by JB Rowley
“Wow!” she said.
“He’s good, isn’t he?” said Charli, a note of pride in her voice.
The two trolls stood in front of the rock wall and looked at each other. They looked up at the top of the wall, perhaps expecting Hamish to come flying back over it. After a few minutes the trolls, their heads together in conversation, started to walk along the wall. Every now and then one of them pushed at the wall as though looking for a way to get through it. When the trolls reached the far end of the rock wall, Hamish came flying over the wall at the other end, landing effortlessly on both feet to stand upright.
“Run!” he shouted.
They all raced down toward the river.
“We have to get to the river before the trolls realise what is happening,” yelled Nellie. “They are afraid of water so we’ll be safe there.”
They had almost reached the river when Charli stumbled and fell.
“I’m all right,” she called. “Keep going. I’ll catch up.”
Charli tried to get up but her foot was caught in the tangled root of a shrub.
“I will help you, friend Charli.”
Nellie turned to see Meg pull Charli to her feet just as Hamish caught up with them. She called to Charli.
“Is your foot all right, Charli? Can you walk?”
“Walk?” said Charli. “I can run. Come on.”
There was no sign of the trolls when they reached the water’s edge. Nellie and Charli exchanged a high five.
“The trolls are probably still looking for Hamish,” said Nellie, between breathless pants.
They all paused to catch their breath.
“You were great, Hamish,” said Nellie.
“Yes, friend Hamish, you are a good monkey.”
Charli nodded. “What do we do now?”
“Never fear, Kikka is here,” said a husky voice behind them.
17: Triassic Trail
They all turned to see Kikka standing on the surface of the water.
“Kikka!”
“Well done,” said Kikka. “Travellers are now ready for the final stage.”
“You mean the big test?” said Nellie.
“Travellers must trek the Triassic Trail to the big test,” said Kikka.
“Really?” said Charli. “I’ve just about had enough of these weird jungle creatures and fairytale people and now we have to cope with Triassic monsters.”
“Come on, Charli,” said Hamish. “Where’s your sense of adventure? The Triassic period was over 200 million years ago; even before dinosaurs. Imagine getting a glimpse of that.”
Nellie and Meg exchanged glances, surprised to see that Hamish now seemed to have a positive attitude to their adventure.
“It’s all right for you, Hamish. You weren’t the one almost carried into the underworld forever.”
Nellie smiled. “I think Charli is ready to go home.”
“The gold must return home before travellers may return home,” said Kikka.
“You mean like I had to return the gemstones,” said Nellie. During her adventure Nellie had had to follow clues to find gemstones and return them all to the centre of Gondwana.
Kikka nodded.
“We can do it, Charli,” said Nellie. “How do we get to the Triassic Trail, Kikka?”
“Meghashyam must take you to the cycad entrance,” said Kikka. She raised her hand in a gesture of farewell as her body, as light as a ballerina, floated up above the water and disappeared into a cloud of mist.
“Goodbye, Kikka,” called Nellie.
“What’s the cycad entrance, Meg?” asked Charli.
“It is the start of one of the paths to the centre of Gondwana.”
“One of the paths?” said Nellie. “You mean we will not go the same way that we went in my adventure?’
“No, friend Nellie. The centre of Gondwana is a heptagon. Seven different paths lead to seven different entry points.”
“If we’re going trekking I’ll need something to carry this gold in,” said Hamish.
“Gondwana has many materials, friend Hamish. I will make you a sling.”
Meg went to a nearby tree which had a creeping plant growing all over it. They watched as he pulled some of the vine away with the help of Pari who used his teeth to snip the long threads. Then Meg quickly plaited and twisted the vine until he had made a mesh bag with a single strap. He handed it to Hamish who dropped the round gold nugget into it. He slipped the strap over his head and across his chest so that it hung along one side of his body.
“That’ll work,” he said. “Thanks, Meg.”
