After talking with the elderly Rodenti and the other ones that were in the area, we were guided to an underground building where they were staying. Finding a nest for a large number of Rodenti wasn't something that any of us really expected to happen today, but it had been a while since I learned to ignore expectations. The world seemed to get crazier by the day, and between finding sentient jellyfish to human-like moths, going to a city of giant rats that existed under some ruins sounded like the most simple of things.
We first arrived at a large structure that seemed to be a supermarket. Or at least it was a large storage-like facility. Very similar to the one that we entered when we first met Rex. But it didn't take long to see some differences. First, instead of just a ruined building, there were actual structures in this area. Places that could be used for a multitude of reasons. From what looked to be a small training area to a guardhouse of sorts with some beds made out of leaves and wood shavings. To what I could only describe as a kitchen. Or a campsite should be a more apt description.
Although, could it be a campsite if it was inside?
Still, it was just a place where there were a few rocks placed in a circle and some wooden logs that should be used as benches.
But the real village where the Rodenti lived was underground. Rex wasn't lying when he mentioned that they liked to stay out of the sun. We still had to follow a few meters [ft] down, which was somewhat strange since we were this close to the beach. Yet there was a sandy cave entrance that led us to a deeper area of this structure. But instead of being just like one would expect from an underground village, this one felt more like a bog. Things were very damp and wet with small puddles of salt water here and there. The buildings were all made of a mixture of wet and dry sand. There was also a strange acrid smell of rot permeating everything.
I assumed that Rex and the other Rodenti wouldn't like that kind of thing since, in general, animals had a better sense of smell than humans. But that didn't seem to be the case, as none of them was saying anything about it. There wasn't even a scrunch of the nose or something that would signify that they recognized the smell as something foul. But not like rotting meat or something like that. It was more sour. Maybe fruit?
We were guided deeper and deeper into the city as more and more of the Rodenti started to appear. Not all of those left behind were proper warriors, although they were the majority. There were also some children, women, and elderly who stayed behind. And I couldn't really understand why they were the ones chosen to stay here. Why only that small group went after the big Eater. But it didn't take that long to understand, or at least come up with a reason for that.
Those who stayed behind all acted as if they were close to the warriors. As if they were part of the same clique or they had some sort of relation with the stronger people in the area. Which could explain this being the real reason for the leeway they got. If someone who was stronger vouched for you, you wouldn't have to fight the Eater. You would be able to still be around without a problem. That sounded like a very scummy way of dealing with things, but at the same time, it was very natural. The type of situation that I would expect even amongst humans.
The houses were also quite different from I was expecting. Instead of just bland mud huts, each building was carved almost as if they came from the walls themselves. Made from the wet sand to blend seamlessly with everything else. It wasn't beautiful per se, but it had the makings of something incredible. I could imagine that even in a few years, maybe decades, the Rodenti were able to transform this look into something more their own. Instead of this somewhat makeshift feeling.
Then again, from what I understood, they were essentially a tribal society, meaning that they were far from being the modern people that humans once were. And while we still retained some of our knowledge about the old days and even some of the skills to make clean and beautiful buildings, they were still in the learning stages of that.
One tent was much different from anything else we had seen here. Instead of a place made out of clay or stone, this tent felt like a tribal location. The leather was made out of different beasts whose skin was stitched together and barely even prepared. There were areas of the tent where you could even see the head of whatever animal was used to make it, still on display. The location also was really strange compared to everything else. It didn't look to be part of the rest of the decoration. It was almost as if someone had arrived and decided that the main square of the place belonged to them. Which, according to Rex, was very likely to be the case.
Rixnala was someone who not only wanted everything to be about her, but would have made sure that things stayed that way. It would be very hard for anyone to go against the woman, especially if she started to use her powers to get her way. Which was something that happened very frequently. My companion explained how she was able to throw her weight around so much before we entered the village.
One of his father's advisors once got too drunk and revealed a bit of Rixnala's skills. Instead of focusing on becoming a good fighter or being able to deal damage, she would attack on people's weaknesses. More specifically, her skills would target the old wounds that someone suffered. The scar tissue. The areas in one's body that were already damaged from previous struggles. And by doing so, she could make the places that still needed healing to open up again. She could make an old wound become new.
And more often than not, she could even target those wounds that were inside someone's body. Doing so made her power seem to be even stronger, as if she was killing people with her mind. Which wasn't completely wrong when considering what was actually happening. But without an explanation, seeing someone die out of the blue was much scarier. Which usually was how Rixnala acted in order to get things her way. Rex didn't believe for a second that she was doing anything else to make people follow her like this.
