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  “Do you remember your time before coming in here?” I asked, still confused.

  “No, Sarah. I remember being with you and then you went away and left me on my own.”

  “Again, that wasn’t my fault.” I heard singing in the distance. “Come on, I want to introduce you to the rest of my village. We can talk about our next steps later tonight.”

  Charlotte followed me into the clearing. All my tribe members stood, gasping and pointing. Kron walked over, holding the best spear we owned.

  “What are you doing, my daughter?” he asked. “Why bring this monstrosity to us?”

  “I’m not a monster,” Charlotte insisted.

  “Everyone calm down,” I said, stepping forward. “We can talk this out.”

  “Never!” my father yelled. “Attack!”

  He and the other hunters in the tribe all ran toward Charlotte. She turned and shot a web, stopping two of them. The third delivered a blow to her black and red body.

  “Noooooo!” Charlotte screamed.

  “Stop attacking her,” I said, flying through game menus.

  How do I stop them from attacking each other? As I tried to figure it out, Charlotte ran toward Kron while he lay on the ground. I noticed new game menus for my character, but I didn’t have time to figure any of them out, so I ran forward.

  “Stop fighting!” I shouted.

  Charlotte bit into the chief’s head, killing him instantly.

  You become Chief (Level 1)

  You now have 10 Action Points

  “Nooo....” I said, ignoring the status message as I reached his side.

  I dropped to my knees beside him then looked up at Charlotte.

  “What did you do?” I demanded.

  I hadn’t known the man that long, and he wasn’t my real father, but his death was cruel and unnecessary. Charlotte took a few steps back. The other hunters stayed away, spears raised just in case the spider made a move. I got to my feet, still hoping to defuse the situation.

  “We can work this out,” I said.

  “No!” Charlotte screamed. “You left me, and you’re trying to lie to me again. I’m not your plaything! Maybe I should kill you too!”

  You have been forcibly removed from the party with Charlotte.

  [PC] Charlotte has a blood oath on you.

  “Attack the spider!” I shouted then bent to pick Kron’s spear.

  The other two hunters moved forward. Charlotte hissed then leaped over them and scurried away. Amazed at her abilities, I paused, not knowing what to do. Both hunters turned to me, looking for direction. A half-dozen game notifications piled up as I tried to catch my breath. What just happened? Did the game not want us together for some reason?

  “Everyone in the central hut,” I said, wondering if they would accept me as chief.

  After everyone huddled into the semi-dark interior of our main, central hut, I sat in my father’s spot. Some of the women whispered amongst themselves as I thought about what I wanted to say before beginning. I cleared my throat.

  “This has been a crazy and sad day. After burying my father, I’ll be assuming his place as chief of the tribe.” I glanced at their faces, looking for anyone who didn’t like the idea and was brave enough to show it externally. “This is a sad day, but it’s also a new beginning for our tribe. In honor of all my father did for us during his twenty-year reign, I hereby declare the name of our village Kron. His name will be remembered for all time.”

  “Long live Piper!” the villages cheered in unison.

  I pursed my lips together, trying not to smile as I realized I had a lot of work ahead of me. Teaching them and growing my village would take a lot of work, but it would be worth it. I wasn’t sure what had happened with Charlotte, but I’d become a player again thanks to her. As long as she stayed on her side of the island with the others, we’d be fine. They would likely attack, so I needed to get palisades up around our entire village.

  “Quiet down,” I said, raising my left hand. “The work begins right now. We bury my father first, but after that we’re working to make our village the best ever.”

  “Kron Village, Kron Village!” they shouted.

  I stood, raising a hand to get their attention.

  “We’ve got work to do…”

  They followed me back into the clearing where we buried my father.

  * * * * *

  Several hours later, I sat in my personal hut and called up my normal character stats for the first time since becoming a PC again.

