Sadri was still in dull shock from the whole turn of events. His comment on the somewhat abruptly finished fight was quiet, almost like a quip coming from a mer who saw the spectacle as child’s play. In truth Sadri was simply in disbelief. Sadri had lived long, sure, but he hadn’t killed a super-bear before. Hell, he hadn’t [i]seen[/i] one, to begin with. Nobody would believe this if he were to share this story in taverns. He had to make it more drawn-out. ‘’[i]I killed a dire bear once with one strike of my sword![/i]’’ Coming from an Orsimer wielding a blade the size of two men it could’ve been acceptable, but coming from a lanky, bitter looking Dunmer like Sadri, it was nothing more than absolute nonsense. Still, though, he seriously needed a promotion for that. Or some extra payment, he wasn’t sure. But he’d just saved Ashav the trouble of finding a new quartermaster and some new hired muscle.

He smashed the cleft briarheart with his foot as Edith comforted the rather overwhelmed Relmyna. He did not blame the young girl. He probably wouldn’t have been able to strike another blow on the bear if it had survived that.  ‘’Now, now,’’ Sadri decided that some pep talk would lighten the mood. ‘’You don’t owe me your life – just two hundred Septims.’’ Of course, Sadri would be more than happy if Relmyna took his joke seriously and decided to pay up, but he didn’t tone it in that way. That would be just bad sport. And when Edith commented on how his sword came in handy, Sadri shrugged. The tunnel was certainly larger than he thought, and never in the past had Sadri heard of jacked up bears in mining tunnels.

Tennant was, thankfully, still alive – but unfortunately he seemed to be temporarily out of commission with his wound. Lucex was obviously shaken by the fact that his missed shot had nearly caused the deaths of the party members who had dared to take on Smokey in melee. Sadri didn’t say anything to Lucex – he himself was partly pissed at him for missing a shot when he had been needed most, but everyone made mistakes. He couldn’t blame the young lad, and he wasn’t going to vent his frustration on him. Edith was doing a better job at consolation anyway. 

The group left Tennant alongside Relmyna and the dead abomination. As they proceeded, they stumbled upon yet another table, not unlike the one that held Smokey’s bear beforehand. Sadri cursed under his breath, expecting to fight yet another product of whatever long forgotten magic these rock-shagging savages weaved into reality. Only this time they were simply unable to bring back the target, a man that was apparently working for the Bosmer scout. ‘’[i]Better to die than to end up like Smokey back there,[/i]’’ Sadri thought to himself as the group left the corpse behind. He certainly did not want his corpse defiled and used to attack his coworkers. 

And they came across another group of tables (this place felt more like a surgery area than a mining tunnel with all the dissected bodies and the tables), bearing this time not slashed up corpses but tools – tools that Sadri expected Forsworn would not be proficient enough to use – instead. Edith examined one of the items. From afar, with Sadri’s bad eye, they looked somewhat familiar. And Edith proved Sadri’s gut feeling true by confirming that they were indeed stolen magical charges. As Edith mentioned that, Sadri’s mind was immediately overwhelmed by thoughts of the tunnel possibly being sabotaged. He wasn’t going to die before seeing the sky one last time. But fear of death was nothing unusual for him. He just shrugged the thought off his head. His sugar tooth was itching. He needed some huffs of moon sugar once this was all said and done.

Eventually, the group managed to reach what seemed to be the end of the tunnel. It was barred, with a construction that mimicked the entrance acting as door. However majestic it might have once been, misuse, time, and lack of treatment had reduced it to not much more than a vestige of well-prepared reinforcements. 

‘’We could use the charge, destroy the door and surprise our foes, or we could just kick it down, though we might very well be charging into an ambush. Either way, we have to take chances and advance through this area.’’

Somehow, after the beat of silence, Sadri knew all too well that the decision would once more left to him. ‘’[i]I don’t see why I’m not getting paid higher if I’m the one who has to take initiative constantly,[/i]’’ he complained to himself as he rolled his eyes as if he was viewing his options. The worst that could happen with one option was a quick execution and the dissection of his corpse. And the other option’s worst case presented to him a slow death through suffocation and inability to move. Somehow, getting his throat slit felt like a better option.

‘’I have to make all the decisions, don’t I?’’ Sadri spoke somewhat quietly, hoping that it would lighten the load on everyone’s nerves. He knew he could also be pressing on everyone else’s nerves, but he figured that getting a load off his shoulders would be necessary before making a decision that could possibly cost everyone their lives. ‘’I don’t want to use the charges, but I figure that if we don’t somehow bash the door open in one maneuver, whoever’s behind it will probably have time to prepare.’’

He paused for a second. Either way they would be putting a lot of stress on the tunnel – after all, trying to bash open a locked door would also put pressure on the supports of the door, and unhinging it that way could cause it to crumble upon the party. Blowing it up would be faster, he figured.

‘’Let’s blow it up.’’ He eyed the group for volunteers. ‘’Anyone willing? Or are we drawing straws?’’