Meg led them along the edge of the river which eventually petered out to a dry river bed. They followed the river bed until they came to an area where the forest changed. All around them were different kinds of conifers and tall gingko trees.
“Do you see those two tall trees standing like gate guards?” said Meg.
“Those two with no branches on their trunks and all those huge green fronds at the top?” said Nellie.
Meg nodded. “They are called cycads. That is the start of the Triassic Trail.”
As soon as they passed between the two cycads, the atmosphere changed.
“It’s suddenly turned warm,” said Charli.
“Yes, and look at the plants. They are so different from the plants we are used to seeing in Gondwana.”
“Yes, more cycads and lots of unusual ferns,” said Nellie.
Something moved in the ferns.
“What’s that?” said Charli, tugging at Meg’s arm. Meg shook his head.
“Sounds like a large animal,” said Hamish.
They hid behind a wide cycad trunk. A pine cone rolled past them just as a strange creature came into view.
“Is it a hippopotamus?” said Charli.
“Maybe,” said Nellie, “but it’s got tusks like a walrus.”
“And a kind of bird-like beak,” said Hamish. “I think it is what they call a dicynodont.”
“Will it eat us, friend Hamish?” said Meg.
“They are herbivores so we should be safe,” said Hamish. “Still, I wouldn’t like to be in its way if it decided to charge at us.”
They remained silent as the animal began to tear at a shrub. From their hiding place they watched and waited until the animal finished its plant meal and went on its way. When they were sure it had gone, they continued walking through the forest. The plants gradually became less dense and they caught glimpses of the blue sky.
“Look, they must be friends of Toopoo,” said Nellie, pointing toward the sky where flying creatures were circling.
“It’s so weird,” said Charli. “We’re used to seeing birds in the sky, but here we are looking at a flock of flying dinosaurs.”
“Not dinosaurs,” said Hamish, “flying reptiles. Pterosaurs, like Toopoo.” As the flock of pterosaurs passed overhead, the children continued along the Triassic Trail until Hamish stopped and pointed toward the trees.
“Look at that!” he said in an awed tone.
Nellie saw a blue and red striped lizard-like creature with a body about as long as her arm, swinging from branch to branch with its tail.
“It is being a monkey,” said Meg.
“It looks like a lizard with a bird’s head,” said Charli.
“A lizard can be a monkey,” said Meg. “Friend Hamish was a monkey. Me, too. Sometimes I am a monkey.”
Nellie laughed. “That’s right, Meg is very good at being a monkey in a tree,” she said.
“It’s...” began Hamish
“I know what it is,” interrupted Charli. “It’s a Triassic monkey lizard.”
Hamish scowled at her and opened his mouth to speak, but Charli was too quick for him.
“They are called simiosaurs. There are several different types. They live in trees and feed on insects.” Charli looked triumphantly at her brother.
“Your sister also knows much information about the world’s ancient creatures, friend Hamish.”
Charli
grinned and blushed. “One of the boys in our class did a project on monkey lizards,” she said. “He did a presentation to the class about them, and I remembered what he said.”
Hamish looked annoyed. “It doesn’t take a lot of brains to know about monkey lizards.”
Charli silently mimicked Hamish behind his back. Nellie grinned. Hamish moved slowly toward a tree where another monkey lizard, camouflaged by broad fern fronds, was apparently resting or waiting for an insect to cross its path. With a quick thrust of his hand, Hamish grabbed the reptile and held it up. The lizard struggled to get free but Hamish held it firmly around the middle of its body.
“Hamish,” yelled Charli. “Let it go. It’s frightened.”
Hamish ignored his sister and held the lizard closer to examine its monkey-like tail. The reptile squirmed and wriggled in an attempt to escape.
Charli stamped her foot. “Let it go, you big bully.”
Hamish just grinned and continued to examine the creature. “I might take it home and keep it in a cage,” he said.
“You can’t do that,” said Charli. “Let it go before it dies of fright.”
