Tales of Faerun

[josh900]

With one Elan down, Tannin could focus on the last. With her focus taken by her spell casting, Tannin had the perfect opportunity.

He lashed out with the dagger in his left hand, it's blade extending into a long chain that stabbed itself into the ground past Saris, and then retracted it, quickly pulling himself towards her all the while he was once again yelling out "MINE MINE MINE MINE MINE!"

When he neared her a second after she cast her spell, the blade in his right extended and shifted to form a blunt head like a hammer's inches before it crashed into her left knee.

 

The chain stopped pulling him and instead shot back to it's hilt as a blade, causing him to slide along the ground with the momentum. As he did he spun himself around and sliced at Saris, Blade cutting in her jaw before she dropped to her shattered knee. From there he cut and sliced at her everywhere he could at such a speed that sprays of blood streaked out in every which direction.

 

When finally finished he took a step back and looked at her bloody form, nearly every inch of her was covered in deep gashes and cuts, the ground between then a puddle of her blood, and his front dripped with what wasn't on the ground. He shook his head and chuckled. "Always did enjoy slicing up you psionic types." He said before reaching out and pushing her head back so that her body fell with it, completely unaware that a tiny sliver of his soul devouring sword was embedded in her chest.

 

Though small, it was still connected to the sword as a whole, and through it, Saris's very soul was swallowed up by the beast that dwelled inside. There all that she was would be stripped away, her power, memories, personality, everything would be used to fuel the monstrous hunger. In the darkness would a tiny portion of her soul stay, being drained and fed upon like the countless others that now suffered in the dark with her, all hoping, wishing, and praying to any gods they could remember that one day, they would be free from the dark being's clutches.

-----------

-----------

 

Azuris watched as the Dracolich battled with Argyros, a rather stupid idea forming in his mind. He looked over to Lucas and shared it. "If we could break it's foot that might help Arg." He said in a tone that showed that he was not at all happy with what he was about to do.

 

Catching the tone in his voice Lucas audibly gulped. "Is that a smart idea?" He asked.

 

"Nope." Azuris grunted before charging, soon after followed by Lucas. He dropped his claymore to the ground and picked up a large warhammer which was dropped by a skeletal warrior before reaching the Dracolich's foot. He reared back and delivered a powerful blow to one of the dracolich's foot bones, hoping to break it or at least crack it enough to weaken his footing. When Lucas caught up he jumped on the dracholich's foot to avoid being stepped on and began to strike at the bones as well, his mace not having the stopping power of Azuris's hammer, but it was better than just standing around watching.

[Deleted6317247User]

Once all of the undead had been dealt with, Shalena shot a glance at her pirates. Most of them were injured, a few dead, but the healing spell helped. The piratess looked at her quartermaster. "Gather them in one place." She told to him before going about the area. Only the dracolich was left to deal with, and she figured they won't need her help. She noticed Kalin slumped on the floor. "I wonder what we're gonna do with him." She thought.

==========================

When Conall brought Zorica and later Marie to where she was, Nawen immediately began working on their injuries. While her own wound continued to bleed, the new bandaged wrapped around her thigh helped to sustain the bleeding until someone will be able to help as she was too far away for Amendale's spell to reach her. She rummaged through her bag of holding and handed each of them a potion. "Should... help with the pain." She said.

 

She then gently inspected the half-drow's back to see that Amendale's spell did wonders on her injuries before going for Marie, and it seemed that she was healed by the spell too. "Good." She thought as she slumped to the floor. "Now... if you'll excuse me... I'll try not to..." she sighed as her head rested against the cold floor. "Don't pass out, don't pass out." She said quietly to herself.

[josh900]

Tannin quickly ran over to where Nawen was laying on the floor. He dropped to his knees and slid a few feet over to her. "Hello lovely, that's doesn't look healthy." He said looking down at her blood soaked leg. "Well that could cause problems for you, let me fix this up for you." He said before he began the incantation to a cure moderate wounds spell, healing the damage done to her and putting a stop to the bleeding. "So not to sound too cocky here but... I'd say I'm in top form today. Just killed two psionic Elans, one of which was supposed to be really really powerful!" He said with a grin. "She wasn't really, though I think the beating she took kind of wore her out, but still! That was actually something.... semi dangerous...was fun!" He said excitedly, seeming to be completely oblivious to the situation around him.

