"He has been through a lot, and it was by himself most of the time." Pat pat.

"I didn't say anything, but... fair."

He shrugs. "Sorry. We could go to a graveyard somewhere and see if we can draw a ghost and resurrect them."

"If it's not too expensive to test it sounds like good information to have."

"It's not. And thankfully there's a graveyard right across the park from this house, so."

"Can you draw any ghost? And are ghost NPCs different from PCs... what I recall about ghost stories sometimes venture on not quite NPC-ness."

"Ghosts seem to by default be NPCs but if they, ah, 'live' with a PC they become PCs too. By default it seems like if a PC dies they become an NPC ghost but they retain their memories if they become a PC again. Not sure what you mean by 'draw any ghost', though."

"Well, I am not sure if you can only bring up a ghost for the grave you're standing nearest, or if any ghost that died in the area, or any ghost that died recently, or what... you're the magic person."

"Oh! I've only tried it on recently-deceased people or around their graves. I... have no idea what the range of the spell is otherwise."

"Huh, do you mind if we tried it now?"

"Sure. Do you have anyone in particular in mind?"

"Our uncle?"

"Ernest Bright," Fenris provides. "Is there some... downside to bringing his ghost to us?"

"Just the ghost, shouldn't be, not if we don't resurrect him."

Red grabs his wand and starts twirling it around in the air while his eyes lose focus.

Nothing. Felix tenses a little.

"Might be a proximity thing... We can test our uncle under circumstances. Assuming it's safe, could you keep testing on targets further from the past... Or just try to get a ghost from the cemetery outside, in case being this far away is doing it."

He shakes his head slowly, brows still furrowed in concentration. "How long has he been dead for? Because I can... feel... people who aren't nearby, here. No one from the graveyard, I think that's already too far, but... people I used to know." He opens his eyes. "I think if one of you became a spellcaster you'd be able to find him."

"He died before we were born... I know he is not more important than anyone else..."

"So would that be... six, seven years ago? We've been around for a bit over five, now, at our current age, so that was longer so than anyone we've known but I could feel someone I know who died four and a half years ago so I don't think time of death is relevant."

"Yes, that sounds right."

"I am deferring to your expertise here, but I would like someone to test in regular intervals just so we are sure. Maybe every half a year? Or ten days instead of fourteen..." He pauses for a moment and frowns. "Life feels short. Not in the finite way, but in 'how I am able to do a job' way?"

"Oh right! NPCs age way faster. If my maths is right, someone who was a PC from the moment they were born would have a life expectancy of, like, eighty to a hundred years? I guess I don't know if someone who used to be an NPC and isn't anymore slows down like that, too, but even before we had the Potion of Rejuvenation we were aging much more slowly."

"That is..."

"...I am not sure what that is."

"I just assumed you magically looked like that. Maybe whatever force is doing this thing wants to preserve PCs?"