In minutes, the crew was armed and armored, and ready for battle. All four swivel guns were manned as the Enterprise sailed slowly forward towards the river fortress. The mood was tense, so tense you could cut it with a knife.
“Captain, I recognize the style of the fort, it’s Viking.” Billy said.
“Viking? Are you sure?” I asked.
“Aye, I’d recognize the style anywhere, Patty and I spend a couple years learning to fight and sail with the fucking arseholes. We signed up with a Danish mercenary company in our wild youth, assaulted many of these fucking forts over fjords and shit.” He replied.
“Aye Captain.” Patty called over. “Definitely Viking, fucking cock gobblers.”
“Ok, I agree with you, it’s Viking, what the fuck is it doing here?” I asked.
“Maybe you should ask them.” Billy said, pointing to the center of the fort.
We were within a hundred yards now and closing. In the middle of the fort was a group of armed and ready warriors. Not only there, but all along the wall I saw warriors pop up, at least fifty of them, each holding bows and aiming them our way.
“Let’s keep our cool, no one fire unless they fire upon us.” I commanded, as we drifted closer, luckily, the current was slowed by the structure and we were only going a knot or two at most.
I studied the center group. They looked to be the leaders, I could tell because they looked a bit bigger than the rest, a few inches taller, and were a bit more ornately dressed. The warriors along the wall all looked to be dressed like The People, with small differences, the bows were a bit different, and they died their hides in more blues and greens.
Their hair was decorated the same in plaits, and with feathers and other things braided in and they were all about the same height as my people. The one’s in the middle however, all of them were taller than the average, at least six feet and an inch or so, except for one of them, who was bigger than all the rest. They were also armed differently, round wooden shields and long swords hung from their hips. Even their hides were covered with some type of metal scaled armor.
The tallest one in the center even sported a decent medium length beard. Shortly, we were in speaking range, the current slowed to a trickle and the Enterprise’s forward momentum slowed to a crawl, only fifty feet from the fort.
“That is quite the canoe you have there. I have never seen its like.” The big man with the beard called out, as my Babel Fish skill translated in real time.
“Thank you, that is quite the fort you have built.” I replied. “I am War Shaman Lawrence, Lawrence Wrath of The People. Who do I have the pleasure of speaking with?”
“I am Arun of the Ojibwe, my people call me the Laughing Mountain but you may call me Arun. I am the War Leader of the Ojibwe, and I have been waiting for you War Shaman Lawrence Lawrence Wrath. Come, dock your canoe and enjoy rest, we have much to discuss.” Arun said.
“Thank you, Arun. Call me Law. We except your offer of hospitality.” I replied.
That was easy, I thought just as the Enterprise came into docking range.
TRACK 35 – BACK TO YOU (ANKI REMIX) – SELENA GOMEZ, ANKI
MOON FLOWER
The next day was quiet began before the crack of dawn. It started as a whirlwind, morphed into tornado, then ended in a hurricane. It was all a morass, of cleaning, moving, building, ordering, yelling, training, wash, rinse, and repeat. I fell asleep at I don’t know what time, exhausted mentally and physically.
Awaking the following day, I crawled out of bed after a dreamless sleep and stepped out of my yurt. The whole village was already hustling and bustling. I nodded to old men and women, and boys and girls running here and there, in the frigid early hours of the morning. Riders walked by, some carrying hunted game, nodding and saying good morning, on their way to the cooking area, while others headed to the walls to continue their work on them.
I headed to the horse corral and said good morning to Winston, there were only about half the horses here, as scouts had been out since the previous day. Winston whinnied, and bumped me with his head as I patted and stroked his mane. I looked around the wooden corral and the other horses, then I noticed it. All the horses looked fat. Like, they had all eaten half their weight. Winston whinnied, and I looked at him, he looked proud.
“Are they pregnant?” I asked my War Horse.
He whinnied and hopped in response like a giddy child, holy shit, the horses were all pregnant. How was that possible? Did horses show so fast? It hadn’t even been two weeks. I shook my head, I’d think about this later.
