Jazax frowned as he watched his friend cough forcefully, wincing in pain each time. Once his ragged breathing had quieted for a moment, Zeek looked up at Jazax.

"So… uh, how's it… how's it look?" He asked weakly.

Jazax reluctantly cast his eyes down over Zeek's body, quietly taking note of the several arrows that had pierced deeply into his chest. His dark blood was trickling into a nearby pool in the snow below them and when Zeek shivered every few moments, Jazax knew it wasn't from the cold.

"You're, uh…" Jazax trailed off, trying to find a way to deliver the news delicately.

When he took too long, Zeek laughed softly, wincing from the pain of movement as he did so.

"Ah, you don't… you don't gotta… say nothin' now," He grinned darkly, "N-Not when you're… makin' a face like that."

Jaxax just frowned as Zeek gave a pained laugh again, his laugh quickly devolving into a fit of strained coughs. More blood spilled out with each cough.

"I'll go back," Jazax said firmly, pausing to glance back over his shoulder towards the lodge in the distance, "I'll bring the Big Mama and send those elves-"

"Elves," Zeek spat, like the word left a bitter taste in his mouth, "Of all things… it had to be… elves."

Jazax went quiet again, listening as Zeek took a ragged breath.

"What...kinda sapper… gets killed… by elves?" Zeek sighed, shaking his head as much as he could without pain, "I always… wanted to… go out… with a bang."

"I hear ya, buddy," Jazax said quietly, suddenly feeling uncharacteristically helpless.

He was no stranger to death or loss. It was sort of hard not to be used to it, as a sapper. Even so, this moment particularly stung. He didn't have many people he could truly call whatever reason, most people seemed to find him unlikable. Their loss, he figured. That was the attitude he'd chosen to take about the matter. Even so, even he wasn't above feeling lonely sometimes and seeking companions. He'd never admit it aloud, of course-he did have his pride, after all-but he'd been really happy to call Zeek his friend.

"Hey, Jaz?" Zeek coughed, suddenly breaking him from his thoughts.

"Oh, uh, yeah, buddy?" Jazax tried to put on a friendly tone, "What's up?"

"Will you do somethin' for me?" Zeek asked.

Jazax frowned, but nodded.

"Sure thing, buddy. Whatddya need?"

"When you...get back to camp," Zeek paused to cough hoarsely, "Will you… find Mal? Tell her… I'm sorry."

Jazax just wordlessly nodded, and Zeek smiled softly before coughing again.

"Won't be… won't be long now," Zeek said grimly, making Jazax feel his heart clench.

"I… I feel like I should be sayin' somethin' here," He admitted quietly to his dying friend, "Like, I should be sayin' somethin' important. Somethin' good for you to go out on, y'know?"

Zeek just snorted.

"Eh, you ain't… got the best… way with words, Jaz," Zeek chuckled softly, "You'll probably… just say… somethin' stupid."

The two goblins shared amused grins.

"Yeah, you're probably right," Jazax nodded, more than a little bitterness seeping into his voice.

He hated this situation. There was nothing he could do. They were too far from camp. No way he'd be able to drag Zeek all the way back in time. In the back of his mind, he almost wished he'd followed through with his interest in alchemy. Maybe he would've had some healing potions with him, then. But as it was, he was useless. And that made him very bitter.

"Hey… Jaz," Zeek said, his voice a bit weaker, "Wanna… hear a… joke?"

Jazax furrowed his brow, not really understanding, but nodded. In response, Zeek just snorted.

"I'm a… goblin," He said with a growing smile, "I don't… make jokes, I make… money."

Jazax rolled his eyes as Zeek smiled to himself like he was the cleverest goblin in the world. Like he hadn't heard that one before. Jazax looked back down to say something sarcastic but stopped short. Zeek's eyes were closed and his breathing was still, though the smile remained on his lips.

Well then, Jazax thought with a frown, that's that. His heart clenched bitterly again and he lowered his head solemnly. Much to his chagrin, his moment of mourning was interrupted by a voice. His own voice. Cursing his own stupid emotions, Jazax reached a hand up to furiously wipe away the tears from his eyes. Why did he always have to cry?

It took several minutes of furious wiping before finally Jazax just gave up and succumbed to his misery. He hated crying, but it was pretty unavoidable for him. It wasn't that he was ashamed to cry or anything. After all, he usually had a good reason. He just hated that it was something he couldn't control.

Control and chaos were two very important things to Jazax, and he knew one could never exist without the other. It was useless to try to control everything, and it was dangerous to completely give in to chaos. The key was just trying to balance the two out. If a situation was chaotic, he'd try to control it. If a situation was controlled, he'd try to bring chaos. It was his own way of trying to bring some kind of sense and sanity to his otherwise insane life. Usually he was pretty good at it. Though for all his efforts, he could never seem to get control over his emotions.

Being so caught up in his own situation, Jazax didn't even notice the footsteps approaching until they stopped right in front of him. Jazax looked up, expecting a high elf that'd followed them from the lodge. But it was a goblin. It was Mal.

She looked down at Zeek's body with a scrunched brow, before looking at Jazax's sniveling face with something rather like pity. Jazax should've been offended, but he was a bit too preoccupied with his deep feelings of loss. After a moment, she crouched down beside Jazax, nudging him with her elbow.

"C'mon, Jaz," She said quietly, "You're gonna freeze out here."

She reached out and took Jazax's hand, helping him up. He looked at her a moment, blinking away his slowing tears, before looking back at Zeek's smiling corpse. He went to say something, but Mal just pulled him ahead, away from the body. Upon realizing that she was trying to lead him back to camp, Jazax dug his heels into the snow and pulled against her. She looked back at him with a perked brow.

"What about Zeek?" He said as he looked back at the corpse, "We can't just leave him."

"Look around, Jazax," Mal sighed, "The ground's way too frozen here to bury him. Might as well let his body do some good. Feed the animals or somethin' y'know? Circle of life."

Jazax turned back to her incredulously. Since when had Mal become such a cold-hearted pragmatist? Jazax pulled away from her again, unable to help growing angry. Even if he knew her logic was right, he was never going to admit such a thing. He turned back to face the corpse, looking down at what he had called his friend. His heart clenched again and he turned away in pain. His gaze fell upon the lake, where they'd collected water for the Big Mama not so long ago. It'd been an hour ago, at most, and yet it felt like it was a lifetime ago.

Suddenly, Jazax paused. In the reflection of the lake, he saw it. The massive dwarven dam. Even he had to admit it was some impressive construction. And that made him feel incredibly bitter. A dark thought crossed his mind, and maybe it was just his high emotions talking, but it seemed at the moment like a very good idea.

Stepping back, he crouched down into the snow, and slipped the massive missile from his back, setting it into the snow. Beside him, Mal looked at him with an uncertain expression.

"Uh, Jaz?" She took a hesitant step towards him, "What're you doin' with that?"

"Dun Morogh took somethin' of mine," Jazax grumbled, preparing the missile, "So I'm gonna take somethin' too."

Mal watched in horror as he angled the missile right at the dam, and the color drained from her face.

"Jazax, I know you're upset," She said nervously, her voice shaking, "But that ain't a good idea."

"Maybe not," Jazax shrugged nonchalantly, "But I don't really care right now."

He leaned down to press the shiny red button that'd popped out after the priming sequence was completed. Just before he could press down, however, something hard hit into the back of his head. He fell forward into the snow, wincing in pain, before another blow came. And then his vision went black.