Blackwood Flats Safari: Part 10

Gareth sat moodily on his bed, quietly fingering his sword, Shaura, pinging his nails against the razor blade of the katana. It had taken them most of the night to half wrestle and half coerce Dylan back to the inn and the boy was still making so much noise that not even Gareth could get to sleep. He folded his cloak on the bedside and stepped out onto the balcony, looking up into the pale light of the moon. Gareth always felt more peaceful at night. The quiet sounds of waves crashing in the distance and the silvery feel of the night air calmed his normally bouncing thoughts to a slow, meditative consistency. He turned everything Dylan had said over in his mind, analyzing even the tone of the boy’s voice. He wondered what he should do, every muscle in his body was aching to just sprint out of the Inn and head for the flats at a good pace. He couldn’t figure it out. How had Dylan’s cuts healed? How had he figured out something that might be happening over a hundred miles away? Gareth sighed; it was to much for him to ponder on. There was no rational explanation he could come to, short of breaking every scientific law he had ever heard of.

He was about to turn around when he felt a hand lightly touch his shoulder. Before he could stop himself, he ducked downwards, spun and placed a tightened finger spread on the person’s larynx. Tamith almost fell over backwards as she stepped back, glaring angrily.

“What was that for?”

Gareth blushed.

“Sorry, force of habit. Try not to sneak up on me like that. I didn’t even hear you coming. Must be losing my touch.”

“You’re going to lose something else more important if you don’t watch it there. You almost gave me a heart attack!”

“I’ll try not to next time. I can’t promise anything though; old habits die hard and you had to be quick in the colonies.”

Tamith raised an eyebrow inquiringly “Colonies?”

“Oh! No, don’t worry about it. Long time ago. Anyway, why did you come sneaking into my room in the middle of the night?”

Tamith fingered her throat. “Not long enough, evidently. I wanted you to come up to Dylan’s room and talk to him. Goodness knows what’s gone wrong with him, but I’m worried about him. He almost threw himself out the window at one point and it’s taking all Liquidfire can do to keep him from running straight back to the Flats. I don’t know what it is, but something’s gone seriously wrong. I’ve never seen him like this before. I thought you might be able to help.”

Gareth sighed. “Okay, I’ll have a talk to him. I’m not going to get much sleep anyway with this racket going on.”

