Vikram desperately wanted a piece of land that belonged to himself so that he could start building a base camp. Especially a base camp that he could control every last part of. Such a basecamp could only be built with the power of the land token. Without land, he can not apply the land token.
Their current house is convenient and all, but it's too near the crocodile portal. This time around, they were alive, but barely. If their family was not babysitting the commander's son, they would never have had this kind of safety. Vikram had become more sensitive to human emotions, especially malice after his stint in the portal. He could tell, their family is one straw short of becoming a public enemy.
While the rest of the families are drinking rice water, their family still eats white rice with every meal. Just that is more than enough to get them into danger.