I Am Gamer

by Gabriel L Rathweg

  The woman stood up again and cocked her head at me as if she was coming to a decision. A minute later she nodded to herself and started walking over to me.

  “Come down off that horse and walk with me.” She commanded.

  Once again I did as she said and climbed down from Winston. The woman passed us walking to the pools edge and stopping. I soon joined her standing there as well. She didn’t say anything so I didn’t. Sudden quiet covered the glade. Not the quiet of no one speaking but the complete silence of nothing, there wasn’t a sound. I looked around bewildered. There was no snoring of the animals, no bugs, no waterfall splashing. As my eyes took in the waterfall itself I gasped. The water was frozen in mid air. It was as if time had stopped. Oh shit time had stopped…

  “So you are the one responsible for destroying my garden then?” The woman asked, her voice all sunshine and rainbows but when we locked eyes I could see the thunder cloud of unchecked anger and rage.

  “Yeah… about that…” I stammered. Somehow I knew this was the goddess Hasteoltoi. This was her garden and I had destroyed it.

  TRACK 34 – GOT YOU (WHERE I WANT YOU) – THE FLYS

  She held her hand up to forestall me from talking and I immediately shut up. One thing my dad had taught me was that when a woman was angry the best thing to do was shut the fuck up. The silence was deafening. The only thing I could hear was the sound of my own breathing, she made no noise. I won’t lie, the hotness factor wore off and I was scared as fuck.

  “The only reason I haven’t had my pet over there kill you is because you have Coyote’s mark on you. But this…” She gestured at the pool and the broken rocks. “What do you suggest we do about this?”

  Her gaze turned to me and I knew that Coyote’s mark or not, my life depended on my answer. I swallowed loudly and collected my thoughts. Her beauty wasn’t only distracting it had just become deadly.

  “First of all let me apologize of great goddess Hasteoltoi. I am very sorry for destroying your garden. When I found out I hoped upon hope to meet you and apologize in person for my transgression. This whole time I have been thinking of a way to make it up to you and I hope that my answer pleases you.” She raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow at me in question and also as if saying hurry it up. I cleared my throat and continued. “The reason I took the ore in the first place was to create weapons and armor to help The People fight and defeat the foreign invaders…”

  “You can not stop them.” She said interrupting me. “The history has been written and almost all of The People are dead. What can you a mere human do?”

  “I come from the future brought here by Coyote. My knowledge of said future and the ability to craft better weapons and armor, the ability to teach tactics and more to The People will help us fight and win. We can change history.” I said this passionately, because well, I believed it. “I will also create a statue of you so amazing and bring it here. It will be a hundred times better than the ones that were here before. This I swear on my life.”

  “That old fool actually did it…” She said under her breath. “Fine you have one week to prepare the proper offering. That is coincidentally the night of the summer equinox and a full moon. Be here at midnight or you will be considered an oath breaker hunted down and fed to my pet.” She gestured at the sleeping bear then turned and walked away.

  I couldn’t help it and watched her backside sway perfectly from side to side as she moved. She paused and looked over her shoulder catching me mid ogle.

  “Do not disappoint me human.” She said then disappeared into the tree line.

  The minute she was gone time unfroze and the waterfall began flowing again. The bear stood up and yawned. It gave me the stink eye as if saying ‘please, please, please fuck this up so I can eat you’ then it turned and ambled away disappearing back into the forest. Freak stood up stretching and yawning at that point as well. Winston came over and bumped me with his head. I patted his head absentmindedly while I thought. I have just a week to return here with an amazing statue plus all the other work… fuck!

  Walking Coyote peeked his head back out from behind the waterfall and saw me and my pets sitting there quietly.

  “It’s safe the bear is gone.” I called, motioning him out.

