Kaileer picked up Pug and turned to carry him out of the cave. Arachne followed close on his heels. The goblins made no protest. They still looked tenative and frightened as those that had been engaged with the party moved away to join the others that had joined them in the tunnel.
Arachne, who still had her useless hands on Pug's body, was startled when the dead gnome first moved. She began to speak, but stopped almost immediately, instead watching Kaileer silently. She stood up and followed the elf outside.
Kaileer and Arachne met Azrun, Torro, and Lasiar a short distance back in the tunnel. Azrun said something to the priest when he saw Kaileer carrying Pug.
Torro was able to slowly clear his eyes from the sudden light. As his eyes adjusted he saw Kaileer carrying something. Torro wasn't sure what, he still saw stars still. As Kaileer got closer, Torro made out the form of Pug being carried.
He picked up his bow and arrow and waited to see what was happening.
Tugged forward by Azrun , Lasiar approaches the man carrying the gnome or halfling. He watches in concern at both the dispirited man and the limp body of the gnome, whom he recalls Azrun address as Pug. "Please lay him down, and I will administer to his wounds," Lasiar softly says to the man, and he kneels next to the Pug when Kaileer does so. Lasiar hands his enchanted rock to Azrun, "Please hold this close while I check on Pug." Lasiar examines the gnome for lifesigns, checking for breathing and heartbeat.
Maisar had just finished tying Puddlejumper and Horse to a nearby tree when Arachne and Kaileer emerged from the cave. The elven ranger carried Pug's still form out into the evening air.
The ranger laid Pug's body on the ground and knelt beside him, putting one hand over his own heart and one hand over the gnome's. Then he bowed his head and closed his eyes. With a long sigh, Kaileer stood up, turned away and walked a few dozen feet away so both he and Arachne would have some privacy.
Wherever Kaileer put Pug down, Arachne knelt beside the gray-clad illusionist and rested her hands on him again. Quietly, she began to cry.
Maisar looks at Kaileer as he lays Pug's body down on the ground, and saw Arachne, he turns away and fiddles with the horses, but still stealing glances at the cave mouth for other signs of movement.
Once Lasiar sets his eyes on the still, pale form of the gnome, he realizes the futility of his meager healing skills. Knelt near Pug, Lasiar turns his head to eye the mourning Ranger, Kaileer, and says in a soft soothing voice, "I am very sorry, I am unable to aid your friend. It is beyond my power to rekindle the spark that has been doused. But have hope, what I cannot do, there are priests of my faith capable of returning life to those that have passed on to the afterlife." Lasiar keeps his eyes on the man's face to evaluate his reaction, very concerned for him and some of the other members of the party. He realizes that they must have had a close bond with the recently-departed gnome, and wishes he could have done something.
As he continues to ponder, he realizes that if he had not hesistated to enter the cave, he might have been able to help the gnome before he perished. Lasiar wrinkles his face in self-doubt, perplexed that he has once again failed to live up to expectations. Noticing the others watching his expression, Lasiar recovers his composure, replacing his perplexed look with a calm demeanor. He cannot allow his internal conflicts to interfere with his counseling of the gnome's grieving friends. "All has not be lost. We must keep your friend tightly wrapped and unexposed to the air and bring him quickly to the nearest temple of Selune."
"And where, pray tell, _is_ the nearest temple of Selune?" Arachne asked bitterly, accepting -- since she was standing and the selunatic was still kneeling by Pug -- the rare opportunity to look down at someone. "Scornubel? That's -- what? -- a tenday away? And are we to abandon all else here to go _try_ to make right the blunder we'd committed in that cave? Not only have we _lost_ -- " Her face screwed up at the overtones and obfuscations surrounding that word. "-- Misplaced Pug's life," she sighed, "but there's also the missing Jelenneth and Zond. Those two we don't know to be dead.
"Certes, I would rather that Pug's spark had not been --" Her expression showed more distaste than grief. "-- _doused_. But dead he is and we're left with all that we'd previously known to be unfinished _plus_ deciding what to do about a gnomish corpse --" She paused, then took a heavy breath. "And some people, when death does claim them -- even if it's sudden--are content with what has happened and would rather leave the matter be. I don't claim to have any idea what Pug's wishes would be -- are. He preferred mystery, so I suspect that no-one here could tell you definitely whether he'd have wished to have your goddess fire him up again. But I'll tell you my guess: Pug was just noble enough not to wish the rest of us to quit all here simply to rush his remains away to some distant temple where we could beg for ignition --"
The small gnome halted her speech abruptly, staring down at the dead Pug. Then she looked at the selunetic again. "I am Arachne Convola," she announced briskly. "From Furthinghome, on the Sea of Fallen Stars, so I am very far from home (and along with everything else, feeling frightened of dying so distantly). I'm sorry to be meeting you under these circumstances. I'm sure you mean well. I mean well too. Honestly. But I think that Pug was my best...friend." She fell silent, gazing down at the dead gnome, but remained standing since the immediate area was crowded.
