"The Boar-hemoth is still lurking around," I said after casting Locate Monsters. "It's out front, by the stream."
"Dangit. We need to get to the rest of our party," Eimear said.
"Door's still blocked," Gormán said.
"It's fine. We can take the mesa and go down the north face, I'll use my magic to make a ladder."
"Won't that let monsters come up?" Eimear asked.
"You know any wolves or boars that can climb ladders?" I raised an eyebrow at her.
She opened her mouth then closed it.
We followed my plan. It didn't take too long to set the grip holds in place along the side of the cliff face, though I did need to adjust my Retract Earth spell to do it. I added a ranged meta magic to it so I could create the whole ladder from the top.
I did a final check that the Boar-hemoth wasn't in range and we set off.
Eimear led the way, taking a long circuitous route to make sure we didn't run into the Boar-hemoth. I kept the Mapping and Locate Monsters spells running to keep us on track.
We veered away from the river for a short time when I discovered a moderate sized pack of Rivermaw monsters, a tier three water aligned elite monster that looked like a crocodile with an oversized jaw slithering along eight tiny legs. They didn't chase us onto land, and it was easy enough to talk Eimear out of diving to her death. However, we ran into a small pack of Chim-fang-zee's in the woods that we dispatched using the same tactics as on the mesa.
With the three of us supports with spears, it was easy to harass the monsters while our fighters killed them off.
For the most part, we kept our conversation light, and focused on the task at hand. Blánaid latched onto Sé like a leech who could never be satiated. Eimear seemed in her element out here in the wilds, she always had a spell at the ready and her eyes peeled for danger -- not relying on my Divination magic.
By pure happenstance and luck, the movement of the fight led us to a small vein of a bright gray metal that popped out of the ground.
"Tin!" Gormán squealed in delight. "We have to mine this, we can get bronze going."
"That will delay us from meeting up with the party even longer," I said.
"Okay, we don't have to go back, but we should at least mine it, that way we can have it when we--"
"And carry it? Metal's heavy," I cut him off before he could get on a roll. "And don't worry, [Repository]. [Map]." I cast the spells to make sure I wouldn't forget this location. "I'll be able to find this. If we get out quickly, we'll grab this on the way back."
He grumbled, kicked a rock at a tree, but then agreed and we kept going.
Fortunately we didn't run into anything else until we made it to our initial camp.
Eimear got unnaturally quiet as we made our approach. It became clear why as we stepped into the clearing, and I saw the pile of ashes in the corner. An elven skeleton burned to bits within it.
"Poor Torcán," Blánaid said.
"We should put him to rest," I said. "He didn't deserve that."
"No one did," Eimear gritted her teeth. "Whoever it was that sent us here is going to pay for that."
Sé nodded.
I got to work with my Shape Earth spell to dig a grave for him, while Gormán pulled some of the remains of the lean to and used Sé's knife to carve out a simple gravestone. I tried to be as respectful as I could, but since this was the first time I'd ever had to deal with a dead body, I was kind of a mess. I cried freely as I gingerly gathered up his skeleton and ashes and laid them into the ground.
He had been kind. He had known so much and was trying to help us. One moment here, and then the next gone. Eimear was right. Whoever sent us here would need to pay for their crimes. I gave a silent prayer as I used Shape Earth to close his grave, and Sé helped Gormán pound the grave marker into the ground.
"We should get going," Eimear said awkwardly. I could see her holding back tears. Blánaid was silently crying, and I could see some snot on her sleeve from already wiping some away.
"I'd like to say a prayer first."
Blánaid sobered up quickly, and rolled her eyes. Sé nodded to me. He might've been the more devout one, always making sure we went to church. But it seemed like he'd already made his peace with Torcán's death, and knew the power that words held.
"Oh (Lord)." I frowned as soon as I started my prayer.
[ System message: Christianity does not exist in Erendria. Please use a world appropriate prayer.
Would you like to receive one? ]
No. I didn't. I flicked the notice away. I would say it in my own way. "While our time with Torcán was short, he was a good man. He was a guide, and a teacher, and this world took him from us. Please oh..." I stopped before the system could censor me again. "take care of him, and let him live an eternal life in (heaven)."
[System message: WARNING! Persistent attempts to get around the verisimilitude filter will result in punitive actions. Heaven and Hell are not a part of the celestial pantheon within Erendria. For prayers, please use the following to bless a soul into the afterlife.
"Oh, Iehnu, watch over this soul as he changes from life to death, and death again to life. Let the river of souls claim him and cleanse him, so that he may one day be reborn. Let our faith and mana pave his way to new life." ]
I was furious. They brought us here, they killed one of us, and I couldn't even send him off in peace. I got the sense that refusing to use their prayers would come with dire consequences. There was a part of me that wanted to stick to my beliefs, to refuse to follow their mandates. But I could not fight against the titan that was the System. Not yet.
I gritted my teeth as I repeated the prayer aloud, then nearly cursed as I felt my mana drop.
I fumed as I finished the rest of my own prayer silently. I wouldn't let this System win. I wouldn't let it control me. I missed my own church, chore as it was, even if it wouldn't accept me as I was now. I still wanted to be a part of something bigger than me. To still have that guidance. To know that Torcán's soul would be looked after as he ascended to Heaven. To have the comfort that God looked after us as we departed from a cold uncaring world that would suck us into this sick twisted death game.
Eimear stepped away to the side of the clearing, while Sé and Gormán stood behind me. Each bowing their head in silent prayer. Blánaid stood a few paces back trying to look like she cared, but it was clear how much she didn't like this. Atheists were always like that. They could try to be respectful, but the cold distance would always make it hard to feel any real connection.
"(...)" Sé and Gormán both tried to say something but were censored. They scowled, and nodded instead.
"Good bye friend," Blánaid said through some sniffles. "We hardly knew you. But you will not be forgotten."
At least she wasn't heartless. Meanwhile Eimear kept a cold watch over the woods. But as we moved to follow her to leave, she brushed her sleeve across her eyes once before we could see and started walking towards the Seangan Hive Tree dungeon that the Adventuring party had left for.