Once Ronsoon had entered Chief Fronk's house, the middle-aged man's wife went to ignite her stove to heat up some water to make tea after she'd been introduced to the Elf.
However, the woman paused as she grabbed flint out of a basket next to the stove, turning to look at Ronsoon as she asked, "Um... Will you be drinking the tea, sir?"
Somewhat confused initially, Ronsoon's godly Wisdom quickly told him, Ah. Whoever was last here must have refused the tea for whatever reason. What a waste of flint. How rude of them.
Smiling pleasantly, Ronsoon replied, "I'd be delighted. However, please, put your flint away. Allow me the honors, if you would."
Walking past the woman before she could ask him what he was doing, Ronsoon stuck his hand into the unlit stove and said, "Create Bonfire." Then, after a sizeable flame appeared in his palm, Ronsoon dropped the blaze onto the waiting wood before closing the stove door.
With a small bow of his head, Ronsoon told the spouses, "And that's that."
Raising his brow, Fronk remarked, "I... Wow. Thank you very much. That's appreciated, Ronsoon."
"That's incredible! The water will boil in no time, now!" Fronk's wife added.
A much subtler smile spreading across his lips, Ronsoon thought, Ah. It's always so much fun to use my magic for those incapable of the same.
Picking his head up, Ronsoon replied, "No problem at all. Now, let us get down to business, shall we?"
After taking his seat on the dining table of the house and getting his tea, Ronsoon took a sip and thought, Eck. Poor quality product. Unfortunate. Just guzzling it all done immediately would be rude, so I suppose I'll be drinking it slowly.
Looking at his hosts dead on, Ronsoon asked his first question, "So, you can show me the map once we've covered everything else. Most importantly, can you tell me about the tragedy that befell your people?"
Fronk had to take a moment to collect himself before answering. A moment later, the older, in appearance, man explained.
Apparently, this village and a number of others had been invaded the prior day by knights wearing the armor of the Baharuth Empire. However, after being rescued by a mysterious and powerful Necromancer and his female warrior aide, the village was visited by the Re-Estize Kingdom's strongest man and aide to the King, the Warrior Captain Gazef Stronoff, and his personal troop. It was then that they learned that these attacks were actually orchestrated by the Slane Theocracy in an attempt to draw out Gazef.
Soon after, the village was surrounded by a powerful force from the Slane Theocracy, who had the goal of not only killing Gazef, but every other man, woman, and child still living. Gazef and his warriors fought hard and bravely to save everyone but were eventually overpowered by the group's divine magics. It was only then that the Necromancer and his warrior stepped in to help, rescuing Gazef and his surviving men before annihilating the invaders.
Before leaving, the Necromancer had gifted Enri with two magic horns that could be used to summon a hoard of Goblin warriors as a way to help ensure Carne's future safety. And almost immediately after the Necromancer left, Enri blew one of her two horns to summon forth one of the Goblin troops to help defend Carne.
With the threat gone, the villagers had spent all of this day up until the Dark Blades' arrival working on building a wall around Carne to help defend themselves in the future. There were already even talks amongst some of the survivors about having the Goblins teach them to fight so that they'd be capable of defending themselves.
Processing all this information, Ronsoon put a hand to his chin and verbalized, "Hrmm..."
So... I noticed they withheld the names of their saviors during this story. Most likely preserving their identity out of a sense of gratitude. But if this Necromance displayed powers that were exceptional by this world's standards, then he is most likely either working under Ainz Ooal Gown or is the Lich himself. If that is the case... Why would a Lich have gone to the trouble of saving a village? Unless he's only become undead recently and still has some level of his emotions intact, then there couldn't be any wholly good reason for his benevolence. And the number of sinister motivations could number in the dozens or perhaps even hundreds. Difeter utilized similar tactics to gain the trust of our nation during his centuries of work. Hrm. I need to get them to tell me who exactly this Necromancer is... But I can't be overbearing about it... I know. I'll wait until I've begun my work to help them and then casually ask about the topic, claiming that I suspect he could have been a caster from Aurix.
Pulling his hand away, Ronsoon took another sip of the poor tea and went on, "That is terrible. I am so sorry you and your community had to suffer through such horrors. It's fortunate that that Wizard came by to save you and your people."
"Yes. The Four Gods must have turned their eyes to us to allow the Necromancer to arrive when he did," Fronk replied.
Setting his cup down gently, Ronsoon leaned forward slightly and inquired, "If I may ask... How many of you died, exactly?"
"Huh...? Oh, um..." Bringing his hands together, Fronk thought the question over a moment before answering, "Roughly... forty of us died yesterday, Ronsoon."
"I see... I know this may sound weird, but I promise it's important. How many of them would you say were aged past their prime?" Ronsoon asked.
"Uh... You mean, how many of them were about my age or older?"
"Exactly, yes."
Scratching his head, Fronk took another moment to think before telling Ronsoon, "I suppose... about fifteen."
Running his finger around the rim of his cup, Ronsoon put forward a suggestion, "I see... Tell me how this sounds. Our Paladin and I both have access to resurrection magic. However, she could only raise twelve of your people. And while I can raise the rest, my magic will likely grant them new, non-Human bodies."
After he and his wife nearly dropped their own drinks, Fronk asked, "Wha... What? What do you mean?"
"The spell is called Reincarnate, you see. It has a slim chance of granting the target a Human body once more, but it is far more likely they'll end up as a different kind of bipedal, intelligent creature. And those who had aged past their youth will receive bodies in their physical prime." Ronsoon explained in an all-business tone.
Exchanging a glance with his wife, Fronk asked, "I... Are you seriously offering to bring our people back to life?"
"Yes. It's no trouble to us. It would only take us a few moments," Ronsoon explained while taking another sip.
With fear spreading across his face, Fronk exclaimed, "But... But won't their bodies turn to dust if they aren't strong enough?"
Almost choking on his tea in shock, Ronsoon coughed before replying, "I... If that's a problem with your nation's resurrection magic, I assure you that the magic that my friends and I use doesn't have that effect."
"Are... Are you serious? This sounds too good to be true," Fronk said.
Putting his hand to his chest, Ronsoon bowed slightly yet again and replied, "I swear to you on my father's soul, I am not lying and have no ulterior motives. Where we're from, this sort of work is expected of people in our line of work."
With one last glimmer of concern, Fronk explained, "But... I don't know how things work where you're from, Ronsoon, but in Re-Estize, the churches will send assassins after you if they catch wind of you using healing magic for free."
Despite not drinking anything this time, Ronsoon still felt as if he were about to choke in shock.
Picking his head up, Ronsoon asked in alarm, "Are you serious?! That's horribly immoral! Why would they do that?"
Speaking up as her husband recoiled from the Elf's outburst, Fronk's wife told him, "Well... The churches keep their funding by charging massive fortunes for their healing services. If others went around doing it for free, the church of The Four Gods could suffer losses in money."
Tilting his head, Ronsoon asked, "Do... Do they not make enough from taxes?"
Shaking his head, Fronk answered, "No, the church and state are separate from each other."
Putting a hand to his forehead, Ronsoon remarked, "That's... Bizzare. Where I'm from, the church and state are intertwined due to the vital role religion has in the world. Most healing magic is free as a result of the funds the churches receive from taxpayers, with only the extremely high-level magic costing anything for its use. But even then, not so much that paying for it is out of the realm of possibility for the common folk... How cruel this nation is."
Shrinking into his chair somewhat, Fronk asked, "So... Should I assume the offer of resurrection is off the table?"