Lasiar seems paralytic, his mouth open and eyes staring at Arachne while she irately gives him a piece of her mind. Unable to put in a word to appease her, he wisely decides to keep quiet and silently accepts her verbose criticism. When she calms down and introduces her self, Lasiar appears relieved and sighs deeply. "I am Lasiar Brightmantle of Arabel, and I too regret meeting you in such circumstances." He wrinkles his brows in deep thought, and adds, "I meant no disrespect to your friend, Pug. Please believe me, I did not intend to question his honor or yours. I only suggested ressurection to help raise your spirits and hope. You and your friends were in such a state of melancholy and gloom that I had thought you would approve of deific intervention." Lasiar looks at Arachne sadly, but his tone lacks any anger or rebuke, just understanding. "And I was not aware of your missing companions or your responsibilites, but I deeply regret my ignorance, little lady." He pauses to look at her, Kaileer, and Azrun. "Pug is your dear friend, and I understand the longing and loss you must feel. I too have lost loved ones." Lasiar nods slowly. "I will graciously step aside and let you and friends decide on how to deal with your loss, but I am here if you need someone to talk to."
He turns completely and looks at Arachne crying for a second then locks eyes with the priest. "If Pug want come back... Selune can help Pug. Kaileer not can be friend of Pug, if Kaileer had kill goblin, Pug not..." he stops and swallows hard, looking away.
Azrun comes out of the cave with the others and listens to Lasiar's diagnosis and proposal of Deity intervention. He starts to speak as Arachne goes into her speach, but decides to wait until she was through.
Azrun nodded at Arachne's comments, "What happened and who were the guys in there?" Azrun looked quite emotionless as he asked.
Arachne sighed. "Goblins," she said. "They wanted us to leave. We wanted to interrogate them about our various mysteries -- you know: Mire, missing people. What happened was that a conflicted situation quickly became a brawl -- with weapons. And we started fighting first. We really can't blame the goblins for our getting hurt -- or killed." She choked on the word and stopped.
One of the goblins, a slightly taller one dressed in scale mail, told the robed one something in goblin.
"Grundlegek says you go now. We want be left alone. Only take baby sheep if Maglubiyet wants. Not know Mire," the shamen told them.
Aloysius looked on sadly as Kaileer carried Pug's body from the cave. It appeared as if the the magic-user had regained his composure somewhat after his brief, intense burst of grief. He eyed the goblin leader suspiciously as he spoke. Finally, he spoke up.
"Soon enow this cave shall be too dank even for thee to inhabit. Seek do we to end this creeping wetness. If know something doth thee, thou can help thyself by telling us."
Wiping the last tear from his eye, Aloysius tried as best he could to stand tall and appear confident as he spoke to the goblin shaman.
The goblin gave Aloysius a look of extreme confusion. He looked around at the others to see if they had anything to say that made more sense to him.
Aloysius frowned at the confusion his speech had created. Clearing his throat to get the goblin shaman's attention, he tried again to explain. Pointing to the ground he said, "ground is wet . . .Mire grows. . . .we try to stop Mire . . . .wet ground bad for you too . . . you help us stop Mire, you help yourselves . . . ."
He then stopped and waited to see if the shaman understood.
"We shall go now." replied Gala. "May we come back sometime to talk to you more if we need to? Can we give you some signal so you will know it is us?"
Aloysius looked over at his only friend in the world with an expression that could only indicate disapproval of Gala's words. However, the magic-user remained silent and waited to see if the goblin shaman was going to respond to his last effort at communication.
Gala noted Aloysius's disapproval and gave him a brief puzzled look in return. She then, pending any other conversation with the goblin leader/shaman, bowed slightly to the leader and turned and left the caves. "Please Jana, Aloysius, come out with me. I need to tend to Jana's wounds." Her voice shook slightly as she talked. Her discovery that Pug was beyond her help was causing her considerable distress.
"Not know about wet ground. Already say that," the goblin said defensively.
"The hell you don't," Jana growled, gripping her mace a bit more tightly. She stood where she was, not wanting any possible unsteadiness to detract from her hopefully intimidating presence. "Tell us now!"
"Indeed . . .", Aloysius replied. "I simply wanted to be sure I understood thee is all." The magic-user looked over at Gala, Jana and Torro. "Mayhap we should leave this bleak place and allow these . . . ." he looked momentarily back at the goblins, "cave denizens tend to their dead and wounded." Turning back to his comrades, his voice slightly(?) increased in volume as he said, "Certain am I that faithful Arachne hath raised good Pug from the dead by now. Let us return to the outer planes, there be naught else for us to accomplish here." Without looking to see if his statement made any impact on the shaman, Aloysius signaled to his comrades to follow him out as he started towards the cave entrance.
"As soon as Short 'n' Blue there fesses up," Jana growled. The head of her mace bobbed up and down a bit as Jana flexed her arm, a move calculated to make the goblins nervous. Assuming, of course, the blood running down her armor didn't catch their attention first.
Gala burst into tears as she left the cavern. She could handle Pug's death no longer.
Aloysius saw that Jana (and presumably Torro) wasn't heading out with the rest of the group. Although he was deeply moved by the Gala's grief, the magic-user didn't want to leave Jana there by herself. Finally, he walked up next to Jana and whispered something in her ear.
