Bloodied, but still standing, Esperanza moves to escape the trap she finds herself in. Her blade dips low, scooping up a bit of loose dirt that she flings into the eyes of the hobgoblin before delivering him a vicious slash and darting past him in the confusion.
The tenacious Esperanza's strike leaves the last hobgoblin very near to the Boneyard himself.
Thorek's own attack is very mighty, although the last wyvern remains fierce and ready to avenge its own fallen kin.
Lily quickly moves above and sends a distracting shot towards the last hobgoblin to allow for an opening.
Lily's arrow whistles into the sky, causing the last hobgoblin to twist around and look skyward - leaving him vulnerable to Esperanza's steel.
The last wyvern leaps into the air and takes flight again, swooping towards Esperanza and intending to snatch her in its jaws before flying out of reach of her friends.
"Oh no you bloody beast!" Thorek whips his dorn-dergar around, seeking to break a wing or neck.
Lily's distraction proves deadly for the ill-fated hobgoblin aerial scout, for Esperanza divorces his head from his shoulders. Likewise, the final wyvern's last ditch swoop spells only its own doom, as Esperanza and Thorek's intercepting attacks leave its draconic skull smashed and broken.
The battle is won, and the Ironfang scout camp is cleared, but at a terrible cost.
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Throwing his weapon hastily over his shoulder, Thorek half-falls down the ladder and scrambles to where Undari fell. The veteran warpriest knows his friend is gone before he even turns the druid over, but the dwarf still channels, and channels again as he checks for a pulse he knows he won't find.
When the inevitable answer is reached, the dwarf goes still for long minutes, hand resting on the fallen druid. "Mayhap someone in Longshadow can intercede with the Lady of Graves?" he whispers, then scoops up Undari's body and rises with it. His eyes are fever-bright but without tears. "Come on, my friends. There is still time."
Using her glaive to support her, Esperanza limps over to join Thorek. She looks down at Undari's body, saying nothing, but simply nods to the dwarf in acknowledgment.
"We have to make sure this doesn't happen to anyone else..."
"Oh Lily...a lot more folk'r going to die, hard deaths, before this is all done. But if we can get Undari back--it'll be a lot fewer. Especially on our side."
Lily's face just turns sheer white upon Thorek's words
It is a long, solemn slog across the Hollow Hills, and your feet are quite sore by the time you reach Longshadow. The town's sagging walls cast jagged shadows in the waning light of dusk. Once you reach the gates and the torchlight illuminates your face, the wall guards recognizes you and usher you inside. Once they see the state of Undari, an agitation bordering on alarm spreads through the guards on duty.
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"Control your fear," Esperanza all but hisses, her own demeanor worn thin by her friend's loss and the hard travel that followed. "We need another druid, the most powerful you can find. Hurry."
"I know just the person!" exclaims a halfling woman serving among the wall guards. She runs off, quick as an arrow, without even giving her own name. In the interim, the other guards explain that she was Meriam Kems, a local scout of some renown who fancies herself the semi-official ambassador for the town's Hunter Bureau.
Miss Kems soon returns with a rather bewildered looking human man wearing a woolen robe that has been patched so many times, the replacement fabric outstrips the original material. Despite his height advantage, he still seems to have trouble keeping up with the halfling's pace.
"This here's Mister Burton!" she exclaims, practically swinging him forward. "He's a druid down from Red Stem, been helping 'round the Bureau."
For his part, Mister Burton looks very confused about what's going on.
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"Thank you, Meriam," Esperanza says, before turning to Burton. "Mister Burton, we need your help. Our friend Undari, a powerful druid in his own right, was slain by minions of the Ironfang Legion. My comrade Thorek here believes you may know a spell that could return Undari to life, though perhaps in a different form. Is that so?"
Thorek stands still and quiet, Undari's body in his arms. He stares intensely at Mister Burton, willing him to answer in the affirmative.
"Of course he does!" Meriam answers for Burton, slapping him on the back of the knee for emphasis.
The druid winces but remains polite. He stammers through the situation, like an actor several pages behind the rest of the troupe, but soon understands what is being asked of him.
Mister Burton states that he could prepare such a spell for the following morning, but he would require certain oils and plant extracts for the ritual. Fortunately, Meriam readily volunteers the Hunter Bureau's services in quickly acquiring such components.
"Of course, for prompt and accurate service, the boys will be expecting to get paid," the halfling woman cautions with a coy smile and cocked finger.
Burton offers a discount on his spellcasting services once he understands that this is part of the war effort against the Legion, and Meriam likewise offers to somewhate negotiate down the fees for the Bureau's hunters.
All told, it will cost one thousand gold to facilitate a reincarnation ritual for Undari in the morning.
"We've coin, and we've also weapons and armor taken from the Ironfangs. Take your preference and let us begin."
When Burton confirms he can help, Esperanza releases the tension she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Her jaw aches, and her hands had been clutching her glaive so tightly that she very well might have bruises in the morning.
