most of the year. The rind here is camouflaged as a dead fruit to prevent creatures from eating them. And if that doesn't work, it also contains a minor toxin, but the flesh of the fruit inside is very juicy and nutritious. The toxin won't kill you, but you'll have one of the worst stomachaches in your life."

Hazen chuckled slightly. "Fun," he observed.

"Just pick the ones that are visible," April said as she put the fruit in her sack. "We don't want to disturb anything that's living in there, nor do we want to completely deplete the plant of its resources."

Hazen nodded as he joined in. Redcrest grabbed a few fruits and handed them to her mother, who thanked her for her help. Once they had picked their share of fruit from the plant, they began walking on.

April explained many different types of plants to Hazen as they came up to them. Thanks to the heat, Redcrest was becomming bored with going out to find food. She complained about being hot, how her feet hurt, and how she wanted to go back on a fairly regular basis, to which either Artemis or Hazen would say, "We're almost done, don't worry." Whenever they stopped at another plant to forage, Redcrest occupied herself with looking at and turning over rocks. At one rock, she turned over and froze in fear. Underneath the rock was a long snake. It coiled up and shook its tail, making a rattling noise.

Everyone heard the rattling noise and backed up instinctively from the plant. Somewhere, there was a rattlesnake. April turned around and saw Redcrest, standing before the snake completely frozen. "Redcrest," she said, "you need to step away from that now. Go quickly, but not suddenly." Redcrest didn't move and April could tell it was ready to strike. Thinking quickly, she ran and hefted Redcrest away, just as the snake tried to strike. Fortunately, it hit nothing but air.

The hatchling was heavier than she appeared and April lost balance, falling to the ground. The snake was still within striking range and it quickly recoiled. April heard a hiss and she waited for the snake to hit her and inject its venom.

That hit never came. "Go on!" came a yell. "Git!" She and Redcrest shuffled away from the snake and stared at Hazen, who was using his staff to get the snake's attention and waving it around. The snake's head moved, following the staff. "We all clear?" Hazen asked.

"Yes," April said. Hazen backed off and the snake calmed down, slithering beneath another rock. Hazen leaned against his staff, breathing a sigh of relief. He nodded at the two and

Redcrest got up and ran over to her mother, still startled from the snake. "Now we know not to look under rocks around here," said Artemis with a hint of worry in her voice.

"It was scary, Mama," Redcrest said.

Hazen walked over to provide additional comfort. He set a hand on her neck. "The important thing is that you're alright," he said.

The little dinosaur looked up at her Partner and said, "Thank you for saving me."

Hazen smiled. "April saved you, too. Don't forget to thank her."

April had dusted herself off and regrouped with the others. "You're welcome," she said preemptively to Redcrest, patting her on the side and smiling. Hazen glanced at the female guard and smiled, wordlessly saying how he was glad she was alright as well. April returned it with a glance of her own.

The day wore on and they returned back to camp, hungry and ready for Seamus' meal. After unloading their goods, they sat down and ate. Polongo noticed that his mate seemed on edge. "What concerns you?" he asked.

"It's our young," she said. "She encountered a venomous snake and was nearly bitten. Thanks to April and Hazen, we're alright. I suppose I'm still shaken up by it."

Polongo was surprised, not figuring Hazen to be the type who would know how to handle snakes. "That was very brave of the both of them. Thank heavens"

"Indeed," Artemis said with a light smile. They nuzzled together as they prepared for the cold evening.

As Hazen was about to turn in, April was getting ready to start her guard shift. "It gets cold in the desert," Hazen said as he walked up to her. "Thought you could use my cloak again." He handed it to her.

April chuckled, remembering his act of kindness when they were still newly acquainted. "Thank you," she said when she finished.

"Don't mention it. Just want to make your shift that much more bearable." Hazen said as he turned around.

"No, not the cloak," April said taking a few steps closer. "Thank you for saving my life. I didn't know you had any knowledge in handling snakes."

"To tell you the truth," Hazen said, again facing April. "Neither did I. I needed to distract the snake and I just did." He smiled. "Still, you're welcome."

April hesitated a bit before giving him a quick peck on the cheek as a thank you for his bravery. "Rest well," she said. She then began her rounds.

Hazen stood there stunned. That was the least-expected thing he ever thought she would do. Once he returned to reality, he went to his tent. As he went to bed, he hummed a little tune to himself. It appears that she was finally beginning to open up to him and that made him the happiest he had been in a long time.
_

TAG: Bentfeather, any and all!

[Thundertail]

IC: Bentfeather and company, across the Great Desert.

The rumors emanating from the Great Desert concerning how cold the desert nights were proved to be correct for everyone in the group of friends as they slumbered at the edge of this sparse landscape, for they all huddled within the warmth of their blankets until the already scorching morning sun made the practice all but unbearable. They reluctantly exited their tents and other sleeping arrangements and squinted at the blazing orb just climbing the sky, and used the same enthusiasm to quickly break down camp and pack their carts. Lady Natasha and officer Ajax went around and visually inventoried their combined supplies while the others finished getting ready, and soon turned to the group as they prepared to speak.

“The good news is we have enough food and other supplies to get to Ebulon.”, she told them all. “The problem is we only have four skins of water, and that amount will not last much more than a day.”

“It takes a minimum of six days to get there.”, Ajax said. “That is if we take the more mountainous paths, where the chances of extra food and water are more likely to be found. If we try to cross the desert proper, our chances of survival will be much less likely; and would take almost a fortnight - if we survive the trip.”

“I vote for the mountain path!”, Randy said, still swallowing perhaps the last water he would likely get today.

“But still we must attain all the water we can possibly carry.”, lady Natasha told them. “Fortunately, we had acquired many extra water skins, along with other supplies to make it; and they should serve us well.”

“Now my friends, sir Bentfeather stated last night that he and Postal Bird 76 had found a stream that runs under ground.”, Ajax told them. “We should gather all the water skins and follow him to where he said it was.”

“Yes…! I do believe it was over that way…”, he pointed northeast from Tebo’s shoulder. “Around that knoll of boulders and upslope to the cleft on the other side…”

“It was more like to the cliff face…”, Postal Bird 76 corrected. “I’ll show you…”, off he flapped.

