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Post by thundertail on Mar 25, 2012 6:01:28 GMT -5
_ FORTY-THREE: "Shipwreck!..." Our whole group stopped what they were doing and watched the horrible spectacle taking place. The screeching, rending sounds of metal hull scraping on the bottom was deafening; and almost drowned out the wail of the ever increasing perpetual storm that seemed to follow the stricken vessel. The vessel itself was huge! More than five hundred feet long and weighing countless tons; and yet the storm was pushing it to shore like a child pushing a toy in a bathtub! The huge ship rocked and foundered in water many feet too shallow for it; and as washed about as it did, many of the passengers were rocked off thier feet, many of them falling over railings into the frothing ocean. "LOOK!", I yelled. "Everyone!... Let's get out there and help them!", I ran toward the surf. "Those of you that can swim, follow me!...", One of us said, and I think it was Miles Krieger. "The rest of you find a dolphin and help him!" We looked and saw the crew and passengers deep in the middle of emergency procedures; lowering lifeboats and trying to maintain order, everyone shouting amid the extreme chaos. "Get that man!",..."You there, grab that line!",... "Take my child!",... and many other exclaimations were heard through the raging wind as we got near. By this time many of us rushed out to the crashing waves, barely making it past the breakwater before floundering back. The dolphins also saw the calamity, and rushed both to our aid as well as the ones aboard ship. "Come here, boy!...", I slapped the water, and the big grey leader of the pod rushed to my aid. They took many of us out to the ship on thier dorsal fins, providing both boyancy as well as propulsion; and as we drew near they bounded around gathering the passengers that didn't make it to the lifeboats. "Ahoy out there!", I said as we neared the lifeboats. "Throw me your lines! We're here to rescue you!..." "Who are you?!", a handler shouted. "Do you need rescuing?" "No!... Just throw your rope over and we will tow you ashore!...", I yelled back, and that was when the people on the lifeboat saw me, as well as the fin of the dolphin holding me afloat. "A SHARK!", a lady cried. "This dolphin will pull you to shore!", I called as water rushed over me. "He will not hurt you!... Tie a loop in the end and toss it to me!" "Who are you?!...", the handler asked again. "What strange game IS this?!" "Look!... Do you want to be rescued or not!...", I sputtered again. "Just do it, and I will explain everything once everyone is safe!" "Guess I got no choice!", he yelled, then hailed all the lifeboats in the general vacinity. "Ahoy!... Let these folks help us!...Give them every Co-operation!..." The rest that went out called out to the handlers to throw us the bow lines; and from there we had the dolphins tow the boats ashore. We had the hardest time with many of them because most people think dolphins are dumb animals, and unpredictable. The people being rescued were like that, much to the mistrust of the handlers as well as the passengers inside. What was more unnerving was the Veloceraptors and other swimming saurians rescuing them; which was a thing they simply could not come to grips with yet, but they were too dazed by thier ordeal to comprehend this just yet! The rescue lasted for hours, and the late afternoon quickly turned onto night. I, along with everyone rescuing the passengers and crew, became extremely waterlogged at the countless trips into and out of the water. It was quite a suprise for these newcomers when they saw all the dinosaurs helping them out on shore, and many questions were asked; however, most of those rescued demanded they be told before any further help was accepted, and many showed fear as they cringed! Near the end of the rescue, we took a lifeboat to the ship, which was named the 'Millennium Queen', with one of the ships' crew that had just barely accepted the situation, and went into thier stores to bring extra blankets and other emergency comforts like food and such; then we began doling this stuff out to them, making them more comfortable for the chilly night ahead. Nightfall soon gave way to morning, and finally all of the passengers and crew was accounted for; huddled together and scared on the beach, surrounded by many strange creatures. We thanked the dolphins and requested they help us catch more fish for our unexpected guests; and thier performance in that task was a bit slower for thier strenuous work in the rescue. I figured that, since this was not our territory and there were so many refugies on the beach; we just had to go get help. I began writing a letter to whomever would help us with this situation. To bring as many carts as would hold more than a thousand people. I wrote that speed was of the essence because our supplies would not last long if we were to feed all these people. I drew a crude map of Crackshell point and an 'X' where I thought we were; then I rolled it up and went over to the center of the group. It was at this time that the captain and many of the officers and crew huddled together and planned what they were going to ask us. I saw this and got up in front of this group of some fifteen hundred people. "Ladies and gentilemen! may I have your attention?", I began. "I know that you had just been through a harrowing experience, and have about a thousand questions to ask..." "You bet we do!", the captain shouted. "I am captain Applebee, of the Brittish Singapore line. I demand to know where we are; and...", I cut him off. "Captain, all questions will be answered in due time...", I said, holding up a hand. "First off, you are on an island called Dinotopia. It is an island that isn't on any charts, and is cut off from the rest of the world...", I smiled. "And yes, folks! There ARE dinosaurs here!" I looked up as Thundertail and Rex moved in on either side of me, and the crowd of survivors gasped. "Now, most of the dinosaurs are friendly and helpful; and that includes everyone here.", I patted Rex's snout. "We will send for help soon so each of you will be taken care of, but you're welcome to our hospitality until then." "Where will you take us?", one lady shouted. "Is there a phone anywhere around?", a younger man asked. "I need to be in Brisbane in TWO days!", another man shouted. Pretty soon the questions and comments flew from thier lips. The least not being what would become of the twenty eight casualties, now lined up on the beach a ways off. Finally the shouting became too intense for me to quell them; so Thundertail stood and bellowed, and this quieted them in a matter of seconds! "Thank you, my king!", I told him, then addressed the crowd. "Now, all of your questions will be answered in due time.", I continued. "Now, the first question asked was where you will be taken. For you to be able to live here, you must be processed into our society. The place it is done is Waterfall City, a place of learning and culture. There you will learn our ways and traditions, and begin your lives as true Dinotopians..." "You mean we are to LIVE here?!", a man asked, incredulous. "I can't stay! I have a meeting in TWO days!" "I'm sorry to break it to you all,", I began. "But all of you are stuck here. There is no way off the island, and I suggest you face the fact that you will be here for the rest of your lives." With this bit of news, not one survivor shouted out loud, nor just a few! Everyone began speaking all at once, conferring with each other as to what they just heard. I knew it was a tough thing to grasp right away, so I stopped Thundertail from roaring for a few moments until everyone quieted themselves of thier own accord. Finally, an older woman stood shrouded in a blanket and spoke. "Excuse me, sir; but just who are you?", she asked haughtilly. "My name is Stinger, mayor of the Rainy Basin, located at the center of this island.", I told her, then noticed this would not suffice her. "Almost five years ago, I was on a refueling mission for the United States Air Force in the Medeterranean sea. My jet crashed here, and I have been here ever since.", I cleared my throat. "My real name is colonel Charles Decker." "Is there any way to call the Coast Guard or something?", another person asked just then. "This island is a little cut off from the rest of the world, like I said.", I told them all. "We are not too big on modern technology, and there will be no coast guard to rescue you. There are no cars, no factories, no airplanes, no telephones or any other modern convenience.", I looked at Talon. "But we get along with the things at hand.", I walked toward the Pterosaur. I took the scroll I had written, which also had a map of our location; and placed it in a satchel and slung it around her neck. "Talon, will you fly to the nearest town and go get help?", she cawed affirmative, then took off into the sky. Many in the crowd gasped in awe as Talon took off, skimming just above thier heads and rising up to disappear over the bluffs. Many of our group looked up too; and that was when the castaways saw the full contingent of dinosaurs in thier midst. This unnerved some of them, but some of the children in the group curiousely approached some of the smaller saurians of our group; and gradually began getting to know them. Most of thier parents tried to usher them away while some of the other adults looked like they had a mind to do what the children were doing. We had rescued many of thier pets they had brought along, and four dogs and a cat were among the survivors. These pets sat by thier masters and thier families, awaiting thier fates like all the rest. Before one portly lady let her daughter get near Leeter, she looked up and spoke. "Say, are these dinosaurs tame?", she asked. "By no means are they tame in the sense you mean.", I told them. "These are intellegent creatures; and just as smart as you or I. They have established here a civilization all on thier own, and only a few thousand years ago did mankind come here. They can read, write and speak; and some of them even know English. Let's just say they're... agreeable!" "You mean they are smart like us?", a man asked. "Some of them are even wiser than we are!", I said. "They have done away with wars, predjudice and racial strife. You think our hatred of humans of different ethnic backgrounds is bad! They had to get over the differences in thier species!", I turned to Thundertail. "They even had to get over the differences in diets! These are meat eaters; and they had to learn to get along with the herbivores.", I turned to Sauron. "If these creatures can live together being so different, how silly it sounds for different humans to hate each other!" "So they are morally better off then we.", stated a man with a white collar, obviousely the ships' chaplain. "They are honest and straightforward and noble to a fault!", I said. "However, there seems to be no religeon here per say. They figure that, since everyone is good to each other anyway; what's the purpose of believing anything else?", then to not offend. "But I'm sure they embrace all belief systems! I know a place in the mountains that follow the Hindu beliefs." Just then Rex scooted up next to me and rumbled a sentance. "What's wrong?", I asked, and he repeated himself. "Ok, boy! Sure!... Run along!", I looked back at the crowd and explained: "Little dinosaur's room!", I chuckled, and so did many of the others! "Ahem! Now, where were we?", I shuffled. "Ok, so Talon's off getting help. You will be transported to the nearest town when she brings it, and from there you will probably go to Waterfall City. In the mean time, is there anything you might need? I'm sure all of your posessions are still on the ship, and we can go get some of it if you wish. Captain Applebee, I will need a manifesto of your ship's cargo, and a crew and passenger list to compare with. Perhaps your purser and other crew members can help to get some more supplies from the ship." I turned to the rest. "There are twenty eight casualties down the beach, and they must be buried. Perhaps your chaplain can say words for them?...", I searched for more things that can be done. "Other than that, we will take care of you until more help arrives. We will feed you lunch now; and you all may browse and get used to our group if you wish.", I smiled. "I bid you all good wishes; and I welcome you all to Dinotopia!", I walked away. Most of the day was spent at the beach, taking care of the new castaways and answering thier many questions. Many of the clan who could speak English went around helping out the groups that these new humans had formed themselves into; doling out food, providing necesities like blankets and escort service to the commode area we set up behind a patch of scrub and answering whatever questions they asked as best they could. Soon the next batch of fish came spiling out onto the sand, and many of the dinosaurs spitted them and placed them at the many campfires the survivors had used during the night. After lunch these people began stirring, pacing about at random, looking around to get thier bearings and starting up conversations with the human members of our group as the dogs began sniffing around, raising hackles whenever they encountered one of the saurians - thier acclimation to Dinotopia would be just as trying as it would be for thier masters, it would seem! . Rex had returned quite a while ago, and took to standing with his father and other Tyranosaurs. Ursula and Selma went around, making sure none of them were injured, and treating these reluctant patients if they were. With Ursula's calming tones and Selma's kind eyes, many were treated of this or that minor cut or abrasion. Nearly all of them had swallowed water during the rescue, and coughing and spitting became a common symptom. When the pair of dinosaurs first encountered the ship's surgeon among the crowd, administering his own brand of medicine to the patients near him; both dinosaurs went off on a tangent with him! The surgeon could not make out some of the jabber, but he gathered from the tone that they were doctors like him; and began to discuss the differences and similarities of each others' medical practices as all three checked over the survivors. I smiled when I saw them getting along so well! I looked over this crowd that spanned the beach and wondered what thier fate would be. I knew that I had a hard time adjusting at first, and I supposed that, for them, it would be no different. What worried me the most was how the Dinotopian people would deal with not one but FIFTEEN HUNDRED newcomers! How would they adjust and train so many people? Where would they stay? Would they even adjust at all? What new ideas and ways would they introduce? If need be, I was sure that king Thundertail would take some of them into the clan; but this place was not in our territory, and we had no real say in where they would go. I guess it would be up to the high council in Waterfall City to decide thier fate. However, as I looked around at all of them, I saw that some of them were in the beginnings of coming to grips with this involuntary situation they found themselves in. Captain Applebee was directing his men to perpare some of the lifeboats for the trip back to the Millennium Queen for supplies; doing it like it was just a routine voyage. Some of the castaway children were playing tag with some of the Veloceraptor guards; and harold and Mildred were entertaining some of them by showing some of the tykes how to juggle. A group of men were standing by Thundertail, Rex and Grond; and one of them was so close to Grond that it looked like it was making him nervous! "Hello...", the man said nervousely. "Do you know English?" "Yessss...", Grond rumbled, and the man cringed slightly. "May I touch you?", he asked, gingerly raising a hand. "Yesss...", Grond lowered his muzzle, completing the touch. At the touch, the man instantly lost his fear and smiled. "This is just wonderful!... I never dreamed I'd be this close to one of your kind!..." "Thaaank...youuuu... humannn...", Grond rumbled. The phrase came out nearly as one sylable, his best effort yet! "You're welcome!", the human turned to his friends. "Come on! He won't bite, I think..." "Get away from him!", one balked. "You understood him?", the other said. "Well, well!", I said as I walked by. "I see you're making friends!" "Say mister, he won't bite, right?", the one furthest away asked. "He wants to know if you'll bite them.", I said in Tyranosaur. "Nnnooo...", Grond rumbled in human. "Yeah, carnivores are very affectionate.", I said for conversation, then patted Grond's cheek. "Right, boy?" "Yessss....", and with that licked the man at his muzzle to his knees! "I guess so!", that man chuckled as he got up, wiping sand from his trousers. With that I left them to thier own business, confident that those three would get used to this place sooner or later. It was at this time that we all heard a screeching coming from the sky, and all of our heads turned to see three lone flyers swooping out over the bluff. All the survivors gasped at the majesty of thier flight, and our group let out gasps of our own. The much smaller one was Talon, and she landed with a thud beside our carts. The two Skybax circled the area and landed in a clear spot between us and the castaways. Thier riders dismounted and approached us with a purpose, and the taller male with flowing jet black hair saluted before addressing me. "Rider Marcos from Chipcharool reporting.", he said crisply. "Your Pteranodon gave us the news, and nobody believed it! I see that all passengers are safe and accounted for..." "Yes, we rescued them.", I told them. "We were on holiday of sorts in these parts,... and I guess it was cut a little short!" "We have assembled twenty Brach-driven carts to converge here.", Marcos said. "They should be arriving shortly." "It was not believed there was so many survivors.", the other, shorter Rider with cinamon hair said. "If more transportation is needed, Azonthas has dispatched ten Triceratops carts, and they will be here by noonmeal tomorrow." "That will be fine, I guess.", I said. "But please go easy on them! It's thier first day here!" "We know.", Marcos told us. "Did you tell them about Dinotopia?" "Just a few of the basic things. You know: the name of the island, dinosaurs and humans living as one, things like that." "That is well.", Marcos said. "They should prepare to leave." "Yes! Right away, sir.", I said. "But first we have to rescue thier personal effects. They are still on the ship." "Very well.", Marcos said. "I will accompany you..." Marcos, several Veloceraptors, the captain and many of his crew including his purser went to three of the lifeboats, and I joined them after locating and asking the dolphins if they would tow us back to the boat. Marcos's teammate took off and directed us from the air as we cast off. Many of the lifeboat draglines were still over the side of the Millennium Queen, and we climbed them to end up on the lower promenade deck on the starboard side; and the other Skybax swooped over and deposited Marcos's friend on the upper deck above us. We regrouped at his position and surveyed our options. The ship had stopped its' rocking over night as the hull settled in the sediment, and now she sat at a ten degree angle, port side leaning out to sea. We discussed the more important things to retrieve besides the passengers' belongings, and decided the passenger and crew rosters were the most important. The next thing to get would be the cargo manifests and ship supply rosters, for food and supplies would help the survivors survive. These documents were located in the ship's safe and the purser's office respectively, and we split up as they were in different locations of the ship. A group was also sent to begin gathering the supplies and the passengers' effects. I went with the captain and two of his men to get the cargo manifesto from the ship's safe, Marcos went with the purser and two Veloceraptors to his office for the passenger and crew lists and the rest of our group went to gather the rest of the things. "The bridge is up here...", captain Applebee was saying as he led our group up through ladderways and metal passages leading to an upper fantail. "Ever been on the bridge before?" "Only on an aircraft carrier.", I said absently as he unlocked the side door and slid his security card through the mechanism beside it. "Well, here it is!", he said as we entered the wide but not too deep space. Controls lined all the walls, and the forward windows gave a commanding view of the foredeck; and the ship's wheel on this vessel was a series of joysticks. "Remember, don't touch anything...", he went aft to a set of bulkhead doors, which opened into a set of offices. "Say captain, you performd the usual emergency procedures before you ran aground...", I said absently as many of us followed him inside. "You bet we did!", he said, unlocking another room. "Maydays were sent, and the coast guard should be forming a rescue mission. The G.P.S. will automatically lead them to the right spot; and we should be rescued in no time!" "G.P.S.?", I was suprised that a vessel this old had one of those! "You don't say...", this was bad! If anyone from the outside world were to find out about Dinotopia, this whole civilization could be riuned! I had to find that device and disable it at all costs! "Say, after we get that manifest, care to show me around the bridge? It's been almost five years since I seen one, and I'd like to see if any changes have occurred..." "Seeing as how you rescued us,", captain Applebee said. "I don't see why not!" I snuck a peek into his office, which was just like any other office in the civilized world; and I went over to it and studied the things on his desk. Besides the usual acoutriments of a desk, like the blotter and pen holder with many various pictures of family and loved ones; but the one thing that drew my attention was the desk calendar. It said the year was 2001, and it was March! It was October sixteenth, 2004 the morning of the refueling mission; and since I had been here almost five years already, it just had to be 2008 by now! If it was truely 2001 and not 2008, then my theory about the nature of Dinotopia was radically changed! I had talked with many of the shipwrecked persons over the years, as well as thier descendants; and was building a theory that Dinotopia travels from place to place, as stories they told said they met the storm that brought them here in different areas of the globe. I had heard that some was from Bermuda, the Indian Ocean, off Japan, the center of the Atlantic - and my storm happened in the middle of the Medeterranean sea! But now this new evidence suggested that the island traveled in TIME as well! "So, it's 2001 now...", I said for conversation. "March eleventh, to be exact...", captain Applebee came out with a whole armload of paperwork. "You were marooned here too, right?" "Yeah, almost five years ago.", I said as I found an expanding valise by his desk. "Ninty-six was a wild year!", he replied, thinking that's when I got here. "Hand that over.", I did. He filled the valise as I considered the implication of my discovery, and planned ways to disable that G.P.S.. As he finished his task, he slung the strap around his shoulder and considered his next words. "I also had the full schematics of the ship. Maybe that could be useful one day. Also, I had the title of record and nautical regestration. Maybe it could be used for legal issues." "I suppose anything like that would be helpful.", I pulled out the four inch thick volume, and took a look. "The Millennium Queen was built in 1968, huh?" "Yeah, she's an old ship.", captain Applebee said. "She's only got a few cruises left in her." "From what I see, this was her last one!", I laughed, hiding my perplexedness. I knew something of the history of ships, and read somewhere that the Millennium Queen was mothballed and broken up for parts in late 2002! "I don't think she'll sail again without a drydock and a year of repairs. That Razor Reef out there must have ripped open the keel like a tin can!" "Yeah, I guess you're right...", he sighed. "Say, you said you wanted to see the bridge? My pride and joy!... At least until it lasts!" "Sure! Let's go.", I said and followed him out of his office. Captain Applebee turned and went back into his office, folded up all the pictures on his desk and placed them into the valise; and once done, started his tour. "This is helm control,... over there is navigation,... this station is communication, and right next to it is emergency operations." As he turned I looked at the console in question. There was an array of controls and indicators with warning lights for fire and other emergencies in red, presently off. There was a yellowish panel beside these indicators with a yellow flashing light. On this panel was a company logo and the words Global Positioner under it. That was the G.P.S. controls! I placed Klamath's gauntletted hand onto the panel and had him emit a powerful electromagnetic burst into the machine. The G.P.S. emitted a whispering fizzle, and a whisp of smoke curled up before the yellow flashing indicator dimmed and went out. I shielded the captain from the smoke as he continued his tour. "...And this is where I steer!", he concluded. "Get all that?" "Every word!", I lied. "Say, you think we should be getting back to the others? They got to be done by now!" "You're right!", he said as he left the bridge first. "I got to go to my quarters and get my things, too!" The trip to captain Applebee's quarters was a short jaunt down a passageway one level below the bridge. He took and packed a small suitcase of clothes and his shaving kit, and we met some of the rest of the group on the promenade deck where we boarded the ship. Many were there unloading hand dollys and bellhop's carts containing luggage, boxes of canned and nonperishable foods as well as other things; dropping them over the side to be caught by Ripper in one lifeboat and Snapper in the other. The third boat was on its' way back to shore with its' load of supplies and luggage, the purser at the helm with one of the dolphins towing. We all pitched in to finish filling the other two before they cast off as well; then we waited for thier return as several of our group left to get more things. Two more trips for all three lifeboats and it was decided we had gotten enough for all 1500 people, and took the last lifeboat to shore ourselves. The people on shore were busy sorting out the luggage that was thiers as some of our clan and many of the crew were doling out the food and being shown the technology of canned food. As all this activity began to subside somewhat, a score of saurian necks were seen coming around the knoll of shore rock to the west. They all bellowed as one, gaining our attention; and causing alarm among the castaways, whom never saw creatures so big! Each Brach was pulling a cart big enough to carry at least a hundred humans and thier gear; and as these bohemoth carts pulled to a stop near the cliffs beside all of us, thier drivers and handlers climbed down and surveyed the situation before approaching us. "Breathe deep, friends!", I greeted as I stepped up to the lead Brach and her crew. "We thank you for this assistence you bring!" "Such a large group!", the driver said, an oriental female with a ponytail down the left side of her head. "I don't think this caravan can hold them all." "Fear not, transporter Haydra!", Marcos stepped up and said. "The city of Azonthas is sending a Triceratops caravan shortly." "That is well.", she considered. "It would be prudent to begin loading these people before nightfall approaches." "Indeed.", I said. "Before we do all that,", the purser stepped up and said. "We have saved all the passengers and crew we could; but we need to see if everyone is present and accounted for." "We have buried the dead up the beach a way.", the chaplain said, pointing as he entered the group. "Here are all thier I.D.'s.", he handed them to the purser. "Perhaps you could reference them to the roster." "I'll do that, padre'.", the purser said, then turned to the survivors. "Ok, listen up, people!", he shouted. "When I call your names off, let me know you're here!..." The purser began calling off names, checking them off against his roster. Within an hour and a half, he was done; and hoarse with the effort, noticed that all on his list except the dead and a couple that wasn't accounted for were there. Of the one thousand, one hundred and eighteen passengers and four hundred and ten crew members, eleven hundred passengers and four hundred crew members survived. These missing persons were either lost at sea, didn't show up for the cruise, got dropped off at thier last port of call or were still aboard the ship somewhere - or so he surmised. As all this was going on, all the effects of the passengers and crew were loaded onto the first two Brach carts; and the people began climbing into the backs of the other carts. By dusk all the carts were loaded as full as comfortably possible, but there were still many dozens of people left; so the bulk of the crew were told to stay behind and wait for the second caravan. The clan began to clean up the beach of any debris that was left by all the people, and some of the ship's crew pitched in as well. We removed stray garbagage, put out and buried all the campfires except a few to cook from, pulled the lifeboats far from the high tide line so they would not drift away and many other chores. Our little vacation was shot anyway, so what else was there to do?! While helping Mayday and the humans in the clan pack up our own carts, I had an idea that Thundertail might want me to do; so I located him dragging a lifeboat and asked him. "My king, do you think it would be wise for one of us to go with these refugees and tell the council what happened?", I told him. "Maybe they would like to know what went on." "A sound idea...", Thundertail considered. "But who do you propose would go?" "I would consider it an honor to go myself.", I said, then smiled. "Besides, you said it yourself once: that I have a way of getting what is due us!" "Too true!...", Thundertail chuckled. "You may go, but should you go representing us alone? I could send a squad of guards with you..." "The Veloceraptors would need food, and we can not eat any meat besides fish outside the Rainy Basin.”, I told him. “With me, I can eat plants and such, and this would not offend anyone. It’s best if I go alone.” “Very well, Stinger.”, Thundertail said, grasping me. “Have a safe journey, and return home with all due speed...”, I hugged back. I said my good byes to my clan as they worked, telling them where I was going; and Rex was the most despondant at the news. He followed me around, helping me in any small task I did on the beach until thick bellowing came from down the beach many hours later. The carts the Triceratopses pulled were much smaller than the ones the Brachs pulled, but they were no less impressive to the remaining crew. I greeted thier leader, an old male by the name of Gort and his handler, Vince; who was so massive he looked like a Sumo wrestler! We quickly told them the situation, and then began loading the remainder of the supplies onto several of the ten carts. The crew of the Millennium Queen took one long look at thier vessel that foundered hundreds of yards out to sea and sighed. For many of them, this would be the last time they would see it; and all of them had the look of regret of a life once so meaningful to them, now lost to them forever. They reluctantly boarded the remaining carts, and I hopped up into the lead cart with Vince; captain Applebee and many of his officers in back with him, and word was given to the pullers to start off. My clan roared and waved at us as they watched the carts trundle down the beach, around the knoll of rock at the end and out of sight... _
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Post by thundertail on Mar 25, 2012 10:48:25 GMT -5
_ FORTY-FOUR: "The Survivors..." As I traveled with the remaining survivors of the Millennium Queen along the road that would eventually lead us to Waterfall City, I studied the manuels and specifications of the vessel; I had to do something during this long, bumpy trip! Captain Applebee and his purser, chief engineer and ship surgeon would give certain facts as I read and had a question, and the chaplain had decided to join us too. The purser's name was Weems, a bookish fellow with the tendancy to anger; and chief engineer Waters looked like he could wrestle the ships' engines in all by himself, yet he was nearly as mild as a lamb. The chaplain was named father Marvin Fish, and he described some of the heartache the passengers and crew had told him; not a mealy mouth was he, that chaplain! I actually wanted to talk with Vince, the cart handler; but he wasted no words save for those pertaining to his mission, and would not make with any smalltalk - and neither was his puller, Gort! That was all well and good anyway - I really wanted to see about the ship, and find any new technology put there since I myself was marooned. That G.P.S. system was surely a suprise; for as far as I knew, only the Armed Forces had that in thier equipment, and they have been there since the mid-eighties. I never knew commercial liners would so equip thier fleets, but you never knew! The ship was six hundred and twelve feet long, one hundred and eight feet wide and one hundred and thirty one feet from keel to bridge. It had a gross tonnage of 1,039,020, and had a top speed of 11.96 knots. It's maximum cargo capacity without passengers was 60% of it's gross weight; and had a maximum passenger capacity of one thousand one hundred and seventy nine. Its' full crew roster was four hundred and thirty four; but somehow they could make due with less, I guessed. The purser showed me his passenger list, and the population of the ship; and he had regestered one thousand one hundred and eighteen paying guests. The crew checked in as being only four hundred and ten hands, including captain and command staff; but then I took a look at the list of survivors and gasped! Of the 1118 passengers, only 1100 survived - eighteen dead; and of the crew of 410, there were only 400 - ten dead. "So, Stinger, is it?", captain Applebee said, bringing me out of my studies. "What do you suppose will happen to the Millennium Queen? It's going to get wrecked being stuck out there." "Well, I really don't know for sure.", I told him. "I suppose the things inside would be taken out and distributed throughout the island. I don't know about the machinery inside. Perhaps that stuff would be used as well." "It's too bad...", he looked at a cart that just paced ours. "Seems strange that this place exists at all, let alone being marooned here." "What about us?", father Fish asked. "We are a group of lost souls in an undiscovered country." "I suppose you would be asked to try and fit in as best as possible here.", I told him. "It's only natural to feel out of place here, but everyone on Dinotopia is kind and wise; and they will teach you everything you need to know to live here. There's no need to feel afraid or out of place here, for you are among friends!" "Can I use that in a speech sometime?", he asked. "Any time, father!", I chuckled. "Are you sure you're not Catholic?", he joked. "I can arrange it, if you want to be!" "Aw, stop pesterin' him, padre'!", engineer Waters said. "It's enough he saved our skins!" "Actually, it wasn't intentional.", I said. "See, we were on vacation of sorts; and we stopped there to swim in the ocean for the day. All of a sudden there was your ship, sitting in our laps! We saw what was happening, and just had to do something..." "And you all should be commended!" father Fish told me, then turned to scowl at the engineer. "Lonely at the top...", captain Applebee sighed, tired of thier banter. "So how are you holding out?", I asked him. "This is all so new! I feel so tired at all this to-do that I want to sleep...", he thought. "But if I sleep, I'd miss something!" "Well, you might need the rest.", I told him. "You been up since your ship ran aground. You look awful!", I looked behind him a second. "Why don't you grab some shuteye in the hay back there..." He nodded and went back there, and all too soon I was left with my thoughts for the rest of the trip. We reached the seaport of Osteo, and found out we had missed the main convoy by twelve hours. We resupplied and continued on our way; and since a Triceratops's gait is a little swifter than a Brach's slower pace, we only missed them by eight hours by the time we reached Abalonia. Further and further down the Crachshell coast we traveled, finding we missed the convoy by six hours as we entered Alidade. We traversed the eastern part of the Northern Plains, on our way to Skirlton to catch the road that led directly to Volcaneum; and the tail end of the Brach convoy was seen in the distance well before we reached Skirlton. The ten Triceratops drawn carts slowly got in line behind the twenty Brachs; and they bellowed thier greetings to thier larger kin; and the Brachs bellowed back as they turned thier great necks. At a rest stop we exchanged greetings proper and doled out supplies to feed all the people and thier much larger livery; and then we set up our third camp of the trip. The next morning we stripped down the camp and all the castaways were led back to the wagons. We set out westward once more, and the carts began thier trek across the vast, swampy grassland that was perfect for growing rice; heading out in an almost flanking formation, the carts taking a stance five wide in places. The scene was so majestic looking that many of the passengers watched from thier varied carts with glee; and the excitement was so great for them that many got down to bound beside these huge prehistoric creatures. Soon I saw two of the dogs rescued with the castaways, on the ground bounding in and among the dinosaurs' legs, flanking these huge creatures and basically barking up a storm in thier excitement! There was a black Labrador Retriever bounding around a Brach cart, puller pausing his pace so she wouldn't tread on this tiny, annoying creature; and the other one, a black and white Border Collie, yapped incessently as he tried in vain to herd two of the Triceratops carts. The Trikes were more irratable than most dinosaurs; so I whistled and called for the collie many times, getting off my cart to beckon him over better. Soon the dog saw me and zigzagged over to caper lowly at my hands. "There, boy!", I called melodically. "What you doing?... You being silly?..." As the Collie skittered at my feet, I rose and led him to my receeding cart. "Want to go for a RIDE?", I almost sang, and he bounded behind the cart and leapt the full five feet to the bed. I hopped on and he followed me up to the drivers' seat. "Come on... up here!... There you go, boy!... Now you're riding in STYLE!...", I patted him as he sat on the seat, and he began lapping at my face. "What's your name, boy?", I asked as I fished under the red plaid bandanna around his neck, drawing out his dogtag. "Bounder, hey?... Is your name Bounder?", Bounder barked once and redoubled his licking! "You such a good boy!...", I hugged back. "What animal is that?", Vince asked. "It annoys Gort." "He's just a dog!", I said. "His name is Bounder. He must belong to one of the castaways...", Bounder squirmed. "He does act a bit skittish. Maybe it's all this excitement..." "There is nothing exciting about this trip.", Vince told me. "I must deliver these people to Waterfall City, and that is it!" "Ok,... to each thier own...", I said and turned my attention to the dog. "You see all that?", I asked as I saw him looking out into the plain ahead, panting gleefully like he had his head out the window of a car! Before too long, the passengers tired of the game of tagging beside the carts; and they all climbed aboard thier rides for the rest of the trip. The black lab was corralled by his owner, and was now safely riding one of the Brach carts, Bounder had fallen asleep due to my absent petting and cooing, and twitched in dog dreams. A while later I hard a female voice calling for something, and soon I heard her calling Bounder's name! "BOUNDER!... Where are you?...", she called from the Brach cart in front of us. "Here, boy!...", Bounder cocked an ear, but remained asleep. "Uh,... Miss!", I called out. "Your dog's with me..." "I thought I lost him!", she called back. "Can you get him over here?..." "I'll see...", I called, then asked Gort in saurian: "Noble one, will you please move along side the cart before you? I must return this creature..." "I can not break up the formation, human.", Gort rumbled. "The creature is not bothering me now!..." "Very well, noble one...", I told him, then called. "I will get him back to you at our next rest stop!... If that is OK by you..." "Ok, I guess...", she called back. "See you then!..." As the convoy progressed through the rice growing region of Dinotopia, the foliage thickened so the carts could no longer go abreast of each other; and from there on they had to go single file. We wove our way through the paths that skirted mangrove swamps and other, smaller rice farms; and eventually made it to the town of Skirlton. There we disembarked, stretched our legs and mingled some more, both with ourselves as well as the citizens of this town; which dealt mainly with the collection and transport of the rice grown all through the region. I finally located Bounder's master, and he lived up to his name reaching her as I just shuffled over to this extremely beautiful woman as if in a daze! "There you are, you Bounder!", she bent to accept his affection. "Getting into trouble, I see!" "Oh, he was no trouble at all!", I blurted. "A pure joy!" "Say! You're that fella on the beach, right?", she said. "Oh, yeah! Right!", I said. "That was me!... My name is Stinger.", I produced my gauntletted hand. "Pleased to know you.", she took it. "I am Marinda Grant." "Same here!", I said, ending the shake. "You have a wonderful dog here. It's been a long time since I saw one - and now there's four of them, I'm told!" "Yeah, Bounder's tops! I had him since he was a pup!", Marinda said. "I had a Border Collie when I was a kid.", I blurted again. "Lucy looked just like him, only she had one brown eye and one blue one!", both of Bounder's eyes were blue. "Strange. Bounder's mom was like that...", Marinda told me, brushing back her rather long light brown hair. "Uh, anyway, why did you come with us?" "I wanted to tell the council at waterfall City just what happened.", I told her. "I also wanted to tell them we had a hand in your rescue." "Yeah? I was on that cruise because I won it.", Marinda said. "I'm in the secretarial pool at my job in an accounting firm, and I was voted secretary of the year." "Congratulations!", I said. "But it looks like you won more than a mere cruise, huh?" "I know!", she was suddenly serious. "Any idea what's in store for me?" "Nothing bad, really...", I told her. "You'll probably have to learn how to live here; but everyone on Dinotopia will help you out adjusting here. It's really simple, actually.", I said. "You eat the food, you help grow it. That simple. If you like doing other things, that has a value too. There is no money, no taxes and nothing is really bought. You can take what you need, but you must also give what you can. Homes are provided free of charge, paid back by work; and if one can't work, it's not held against the person. Life here is really easy, as you'll soon find out!" "What a strange place this is!", Marinda said after considering. "And what of greed? Crimes?" "I remember in the outside world, 99% of people are greedy, and want nothing more than money.", I said. "Here the percentage is reversed. You will find it hard to find one greedy person here!", I looked around. "And of crime, that's also all but zero. Nobody cheats anyone, nobody steals as stealing and taking is all one thing that's returned by giving, politics are run fairly and with the good of the people in mind, nobody gambles, drinks or smokes - well there are a few of those!... Anyway, this society is the most noble and honorable one in existence!" "You don't say!", she replied. Neither of us noticed, but when I looked down, I saw her hand over mine. Just then word was given for everyone to climb back aboard thier carts; and it was then that she noticed her hand. She guiltilly pulled it away and went to get on her Bracheosaur driven cart. I shrugged and got aboard my cart, and within a few moments the whole convoy began trundling out of Skirlton. Three stops later we made it to the shores of Deep Lake; and during those stops I had located and made acquaintences with the owners of the other animals rescued from the ship. the owner of the black Lab was a guy named Fred Windom, from Tulsa, Oklahoma; and his dogs' name was Chip. He was on a cruise around the pacific with his girlfriend, Mary Hatcheson; but unfortunately, she was one of the casualties of the shipwreck. Now he found himself in the most unusual situation in his young life! He remembered me because he was the one who asked on the beach if we had a phone. The owner of the little Chihuahua named Pacco was this little girl from Tampa, Florida and her mom and dad. The father named Harold McCue was a CEO of a computer firm, and his wife Adelade was a homemaker and active in many community projects back home in Burbank, California; and little Melissa of nine couldn't understand what was happening to them! All the while she quietly cried into pacco's fur. Frank bishop owned the female Husky named Sasha, and thought this was a far cry from his home in Bamph, Canada! There was one cat that got rescued, and her longish blackish grey fur hackled at the approach of any Dinosaur or human! The older lady named Francene Fontaine from Poughkeepsie, New York just held the poor animal named Jo-jo close to her so she wouldn't run away. It was the strangest experience she had ever had, she said when describing her shipwreck ordeal to me! later on I found out that these people would try to keep in touch in the years to come; and I told them it was a good idea because animals like cats and dogs were all but nonexistent on Dinotopia. The miles west went by in thier own slow continuity, and several towns passed under our wheels. Deep Lake passed us on our left, and the town of Fireside took its' place many days later. After that the convoy bagan its' slow arc to the south as the edge of the Backbone Mountains receeded enough for them to do so. We made our way through Redwick, and then through Mollusk Town a day later. Many wanted to know why the town was named that way when there was no ocean anywhere near it; and frankly, I had no answer! At last we made it to Bonabba, and the vast farmland that grew most of the islands' wheat and other grain crops. There to meet us was matriarch Rosemary and the whole community to greet and assist us; and all of them were flabberghasted at the sight of all those people! "Welcome to the earthfarm of Bonabba!", matriarch Rosemary announced as the crowd of newcomers gathered. "We welcome you, and greet you with the highest reguard!" She looked around at all the pullers and handlers, and shouted for them all to gather. "I trust your journey went well, and your charges proved no trouble." "No trouble indeed, my matriarch!", Vince said, bowing slightly. "However, we should refresh ourselves soon and be on our way. these refugees must get to Waterfall City soon." "You're right...", Rosemary said. "I will arrange everything right away...", then she saw me! "My dear Stinger! I have heard you were involved... Please tell me what, exactly, happened." "My matriarch...", I bowed, then began telling her all about the incodent. I started out by describing the trip my clan took to get to Crackshell Point, wishing to visit the sea on vacation. I described the shipwreck, and our near immediate efforts to rescue the survivors; and not leaving out the assistance we received from the pods of dolphins in the area. I told her of the efforts the clan made in providing food and aid to them, and the help the ships' crew served in helping thier charges; traveling to the wreck for the extra supplies needed for thier survival. I told her of the trip to here, and the aid and guidance I gave to many of the newcomers along the way, and concluded on praising the help the caravan of creatures performed getting us here. "You all did well...", Rosemary smiled. "I am proud of clan Thundertail for thier humanitarian efforts in this endeavor!", she looked around again. "But I never dreamed there would be so many!" "Me neither!", I chuckled. "Stinger, I've heard of your new promotion to mayor of the Rainy Basin.", she said. "I give you my full congratulations!" "It was a title change only, I assure you!", I said. "My duties to the clan haven't changed very much..." "And you consider this act not a change!...", she smirked and went to greet the newcomers personally. At length the caravan was reprovisioned and all the passengers boarded thier carts; and we were on our way by mid afternoon. Marinda Grant decided to ride in the cart I took this time around, and pretty soon Bounder was asleep in my lap once again. There was one thing I did not know that I found out a few miles down the road. Rosemary Seville decided to come along with us, and I saw her trotting by on the back of an Overlander! She trotted ahead and took up her position in front of the whole caravan. We traveled down the path along side the Polongo river, and the many towns we passed along the way seemed just like any other, even to our guests. Marinda soon asked about the types of relationships one could be found here; and deducing where she was going with this, I began by telling her about Partnerships, and comparing it with the relationship she had with bounder. She was intrigued that humans and dinosaurs could live so closely and intimately together, and wondered if she would find a Partnership of her own - I assured her that one would be found for her. I then began telling her about the relationships I had been with my time here. I told her about the Partnership I had with Rex, and how I had raised him from a hatchling; and I told her of my Nestmate agreement I had with Whitetail the Veloceraptor, where I helped her take care of her eggs until Ripper and Snapper came of age - all of which are still my good friends. She became curious if I had any relationships with any humans, and this is where I told her about Mayday. I told her that we were mates, an institution founded by the Tyranosaurs and like a marriage to them; just as binding and known not to be put asunder. Even though she was confused at the concept, I assured her that traditional marriages took place here as well; then I went on to describe my son, Hamilton Somala Decker to her, and she was charmed! I said that all forms of wedlock was acceptible here, and it all depended on which community held what traditions. By the time I told her this, Marinda turned to me where I sat and kissed me bold on the lips; and I was sure that if Mayday ever saw that, she'd rip my ear off for sure! I fidjeted for a second and became silent, resolving to look out at the road ahead; and Marinda saw that she offended and went in back of the cart to locate Bounder, barely speaking to me the rest of the trip. I saw that the town of Chimeerney passed by our wheels, along with the outpost of Gundagi; and heard that there would be no other town or outpost from there to Waterfall City save for the ferry berths at Sweetwater Lake just downstream from our destination. The one thing that no one in our convoy ever expected was the enormity of the reception we would receive! At the ferry many thousands of people and saurians lined the road for miles, cheering and roaring thier greetings at us all. Singers sang thier welcome and jugglers juggled thier good wishes, human and saurian arms waved and leaves and flowers were showered in our wake; and as the castaways waved back at our direction, the crowds cheered all the more! At the ferry, the ferry barges could only handle two Brach driven carts or four Triceratops driven ones at a time; so the six barges there had to make several trips across Sweetwater Lake. As if the chaos of greeters weren't enough at the ferry, the castaways found themselves in the midst of even more celebration when they reached the end of thier short, watery trip! Every citizen of Waterfall City was out to greet them, and people of towns all around had gotten there to join in with this grand celebration! It was so because at no time in Dinotopian history were so many shipwrecked people brought ashore all at once!... _
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Post by thundertail on Mar 25, 2012 12:02:50 GMT -5
