"Well..." Ren elaborated a convenient version of events. "Apparently he had heard about my... successes finding veins. He wanted to hear about my method while I guided him."
"And?" Liu leaned forward.
"And nothing. I showed him how I use the mushrooms for light. He let me take some remains from the dead hydra and gave me old parts from his beast. End of story."
His friends clearly wanted more details, but Ren moved toward his trunk, effectively changing the subject since… Carefully, he took out the hydra egg and the bug egg, placing them next to the two cores he had recovered.
Taro, who had been unusually quiet, observed the objects with familiarity. After all, he had helped Ren hide them the day he ended up in the infirmary.
"What the hell?" Min approached to examine the objects. "Where did you get those?"
"A bit deeper in the caves," Ren responded honestly. "Luckily... I found them along with the cores."
