[Trade] An Ambush

Tumbler felt the pebbles beneath his foot suddenly give way with a loud, unpleasant screech, and then hurtle down the slope. The cryolophosaurus’ heart skipped a beat – for a moment, he lost his footing. He feared he would end up like those pebbles, which had already reached almost the foot of the slope. It took him a few seconds to regain his balance.

He took some comfort from the fact that there were two other males right behind him. If he did indeed slip, he would crash into them, and that would certainly slow his fall. Mocker and Bulrush, alarmed by his sudden, anxious movements, were also aware of this. They viewed the situation, however, with somewhat less optimism.

From where they stood, they were just a dozen or so metres short of reaching a broad, flat section of the mountain – it wasn’t the summit, but a sort of unexpected plateau, flanked on both sides by high, steep cliffs. Reaching it meant they could finally stop wasting energy on the ceaseless climb (and stop fearing for their lives every time one of them slipped). This prospect gave them some encouragement. All three, spurred on by this thought, quickened their pace.

They didn’t really know what they were doing there. They had no specific goal for their otherwise rather risky expedition. They had been driven to these parts by youthful curiosity and, equally youthful, irresponsibility – not one of them had given a second’s thought to the dangers that might await them in these high, unfamiliar mountains. They had already come to realise the danger posed by the very nature of the terrain (the sight of high rock ledges and steep slopes, where a single careless step could mean death, had sobered them up somewhat), yet they still lived in blissful ignorance of the risks associated with a chance encounter with the native inhabitants of the area.

The mountains were not a gentle place that constantly forgave mistakes with an indulgent smile. Quite the contrary – every animal that lived here had to develop a certain kind of perseverance, determination and a tough character in order to survive. None of the three cryolophosaurus possessed any of these qualities.

They stopped when they finally scrambled over the edge of the plateau. As a rule, they lived in the lowlands, so none of them was accustomed to the exertion of climbing. Although they were not even close to the summit yet, each of them felt a burning pain in their muscles, gnawing at every part of their bodies. This sensation prevented them from truly relaxing, but despite this, they had to rest at least a little – the march had exhausted them to such an extent that they undoubtedly needed a break. And yet, at this moment, none of them demonstrated any particular insight. Although they were sheltered on both sides by jagged, grey cliffs, the cryolophosaurus were still quite exposed. A keen observer could spot them from a distance. The three of them should have sought shelter somewhere to escape the watchful eyes of bystanders. They, however, had not considered such a possibility.

Bulrush lay down where he stood, without being fussy. He felt the cool, sharp-edged stones digging into his stomach and limbs, making any position uncomfortable. He was definitely no fan of the mountains.

Mocker and Tumbler, seeing the male’s futile attempts to secure even a semblance of comfort, gave up on lying down. They preferred to rest standing up rather than torment their aching muscles with this natural fakir’s bed.

Sheltered by the soaring cliffs rising on either side, they felt completely safe. They had the impression that they could only be taken by surprise from the front or the rear, but the three of them could easily keep watch in both directions. They were certain that this spot protected them from prying eyes. If only they had known how wrong they were…

Suddenly, a shrill, disturbing cry rang out above their heads. Bulrush immediately sprang to his feet, and the other two felt the sudden stress ruffle the feathers on their backs. When they looked up, they saw two moving shapes against the sky, dark against the sky. Tapejaras. They had been spotted from the air.

The three youngsters panicked as they watched the two flying reptiles manoeuvre nimbly between the cliffs, steadily closing in on the careless cryolophosaurus. Tumbler collided with Mocker, whilst Bulrush tripped over a rock protruding from the ground, which he had failed to notice, and crashed to the ground with a loud thud. In the chaos, they tried to find any shelter that might hide them from the sight of their aerial observers. It was in vain – soaring rock formations flanked the gorge on both sides, but nowhere did they recede into caves.

Their panic wasn’t caused solely by the mere presence of the tapejaras. Under normal circumstances, two small flying reptiles would not have seemed a threat at all, but here the situation was different. Their bold behaviour and the loud announcement of their presence clearly indicated that the scouts felt no fear whatsoever towards the three predators, which were considerably larger than themselves. This suggested that they were not alone here.

