Breaking Barriers: Exploring Dinotopia

[tarion]

One of the more Expanded, and Merchantile based cities of Dinotopia. Sauropolis has expanded from a small tradeing village into the tradeing capitol of the whole Island!

[tarion]

On the Road Again!...

The following morning couldn't have come any sooner for Tarion as he woke very early, while the morning was still dark. Mr. Christopher had made it plain he wanted to get an early start, and so after a quick breakfast, and an even quicker bath Tarion found himself walking to the central meeting area at the town sqaure, soon to follow were Asrial, Redcrest and Hazen, and then Mr. Christopher himself, alongside Peter who was pulling the cart.

Mr.Christopher examined all of them and smiled, good everyone's here bright and early.... and on time too, pack you stuff onto the cart and load up we're leaving as of five minutes ago, I want to make it to the Chandala weighing station before sundown.

Peter Triceratops groaned knowing full well he'd have to pull all that weight the entire way, but after a moment re adjusted his shoulders and gained a look of determination on his face as the group piled onto the cart, with that Mr. Christopher took the driver's seat on the cart and simply tapped his cain on the wooden side, "Alright Peter, head us out if you please."

Peter gave a great heave and began to slowly trudge along gaining a fair speed as he progressed until at last he worked himself into a good traveling pace. Mr. Christopher gave a curt nod of approval and went to whistleing a strange tune.

Tarion examined everyone on the cart, Hazen seemed distracted by something, Redcrest was absolutely exstatic with energy about going onto another trip, and Asrial... Tarion couldn't help but chuckle softly, she had taken to sleeping with her head on his lap, her coos and soft sighs only making her that much cuter. Tarion reached behind him and pulled out a hard bound lether backed book, then got a rather nice looking quill, licked the end so as to form the point, then opened an ink well and dipped the quill in.

"Dear Mother and Father,

Sorry to leave without saying my farewells this morning, but I wasn't given much time to prepare, I have been recruited into the Dinotopian Exploration Guild, it is uncertain of when I shall return, but I shall keep you posted about how my journies are going, as well as how Asrial is doing. Hope to hear from you soon, Love your son Tarion. Honorary member of the Dinotopian Archeological Guild, Waterfall City Branch"
As Tarion finished his letter a pink green and blue postal bird made landing near his feet...
"Sir Tarion?" She asked inquizitivly.
Tarion nodded "That's right..."
The postal bird saluted him, "Number 2416, at your service sir!, you requested an early message send?"
Tarion nodded, "I wish for you to deliver this to one Mr. Alexander Farthane of the Waterfall city Guard, please, and tell him to please respond when he has the time." with that Tarion handed 2416, his letter and the necessary payment, after which the postal bird took off into the early morning sky.
Tarion leaned back and closed his eyes feeling it would be alright to nap... if only for a little while.

-tag everyone involved-

[Thundertail]

IC: The Explorers, out on the road to Sauropolis.

The lamplighters were just now waking up to douse the streetlamps when Mr. Christopher arrived in the paddock area where he left the cart they purchased yesterday, he dragging the still half-unconscious Peter Triceratops by the horn the whole two doors down from the place where they spent the night together; a prospect that neither relished very much for their mutual unknown habit of snoring, and saw that none of the others were there just yet. It was OK, the lead Explorer figured; for the group still had better than fifteen minutes of nappy time before they were to leave, and so what if there were a few he had to leave behind? He yawned and poked Peter in the face just below an eye to wake him up again, then he rubbed some fodder into his mouth to quicken his rousing; and even though the creature’s eyes were still closed, Mr. Christopher found the pig could eat in his sleep!

“Hey!… Rise and shine, sunshine!…”, he yelled, but only got eye flutter. “You had enough beauty sleep… You’re gorgeous!…”, with this he kicked Peter in the side!

“What, huh…?”, Peter mumbled and looked around. “I was in my paddock…(Yawn)… How did I get out here…?”

“You walk in your sleep!…”, the human told him. “Now wake up and get into these blasted harnesses!…”, he grunted as he struggled the beast near them.

The leader of the Explorer cadets expertly tied the harness around the still sleepy Peter, who yawned and grumbled in half-awake sentences; and drooped so the human could not get certain straps around him, so the beast continually got jabs and prods. With that ordeal done at last, he backed the Triceratops into the yoke of the cart; Peter stumbling as he tried to balance himself while walking backwards still wishing to be asleep, and Mr. Christopher would pinch certain places on his head to make him more alert. At last Peter was properly hitched to the cart, and they both waited for the rest to arrive; which wasn’t long as they saw the first batch of trainees shamble into view.

