Lyrian stares in awe at the creature as it passes him by and shouts a song full of throat like a high pitched machine. Trilling rhythms are slow, deeper than your average bird. It clicks, laying it's foot onto the ground with head moving first. Eyes lay on its surroundings within two directions rather than a frontal lobe. It's head turns in motions to see in front and back, waltzing inside the abandoned campsite.

  "Therizinosaurus," Lyrian says pulling out his book. "An herbivore. Don't make any sudden moves."

  "I'll take my chances with an herbivore," Aleena stands, revealing herself to the therizinosaurus.

  "What are you doing?" Lyrian whispers.

  "Come on out," Aleena whispers and Lyrian and Faylin come out, revealing themselves. "I think we're good."

  "What if it's under a spell?" Lyrian whispers, still hiding in the brush with Faylin behind.

  The therizinosaurus snarls and clicks at Aleena. The creature looks at her curiously and slowly walks forward, sniffing at the elf. Its long neck stretches down towards Aleena.

  "Uh oh, get ready." Lyrian mutters under his breath, gripping his book tightly in his hand.

  "Easy boy, easy," Aleena reaches out her hand, frozen but trying to reason with the animal.

  "Be careful, we don't know what that thing's gonna do, perhaps it's guarding this place," says Lyrian.

  The therizinosaurus shrieks at Aleena and pulls it's long claws back with it's head to side, and eye clearly locked on Aleena.

  "Oh no," Aleena backs away and gasps.

  The creature screeches an oversized bird call and swings it's claws at Aleena. She dodges the attack with a backflip, and lands safely away from the flurry of long dreading nails.

  Aleena quickly grabs her bow and nocks an arrow.

  "Aleena, wait!" Lyrian whispers. "It has bad eyesight. It can't see in front, it's like bird. Don't shoot and stay hidden."

  The creature screeches again and turns away from Aleena, sniffing for her. Lyrian runs out towards the dinosaur. He throws his hands out to his sides, shouting at the dinosaur.

  "Hey! Over here!" he yells.

  The therizinosaur roars and frills it's nails out like the wings of a raptor, charging at Lyrian. It swings again, a barrage of swipes all at once in Lyrian's position.

  Lyrian throws up a barrier made of stone as claws slam down onto it. He launches a rock at a tree and makes it turn towards the impact as he makes his escape.

  "Let's get out of here, and slowly," Lyrian says to the others. They quietly retreat from the area, sneaking back over to the two tall trees entrance, but the creature heads back over to where they are. It stalks over, tilting it's head like a bird.

  "It's going to spot us," Lyrian says.

  "Keep calm, keep your distance." Aleena replies, drawing an arrow.

  Lyrian, Aleena, and Faylin sneak over to the bushes, staying quiet. The therizinosaurus sniffs, smelling their presence, and begins moving towards them, slowly walking closer.

  It lands it's feet on the ground, one after the other. Air from its nose is pushed out. It smells again, the strange aroma of human and elf.

  Aleena fires her arrow on the ground next to it but hitting a log, distracting it. "Move!" She whispers, and they make a run for it.

  The dinosaur spots them and runs after the fleeing party, but it is slowed by the dense forest, getting it's claws and lower body scratched by bushes.

  The group flees through the forest. Loud splats against the dirt and bed of leaves are coming from behind. The therizinosaurus bellows a shriek of throating song, and gives chase, galloping after the party as fast as it can.

  It's claws are out to scare it's intruders. A neck juts out in rhythm.

  Aleena hops to the trees and fires a shot to the next trunk over as Faylin and Lyrian hide in bushes.

  The therizinosaur swipes at the trees and breaks the arrow, gnawing on the bark. It regains it's senses and pivots back to sniffing, stalking in Aleena's direction.

  "Stay hidden," Aleena says before she jumps higher and hides in the tree tops.

  Sniffs in the air around the trees and bushes are seeking her out as Aleena jumps from tree to tree. She jumps over to Faylin and Lyrian.

