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+{"tree_id": "http://chooseyourstory.com/story/viewer/default.aspx?StoryId=10638", "context": "", "first_story_block": "Chapter 1: Born to Kill\n\n\nYear 0\n\n\u201cIs this the one?\u201d\n\u201cYeah I guess.\u201d\n\u201cWhat do you mean you guess? It either is or it isn\u2019t.\u201d\n\u201cI dunno I lost the list.\u201d\n\u201cYou what? That\u2019s just great. You realize how much we\u2019re going to get our asses chewed out because of your fuck up? I\u2019m sick of paying for your mistakes.\u201d\n\u201cWill you calm down? How the hell are they gonna know anyway? You seen one ugly little baldy, you\u2019ve seen \u2018em all. All babies look the same.\u201d\n\u201cNot the elven ones.\u201d\n\u201cEnough with your elf fetish. These babies are all under the care of the Empire anyway, they\u2019re here for the taking.\n\u201cYeah, the key word being the Empire. You know we need the proper paper work, which you just fucking lost!\u201d\n\u201cSo what, I can forge it. You really worry too much, there\u2019s so much red tape they ain\u2019t gonna know the difference and what does it matter? The Empire\u2019s getting a body for their purposes anyway.\u201d\n\u201cYeah, but you know how they like the best.\u201d\n\u201dHow the fuck can they really tell at this age? They do all the real testing later. Look he\u2019s got all his limbs, and he doesn\u2019t display any signs of impurity. I\u2019d say he\u2019s a prime candidate for whatever they have in store for this poor little bastard.\u201d\n\u201cYeah I guess\u2026damn. I can\u2019t imagine what it\u2019s like being brought up like that.\u201d\n\u201cMe either, this program has only been going on a few years, but I\u2019ve already heard some fucked up stories about it\u2026y\u2019know its things like this that sometimes make me question the logic of our glorious leaders.\u201d\n\u201cShhhh! Are you mad? Don\u2019t talk like that! It\u2019s not our place to question anything, we\u2019re just supposed to do our jobs! Besides, the logic is quite obvious. If they train people from birth they\u2019ll have superior combat skills and utter loyalty to the Empire.\u201d\n\u201cThat\u2019s my point though. Is it really necessary? The Empire already produces so much propaganda that it does the job pretty well in producing loyal citizens and if that doesn\u2019t work it also instills so much fear in most that even if someone wanted to start a rebellion; it\u2019s highly unlikely they would.\u201d\n\u201cDon\u2019t be so sure, it has happened in the past.\u201d\n\u201cThe past? When? Like four hundred years ago when the Empire was still in its own infancy? Pfft. Wouldn\u2019t happen anymore and as for having elite combat troops, again what\u2019s the point? We\u2019ve already got camps to train elite groups like the Shadow Guard who are not to be fucked with and we have more than enough resources to create an army of golems that would be just as loyal and kick the shit out of our enemies.\u201d\n\u201cLook, I don\u2019t want to talk about this anymore! Our superiors have their reasons, as does the Emperor! Let us just take this baby and be done with this task!\u201d\n\nThe two clerks left the infirmary with you that day where upon you were accepted as a suitable candidate and put into The Eternal Program.\n\nYou don\u2019t remember too much during the time of your very young years, except that you are mostly confined to a room where all your basic needs are met. On a daily basis, a couple bigger people come in to check on you. They have you perform various physical tasks as well as spending time to teach you things like basic reading and writing. Sometimes they ask you various questions and write down your responses while other times they come in and stab you with painful needles with fluid in them. (You don\u2019t like those times)\n\nYou don\u2019t really understand it all, except that you know that the Emperor is always watching you. He is everywhere even if you don\u2019t see him. He is keeping an eye on your actions and you must always obey his will, lest you be punished. You know this to be true because you have this repeatedly told to you.\n\nEventually your relative isolation would come to an end.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years later...", "result": "Year 5\n\nYou are sitting in a gray room at a desk with several other children your age. All of you glance at each other a lot and it is obvious that there is much curiosity, but nobody speaks. This is very unusual for you, up until now, you have only had minimal contact with others. Most of them are male like you, but a few of them are female.\n\nSoon the silence comes to an end when a dark skinned woman walks into the room. She has long hair and sharp features. One thing you notice is that despite her long hair covering her ears you can still see that the tips of them are pointed. She must be elven, but in the pictures you\u2019ve seen in books, you\u2019ve never seen one with dark skin before.\n\n\u201cHello children, and congratulations on maintaining dignified silence during your time by yourselves. It\u2019s nice to see that your previous human minders aren\u2019t totally incompetent. Still, if you were Svelk children you would\u2019ve been much better trained by now. Ah, but it is not my place to dwell on the limitations of the lesser born. I am merely here to oversee your training into proper Eternals so that you may serve the Emperor to your fullest capabilities. Now before we begin, I suggest you all ask questions now, because this will probably be the only time I will be in the mood for your ignorance.\u201d\n\nFor a moment nobody speaks, but when the elven lady insists, one brave soul raises their hand.\n\n\u201cYes, you.\u201d\n\u201cAre you an elf?\u201d\n\u201cYes, I am. While the ignorant would use the vulgar term dark elf to describe me, my kind are more properly known as the Svelk. In fact WE are the purest of the elven race. All others you may have the misfortune of meeting are merely diluted members of our bloodline. They are truly pitiful creatures really only fit for extermination. Remember this.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, you.\u201d\n\u201cWhat is your name?\u201d\n\u201cMy name is unimportant, but you and the rest will always address me as Mistress. Failure to do so will earn my wrath, and more importantly the wrath of the Emperor. Remember this.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, you.\u201d\n\u201cWhat will you teach us?\u201d\n\nA second passes after the question, when a small bolt of light from the Svelk\u2019s finger tips and hits the child in the chest asking the question. He falls backwards out of his chair and on to the floor. The rest of you jump in your own chairs and look back at him. He is breathing very erratically.\n\n\u201cI will teach you to OBEY my commands when I give them!\u201d Mistress shouts, she then warns the rest of you.\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t you dare touch him, let alone help him! (Sigh) And here I thought you lot had been trained better! It occurs to me that I will have to be extra strict in my discipline. As to the question about what I will teach you\u2026 I will teach you to be warriors. I will teach you to be wizards if you display the talent. I will teach you to shed yourselves of weakness. I will teach you to serve the Emperor without question and kill without mercy and you will always obey for you will find strength in obedience. You will find joy in order. You will find love in murder. You shall be instruments of terror and genocide if he so wishes it. You will be Eternals\u2026or you will die. Remember this.\u201d\n\nAfter Mistress\u2019 speech, the child she struck down eventually struggles back up and gets back in his seat, clutching his chest and still wheezing.\n\n\u201cI trust you have learned your lesson?\u201d\n\u201cY\u2026yes\u2026Mistress\u2026\u201d he gasps.\n\u201cGood, now one more question before we begin\u2026you there. What is your question? Speak up!\u201d Mistress demands while pointing at you, though you have not raised your hand.\n\nYou don\u2019t wish to disagree with Mistress, so you stumble and try to think up a question.\n\n\u201cUh\u2026er\u2026I was just wondering when will you teach us to fight Mistress?\u201d\nMistress raises an eyebrow and gives a smirk as she approaches you.\n\u201cFight? And what makes you think that YOU are even ready to learn yet? Do you have even the slightest knowledge of combat tactics?\u201d\n\u201cNo, Mis\u2026\u201d before you can even complete the sentence Mistress knocks you out of your chair with a quick jab with her hand, the pain from your face spreads to your chest when Mistress steps on it with her boot. She digs it into you and presses all her weight on it, while the rest of your class looks on.\n\n\u201cDamn right, no you don\u2019t. You weren\u2019t even alert enough to anticipate my attack. You let me get in close and now look at you, you\u2019re completely at my mercy. I am in a position to do whatever I like with you, while you are only in a position to beg or die. So what will it be worm? Are you going to beg for your miserable life, or should I save the Empire\u2019s time and money by killing you now?\u201d", "action_results": [{"action": "Beg", "result": "The pain is great and you want it to be over with as quickly as possible so you cry out and scream for mercy to Mistress. To this, she merely laughs cruelly and continues to step on your chest.\n\n\u201cHa ha ha ha! If this was a real fight do you think an enemy would should you mercy? You truly are pathetic, how did the Empire ever decide that YOU would be a worthy candidate to be an Eternal? Begging for your wretched life as if it was important. It isn\u2019t. Your life is nothing! ALL of your lives are nothing! Your lives will never be anything more than warm bodies to serve the Emperor! The question is, will you even be able to live up to that honored status? The answer is no, if you do not learn mercy is for the weak. Remember this.\u201d\n\nAt this point Mistress finally takes her foot off of you and much like your other classmate hit by her magic bolt, you slowly get up and back in your seat, clutching your chest. You sniffle and try to keep yourself from crying, but the tears are still there. A glare from Mistress causes you to quickly wipe your eyes and try to compose yourself the best you can.\n\nTime passes by under the harsh guidance of Mistress. She teaches you all that she promised she would and then some. Your lessons are not only that of a combat nature, but of an academic one as well. You wouldn\u2019t be aware of it, but you and your classmates are probably much better educated than other children your age.\n\nAs for you, Mistress never lets you forget of how you begged for your life in front of everyone. While it is true that she sadistically taunts everyone at one time or another, it doesn\u2019t make your emotional and psychological scars go away.\n\nThis shame you experience causes you to become more insecure and you constantly feel the need to prove to everyone that you aren\u2019t weak. When you are called upon to spar with your fellow classmates, you always fight aggressively. For the most part you usually win, and you typically break a few bones of some of your fellow classmates. The lessons of being humiliated by Mistress have not been forgotten. You can\u2019t ever let yourself be put in a vulnerable position again and you must be brutal, it\u2019s the only way you\u2019ll be able to please the Emperor.\n\nYour personality doesn\u2019t go unnoticed by your instructor and watchers, they make note of it and decide how you should be handled in the next step of your training.\n\nYear 12\n\nYou are in a room with a few of your fellow classmates standing in a row. Most of your class has been separated for reasons unknown to you. All you know right now is there is a scarred orc in worn battle armor arguing with a well dressed man who is human. They are speaking about you, but not actually speaking TO you\u2026\n\n\u201cWhat? I thought the whole point of this program was to create an elite fighting group like the Shadow Guard, why are you splitting them up and intending to put some of them in regular military units?\u201d the orc questions.\n\u201cThings have changed since the program\u2019s inception. Besides, if the latest military reports are any indication I\u2019d say you could use a better quality of recruits, or at least I hope that\u2019s the problem and it isn\u2019t due to a lack of proper training.\u201d the man dressed in black formal wear calmly retorts.\n\u201cHey! I train every grunt I get to be the best killer they can be! I\u2019ve conquered more territory for the Empire than anyone! My record speaks for itself and I could do a hell of a lot more if you put me on the front lines again, so don\u2019t try to tell me I\u2019m not doing my fucking job!