The village of Hot Sands was built around a pool of water in the desert, known as an oasis. This pool was fed by a stream coming down from the nearby mountain.
The houses there were painted all sorts of bright colors and shaped in a rather strange fashion. All of them faced the pool and no matter what direction they were facing it from, the walls on the east side always made a clean slope.
"Why are their walls all slanting like that?" Rita asked.
"I don't know." Colin said.
"It's because of the wind." A red haired lady explained. "The west wind is safe because it passes through the Forest, but the east wind comes straight from the desert. It gets strong, sometimes."
Rita jumped. "When did she…?"
"Sorry, sorry." She waved Rita down. "I'm Fanny, an agent of Pepper Tourism. May I assist you with your queries?"
"Uh… what?" Rita blinked. "I don't understand."
"Do you have any more questions? I'll help by answering them." Fanny said.
"Questions…" Colin thought. "Where can we find Satrox? Michi said to say hello."
"Satrox…" Fanny took out a datapad and checked. "His shop on the north side opens at midnight, just for a minute."
"One minute?!" Rita gasped. "Colin, what time is it?"
"10:38pm." Colin replied. "We have an hour and a half."
"When you want to go there, I'll bring you." Fanny offered. "That's what Tourism Guides are for."
"Great!" Colin said, before Rita could say anything. "Do you know where we can find Henry's brother?"
"Henry…?" Fanny blinked. "Henry who?"
"Uh…" Colin paused. He glanced at Rita.
Rita shook her head. "I don't know his surname either."
"Well, you'll have to be a bit specific. There are four people named Henry living right here. If you're looking for a brother, maybe he shares the same house." Fanny suggested. "I can bring you to those places."
"Wonderful!" Colin exclaimed.
"Uh… Colin…" Rita began.
"Why don't I give you a full tour of the whole of Hot Sands?" Fanny offered.
Colin grinned, but Rita moved fast this time. She clapped her hand over Colin's mouth.
"How much?" she asked Fanny.
"What?" Fanny blinked.
"How much do you charge for your services? How much would we have to pay you?" Rita questioned.
Colin froze.
"The full tour is three hundred Clira, including snacks and photos." Fanny smiled. "For four hundred, we'll give you a place to stay for the day."
Colin stared at Rita. {Yikes… three hundred is enough to buy sixty cans of tuna. We almost…}
"And how much to find Satrox, and the four Henry houses?" Rita asked softly.
"Fifty Clira per location." Fanny bobbed.
"No thanks." Rita said straight off. She tossed Fanny a 10cr coin. "For your answers. We'll find those places on our own."
"Well, then," Fanny eyed the 10cr coin. "Thank you for your patronage, and good Journey. If you ever need…"
"We'll come find you." Rita said and dragged Colin away.
The moment they turned the corner, Colin breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Rita. That was close. I almost asked her to bring us for the full tour."
"That would have been very expensive." Rita said dryly.
"Well…" Colin dug out a 10cr coin. "I think I should pay you back for that coin you gave her."
Rita thought about it. Then, she shook her head. "Forget it. It's nothing."
Colin spotted something farther ahead. "What about an ice-cream, then?"
"What?" Rita blinked.
The guy was selling ice cream for 1cr each. Colin gave him the 10cr coin and gave everyone one.
"Yip!" Shiro wagged his tail, holding it in his paws and licking it happily. Even Raiki seemed cheered up by the ice cream. It was hot out here.
It didn't take them long to find Satrox's Shop. The sign on the roof was dusty, but it was big and blue, and easy to see. Actually, the whole shop was blue, so it would be easy to find again later. It was pretty much what they expected; a building that looked like all the rest, half sunk into the ground with that slanting roof and a sign over the door that said 'Satrox's'.
What they didn't expect was Jonah, Alicia and Larry.
"Hey, Colin!" Jonah yelled as he saw them standing there. "Buying girlfriends with gifts now, are you?"
Standing with him, Larry saw him and snorted, turning away. Alicia stuck out her tongue at him.
They were supposed to be friends, but they weren't exactly friendly. The three of them were more like the kids of his dad's friends and their parents made them spend time together, but playing together did not mean they got along.
Colin stuck out his tongue right back, then watched them waltz past Satrox's shop with narrowed eyes. {Well, they're definitely okay. I guess they were checking out Satrox's shop or something.}
He turned and saw Rita spluttering at their backs, for once at a loss for words. After another ten seconds of splutter, she finally managed to get one word out. "WHAT?!"
"Never mind." Colin advised her, shaking his head.
It took Rita quite a while to find her composure.
Finding the four houses with people named Henry was harder.
The first one took them ten minutes.
"Henry Clumps? The carpenter?" asked a gruff man cleaning a pot with sand. "He's right there."
Colin saw the burly guy fixing a chair and said, "Never mind. That's not the Henry we want."
The second Henry was home too. His home was a shop, just like Satrox's. He sold fruit juice.