Esperanza nods in agreement with Thorek, only just realizing she'd fallen silent.
"Is there anything that can go wrong? I don't know anything about coming back from the dead. "
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"If I'm to be honest, I've never performed this ritual before," Burton admits in response to Lily. "I've seen it, though! The elder who tutored me, he performed it a handful of times.
"The process of returning from the beyond takes its toll on the spirit. Some strength will be lost in the process. Also, this ritual creates a new body for the spirit to inhabit, but it will most likely be quite different from his original body.
"Sometimes the spirits of the natural world decided the shape of the new body. Other times, the individual's own deity - or at least agents on their behalf - may influence the form. Unfortunately, this new body takes some getting used to. My elder cautioned that the reincarnated would often feel a...dysmorphia, I believe she called it. Reconciling their old identity with their new shape caused no small amount of mental stress."
.....
When you are able to fathom your surroundings, you find yourself laid upon a bench made from a split log, set upon a gently sloping hill that surveys a rich vale of farmland. The horizon, beyond a lazy, meandering river a league or so ahead, seems to stretch on forever. A dense stand of thick woodland stands at your back.
A whiff of fragrant pipe weed reveals that you are not alone. Turning, you spot a stag-headed humanoid sitting calmly upon a fieldstone. He puffs upon his pipe, seemingly unconcerned about a single thing.
"Rough day, eh?" he lazily asks.
.....
The members of the Hunter Bureau are willing to accept either coin or gear by way of payment. Whatever arms have been liberated from the Legion would be eagerly accepted, both for the coming battle and for their usual profession.
Mister Burton selects a low hill, capped with trees, just outside the town's walls as the site for the ritual. A stream of hunters arrive throughout the night and on into the morning, delivering the components that Burton needs to complete the process.
One moment he was a sleek arrow, streaking towards the verdant green. Suddenly, it grew near with alarming swiftness and then, nothing. All sense of motion ceased and he found himself sitting on a split log bench in a beautiful pastoral setting. Seeing the stag-headed humaniod sitting nearby, the reality of the situation dawns on Undari--this is no dream.
"I...I...I'm dead, aren't I? Those wyverns were too much for me and I..." wincing at the agonizing but mercifully brief memory, Undari grinds to a halt. "Yes, a rough day, certainly," he manages in direct answer to the being's question. Focusing on the creature fully, Undari considers to whom he may be speaking.
"If it's any consolation, you fought hard enough for your allies to turn the tide of the battle. Of course..." the stag-headed man pauses to take a puff from his pipe. "...winning the battle and winning the war are two different beasts."
He rises from his fieldstone seat. You see that his knees bend in the opposite direction from a normal humanoids, more akin to that of certain birds. He plods over and offers his hand, its knuckles covered in moss, to help you up.
"Hopefully, you aren't adverse to getting back in the fight. Your friends are working, as we speak, to craft a new body for your spirit to inhabit. If you have any concerns about turning away from the River of Souls, you should know that a mutual patron has given his approval.
"He's normally a pacifist, but he's displeased to see so many villages crushed beneath the iron boot of the enemy you face."
Stunned for a moment by the implication that he could choose to rest in the peaceful tranquility of this idyllic place, Undari shakes his head and squares his shoulders, preparing to take on the weight of his burdens again.
Accepting the stag's offered hand, Undari stands up and says, "I am relieved that my friends were able to prevail against the Ironfangs. I was...reckless, thinking my spells and armor could protect me against the wyverns and I could spare my friends their claws and poisonous stingers. With this second chance, I hope to be wiser and more cautious, that I may survive long enough to help defend against the invading hordes."
Looking longingly at the paradise he is preparing to leave, he adds, "Though when my time comes, I will be quite pleased to take my rest here, Favored of Erastil."
Lily just quietly sitting there at the lodge. "Seriously, its been so long. Did something go wrong? Did he die after he was revived again? Why isn't someone coming out to tell us what is going on?," she says in a panic frenzy.
"I don't know, Lily," Esperanza says, her voice tight. "I've never seen this done before, either."
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"Even miracles take time," Thorek intones, but the effect is undercut by the dwarf's own impatient fidgeting.
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The horned archon servitor of Erastil sends you on your way, to return to the material plane.
...
The wind picks up outside the sagging walls of Longshadow. Sparrows, groundhogs, crows, chipmunks, and other birds and critters flock towards the wooded hill, apparently drawn by the magical energies of the ritual being performed. They carry twigs, leaves, berries, nuts, bark, pebbles, and other tiny offerings. Are these being used to constitute the new body?
After about ten minutes, one last soft yet dense breeze washes outward from the wooded hill, moving like ripples of water radiating upon a lake surface. Those attuned to the ways of magic can feel that the spell has been completed.
