The Pakou landed in the meadow, near the leader's corpse. When Re'Kha jumped on the ground, the Pakou lifted its right foreleg and inserted only a toe in the water, moving its leg slightly. Re'Kha frowned, muttering in surprise, "What do you mean I shouldn't search for clues on him?"

The Pakou moved its right foreleg as its toe moved through the water, forming words that Re'Kha understood in her perception. It was similar to people writing on air.

[These scouts are from my Clan. Re'Kya sent them to capture you. There won't be any clues leading them to my Clan. Rather, they hide a lot of poison under their armour to infect anyone who searches their corpse. It's for the best to leave them alone.]

"So, it is her this time."

[From what I found out, she also had a hand in orchestrating the previous incident.]

"She probably contacted those from my Clan and satisfied their greed for them to act…no, those from the main family always planned to eliminate me."

[Your aunt has been eyeing your mother's position all along. She's not free of suspicion either.]

The two turned silent, feeling the rain thin out as Re'Kha immediately climbed on the Pakou's back. The Pakou took off to the skies and headed northeast, moving far from the settlement. When the rain stopped, the Kalhas within the houses exited immediately.

They collectively took off to the skies, forming a massive cluster as they created a cacophony of noise. A lot of them had been killed in the previous chaos. They wished to replenish their numbers immediately. The eye cluster gazed towards the east, vaguely sensing the energy that caused them to migrate.

It was still there, disturbing their home, the Kuhera Forest. The Kalhas were wary, unwilling to get close to that energy. Thankfully, the energy that had invaded their home was unstable and seemed to steadily retreat into the Bahara Mountain Range. The source seemed to be from beyond that, so the energy looked like it would soon retreat towards the source.

After finding out the fact that they could return soon, the Kalhas calculated the time they had to remain in the place, noticing that it was about to rain soon. They made merry for some time and retreated into the houses the moment it began to rain.

In the house adjacent to the one Re'Kha had taken refuge within, there existed a similarly-sized granary, one that was bigger than what their household was allowed to have by imperial rule. Half of the granary was cordoned off by a wall, making it seem like it was all that was available.

Though, underneath the roots of an Aeki existed a similar manhole covered by a lid. Within it was a narrow path that led into the room on the other side. Stone mats were laid on the floor, numbering 20.

Chained on each were people, maintained in an unconscious state. An Aeki stood in the centre of the room, its size thrice the Aekis Re'Kha had witnessed. Numerous roots shaped like tubes spanned from its sides and were inserted into the mouths of the people.

It steadily dripped a solution after every interval. This maintained the condition of the people, preventing their bodies from deteriorating due to hunger. A retractable cage covered each stone mat, its bars were thin and positioned close to each other. They were also coated with a gelatinous solution that exuded a pungent smell.

Embedded in the people were eggs the side of eyeballs, numbering 10 per each. They were only embedded in and around the stomach, placed carefully to avoid injuring the host.

Among the 10 eggs in one of the people, one egg sported cracks before a tiny critter emerged out. It had a long tail and a large, obtuse mouth attached to a body that lacked a neck. It possessed two pairs of limbs that could move about in all directions, only possessing ball-and-socket joints.

It was tiny, but the moment it hatched, it opened its mouth and screeched, "Aiaaiaaia!"

The other 9 eggs near to it hatched soon after as the critters within walked out, shouting similarly. One after another, they hatched, moving about within their cages as they simultaneously gazed at the host they hatched out from.

"Aiaaiaaia!"

Followed by their shout, they dug through the skins of the chained people and burrowed into their bodies, screeching as they started to eat them. Their bodies started to grow from their larval stage.

Rhipa!

They were the very same creatures that Re'Kha used the name of to fool the scouts. As it turned out, the conjecture of the scouts turned out to be true. A household indeed was growing them to use, which was forbidden by imperial law.

It was dangerous to use the Rhipa, for they couldn't be controlled. And, every activity of theirs had to be strictly monitored to avoid causing any mishaps that would lead to a disaster. Now, with the entire space unmanned, the Rhipas had hatched and were beginning to move.

It was unknown as to what the household was planning to do with them, but now, it mattered naught. One of the Rhipa moved towards the cage, hesitant as it sniffed the gelatinous substance coated on it.

It immediately retreated in fear, revulsion existent in its actions. It communicated with the other Rhipas, formulating a plan as they converged around the person's fingers, targeting the middle finger first.

They ate the flesh around it and pulled out the bone. A Rhipa carried it and moved towards the cage, poking at gelatinous substance as it moved the bone, scooping part of the substance. It then moved towards a corner and applied the gelatinous substance to another part of the cage.

Some of the Rhipas directly severed the fingers of the person and used the smoothness of the skin to wipe out part of the cage, cleaning all traces of the gelatinous substance on it. To achieve that, they also took out patches of the person's skin like expert weavers and cleaned the area.

Once it was done, they began to bite through the cage, soon making a hole big enough for them to pass through. The Rhipas exited the cage and screeched in joy. The Rhipas in the other cages too mimicked their actions, soon exiting. The entire space was filled with all sorts of sounds the Rhipas made. It was the prelude to another disaster.