The last campfire is set, and relieved laughter fills the night air in that hollow where a dragon has laired for thousands of years. Stories are swapped, now that the tension is finally released. Drinks are shared, and everyone does things not in their normal character, driven by alcohol and relief. Firea does tricks with light and flame. Bristle gets her bear to dance. It's a night of much-needed celebration, the long, arduous task laid to rest at last.

The fire burns long into the night...

"None can escape the Cycle. That is the eternal truth of the Green. Not mortals. Not gods. Not even you."

As he sits and stares into the fire, Voh'ren recalls the words he spoke as he swung the Chanac axe at Whisper's neck. By the grace of the gods or something higher, the gambit had worked. Whisper has fallen, Hester is free, and they have escaped Whisper's own personal demiplane. For the first time since he had learned of the cunning woman's existence, Voh'ren feels relief.

Kiru runs up to the Half-Orc. The wolf-pup has a branch clutched in his jaw. He sits and tilts his head to the side, waiting for Voh'ren to try and take it from him. The Half-Orc obliges, indulging in Kiru's desire to play "tug-of-war" with the branch before letting Voh'ren have it in order to segue into a game of fetch.

As Kiru races after the branch, Voh'ren reaches into his cloak. He withdraws the skeletal rat that Bristle once gave him. He stares at the rat for a moment before getting up.

"I believe this would belong best with you," he says to Bristle as he hands her the undead creature. He returns to his spot near the fire. He stares into it pensively.

"I am glad we all survived. Given the gravity of what we dealt with, I suspected there would be a higher cost than spilled blood and spells.

"Kiru and I shall be setting out soon," he adds. "I made a promise to Chance that I would return his Chief's weapons once our deed was done. After that, well... I have old friends who would appreciate hearing that one who defied the Green for so long has finally been set right."

He looks over at the others celebrating.

"And what of you? Have you any plans after this?"

The first thing Hester did was go to sleep by the fire. She'd missed the possibility of unguarded sleep more than anything. In her sleep, she dreamed of a web, broken after the end of its spider with countless insects escaping from the web to make mischief of their own.

She awoke a couple of hours later to find the celebration still in full swing. She yawned and stretched and stretched and yawned.  She felt refreshed but every muscle ached.

"Maybe you should have let Bristle kill us." she said to Caleb.  "My cousins all have the potential to become another Whisper.  I'm going to have to spend my life making sure it doesn't happen."

Caleb sat next to the fire for a long while, not saying much as he gazed into the depths, unconsciously rubbing the hand he’d cut open, now bandaged. He drank, certainly, as was the ritual after every survived battle, but this was different. This wasn’t a cheap brothel or a tavern, the people alongside him he trusted beyond mere mutual employment, and thoughts of pay were the furthest things from his mind. Most shocking though, he felt, was that he didn’t mind the change. Welcomed it, even. The mercenary life was over for him, and new things awaited. Better things, he saw that now.

At Voh’ren’s question, he shrugged. “I promised Chance I’d give this arquebus back if I made it, so that’s the first order of business. After that, I didn’t really plan that far ahead. I expected to die back there, made my peace with going out doing something good for once,” He said before quieting down, thinking it over for a moment before continuing. “I guess go back to Almas, tell my parents that I finally found a better purpose than fighting wars for money. After that, I guess the Goddess will probably have something for me to do. I hope it’ll take me near Cheliax. I did a lot of things there I need to make up for”

When Hester awoke, he listened, and shook his head. “The first time I prayed, I had a vision. Whisper was there, and she said she would have figured I’d make a better servant for Norgorber. The Seraph said my fate was my own to choose, that free will mattered more than anything else. Without Whisper hanging over all your heads, you and your cousins are free to be whatever you want to be. You want my advice, I say find them, tell them about all this insanity, and if they’re anything like you, they’ll be disgusted by the idea alone. Anybody can be like Whisper, all they need is enough lust for power and no morals. All we can do is keep a sharp eye out, and nip any would be Whispers in the bud.”

Hester smiled and shook her head.  "Anyone can be as evil as Whisper, that is true, but I believe Bristle touched her mind.  Not every mind has the potential to become like that.  It can be used to oppress or to destroy, both of which are beyond what I can tolerate."

She hands her unused scrolls to Vohren.  "I will not be using these.  Perhaps they should be returned to Chance."

Then she shakes hands with Bristle.  "It is surprising that we became the good friends that we did.  I will remember this in future.  One should not make assumptions.  It has been good to fight by your side."

Sooner or later, the celebration will wind down and all her companions will find the need to sleep the deep sleep of the exhausted.  It is around that time, that she will take her leave and return to allegedly civilised places where her skills can serve a great purpose.

"Yes, I am glad we became friends too," Bristle replied to Hester. She was lounging casually near the campfire, without her armor on for once. "And I am truly relieved that your death was not a requirement of defeating Whisper. I was afraid for a few moments there that I might have to render you all unconscious or worse in order to do what needed to be done. But luckily you all proved to be strong of will, and willing to do what was necessary in the end."

