Trapped in the Bermuda Triangle

[rpicardi1]

Updated and revised from the original posted some time ago. I ditched the windsurfer.

Chapter One, My Bermuda Vacation.

 

It was an early fall day when I receive a package from Fed Ex addressed to me from a travel agency I have never heard of. It contains an invitation for a free vacation to Bermuda for the first weekend of October with an 800 phone number and verification code for conformation. Enclosed is the travel agenda, tickets for the flight out of the local airport, and an up to date passport with my photo.

Being quite suspicious of this being some kind of a time share scam, but interested in taking a vacation trip to Bermuda, I make some phone calls to various consumer and government agencies. They all verify that the travel agency is legit, that the trip will be no way connected to any time sharing contracts, or sales pitch of any kind. A check of the passport confirms that it is legal and not a forgery. Satisfy that I an not going to be scammed, I decide to call the 800 number and confirm the trip.

A pleasant sounding lady answers the phone. I identify myself that I am calling about the free trip. She asks for my conformation number, then transfers me to the office of the travel agency manager.

His secretary, who identify herself as Dee, tells me that the owner of the company has started a policy of giving away free trips to a select group of strangers, that he does so to gather information of their vacation, that the only requirement of me is to complete a survey, so that he can use it to improve the vacation experience for his paying customers.

For this trip, Dee tells me that I will be traveling by a private charter with six other people to one of the more rustic vacation places in Bermuda. Her boss wants to know how well some of the out of the way vacation spots treat their guest. I agree to take the trip. Dee tells me to make the arrangements to be gone for five days and that I will be picked up by the airport limo service at 9:00 AM Thursday morning.

Right on time, the airport limo arrives to pick me up. I say good by as I am wished a happy vacation.

The limo arrives at the airport taking me through a service gate. The driver hands security his paperwork and we are directed to a charter jet parked on the tarmac.

I am greeted by the hostess at the door of the charter. She directs the limo driver to where to take my luggage as she introduces me to Joe and Mary, who are taking a honeymoon vacation as guest of the travel agency.

Joe, I find out, runs a local sporting goods store that specializes in hunting and fishing gear. His new wife Mary, is a instructor at the local university where she does research and teaches archaeology. I tell them both that I went to that university when it was first a local collage, and the classes I took there. She tells me some history of the professors that have since retired. I ask her about archaeology and if she studied some of the local history in this area. She answers yes in addition to her work in early prehistoric history that goes back to the dinosaurs.

I ask Joe about his sporting business as he answers my questions about various merchandise that he stocks. He gives me a recommendation for a crossbow he stocks that would be most useful if I am interested in one. He tells me that he also carries backpacking and survival gear. They are currently some of his best selling items.

The charter lands in Detroit where we pick up our other four guest for our trip. The first one on board is Michael, who has lost the use of his legs due to a combat injury. He is helped to a seat across and behind from me. His wife Caroline sits across from him. Denny and Julia come on board and sit in front of them. I learn that they often travel as a group of four as they have known each others for ages and often vacation together.

As the jet takes off for Bermuda, we introduce ourselves to each other. I learn about Michael's service in Vietnam in Special Forces. I tell him about my experiences there in Recon. He tells me about his combat injury that left his legs paralyzed. I ask Michael if he has ever met Travis Mills. He says no but that he has heard about him surviving the lost of his four limbs and his rehabilitation and work after. I tell him about the local museum I volunteer for and met him in person when he walked in unassisted carrying his uniform. He says that he will need to visit the museum and its displays.

Caroline tells me about her career as a Nurse. She became head of the department until she retired a year ago to go traveling with her husband and their good friends Denny and Julia.

I learn that Denny and Julia, are both veterans of the first Gulf War, that they are retired military, and that they teach survival skills at a local collage.

We arrive later that afternoon in Bermuda, then board an airport shuttle which takes us out away from the big resorts to a fishing village with a rustic four guestroom retreat operated by a local couple. The accommodations are quite spartan, but clean and well maintained. The couple recommends a local nearby restaurant to us for dinner and says that they will fix us breakfast at our convenience. After getting unpacked and dressed, we all get together and head out for dinner.

The meal, complements of the travel agency, is outstanding. Our agenda the next morning involves a charter cruise at Carlos to go deep sea fishing. Our waiter, who knows the captain, says he is a colorful character with a mate that is a bit of a clown, but they are both reliable, well liked locally, and good at their trade. He gives us directions how to get to his boat which is located close by.

Returning to the retreat, our host ask us what time we would like to have breakfast. We ask them if 7:30 is OK. They say yes and offer us a choice of breakfast items. We place our order, visit for a while in the main living room, then retire for the night.

The next morning, after an outstanding breakfast at the retreat, we walk down the street to a small harbor below. It is easy to find Carlos and his fishing boat, a day cruiser that had been outfitted for offshore deep sea fishing.

Carlos, the skipper, is just as colorful as described. His mate Mickey is a bit of a clown as Carlos yells at him for forgetting the bait as he prepare his boat for us. He tones down the language apologizing for not spotting us coming to the dock sooner. We tell him not to worry as most of us are veterans that have heard it all in our past. He says he will try to be more careful in front of the ladies.

As we board his craft, he makes sure that we are all equipped with life vest. He says that it is a government requirement on a vessel for hire of this size. We tell him that is fine as he shows us around, then are seated for the trip to the fishing grounds beyond the reef. Excited, we all chat about our upcoming adventure in preparation to brag to our friends about the catch of the day or the big one that got away.

No one on the charter has noticed the ever darkening sky to the North. Joe has just hooked a Marlin as Carlos maneuvers his craft to aid in the battle while Micky helps with the line handling. Everyone on the boat is so excited at our first catch of the day.

Suddenly, it becomes very calm when I notice the approaching darkness of the rapidly closing storm front. Carlos sees it coming turning the boat to head for shore just as the engines mysteriously dies. He attempts to start the engine, but the starter doesn't work. He attempts to radio for help, then curse at his dead radio. The boat's running lights go out. Before we know it, the storm is upon us with howling wind, dense fog, and blinding rain. A huge wave catches the boat broadside and I am tossed overboard. Then, in an ear splitting screech with a brilliant flash, I am rendered unconscious.

 

[rpicardi1]

Chapter Two, Shipwrecked.

 

It is early morning as I wake up on a deserted sandy beach looking face up at a beautiful tropical sky. My life preserver and clothing, are gone including my watch and glasses. Interesting, My vision is fine, no signs of my nearsightedness. There are no signs of the charter boat or anyone else on board. In fact, there is no sign of anything on the beach other then driftwood, sea shells, and loose stones, not even a foam cup or plastic water bottle. I find myself stranded on this unfamiliar deserted beach, naked and alone.

The seagulls flying about look rather strange. I see a larger strange looking creature flying in the sky, it looks so prehistoric. As I stand up, I see what looks like a Dodo Bird in its colorful plumage walks by.

Wait! Aren't Dodo Birds suppose to be extinct? What is this strange looking crustaceans crawling at the edge of the water? What is this diamond shaped gem implanted in my left wrist?

As I look around, the beach slopes up into a rocky outcropping with large boulders and dense jungle above. Large and small palms are along the sides, Ferns and other bushes, many bearing various colored fruits, abound. The ground starts shaking, clump, clump, clump, behind me. As I turn around, I am startled to see a turtle like creature the size of a compact car. It walks close by me. It does not seem to be bothered by my presence. A holographic message flashes in my vision, “Male Carbonemys, Level 3.” What is that all about? Then, I see what looks like a Brontosaurus in the distance by the beach. Just what is this place, I think, land of the lost? As I look inland, I spot them, the three giant obelisk floating in the sky. The one, with a blue beam of light aimed skyward and to the ground, appears to be close by. It looks huge as a cloud moves through partially obscuring it. To the right on the horizon is a second with a green colored light beam. A third, also on the horizon, nearly hidden by its distance, has a red colored light beam. Also visible are several vertical beams of light. Most appear far away, but one is close by across a cove near the shore, Lightning crackles from a glowing ball of light at its top as I watch another smaller glowing bulb descend to the ground. It goes out when the bulb reaches the beach forming some kind of rotating beacon. Now, it is making sense. I must be in the Bermuda Triangle, stranded on some unknown island, home to extinct creatures, some kind of Ark created by some unknown alien race living in those three floating obelisk. Did they kidnap me during that strange storm to place me here on the beach? Are they responsible for this gem implanted in my wrist? For what purpose was I placed here? What happened to the people on the charter boat that was dead in the water when I was knocked overboard by that rogue wave?

I stare into that gem. It lights up displaying what looks like a holographic inventory of me and a bunch of other information. In the top center is my name and Level 1. Below is a 3-D picture of my naked body. Sure doesn't look like me. To the right are a digital clock rapidly displaying the hours and minutes, day one for a date, and temperature along with something called equipped items, I guess those are clothing given their descriptions. As they are blank, along with the center 3-D picture of my naked body, I can confirm that I am wearing nothing. On the right middle is a bar labeled XP with numbers and a slider slowly moving up. Below are my health and body related stats in percentage values. I see my food and water very slowly dropping from 100%, so I assume that is a stat for how hungry or thirsty I am getting. On the left are boxes called inventory items. All the boxes are blank except for a gem shaped one labeled “Specimen Implant” with a weight of 0.01 pounds and a sub label called Artifact. That must be the gem I am staring into. Below is a Quick Item Slot bar that holds ten items. I see that the Inventory has two listings, Inventory Items and Crafting. I select Crafting.

Two items appear in Crafting boxes, a stone pick ax and a primitive torch. Examining them I see a list of items needed to make one. The pick ax needs a stone, a wood, and ten thatch. The torch needs a stone, a flint, and a wood.

OK, seems that I have a built in holographic computer. But, how am I going to construct a pick ax without any tools? Walking along the ground, I pick up a loose stone. It vanishes as soon as I grab it with a message that flashes, “Added One Stone.” Where did it go? I look into the gem and see it in one of the boxes, Stone, weight 0.5 pounds. Seems though that the implanted gem is not only a holographic computer, it also serving as a backpack.

Now, how do I get wood and fiber given when I pick up a second stone to hit a tree with one, it vanishes into my virtual backpack? I walk over to a small tree. A holographic message appears “Hit object to harvest.” I pick up another rock. It vanishes just like the first. Disgusted, I smash my fist into the tree. OUCH! That hurt! A holographic message appears, “Added two Thatch”. I punch that tree some more. More thatch and a wood appears. My hand is hurt and bleeding when the tree finally falls down and vanishes. Yet, It heals in minutes. I stare again at the gem. The inventory shows wood, stone, and thatch. I go to the Craftables and see that the pick ax icon is now a different color. I select it and select “Craft Item.” A couple of seconds later, minus one stone, one wood, and ten thatch, there is a pick ax in my inventory. Now, how do I use it? I select “Use Item.” The pick ax appears on my 10 slot bar in the 1 position and in my hand ready to use. Neat, The gem is not only a built in holographic computer and backpack, it also contains a built in survival workshop.

A message appears holographicly. “Level Up, Access Inventory to Apply.” I stare into the gem again. Icons next to the health items are flashing. I select Health. The status jumps to 110%. New is a bar called “View Engrams.” I look there and see several items are displayed with their cost in something called Engram Points. The stats tell me that I have eight of them to spend. OK, I will be able to craft additional survival items, but I need to unlock them with points that I earn by leveling up. I select a stone ax and spear.

Checking out the crafting requirements says that I will need flint to craft those items as well as the hand torch that I first saw. Where am I going to get flint? I remember about the early cavemen making arrows from flint gathered by chipping certain types of rocks with a stone. Is that possible? I pick up another stone. No, that isn't working, they just vanish into my inventory. I try hitting one on the ground with the pick. Nothing. As I walk up to a large rock, I see the hit to harvest marker. I hit the rock with my fist. Nothing. That still hurts. I take the stone pick and hit it. A message flashes added flint and rock as I hack at it. A wear bar starts showing on the holographic display of the pick. OK, tools are going to wear out with use. Then, the rock explodes in a shower of pieces that soon vanish.

I need more thatch and wood to make the additional items, so, I hit a tree with the pick. I easily get thatch and some wood I need to craft the ax, spear, and hand torch. I craft up all three items and place them in the hot bar for easy access.

I soon learn that hitting a tree with the ax gives me lots of wood while using the pick gives mostly thatch. The torch lights automatically giving me light and some warmth when I select to use it. It shows a wear bar just like the stone tools when I use them. I find that I can throw the torch and pick it up as it stays lit. I cannot, throw the pick or ax, but I can swing them around like a melee weapon. I also find that the inventory display allows me to repair those tools as they wear out, but the crafting requirement takes nearly as many items as just making that item in the first place.

I glance over to where the strange vertical shaft of light with the rotating beacon has landed across the cove. I see it suddenly vanish.

Walking down the beach along the sea shore, I find a bipedal dinosaur that appears to be stuck in trees. It is decked out in some stunning coloration. I walk up to it, even give it a push, but it remains stuck as it turns to look at me. My holographic display registers “Female Parasaur, Level 12.” I decide to chop the tree down that is trapping it, but it screams in pain as it struggles to run away. Must be some kind of a puzzle to solve I think. I didn't physically hit it when I started chopping on that tree. I'll think about this later as my body stats are starting to complain that I am getting hungry and thirsty.

Looking at the bushes with the berries, I decide to go pick some and see of they will provide moisture and nourishment. Messages appear holography as I gather the different type of berries along with fiber. The bush vanishes as I continue picking.

I look at the different berry type in the inventory. Each one, except for the Stim, the white berries, and Narco, the black ones, are listed as quite tasty. In order to eat them, I find that I have to select their storage slot and select Use Item. My hunger and thirst goes away but it takes a lot of berries to satisfy both. I learn that Stims will give me a stamina boost but they will dehydrate me. The Narcs will make me sleepy until I become unconscious.

Another level up takes place. I select the fire pit, fiber shirt and pants. I craft the three items as evening approaches and place the shirt and pants in the similarly named boxes on the right. The shirt and pants appear on my holographic body and on me. It is interesting how well they fit and how comfortable they are given the rough materials that were gathered to create them in the first place. They give me some warmth as it has been starting to get cold.

Somewhat dressed, given that the berries are not supplying me without enough nourishment, I want to see if I can catch some fish in the sea before it gets dark. I have seen the strange flying reptiles skim the surface of the water and feed on the fish they catch. According to the holographic message, I find Coe, a primitive fish, in the water as I use the spear to catch them. I drag them to shore to filet them for cooking. The fish vanishes when I hack it with the ax to filet it with raw meat being added to my inventory. While checking out that inventory, I get the message that the raw meat is unhealthy if eaten and that it will spoil quickly.

Accidentally, I find out that the sea contains fresh water when I get submerged in it swimming after another Coe. The water meter goes to 100%, what a surprise! Then, I see a huge prehistoric shark rapidly approaching, time to get out of the water and fast! It beaches itself trying to get me, then backs off into the water. That shock that I could have been eaten alive in one bite gets me thinking, if those dangerous creatures are present in the sea, are there also equally dangerous creatures present on this island?

I look for a sheltered spot among the rocks to place my newly crafted campfire. I see it's holographic outline as I select to use that item. As I place the image where I want it, the campfire pit appears. How do I light it? I see it has an inventory. A message says that I need wood or thatch as fuel and that I can use it to cook meat. Good, I now have a means to cook the Coe I speared earlier for food. I go after more wood as I only have a couple of pieces left after making my spear and ax.

It starts to rain as I get cold while cutting down some more trees for wood. My concern now is how am I going to light a fire with soaking wet green wood in this pouring rain. I place the wood in the fire pit inventory. I find that one of the meat has spoiled as I transfer the remaining raw meat to the fire. That spoiled meat says it is very unhealthy to eat, never a good idea even in the real world. I see the command to light fire. In spite of the rain, it roars to life pushing away the ever encroaching darkness and providing much needed warmth. I soon see cooked meat showing in the fire pit inventory as the raw meat gets slowly converted one piece at a time.

As I transfer a cooked meat out of the fire pit to my inventory to eat it, I notice that the cooked meat provides much more nourishment then the berries I ate before, but no water. It also contains a message that it will last a lot longer before spoiling. Interesting, my water level has remained at 100% once the rain started. It must be that like submerging myself in the water, the rain also replenishes my water to 100%. Some charcoal has appeared as the wood gets slowly used up. Strange that charcoal doesn't get burned by this fire, it must have some unknown use in this strange artificial world these aliens have created. I leave it there for the time being.

The rain soon quits. A large four legged dinosaur with three big spikes on its forehead and a bunch of smaller ones on its crown walk close by illuminated by my campsite. “Female Trike, Level 6.” It looks strange given that the trikes I have seen pictures of in the science books either had three horns, or a horned shield on the forehead. This trike has both. Like the turtle, it also ignores me as it continues on its way. Level 6, it appears that the extinct creatures on this strange land, like me, are also at different levels. Perhaps, like my growing experience on Ark, they also have given abilities based upon their level number.

My thoughts are shattered by the sound of something screaming in agony. It comes from the direction where I left the stuck Parasaur. Now, I know, as I quickly select my primitive spear which appears in my hand. There is danger present on the land as well as in the water. It's going to be a long sleepless night.

 

[rpicardi1]

I am referred to as Halsey by the others on the vacation.

The Carlos Charter Survivors, their first day on the Ark.

Michael is the first to come to on the sandy beach staring into the tropical sun. As he struggles to stand up, he is shocked to find out that he can walk unassisted. Nearby, Caroline gets up and doesn't recognize him at first, afraid of being naked in front of some naked stranger with unknown intent. Then, she is equally shocked when she recognizes his voice as he asks, “Where are we? What is this thing in my left wrist? How can this be? Are we shipwrecked in some kind of Pandora? Have we been reborn as some sort of Avatars?” “We must be.” says Caroline. “It would explain why you can walk unassisted and why I look and feel so different.”

Their thoughts are interrupted by shouts from another couple down the beach. Denny and Julia come running towards them not sure just who they are at first. Both are astonished at Michael walking unassisted. They had been so used to seeing him needing help on the charter cruise. They are soon joined by Joe and Mary who are equally shocked.

Carlos soon joins them from another direction. All of them are chattering about what has happened, where are they, what they must be, and wondering about what is the purpose of those gemstone implanted in their left wrist. They are interrupted when Mickey comes running towards them screaming “dinosaurs, dinosaurs, I just saw some dinosaurs.”

“You're Fxxxxxx nuts!” Carlos says as Michael looks around a large rock and sees what looks like a Trike walking towards them. “I'm afraid he is perfectly sane,” Michael says to Carlos. “Mary, you have got to see this. There is a real live dinosaur walking this way.”

They carefully approach the trike as it starts grazing on the bushes nearby. Several Dodo birds are on the beach with them. Overhead, a Pteradon flies in lazy circles occasionally dipping its beak into the water for a fish. “How did they get here?” Mary comments. “Now, about this trike” she says. “Either the text books are incomplete, or this trike is some kind of a hybrid. While archaeologist have found trikes with the three horns on the forehead and trikes with the spike horn on the crown, they have never found one having both.” A Pteradon lands close by for a moment to rest. “Those look so much bigger then the text books describe”, she says. “The wings so different from the drawings of them.”

“Has anyone seen Halsey?” ask Carlos. “No,” responds Joe. “He was washed overboard just prior to us being rendered unconscious out by that strange flash of light and that awful noise.” “I hope that he made it back to shore so he can send out search and rescue for us,” answers Michael.

As Mary gets close to the side of the grazing Trike, a holographic message flashes “Female Trike, Level 12.” “ What did I just see in my vision? Says Mary. “What is this all about?” Joe comes by her side as the same holographic message flashes in his vision. “It must have something to do with this implanted gemstone,” he says.

Staring at the implanted gemstone, Joe sees a full page holographic display. In the top center is his name, Joe, and Level 1. Below is a 3-D picture of Joe's naked body. He finds that that he can mentally rotate and re scale the figure. To the right are displayed the time, day 1, and the temperature along with boxes for items described as articles of clothing. Below are Joe's health and body related stats given in percentages. On the left are inventory boxes. All the boxes are blank except for a gem shaped one labeled “Specimen Implant” with a weight of 0.01 pounds. Everyone else looks at their implant and states they see the same thing being holography displayed. They are interrupted when an excited Mickey points to the horizon and says, “what are those things floating in the sky?”

As they stare at the huge stationary floating objects in the sky, it finally dawns on this group of eight survivors that they are not on an uncharted desert island as Mary comments. “We must be in the Bermuda Triangle, in some alien created world populated with their versions of extinct creatures from Earth's past. Some sort of Ark. It has to be the reason for that intense storm that suddenly appeared, disabled our boat and teleported us into this strange world. Can this Specimen Implant be some sort of communication device as well?”

Denny and Julia, the survivalist, are becoming concern about the group's survival in this strange alien world. Normally, when he and his wife have practiced a tropical isle survival scenario, they find the beaches littered with all kinds of useful trash that has washed ashore. “This beach is so pristine, not even a scrap of foam plastic,” she says. Denny is getting frustrated as he tries to gather the twigs lying along the shore to build a signal fire. They go through his hands like ghostly images, yet appear so real. The beach behave like some sort of artificial surface. While he can kick up dust as he walks, he leaves no footprints. He tries to move the driftwood log lying on the beach. It won't move. He sees a holographic message about using some sort of tool to harvest. He picks up a stone from the beach only to watch it vanish from his hand as a holographic message flashes “Added one stone”. He picks up another, it too vanishes with the same message. Frustrated, he hits the log with his fist. “Ouch! That hurts!” he says. A holographic message flashes “Added one wood, Added 6 thatch.” His fist, slightly bloodied by the impact quickly heals.

About then, Micky comes running back to the group screaming, “Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!” as an angry female Parasaur chases him pecking him on his back. Michael, Denny, Joe, and Carlos run alongside smacking the Parasaur with their fist until she fall over unconscious. “Why was it chasing you?” They ask. Micky says, “I saw this egg on the beach when this message popped in my head that said something like 'pick it up'. So, I picked it up but it vanished with another message that said 'Added one Parasaur Egg.'” “All right,” says Michael. “Don't pick up any eggs until we know what's going on.”

Examining the Parasaur, Mary see a holographic message stating that she is only unconscious. That she has an inventory that can be accessed and that she can be tamed. “We will have to investigate this further ,” says Mary. The Parasaur soon regain consciousness and runs away.

Julia examines the colored fruit on the bushes to see if any of them are edible. She picks the fruit which also vanishes from her hands as a message flashes “Added 5 Tintoberries, Added three fibers.” She continues picking until the bush disappears as messages flash with the names of berries and an occasional seed that she has never heard of. Finally, Michael says, “Look into the specimen implant and concentrate on checking your inventory.”

Denny checks his. He finds that there are now several stones stored in a box along with a wood and six fiber in two other boxes. Apparently, the implant also serves as a backpack as well as a source of information. He then notices the Craftable tab. Focusing on that, he sees a pick ax and torch. To make a pick ax, he sees that it requires a stone, wood, and ten thatch. “So, this is how it works” he thinks. “I have the stone and a wood, but it looks like I need more thatch. I'll have to hit that driftwood log some more.” It hurts as he hits it twice more. The driftwood log vanishes. His holographic message confirms that he now has enough thatch for a pick ax.

Going back to the craftable, he finds that he can now craft a pick ax. He focuses on the craft item and in seconds there is a ready made primitive stone pick ax in his inventory. Selecting the Use Item results in the pick ax appearing in his hand. Not only is the specimen implant a holographic computer and backpack, it is also some kind of a workshop for crafting tools and other items. He calls everyone over, shows them the newly crafted primitive pickax in his hand and says, “forget all you know about survival gathering and making things. Here is how things appear to works in this world.”

Before he is done showing them how to gather the materials and how to use the implant to make their own pick ax, Julia interrupts, “Look what I found out about the berries on the bushes.” When you pick them, they also go into your inventory. Better yet, all are edible according to the implant. To eat them, you focus on one stack of them, then select the use item. They then appear in your hand as you can eat them. Your food and water meter will goes up as a result. According to our specimen implant, all the colored ones are safe to eat and quite tasty. However, we have been warned to avoid eating the white ones. While they act as a stimulant, they will quickly dehydrate you. And, especially, don't eat the black ones. They will affect your torpor and put you to sleep.”

A message appears that everyone has leveled up and has engram points to apply. “Interesting,” says Denny. “We can improve our health and other attributes.” “A shopping list of new items.” says Michael after upgrading his health. “More useful survival tools,” says Denny. “We can certainly use them all.” says Mary. “Oh wait, I only have eight engram points available. That's not enough to unlock everything on this list.”

Mary asks Denny, “Can you make more pick axes if you wanted to and share them with the rest of us?” “Sure,” says Denny, “I just only need to gather more stone, wood, and thatch. There is a drop item command in the inventory, so I could drop one in front of you and you can pick it up.” “Then, lets do this,” says Mary, “Lets each of us specialize by unlocking different items. That way, we can all share in everything that becomes available.” “Good idea.” says Michael. “Why don't you and Joe select items that can be used to make our lives here easier, Denny and Julia can work on food and shelter, Carlos and Mickey work on clothing, and Caroline and I can work on items for hunting and fishing.

“Caroline and I will craft the hatchet and spears,” says Michael. “There is a campfire and thatch foundation.” says Julia. “But, this thatch doorway seems useless for now.” “Hey, there are shirts and pants available,” says Mickey. “A notepad to take notes,” says Mary. “I'll make some clubs,” says Joe. “hitting that angry Parasaur with my fists was really painful.”

“Now, where do we get the flint?” ask Michael. Mary says, “Try looking for a boulder of this color and hit it with the pick.” As Michael hacks at the boulder with the pick he gets holographic messages of adding flint and stone to his inventory. Then, the boulder suddenly explodes into a shower of rocks startling everyone around him as the pieces vanish into the terrain. “That was weird,” says Michael. “It just exploded and vanish. Yet, I got several pieces of flint from it.”

“I wonder if there are any fish in the water?” ask Joe after crafting the campfire that gets added to his inventory. “There has to be something out that that the Pteradons are feeding on,” says Mary. “Lets find out if we can fish with these spears Michael just made for us,” says Carlos.

Joe and Carlos wade out into the sea. They soon have a large fish on the end of their primitive spear. They spear several more of them and bring them to shore. As they prepare to swim back to shore from their fourth trip back out into deeper water dragging something their holographic display identifies as a Coe, Joe shouts, “Hey everyone, The water is fresh!” “Look Out!” yells Michael from the shore. “There a huge shark heading your way.” Both men reach shore just in time as a giant prehistoric shark beaches itself trying to get them. “I guess that answers one question I've had all day,” Says Julia. “Not everything here is going to be friendly.” “That was a Megalodon Shark!” warns Mary. “They are even more dangerous then a Great White.”