“Take care of your harem Winston.” I joked, shaking my head as I headed to my next destination, the bathroom.
The Crow’s Nest was setup like The Springs, with minor differences, there wasn’t any waterways and no forest around us, but the yurts, the cook area, the waste area, all were in the expected areas. After my morning ablutions, I headed to the wash area, an area with carved out wooden tubs filled with water from their underground springs. Cleaned and refreshed, I headed to breakfast, already starving.
I sat down around the fire and greeted my fellows. Dancing Lion, my sisters, and surprisingly Stone Fox, who had been sent back to The Springs, were sitting around and eating an excellent smelling bowl of something meaty. A portion was handed to me and I focused on the food, practically inhaling it until it was gone. After a slight burp, I sighed in satisfaction, then turned my attention to Stone Fox, who was chomping at the bit to talk to me.
“You are back so soon? How did it go?” I asked.
“It went well First Rider.” She replied, practically giddy.
I looked at her quizzically, motioning for her to continue.
“The ride back went smooth, we were careful and kept on guard the whole time. We overnighted at the fort we were first attacked at by the Nirumbee.” She started.
I gave her a raised eyebrow
“After we scouted it out heavily and determined it was safe.” She said hurriedly. “It was the most secure and defendable place for miles around, anyway, we found no evidence of Nirumbee left, even the dead were gone, except for blood. As a matter of fact, there were no signs of Nirumbee our whole trip. I think we killed them all. The night passed without incident, even though none of us could sleep. We were up and moving before dawn and we made it to The Springs that day. Walking Coyote met us when we arrived, and we told him of what had transpired. He listened and then made us eat and rest. A few hours later he called us to him and had loaded all our horses with hundreds of arrows, and as many weapons as we could carry. The smiths that the War Shaman has working there are churning out weapons, armor, tools, and other things day and night.”
“That is excellent news.” I said.
“That’s not all. They have a stone road built from The Springs to the Fortress of Earth already, and now Walking Coyote is sending the road builders north to connect with us here. He is sending guards and workers, with even more tools and such. They should be here within the week.” Stone Fox finished.
“This is amazing. Well done Stone Fox.” I said. “This will make things much easier. Oh, by the way, did you all notice that all the horses in the corral are pregnant.”
“What? Really?” Ice Blossom asked.
“Wait, aren’t all our horse’s female, did Winston knock them all up?” Dancing Lion asked.
“Oh no, I thought Tiny Dancer was getting fat.” Dancing Lion said.
“Yeah, it’s only been two weeks but Shakaru did say she had a present for us. This must be it. It makes sense, if we are to grow the Rider’s we will need more horses.” I said.
“Fuck me…” Stone Fox said, shaking her head incredulously.
We were all quiet for a moment, while they digested the new information.
“Well, you know what this means. We can’t take the horses out until the babies are born, we don’t want to risk them.” Dancing Lion said.
A round of nods agreed with her.
“That’s right, so I have worked out our plans until t
hat happens. The walls are done and are fortified well. When the road is connected to here, we will have even more workers. Then when the Crow are trained, we will have more warriors, and when the horses have their babies, we will have more Riders. We need to split up our talents. Dancing Lion, you will handle training the warriors under Soaring Sparrow, make them into Riders.” I said.
“Yes, Moon Flower.” She said, nodding in acquiescence.
“Ice Blossom, you and Night Star take half the Riders and go to our fort from the first night, I want you to wait for the builders to come, while reinforcing the fort. It will become a stop on the way here, to Crow’s Nest. Bring Striding Squirrel and her cohort with you, I want her to meet Walking Coyote.” I explained.
“Yes sister.” Ice Blossom replied.
“Sure thing, sis.” Night Star said.
“Stone Fox take the rest of the Riders and train the rest of the Crow in fighting, I want them at least as competent as our people at home. You are also in charge of watching the horses. I want to know the second they go into labor.” I finished.
