Day 130: Funeral for a friend?

     After settling down in the basement beneath the house, with a table and bedding for the night, we headed back out to where the skeleton lay in the passage. Carefully, we moved the remains back up to the house, and laid them carefully upon the bed, before extinguishing all of the torches and heading back down into the hidden basement area. Tomorrow we could properly establish ourselves here, as I had a feeling we could be here for some time. We would need more portal locations plotted on the map, so tomorrow, AMPHIS would be translating them, and then handing them over to THEROS who would be placing them onto the map. Meanwhile, me and UOPETA will be laying to rest the remains of the person upstairs. We were still unable to prove if they were indeed the remains of SERVERE, an so we couldn't treat them any differently out of disrespect to the dead. We needed a good night's sleep to get through tomorrow.

     I had slept amazingly well last night considering the circumstances; the warmth of the nearby lava trench and the combined heat of all of our bodies was enough to make last night a restful one! I had a feeling that the increased feeling of security had something to do with it. Ever since the lockdown on the base that was enforced by COLUS, I hadn't felt secure at all. But being back here... It had been some time, but it felt good to be back. Once we were all awake, we went back through the passage and into the house, setting immediately into our separate tasks.

"We've got some way to go, but whilst you bury the remains, we can get a head start."

AMPHIS and THEROS sat down together at a table, whilst I went into one of the chests, and fetched out a slowly rusting shovel. We would need it to dig the grave. UOPETA remained behind in the house for some time; picking the items from one of the chests, he then began to drag it to the door.

"It's better... Urgh... Then just dumping... The bones... Urgh... In an open grave..."

Putting the shovel on top of the chest, I picked up the other end and helped him carry it out. It wasn't that heavy, as the remains hadn't been placed inside yet. We had thought about it, but due to the state they were in, and the distance we would travel, they would likely end up in one corner of the chest. A little disrespectful. Instead, we moved the chest outside, and headed right out of the archway and to a spot we had already designated. It was a small spot beneath a tree, overlooking a serene field of animals and wildflowers. It was ideal. Placing the chest close to the tree, UOPETA went back, telling me he was going to make up a sign. Remembering the inventory of the other chest before leaving, I called for him to bring some slabs back with him as a gravestone. Once he was out of sight, I took the shovel from atop the chest and began to dig pretty much directly beneath the tree. I hope you're at piece, SERVERE... Wherever you are...

     UOPETA had made a sign, and came out from the house holding it carefully in his hands. With a single blow on each nail, he drove both forcefully into the tree with the hammer, before stepping back and checking the angle. After ensuring it was to his liking, he helped me out of the new hole I had dug, and we repositioned the chest.

"Right... We just need to get the remains and place them in the chest. Is there any cloth or something we can use to wrap up and carry the bones in?"

I was pretty sure there was, and we headed back to the house. Going through the other chest, we eventually found some left over scraps of cloth, enough to comfortably wrap the bones in. Carefully, we took them outside, not wanting to go too fast in case we stumbled. We eventually reached the chest, and placed the wrapped up remains inside.

"Right, I'll fill the hole in, whilst you go and get AMPHIS and THEROS. Even if this wasn't SERVERE, they deserve a proper send off!"

Helping UOPETA lower the chest into the fresh hole, I then went off to fetch AMPHIS and THEROS to allow them to pay their respects to the deceased.

     With all of us gathered around the humble grave of the unknown person, we bowed our heads out of respect. It was hard to really gauge what to do, what to say... We didn't know if we were paying our respects to SERVERE, or a member of HoN Co. who might have been trying to kill him! At the least, we had to class SERVERE as missing in action, which felt a lot like him being dead as well. He wasn't here with us now, and we could only hope that he was safe and happy wherever he actually was. Even if he now lay at the bottom of a grave before us...

"Anyone want to say a few words...?"

"Erm... Yes, okay... I don't really know where to start... Or how to start... The remains of this person may or may not be SERVERE, but what is clear is that this is till a human being. They lived like we did. They may have had family. They had the same feelings and emotions as all of us, and no matter what they did... There is no justification to treat them any differently. I hope that the memory of whoever lies before us lives on in the hearts and souls of those they touched. And let them never be forgotten. Let us hope that, regardless whether this is SERVERE or not, wherever he is... He is happy, and at peace..."

There was silence for a few moments, allowing each of us to pay our respects to this person in our own way. After a few minutes, UOPETA stepped towards THEROS, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"That was beautiful THEROS. I bet whoever we have before... They would be more than happy for the send-off you just gave them..."

One by one, we began to head back to the house, to get back on with our own lives. The world couldn't come to a standstill because one person is buried. The last to go, I looked at the message etched into the wooden plaque... "Departed Soul"

Syeonyx signing off