POV: Mia
A few hours earlier, inside the Chief's tent.
The tribe's council of elders had assembled.
"Tribe Chief, what should we do with him?" asked a man, his voice tinged with worry. He appeared to be nearing the end of his twenties.
His name was Vok. He had been appointed as a tribe elder the night before, thanks to his accomplishments in war.
The Tribe Chief didn't answer. His hand stroked his gray beard, as if he were deep in thought.
"No, before that! Why the hell is the demon here? She's not even an elder!" an old man exclaimed, pointing his finger at me. It was the First Elder.
I was furious. 'This bastard dares to call me that in front of the tribe council? I'll kill him!'
But before the rage could get the better of me, Umbra's deep voice rose, calming me down a bit.
"I called her here. The young man has been placed in prison for now. She oversees that prison, and as such, her voice carries weight in this matter."
Umbra is the oldest member of the tribe and, on top of that, a shaman. The influence he wielded in the tribe was immense.
The First Elder frowned. He knew the weight of Umbra's words well, but as the First Elder, his influence wasn't small either, so he had no intention of backing down.
"Wrong! She is only useful for gathering information, a mere worker. Bringing someone like her to the tribe council is an abuse of your authority. You won't get away wi—"
"Enough!" The Chief interrupted, his expression serious, his posture unwavering, like a warrior who had fought a hundred battles. He sat on a throne made of sand blocks, adorned with gold pieces, shiny stones, pelts, and fur.
"What Umbra said isn't wrong. Tribe Elder Elmo died three moons ago in war. This places Mia in charge of the prison, as she was second in command under him. She even bears a divine mark," he added.
"But Tribe Chief, how could so much responsibility be handled by a mere slav—"
"FIRST TRIBE ELDER, ARE YOU DOUBTING MY ORDERS RIGHT NOW!?"
The Chief was furious. He could tolerate some degree of disrespect, but disobedience? No, that would be a grave sin—even for a Tribe Elder.
Realizing the grave mistake he had just made, the First Elder knelt on the cold, scale-covered floor. Beads of sweat ran down his face.
"Tribe Chief... please forgive me! I misspoke... and deserve punishment."
"Very well then. Your status as an Elder will be revoked for five moons."
"I... I understand. I will assign my responsibilities to Warrior Reno for these days, if you allow it."
He was relieved. Disobedience was one of the gravest crimes one could commit in the tribe, so five moons without his Elder title was a very light punishment. Though he would be vulnerable during this time, Warrior Reno was loyal to him, so he wouldn't lose access to his authority.
As he stood up, he noticed the smirk on Umbra's face. It hit him then—this had been a trap set by Umbra. And he had fallen for it, completely.
"YOU!" He stopped himself, clenching his teeth. He wasn't going to fall any deeper into the pit he had dug for himself.
He calmed himself by taking a long, deep breath. He was about to say something, but my revenge wasn't over yet.
"Now that you are no longer an Elder, I believe there is no place for you here in the council."
He almost exploded in anger. Veins began to bulge on his face. He could barely contain his fury. His nails dug into his palms from clenching his fists too hard.
But he began to leave the tent. He knew I was right and had to abide by the rules, even though he hated it.
The way he walked was almost comical, as all of his muscles were tensed with anger. Combined with the fact that he had just been played by Umbra, it almost made me burst out in laughter.
When the former First Elder Hazo left, the Chief's gaze turned to Umbra, his eyes like steel, unwavering and full of authority.
"You know that during wartime, internal conflict is absolutely forbidden," he said, his voice low and heavy, carrying the weight of decades of leadership and longstanding customs.
"But of course, Tribe Chief." Umbra answered with a warm smile, completely unfazed by the Chief's piercing gaze and the gravity of his words.
The Chief let out a heavy sigh. With his last sentence, he had been trying to force a confession from Umbra, hoping to make him admit his fault.
But Umbra wasn't intimidated in the slightest. He had anticipated such a reaction, knowing there was nothing else the Chief could do.
If the Chief chose to punish him, no one would object, as the orders of the Tribe Chief were absolute. However, such an action would lack justification. Umbra held a high reputation in the tribe, and punishing him without cause would lower the morale of many. It would also shatter the image of the Chief as a fair leader.
That's just how crafty the old fox Umbra was. Everything had been part of his plan. He knew the First Elder still didn't acknowledge that Mia's slave status had been annulled and that she was now a full-fledged member of the tribe.