  The therizinosaurus trills at the three as it searches for them. Claws cling onto the tree trunk of Aleena's spot.

  Aleena grapples onto a branch and swings her legs up higher into the leaves. The acrobat shifts to another branch, walking across the stick. Lofty and precise flourish of altitude, her head peeks from the very top, gaining the view of roofing forest.

  Little did she know, it starts climbing and clinging onto the wood with giant sloth claws. Sharp feet scrape the bark but lands on the trunk on a second turn of gaining height. Aleena gasps as she climbs and jumps over to another, swinging from branch to branch.

  Aleena lands and slides down the branches ruffling leaves and the creature turns, growling at her. The tree she's in starts to tip from the weight of the giant bird.

  Carefully, it stretches it's neck. The claws are a pulling pitchfork through Aleena's branch, grasping a puff of leaves with the beak. It chews on Aleena branch, though it's hunger comes to a halt at the wide, and left sight of Aleena on the branch.

  She backs away and gasps, holding her arm up in defense. Anger of its dilated eye is ready to burst.

  "Lyrian! I could use some help!" Aleena shouts and Lyrian bursts out from a bush, casting a spell. He shoots an earthen shard at the therizinosaurus' head, interrupting it's tantrum that's about to hit Aleena.

  The shard bounces off. Resonating, smooth sound, loudly vibrates at the direction of the rock came from. In Lyrian's path, it drops down, fracturing branches to flatten the bushes below it's feet.

  Two long claws, three sets of nails surround Faylin and Lyrian in the bush at each side. An arch on the long neck, the beak is inches away from them, blowing droplets of snot along the leaves. They are straight under it's belly, under it's nose, and under it's arching neck.

  "Aleena, please, we need a plan," Faylin says to herself with fright, and wavering low whispers.

  Aleena shoots an arrow at a tree nearby and it bellows the throat, following the direction.

  The two jump out. Aleena drops from the trees with her bladed bow drawn and the two run out of the way. The creature rhythms it's chirps, looking on the side that spots the group. Aleena joins behind Faylin and Lyrian.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  The group is sprinting away, getting a good distance from the therizinosaurus, finally making a run as the creature fades off of view.

  Faylin glances back while running. The large ostrich sloth is stomping a slow turn, but never moves away from its spot. Chasing is over. The frontal sight is lost.

  They escape it's territory, and Faylin takes a breath and sighs with much deserved relief.

  "That was a close one," Lyrian says, breathing heavily, holding a hand to his chest.

  "Are we still okay? Is it gone?" Faylin asks.

  "It's back to guarding it's nest," Aleena replies as she looks behind her. "Thanks for saving me back there."

  "Of course, anything for a friend," Lyrian says, giving Aleena a friendly pat on the shoulder.

  Faylin crosses her arms and chuckles, "maybe next time you should think twice before approaching an herbivore you tree hugger."

  Aleena slaps her arm lightly, "oh shut it."

  Aleena keeps breathing and takes a slow breath to calm herself. Thoughts of Maiwyn using a therizinosaur in her head start to turn, "it doesn't make sense. Maiwyn is not an alchemist or any kind of scientist. How does she know a therizinosaur would be good for guarding her own places?"

  "Experiments?" Lyrian suggests.

  "Or perhaps someone else is involved?" says Faylin.

  Aleena sighs off the thought of being impaled by the giant ostrich sloth. She leans on the tree bottom and taps the back of her head on the wood, "there are only more questions."

  Lyrian offers a hand on her shoulder, "we should head back to the village. Elder Kyrza must be awaiting us."

  Aleena smiles, "you're right. No use in dwelling on the unknown."

  "Let's hope that therizinosaurus doesn't follow us," Faylin replies. "I keep thinking we should've killed it."

  "There's no time," Aleena shakes her head.

  They make it back to the village with no signs of danger. Elder Kyrza greets them as they approach his home. He sits upon a chair outside.

  "Ah, you've returned," he says.

