Waters from the Official Site has posted some official information regarding deaths in EQ II.
QUOTE
Each time you die, you leave a spirit shard on the ground and take a penalty to your stats, experience, and item wear. When you retrieve your spirit shard, your stats are returned to normal and a large part of your experience penalty is paid off. If you choose to not retrieve your spirit shard, you will automatically absorb it after three days pass (online or offline), but you'll take the full experience penalty.