_ FORTY-FIVE: "The Grand Welcome...!" The throngs of dinosaurs and humans lined the streets of Waterfall City, ten deep in places, as the thirty carts of Dolphinbacks went by; and no one could hear themselves think for all the shouting and cheering going on. The passengers aboard waved and called out, not really knowing what was expected of them; yet clearly enjoying all the attention they were getting! Rosemary Seville rode at the front of this long, paradelike precession, waving and bowing regally atop her Overlander steed. I was in the lead Trike cart, waving and nodding, smiling at the crowd that responded all the more at my gestures; and most of the command crew of the Millennium Queen sat or stood behind me, waving and calling out in kind. On a parapet of the council chambers many miles away, mayor Waldo Seville stood with spyglass to his eye; his servant Minch standing by his side, and both were surveying the scene unfolding all over the city. "Would you look at that!", Waldo said. "There is a sea of them!", he removed the glass to look at Minch. "How are we going to handle all this?" "We will manage, sir.", Minch told him. "We have taken care of outsiders in the past." "But not this many!", Waldo told him with alarm. "Where will we put them up? Who will we get to train them?" "Preparations were undeway since the moment we were notifyed, sir.", Minch said. "All is well." "But now I must go and greet them all...", Waldo groused. "I'm not sure I'm up to it." "Chin up, sir.", Minch grasped his shoulder. "We're all behind you!" Mayor seville handed the spyglass to Minch and exited to finally greet all the survivors of the Millennium Queen as minch sighed and put the device away. Waldo, down in his chambers, donned his robe, cap and mayoral jewelry and prepared himself for perhaps one of the largest and strangest meetings he ever had to attend! The parade of new arrivals had gone on throughout the city, and now it moved along the Grand promenade toward the council chambers. the throngs of people along the way never seemed to diminish, and it looked to me that many of the castaways were growing weary of all this praise. I waved unenthusiastically at the crowd now, and the captain and his crew became more and more subdued. Rosemary on her Overlander never seemed to waver as she led us down the boulavard, and had the whole convoy stop in the large courtyard in front of the Council of Reason. It was a good thing that the saurian guards had prepared enough room to accomodate all of us and the carts; because there seemed to be as many citizens here as all along our route! We all disembarked from the carts as they were all drawn away; and the survivors gathered in a group at mine and Rosemary's direction. The command crew of the Millennium Queen gathered in a smaller group behind us. It wasn't until then did mayor Waldo Seville, flanked with saurian honor guards, came out of the council building and shuffled up before us with purpose. "Welcome one and all!", Waldo announced so all could hear. "My, but there IS a lot of you!", he looked thoughtful a moment. "Um,... Never the less, we are all here to help you adjust to your new lives here on Dinotopia!... You will be processed shortly, and I've heard accomodations have been made for you all. In the mean time, I would like to have a word with your captain and your rescuers a moment..." As soon as we were all close enough and the rest ofthe passengers could not overhear, Waldo scowled at me and said: "Stinger! What have you done THIS time?!" "Nothing! Honest!", I spread my hands in submission and smiled. "We were on vacation, swimming in the sea; and all of a sudden..." "I'm sure he was just joking!...", Rosemary smiled at me. "Waldo, clan Thundertail has done a great service to these people for rescuing them; and I'm sure these people are weary from thier trip, not to mention thier ordeal. Do you think it would be prudent to get them started?..." "Yes, my dear... Of course.", Waldo looked at me. "A fine job, my boy!", then looked at the crew. "Now, I assume you are captain...?" "Applebee, sir.", the captain came up and offered his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I would like to introduce my command crew...", then he recited the names of the officers. "The pleasure's all mine, I'm sure...", Waldo said after shaking each hand. "I welcome each and every one of you to Dinotopia. Now, I'm sure you have a thousand questions to ask, and I assure you they will be answered in time." "Sir, mister Stinger here has given us some information.", captain Applebee told him. "We are still confused on how to get back to civilization..." "But you already ARE, sir!", Waldo said. "Waterfall City is the epitome of civilization known to man and dinosaur! We have all the amenities, and culture never to be matched in the outside world!" "I'm sure you do, sir; but we would really like to be getting back home...", the captain said. "I see,... But I'm sure you must know that there is no way off the island...", Waldo looked at me. "You told them that part, didn't you?" "Oh, of course I did!", I said. "It took me a long time to realise this myself, you know...!" "But nothing is impossible!", father Fish said. "A sound philosophy...", Rosemary said. "Just like the task ahead of getting you all settled into your new lives!" "Yes! And I think it's time for that process to commence!", Waldo told us all. "Now, if you would follow me, we can get the procedures started...", he led the way inside. The council chambers, usually full of all of Dinotopia's diplomats, stood empty save for a small handful of human delegates and the larger saurian ones in the galleries above. The rest of the lower floor space was vacant save for the seating that the castaways would use while there, and still the large space seemed too small for the fifteen hundred humans that would soon occupy the space. The mayor led me and Rosemary Seville, followed by captain Applebee and his command crew, followed by the rest of the crew members; up the center aisle, where many of them were seated up front as Rosemary took her place on the floor by the ship's bow podium on the second level and I took a seat beside her this time. As the bulk of the castaways filed in, being ushered to seats on the chamber floor; so did the delegates both human and saurian in the booths on the second level, chatter coming in through murmured whispers. In twenty minutes' time, everyone that was supposed to be there were seated or reposed as was proper for thier species; and mayor Waldo Seville tapped the gavel on the podium to signal the start of this most unusual meeting. "Distinguished ladies and gentilebeings of the high council of Dinotopia.", he announced. "Indeed a great day has arisen from our fair shores, for not often does people from the outside world grace us with thier presence! And certainly never has people from the outside world has honored us with such great numbers!", this got mild chuckling from the upper galleries. "These fifteen hundred souls washed up a mere fortnight ago, and made a perilous journey across our land to be here today. All of them must be confused and perplexed, and it is our duty to decide just what to do about them!" Mayor waldo Seville Turned to me and continued his speech. "Of course, this miracle would not have happened if the carnivores of the Rainy Basin were not on holiday in the area, facilitating thier rescue with the help of the local dolphin population. I am sure that thier representitive, mayor Stinger, can give a more accurate account of the incident; so why don't you rise and tell us all about it?" I rose and bowed. "Lord mayor, gratious members of this court, friends one and all,", I began. "It all started when I was appointed mayor of the rainy Basin. My king, Thundertail, thought it thusly prudent to make a pilgrimage across this glorious island...", I continued the story, describing the towns and cities we had traveled through; and telling them of the people and such we met up with along the way. I described the area of beach, and all the recreation we had enjoyed; and then I told them of how thier ship suddenly loomed out of the storm, and our quick efforts to help rescue all aboard. I told them of the castaway's confusion and trepidation at the situation they found themselves in, and the efforts we made to help them survive until help could come; on how we sent for help and my own assistence along the way to help these people adjust. When done, I thanked the court for thier time, bowed and sat back down amid applause from the delegates above. "A wonderful tale!", mayor Waldo announced as he finished clapping too. "And I'm sure every one of these wayward souls can confirm this...", he continued, speaking to the castaways. "Now my friends, this is the time for you to officially become true citizens of Dinotopia." Mayor Waldo Seville stood and removed himself from the podium, making his way down to the main floor. Minch had set up a large book, quill stylus and inkwell below, and Waldo came out and stood beside it. He opened the nearly foot thick tome to where the silk bookmark lay and turned to the confused crowd. "This is a ledger of all the lost souls that have found thier way to our shores.", Waldo said as he turned to them. "Survivors of shipwrecks throughout history; and our dear descendants!... I would like for you all to come up, sign your name and become one of us - brothers and sisters, one and all, on this lonely island paradise!", he indicated the crew seated near the front. "Captain Applebee, would you and your crew be the first to start?..." "I'm not sure we want to.", the captain said. "We all have questions, things to consider before we commit to anything..." "Oh, this is just a formality, my dear sir!", Waldo told him. "All things will be explained in due time. Please... Come up and sign, you will not come to harm!" Captain Applebee stood, but did not approach the book just yet. He looked silently at his crew as they considered what they were going to do, asking with his eyes thier decision. Some of them had begun to stand, making thier way out into the center aisle, minds made up to sign the book and join the citizens of Dinotopia. The ones who decided against this action remained seated until, as they saw many of thier peers stand, stood as well. Pretty soon all but a handful of the crew were standing, waiting to sign; and then captain Applebee returned his gaze at the mayor of Waterfall City. "It looks like the majority rules here.", he said and headed the line up to the book of regestry, signed his full name and stood aside for the others in line. "The rest of you, sign this book!", he looked at the half dozen holdouts. "That's my final order!", reluctantly they got up and got in line. "Then all is well... captain Ronald Applebee.", Waldo read, shaking his hand. The delegates in the galleries applauded. Mayor Waldo Seville read off the names as the crew signed the tome, and each received thier own set of cheers. Most of the crew were next: cooks, maids, waiters, handlers, ship commesary workers, trainers, lifeguards and many more hands; and finally there came the bridge crew and engine room crew, and were cheered like all the rest; and then it was the command crew's turn to sign on. All of this took nearly two hours to complete, and Mayor Waldo Seville was beginning to sound a little hoarse reciting all the names! "And a most hearty welcome to... Doctor Miles Christopho!", he announced, and the court clapped. Another signature. "And likewise to Chief Engineer Frank waters!", the same round of applause, and another signature. "We're glad you're here, Father Marvin Fish!... Where are your children?" "It's a religeous title, mister mayor!", I whispered loudly to him. "I see,... Well, you are most welcome here!", he continued the handshake as another signed. "Welcome to Dinotopia,... mister Jack Weems!", he looked at the satchel in the man's hands. "What is that?" "It contains a roster of everyone aboard the Millennium Queen, your honor.", Weems said. "All fifteen hundred of us!" "Is that so?", Waldo said. "Oh sir!", Rosemary said as she rose. "May I borrow that for a while? I wish to match up the passengers and crew to persons who would accomodate them in the city.", she smiled. "It would be a big help, and make that task go a lot smoother!" "Of course you can!", Weems told her. "Anything to help, I guess!... Could I have it back when you're done? I'm responsable for it..." "Certainly, sir!", Rosemary sat with the satchel. "Now then...”, Waldo took over. “The illustrious crew of the Millennium Queen has been greeted, and preparations for them to join our society will soon commence.”, he looked out at the rest. “There will be a short recess, and then we will continue greeting the rest of you.”, he looked to the side where Minch stood, nodding that everything was set. “If you would follow the saurian guards behind you, there is a grand feast prepared for you all in the courtyard of this building!” As mayor Waldo Seville retreated to his chambers, his wife took the satchel to another exit; and set about obtaining accomodations for the sea of people. I slowly rose and made my way beside the command staff of the Millennium Queen. Soon the rest of the crew joined the rest of the passengers as they filed outside, and presently we all followed them into the bright noontime sunshine. Outside was prepared like I had never seen, for twin lines of buffet tables lined both sides of the boulavard nearly as far as the eye could see, and seating around dozens of round tables were set on the sidewalk! On these tables were mounds of food of all types: fruits from all over the island, pastas in hundreds of different dishes, breads of every shape and consistency, bowls of greens and salads of every herb on Dinotopia and pitchers and bowls of every type of juice and tea known. The only things missing were dishes made of meat and anything alchoholic; but the preparers of this feast did an awesome job never the less! The newcomers sampled the fare with trepidation at first, but their hunger soon got the better of them; and as thier bellies became full, thier spirits rose in kind. I sampled some of the fare myself, mingling and talking with this or that passenger and swapping comments of the food with some of the crew. Human and saurian waiters came by, filling this empty dish or returning with this or that empty beverage jug; and seeing if the food was to everyones’ satisfaction. About an hour later Rosemary Seville came into the area to talk with a few of the crew, and they were introduced with thier human or saurian host; of which they would be living with for the duration of thier stay here. Each she talked to had the option of going with thier host now or rejoining the meeting once it commenced, but only a few of them ended going off with thier host. I smiled inwardly at the crew mambers who would be hosted by a saurian, for thiers would be an experience not equaled among them; but I knew that whichever host these people ended up getting, the experience would be no doubt memorable! The castaways soon started becoming anxious as thier conversations drifted from this fine meal and the kindness of thier guests to questions among themselves as to thier fate; and thier cheery chatter turned to that of concern. As Rosemary finished up with this part of her chore - part one of many more such chores for the guests; mayor Waldo Seville emerged once again from the council chambers, and beconed everyone to listen to what he was about to say. The guards with him flanked the way up the steps and inside, motioning them as well to form a line. "Ladies, gentilemen and friends!", waldo announced. "The second part of this get together is about to commence! If you would, please return to the council chambers and we will continue the proceedings.", he turned, and presently the whole throng began following. Within the span of about thirty minutes the courtroom began filling with people, all under the watchful eyes of the human and saurian delegates in the upper galleries. Mayor waldo Seville took his time going from the lower floor up to the figurehead-like podium at the front of the upper gallery, and from there he watched the newcomers retake thier seats; chuckling at the bewilderment still on thier faces. I took my place, but Rosemary was nowhere to be found. I saw Zippeau Stenoychosaurus amble in with paperwork and other things in a satchel around his torso, complete with purposeful gait and bookish spectacles. He sat by me and nodded in recognition. As the last of the castaways took thier seat, Waldo rose and scanned the sea of faces before speaking. "Friends!... With this second phase of this meeting of greeting, we will continue to regester your names and welcome you personally to Dinotopia.", he told us all. "My wife, matriarch Rosemary Seville, has gone out into the city to provide accomodations for the rest of you, and mister Zippeau Stenoychosaurus will now inform you what education you will receive.", he looked at the dinosaur. "Zippeau, if you would?..." "Yes, your honor.", Zippeau stood, and nearly all of the newcomers were both shocked and relieved that he could speak English - even though it was in a clipped Brittish way! "Ladies and gentilemen, I am Zippeau Stenoychosaurus, chief curator of the library of Waterfall City.", he looked over his spectacles. "Being new here, I'm sure you must realise that you know very little of Dinotopia. We have planned a cirriculum of learning to help you along in your acclimation to Dinotopia. The subjects you will find in need to know is the basic Footprint language - our form of writing, speaking basic saurian - our common language, the general philosophy of Dinotopia and the credos that we live by. You will learn, in due time, what it is like being a Dinotopian; and I'm sure you will teach us what it's like to be you!", only I chuckled. "Thank you, Zippeau.", the mayor said, then turned to the castaways. "Now, to continue the regestration process...", he retreated back and made his way to the courtroom floor, ending up next to the guestbook, picking up the stylus. "If you would, please stand and come forward..." The crew, who had already signed in, remained seated; but one by one, the other passengers rose and formed a line down the center aisle. Fairly quickly there was a line four wide all the way to the chamber doors at the rear, and still more humans waited in thier rows to join that line. The first passenger stepped up, signed, and mayor Waldo Seville recited her name amid her applausing welcome. the same thing happened to the next guest, as well as the next; and as the hundreth castaway penned his name, marinda grant stepped up to put her name and the name of her dog there - the mayor paused as he saw the animal. "It has been a long time since we had a dog on this island.", he told her. "In fact, there is only one other dog on the entire island at present!" "Some of us have brought our animals with us.", Marinda told him. "My dogs' name is Bounder!" "Oh, really?... This is grand news!", Waldo said, scanning the others. "Those of you who have a dog here today, could you please come forward?" As if caught doing something bad, the group of people were allowed to come forward; and they shuffled nervousely as the mayor viewed thier pets from where he stood. He was amazed at the diversity of canine breeds, but was perplexed at the sight of Francine Fontaine's cat! All the animals behaved fine, and sat or were held by thier owners; whom stood there in a group and reguarded the mayor as well as the close-up strangeness of Zippeau seated near by. "Such magnificent creatures!", Waldo said at last. "Surely they will be most famous here - as well as thier human friends!...", he rubbed his hands together. "Please sign in, if you would..." Frank Bishop stepped up to the book, signed it and signed Sasha's name beside his. Harold McCue signed his name as well as Pacco's; then let his wife, Adelade sign; then he waited for his daughter, Melissa to do the same before corralling them all back to thier seats. Fred Windom scratched Chip's neck as he signed first the dog's name and then his; then he walked back to his seat as Chip bounded at his side. Francine Fontaine slowly shuffled to the book, patting JoJo as she signed for both of them; then nodded at Zippeau as she turned down the aisle. Waldo smiled as he watched them go, then beconed for the rest to continue. For the next four hours or so, every last castaway signed the tome; and the book now had many extra pages of names! He saw the looks of weariness on thier faces, and knew he wore the same kind of face. To tell the truth, I nearly fell asleep twice during the whole thing! I stretched as the mayor called recess for dinner, but lingered behind as Rosemary came in and whispered something to her husband. They both came over and looked me in the eye for a moment, and I knew something was going on! "Stinger, I wish to see you in a private meeting in my office after the eveningmeal.", Waldo said. "What is it about?", I asked. "It's about that ship...", Rosemary added. "You'll find out later; but I have also invited the command crew of the Millennium Queen.", Waldo told me. "Something about that ship just doesn't add up!" Well, that sparked my curiosity! I ate fitfully, thinking of what in the world could be bothering them about the ship. Sure, it was a modern cruise liner, and it had all sorts of modern contrivances; and that was when I guessed! They were obviousely concerned whether or not the crew sent an S.O.S.; and if a rescue party was out looking for them - that was thier problem! When I was on the bridge, I saw the radio was used, but shut off; and I disabled the G.P.S. system so the ship couldn't be found, so there was no real problem! My meal ended with the guests, and the mayor and matriarch escorted the command crew and I back into the courthouse as many Waterfall City citizens came to collect thier newcomer charges for the night. "From the looks on your faces, you can not possibly guess why we summoned you here this evening.", mayor Waldo Seville said as we all sat or stood around a wide, round table in a Secluded chamber in the council building. A few human and saurian delegates were there as well, dressed in thier robes of office. "To offer the truth, finding a ship from the modern day world is quite a find, and finding one with so many Dolphinbacks is very unusual indeed. What we are most concerned here is, since this is a modern day ship; what kind of communication devices has it, and is it capable of disclosing our location?" "Has it a wireless?", asked a Sorolophus delegate. "Was an S.O.S. Sent?" "Sir Scofield is right, but a little outdated.", Rosemary said. "I am sure the ship has devices more sophisticated than a wireless. However, we must know if a distress signal was sent, and by what means." "Captain Applebee, would you please tell us what kind of emergency procedures you and your crew employed before you were run aground?", Waldo asked in a brotherly way. "It would be most helpful if you tell it with as much detail as you remember." "Well, for one thing, we don't know why these things would concern you so much!", Applebee replied. "Ships can get stranded on any island on Earth. Why would the fact that we would be rescued make you so afraid?" "Sir, Dinotopia is an island cut off from the rest of the world.", Waldo explained. "It has been so for countless millennia. Here dinosaurs have evolved into intellegent beings, and allowed mankind over the years to share in thier culture. The Razor Reef and the Perpetual storm that surrounds it are meant to isolate us from the rest of the world. We have no hate here, and no war. Everything that is bad in the world has been shielded from us. If the outside world knew about this island, they would first bring explorers and scientists to study us; then they would bring the dregs of your society after that to exploit us and corrupt our way of life!" "There is another reason we are so concerned.", Rosemary said as she stood. "Those that would come to rescue you are in great peril! The storm and the reef would no doubt do to thier ships what they did to your ship, and many lives could be needlessly lost. We are of a society that values life above all else. It would be a crime to us if we allowed any other life to suffer on your account. Therefore, we must know if you sent an S.O.S., and in what manner. We must prevent those that would rescue you from coming and being hurt." "Did you ever think to ask the rest of the passengers or crew whether or not they want to stay?", captain Applebee accused. "I may speak for myself when I say there might be no other way off this island, and it might be better if we stay until some safer way is found; but I have a responsability toward my passengers and crew, and that means to get them to thier destination in due time. What I think you should do is ask them if they want to stay or not, then you'll have your answer!" "Captain, please!", father Fish implored. "These people have worked for centuries to make for themselves a society like this! It would not be right for us to expose them to the outside world just for the sake of our rescue!", he looked at the dinosaur delegates. "Besides, what do you think would happen if the world discovered that dinosaurs survived all this time? Do you think they would sit still and let them live in peace? You know as well as I do that they would waste no time to come here, to study them and dissect them for scientific gain; and worse off, destroy all they have built since they died out in the rest of the world! Do you think we have the RIGHT to jeopardise these people just for our selfish wish to be rescued?" "I have nothing to go back to if I were rescued.", engineer Frank Waters told the group. "That cruise was my last one, and then I was going to be forced to retire. I have nothing to go back to: no home, no family and nothing to look forward to but living the rest of my life in a retirement home.", he looked at mayor Waldo. "If there is anything you want to know, I would be glad to tell you, sirs..." "I don't know what's in store for us, but it would do no good to risk our passengers further.", purser Weems told the rest. "I think that, until some safer way to leave the island is found; we should give these people every co-operation, and try to live here like they do." "I have seen miracles performed with the herbs and plants here.", doctor Christopho said. "The boon to medicine they show would be well worth any wait in rescue!" "What is your decision, captain?", I asked. "Will you help us keep Dinotopia safe and tell us about your emergency procedures, or not?" "I am sure that many of your passengers and crew will show similar sentiments, having the situation revealed to them.", Rosemary told him, then asked meekly. "Please, will you?" Captain Ron Applebee sat blank-faced for several moments. Even though he was still the captain, now that he was on land and his command now awash on Dinotopia; his duties as such had been diminished greatly. He no longer governed these people, he was sure; but he still had his duty to keep them safe. But if there wasn't any safe way off the island, and those who would rescue them ran the risk of being killed; then his responsability also grew to encompass them too. He could not risk thier lives in order to save his passengers and crew, for it would not be fair to them if they were killed. Moreover, if this society was as unique as advertised, then it would be a shame to contaminate it with the people that would come after them. Seeing that there was no other choice, captain Applebee sighed and rose. "Mister mayor, saurians of the court, matriarch, Stinger and my crew.", he began. "Due to the evidence brought to me today, I find no other choice but to give my complete co-operation in this matter.", he slumped. "We will tell you whatever you want to know." "Very good, sir. I, for one, know how hard it was for you to reach that conclusion.", Waldo consoled. "You have taken your first step into becoming a true Dinotopian.", Rosemary added. "That was very brave of you.", I put in. "What steps did you use in your emergency procedures?", senator Scofield Sorolophus prompted. "OH, yes!...", the captain said, bolstering himself. "Anyway, we were cruising on, going at the right heading, I'd say forty miles to the north of this island; when we spotted a weather pattern on the radar that came from nowhere..." "Radar?", Waldo asked. "Radar is an electronic radio system that uses electromagnetic waves to identify the range, speed, direction or speed of objects like boats and planes; or can track moving objects like weather patterns.", Frank Waters told them. "The acronym R.A.D.A.R. is short for RAdio Detection And Ranging." "I see.", Waldo said, not really sure if he did. "Continue." "Anyway, we veered further north, but the storm grew by ten degrees of magnitude within minutes.", the captain said. "It engulfed us, lightning sizzling all around us in gale force wind and rain. Before the storm struck us, we sent out a mayday over the radio; but just then the antenna for it failed, and we hoped it got through. During this we began taking on water, and I had all the watertight doors sealed. She managed to stay afloat, but the wind and swells kept on swamping the decks.", he cleared his throat. "That's when the radar detected land, and we tried to steer for it; but the winds began blowing us away. I had the engines put to full power and set the helm directly for land; and that's when we hit the reef." "The reef sheared off both the propellers, and bent the rudder beyond helms' control.", Waters put in. "It damaged the hull beyond repair. There is a four foot gash from the bow to three quarters down the length on Z-deck, and all those compartments were filled about halfway with water. I had to abandon the engine room because that was becoming flooded too." "We kept on sending out the mayday, not knowing it wouldn't be heard; but the G.P.S. would send out reguardless.", Applebee said. "G.P.S.?", Waldo asked. "G.P.S. is short for Global Positioning System.", Waters told us. "It is a system that uses medium orbit satelites that transmit and relay data in precise microvave beams from transmitters on the ground. It is used to accurately locate so equipped vehicles, and the data is beamed to receivers all over the world from said satelites. It can transmit the location of the Millennium Queen to within an accuracy of a few feet!" "That is bad!", Waldo stood. "If they can find the ship, then they could surely find..." "...Us!", Rosemary finished, standing as well. "Captain Applebee, please tell us this device is not active!" "It will continue running until the electric power in the ship runs out.", he replied, ashamed look on his face. "That won't be until the backup generators run out of diesel." "This will not do!", bellowed Scofield. "Our culture will be ruined!" "I vote we make an emergency expedition to the Millennium Queen!", Waldo announced. "We MUST go there and disable this decvice!" "Please! Calm down!", I shouted, using Klamath's volume. "There is no danger of that!" "What are you getting at, Stinger?", Waldo turned to me. "Captain Applebee. remember when we went to the bridge to get your manifest?", I asked and he nodded. "I asked if I could see the controls, and you showed me?", again a nod. "Well, when you weren't looking, I fried the G.P.S. controls!... See, the armor I wear has the ability to emit a strong electromagnetic pulse.", I smiled. "That's why I wanted to see the bridge..." "So, we're not in danger!", Waldo sighed relief. "You're a sneak!", Applebee said. "Wait a minute, everyone!", Waters yelled. "That would not disable the G.P.S., I'm afraid...", everyone halted and looked his way, including me. "Nearly every system on that ship has thier own built-in redundancy system. The G.P.S. system is no different. The main unit is down in the electrical room two decks above the main engine room, directly connected to the main power; and the emitter antenna is hardwired to the communications array.", he looked at me. "The G.P.S. system can run even if the whole bridge was destroyed! All you did was wreck the bridge controls!" "Oh, no!" I moaned. Suddenly getting a headache! "Don't worry, Stinger.", Rosemary consoled. "You did your best!" "But why didn't you tell us this?!", Waldo barked. "I didn't want to upset you with it.", I said. "It would have been just one more worry..." "But still we worry about it!", Scofield whined. "What are we to do?!" Soon the other delegates got into it, arguing on procedures to get to the ship and disarm the device; and all the while the command crew of the Millennium Queen watched on, thinking they were helpless to make any suggestion. Chief engineer Waters knew he could disable the G.P.S., provided he could get there; and the rest were thinking that thier presence had caused a lot of unnecesary trouble for these people. Finally, as I stopped feeling guilty for botching the job of sabotage; rose and told them my solution to the problem. "Wait! I have an idea on how to get there quickly!", I said. "The Skybax Strutter is the fastest thing on the island, right?" "Stinger, isn't that device deep in the Rainy Basin?", Waldo asked. "It will take days to get it here!" "It's the only chance we got!", I said. "I will need the service of a Postal Bird to send a message there, and someone there can fly it here.", I looked at the engineer. "Mister Waters knows the ship like the back of his hand. If he would go with me, we can disarm the G.P.S. the right way; say, in less than a day." "What's a Skybax Strutter?", the captain asked. "You've seen the flying Pterosaurs around the sky, haven't you?", I asked. "Well, this one is made of metal; and it is not unlike a jet plane." "Sounds interesting...", Waters said. "I'll go with you, I guess." "Then it's settled!", Waldo said. "I will call a Postal Bird, and you can send your message in the morning." "Speed is of the essence.", Scofield said. "Do you think we should wait that long?" "Kind saurian, you know as well as I do that Postal Birds do not fly at night!", Rosemary told him. "Besides, it's late; and I'm sure everyone has had a busy day as it is!" "You're right.", he replied. "Then I call this meeting adjourned.", Waldo rapped the gavel on the round table, and the delegates rose. "Captain Applebee and company, I will call for your escorts for the evening; but I suggest mister Waters and Stinger stay with us in the mayoral quarters for the night. We have a busy day tommorrow, it would seem!" With that everyone rose and went to thier designated places for the night, all knowing the implications of what was revealed at this meeting... _
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Post by thundertail on Mar 25, 2012 17:13:08 GMT -5
_ FORTY-SIX: "Sanctioned Sabotage." When I woke up, I woke up to luxury; and not to the luxury I was used to in the Rainy Basin, either. The double brass bed I was in seemed more fit in a palace, and the comfort almost made me forget where I was and what was going to happen; but as my memory caught up with my wits, I at last knew that I was in the mayor's quarters in Waterfall City. I also remembered that I was soon to go on perhaps the most important mission I ever had to go on in Dinotopia. The recently shipwrecked ship named the Millennium Queen still had her tracking devices activated, and they had to be disabled or else Dinotopia would be detected by the Outside World! I sprang out of bed and backed into Klamath, the armor of Othgar, and hurried out of my assigned chambers; rushing down the corridor to the stairs at the end. Chief Engineer Frank Waters was just emerging from his assigned chambers, yawning and trying to drag his boots on as he attempted to hurry after me. We ended up meeting mayor Waldo Seville at the bottom of the landing, old fashioned pyjamas and sleeping cap still on; but with a long, slender whistle at his lips, just about ready to blow. As he did, a shrill screech sounded all over the area, seeming to increase in volume as the sound traveled out a near by window and out into the streets; where a dog whistle mixed with the stopping of a car would be its' accurate description! That was when the almost comic figure turned to see us holding our ears. "Ah! Good morning!", Waldo said, placing the whistle in a pocket of his pyjammas. "Sleep well?" "Fine...", I said, wringing out an ear. "Nice wakeup call!" "I just summoned your Postal Bird.", Waldo said, leading us from the window and down into other chambers, where the smell of breakfast fare wafted from. "He or she will be along shortly... Care for some breakfast while you wait?" "I never ate with royalty before...", Waters said as he followed us. "We're not royalty!", Waldo smiled. "Think of us as part of the family!" "Yeah, we're nobody very special.", I told him. "Just folks trying to do a job..." "Very well put!...", Waldo sat down, beconing us to do likewise. "Have some rice farina to start off?" "I'll have some!...", said the lumpy bohemoth at the other side of the room in saurian. "Love that stuff!" "You eat too much as it is, Almasaur!", Waldo commented. "Eat your greens!" "My goodness!", Waters exclaimed. "What,... I mean, who is that?" "My goodness! My manners!", Waldo said. "Mister Frank Waters, meet Almasaur Ankylosaur, my Partner! Almasaur, please meet mister Frank Waters, a good friend!" "A pleasure to meet one of the new Dolphinbacks!", Almasaur said, and I translated out of habit. Hearing this, he switched to rumbly English. "I talk!... Gree... tings, hu-man...!" "I never would've believed it!", stammered Waters. "Having breakfast with one of your kind!..." "Un-usual eat with cast-away, too!", Almasaur chuckled. Armored eye twinkling at me in recognition. "Excellent!", Waldo said, clapping once. "Everyone is now acquainted!... Now, let's have our breakfast!..." Soon saurian and human waiters regally served many dishes of breakfast fare, featuring the aforementioned rice farina; but to me, the only thing lacking was anything of the meat variety. We all ate gladly and with purpose, pausing briefly between bites to comment on the taste or the occasional chuckle. About halfway in between courses, a disheveled Postal Bird flapped into a window and fluttered around the room; making everyone duck before finally perching on Almasaur's clubbed tail. The Ankylosaur looked at the bird with scorn before rocking his tail, making the bird flap off and land on the table in front of the mayor between a tea caddy and his juice glass. She bowed and flapped to attention. "Postal bird Four-Seventy-Seven reporting, and at your service!", she said. "Please state your destination and message in that order..." "Greetings.", Waldo said. "Mister Stinger here has an urgent message to be sent to the Rainy Basin, clan Thundertail, Rainy Basin Central." "The Rainy Basin?!", the bird squawked. "Are you sure you do not want to send it to Sauropolis or some place safe?" "What are those?", Waters asked, wiping his mouth. "A carrier pigeon?" "Sir! I am a Postal bird, not a common courier!", she scolded. "You must forgive him, Four-Seventy-Seven.", waldo told her. "He's new here." "A Dolphinback!", the bird considered. "Haven't seen any of those!", she cocked an eye at him. "Uh,... The message?", Waldo prompted. "Yes!", she turned to me. "Please state your message..." "To king Thundertail, clan Thundertail, Rainy Basin.", I said. "Urgently request the Skybax Strutter Kiawa to be sent to Waterfall City with all possible speed. To be used on a mission of the utmost urgency. Please comply as soon as possible. Signed, Stinger.", I looked at the bird. "Got all that?" "Yes.", she said before repeating it. "Should I wait for a reply?" "I don't think that is necesary...", I said. "Then I'm off!...", Four-Seventy-Seven squawked and fluttered around the room before darting out the window. "How far can they fly?", Waters asked before resuming his meal. "She should get to the next outpost in an hour, and be there by just after noontime. They're very reliable!", Waldo informed. "It takes nearly a whole day for them to get to Canyon City, and clan Thundertail is about halfway there." "Oh!", he replied. "Stinger, aren't you going to finish your breakfat?", Waldo asked me, but I was too preoccupied with thought. At length, breakfast was finished; and then mayor Seville began a small tour of the mayoral quarters for Frank Waters, and I tagged along too. He told him of the finer points of being a Dinotopian, and what wonders awaited him outside of Waterfall City. As we strolled the streets surrounded by all the waterfalls, we were greeted by nearly every other human and saurian citizen that walked by. Waters was clearly impressed at the larger than life archetecture and the ingeniously designed canals and bridges that could withstand the weight of several of the largest dinosaurs at a time. He marveled at how like humans the dinosaurs lived, and the level of intellegence many unknowingly expressed. He saw poets and jugglers, mimes and orators, business owners and patrons; and judged this city to be the most peaceful and civilized one he had ever been in! Midday meal was spent at the Booraza Cafe near the Grand Canal, a favorite spot for tea, Waldo told us; and it was there that we met a few of the passengers of the Millennium Queen with thier escorts. One had a young Stenoychosaur with her, and told us he was her host's son, who was showing her around the city. The other was with a strong looking human female, and he looked like a toothpick by comparason! They were going to the library after they had thier own luncheon! After a long while, shortly before sundown, a squad of city Skybax riders and thier steeds were seen taking off and circling the city from the air, and Minch soon ran up to us, gasping for air many moments before speaking; and Waters had the good sense to help hold him up so he could catch his breath! "Sir!... A mechanical creature... has landed... at the courthouse!", Minch panted. "The whole area... is in an uproar...!" "Ah! My ride is here!", I said cheerily. "Come on, mister Waters! Want to go for a ride?" "Sure!", the chief engineer said as I led the other three. We walked swiftly down the Grand Promenade, avoiding the saurian and human traffic along the way; and made it around the court building just in time to see four saurian guards, spears pointing at the giant flying machine. The pilot, bedecked in a bluish suit of armor with a helmet not unlike the head of a Parasolophus, leapt down from the wing with a clatter and surveyed the area; and as he saw the guards, backed up a step as he raised his hands in submission. Two of the guards kept thier spears trained on him and his flying craft while the other two went to keep the growing crowd at bay. The crowd parted when they recognized the mayor, and the guards allowed us all to approach the craft. "Ah, Flit!", I said as I stepped up to the robotic creature. "How was your flight?" "All was well sir.", Flit responded. "Your Postal Bird message said to use all possible speed, so I used the Dinojet engine most of the way. I just left clan Thundertail two hours ago..." "Excellent!", I said. "We may just complete this mission before nightfall at this rate!" "If it's not too much trouble, sir...", Flit asked. "What does this mission entail?" "The shipwreck has some detection equipment aboard that is still active.", I told him. "We are going there to disable those devices so the rescuers would not get hurt looking for it." "It would also prevent detection of this island!", Flit said what I omitted. "A mission of this importance may need my assistence! I can disable those devices..." "No, Flit.", I said. "This is mister Frank Waters, chief engineer aboard the Millennium Queen. He knows those systems like the back of his hand, and can disable them blindfolded. If you were to do it, you would only be guessing." "But it would be so interesting!...", he groused. "I want you to stay here until I can get some transportation home for you. OK?", I said. "King Thundertail has sent a cart for you already.", Flit informed. "It should be here by tomorrow..." "Good! Then you can take the cart when it gets here!", I said, turning to mister Waters. "Now, let's get under way, shall we?" I left Flit standing by Waldo and Minch and led the way toward the metallic flyer. Kiawa noticed my approach and crowed like a rusty gate in greeting, nodding as he did so. I went to give Waters a leg up onto the wing and scrabbled up after him; then I led him to the front seat and helped him inside. He didn't seem to need help figuring out the five-point restraint system, nor did he need help finding or placing my old Air Force helmet on his head, either! I closed the canopy and checked out the controls, noticing that the gague showing MacDougal's moonshine fuel was over two thirds full. "You seem to know your way around an airplane.", I radioed my comment to him. "Yeah, I used to fly those Sabre jets back in the Korean war.", Frank Waters told me. "Been in one jet, been in 'em all!" "You don't say!", I said. "Then I guess you're familiar with high G's and stuff like that..." "Another flyer!", Kiawa commented. "Welcome aboard, human!" "Yikes! What's that?!", Waters said. "Mister Frank Waters, meet Kiawa.", I said. "He is the entity inside this Skybax Strutter." "An entity?", he asked. "When the ancient scientists and builders made thier technology, they placed the intellegences of other creatures inside them.", I explained. "Kiawa was a Pteranodon when he was alive, I surmise. The suit of armor I wear has one inside too.", then Klamath spoke. "Mine was a herd of Ankylosaurs, and I was thier leader.", I took over again. "The same goes for the armor Flit wears, only that entity expired. I hear Proboke was a fine tactician. As for Flit, he is an Artificial Life Construct - a robot. His entity is that of a Compsagnathus, and he was the Partner of the greatest scientist in ancient Dinotopia; and that is why he knows so much." "Outstanding!", chief engineer Waters breathed. "I'd like to know all about Dinotopian technology some day!" "One of these days you just might!", I sort of promised. "Kiawa ready for flight.", the flyer said. "Here we go!", I said as I placed my hands and feet onto the controls. In the mean time, Flit watched the activity on the ground, the mayor of Waterfall City and his assistant at his side. He watched the activity going on, imagining to himself the checkout procedures Stinger was performing and timing the results to calculate when Kiawa would finally take to the sky. The crowd around them were intermittently looking both at the flyer and at Flit; and the mayor and his assistant drew thier attention to the giant flyer before them to the smaller suit of armor beside them. Flit detected this and looked at these two men. "Well Flit, now that you'll be here for a while; you might need someone to show you around the city!", Waldo told him. "I have already had a tour of Waterfall City, your honor.", Flit replied. "My memory banks contain a full street map. I need no escort to find my way." "Minch, would you see to that...?", Waldo said anyway. "Your honor, you need not bid him do this!", came a female voice in the crowd. "I volunteer to accompany this emisary of the Rainy Basin!" "No, Ruby Mattock! You are always seeking trouble!", Waldo said. "You will not corrupt this creature with your rabble rousing ways!" "I have met Ruby Mattock, briefly, many months ago.", Flit said, eyeing her companion fondly. "As well as her lovely Compsagnathus Companion, Elinore.", he turned to the mayor. "If I must be escorted around the city, I would consider it an honor to do so with them!" "Oh...! Very well!", Waldo gave in, then turned to Ruby. "But if any trouble befalls either of you, let it be on your head!" "I will take good care of him, your honor.", Ruby bowed as Flit paced over to her side. Suddenly Kiawa spread his great metallic wings, and everyone gasped. "Please, everyone step back!", Flit warned loudly. "The Dinojet engine is very dangerous!", Kiawa turned and crouched, firing the engine briefly as the crowd hurriedly complied. Kiawa leapt into the air and cleared the buildings; then veered off in the direction of Crackshell Point. I cut the engine as we leveled off hundreds of feet above the city, wishing to save as much of the fuel as I could for the long flight ahead. Flit said that the flight from clan Thundertail to Waterfall city was two hours long at full engine burn; so our flight to the Millennium Queen would take at least three. Frank Waters sat in front of me, clearly enjoying the scenery as it rolled out in front of us; the giant Pteranodon head of Kiawa jutting out, looking this way and that, clearly enjoying it himself too. I must admit that flying this wonderful machine was most enjoyable to me as well; for up here I was truely free! I scanned the flightpath ahead using the map of the island now incorporated into the memory systems of Kiawa and programmed by flit, no doubt; and plotted the fastest route, and decided to perform a bullet-trajectoried flightplan. I kicked up the engine and Kiawa climbed well above the lower cloud deck. Waters' helmet became pasted to the seatback in front of me, but he did not seem to complain; and as we reached apogee, he turned his head to reguard the Tyranosaur mask that was covering my own face. "This is a marvelous machine!", he stated. "With this thing, you could fly right off this island!" "That is quite impossible.", I said. "This Strutter is powered by crystals known as Sunstones. Sunstones only work when they are in close proximity to other Sunstones. If I try to fly off the island, Kiawa will soon lose power and crash into the ocean long before I reach civilization; and I'd drown long before I'm rescued. So that means, even though I can fly anywhere on this island I want to, I still can't leave!" "That's a shame...", waters said. "Why, with the technology within this machine, it would put the Air Force ahead in technology at least thirty years!" "There's other reasons why I can't go home again.", I told him. "I guess the biggest reason is I have roots here now. I have a family: a wiife and a son, I have a clan full of clawbrothers and clawsisters; and a whole island full of friends.", I gave him my other reason. "Besides, I was on duty when I was brought here. You know, technically I'm A.W.O.L.!... If I go back and try to explain what happened, or try telling them where I've been, they'll put me in a rubber room and throw away the key before they send me to the brig!" "I see your point!", Frank Waters told me. "This whole situation seems crazy to me too! But I'm convinced that it's all real.", he sighed. "Nobody will believe that this island exists, let alone live dinosaurs live here. But all in all, it seems a whole lot better than what I got to look forward to back home. I told you about me retiring, didn't I?" "Yeah, a tough break when your old...", I commented. "You don't know the half of it!", Waters continued. "The Brittish Singapore company, the ones that own the ship, won't give me all my retirement benefits! When I retire, I'll have to live off my government retirement checks, and that's it. What a poor state we're in when nobody will give you what you deserve when you retire!" "But all that is changed now!", I told him. "Here you can live out the rest of your life without worry of paying any bills, or how much money you will need to survive. Everything will be provided for you, free of charge; and there will be plenty of folks that would be glad to help you out!... 'Survival of all or none', as they say!", I paused to correct our heading. "Let's face it, mister Waters. You couldn't have been shipwrecked in a better place!", he chuckled. The miles whizzed by under Kiawa's wings, and within half the time I estimated it would take; Deep Lake shone like a jewel far below. This was my cue to prepare to make our descent, and I took one last look in our intended direction before doing so. From this altitude I could see far out to sea, and what I saw gave me pause. The storm was huge, and seemed to go from horizon to horizon; and it was laced with crazy lightning and whirlwinds of driving rain. The only time I saw the Perpetual storm like this was when it had me in its' grasp oh so very long ago! I felt certain that there were rescue ships and spotter planes on the other side of that malestrom, searching in vain for the shipwrecked Millennium Queen. I kept my feelings to myself as Kiawa dipped his wings and fell slowly through the clouds to the clearer air a mile below. He seesawed his wings in midair several times to lose as much speed as was prudent, and then I led him onto a more level flight. Pretty soon the end of land could be seen, and a beach stretched out long and rocky beneath our wings. We followed the coast east until the unmistakable shape of a modern day ocean liner could be seen foundering in water two hundred yards from shore that was much too shallow for it. The Millennium Queen lay inert, waves crashing against the tightly beached hull, having no effect on it; even though it listed slightly on the seaward side of the vessel. From above the external damage was not largely evident, save for a tiny communication antenna dish that was broken from its' moorings directly above and behind the bridge deck; but the rest of the antenna array seemed intact. I had Kiawa make several flyovers of the general area, scanning for looters and checking to see if everything was left as we put it. The lifeboats were there, dragged far above the high tide line, as was the communal grave for the ones lost in the shipwreck; and I also saw several small saurians looking like they were beachcombing, but as I got a closer look, I saw that they bore shiny amultes around thier necks. I later found out that king Thundertail had some of the Veloceraptor guards stay behind, ordered to guard the shipwreck. At last I swung Kiawa around and had him land on the wide foredeck of the Millennium Queen, the mechanical flyer having trouble finding purchase on the tilting surface. I scrolled back the canopy and we both unhitched ourselves; and both of us expertly hopped down off Kiawa. Waters led me to a hatchway that led to a ladder to the main bridge, stopping at a maintenence locker to retrieve a small toolbox there. From there we went to the bridge through another short passageway, and he immediately went to the communication console; of which he frowned at the charred covering of the G.P.S. Controls. "You got it good, didn't you?", he accused as he removed a covering on the side of it with a screwdriver. "Sorry...", I said as I watched him work. "Well, there's nothing I can do here...", he said after a few minutes fishing out wires and fried circuitry. "Say, someone left the radio receiver on!", he looked at that panel. "Yeah, but the indicator is off.", I saw the switch and flipped it. Suddenly the bridge was filled with static, followed by a menagerie of voices! "Boat six, did you see boat four? Over,,,", static. "Boat two reports nothing on his sweep...", more static. "Boat three, this is the Pendleton. Do you read? Over...", static again. "Boat three to boat two, report!...", on and on it went. "Can they hear us?", I whispered. "I don't think so.", Waters replied. "The transmitter antenna must have been the one broken." "Good!", I said, louder this time. "I think we should finish up quick and get out of here. They're out there, and the storm's pummeling them!" "Yeah, if we finish disabling the G.P.S., they'll think the ship finally sank, and they'll give up the search.", Waters said. "You're becoming more Dinotopian by the minute!", I complimented. "Let's do this!..." Nodding, engineer Waters collected his tools and tossed them noisily into the toolbox; rising to turn to the port side exit of the bridge. I followed him to a caged in ladder up the superstructure; and, finding he had no keys for the lock and nothing in the toolbox to cut it off, shrugged in defeat. I smiled and grasped the padlock, then I used Klamath's strength to wrench it around until the hasp snapped in my hands; and of this Waters stared at me in amazement! I pulled the cage door open and we both scrabbled up the rungs, him handing me the toolbox as I reached the level above. Once we were both on this level, I noticed the many compact air conditioning units, many now inert; and saw waters doing the same, appearing to curse as he figured those would need repair soon, then sigh as he realized that was no longer his job. He then picked up the toolbox and led me to another part of the superstructure, a forest of antennae and dishes high above us. the ladder we used at the rear of this large boxlike construct had no cage surrounding it, and was more like stairs than a ladder; so we both climbed it and was soon among this metallic forest. Small satelite dishes for television broadcast and internet use sprouted at our feet, and two eight foot models stood among them, one staring at the sky and the other laying prone on the deck. On a thirty foot mast near the back of this space were dozens of skinny antennas, bristling the mast like porcupine quills, and arranged in a line in front of it stood four radarlike dishes, only one of them revolving. Around the back of the thirty foot mast stood a long boxlike device, yellow in color and posessing cooling fins all around the cover. The logo I remembered was on the corner of the box, and an amber light flashed beside it, indicating it was still active. Chief engineer Frank Waters crouched at it and immediately got to work removing the coverings with screwdrivers and wrenches. As soon as the covering was loosened, he had me lift the top half; and this piece was suprisingly heavy as it contained better than half the workings for the antenna device. The wiring that came with it Waters unplugged, and these were tiny wires coupled with tiny plug-ins. I could now flip the half over and set it on the deck, and I saw the multi-layered circuitry arranged within: capacitors, circuit boards, fuse panels, microswitches, transformers and relays. All these Waters bagan to disconnect from the main circuit frame as Klamath scanned each piece as it was dismantled, saying to me silently that he wished to present this information to Flit; and as my half was sufficiently in pieces, the chief engineer began to fling them overboard in great arcing throws! Then he began to work on the lower half off the G.P.S. antenna transmitter. Similar pieces were taken apart, and were summarilly tossed; leaving nothing but the lower shell still bolted to the deck. The wiring conduit connected to it which fed power to the device and sent information to and from it to the main unit below decks was unplugged and powered down, him snipping all the plug connections with wire cutters in the bargain. Only then did chief engineer Frank Waters begin to gather his tools and kick the remaining parts off the deck. "That was the easy part!", Waters wiped his brow. "The hard part's downstairs. That's where the REAL voltage is!" "The transmitter must have been damaged.", I said, guessing. "My suit detected no real current." "Could be, but we best be sure.", he replied. "Let's get going..." We made our way down the way we came, ending back at the bridge; and when we got there the radio was still broadcasting the calls from the rescue ships far out to sea beyond the Perpetual storm. The primary rescue vessel was the Pendleton, a coast guard frigate with manpower and boats enough to perform any rescue, the captain told the crew to boost moralle. The second one mentioned that was ternty miles further west was the Antifigasto, a destroyer class vessel loaned from Chile; and capable of harboring large amount of shipwreck victems. Of course, this information was not available to us the few minutes spent listening; and pretty soon we continued our mission. We traveled down two decks to end up on the central promenade, which led to one of two swimming pools, its' water splashed out so it was only half full. Deck chairs lay strewn about on deck or drowned in the pool; and many of the passengers' swimming acoutriments were scattered about. Every bottle in the poolside bar lay on the floor, either broken or rolled into very inaccessable places. At a double door at the other end of this space we pushed through and passed by many small shops featuring many expensive goods: electronics and software to play in them, swanky fashions and stylish footwear, items and goods for both genders and snackbars and fine restaraunts lined this space. At the end we headed for the twin elevators that would lead to the lower regions of the ship; but on many tries pushing the summons button and seeing that the lights above the doors were out, we surmized that we would have to take the stairs around the corner! Four flights down, which marked the lowest passenger deck, we traveled half the length of the ship before we came to a service corridor which was locked to the public; and since waters had no keys, I was forced to kick the door in using Klamath's strength. Waters reguarded me with cautious respect as he propped the door against the wall and we continued. This area held storage rooms, and they were filled with domestic goods for the staterooms: towels, sheets, blankets, pillows, mini-fridges, cleaning supplies, extra furnature, mattresses and paper goods for bathrooms. More storage rooms contained maintenence supplies like lamps, electrician parts and tools for plumbing, maid carts and many other items for servicing the staterooms. Beyond this was storage for non-perishable foods and drinks, along with four walk-in refrigerators containing meats and other perishable and frozen goods. Waters said these areas supplied the restaraunts in the upper decks, and I wondered how this food would be dispersed around the island. At the end of this area was another doorway, unlocked; and this section of passageways was dimly lit with emergency lighting. Waters told me we were getting really close now, for he said the engine rooms were directly below us. Pipes and I-beams were plumbed out everywhere, and in every direction; and I had a hard time not smacking myself in the head with them. At a catwalk ladder we looked down. Forty feet below us seawater roiled among the machinery below, and Waters cursed that his engine room was flooded; but we only descended one level and took a left, onto many metal rooms sealed with watertight doors. At one door we cycled it open and found a room filled with electrical panels and industrial sized circuit boxes, alive with the hum of many watts of power. At a desk console near the entry a bank of computers stood, and the wall beside it was filled with TV monitors and computer screens. One of those screens depicted power levels throughout the ship, the electrically dead areas in black were the decks directly below us. "The whole ship is suffering power outages in small scattered areas while the main exitways shows steady power.", Waters told me. "The electrical room seems nominal, and the backup generators hadn't gone on yet; but the main generators are in danger of failure due to seawater seepage." Waters looked up from the monitors. "I think that, even if we don't complete this job; the ship will be a dead hulk within a week!" "That's not the point.", I told him. "Those seamen out there in the storm are there NOW! We got to disable that G.P.S. so they think it is already sunk.", I smiled. "Then they'll go home and be safe!" "Ok then!", Waters looked under the console, where there was a storage drawer, and pulled out a manuel. "I think I can have this gizmo tell us where it is...", he studied the manuel, which was for running the ships' computer netework; and he tapped the keyboard experimentally. "Sorry. Computers scare me!" Within ten minutes he had conjured up a wiring map of the whole ship, zeroing down until he had the schematics for the G.P.S. tracking system. On the screen he located where the wiring from the antenna and bridge controls for the device connected into the power room they were in. In a few more moments he had traced where the main controller for the device might be - according to the diagram, at any rate. As he fine tuned the image he was trying to get, I took it on myself to locate the device alone. Judging on the color of the panel on the bridge and the color of the antenna housing, I figured that the control box would have to be yellow as well; and I searched every panel I could find for one of that color. The only thing hampering me was the fact that the electrical room was enormous, and the panels were set up almost like a maze! At long last I found the panel I was looking for. Even though the frame for the G.P.S. main control was indeed yellow, it had many metallic green and metallic blue cover plates incorporated into the seven foot tall panel. and the only other feature that stood out on it was the now familiar logo at the upper right hand corner of the frame. The rest of the panels was a Christmas tree of lights, indicators and controls; and I had no idea where to begin demolition, so I called out. Frank! I think I found it!", I shouted through the hum of electrical equipment. "Where are you?", Waters shouted back. "Forward of your position, at the extreme port side of the room.", I called over the thrum. "Where you are, take a right, then an immediate left. A right at the third bank of panels, then a left at the bulkhead. I'm in the corner down the end.", then as an afterthought. "And bring that toolbox!" Frank Waters left the computer as it was and followed my directions, toolbox clattering against the odd panel or I-beam support; then paused as soon as he saw me and what I had found. He set the toolbox down and began rummaging inside for the right tools. "That's it all right!", he said as he moved in closer. "Looks to me that if you shut off this circuit breaker,", I indicated a double lever near a power conduit that snaked out from the side of the panel. "You'd be able to work on it safely." "Naw!... How would I know if I got it with the power off?", he said as he got to work unscrewing the panel with the indicator lights. "Whose the chief engineer? You or me?" "Just making sure you survive for your retirement!", I chuckled as I watched him work. Waters removed the last screw to that panel and drew it away from the console. It was attatched to the inside of the device by its' hundreds of wires; and he began to slowly unplug each wire from its' fixture, and when done he placed it on the floor at my feet. Next he began digging deeper into the device, probing the various electronic objects with a voltage tester he picked up next. Frowning, he began to remove the panel with the majority of switches. Klamath took the liberty to scan each piece waters drew out of the device, and was stymied at many of the strange objects. I looked on, bewildered yet knowing myself that my old jet had similar electronics; and though I never knew the mechanics that made them work, they all went together to make the jet fly. Waters groaned and began to remove more wires and other things deeper into the panel; of which he haphazardly handed over to me for disposal, and the pile on the floor of the space began to grow with the amount of the stuff! "Ok, I reached the fuse panel.", Waters said as he paused to mop his brow. "I think that, if we destroy the fuses AND disconnect the main power; this will never work again." "Seems a lot easier than taking it all apart like you're doing!", I chuckled as he handed me another heavy chunk of the machine. "We'll be here all night if we don't!" "Take that board in your hand and crush it.", Waters instructed. "Just like you did to that lock...", I complied and bent it into quarters like it was a piece of cardboard. "That was the main transmission circuitry. Without it, the G.P.S. won't work - even if someone puts it all back together!" Next waters began removing fuse modules from a long, socketed array, each the size of small two-by-four blocks; and then he placed them on the floor. Without warning he began to stomp on one, and the glass it was mostly made of crushed and shattered the delicate wiring inside them; then he had me put the board I was still holding down and do the same! Forty fuse modules later he stopped. "There are no other fuses like those on the ship.", he said. "The G.P.S. is truely disabled now!" "Well, there is only one way to find out now!", I said as I flipped on the main power switch I had turned off while he wasn't looking many dozens of minutes ago! "Let's see if it'll hold power!" Sparks frazzled throughout the whole contraption, and smoke began fizzle out the opened panels. I quickly shut off the power to it as Waters ran for a fire extinguisher; and I tried to put out the smoldering circuitry with Klamath's pusher beam to little effect. Waters screeched to a stop and hosed the panel with the CO2 or halon inside the fire extinguisher he wielded. The flame and smoke subsided long before the retardant ran out; and he tossed the tank aside before glaring at me! "Well, it's completely destroyed now!", his sarcasm was almost visible! "Trouble is your little stunt nearly got us killed!...", then he looked around, expecting something. "The smoke detecters should've gone off by now... Something wrong there..." "Look, I'm sorry, ok?", I said, scrabbling for some of his tools. "Just that I didn't want you to get fried..." "Aw,... I guess it's ok.", he smirked. "It was very exciting!", he joined in at gathering the tools, and after they were all inside the toolbox, he rose and lifted it. "Let's go!..." Frank waters led me out of the electrical room and up toward the upper decks; but instead of going back the way we came, he led me to other rooms in the lower decks. One room had the lived-in look of many voyages, and he told me this was his quarters. Presently he began to fill a small bag of clothing as I sat on his bunk. In a few moments he was done, and went to an adjoining closet and pulled out a bottle. "After a job like that, I need a bracer!", he produced a large bottle and two glass tumblers. "Vodka?... Genuine Russian!", he poured his and waited for my response. "I got a Russian buddy back in the States. Gets it imported from his family in Mother Russia." I took a sip after viewing the strange blue label painted on the bottle. "Not too bad...", I struggled with the burn. "I got a buddy in the Rainy Basin that makes this:", I produced a flask of MacDougal's hooch. "Genuine Dinotopian!" He took the flask and drank, eyes widening at the taste. "Now I know what fuel that flying gizmo uses!", he sputtered. "Naw! The stuff Kiawa uses doesn't have any flavoring!", I responded and he chuckled. "I don't know about you, but I'm starved!", Waters said after we finished our drinks. "Let's go raid one of the restaraunts!", I followed him out of the room. Down other side passageways and we were once again out into the passenger areas once again, taking one of thier stairways to an area of lounges and restaraunts a deck below the above decks areas. At one restaraunt promising high end family style fare, we turned and entered; then made a beeline for its' kitchen, which was set up much like the galley aboard that aircraft carrier I was on, only smaller. He headed for the walk-in refrigerator near the back, noticing that it was still functioning properly; and he opened it and presently went looking for something to eat, and I went in to check it out myself. We ended up settling for what leftovers we could find, warming them up in one of several microwaves set up in the stainless steel space. Taking our meals out to the dining area, we chose one of the many tables and began to dig in; and both of us were hungrier than we first realized! "Been a long time since I had food like this...", I said once my plate was all but empty. "Even though it's only leftovers!" "had this stuff the night before we got stuck in the storm...", Waters wiped his mouth. "I never saw a place where the folks don't eat meat..." "Well, only the carnivores here eat meat. The rest value life too much to waste it for food.", I said as I pushed my plate away. "The only thing I saw with that tradition is, with no meat in thier diets mixed with the plants and herbs they use for medicines and such; they all seem to live longer." "Humans too?", he asked. "Some humans I know are well over a hundred - decades over, in fact!", I told him. "Don't be fooled by thier looks. If someone looks fifty, for example, they're actually close to ninty. It is rumored that if you regularly drink Jinka tea, you could live up to two hundred and fifty years!" "That so?", he said. "Do you drink it?", I nodded. "I've only been here for about five years so far, and I was forty five the last time I noticed.", I told him. "I'm starting to feel as fit as I was when I was a cadet!" "How old you think I'll live?", Waters wanted to know. "I'm a bit over sixty." "Well, you'll live to at least a hundred, I'd say.", I told him. "That is if you don't get yourself killed first!" "How old are the dinosaurs?", Waters asked next. "All ages, actually!", I said, smiling. "But as how old they can get, I'd say really old. For Tyranosaurs and most other carnivores, they become really old after fifty or more. Brachs, Triceratops and other large ones can get over one fifty or more, and the same goes for the smaller species. It is rumored that Stegosauruses have never been known to die of old age, but who listens to rumors!" We talked like that for many minutes more, chatting about this and that; with subjects ranging from my experiences in Dinotopia to those of the both of us in the outside world. At last our stomachs settled enough, and we decided to wrap things up and get back to where we were supposed to be. Instead of going directly to Kiawa and the flight home, waters decided to monitor the radio and see if our handiwork had any effect on our would be rescuers. The bridge was filled with radio chatter as we entered the space, for we had left it on this whole time; and thanked the fates that the broken dish above was that of the transmitter! "Pendleton to Antifigasto, status of G.P.S. signal.", the captain there said. "Contact loss 17:04 hours.", the radioman there said. "No sign of re-establishment." "The Millennium Queen must have finally sank.", the captain of the Pendleton said. "The poor lads!" "Storm front increasing...", said another voice. "Rescue boats say waters increasingly dangerous. Two boats need rescue." "Chopper fourteen, winds at ninty knots.", a pilot said. "Returning to Pendleton." "This storm is growing too fast for effective rescue.", the captain of the Pendleton said. "General alert. All boats and choppers are recalled to thier ships. All ships prepare to go to port", he got a little more casual. "We'll continue this in more favorable weather." "The Brittish Singapore company won't like this.", his radioman commented. "That's thier problem.", the captain replied. "Prepare to abandon search..." Waters switched off the radio and we both let out a communal whoop! He indicated to me that I could destroy the radio, and I did so with pleasure. leaving the toolbox behind, he led me back to where kiawa stood perched on the foredeck. The Skybax Strutter's eyes took on a bright blue glow as he recognized us, and extended a foot so we could climb onto the wing a little safer. We both sat back in our seats, strapped in and prepared to take off. "Kiawa, can we make it back to Waterfall City?", I asked as soon as everything was powered up. "Alchohol fuel at critical level.", Kiawa said. "Insufficient fuel to arrive at said destination." "Can we make it to clan Thundertail if we take it easy?", I asked instead. "Affirmative.", it said. "Sufficient fuel for powered takeoff, then aeroglide procedure the rest of the way." "Can we make it before sundown?", asked Frank Waters, looking at the setting sun as wekll as the still raging Perpetual storm. "I don't think it's too safe to fly in the dark!" "I am fully capable of nocturnal flight.", Kiawa said. "Excellent, boy!", I said. "Then let's get going!" "Affirmative.", Kiawa said. "But Kiawa female entity!", with that she simultaneousely flapped and engaged her Dinojet engines. "Sorry!", I chuckled as she circled around and headed inland, toward the Forbidden mountains... _