The first two to arrive was little Redcrest and Hazen Baker, she still rubbing her eyes while shuffling along holding the human boy’s hand; and both carried small bags with their personal effects (His was probably extra clothes and other things while hers probably contained toys or such, but he had been known to be wrong before…); and Hazen was toting a case of sorts, by the looks of it the case probably contained a guitar! Even though Mr. Christopher liked music, he was determined that no cadet of his would have time to play; and he would have to speak to him about that later, but would allow him to bring it anyway - because he was such a nice guy, he chuckled to himself!

The next two to come into view was Tarion and Asrial, and these two seemed to be more alert than the rest of this rag-tag crew; and figured it was their saurian stamina that made them seem like early risers. They also possessed sacks of their personal possessions, and they set them down on the cobbles to observe the rest who was there. He let their rest after their walk from their homes last only a minute before going to them and telling them what was going on.

“Well, well!…”, he began. “I see we are all out of our cozy beds once again!…”, his smile was fake, of course! “This morning begins your journey into adulthood, my friends… Today we travel to Sauropolis to begin your training, a journey that will propel you into realizing things you haven’t even dreamed of about yourselves…”

As he walked down the ragged line, he saw they weren’t too awake either; and at another one of Peter’s bellowing yawns, he continued. “Now, put your personal effects into the cart and let’s mount up!… I said MOVE IT!!…”, each scrambled to do as was told!

Tarion jumped up in back while the others tossed their luggage up to him, he stowing them loosely about the back; then all of them tried to scramble into it all at once, the most disorganized fiasco Mr. Christopher had ever seen! Once everybody was in, he first went to Peter and told him to keep his eyes peeled; but Peter misunderstood and said there was no danger in Waterfall City, a comment that the human patted his snout roughly while telling him to stay awake! Then he mounted the cart and settled in the driver’s seat, flicking reigns and yelling for Peter to move on out; and at the first corner of the street they turned right and down that adjoining street. After many lefts and rights, they came out onto the lower gates of Waterfall City; Mr. Christopher making Peter stop right next to the guardhouse near the gate there. The guards there were also asleep, but sprung into attacking alertness as he called to them; and the human guard there asked why they were leaving the city so early, and asked for their papers. Since their instructor was the only one who had those, he let the guard examine them; but not for long as Mr. Christopher said their journey was an urgent one; and not one to have trouble at this early hour, the guard let the cart pass.

Past the guard house and through the lower gate the cart went, and immediately out over a great stone bridge that spanned the narrowest part of the catch basin that held all the waters flowing from the many waterfalls that surrounded Waterfall City they crossed; and this converged to make the great Polongo river flowing downstream hundreds of yards beneath their feet, and this mighty river would eventually find it’s way to the sea. Peter was still very sleepy, as he was sure the same was the case for nearly every person in the cart he pulled; but he dared not make this fact known to the one handling the reigns, he just kept pulling and making sure he did not veer off the road in his weariness! The rest just rode along inside the trundling cart, watching what scenery there was go by that the still very dim light of very early morning would reveal; even though there was not a lot to see for the ravine they were in and the rapids of the Polongo raging on their right, so it was safe to say that nearly every person riding and pulling was growing thoroughly bored already!…
_____

TAG: Any and all!

[tarion]

On the road to Sauropolis

Tarion smiled sighing softly as the cart rolled along , silently for the moment as Redcrest had taken to napping near Hazen... Peter didn't seem to be saying much and Mr. Christopher seemed more focused on watching the road then being social... which of course Tarion took to mean that he wasn't the very social sort, that or he was only acting this way to keep them all under the impression of him being in charge... a pointless act in Tarion's opinion since it was obvious to him that with Mr. Christopher being the one training them to be in the Explorer's guild, and as he was the most experienced one there for being out on his own, and was thereby the most qualified to be in charge... Asrial remained asleep... Tarion smiled to himself, she really wasn't a morning person, Tarion stroked the back of her bright blue fluke and chuckled... she had been using skin moisturizoner again, he could tell because of how soft she felt.
After a few moments Tarion looked up to notice the sky brightening, a glint of light caught Tarion's Attention to the east through the trees as he realized the sun was rising... Tarion searched his satchel finding his pencil and sharpener... he found himself sketching as they went along, just about anything he saw, including even the other members of the group...
but even that grew tiresome after a while, eventually Tarion just put his belongings up and just watched the scenery go by, he slowly found himself humming the bars to a song he remembered his mom singing to him back when he was still just a hatchling... not that he was much older now... in fact he was the second youngest member on board, Asrial being only a few days older than he was, and of course Redcrest was the youngest onboard, but as a Lambosaurus she developed a bit faster than Tarion and Asrial, even though she was a hadrosaur, the fact that she was ferril sped her development up, where as Asrial and Tarion were more anthromorphic like. Tarion paused... he looked around at the change of scenery, somehow just thinking had seemed to be a better way to pass the time than drawing had, he felt the wanton need to strike up a conversation with Mr. Christopher... but wasn't quite sure where to start, with that he simply reclined back and watched the scenery go by.