  He nodded and gestured then walked out from the waterfall area followed by the rest of the workers. I looked them over as they walked up and none looked the worse for wear, some bruises and scratches but otherwise ok. They asked me what happened and I told them. Then I asked Walking Coyote what had happened to them. He explained they were gathering the last of the ore when the giant bear came charging in from out of nowhere. Dusk and Dawn were with him and the other ore collectors but only Dusk was in a position to get away. He told Dusk to get me and the rest of them ran into the small cave behind the waterfall. Time passed and then I had shown up.

  I told everyone to go back to the village and helped collect the dropped ore from the earlier attack and joined them on the way back. We arrived just as Moon Flower, the Chief, and the rest of the elites were preparing themselves to come after us. They had just gotten back from collecting wood for arrow shafts and Dusk had told them what had happened. Moon Flower ran up and gave me a huge hug as I dismounted Winston. I hugged her back tight and had a flash of guilt from being too attracted to the goddess. It passed quickly as I justified it with the notion that, hey she was a mother fucking goddess, and moved on.

  I explained what happened to everyone and the Chief told me I was lucky I wasn’t dead. Hasteoltoi was the goddess of the hunt and wasn’t known for her forgiving nature. We finished updating each other and headed over to his yurt where their bows were setting and where they had brought all the collected wood and feathers for the arrow shafts. Once again I was surprised by the amount of resources they had collected so quickly.

  We had another teaching class and I showed them how to shape the shafts and pick the right type of feather. I stressed only tail feathers and only ones that were symmetrical. After that I showed the notch in the tip for the new arrow heads I was going to make. This drew lots of questions but I pawned them off with saying just trust me you’ll like them. I also distracted them with an idea I’d had on my trip back.

  “Chief can you grab me your bow?” I asked him.

  He nodded and retrieved it for me. He placed it in my outstretched hand and I grabbed it in a two handed grip closing my eyes. I activated Imbue Flame and opened my eyes as my hands and the bow erupted in fire.

  “What are you doing?” Chief Running Hawk exclaimed horrified as he watched his newly built bow burst into flames and me grinning like an idiot.

  I poured more MP into the bow and then smiled even wider I had been right. There was an audible pop and I let my skill go out as I looked at the new information screen.

  COMPOSITE BOW OF FIRE

  WEAPON TYPE – Composite War Bow

  DURABILITY – 200/200

  CLASS – Unique

  UPGRADES – Fire Damage, Fire Resistance

  DRAW WEIGHT – 80 lbs

  WEIGHT – 10 lbs

  DIMENSIONS – 42” BY 21” Max Draw length 26”

  This bow has been infused with fire magic. It has an innate resistance to fire and won’t burn easily. Arrows fired from this bow will also be imbued with a small amount of fire magic causing minor fire damage to targets. This damage stacks with other abilities and weapons.

  I dismissed the window with a thought and handed the now no longer fire coated but still slightly glowing red bow. The Chief took it gingerly as if afraid it’d still be hot but a look of wonder crossed his face a second later. He looked from me to the bow and back again, eyes wide and mouth open in awe.

  “I don’t know how I know this but I know that this bow is special. It adds fire damage to my arrows and is resistant to fire.” He paused and looked at me quizzically. “How do I know this?”

  I grinned at him and shook my head.

  “I imagine it’s a magic thing probably Coyote’s doing.”
I mused out loud.

  The rest of the elites grabbed their bows and hurried back to me so I could finish theirs as well. I started with Moon Flower’s and moved down the line. I finished the last bow, Night Star’s, and she took off to join the rest of them with trying them out. They had finished prepping the arrow shafts so I had no qualms with them doing it. I made my way back to the forge to continue my own tasks now made much more difficult.

  “Shit, piss, fuck, cunt, cocksucker, motherfucker, tits, fart, terd, and twat…” I repeated under my breath.

  I was no artist. How in the hell was I going to make a statue for a goddess?

  TRACK 35 – BRAND NEW COLONY – THE POSTAL SERVICE

  The task of forging the pickaxes helped relax my mind as I thought about my new problem. I had a week till I needed to return to the goddess’s glade and in that time I needed to create a statue for her along with the rest of my crafting and building plans. The sun started to drop low in the sky. I cut my flame skill off and inspected the last pickaxe. It was the best one yet. I placed it next to the rest and nodded in satisfaction. I had finished enough for each of the elites. I headed out, Freak getting up and following along.