\u201d\n\u201cBe that as it may, I\u2019d say you still could benefit by having a few Eternals in your ranks, if nothing else than to be a good example.\u201d\n\u201cGood example? HAH! We haven\u2019t even seen one of these so-called Eternals in action yet! It\u2019s all been just speculation, and a waste of time and money if you ask me! The Empire should be providing better equipment and more of it, for soldiers on the Rask Frontier, it\u2019s a fucking meat grinder out there and we\u2019re constantly having to put down rebellions by the natives.\u201d\n\u201cWell nobody ASKED you, captain and your problems are not mine to deal with. This is the Emperor\u2019s project and he has his reasons. If I were you I\u2019d watch your tone. Victories or not, you are a servant of the Emperor and you will obey orders or you will be replaced.\u201d\n\nThe orc captain steps back from the well dressed man then he takes a deep breath, before speaking.\n\n\u201cYou are lucky that I do serve the Emperor, for that is the only thing keeping me from ripping out your throat, human\u2026very well I shall take these so called Eternal whelps, but let it be known that I shall be testing them to the limit and then some. If they fail, they shall die like anyone else unable to keep up.\u201d\n\u201cAs you wish commander, I leave it in your capable hands. You will keep me apprised of their progress on a weekly basis. Good day.\u201d The well dressed man says and leaves the room, leaving you all alone with the orc commander. You\u2019ve never seen a real orc in person before, but he looks every bit as intimidating from what you\u2019ve read about them, even if he is much more articulate than you expected.\n\nHe walks up and down the row sizing you all up before speaking.\n\n\u201cI am Captain Gruz, and I will be in charge of the rest of your training until the Emperor deems otherwise. I imagine that your former instructor was that dark elven bitch, so I trust you all know by now that failure and weakness have no place here. Correct?\u201d\n\u201cYes Captain!\u201d you all shout in unison.\n\u201cHeh, well glad to see her skills in teaching discipline are still as effective as ever. Good. Now let\u2019s see how good your combat skills are\u2026\u201d\n\nAt this point you and your fellow classmates instinctively start to pair up to spar with each other, but Gruz stops you.\n\n\u201cWhat are you lot doing? I didn\u2019t tell you to get out of formation!\u201d\n\u201cBut captain, you said to prove our combat skills.\u201d One boy speaks up.\n\u201cI\u2026oh wait I see. She had you fighting each other. Typical dark elven training. Create mistrust and loathing even when there is no need for it. (Sigh) I can see I\u2019m going to have to undo some of the shit she instilled in you if I\u2019m going to mold you into the proper killing tools.\u201d\n\nTime goes by and Captain Gruz begins to train you in various forms of combat, though it\u2019s different. He teaches you and your classmates to fight as a team. This usually involves various large beasts similar to what you have already fought or even small groups of goblinoids. It takes awhile for you to adapt, but after seeing the first couple of casualties, you and the rest manage to pull together to defeat your enemies.\n\nAcademically speaking, you are not taught much. Captain Gruz figures that Mistress taught you enough math and literacy to get by in life. Besides not much need for all that fancy learnin\u2019 stuff when you\u2019re going to be chopping people\u2019s heads off on the battlefield.\n\nCaptain Gruz is just as uncompromising as Mistress in his training, but he seems less gleeful about it. His verbal abuse is more direct and to the point rather than gloating about your failures. He still reminds you all regularly about how it is your sworn duty to serve the Emperor, but you hardly need him to tell you that, to believe otherwise is unthinkable.\n\nAs for you, you find yourself given a role of leadership. Captain Gruz noted your tendency to be one of the first to charge into battle. He however also has some advice for you.\n\n\u201cI respect your desire for battle, but if you do not control your insecurities you will one day find yourself needlessly unprepared. I suspect that dark elven bitch did something humiliating to you that has resulted in your behavior. Effective in some ways I suppose, but if you truly want to be a leader of men and command respect, you need to master your emotions as you would your weapons. You must do away with insecurities and be fully confident in your abilities. You must walk into battle already KNOWING that you will win, not charging in with a chip on your shoulder with some misguided desire to prove yourself. That\u2019s a quick way to get yourself killed. Contrary to popular belief, your goal is NOT to die for the Emperor. Your goal is to survive and make the other dumb bastards die so that you may continue to serve the Emperor. Think on this when you lead your fellows into your next training assignment.\u201d\n\nThe captain\u2019s words carry much weight with you and in the years during your training you manage to purge most of your doubts about yourself as well as becoming an accomplished warrior.\n\nYour instructor and watchers once again note your growth and skills, and as usual they make decisions on how you will best serve the Emperor.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 16\n\nYou are called into Captain Gruz\u2019s office, when you arrive you see the well dress man that you saw four years ago standing with him\u2026 and debating with him again.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m telling you Mr. Mol, I think they should work in the same unit. They\u2019ve trained together and they\u2019ve worked together so well at this point that splitting them up would be folly. Hell, these people have known each other since birth! You know that better than anyone!\u201d Gruz says.\n\u201cYes, captain I\u2019m well aware of the situation, and normally I might agree if their were more of them, but I think their expertise would better serve if we deployed them separately in problem areas of the Empire.\u201d Mr. Mol replies.\n\u201cYou don\u2019t break up a well oiled machine! I guarantee having them all in the same unit will be a better idea. I mean we still haven\u2019t sent them into a real battle yet! Wouldn\u2019t it be better to see if they can get the job done first before placing them in charge of others?\u201d\n\u201cAnd what a perfect opportunity to lose them all, if something unexpected should happen.\u201d\n\u201cOh for\u2026look that could\u2019ve happened here! And if you\u2019re so worried about them all getting killed in battle then what was the fucking point then? Besides, if they do prove to be useless in battle, better we find that out sooner rather than later when they\u2019re in charge of others and getting them killed as well!\u201d\n\nMr. Mol thinks for a moment and then replies.\n\n\u201cHmmm, very well you do have a point captain. We\u2019ll try it your way at first and go from there. Have them deployed in the Nalin province. Your services here have been useful as ever. Good day.\u201d\n\nMr. Mol, steps out and commander Gruz addresses you.\n\n\u201cWell you heard all that, you and your fellow Eternal babies are being sent to the Nalin province. It\u2019s not the Rask Frontier, but it\u2019s a suitable first challenge for you guys. We\u2019ve been trying to settle the conquest of that place for a few years now, and technically it is part of the Empire, but we\u2019re still having problems with the Kobold population there. Little bastards are determined to resist and have been conducting a fairly effective guerilla war since we arrived. Though I blame that more on the incompetence of the commander in that region. If I was stationed there, this shit would\u2019ve been taken care of a long time ago\u2026but I\u2019m not, so unfortunately you will have to report to Captain Pollo.\u201d\n\nCaptain Gruz approaches you closer before continuing.\n\n\u201cNow I\u2019m putting you in charge of your unit for reasons I\u2019m sure you\u2019re aware of. While I\u2019m confident I\u2019ve made the right choice, the burden will ultimately be on you to prove to be an effective leader. Remember, you\u2019re not just a normal soldier, you\u2019re supposed to be an Eternal. An instrument of destruction ordered by the Emperor himself. Failure is never an option for you. Even now there are rumors about your kind, and when you finally show yourselves you will be met by fear, awe, hatred and even distain. Prove yourselves and you will live up to the name that your were given. Anyway, the caravan picking you up will arrive tomorrow. Good luck and dismissed.\u201d\n\nWith this you leave and tell the rest of your people about where you\u2019re going and the general nature of what to expect. They all seem pretty excited to prove themselves, and to be honest so are you. At last you will get the chance to prove yourself and can only imagine that the Emperor will be pleased by what he will see.\n\nThe next day, you and your unit are picked up and the ride there is uneventful, but your unit spends a little time talking about things they see on the way. This is the first time all of you have probably been away from the training center you\u2019ve spent all your lives in. Curiosity about some of the surroundings is natural, but it isn\u2019t just the casual talk that\u2019s different.\n\nYour comrades are different. They are less reserved than they once were. Captain Gruz might\u2019ve been a strict instructor, but in addition to encouraging teamwork he was also prone to encourage you guys to have a few hours of free time. This loosening of the reigns a bit, allowed a certain amount of familiarity with each other that wasn\u2019t just on a professional level anymore. Even you have felt yourself changing personality wise.\n\nStill you are all Eternals, and you are loyal to the Emperor. You will never forget that your duty comes first.\n\nEventually you all arrive at Fort Glory in the Nalin province where you are stared at by several soldiers who whisper among themselves. None of you pay it any mind though, you simply report to Captain Pollo. He doesn\u2019t look anything like Captain Gruz. He\u2019s human for one thing and wears lighter armor which is impeccably clean. When he sees you, he almost looks bored, like you were interrupting him, but you when you came in he was reclined in his chair and not doing anything of importance.\n\n\u201cSo\u2026you are the Eternals I\u2019ve heard so much about. Humph. I don\u2019t see anything special except that pretty one over there. Oh no, not you dear. That blonde muscular one in the back. Yes, delicious.\u201d Captain Pollo says pointing to one of your men and not even getting out of his chair.\n\n\u201cCaptain Pollo, we are here for our assignments so that we may serve the Emperor.\u201d You say.\n\u201c(Sigh) I suppose you are this unit\u2019s leader?\u201d\n\u201c Yes, captain. I am currently their leader and holding the rank of sergeant due to my excellence in my training exercises.\u201d\n\u201cSergeant? YOU? Why you\u2019re a mere boy! All of you are just children! I ask them for more men and they send me children! The only thing you all would be good for is cleaning the fort! In fact that\u2019s what you can go do right now, starting with the toilets!\u201d\n\nThis is exactly what Captain Gruz said would happen. This is your first test.\n\n\u201cCaptain, we have been trained in several forms of combat and fully ready to fight. Send us into battle and we will prove ourselves. We are here to perform our duty for the Emperor and all that entails.\u201d\n\u201cAll that entails eh? Okay, you want a fight? A few miles east of here, you\u2019ll find a town called Dalt. Its filled with ignorant peasants that constantly whine to us that there are a nest of kobolds lurking in the hills near them. We\u2019re stretched out as it is and can\u2019t spare anymore troops to waste on towns that are of no military importance in the grand scheme of things. Go there and take care of their problem, then maybe we\u2019ll have more to talk about.\u201d\n\nYou nod and all of you leave, but before you are able to Pollo calls you back.\n\n\u201cOh one more thing sergeant. Order one of your men to stay here with me. I think you know by now which one I mean.\u201d\n\nAt this point you\u2019re in genuine shock. You may be young, and even a little detached from normal \u2018society\u201d but you know exactly what Captain Pollo is implying. You can honestly feel more than surprised by this though.\n\n\u201cCaptain, I will need all of my team to have the best chance to succeed in this mission.\u201d You say.\n\u201cOh? Well sorry, but you\u2019ll have to make do like everyone else here does. Or you could clean the fort like I first ordered you to do, which you chose to ignore.