Chapter 12

Plesiosaurs and Ichthyosaurs

Waking up, James looked inside his bedchamber. It was so dim. He had his windows open as usual. Why was it so dark? As he opened the door he soon saw why. It was extremely foggy, as fog from the ocean had formed a thick cloak around the beach. He looked outside and saw a Carnotaurus he had never seen before. He saw Shira come around the corner.

He called over, "Hey Shira!"

She looked, waved, and James motioned for her to come over. There was no wind plus it was dead silent. Not a sound could be heard, aside from her silent steps as she came across the sand.

She smiled, "What is it James?"

"Who's Carnotaurus is this?"

"Oh its Jason's. Rhino gave him that reddish saddle. He named it Raspberry."

James laughed. He could see why though, as the Carnotaurus was reddish, with a bit of pink on its head.

Shira squinted her eyes and pointed down the shore, "Now who is that?"

"Looks like Shadow...let's go see."

Shadow was soaked to the bone, and he had a primitive oxygen tank around his back.

James laughed, "Shadow what on earth were you doing?"

Shadow, with wide eyes replied, "Oh, taming something new!"

James got suddenly excited.

"What is it?"

Shadow pointed into the water at what looked like a dolphin, but it wasn't. It was an aquatic reptile known as Ichthyosaurus. It was an extinct, or at least, once extinct aquatic reptile. James waded into the water, which was chest deep. The Ichthyosaurus nudged him as if he was an old friend. James ran his hand along its smooth skin. It even had a saddle.

"That'll be our village's first tamed Ichthyosaur!" Shadow said excitedly.

Shira got in the water as well, laughing as the curious creature nudged her and played like a child in the water.

Shira looked at James, "We need to find our own now!"

Taming their own Ichthyosaur was definitely high up on their list of to-do's, but James also had another few jobs he had to do before he could do that. He had to take care of Cuddles. Cuddles was about as cuddly as a rock, seeing as he was a really sluggish, and sometimes ornery, Sarcosuchus. Cuddles wasn't James' crocodile, but it somehow became his big, grumpy responsibility. James couldn't even remember who owned the big pile of scales. He simply moved Cuddles to one of the underwater bay stables, which were closed off spaces in the bay near Ark Village.

He could hold off on the second job for a bit anyway. He was just too excited about the Ichthyosaurus project. He had known about the Ichthyosaurs in the bay for quite a bit, but it was only very recently that Shadow had learned how to tame them.

He mounted his Pteranodon and looked into the bay. He saw a Colossochelys, and at least three Ichthyosaurs in the water. Finding one wouldn't be much of a challenge that was for sure. They were all over the bays and reefs offshore. They probably wouldn't even need to take a mount to tame one. As he flew and admired the scenery, he caught a glimpse of a Stegosaurus eating berries on the shore.

Suddenly he put his hands over his face and gave a frustrated groan. He remembered a job he had to do.

Reluctantly, he wheeled around on his Pteranodon and went to the stables. He had to go out and find berries on his Stegosaurus. He got out Sir Spikes and put the gear on. Sighing, he went out to the berry patches. He was finding it increasingly difficult to collect large quantities of berries. He used to collect vast amounts, but now he got far less. He guessed it was probably because most of the berry patches around the village had been absolutely ransacked.

He was having no luck, and he was finding it very hard to focus anyway. He just wanted to get his hands on an Ichthyosaur and go out looking for underwater treasures. He had heard rumors of silica pearls shining like stars on the deep ocean floor. James suddenly snapped out of his daydream when the Stegosaurus got down and started to fall asleep. He woke it up, put it in the stables, and expelled most of his energy running to Shira's house to tell her to get ready to look for that Ichthyosaurus.

Shadow had told Shira about a part of the bay filled with Ichthyosaurs. They went to it, James riding Bumper, his Parasaurolophus, and Shira riding her Carnotaurus Shullershy. When they approached the bay, there were at least five Ichthyosaurs in the bay. All they had to do was take their pick. The creatures were friendly to begin with, and they hardly did anything when the two humans approached, not even bothering to get away. Really, the only thing they needed to do to tame an Ichthyosaur was to simply feed it fish, and put a saddle on it.

At the end of the hour, James had a red and brown one named Echo, and Shira had a green and orange one named Algae. They each got on their Ichthyosaurs and tested them out the entire day.

By nightfall, they were quite comfortable with them. The next day and they swam even more. Shira was in love with hers, and so was James. They were nearly ready to explore the depths of the sea around the Ark.

The following day James was doing his rounds about the village. Shira was in the bay practicing diving and evasive moves on Algae. Walking past the main highway going through the village, he saw Tobi's Tyrannosaurus named Little Princess. Though James wouldn't have ever named a Tyrannosaurus such a patronizing name, it didn't help that the T-Rex was grey with pink marking all over it.

James decided to go out on a mission to collect some metal ore to make some advanced tools for their underwater expeditions. There was a very tall mountain named Mt. Orncreft in the mountain range north of Ark Village that was full of iron and copper ores in different parts of the mountain. He climbed up, higher and further. However, he didn't find any metal on that part of the summit. So, he decided to clamber his way to the top.

