I Am Gamer II

by Gabriel Rathweg

  A second later I was a few feet away and could see clearly. The Conquistador was on the ground and being pummeled by glowing orange hatchets. The man’s armor was dented and smashed in, he was obviously dead but my Jicarilla warriors, consumed with battle lust, kept smashing away, taking their fear and anger out on the invader. I nodded to myself, moving on to the next dot.

  We had game planned this, I had explained to my people, how the invaders wore armor that would stop their arrows and their knives. Before the technological advantage of the English Longbowmen and the Mongol Horde archers, knights were the be all end all of warfare. During the Middle Ages, armored covered knights and horses were the best, most devastating weapons on the battlefield. Stories abound about cavalry charges, with metal clad knights and horses racing towards their enemies, the ground shaking like an earthquake, and the sound of their hooves striking the earth like rolling thunder, are all throughout historical record.

  (7) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charge_(warfare)

  Due to the overwhelming superiority of the armored knight, weapons and tactics had to be invented to take them down. Swords, which had been the favored weapon of choice in Europe, gave way to hammers, flails, maces, and other weapons that could be used to bash the knights armor in. This was the accepted way of fighting, what was the Medieval equivalent to a tank.

  The second, third, and fourth red dots, had scenes playing out just like the first. By the time I got to the fifth, the cloud had thinned enough that I could see most of the battlefield. Six of the nine horsemen were down and out of commission. I scanned the area for the remaining three, as the enemy foot soldiers closed in on our position, there was a plethora of red dots on my map obscuring my view. I shut my map with a thought and looked around the battle. My fiancé and the other elites had gone ahead and crashed into the foot soldiers, their Fiery Hatchets and Fiery Kukris, chopping weapons in half, and making quick work of the remaining indigenous enemies.

  It was then that I saw them. The three horsemen from our white flag fiasco were running on foot, heading towards the rear of the canyon, and the exit.

  “There!” I yelled, pointing at the fleeing Conquistadors. “No one gets away, take them alive if you can, kill them if you have to.”

  I began sprinting after the fleeing men. They had a big lead and were already almost back to the falconets. I was far ahead of the rest of my warriors and closing in on the men. They were still a hundred yards ahead, but I was eating the distance up quickly and would catch up to them in a few minutes. Then the Sun God stopped at the falconets and while the other two kept running, he yelled something then turned in disgust, and began working on the first one. Oh shit! Seventy-five yards and closing. He had finished loading the cannon and I watched horrified as he aimed it. I wasn’t going to make it in time, then the Sun God fired.

  “Raaarrr!” Freak roared, leaping from his hiding spot and pouncing on the two running men, as the falconet fired.

  Time slowed, as I watched the flame and smoke belch from the mouth of the cannon, and then the iron ball shot out, my new body and mind tracking it as I closed the distance. At the last second, I leapt to the side and dived out of the way of the incoming projectile. The cannonball flew by me so close, the air blew the hair by my face, and so loud, my hearing was knocked out by the concussion. My eyes widened as I fell and turned, watching the iron ball pass me by. The air left my lungs as I hit the ground, it didn’t matter, I kept watching the ball travel, heading towards the warriors behind me.

  The Chief and Chieftess were standing in the path of the projectile, they both turned at my scream and I watched as Running Hawk shoved Shining Eagle out of the way, then the cannonball struck, and the earth exploded. The Chieftess already falling to the side from the Chief pushing her, flew away even faster, as if she was punted by an NFL kicker. Dirt and rocks pelted the area, a gout of earth rose up obscuring my view, but not before I saw the Chief. We locked eyes as the ball hit, and then he was gone.

  “No!” I screamed, but all I heard was silence, my ears deaf to my own screams.

  I jumped to my feat, heart thudding in my chest, the only sound I could hear. The rapid blast of my heartbeat almost overwhelming as I stared at the tableau before me. I felt like I was in a movie, everything was surreal for a moment. Slowly, the sound of my music began to overpower the beating of my heart. The dirt settled softly, the rain and gravity pushing it to the ground. Seconds went by, I saw the Chieftess lying motionless on the ground, fifteen feet from the impact site, along with a dozen Jicarilla fighters.

