Chap. 92 The Water Hole

Chap. 92 The Water Hole

"I can see the ocean!" B'rost called, excited.

From their viewpoint in the sky, they could see the fog wreathed coast.

This, then, was almost the end of their survey of the Southern continent.

"Not quite yet, lads," D'nis called, "We must maintain discipline in the survey. We'll drop down here, take readings, and then head for the coast. D'mitran! What's the distance from here to the coast?"

D'mitran manipulated the datalink from his lap, being aboard an airborne Careth.

"Ummmmmmmmmm, the link is unreliable, but I'll say it's, oh, 49 kilometers."

"Close enough!" B'rost cried, "we can even, probably, go between!"

"Calm down, laddie, did you bring your fishing gear?" D'nis teased. B'rost was big on fishing.

"Nay…but I am aboard a fisher dragon," he laughed.

I think I'd like go fishing, too Raventh said

In a little while. We have science to do right here. Land, please?

Once they dismounted, they set up their gear. K'ndar, being the biologist, took soil and plant samples. He'd gotten into the habit of using his binos to look all around him.

He saw motion. There were birds flying about that spot, but for once, no herbivores. Yet he saw something flying up into the air that was definitely NOT a bird, or anything alive. It looked like gouts of what appeared to be soil, or mud? was being thrown into the air. Once in a while he saw a narrow thing momentarily appear above the ground level.  Flocks of birds were walking all about in the vicinity, taking off and landing, but they weren't creating the motion. What in the name of Pern?

"Siskin," he asked, pushing the vision into his blue fire lizards' brain, "do you see that?" 

Siskin peeped an affirmative.

"Will you go see what it is?"

Siskin chirped and arrowed away. 

It is something digging. All he can see is what appears to be the back end of a creature. It's covered with mud Raventh reported.

The bino's told him it was about a kilometer from where he stood.

He needed a walk.

"Sir, I see something digging out there. I need to stretch my legs, so I'm going to walk out to it."

D'nis looked over from his gear.

"Okay, but stay out of trouble. Yell if you need help."

Don't you want to fly out there?

You can come if you want, but I need to walk.

Raventh thought about it. 

I'll be lazy for now. But I'll be watching. We're sideways to the wind of whatever it is, so I can't smell it.

Thank you.

Siskin returned, chipping out of pure happiness. He loved being out with the dragons and doing things. He resumed his perch on K'ndar's shoulders.

His sister, Glyena, had made a harness for K'ndar to wear so that the fire lizard had a secure perch on his shoulder without adding a lot of weight to just one. It also kept his sharp talons from tearing up K'ndar's jacket.

The walk felt good, and allowed K'ndar to observe. The ground was covered in uncounted numbers of hoofprints, here and there a bone or the remnants of a scavenged skeleton. The vegetation had been well cropped here, so walking was relatively easy. 

As he approached, he slowed. The gouts of what now he could see were obviously mud were still popping up. He kept an eye on the birds. They were unafraid of whatever it was.

Shortly he was about dozen meters from the digger. He could see, now, that the digger was deep in a hole of its own making. Water had seeped out of it, creating a water hole. The water had spread, shallowly, over a very large area, creating a water source for the birds and insects. 

By the egg, he thought, this thing creates water holes. This one must be fifty meters across. 

This is how life can exist way out on the steppe. I never thought of a water hole. I've been fixated on rivers and streams being the sole source of water. Idiot! How simple a solution! 

He remembered his history of Landing. The original explorer team, the EEC, had noted seeing  large, bare ground circles from the air, but had never done a true study of them, what caused them or what they were. Now, he wondered, if they hadn't been water holes, like this one.

The gouts of mud suddenly stopped. He heard a grunting noise as the digger backed out, snorting and shaking its head.

It's a WHER! he thought, surprised.

" Wher~" created by antihelix.wordpress.com

Careful. The wild ones have good eyesight and bad tempers.

If I keep very quiet, it won't be disturbed.  I wish I had D'nis's camera. I had no idea they dug water holes.

Raventh said something to Corvuth.

D'nis is coming with his camera. 

The wher returned to its digging. The hole must be deep, he thought, to completely hide a beast that size.

But..there had been something different about this one. Maybe it was a new species?

While he waited, he took notes, noting the species of birds, the wher's activities, and sketching the water hole. Far off in the distance to the south, he saw trees scattered thinly over the steppe. On the horizon, masking the ocean, he saw that the trees thickened into true forest. It meant the ecology was changing from steppe, to savannah, to forest, and then, the coast.

He regretted reaching the southernmost edge of the continent. As he waited to see more of the wher, watching and waiting to learn more, he felt a deep sense of satisfaction. He was doing something worthwhile, both for himself and for science. What could be better than being out, exploring, learning new things, having a dragon to take him wherever he chose?

D'nis arrived, a bit out of breath as he'd hurried. He slowed as he approached and kept K'ndar in between him and the wher, so that his movements didn't alert the digging beast.

"That must be a deep hole, to hide it," D'nis whispered. 

"Ssh, aye, it's a big wher. It hasn't seen me."

The gouts of mud continued for a several minutes. They were getting a bit bored, waiting for it to come out.

Siskin decided to make life interesting.

He suddenly launched and flew directly to the hole, and, seeing one of the tips of the wher's tail just below the lip of the hole, snaked down…and bit it.

Pandemomium.

K'ndar shrieked at Siskin, the wher erupted from the hole with an agonized bellow, and turning to face his tormentor, saw the two men.

D'nis got several pictures of it. The best…and the last one…was of the furious wher charging them. FAST.

The two men bolted. Siskin flew alongside, trying to land on K'ndar's shoulders, chortling at his antics. K'ndar was too busy running to admonish the fire lizard. 

Being that they were humans, a creature that had evolved to run, the men soon outdistanced the tank like wher. It stopped chasing them after several hundred meters, roaring in fury.

Raventh and Corvuth were both in the air, expecting to have to go up against the wher, but it was unnecessary and they landed.

The two men stopped, gasping for breath. Siskin was giggling-it was the only description that fit, and his eyes whirled an amused green.

"I didn't appreciate that, Siskin," K'ndar admonished the fire lizard.

"If I knew better swear words, I'd be using them on you, you little brat," D'nis added.

It made no difference to Siskin. He was very proud of himself.

"You do that again, and I won't bring you with next time."

Siskin didn't believe him.