Chapter 46 – The Rogue Archers

GERI AND FREKI RAN AS SWIFTLY as they could, zigzagging through the giant columns of blancipress trees, dodging wild, giant beasts along the way, and not caring much about the motion-sickened Jack who was all green and nauseated.

When the gigantic cherry blossom tree was in sight, everyone dismounted and continued on foot.

As they got surrounded by the giant beasts though, it was as if Jack never had motion sickness and started pummeling them out of his way with his jackfruit mace.

Siegfried didn’t let himself get outshined and went to beat up the giant insects and lizards even without his swords.

Riku and Mirana used their magic to incapacitate the giant toads and frogs leaping all over and blocking their path.

Brunnhilde and Raijin were protected by Geri and Freki, respectively, from the threatening giant snakes.

Soon, they reached the cherry blossom tree. The group called out for Daisuke, but he didn't answer.

Jack went closer and held the trunk of the tree. He can feel the familiarity with the tree as he could sense how much mana was used to create it. And such a massive tree, he has not seen Daisuke created one since their training days back at Maria Island.

“That can’t be good,” said Riku as she stared at the giant cherry blossom tree.

Jack walked towards Brunnhilde. “I thought Daisuke shouldn’t be able to use his power? Are we missing something?”

Geri growled.

“What’s up, girl?” asked Siegfried.

Geri was baring its fangs towards the top of a tall white-leaved blancipress tree. Freki sniffed in that direction and started to act the same way.

“There are no tracks,” Brunnhilde figured. “Looks like wherever Daisuke is, he went above the trees.”

Siegfried easily scaled up the tree. There were no apparent tracks as well, making it hard for him to track Daisuke. He then remembered the time in Arcanas when the elves tracked the leaking mana from the artificial power users. “Hey! Will any of you be able to determine if Daisuke leaked any mana on his way?”

Riku and Jack looked at each other as if they should have known it beforehand.

Brunnhilde released Geri and Freki, returning them to earth. Everyone climbed up the tree and followed Riku and Jack who were able to sense a faint trace of Daisuke’s mana.

“Well, I’ll be damned. This may be faint but I could still clearly feel that this is Daisuke’s,” Jack confirmed.

The group hopped, skipped, and jumped from branch to branch, tree to tree.

However, the mana that the group was following was getting weaker and weaker, as if they were going after someone who was running away while spattering spray paint that was almost empty.

Jack and Riku heightened their senses and felt the presence of seven people, including someone who was almost out of mana, presumably Daisuke.

Jack went up even higher.

He jumped from the top of a tree, then used his power to make a rain of medium-sized jackfruits.

The jackfruits exploded into massive jackfruit trees as soon as they make contact with the ground and blocked the path of the people Jack and Riku were sensing.

“Woah! What is that?!” one of the people yelled in surprise.

The six people that were taking Daisuke gathered and compressed on the forest floor. They equipped their bows and arrows, ready to fire at anyone they spot.

The temperature suddenly dropped, far colder than the coldest nights inside the forest. Frost started to form. The breath of the archers became visible.

“W-W-Why is it g-g-getting c-c-cold?” stuttered one of the archers.

The archers heard footsteps and all aimed their bows towards that direction and saw Mirana who was standing casually.

“Hey, dimwit! That’s my staff!” Mirana shouted as she saw Everfrost on the back of one of the archers.

At the opposite end, Siegfried dropped from above. “You better give those swords back or I swear to gods I will rip you all apart!”

Jack, Brunnhilde, Riku, and Raijin all arrived as well, surrounding the archers.

Raijin went forward. “Hey give me back my ton—”

“Where’s Daisuke?! What did you do to him?!” Riku interrupted.

“Aaaaah!! Another elf!!” shouted one of the archers as he fell to the ground on his butt.

“D-D-Don’t come any closer or, or, or I will stab this man!” one of the archers threatens as he pointed an arrow at Daisuke’s neck.

Suddenly, the orb on Mirana’s staff glowed.

“Glacio Properia!” Mirana shouted a spell that quickly froze the six people that’s taking Daisuke hostage.

The group immediately ran towards Daisuke who fell to the ground, still unconscious.

Mirana thawed the frozen archers’ heads and removed their masks, letting them breathe. The archers screamed but couldn’t run away since their whole body was still encased in ice.

“P-P-P-Please. J-J-just take t-t-those items b-b-b-back!” said one of the archers.

“D-D-D-Don’t hurt us,” said another. “P-P-Please!!”

“We’re not going to hurt you,” Riku assured. “Mirana, you can free them now.”

Mirana obliged and completely thawed the archers as soon as she got hold of Everfrost. They then all sat down near a campfire that Raijin started to warm up the archers.

A few more minutes and Raijin managed to brew some hot beverage. “Here. You all could use some warm drink,” Raijin and Siegfried handed the cold archers something to drink.

“You better tell us what happened,” said Brunnhilde. “My healing magic is not working on Daisuke. He’s not hurt, but his mana is depleted. He shouldn’t be able to use mana.”

The eldest-looking archer volunteered to answer. “W-We’re very sorry. My team did go to your camp last night and stole your belongings.”

He recalled the events where they saw Daisuke dangling in one of their traps out cold after getting shot by their sleeping dart. They were already taking Daisuke to their place when he started to wake up and saw the items that they stole.

While the eldest-looking archer was telling the story, another archer took something from his bag—a small container with some flower petals. The scent from the container escaped and soon the fireflies inside the forest reacted, causing them to light up in a blinking fashion.

More and more fireflies started to blink in a certain direction until they reached a certain group of people.

* * * * *

It has been ten minutes since Daisuke’s friends found him and his captors were caught.