I did ask the System if my title would have any strange interaction with her skill and was pleasantly surprised to know that because of my {Enduring Heart} title, there was a chance that her skill would have diminished effects. After all, my body was better able to recover from wounds. It made it so anytime that someone was targeting scar tissue, there was less for people to target than there should be. By itself, that was already a very happy accident. But in addition, the System theorized that people who had the skill that came from my title could also receive some protection. A skill that target scar tissue wouldn't be able to recognize the wounds or at least override the effects of another skill as usual.
Hearing that, we all had a quick conversation before arriving and decided to add my skill to them all. Unlike most of our other skills combined, we didn't need to worry about an extra memory slot to save it, since it was always memorized by my title. But everybody changed one of their less useful skills for the moment, for the skill that was more likely to save us from having old wounds being opened up {Heart Of Endurance}, the skill that came from my title. And since the idea was not to start killing a bunch of Rodenti indiscriminately, all of my companions had skills that they would prefer not to use during the fight.
Once we entered the tent, we were met with the group of warriors clad in their battle armor, mostly bones and pieces of leather. And in the center of the room was a Rodenti that we were assuming to be Rixnala. She had a tuft of long dark fur coming from the top of her head, braided with some small trinkets and beads going down the sides of her face. There was a scar underneath her right eye, and her thick brown fur was well kept and lustrous. She was clearly someone who put a lot of effort into presenting herself in a certain way.
"Look here. Little brother found big sister." Rixnala said as we walked into the tent. "What happened? Was trip too hard?"
Rex scoffed.
"Not hard. Easy. Made many friends."
That made her laugh even more.
"Friends? That what you call humans? Friends? All families refused you and you look for humans after? Is nice, for misfit. But won't help. They only meat shield. Not needed."
"They are not meat shield!" Rex protested, but before he could go on, I gently moved my foot to the side. Making sure to touch his tail to send a message through the System.
Cassandra: Remember, we need to bait her into a bet. Not into a fight.
Rex took a deep breath and said, "We helped outside. Made sure people didn't die."
"Oh?" Rixnala frowned. "So you stole chance. Now they stay behind. Alone. Dead. Well done."
"Didn't steal," Rex protested. "Make sure they healthy. Make sure they live."
"If they die, they weak. If they get help, they weak. No honor in running away."
Rex rolled his eyes.
"Honor, honor, honor. Only care about honor. Try doing anything else. You get boring quick."
Rixnala frowned.
"Honor binds us. Honor makes us better than monsters. Honor what we strive. What we must do. Always. You shame me for not understanding."
Rex stared deep into Rixnala's eyes.
"You shame me for not thinking. Humans not weak. They strong. Good ally. Can help save family."
Rixnala stared at us properly for the first time since we arrived, and I felt a strange prick on the back of my head. Even though the Rodenti was staring directly at us, something was telling me that this was how others would feel if we tried to use the System to gauge their power. All those times that we stopped to check someone's level or tier, that's what was happening with us right now. Quickly glancing around, I also noticed that I was the only one who seemed to be bothered by this. No one else looked as if they noticed that feeling.
After a moment, the Rodenti scoffed.
"Just because they Tier Two doesn't make them strong. Rodenti better. More trained. Stronger. Only need Rodenti to save family."
Rex shook his head again.
"Need everyone. Anyone who wants to help. Even humans. And humans stronger than Rixnala think."
"Words mean nothing. Prove it," Rixnala replied with a big, toothy smile. "They fight. My warriors and your humans. Who lives is stronger."
Rex laughed and said, "You stupid."
"What?"
Rixnala frowned.
"We all want same. Protect family. Why make them kill? Fight until surrender or can't move. Then I accept. We accept."
Rex turned towards us and nodded, gaining a confirmation from all of us. Rixnala paused for a moment and stared down at every single one of us. I felt that prickly sensation once more, but did my best to pretend nothing was happening.
"Fine. If wounded, warriors not as strong. Instead, fight until you can't. No running, no help, one versus one. Honor bound."
Rex nodded.
"If I win, you go. Leave this family alone. Let them live."
Rixnala scoffed.
"And when I win, you give up. Go north, find new family, never come back."
I was about to step in to say Rex should refuse that bet. After all, there was no need for him to accept such aggressive terms. But before I could say anything, Rex scurried towards his sister and put out a hand for her to shake.
"Deal."
I glanced back at my companions, and this small attempt at saving a family of Rodenti quickly became something much more than any of us was expecting. I could only hope that we were not biting more than we could chew and we were actually able to beat the Rodenti that we were about to fight. At the very least, it seemed we would have a few minutes to organize our thoughts as an honor duel seemed to be something that required preparation. As a large number of Rodenti started to bolt trough the village shouting about it.