“The fish you caught is a Coe.” she says after everyone has calmed down a bit. “They should be good eating once cooked.” “I'll use my ax to filet them,” says Denny. As he works on the Coe, he is astonish to see it vanish from his hand. His holographic display says “Added four raw meat. He works on the other fish they have caught getting additional messages of adding more raw meat as the additional fish vanishes. The shark backs off and swims away into the sea.

With the next level up, Mickey crafts everyone a hat. “Gloves and boots will have to wait until someone can figure out where I can get hide.” “There is also available a water skin.” says Carlos. “That will be useful once we ready to head inland,” says Michael. “Julia and I can now build a thatch shelter for us,” says Denny. “We have the skills to make walls, a door, and a roof.”

“Looks like it is already late afternoon” Says Michael. “We had better look for a sheltered place to place our campsite and light a signal fire.” “How is this spot among these boulders on the point?” ask Denny. “It looks out over the water on this low cliff with the boulders close in to our backside. If there is anyone out there sailing by on the ocean, they should be able to see our campfire” “Looks like a good spot for a camp,” says Michael. “We have a small cliff in front of us and rocks to shelter us in the back.” “I've got the fire pit selected,” says Denny. “Show me where I should put it and it should become visible as I place it. Then, Julia and I will start working on building the thatch shelter.”

While gathering wood and thatch for the shelter, Denny discovers that when he hits a tree or driftwood with a pick, he gets mostly thatch. When he uses the ax, he gets mostly wood. “Has anyone got any extra fiber on them” Denny asks. “Yes,” several of the others reply. “How do we give it to you?” “Just select the fiber from your inventory and select drop item,” says Michael. Several packages of fiber soon appear in front of Denny. In a couple of minutes, two foundations, five walls, a door frame, a door, and a roof with a porch become visible one piece at a time. “I wish that I could build a shelter that quickly in the real world,” says Julia.

As night approaches the sky fills with dark clouds. It starts to rain soaking everyone that is still outside. “Hey, I no longer appear to be getting thirsty,” says Denny who has been outside gathering berries and fiber by the cliff side. “Apparently, our bodies can adsorb the rainwater to quench our thirst,” says Mary after noticing that same effect once she steps outside the hut.

“How will I light this fire in this downpour,” ask Denny. “Just access its inventory and follow the instructions,” says Mary. Denny heads to the campfire and access its inventory. He transfer wood and the raw meat as instructed. In spite of the pouring rain, the fire roars into life. “It appears that the alien thought of everything.” says Denny. “It told me that I can use this fire to cook the raw meat, so, I placed it in there along with the wood. Then, I though light fire and it lit itself. Gather around and dry out everyone, it is nice and warm here. Cooked meat is now appearing in its inventory as the raw meat gets used up. Mary, what do I do with this piece of spoiled meat that has appeared? I am getting a warning that it is even more unsafe to eat then the raw meat?” “Keep it for now” says Mary. “There might be some use for it that we don't have the knowledge about at this time.”

Later that evening, as the rain stops, everyone gathers around the campfire for fish steak. “This reminds me of a cable TV survival program” says Julia, “where a group of strangers are left in a wilderness setting to live off the land.” “I remember that program,” said Michael. “It seems that so many of them were always arguing about who was doing what.” “I like the Dual Survivor,” says Denny. “While they had their differences, they eventually seem to agree on what to do to get out of their situation and return to civilization.” “For only having met a couple of days ago, we seem to be getting along just fine,” comments Carlos. “In fact, you have been one of the best group of stranger I have ever met in the charter business.” “We seem to be finding our places among this tribe.” Says Mary “Lets refer ourselves as the Carlos Tribe.” “I vote that Mary becomes our adviser.” Says Denny. “ She has her archaeological background of the creatures living here.” “We all have our skills,” says Caroline. “Michael his combat survival experience, Caroline her nursing training, Denny and I our survival skills, Joe, his skills with sporting and hunting, and Carlos and Mickey their crafting and fishing.” “Then, we are all in agreement,” says Michael. “We'll become the Carlos Tribe with Mary as our adviser and organizer, Denny and Julia our survival experts, my wife as medical expert, Joe, our weapons expert, Carlos and Mickey, our experts of the sea, and myself defense expert.”

Their discussion is interrupted when the peaceful sounds of a tropical night are shattered by the screams of something suffering in severe pain. “Oh oh,” says Michael. “That sounds like trouble big time. Mary may be right about unknown dangers here. We may have to use these spears for something else beside fishing. I hope that Joe and I can craft some better weapons and soon.”

 

[Shsihkebab]

man get some more chapters!!!!!

[rpicardi1]

6 hours ago, Shsihkebab said:

man get some more chapters!!!!!

More after the weekend,

 

Chapter Three, Killed and reborn.

 

Interesting, I didn't feel the least bit sleepy through what turned out to be a very short night. It appears that the day night cycle on this Ark are vastly shorter, closer to an hour actual time. And, that moon, so close and bright.

I go up the beach to look for the Parasaur I had seen the day before. It has vanished. I grab my spear when I hear a loud chirp coming from a bush nearby. A bipedal dinosaur about my size, with a mouth full of sharp teeth, rushes in to attack. I hit it head on with my spear. It break from the impact. As I grab for my ax, I am suddenly blinded by a foul green spit from a second attacker from the side. I manage to kill this first attacker with the ax, but as I try to find the second one that is chewing on my left arm, a third hits me from behind. In a great deal of pain, as I am failing blindly with the ax, as holographic warnings flashes about my failing health, I end up getting killed.

I wake up on the beach staring at the sky naked as I was when I first arrive. I stare into the gem implanted in my left wrist. Interesting, I still have all my crafting blueprints for my clothes, ax, pick, spear, torch, and campfire. I find my campfire which contains some charcoal and leftover cooked meat in it. In the distance where the Parasaur had been, I see the two predators chewing on what must be my dead body, their dead buddy lies on the ground nearby. Best to stay out of their sight until I am better equipped to deal with them. I go the other way to craft another pick, torch, ax, clothes, and, this time, I make three spears. I level up and get the engrams needed to build a primitive hut and wall around my campfire in hope that those two predators won't try to get me again. It takes the better part of that day to complete that work in addition to finding enough berries and more Coe to keep me fed all night.

The next day, I level up again. A ranged weapon, the slingshot, shows up in the listing. I get that along with a club. The slingshot needs hide to craft. Where to get hide? Oh, hide is what covers all living things.

I go Dodo hunting. Such a stupid creature. So easy to walk up to one and kill it with a spear. Then hack with a pick, hatchet, or spear. They vanish as raw meat and hide appear in my inventory. No wonder they went extinct. I also notice that hacking with the pick gives mostly meat, an ax mostly the hide I need for the slingshot as well as shoes and gloves. I craft those up and put on the boots and gloves. According to the inventory, each piece of clothing will gives me some armor protection. That could be most useful should I ever get attacked again by some unseen predator.

After crafting the slingshot, I gather some rocks and practice hitting Dodos with them. I soon notice that I can knock them out instead of killing them outright when I walk up to one and a holographic message shows up stating that it is unconscious. It has a taming bar, an unconscious level bar, and an inventory that I can access. As an experiment, I place some berries into the inventory of one of them. It eats one and the taming bar goes up. I also notice the unconscious bar starts dropping. This might not work if it wakes up before the taming bar gets full. Then, I remember the Narcoberries and place them in its inventory. It doesn't eat any. I see remote use and activate that. It eats a Narcoberrie and the unconscious level goes back up. Problem solved. Soon, the taming bar reached full and the Dodo wakes up fully tamed. I name him Huey. He follows me everywhere.

Time to get rid of the predator threat. As I now have a ranged weapon along with three spears, I feel confidant enough to take out my revenge on the two predators that made my life so miserable the previous day. Interesting, there is no trace of my dead body or that of the dead predator I had killed. I find one of them and carefully stalk it. I hit it with a rock. It runs towards me, a second rock to the head, I see its hood flare. I duck sideways as green spit flies by. The third rock drops it.

Just then, I hear Huey squawking in pain. That dumb idiot had followed me and attacked the second predator which quickly kills him. I am so mad that I rush in with a club and beat it unconscious.

The holographic display on the two downed predator shows their name as a Dilo. There is a taming meter, and an unconscious level. No, I am not going to tame either one of these nasty little bastards. I hack them to death with the ax and gather much needed hide and meat from both. When I go check Huey, I see a holographic message stating that he will spoil in 4 minutes and 30 seconds. That solves the mystery of what happened to the dead dilo and my body. They just vanish after a set period of time. I hack up Huey with the ax. His body vanishes as additional meat and hide is added to my holographic inventory.

I notice that there are now two stacks of raw meat in my inventory. One stack contains 20 raw meat, the second 14. It also shows that I now have 32 hide. Later, before I can cook up the additional meat, I notice that one raw meat in each stack has spoiled. The rest of the stack remains. OK, so when one raw meat has spoiled, the spoil timer resets for the next.

I now notice that some of the trees that I have cut down days earlier are already growing back. Most surprising, one of the boulders that exploded when I hit it for flint, has returned. All the stones I had picked up along the beach are back. Even some of the wild dodos I killed are back. That may explain why I have not seen any juveniles creatures in Ark in spite of the predators killing the adult for food. Apparently, a replacement appears after a set period of time. A strange balance to this ecosystem.

It also serves as a warning that those dilos may reappear as quickly as their bodies had vanished. But, at least, I have learned how to deal with them in the future.

---------------------------------------------------------

The Carlos Tribe, Mickey is killed.

 

It is morning on the second day on Ark. Given that the eight survivors of the charter boat have cut down the trees and picked all the bushes nearby, they decide to break up into two groups to explore further along the beach. Michael, Caroline, Carlos, and Mickey head North from the point along the ever growing cliff face along the beach. Denny, Julia, Joe, and Mary decide to follow the cove inland along that same ever growing cliff side. “Keep a lookout for Halsey,” says Mary “He could be somewhere down the beach beyond our sight.”

As Michael's team is exploring the cliff side vegetation and boulders, a Parasaur go running by frightened out of its wits. Michael shouts to the group, “something has just spooked that critter! Keep a sharp eye out for trouble!” Then Mickey, who is in the lead, shouts back, “I just heard something making a loud chirp.” “Ugh, Help! I can't see! Something just spit green slime all over me.” Then, we hear mickey screaming in pain about something chewing on his arm.

Michael and Carlos rush to Mickey's aid with spears ready. Michael gets there first but his spear breaks from the impact on the bipedal reptile that's chewing on Mickey's arm. He is forced to withdraw and grab his ax when he is jumped from the side by another one.

Carlos reaches the first attacker killing it with his spear. He then spots a third one and dodges its spit just in time to kill it with his spear. Meanwhile, Michael has killed the second attacker using his ax harvesting a good stock of meat and hide in the process. Carlos quickly follows suit, then checks on Mickey who is sprawled on the ground.

“Mickey is dead,” says Carlos. “Those damn thing attacked him for no good reason. He is all chewed up.”

“I'm hurt.” says Michael. “Caroline, can you do something about my mangled arm,”

Caroline examines the bite wounds on Michael's left arm. They look really bad, but before she can attempt any kind of first aid, the wounds start quickly healing up on its own. “Amazing,” she says, “Apparently, our bodies have this ability of rapid recovery from serious injury.”

“What are we going to do about Mickey.” Carlos says. “We will bring him back to camp and bury him.” says Caroline.

When they return to point camp, they are astonished to find a naked Mickey staring back at them. “What happened,” says Mickey. “I was being eaten alive by that strange creature getting all kinds of warning about my failing health and the next thing I know, I find myself laying on the beach staring at the sky.” “Who is that you are carrying with you?”Ask Mickey “It is you,” says Carlos. “At least, it has to be you. You were with us in the lead when you shouted that you heard something, then yelled that you couldn't see, then started screaming that something was eating your arm.” “What the?” says Michael. “His body just vanish leaving behind everything he was carrying including his implanted engram.” “Better claim your stuff and put on your clothes.” said Caroline. “We will figure this out later when the others get back.”

“I better craft up a lot more spears.” said Michael. “If they are going to break without warning, we each better be carrying several of them. And Mickey, I am going to start teaching you how to defend yourself, so you don't end up getting killed again.”

Denny's team returns to camp early that afternoon. Before they can report their findings, they ask about the holographic message they all got saying that Mickey was killed by a level 4 Dilo. Michael and Caroline tell them about the attack by the three small predators, the green blinding spit, how Mickey was killed, then miraculously was reborn and returns back to camp.

Mary asks Mickey a series of questions. “You were killed, but ended up back on the beach like what happened to us after the storm?” “Yes” says Mickey. “And, did you return to us with only the knowledge to make a pick and torch?” “No,” he says. “I have all of my craftable skills as before.” “Interesting,”She says. “You were killed, yet reborn retaining all of your learned skills. Even more interesting, we have all reached a level 5 while exploring the cove. One of those skills we learned was how the sleeping bag and thatch bed work. Seems though they are a means of directly returning to a fixed location should one of us get killed instead of randomly ending up on the beach.”

“Those creatures that attacked you, from your description and the holographic message we got when you were killed are Dilophosaur. Nasty little things. They are ambush hunters that often work together in small groups. Yet, I never heard of them blinding and paralyzing their prey before killing it.

“I found these when I was chopping one of them up for meat and hide,” said Carlos. “Let me see them” asked Mary. “Nerd glasses. You found nerd glasses on one of the Dilophosaur! How interesting. These aliens controlling this Ark must be watching our movies and having fun with us at our expense. These look like the glasses Dennis the computer nerd from the movie Jurassic Park was wearing when he was killed by a Dilophosaur. That has to be since is no reference in the textbooks about Dilophosaurs using green spit or flaring a cape while attacking their prey. The aliens must have used the movie image to create that version of a Dilophosaur that attacked your group.”

“Now for some bad news from our little trip” reports Mary. “We spotted quite a few different types of extinct creatures from all different time periods and were close enough to some of them to check them out. But, they are not the problem. We spotted a hunting pack of raptors across the cove. They are not only much bigger then those Dilophosaur that attacked your party, they run extremely fast, using hit and run tactics as well as they coordinate that attack from multiple directions. They are so fast that I don't think that we can ever deal with them with the weapons we have at present let alone try to outrun them. Even worse, we spotted a Rex across the narrow of the cove. We watch it kill a Bronto and chowed down on it like nothing. Then, it got in a fight with three Stegos and killed them. The only good news is it looked so badly injured after that fight that when it started to cross the inlet towards us, something unseen in the water finished it off. I don't think it was any of those huge sharks. The water looked too shallow there. Then, we saw huge dragonflies swarming all over the bodies which vanished.

“We may want to consider moving camp to a safer location.”suggest Michael. “The seaside cliff our camp is on is not high enough to keep a Rex from reaching us there.

“After the Dilophosaurs jumped us, I spotted what looked like a cave in that box canyon along the highest part of the shoreline cliff,” said Caroline. “There are an abundance of palms, bushes, and boulders throughout and along the beach.” “Then, we should visit that area tomorrow.” said Michael. “If it proves to be a safer location for a base, we will relocate there given the threat of a visit by those extremely dangerous predators in the cove. Hopefully, the cave entrance will be too small for a Rex to get inside.”

“I also saw these,” said Caroline as she tried to trace the outline in the sand. “Hey, there is one of them by the water.”

Joe and Mary run over to inspect the new creature as Michael hits it with his spear. “Man, what a tough hide” Michael comments. “Not much meat, but there is oil, silica pearls, and chitin.” “A Trilobite” explains Mary. “One of the oldest creatures that ever existed. Interesting to find that they can crawl out of the water.” “We may have some future use for their unique resources.” says Joe. “Just like this piece of metal ore I got from a boulder I shattered for some flint.”

“I've just made us some slingshots from the hide we got” said Michael. “We can get up on some boulders and pelt those Dilophosaur from a distance if we run into any more of them. They actually work quite well using the stones laying on the ground. Lets get some practice using them on the dodo birds.”

Michael, Denny, and Joe practice hitting the wild Dodos with stones from the slingshot. They soon knock one out. As Denny gets ready to cut it up for meat and hide, he notices a message stating that it is unconscious and can be tamed. “This is like the Parasaur that we knocked out that was after Mickey.” says Denny to Michael and Joe. “I wonder what would happen if we tame it?” “I'll get Mary and let her tame it,” says Joe.

Mary arrives and checks out the unconscious Dodo. “I'll place berries in its inventory and see what happens,” she says. The Dodo eats some berries as its taming meter jumps up. “So, that's how it works,” she says. “The more they eat while unconscious, the more tame they get. But, how to keep them unconscious until the process is done. Oh, the narcoberries that will put you asleep. Good, I can force feed them those berries to keep it unconscious.”

“I have an idea.” says Mary. “Joe, go get the rest of the group, get them busy gathering berries and bring them to me. Then have Carlos join you, Denny, and Michael and go hunt more Dodos with the slingshots. Kill the males for meat and hide. Bring the females back here for taming. We can bring them back to camp, build a pen for them, and start an egg farm. Oh, this male is tamed already. I'll call him Huey.”

The men go out hunting bringing back eight unconscious female Dodos. “That's enough for now,” says Mary. “We can get more later if this egg farm works out.”

Later that evening after securing the Dodos in their new pen, the group have a meeting to plan tomorrow's move.

“I see that we can now craft storage boxes for the stuff we don't need to carry with us.” said Mary. “I can see storing extra clothes, weapons, and other items by a spawn bed just in case one of us is killed and needs their stuff right away.” says Michael.

“ Blood pack? What are those good for?” asks Caroline. “I have no way of blood typing anyone that might need a transfusion let alone preserving blood in this tropical environment.” “This is Ark.” says Mary. “The aliens must have a reason for giving us the knowledge to use them. They could provide for an ability to quickly recover from serious injuries. Purchase that item, It could come in handy some day once we learn how they work. Maybe we will find something in the cave that can explain more about what is going on here.”

“Lets get some rest, then make our move tomorrow,” suggest Michael. “We will keep watch for any trouble.”

 

[Shsihkebab]

awesome!! keep it up. bcant wait anymore!!

[rpicardi1]

Can't post it all at once give that this first story is complete.

Chapter Four, The notebook

As I carefully explore among the rocks along the cliff side of a box canyon, I find a cave who's entrance is partially hidden. Just inside are the remains of an abandoned thatch hut. In an old bookcase is a notebook from a person known only as The Survivor. There is no clue to what has happened to him. Was he rescued? Did he escape? Did the unseen aliens return him to civilization? Or, did his luck run out when he hit some unknown respawn limit and was killed permanently? I vowed to be more careful about dangerous situations in case there is a respawn limit.

In his diary, he writes about parallel Arks that the aliens have created. That the people placed in them are called Survivors. That thousands of such Arks are inhabited by a single survivor. That hundreds of other Arks contain multiple survivors that have formed tribes to aid in their survival. That there exist deadly apex predators including some that have been given the name of Alphas. That there are Arks where tribes fight each other for limited resources, something like the movie called Hunger Games. That there are special arks where dozens of tribes fight to the last man or die permanently.

The Ark, it seems, is a vast laboratory built to study human behavior in a prehistoric environment. It also seems to have been built to provide entertainment to the Aliens similar to the Colosseum of Rome where the gladiators fought deadly predators and each other to the death.

I find the answer to taming additional creatures from that old notebook. It says that I will soon be able to craft a saddle to ride a tamed Phiomia, a mammal that looks like it is a cross between a pig and elephant. Sorta of explains why the creatures I have seen so far look so different from what I have read about them in the science books, especially the Trike that doesn't look like anything pictured in it. I have not seen any Phiomia where I am located. His notes shows them as being mostly useless as well as a prime target for predators, so no need to craft a saddle unless I find one to tame.

The notes are full of additional information about the other extinct creatures he has found in Ark. I learn that there are alters at the base of each of the three obelisk that can be used to summons boss creatures, that heading inland into the jungle can be extremely dangerous due to raptor packs, apex predators such as Carnos and the dreaded thunder lizard known as a Rex.

I also learn that there are creatures larger then the sharks, lurking deep in the seas around Ark, that the mountain peaks have rare materials among the giant scorpions and eagles, that there are creatures from all time periods on Earth, that there are saber tooth tigers, mastodons, and other unknown dangers to come. Definitely explains the mix of extinct creatures ranging from Tribolites to Dodos.

The notebook tell me about additional items to come, at what level I will be able to craft stronger and better weapons, about refining metal and oil in a forge, using a crafting bench to create metal based tools and chitlen for armor, even a fabricator and generator powered with gasoline, about planting the unusual seeds that I have found, about making pigmented dyes in a cooking pot, creating exotic foods and potions, rare mushrooms and flowers, a mysterious plant seed he found that he calls Species X, even something called Kibble for use in taming a creature in a much shorter time period.

From a primitive map on the wall, I find the locations of all the area he described. It shows the Ark as a large island intersected by rivers and ponds surrounded by a sea covering some 64 kilometers square in area. I also find marked the location of caves, many of them underwater. One such cave is on an island in the northeast corner he describes as dead, a freezing death pit swarming with giant bats that he says can shred metal armor with ease. The island itself is an exclusive home for numerous predators of all kinds. Herbivores do not exist on it.

The map also shows the location of the three obelisk that form a triangle. The green one is close to the sea and has a water inlet. The blue one is somewhat inland and near a large bay. The red on top of the volcano in the North West.

He describes the altars found at the base of each obelisk. That so called boss creatures can be summons at them providing that you place rare artifacts on them found only deep in the land based caves. He hints that there may be a way to escape back to civilization if you can defeat all three boss monsters. He has only been able to summons one, the Broodmother, a monstrous spider that spawn hundreds of other spiders that attack with webs and paralyzing bites.

I find my location is near a point by a place called Drayo's Cove, that my rock side camp is right on the point, and the delta at the end of the cove beyond the cliff with the cave is home to numerous large predators. I also learn that the small island I can see is called Herbivore Island as there are no predators found there.

Since I am already in there, I light my torch and carefully head down into the cave. It doesn't take long before it gets dangerously hot as I see the glowing lava along with giant bats hovering over it. I get the hell out of there.

I wonder why he had built in the cave knowing about the presence of those giant bats. Weren't those bats dangerous when they come out of the cave at night? His diary confirms that the bats have never left the cave but live there, hovering, waiting for a survivor to come by before attacking en mass. That he had built in the cave because a Rex came by one night killing all his pets and nearly killed him. That the entrance was too small for a Rex to follow him inside, so, he hid there until it left.

I see why the concern. According to the map, the delta at the end of the cove is just over the hill of the cliff, a very short distance with an access ramp in that cliff. Was it possible that a Rex could wander in from that direction? Best to be prepared to avoid such a danger and be able to defend against.

I am soon facing another problem. I have gathered so much stuff that it's slowing me down. Seems that the implant has a weight limit to how much stuff I can carry. I don't want to discard something that may be useful later. I reach Level 6 and see a storage box I missed among the items that can be crafted. I craft a couple of them and transfer my excess items to them in the cave.

I also see that a Simple Bed is available. Why would I need that when sleep isn't required in Ark? The holographic computer tells me that this bed allows me to respawn on it instead of in a random location on the beach should I be killed. It also says that I can teleport to different places by placing other beds in different locations. Good, this could be useful should I get killed again. I craft one using the hide from the dead Dilophosaurs and attempt to place it down. No good, it need a foundation.

Heading outside, I gather more wood, thatch and fiber and craft a foundation. I place it inside the cave along with the spawn bed, and for good measure, craft some extra clothes and weapons to place in one of the storage boxes nearby.

I find that the blueprint is available for the mortar and pestle and the crafting recipe for narcotic. That will allow me to craft the narcotics, which don't spoil, from the narco berries and spoiled meat. The Survivor's notes tell me that I can use the narcotics more effectively for taming and that I will also need them for tranc arrows and tranquilizer darts.

I head outside and gather a big pile of stone. Why so much for such a small item? When I craft it, it only weighs a couple of pounds. I have to place it on the thatch foundation next to the spawn bed. Like the fire pit, it has an inventory. I place all of my narcoberries I have into it, the spoiled meat that I placed into one of the storage boxes, and access the crafting recipe for narcotic. It takes five narcoberries and one spoiled meat to craft the narcotic. I have enough narcoberries on hand to craft ten of them.

That night, I ponder, what is this Ark, some kind of alien experiment on human survival? A place created to preserve extinct creatures? Why was I placed there? Will humans be extinct as well? Where are the little ones? I have seen eggs on the beach and had to dodge an attack from a normally peaceful mother Parasaur when I picked up her egg. Why are there no nest with eggs in them? As far as the Dodos, they didn't seem to care when I found their eggs laying on the beach. They have turned into a good food source that can be eaten raw as well as they keep for weeks in storage.

In the morning, I will move my base to the cliff side by the cave with a safe zone inside the cave by the ruins, then tame up some female Dodo birds and build a pen for them to get eggs for an additional food source.

------------------------------------------------

The Carlos Tribe, their new cave base.

 

As the Carlos Tribe prepare to head North up the beach, they noticed the barren landscape close to their camp is no longer as barren. Denny comments, “I see a lot of new growth starting where we cut down the trees. Lots of new saplings. And that rock that exploded when I hit it for flint, it is back.” “The berry bushes are all back too,” says Julia. “Better be on guard,” says Michael. “Those dilos could come back as well.”

Ahead of them, a giant turtle the size of a compact car, walks ashore from the sea. “A Carbonemys,” says Mary. “They are a herbivore, so if you don't bother them, they won't bother you.”

As they head further down the beach, they see a Parasaur and Trike grazing together. A Pteradon lands nearby to rest, then takes off again to go fish in the nearby sea. “Interesting,” says Mary. “This Pteradon is four times as large as depicted in my research books. Even though it is a meat eater, it seems to be content to fish.” “Be careful,” says Michael. “It's all right,”says Mary. As long as we don't do anything to hurt them or steal one of their eggs, they will just ignore us. Just keep an eye on the Parasaurs. As long as they are grazing peacefully, there shouldn't be any predators nearby. They are such pacifist that I don't think that they would even fight back.”

She slaps the male Parasaur on its side. It yelps and runs away. “Don't do that with the trike.” she cautions. “You are liable to be gored by its horns. Meanwhile, if you want to kill something, I suggest that you spear those Tribolite along the beach. Be sure that you keep the chitlan, pearls, and oil. There may be a use for them as we level up some more.”

They continue up the beach with Michael and Carlos in the lead checking behind every boulder on their path watching out for any Dilos hiding in ambush. Finally, they reach a U shape canyon formed along the cliff side. In a corner of that canyon, they find the entrance to a cave.