"Are you sure you don't want juice?" Henry Tales asked them, as they left.
The third Henry took them forty-five minutes to find.
"He's a Traveler, and he's not home now." The old lady next door said. "His sister is home, though."
"What about his brother?" Colin asked.
She blinked. "Henry Farland doesn't have a brother."
Oh. It couldn't be that Henry, then.
Which left only one possibility.
"We have to hurry." Rita said, checking her watch. "Or we'll miss Satrox's shop at midnight."
"Let's hope it's this one, or we're clueless." Colin said.
"Henry Mills…" Rita asked around. "Do you know where he lives?"
It was 11:55 when they finally found the place.
"Wow." Colin said. "This is a big house."
"It looks great." Rita said. "But let's see if it's the right one."
Colin knocked on the door. "Is this the house of Henry Mills?!"
An old man opened it. "What do you want with him?"
"I'm looking for his brother." Colin explained.
"I don't have a brother." The old man replied.
"You're Henry Mills?" Rita stared.
"I'm Mayor Henry, yes." He said. "Why are you looking for me?"
Rita went red. "I'm so, so sorry… we were looking for the brother of a friend of ours…"
"Well…" the mayor scratched his head. "Henry is a very common name, I think."
"It is…" Colin admitted. "We're sorry for troubling you…"
"It's alright." Mayor Henry said. "Do you have time for tea?"
"Uh… we need to find Satrox…" Rita told Colin.
Colin glanced at his watch. "We only have two minutes to get there."
"Later." Henry Mills told them kindly. "Take care, now."
"Thanks, Mayor!" Colin called, and off they ran back to Satrox's shop.
***
"We made it!" Rita gasped as they arrived exactly at midnight. "We're just in time!"
Colin was too busy panting to say anything. He stood there, looking at Satrox's door, waiting for it to open.
"You guys…!" someone called.
Colin jumped. He turned to see an older boy who looked like he'd been fighting with a dozen cats recently. "Huh?!"
"Is Satrox late again?!" the poor guy groaned. "Look, can you leave him a message? Tell him that Ron had to cancel. I gotta go."
"Ron…?" Colin blinked, but the guy was already running off. "What was that all about? Cancel what?"
"I don't know." Rita frowned. "But don't you think this Satrox fellow is odd? I mean, a shop that only opens for a minute?"
"What's so odd about it?" a calm voice behind her asked.
Colin jumped again, realizing that the door to the shop had opened. Even Rall jumped, and poor Meek dropped out of the backpack.
"Mik!" Meek scolded the honey bear and scrambled up to Colin's shoulder.
"Ah!" Satrox stepped out of his shop. He had light blue hair tied back in a ponytail and dark blue eyes framed by sensor-glasses. "That Lynxmouse is almost an Elder! You've come just in time!"
"Um… Satrox, right?" Colin began.
"Of course." Satrox said, grabbing Meek.
"Mik?!" Meek blinked as she was swiped away from Colin.
"Hey…!" Colin gaped.
"Don't worry, Ron, I'll take care of everything." Satrox said. "Come back tomorrow night!"
The door closed behind him with a thud and Colin and Rita were left staring at it in amazement.
***
"Hey! Satrox! I'm not Ron!" Colin shouted. "SATROX!"
But there was no answer. Colin pressed his ear to the door, but he couldn't hear a thing.
There was only one explanation he could think of. Underground elevator…
"What did he want with your Lynxmouse?!" Rita stared. "What exactly did Ron cancel?!"
They went around Satrox's shop, looking for clues, but by the end of their search, they still had no idea what exactly it was that Satrox sold or did, or what Ron had cancelled.
"Satrox!" Colin called again, but there was no answer.
"Colin, we have to ask around." Rita said at last. "This is leading us nowhere."
"Who are we going to ask?" Colin questioned. "Fanny?"
Rita snorted. "I was hoping we could ask Mayor Henry."
***
Mayor Henry was delighted to see them again. "Do you have time for tea, now?"
"Actually, yes." Colin managed before the Mayor pulled them both in and closed the door behind them.
"May! Tea for two young guests!" he called.
"Who's May? Your wife?" Rita asked.
"No, no." Mayor Henry smiled. "My daughter."
May was an angry looking girl with short hair the color of straw grass. "Father! Just because I promised to stay home and help tonight, it doesn't mean…"
"May, dear, meet our two visitors!" Mayor Henry beamed. "This is… uh… what's your name?"
"Colin." Colin supplied. "And Rita."
"Colin and Rita!" Mayor Henry said broadly. "Be a good hostess and serve them tea, will you?"
"I should never have agreed to this…" May growled, and stalked off to the kitchen.
"Quite the charmer, isn't she?" Rita mused.
"She's a wild one, but I'm trying to teach her culture…" Mayor Henry mentioned. "It's a good thing you two came along, or I'd never have the chance to let her host. For some reason all my friends seem to be too busy today."
Colin could guess why. One look at May was enough.
