Futuristic ARK: Survival of the Fittest (Closed)

[Silverwings]

Vera took the hand of the larger man, climbing onto the dinosaurs back, "Where are you sheltering at?"

"Southeast of here," Roan answered, climbing back onto Figaro and helping the other woman onto his back, "Let's get moving. I don't want to stay here longer than needed."

 

[Deadwood Deer]

"On the beach," Jack elaborated, flicking the reins to get Hardhead turned in the right direction. "You're gonna wanna hold on." Paras could move pretty quick, and they'd been putting a lot of effort into making sure these two could move even faster in the hope that they could outrun threats if they had to.

Getting back was a lot harder than arriving. It was mostly dark when they'd left, and beach traffic from the carbonemys coming ashore, pteranodons landing to sun themselves in the morning light, and general activity from other dinosaurs had obscured tracks to follow back where they came from. They got lost for a bit, before one of them got to a higher elevation and spotted Jack's handiwork in the distance and pointed them in the right direction. They were back before late-morning.

"This is your shelter?", Anna raised an eyebrow. It was so... open.

"These spikes killed a sarco before it could do anything," Jack gave the wall a pat, "It works."

 

[Silverwings]

"I suppose we can't complain. Shelter is shelter," Vera said looking around. As the newcomers were getting use to their new home, Roan got the paras into their makeshift paddock.

Vera hummed, "Why here? This seems like kind of an awkward location."

"We had a chase with raptors, fell off the cliff. We were safe but banged up so we decided to make this our home." Roan answered.

 

[Deadwood Deer]

"If we're lucky," Jack added, "We'll be able to find and move to a safer location." He opened his book of engram notes to the map page, "We think were somewhere around here," he pointed at the spot on the map that Roan had identified, "The plan is to build something secure here to fall back to if we have to, while we go out and look for something more easily defended." Ideally a small island that would be easy to claim from the local creatures.

"So you built a hut on the beach?", Anna raised an eyebrow.

"We built a fortress," Jack corrected, "Nothing's been able to get through the spikes, and by the time we're done anything that can is gonna have bigger problems, this morning I unlocked some more building components." With some of what he'd unlocked, it could also be more comfortable, too.

 

[Silverwings]

"There's a spot near the volcano. We passed it on the way here. It has cliffs on two sides at least." Vera said, "It would be easier to defend, things would only be able to come from two sides."

"Where? Mark it on the map for us." Roan said, going to Vera with the map. She looked at it for a few moments before marking the area just southwest of what looked like a mountain, "Right there."

 

[Deadwood Deer]

Jack took a look at the mark on the map. "That's a long trip." Going through the forest had proven incredibly dangerous, and Jack knew sticking to the beaches was the safest option, but they didn't have enough, nor strong enough, beasts of burden to carry what was needed to quickly set up defenses when they got there even if they could. Plotting a route would be a pain. "We'll have to do some exploring to find a route."

"The route we came was pretty passable," Anna pointed out, "We had to run from raptors and spinos a few times, but we made it."

 

[Silverwings]

"Ah, yes, my worst nightmare, I'll happily just go right into the mouth of one of those beasts," Roan said sarcastically, "We lost one to that exact combination, so maybe we should tame a few more creatures before we try that."

"Lost... One?" Vera repeated nervously.

 

[Deadwood Deer]

"Oh yeah," Jack nodded. "There was this spino in the water, down here," he pointed on the map. "And it was coming towards us. We had to flee inland and injure it so a megalodon would deal with it, and no sooner did we stop to catch our breath than three raptors came at us."

"They're lethal, aren't they?", Anna asked, grinning a bit. "I bed they'd make a killer protector."

 

[Silverwings]

Vera nodded, "We could probably tame them if we have the stuff to do it."

"Oh-ho-ho-ho no," Roan said with a laugh, "I don't think so. Bolas don't last long on those things."

 

[Deadwood Deer]

"And good luck getting close to knock it out," Jack added, "Or getting one alone." He pointed at the island a good swim away, "I've seen a few running around on that island, over there. You're absolutely welcome to go try and wrangle one, but Roan and I have seen what those things do to people." Natalia was a bitch but nobody deserves that kind of death. "So we're not setting foot in raptor territory until we've got a small army of trikes to back us up."

Anna crossed her arms, "You said you had shelter and safety, but you're sitting her cowering in your tower."

 

[Silverwings]

"Yes, Safely. Where no beast can give us an early death." Roan replied.

Vera rolled her eyes before giving her counterpart a look that said 'Can you believe this?' He sighed, "So basically, come hide with us.."

