[Trade] Among The Cliffs

The tunnel was slowly drawing to the long awaited end, as evidenced by the ever-growing patch of light that grew brighter with every step – the exit from the underground. The ground here was damp and sticky, and an unpleasant, musty, slightly metallic odour hung in the air – few dinosaurs liked to pass through here. Black, insulated cables ran in dense bunches along both walls of the tunnel. Presumably, none of them had carried electricity for many years, so they were more of a dubious decoration than a useful piece of infrastructure.

Fin looked back, searching for Eyespot, who had fallen slightly behind. The greyish male was in no great hurry – apparently he felt somewhat more at ease in these musty underground passages than his companion. Fin wanted to leave this place as quickly as possible, and the only thing stopping him from running was a persistent thought nagging at his mind, telling him to conserve his energy. After all, a long journey lay ahead of them.

In their daily lives, they were both inhabitants of Atlantis, calmly accepting that they lived in an artificial, man-made, enclosed world. Like many inhabitants of this strange domed terrarium, they possessed quite a considerable knowledge of various plants – they knew a great deal about identifying different species, their individual properties, methods of cultivation, and skilfully distinguishing poisonous plants from edible ones. The fact that they were carnivores and therefore this knowledge was not at all useful to them personally, did not bother them in the slightest.

The dinosaurs inhabiting the Kingdom of Atlantis, on the orders of the royalty and the court, were often forced to leave their native lands and explore new places in search of plants unknown in the underground. It was the same with Fin and Eyespot – the males, due to their species, were not particularly welcome amongst the kingdom’s rightful inhabitants, so the ruling iguanodons seized every opportunity they could to send them off on some task somewhere beyond the dome’s perimeter. That was exactly the case now. The two cryolophosaurus had received only terse instructions that somewhere near the exit from the underground passages to Isla Kela lay tall mountains, diverse in terms of biotope, stretching for miles. In such a diverse environment, rich in all forms of life, there were bound to be plants growing there that were not only unknown in Atlantis but might also prove exceptionally useful.

Fin finally burst out of the long, unsettling tunnel, emerging from the oppressive underground. The sunlight blinded his eyes, accustomed to the darkness, and the male instinctively began to shake his head from side to side, trying to shake off that unpleasant sensation. Eyespot reacted just as strongly – neither of their bright eyes was coping well with the intense light.

It took at least a minute before their vision came into focus, a minute filled to the brim with their discomfort. The first to stop blinking frantically was Fin. The male looked around, still unconsciously squinting his red eyes. What they had been told in Atlantis turned out to be true – there really was an impressive mountain range stretching out before them, vanishing over the horizon, which, despite its undeniable majesty, seemed to be inviting the two travellers onto its trails. Eyespot sighed loudly. He wasn’t keen on climbing.

~*~

Leyte shifted her position slightly, trying to find a more comfortable spot. She wasn’t used to seeking shelter in dark, inhospitable caves that offered nothing but a stony floor, painfully digging into every inch of her body. She wanted to conserve her energy, but she couldn’t sleep. Water dripped incessantly from the cave ceiling, splashing rhythmically, which drove the female to the brink of madness. If she wanted to emerge from all this unscathed, she had to leave her makeshift shelter as soon as possible.

Once again, she had to break away from her group and venture into a territory completely unknown to her. As usual, she was tasked with seeking out new cryolophosaurus that she might potentially recruit. Leyte was one of the oldest members of the pack; moreover, she knew a large part of the archipelago quite well and was battle-hardened. She was ideally suited to the task.

This time, at the council meeting, the leadership decided that the experienced female should venture somewhere near the steep, rather dangerous mountains. These peaks, teeming with all manner of species, did not offer the easiest place to live, so she could be sure that almost anyone she found there would be ideally suited to join their group. However, the impressive potential abilities of the local inhabitants carried certain dangers with them – Leyte had to strain all her senses to avoid finding herself in a life-threatening situation, whatever that might be. She hoped that this time she wouldn’t have to use her abilities to escape trouble.