“I already guessed that he was with you when he knew we stole those items. Then, he tried to do something; steam came out from his body. He howled in pain as that gigantic tree with beautiful flowers grew. Then, he fainted.”

“We’re truly sorry. Our leader always tells us only to steal from nobles and royalty. We should have not stolen your golds, lanias, and weapons,” said one of the archers.

“It doesn’t really matter anymore. What matters is that we managed to get back what is ours and none got injured,” said Mirana.

“But why only steal from nobles and royalties? And why even steal in the first place?” asked Brunnhilde.

“That’s because—”

A rain of arrows suddenly poured down.

Siegfried used his sword to parry the arrows to protect Brunnhilde. Jack used his power to create a tree that protected himself and Daisuke. Mirana used her magic to create an igloo-shaped ice to protect herself and Raijin.

Riku effortlessly dodged the arrows. She then used her Rose Magic to create a bow and arrows. She pulled the rose string and aimed at a person point-blank who was also aiming an arrow right at her face.

“Good reflexes,” said Riku.

“You’re not bad yourself, elf,” said the person aiming at her.

More Rogue Archers arrived all standing at the branches of the blancipress trees, aiming at Daisuke’s friends.

“Sparrow! They’re not bad guys,” said the eldest-looking archer.

“Then care to explain what are you and your men doing here Albatross? And who sent the distress signal?”

One of the younger-looking men raised his hand. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t sure if we could trust them, so I used the distress vial.”

The eldest archer called Albatross told Sparrow everything that has happened—from stealing their valuables to the incident that involved Daisuke.

Sparrow lowered her bow and arrow. As Sparrow walked towards Albatross to confront him, the hood on her head fell and she removed her mask, revealing her elegant face and long, black, braided hair.

Sparrow forcefully grabbed him by the shirt. “And what did I tell everyone about stealing only from nobles and royalties? Do they look like one to you?”

Brunnhilde stepped back a little, trying not to make an eye contact with anyone. Siegfried resisted a laugh.

“We’re very sorry, Sparrow,” the men of Albatross apologized.

Sparrow sighed. “On behalf of the Rogue Archers, I would like to apologize to you all for any inconvenience.” She then signaled at the archers above to lower their bows.

“Rogue Archers?” asked Riku as she lowered her bow and arrow as well.

“We are a group of archers that lives here in Shiromori. And yes, we steal from nobles and any members of the royalties that pass by here in Shiromori.”

* * * * *

Princess Cattleya was still preparing her plans for the diplomatic visit that they will conduct tomorrow. Ever since her mother, Queen Mellia, passed away due to an illness, the efforts to talk with the people of Shiromori were halted.

King Daffodil has been very busy with frequent meetings with United Alliance and domestic affairs that he had to delegate other domestic and foreign affairs to his children—Prince Rafflesia, Prince Dionaea, and Princess Cattleya.

Rafflesia, the eldest among the siblings, was appointed to become the right hand of the king when it came to leading the government, ensuring that the ministers were doing their job and doing them properly.

Dionaea, the second eldest, was appointed to ensure the welfare of the citizens. He was also directly involved in the kingdom’s maritime affairs.

Cattleya, the youngest among the siblings, was appointed to be the one to conduct diplomatic visits and talk to other kingdoms.

Cattleya was in her room, thinking about her eldest brother, Rafflesia, and the occasional skirmishes with the people of Shiromori. With most of the commoners and slum people now leaving the kingdom and resorting to living inside the dangerous forest, there has been a decline in people who works as farmers, fishermen, laborers, retainers, and other work that the nobles deem unfit for themselves to do.

She does not want to believe that her brother could resort to kidnapping innocent people and turning them into slaves. But that was what her friend from Shiromori, Robin, was telling her.

She firmly believed that any problem can be resolved as long as the two parties talk and agree on something, even if they have to meet in the middle or make a compromise.

But every time she thought about seeing Robin, she just couldn’t think of anything else. No more seeing each other in secret, no more meeting up during the night. She could finally meet Robin in broad daylight.

“Umm, princess? Are you okay?” asked Kiana.

Cattleya realized that she was not alone in her bedroom and it was no time for swinging her legs around the bed like a kid all excited to go outside and play.

She cleared her throat and collected herself. “Yes, I am fine. I’m just, uhh, exercising my legs.”

Of course, Kiana didn’t buy it.

* * * * *

Sparrow told Riku and the group about the conflict between the people of Shiromori and the nobles of the Emergent Kingdom.

With the commoners and slum people tired of how the nobles belittled them, they left the kingdom and decided to live in Shiromori instead, a vast forest dominated by tall trees called blancipress whose leaves are uniquely white.

But since the forest was filled with giant beasts, such as freaky insects, icky amphibians, and terrifying reptiles, living on the forest floor was a suicide. The people then decided to take advantage of the tall trees and live on top of them, not only saving themselves from the predators but also hiding them from the Emergent Kingdom.

“Some of us were previously part of Emergent Kingdom’s royal archers. Hence, the name Rogue Archers. I, for one, used to be a high-ranking soldier. But I also came from the slums. And I couldn’t just live at the kingdom-proper and let these people suffer.”

“Even though you already lived comfortably, you still chose the people where you’ve come from,” Riku commented.

“It wasn’t an easy decision for our leader,” Albatross added. “She lost many things for coming with and protecting us, including the person she cherished the most. The Emergent Kingdom even thinks that she is already dead.”

“That’s enough, Raghnall. No need to get too personal.”

The Rogue Archers were shocked that Sparrow called Albatross his real name.

Sparrow looked at Riku’s group and saw Daisuke.

“It’s not safe here. It would be better if you all rest in our place,” Sparrow offered.

“Thank you, Sparrow.”

“Sparrow is just a codename. My real name is Robin. Robin Bodkin.”