The creature they had killed and brought back was called a Moschops according to the alien encyclopedia. Mavis seemed fascinated to see one, but Jack was only happy to finally have some real food. Mattock gave a demonstration on how to gut, skin, and butcher a fresh kill to everyone who wasn’t on watch as per Marcus’ orders. These would be important skills to master in this new world. Fortunately, they would all get plenty of practice.
Ms Marget roasted the meat on a spit. It came out a bit more well done than Jack would have liked, but no one complained. It was the most delicious meal he had ever had. The hunger had been tearing at him for more than a day, and relieving it with real food was divine. The gatherers had managed to pick clean another few bushes full of berries, filling one of the backpacks with them. They still had enough berries for everyone to have a few with their steaks, and they made the meal all the better. The biggest problem was the lack of plates, forks, knives, or anything even resembling them. Everyone had to eat with their hands and teeth alone. Mattock had lent his knife to Ms Margert so she could cut the meat off the cooking fire, so even he had to tear chunks off his steak and chew them slowly. By the time everyone was done, they were all covered with the juice of the berries and meat, so they spent some time cleaning their hands in the creek.
When the food was gone Marcus gathered the tribe to speak. He had reclaimed the artifact from Mavis and Thrasher stood behind him, providing a rather imposing stage to address the tribe.
“We do not have a name for me to properly address you all yet. It has only been a day, and yet we are still here. We have survived. We have gotten food, boiled water, fought predators, and tamed a dinosaur. Our injured are being cared for and will recover, our bellies are full, and we are as well rested as we can be in such a dangerous place. Today will involve more walking, but if we are fortunate we will find a home for ourselves by nightfall. We will travel southwest, find the river valley the map has shown us, and find a safe way down from the cliff. Once we have an area with more visibility and fresh water access we will build a camp.” He took a long breath. It looked like he wanted to say something, but he stopped himself.
“Our hunters have had success. I am sure most of you have heard the story of how they fought the Baryonyx and won. And while I am overjoyed that they returned safely, we cannot underestimate the jungle or the dinosaurs. We have lost three people in one day, and the Baryonyx was half starved and likely young. We have a lot to learn about our environment. We walk in groups of at least four people, each one with a spear. DO NOT WANDER OFF TO PISS IN THE WOODS ALONE!. You will die!.” His tone was stern, his eyes hard.
“Yesterday a young woman ran into the jungle on her own when the Baryonyx first attacked. Once we drove the beast off I sent a group to try and find her. She was dead. She lasted less than five minutes alone in the jungle unarmed. I will spare you the details of her fate, but it could have easily been prevented if she had stayed with the group and carried her spear. I am not asking you all to be warriors, but I am asking you all to be brave. If we are attacked, we will only survive by meeting our threat with a wall of spears.” He turned to pet Thrasher, gently scratching his large neck and causing the dinosaur to nuzzle into his hand.
“Finally, we will rotate who gets to ride Thrasher. Those who are injured will have first priority. Followed by those without shoes fit for hiking. We will rotate people on and off every hour or so as needed. Keep in mind however, that those who ride Thrasher will not be getting an easy ride. Riding a dinosaur bareback through a jungle is not going to be easy or smooth. Do your best not to fall off. You will also be responsible for keeping watch while on Thrasher’s back. And if something does attack us, Thrasher will fight by our sides, so be ready to hop off or hold on should something happen.”
His eyes looked over the tribe, ending on Jade and Gordon who were in the back. They both gave thumbs up, the sign that they had done a head count and everyone was accounted for. Marcus raised his spear.
“Remember. You can talk as we walk. We will not be quiet in the jungle with this many people. But do not cry or scream, as those sounds will attract predators. Now, follow me. Torchbearers keep the flames lit, hunters to the flanks of the tribe as we move. Follow our big friend here.” He patted Thrasher again, and the dinosaur stood up and trumpeted loudly. The sound was energetic, and he turned in line with Marcus to start the trek downstream.
The tribe followed easily, with fresh food in their bellies and hope in their eyes. They walked for thirty minutes alongside the creek, keeping their spears at the ready. Once people had some blood moving it became clear who was going to struggle. Marcus stopped the group for a quick break, letting Miles and Mavis climb onto Thrasher’s back. Miles was fighting off a headache from his concussion, and Mavis was both out of shape and missing her shoes. Everyone else in the tribe had either taken a pair from the two dead tribemates or were already used to walking barefoot. Lottie fell into this category, arriving in her pajamas, but hadn't complained a single time.
The noises of the Jungle assaulted the tribe as they moved. The sharp chirps of the velociraptors and Compys hiding in the bushes sounded curious about the group, but were kept at a distance due to the tribe's large numbers and the torches. They passed the group of stegosaurus they had seen the day before, and Mavis called out to Marcus to use the encyclopedia’s identification ability on them. She dropped off Thrasher to stand beside him, and the tribe came to a halt.