Undari rouses slowly, as though waking from an especially deep sleep filled with peculiar dreams. Although tree boughs still hang overhead, and rolling hills can be seen beyond the trunks, he knows that he is no longer...wherever he was before in his vision thanks to the weight of reality upon his limbs.
Moving is difficult, bound by a lingering sensation of pins-and-needles upon his muscles as well as a dense grogginess that dulls his senses. The understated lesson learned here is that returning to life is more difficult than simply waking up.
As Undari slowly regains motor functions and can better process sensory input, he becomes acutely aware of just how...different his body now feels.
Still feeling quite drained, Undari draws breath deeply, savoring the taste of life renewed...Yet his body kinematics are different. Standing to his feet, he looks down at his body, examining his arms and legs, hands and feet, still strangely detached from this new body.
Feeling drawn to the clearing nearby, Undari steps out unsteadily on untried legs, towards where he hears familiar voices but through new ears.
[smaller]"...ateful for your help in this, but Longshadow's need is great and the town can't afford for us to lose more time. When can we see him?"
Undari hears Thorek's basso voice, carrying clearly despite the dwarf's attempt to speak softly.
From the trail of crushed grass, it's apparent that Esperanza has been pacing incessantly, her tail thrashing in agitation behind her as she makes another lap.
Lily is just following Esperanza behind quietly waiting to find out about Undari's fae.
Esperanza whirls at the sound of approaching footsteps, but her shoulders slump in disappointment when she sees who they belong to. After a few awkward seconds staring at one another, Esperanza decides to speak first.
"Is something wrong? Is there word of Undari?"
Thorek turns, alerted by Esperanza's movement, and approaches as well. "Pardon, miss, are you the priestess--er, druidess? Is Undari well? We'd like to see if him, please."
"I don't recognize anyone here but then again he's going to be in an entirely new body. "
Realizing with a shock they were addressing him—or rather her—Undari stumbles a bit as she moves. Leaning against a nearby sapling for support, she tries her voice for the first time.
In a high-pitched voice sounding strange in her ears, she says, “I have returned, my friends, though not as I once was. Thank you for bringing me back—we have much work to do once I regain my bearings, and perhaps choose a feminine name.”
Thorek stares for a moment, mouth agape, but he closes it with a clear act of will and shakes his head bemusedly. "Oh! Well, of course, no reason you couldn't come back as a lass, I just hadn't occurred to me. Are you feeling well? You were dead all day."
Esperanza blinks in surprise, but she quickly rushes forward to embrace their returned friend. After a moment, she takes a step back, examining Undari's new form and speaking a mile a minute in her relief and excitement.
"How are you feeling? You're an elf now! This must be very disorienting. Do you want a new name? The form of your body doesn't dictate who you are, but this wouldn't be the first time I've met a woman raised as a boy." She pauses, remembering something. "I've even met a man raised as a girl, though your circumstances are quite different than his."
"Truly, this is all a bit disorienting. I could just tell I was a bit pale and moved differently. Now that you mention it, though, everything seems a bit more vibrant and alive, with deeper colors and greater contrast, even in the shadows beneath the trees. I wonder..." starts Undari, breaking off with a short laugh.
Turning red, she says, "I suppose I should put some effort into learning Elvish, then, shouldn't I?" and she dissolves into mildly hysterical giggles.
Lily just starts to bawl wildly. "Im just glad your back. What ever body or form you have. Your still you and that's all that matters," she says in between sobs.
Patting Lily on the back, Thorek nods in agreement with the sentiment. "Yes, we're all glad to have you returned to us--you're our friend, whatever name you choose or face you wear. But please...no more brawling with wyverns."
Esperanza laughs along with Undari, but Thorek's comment sobers her somewhat. "Agreed, my friend. I nearly joined you in the Boneyard myself." Her somber tone evaporates quickly, though, and she gives a lopsided grin. "At the very least, bring them to Thorek next time, so he doesn't have to run so far on his tiny legs."
Regaining her composure, Undari says, ”Indeed. After my experience I may approach armed conflict with a more…cautious mentality. What has happened in my absence? I should see what of my previous gear fits that we may continue the protection of the town against the Ironfang invasion.”
"It's only been a day--we cleared the wyvern camp and came straight back here. It took half a day to walk back, and then these folk were good enough to enact the ritual that brought you back to us." Thorek's expression takes on a grim cast. "We're glad you're back with us--do you need some time or are you okay to proceed with us? We've lost time, and the town can't afford for us to stay idle any longer."
Undari nods and heads back the way she came, saying, "I'll see what gear fits and be back in a few minutes.
With the aid of the members and allies of the bureau, you are able to resize Undari's gear that was tailored for the druid's previous body. The process doesn't take much time at all, and no additional charge is added for the help.
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Returning shyly to the group, the newly-minted Snow Elven Druid smiles at the group as she emerges into the clearing wearing her re-fitted gear, saying wryly, “Greetings, my new name is Daria. Hopefully it is close enough to my dead name to not cause too much confusion. Shall we get started?”