With that, he walked to the door and opened it, turning to Tamith as he left. “And, I’d appreciate it if you could figure out some sort of search party if you really think it’s that bad. We can’t rely on the skycore; they have more important things to do and the Chandarans are still clearing up after the storm. I think it’s going to be just us and maybe a few of the others if possible. Oh, and I might be able to find a little help around here somewhere if we need it.”

~~~~~

In the centre of the city, Paki’tar stood on the steps of the senate house of Chandara, gazing into the floodlit depths of the great fountain that was the heart of the city. Neptune stared haughtily down from his lofty position, gouts of brilliant water shooting from his upraised trident. The deinonychus was troubled. In his entire speakership, he had never received a group of Dolphinbacks before and now he received a message that Dylan had been discovered swimming in the ocean in the middle of the night, yelling that they were all going to die. He wondered briefly why this sort of thing always happened to him. First storms, then prophets. What next?

He sighed and walked back into the senate. The huge building was brilliantly lit, as always, by the small sunstone that sat in its Atlas cradle in the roof of the foyer. A few humans and dinosaurs were still visible in the balconies, either engaged in a book or meditating, though some were praying in the small booths near the roof. The senate house was not only the political heart of Chandara, but also the social, educational and religious one.

He felt completely exhausted after spending the day and most of the night alternately organizing aid for the town, aiding in the repairs himself or welcoming the new arrivals to his city. Paki wandered back into his office and sat down on his couch, pulling a roll of parchment from under his desk as he did so. Producing a quill from the leather harness he usually wore, he began to write a quick letter to the authorities in Sauropolis, asking them for a few supplies needed for the repair of the sauropod barn and alerting them to the coming of another group of Dolphinbacks. That done, he got up, rubbed his eyes and promptly collapsed to the ground, wheezing gently in his sleep

It shouldn’t have come to as a surprise to him what had happened, such occurrences were common in his family, but it had. It had always been a toy to him more than anything else; nothing serious had come from it. Yes, it had come in extremely handy on several occasions and he had managed to save the life of someone dear to him because of it, but it had always come to him in a pacific way, not like it had happened earlier that night.

His head felt like it might split in two. He still didn’t know what to make of the visions he had seen, but he was sure they were true. Logically he was worried for the new arrivals, but what could he do? Yes, a group of them was here, yet the others weren’t. Had what he seen been regarding those here, or there? Or both? For some odd reason he felt the later was true. If he had just taken the time to train his mind to understand this better he might have...

Soft knocking on the door interrupted his thoughts and he felt something burn inside of him. He just wanted peace to think, was that too much to ask for? Grimacing, he made up his mind on what to do. If he couldn’t find peace here, then he’d go somewhere he could. He opened the door and walked past Gareth, who looked at him startled when he just walked past him and down the stairs. He felt a swift pang of guilt, after all, these people were just worried for him. However this wasn’t something he’d just talk about and there were many things he had to sort out with himself. He made his way around the shadows of the inn, making sure he wasn’t seen until he reached the back door and exited. He made his way into the barn sat down next to his partner. Karua noticed his presence and also his strange mood and nudge him comfortingly. Dylan rested his head on his partner’s side and smiled thinly. Karua offered his support, understanding his need to be alone. He closed his eyes thankfully and lost himself in the labyrinth of his mind. When he had put himself together, then he’d go and apologize for his strange behavior. For now, however, he’d focus on himself before he aided others.

Namir nudge Lucas’ head. He smiled weakly at the great cat and raised a hand to scratch the back of his head. His eyes narrowed on his arm. White.... He was pale as Death itself. Namir noticed his sudden change in mood and nudged him again, slightly more forcibly, as if urging him to survive.

“I’m working on it...” Lucas whispered, but even then he knew his chances of surviving another night as the one that had just passed where slim to none.

Already he could begin to feel a fever creep into his system, ready to shatter whatever defenses his body might have left. He closed his eyes a moment, enjoying the warm rays the rising sun was sending his way. Cold as he was, he knew this blessing would soon become a burden as his inability to move would not allow him to seek shelter in the nearby trees when the heat of the day reached its peak. He smiled at the cruel irony of his situation. He had survived a shipwreck only to be attacked by a shipmate; he had lived through the night just to have to face the day that might prove to be even more merciless than the cold dark. His pain began to slowly melt into numbness as the full weight of the ordeal began to fall on his shoulders and he grew suddenly tired. Perhaps he should rest now, before the beating sun inhibited such luxury.

“Some things never change,” he said his partner. Highwing turned his head understandingly, then announced their arrival to shore.

Up ahead, Allen could spy a blue horizon that was the ocean. Now, in full daylight, finding a small camp and a group of people would be a lot easier than it had been at night. He nudged his partner to follow the shoreline. Featherlight had also volunteered to aid the search, but he was just a dark speck to their right as the little flier alos surveyed the surface.

It took another hour, but he finally spotted what looked like the remnants of a camp. Highwind circled lower for his rider to get a better view. Allen furrowed his brow in confusion. Something was wrong with the camp. There seemed to be no activity whatsoever, despite the fact that it was almost noon. Not only that, but he could spot only two people... Where had the rest gone? From what he understood, this camp, if in fact these were the people he was looking for, should be bursting with activity. Where were the habitat partners and the rest of the people that there should have been here? He quickly decided to fly lower to make sure he had found the right camp.