 

[Deadwood Deer]

"We're covering our asses," Jack pointed up the ladder, "We built this in two days from nothing. We can make things happen in a hurry. We can make it happen faster with help, which is-"

"You want us to collect wood and thatch so you can build your splintering fortress to hide from dinos nowhere near here."

"Spinos, sarcos, dilos, raptors, random trikes and stegos we manage to piss off, yeah. If this building isn't impenetrable we've failed." Jack nodded. "You can help with ensuring our survival, or you can leave. The last person that refused to do anything productive got eaten."

 

[Silverwings]

"Right..." Vera muttered, "Well, I suppose we can help.. What more do you need to do here?"

"Well, Make your rooms for starters," Roan commented, "And building up in any way is better than nothing."

 

[Deadwood Deer]

"I'll need a hell of a lot more wood to expand the compound to accommodate two more," Jack agreed. They could probably fit two more rooms on the top floor, but it would cut visibility out to the island significantly. For surveilance they'd need to add another tier to the thing to be able to see out further to properly survey the area.

"You need wood?", Anna raised an eyebrow.

"Do you have the engrams for wooden structures?"

"Point, taken." Anna shook her head and pulled her hatchet, "Come on, Vera."

 

[Silverwings]

Vera sighed and shook her head, going out with the other woman to get the supplies needed. She personally would be fine sleeping by a fire or in the open in their shelter, but if the 'big strong boys' wanted something to do, then fine. Meanwhile, Roan took to looking around the area, seeing how far they would have to go to escape the swampy mush area they were next to. There would be no real easy path around, but they could do anything with the right amount of tames.

 

[Deadwood Deer]

Jack got his berry marking mix out and started marking out the two other structures. The four buildings on the corners of the top level left only a one-platform wide cross-section, not a lot of room left there for supporting a watchtower up top. Looking through his engrams, he did have an idea, though, and called Roan and the girls over when they were all in the same area. "I've got an idea," He pulled up the Wooden Raft engram. "The beaches are the safest places we're aware of," he started, "And going through the jungle's dangerous, but there's four of us, two parasaurs, and all the supplies we'll need to quickly build a strong shelter." He glanced back on the water, "We might be able to travel more efficiently on a boat."

 

[Silverwings]

"Possibly, but we still have the spino problem," Roan commented, "They seem pretty fast in water once you piss them off. So then what happens if we get too close?"

"And what about the dinos?" Vera added, "They are... not exactly equipped to swim. They're barely equipped to fight on land."

 

[Deadwood Deer]

"That's why we follow the beaches," Jack explained, "I haven't seen any spinos out here in the saltwater, unless they're chasing something, and then they run right back into the swamp." He drew his finger up along the beaches to a point near where the place was marked. "If we stay in the saltwater, we'll only have to worry about the megalodons, I think, and I don't think they can get in the shallow water."

 

[Silverwings]

"Won't the parasaurs follow us into the water?" Vera said with a look of confusion on her face, "And.. Are you suggesting we swim?"

Looking at the engrams momentarily, Roan spoke up, "There's an engram we can take to make a raft. I think that's what Jack is suggesting."

 

[Deadwood Deer]

"Oh, I've already taken it," Jack nodded, "I could make it right now, but without more materials there's no way all four of us, two parasaurs, a pegomastax, and supplies will fit onboard."

"So we make multiple." Anna shrugged, "How hard can it be?"

 

[Silverwings]

"Surprisingly difficult," Roan replied, "Getting the supplies needed seems to be the biggest pain we have to endure."

"Right.." Vera hummed. These men seem to make a big deal out of little things. But they were more advanced so she wasn't about to argue.

 

[Deadwood Deer]

"So we gather supplies, build a few rafts, and when we've got boats, we can load up and sail north?", Anna asked, seeking clarification.

"Exactly," Jack nodded. "If we can do that, we'll be able to get up there mostly safely."

 

[Silverwings]

"How long will it take?" Vera asked, "Just trying to get an idea of how long it might take."

"However long," Roan started, "I will have to try and tame enough for each of us to have a dinosaur."

 

[Deadwood Deer]

"Well," Jack thought about it, "We'll need hide, fiber, and wood to make the rafts." He peeked in the crates of what they'd brought in to guage the rates, "If we devote our energies to gathering those things, we can have everything we need inside of a day, and at the speed my implant crafts, we'd have them the following morning." He looked around the current building, "But I still think we should bolster this camp first, that way if we have to turn back for some reason we're not stranded."

 

[Silverwings]

"So a day or two and we should be all set," Roan clarified, "Afterwards we should be fine and ready to set out and do what we need."

"Great. How much is it gonna take to make everything," Vera asked, "Like the base minimum? That way we know what to strive for and when we are getting excess to hold onto."