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Post by thundertail on Mar 25, 2012 17:59:07 GMT -5
_ FORTY-SEVEN: "Submission and redemption." Flit watched as Kiawa flapped, was airborne and rocketed out of sight; hearing the hundreds of people and dinosaurs gasp, holding thier ears at the sound it made. Once the sound faded enough, the mayor of Waterfall City recovered first and smiled at his people. He raised his hands and spoke loudly to gain thier attention. "Well friends!", he chuckled. "It looks like the excitement is all over for the time being. You may all resume what you were doing...", he made shooing gestures. "Mister Flit,... if you please...", Ruby Mattock said, reaching for his armored elbow. "Isn't it exciting, Ruby?", Elinore Compsagnathus was saying as Flit drew beside them. "Almost as grand as when we were in the Rainy Basin!..." "Ma'am, it is an honor to be escorted by one of your caliber.", Flit said as Ruby led them away from the front of the courthouse. "I have heard of your exploits in clan Thundertail, and mourn your losses." "My husband and his Partner may have died there, but it wasn't at the hands of your cohorts.", Ruby told him. "Besides, that is in the past; and my husband would have wanted me to carry on." "A sound sentiment.", Flit said. "What are you going to do now that he is gone, if I may ask?" "At first, my agenda was to prosecute the culprits that did this to them.", Ruby said. "They died at the hands of Torres LaSage. I see now that vengance does not pay; and have been spending my time promoting the exploits of the creatures of the Rainy Basin." "I did not know this.", Flit said. "I doubt any in the Rainy Basin knows this!" "Yeah! We do it really sneaky!", Elinore chittered as she climbed over to Flit's armored shoulder. "Say! This armor is exactly like Stinger's!" "It is an armor of Othgar, like Stinger's.", Flit confirmed. "Proboke no longer functions as an entity, but he was once a master tactician. I am but a lowly artificial life construct myself..." "How interesting...", Elinore said as they walked down the avenue. Flit stayed with them for the whole day, strolling around the city and seeing the sights; of which a few of them Flit had never seen his last time there. All three saw puppet shows and tumblers among the crowds of multi species pedestrians who were decked out in thier usual colorful finery. Flit commented on the similarities and differences in the archetecture of this city and those that were built in Kinan Van and Halcyon. He listened to the exploits of Ruby Mattock and would have laughed at Elinore's colorful anecdodes if he could! All during the day Flit had to admit he had a good time in thier company, and they had soon become fast friends. Many of the citizens stopped to chat with them, and some of the newcomer castaways met them in thier own travels of exploring the city. Nearing sundown they made thier way to Ruby's apartment on Seedpod street near Sabertooth Cascades on the other side of town from mister Woolright's apartment, which was on Steep street. They walked up the steps of this rather small building to her apartment on the third floor and stepped inside. "What a lovely place you have here!", complemented Flit. "It's nothing, really...", Ruby Mattock commented as she went to put the groceries she had shopped for today in the kitchen. "Please sir.", Elinore said as she got down off him and scurried to her favoite resting couch in the living room. "Why don't you come sit and make yourself more comfortable?" "I do not require comfort as you know it.", Flit stated. "But if you don't mind, I would like to remove this armor..." "By all means, please do so, sir!", Elinore said. "I must warn you, though.", Flit said as he moved to a corner out of the way. "My true form is not like anything you have seen!" At her nod, the suit split down the middle and unfurled itself, revealing Flit's true octopus-like form. Elinore gasped as flit perambulated out and stood there in all his spindly glory. As Ruby stepped from the kitchen, she held a hand to her mouth at the sight, nearly screaming! Flit reguarded them both as they did likewise back; and finally Flit was the first to speak. "This is my true form. I am an artificial life construct.", he paced around the room, reguarding everything in the room with his multicolored optics. "I am sorry if my appearance startles you..." "Why..., no!", Elinore squeaked first. "You look,... very unique...!" "I was not expecting this,", Ruby agreed. "But you are our friend never the less, no matter what you look like!... Isn't that right, Elinore?" "Why... of course!", she said. "Did I say you look very unique?" "Affirmative.", he said. "I mean, yes, Elinore." "Ah,... I was just coming out to ask what you'd like to eat...", Ruby faltered. "I do not injest organic matter...", Flit told her. "But I have been feeling stiff of late. Would you possibly have any type of oil in this household?" "Don't we have some cooking oil up in the cupboard?", asked Elinore. "Why yes. I think you're right!", Ruby went to get it. "So, sit and tell me about yourself.", Elinore said after a brief pause. She watched as Flit went to the only couch and folded his appendages in a close approximation of a human sitting. "I was once the Partner of Shetsetskafti, the chief engineer to Othgar the great.", Flit began. "Very interesting!", Elinore said as Ruby presently came out with a small capped earthenware picher. "You were around then?" "Yes. My original form was a Compsagnathus like yourself.", Flit told her. "It is quite possible that you could be one of my predecessers." "You don't say!", Elinore giggled, then watched flit take the picher and apply oil to himself. A tiny opening irised open near the front of the appendage nexxus just below his head. He only applied a few ounces, but that was all he required for lubrication. Then he set the picher down and looked at them guiltilly. "Shetsetskafti was a masterful inventor.", Flit said. "He was responsable for designing all the Strutters as well as the armor of Othgar. He was also involved with the design of my present form." Flit went on telling them all about his life way back then, and told them entertaining stories of long ago. After Elinore and Ruby had thier dinner, the female Copmpsagnathus tried to entertain Flit with symphonies played on thier phonograph; making Flit smile inside even though he could not physically show it. As a matter of fact, Flit became so taken with Elinore that evening that he secretly felt something within him he hadn't felt for anyone in over ten thousand years. This emotion made him so perplexed that during some of his smalltalk with her that he began stammering and hitching quite agauinst his will! Ruby noticed this first, but made no indication of this. She just let them both carry on and observed what she perceived as a budding romance unfold before her. "Elinore,... I, I have something to say...", he haltingly said after a few hours. "What is it, Flit?", she said. She had been beside him on the couch for neraly an hour now. "It has come to my realization... I mean, I finally understand...", he faltered, frustrated at his lack of words at this time. "That you are the most charming creature I have met since I had been freed from the World Beneath. I do not know what else to say..." "I am flattered, coming from you...", she looked at him, confused. "But what are you trying to get at?" "I am saying...", he seemed to gasp as he looked her in the eye. "I never thought it possible, me being the way I am. You are a most beautiful creature,... and the truth is,... I think I am falling in love with you...", he seemed to deactivate after that. "Oh, Flit...!", she stroked his metallic face. "You are a gallant one, and I have grown quite fond of you..." "But the trouble is I can not be this way for what I am!...", he said softly. "I can not complete this love I feel, for I am a robot and you are a living creature...!" "You poor thing!", Elinore said, taking one of his tenticles. "But you must know that you are more than a robot, for an entity noble and wise lives in you. How can I not help but love one such as that?" "You say this, yet still there will be others to complete what I can not.", he said, crying inside. "What is worse is I will live nearly forever, and you will grow old and die. That day I will be heartbroken!" "Flit, sweet thing!", she soothed. "Do not worry what the future may bring! Now is the only time that matters.", she nuzzled his metallic chin. "We have now and until you must leave for home; then if our duties permit, we shall visit each other one day - many more times after that, I'd wager! Do not worry about anything else.", this she said in his auditory sensor before kissing it. Not long after that it was time for Ruby to go to bed, and Elinore soon followed her after saying good night to her new and dearest friend, Flit. Flit chose to shut down inside Proboke for the night; and as the suit closed over him, all he could think of was Elinore. Artificial life constructs aren't supposed to dream, but Flit dreamed of him and her; and both were scurrying through fields of meadow grass. She was her usual beautiful self, and he was in his original Compsagnathus body; and both were playing and carrying on, good friends for life with a rich life ahead of them. He wasn't aware that he powered down during the night until he suddenly felt a light, scratchy tapping on Proboke's left calf. Once he became fully online, he opened Proboke's helmet and stared at two smiling faces. "Good morning, Flit!", squeaked Elinore. "Sleep well?" "I experienced a nominal down cycle...", he said. "I mean, yes! It was most enjoyable." "Us too!", Elinore said. "We were just about to have Morningmeal.", Ruby said. "Join us?" "We know!", Elinore droned and winked. "Just to sit and watch!" "I would be delighted!", Flit said and moved Proboke to the dining area. Thier meal was simple and delicious: Seaweed pancakes and varius breads and fruits; and to Flit's olfactory sensors, he surmised it was delicious. After the meal and a light cleanup, both Ruby and Elinore prepared themselves for the day in thier private rooms; and soon rejoined Flit in the living area. Before they could reach the door to thier apartment, a Postal Bird fluttered by the window before returning and landing on it; and Elinore leapt up to greet him proper. "Hello, busy flyer!", she chirped. "Care to rest before your next stop?" "Actually, my next stop is here.", the bird scolded. "I have a message for a mister Flit, and I was told he was residing at the residence of a miss Ruby Mattock and miss Elinor Compsagnathus..." "I am Flit.", Flit spoke up. "Very good, sir.", said the winged creature. "Message as follows: A delivery cart was stopped at the main gate to Waterfall City. Occupants claim to be from the Rainy Basin, arriving to receive you or a mister Stinger.", he paused. "The guards say they will escort them to the council chamber building. End of message." "Then I think we should be going!", Ruby said. "Don't want to keep them waiting any longer than necesary!", Elinore chirped. "Do you wish to send a reply?", the bird inquired. "I don't think that is necesary...", Flit said. "But I think miss Ruby is right: we must be on our way!" "Yes, yes!", Elinore said. "And we can meet more people along the way! Yipee!" "Very well...", the postal bird hopped to the windows' edge. "Compys!...", he flapped off to his next assignment. With very little talk, the trio exited Ruby and Elinore's apartment and made it out to the street below. Already the morning pedestrian traffic was rather thick as they hurried on thier way, and Elinore made sure to properly greet everyone that passed by! They made it down the Grand Promenade, past many shops and restaraunts; and at last to the plaza where the council chamber builing was its' main attraction. On the street beside this structure one of the many carts posessed by clan thundertail stood, Triceratops puller waiting patiently and aged driver nervousely looking at the growing crowd while shooing away the flies his puller was attracting. "Ah, lad!", MacDougal drawled. "There ye' be!", he dismounted and came over. "And your name might be?...", Elinore asked. "MacDougal's me name, tinkering is me game!", he offered his hand to Ruby first. "An' whoo is this fine lass?" "Mister MacDougal, please meet Elinore Compsagnathus and miss Ruby Mattock.", Flit introduced. "They let me stay at thier home for the night." "And your name, noble saurian?...", Elinore asked. "My name is Flatbottom.", he said. "Forgive mister MacDougal, for he loses his manners when in the presence of beauty!" "Oh, stop!...", Elinore scolded lightly. "Ye daft lizard...!", MacDougal mouthed to Flatbottom, then changed his tune. "Ah, laddy! We must hurry if we want to make it home by sundown. Shake a leg!..." "He is right!", Flit said. "We must be on our way..." "Oh, Flit...!", Elinore jumped upon him and began to nuzzle. "I will surely miss you, my good friend!...", she pulled away slightly from his response. "See you soon?", she asked meekly. "Most assuredly so, lovely one!", Flit answered as she kissed his metallic face. "I will see you as well, Ruby Mattock.", he turned to her. "Count on it, friend!", Ruby said, then turned to MacDougal. "Uh, sir. Do I know you? You look familiar." "I donna think I knoo ya...", the former pirate said. "I member a redhead a few years agoo... O'course thot was when I was wid LaSage..." "YOU were a pirate?!", Ruby accused. "You?!" "Aye... A bad time o' me life, to be sure...", MacDougal admitted. "Uh, miss Ruby!", Flit interjected. "Mister MacDougal has since reformed his ways. He now lives an extremely upstanding life in the Rainy Basin, and is quite an asset to clan Thundertail." "Ifn I done anything wrong ta you, I be soo sorry...", MacDougal told her. "That was a MacDougal o' anoother time..." "Go ahead, forgive him!", Elinore cut in. "He said he was sorry." "Yes, I think I should.", Ruby said. "I forgive you, mister MacDougal", she looked stern. "But I STILL do not forgive LaSage!" "I'm wid ye there!", MacDougal chuckled. "She ha rooned many a mans' life! I donna forgive her, either!" She chuckled as well and shook the man's offered hand. With one last farewell from them all, Flit climbed the cart, followed by MacDougal; and Flatbottom slowly began to turn the cart around. The cart rolled down the cobbled streets the way it had come, and soon they were well outside Waterfall City limits. Flit was just finishing up telling Flatbottom and MacDougal about his time there in Waterfall City, and MacDougal was just about to tell him about the journey he and Flatbottom had in getting there when he paused and reguarded the metallic blue armored contrivance beside him. "So, tin can.", he began. "Whot's wid the little Compy?", he looked at him sideways. "Anything interesting?... Ye caan tell yer old bud!" "Honestly! It is not your business!...", Flit said. "Elinore and I are... friends." "I observed an extreme level of infatuation.", Flatbottom commented. "I would say that Flit may very well be in love - if such a thing is possible in a creature such as he..." "Aye!...", MacDougal made dreamy eyes. "Th' weddin' bells are ringin' already!...", he chuckled. "Oh!... Close your vocal orifices!", Flit yelled at them exasperatedly. "The both of you!..." Both Ceratopsian and human laughed out loud for a while, and then Macdougal told Flit all about thier trip. Flit, on the other hand, remained silent for the rest of the trip home; silently thinking of his time by himself in Waterfall City - and the two fantastic friends he had met there. We had arrived in clan Thundertail at dusk the previous evening, Kiawa landing in a nearly deserted clearing among clan members that had already had thier eveningmeal and were just about ready to turn in for the night. Thier lassitude quickly turned into joy when they spotted the giant flying machine in the sky, and many of the evening feasters welcomed us home with roaring bellows and much capering. I barely had time to climb down from Kiawa when Rex bounded into the clearing and nearly bowled me over in his excitement! I dodged his great mass as he whizzed past, and clung to his muzzle as he turned; exchanging bearhugs and rumbluing coos. It seemed that he had missed me as much as I did him, for he would not relent his rough affection for the longest time! Waters had climbed down in the mean time, and stayed within Kiawa's shadow well out of harm's way until this display wound its' way down somewhat. Just about then Thundertail came by to see what was going on, smiling at our antics as he viewed the newcomer in our midst. Chief engineer Frank Waters shrank back near Kiawa at the sight! "Greetings, new human...", rumbled Thundertail in rough English. He was getting much better in the language! "Welcome to my domain!... Please forgive my son's antics... It is the curse of youth!" "Oh my gosh!", Waters breathed. "Um,... my king!", I said as I noticed him. "I have returned from my mission appointed by the high council. The Millennium Queen no longer sends its' mesage to the outside world..." "And it seems you have brought a friend along as well...!", he returned. "This is chief engineer Frank Waters.", I introduced, simultaneousely bringing him out in the open. "He played a major role in disabling the ship. Without him there, we would have never been able to do it." "Well met, hero of Dinotopia...!", Thundertail rumbled. "Have you eaten?...", he edged his muzzle closer. "Our Eveningmeal is all but over,... but there may be a bone or two to pick with luck!" "We have already eaten...", Frank said, backing up a pace. "It has been a long time since I had food from the outside world...", I agreeingly commented. "It was quite a change from what I'm used to around here!" "I would like to try some one day...", Thundertail rumbled as Thistlesnarl entered the area and began nuzzling Rex. "No flirting, you two!", I warned playfully, then explained. "Young love..." "Stinger, looks like you got the life around here!", Waters commented as he finally stood near Thundertail. "All the comforts of home, and all the friends you could want!" "Yeah, carnivores are a pretty effectionate lot...", I commented as Carl Scott entered the area. "All the patrols are in, my king.", Carl said. "Camp perimeter secured." "Very well...", Thundertail rumbled. "Uh,... mister Waters, I'd like for you to meet Carl Scott.", I introduced. "Him and his family came ashore a few years before I did." "Nice to meet you...", Frank offered a hand. "I heard you came in on a ship. A big one!", Carl took the hand. "Can it still float?" "No, I'm afraid not.", Waters told him as the handshake ended. "The steel plates are ripped open almost from keel to bow. It'll take a drydock to fix it." "Bummer...", Carl said and reneged. "I mean, at least Dinotopians could salvage it for parts and stuff!" "That could be one of the subjects of our next meeting with Waterfall City.", I said. "My king, there are many things of interest there, and lots of cargo and supplies. I say that, since we were the first there - not to mention rescuing the survivors, we should get the majority of it." "A sound claim...", Thundertail told me. "But the Dinotopian thing to do is to split it up evenly. I will accept whatever the high council decrees on this matter.", he smiled toothilly. "No need to be too greedy!" "You're right as usual, my king.", I said, then turned to Waters. "As for you, you must be exhausted from your 'heroics' today! Perhaps it would be best if I escort you to where you'll sleep..." "Sure.", he said. "I can't wait to see this place! It looks all so interesting!" "Wait until you see it in the daylight!", I smiled as I led him to the pyramid of Teeklan. Waters saw the building as we came upon it, but could not tell the true scale of it as we walked past the Post Office near the entrance. I took a torch and led him to Mayday and my old chambers, for we had recently moved into our claimed apartment in downtoen Kinan Van; and he gaped in wonder at all the hyroglyphs and renditions on the walls, not to mention all the gold and jewel inliad reliefs! I went past them like I had done every day I used these chambers, and we entered his room for the night; which was decked out with a plain looking bed and a small supply of food in a bowl on a stone platform in the near corner. He studied the cartuches all up and down the perimeter of the chamber, grabbing my torch to see better; then he went to test the bed. It was just an ordinary slat-supported affair, and not very ornate at all; but he laid on it and was nearly asleep before I left the room! I descended into the pyramid and made it to my apartment deep in the subterranean city nearly tweenty minutes later. I had had a busy day, but Mayday insisted on some snuggle time never the less; and I supposed that she had missed me just as much as Rex had! I kissed Mayday good night after tucking Hamilton in, and proceeded to tuck myself in not long after. In the morning I greeted our guest, but he wasn't in his room for some reason! I looked all through the pyramid and found him in one of the upper chambers, examining some more of the hyroglyphs and fumbling with things taken from the World Beneath and items from other chambers in the pyramid. He complained that he got lost, but all this was so fascinating he lost all track of time! This was understandable, and I told him so as I led him out of the pyramid. Outside he turned and stared in awe at the huge triangular building he had spent the night in, and I reminded him about what I told him last night; of which he commented that I wasn't kidding! In the clearing he saw what went on every morning in camp: humans and carnivores going about thier daily business, off to thier assigned chores and preparing everything that needed to be prepared. The hunting party was still out, so I couldn't show him that; but he saw the efficiency that everyone in the clan did thier things. Thistlesnarl with Carl riding him trotted into the clearing, followed by Diego and Waterkill and at least three more Rainy Basin Ranger teams; and they were around looking for thier Veloceraptor guard escorts, who were just being assigned to them by thier leader, Mosquito. Futher into the woods the trade carts were being prepared and loaded by humans and small saurians while thier larger saurian pullers were being hitched to those carts. Meals were being prepared by the Kirky, Veloceraptor and human females; and the many children were being herded to various places for thier morning lessons. Waters smiled at all this, looking like he could really get used to living with us. Nobody heard, least of all Waters, that king Thundertail, Grond and Rex had entered the area; and all three were standing right behind us! "Well, mister Waters!...", Thundertail nearly roared, making us turn with a start and stare at the trio, Rex panting in mirth. "How do you like our little community so far?..." "Wonderful! Just wonderful!...", Frank Waters barely moved, looking up in awe at this carniverous bohemoth that he should have been terrifyed of. "It's like a paradise, all these creatures living in harmony like this!..." "I'm glad you like it...", Thundertail said, looking around. "Would you like me to give you a tour as time allows,... or would you like morningmeal first?..." "You will need all the nutrition you can get if you want a proper tour.", I suggested. "There is a lot of walking involved!", I then whispered. "I don't know about you, but I'm starverd!..." "Breakfast first sounds fine!", he then replied. "What are we having?" "That all depends on what the hunting party can catch!", Rex said, almost as well as I could. "He means our breakfast entre' is going to be dinosaur.", I said. "Here we do not have the same ideals about eating meat as the rest of the island, you see." "The dinosaurs we hunt in the Rainy Basin live in a more wild state.", Paul Sereno came by and said. "Truely civilized plant eating dinosaurs would live in the cities." "Thank you, mister Sereno...", Thundertail said. "Oh yes!", he turned. "Sentinels say that the hunting party returns. They did not do too well today..." "We are then fortunate that Stinger has introduced other foods in our diet!", Grond rumbled. He was getting much better in English, too! "Breads and fruits would no doubt also be served!" Frank Waters could not say anything as we led him to the feeding area, he was too overwhelmed at all he had seen and heard so far that he was beyond words. I told him that what he was doing represented one of the creedos Dinotopia goes by: 'Observe, listen and learn.'; and for lack of a comment, he said it was a good one. The main course was an old Hadrosaur of indescriminent make, who could not make the journey to our Retirement Home and died on the way; but our portion I had roasted with a herb baste, and Waters said that he had never tasted anything so strange yet tasty. After plates of many fruits common to the area and rock shaped breads of rye and rice, the meal was chased by a variety of juices and teas; and by the look on this newcomers' face at the end of the meal, he looked like he was beginning to fit in here and relax among our company. The first place I took him after that was the Pyramid of Teeklan, a structure of which he only saw glimpses of last night and this morning; but his jaw still dropped as we neared it, which was much larger and brighter colored than the ones they have in Mexico City, he told me as we neared the postal Bird aerie. Two of the birds were chatting to each other as another limbered up for flight, and all of them ceased thier activities as we neared thier roost. I explained the functionality of the aerie as a comfort stop for Postal Birds, and went on to explain the usefullness these birds served all over Dinotopia. The first bird took off east, through the treetops and out of sight as the second finished her conversation with the third and prepared to limber up as well. I stopped the third for a second and made my request. "Could you send a message to waterfall City?", I asked him. "To mayor Waldo Seville, matriarch Rosemary Seville if she's there; or any high ranking official on the council?" "Certainly, human.", the bird with a yellow scarf and tan goggles on his head said. "Please state your message." "Message as follows:", I told him. "Mission to disable detection devices aboard the Millennium Queen has been completed. Radio monitoring of rescue fleet beyond Razor Reef indicates they are abandoning the search for more favorable weather. We will return mister Frank Waters to Waterfall City for rurther education shortly. Signed, mayor Stinger, clan Thundertail, Rainy Basin.", I looked at the bird. "Got all that?" "Of course!", the bird squawked. "My memory capacity is nearly twice that of other Postal Birds!" "Excellent!", I said cheerily, pointing that he should take off, and he presently did so. "So, you don't have telephones, radios or things like that; but you have those creatures...", Waters stated. "Yes.", I told him. "We also employ Skybax riders for courier services. Also messages can be sent by Overlanders, caravan traffic and the Brach bus service; but those methods are pretty slow." "Don't know what those are...", he scratched his chin. "But I'm sure I'll find out sooner or later!" "That you will!", I chuckled as I led him away, beginning his tour of clan Thundertail. We entered the pyramid of Teeklan once again, and this time I led him down to the very roots of the structure. He paused many times at a strange relief or statue made of gold or alabaster, and gaped at the arched portal that led deeper into the earth. The long, curving stairway that led nearly a quarter mile deeper into the ground winded the older man somewhat, but he lost all sense of weariness as we came out into the labrynthine streets of Kinan Van. The Sunstone lighting high above in the ceiling of the cavern lit the whole city up like day, and from those and the sconces and streetlights all along the way; they lit for him a bustling city full of life. Even though not many of us lived down there yet, many humans and saurians could be seen going about thier business down here as well. I told him all the work we did down here, the labor involved in restoration of the site and the cataloguing of all the artifacts found here; and he seemed quite impressed at all the progress in such a short time. I told him our gift from Tentpole of the Sky the three colored Sunstones, and the benefit the amber one gave us; for once it was placed in the pyramid, lights and other things were activated throughout the complexes of ruins. He commented on the Sunstones, saying that those stones seemed to be a source of great power, and he would love trying to marry that power with some of the things of the modern world that was brought here with the ship. I said that it would be an interesting experiment to see what would happen. I continued the tour down there, and we made our way to the passageways that led to the chamber of the Strutters and the main entrances to Kinan Van; which were completely excavated, but the fine stonework had not been restored as of yet. we were just about to continue our tour of the World Beneath when a Veloceraptor came barreling toward us and screech to a stop, panting. "Stinger!", Ripper hissed. "Flit has returned to camp!" "So soon?", I asked. "What is the time?" "It is close to Eveningmeal.", Ripper hissed. "The sun is low in the sky." "Time flies!", I said to Frank. "I guess we better cut the rest of the tour short for now. I can only show you so much a day!" "That's all right, Stinger.", said Frank Waters. "What you showed me so far was absolutely fantastic!... If the rest is half as good, I'm sure I'll be blown away!" "We must hurry.", Ripper said. "Our king would wish all present." "Right, son.", I said and we followed him to the entrance we came in from. At Frank's curious look I explained that Ripper and his brother, Snapper, were my nestchildren; and on further question, I told him about that as well. We made it to the surface just as Flatbottom was being unhitched and rubbed down by some Kirky handlers. Flit was in his bluish armor and MacDougal was leaning on the cart they took, waiting for us just like many others of the clan. Flit was animatedly telling them of his time in Waterfall City as MacDougal chuckled knowingly, but made no indication of what he was chuckling about. Presently Thundertail halted Flit's descriptions and asked him to repeat himself so we could know. Once he was done, Waters came up to him and examined his suit of armor; but was taken extremely aback at his interior look! "He ain't whot he appears! Eh, laddy?", MacDougal chuckled, moving from where he was leaning and shook his hand. "Name's MacDougal." "Frank Waters.", the chief engineer said. "This is the most sophistic robot I have ever heard of!" "Please, mister Waters!", Flit said, eyelights blinking. "I preferr to call myself an Artificial Life Construct!" "Sorry!...", Waters said, reguarding him some more. "You're a lot more advanced than anything we could make. Who made you?" "I was designed by Shetsetskafti, chief scientist and engineer to king Othgar the great.", Flit said like he had said so many times before. "If you are wondering about my intellegence, I know everything my Partner knew when he was alive." "That so?", Waters said, drifting off with the pair as they prepared to go about thier business. "Uh,... If you want to find me, I'll be with them!", he trotted off after them. I chuckled and nodded at my king and my clan members, indicating that he needed to adjust on his own; and to give him his own space as he explored on his own. It turned out that he spent most of the two days there with Flit and MacDougal; and spent it trading insights on Dinotopian technology and the technology from the outside world. He became very good friends with many of our clan, and helped out in things as was his ability: fixing wagon wheels and repairing dents in many of our metallic pots and pans and such. We had planned a cargo run to waterfall City a few days later, and I decided to go and handle the trade myself; but I also wanted to make sure that chief engineer Frank Waters made it to his destiny of learning all about Dinotopia - from ones used to teaching people about the place. So I called him over that morning as the caravan was being prepared and asked him if he wanted to help deliver the supplies. Not wishing to be left out of anything, Waters gladly agreed! Sauron and Chillet were hitched to the two small carts by several other humans (There were so many humans there now I could not recall thier names.) and other saurians (Same there!), and I had Waters drive the cart pulled by Chillet while Sauron and I led the pair of carts out of clan Thundertail. Chillet balked as Waters tried to stroke her neck to get acquainted, and I told him that some saurians do not like to be touched, as in thier case. He apologised profusely while she told him that since he was ignorant of thier ways, all was forgiven; but still he never touched her again the whole trip! By late afternoon we came to the main gates of Waterfall City; and knowing my schedule with the supplies, made short work of finding my way through the streets to Commerce Square. The first merchant I stopped at was mister Rhudolph, whom we delivered many cases of MacDougal's hooch; each bottle a different flavor concoction and cut down for civilized tastes, and he thanked me for the delivery while ordering more. We had many types of exotic fruits that only grew in the Rainy Basin for the fruit venders there, and Mammoth milk and cheeses for the vendors of those comodities. We traded the drachs we got from those exchanges for refined medicines, ready made clothing some of our human females ordered, leads to other trading ventures and tips on interesting artifacts presumably from the World Beneath in other parts of Dinotopia. With my business done for the time being, I decided to take Frank Waters to the mayor so they could prepare him for and regester him for education and accomodations in the city. At the courthouse I found nobody there as I searched every hall. In a small administrative alcove I fouund Minch, and he was hurriedly gathering papers and scrolls to be put away for the day. In his general confusion, Minch turned with a jerk and ran into me as I stood by the door; and he gasped once he realized who I was! "OH!... Mister stinger!", he jostled his scrolls. "I didn't know you were in the city!... How may I help you?" "I came with the load of supplies for the merchants in the city, and...", I began. "Ah, yes!", he said. "I had seen the permit for those transactions...", he put in as I caught two scrolls that spilled from his hands. "Anyway...", I continued. "I brought mister Frank Waters along too. I wanted to return him so he can begin his life as a Dinotopian!" "I see that, sir.", he said as we followed him down a hallway. "Unfortunately, I wasn't notifyed of this. I'm afraid there is no place for him to stay the night.", he opened another chamber door and quickly placed his load onto the table in the center. "I will see to it as soon as I file all these writs...", he studied his workload as I placed my scrolls on the table as well. "Don't bother!", Waters said. "Can't we sleep in the carts or something?..." "Nonsense, my dear sir!", Minch looked up. "All will be taken care of shortly.", he looked up once more. "Stinger, if you escort him to the Eating Pavillion, I will meet you there in about a half hour. Then I should have rooms for you both..." "Also, do you think it's possible to provide rooms for our pullers?", I asked. "They are two Pachycephalosaurs..." "Right away, sir...", Minch shooed us away. I led the way out of the courthouse and went to our carts; then we made our way to the Eating Pavillion less than ten minutes later. We both ordered thier house special, and sauron and Chillet ordered what was suitable for thier species while we waited. Not many of the regular patrons present at this hour made any sign of our presence other than a few sidelong glances at my armor; but when the food got there it was hot and delicious. We ate our fill and pushed dishes away as we continued to wait for Minch, looking up and down the street expecting his presence. A questioning glance from Waters and I took the opportunity to speak. "So, this is where we part company...", I said. "I hope you find happiness here, my friend." "Well, I figure that, with friends like you I'll probably meet along the way...", Waters stretched. "I'm sure that will be the case!" "Just remember, wherever you end up being, you'll always have friends in the Rainy Basin.", I said. "Your help the past few days - as well as your help with the ship - proves you'll be a vital asset to Dinotopia." "Just as soon as I learn my way around, huh?", he said. "Precisely!", said Minch as soon as he came into earshot. "Acclimation will begin tomorrow; but for right now, I have found you a place to spend the night.", he sat down, and a Stenochysaur waiter noticed him and began his approach. "You will be staying with mister Friedman, the fruit vendor; and I will escort you there shortly." "Anything I can get you, mister Minch?", the waiter asked, stylus poised. "Uh,... The usual, I guess...", Minch replied, then turned his attention back to us. "As for the rest of you. Stinger can stay at Fountain Square, in the hall of Hadrosaurs and Ceratopsians; and your two friends can stay there too. I'm sorry there is no more human accomodations available in the city..." "That's all right, my dear sir!", I said. "I'm well practiced in sleeping in saurian nests." "Very well. I suppose you know the way...", he said then noticed his dinner approaching. "With all of todays' activities, I forgot to have lunch!" We waited in silence as he nearly wolfed down his pasta and greens, topping it off with a Jinka tea and some water. After a moment to wipe his mouth and arranged the used plates and silverware - including ours - he rose, and we all followed suit. Waters turned and shook my hand; then offered his hand to Sauron; but thought better of it and was about to withdraw it, but Sauron took it and pumped it twice. Chillet came up to him and gave him a suprise nuzzle, then smiled in a saurian way as she took her mate's hand. Further goodbyes were said all around as I paid the waitor for all our meals; and then it was time for Minch to lead chief engineer Frank Waters away... _
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Post by thundertail on Mar 25, 2012 20:16:03 GMT -5
_ FORTY-EIGHT: "Salvage Operation." Our night in the hall of Hadrosaurs and Ceratopsians was quite restful, despite the fact that my assigned nest was designed for saurians a few sizes too small for me; but Sauron and Chillet said thier rest was most enjoyable. This was, of course, after a Postal Bird woke us, summoning us to the council chambers for an impromptu meeting; and we made all haste in getting there, saurian tender of the facility we slept in promising to take good care of our carts. As we climbed the steps to the great hall, we noticed many of the crew of the Millennium Queen standing in knots with thier escorts at the front of the building. many of them voiced thier ignorance in why they were called here, and I could offer no insights as to why, either! Soon mayor Waldo Seville came down the steps, flanked by his usual saurian guard, and reguarded all that were summoned with a smile. "My dear friends, fellow Dinotopians, men and women...", he began. "Many things have no doubt happened since your arrival on our humble shores. This meeting will be a follow-up of sorts. A chance to end the lives you once knew and begin a new and wonderful one with us.", he spread his arms to all in greeting. "Now, if you will all follow me, we can get started. We have so many things to discuss!...", he turned, and many followed right away while most lagged behind before being prompted by thier hosts. Inside the council chambers, only a small handful of human and saurian delegates were in attendance; but it seemed that all of the court clerks were there, scurrying this way and that in an effort to organize everything and seat everyone. I led Sauron and Chillet up to our booth in the balcony, and one of the aides escorted us; whispering the meetings itinery to us as we went. The newcomers there were the first to resolve themselves that they were on Dinotopia for the rest of thier lives, and they were the ones most eager to learn and get started with that life. Thier part in the meeting was to have them assigned to other communities where they would be trained in other trades as well as continue thier education of Dinotopia in general. I decided to volunteer Kinan Van to be one of the communities receiving these people. After all, Kinan Van was open and running smoothly as a city; but the city could contain up to 30,000 people and saurians, and it was only about 65% occupied so far. Many of the newcomers, as well as thier families and Partners could live there comfortably; but I decided to wait on the mayors' decision. The next thing to be discussed was the fate of the Millennium Queen. The ship was foundering out there, and there was many useful things aboard. A discussion would ensue about the deposition of those supplies, and what would become of the hulk when all useful things were taken away. I would request that clan Thundertail get the majority of these things as we were the first there, and nearly single handedly rescued all of these survivors; and I would argue that we were entitled to at least something. King Thundertail said that it was unwise to be too greedy, so I would argue these points and wait to see what the mayor decided and be happy with that. Another event today was to be a full account of the rescue ooperation and the events following discovery of the detection equipment on board the ship. It was required to give an account of all activity involved with disabling said machinery, and all things said and done between then and the return of Frank Waters; and that was the reason I saw him below in the crowd, talking to his former captain and many of the other crewmembers. I knew that news of the successful disablement of the G.P.S. would surely please them; and knew that news of the rescue partys' abandonment of the search would please them even more! The courtroom grew silent as all filed in and was seated, then fell to a hush as mayor Waldo Seville emerged onto his ships' bow podium above the main floor of the chamber. "Well!... We are all here!...", Waldo smiled at us all. "The first thing I would like to do is welcome you all... You are true Dinotopians of the finest spirit!", he cleared his throat as all cheered mildly. Waldo let this die of its' own accord before speaking. "I suppose the first thing we should discuss is this: Is Dinotopia truely safe from outside influence?" He looked in my direction, motioning with his eyes that I should come forward; so I backed out of clan Thundertail's booth and scurried around to the main doors, walking regally to the middle of the chamber. "To start things off, I would like mayor Stinger of the Rainy Basin and chief engineer Frank Waters to give an account of thier little mission of destruction!", Waldo said. "Mister Waters, if you would please step forward?", he complied, standing at my side. "Sir, I will do my best...", he mumbled. "I guess it is best if Stinger begin.", the mayor said. "After all, he and his great metallic Skybax took you there!" "Yes, sir.", I said, and gave my whole account. For the next twenty minutes or so the whole courtroom was silent listening to the story. I told about our flight there to disabling the G.P.S. antenna, removing and discarding the vital components overboard. I told of the radio transmissions from the rescue party on the other side of the razor Reef, and thier intended abandonment after we disabled the rest below decks. I said how we gained sustenence from the ships' stores, and told of all the goods still aboard as well as thier usefullness to all Dinotopians. I left nothing out, or was corrected every now and again by mister Waters. I ended by giving an account of mister Waters' discoveries at clan Thundertail to his trip back to waterfall City. The people before me clapped at the story's conclusion, and we both stood down. "Well! That is truely glorious news!", Waldo said amid the applause. "Truely Dinotopia is safe from the outside world!... Mister Frank Waters and mayor Stinger, your service to the island will be remembered always!", then he became serious. "But do you think they will return?" "The Perpetual storm and the Razor reef will discourage them every time they try.", I conjectured. "At least that's the way I see it." "Studies show that this is the case.", Zippeau Stenoychosaurus said from a back row. "Ooh!... I'm sorry! I'm out of line again!...", he sat. "It is all right in this case, Zippeau.", Waldo told him. "I have read those studies myself.", he looked out into the crowd. "Now, there is a matter of the salvage of the Millennium Queen.", Waldo continued. "Judging from many accounts, no less those of mayor Stinger and Frank Waters, the items aboard can be beneficial indeed to all Dinotopians. But to be fair to the passengers and crew, I have dispatched a salvage team to recover all of thier personal effects. That was why I had your hosts ask you everything you had brought aboard. All those things will be recovered and sent to you with all due speed." He took a breath before continuing. "Now then, the list of supplies and provisions generally on a vessel such as this has been gratiousely provided by the ships' purser and various supply handlers among the crew.", shuffling was heard in the courtroom as all settled down to hear the rest. "The list is extensive, but the useful things will be doled out to communities that need these things the most; and the rest doled out as seen fit or as said communities need them." "Your honor...", I rose and spoke. "If I may suggest. Clan Thundertail was present when the ship ran aground, and played a major part in rescuing the survivors. I feel that, since we did all that, we should get a majority of these items. Many of these items are of outsider manufacture, and most Dinotopians would find no real use for them anyway." "I see your point, Stinger.", Waldo said. "But unfortunately, I must say that you will not get most of what is aboard! True, you and your clan played a large part in this dilemma, and deserve to be commended. You are indeed entitled to a portion of the salvage of the Millennium Queen, and you shall certainly get that; but it will be a fair portion no larger than all the rest." "Thank you, your honor.", I said. "King Thundertail warned me about being too greedy; but I figured it couldn't hurt to try!", I got chuckles! "Do not be discouraged in this just yet, Stinger. You may get the Tyranosaur's share if all goes in your favor!", Waldo said. "If the items you speak of are as strange as you say, they might end up being yours after all!", I bowed and returned to my booth above while Frank returned to his seat behind him. "Now then...", mayor Waldo Seville said after clearing his throat. "The main reason why you are all here today is to tell you that many of you are about to go on a little trip.", he paused to hear the castaways' confused murmur. "It has come to my attention that the rescources of Waterfall City is on the verge of being taxed greatly. If we do not do something about it, Waterfall City will no longer be the prosporous city it is famous for!", he smiled. "All of you are going to be assigned to live in other cities and outposts all around Dinotopia, and exactly where each one of you and your families and Partners are to go will be determined by the end of the meeting." "Lord mayor!...", I announced. "If I may make a contribution... As you know, our city of Kinan Van is now fully operational. The only thing with this is it is not fully populated.", I looked at the small sea of humans below. "I volunteer a minimum of one hundred homes in Kinan Van to the repopulation of these fine people!", cheers. "What a gratious contribution!", Waldo joined in the clapping. "I am sure you will get many tennants from this group!" "Also, lord mayor...", I added. "A specific invitation goes to mister Frank Waters to live there with us!...", I looked down on him. "He seemed to show a growing intrest in our community, he has made friends with nearly everyone there so far; and his engineering skills would come in quite handy around there." "That is a noteworthy idea, mayor Stinger!...", Waldo said. "I am sure that the council will vigorousely take that under consideration!..." "Mister mayor?...", Waters requested. "I would really like to live there one day, but I know that I must learn all I can to be a good Dinotopian citizen. My first task should be to learn all I can here in Waterfall City before going to live with Stinger..." "That is a sound criteria as well!", Waldo chuckled. "You shall certainly learn all we have to offer in your education!", he looked at the rest. "As with all of you!... I assume that by now all of you have at least started cirriculums in our many schools. This education will continue for as little as one month to as much as one year; and then you will be assigned to your new residences.", he looked at one and all. "Any questions thus far?" A moment later a few people had a question or two, followed by a flood of them as the next twenty minutes or so elapsed. "I haven't had so much as a steak since I got here.", One said. "Is it true Dinotopians do not eat meat?" "Dinotopians value life above all else.", Waldo said. "The very thought of eating meat is extremely repulsive to us! We have developed certain plants to suppliment our need of protein and other nutrients. Our diet is a most healthy one!", he looked up at me. "Of course, there are certain ones who do not hold to these beliefs..." "Is it true that the dinosaur I was given is to be with me for life?", another asked. "Of course!", Waldo told him. "The bonds we make with our dinosaur Partners can become quite personal and intimate. Dinosaurs are our brothers and sisters on this island!" "Is it true you have knowledge that has become lost to the outside world?", asked another. "If so, is it like the library at ancient Alexandria?" "Actually, that library is believed to have what king Othgar and his followers had taken with them from our library.", the mayor said. "You should ask Zippeau Stenoychosaurus if you really want to know the full extent of the knowledge stored there." The questioning went on for another hour. Most dealt with where they would live and who they would live with, and just as many questions dealt with the finer points of Dinotopian life. Some even asked if it were possible to leave the island if they didn't like it here, but the delegates in the upper tiers chuckled thier saurian laughter as Waldo tried to explain that there wasn't any way off. Mayor Waldo Seville tried to explain to them that all those questions would be answered as time went by, and to be patient as every Dinotopian was doing thier very best to council them and help them acclimate to this new way of life. Other than that, the castaways present voiced thier pleasure and wonder at being here, and overall said that this was the best place on Earth; a thing that I had vocally agreed with Sauron just then, and got braying mutual agreement from him! "Now then, to continue with this meeting, a handful of you have already been approved for certain places around the city. The section you will be staying in has certain crafts and trades. There you are encouraged to learn that trade, and soon you will be a master of that trade.", Waldo told them, then rattled off the half dozen names. "The following are to be assigned to other cities:", He spoke the names of nearly all the rest, and the name of the town they were to be sent to. "These places are centers of one trade or more. Farming, fishing, transportation and trade. There are also hatcheries in some of these places, and some of you will even be assigned there." Only three present were assigned to clan Thundertail, and to live in Kinan Van; and by the end of all the assignments, Frank Waters had been assigned there as well! When the time came to portion out the things aboard the Millennium Queen, it was decided that since a physical inventory hadn't been performed yet; this could not be feasable at this time. However, since there were plenty of perishables like food and the like; that would have to be doled out right away. Of this booty clan Thundertail would get any meat aboard, whether it be frozen, dried, canned or fresh; and the majority of the perishable vegetables and the like would be given to the nearest towns, leaving any nonperishables for the farther towns. The mayor had already said that the personal effects of the passengers and crew were already being loaded into barges at first, then to be transferred to carts to be taken to Waterfall City. He assured the people here today that they would be getting thier things long before they left the city; and he commented that they might not need some of the things they had, but they could be traded for other things truely needed. He started to end the meeting by once again commending these people for taking thier first step in a new life. As his applause died down somewhat, Waldo discreetly called me into his private chambers. "Stinger, there is a problem...", Waldo told me as he began to eat. "I know having all these new people here is a problem.", I told him. "That is why I volunteered to help house them..." "It's not that, my boy!", Waldo motioned that I could join in, so I took an orange wedge. "I'm sure you heard the concerns of the people today. They wish to leave us, and travel to the outside world!" "But we told them many times that it's impossible.", I said. "I have read some of the accounts of those who tried and failed in the past. Carl Scott told me how him and his father tried and nearly drowned. I may not have tried, but I could have using the Skybax Strutter. It was fortunate that the thing has a limited range!" "That's not it at all!", Waldo said. "WE may know it's impossible, but many of these people do not believe us! They will try no matter what we say, and most likely kill themselves in the bargain!" "Then we should keep a closer eye on those who have a mind to try.", I suggested. "If those you think would try gives you any trouble, they can stay with us. We're used to handling trouble!" "Thank you very much.", Waldo said. "But that's not the total trouble with them. Many of them carry strange ideas and ways. They would no doubt try to implement thier ideas and beliefs on regular Dinotopians. In your world there is greed and war and mistrust and deceit. We are not used to people like that!" "Again, if they cause any trouble, you could send them to us.", I told him. "You must remember that I am a newcomer as well, and I know what to look out for." "Then may I ask a favor of you?", asked Waldo. "What is it?", I replied. "I would like for you to stay in Waterfall City and look after them.", said Waldo. "I want you to give us a measure of early warning so we can stop those that would try anything detromental to Dinotopia." "I would be honored to do all I can, lord mayor.", I said. "However, I also have duties to my clan to perform. I have been involved with these castaways since we first rescued them, and my other duties have no doubt been lagging.", I said. "If I may, could I resume my other duties at home, and visit Waterfall City often and do this service?" "Yes, of course, Stinger.", Waldo wiped his mouth. "Fates forbid this request get in the way of your mayoral duties!", he winked. "My own mayoral duties often take all my time as well, you know!" "Thank you, sir.", I said. "I will do my duty and return shortly; and I promise to visit every chance I get!", I looked at him a moment. "You know, I've been having some ideas on the usefulness of that ship..." "What do you have in mind?", he asked. "Well, you know our other city, halcyon?", I asked and he nodded. "The main problem is there is not enough water to sustain it as a city. I was thinking on using things on the ship to cure this problem." "How so?", he asked. "On all modern ships they have pumps and other machinery.", I said. "My idea was to use those machines to pump the water to Halcyon somehow." "Where will the water come from?", Waldo asked. "What are the obstacles? Will it be labor intensive?" "The nearest large body of fresh water is Deep Lake, near Treetown.", I said, imagining my aerial map of the area. "That is more than sixty miles away from Halcyon, and there are mountains and jungles to cross in between. I haven't figured out how exactly it could be done, but the machinery from the ship could be used to pump the water.", I thought. "Perhaps with the help of canals or aqueducts..." "An impossible task!", commented Waldo. "There is not enough help in all of Dinotopia to take on such a massive construction project!" "Perhaps the idea needs more work...", I finally admitted. "It was just an idea anyway,... But there MUST be a way to get enough water to Halcyon!..." "Don't worry, my boy...", Waldo consoled. "With you, you'll definitely find a way!", I stood, bowed and left his presence... _