Species: Stegosaurus Macuahuitl, (Blade Tail Stegosaurus)
Sex: Male
Age: 3 Years
Approximate Weight: 14,000lb
Approximate Length: 25’5”
Approximate Height: 12’ at the plate, 8’ at the back
The Blade Tail Stegosaurus are slightly smaller than their cousins, but their tails pack just as much of a punch. They have evolved bladed tails that are sharp enough to cut through thinner trees, and they use them to keep their favorite clearings free of tall vegetation. This allows for their preferred foods to grow in abundance. While they tend to be less deadly than their larger cousins, they are fearsome enough that Tyrannosaurus tend to ignore herds of more than three individuals.
They have a narrower range of food that can support them, so do not tend to migrate and will even ward off other herbivores that threaten their food supply.
Estimated Uses for Tribe:
Tall dorsal plates provide protection from ranged projectiles when traveling.
Bladed tail is a devastating weapon against foes.
High carry capacity.
Boney plates and spines can be made into weapons and armor.
Ability to chop down small trees easily, though the cuts will not be as clean as if done by hand.
Jack had been walking in the front of the column beside Mavis and Gordon. He looked over Marcus’s shoulder at the display that popped up. Mavis was studying it with barely withheld glee.
“Wow. I have never heard of a species like this. It's so cool. I wonder what other types of Stegos we will come across? Could you imagine riding one of those around? It would be like riding on a tank. A tank that cuts down trees and fights T-Rex.”
Jack chuckled at her excitement.
“They are pretty intense. But I have a feeling that if we tamed one, the others would probably follow us. We would probably have to spend multiple days taming each one before they could safely be around the tribe.” Gordon said, leading the tribe around the grazing Stegos, giving them plenty of space.
Jack watched the stegos over his shoulder as the tribe moved further down river. He had asked Marcus about the taming charm and it had been cool to the touch. Marcus suspected it would remain so until the end of the day, or perhaps the next. Both men realized they had no idea how long an actual day is on this planet. Jack had assumed the same twenty-four hours as Earth, but Kryxess had said this planet was much larger. Maybe they had been dropped off at noon, and he had even longer to wait before the artifact would become usable.
He turned his attention back to the path ahead. There was nothing he could do to speed up the time it took to recharge, and worrying about the length of the day would be a fool's errand. They marched down the path for three more hours. Each step seemed to lead to an encounter of some type. Nine times out of ten it was a small or medium-sized herbivore. They passed more groups of male Parasaurolophus, who seemed curious about Thrasher, but decided to leave them alone when the tribe raised their spears. The last thing the tribe needed was some dinosaur dominance fight during the start of their march. They saw several species of Triceratops and more Hadrosaurs like the Maiasaura and Iguanodon. Mavis was surprised to learn that nearly every single large herbivore they came across was male. Gordon and Jack guessed that the females would form larger herds, and would probably be in the valley where the ground was flatter and the forest was hopefully thinner. Apparently lots of earth mammals like Zebra would do something similar.
They also noticed dinosaurs like the Pachysepholasurus. Each one stood about five feet tall, and they were much more skittish than the mostly ambivalent larger dinos. The Pachysepholasurus were drinking from the creak, then dashing back into the cover of the jungle. Most of the tribe thought they were cute looking, but Jack didn’t see it. They had large bony skulls and green scales. Thicker scales covered their backs and bellies, and they had sharp beaks and tiny hands. The encyclopedia told them that the Pachy’s skulls were hard enough to crack stone at full charge, and despite their skittish appearance, they would be quick to aggression if challenged. Sadly it also made it clear that anyone over a hundred pounds riding one for any length of time would break the dinosaur's back.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
They also encountered carnivores. Most of the time they would retreat at the sight of the fire the tribe carried or would be warded off by Thrasher with one of his loud bellows. The majority they found were about the size of a child, with large singular crests on the tops of their heads. The encyclopedia called them Nomingia. They were pack hunters, with long sharp claws, sharp teeth, and dangerous cunning. They traveled in groups of around ten to fifteen, and according to Mattock, a group of them had started following the tribe from a distance about two hours into their walk.
Gordon stopped the tribe and gathered the hunters. They all grabbed some of their weaker spears and stones, then waited for the next Nomingia to poke its head out of the jungle. As soon as it did, twenty projectiles slammed into it. Its head was crushed and five of the spears managed to connect, puncturing its lungs and causing it to bleed out in seconds. The rest of the pack stopped following them after that.
The tribe stopped for lunch. Cooking up the Nomingia and unanimously agreeing that it was far too stringy and did not make for a good meal. But the calories were needed, so none of the complaints were serious. With one exception.