Bentfeather followed a moment later. “You’re going to get us lost!…”

Quickly many of the group followed, brandishing as many water skins as they could carry. Olu, Artemis and April stayed behind with Randy and Polongo while they waited for them to return. Ajax kept the pair of flyers in sight while alternately looking ahead at the terrain before his feet, and all those behind him doing pretty much the same; and soon they came to the area both little ones were indicating up ahead, which was lined with sparse scrub.

It seemed that both of their descriptions were fairly right, for the stream - that is, if you could call the trickle they saw disappearing into the rocks a stream - lay right before them; nestled between an arroyo of boulders and the steep cliff face it trickled down. When they got nearer, it was noticed that the hourglass-shaped opening in the rock was way too skinny to climb down into; Hazen figuring it was smaller than a manhole cover in the city he grew up in, and the trickle was too far away in the cleft to reach from where they were.

Lady Natasha got down on all fours and poked her head inside the cleft, scanning the dimness with her night-attuned eyesight; and all she could see clearly was the trickle flow down the rock to her left and leave it as the lip parted out into the gloom. She saw no end to the darkness below, but heard the water drip into what sounded like a small pool many hundreds of feet below. As she looked around and saw all she could see, she rose and told the rest what she observed.

“There is definitely water down there.”, lady Natasha said. “But it seems well out of reach.”, she thought a moment. “Maybe we could lower the water skins down with my rope…”

“There would be no way to control them.”, Ajax said. “There needs to be someone down there to guide them in the water.”

“The hole is too small…”, Bentfeather said. “Could we widen it?”

“Like this?…”, Frak said as he crouched and rammed his head against the stone edge of the hole, recoiling as the material was too tough for his cranium! He reeled back, stunned; as his mate rushed to cradle him. “…Or maybe not!…”, he swooned!

“Right idea, wrong approach.”, Ajax observed, picking up a hefty rock and chipping away at the edge. “Everyone, come help…”

The stone edge chipped away in shards, flakes alternately flying out in all directions and dropping down the hole to plunk into the water below. Tebo joined in hammering away as Hazen went to find suitable rocks to use as hammers, Redcrest helping, but remembering her little ordeal with the snake and rolled the rocks back up toward her instead of away from her! After a long while all suitable rocks in the area had been used up, but still the hole was too small for officer Ajax to pass through; and Hazen was only a little smaller, so the only other one nimble and small enough to shinny down the hole was Tebo.

Ajax quietly coached Tebo how to climb down as he tied the rope around his waist, making sure it was loose enough to get off but tight enough so the lad would not fall. A Sunstone lantern was shoved into his hands by Frak and he was ushered to the hole. Tebo had second thoughts as his legs dangled over the side, but he managed to lower himself further into the hole by sheer moral support.

The lantern shone of the tawny rock walls, sparkling off the moisture cascading down into the darkness below. Tebo noticed how the interior of the cavern was fluted and full of handholds, gripping at one as he tried to swing that way on the rope; and as soon as he got a handhold, he began lowering himself of his own accord. Thirty feet of this climbing found himself on a narrow ledge, where he took in some extra slack on the rope.

“There is a path down here…!”, Tebo yelled up to the orange-sized circle of light seemingly miles above. “The water is still many feet below me, but the path leads down to it…!”

“Well done!…”, officer Ajax yelled back. “We will prepare the water skins…!”

Tebo yelled affirmative and continued his subterranean journey down to the water‘s edge. The shape of the cavern fanned out like an overturned funnel, and the sound of the water trickling into the unseen pool told the boy that it was a sizable pool indeed; perhaps as big as Mosasaur Harbor back home, his imagination exaggerated. When at last Tebo reached the level of the pool, his Sunstone lantern revealed another passageway near the shore; and the primary sign that the caves were once inhabited was the presence of a rusting iron sconce imbedded into the wall at the intersection.

He was too far in for him to have hope that his voice would be heard, so he violently shook the rope once he got it off him until it began to retract, seemingly of it’s own accord. Many moments later he saw several water skins tied to the rope as it snaked down from the unseen above, and Tebo had to scramble up the wall somewhat to guide the bundle toward him. He hung the Sunstone lantern on the sconce to illuminate the general area as he got to work filling the skins one at a time. Once they all were full, he reattached all four to the rope and gave it another shake; where presently the load began to rise above his head.

Moments later another load of empty skins began lowering down to the boy, and began to fill them as soon as he gathered them; and he noticed how warm they were as he filled them, telling him of the rapidly increasing temperature out in the open above. This made him smile in the gloom as this place was vastly cooler, he surmised; and as he worked, he never even noticed the eye-shine of the unseen being lurking in the shadows deep inside the passage behind him! After three more loads, Tebo saw the rope come down empty, and knew it was time to depart this troglodyte’s playground; so he slipped into the loop that officer Ajax had probably made and began the long climb back up, never feeling the nocturnal eyes that watched his departure.

“There he is…”, Ajax said, grabbing a shoulder to haul Tebo the rest of the way. “Well done, lad!…”

“You know, I think the place might have been inhabited at one time…”, Tebo said as he caught his breath, describing the wall sconce below as well as the passage. “I hung the Sunstone lantern on it…”

“And where is it?”, lady Natasha asked, Tebo shrugged. “You LEFT it down there?… Child, Sunstone lanterns are very expensive, and they are terribly hard to make!…”

“Sorry…”, was all that Tebo could say.

“Maybe I could climb down to get it…”, Frak said as he looked down the hole. He saw the lantern shine off the pool below, but then saw something very odd. A shadow of a strange figure crept around the periphery of the light; and then reached to grab the lamp! The light disappeared as the creature took it away to parts unknown. “I think that the cavern is STILL inhabited, Tebo… I just saw one of them take the lantern!…”

“…Well, maybe the poor creature needed it worse than we did…”, Bentfeather stated philosophically after the import of what was said sunk in. “I assume we DO have other lanterns…”

“Yes, we do.”, lady Natasha said. “But they’re expensive.”