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Post by thundertail on Mar 26, 2012 4:35:44 GMT -5
_ FORTY-NINE: "Back to school." Sauron, Chillet and I left Waterfall City by midday, Sauron pulling riderless while Chillet had me to guide her way. We made it to clan Thundertail by late afternoon, and the news I had to tell them far outweighed the items in both our carts. I told them the praise we got for disabling the Millennium Queen and of Frank Waters' successful return to the city. I also told them what was going on with the castaways, and thier gradual relocation to other cities. I told them of my volunteering shelter to some of them, and our eventual hosting of some of thier number. I even told them of the idea of making Halcyon operational again. But the real thing that upset them was the demeanor of the newcomers, and the fact that they could potentially cause trouble all over the island! I told them of my little deal with mayor Waldo Seville about my going back to Waterfall City regularly and keeping an eye on the newcomers so the citizens of Waterfall City and surrounding towns would be warned in case trouble strikes. Thundertail told me that it would be wise if I made it my permanent assignment as the clan wished nothing but peace as well, and mayor Waldo would no doubt be at wits' end trying to handle hyjinx from the outside world all by himself! I agreed that this was a wise course of action as the evening meal wore on, and said I would do this as soon as I could. It actually took me several more days to return to Waterfall City as I had many things to catch up on. This meant that I wanted to touch bases with all my friends there once again. You know how it is: you're out of touch for the longest time and you need to see friends and family...! Anyway, one of the first things I did was to see Mayday and little Hamilton, who was growing like no tomorrow! The teachers there said that he had been developing quite a knack with the arts, whittling little animal figures out of the dried bones of what we had eaten. I praised the little guy, giving him a small, sharp knife taken from Klamath's weapon horde in Halcyon. Mayday hardly left my side the whole time I was there, and made sure she was the first thing I saw when I woke up those mornings. Rex was all over me too, and his playful rough housing nearly injured me! My visits included seeing Whitetail, Deathflower, Pincushion, Mosquito, Soo, and everyone else; and I helped overhaul Kiawa and Tunneau the mechanical Brach for good measure! But duty soon called, and I had to leave for Waterfall city once again. I packed up a few things I would need, and looked around for one of the dinosaurs that would be my steed for the duration. I knew that asking one of the carnivores for the job would mean feeding them meat, a commodity scarce in Waterfall City; so I went about asking the herbiverous dinosaurs there, and knew that many of the others had had thier turn in my service. I asked them all, and it turned out that Skipper Lambeosaur wasn't doing anything for a while. Besides, she said she had cousins in Waterfall City, and could stay with them! She was the Partner to the Packards, and Horace and Sootee said it was all right. Thier teenage son Kip gave her an effectionate goodbye and we both trotted down the path to Waterfall City. The road ahead was uneventful, save for the conversation between us and the Rainy Basin Ranger team sent along with us; whose job was to patrol this stretch of road today. Carl and Thistlesnarl looked like they were getting along just fine! "So, my brother said he'd tell my dad about the ship...", Carl said to me many miles from home and many miles from my destination. "That so?...", I commented as I steered Skipper over some exposed roots. "What do you think he'll say?" "You know my dad!", he said. "He'd try anything to get off the island!" "Well, the ship's a wreck.", I said. "I hear even the lifeboats are starting to decay. I also heard they are going to salvage those for the fishing fleet at Azonthas." "I better tell him to lay off.", he said. "You heard the last time we tried..." "Yeah...", I said, remembering what he told me as we all fell silent for the moment. All too soon Thistlesnarl's Amulet Of protection Began to glow, and she knew they had reached the border of the Rainy Basin. She grunted and stopped as Skipper and I moved on, Carl waving to us as we crested a rise in the road and was out of sight. They continued thier patrol while we continued our journey; and we got many waves and cheers in the many towns we passed through. They were told of our mission to Waterfall City and its' importance, and let us pass without too much fanfare than that. Fairly early that afternoon we came within sight of the main gates, and the guards let us in without checking who we were, for they already knew our mission. As I paused and dismounted at the Eating Pavillion, for we left home without too many provisions and were hungry, Minch skulked into view and pulled us aside. "Sir, I'm glad you're here...", he whispered, noticing Skipper looming near us. "Pleasure, ma'am... Anyway, there has been a lot going on since you left. About matters concerning what the mayor discussed with you in his private chambers..." "I see...", I said. "But first, could we order something to eat? It was a long way from the Rainy Basin!", we took our seats. "Care to join us?" "Thank you, no...", Minch said as Skipper squatted on a resting couch beside us. "Things have been strange lately... ", Minch looked around. "Waterfall City hasn't been in such an uproar since the Scotts arrived on our shores!" "Do tell.", I said as a waiter came by. I ordered and so did Skipper. "What, exactly, has been going on?", I said after the waiter walked away. "Well, these newcomers think nothing but money.", he told me. "Two days ago, one of them almost got into a fight with a fruit vendor; saying that one drach was too much for a melon. It almost came to blows!", he took a sip of water. "Things like that break out with such frequency that the guards are having a hard time keeping them in line. We had to put some of them under house arrest; but the mayor is thinking of creating a 'jail'... Is that the correct term?" "Yes, that's where we put people who break the law...", I told him. "But you must understand, these people are in a strange place with strange customs. How do you think YOU would fare if you found yourself dealing with life in the outside world?" "I'm afraid I'd be lost...", Minch concluded. "That's the way these people feel.", I told him. "They are in a strange situation that they have no control over. They are lost, scared and all alone. All they know is how things are from where they come from, and that's all they are capable of dealing with. Having disputes over small things like that is only normal for the outside world." "It's boorish, if you ask me!", Minch huffed. "Why, if there is anything wrong, all we do is negotiate a peaceful settlement." "Well, I guess that's why Waldo asked me to come here!", I said as our meals arrived. "I know what it's like to be one of them, and I can relate with them. I should help keep the peace around here; but all I got to do is observe what they do. I'll keep them in line. Don't you worry!...", I began to eat. During the meal, Minch informed me that I would be staying at mister Woolright's place again on Steep street; the famous home of Arthur Dennison, and just wait until the old guy sees who will be his houseguest again - Adelade the Pachy will surely be thrilled! I finished up my meal as Skipper went into the city to locate her cousin; and after we left the Eating Pavillion, Minch led me through some streets to where the bulk of the castaways were housed. There we entered a four story building of marble and terra cotta to an apartment where a single guard stood. He moved aside as Minch and I got near; and pushed the ovoid door open for us with his onamented spear. "H... hello?", Minch called and walked in, me folowing. "Hugo,... Are you at home?" "Who's there?...", a burly man with an accusing stare came out of another room, earflapped skullcap on his head, and reguarded us for a second. "Minch! What are you doing here?... Wait! maybe I know..." "Hugo, this is Stinger, mayor of the Rainy Basin.", Minch introduced me and I waved. I think I saw him around waterfall City a few times... "He is here to see mister Cox..." "Oh, that...", Hugo said as he turned away. "Simon!... Can you come here a second?" "What is it?", said a voice in saurian, and a baby Brach the size of a Great Dane lumbered out of another room. He saw the humans and switched to English. "Oh! Company!... Hello, all!" "Simon, you know mister Minch.", hugo told him. "This is Stinger, mayor of the Rainy Basin." "Hello...", Simon bowed. "They are here to talk with mister Cox.", Hugo said. "Could you go get him?" "But I don't want to!", Simon said. "He hates me!..." "It is a matter that's most urgent.", Minch told the hatchling. "Well,... ok I guess.", Simon groaned. "But I won't like it!...", he trotted further into the apartment. "The council gave Simon to mister Cox for a Partner.", Hugo quietly explained. "The man still don't know how to treat him..." Presently a man of medium build and stature came from down the hall, week old stubble and a wild, mistrusting sneer covering a face with unfortunate atributes. The only thing that distinguished himself as being not from Dinotopia was his clothing, which contained remnants of a modern day business suit. He looked at Hugo, then at Minch and finally at me; then he sighed and came up to us without fear. "Hugo, who are these people; and why do they want to see me?", mister Cox asked in a barking way. "This is mister Minch, curator of the high council of Dinotopia, and this is Stinger, mayor of the Rainy Basin.", Hugo told him. "They'd like a word with you." "I assume you're here about what happened the other day.", Cox said without preamble, Simon cowering in the hallway, but listening to every word. "I did it once, and I'll do it to anyone else that tries to cheat me!" "No one was trying to cheat you...", Minch was cut off. "And why is He here for?", Cox was definitely referring to me! "Is he here to arrest me or something?!" "Mister Cox!...", Hugo nearly yelled. "Nobody's trying to do anything to you!... Now please! Just listen to them!" "Like I got a choice!", Cox said, turning to Minch and me. "Look. I don't care what you have to say or what you are going to do. I never bargained to be in a crazy place like this, and I'm not going to stand for any of you to rule my life! If it turns out that I have to stay here against my will; I am going to do things MY way!... Got that?" "Mister Cox. Everyone on the island is here to help you...", Minch said, and I cut him off this time. "You know, he's right!", I said. "He doesn't have to put up with all this!... Uh,... What exactly are we doing to you?" "Well, uh...", he replied. "You are giving me all these rules, and your ways are strange. I don't like the idea of not being able to earn a wage, and I don't think one drach could be worth only one melon!" "Do you know who I really am, mister Cox?", I asked, but answered before he could. "My real name is colonel Charles Decker, of the United States Air Force. Five years ago my jet was caught in a storm, and I landed in the Rainy Basin...", I rattled off the whole story, not stopping for at least twenty minutes. "So, you're a castaway like me.", he concluded. "Weren't you a bit curious if there was a way off the island?" "Yes, I was curious.", I told him. "That was why I went to look for documentation of anybody else who made the attempt. I found that all of them ended in failure and death.", I looked at him sternly. "So, the chances of finding a way off is slim at best, deadly at worst!" "What about these crazy rules?", Cox asked, steam ever so slowly escaping him. "I don't want to be like them!" "The people of Dinotopia encourages all ways of life.", I said. "In the Rainy Basin, most of us are meat eaters. This is a thing that is appalling to the rest of the island, but there it is embraced. So would your way of thinking...", I told him. "But ther ARE rules to follow - just like any other place on Earth!" "We are not trying to change you...", Minch said. "We are trying to help you to fit in." "Minch, please!", I said. "I'll tell him these things!" "So, if I follow the rules, what then?", Cox asked, now nearly fully calm. "Then you may live here in peace and harmony.", I said simply. "Everyone will be there for you in good times and in bad." "Look, all I wanted was to get two melons for a drach.", Cox said. "I guess I could make a compromise..." "Mister cox! I like you!", I smiled. "If you want, I can do you a favor...", I pulled out a sheaf of paper, and Minch scanned the familiar document as it passed his vision. "This paper is an application to join an organization here named the 'Rainy basin Rangers'..." "Stinger! What are you doing?!", Minch asked, nearly standing. "Relax! I think he'd be a perfect candidate!", I said as I showed Cox the paper. "All you do is fill this out, the high council needs to approve it; and final approval goes through me at clan Thundertail..." "What does the 'Rainy Basin Rangers' do?", Cox asked, looking at the calligraphy on the scroll. "Basically, they patrol the Rainy Basin and protect people from trouble.", I told him. "Of course, we are not training cadets at this time due to lack of Tyranosaurs..." "Tyranosaurs?", he asked. "You mean those big things with teeth I heard about?" "The Rangers have to ride something, don't they?", I said, chuckling conversationally. "See, we are waiting for the hatchlings to come of age before we expand the troops. But I'm sure we could make you a handler or put you in administration until then..." "Wait! How much do I get paid?", he asked. "You're sure nuts about money!...", I said lightly. "The benefits include room and board, free food, prestige of being with the bravest people on Dinotopia and all the carnivores are your friends. The experience you'd get there will make you a much better person.", I looked sympathetic. "But no money per se', I'm afraid..." "So, do I got to go through the schooling here first?", Cox looked like he was beginning to be interested. "Doing that would only be helpful to you.", I told him. "You might need to know how to speak and read saurian; and there are still the tribal dialects to consider.", I explained. "See, all the dinosaur species on the island have thier own languages besides regular saurian, thier common language." "So, if I learn all these things, I can be a 'Rainy basin Ranger'?", he asked. "Of course!", I said. "In fact, you can be anything you want to here. All you got to do is learn to live here - that simple!", I touched my chest. "Look at me... I learned, and I'm the mayor of the roughest territory on the island!" "That means if I learn, I can run my own business?", he considered. "I was a businessman back home. I could set the economy on a new trend toward prosperity!" "Now you're thinking!", I said. "By the way, I was serious about that application. Just fill it out if you want, and that will get things going..." "I'll think about it...", he smiled then, making his facial features less unfortunate than before. "Looks like I got a lot to think about, don't I?" "Yes you do!", Minch would not be silenced any more! "About that dispickable display...! You realise you must attone for it!" "I know.", Cox said. "I must apologise to that vendor. I'll do that tomorrow...", he turned to Minch. "I'm really sorry, you know..." "Fine then.", Minch said. "Then there is no reason for the guard at the door anymore, is there?" "Well, that's fine by me!", Hugo said. "That guy was beginning to give me the creeps!" "Me too!", Simon squeaked. "Hey kid...", Cox called. "Come here!... I think I'll start fitting in right now!", the human spread his arms and Simon cautiousely walked into it. Both seemed to melt as the embrace lingered. I took it as our cue to leave, and ushered Minch from his seat. At the door Hugo joined us, and all three of us quickly stood outside the door. The guard eyed us silently as we all exchanged knowing glances. "You sure have a way with newcomers, Stinger!", Hugo said softly. "That man was two steps away from my foot down his throat an hour ago; but now you turned him into someone I might have called friend!" "See, guys like that don't need to be coddled.", I said. "They need the truth, and they need it shoved down thier throats if they are to accept it." "Guard. All is well here.", Minch told him. "You may go...", the guard saluted and left the building. "So, I hear you are foreman to the Brach Bus Service...", I said for conversation as we slowly made our way out of the building. "Yup! Our motto is 'No passenger lost, and every bus on time'!", Hugo chuckled. "Say. It's sure swell what you're doing in the Rainy Basin for my busses. We feel so safe going through that we're considering no longer using armor for our Brachs!" "Well, I wouldn't do that if I were you.", I said. "The Rainy Basin is still a dangerous place; and us Rangers can't be everywhere at once." "Nor can we.", Hugo told me. "We lose fares at the strangest times, all because we can't cover every city." "You know, we have a Brach back home. He's a Strutter.", I told him. "Maybe we could donate him to the bus service one of these days. He doesn't eat anything, and won't ask for a break!" "You mean THAT thing?!", Hugo looked like he ate something sour. "Some of my drivers seen the thing. They say it's too noisey!" "Well, It couldn't hurt to make the offer!", I chuckled as Minch began to lead me away. "See you around, Hugo!" I eventually bid Minch good night as well, and wended my way to mister Woolright's apartment on Steep street. He was there waiting at the top landing, smoking one of his cigarillos and reguarding the falls below. He welcomed me and led the way inside, calling Adelade in the process. The conversation through dinner included my recent endeavors as well as remeniscing about my last visit to this place. Woolright assured me that I was welcome here any time, and promised to host me for as long as he lived. In the morning, after breakfast and his usual morning rituals; he accompanied me through the city until it was time for him to be at another meeting in the hall of Masks and Puppets. By this time I had also caught up with Skipper, and met her cousin and thier small Lambeosaur family. We all spent the day strolling through the city, enjoying the sights and meeting the people. I did not shirk my promise to mayor Waldo Seville, for I met many of the castaways along the way. I asked them how they were doing and they either told me they were slowly getting along or totally out of thier element here. I gave them my pearls of advice as I saw fit: I played it hard when it seemed they needed it, or I praised them for doing so well. Near noontime we were walking along near the hall of Hadrosaurs and Ceratopsians, and just left Fountain Square, when we were just entering an area where a celebration of sorts was taking place. We took free candy and drinks as we wandered through the throngs, watching this or that act and clapped at the short parades of people and saurians in colorful garb as they strutted by. Near a bridge that crossed the Pliosaur canal, I saw a human mime; and this colorful clown was performing the 'invisible box' routine, palming out the dimensions of the box he was trapped in. I paused and watched his act as I ate my snack of puffed corn and cold tea - made of real tea leaves. Before our group could move on down the lane to the next attraction, I paused in front of the mime and put up a finger to stop him. I smiled and pretended to pull out a hammer, then I pounded on the invisible barrier; and the invisible hammer recoiled comically! The crowd around us thought it was part of the act, and the mime indicated with his eyes that I should continue. I did so, and my next fake blow landed on my fingers! I shook them in mock pain as I got another idea, showing it theatrically. I told Klamath to provide the apropriate sound effects as they entered my mind before I continued. I pretended to reach into a pocket and took out two invisible suction cups, Klamath made puckering sounds as I affixed them onto the mime's invisible box. I reached into another fake pocket and pulled out an imaginary glass cutter, and Klamath made the sound of scratching glass as I ran the invisible device along, creating a squarish invisible hole outline in the mime's invisible box. Klamath made light tapping sounds as I turned the fake glass cutter over and tapped along the cracks. I then grabbed the invisible suction cups and pulled the section free, and Klamath made a tinkling sound like glass finally cracking free. The mime stepped out of his box and offered me his hand, so I tossed the pane of invisible glass I had away; and both of us flinched as Klamath made the crashing sound of glass breaking on the sidewalk! The crowd that gathered around us thought it was the funniest act they had ever seen, and the applause was extremely heartfelt. The mime slapped me on the back and indicated that I should bow with him, and my applause was redoubled. The crowd soon dispersed, and it was time to bid the mime adeau. I shook his hand, and was just about to return to Skipper and her family when the mime gasped and shouted out loud. "What's going on over there?", the mime pointed. "You talked!", I scolded. "Shame on you!" "I'm serious!... Look!", he gave a concerned look, and I turned to where he was pointing. A small knot of people was forming down the block, shouting and yelling was heard; and many of the larger saurians began converging on the disturbance. Several whistles were being blown from a few points up and down the street as saurian guards began running into the area. Klamath told me that something was happening, so I used his speed to make it to the area in question well before the guards; then wove my way through the crowd to see a yearling Triceratops gruntingly charge a human on the ground! It had broken his tethers, and the cart he was pulling was in a shambles near the sidewalk; and his driver, a human with clothes from the outside world, lay cowering behind it. I stepped in between the Trike and hes charge, grasping his nose horn and shoving him to a stop; and Klamath's strength sure came in handy then! "Woah!... Hold on there!...", I yelled at the raging beast. "Breathe deep!...", the maddened creature eventually stopped and calmed down, taking my advice pantingly. "Samson!... Y-you're crazy!", the man on the ground cowered. "Now,... mind telling me what's going on?", I let the Trike's horn go. "This human is the crazy one!", Samson grunted. "I pull cart, yet he order me where to go. No ask, no please - just do this, go there!" "You're supposed to pull the cart, aren't you?", the man got up. "I'm just trying to help my host." "You no order ME around!", Samson protested. "I Dinotopian citizen! I equal, just like you!" "Then how else am I to get you to get these supplies to market?", the man said. "Look at what you did to the cart!" "If you no order me, I no get mad!", Samson said. "And that was worth almost killing him!", I cut in. "You sure know how to solve your problems!" "What you know, human?", samson said. "This human order me around for days!" "I wouldn't need to order you if you were more co-operative!", the man said. "See, his father usually makes the runs; but he is laid up with a fever..." "I take over for father.", Samson said. "I run company when my time!" "I'd say you need to work on your people-skills before you do!", I told him. "Now, I want you to go and make up right now. And next time think before you repeat this shameful behaviour!" "I'm going to need help getting this cart fixed...", the man was saying. "My host is going to freak!" "And as for you...", I told the man. "I see you're new here, so I won't scold. You really need to learn how to treat the dinosaurs with respect. They may be bigger and stronger, and they can pull carts like the dumb beasts of burden back home; but they are just as intellegent as you, and deserve to be treated like you would want to be treated. If you don't like to be ordered around, they don't either.", I came up to him. "Next time, SUGGEST that he do things, don't tell him. He'll appreciate you a lot better if you do!" "Ok, I'll try...", the man said, coming toward the adolescent Triceratops. "I'm sorry bossing you around, Samson. I didn't realise..." "You apologise, I no blame you. You new!", he offered his nosehorn, and the man grasped it softly. "Me work on temper." "We could try working out our problems together. Is it a deal?", the man said, and Samson nodded. "Good! Now let's get this cart righted... Please!" The two went to the cart, Triceratops turning it back on its' wheels while the human began reloading all the spilled cargo. I backed into the crowd as the guards entered the area, making sure the two would behave; and then I felt a nuzzling at my head. Skipper and her family were standing behind me, smiling in thier own way at my diplomacy; and so was the rest of the crowd. I looked about and saw the mime come up and shake my hand. "Good job!", he said. "Both in that performance and the previous one!" "Say, sorry for stealing your thunder back there...", I told him. "I was just having fun." "No damage...", he said, clown face smiling. "That was the best bit of acting I've seen - and what sound effects!", he paused, noticing another crowd down the street forming and wishing to be there. "Got to run...!" "Oh, sir!", I called after him, then made the tick-a-lock sign in front of my mouth and he nodded. We reformed our group and continued our stroll of the city for the rest of the day. The next few days went just like this one. We met up with more of the castaways, and I solved some of thier minimal problems and gave them the advice they seemed to need. Only one other scuffle happened in the first week I was there; but it was only between a little castaway girl and a hatchling hadrosaur, whom complained he sat on her ball and broke it. Other than that the week went fairly well. During that time I checked into many of thier classes to see how thier schooling was going. Rosemary had told him that, while some were beginning to grasp concepts like reading saurian and the like, others were lagging behind out of sheer incomprehension. My first visit was to the one taught by Marion Seville, and the subject was Dinotopian philosophy and how to live like Dinotopians. Many of the castaways were there, along with Marion's other students of various species; and I discreetly took a seat near the back, stylus and paper handy to make notes for our teachers to use when they taught our youngsters. One of the students there was father Fish, and he was listening intently to her words quoted from many tomes, his own Bible open for reference as well. We had just discussed the importance of the codes of Dinotopia, and the father was quoting the Bible back to them; saying that there was definite similarities between the two. "Much of our philosophy has been conceived by our saurian ancesters.", Marion was saying. "It is not saying that humans could have thought of the same wisdom; but it indicates that the wisdom is many centuries older than that tome indicates." "I am not arguing on where it came from.", Fish said. "I am just saying that all wisdom came from God." "Your god, or some other?", Marion asked. "We all believe that the universe is as simple as it is profound. The world is unimaginably old yet young and vibrant. We see the harmony in all things, and try to maintain such harmony without trying to overpower it. Surely the god of your religon would approve of such action." "He would approve of what you're doing, but the only true way is God's way.", father Fish told the class. "You may be doing all things right and good, but actions without direction is a futile act." "We may see no gods as you see them.", Marion told him. "But the civilization of Dinotopia has survived for millions of years without deities of any sort. Can you name another society that has lasted that long, with or without gods?" "No,... I don't belive I have heard of any.", Fish said. Then he went on about another point in thier philosophies, and several of Marion's students joined the debate. He went on about Creationism versus Evolution; and Marion made suggestions that his god was an infinite god, and time as it is measured by man would make no difference to Him. She said that He could have possibly set the world in motion and let natural selection take place, perhaps giving it a tug here and there to attain the species that be; but father Fish would not budge in his own beliefs on Creationism! After nearly an hour, and the ending of this class for the day, Marion told father Fish to stay a moment, and I stayed as well. "Your comments and insights were most intrigueing today.", she told him. "Truely your philosophy means a lot to you." "I didn't mean to disrupt the class like that.", Fish said. "It's just that my Catholic training forbids any other theology other than what it teaches. It is too deeply ingrained in my soul to let affronts to it like that lie idle." "You have a philosopher's soul, of that I'm sure.", Marion went to an ancient shelf and pulled down a thick tome, layered in dust. "This book was the first Bible ever to be brought here. It was brought by a Spanish ship in the late thirteen hundreds. Thier priest began trying to convert many of us, and only a few accepted your god.", she placed it on the table before her, and father Fish took a good long look at it. "My lord!!...", Fish gazed at it. The copper clad leather jacket was hinged in gold and had religeous icons tooled into the front and back of the thick tome. Upon opening it, he saw the lambskin pages and the extremely archaic Latin dialogue it was written in; and marveled at the colored and tooled reliefs that started every chapter. He remembered seeing the original in a museum when he went on sabatical at the Vatican ten years ago. It was a work of art, and priceless in the outside world! "Ma'am, do you know what this is?", he closed the Bible. "This is a copy of the 'Codex Sinaiticus'! A biblical text dating back almost fifteen hundred years!... This work preceeds the very beginnings of the Catholic religon!" "I think it will help you in your quest of converting us Dinotopians!", Marion said with a smile. "The curator of the library told me you can keep it. We have reproduced several copies..." "No, Marion!... I can not!", he protested. "A priest of my stature is not worthy to posess such a tome..." "Please?... It's a gift, so enjoy it.", Marion told him. "You know, one of the rules in Dinotopia is one must accept gifts given to them!" "It's a very generous gesture...", I added from where I sat. "Well,... If you put it that way...", father Fish fumbled for words as he lifted the extremely heavy volume. "Bless you, my child!" He shook her hand and hobbled out of the classroom carrying his extremely old Bible, and I finally stood as Marion came over to me. She let out a sigh and smiled, and her eyes told me she had a lot to say as she went to pick up father Fish's Bible on his desk. I smiled back and waited for her to speak. "What a day!", she said. "I thought father Fish would denounce everything we stand for!" "So did I...", I said. "It's hard for most people to get used to being here. It goes double for those whose religon means so much to them, like him." "You are from the outside world.", sha said. "You must believe like he does." "I take a more casual aproach to things like that.", I said. "To me being good and doing good deeds counts more than believing in things unseen." "It's much better to believe in the integrity of the spirit than the miracles of a god.", Marion agreed. "At least THAT we can do something about!" "You said it!", I said as we walked out of the classroom and out of the library. In another class taught by Rosemary Seville, they were learning the basic footprint language; and these students were quite a bit farther along in it than some of the other classes. This class had older Dinotopian children and dinosaurs attending, along with some of the smarter looking castaways attending as well. Each had books out, studying the footprint written sayings in one book, and referring to thier saurian/English translation books. The room was quiet except for the rustling of pages and the breaths of many busy students. Rosemary looked up from her own work, which was the organization of the next part of todays' lessons; and stood before them, clearing her throat to gain thier attention. "Class, books closed please.", she said and watched her regular pupils obey immediately, seeing the castaway students following suit shortly thereafter. "To know the footprint language, one must be able to use it in evertyday life.", she moved to a covered easel and removed the sheet that covered several common signs written in saurian script. "These signs you will find anywhere on Dinotopia. They mean certain things, and you are soon to be expected to read them without thinking about it.", she looked around. "Zamy, what does the upper left one say?" "it says 'Stop'.", the young Stenoychosaur said. "Good! Ahmon, what does the next one to the right say?", she said. "It say 'Road Closed'.", the Monoclonius yearling said. "Excellent! Mister Johnson, what does the next one over say?", she prompted the castaway. "It says... 'Low Ache'... No, wait! 'Low Arch'!", he corrected himself. "Good. You're getting better!", she encouraged. "Uh, ma'am...", Johnson asked. "Can I make a comment?" "Go ahead.", she said. "Well, first thing is, I am a linguistics major in college.", he told her. "From what I see in this saurian script, it is remarkably like ancient Cuneaform writing, from ancient Sumeria. The only thing that is strange is it reads like ancient Greek." "I'm glad you noticed, mister Johnson!", Rosemary said. "Both cultures contributed greatly to our society. The Sumerians added thier knowledge of writing many thousands of years before the Greeks came and standardized that writing and added thier flair in archetecture. It is indeed a marrage of Greek and Sumerian writing, and to that is added a dash of saurian flair!" "I just made that comment because from that, I can easilly translate saurian on my own.", Johnson said, looking down on his books. "Ah! And from that statement, I know you will be the one of the citys' newest and best translators!", Rosemary countered. "Now class, let's continue...", she continued the rest of the lesson. All the students recited thier signs, and then it was time to recite passages in books and scrolls. Before the class was over for the day, I raised my hand and asked Rosemary if I could see mister Johnson for a moment, and she let me. I had heard of him, and had something to give him. "Hello.", I said as he came over after class. "My name is Stinger, mayor of the Rainy Basin." "Hello.", Johnson returned. "You were there when we were rescued, right?" "Yes, that was us.", I confirmed. "They were saying around here that you are pretty good at deciphering languages." "I majored in ancient writings, and have studied nearly every language dialect on earth.", he boasted, I was sure! "Well, where I come from, the carnivores rule.", I told him. "Thier languages are most difficult to master, let alone speak.", I pulled out a scroll. "This scroll has a translation of Tyranosaur into English. I'm sorry it is on a scroll. We didn't have time to publish it in a book yet..." "Let me see.", I unfurled it. "You translated this?... Looks like a gutteral growling type of dialect.", he studied some more. "Why is it in English, and not thier script?" "Tyranosaur is a vocal dialect.", I said. "They have never written it down. They just taught it by word of mouth from parent to child.", I smiled. "I was the first to write it down after I learned it!" "You speak it?", he asked. "Yup!", I said, then in Tyranosaur: "ssoka-sozee tyrissa-touka!", I growled. "What does that mean?", he asked. "It means that I speak many words of of fluent Tyranosaur.", I said. "I think you could become as fluent at it as me!", I rolled the scroll up and handed it to him. "That's why I think you should have this." "Me, sir?", he was stunned. "To be a good translator, one must learn all the saurian dialects.", Rosemary said. "Even Tyranosaurian!" "I'll even let you visit the Rainy Basin so you can try it out one of these days!", I offered. "Gee! thanks, mister Stinger!", Johnson said as he backed away. "Could I go now, miss Rosemary? I have to give my friend a bath." "Certainly! I'm sure Horace would appreciate it!", she replied, then turned to me. "He is his Miasaurus Partner!" "They're nice folks...", I commented, getting up. "Have a fine life, mister Johnson!", I said to his back as he left the room. I think one of the funniest experiences I've ever had in a Waterfall City classroom was the one in which you were teaching hatchlings and the castaways that couldn't grasp the concept of footprint language - it was sooo funny! Remember that, Zippeau? Here's how it went. You were up at the front of the class, the blackboards were in place with large saurian prints of the footprint alphabet on them, English equivelent underneath them. You had just explained the origins of the alphabet to the class, and were about to hand out thier assignment. I was at the back of the class, watching this group of castaways there struggle with what you were trying to teach. "Now class,", you said. "What does this symbol represent?" Many raised thier hands, except any of the castaways. "Leo?" "That is 'A'.", he said. "Good! Now, the next letter is...?", you continued. No one answered. "Jeff Graves, can you answer?", he was one of the newcomers. "Come on, teach!", he replied. "I know all this stuff by heart!" "Then what is it?", you asked, getting annoyed. "I can show the whole class how to read this!", he continued. "May I show them?" "Oh...! Very well!", you said after a moment of exasperated consideration. "Teach the class if you're so smart!...", he rose and accepted your pointer, and you sat down. "Hi class!", Jeff said. "Now Zippeau's way is all well and good, but me and a buddy of mine came up with a fun way to learn!", he winked at another newcomer, Jerry Cuomo; and he prepared to get up; but headed for a saurian piano off to the side. The classroom also served as a music instruction room. "Now, the lesson for today is entitled 'Swinging Through the Alphabet', and I'll explain how it's done...", Jeff Graves said, using the pointer as he spoke. You just rolled your eyes at the idea, Zippeau; but the name of the lesson seemed familiar to me somehow... "The first letter is a 'B', and the first vowel is an 'A'.", he went on, pointing all the way. "I goes like this: B-A, Bay. B-E, Bee. B-I, Bicky-Bye. B-O, Bow...", then he looked around. "Maybe it would be better if I show you... Maestro! If you please!" The music started up, and it was then that I knew just what they were going to do! They were going to sing that silly alphabet song, devised by 'The Three Stooges' from so long ago! I smiled as Jeff began singing the words, pointing at the human letters as he went along, and Jerry went right along playing the tune; and the regular students there looked at each other like the two had just gone crazy! The castaway students began to laugh and try to sing along with the tune, carrying on like they were really watching one of those 'three Stooges' shorts. I looked at you and saw the look of disbelief turn into one of incredulousness or of shock, I couldn't tell; but that look opn you was priceless! My smile grew until I could not hold it in any longer and laughed right out loud! Near the middle of this silly song, I jumped up and went to grab the pointer from Jeff, taking over on the 'J's and the "K's; and I sang right along right on cue, pointing at the footprint letters instead! I danced in place as I sang, and the students began laughing at my antics - all of them! Finally you could not take this outburst anymore; and you got up and stormed over to me, grabbing the pointer from my hand rather roughly as the piano music continued. Your steamy eyes told me you were quite angry, more of those two than of me; but it looked like you weren't too happy of my encouraging them! "Silence!... All of you!", you shouted. "We will have no more outbursts in this classroom!" Jerry heard you over his music and stopped in mid tune. "Now, levity is not a thing of the classroom!", you scolded. "And Stinger! Why are you encouraging them so?" "Look, the class was too boring anyway.", Jeff defended. "We were just trying to liven things up." "This is a language class, not a music class!", you said. "Wait, Zippeau!", I said. "Maybe they are onto something here." "What on earth do you mean?", you asked. "I think that the reason why your students here are doing poorly is because they don't have any interest in it.", I explained. "The class is boring to them, and they have nothing to connect to it. In the Rainy Basin, we devise fun and unusual ways to teach our youngsters. This holds thier attention, and they comprehend things much better. The more they comprehend, the more they learn.", I looked at the two jokesters. "Was that what you were getting at?" "N... no, not really...", Terry said. "We were just having fun.", Jeff admitted. "See, aboard the ship, we were entertainers.", Terry Cuomo told us. "I played the piano in the club." "I did a standup comedy routine in that club too.", Jeff Graves said. "Only trouble here is my jokes are a bit too racy for folks around here!" "Terry Cuomo is like a stage name.", he said. "Remember Perry Como?", I shrugged. "So, you're saying that if I make the class more interesting, they'll learn more?", you asked me at last. "Well, let's see what the rest of the class thinks!", I said. "How many of you will not soon forget today?", nearly all the hands rose. "I guess it's unanimous!" "This is going to be difficult! I'll have to think up a new cirriculum and everything!", you began, then turned to us. "You mammals!... Always doing strange things!...", you turned to the class, and taught it for the rest of that session. I attended many of your classes on the several trips to Waterfall City and saw marked improvement in the castaways' learning. Almost all of them were beginning to fit in at thier own pace; but I noticed the quickest adjustments happening in the children of that group. About a week into my first visit I was strolling down near the docks at Mosasaur harbor when I saw a small group of children playing. They were a mixed group of humans and saurians, different ages, heights, colors and garb. I also noticed a few of the castaway children among them. Two boys with a Stenoychosaur child were tossing a leather ball to one another, kicking it and playing sort of a game of soccer with it against a wall. I knew that one of the boys was a castaway because, even though he was wearing clothing similar to the other boy; he sported a New York Yankees baseball cap on his black-haired head! They were laughing, enjoying themselves and playing like they knew each other all thier lives! The knot of girls near the sidewalk were playing jump rope: Stenoychosaur twirling one end of the rope while a young Chasmosaur was twirling the other end; and a little pigtailed girl was skipping and singing a made-up chant to her skipping. The thing that gave away her newness was that she wore bright green store bought deck sneakers to accentuate her olive period dress common to girls in the area. It was soon time for the players to switch jobs, and was the Chasmosaurs' turn to skip. The human girl took the rope and twirled it in time with the Stenoychosaur, and the Chasmosaur started skipping. Thier kind is not really made for such a feat, and she landed hard on her knees, banging her snout on the pavement! She brayed in pain, and the human girl rushed over to sooth the beast. "Ooh! Keka! Are you all right?", she asked, trying to check for damage. "I hurt my node!", Keka sniffled. "It bleedin'?" "No,... I don't think so...", the girl said. "Amy, go find something to wash the dirt off her nose!" "Yup!", she scampered off. "Is she OK?", I had rushed over. "I don't know...", the girl said. "Nothing seems broken...", I touched the reddening surface. "I bet it hurts, though!..." "Uh, huh!", Keka mumbled. The Stenoychosaur returned with a cloth, wetted with water; and I took it to begin washing off the sand. I saw there was no blood as I finished cleaning her up; and I smiled as I finished. "There! All set!", I told her. "Now, be careful! If it starts bleeding or gets worse, you should tell a grownup right away. Don't forget to tell your mother or father about it when you get home!" "Sure thing, mister.", Keka said, wrinkling her nose experimentally. I waved and walked away, intending to continue my extended stroll through this part of the city. A few blocks down I heard hushed whispers, or Klamath did and reported it to me. I ducked behind a stylized statue of a Parasolophus holding a cornucopia and had Klamath turn up his hearing. It was the voices of two human males; and I knew it was rude to eavesdrop, but nobody on Dinotopia would whisper this way unless there was something shifty involved! I listened in, not believing what was being said - much less who it was being said to! "Look, I told you there was a fortune in goods aboard!", it was the voice of purser Weems! "I'm not lying to you, so let me go!" "I've heard bedtime stories more believable!", this was the voice of Quint! "You better not be lying or I'll spit you like a baby scaly!" "Read the manifest, if you don't believe me!", Weems said. that document was in the pirate's other hand. "It's all there, plain as day!... Now, please let me go!..." "You wriggle too much anyway.", I heard Weems hit the cobbles back there with a thud as Quint let him go. "But if this is fake, I'll make sure you get no sleep for the rest of your oh so short life!...", I ducked back further as Quint sauntered out of the alley. I made sure Quint was well out of sight before rushing into the alley, finding weems propped against a wall. His cheek was reddened and his head was lolling to one side, and he seemed to respond as I drew near him. His purser's uniform was wrinkled and soiled, and I grunted as I lifted him to his feet. he was half out of it, so I shook his face until he focused on me. "Oh,... Stinger...", he moaned. "Who... was he?..." "Someone you were better off not meeting.", I said as I half dragged him out of the alley and spied another human in a togalike outfit. "Oh sir! This man is hurt!..." "By pathos!... What happened?", the man said, running over, toga flailing. "Someone attacked him, I think.", I said as the man helped me. "I found him in the alley over there..." "This way...", the man wheezed, not used to such exertion. "My place is up the street..." "Thank you...", Weems slurred and passed out. We draggd the unconcious purser through the street, drawing stares and concerned looks from the few people and dinosaurs still around this late in the day. The man led us into a shop containing curios and other works of local art, past those and into another room cordoned off by a curtain of beads. Here was a table, chairs, workbench and a small cot; all surrounded by shelves of things of lesser value and unworthy of being placed in the shop proper. We laid weems onto the cot, and the man rushed out of the room, presumably to gather materials of aid or assistence. I used this opportunity alone to examine Weems using Klamath's scanners, and the Tyranosaur mask wrapped around my face as we both saw what was wrong with the man. "Bruised ribs, slight concussion, multiple minor contusions to face and upper body...", Klamath told me. "He got the tar beat out of him...", I said agreeingly. Weems moaned as he tried to come to, jostling this way and that painfully. "Easy there, sailor...", I soothed. "You had a bad day..." "What...", he tried to focus. "Happened...?", finally succeeded. "Where am I, captain...?" "Now just relax, and don't worry...", I said softly. "You're with friends..." Just then the man in the toga returned with cloth for bandages, water both hot and cold, a few jars of herbal medicines; and he proceeded to look Weems over. "I sent for doctor Forschie...", he mumbled. "He should be here shortly." "Thanks...", I said as I backed away to allow him room. "Looks like he has some bruised ribs, and maybe an injured head; but I think he'll be OK over time." "Who did this?", the man said, swabbing some of Weems' minor cuts. "This dastardly deed is unheard of in Waterfall City!" "I think he was a pirate.", I said. "I've dealt with him before, and recognise his voice..." "Pirates!,", the man exclaimed. "They are not allowed in Waterfall City!..." "Try telling them that.", I said. "Those ruffians are nasty, and would do anything!" "I've heard rumors about them...", the man began swabbing Weems' face. "I could not sleep for a week after hearing!..." "Where I come from, I had to deal with them on thier level.", I commented. "Try sleeping after that!" "What is your name, if I may ask?", he asked. "Stinger, mayor of the Rainy Basin.", I told him. "Ah! The tamer of the carnivores!...", he nodded. "I have heard tales of you!... My name is mister McGuire. I acquired this shop after the demise of Sirus Crabb, and I am also on the Dinotopian council." "Pleased to know you, your honor.", I bowed where I squatted. "I had heard that this Crabb fellow made a hard time for the Scott family." "His father was no different...", McGuire concentrated on a skull laceration he had just discovered under Weems' hairline. "If you ask me, it is fortunate the Crabb family no longer exists... Sirus's father made a hard time for the Dennisons so long ago, too..." "Like father, like son, I guess...", I said as a bespectacled man of apparent middle age shuffled into the room, medical bag in hand. No words were spoken by him as he stooped to examined the injured man. He rummaged through his bag after a moment and pulled out an ancient stethoscope, and used it to listen to the man's breathing and heart. He then ran his hands over the apparently injured areas, including head; and turned to look at us. "What exactly happened?", Dr. Forschie asked us. "I found him in an alley down the street.", I said. "There was a man with him, and I think he was a pirate. He stole something from him and beat him up." "I see...", Forschie said, considering. "This man needs rest and care. I can do nothing except reccomend medicine for pain.", he turned to the toga clad man. "Do you have Jocca extract and Trilobar?" "Yes. I use it for stiff joints.", McGuire said, pointing to bottles of the prepared mixtures. "See that he gets a dose every time he wakes.", Forschie told him. "His minor wounds should be tended to thrice a day. He should not be moved for two or three days." "Yes, sir.", McGuire said. "I will stay today as long as my schedule allows.", Forschie continued. "Now, on to the pleasantries!...", he turned to me. "Mister Stinger. We meet again!..." "Yes, doctor Forschie...", I shook his hand. "And it always seems to be when there's trouble afoot!" "So, you say a pirate did this?", he inquired. "Who?" "He goes by the name of Quint.", I told him. "He's LaSage's right-hand goon!" "He is a bad one, if rumors hold true.", Forschie considered. "The high council should know of this!" "Yes, I was going to inform them as soon as I made sure mister Weems was all right.", I told him. "Well, he is in the best care in Waterfall City now!", Forschie said. "You go do that, and we will take care of him!... Now shoo!" I followed doctor's orders and left the shop, trotting down the street and avoiding the odd pedestrian or cart; and as I made it to a main intersection, I caught up with Skipper and her Lambeosaur cousin. They were shopping, but Skipper handed her parcels off to him when she saw my concern, nodding that I could ride her to wherever I was headed before I could ask her, and showing her side so I could climb into the saddle. "What's wrong?", Skipper asked as she trotted off in the direction I was heading. "Where are we going?" "A man from the ship got attacked and beat up.", I told her as she sped up. "I must go to the council chamber and tell them." "How awful!", she said. "Who attacked who?" "You know the purser, Weems is his name?", she nodded. "He was beaten up by a pirate. Quint took the ship's manifest too." "Oh dear! Pirates?", Skipper balked. "How terrible!" She practically screeched to a stop right next to the main entrance, and I bounded off and raced up the steps. The days' meeting was well under way, and the guards stopped me at the inner chamber doors. As skipper caught up with me, one of the guards went inside to announce me. Several moments later the doors opened, and the both of us walked down the canter aisle to the table. Waldo stared down at us as we got near with a look of disdain, yet the twinkle in his eye told me that it was only an act. "Stinger, what brings you here at this hour?", he asked. "You were not scheduled to appear until this evening!", he looked at an aide beside him, then back to me. "Uh, while you are here, I would like for you to give an account of your experiences with these newcomers. Do they indeed show signs of adaptation to our society?" "I will do that later, your honor...", I said. "But a matter has arisen that demands immediate attention.", gasps from the delegates to either side of me. "A short while ago, a member of the crew of the Millennium Queen was attacked and beaten up! I believe the perpetrator of this act was a henchman of Torres LaSage!" "Tell us exactly what happened.", Rosemary requested. I began telling them everything that I saw and heard, from the scuffle in the alley to my hiding behind the statue. I told them everything that I heard, saying the other voice sounded like Quint, and the confirmation of the fact with my seeing him leave. I told them I couldn't chase after him because I had to see if Weems was OK; and Rosemary said that I did the right thing. I didn't leave out the assistence of mister McGuire and that he is now housing him at his shop; and that doctor Forschie was now tending to him. I said I made great haste in getting here, and requested that something should be done as Quint now has the ships' manifest. "But what would LaSage want with the manifest?", Waldo asked. "We had full intention of giving her her fair share of the cargo!" "I'll tell you what she'll do!", Rosemary said. "She will use it and loot ther entire ship! Knowing her, she will try to take everything there!" "That can't happen!", Waldo said. "I will send a garrison of saurian guards and drive her off!" "You can't do that, and you know it!", I said. "LaSage knows that the guards will give in if they are confrionted. What you need is creatures that won't back down if they put up a fight! I can send word to clan Thundertail and put all the Rainy Basin Rangers on it!" "You know that's impossible.", Rosemary told me. "Crackshell Point is well out of Rainy Basin territory!" "I could write a proclaimation of universal sovriegnty stating you have temporary jurisdiction over environs surrounding the Millennium Queen, valid until all trouble there ceases!", Waldo announced. "I haven't penned one of those in a long time!" "That could work!", Rosemary said. "Bailiff, make it so." "Stinger, do you think you'll need any assistence in this?", Waldo asked. "We might need a measure of early warning, your honor.", I said. "Perhaps you could lend me some of your Skybax?..." "Granted.", he replied. "I will send my best experienced flyers." "All I need now is a Postal Bird to send word to king Thundertail.", I continued. "They should start getting prepared immediately..." _ (To be continued)
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Post by thundertail on Mar 26, 2012 4:39:37 GMT -5
_ FORTY-NINE: "Back to school." (Continued) Just then a Postal Bird flew in through a window, and the mayor was just about to blow his whistle to summon one when he noticed her. She flapped around the great chamber and finally lighted on the prow of the mayoral platform, ruffling as she settled. "Ah! We were just about to call you!", Waldo said to her. "I have a message to be sent to the Rainy Basin, and..." "Excuse me sir.", she squawked. "But I have a message FROM the Rainy Basin. It is addressed to mayor Stinger..." "Very well then.", waldo said. "He is at the addresser's table below.", the bird flapped down and landed on it, right in front of me. "To mayor Stinger from king Thundertail, the Rainy Basin.", she began. "The first load of supplies has arrived from the Millennium Queen. Besides the meat promised to us by the generous court of Waterfall City, there are other strange things that were included. Your presence is required to help us find out what they are, and to share in this glorious feast!... Signed, king Thundertail..." "Looks like I have another reason to return home!", I chuckled. "However, with the situation we currently face, I fear that the feast would have to be a short one!", no chuckles were heard for the gravity of it. "Do you have a reply?", the bird asked. "Yes, I do.", I said, nodding at the mayor. "To king Thundertail, from mayor Stinger, Waterfall City... A grave situation has arisen that our help is requested... Torres LaSage has gained knowledge of the Millennium Queen, and she now posesses certain documents concerning the ships' contents. It is the concensus of this court that she will attempt to raid the ship, and take everything aboard. Mayor Waldo Seville has requested our assistence in protecting the ship from these pirates, and grants us sovreinty to perform this help in this case. I will return post haste and help organise this protection; and I will be with you in a few days... Signed, mayor Stinger.", I looked at the bird. "Got all that?" "Of course, but the message is overlong.", the bird said. "There is an extra charge..." "The court will pay the extra fee.", Waldo told her. "Now, off with you!..." The Postal Bird nodded at the mayor, at me and finally most of the delegates before flying around the courtroom and out the window she had come from. There was a few other points to discuss concerning my upcoming mission, and those details were sorted out many moments later. I had requested a written copy of both LaSage's contract describing her share of the ship as well as a copy of our sovreignty contract; saying they might be needed to convince LaSage not to raid the ship. At long last the meeting began to break up, and I had one other thing to say to the court before I left. "Oh, and mister mayor...", I said, turning. "Concerning the castaways. Many of them are just beginning to adapt themselves to our way of life. The children are adapting quicker than thier parents or the older passengers. Each will adjust at thier own pace and in thier own way, and may take many years to make the adjustment. I will return many times to observe thier progress, and help them along so thier assimilation will go much smoother." "Of course, but there is something you must know, Stinger.", Rosemary told me. "There were many that completely refuse our ways. Some of them have gone missing, and others reject Dinotopia with such vigor that we fear they will never adjust. So far nearly twenty castaways have defected, and nobody has seen them since thier escape." "I can have the carnivores keep a loookout for them too, I guess.", I said, then before the chamber doors closed on me: "Boy! What did I get Dinotopia into?!"... _
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Post by thundertail on Mar 26, 2012 17:54:04 GMT -5
