We had to stay with Trix a little while longer just so the couple of people that Rex went looking for would arrive. They would be in charge of disposing of the Rampaging Koala's body and make sure that no one was going to eat it by accident. Luckily, that kind of thing was not that unusual, and Trix even had a reputation for being able to identify the new types of food that people could eat or not. In this case, when something big that still had value came along, there were some Rodenti who came by to harvest whatever materials could be saved, things like fur, teeth, claws, and such.
After that, they would toss the meat and innards outside, in a place a few hours away from the village, and burn it all. They did that to avoid contaminating any of the monsters that existed nearby. Trix spent several years explaining to everyone who lived here that if they ate something that ate poison, they could be poisoned themselves.
While waiting in front of Trix's house with the large koala by our side, I noticed the two Rodenti that I had seen before approaching again. That one person who came with Rixnala and the other Rodenti who was part of Rex's older brother's group. They were chatting away in a very similar fashion as they did the first time, but their eyes continued to dart back and forth.
One of them pointed to the side, and they continued to talk while changing their destination. It could be just a coincidence, and they had simply arrived at the street and were going to turn, but something was telling me that there was more to it. There was something going on. I just couldn't really understand what.
Having an idea, I quickly turned to Astrid, "Wait for me. I'll be right back," before slowly making my way in the direction of the Rodenti.
My staff was on my back, meaning that if something were to happen, I could at least fight back. And I trusted enough and felt safe enough inside the city not to worry about being attacked. Then again, those two Rodenti were acting very sketchy. Maybe they would be the type to attack someone in a crowded place.
Just as I turned the corner, I saw a door closing in a house a few meters [ft] in front of me. Still hoping to confirm my suspicion, I walked in that direction and tried to pay attention to the house itself while not being completely open about what I was doing. In moments like this, I really wished I could use {Compression} on myself to shrink and be able to follow people around with more ease. But that type of power was still out of my reach.
Still, I continued moving in the direction of the house, doing my best to pretend I was not following those two Rodenti. I kept walking away as if I was just taking in the sights, which couldn't be ringing any alarm bells to anyone who might be watching.
But as I passed the house that they seemed to have entered, it was all boarded up with rocks on the windows and the low light that came from the ceiling creating a shadow over the door. A door that, while it looked open at first, was just a few centimeters [in] into the wall itself before another layer of rock and stone blocked the passage. It meant that whoever lived here needed a skill that allowed them to move the earth in order to enter. What would happen if they ran out of Energy for the day? That would be hard to deal with, or maybe they would just ask for someone else's help.
I kept doing what I was doing and just continued walking, going around the block and returning to Trix's house. By the time I arrived there, Rex had already come back together with a few Rodenti in charge of the disposal of dangerous meats.
"Where was Cassandra?" my Rodenti companion asked.
"Never had a chance to properly look at your village. I just wanted to see how things look here."
"You like it?" Rex asked with a smile.
"It's very pretty. It's a beautiful place. I don't know how you're going to use all the doors though, but I'm sure you have something figured out."
We headed to his father's place after leaving the koala with the Rodenti that came to pick it up. They would give the leather for clothes and bones back to us as soon as they were done butchering the entire creature. For their job, they would keep a small amount for their pay, usually enough to make one set of clothes. And considering everything they were going to be doing after that, it was very fair. At least I thought so, and so did Astrid by the looks of things. The Huskcarver didn't even say anything against the suggestion, and we all started walking towards the Chieftain's house.
Continuing with my deception, more out of paranoia than anything or actually noticing that someone was following us, I asked Rex about the doors and how would people open them if they didn't have any Energy.
"Anyone can open. Just touch right spot. Takes one Energy to use. Door can be used twice, so when leaving, people open door and leave charge."
"Oh, but what if somebody gets stuck inside?"
"Then have window. Single charge, ten uses. If no other option inside, another spell breaks door. Already charged, only single use."
"Oh, that's kind of smart," Riley gasped..
"Yes, yes."
It was hard to argue against that. This was the type of setup that I would never have considered, and the fact that they were able to put it into those three-layer entrances was proof that their knowledge of spells was much more advanced than anything that we had. That wasn't really a surprise since we already had seen the Rock Fly Tunnel itself. Between those two marvels of spellcraft, it was hard to say that they didn't know what they were doing.
A few minutes later, we arrived back at Ash's place. The Chieftain was home, and since he had just finished one of his meetings, there was a large group of elderly-looking Rodenti coming out of it. They all greeted Rex with a mixture of warm smiles and sad looks. Some of them even stopped to talk to Rex, and as the conversation started to drag, I remembered that I had yet to distribute my attribute points.