After a bit of a struggle, he reached the top, and found an empty storage box. Nothing was in it, so he looked out. The view was spectacular. He could see for miles and miles. The forests to the North, Lake Lore to the East, and the ocean and Ark Village to the West. He gasped. He couldn't get over how beautiful the view looked. It was a feast to the eyes. The vast, spreading, grassy meadows full of peaceful grazing Triceratops and Stegosaurus. The deep green forests and jungles looking like moss on a rock. There were gleaming white rivers, running like glass ribbons through the vast landscape, with a sky as blue as sapphire, and air as pure as crystal. To the far south was a large mountain range, with peaks covered in snow.

He took in the view, admiring every last bit of it, and then he started moving back down. He clambered carefully down the steep slope when a loose rock shifted under his feet. He slid down the hill on his back, letting the rock flow do what it wanted with him. He wasn't going too fast, and he was in complete control of himself. He slid down faster and faster. James dug his feet into the gravel, which slowed him down a bit, before reaching a slightly less steep part of the hill and coming to a stop. James got up. He hadn't taken any mounts, so he didn't need to find it, and he didn't really have anything on him. He simply descended slowly before reaching the base of the mountain.

On his way back, he was walking into the jungle when suddenly something large and black jumped out in front of him. It was a Saber-Toothed Cat. James yelled, and pulled out his knife. The Smilodon was facing him now, and he threateningly swiped his blade, yelling. The cat roared, exposing fangs like murderous butcher knives. James took a step towards the cat, which shied away, before running away back into the jungle.

He quickly evacuated, but suddenly realized he was only a half mile away from the village. He flew into his house, breathed a sigh of relief. Smilodon may be terrifying creatures, but if you stand your ground they usually go to pick on somebody their own size. With that, James fell asleep in his bed.

The next day he took out his Pteranodon, Jetstream. He flew around the island scouting the entire day, and then it got dark. He was flying back when he saw a campfire, and three Carnotaurus standing around it. He recognized Raspberry, and two others. When he flew down and saw who it was he met with Tobi, Edmonto and Rhino.

Rhino looked up and waved, "Hello James we were just having a little fireside chat about now."

James walked up, "What are you guys doing here?"

"We were just exploring a bit, looking for a renegade Raptor or something. What are you doing here?"

"Scouting. Shira and I are going to be going on an underwater expedition before long."

Rhino nodded, chewing on a piece of wheat.

"Yeah I'd like to get an Ichthyosaurus myself. Find some of those Ichthyosaurs and find some of those silica pearls!"

James laughed, "Rhino I didn't think you're the type that would look for buried treasure!"

The next day, he swung by Shira's house. Shira looked very excited.

"What are we doing today James?"

Her enthusiasm rubbed off on James, "We're going on an underwater expedition. There are rumors of silica pearls underwater near the waters near the Red Cliffs."

Shira nodded, "I like how that sounds. When will we leave?"

James shrugged, "Now if you want."

Shira smiled, "I was hoping you'd say that!"

They had gotten ready, using Rhino's primitive air sacks to breathe underwater, though it would only last for under a half hour. They both got on their Ichthyosaurs and dove underneath the water. It was like a mystical alternate world. There were stone columns and kelp gently swaying to and fro in the sea. They had brought goggles with them to see underwater, and that helped tremendously.

They suddenly saw a dead Ichthyosaurus in the water. Looking down, they saw three Megalodon all coming up towards them. They got there almost at once. Shira pointed vigorously away from the Megalodon. They surfaced, and the Ichthyosaurs swam as fast as they possibly could.

Another hour out at sea, and they were right in front of the base at Lake Lore, which they had swum into. James saw a Pteranodon in the air. It was Edmonto, on Iceflame. Edmonto waved and Shira and James waved back. They quickly stopped off at the base to get something to eat.

There was some sort of chowder there that James ate. It had a weird taste...a bit like peanuts actually. Shira got some jerky and gnawed on that, before proclaiming it too tough, and just getting some berries. Then, they hopped back on their Ichthyosaurs.

James said he'd like to go deep, and see what lay deeper underwater. They executed their plan, and dove way, way down. They had explored for about 10 minutes before seeing something very scary. There was an Elasmosaurus! It was a large Plesiosaur that they had never seen before. Shira's eyes were wide, and she pointed up. James was right behind her. He looked behind him and the Elasmosaurus was still following them...along with three Megalodon. They booked it faster than they ever had before, the Ichthyosaurs running on their own terror.

They outran the Megalodon, and returned to the base at Lake Lore. Rhino was there, and he had a huge grin on his face.

James smirked, "What's so lovely today Rhino?"

Rhino held up a sack and the grin seemed to connect at the back of his head. He opened up the sack, and about 10 huge pearls spilled out onto the table. Shira and James both gasped.

"I got my Ichthyosaurus this morning."

James shook his head.

He was heading out the door when Shira called after him, "James! Where are you going?!

James yelled back, "To find some silica pearls!"