Leonia had spent much of the night in consult with Zhorr, using her inks and pens to add several spells to her repetoire. Exhausted but happy, she slept soundly for much of the morning. After a small breakfast, she heads out to see what Dakash was up to. Upon hearing his destination, she is curious enough to follow. She looks at the fields and wonders who will till them while they await Maron's reincarnation. Perhaps with her small magics she could help. She sees Aran and Dakash near a woman sitting on a porch, and approaches. "Good morn to you all" she says.

Esta stands up and looks at the visitors piling up on her porch.

Opening the door, she says: "So many guests... Where are my manners. We don't have many refreshments to offer these days, but perhaps you would like some herbal tea?"

Knowledge (Religion or Dungeoneering) DC 13 will bring the following useful bit of information to mind: some creatures are unable to enter owned houses unless invited. Because of that, it is customary in some places not to actually invite anybody in until after they have entered the house.
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:08, Fri 31 Mar 2017.

Leonia nods, saying "that would be most welcome. I see that your fields need tending. I would offer my own services to aid you until Marin is restored. Unless you have an objection to magic utilized on your behalf" the she-elf adds.

Esta freezes for a moment. "Restored? Are you talking about Lia's... Offer?"

The smile freezes on Leonia's face. "Uh, yes. Restored to life in some form. Yes, Lia's offer...I highly doubt the deity in charge around here thinks highly of reincarnation or raising the dead. Thus her solution is a convenient work-around which will not offend said deity. But I can see how some forms he might end up with might be....disconcerting. My apologies."

Esta sighs: "I see. We should probably talk inside. "

With that, Esta enters the house and goes to the kitchen.

The door opens directly on the main room of the house, dominated by the large fireplace and the big table in front of it. The eight chairs around the table are more than enough to accommodate everybody. Alternatively, there are two couches to the sides of the main room.

The doors to the other rooms are closed.

Looking around, you will notice that the symbol of Asmodean has been carved above the fireplace, with the symbol of Iomedea just below it. Less surprising, now that you've been in Zhorr's house for a while, but it does seem that Zhorr's peculiar religious views have extended to other people in CotW.

Esta will take a few minutes to prepare the tea. You may sit wherever you prefer.

A few minutes later, Esta comes back from the kitchen and serves the tea, explaining her feelings: "Lia... Means well. She and Zhorr have helped us more than I can explain, there probably wouldn't even be a Carp on the Wall anymore without them.... But this is wrong. I'm not a priest, but dead people should stay dead. And what she's offering is..." She shakes her heads, apparently having a hard time finding the appropriate words.
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:16, Thu 06 Apr 2017.

"I understand your misgivings. If you feel so strongly about it, tell Lia. She'll understand. But my offer stands. You will need help with the fields until you can get dependable farmhands" Leonia says.

Dakash is less than convinced that things should be dropped. He is wise, but not always very tactful, and it shows.

"Eh...those who die after living a full life, or who give their lives in honest sacrifice for something or someone...yes. Let them rest in peace. But one whose life was cut short by unasked for violence, or mayhem, or mischief...no, I disagree. They should be given an opportunity to fulfill whatever plan their greater power had in store for them.

She looks straight at Leonia: "You said you don't think the Lord thinks highly of reincarnation. Reincarnation is one of His favorite spells. The Lord would be quite pleased to see Maron come back to life."

She sits down and explains to her guests: "The Lord's Truth is that all mortals belong in Hell. It's right in His Scriptures, even if most people pretend it's not there. In Cheliash, most people believe the Lord favors humans specifically, and his Truth only really applies to the lesser races: after all, most non-humans are slaves, and most humans are not. In fact, most humans, even those who do not have a lot of money, can easily acquire non-human slaves to work for them. Clearly this must be a sign that the Lord considers humans special, and they are exempted from universal damnation."

