Tallon

Day 53:

Zach showed me a way to tame that is frightening and exciting at the same time.   I was standing there admiring his Lily, a white tera flyer, and missing my Radio when he said I should have one to make exploring easier.  At the look on my face of doubt, he laughed.  “It is easy, let me show you a new way to tame them.”  Zach and Tel knew I was not one to jump into wrestling dinos without a lot of thought and hopefully backup.  With a hop, he was on Lily and the big wings opened.  In two flaps he was up and soaring overhead. 

I had barely registered where he was in the sky when he swooped down and Lily caught me in her tallons.  Before I could even scream, I was dangling over the valley and watching trees rush past my feet.  I was going to die.  One good attack from a Dimo and I was dino kibble on the forest floor.  “Zach!”  he just laughed at my screaming his name. 

Finally after a few passes I was able to calm and enjoy the ride.  Helped we were over water and the fall might not kill me.  At his instruction, I scouted with my spy glass until we found a flyer.  After watching to see where it would land, he dropped me to the ground and then landed a bit away.  “OK now go shoot it in the head.”  Giving him a seriously hard look, I took out my bow and notched an arrow.  The green sheen on the arrow tip let me know I had the tranc arrow and was all set. 

Aim shoot.  Aim shoot.  “Slow down Tal.  Don’t want to scare it.”  Giving him another hard look.  I was shooting the thing with arrows…flying away seemed smarter.  But the thick hide of dinos made it necessary to  shoot them several times.  This one must not have felt the hits as I made each one.  Then it felt the third and was in the air.  “Now what?”

He chuckled at me.  “Now we wait…it will come back down now a bit groggy.”  Sure enough it soon circled down and landed a bit away.  Again I loaded and shot a few arrows.  The sound of arrows finding their mark was satisfying.  Six arrows later and it sank to the ground to sleep.  I knelt at its side and began to pull out the narco.  A thick green gel we dipped the arrows into to get tranc arrows.  Everyone kept several large jars on them.  It had a sweet scent but tasted like licorice and the dinos liked it.  I used a twig to paint some on the tongue of the flyer and then stuffed his mouth with meat.

Zach cheered me on and then went to fetch a hunter to gather meat.  Returning a few minutes later with his raptor, the two proceeded to clear the beach and brought me huge quantities of fresh bloody kill.    Within a short time, (we have no way of telling time but about 30 minutes) the flyer was waking and nudging me for more food.  The soft cooing they made always brought a smile to my lips.  I was sure softening on these massive killers.

I had just waved off Zach and was attaching my new saddle when I hear a bush rustle.  Now I used to panic and look for cover but now I was a bit more used to this.  Every day we faced our death and each time grew stronger or wiser.  I was wiser.  I could guess by the quiet it was dilo or raptor.  Please be dilo aka Spitter.  I reached for my ax.  The men would go bow but with my lack of skill, I rather have an ax.  I turned and dived to watch my flyer taking off with an angry scream and a huge raptor standing where Ivy used to be. 

This was not good.  Raptors are fast, sneaky and vicious.  They like to attack from behind and avoid damage, they are thinner skinned and boned than the others.  I made sure to keep facign the beast down.  Swinging a few times I got all my hits in.  Chopping trees down helped with my arm strength.  The raptor became angry and made a mistake.  It lunged in close to snap at my head.  I ducked and embedded the small ax into its chest. 

The beast fell down with my ax still deeply buried into the ribs.  I had felt the tool pulled from my hands and grabbed my pick from my belt.  Ready to fight some more but it was over.  Ivy had come up behind and broke its neck.  Then I felt the sting of my own wounds now the battle was done.  One of the long tallons of the raptor had punctured my leathers and skin.  A long painful flight back and two days in recovery but it was worth it every time I look out and see Ivy.  With her I could go anywhere fairly safely.

Even the lecture from Tel did not dampen my joy.  Ok it was an angry look and pointing at my cabin.  He is leader so I went but with a big smile on my lips I could not hide.  Downing and taming your own dino was the best feeling ever.  I might die tomorrow but today I lived.

Yes keep sound up so can hear when danger is near and start to moving.  Standign on high rocks helps for tabbing out.  Most beasts can't get you up there. 

Woot Peanut.... Good Luck and Beware it is very addiciting....  I seriously I even like to gather in this game, cause even that can be dangerous. 

Tel got me an Elk last night...  I feel so LoTR riding it.....

Anyone know what drops the pelts for furs? 

Anyone seen where the Elk are?

SNOW!!! Get those furs on and tag a stag

Day 51:

I am still here.

Not sure why I have survived or what the plan is yet but I keep plowing along, gathering, crafting and building my home.  We spent the last two weeks rebuilding the base, a new craft hall and homes.  The WE has dwindled down a bit.  Ghost and Zellar have gone missing.  Kuro passed a few days after the storm.  He went to go hunt while still recovering from his wounds.  We found signs of him a day later.  His body laid next to a rex carcass on the beach.  The signs showed he had died trying to tame it and it looked like something came on him from behind.  The scene was not pretty and I guess I am used to seeing carnage now for I did not empty my stomach at the sight.

