Dinotopia - Dinotopia Lost

by Alan Dean Foster

  “You mean very stupid.”

  Will found himself nodding at nothing in particular. “She won’t be alone.”

  “That’s exactly what I was ...” The translator hesitated, uncertain he’d heard correctly. “What do you mean?”

  Will whistled and clicked softly at the struthie. Showing that she understood, she extended a forearm and rested clawed fingers on his shoulder, stroking it three times. There was no misunderstanding the gesture, and he responded with a smile.

  “I’m going with her.”

  “You?” The Protoceratops'1s gaze swung nervously from the human and dinosaurian faces of his young acquaintances to the actively debating circle of elders. “Shouldn’t you wait for a formal rescue expedition to be proposed?”

  “Like she said, she can’t wait,” Will replied.

  “But what can the two of you do against a whole party of armed adult human males?”

  “Keep an eye on them, for one thing. Track them. Lead others to them.” Will grinned. “Who knows what else we might accomplish? My father says that the man who doesn’t make his own opportunities usually doesn’t find any.”

  “You humans and your goofy affinity for aphorisms,” the translator muttered. “I don’t see how they will do you any good against these gun-weapons.”

  “We’re wasting time.” Putting an arm around Keelk’s shoulders, Will led her toward the exit.

  Chaz watched them go. Then, with a last backward glance in the direction of the noisy assembly, he clip-clopped hurriedly after them.

  “Wait, wait a moment! Wait for me, you inconsiderate long-legs!”

  Will and Keelk stopped to allow the translator to catch up. It was a good thing the tribe of protoceratopsians was so eloquent, Will mused, because they weren’t very big or very strong or unusually smart.

  “Listen to them talk. They’ll go on like that all night,” Will commented as they exited the barn.

  “Out of consensus comes wisdom,” Chaz retorted.

  Will smiled down at him. “Now who’s resorting to aphorisms?”

  “I was simply making an observation.” By way of changing the subject, the Protoceratops examined the night sky. “What will we do if we’re caught in the Rainy Basin when the big storm hits?”

  “I don’t know.” Will likewise inclined his gaze toward the still-visible stars. “Float, I hope.”

  Chaz looked up at him. “That’s not funny. I don’t know how to swim, and my kind can’t climb trees.”

  “You take care of the translating and I’ll handle the swimming,” Will assured him breezily. This was going to be a real adventure! It was going to be fun.

  Provided no one got shot, he reminded himself somberly. “You can stay here, Chaz. I won’t think the less of you for it. In fact, it’s the sensible thing to do. You can tell the elders where we’ve gone and what we’re doing.”

  “What do you mean, stay here?” The Protoceratops puffed himself up. “And who cares what you think, anyway?” “You’re still coming with us?”

  “Don’t think it’s because I really want to. It’s just that I’m tired of hearing about the accomplishments and insight of the wondrous Will Denison, and I want to be there when you fall flat on your face.”

  “Why, Chaz, I thought jealousy was generally considered to be a human failing, one from which dinosaurs were immune.”

  “Jealousy? I’m not jealous of you. Besides, you need me. Not to talk to these peculiar humans, should we have the opportunity to do so. I’m sure you can manage to converse with representatives of your own kind, no matter how perverse their habits.”

  Will considered. “If many nations—or tribes, as Keelk refers to them—are represented, then I should be able to converse with at least a few of them.”

  “Precisely. But you need me to translate for her.” He nodded in Keelk’s direction. “Also for her family. So long as everyone understands everyone else, we may, I hope, be able to minimize the foolishness that already marks this expedition. Struthies are notoriously impulsive.”

  “We’ll be glad of your company.” Will spoke warmly. “With only three of us, we should be able to move fast.” “Yes,” agreed Chaz as they turned toward the nighttime bustle of Treetown. He lifted first one stubby foreleg and then the other. “But not too fast.”