Tag: Everyone Invloved.

[tarion]

It's been a while since we worked on this rp thread! LET'S RIP SOME VELOCITY AND SHIFT INTO TURBO! ... er I mean get back to it... yeah that's it! ^-^

[Thundertail]

Ok,... Yeah,... WAIT!
Before I get into this one, I need to go over my notes and see what we were doing.

*A case of premature Altzheimers*

(This may take a few days as I am in two other RP's, writing a Dinotopia fanfic AND trying to make money by publishing some of my other non Dinotopian writing stuff!)

[o8jedi]

OOC: Hey! Isn't this a pleasant surprise? Guess I'll get the ball rolling again.

IC: Hazen Baker and Redcrest, On the road to Sauropolis
_

The landscapes and sensations of cart travel down the road to Sauropolis were still very fresh and tangible in Hazen's mind. He smiled, recalling the year he spent traveling as part of a major Journey. Not only had a great service been rendered to Dinotopia, it served as a major bonding experience for him and his Partner, who was napping in the back of the cart like old times.

Unfortunately, this wasn't exactly like old times. It was just him and Redcrest, for the most part. True, he knew Tarion and, to a lesser extent, Asrial, but not like he knew Redcrest or her family. Or April. God, he missed her already. He felt as if their goodbye was hardly adequate and he reflected on those events.
_

Waterfall City, Sub-Commander's residence, earlier that day
_

Hazen woke up before dawn, even earlier than when he did the previous day. After dressing in a comfortable, utilitarian outfit in anticipation for long days of travel, he went to the common room. To his surprise, a stew was being prepared. Artemis, Redcrest's mother and April's Partner, was adding a few spices and setting places on the table. She turned and spied the young human. "Good morning," she hooted softly.

Hazen smiled. "I wasn't expecting to see you awake this early."

"April and I usually are since we have to report for duty at an early hour." Hazen took a seat at the table as Artemis ladled some of the sweet-smelling brew into his bowl.

"It smells delicious," Hazen remarked as he sampled some. "And tastes delicious as well." After plating three more portions, the large hadrosaur left the common room, presumably to make sure her daughter was moving along for the journey ahead of her. At the same time, April Manchester took a seat next to Hazen, wasting no time in partaking of her Morningmeal. Hazen glanced over at the guard and smiled. "You look lovely this morning," he said.

April dabbed her face with a napkin and smiled back. "Thank you," she replied. She wasn't always this warm to Hazen and he was happy that this was no longer the case. "I understand you and Redcrest will be leaving with the Explorer's guild today," she stated in a matter-of-fact manner.

"Yes," Hazen replied. "We will."

April began to spread some jam on a piece of bread. "I trust that you'll take care of the young one while you two are away."

"But of course," Hazen replied. "My only hope is that she can handle an indeterminate period of time away from her family."

"I'm sure that your presence will make things easier for her," April said, taking a sip of water to cleanse her mouth from any leftover food.

"Easier, I'm sure," Hazen said, trying to continue conversation, "but there are certain needs that only a parent can fill."

"Which is why you must be the parent for the duration for your journey," April asserted, straightening her uniform in a mirror.

Then, Redcrest came in, shuffling in groggily before sitting at the table to eat. Artemis wasn't far behind, beginning to work on the dishes. "It's alright," Hazen interjected, "I've got them."

"Thank you," hooted Artemis. As Hazen began to scrub the pots used for the meal, Artemis stood beside her daughter. "Remember to do whatever Hazen and Mr. Christopher say; they know what they're doing."

"Yes, Mama," replied Redcrest, still half-asleep.

"And make sure you've got a blanket on when it rains or you'll catch a cold."

"Yes, Mama."

"And eat all your meals so you can grow up big and strong."

"Yes, Mama."

"And send a postal bird home every chance you can," Artemis said, her Saurian voice cracking from separation anxiety. "We want to hear how you are."

"I'll help you with that, Redcrest," Hazen said, drying a pot and hanging it on a hook. As he approached the two Saurians, Redcrest finished her meal and left the table. "Are we ready to go?" Hazen asked Redcrest.

"Uh-huh," Redcrest said, grabbing a bag that she had packed all by herself (with some help from Mama).

The young one went to the door when her mother said, "Oh, no you don't. You forgot something."