\u201d\n\nIt\u2019s a no win situation, though you try to figure out a loophole that takes the responsibility off of you.\n\n\u201cCaptain, you are of a higher rank than me, surely you could just order him yourself.\u201d\n\u201cHa ha, nice try. No. You want to be a leader of men? You need to make this decision yourself. Tis quite easy I would think. Sacrifice one for the good of the rest. If anything I\u2019d say he\u2019s the lucky one. He gets to stay here enjoying the pleasures of the flesh, and won\u2019t have to be mucking about with kobolds and dealing with idiotic peasants.\u201d", "action_results": [{"action": "Leave him behind", "result": "Unfortunately Pollo is right, the only decision that makes sense is to leave Gerald behind.\n\nStill, you aren\u2019t fond of the idea though not necessarily for the moral reasons that most would be. This is an unproductive use of your team\u2019s talents and pointless in the scheme of things. You can\u2019t believe the Empire would allow such a petty man to be in charge of the safety of a province and why isn\u2019t the Emperor aware of such inefficiency?\n\n\u201cVery well.\u201d\n\u201cI knew you\u2019d see things my way. Have fun playing with the kobolds. You\u2019re dismissed.\u201d\n\nYou leave Pollo\u2019s office where your team is still waiting for you.\n\n\u201cGerald, I regret that you will not be coming with us on this mission. The Captain wants you to stay with him.\u201d You say.\n\u201cWhat?! But I\u2019m ready to fight!\u201d he protests.\n\u201cThere will be other missions, I promise you. We will prove ourselves so well on this one, that they will have no choice but to send us out on a regular basis. However, your orders are clear in this matter, you are to remain here with Captain Pollo.\u201d\n\u201cB\u2026yes sir.\u201d\n\nJust before Gerald goes into the captain\u2019s office, you whisper into his ear.\n\n\u201cAccidents happen.\u201d\n\nHe\u2019s a little puzzled by this comment, but you and the rest of your team proceed to your assignment and nobody says anything more about it.\n\nWhen you finally get to the town, it\u2019s a sorry sight. A lot of the buildings are damaged and the streets are filled with debris. There are a few people attempting to clean up the place, but it\u2019s clear that they\u2019re all very demoralized.\n\n\u2018Oh, I see the Empire has finally decided to help us; well you\u2019re too late! The kobolds raided this town last night and as you can see completely trashed the place!\u201d says a disheveled man.\n\u201cThe Empire has many places it has to protect citizen. It is regrettable that your town was attacked, but we are here now to eliminate the problem.\u201d\n\u201cYou\u2019re here now? Where the fuck were you last night when my wife was killed by those ugly little bastards?\u201d the man says getting in your face.\n\u201cCalm yourself citizen, this will not help your situation.\u201d\n\u201cMy situation? I just said my wife is fucking DEAD! I don\u2019t give a shit about my situation anymore you fucking Empire dickhead! Fuck you and your fucking Emperor!\u201d\n\nIt is at this point the man unwisely pushes your chest with his hand and you instantly grab it and break his whole arm. He predictably crumples in excruciating pain, screaming as the bone juts out of the skin and blood runs out of his body into the mud. All the other towns people who have seen this back off or hide, as they are rightfully worried about what you\u2019re going to do next.\n\n\u201cNow listen up citizens of Dalt! I understand that you\u2019ve all been through a lot, but that is not a reason to give in to insolence! You are all Empire subjects and you will show proper respect or what\u2019s left of this town will suffer in such a manner that you\u2019ll think what the kobolds did was a birthday party.\u201d\n\nThe man whose arm you broke begins to scream more obscenities at you in between his regular howls of pain. You look at Kane and nod. Kane finishes the man off by quickly decapitating him. You take his head and throw it before one of the crowd of peasants who look on in horror.\n\n\u201cRemember this.\u201d You say.\n\nYou remain in the town of Dalt for the night and get rooms from an overly cooperative innkeeper. He also tells you a little information about the kobolds such what direction they came from, what sort of equipment they were using and how many there were during the attack. Before getting some rest you spend a little of the time discussing strategy with your team. You all don\u2019t show it too much, but you are all a little excited about tomorrow.\n\nThe next day you set off towards the wooded hills, it doesn\u2019t take long before you see a kobold patrol wandering around. They look exactly like how you\u2019ve seen them in books, sort of like scaly goblins, but from what you\u2019ve heard, a lot more cunning.\n\nYour team attempts to be stealthy, but perhaps it\u2019s due to the excitement of this first \u201creal\u201d battle. Edgar isn\u2019t as silent as he should be and clumsily steps on a few twigs alerting the patrols.\n\nThe kobold patrol sees all of you, yell excitedly in their language and run away. Edgar is about to chase them, but you knock him to the ground.\n\n\u201cWhat the hell?\u201d he says wondering why you stopped him.\n\u201cTrap, Edgar. Look.\u201d You say and point to a tripwire that would\u2019ve triggered a spiked log that he almost stepped on.\n\u201cOh.\u201d He says.\n\u201cYou were trained better than that Edgar and we went over this last night! This area is probably going to be filled with traps. Now come on, we don\u2019t have the luxury of a surprise attack any more.\u201d\n\nThe remainder of this attack is a tedious exercise in cautiousness broken up by quick battles. The kobolds really have set up traps everywhere and take full advantage of your team\u2019s slow movement to launch periodic ambushes themselves. Fortunately they are very poor warriors even in large numbers and you easily dispatch them. All your fighting eventually leads to a cave, which you sort of figured it would. You warn your team that this place is probably going to be a maze and heavily trapped as well.\n\n\u201cShould we split up so we can cover more ground?\u201d Brenda asks.\n\u201cNo, we\u2019re going to be neck deep in them when we go into that cave. They may be poor warriors, but even enough of them could overwhelm one or two of us. If we stick together we\u2019ll be fine. Besides, we\u2019re going to be here awhile anyway.\u201d\n\nThere \u201cawhile\u201d isn\u2019t an exaggeration. You spend the remainder of the day and night killing kobolds. Your team seems to enjoy it, but you eventually start to get bored of the monotony. You don\u2019t even bat an eye when you come across what seems to be a breeding chamber and you exterminate all the female kobolds and their young. Eventually you reach a large cave clearing where you meet the leader.\n\n\u201cSssss! Defilersss! Murderersss!\u201d a slightly larger kobold hisses at you from some sort of primitive throne and then orders his guards to attack. It\u2019s rather pathetic, as they fare no better than the rest. A few quick sword and axe blows and this kobold chieftain is alone.\n\nWhile the rest of your team is eager to kill him like the rest, you have a slightly better idea for him. You engage him in singles combat, which is over pretty quickly. You then subdue him with some rope you have in your pack.\n\n\u201cWhy are we taking him as prisoner? We\u2019re Eternals! We don\u2019t take prisoners!\u201d Edgar shouts.\n\u201cYeah, we also aren\u2019t supposed to miss obviously placed traps either, so there\u2019s a first time for everything. Besides I\u2019ve got a good idea for this one.\u201d\n\nYou drag the kobold leader back to town who curses you the whole time in a mixture of his language and yours. When you arrive it is now dawn and the townspeople are surprised to see you back, let alone with a kobold in tow.\n\nYou tie the kobold leader to a tree near the center of the town and address everyone.\n\n\u201cCitizens of Dalt! The kobold nest has been completely destroyed. This\u2026thing was the leader of this particular nest and most likely orchestrated the raid; do with him as you will. There of course are other kobold nests in this province, but the Eternals will be taking care of this long overdue problem. All the Empire needs in this matter is your continued obedience and loyalty.\u201d\n\nAfter giving this speech you and your team take your leave and hear the screams of the kobold leader as the villagers torture and rip him apart.\n\nWhen you arrive back at Fort Glory, other soldiers are surprised to see all of you back alive. It was assumed that at best, half of you would be dead. There is a possible thought of whether you actually succeeded and didn\u2019t just come back in failure, but given that Kane took it upon himself to take \u201ctrophies\u201d his gruesome necklace of kobold ears makes it pretty clear that the job was done.\n\nWhen you report however, it seems the fort has undergone a change in leadership\n\n\u201cI\u2019m Lieutenant Anu and now in charge of Fort Glory until further notice. First things first, did you accomplish your mission?\n\u201cMission accomplished, we killed them all lieutenant. All of their warriors, all of their women, all of their babies, pets, their leader, all of them.\u201d\n\u201cWell always helps to be sure. Which brings me to the next point. Your man Gerald is currently in the stockade. In fact he may be facing execution.\u201d\n\u201cMight I inquire why, sir?\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019d say you\u2019d probably know as much about it as I do, but if I had to guess? Captain pervert put the moves on him and your man took exception to it and killed him. He claims it was an accident, but there\u2019s no way the captain twisted his own head ALL THE WAY AROUND just by tripping and falling over.\u201d\n\u201cIf Gerald says it was an accident, then I believe him sir.\u201d\n\u201cOkay look, I\u2019m not going to sit here and say that the captain wasn\u2019t complete scum. I should know I had to serve along side him for the past five years. I saw how he\u2019d have teenage boys brought to his office. Now I know you guys are these Eternals that we\u2019ve all heard about, but dammit man, we can\u2019t just have murders within the ranks, we have to respect some sort of order here!\u201d\n\u201cWe\u2019re all about respecting order sir\u2026I suppose if it is absolutely necessary to execute Gerald, then that will be regrettable. I would however say that Gerald\u2019s actions actually contributed to more order here and will better for the Empire in general.\u201d\n\u201cHow so?\u201d\n\u201cThe removal of captain Pollo, has allowed you to move up in rank and judging by your feelings on this matter you are a person who respects military decorum. I have no doubt, the fort will be run more efficiently now.\u201d\n\nLieutenant Anu chuckles a bit. \u201cI\u2019d almost think you were trying to butter me up to save your guy, but I already know you genuinely believe what you\u2019re saying and you\u2019re right anyway. (Sigh) Well\u2026I suppose accidents do happen. Nobody here is going to miss Pollo, so I\u2019ll have Gerald released and write up a report.\u201d\n\u201cSir, can I make a request?\u201d\n\u201cDon\u2019t you think you\u2019re pushing your luck?\u201d\n\u201cNot my intention sir, but I was going to ask if there\u2019s anything my group could do here that\u2019s a little more challenging than killing kobolds?\u201d\n\u201cHmm, yes I imagine you would feel that way...well on the furthest southern edge of the province there have been bands of nomadic raiders and there have been rumors of them organizing under some sort of shaman. Dunno if it\u2019s true or not. Of course we could also transfer you someplace where the battle is a little more suited to your violence level.\u201d", "action_results": [{"action": "Request transfer", "result": "You don\u2019t see much point in staying in this place anymore, you would most likely serve the Empire better elsewhere. Captain Anu grants the request, though he mentions he knows that a Mr. Mol is taking interest in your progress here, so it\u2019ll have to go through him first.\n\nA couple days pass and it is all straightened out. Mr. Mol approves, but he goes with his original plan of separating you all. Brenda and Gerald remain in the Nalin province, Roldan and Warrick go to the Felkan border. You, Kane and Edgar all wind up at the Rask frontier, specifically Fort Defiance. The split is a little odd for all of you, considering you\u2019ve all been together so long.\n\nYou say your goodbyes to Brenda and Gerald first when the caravan comes for you. Next you say your goodbyes to Warrick and Roldan when they make their stop. The remainder of the trip is in relative silence, though sometimes Edgar remarks about how he can\u2019t wait to display his true combat skills against better challenges.