[AurianaValoria1]

Their foes now whittled down to one, Rhaine could finally focus on Valthanarax himself. The dracolich was still locked in an intense battle with Argyros, who was trying to keep his foe from getting anywhere near the other party members by serving as a physical obstacle. Argyros's injuries mounted, and yet he stayed steadfast, repeatedly clamping his jaws around Valthanarax's neck in an attempt to break it, even as the dracolich's talons and fangs ripped gashes in his silvery hide.

 

Azuris and Lucas, by attacking Valthanarax's foot, served as an excellent distraction. In an attempt to move out of their reach, the dracolich slipped backwards a few feet, only to completely lose balance and become pinned to the floor by Argyros in a monumental crash of rattling bones. The silver's mighty paws broke ribs apart and crushed Valthanarax's limbs, effectively preventing him from getting up again. Yet still their foe struggled on, letting off another gout of scorching dragonfire in a sweeping upward arc.

 

As Rhaine rushed by Amendale, she quickly cast a Heal spell upon him, desperately praying that it would be enough, before continuing on to Valthanarax to finally finish the fight. She called a Bond of Fatal Touch as she ran, scrambling up the stairs where Argyros held down the dracolich. Not wasting any time, The Doomguide jammed her blade through Valthanarax's eye sockets where the green power discharged in a violent burst, splitting the skull in two with the force.

 

The room shuddered. This second body of Valthanarax, itself being the last piece of Saris's ritual, at last was destroyed. The chamber was filled with his deafening death-roar, and the floor itself shook with the sound.

 

And it continued to tremble long after the roar had dissipated...

 

Rhaine's emerald eyes widened, "Oh gods...no!" She glanced up at the ceiling and noticed it was beginning to crack along with the columns....

 

Argyros slid down onto his flank with a grunt of pain. "EVERYONE GET CLOSE TO ME!" he bellowed over the increasingly loud sound of the chamber falling apart. He stretched his tail out as far as it would go, scooping Nawen, Marie, Tannin, and Zorica towards the center of the room with not-so-gentle force. With one paw he reached out and did the same with Azuris, Lucas, and Rhaine. He kept reaching for the others, trying to get them to him before the whole chamber fell apart. Across the room, Conall dodged falling ceiling tiles and chunks of rubble and grabbed a hold of Kalin, Arland, Aurora, and Amendale, using the last bit of Rhaine's fading Haste spell to get them to Argyros. Dagny, Dri, and Tenebris aided Xallistine, Weyland, Annette, Shalena, and Sybille as well, pulling them towards their dragon friend. All the while, Tak'we held on to one column in an attempt to keep it together long enough for his clutchmates to make it to the silver.

 

And then, the columns finally gave way, huge chunks of stone falling incredibly close to them all. Tak'we was struck forcefully in the back before he could dodge the falling debris, and he was pinned to the floor where none could reach him.

 

"Tak'we NO!" Rhaine screamed, trying to move towards him when a falling chunk of rock hit her directly in the head. She was knocked unconscious to the floor, a fist-sized dent in her helm, and Argyros used his other paw to quickly scoop her back to him as the rest of the chamber gave way. The dragon tightened his form, using his tail, his legs, his head, and his wings, to bring everyone in a protective circle on the stairs; he squeezed his silvery eyes shut as the stones fell all around him, hitting his back and wings and causing him to grunt again with pain. Yet, he held them all together ever tighter, determined he would keep them safe from this unfortunate disaster.

 

At last, after a terrifying few moments, it stopped as quickly as it had begun.

 

Rubble and debris were packed all around them, leaving a pocket only slightly bigger than Argyros himself. The sound of more of the ruins falling in the distance continued for several seconds...and then it, too, stopped, leaving an eerie silence only punctuated by the dragon's loud and pained breathing.

 

Nothing but darkness surrounded them.

Edited July 14, 2014 by AurianaValoria1

[Flipout6]

Arland hit the ground with a whoof as he was about to deliver a counterstrike to one of Kalin's own blows. He hopped spryly to his feet, expecting to be confronted with something that wasn't the Doomguide.

 

"What're you doing?" He asked, and stood within striking range of the Elan Rhaine had pinned. "If we can't snap him out of it, he dies." As they continued to struggle, Arland scowled and positioned himself to behead the Elan if need be, but Rhaine's sudden flash of memory spared him from doing so....though Arland had his doubts. "How do we know this isn't a trick?" He asked her seriously. She gave him a LOOK.

