Piper followed the directions the rats gave her, and they found the prison easily. As they slipped into the large chamber, Astarion and Shadowheart could hear the growls and roars of a very angry bear. Piper instead heard the angry pleadings and threats against the goblins throwing rocks at him. Slowly, they approached as Piper's fur stood on end, the bear's anger contagious.

Shadowheart spoke with the goblins as Piper walked up to the bars to see a large brown bear with his teeth bared. It took a moment before he caught her gaze, and he calmed for a moment before he tilted his head.

"We're going to get you out of here," Piper informed, gesturing towards Astarion and Shadowheart. The bear glanced between the elf and half-elf almost skeptically.

"Why would you treat with a bear?" the bear growled, lowering his head.

"Because you do not belong in a cage deep under a mountain," Piper explained as she started to look for a spot for a key or a way to open the cage. "We are looking for a druid, though. Do you know of any?"

"A druid, you say?" the bear repeated with a chuckle. "Why don't you release me, and then we can discuss this druid of yours."

"We're going to let you go whether or not you know about the druid, but suit yourself," Piper sighed as the goblins started to raise their voices. Her fur started to stand up again. Astarion took a couple steps back. "This doesn't seem to be going well."

"Goblins don't like being told what to do," the bear explained with an ominous laugh.

Piper wasn't sure what had happened next, but suddenly there was an arrow in her shoulder as she roared. The pain was indescribable, but she found that it only made her angry. She found the culprit, and she bounded towards him, letting her animalistic instincts take over. She pounced on the goblin, ripping into its throat and pulling off the skin. The goblin shrieked as it started to bleed out. Piper felt the blood in her mouth, but she saw movement in her peripheral as another goblin readied an arrow. With another roar, she pounced, clawing at the goblin. This one gave more of a fight, trying to push her away from his vital points. Then he stopped struggling as an arrow found a home within his skull. Piper looked up to Astarion lowering his bow just enough to assess the damage before moving onto the next target.

The cell containing the bear had fallen apart during the carnage as Piper ran towards the worgs who were going after him. Shadowheart saw the worgs coming as well, and she dashed to get some distance before sending her magic towards the rampaging beasts. Piper jumped on the hind of one of the worgs, biting down on its flesh as her claws sunk in. The worg yelped as it tried to buck her off, but she held strong, keeping away from its mouth as well. With the distraction, Astarion was able to put that one down. Piper removed herself from the dead worg just as the live one jumped on her, ripping her throat out.

Piper gasped as she was ripped out of her panther form and back into her human form. She found that she was having a hard time breathing with the pain in her neck. She could feel the blood cooling on her skin, and she wondered if this was how she was going to die. On the dirty floor of a forgotten temple far away from home.

She controlled her breathing as Astarion dashed to her, sliding on his knees to her side. The scent of her blood was intoxicating, but he could only feel fear and panic. He had taken out the second worg a moment too late, and Piper had paid the price. He wasn't even sure if the cleric had enough magic to help her. With shaky hands, he pressed down on the wound, trying to stop the bleeding without cutting off her breathing.

"Astarion?" Piper sputtered as drops of blood dribbled from her mouth. He shook his head as he tried to smile.

"Don't talk, darling, you are going to be just fine. Shadowheart is going to patch you up, and you are going to be just fine," Astarion informed, holding his hands around her neck. He glanced over at the cleric, who was also looking worse for wear. Panic gripped his throat. Then he saw the bear glow with light and turn into the largest elf he had ever seen.

"Hold her steady," the large elf informed sternly as he rushed over. Piper stared up at the large stranger, her eyes widened with panic and uncertainty. Astarion wanted to comfort her, but he didn't have the words. The newcomer's hands started to glow gold as magic caressed her damaged body, and she could feel it start to work. However, she could also feel herself start to slip into oblivion. With heavy eyes, she turned to Astarion and grabbed his hand.

With her blood on him, he held her hand, gripping it tight as if to tell her to stay in the land of the living. He would never admit it, but he had grown fond of the poor girl over the last tenday or so. She tried her best to stay awake and hold onto his hand, but her strength was failing. Even with the archdruid's magic, she was fading.

"No, no, no," Astarion whispered, reaching up to gently slap her cheeks to get her to wake. The druid focused on his task as Piper went still and limp. The magic faded as the archdruid exhaled. The vampire's hand went under her chin to find a pulse and found nothing. She was gone, after everything.