Zach, Wolf and I worked on the base when a new arrival showed.  Ronin.  He is so like Kuro it is eerie.  The two could have been brothers.  Ronin checks in more than Kuro and took the two men out hunting many times.  So far it has been just us against nature and these three excel at this.  If they could hunt, scratch themselves and defecate in the woods all day they would.   Hopefully we do not find other enemies out there to fight. 

Tel finally showed up yesterday.  I had thought him dino kibble and barely recognized him.  He was dirty, covered in blood and looked like had not slept for a week.  After giving him warm food and a place to rest, he shared his tale.  He had gone to see about Kuro and found the camp a total ruin.  Water driven debris rushed down the mountain and monsoon rain, this seemed a good idea?  Tel does care about his people though he tries to not show it.  Trying to get back, he lost Serenity and had to go on foot.  He camped in the woods a few days when he found a Sabortooth called Shasta and Dimo called Frightful to tame.   The two new pets hovered about my door as Tel slept the night.  They seemed to think I was ok when brought fresh meat to eat. 

I do not feel so lost now.  Time to tame a meat eater, can’t be harder than taming a human.    

Both servers are run by members.  Just depends if you want PvP or PvE. 

I will let the experts answer this.  I barely can tame a dino or build a hut.     

Fabricator uses electricity.  So that is not in game.  

Server #1 - Remnants of Hope - (Password = YumRoH) is PVE and Full technology.

Server #2 - Lake Erie - ((Password = cat (I think)) is PVP and Primative technology

Have fun!

Day 29:

Started raining today.  Revenge will have to wait now.

Day 30:

Still raining and now the sky is dark with storm clouds.  There is a rumbling but not sure if dinos or thunder.  At least I have a fire and warm furs.

Day 31:

It has rained for three days.  Even the Dinos are tired of it and moving about in a dreary manner.  There is mud everywhere.  I wonder if this is a normal weather season or something odd?  Fire is getting hard to keep going as wood is soaked and needs time to dry.  The craft hall is almost under water as the pond fills higher than I have seen it. 

Tel took off to look around on his new Bronto with the house on top, Serenity.  The rest of us are here trying to keep post from floating away.

Day 32:

Water has risen even more.  We are now all cold, tire and hungry as we pile into Tel’s home, the highest ground, and try to stay warm.  Gathering is very difficult.  Several dinos have perished getting stuck in mud.  I have sent Violet, Luna, Dozer and Tina to higher ground and hope they are finding food well enough.  We are keeping flyers incase need to leave.  They huddle on the roof for the moment.  Food stocks are low again. 

Day 33:   

Kuro made it into base but he was hurt.  Seems his house on the mountain was hit with a wave of debris and water.  He has lost everything and looks a mess.  Took us two buckets of water to clean the mud off him, could have just set him in the rain but it was too cold.  Seems he got caught between several rocks and logs and has a few deep cuts.  I hope we do not have to evacuate him right away. 

Varyn and Athelon have disappeared to check on their beasts.  Zellar, Ghost, Wolf, Zach and I are trying to keep post together.  We are cold and hungry but so are the dinos.  The storm is not letting up.  I hope Tel is ok.

Day 36:

I was woken by the sound of the flyers going crazy.  Huddled in my furs, I did not want to wake.  Ghost even grunted at them to shut up.  But we all started to wake.  Wolf was first up and went to see what had them in such frenzy.  A shout from Wolf and we were all on the roof via a ladder and window.  The sight that greeted us was horrifying.  A huge wave of water and debris was rolling over the cliff edges from the large mountains nearby and rushing to fill our valley.  The groaning of the gates let us know they too were under attack.  

Suddenly we were rushing to gather gear and tools before bringing Kuro to the roof.  Good thing I slept in my leathers and had things ready to leave if needed.  We had spent many hours going over our plan if things got bad and now seemed it was a good thing.  Flyers wanted out and were hard to calm but finally we had them in the air and swinging about to pick up the wounded Kuro and flyerless members of tribe. 

Flying in the rain is not a fun or easy thing to do.  The flyers hated it and wanted to find a good nest spot.  We had used a small outcropping of rocks on the mountain face as a small base for metal gathering trips and knew it would be but safe from water.  The rocks would help keep creatures out and us dry.  We flew about whistling for Dinos and after three circles, made way to new base.

Day 37:

The storm stopped in the night as if it knew it was finished clearing the land.  We woke to silence, no grunt, no birds, no snoring, just silence.  Flyers and a few of the dinos who followed our whistles and found us were all quiet.  Everyone and thing was so happy the rain had stopped but too wary to show it.  When we stepped out of the makeshift hut, we saw other wild dinos huddled all about us in groups.  They had headed for high ground too and gathered together to stay warm. 