Raising a brow, Ronsoon replied, "Hm? No, of course not." At once, the husband and wife recoiled in surprise as Ronsoon went on, "I am a Druid, and it is the duty of my Circle to help all life flourish. Damn those who try to get my way. Let these assassins come. My guild and I will make them regret confronting us in battle."
Awed by the Wood Elf's words, Fronk's wife stated, "I... We can't thank you enough, Lord Ronsoon."
Raising his hand dismissively, Ronsoon stated, "Please. I am no lord, m'lady. I am but a humble Druid."
Bringing up a topic that had been on his mind from the start, Fronk said, "Um... By the way, Lo-... Ronsoon. I have a question for you too. You mentioned you're from somewhere else. What kind of nation is it where Dark Elves and Humans can live together as you and your friends do?"
Once more, Ronsoon found himself floored. This time, his shock was so great that his grip on his cup of tea had loosened. But before the cup could fall more than an inch from his hand, Ronsoon had maneuvered quickly enough to grab it out of the air, resuming his prior position before the farmers in front of him could see what had happened.
Doing his best not to furrow his brow, Ronsoon asked, "I'm sorry... What did you just say?"
Feeling the faint aura of malice that had started exuding from the powerful Druid, Fronk reflexively gulped, just managing to ask, "I- I- I'm sorry! Did- did- did- Is the relationship between your races a sensitive topic?"
Setting his cup down, Ronsoon pointed at Fronk accusingly and stated, "Not That! You called me a Dark Elf! Do I look like one of the vile Drow to you?!"
"Huh...?! A what?!" Fronk asked, unintentionally screaming.
All at once, once Fronk voiced his own confusion, Ronsoon's Wisdom pieced together the situation.
Taking a deep breath, Ronsoon bowed his head once more and said, "Sorry... That outburst was unjustified and born from ignorance." Picking his face up as Fronk and his wife also relaxed slightly, Ronsoon pointed at his dark brown skin and asked, "Am I correct in assuming that what you call 'Dark Elves' in your nation have skin like mine?"
Seeing that her husband was too nervous to speak, Fronk's wife replied, "Well... Yes. Do... Do you mean you're not a Dark Elf, Ronsoon?"
Shaking his head, Ronsoon took some of his long silver hair between his fingers and explained, "No. I'm what's known as a Wood Elf. You can tell based on our metallic hair showing our connection to the Earth, and our brown skin showing how our kind has spent longer under the sun's kiss than any of our cousin sub-races. As for the Dark Elves of my nation, or the Drow as we call them, they have skin as black as a starless night sky and pure white hair as a result of their kind being cursed by a Demonic Deity. Although there are plenty of exceptions, the majority are a malevolent people who seek the enslavement of all other sentient races. That is why I took offense."
His nerves calming somewhat, Fronk put his hands together and said, "I... I see... I'm sorry for the insult."
Smiling with guilt, Ronsoon remarked, "It's not your fault, friend. You had no way of knowing... Now then, as for your actual question. You wanted to know about where my friends and I are from, correct?"
"Uh... Yes. Yes, please, Ronsoon," Fronk replied.
Nodding, Ronsoon delved into the false story that Geros had told all the Adventurers to spread.
With fascination in her eyes, Fronk's wife asked, "If all that's true, why are you looking to go to the Baharuth Empire?"
As his posture relaxed, Ronsoon replied, "We had heard from some monsters we'd encountered that the most powerful caster on the continent lives there. We were hoping he could help us."
Thank Lumnea King Geros learned of that Flueder individual from that Bafolk he'd interrogated. It makes an excellent excuse to go along with our mission.
"Then... Didn't you hear about how Elves are nothing but slaves in the Baharuth Empire?" Fronk asked.
Raising his brow, Ronsoon replied, "I... Had not. Thank you for the warning."
Hrm... Well, I'll have to do something about that when we get there. As for now...
Clearing his throat, Ronsoon said, "Well, I have no other questions. And unless you two have any more questions of your own, I'd like to see your map, please."
"Er... Yes, that's fine by me. What about you, dear?" Fronk asked his wife.
Shaking her head, Fronk's wife answered, "I don't have any other questions."
Smirking, Ronsoon stated, "Excellent! Let's finish up our tea so I can copy your map. After that, I can enhance your crops and get to work on the resurrection."
Effortlessly balancing several of the carved tree trunks on his shoulder, Grotool left all the onlooking villagers of Carne, as well as their Goblin guards, shocked by his feat of strength. Although, admittedly, he wasn't the only one displaying such physical prowess. Laila and Chase were performing equally as well.
With Laila having equal Tarasque-like Strength to his own, and Chase having the Strength of a Storm Giant, the task was no harder than carrying toothpicks to the three.
Grotool had expected Chayma to be able to do the same as his brother but realized that the man was actually a DEX-Based Fighter. As such, while he had agility equal to Lexkey and Grotool's, his Strength Modifier wasn't in the realm of legends as the others were, being more comparable to a normal Gorilla than a giant monster.
Because of this, Chayma focused on acting as the main muscle for a group of villagers as they worked alongside those with the strength of Titans to build this wooden wall.
With the help of Grotool and the others, the village's new wall was put up in less than a half hour, with all that was left to do being the construction of a guard tower.
"How... How are you guys this strong?! Are you all Godkins?!" A teenage boy who'd been a part of Chayma's group asked Grotool after he buried the last tree into the ground.
Wiping his hands off, Grotool explained, "Uh... Do you mean a Demigod? No, I don't think so. Not yet anyways... I mean... Maybe I was turned into something similar? I got blessed by the Deity of Willpower and Courage at one point with this strength. So I guess I'm a candidate to become a Deity-in-training. As for Laila and Chase, they just trained really hard."
His eyes fully dilated as sweat rolled down the boy's face, he asked, "You... You've met a God?!"
Shrugging as he smirk behind his mask, Grotool confidently told him, "Several, actually."
"But... But how?" The teenager asked.
Folding his arms, Grotool thought for a moment before explaining, "A mix of my own abilities taking me on adventures, and knowing a couple of religious chosen ones. If you're looking for the same experiences... Maybe start worshiping? Either that or try to become a legendary warrior. But one sounds easier than the other, right?"
Life exploding into the boy's eyes, he asked, "What's the name of this Willpower God?!"
Realizing the magnitude of what his next words could have on this boy's life, Grotool thought in less than a second, Wait a second. I shouldn't let my bragging get away from me. If I go too far here, I might end up converting this kid to a whole new religion... But Queen BeloiseNoqtrus' Deities sent us here not just to save this world, but to convertit too. And those guys are the ones who made this body for me. If I actively avoid that mission, they might take this body away and send me home. Hey, maybe I should bring that idea up to Tess and Harry...!Hold on! Focus on what's in front of you, Drew...! Er, Grotool.
Recomposing himself before the boy even had a chance to notice he'd been lost in thought, Grotool replied casually, "Huh? Oh, uh, No'Geil. If you're interested in worship, a prayer symbol of her's just looks like a heart with a sword overlayed. Well, that's what it normally looks like, but really, any weapon can work as part of the symbol. After that, all you need to do for worship, aside from prayer, is stay determined in whatever matters to you most and do your best to stay courageous in all things."
"Yes! Yes, I will! Thank you, Mr. Grotool!" The boy exclaimed eagerly.
"Eh, no problem. Oh, and just to be clear, No'Geil is a woman, by the by. Figured that'd be important to know if you plan to start praying to her," Grotool added half-heartedly.
"Oh! Right, of course! Thank you again! I'll get to work on making a prayer focus after the work is done today. Since we're already done here, I'll get to work helping to gather the supplies for the guard tower," the boy exclaimed before rushing off.