“Sorry…”, Tebo repeated as he helped the rest carry the water skins to the carts several hundred yards to the southwest…
_

TAG: Hazen, any and all!

[o8jedi]

IC: Hazen Baker & co., the water cistern, the Great Desert

As Tebo descended into the black cave, Hazen sat down. "All we can do right now is wait," he observed. He knew that it would take a few minutes before Tebo would have the first of the skins ready for retrieval so he permitted himself some time to let his mind wander. Needless to say, he was still a bit surprised by the show of affection that April showed him last night. As much as he tried to tell himself that it was, in all likelihood, a one-time incident and that he shouldn't look too deeply into it, he felt that she was finally beginning to come out of her shell and maybe -- just maybe -- she was becoming comfortable with the idea of being with him.

Redcrest was seated next to him, trying to stay in the shade. Hazen turned and smiled at her. "You doing alright?" he asked.

"I'm hot," she replied looking back at him, "but I guess so."

Hazen smiled. "I'm hot, too," he replied as he wiped a few beads of sweat off of his brow. "You still alright after yesterday?" he asked.

Redcrest nodded slightly. "I don't wanna see a snake ever again," she said.

"Not all snakes are as harmful as that one was," Hazen said, trying to allay her fears. "But he was also mad that you knocked over his home. I bet you'd be pretty mad too if someone did that to your home."

Redcrest hadn't really thought of it that way. "The snake lived under the rock?" Hazen nodded, reinforcing the point. "I didn't mean to ruin his home," she said.

"I know you didn't," Hazen replied, "but now you know that you need to be more considerate, right?" The hadrosaur nodded and Hazen gave her a reassuring hug.

Then, the first few skins came up. Hazen stood near the entrance and began to collect them for the return trip to camp. A while later, Tebo was pulled up and he explained how the cave may have been inhabited. Then, Frak informed the others that he saw something. As everyone started to head back, Hazen said, "Well, shouldn't we go investigate?" A glance by Ajax reminded Hazen of what needed to be done. Dinotopia was still in danger; they couldn't jeopardize it by going on a wild goose chase for a lantern. Still, he would have liked to see what lived down there and if they could help them get to Ebulon faster or easier.
_

TAG: Tebo, Ajax, any and all!

[Thundertail]

IC: Petronas, Peter Triceratops and their hooligans, on leaving Fimli.

The sounds of shouting was just beginning to fade from their ears as they traveled at night along unfamiliar roads, for their visit to Fimli did not go as planned; not by a large pace! Petronas was still seething as they passed through the foothills beyond the seaside town on the Turtletail Peninsula, and it was not just for the fact that they were duped by Bentfeather and the friends he had hooked up with, either! They were now many miles away from their quarry, and it didn’t seem likely they would capture them any time soon; but what galled him the most was the fact that they had to rely on the help of that runty Ovaraptor Vox and his ugly assistant Hydra to help them get back on track. If there was any justice left to him, that must have been miles away from them too to have things like this happen to them. Petronas just had visions of wringing the little buzzard-beak’s neck while riddling that overweight turn-horn with crossbow bolts!

He spied the area ahead as he looked upon Peter with contempt. He was responsible for stealing that artifact in the first place, and all he ended up doing was taking a reproduction and revealing their plan to everyone in Waterfall City! He had wished that mister S had given him more resources to complete this task, for if he got more compensation, he would have been able to afford to get better thugs than those two worthless humans in the next cart. Sure they were crafty and good at doing his dirty work; but they were too gung-ho in their thievery skills. They were the reason why they had to escape Fimli back there, the bozos took way too many risks and caused far too many problems.

For one thing, one is not supposed to argue with the vendors in the market for their prices. It would have been a lot better to accept that and pay the price, not haggle so badly they would not do business with them. And then they had the audacity to steal the fruits and vegetables right out under their noses like that! They also picked way too many pockets for Petronas’s tastes, for that is a practice one should be most discreet in; not heist everyone one meets like they did! They caused great trouble in that town, and instead of fessing up to the magistrate they ran away and hid; hiding right in their carts where they were sure to be found! When Petronas was found to have them in his charge, the magistrate demanded that he make amends for what they had done; and would have had to go on trial if they did not sneak off in the middle of the night as they slept, which just added spice to the seething Petronas was doing right now!

“Let me guess.”, Petronas called to Vox, who was driving their gypsy-style wagon behind them. “We move on to the next town in the general direction we want to go.”

“Precisely, bucko!…”, Vox called back. “Only we can’t stay there for long.”

“Does your reputation precede you…?”, Petronas wondered sarcastically. “Or did we at last get enough supplies for this trip?”

“Kind of both…”, Vox led his cart along side Petronas’s, looking at his constituent in confidence. “We got enough supplies to make it to the Chandaran border, and your boys stole enough trinkets to trade for more if we want it. Also, and if you must know, we cheated many traders in Shaoling; and many of them would like to have our heads stuffed and placed on their walls, if you know what I mean!…”

“Making friends everywhere you go, I see…”, Petronas grinned. “You know, I think we got things in common after all!”

“It’s a living…”, Vox said noncommittally. “But I’m not kidding when I say we can’t go there… At least not made up like this. If we go there at all, we should just pass through and not stay long; and preferably at night where prying eyes can’t spot us.”

“Especially with my two morons…”, Petronas said, sulking.

“Say boss, when can we stop to rest?”, Peter Triceratops asked from the front of the cart. “We’ve been going all night, and my feet are getting sore!”

“We’ll stop soon enough, hatchling.”, Vox assured. “Just a few more miles to make sure no one’s following us…”

“I’m getting tired too, little one…”, Hydra whispered to him.

“Yeah, so if your boys didn’t mess things up back there, we would have stayed in a nice comfy barn instead.”, Vox said noncommittally.

“Vox, can I ask of you something?”, was Petronas’s reply.

“What is that, lad?”, Vox responded.

“Do you happen to have a whip or a cat-o-nine-tails in your cart?”, the Stenoychosaur asked. “Let’s just say that I have a hankering to administer a flogging or two!…”
_

IC: Bentfeather and company, crossing the Great Desert.