\n\nEventually you arrive at the Rask frontier and make your stop at Fort Defiance. You haven\u2019t gotten off the caravan five minutes when a man wearing battle armor approaches you.\n\n\u201cHey are you the Eternals?\u201d\n\u201cYes we are.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m Captain Ian, I\u2019ve heard about you and while you don\u2019t look like much, we\u2019ll take anyone at this point. Though I would\u2019ve preferred more battle mages or even orcs at this point.\n\nCaptain Ian begins to give you a run down on the entire area. He mentions that the mortality rate here is high so morale isn\u2019t the best. He goes on to mention that Shadow Guard detachments have been assigned here to help out, but between the ogres and the giants there\u2019s only so much that even they can do. He mentions since you three have already worked together he\u2019s just going to leave you together, but will be assigning you to a new unit where you will have others to command as well.\n\nWith the caravan leaving, the three of you head to your new unit. When you see them, quite a few of them are predictably much older than you, but surprisingly you see that half of them are around your age.\n\n\u201cSo, you\u2019re those Eternals huh?\u201d one the older soldiers says almost dismissively.\n\u201cYes? Did you need something corporal?\u201d you say sensing the hostility.\n\u201cNothing, sergeant. I just wondered if you were.\u201d He says backing down from confrontation.\n\nThe three of you settle in as you begin your assignment at Fort Defiance.\n\nYear 18\n\n\u201cKane watch out!\u201d you shout as the wind whips around you and the snowfall nearly blinds your vision.\n\nYou can just make out the figure, which you know to be Kane roll out of the way of a club strike from an ogre attempting to attack him from behind.\n\nYou look around and see the bloody dead bodies of several members of your team and the ogres that ambushed you. You knew that patrolling the Kragen Pass during a blizzard was a stupid idea, but Captain Ian insisted that you had to go and do it. It\u2019s no wonder progress hasn\u2019t been made up here with the captain making inept decisions at every turn. He\u2019s not like Captain Pollo, but he\u2019s not much better. You are starting to seriously wonder about how the Empire keeps allowing such incompetence to pass through.\n\nYou run as fast as you can in the snow to help Kane battle the last two ogres. You cleave at the legs of one of the large monsters causing him to fall into the snow then finish him off with another strike through his head. Kane dispatches his own ogre opponent and the battle is finally over.\n\n\u201cLooks like we\u2019re the only two left again.\u201d Kane says.\n\u201cYeah, I\u2019m getting used to that scenario. Come on, let\u2019s head back. This blizzard isn\u2019t letting up and we\u2019ve done all we can here.\u201d\n\nYou and Kane leave behind the bodies and make your way through the blizzard in silence. It\u2019s times like this you half expect Edgar to start going on about how well he did in battle, of course he hasn\u2019t done that ever since you lost him in that battle against some giants last year. You never exactly approved of his reckless ways and it\u2019s ultimately what got him killed, but you still miss him sometimes.\n\nYou are almost at the end of the pass when a large rumbling is heard. You look overhead and even in this blizzard you can see the large figures looming on the cliffs and it\u2019s what you originally were concerned about when you had to patrol this path.\n\n\u201cGIANTS! RUN!\u201d you yell and the pair of you attempt to make it out of the pass. Large boulders crash down along side the cliffs with an equally large amount of ice and snow. Kane runs faster and makes it ahead of you, but this only results in you seeing him crushed completely by a falling boulder. You are engulfed in snow and swept up and buried in the stuff. You\u2019re disorientated, tired, freezing and slowly suffocating, but with determination, you manage to dig yourself out.\n\nUnfortunately several giants face you when you do dig yourself out. You\u2019re out numbered and trapped in the pass. You know that this is most likely going to be your last battle.\n\nYou draw your sword and walk towards the giants. It will be a good death, but your only regret is that you will not survive to serve the Empire for longer than you would\u2019ve liked.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Face the raiders", "result": "You decide that it might be wise to maintain a presence here, after all there is still work to be done and you\u2019re confident that things will be better at the fort now. Lieutenant Anu nods and says you can set out in a couple days to the town of Jekka. He mentions that the nomads have never been a problem like the kobold are, but lately they have been reaching that level. He also says they aren\u2019t native to Nalin, but rather the desert land south of it.\n\nYou spend the next couple of days at the fort are spent honing your weapon skills and telling your team to do likewise. Gerald joins you after being released from the stockade. He looks a little embarrassed and you reprimand him for his lack of finesse, but welcome him back.\n\nEventually you set off for the southern Nalin border. The journey isn\u2019t as uneventful as the first mission and you encounter a few kobolds attacking travelers along the roads. You easily dispatch them of course.\n\nThe town of Jekka is in much better shape than Dalt, but its obvious the people here have been suffering from attacks.\n\n\u201cEmpire soldiers? Here? I thought you lot were chasing down kobolds to waste time with the likes of us.\u201d A man says to you. He looks to be some sort of town sheriff.\n\u201cAll Empire towns are under our protection citizen. We have heard this one is suffering heavy raids from the desert nomads.\u201d\n\u201c Well, we\u2019ve been doing okay so far, but a few of the other border villages have gotten it pretty bad. One of them was totally destroyed. Those lizard riders have never been this bad or numerous before. The weird thing is, they just destroy and kill, they don\u2019t actually do any proper raiding or looting, not that it really matters. but for the past few months.\u201d\n\u201cWe heard rumors of a shaman uniting them.\u201d\n\u201cYeah that\u2019s the rumor, but really nobody knows what\u2019s going on with them. They make quick attacks and then run back to their accursed desert. So when are more Empire soldiers coming?\u201d\n\u201cThey aren\u2019t.\u201d\n\u201cWhat?! We\u2019ve been holding out for months with no hope in sight and now that you give us a little bit, you take it away again?\u201d\n\u201cCitizen, I advise you to calm yourself.\u201d You warn, wondering if you\u2019re going to have to make another point like you did in Dalt. You don\u2019t since thought since the sheriff has more sense.\n\u201cAlright, alright, but I\u2019m telling you there are a lot of those lizard riders! I hope you\u2019re more than just regular Empire soldiers. You guys Shadow Guard or something?\u201d\n\u201cWe\u2019re Eternals.\u201d\n\nYou set up your staging point in Jekka. The desert raiders will probably attack this town again as usual, so you might as well take advantage of the fact. The waiting is tedious, but eventually after few days it pays off.\n\nSeveral of the raiders appear in the distance and make no hesitation in their attack. The raiders are trying to rely on intimidation, because they sure aren\u2019t relying on strategy and only attack the town from one direction. The lizard creatures that the raiders ride might be intimidating to the average citizen, but you\u2019ve fought bigger creatures during training. They\u2019re rather clumsy beasts actually and when you and your team begin to use your own hit and run tactics, they start to collide into each other causing problems for the raiders.\n\nAs for the raiders themselves, they prove to be barely better fighters than the kobolds after dismounting several of them. Underneath the desert protection gear they wear, they don\u2019t appear to be human or any other race you\u2019re familiar with, but they bleed just like all them and that\u2019s the important thing.\n\nAs many battles often go, this one is over quicker than it felt. The remaining raiders run off and you order your people to mount up and chase them down which is fairly easy to do.\n\nJekka suffered some damage and a few dead, but overall the townspeople couldn\u2019t be happier with the outcome and most shower you with praise. However, you get the impression that you\u2019re going to be facing more of these raiders in the near future and you\u2019re right.\n\nA couple days pass and another raid on the town of Jekka occurs in the same exact manner, then again a few days after that. A week passes and there are no more raids, but that doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019ve stopped. You already know they\u2019ve been attacking several settlements, so you tell Warrick and Roldan to scout out the closest ones to see what their situation is while you try to build some proper defenses for Jekka.\n\nA week passes and you learn more about your foes from a villager who survived the destruction of his home. The desert raiders (or the Usksha as you\u2019ve come to find out their proper name) have indeed been united under one banner by a shaman of some sort. The villager says he saw this being with his own eyes and was spared for the sole purpose to warn all that the Usksha will no longer tolerate a foreign presence encroaching on their desert. This shaman said he has been chosen personally by their god Usk to destroy all those that do and that the town of Jekka will not be able to resist the inevitable destiny that it will fall.\n\n\u201cSo, he\u2019s coming here then? Good, saves us the trouble of hunting him down.\u201d You reply.\n\u201cCombined with this information and based on what Warrick and I have scouted out, it sounds like there will be even more of them. Possibly a full blown army. We might need reinforcements from Fort Glory.\u201d Roldan says.\n\u201cReinforcements? Hah! We\u2019ve beaten them several times with ease!\u201d\n\u201cWould they even get here in time? We don\u2019t exactly know when the attack will come.\u201d Brenda asks.\n\u201cThey might or they might not, still we should try. Find out who the best runner is in this town and have them travel to Fort Glory with this news. We can continue to prepare in the meantime.\u201d You say.\n\nThe next morning several Uskshas appear in the distance like the other times you fought them. Then more show up, then even more. The town sheriff completely panics and says he\u2019s never seen this many before. This of course causes most of the other townies to panic as well. You slap him and tell him if he and anyone else aren\u2019t going to be helpful then they need to stay out of the way and find someplace to hide.\n\nThey come at you screaming and yelling in their barbarian language and suddenly a huge worm thing comes out of the ground in the center of town.\n\n\u201cHa ha! At last a real fight!\u201d Edgar yells and runs at it immediately as it destroys the nearby tavern. You order Kane to come with you to help Edgar while the rest try to delay the rest of the usksha. You just hope the barricades hold up long enough for them to greatly whittle the numbers down.\n\nYou, Edgar and Kane approach the great worm, which bashes its great body into the side of another building, killing many townspeople hiding inside.\n\n\u201cYOU! You think you can destroy me? I am an avatar of Usk! How can you destroy a god when you are, but a mere child of a corrupt empire?\u201d you suddenly hear in your mind.\n\nIt takes a split moment, but you realize that this beast is the shaman. He has used magic of some kind to transform himself into this thing. It doesn\u2019t matter how much favor he has from his god though, he isn\u2019t one and will die like the rest.\n\nUsing his daggers like climbing gear, Kane jumps as high as he can and sink them into the shaman, while you and Edgar attempt to chop at his body like it was a tree. The shaman roars and attempts to smash you with his body, but you pull Edgar out of the way and Kane jumps off before being crushed. The shaman burrows back into the hole he came from and a few moments later he breaks through in another area of the town and begins destroying the barricades. You reach the shaman just in time for him to sink back into his hole again, while usksha pour in through the broken wall.\n\n\u201cShit!\u201d Edgar shouts in exasperation.\n\u201cPlug up that opening with their dead bodies!\u201d you shout as you chop off the head of one their lizards before doing the same to the fallen rider.