“Excellent,” says Michael. “The entrance is small enough that only we and anything about our size can pass through. It should be easy to defend against anything trying to get us.”

“Lets proceed with caution,” Denny says. “We don't know what might be waiting inside to attack us.”

With torches lit, they proceed to carefully enter the cave. It opens up into a medium size cavern where they find an old thatch hut. Inside are the remains of a spawn bed and a bookcase. Mary goes to the bookcase where a holographic message flashes to access inventory. She finds that it is empty except for a tattered notebook.

Mary takes the notebook and quickly glances through it. “This is going to be quite valuable,” exclaims Mary. “The bookcase contain a notebook from someone called The Survivor.” she tells the others. “It contains drawings and information about the various creatures we have seen so far and numerous others we have yet to see. There also appears to be cooking recipes for colored dyes, various health potions, and for something called dino kibble.”

“Here is a map on this wall” interrupts Denny. “This x marks our location as the Lava Cave.” “The shore profile seems to fit what we have explored so far” says Joe. “One way to find out” says Michael. “Joe and I can go down this passage descending in the back.” “Is there anything we should be watching out for?” ask Joe. “I don't know,” says Mary. “I haven't found out anything yet from the survivor's notebook. But be careful just in case.”

As Mary continues to read through the Survivor's notebook, she is interrupted by Michael and Joe returning from below.

“The cave base may not be a good idea,” Michael says. The passageway opened up into a huge cavern with lava down below. It was like an oven in there. Worst yet, there were hundreds of huge bats hanging from the ceiling over that lava. I wouldn't want to be around when they leave the cave this evening.”

“You must have seen Onycs,” says Mary. “According to the Survivor, they feed on the mushrooms and Titanboas in the cave. They will stay put so long as you don't get near them. Then, they will attack as a wolf pack that is capable of shredding to pieces something known as flack armor. During his years living in this cave, he has never seen them leave the cave or fly into this cavern.”

“Years!” comments Michael. “You mean we could be stuck here for years?” “We may have to live facing that possibility,” says Mary.

“What is a Titanboa,” ask Mickey. “A snake big enough to swallow you whole.” says Mary. “It's bite will put you to sleep. Then, it will swallow you whole.” “I'm not getting near those those things,” says Mickey. “Being eaten alive by Dilos was bad enough.”

“ I think that we should build our camp in those big boulders nearby.” says Michael. “I second that.” says Carlos. “I don't want to be swallowed alive if one of those things crawl up here,” says Mickey. “lets do so,” Denny and Joe agree. “At least, the lava below confirms our location,” says Joe. “Lets get a Dodo pen built so we can protect them from the Dilos.”

As they spend the rest of the days gathering thatch and wood to build the camp for the evening, Michael cautions, “Don't hit any of these boulders by our camp. We need them to conceal our presence in case those Dilos show up after dark.” “Let also set up some standing torches and get a signal fire up on the cliff.” says Denny. “They will light up the area so we can see if anything is coming once it gets dark. They also consume a lot less wood then that campfire.” “Dodo eggs for supper,” says Mary “We can safely eat them raw and they will give is a big nutrition boost.”

The next morning, the group splits up into twos to go gathering resources. With wooden foundations and walls in their crafting skill, Michael suggest that they should start to reinforce their hutch and build a bigger perimeter fence.

As the wood requirement for walls and foundations are fairly steep, they easily find themselves burdened by all the wood they have to collect for crafting them. Then, Denny discovers that if you craft walls or foundations once encumbered by the weight of the materials required, the finished product now weighs much less. “Craft wood walls and foundations once you have the materials,” says Denny. “Their much lighter weight will reduces the number of trips we need to bring the materials back to base.” They place the finished items in the storage boxes for now finding that they can stack a hundred foundations in one slot where the raw materials needed for the same would have taken up much more room. Most interesting is how so many bulky items can be fitted into such a small container. The storage box, with its 15 slot, works the same as the holographic blue gem for storing items. “Must be some form of a transporter,” thinks Mary. “Small on the outside, but behaving as a huge structure on the inside.”

There is a sudden panic among the group when they spot Joe and Mary returning from their venture back to the point. Three Dilos are following close behind them. “Watch Out!” shouts Michael as he grabs for his spear. “Be calm,” says Mary. “These are our new pets. They won't harm you.”

As the rest of the group cautiously comes closer to examine the happily chirping trio of Dilos, Mary explains how they were able to catch and tame them without getting killed.

“We were out Dodo hunting when we spotted the three Dilos that has attacked Michael's party days earlier. Apparently, like the rocks and vegetation, the creatures on this Ark will also respawn. We first climbed up on a big rock on the beach. Then Joe fired a rock that hit one of the Dilos in the head. All three came charging for us then just looked up trying to figure out how to get up at us. Since they couldn't reach us on top of that rock, we just shot stones at them until they were knocked out.”

“As I had some of those newly crafted narcs on me and we had meat in our inventory from hunting dodos, we placed that meat in their inventory and used the narcs to keep them sedated. In about five minutes, our holographic display showed their taming bar had reached full, the Dilos woke up, and became our instant buddies. According to the Survivor's notebook, we can use them as a hunting pack, or as guard dogs since they will emit a shrill call if something comes snooping by during the night. They even killed some wild Dodos for us when we hit them with rocks and left them laying there for us to harvest the meat and hide. I'll whistle for them to stay put and you can all come up to say hello to Rover, Fido, and Lassie.”

As Julia comes closer to examine the happy pets, she asks Mary, “What does mate boosted mean?” “It appears above their name when there is a male and female of the same species close by.” says Mary. “Not only will they come to the aid of each other if attacked, their attributes are given a 25% boost. I have also observed this same phenomena among a pair of wild Trikes near our old camp. And they can be leveled up and have their attributes upgraded like us. In fact, the three of them have leveled up once since we tamed them. I believe that we can make them a lot stronger and tougher then the wild ones.”

“How do we feed them,” ask Denny? “You just put meat in their inventory or take them out hunting,” says Mary. “It appears that they eat very little once they have been tamed. In fact, we can use their inventory to carry some of our stuff for us.” “Like sled dogs,” says Denny. “I'm still scared of them,” says Mickey. “It's OK,” says Mary. “These Dilos won't harm you any more.”

If they indeed can act as watch dogs while in camp, they will make our job securing the camp at night a lot less stressful” says Michael.

“Oh Yuck, One of them just pooped,” says Mickey. “Not a problem," says Mary. “It will just vanish in about a minute.”

“Will we be able to tame any of the other dinosaurs out there,” ask Carlos. “Yes,” says Mary. “We will be able to ride the larger ones with saddles that we can soon craft. There is already a Phenoma saddle in the craftable listing. They are about the size of a rhino and look like a cross between a hog and an elephant. But, according to the Survivor, they are only good as a pack animal. Besides, I haven't seen them anywhere since the Survivor writes that they make such tasty carnivore food and are ruthlessly hunted by them. No need to waste our supplies crafting a saddle for one unless we can find one to tame.”

“What about those big turtles?” ask Mickey. “Let me check,” says Mary. “Yes, we can craft a saddle for them once we reach a higher level. They are also good swimmers. Once we can, we have to be careful knocking them out as they can be very nasty once provoked.”

“How about a Brontosaur?” ask Mickey. “It's possible,” says Mary. “But not easy. The Survivor says that we will need lots of tranc arrows or darts and that taming one will take days. Lets just stick with the smaller critters for now. The Dilos only took us 8 minutes to tame.”

 

[rpicardi1]

Chapter Five. Our prehistoric pets.

Not ready to risk building inside the cave, I locate a nicely sheltered spot among the boulders and cliff face to build a thatch hut and camp side. I locate a bed and storage box with backup supplies inside. A fire pit and cooking pot is just to the side behind a big boulder that I can climb up on if necessary. It gives me a good view of the cut to the ocean. Some nights, it tends to get very cold, so cold that even the fire and a torch is not enough to keep warm. I level up on fortitude. The survivor's notebook tells me that, along with certain types of clothing, it will help me resist the extreme heat and cold that can hit the Ark at any time.

I keep some torches going on the cliff above in hopes that they will affect a rescue. But, I suspect that there is no one else out there given the strange time periods here in this uninhabited island. Someone would have turned it into some Jurassic Park if it really existed in the real world.

The notebook mentions something about supply beacons. I have seen the shafts of light reaching the ground from time to time, but, they have been far away, in the water, or deep in the jungle, or on the other side of the shark infested cove. He mentions that the Aliens will drop a beacon containing survival supplies at fixed locations at a random time, that beacons are colored to match a certain level up of a survivor, that you have to be above a certain level to open them, and that they will vanish after a set period of time once they land on the ground.

A couple of days later, I see a Supply Beacon land on the hill at the point. Three sleeping bags, a fire pit, some spark powder, and a bunch of assorted berries are found inside it. Good on the sleeping bags since that they are a one use items and take so much hide to create. I put everything, except for the berries, in a storage box.

With level ups and time flying by, I now see several types of saddles becoming available. I haven't seen any Phenomas around. I end up with a saddle and the blueprint from another drop. I have not seen any Raptors in the area. The Parasaur saddle is available but they run away when I try to knock one out.

I wonder what happened to the others, if they are on this Ark with me but are located elsewhere on the Islands that make up Ark. It is too dangerous to travel far without some means of quick escape. A Parasaur or Raptor would give me that quick transport for further exploring.

I see a Rex across the cove. I just hopes that it stays there even though the cave is available to hide in should one ever show up. I have been crafting narcotics and stocking up on berries the best I can since I have found a Parasaur trapped by some palm trees and would like to try to tame it just for its company. I plan to do so once I can make tranc arrows for my newly crafted primitive bow and craft a saddle for it. Pelting it with stones does too much damage, using a club too dangerous.

Day 32 on the Ark. How time flies. A green drop appears on the hill on the point. It contained two parachutes, a bow, 46 stone arrows, and 16 tranc arrows.

Armed with the tranc arrows, I decide I will head for the trapped Parasaur I spotted yesterday to tame it. But, it is nowhere around. So I head for that stuck trike I found the other day. He is still there.

I hit him with a tranc arrow. He shakes his head and turns to face me still stuck. Then, I hear another trike in full charge thundering towards me. I turn my attention on him placing two tranc arrows into his forehead. He gets hung up in the palm trees. I hit him with two more arrows. Down he goes.

This doesn't make sense, I think. Normally, mate boosted creatures will come to the aid of one another. These are both males. They should be rivals. I have quickly learned that if other creatures of the same species are nearby, they will come to the aid of the other under attack regardless of their sex.

I am kept busy for the next full day with the tame, gathering berries to feed him, and collecting narcoberries to keep him sedated. With the taming bar full, he wakes up and is under my control. I name him Mike the Trike and carefully cut down the tree he is stuck on. He follows me back to the cave camp.

As I approach camp, I spot a wild Dilo waiting in ambush. As I hit it with a stone arrow, Mike runs in front of me and rams it with his horns killing it instantly. The Trike has now proved its worth as a bodyguard against other predators. I soon level up and craft a saddle for him.

As I ride mike, I find out that his skills are more useful then I had ever imagined. In addition to being able to attack and kill wild Dilos, he can knock down trees and driftwood to harvest wood and thatch. Even more valuable is his ability to harvest berries and seeds which he does in far greater numbers then I ever could picking them by hand. He gets no fiber, but, that is fine by me. The ability to harvest large number of berries especially those hard to get narcoberries, will greatly aid in crafting narcs and taming future dinosaurs.

I decide to go tame the original trike that I was after the day before. I take mike along for the tame. Three tranc arrows drops the other male. Like Mike, the tame takes about an Ark day. It is much easier since I can use Mike to gather the berries I need and not have to rely on my limited supply of crafted narcs that I am will need for more tranc arrows. During that tame, another supply drop occurred on the hill. I get two standing torches, a fire pit, and misc items. As it is getting cold and dark, I placed the torches near by and light them to help ward off any unseen predators during that night. That second trike, another male, wakes up tamed. I name him Terry the Trike, place Mike's saddle on him, get him unstuck by using his attack mode, and whistle for Mike to follow us back to the base.

Later that day, I find the male Parasaur stuck at the point on the cove side. I head back to get the trikes and the Parasaur saddle I had crafted some time ago. I decide to bring both Trikes with me as the area this Parasaur is in in the cove and it is already late afternoon.

The tame takes an hour given that I have knocked out a high level one. Once tamed, I have one heck of a time getting him unstuck but finally get him loose. I ride him back to base with the Trikes following us. I name him Perry the Parasaur.

Like the Trikes, Perry can harvest wood, thatch, and berries. But, his gather rate is so slow that I find I can do the job much faster on my own. He does have the ability to run a lot faster and further without getting as tired as quickly as the trikes. Unlike the Trikes, he has much less ability to carry heavy items. Still he will make a good mount for me to explore further down the beach as I look for the others.

What becomes interesting is that like me, my Trikes and Parasaur, have health stats, can be level up, and that I can improve one of their stats such as health, weight, speed, or melee damage, each time they do so. Such an ability is proving quite useful, as I craft a pet that is faster, tougher, and stronger then their wild cousins.

In addition, I had noticed that when a wild female Trike had wandered close by while I was in the taming process with Terry, a mate boost would appear over his stats. I looked that up in the survivor's notebook. He stated that having a mate boosted pair gave each of them a 25% boost in their abilities, something that could make the difference in surviving, or being killed in a fight with a predator. So, it was time to go tame a girl for the boys.

I didn't have far to go when one wanders into camp during the night. Placing the boys on Passive so that they wouldn't accidentally attack her, I hit her in the head with a tranc arrow. Down that head shook then she charged in my direction. I dodge in the nick of time as I put a second arrow then a third to the head. Finally, she staggered over to a nearby boulder and collapses.

I don't know why it turned into such a long tame She wasn't that high of a level. Fortunately, much of the vegetation around camp has return, so I didn't have to go far to get a steady supply of narcs and the Trike's favorite food, Mejoberries. I named her Tina. Both my males now show mate boosting. By day 43, I have tamed a second female Trike named Tricia and crafted a second saddle.

One day when chasing after a drop on the hill with my four Trikes and collecting its stash, I noticed Terry was missing. Where did he go? What happened to him? Given that he had my spare saddle, I had to backtrack to find what had happened to him.

I traveled all the way back to where I had went the entire day. No Terry. Could some predator came by and had him for lunch? A loss of a saddle and pet with everything he was carrying? Then, when I turned the corner to reach cave base, Terry comes running to greet us. Seems though he had tried to shortcut across the cliff as we were racing to the drop, lost his footing, and slid down it.

As taking all the Trikes along has become a chore to keep an eye on them so they aren't getting stuck on or behind something, I decide to just take a saddled mate boosted pair along on my daily foraging expeditions.

I find that keeping a track of a pair is a much easier task then with taking four of them along. They also work much better as a pair then with four of them or alone. In addition, I notice that the wild Dilos I occasionally come across tend to keep their distance, even when I am dismounted. I use the saddled pair for harvesting wood and thatch and switch Trikes when the one I am riding becomes encumbered.

I lose one of my Trikes one day while out gathering wood. A pesky Bronto on the point had been trashing the palms all week. That idiot Tricia decides she has had enough of this and goes off after the Bronto. Unable to call her off, I get on Mike and charge in to help, but he soon gets too tired to fight. I am forced to bail off and fight on foot with the primitive bow and arrows, Badly hurt, the Bronto runs off to the cliff and gets stuck trying to climb it. The Bronto falls as I get a message that Tricia has killed it. Unfortunately, she is crushed when it falls on top of her. I salvage what I can and head back to base.

The next day, I go searching for a replacement and locate a high level female stuck in the palms near the point. It takes 15 tranc arrows to drop her. Two days later, she is tamed and ready to go. I name her Trixie.

Those four Trikes have proven to be my most valuable resource, a game changer in this world of survival, by making my survival on the Ark far easier then doing so on my own. The Parasaur, fast transport for conducting a recon of an unfamiliar area.

------------------------------------------------------

The Carlos Tribe gets some more pets.

“It is now Day 11 according to our specimen implant. Have we been on this island that long?” says Mary to the rest of the group as they sit by the evening campfire as the signal torches burn from the cliff above. “It is so difficult to tell. The length of a day on this Ark are so short. It seems like they are only an hour long. But with no watch to know for sure I only can go by what my body seems to be telling me.”says Caroline. “We can rest, but there still doesn't seem to be a need to sleep.”

As Mary continues to speak to the group, “We now have the ability to craft a Parasaur saddle. The Survivor says that they will make a speedy mount that can easily outrun the more dangerous creatures on this island. Joe and I will go looking for one in the morning.”

“There is also an Ichthyosaur saddle available,” says Mary. “What is an Ichthyosaur,” ask Carlos? Mary responds,“An Ichthyosaur is an aquatic reptile similar in size, look, and behavior to our modern dolphin. According to the Survivor, they are quite friendly and will actually seek you out for friendship. One does not need to knock them out and go through the usual taming process we had to do on the Dilos. All you have to do is hang out with them and give them a piece of raw meat when they are hungry. Eventually, they will become your buddy.” “Sounds like they would make a useful mount for deep sea exploration,” Says Carlos. “Indeed,” says Mary. “According to the Survivor, they can easily out swim the Megadalon Sharks.” “Great,” says Carlos. “I would love to go exploring these waters, but, without the proper equipment and the threat of those sharks attacking, I'm not willing to take that risk.” “You can use a tamed Ichthyosaur for your exploration,” says Mary. “It can get you there quickly. Just be aware of your oxygen level and have it bring you to the surface when needed, so you don't drown. Go find one to tame when your are out spear fishing. I can craft a saddle for you and let you place it in your inventory.”

Carlos and Mickey head to the beach to go spear fishing and look for any Ichthyosaurs nearby. Joe and Mary head to the point to catch and tame a Parasaur. The rest of the group head off in the other direction to explore, look for Halsey, build a small shelter further down the beach along the cliff, do some hunting, and gather additional resources to bring back to base camp.

As they return to camp that evening, they share information about the day's adventure.

“Our efforts to tame a Parasaur was a failure,” says Mary. “Every time we attempted to knock out one it would run off so fast that we couldn't keep up with it.” “Is there some way you could trap one against the cliff side,” says Denny. “Perhaps if we get the cliff face in front of us.” says Joe. “We will give that a try tomorrow.”

“ We found a shortcut to the narrows of Drayo's Cove,” says Michael. “After building the thatch shelter, we climbed up on the cliff to the North where it forms a ramp heading back to the overlook of the cave and walked on to to survey the base. It is a nice open area up there with a good view. We got some more metal and lots of flint from the boulders above. Just a short walk in the direction of the red obelisk, we were overlooking the cove. We found a natural ramp descending from the cliff to the shore at a very narrow part of the cove. Saw lots of dinosaurs walking along the beach, brontos, stegos, parasaurs, trikes, several pteridans out fishing in the cove, and some I couldn't identify. We walked down to the narrows to see if we could swim to the other side but found that it contained a large school of huge fish with mouths full of razor sharp teeth. They came charging at us, like the sharks that tried to get Denny and Carlos.”

“Mega Piranha,” says Mary. “They would have ripped you to pieces.”

“Can you describe that new dinosaur that you saw by the cove,” Mary asked Michael. “It was low and wide, much like those giant turtle, roughly the same size, but longer, with rows of spikes all over its head and body, and a long tail with a spiked ball on the end.” “I wonder if it is an Ankylosaur,” says Mary. “I haven't seen any reference to their existence in the Survivor's notes. Oh, wait, I just found a page that somehow I missed.”

“According to the Survivor, you can use a tamed one 's tail to smash boulders to get large quantities of stone and flint. And, if you use them on the gold colored rocks, you can get a large amount of metal ore.”

“Why haven't we seen any gold colored rocks,” ask Joe. “They appear to be located only in the caves, some on the island we can see to the South from the point, and covering the slopes of the volcanoes to the North.” says Mary.

“By the way,” ask Mary. “Where is Carlos and Mickey?”

“We found one, we found one,” says a breathless Mickey. “What did you find,” ask Mary? “We found one of those prehistoric dolphin things,” Says Mickey. “It was exactly how you describe it,” says a returning Carlos. “It swam up to me and I fed it a piece of raw meat. Then, it hung around until it was hungry again. Finally, I got a holographic message that I had tamed it. I placed the saddle on it you made and took it for a ride.”

“ It was fantastic, very fast, and easily able to out swim those huge sharks.”

“I took it out along the shore. You should see all of the beautiful coral out on the reef.”

“Further out, I spotted oil leaking from a rock on the sea floor. I got off, hit it with my pick, and ended up with 15 oil just like that.”

“That could be useful” says Mary. “We will need the oil for making meat jerky once we have a preserving bin.”

“I think I saw the Loch Ness monster out there. It was in the deep water near a cliff where bubbles were coming out of the sea bed. I could barely see it in that deep water. It was big with a long neck and paddles for feet on its huge streamlined body.” “A Plesiosaur,” says Mary. “You are lucky it didn't see you and have you both for its lunch.”

“ I've been able to craft a compass,” says Joe. “But, I need crystal for the spyglass.” “I'll head down into the cave,” says Michael. “I saw something that looked like crystal down there.”

While Michael is down in the cave, everyone reaches level 15. “Excellent,” says Joe. “ We can now craft a primitive bow and stone arrows.” “Michael should be pleased,” says Mary. “We now have a better ranged weapon. We have a compost bin for fertilizer. And, our stone pipe set is complete enough to build an irrigation system to start a garden. I'm really anxious to see what these seeds we have collected will produce.”

“ No luck,” says Michael as he returns to the camp. “There was something glowing down there that looked like crystals but I couldn't harvest them. I went as far as the lava, but found nothing, not even those gold colored rocks.”

“Check these out,” says Joe. “Bow and arrows, Great. We now have a better chance to defend ourselves,” Says Michael.

“ I guess the spyglass will have to wait until we can get to the top of one of the volcanoes,” says Joe. “Even with bows and arrows, it is still too dangerous to be hiking through that jungle to get there.”

“lets go tame those Parasaurs tomorrow,” says Mary “The Survivor says that it is way to dangerous to walk through the jungle let alone up the slope of the volcanoes to the top where the crystals can be found.” “Besides, They look like it would take a full day just to walk there.” Says Michael. “We'll figure that out later when we are bettered prepared for such an expedition,” says Mary.

The next morning Joe and Mary go looking for Parasaurs. They soon find one in the palms near the cliff. Using Joe's suggestion, they get in front of the Parasaur placing the cliff behind it. As predicted, the panicked Parasaur turns around and runs to the cliff getting trapped there just long enough to be knocked out. A second one is found nearby hung up in palm trees and is soon rendered unconscious. “A mate boosted pair,” says Mary. “That will help us a lot.”

During the tame, a couple of wild dilos show up for an easy meal. Joe, using the newly crafted primitive bow, makes quick work of killing them at range. “That worked quite well,” he tells Mary. “We can defend ourselves a lot better now.” “Good, enough hide to craft a second saddle,” Mary says. “Now we can both ride into camp in style.” By late afternoon, the tame is complete and they are ready to return to camp. They are named Perry and Patricia Parasaur.

The next couple of days are spent in improvements for the ever growing cave camp. Mary supervises work on the garden as Denny and Julia help in installing a plumbing system. “How interesting,” says Mary. “ as soon as we hooked up a tap, the water started coming out on its own.”

“A bit disappointing that I can't plant any of these advanced crop seeds until I can get the medium sized crop plot. Still, I can plant Narcoberries and Mejoberry seeds so we can have a better supply of them when we are ready to get some more pets.”

Michael and Caroline, using the Parasaurs, come back from their day of hunting on the point. “We got another supply drop,” Michael says. “It gave us three parachute which I have no idea what we would use them for, a bow, 25 stone arrows, and 16 tranc arrows.” “Hang on to those,” says Mary. “We can use them for taming some Trikes once I can craft the saddle.” “I saw one stuck in some palms down the beach,” says Caroline. “Would you two like to try to tame it,” ask Mary. “Sure,”answered Michael. “Just tell us what we need to do.”

“First, you will need to knock it out with the tranc arrows,” Says Mary. “Aim for the head and wait a few seconds for the tranc to do its job. You want to knock it out, not beat it up. When it hits the ground, remove the arrows, then place the mejo and narcoberries into its inventory. Remote use the narcoberries to keep it sedated as needed. It will eat the mejoberries on its own when it gets hungry. You can use the other colored berries if you run out of mejos but it may take longer to tame. And, do take along some standing torches, a campfire, wood, and food. According to the survivor, you will probably be there all night babysitting the Trike until the tame is complete. Hopefully, I will have a saddle ready for you by then.”

Denny and Julia are then next to arrive in camp for the evening. They come riding in on their Parasaurs, Percy and Peggy. “Such wonderful mounts,” Julia says. “So quick and nimble.” “Time to start building a pen” says Mary. “With these fence foundations and all the pets that are showing up, we are going to need to build a big one. And, if Peggy or Patricia start laying eggs, place them in this storage box. Unlike the wild one that attacked Mickey, our tamed ones won't mind if you pick their eggs up and place them into storage. Don't worry about them hatching. The survivor says all the eggs the Ark dinos lay are infertile. I also found a recipe for some special kibble using Parasaur eggs once I can start growing some of those advanced crops that I need to create it. Oh, and pick up their poop and place it in the compost bin. We are going to need it to make fertilizer for the garden.”

An excited Mickey comes into camp next. “Look at all of these silica pearls we found.” he says. “Carlos and I found an underwater cave with Ike and Irene. It was loaded with these.” “Who is Irene,” ask Mary. “Oh, I tamed a female Ichthyosaur that was hanging around with Ike for Mickey.” said Carlos. “And, we got some more oil too.”

That morning, the Carlos Tribe reaches level 20. “Good,” says Mary. “A Dino Gate, tranc arrows, a Trike saddle, a preserving bin so we can start making meat jerky, a refining forge, and those medium crop plots I need for those advanced crop seeds. Denny, Julia, Joe, and I will get started on the pen. Carlos and Mickey, have fun exploring the sea with your new pets and get us some more raw meat from the fish you catch, be careful out there. Michael and Caroline, go get us that Trike. I'll craft some spark powder and get the preserving bins to work making us some meat jerky. Joe and I will bring out the Trike saddle if you are still gone by late afternoon.”

Michael and Caroline head towards the point where they have seen the stuck Trike. Michael takes aim using the new tranc arrow and gets a direct hit between the eyes. The Trike shakes his head and turns to face Michel still stuck. “Look out!” shouts Caroline. “There's another one charging towards us.”

Michael manages to place two arrows into the charging Trike head just as it gets hung up in the palm trees. A third drops it. For good measure, he drops the other one with three more arrows.