  I made my way to the resource area and stumbled as I caught sight of what was now there. There were now eight full ten foot by five foot piles and twelve trees. The food collection was just as plentiful. I would make some clay jars for storage tomorrow and setup the smokehouse, then make the arrowheads, then… I stopped my train of thought, going in that direction would only make things seem daunting. Take things one step at a time, baby steps and all that. Tomorrow I would handle it.

  A chorus of bird calls caught my attention and I watched as my fiancé and the rest of her family came my way. The rest of the workers that were out had come in already as dusk had fully come and it was beginning to turn into night. Moon Flower jumped in kissing me tightly and smiling ecstatically.

  “This bow is amazing! I can shoot farther, almost twice as far as before.” She said quickly.

  “I’m glad you like it.” I replied grinning at the beautiful woman in my arms.

  “She’s right Law.” Chief Running Hawk said. “This bow is like nothing I’ve ever used. Our warriors will be able to out shoot and hunt any other tribe out there.”

  “This is just the beginning Hawk, wait till I show you the finished arrows. Not to mention my other surprises coming down the pipeline.” I said happily.

  He quirked an eyebrow in question and I did a mental wince. Of course he wouldn’t get that idiom. I thought of an alternative quickly.

  “Maybe like a salmon swimming down the river?” I asked.

  The round of nodding faces showed the new analogy worked a bit better.

  “Come with me I have something to give you all.” I said.

  Heading back to the forge followed by my tribesman we stopped and they surrounded me in a semi-circle. I reached behind the smelter and began handing out the finished pickaxes to each of them. Thunder Foot received one first and looked askance at it. Then he began swinging it experimentally followed by the others.

  “Whoa… whoa…” I said waving my hand. “Please stop swinging the pointy sharp objects before someone accidentally impales someone else. Those are pickaxes and are meant to help you dig and mine for metal ore.”

  Faces lit up and nodded in understanding as I explained.

  “So tomorrow we are going to go out and I’m going to show you how to mine for ore and where the places to get it are.” I continued.

  “What about our new bows and the new arrows you’re making?” Night Star asked.

  “I’m going to come back to the village. What’s the villages name by the way?” I asked.

  “The Springs,” Chief Running Hawk responded, “due to the five springs that surrounds our valley.”

  Of course, why didn’t I think of that?

  “Good name.” I replied. “I’m going to return The Springs and finish the arrows among my many other tasks. When you guys get back with all the lovely ore you mine you will train some of the other warriors and show them what to do the next day. I should be done with some things by then and we will go from there.”

  “Well I for one am starving.” Ice Blossom said. “I’m going to eat dinner.”

  She hefted her bow on one shoulder and her pickaxe on the other and took off. Everyone echoed her in agreement and we all headed to eat. The kids had caught a plethora of salmon and we dined on fish and gathered vegetables. After eating our full we all retired for the night. Moon Flower and I headed into our yurt for sleep.

  I began to lie down and a soft but firm hand grabbed me.

  “What are you doing? Are you so tired?” Moon Flower teased me.

  “Me? I thought you were tired from the days…” My voice trailed off as she pulled her buckskin top off revealing her large perfectly shaped breasts.

  “Are you still talking?” She responded grinning at me coyly with her bright green eyes.

  I growled and grabbed her close kissing her passionately as I pulled her to the fur covered ground. I’d show her who was tired.

  A few hours later… ok, about half an hour later we were lying there covered in sweat. Moon Flower was laying on her stomach her pert ass sticking out towards me as she snored softly. I smiled at the sleeping woman. Gods she was amazing. Sweat covered both of us and she shivered slightly in her sleep. I covered her with a fur and kissed her lightly on the cheek. She smiled slightly and rolled over. I pulled the fur closer not waking from her slumber.

