For the remainder of the week, the mood in the entire village was sour. Those who participated in the coup attempt were being shunned by pretty much everybody else, and those who defended Ash from his son couldn't help but feel they were part of something horrible, and for a good reason. I felt like my group was landing somewhere in the middle. We were all unanimously happy to have been able to help Rex not lose his father, but also sad for participating in the death of his brother, even if indirectly.
There was also a strange sense of anxiety washing over everybody. The reason for that was very obvious. Everyone was worried about what would happen with the attack on the nest now that Ash wasn't going to participate in it, not directly at least.
The chieftain was still organizing the plans and trying to come up with all the various tactics they were going to use during the fight, but anytime he even threatened to mention that he would participate in the actual fighting, Trix descended like the wrath of god. Her scoldings were so fierce that even nearby children would run away.
Still, despite all the upset, the days went by rather quickly. It helped that within my group, each of us had a different project that we were working on. Rex was perfecting his rock prosthetic, although he was not focusing on having the attachments as we had first discussed. He was just trying to make it as natural as possible. He wanted to have the perfect replacement for his missing foot.
Michael was trying to improve not just our own weapons but also the weapons used by the Rodenti. While working on our gear was about crafting the most perfect version of the weapon, trying to come up with things that the Rodenti could use was more about mass-producing the edges of blades or the tips of arrows than fine-tuning one specific piece of equipment.
Astrid was doing the same thing with armor. She had been working with some of the other leatherworkers of the village to make what the Rodenti were going to wear during the battle. But she made a special note to put the fur of the Rampaging Koala aside to try to make some gear for us.
More specifically, two sets for Michael and Riley, as the two of them didn't have something like the leather armor that she and I had. Even then, she promised that she would make at the very least a couple of braces or maybe footwear for me, even if I said that she didn't have to do that.
Riley was still working on the Spell Stone, as they were calling it. Small, rounded stones that could be very good if you tried to skip them in a lake. But instead of that, they were all carefully carved with spell circles that could be activated as long as someone put some Energy into them. Apparently, Riley had managed to create a piece of that carving that would function as an outlet. An outlet that anyone could just touch and send Energy through it as if it was a part of their own body.
It wasn't something completely unheard of, as the Rodenti used bigger versions of that on various spells that they had cast on the village, but it was very interesting to see their interpretation of something like that. Or maybe it was just the influence of the Lumerin showing in our Novice Silken Witch had. After all, we still had no idea how those creatures dealt with spells in a more broader sense of the word.
As for me, I was also trying to come up with something that could be used during the fight, more specifically, rations that had some effect. It was nice to be able to give considerable buffs before a fight started, of course. However, there was a very big difference between doing that and being able to pop a small snack into your mouth just before the battle to gain the buffs.
Even if they did not last as long, the hope was that I was going to be able to make them more concentrated. That way they would have stronger effects for shorter periods of time. A very good thing about being here while coming up with that idea was that I could reach out to the Rodenti for help. There were a few cooks here in the village, and they were all much more experienced than I was. Then again, they seemed to struggle with the concept.
It was something that, as time went on, I started to notice about the Rodenti. They were very focused on tradition. While clearly not in the sense of refusing to develop new customs, their minds seemed to be almost refusing to try to think outside the box for the most part. There were some exceptions, of course.
However, when I approached them with the idea of making rations that could be helpful during the battle, they couldn't grasp the concept.
"Okay, come on. Let me try to explain this again. You know how when you're going on a trip, you don't have much food that you prepare in a camp with fire and stuff?"
"Yes. Quick food," one of the cooks replied.
"What if we try to make quick food that can give people some power up?"
"But why need power for quick food?"
"Because it's quick food. Imagine if you are a hunter who is fighting a dangerous monster, and just before you attack it, you eat some quick food that makes you stronger."
One of the cooks stared at me with a frown. "Why didn't the hunter have stronger food before leaving?"
"Maybe he was on a long hunt," I held back a sigh, not trying to show my annoyance at them. I knew they were not doing this on purpose to suggest or get a reaction out of me. It's just how they understood those things. "Because maybe the hunter is doing a very long hunt, spending many days out of the village."
"Still, he have time make food in morning," another cook said with his arms crossed, his tail was around his waist holding on to a gray apron.
I stopped for a moment to think and tried a different approach. "Let's say this hunter is going after a monster."
The group of five cooks in front of me nodded. "Now, those two monsters. One of them, a great fire-breathing monster."
One of the Rodenti gasped, "Yes, yes, very dangerous."
"But the other can turn you into ice," I continued.
"And monsters stay close?"
"Yes, they are enemies that are fighting for the territory. But that fight grew too much, and now there's a group that needs to hunt down the monsters."
All the Rodenti gave a nod, understanding my scenario.
"Now, you told me that you can't make some buffs that are opposite, right?"
Another of the cooks gave a nod. "Yes. Some buffs don't work together."
"And the example you gave me is something that makes you warmer and something that makes you colder?" I added.
"Yes, yes."
"Right. So, imagine that this group of hunters is going after this pair of monsters. One of them uses fire, another uses ice. Instead of giving them food before they leave that can work with either fire or ice, we give them quick foods, rations, that they can eat at any time. But one of them makes them stronger against ice, and the other makes them stronger against fire."
"But why?" a female Rodenti asked. "Why make both? Why not eat it before?"
"Because they don't know which of the monsters they are going to fight. So we give them two types of food, and when they see which monster they find first, they just eat that food and can fight the monster. Also, if we have quick foods, maybe we can make them more powerful, that last for a smaller amount of time instead of having to make them last the entire day."