“Great,” Michael says,”Two for the price of one.” “It may be a blessing in disguise.” says Caroline. “We don't have enough narcoberries to tame two.” “Lets set up camp and gather as much as we can from the bushes nearby,” says Michael. Hopefully, Joe and Mary can help us out later this afternoon.”

Later in the afternoon, Joe and Mary arrive to check on Michael and Caroline. “Great, you got two of them and so close together,” says Mary. “I brought along some extra Narcs in case you need them.” “This one charged us,” said Michael, “So I dropped him first.” “How many arrows did it take,” said Mary. “Only three to four,” says Michael. “They must be low level,” says Mary. “it could have taken a lot more. I'll examine them.”

“Good,” says Mary. “The tame is progressing nicely. They should both be tamed by morning. Interesting that the other one attacked you given that both the Trikes are male which should be rivals. Apparently, they will come to the aid of another when one is attacked. You were lucky he got hung up in the trees as he could have easily gored you with those horns. This is good news. It means that they will work well together if we ever need to use them against one of the larger carnivores. Here is the saddle. Make sure that you keep them fed and unconscious until the tame has completed. I'll bring you a second saddle in the morning.”

It is early morning when the first Trike awakens fully tamed. “lets name him Mike,” Says Michael. “Sounds like your naming him after yourself,”Says Caroline.” “Naw,” says Michael. “I'm calling him Mike the Trike.”

Michael places the saddle on the Trike and gets on. “Oh, he is still stuck,” Michael says. “Use his attack mode,” says Caroline. After a couple of head butts against the offending trees, Mike the Trike is able to move. “Wow,” says Michael. “Mike just harvested seven wood, 90 thatch, 30 Narcoberries, 80 Mejoberries, 76 Tintoberries, 35 Stimberries, 80 Azulberries, 72 Armoberries, and a bunch of assorted seeds. How long were we picking just to harvest an equivalent amount?”

About then, Joe and Mary arrives with the second saddle. “Great,” says Mary. “You have one tamed already.” “This Trike has to be the greatest thatch berry harvester I have ever seen,” says Michael. “He just harvested more thatch and berries with three head butts then I could get in 15 minutes of work.” “That's good news,” said Joe. “They will save us a lot of work.” “They will make good pack animals as well,” says Mary. “They can carry some 400 pounds of stuff.”

Just then, the second trike wakes up. “Lets name this one Terry the Trike,” says Caroline as she puts the saddle on him. “Soon as he is unstuck, lets head for camp.”

“Ride along the beach and see how well they can gather the driftwood,” says Joe. “That stuff was always hard to harvest with either a pick or an ax.”

They enter camp as Michael comments, “The new pen is looking good. You have the foundations in, dino gates at each end, and some of the walls up already.” “Come check out our new pets,” says a proud Caroline. “They are really neat to ride. A second person can easily sit behind the saddle with a bow at the ready. They are the best berry and thatch harvesters yet. And, you will have to see all the thatch we gathered along the beach with them on our way back.” “That's really good,” says Mary. “ We can use their poop and the thatch they gathered for the compost bin to make fertilizer for the new advanced crop plots we just crafted.” “Can we find some girl friends for them,” ask Mickey? “I would like to see just how big their eggs are.”

“Hey, there is a female Trike by the beach house,” Says Carlos.” “I'll get it,” says Michael. The head shakes with the first shot. Michael get in a second as he jumps to the side to avoid her charge. With the third shot, she staggers towards the boulder and falls down. “That was exciting,” says Michael

By day 50, the Carlos Tribe has added an additional female Trikes, three more dilos, and a dozen more female Dodos to their ever growing collection of pets. The dino pen is nearly complete as they all reach Level 25.

[rpicardi1]

Chapter 6. Metal Tools

It is day 52 when I reach level 25. Metal tools! Yea! To craft those tools, I need a Smithy. It takes five of my refined metal ingots, 50 stone, 30 wood, and 20 hide to craft it. With the Smithy, I am able to craft a pick, hatchet, pike, and crossbow using the metal ingots that I refine from the metal ore in the Refining Forge. With 52 days of breaking boulders on the beach and inland, I have collected barely enough metal to craft all four items.

The pick, taking only one of my precious refined metals, is well worth the cost of the materials. It enables me to harvest flint, stone, and the occasional metal ore at a much more efficient rate. At a much slower wear rate, it will last two day of constantly hitting boulders before needing repair or replacing.

The hatchet, of similar capably, but taking eight of my metal ingots, is extremely efficient at getting wood, It takes very little time to gather hundreds of wood at once.

The Pike, taking ten of those metal ingots, gives me a hard hitting spear, while a bit heavy at ten pounds compared to three spears, I find that it hits my targets twice as hard and will not break unexpectedly. It does show a wear bar after extensive use.

The crossbow, a stunning achievement using seven metal ingots, gives me a long range hard hitting weapon that uses my existing stone and tranc arrows. Not only do the arrows travel faster and further with the crossbow, they hit with twice the efficiency when fired from a primitive bow. Once cocked, I just acquire the target and pull the trigger. I find that it works great at taking out those pesky dilos, one tranc arrow fired from a crossbow is more then enough to drop all but the higher level ones. I hit them at range, they stagger, then collapse unconscious. The only drawback is it takes twice as long to reload.

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At the Carlos Tribe, Mary talks about all the new items that has become available in their level up. Over 27 items, varying from modern metal replacements for their existing tools, to winter clothes, stronger building materials, the medium crop plot needed for the garden, even a 2 way radio.

Joe, Denny, and Michael are thrilled over the prospect of having a modern crossbow to hunt with. “According to the Survivor's diary, our existing stone and tranc arrows will be twice as effective at twice the range,” Mary says. “We will need to check how much metal ore we have available to see how many of the metal tools we can craft. But first, we will need to craft a Smithy where the refined metal can be forged into tools. Our specimen implants cannot craft metal items.”

“I would like everyone to have a metal pick for gathering stone, flint, and metal. The Survivor says that not only will a metal pick last a long time, it will have a better efficiency collecting those items for us. Likewise, a metal hatchet will gives us twice as much wood for every tree or driftwood we cut down.”

“The pike, even though quite heavy, is not going to break without warning when we need it the most. And those crossbows will certainly make our primitive bows look like toys in comparison.”

“We have a problem,” says Denny. “There is not enough metal ore to smelt down in the Smithy to create metal tools for all of us.”

“Can we craft a pick and hatchet for everyone,” ask Mary? “ Yes” says Denny. But there will only be enough metal left to craft a crossbows and two pikes.”

“Then, lets do this,” says Michael. “Craft up a crossbow for Joe as he is the expert in using one. Craft the pikes for Michael and Denny. The rest of us can go metal hunting among the boulders in the area. Hopefully, we can find enough to craft some more crossbows and pikes.”

“How about those two way radios,” ask Carlos. “I'm afraid that that is not going to happen unless we can get to the slopes of the volcano,” says Denny. “We would need 160 pounds of metal ore and 80 pounds of crystal just to craft a pair of them.”

“Then it looks like we have a big job ahead of us” says Michael. We need to find a source for large quantities of metal ore and crystal as soon as we can.”

 

Chapter 7. A Rex threatens my camp.

It is day 67 as I am using my new metal tools with my Trikes to gather resources and constructing a set of satellite overnight camps to let someone, anyone, know that I am here on the Ark. I have established one North of cave camp and an additional one in the boulders of the cliff.

I have just completed the one by some boulders halfway up the ramp to the narrow of Drayo's Cove when I notice a large bipedal dinosaur coming up it. Quickly getting on Mike, I hurriedly head up the ramp and around to the cliff above.

Peaking over the cliff, I find that this was the wise thing to do as I see my first Rex close up and personal snooping around the new camp. It does so for several minutes, then turns and heads back to the cove where it soon makes a meal out of a wild Parasaur.

Not good, I think. I have my doubts that the trikes and I would survivor an encounter with one. And, had that Rex continuing heading up the ramp, it would only be a short distance before it would reach Cave Camp and my unprotected pets below in their unfinished pen.

Heading back to camp, I plan my next move. I will pack building supplies on two of my Trikes, come back, recon for the Rex, and if he is gone, start building a wall across the ramp from the cliff to the drop off on the other side. It is a lot of material, but it should be doable in short order using thatch for now.

A couple of days later, the wall is complete with a dino gate so I can take my Trikes across. The Rex has remained by the Delta busy hunting allowing me to get the wall completed. It gets its first test when a Bronto comes snooping around and tries to cross. It gives up and heads back to the beach.

While it may not stop a determined Rex on the hunt, given its wall is mostly made of thatch, It should be more then enough to turn around a curious Rex the way it did that much larger Bronto. Later on, I plan to reinforce it with wood.

A couple of days later, I get the dino pen secure with thatch walls four panels high and start reinforcing it lower levels with the more resource intensive wood panels.

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At the Carlos Tribe on their parallel Ark;

Day 67 starts out as most of the others have. The tribe sets off on their daily tasks of hunting, fishing, gathering resources, expanding, stocking the signal torches with wood, improving their home base, and slowly pushing out their area of exploration in their search for others.

It is late afternoon when Denny and Julia come back on their Tikes with alarming news. “We had just completed building an overnight camp by the boulders on that ramp to Drayo's Cove when we spotted a large bipedal creature heading up towards us,” said Julia. “We imminently jumped onto our Trikes and headed for the cliff above. Parking our Trikes out of sight, we crawl back to the edge of the cliff overlooking the new camp and saw a Rex nosing around. We observed it for several minutes until it finally lost interest in the camp and returned to the cove. It then proceeded to head to the delta, then attacked and killed a wild Parasaur it found there.”

“Even with our new metal weapons, I'm not sure that we could take one head on and survive the encounter,” says Michael. “Maybe we should do what The Survivor did” says Mary “Stock the cave with spare weapons so we can fight it from the safety of the cave in case it pays us a visit.”

“Can we do anything to keep it away from here,” ask Carlos? “Perhaps, we could build a fence across the ramp,” says Michael. “Given that it didn't destroy the thatch hut on the ramp, a temporary thatch wall should keep it down in the cove.” “As the cliffs along there goes for kilometers, it could work,” says Denny. “It will take a lot of materials to build,” says Mary, “At least, we have our Trikes that can quickly gather all the thatch we will need. We can all craft the wall sections along with a gate, carry them up on the Trikes, and put up a wall there in no time.” “Then lets get started on first light,” Says Michael.

“The next morning, everyone sets out in teams of two with a trike and a Parasaur with one member riding the Trike gathering thatch and watching out for dilos, as the other gathered, wood, fiber, and crafting thatch wall sections. By noon, they meet back at cave camp with more then enough wall and foundation sections to construct their wall.

“I'll go scout ahead with Perry to see if the Rex is still around,” says Michael. “If its not around, I'll let everyone know on the Trikes that it is safe to start building the wall.”

Michael takes Perry to the cliff, dismounts, and looks over the edge. He sees some Brontos, Phenomas, and an assorted of other herbivores peacefully grazing along the shoreline. He sees the Rex up in the delta hunting. He comes back for the others. “The coast is clear for now,” he says. “Lets get this wall up while we can.”

The men get to work on building the wall while the women keep watch on the cliff above. “Lets place the gate here next to the overnight camp,” says Denny. Then, we will build out the foundations until we reach the cliff and drop off.”

A boulder has to be removed when it gets in the way of laying foundations. Otherwise, all goes smoothly as Michael and Denny place the foundations, while Joe, Carlos, and Mickey put the wall sections in place.

“Looks like we are going to get a test to see if a thatch wall is sufficient to keep the Rex out,” says Mary. “There is a Bronto coming up the ramp to check us out.” The Bronto comes up and looks at the wall. It shakes when it brushes into it while turning around. Then it heads back down the ramp.

“This is going to work.” Says Michael. “Since it survived the curious Bronto, an equally curious Rex will likely turn around. We can always reinforce it in the future with wood and stone once we have access to the resources.”

“Lets get back to cave base and finish the pen with the extra materials,” says Mary. “Then, we can all rest easier for a while.”

 

Chapter 8. The Stego Surprise!

During the night, I had been working in the cave to repair my metal tools with my limited supply of refined metal. I still lack what I need to craft a sickle that has showed up on my list of available items. It looks quite useful, a tool to rapidly harvest fiber from the bushes. But, I just don't have the 36 raw metal ore to refine the 16 metal ingots required.

As I leave the cave to go to the dino pen, I hear a loud thud behind me. Startled, I watch this large shape just walk by me as it heads towards the beach around the dino pen. A Stegosaur. It must have slid down the cliff from above.

I check in the Survivor's notebook for more info on the Stego. He says that a tamed one can gather three times the resources of a Trike. They use their tail for gathering and for defense, those big spikes on the end being quite deadly to any predator that attacks them. I find that I have a saddle available and the resources to craft it, so at first light, I will try for the tame.

I find her that morning near by seaside cottage where I had built my first shelter. A tranc arrow from the crossbow to the head and the battle is on.

I stay just ahead of her as she tries to get me with her tail. I use the boulder behind the seaside cottage to my advantage. Two more crossbow tranc arrows to the head. Another tranc arrow to the head as her tail smashes the cooking pot, storage box, the fire pit, and two standing torches next to the cottage. Then, down she goes.

The tame goes well as I bring out the newly crafted saddle on Trixie, along with extra narcs, mejoberries, and spare standing torches for the night. By morning, the tame is complete. I have my first Stego. I name her Stacy the Stego.

Stacy proves to be an excellent berry harvester but walks and runs quite slow. A wild Parasaur runs off screaming when she accidentally clips it with her tail harvesting berries.

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At the Tribe of the Carlos Charter;

The late night meeting among the tribe is suddenly disturb by a loud thud outside the dino pen followed what sounds like stones and gravel sliding by and bouncing off the dino pen wall. Their dilo pack suddenly goes on full alert. “Something just slid off the cliff and is outside,” says Michael. “Could it be that Rex?”

“No,” says Mary. “It sounds like a large four legged creature out there.” “Maybe it is the Bronto,” says Denny. “It could have knocked down the thatch wall by the cove.” “No, it doesn't sound big enough,” says Michael. “And the walking speed is much too fast.”

Joe steps outside and quickly comes back in. “Relax everybody,” says Joe. “It looks like a female Stego slid down off the cliff above.” “What good luck,” says Mary. “Since we have a saddle available for one, lets try to tame it in the morning.”

“What kind of reaction should we expect from the Stego when we attempt to drop her with tranc arrows,” Ask Michael. “ The Survivor writes that she will attempt to attack with her spiked tail, so you will need to avoid that.”

That morning, they find the Stego by the seaside hut where she is quickly taken down with seven tranc arrows to the head and neck. She damages their irrigation pipeline when she falls, but otherwise the tame goes well. Denny and Julia craft a new intake and sections to repair the irrigation system while the tame takes place.

The tame is complete by the next morning when Mary says, “Joe, here is the saddle. Take Stacy out for a spin and see what she can do.”

A few minutes later, Joe calls out. “Come take some of these berries, wood, and thatch, out of her inventory. She has gathered so much so quickly that she can hardly move.”

 

[rpicardi1]

Chapter 9. Tommy the Pteranodon.

As I reached Level 35, it was time to obtain a flyer. I need to get crystal for a spotting scope to safely search for the others. Pteranodons have been flying around in the area ever since I was shipwrecked. One even flew into the cave when I was setting up camp there. But, now, for some reason, they were nowhere to be found.

The Survivor's notes states that the best way to tame one is to hit it with a tranc arrow when it lands to rest. He warns not to use a crossbow as lower level Pteranodon are so fragile that one shot could kill them. For that reason, it is best to aim for the body. I pack raw meat on Mike, take extra narcs with me, and head up the coast in search of a Pteranodon I had spotted days earlier.

I find a male and keep an eye on him to see where he will land. When he lands nearby, I hit him with a tranc arrow using my primitive bow. He starts to fly away, but before I can place a second shot on him, he falls to the ground in a heap.

Keeping Mike nearby as a bodyguard, I set up some standing torches as it is already late evening. He is 25% damaged as I place raw meat and narcs into his inventory. The tame takes all night. Interesting is that he has healed completely by the time he is tamed. He gets the name Tommy the Pteranodon and follows us back to the dino pen.

When I take him for my first flight, I find that it is best to leave all my inventory behind except for my armor, basic weapons, and some food. I also need to keep a stack of raw meat on him so he can eat that when he gets hungry while flying. The Survivor's notes warns me about keeping an eye on his stamina, to land and rest him as needed, or we could end up landing into danger or drown in the water.

I take him off on a test flight. My, how big this island looks from the air. I fly over Drayo's Cove and up into the delta. I see it crawling with the first raptors I have seen. There are sarcos and other nasty predators hunting the river. With stamina getting low, I pick out a safe beach on the point and land there to rest. Then we take off to Herbivore Island to see if anyone else is stranded there.

That place is amazing. There is a natural sheltered bay formed by two sandbars with rocks on the point, sort of a natural harbor. Back in the bay is a large sheltered dead end canyon. The top contains numerous large rocks forming a crescent. There is a palm and hardwood forest on top. Best of all, while there are numerous herbivores roaming the island, there isn't a carnivore to be found, not even a dilo. Strangely, there are no Dodo or Turtles to be found there either.

The next day, I make a survey flight towards Far Peak. I don't get there as I take advantage of a drop I spot along the coast which contains a complete wood hut. Burdened with that weight I fly back to camp. Still, I have found safe landing places where I can rest Tommy for that planned trip to the top of Far peak to gather crystal. There are no signs of the others.

The following day, I take along only the pick and pike, I leave everything else but my armor, some food, and a torch. I make a rest stop just before a large bay, then a second on the beach at the base of far peak. Then, I make the long accent to the top of far peak.

The view is awesome a I look for a safe landing spot away from the scorpions and Saber Tooth that are roaming on the East Slope. I can view the entire Ark from high up and it is big. Landing on the top hidden by a big rock from a roaming scorpion, I get to work harvesting crystals nearby and dump any stones I harvest. Golden metal rock is also nearby, but for the moment, the crystal is most important since weight will be an issue on my return trip and both are very heavy. Besides, I can get the metal at a later time lower down the mountain. With 50 pounds of crystal and ignoring the cold, I get back on Tommy and head back down to the coast.

On the trip back to camp, I spot a Carno hunting in the exact spot I had tamed Tommy the night before. It is going to be a threat should it reaches Base Camp. I fly Tommy back to base and take the crystal into the cave where I craft the spotting scope that night.

The next morning, I make my plan for dealing with the Carno. I saddle up Mike and Trixie, my two strongest mate boosted Trikes. My plan is to use them to approach the Carno and when it comes in to attack, use Mike to spear him in a charge while Trixie nails him from the side.

The plan works better then expected. I approach the Carno from my left side with Trixie on my left. It runs towards me to attack, The angle is perfect. I turn and hit the charging Carno in its face as Trixie rams it from the side causing massive injury to its side. The Carno bites the dust. Both Mike and Trixie come out of that battle with only minor injuries. I am very pleased with the results as I dismount Mike and chop up the dead Carno for its meat and hide. My pets have proven to be my most valuable allies as well as companions to combat the loneliness of my Robinson Crusoe existence here.

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The Carlos Tribe.

It is day 92 as the Carlos Tribe holds their evening meeting. “It is hard to believe that we have been marooned here for so long.” says Caroline. “It may have something to do with those one hour days,” says Julia. “For all we know, we could have really been gone for only four days from Bermuda.” “Four days with no sleep? Doesn't seem possible,” says Denny.

“We should be able to craft a Pteranodon saddle soon.” says Mary “It's time to get us some aerial transport and extend our range of search and exploration.”

“Could we use them to get metal and crystal from Far Peak,” Ask Denny. “Yes,” says Mary “But they will have very limited ability to carry those heavy items. According to the Survivor, the peak where crystals are located is relatively safe with places to land. The slopes where the metal ore are are very steep and home to the Rexes, Argentavis, and Saber Tooth.”

“What are Argentavis?” ask Michael. “They are like the giant eagles in Lord of the Rings,” says Mary. “They are very territorial and will have you and your Pteranodon for lunch if they catch you. Fortunately, according to the Survivor, the Pteranodon can easily out fly them, providing you don't pack too much weight on them.”

“And, the Saber Tooth?” ask Mickey. “They are a huge prehistoric tiger from the cave man days.” says Mary. “Their noted features are those two long canine teeth protruding from their upper jaw.” “Sounds nasty,” says Mickey.

“What should we expect when we go to tame some,” Ask Michael. “According to the survivor's notebook, the Pteranodon are non aggressive meat eaters. They live primarily on the fish they catch in the cove and sea. When they need to rest, they will land along the shore. You should be able to walk right up to them, but if you attempt to club or stone them to knock one out, they will fly away. You will need to knock them out with a tranc arrow. The Survivor cautions about using a crossbow as the lower level ones are so fragile that you could accidentally kill them.”

Joe and Michael head down the beach the next morning to look for Pteranodon. “I found one,” says Joe as he readies the crossbow for a shot. He hits the Pteranodon in the head, but it falls to the ground dead. “Damn,” Joe says. “My wife was right about how fragile they are. Michael, use your primitive bow on the next one and try for a body shot. This crossbow has too much hitting power.”

Further down the beach, they find another Pteranodon landing to rest. It is a long shot as Michael fires just as it takes off. “Did I miss,” says Michael. “No, I'm sure that you hit it,” says Joe. “Wait, it just fell to the ground.” “Good, he is not that badly hurt,” says Michael. “Lets get the tame under way,” says Joe, “And keep an eye out for another one.”

A female Pteranodon lands nearby to investigate and is soon rendered unconscious with a tranc arrow. “A mated pair,” says Joe. “That will give their stats an extra boost.”

The taming goes well with the male being the first to complete shortly followed by the female. “Interesting how both of them are fully healed before they woke up,” says Joe. “Lets name them Tommy and Tina,” says Michael.

The Pteranodon follow them back to cave base where Mary has a saddle waiting. “Oh, you got a pair,” says Mary. “We will need another saddle.” “Here is some more hide,” says Joe. “You were right about how fragile they are. My first shot with the crossbow dropped it dead , so I had Michael take these two with the primitive bow.”

“You will need to travel light,” says Mary. “They have a limited ability to carry weight and the saddle weigh 20 pounds already.”

“Does our weight make a difference on who rides them?” ask Michael. “No,” says Mary “Apparently, we don't have any weight as far as the Pteranodons are concerned. The weight comes from what we are carrying in our inventory. In facts, the Survivor says a Pteranodon can pick up a second person so long as we don't exceed the weight it can carry. The person it is carrying can use a ranged weapons for hunting from it.”

“That could give us an advantage if we ever have to deal with a Rex,” says Michael. “One of us could be flying the Pteranodon over a Rex while the other hits it with arrows.”

“Just be careful that your Pteranodon doesn't run out of stamina carrying the both of you,” warns Mary, “or all three of you will be turned into Rex munchies.”

“You can also pick up the wild Dodos on the beach and bring them back to the pen,” says Mary. “Just don't pick up any wild Dilos. They may take a swipe at you when you drop them.”

“Lets go see what our flyers are capable of,” says Michael. “Put a stack of meat in their inventory,” says Mary, “And land to rest them when they get tired.”

Joe and Michael spend the remaining day flight testing the Pteranodon pair. They practice climbs, dives, speed runs, and various areal maneuvers. “Just like flying a sports plane,” Says Michael. “Lets try catching some dodo birds and bring them back to the pen,” says Joe.

When they land the Pteranodons for the evening, Mary starts complaining, “Why was it raining Dodo Birds in camp all day? Look at this mess, eggs and poop all over the place.”

“Well, at least our Dilos aren't eating them,” says Caroline. “We have been gathering their eggs all day. Like the meat jerky curing in the preserving bin, Mary says they will keep for a long time.”

“In the morning, I would like to conduct a recon flight to Far Peak,” says Michael. “We need to see just how far we can go before we need to land as well as look for safe landing sites before we go up there for crystal. We need to expand our search for Halsey and anyone else that can help us. Then, we will explore further inland and check out that blue obelisk.”

“Will we have to worry about the Argentavis?” ask Joe. “As long as you stay away from Far Peak and any areas North of there, you should be safe.” answers Mary. “Then, we will head out at first light” Says Michael.

It is late in the afternoon when Michael and Joe return from their recon mission. “That obelisk is huge!” Says Joe. “We tried to fly above it but ended up lost in the clouds. When we flew down to look at the base, it looked like a huge hole had been blasted into the rocks. In the center, there is a table with a ramp leading to a damaged alien structure surrounding the center, The blue beam connects to some kind of an alter where the beam terminate into a vase like fixture.” “Could be a transporter, or some kind of controlling device for that obelisk,” says Michael. “If it wasn't for the raptors in the area, we would have landed and investigated it further.”

“We can see the entire Ark from high in the air,” Michael says. “It looks a lot like the map in the cave. We were able to see all of its major land features. It is a large island intersected with lakes and rivers surrounding several volcanic shaped mountain peaks to the North. The red obelisk sits directly over the volcano to the Northwest. There is also a small island to the North of Far Peak.”

“We found several safe landing areas” Michael continues. “Had we tried to hike to Far Peak, it would have taken more then a day. There would have been a major detour around a bay through the jungle. And, I can confirm that we would have had to deal with packs of raptors and carnos there.”

“We finished our day surveying the other side of Drayo's Cove.” says Joe. “There are raptors, dilos, and scorpions hunting in the delta. We did a quick flyby of Herbivore Island. As the Survivor has written, there are no carnivores of any kind present. No dodos either. There were no signs of Halsey or anyone else there. There are numerous sharks in the bay and surrounding sea. We saw them kill a Bronto that slid off the reef into deep water. We found no signs of anyone else on Ark.”

“Can you safely make a crystal run to Far Peak?” ask Denny. “Yes, we now can,” says Michael. “We only have to watch how much weight in crystal we bring back with us.”

“Then, lets both of us take the following,” suggest Michael. “I'll take a pike, you take the crossbow and tranc arrows. We will both wear our new chitlin armor, put a stack of raw meat on our flyers, take a stack of cooked meat for us, a water skin, our torch, our metal pick, and gather as much crystal as we can safely carry back.”

At daybreak, Michael and Joe saddle up the Pteranodon and take off to Far Peak. They make a rest stop by the bay, then a second on the shore by Far Peak.

“That sure looks like a steep climb,” says Joe as they fly up the east slope, “The south slope looks like a cliff.” says Michael. “Look at all of the wildlife to the right,” says Joe. “I see stegos, dilos, scorpions, mastodons and the saber tooth.” “Just so we don't run into any nearby Argentavis.” says Michael, “or we will have to abandon this expedition.”