_ FIFTY: "Planned Piracy!..." I did not leave waterfall City right away, for there were so many things to prepare for; and we planned out just about everything about this mission. Another Postal Bird was dispatched to canyon City, requesting that a squadron of Skybax begin monitoring LaSage's activities. I received LaSage's writ as well as ours and Skipper and I sped our way to the Rainy Basin after she said her farewells to her cousin. Once there I went over the plan I formulated during my trip back home, indulging in my first real beef steak in five years as I went over the plan! So far no move against the ship had been made, or so the Skybax patrols reported to us. This was probably due to Quint having to walk all the way to king Adolpho's castle - reguardless whether or not he had help from the other pirates along the way; and the time it would no doubt take to get there and explain things. This was good news since we had a lot to prepare for! The first thing we did was to halt all activities at the ship. The salvaging of goods by other communities would only get in the way of us and LaSage, and the possible unpleasant confrontation that might ensue. The next step was to accquire any and all security keys we would need, along with information on where the locks, security systems and anything else that would be useful to us aboard ship. These items and information we got via Postal Bird and Skybax courier from Waterfall City by the captain and command crew. My plan was simple in its' complexity; and if all went well, LaSage and her men would leave there with the least valuable items aboard the Millennium Queen! At about the time we had gotten all the needed materials, Skybax patrols told us that LaSage and her men were on the move, methodically looking up and down the northern coast in search of the shipwreck; and thier search was rather haphazard because they evidentally did not know where the shipwreck was! This gave us ample time to travel to the shipwreck site and set ourselves up. We took nearly all of the Rainy Basin Rangers, along with nearly every one of the Veloceraptor guards; and went there with a whole entourage of others to set up our encampment. We staged many of the Veloceraptor guards on board, locking the doors and passageways that we didn't want the pirates to have access to; and we moved all the more valuable items behind these doors, storing them deep in the bowels of the ship. The only things that were of little value here was the gift shop trinkets and cheap jewelry the shipboard shops sported, and the promenade level shops on the lower foredeck had everything these stupid goons would fall for! My job, besides serving them with thier share of the ship, would be to tell them that these items were the most valuable things the ship contained; and stall them long enough to make them become so bored they would be satisfied with these cheap objects and leave the ship without arguement. I went over the speeches I would give them and the replies I would likely to get as I waited for them to arrive; which would not be very long as the Skybax patrols told us that they had just left Azonthas, and were heading east along the coast, and heading right for the Millennium Queen. I had the Rainy Basin Rangers hide above us on the bluffs or in rocky seaside crags along the shoreline, and the remaining Veloceraptor guards could hide just about anywhere along the beach. I had taken a deck chair off the ship and set up the Kirky's Big Top tent, and posed there waiting for them; pretending to sip my orange juice and catching some sun as their group sauntered into view. Thier gaze was more attuned to the huge metallic ship before them than me and my tent, and that's why it gave them quite a shock when I casually greeted them! "WELL!... LASAGE!...", I shouted where I lounged. "GLAD YOU COULD JOIN ME!..." "STINGER!!...", LaSage shouted as she stormed up to me, and I offhandedly stood. "What on earth are you doing here?!", her men formed a wall of bodies behind her. "Oh, I just thought I'd spend a day at the beach!", I told her. "I've been waiting for you to show up.", I smiled. "Come to get what's coming to you, I see?" "You know, you're right!", she said, nearly grabbing my collar, she was so close. "What's the big idea of finding this ship and not giving us a cut?!" "You know, I can't lie to you.", I said. "Actually, I'm here on behalf of the high council. They have decided to give you a share of this shipwreck, and sent me here to make sure you get it." "That so?...", she scowled. "I bet you're here to stop us from taking the whole ship!" "I'm not lying! Look...", I scooted into the tent and took out a scroll. "Here!... Read this." "What's it say?...", LaSage said as she grabbed it and unfurled it. "A Proclaimation...", she read, and her men catcakled. "This writ is to notify a miss Torres lasage and all the men under her command that they are hereby this day awarded no more than one tenth of one percent of total comodities aboard the shipwrecked vessel, the 'Millennium Queen'. Said percentage is guaranteed by the court of Waterfall City, and decided upon forthwith to ensure fair distribution throughout the island of Dinotopia... Signed, mayor Waldo Seville." "See what I mean?", I said. "They're giving you the cream of the crop here!", I waved my arm in the direction of the ship. "And since I know what is valuable on this tub, I took the liberty of weeding out all the junk for you!", I winked. "Now all you got is the best this ship has to offer!" "You mean all this is on the level?", LaSage asked. "Every word of it!", I replied. "Then, if it's only you; who's to stop us from taking over the whole ship?!", she sneered. "Glad you brought it up!", I said, then gave off a shrill whistle that reverberated off the cliffs. Seemingly from out of nowhere, every Ranger, Tyranosaur and Veloceraptor came from out of hiding; Tyranosaurs giving off thunderous roars while Veloceraptors snapped and growled! The pirates looked up and down the beach, and saw they were comopletely surrounded by at least a hundred beasts that would no doubt rip them limb from limb! All sixty men quickly gathered in a defensive knot while LaSage, finding nothing to hide behind, tried to do so behind me. I just gave her one of my cheesiest smiles and pretended to pout! "You see, the court gave us special permission to be here.", I told her. "They wanted to make sure you get your fair share - and no more.", I turned her around. "So I guess it would be wise of you to take it peacefully, eh? Don't want to make my friends angry now, do you?" "Guess not.", she hissed. "Well, allrighty then!", I chirped and clapped my hands together. "Shall we proceed?..." I walked down to the waters' edge, but the pirates were so scared of all the carnivores beginning to converge on them they dared not move until LaSage grabbed Quint and shoved him in my direction. They slowly followed suit as several Veloceraptors corralled them in that direction as well. On the beach, several feet out was a small barge; and I waded out slightly and drew it closer to shore. LaSage stepped aboard while I held it steady for her; but let Quint and the rest take thier chances entering the still wobbly craft. Once everyone was aboard, I went to the bow of the barge, to where a long tether tied to the bow of the craft led to a medium sized Cryptoclydus that volunteered to tow us to the ship; her jeweled, streamlined harness gleamed in the afternoon sun. Nessie hooted and bellowed, smiling in a toothy way when I asked if she was ready; and leapt into the waves, pulling the barge effortlessly. The pirates had little to hang onto as Nessie reached the end of her tether and abruptly accellerated the barge through the choppy water; and LaSage nearly stumbled into me before she got her legs under her. I braced myself against the short railing as the barge steered its' way toward the hulking mass that was the Millennium Queen. Nessie made a U-turn when she got near the metal hull, and swam in the other direction to slow the barge down; and we slid right up to the side of the great ship, bumping it slightly as the momentum stopped. Because Quint was closest, he was the one who grabbed the cargo netting draped over the side; and steadied the barge as many of the pirates began storming right up it. With Klamath's speed, I was the first to reach the top, and pulled many that came next to a stop near me as the rest hopped over onto the deck. The last one up was LaSage, and she huffed and panted at the unused to exertion. Quint decided to lead the party on board, but I stopped him in mid step; and he didn't like that one bit! "Woah there, big fella!", I rumbled. "Only I know where the goodies are!" Within seconds the pirates regrouped, and were just about to leave too, so I gave another of my shrill whistles. "Now, listen up!", I said. "If you follow me, you'll get your take soon enough! If you go off on your own, you'll get lost...", I smiled. "Besides, I got more of my buddies on board; and they always find stragglers delicious!..." Many of the pirates gulped! "You heard him!...", LaSage panted. "Follow him!...", she got close to me and said softly. "Aren't you enjoying this a just bit?..." "Every minute of it!", I gloated just as quietly, then for all to hear: "This way, kiddies!..." I led them down the deck to a pair of swinging double doors, through them into an inner passageway and up some stairs to the main deck. Then I led them down into an area before the forward pool area and back out into the center deck. Here was the first set of doors I had locked, so I produced the key for it and led them through. before them was a long row of shops, security gates down and locked up tight. They had never seen a place like this before; but if you've seen a mall at night, it looks little different than that. They balked and groaned because they thought this was a prison, for it kind of looked that way when seen through thier mentalities! "See, all this stuff is so valuable they have it put under lock and key.", I told them. "There's all kinds of alarms and security on them too. If anybody tries to get at this stuff, all kinds of things happen. Thier way of thinking is if you can't keep the thiefs locked up, keep the things they'd steal locked up instead!" "So how are we going to get this stuff?", Lasage said as Quint and many of the goons tried to go see what was inside each darkened shop. "If it's so secure, we'll never get in!" "Glad you asked!", I said. "I took the liberty of procuring all the keys for this place...", I saw Quint trying to reach into a shop, only getting his wrist inside the folding metal gate; but that was enough to to set off the motion detectors within, and the whole space filled with an earsplitting klaxxon! "You idiot!...", I yelled through it. "You got to wait until I shut that stuff off!..." LaSage put her hands over her ears as the rest did the same. All were gasping and wincing in auditory agony as I rushed to a door marked 'security' and unlocked it. Inside were banks of monitors and controls, red lights going off on indicators; red strobe over the door revolving and computer screen indicating a breach at the sportware shop. I scrambled to this monitor and tried to figure out how to shut down the klaxxon; and it was a good thing purser Weems was recovered enough to write down the instructions for it, for I clicked in the command on the computer console and the earsplitting noise ceased even though the red strobes did not. I sighed in relief as I saw LaSage and Quint looking at me at the doorway to the security room. "Boy! when they don't want someone in, they don't want someone in!", LaSage snorted. "Next time, wait!", I barked. "It's a good thing you are entitled to this stuff or the security personell would be all over us by now!" "But how?", Quint said. "There is no crew aboard." "Whatever... Just wait next time, ok?", I said, looking at the security panel before me. "Now, let me figure this out..." I studied the panels, scanned the dead security camera monitors and waited while I tried to remember the sequences that would roll the security gates back up into the ceiling. Weems said that they were either controlled centrally through this room, or could be opened by the shopkeepers' security cards and codes. I found a section in the memory of the computer that activated the gates, and tried experimentally with code words, to no avail. Taped under the keyboard was a sheet of paper that had a dozen strings of numbers and letters - just as many codes as there were shops in the area - and took the chance as I began punching them in. LaSage came over and watched me work while Quint kept an eye out in the central area, watching the men in case they screwed something else up. I just hoped these morons wouldn't set something else off before I could disarm everything! "These machines are great...", LaSage was saying, but I was ignoring her. "With technology like this, I could take over the island!..." "Keep dreaming...", I said, not looking at her. "You're lucky we let you live!..." "You can't do that!", she replied. "The rest on this island won't let you!" With that I punched in the last of the codes, then I hit the 'enter' key. With a communal rattling, the gates in front of each shop began to unlatch and scroll up into the ceiling, and the pirates whooped with joy and began to run for each. Quint had the brilliant idea of going out and holding them back; which was a good idea after all because thier plundering would have no doubt destroyed many things in those shops! I gave LaSage only a cursorary glance as I scooted past her in the doorway, then went out into the main space of the shipboard mall. I waved to get them all over, LaSage last but with a look of jealousey or something on her face, and told them a few facts about the place. "First off, anything you see in this area is yours...", I said and was drowned by the cheers. "BUT!..., please try not to break into any locked cabinets or any other thing that has something you want. There is a civilized way to approach everything, and everything else locked up has keys to them if you know where to look.", by this time LaSage had stepped to my side. "I guess you may browse and look..." Browsing and looking was beyond the comprehension of these men, and they scrambled to each shop with reckless abandon. The darkened shops gave no indication to what they contained, and many of them came out, confused. "Can't see a thing in there...", announced one. "How d'you suppose we're to steal anything ifn' we can't see it?", another said. "here,... let me show you...", I went to the nearest shop, to just inside the doorframe of the metal screening and located the light switches. I flipped them on, and inside was a swanky clothing shop. "See, these switches turn on the lights! Now you can see..." "Nice duds!", LaSage walked in and examined some fancy outside world fashions. "Ok, you mugs! You know what to do.", she took the dress off the shelf and posed with it against her. "It's you!", I said and left the shop. Some pirates found a sporting goods shop while others found a jewelry store. Many more went into shops resembling convenience stores or souvenier shops. The sounds they made were not unlike the normal sounds made here during normal business hours, but the smells that began to waft through the space betrayed the fact that these men seldom bathed! Soon LaSage called all her thugs out into the main space to see what they got, and nearly throttled several of them for what they brought out! "You call this stuff treasure?!", LaSage asked. "This junk wouldn't get squat in trade!" "Yes it would!", I told her. "This stuff is the most valuiable things on the ship. They wouldn't have it all locked up if it weren't!", I looked at her. "None of this stuff has ever been on the island before! Why, you could get a king's ransom for it!" "You're up to something, Stinger.", she said. "I just know it!" "Aw!... you say the sweetest things!...", I replied. "Now then, to show you what I mean; follow me, if you would!" I led the way intio another jewelry shop that they hadn't gotten to yet, turned on the lights and let that play upon the rows of glassed in cases of sparkling finery. This shop was for the more high end jewelry, and not the costume stuff sold in the other shops. LaSage gasped at these things of gold, silver and a wide variety of precious gems; rings necklaces, earrings and chains of many designs. When she saw she could not touch anything here for the glass cases, she looked around and Quint automatically went in and tried to smash one of the glass tops; but I rushed in and stayed his blow. "Now, what did I tell you about breakinmg stuff?", I told him. "Nothing...", he replied. "There's always ways through things!", I told them all. "Now, these cases are locked, but the keys have got to be around here somewhere..." I went around back, past the cash regester and next to the back room. I pawed around the many shelves of gift boxes and packing supplies until I found a hook hidden under a lower shelf. On this hook was a large key ring with almost a hundred small keys on it, and each was numbered, presumably in accordance to the cases they opened. I came out and tried the keys on the back hasp of the case LaSage was in front of until the lock slid off the hasp; then I slid open the back and pulled out the display board within containing many necklaces and rings, setting it on top with a flourish. "That's how you get the loot around here!", I said, tossing the key ring to Quint. "Enjoy!" I stepped out front as Quint took my place, fumbling with the keys and trying to match the wrong keys with the wrong locks. As he got one right, he smiled and stripped that case of all its' valuables; then he proceeded on to the next case, repeating the procedure. As the loot began to pile on the countertops, the pirates' pockets soon became overloaded; so to help them out, I went to a boutique-like shop and grabbed a couple of large leather purses from a rack and tossed them to them. LaSage looked on with rapt anticipation, for this kind of treasure was right up her alley; and it was too bad that none of this cheap jewelry wasn't really worth very much! Once that shop was cleaned out, they went to another sporting outdoors-type clothing and accessories; stripping each rack of its' cloths and trying to make some useful sense out of the other things. At a sporting goods shop they tried out baseball bats and archery equipment, commenting on the mayhem they could cause with the former and touting the uselessness of the flimsey bows of the latter. Soon they came to a row of machines containing cans of soda and ones containing small bags of chips and other snacks; and complaining how hungry they were becoming, I jimmied the door off the soda machines and punched the plexiglass out of the snack machines. They had a hard time opening the cans, and were at a loss on how to open the bags; but a few small instructions from me and they quickly began to lustilly feast on the extremely unhealthy meal I provided. As LaSage looked on with a mixture of repulsion and boredom, many of her thugs began to pile thier loot in the center of the mall space so it would be easier to carry above decks. I was not about to help them further, but spent most of my time having Klamath monitor thier positions to make sure they didn't wander to any other areas of the ship. Even though the rest of the areas were locked, there was no one to stop them from breaking down a door or prying out a lock with thier knives but me! I finally got up from a lawn chair in the sporting goods shop and wandered out into the center area and saw LaSage storm out from another shop, dragging Quint with her! "Are you slugs gonna take all day?", she yelled. "I'm getting bored!" "Do you think we have enough?", Quint asked. "It better be!", LaSage told him. "I want to be back by nightfall." "Right this way...", I said over the pirates' grumbling and lifting as I ushered them out of the area. I led them back the way they came, they breaking the doors off thier hinges as we passed them. Who could blame men of such caliber, that they had to behave themselves so loong; besides, what's a little mayhem among pirates?! Nessie and her barge was right below the cargo netting, and several pirates climbed down and began stacking the booty that was thrown to them. I stayed behind, and heard a slight noise down the passageway; but it was only Dragonfly peeking out, making sure things were OK. I winked at him and shooed him back as LaSage looked my way. "What's down there?", she asked. "Just some of my buddies.", I told her. "They wanted to know if it was Ok to come out - they were getting hungry! If you took much longer, they would have eaten you, orders or no!" "That's nice to know...", she said as she quickly mounted the railing and scurried down the netting. The goods were quickly secured on the barge, and I told Nessie to cast off. The short trip to shore went uneventfully, save for the fact that the tide was coming in, making the water choppy and unpredictable to the Cryptoclydus. Nessie nearly beached herself as she reversed direction to let the barge surge up on the sand, and a few of the pirates jumped out and immediately dragged it further inland. With little argument and confusion, the pirates stacked thier goods on the beach; and Lasage inventoried everything there, noting that they had taken far too much. That didn't matter to her, for she would force them all to take more than they could carry! "What a haul!", Quint commented at her side. "It'll do...", then she looked at him. "Who asked for YOUR two drachs?...", she nudged him. Soon the pirates began loading themselves up with the loot. They grumbled when they had to help one another with the loading, and complained when they would get no help from thier cohorts. Just as all of them were more than amply loaded for thier trip home, Martino came up to his boss and looked humbly until she noticed him with a nod. "This might be more than we can carry.", Martino said. "We didn't bring no cart, either.", Martino said. LaSage looked at me. "Stinger, would you be a dear and lend us a cart?", she said sweetly. "You should have thought of that before you came here.", I said. "What do I look like? A taxi service?!" "No, you look like a buffoon in a tin can!", she snapped. "You give us a cart or we'll burn this whole ship down!" "You can't burn solid steel!", I chuckled. "Besides, I can have you evicted from here and you'll get... NOTHING!", my face turned serious. "I'm heartbroken!...", she batted her eyes. "But I hear if you do, the council will be mad at you." "Can I ask you a question?", I asked as levelly as I could. "It'll cost you.", she replied. "Not as much as it will cost you if you don't answer!...", I got control back and sighed before continuing. "Do you have enough? Are you finished here?" "Well, I don't have the whole ship - or the whole island for that matter...", LaSage pretended to consider. "However, these weaklings can't carry away everything aboard...", then she smiled. "Yeah!... I guess that's everything!...", she turned to her pirates. "OK, you dopes!... Move 'em out!..." The pirates grudgingly trudged down the beach in the direction they had come, not noticing that all the Tyranosaurs, Veloceraptors and Rangers had surrounded them from a distance as they unloaded the barge. As they walked, they began noticing them; and this brought them to a startled halt while Quint tried to push them along. I made a spreading gesture with my arms behind them, and my friends slowly backed off to allow the pirates room to travel. cautiousely the pirates moved past the first row of Tyranosaurs, who grunted and chuffed as they passed. At last all the pirates and Lasage was well past the group of carnivores; and at the same time decided to beat a hastier retreat from the area. We all watched the pirates shrink down the beach, then past a rock outcropping until they were out of sight. All of us knew to remain silent until they were all out of earshot; and only then did we let off with peals of cheers! Rex ran up besideme as Mosquito went to Nessie to ask if she would retrieve the rest of his guards from the ship. The rest of the Rainy Basin Rangers converged on us just then, yelling and congratulating me on my plan that went over like a dream! By the time the rest of the Veloceraptors came back from the ship, we had dismantled the Big Top tent and stowed it in the cart we brought with us, cleverly camouflaged to look like a tangle of driftwood and scrub, and prepared to leave the area. We all knew as we slowly made our way back home that KaSage would no doubt return to the Millennium Queen sooner or later - she had a tendancy to not leae anything unplundered! It was dusk when our group entered the Rainy Basin, and pitch black as we stopped our cart in the center of clan Thundertail. No one was about but the guards that were posted, and tried not to disturb the rest of the clan as we made it to our quarters for the night. In the morning we reported to king Thundertail all that transpired, and sent a Postal Bird off to waterfall City to report to them too. We included our concerns and deductions of LaSage's probable return to the ship, and added our suggestion that extra guards should be dispatched to the Millennium Queen from now on. The reply we got for the operation was a hearty congratulations, and the reply for our fears was a wholehearted agreement; but when the mayor urgently requested that I return to Waterfall City, I could not guess at what could be wrong! The next day I set out once again to Waterfall City; and this time I employed the services of Nicholas Parasolophus, who was a Partner of Randolph and Pooja Davis, and his mate was Agnes. Thier son, Todd shook the giant saurian's hand and we both set out on our way. Nicholas said that he was friends with the curator of the Hall of Hadrosaurs and Ceratopsians, and would no doubt get a room there for our stay. Another uneventful trip and within a day we were staring at the main gates of Waterfall City... _
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Post by thundertail on Mar 26, 2012 18:29:28 GMT -5
_ FIFTY-ONE: "Rumors..." I could not guess why mayor Waldo Seville asked me into his private chambers at the courthouse of Waterfall City after that seemingly routine meeting right after I arrived that day. He looked more concerned than usual, and took his time getting to the point. He offered me refreshments and inquired on how things were going in clan Thundertail; but his concentration was not on my answers, and he hardly listened to them at all. Even though I told him about the apparent success of my mission, and the concerns about LaSage's probable return to the ship; he did not really seem to hear me, both at the meeting and just now as I repeated the tale. He just looked out the window in this chamber, over the city with his hands clasped behind his back, saying nothing. "You look troubled, your honor.", I said after a few moments of his silence. "Is there anything wrong?" "Not that I'm blaming you, but ever since that ship came to our shores, there's been nothing but trouble....", his gaze out the window never faltered. "I realise that having all these new people are a burden, and the new problems of some fifteen hundred people are new to you...", he cut me off. "It's not the people, not really.", Waldo said. "It's the things they bring. The devices of your modern world confuse and perplex us. We do not know whether they are for good or evil." "I know having a modern day ship in your midst seems strange to you.", I told him. "Just as it would be if an envoy from Dinotopia would find its' way to the modern world; but it's only one ship, and only a comparative handful of people with just a smattering of modern day technology they brought with them!" "True, but the implications they bring are just as dangerous as they are wonderful.", Waldo said as he went to a side table that was draped with a colorful quilt - a piece of furniture that I thought hid a saurian piano or something. "These are a sample of the strange objects found aboard the Millennium Queen as well as her passengers and crew. These are things that are a mystery to us, and we can not decipher thier purpose.", he removed the quilt with a flourish. On what was now revealed to be a table lay many objects common to the outside world, and the display looked remeniscent of the scene common at a yard sale or some such event. There were coffee makers, wristwatches, electronic games, boomboxes, CD players, walkie talkies, cell phones, a laptop computer, cameras both digital and ones requiring film and a whole slew of similar items of different models. I smiled at this collection, and turned to Waldo with a knowing glint in my eye. He seemed to sense this, and physically relaxed somewhat. "You picked some pretty strange things here!", I said, then chuckled as I lowered my head. "You should have no fear with things like this, your honor. They are practically harmless!" "You don't say...", he replied. "What, pray tell, are thier purpose?" I began rattling off each item, explaining what each of them did; and I tried to prove the ways they could be useful to Dinotopia as I described them. "This is called a 'coffee maker', like a tea brewer.", I told him, demonstrating the moving parts of the device. "With this you could brew a perfect cup of Jinka tea!... Provided, of course, you had the paper filters. Also, it runs on electricity.", I showed him the power cord. "There is no electricity here.", Waldo said. "True, but there are devices in the World Beneath that can turn sunstone energy into electricity.", I said. "Perhaps Frank Waters could mingle technologies and create a way to use the device..." "He is doing well.", Waldo said. "It's only a matter of months and he will be ready for you." "Good!...", I went to another object. "Now this device is a music box of sorts. It goes by many names: 'Boombox', 'Ghetto blaster', 'radio', 'CD player' or 'tape deck'." "It's a radio?", he asked. "Yes, but it's only a receiver.", I said. "It can't broadcast our position, if that had you worried!", I chuckled. "It can get frequencies in the AM and FM bands; but it probably doesn't have very good range. Now, the other features of it is a cassette player and a CD player. Those forms of media holds recorded music and such; just like a phonograph. The cassette stores on magnetic tape and the CD's information is etched in a plastic disk, and read by a laser." "Stunning!", said Waldo. "I would like to hear it!" "Ok...", I said as I rummaged through the other things. I located a CD in a blank looking case and inserted it. The music blared and the singer proclaimed that he wanted to rock and roll all night, and party every day... I rushed to lower the volume! "Woah!" "That was just AWFUL!", Waldo was still covering his ears! "We have good music as well as bad.", I confessed. "I guess it's all in the ear of the beholder!" "But no more of THAT!...", he begged. I shut it off and removed the CD. "This, of course, is a wristwatch.", I said. "It's electronic and runs on a tiny battery.", I showed him the digital face and continued. "A battery is a small object that holds an electric charge..." "I see.", he said. "Is it as accurate as my pocket geochronograph?", he took out a cylindrical device that looked more like a seashell than a timepiece. "How about these other small devices?" "These are handheld electronic games.", I said as I turned one on and began to play it. It blipped happily for a moment, then made a sour noise as I lost. "Kids have a lot of fun with them, and they're perfectly harmless!" "Good! Now, these devices seem familiar...", Waldo picked up a camera. "They remind me of devices described of old..." "Those are cameras, made to take images of things.", I told him. "Like a painting, only visually realistic.", I picked up the digital camera. "This one takes the pictures electronically, and can be seen on this device.", I pointed at the laptop computer at the end of the table. "The other takes a picture and places it on a paper card." "And what is that device?", he was referring to the computer. "That is a 'laptop computer'.", I said. "It's like a brain, and can do all sorts of things like a human brain can.", I continued. "It can be hooked up to a worldwide system of other computers in a network; but it needs the support of a server to work that way, and it doesn't seem to be set up like that right now." "I see...", Waldo looked confused, so I continued! "These are called 'walkie talkies'.", I picked up the unopened set, perhaps taken from one of the promenade deck shops, and opened them. "These are also radios, but can transmit and receive; and they can only pick up each others' transmissions.", I handed him one after inserting the batteries and adjusting the controls. At his confused look, I said. "Here, let me show you how they work!" After a brief instruction on how to operate the walkie talkie, I led him to the window and told him to stay there. I walked to the other side of the room, and ducked into a small alcove; then I turned so he could see me and spoke. "Hello mayor, over...", I said. "HELLO, STINGER!", he said loudly, and kept the button pushed. I mimed releasing my hand and he got the hint! "Press down when you want to talk, say 'over' when you're through and release the button.", I said. "And please talk normally. No need to shout!... over." "Understood...", Waldo said, much better now. "This is a miraculous device!... How far away can these devices work?", then he remembered. "Over..." "That can vary, but this model might not have a great range.", I told him. "Perhaps as little as two miles. Over." "I'd like to try these from farther away.", Waldo responded. "Do you think we could try these outside? Say, me here and you near the Pliosaur canal?...", he forgot to say over, so I paused. "Oops! Over!" "Maybe later we can have fun with them.", I told him, chuckling. "But for now, these new items were your primary concern?... Over." "Oh, yes!", Waldo walked to the table as I came over as well. "Please continue.", he handed me his walkie talkie. I picked up the cell phone before explaining what it was. I had to test it to make sure whether it worked or not. I knew that this was the thing that would be the greatest threat to Dinotopia on the table! It turned out that the battery was almost dead, and the signal was practically nonexistent. I smiled and showed him the device. "This is what is callled a 'cell phone'.", I explained. "It works much like the walkie talkies, only you can contact anybody anywhere in the outside world." "Oh, dear!", the mayor exclaimed. "That is the kind of thing that could spell our end!" "You have little to fear with THIS cell phone!", I said. "The battery is almost dead, and the signal is too weak to reach the cell towers.", I saw this needed explaining too, so I continued. "Cell phones work on a certain radio frequency that relies on transmission towers to boost the signal. You must be pretty close to one for your call to get through, and there isn't one of those for a thousand miles or more. What's more, this service is sponsored by companies that require you pay for the service; and if it is not paid they turn off the service. This cell phone has been here for more than a month, and the bill might be overdue; so the service to this one might be shut off." "Then this is good news!", waldo stated. "I assure you that nothing on this table is a threat to Dinotopia.", I said. "If you're confused on any other thing brought from the ship, you could ask one of the newcomers. They would know about these things as well as I could!" "Yes, I know.", he replied. "But you I trust! At least you'd say what's dangerous and what's not and not lie about it." "Thanks...", I said, then changed tack. "But you never know about this stuff. I mean, these things could start a trend among the people! Having these things around could be a grand novelty to them!... That is, until they run out of power and become useless." "I'm sure the newness of these things would wear off over time.", Waldo said as he led me to his chamber door. "Indeed.", I said as he opened it. "Be sure to call on me again if you have a question...", I left. I toured Waterfall City for the rest of the afternoon, catching up with my ride into town, Nicholas Parasolopholus, as he was conversing with a few citizens of his own kind near the cargo chutes; and they were hearing his tales of the Rainy Basin, speaking in thier own fluty tongue. He stopped his tale as he saw me, and inquired how my meeting went; and I told him of the mayor's worrys, describing the devices from the Millennium Queen he had in his chambers. I assured his friends that they had nothing to fear from these items, and not to be alarmed if any more such items turned up in Waterfall City. My travels with Nicholas in tow included going to the library, where many newcomers were busy studying for tests and personal research. Yarra came out and greeted us curtly before flitting off on her predetermined errand. Zippeau was there as well, and came out to greet us; but the look on his face made me wonder if his workload as teacher and librarian was becoming too much for him! He scolded a newcomer for shouting in the library and continued his duty of returning books and scrolls to thier places. Near the main entrance to Aqua Stadium, Rosemary Seville met me as she came across the bridge from the hall of records; and this was Nicholas' cue to meander off to find his friends again. We strolled down the lane and crossed the bridge at Plesiosaur canal before she decided to speak to me in more than just plain niceties. "It was so grand of your clan to open trade routes through the Rainy Basin.", Rosemary said. "The prosperity the surrounding towns are showing is truely remarkable!" "We have always felt that if carnivores were less adament about thier territories, thier reputations as mean killers would gradually decline.", I told her as we strolled along Morning Glory Promenade. "Our own allies near the Basin have seen great prosperity as well." "What is good for one is good for all.", she said. "A little kindness goes a long way." "This is true; and we have discovered that we can reguard others on Dinotopia as more than just food!", I realised I was out of place and bowed. "Sorry. Carnivore humor!" "It's a rather morbid kind of humor...", she stopped at a railing, looking out over the thundering falls below. "Yes, it is.", I nodded. "I guess it's because they have nothing else to joke about..." I looked out over the falls as well, seeing the swelling curtains of water cascade down into the gorge below. After a moment of waiting for a reply, I looked over to Rosemary and saw her face was many miles away. Fearing I would disturb her thoughts, I said nothing for the longest time; but concerned about what she was so silent for, I had to say something. I cleared my throat and slid a bit closer before I said anything. "Leadership weighs heavy on all of us...", I said, still looking at the spray. "Sometimes it helps to talk about it." "I have so many to think about, so many that I love...", Rosemary began. "And yet, I sometimes neglect the ones closest to me..." "I feel the same way myself.", I told her. "With all these responsabilities being the mayor of the Rainy Basin - plus trying to keep relations with you and the rest of the island, I sometimes feel I'm neglecting Mayday and little Hamilton...", I sighed. "It would seem that, with leaders, family does not always come first..." "Do you think that is what it is, really?", she looked at me suddenly. "Could that be it? Could that be why I'm such a bad mother?" "Who told you you were a bad mother?", I asked. "You are the most wonderful mother in the world!... Why, you raised Marion to be a perfect young woman! She is strong and decisive... And I heard Carl say that she has a devastating left hook!", I tried to make her smile. "It's not that, really...", Rosemary only half smiled. "It's just that... I think I'm losing touch with her. She has been delinquent in her studies as matriarch, she doesn't seem to know what she wants, she is angry with everything - including her lot in life...", she took a sad hue. "And I think she is angry with me the most!..." "How could that be?", I asked. "You raised her with the best this island has to offer! I know you love her with all your heart!" "I do, of that there is no doubt.", she said. "I try to help her and guide her out of trouble; but every time I try lately, she rejects my help and says I'm smothering her...", she looked solemnly at me. "I do not smother her... Or if I did, I do not mean to!...", tears began. "Now look...", I said trying to sooth her. "You do NOT smother her!... Know what I think it is?... It is a phase she is going through...", I handed her a handkerchief. "She is growing up, and she seeks freedom to do her own thing. You and Waldo represent authority to her. The power to say no and stop her from doing what she wants. She is too old to be your little daughter anymore, and yet she is too young to realise the concequences of being an adult. She is confused at this... and mad! She takes it out on you because there is nobody else but you and her to do it to... And heaven forbid she take it out on herself!..." "You think that's all it is?", Rosemary looked to me like a girl would a parent. "A phase?" "I think so.", I said solemnly. "You know, my daughter in the outside world went through the same thing. She wanted her independence at the ripe old age of seventeen, and if I got in the way or stopped her for any reason...!", I winced at the thought. "Well, to get right down to it, she said she was old enough to do most things for herself, and didn't need my help in many things. I eventually let her move out of the house and get her own place; and she called me telling me of all the problems she was having.", I smiled and continued. "I told her that this was the way it was being out on your own. It was no picknick for her, and it hurt me more than you could know letting her go like that; but that was when I realised that she was indeed old enough to handle life on her own." "I should let her go? Just like that?", Rosemary asked. "What will she think?" "It's not what she will think. It's what YOU will think!", I said to her as others walked by us. "The thing is YOU have got to stop thinking of her is just your little daughter, and start thinking of her as a fine, independant young woman.", my look turned serious. "If you do that, I think she will respect you in a new light. She may think of you as more of a friend than a mother; but that's usually how offspring think of thier parents as they get older...", then my look turned softer. "Sometimes it's best if a parent learns to let go..." "But if I do that, wouldn't she think that I don't love her any more?", Rosemary asked. "She would be so confused..." "Well, don't do it right away!", I smiled. "Do it gradually, and make it look like it's an assignment or something... But if it comes right down to it - as I think it might since she's not a dummy - be honest with her about it. Tell her that she is an adult now, and that she can do as she chooses." "But she said once that she did not want to be matriarch!", Rosemary maintained. "One can't run away from ones' destiny!" "Let her find that out on her own.", I said. "I let my daughter find out what she wanted on her own; and I may not have necesarilly wanted her to be a doctor, but it turned out to be the best decision of her life!", I stood face to face with her. "I think it's time you let her make these decisions on her own..." "You have given me a lot to think about, Stinger; and I thank you...", she said after many moments of contemplation. "We two are not of different material after all!" "Us parents got a lot in common!", I said, glad that she was feeling better. "But your problem is not of parenthood. It is what gets in the way of it that hinders you.", I smirked. "What you need is a vacation or something!..." "Perhaps you're right; but perhaps later.", Rosemary said. "Now, where were we?..." "We were talking about trade and the Rainy Basin's involvement...", I said. "Oh, yes!...", Rosemary said and continued what she had wanted to discuss with me. We talked right there for nearly half an hour, not really going back to the subject that had upset her so much; but the conversation always never seemed to leave sight of it. She inquired about Mayday and my son Hamilton, marveling at how the little tyke was growing and making suggestions concerning his budding artistic growth. She had noticed a streak of jealousey in Mayday as she remembered her stint of pulling me away by the ear when the matriarch imparted to me a comeraderly kiss. I just shrugged it off, saying it was in her nature to be playful, if not rough; but she insisted that it could mean that Mayday actually was jealous, and perhaps extra attention should be shown to her. I eventually promised I would the next time I was at home. I was secretly worried that this might be the case myself! As the Sunstones gave off thier glow at the close of day, it was mutually decided to end our lengthy chat; and both of us refrained from any untoward contact this time for fear of what we had previousely talked about! I roamed the streets, noticing a few of the newcomers mill about this square or near that fountain as I passed; evedentally these people were more used to the nocturnal lives they once had, and were strangers to a Dinotopian creedo remotely akin to 'early to bed and early to rise'! I shook my head at this activity and went on my way. Steep Street was only a few blocks over across the Pliosaur canal, and at this hour mister Woolright had gone to bed; and the famous dwelling of Sir Arthur Dennison lay dark and dormant. I used the skeleton key Adelade had given me the last time I was there and opened the door in the veranda as the wind was blowing the waterfall near the front door in sheets over it. I closed the door as quietly as I could, intending to sneak into the room they provided for me; but Adelade's acute saurian hearing heard the tiny noises I made and scratched her bony head as she viewed my progress through the house from the shadows. Klamath saw her with his enhanced vision and I waved to her silently as I made it to my bedroom. It turned out that I spent many days in Waterfall City, both there and communities surrounding it. Of the many castaways that had finished thier lessons already and were bid to go out into these communities, I wanted to see thier progress and help them as well in adjusting to these regions. It was also Zippeau's job to oversee thier continued education and report back any problems they might be having, and he went with me and Nicholas to see the new arrivals at the Outpost situated at the crossroads just outside waterfall City. I soon found out that all the people that had pets aboard ship was assigned together with mister Razouli, owner of the curiosity shop there, and owner of Sandy the golden lab. I had always wondered whatever became of those people and thier pets! They all lived in a rather large boarding house near the edge of town, right next to Razouloi's shop; and it was hoped that one day thier pets would mate and create more generations of dogs and cats. The first one I saw walking her dog was Melissa Grant, Bounder the border collie playing tethered at her side. She didn't recognise me at first as so many new things had evidentally happened to her that her memory was overloaded; but other than that, she told me she was having the most wonderful time of her life - and Bounder's wagging tail told me the same went for him! A while later Fred Windom and his black lab, Chip came by with a youngish female Ankylosaur in tow. They were to be apprentices for a shipping company being partially founded by Frank Scott and this Ankylosaur's father and his human partner. Fred had said that Chip and Sandy, Razouli's yellow lab, were becoming quite acquainted; and it wouldn't be long before I could have the pick of thier litter - an option I gratiousely refused! Melissa informed me before that Bounder was beginning to become friendly with Frank Bishop's husky, Sasha; and when I mentioned this to him, he confirmed this in a roundabout way. He told me that he was to work in the saurian boarding house across the outpost from there, taking care of the caravans of saurians on thier way to and from all points on Dinotopia. He said that he liked news of other places; and with his growing fluency of the saurian dialects, he said this curiosity would be sated on almost a daily basis! I saw Francine Fontaine sitting on a porch of the human boarding house as I walked by, and asked her how things were going as Jo-Jo sat twitching her bushy tail on her lap. They told her she was to apprentice running a shop in town, but hadn't told her which one it would be. The McCue family strolled by just then; and the only one that recognised me was thier daughter, Melissa. Thier chihauha, Pacco yipped at thier feet, and a pair of Compsagnathus and thier tiny family soon followed. We talked as a group as Zippeau finally caught up with us and took over the conversation. I left this group shortly thereafter, wondering sadly on the fate of Jo-Jo and poor Pacco. Both of those animals were too small for breeding, and I knew mating between dogs and cats was impossible! In the mean time, Carl Scott had arrived at his father's tavern on the other side of the outpost, Thistlesnarl was there in the paddock beside it. David Scott had gotten some free time too, and they were both there visiting thier father like they often did when any of them had some free time from thier duties in the Rainy Basin Rangers and the Skybax corps respectively. Sopmetimes they helped Frank out in his tavern, or just hung around talking with the patrons that frequented the tavern. This time it was a bit different, for Frank would get some news that any normal Dinotopian wouldn't dare tell him! "Never guess what washed up on shore this time.", David was saying as he dried some glasses. "Some stranded Sucheomimus?...", Frank said as he poured a drink for a regular. "Suprise me..." "Another ship.", was the reply. "Another victim of the razor Reef?", Frank asked. "Was it a rowboat this time?" "Not exactly.", said David. "The thing was huge!... They say that they rescued fifteen hundred passengers and crew from it!" "What kind of ship was it?", Frank became instantly interested! "If it was a cargo ship, think of all the supplies!", he turned to his son. "I bet it could hold half the Dinotopians on the island!... Tell me more." "Remember that cruise to Cancun you made a few years ago?", Carl cut in from mopping in front of the counter. "Like that ship!" "Holy cow!", Frank ignored his next customer. "And it's just sitting out there...! Ah,... is it seaworthy?" "Fraid not, pops...", Carl said. "Stinger says the chief engineer thinks the hull's all torn out. It'll need a drydock and a year's worth of repair before it'll float again." "Many salvage crews have been there.", David said. "They've been taking all the things out and dustributing them all over the island." "Yeah! And clan Thundertail's got all the meat!", Carl added. "You mean there's real meat here?!", Frank asked as he finally served his customer. "Not fish or dinosaur meat?..." "Remember what we found aboard the 'Southern Star'!?", David reminded. "CHEESEBURGERS!", all three said lustilly, unnerving that customer! "If we hurry, there'll be plenty for us!", Carl suggested. "Alanzo!", Frank shouted. "Yes, Frank?", he came out from the kitchen wiping his hands. "Could you take over here for a few days?", Frank asked. "We're going on a little trip..." "But what about that shipment coming from Baz?", he protested. "You're the one who made that Trilobar deal!..." "You can figure that out!", Frank went out back to pack. I had entered the tavern a few moments ago, and heard most of this conversation; but paid it no mind as I was hungry and ordered a meal. As the human waitress left with the order, I saw Carl and David walk over to my table in the corner. From thier excited looks, I knew there was something they wanted to ask; so I smirked and waited for them to prepare themselves. "Mayor Stinger!", Carl bowed. "Could I ask a favor on behalf of my father?" "Certainly.", I said as I offered them a seat, but still they stood. "Well,... my father now knows about the Millennium Queen.", Carl began. "We would like to know if he could come visit clan Thundertail.", David continued. "He want's to come and sample the meat apportioned to us.", Carl told me. "And I thought he wanted to find a way to use the ship to get off the island!" "You know we accept any visitors!", I told them as 26 galloped out from the back room, located Carl and galloped over to his feet. "You're ALL invited, schedules permitting, of course... even you, 26!", I glanced down, she honked. "That's great!", Carl said, picking his Partner up. "He'll be so psyched!" "Oh, by the way...", I said before they could turn. "Anything to report, ranger Scott?" "Nothing much, sir.", Carl said. "All rangers report that the Rainy Basin is quiet. At least that was what I heard before commander Diego gave me a furlough..." "And your steed?", I asked. "All is well with her too, sir.", Carl said. "Thiss is in the paddock out back, if you want to ask her..." "Excellent! Then I guess you can continue your furlough!...", I said and the two boys went back to the bar area. My waitress came out with my order and I began to eat, noticing how meatless it was; as was nearly every meal I have had outside the Rainy Basin. This did not bother me much as humans can digest both types of matter. I was about half way through with my pasta and salad when I looked up from my meal and saw Zippeau enter the tavern. He looked around and located me at my table among the rather thin crowd. I waved him over and offered him a seat. "Zip!... Come, sit!", I said around my last mouthfull. He weaved his way through the tables before sitting with an exhausted huff. "Ahh...! Stinger, there you are!", the waitress saw and scooted by the table. "I had the most unusual day!..." "Do tell!", I prompted. "I'll have the house special.", he said to the waitress instead, who nodded and retreated. "You know, those newcomers in this community seem to be taking thier new surroundings quite well." "With my experiences with them, those people seemed the most likely to fit in.", I told him. "I'm glad you agree!" "There is that, but the problems they seem to have being here pose a grand dillema to thier neighbors.", Zippeau said. "We who think life here is rather routine will be hard pressed to convince them likewise." "I'm not saying there will be difficulties fitting in.", I told him. "I merely said that they would most likely take the shortest time to assimilate." "I know, I know...", he said. "It's just I'm concerned on what thier neighbors might think of them." "If they try hard enough, everyone will think they were here all along!", I smiled, but he did not. "I'm sure you're aware of the time it took for ME to adjust!" Zippeau just nodded as he waited for his meal to arrive, turning his head at the disjointed sounds so common for any dining establishment. I noticed he was doing this with an almost worried stance, one of almost dread; and his formerly haughty adititude turned to one of almost fear. I waited for him to make any comment at all, but figured he was too hungry to speak; and was waiting for the waitress to return with his dinner. "The house special's great today.", I said for conversation. "Pasta suprise and all the salad you can eat!" "That's nice...", his gaze never fell on me. "So, you're eating that...", I said cheerilly. "What's eating you?!..." "Huh?... Oh...", Zippeau stammered. "It's just that this place reminds me of something bad..." "Oh, yeah! This was the place where that 'sickness' began...", I realised. "I'm really sorry about that..." "Don't worry about it.", he told me. "It's in the past..." "From your look, the past isn't so far in the past!...", I observed. "Is that's what's bothering you?" "I suppose you're right...", Zippeau admitted after a gasp. "The thing is, it's been wearing on my mind lately." "How so?", I asked. "Both our doctors and yours checked you out, and you're as healthy as they come!" "I'm not becoming sick, at least I don't think so.", Zippeau explained. "It's just that, every once in a while, I get these urges... Urges that I can't explain and can't tell to most of my friends." "And I'm not most of your friends...", I conjectured with a smile. "Well, no...", he chuckled. "I'm telling you because you were there, and can possibly understand what's the matter with me." "What exactly IS going on?", I asked as I got serious again. "Well, it all started about a week after I returned from the Rainy Basin.", Zippeau began. "I resumed my life like I normally do; performing my work, tending events and such. I soon began to grow angry all the time for no aparent reason - not really showing it, mind you; but the feeling was there never the less. Soon I began getting ideas on certain gadgets that would cause mayhem to lesser creatures. I walked the little used streets, near the docks and through back alleys; and saw vermin there scavenging from refuse. I began to feel that the city would be a cleaner place if those dirty creatures were erradicated, so I devised traps of certain size and began setting them in secluded niches." "The traps worked for the most part, but where to put the little corpses?", he continued. "The smell of the dead rodents brought on a mild hunger; and after many times discarding the creatures, I ate one of them! To my suprise this bothered me far less than I would have been, and the next times I trapped them I did so for food!" "So, your primal Troodont instincts are still active?", I asked. "It seems promenently so!...", Zippeau whispered. "Stinger!... I am a respected Dinotopian citizen with a high ranking job and friends to many people!... I can not go around eating meat like that!... Can you imagine the scandals that could start if word got 'round?!..." "I see your problem...", I said but was cut off. "No, you don't!", he said. "In Dinotopian culture, it is taught at an early age to protect all living things! It is in the code that we live by; and it is extremely close to being a religeous belief! For what I am doing, I am committing virtual sacrelige!", he lost steam and hung his head. "Oh Stinger!... What am I to do?!" Zippeau, you really had a problem there! I thought upon this for a long time; and as I was about to tell you my thoughts, the waitress came back with your meal. You thanked her and watched her retreat out of sight; then you gazed at your meal without hunger for many moments. That was when I completed my thinking and began telling you what I thought. "Zippeau, my friend. It seems that you are now two people.", I said. "You are intellegent and worldly according to Dinotopian standards, and you are well liked.", I reguarded him. "But you are also a creature of primal desires and primative wants. Your intellegent side has squelched all of your primative drives, burying it under layers of sophistication and civilization. The primal side is still there, demanding to come out and demanding to be recognised. The drink you had a while ago has awakened this primal thing inside of you, and it will not lie dormant any longer." "You are of two minds now, and creatures like that can not survive with sanity when both parts are seperated like that.", I continued. "What I think you should do is to come to grips with your primal side. Try to reach an agreement with it, and try to let it mingle with your personality as a whole. If you bring together both parts and merge the two, you'll end up with a personality that is well rounded and sane." "Is that what's truely happening, Stinger?", was the eventual reply. "That I'm going insane?" "No!... Of course not!", I smiled. "There is just more to you than meets the eye! All that is wrong is that other part wants recognition, not to be shoved aside.", I told you. "Having an alter ego is no sin, you know. Every creature has its' good side and its' bad side; and a wise creature should know how to use both sides." "But how do I use this bad side for my advantage?", you asked. "It serves no purpose other than give me a bad time!" "I suggest you let it out from time to time.", I said. "Let it out to play, if you know what I mean!" "No, I don't.", you said. "Not really..." "I got an idea!... How about this:", I said. "Why don't you take a little vacation and visit the Rainy Basin. There you can eat all the meat it wants, and let it act any way it wants to. We don't persecute those with different eating habits, you know!" "I don't know...", you considered. "I'll have to change my whole schedule, I'll need to find coverage at the library and ask for volunteers in teaching the newcomers..." "I'm ready.", Frank Scott came out of the back with a pair of sacks he uses for luggage. "When do we leave?" "Dad!... Come here.", David whispered. "What do you say?", I coaxed. "I was going to go home from here, and the Scotts want to visit too! We can all go together...!", I leaned in closer. "It's your decision!" "Well,...", you considered. "If you give me a few minutes..." "Why so long?", I asked. "I wanted to finish this delicious looking meal!", you said and began to dig in! We waited for Zippeau to finish, in the mean time I told Carl to prepare Thistlesnarl for travel; and David went to tell Freefall to meet them at clan Thundertail. I went to find Nicholas and told him to find out if he could borrow a spare cart someplace. By the time all this was underway, Zippeau had finished his meal and stood by Frank Scott as we all waited for our transportation to arrive. Nicholas said that the only thing available was a large rickshaw-like contraption that he could pull; and it was large enough for me, David, Frank, Zippeau and all our things. This contraption was designed for hadrosaurians, and fit his frame nearly perfectly! As soon as everything was loaded and everyone was aboard, I flicked the reigns and told Nicholas we were all set; and the large saurian soon got the rickshaw cart moving toward the Rainy Basin. Our trip took most of the rest of the day and all night, and by morning we made it to clan Thundertail; and as the Veloceraptor guards met us at its' border, the Scotts reminded themselves why they seldom visited! Zippeau was quite unnerved as well, and never seemed to really calm down his whole time there; but he seemed somewhat less jittery as he reacquainted himself with a few of the clan members, accepting shelter in the home of Selma and Dulock Ovaraptior. David and Frank Scott, invited to stay at Carl's occasional apartment down in Kinan Van and taking to the place within a day; said we had really fixed the place up great, but I knew they were really there for the food! By the time the rest of the clan was up and completed thier morning tasks, a grand breakfast was prepared in honor of our impromptu guests, and soon these visitors began to feel like they were at home! Thier breakfast with us was to be a special one, of this I wished to make sure of! Among the things from the ship we were given besides all the fresh meat, there were all sorts of canned and non perishable goods; and frozen meats by the score, even though those were already thawed and would soon need to be eaten lest they go bad. The fresh meats we had to eat quickly, for they were already well on thier way to inedibility! I oversaw the preparation of thier breakfast myself, cooking the remainder of the over forty dozen eggs in one of the hundreds of cast iron skillets also found aboard the Millennium Queen. The Veloceraptors relished these eggs, and preferred them prepared scrambled with gobs of mammoth milk and butter! After the eggs, a canned ham roasted over an open fire, real wheat pancakes made from a box of prepared mixture and a score of spices and condiments taken from a chef's kitchen; the Scotts had a first class breakfast they talked about thier whole time with us! Zippeau sampled the pancakes, but remained reluctant to touch the other dishes; and became more and more dispondant every time I questioned him with my eyes. Sneaking samples of meat in seclusion like he told me was a far cry to admitting it and doing so in public, and I guess it was a hard thing for him to admit! Once during the meal I saw him deftly sneaking a small gobbet of ham onto a pancake and rolling it up, looking in every direction before quickly popping it into his mouth; and he blushed as he looked up to see me winking at him, then that look turned into one of indifferent determination as he made a braver attempt at doing so. I knew it would take a long time for the poor creature to live up to his darker side, but his behaviour at this meal told me that he was at least trying! After the meal we all went to where we were storing the supplies from the Millennium Queen, and found all sorts of miscelanious items that were not of the edible variety. True there were examples of the things Waldo had shown me up in his chambers, and many of these items were of different makes and models; but the things that convinced me that they were taken from the pharmacy or other convenience shop on the ship was all the grooming items and other everyday things that could be bought in any store around the world among the foodstuffs. I found, still sealed in a cardboard box, a whole case of plastic safety razors - the cheap kind, each in a plastic package of ten - and I gave each Scott two packages. A case of shave cream was there too, and they each got a can; and there was also a display package of 100 lighters, and they each got a few of those too. I found other things like deodorant in solid form, many vials of prepared healthcare needs and medicines, and there were plenty of magazines, paperback books and other publications. There was also some smoking paraphanalia among the supplies; and though I knew no one on the island that smoked cigarettes, there were several boxes of cigars, which would be a perfect gift for mister Woolright in waterfall City! The Scotts were quite excited over these gifts from the outside world, and showed them off to all thier friends when they returned... _