Watching the boy go, Grotool took an unneeded moment to rest as he mulled over everything he'd just said, Hrm...Feels weird giving out religious advice for a god I don't actually follow. I mean, I only know this stuff about No'Geil because Grotool worshipped her... Well, everyone's free to believe what they want. And worship has real, tangible powers in fantasy worlds like these, right? Polytheism is what's normal for these worlds, after all...
As if fate were addressing Grotool's quandaries, Laila and Chayma approached him, with Chayma remarking, "Nice work, Grotool."
Raising a brow as he turned to the spouses, Grotool replied, "You mean with that on-the-spot conversion?"
Clutching her hands excitedly, Laila added, "Yeah! Way to get started on spreading The United's faith. I appreciate it."
The United being the name for the Pantheon of Deities from Noqtrus who primarily focused on actively fighting the forces of evil.
Shaking his head, Grotool remarked, "Naw. I just thought to do that after letting my bragging go too far. Nothing praiseworthy about it."
With a charming smirk, Chayma insisted, "Hold on there. One should never dismiss their ability to effectively think on the spot as having no value."
Chuckling somewhat, Grotool replied, "Ha. If you say so, Chayma. Just remember that whole encounter we had about me not wanting a swelled head."
Folding his arms as he nodded, Chayma replied, "Yes, yes... If I haven't already said so, sorry about my tasteless joke."
"Wow, guys. Look at how busy Rolgson's been," Laila suddenly commented as she pointed at the center of the village.
Despite knowing Laila was just attempting to keep the conversation off of depressing topics, Grotool and Chayma allowed their vision to wander to where she pointed. To Grotool's surprise, he saw that the Wizard of the group really had been up to something productive.
Rolgson had been using the Magic Light spell(a homebrewed Level 3 version of the Light Cantrip that lasted indefinitely) to create Magic Lamps for the town. For his targets, he'd simply used the ends of the larger branches from the debranched trees.
"I wonder how many of those makeshift lamps he managed to make while we were working," Grotool remarked as he watched the Half-Dwarf work.
Folding his arms, Chayma replied, "Knowing what I know of him... He made a surplus."
"Ignite!" Rolgson shouted, turning off the nearest light to him as a few villagers watched. "Just use tha' command word ta turn tha' lights on er' off when ya need ta."
"And... And how much do we owe you for these, sir?" One of the adults asked.
With a frustrated glance, Rolgson snapped, "Pay?! Are ya kiddin' me?! Havin' lights is a basic part of any settlement where Ah come frem! Ah'm jes' makin' this place lessa'n eyesore for me own sake! Now shut up an' take 'em' fer' Ah change me mind!"
As numerous of the onlookers stepped back, and a couple of the Goblin guards stepped forward, the same man replied with a nervous gulp, "S-sorry, sir! Thank you, sir!"
With an unsatisfied, "Feh," Rolgson turned away from the crowd and walked toward Chase, who was already helping with the watchtower's construction.
Tilting his head, Grotool pondered, Sheesh, that guy can't just be nice about one thing, can he...?
As Grotool thought about the chip, or possibly mountain, on Rolgosn's shoulder, his eyes wandered over to where Edge had been sitting on a flipped-over wheelbarrow. And when he saw her, Grotool was a bit puzzled by what the Warlock was doing.
Unable to do much to aid the village with her abilities, Edge had been relaxing and conversing with the children who were still too young to help with this project. But it wasn't just the kids gathered around her since Jugem and Enri were listening as well.
Grotool assumed the Goblins' leaders were there simply to keep an eye on Edge in case she tried to do anything to the kids, as the air of insanity around the Warlock was undeniable. However, instead of watching her with caution, they both seemed intently interested in whatever the mad caster/warrior was saying as well.
"The heck is she talking with them about?" Grotool muttered while tilting his head.
Folding her arms as she squinted at her sister, Laila said, "Erm... Whatever it is, there's a chance it's something bad... One second."
Rubbing her hand over her own throat, Laila's neck and mouth briefly flashed with a holy light before she remarked, "I'll go check on what she's up to. You boys leave it to me."
Feeling Laila's words penetrate his soul, Grotool couldn't have moved his feet from the spot even if he'd wanted to.
Before Grotool could comprehend what had just happened, Chayma let out a satisfied sigh and said, "As if her voice wasn't enchanting enough without divine intervention."
As if coming out of a stupor, Grotool asked, "Huh? What do you mean? Did she use a Charm effect on us?"
I thought I was immune to that kind of thing... Grotool postulated internally.
Laughing heartily, Chayma answered, "No! Nothing of the sort! I know it might be hard to tell the difference with her honeyed words, but my wife is more so just using her divine connections to make convincing others to listen to her."
"And... How is that different from being Charmed?" Grotool remarked.
Folding his arms behind himself, Chayma explained, "Well, there's nothing magical holding your mind on her side. If there were, I wouldn't have been able to talk you out of your stupor otherwise. She essentially just becomes a more convincing speaker."
Folding his arms, Grotool asked one more question, "Huh... And why'd she use that power?"
Shrugging nonchalantly, Chayma said, "Despite her... Well, her insanity, Edge has her own charm to her words. Laila likely just wanted to make sure her sister won't talk anyone into doing anything... Er, unwise."
Remembering Edge's casual disregard for his life, Grotool replied, "That... Makes sense. Yeah... You wanna get back to work while they... Uh, you alright?"
Suddenly Chayma started staring into the distance. This distracted the masked warrior from finishing his sentence as he tried to see what the Samurai was looking at. However, even with all his vision-based abilities, Grotool saw nothing.
"Chay-?"
Before Grotool could ask what was happening, Chayma said, "Sorry about that. I was tuning you out so I could listen to a Sending message. Apparently, your Lexkey wants you to come back as soon as you can. Apparently, there are people he needs you to talk to."
"Lexkey? I wonder what-. Wait, why didn't he just message me?" Grotool asked.
Pointing at Grotool's covered head, Chayma told him, "He said they tried to, but your mask blocked the spell."
As his eyes grew embarrassed, Grotool muttered, "Oh, right... This thing blocks all Divination magic... Sigh. Okay. Chayma?"
"Yes?"
"Do you think I could ask Rolgson to teleport me back? I can't exactly do it myself," Grotool inquired.
With a hesitant smirk, Chayma explained, "He'll give you a hard time, but he will help."
Tensing his brow, Grotool asked, "Wait. A hard time how exactly?"
Averting his eyes, Chayma replied, "Well... Either he'll give you some light mocking ooorr... He'll be outright verbally hostile."
"Huh... Thanks for the warning."
Nodding, Chayma replied empathically, "Good luck."
"Now. Where is that Wizard...?" Grotool muttered.
After seeing him stomp off from the villagers he'd made the lamps for, Grotool had expected Rolgson to go off somewhere to isolate himself. As such, he predicted it would take a minute to track him down.
However, the Fighter's intuition proved inaccurate instantly. Right away, he spotted Rolgson working alongside Chase in helping the villagers construct their watchtower.
While Chase's brute strength was proving invaluable for getting the tower's framework set up, Rolgson was providing equal aid through arcane means.
With the Half-Dwarf's gravity magic making all the wood a tenth of its normal weight, even the normal villagers were able to move the building supplies as easily as the superhuman Adventurers.
Thanks to the caster's and warrior's combined efforts, the tower was already half completed in just the time Grotool, Laila, and Chayma spent conversing.
Hesitantly, Grotool approached Rolgson and told the Wizard he needed help but left out the specific details while the villagers were around.