“On the other hand,” said Hamish, lowering the animal to the ground, still holding it firmly with one hand, “maybe I’ll just squash it into the ground with my foot.”
He raised his right foot with a glance at his sister.
“No!” yelled Charli.
Hamish slammed his foot down.
Nellie ran forward. “Hamish. No!”
Charli covered her eyes with her hands.
Hamish grinned. Instead of squashing the lizard as he had threatened, he stopped his foot before it reached the creature. Then he let it go. The monkey lizard darted up the tree trunk. Nellie went to Charli and put her arms around her.
“It’s all right, Charli. Nothing happened to the monkey lizard.”
Charli uncovered her eyes and glared at her brother.
“Don’t be a girl,” said Hamish. “You should have known I wouldn’t hurt it. I just wanted to study it, that’s all.”
Nellie gave Hamish a withering look.
“What?”
“You didn’t have to scare Charli like that. It was cruel.”
“He’s just stupid, that’s what he is,” said Charli. “He’s the most stupid, moronic, dumb-witted, brainless, senseless, idiotic, irresponsible ignoramus there ever was.”
“Ooooh, little sister. I didn’t know you knew so many adjectives,” said Hamish.
Charli glowered at him. Hamish shrugged.
“Come on, the lizard is fine. I didn’t hurt it in the slightest. What are you getting so upset about it?”
“Just stay away from me!”
Charli strode ahead to put as much distance as she could between herself and her brother. Meg fell in beside Charli. Pari jumped from his shoulder to Charli’s, snuggling into her neck. Charli smiled in response to the touch of Pari’s soft, warm fur against her skin.
“You have much good feeling for animals, friend Charli,” said Meg.
Charli nodded. “It hurts me so much when someone tries to be mean to an animal, especially a defenceless one.”
Meg nodded. Charli looked at him. “You feel the same, don’t you, Meg?”
Meg nodded again. “Since I have been in Gondwana, I have lived with animals and learnt to understand them and respect them. Their place in the world is important.”
“I hope you’re listening to this, Hamish,” said Nellie who was walking beside Hamish a few paces behind Charli and Meg.
“I only wanted to look at the creature’s tail. I didn’t hurt it. You saw the way it scarpered up the tree as quick as lightning. It was perfectly fine. Animals in the wild are tough; they spend every day escaping from danger.”
Nellie sighed. “Maybe,” she said.
They walked on in silence. Although they sometimes heard the rustling of small animals in the undergrowth, they did not see any more Triassic fauna.
The Triassic Trail opened out at the end into a clearing. They all stopped abruptly. A pair of huge brown eyes stared at them.
18: Big Test
Directly in front of them with its head arched sat a giant goanna-like creature with brownish green and lemon coloured markings on its huge body. Pari jumped back onto Meg’s shoulder.
“That is the biggest goanna I have ever seen,” said Nellie.
“That’s not a goanna,” said Hamish. “Look at the ridges along its back.”
“Oh, yes,” said Charli, forgetting she was angry with Hamish. “It looks like a tuatara.”
“Correct; a giant tuatara,” said Hamish.
“Tuatara?” said Nellie.
“A tuatara is a New Zealand reptile.”
“But it is a special reptile,” said Charli. “The tuatara is the messenger of death.”
“That’s what the Maori believe,” said Hamish.
“That’s what I believe.” Charli spoke quietly.
“Are they usually as big as a rhinoceros with a tail as long as a Chinese dragon?” asked Nellie.
Charli shook her head.“No, they are the same size as most large lizards.”
“Look over there, behind the tuatara,” said Nellie. “That’s the archway into the centre of Gondwana, isn’t it, Meg?”
“Yes, that is what it is,” said Meg. Pari bobbed up and down. “We must pass the special reptile and go through the arch.”
“That special reptile looks pretty dangerous,” said Nellie, “and it’s staring straight at us.”