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Post by thundertail on Mar 27, 2012 4:56:25 GMT -5
_ FIFTY-TWO: "Growing pains..." There had been an ongoing concern among the teachers and leaders of Waterfall City about the certain problems the castaways were having trying to fit in; and even though the majority of the passengers and crew of the Millennium Queen were doing quite well under the circumstances, there were still quite a lot of people here that the concept of living here would constantly escape them. I have heard many rumors about them, things that would seem quite ordinary to folks in the outside world; but for here, they would seem to be the most heinous of crimes! One of those things being the taking of things they needed, and yet not intending to pay back by actual labor; which everybody on Dinotopia knew what came around went around, and these newcomers couldn't grasp the comcept! If they couldn't pay it back to the particular person they took from right there and then, and they insisted instead to pay with money; then they figured what was the point in taking at all, and resolve never to pay it back at all. This and the fact that many couldn't find it in thier hearts to forgive even the most minor tresspass, a thing that native Dinotopians take for granted; seemed to be the most foreign thing in the world to them. These people had come from a world where the most dredful crimes are committed, and they can never think of other people as worthless criminals with no hope of rehabilitation or redemption! All creatures are just as capable of making mistakes, and equally capable to learn from those mistakes; but many disbelieved this no matter how many times I tried to explain it to them. I had heard rumors that many of them had run off from thier studies, and became lost in the Dinotopian population - or just became lost, never to be found again. Quite a few found thier way on the wrong side of the path, and I heard they were now in the 'kind tutelage' of none other than Torres LaSage! Many simply wished to choose thier own ways, and not have thier lives dictated by the court; and these individuals were found and they had established lives of thier own in the various towns and outposts throughout the island, even though the court vigorousely disagreed with thier decisions! I had visited many of these people from time to time, and told them of my exploits of which they kept plenty of mental notes! It is said that there are some people you just can't reach, and for many of these newcomers, the statement could not be more true. I was called upon many times to straighten out situations these newcomers found themselves in, talking them out of seemingly crazy ideas or rescuing them from precarious situations they happened to find themselves in. One of these people was called Lanis Albian, an adventuresome soul that came on the cruise with a group of others looking for an exciting worldwide vacation; but this person felt trapped here, where everyone here prevented him from taking the risks that his free spirit craved. To tell you his tale and why I know it, I think I should start from the beginning; and to be completely fair, I think it should be in his own words! Lanis Albian was sick and tired of being told what to do all the time. He wished that stupid storm never happened so he would never have become stuck in this mess! He struggled over the scrolls the librarian found for him; but these weren't anything to do with his studies, not by a second guess! He was looking for a way to get out of here, and there must be some way if he studied these maps and legends of Dinotopia! His shortsighted teacher said that he could be a master of legends if this kept up; but all Lanis wanted was a way to get off of Dinotopia! He did poorly in English, being Brazillian born; so they assigned him a little translator to help him cope. His name was Bentfeather, an older Microraptor that slightly resembled a bird with rows of insectovorious teeth. He claimed to know all of the major human dialects, including the Spanish the Brazillians use, and all of the major saurian ones as well; and pestered him to no end that he should tend to his language studies instead of pursuing legends. Lanis just kept using a Brazillian saying that even Bentfeather didn't know, telling him where he could go! Lanis was pleased that they had shipped over all of his luggage from the boat, but missed his equipment that he brought with him; but he guessed that they handn't gotten around to salvaging anything from the holds of the ship, where they stowed his equipment for his trip. Months had passed, and at last a full cartload of his things came calling for him at his stableside apartment near the hall of Hadrosaurs and Ceratopsians, one of the only places still containing places to stay for humans. Many crates of supplies marked for him came in on that load, and most of it was survival gear used when he and his group traveled on foot through the jungles of Madigascar. There were tents, cookstoves, sleeping gear, canned goods, canteens and loads of video recording equipment. Most of that he could distribute to others that would need it - the Dinotopian thing to do; but there was a few special pieces of equipment there that could possibly help him get off the island! Nobody knew what was in that sixteen foot long canvas bag, perhaps another tent; and the backpack-like bag they thought was just another backpack, so nobody complained when these items reached the hands of Lanis Albian. Though Bentfeather was not his official Partner, they had assigned him one anyway. Her name was Broadside, a yearling Saltosaurus just now being trained for delivery duty in the Rainy Basin; and though she was feisty and tough, she had the niivetie of a baby! By some strange miracle, Lanis had gotten a week off from studies, and asked if he could go outside the city for some recreation; but permission was only granted if he brought along his translator and his Partner, and naturally Lanis had to agree with that or else! So Lanis prepared and loaded Broadside up with all the things he would need for an excursion into the territories surrounding Waterfall City. "Why are you taking all this stuff?", Bentfeather translated for Broadside, he wanted to know too! "We're not going to be away for a year, you know!" "When traveling in unknown lands, it is best to overpack.", Lanis told them both as he rode the giant beast. "You never know. We just might need it!" "Not that it's too heavy, mind you.", Broadside said as she trundled down the road at the last guardpost of the city. "But I'd feel a lot better if you remembered my fodder!" "You must excuse sauropods...", Bentfeather told Lanis. "Always thinking with thier stomachs!", he hopped onto her neck. "Besides, you can always eat the foliage around you! Me, I'd have to find a rotted log somewhere..." They ended up stopping for the afternoon on a bluff overlooking Waterfall City. Lanis chose this spot for a special reason, but he wasn't about to tell these two! The thing inside that long canvas sack needed testing, and this would be the perfect place to test it out on! "This looks like the perfect place for a picknick!", Bentfeather observed. "Lots of mosquitoes!" "If we're going to spend the night here, don't you think you should set up your tent?", Broadside suggested. "A great idea!", Lanis said after Bentfeather's translation. Little did either saurian know was the large, long sack did not contain a tent. Lanis went and unstrapped the bag, taking the backpack down for good measure; then he rummaged through the supplies and brought out another bag. He went behind some bushes on the side of the clearing and changed into a bright red and gold jumpsuit, complete with red helmet with a built-in minicam. Next he went to the backpack and put it on; and then he went to unfurl the thing he had in the other sack. "What you doing in that getup?", Broadside asked. "That's some strange pyjammas!" "It's not pyjammas!", Lanis said, and became silent as he bolted together some kind of frame with wingnuts. "You need a helmet to sleep?", Bentfeather asked as he watched the progress Lanis was making. "How absurd!" The frame came together, and he promptly slid the canvas part onto it. It was only then that it became apparent to the saurians that what Lanis was creating was not a tent! It was long and made into a chevron shape, the silken wings glowed with bright red, gold, orange and green stripes. A triangular aluminum frame was bolted to the bottom of the contraption, and Lanis began to test the strength of his work. "If you ask me, this is not a tent...", Bentfeather said. "I know what it is!", Broadside exclaimed. "It's a kite!... I saw many of them flying on Pennant day when I was a hatchling!" "Don't tell me you came all the way out here to fly a kite?", Bentfeather admonished. "You could have done that just as well back in the city!" "Not with THIS kind of kite!", Lanis said as he affixed the short tether that he would be suspended from once the hang glider was airborne. "This type you need a lot of room...!" "How do you fly it?", Broadside asked. "Where's the string?" "It uses no string...", Lanis said. "In fact you kind of wear it to fly it!...", with that he hefted it by the control bar beneath, lifted the rather light flying machine above his head and bent his legs in preparation for takeoff. He attatched the other end of the tether to his beltline, and without warning began to run. He ran in the direction of the cliffs overlooking Waterfall City, and the hundred yards or so would make a perfect runway to gain speed for takeoff! He ran and he ran, eventually reaching nearly his top running speed before his feet met empty air! The hang glider lurched down, but immediately caught a thermal and began to rise! "Lanis! What are you doing!", Bentfeather screeched as he tried to run after him. "Come back here!" "He's trying to fly! What'll we do?", Broadside asked. "Quick!... Pick me up!", the Saltosaurus lowered her head. "Now, rear back and fling me!... I'll glide the rest of the way!..." Broadside slung her head back, then catapulted it forward with great speed. Bentfeather let go at the right moment, spread his inadequate feathered arms and skipped across the air. Within a moment he had caught up with Lanis and that silly flying machine, latching onto the very tip of a silken wing. He fought the raging winds as Lanis rose higher, trying to get where the crazy human was on the underside of this thing. He crawled over and under, shinnying down the short tether, which was holding up the majority of Lanis's weight. As soon as he got close enough to be heard, Bentfeather squawked in the human's ear; and it was a very nasty Microraptor curse! "You stupid human!!...", Bentfeather cursed as he clung to the jumpsuit. "What in the name of the council of reason are you doing?!" "You can fly?", was Lanis's reply. "Never mind that!", the Microraptor said. "Answer me!" "I'm flying...!", Lanis told him. "What does it look like?" "It looks like you've put yourself in grave danger...", Bentfeather said as a gust of wind nearly blew him off. "And me along with you...!" "I'm just trying this hang glider out.", he told his passenger. "Now hang on. These thermals are tricky!..." "Hang-Glider, eh?", Bentfeather considered. "Well, you are gliding - and you are hanging from the thing..." The updrafts coming from the half dozen major waterfalls in the area blew the lightweight craft higher and higher. Pretty soon they rose above the escarpment that Waterfall City was perched upon, showing its' full splendor to the pair floating effortlessly above it. The craft spiraled up and figure-eighted for a while, and Lanis shifted his weight to make the hang glider steer towards the city. He knew the glider had survived the shipwreck in perfect working order, and was now ready to land; but the wind currents prevented him from coming around and landing where he started; so he maneuvered a course toward the Waterfall City Skybax aerie, a place he had toured less than two weeks ago. He flew over the spires and terra cotta roofs, steering for the flattop building where many Skybax were landing and taking off. Bentfeather was on Lanis's back, enjoying the view despite himself - and kicking himself for not being more forceful with this crazy human! As the hang glider made it close enough to the aerie, many of the Skybax called an alarm below; and as if on that cue, many of the riders scrambled to thier steeds. There was a threat coming from the sky, and these brave flyers were the city's first line of defense! Many flew up to meet this threat, and they tried to strafe the fragile craft with thier razor sharp talons! Lanis yelled and cursed at them to no avail; and then he decided to evade thier attacks, shifting his weight left and right and making the Skybax miss. This did nothing to discourage his attackers, and they redoubled thier efforts. Bentfeather screeched in alarm and clung on with talons of his own, puncturing through Lanis's jumpsuit painfully! There was only one option left for Lanis as he tried to save damage to his fragile craft: he steered around the way he came and left the city's airspace. The Skybax were still in pursuit when the thermals in the area disapeared, and the hang glider slowed to a crawl, barely with enough speed to keep it aloft. The skybax saw this advantage and redoubled their efforts on thier strafing runs. The fabric wings began to shread under talons, and the framing began to buckle under the weight of thier onslaught. Before the hang glider broke up completely, Lanis unhitched the tether and dropped out of range. "What are you DOING?!", the Microraptor squawked. "You'll be killed!!" "I'll be all right!", Lanis yelled through the rushing wind. "Get out of here!", Lanis grabbed Bentfeather and flung him away; and the poor creature had no choice but to glide back down to the ground all by himself. Lanis then pulled the ripcord to the parachute on his back, and a huge umbrella of silk spread out above him, decked out in the colors of his now crashed hang glider. The skybax were too close to the trees that lined the gorge below Waterfall City, and just watched as this bag of air descended into the leafy canopy far below. The chute caught in the upper branches of the trees and slowed him down; then finally caught for good there, leaving him dangling twenty feet off the ground. Fearing a broken leg if he fell, he just waited there for help. An hour later many Skybax landed in a clearing not too far away, and a rescue squad featuring Broadside and being led by Bentfeather came into the area. The Saltosaurus assisted in getting him down, and the skybax commander was waiting for him when his feet touched the ground. "Lanis Albian...", the commander stated. "You are under arrest." "On what charge?", Lanis asked, removing the parachute harness. "The correct phrase is 'charges'.", the commander said. "If you would follow me...", there was saurian guards there to back him up, and they led the way to a large, caged cart. Lanis stopped there as he talked, taking account of all that had happened to him; and I just sat there, considering what he said. I really couldn't help sympathising with the young man, being cooped up in a city with nothing exciting to do; and yet I couldn't condone what he did to everyone in pursuit of a selfish desire like that: using that hang glider to eventually try and leave Dinotopia - and most likely getting himself killed! I really had nothing constructive to say to him to support his actions, and yet I had to hand it to him; and the way he got to do what he wanted to do! This guy had brains, and could think things through; and could manipulate others to that end. I looked at this poor lost soul sitting there in his chair by the window and tried to put me in his place, the desire to be someplace where he had control instead of being in a place that everything was out of his control. I remembered David and Carl Scott giving me thier accounts on how they first came to be on Dinotopia - they nearly broke every rule in the Dinotopian law book! "So, what do you think?", Lanis prompted. "Think anything can be done?" "I really don't know...", I told him. "You created a monumental disturbance, you endangered yourself and you endangered your translator. You lied to and misdirected your Partner and your translator. You brought prohibited objects into Waterfall City and you fradulently represented thier purposes.", I shrugged. " Those are pretty steep charges..." "What do you think my sentance will be?", he asked. "I'm really sorry, you know..." "You'll probably be sentanced to extensive training, like you've no doubt been through already, only ten times more intense.", I guessed. "You might be sent to an Earthfarm for a season or two. You might be sent to a remote outpost and start over there. Something like that...", I leaned forward. "They have no jails here, so it's unlikely that you'll be imprisoned..." "That's good news.", he said. "I wouldn't mind working off the punishment... I'm really sorry, you know!" "I got an idea that might help you...", I told him. "Since you are sorry you did it, they may listen to my proposal." "What is it?", he asked. "Well, you like flying and you crave adventure, right?", I asked and he nodded. "I am going to suggest you be enrolled in the Skybax corps.", I said. "There you'll go through thier basic training and become a full fledged rider. I hear the training is tough, and the service in the corps is even tougher. One of the riders told me what they do for training.", I watched him become increasingly interested! "There is flight simulation, aerial battle strategy, strength training, rock climbing, skill training in every aspect of rescue and many more excercises." "Rock climbing? That's my favorite!", he asked. "Why they got that?" "You got to get to the Skybax nests somehow!", I jokingly guessed. "The place where they train Skybax is called Canyon City. They don't call it that for nothing, too!" "Well, if you can arrange it, I'd love to go!", Lanis said. "Ok then! I'll see what I can do!", I stood, and he did too. I shook his hand and walked out the door of his apartment, saurian guard there letting me pass after giving me the evil eye. When I got to the courthouse and presented the case to the delegates at the mayor's private meeting in his chambers, they listened to every aspect of the story. Many maintained that this man was a danger to himself and others, and could not be trusted; reinforcing the danger poor Bentfeather was put through, and how he lied to poor Broadside telling her they were merely going on a picknick. Eventually I told them of my idea concerning the Skybax corps, but many thought it would only encourage him; but David Scott was there to represent the Skybax envolvement in the case, and he said there might be another way. David said that the Skybax corps might not be adventuresome enough for him, and proposed that he take Rainy Basin Ranger training instead. At least there he'd see more action than merely flying around, he said; but I told him that he craved adventure as a flyer, spying the mangled hang glider and unpacked parachute in the corner as evidence. It was then I made the silly crack about having him do both, and the delegates took the suggestion to heart; and proposed that he train for both, making him a liason between the two! Before either of us could protest, they put it to a vote; and that was thier final decision! "Well, Lanis.", I told him as I returned later that day. "Your trial will be tomorrow." "Know what they'll say?", he asked. "They made a decision in your case.", I said. "I suggested the Skybax corps; but the Skybax sub commander suggested you try the Rainy Basin Rangers. The court has decided that you try both at the same time." "Rainy Basin Rangers?", he asked. "They are a group of ground-based rescuers.", I told him. "They patrol the Rainy Basin, helping travelers through and negotiating treaties and such. We go about riding Tyranosaurs. The training is even more extensive that the Skybax corps." "Aren't Tyranosaurs dangerous?", Lanis asked. "Only to thier prey!", I joked. "Now, it'll be a lot of work, training for both. Do you think you can handle it?" "Well, if it's what I need to do to have them like me again...", he considered. "That's the spirit!", I said, smiling. "Now, your trial is tomorrow. Good luck!", I shook his hand and left. Long story short, the council ended up agreeing to having Lanis train for both the Skybax corps as well as the Rainy Basin Rangers. He was to do that but not until AFTER he had completed all his training here in the city, and would do all that under a light guard. Bentfeather was to stay with him night and day until he mastered all the languages he could; but Broadside would not become his Partner after all, instead the Saltosaur would undergo training with one of the other currently unassigned newcomers. In his time here at Waterfall City, he would be shown the many options of life here on the island, and sample the many ways of life available to him. Of his scheming of trying to get off the island, he would be instructed in the many ways others had tried it, and thier disasterous results; and of this I told him of my own experiences on the subject. Lanis Albian took all this in with a somber look; but the sidelong glances he made to nearly everyone at court told me that his exploits were not over by a long shot! I spent many days in Waterfall City this time, staying at mister Woolright's again and observing how the newcomers were fitting in. Mister Woolright was thrilled with the cigars I gave him, and I promised I would get him more if there were any more aboard the ship. Adelade Pachycephalosaur, his caregiver, scolded me profusely for the gift; and promised to butt me into next week if I returned with any more! I just argued that it was a shame that a man of his age could not enjoy the simple pleasures of life, and that he had nothing to lose at his age! So gradually I left there and continued some of my previous duties among my own clan, and the change of pace was a refreshing relief! I had planted potatoes at the beginning of the growing season, and I came back for thier harvest. From there I oversaw the moving in of several families of newcomers in Kinan Van; and the city was really starting to feel alive with its' streets filling up with city-like bustle. I had to oversee the clan's growing burden of paperwork and beaurocratic procedures; making sure all that was in order, and would be compatable with its' sister beaurocracy in Waterfall City. I even oversaw the trade routes within the Rainy Basin, and inspected many trading outposts around the island to see if anything needed improvement. A document came by Skybax courier soon after I got back to clan Thundertail, and it contained a list of the names of all the castaways that had gone missing; and it also contained a brief description of what everyone on the list looked like. It said that nothing was known of thier whereabouts, and to be on the lookout for them; and that similar documents had been sent to every major city and town across Dinotopia. I read this news and knew what I was to do if I found any: tell the Waterfall City council right away! So, with this in hand, I went on a routine inspection tour of our trade routes all through the region like king Thundertail asked me to do. My travels included nearly every town this side of the Backbone mountains, and quite a few towns on the other side of it; but I hadn't found any of the newcomers yet, and those I asked along the way hadn't either. It wasn't until I reached the trading town of Baz that I found the slightest clue of one, for my duty was to interview the boss of the major shipping company there; and one of his workers had a wierd sounding name! "So, the shipping production rate will increase, you say...", I prompted the owner. "And that's all due to the Mammoth dairy products coming through the Rainy Basin?" "Of course!... You know, the locals around here just loves cheese...", this rotund guy was saying. "I have the projected profits coallated and on paper!", he looked around, then shouted: "Jerry!... Come here please." "I can't right now!", came the voice of a rather young man. "Nubo's cart's got a busted axle!..." "Can you get the projection report in my office?", the boss said. "I'm busy with a customer!..." "Ok, then...", a crashing sounded from out back, and a really skinny guy of about twenty came out with said report. "Oh, nuts!... Nubo's gonna sit on me!..." "Uh,... Jerry. I would like you to meet Stinger, mayor of the Rainy Basin.", the boss introduced. "Stinger, this is Jerry Remy. He just came into town looking for a job about three weeks ago..." "Jerry Remy...,", I considered. "I don't suppose you know a game called baseball, do you?" "N,... no, sir.", he stammered. "Can I go, sir?", he asked his boss. "Funny. In the sport of baseball, we have a player called Jerry Remy...", I coaxed. "I don't know what you're talking about!...", the young man wanted to go! He stared at his boss for a moment, pleading to be let go. I took a moment to scan the descriptions of the lost castaways, and came to this guy's description. His name was Jeremy Finch! "I know another guy. He's not into baseball.", I said instead. "They call him Jeremy Finch...", I looked at his gaze, the kind a deer makes when caught in a car's headlights. "Jeremy,... why are you doing this?" "What ARE you talking about, Stinger?", the boss wanted to know. "I suppose you've heard of the shipwreck that was found by us over by crackshell Point.", I began, and he nodded. "There were lots of survivors; but some of them ran off before they could be properly educated. Here's a list of them all...", I showed. "And here it describes your employee!" "I thought I could start my new life here...", Jeremy Finch said, saddened eyes. "Here I'm apreciated..." "You have to go back and complete your training.", I told him. "Those are court orders." "Wait! you mean he is NOT who he says he is?", asked the boss. "I am...", Jeremy told him. "I just told you the wrong name. My real name is Jeremy Finch." "But son, why?...", he asked. "Well, everything was going well until I found out they were going to assign me a place to stay.", Jeremy began. "I didn't like that, and took one of the night ferrys out of Waterfall City. I traveled up river, hiding out in the towns along the way, nearly starving myself as I hid. I didn't want anyone to find out who I was, so I came up with another name." "Jerry Remy?", I asked. "You could have done better!... That name wouldn't fool an outsider like you or me!" "It was the only name I could think of off the top of my head!", Jeremy defended. "Anyway, I came into this town and saw all the harmony; so I decided to stay a while. People started knowing me, and I got a room in a washer womans' basement; then I went out to find work. I tried the farms and the hatchery, then I asked this fine gentileman if I could have a job - and he said yes. I worked here, lifting cargo and other heavy objects. Carts came and went, and some of them needed repair; and I found out I had the knack of fixing things, but not just carts... Everything mechanical!" "So, you found your destiny on your own...", I commented, and he nodded. "Please! I don't want to leave here!", Jeremy pleaded. "I have a life here now! Just last week I fixed the water wheel at the mill..." "It has never worked better...", the boss commented. "I do all sorts of jobs for everyone, and they like me.", Jeremy continued. "I even saw a dinosaur hatching at the hatchery the other day!", he kind of smiled. "There's this girl there at the hatchery that I'm quite fond of; and I wanted to see if the feeling was mutual." "The court will do what the court will do...", his boss stated. "He will be missed around here, though. He has many friends, and is quite an asset in fixing things..." "Look, I'm only the mayor of the Rainy Basin. This is not really my jurisdiction.", I said. "Your boss is right: court orders are final;... but the court trusts me, and will listen to me. I could put in a few good words..., maybe write a letter telling of your case..., Perhaps they might let you stay." "I have a lot of apologising to do here, too...", Jeremy Finch said out loud. "I went around here lying about my name..." "But fortunately, lad, that was all you lied about!", his boss told him. "Your skills and your caring you need not have lied about!", he turned to him. "I think you should write an apology to the mayor, and tell him about yourself in your own words." "I think that's a great idea!", I said. "Have you a stylus and paper? I can write your letter of reccomendation at the same time!" "Certainly.", the boss got up and went to his rolltop desk, presenting it to us both. "I will call for a courier...", he left. I let Jeremy write his first, and his letter read like a well penned apology. He expressed his desire to choose his own way, at first wishing to maintain his dignity; but then seeing how others put thier own dignity behind those of others, slowly saw the error of that way. He apologised for tarnishing the court's dignity of authority when he ran away, and hoped his work here was an adequate payment. He went on to describing his exploits in Baz, and all the work he did, and all the things he experienced and learned. He expressed his romantic hopes, and his hopes of staying to see that hope bear fruit. All in all, it was a very heartfelt letter; and I was almost tempted to shed a tear at his wording! My letter was basically a report, stating that I had found one of the runaway newcomers in Baz, But in seeing the achievements he had done all on his own, I felt that it would be beneficial for him to stay at Baz and continue doing well. I said that the boy was discovered using a false name, but it was a famous name that made it easy for someone originating in the outside world to deduce as a forgery. I stressed that he was sorry for running away, and was sorry for undermining the court's authority. I repeated that it would be beneficial for the young man's growth that he stay at Baz, and hoped they would see the same thing. We both read each other's letters and nodded solemly. We were called outside to the Skybax aerie, and there was Elana Dennison waiting to hand deliver our notes! "Ah! Stinger!...", she declared atop her steed. "I was informed you have a message going to waterfall City?" "Yes, here they are:", I rolled them up as she dismounted. "There is no real hurry..." "Nonsense!... I was on my way there anyway.", she nearly ripped the scroll from my hand. "You should get a reply by the end of the day. Another Rider will deliver the reply...", she turned to me. "Any word on David Scott?" "Not for many weeks.", I said. "The Scotts had just returned from being our guest in the Rainy Basin about two weeks ago..." "I see...", she turned and climbed aboard her steed. "Cirrus! Fly!...", and the giant flyer swooped around and was soon lost above the trees. By Eveningmeal a lone flyer was seen coming from the south, and the Skybax with his blonde pilot hopped down and walked over to the boarding house in town. I was staying there, and had just finished my own meal when he walked over to me and called me by name. He handed me a scroll with a court seal on it and wished to stay and hear it while his meal order was filled. I told him it concerned a mamber of this town, and he should be here as well; and by the time his meal came, Jeremy Finch was standing there, awaiting his fate. I read it silently for a moment, then smiled as I recited the whole thing in front of them. "To mister Jeremy Finch, AKA: Jerry Remy, care of mayor Stinger of the Rainy Basin at Baz.", I read. "Upon extensive considertaion of your testimony and that of mayor Stinger, the court charges you with a permanent placement in the settlement of Baz.", I looked at his suprised face, and noticed as a petite young lady of Oriental stock come up and take his hand. "Your continued duties, aside from your continued education at thier schooling facility, are the perpetual repair of any and all mechanical devices there, education and experience in thier hatchery and apprenticeship in the Baz shipping company. Frequent inspections of Baz will be conducted by myself, matriarch Rosemary Seville or other such officials. The first inspection will be in one fortnight, and there you will personally explain your actions to said official... All my best to you in your new life!... mayor Waldo Seville." "How about that?", Jeremy stated. "It looks like I'm staying!" "I'm so glad!...", the Oriental girl clenched his hand tighter. "And it doesn't matter what you call yourself!" I chuckled and presented him the letter; and those around us got the idea to start a little party in honor of thier new citizen. During this Jeremy Finch made efforts to apologise to everyone there for his lie; but there they had a creedo that all is forgiven, and soon merriment and music filled the boarding house. Hours later it began to break up, and Jeremy was pulled away by his new girlfriend; and I didn't pry, but I assumed they were beginning to talk about the possibility of thier new and budding relationship. I went up to my room a little while later, and returned to the Rainy Basin the long way; making it back home in a little over four days. A short time later it was decided to map out trade routes in the southern part of the island. The towns and cities down there had fallen into decay, and communication with them had diminished to next to nothing; at least that was what the Waterfall City council said. We of the Basin thought it would be a good idea if we opened trade with them as well. We had gotten word that it was pretty wild country down there, as many of the smaller communities took to robbery, and the carniverous clans still clung to thier primal ways. We felt sorry for those clans as we were so preoccupied with the northern quadrant of the island we completely ignored them! We thought it best if we go with as few of our number as possible so as to not alarm them too much; but since it was such rough country, we decided on a Rainy Basin Ranger team to go. It had to be the highest ranking team we had, and clan leaders too; so I was elected to go, and so was Rex! Two veloceraptor guards were assigned to us, but Ripper and Snapper insisted to be assigned instead; and thier leader, thier uncle Mosquito, could not help but comply! So, after a day of preparation of supplies and the proper treaty paperwork penned; we set off south, into the unkmnown. The maps and charts of the area were a minimum of fifty years old, but the surveys given by Skybax patrols said that the roads through most of the area were still intact - if not terribly overgrown. We had taken projects in the Rainy Basin to restore our share of the roads there; but once we left the area and progressed into the southern foothills of the Forbidden mountains, we practically had to hack our way through the paths! Chill met us at the peaks of many of these foothills; and that perplexed us as we knew from maps that the Great Desert was merely several dozen miles to the southeast! The passes we traveled through were craggy and deep, and could hold any number of unknown danger; but we came from one of the roughest places on earth! Just let anything try to attack us - they'll be sorry! So far the only sign of activity down these paths were the constant swarms of biting flies that strafed Rex and our guards unmercifully, making the poor brute wish to bolt and Ripper and Snapper jump in the nearest stream! The only other signs of life were the sounds of birds and other tiny creatures of the forest; and occasional footprints by the occasional stream we passed by. The further south we went the further downhill we went, and soon foothills changed into forested dales; and even though the main road we were on never seemed to vary in texture, it was crisscrossed by many a smaller path. We deduced that these were main migration trails to unknown species, and thier predators would most likely not be far behind them; so I had Ripper and Snapper keep a tighter vigil along our path. The first sign of predators was the kill we had found by smell. It was weeks old and reduced to bone; but many days further along we discovered a fresher carcass, and this one still bled. It's owner was not far away, and charged into the area once he caught our scent. The Dromeosaur looked at us all, seemed to size us up and wailed a warble that echoed through the trees. Suddenly the rest of his pack was there, hemming us in from a safe distance. The first ones' hackles rose as he came near enough to speak, and his dialect was lost to Ripper and Snapper. Klamath picked up on the dialect immediately and I spoke for my group. "I am Stinger, mayor of the Rainy basin; and this is prince Rex, son of king Thundertail, king of the Rainy Basin. These are our bodyguards, Ripper and Snapper.", I began. "We are on a mission of peace to establish trade routes through here to settlements in the south." "We care not of your mission, human!", the first Dromeosaur cut me off. "We protest your intrusion on our territory, and accuse you of trying to steal our kill!" "You are misinformed!", Rex rumbled, I translated. "We tell the truth!" "We didn't want any of your stupid kill!", Snapper snapped. "Yeah!", Ripper echoed. "Our mission is one of peace.", I said. "We represent all of the carnivores in the Rainy Basin, who greet you as clan brothers and salute you as fellow carnivores..." "We offer you a stake in the freedom of all carnivores.", Rex announced. "Will you add your claw to ours and share in the bounty?" "So, you mean you are NOT out to steal our kill?", the first Dromeosaur asked, I nodded with a smile. "A moment, please...", he gathered his pack together. The pack gathered into a loose huddle near thier kill, rumbling and wailing among themselves as we tried to eavesdrop. This group was small, and three of thier females were with eggs near by, they were arguing; and they were very leary of others as there were so few eggs. We could sympathise with thier plight, and the food they hunted would be vital to thier clan as well. Finally they came out of thier huddle and came near, now without fear; and the first Dromeosaur spoke to Rex. "We believe that you were not trying to steal our kill.", he told us. "We are aware of the events in the Rainy Basin, and applaud your progress. We will allow you to be on your way without battle.", he turned to the others. "However, we decline the offer of kinship." "Very well, noble hunters.", I said. "It is enough that you let us pass in peace. I assume you are aware that others will pass this way if trade is opened to settlements in the south..." "By then we have hopes to migrate.", the first Dromeosaur told us. "We must wait for our children, who have not yet hatched, to grow old enough to travel." "I see...", I said. "We leave you in peace...", Rex added as we turned to go. It was just then that the foliage around us exploded, and two Allosauruses bolted out; bent on the prey laying there! Klamath sensed movement before it became aparent, and tossed me off Rex's back. Twin swords instantly deployed and he got in a ready stance. The pack of Dromeosaurs was deciding to run as Ripper and Snapper fell on one of the attackers, he swiveling to dislodge them. Rex stepped in front of the other one and butted him off his feet, and I fell back to the kill to defend it. Then the Dromeosaurs got into the fray, joining the Veloceraptors in a gang attack. the other Allosaur got up and tried to get past Rex, but Klamath fired his pusher beam and knocked him down again; then Rex pinned him to the ground by a tackle. The second Allosaur succeeded in shaking off his smaller foe, and made a beeline for the kill. Klamath fired his stunner on him, and he fell unconcious. Rex lost his hold on the first one, and he tried for the kill as well; but the Dromeosaurs regrouped and encircled the kill, not stopping thier uluations and snapping. Ripper and Snapper joined in as Klamath used the pusher beam once again, sending that Allosaur many yards at a skid. As we all regrouped in front of the kill, both Allosaurs regained composure and sized up this formidable band; then they decided it wasn't worth it after all and growlingly turned and fled. Panting as a group, we all slowly got out of our defensive stances; then looked at each other like we just met! "You fight well.", one Dromeosaur said. "You fight for a kill that is not yours!" "That's because it is yours.", I told him. "For that reason alone, it was worth fighting for." "If I were you, I would drag this kill closer to your nests.", Rex suggested. "Or at least hide it better.", Snapper said. "There is no way we can repay you this service.", the first one said. "You would fight for those who had been so short with you." "You had your family to think of.", I told them as I climbed aboard Rex. "It was perfectly understandable..." "No, it was rude!... But for this, we will consider your kinship.", he replied. "We would like that...", I said. "We leave in peace.", Rex repeated. "Let's hope it's for good this time!", Snapper said, and got us all laughing in our own way. Presently we parted company with the Dromeosaurs, and continued down the road we were on. Hours later there was little to no sign of civilized occupation, save for ruined dwellings or simply thier foundations; and no sign of recent encampments save for burned out campfires and trees hewn down seasons ago. We traveled ever southward, through forest and field of ferns, past rock outcroppings and streams formerly used for irrigation. Several other dinosaurs of the herbiverous variety were seen in the distance, but these seemed wild and ignored us if they detected us. Carnivores were about too, both incredibly tiny as well as large; but none of these creatures bothered us either. The further south we went the more frequent we encountered broken down settlements abandoned many generations ago. I had heard that the golden city of Chandra fell to dispair over fifty years ago; and with its' demise, many a town had evidentally withered along with it. I saw as we passed a dwelling, ruined like all the rest; yet in what once was its' chimney, embers still smoldered! This told me that this place had occupation as recently as a day ago, and the people who made the fire was not too far away. I should have been overjoyed when we encountered the first humans I'd seen in over a week the next day; but with the level of thier hostility, the encounter left quite a few things to be desired!... _
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Post by thundertail on Mar 27, 2012 17:27:51 GMT -5
_ FIFTY-THREE: "The Rough Road..." We were all used to camping out on the road, near the once heavilly traveled road from the small outpost of Snailshanks to the foothills of theTokta range just west of the foothills of the Forbidden mountains. Our life in the Rainy Basin made camping out like this something like an almost daily event! But we were well outside the Rainy Basin now, in unknown territory surrounded by potentailly hostile creatures. We had built a fire and scouted around for game; and after our meal bedded down for the night with little fanfare. We were exhausted from our little scuffle from those Allosaurs, and went to sleep almost immediately; Ripper, Snapper, Rex and I taking alternating guard duty in that order. In the morning we had the remainder of the Mosasaur we caught and broke up camp. On the road we came across the broken down settlements of Honley Hall and Rockslides, and found further evidence that the former human population was still in the area, hiding or off gathering the things they needed to survive. By mid day we came across the strong evidence of another major road, and the map we were following said that it was the Belt Road; the former main thouroughfare of trade between Sauropolis and Chandra. Soon we gave the abandoned sites little heed as each one was found to be deserted, some more recently than others. Finally, in a clearing we found somebody; and he seemed to be meditating or in a trance, sitting there by the remnants of a fire with his bag near his feet. We tried to avoid him as we passed him in the clearing, but he opened his eyes, yawned and smiled. "Hail, oh yon wayward travelers!", the reedy voice boomed. "To where go ye, and from whence ye come?" "Greetings, lone hermit!", I said atop Rex. "We seek Chandara, and hail from the Rainy Basin." "Tis true carnivores abound here as well as there,", he said as he rose, staring at my friends. "But ones of civilization are rare indeed! How can this be?" "The clans of the Rainy Basin have banded together in peace and harmony with thier neighbors.", I told him. "We seek Chandara to establish trade with them." "You will find no trade with Chandara, nor peace.", the man said. "Chandara has fallen, I say! Victim to it's own isolationism and greed. Tis best if you turn back." "We are dedicated to this mission.", I said. "We must complete it reguardless of the results." "And to this end, you must travel through our territory.", the man stated. "This deed comes with a heavy price!" "How so, sir? What can we negotiate to gain passage?", I asked. "We wish all that you bring.", the man told us. "All supplies, all posessions, all weapons. Your armor looks most valuable, and the amulets around your cohorts' necks will bring a large price indeed!" "These things we need to complete our mission!", I balked. "We can not give them up!", I considered. "Surely there must be another way." "Stinger. Tell them the benefits of trade between us and Chandara.", Rex said in Tyranosaur. "Thier lives will also benefit if they allow us to continue our mision unhindered.", I did. "The mission you speak concerns us not! Those people betrayed us out of our birthright, and poisoned every town around them.", the man said."One other way is possible to leave with what you own, if you are up to the challenge." He picked up a large conch shell and blew into it, creating a hollow tone that echoed across the field. Within moments the edges of the forest bristled with people, saurians of all sizes and thier weapons. There were hundreds of them! All of them had the look of wild determination, a look most familiar with that often worn by the pirates of LaSage! Not a word was spoken by them, but thier weapons bagan a slow, rythmic clatter that told us they were well practiced in ambushing travellers on the road! "If you can get past us, you may go in peace.", the man said as his Saltosaurus bedecked in primative saddlrey paced up to allow them man his spear. "But I suggest you surrender, as the former will be impossible!" "Are you saying that you are trying to rob us?!", I snorted. "Gloat if you must, but this is only a small portion of my kin!", he took a softer look. "Please,... give us what we want and you will not be harmed..." "Look, we really don't have time for this!", I said, dismounting. "Let us pass or you will fall where you stand!" "Such talk!", the man raised the conch shell to his lips, and that's when mayhem broke loose! Ripper and Snapper leapt on the man, sending both spear and shell flying in different directions; knocking him down while both growled at his throat. The Saltosaur stomped to her Partner, but Rex body tackled her to the ground, pinning her there with his own body. The crowd of robbers at the edges of the clearing saw this and rushed out yelling, brandishing all the weapons they posessed; and the only free person to do anything about that was me! Immediately I strafed the robbers with stunner and pusher beams in an arc, felling many while others rose to take thier place. I rushed around to the other side of the fray and repeated the procedure until those ruffians fell back, then returned to the other side to fell those who recovered from the first salvo. I did this until there were no attackers, who were either stunned where they fell or retreated to the relative safety of the trees. Rex got up off the Saltosaur then, and both Veloceraptors let the man rise to a sitting position, still growling at him. I scanned the area with my eyes, stunner and pusher at the ready; and then saw the surviving handful of the robbers emerge from the forest. They stopped a few feet into the clearing, threw down thier weapons and fell to thier knees in submission. I saw two of them clasp thier hands behind thier heads like suspects do in those crime shows on TV I watched back home, and from that I knew those two were from the Millennium Queen. I turned around at the man's sigh, and saw that he was crying! "You have killed my people!", he wailed, looking up at me. "Please?... Have mercy on the rest of us, formidable one!..." "You should not have tried to rob us. Stealing things is wrong.", I told him, gently. "Of this we now know...", he said sadly. "And the price are these poor lives..." "Your fallen ones are not dead. They are merely stunned, and will recover shortly.", I looked at the robbers, still on thier knees. "You should have listened to us." "You have beaten us fair and square.", the man said. "You may go in peace." "You know, the trade treaty we make with Chandara will be beneficial to your people as well.", I said. "Food and other services will be needed all along the trade routes. I saw many dwellings that, if put into use, could be used as hotels and other services for the travelers." "We shall certainly consider it, my lord.", he said. "It pains our soul to act this way, but times are desperate for us." "If all goes well for us, your people will see prosperity as in the old days!", I told them, then changed the subject. "Have you any newcomers in your midst?" "My people come and go, but those two certainly act strange!", he whispered indicating the two I identifyed as castaways. "They do not act like Dinotopians..." "A season ago a very large ship ran aground at Crackshell Point, and many survivors were rescued.", I told them. "Soon after that many were discovered missing.", I said the rest confidentially. "We all would apreciate if you teach them our ways!" "I will sir, and will consider your proposal for our people.", he said, then louder. "My men! Let these delegates pass!... A new era has come upon us!..." The ones that surrendered cheered and began to drag thier uncioncious fellows away as I got aboard Rex. Ripper and Snapper collected thier spears, helped the Saltosaur up with Rex's help and we watched our backs as we traveled out of the clearing. Only the retreating sounds of the defeated robbers met our ears as we left the area, and no more trouble befell us for quite a long time after that. We ended up following the Belt Road west until we reached the town of Aleppo and the sister town of Teleost, both of which were all but deserted. The days that passed as we got nearer to Chandara was frought with danger, both of the wild kind and of the human kind. Many times we had to avoid the scents of hunting carnivores, and most of the ones that did cross our path merely wished to be on thier way; but a few of them were hungry enough to try and confront us, and they met us with unsavory results for them! Of the human kind, only a few of them actually wished to confront us; either begging for spare supplies then trying to deftly rob us as we conversed with them, or openly confront us with weapons. I, being from the outside world and wise to any type of thievery, detected thier hyjinx and put them off without delay! The farther south we rode the more frequently we came across settlemants and remnants of towns like Oneiros. Some of these were occupied, but with the lowest of people and dinosaurs. Many were filthy and dressed in tattered and drab colored clothing, and the saurians were of the most surly and disgusting kinds of creatures! Many had scars or broken features or other disfigurements that denoted the extremely hard life they had lived. None of them would give us the time of day, let alone look at us with anything less than total contempt. Those of them that we tried to talk to and get directions told us in no subtile terms to get lost! The leaders of those towns were more concerned in what we were carrying for trade or eventual theft than trying to help us along the way. We passed by a promentory that showed the way ahead, and saw the distant city of Chandara; which looked like it's former grandeur had been washed away as if by a monsoon, and it's former gleam was bleached away as if by the sun. Another day of travel and we passed by the former outskirts of the former empire, fields once flowing with food for the city now reduced to tough weeds. The crumbling farmsteads that once housed the workers of those fields were but foundations and burned out hulks, and we shuddered in worry as we crossed the crumbling stone bridge over a wide tributary that connected this region with the city proper. That description turned out to be an oxymoron as this city was far from proper anymore! Of the once bustling streets, few would show themselves in broad daylight. Many who had no choice were escorted by black caped guards of the Stymologoch tribes; and those would practically pummel any who got within reach with a swat of thier stone-tipped staffs. Of the few shops at street level that dared to be open, thier wares were sparse, broken and covered with the dirt of the city. In the distance sat the once glorious citadel with the empirial palace nestled within; but these days the fortifyed walls were crumbling and the Sunstone at its' pinacle that once shone bright and steady was now flickering and faltering like a weakening flourescent light fixture. All around poverty reigned instead of culture, and on nearly every curbstone sat beggars and thier ragged offspring. Through study of the area I had learned that the Chandran empire was one of the richest and most prosporous regions on Dinotopia. Thier culture and thier wisdom was unsurpassed in all of the islands' history. It was a place where, once you arrived here you found yourself so enraptured about the place that you found it difficult to leave! The only thing they frowned upon back then was intruders, and kept thier borders secured from outside influence; and one usually needed special permission from thier emperor just to be seen. This was why no one really knew what went on here, and everyone thought that Chandara was the hub of culture and technology on Dinotopia. I didn't know what happened to it to make it like what we were witnessing here today, but I was seriousely having second thoughts about opening up trade relationships with this town! "This is Chandara?", Snapper whispered. "The maps must be wrong!", Ripper whispered back. "Stinger, what do you suppose happened?", Rex asked as I dismounted. "Empires rise and empires fall.", I said. "I really don't know what happened here; but we came to open trade with them, and we might as well go see." A moment or two went by, and we spied another hooded guard pass by, nudging a begger to her feet. Once the slight altercation was over, I whistled and waved the domed creature over. The guard treated it like a capitol offense, and ran over ready to plaster us all with his staff! "Here, here! No whistling!", he grumbled. "What you doin' out? get back inside!" "Sir, I was wondering if you would give us directions...", but he cut me off. "Never heard of it!", he snapped. "Now get back inside!", he emphasised the fact with a swinging staff. It got too close and Klamath automatically blocked it down with a palm. "A wiseguy, eh?", he whooped several times, and many more of his comrades bolted out into the street. "Arrest these!" Rex roared, and halted them all; then I took the silence to speak in. "Gentilebeings! Please!", I held up my hands. "All we wish is directions!... We are a delegation from the Rainy Basin, and are seeking your emporer to speak about a trade treaty..." "Trade?...", one of the guards rumbled. "What you got?", the first asked. This went on for many moments, debating what we had and what to do with us; and then as they drew a crowd in the street, an armored Pachycephalosaur with extremely rotund features tore around a corner and surveyed the scene. Klamath detected him, but didn't bother to warn us; and that was when he bellowed and startled the whole lot of us! "What are you maggot-eaters standing around for blowing wind?!", he bellowed. "Didn't I tell you to collect taxes?!" "Uh,...! Sir!", first one of his guards saluted, then all the rest. "Er,... This guy was giving us trouble..." "He was, eh?", then he turned to me. "Who're you?" "My name is Stinger, from the rainy Basin, and...", I was cut off yet again! "An' I suppose that's where you got this froggy!", he indicated Rex. "Ain't he cute!" "We are on a mission to establish trade relations with the empire of Chandara.", I got that much out, so I continued. "We would apreciate an audience with your emporer so we can discuss terms." "You're diplomats?", the armored one considered. "Rath! Why didn't you tell me?!" "He... he tried to attack me...!", the hooded Stymologotch stammered. "He... he said SOMETHING about that..." "Ain't you ever heard of ask first, swat later?", the armored Pachy scolded. "Pardon that bonehead. I gave him th' morning off, and now he needs retraining!" "Thank you sir!", Rex rumbled in English. "It was an unfortunate situation, to be sure!" "Froggy talks!", the Pachy exclaimed. "I'll be!..." "If I may explain.", I said. "This is prince Rex, son of king Thundertail of the Rainy Basin. I am mayor Stinger, also of the Rainy Basin. These two are Ripper and Snapper, our bodyguards. Our mission is one of peaceful trade between your grand empire and ours." "That so?", he said. "Well! The emporer will surely want to hear this!", he turned to the hooded guards. "You and you, flank 'em. The rest: BACK TO WORK!", they scatterd, and he turned to us. "Right this way, your honors!..." He led us through the litter strewn streets, down lanes and back alleys to a once grand boulavard; but today the finery was crumbled and looted, by the look. The armored Pachy tried to apologise for the condition of the city along the way, saying the artisans and planners had left, and so did thier expertise. We assured them that, once trade was established, this grand city could once again shine as it once did. He just chuckled and said that it would be a vast improvement. At a gate that was in the eastern wall of the citadel, two more guards that were armored as well stood and barred our path; but one sour look from our guide and they let us pass right quick! "When old Hammerhead wants to get by, you better let him pass!", the Pachy gloated. Evidentally, Hammerhead was his name. The labrynthine passageways he led us through were nearly pitch black save for areas where windows high above let in shafts of sunshine. The tapestries and reliefs on the walls were tattered and weatherworn, making one think the whole citadel was deserted or in a state of severe disrepair; and the cobbled floors we traveled were littered with decades of stone and refuse that crunched or squished under our feet. At last we came out into a