  > Stats

  Name: Piper Daughter of Kron

  Race: Human

  Class: Valkyrie Skyrider

  Level: 1

  XP: -100 (4,000 for next level)

  Alignment: +5 (On the Right Path)

  HEALTH: 36 (36)

  MAGIC: 45 (45)

  Strength: 72 (+10%)

  Dexterity: 96 (+35%)

  Constitution: 72 (+10% / +2 health per level)

  Intelligence: 97 (+35% / +10 magic points per level)

  Wisdom: 73 (+10%)

  Charisma: 74 (+1%)

  Four thousand xp for second level? That’s even more than a mage. I guess this class levels slower than everything else. Figures. Stupid gamemaster. I also have more health and magic points which is nice. Maybe leveling slow won’t be so bad.

  I went over my basic skills and spells too.

  > Stats skills

  Your Current Skills

  Dodge – Basic Level 2 of 10

  Monster Lore (Jungle) – Basic Level 5 of 10

  Weapon Craft – Spear- Basic Level 2 of 10

  Climbing – Basic Level 5 of 10

  Stealth - Basic Level 2 of 10

  Create Spell - Basic Level 1 of 10

  Spellcasting: Basic Level 1 of 10

  Language: Common

  Create Rune: Basic Level 1 of 10

  Everything except Create Rune made sense to me, so I looked up that skill.

  > Skills Create Rune

  Create Rune: By carving a rune into a weapon or item, you can embed that item with certain magical properties based on the spells you know. More information will be given as you use this skill by creating a rune.

  > Stats spells

  Level One Skyrider Spells

  Golden Bolt (6mp per bolt) - You can cast up to your level plus one Golden Bolts at a time. Each bolt of golden energy does 1d6 damage.

  Note: On reaching level 2 Valkyrie Skyrider, you will begin designing your own spells with components of other spells.

  The Golden Bolt spell cost more than it did when I was a mage, but it also did more damage. Even better, I loved that I’d be able to create my own spells starting on second level. Would I get decent experience points from killing creatures in the jungle? Or, what about a war with the neighboring tribe. Killing Charlotte might mean a ton of xp. Could I kill her?

  I thought about my situation. She’d killed my in-game father which wasn’t too bad in some ways. At the same time, she scared me. How had my old familiar become a player character? Had she been a PC the whole time? The Tower of Gates still held so many secrets and mysteries. I’d give her another chance, maybe, but if she attacked me, I wouldn’t hesitate to kill her.

  A commotion outside my hut caught my attention. I climbed off my basic cot and walked through the open doorway. Jackson the tool smith and Leonard, a gatherer, stood just outside. Both men stopped arguing and turned to me with their heads bowed as I walked out.

  “What’s going on out here?” I asked in a slightly irritated voice.

  “It’s Chris and Kojack,” Jackson said. “You left them behind.”

  He was right, but I couldn’t appear weak in front of them.

  “Everything happens for a reason,” I said. “Anything else?”

  “Yeah,” Leonard said. “I want to be a hunter now that they’re gone.”

  “Are we that low on salted meat already?”

  “No,” he admitted.

  “I need you gathering resources fu
ll time. We need to put up a wall around the village for protection. They’re coming to attack soon. I’ll take someone with me to go negotiate for them tomorrow. Until then, you two need to keep watch and make sure we’re not ambushed. You got it?”

  Both nodded then turned and walked away. I sighed then went back into my small hut. The jungle noises outside lulled me to sleep. I fought the urge as I went through my daily action points for the village building part of my experience. Twenty years seemed like an eternity, but I didn’t want to dwell on what I couldn’t change. I listed everyone in my tribe.

  List All Villagers (11 adults + 6 children)

  You - Chief (Level 1) / Valkyrie Skyrider (Level 1)

  Chris - Hunter (Level 2) (CAPTURED)

  Kojack - Hunter (Level 2) (CAPTURED)

  Leonard - Gatherer (Level 1)

  Jackson - Tool Smith (Level 1)

  Jericho - Shaman (Level 1)

  Augusta - Seamstress (Level 1)

  Maria - Cook (Level 1)

  Addison - Seamstress (Level 1)

  Karen - Mother (Level 1)

  Jayon - Mother (Level 1)

  What could I possibly do with only eleven people? An idea hit me. I rushed out of my hut then walked over to the communal one.