As Chayma had predicted, Rolgson was quick to mock Grotool over this request. However, thanks to Chase's mediating, the bickering remained at the level of good-natured ribbing. After a few minutes of this back and forth, Rolgson agreed to head off and talk with Grotool in private about his situation.
The two had to exit the village and enter the woods, but once they were alone, Grotool explained the situation to Rolgson. Although the Half-Dwarf was still a bit annoyed, he relented that getting Grotool back to Castle Geros would be trivial for him. So with a quickly cast Teleport spell and the necessary password, the two were gone.
Having worked out all the details of the help he'd provide after copying their map, Ronsoon exited Chief Fronk's house alongside the Chief himself.
Once the two were out of the house, Fronk was shocked by what he saw.
"The... They finished the wall?!" Fronk Exclaimed.
Nodding, Ronsoon sagely stated, "It's about what I expected with my friends helping."
Noticing the watchtower being constructed in the distance, Ronsoon said, "I believe most people will be gathered over that way. Shall we, Fronk?"
"R-right. This'll need to be voted on," the Chief replied.
Although Ronsoon was eager to speak with his team and the villagers, he remained patient enough to keep his pace down to match Chief Fronk's.
This slower stroll did have a benefit to it, though, as it allowed Ronsoon to get another look at the wrecked village of Carne.
This place... It truly was ransacked. And yet these people are already finding the strength to push on and work to prevent future tragedies. The Human willpower is truly remarkable.
Once they arrived at where the rest of the village had gathered, Ronsoon and Fronk saw a peculiar sight.
All of the construction had been completed. And with their immediate work done, many of the villagers were gathered in a wide circle around Chase and Chayma as the brothers sparred with long sticks.
Amongst those watching the match the closest were the Goblin guards, with each one somewhat on edge.
Chase and Chayma moved at what was a sloth's pace to them, as in what would be considered normal for an untrained person, and methodically went back and forth on who was attacking and defending. And once it switched to Chayma's turn to attack, the man used his stick to twist Chase's out of his hand, which he cooperated with.
As the warrior siblings stood up straight, Chayma told the crowd, "And that's the basic movements for how to disarm an opponent. But this shouldn't be attempted on someone significantly stronger than yourself. Under normal circumstances, I doubt I could get my brother here to drop his weapon."
Folding his arms, Chase added, "Now, we finished our sword demonstration like you wanted, so I hope you guys see just how hard swordsmanship is to get a grip on. For an easier melee weapon to use, stick with spears and pikes. But if you really want to stay out of danger, it's best to pick up archery. But that comes with its own learning curve too. We can give you all a lesson, but we're not gonna be sticking around to tutor you past today... Sorry, that came across ruder than I meant it to."
"Excuse me for a moment, but I feel it prudent that I cut in with important news before further combat lessons are provided! May I please have everyone's attention?" Ronsoon stated as loudly as he could.
Once Ronsoon's teammates looked at the Wood Elf Druid, the rest of the village was soon to follow. To Ronsoon's pleasure, most of the eyes of those staring at him were quickly washed over with trust and admiration, showing him how many had succumbed to his Greater Nature Sanctuary.
Nodding slightly, Ronsoon exclaimed, "Thank you all for listening. Now please pay close attention and be reassured that your Chief, Fronk here, has already agreed to my plan."
Appearing in front of Castle Geros in a blink of light, Grotool and Rolgson were slightly pleased by what they saw. The mist around the castle had started expanding to the surrounding area, having extended its radius by roughly one hundred feet.
The Elite Guards that had been standing by the castle's front gate initially reached for their swords when the Adventurers appeared in front of them.
However, once the Elites recognized who these men were, they relaxed somewhat as their Guard Captain said, "Greetings, Sir Rolgson, Sir Grotool. I assume you are here due to sir Lexkey's summons."
Nodding, Grotool answered, "That about sums it up, yeah."
"Hey, thar. Looks like Geros'll av' this place converted inta his terran in no time," Rolgson remarked with a genuinely impressed tone.
"Indeed, Sir Wizard," the Captain replied.
Smirking beneath his mask, Grotool added, "And if the fog's working properly, then that means..." Waiting to finish his sentence, Grotool was pleased to see the mist in front of him assume the shape of a Humanoid figure beckoning him to follow.
This was just one of the functions of Geros' terrain, the mist would help to guide good-aligned creatures to their intended destination.
"Sweet. I'll need the help to navigate this maze of a castle," Grotool casually said.
Pointing to the mist figure as two other guards opened the large door, the Guard Captain stated, "Please follow your guide, sirs."
"Will do. Thanks, soldiers," Grotool replied before turning his head to look at Rolgson. "You planning on coming too, Rolgson?"
Chuckling in disbelief, Rolgson remarked, "Ha! Ya need yer head checked?! Of course Ah am! Ah ain't gonna miss out seeing whoever these mystery people looking for ye are. Side's, ye'll still need a way back fer when yer done 'ere."
Nodding, Grotool admitted, "Fair point. Well, let's get going then."
"Ai," Rolgson replied as he and Grotool followed the mist figure.
After strolling through Castle Geros alongside their misty guide for what felt like a half hour, Grotool and Rolgson were brought to the palace's massive dining hall/ballroom. Numerous guards were stationed there, with only one squad of Elite Guards amongst them. Some were there to eat, but most were present to actually guard the place. In addition to the guards, numerous members of the castle staff were having their mid-day meals.
"Mmm. Smells good," Grotool remarked as two of the guards opened the doors for him and his Half-Dwarf companion.
Audibly licking his hair-surrounded lips, Rolgson remarked, "Yer nah wrong there. We're gonna have ta grab some grub before we head out."
Once Grotool and Rolgson took a step into the room, though, their guide vanished into the ever-present mist.
Although puzzled for an instant, Grotool quickly realized, "Oh. Guess the guys must be here."
"Seems that way," Rolgosn replied while his eyes began to wander.
Immediately, Grotool got to scanning the room. Fortunately for him, with his inhuman Perception, he deduced that they weren't at any of the tables, instead finding Lexkey, Nilrem, and Tess hanging out on the ballroom dance floor alongside several others. Most notably, Prince Sveargith was amongst the unexpected figures. However, while the Half-Dragon made friendly chit-chat with Grotool's friends, the archer's eyes were drawn to the three other armed figures. Three figures that Grotool recognized right away.
First was a Halfling male with spikey brown hair and green eyes. He was armored with a suit of armor that combined leather and scales. For weapons, he had a shortsword sheathed at one side of his waist, a quiver of arrows on the other, and on his back a longbow with various magic runes of different colors carved into it. This man was Pillar Genel.
The second was a Human woman with light brown skin, short brown hair, and dark brown eyes. She had solid plate armor that seemed to be made from Mithral and Adamantine. And as for how she armed herself, she had an Adamantine pike, arrows, and a purple longbow with shadowy fog where a bowstring should be. This woman was Helena Jessa.
The final and tallest of three was a Human man with piercing blue eyes, strikingly pretty facial features, and a mane of long white hair. He had plate armor made from Mithral and Ancient White Dragon scales. His weapons consisted of a shortbow with what looked like a scope carved into the top of it and a greatsword made from a crystal-like material. This was Griffith Landor, or simply Griff, as he preferred.
None of them seemed any older than their late teens or early twenties. But as for why Grotool recognized these people, it was very simple. They were his, or rather the real Grotool's, students.
During their game, after a quest where Tyrants' Bane defeated an undead army trying to destroy a city, Grotool gave archery lessons to the town's guards per their request. He had done so well during his demonstration that three of the guards, a Halfling and two Humans, asked to become his students.