Midday we made it back to the post.  Kuro, Zellar, Ghost, Wolf, Zach and myself.   Varyn and Athelon still missing.

Well came back to what was left of the post. 

Our beautiful valley was broken and mangled.  Dead dino bodies and broken trees lay everywhere.  All the homes gone and even Tel and Zellars homes were showing signs of damage.  Not a word was spoken by any.  So much work and effort was put into our little village.  I turned away and went into the forest.  Whistling for my pets as I walked about sobbing, it was best not to seem weak in front of the others.  When my throat hurt I returned to the camp we set up in the shell of Tel’s home.    

A warm meal was cooking and big fire was burning.  None spoken of the signs on my face, quiet we all were as we digested the loss and work ahead.  Only sharing the names of the Dinos who came back not those lost.  Each was a gift and made us all a bit happier.

They will not beat us…

We could build it again…

We will survive…….

Day 28:

I survived the week of pink.  Finally got my leathers dyed black but left a few pink bits to keep up the moral.  It has been a busy week in the camp.  Tel left for a long hunt he said.  Tension always grows when he leaves, we never know if this will be the last time we see him or not.  Same with Kuro.  They both have a wandering urge. 

Two new survivors arrived today and they are working to find their place.  It is entertaining to watch the adjustments and how each person does it differently.  There is one thing in common I have with these new arrivals.  We all hate the spitters.  Their poison blinds you and burns for days, leaving nice reminders why they are small but most hated. 

The camp is getting crowded as more and more are added to the herd.  Gathering to feed them all is a full time task but luckily I have Violet and she can hunt like no other.  I came back with a full harvest of meat to the happy hisses and growls of the meat loving dinos.  Tel’s two Spitters even come to get first dibs and claim the feed trough as theirs.  After making sure they are all happy I decide to head out for a bath.

I am now much more at ease when leaving the base and my tracking skills have improved.  So the trek out to the beach was done without much issue.  I arrived to spot Tel on the beach outside our base.  He was patting the head of a pair of dinos in the water.  They look like longnecks but swim and have a vicious set of teeth to show they are meateaters.

He saw me and waved me over.  I greet him with a warm hug as I was glad to see him alive.  “Welcome back.  See you have been busy.” 

He grunts a response but I can tell he is pleased if looking very tired.  Then he waves behind me up the beach.  “They are death in the water but look at what I was really doing.”  I turned to see he had a new bronto tamed.  My first thought is to groan at the amount of berries needed to feed it.   Then I noticed something odd on his back.  I know my face showed the surprise at what he had done. 

Moving closer I saw he had put a platform on the back of his new bronto.  He guided me to a ladder and spoke with much excitement.  Odd for the usually stoic man, it brought a smile to my face at his pleasure.  “I have been building.  Here climb this ladder and see.”  I headed up a head of him and started to climb.  When I reached the top, I found a small ledge and an open door.  Stepping into the hut, I was amazed.  He had set up a living area and it was much more room than one would think from the ground.  My eyes took in the loft, living area and storage bins.      

He indicated I should sit and then started to make a meal for us.  I tried to take it all in as he moved about.  A very sad thought occurred to me.  “Tel, does this mean you will be leaving us?  With your new home and all?”     He barely acknowledged I spoke in his movements.  “Not yet, I still have things to take care of in the camp.”  The food smelled amazing and my belly grumbled its agreement.  He then went on to explain how he had come up with this idea, his plans and made me laugh at the story of why he tamed the two water dinos.  “Pearls?  Why did you need pearls?”  I was enjoying the story when he brought me over a helping of meat on a stick.  “This smells delicious.  What is it.” I had just taken a bite of the hot meat when he responded.  The smile on his face should have warned me.  “Dilo.”    My stomache rumbled for another reason.  He fed me spitter!!!  Time for payback was coming...... 

Day 21:

New Dino names to write down.

Argentavis  =  Argent or Eagle - Looks like a large Eagle and usually travels in pairs.  They can pick up prey and drop them from the sky.  Tel owns two.  Meateaters.

Gigantopithicus  =  Apeman aka the men after a week of not shaving or bathing.  These are aggressive berry eaters that look like sasquatch.  Tel tamed one and put a skull helmet on him…named Brah.  I wonder if they hang out and drink ale together?

Doedicurus = Armadillo  - Hardest shell out there.  They roll into little balls and rarely does it get eaten with ease.  Tel has a blue one named Sonic.  Quite cute things about the size of a large dog.

Mammoth = Mammoth – Have not thought of a better name yet but give me time.  This creatures are long haired and live in colder areas.  They have two tusks on each side of their mouth and can down a forest in no time.  Love their flat top mohawks.