Esta takes a sip of her tea, then continues: "Enslaving a sentient creature is evil. Whether that creature is a human, an elf, or an Awakened tree doesn't really matter: evil is evil. When the Lord's emissaries first arrived in Cheliash, they encouraged the local rulers towards a path that would ultimately lead them to damnation. Reincarnation is a good way for His servants to get another chance at corrupting you. You are only truly safe from Him after you move on to the afterlife. He cannot take your eternal reward from you after that. Maron lived a good life: he was a good man, a good husband, and a good father. He earned his reward, and he is safe. If I asked him to come back he would. He would longer be my husband. He would no longer be my children's father. He might no longer be human. What would be his life? Why would I do that to him?"

Dakash furrows his brow. "These truths you speak are not universal, nor does your Lord have dominion over lands and souls not already his. Beyond your borders are worlds and powers you've never heard of, yet they exist just as surely as we both who are speaking here now." The man (in)voluntarily flexed his biceps as he leaned forward.

"What you have been told about the afterlife may hold true here. What you believe about giving another the chance to corrupt Maron if he is brought back may also be true. But it must also be true that Maron would have another opportunity to fight that corruption, and those who wield it, and perhaps be more than a mere spectator in his second chance at life."

Esta looks at Dakash with mild puzzlement: "The Lord's Truth is the Lord's Truth, just like the Lady's Mandate is the Lady's Mandate, just like your own deity's center is what it is. Nothing existing outside of them will change that."

She shakes her head: "What more you want Maron to do? He lived a good life, and surely he was rewarded for it. Why do you want to drag him back? Not for our sake, not for his sake... Then for whose?"

Leonia lays a hand on her chartreuse companion.  "Dakash, what I know of your people is minor, but you among all sentient races remember your past lives with something approaching clarity. Perhaps it is true that we all die, and rather that be granted rest, we are returned to the Great Wheel in a better position. Why is it so important to you to deny or delay Maron's return to the Wheel? I would think such interference was anathema to you."

Dakash wags a finger at the woman who had been his traveling companion for the last few...well, for a while now.

"I am assured that when I die, I will be reborn...this is true. I am also certain that the soul itself will know what is best for it, when the time comes to make a choice whether to move on to a new awakening or return when called to the previous shell." He made symbolic gestures with his hands, demonstrating the path of life, death, and rebirth, with the addition of what could happen if he were raised from the dead before the new life is begun.

"As I do not understand Maron's soul or it's desires, nor his religious beliefs or strictures, I can only assume that his soul, like my own, has enough free will to decide for itself which path would best serve its purpose: to return and continue the life that was cut short, in whatever form the magic and his faith deems appropriate...or to remain on the other side of the veil, perhaps for eternity."

Esta looks thoughtful for a moment: "He cannot be my husband anymore, he cannot be our children's father anymore, so what does it say if Maron thinks he should come back because he deserves a better life?"

"Dakash, Maron should enjoy a good afterlife. His wife's wishes will be respected and honored. I will explain things to Lia and Zhorr" Leonia says firmly.

"Of course. No man can tell another how to live, in this life or the next. Just as I could not fail to offer suggestions for this family's choice of path." Dakash nods somewhat solemnly but seems otherwise unperturbed that they are choosing to leave the universe, and Maron's fate, to its own devices.

Esta relaxes visibly: "Thank you. I was afraid Lia had sent you to try and convince me. Whenever something is broken, she and Zhorr think they have to fix it... Since the drought set in, Lia has come by every morning to fill our water tower, so that we can irrigate the fields. Takes her an hour of constant work. By the time she's done, she looks like she's ready to fall over. And then she does the same for every other farm in the village. And the big cistern in the center of the village. And probably something else that I don't know about. She wants to fix the world, but sometimes... Things just can't be fixed. "

She smiles and straightens up, as if a weight has been lifted from her shoulders, then continues: "That said, there is always something around the farm that can, in fact, be fixed. Or just in the house, really. And help is always welcome."

Sounds like Mending would probably be helpful - as would, of course, Unseen Servant, though that may take a little micromanagement since it "close" range.