 

Arland then decided to just go with it.

 

Amendale fired an extremely powerful fireball with as much explosive force as he could concentrated into it straight into one of Valthanarax's upper vertebrae. It impacted and exploded with an incredible burst of force that nearly separated two of the vertebrae- exactly Amendale's goal. Next, he prepared a lightning bolt to fire at Saris, but she got the spell off first, and Amendale couldn't switch to a shield spell in time to save himself from it. Saris's Horrid Wilting spell caught him full-force and most of the water in his body was instantly evaporated. Before his brain could process this the sheer physical trauma of the effect rendered Amendale unconscious almost instantly. He stumbled back a few steps before dropping stiffly to the ground and lay still. Nearly dead, only Rhaine's healing spell kept him stable enough to make it to the end of the battle alive.

 

Once Saris and Valthanarax were dead, time seemed to speed up again. Sybille and Amendale had to be carried to Argyros and even then they barely made it. Weyland held his shield above his head as he hauled his sister across the chamber; a wise move, as a sizable boulder that would have hit him in the head and instantly killed him instead bounced off the shield. Even angling it sideways to deflect falling debris instead of taking its full force, the weight of it broke the warrior's wrist with an audible snap. He kept the shield up even as he seethed with pain until he was safe underneath Argyros's wing. Connall made it with Amendale, saving the Moon Elf's life, though the healer was unconscious. Unfortunately Tak'We wasn't fast or close enough to reach salvation. The Thri'Kreen was buried under tonnes of rubble, never to be seen again.

 

"Tak'Weeeee!" Weyland cried, even as tears began to roll down his cheeks. He made to pull back Rhaine with his good hand before she was knocked out by a lump of rock and Argyros pulled them both back. Weyland landed hard on his back with a thump.

 

Arland looked on in horror at the sight, first Tak'We and then Rhaine. Whether the Doomguide was even alive after that hit was anyone's guess. He shrunk back against Argyros's side and ran his hands across his face before slinking down into a seating position and holding his head in his hands, shaking as the adrenaline wore off. Sybille teared up...and then steeled herself, refusing to let herself despair. With Rhaine and Amendale out for the count, they were limited for healing abilities. She turned around.

 

"Alright everyone. Fighting's over, but we have injuries need patching up. I doubt I even have to say this, but If anyone's got healing magic, spare potions, even first aid if nothing else, they're needed." Annette was already fishing her potions out of her back.

 

"Take this, sister. You have a concussion." She handed a moderate-strength health potion to Marie, who shakily uncapped the lid and downed it with one gulp, before she darted around checking injuries. "We need everyone stable. Once that's done, we get Amendale and Rhaine awake so they can help, and we move on to the others." She told nobody in particular, mostly voicing her own thoughts out loud. Connall had some scrapes and cuts and bruises, so she forked him over one of the weakest potions she had. She also gave Weyland one for the broken wrist. Weak though they may have been they were strong enough for the job. Amendale was the biggest concern: shock coupled with critical dehydration meant he needed immediate attention or he wouldn't survive. Annette force-fed him a potion of Healing and washed it down with a sip of water, and then called Sybille over to keep giving him water every few seconds.

 

Rhaine had a nasty bleeding lump on the side of her head that had narrowly missed the temple. Annette didn't give her a potion just yet, but removed the Doomguide's helmet and kept her head as still as possible. Forcing a potion down her throat would involve lifting her head, and if it was jerked the wrong way by the rock's impact it could mean spinal damage, which could easily be worsened with neck movement. She'd have to wait until Amendale was awake to get her the attention she needed.

 

Arland, meanwhile, realizing that he could at least ensure no more injuries would be inflicted, stood up. Despite being pale, clammy and feeling very weak he walked purposefully over to Kalin and forced the Elan to look him in the eye.

 

"If you're not back in your own head-" Arland growled, green eyes resentful and mistrusting. "-I'll gut you. Got me?"

 

"Arland, leave him be." Sybille ordered.

 

"He needs the warning."

 

"I said-" Sybille's voice took a sharp turn and she looked up at him. "-leave him be. If he wasn't on our side, he would have killed all of our healers while he had the chance." Her tone left no room for argument. Arland stared at her, before poking Kalin in the chest.