His confusion turned to horror as Highwind lost altitude. Both humans below him were simply lying on the ground as if lifeless, despite the fact that the arrival of a skybax rider always caused spurs of activity.

“Land,” Allen told his mount and, the moment they touched down, jumped from the saddle and dashed to the camp. He had almost reached the human nearest to him when an orange shadow intercepted his path. He jumped back, startled at the appearance of the saber-like cat.

“Nice kitty,” he murmured, taking a cautious step backwards. The tiger fixed his yellow eyes on him like hunter on prey as every hair on his back rose, making him seem twice his size. Allen risked a look behind the cat and saw that he could spy light breathing coming from one of the two men there. He seemed very badly wounded and in need of immediate aid. A low growl made him focus his attention once more on more immediate danger. The tiger seemed to have absolutely no intention of letting him approach, and Allen has beginning to suspect it might no let him leave either.

“Please... I’m only trying to help!” he said in frustration. The big cat paused in his approach for a second before lowering his head once again and preparing to pounce. Allen didn’t need more motivation than looking at the bared fangs and claws of the powerful animal to realize he would get no where with this. Slowly, and never taking his eyes off the tiger, he began to move backwards. Almost as if he had crossed the imaginary line of the cats territory, the tiger stopped following him after a few meters, making it obvious he wasn’t going to hunt him, just prevent him from passing to where the two humans were.

The blonde skybax rider paced back towards his partner and checked his saddle pack. He glanced back towards the wounded humans and realized he didn’t have to medicine or materials to aid them much either. Cursing himself for his lack of vision, he pondered on what to do. The tiger wasn’t letting him get close, and he wouldn’t help the travelers by getting himself killed in the process. It didn’t take long for him to reach a decision. He’d fly back towards the others from Waterfall City and get Kael to come. Highwind might just let the other human ride him. Heck, if anyone else could ride his mount, it was Kael. His friend had always been the better healer of them and, by the looks of it, those humans were going to need all the help they could get. Kael might even figure out a way to get past the big cat! He climbed back on his mount and motioned the directions. With any luck, this trip would take him a few hours. It’d take Kael a few hours to get back, so if the wind was with him, he’d arrive at nightfall or shortly after. Allen nodded. So be it. Now all that was left to do was pray that these people could hang on long enough for him to return.

He leaned back against the walls of the barn, breathing softly and massaging his eyes with his fingers in the way his master had taught him to relieve tension. The events of the last few days swirled through his mind, chasing themselves like autumn leaves. Each scene was peaceful; the dolphinbacks had proven quite rational once confronted and he could simply not see any reason for them to be in danger, short of them encountering a rogue carnosaur or one of their own turning against them. This last thought worried Gareth. He had seen too much backstabbing in his days at sea to rule out some kind of violent mutiny or treachery among the sailors and such events were usually to nobody's benefit save the sharks. He went back over the events and, this time, each thought, each visualization was tinted with red. He tasted the salt of the storm on his tongue once again, but, this time, there was another taste underneath the sharp tang, dull and metallic. He knew that taste.

He wondered if he had bitten his tongue or cheek while thinking, running his tongue around his mouth and feeling for cuts. Nothing. Why the taste of blood then? He must be imagining things... Suddenly, he was snapped out of his reverie by a rustle in the hay. Dylan was walking towards the entrance to the barn. Quick as a flash, Gareth was on his feet and sidled silently until he stepped out of the darkness just in front of the boy, placing an arm in the doorway.

Dylan didn't look particularly surprised and simply tried to duck under the outstretched arm. Gareth was to fast for him and he bumped his head rather forcefully against hard muscle and bone.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"Nothing. You were the one who walked into my arm. Right?"

"I don't have time for this."

Gareth's expression softened slightly. "Neither do I; but, at the moment, time is the least of our worries. I think we should have a chat"

"I don't feel like talking."

"Which, ironically, is precisely why you should."

Dylan sighed, "That makes no sense."

"When one does not wish to talk, it is because they have too much or too little in their head. If they do, their own thoughts will come out, and it is easier to look at things from outside your head than in it. If you have nothing on your mind, well, talk can put something there."

"Your logic astounds me," Dylan muttered sarcastically. "And why should I talk to you, anyway?"

"Well, for starters, I believe you."

Dylan raised an eyebrow and stared blankly at Gareth.

“Okay,” he said. “Good for you! I believe me too; now we have something in common. Congratulations to you! Please leave.”

“You can use all the hurtful sarcasm you want, but it won’t work,” Gareth replied. “I really do believe we should talk about whatever it is you saw.”

Dylan bit the inside of his cheek in frustration. Not only was his uncharacteristic rudeness not having the hoped for effect, but he was also loosing his endless supply of patience. Clearly, this person didn’t know the meaning of privacy or personal space. He had already decided on what he was going to do and on a course of action to take when Gareth had walked in and interrupted just that. He sighed in exasperation and then dropped on the floor, leaning back against Karua and wishing he had indeed attended to some of the schooling sessions with his older brother like he was supposed to. Those would have come in handy at the moment. That, or a sudden freak earthquake that would cause the earth to split open and swallow Gareth alive.

“What,” he said, leaning back on Karua and staring up at the ceiling. “What would you like me to tell you?”

“What’s on your mind?” Gareth responded, sitting next to him. “Why do you think the dolphinbacks are in danger? What did you see?”

Dylan looked around the barn and then back at Gareth. He raised a skeptical eyebrow, then smirked. “It’s a little hard to explain.”