"What?" Redcrest asked.

"You need to give your Mama a goodbye nuzzle." Redcrest obliged her mother as soft rumbling filled the air.

Hazen smiled and turned to April. He didn't say a word, mostly because he couldn't think of anything to say. Instead, he merely smiled and said, "I'll see you soon."

April smiled slightly and glanced down. "Travel safely, Hazen," she replied.
_

The Road to Sauropolis, present time
_

It was only in hindsight that Hazen figured that the expression April gave appeared to be one of disappointment and he wished that he could have done it over again and let her know that he would miss her most of all.

As the sun continued climbing above the horizon, Hazen yawned, still tired from the early wake-up call. He glanced around at the rest of the party, quickly noting that both Asriel was asleep as well. To his surprise, he saw Tarion sketching in a notepad. He wasn't sure why he was surprised; after all, archaeologists often have to sketch dig sites and relics if they are unable to retrieve them for institutional study. This presented him with the idea of playing some music, if only to keep his mind off the tedium of travel.

He scooted over to his instrument case and pulled out the travel-sized guitar he brought with him. His prized guitar, which survived the airplane crash that brought him here, was back at Waterfall City. This instrument was smaller, full-sounding, and relatively inexpensive so he wouldn't worry should anything horrible befall it. As he tuned it, Hazen said, "I figured that a little music might help the miles pass quicker; I hope you don't mind." Hearing no objections, he began playing. Starting with a variation of a tune he learned from the Outside World. The focus he gave to his instrument helped give him a second wind of energy, which he knew that he would need during the first leg of their trek.
_

TAG: Any and all!

Welcome back!

[tarion]

Tarion sighed and reclined back as he watched the clouds and various forestation pass over head, the route was a scenic one to be sure, and it happened to be one that he had taken at least once or twice before so he always enjoyed the view... especially when they they passed over the pleatues and forested canyons on the way most of which had been formed by the many rivers that ran through the heart of Dinotopia branching off into smaller rivers as they went along their currents.

He gave a brief pause as he looked around though... the route they were taking might actually bring them fairly close to the Rainy basin, and the carnivores. Tarion felt a slight shiver run through his body as his mind wondered over the very thought of those creatures... of course not all of them were bad, the fact remained that he was actually fairly close friends to a Dromeasaurid... he just wondered if that would happen to be enough to keep their hides safe if he ever needed it.

Asrial on the other hand was making her first treck to Sauropolis and though she had been napping earlier, she now had taken to enjoying the view as she "ooohed, and Awed at the views pointing out specfic details as and becoming excited with pure delight as her mate sat there next to her helping her enjoy the experience even more by hugging her close and pointing out things of interest.

"There you see that huge rock formation in the distance? That's the Monolith of Tallonor, one of the ancient guardians of the world benieth's sacred temples... that Monolith marker serves as a marker for travelers, and as something of a warning post that there are dromeasaurids in that area... of course were several miles away from there.. a good 30 plus at least. So the most we're likely to run into out here is a troodon or microraptor....both of which are easily negotiable... if we have something of "value" to them" he giggled lightly... "That usually amounts to shiny objects" he quipped in as an after thought...

(end reply)

-Tag Any and All-

[Fynn]

((OOC: I'm guessing I don't need an invite? I'll try to keep up to standard here, just in case...))

Six months previous in a small town in the Forbidden Mountains
--
Nastaran purred as Malika stroked the top of her head and tilted slightly to the left... ah! Perfect. The itch gone, she lay down to lick chunks of snow and rocks that had somehow lodged themselves between the pads of her gargantuan paws. The fire roared before them. Chores were complete, dinner was delicious and some serious relaxation was in order. Stretching luxuriously, Nastaran stood and moved to where Malika sat, attempting to curl up on her young partner's lap. She growled as she slipped off for the fifth time. Sometimes she had to remind herself that she wasn't a kitten anymore. Malika just laughed and sat on the floor, allowing Nastaran to lay her head on Malika's lap. Of course, her relaxed mood didn't hinder Nastaran from sensing a feeling of foreboding hesitance.

"Mali?"

Nastaran let a single ear perk at Malika's mother's voice; the only indicator that she was listening.

"Your father and I have been watching you very closely these past two years. You've been such a help with the caravans that come through here..."

Malika's father continued. "But we feel like we haven't been able to give you much in return."

Nastaran sensed her friend about to disagree, but had to conclude that what Malika's parents said was true. Not that she was complaining, life was good, but while both she and Malika yearned for the adventure of the explorers, they were still stuck in the middle of nowhere with hardly any resources or opportunities. Was that what her parents were suggesting? Would they finally be able to leave the Forbidden Mountains and explore the wonders of Waterfall City, Sauropolis or, Nastaran's scruff hairs prickled with excitement, the infamous Rainy Basin itself?

