Mark woke up and looked around his A-frame. The feeling of camp was changing. It felt more settled, more secure. It felt less like a place where he hid from things in the forest and more like a place that was his. Well, maybe not his, but their home. There were now three survivors that would call this place home. Four if you counted Cora, but she was not really part of the group. Mark moved aside the skin that acted as his door and stepped out. He saw Ava up early like normal. It looked like she was taking Bramble for a walk along with her morning trap run in the safe area to the west she was in charge of.
Dale was just walking out of his A-frame and waved at Mark. “So this is real, huh? I dreamed last night I was back home. But when I woke up, I was still here.”
Mark said, “I had something similar happen to me the first night too. It’s real.”
Dale said, “I hope it’s okay if I cook breakfast this morning?”
Mark said, “By all means, your cooking is a lot better than what I can do. If it’s okay with you, I will put you in charge of cooking if you’re willing.”
Dale said, “I sure would love to. It was my life before I came here. I was a line cook and managed all the kitchen staff, including the procurement of all the foodstuffs.”
Mark said, “Ah, so your mention of culinary school was not a joke last night then?”
Dale said, “No joke. I love to cook.”
Mark said, “Ok, let me pull all the food and food-like items I have out of inventory, and you can see what is useful and what is bad and needs to be tossed. Some of it’s been sitting around for more than a week.”
Mark emptied his stored food onto the worktable. Dale sorted it, discarded anything spoiled, and organized what remained for cooking.
Mark said, “If you need anything, let me know. Right now the eating stuff is pretty light; we have 4 cups, bowls, plates, and a few water pouches.”
Dale said, “Ok, I will think about what is needed and let you know.”
Mark inspected the shelters, crafting area, cooking space, perimeter, and gates. The camp was functional, but Dale needed more room to work and the defenses still needed improvement.
As he walked back to the center of camp, a chime sounded and a system message appeared.
[Territory Development Threshold Reached]
Sustained habitation detected.
◈ ◈ ◈
[Zone Status Updated]
Control Level: Increased
Status: Stabilizing
Camp Status: Unlocked
◈ ◈ ◈
He smiled as he looked over the messages. His hard work had paid off in redoing the camp and preparing for the future. He would need to continue to improve the camp and see what options opened up as he did. He then opened the camp status screen.
[Camp Status]
Population: 3
Shelters: Active
Food: Stable
Defense: Basic
◈ ◈ ◈
So the system did not count Cora or Bramble. Maybe Dale’s addition was what pushed the camp to the next level. Would it expand more if he built a better crafting station or improved the cooking area? He would have to experiment with this to see where it goes.
Mark opened the map and looked at changes there. The camp was more defined now on the map. The rest of the zone looked more refined, also with more details on the trap lines. He could see that the more control he had, the more the system showed him. Areas he had not visited had less control and less visibility.
When Dale finished up breakfast, he brought over a plate and handed it to him. It smelled amazing. He ate it slowly and enjoyed the flavor. He could feel that it gave him a boost, though he could not tell what.
Mark turned to Dale. “Thanks, that food was great. It even makes you feel good.”
Dale nodded and started cleaning up and washing down the work table.
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Mark started toward the gate and spoke on his way out. “I am going to gather some materials and finish the other three A-frames I had planned on building.”
Mark gathered materials and began building the remaining three planned A-frames. Experience and his crafting skills made the repeated work much faster.
He heard the gate open and turned, expecting Ava, but saw Cora instead. She walked over quickly while looking around and said, “Something has changed. It feels different.” She then walked over to Dale and asked, “If I bring you more items each day, can you make me some food?”
Dale turned and smiled. “Of course I would love to.” He then reached over and grabbed one of the spices he used last night. “More of this would be nice too.” Dale then handed her a plate of food.
Cora quickly ate the food and then left. Mark smiled. She liked Dale’s cooking; she might come by more often. Looking over at Dale, he watched for a little while as he put away his items and watched as he arranged a few things that he had just tossed down, and Dale put them in the storage box where they should have been.
When they were all finally completed, he stood back and looked them over. He now had room for six. He no longer had a camp for one but the start of something more. Not just staying alive but working to improve their situations.
Mark watched Dale as he was arranging the camp. When he had finished with the cooking area, he had moved on to the crafting area. When he had finished, he had sat down and was just watching the fire burn.
Mark walked over and said, “How are you feeling now? It looks like you have settled into camp. The meals you made last night and today are way better than what Ava and I had before you showed up.”