  They had no difficulty acquiring packs and supplies. In the confusion of the evacuation there was little time for questions. Plenty of food was available: dried fruit and nuts for Keelk; yams, potatoes, and other vegetables for Chaz; dried fish and fruits for Will. If necessary, they were confident, they could survive off the land. After all, Keelk had managed, and their trek would be easier since the worst of it was nearly all downhill. But everyone felt better departing with full backpacks.

  She spoke confidently of being able to find the old switch-back path that had led her out of the rain forest and up into the mountains. They would have to find it, Will knew, for neither he nor Chaz was familiar with the trails that led in and out of the Rainy Basin, much less one that was so clearly off the usual trade routes. To this day there were many parts of the Rainy Basin that had never been visited except by the uncivilized carnosaurs who lived there.

  Located in the crown of a neatly trimmed giant sequoia, the skybax roost was largely deserted when Will arrived. The sun was not yet up and it was too early for most riders to be stirring. While Keelk and Chaz waited restively below, Will climbed up to bid good-bye to Cirrus. They could not understand each other’s language, but familiarity and intimacy allowed rider and skybax to comprehend the other’s mouth noises and gestures.

  “I’ll be back soon,” Will assured the giant Quetzalcoatlus. “You’ll be all right without me. Rest your wings, and when I return we’ll fly high again.” He knew that the roost’s human attendants would automatically see to it that any skybax in their care received proper food and attention. Still, it was like leaving a member of the family when he at last started down. Not entirely understanding, Cirrus whistled mournfully after him, then folded himself back in his fifteen-foot wings and went back to sleep.

  No one challenged them as they hurried out of town, losing themselves in the confusion of preoccupied refugee workers and newly arrived evacuees. Only Kano Toranaga might have wondered at their intentions, and he was busy at his infirmary, tending to patients.

  Hiking out of Treetown, they passed a convoy of apatosaurs and ceratopsians, heavily laden with supplies intended to assist the evacuees from the Northern Plains. No one paid them the least mind. A pair of farm families greeted them cheerily; others called out, their dinosaurs hooting or whistling. The hikers waved back. Turning south, they ascended the hill nicked by the waterfall that had marked where Keelk was found and started up the first slope. In the distance lay alpine ridges, and beyond, the Rainy Basin.

  “This is absurd.” Chaz was grumbling under his breath as he trundled along, twin saddlebags slung across his back. “We should have waited to join the formal rescue expedition.”

  “You could have.” Will’s pack felt light on his shoulders, and he strode along briskly. The air above Treetown was crisp and bracing where the cool atmosphere of the mountains mixed with oxygen-rich fog rising from the basin.

  Just as Keelk had warned them, there were few conspicuous landmarks. It was fortunate, Will mused, that struthies had an excellent sense of direction. Dazed though she’d been, Keelk led the way with assurance. It helped that she’d kept to valleys and streams during her desperate dash through the mountains.

  “I am a good tracker.” Chaz translated for Will as she spoke. “My parents always encouraged me in the hobby.”

  Will nodded approvingly in reply, noting that she seemed to be gaining strength with every passing day. Her resolve, of course, had been strong from the start.

  Will and Chaz had to extend themselves to keep up. Whenever she was forced to hesitate, uncertain of the way, crisscrossing whichever valley they happened to be traversing at the time soon produced a shelter half rememb
ered, a drinking place keenly recalled.

  Eventually they came to a place where a spindly cascade spilled over a sheer cliff, only to lose itself in swirling spray below. Spread out before them was a sea of mist, as substantial as a dream, as solid as memory. Vanilla cotton candy, Will thought, cupped in the hands of the mountains. Below the impenetrable cloud layer the swarming, fecund, noisy, colorful Rainy Basin awaited.

  The perilous Rainy Basin, he reminded himself.

  A leery Chaz peered over the edge. “I don’t see any way down.”

  Neck extended to its full length, Keelk hooted softly as she glanced right and left. Then she vocalized a rapid stream of booming clucks and pointed excitedly to her left. Following closely, Will and Chaz soon found themselves standing at the trail head. It was partially concealed by trumpet flowers and night-blooming ochela. Anyone not aware of its existence could have walked by within a few feet and missed it completely.