 

"I don't trust you." And with that, he sat back down beside Marie, who was holding her head in her hands and cringing. He shook her shoulder a bit and asked, "You okay?"

 

"Just waiting for Nawen's potion to kick in entirely." She whispered. "I'll hold it together." She thought of something, and then, much more loudly, she said, "Thank you for the potion, Nawen. It's really helping."

 

"Okay." Arland just sat there. "You watched my back pretty good. Thanks."

 

"I'm still alive. I'll give you some of the credit for that." She responded. "You did as you promised."

 

"Yeah, I guess I did." He smiled, before it faded. "I just wish Tak'We got out. That's a stlarning terrible way to go." Weyland heard him and sobbed. In truth, he feared that Tak'We wasn't dead yet, that instead his chitin had turned from a protective shell to an inescapable prison that trapped him and slowed his agonizing demise as the life was slowly crushed from him. He could only hope the Thri'Kreen died quickly. He sat down and curled into himself, staring blankly at his knees as he cried to himself.

 

"Argyros!" Annette shouted up to the dragon. "You're hurt, but I don't think any of my potions would be compatible with a dragon's physiology! I'm sorry, friend, but we have to wait until Rhaine or Amendale awaken!"

 

"I'm awake." Amendale murmured, hardly coherent. "I just need a few minutes." He was desperate for water, any water. His mouth and throat were dry as dust and his eyes were dry as well, quickly becoming crusty. But he controlled what he drank; if he went too fast he'd throw it up. He waved away another healing potion, however.

 

"Rhaine and Argyros are hurt." Sybille informed him. "They need your help." Amendale didn't say anything, but nodded. It burned his throat to talk.

 

Once he felt strong enough, Amendale got to his feet, but his knees wobbled and Sybille had to support him. He knelt down by the Chosen and quickly spotted the injury. He kept her head still and channeled energy into her, mending any damage to the skull, spine, and flesh. After confirming that Rhaine would be unconscious for a while, he shambled up to Argyros and placed his palm on the silver. He'd taken severe wounds from shielding them from the rubble; it took nearly every single inkling of power Amendale had to restore him, and even then he was forced to sacrifice his sorcerer's abilities to augment his healing ones, and he drained all but a small amount of power from himself, before looking around at the group for injuries, and coming up one head short. He looked at Sybille.

 

"Tak'We?" He inquired, already knowing the answer. She closed her eyes and shook her head.

 

As the triage finished up and everybody began to settle down, Sybille looked up at the dragon that had sheltered them from certain death. "You saved all our hides, Argyros. You have my greatest thanks. I'll try to find some way to repay you." With that said, she said down in the dirt on her own. With Azuris nearby, she tossed him a question to break the tedium. "Is every Doomguide's life like this, or are you and Rhaine just special?" She offered a weak smile.

Edited July 14, 2014 by Flipout6

[Deleted6317247User]

"Thank you," Nawen thanked Tannin as he healed her injury, and was about to comment on his successful fighting but then everything started collapsing and Argyros scooped them to the safety. She didn't see what happened to Tak'we but seeing that he wasn't with them and witnessing some of her friends reactions, she knew that he was gone. Nawen didn't cry, she never did in front of others but to everyone who looked at her it was visible that she was just as saddened by his loss as those who expressed their grief more openly. Trying to focus her attention elsewhere, she took the remaining healing potions she had and handed one to Xallistine and Aurora and also said to the latter, "I also have some bandages, if you'll need them let me know and I'll patch you up." She then helped Shalena to patch up surviving pirates. A few of them shot nasty glares at her when she tightened the bandages but in the end most of them thanked her, with a little encouragement from their captain, of course.

 

"Any time." She said to Marie before moving on to Kalin to see if he was hurt, and while he wasn't as badly hurt as some, she could still see a few wounds that required attention. She took out a few bandages and began patching up the elan's wounds.

 

"You really think that's such a good idea?" Shalena asked. Strangely enough the piratess was really quiet.

 

"He needs help." Nawen replied with the slight frown on her face.

 

"He was more than willing to kill some of us not too long ago." The piratess said.

 

"He was under mind control."

 

"What if he still is?" Shalena asked. "What if he'll just grab your neck and strangle you with those very same hands you're patching up right now?"