\n\nHolding the back the tide of usksha isn\u2019t exactly what you want to be doing though, you want to take down that shaman, do that and this battle is over.\n\nWhen you hear him break through the ground again elsewhere in town, you tell Kane and Edgar to hold the line here, while you go see if you can get him.\n\nYou see him near the center of town again trying to finish destroying the buildings there. You chop down a few usksha near him and resume attempting to bring him down. He uses his crushing attack like last time, but this time you anticipate and not only dodge, but you manage to run your sword into his eye when his head is at your level. He bellows in pain and attempts to escape again, but you won\u2019t let go of your sword and pull it towards you as he pulls backwards. You fall to the ground as the sword finishes slicing through the shaman\u2019s flesh leaving a gapping wound where his eye and part of his \u201cface\u201d would be.\n\nYou then see the worm collapse to the ground and begin to glow. Some of the others nearby, human and usksha alike stop fighting to stand and watch in wonder. The shaman transforms back into his natural form, his head and body displaying heavy wounds.\n\n\u201cNo\u2026can\u2019t\u2026you\u2026why\u2026we hate you\u2026you aren\u2019t\u2026wanted\u2026your empire will die\u2026we will reclaim what is oursss\u2026\u201d are the scattered words you hear in your head as you approach the shaman\u2019s broken body.\n\u201cStop talking.\u201d You say and run your sword through his other eye.\n\nIt is at this point you hear the howls of several usksha as their mental link with their leader has been severed. You, your team and even a few vengeful townspeople butcher the remaining usksha that don\u2019t get away while attempting to retreat.\n\nJekka is half in ruins and many are dead, but the battle has been won.\n\nThe following day a detachment of troops arrive from Fort Glory. They look at the carnage and the platoon leader reports to you.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m Corporal Delan and I\u2019m here to help you with\u2026shit, what the hell happened here?\u201d\n\u201cVictory, corporal. Victory.\u201d You say.\n\u201cSo\u2026the threat is gone?\u201d\n\u201cI wouldn\u2019t say it\u2019s gone, but it won\u2019t be rearing its head for a long time.\u201d\n\u201cI say we should march into that desert and wipe them out permanently, then we\u2019d never have to worry about them ever again!\u201d Edgar says.\n\u201cWell, if you decide to do that, we\u2019ll help. I know you\u2019ve been busy down here so I don\u2019t know if you\u2019ve heard, but we\u2019ve made great strides in eliminating the kobolds, so Captian Anu told us to help you with this problem as much as we can.", "action_results": [{"action": "March into the desert", "result": "The usksha are broken and on the run, the opportunity to eliminate them as a future threat is certainly there, along with extending the Empire\u2019s influence south of the Nalin province. Your recent victories have filled you with confidence and you agree you should mount an attack on the usksha.\n\n\u201cYou can\u2019t be serious! Look I know you guys are Eternals, and I won\u2019t deny that you\u2019re the best warriors I\u2019ve ever seen, but even you won\u2019t be able to conquer the usksha in their desert! They\u2019ve lived there for centuries, even before the Empire existed! They know it like nobody else, you\u2019ll be outnumbered and fighting the elements themselves!\u201d the Jekka sheriff exclaims. Somehow he survived the battle by hiding no doubt.\n\nPerhaps he is content on being a coward all his life, but you were meant for much more! You are an Eternal and the Emperor himself will reward you himself when you make the first steps in civilizing the desert. You slap him again and tell him that you\u2019ll need as much water as everyone can carry.\n\nAfter a period of rest, you, your team and Delan\u2019s men set off for the desert. You figure the best way to approach this is to follow the usksha\u2019s tracks. This works out well at first as the lizard mounts are heavy footed creatures that leave deep prints, so you come across several small bands of fleeing usksha.\n\nWhen you begin to leave the Nalin province and enter the desert, the prints get harder to track. You follow tracks for two days before you find more usksha. Still, you aren\u2019t finding any large settlements.\n\nBy day four and Delan\u2019s men are starting to complain. He tries to maintain order, but it\u2019s obvious they can\u2019t take the heat of the day and cold of the night. Your own team is fairing better, but even a couple of them are starting to make comments.\n\nOn the seventh night, you\u2019re ambushed by several usksha who spring up from the sands itself; they manage to kill several of Delan\u2019s men before you dispatch them.\n\n\u201cSergeant, I think we need to get the hell out of this desert. There\u2019s nothing here, but sand and death!\u201d\n\u201cThen leave weakling! We\u2019re more than able to carry out this mission ourselves! We don\u2019t need anybody! We\u2019re Eternals!\u201d Edgar shouts.\n\u201cI don\u2019t doubt our abilities sir, but I\u2019m beginning to wonder if this isn\u2019t a waste of time. We\u2019ve defeated the usksha and chased them deep into their own land. Maybe we\u2019ve made our point.\u201d Roldan says.\n\u201cI\u2019m finding myself agreeing sir, we could better serve the Empire elsewhere.\u201d Gerald adds.\n\n\u201cDuly noted. We\u2019re sticking with the original plan and as for you Delan, you\u2019re under my command too, so you aren\u2019t going anywhere either, now I advise you to find your guts and keep what men you have left in line, before I take away what little authority you still have left.\u201d\n\nCorporal Delan obeys and silently slinks back to his men. Your own people obey as well, but you know that the voices of dissent are already there. Still, you\u2019re convinced that you\u2019ll find something of importance out here along with wiping out usksha.\n\nOn day ten, a strange reptilian creature attacks you. The first instinct is to defend yourself of course, but when it turns Warrick and Gerald to stone instantly, even you find yourself worried.\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t look at it! It\u2019s got some sort of magic attack!\u201d you shout and put your shield to cover yourself.\n\nDelan and his couple remaining men don\u2019t even stick around they turn and run completely. Edgar closes his eyes and swings wildly at the beast, but only manages to get himself mauled by the creature\u2019s sharp teeth and claws. The distraction is enough for Brenda to shoot several arrows in the beast while its back is to her. The beast gives a final bellow and dies.\n\nYou survey the damage and it\u2019s pretty bad. You\u2019ve lost two men, and looking at Edgar on the ground it\u2019ll soon be three. He can\u2019t even form any words, he just looks up at the sky gurgling and spitting up blood and trying to clutch at an arm which is no longer there.\n\n\u201cI told you! I told you we should\u2019ve gone back!\u201d Roldan screams.\n\u201cSilence! I\u2019m in charge here and you won\u2019t speak to me like that again!\u201d you say.\n\u201cSomebody needs to tell you something, because\u2026\u201d\n\nYou lose your patience from a combination of the disrespect, the loss, the failure, the heat, all of it. You punch Roldan causing him to fall to the ground. He looks up in disbelief at first, but then begins to laugh.\n\n\u201cHa ha\u2026ha ha ha ha ha! We\u2026ha ha ha! Found more usksha!\u201d he laughs and points. You all turn to see a sizable group of mounted usksha in the distance. They don\u2019t move in either, instead they shoot at you with their bows.\n\nBrenda catches an arrow to her leg before you can sound a retreat. You and Kane run, but Roldan just sits there still laughing, the next time you turn your head to look back, he\u2019s no longer sitting up. Brenda tries to keep up, but the arrow in her leg slows her down and eventually she catches two more arrows in her back, killing her much in the same way she killed that strange beast.\n\nEventually you and Kane get away, but in all the excitement you don\u2019t know where you are and you don\u2019t even have the tracks you were following to go back to. Under better and less stressful conditions you might get your bearings again, but you never do.\n\nYour next few days involve wandering the desert being continually worn down by usksha ambushes and the sun. You leave Kane\u2019s dehydrated body and continue alone, but not for long as you eventually also succumb to the heat.\n\nAs you lay dying your thoughts of glory are gone and though dehydrated, you manage to shed a single tear for your failure to serve the Emperor.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Leave it alone", "result": "Marching into the desert without a grand plan other than simple slaughter isn\u2019t much of a plan. The usksha are nomads anyway, you\u2019d never be able to catch all of them in their home turf.\n\n\u201cNo, I believe we\u2019ve taken care of the major problem, but I think you should stay here and oversee the safety of this town now. We\u2019ll head back to Fort Glory and report the situation.\u201d You tell Delan.\n\nAs you pack up and start to leave, Edgar begins to complain.\n\n\u201cWhat are we doing? We should be trying to hunt down the rest of the usksha!\u201d\n\u201cOur mission here is done, the usksha have been defeated. If we get ordered to mount an expedition into the desert then we shall do so.\u201d\n\u201cBah! Anu is probably going to assign us to fight kobolds again! We should be taking the initiative!\u201d\n\u201cIt seems every time you take the initiative, I end up having to help you in some way. I\u2019d recommend that you worry less about fighting and more about your combat techniques.\u201d\n\nAt this point Edgar gets noticeably mad, but says nothing and walks off. You\u2019re starting to get slightly concerned about him. You\u2019d rather not have to teach him a lesson like you did when you were still training under Mistress.\n\nWhen you arrive at Fort Glory and report to Captain Anu he\u2019s pleased with what you\u2019ve accomplished and is impressed. He says he\u2019d like to keep you here to finish up wiping out the kobold infestation, but he\u2019s received word from the top that your team is to be transferred elsewhere.\n\n\u201cWhere are we going sir?\u201d\n\u201cThe Rask frontier and I don\u2019t mind saying I don\u2019t envy you.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019ve heard of the place before. What is the situation there?\u201d\n\u201cBad, worse and downright horrible. As far as I know the Empire has been trying to establish order there for decades and not making any progress.\u201d\n\u201cCaptain, I certainly hope you don\u2019t make it a habit of saying disparaging things about the Empire.\u201d A man says walking into the room. It\u2019s Mr. Mol.\n\u201cUh no sir. Sorry sir.\u201d Captain Anu says sheepishly.\n\nMr. Mol overlooks his comments and speaks to you directly.\n\n\u201cIgnore the captain\u2019s words, everyone exaggerates the situation at the Rask frontier. While the area is having some problems, the fact remains if it really was so bad there, we would\u2019ve pulled out a long time ago. Anyway, congratulations on your latest mission. Couldn\u2019t help overhearing your report in the next room, quite impressive. Which makes me believe it was a good idea to transfer you now.\u201d\n\u201cThe Eternals are ready to serve the Emperor wherever he may need us sir.\u201d You say.\n\u201cAnd the Emperor will always appreciate your service. He has been watching you, you know. He always is. That is why he believes you would be most effective apart from each other.\u201d\n\u201cSir?\u201d\n\u201cYou are Eternals, m\u2019boy. You were bred to lead as well as fight. You\u2019ve already proven yourself to be able to do both, but your fellow Eternals will never reach their fullest potential if they live under your shadow. All of you will be separated and given your own commands in territories the Emperor needs you the most. I have no doubt you all will be successful and honor the Emperor with your future victories.\u201d\n\u201cW..we will sir, but you said territories. Are we not all being sent to the Rask frontier?\u201d\n\u201cOh I think the captain misunderstood. A few of you are being sent there, but some of you are staying here, and others are yet being sent elsewhere. Here, here\u2019s your orders, you can inform the rest of your team, I\u2019m sure they\u2019ll be excited to hear this news too, oh and consider yourself promoted to lieutenant. The rest of your team members will probably be promoted to sergeant rank when they officially get their assignments. I think that\u2019s about it. A caravan will be here to transfer some of you to your new assignments in a few days. Good day.