“Yes, First Rider, but what about scouting?” She asked.
“Winston and I will handle that. He isn’t pregnant, so there is no danger to him. We will go out at dawn and return at intervals throughout the day. It will be rough, but it serves him right for getting to have sex with all the mares and knocking them all up.” I joked.
We all laughed at that then broke up into our separate tasks. I headed back to my yurt and geared up, then went back out to the corral and Winston. He was strutting around like he was king ding-a-ling, as my fiancé says.
“Ok, big boy, yeah you are hot stuff, get over here and let’s get going.” I said.
Winston whinnied and trotted over. I saddled him up and then loaded my gear and mounted him.
“Let’s go pal.” I said, squeezing my thighs, he whinnied and began trotting towards the gate.
I waved and said good morning on our way out, I told the gate guards I’d be back in a few hours and once we were out, I coaxed Winston into a gallop, he didn’t need much. In seconds we were flying down the hill and across the plains. The sun was rising, and it helped burn away the chill of the morning air, I hardly noticed it as we flew across the ground, joy filling me with each step. Riding a horse is one of the greatest pleasures I have ever had, and the feeling of power and freedom is one that is hard to match.
After a while, we slowed our pace to a trot and then paused by a small stream running across the prairie. I glanced around at the empty plains, and the dotting of hills in the distance, turning in my seat I looked back and saw Crow’s Nest far in the distance. Winston had his fill and we began our patrol. I had marked a route out on my map and pulled it up to track our position.
I started a mile out from Crow’s Nest and began a slow circle around it. I would extend my circle slowly as I went, and before noon I’d head back. The Crow had pretty land, not as breathtaking as the mountains where I grew up, but beautiful in its own ways. A few hours went by and I came across a small stream, that looked like it headed towards the Crow’s Nest. I let Winston drink and decided to follow the stream for a bit. I had wondered where the water at the Crow home came from, this might be it.
We followed the water back towards the village and right where the Crow’s Nest’s hill and plains met, was a cave. I don’t know how we missed it the first day, maybe the Nirumbee and being tired had something to do with it, but we had. I stopped at the cave entrance and dismounted, patting Winston on the nose and letting him drink and eat for a moment while I studied the entrance.
Now that I was looking, I could see how we had missed the cave. The stream was only a few feet wide and only a few inches deep. The cave’s entrance was small, only a few inches taller then me and maybe half again as wide, but it was recessed in the hillside, so it almost had a natural camouflage that could only be seen from this side.
The prudent side of me said I should go let my fellows know where I was, but I didn’t sense any danger, and I was curious.
“Winston, wait here.” I said, he whinnied in response as I headed into the cave mouth.
Once I was dozen feet inside it became dark, so I pulled my saber from its sheath and activated my Flame skill with a thought. The cave lit up as my orange-red fire burned away the darkness. The cave tunnel was as small as the entrance, and I made my way gingerly along, following the water. After a few minutes of walking, I saw that the cave tunnel opened into a huge cavern. I entered the cavern and my breath caught in my throat. As the light shined and reflected off every wall, nook, and cranny of the cave, glittering in all directions, I stood in awe.
First of all, the cavern was large, thirty feet high and fifty feet across, the water ended in a lake that stretched to each corner of the cavern. Then, there were the stones and metals. Diamonds, sapphires, emeralds, rubies, and more studded the walls, along with veins of gold, silver, and bronze. All the material we needed for smithing, and treasure for trading was here, twice, if not three times the amount that was at The Springs and the Fortress of Earth.
In the center of the cavern was a huge stone megalith, much like the one that was at the Fortress of the Earth, but smaller, and sitting in the middle of the underground lake. The shock of all the wealth of materials here wore off and I got a hold of myself. I couldn’t believe this existed under the Crow’s Nest. How did they not know about it? I walked to the water’s edge and kept up my examination, and in the water, I saw large stones just an inch under the surface, they looked like steps. Upon closer inspection I realized they were and that they led to the island.