~A~

Piper slipped into oblivion as she felt herself float in the nothingness. It was the first time she had felt true peace as she relaxed fully. She couldn't remember what had happened or how she got there. She was simply there, and she had always been there. In the dark peaceful nothing.

Then a voice spoke to her. It was a soothing voice, one that she didn't recognize, but she listened all the same.

"Thy time hasn't cometh, my friend. Thee hast much to do yet," an old voice explained. Piper found herself unable to speak, but she understood that she didn't have a choice in the matter. She was still needed, whatever that meant. She had much to do.

~A~

Astarion stared in shock as Piper laid on the filthy temple floor, as if she was anything like the horrible goblins that were littered around her. Shadowheart pulled the druid aside to speak with him, but Astarion hardly cared about their conversation. He needed to get her back to camp. She needed to be somewhere that was beautiful and not in some terrible hovel.

Gingerly, he picked her up, surprised at how light she was. He wondered if the blood he drank from her had given him the extra strength. He turned to see Shadowheart staring, her cheeks stained with tears as well. The druid swallowed, clearly feeling for both of the survivors.

"I'm bringing her back to camp," Astarion informed plainly. Shadowheart nodded, wiping her eyes.

"I'll tell the others. Halsin has agreed to help us take out the goblin leaders," she informed. Astarion turned to Halsin, his gaze hardening before turning back to Shadowheart.

"Raze this place to the ground," he hissed before he walked to the exit. Shadowheart hummed in agreement, sniffing before steeling herself.

He passed through the door, and he could hear the tale tell signs of battle, meaning that they had found the leaders. Good, that meant it was one step closer to destroying this entire place. He would see this whole place turn to rubble before anything else. Astarion moved in the shadows before finding a break in the wall. He heard the waterfall outside, so he slipped through. Once outside, he made his way through the forest and back to camp.

Anger crept up in his heart again as he glanced down at the limp Piper. Part of him had hoped that she would spring back up, confused and concerned. Maybe she would even slap him for carrying her. What he wouldn't give for her to yell at him again. For her to do anything again. He hadn't even noticed that he had started to care for the human, which was infuriating in its own way. She was always getting into trouble and in the way. She was dramatic and somewhat naïve, but he could hardly blame her. She had never set foot in this world.

And now she had died in this world.

Astarion's thoughts went to the conversation they had had the other day after they saw Raphael. She had mentioned that she had family, but she didn't sound very sure that they would've mourned her. Astarion's heart sank as he realized that this little group would be the only ones who knew that she had died. Her family would never know what had happened, and he couldn't even try to get word to them about her death.

Camp came into sight just around the bend, and Astarion wasn't sure what to do when he got there. He just knew that he needed to take her there. She needed to be somewhere safe and familiar, but he scoffed at himself. It wasn't like she was aware of where her body was, but leaving her body in that decaying place was out of the question.

Once in camp, he stood in the middle by the firepit with Piper's body in his arms. Astarion didn't know where to put her. He wanted to place her in his tent, but he couldn't fathom why. Putting her in her own tent made the death feel too real, as if she was being temporarily entombed. He also couldn't place her out in the open either in case the carrion birds got any bright ideas. Going by his instinct, he placed her in his tent, and as he did, he found the book he had seen while on one of the resupply trips they had taken.

It was a book on necromancy, and one that he had taken an interest in. It was a hobby book, but now, he wondered what secrets it might have stored away. After arranging Piper, he grabbed the book and sat in front of his tent, opening the book to only be met with guardian spirits preventing him from reading further.

Astarion nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw a wraith standing a few feet from him, staring down. He partly wondered if he had accidentally summoned it from reading what he could under his breath, but he dismissed it quickly. The wraith seemed a little too animated and self-aware for it to be his own doing.

"Thee finally madeth it back with thy companion," the wraith drawled, peeking behind Astarion to see Piper in the tent. The vampire quickly got to his feet, snarling at the silent intrusion.

"What do you want?" Astarion demanded. The wraith shrugged and shook his head.

"To help thee on thy quest," the wraith explained simply. A moment passed as Astarion waited for the other shoe to drop. "I can mend the threads of life and bring the dead back to thee."

"Convenient. What's the catch?" Astarion spat, but he didn't dismiss the offer of help immediately. He would do almost anything to get his friend back.

"I require 200 gold," the wraith explained. Astarion started to laugh. The skeleton could not be serious, could he? What would a skeleton need with gold? But Astarion had much more than that from his thieving and looting, so he relented.

