After Tam-Tam's speech, the group around the campfire sank into silence as they thought about everything they had heard. They need to reconsider their options. Do nothing and wait for up to a year, and hope the payday is worth it. Or move on and look for money elsewhere.
Another Heartcore Diamond mine was unlikely. But there were other kinds of mines they could enter with their expertise. They could also do odd jobs and scrape by like that until the next Heartcore Diamond mine was found.
It might take years until the next Heartcore Diamond mine, so missing out on this one would sting. But doing something, even if it wasn't as exciting as a Heartcore Diamond race, was better than doing absolutely nothing for an entire year.