Other than mild directions on which person would get how many water skins, very little was spoken as they made their way back to the carts less than a mile away; all save for Tebo continually apologizing for losing one of their Sunstone lanterns, a thing of which was already forgiven. As they drew within sight of the carts, they could see their pullers and steeds patiently waiting for them; Postal Bird 76 squawking excitedly as he saw their approach, bidding all those there to pause their bored but relaxed stances. Right away they knew to make room for the large water skins, which would have to be hung over the railings of the carts if necessary; provided there was no other place for them.

“Look!… Water!”, Randy said, licking his chops. “I was getting thirsty!…?”

“Now my friend, you know we have to conserve this water if we are to make it to Ebulon”, captain Ajax told him. “But it might do everyone well if we have some now, for it will help with the heat.”

As conversations progressed, everyone heard what was found at the watering hole; and were unnerved at the prospect of beings living down in those caves, voicing their gravitated for moving away from this place soon. When everyone heard that Tebo had lost a Sunstone lantern in the process of water gathering, they consoled his guilty feelings with support; instead of berating him for losing a valuable piece of their survival gear, which relieved the lad to no end! Pretty soon all was set, and they mounted their steeds and carts and waited for everyone to say they were ready before Randy was the first instructed to set off.

Lady Natasha chose a downward leading trail through the rocky scrub after the group had some difficulty negotiating an upward leading trail that sported loose rock, and would certainly cause rockslides if they went that way. All the others followed suit as they picked their way through the uneven terrain until they made it out onto smoother paths. April Manchester and Artemis took the rear guard while officer Ajax and Olu took the front position as they snaked their way through a field of barn-size boulders, which hid the way ahead; the only sign that they were nearing the searing sands of the desert proper was the increasingly hot wind spewing from that direction, causing everyone to wonder why they were going that way at all.

“It would be easier for us all to travel the flatlands until we reach the dunes.”, lady Natasha explained as the question was asked by Tebo. “The upper slopes of the Forbiddens are too sheer, and there may be no paths at those altitudes.”

“…This basket is like an oven!…”, panted Bentfeather as he scrambled out of it, 76 hot on his heels. “How hot is it going to get?…”, they both perched on the buckboard as they fluffed out their feathers for cooling.

“Deserts can reach temperatures of over a hundred in the shade.”, officer Ajax informed. “That is provided one can find shade out here…”, he wiped his brow.

“Well, armored like I am, I feel like I’m in a pressure-cooker already!…”, Randy informed. “Say guys, can a person get a drink already?”

“We have only been traveling a few hours.”, Tebo said. “You can’t be thirsty already…!”

“Tell that to my dry mouth, hatchling!…”, Randy panted. “At least you have sweat glands!…”

“Please!… Seek peace!…”, Bentfeather cautioned them both. “We’ll have enough trouble with the desert, and you two are at each other’s throats already!…”, he shook his head. “You think we could stop and give our saurian friends a rest yet?”, he pleaded. “It’s awfully hot…”

Just as Bentfeather made his request, they rounded a stand of arroyos and a humbling sight met their eyes. From the edge of the scrub at their feet, from horizon to horizon and as far as the eye could see, undulating waves of yellow sand wafted back and forth; denoting a small sandstorm was plying the yellow crests ahead, and making the immediate desert before them impassable for the moment. The heat increased with every step, and yet another sobering sight met their eyes the closer to the desert they came.

Placed out several dozen yards into the desert proper, presumably laid down by his loving friends, lay the bleached bones of a perfectly articulated Brachiosaurus shining in the vastly bright sun. The poor beast must have succumbed to the desert many hundreds of years ago, and someone must have placed them here as a warning to any persons wishing to cross the sands. The warning was clear indeed: ‘Death to all who pass this way’, everyone guessed.

“What a poor soul…”, Lady Natasha sighed.

“It’s creepy!”, Tebo commented.

“It’s noble…”, Frak corrected.

“That settles it! We will definitely not cross this desert.”, Ajax said after going out to inspect the house-sized ribcage and returning.

“This poor beast gave his life out there, and he still serves Dinotopia by warning others of the danger before us.”, said lady Natasha. “I think it is wise that we all heed his warning.”

“I agree with miss Natasha.”, Randy said. “Let’s not cross the desert or we will end up like him!”, he looked left and right. “Which way do we go now…?”

“Perhaps in that direction…”, officer Ajax pointed slightly to the Ankylosaur’s left, where a ledge of rock sloped slightly upward. “That looks like the start of a path…”

Everyone nodded in agreement at the direction, each taking a guarded sip of water from their water skins ; then all natural born Dinotopians in their group nodded in reverence to the large skeleton of their brethren before starting off on the next leg of their adventure. They turned and went in the indicated direction, which skirted the foothills of the Forbidden Mountains; traversing the wide, sloping ledge that finally leveled off twelve stories above the burning desert below…
_

TAG: Hazen, any and all!

[o8jedi]

IC: Hazen Baker and Company, The Great Desert
_

As the rocky environment turned to sand, Hazen began to find the heat to become more and more unbearable. He took one of his waistcoats and carefully tied it around his head. Redcrest gave him a strange look. "How come you did that?" she asked.

"It'll help me stay cooler longer by trapping in sweat," he said. "I read it in a book a while back."

"I wanna be cool," she said. "Can I borrow something to make a hat?"

Hazen sighed. "It doesn't quite work that way for Saurians," he said. "But I guess I can help you get some shade." He began to lash some of the staves to the ends of the cart and then pulled his cloak across the four points. "This canopy should help us get some shade. We'll still be hot, but it will help." Redcrest sat in the center of the cart, trying to be in the most consistently cool spot.

A short while later, they came to a gruesome sight: A skeleton of a large sauropod. Hazen felt an uneasy chill go up his spine. Even though he had seen dinosaur bones before, knowing that this creature existed far more recently than any museum specimen hammered home how dire a situation this could be. Hazen swallowed and looked at Redcrest, who craned her neck to see what everyone was looking at.