Tel has decided I need carnivore lessons and my desire for a mammoth is a good way to learn.  So he hops on his eagle and I on Violet.  He follows me to where I saw the rexes.  The long size of Violet made moving through trees interesting but soon I learned little ones she just crushed.  The creak of wood and crashing of limbs followed our trek.  Tel flew silently over head and most times I lost sight of him.  The entire trip he shouts out instructions.   Nodding I followed until Violet decided she was hungry and saw a runner.  I sighed thinking this was going to be a bumpy run but the large girl surprised me.  She gave a quick pounce and crunch of bone, the dino was down.  Not knowing if he heard, I acknowledged the power of the carnivore, Violet, “Wow you are a fast one.” Pride bloomed in my heart for my new pet. 

We continued this way for a while.  Letting our mounts eat and hunt as we made our way to the mountain I had told him about.  Finally arriving, both pets full and happy, we found the mammoths had become scarce.  Luckily there was also no rexes about.  Tel flew overhead and scouted while violet and I continued to search on ground.  Finally he flew back and signaled me to follow.  He had found a pair and bonus they were a male and female. 

Parking our mounts nearby, we set about taming.  He took the female and I was to get the male.  Excitement filled me at the hunt.  Aim, fire and move.  Aim fire and move.  The big beasts charged us over and over again as we rained bolts at them.    Just as it looked promising, I felt a pain in my arm.  A bolt from Tel or bounced off one of the shaggy hides had struck me.  My vision went blurry and I knew I was in trouble as a shaking of the ground drew nearer.  I turned and tried to dodge the painful hit or at least not get gored to death.  A hard hit and all was black.

Tel got the two down and then came to find me.  I had been knocked in passing by the angry female.  Now the two lay sleeping in two huge shaggy humps nearby and I was next to a fire.  Violet was who had woken me.  She kept breathing on me or nudging to get me to wake.  They sure get attached easily… ok maybe it was me who got attached and had wishful thinking. 

A long cold night on the mountain and we returned the next morning with two new additions to the herd.  Settling the two in, I was admiring Luna’s black coat when I felt a painful hit in my thigh.  “TEL!!!!”  then a second and I saw nothing.  When I woke later, I was wearing pink leather armor.  He had taken my armor and dyed it all bright hot pink then redressed me.  Ok it was very funny but I would not let him know such a thing.  I came strutting out of my house like pink was the new thing.  He laughed until he fell over.  I hope he hit his head.  HARD!    

Day 19:

I worked all day yesterday at gathering, cleaning houses and my house.  It was a good day.  Even better, I finished my house.  It is only one room with loft and the smallest of all the houses built but it is mine and I did it.  Dozer and Tina helped a lot.  I have a place to set things and feel safe.  In a land where even the bugs can kill you, this is important. 

But even better than that, Kuro stopped by.  I had just returned from a trip to gather more trees and rock for the gates, when I saw a huge dino milling about.  My heart rose and immediately I sought out Dozer, Tina being with me.  Radio, my flyer, would just fly away if trouble started.  He is not that brave.  But to my relief, he was fine with nose buried in feeding trough. 

As I walked down the valley towards my house, where the thing was taking a nap, I saw Tel.  Nodding at the dino almost the size of a bronto less the neck.  “What is that?” 

 “That my dear is a Spinosaur.”

“Oh…”  Renamed instantly to Spino in my mind.  Looking at the long snout with huge teeth, I continued to ask my questions.  “Meateater?” 

“Yes a carnivore.”  Tel was not into my slang. 

“Well congrats on the taming.  That is an impressive beast.  Now can we move it away from my Dozer?”  The men were aware of my aversion to the aggressive nature of the carnivores.  See I can use it when I want.   

“It was not mine.  It was Kuro’s taming.”  His smile was big. 

This pleased me greatly.  I missed and worried for our solitary tribemate.  “Kuro!  Is be back?  Where is he?”  Tel chuckled at me.  “No he left but brought you that gift.”  The disappointment was quickly dissipated at the word gift.  I am female after all.  So I looked at Tel to see if he is joking.  “That thing is mine?”  The look he gave me was telling, he thought it a great amusement my reaction.  “Yes she is.”  Ownership certainly changes view point.  I looked at the walking killing machine with new eyes and saw her pretty back fan all light purple in the sun and a sheen or purple on her scales.  She was lovely and I would not have to worry about exploring with that thing….err Violet. 

I now own a huge Spino named Violet.  Thank you Kuro. 

Day 14:

I am determined to get used to the dark and improve my aim, so loaded up Dozer and headed out.  Lately the men have been absent a lot.  Not sure what they are up to but no time to worry.  I have animals to feed and survive each day, but it gets lonely at times.  Dozer does not mind much as I tend to feed him when these feelings rise.  Kuro tamed a female Trike and named her Tina.  Tina gives us a small grunt as we head out without her in the evening.

