Chapter 4

The spectacle of the gates didn’t dim, in fact it got larger, so large that the Band couldn’t control what they had created. Of MeTube’s top 10 most viewed videos, we had 3. I sure hope they clicked on “Generate Revenue” when they posted them...
Governments also kept at us. Fortunately, the fact that I was the person bringing the “samples” out wasn’t confirmed ... yet. The Band had people moving identical coolers full of ice around to various places, and I’d drop in a dead Faun, or Crab. They had originally put them up on EveryBay auction website, but took them down when they couldn’t decide if they could ship them.
In the end, they simply announced that if someone wanted one, they could come pick it up. A university in California wanted to buy them all, offering 10 million dollars. I told the Band leaders that it would be a better idea to sell them 3 of each and sign a contract to deliver a few more every 6 months, for half that, and donate a similar number to the Canadian government for study, in return for some tax “Considerations”. They reminded me that Band members were tax exempt, but they would haggle for greater protections and rights to the portals none the less.
(I heard later that they “accidentally” let slip that only full-blood Indians could bring material out of the Portals, and the cheeky Chief was out to get all the portals declared to be Treaty Native Land)
On a personal level, I signed up for correspondence Highschool equivalent, telling them that I’d been studying hard during my time off (I hadn’t) and only needed a few weeks to review before testing. The books “arrived” digitally and for the next few weeks my downtime was spent scrolling through math and science textbooks as well as writing the occasional essay.
The active part of my life revolved around my little family, and the portals. Every day I tried to take the team into the first portal, and every day I arrived alone, went for a long walk to the exit, grabbing material as per request, on the way. I even found 3 more coloured stones. (They were determined to be forms of sapphire. Many of my team had auctioned theirs off, Quick Fire getting 15k from an online bid from a collector in the UAE. Hammer kicking himself for selling his to me for “Only” 5 silver.
Bent Stick had a theory. He thought that if he worked materials gathered from the Game (as he called it) only with other Game materials or assigned weapons, that we would be able to store or equip them. This proved to be true, and it was a game changer in many, many ways.

The first “new” weapon that I equipped was actually a shield. Short Spear and Bent stick had used a Crab Carapace and some leather from a Faun, tanned with its own brains and urine (Which I thought was pretty gross, but learned was actually a very normal way of treating leather in days gone by). Other tools used were made from stone (Flint) which Bent Stick had me look for and carry out of “The Glades”. Even the hammer stones, and flaking tools used were from the Game or the antler of a Faun. I was impressed and so humbled that they might go so far out of their way for me to have this.

“Guide”, said the Chief, “For the first time in my life, I have seen an active growth the young trying to learn the way of the elders. I have teenagers asking their great grandfathers if they can make a bow and go hunting. I have my own daughters asking my wife if they can learn to tan leather in the old way. If nothing else comes of all this, I will still die a happy man. The history of my people and the skills our grandparents learned through blood sweat and tears, is preserved by a new, interested generation.”

“There will be a ceremony in a few days’ time. We need you there and to participate, but I cannot say more until the correct time” he added.

The Native Huntsmen of the tribe (as they were being called) asked me to join them for another Portal run, there was apparently another pink portal on land that was part of a disputed land claim. The thought was that they could help their claim, get some experience and have some fun all at the same time.

The ceremony was similar, but very, very public. The team and I linked hands and jogged in with new, lighter and smaller backpacks as well as some fabricated tools that they decided to try to carry past the portal.
We arrived in the same “Green Room” and the team searched their packs to see what went through. All the shields did, and two war clubs did also. One with a hardwood head and one with a stone head. Stick handed me the stone one, and I tried to store it, it went in and removed just fine. With it and my shield (which was more like a large buckler) I felt as though I was part of the Game for once.
“Guide” the older Archer called out, interrupting my shadow boxing with my new club. “There is one more thing for you” and he withdrew a large spear, bone tipped at one end, with a stone pommel at the other.
It was unadorned, but carefully made. I inspected it carefully and bent it against the ground to check for springiness and overall strength.
“Which do you prefer?” Asked Stick with a smile. I was immediately on guard, the five of them watching me with smiles. “To be honest, I will probably carry the club and shield.” I answered,
“The spear will be used as appropriate and being able to have one at hand instantly will be a major advantage, but it is so big that I’ll have a hard time carrying it in hand” (How wrong I would prove to be here... )
I saw a frown on Spears’ face as he handed Hammer a piece of silver, Hammer and the rest of them laughing.
“I’m going to come to both of you for training on these, you know that right?” I fired out with a smile of my own.

The group equipped weapons, put our bags on one shoulder, and Shaman performed a blessing on us as we entered the grey gate at the bottom of the stairs.
We emerged in a very dim forest. There were very large trees, whose branches blocked most of the light, interlocking in a large, solid canopy.