Hazen scooched closer to her and said, "I don't think you want to look at it."

"Why not?" Redcrest asked.

"If you knew what it was and who it belonged to, it may give you nightmares."

"But I wanna see!" Redcrest said.

Artemis moved next to the cart and said, "My child, a noble Saurian gave his life to warn us of the dangers of the desert. His skeleton remains here."

Hazen sighed to himself, knowing the cat was out of the bag. The young one shifted to the side of the cart and looked out, seeing the skeleton. "It's so big," she said. "So sad..."

"Don't worry," said Artemis. "His death was unfortunate, but he's doing us a great service by warning us of the danger. We'll all benefit from his sacrifice. Others first, self last."

The young one nodded. Hazen looked on, shaking his head at how his desire to do what's best for Redcrest clashed so much with Dinotopian standards.

Once the decision was made to head to the ridge, Hazen took a swig of water and looked at the convoy ahead. The skeleton did more to upset him than the others around him. When they were on the ridge, he began to notice the winds picking up, helping to cool the others even though the air temperature had only dropped by a quarter of a degree. He removed the canopy, fearing his cloak may blow away.

Once everything was stowed, April jogged next to the cart. "I think it's safe for a little exercise now." Hazen nodded and got out of the cart, keeping pace with her. As they continued, April noticed the look of focus on his face. "What is on your mind?" she asked.

"Between the heat, our being pursued, and the skeleton back there, I'd say a lot," he admitted.

April smirked. "I thought that went without saying. Anything specific?"

Hazen sighed. "Redcrest," he said simply. "Back at the skeleton, I thought it would be best for her not to see it, but Artemis let her see it anyway. I just didn't want her to be scared, that's all. I just don't get how you as a people are so honest about everything."

April sighed. "I'm sure you have many sayings about how the truth is preferable, yet your culture continues to use deception, even as simple as withholding information. While you are very honest, you treat mortality as something to be shunned."

"But I don't want to die!" Hazen retorted. "None of us do, otherwise we wouldn't be on this journey."

"Not shunning death is not the same as embracing it!" April countered. "To us, death is a natural part of life, not a horrible eventuality that must be postponed at all costs."

Hazen replied under his breath, "Coming from a people that imbibe Arctus longevis teas to extend life by nearly three times, I find that hard to believe."

April heard that comment. "The effects of the tea are beneficial to all of Dinotopia, not just ourselves. Perhaps it is good that you and Redcrest are together in the same cart, but at least one of you is actually learning."

Hazen tried to come up with a reply, but couldn't. They finished their jog when the next water ration came.
_

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

[Thundertail]

IC: Vox, Petronas, Hydra, Peter and their two humans. A night in Pennacia.

The one thing that Petronas was beginning to admire about Vox the Ovaraptor was his endless reserves of ingenuity, for the bird could really get himself out of tight jams when the need arose. Some evidence could be seen in their grim pass through the last town of Shaoling happened at night, without so much as a sound they traveled through the night-darkened place; never disturbing even the light-sleeping sentinels of that town, to discreetly pass through the other side. None of them had gotten any sleep that night or the day before, so they slept in a rocky grotto for most of the next day and a half.

His skill at tracking and knowledge of the roads and terrain was also proven as they were led effortlessly to the next town of Pennacia. At long last they had a perfect disguise in store for the people in the next town they visited, for Pennacia just loved unusual people; and Vox’s plan to disguise themselves as gypsies would go over swimmingly here, so Petronas thought. Vox had said he had acquired disguises for them all, but Petronas never dreamed he would have to wear these sultan-like robes and wear a turban and ear ring like this; and neither did Peter Triceratops think he would need to wear a getup akin to that of a saurian clown as he was forcibly decked out in baggy and colorful shawls with much protest!

The other two humans wore similar garb, donning fesses and other headgear while Vox sported a crimson vest over a silk getup of blues and mint greens; and Hydra was adorned with queenly raiment and costly looking saurian jewelry, and all were sure that no one would have the slightest idea of who they really were! So thus was their mindsets as they left their carts on the outskirts of town, hidden in an abandoned barn; and went to the town of Pennacia proper, under the guise of gypsies and with mayhem on their minds. Little did any of them know, but Vox produced four balls and began juggling them as they came onto the main street; Petronas carrying on and crying against Peter’s flank, some of it being real at the foolishness going on in town.

The whole town of Pennacia was athrong with celebrations galore, a common occurrence there as they had want to celebrate anything; and this time a large convoy had come in from the Chandaran empire, full of finery and riches beyond compare. This yearly event was met by all sorts of fanfare, and bands rivaled each other for dominance as cart loads of this wealth were transported to holding houses for distribution throughout Dinotopia. Dancers and paraders accompanied these carts, all with the chagrin of the drivers, pullers and handlers designated to the task; and the cheering and singing went on throughout the streets. Petronas and his crew saw all this and tried to melt into the crowd.

“Now, remember, you two…”, Petronas whispered to his humans. “No funny stuff.”

“Too bad…”, the older one commented as he watched a Dromeosaur on stilts go by in a long-legged robe. “All this opportunity goin’ to waste…”

“I could make us all rich ‘jes by the folks in the streets!…”, the younger one proclaimed, smiling as he dodged three children rolling barrel hoops and dressed in blue striped gowns. “Hey!…”, he shouted at them.

“The boss is right.”, Vox said as he nodded at a green and purple painted Saltosaurus selling bagel-like bread. “Best we not cause a scene…”

“What’s going on?”, Peter asked whisperingly as a female Triceratops dressed in a sapphire saddle blanket and an ornate cab on her back winked at him. “Nobody told me it was Day Of Festivities…”

“Just be quiet and act like they do.”, Petronas snapped as Vox dropped his juggling balls. ”Oh, great!…”

“Be kind and fetch them?…”, Vox asked the rest of the group as he scrabbled for the one nearest him. “Cursed claws!…”

As the group of thugs did as Vox asked, the parades went on around them; none of them noticing they were being watched, and all of them thinking they were safe in the crowd. This human, rotund and short, climbed atop a stone step of a building and peered out toward the group of strangers; and despite the costumes they wore, this man knew of the badly clad Triceratops there. He had known a family of Triceratops a long time ago, one being of the Archaeological Guild, and he was hired by them for an expedition to the Rainy Basin ruins. Of course the lad was a mere hatchling then, but the gait this one had was exactly the one he had remembered from the young lad.