 I come to the nearby beach.   It is still light out but I wish to learn the paths better, which is hard with the terrain always changing.  Seems this island vegetation grows at a crazy rate.  Large creatures knocking around trees and such, should leave it bare but no, some days so thick the dinos get stuck.  So I was pleased to see the trail clear and was able to see an object was on the water’s edge.

Moving closer, I saw a raft had been built.    It was a sturdy log construction that some had added a sail, Bench and small tent like structure.  Looking about, I scanned the area to see if anyone was about.  There was visible sign of who owned the craft so I hoped it was one of ours.  After a quick exploring of the craft, I noticed the light lowering and started towards Dozer.  Out of the blue a form pushes me into the water.  I stand up sputtering and now in wet heavy leather.  A bit put out at this, I look over to see Tel, laughing at me.  This was not acceptable so I whistled for Dozer’s new trick of pushing.  The large male Trike, stepped at Tel and gave a heave. 

Ok not a bright idea on my part I later learned.  Tel went flying across the beach and did not move.  Any smile I have was quickly erased as I realized my mistake.  Rushing over to him, I found he was unconscientious.  Ok not good and I panicked a little before searching him for wounds and breaks.  I have just killed the leader of our little tribe.  This was not a good way to fit in. 

I looked about for ideas when spotted the raft.  There was no way I could get him on Dozer and Dozer carrying him in his mouth might make things worse.  Night was coming and the Spitters and Raptors would be hunting.  “Tallon… You are in soooo much trouble.”  Then I saw the raft and started to drag him towards it.  My new muscles and the water made the task fairly painless.  Getting him on the raft was another story.  It moved and he was fairly pliant, so I pulled the craft on to the beach and rolled him onto the raft.  Moving Dozer to a good place to guard, I set out some berries for him and made sure bushes nearby.  Then returned to my task of saving the man I just hurt. 

My fear of the darkness was not as bad out of the trees.  Here the stars and moon gave me plenty of light to gather wood and make a fire.  I soon realized the night was not warm in wet clothes but before I could fix that I went to check on Tel and removed his armor.  He started to wake with all the movement.  It was a relief to see he was not harmed.  After a quick check of his body, we found no broken bones, just a bad headache and very bruised hip.  He seemed to take no ill will of my using Dozer to attack him, which surprised me. The night was spent getting to know each other better, fending off roving preditors and staying warm.  Who knew wrestling with a dino would loosen him up so pleasantly.  Dozer got a huge double dose of berries in the morning.

Day 17:

The men worked on the gates.  We have three entrances to the post (almost village) and each needed a gate to keep the wild dinos out.  I was not needed for this and decided to take Dozer for a long hunt.  Not wanting to get lost, I set out to the beach and then followed it along.  I came to a small valley full of dinos gathered at the water.  There was a bridge of stones of sorts but none used it.  I watched how the big Brontos seemed to not like the stream crossing.  Taking a few steps in and then quickly backing up.  Their huge weight must sink in deep, making the footing poor.  After I crossed, I watched the trees for sounds of trouble.  Just as I reached dry land, I saw a Rex appear.  It started a panic of all the dinos on the beach.  Dozer snorted and I urged him to head into the forest.  Not going to let a Rex ruin my day.   

Really I could not believe how brave I was getting.  We came out of the trees and saw rising before us a huge mountain.  It was very dangerous looking and actually a nice change of scenery compared to the humid rain forest we lived in.  Pausing I saw a new dino.  Something huge with tusks that came out of their mouths.  They were massive and had a flat topped head while their bodies were covered in the shaggiest coat of hair in all colors.  Later I learn they are Mammoths.  Watching a bit while Dozer grazed, I saw one take down a whole tree with on swipe and start eating the leaves.

These would be a great addition to our herd.   So I called to Dozer and started out.  Finding a nice set of boulders, I started to make a plan of which one I would try to take down.  This should be easy alone.  I had Dozer and so should be able to pull my weigh in the camp.  As I singled one for the taking, I saw a Rex come from behind a rock.  He started fighting the dino I had picked out.  I drew my bow to hit them both when a second Rex appeared and more mammoths joined the fray.  Lowering my arrow I knew I could handle one maybe two but six was more than I cared to test myself on.

Soon I watched as the Rexes took down the herd and moved on to the next.  They cleared the mountain side in just an hour.  It was disappointing to watch but at least I could make it home and not in pieces.  This was a good day.  I would try again in a few days.                   

Day 11:

Tel decided I needed to get over my fear of the dark and learn to hunt.  I had wish I had known this when he gave me a new crossbow.  I was excited at first then when it was explained we were going hunting and without our dino’s, I began to sweat.

Now let me explain, it is not the dark I fear but what is moving out in the pitch black.  ((My shadows were set too high))  The night here is not like a normal night.  The night is a total lack of light.  All you hear is the movement of a stone, a rustling of leaves and a scream of something dying in pain.  Even the other wild dinos know to stay quiet during the night.  This is the time most hunters come out. 