As they reach the summit looking for a safe landing spot, Michael comments, “damn, it cold up here.” “Light your torch,” Joe says. “It will ward off some of that cold.” “Lets land here” says Michael. “It looks safe. I can see those crystals from here.”

As they set about gathering crystals, Michael growls, “Damn, there is a scorpion by that boulder heading towards us.” “I'll take care of it,” says Joe as he hits it with three arrows from his crossbow. It's down for the count.” “Nasty looking thing,” says Michael.

Just as they are about ready to fly back with the gathered crystal, Michael shouts, “ Argentavis, three o-clock and closing rapidly.” “Lets get the hell out of here,” shouts Joe. The Argentavis just misses catching them as Joe and Michael hop on their Pteranodon and dives down the steep slope flying at full speed. “Looks like we lost it,” says Michael. “Then, we better slow down before our flyers runs out of stamina,” says Joe.

It is late afternoon when Michael and Joe arrive back to cave camp. Denny ask, “Were you able to find any crystal on Far Peak?” “Yes,” says Michael. “We got nearly a hundred pounds total between us.” “Great”, says Denny. “That will give us at least four spotting scopes and a Fabricator for metal armor. Now, we just need to get metal and lots of it.” “That may have to wait until we can find it on Herbivore Island,” says Michael, “The slopes on Far Peak are just too steep and dangerous to mine metal. As it was, we just managed to escape from an attacking Argentavis.”

“You are lucky you left when you did,” said Mary. “Your Pteranodon could have panicked and left you stranded there.”

“I also found these,” said Joe to Mary. “Rare mushrooms and flowers,” says Mary. “They may prove useful some day.”

“Now for the bad news,” says Michael. “There is a carno down the beach by where we tamed the Pteranodons. And, it appears that it may be heading this way.” “I don't think that I could hit it from the air,” says Joe. “We haven't tried hitting anything yet from a Pteranodon.”

“Then, lets see if we can kill it with the Trikes,” says Michael. “We'll take Mike and Trixie out in the morning and go after it with them.”

As they saddle up the trikes that morning, Michael tells Joe, “When we find the carno, I'll get its attention and draw it to the right. As it comes towards me, you flank it on its left side and we will both ram it at once. If we time it right, your trike will do the most serious damage.”

It isn't long before Joe and Michael return to cave camp. “We got it!, shouts Joe. “The flanking maneuver worked perfectly,” says Michael. The Carno charged Mike, his horns slammed into its head and before it could bite him, Trixie's horns ripped open its side. It was dead in seconds. When we butchered it, we found a stone pick, hatchet, 25 stone arrows, 15 tranc arrows, some boots, and a thatch shirt and pants in its belly. We also got three prime meat. Oh poop, they're already spoiled.”

“It must have killed someone else,” says Mary. “It's can't be one of us since we are all here and mo one has complained about being killed by one.” “Could it be Halsey?” ask Michael. “I haven't seen signs of anyone else on the Ark.” “I don't know,” says Mary. “The Survivor says that the predators on the Ark will sometimes have the inventory of a survivors they have killed on them. Then, he writes, those items can also appear as if they were a random supply drop. The aliens could be playing with our fears. After all, one of the dilos we killed had nerd glasses on it. And, the last time I heard, the actor that played Dennis had not been reporting missing on some Bermuda vacation.”

“Now, as far as the spoiled prime meat goes, prime spoils on you in under two minutes. You can put it in a pet's inventory where it will last over six minutes. But the biggest problem is that you can't stack it like you can everything else. You have to quickly use or cook it before it spoils.”

“Now, I don't know if we overlooked it or not, if it is one of those Ark mysteries, or if the aliens are playing games with us. Another page appeared in the Survivor's inventory this morning about being able to craft a raft. In fact, after you left to go kill the Carno, I discovered that we all had the ability to craft a raft at Level 15. The others are out now gathering the materials needed to build and stock one for an escape attempt by the sea. Denny and Julia have volunteered for the mission. Their survival skills make them the best candidates. They will take a spotting scope with them and a pair of tamed Dodos as proof that Ark exist. They are leaving as soon as the raft is ready and stocked.”

[rpicardi1]

Chapter 10. The failed escape attempt.

Day 100 on the ark, Today, a raft appears in my list of crafting items I can purchase, I start building a raft for an escape attempt back to civilization. All previous attempts to build one have proven to be impossible. The material requirements are not that bad but it weighs 75 pounds when crafted. I place it in a storage box at the shoreline for now and proceed to gather a stock of supplies for an extended sea voyage.

The next morning, I launch the raft by placing it into my inventory and wading into the water. The raft magically appears. I then proceed to place storage boxes in the bow and fill them with the supplies. As a safety measure, should I somehow get killed, I place a sleeping bag on board.

I set sail heading due South as I pass Herbivore Island heading out to the open sea. The land is starting to disappear behind me as I check my compass heading.

Wham!

Out of nowhere, a shimmering white net appears in my path as the raft bounces off it. It travels as far as the eye can see, left, right, high into the sky, down into the sea floor that vanishes beyond it. It distorts my view of the other side. A Force Field. The edge of this artificial world. I sail East paralleling it. As Herbivore Island gets behind me, I find a corner that forms the eastern barrier.

So, here I am, trapped like a lab rat in a cage, in a giant box, a cube that completely contains the Ark, measuring some eight kilometers on a side according to a note in the Survivor's diary. The freshwater sea, the sky, the clouds, the land mass, the mountains, the tropical and grassland biomes, even the three obelisks, all contained in this giant box, like the holideck of Star Trek Next Generation, but with a fixed dimension.

Disappointed, I set sail for Herbivore Island, then change my mind and head back to the base to get Perry so I can have a mount for exploration. It is evening by the time I get back to base.

The next morning I saddle up Perry and load him on the raft. Just like when I fly on Tommy, the Parasaur doesn't seem to place any weight on the raft. In fact, it seems that anything I place on the raft has no effect on it's ability to carry anything.

Landing in the cove, I build a thatch shack from supplies I had collected from a drop. I add a campfire, torches, and a porch. After cutting some wood for a fire, I take Perry out exploring.

As I ride along the outer beach avoiding the numerous other herbivores living there that keep getting in my way, I spot two gleaming rocks on the ridge above. Metal! I have found the metal rocks I need. I don't have to go to Far Peak or into a dangerous cave to get badly needed metal for the Refining Forge. Hitting them with the metal pick yields metal ore, as much as 50 pounds in some of them. Before long, I have almost 300 pounds of metal ore in the raft. I head back to main base with Perry. Now, I can craft that long neck rifle, ammo, a scope, a sickle, spare crossbow and spare metal tools.

-------------------------------------------------------

The Carlos Tribe.

It is day 100 as the Carlos Tribe prepare their raft for an escape attempt and rescue. It is mid afternoon when Denny and Julia set sail to the South as the rest of the survivors wave good bye and wish them luck. As the land starts to shrink from sight, Denny and Julia are debating about when will the salt water appear. That discussion is interrupted when the raft hits an invisible wall. A shimmering white net appears in front of them distorting the view beyond.

“A force field,” says Denny. “We should have suspected that we could be trapped inside some kind of of a container” “That explains this freshwater sea,” says Julia. “The sky, that very close moon, time passing so quickly, the extinct creatures, the unusual weather, and why we have not seen any ships of aircraft these past 100 days.”

“An airplane could have flown by so fast in this accelerated time frame that we might not have seen it,” says Denny. “But a ship should have looked like an airplane traveling on the surface.”

“If the real world is out there,” says Julia. “It is being hidden by this force field.”

“Lets see how far East we can sail before we can't go any further,” says Denny. He soon has his answer as Herbivore Island gets behind them. “A corner,” says Julia. “We must be inside a box. Mary mentioned something about the Ark having some 64 square kilometers of surface area to explore.” “It could be some giant Holodeck like on Star Trek the Next Generation,” says Denny. “it would explain the fast regeneration of the boulders, the way they explode when we hit them, why no tracks are left on the beach, and the way the rocks and vegetation so quickly reappears on the beach.”

“Since we can't escape, lets sail over to Herbivore Island and see if we can find the metal that Mary says is over there,” says Julia.

“Sail Ho,” Mickey shouts as he and Carlos are working on a second raft for exploration. “It's the raft with Denny and Julia,” says Mary as she places the spotting scope on it. “Something must have gone wrong?” says Carlos.

The tribe appears disappointed as Julia explains how they ran into a force field and how it appeared to form the corner of a box when they sailed East. “As I suspected from reading through the survivor's notes,” says Mary. “We are definitely part of some alien experiment. Inside a huge box containing their version of an ecosystem. This Ark, populated with their version of Earth's extinct creatures. They must be studying us to see how we cope in their controlled environment.”

“I wonder why they let us craft a raft now and not much earlier.” says Michael. “Maybe they are adding things, to see how we react to them, just like the Anklyo that suddenly appeared in the cove, when the blueprint for the raft mysteriously appeared in our crafting list.” says Joe.

“Well one thing is for certain,” Julia interrupts. “There are plenty of Anklyos along with Trikes, Stegos, and Parasaurs, on Herbivore Island.” “We can use your help,” says Denny. “We found metal rocks up on the ridge, and we have over 400 pounds of ore on the raft.”

“Lets get the refining forge fired up and turn this ore into metal.” says Michael. “We can soon have crossbows for everyone and maybe that radio if we can get more crystal.” “Lets craft a couple of long neck rifles with scopes,” says Joe. “You will need more then 400 pounds of metal ore,” says Mary. “I'll think we will soon have all the metal ore we need,” says Denny.

“Now that we appear to be stuck here, lets make the best of the situation, take advantage of all of the items being offered us, make our lives as comfortable as possible, and learn everything we can about this Ark to see if we can find another means of escape.” says Carlos

“We can start by adding another dino pen.” says Joe. I have a feeling that we are going to be adding to out collection of prehistoric pets and soon.”

“We would like to take the raft to survey the eastern coastline,” says Denny to Mary. “Go ahead, and if it is safe to do so, place a thatch hut up in the cove near far Peak,” Mary answered.

[rpicardi1]

Chapter 11. The Time Quake.

Day 135 on the Ark. Have I been here so long? The past 35 days have been spent exploring the eastern shores, testing out new items, taming pets on Herbivore Island, looking for signs of the others, and mining metal ore there.

The new long neck rifle has its use but doesn't seem to hit as hard as the crossbow. It is also expensive to use requiring a pound of metal and several units of gun powders for a single bullet. So, for now, I store it on the raft with a stack of ammo.

The crossbow remains my ranged weapon of choice. With easily made tranc arrows, I can drop a Dilo with one shot. In fact, I end up taming six of them. They make a great hunting pack working well together and able to take on the normally hard to kill Turtles with ease.

I continue my search for the others having sailed the raft far north to an island known as Dead. I hit the Force Field just beyond it finding the Northeast corner of the cube. The spotting scope confirms Dead Island is crawling with predators of all sizes. There are no Herbivores to be seen. Apparently, they must be feeding on each others with their replacements spawning in as needed. With Argentavis flying close by, I turn the raft about and head back to the cave base.

I sail the South Coast going as far as a bay formed by a rocky outcropping. I observe a pack of Raptors tearing up a Parasaur and other herbivores in an inlet leading to a river.

The rocky outcropping along the South side is fairly quiet with only a couple of Dilos hunting the Dodos living there. I find a quiet spot on the sandy beach by the boulders and construct a thatch hut from supplies I got from a nearby supply drop. I head back to base camp and get there by the evening.

My thought are interrupted with a sudden flash as the ground shakes for a second. What the, as I look around and see my base is suddenly filled with palms, brush and several big boulders. What a mess. Mike the Trike finds himself perched on top of a boulder. Two others boulders have materialized in the wall of the base.

Outside of the pen, I observe the same mess. One boulder has materialize inside my irrigation system which continues to function.

I set about cleaning up the mess by first breaking up the boulders with the metal pick. The wall remains undamaged when they explode and vanish. Next are the palm trees blocking the Dino Gate. They are in the way of my pets especially in the landing zone for Tommy.

The next day, I saddle up Tommy for an inspection of the Ark. As I fly over Drayo's Cove, I notice several extinct creatures that I have never seen before. There is a small flying reptile with a round head with rows of sharp teeth. I see another creature about twice the size of the dilos but with a big round head. Then, I spot a huge horse shaped mammal browsing on the palms. I place the spotting scope on it. “Male Paracer, Level 6.” So, that is what it is called. All seem to be docile as I fly close by to inspect them.

I fly up the coast towards far peak when I notice that all three obelisk have changed color. The blue one is green, the green one red and the red one blue. What? The volcano under the blue obelisk has turned white like it has become snow covered.

At Far Peak, I nearly get lost in the dense fog. As I am nearly to the top anyways, I head for it and land there to get crystal for a rifle scope. It is freezing cold at the top, far colder then on my last trip. As I prepare to leave, I spot an Argentavis flying straight towards me. I just make it out in time as I push Tommy to fly down the steep slope at full speed. Thankfully, he leaves it in the dust.

When I reach the bay with the waterfalls at its end, I find that it is no longer there. In its place is a vast swamp filled with cypress and mangrove trees. There are numerous sacros in the water. Titanboa snakes are everywhere along the edge. Paracer inhabit the meadow. And, I see huge frogs hopping about.

Now what? A big foot in the forest. The spotting scope displays, “Female Gigantopithecus, Level 9.”

A Time Quake, I think. The entire Ark has been reborn in an instant with new creatures and new biomes.

With the extra building supplies, I set about doubling the size of my Dino Pen. It looks like I may be adding new pets to my collection and I may need the space soon.

-------------------------------------------------

The Carlos Tribe.

That evening Denny and Julia report on their survey of the eastern seacoast. “We explored that huge bay that Joe and Michael saw when they made the crystal run to far Peak. There is a beautiful waterfall along the cliff where the river starts inland towards the blue obelisk. A nice valley is along there before it goes up a ramp into the jungle. We built a thatch shelter in the valley by the waterfall, but in the jungle, we could spot Raptors, Dilos, and Carnos through the spotting scope.”

We sailed North until we found the Northeast corner of of the force field. Coming back, we passed close by Dead Island. That it sure is. The small island next to it is totally void of any life, just a large sandbar. But Dead Island is certainly well named. The spotting scope shows it swarming with Scorpions, Dilos, Raptors, Carnos, and Rexes. I don't know what they are feeding on other then each other. We didn't stick around to find out since we soon spotted Argentavis flying nearby.”

Just then, their meeting is interrupted by a brief flash of light and a short jolt of the ground.

“What the!” says Michael. “Where did all of this vegetation come from,” says Denny. “Hey, there are boulders sticking through the wall,” says Carlos. “How did Mike get on top of that?” says Joe.

“Did we strip away too much rock and vegetation?” Julia asks. “I don't know says Mary. “The Survivor never mentioned anything about this.” “Look!” says Michael, “The blue Obelisk has turned green.” “The aliens must be responsible for this,” says Mary. “Might as well clean up this mess, then prepare the rafts and saddle up the Pteradons in the morning and see what else has changed.”

In the morning, Michael and Joe take the Pteradons out for a survey. Carlos and Mickey take a raft to Herbivore Island. Denny and Julia take the other raft up the East coast. Caroline and Mary saddle up the Parasaurs for a survey to check the ramp barrier.

Carlos and Mickey are the first to report their findings followed by Michael and Joe, Denny and Julia, then Caroline and Mary.

Carlos and Mickey ride into camp on their newly tamed pets. They are the ugliest looking things anyone has ever seen. “What are those,” ask Caroline. “They are Phiomias,” says Mary “Cute in their own way and rather useless other then a basic mount. But they can provide us with plenty of poop for the compost bin.”

“ We tamed them on Herbivore Island,” says Micki. “We found them stuck in the driftwood. The saddle we got from a supply drop. We crafted the other using the blueprint from that drop.”

“The island looks as normal as ever,” reports Carlos. “But all the metal rocks and trees have reappeared. With the help of an Ankylo and these two we found stuck in the driftwood on the beach, we got over 600 pounds of metal ore. Oh, the blue obelisk to the West has turned red.”

As Michael and Joe return and unsaddle the Pteradons, Michael comments, “What are those ugly things?” “Phiomias,” says Mary “These were the first creatures that we could have tamed if we could have cornered one. Carlos and Mickey got lucky and found these stuck in the driftwood.”

“The Ark has changed,” says Joe. “We saw a snow covered peak where the red obelisk used to be. It is now blue. Then, we ran into dense fog at Far Peak and nearly got lost. It was colder then a bitch on the top. We nearly froze to death on that peak even with our torches. The Argentavis are worse then ever around the peak. We were able to get some more crystal.”

“It is even worse then that,” says a returning Denny and Julia. “The big bay with the waterfall along the East is now a mangrove swamp. Our campsite is swallowed up by the vegetation. We could see what looked like cypress tree further in. We turned around when we saw all the Sarcos coming after us. To the North on the plain, we observed Bufo frogs so big that I think one could ride on them. And snakes as big as those one in the Sci Fi channel. Then, we saw a herd of horse like creatures the size of elephants. They were grazing on the palms. And, I swear that we saw a Bigfoot.”

“We saw one of those horse creatures in Drayo's Cove,” says Carolina, “And, a small biped with a fat round head.

We also need to reinforce the ramp wall. We observed a Bronto walk up a newly spawned boulders and climb right over it.”

“New pages have appeared in the Survivor's notebook,” says Mary. “The map has changed too. We how have Bufo Frogs, Titanboas, Paracer, pachys, Doedicurus, giant dragon files, ants the size of dogs, monkeys, and a Gigantopithecus, what you called Bigfoot.

The Bufos can be tamed and ridden. Just watch out for their 40 foot tongue. It's works like our tranc arrows on a crossbow.

The Titanboas are especially nasty. Their bite will render you unconscious in seconds. They are also immune to the effects of out tranc arrows, so, don't waste them on one. Just kill them.

The Paracer is quite unique. Due to their size, they are quite docile. Just don't do anything that upsets them. They will try to stomp you and they can move a lot faster then you would think for their size.

The giant dragonflies won't bother you unless you try harvesting a carcass they are feeding on. Then, they will swarm you to have you for lunch. Beware that they will attack tamed pteradons.

Watch out for the ants, especially the flying ones. They will attack on sight.

Don't bother with the monkeys. While they are curious and can be tamed by just feeding them, they will become the pest they are in the real world. They excel at throwing poop and stealing stuff.

Stay out of Bigfoot territory. If you get too close to one, it will get pissed off and try to kill you.

We did observe a Patchy. They are friendly but will head butt you a mile if you harm them.

We did not see any Doedicurus. If we find and tame one, we will never have to wear out a pick ax to gather stones from boulders. Their long club tail is very efficient in shattering the boulders to gather the stone in them.

The map now shows the entire North West corner in the Ice Age. There is a ice field and iceberg in the sea there. A glacier covers the western slope of the Whitesky Peak. There are Direwolves and giant elk along with primitive penguins in the region. The Survivor reports that oil and crystal can now be found on the ice floes.

In short, The Ark has been changed. We now have a bunch of new creatures to watch out for, and, with the exception of the titanboas and insects, maybe tame some new ones.”

 

[rpicardi1]

Based upon a true experience in Ark single player;

 

Chapter 12. A Stuck Bronto.

It is been 190 days that I have been marooned on the Ark. I have finally completed the improvements that have doubled the size of my dino pen. Those improvements include replacing the thatch walls with wood. They also include reinforcing the ramp barrier with wood after that wall was damaged by a wild Bronto that climbed over the thatch wall on a boulder damaging it.

And, then it happened. That Bronto manages to wedge itself against my newly finished pen and a boulder.

This presents a real problem. If he panics, he could destroy several days of work. If I try to cut him loose, he could get hit and attack destroying the East wall and my irrigation pipeline. That leaves a third choice, attempt a tame and hope for the best.

I know that this will be the most difficult tame yet attempted. The bigger the creature, the more effort that is needed to drop one, the longer the tame, and the more resources needed. Brontos are huge. In fact, they are the biggest creatures on the Ark so far. I refer to the Survivor's notes for some advice on how to proceed.

His notes say to aim for the head with tranc arrows, to give them a couple of seconds to take effect, and that it will take quite a few before the Bronto will drop. He also says to expect the tame to take days and hundreds of Mejoberries, maybe a thousand. I find that Brontos will also eat advanced crops that Rockkart are a favorite and they will speed up the tame. I am in luck, my garden has four full stacks available. I plan for the take down at first light.

I head up on the rock on the shore base to get a good shot at the Bronto's head. The first shot hits between the eyes. The Bronto turns to face me head on and remains stuck. Thankfully, unlike the Stego, he doesn't do anything to to damage the base. 15 more tranc arrows to the head and he goes down in a cloud of dust.

The tame goes better then expected. In spite of a bloodied forehead from all of those arrows, the Bronto has suffered little damage. The base is undamaged. The rockkarts are working well. Still it is early morning on the second day before the bronto tame is complete. Of the four stacks of rockkarts, I have two left among with the hundreds of Mejoberries that were not needed. I name him Bruno.

I take him out as a pack animal. He follows along nicely. I am able to pack a thousand pounds of wood on him as I turn around and park him next to the new pen.

The next day I level up to 55 and craft the Bronto saddle. He is a fabulous berry harvester gathering hundreds in one tail sweep that sends a wild parasaur running in panic.

As I park him back by the pen, I find that I have another problem, how do I get off him without getting badly hurt? It is a long ways down from his back. I find the solution is to do the Fred Flintstone and slide down his tail.

Several days later, I decide to tame the female Bronto that has been stomping down the palms at the point. She should make a good companion for Bruno as well as be a source for eggs to use in some future kibble. I load up Terry with the supplies, the Bronto saddle, set off to the point, and park him behind a boulder so he doesn't get involved in the take down.

As expected, she comes charging at me with the first tranc arrow to the head, I avoid being stepped on with the second. Ducking a tail sweep, I place a third. Running around a boulder on the beach, a fourth. Back into the palms, a fifth. She is not a happy camper as I trip over the driftwood trapping a Trike that runs off. Then, down she goes in a cloud of dust.

I place the rockkarts and narcoberries into her inventory, set up a pair of torches to ward off the cold, and get prepared for a long stay after ambushing three dilos that come snooping around. They have second thoughts about causing trouble when they see Terry nearby.

The tame goes well showing 85% taming rate when it is complete. What does that mean? It is an indicator of how many additional levels she will gain when she wakes up. I name her Berniece, place the saddle on her, bring her back to base, and park her beside Bruno.

--------------------------------------------------------------

 

At the base of the Carlos Tribe.

“We have a Bronto trapped in the East wall!” Shouts an excited Joe. “How is it behaving?” ask Mary. “ It appears to be calm about it at this time,” Says Julia. “Somehow, it is wedged between the wall and the palms.” “Unusual,” says Mary. “They are more then strong enough to smash their way out of such a trap.” “Should we go cut it loose?” ask Michael.” “No,”says Mary. “If we piss it off by accidentally hitting it, it could do a great deal of damage to our base and possibly kill one of us in the process. Let me go check it out first. Then we can formulate a plan what to do with it.”

“We have a level 6 male stuck out there,” says Mary. “And a golden opportunity to tame our first Bronto.” “Seriously?” Says Michael. “Yes,” says Mary. “It is the safest way we can get it unstuck from the wall. It will be a long tame. We have enough narcs and Mejoberries. And, we can speed up the process with the rockkarts from the garden.”

“How shall we proceed?” ask Michael. “You and Joe take the crossbows with narc arrows and take aim from the boulder by the beach hut. That will give you a good aiming spot for his head. Try to hit him between the eyes. Wait a few seconds between shots for the narcs to take effect. If we are lucky, he will focus his attention on you and not tear down the wall. Once you hit him with the first arrow, we are committed. So, if he gets loose, use the boulder for cover so he can't step on you or send you flying with that long tail. We will do the rest once you drop him.”

Joe and Michael get on top of the boulder and take aim for the forehead as instructed. Both hit the Bronto between the eyes. The Bronto faces them but remains stuck. The 8^th salvo drops him in a cloud of dust.

“That went better then expected,” says Mary “The wall wasn't damaged when you dropped him. He looks to be in good shape. I'll supervise the tame from here. He will make a good pack animal and berry harvester.”

The tame progresses well. By early morning of the second day, the Carlos Tribe has a Brontosaur as a pet.

“We have a saddle,” says Mary. “Who wants to go for a ride on Bruno?”

With everyone on board, Mary takes Bruno out to test what he is capable of. “Wow, look at all the berries he just got,” says Carlos. “He won't take long to harvest all the berries we need,” Says Mary. “He will more then earn his keep.”

“How do we get off without a ladder?” ask Joe. “Just do the Fred Flintstone down the tail.” says Mary.

“Can we get him a girlfriend?” ask Mickey. “Sure.” says Mary. “Lets wait a couple of days until we can check out the female on the point. We'll have to be more careful because she will definitely attack us during the take down.”

Several days later, Mary puts a team together to tame the female Bronto that has been stomping down the palms at the point. “She should make a good companion for Bruno,” says Mary as she checks out the Bronto with the spotting scope. “We can collect the eggs to use in some future kibble.” Mike and Joe load up Terry the Trike with the supplies and Bronto saddle on Mary's list, set off to the point, and park him behind a boulder on the point camp.

Michael fires the first tranc arrow to the forehead. As expected, she comes charging at him only to be distracted by Joe's tranc arrow who has flanked her. Michael dodges being stepped on as Joe avoid a tail sweep. They use the palms and boulders as cover as each takes aim while the other acts as a distraction. Then, down she goes in a cloud of dust.

“That was exciting,” says Joe as Michael places the rockkarts and narcoberries into her inventory. “I didn't know that they could move so fast when angry.”

As they prepare to set up camp for the long tame, three dilos show up. They have second thoughts about causing any trouble when they see the Trike nearby. Michael picks them off with the crossbow. “Here is some meat we can cook this evening,” says Michael.

The tame goes well showing 85% taming rate when it is complete. What does that mean? Says Michael. “I'll have to ask Mary,” says Joe.

That next morning, Michael rides the Bronto back into camp with Joe on Terry. They park the Bronto next to Bruno.

“Everybody say hello to Berniece,”says Michael. “Hey, she just laid an egg,” says Mickey. “Look at the size of that thing,” says Carlos. “It is as big as one of us.” “How do we pick up something that big?” asks Denny. “Just go pick it up,” says Mary. “It will vanish into your inventory. Just be sure to place it in the egg bin with the others.”

[rpicardi1]

The game was on 2X tame for this part of the story.

Chapter 13. I Finally Have A Raptor.

Day 200 on the Ark. Time sure does fly in a day that is only an hour long.