\u201d\n\nAs Mr. Mol goes walking out the office, you feel a little strange. Your team has been together so long, it feels weird to know that you\u2019re going to be split apart.\n\n\u201cSorry for the wrong information, I thought all of you would be sent to the Rask frontier. Well I guess I\u2019m glad to know some of your are staying, heh\u2026are you okay?\u201d Captain Anu asks.\n\u201cHuh? Oh yes. I\u2019m okay captain. If you\u2019ll excuse me I have to inform my team of their new assignments.\u201d\n\u201cCertainly. Dismissed.\u201d\n\nYou inform your team of the news and there is a mixture of feelings. There is some excitement of gaining their own commands, but are still a little apprehensive about splitting up. Well all of them except Edgar who seems to be solely overjoyed that he\u2019s getting his own command.\n\n\u201cOkay, Roldan and Brenda, you\u2019re staying here.\u201d\n\u201cDamn, I was hoping I\u2019d at least get to go some place different.\u201d Brenda says.\n\u201cMake no mistake, this area still needs order established. I believe you and Roldan will do a fine job in continuing the reputation of excellence that we have built here.\u201d\n\nYou continue with the list.\n\n\u201cGerald and Warrick, you\u2019re being assigned along the Felkan border. Apparently the non-aggression treaty the Empire had with the Felkan Kingdom has expired and tensions have been high. War with them may even break out.\u201d\n\u201cInteresting. Well if war does break out, we\u2019ll be the first one to show the Felkans the error of defying the Emperor\u2019s mercy.\u201d Warrick says.\n\u201cYeah, yeah! Let\u2019s get on with it, where am I going?\u201d Edgar interrupts.\n\nYou glare at Edgar and then continue.\n\n\u201cYou, Kane and I are all being sent to the Rask frontier.\u201d\n\u201cAs it should be. My skills were going to waste here.\u201d\n\u201cEdgar, I\u2019m going to say this while I\u2019m still your superior. I certainly hope you realize that this isn\u2019t a game and you\u2019ll prove yourself to be a competent leader.\u201d\n\u201cHey, I\u2019m just as much of a leader as you are! The difference is I take risks and that will be a trait that will necessary in a place like the Rask frontier! I will rise up in the ranks and bring honor to the name Eternal and glory to the Emperor!\u201d\n\u201cYou mean glory to yourself because you feel like you have something to prove.\u201d You say.\n\u201cAnd you don\u2019t? You\u2019re a hypocrite anyway! Always were ever since we trained under Mistress! I still recall you begging for your life to her as she crushed you under her boot. From that day on you were always trying to prove yourself and beating the bloody pulp out everyone.\u201d\n\u201cAnd as I recall you were on that end several times Edgar. Is that why you\u2019re still trying to prove yourself?\u201d\n\u201cYou wanna try that now?\u201d Edgar says getting in your face and at this point all of your fellow Eternals intervene to break up a potential fight.\n\n\u201cHey come on you guys! We can\u2019t be seen fighting each other like this! We\u2019re Eternals, we put all that stuff behind us back in training. We\u2019re professionals and supposed to be setting the example for the Empire!\u201d Roldan says.\n\nEdgar brushes himself and backs off.\n\n\u201cTell you what Roldan. You set the example for the Empire. All of you set the example. In the meantime, I\u2019ll be scoring victories and actually serving the Emperor by conquering land in his name.\u201d\n\nAnd with these last words, he takes his leave all of you.\n\nThe last few days together are a little awkward with what transpired between you and Edgar. Still you say your goodbyes to Roldan and Brenda when the caravan comes.\n\nA few days after that, you then say your goodbyes to Warrick and Gerald.\n\nYou, Edgar and Kane sit in silence for the remainder of the trip. Eventually you arrive at the Rask frontier and make your stop at Fort Destiny. You haven\u2019t gotten off the caravan five minutes when a woman wearing battle armor approaches you.\n\n\u201cHey are you the Eternals?\u201d\n\u201cYes we are.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m Captain Krozer, I\u2019ve heard a lot about you and wanted to meet you personally. Welcome to hell.\u201d\n\nCaptain Krozer begins to give you a run down on the entire area. She mentions that the mortality rate here is high so morale isn\u2019t the best, but she hopes that you and the other Eternals assigned here can rally some sort hope here again.\n\nCaptain Krozer also goes on to tell you that there\u2019s been a slight change of plans in your assignments. She says that you\u2019re still staying here, but that Kane and Edgar are going to Fort Defiance, which is further north. Probably for the best considering what transpired between you and Edgar.\n\nKane nods a dignified goodbye to you, and gets back on the caravan; Edgar of course isn\u2019t as pleasant and gives you a hostile glare before leaving.\n\nWith the caravan leaving, you head to your new unit. When you see them, quite a few of them are predictably much older than you, but surprisingly you see that half of them are around your age.\n\n\u201cSo, you\u2019re one those Eternals huh?\u201d one the older soldiers says almost dismissively. You\u2019re in no mood to warn anyone this time, so you go straight to the point and throw him to the floor with his arm painfully twisted behind his back.\n\u201cCorrect, and you\u2019ll address me as sir or lieutenant if you want to keep this arm, because it\u2019ll be very hard to continue doing your duty for the Emperor with just a stump. Understand?\u201d\n\u201cArgh. Y..yes sir!\u201d\n\nAnd so begins your assignment in the Rask frontier.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Chapter 2A: For The Empire!\n\n\n\nYear 20\n\n\u201cWatch it the last ones are coming from the left side!\u201d you shout, pointing at the barbarian wolfmen breaking through the barricade.\n\nTwo of your number go down before the might of the wolfmen. As always you find yourself having to do things yourself. Not that you\u2019re adverse to placing yourself in the thick of battle, but sometimes you get a little tired of having to micromanage.\n\nOne of the wolfmen goes down by your blade with ease, the other three however are shot full of bolts, though you were very nearly in the crossfire.\n\n\u201cDAMMIT, watch where you\u2019re shooting!\u201d You shout at the dark elven mercenaries.\n\u201cOh stop being so dramatic, we\u2019ve been shooting with these crossbows longer than you\u2019ve even been alive I\u2019d wager.\u201d One of them replies, followed by a few snickers.\n\nYou shake your head at the fact that you have to routinely work with them, let alone having to put up with their kind. Then again you\u2019ve had to put up with a lot around here for the past four years.\n\n\u201cAre we done fighting these dogs now? When are we going to get back to killing more sveld? That\u2019s a lot more fun.\u201d One of the mercenaries says.\n\u201cYou aren\u2019t getting paid to have fun svelk! You\u2019re getting paid to do your job. If you really want to go murder your tree loving cousins so bad, we\u2019re not stopping you.\u201d You say.\n\u201cWhatever monkey, our job here is done, we\u2019re heading back. Let us know when you need our help again.\u201d The mercenary says and they leave.\n\nYou survey the damage to the logging camp and it\u2019s going to be awhile before this place is up and running to it\u2019s full capabilities again. Still, today is a victory and despite everything, you\u2019ve managed to eliminate more enemies even if it does seem like they are everywhere in this harsh cold land.\n\nUnfortunately nowadays the Rask frontier isn\u2019t the only place where the Empire has been having problems. Open war broke out with the Felkan Kingdom a couple years ago. Sometimes you wonder how things are going with Warrick and Gerald, but you\u2019ve never heard anything about them, or from them.\n\nIn fact you rarely hear news from anywhere unless it directly concerns you defending mining towns, logging town, or outposts from barbarians or the forest elves. It\u2019s never pretty here, but you can only imagine what they deal with up at Fort Defiance where they routinely face ogres and sometimes even giants. You have heard that Edgar has made quite a name for himself with some of his actions. In a way you\u2019re glad, because he\u2019s living up to the title of an Eternal and doing honor by serving with distinction\u2026still, knowing him he\u2019s doing it all to try to \u201cbeat\u201d you.\n\nAs for you, you\u2019ve made quite a name for yourself as well. You have improved the mortality rate of the soldiers here a little (most notably the ones serving under you), but you\u2019ve also managed to successfully defend several towns with low citizen casualties too.\n\nThe greatest accomplishments of yours are the complete destruction of several hostile barbarian tribes. The Black Wolves, the Enclave of the Bear, the Blood Boars, and other minor shape changing tribes have all been exterminated thanks to your relentless nature. Indeed, you\u2019ve become so infamous that the barbarian tribes in this land have come to call you the \u201cThe Bane of Rask.\u201d\n\nThis recent battle was a last desperate regroup attack by one of the tribes, the \u201cSilver Fangs\u201d after you wiped out all their women and children in an attack on their camp. Grim business to be sure, but it wasn\u2019t first time and it certainly won\u2019t be the last. These tribes must learn that they cannot stand against the might of the Empire or the Emperor. If they can only learn that with their extinction then so be it.\n\nYou report your victory to Captain Krozer.\n\n\u201cExcellent as always lieutenant. I know time after time I can count on you. Which leads me to the next major task. From what I can tell we\u2019ve managed to eliminate the major threats in this particular area of the Rask frontier, but we have two left. The forest elves and the Wendigo tribe are the two in question and I\u2019m wondering which one we should focus our attention on first.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell I can tell you that the Wendigo tribe will be a challenge. They\u2019re the biggest, toughest and meanest of all the barbarian shape shifters. So far we haven\u2019t had a large battle with them yet, but with our extermination of the other tribes, the time is getting closer. As for the elves, it will be more tedious than anything as they use a lot of guerilla tactics and such. We\u2019ve still never found any sort of home, base or camp of theirs, but I suppose those dark elven mercs will be more than willing to help us with eliminating them. I\u2019m sure their leader, Edolith will most likely demand a high price as usual though.\u201d You say.\n\n\u201c(Sigh) Yeah, I\u2019m sure she will. Things are never easy here. Fuck it; we\u2019re pushing forward on both groups right now and putting an end to it once and for all. The question is, would you prefer to lead a company against the Wendigo tribe or go on a seek and destroy mission on the forest elves.\u201d", "action_results": [{"action": "Attack the Wendigo tribe", "result": "\u201cWhile I have every desire to see both of these blights erased from the Empire\u2019s lands, I believe my abilities would be best served in leading the attack against the Wendigo tribe, captain.\u201d You say.\n\u201cI had a feeling you\u2019d be more drawn to that idea, and you are probably the best person for it, seeing how many victories you have against the barbarians tribes here. Very well, I shall send another officer to lead the mission against the elves and I hope those mercenaries lower their price in exchange for a chance to kill their tree loving kin. In fact I may go along on that mission.\u201d Captain Krozer replies.\n\u201cYou are captain?\u201d\n\u201cYes, someone needs to keep an eye on those shifty bastards. Besides I find that I\u2019ve been getting stuck behind the desk too much lately. It\u2019ll be good to be back out in the field. Don\u2019t want to become like one of those fat self-important generals that do nothing except point to maps and make equally fat musings on tactics. A true leader should lead from the front, I\u2019m sure you agree.\u201d\n\u201cIt is preferable yes\u2026but I do understand the need to keep those with keen military minds safe from major war zones. Such people have their place as all do in their service of the Emperor.\u201d\n\u201cWhy lieutenant, are you complimenting me on my intelligence? It\u2019s not like you to flirt.\u201d Captain Krozer asks in a tone slightly friendlier than usual, it catches you a little off guard.