[center][color=rosybrown][h2][i]Nika Surt-Kallin[/i][/h2][/color][/center] [hr] [color=silver]Nika had folded his arms tightly against himself while the various discussions went on between everyone gathered. He had thoughts; about the troubles of the North that Sieg had brought up, the cover that the mysterious ladies laid out for Brig (which Nika was in the minority of taking at face value), and everything else. But these thoughts he kept to himself for now. Later, once he sorted them out a little, he might discuss them with Brig - but at the moment what he thought was hardly helpful or important. They just had to focus on what was in front of them until they made more progress. What he did comment on was that every one of the people that had jumped into the fight expressed their intent to travel together with them. The size of their band had practically doubled now, and though it was hard to say how loyal these newcomers would be without the same coin the mercenaries were being paid, it was heartening to have more allies. That fiery red head even knelt before the lady of the North, which did bring a little smile to the pact knight's face. [color=rosybrown]"Nice t'have you all along,"[/color] Nika said. [color=rosybrown]"It'll be good to have a cook with us, an' a doctor."[/color] He shot Soren a meaningful look, as though things had started off and still remained tense between him and the rest of the group (even Nika himself was still thrown by Soren's earlier request), it really was invaluable to have a man of his profession around. With the corpses stripped of their possessions and some of their mysteries, and the consensus being that they should be buried after all, Nika assisted with the disposal just as he said he would. Many hands made light work after all, and the sooner the group was back on the road the better. Of course he kept an ear out as he worked for any sign of trouble that might approach but thankfully did not happen. Once the dead were taken care of, what remained was the living... which included the man they'd all taken to mentally referring to as Goldtooth. Goldtooth remained unconscious throughout the chattering above and around where he laid in the snow, dragged back to the group by Nika a little earlier. He still didn't wake when the digging began nor when the burying was complete. Nika knelt down next to him, peeling one of the man's eyelids up to check the pupil. He'd seen instances of men struck so hard that their souls departed prematurely from their bodies, which never caught up to the fact their owners should be dead. Normally it was brought on by blows to the head, but with a punch like Goldtooth had suffered, it was possible the man had suffered something similar. However, his eyes twitched at the sudden light, and his heart beat and his lungs pulled breath. Surely it would just be a matter of time until Goldtooth woke up, so after a moment Nika hefted the man over his shoulder and unceremoniously dumped him into the cart rigged up to Nakki. Besides the two swords that he'd had, a quick frisk revealed another pouch of platinum coins and a smooth, green stone, though whether it was just a valuable he'd been paid or intended as part of some ritual Nika didn't know. He promptly turned both over to Brigitte who could dole them out or keep them as she saw fit. The pact knight then fetched some rope from their supplies and bound the unconscious man's hands together at the wrist, and his feet at the ankle, so there was little chance of him going anywhere once he roused. Thankfully his magic didn't seem suited for escape attempts, as far as Nika could tell. [color=rosybrown]"Dunno when this one'll be rejoinin' us in the wakin' world, but once he does one of you c'n take a crack at 'im,"[/color] Nika said, giving the bald head a few taps before rounding the cart. He was neither cruel nor clever enough to handle leading interrogations, though he'd be present when it happened. By the time everything was said and done, the horses were rounded up (along with the three remaining that the imposter knights had rode in on) and the group was ready to go again. Nika clapped his hands together once. [color=rosybrown]"Alright, let's get a move on!"[/color] [/color]