Carefully, and with all my senses on alert, I stepped out onto the first submerged step and waited for a moment. When nothing happened, I breathed again, then took another step, and then another. Silence, except for the lapping of water, and the piddling splash of my steps, reigned in the cavern as I crossed the submerged pathway. A minute later I took my last step and jumped onto the island with a sigh of relief. I looked at the watery path behind me and the half of a lake I just crossed and could just see the edge of the lake in the darkness. I shook my head and turned back to the megalith, sitting there serenely in the fire light. Taking a deep breath, I stepped forward to examine the megalith and froze in my tracks.
“Hello Moon Flower, I’ve been expecting you.” A deep voice rumbled, sounding from all around me, and in the far corner of the room, two glowing red eyes appeared.
“Oh fuck…” I whispered, as my Danger Sense went crazy.
TRACK 36 – WASTE IT ON ME – STEVE AOKI, BTS
We docked the boat with ease, the current doing most of the work, and secured it with lines. I would have to get it out of the water for repairs when we could but now, I had more important things to tend to. A small wooden stairway led down from the top of the bridge fort, down to the dock. The dock itself extended forty feet out from the structure. Arun’s party had descended the stairs and were waiting for us at the bottom.
“Best behavior everyone, but on you guard.” Billy said softly.
All the crew nodded, we exited the Enterprise and landed on the dock, immediately falling into a loose wedge formation, with myself at the head. All our weapons were sheathed, but we had each grabbed a shield from the boat and had it over our shoulders. I motioned us forward and we walked slowly, but instep to the stairwell entrance, and the giant fort commander.
I was hoping they would be impressed by our marching and I suppressed a grin as they murmured among themselves. With my enhanced hearing, I could just hear their surprise and interest. We stopped lockstep, five feet from the other party, and my crew went into parade rest. I stepped forward and held my hand out to Arun, who up close, I realized was freaking humungous. He was at least seven feet tall and made of solid muscle. No wonder he was called Laughing Mountain. I felt like I was looking at a Native American Andre the Giant.
He looked at my hand, then at me, then back at my hand quizzically. I grinned sheepishly, I forgot that’s not
how natives greeted each other. It had become so common place among my people that I just defaulted to it. To his credit, Arun reached his hand out and grabbed mine in a warrior’s grip, wrist to wrist, and shook it with a strength that matched my own.
“War Shaman Lawrence Lawrence Wrath, it is an honor to meet you. My gods have foretold your coming. Welcome to Ojibwe Ringfort, Nordhiem on the Missouri.”
“My men said this place reminded them of the Viking forts of the old world. How is it that you have one, and how is it you have built it here?” I asked incredulously.
Arun grinned, as we let each other’s wrists go and laughed a full-throated laugh, from deep down in his belly, the kind of laugh that was hard not to like.
“Come, let us go inside and out of the cold. We will eat, drink, and rest. I will tell you all, for you and I have much to discuss.” Arun replied, putting his arm around me and walking us up the stairs.
His men parted as we walked, he made a gesture and they put their weapons away and went over to my crew and began peppering them with questions, while gesturing for them to follow us. I signaled to Billy it was fine and turned my attention back to the big man as we walked up the rickety wooden stairwell. At the top of the stairwell, I saw the rest of his men and women, warriors gathered around and watched us as we approached. We were headed to the middle tower, which was the biggest of the three, and everyone was gathering around us. I counted the number of fighters and realized it was more like a hundred, not fifty. We would have been more than sorely outnumbered in a fight.
Arun called out to the warriors, laughing and joking, they all seemed good natured, as we walked by and entered the tower. The large double doors were opened, and the inside was more a Norse Viking hall, than an Ojibwe wigwam. Furs lined the walls and floors, animal headed trophies decorated the walls, along with spears, axes, swords, and shields. Honestly, I was shocked, this was completely unexpected. All the warriors were dressed in Native clothing, but the elites as I termed them, were armed and armored like Vikings circa 1000 AD.
I Am Gamer II Page 21