  "Yes, we found what we believe to be one of Maiwyn's caves. It had a lot of magic, as Lyrian sensed. And this," she pulls out a piece of a bone that is glowing green."

  He examines texture and the touch closely, "hmm. This looks like an ancient fossil infused with magic."

  "It's not undead," Lyrian explains, "but the magic energy I felt was similar to what we encountered when we faced the monolophosaurs. This magic is the Beastmaster's doing."

  "Perhaps it's a new form of magic that's been discovered?" Aleena asks.

  Elder Kyrza nods and thinks, "Maiwyn is not a necromancer. She's not a summoner. But she is a healer, so I wonder what her source of power is. I don't quite understand her magic either but I think I can make it out what she could be doing."

  Aleena asks leaning forward impatiently, "well, is it Maiwyn's?"

  "This is Maiwyn's. This magic is from a healer. I recognize it because Maiwyn once used her healing spells on me," the elder explains, "I remember how she healed me and this is her signature."

  "Can't a mage have the same spell?"

  "Her spells had unique properties to it," the elder says. "It is almost as if she were some sort of a druid and healer. But her source of magic is unknown to me. I never seen a spell like this before."

  "She can do healing, she can summon creatures from the dead. How is it that she's not a necromancer?" Faylin asks.

  "Necromancy might have something to do with it. Bringing back the dead was the start but afterwards she would heal the undead corpse and summon the soul that once inhabited the body. She has done a full revival of our once great Mesozoic world that once dominated the ancient forests," he finally reveals. "She is a whole different kind of mage."

  Everyone jolts at the revelation. Aleena takes a step forward, shocked, "this is blasphemy! There's no way someone could morph that kind of magical energy together. It's entropy mixed with creation mixed with, psychic energy."

  "I'm afraid this is what is in this spell. Necromancy, healing, and the summoning of animal spirits," Kyrza says.

  "Did she have an agenda? Anything we can use to track her down?" asks Faylin.

  "I wish I knew, I know that she wants revenge on us but she never did tell us how she felt," Elder Kyrza shakes his head with longing concern for his fellow wood elf sister. "But she had her revenge on the Aeirwood clan and won. I don't know what she'd want with us Red Leaves."

  "I guess we'll never know," Aleena sighs.

  "We should start looking elsewhere," Faylin says. She steps away and starts to head back to the caravan.

  An earthquake strikes, rocking the whole place back and forth violently. Aleena and Faylin stumble around as they struggle to maintain balance.

  Trees shake and sway from side to side, causing branches to snap and fall onto the ground. Rocks roll down the hill and tumble down the side of cliffs. Crashes of stone rolling down hills are hitting large trees.

  Cloth of tents pulses with ocean waves. Mobile wagon homes shake the jingles of elven chimes.

  "What in the world?!" Lyrian shouts, bracing himself against a wall of Kyrza's wooden wagon home.

  Birds fly off from the trees, vegetation rustle in the great thundering earthquake.

  Sounds dwindle down. The elven chimes rest, rattling a tune. Quaking stops as it slows and Faylin turns to Lyrian, "well excuse you rock mage!"

  "That wasn't me," he shakes his head.

  "Well then where did it come from?" Aleena asks.

  "Who knows? It could be anywhere," Faylin shrugs.

  "An earthquake? In this area?" Aleena asks all confused.

  Spreading his hand out on the dirt floor, Lyrian feels the geometry beneath him. Vibrating ground is felt from afar under the earth. He points, "it came from over that direction. A little far from here."

  "That is the direction of the ancient Ildalla temple. Where wood elves once went to worship the gods alone, and pray," Aleena hugs her bow and looks down with worry.

  "What is that temple?" Faylin asks.

  "It's where a large amount of druidic power is held, a holy ground, a place of peace and meditation. A temple for worshipers to gather in their prayers," Aleena's voice wavers.

  "Well then what are we waiting for? Let's go check out that place," Lyrian says.