He had wondered what he was doing there, his name was just now appearing in his brain; and Peter was it, son of the now famous Mondor. It was strange to him how the boy had managed to become associated with these people, and seeing the irrefutable Ovaraptor with him gave him pause. He had wanted to talk to Peter alone, but such an opportunity seemed to be all but unlikely; and decided to approach that group anyway, whether danger be there or no. Billy Wakefield shouldered his way through the crowd, making a diagonal course through them to the yearling Triceratops; and at last caught up with Peter’s group as they rounded an impossibly crowded intersection.

“Excuse me, kind sirs… and Ma’am…”, Billy Wakefield called to the tail of Hydra as he ran up past her. “If I may have a word…?”

The older human thug he passed growled at him, and the second one gave him an acid stare; but Petronas put on his diplomatic air and addressed him. “How may we help you, kind sir…?”

“I am sorry for intruding on your festivities, your honors…”, Billy stammered. “But my name is Billy Wakefield…”, he turned to Peter. “And I do believe I recognize one of your group!”

“To whom are you referring?”, Petronas asked, getting more nervous by the moment.

“This one…”, he indicated Peter, who instantly looked incredulous! “I was acquainted with him a long time ago.”, Billy turned and smiled at the Triceratops. “He was merely a hatchling when we met, and I wager he does not remember.”

“That so?…”, Peter said, sniffing the stranger.

“You see, I was a roustabout on an expedition headed by your father…”, he winked at the rest. “His father is the current head of the Waterfall City Archaeological Guild, you know!”, then turned back to Peter. “Your father then headed an expedition to the Rainy Basin to study the Temple of Orous. A team of workers and myself were hired for menial labor and such…”, he chuckled. “Your father brought you along, and you kept on getting under foot!…”

“He’s always doing that…”, Petronas mumbled, but stopped as the stranger turned to him.

“I do not mean to be a snoop, but I was wondering why sir Peter was doing so far away from Waterfall City.”, said Billy Wakefield, rubbing his rotund gut. “And to talk with him and catch up on old times…”, he looked around. “Are you a full-fledged Archaeologist yet?… Would the reason why you are here part of uncovering a mystery?… Or are you simply here to partake in this fine celebration?…”

“If I may…”, Petronas cut in so Peter wouldn’t say something stupid! “But as a matter of fact, we happen to be on the trail of a little mystery.”

“How so?”, Billy asked, instantly interested.

“See, in Waterfall City, someone stole a valuable artifact from the museum.”, Petronas lied. “We were sent to track it down and return it to it’s rightful place.”

“What a dastardly deed!”, Billy said. “And since you are here, I assume the culprit had gone this way…”

“Precisely!”, Petronas said. “Only we may never regain his trail again with all these people…”, he indicated the celebrating throng. “I’m afraid the trail is lost!”

“Your father entrusted you to find that artifact, didn’t he?…”, Billy Wakefield saw Peter’s distraught face. “And it would be a shame if you failed…”, he thought. “Well, I’ve helped the Guild before, and I can help it again!”, his eyes lit up. “Not to worry, old boy. I live in this town most of my life, and I know the streets like you know the back of your frill!… I can lead you to any place in town, and show you the easiest and quickest ways around.”

“Well, I…”, Peter stammered.

“That would be most helpful at that!”, Petronas spoke up. “What this expedition needs right now is a guide!… Thank you most kindly for your gracious offer!”

He looked at his constituents, whom had skeptical looks before continuing. “Ahem… My name is Philip, procurer for this group, and this is Vince, I disagreeistant.”, he indicated Vox. “These are our two helpers, Rawls and Diego…”, pointing to the two humans, older then younger. “And she is Helen, strong and true.”

“And being strong yourself, you volunteer for the heavy work yourself…”, Billy chuckled at Peter. “Fantastic!”

“That’s all well and good, but we happen to be on a tight schedule…“, Petronas motioned that Billy lead the way through the crowd of revelers, and they all followed him single file until they were lost to the crowd. As they rounded a corner many blocks later, where the crowd was somewhat thinner enough to do so; Vox came abreast of the Stenoychosaur and eyed him viciously.

“What in the world are you doing?!…”, Vox hissed softly. “This mug will give us all away!…”

“Relax, will you!…”, Petronas whispered back. “I don’t want him here either, but we can’t go causing a scene.”, he made sure their supposed guide could not hear. “If word gets out we’ve been seen, they’re going to send a whole army of guards after us; and this is the guy who’d do it!”, he smiled at a human child offering him some candy.

“So, do we bump him off?”, Vox continued when the child left.

“There is a time and place for everything…”, Petronas was thinking. “All we do is wait for it!…”

Petronas and his crew patiently followed Billy Wakefield through the streets of Pennacia, receiving a tour of sorts as the rotund man animatedly chatted with Peter; whom went along with the man in the conversation as he grew increasingly annoyed at the chatty human’s banter. During that time Petronas had told the rest minus Peter what they were going to do to get rid of him, and at the soonest convenience, as was the wish of everyone there! At a break in Billy’s conversation, Petronas called Peter over; presumably to Billy about an issue with their expedition, and told him his plan whisperingly once the pesky human was out of earshot.

“What does this guy want?”, Peter asked. “He’s getting on my nerves!”

“Shhh…! He’s just trying to help.”, Petronas told him. “Listen, we’re planning a way to get rid of him.”

“Well, if he tells anybody about us, it’ll give us away…”, Peter groused.

“Then we’ll just have to do away with him, won’t we?…”, Petronas poked Peter’s horn. “All we got to do is find the right opportunity…”, then he explained the rest of his plan until Billy returned.

“Um,… That sounds like a good idea.”, Peter finished as he saw the human.