\n\u201cI\u2026no! I mean yes, you are very intelligent, but\u2026\u201d\n\u201cRelax lieutenant, just having a little fun, didn\u2019t mean to put you on the spot. Anyway, we\u2019ll pick this up later, you better get prepared for your mission, and good luck.\u201d\n\nYou do exactly that, get prepared. You know this will not be an easy battle. You fought a member of the wendigos by yourself before and it was one of your greatest fights. Fighting an entire tribe of them even with an entire company behind you will not make it easier. Most of the men while capable soldiers, they are still just recruits in some ways when facing the shear might and savagery of these barbarians, let alone a tribe like the wendigos. At this point you wish you had a few battle wizards or even orcs in your ranks, but most of those have been assigned either at Fort Defiance or on the frontlines of the Felkan War.\n\nYou march through the ice and snow towards wendingo territory, along the way you come across a small village completely decimated. Looks like it was a fairly new one made up of some determined settlers. Still, no amount of determination could have possibly made it a good idea to start building a new settlement that was so close to wendigo territory without Empire protection.\n\nHouses have been burned, and the gory bodies of the dead are everywhere and in pieces. Some of the bodies have even been partially eaten. Not surprising, considering the wendigo tribe will cannibalize their own people if necessary. A couple of the newer recruits throw up at the grisly sight.\n\nThe march eventually leads you a wooded hill area where they make their home. It\u2019s there where you have your first major encounter with the wendigos. Their aren\u2019t a lot of them, but they\u2019re completely vicious and without fear. They think nothing of attacking you despite being outnumbered and bellow their terrible howl. A howl so dreadful it can affect the mind and causes a few of your men to lose their courage completely.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s all in your head! The Emperor\u2019s Will protects us! Find your nerve or die!\u201d you shout and clash with the nearest wendigo.\n\nIt\u2019s just the first of many such battles. The only good thing is the wendigos are pretty easy to find and make no attempts to hide from you, meaning you don\u2019t really need to make a big effort at hunting them down. The bad thing of course is little by little your company is worn down by their attacks along with the land already being harsh and food being scarce.\n\nIt\u2019s not just that though, this land of theirs, it\u2019s making you feel weird, to say nothing of your men. The howls of the wendingos seem to be on the very winds here. It\u2019s constantly there sapping your mind and making yourself feel strange thoughts.\n\n\u201cLieutenant, I\u2019m starting to feel really hungry. A lot of the men are.\u201d Your second says to you.\n\u201cWe just stopped to eat.\u201d\n\u201cI know, but I dunno I\u2019m still hungry.\u201d\n\u201cWell we\u2019re not stopping again. We need to keep moving the quicker we do this, the quicker we can go back home and have a proper meal.\u201d\n\u201cYes, a proper meal with meat. Lots of meat. Heh heh.\u201d Your second says and walks away.\n\nBy the fifth day, you finally come across a large wendigo encampment and it is there where you see some sort of leader. You knew they had to have one, these types always do. He\u2019s predictably the largest of his kind and covered in pure white fur. When your company arrives, the wendigos make their howl, but more disturbingly some of your men make a rival howl of their own and charge into battle even before you give the command.\n\nThe battle is a slaughter on both sides. You struggle against the wendigo leader striking several blows that would kill a normal man, but of course then you\u2019re not fighting a man. He swipes you across the chest destroying your breast plate and lands another blow to your head which probably would\u2019ve killed you had you not been wearing a helmet. It is enough to knock you down however.\n\n\u201cYour combat skill is impressive, Bane of Rask. It will be an honor to add it my own when I devour your heart.\u201d You suddenly hear in your head as you struggle to get up. You\u2019ve heard this sort of talk before. Namely when you were fighting against the usksha shaman.\n\nYou shake off the wendingo leader\u2019s mental attempts to throw you off guard and narrowly avoid his foot stomping on your head. You grab your sword nearby and with all your might, you swing it at the very foot that just tried to crush your head and chop it clean off.\n\nThe wendigo leader howls again, but this is one of pain as he tumbles to the ground. You waste no time and shove the blade down the beast\u2019s gullet. While this would be enough to kill most, the leader manages punch you aside with all his thrashing and then tries to stand up on one foot with a sword still stuck through his mouth and coming out the other side of his head.\n\nIt would be a darkly comical sight under different circumstances watching this beast hop around trying to pull a sword out of his head, but you\u2019re in no mood to laugh. You charge into him as hard as you can to knock him down and grab the sword yanking it back and forth until you succeed in sawing off the top part of his head.\n\nTo their credit, the remaining wendigos continue to fight and die with their leader. The battle is won and even you take a moment to rest.\n\nThis rest is to be short lived.\n\n\u201cBane of Rask, you\u2019ve just won a fierce battle wouldn\u2019t it be nice to celebrate by filling your belly with meat? There is a lot in the pot over there.\u201d\n\u201c\u2026what?\u201d you say to yourself and hold your head in your hands.\n\u201cThe pot over there. Lots of tasty meat that this tribe was going to eat before you so rudely interrupted them. No sense in letting it go to waste.\u201d\n\u201c\u2026no I just killed you.\u201d\n\u201cDid you? Of course if you wish you could just pick a body on the ground and start eating. Why not? You deserve it.\u201d\n\nYou know what\u2019s going on here. The wendigos aren\u2019t truly flesh and blood creatures! They\u2019re some sort of spirits or something otherworldly. No wonder you\u2019ve felt strange the entire time you\u2019ve been here.\n\nYou get up and call your men to leave immediately, only to see some of them have already fully succumbed to the wendigo curse. Eating the bodies laying on the ground and beginning to look less than human and more feral.", "action_results": [{"action": "Run", "result": "The longer you stay here, the more likely all of you are going to get possessed. This entire land is cursed and you need to get out of here. You and the rest of your unprocessed troops begin to back off while still keeping an eye on the new wendigos. Their preoccupation with fresh bodies is limited however and they soon begin to turn towards you.\n\nThey howl that dreadful noise again and begin to transform. It is at this point some of your men run as fast as then can, others begin to hold their heads telling a voice to shut up.\n\n\u201cBane of Rask, join us or die here today!\u201d you hear the voice hiss.\n\nSeveral wendigos run after the men who fled, while the others stay to attack you. For whatever reason, they\u2019re not fighting with as much reckless abandon anymore, it\u2019s almost as if they\u2019ve absorbed the fighting skills of your soldiers. Despite this, you manage to pull out a victory, but you\u2019re exhausted and wounded. You see some of your other men already beginning to transform having been possessed by the wendigos and you spare no time in killing them before they can transform as well.\n\n\u201cYour skills for killing are misused, if you just embraced the primal instinct, you would be able to use your skills to the fullest extent and without the shackles of any higher authority.\u201d\n\u201cSHUT UP!\u201d you shout.\n\nBetween the constant assaults to your mind and your wounds, you struggle to make your way out of wendigo territory. It doesn\u2019t help that you\u2019re also still being periodically attacked by the wendigos that presumably finished off the rest of your men who ran away.\n\nYou run your sword through the face of a wendigo and ignore his claws ripping through your own armor and your flesh. You\u2019re tired, but a rage is growing within you due to these constant assaults. You grab the already mortally wounded wendigo and as hard as you can you summon all your strength to break its neck. It falls to the snow in a heavy heap and you do as well.\n\n\u201cDo it\u2026nobody is around\u2026feed to sustain your strength\u2026\u201d you hear.\n\nYou sink your teeth into the body of the wendigo and begin to feed\u2026or rather the carcass of its former host as the wendigo itself has left its body and managed to weave itself into your mind. Your barrier against it finally shattered, your mind is truly not your own anymore. While you are \u201calive\u201d you are merely a puppet now.\n\nYou spend the remainder of your days seeking out fresh flesh, until ultimately your mind is completely absorbed and under control of the wendigo.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Fight", "result": "As grim as it might be and as tired as you are, you can\u2019t just let the spirits infect your men. For one thing it isn\u2019t any way for a soldier to go down. For another they\u2019ll just become the \u201cnew tribe\u201d you just cleared out. Maybe this land is cursed, but you\u2019ll not let it be infested with hosts for the spirits that dwell here.\n\nYou draw your sword and several of your men who haven\u2019t been affected do likewise. Those that have been infected finally stop their gruesome feast and look at you.\n\n\u201cSo hungry, must have more flesh, must be fresh, must be YOU!\u201d your second in command screams ghoulishly and attacks you.\n\nAnother battle takes place, though not as long or nearly as hard as the first, but you and what\u2019s left of your company make a full retreat as fast as possible when it\u2019s over. It isn\u2019t a smooth retreat though. The thoughts of hunger are filling your minds constantly and being tired just makes it easier for the spirits to infect your men. Several more times you have to put down members of your own company who have turned.\n\nIt isn\u2019t until you leave those accursed wooded hills that you start to feel more like yourself, but even then the journey back isn\u2019t easy. The cold, the hunger, and the overall mental and physical exhaustion takes its toll on your last remaining men. By the time you reach the nearest friendly settlement you have six left.\n\n\u201cHeh, just like the old days, you silently chuckle to yourself, briefly thinking of your six Eternal fellows.\n\nYou don\u2019t think you\u2019ve ever been pushed to the limit like this before. Truly it is only by the Emperor\u2019s strength that you managed to make it through. You only hope you have not shamed him too much with your failure.\n\nEventually you arrive at Fort Destiny and report to Captain Krozer, who is celebrating with several others in the fort. You don\u2019t know what\u2019s causing this unorthodox behavior, but you\u2019re certainly surprised by it.\n\n\u201cCaptain, I have my mission report.\u201d\n\u201cHey! You\u2019re back Bane of Rask! Isn\u2019t that what they call you around here? Ha ha! I\u2019m glad you\u2019re back, I figured your mission would be as successful as mine! Have a drink!\u201d\n\u201cUh maybe later captain, but I\u2026did you say there was a victory?\u201d\n\u201cWell we wouldn\u2019t be sitting here getting drunk if there wasn\u2019t now would we? The campaign against the forest elves was completely successful. I have to give those svelk credit, they can sniff out their kin better than anyone. Was hardly even a fight, when we eventually did find their major home as it was filled mostly with non-combatant women and children. We\u2019d killed most of the warriors trying to get there. Still, always grim business dealing with the enemy civvies. We managed to enslave most of the children at least without killing them, though if the svelk had it their way they would\u2019ve raped and killed everyone. Uncivilized vicious bastards.\u201d The general says taking another drink.\n\u201cYou enslaved them?\u201d you ask being slightly confused by the idea.\n\u201cWell sure\u2026what you think I\u2019d just kill them? I know that\u2019s the way you do things lieutenant, and probably with those shape shifting barbarians its for the best, but let\u2019s just say I\u2019m a little more merciful than you. Hope it doesn\u2019t ruin your perception of me.\u201d\n\u201cUh\u2026 not at all. I\u2019m sure you are right captain. The elven children can be indoctrinated to become productive citizens of the Empire. They will learn that our way of life is superior and the correct way.