  “Augusta, come here,” I said, motioning with my hand.

  She looked up from her sleeping spot.

  “We need to talk.” I motioned her over. “Don’t worry.”

  I waited for her to stand and walk over.

  “What is it?” she asked in a soft voice.

  “Let’s go over there so we don’t wake the others,” I said.

  She followed as I walked to the edge of the clearing. When I saw Jackson and Leonard standing on the opposite side, bunched together, I sighed. They weren’t trained to keep guard at night.

  “What is it?” Augusta asked. “Everything okay?”

  “It could be better, but I need a favor from you.”

  “Anything,” she said. “We’re friends for life.”

  “I need you to go to the other island and find help.”

  “Help?” she asked.

  I nodded and said, “Try to find someone willing to join our tribe.”

  She smiled, bouncing up and down excitedly.

  “Get some sleep, but I want you to leave first thing in the morning, before the others wake up. I’m not sure how they’ll take new people joining our tribe.”

  “They’ll be okay with it,” Augusta said, not convincing me. “You’re our new chief.”

  I smiled, loving the sense of power.

  “Do you have any questions about your mission?” I asked.

  “No,” Augusta replied, shaking her head.

  “Good,” I said. “Don’t tell anyone what you’re doing if they ask.”

  “Not a problem,” Augusta said.

  “Have a good night.”

  “You too, Piper. Thank you.”

  As she wandered back to the communal hut, I returned to mine. Sending her off into the unknown might backfire on me, but I needed to increase the size of our tribe. Every time I’d tried to use the Increase Tribe feature, the game told me I didn’t have the required fifty action points. By the time Augusta returned with more people, I’d have enough AP saved up to add them, at least I hoped so.

  This is going to get interesting. A swirl of ideas and information went through my mind as I lay on my cot and stared up at the thatched ceiling.

  Charlotte will listen to reason, I told myself. I’ll go talk to her tomorrow, and everything will be fine. Her killing my in-game father might work out for the best as macabre as it sounded.

  Sleep eventually overtook me, my dreams filled with village building goodness.

  Chapter 4

  Building Up a Kingdom

  Sarah

  The next morning, I woke at sunrise to the sound of singing. My villagers. I smiled as I sat up, stretched, and yawned. I then walked outside to check on the others. Maria and Karen sat on the ground next to a large fire near the communal hut. The latter had three small children hanging onto her with three tweens skulking nearby.

  I smiled and waved as I approached them. Maria stopped peeling tubers and stared up at me, a look of concern on her face. Karen kept her head down, concentrating on taking care of all the young children. I stopped next to them, looking down and no longer smiling.

  “Everything okay?” I asked.

  “It’s Augusta,” Maria said. “She’s missing. We think she took off this morning.”

  “She’ll be fine,” I said in a reassuring tone. “How are you on supplies?”

  “Good for now,” she said. “Why?”

  “I’m not sure if we’ll get Chris and Kojack back,” I said. “They’re our main hunters right now. If you can hold off a few days, we really need to build a barrier around the village.”

  “That’s such a good idea,” Karen said, rocking a baby in her arms.

  I smiled to reassure them some more.

  “We’ll be okay,” I said. “This is an exciting time for Kron Village.”

  Both burst into tears at the mention of my in-game father, the old chief. I left them to their grief and wandered over to the growing resource pile. Being a bit lazy, I pulled up the information with the game menu rather than counting it all by hand.

