"Come on, little man. Come on, you bastard gnome, you're not doing this to us!" Hope gently rocks back and forth with Tyrion's head propped up in her lap.

Anna shivers from the cold rain. "Please, Sola-Ret, give us this. We've never asked for anything before, just give us this one thing."

"You've got this, Anna." Amadeo holds the tiny person's hand tightly. "Tyrion, don't you dare. You come back to us, little man, and I'll buy you the best damn steak dinner you've ever had! Do you hear me!?"

The rain seems to flicker out for but a fraction of a second. Anna feels a warmth in her chest, surging outward through her arms, down her hands and into the body of their friend. For a brief moment, they watch and wait. The light fades. The rain comes back returns to falling rapidly.

Tyrion does not move. There is no response. No pulse.

Anna shouts, wailing into the dark of night. Her voice is drowned by the pouring rain.

Amadeo leans against Hope's chest, struggling and failing to keep his own cries held in.

Hope, for her part, holds the other two close, unable to speak for fear of breaking down herself.

Lightning flashes overhead, a bright light piercing the clouds. The rain parts around them, the light shining down on Tyrion's face...and the halfling gasps, coughing and hacking. The others, so startled by this sudden change, jump for a moment before realizing the source.

Before Tyrion can figure out what's happening, he's smothered in the squeeze of his companions, each holding him so tightly that he has to push them away in order to breathe.

"Gods, people, I'm quite alright!" He shouts, shifting his weight to stand up...before collapsing to his knees and unleashing the night's dinner upon the ground.

"I don't think you are, little man." Amadeo rubs the halfling's back gingerly as Tyrion sits up.

"Shut up...I'm not dead, am I?" His eyes turn to the party, and Anna shakes her head violently.

"You are very much alive." A diamond held in the elf's hand turns to dust before vanishing into the aether. "Welcome back." She pulls the halfling close, planting a kiss upon his forehead before sighing. "That took alot out of me."

"Let's get inside. I think we could all use a bath right now. And an explanation for what the hell happened." Hope wrings out her hair and lets it cascade over her shoulders, trying to maintain some form of calm.

Tyrion shakily gets to his feet, supported by Anna and Amadeo. "Agreed. And when we're done, there's..." He stumbles for a moment before nodding. "There's a few things I have to tell you." Perched atop the sign of the inn, a raven watches the group make their way inside, cawing before disappearing into the darkness.

**************************************

"Alright, there's only us here. What did you want to talk about?" Amadeo settles into the open air bath, leaning forward in the seat beneath the water with his lower half shrouded partly by the water. Across from him, Tyrion splashes his face before staring into his reflection. A ripple runs through it, indicating the displacement made as Hope gingerly enters, covering herself with a towel that she keeps above the waterline until she's fully submerged. Anna doesn't bother hiding, merely striding into the water and sinking down to her neck with a sigh.

All eyes settle on Tyrion, who furrows his brow as he looks upon each of them. Perhaps it's the steam from the bath clouding his eyes, but as his gaze turns to Anna, a strange aura surrounds her form; a light emanating out from the elf, tendrils of gold and orange that flash in his vision momentarily before disappearing. He wipes his eyes and dunks himself under the water before sitting up.

"You gonna be ok?" Anna takes the halfling's hand, and he squeezes her own softly with a nod.

"Aye, lass, I will be now. I just needed a moment to think." He takes a deep breath, before sitting forward.

"First thing, I want to apologize to you all. I wasn't sick, I just couldn't stand to be in the same room as that-...as Lord Autumnsong. I'm sorry to have lied to you after protesting about honesty between the team."

The rest of the party remains silent, though they nod in understanding, and he continues. "Second, I need to thank you. That's the second closest I've ever come to death."

"Ummm...About that, Tyrion...You did die." Anna mumbles, looking down at the water.

"Wait, what?" He blinks, head tilting in confusion.

"She's right, little man." Amadeo nods, shuddering at the memory. "You weren't breathing, your heart wasn't beating. It was hard to tell how long you'd been there, but you lost alot of blood. And the spell Anna used is for bringing someone back from the dead."

"...Oh." Tyrion sits back, his mind turning back to the brief conversation with the Dread Lord. "I see...In which case, I should be doubly thankful to our dear elf's efforts."

"Well, don't go doing it again just yet. I don't have another diamond on me at the moment."

"I'll bear that in mind...I suppose now we get to the meat and potatoes." He scratches his head, hesitating. How to put this, he wonders.

"Hey. If you're not ready, you don't-" Hope starts, but he shakes his head.

"No, Red. I've stared Death in the face, looked into his mask and spoken with him, even. I don't know what life I wanted to live before I died, but I'd like to live it a little more honestly now, at least with the people I travel...The people I care about."

Sitting up, Tyrion splashes some water on his face once more and breathes in the steam, exhaling it outward. "To start, my name is not Tyrion Summerwind. Before I became the man you see before you, I was once a noble's son. My name was Phinneas Autumnsong II."