----- Thalog, still on his horse, walks over to Raven. "Do the tracks indicate whether or not the bodies were brought here?" He asks Raven, speaking of the bodies like they were furniture.
-----Raven looks at Thalog, "No, I don't see any signs that the family was butchered and then dumped here. Do you think this is some sort of trick?" Raven sweeps his arm across the bodies and burned home. "Does your 'art' show any clues of what happened here?"
-----Thalog is staring into the awful swamp with shifting eyes. A note of understanding resonates in his throat. Thalog looks at Raven, "No, it is not a trick. We still have the element of surprise on our side and we must do everything in our power to maintain that." Thalog then rides over to Arliss, "Have you found anything?" he asks.
-----Arliss kneels down to sift through the assorted pieces of junk found at the outskirts of the torched home. To answer Thalog's question, he simply mutters in a voice filled with pain, "Broken weapons...fire-building implements...evidence of magic use..." as he picks up the scroll case. He then stands to his feet, and extends the case to the impassive mage. "Perhaps you can make more of this than I, Thalog." Then, Arliss proceeds back to where the slaughtered folk lie. "The souls of these poor innocents require justice, Joren wills it. We must follow after those responsible and show them what that means...blood for blood...life for life. First, though, these require a burial, funeral pyre...something. We cannot simply leave them for the carrion birds." The zeal in the young paladin's eyes burns brightly. "Let's get to work."
-----Raven to Arliss, "Honestly, I am torn. We need to get going after these monster RIGHT now, but I hate to just leave the bodies. I think they..." Raven looks at the bodies, "would understand if we come back later to bury their bodies, after we dish-out some justice." Raven looks down at the ground, "Please don't think of me of being cold or heartless." Raven quickly glances at Thalog and then continues, "We need to get going if we want to meet-up with the orcs."
-----The scroll case that Arliss hands Thalog is a well-worn leather tube about a foot in length. Thalog accepts the scroll and thanks Arliss, but Thalog seems more interested in Arliss than the scroll. "Tell me Arliss what evidence exactly did you find that suggest magic?" Thalog asks.
-----Arliss looks at Thalog blankly for a moment, then simply responds, "That is a scroll case, isn't it? Aren't scrolls magical?"
-----He then turns to Raven. "Raven, I do not think of you as either cold or heartless...just a bit misguided," Arliss says quite matter-of-factly. "Frankly, once we set out on the trail of these orcs, or whatever they may be, we have no idea whether or when we will ever get back to this place. No, I insist that something must be done for these poor souls right now!" Eyeing the carrion birds perched nearby, Arliss continues, "I shudder to think what might occur in our absence. If nothing else, the rest of you may set out in pursuit, and I will ride to catch up with you after my work here is done. The choice is yours, but my decision is firm...in the absence of any proper digging tools, there will be a funeral pyre." Arliss turns and begins looking once again through the wreckage of the house, this time to see whether there is enough salvageable timber to restart a fire. Clearly, he considers the matter closed.
-----Raven raises an eyebrow when Arliss says 'misguided'. "If you feel you must, do so. Their souls have moved on and their bodies will be used by nature to renew life." Raven shakes his head, "I feel I would have easier time getting a mountain to move than to get you to understand."
-----Raven heads for his horse, "I'm going to start scouting ahead, alone. I'll be back in an hour. When I get back I'll 'insist' we get going. Every minute the orcs' trail will get harder to follow. These swamps are a nightmare to track in." With that Raven mounts his horse and starts to follow the tracks. Raven looks back at the dog to see if he is following.
-----Arliss pauses in his activity for a moment, listening to Raven's words very carefully. He looks thoughtful, as if considering a lengthy response, then simply says, "We disagree, then. Be careful." As Raven begins to ride away, Arliss looks at Rand and Thalog, then suggests, "Perhaps one of you ought to go with him." He then turns back to his crematory efforts.
-----Thalog turns to Rand and says, "If you would be so kind as to accompany Raven then I could have a chance to study this scroll." Thalog begins to study the scroll in hopes Rand will agree.
-----Rand turns to face Thalog, slowly shaking his head in refusal. "I am a priest and as such it is my duty to stay here until a proper funeral had been conducted." Having said that, Rand steps over to the bodies and kneels down beside them facing towards the wreckage of the house. Rand takes off the chain upon which hangs his holy item and holds it thrust out slightly in front of him. Rand begins speaking quietly in a tone slightly above a whisper, the words he says seem to make no sense. "Detacion magize upone than housa...." Rand slowly raises his holy item above his head, his attention seems to entirely focused upon it. Again he begins speaking "Solarius brinath tom mesa". As Rand finishes speaking he rises to his feet and rehangs his holy item around his neck.