17 The Solar Empire

'May I ask another thing of you, great shaman?'

'I am not a shaman and certainly not a great one, call me Abel.'

'I could never show such disrespect! To call a mighty shaman such as yourself by his given name would be a crime punishable by death!'

'I am not one for unnecessary formalities but let's just forget about it then. You wanted to ask me for something.'

'Yes, I'd like your assistance in finding out where my sister got all those things she used. I'm certain she must have received help from another tribe!'

'I doubt that. If another tribe could produce something on the level of that shield they could just attack you. Based on the fact that the shield is made from iron it should be a civilization outside of this jungle. Or at least new to enter it.'

'That sounds like the shining warriors. This shield thing as you call it matches the description we got. But it was so hard, can hides be that hard?'

'Hides? If it looks like the shield it's probably iron or some other metal.'

'Iron? Metal?'

'They look like rocks but can be shaped and are less brittle.'

'But how are you supposed to cover yourself with rocks? And even if you could why would you want to do that?'

'If made correctly it offers protection from all sides. Remember how Irene struggled against the shield? Imagine your whole body was covered and you wouldn't need to fear your opponents' attacks.'

'If it's so great why don't you wear one too?'

'It's uncomfortable to wear and there is no need. Anyway, what was that about shining warriors?'

'At the last meeting of chiefs Olga, chief of the cave bear tribe told us about shining warriors being sighted in the sky goat tribes territory. The sky goat tribe's chief had also not appeared to the meeting.'

'Sounds like an invasion to me. But why waste all this time with guessing, we can just interrogate your sister and find out.'

I left the tent and walked towards the knocked out Helena. Picking her up I turn towards Irene. She had a somewhat empty look on her face.

"Reina should be fine now. There are still four warriors who were part of Helena's plan by the riverbank behind the chief's tent. I knocked them out so you can get them if you have nothing better to do."

"What are you saying! I'll kill- chief! I'm sorry I failed you."

There was real fear and reverence in Irene's eyes when she looked at the chief. The reverence I could understand but why was there fear in the strongest warriors' eyes?

'Why does Irene look like she's scared of you?'

'Oh, that. You can't know this but our tribe has a rule that states that the chief can't simultaneously be the strongest warrior, in their title at least. Originally I was meant to receive the title of strongest and my sister should have been chief but mother said that Helena wasn't good enough to be chief. Irene is only the strongest in name, in my youth, I beat her many times, and nowadays we aren't allowed to fight anymore.'

'I see.'

While she had been mentally telling me this the chief walked over to Irene and patted her on the head. Irene looked like an abandoned puppy that had been picked up by a new owner. After the chief motioned towards her tent Irene took two warriors and went to get the traitors.

Meanwhile, I carried Helena in my tent while being followed by the chief. I should just call her Diana, chief sounded so formal.

At any rate, we entered the tent and found my two passed out prisoners from before still lying there. Diana seemed shocked at first but quickly recovered and went to check their condition.

'Why is there a puddle below them?'

'Well, they must have felt too much pleasure and wet themselves. And no, I didn't touch them, I used a spell while interrogating them.'

'The ways of the shaman are indeed mysterious. But are you going to use that same thing on my sister?'

'Would you prefer I didn't?'

'If possible I'd like to keep my sisters dignity. No matter what she's done she is still my sister and a member of the tribe.'

'Then I'll refrain from using this method.'

I set Helena down and retrieved some rope from my separate space. Once again using the life bestowal spell the rope came alive and began to ensnare her victim.

Then, I gave Helena's mind a forceful prod. Most living beings are very sensitive towards mental attacks of all degrees. This mental prodding was one of the most effective ways to awaken people from an unconscious state. There was also the good old bucket of water to the face method but unless the recipient was female and wore white clothes that seemed like such a waste.

Helena's eyes did indeed open momentarily after my prod. She looked around, confused, and a little panicked. Soon, her gaze focused on the two of us standing there and subsequently on the restraints binding her body. She seemed like she was about to say something but ultimately kept her silence.

"Awake now? Good, now for your information this is an interrogation, I will ask you questions and you will answer them. First question, where did you get all those fun toys of yours from?"

"I won't tell you a thing! I might if you swear by the guardian beast to release me unharmed and without coming after me."

"Hmm, how about no. You are in no position to make demands, you should just give truthful answers."

"Or what? Are you going to kill me if I don't answer?"

Helena was putting up a brave front but I could smell her fear. I reckoned that even without torture I could have made her spill all she knew within a few days. But I didn't want to waste those few days so I had used the moment she was distracted while talking t me to slip into her mind undetected.

"The solar empire. I'm astonished that they revealed their identity to you. I mean it could be an alias..."

"How do you know that?!"