I had decided to split them between body and mind. Going for a well-rounded build still felt like the right idea. Even if I was not yet focusing on spells and skills that required a lot of mind to use, it was something that would change in the future. Not to mention that I very much still wanted to learn more about spellcrafting. It was nice to have Riley leading the charge, but I didn't think our group would benefit from having just one human mage.
Eventually, the elderly Rodenti stopped talking with Rex and finally allowed us to go speak with the chieftain.
"Rex," Ash said with his arms open while sitting on a chair. "Been told you were successful."
Rex nodded. "Yes, Father. Found flower. Killed koala. Rex proven strong."
Ash smiled, "Yes, yes. Very strong. Rex very good. Now, you need to show can grow, can give help to others. Before allowing you join, need you to leave again. Find more Rodenti to help battle. Village far south, near ocean. Have strong warriors, powerful warriors. Should be of help."
I saw how Rex was disappointed after hearing his father give us yet another mission. The previous two were subtle enough. This one was not. He wasn't just sending Rex to a place where he could find help, but he was sending us to a place very far away, especially since we would need to reach the ocean. From what I remembered, I had a feeling we would cross over into Mexico before finding the ocean. But it was obvious that Rex wasn't going to argue against his father, so instead I spoke up.
"Okay, now that's just bullshit."
"What?" Ash looked at me with a mixture of anger and confusion.
"You heard me. That's bullshit. That's pretty much the same mission you gave Rex when he first left here. Find people to help. He did. Us. And he even made a deal with a village that is going to provide food for all of you. They're going to ask for something in exchange, but that's just how things are. Why don't you stop trying to argue and just tell him the truth?"
The golden fur on Ash's lifted and strated crackling with lightning. "Are you saying Chieftain of the Rodenti is liar?"
I crossed my arms, not letting myself be intimidated by a Rodenti that was about my height, and said, "No. I'm telling Rex's father that he should be honest with his son instead of trying to trick him not to participate in the attack."
Hearing that, Ash was clearly taken aback. The electricity slowly dwindled, and he turned to Rex with a sigh.
"You found good friends. Smart friends."
"Father?" Rex raised an eyebrow.
"Your friend right. Don't want Rex participate."
With a confused tone, Rex continued, "Rex did what father asked. Did what father told to do."
"Yes," Ash nodded. "Did what was asked all too well."
He paused, for a few too many seconds, so I tried to push him a little further. "Why don't you tell him what you actually wanted him to do?"
Ash stared at me with a mixture of anger and confusion but still decided to continue speaking.
"Rex good son. Great son. One of best children. Asking all to leave was hope of saving children. If battle fails. Never expected Rex to return. Hoped Rex would stay away."
Hearing that, Rex asked, "But why? Rex can help. Rex strong."
"Yes," Ash nodded. "Rex strong, but Rex kind. Rex smart. If battle kills me, hoped Rex wouldn't be here to see. Hoped Rex would be far away, making friends, making his own village. Hoped most children would do that. Knew Rixnala would return. She values strength too much. Knew Raxzar would return. He wants be Chieftain. But all others… Hoped would leave and don't come back until late. Only when safe or when nothing else to save," Ash explained.
Rex took a few moments to process what his father had just admitted to, but eventually he managed to articulate his thoughts.
"So? Rex here now. Rex not leaving. Let Rex help. Rex strong. Friends of Rex strong. And Rex needs to do this. Not just because father and village."
Ash frowned. "Why?"
"To save world."
"What?" Ash gave a look of utter bewilderment.
"Need to save world. Jellyfish told Rex."
Ash turned towards me with an exasperated look, but I just nodded. "He's not lying. We did see a bunch of jellyfish who told us that we need to participate in this to save the world."
I wasn't going to go into all the details, but that felt like enough information. And seeing how we all nodded in agreement, Ash couldn't argue against what we were saying. Even if by the look on his face, he didn't believe in us.
"Fine, then have different job. Go hunt near Sister Village."
"Wait, we just had a whole thing about you not letting us participate in the attack on the nest, and you're already trying to shoo us off again?"
But Ash shook his head. "No. Many Eaters have walked close Sister Village. Hunting Eater good practice and level up. If you join attack, need be stronger. Rixnala also there. Hunt with her. Level up. When time comes, will call for you."
"You want us to hunt with Rixnala?" I asked, getting a nodding response.
With a sigh, I shrugged. "Sure, it's not like this can possibly go wrong."