“Yes, I thought so too.”, Petronas picked up the ruse. “We might need to leave these parts soon, as the culprits may have already gotten away.”, he looked at Billy questioningly. “Is there a short way out from here?”

“Why certainly!”, Billy Wakefield said smilingly. “Right this way!…”

The man led them right out of town to a side road, which twisted and turned through the buildings and up into some craggy hills. At an outcrop he stopped, and a vast vista of the seaside overlooking a stand of tall cliffs shone before them. The precipice they were atop rung with the swells and the waves of the vast harbor below them, and Billy turned and smiled at the group.

“Here you can see the whole coast.”, he said. “If anyone passes this way from any road below, you are sure to see them…”, he noticed they were inching nearer, and was dismayed. “Is something the matter?”

“Well you see, kind sir…”, Petronas said. “Our expedition has to be a secret or any you talk to could warn them they are being pursued…”

“That just won’t do.”, Vox said, stepping closer.

“I will not tell, you have my word!”, Billy Wakefield promised.

“We must be assured of your silence.”, Peter told him. “And we learned not to take anyone’s word!”

Before Billy could react, the Triceratops swung around and struck the rotund man right across the chest with his tail. This unbalanced him and he teetered over the edge. All of them watched as his body skipped off the jagged cliff face as he fell into the surf. They knew it would take days before his body would be discovered, but decided to make all due haste to leave Pennacia; and thanks to Billy’s tour of the town, stealthily made it through town and back to their carts…

[Thundertail]

IC: Bentfeather and company, desert perils in the Vagar Wastes on the way to Ebulon.

Randy panted his way through the rocky wastes as the stone path they were on twisted and turned through the jagged terrain, trying not to miss the pace but finding the hot rocks worrisome on his feet; but found that his complaints were becoming more and more redundant as the miles wore on. Polongo pulling the cart behind him slowed and sped up as he found the terrain most difficult as well, and the same thing went for his wife as well as her cohort ferrying their to guards; even though they at least were trained for such adverse conditions.

The humans and smaller saurians with them were not taking this heat so well at all as many complaints and general grousing was heard many times an hour from them; and their demeanors foretold of the dehydration and other maladies the heat was inflicting on them. But there was nothing any of them could do about their situation as the miles wore on, baking sun beating down on them like the expert blacksmiths of Volcaneum hammering metals into useful items; and with no shade and the fact that their water supply was dwindling by the hour, all their hopes and their dreams seemed to boil from their brains the longer they stayed out here.

The occasional glance to the south showed the never ending yellows of the roiling dunes far below in the plain, occasional swell of desert storm rising from the horizon like a zephyr and twisting out of existence from moments to hours later. From up above on the cliff sides, this wind blew up hot and scorching; pounding on the great stone tablets now appearing through the heat shimmer, for imbedded in many places were sign pointers announcing directions to cities currently used or long dead.

“What do those stones say?”, Randy said as he was the first to see them.

The wind-worn tablets were etched in several defunct dialects, proving that this road was once was a major trade route through the region; and Bentfeather had them pause their progress to examine the glyphs, and to hopefully decipher them sufficient enough to find out where they were. “Hmmm… These languages are old!”, the bird said as he studied the first footprint glyph.

“Hac lies Kinan Van , quadraginta duodeviginti thousand Tractus…”, Bentfeather said at last. “That means ‘This way lies Kinan Van, at a distance of 48000 Lengths.”

“What is a Length?”, Tebo asked.

“It’s an ancient measure of distance.”, Bentfeather told them all. “A Length is the average length of a Bracheosaur, nose to tip of tail.”, he turned to the boy. “Kinan Van was a city in the Rainy Basin that fell to ruin almost a thousand years ago, roughly sixty miles to the north, as the arrow is pointing.”

“What does the rest say?”, officer Ajax asked.

“This one says: ‘A via ut Halcyon est huic procuratio , septumdecim thousand , quingenti Tractus.’; and means: ‘A road to Halcyon is in this direction, 17500 lengths‘. “, replied Bentfeather, arrow pointing roughly northeast. “Or roughly a hundred and fifty miles…”

“That city, legend says, was the home of the ancient order of the Unrivaled Ones.”, lady Natasha said. “It hasn’t been used in nearly two hundred years.”

“I read that tale!”, Tebo chirped.

“Indeed!… Now the next one says: ‘Ut Ebulon , sententia of Chandara , viginti six centum Tractus.’.”, continued Bentfeather. “That means: ‘To Ebulon, sentinel of Chandara, 2600 lengths.’, which is about fifteen or twenty miles that way…”, the arrow in the glyph pointed in a generally eastern direction.

“Then that is the way we must go…”, Ajax said. “Let’s hurry!”

“What is all that other stuff?”, Randy asked.

“Let’s see… ‘Canyon Urbs est quattuor centum quod octoginta quinque thousand Tractus huic procuratio.’; and it means: ‘Canyon City is 485000 Lengths in this direction.’… About seventy five miles northwest, according to the arrow.”, said Bentfeather, and then his eyes grew wide! “How terrible!… ’Caveo Vagar Attero vel pereo!’… ‘Beware the Vagar Wastes or perish!’…”

“Sounds like good advice to me!”, Randy trembled. “Let’s get out of here!…”

_____

OCC: The above writings on the tablets were actually translated from Latin, the oldest language I could find translated on the internet! (They were supposed to be in an ancient Sorolophan dialect, or something like that…)

_____

IC: Continued…

The caravan of friends continued on, heeding the warning of the signs set into the cliff wall with all due haste; and within the span of three miles came upon a series of tall rills and knolls, and many thin mesas, remnants of the many volcanoes that once dotted this area. The stone path they were using wound it’s way through these obstacles, which was why they never saw the spectacle that emerged from a sharp bend in the terrain. Out of a crack in the rock hundreds of yards above them, a stream of water fell into a deep and steep gorge; where raging rapids spilled it into another crack in the porous stone many hundreds of yards below them, and the obstacle barred their way, or so it seemed.