"Mayor Henry, perhaps you could help us with something…" Rita began. "You've been here a long time, haven't you?"
"I am the mayor of Hot Sands, Rita." he said grandly.
"Only because nobody else wants the job." May put in sourly, slamming a mug down in front of Rita so hard, Colin was surprised it didn't crack.
"And I have been for four years!" Mayor Henry added.
"Not that anyone cares." May added.
"What do you want to know?" Mayor Henry asked. "Do you want a permit to set up shop, for example?"
"Half the folks with shops out there didn't even bother to get a permit and nobody cares if they have one." May grunted.
"No, we aren't here to open shop." Rita said, cutting off Mayor Henry before he could say any more. "Actually, we were wondering about the guy named Satrox."
"Satrox… you needed to get to his shop on time earlier, didn't you?" Mayor Henry frowned. "Quite a clever young man, Satrox, but a bit queer. I once suggested that he court May, and he seemed to think I was making a joke. He laughed for a straight ten minutes, he did!"
Colin had to fight to keep his face straight.
"What does he do, exactly?" Rita asked.
"Him? He's a Breeder. A Lynxmouse specialist." Mayor Henry said. "I hear that he experiments with different kinds of Lynxmice, trying to make especially strong ones. People here buy baby Lynxmice from him sometimes."
"Buy baby Lynxmice…?" Colin frowned. "But he…"
"Does he experiment on grown-up Lynxmice?" Rita asked. "Modify them or something?"
Colin gaped, an image of Meek having robotic parts coming to his mind, but Mayor Henry shook his head. "No, I don't think so. I've seen him take sick Lynxmice and nurse them to health, or train young ones to learn new techniques, but he never does anything harmful to them. At least, not that I know of. Why, just last week, he took a Wild Lynxmouse cub and raised it to learn Grass Storm within a week! Sold that one for sixteen thousand Clira, he did!"
"Sixteen thousand!" Rita gasped. "Why, that's unbelievable! I myself only sold a gold watch for seven thousand!"
"The prize for the Riverside Treasure Hunt? However did you get that?!" Mayor Henry asked.
"Colin gave it to me!" Rita nodded to Colin. "As an apology for leaving me behind one day. But these Lynxmice… have you ever heard of one that could defeat a lion?"
"That would be Breaker." Mayor Henry said. "One of Satrox's own Comrades…"
May looked at her father and Rita as they launched into what promised to be a very, very long conversation and shook her head. She stepped back and neither of them even seemed to notice she was about to leave.
"They're going to go on all night." Colin groaned.
"All night and tomorrow, if they could." May agreed.
"Thanks for the tea, May." Colin said, shaking his head. "Are you a Traveler, by any chance?"
"I am." May nodded. "But dad bugged me to help out tonight, and well…"
"Yeah." Colin sighed. "Have you ever met a boy named Henry around here? He wears glasses and a yellow scarf."
"I'm afraid not." May said. "Why?"
"Something happened to him and we were looking for his brother." Colin explained.
"What does this have to do with Satrox?" May asked.
"That's different. A friend of mine heard I was coming this way and said to say 'hi' to Satrox for her." Colin said. "But I didn't get the chance. Satrox thought I was someone else and took my Lynxmouse for the night."
"Well, that's nice." May shook her head. "Your mouse would probably be back tomorrow with a new technique or something. But I must warn you, Satrox's prices can get expensive. I asked him to teach my Lynxmouse the 'Food Finder' trait and he charged me a thousand Clira for it."
"A thousand?!" Colin winced. "I don't have that much…"
But Rita would. She had sold that watch he gave her, after all. Colin suddenly realized that Rita was several times richer than himself. Maybe she'd lend him some money…
Speaking of money, Colin suddenly realized it was going to become quite an issue now that he had five Comrades to feed. After helping out at Edward's Farm a bit, he'd gone around doing missions the first few hours of the night thinking of how much it cost to feed Shiro, Raiki and Meek. Adding Rall and Warc could have him doing jobs all night just to keep them fed.
"Money." Colin gulped, started to sweat.
"You can ask dad for a job." May said. "There's always lots to do around here and nobody who wants to do it. It's the heat, I think. I'd do them myself, but dad always seems to think I should be paid less because I'm his daughter."
"Really…" Colin frowned.
Well, why not? What else did he have to do?
He couldn't find Henry. He couldn't even say 'hi' to Satrox until tomorrow night. He couldn't leave Meek behind. Until tomorrow night, Colin realized, he was stuck here.
"Scrap." Colin groaned. "How did I get myself into this?"
"Hey, Dad!" May called.
Mayor Henry and Rita stopped in the middle of their long conversation. "Yes, dear?"
"I talked Colin into doing some odd jobs. Why don't we give him some work while you talk to Rita?"
"That sounds brilliant, dear! Get the list!"
May gave Colin a thumbs up sign and disappeared upstairs. Rita and Mayor Henry went on talking.