central courtyard that sported the palace proper, and through another guarded door, Hammerhead led us on. At a junction two levels up, he stopped and presented an ornate set of doors. "Open up.", the crimson swathed Stymologoch guards raised thier spears to let us pass. "Now, if you would, please wait here while I announce you.", he went inside, and the guards reclosed the doors. On a dias inside lay a prone figure enveloped with many blankets and comfortors. The figure was many times bigger than any human, but the general shape was lost to the masses of linens that covered it. Hammerhead crept up to the sleeping creature and cleared his throat. This had no effect, so he touched the form with his spear. All he got was the creature turning over and begin to rumble in sleep. Of all the times to be sleeping!, Hammerhead thought! He let out a tremendous bellow, and this got the result he wanted! "OF ALL THE FATES!", the form got up and turned, still swathed in bedclothes. "Hammerhead! How many times have I told you not to do that?!" "Lord eminence Lonehorn!... Sorry for waking you!", Hammerhead said, backing away. "I bear news. There are several creatures here, saying they are on a mission from the Rainy Basin....", he licked his rubbery lips. "They say they are here to discuss a trade treaty with you..." "No kidding?... This sounds like it's going to be be good!...", Lonehorn said sarcastically as she shook off the sheets and blankets. Her Pentoceratops form was bejeweled and finely adorned with paint and formfitting clothing; but this hid a multitude of facial scars and broken and missing crest horns. Only one remained intact, but her nosehorn was a mere stump. "I hadn't had fun in ages!", she stretched noisily. "They wear jeweled things, and the human wears armor.", Hammerhead said. "All that should bring fine wealth on the Sacvenger Trade." "We can rob them later!", Lonehorn told him. "First we see what they want; then when they least expect it, they will be just a few more things floating in the river!" "I always liked the way you think!", Hammerhead said. "Maids!... My bed!...", she bellowed and several dozen small birdlike dinosaurs rushed out and manhandled the whole nest out of sight. She turned from watching them work to the Pachy scratching his skull. "Well, Hammerhead. Don't just stand there! Let them in!..." Hammerhead rushed back, skidding on the floor, to open up the doors for us; and even with Klamath's keener hearing, all that was heard in the few moments of his absence was muffled murmurings. Thusly, we had no idea what to expect as the Pachycephalosaur captain of the guard of Chandara led us before the emporer of Chandara - or to be more correct, the empress, as Klamath detected that she was a female Pentoceratops. He halted us several feet from the dias, and turned to introduce us. "Hail Lonehorn! Empress of Chandara and environs!", Hammerhead announced loudly. Lonehorn had an amused look! "I present you emisaries from the Rainy Basin!" "Greetings one and all.", she said. "I hope your journey was uneventful, and offer you our hospitality for as long as you stay." "Our most humble thanks, your eminence.", I bowed, and so did the rest of us. "I am known as Stinger, mayor of the Rainy Basin and speaker for this group. I present you prince Rex, son of king Thundertail of the Rainy Basin.", he bowed. "And our bodyguards, Ripper and Snapper.", they bowed as well. "Well met, all!", Lonehorn chuckled. "Now, my captain informs me that you have a proposal?..." "Yes, your honor, we do!", I said. "It is one of peace and trade between your illustrious empire and our own. It involves establishing and keeping trade routes north and south open and free from trouble." "Yes, we've been having that problem a lot lately...", Lonehorn told us. "Have you had any trouble along the way?" "The road was frought with wild carnivores and thieves.", I said. "We of the Rainy Basin are used to dealing with such things, though; and had minimal trouble warding them off." "I see...", she considered. "Then I take it you do not follow the edicts common throughout Dinotopia?..." "For the most part, we do.", I said. "However, we are not reluctant to utilise decisive action when necesary." "Sometimes that course of action is wise.", Lonehorn then changed the subject. "What, pray tell, are the terms of this trade agreement?" "Once trade routes are established, shipments of goods will begin to flow to and from both our realms.", I told her. "Goods will consist of items found only in the Rainy Basin, and will include goods we currently trade from our other allies. We import milk and products made from Mammoth milk from Tentpole of the Sky, Fish and other seafood from Azonthas and other coastal towns, fruits and nuts from Treetown and Mollusk Town and grains from Baz. One of our main customers is the capital city of Waterfall City." "So, you trade all over...", Lonehorn considered. "You must do very well for yourselves!" "Trade has been much better since we opened the trade routes through the Rainy Basin.", I said. "Instead of caravans going through only once a month and encountering great danger, they can go through safely many times a week!" "Outstanding!...", Lonehorn said. "And this treaty would only help us!... As you saw coming here, we've let the place get really run down lately!..." "With trade routes open, many builders and artisans would come; and rebuild your empire to its' original glory!", I said, hoping this would clinch the deal. "Before long your realm will once again be the crown jewel in the treasury of Dinotopia!" The empress of Chandara paused a moment in thought breathing noisily as she considered the words. Hammerhead rested on his feet, intermittently looking regal and giving her a wierd look. My delegation of friends stood where we were, patiently awaiting her answer; and when it came, it wasn't exactly the yes or no answer we were hoping for. "It sounds like a feasable plan, but what's in it for me?", she said. "Why, further glory, your eminence!", I said. "Your realm will prospor greatly, and your people will have you to thank for it. You will receive respect anew, and all in your realm will say your praises for generations to come!" "I was thinking more along the lines of money.", she returned. "You know, how much richer I will become..." "That too, your highness. You will become rich, your people will become rich and your kingdom will become rich!", I told her. "The possibilities of riches when you trade with the rest of the island will make you all wealthier than your wildest dreams!" "What's in it for you?", she asked. "The satisfaction that I had a hand in the unification in trade of all the peoples of Dinotopia.", I said. "And you don't care whether or not this makes you rich too?", Lonehorn countered. "In the Rainy Basin, I have a home, a loving family, plenty of friends and the greatest life I know.", I said. "I already have more than a person could ask for!" "Maybe for SOME people...", Lonehorn said. "But to each thier own, eh?... How about this:", she said. "Why don't you all make yourselves at home here? That way I can discuss this glorious news with my cohorts in private." "That would be wonderful, your excellency!", I said, looking at Rex, Snapper and Ripper. "It was a long journey at that!" "Fine then!", she said. "If you would follow captain Hammerhead, he will show to your acomodations." "Right this way, your highnesses...", the armored Pachy bowed and showed us the way to the doors. He turned at his empresses' coughing. "Oh captain. May I have a word with you?", she asked meekly. "Of course, your eminence.", he rushed to her side. "Make sure they get the extra secure acomodations...", Lonehorn whispered. "You got it!...", Hammerhead whispered back, winking. He returned to us, leading the way out of the royal chambers; down to ground level and down one flight further. Into darkened stone corridors lit only by torchlight we traveled. At the junction of another we turned right, and came out onto rows of rooms; the thick walled doorways told us these rooms were once used as a cellar of sorts. There were beds and nests in each room, but not many other amenities except a table in the central space that had a sparse collection of food. Hammerhead turned at the doorway to this space and bowed. He left, and we heard the clattering of many locks and bars forced into place! "Hey!...", I yelled. "What is this?!" "These are the best rooms of the citadel.", Hammerhead said. "We wouldn't want any of you to get hurt, now do we?", he left, his saurian laughter echoing in the distance. "What do we do now, Stinger?", Ripper asked. "This place is a prison, I just know it!", Snapper said as he tested the door. "I don't get it!", Rex said. "We offered them the riches and prestigue of the entire island. Why are they holding us like this?" "I hate to say this, but I seen stuff like this before!", I told them all. "Chandara is being run by criminals! You saw how they treat the people here. They force them to pay taxes, and they don't let them live free. I have seen this in the outside world, where crime organizations try and take over cities with gambling, loansharking, vice and corruption. The police try to crack down on them, and sometimes they succeed; but here, things like this are unheard of, and nobody knows what to do about it. So these poor people are slave to them, and can not find a way out!" "That's terrible!", Rex said. "What can we do?" "I say we get out of here and bust some heads!", Snapper growled. "We can't right now.", I said. "These rooms are made of solid stone many feet thick, by the look. Even Klamath would have a hard time breaking through it!", I saw growing anger and dispondancy rising on all thier faces. "The only thing we can do is wait it out. Maybe they will talk with us later and we could convince them to let us go." "That could take days!", Ripper said. "Years!!..." "Let's see what they left us for food...", I said just to change the subject. "I tell you, Lonehorn, I don't like this one bit!", Hammerhead was telling his boss in her chambers less than a half hour later. "We bled the whole city dry, and these guys show up all of a sudden. I tell you, they're onto us!" "Will you relax!", Lonehorn said, eating a huge flagon of tubers. "They know nothing, trust me!... They're in the dungeon, right?...", he nodded. "Then there's no way they can escape and blab to the rest of the island!" "That human seemed a lot smarter than he led on...", Hammerhead told her. "You don't suppose he's a spy or something?" "A spy in prison is no spy at all...", she took another bite. "That is if he ever was a spy..." "And that proposal thing of thiers!", he continued. "Did you ever hear such a load of copro in your life?!", he chuckled. "You never know... They might have been on the level...", Lonehorn considered. "Wouldn't it be the wierdest turn of fate if all this was real, and they WERE actually offering us a trade treaty? We could really clean up then!... And not just here, the whole island!", her eye turned dreamy. "You're just acting like a hatchling female!", Hammerhead scolded. "I say we stick them all right now and save the trouble of doing it later!" Lonehorn got up from her meal, casually walked over to Hammerhead's position as nonchalontly as possible. She didn't want him to flinch as she pushed him roughly into a wall and charge him so he was pinned to it by her greater bulk! "Now listen to me, bone for brains... Listen to me well...!", Lonehorn said softly and levelly. "Number one: I am the boss around here. Get it?", he nodded. "Second thing: I am no hatchling. Third thing: If you call me that again I shall grind you into powder! Fourth: We will wait and see if they brought reinforcements before we talk to them again.", she backed away. "And lastly: I make the orders around here, and you and your slimeballs have no say! Got that?", she returned to her meal. "Yes, your highness...", Hammerhead said solemnly, yet his eyes spat daggers. "I got that..." Unknown to the current leaders of Chandara, and least of all my delegation currently rotting away in thier dungeon, a secret meeting was being held deep in the forests of the former realm. These were the citizens of the former empire, reduced to poverty and forced to waylay travelers for thier daily sustenence. This served a dual purpose, for it kept visitors out of Chandara; gradually starving the new ruthless leader there and her cronies out of town. Thier tactic once planned as brilliant had been going on for a generation; and it seemed like there would be no end to the tyrany. With the recent passage of the delegation of carnivores from the Rainy Basin, new hope welled inside each one of them. If a place as wild and lawless as the Rainy Basin could take up strategy and make themselves civilized, then the Chandaran people can rise up and thwart a ruthless outlaw like Lonehorn! Thier leader and his Saltosaurus Partner stood at the center of the throng, listening to the plans his people were making; considering every idea and weighing the plausability of every plan. His father, once the ruler of the Chandaran empire, and disposed while he was just a babe - and rumored to have been murdered - was a subtile type; and he allowed many persons enter the realm. He had no idea that such criminals existed on Dinotopia, and was unaware of how low they would stoop to attain thier ends. First there was trading of goods and services, which wasn't against thier laws provided the government knew about it; but these creatures came in and bought for next to nothing, artifacts precious to the Chandaran empire. They secretly bought out the military, and in a coup that lasted a day, ousted the whole parliamentary staff as well as the royal family. His nanny at the time saw what was going on; and secreted him out of the city via the waste disposal system hewn from the underground rocks. A plan voiced by a wisened saurian was saying to use those very same tunnels to enter the city; and this brought him back to the here and now. "...The trouble with this plan is we do not know if those tunnels are still intact.", the saurian concluded. "They were in my day.", thier leader said. "But a lot of things could have happened to them." "We got to find some way to take back Chandara!", one human near the center of the crowd said. "If what was said by those persons from the Rainy Basin is true, then many traders will be soon in coming!" "Yes, and in my day Chandara was a respectable place.", an older sauropod said. "It would do no good to give them the wrong impression!" "Instead of stealth to gain access, we may be forced to attack boldly.", the leader told them. "We are opposed to such violence, but I see no other choice," "There is always a choice over violence, my Partner.", the Saltosaur told him. "Just because they took over with violence, that gives us no reason to repeat the affront to gain everything back!" "We have to do something!", another saurian yelled. "The rest of my family is in there!" "I think the path is clear.", thier leader said. "To gain what is rightfully ours, it must be done quickly before the Rainy Basin wonders what has become of thier delegates.", he looked at them all. "Of course you know that they are probably Lonehorn's prisoners by now!" "I say we attack!", one of the newcomers yelled. "If the city means so much to you, then it will be worth any loss if we storm the city!" "You have a lot to learn being here...", the leader said. "But I'm afraid you're right. We have no choice!" "If you say it is so, it is so...", his Saltosaur Partner sighed. "Have we sufficient weapons?..." Preparations went on for the rest of the day, and plans to attack would be planned for the morning. As the beaten down city slept or kept up thier semblance of civilization, none of them knew what was to befall them; least of all us, waiting for the mercy of a tyranical empress. The captain of the outlaw guard named Hammerhead was told to get one of the new prisoners for further questioning in the morning; but by that time, his boss was still sound asleep. This was just perfect for his sadistic whims, for he came to the dungeon just like he was ordered to; only the line of questioning would take on quite a different tack indeed! "Well, well!", he drawled. "Is everyone snug and comfy?" "Let us out of here!", Ripper complained. "You'll all get your turn to speak with Her highness - have patience!", Hammerhead told him gently. "Right now she wants to see the human, alone...", he unlocked the door, opening it cautiousely. "If you would, kind sir?..." "Watch yourself, Stinger!", Rex warned. "Have no fear, Froggy! you'll get your turn!", Hammerhead said. I stepped out of the set of rooms we were imprisoned in, saying nothing but suspecting everything. I let him lead me where he was taking me, Klamath giving me extreme warning signals every step of the way. This Pachycephalosaur had more on his agenda than simply escorting me to his leader - that was for sure! My suspicions were confirmed when he led me into the citadel and into a large stone room, which was filled with what looked like gymnasium equipment and crude weapons littering dusty racks. "I'm all for business before pleasure,", he began conversationally. "But I sometimes like the other way around!...", he saw my contempt, but treated it like confusion. "This is my little playroom. I usually like to work out before I see empress Lonehorn!... Gets the kinks out, know what I mean?..." "That's not the only thing that needs to get out...!", I mumbled. "That so?... Well, I ran out of sparring partners for some strange reason.", Hammerhead said for conversation, choosing a dinged-up sword from a rack. "Turns out that you will do!", he decided against choosing a sword for me. "You good at fightin'?" "I hold my own...", I said as he came with the sword and cut my ropes. "Good!... Well, the rules are simple: Survive until Her majesty wakes up or defeat me, and you can go back to your cell.", he looked at my armor. "Looks like a clean fight, and I should be able to crack that shell of yours..." "Yes, but other than that, I'm unarmed!", I said, omitting the formidability of the Armor of Othgar - let him find that out for himself! "Would you at least allow me a sword?" "Why would I do that?", he poked at me with his. "It's much more fun to stick you when your unarmed!" "Fun for who?", my sarcasm dripped! "Shall we dance?", Hammerhead said sweetly and got into a stance. I got into one of my worst defensive poses, feigning that I knew nothing about fighting; and this made him smirk as he swung the sword at my head. I ducked aside just in time, leaping out of the way and rolling to a crouch. He had at me again, jabbing for my armored chest; and I dodged that thrust as well. I began circling the room as he came at me with swing after swing, my strategy being tom tire him out enough to defeat him later; but his kind had nearly limitless stamina, I knew, and this strategy could take all day! As Klamath surmised this fact, he suggested that he take over the fight; but I told him that this mission depended on how little violence was employed. He argued in my head that they were the ones insighting the violence, and the only way to stop this was like actions. I finally had to agree as the first hour of this passed, and had Klamath seal my head up with his Tyranosaur mask. "Ooh! what a pretty face!", Hammerhead said, sneering all the more. "Now I can do this!...", he pummeled it with the hilt of his sword, which cracked on impact. "fah!...", he redoubled his effort. "This is the legendary Armor of Othgar.", I told him through Klamath's voice, green eyes glowing. "It makes the wearer invincible in battle.", I grabbed his blade with one hand and snapped it in two with the other. "It has its' own weapons.", I unfurled Klamath's gauntletted daggers. "That so?...", Hammerhead was starting to get worried, but his continual sneer hid it well. "Well, Othgar or Tyranosaur, I'll flay you like an award winning fish!", he grabbed another sword on the fly as he passed the rack. I paced and followed him all around the stone room, the noise of our bout attracting some of his Stymolgoch cronies; and soon the prattle of shouting saurians filled the room. I thrust my dagger arm, caught the sword and forced his hand back; but didn't dislodge his grasp, for just then he tried to head butt me. I kicked out and planted it right on his crown, spinning him round but not knocking him off his feet. He shook it off and flared his anger as he lunged with both sword and head, of which I foiled off the former with my blades and the latter with a hip check. He wheeled around, staggered but far from out; and I took this opportunitty to deploy Klamath's large blades, each landing deftly into both of my hands. I flailed and twirled them around in a flourish, blurring the blades before his eyes. Nonplussed, he beat one down and tried to wheel around for a lunge, but a solid pummeled fist to his jaw and he spun to the ground, getting up immediately! "Very good, human!", he said. "I'm impressed!" Just then a muffled clattering and shouting became apparent throughout the city. Cloaked guards scurried about the streets, either defending themselves from am unknown enemy or running for reinforcements. The disposessed of Chandara was on the attack, and the walls were being breached by thousands of determined fighters. The two newcomers led thier own batallions through the northern gate as well as the western gate; and many more bands came through by either the river or the underground sewage canals. The guards didn't know what to make of this attack that seemed to be coming from everywhere at once! The citizens in Chandara would not give the guards a lick of help; Moreover, they would hinder the guards whenever it was convenient! They knew thier salvation was at hand, and they were cursed if they sided with the guards! Finally the height of the noise of battle reached the earslits of those watching our battle, and they left to see what was going on. "So!... You brought reinforcements after all!", Hammerhead panted. "Just wait until Lonehorn hears of this!" "We didn't.", I said, not panting in the slightest as I scizzered his sword away from him with my own and flung it against the wall with a clatter. "But it makes for a fine coincedence!" "Sir, the city's under attack!", one hooded guard came into the room. "Well, bolster the defenses!", Hammerhead screamed as he found another sword. "Sir!... Come... You are needed!...", the guard scrambled out of the doorway. "Aw!... Bugger off!...", he turned his concentration onto me once again. "Can't you see I'm busy!..." "I can wait here until you're done.", I offered as the rest of the guards left the room, leaving us alone. "First things first!", he returned, along with a flurry of swordplay. "Can't a person get one thing at a time done?!" "Very well, then.", I smiled behind my mask as I dropped one of my swords. The stunner beam that hit Hammerhead made his feet twist, making him collapse and driving his head against the floor. I searched his twitching form and found the keys he carried, grabbing my sword as I bolted out of the room. I made my way through the citadel until I found the cells the rest of my party was being held in. Rex nearly bowled me down in his excitement, and Ripper and Snapper took the point as we tried to find our way back out. As we emerged from the citadel, we were met by confused knots of people beating the guards down in groups, running around with anything that could be used as a weapon or shouting directions to other fighters. I saw thier angered faces and knew that another coup was at hand! I tried to find the leaders of this battle, but could only find one of the newcomers leading his soldiers in rushing a guardhouse. "Need any help?", I asked as he ran past. "What's going on?" "We're taking back this city!", he yelled. "We came to get you out!" "We're out already. Do you need help?", I repeated. "Naw! just mopping up.", he told me, trying to stay in one place. "The only ones to deal with is the higher ups!" "Well, don't worry about the captain of the guard.", I said. "He's taking a nap in his rumpus room!" At about this time the leader of these rebels stormed into the chambers that housed empress Lonehorn. She was still asleep, and woke with a start at the sight of all the troops and the son of her former emporer standing there, waiting for her to do something. At a word, his Saltosaur Partner bounded in like a locomotive, bowling her back through the stone wall behind her dias and into a dried up fountain in a courtyard beyond. Before Lonehorn knew what was going on, she had several tons of dinosaur looking down at her, grumbling meanly! "I,...what's going on!...", Longhorn bellowed. "Get offa' me!..." "Your reign of terror is over, Longhorn!", the leader of the rebels bellowed as he stepped through the wreckage. "I have come to claim my birthright!" "And you think you can run the joint, Randall?", she snickered as best as she could with the saltosaur on top of her. "You're as weak as your father!" "Take her away...", Randall said instead of acknowledging her comment. More than an hour later, us helping to mop up any resistence, we gathered at the base of the palace; along with every major player in the battle. The guards were in the place they put all thier prisoners, enjoying the view from that side of the bars; and Hammerhead and Lonehorn was there as well. The newly reinstated emporer Randall came down in his father's crown, found in the crime lord's treasure trove; and he stepped up to address his newly acquired kingdom. "My friends! Today marks the beginning of a new golden age for the illustrious empire of Chandara! If it wasn't for your drive to want to take this city from the throes of unspeakable tyranny, our lives would have continued the downfall we had been suffering. I thank you all for your selfless service!", Randall said. "With the news given to us by these emisaries of the Rainy Basin, and the promise they brought with news of trade; we might not have had the inspiration to attain our freedom!" Peals of arousing cheer erupted from everyone present, which added to the cheering and celebration going on all throughout the Chandaran empire that day. Even though the broken down people had very little to celebrate with, this didn't stop them from making a grand show of it never the less! A feast, meager as it was, was prepared; and all that were present shared in this, thier propsed holiday of redemption of thier kingdom and the restoration of thier dignity. We promised them to bring aid to help restore thier city, and to tell the officials at Waterfall City thier plight; and in return, they said they would gladly reopen Chandaran borders to visitors, as well as wholeheartedly promote any and all trade that came thier way. We helped them celebrate, but ate sparingly as thier lack of supplies; and within a day decided to leave. Amid teary farewells, we set out west, to the sea and followed the south coast to Pennacia; which was once a very prosperous seaport, but now only supported a few boats and townspeople. Through directions there, we traveled inland through wide passes until we reached the desolation of Brackmaw Swamp; and here we encountered camps of ragged people who avoided us and Mosasaurs whom we tried to avoid, save for the one we had for dinner that night. By midmorning we came out of the swamp and climbed the low foothills that seperated the coastal area with the interior; and came out to a sight awesome to behold. It was the fabled Colossus of Zagur, the stone head of some hero carved out of a single block of rock five hundred feet to a side; which looked older than the Sphynx of ancient Egypt. The texts I had read said that it was hollowed out with rooms, and once used as a Skybax training facility. It took most of the day to walk past the giant sculpture, and soon we came out of the foothills there and made our way back down to the Belt Road. We traveled west down the Belt Road, making good time for the rest of the day. About an hour after we set out the very next day, we reached the headwaters of the Jubilla River, and followed that for about seven miles until we reached the outskirts of Rhumsburg. This town was once the crossroads of the Belt Road, and the buildings here still saw much of its' former glory; and even though things have diminished since its' heyday, many a business venture still seemed in evidence. We got directions further west from a crossing guard and set off on our way once we restocked our supplies. We continued west, and the road turned into a skinny cart path; the debris of many broken down carts and ages old campfires littered the sides of the road all the way. By mid day we came across a signpost that had seen numerous repairs over the years, and it pointed to many towns and outposts along the way: Rhumsburg back the way we came, north was Wheatstone Quarries, southwest was Spiker and west was the Blackfish Tavern. "Say fellas!", I said. "How about we take a little rest?... There's a place called the Blackfish tavern just up ahead!" "Black FISH!", Rex exclaimed. "Yum!..." "My feet ARE getting sore at that!", Snapper smiled. "Yeah!", Ripper agreed. "Ok, the Blackfish Tavern it is!", I said, and directed them down the correct crossroad. "Maybe there we can spend the night...!" We traveled the rest of the way down that road, arriving at an ancient yet pretty well kept cluster of buildings near a clearing on the edge of a waterfront area. The map said that this waterfront was near the coast of Dolphin Bay, which was the mouth of the Polongo River; and I knew that up the Polongo River was Waterfall City. Making it there would be a snap from here! We stopped by one of the large barns that served the saurian patrons of the pub and waited for someone to serve us; but many who saw us gave us a wide berth. These were of the surly type, by the look; and I guessed that all of them were used to handling trouble. After a while of nobody coming up and at least seeing what we wanted, I stopped the nearest human with a whistle. "Say, is there anyplace we could stay the night?", I asked. "Out in the forest is fine by me.", he said and walked away, wary eyes never leaving us. "I guess we serve ourselves...", I mumbled after shaking my head. "Why don't you guys find the hostler and I'll go search the tavern.", I told Ripper and Snapper. "Rex, you stay here until someone comes." "These guys are sure scared of us!", Rex commented as I climbed down. We were all used to people giving us a wide berth, and just shrugged it off. "Yeah, but they better listen to a hungry Tyranosaur, right?", I chuckled as I followed the Sunstone streetlamps to the tavern proper. As I swung the batwing doors and entered the establishment, the patrons already there gave me two moments of scrutiny. One moment was to acknowledge I was there and the other was for the armor I wore; and they grumbled as they went back to thier eating or drinking. I chose a table near the center of the space as the rest of the spots were nearly all taken and sat down. Nearly immediately a chubby if muscular waitress with a nonpretty face sauntered up ready to take my order. "What'll you have, mack?", she had a drawl that seemed familiar somehow. "Cold Jinka infusion for now, house special for food for later...", I said. "And could my friends find places for the night? They're carnivores, but nice!" "Say! I know you!", she said loudly. "You're a Rainy Basin Ranger! I heard a lot about you guys!", she turned. "Say Jocco! House special right away!", the Stenoychosaur with heat-wrinkled skin nodded from the window that led to the kitchen. "I'm kind of under cover...", I tried to shush her! "Yeah, right!", she said and turned away. "Uh..., ", she continued with a much softer voice. "Your party should see the hostler, in the office near the barn. We don't often get to serve carnivores..." "I think it's our first time in these parts.", I said. "First time for everything!", she returned, smiling. "I'll go get yer Jinka...", she left. I smiled and watched her go behind the bar, then let my gaze wander around the room; and that's when I noticed the type of characters that frequented this pub! Both humans and saurians were here, the former in garb that told of thier rough life or dangerous trade and the latter of every shape and size wore thier lives in about the same manner. Some looked like sailors and fishermen, donning hats of nautical history from the Spanish main to more modern longshoreman attire. Many of these characters either smoked or drank, and not the Jinka that I was about to have; and the saurians seemed much scarier than any carnivore for thier looks and the way they carried themselves. I sipped my drink when it came, and smiled at the waitress through the clear glass I drank from. As she left I heard voices raised, and raised my eyes to a pair three tables over; arguing over some obscure subject, human insisting he was right and Pachy with an eyepatch insisting he was wrong. I silently turned my gaze to the bar as one of the arguers stormed past. The pachy turned abruptly and half his drink spilled on my table; but instead of apologising or offering to clean it up, he glared down on me and spat. "Eere, eere!... Whot's the big ideer?!", he garbled. "Spilling my drink like that?!" "On the contrary, sir.", I said up to him. "It was you that stumbled." "You callin' me a liar?!", the Pachy roared. "No, but there are witnesses...", I looked around, but nobody was offering thier opinion. "I saw the whole thing.", the human that was arguing with him a moment ago, said. "You bumped him!" "I did not!", I countered. "Pipe down, out there!!", the Stenoychosaurus in the kitchen bellowed. My waitress scrambled into the kitchen with him! "Blow it out yer snout, lout!", the Pachy yelled back, then turned to me. "You'll pay for what you did!" "Certainly, sir!", I said and turned to the now empty bar. "Oh, barkeep! May we have another of what he is having?..." "Not good enough!...", he stuck his domed cranium close to me. "Hey Sylvester! This guy has a shell!" "Can ye crack it, Grig?", the man asked, starting to get up. "One way to find out is to try!...", he grabbed my arm and jerked me to my feet. "Now see here!...", I swept his arm away. "Whatever happened to 'Breathe deep, seek peace'?", he backed up only a half pace. "Never heard of it.", Grig posed for a ramming posture... and advanced! Klamath's speed came into play as I braced the head butt with both hands, him shoving for all he was worth. Many in the crowd cheered or booed at the scuffle; but lots were secretly enjoying the entertainment we were providing. I pushed back, and did so with such force his feet skittered many feet back! I got leverage and lifted his chin to almost the breaking point for his neck, then applied more force and drove him back against a wooden pillar several yards behind him. He squawked and struggled in my grasp, but I kept up the pressure; then I got my face close to his unpatched eye and sneered. "Now, I suggest you seek peace or I'll find it for you!", I smiled evilly. I stopped at the sound of a metallic thwack many feet behind me, and spun to look. Most of the crowd let out gasps or laughed at this new twist. The waitress was over the fallen human, cast iron skillet in her hands. She was looking down at her handiwork, watching to see if the guy was moving. She blew out a breath, then she looked at me and grimaced. "This guy was pullin' a knife on you!...", she said. "I had to brain him!" "Thanks...", was all I had time to say as Klamath rang a warning. Grig the Pachy took the momentary freedom for another ramming attack; and I only had time to use Klamath's stunner on him before he impacted on me! A large gasp from the crowd was heard as many in my line of fire leapt out of the way. The creature fell twitching on the wooden planks, convulsing from head to tail. I nudged him with the toe of my armored boot, then looked at the waitress with approval. "Thanks for covering my back!", I told her, looking at the man she had subdued. "I never saw him coming!" "You were pretty handy with that Pachy.", she returned. "Name's Anna Damon...", she extended the hand not containing the skillet. "I'm Stinger.", I shook it. "Is this what they do for excitement around here?" "Most of the time, but I try to keep it to a minimum.", Anna said. "This is a pretty wild place sometimes..." "Not as wild as the Rainy Basin.", I told her. "That's where I come from, you know..." "No kidding!", Anna said. "A few months ago we were in a shipwreck..." "Are you from the Millennium Queen?", I asked. "You know of it?", she asked. "Me and my bunch was there when it happened.", I said. "We rescued you guys!" "Small world...", she said and changed the subject. "So, you killed that Pachy..." "No, he's only stunned.", I told her. "He'll wake up in the morning with a whopper of a headache!" "Same for this guy...", she nudged the man on the floor. "We better tuck these tired souls in for the night.", I suggested. "I'll take this one.", I moved to Grig. "And I'll take Handsome Harold here...", she grabbed both his legs and bagan to drag him out of the room; and soon the sound of his head hitting stair risers was heard! I chuckled, shaking my head; and lifted the Pachy up over my shoulders. I had to go out sideways on my way to the barns, and once I was there I quickly located the stalls the hostler provided for Rex, Snapper and Ripper. None of the other patrons there wanted to be anywhere near them, so the stalls on either side of them stood vacant. I hefted Grig into one of these and just tossed him down on the pile of hay in there. Job done, I went over to where Rex was watching and rubbed his muzzle. "What happened to him?", Rex asked after I finished. "A little disagreement on table ediquete.", I told him. "He spilled his drink on me, and then blamed me for it." "Oh,", he said. "You didn't need to bring us food, Stinger.", Ripper said, grinning at his own joke. "They served us fish stew!" "It was rather gamey, if you ask me...", Snapper said in the same stall as his brother. "Say guys. Would you keep an eye on him until he wakes up?", I asked. "Him and his buddy are dangerous!" "Will do!", Rex winked, then looked down on this domed creature hungrilly! "I'll see you in the morning, you three.", I said and turned to go. "My dinner's getting cold!..." I left the barn and traveled the several hundred yards back to the tavern proper. It seemed like nothing much changed since I left, and I returned to my table; which had a vast plate of pastas and greens set before me. I sat down and began to dig in, and Anna came back to my table, a refill for my drink in her hand; but instead of leaving it and going back to work, she pulled up a chair and sat across from me. I looked up and smiled cheesily, mouth dripping oil. "All tucked in for the night?", she asked, chin on bridged hands. "Comfy cozy!", I said. "Yeah, this place reminds me of the joint I used to work at in Queens.", she said for conversation. "I fit in here real good!" "You're from New York City!", I said finally. "That's where I heard the accent!" "That's me! From N.Y.C.!", she piped. "Ever been there?" "I went through there when I was mustered out.", I told her. "They sent the whole lot of us to the Middle East. I was put on a base in Greece..." "You're military?", she asked. "Yeah. I was doing a refueling mission when this crazy storm came on us.", I told her. "I was the only survivor, but ended up here." "Wierd...", she said. "How long have you been here?" "About five years, more or less...", I said and resumed my meal for a moment. "Say, back at Waterfall City, they said that a lot of the castaways went missing. Are you one of them?" "Yup! That Waterfall City was a real drag.", she said. (To be continued.) _
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Post by thundertail on Mar 27, 2012 17:30:45 GMT -5
_ FIFTY-THREE: "The Rough Road..." (Continued) "...And here's your name...", I said, looking at the scroll of missing castaways. "Look. Since you helped me out back there, I'll tell them I never saw you, Ok?" "Sounds fine by me!", Anna said, then had another thought. "Say, are you married?" "Fraid so.", I said and began to tell her about Mayday. "...But there's no law against having another friend!" "Guess you're right.", she said. "I can always find a fella around here!", she got up at someone's summons. "Catch 'ya around!", she left. I finished the rest of my meal, unfettered by the surly customers wreaking vocal havock all around me. Presently I went upstairs and was shown a room to stay the night in. In the morning I paid anna the several drachs she said would cover the meals and accomodations; then I went to saddle up Rex and get Ripper and Snapper ready. A little while after that we had our backs toward the Blackfish Tavern, going roughly north, to Sauropolis and finally Waterfall City. I kept my word to Anna Damon, and never told a soul she was there; and I only wrote it here, in my memoirs. I hope she doesn't mind!... _
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Post by thundertail on Mar 27, 2012 20:21:33 GMT -5
_ FIFTY-FOUR: "Fitting in..." The arrival of members of the Rainy Basin had become so routine in Waterfall City that no one barely took notice of us, and the guards at the gate waved us on without a second glance. We soon got an audience in the council chambers, and our meeting would soon commence. We had to tell the court our findings on our trade negotiations with Chandara, and report what had become of that kingdom over the years! Soon the council chambers filled with the usual amount of delegates and mayor Waldo Seville took his usual spot behind his raised ship's bow podium and tapped his gavel. "This meeting will now commence.", he said so all could hear. "Today we have several issues that will be addressed; but for now, mayor Stinger of the Rainy Basin has the floor." "Thank you, your honor.", I rose. "First of all, I would like to thank you all for seeing me today, and for witnissing what I have to say about our negotiation mission to Chandara..." I began telling them my account of our mission to establish trade with Chandara, as well as a brief outline of the terms of our treaty that we would present to the Chandaran emporer. I went on to review what texts I had read said about the Chandaran empire, and the riches and glory that abound there. Then I told them of our arduous journey there through mountainous passes and trecherous areas. I told of the many instances we were in danger by wild carnivores, and the many times we were attacked by robbers and other irreputable persons. I began the account of thwarting that large band of robbers, and the revelation that thier role was not as it seemed. "These robbers were, in fact, the disposessed people from Chandara.", I continued. "They were the good citizens that were thrown out or had fled; and thier leader was heir to the Chandaran empire. They resorted to thievery as a seige tactic to oust the persons that now held the city and surrounding areas." "But how would this insure victory?", one delegate asked amid shouts. "Stealing is wrong!" "Who was it that took over?", another asked after conferring with her aide. "And how are they so bad?" "These people figured that if they could make the area so dangerous, no reasonable traveler would dare come near. This would stop trade in Chandara, and force the leaders to leave. The disposessed people would then take over and restore Chandara to its' original state once again.", I explained to that delegate. More questions were flung at me, but I held them off for a moment with my hand. "Chandara had been taken over by organized crime. There was a crime boss in charge by the name of Lonehorn, the Pentaceratops, and she would have her men go about and terrorise the remaining people. They would take everything the citizens owned, impose taxes that were impossible to pay, not let them live thier lives freely as they should and make them all miserable.", I explained to the other delegate. "Thusly, Chandara is in a state of near ruin.", I continued. "Thier buildings are crumbling, thier Sunstone is all but dead, thier people are in dispair and thier culture is gone.", I licked my lips. "I don't know if thier library or hall of records survived, but there is one good thing that came of it." "What was it, Stinger?", Rosemary asked. "We were guests of the crime lord.", I began. "Imprisoned in thier dungeon after they heard our proposal. While we were locked up, the disposessed citizens rose up and took the city once again. We were set free after that, and told by thier leader that our trade treaty would be honored. The leader also said that he might need assistence in rebuilding Chandara; and would consider reopening negotiations with the rest of Dinotopia to that end." "This is wonderful news!", Waldo said. "Chandara hadn't had open negotiations in centuries! We should form a negotiation mission right away, eh?" "But those poor souls!", Rosenmary put in. "Thier kingdom is in shambles! It would take years to restore thier realm!" "We'll send builders presently.", Waldo continued. "The old Dinotopian motto still stands: 'Survival of all or none'!... We should form a construction team right away!..." The discussion of what should be done for the Chandarans went on for another twenty minutes or more; and when they were through and every proposed aspect of that plan was notorized, Waldo tapped his gavel and went onto other business. From the back of the room, what I thought were just ordinary citizens of waterfall City filed into the courtroom, courtroom guards flanking them under a drumroll. The group stopped in the center aisle and stood facing front; and Rosemary Seville got up and went to the head of the room. "Ladies and gentilebeings. Today marks a glorious beginning for these people.", she began. "These ladies and gentilemen rescued from the shipwreck of the Millennium Queen have completed thier training as Dinotopian citizens, and are now ready to venture out among us!" Muted cheers, saurian bellowing and polite clapping roused around the chamber; and me and my group added to the applause. Each of the former castaways took thier bows one by one, and the mayor rapped his gavel to regain order once again. Rosemary smiled and approached the head of the group, walking down the line and shaking each of the some two hundred humans' hands. She then returned to the head of the room and raised her hands to gain the attention of all. "You will all be assigned a place where you may choose to spend your lives. If in the future, you choose another place, you may.", She took a scroll from the chair beside where she was sitting and began to read off thier names one by one. She included the places where they would go, and mentioned thier new Partners if they were assigned one. Then she told them each how they were going to get there before dismissing them to seating near the back of the courtroom. "The following graduates will be assigned to the Rainy Basin, and be housed in clan Thundertail.", she continued near the end of the precession. "And since the mayor of the Rainy Basin is present today, he may assist you in getting there!... Will you escort these charges we impart to you, Stinger?" "Certainly, my matriarch!", I said. "Lanis Albian. You are assigned to the Rainy Basin, and your trasnslator, Bentfeather, will accompany you.", she recited. "He is to stay with you until you master all assigned languages, and then return to his previous duties. Transportation arrangements have been made with permission from clan Thundertail, and will transport the rest of the candidates assigned to clan Thundertail.", he sat several rows back from us. George Meyer, You are assigned to the Rainy Basin as well.", she continued. "You will be indoctrinated in the Rainy Basin Rangers, and your Partner will be assigned there. Transportation arrangements are the same as with Lanis Albian.", he nodded stiffly and sat beside Lanis. Shawna Mallone. You are also assigned to the Rainy Basin, to clan Thundertail.", Rosemary continued. "You and your partner, Nikkoli Chasmosaur, will apprentice in farming and general tasks, and be assigned to apprentice in artifact restoration. Nikoli will also assist in your transportation to clan Thundertail." Peter Simonson. You and your family are assigned to clan Thundertail as well. Doris Simonson, Mike simonson and Keesha Simonson will be assigned with you; and live in the subterranean city of Kinan Van along with your Partner family, Paleman, Pilzee, Setas and Arcee Stenoychosaurus.", Rosemary told them, and they all sat down by the rest of our group. "Frank Waters, you are assigned to clan Thundertail too.", she told him. "You are assigned to study all technology and devices present in thier realm, and are apprenticed to the Artificial Life Construct named Flit to that end. A Partner will be chosen for you when you get there, or they may allow you to choose your own.", he bowed, first to her and the court, and then to me, and sat by us as well. Rosemary Seville announced a half dozen more names, two of which had families and only half had partners. They all acknowledged thier assignment to live with us in the Rainy Basin, and sat in a group next to all the rest. She then continued with the rest of the graduated castaways; assigning them to places like Canyon City, Baz, Cape Turtletail, Mollusk Town and other places. When she was done she looked up to the delegates and smiled. "This is but the first of many groups that will be released onto Dinotopia. From this point on, the castaways will be released as they progress sufficiently to enter our society.", she looked upon all that she had assigned. "Lastly, I would like to welcome you all, finally, to Dinotopia!", This seemed to be the delegates' cue, and they all stood while they gave all the graduates a rousing round of applause. A moment to gain order by Waldo Seville and it was his turn to speak. "The moment has now come to speak of the shipwreck of the Millennium Queen.", he began. "Word has it that all supplies and cargo has been removed and distributed; as well as all furniture aboard and everything 'not bolted down'... Is that the correct term?", he cleared his throat amid mild chuckling. "Anyway, it has been brought to my attention the concern of what to do with the rest of the ship. It is fouindering badly, so I'm told; and the structures within need to be salvaged before the ship becomes unsafe to enter. Do I hear any suggestions?" "Sir,... Your honor!", Frank Waters stood, raising his hand. "If I may speak... I have plans to utilise as mush of the ship as possible for a project corroborated between members of clan Thundertail and myself; concerning the restoration of thier city of Halcyon.", he looked unsure. "Please go on.", Waldo smiled. "It concerns building a waterway system from a source of fresh water to the underground city.", Frank continued. "It will involve a series of canals, aqueducts and pumping stations to traverse the mountain ranges between Halcyon and this water source. The pumping stations will utilise the pumping equipment and other engines of electric or mechanical operation abopard ship to pump water to higher elevations. I have already begun inquiring about recruitment of the labor needed to salvage these engines." "Very good.", Waldo said. "There are many steps before we can get water to Halcyon, but other problems seem to spring up as if by magic!", he said. "As you know, building any public works project takes monumental labor forces, extensive planning and authorizations from all concerned parties. I have had correspondance with your Freshwater Partners, and they said our primary pumping site of Deep Lake had to be studied to find the ecological impact it would cause on the area. They said that pumping activity would lower the water level there by almost three feet, and that might impact irrigation for the area. They also said that lowering Deep Lake by only one foot using this method might not impact the area so much. So the aqueduct system might have to be designed on a limited scale." "I see.", Waldo said. "A way that is beneficial to all...", he turned to the rest of the people. "But certainly this is an issue that can be discussed in greater detail at a later date!... On to the next issue, if you please...", Frank Waters nodded and sat back down. The next several issues presented to the court were trivial to me, but were no less important to them. They dealt with the many mistakes the remainder of the castaways were making, doing things that were un-Dinotopian in nature; and the fact that they still persisted with thier old ways. It was argued that they would adjust over time, and that some people took longer to make the change than others; and greater patience should be observed with them. Others argued that stronger measures should be taken to help them change faster, up to and including forcing these changes on them; but Rosemary and her husband argued that this was not the Dinotopian way, and they would gradually make the adjustment. Another issue was the devices and gadjets from the outside world that were being slowly used by regular citizens all over the island, and the impact of such devices on thier society. Many argued that they were a nuisence and should be banned while others said they were a great novelty, and suggested they be enjoyed while they lasted. Still, many could not fathom thier uses; and deemed them evil in one way or another, arguing statements including the treaty of Arihmon. This treaty I had read, and it told of thier own Industrial Revolution that went horribly wrong for them. To me, having such trinkets around would not hurt thier society; and actually give them a window on how the outside world worked, and this I stated to them in a short speech. At last, and after many more arguments on the subject, they conceeded that such items would not overly contaminate thier society; and the fact that nothing lasts forever, and neither would these devices. After an hour of more mundane discussions of city policies, mayor Waldo Seville concluded the meeting and all filed out of the courthouse in thier own way. The group of castaways that were assigned to clan Thundertail stayed close to Rex, Ripper, Snapper and me; and Frank Waters and Lanis Albian stood closer than all the rest. Waters was devoid of his uniform, preferring garb from an earlier era of nautical history, even though he kept his hat. Lanis still wore his orange and crimson jumpsuit, but decided to wear short green pantaloons and a tan vest over it. Both looked scared of thier new future home, but both seemed determined to be there. I looked at the rest of the crowd that was dispersing to thier seperate modes of transportation and saw a few familiar faces in our transportation. Pulling the Copro cart was Flatbottom, and driving it was Mayday! One of the other carts was pulled by Sauron and Chillet, and driven by Whitetail. Our other cart was absent its' puller, but Miles Krieger was its' driver. I went to my friends and gave each a hug of friendship, omitting Sauron and Chillet out of courtesy and paying extra special attention to Mayday out of love! "Well, here is our rides!", I told my group of castaways. "Everyone climb aboard!...", I looked around. "Where's the puller for this cart?..." "Here I am!", Nikkoli the Chasmosaur stepped up and slipped his harnessed self into the yoke. "I had to get my harness on!..." "Welcome aboard, then!", I said. "That goes for the rest of you, too!", I climbed aboard Rex. "Remember, if you have any questions about the Rainy Basin, clan Thundertail or anything else; don't be afraid to ask!... We're only here to help you!" No immediate questions were asked as the rest climbed onto the cart of thier choice. Lanis sat in the front seat of the cart driven by Whitetail, Frank took the front seat next to Mayday and the rest put thier things in all three carts, families and thier Partners helping thier young ones up into them. As soon as I saw all was ready, I had Rex move out to lead our little group out of Waterfall City. The many others that were going our way followed in our wake, single travelers riding on Overlanders or other saurian transportation while the others with more posessions to bring rode in saurian driven taxi carts, rickshaws or other contrivances. The exodus out of the city was large, but not overly so; and as we crossed the bridge that seperated the city with the environs beyond, I looked back and saw all the Waterfall City citizens waving and cheering! After many miles several of our fellow travelers veered off down other paths through the forests; and after we passed Mollusk Town, only three other groups of travelers accompanied us. Along the way many of our castaways asked a few questions concerning thier life with us. Many wanted to know what kind of housing was waiting for them; and I said that each would get an apartment in Kinan Van if they were single while family groups would get larger homes. They asked if they were required to eat meat there and I told them they could eat what ever they wanted as we do not discriminate between carnivorous diets and vegetarian. Some asked what type of work they were required to do and I said it all depended on one's skills and thier ability to learn new things, that they would be asked to do nothing that they were not able to do or to learn. These questions came at sporadic intervals, and it was during one of the quiet times that Klamath told me something important! "Stinger, I have something to say.", he said all of a sudden in my head. "What is it?", I asked in kind. "My power levels are getting low.", he told me. "This is why I was not able to help with our trade negotiations as I was capable of..." "Why didn't you say so?!", I said out loud. "Rex! Please stop!... Klamath has a problem!..." He did so, and the whole convoy stopped. I dismounted and went over to the cart driven by Mayday, preparing to sit in the back. "Klamath's power is running low. I need to get out of him, and maybe he could conserve power back here.", I told everyone back there. "Could you please move some things aside?", they complied. "Klamath is sick?", Mayday asked, turning. "My mate!...", Zandra, Mayday's armor, sounded concerned. "Now switch to minimum power, Klamath.", I said. "I think you'll make it to the Rainy Basin if you do." "Affirmative.", Klamath replied rather weakly. "Power level near critical!" "Don't talk. Just rest.", Mayday said as Zandra drew her out of the driver's seat and to him. "You will be all right..." "Don't worry, mister Klamath.", Frank Waters said, turning to grab the reigns. "I plan to know all about you, and should be able to fix you all by myself before long!..." "Thank you...", Klamath said as he initiated his power conservation mode. His green eyes dimmed to almost nothing and he lay dormant on the floor of the cart. I shook my head and returned to get back on Rex. I felt naked not having the armor encase my body, but I knew my friend was in trouble, and me wearing him would do him no good. I would let Flit or MacDougal replace his Sunstone with a fresh one when we returned home. As all that excitement wound its' way down, I had Rex continue the journey home, and the convoy soon followed. The rest of the day nothing eventful happened; and in the morning we broke up camp and continued on our way. By late morning the next day we entered the Rainy Basin, now devoid of every other member of the convoy not going to clan Thundertail; and a few miles into the territory, a Rainy Basin Ranger team consisting of Thistlesnarl, Carl Scott, Slimepool and Pondscum, thier Veloceraptor guard escort; came to escort us the rest of the way. Our travel from then on went by quickly, and by early afternoon our convoy stopped in the boomerang shaped clearing of clan Thundertail. Of course the whole clan knew they were coming, for nobody enters clan Thundertail without being detected; yet still they all remained hidden, allowing the newcomers a chance to look around. It was at this time that hundreds of carnivores and dozens of people flooded out of the surrounding forests, roaring and snapping in greeting, yelling and cheering! Of course I knew they were going to try something like this, and so did the rest of the full clan members in my group; for we all stood or sat there looking bored while our passengers' jaws all dropped! They thought they were being attacked, and got into defensive stances! The fanfare was overwhelming for the humans and thier Partners this day, for never had they been showered with such affection by creatures that would otherwise eat them; and let me say that the looks on thier faces was one of both total shock and numb acceptance! We stood greeting them for what seemed like hours until matters let themself wane of thier own accord. I at last remembered some important details just then, and gave off a loud whistle to get everyones' attention. "Well!... It looks like you are all well met indeed!", I chuckled. "Now, I would first like to introduce Thundertail, king of the Rainy Basin.", the Tyranosaur bowed; and all the newcomers bowed back! "I guess the rest you'll meet in your own good time... But for now, I would like to ask Flit to step forward." "What is it, Stinger?", Flit asked. "Why aren't you wearing Klamath?" "Klamath is in that cart over there.", I pointed. "He complained of loss of power, so I took him off and had him conserve power.", I looked over. "Flit. would you take care of that?" "Of course.", Flit went. "Triphus, I'll need your assistence..." "What about me?", Frank waters requested. "I'd like to see that." "Ah! Mister Frank Waters, I presume!", Flit turned to him. "Yes, of course you may come and observe. I am Flit, and I will be your instructor... And there's no better time to do so than now!", he beckoned him with Proboke's armored finger. As they left the area, I wished I could go too; for Klamath was my friend, and I