When Arthur returned to the oasis, he saw his students around a campfire cooking some small animals they found around the area. Snakes, lizards, anything they could find.
They were carefree, chatting and eating. Arthur speaks with them after talking with Jane, Wisa, and Harmony.
“Arthur,” Jane said as she walked towards him, “did you find anything interesting?”
“I did, yes. First, there was someone watching us from the moment we arrived here.”
“What? Who? Where?” Wisa said. She gazed at all sides, trying to find the spy, but Arthur quickly calmed her down.
“He’s not here anymore, but inside a tribe not that far from here. I followed him and talked with the leader of that tribe, and he wants us to join them.”
“Before you say anything, let me tell you my opinion on this matter. This desert is dangerous, and without proper guidance we may die here,”
“Joining a tribe can help us learn not only how to survive, but about their ways of life and their magic. Also, this tribe seemed friendly, and they weren’t strong, so it shouldn’t be a treat to us. So, what do you think?”
They all entered a deep thought, analyzing the situation with care. What Arthur said was reasonable, but it was still dangerous to enter a tribe they did not know about.
Now, what was more dangerous, that or living in that desert without information? Wisa had heard tragic stories about the Shukar Empire, especially the desert area where all these tribes lived.
In the end, they followed Arthur’s plan and become members of that tribe, at least for the time being. None of them were scared, as they had complete faith Arthur would kill anyone that tried to harm them.
After settling that down with the teachers, Arthur called out all the remaining students, which was only about 20, around that campfire, and explained what they intended to do.
Arthur had the final decision, and even if all of them oppose, but he thought it was the right call, they would go anyway. He listened to all of his students to see what they thought about it, and they all agreed to it.
“I also heard that the deserts here are harsh. We will be better off by joining a tribe and learning with the people that have been living here for a long time.” Theo said.
All of them were not against the plan and also embraced it with radiant smiles. It was as if a burden had been lifted out of their shoulders.
“With Mr. President here, we are safe!” This was a thought that crossed the mind of all of them.
In minutes, Arthur had found a way for them to have a better chance of surviving the desert. They all knew he could survive by himself without problems, yet did not abandon any of them.
His image grew inside everyone’s heart…
?[0)??? ~~~~
They all ate and filled whatever they had with them with water before leaving the oasis. Arthur had a few chests with treasures he had got from his adventures, so he tossed all the gold coins out of the chest and used as a water container.
All of that stuff was inside his magical pouch, and after gathering everything, they left the oasis, going straight to that tribe Arthur had found.
Before, Arthur got there quickly by flying, but walking to that place was tedious, and it took a long time. The desert was not a peaceful place to traverse because of the sand.
The hot temperature was another problem for most of the students. Only Wisa and Arthur, who were proficient fire mages, could withstand it with ease, but the others did not have that much luxury.
A few of them that knew some water spells tried to use it to cool down, but it only lasted a few moments before the heat came again. They were used to being living on those islands with water all around, and cool temperatures throughout the year. Now, in the Shukar Empire, things were different.
Although they had to face these problems, they reached the tribe after walking for more than an hour, at the right time as the sun was leaving, and the temperature was turning from scorching to freezing.
The tribe members quickly saw that mass of people, and the leader of the tribe, the same Arthur had talked about, came out to greet them.
Arthur cast the language spell on everyone that did not know how to use it.
“So you joined? Good, good. Welcome, this is the Jinzaka tribe, and I’m the leader, Ahanu.”
All the other tribe members had strange gazes when looking at Arthur and the others. But then, they all smiled and welcome them with open arms.
“Here, taste this soup. It is one recipe from our tribe.”
“This is a fried scorpion. It is tasty, believe me!”
The Jinzaka tribe was in decline since a long time ago. For these tribe members, having more people was something extraordinary.
It had been a long time since anyone joined the tribe. Only their kids did, but it was not as if they had any choice in the matter. And they needed powerful warriors to return to their past glory.
“Come, I’ll show you the tribe, and also where you will stay.” Ahanu said.
After all the members left, and the tribe declined, there were a lot of empty houses inside the tribe, so each one of the new members got a small wooden house only for themselves.
It was a win for the students, considering they lived with roommates back in the academy. Ahanu showed them the main hall, where the tribe members ate every day at lunch and dinner.
“This is where my throne is, and this vast table is for the tribe members to have lunch and dinner together. It is a way for us to keep the connection.”
An immense hall all made of wood, and had many fur rugs on the ground. There was a totem inside a room within the main hall.
“This is the totem of our ancestor, where he grants us his blessings, and teaches us the way of our tattoos.”
Arthur was excited as he left the main hall and went to his little wooden cabin. Now with new clothes all made of fur, making him look like a barbarian. All the others had the same type of clothing.
“I’ll make this tribe great again, and get my hands on this tattoo magic!”