"Quick food that lasts short time?"
"Lasts short time but it's really powerful," I replied with a nod.
The Rodenti cooks grunted. They gave some hesitant nods as if they were starting to understand. While our first batch of attempts was anything but successful, since one of them brought me a soup and the other's dishes that required you to heat them up before anything, the effects of those dishes were going in the right direction.
They wouldn't give someone a five, six, eight-hour-long buff. Instead, it was going to one or two hours, which was likely the duration of this battle. This was not like the ancient wars of the Old World that lasted for days on end. I was expecting that once everything started, we would have maybe three hours until one side came out victorious.
It was the end of the sixth day when I returned to Rex's house and noticed a larger group of Rodenti nearby. I saw a figure that I had never seen before. An old warrior wearing metal armor and looking like he had just arrived from somewhere far away. Before I even got to Rex's house, I could hear some shouts coming from the chieftain's house. My Rodenti companion was outside, looking in the direction of the noise.
"What happened?" I asked once I approached.
"Uncle came back," Rex replied. "Angry with Father."
"Because of what happened with your brother?"
Rex just gave a nod. "Uncle Carl close to Raxzar."
"Really? I figured he was closer to you."
I turned to Rex, who gave me another nod. "He is, but still close Raxzar. Seems understand, but still upset."
"You stupid, you reckless, you awful Father!" Carl's voice boomed through the door as he walked out.
He noticed that most of the people in the area were all staring at him. He just growled at everybody before walking briskly towards Rex's house. When he got close, his demeanor shifted to being softer as the large Rodenti asked, "Can we talk?"
Rex just nodded and made a gesture for Carl to follow him along. For a moment, I considered if I should be joining. After all, this was a very personal matter, but my Rodenti companion made the decision for me, saying, "Come too, Cassandra. Might need help." So, much to my frustration, I followed along since I wasn't going to abandon Rex when he was asking for me.
It took quite a few minutes for Carl to calm down enough to put into words what he was feeling. But eventually, the warrior started speaking. "Can you tell what happened?" The Rodenti stared into his nephew's eyes.
Instead of replying, Rex turned towards me. "Can you tell? Rex still not sure of everything."
"You're kind of throwing me under the bus here, little man, but fine."
"Bus?" Rex asked.
I just shook my head. "Don't worry about it."
Turning to Carl, I recounted everything that happened during the attempted coup. The System helped me remembering all of Raxzar's speech and what I did to make sure Ash wasn't going to be killed. Then, how the fight happened, and that Ash killed Raxzar in part because he was trying to protect me. The truth was, the moment he did kill his son, I was saved from a very bad situation.
Carl listened attentively and avoided making any noise or shifting his face too much. He was still clearly upset when I mentioned the way Ash killed Raxzar, but he seemed to at least somewhat understand. The last thing I mentioned was that Ash was hiding something from everybody and that he knew that the Eater that killed his late wife was in the nest.
Hearing that, Carl took a sharp breath. "You sure?"
"Ash does seem very sure that the Eater who killed his late wife is there," I replied, "Did you know her?"
Carl nodded. "Of course. My sister."
"Oh, I thought you were Ash's brother."
"I am. Once they married, we family."
Carl wasn't really wrong, but that wasn't really how humans tended to put things together. Still, I ignored the difference in culture and just moved on.
"Ash was wrong. Could solve without killing," Carl crossed his arms, the whiskers on his face shifting as he trembled with anger.
"I don't know if he had much of a choice. The poison that was hurting him sounds pretty nasty. It seems to be the one that Trix made using a plant from a cave."
Carl tilted his head. "Trix made that poison?"
"Yeah, didn't anyone tell you that?"
Carl just shook his head. "No. Said poison, but not which poison."
"Oh, okay. So it's the poison that Trix really wanted to make, and even Ash wanted to have made. That apparently could even hurt someone at Tier 3."
"That changes things," Carl frowned.
"Yes," I nodded.
"Maybe Cassandra right. Ash might not have option. So much poison, can't control power. Still, should take Raxzar's leg, or arm, not life."
"Do you think he was right?" I asked. "Raxzar, I mean."
"No. Even if disagree, should not go against chieftain. Not before something like this. If want to fight, challenge. Not underhand tactic,"
"So I'm sorry to say, but I don't think Ash was wrong," I leaned back on the chair.
Carl's eyes sparkled with rage.
"I'm not saying he was right either. It was a crappy situation. Ash just did whatever he could to fix that. Arguing about the details or how he should have done things in a different way is good and all, but it only helps to make sure it won't happen again. Nothing that we do will bring Raxzar back. If Ash didn't intervene, by the time you got here, maybe the entire Village had already evacuated, leaving behind only those who were going to be used as sacrifices. Would you stay behind with them or would you go after Raxzar in that case?"
Carl stared at me for a long moment before letting out a sigh. "Yeah. Don't know what would do. And maybe you right. Maybe all options bad. Not right and not wrong either," he paused for a long time while staring at the ground, "Still hurt."
"This kind of thing always hurts. At the very least, you didn't have to do it yourself. You may take some solace in that."
Carl just gave me a nod and got up, walking to the kitchen. "Going make food. Want something? Need eat before meeting later."
"We're having a meeting later?" Michael asked. He was in the other room, listening to our conversation together with Astrid and Riley. Now that it was over, they felt it appropriate to join.
Carl nodded, "Yes. Chieftain asked to call leaders for conversation. Ash has plans need to pass along. Wasted too much time. Attack should happen tomorrow."