  "Maiwyn could be there," the elder suggests, "and I fear that our forest is changing. That's what the earthquake was; tectonic plates merging back to where they once were millions of years ago."

  Aleena let's put a few tears, "she's ruining our forest. The many animals and plants that survive today won't last long if she keeps doing this."

  "She needs to be stopped before things get any worse," Lyrian says firmly. "We must put a stop to her."

  "We'll save your forest Aleena," Faylin put a hand on her shoulder.

  Aleena is streaming with tears. She clenches her bow and mumbles to herself, "it's so far away...so far."

  Faylin grasps her shoulder and gazes in her eyes with worry, "Aleena. We'll make it."

  Vibrating, invisible waves echo through the valley, and rumbles in their chest. Everyone plugs their ears, hurting each drum full of low sound that is barely heard. Low cellos of growls shudder the flowers around. It gets louder, tightening their ears.

  Red noise throbs in the area, after soft trilling chips. A breathe in, and a hiss out, a large creature is heading their way into the camp.

  Trees topple over and leaves rustle loudly. Loud calls of a dinosaur ring throughout the camp.

  "It's coming from that way," Lyrian points, "and it's a lot bigger than the one we faced."

  Faylin draws her hammer. Aleena nocks an arrow and readies herself for whatever might appear.

  Trees flex over as a giganotosaurus emerges from the shrubs and growls a loud warning to the entire camp. Dirt sinks as it steps forward. Dirt trembles and cracks through beneath the padded feet.

  Its body towers over them all. A long tail sways side-to-side. Claws protrude from its tiny arms. Scales of the fierce head, show it's lizard form.

  Lyrian and Aleena both look at the dinosaur and then each other in shock and horror, "that's a lot more dinosaur than what we just faced."

  He flips through the pages of his book, "greyish brown skin, lizard, giganotosaurus!"

  "It's the exact size as the bones we saw in Maiwyn's abandoned camp," Aleena mentions. "We've got to fight this thing."

  "It's massive, and I doubt our weapons can even scratch its skin," Lyrian replies, eyeing the creature's thick scales.

  "This must be the same dinosaur we saw. It came to life," Faylin says. "This thing is bigger than anything else we've ever seen. And this is the same magic that was used to create it."

  Aleena nods and takes aim with her bow, "then I'll shoot at its eyes. That'll slow it down. You two distract it."

  The beast turns to the elder and sniffs the air.

  Aleena pulls the string of her bow back.

  Kyrza puts his hand on Aleena's cocked arrow, "Aleena stop. You need to get to Maiwyn and stop her. Us elves will take this thing down and protect our forest. Go. This is our home and it must be defended."

  "But-" she looks at the creature then back at the elder.

  "Now, while it's distracted," he says in a militant manner. "Save our forest Aleena."

  Aleena nods and backs off with Faylin and Lyrian.

  "You two," the elder elf eyes the two humans, "get Aleena out of here, please. I will meet up with you with elven hunters and archers later."

  Faylin nods, "we'll make sure we protect Aleena, don't you worry. But let's hurry."

  Aleena backs away and sprints towards the woods. Faylin and Lyrian follow her lead.

  Faylin makes it to the carriage, stoping at a hunch over the side. Their two horses and Snowdrop still tied to the stables. Newly made weapons still sit in storage of the back carriage.

  Aleena turns just as she is about to leave the entrance, "Faylin no! We can't take our horses the way we're going. The hike is too narrow and dangerous!"

  "Now wait a minute," Faylin argues, raising her voice, "I am not leaving my stock in the middle of a war! I worked too hard!"

  Aleena streams more tears, "Faylin please. I don't want to leave Snowdrop either but we have to trust that they'll be safe here."

  Faylin slams her fist on the carriage, "damn it!" She takes the hilt of her most valuable sword, the gallium weapon which is the shape of a small knife for portable purposes. She runs with Aleena and all of the group make their escape.

  The Therizinosaurus Searches for Intruders

  Elder Kyrza Examines the Fossil Fragment