If I had someone to give it too, I would have written my last will and testament right there.  The look I gave him was not pleasant, which he ignored.  I really did not like him at that moment.  But I am not stupid, I have seen him fight before.  So I gave him a nod as we geared up and headed out.  This was going to suck very badly but what choice did I have?  Heading out on my own was not an option I was ready to consider.   To survive we have to all pitch in and watch each other’s back.  Being female made no difference.  So I might have been softening a little towards the stiff back leading the way.  He was leading us and doing a really good job so far. 

Several times I ran into his back while traveling quietly through the jungle.  Hello it is dark.  Tel soon lead us to the beach so the moon would give us a little more light.  Then we stopped under a tree and started to look about for something to hunt.  To distract myself, I started to ask questions. 

"Are you remembering anything?"

"Nope"

Definately not how to use full sentences.  “Do you think we will ever get off this island?” 

His eyes never stopped looking about.  “Don't really think about it. This place is not so bad.”

Was he kidding?  The stoic hunter face never cracked a smile.  So I tried again.  “Tel, How many more can we support in the fort?”

Another stoic reply with a casual shrug. “Not sure.”

I opened my mouth to ask another when he signaled for me to hush and look ahead.  A pig was near.  Aka Phiomia, a cross between anteater and wild boar.  Tel whispered as I loaded a bolt into my crossbow.  “OK Tallon, Aim for the head.  They run fast and run away if you don’t.”   

I of course missed.  “New weapon.”  And it was dark. 

“Crafted that myself.  Not the weapon.”  Very helpful oh master hunter.  I took aim once more and tagged the shoulder.  The grunt only made me madder.  The pig took off as expected but I got two more bolts in its back side just cause.  “You need more practice aiming.”  Biting my tongue almost drew blood.

But we did spent the rest of the night hunting and had a few good humorous banters back and forth.  I learned to not be so afraid of the dark and Tel I think stopped looking at me as a burden.  Ok maybe I was still a burden but I did end up making him smile.  Point for me.  Somehow in all the talk, I agreed to help him with cleaning his house.  It was a massive house, so I could see him needing help.  Better than latrine duty. 

Dawn was beginning to break when we returned.  He left me to head to his house, I waved then noticed Dozer was droopy eyed.  Even Radio was acting a little out of it.  I checked the feed trough and saw signs of the black berries.  Well that would make the morning slow to start.  Just as I finished refilling it and picking out narco berries, a spitter walk up.  My two protectors barely noticed, so I grabbed a spear nearby and tried to handle it myself.  Narco berries do not belong in feed troughs……      

Day 10:

A crate landed on my house.  The porch was destroyed.  I am now tearing it down when able and going to build a bit further in.   I am starting to wonder about the people sending them.  They must want to make our life harder not easier.  About the crates, they arrive at the bottom of a beam of light.  We have learned that the color of the light seems to hint at the importance of the crate.  Why we call them crates, I am not sure.  They are more like a rhombus shaped pod, colored black and when touched falls apart to reveal some item.  If I were to guess, a space ship is sending down these pod care packages.  I wish they were more helpful and not all about weapons. 

We have started to build gates at the entrance to the valley.  These things are huge and if we did not have the help of our dino friends, would be impossible.  They are standing thirty feet or more high and about twenty wide.  Made of rock and reinforced wood.  The valley is moving around like a colony of ants.  Morning is for chores to feed and check out the animals.  A quick gathering of supplies then we start to build.  Afternoons are when we hunt and gather for the night.  Then in the evening we craft or work on our own projects.

Ghost has made a raft.  He sails it about the pond.  It is fun to dive off of when we are taking a break.  I have a flyer now and Dozer.  The flyer’s name is Radio.  Most of the men use the science names for the dinos and some do not even name them but I find they are like pets and all pets deserve a name. 

So I will break down the technical name to nickname for you journal or whoever finds this to read.

Ankylosaurur = Anky or Crusher – These are turtle like with a club tail and spikes all over. Herbivore.

Carbonemys = Carbon or Turtle – These are huge turtles with spikes. Herbivore.

Dilophosaur = Dilo or Spitter – They are small like size of dog, walk on two legs and have a fan that pops out when attacking.  They eat meat and spit out poison.

Brontosaurus = Bronto or Long Neck – They are HUGE with long neck and tail.  Herbivore.

Dodo = They are a large silly fowl.  Good to eat and lays eggs.

Parasaur = Para or Runners – They run on two huge back legs and have an odd fan on back of head.  They mostly run from the fight.  Herbivore.

Triceratops = Trike – They have three horns on their head and are like a huge Bull.  Herbivore.

