“My Son!” Kivrah sprinted to the east wall. From far away, he saw multiple people walking in the direction of the camp. The other tribesmen also followed the tribe leader. Leaving the Shaman staring at the sun, praising.

  Kivrah squinted his eyes. There are many silhouettes. One of which is a silhouette that he distinguished instantly.

  “My Son! My Son and Luk have returned.” Kivrah confirmed.

  He also bent on his knees, thanking the Sun Goddess.

  After a couple of moments, Civ, Luk, and the firewood team arrived.

  “Ciiivv!!!” Kivrah hugs his son tightly.

  “What happened? Have you seen the giants? Why were you away for too long?” Kivrah asked his question in a rapid manner that Civ was unable to say anything. So Civ let Kivrah tell what all he needed to tell.

  When Kivrah was finished, Civ replied. ”I’m fine Father. Let’s go inside first. I will tell you once we put our items down.”

  The tribe opened a path. Civ, Luk, and Kivrah went straight to the hut near the cave.

  At the hut, Civ saw that Vel was with the hunting group. Then, around, some of the volunteers were busy dehairing the animal skin and taking turns.

  “Civ! You are here!” Vel quickly ran to Civ.

  “Oh, the animal skin was already de-haired”. Civ replied.

  “Yes, but there was already a soaked dehaired skin ready.” Vel replied.

  “Alright, since it’s already soaked, please get the largest jar we have and boil water there.” Civ instructed.

  Vel nodded and asked some of the volunteers to help him boil the water.

  Civ handed the items they had to Luk to put them inside the cave.

  Kivrah and Civ sat down in the hut. Horm and Arsh also rushed down to see Civ. But seeing that Civ and his father were talking. They returned to helping Vel in his task while waiting for their chance to talk to their friend.

  “So tell me, Son, have you seen the giants?” Kivrah asked while his eyes focused on his son.

  Civ looked back to his Father and grimly nodded.

  “Yes Father. If they are going to go here, it might take a day, and after that day (two days)”. Civ replied.

  It made Kivrah’s heart sink. ‘That near?!’

  With the preparations they have, it might not be enough to fend off the giants!

  “But do not worry Father, I have a plan for that. Just trust me.” Civ smiled.

  “Alright, since you already have a plan, let’s hear it and see what the tribe can do.” Kivrah nodded.

  “Please wait a moment Father, let me talk to Vel for a moment.” Civ stood up and talked to Vel.

  He instructed him on the process, and Vel's eyes widened. “We need to put the bark from the oak?”

  Civ nodded.

  “I will follow it. I will tell you once it's done.”

  Civ returned to the hut and continued to talk with Kivrah about plans until late in the night. With the initial plan and materials he requested. He made some adjustments to it, explaining to his father.

  There were some objections from Kivrah here and there. But they were able to smooth it out and conclude with an agreement.

  “Let’s end our discussion from here, Son. I know you were tired, so get some rest, and we’ll continue tomorrow.” Kivrah stood up. Talk to one of the tribemen. While they are talking, Civ heard the Shaman Mashu from the discussion. The tribesmen bowed and left.

  “Civ, the water has cooled down, and we soaked the skin.” Vel appeared from his back.

  “Thank you! Please make sure it was stored in the cave.” Civ reminded Vel.

  “No problem, it was already inside the cave”. Vel boastfully replied.

  Without animals around, this is the only way they can make leather. Unfortunately, it will take them thirty to ninety days to make a new one.

  ‘Better than nothing.’ With the animals not around, they can only use this option.

  The night came, and Kivrah rested for the day. While the hunting group and Vel sat with Civ in front of the campfire.

  “Civ, tell us what happened”. Horm asked.

  “I think Luk can tell it”. Civ replied.

  “He already told it. But we also want to hear it from you.” Horm replied, and the rest of the group smiled. Waiting for Civ.

  “Alright. It will be long, but please be patient with me.” Civ replied.

  Civ started their story after they left the forest. The group gasped and sometimes pitied the experience he and Luk endured. But when Civ told the story about the giants, everyone went silent and held their breath.

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  Some were visibly shaking while Civ explained the features of the giants. While some leaned forward as they stared at Civ. Everyone in front of the campfire sits still.

  But when Civ said that he agitates the giants, and they are being chased. They all gasped in fear.

  When Civ finished, the group was still silent.

  “But do not worry, they are not as scary as I thought”. Civ added.

  “Why?” Arsh asked.

  “Well, they are very slow”. Civ explained.

  Giants chased them in slow motion. When Civ looked back, even though they were seen by the giants, they were still walking. But its facial expression was trying its best to chase them!

  “You mean they are not running?” Lowi asked.

  “Right! They are not adept at running!” Civ confirmed.

  These giants' legs were designed for holding the weight of their bodies. If Civ’s assumptions are correct, these giants' legs will be useless if they try to run.

  “And that is a thing we can take advantage of!” Civ added.

  Getting the idea of them taking advantage of their speed was a grand revelation for them!

  This made their worry lighten up a little.

  “Maybe that is why they are not chasing us that far?” Yan pondered.

  Everyone is also in agreement.

  “But Civ, why were the animals bowing to the giants?” Arsh asked

  “Honestly, I do not know either”. Civ replied.

