“What are you doing skulking around Egbert? I could have shot you!” he snapped.
Egbert bowed deeply to Kypou.
“Ah Egbert is very sorry. Did not mean to alarm you. Egbert is friend.”
Tommy couldn’t put his finger on it but there was definitely something creepy about this dinosaur. Egbert looked from face to face until his cold stare landed upon Tommy and Jason. The creepy dinosaur strutted closer to them. When he moved, Egbert reminded Tommy of a giant, completely insane, peacock.
The dinosaur was a bit taller than Kypou. His hind legs had thick thighs and narrow calves. Each foot had three clawed toes with a tiny fourth toe at the rear of each foot. He had a long tail and long powerful arms with three long clawed fingers on each hand. Egbert’s neck was thick but long, with a long head and a snout that ended in a sharp toothless beak. There was a stubby horn on the top of his nose. He was dark gray with black spots on his back.
Tommy recognized Egbert as an Oviraptor also known as the ‘egg thief’ dinosaur because it was said to have stolen eggs from the nests of other dinosaurs.
Egbert stared down at the boys. His eyes had a strange glint in them that the boys didn’t at all like the looks of. The strange dinosaur glanced over at Kypou.
“Egbert see you have found new friends.” He looked back to Tommy and Jason. “Will new friends be Egbert’s friends also?” The dinosaur gave them a wide toothless grin.
Kypou walked over and inserted himself between Egbert and the boys.
“What do you want Egbert?” he said with slight annoyance.
The Oviraptor straightened up and looked directly at Kypou.
“Egbert want nothing, nothing. Just glad to see his friends have not been captured.”
There was something slightly deceiving in the way Egbert said this.
“Egbert see...” The dinosaur went on, looking past everyone until his eyes rested upon Peko. “...his friends still have the little seer. How fortunate.”
Kypou was unmoved by all Egbert’s nice talk.
“We’re busy, so why don’t you run along,” he said firmly.
Egbert’s eyes came back to Kypou’s face. His eyes narrowing with anger for a brief moment. Then he smiled widely.
“Egbert understands. Knows how hard it is to fight the enemy when there are so few,” he sighed deeply. 𠇎gbert only wishes he could help but Egbert is so lame.”
Kypou crossed his arms and rolled his eyes with irritation. It was well know that Egbert was of no use to anyone.
“Egbert hopes his friends remain... unharmed.” His voice grew cold and biting when he spoke the last word. With that said, Egbert turned and strutted off into the jungle. Everyone relaxed.
“Who was that?” asked Jason. 𠇊nd why does he start all his sentences with his name? I mean, that’s kind of weird isn’t it?”
“Egbert is a sad crazy creature,” said Kypou. “It’s best to just ignore him.”
“Boy, having to deal with guys like him and your invisible enemies sounds like a lot of trouble,” said Tommy.
“Who’s invisible?” said Jason.
“Egbert is no threat to us,” Kypou told Tommy.
“Who’s invisible?” said Jason again. He had a horrible feeling he’d missed out on an important conversation.
“I’ll explain later,” Tommy told him.
They continued on to the cave Kypou had mentioned earlier. On the way Kypou left several times to make sure they weren’t being followed. There still was no sign of Harpi.
The group waded through the dense jungle until finally coming to a stop in front of a huge tree. It’s leaves were long and thin and hung all the way down to the jungle floor like a leaf curtain. Kypou pushed some of the leaves aside. Behind, was a rock wall. Cut into the rock was a large people size opening. The dinosaurs, except for Kypou, walked into the opening and disappeared into the darkness beyond. Tommy and Jason hesitated for a moment. So far Kypou and the others appeared to pose no threat, but could they be sure this would continue. Kypou beckoned them forward, and seeing they had little choice but to follow, they cautiously stepped into the darkness of the cave.
At first nothing could be seen or heard. Then a soft popping noise broke the silence. The boys found themselves suddenly surrounded by an eerie light. Standing behind them was Kypou, and in his hand was a brightly shining crystal, about the size and shape of an apple. In front of them was a stone staircase leading down deeper into the cave. Still holding the crystal, Kypou began to descend the stairs. Tommy and Jason once again followed.
The bottom of the stairs opened up into a large subterranean cavern. The other dinosaurs were already there sitting on grass mats on the floor. Kypou and the boys joined them.
The cavern was basically circular in shape with a high ceiling. The walls were made of a rough, lightly colored gray rock. It was not dark, on the contrary, it was quite bright. Imbedded in the rock walls were crystals much like the one Kypou was holding. Kypou tapped the crystal with his hand and it went out. On the ground, against the surrounding wall, were several beds made from some kind of green moss. The most curious thing about the cavern was what was sitting in the very center of it.
There was a black stone about the size of ten extra large pizzas. The surface of the stone was dotted with little holes. Heat radiated out from these holes making the air warm which was quite unusual for being so far underground. Kypou explained that the unusual stone captured heat escaping from a deep underground lava vent which then heated the entire cave.
“What is this place?” asked Tommy.
“This is our home now,” Kypou told him. “Since it isn’t safe for us to live in the jungle anymore, we live here where the Myrites can’t find us.”
“So did the Myrites build the trap we fell in to?” asked Tommy.
“Who are these Myrites you all keep talking about?” said Jason.
At the mention of the word Myrite, Peko sprang to his feet and was about to give his ‘What I would do if I ever saw a Myrite’ demonstration again, but Bonta gently restrained him.