As a player, the notion of having devoted followers excited Drew, so he agreed to train them on the spot.
During his time training them between quests, Drew got to know these NPCs.
Griffith was an excitable and faithful young man, following Grotool's orders more fervently than the others and showing the most progress of the three. Helena was a bit colder and, while still loyal, was the most concerned with growing stronger and fighting worthy opponents. Finally, Pillar was the most eager to copy Grotool's skills as an archer after hearing of his heroic exploits, wishing to one day become a hero as well.
Regardless of their motivations, each of Grotool's students had become strong enough to meet the requirements of being Adamantine-ranked by the time of being sent to the New World.
Once Grotool saw who was waiting for him, he thought, Oh... Yeah, I can see why I need to be here for this.
Taking a step towards the group, Grotool was slightly surprised when Lexkey, without turning around, stated, "Hey, guys. Enough about Kie versus Moxie for now. Grotool's finally showed up."
While the group that was gathered around Lexkey turned to look at Grotool, the archer wondered, How did he-? Oh, right. His Wisdom is maxed out. I'd have to actually give a significant amount of effort to sneak up on him.
Waving to the dancefloor party, Grotool simultaneously gestured at Rolgson and said, "And I brought a plus one. Hope that's alright."
Giving a blatantly false shocked expression, Tess gasped and remarked, "Oh no! How could you d such a thing?!" Her intentionally poor theatrics earning her a chuckle from Sveargith and Nilrem.
"Ai. 'Ow inconsiderate of ye, boyo," Rolgson added snarkily.
Rolling his eyes, Grotool remarked, "Oh man. How can I ever forgive myself?"
"Yeah. You-." Nilrem began before being cut off by Griff.
"Excuse me, but can we please discuss what we brought this man here for?" Griff asked.
Jumping up and landing on Griff's shoulders, leaving the Human warrior unphased, Pillar added, "If you all wouldn't mind, that is."
Folding her arms, Helena didn't add anything to the conversation, instead focusing her gaze on Grotool.
"Alright, fair enough. You feel up to talking with these guys, Grotool?" Lexkey replied while Nilrem gave them a stink-eye.
Staring back at the trio, Grotool said, "So long as I can ask these three a question first."
"Sure. What's that?" Pillar answered immediately for his hesitant piers.
"If you guys were sent to this world too, how come we haven't found any of you until now?" Grotool asked bluntly.
"We got lost," Griff answered equally bluntly.
His defense dropping slightly, Grotool asked, "I'm sorry, what do you mean by lost?"
Continuing his act as spokesperson, Pillar clarified, "You see... When we got sent to this new world, we ended up in the castle basement. We couldn't navigate the place, and it took until today for the mist to start guiding us."
Jumping back in, Lexkey said, "And it brought 'em to us when we were wrapping up today's training. Guess Geros' mist thought it'd be best for them to meet us first."
Folding his arms in frustration, Nilrem added, "Considering how much we had to explain to them, I think that's accurate... I swear to God, it took like an hour of Q and A."
"Yeeeep. And without me a Lyra there to talk things over, I doubt it'd have gone so smoothly," Sveargith added as he folded his arms behind his head.
"Huh... Okay, I guess that's believable," Grotool replied before internally finishing, For now, anyway.
"We good to ask our questions now?" Pillar inquired.
His brow raising slightly, Grotool replied, "Oh, right. Sure."
Nodding, Pillar said, "Good. So, first, we want to know if... Um, are you really-?"
Cutting in, Griff yelled, "Is it true that you're an alien soul in our master's body?!"
The hostile tone making him consider his next words, Grotool thought things over before answering, "Technically... this is just a copy of the real Grotool's body. But if you're asking to see if this is really a copy of his body under this mask, then no prob."
Gripping the crown sown into his mask, Grotool pulled the thing off in one swift motion, remarking, "See? It's the genuine article under here."
Tapping her foot impatiently, Helena gestured at Grotool with her head, prompting Griff to ask another question, "And do you think you're as strong as our master is?"
The moment Griff asked this question, Lexkey's somewhat carefree demeanor dropped as he focused his gaze and stated, "They plan to attack you, Grotool. Do you want our help fighting them?"
As everyone but Sveargith shot Lexkey a startled glance, Pillar began, "How would you-?!"
Cutting the Halfling archer off as the surprise ran its course, Grotool chuckled slightly and explained, "Hehe, sorry, you three. But it's pretty much impossible to lie in front of Lexkey."
Plus 10 Wisdom and plus 9 Proficiency will tide him over with all but the godly-level liars.
Turning to his friends as Nilrem began to grin like a starving hyena, "Thanks, but I'm gonna try to handle this myself. Just make sure nothing we do interrupts those eating, please."
Shrugging, albeit, with a ponderous expression, Lyra replied, "I guess we can manage that. Just don't expect me to sit out if they get the best of you."
"What?! Aw, come on! Just give me two seconds, and I'll blast them to pieces! That's what I've been training for!" Nilrem exclaimed, his face nearly resembling that of a stabbing victim.
Putting a hand on Nilrem's shoulder, Lexkey told his Wizard friend, "And I think Grotool's looking for some training of his own, man. Just let him have this."
Shrugging as he stepped away from Grotool towards the Prince and Tyrants' Bane, Rolgson remarked, "Eh, Ah wouldn't a helped even if ya asked me ta. But Ah can manage to keep tha onlookers safe. Wall Of Ice!" And as the Dwarven Wizard raised his staff, a large wall of ice going from one end of the room to the other materialized, blocking the dance floor from the dining hall.
"Hey! What's going on over there?!" A guard's voice called out from behind the ice wall.
"Jus' keep eatin' in peace, lads! We're jus' havin' a sparring match over 'ere," Rolgson called back.
"Hey! Hold on! Let me get in on that! Wall Of Force!" Nilrem shouted, raising his own staff as the air in front of the ice wall started warbling.
"Guess that's handled then. Come on, gang. Let's play referees," Sveargith chimed as he sauntered toward a wall.
Following closely behind, Lexkey replied, "Sounds good to me." And soon enough, all five onlookers had moved to different walls to watch the battle.
Completely floored by their behavior, it wasn't until now that Griff could ask, "I... Is this really happening like this?!"
Drawing his greatsword, Grotool answered, "Seems like it. I hope you guys get whatever you need to out of your systems from this. Lord knows I've needed something a way to work out my stress from coming here. Hopefully, you guys can explain yourselves once we're done with all this... And, Pillar, you should probably get off of Griff if you want to fight effectively."
Exchanging puzzled but agreeing glances with his fellow student, Pillar backflipped off of Griff's shoulders, pulling out his bow as he landed.
Slowly pulling his own blade out, Griff sized up Grotool and asked, "So... If you're really a copy of our master, then why are you fighting with your sword. Master is no slouch with the sword, but his main skill lies in archery."
Putting his mask back on before he flourished his greatsword, Grotool replied casually, "Yeah, but I think I'll stick to strictly melee for this fight. Even if I don't have the same experience as the real Grotool, if I used any of my archery or other magic skills, we all know this fight would be over in no time. So... You guys feel free to get into whatever formation you want and make the first move."
Locking eyes with Pillar and Helena, Griff only gave them a knowing look. And yet that was enough for them to assume an arrowhead formation with Griff as the head as Helena and Pillar assumed the left and right positions, respectively.
Despite the confident attitude he was presenting, Grotool felt a shiver go up his spine. He knew his body was far stronger than any of his opponents, but the fact remained that this would be his first real battle fought on a superhuman caliber. The Arcane Archer couldn't help but second-guess both his decisions of fighting on his own and without his bow.