 

Nawen shook her head in disbelief but said nothing as she finished patching up Kalin's wounds before settling down more comfortably. She then touched Argyros's side gently. "Thank you, Argyros." She said softly.

[AurianaValoria1]

"If only you knew," Zorica remarked sourly at Sybille's inquiry, even though it wasn't directed at her. The half-drow felt the tattered leather on her back and shivered, scooting closer to Arygros for warmth and just to keep from feeling so exposed. Conall stayed mostly silent, downing Annette's potion - not without a small wince - and watching as Aodh crawled up onto his shoulder with Tak'we's amulet in his mouth. It was then that the paladin felt tears in his eyes, and he softly murmured, "May Mother Moon hold you in her arms tonight, friend," using the Thri-kreen name for Selune out of respect. Then, he added his voice of thanks to Sybille's and Nawen's, "Argyros, I think I speak for the rest of us when I say we owe you much."

 

The silver, who had groaned whilst his wounds were slowly healed by Amendale, tilted his head slightly at the others,"There is no need to thank me. It is what friends are for, is it not? I can only hope that you will forgive me for not being forthcoming with my true nature. It is difficult for us...dragons like myself, I mean..to trust. We satisfy our curiosity regarding your societies by blending in with them entirely, and only rarely do we show ourselves; it is a truly treasured thing when people do accept a dragon in their midst."

 

He paused, "Besides...perhaps it is not wise to thank me yet? We are, of course, still trapped in here." The dragon then blinked, realizing that it was quite dim, and the only light was the slight shimmering of everyone's armor and weapons. He knew that if it was such for him, it was even darker for the rest of them, and whispering a few words, he cast a floating magic ball that illuminated the pocket brightly with white light. Even though he had been healed completely, traces of his wounds were still visible: streaks of scaleless silver hide indicated where Valthanarax had clawed his shoulders and underbelly, and his neck was still blackened where the dragonfire had scorched him.

 

Dagny visible shook with anger, "Oohh, if only I had a way to contact me kin! I'd have us out of here in no time! As it stands, we'll be here forever if no one comes looking for us!"

 

Conall glanced around at the rubble, "Be glad this isn't air-tight." Blinking, he then put his face near one of the cracks and closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again, "In fact, I can feel a slight draft. This chamber had one or more outside walls."

 

"Can we dig our way out, then?" Zorica asked, petting the surprisingly-quiet Sir Meowsalot, who had obediently hidden in her pouch all this time.

 

"I wouldn't advise it," Argyros rumbled, slowly resting his giant head on his paws and blinking at her with a large silvery eye, "You might risk bringing the rest of the ruin down on top of us from the instability."

 

Tenebris remained quiet, fearing criticism from the others concerning his method of saving Zorica, and so he busied himself with watching Kalin, who seemed to be slipping in and out of various states of semi-consciousness. He barely seemed to register when Arland spoke to him.

 

Dri, not caring what anyone else thought, hugged Weyland tightly and remained in his arms, sobbing quietly with him over the loss of Tak'we. It was sad enough to know that the noble Thri-kreen had fallen, but it broke her heart even more to see Weyland in such a state.

 

After a few moments, Conall suddenly broke the near-silence, his blue eyes wide, "The phylactery...it was the other thing we came here for. Damnit, now we'll never know if it's gone!" he slammed his fist on the floor in frustration, "Rhaine isn't going to like this when she wakes up...not at all."

 

"Suppose it's too much to hope for the damned thing got crushed in the collapse?" Dagny snorted, using one of Argyros's feet as a cushion.

 

"There's no way to know," Zorica remarked, her amber gaze staring off into space,"And that's what makes this bad situation even worse. We rescued Kalin, but we've failed in our mission to weaken Valthanarax."

 

A few more moments of awkward silence passed, Conall and Zorica both focused on Rhaine's still form, and then Dagny took out her Everfull mug, raising it up high, "A toast to Tak'we - the bravest Thri-kreen to ever live." She then took a swig out of it and then passed it to Arland.