Malika's father put a quick stop to his daughter's insistence that she was fine with a raise of his hand. "We could be wrong, Mali, but we wanted to at least give you a choice. The Reginald group leaves first thing tomorrow morning for Waterfall City. You can have tonight to decide."

Nastaran opened one eye and glanced at her friend. She seemed to be in a state of indecision, but Nastaran remained unperturbed. They would go. Of course they would go.

Now
--
The sweet sounds of music mingled with loving tour guiding and Nastaran had never felt so alive since she was much, much smaller. The early morning breeze tickled her back as she gazed out behind the cart. Dirt sprayed everywhere into the blue sky and sunlight and Nastaran could not help but squint to see if she could catch a glimpse of the Rainy Basin. She could feel some of the dirt gathering on her coat and retreated to lick the clouded spots clean yet again.

Malika laughed. "It's just going to get dirty again, Nasta."

Nastaran snorted. As if humans or Saurians could understand.

TAG: Any

[Thundertail]

(OCC: Hey! Here I am again!... Long time, no see!...)
_

Mr. Christopher and Peter Triceratops, One mile outside of Waterfall City...

Mr. Christopher looked behind him to see his motley charges slumbering, looking abour totally without interest or chatting softly with themselves. The Mayor told him to train them to be Explorers, but he had little faith in any of their abilities at all; and to top it all off, he had to babysit a common criminal that nearly destroyed the Outer Island! At least he arranged to keep that errant Triceratops busy by pulling their cart all the way to Sauropolis, a situation that by his determined silence; Peter showed that his strategy would work, but he was only one of a group of troublemakers. He turned to the rest and cleared his throat.

"Are we all having a pleasant trip?...", he commented to them. "If I were you, I would scan the landscape and remamber where we are!"

At their mild arousal and ragged attention, he continued. "An expert tracker knows every leaf on a tree, and every turn and bend in a road.", Mister Christopher sighed as they all turned their attention to other things. "Ok, I guess we start lessons when we get to the barracks..."

Peter brayed before speaking. "I know where we are... We're going along the lower Polongo river.", he looked around. "Heading generally south, along the left side of the river, and heading for marshland..."

"Correct...", Christopher told him. "But how do you know about the marshland?..."

"My feet are starting to get muddy...", the Triceratops said. "I hate muddy feet!..."

"Good observation...", the human smiled, but only for just a moment. "But your feet will be getting a lot worse than just being muddy when I'm done with you!... Now clam up and pull this cart!...", he flicked the reigns...

_

TAG: Any and all!

[tarion]

(O.O.C. -testing the waters with an unsure character XD)

The sounds of the rushing Polongo river in the distance held no foreshadowing of events to come, the muddy road only gave notice to wetter ground and lusher vegitation in the area, the collective of the cart moved along on the path rather unsuspectingly it would seem.

Yet as the cart moved along a small rush of wind came out of east, as if from the river itself. The wind grew stronger and howled with a force as if from another world... there came a flash of bright green light expulsion from the middle of the air right next to the road!

From the flash of light and the howling wind a small figure was flung forward with incredible velocity, the figure was no bigger than Tarion in size, and even bore some similarities in species but that was where the similarities ended.

This individual had feathers forming from their head alongside a crest that came from the front of their head to the back of their head. The figure's projected fall was abruptly interupted by a crash landing into the inner wall of the cart, cushioned by several bags of belongings and some type of feed.

It would be fair to judge by the audible "Oof" that sounded that the figure was likely male in gender.

Given this observation the figure sat upright and quickly adjusted his feathers, the collar of his warm brown leather vest which was buttoned up to the top button, a gold chain hanging down from the right pocket. A similar gold chain was looped around the neck yet contained something concealed away by the vest.

He wore khaki pants, yet no shoes. And similar brown leather cuffs around his wrist that looked more decorative than functional.

The figure then promptly reached into their right vest pocket pulled out a golden antique looking pocket watch, flipped the lid open, twisted it about left and right in their hand, almost like one would for a compass to get their bearings. Then simply nodded and clamped the pocket watch closed again taking a seat in the back of the cart, looking to Tarion, Asrial, Redcrest, Hazen Baker, and Mr. Christopher as if his arival from the middle of nowhere was completely casual.

"Right then... so where're we off to?" he said rather cheerfully, completely disreguarding his rather abrupt landing into the group.

(tag any and all, Introducing Saurie as "The Dinosaur" *hope you guys like him *)