"Here, now fix her," Astarion demanded as he handed over the gold. The wraith nodded once before moving past the vampire. With a simple incantation, the skeleton raised his hand as Piper's body was raised off the bedroll. Astarion watched in awe as the skeleton released her. Piper's eyes flew open as she gasped for breath.

~A~

Piper tried to fill her lungs with air as she started to reach for her neck. She remembered suffocating, choking on her own blood. Now, her lungs felt stiff, and her limbs were sluggish. She looked around and saw the red canvas surrounding her, recognizing Astarion's tent. Then she saw Astarion staring at her as he hovered above her midsection. She calmed her breathing, seeing genuine fear then relief in his eyes. She sat up slightly before he wrapped her up in an embrace, holding her tightly as if she was going to float away.

"I shall be in thy camp, if thou hast need of my services," a gravely voice informed outside the tent. Piper found the voice oddly familiar, but she could figure that out later. Now she needed to figure out why the standoffish vampire was clinging to her like he was going to die without her.

"Astarion?" she whispered, her voice cracking and garbled. She winced at the sound of it. Astarion hummed in her ear but didn't let go. She rubbed his back, soothing him. A few memories started to filter in. She remembered being in some sort of stone building filled with small creatures and wolf things. Then she remembered the fight, but she didn't remember the way back to camp or meeting up with the others. "Did I die?"

Astarion held back a sob as he held her tighter. Piper held onto him then, unsure if she wanted the answer to that question. It felt like she died. She remembered the healing and Astarion holding her hand as she slipped away. The large elf was helping, but he had gotten to her seconds too late. She didn't blame him, there was nothing that could've been done differently unless she dodged the neck bite.

She had been so excited to pull her weight and join them on their expedition to get rid of the tadpoles, she hadn't anticipated the dangers that they often gotten themselves into. Luckily her instincts had taken over and had helped, but she would need a lot of practice and confidence boosting before she was ready to go out again.

"Did the druid get out?" Piper whispered after a few moments of silence. Astarion sighed, pulling back a little before pulling her into his lap. She wasn't quite sure about this new position, but being held proved that she was no longer in the weightless nothingness afterlife and that she was alive.

"I hope so, but I'm not sure. I brought you here after you…" he replied before he cleared his throat. "He and Shadowheart were going to meet up with the others and finish the job. I told them to raze the place to the ground."

"What? Why?"

"I was feeling a little petty after you were gone, darling. A little vengeful, if you will."

"As long as they make it back safe, I guess. Those goblins are nastier than I expected them to be," Piper sighed with a shudder. She leaned against his chest as he placed his chin on the top of her head.

She was still confused on his stance, wondering if it was a food resource guarding instinct. They had their moments of niceties before, but nothing that would lead her to believe that he would encourage the others to raze an entire goblin camp for her. She knew very little about vampires, and she wasn't even sure if the lore she did know about translated in this mirror plane. She could be completely wrong about most of it. She knew they drank blood, which Astarion did, unfortunately for her. But he did stand in the sun quite often, and he also went across rivers and running water. There weren't any homes he could invade, so she didn't know about that. Maybe she could ask him once the soreness of her death had softened a little.

Astarion listened to her breathing and her heartbeat as he held her in his lap, wondering what the hells he was doing. He hadn't meant to hug her the second she woke, nor did he expect himself to hold onto her after the embrace. However, he felt comforted with her in his arms, and he found that he didn't like the idea that she eventually had to get up and leave. Soon, the others would be back, and he would have to show them that she was alive again. That would be a strange conversation. Luckily the strange wraith stayed in the camp so they could see that there was some proof. But Piper was alive and breathing and in his arms. He wondered what had caused this sudden possessiveness, and he wondered if it was because she was his first thinking blood source. While plausible, he didn't think it was that. It was something else that he couldn't quite put his finger on. There was something about Piper that he found drawn to, even if he couldn't quantify it.

Piper wasn't sure how long she had stayed in his arms before she fell asleep. Coming back from the dead did a number on the body, and Piper felt exhausted the moment she came back. She rested against Astarion's chest, finding the scent of his cologne comforting enough to doze off. Astarion rocked back and forth slightly when he noticed that she had started to drift. Once she was fully asleep, he laid her down and went to stand guard outside his tent.

The rest of the party would be back soon, and he would need to break the strange yet happy news to them. He was sure that they would be hesitant about it, as they were with the deal with Raphael, but Astarion didn't regret the transaction with the wraith. Especially since the wraith seemed to mind his business near the bank of the river on the other side of camp. If this adventure was going to get more dangerous, having a necromancing skeleton would prove most helpful.