“I AM A VEGAN. We need to slow down and start collecting berries as we move. We need to live with the land, not like savages!” Lennox Miller, who was suffering under his heavy woolen suit and business-class loafers, was complaining to Marcus about the quality of the food.
Marcus took deep breaths. And Jack was glad he wasn’t in charge. He considered the ramifications of killing the spoiled man-child, and his respect for Marcus grew. Their leader was responsible for the lives of all these people. If he broke on the second day and killed the idiot, it would put tribe morale in the dumps and cause people to be afraid to bring complaints to him. Still, Jack was very tempted to punch the snooty asshole and leave him for the next group of carnivores they passed.
“Lenix.” Marcus said in his best customer service voice. Only to be interrupted immediately.
“It's Lennox.” The way the man pronounced his name sounded identical to what Marcus had just said. And he looked smug about correcting the tribe leader.
“Lennox.” Marcus snarled a bit. Making it clear he was about done with his bullshit.
“We are stranded on a dinosaur-filled jungle planet. If we do not hunt and kill the animals around us, we will all starve to death. You have tried the berries here. They are not the nicely domesticated crops we are used to. We can not survive off plants alone. No matter how many we pick, we will not get the required number of calories to sustain ourselves.”
Lennox opened his mouth to retort but Marcus raised his hand to cut him off and continued to speak over him.
“This is not Earth. Three people died yesterday, and a lot more of us will before we reach even a semblance of what we had before. I get that you are grieving. We all are. My wife just celebrated her forty-first birthday two months ago. And now I have to raise our children alone in this hell. So shut the fuck up, grab a chunk of meat, and stop bitching about every single thing you see. Or so help me I will leave your dumbass behind when you can’t keep up.” Marcus’s eyes were fiery as he gave Lennox his last chance of the day to stop being a pain in the ass.
The man-child, having never been told no before by anyone who actually held any sort of authority over him, froze at the harsh words. For once he could not claim the moral high ground or flaunt his family's superiority. He sat there with his mouth open like a fish until Marcus’s glare snapped him out of it, and he meekly scampered away.
Jack approached Marcus and gave him a respectful nod. Marcus didn’t bother to watch if Lennox had gone to get the meat. They wouldn’t leave him behind unless circumstances forced them to. And despite the man's refusal to remove his nice coat and generally poor level of fitness, he was not the worst off. The number of people with twisted ankles or painful bruises was growing by the hour as they moved through unfamiliar rough ground
“That was impressive. I would have probably punched him.” Jack said, which caused the tribe leader to smile.
“I was tempted. But there are better ways to handle people. That was just fear, and some old-world privilege speaking. Hopefully, he will adapt. But I suspect a lot of people want to rebel against the current situation.” Marcus said as he took a moment to finish his own handful of dino meat.
Eventually, the tribe got moving again. With new torches from the cooking campfire and full bellies once again. They hadn’t stopped long enough to start boiling water, and Marcus pulled Gordon and Jade to the front of the group to discuss how long they could push before they would be forced to rest and drink more water. They agreed to give it another hour or so, and if the mapping charm was ready to use they would activate it and stop. They would start boiling water, then review the map and search for good locations.
A crack of thunder in the distance grabbed the tribe's attention. The jungle canopy was too thick to see any of the distant clouds. But they were all reminded that they would need shelter sooner than later. While the storm made everyone nervous, it made the leadership giddy with excitement. They could collect the fresh rain water and get enough for everyone to be fully hydrated. Gordon turned to Mavis and Lottie. Who had taken up guarding the front right flank of the tribe alongside Jack and Haden.
“Do either of you know how to sew?” Gordon asked the ladies, who each glared at him.
“Why?” Mavis asked, her tone dangerous. “Because we are women? We all know how to sew?”
Gordon held up his hands in peace.
“Lottie was studying to be a vet. I am pretty sure you would have to learn how to do stitches. And I have watched you sew buttons back onto Jack’s pants. I was giving you the opportunity to brag about your mad skillz.” He smiled at her knowingly, referencing an inside joke from high school when her username had been madskillzgirl. Mavis had been very excited about her original username. She turned red at Gordon’s words, looking away and keeping her lips sealed as Gordon and Jack laughed.
Lottie shrugged.
“I can do a bit. But I was only at the start of my second year. I read about how to properly stitch wounds, but I don’t have any real experience with it. I never learned as a kid.” She turned to Mavis. “I should probably learn, if you are willing to teach.”
It was Mavis’s turn to shrug.
“I would be happy to, but it's not like we have any thread or needles to even do it with.”
Haden raised his hand.
“I can sew as well. Learned in the army. But Mavis is right, we don’t have anything to actually sew with.” He looked at Gordon. “Why did you ask?”