Several days ago, I prepared some Raptor Kibble from my stores of Parasaur eggs. The recipe, one Parasaur egg, one longrass, one cooked meat jerky, two Mejoberries, three fibers, and water. Place in a cooking pot and cook until it is done. The preserving bin has turned cooked meat into jerky. It took a day for it to convert the cooked meat, oil and spark powder into each piece of jerky. I prepare 16 Raptor Kibble, place half of it in storage, and the other half on my raft.

The past several days, I have spent observing wild raptors hunting on the delta from a distance with the spotting scope. I find that they tend to hunt in groups of two or three. No good, they are so fast that I doubt I can deal with three at once unless I can get up on a boulder where they can't reach me. If I can get one alone, I will have a good chance of taking it down on my terms.

With a raptor saddle and the kibble on the raft, I set sail for the narrows of Drayo's Cove. Things look quiet there when I spot a lone raptor being annoyed by a dragon fly. I watch her from a distance while keeping an eye out for any other raptors.

Oh Crap, a Carno. But he heads up river and will not be a threat. With my new metal Armor, I beach the raft, step off, and head in her direction.

She soon spots me and comes charging full speed. One tranc arrow to the head. She is a real bitch, on top of me in an instant. I spin around placing the second tranc arrow to the head, I dodge her attack. The third tranc arrow misses and hits a tree when she knocks me aside. The forth one connects and down she goes.

I check the delta for any other threats. None are nearby. The Carno is way upriver chasing a Parasaur. My metal armor has protected me well from her attack. Feeling relieved, I place the kibble and some narcs in her inventory.

It is three minutes later when she eats the first kibble. The taming bar jumps over 50%. Great! This will not take as long as I thought and there will be kibble left over. In a couple of more minutes, I can be out of this dangerous area heading back to base. Second Kibble and I finally have my Raptor.

I quickly saddle her up, load her on the raft, and set sail out of the cove. I certainly don't want to risk her in any fights until I can level up her health and hit strength. I beach the raft in a safer place and take her out hunting Dodos and Dilos. I name her Ronda.

As I sail back to cave base, I recall reading the Survivor's notes about raptors. They are some of the most dangerous predators to tame but once tamed, make very loyal pets. On that, he is correct.

Days later, I tame a pair of turtles and bring them back to the pen. They are like riding on a tank. Even though they are good swimmers and well protected from an attack, I will use them for eggs for some future Kibble. Their names, Duke and Lady Gamera.

I also find a pair of Phenomas stuck in the driftwood on Herbivore Island. As I have the saddle from a drop in my saddle box on the raft, I think, why not! If nothing more, they will provide plenty of poop for the compost bin and my expanded garden.

I have tried to hunt them before on the main island, but found that they quickly ran away into the dangerous jungle. These will be easy to take down and tame. And, they were. Only a couple of tranc arrows to drop them.

What a horrible noise they make eating when unconscious. They consume the berries like crazy. But, they soon are tamed and loaded on the raft for the trip to cave base. Their names, Boss Hogg and Miss Piggy.

I find quite a few Phenomas getting stuck in the driftwood on Herbivore Island. If I am careful, I can harvest the wood without hitting them and they just run off.

I end my pet collection with the taming of a male Stego for my female. As he is tangled in the driftwood, he becomes an easy take down and tame. But, can I get him on the raft? He is so big. I saddle him up, get him unstuck, and head for the raft. He just fits on it. Thank goodness his 20+ tons doesn't weigh anything on the raft. I sail back with Steve the Stego.

-----------------------------

 

It is day 200 as Joe and Mary scares the wits out of everyone at cave camp as they come riding in on a pair of raptors.

“You got to stop surprising us like this,” says Michael. “At least, we could tell that you must have tamed them since you were riding on them.”

“Great mounts,” says Mary. “As fast as the Parasaurs, but, more then capable of defending themselves, and they make great hunters. They are more then capable of chasing down the wild phenoma and parasaurs out there. Everyone come meet Ronnie and Ronda.”

While everyone is checking out the Raptors, Mary notices the newcomers among the Brontos. “Where did you get the Parcers?” ask Mary. “Denny and I got them,” says Julia. “We found them by the barrier wall near the beach. It wasn't easy taking them down. They kept trying to stomp on us. Petunia went down first. Patrick trashed part of the the fence trying to escape. They both tamed quickly then followed us back to camp. They appear to be quite friendly and curious, even the wild ones.”

Looks like it would be a good time to replace the thatch fence with wood,” says Michael. “Lets get started on that in the morning with the spare sections we now have,” says Joe. “We should be able to craft saddles for them,” says Mary. “At least, we can pack all the materials needed for the fence reinforcement in one trip.

Later that evening, Mary tells the group about their adventure at taming raptors.

“As Michael has reported to us, raptors are hit and run hunters that often hunt in small packs. They rarely hunt alone. He and Joe have confirms this through their observations from their daily flights with Tommy and Tina. I have also been observing them with the spotting scope as they hunt in the delta. I'm sure glad we didn't run into them when we only had wooden spears and primitive bows with stone arrows.”

“Joe and I wanted to give our new metal armor a good test by trying to take down some raptors for taming. In addition, I wanted to see just how well my new Raptor Kibble would work for taming. So, we took one of the rafts into Drayo's Cove this morning to find a pair I have been observing for days.”

“Luck was with us as we found Ronda being distracted by dragonflies around a fresh kill. I got up on a boulder as Joe dropped her with three tranc arrows while dodging her attack. I got Ronnie's attention when he came charging in to defend Ronda. I was able to drop him with three tranc arrows.”

“The tame went surprisingly fast with the Kibble. Ronda only needed two of them while Ronnie, who was at a much higher level, took three.”

“It is a good thing that the tame went so fast. I spotted a Carno hunting close by. Fortunately, his attention was taken by a phenoma further upriver. As soon as Ronnie woke up, we loaded both of them on the raft and got out of the cove as quickly as possible.”

“Ronda was a bitch to take down,” says Joe. “She moved so fast that it was difficult to get those shots to the head. The new metal armor did a good job of protecting me.”

“How did you get the metal armor?” ask Michael. “Joe and I built a gasoline powered fabricator in the cave,” says Mary. “With the oil Carlos and Mickey got from the ocean floor, crazy as it sounds, we were able to refine gasoline from oil and hide in the refining forge. The fabricator we crafted on the Smithy. That machine crafted the metal armor for us. We will soon have metal armor for everyone.”

“Just one word of advice,” says Mary. “Metal armor won't give you any protection from the cold, so, keep the chitlin and hide armor with you.”

[rpicardi1]

Chapter 14. The Halloween Surprise.

It is day 205 when the landscape changes again. No flash of light, no brief earthquake, just the change of foliage to fall colors. I take Tommy for an inspection flight. Nothing different, no new biomes, just a lot of fall colors on the jungle trees with the daytime weather a bit cooler over the jungle.

Other surprises show up. There are pumpkin patches with spooky scarecrows. I also find grave with fog and tombstones. Ghost hover above them at night. Mostly, they appear to be decorations as I can pick the pumpkins, move the scarecrows, and take the tombstones as they set off a ghostly sound. Those pose no hazard, but Onycs and spiders soon appear on the surface which are quite dangerous. I soon learn to stay away from the Onycs as they attack in packs beating up my Dilo hunting pack and tearing up my metal armor. It is not worth what little meat and hide I get from them.

A new concern has occurred. I am now seeing Rexes on my side of Drayo's Cove. While they have been busy attacking the wild Brontos and Parcers, each time I see see them, they have been getting closer and are a higher level.

I remain concern if one of those Rexes comes around the point, it will be a straight shot to the unprotected Brontos and Parcers. I could easily lose them to an attack. I take out one from the cliff that is getting close to the point. A couple of days later, I spot one heading for my Brontos and drop it from the cliff near there.

I start gathering supplies for a Bronto pen. It will need a stone foundation and two behemoth gates. The requirement for those two huge gates is staggering. They can only be crafted in the Smithy. Each gate and gateway requires 750 stone, 750 wood, and 750 fiber. I have to move the materials in numerous trips to the Smithy, yet once crafted, I can carry both gates and gateways in my inventory.

Danny the Doedicurus, my newest pet, makes gathering the large quantity of stone an easy task, But soon, all nearby boulders have been destroyed. I take him to Herbivore Island to harvest stone for the stone foundations and stone walls. It still takes a long time to craft the foundations for the Bronto pen which will be huge. Then, I end up wasting a lot of material on the East wall when I find out that the pen, which is longer then I had anticipated, needs to be made much wider. Two more trips to Herbivore Island gathers nearly all the boulders there which makes the fence two high. I finish the other two sections with wood.

During that time period, I have had to prepare for a possible attack by a new boss enemy, the Dodorex. This creature, according to a new entry by the Survivor, is said to breathe fire and is capable of tearing down metal walls. The only defense is to lead it away, or hide. I prep the cave for hiding taking Ronda in with me, or over to Herbivore Island and craft wall sections for the Bronto pen.

During the next several days, a blood moon appears with the Dodorex shadow when the alert goes out. I either hide out in the cave, or head to the safety of Herbivore Island. On day 230 the threat is over as all the Halloween stuff vanishes.

During that same time period, I am out riding Ronda along the North shore of Drayo's Cove. I spot a raptor beyond the ramp. “Alpha Raptor Level 30”, the spotting scope displays. I get out of there as fast as Ronda can run.

“Alpha Raptor are extremely dangerous, hard to kill, and can rip through wood walls like they are paper,” writes the Survivor. I will keep my metal armor handy along with the Longneck Rifle with a scope, and a big stock of tranc arrows.

Day 234. While flying on Tommy, I spot a skeleton racing around the other creatures beyond the ramp towards the point. It is the Alpha Raptor according to the spotting scope. Time to take it out if I can. I land Tommy on the cliff top and start firing at the Alpha Raptor. He races to the cliff trying to get me but is unable to scale it. It takes nearly 40 rounds to kill it. Crazy I think, a living skeleton left over from the Halloween scenario the Aliens were playing with. I'm lucky to get rid of the threat.

A few days later, I spot another North on the beach while riding Terry the Trike. I had used him to spear a wild raptor the day before, but, this one has the orange glow around its head, a warning that it is an Alpha. I take Terry back to base and take the raft to the North to get its attention with the long neck rifle. It swims out after me as I stay out of its reach. Soon it is kept busy fighting off the Megalodons which eventually kill it.

Then, one day while riding Ronda Raptor, I spot a turkey. A turkey? Those are not extinct. Oh well, must be another holiday the Aliens are playing with.

I dismount and shoot it with the crossbow. Opps big mistake. It attacks me, then a wild trike near by also attacks. I kill the trike but Ronda is tearing into the turkey and getting beat up by it. I give up trying to kill the turkey getting on to Ronda forcing her to break off the battle and run away. She is exhausted and badly hurt. I'm in no better shape either. We both head for the raft as quick as we can.

I set sail to get away from the turkey which goes swimming out after us. It isn't long before the big sharks take interest in it. I sail back to base as more sharks join in the fight. That has to be one tough bird as it is fighting five of them as dusk falls.

--------------------------------------------------------------

The Carlos Tribe are greeted that morning with a fall color scene. “Did we have another time quake,” says Michael. “No, we saw or felt nothing during the night,” says Mary. “We better get on our flyers,” says Joe. “ I have been observing Rexes showing up in Drayo's Cove and they appear to be getting closer daily to the ramp.”

With Tommy, Tina, and the two new additions Tommy Two and Tina Two, Michael, Joe, Mary, and Caroline take off to survey the fall landscape. Denny and Julia take the raptors up the beach while Carlos and Mickey take the raft over to Herbivore Island.

That evening, they report their findings to the tribe.

“We found pumpkin patches and a grave site in the box canyon,” Says Carlos. “Other then the fall foliage on the big trees, everything else is normal.” “We saw the same thing on the beach all the way to the swamp, up on the ridge, down in the point, and in Drayo's Cove,” says Denny. “We also killed some giant spiders with the raptors,” says Julia. “And, we observed some Onycs just hovering in place North of the ramp.” “It's the same all over the Ark,” says Mary “We could see those changes as we flew over the jungle and plains. It no longer seems as hot as it has been when we have flown over the jungle in the past.” “Seasons, looks like this Ark is going to have them,” comments Joe.

“One disturbing thing I saw in Drayo's Cove before we left,” says Denny. “ The Rexes are back. One is past the ramp working their way up to the point.” “We better go after it at first light,” says Michael, “and get started on that pen to protect the Brontos and Parcers from a surprise visit when we are gone.”

Early the next morning, Michael comes flying back with Tommy after conducting a quick recon of the point. “A Rex has moved further towards the point,” he says. “We still have a change to hit it from the cliff if we go after it now.” “You and Joe take what you need and go get it.” says Mary. “We will take the Parasaurs in case we need to make a quick getaway,” says Joe.

Riding up from the point they climb the ridge to look over for a peak. “A Level 30 Male,” says Michael. “I hope we brought enough tranc arrows,” says Joe. “Lets park the Parasaurs behind this boulder and get to work,” says Michael.

They position themselves on the cliff edge as Joe fires the first shot. Enraged, the Rex tries to climb the cliff but slides back. 45 tranc arrows later the angry Rex collapses in a heap. “Joe, go bring the Parasaurs around while I slide down the cliff and finish killing this thing, says Michael.

The Rex yields three stacks of meat, 24 hide, three prime, a stone pick, a stone ax, three spears, hide boots, a cap, shirt, and pants. “This thing must have eaten someone,” says Michael. “It had all of these items in its inventory.”

As they started around the point towards their base, Joe shouts, “Michael, there is another one heading for the Brontos.” “ Lets head up the cliff as fast as we can go and nail it before it reaches them,” responds Michael.

Jumping off the Parasaurs, Michael and Joe rush to the edge of the cliff placing two tranc arrows in the Rexes head. It takes ten salvos to drop it. “I hope that is all of them,” Says Michael. “Yeah,” says Joe. “I'm just about out of arrows.” They slide down the cliff on the Parasaurs and harvest two more stacks of meat and 20 hide.

Coming back to base Michael report their findings. “That one I spotted this morning was a level 30. It took a ton of tranc arrows to drop him. But, worse, on our way back, we spotted a second Rex heading to feast on our Brontos. We better get that Bronto pen built, and, we both need a stack of tranc arrows and our crossbows repaired.”

“We are going to need a ton of materials just for those behemoth gates,” says Denny. “We need one on each end of the pen which is going to be huge.”

Carlos and Mickey, take the raft to Hervibore Island. “Take Danny with you to get stone from the boulders.” says Mary. “Craft as many stone wall sections as you can. Stay at the beach camp if it gets bitterly cold. The rest of us will gather the resources for the fence foundations. Those two huge gates will have to be crafted in the Smithy.”

When they come back the following afternoon, the foundations are already in place. The Behemoth Gates are crafted and placed into position. After flying on Tommy to check the progress on the pen Michael reports, “The pen isn't wide enough. We need to expand six more sections towards the sea.” “Damn,” says Mary, “all those resources wasted. But, we better do it right or we will have to tear it down to move it out further.”

“What was that Dodorex alert last night? What was the deal with that weird silhouette on that blood moon,” ask Mickey. “Seems there is a boss monster we need to watch out for,” says Mary. “If it gets into our base camp, it will destroy everything.”

“We've taken the precaution of moving the dilos, raptors and pteradons into the cave at night,” says Michael. “Joe and I have been patrolling the beach watching for it. Last night, I saw it up by the swamp. That thing was breathing fire incinerating anything that attacked it. It vanished when the alert was lifted.” “Herbivore Island is a safe zone according to the Survivor,” says Mary.

“I saw a raptor skeleton in the delta last night,” says Joe, “It was glowing orange. My spotting scope says it was a Male Alpha Raptor, Level 30.” “Should we try to kill it with the trikes?” ask Michael. “No,” responds Mary. “According to the Survivor, that Alpha Raptor is even stronger then the level 30 T-Rex you killed the other day. Worse yet, it is capable of scaling the cliff that Rex couldn't. You will have to hit is from the air with the longneck rifles to kill it.” “Are we really going after a skeleton? Ask Joe. “No, it just appears to be one in our vision,” says Mary “You and Michael grab the long neck rifle with 50 rounds each. Leave everything else behind, except for the armor you are wearing and a pike. Head to the cliff. Carolina and I will pick you up with Tommy and Tina. Then, we will fly over it so you two can go kill that thing.”

As Michael and Joe approach the cliff pickup, Mary reports, “The Alpha raptor is on this side of the cove. We better get to work.” After a couple of attempts, both Michael and Joe are airborne. The Pteradons are positioned over the Alpha Raptor which keeps its attention on them both. It takes nearly 50 rounds to drop it.

“That was a tough DireWolf,” comments Michael. “Good thing you two dropped him when you did,” says Mary. “Our pteradons were getting quite tired carrying you two. We were almost forced to break off the attack to rest them.”

The Bronto pen was finished a day later. The following day, “What happened to the pumpkin patches and gravestone?” ask Mickey. “Halloween must be over,” says Mary. “So is the Dodorex threat.” “So, what next?” Ask Michael. “I suppose we will have to deal with a Super Turkey on Thanksgiving,” says Mary jokingly.

It is several days later when Denny on a badly injured raptor limps back into Cave Base. “What happened,” ask Mary. “A Super Turkey,” says Denny. “It looked like an easy kill for a Thanksgiving dinner. Big mistake. When I speared it, all hell broke loose. A nearby wild Trike attacked as well. Julia was able to distract the turkey while I killed the Trike. Ronda and I got beat up pretty bad before Julia and Ronnie could distract it so we could get away. She led the turkey towards the raft and set sail.

Just then, Julia on Ronnie ride into Cave Camp. “Are you all right? She asks Denny. “We'll make it,” says Denny.” “The turkey is no longer a threat. It is now busy fighting with five sharks.” “If you see any more of them, leave them alone,” says Mary.

 

Chapter 15. Killed by a Rex. A bad dream?

It is day 236 as I am heading back for the raft I left beached in Drayo's Cove. I had just tamed a Doedicurus but couldn't get him on the raft. So, I rode him back to base camp, saddled up Ronda, and headed back for the raft.

Don't know what went wrong. The Brontos were crowding the area as I rode Ronda on the raft and prepared to cast off. Then, all hell broke loose.

Next thing I know is that Ronda is not on the raft but attacking a Bronto with a Rex after another. Not wanting to lose her, I start firing at the Rex. It comes after me and the raft. Ronda joins in the battle. In spite of 30+ arrows, my armor destroyed, I am killed along with Ronda.

A bad dream? It is day 230. I had planned to tame some Pachys on the south shore of Drayo's Cove. Taking the dream as a warning, I take the raft into the cove, and, there it is, a Level 30 Rex, the nightmare in my dream.

I beach the raft, get into position up on the cliff and hit it with tranc arrows. The Rex focuses its attention on me as it claws at the cliff side. It takes 45 tranc arrows to drop it.

While coming down to finish killing the Rex, two raptors come out of the trees after me. I drop both of them. I have six arrows left. I kill the Rex and low level female raptor. As I still have Raptor Kibble on the raft and a spare saddle, I decide to tame the high level male for Ronda. Three Kibbles later as it is getting dark out, I have a mate for Ronda. I name him Ronnie.

Time to get out of that dangerous area ASAP. Damn, the raft has washed ashore. I am unable to get it back into the water. I head back to base camp on Ronnie. I'll have to build a replacement raft, sail back to the cove, and salvage the supplies stored on the beached raft. Then, go Pachy taming.

By day 236, I have the new raft, all supplies transferred from the abandoned raft and two Pachys named Patrick and Patty.

A couple of days later, I tame two Paracer , those huge horse shaped mammals. Petunia is first to be tamed. I take her back to camp. Patrick is the tougher one. He tries to run away and knocks down the barrier wall in the ramp before I can drop him. I reinforce it with wood soon afters.

It is day 241 when I get the reinforcing work done. I spot what looks like it will be a big fight across Drayo's Cove between a Bronto, Stego, and a high level Carno. I will keep an eye on this as I am now ready to tame one as I have the saddle. Strange, as they get ready for the big showdown, they all end up staring at each other.

I head back and get the raft which has the saddle and other supplies stored and sail over to Drayo's Cove. I beach the raft there and walk over to investigate. Interesting, the Carno does not attack even as I walk up and touch her. In some freak of events on Ark, or maybe, the Aliens wanted to see what would happen, I have a tamed Stego, Bronto, and Carno without having to tranc them and go through the long process of taming.

I Ride the Stego long enough to remove the trees trapping all three of them, then unclaim him. He wanders off. I also unclaim the Bronto as I already have a pair. He wanders off. I saddle the Carno, which is now a Level 26, and name her Christina. After finding a spot to beach the raft so she can walk on. I head back to base.

It is day 256 when another Rex wonders in from the Delta. But, now I have a saddle and the resources to attempt a tame. It is a nice level all gray male. It takes 20 tranc arrows to the head to drop him. They unexpectedly do a lot of damage, but, he tames quickly enough to get several levels. Jokingly, I name him after that stupid purple dinosaur from public TV, Barney.

He makes a good mount, even though he is hard to maneuver due to his size. But, he opens up a whole new world to me. I can safely travel through the densest jungles of Ark without worrying about being attacked by dilos, raptors, or carnos. He can also pack a lot of supplies on him without being encumbered. The predators give Barney plenty of room as he goes stomping by.

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The Carlos Tribe has been busy with making plans for further exploration of Ark. They have been crafting supplies for their raft for building more permanent remote bases from which they can continue searching for others. They have also added to their pet collection with another pair of raptors, a pair of patchys, a Dodo egg farm, and assorted other pets. Strangely, no one has attempted to tame any Carnos or Rexes.

 

[rpicardi1]

An interesting note on the bronto, stego, carno. On day 370, the Bronto was killed by a wild rex as I was riding Berta nearby. I took it out with Bertha.

The next game day, I rescued the stego, which was stuck in the trees, with Q-Bert and brought her back to the Bronto pen. She has three stone picks, three stone hatches, a metal hatchet, some clothes, and an assortment of other survivor items in her inventory. Must have got them from killing predators that had attacked her since day 241

[Xdrone]

When did he get a quetzal?

[rpicardi1]

4 hours ago, Xdrone said:

When did he get a quetzal?

The rescue of the stego occurred after the end of the original story based upon my single player game. She actually had those items in her inventory. 4 picks, two hatches, spear, arrows, metal hatchet, etc...Those three actually got stuck together in my single player game on day 241, so, I force tamed them so I could get the Carno and turned the other two loose on wander. I have spotted them from time to time. The day the Bronto got killed, I had planned on calling them back across Drayo's Cove because of the Rex threat over there.

See for yourself what was in her inventory after I rescued her with the Quetz.

Patience, Q-Bert appears in the story in chapter 18, We're back together.

[rpicardi1]

The story continues;

Chapter 16. Building Remote Overnight Bases.

 

It is day 250 on Ark when I load the supplies on the raft to construct a secure base near Far Peak North of the Swamp to continue my exploration and search for the others and possible escape. I take my Carno Christina with me on the raft for protection. She rides well. It takes half of the day to sail there.

I find a spot with a nice flat sandy area yet the beach is steep enough to allow Christina to step back on the raft. I don't need to build a dock. I am able to place a 6x6 wood foundation down, put in place the two Dino gates, add ramps at the gate, and build the walls up 4 high with a ceiling. We stay there overnight and head back to Cave Base.

Day 254, I head back with a Trike named Island Mike from Herbivore Island along with more supplies. Added are some storage bins, a preserving bin, fire pit, mortise pestle, refining forge, and Smithy. I also add a pipeline to bring water to a tap inside.

Island Mike finds rare flowers and Specie X seeds while harvesting berries. I leave him there inside where he will be safe from any predators in the area.

Day 258, after taming Barney some days earlier, I bring Tommy along on the raft so I can do aerial surveying on the slopes of far Peak. I find them loaded with metal ore rocks but no black obsidian ones. The slope is very steep and easily hides Carnos and other predators. I land and test some of the rocks, no Obsidian.

On the way back to the base, I spot a female Rex on the beach hunting Parasaurs. She is gray, the same color as Barney. What luck! I have been planning to have a Rex at this location for traveling through the jungle to Far Peak for mining. I happened to have Barney's saddle on the raft. I place Tommy on the roof, get the saddle, narcs and  raw meat, and prepare to play tranc arrow tag with the female Rex.

The take down goes well. I am able to avoid being hit as I play tag with tranc arrows to the head while ducking behind the boulders. She finally goes down after about 18 of them and is tamed in no time. I name her Bertha.

When I ride back and put her in the new barn, I find that it is not quite long enough or tall enough to enclose her safely. I am going to have to make the building longer by three foundations and taller by two walls more. That means crafting another dino gate, 12 foundations, more ceilings, and a ton more walls. I could have gathered the materials there but the area is not safe enough with all of the snakes near the swamp and dilos near the trees to spend two days on the ground cutting trees and picking fiber to craft the number of sections needed. So, I take her out hunting to gather plenty of meat, so she will not be tempted to eat Island Mike while I am gone for two days.

Day 260 and I am back. After checking out the area, I rip out 4 sections of the North wall and add the 3x4 extension. A 3x6 section of roof is removed and I go up two more walls. A new North Gate is put in and the walls go up. I come up short on roof sections. It is dark before I get finished, but now, Bertha has plenty of room for her head and body to fit comfortably inside.

My next project is to establish a second base in the Southwest corner of the Ark. I pick Crag's Island as a safe spot. Unlike the Far Peak base, there are fewer predators living there. No Rexes, maybe some Carnos. I decide that a Thatch pen will work there as the resource requirement will be far less, I can craft the pieces a lot faster, and I won't need a roof overhead. It can be just a simple 5x6 pen with dino gates on each end.

With Christina along, I set sail for Crag's Island. It takes over half a day to get there. I build on a sandy beach on the East side of the island. It is dark by the time I am finished. We spend the night in the pen as a wild Bronto goes stomping by.

The next morning, I take Christina to do some exploring to look for the others. That trip is cut short when I spot a wild Carno and two raptors out hunting together. Christina is strong enough that she could easily take on the wild Carno, but I don't want to have to deal with two raptors at the same time. I load her back on the raft and set sail back to Cave Base.

I would like to set up a third base next to the Snow Biome so I can harvest crystal and oil that The Survivor writes is easily available there on the ice pack. My time is being taken up on making trips back to Far Peak to check up on my two pets there. I am wondering if I should bring them back to Cave Base but the Rex is too big for the raft. Besides, I want to have a Rex available for exploration and mining along the Far Peak slope.

Wondering how long it would take to ride Barney to far peak base, I plan a trip with him to go there. It will involve traveling along the beach, then cutting through the jungle to avoid the swamp. I am hoping that I can get there before dark as I don't want to be near the swamp when it gets dark. I craft a second saddle and leave at first light.