One hectare worth of farmland requires about 90kl of water per day (18k gallons or so). Lia can create 34 gallons per casting, so she has to cast >500 create water to get the required ~18k. Since she can cast one every 6 seconds, it takes her in the ballpark of one hour of constant casting to get the job done.

For one farm. Repeat 4 times for the 4 farms. Plus the village reservoir.

And then she goes of to look for whatever strange ingredients are required for the resurrection spell.

With all the work that went into that, you can see why Esta had a hard time refusing her offer.

Incidentally, she hasn't asked Dakash to help out because it would take him 8 hours to do a single farm. In another 2 or 3 levels, once he can do it in a somewhat reasonable time frame, she might ask for some assistance. It's not quite as bad as trying to purify dimethylcadmium (which, as Derek Lowe put it, "allows you the rare experience of being bored silly by something that’s trying to kill you") but it's akin to threading small needles for several hours a day.

A dream job it certainly ain't.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:15, Tue 18 Apr 2017.

Dinner passes quietly; after Leonia's report, Lia isn't in a particularly talkative mood, and, as it turns out, Zhorr is something of an introvert when he's not telling tall tales or staging impromptu lectures.

Akane has been playing various tunes on different summoned instruments for most of the dinner, and hasn't been especially talkative.

At the end of the dinner, Zhorr thanks the party for their help with the Maron situation, and suggests that they visit the village smith, Eldamere, or the local trader, Mandala, on the following day, to get on their good side: you never know when you need to buy something expensive, and if you make friends beforehand they might give you a nice discount. Plus, they are good people.

Akane, on her side, suggests they talk to Eveliss, the village Adept, who apparently is always in need of a helping hand, especially of the spellcasting kind, and can often repay people in kind.
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:24, Tue 25 Apr 2017.

Eveliss, the village adept, was a young woman in her early twenties, with blonde-reddish hair, pale blue eyes, and a friendly attitude.

She invited her guests into her house, offering them a seat, some herbal tea, and a winning smile.

Winning smiles are what makes life bearable, especially at times like this when so many others are mourning the loss of a fellow friend, neighbor, or citizen. Dakash is more than happy to sit and share the drink, and, if anyone is interested, hazy details of some of his past lives that may spark some conversation or laughter.

It is very easy for the big blue man to laugh at himself, and his former selves' deeds.

Leonia accepted the offer of herbal tea with a hesitant smile of her own. She says "we likely have much to discuss in matters arcane and scholarly. Tea is most welcome."

Eveliss takes a sip of her tea and relaxes on her chair. "I would like that. I had some formal arcane training as a child - I can even craft my own scrolls, if you can believe it - but it's been a while since I met a proper scholar."

After a long sip of her tea, she sighs and stretches - looking uncannily like a cat - and continues with the same smile: "But if Zhorr and Lia sent you here, I think they wanted you to do something for me. Or maybe they wanted me to do something for you..."

Eve's company seems to relax, focus, and center the people who are with her: as long as you are in her home, and she is present, you get a +1 circumstance bonus to Will saves. If this bonus ever comes into play, of course, something has gone horribly wrong :P

"Actually I thought their intent was to make us familiar with local sources of information and material support. However, if you yourself have a problem, I'm all ears... "

Dakash also accepts the tea and conversation. He has learned to busy his mouth with other activities when his female counterpart is on track with a conversational topic.

Eveliss claps her hands, looking very childlike for a moment, and replies: "Oh yes! You help me, I help you, and everybody is happy. So, have you ever heard of wishweed?"

As it turns out, Eveliss has a very rare breed of magically engineered plants. These babies require care from magic users in order to grow, and consume various kinds of expensive materials. They owe the name to the fact that they were originally designed to replace diamond dust, the material component for the Wish line of spells.

Their leaves, when properly harvested, can be used in the crafting of magic items, and even as replacement material components for a number of spells.

Essentially, Eveliss can help you generate Magic Points. You will still have to put in the appropriate amount of money and work.