When they left the area near the cliff edge, the plain seemed flat and featureless, but now there were slight undulations and small rises which were becoming larger as they progressed southwards.
The river was now almost level with the surrounding ground, and accessible for refilling their water bags which they kept topped up whenever possible.
Arriving at the top of a small rise, they saw the source of the river. A great upwelling of water seemed to come shooting right out of the ground from a vast circular hole, rising several times their own height before falling back to race on its way towards the cliff waterfall.
‘Now that’s interesting,’ said Moss, ‘if the water is coming out of the ground like that, then it must come from somewhere much higher up in order to spout out like that, because water always runs down to the lowest level, and there is nowhere in sight for it to come from. We can see out to the horizon almost, and there are no big rises in the ground, so how does it do that?’
‘No good asking me.’ Kel replied, a little annoyed that Moss should ask him such a question knowing full well that he couldn’t answer it.
They stood looking at the magic water for a while, mesmerized by the strange effect, and then Kel realized that it at least solved the problem of having to cross the river.
‘We had better fill all our water bags to the top before we go on,’ Moss suggested, ‘as we don’t know if there will be another big flow of water like this, and we’ll need extra for the dried berries, should we have to use them.’
With everything which would hold water full to the brim, they set off, skirting around the strange water spout, and back into line with the cliff edge, but some little way inland from it.
In the distance they could see the first really large rises in the ground, small hills with pieces of rock jutting out from their tops and the odd large boulder scattered about on the sand and pebble strewn plain.
As they drew nearer to the first of the small hillocks, the first plant came into sight, not that it would ever rival anything they were used to in the forest. Small, stunted, and not even a bright green like the plants which grew on the trees, it just sat there.
Its withered dull olive green foliage a pathetic sight, struggling to survive in an arid climate with little nutriment for its roots to gather from the barren sandy soil.
More plants appeared as they progressed along their way, none bearing fruit or berries as a possible food source. After three days and nights the terrain began to change again, some quite steep hills came into view and a carpet of rather straggly grass carpeted the shallow valley floors.
‘Looking back to where we have come from, I’d say we were going down to a lower level,’ said Moss, ‘and that means we could come across the running water again.’
‘Just as well, we don’t have much left now and we will soon need some for soaking the black berries Mec gave us, as the fresh foods are nearly all gone.’
The hills began to tower over them as the valleys deepened, and more vegetation appeared, getting more diverse as they plodded on. The Direction Pointer was checked to make sure that they were still heading south, and the Greater Sun seemed to climb higher in the sky and grew hotter.
‘I think I recognize this plant,’ Kel exclaimed excitedly, ‘it certainly looks like one which grew in the leaf litter caught up in the branches back in the forest. The pods are good to eat, but these ones are very small compared to those back home.’
‘Do you think we should risk eating them?’ Moss said, torn between the coming hunger and a full belly.
‘Sooner or later we’ll have to, so I’ll take a little nibble and see what happens.’ Kel pulled a small pod from the plants and bit into the end.
‘It tastes the same, except that it isn’t as sweet as the forest ones,’ Kel pulled a face, ‘and it’s got a slight bitter taste. At least it’s food I suppose.’ he added, but not very enthusiastically.
Kel stripped the plant of all the better looking pods and stuffed them into one of the bags he had on his belt.
The quality of the grass improved as they went on down the valley, forming a soft cushion for their feet, and making walking much more pleasurable.
More and more plants appeared in the dips and hollows as they went on their way, none of which had the lush bright greenness of the forest variety, and few bearing any resemblance to those they were familiar with.
Two more days of trekking through the ever higher hills and deepening valleys brought them to the first sign of a tree since they had left the forest. It was a small stunted thing, but a tree nevertheless. They both went over to it and examined the trunk, which was only two or three times as thick as their own bodies.
‘I feel almost sorry for it, out here all on its own.’ Moss said, stroking the rough bark thoughtfully, ‘It must have a bit of a struggle trying to survive without the support of other trees around it.’
‘I’ll climb up to get a better view from the top.’ and with that Kel sprang up to the first of the lower branches and quickly gained the top.
‘Come up and see this.’ he called, the top of the tree swaying slightly under his weight.
The view from the top showed that the river had indeed returned, snaking its way around several hills and opening out like a silver ribbon below them, to cross the green plain below and disappear into the
