Honering the Last Rites

['Kondor' Ashblight]

War on the horizon has lead to the world moving rapidly, taking time to grieve is something that seemed overlooked. For Kondor, the loss of his friends made time stand still.

Walking up to the dead, headless corpses of Quill and Morrigan had made everything freeze. The pain of loss so sudden, every breath, every step, felt like an eternity. He knew he had to do his duty and give his friends the proper treatment they deserved. They were not monsters, just people.

Walking up the stairs of the Inn’s deck, he spotted Brummbar manning the forge. The heat from the flames was a welcome warmth to his freezing blood.

As he approach the forge, many thoughts ran wild through in his head, but the sound of the hammer meting the anvil quickly took him out of his mental ocean.

“Hello Brummbar” he quietly asked, “do you have a spare moment?”

[Brummbär]

Brummbär paused his rapid hammering of bare anvil to really and truly look at his longtime travelling companion. Kondor no longer glowed the bright purple haze he distrusted nor did the poor lad feel warmth when near an open window or just walking in the shade.

Brummbär finally saw again the freezing, lost young lad he rescued from the wilderness. He had become so enthralled in forcing himself to be the savior others didn't need that he had forgotten about the one who needed him first.

With an even quieter voice, with an ever so slight tear in his right eye, Brummbär responded: "Kondor. I always have a spare moment for you, my oldest friend. How can I assist you?"

['Kondor' Ashblight]

The voices echoing loudly in his head, screaming at him for failing his closest friends. The bitterness of the past days hung a gray mantel over everything he did.

"We both know of the lost that has happened." Kondor said with a cracked voice, holding back any anger or tears that could escape. "I'd like two coffins made for our friends".

[Brummbär]

Brummbär was taken back by the request. He didn't expect such a unique thing, though there were two losses... With a voice colder than death, the dwarf responded "When do you need them?"

['Kondor' Ashblight]

"As soon as you can, its of most importance to me" Kondor said with a flatness to his voice.

The cold was starting to make his joints feel locked again, the dreadful feeling of his blood clotting in live time was something he could not push past, as he wrapped his half-cloak tighter to himself.

[Brummbär]

"It shall be done." With that, Brummbär tore his way off of the Inn Deck and into the forest to find the perfect trees for his friend.

['Kondor' Ashblight]

A small smile formed on his face for only a moment, the warmth of the care of Brummbär made him feel human "I'm still normal" he said in a mutter.

A voice called from the back of his mind, a voice he had been ignoring for months. They call you a monster, you Know that right? They want you gone soon enough they will kill you. They hunt Monsters, what makes you think they won't do the same to you. You've seen the looks before, they are waiting for you to turn your back.

A chill ran straight through him, as if a knife had been planted in his spine. He knew he had to just endure the cold, after all his friends weren't there to warm him. They lay pulseless, colder than he could even think about.

"Stop it, please" He begged, he could feel his head begin to swirl, his breath became rapid. Clutching his heart he could barley stand upright, his vision became a blur and the sounds around him grew empty.

You can't hide behind that mask of 'Kondor'. We remember what you couldn't do, the blood on your hands, we know what you are. A failure, a weakling, a monster

Tears streamed down his face as the voices slowly left, echoing monster, over and over again. Now he couldn't stop the tears nor the shaking. He push his legs to move, away from this Inn, away from the rock that bared the blood of his friends.

As he stumbled away, he could only whisper his thoughts outload. "If it cost me my life, I'd save my only friends. That's something I could live with. I could take that to the end.".[/i]

[Emellia]

Emellia, who has been retreating more and more to the earth circle, decided to get some bread and jam from the inn only to see 2 upset friends exchange words then depart. Concerned, she intercepted Brummbar as he headed in her direction.

"Hello, is everything alright bud? Where are you going?" She asked Brummbar.

[Brummbär]

Brummbär froze abrutly and turned his whole body to Emellia. Thank the forge it's Emellia, she is ok

"Oh you surprised me Emellia; No everything is not alright. I'm heading to my clearing near Lysander's to harvest wood for Kondor."

"You can accompany me if you wish, but I will not be pleasant company; Especially after what town decided to do" he said rather coldly.