Unfortunately for Grotool, he had no time to change his mind as Griff started rushing at him.
Initially, he wondered why Griff was charging at him so slowly. However, Grotool soon realized that Griff's approach wasn't sluggish as a result of any choice of his own, but instead came from Grotool's enhanced sense of perception and reflexes.
Alright... Alright, I think I can do this! Once he finishes his first attack, I will counterattack at full might and overwhelm them all with Grotool's raw power!
Once Grotool made up his mind, he assumed a defensive stance and raised his blade. He was able to parry and block Griff's initial barrage of eight instantaneous sword swings. But just as it seemed like Griff was about to back off, Grotool was caught off guard as the Fighter unleashed another eight attacks in the same second. Grotool managed to block, only for three to graze him as the fourth landed a clean hit against his torso and knocked him sideways. Griff's Crystal Dragon Wrath sword dealing an explosion of radiant damage each time it struck Grotool, even from glancing blows. On top of the radiant damage done, the sword seemed to hit harder than it had any right to as Griff's eyes left behind a glowing blue trail thanks to his Monster Slayer abilities pouring more power into the blows that landed.
And even though his Adamantine and Dragon Scale armor absorbed most of the damage, Grotool still felt pain as he skitted back.
As his metal boots slid along the smooth, polished ballroom floor, Grotool cursed himself, Right. Action Surge, you idiot.
Stomping his backfoot to anchor himself, Grotool got ready to counterattack but stopped when he noticed Helena and Pillar join in on the assault. Each one using their respective skills to enhance their archery.
Pillar's barrage of sixteen arrows ripped through the air with a piercing whistle, his Sharpshooter skills empowering his shots as his elemental bow infused each arrow with a random elemental enhancement. At the same time, Helena's body produced a cloud of darkness that immediately formed into two shadowy doublegangers of herself thanks to her Echo Knight abilities. And while she fired off eight arrows made from darkness, her Echoes came rushing in to aid Griff in melee.
Okay, now is probably a good time to use my sword's defensive power, Grotool thought as he watched the wall of arrowheads approaching him.
Willing the magic from his blade, a spectral shield appeared in front of Grotool that covered his left side as he parried arrows with the blade itself on his right. Fortunately, with his Answering Defender's AC-boosting Reaction, Grotool managed to completely defend against the hail of arrows, slashing through nearly all that got near him, with his magic shield protecting him from any he might have missed.
Additionally, the couple of arrows that were simply off their mark were fortunately stopped in their tracks by the magical barriers behind the Grotool
"Okay. My turn to see what this body can really do. Haaaaa!" Grotool shouted with a harsh determination as he began to transform slightly. What skin exposed visibly went from caucasian to a deep purple, his eyes began to glow yellow, and his muscles suddenly increased in mass, nearly doubling.
This was Grotool's Healing Blood ability, a homebrewed transformation he got from helping Meep and Ronath test out new healing crystals at their magic item shop. Only for the experiment to go wrong, causing the crystals to explode and infuse with his blood, granting him this transformation.
The Healing Blood was rather straightforward, granting Grotool increased Strength, temporary Hit Points, Advantage on Constitution Saving Throws, and a passive healing ability for three minutes. However, the form could only be used once per Long Rest.
Rushing Griff and the Echoes with enough speed to pick up a dust cloud around him, Grotool unleashed two masterful slashes that tore the shadowy doubles apart in an instant, as neither had more than a single hit point.
Turning his focus to Griff as the younger warrior gritted his teeth, Grotool struck at him with a flurry of ten more sword swings. To the young man's credit, he successfully parried two of the cuts, but couldn't stop the other eight from digging into his arms and chest. And it was the final cut that dealt the decisive blow, breaking through the armor on Griff's right arm and severing the limb, before then breaking through the Dragon Scale breastplate and splitting Griff's heart in half.
"One down," Grotool remarked as he activated his own Action Surge and leapt toward Helena, bringing his sword down as she tried to dodge.
Unfortunately for the silent woman, the godly power in Grotool's body was too great for her to evade, and she was crushed by the massive sword's magic power combined with Grotool's Titan-like strength. To her credit, Helena was noticeably more resilient than Griff, withstanding nine slashes instead of eight before getting downed.
With Helena beaten, Grotool instantly turned in place and launched himself at Pillar, attacking the archer with another three sword swings as he reached him.
Taking less punishment than his allies had, Pillar managed to hop back with severe but non-lethal gashes in his torso and legs.
Raising his bow, Pillar put his close-quarters archery skills to use as he fired off another couple of shots, only Grotool to evade them and put a pair of crossing cuts into his torso.
Undeterred despite the horrid amount of pain his body was suffering through, Pillar tried another couple of arrow shots in hopes of doing any amount of damage to his opponent. However, Grotool simply slashed both arrows in half before delivering an equal number of cuts to Pillar's chest.
These final two blows not only drew out fresh splashes of blood but sent the Halfling's nearly lifeless body hurtling into the wall beside the onlookers.
Watching Pillar's body imprint into the wall, Grotool stands up straight as his battle high dies down, pondering awkwardly, Did I maybe go too hard on them? Are they going to need to be resurrected or...?
Putting a hand on Pillar's dying body, Sveargith remarked casually, "Well, I suppose that's settled. Cure Wounds." As the Half-Dragon Prince's magic brought Pillar back from the brink, Sveargith asked Lexkey, "Hey, Not-Lexkey, can you get-?"
But before he could finish, Lexkey was already over at Griff's side, using his Way Of Mercy abilities to administer healing-infused pressure point blows to Griff's body, closing his wounds with Kie.
Once Griff opened his eyes in surprise, Lexkey quickly told him, "You're gonna need a Regeneration speel to put your arm back on. Now I gotta go help Helena. Scuse me."
Doing just as he said, Lexkey repeated the procedure on Helena, bringing her back to consciousness while telling her, "Alright, you're back in one piece. Now no more picking fights with guys who can split mountains, okay? Doctor's orders."
Removing his mask once again, Grotool stated, "Oh good. You were able to heal them." His eyes then wandered over to the disarmed Griff. "Mostly..."
As he avoided looking at Griff any further, Grotool noticed the magic walls were still up, so he said, "Nilrem, Rolgson, you guys can drop the magic now."
Focus returning to eyes that had glazed over in appreciation for combat, Nilrem exclaimed while raising his staff, "Oh, yeah. One sec."
"Ah donna need you givin' me orders...! Feh, whatever," Rolgson replied as he also raised his arcane focus.
And just like that, the walls of ice and force were dropped, revealing a crowd of puzzled guards behind them.
Carrying Pillar under one arm, Sveargith approached Griff with Tess at his side.
"So... You plan on explaining yourselves?" Tess asked as she folded her arms and stared directly into Griff's eyes.
With Tess breaking the ice with Griff, Grotool trotted over and added, "Yeah, I did say I was hoping to hear about your reasoning myself."
His embarrassment overwhelming his pain, Griff's face flushed as he turned from Tess' gaze. However, this only earned him a Halfling thrown into his sore chest.
And as Griff and Pillar yelped in agony, Sveargith remarked, "I believe the lovely lady asked you a question, pretty boy."
Unable to ignore the question, Griff helped Pillar sit down before taking a breath and replying, "Alright... Simply put, since we all admired the real Grotool like a father, we just wanted to test the person in his body to see if he was worthy of it... Obviously, you passed that test, sir...?"