Dimorphodon = Dimo or Dino Birds – They are like air piranha with wings and the size of a large swan.   Meat Eaters.  A whole flock of these and I would run for cover.  But singles or even two are fairly harmless.  Ghost got one of these locked in the craft hall.  It took out a woodshed, a window and even cut up several members very badly.  The sounds caused the other dinos of the herd to come running and almost took out a wall trying to get to it.  Took the whole camp pulling them away and opening windows to stop the battle.  Once freed and calm, it went on its way.  The carnage was intense.  Dimos are not welcome in the crafting hall.  We are rebuilding in stone this time. 

Tyrannosaurus = Rex -  Kuro tamed one.  I do not want to know how or what he had to do to make it obey him.  But when he brought it into camp, I was a bit worried.  So were all the other dinos.  The herd was very nervous.  This is not just a meat eater but a killer.  Standing thirty feet tall, they walk on two back legs.  For the size they run fairly fast and teeth the size of my forearm, can take down about anything.   I miss Kuro but not sure about his Rex.  Though he is big and as Kuro stays out on long hunts, a good fit for him.

I hope Kuro is safe.. and returns soon.

I will add more as I learn about them. 

Well as you can see journal, those are long names and pretty odd to say.  So no knocking my nicks….

Day 8:

The base is growing fast so missed a few days in the journal.  We have two more arrivals with us now.  The two men make our numbers to eight.  But with the extra hands, we have started building huts of thatch, wood and stone.  I am getting my own, which is exciting, but I still fear the dark. 

With the houses we have also grown our herd.  Tel came back from a long hunt with the biggest dino of them all.  They said the name but I call them long necks.  Their neck is about thirty feet long and the tail about forty.  They make the ground rumble with each step but when he pulled me up on it with a rope…  It is like a walking house.  “Good luck feeding it.”  He laughed and then showed me why this slow walking animal rocked.  The tail would clear all the trees, bushes and even a few rocks in a radius of twenty feet across.  Then the giant would slowly gather up all the berries it could see.  He has a point.  A very large, strong destructive point.  I called her Pebbles.  That is what she makes of anything she steps on.  He liked it.

With all these new pets, we have had to step up the gathering and hunting.  Seems like that is all we do until night.  One of the new guys set up torches all over the camp and I now feel better about moving outside.  Seeing the large circle all lit up is just like a landing strip.  The others use it to find the base if getting back late or flying about.     

Day 5:

Zellar showed me how they bring down a dino.  Black Berries in large quantities seem to make them sleep.  I did not ask but am curious how they found this out.  Bet was from testing them on each other.  Oddly the red berries are not poisonous and very good to eat.  I got many odd looks when started stuffing my face with the red and blue ones.  The men seem to eat only meat.  Really have they not looked at some of the things they are skinning?  I bet even a dog would turn his nose at Spitter eating.   Did I mention I hate those?  

Anyway, the way he showed me was to have me stand in the meadow.  I should have known I was bait but I have this trust issue thing.  That is the first thing I will have fixed when get off this island.  Next thing I know a large flying bird/bat was diving at my head.  I started to run and Zellar shot the thing with several arrows.  The berries I had been eating nearly became his new shirt.  But after I stopped being upset, I watched him tame the ugly thing.  Its beak is longer than my arm but the skin that made it’s wings was the softest leather I ever felt.

He spent the next hour feeding the thing meat while it slept until it woke and was soon it was cooing at him.  Seriously cooing.   A few more pieces of bloody meat and it followed him home.  Now this started all sorts of ideas so I decided to try for my own dino.  But I wanted one of those three horned ones we have name Trikes.  They are so like a big bull and even wild are fairly tame. 

Several tries and a few close calls, I had a young one down.  Laying in the grass next to him.  I started to feed it all the berries I could carry.  The day was warm and I slowly dozed off.  When I woke, my new best friend was standing over me, guarding my nap and licking my face for more berries.  Dozer and I soon cleared the whole valley of berries as I tried to judge how much he would eat.  I think he will be a very fat dino soon.

A small Dilo popped out of a bush and I screamed.  Next thing I know after the dust cleared, Dozer had the thing dangling from his horn.  My Dozer can get as fat as he wants.  I now no longer fear the forest.  I wonder if he will let me ride him?    

Tel has the Bronto base... VERY cool and VERY high...  It should come with ropes to climb down and up.

Pachies are the cutest sounding dino. 

Day 4:  Yesterday I was in the jungle and heard a rustling.  Now I had barely noticed the forest had gone silent, when I this sound came to me.  A kind of hissing bark like a snake who thought he was a dog.  Then a sticky green goo covered my eyes in a haze.  I was lucky to have a pick axe in my hand and started swinging.  The beast must have been young or just hungry cause instead of letting his poison take effect to weaken me, he made a lunge for me. 

I knew I was poisoned when the urge to throw up battled with the burning of my eyes.  The rage and anger that I was going to die out in some jungle as dino kibble came roaring up.  I swung in every direction and gave a shout when soft flesh was impaled.   My shout of triumph brought the others news of my plight.  “EAT my PICK you dino @#$%.” 

