(D&D 5e) The Tempest Aloft the Haunted Isle In Character

[Requilac]

Valafar shivered at the woman's presence, the lord of crabs was not a god he was fond of. Even less so when surrounded by death, the Tiefling removed his bedroll from his back and rested it under Crynirad's head to help him breath better. They would be moving on soon but the man needed a moment, he next uncoiled the rope from his pack and proceeded to tie up the remaining pirate.

"I did not know the man that well. Bury him or cremate him, but make it quick. We can mourn the dead once we know what is going on here."

Zuu scavenges everything of value from the pirates' corpses, especially those of mundane utility, such as weapons, cooking utensils, waterskins, and the like.

Afterwards, he returns to the group and learns with consternation that the boatswain had succumbed to his burns.

"We should get going. A funeral pyre might be best. But what should we do with his gear? They might help us, but they belong to him," he addresses Valafar.

"Aye, the sooner we move on the better." Roland thinks. "No pyre, lad. The smoke'd bring the whole island down on us. If ye want to take his gear, do it, but quick."

Valafar finished tying up the Pirate and kicked him over to the others, before approaching their dead companion. "...." He let out a heavy sigh, they weren't in a position where they could afford to leave behind useful items. So he knelt down next to the body and spoke a prayer. "Oh gods of war, stained with ash and tears and blood. Welcome this one to walk next to you, guide him to a restful place free of war."

He then stripped the body of any useful items he could find before looking up at the 'healer'. "I prayed for his soul, do whatever rites your god would for his body."

The absent minded and distrustful man responds first, exposing his concerns just as much through tone as words. "We do not have the time for a lengthy burial procedure. Do what you can as quickly as possible and let's get out of here. That fireworks showed isn't going unnoticed by whatever is trying to kill us."

The priest of Bastatan, yet to reveal her name, is staring down at Beiwarin's corpse as she speaks, making it unclear who she is trying to adress. "Yes, a full funeral cannot be done here. We had best give him the soldier's treatment." The priest kneels down next to Beiwarin's body and quietly incants a mumbling funeral chant, more meaningful for the noise it makes rather than the words themselves. She seemingly does not care that Zuu is searching the body during this procedure, which makes sense from the perspective of the church of Bastatan: after all, the body is meaningless once the soul has left it. The priest then touches the shoulder of the deceased, and Elbalar Beiwarin's body shrivels up as if all the moisture has left, indirectly causing the black husk of his body to curl in on itself. The whole process lasts only half a minute, but is still more gruesome than most would like. A soldier's funeral in the battlefield is far less pleasant than the regular methods, but it is the quicker way to do it.

As all this is happening Crynirad stares blankly at the pirates who almost killed him. When Zuu goes to search the bodies, his eyes indicate that he is pondering something. Once Elbalar's funeral is done, Crynirad speaks up in a parched voice.

"Why where they trying to take prisoners? The pirates, I mean. It's not like they could have sold us into slavery or ransom from this abandoned island. Why didn't they just try to kill us and take our stuff? It would be easier, and they could stage an ambush that way. And why did they bother to drag the prisoners they captured from another boat all the way over here? Just does not add up... I met these people, and these aren't the kind that would shy from blood. But what could have motivated them to want to take so many prisoners?"