This disturbing conclusion proved to be correct. Before the frightened trio could regain their composure and devise a plan of action, someone else appeared in the gorge. At the very end of the ravine, several dozen metres ahead of them, a dark shape seemed to rise from the ground. Crouching, covered in grey-brown feathers, the utahraptor spread her wings wide and raised her tail, tipped with a small plume, in a threatening gesture, doing everything she could to look far more menacing than she actually was. She didn’t need to try very hard – the three young Cryolophosaurus were already utterly terrified.

Their opponents waited above and in front of them, and on either side lay solid rock – they were virtually surrounded. The only thing they could do was flee backwards. Or so they thought.

They turned almost in unison, ready to immediately launch into a frantic dash down the hill. Just as quickly as they’d started, they stopped. The mouth of the ravine was guarded by a massive carnotaurus, covered in black-and-blue scales. The male waited for them, baring his teeth and staring intently at his target.

The shocked cryolophosaurus collided with one another, creating even greater chaos. Tumbler let out a loud squeal, then slumped to the ground, dazed by the force of the impact. Mocker and Bulrush were in no better state – they too could barely stay on their feet. It seemed this was to be their end.

Costel watched the commotion with a touch of amusement. It was clear from all three that each of them was still young and inexperienced. In fact, they had the advantage – the three cryolophosaurus stood a very good chance of defeating the utahraptor and the adolescent carnotaurus. After all, the two tapejars circling above them couldn’t make much difference to the outcome of the clash. The group of strangers was thus undone by a lack of composure.

Although the frightened youngsters were unaware of it, this encounter was no accident. It was the culmination of a specific plan that had been in the making for several days. Costel and the tapejaras had sensed the presence of a stranger in their territory almost a week earlier. They quickly realised that this was not a single intruder, but a whole group, and one composed of territorial carnivores at that. This posed a certain threat, so they had to investigate these worrying tracks. Costel, not yet fully grown himself, did not feel confident enough as a defender of the territory – so he sent Appy to fetch Silvercloud, a utahraptor they knew who lived in the area. After all, the more of them there were, the better.

The scent of the intruders was widely scattered across the mountainous terrain, so they didn’t know exactly where to start looking. Costel had no doubt, however, that they should scan the area closest to their shelter first. So, sending the tapejaras ahead to carry out a cursory aerial reconnaissance, he patrolled the area every day, even for several hours at a time. The cave where they slept every night was in a place similar to where they were now. There weren’t many hiding places there, so on the very first day Costel made sure there was no one else there but them. They could breathe a sigh of relief. After that, with each passing day, he expanded the scope of his search, traversing both the terrain at the foot of the mountains and the steep paths leading to their peaks. Although they had been living here for a good three months, during this hunt the young male had come across places he had never seen before on several occasions.

Meanwhile, whilst the three cryolophosaurus were focused on the most menacing-looking opponent (despite his intimidating appearance, Costel was too deep in thought to pose any threat), the rest of the second group had changed position. Appy continued to circle above the heads of everyone gathered, keeping a watchful eye from afar for any other dinosaurs that might appear. Sage, meanwhile, landed on a large, angular rock at the bottom of the ravine to further unsettle the opponents with his presence. Appy had initially wanted to take on this role – but the overprotective Sage would never have allowed it, fearing that the female would be attacked. Silvercloud, meanwhile, forgotten by the intruders, crept dangerously close, completely cutting off their escape route along the ravine. If they wanted to get out, they would first have to deal with her.

Mocker, Tumbler and Bulrush continued to bump into one another in a panic, almost gasping for breath from exhaustion due to this futile effort. Costel’s group was clearly intent on scaring off the intruders, especially if it turned out that the strangers posed a genuine threat to their territory. Here, however, a brief observation was enough to realise that the three cryolophosaurus were merely frightened, inexperienced youngsters who had ended up here entirely by accident. With their lack of combat experience, even if they wanted to harm the other group, it wouldn’t be easy for them.

“Relax. We aren’t here to hurt you,” Costel, amused by the youngsters’ panic, laughed good-naturedly. The cryolophosaurus breathed a sigh of relief at the sound of those words.

Sage, however, did not seem entirely satisfied with the meaning of this sentence...

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