Dale said, “To be honest, I am still shocked. Still trying to figure out what this place is. Trying to feel safe. Each time I hear a sound from the forest, it makes me jumpy.”
Mark said, “I too felt that way when I first showed up. I remember searching for water. Building the first shelter. Then trying not to be eaten by the animals in the forest.”
Dale said, “How did you do it? Go from being lost in a forest to having a safe camp with places to sleep and food to eat.”
Mark explained that he survived by first securing water and shelter, then using traps because he was not a fighter. Over time, the levels and skills from that work helped him build the camp. They went west out the gate and into the forest. He found the first trap. It was still set. Ava had likely already been through earlier. Mark showed Dale how the simple western snares worked, how to reset them, and how trapped animals provided food and materials. Mark continued going through the forest. He next led him to a patch of vegetables he had found while exploring this area.
“In this area there are a few places you can find these vegetables growing, and there are a few berry bushes. The stuff Cora gave you was found elsewhere; I have never seen it before.”
He continued checking traps until he found one with a squirrel in it. Stopping a ways back, he pointed at it. “This area is low level. Only level 1-2 animals can be found here. That squirrel is level 1.”
Dale said, “How can you tell the level?”
Mark said, “I have found that the system will reveal things to you based on your intent. If you look at it, the tag saying its name and level will appear.”
Dale looked at it for a while and said, “Oh, it’s a System feature.”
Mark offered Dale the Level 1 squirrel, explaining that a few safe kills would help him progress. Dale stepped forward with the spear, and with only a couple tries, the squirrel was dead. After Mark explained the process, Dale looted it.
Arriving at the stream, he showed him the two fish traps. Nothing was in them, so they stopped and took a long drink of the cold water. On the way back, Mark stopped to show Dale the clay pit.
Dale asked, “Is that how you made the plates, cups, and bowls?”
Mark said, “Yes, it is. Do we need more or other items made?”
Dale said, “I think a few more of those would be helpful. Maybe a couple pitchers and a few platters I can use for a cutting surface, which would be better than the wooden tabletop I used today. Some storage jars we could store some of the perishable items in would also help.”
Mark led the way to the pit, which was fairly close to the stream. When he got there, he talked about the rootback he had cleared to gain control of this low-level area. He showed him the shovel that was there and gathered up enough clay to make the items Dale wanted and a little to spare for some other ideas he had.
They then returned to camp. At camp, Mark stopped. “I’d suggest you and Ava take turns or go together clearing the traps. At least until you reach level four. That will make sure you get a few more stats and maybe a few skills that will help in the areas you focus on.”
Dale nodded. “Yeah, that squirrel wasn’t too bad to kill. I can see some advantages to getting a few levels. But if it’s ok with you, I would mostly like to stick around camp and cook, as that is what I enjoy most in life.”
Mark said, “Yep, that sounds great; it will be a great help. We can accomplish a lot more working as a team than if I tried to do everything by myself.”
Mark then led Dale out the east gate; he paused, hesitating. “We are leaving controlled space; keep your eyes open.” He watched his surroundings cautiously as he walked, looking for anything that might cause them harm. Dale noticed his scanning the forest and started doing the same.
When they arrived at the trap, Mark spoke. “If you look around the area here near the trap, you can see paw prints. The animals in this area are between levels three and five. While trapped, they are something you could probably kill, but if they got away or were not in the trap and you just ran into one, they are big enough they could do you serious damage.”
Dale said, “Yeah, for now I will keep to the camp and cooking. I want to tinker with some of the craft items I found back in camp. I can maybe alternate with Ava in the easy area until I am a little higher level and then take it from there.”
They returned to camp. On the way back, Dale acted a little jumpy at each sound he heard. He looked remarkably more comfortable after they entered the gate and Mark secured it behind them.
When they returned to camp, Cora was sitting in a chair, and a new pile of ingredients was on the cook table. She sat there quietly and watched Dale cook. Once he was done, she returned Dale the plate he had given her earlier and collected her new one. When she was done eating, she handed the plate back to Dale and then turned to Mark.
Cora said, “The cave worries me. I plan to go investigate it tomorrow. Would you like to come?”
Mark said, “Yes, it worries me too. I would like to go investigate also.”
With that, Cora stood up and left camp.
Mark sat and ate his dinner. He had to admit that Dale knew how to cook. With only the few items they had, he came up with something different each meal. Mark thought over his day; he had given Dale a way to improve and feel safer. And then his thoughts turned to the short conversation with Cora. His traps were not enough for everything.