Gordon rubbed his chin thinking. Then passed Mavis a handful of the Nomingia’s thin rib bones and teeth. They had been cleaned in the creak, and she seemed more curious than grossed out by them. The bones were thicker than a normal needle, but not by much. They were long enough and if they could drill a hole in the end and get some thread it could work. It would be crude, but doable. The teeth could be used to make tiny holes, or maybe even drill the hole they would need in the bone. They would do for a makeshift blade to cut the theoretical thread at the very least. It wasn’t much, but it was a step in the right direction.
“I was hoping you may be able to make a needle or something out of those. I know fuckall about sewing. But I was hoping you could make some bowls out of the large fern leaves and grass for us to collect rainwater in whenever we stop. Do you think that would be possible?”
Mavis thought about it for a minute. Jack knew that back on Earth her initial instinct was to say she couldn’t do it. But he was pleasantly surprised when she shrugged.
“No harm in trying. Worst case I cut up some grass and waste a bit of time. It’s not like I have much else to do.” She was clearly still grumpy about not being able to use her phone. She had kept it, and Jack had noticed her checking it out of habit every few minutes. It was still fully charged, but there was no service and nothing to do on it. So she kept it powered off. He figured she would turn it on and look through her photos when she was ready to grieve. Or maybe listen to some of her music for the last time. He wished he had his on him to do the same, but he had left it on the table back in his apartment.
Something snapped a branch in the woods, and all of their attention dropped from the conversation to scan the jungle. The entire tribe watched, spears ready, but whatever had made the noise didn’t make a move as they passed by.
The hour passed quickly, and just before Marcus was about to call a halt to start boiling water when the sound of a roaring waterfall started to break through the trees. The tribe got excited, and a few minutes later the trees thinned out as the jungle dirt transitioned into the ledge of a windswept rocky cliff. The creak formed a small pool at the top of the cliff, and its runoff formed a tall waterfall that danced into the valley below.
The valley was beautiful. It looked like a postcard from some faraway tropical paradise. The far side of the valley was marked by towering cliffs of gray stone beneath three massive mountains. The mountains were covered in vibrant green vegetation as if a blanket of trees had been draped across them. The mountain peaks reached into the clouds, but Jack caught sight of what appeared to be an elephant-sized bird flying near them. He blinked, convinced that he was seeing things as the bird vanished into the clouds. The base of the mountains were maybe ten miles away from them, and the far side of the cliffs approximately eight miles. The cliffs were jagged and steep, covered in patches of moss, and decorated by thousands of tiny waterfalls that all poured down into streams that crisscrossed the western half of the valley before joining the winding river that dominated the valley floor. The five or so miles between the river and the cliff that the tribe was standing on was dominated by large open grassland and scattered patches of trees that were absolutely stuffed with massive dinosaurs.
A chorus of laughter erupted as Clara saw her first brontosaurus. She had never seen Jurassic Park, and knew impressively little about the creatures. Her jaw literally dropped as she saw the titanic animals. There was one herd of eight Brontos several miles downstream of the tribe, and six lone Brontos surrounded by a herd of other herbivores scattered throughout the valley. It seemed like a good strategy to avoid the super carnivores was just to be beside the one creature in the jungle they would never risk messing with. Clara just pointed at the dinos and made sputtering noises. It only took a few seconds for everyone in the tribe to crack a smile, even Lennox.
Jack wished he had a spyglass, as he was only able to see the rough shapes of thousands of dinos from the clifftop. Skye was beside him, eyes wide with excitement as they took turns pointing out all of the cool creatures. She and Mavis joined hands and started jumping up and down when Skye pointed out a group of flying pteranodons that were flying around the river and taking turns to dive into the water. They watched as one flapped hard to escape the waves, a fat fish trapped in its jaws. Jack smiled at their antics. Apparently Skye’s favorite dinosaur was the Pterodactyl. This comment from her sparked a hushed but excited argument about the difference between a Pterodactyl and a Pteranodon. But it was soon clear that neither woman had any idea what the difference actually was. Mavis asked Marcus if she could borrow the encyclopedia again, but he told them to do it later.
The cliff they were on was very tall. At least one thousand feet if not taller. The wind whipped across the cliff, blowing in a refreshing breeze of humid air. It would quickly get cold, but after hours of trudging through the hot jungle, it was a blessing. The sighs of relief were nearly universal. But no one was willing to get too close to the edge of the cliff. It would be very easy for a gust to sweep any of them to their deaths.
As people enjoyed the view, Marcus had Gordon remind people to watch their backs with Thrasher, and had the gathering teams start a new fire and continue to boil water. Mattock, Skye, Mavis, Jack, Haden, Lottie, Gordon, Jade, and Miles all gathered together at Marcus’s request. He extended his hand and activated the map. The pulse of green light traveled up his arm and covered him before passing into the ground. Several seconds later the holographic map flickered into being above his hand.
“Let's find a way down this cliff, and a new home.”