"Razvan?" Rahul asked with his head tilted to the side.
"Right." Benkó whispered. "The Zaukáns were responsible for the places closest to the chüvighs in the winter." He mumbled.
"Which means that it was the tribe of the chiefs..." Citar began, then put his hand in front of his mouth.
"Did your tribe come to moonwalk in my village Razvan?" Rahul asked with his hands on his hips.
"Yes." Razvan replied to him, still motionless, Rahul sighed, then stood behind the boy with calm steps and kicked him in the ass with all his might.
"I already said that I'm not mad at those hegins. Get up Tapló boss, I feel awkward in your stead. Anyway, I healed every field after that, it wasn't a big deal, it just came out of the blue." He turned away from Razvan and folded his arms in front of him.
"But..." Razvan pressed his forehead as he sat up on the ground.
"Um... Rahul why is your friend apologizing?" The head of the village spoke.
"He is the heir of the Zaukáns, so his pride dictates that he takes responsibility for his tribe's actions. His tribe attacked you." Wandi explained in a monotone voice, while the village leader just blinked at them.
"But it's a seasonal thing for us." He said, with which he managed to make the hegins look at him in surprise. "They attack us four times a year." He waved. "Do you see that building over there?" He pointed to the right side towards a large house. The hegins began to nod. "That is our public warehouse that is what gets looted, but there is usually not enough in it for the mice of our church to live well." The man explained, then pointed to the left, towards the fields. "And do you see that there?"
"There's nothing there." Citar raised one of his eyebrows.
"That's our real warehouse." The head of the village announced.
"Rahul, I think there is something wrong with your village." Citar stepped next to Rahul and whispered in his ear.
"There's nothing wrong with them, it's really our warehouse." He shrugged, but his team only looked at him with strange eyes. "It's a special place, only the blessed see it. If I didn't have an 'exceptional permit' I wouldn't see it either." He folded his arms in front of him.
"Good thing you have permission Rahul. We owe half of our harvest to you." The head of the village laughed heartily. "So, as you can see, there is nothing wrong. Stand up young man!" He held out his hand to Razvan, who after a nod accepted the gesture and got up from the ground. "So what brought you to our little village?"
"We want to see the ruins behind the playground." Rahul explained, while the uncle looked up at the sky.
"You won't see that today. The tide is coming in, half of it would be flooded by the time they got there. You better go in the morning." The man nodded. "Take your friends around the village, and we will prepare for the feast." He smiled at Rahul, who nodded. The villagers dispersed noisily, and Rahul turned to the team.
"Come, I'll show you my home." He waved to them and when they all started nodding, Rahul went on a small path next to the nearest field. The group followed in silence as they passed the barren fields and then headed towards a forest. Soon a cottage appeared on the horizon, which, although it seemed dilapidated at first glance, when they got close to it, they could clearly see that the appearance was deceiving, as it was a very neat little place. "Welcome to my place. You will spend the night here today. Take a look around, I..." Here he turned towards the forest. "I want to check something. I'll be right back." He waved and left the team alone at the small house.
He didn't even have to look where he was going, he knew the forest like the back of his hand. Soon he found the place he was looking for, the clearing with the small lake where he always met his griffin. He didn't know why, but it was as if there was a feeling of absence, as if something should have been here that wasn't here. In the end, however, he just shook himself and hurriedly returned to his home, only to find the hegins in a rather strange situation.
"Could you explain why you are standing around the pottyantó?" He pointed to the stone pot with a hole on it.
"Pottyantó?" Benkó blinked at him.
"Yes. People do their business there." Rahul explained, with which he only managed to make the hegins look at the structure even more curiously.
"But there is water in this." Mumbled Benkó.
"Yes, to wash away what comes out of you." Rahul rolled his eyes. "I don't even know how you don't have one." He shivered as he thought back to the past months.
"Master Mo has it." Razvan shrugged his shoulders, which surprised the other hegins as well. "Don't look at me like that, I just saw it by accident." He raised his hands defensively, and Rahul laughed.
The mood was happy all night from here on out. Rahul first led the hegins back to the village for the feast, and after they were all full they returned to Rahul's home. The night passed without any problems, and the next morning the hegins were suprisingly up early and Citar had to wake Rahul up. However, soon the team was on its way to the village again, when a strange sound broke the silence of the village.
"A bell?" Teveli tilted his head to the side.
"Yes. It calls the villagers to pay respect." Rahul shrugged.
"Pay respect to what?" Suk wondered.
"To the Onegod." The chüvigh boy waved.
"Ahhh. Your pegin." Citar snapped his fingers.
"What?" Rahul blinked at him.
"We call it that when we talk to our gods and the spirits of our ancestors." Razvan explained.
"Yo Rahul, do you think we can look at the chüvigh pegin?" Teveli grabbed his chin.
"I don't think the father would be angry about it." Rahul thought aloud.
"Boss?" Teveli turned to Razvan, who nodded when everyone looked at him imploringly.
"Then come." Rahul chuckled, shaking his head, as he led the hegins to the large building on the main square of the village, which had two small towers. "Father!* He gestured to the man in white standing at the gate of the building, who smiled widely at him.
"Rahul, my son." He grabbed his shoulders. "What brings you here?" He looked over the team.
"My friends would like to participate in our respect." He said, lowering his head, the man first looked at the team in surprise, then smiled widely.
"In this case, come inside, the holy house of the Onegod will open its doors to you." He let the team in, who followed Rahul into the building, where there were benches everywhere along the walls on which the villagers were sitting. Rahul led the group to the empty bench closest to the door where they all took their seats.
Not long after, the father of the village also entered the building and, standing in the middle of the square, began conducting the ceremony. At first he just told the listeners about the deeds of the Onehod, and then invited them to sing. And the hegins nicely imitated everything they saw, until the father turned to Rahul, who nodded. The villagers began to recite a prayer, but when the hegins were about to join the crowd, Rahul raised his hands and shook his head. The ceremony ended peacefully.
"Why couldn't we say that something?" Achilleus explained.
"Only the blessed can say that." Rahul explained as he led the team out of the building.
"Young gentlemen!" At the sudden sound, the team immediately stopped and when they looked back, they found the father in front of them.
"Father." Rahul nodded.
"I just wanted to thank you, young gentlemen, I have never heard of unbelievers turning to our faith with such understanding. I will pray for you, that the Onegod will keep you healthy." The man bowed and left the team alone.
"Well, I didn't understand half of that." Citar scratched his head. "But one thing's for sure, when we get home, I'll have to show you a proper pegin, Rahul." He hit the boy on the shoulder.
"Until then, we still have a few things to do. Rahul, would you please take us to the place where the prophet can be?" Razvan turned to the chüvigh boy, who nodded.
"Of course, but first..." Here he grinned. "Let's find the little ones."