Name's Dakota, Dakota Smith. Perhaps I should take this time while I'm layin' here not doing much more than groaning to introduce myself and explain how I found myself in this mess.

I reckon the story here starts about ten an' twenty or so years ago. When my old Pappy took my Ma and headed west after he done his time serving the losing side of the Alstorian Seperation War, fighting to break away from centuries old royalty running everything. Like a fool, him and his buddies all ran off to contribute to the effort, hoping to come back big war heroes. Only thing he got from serving was a bum leg and a few less friends. For a long while after, he couldn't find himself able to let go of a bottle cept to pick up the next, or so Ma said. Nearly drove them both broke before he finally sobered up long enough to get his head back on straight. Figured his time living in the country that labeled him traitor, even if the Seperation fighters were all 'officially' pardoned, had come to an end. So he packed up their belongings, grabbed the last of their coin, and moved out west to try his luck in the unclaimed Harota Territory.

But this story ain't about my Pappy's restitution, it's about how I now find myself creeping on edge of Death's Door in the middle of God's forsaken no-where. That story, well that story starts just after I left the farm my Pappy started with my Ma when they settled down just outside a little town called Canton.

Having just turned eighteen meant I finally came of age and, being an adult, the Gods unlocked my stats. Awakening they call it. Heard different reasons why but for me I understood the name the moment it happened. I'll never forget the rush as my numbers jumped up all at once, waking me from a dead sleep in the early hours on my birthday and filling me with energy. I Woke up alright, and I was jumping at the bit to get out from under the day-to-day farm life working for my Pappy and seek my own fortune in the world.

Growing up farming put plenty of callouses on my hands, but also gave me Strength from the work I done earning them. Years of plowing the fields, harvesting crops, and taking care of the small herd of Aurtos we kept gave me plenty of natural stats from the daily hard work, as well as the practical skills to go along with them. Heck by the time I unlocked my classes I had passively trained a higher Animal Husbandry than most anyone else in Canton even twice my age thanks to having to deal with the Aurtos.

Large bovines with massive humped shoulders and covered in an extremely dense coat of hair, most folks back East would probably confuse them with Plains Bison if not for the thick bony plates that grow from their brow to their ass end, and a matching pair of long protruding horns and tusks they use for everything from digging up roots to fighting critters. Aurtos are infamous throughout the Harota Territory for their ornery behavior and the fact they will attempt to charge and either headbutt or gore just about anything they feel is a threat, younger bulls especially. Pappy always joked that not even the trees were safe from them. Couple their size being about half again as large as most cattle breeds while being dumb as a box of rocks makes ranching them more of a hassle than most folks would care to deal with.

But my folks stuck with it and by the time I was ready to leave home the herd had grown from their starting five head to near about fifty of the ornery beasts. Every spring new calves would be raised for the fall slaughter, their meat to help see the family through the winter while just about every other part of the animal was used for something. Thick hides made for high quality leather, guts turned into strong cordage. Even the bones were used, boiled down for their nutrient rich marrow. Ma spun the hair into yarn throughout the year and it always did well when we traded it for supplies in Canton.

So there I was, fresh to the world at large and ready to explore it. I didn't think for a second that I knew where I would end up, but I did know I wanted out from under my folk's roof. Ma cried when I told her. My Pappy understood, said he felt the same way when he Woke. Told me to take my time to make sure it's what I wanted and the farm would always be there for me when I decide to come back home. I took a couple of days to pack up my belongings I'd be taking with me and spend some final time with the family. Ma seemed to come to terms with my decision, though it didn't stop her from trying to persuade me out of it. Pappy had a few long talks with me about where I could head and work I could find, best way to get some levels into a Class and make something out of myself.

When the day came for my departure my folks managed to surprise me with some parting gifts. Pappy gave me a few silver he had stashed away for just this occasion to help me while I got my feet the right ways under me, as well as one of the older mares to ride. Ma managed to hand me an Aurtos hair traveler's blanket she made and sizable pack filled with rations before she broke down crying again. She threw her arms around me, just about knocking my hat off and started sobbing into my chest.

I started feeling pretty awkward. Who knows what to tell your parent when they're worried you're fixing to run off and get yourself killed? Eventually Pappy pulled Ma off of me and led her back into the farmhouse. He motioned for me to wait as he stepped inside, pulling the door shut behind him.

While waiting for him to return, I saw to securing my new pack and blanket on the mare. Her name was West, supposedly the way she was facing when she came out. I smiled, plenty of jokes had been had about riding West into town and continuing on east outta town. Pappy had already seen to saddlin' her and fixing her bridle, so I tied the pack behind the saddle and cinched the blanket on top. It didn't take too long and by the time I was done Pappy was coming back from the house. I recognized what he was carrying from a distance, though I'd only ever seen it a handful of times before. Even then I'd only seen him use it twice. Once when a large Aurtos bull broke outta his pen during mating season. The other was when a sneak-thief broke into the house in the middle of the night. The Aurtos took a second shot to put down for good and made my Pappy all sorts of upset we'd had to lose one so early into the season. As for the thief, well, my Pappy handed me a shovel after the first shot and had me help dig a new latrine hole in the woods. Safe to say Canton County now has one less thief in it.