  Moon Flower and Shadow Bear, along with their siblings rushed over to the downed leaders and warriors. I took a step in that direction, my fiancé looked up, we locked eyes, and her gaze told me everything I needed to know. Go get that motherfucker. I nodded, then spun around taking off at full speed, running as fast as I could. The ground flew by below my feet, and in seconds I was almost at the cannons.

  My mind racing as I took in everything, not slowing my pace as I sped forward.

  Dead enemy warriors littered the ground around the falconets, Freak roared as I approached, his huge paws holding down the pair of Conquistadors that had tried to flee, he had a head under each massive clawed paw. I sent a mental command to hold them down, also to scare the shit out of them too. He complied roaring load enough to deafen anyone, in each man’s face. I recognized them as the two men who had accompanied the third Conquistador, the leader himself, the Sun God. Who I saw running in the distance, along with three of the foot soldiers, one of whom was the interpreter, Montezuma.

  They were fast, but I was faster. Rain began to fall harder now, coming down in hard fat drops, the thunder boomed louder and faster, the lightning strikes brighter and closer, as I sped towards the four fleeing men. A hundred yards and gaining. They were halfway across the next canyon when one looked behind and spotted me. They kept running, but I could see them gesturing and pointing through the heavy rain. Seventy yards and closing, the three natives broke off, stopping and turning to face me, as the Sun God ran on.

  Fifty yards and closing, the three men spread out, facing off with me, hoping to use their numbers to their advantage. Montezuma was in the middle, flanked by two other warriors, each holding obsidian spike clubs and bladed knives. Twenty yards, I didn’t slow my pace, and I saw their eyes widen as I came in full speed. Ten yards and they crouched preparing for my charge, fear palpable in their stances, yet Montezuma stood strong, locking eyes with me, as if prepared for death.

  Five yards, Fire burst from my hands, covering both blades as I activated my skill. In one motion I flipped the blades around in my hands and threw both, flicking my hands out and launching my weapons at the two warriors on the sides of Montezuma. Both blades flew end over end, spinning and shimmering as they traveled in the rain, each one connecting point first into a warrior’s chest, burying themselves to the hilt.

  Montezuma looked incredulously to this left and right, then back to me. One yard, too late, a quick jump and I was in range. I smacked his weapons aside while in flight and my knee took him in the chin, as my leap took me up, and over his guard. I felt, more then saw his head snap back, then he dropped to the ground. Using my momentum, I kept moving upward, then coming down softly just past the downed men. I quickly retrieved my blades and took off on the hunt once again.

  TRACK 10 – TEAR YOU APART – SHE WANTS REVENGE

  The sky was almost completely black now, the clouds so thick and dark, the rain so heavy, that you couldn’t see ten feet in front of your face, only lightning flashing every now and then giving light, still I sprinted forward, gaining every second on the fleeing Sun God. Each moment I gained, the lightning and thunder roared and struck. My mini-map up in the corner of my vision, I spared it scant attention, just making sure the red dot was in my sites.

  I was within fifty feet when a huge blast of lightning struck the canyon wall, lighting the whole canyon for a long moment. The Sun God glanced back and saw me, his eyes going wide and
a snarl appearing on his visage. He stopped running then, turned and faced me, while drawing his shining Spanish long sword.

  The storm kept raging, lightning struck so fast it felt like a strobe light was flashing. I stopped a dozen feet from the man, staring cold in his face, flaming blades sizzling in the rain.

  “Who are you?” The Sun God called out.

  My only answer was silence. My face grim as death as I stalked forward.

  “Answer me stupid barbarian? Do you know who I am? I am the Sun God!” The man shrieked.

  Still, I was quiet, slowly stalking forward.

  “I know who you are. My master, Coronado told me of you. I thought he was lying, trying to scare me into loyalty. He spoke of you a champion among the infidels. He said God himself told him of you. How you are a champion of these barbarians? Where does your power come from?” He said the last, spitting on the ground.

