One of the villagers enters, and whispers some words into Hulfe's ear. Hulfe, the holy man of the village, acknowledges him, and stands to address the group.
"It is time", he says, "For us to bid a final farewell to your comrade Jaldaric". He leads the company outside, to a place where a grave has been dug.
"This is the Field of Fallen Heroes", Hulfe says, "As is the custom of our people, I shall ask everyone present to say a few words to remember him by, and to say what Jaldaric meant to your lives".
Jaldaric's body, wrapped in a shroud, already lies in the grave. The face is exposed, and Jaldaric looks at peace in death.
Hulfe stands before the grave, and bows his head. "Jaldaric, I never had the opportunity to know you in life, for we met but briefly. But everything men say of you speaks of a man of honour; a man who loved life, yet was willing to lay down his own life so that his fellows might live. Let your life and deeds be remembered in tales such as those that you delighted in telling".
Jathren takes a step forwards, and looks into the face of Jaldaric for the last time.
"Friend Jaldaric", he says, "I am truly sorry. It was I who was responsible for sending you to your death. May it not be in vain". He pauses, as if unsure as to what to say next. "You were a valiant hero".
Hulfe looks to the others, inviting whoever is ready to speak next.
The setting sun breaks through the cloud, and bathes the whole scene in golden evening light.
Dharak the teacher, freshly bathed after his bloody ordeal, steps forward and addresses the assembled mourners.
"With heavy hearts, we return our brother to the earth. And though this earth is not his own, his toil, blood, and sacrifice, like those of his brothers and sisters who have gone before him, have consecrated this alien soil as holy ground, as our ground. All of these travails have served to slowly lift our people from bondage. A critical chapter in our people's history is being written, and now a few tragic lines have been written in the blood of our friend".
"I feel we can offer him no greater remembrance than to ensure that his laughter, grace, and music live on not only in our hearts, but in the songs and stories we share with others. Let us tell all the world the tale of Jaldaric Madmartigan, and how he fell trying to save his people from an ancient evil reawakened".
Hank is respectfully quiet throughout the ceremony, but not having known Jaldaric, he does not speak up during the 'service'.
After the ceremony, the wake for Jaldaric continues into the evening. Roy has a few beers, but realizes that getting wasted in a strange land might not be a Good Idea. While drinking with the locals, he tries to do a more listening than talking, but after the second beer he starts to regale anyone who'll listen (and probably one or two people who won't) with stories of the land of America. Hank's presence will keep him from telling too many outrageous whoppers.
Hank drinks a couple of honey-beers, but doesn't actually carouse, per se. He stays relatively close to Roy, but doesn't 'chaperone' him. He 'trades' questions and answers- he'll answer one about Earth for one about Kalyr.
Quite a few of the locals don't seem to believe that America or Earth really exists. Some think it resembles the ancient world of the kandar, with it's flying machines and glass towers. Most are amazed at the incredibly huge numbers of people. Even at it's height, the kandar's 'Golden Empire' never had more than a fraction of the population of north America or western Europe, let alone the teeming masses of China or India.
The idea that technological 'stuff' is made by many competing companies seems strange to them. They tell Hank and Roy (but only when Jathren and Duplar aren't listening) that the Karazthan have a complete monopoly of such things in Kalyr, and sometimes use violence to enforce this.
Roy asks around about cigarettes. They do have cigarettes, right? No, it appears that they don't. There is no analogue of tobacco, although some people smoke 'spices' which have a narcotic effect. Nobody in the village approves of such things.
Roy thinks to himself, "This is gonna be rough..." He starts trying to ration his cigarettes, save them for particularly stressful times. Or when he just can't wait any longer.
Later in the evening, Hank retires to a corner, by himself. Anyone listening specifically to him can hear a brief, unfamiliar prayer of some kind, and the sounds of crying. He regains composure, finishes out the evening gamely, and turns in early.
Before doing so, he writes in his journal, before he forgets. Just out of curiosity, he also turns on his 2-way Radio/GPS unit, for a moment, just to see what happens.
He does pick up something that sounds like radio traffic, on more than one frequency. No recognisable speech; it sounds like data communications of some sort.