[Trade] Unfortunate Stroll

Only a few metres of ravine separated them from the other side of the forest. It wasn't very deep, they could tell that right away, but its bottom was filled with a thick mixture of mud, earth and sand - something that would be very difficult to get out of. Jumping over this obstacle was impossible – even Rat Catcher would not be able to make such a long jump, let alone two much heavier and less agile females. For obvious reasons, they could not simply walk across the bottom of the crevice – the quicksand waiting for them there was far too dangerous. They had to find a less obvious solution.

Blue Bell Buoy looked around in consternation (if she could, she would probably be scratching her head now, thinking hard about a solution to this problem). The shallow ravine had to end somewhere, so if they followed its edge, they would eventually come to a place where the ground levelled out. Unfortunately, this thought was of no help to them - there was no end in sight, either to the right or to the left. In addition, the end of the ravine did not necessarily mean the end of the treacherous swamp that filled its bottom.

With every passing minute, their chances of getting to the other side melted away like the ice and snow covering the islands. In fact, they were already ready to turn back and give up their ambitious plans when another breakthrough occurred - this time thanks to Reykjavik.

Until now, the female had remained somewhat in the background, seemingly not even participating in attempts to overcome their problem. Nothing could be further from the truth – as she had proven more than once, in times of crisis, the young acrocanthosaurus worked most effectively alone, always finding some solution to the problem. Usually highly unconventional, but effective nonetheless.

This time, the female noticed a large fallen tree that connected the two sides of the crevice. She had made this observation some time ago, but decided to keep it to herself, like an unusual ace up her sleeve. Now, however, her moment to shine had come.

She trotted energetically towards this improvised footbridge, instructing her friends to follow her. They did so without hesitation.

The tree was indeed large and must have been lying there for many months, as both ends were already densely overgrown with various vegetation. Countless vines and shoots of an ivy-like plant twisted across the surface of the bark, making the tree appear almost entirely green from a distance. This natural structure looked quite promising.

The three friends looked at each other, intrigued by their new possibilities. Their glances spoke volumes – they were not only excited, but confident of victory. After all, what could go wrong?

Rat Catcher was the first to head towards the ‘bridge’. One graceful leap was enough to land him on the huge log. He jumped a few more times to test the strength of the structure - it seemed exceptionally stable. Delighted, the male waved his wings theatrically at his companions, encouraging them to climb onto the fallen tree.

Blue Bell Buoy needed no encouragement - as soon as Rat made his first jump, she walked briskly to the edge of the ravine. She did not hesitate for a moment. She quickly took her first few uncertain steps across the chasm. The log was quite damp and slippery, but the vines growing on it gave her a sense of security.

Only Rejkjavik, the originator of this bold idea, was left behind. No wonder she was reluctant – she was by far the heaviest of the three, and she was not particularly agile. The ‘bridge’ was wide, but was it wide enough for her to cross without difficulty?

However, there was no time to think about it. Rat and Blue Bell were extremely convincing when they persuaded the female acrocanthosaurus to abandon her worries and just move forward. In fact, they resembled a team of cheerleaders as they jumped excitedly on the log, encouraging their companion to fight.

Reykjavik got carried away by this uplifting mood, which actually gave her a surprising amount of confidence. She stood with one foot on the log, slowly testing its strength. The tree didn't even budge. That was enough to erase all her fears from her soul for good. The female almost jumped forward, landing with a thud on the makeshift bridge. Her two companions almost went crazy with joy at this bold move. Victory was theirs! All three of them were finally on the log that would carry them to the other side!

That's right. All three of them. On one and the same log.

Suddenly, they heard a crack. In fact, not just one, but a whole orchestra of various disturbing sounds. The beginning of this repertoire was quiet, but it quickly turned into a loud bang.

Rat Catcher, already standing almost on the other side, was the quickest to assess the situation. He jumped towards solid ground, hoping to save himself. His hopes were not in vain - he did indeed land on the other side of the crevice, but his landing was not a graceful one.

Blue Bell Buoy was not so lucky. When she lost her footing, she fell into the treacherous mud beneath them. A short, shrill scream escaped her throat, stifled by the surprisingly strong impact. The mud was sticky, but it did not immobilise her immediately - the initial fall felt more like hitting concrete than a soft substance.

Reykjavik was in the worst situation. She was in the middle of the crossing when the log broke in front of them, so she fell into the deepest mud. The sticky, brown-grey substance immediately stuck to her feathers and began to pull her legs deeper and deeper, like quicksand. Fortunately, her instincts told her to act quickly - before she was completely trapped, she tried with all her might to get a little closer to the opposite bank. Advantages? She was closer to safety. Disadvantages? During her desperate struggle, she unconsciously leaned forward. Enough for the mud to cover her entire belly and part of her chest.

Rat Catcher finally got up from the ground, dusting off his feathers. He looked fearfully towards the crevice, afraid of what he would see. The situation did not look good – both females clearly needed help, and he was not sure if he would be able to provide it.

The first step was to make sure that neither female did anything to make the situation worse (and it must be admitted that their chaotic, panicked movements were definitely not helping anyone). Fortunately, a few well-chosen words were enough to achieve this.

The young utahraptor quickly came up with an idea – a tree had got them into this mess, and a tree would save them! With an agile movement, the male ran a little deeper into the forest in search of a branch that was long and strong enough to suit his plan. It wasn't difficult – in less than a minute, the raptor returned to the edge of the ravine with what he had found.

His plan was simple – first, somehow pull Blue Bell ashore, and then, working with her, help Rejkjavik. Only in this way could he somehow contribute to resolving this crisis.

Fortunately, the Carnotaurus was close to the shore, where the mud was not too deep (it did not even reach her knees). The rat carefully balanced on the shore and handed her a branch (he did not want the end of it to fall into the mud). The female grabbed this peculiar lifeline without resistance, waiting for the utahraptor to pull her towards him. Rat dug his claws into the ground, bracing himself. The female was three times his size, but he wasn't going to give up. With difficulty and extraordinary effort, step by step, he pulled the branch, and with it Blue Bell, towards him. Fortunately, they didn't have far to go - after a few minutes, the bluish female was able to stand on solid ground.

This meant that it was time for the second, more difficult part of the plan. The rescued would have liked to rest for at least a moment (both were panting heavily from the effort), but the acrocanthosaurus' desperate, repeated cries did not allow them to rest.

This time, their idea was slightly different – the final stage of the rescue would be the same, but first they had to bring Rejkjavik a little closer to the shore. They planned to achieve this by filling part of the crevice with as many branches, leaves and stones as they could find.

Without delay, they set to work, gathering everything they could bring to the edge of the ravine. Soon, a strange, chaotic path was laid out in front of the colourful female – insufficient to bring her to complete safety, but definitely capable of bringing her closer to it. As Rejkjavik began to trudge towards the shore, appreciating that her companions' efforts had made the mud a little less treacherous, Blue and Rat prepared the branch that had already been used in the rescue operation.

Rejkjavik cautiously grabbed the branch offered to her, and the other two predators, fully synchronising their movements, began to pull her towards them with all their might. This strange pseudo tug-of-war lasted for a while before the female acrocanthosaurus managed to reach the shallows. With one last effort, she threw herself towards the shore, pulling her legs out of the mud. Reykjavik fell to the ground, exhausted.

All three breathed a sigh of relief when they finally realised that they had somehow managed to get themselves out of trouble.

How they would make their way back was a worry for later.