[mythicdawnmaster]

Xallistine and Aurora both remained in solemn silence after the grand epilogue of the battle; the latter had received various injuries from both the undead they had been embroiled with in battle, and the falling cascade of stone that had shattered upon her body, leaving cuts, scrapes and bruises, some showing between the now-torn fabric of her once exquisite attire. Aurora's heart beat ten to the dozen and her temples stung with the force of her tumultuous blood flow, and sorrow pooled in her eyes as she remembered the fallen. She shed her tears for Tak'we but said her thanks to Argyros for their survival, accepting Nawen's potion gently but softly refusing her offer of medical assistance.

 

"You've done more for us than you know, Argyros; you have my solemn thanks... it seems we all owe you are lives." Xallistine thanked the dragon with entirety, before offering his measly healing abilities to those that may have required them; he was in no position to do any lasting repair, his forte had long been enchantment and destruction, but he could close small wounds should the others tire of magic and supplies.

 

"To Tak'we" Both he and the Bardess echoed, paying their respects to their fallen comrade, who they knew would not receive so much as a grave for his efforts.

[josh900]

Tannin sat and pondered their current predicament. The loss of Tak'we was unfortunate and he would miss the childlike insectoid. "Rocks fall, party dies." He said in a disappointed tone. "No wonder it's a damn in-joke." He muttered angrily as he got up to his feet. "Soooo we diiiiig forward. Maaaybe unsettle some of the rocks that way, cause more to fall, keep Arg buffed so he can bear the weight, or we can dig down and hook round while hoping we can get out and that the tunnel we dig doesn't collapse on us. Either way." He clapped his hands together. "Who's got the picks and shovels? We need a little tunnel, and some good old fashion rock to mud and disintegration spells spells." He said in a cheerful manner.

 

Azuris meanwhile, let out a sigh sighed. "Not a Doomguide anymore. Thinking I should have found another god to follow before coming here though." He said with a weak chuckle. With Tannin seemingly unfazed by the whole thing, Azuris's temper flared. "Would you.. for once in your damn life, not act like everything is fine?!" He yelled at the half-drow.

 

"Iii don't recall saying everything was fine." Tannin said with a cocked head, not bothering to turn around to face his accuser.

 

"You're acting like it." Azuris spat. "Hells it doesn't even seem like you care that we just lost someone!"

 

"Never said I didn't, it's jut important that we focus on more important matters." Tannin said in a mater of fact way.

 

"More important? MORE IMPORTANT?!? We all just lost a good friend and you don't think that's important? You don't think that he was important? " He yelled storming up to Tannin. "I don't know why I'm surprised, you never gave a damn about him, or anyone else in this group for that matter I'm betting. Hells have you ever giving a s*** about anyone before? YOU EVER LOST ANYONE YOU CARED ABOUT?"

 

The look that he saw on Tannin's face when he turned around, nearly cause his heart to jump out of his chest in fright, he took a quick step back away before fighting down the instinct to run. Focusing, Azuris could no longer see what had scared him so, it was only there for a fraction of a second, but he was sure that he saw it, instead Tannin merely starred into his eyes a moment before speaking.

 

"Damn near all of them." He said quietly before turning back to the rocks. "I've become something of an expert on the subject. So it is not out of callousness that I don't seem to care, simply professionalism. "Now if you'll excuse me." He said before walking away, as far as he could anyways.

[Deleted6317247User]

"Could you two stop fighting already?" Shalena mumbled. "You're gonna use up all the air." The piratess added.

 

"No, they won't," Nawen replied, though, she wished they'd stop fighting but for different reasons, "like Conall said it's not air-tight." She sighed heavily as she wrapped her arms around her knees and stared at the ground. Most of the spell-casting members of the group were in no shape to strengthen Argyros, if they tried to dig their out they could collapse the entire ruin on top of them and then suffocate or simply be crushed by the rubble. She ran her fingers through her hair as she looked back at others. "Should have really bought some shovels." She said, her voice and expression indicated just how much she hated it.

 

"And dig where?" Shalena asked, "we could bring this whole ruin on top of us."

 

"I don't know," Nawen sighed, "down like Tannin suggested. If someone came for us eventually they could..." she paused for a moment before adding, "we'll be fine." She didn't want to worry anyone even more but it was quite possible that if someone did find them and tried to get them out they could bring the rest of the ruin down on them by accident. When Tannin walked off she looked at him for a moment wondering whether to approach him or not, but after a moment she turned her attention to Azuris.

 

"What he meant," she said softly, "is that Tak'we's loss is important and we all will miss him dearly, but we can't succumb to grief, at least not now."