  I stopped, now only six feet separating us

  “My master is blessed by God himself. He is strong, he commands thousands of men! He wields weapons the likes of which you can only imagine! The gifts given to him can only be called magic. You are nothing! Do you hear me? You are nothing!” He shrieked.

  “Either way, you won’t be around to see what happens.” I said, my Babel Fish skill letting me speak fluent Spanish.

  “You speak…” His voice trailed off in shock.

  From behind me, Winston and my fiancé appeared out of the pouring rain. Bow nocked, she stood in the stirrups, a vision, an avenging Valkyrie, come to reap his soul. Her arrow flew from her bow as the pair passed by my side, angling at the Sun God. His eyes and mouth open and his sword went limp, as Moon Flower’s shot took him in the arm, she leapt off Winston, already dropping her bow, and pulling her knife and hatchet.

  I stared as she slammed into the man, the blazing knife slamming into the man’s stomach, puncturing his breast plate, and her weight toppling him down to the ground, with her astride him.

  “You hurt my father.” She said simply, the tomahawk burning in her raised fist. Then she struck, bringing the flat end down on the mans face, over, and over, and over again.

  I let a few moments go by, before walking up and grabbing her still swinging arm. She resisted for a moment. The man was obviously dead. I pulled her to her feet, she let me. Then I took her in a big hug and held her blood covered body close, kissing her tenderly on the head.

  “Come, the tribe needs us.” I said, whispering softly in her ear.

  We mounted Winston, Moon Flower in front, with my arms wrapped around her, and headed back to the battlefield. Only a few minutes had gone by since the cannon blast and us returning. Already though, things were in hand. The storm had begun to abate, and the rain had slowed to a trickle, the clouds were starting to clear.

  Stone Fox had taken control of the remaining Jicarilla warriors, had gathered up the living enemy native warriors, the two Conquistadors, and tied them all up. She had also gathered our dead and wounded. I nodded to her as we rode by, then stopped, dismounting Winston when we reached Moon Flower’s father.

  Thunder Fist and Lightning Foot stood by, giving me a grim nod in the negative as we approached. Night Star and Ice Blossom were already kneeling by their father’s side, as Moon Flower knelt opposite the two, tears leaking from her eyes as she stared at the once proud man. I paused next to the brothers, taking the scene in and giving the girls a modicum of privacy, using the time to look over Chief Running Hawk. Freak came up, bumping into me and I patted him absentmindedly.

  The Chief was in a bad way. His normally tan skin was pale and sweating profusely. His right arm was missing from just below the elbow and both his legs were gone below the knee. He had been in the center of the blast and lacerations laced his body, from top to bottom. What was astonishing was that he was still alive, his breathing coming in short and shallow gasps as he struggled for life, blood dribbling from his mouth as he spoke in whispers to his daughters. All three were bent close, struggling to hear his words.

  A moment later they all sat back, tears and sobs coming from the three beautiful women. Ice Blossom made a gesture to Thunder Fist and Lightning Foot, the pair went closer and bent down so they could hear their father-in-law. After a few moments they stood and faced me, tears streaming down their faces. They stood by their wife’s sides and then Moon Flower motioned for me to come over. I did as she bade and knelt next to her. Her father’s eyes were closed and his breathing so shallow I almost couldn’t tell he was alive.

  “Law… is that you…” He said, almost inaudibly, raising his one arm feebly.

  “Yes…” I whispered, grabbing his hand in both my own.

  “We showed them didn’t we.” He said, his mouth breaking into a small grin.

  “Yeah… yeah we did…” I choked out.

  “Take care… take care of my daughter… my family…” He whispered.

  “I will.” I said firmly.

  He sighed then, his eyes closed, and his breathing began to slow even more.

  “Goodbye… tell Screaming Eagle I love her…” He said, voice trailing off.