“The Myrites are very evil,” said Kypou. “They are protectors of the Great Stone which makes them very powerful. The Stone helps them become...,” Kypou thought for a moment. “Invisible. Isn’t that the word you used Tommy?” Tommy nodded. “It is how they hunt us,” continued Kypou. “The Great Stone needs to be fed a special crystal so the Myrites can keep their power. They have enslaved almost everyone in the valley and have forced them to dig for these crystals.” Kypou paused, sadness flowed over his reptilian face. “Our families have all been captured,” he said in a quiet voice. 𠇊nd put to work in the mine. Now we are trying to save them but it’s hard. There aren’t many of us left to fight.”
Tommy and Jason were amazed by Kypou’s story. The dinosaurs, no older than he or Jason, seemed to have a great deal of responsibility and worry on their shoulders.
“So everyone in the valley is now working in the Myrite mine?” asked Tommy.
“Well, not everyone,” replied Kypou. “Some of our fellow Gwondalians are of no use to the Myrites. They, I’m afraid, met quite a different end.
“It’s all so terrible,” whispered Typhoo. It was the first time the boys had heard the plump dinosaur speak. Kypou reached over and patted his little friend on the shoulder.
“What happens to them?’ asked Tommy, not at all sure he wanted to know the answer.
“The very young and the old are taken to a part of the jungle where the Myrite go to eat,” said Bonta.
It didn’t take long for Tommy to figure out that dinosaurs deemed not useful as slaves by the Myrites ended up as food.
“It’s not all bad,” said Kypou. “Some of our kind have escaped to the very edge of the valley but we have not heard how they are doing.”
Tommy remembered back to the piles of bones they had seen at the edge of the valley. Jason remembered this as well and not wanting he and his brother to be the bearer of bad news he politely changed the subject.
“Uh, Gwondalians. Is that what you’re called?” asked Jason.
“Yes,” said Kypou. “This is Gwondala. Where are you from? Do you live in the valley? I’m sure we would have seen your kind before.”
“No,” said Jason. “We don’t come from your valley.”
“Where do you come from then?” asked Bonta.
Jason wasn’t really sure how to explain their presence.
“We live beyond your valley,” Jason told her. “In a place far away called Strumvale.”
“Are there others like you?” asked Peko.
“Uh, yeah there are. Our kind are called humans,” said Jason.
“Hum,” said Kypou. “Humans. How did you get here?”
“We wandered away from our home and got lost. Now we’re trying to find our way back home but I’m afraid we’re not doing a very good job of it at the moment.” said Tommy.
The boys didn’t want to tell the dinosaurs the whole story. They had a feeling they wouldn’t understand the concept of a time hole or the fact that in their world dinosaurs were extinct.
Silence followed as each group tried to understand what the other had just told them. Jason broke the silence.
“Do you think Harpi will be okay? He was pretty mad when he left. I mean, is he safe from these Myrites?
“Harpi will be fine,” said Kypou. “He will return when he’s feeling better. Harpi does not accept the presence of strangers very well. He thinks everyone is in league with the Myrites, besides he has the jungle to watch out for him.”
“What’d you mean?” replied Jason.
“We have all been born with special gifts,” said Kypou. 𠇋onta as you have seen has the power to heal. Peko, our seer, can see the Myrites even when they are invisible. The piece of the Great Stone he wears around his neck enhances this rare and special gift. There is only one other in the Valley of Gwondala who is able to touch a piece of the Great Stone without falling under it’s spell.” Kypou continued, “I have the power to jump to the top of the tallest tree in the jungle and run as fast as the wind. Typhoo can blend into any terrain instantly. Show them Typhoo.”
Typhoo got to his feet then laid down on one of the moss beds. He instantly disappeared. The shy dinosaur then sat up again. His upper half was back to his natural coloring but his bottom half still on the bed couldn’t be seen. Typhoo had changed his coloring to match that of the moss bed. The dinosaur got up and returned to his mat. It turned out that Typhoo was very much like a chameleon.
“Wow!” exclaimed Tommy. “That’s amazing!”
“So what can Harpi do?” asked Jason.
“He can communicate with trees, rocks, plants, and even the ground itself,” said Kypou. 𠇋ut only he can hear what these things say.”
The boys couldn’t believe it, dinosaurs with magical powers! Now that was something nobody would have ever expected. Jason , however, was puzzled by one thing. If the dinosaurs had strange powers then why hadn’t any of them used their powers to get rid of these Myrites. The dinosaurs explained that the Myrites could steal away their gifts, leaving them powerless.
“So does that mean um, Egbert has some kind of gift too?” asked Tommy.
Kypou shook his head. “No,” he said. 𠇎gbert has never been able to do anything apart from annoy everyone. We think it’s because there’s something wrong in his head.”
“In his head?” said Tommy confused.
“Yeah,” said Kypou. “He’s well kind of ... slow.”
“Oh,” said Tommy. He kind of knew what Kypou was talking about.
During this time, little Peko had fallen asleep. Tommy was beginning to yawn and it was becoming apparent that it was time for bed. Neither of the boys had slept well in the last couple of days. Kypou showed them to their beds which they eagerly laid down on. The soft moss and the warm room were a welcomed change from wet tree branches. Once everyone was settled, Kypou went around and gently tapped some of the crystals out, leaving a few on. Tomorrow the boys would find out how to get home, but for now everyone slept.