The trip goes faster then expected in spite of the detour around the swamp. I find a canyon that I travel down to reach the back end of the swamp. Most pleasant of all of is that the predators stay out of Barney's way, even a pair of wild Carnos I see near the waterfall at the swamp edge. There are Raptors galore, as many as four in one area along with Dilos, Titanboa snakes, and Sarcos. On the north edge in the plain, nine Paracer graze peacefully on the trees. I reach Far Peak camp just before Noon.

Using the spare saddle, I bring Bertha out and introduce her to Barney. They hit it off just right, so much so that I find it a chore to attempt to bring both back to Cave Base while riding Bertha. So, I put Barney in the barn and ride Bertha back to the Cave Base.

It's an interesting trip when I kill several pesky Titanboas with her. One of them has someone's inventory in its stomach. Berries, a stone pick, spear, thatch clothing.

The next day, I take the raft to Far Peak, leave it there, and ride Barney back to Cave Base. Heading back, Barney steps on a Titanboa. It attacks a nearby Carno. The Carno attacks a raptor. The raptor attacks a Paracer, The Paracer goes after a Bufo frog. A white Titanboa joins in on free for all. I just sit back and watch the show. They all end up dead or paralyzed.

The following day, I saddle Tommy to fly to Far Peak base to retrieve the raft and take Island Mike back to Herbivore Island. Tommy has leveled up so much that he makes that trip easily without having to rest. I load Mike on the raft and call for Tommy to follow. He flies behind the raft all the way to Herbivore Island. We get there by mid afternoon where I turn Mike loose. Tommy rides the raft back to Cave Base. Anytime I need to go to Far Peak in the future, I will just take Barney or Bertha through the jungle. The barn will be available if I need to stay overnight to repair my tools or craft up prime jerky.

It is several days later when I finally make the trip to the edge of the Snow Biome. I take Tommy along so I can do an areal survey before picking a good building spot. I plan a thatch pen as it will be a temporary base for overnight with no pets left there.

Not wanting to travel during the night in unfamiliar territory, I stop at Crag's Island. I take Tommy for an extended areal survey which includes a close examination of the red Obelisk. Lightning crackles in the tower as the red beam of light points to an object at the base. I find it contains an alter at its base among the jagged peaks surround it. There are alien like structures embedded in those rocks. A single ramp goes from the beach to the alter. I would like to examine it closer but the numerous predators close by make that a dangerous proposition.

Flying back, it starts to rain. Much of the West side of the island are sandbars forming smaller islands. They appear to be home for several small Dilo packs, really not safe to land there. I investigate the cut forming the island to see if I can sail through it as a shortcut. The raft will fit, but a wild Spino fishing there makes sailing through there too risky.

I set sail early in the morning. It is mid afternoon before I reach the edge of the Snow Biome. The glacier covered volcano has the Blue Obelisk parked directly over it. A glacier ends on the coast with an iceberg further out along with pack ice. The weather is still tropical. I find a nice flat beach near some palm forest and quickly put down a 4x6 base with two dino gates at the end.

Just before it gets dark, I take Tommy for a survey flight. Just past the palm forest in the clearing on the edge of the ice pack, I see a raging battle of predators attacking everything in sight. The Survivor is right. The land areas by the Snow Biome are extremely dangerous. The second I fly over the ice, the weather instantly turns from tropical hot to bitter cold. Impossible I think, but with the aliens in control, easily possible.

Heading back to Cave Base, I think that I will have to come back alone so I don't end up with a frozen pets. But, until I can get something warmer to wear, I will need to outfit the raft with a pair of fire pits next to the tiller, fully stock them with wood, have lots of extra wood on the raft, and have a couple of stacks of cooked meat and Dodo eggs on board. I have spotted the oil and crystal nodules on the ice pack. Since the predators don't go out there, those resources should be easy pickings providing I don't freeze to death.

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During the meeting of Day 250 of the Carlos Tribe, Mary announces plans for expanding their exploration of the coastal shoreline. “We need to set up secure overnight camp sites, some place where we can protect pets we take along,” she says. “Since it takes quite some time to travel across this ark by air and the jungles are too dangerous to travel by foot, It would be handy to have secure remote bases to forage and explore from. I propose that we build a secure base near Far Peak North of the swamp, a second on Crag's Island, and when those are done, use them as a jumping off point to build two more bases on each side of the Snow Biome.”

“Would we be able to take the Trikes and Parasaurs with us for land transport?” ask Denny. “Certainly, providing we make those camps big enough to keep them safe overnight,” says Mary.

“Far Peak is a fairly dangerous area with the Argentavis,” says Michael. “We should see if we can enclose the pen there with a roof." “That can be done,” says Denny. “Like the Bronto pen, it will take a lot of materials. Yet, in order to have a roof on it, the entire pen will need foundations.” “Lets do a 6x6 with dino gates on both ends and doors for us.” says Joe. “We can stock the place with a preserving bin, some storage boxes, a mortise pestle, refining forge, smithy, a spawn bed, and run a water pipe up from the sea.”

Far Peak becomes the first base to be built. Denny and Julia take the supplies on the raft and have the base built and stocked by the end of the day. Carlos and Mickey bring over two Trikes from Herbivore Island and start harvesting berries near the swamp.

“Where did you find the rare flowers and mushrooms,” ask Julia. “They were near the swamp,” responds Michael.

“We had an argument with one of the Titanboas by the swamp” says Carlos. “It put Island Mike to sleep for a while after he killed it.” “We better have stim berries ready for us and the Trikes,” says Julia. “you don't want to be render unconscious while fighting a Titanboa.”

“I also found this,” says Carlos. “ It is called Plant Species X seed.” “Lets take those to Mary,” responds Julia. “She will know what to do with them.”

Leaving the Trikes in the barn for their safety, the two teams return to Cave Base on their rafts.

“Look what we found near the swamp,” says Carlos to Mary. “Rare flowers and mushrooms, and so many,” says Mary. “A Specie X seed?” “What do those grow? Ask Carlos. “They grow a plant that when mature, can shoot tranc darts at wild creatures that venture too near,” says Mary. “Could they possibly attack us?” ask Carlos. “It's possible,” says Mary. “For now, I'll just keep the seeds in storage.”

The next morning, Denny and Julia set sail for Crag's Island with supplies on the raft for a 4x6 thatch pen. The same spare crafting items are also included. This base will be a simple pen with a thatch hut and spawn bed in the corner. They bring two of the pteradons along.

By late afternoon, they reach Crag's Island and find a nice sandy beach on the east side. The pen is put up in minutes and stocked leaving Denny and Julia some daylight to explore with the flyers and place a signal fire on top of the high boulder of the island.

“Lets check out the Red Obelisk,” says Julia to Denny. They fly close to it observing the alter where the red beam goes into a small object on a stone table. Lighting crackles from the shaft all the way up into the tower. “That thing is far bigger up close then it looks from the distance,” comments Denny. “Lets see if we can land on it.” “No good,” says Julia. “There is no solid surface anywhere. It must be a hologram.”

Flying back, they observe the west end , then the cut. “A spino in the cut,” says Denny. “We better sail around when we go to the snow biome tomorrow,” says Julia. “Lets get some hunting in on the sandbars before we retire for the night.”

The next morning, they set sail to set up a camp by the Snow Biome. The glistening snow shows up from the mountain in the distance. It is noon when they arrive by a sandy beach close by. “Better we set up a base here where it is still warm,” says Julia. “We can always make the trip into the snow from here.”

After the base is built, another 4x6 thatch pen with a hut, spawn bed, and other items, Denny and Julia go exploring on their pteradons.

“Wow,” says Denny. “Good thing we didn't build any closer with all those predators around.” “Lets head for the ice pack,” says Julia.

Suddenly, the temperature changes from warm to brutal cold. “Crap,” says Denny. “Lets get out of here before we all freeze to death.”

Coming back, they see a pair of Sabertooths taking an interest in the base. “Damn,” says Julia. “How are we suppose to get back to the raft.” “How's our taming supplies,” ask Denny. “We have a stack of tranc arrows for our crossbow, 25 narcs, and several stacks of raw meat from yesterday's hunt on Crag's Island,” says Julia. “Then take me up on Tommy and I will tranc both of them so they can be tamed.”

Late evening the following day, Denny and Julia with the pteradons flying behind them arrive at Cave base with two tamed Sabertooths on the raft. Are there saddles available for these?” Julia asked a shocked Mary as they walk into Cave Base with the cats following peacefully. “I believe so,” says Mary. “Where did you find them? How did you manage to tame them?”

“They showed up after we had the Snow Biome base finished,” says Julia. “I took Denny up on Tommy so he could tranc them. We would have had to kill them otherwise to get back to the raft.”

“How did the rest of the trip go,”ask Michael. “Crag's Island was generally peaceful on the east beach,” says Denny. “We found some raptors up on the hill but otherwise only a couple of dilos. Plenty of hunting on the east sandbars.”

“On the recon, we found that there is a Spino in the cut making it too dangerous to sail through there. We surveyed the Red Obelisk and found that it is just a giant hologram.”

“On our survey of the Snow Biome, we found the area just north of the base very hostile. This is when the cats took interest in us. We found T-Rexes, Carnos, raptors galore, giant Scorpions, all attacking everything and each other.”

“ We were forced to cut short flying over the Snow Biome due to the brutal cold that hit us suddenly. But, we did see oil and crystal nodes in the ice pack which appeared free of the predators nearby. If we go back, we will have to either have much warmer clothing or outfit a fire raft to keep us from freezing to death.”

“Any signs that Halsey or anyone else had been in the area?” ask Michael. “No, nothing at all,” says Denny. We left signs to alert him or any rescuers where we are located.”

“Saddles are available for the sabers,” says Mary. “I can have them available in the morning. According to The Survivor, they are very efficient at gathering hide from the critters they hunt.”

The next morning, Denny and Julia try out the new saddles. “These kitties make good speedy mounts,” comments Denny. “Good hunters too,” says Julia. “Able to easily outrun the nastier predators with ease.” “Then lets head to the Green Obelisk,” says Denny. “There is a canyon that cuts through the jungle we can use to avoid the thick cover there. As long as there are no barriers, we should be able to turn around and run in case we spot something that we can't safely kill.”

It doesn't take them long to reach the canyon that comes out to the beach at the edge of the swamp. At first, they take the North Fork that leads to the edge of the Swamp. “Such an interesting place up close with the waterfall to the West,” says Julia. “We better not stay long,” says Denny. “There are an awful lot of Sarcos, Titanboas, Raptors, and Dilos hanging out around here.”

Going back to the fork, they find that three dilos have entered the canyon after a phenoma. “If they take an interest in us, we'll take them out.” says Denny to Julia. They run by them and make the turn on the South Fork which soon opens into a clearing by the jagged boulders of the Green Obelisk.

“Carnos,” says Denny. “Better go around them.”

They make their way around and find the ramp up to the alter. “Quite an interesting setup,” says Julia. “There are instructions for placing items into the alter,” Says Denny, “For summoning something called a Broodmother.” “Sounds like bad news,” says Julia. “Here comes the Carnos up the ramp,” says Denny. “Lets get on the kittys and lead them around the back so we can get out of here.”

[rpicardi1]

Chapter 17. The Raid.

“Emergency meeting Now!” shouts Mary.

“What are these messages about Denny and Julia and their pteras being killed by a Marquis Tribe?” ask Michael.

A shocked and naked Julia shows up on the spawn bed and joins the meeting to make her report. “Here are some clothes,” says Mary. “What happened?”

“We spotted another base just before we were about to beach the raft near the Snow Biome,” says Julia. “Two Argentavis came flying directly to our raft as we turned to sail away. They were carrying two other people that attacked us with crossbows. Tommy and Tina bought us enough time for Denny to throw our supplies overboard while I fired back at them. Before they killed us both, Denny said that he would respawn at Far Peak to secure the supplies there. He told me to spawn back here to get a raft to retrieve the trikes and all our supplies stored there.”

“We might be safer to take the kittys there, pack everything important on the Trikes, trash the rest, and escort the Trikes back here using the jungle for cover,” says Michael. “Just who is this Marques Tribe?”

“Marcus, and his friends are local punks,” says Carlos. “Always causing trouble with the tourist and the locals.”

“Then they must have been caught up in that storm, but were placed on the north end of the Ark” Says Joe.

“One thing for certain,” says Carlos, “Now that they know that they are not alone on Ark, they will come looking for us.”

“Julia,” says Mary. “You and Joe take the kittys to Far Point Base. Help Denny load the trikes and escort him back here as quickly as possible. Leave the food and low level stuff. Your priority are our spare weapons, ammo, armor, and all metal. Try to get there by dark. I don't want you in the jungle at that time. Michael and I will supervise preparing this base for an all out attack. We could be dealing with high level tamed predators. The Argentavis will be bad enough carrying attackers under them.”

Julia and Joe head for Far Point with Joe in the lead. “If we can find a fording point just above the waterfalls, the rest of the trip should be easy,” says Joe “Looks good, A bit steep but no predators nearby.”

“Damn, Raptors,” says Julia as they head to the valley past the waterfalls.

“Lets take them out so we don't have to deal with them on the way back,” says Joe. “Avoid the snakes,” says Julia.” We don't have any stims on us if we get bitten.”

Arriving at Far Point base, they bring the cats inside. “I saw two Argentavis flying overhead with riders,” says Denny. “Safe to say that the Marquis Tribe know were here. Where is the raft?”

“Mary says the trip with the threat of an areal attack by the Marquis Gang would be too dangerous,” says Julia. “We are to load the metal, armor, tools, and weapons on the Trikes, secure the base, and destroy the rest of the supplies. We will escort you around the swamp through the jungle to the beach.”

“Are there any stims here,” ask Joe.

“Yes,” says Denny.

“Lets take them and divide them among ourselves and our pets,” says Joe. “There are a lot of Titanboas around that swamp.”

The trip back is uneventful with only a dilo or two the deal with. They are able to avoid the snakes by the swamp and ford the river above the falls.

Back at the Cave Base, preparations are made for securing the pets and preparing defenses. Mickey has been given the job of moving the four Parasaurs and two Phemonas to Herbivore Island. Carlos is put to work crafting and placing spiked barriers along the North wall around the cave entrance. Michael is flying surveillance on Tommy 2. Mary and Caroline have moved the dilos, raptors, patchys, and the other pteradons deep into the cave. After moving the supplies from the cabinets outside to the cave, they are busy crafting spare weapons, armor, and more ammo. “I hope Denny gets back with the metal from Far Peak,” says Mary. “We are running out fast. Hopefully, Mickey will bring some back with him from Herbivore Island.”

That evening Denny, Julia, and Joe make it back to cave base. “We got the metal and other items you requested,” says Joe. “Put the kittys back in the cave with the other pets,” says Mary.

“There is more metal on the raft,” says Mickey.

“Good,” says Mary. “unload the metal to the storage box at the beach camp, destroy the dock, then move the raft behind the point where the boulders can hide it. Take your Icckeysaurs back there as well. Leave the Go Box items on the raft.”

Michael soon reports in. “The Marquis Tribe has set up camp at Far Point. When I observed them, they were attempting to break their way into the side door. They were traveling with two Argentavis, two Carnos, two Rexes and a creature that looks like a Rex but twice its size.”

“A Gigasaur,” says Mary. “It is bad news. Did it have a saddle?”

“No,” says Michael. “But all the other creatures were saddled.”

“A piece of good news.” says Mary. “That means that they don't yet have the technology to craft one or any other of the high tech weaponry.”

“Looks like we will be dealing with six, maybe eight raiders,” says Michael. “I'm expecting a dawn attack. Lets get a door placed in front of the cave entrance. Joe and I will take position in the rocks on the cliff above and take out the Argentavis fliers with our rifles. Then, we can slide down the cliff and fight with the rest of you from the cave.”

“I just found another piece of info on the Gigosaurs,” says Mary. If we hurt it enough, it will turn Mr Hyde and attack the attackers.”

“After we take out the riders on the Argys, we should concentrate on attacking the Gigosaurs until it gets pissed off, then let it do the dirty work for us, killing the Rexes, Carnos, and their riders.” says Michael.

“You and Julia bring the kittys up here so you can use them to attack any Marqus Tribe members that attempt to get inside. Caroline, do the same with the Raptor.” says Michael. “Whatever happens, don't let them out of the cave. Denny, Carlos, and Mickey, position yourselves among the rocks by the cave entrance. If anyone gets killed, use the spawn bed on the raft or back of the camp on the cliff and grab weapons and armor from the Go Box so you can get back into the fight.”

“What will we do when the Gigasaur attacks us?” ask Joe.

“We hit it with every tranc arrow and dart that we have until it drops, then hack it to death,” says Mary.

“Do we have some black or brown dyes,” ask Michael.

“Yes,” says Mary. “What do you need it for?”

“To paint our metal armor black so it doesn't show up in the morning sun. Joe and I are going to hide up in the cliff overnight.”

As predicted at dawn, the Carnos, Rexes, and Giga come stomping down the beach towards the Cave Base. “No saddle on the Gigasaur,” comments Michael. “They don't have the level up needed to craft one.”

“Here comes the Argentavis,” says Joe.

“Target the people they are carrying until they drop,” says Michael, “Then target the riders until they do the same.”

Crack! Crack! As the Argentavis approach to attack, Michael and Joe drop both gang members they are carrying with head shots. They hear Marquis curse from his Rex but before he can shout out orders, Michael and Joe drop their riders. Confused, the Argentavis circle around, then land on the cliff.

Outraged, Marquis charges the North wall with his Rex. It screams from the pain of running into the spike fence as the wall shakes from the impact but holds. All the pets left in the pen charge the wall in response. The other Rex hits the wall with the same result. Then the Giga slams into it tearing out a huge chunk.

“Hit the Giga with everything you got!” Shouts Michael as the Giga tears into the defending pets tossing them like rag dolls. The women start shooting at the Carno riders that have dismounted and are heading for the cave. They are met head on inside the cave by the angry cats and raptors which soon takes them out.

Suddenly, the Giga goes berserk and attacks the other Rex killing it and its rider, then it attacks and kills Marquis and his Rex as he curses.

“To the Cave Now!” Shouts Michael. Carlos and Mickey just make it inside as the Giga spots them and charges the cave entrance smashing down the door.

“Tranc arrows and darts everyone!” shouts Mary.

Under a hail of tranc arrows and darts, the enraged Gigasaurus continues smashing his head at the cave entrance, then finally collapses. “Quick, hack it to death before it wakes up!” shouts Mary. With eight hatchets busy, the Giga is soon history.

“Better check on the damage and see what we can salvage,” says Michael.

The losses, half of the North wall, several storage bins, part of the garden and irrigation system, their four Trikes, both Stegos, both Parcers, two Anklyos, and two badly hurt Bronto.

“This could have been much worse had we not been prepared for them,” says Michael.

“Lets salvage what we can from our dead pets, get some Medical Brew into the Brontos, and get this wall repaired.” says Mary.

The tally, 2 Rex saddles, 2 Carno saddles, shotguns, two Long neck rifles with scopes, pistols, crossbows, damaged leather armor, ammo and other items. Two Argentavis with their saddles remain perched above the cliff.

“What should we do with the Argentavis?” ask Denny. “Leave them there for now.” says Mary.

[rpicardi1]

Here is where Q-Bert shows up.

 

Chapter 18. Were back together.

As the members of the Carlos Tribe continue their cleanup and repair of Cave Base, a sudden flash of light takes place. Instantly, Cave Base appears to be completely restored.

“What Now?” says Mary.

“There's Rexes in here!” shouts Mickey.

“The Trikes, stegos, anklyos, are back along with a pair of giant elk,” shouts Joe from the other pen.

“Tommy and Tina are back,” says Julia. “And there are two Carnos.”

“It's OK,” Says Julia. “The Rexes and Carnos are tame. They belong to Halsey.”

“Halsey? We have been looking for him for ages.” says Michael. “How can this suddenly be his base?”

“He must have been in a parallel Ark until just now,” says Mary. “Looks like we will be seeing him soon. There is a saddled Quizel coming in to land in the Bronto pen.”

“Are you the rescue party?” I ask as I dismounts from the Quizel. Then, I recognize the eight others from the fishing charter in my base.

“No,”says Michael. “We have been looking for you for ages.”

“This was our base until now,” says Mary. “Then, in a flash of light, it became yours.”

“I knew that there were parallel arks,” I say. “But, I didn't know that we could travel between them.”

“It's possible,” answers Mary. “But not in the way that happened just now.”

I respond, “I was taking my first flight on Q-Bert to look for a reported hidden cave and heading back home when this flash of light occurred that merged our two Arks together. By the way, Q-bert is my latest pet. Can you tell me what happened before I arrived?”

“We were raided by the Marquis Tribe.” says Carlos “They are a local gang of punks from my home town. Apparently, they were sailing nearby and got caught by the same storm that we were in.”

“We lost a lot of our pets in the attack to a Gigasaur, yet, it seems they are all back and more,” says Michael. “But, they no longer recognize us.”

“Probably because they are my pets,” I respond. “I think I can fix that. Who is your tribe leader in this Ark?”

“I believe that I am.” says Mary.

“OK, here is what you need to do.” I answer. “Use your specimen implant to invite me into your tribe. When I accept the offer, you will have access to my pets in the base, my tame ones on Herbivore Island, and my supplies. I, in turn, will have access to your pets that survived the attack and your supplies. In addition, we will both benefit from our experience which will help us level up a bit faster.”

“Given what happened earlier today, we could certainly use all the additional help we can get,” responds Michael.

“Then, lets do it,” says Mary.

Later that evening, in a recap of the day's event, Mary asks me about my experience on my Ark.

“Did you have a winter here?” I ask.

“No,” responds Mary. “Why?”

“I had a winter in my ark. There was a Raptor Santa that dropped presents from his sled at night. I picked up a Quetzal platform saddle and a Plesiosaur platform saddle from two of those presents.”

“What are platform saddles?” ask Michael.

“They are special saddles that you can build structures on them,” answers Mary. “We are a long way from ever crafting one.”

“Even better is that we can build protective structures on them to protect riders from attack,” I answer. “Or mount stationary weapons on them and take smaller pets along.”

“Those could be useful,” says Michael. “We need to find Marquis base and wipe it out. Such a saddle would provide us with protection in such an attack.”

“If we just kill them and wipe out their base, we will end up doing it over and over,” I answer. “Once they reach a high enough level, they will have access to weapons we will not be able to defend against. My proposal. We hit their base during the night and tranc them all out. Then, we use Q-bert with a cage on his platform saddle to carry them to the Blue Obelisk where we can banish them to another Ark. Then, the threat will be over for good. But, first, we need to do a recon mission to see what their base looks like and what level of technology they are at.”

"Sounds like a good plan,"says Michael. “When they hit us with the Gigasaur, it didn't have a saddle. Their weapons appeared to be limited to the crossbows, pistols, long neck rifle, hide armor, and the shotguns we found on their dead bodies.”

“Sounds like their technology is behind us,” I answer. “Still, we should plan for the worst. They could be hiding their more advanced technology from us.”

“Mary, do you have the resources to make two sets of Ghillie Armor?” I ask.

“Let me check,” says Mary. “No, we lack organic polymer. Why do you want Ghillie Armor?”

“It is a form of camouflage,” I answer. “Camouflage worked well for hiding from the VC on recon missions in Vietnam.” Michael and I can ride through the jungle on my Rexes. As none of the other predators will bother them, we only have to watch out for the rare wild Giga. They are pretty rare, but, I think you can get rid of them for us if they become a problem.”

“How is that possible?” Ask Michael.

“As tribe leader, she can access the alter at the Green Obelisk and invoke a command to eliminate the Giga threat. But, it will only work for a day or two before they respawn.”

“Meantime, we need to send someone to the west end Snow Biome to get organic polymer from the penguins for the Ghillie Armor. While they are there, they can get more crystal so we can craft a pair of radios for communications.”

“Denny and I can do that mission,” says Julia. “We set up a base near there where we got the kittys.”

“Organic polymer has a short shelf life,” I answer. “You will need to take enough hide and fiber to craft two complete sets for us. Dress in hide armor, it is the warmest thing we have for now. Use my raft as it has been equipped with fire pits and extra wood to keep you warm. Watch out for the force field by the iceberg. Do your hunting and gathering on the ice pack, the predators seem to avoid that area. There are Dodo eggs on the raft for food. When you kill the penguins for the the polymer, place their meat in the fire. You will need it since cold causes your food consumption to go way up. If you kill any juveniles, cook up the prime meat right away and place it in storage. Come back as soon as you have the Ghillie Armor crafted. There is room in one of the crate to store them, the crystal, and the oil you will find there.”

“Carlos, Mary tells me that you saw a Lock Ness Monster near an underwater cave. How would you like to tame it?”

“Are you sure that is possible?” ask Carlos.

“Here is how you can do it, I have enough Rex eggs and prime jerky for Mary to make Plesiosaur Kibble. She can also make Lazarus Chowder so you and Mickey can remain underwater for more then ten minutes. Bait the Plesiosaur to chase you into the cave where you can safely tranc him with your crossbows. The kibble will speed up the tame. Take lots of narcs with you. You will likely need them. When he is tamed, one of you saddle him up and ride him back. Put some extra meat on him and park him in the deep water at the point at Drayo's Cove so he can't be seen if anyone fly's overhead.”

“We will do it,” says Carlos.

“How did my Argentavis end up on the cliffs with their saddles?” I ask

“They were carrying four of the Marquis attackers who we shot off of them,” Michael answers.

“Then, the merge must have placed them up there,” I answer. “Lets go up there and bring them home, I'll grab two stacks of meat from the feed trough. They are probably quite hungry by now.”

After flying them back down, I invite the others over for a quick tour. “This is Kitty Kat. Over here the two Rexes Barney and Bertha, my two Carnos Christina and Carlos, the six Dilos, Daniel and Deloris Dimorphdons that like to ride on your shoulder, Ronnie and Ronda Raptor, Tommy, Tommy Two, Tina, and Tina Two pteradon. The Argentavis Horror and Terror. In the other pen are Rudolph and Ruthy the Irish Elks, Perry and Patricia Parasaur, Andy and Annie Anklyo, Boss Hogg and Miss Piggy, Patrick and Patty Pachy, my four trikes, and the Bronto pen is Bruno and Berniece, Patrick and Petunia, Stacy and Steve Stego, and Q-Bert.

“Really strange” says Mary. “Most of your pets are named the same as the ones that Gigasaurs killed except for the Carno, Argentavis, and Rexes. We have two other raptors and a pair of kitties in the cave. The additional pets we tamed we hid on Herbivore Island prior to being raided. Let me introduce you to our pets.”

 

[rpicardi1]

Chapter 19. The final showdown.

