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The hug from Zell was almost as unexpected as the fact that most of them were still alive and he was not ashamed to admit that he hugged the other man with maybe just a little bit more tightly than he was going for, Clive was dead and he felt the moment the blessing over Arthur shattered.

The battle was over but it was no time to mourn yet.

[quote=Mac]
[color=Pink]"James, you are a miracle worker,"[/color]
[/quote]
MacKenzie's words brought a sardonic grin to his face [color=6ecff6]"Don't go saying that just yet, surgery often takes a while to see if it even worked"[/color]

[quote=Tree man]
"I'm sorry that I led you all here to this awful place, and them to their deaths. If I could have died instead, I would" Pause "You can do whatever you want to me; yell at me, kick me off the team, whatever. But only after we're safe in Valheim. Otherwise, their sacrifice will have been in vain."
[/quote]
He gave a half-hearted glare at the younger man [color=6ecff6]"Don't say shit like that Adam, you think that asshole wouldn't have found us no matter what? It was only thanks to the bigger creature driving him off that we survived"[/color] Not that he would [i]thank[/i] said creature, it killed Arthur so it could burn in hell for all that he cared. He continued with a more tired tone of voice [color=6ecff6]"Don't take it wrong just, accept that shit would have hit the fan regardless, it is not your fault and neither is ours, it's theirs"[/color] Saying so he turned around. [s]It wasn't like [i]he[/i] was the one who ordered Arthur to attack the Aurok[/s]

All around him he watched as his party started preparing for the travel despite their injuries and he refrained from casting his healing spell on anyone else, chances were that something even [i]worse[/i] happened during the trip and he didn't want to be caught without some sort of safety net in case a medical emergency popped up. [s]He didn't want to cause another casualty[/s] [color=6ecff6][i]"Get your mind out of the gutter"[/i][/color] With careful steps he got back to his feet, Adam carrying Lilliana was the best option, he felt too much like shit to do it himself and everyone else seemed to be in equally rough shape so better let the one capable do the work, it also was assured that if something happened Adam could recreate his improvised fortified position and cover himself and Lilliana.

The brief glow on his palm distracted him from his thoughts, whatever the crystal on his hand was it was reacting to something and a brief inspection brought something new to the surface deep within himself. Two new blessing slots appeared on his mind next to Undaya's as well as a new spell sitting in his mental library, but for some reason they felt... incomplete, for a lack of a better word, as if multiple inputs blocked each other from entering and blocked the spell as a result. Whatever it was he dismissed it, he didn't have time to worry about things like these when they were already pressed for time.

Looking around one last time he caught sight of Arthur's tossed anchor so he approached with careful steps and bent to grab it, maybe he could prop it to make a makeshift headston-

The weapon was not sentient or sapient but whatever shenanigans were going around its natural enchantments and its relations to the blessing the result was the same, the moment he grabbed it a pulse rang through and an alien feeling invaded his whole body, it took him a moment before he could put into words into what feeling it was but once he did there was no mistaking it.

It was grief.

The weapon recognized that its wielder's life was cut short and wept for it knew that without his presence it could never accomplish its purpose, perhaps it was pity or sympathy that made him act that way but before he could even think he was already fixing the chain around his body. Once he made sure the chain was secured and the anchor rested on his back he utilized his knife and made a big hole, if he was taking his weapon then the least he could do was give him something to remember him by, in this case, his own staff.

When he was finished at least half of his staff was under the earth with the other half overlooking the cliff Arthur had fallen through, it was way less than a man like him deserved but it was the best he could give him, saying a prayer he bid him goodbye and retreated with the rest of the group to keep heading towards Valheim.

...

After Zell made contact with the guards Lily, Zell, and himself were quickly ushered to the hospital where they were told prices and their wounds were treated, a part of him wanted nothing more than head to the nearest hotel or inn or whatever they had around here, maybe after drinking enough to forget all that happened on the last few hours but his conscience wouldn't let him, they were being persecuted and they needed answers, commander Vadim had told them to go to the Guld and he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep until the matter was resolved.

Glancing at those with him in the hospital he decided to share his thoughts [color=6ecff6]"We should wait for Lily to wake up and for the others to come before going to the Adventurers guild, they might be able to explain what the fuck is going on and it would be better if we all are there to hear it from the source."[/color] A pause [color=6ecff6]"Plus, whoever is after it was willing to send assassins to get the cube so it would be better to get it out of our hands as soon as possible."[/color]