It was quiet.

All Wiglaf could hear was the sound of his breathing, and the occasional distant drip of water. For the longest time, this was all he wanted, but now this silence terrified him.

A glint pierced his eyes from where the creature's mate vanished. He took a step towards it, but his legs collapsed under him, sending him crashing onto the floor. Sand and grit stuck to his face, and stars danced before his eyes. Grunting and wincing, he scrambled towards it, throwing his arms out and dragging himself there.

Snatching his ring quickly, he rolled onto his back, clutching it close to his heart, beating wildly in his chest. His eyes were closed, tears flowing freely from them. His mouth moved in many silent prayers, begging the gods for strength, and for them to keep his family safe.

Taking a breath, he gathered what strength he had left and pushed himself to his feet. Lifting his ring up, he fixed the necklace around his neck and kissed it, before limping away, leaving his sword where it was.

Upon reaching the creature's altar, he discovered his abandoned torch, as well as his pack that he must have dropped. Dropping to his knees, he tore it open and started pulling things out of it. Having mended and relighted his torch, he wedged it between the ribs of the dead creature, before realizing that he was starving. Finding his dried meat and waterskin, he took several big swallows, before tearing off a hunk.

Leaning back on the wall next to the altar, he slowly slid down to sit on the floor. Chewing slowly, he briefly considered if desecrating the creature's corpse like this would invite its mate's wrath, but upon seeing that she hadn't come to kill him yet, he was willing to take his chances.

"What am I supposed to do?" he asked no one in particular, holding his head in his hand. "My wife will kill me if I betray her," he sighed, before giving the skeleton a knowing sideways glance. "And yours will kill mine if I don't." Resting his head on the wall, he ran his hand down his face and let out a long sigh. Addressing the skeleton again, he shook his head. "You just had to marry the crazy one too, eh?" he chuckled dryly to it.

His chuckle never seemed to stop. Rather, it started to gather strength and volume, until the entire cave echoed with the loud insane noises of a man who was caught between laughing and crying.

In time, his pained sides and strained coughs brought his moment of madness to an end, and he succumbed to an exhausted sleep.