Sandy put an arm around Meg.  “We can’t stay here.  Even if this place is clear now, Allistor brings up a good point.  Something else could spawn back there.  And there’s way too much territory for us to guard.  Miles of tunnels and caverns. Too many ways for something to get to us.  We need someplace smaller that we can make safe.”

The others took a moment to consider, and there were murmurs of agreement.   They began to make ready to move.  Allistor, having no belongings to gather, volunteered to help deal with the body.  When he approached it, he saw the same glowing aura around it that appeared on monsters he killed.

Not wanting to loot the body, but curious about what he would receive, he surreptitiously reached down and placed his hand on the dead man’s chest.   The loot window popped up.  He received twenty-five klax, an empty pistol with two empty magazines, an ammo belt with shotgun shells, a Swiss army knife, and a scroll.

All of the items that appeared in his hands quickly went into his nearly-full bag, except the knife, which he put in his pocket.  When Sean approached, the other half of the burial detail, Allistor asked, “Did he have family? Still living, I mean?”

Sean shook his head.  “No, he didn’t.   In a way, he was one of the lucky ones.  He didn’t lose anybody special this week.”

The two of them easily lifted the corpse and carried it gently outside.  It was full dark now, and Allistor found himself a little disoriented.  He’d intended to get a short rest, not sleep several hours.

Setting the body on a flat boulder near the cave entrance, they began to gather firewood.  They stacked it in a three-foot-wide pile about six feet long, making sure the inside held plenty of kindling and brush that would burn quickly.  When they were done, they set the body atop the pyre but didn’t light it.  They’d do that when the party was ready to leave.

Stepping back inside, they found everyone packed and ready but sitting around talking quietly.   Allistor moved to stand with Nancy, asking, “What’s going on?”

She rolled her eyes and looked embarrassed.  “We got all ready to go, and then realized we don’t know where to go.”

Allistor looked around.  The remaining survivors were gathered in groups of two and three, talking quietly and gesturing, occasionally pointing in a direction.    He moved to the middle of the cavern and cleared his throat loudly.   When he had everyone’s attention, he said, “I think we should all put our heads together and figure out our next steps.  The first question seems to be where we should go.  And I would submit that we should also discuss whether to try and go there in the dark.”