  He has some ideas in mind. But without proper evidence and samples, he cannot tell it to the group. This might cause confusion to the tribe. Until he confirmed everything, he needed to keep it to himself for now.

  The group starts talking and asking Civ some lighter questions. Like the scenery of the other forest and other stuff.

  The campfire went back to normal, and it was filled with stories and laughter.

  Then Horm said. “As Shaman Mashu said, it will take longer before you return. Good thing you returned today. Otherwise, the Shaman might be punished by the tribe.”

  “Punished? What do you mean?” Civ raised his brow.

  “So this is what happened.” Horm detailed what happened in the last two to three days that Civ and Luk were away.

  Finishing the story, Civ went silent.

  ‘Horm was right. If I were an hour late, the situation might be grim.’ Civ felt a cold breeze on his back.

  The reason why Civ felt afraid is that the punishment that will be executed- it is stoning to death. Next time, he needed to be more open to Kivrah. His Father being irrational is somewhat understandable for Civ. But costing a life due to Shaman Mashu hiding it will not be a good thing to think about. That is why he felt something unusual in his Father’s attitude when he arrived.

  “Thank you for telling me about it. I’ll talk to the Tribe leader and Shaman about it.” Civ tapped his friend's shoulder. They continued the stories until they fell asleep at the campfire.

  The next morning, everyone woke up earlier than usual. They finished their morning exercise before the sun rose. Then started their day by crafting items. Civ went to the Shaman’s hut, wanting to talk to the Shaman.

  When he went inside, the Shaman was already praying. She prayed for safety and food for the tribe. Civ waited in the side until the Shaman finished praying.

  “How was the travel, Chosen One?” Shaman Mashu asked.

  “It was successful for me. We are able to find the giants.” Civ replied with a smile.

  Shaman Mashu responds with a silent nod.

  “Shaman Mashu, I would like to apollogi-”

  “It is fine, Oh Chosen One. I already expected what would happen when you are away.” Shaman Mashu interrupted Civ with a warm smile.

  “No need to feel sad. I accepted my punishment from the moment you asked to keep it to your Father. Because I know that is the only way to make sure you can leave without issues.” Shaman Mashu continued.

  Civ takes a deep breath. “Thank you again, Shaman Mashu. I will talk to my Father for you to be forgiven.” Then Civ holds the Shaman's wrinkled, weak hands.

  “I will leave for now, Shaman. I will talk to my Father.” Civ stood up and left to look for his Father.

  Upon looking for the Tribe leader, Civ came across his Father at the west wall. He looked fresh, and his hair was wet. He was instructing some of the tribesmen on moving the planks to the other side to make some space.

  “Father, can I talk to you in a moment?” Civ walked beside his Father.

  “Sure, let’s go to the hut.” Kirvah started walking towards the hut, followed by Civ.

  “How was the gathering of the materials and making the materials we needed Father?” Civ asked.

  “It was great. I was amazed how our tribe made it faster.” For the last few days, they have worked non-stop from morning until night. They make arrows, cordages, and extra throwing spears for the upcoming Tuanir. Their speed was twice as fast, based on how Kivrah described it.

  “That is great Father! Uhm, about Shaman Mashu.” Civ paused.

  Kivrah stopped his tracks and turned his head to his son. “What about her?”

  “I just hope you forgive her for hiding during my travel.” Civ pleaded with a sorry face.

  “Sure, if she asks forgiveness and discloses what she knows next time. It will I can forgive her.” Kivrah replied.

  “Thank you Father, I will tell the Shaman.” Civ bowed.

  Kivrah holds Civ's shoulder, and with a heavy voice, he replied.

  “Son, all I want is to know what is happening around me. The less I know, the angrier I get. You know why?” Kivrah asked.

  Civ looked at his Father. “Why?”

  “Because I feel helpless”. Kivrah explained.

  Hearing this, Civ felt bad for hiding it from his Father. Maybe they can try to talk it out next time.

  “I apologize Father.” Civ replied in a low voice.

  “It’s fine Son. You are already back. Let’s focus more on the things we need to defend the camp.” Kivrah smiled and continued to walk to the hut.

  At the hut, they discuss the materials that were gathered. Right now, they have more than a hundred arrows and around fifty throwing spears.

  “That was fast!” Civ commented.

  “Yes, they were much faster now. What I planned is instead of everyone making their own spear, I give them a task per group.” Kivrah continued.

  “What do you mean Father?”

  “Oh looks like they are starting, follow me.” Both of them followed the crafting group to the middle of the camp.

  “So as you can see, someone is responsible for making the spearheads, the shaft. Someone is also working on attaching the spearhead to the shaft.” Kivrah explained.

  “Huh?” Civ did not react like this because he was confused. But because he was amazed by his Father’s innovation! His Father made an assembly line!

  Since they had enough materials, the process was swift. They might be able to produce a hundred with this process.

  “This is great Father. It will increase our production of weapons.” Civ nodded.

  “You are correct, I implemented it yesterday, and we are able to make more.” Kivrah happily replied.

  Both of them discuss some adjustments to the process to optimize it. After that, they went their separate ways. Because Kivrah still needed to help the other tribe with their needs.

  Civ, on the other hand, went to the cave. He grabbed one of the bananas they had harvested.

  With his mouth watering. He intently stared at the banana. “Let’s see how you taste!”