[Pavel Vesely]

Sat before his notebook, Guy quietly observed as he made adjustments to his prosthetic hand, his focus occasionally shifting to the four words he'd written after the ordeal with Rogar: "A job's a job". To him, guarding Quill was but another job, one for which he still awaited his payment. All the while, his left hand fidgeted idly with a ring about one of his collection of Nordinist pendants.

[Emellia]

Slowly, she nods in understanding, her demeanour drooping a bit. Ever since the execution there was a sad feeling hanging in the air like a dense fog and there was nothing she could do to shake it but retreat to the Earth circle to study her surgical skills. Emellia didn't like this feeling or knew how to deal with it, so all she felt she could do was acknowledge it and offer comfort to those who needed it.
"...everyone deserves a forest friend - especially in times like these - so I shall go with you. Do you wanna talk about it?...or a hug, maybe?" She said, concerned for her friend.

[Brummbär]

Brummbär sighed and opened his arms for the hug. While it wouldn't make him feel better, it would help Emellia feel better.

He wondered how he would protect such an innocent soul from the monsters that roamed the forest and the monsters that now disguise themselves as townsfolk; He couldn't use violence, for an eye for an eye would make the world blind; He could try reasoning with them, but lately they seem to run on just the emotion they feel first. A combination of the two ideas though... that could work...

(After the Hug)
"Let us walk and talk" the dwarf said with a slightly warmer tone than before. "What would you like to know?"

[Emellia]

Emellia's face brightened as Brummbar opened his arms for a hug, and immediately gave him the biggest hug she could. It wasn't much, but at least she could still hug the friends that were around. For now, that knowledge was all the comfort she needed.

(After hug)
"Well," she started, "with the chaos of everything that went on, I didn't get to ask you how your forging went. How did it go? On a similar note, why are you getting wood for Kondor? Did his staff get destroyed in the explosion?"

[Brummbär]

"Well it was actually quite peaceful at the Boneyard that night," he began, "That project will be a little surprise for both the warlord and town."

"As for our purpose now," Brummbär? said a few moments from the clearing with his frighteningly deeper, "We must lay the dead to rest."

[Emellia]

Emellia stopped. It has been years since she has attended a proper funeral, even longer for someone close to her. From what she learned from attending the funerals she did attend, this could only mean one thing: her friends really are gone for good.
She took a deep breathe in through her nose and out through her mouth before forcing her emotions to settle.
She nodded her head. "I know where some pretty plants bloom, even in autumn. What can I do to help?" Emellia finally said in a noticeably controlled but still warm tone.

[Brummbär]

Not Brummbär stepped into the clearing and tossed out a decent looking chunk of wood. A voice as cold as death escaped from the dwarf and said: "You are to help us gather wood for some coffins." After a long inhale and exhale, the dwarf continued: "We know Kondor may think the dead will rest better with these pretty plants you speak of; You may gather them after you help us carry this back".

[Emellia]

Noticing the sudden change, Emellia quickly nodded.
Like clockwork, she started to gather as much good quality wood as she could carry.

Emellia worked in silence, determined to help as much as best as she could but stopping every once in a while to point out wild mushrooms like winter chanterelles, saffron milk caps, and bunch berries and offer fun facts like how saffron milk caps smell like fruit candy, before picking a couple to put in her belt pouch. Throughout the journey, she points out big rocks to Not Brummbar in hopes to distract his thoughts at least for a couple moments.

[Brummbär]

Upon getting to the edge of the woods facing the Inn, Brummbär said in a rather warm, normal tone compared to before: "Thank you for helping me with this cumbersome task, why don't we leave this here and go see those plants you were talking about?"

[Emellia]

Emellia let out a relieved smile.
"Okie dokie," Emellia replied without skipping a beat, "I'll show you the good spots!!"

Soon enough, Brummbar found himself being led by an excited Emellia towards a mushroom in the shape of a flower, and later towards the green corridor where she delicately picked wild mushrooms and bunch berries before putting them into her pouch.
The woods were calm. The trees protected them from the wind as well as provide shade, and the moss was soft under their feet as Emellia pointed out stick after stick, plant after plant, until soon she had enough for 2 handmade wreaths. Satisfied, she looked to Brummbar.
"I think this will suffice. Thank you, friend."

[Brummbär]

"No, thank you... friend." responded the dwarf as they made their way back to the forest edge. "When we return to my forge, perhaps you could show me what uses these assorted nature bits can be useful for."

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