wanted to make sure he was all right. I figured that Frank Waters would be ok with them for now, and he wouldn't miss much anyway. Just wait until he met MacDougal - they should become thick as thieves! I returned my attention to the newcomers as Pincushion came to me with a scroll. It was a list of things I should tell them to introduce them to clan life; so I began to recite: "To all newcomers to clan Thundertail. A most humble welcome to our clan, and we hope your time with us is most pleasant.", I read the preamble. "Your things will be taken to Kinan Van and put into your temporary domiciles, permanent dwellings will be given on your disgression as soon as you are settled in. Tasks will be assigned according to skill and willingness to learn. Those with children may enroll them in our schools, and the cirriculum will be announced on a need-to-know basis. Those of you without Partners may decide to choose from one of the clan, provided compatability is present for coresponding individuals. Most clan members are carniverous or omniverous in nature, but we allow all diets to be present, and do not discriminate as to how or what someone eats. It is carnivore law that, upon the demise of an individual; the clan holds the right to consume said deceased person, or use the body for any purpose needed. This grim practice is for conservation and utilization purposes only, and is found to be very practical in an environment such as this.", I looked up, even though there was a lot more on the scroll. "I know this is a big place, and it will take a while to show you everything - let alone to have you know your way around yourself!", I said. "So, whenever you want to go from one place to another, I suggest you find a clan member to guide you or ask directions from him or her.", I looked at Thundertail. "Sir, we have been on the road for two days. Is it possible to give them food and drink?" "Of course...", he rumbled, and looked into the crowd. Many left the area to prepare said meal. "Excellent!... Now, where was I?...", I looked at the scroll and recited the rest of the contents. It dealt mostly with the hierarchy of the clan, that each tribe of saurian and human had a leader, and most problems one was not able to solve with other parties would go through them first; and then taken to king Thundertail's court if the problem warranted it. It told of the many divisions of labor around camp; from cleanup and Copro removal to farming and hunting and gathering, from guard duty to entertainment to teaching and weaving, from trading and negotiations to the study and preservation of Archaeological objects and sites to the Rainy Basin Rangers and what other wild dangers that still abound in the Rainy Basin. It told of the basic rules of ediquate and the demeanor of certain individuals both within the clan and without. It went to describing the various things discovered in the World Beneath as well as the things found above ground. The conclusion stated that clan Thundertail was overjoyed and happy to have them as an addition to thier clan, and that clan initiations would commence after tonight's feast. I looked up from the scroll as these words finished and saw the newcomers with looks of digestion on thier faces, taking in all that I read to them; so I made a big smile and walked out among them to shake thier hands, saurian as well as human, young or old! "Ok! Lets get things put away!", Mayday announced. "Got everything all set!", Harold Kirky stepped up and said, eyeing the many of his kind. "Allright everyone!... You heard her!..." "You crazy?", "Do we have to?", I'm tired!", "Forget it!", that and many more such responses met his earslits, so he turned around and glared at them. "I SAID MOVE IT!!!", Harold stomped up to them. "Go on!...", he swatted. "Get that stuff!...", he shoved. "Hut!, Two!, Three!, Four!,... HEYAWWW!!!", he chased them over to the carts, and they scrambled to thier duties. He turned to the bewildered newcomers and smiled. "It'll be done in a jiffy!...", Harold piped, moved away and joined his kind at the task. "Don't mind them!", I smiled. "They mean well..." , a few chuckled nervousely. "Now, I'll need a few volunteers to be your temporary guides,", Thundertail announced. "And then we'll begin getting you used to the place.", he looked around at his clan. Many stepped up and volunteered, approaching the persons of thier choice almost as tenatively as thier charges were retreating. At my friendly gestures to the rest of the clan, the newcomers gradually calmed down enough to be personally introduced to these frightening looking creatures. I Introduced Lanis Albian to Wen the Kirky, and Bentfeather looked like he would get along with her just fine - they were just about the same size, after all! George meyer was a bit taken aback by the rather grotesque features of Selma Ovaraptor, but gradually let that pass at her sweet gestures. Shawna Mallone thought the twin colored crests of Leeter Dilophosaur were fantastic, but Nikkoli's instinctive fear of carnivores made him stammer in her presence. Peter Simmonson and his family found Grond quite formidable, but his wife Doris thought him charming; and his son and daughter, Mike and Keesha thought it fun to ride on his feet as he walked! Paleman, Pilzee, Setas and Arcee,thier Partners thought the whole sight as absurd, but it was all they talked about for the next two days! Many of the other newcomers were met by the clan in much the same way, families were led all over camp in groups while others were escorted around singly. By nightfall the great welcoming feast was ready, and all were beckoned into the main feeding area; where a grand spread indeed was swiftly forming in and around the area. As the newcomers to our group collected around the various bonfires created in leiu of the already set sun, Frank Waters came from the direction of the pyramid of Teeklan, chatting away with Flit and MacDougal like they knew each other all thier lives! They all congregated around the bonfire Mayday, I and many others were at; Thundertail let out a huge roar to get everyones' attention. "My friends, Today marks a great day in our clan; for not only are all members are here right now, we are this day graced with yet more fine members!", as he paused, nearly all the clan members roared, cheered or did what came naturally in adulation. "The elder members know this well, but the new members-to-be have no knowledge of our ways.", Thundertail continued after the noise died down sufficiently. "To be a full member of this clan, one must be officially intitated into the clan!", he turned to the bewildered newcomers. "To be a full clan members, you all must identify yourselves to me. I want you to come up to me one at a time and allow me to know you by your scent." Of course this was not the usual way to become full clan members, but Thundertail figured it was the least offensive initiation he could come up with. The old way of initiation was in regulated combat, and the newer way was to endure a regulated series of trials; and he knew not many of them were fit enough to endure even those, so he wanted to make it easy on them! He watched intently as the small group of humans and thier Partners nervousely decided in which order they were to be received by thier new king; and moreover, who was brave enough to be first. A moment later Lanis Albian stepped up to this creature that was many times bigger than him, protesting Microraptor on his shoulder; and stopped a mere few paces from him, shoulders posed bravely. Thundertail snickered growlingly before leaning down to snuffle just above Lanis's hair; Bentfeather looking like he wanted to flitter away, but just cowered there until he retreated his head. With a slient wink, Thundertail told Lanis and Bentfeather they could retake thier places; and another stepped up for thier initiation. The one that came shuffling up to his new leader was Frank Waters; and even though he had a smile on his face, he walked up to his new leader bowingly and with a sense of humbleness. Thundertail looked upon this and smiled inwardly as well; then he gave the man a sniffing nuzzle on his hair and bid him on his way. King Thundertail performed the same procedure with the rest of the former castaways, as well as the Partners of the ones that had them; for they were to be clan members as well, and would undergo no less of an initiation. Some of these new members were appalled at such closeness to such a large creature, like some of the adults; or were happy, overjoyed and actually returned the gesture like some of the children. The Partners of some of them cowered in fear for the most part, victims of thier instinct or upbringing; but the only one of those that actually didn't seem to mind was Nikkoli the Chasmosaur, who smiled sheepishly at such close proximity and bowed regally. As thier king completed this made up ritual, we all cheered wildly and grabbed the newcomer closest to us in a comeraderly embrace; and Arcee Stenoychosaur was quite shocked when I grasped her little form in a hug! Once the revelry subsided somewhat, king Thundertail rumbled chucklingly. "And now, my new clan brothers and sisters!... It is time for you to really experience what it's like being in my clan!...", he bellowed and huffed, and many that were currently absent returned with platters of food, containing mostly meat. "Now let the feast begin!..." Unsure at first, some of the new clan members sampled the food as they sat next to some of us; but became less so as the evening wore on. The Kirky Circus took it on themselves to put on a show of tumblers and jugglers, dancers and music from thier tiny band. The Ovaraptors danced the dance of welcome in the sand, and many more of the clan got up and improvised thier own acts - tutored over the past few months by Harold Kirky and company - and thusly the newcomers began to feel right at home! Some were so comforted around us that they began talking of thier past lives and what they personally discovered ever since they found themselves here. In knots they talked to human and saurian alike; and the children soon were making friends with our own children. As the night wore on, the excitement of thier first evening with us began to show on all thier faces; but thier actions told us that they wanted to stay up and continue getting acquainted. Pretty soon many of us who had early duties excused themselves and went off to bed, preceeded only by our children and the children of the newcomers The ones that wished to stay up the whole night was Waters, Albian and a handful of other heartier souls among them, and many of us felt obliged to stay up as well. We all talked long into the night, and the excited jabbering never seemed to stop; but soon I began to yawn, even though I was interested in Frank Waters animatedly telling Flit about his plans for the future. "...So the way I see it.", Waters was saying. "We need to take all motors and engines out of the ship, rig them so they use those Sunstone gizmos - or even alchohol - and set them up all along the proposed waterway course." "I would need to see the schematics of those devices to design compatable machinery that would make them work with Sunstones.", Flit told him. "And they would need to be positioned along the upslopes of the waterway to get the water over the hills.", his eyes flickered. "But of course, it you wish to fuel these machines with alchohol; It should not be to hard to adjust them to do so." "Pumpin's Ok.", MacDougal cut in. "But d'ya knoo the labor involved?! It'd take an army of workers decades to finish!" "Yes, and with the reconstruction of Chandara needing to be done like Stinger indicates,", Flit replied. "The labor force will be thin indeed. We would only receive half the laborers that could be spared on the island for the job." "And what about those other gizmos around?", Waters cut in, changing the subject. "I'd like to see what makes them tick!... Maybe by studying them, I'd find a way to make outsider machinery compatable with Dinotopian!" "All that can be for later, my pupil!", Flit said. "For now, this is only your first day - and my optics say that it is at an end. Humans require sufficient sleep, and I suggest you go and do so..." "Aye, lad!", MacDougal said. "Tomorrer's anoother day!... I'll take ya' to yer place...", he began leading the other man to Kinan Van. We all took that advice not too long after, and pretty soon the bonfires extinguished themselves with nobody tending. I met up with Mayday better than half way to our apartment in the city; her with a sleeping Hamilton in her arms. It was a good thing she still wore Zandra, for Hamilton was getting extremely heavy of late; and perhaps a bit too old to be carried like that - he had just turned five. I kissed her and she nuzzled back as we walked, and our son stirred in her arms as she transferred him to me. We arrived at home, put Hamilton to bed and went to our bedroom near the back of the apartment block. Out of our armor we reguarded our forms and smiled. It was a long time since we shared the same bedroom - and our own as well - but the days apart were weary ones, and all we did was sleep in each others' arms. In the morning we woke to life going about it's normal way in Kinan Van, with its' bustling people and dinosaurs traveling to and from thier destination and newly renovated shops opening up for the first time in centuries. There were so many in the clan now that I barely remembered many of thier names, yet I greeted them cordially just the same; and Mayday at my side alternately greeting them and trying to keep little Hamilton in check, for he did not wish to attend the formal school we created several blocks away. There were some newcomers among the crowds around us, and we failed to spot them unless they actually came up to greet us or ask us questions. One of the many questions some of them asked was when were they going to get partners, and I had to explain to them that it would be a personal agreement you make between a saurian you may meet and yourself; and there was no real advice we could give other than meeting one would be like when you meet a new friend. Others concerned asking directions to certain parts of the clan area and here; and for this we asked where they wished to go, then give directions as accurately as we could. We made it the last few feet to the underground building we had established the school in, ushered the still struggling and complaining Hamilton in to one of the Kirky teachers and bid our leave of the whole class. Laughing at our son as we exited the building, we gradually made our way out of Kinan Van; taking the way that led to the pyramid of Teeklan instead of the recently excavated main entrance, which emerged several miles away from the main campsite and not within its' midst like this way. As we ascended the spiral stairway that led into the chamber of Zandra in the roots of the pyramid, much activity was apparent as Kirkys, humans and other saurians scurried off to thier assigned places; and thier torch and Sunstone lamplight bobbed and receeded as they went. We made room for them as they passed, and proceeded on our way; only to be nearly bowled over by two elderly gentilemen and one armored creature. MacDougal and Waters wished to continue on thier way, but Flit stopped them and scolded them into apologising! "Sorry, Stinger sir.", Frank Waters said for the trio. "We were just getting to Flit's workshop upstairs." "He say he found a way ta' mate his technology with ourn'!", drawled MacDougal. "He poses some interesting theories.", Flit added. "However, I fail to see the correlations he speaks of without tangible proof." "Well, if you don't believe me, I'll have to show you!", Waters said, this time he led the way; and all the rest of us followed. "You have writing implements in your workshop?" "Affirmative.", the artificial life construct replied. Mayday and I followed the trio up into the pyramid proper, past several rooms no given over to restored scrolls and books. Our library was really taking shape! At the pinnacle room, where the beam of the giant amber Sunstone shone its' ray downward through the pyramid, reflected in variouss ways and used to power Kinan Van and other realms below; we came out onto Flit's temporary workshop. Many of the artifacts and machinery taken from the World Beneath were still there, on workbenches, taken apart for study and expanded plans for them on scrolls on another rack. Frank Waters went to the workbench where one of the two mechanical Sunstone generators that was not taken apart and one of the three electrical Sunstone generators sat ready for some sort of demonstration; and he went to the mechanical one first. "As you can see, the spinning pin here can have gears or pullys attatched to them.", he placed a tiny gear that would fit on the pin, then inserted a small teardrop Sunstone in the recepticle and activated it. "All we have to do is make a bigger Sunstone generator, and this could drive a gear system. Just like the transmission gears in a combustion engine. This would act like the diesel fuel the ship's engines used to run on." "All we have to do is expand the dimensions of the blueprint!", Flit said. "Be a bugger to build.", MacDougal commented. "The same thing with the electric one.", Waters went over to it. "This device generates direct current in an unstable frequency. We'd need to make an A.C. rectifyer and some kind of capacitor to stabilise the current. From there I can rig simple wiring, and it could run any kind of electric motor on the ship. Of course, to make it powerful enough to use on the aqueduct project, it would also have to be designed in large scale." "We also have battery driven devices salvaged from the ship.", I suggested. "Is there any way we can fabricate a battery charger?" "Sure!", he replied. "Once we work out the bugs, I suppose any kind of electric device could be invented." "But that can be a project for later.", Flit said. "The first thing we should do is to complete the aqueduct project first." "You're right.", Frank Waters said. "I got the rest of my life to do that stuff!" Mayday and I left just then to go about our routines for the day, leaving those three there to discuss thier plans concerning the aqueduct project and any other thing they wanted to talk about. A month later thier plans were finished and construction could begin. A lot of other things besides this happened during this time, far too many to tell; but let's just say there is never a dull moment on Dinotopia! The high council of Waterfall City had sent a delegation to vie for a treaty with Chandara, and to offer assistence on rebuilding thier city and thier realm. Thier king, Randall welcomed them with open arms, and gladly accepted thier help for trade. Workers soon arrived to reconstruct bridges and rebuild any extensive damage the ravages of time and neglect had caused; but it was discovered that only the local artisans knew the true structural culture of the realm, and insisted to work alone from there. It was agreed that only Chandarans would know what Chandara once was, and left them with only a skeleton crew of workers to assist them after a period of three years. In the mean time an army of workers of human and saurians converged on the proposed route of the Halcyon Aqueduct, as the name of it was coined. This workforce was headed by the Bondu family, traditional builders of many public works projects all over Dinotopia for many generations. These were a proud people, and took no orders or quarrel from anyone; let alone a batch of supposedly civilized sawteeth fresh out of the Rainy Basin! They insisted to do the project thier way, reguardless of how the plans told them. They listened to the wisdom of the Freshwater Partners, though; and would not let the plans vary from thier edicts. As the project grew south from Deep lake, it also grew north, from the foothills of the Forbidden Mountains near the stronghold of Halcyon; both teams intending to converge somewhere in the middle of the sixty mile long waterworks project. While all this was going on, another workforce had gone to the wreck of the Millennium Queen, using saw and torch and any other thing that would get them through the steel hull and at the machinery inside. Months passed as they worked the metal and removed plates and unbolted anything that was in thier way. The bilge pumps were first, being fitted with Sunstone generators; and would be used in strategic spots throughout the routes. A waterscrew system was designed for them, and placement of each would be some of the shallower upslopes of the run. As the first main engine was skidded into its' spot by the shores of Deep Lake and the siphon pipe was laid out into the water, the Sunstone generator was tested and found it could pump many hundreds of gallons a minute for nearly six miles through the twelve inch piping. The second main engine was set at the first of the steepest slopes of the eastern tip of the Backbone Mountains. Many other, smaller electric pumps would be used to help these massive pumps at strategic spots. The Bondus got to work on the main aqueduct that was going to go over Rocky Pass, which was designed with travelers through the region in mind. At several points along the aqueduct, piping would go down through the pilons, ending in gravity-fed valves and a pool where travelers would get a drink; and we all knew that outposts and way-stations would surely spring up at the bases of these pilons as a result. The ways over the mountainous features would include gravity driven concrete flumes, and would also serve going over the rougher jungles in between. After seven years of toil and delays and nearly every other holdup and problem in the book, both labor parties met deep in the jungles, just east of Crevice Aerie, Strafewing's territory; and the commotion the revelry of the event caused made the whole flock almost attack them! It took a month to test the whole run, and then another to doublecheck all the machinery that would make it work; and finally came the day to turn on everything, communication being dispatched via Postal Bird. The primary pumping engine engaged, sending the water up the line and to the first set of rises; and after several days of waiting the first trickles of water flowed into the subterranean cisterns that fed Halcyon. The next few days it took to fill them were spent preparing for the celebration deep inside Halcyon, the celebration of its' rebirth. Flit deemed the cisterns were full enough, and switched on the ancient pumping machines deep below the city. For the longest time nothing seemed to happen, but as small amounts of water trickled into the fountain in the central square; then gush in and finally spew out the top like fountains usually do, cheers rose up and celebration once again rang throughout the city! Even though it is not nearly like what it was before, Halcyon can now be a viable city once again! Word spread throught king Thundertail's range, and reached the ears of every person on Dinotopia; and the project was such a success that plans are made to move the bulk of the carnivores into the city. But I think I am getting way ahead of myself here! All during and after construction, many more events took place around the island, and quite a lot of them I was privy to... _
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Post by thundertail on Mar 28, 2012 4:39:55 GMT -5
_ FIFTY-FIVE: "Enough is enough!" Less than a week went by since the new members of clan Thundertail had arrived, and it looked like they would fit in around here just fine. All had gotten used to being here, around carnivores and did very well with thier assigned tasks. We went about our own business, tending our lives, trading among our other clients and the like; and things seemed to go no smoother. This soon changed when we found out that during the week, two of our caravans had been attacked! No one on those caravans knew who did it, they came in at night and raided while they were unprepared; and the second one was in Chimeerney when a band of unknown persons stole everything in a warehouse - including our cargo - and burned said warehouse to the ground! Rumors had spread that LaSage had gotten new thugs, and they were responsable for egging the others on to perform more sinister deeds than mere robbery and threats. We took it upon ourselves to post armed escorts with our caravans all along thier routes, and made a great effort to patrol areas other than the Rainy Basin. These methods proved little good as these pirates would slink away at the first sign of trouble; but the strangest thing of all was what one of our guard teams found near clan Thundertail more than a week later. Bross and Leeter came back from thier patrol of the perimeter of camp early for some reason, and we went over to investigate. The human female they half dragged was bruised and bloodied, and looked like she had walked for miles and stayed unsheltered for many days; and when she looked up forlornly at us, I knew who she was in an instant! "LaSage!...", my sneer turned into a look of concern. "What happened?" "Go ahead,... laugh...", she sneered back through her injuries. "You'll get a chuckle from it anyway..." "What's going on here?!...", Thundertail came in for a look. "Bross! Leeter! You captured Torres LaSage! Good work." "We found her wandering near camp.", Leeter said. "She had a hard time walking, so we dragged her here.", Bross added. "She injured!", Mayday said from the back. "Get Ursula!", one in the back of the growing crowd did. "So, LaSage...", I came close to her crouched form. "Care to tell us why you decided to visit?" "It was unintentional, I assure you!", she spat blood. "See, I decided to take a walk, and my feet took me here." "Now Lasage!", I grinned a little. "What's the REAL reason?" "Oh, all right!", she managed to roll to a sitting position, her tattered clothes hadn't been cleaned in at least a week. "A few weeks ago, we got some new guys. They were big, and looked strong - and had that nice killer instinct. I like that!...", she wiped blood from her nose. "Anyway, they caused a lot of trouble with the rest. You know: fighting, disobeying orders, laziness, a lot more." "Sounds like your kind of crowd.", I said. "What else?" "Well, instead of taking orders, they started GIVING them!", LaSage sneered. "That's MY job!... Anyway, I sent Quint and a few others to straighten them out. They killed two of 'em, and beat the copro out of the rest!... That Quint! He switched sides and started following THEM!" "What happened then?", I asked. "They took over.", she said, bowing in defeat. "They grabbed me after I tried to set up another raid, and threw me in the dungeon!... I knew a way out of there, and crawled out several miles away from the castle.", Lasage saw Ursula's rickshaw coming near, but couldn't know its' purpose. "I been living in the forest for a week now because no other town would have me. I finally found a road, and made my way here..." "And you came here looking for help?", I really wanted to scoff, but made it sound concerned; then made it sound scornful anyway. "Well, you came to the wrong place!... You lost your castle, you live with it!" "I ain't looking for a handout, you know!", she burned her eyes at me. "I had no other place to go!" "I'm heartbroken...", I glared back. "Ok, sonny! Step aside!", Ursula cackled, doctor bag in hand. "Can't treat her wounds with you trapsing about!", I scooted over. "Oh, no you don't!", LaSage backed away. "I ain't having no sawed-off scaly treating MY wounds!" "You'll let me treat you, or you'll relly see what a sawed-off scaly can really do!", Ursula screeched in her face. "Get your tail over here!..." "If I may make a suggestion...", Melissa Krieger stepped over me. "If she is so antsy around dinosaurs, maybe you'd better let ME have a look at her.", she looked at LaSage. "I'm only an apprentice doctor, but I can sure treat any of your cuts..." "Well,... OK...", LaSage wasn't in the mood to argue any more. "We'll, lets you get cleaned up, and then we'll talk some more.", I rose. King Thundertail and I shooed many of the clan members that gathered away as Melissa looked at LaSage's wounds. There was only cuts, bruises and abraisions apparent; but that didn't stop the pirate leader to wince and curse at every medicated touch. As the majority of the wounds were tended and wrapped, Melissa helped her up and led her to one of the near by shacks; where LaSage spent the rest of her stay with us. Guards were posted just in case, and we went about our former business. LaSage's constant complaining about the food, the acomodations and anything and everyone else was annoying to say the least; but at least she made no further trouble than that. By early evening we saw the usual Postal Birds come onto the area to roost at our Post Office; but one of them bore news that was extremely important to us. "By the authority of the high council of Waterfall City, the following persons from the Rainy Basin are hereby summoned.", the bird announced when we were all there. "Mayor Stinger or king Thundertail, prince Rex, chief engineer Frank Waters or others.", we asked why, and he replied. "There has been a score of violent raids on various cities and outposts all across Dinotopia. Many included murders and violent destruction. It is our asessment that the pirates of Torres LaSage are committing these henious acts. We of the court ask your presence and help in these matters, and beg expediency in your arrival... Signed, mayor Waldo Seville." "Can we send a reply?", I asked. "Of course.", the bird said. "Hey!...", LaSage stormed up and wanted to know. Her clothing had been mended and cleaned; and her looks were much better after her rest. "What's going on here?" "AWWWK!... Torres LaSage!...", the Postal; bird yelped and began hopping away. "Help!... Help!..." "Wait, wait!... She won't hurt you!", I tried to calm him. "Want to bet?", LaSage said under her breath. "We found her in the forest. She was badly beaten up.", I tried to explain. "I think she wasn't responsable for those raids. I think she's telling the truth..." "That's right, birdie.", LaSage told him. "I was framed!" "My message is as follows:", I continued. "We have evidence on these matters that will be helpful in settling this problem. We will depart for Waterfall City in the morning. Along with myself, I will bring prince Rex and another Tyranosaur; plus a witness that will shed more light on the cause of these terrible crimes.... Signed, mayor Stinger.", I blinked. "Got all that?" "Yes, human.", the Postal bird said. "May I go now? She frightens me!" "By all means.", I said, and the bird didn't need permission twice to flutter off as quickly as he came. "Hold it a minute!", LaSage cut in. "Do you really expect me to go there?!" "Sure.", I said. "You're a witness, aren't you?" "Yeah, but they're out to get me!", she said. "I got to keep a low profile." "Maybe so for the things you done in the past,", I said. "But this time you're innocent.", I turned to her. "And this time you can prove it!" "What if I decide not to help?", she scowled. "Look!", I said. "You can either go there as a witness, or you can go there as a prisoner. Your choice!", I turned away. "You'll probably not be received there very well in any case..." "Ok, I'll be your witness...", LaSage said after several moments. "I want justice myself, you know!... I want my castle back!... I want all my men flogged!... I'm going to kill Quint!... And I want those newcomers' heads!!!..." "Hey, you are going to be your own witness.", I told her. "And as far as the rest, that's YOUR problem!", I said the following more or less to myself. "My problem is finding someone that will carry you there...", I walked away. As I walked away from the Rainy Basin Central Post Office, the ones guarding LaSage took her back to the shack she was assigned, under heavy guard so she wouldn't cause any undue trouble; even though she didn't seem up to any hyjinx at the moment. I asked around for most of the day, but nobody in the clan really wanted the most notorious criminal on Dinotopia on thier backs; and for that I really couldn't blame them! The only true volunteering was the ones that wanted to guard her during the trip. There was no shortage of volunteers there! The only affirmative comment of the assignment was Pincushion saying he might carry her if nobody else wanted to; and after asking the whole clan, I returned to him and gave him the awful news. He groaned, but took the assignment anyway; and then told me what he would do if she got out of line! At Eveningmeal I made the announcement and assigned who was going with us. "So, the ones volunteering to guard LaSage to Waterfall City are Snapper, Mosqioto, Ripper and Pondscum.", I said before the entrees were served. "And LaSage will ride on Pincushion..." "And if she tries any tricks, I'll eat her!...", Pincushion snapped in her direction; and with the look on her face, she didn't need any translation! "Don't do that! You'll get a belly ache!", I told him, and many of the clan laughed. "We will leave in the morning, and return when we can. We should be prepared to storm the castle just in case..." "I will have the Rainy Basin Rangers prepared at your word.", Thundertail said. "I will call up all the wearers of the armor of Othgar as well." "That is a wise decision, my king.", I said. "I will also requisition a garrison of saurian guards to help out too. Better to have too much help than too little!", all nodded as the meal began to be served. In the morning everyone began to get ready for thier assigned tasks for the day - no less us. LaSage was roused as Rex and Pincushion were being saddled and fed; and she was escorted to the paddocks by all four guards assigned to us as I came into the area. LaSage seemed nonplussed at the saurian activity all around her, but her eyes betrayed the fact that she didn't like them one bit; and the way the saurians behaved around her as they worked showed me that the feeling was mutual! Rex came out all saddled in his best princly saddle, and Pincushion emerged moments later with his Rainy Basin Ranger attire, minus any of the riders' weapons. Ripper, Snapper Mosquito and Pondscum got into flanking positions around both Tyranosaurs as I mounted Rex. LaSage was fighting with herself about how to approach Pincushion and mount his saddle when he rumbled something to me. "She better get up there quick!", he said to me. "Before I change my mind!...", I translated. "Smelly old scaly!...", Lasage mumbled, using the affront to grab the rope harnesses and pull herself the eighteen foot height into the saddle. "Probably have to bathe for a week to get the stench out!..." "Me too...", Pincushion rumbled. "You know, LaSage...", I said offhandedly. "These Tyranosaurs understand English. I think it's best if you don't insult them!..." "Oh!... Sorry, fella.", she said worriedly, then turned to me. "Let's get this show on the road!" "Sit up straight!...", Pincushion groused. "Stop poking your feet!... And stop squirming!..." "You settled into the saddle, LaSage?", I asked, she nodded and Pincushion eventually settled down. "Ok then, let's go!" We presently left the clearing that was the center of clan Thundertail, Ripper and Snapper taking the lead while Pondscum and Mosquito flanked us. Atop Pincushion, Lasage bounced and swayed uncontrolably until she got into the right gait; her reluctant steed trying to make it more difficult for her, and she proving to him she was adept at riding saurians. The first few miles of the trip to Waterfall City went by with no ill events, and no real conversation happened between either of us until the first hour or so passed us by. With the exception of the Tyranosaurs occasionally grunting with the effort, everyone else was in a state of purposeful silence. "How you holding out?", I asked LaSage to break the silence. "I'll do.", she said, concentrating on her balance. "You know, I hope you're apreciating what we're doing for you.", I said after a sigh. "We could have left you out there to rot, you know." "Don't hold your breath for my gratitude.", she said. "I could have done all right!" "What baffles me the most is why you didn't!", I shot back. "Nobody really cares about you or your goons! Dinotopia would be a much better place if you people never were." "Face it. You're stuck with me!", she smiled. "Without me and my goons, you'd be out of a job!" "Don't hold your breath waiting for our gratitude...", I said, but paused at what Rex was doing. "Slow down, buddy!..." "Hey! What's this overgrown lizard doing?!", LaSage shrieked as Pincushion sped up as well. The pair of carnivores kept on increasing thier paces, from a walk to a fast walk to a trot. They kept on pacing each other, trying to get ahead of one another, and still they sped up! Thier trot down the road became a full saurian run as they grunted and whooped in thier little contest, and all us humans could do was to hang on for dear life! "Better hold on, LaSage!", I yelled, exhilleration framing my words. "These two want to race!..." "Tell them to stop...!", LaSage grabbed the reigns in a deathgrip. "Sting-g-ger!...! Stin-nger...!... S-TIN-GER...!", her voice bounced with every stride! "It's...best...to...let...them...do..what...they...want...!", I yelled through the bouncing pace and over the air rushing by. "Stay...low to...the saddle...! Avoid...the low...branches...!..." Ripper, Snapper, Pondscum and Mosquito saw the two Tyranosaurs take off, and were hard-pressed to keep up. Even though thier feet could move much faster than thier larger brothers, thier shorter strides forced them to sprint after the two-legged juggernauts. They knew that they were after no prey, and they were probably just having fun; but the four Veloceraptors just kept the pace and never let them get too far ahead. They ran out into a fairly large field, tilled with no crop yet planted; and both Tyranosaurs came to a halt many dozens of yards within the cleared area, panting and grumbling about who won. I looked down into the eye of Rex and scowled. "You knuckleheads!", I said. "You went and got yourselves all worn out!" "Is it over?...", LaSage asked as she lifted her head from the near fetal position she found herself in atop the saddle. "Is it safe?..." "What do you think?", Pincushion rumbled as he turned. "Be nice, you!", I scolded him, then looked at Rex again. "So, what was the big idea?" "We had to do something to stop you two from arguing!", Rex said. "You know: 'Breathe deep, seek peace'...?" "I see what you mean...", I nodded. "Sorry, everyone!" "Well, I'm not!...", LaSage put in, and Pincushion snapped in her direction! "Well, I think this whole to-do would go more smoothly if we all be nice.", I said. "Agreed?", everyone nodded except LaSage. "What the heck!", she said after many moments. "Let's just get this over with... Giddy up, Pinhead." "That's PINCUSHION!!!", he roared. "Seek peace, buddy!...", I shushed. Our guards laughed hissingly at this as they formed up around us, and we all prepared to continue on our way. The field we were in was only partially fenced off, and the homestead it was owned by soon came into view. The owners of the homestead gulpingly told us that they were part of the community of Mollusk Town, and pointed the way down the road to that town. The citizens of Mollusk Town knew me and my team, but knew LaSage as well; and made mistrusting, sidelong glances at her, wondering why she would ride with us. Many other towns we passed through cheered us on, thinking that we had at last captured LaSage, and were taking her to where she would receive sentance. Many could not accept the fact that she had something to offer concerning the overly violent raids her pirates were committing, much less the fact that they were no longer her pirates; and some other, more notorious thugs had taken over! We passed into the Outpost at the outskirts of Waterfall City, and word had spread of our arrival; for everyone came out to greet us, rather testilly as was the case for LaSage! The only one that had an encouraging word for her was Frank Scott, and he could only tell her with his eyes as the crowd was jeering her so loudly. When at last we made it to the bridge that spanned the waterfall system and protected Waterfall City, giving the city its' name; a small squad of saurian guards joined us and flanked our own guards. If we thought the booing we got through the towns we passed was bad enough, the ones we got courtesy of LaSage's reputation here made those look like well wishing! Dinotopians are civilized enough not to throw anything at her, but I saw the bad wishes she was getting stung her somewhat; even though she hid it well under a blanket of laughing indifference. The saurian guards led us down the streets that would eventually take us to the council chambers, us feeling like the main attractions at a hostility parade! I knew they weren't booing at me and my group, that was for sure! We get cheered on more often than not; and we really couldn't blame them for doing the opposite now, considering the company we were currently keeping. At long last our precession stopped at the stone steps in front of the council chamber building, and the saurian guards went to direct the growing crowd to disperse. Looking around nervousely, LaSage began to dismount Pincushion once he settled down enough to allow her to do so. I hopped down as soon as she landed on the cobbles, and the four Veloceraptors surrounded her from a distance. As we all directed our gaze to the council chamber steps, mayor Waldo Seville, Rosemary and several human and saurian delegates came down them to greet us. "Well, well, mayor Stinger!...", Waldo came up to shake my hand. "I see you have captured Torres Lasage!...", he turned to the saurian guards. "Arrest her...!" "What's going on here!...", LaSage balked as they grabbed her wrists. "Stinger...! Tell them!" "Wait, your honor!...", I pulled my hand away from his shake. "She is not a prisoner! She's a witness!..." "What are you talking about?", Rosemary asked, coming near her nemesis. "What are you trying to pull?" "The violent raids occuring all over Dinotopia is NOT of her doing.", I said. "Some newcomers from the Millennium Queen have taken over the pirates, and are making them do these things." "Are you sure, Stinger?", Waldo asked. "When LaSage came into our camp a couple of days ago, she was beaten up and exhausted.", I explained. "She came telling us that she had been beaten, imprisoned and banished from king Adolpho's castle by a couple of thugs new to her." "So, you lost your command...?", Rosemary smirked. "What of it?", LaSage glared at her. "Very well, Stinger.", Waldo said. "We'll hear what she has to say, and figure out what to do after that... Guards, release her!", they did so, but didn't really want to. "We will decide everything inside...", he turned and motioned everyone to follow him. Ripper and Snapper followed LaSage and I, who followed mayor Waldo Seville, Rosemary and the delegates inside. Pincushion and Pondscum followed Rex and Pincushion; and the saurian guards followed us all up the steps and into the council chamber building. Pincushion, Mosqioto and Pondscum had never been there before, and Rex led them all up to the saurian galleries above through the stairway to the left; and Ripper and Snapper followed us into the council chamber proper, standing at attention next to the court guards like they did the many times they had been there. I stopped at the viewing table along side LaSage and fidjited as we all waited for the mayor and everyone else to take thier positions. LaSage, aparently uneffected by the situation she was in, turned, pulled up a chair from behind her and sat at the viewing table like she was at a restaraunt waiting for the waitress! Presently Rosemary took her seat, and all the rest of the delegates took thiers as well; and mayor Waldo Seville was seen before his ship's bow podium, tapping his gavel to begin this meeting. "Ladies and gentilebeings, we are all aware of the terrible crimes being committed around Dinotopia.", he said without preamble. "Acts like this have never been seen here in all the islands' history! A few days ago we had received word from the Rainy Basin, concerning news of the reason for these outbursts.", he looked at me. "And now I think mayor Stinger can shed more light on this situation than I... If you would, sir...?" "Certainly, your honor.", I said as I rose, turning to the rest. "Friends, two days ago our territory was visited by someone.", I began the story. I told them of how we found LaSage, and in what condition we found her in. I stated the fact that we had little doubt her story was true considering her condition and the fact that many of the castaways were missing, and it was plausable that one or more of them might have joined LaSage's forces. I stressed that, in the outside world, crimes of this magnitude was not uncommon; and that it was possible that persons of that caliber may be who we would be dealing with. "Your accounts and opinions seem sound to me.", Rosemary said. "But how do you know LaSage is telling the truth?" "Based on the evidence she presented, I feel it unlikely that she is lying about this.", I said. "It's the truth! All of it!", LaSage shouted. "Look. Of all the times I've lied to folks, this time I am not! Ok?" "Very well. We will take your word for it... THIS time!", Waldo said. "But as another service; could you describe these new pirates?" "I suppose I could...", Lasage considered. "For a price!" "What?!", Waldo shouted. "How about this offer:", I turned to her. "You tell us what we want to know, or you'll spend more time with us. And I guarantee your second stay will be far less pleasant than your first!" "All right already!... Sheesh!", she chuckled. " I was just kidding!... Here goes:..." Torres LaSage set about describing the two thugs that had taken over her castle and her men. Walker was a heavyset man, yet so strong that he didn't seem to have an ounce of fat on his several hundred pound form. His hatchet face sported a goateee, and not much more in the name of hair; but his several tattoos, beginning from the odd design around his neck and ending with a half dozen of various designs on his forearms. This one was the most aggressive, the most beligerant and the one that got under her skin the most! Christopho was just as big in build, but somewhat slimmer, and his favorite weapon was the knife he kept in his boot. This one never really talked much, but strange things always seemed to happen in his presence; like some of her men showing up dead, and things that were stolen not being accounted for. "So, those two slugs grabbed me and threw me out!", LaSage concluded. "Those two sound familiar.", captain Applebee said from the crowd after asking to speak. "The first one, Walker, was assigned to the engine room, and always was making trouble. Threatening the crew and all...", he paused. "That other one was a military convict, being transported to Cuba for questioning. Christopho was being guarded by a federal marshal, but he was killed in the shipwreck." "Thank you, captain.", Waldo said. "I want my castle back!", LaSage said suddenly. "I want all those idiots hanged!" "What you want is irrelevant at present!", Waldo said sternly. "You're lucky we don't lock you up right now!" "Uh,...your highness.", I interrupted. "Can I have a word with you in private?...", I motioned him to a corner of the room where we couldn't be overheard, and I beckoned Rosemary there too. "What do you have in mind, Stinger?", Rosemary asked quietly. "How would you rate the pirates under LaSage's command, and how would you rate it now?", I asked. "Both regimens are terrible!", Waldo said. "Such dispickable behaviour!..." "Now there is bloodshed, but then it was not so violent...", Rosemary said, then her eyes widened. "You ask us to choose the least of two evils!..." "Yes! The pirates under LaSage are much more tame than under these guys.", I said. "If we can get rid of them and put LaSage back there, things will get back down to normal!" "But it's the principal of the thing!...", Waldo said. "Don't worry!" I smiled. "I can handle her!", I turned back to my place; and both shrugged and went back to thiers. "Torres LaSage.", the mayor said. "In the light of some further advice, you are pardoned from any wrong doing in this case.", he looked at her. "Furthermore, charges against you for past affronts are also suspended for the time being." "You mean I'm free?!", LaSage asked. "Excellent!..." "You are to go to king Adolpho's castle with mayor Stinger and company to thwart these new upstarts.", Rosemary told her, then turned to me. "Mayor Stinger. I charge you and your clan members to go there and quell this uprising, if you would be so kind..." "It would be an honor, my matriarch.", I said. "I also request a batallion of saurian guards to assist in this matter." "Granted.", mayor Waldo Seville said. "Bailiff. Make it so." The mayor tapped his gavel and bid leave of all the delegates and guests. My group gathered outside near the front steps. I asked Waldo to summon a Postal Bird, and told her to send a message to the Rainy Basin; and had king Thundertail and his contingent to converge on king Adolpho's castle, to group near by and wait for us. By this time the batallion of saurian guards had arrived, sixty in all; and the mayor told them thier assignment, that they would assist us. Pretty soon we all formed up and got ready to depart. "Ready to let me up, Pinny?", LaSage asked as she got near. "I prefer her calling me Pinhead...", Pincushion mumbled to me as he let her get on. "Ok folks! Everybody move out!", I announced as the guards formed a codon behind Pondscum, Ripper, Snapper and Mosquito. "Onward to victory!..." "Stinger!... No violence!", Rosemary warned as she trotted beside Rex. "Not unless it's necesary.", I said as the group marched faster, leaving her behind. The group marched down the Grand Promenade and down to the bridge leading out of Waterfall City; and as we crossed it the whole city seemed to let out a somber cheer. As the days wore on, we headed up the Polongo River, skirting it for many miles, then headed northwest, toward the crackshell coast and eventually making it to just south of king Adolpho's castle. There we met up with king Thundertail and all the defenders he chose to take with him. Nearly all the Veloceraptor guards were there, as well as the thirty Rainy Basin Rangers and thier steeds we had not patrolling with the caravans. I stood atop Rex and shouted to all in the clearing thier directions, and presently all turned to listen. "Ok, this attack will be a coercive one!", I began. "Saurian guards will form a perimeter and capture all sentinals you find. Veloceraptors will stalk up and spy any activity near the castle, then they will capture by stealth any pirates you find there. After this both groups will join and form a perimeter, a deatil of them will guard any prisoners captured, holding them here until further notice. The Rainy Basin Rangers will feign an attack from the front, led by the armors of Othgar. All others will present themselves near the front gate, but not attack unless needed." "What will I do?", Lasage asked. "I want a stake in this too, you know!" "Why, my dear!... You will be with me, of course!...", I told her, then continued. "Mayday, Diego and Flit. I want you all to gather so I can tell you the rest..." The trio in the armors Zandra, Triphus and Proboke huddled around me, LaSage getting close so she could be in on it too; and I began to tell them of my plan. I was to knock on the front door and say something that these new thugs would recognise. mayday and Flit would go to the side door and remove any pirates that would come from there; and if no one came to open the main door, Diego and I would break the door down. We all would then enter and meet any problem these thugs would give us. LaSage giggled joyousely at the sneakiness of my plan, and when we were done with our planning, went to our steeds. LaSage mounted Pincushion, who didn't balk this time at her sitting on him. Mayday took Grond, Diego climbed aboard Deathflower, Flit was allowed to mount Thundertail and I climbed aboard Rex. We led the way down the path that would eventually lead to king Adolpho's castle, the rest of the Rainy Basin Rangers following us; and within an hour we came within sight of the crumbling stone edifice perched on the edge of the cliff and surrounded by a scraggly clearing. Talon, far above with Whitetail on her back, screeched and wheeled on the coastal thermals, both looking this way and that for stray pirates.The Rangers fell back, taking strategic places all around the clearing while the rest of us trotted right up to the castle walls. All five of us dismounted as the Tyranosaurs stood back, and we all took our preplanned positions and waited for the right moment to begin. Triphus and I shoved the barrels, posts and other debris from the main gate and I knocked on the doors with the huge brass Triceratops knocker several times before yelling: "PIZZA DELIVERY!" I knocked again. "IS THIS THE LASAGE RESIDENCE?" At the side entrance, a pirate, followed by two more emerged from the side entrance to see who it was, to be whisked away by Zandra's firm grip and unstopable shove. Proboke chopped them in their necks, and Veloceraptors dragged them out of sight. In the mean time, having no success at the main gate, Triphus and I both pushed on the door. The wooden beam used as a baracade on the other side cracked and splintered; and that's when we heard men beyond yelling, trying to bolster the door and prevent our access. The beam finally let go, and we both shoved together with both our armors' strengths; and the twin doors flew inward, cracking against the stone ballasters within and shattering askew on thier hinges. We stood there looking at a large band of men in various states of ragged garb, running about yelling and strengthening defenses, grabbing thier weapons, getting ready to attack these intruders they found themselves suddenly in thier midst. Mayday and Flit joined us as we scanned the interior with our masked eyes; then we unfurled our various weapons leaving them to suddenly rest in our hands. Mayday's energy lance shone in the sun as she whirled it, Triphus's twin battle axes clanged together as he raised them, Proboke's hand tridents whirled in his fists as my twin broadswords clattered off one another. The score of pirates saw that they were faced with extremely experienced and well armed fighters and froze in thier tracks, yelling for thier new bosses! Within a moment two extremely large men came from the keep, sauntering down the steps and halting on the landing above us; and Quint appeared shadowing them, dwarfed by thier size. "Ok...! What's all this crud about?!", yelled the first goateed man. "What's this about a pizza?!", the other one sneered. "By the power vested in me by the high council of waterfall City,", I announced through Klamath's mask and amplification apperatus. "You are hereby ordered to cease and desist all activities, and stand down from this castle." "Oh really?", the goateed one said. "And who the heck are you?" "He needs armor to be brave!", the other chuckled, which got him a cuff. "That is Stinger, a very formidable foe.", Quint said, and he got a shove. "Well, mister Stinger...", the goateed one said. "I think you better scram, or else you won't be formidable any more!" "There is a garrison of saurian guards out front, along with the Rainy Basin Rangers.", I told him. "This castle is completely surrounded, and there is no chance to escape.", I unfurled the mask. "I suggest you surrender and be taken peacefully, or I can not guarantee your survival..." "That so?", he considered a moment. "Know what I think?... I think you look better with yer helmet on!" "Let's crush him!", suggested his pigfaced sidekick quietly. "You heard Christopho!", he turned to the pirates. "Get 'em!!!..." At first the others didn't move, but Quint rushed down the rest of the way and cuffed many of them into action. The bunch tried in vain to corner us, but Mayday, Diego and Flit took defensive positions, swinging thier weapons and kept some distance between us and them. In the mean time Walker and Christopho slunk down and grabbed me! Thier combined strength shoved me against a near by wall and they began to pummel the suit with hamhock sized fists. Klamath's mask came around my face, and he reached for thier shirt collars. Klamath shoved with all his might and threw them to the cobbles, where they lay dazed, but for only a second. As Quint turned with a swiped sword toward Mayday, who fended off his blows with her energy lance. Diego took to swinging his battle axes in arcs that kept many of the pirates at bay. Flit forsook his hand tridents for hand to hand combat, wrenching weapons from his adversaries with robotic speed and chopping away like some Kung Fu movie star. Many moments later, as the battle raged on; I was soon becoming overwhelmed with this pairs' strategies: as one would engage me, the other would attack from behind. Flit took this moment to completely forsake Proboke, leaping out of the armor through the neck and landing with a clatter right in the middle of the rest of the pirates; and this was when he used all of his robotic speed and agility! He jerked and dodged, using all six of his appendages for weapons; slashing with tenticles, grabbing and throwing with pincers and kicking and tripping with feet. The pirates could not begin to fathom what was unleashed in thier midst as they fell by the score, thier weapons flew away broken and scattered, and themselves in much the same condition. Pretty soon not many of them were standing; and those that were began turning and trying to flee! Still Flit battled on, shrieking and hooting just like Bruce Lee; twirling to locate his next foe; but his optic sensors found no such person. Walker and Christopho were alternately pummeling me and holding me as the other began beating on me; but the armor took it all, transferring little of the impacts to me. I finally broke thier holds and regained my feet, turning so I could use my stunner when suddenly Christopho was tied with metallic bands and tenticles. The face of Flit twinkled beside his shocked face; the tenticle around his throat tightening until he decided to stop struggling. I used this confusion to fire at Walker, and he turned in defense and defiance before the blast took effect, collapsing the man at my feet a few seconds later. "Nice going, Flit!", I said. "Smooth moves!" "I mimicked self defense techniques on that outsider video I saw.", Flit replied, tossing Christopho with a spin into Mayday and Diego. "He no save any for us!", Mayday replied as she caught him. "How selfish!", Diego replied as he grabbed his other arm. "Flit, haven't you heard of the saying 'others first, self last'?", I laughingly said as I pulled the still passed out Walker to his feet. I looked around and saw LaSage just entering the castle through the ruined doors. "HEY!... LASAGE!..." "I see you guys cleaned house with them!", she said, walking over and scowling at Walker. "Way to go!" "Think you can take over from here?", I asked. "No problem!", she replied and began to walk sternly to her men. Just then Quint slowly began to get up, grabbing a sword as he rose He quietly tried to make a beeline for the nearest of us, and Mayday was right in his line of sight! I turned to see this, but was too far away to stop him. A screech was heard from high above, and we all looked to see Talon swooping down; and all of a sudden Quint was knocked to his hands and knees by a wet mass of offal! Talon screamed as she pulled up out of her dive, chortling in her own way at what she did; and Whitetail raised her clawed hand in victory on her back! I looked back at Quint and saw him still on the ground, gasping in defeat and utter disgust amid a pile of Pteranodon copro! "Nice shot, Talon!", I laughed. "I guess when you got to go, you got to go...", LaSage stated as she suddenly scowled at her second in command, cursing that he should get up and clean himself off. The other pirates that saw this were laughing and pointing. "Let's go.", I said to the others. Mayday and Diego led the still struggling Christopho by the arms, out through the broken down doors of the castle; and Flit and I did the same with ther semi-concious Walker. We took them out and back into the clearing we were using as a staging area, where the other captured pirates were being untied and led back to the castle. Within an hour all of us regrouped there, including saurian guards; and soon we began discussing what was to become of Walker and Christopho. The leader of the saurian gurds stepped over and saluted. "Once again, thank you for your part in this group operation.", I returned the salute. "Let us hope that this is the last time, for sake of peace!", the guard said. "What is to become of these humans?" "These humans are too dangerous to be left in any of your prisons. They would surely escape and cause more trouble!", I told him. "I think it's best if you let us hold them pending thier trial. Maybe we can teach them some manners!" "A sound decision.", he said. "I will tell the council.", he turned after saluting again, and went to rally his troops. I gathered the Rainy Basin Rangers around me, and the Veloceraptor guards joined us after thouroughly securing our two prisoners; who were struggling and yelling at us, making themselves absolute boors! I looked at them all and smiled, Talon and Whitetail landing beside us; and we all let out a whooping cheer! I scratched under Talon's beaked chin, scowling at her impishly for her aerial stunt, her chuckling both for the contact and her act; then I spent several moments trying to quiet the crowd. We eventually packed everything up and headed back to clan Thundertail... _
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