  Without a word, they started down.

  Will had no trouble negotiating the narrow, crumbling path, striding along confidently behind Keelk. Once again, his skybax training proved its worth. The intimidating dropoff did not trouble him.

  It was a different matter for poor Chaz. He kept falling behind, forcing man and Struthiomimus to wait for him to catch up.

  “What’s wrong?” Will finally asked the translator. “You’re built low to the ground and you’ve four legs to our two. You should be more stable on this sort of terrain than either of us.”

  “Precisely the point.” The Protoceratops hugged the cliff face, keeping as far from the edge of the trail as possible.

  “Because we don’t climb or favor high places, all quadrupeds have a fear of falling.” His fear was tangible. “I’ll be glad when we’re down.”

  It was fortunate that Keelk hadn’t thought to mention the missing section of trail, Will decided when they eventually reached it. Had she described it accurately, Chaz might never have agreed to join the expedition. Nourished by mist rising from the rain forest below, numerous small trees grew from cracks and crevices in the mountainside. After arriving at a delicate consensus on how best to proceed, Will and Keelk reluctantly broke several of these small saplings off at the roots. With these they were able to bridge the gap.

  Will admired Keelk’s athletic ability as the struthie cleared the opening in a single leap. Working together, they succeeded in lining up four trees side by side. Each held one end of the logs steady while Chaz, with eyes more than half closed, tiptoed over. Will followed more easily.

  Safely across, Chaz struggled to control his breathing. “Are . . . are there many more places like this one?” When Keelk replied that this was the only such break in what was otherwise a solid path, he relaxed visibly.

  “What was that about?” Will inquired as they resumed their downward march.

  Chaz sniffed. “I was just saying that if that’s the worst place on this trail, the rest of our descent will be a snap.”

  “Oh.” Will kept his expression carefully neutral. The look in the Protoceratops’s eyes belied his carefully chosen words.

  I can go anywhere you can, Will Denison, Chaz found himself thinking. At the same time he wondered why he was comparing himself to a human. It was an undinosaurian sort of thing to do. Must be the stress they were under, he told himself.

  The trail grew steeper still, but there were no more breathtaking chasms. Even Keelk had to slow down lest the perfidious footing catch her unawares and send her stumbling to her doom.

  They heard the Rainy Basin before they could see it: insect and bird calls in profusion rising up through the mist, the notes so sharp and clear as to be almost solid. Then trees became visible, and beneath their sheltering crowns small bushes, vines, lianas, flowers, and bromeliads. Orchids and other blossoms filled the air with a sudden rush of fragrance, as if competing for some ethereal olfactory prize.

  “It’s beautiful,” Will murmured. “Just like I remember it.” Chaz cocked an eye up at his human companion. “You’ve been here before?”

  “Not in this place.” He waved at the rain forest. “Much farther south, on the main convoy route. And elsewhere. But not here.” He glanced at the sky. “The cloud cover is much heavier here than where I was, the mist a lot thicker.”

  “Lately there is more humidity in the air everywhere across Dinotopia.” The Protoceratops hunched forward, shifting the position of the twin saddlebags slightly. “It’s the six-year storm. The air is becoming saturated.”

  The increased oxygen count compensated for the higher heat and humidity, so that their energy level was little affected when they stepped off the trail onto the damp soil of the basin itself.

  Winded from the effects of the hurried descent, Chaz suffered more than his companions from the change of climate. “It’s not exactly comfortable down here. I prefer a drier environment myself.”

  “Not a place to linger, no.” Keelk’s apprehensiveness, however, had nothing to do with the weather. Her wide eyes scanned the forest depths as efficiently as any pair of binoculars.

  She noticed that her human companion was busy examining a large pink flower, seemingly oblivious to his threatening surroundings.

  “You do not seem frightened,” she told him via Chaz.

  “I’ve been in the Rainy Basin before. Had my share of close calls.” He indicated the surrounding forest. “It seems reasonably quiet here.”

  “But you know what there is to be afraid of.”