Large spider webs were strung in the branches, and between trunks at ground level.
“Don’t move, anybody!” I said at a quieter level than I wanted to. I absolutely hated spiders, and I bet spiders were going to be all around us in minutes. I shuddered.
“Some spiders use webs as sensing lines, they can feel movement and jump out to nab prey. We need to be careful and have our weapons out since we don’t know if they are in the ground, on the ground, or in the trees or a mixture of all three”. And contrary to my earlier declarations, I stored both the shield and the club and equipped the spear. It took less than a second, pleasing me to no end.
The team took a defensive position with Stick on the bags again (for better visibility and firing arc) and I noticed that his quiver was full, some wood arrows mixed in with his black ones (I had found two of his lost “Game” ones during my walks in the cleared portal, but resisted the urge to sell them back to the guy, giving them to him when I saw him next at one of the events held for us locally.)

We stood silently for a minute or more, my guts clenching with a feeling like I had to pee, even though I knew I didn’t. “Ready?” I asked an after a moment I reached out with my spear and flicked the edge of one of the webs on the ground.
Immediately, something large and black lunged out of a hole I hadn’t seen at the base of a tree where a large root was partially exposed. I was bringing my spear back to a guard position, as a Spider the size of a Labrador leapt at me. Time seemed to slow for a second. I estimated the time it would take to get the point back around to the beast, and I could see that it wasn’t going to make it. I changed tactics and brought the shaft of the spear across horizontally, putting me in a blocking position.
“Help...” I issued out more calmly than I felt, as the spider hit my spear. It weighed a lot less than I thought it would. It was maybe 14 lbs or so. Fire had her staff in its maw in a flash and shot out a fireball, incinerating its head instantly. The body dropped and twitched. I nearly did the same as my revulsion for spiders reared bile in the back of my throat.

“I think that one counts as yours” I said to Fire once I got my gag reflex under control, and checked to see if I’d actually peed myself or not. Fortunately, the answer was “not” ... I could have sworn I had...

“If I’m correct, that was the first thing you killed with a fireball, by yourself...” I couldn’t see it, but I knew she was grinning.
“Guard” I called out, and the group snapped back to watching the approaches to our group. We still got distracted when we should have been keeping watch.
The twitching spider had stopped and Fire reached down to pull her silver from it.
“Oh! She said startled, “I got something else, not silver...”
“Check it in the Green Room ... Stick, see anything?” I asked.
“I believe I see another, it’s about 30 yards off. I saw a glint in what I think is an eye when Fire lit up the other spider. It isn’t moving.”
“Do you want to try a shot?” I asked, knowing full well that he loved doing this kind of thing. Besides Fire, he might be the most bloodthirsty of the team.
“Does it have any armour?” He asked, knocking an arrow.
I glanced at the body a few yards from my feet and poked at it with my spear to gauge its squishiness. “Nothing I can see, maybe a bit of a harder plate on its back.” I called back, eyes peering into the gloomy woods.
Twang went the bow, followed by a meaty thud (yum ... spider meat O_o). A light hiss came from behind me, in the direction of Sticks arrow.
“Stone tipped, wood arrow seems to have penetrated it” he said to us.

We waited another minute “Ok, I said. That’s two on the forest floor. Anything in the branches?”
Apparently Fire looked up to find two spiders sliding silently down on us from above, instead of warning us, she just lit into them herself with two fireballs. One died right away, the other one was injured, angry and partly on fire as it fell on our healer. To Fires credit though, she smashed it off of Woman quickly, and held it down with her staff as Short Spear stuck it a few times. The dead one fell convulsing between Hammer and I, and he lost his cool, smashing the beast over and over with the stone head. “I really hate spiders “ was all he said between gasps. Fire reached over and plucked the silver from it “My kill...”
This was going to become a problem.
“We are a team,” I commented “We stand as a team and we should divide the spoils as a team, anything that makes the Tribe weaker is to be avoided “ I stared at her, trying to put it into terms she might respond to.
“Does everyone here deserve an equal share?” I asked.
“What about all that extra money you’re making selling the carcasses and such” she fires off at me.
“All those went to the Band, they have yet to give me anything besides their thanks and these weapons.”
At least she had the decency to look embarrassed “I was listening to my boyfriend. He was telling me what he’d heard” she said.
“We can discuss later, in the Green Room, any of our issues. Right now we need our heads in the game. Does anyone here believe they’d be better off on their own, right now?”
Silence.
“Good, we are a team, for each other, for the people, and maybe for All the Peoples”

“Now, I am absolutely terrified of spiders” I said without a hint of embarrassment “So I will not be putting one of these into my Inventory for any reason” I lied, they all chuckled, even Hammer. “We have a ways to go to clear this forest though, and these might be the weakest monsters yet, but with the fastest, most dangerous attack. Heads on a swivel, we will be moving towards Spear. Remember, attack from any side or above. Now march!”
We marched, leaving our bags behind.