The female rose reluctantly – the night in this place had offered her little rest, so she was still weary from the previous days’ journey. She had no other choice, however. The sooner she searched the area assigned to her, the sooner she would return to her kin. Leyte stumbled out of the cave, realising with distaste just how cold the wind was as it swept between the steep cliffs, biting unpleasantly at her featherless skin. The air at this altitude was exceptionally crisp, but it was low in oxygen. Leyte wasn’t used to this – her group usually resided in the lowlands. The female knew that prolonged, intense physical exertion could be a problem for her.

The brown cryolophosaurus looked in both directions, carefully scanning her surroundings. There was no indication of which way she should go – the mountains seemed deserted, even though in reality many different creatures lived here. The local inhabitants knew how to hide. It was probably safer that way.

After a moment’s thought, she decided to go left. Admittedly, this meant moving even further away from her pack’s territory, but the terrain on this side gradually levelled out and led down into the lower reaches of the mountains. This suited her fine – the female was already exhausted from her long trek amongst the high cliffs. She knew her search would come to an end in a few days; after all, she couldn’t stay alone for too long or stray so far. So she decided to descend the left side of the mountains all the way to their foothills, and then, through the much lower-lying terrain, return to the part of the island she knew.

~*~

At first, the trek was not particularly difficult – the slope was relatively gentle, and the weather was favourable. They were definitely on the more sheltered side of the mountain, where the high peaks of the range protected them from the wind. These lower sections were still densely covered with varied vegetation, to such an extent that the grey-brown colour of the rock shone through the ubiquitous greenery only very rarely. As this area was still fairly accessible, and the journey here from Atlantis relatively short, as one might guess, the foothills of the mountain had already been well explored. This was not the first time the court had sent its explorers to these parts, so all easily accessible locations had already been searched. This did not mean, however, that the males could traverse this terrain whilst completely letting their guard down – both Fin and Eyespot continued to keep a watchful eye on their surroundings.

After a while, they realised that two routes lay before them – one, fairly gentle, which climbed steadily higher without haste, and the other, much steeper and clearly much shorter, as it ended on a small plateau a good few dozen metres above their heads. The first route did not look promising – as far as the eye could see, the vegetation covering it was not much different from what Eyespot and Fin had already explored. They therefore chose the steeper route.

The climb was arduous and exhausting, so the cryolophosaurs did not pass the time by chatting – they did not want to waste energy unnecessarily. The two explorers climbed tirelessly upwards, without looking back. Finally, after over an hour, barely catching their breath, they managed to reach the rocky plateau.

The difficulty they had breathing was a clear sign that they needed a break. Both Fin and Eyespot stood with their legs spread wide, heads bowed. Regaining their strength after such exertion must have taken a moment.

The fatigue that burned their muscles and lungs like a living fire had weakened their vigilance to a pitiful level. The two carnivores, usually so attuned to any changes in their surroundings, were now completely unaware that they were being watched – someone had been tracking their every move from the moment they approached the plateau.

Leyte stood slightly back on the flattened terrain, hiding casually behind a fairly large rock formation. Her brown scales blended into the ubiquitous browns and greys, concealing her in this inhospitable environment. The female, as soon as she realised the commotion caused by the cryolophosaurus climbing the mountainside, immediately began a close observation. She assessed every movement, every physical feature, every detail of their posture that might seem utterly insignificant to others – but she scrutinised it from every possible angle, trying to determine whether the strangers were worthy of an invitation to join her pack. The pack was large and strong – they accepted only the finest individuals into their ranks.

She was disappointed. Although both males were quite well-built, there was something about their behaviour that put Leyte off. During the climb, they would both stop every now and then when they spotted a greenish glimmer of interest amongst the rocks – plants. The frequency with which this occurred and the thoroughness with which they examined every unknown species they encountered (including those that were by no means rare in these parts of the island) left no room for doubt. These strange cryolophosaurus were from Atlantis. This did not bode well.

The female, completely absorbed in her observation, almost unconsciously took a step forward. That was her mistake – she inadvertently kicked a small stone lying at her feet.

Fin raised his dark head, feeling a sudden rush of adrenaline despite his fatigue. Now that he knew where to look, he easily spotted the familiar, unsettling shape – another cryolophosaurus…

[to be continued in another piece]

1718 words