Uncle Saker

A few minutes slowly creep past in the cottage as Saker goes from rambling hopelessness to numb despair and then on into self-recrimination.

He's a hearty man used to taking losses and moving on, but never before has a loss been quite so personal nor hope crushing. Also, he's rarely had the luxury of time, so the depth of the wound and the absence of urgency soon leaves him feeling hopeless and depressed as the weight of reality settles a little more firmly on his shoulders.

In the end his jumbled murmurs cease, and after a long moment of silence Saker gives a sigh and lifts his dulled eyes from the floor to his nephews. After a few false starts he manages to intelligently ask: "Where... how... yes... How did Orikedes... my brother, leave this land... and us? What felled my him in the end?"