It is noon when Denny and Julia set sail for the Snow Biome on my raft. Armed with the kibble and Lazarus Chowder, Carlos and Mickey take their Icckeysaurs out to find the plezasaur that live near the Pearl Cave. Joe, Caroline, and Mary work on weapons and tranc darts.

Michael and I discuss how we should plan our flyover observation of Marcus's North Base using the Argentavis. “When we reach the North Shore, we will fly in a large circles at altitude so we look like the wild Argentavis to an observer on the ground. We will just get a quick glance, note the location, and continue on. We should start North of Far Peak, just in case they have a metal refinery there, and continue to the edge of the Snow Biome. Then, we can fly to the ice pack, check on Denny and Julia, and fly home. But first, we better get some Fria Curry and cooked meat. It will be cold out there and we don't want to give ourselves away using a torch to keep warm while flying along the North coast.”

We leave later in the afternoon after saddling my Argentavis named Horror and Terror, unload their inventories, and stock them up with meat and stimms. “Why the stimms?” ask Michael.

“Just in case they get tired and we can't find a safe place to land. We can get a start now and spend the night at Far Peak Base.”

“We cleaned out and abandoned Far Peak when Denny and Julia were killed,” says Michael.

“I think that with the merge, Far Peak may be still stocked. We need to check it out and secure the roof access before we leave. We can hide the Argentavis inside for the night. And, put some stimms in your hot bar. The Titanboas are pretty bad up there. One of them knocked me out last week.”

As darkness approaches, we reach Far Peak base. “This looks different from what I remember,” comments Michael.

“That's because I enlarge it for Bertha to fit comfortably inside. Lets get the Argentavis inside and I will show you around. To be safe, we can place the Go Box supplies on the birds. Then take watch on the roof in case trouble shows up.”

“How many of them attacked Cave Base?” I ask.

“Just eight,” answers Michael. “Four were on the Argentavis, two on the Carnos, their gang leader on a Rex, and his lieutenant on the other Rex. The Giga they brought along to attack the pen wall.”

“If Carlos is right, that is probably their entire tribe.” I say.

“Lets start our recon just before dawn arrives,” says Michael. “That will put the sun in their eyes.”

“Good. We should be finished by mid day so we can check on Denny and Julia.” I respond.

While on the roof overnight, we spot two Argentavis circling overhead. “Were clear,” Michael says while using the spotting scope. “They are wild.”

“The morning sun should be blinding to the Marquis gang as we fly by.” I say to Michael. “Lets get this roof secured, put on our leather armor, place the Fria Curry where the torch goes on our hot bar, have the cooked meat handy, and get started.

It is nearly dawn as we take the Argentavis outside and secure the base. Flying by Far Peak, we spot a Giga on the East slope but none others. On the North side, it is too steep to harvest metal. The peak looks clear as we circle to fly down to the north side and head west high above the beach. The camp shows up where Denny and Julia had first observed it East of The Frozen Fang.

“Looks like a simple base with a pen, some huts, and storage containers,” I say to Michael.

“I don't see any large carnivores,” says Michael. “They must have lost them all in the attack.”

“Lets keep going and fly around The Frozen Fang before one of them puts a spotting scope on us,” I respond.

“There is their refinery on the North Slope.” says Michael

“If we come up short on tribe members, we will have to raid it,” I say to Michael.

We fly around the peak and find a safe landing for the birds to rest a bit. “I'm glad that their stamina is so much better then the pteras,” says Michael.

We take off and skirt the edge of the Snow Biome finally reaching the ice pack by noon. “There's the raft,” I tell Michael. “lets land on the ice pack and see how they are doing.”

“Brrr!” Says Michael. “How could it get so cold so fast?”

“Take one of the Fria Curry,” I tell Michael. “It will help ward off the cold.”

“How is it going,” I ask Denny as we land.

“It's going slow,” Says Denny. “You scared us at first until we saw that it was you and Michael on those Argentavis. There has been a bunch of them flying along the shoreline hunting.”

“We have crafted one set of Ghillie Armor so far,” says Julia. “The organic polymer has been hard to come by.”

“Take the rest of the Fria Curry so you both can spend more time on the ice pack hunting. We will see you back at cave base.”

Flying back to Cave Base, we approach coordinates 50,50. “Lets go way South of the center point of the ark,” I tell Michael. “Strange and dangerous things have been known to happen here.”

We make it back to Cave Base by evening and report our findings to Mary. “Their base is where Denny and Joe first found it, in a cove near the Frozen Fang. It looks like a conventional pen with some housing structures and items I couldn't identify without using my spotting scope and risking being spotted while hovering. They have an active refinery on the North slope of Frozen Fang.”

“Denny and Julia had one Ghillie Armor crafted when we stopped to check on them. They should be on their way back by now.”

“We got our Nessie,” reports Carlos. “The tame went smoothly once we got him inside the underwater cave. We parked him in the deep water where you requested. Those sharks want nothing to do with him.”

“Excellent,” Michael and I say. “We can plan what we need to put on the platform saddle once we have completed our surface recon mission. We will leave on the Rexes as soon as Denny and Julia return with the Ghilles Armor.”

It is mid morning when Denny and Julia return from the Snow Biome with the Ghillie Armor. “Good,” I say. “We can get started on our recon mission.”

“Mary, when you craft the radios, don't let anyone use them. I don't want to tip off the Marquis gang that we have radios just in case they have one and start checking thorough the available channels.”

We saddle up Barney and Bertha and shortcut to Drayo's Cove to the delta. “Will we have to worry about the predators in the jungle?” ask Michael.

“Only the Apex ones which are quite rare,” I answer back. “The rest will just ignore us. Lets check out the metal refinery on the Frozen Fang first, then observe their base. If we don't have to deal with apex predators, we should be there by dark.”

The cross country trip goes better then expected as the terrain is more open on the west side of the Eastern Plain. We take the valley to the West of The Frozen Tooth and approach the slope of The Frozen Fang where we spot the metal mine.

“Time for the Ghillie Armor,” I say as we dismount and hide the Rexes for a closer observation. We watch two individuals pack two Trikes with refined metal, then mount their Raptors and head North to their base. After checking that the area is safe, we move in to check out the mine.

“Watch out for any Plant Species X,” I caution Michael as he takes the lead.

“What do they look like?” he ask.

“They will be in a large crop plot box, will be tall, and very colorful.” I respond. “If you spot one, get out of its sight. They will shoot tranc darts at you.”

We enter the hut at the mine finding no defenses or pets nearby. “A refining forge, smithy, storage bins, and a spawn bed.” reports Michael

“Good thing we now know about this,” I say. “That means one of them could quick travel back here when we hit their base. Lets check the bins to see what they have but don't take anything or they will know we were here.”

“Metal armor,” I comment. “Looks like they learned their lesson from their failed raid. We will have to craft poison grenades in order to knock out anyone wearing it.”

Late that evening, we follow the path until the base comes into view, then we duck into cover. Making sure the area is safe for the Rexes, we dismount and move closer to observe the base from the slope.

“I hear what sounds like a generator running,” says Michael. “What are those on the corner towers? Those weren't there when we flew over.”

“Plant species X according to my spotting scope,” I respond. “They look very immature. They must have just planted them.”

“Have you spotted any of them and their pets?” I ask Michael.

“Yes, I found the two raptors and trikes. According to the spotting scope, Marquis and Gonzalez are unloading them. There is a Pedro at the Refining Forge, Rodriguez is at their Fabricator, Lenny with a sabertooth, Cleo out in the garden, Tina is up on the East tower watering one of the plants, Marcy is in the Dodos pen gathering the eggs.”

“No signs of a Generator.” I comment, “No auto weapons. Just torches for lights. Only preserving and storage bins. You must be hearing the Fabricator running. Their base appears to be wood and thatch, no spike walls, they must not expect an attack them or they would be better defended. Doesn't appear that they have been able to replace the pets they lost a couple of days ago. They must be busy replacing the weapons and armor they lost during their raid.”

“Lets get back behind the Frozen Fang before we are discovered.” I say. “The moon will be up soon so we can see to get back to base by morning.

Traveling back along the same route, we are able to see well enough to avoid trouble from the few apex predators we spot hunting. Everything else out there leaves us alone.

At the morning meeting we lay out the plan for attack. “There are two targets,” reports Michael. “They have a main base of wood and thatch with two towers containing Plant Species X. They were very immature when we observed them last night, but they could be active by the time we attack their base. We can destroy them using catapults on the Pleasaur platform with a protective wall. Carlos should be able to bring Nessie in close enough under the cover of darkness for the catapults to do their job. Mickey and Julia can operate the catapults.”

“We need a dozen poison grenades and a tripwire one,” I tell Mary. “Michael and I are going to fly over the base and drop them inside to knock out the occupants. Since it won't work on their pets, we should all be carrying long neck rifles with tranc darts. That will be the fastest way to deal with them should they attack when we get inside. I will use Q-Bert with the platform saddle for the bombing run. Michael will drop the grenades into the base. I'll have Tommy and Tina following us so we can make a fast flight to their mine if we need to.”

“The rest will ride on the raft and land just out of sight of their base. Mary and Caroline will ride the two Pachys and use their head butt charge to punch a hole in the wall. Once inside, they can head butt any attacking pets to knock them out. Denny and Joe can tranc any other pet or tribe member that is still conscious. We will join you as soon as we park Q-Bert.”

“I'll give the word by radio when to attack so Carlos can surface in front of their base and start knocking out the turrets. That will be the signal for the rest of you rush the base. Since we want to hit the base in the dark, everyone will have shadow steak on them that they can use prior to entering the base. That should give us enough night vision to take everything down. Then, we can drag the tribe members to Q-Bert and toss them into the cage I will build on his platform”

“We will take enough narcs to keep everything sedated until we can fly their tribe members on Q-Bert to the blue Obelisk and send them to another Ark.”

“Since I suspect that Marquis will probably bolt to the mining camp via the spawn bed once we grenade his base, we will have a little surprise prepared for him. He will be shocked to find out that his Spawn Box is empty. The tripwire grenade we place at the door should slow him down when he tries to run. We will use the Pteras to catch him. We will bring the two Dimorphodons along to target him should he try to hide in the jungle. As there is no place to land Q-Bert there, we will park him on the beach by the raft and use Tommy and Tina to raid the mine supplies and set up our trap. When we return for Q-Bert, Carlos can get Nessie into position. We should be dropping the grenades by then.”

“The total number of targets appear to be the eight tribe members, their four Trikes, two raptors, a Sabertooth, and an Anklyo. I don't expect any trouble from their Dodos. They could have some more pets tamed by the time we hit them. I don't expect any major predators given how much time is needed to tame one. Pike any wild dinos that attack you. Tranc their pets if they cause problems.”

Michael conducts surveillance that day with Tommy as the rest of us prepare the raft and platform saddles for Nessy and Q-Bert in preparation for the raid. Extra spawn sleeping bags and Go box supplies are placed on the raft, and platforms. Nessie's platform gets a shield wall and pair of catapults. Q-Berts, gets a cage, a ladder, and a pair of storage boxes. We leave late that afternoon to get into position by dark as I fly Q-Bert and Michael flies ahead on Tommy with Tina following.

It is late evening when we land on the beach hidden from their base by a cliff wall of the Frozen Fang. Michael and I leave on the pteradons as darkness falls to fly over the mining camp. As expected, the camp has been deserted for the night. Taking one shadow steak, we land, do a quick recon, raid the Go Box, set up the tripwire trap, and fly back. Their base is well lit with torches. We Send Carlos on his way, so he can use the reflection on the water to maneuver Nessie into position. The others head down the beach to just outside the view of the base. We take Q-Bert and conduct our bombing run.

The grenades hit their target as the occupants run about in panic, then start dropping unconscious. Fortunately for us, the Plant Species X do not attack. I radio for Carlos to start the catapult bombardment and look for a place to land Q-Bert and the escorting Pteras nearby.

“Scorpions, and Dilos,” yells Michael as we dismount. We grab our pikes and quickly kill them. Thankfully, no other predators are observed nearby.

The platform walls takes several hits from one nearly mature Plant Species X. The catapults soon knock down the towers destroying them. Carlos has been able to bring Nessie close in due to the deep water next to the base. The Pachys show up and punch a hole in their East wall.

“Watch out” shouts Denny. “Their pets are attacking.”

“Ram the Raptors with the Pachys,” I shout as Michael and I get there just in time to help tranc the cat, then the Trikes. All their pets plus a second anklyo are soon rendered unconscious. Julia checks the unconscious tribe members, disarm them, and make sure they are well sedated.

“Marcus is missing,” says Mary.

“Just as I figured,” says Michael as we hears the tripwire bomb go off in the distance.

“Load them up into the cage on Q-Bert,” I say. “Michael and I will go after Marcus.”

“Take the Pteradons with the two Dimorphodons perched on our shoulders.” I tell Michael. “We can use the Dimorphodons on Marcus if he runs.”

The moon comes up as we reach the mining camp. A naked, Marcus shows up gleaming in the moonlight as he desperately starts gathering resources to equip himself.

“Take him out with a tranc dart,” I tell Michael. He is down with one shot. I pick him up with Tommy and fly him back to Q-Bert where he is locked in the cage with the others.

It is early morning when we reach the alter of the Blue Obelisk. The unconscious gang members are placed on the alter one at a time as Mary prepares the command to transport them elsewhere. “They should lead an interesting life in there alternate Ark,” comments Mary. With the raid complete, we fly back to the Marcus Base.

“What should we do with this place?” ask Michael.

“Since we were going to establish a North base anyways, lets claim and repair this one.” says Mary.

“Lets see if we can claim their pets and keep them here,” I say. “Carlos and Mickey, go ahead and unload the catapults and walls from Nessie's platform saddle and take him exploring. There are some underwater caves in the area you can check out. Denny and Julia, fly back to Cave Base on the Pteradons, saddle up Horror and Terror, and have them follow you back here. Take a radio with you. See that the pets there have plenty of food in the feeding trough and check the surrounding area for any threats. You can use Barney and Bertha to eliminate them and stock up on meat. We plan to spend a couple of days here looking for the hidden cave.

“With Marcus and his tribe members gone, their pets all check out unclaimed,” says Mary.

Joe sets up a feeding trough and stocks it with berries and meat that he and Julia gather with the Trikes and Raptors. Mary has been busy crafting up stacks of tranc darts with the base supplies to restock the depleted supplies of them.

The base is soon ready for us to search for the hidden cave with the Star gate.

 

[rpicardi1]

Chapter 20. The Search for the Star Gate.

It is day 360 on the Ark as we saddle the newly claimed raptors, the saber and our patchys to go explore along the river on the edge of the Snow Biome. Carlos and Mickey are out with Nessie to check out the caves in the North. Denny and Julia are back at Cave base securing it to bring back Horror and Terror with them. They report that they plan to return on day 364. I come back after a quick flyby on Q-Bert and secure him in the newly expanded pen.

“Looks clear of major predators” I report. “Lets each pick a mount and check out the east shore of the river of the Snow Biome. Take tranc darts for the rifles in case a wild Rex, spino, or Carno shows up that we have to deal with. We could run into Sabers and Dire Wolfs as well. If we can, we should tame a pack of Dire Wolves for our use in the Snow Biome. They can be ridden without saddles. Bring enough narcs along for the job. We can use the raptors to get us more meat.”

The five of us head to the top of the waterfalls to observe a strange contrast. On our side, the weather is comfortable. Across the river, freezing cold.

South of the Frozen Fang, we spot a pack of four Dire Wolves in the Snow Biome not too far from the river. “Should we try to get them?” ask Michael. “Lets lay a trap and bring them to us.” I respond. “Here is a high outcropping of boulders we can climb up on,” says Joe. “Lets place the Patchys and Raptors behind out of sight,” I say. “Mary, take the saber and get their attention. He should be fast enough to outrun them if you get into trouble. Jump him across the river when you reach it at our trap. The rest of us will tranc them with darts when they get close to us. According to my spotting scope, the gray one is the Alpha Male. It may take several rounds to drop him. Everyone pick a wolf to drop and when it is down, I'll ask for help with the alpha.”

Mary rides across on the saber towards the pack. We yell at the wolves to get their attention. The Alpha Male soon takes interest in Mary on the saber and howls for his pack to attack.

The wolves are fast, almost as fast as the cat on a dead run. Mary gains some needed distance in the jump across the river. She leads them into the trap as four tranc darts hit their targets. Two wolves drop, the other two stop, then try to jump up on the boulders to get us. “Michael, hit the brown one again. Joe, hit the Alpha,” I say. The brown one drops with the second shot as the Alpha goes down with our combined shots.

“Three more are coming,” Shouts Caroline. “Michael and I will take out that Black one,” I say. You and Joe drop the other two. Wait until they get close to the others.” Three more wolves soon join the four others.

“Wow, seven wolves at once,” says Mary as she returns with the saber. “We should have enough narcs for them all but will definitely need more meat.”

“You and Caroline take care of the tame,” I say. “Tranc and kill anything that tries to harm them. Michael, Joe and I will take the raptors and saber to get us some more meat. We will scout the area for any threats near by and take them out.”

Michael and Joe ride the raptors as I ride on the saber. We spot several dilos in the area and get into a fight with a Compy Gang. “Try to keep them out from under your feet,” I shout. “Take them head on and we will be rid of them in no time.” Several more Dilos, a Phemona, and a Parasaur later, and we have all the meat that we can carry.

Returning to Mary and Caroline, we are just in time as they are down to the last of the meat. “We are nearly done with the lower level wolves,” says Mary. “The two Alphas are about halfway.”

“What happens when the two Alphas wake up? Will there be a fight for dominance?” Joe ask.

“No,” says Mary. “This higher level gray one will become the Alpha. The black one will be the Beta.”

The four females and a male soon wake up tamed. They get the names of Coco, Lady, Maggie, Stella, and Rags. The two Alphas get the name Ace and Butch when they wake up later.

“Might as well take the patchys, raptors, and saber back to base,” I say. “Then we can come back out with the wolf pack and get them leveled up.”

“I'll put them on follow you and ride behind to watch that none of them get hung up on a rock or tree.” Mary says.

At noon back in the North Base, I call Denny and Julia on the radio. “When you leave to come back to the North Base, just ride Horror and Terror back. We have a wolf pack for the rest of us.”

We spend that afternoon exploring along the base and slope of the Frozen Fang with our wolf pack and drop some Mastodons for meat and pelts. Stella and Rags serves as our pack animals. Mary rides behind to make sure they don't get hung up. They follow quite well with few problems.

“We have enough pelts for fur armor for all of us,” Mary announces as we head back for the evening.

“Good,” I say. “We should be able to explore the Snow Biome tomorrow without freezing to death.”

Carlos and Mickey meets us back at North Camp. “Giant Wolves,” Mickey comments. “And no saddles needed to ride them either.”

“I didn't know that they existed.” says Carlos.

“They did at one time,” says Mary. “They are called Dire Wolves. They were living during the Ice Age with Mastodons and the giant elks. If you two want to, you can ride with us tomorrow into the Snow Biome. I will have fur armor ready for everyone.”

“We finished our exploration on Nessie,” says Carlos. “Nothing unusual in the caves. We got more oil, pearls, and enough raw meat to keep him fed for weeks.”

We put on the fur armor only to find out that it is as heavy as a stack of wood, so we all pack to travel light. One stack of cooked meat, a pick, hatchet, canteen, a pike, torch and a spare, and either a crossbow or long neck rifle with trancs.

The Snow Biome is cold even with the fur armor, but, at least, we are not freezing to death. The wolves help with the warmth as well as we explore the slopes of Whitesky Peak up to the Blue Obelisk. We find the location of the petrified Survivor that afternoon and pause for a moment of remembrance.

“Should we explore the cave at the cliff?” ask Michael.

“No,” I say. “It is extremely dangerous to take the slippery path on the cliff where there are two long jumps to reach the entrance. If you slip, you will end up in the freezing shark infested sea with no way back up. Besides, the passageways in that cave are so narrow that you have to crawl through them. There are pit traps everywhere. Unless one is desperate for the artifact found there, the risks are not worth it.”

“Lets head back and wait for Denny and Julia,” Michael says.

The next morning, Denny and Julia return with Horror and Terror. “Where did you find the wolves?” they ask.

“We got them on the edge of the Snow Biome.” answers Mary. “We used them to harvest Mastodons for their hide and have completed our survey of Whitesky Peak. We are now ready to survey The Grand Hills volcano. I have fur armor for you in case you need it at the summit. Fly Horror and Terror into the crater and check things out there. It should be relatively safe in the crater. We will find a path up on the slopes with the wolf pack and meet you there.

As we are looking for a trail to reach the summit of Grand Hills, Denny calls us on the radio. “We found a hidden cave entrance in the crater,” Denny reports.

“Wait for us to get up there,” I radio back. “We are still searching for the trail to get up there.”

It is mid afternoon by the time we reach the summit of the crater rim. Horror and Terror are easy to spot. “The cave entrance is is big enough to bring all the pets through.” Denny reports. “Lets bring them inside to keep them safe,” I respond.

We bring the birds and wolves inside to secure them from any predators outside. As the passageway past the inside is too small for the pets, we are forced to leave them behind. “Have the pikes ready,” I say. “The tranc darts won't work on any Titanboas that may be living down there.”

We proceed down the long winding path in the volcano throat to the floor way below. Unlike the other land caves I have been in, this one appears free of all creatures.

At the bottom of the cave, we see an open door leading into a well lit room. We put our torches out as we enter. Suddenly, the door closes behind us. Our weapons, armor, and inventory all vanishes. We find ourselves dressed in our clothes we had on the charter boat.

“Have a seat,” an alien voice comes out of nowhere. “We are the keepers of the Ark. We have been observing your Earth for millions of your years. You were selected for our study of human behavior on this Ark.”

“We have spent the past 365 time cycles observing your behavior on Ark and how you responded to the various challenges we created to test you. We were most surprised that there has been only four deaths among your group, two when Denny and Julia sacrificed themselves to prevent capture by the Marcus Tribe and warn the others, the others to see how you would deal with the Ark predators before you were strong enough to defend yourselves from them, how you rose up to the challenge of survival in Ark, and how you worked together and as an individual to protect yourselves and your pets from danger. The Tribe that attacked you were so unprepared, so reckless, they each died dozens, sometimes, hundreds of time.”

“We are very pleased to see how you made efficient use of the resources available to you in the Ark, how you selectively killed to provide food and hide for you and your carnivorous pets, how you were willing to risk your lives to protect them from danger, and how you worked to save the ones we arranged in traps to see what you would do with them.

The Marquis Tribe was so careless, placing their pets into impossible danger, often abandoning them to their fate.

Most interesting is how quickly you adopted to the taming process, even though it was designed to be brutal, you quickly learned how to minimize the damage done which became a benefit both to your groups and the pets you tamed.”

“We merged your two groups together after seeing how the Carlos Tribe handled their greatest threat, the base raid we arranged with the Gigasaur. We applaud your effort to save as many of your pets as possible in such a short time and the fact that you targeted the gang members and not the pets they were on.

Good move on Mary's quick research of the Survivor's handbook getting everyone to aggro the Gigasaur into turning on Marcus and his attacking pets. You would have been totally wiped out had you not been successful in doing so. That's when we decided to merge your two arks together with Halsey's base and his pets, to replace your losses and to see how you would handle the aftermath.”

“Halsey, Mary, you are both correct that travel is possible between arks at the Obelisk, that merging doesn't take place. You were also right about the length of the day in Ark. Your 365 time cycles here have only been 365 of your Earth's hours. As you speculated, Ark is an artificial world 64 kilometers square, much like your TV Star Trek Holodeck. Someday, if your species doesn't self destruct with its violence, that futuristic world could become a reality. Given how your group handled the Marcus threat gives us hope that your species can overcome such violence to achieve their goal of a peaceful world. Most other opposing tribes we have observed on Ark, have trapped themselves in an endless war as they look for new ways to kill each other, often turning their Arks into a vast wasteland.”

“We are pleased that you used only what force was necessary to protect yourselves from attack. That you chose to render unconscious the Marquis tribe and their pets instead of killing them outright. That you banished them to another Ark rather rather then keeping them caged as slaves. That you used and cared for their pets instead of killing them as others would have done. That you made use of their base for the exploration that you had originally planned instead of destroying it.”

“ Now, you must have hundreds of questions for us.”

“Was our trip with Carlos and that freak storm arrange by you?” ask Mary

“Yes,” respond the Keepers, “You were all selected for your abilities some time ago, then brought together in Bermuda for our study.”

“Now that you have completed your study on our behavior, what is to become of us?” I ask.

“We are preparing to send you all back to your world. All of you will be returned to the time and place where you were taken.”

“What will happen to our pets?” asked Mary.

“Your Ark will be archived to keep it as you left it, ready for the day that you return to Ark for a future visit.”

“The possibility exist that we will be coming back?” ask Mary.

“Yes,” the Keepers respond. “We will be making changes to Ark to behave like a more natural world you are used to. There will be new creatures, new challenges, new adventures, new ways of doing things, new ways to survive.”

“Will we and our pets retain our levels and abilities when we return?” I ask.

“Yes,” respond the Keepers. “We will be adding many more and require you to use more of your learned skills to unlock them.”

“Will we remember any of this?” asked Michael.

“Yes, you will retain your memory of Ark. Bot, here is a warning. Be careful about public discussion of your adventure here. Your Governments are very paranoid about events they have no control over. Their awareness of us would place you in extreme danger.”

In a sudden flash, we are all back on the charter boat “What just happened?” I ask “We were about to be hit by that freak storm and it just vanished. What's wrong with my glasses?”

“We were wondering the same thing.” says Mary. “How did I get this old tattered notebook?”

“Looks like I have that same notebook as well,” I answer back.

“Oh my gosh!” exclaims Mary as she opens it up. “We were really there. The notes, the drawings, these are all the creatures we saw on Ark. It was so real.”

“Look at your left wrist,” says Michael as he gets up unassisted from his wheelchair to his astonished wife and rest of the party.

“Yes, we all have that same scar,” the rest respond.

“So, the ark wasn't a dream,” says Caroline. “We were actually there all that time. Yet, here we are back as if nothing has happened.”

“Lets go back to my place where we can have dinner and talk about our adventure.” says Carlos. “The food and drink are on me.”

Mickey helps the charter guest secure their fishing gear as Carlos starts the engines and sails back to his dock. We never did land that Marlin, but, we sure did land quite an adventure that day.

The Marquis Base after repair.

End, until Return to the Ark has been completed.

[TreeTopTigger]

I can't believe I read the whole thing... am I the only one? lol

It was a good read. I like stories like this from the game. Strong end, with the analysis of how they worked through the adventure, compared to how others have done.