  “Of course. I may seem relaxed, but rest assured I’m listening and looking as intently as you.”

  “Well, I have never been here.” Chaz sniffed of a small succulent, took a thoughtful bite of one large, spatulate leaf, and chewed reflectively as he spoke. “Keep in mind that if we run into any danger, I’m the one who’s going to be caught first. I can’t run like a struthie or climb like a human.”

  “You can dig a hole,” Will suggested.

  “I will certainly keep that in mind,” the squat translator replied sardonically.

  “Oolu, my skybax instructor, always says that it’s foolish to borrow trouble. Keelk made it through safely.”

  “Not without several close calls,” she countered, in response to Chaz’s translation.

  “That’s right,” the Protoceratops grumbled. “Be encouraging.” He cast a sour eye on the forest. Every direction looked the same as every other. “Which way?”

  She didn’t hesitate, pointing eastward. They headed off into the trees, trying to keep the cliffs and slopes of the Backbones always on their left.

  “The humans who captured us tried to hug the cliffs as well. If they are still doing so, we should be able to find them.” “Then what?” Chaz demanded to know.

  She looked down at him. Ceratopsians were not known for their patience. “Find my family first.”

  From time to time she would pause to sniff the moist earth. The soil was ridi with scent, none of it familiar. The incessant rain had washed away not only any hint of her family and their captors but also of her own recent, reckless passage.

  “I’m looking forward to seeing this slot canyon the visitors found.” Will stepped easily over a gnarled root contesting his progress. “I didn’t know there was a way through this part of the Backbones.”

  “I am not sure anyone does,” she replied in response to the Protoceratops’s translation. “I think these humans found it by accident. It was almost completely hidden by plants.”

  “It must be very narrow,” Chaz commented thoughtfully, “or the farmers of the Northern Plains would find themselves plagued by meat-eaters from the basin, who would use such a route to travel northward.”

  “It is. Very. Narrow, that is.” She bent her neck to take another sniff of the ground.

  Will watched her work. “Do you think you’ll be able to pick up a scent? Everything’s so wet here.” Chaz conveyed the question.

  She raised her head and resumed walking. “I do not know, but I can try. Any member of my family I would,
of course, detect instantly. As for the humans, there were many of them, they stank powerfully, and they were very dirty in their personal habits. So there is a chance, I think.”

  “Odd,” remarked the Protoceratops. “It’s been my experience that the majority of humans enjoy bathing. But then, it’s obvious that these humans are thoroughly uncivilized.”

  “If these visitors are the kind of men I think they are,” Will replied, “you don’t know how right you are.”

  In the lush depths of the forest something vanished abruptly in a terse rustling of green. Chaz eyed the spot nervously. “Perhaps we should reconsider our intentions. Having found the way down, we could mark it clearly and return with more help.”

  “What kind of help?” Will kicked a rock aside. “Are we going to get an armored ankylosaur or Tarbosaurus down that little spit of a trail?”

  “More humans, then.”

  “The Treetown Council will decide. By then it might be too late for Keelk’s family. What we’re doing may not be the most sensible thing, but it’s the thing that needs to be done.” He glanced in the struthie’s direction. Not understanding Human, she hadn’t reacted to his words.

  “I know, I know,” Chaz groused. He used his sharp beak to snip off a tempting twig and chewed reflexively. It had a sharp, pleasantly minty flavor. “This is quite good. A last tasty meal for the noble condemned.”

  “Don’t be so pessimistic.” Will waited for the Protoceratops to get ahead of him. “If trouble comes, we can always scatter.” “Oh, really? All well and good for the two of you. What about me? Am I a pterodacytl, to cling to sheer rock?” He sighed dramatically. “How did I get talked into this, anyway?” Will rested a friendly hand on the crest of the Protocer-atops’s frill, which came just up to his stomach. “As I recall, you refused to be left behind. Your natural bravery and compassion wouldn’t let us go on without you. You care about others and, as a consequence, you’re not afraid to put your own life in danger on their behalf.”

  “Well, yes.” The translator put some spring in his step. “That’s all true, of course.”