Tilting his head slightly, Grotool furrowed his brow and replied, "If you don't feel comfortable calling me Grotool, then I guess you can call me Drew. But Grotool is the name I'm gonna go by. Really, there's very little difference between the two of us, personality-wise."
With an expression that mixed an improbable number of emotions, Griff and Pillar simply stared back at Grotool for a moment, until the lead student responded, "I think... For now, we'll call you Drew. Maybe one day you'll prove yourself worthy of our master's name. For now, just be glad we accept you using his body."
"Yeah, sorry, Drew. I have to agree with Griffith," Pillar added, his tone having some genuine apology in it.
"Mmm," Helena remarked as she and Lexkey walked in to join the conversation.
Scratching his head, Grotool replied, "That's fair, I suppose... Well, you three should probably take yourselves to the Clerics to get fully patched up."
Doing his best to climb to his feet without his dominant arm in place, Griff replied, "Right... Let me just grab my missing limb, and we'll get out of your hair, Sir Drew. Regeneration works faster if you just reattach the lost body part as opposed to trying to fully grow a new one."
Extending a helping hand to Griff as he struggled to get up, Grotool told him, "Good thinking, man."
Although reluctant, Griffith accepted the offer, standing up properly with Grotool's help. The two then exchanged a tentative yet respectful look with each other.
Shocking both men, though, Rolgson suddenly stepped in, snapping, "If'n ye don't have anything other than hand holdin' ta do here anymore, can we hurry on back to me guild, archer?!"
Pulling away from Griff in shock, Grotool answered awkwardly, "Oh, I uh, yeah. That's fine... I guess."
"Good. Then let's-."
Stepping in before Rolgson could cast his Teleport spell, though, Lexkey placed a hand on Grotool shoulder and said, "Hold on a minute. Before you guys get going..." Bringing Grotool into a one-armed hug, Lexkey told him, "Good luck out there, man. If you get in trouble, don't forget to call on us for help."
Returning the hug immediately, Grotool replied, "I will, man."
"And remember to take your mask off before you do that," Tess added attentively while patting Grotool's back.
"Yes! Please!" Nilrem remarked. "My ears were ringing like crazy after that first Sending spell failed."
Pulling away from Lexkey, Grotool chuckled and said, "Ha. Right. I'll keep that in mind. I guess with me, we'll need to stick to an 'I'll call you. Don't call me,' system."
But before his friends could reply to that quip, Grotool felt another hand grab his armor, as Rolgson exclaimed, "Teleport Toovir!"
And just like that, Grotool's vision was wrapped up in red magic light before he suddenly found himself standing back on the outside of Carne Village's wooden gate.
Alongside her fellow villagers and her Goblin troops, Enri held her sister's hand as they watched the Paladin woman and the (Dark?) Elf Druid examining the mass gravesite for their fallen loved ones.
After hearing Ronsoon's plan for resurrecting those lost, even if the elderly came back as a different race, most of the villagers voted in favor of the idea. But even now, Enri couldn't help but wonder if they had ulterior motives.
Glancing down at Nemu as the young girl gripped tightly to a dagger that looked like glass containing stars, Enri thought, If it means we can have our mother and father back, then I'm willing to try this Druid's magic out. He even said he'd help make our crops better... But still, after that one crazy-looking girl said she'd give Nemu magic powers, I'm suspicious. I told Nemu it was okay at the time because I thought it'd help keep her safe in the future, but... I guess it's too late to go back now.
After he and the Paladin finished examining the graves, Ronsoon told the village, "Alright, everybody! Laila and I have figured out which ones each of us will be reviving. Just remember, if the soul doesn't want to come back, we can't force it to reenter the body. So, some may refuse to return... Now let's start by first digging the bodies back up. Don't want your loved ones having to dig themselves out after all."
Enri hadn't found the Elf's remark funny at all, and yet most of the villagers chuckled at it.
What...? Am I just the weird one? Enri wondered. Although, Chief Fronk, Nemu, and the Goblin Troop joined Enri in her silent response, making the girl feel somewhat better.
After hearing Ronsoon that they needed to dig the bodies up, she had expected the rest of the village to be called on for aid.
However, Enri found herself surprised once more when the Elf raised his white, wooden sword and exclaimed, "Conjure Woodland Beings!" Then, from four glimmering portals around the Druid, a group of twelve creatures with the upper bodies of Human men, but the lower bodies and ears of goats waltzed out.
"Hey, there, Ronsoon, old buddy! What can we do for you?" The largest man-goat asked cheerfully.
"Greetings, Telfreel," Ronsoon replied before looking at the graves. "It's a tad morbid, but would you and your lads mind helping us dig up these bodies for resurrection?"
Patting Ronsoon's shoulder, the man-goat answered, "Ah, no problem. But you owe us all a drink later for this one."
Nodding, Ronsoon remarked charmingly, "Naturally. As I do for all the favors I call on you for."
Laughing heartily, the man-goat bellowed, "See, boys!? This one gets it!" And at once, all the man-goats started laughing.
Without wasting any more time, the Dark Blades and the man-goats grabbed the shovels that were still nearby from when the graves were dug and began exuding them.
In no time, the bodies were exhumed from their resting places and laid out with neat resect. Regardless, Enri still opted to cover Nemu's eyes for this process. After all, the poor child had been through enough trauma the prior day. She didn't want her sister looking at their parents' bodies if she didn't have to.
As the man-goats walked back through their portals, Ronsoon called out to them, "Thank you all, again. Raincheck on the drink until matters here are settled?"
Waving him goodbye, the lead man-goat stepped through the portal and replied, "Yeah, yeah. have fun with your work. The boys and I are gonna get back to partying."
Once all the man-goats were gone, Ronsoon turned back to the bodies alongside his Paladin woman.
"Alright, then... Reincarnate!"
Going through all the bodies, Ronsoon's magic targeted the village elders as the Paladin went for everyone else. One after another, to Enri's amazement, she witnessed as the wounds on the dead bodies vanished in flashes of brilliant light, leaving noticeable scars behind as each set of eyes opened back up with genuine life.
As for the people the Druid brought back, only ten of the fifteen elderly bodies responded to the magic, signaling how many of them were content to stay in the realm of the Four Gods. For each body that came back in this way, though, instead of flashes of white light on their wounds, their entire bodies were wrapped in an intense green light. Then, as the bodies lifted into the air, all of them began to change forms, as if they were clay dolls being molded.
The first one brought back was Mr. Dolna. Just as Ronsoon had explained, all the people he revived reversed in age to their mid-twenties, and this included Mr. Dolna. Aside from becoming younger, the man's previously brown hair turned raven black while his skin turned as pale as snow. His facial features sharpened into what Enri couldn't deny was noticeably handsome, his height rose by a couple of inches, and finally, his previously rounded ears elongated and sharpened like daggers as Mr. Dolna transformed into some kind of Elf.
Is... Is he going to turn them all into Elves?! Enri internally panicked after watching the first reincarnate spell finish. Fortunately, her fears were assuaged when the next one began.
After becoming younger, Mrs. Dolna's skin and hair turned a shade of green similar to Enri's Goblins, while the whites of her eyes yellowed, and her fingernails blackened.
When Mr. Kolth was resurrected, his hair became a less intense black than Mr. Dolna's. Mr. Kolth's ears sharpened similarly to an Elf's, but Enri was sure this wasn't the case as his skin turned an intense red, his brow extended, his eyes yellowed, and his nose became like that of a feline's.
Mrs. Tolla's transformation was possibly the most extreme. She grew half a foot, and her muscles doubled in size as her skin was covered in green scales. Next, her pupils turned to slits as her eye color turned to a rusty red. Claws grew from her hands and feet while her ring fingers and middle fingers fused, and her feet became lizard-like. Finally, her head transformed from that of a Human's, all of her hair falling out, instead becoming that of a Dragon's.