As they drew nearer, they saw an ancient stone arch bridge spanning the gorge near the base of the waterfall; but the looseness of the rocks were heard well before they neared it. Weathering and tectonic activity made the whole area very unstable, and the bridge was so old that it too bore the scars of extreme old age; along with the road being little used in all that time, the bridge was crumbling. Before they reached the foot of the bridge, the whole convoy halted to access their current situation.

“April, Artemis.”, Ajax ordered. “You accompany Olu and I so we can see if the bridge is safe.”

The guards complied, gingerly stepping onto the stonework and beginning their crossing. At each step the bridge grumbled, and along both sides of the gorge loose rocks and debris fell into the water below. Once they were half way across, they could feel the bridge swaying, and the groaning reached a peak as they hurriedly returned to the group. Ajax began by telling them the bad news, and his take on what could be done on how to get across.

“The bridge is very unsafe.”, he told them. “It can support the weight of our steeds and ourselves, but I doubt much more.”

“That means it can only withstand less than ten tons or so.”, lady Natasha said.

“I weigh almost eight tons all by myself!”, Randy said. “I’ll wreck it!”

“You will not!…”, Bentfeather chided.

“I suggest making several trips.”, Frak said. “And try to keep each crossing as light as possible.”

“A sound suggestion.”, Postal Bird 76 said.

“First we must empty both carts.”, Ajax said. “And Polongo can pull both empty carts over, as he is the lighter puller.”, he thought some more. “Randy will go by himself, and should be first as he is the heaviest. The rest of us must carry the supplies over by hand.”, he watched as everyone paused to decide how to do this, that mixed with heat lethargy

“I suggest we all hurry and do this.”, lady Natasha told them. “That bridge will not stay up forever!…”

“You heard her!…”, Bentfeather had to yell. “We should hurry!…”, he flew up and off across the gorge, scanning the area for safer ways across. 76 followed him over, and they both circled back after a short while to see their group begin.

Tebo went over to help Randy out of his harness, giving him a reassuring pat. “Don’t worry, you can make it…”, he said several times during the process, which did little to convince the Ankylosaur.

Everyone commenced to offload the two carts, piling their gear in rough order next to the rocky path; each relaying things from them into the piles, Frak trying to keep the things as organized as possible. Even little Redcrest tried to help, but her small stature only allowed her to carry smaller loads. Once the carts were emptied, Polongo was hitched to his cart minus the harnesses so he could release himself from the cart once he made it to the other side, and a moment later Randy was told to make his attempt across the dilapidated stone bridge.

“I got a bad feeling about this…”, the beast worried.

“Have no fear, my friend!”, Bentfeather landed on his head. “I will be with you every step of the way…”, hr flew up and hovered in front of him, drifting out slightly over the bridge.

“Here goes…”, Randy said, taking his first unsure step. “But remember, you’re too small a flyer to save me if I fall!”

“Just come on!”, Bentfeather beckoned. “Take it one step at a time… There you go… A few more…”

This went on for nearly ten minutes as the smaller saurian coaxed the larger one out over the bridge, it creaking and losing rock dust with each step. At the apex of the bridge the wind began to pick up, but Bentfeather kept his course riding those currents; and as Randy came to the last few steps, he nearly bolted to the other side. He skidded to a stop near the far cliff face, panting and thanking the fates for saving him; and Bentfeather landed on his head to congratulate him.

“Well done!… Well done!…”, the Microraptor smiled. “You are one brave dinosaur!…”

“Am I across yet?…”, the trembling creature asked. “I think I left my stomach over there!…”

“You are definitely across, my friend!”, Bentfeather chuckled. “And the bridge is still standing, thank the fates…”

“Well, without you, I’d surely be taking a little swim…”, Randy said as he sank to his belly. “Woah!… What I just did…!”

“All right everyone!…”, Bentfeather called. “Send Polongo over!… And tell him to be careful!… The bridge is weaker than it looks!…”

Polongo heard this, and positioned himself and the cart at the entrance of the bridge, gently padding out until the cart’s wheels were just on the first casings; and he noticed that the creaking increased the more he pulled it over, so he placed his feet more carefully and was across in about half the time randy had taken. Once he was near Randy, he shrugged out of the yokes and prepared to make the crossing once again in the other direction. This was done with slightly more ease than the previous one, but Polongo put extra care in his steps never the less. Bentfeather chose to cross again to the rest of his friends, and escorted Polongo back as he pulled Randy’s empty cart over. He decided to stay there on the other side as the rest commenced to ferry their supplies over.

Ajax dismounted Olu and put many water skins over his saddle, telling him to stay on the other side once he got there; and then the guard went over alone carrying as much supplies as he could carry. Artemis went over next, much of some other supplied tied to her saddle; of which Ajax unloaded once she got over, and she was advised to stay there as well as Ajax went back over the bridge for another load. Hazen, carrying all the supplies he could carry, escorted Redcrest over the bridge; encouraging her every step as she carried her own small load. When they finally made it across, Artemis picked up her daughter and placed her in their cart; motioning Hazen to go back for more loads, and not to worry about Redcrest as she would look after her for now.

Everyone pitched in, taking their supplies across the steadily crumbling bridge, making several trips each until all was over the other side. The last pieces to go was the crates their weapons and disguises were stored in, as well as the crate that contained the Tyranosaur artifact and the mysterious object within; and those took two or more persons to ferry over. Once all was across and everyone was accounted for, they commenced reloading the carts and prepared to get back under way; taking more water and scant amounts of food while they did so.

All of a sudden Randy began to breathe hard, the common prelude to his thunderous sneeze from all the dust. The sound was so loud that it reverberated all throughout the area, but this caused the whole grotto to tremble and groan. Streams of debris began to fall off the cliffs, and the bridge began to sway violently; resulting in the keystone in the center to crack and crumble away. This started a chain reaction in the whole bridge, for it sagged and fell into the gorge from the center outward! The dust and debris welled up out of the gorge to envelop them all, giving each a light coating of rock dust. As soon as the shock wore off, they all turned slowly to randy with accusing stares.

“Oh well!…”, Randy coughed. “It was a lousy bridge anyway!…”, he said, and sent them all to chuckling…
_

TAG: Hazen, any and all!