At sunrise, Maston women guarding at night went to their beds, letting those asleep at night take their place. Along with the guards, women in charge of other tasks besides fighting were getting ready to work. There were those in charge of maintaining the structural integrity of the Maston's buildings. And women in charge of taking care of their holy trees, snipping its death parts, and removing pests.
Shuja and Artio woke up early and saw the tribe busy at their work. The empty platforms were not heavily congested with goblins traveling to different parts of their floating village. Meanwhile, Natasha was asleep, tired from last night's events. Shuja guarded their small treehouse, making sure no one disturbs Natasha's sleep. But Artio was restless, growing impatient by the second.
Sun's declaration last night was too much for Artio. Sure they killed trolls, but so can experienced mercenaries like her and the Black Crows. Artio attempted to leave with the boys and help them, but Isla demanded that the women and their brothers stay as captives until Sun brings the Black Crow's captain's head. A tall task to deliver.
"Master Artio, are you still worried," Shuja asked while eating a grilled yam. "Maybe you should do something to keep your mind busy."
"And what about you? Aren't you worried about your boyfriend?"
"Sun is not my,"
"I was joking. Partially joking." Artio leaned on the fence, looking at the ground and a stack of leaves beneath her. "Maybe you're right. Let's go practice your archery skills."
"What? We can't just leave Natasha alone."
"Don't worry, Maston women will not go against their word, especially if it involves another woman. They won't harm Natasha. What we should be worried about are Stick and Rock. Now go grab your bow and arrow, I'll meet you on the ground." Artio leaped off the edge.
"Master Artio!" Shuja ran to the fence and looked down. Artio landed on the soft pile of leaves unharmed.
"Don't keep me waiting!" Artio yelled, "If you're too scared to jump, just take their elevators!"
Artio sat down on one of the roots of the tree protruding out from the ground. She watched a small group of Maston women pulling carts filled with large yellow fruits that they picked up from the ground. They picked them from their holy tree. They would bring some to their large compost heaps located under the trees' roots, beneath the ground. The rest are kept and eaten by the tribe.
One of the fruits fell from the cart. Artio got up and picked the fruit, and gave it to the goblin pulling the cart. The little goblin could barely carry the large fruit; its size was as large as the goblin's heads. Artio could not believe fruits as large as honeydew melons could grow from trees, but that was the least surprising thing about these fruits.
The Maston tribe called these fruits Carabao named after their founder, but Artio knew them as mangos. Artio was surprised to see such large versions of these fruits growing on Tungstrees. Mangos do not grow in their continent, but what's more surprising is the Tungstrees do not produce fruits but ball-shaped pinecones.
And the more Artio's mind wonder, she realized how odd it was to see a grove of Tungstrees because they usually grow alone, making them a specially rare. These made the threat of an organized militia like the Black Crows more dangerous for the Mastons. Their entire home could be cut down and destroyed if the Black Crows find them. Maybe this was the reason Isla accepted Sun's request because she could easily release everyone and be done with them.
If only Artio could join them. She could at least help them defeat the captain. "Master! I'm here!" Shouted Shuja bursting Artio's thoughts away. Shuja jumped off the platform a few meters before it reached the ground with a pair of bows on the one hand and two quivers filled with arrows on the other, and she ran to Artio. "Alright, what are we doing? Are you finally going to teach me that technique?" Shuja gave Dearg to Artio.
"And risk damaging one of their sacred trees? I don't think so."
"Then what the hell are we doing? Practicing how to shoot while jumping backward?"
"Doesn't sound bad." Artio nodded, "Maybe we should start doing somersaults while shooting arrows in the air."
"Please, I hate doing that. I nearly twisted my ankles doing those jumps." Shuja pleaded, "Please, anything but that!"
"Alright, we'll do something else." Artio took an arrow and drawn it on Dearg's string. "I want you to release your Isiptali, in case you can't see how I'm manipulating my mana."
"No problem!"
"Now watch carefully," Artio aimed at the Tungstree in front of her. Her aim climbed higher and higher until it reached the edge of the platforms above them. She gathered her mana around her arm, pushing it towards her bow until it reached the stone head of her arrow. The mana painted the arrow bright blue, and its light attracted the Maston women above them. They stopped moving and watched Artio and Shuja.
Isla was walking with the tribe's children when she saw her tribesman staring on the ground. The children joined them at the edge. "What that?" One of the children asked.
"Outsiders make light."
"What for?" Isla joined the crowd, looking down at Shuja and Artio.
"Don't know."
Artio turned to Shuja, "Do you see it?" She asked.
"I think so?"
"Alright," Artio pulled the string further while her mana converged on her bow. Dearg began to glow brighter than the arrow. "Didn't think my target so far. Now then. Gotcha!" Artio released the arrow, and she watched as the arrow flies straight to its target; it didn't travel in an arch, just a straight line.
The blue mana covering the arrow chattered like glass upon impact. The goblins around standing on the target jumped from their feet, startled by the sound of glass breaking. 'Watch aim!" Isla was furious, "Hit tree, we kill you!"