The cleric handed her Scroll of Stone Shape over to Voh'ren and Caleb, same as Hester. "Please return this for me as well. I will be keeping this headband though." She gave a sly wink, tapping Chance's gift that still sat atop her head. "I plan on casting some Sending spells to Chance, Jezelda, Frilogarma, Crocutiel, and Wren over the next few days. Maybe even Sebastian. Let them know we succeeded, and ask them to warn us if they sense her return."

"After that, I think I will stay here for a little while, if Zedoran will allow it. I think there are a lot of interesting conversations to be had here. A lot of fun things to learn. After that, perhaps I will establish my own 'lair' somewhere. A nice place where I can work on my crafts, study my tomes, and practice magic undisturbed. And a place to store my 'things'." With that, Bristle called all of her skeletal minions back to her that she had loaned to her friends. A skeletal squirrel, snake, and three rats all perched upon her outstretched arm. They had all been smashed to bits by Whisper's opening hailstorm magic, but of course they reformed an hour later, good as new. She ordered them to go climb onto the skeletal bear that was still busy doing a little twirling dance off to the side.

"If anyone ever does catch a whiff of Whisper returning (or a whisper wannabe), don't be shy about contacting me. We brought her down once, we can do it again. I would be happy to team up with any one of you again in the future." She looked to each party member at that time and let them know exactly why that was.

"Firea, you are a wonderfully direct woman with potent magical potential. And always interesting to be around. Not to mention the sole reason we managed to avoid having dream-intrusions on a nightly basis."

"Caleb, you do what needs to be done, even if it isn't the fun or popular choice. Our deities may seem to be on the opposite ends of a spectrum, but opposites need not be opposed to one another. Especially not all the time."

"Hester, you never once showed fear in going after the root of your problems. You were prepared to amputate whatever infected limb you came across in order to cleanse the infection inside, but luckily it did not come to that."

"And Voh'ren, my fellow half-orc," Bristle was half orc, half hag. "You risked it all to bring Whisper down for this Green of yours. By the sounds of it, your religion and my own might not be as different as you might think. But whatever the case may be, I was glad to have you and Kiru watching my back."

The changeling woman gave a tusky grin, then yawned wide. "And now I think it is finally time to get some of that sleep that Hester made look so satisfying. Is there anything more to discuss before I go collapse?" She began unpacking her long-neglected bedroll even as she awaited reply. She spread it out on a patch of dirt, her skeletal dragon looming intimidatingly over her chosen resting place. She would sleep well this night indeed.

In Death, Learning

Bristle made a fast friend in Zedoran, over the coming days and weeks, studying and refining her necromantic practices with a past master of the craft. In time, though, the dragon grew tired of the crowding, and Bristle's feet were calling her on anyway. She would return often, over the next several decades, to that old hollow in the forest to swap stories and share new techniques. But her calling was always drawing her on, in the end. She ventured all over the Inner Sea region, serving her faith in all manner of ways - sometimes advocating for the use of necromancy in lecture halls crowded by controversy, sometimes striking down those who would see their lives extended too long, always gathering new lore. She retired many years later, surrounded by friends, colleagues, and her own created undead to the lair she had built, settling in to enjoy the rewards of the life she'd lived.

In Life, Service

As for Caleb, he never did go back to being a mercenary, staying on with the church of Sarenrae instead. He made his way back to see his family first, and though he never did really explain what had happened, they were glad to see their son taking up this new calling - if a bit worried for his health, as usual. Caleb went on to make his home in Absalom, where he actually did find Robin, and the two made a life of sorts together. It was never easy, nor safe, but she supported him and he supported her, and they were happy as they went on missions throughout Absalom, Andoran, Cheliax, and Qadira. Caleb became known as a man of significant wisdom, a counselor as well as a fighter; he claimed among his finest achievements the successful integration of werewolves into Andoran's society, removing much of the stigma around the condition and helping those who were affected to live normal lives rather than hiding and praying to demons.

In Self, Yearning

Hester found that her magic hadn't left her, though she didn't hear the voices any longer, nor feel the taint in her blood. She moved along to a comfortable home in southern Taldor, and made a living as a thief, scoundrel, and enchantress. She wasn't exactly a hero, not exactly a villain either - she was just herself, and that was enough. She visited Absalom from time to time, and counted the others among her friends for the rest of her days. Freed from Whisper's influence, she was now given the exact opportunity to define her own life that she had wanted, and she made use of it, calling no one master nor compromising in her own ideals. She spent much of her time meeting her extended family and counseling them on the dangers of pride.

In Travel, Earnest

Firea went on to travel through the whole of the region, making mischief and spreading a touch of kindness to people wherever she went. While she grew more worldly with her travels, she never did quite lose that touch of innocence that had made her company such a boon during the time of Whisper. She visited numerous cities and towns, going as her feet called her and never staying in one place for very long.

In Growth, Satisfied

Voh'ren returned to the forest a wiser man, and returned the weapons to Chance's barrows. He had a final talk with the ancient siabrae there before Chance laid down his long burden and went to the Green. Voh'ren himself was a servant of the wild for the rest of his days, Kiru growing to a fine adult wolf beside him. He traveled all through the forests and mountains of Andoran, Druma, Molthune, Lastwall, and even up into Varisia and the Lands of the Linnorm Kings. He grew rich in stories if not belongings, and when he at last returned to the earth, he counted his lifetime well spent.

And they were alive until they died

Fin