  I quietly wrapped another fur around me and then left our yurt. Standing outside I breathed in the cool night air and enjoyed the sounds of nature. After I’d had my fill, a few minutes I went back inside and curled up next to Moon Flower. I had a shit ton of work to do tomorrow and had a feeling sleep was soon going to become a commodity.

  We awoke with the dawn and ate a communal breakfast. The fact that the whole tribe woke up at dawn really helped with planning to begin the day. After eating I took Walking Coyote over to the wood area and showed him how I wanted the trees cut. Basically we were shaving off the limbs and bark. He caught on quick and I told him to collect more full trees and prepare them like this.

  I left him to take care of his people and went over to Dusk and Dawn. After the other day the Dusk had gone back to being quiet and I still hadn’t heard his sister talk. I explained to them that I wanted them to continue their food collection task but to have everyone back by noon for their new tasks. The pair nodded and headed out. I gathered the elites grabbed my bow and quiver from Winston and took off. I figured I’d run with everyone since I was the only one with a horse. He didn’t seem to mind as he just continued munching grass. Freak did join us and ranged ahead of our little group.

  We took off at a run and I had my map and Danger Sense on. Hawk and I chatted and he assured me that there were no more gardens of the gods anywhere. Most of the places were within a half mile to a mile, at least the most convenient ones were. When we reached each point everyone became familiar with the area and we moved on. The pace went quick as we were all in great shape and my tribesmen all knew the areas once we went there. We returned to the first spot and I showed them how to use a pickaxe. Everyone caught on quickly. The Chief took charge from there and with a kiss to Moon Flower I left.

  All of this had only taken a few hours so it was still morning when I got back to The Springs and began my crafting. The forge stoked easily and I had burning fire going shortly. I had a few hours till noon so I began with my first and most mundane task. I made some nail moulds and began churning out a plethora of those. When I had a couple hundred I moved on to my next multifunctional and more fun item. I had decided to make everyone a hammer slash axe to replace their hatchets.

  It would be similar to their previous weapon and it would be useable as either a slashing or bashing weapon. It was also useful as a tool so double bonus. These would take the majority of today since I planned on giving everyone in the tribe one. I got
to work making the moulds and started the process.

  TRACK 36 – COMMON PEOPLE – PULP

  A little while later I poured my MP into it and a loud crack and flash of light then I examined the new weapon.

  FIERY HATCHET

  WEAPON TYPE – Hand Axe

  DURABILITY – 100/100

  CLASS – Unique

  UPGRADES – Burning Blade, Fire Resistance

  WEIGHT – 3 lbs

  DIMENSIONS – 1” by 1” by 12” handle 6” by 1” by 3” head.

  The Fiery Hatchet is infused with fire magic. Imbued with an internal Magical Power, this weapon has enough charge for the blade to burn for ten minutes. The ability will charge every thirty minutes unless wielder has MP. If wielder has MP the weapon will use their MP to charge for attacks. This damage stacks with other abilities and weapons.

  I fell to my knees as my MP drained completely. I took deep breathes while I waiting for my MP to recover. Note to self fully draining MP makes you weak. Of course Dusk and Dawn arrived just then and I noticed it was high noon if the glaring sun was any indication. The twins looked at me with dual expressions. The look said what the hell are you doing on your knees? I had gained more MP so stood up hefting the hatchet as I did so. This drew the pair’s eyes and I saw them light up as they stared at the newly created weapon.

  “Oh you like this do you?” I teased brandishing the little axe. “Don’t worry I’ll get you each one soon enough.”

  They both looked up at me expectantly, kids are kids and toys are toys after all, I grabbed the nails. Then I gestured and strode off towards my next day’s goal the twins following close behind.

  I took us to the resource gathering area and headed straight for the trees that I had Walking Coyote and his crew stripping and cleaning. I nodded in satisfaction as I walked up to the old man. He had half the trees from yesterday already done and that was with only half his crew the other half were out gathering more resources. I really lucked out on the manager card.