“Try me,” was the others short response.

Dylan considered the other man for a few moments, then sighed. “Well,” the youth started, his voice trembling slightly. “Have you ever felt like something is watching you? Like there’s a voice in the back of your head that’s telling you to do things you have always considered evil and vile? Like you’re simply just a puppet in a show you have no control over? Like something somewhere is waiting for you to go wrong to eat you alive?!” He finished the last sentence breathing rapidly and eyes wide.

“Well,” Gareth started, “As a matter-“

“Great!” Dylan said, all seriousness gone from his voice in a second. “Neither have I! Wonderful! Yet another thing we have in common!”

Gareth blinked several times. “But you just said…”

“Made it up,” Dylan said smiling brightly before the other man could finish. “Don’t you have a sense of humor?” He looked past Gareth towards the far wall of the room, then narrowed his eyes. “Wait…” he said pointing. “Is that a two-headed, yellow crested dimorphodon?”

Gareth looked at Dylan, confused, then turned to see what the young man was pointing at. “I don’t see-“

Karua bellowed and began to roll on his back. With an agile jump, Gareth rolled out of the Corythosaurs way. He quickly turned to look for Dylan but saw that the youth had disappeared under the Hadrosaur. Worried for the safety of the young man, he tried coaxing the saurian to move out of the way, but only succeeded in having Karua trumpet noisily and slash at him with his tail, which he avoided in a swift jump.

*****

Dylan heard Karua’s melodious cackles and smiled as he ran towards shore. If there was one thing he took pride on it was his sense of humor, wit, prank ability, and speed. All had come in handy just now. He figured he had another thirty seconds before Gareth figured out what really had happened and came after him. He wasted no time in diving into the welcoming warmth of the ocean. He figured he’d swim for a while and let things cool. Eventually he’d go find Tamith and tell her his plan. He may not have figured out all the details, but he knew he had to meet up with his brother.

For now, he searched through the streets for the local inn. The long gray coat, a dead give away he wasn't a native Dinotopian, was still soaked all the way through from the last storm. His normally curly, light red hair was now dark and matted down from the water. The stranger had to tuck most of it under his kepi to keep it out of his eyes. Even the package, wrapped in papyrus, was drenched; hopefully, whatever was inside wouldn't spoil when wet. Chris didn't know what was in the packet, but he was pretty sure he would get in trouble if its contents were discovered. Something about receiving a mysterious package from one of the ruffians at the Black Fish just made him think that. No matter, the reward he was promised was enticing enough to take the risk.

"Arrghh... Where's that inn, at?" he asked himself, frustrated.

No longer wanting to wander blindly through the streets, he gave in and looked for someone to ask. The first person he saw was a young man, about his own age, coming out of a sauropod barn. Casually, Chris walked over to the man and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Excuse me, stranger; you wouldn't happen to know where the tavern is, would ya?"

His Dinotopian was spoken with an accent, another give away he wasn't a native or even been around long.

Out of force of habit, Gareth swiveled around, only this time, his hand made no contact. The stranger had reacted with lightning fast reflexes, and pulled out of the way.

Taken back by this sudden act of hostility, a rarity on Dinotopia, the young man exclaimed, "What the hell is your problem? I was only asking a friendly question!"

“We need to get a healer out there now, and it might already be too late,” Allen said, jumping from his saddle and hurrying to the stash of supplies.

“What happened?” Kael questioned quickly.

“I’m not sure,” Allen responded, gathering all the first aid and wound treatments he could identify. “There’s not much of a camp; just two people, one badly wounded and the other I’m not sure. They also have a weird cat; looks like a saber, and acts like one, but it’s not one.”

“And Dylan? And all the people that were supposed to be there? Did you see them?” The older O’Connor asked, starting to feel something heavy settling in the pit of his stomach.

“No. I didn’t see anyone else,” the rider replied.

By now, all the other members of the party, including Standtall, had circled the skybax rider and were hanging on his every word.

“What are we going to do? We’re still a full day and a half’s march away.” Hikari verbalized what everyone was thinking.

“We,” Allen said stuffing everything in a knapsack, “Are going to run there. You,” he said, giving it to Kael, “Are going to beg Highwind to take you there.”

The young ambassador stared at his friend blankly. “You’re joking…”

“You’ve gotten all sorts of artsy fancy healer classes, blah, blah, there’s no time for your skepticism!” Allen exclaimed in frustration. “Go! Go, go!”

“I’ll be right behind you,” Azonthus quickly volunteered. “I’ll run ahead and arrive faster than the caravan.”

“Don’t be so thick,” Ressa added. “Move! You humans are so slow for everything.”

Still slightly dazzled, Kael nodded and turned towards the skybax. To everyone’s surprise, before the young ambassador could ask, the skybax lowered itself to allow him to mount.

“Why did I even have any doubts?” Allen said with a crocked smile, “Now go! You’re too slow; move it!”

Kael quickly mounted and took a second to find a semi-comfortable position. “Ok,” he said more to himself than to anyone else. “We can do this.”

“O’Connor-san!” Hikari exclaimed running towards the bax and new rider and tossing Kael another small sack. “Food. Water. I think you’ll need those.” Kael nodded his thanks but, before he could say anything else, Highwind took off. The rest of the party watched them until they disappeared below the horizon.

“I hope he doesn’t fall,” Ressa commented. “He hasn’t had proper flying lessons.”

“He’ll be fine,” Allen assured the saurian. “He would have been a rider had you people not turned him to the darkness and seduction of that musty old library of yours.”

“Excuuuuuuse me?” Ressa started, but then thought better of it. “You know, I won’t waste my breath on you.”

“I should get going,” Azonthus intervened. “I won’t be there as fast, but Kael might need help; especially since we have no idea what’s going on.”

She quickly gathered a small sack of provisions for herself was on her way after a brief farewell.

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