In contrast, Mr. Hesor's new body wasn't such a great transformation, shrinking by a foot, with the lost height getting added to his muscles' bulk as a large beard grew from his face.
As if to mock her husband's lost size, Mrs. Hesor increased in height by at least two feet as her skin turned gray like stone and her muscles tripled in bulk.
The prior Chief before Fronk was forced to take over, Chief Jorman, went from having old gray hair to youthful golden locks. His skin gained faint a sky-blue glow to it, and his eyes glowed in a similar fashion. And just like Mr. Dolna, Chief Jorman's features became strikingly more handsome. It almost seemed as if he'd become Angelic.
When Mrs. Jorman was revived next, her features became as beautiful as her husband's became handsome. However, her changes were quite different from his. Her skin became icy blue, and her long hair turned a deep dark blue. Her eyes then became a crimson red before she finally grew ram-like horns from her forehead. Whereas her husband's new body appeared Angelic, her's more closely resembled something Demonic.
Then, finally, it was Enri's parents' turn to be targeted by the Elven Druid's magic.
Clasping her free hand to her chest, Enri found herself praying. Please! Gods of Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water... Please, Lord Ainz Ooal Gown! Don't let Mom and Dad change too much!
Watching her parents' shifting bodies closely, it felt to Enri as if time slowed to an agonizing crawl.
Looking at her mother, Enri saw as her body went from her early forties to her mid-twenties. And, as Enri held her breath, expecting greater changes, she felt as if her prayers had been answered. The Druidic magic left her mother's body, setting her down without putting her through any further alterations.
Letting out her breath, Enri's eyes began to leak tears as she exclaimed, "Mother! She's still Human! She's... Wait, what about father?"
"It was a decent chance at least one of them would stay Human," Ronsoon replied to the outburst while trudging over to Enri's father with a somber gaze.
The Elf sneaking a sympathetic glance at Enri, Ronsoon told her, "I... I hope this Reincarnation works out as well as your mother's did... Reincarnate."
The Druidic light enveloping Enri's father as Ronsoon cast his spell, Enri watched her Dad reduce back to his physical prime. For a moment, Enri allowed the Druid's words to convince her that her dad's body wouldn't change any further. However, these hopes were dashed as her father's stature increased by two feet, his skin turned light blue, his ears became bovine, and his nose turned bright red.
At once, Enri felt her heart rise and sink simultaneously. The fact that her father and mother had been revived brought her no end of joy, but the drastic change to her dad's race left Enri with mixed feelings.
Allowing her eyes to wander as she tried to process her feelings, Enri looked down and saw Jugem staring back.
"You okay, boss? Is there something we can do?"
Enri hadn't gotten the hang of reading Goblin facial expressions in the day since she summoned her troop. However, the sympathy in Jugem's voice made it obvious he was being sincere, greatly concerned for her well-being.
I... If these guys can be nice, then maybe father having his race changed won't change him.
Smiling weakly at Jugem, Enri told him, "I'll be alright. Thank you."
Opening his mouth, Jugem only managed to get a breath out when screaming suddenly erupted from the Druid's direction. Looking over at him, Enri and Jugem saw as the reincarnated elderly had fully revived, stood up, saw each other, and had begun to panic.
Noticing the swordsman with the red armor and blue cape step forward and frown, or rather, frown harder, Enri heard him remark, "Right... Now for the difficult part of reincarnation; acclimating them to their new bodies... Gods and I know that's not easy."
Laila(Shield Of The Suffering)
LVL 94
HP: 93
MP: 43
PHY. ATK: 98
PHY. DEF: 68
Agility: 68
MAG. ATK: 52
MAG. DEF: (Over Max)
Resistance: 81-100(Varies)
Special: 73
Total: 676-695
Bio Summary: Edge's older sister and a warrior prodigy from early on, Laila at first trained to become a Fighter, sticking with that path until her early twenties, but always feeling that she didn't have what it took to become a legend as her mother had hoped. Eventually, though, Laila would improve her combat effectiveness when she acquired a Sun Blade after becoming an Adventurer.
One day, after completing a quest with the Dark Blades, Laila was contacted in her sleep by Ilmater, the Greater Deity of Compassion and Suffering. Through the connection that the Sun Blade provided, Ilmater was able to give Laila the offer to transform her skill as a Fighter into that of a Paladin. Believing her team needed the extra healer, and that she would be able to accomplish more on this path, Laila accepted the offer. And after years of devotion and hard work, she eventually was rewarded with her Holy Avenger and became Ilmater's personal champion on Noqtrus, the same way Jehunn was for Bahamut.
Chayma(Selfless Ronin)
LVL 92
HP: 96
MP: 0
PHY. ATK: 100
PHY. DEF: 88
Agility: 100
MAG. ATK: 0
MAG. DEF: 89
Resistance: 71
Special: 72
Total: 616
Bio Summary: Born in the town of Preket as the third generation of an immigrant family, Chayma was trained by his mother and grandfather in the way of the Samurai as soon as he was old enough to hold a blade. One-day, though, tragedy struck. Chayma and his grandfather came across and injured little girl. Chayma wanted to help her, but his grandfather held him back when a trio of disguised cultists arrived to take her.
Not wanting Chayma to be hurt, the grandfather did nothing to save the child. Unfortunately, this resulted in the cultists using her as a sacrifice to summon an Aberrations monstrosity to the town. During this attack, the parents of Chayma's best friend were among those killed. Overcome with guilt, Chayma's grandfather confronted the monster and cultists alongside the town guard, ending the threat at the cost of his own life.
Never wanting to stand by and see people get hurt again, Chayma used his skills when he reached adulthood, alongside Chase, who had been adopted by Chayma's mother, and the two became guards for Preket. Eventually, the two would meet the Dark Blades when they came to town to help deal with a pack of Werewolves nearby. And after volunteering to aid the Adventurers, the step-brothers grew a taste for Adventuring themselves, asking to join the Dark Blades.
Shortly thereafter, Chayma started dating Laila.
Griffith(The Undying's Attack Hound)
LVL 70
HP: 47
MP: 8
PHY ATK: 87
PHY DEF: 50
AGILITY: 57
MAG ATK: 21
MAG DEF: 51
Resistance: 41
Special: 47
Total: 409
Alignment: Neutral Good
Bio Summary: He and the other two students of Grotool were simply NPC guards before Grotool began training them. No complex backstory.
Helena(Ghostly Two In One)
LVL 67
HP: 52
MP: 10
PHY ATK: 75
PHY DEF: 59
AGILITY: 71
MAG ATK: 16
MAG DEF: 49
Resistance: 38
Special: 43
Total: 413
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Pillar(Peerless Halfpint Eye)
LVL 63
HP: 44
MP: 0
PHY ATK: 80
PHY DEF: 56
AGILITY: 74
MAG ATK: 0
MAG DEF: 55
Resistance: 47
Special: 35
Total: 391
Alignment: Lawful Good
Just to clarify the race changes that happened. And to be clear, I actually rolled dice for all of these results.
Mr. Dolna: Shadar-Kai
Mrs. Dolna: Hex Blood
Mr. Kolth: Hobgoblin
Mrs. Tolla: Green Dragonborn
Mr. Hesor: Hill Dwarf
Mrs. Hesor: Goliath
Chief Jorman: Scourge Aasimar
Mrs. Jorman: Levistus Tiefling
Enri's Mom: Human
Enri's Dad: Firbolg