After wrapping Erip's body in the blanket Robin provided and slinging her body over the horse's back, Tanith wraps Cuetzpalli's arm around his brawny shoulders to help him stand. "Back to the entrance then. We'll figure things out from there."
Carina nods in thanks at Tanith.
She bends down and picks up Erip's spellbook: being lined with lead, it somehow escaped the worst of the explosion. She holds it for a minute, looking at it.
A tear rolls down her cheek and lands on the cover.
"I'll keep this safe, Erip. I promise."
She tucks the book into her backpack, next to her formula book.
"Should we...I don't know, take him back to Allustan? I never knew his family, if he had any."
"This...ugh. We knew there were risks, but for everything to go so poorly so quickly, we never expected that."
"Sorry for dragging you into this mess, Erip.", Farrukh says, patting his friend's body on the head.
Carina catches up with the rest of the group.
"...I think that would be for the best. Allustan was the..." She takes a breath, trying to steady herself. "...was the only one Erip could really call family."
"We need to come up with a plan before we go any deeper. If we have another fiasco like that, it's very likely that none of us will survive."
"What kind of plan?" Tanith says glumly. "How do you plan for somethin' like that?"
Finally taking a moment to address his own bleeding wound, the big suel shakes his head. "We've gotta press on. Erip wouldn't want us to give up so easily."
Cuetpalli embraces the big Suel after their conflict with the monsters is over. "Thank you Kordson. I live by your generosity," he says. "Why should we journey back to this Allustan? It's a long walk...can he raise the dead? If not we should just rest here, at the entrance to the Cairn. We can burn or bury the dwarf and go back inside when we're ready. If we leave, that group from the Free City might come here and take our glory and treasure."
Tanith frowns as he considers Cuetzpalli's words. For Erep to lose her life and the party lose out on the cairn's riches... it would be double the loss. The big suel nods in agreement.
"We should rest here and recover our strength. Tomorrow, we'll try again."
Farrukh looks between Erip's body and the cairn entrance, torn between the two.
Finally, he decides.
"Yes, I think he would want us to see it through...or die trying." he says, a bit morbidly.
"Well? Will you accept your destiny or run from it? The dwarf is gone, we can mourn him, but leaving won't change it. Let us be strong," Cuetzpalli says to the devil girl and the horse man.
Carina pauses, bowing her head.
"Okay. We'll rest here. I'm not going to dishonor Erip's last wish."
"I say we rest here and now." Robin leans next to Bermintrude. "If anyone tries to sneak past us and defeat this Cairn before we do, we'll see them. If any more beetles try to take us...well, we can sleep with one eye open."[/b]
"I agree, Robin. Lets go back to where the painting was," Cuetzpalli says, leading spiny back in the direction of the stairs.
Tanith follows.
”Tomorrow I’ll ask Kord to preserve whatever strength remains in Erip’s body. That should stave off the rot until we’re done here.”
Carina follows, her tail having settled down somewhat.
The part makes camp on the fresco-encircled dais. Though surrounded by color, the mood is dreary.
Carina's eyes dart along the walls, afraid of potential attackers waiting for a moment of weakness. With a degree of trepidation, she pulls out her healing kit and takes a seat next to Cuetzpalli.
"Hold still, please. I'm going to try to stitch you up." Her voice is quiet.
Carina dutifully takes a needle and thread, beginning to stitch up a nasty gash across Cuetzpalli's weapon arm.
"Um... may I ask where you found that dinosaur that follows you around?" She asks, looking up into his eyes as she works.
-----------------------------
Still paranoid about potential attackers, Carina notices Tanith looking at her plaintively. Judging from the fresh injuries he is showing, it isn't difficult for her to determine what he wants.
"Alright Tanith, your turn." She says, walking over. "Just hold still and I'll get it all stitched up." She takes her healing kit with her, taking out a fresh needle & thread.
She pays careful attention to Tanith's injuries, occasionally using her tail to retrieve antiseptic & fresh thread to work with when her hands are full.
"Thanks again for killing that... spider-thing." She says, giving Tanith a small smile. The memory of the slashing creature causes her to shudder, but her needlework remains as deft as ever.
Despite the painful stitching and the looming sense of despair from Erep's death, Tanith smirks as Carina works on him. "Thanks."
Carina's cheeks turn a deeper shade of red. "It's my job."
Her hands tenderly caress the fresh stitches in Tanith's arm, checking to make sure they're all properly set.
"May I ask how you knew Erip? I'm afraid I may not have known E as well as you..." She looks up from her work.
"She and I used to share a pint down at the Dog. For a dwarf she couldn't hold her liquor but she was good company all the same", the big man explains with a sad smile. "We used to talk about gettin' rich and leaving this shit hole."
Satisfied that the stitches are properly in place, Carina looks back up at Tanith.
"That's a goal I had in mind as well..."
She sits down across from him. Her tail curls around her legs. "The two of us had a doctor-patient sort of relationship. It wasn't as deep as yours was, but, well..." She trails off.
Seeing women upset, and not by his hand, was something that Tanith really hated. He rubs his stubbled chin with a grimy paw and nods in agreement with Carina's words.
"It sounds to me like that's what we need to do then. We'll dig up all the treasure this cairn has to offer and leave Diamond Lake behind. For Erip ", the big man concludes.
Carina nods. "For Erip."
Her voice seems to have found its original volume. She looks over at Tanith's stitches.
"How do they feel?" She eyes them, analyzing them for mistakes she could have made.
"I've had worse" the big man laughs as he flexes his arm to show that her suture are are secure. "Where'd you learn how to patch folks up?"
Carina turns a slightly deeper shade of red. Her tail uncoils from around herself.
"Everywhere and nowhere, Mom was fond of saying. I learned the healer's craft studying under her as we traveled around. Mom's a priestess of the Dweller on the Horizon, you see; never hesitated to render aid if she could."
Her tail starts swaying back and forth as she speaks. "That's how we got stuck in Diamond Lake in the first place. Mom thought it was a good idea to provide relief to miners who suffered injuries on the job, but didn't want to visit the temple of St. Cuthbert." She looks down. "It was alright... for a while at least."
"Thank you, Carina," Cuetzpalli says to the alchemist. "I raised Spiny from the egg. I grew up in a place where dinosaurs are common. He's still a baby. A full grown Spinosaurus is as big as a house."
"Well your mom taught you good", Tanith replies with a big smile while flexing his arm again. "I didn't know my parents as well."
"Carina, I think I can say with no exaggeration that we'd all be dead without you."
The following morning, as the sun's rays begin to break over the horizon, Tanith is awake. He quickly removes his armor and strips to the waist exposing his massively muscled torso and Kord's mark tattooed over his pectoral. Despite the chilly morning air, the big suel is quickly covered in a liberal sheen of sweet from going about his morning routine, including several sets of push ups, sit-ups, pull-ups on a nearby tree, and a nice long jog. When it's done, Tanith takes a knee and touches the tattoo on his hairy chest while bowing his head and speaking a prayer aloud.
"Great Kord, I am your servant in this world. Help me to stay strong against the trials I encounter and to aid others in finding the strength within themselves. Through my might, let others find courage."
Farrukh gets up a bit later than Tanith (having no reason to wake at sunrise, and enjoying his sleep), and starts his own exercises at around the same time Tanith is winding up his own.
Cuetzpalli will join Tanith, though he's used to more naturally occurring exercise. He enjoys learning the exercises the Suel does. "These would be very useful if I were ever imprisoned," he muses. "They can all be done in a small space. Except running of course."
The adventurers decide to remain.