... No. They— there was a battle, and they lost. But they fought hard enough there for our sakes that the rest of us could win.

[ it's an oversimplification, but it's true enough. ...and it nudges a thought loose. she'd considered bartering with the being that had summoned the golem for them in the first place to have them resurrected, but it had seemed selfishly unfair at the time. they had been barely sapient—only a game piece, a created thing twice over—and to pull them back into a world where they would be constantly risking a fate far worse than death for primarily her own comfort would be cruel.

here, though... ]

...I still have their core, though. The gods here have already offered me one favor in trade for my service, so... perhaps it's worth asking about.