  Tree Trunk (x84)

  Palm Frond (x42)

  Tree Sap (x12)

  Vine - 100’

  Stone (x140)

  Medium Rock (x22)

  Large Rock (x1)

  Iron Tool (x5)

  Stone Tool (x12)

  Ugh. Not much to work with, but it’ll have to do. The first order of business is getting the palisades up around the clearing. I used two action points to change Jackson and Leonard into builders then ordered them to begin construction on the palisades. Then I used another AP to have Jericho, our shaman, train for second level. I needed another spellcaster.

  After finishing those basic tasks, I realized nobody was available to go with me to Cocoa Village on the other side of the island. Maybe going alone will be better. I grabbed my spear then went to tell Maria I would be gone a while. She did great as a cook, but she also worked well as a communicator because everyone eventually came to her for food.

  Why not have her give out news too?

  “Thank you,” I said, smiling down at her.

  She stirred the iron pot hanging over the fire.

  “No problem, Chief.”

  “Call me Piper.”

  Her smile widened. I raised a hand in farewell then turned and went into the jungle on my own. Having one of the others with me would’ve been nice, but constructing some defenses was a much bigger priority. I would have to handle negotiating with Charlotte and the other tribe on my own. After the death of our chief, I hoped to make peace with them.

  Even if we didn’t work together, I didn’t want to waste precious resources or time on a war. It wasn’t that I was scared. Charlotte had no chance against me in a one on one battle. I could outsmart her with my eyes closed. She didn’t have a chance. If I convinced her of that fact, I might be able to avoid war and create a lasting peace between the tribes.

  My spirits lifted a little as I walked through the dense jungle alive with amazing sounds, smells, and sights. Everything will work out, I told myself. Charlotte will come to her senses and work with me. Having her around will make the next twenty years easier. I continued down the jungle path, thinking of a good way to convince my old companion to work with me.

  When I reached the clearing on the north side of the island and saw the imposing walls of Cocoa Village, I stopped. The gate opened briefly, and three men with spears came out. I held mine and my side as we stared at each other. One of the men stepped forward, the sharp tip of his spear pointed at me. I stood still and remained calm.

  “That’s close enough,” I said, but he kept coming forward. I sighed then cast Golden Bolts with twelve magic points.

  Your Golden Bolts INJURE the hunter fo
r 11 damage.

  You have [33/45] mana remaining.

  The hunter is DEAD!

  You get +50 xp

  You have -50 xp

  You need 4,050 xp for level 2 Valkyrie Skyrider.

  The other two hunters turned and pounded on the gate until it opened. I watched them slip inside, wondering if Charlotte would ever make an appearance.

  “Chris? Kojack? Are you in there?” I called out.

  “Leave us alone, or you’ll pay!” someone shouted from the other side.

  “I don’t want to kill anybody, but I’m not leaving without my villagers.”

  The gate swung open again. I raised my hands, ready to cast, as Charlotte stepped out.

  “Why did you kill him?” she asked. “He was my hunter.”

  Did she have the same village building commands as I did?

  “He came at me,” I said. “Can I have my two hunters?”

  “Maybe I ate them,” Charlotte said in a sly voice.

  She had changed so much since the last time I’d seen her.

  “I’ll leave you alone if you give me back my hunters,” I said. “We can have a truce.”

  Charlotte laughed as she stepped to the side.

  “Bring them out!” she yelled.

  Six armed men brought Chris and Kojack through the gateway.

  “I brought them out to let you watch me eat them,” Charlotte said.

  “No!” I screamed then used shot off two more Golden Bolts.

  Your Golden Bolts GRAZE [PC] Charlotte for 3 damage.

  You have [21/45] mana remaining.

  Alignment Penalty!

  - 25 alignment

  Attacking another player is not recommended.

  “Ugh,” I groaned.

  The stupid spider I’d once thought of as a friend laughed bitterly.

  “You can’t kill me,” she said. “Watch this!”

  She chanted some words then danced back and forth. A glowing energy web shot out from the top of her head. It landed on me, draining all my remaining mana for the day. How high of a level is she? I wondered as I raised my spear.