All Umbra had to do was let the First Elder speak this out in front of the Chief. By doing so, the First Elder would be punished for his disobedience. And since it was the First Elder's own words, Umbra couldn't be held accountable, since he hadn't broken a single rule.
After a few seconds of silence, the Chief spoke again.
"Now that we've settled this matter, let's move on to the actual reason for this meeting."
Everyone present nodded in agreement.
"If I may?" This time, it was the second shaman who spoke. His name was Abru, and he resembled Umbra closely—just half a century younger.
"Go ahead," the Chief answered.
"As you know, the young man we found was placed in the prison. I suggest he remain there for now. With the fine clothes and special items he had on him, it's not out of the question that he might even be a member of a clan—or at least part of a very powerful tribe. He was found within our territory, so it's reasonable to imprison him. However, since we can't afford to offend a clan at this moment, I suggest we give him the best possible treatment as a prisoner, ensuring he won't hold any grudges."
Abru continued, "If he turns out to be an enemy, we can still kill him. If he's just a lost wanderer, the time in prison will serve as enough punishment, and we could even take him in. And if he is from a clan, they might even reward us, and we could build valuable connections with them for saving one of their own."
When he finished, he caught his breath. He was so excited by his clever suggestion that he had forgotten to breathe.
The Chief was surprised. Such a well-thought-out suggestion was not something he had expected from the second shaman.
"He certainly is a tall young man. With a little training, he could become a strong warrior—he might even awaken a divine mark. Any objections or other ideas?"
The elders and shamans exchanged glances. No one seemed concerned, so they responded one after another.
First was the Second Elder, Brok. He was the tribe-chief's bodyguard, and his loyalty ran deep.
"No objections, Tribe Chief!" he said, bowing.
Next was Umbra, the First Shaman. His voice was as deep as always.
"I support Abru's suggestion," he said, his tone carrying a hint of pride in Abru's cleverness.
The Third Elder, Vok, followed shortly after.
"As expected of the Second Shaman—brilliant idea. I, too, have no objections at all."
"What about you, Mia?" the Chief asked.
"Huh?" I hadn't been listening at all. I couldn't care less about what they were talking about. I just wanted some free time.
"Sure, sure," I answered, hoping that would satisfy him.
The Chief sighed. He knew I hadn't been paying attention.
"Very well then. We will proceed as Abru suggested. Mia will be put in charge of the prison for the time being."
"MAKE SURE TO TREAT HIM WELL, MIA!" he said in a loud and demanding manner.
"Ye... Yes, Tribe Chief," I replied as politely as possible, though still startled.
"Can I go now... please?" I added the last part to sound more polite, hoping to avoid another scolding.
"Go..." he said, clearly annoyed by my attitude.
I quickly left the tent.
As I walked away, I could hear their voices slowly fading.
"Now that that's settled, let's talk about how we will proceed with the war. Let's wait for the scouts to return, and then..."
I walked straight to the prison cave. Everyone who saw me looked startled and scared.
Whispers like, "What is the demon doing here?" and "Quick, avoid her or she'll torture you," could be heard.
I frowned.
I was used to it, but it still stung. My mood had just improved after getting back at the First Elder, only for it to worsen again.
Then I saw the two warriors responsible for guarding the prison. I never bothered to learn their names, so I called them Snake and Frog.
When they saw me, their bodies began to tremble. These two feared me the most. I didn't mind, though; it made them somewhat obedient.
"Treat the new one as well as you can. It's an order from the Tribe Chief," I commanded.
"Y... Yes," they both answered in unison.
"Also, prepare their food for later and call me when he wakes up," I said.
"O... One of the prisoners looks like he's about to die. What should we do about it?" Snake asked.
"Just kill him, but do it slowly so the others might talk. Though, I don't think there's much we don't already know," I said coldly.
"We... We will follow the orders," Frog said.
After those words, I left the prison area and headed to my tent.
'Maybe I should sharpen my knives. I'm sure they wouldn't mind if I can get some information out of the new one. Hehehe, this makes me excited again,' I thought on the way.
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##Release every Saturday##
Thank you for flooding me with Power stones
1. Bosenmori_Ren
2. Copper_husky
3. -
A/N: I will try to upload two chapter next week and the Discord link is no longer invalid...
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