“You have to get close to a tuatara for it to be dangerous,” said Hamish. “They usually just sit and wait for something to come close and then...” Hamish put both his wrists together with his hands apart like an open jaw. “SNAP!” He clapped his palms together loudly.
The creature opened its mouth to reveal two rows of pointy teeth and a bright red tongue. Nellie shivered.
“So,” she said, “any bright ideas on how we get past it and through the Gondwana arch?”
“We’ll have to kill it, I suppose,” said Hamish.
“No!” cried Charli. “Tuatara are sacred. We can’t kill it.”
“This is not a real tuatara,” said Hamish. “It’s something that damn Gondvan created.”
“I don’t care,” said Charli.
“Perhaps we could try to get past,” said Nellie. “If it’s not going to chase us, and won’t bite unless we get close, we might be able to creep along the edge of the clearing until we are at the tail end and sneak past it."
They decided to do as Nellie suggested. Keeping as far away from the giant reptile as possible, they edged along the border of the clearing until they had reached the area near the end tip of the creature’s tail.
“If we can sneak around the end of the tail,” said Nellie, “we’ll be on the other side. We can make a dash for the arch.”
As Nellie stepped forward, the giant tail of the tuatara flicked across the ground, stirring up a whirlwind of leaves and almost knocking her over.
“It’s got eyes in the back of its head,” she said.
She waited until the tail had stopped moving before making another attempt, stepping carefully toward the gap between the edge of the clearing and the end of the tail. Once more the giant tail flicked, even harder than before. Nellie jumped back. After several more tries at getting past the tail they decided to give up.
“How did you get past the giant weta, Nellie?” said Charli.
“Meg distracted it while I climbed up a tree and dropped down on its back. Then I climbed along its back until I was close enough to stab one of its eyes with a sharp stick.”
“Good idea. I’m going to see if I can make a spear,” said Hamish.
“No, Hamish,” cried Charli.
“Do you have a better idea, little sister? Why don’t you try talking to it then if you’re so smart?”
“Perhaps you could, Charli,” said Nellie. “You were amazing with the diprotodon.”
“I don’t think so,”
said Charli. “I can usually pick up something from the animal, but I am not getting anything from this tuatara.” Charli looked thoughtful for a few moments. “Okay, I’ll try,” she said.
She gestured to the others to be quiet and stood with her eyes closed, facing the tuatara. After a few moments she opened her eyes and shook her head.
“Nothing,” she said. “It’s no use.”
“I think this is a different sort of creature, Charli. This is our big test so I think Gondvan wants us to face it and defeat it in some way.”
“Exactly,” said Hamish. “I’m going to get a sharp stick to make a spear.”
“No!” cried Charli. Tears began to roll down her cheeks.
“Charli!” said Hamish. “I told you. It’s not a real tuatara. It’s just some monster Gondvan has created and he’s made it look like a tuatara.”
“Charli,” said Nellie in a gentle tone. “Hamish is right. It’s not like you are in New Zealand with a real tuatara.”
“But, Nellie, I can’t think of it like that. It’s real to me.” She tried to wipe away her tears but more quickly followed.
“Look, Charli,” said Hamish, “you don’t even have to watch. We will sort it out while you wait in the trees and look the other way.”
“No! How can I turn my back while you murder a sacred creature? Nellie, please don’t let him. What if Gondvan had made a monster that looked like Pari? Could you pierce its eye and kill it?”
Pari curled up and wrapped his tail around his body.
Nellie smiled. “I guess not, Charli.”
“You have much kindness in your heart, friend Charli. You care for creatures.” Pari unwrapped himself and bobbed up and down. “I think Gondvan knows this. I think he sets the big test to try to make the travellers stay in Gondwana. He finds a weakness to see if the traveller can make the weakness into a strength.”
“Like you, Meg? Why was your test a giant bat?” asked Charli.
“Gondvan must have known about my very great fear of rats.”