Meanwhile, Shuja was unimpressed by Artio's shot. "Was that it? I could do that without mana."
"I thought you were watching carefully," Artio turned around, annoyed at Shuja.
"I did,"
"Clearly you weren't," Artio raised her hand and grabbed a small blue strand that suddenly appeared. Then Artio's body flew into the air as if she was getting pulled by something. She landed on the arrow she shot, and she grabbed the ledge, pulling herself up. The goblins around her were speechless. They just saw a woman fly towards them.
"You like bird," One of them commented.
"Oh, I am not a bird." Artio leaned forward and looked down at Shuja, "That is what we call a Hookshot!" She yelled, "It's a technique we use to swing our way around the city during a battle, and its concept is similar to Isiptali. You shoot an arrow covered in mana while a strand of it is attached to your body. If the arrow managed to stick on the targeted surface, you could then pull yourself towards the arrow by manifesting the strand of mana into a heavier and thicker form. And the lighter your body, the faster you travel."
"Awesome!" Shuja yelled, "So aren't you going to come down and show how to do it again?"
"Nope!" Artio yelled back, "Didn't you watch it carefully. Just do what I did and get up here!" Artio turned to Isla, "Don't let her use the elevators! She needs to do this on her own!"
"What? No, I can't do this in one day!" Shuja cried.
"Sure, you can!"
As they watch Shuja struggle to reach the top, far away from the Maston tribe, all the way to the marshes and at the edge of the flat plains of the Orgut tribe, a war camp settles in front of a large cold cave. And in the middle of the square is a tall flag pole bearing a black flag with a white crow fluttering in the air.
Under the flag was a man wearing shiny iron armor sitting on the back of a naked dark elf on all four. The dark elf's glorious white hair was shaved off, exposing its fragile skin to the sun. The dark elf cried in pain as his skin burn under the unforgiving sun. His ankles were cuffed in chains, and they connected to the collar on his neck. The collar had a white glass gem, the size of a fist. Whenever the elf tried to lower his body to the ground, the gem on his collar would glow.
The man was too busy cleaning his helmet to notice the elf's suffering beneath him. He whistled a cheerful tune while wiping off the dirt from his helmet. When he finished, he wore the helmet and covered his face with the helmet's visor. The visor's tip was made to look like a crow's beak. A soldier wearing chainmail under a black shirt staggered to the man, "Excuse me, Captain Buchanan. We still need at least five more Tungstree logs to complete the wall. We combed the land around us, and we haven't found one. I think it's time to go to that grove those goblin slaves were talking about."
Buchanan stood up, letting the dark elf fall to earth and rest its tired body. "You mean that goblin tribe? Are you sure those goblins weren't lying to you, Green?"
Green laughed, "Gagagaga, of course not."
"Were you at least sober when you were torturing them?"
"Maybe," Green burped.
"Whatever, we need to get that wall and block the cave entrance, before Bret Hart gets here." Buchanan kicked the dark elf, "And get someone to carry this back to the barn."
"Yes, captain. Should I get everyone ready to raid those goblins?"
"Of course," Buchanan cracked his wrist, "It's time to slaughter."
After a morning filled with trials and errors, Shuja was ready to give up. Her Kas was beginning to run out of mana, and her body felt heavier than ever. Most of the women left to finish their jobs a long time ago. Only Isla and Artio stayed to watch Shuja. Without the adoring audience that were captivated by Artio's skill, she lost all her confidence. She lay on the soft earth's embrace, closing her eyes and wishing she could just sleep. "Are you giving up already?" A gentle voice asked.
Shuja opened her eyes and saw Natasha crouched next to her, surrounded by children curious to see the red conquerer. "I want to, but I know I shouldn't."
"Good," Natasha smiled, "Here, eat this mango. It has caffeine, that should wake you up."
"Thank you," Shuja gorged down on the fruit. "Alright, let's do this!" Shuja jumped on her feet and took her bow. She reached for the last arrow in her quiver and aimed higher than her Master's previous shot.
She failed multiple times. The mana attached to her arrow would always break, and when they don't, her arrows get pulled to her instead because they weren't stuck deep enough to stay put. "You got this, Shuja!" Natasha cheered, and the children followed her example.
Shuja pulled the string as far back as she could. Her mana shot out from her body and swirled around her bow and arrow. The mana settled on the surface, making it glow brighter than the torches at night. And then, she released the arrow free from her bow, launching it to the sky. The arrow lodged on a building's roof. Shuja tugged the string to make sure the arrow will not fall. And, she jumped and let her mana pull her to the sky.
Natasha, Artio, and Isla watched her fly to the canopies and land on rooftops. Shuja cried from laughter, overjoyed from conquering new heights. Artio jumped to her, and the two hugged each other, crying and laughing. Natasha watched them celebrate while the children dance around her with joy. Isla, on the other hand, lamented because this talented woman will never accept her invitation. It was a bittersweet moment for her to watch Shuja succeed. If only she could become their new Chief.