  His hand went limp in mine, and his breathing stopped. I set his hand on his chest and Moon Flower sobbing, leaned into me. I place my arms around her and held her tight as she cried. Her sisters doing the same in their husbands embraces. Dancing Lion and Shadow Bear came up, their mother supported in between them. She limped awkwardly, was covered with bruises and cuts, but otherwise no worse for the wear. Her children helped her to Running Hawks side, where she immediately fell to him, sobs racking her tiny body.

  Today, we had been victorious, but not without losses of our own. The plan had gone almost perfectly. We had everything that one would need for a victory. Tactical superiority, surprise, a better position, training, morale, everything was there. I shook my head, going over everything that we did, then thinking of anything we could have done different. My eyes drifted over my crying fiancé and her siblings, the weeping Chieftess, everyone’s eyes were downcast. So many of us were crying, this was not the mood of a winning army. I needed to say something, the Chief would have said something.

  “Listen to me.” I said, clearing my throat and wiping my eyes.

  Quiet followed my statement, the only sound crying and sniffling, but I looked around and all eyes were trained on me. I stood up tall and met everyone’s gaze, trying to impart my emotions with my look before speaking.

  “Today we suffered great losses.” I began somberly. “My own father-in-law, friends, people I consider my family. As Chief Running Hawk once said, we will mourn our dead and they will not be forgotten. But, we will not let their deaths be in vain. If we do that, then they died for nothing, and we dishonor them. We will mourn, we will miss them, but we will fight for them, for their memories. Every death, every loss will be paid back tenfold on these invaders, these enemies of The People. For we are all The People. You are all my people, and we will pay these sons of bitches back.” I finished, hissing the last.

  No one cheered, no one smiled, but the crying stopped. The sadness, while still there, was pushed back, deep down, and in its place was determination and anger. Good, we could do a lot with those emotions.

  TRACK 11 – EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE – THE POLICE

  The trip back to the Jicarilla home was subdued but stoic, and even though it wasn’t far, took longer than it should have. It took awhile to round up the horses, get the prisoners going, and get the dead loaded. Not only that, we had to bring the falconets with us as well, so it was, tired and exhausted, the sun rising for the morning, when we all trooped into the main hall. The Chieftess had been despondent since Running Hawk’s death, as had his daughters. My speech had the positive effect of instilling resolve in my people, so while everyone was sad, at least they were all working hard.

  Cunning Wolf had Stone Fox get rooms for us all to rest in and we did so thankfully. I took my fiancé and retired to get some rest, with agreements to meet again in a few hours. A young girl led us to our
room and I thanked her, closing the door quickly. Moon Flower was already lying on the bed of furs and hides, her breathing slow and steady, fast asleep. I didn’t blame her.

  Not only were we all exhausted from the fighting and planning, she was emotionally exhausted from dealing with her father’s loss. Shit, I was fucking tired too, losing the Chief brought memories of my own dad’s passing. Shaking my head to clear it of its current train of thought, I pulled up my messages. My periphery had been blinking since the battle, I had decided to ignore it. Now that I had some privacy, I decided to check them.

  EXPERIENCE ASSESSED… 503 EXPERIENCE GAINED… 259 EXPERIENCE GAINED BY FIANCE… WESLEY ‘FREAK’ WRATH, 327 EXPERIENCE GAINED… WINSTON ‘TRIUMPH’ WRATH, 272 EXPERIENCE GAINED… WOULD YOU LIKE TO LEVEL UP FAMILIARS… Y/N?

  I selected yes.

  NAME – Wesley ‘Freak’ Wrath – Familiar

  PET CLASS – Battle Tiger – Purple – Legendary

  LEVEL – 3

  EXPERIENCE – 507/2500

  HIT POINTS – 30/30

  WEAPONS – Claws x 4, Bite x 1

  SKILLS – Furry Armored Hide (Level – 1), Furious Roar (Level – 1)

  ARMOR – Natural Hide

  There is one main animal companion to the Jack-of-all-Trades, the Familiar. The class only allows up to three animal companions and the Familiar is the first of the three. By receiving a portion of his master’s experience, the Familiar will level up and gain skills of its own alongside its master. Leveling will increase communication between Familiar and master over longer distances and with greater clarity.

  New screens appeared.