He had gazed at this smoky green carpet from the top of the mountain range. That was before knees and thighs started their complaining signals throughout the climb down beside the stream bed. The instability of his legs turned the last 200 metres into more of a stumble than a serious hiker's descent. Standing,just; he caught his breath as the weakness of his lower body craved to sit down.
His eyes scanned the carpet; now showing itself to be small dumpy trees, their foliage, thick and secretive, flowed over the surface of the ground. Lifting his eyes he saw waves of a smoky broccili effect, densely packed. Lowered eyes registered the rocky foreground where the brown earth melded into the dark undergrowth.
He did not welcome the insight that any penetration of this country would be on all fours, through the undergrowth. His apprehension increased as he sensed the presence of concealed beings who had seen and heard him long before he had arrived at the foot of his steep descent and onto their valley floor.
