"So let me get this straight," Lawrence began, looking around at the altar at the pinnacle of the temple. "We walked in to Moon Stone Mountain and freed the Ixa'takan prisoners - while guards shot at us, and spiked ceilings fell on us - then we ran around looking for some lost city. Now we're in the lost city; we've been chased by monsters and ghosts and Zivilyn Banes and giant birds, and you're telling me that the damned Crystal ISN'T EVEN HERE?!"
Domingo stood his ground defiantly. "How was I supposed to know it wouldn't be here?!"
"You were the one who said it would be!" shrieked Lawrence.
"Actually, I did," Ilchymis interjected meekly, and Centime clapped his hand over the mage's mouth.
"I'm getting sick of chasing ridiculous legends and shadows, Domingo," spat Lawrence icily, "and I'm tired of not getting paid. I went with you to Pyrynn, and to Moon Stone Mountain, and now here we are in Rixis - and none of it has paid off. I'm a mercenary - not a charity service."
"Didn't the devil pay you when you sold your soul to him?" sneered the treasure hunter sarcastically. "Though I can't see him giving you much for it."
Lawrence growled and broadened his stance, and curling a fist he punched at Domingo; the nimble treasure hunter dodged to one side, unharmed. Enraged, the mercenary shouted, "Don't pretend that you know me, Domingo! I'm doing what I have to do - I don't owe you a damned thing!"
"Oh, believe me, you've made that perfectly clear more than once," answered Domingo, and as he finished he slung his knapsack over his shoulder and started down the temple staircase.
"Where are you going?" Lawrence called after him, bluster effectively stolen.
"I'm making this easy for you," barked Domingo over his shoulder, hardly slowing. "I've got a job to do, and it's not an obligation or a reward that's keeping me going - it's my heart. So you're free to go back to wherever you came from, because I don't need you griping at my back."
Lawrence watched Domingo descend the great stairway, feeling as though he had been punched several times in the stomach, and the sensation only intensified when Ilchymis bowed low to him and started off after Domingo. He glanced over at Centime, but if he expected the engineer to stand by him he was very mistaken; the engineer was shaking his head in disappointment as he, too, followed Domingo.
"Um... Domingo?" began Ilchymis hesitantly a few hours later. "I beg your pardon, but where exactly are we going?"
"Back to the Ironclad," the treasure hunter mumbled, obviously still seething with anger. "The Crystal isn't here, so we'll keep looking for it. We're not leaving Ixa'taka until we've found it."
"But... where else could it be?" asked Centime, and he couldn't hide the note of despair in his voice.
Domingo turned to face them, and clapping a hand on each of their shoulders he forced a reassuring smile. "Don't give up, you guys. So it's not in Rixis - big deal! We'll go back to Horteka, ask around, enlist help... whatever it takes! Just remember that we only need to keep one Crystal from the Valuans, and it'll ruin all their plans. Let's keep moving forward."
And with spyglass in hand Domingo led them onward, backtracking over familiar terrain, his eyes focused forward but his thoughts behind with Lawrence.
Author's Note: Aw, come on, don't be mad at me, you guys - you knew it was only a matter of time before Lawrence and Domingo butted heads.