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Pappy stopped just short, taking a good look at me standing next to West. He shook his head and sighed. "Ya know I always knew the day would come, your Ma too. Told her you'd want to spread your wings a bit. She still thinks of you as her baby."

He turned the rifle over in his hands, one of the few momentos of the war he'd kept.

"But you ain't a kid anymore," he continued. "We all know that just as well as the Gods know it. The System gave you your stats, but that means it's not gonna help protect you no more either. You're gonna have to protect yourself out there."

He lifted the rifle, offering it out to me and I took it with both hands. It was heavier than I imagined, at least twice the weight of any of the other guns we owned. We had gone hunting plenty of times, and Pappy had trained me in their use since I was young. Still as awkward as the rifle weighed, it felt good in my hands and throwing it up to my shoulder was comfortable.

"I figured you'd take a liking to it. It's yours now, if you want it." I looked over from taking aim at some distant trees to see Pappy smiling at me, not quite fully reaching his eyes as I could still see some sorrow.

"It's wonderful Pa, thank you," I said, giving him a smile back.

He snorted, rubbing some dust out of his eye with the back of his hand. "Don't thank me until you've fired it. Damned thing kicks like a mule."

From his breast pocket he pulled five large shells, each as thick as my thumb and as long as my palm.

"Out west here most folks call it a buffalo gun since that's about all it's used for. Back home this was called a Shield Breaker. In war Royals would have their mages throwing up barriers and then the enemy would have their mages and artillery batter at it from behind their own barriers. Small group of men armed with these could do the same job with none of the magical talent or training."

He flipped the rifle over in my hands and pulled the lever action, fully opening the breach. Showing me the port where to load the rifle, I loaded all five shells and pulled the action back into place with a satisfiying click.

"Port locks with the breach shut, can't load it unless you open the action. Next time you cock the lever you'll load a round. I put the rest of the ammo I have for it in the bottom of your bag last night while you were sleeping." Pappy gave me another smile, and I could feel the sad pride behind it as he laid a firm hand on my shoulder. "Now don't forget nothing I taught you ya hear? Or your Ma. Last thing she needs is to get a postman's letter from somewhere saying you're dead, would we like your body sent back in a box. I know you wont always be able to but we made sure you were taught to read and write so send back a letter every now and then to let us know you're still kicking where ever you end up."

I nodded and reached around him with the hand not holding my new rifle, pulling him tight against me. "Yeah I can do that. And when I make it rich I'ma come back and make sure you and Ma don't have to work another day in your lives."

With a snort he pulled out of the embrace and held me at arms length. "Yeah you and your big plans of being a Cattlehand and a Gunslinger. Listen here boy," he said jabbing me in the chest harshly with a finger. "No-one makes it rich doing a job anyone can do. They get rich doing the job better than anyone else. That goes doubly for a job that men die young doing. And if you see an old man doing that job then you stay out of his way unless you want to find out how he made it that long firsthand. I know you've already made up your mind and I'm not gonna try to stop you, but you best remember that. This world is full of liars, thieves, and cowards, don't trust no-one till you sure you know them. And if they're a Royal, never trust them because they're all lying, thieving cowards."

I suppressed the need to roll my eyes or let out an exasperated sigh. All my life I was told about Royals this and Royals that. I knew where it stemmed from, and I know my Pappy wasn't going to change about it. I also knew that they didn't belong out here, there was a reason he moved out west after all. The only way I was going to run across a Royal would be if they took a thousand mile wrong turn on their way home. Either that or Alstoria up and decides to claim the Harota Territory as part of their empire. Which of course is what the bastards did not two years after I left home. But of course I didn't know that then.

"Alright, alright. Never trust no-one and sleep with one eye open. I get it Pa, I'll keep an eye out for trouble," I said as I rose my hands up in surrender.

He gave another snort before pulling me in for one last embrace. I gave him a hug back and we let silence finish saying anything we had to say. After a moment he released me, giving me a slight push towards West.

"Alright get on now before I change my mind and take the horse back and let ya walk out of here," he said jokingly. I secured my hat, mounted West, and holding the rifle across my lap with one hand grabbed the reins with the other. Looking down at my Pappy I gave him a nod and gently squeezed West with my legs, getting her moving out the main gate at a slow trot.

I turned back after I made it a short distance past the gate, seeing he hadn't moved from where I had left him. I tipped my hat to him and turned back forward in the saddle, leaving the farm behind me as I rode off down the road to Canton.