fandomania | The Adventure continues...

The rumbling stopped after a minute or two. The air was filled with dust, making it hard to breathe. Coughing, I called out to my children, "Is everyone okay?" I heard four very frightened "Yes, Mama"s. And I felt them moving closer to me for comfort.

I called out telepathically, "Is everyone okay?" All the hatchlings responded back with "We are fine." I then checked the eggs and they all appeared to be unscathed.

The dust settled faster than I expected and I started to feel and smell fresh air. I explored the hole that Fels had created. It was fairly large and it had collapsed outwards, rather than inwards on us. That was a blessing.

As the dust diminished and my eyes adjusted, I noticed light coming from a tunnel on the other side of the hole. Could that be the tunnel entrance we have been looking for?

Quickly, before I had a chance to prevent them, the hatchlings scampered down the rock slide. They called to me, "Mama, it is safe!"

Our Hatchlings:

Our Eggs:

Carefully, I went through the hole and tested the foot holds. They seemed stable. One by one, I had the children hand me the eggs, which I carefully held and placed down near the tunnel mouth. Once they were all safely moved, I picked up my youngest child and carried him down the slide to more secure footing. I then went back for the twins and helped them to navigate the rocks, with my eldest fearlessly following us.

I breathed a sigh of relief when all of us were out of the tunnel and standing in the sun-lit glade of a forest at the base of the mountain. We had passed through the South Lags and were safely in the Valley.

I told the hatchlings that they could forage for whatever they could catch and felt like eating, but they must not go too far away. The stone and the earth hatchlings weren't hungry having partaken inside the mountain. They stretched out to nap in the warm sun. The children and I hunted in the bushes for berries and such that assuaged some of our hunger. We found a small brook that provided us with clean water.

Although it was still daytime, it was much too late in the day to continue our journey. We would rest here and make decisions in the morning.