I must have been a sight to my fellow survivors bent over in the jungle, puking my guts out and laughing like a mad woman.  I think I was a little crazed.   Tel told me the name of the dino but I will just call it Spitter.  From now on, Spitters and me are at war.  What?  My face was still burning like all the skin had melted off.  The trip back took forever as I kept stopping to throw up my gormet meal of berries and jerky. 

Two hours later I was huddled at the fire and sipping warm berry tea.   They had assigned me a babysitter to make sure I did not slip into a coma.  Listening to the others talk was relaxing after my breakdown earlier.  I had asked the question,  “Why are there not more women.”  Each had an interesting answer.  Most figured they were eaten before being found or perhaps I was the only one.  When they all seemed out of ideas, I started to laugh.  They others had slowly entered and were all about the fire as it was dark and even more dangerous.  One was out scouting the land so I had four sets of eyes staring at me as if I was going crazy, which made me chuckle more.  Most women would think this was the answer to a wish to be trapped on an island with only men.  Those women better be careful what they ask for.  Make sure to ask for running water and servants.    Lately my wishes have been full of ships and semi-automatics.  Think something is wrong with me?

Day 3 spent recovering from poison.

Day 2:

Well the WE is a group of men who have banded together to survive this land.  Last night a few explained they too were left on beach and had no idea how they had come to be here.  Tel , the man who brought me in, and Zellar seemed to have been here the longest.  He and Zellar were building this place.  They had found a few others like me and decided to band together to survive.

I was given a pair of pants, shirt and hat.  A good thing as the sun burned and the night was cold.  The next morning I was able to really look around.    Dinosaurs wandered about trying to graze or drink from the pond.   A large scary one with a pretty head fan and three horns seemed the largest.  When I said such, Tel laughed at me.  I was given a rundown of what was a non-aggressive and what was a kiss your ass good bye dinosaur.   There are dinos with teeth, dinos with horns, dinos like bats that have wings.  Even bird sized dragon flies that with one sting can kill you.  But there are also the tame berry eating ones that are mostly like big cows with horns. 

Tel, took me along while he gathered and showed me the ropes.  Later I met a few others.  All seemed quiet and focused on surviving the night.  Plans were made, more gathering and buildings planned.  We could not escape this if died in the night.   

Day 1:

I put day one because I have no idea what year it is or even what time of the year so can’t guess even the month.  Though I know day one was a week ago, I figured it best to write down what has happened so far.  This need to keep track of things seems to drive me, perhaps I was once a scientist or researcher.  For now I just will keep track of what I can and worry about who or what I was before Day one later.

So day one I woke up hot and sweating on the beach.  I knew it was called a beach and the sand covering my skin helped toggle that memory.  Anyway I was a little dazed for a bit and wondering where I was when a voice called to me.  I saw a man looking my way but still a bit dazed so did not answer right away.  He seemed a bit irate I did not answer right away and lifted his bow at me.  WHOA!  Still not sure where I was or what he expected from me, I turned to run into the trees.  Never said I thought I was a diplomat.   There was no way I have a weapon on me with the lack of clothing so the trees seemed the best idea.  Then I felt the prick of something hitting the back of my head and down I went.  Darkness once again. 

I woke again with him yelling at me to follow.  He did not seem phased I was almost naked in the jungle.  Slowly I got up and brushed myself off.  Taking time to look him over for the first time.  He was in some sort of cloth pants and shirt with a pirate like clothe wrapped about his head.  This time he spoke while indicating with his bow to get moving.  “It is getting dark.  Follow me or die.”  Then he started off some path I could not see. 

But as he was right, the sun was lowering and the air getting colder, I followed.  I could hear the trees begin to talk while trying to keep my new “friend” in sight.  Soon we arrived in a valley surrounded by tall hills and cliffs.  A lone wooden building was next to a pond.  We headed towards it. 

“Where are we?” I asked.

He barely registered I was talking but I heard the answer.  “This is our base.  We are safer here.” 

We?  Who is this we?

OOC:

I like to write a little.  So thought I would start a post where any of the Ark players could post their stories IC in forms of Journals.  We have paper, parchment or hides and charcoal. But I think our lovely caregivers have sent a few sheets down with the crates. I would love to hear your tales and adventures in this crazy game.  So after this please post journal entries or (comments) and enjoy.

IC:

Each person awakes in underwear and with a strange device embedded in their arm.  (Guessing we are dropped via a crate or ship) They have no memory of how they arrived there and no idea where they are.  Memories of name, skills and personality seem to remain.  (Not sure if any would remember their past as the end game has not been reached.)  The island has many terrains and weather spots.  If you are lucky, you arrive in a warm one.  Besides the amazing view, you see creatures big and small all around you.  Some are harmless, most are not.  Good Luck and try to survive.

EDIT: If anyone does not want me to write about them please let me know.  I try to keep it generic unless given permission.