\u201d\n\u201cHa ha, that\u2019s why I like you lieutenant. You don\u2019t know any better. Hey let\u2019s take this conversation back to my office, it\u2019s a little loud here.\u201d\n\nYou say okay and begin to follow her, but she grabs your hand in an effort to lead you. You aren\u2019t sure of how to react, so you just let her. When you get there she sits on her desk and smiles at you.\n\n\u201cRelax, lieutenant. I know you\u2019re an Eternal, but you\u2019re always so serious.\u201d\n\u201cIt\u2019s just I really need to report my mission to you captain.\u201d\n\u201cOh very well, I know it\u2019s important to you.\u201d She says taking another drink.\n\nYou tell her exactly what happened and she listens intently to your story.\n\n\u201cWell lieutenant, looks like you managed to pull out a victory against all odds once again. I figured you would.\u201d She says.\n\u201cVictory? I don\u2019t feel like it was a victory, captain. I lost most of the company.\u201d You reply.\n\u201cNormally I might agree, but from what you told me, it\u2019s amazing you survived at all, let alone bring anyone back alive. Evil spirits, cursed lands, having to kill your own men turning into insane beasts\u2026not something I\u2019d want to face and I\u2019ve seen my fair share of battles. Besides it sounds like the spirits can\u2019t leave that area and you eliminated a majority of their hosts, as well as depriving them of more by doing what was necessary with our transformed soldiers. We\u2019ll probably always have the odd wendigo running around due to idiotic adventurers exploring places where they shouldn\u2019t, but the danger has been curtailed greatly thanks to you.\u201d\n\u201cThe Emperor\u2019s will guided me and his vigor gave me the endurance to succeed.\u201d\n\u201cPerhaps, but you really should\u2019ve had a battle mage with you. I have no idea why central command has not sent us any despite my requests, things can\u2019t be that bad with the Felkans! Sometimes I wonder what the hell they\u2019re doing down there. Oh well at least I had you right?\u201d she says and gets off her desk.\n\u201cOf course, I\u2019ll be here for as long I am needed here general.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood.\u201d She says and puts her arms around you and kisses you on the lips. You\u2019re taken completely off guard and are completely out of your element. You\u2019re reminded of Captain Pollo\u2019s advances on Gerald, but this is different since you feel a little something for Krozer even though you\u2019ve tried to not think about it. As the time you\u2019ve spent here has gone by, your thoughts of Captain Krozer have sometimes been more than a little \u201cfriendly\u201d, but you\u2019ve tried to suppress them.\n\nYou don\u2019t know how to react except you sort of back away.\n\n\u201cIs something wrong lieutenant?\u201d the general asks\n\u201cI\u2026uh\u2026I don\u2019t\u2026.should we be doing this?\u201d\n\u201cOh the ranks? Forget about it. I just want sex, it\u2019s not like I\u2019m planning on falling in love. Unless you really feel uncomfortable about protocol, I\u2019d respect it of course, but I\u2019d be lying if I said I wasn\u2019t disappointed.\u201d\n\u201cWell, no, I mean\u2026 I\u2019ve been having these feelings of lust for you too captain.\u201d You say untactfully.\n\u201cHa ha! Well that\u2019s good to know I guess.\u201d The captain laughs. \u201cSo what\u2019s the problem then?\u201d\n\u201c\u2026I just\u2026I\u2019ve never\u2026\u201d\n\u201cNever\u2026ohhhhh! Really? Though I guess it makes sense. You were trained to kill from birth; going from battlefield to battlefield quoting Empire doctrine (sigh)\u201d the captain touches your face. \u201cSometimes I wonder if we go too far. Well don\u2019t worry about it; we\u2019ll have time to catch you up. And like I keep telling you, just relax\u2026 and call me Alison.\u201d\n\nYou and the cap\u2026Alison have an interesting time. It certainly isn\u2019t anything you\u2019ve experienced before, but its possibly the most pleasurable thing you\u2019ve ever experienced. You understand a little more to as why other soldiers hold it in such high regard.\n\nYou know not to let it affect your duty and after a few days of down time, you are ready to serve the Emperor again. Everyone is, Captain Krozer is going to do it elsewhere though, namely the Arat province on the Felkan border.\n\nShe calls you in to tell you that someone by the name of Mr. Mol has been impressed with your abilities and thinks you are able to handle the Rask frontier without any supervision. As of now you are in charge of Fort Destiny and been promoted to captain. You don\u2019t know what to say.\n\n\u201cCongratulations on your new command, though I will say I don\u2019t envy it! After being here for six years myself, I\u2019ll be glad to be sent to the Arat province. Those Felkans can\u2019t possibly be any worse than the shit we\u2019ve faced here.\u201d\n\u201cIt was an honor to serve with you captain.\u201d You say respectfully.\n\u201cOh come on, you don\u2019t need to put up a tough front with me, I know you\u2019ll miss me and cry in your pillows at night.\u201d She says with a smirk.\n\u201cI\u2026won\u2019t! I mean I\u2019ll miss you, but\u2026\u201d\n\u201cKeep working on developing that sense of humor, but it\u2019s nice to know I\u2019ll be missed.\u201d She says and kisses you on the cheek\n\n\u201cGood bye and remember to take a rest from all the killing sometimes and enjoy what you can okay?\u201d\n\nWith those last words, Alison walks out of her office\u2026or rather your office.\n\nAnd so begins your command of Fort Destiny.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 25\n\n\u201cAnother protest? What the hell is going on now?\u201d you say.\n\u201cI don\u2019t know the exact details, just that the miners are protesting their work conditions in the town of Keplavisk.\u201d Lieutenant Verant replies.\n\u201cI\u2019m getting sick of these protests, the Empire provides everything for these ungrateful wretches and they complain? They ought to be lucky we haven\u2019t sent slaves to do their job! Alright send a detachment there and if they don\u2019t break it up, kill a couple to make a point and remind them that it could be much worse.\u201d\n\u201cYes sir.\u201d\n\nYou sit stuck at your desk wondering when something worthwhile is going to happen. When you were first assigned to this job, the frontier was still dangerous. Even with the elimination of the wendigos and the elven home, there were still minor hostile barbarian tribes running around and sometimes even tribes of ogres or the odd giant who had wandered down from further north.\n\nEventually you eliminated all of those threats to a degree that they were no longer a factor. Then boredom set in as the area became peaceful. For a moment you tried to take Alison\u2019s advice she once gave you, but the problem is, the peace lasted too long, at least for you.\n\nLately though the boredom has become annoyance. There has been a shift in the average Empire citizen\u2019s attitude, namely one of insolence. many have started to complain about their jobs, their food, their freedom, everything. At first you questioned if it wasn\u2019t some sort of supernatural influence as that could at least be a rational explanation of this mass madness. When the first open protests started, you handled them in an efficient manner and they stopped for a while, but only for a while. It\u2019s as if the citizens want you to kill them.\n\nAnd apparently the problem isn\u2019t just here. If anything this sort of open disobedience has been rearing its ugly head in other parts of the Empire a lot more than it has here and a lot sooner.\n\nDon\u2019t these people understand that the Empire protects them and gives them everything? If it were not for Emperor\u2019s wisdom to expand, they wouldn\u2019t even have their homes, jobs in whatever province they hail from, never mind the constant vigilance to protect them against monsters that would rip them apart.\n\nSometimes you wish you had been transferred to the Arat province. At least there\u2019s a war going on there. You can only imagine that Warrick and Gerald don\u2019t have to put up with this nonsense. Assuming they are still alive, as you have heard nothing about them and despite your new ranking, you can\u2019t seem to get any information on them either. No word about about Roldan or Brenda either, but you do know that the Nalin province is known to be one of the most orderly places in the Empire now.\n\nYou would even settle for being transferred to Fort Defiance at this point, they at least have to still have to stem the tide of beasts and monsters from the north. You\u2019ve also wondered about Kane and Edgar. They\u2019re the only two you do have some updated information on, but while you\u2019ve all been in this territory for years you haven\u2019t seen them since the day you separated company. Oh you\u2019ve heard a few stories about Edgar killing giants single handedly, but that\u2019s about it. In fact you\u2019re surprised that neither one of them has earned command of Fort Defiance like you have with Fort Destiny.\n\nSometimes it\u2019s funny how thinking about something causes it to happen.\n\nYou get a message from Fort Defiance and it\u2019s from Kane! He states that he\u2019s just taken command of Fort Defiance and would like to speak with you in person about some possible joint military operations. You naturally leave for Fort Defiance immediately. A certain excitement and even happiness dwells within you, it\u2019ll be good to see a fellow Eternal again, even if Edgar is probably going to still be combative with you. Who knows though? Maybe he\u2019s changed, it\u2019s been years after all.\n\nYour trip to Fort Defiance is uneventful and when you arrive at the fort it\u2019s as large as you\u2019ve heard, but then it would have to be to fend off giants. You are greeted by several heavily armored orc troops and what looks to be a battle mage. (You still never managed to get either assigned to your fort)\n\n\u201cWelcome to Fort Defiance captain! I am to take you to General Kane. He is most eager to see you! Come this way!\u201d the battle mage says and as you are escorted through a series of dimly lit corridors one thought goes through your mind: \u201cGeneral?\u201d\n\nWhen you arrive at Kane\u2019s office he looks a little different with his head completely shaved, but other than that he hasn\u2019t changed. He also has another man in his office dressed in dark leather armor, with a cloak. You\u2019ve heard of their reputation, but this is the first time you\u2019ve seen a member of the Shadow Guard. You knew a few were stationed up here though.\n\nKane stands up and greets you.\n\n\u201cWell if it isn\u2019t the Bane of Rask! Ha ha ha! How are you my brother?\u201d Kane says in a jovial manner.\n\u201cI\u2019m fine\u2026brother?\u201d you reply being a little confused by Kane\u2019s demeanor and him calling you brother.\n\u201cYes! Of course! We are brothers! We grew up together, we trained together, and we fought together, and we are Eternals! Would that not constitute a brotherly bond?\u201d he says.\n\u201cHeh, I suppose it would. Never thought about it before I guess.\u201d You reply with a smile.\n\u201cHey I\u2019d like you to meet another brother of ours, this is Cyrus. Remember him? He was in our class, but he got transferred to the Shadow Guard when they first separated us.\u201d\n\u201cCyrus\u2026oh yes, I do remember him. I have sometimes wondered what happened to some of during that first separation. I guess the rest went to the Shadow Guard then?\u201d\n\u201cYes, but only a few of us survived Shadow Guard training. Very few.\u201d\n\u201cSounds like us, a few of our class didn\u2019t make it through our training either.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, it was nothing like what you went through. Trust me.\u201d Cyrus says coldly.\n\nKane quickly intervenes.\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t mind Cyrus, he\u2019s a little on the serious side, sort of like you eh?\u201d\n\u201cAs I recall I don\u2019t remember you being so talkative or jolly either.\u201d You say.\n\u201cHey what can I tell you, I\u2019ve changed as the years went by! I\u2019ve learned to take more joy in life and not worry so much about duty or about the Empire!\u201d\n\nThis last comment is cause for concern.\n\n\u201cNot worry about the Empire? What kind of talk is that for an Eternal? And I have a few questions, how did you get promoted to general? I mean why would they need a general up here, this fort has been doing fine without one, the Rask frontier is as quiet as ever and there\u2019s a war going on with the Felkan Kingdom. In fact, where is Edgar? I\u2019ve heard so much about his deeds that I would\u2019ve figured that he might get promoted to command here and certainly not to general.\u201d\n\nAt this point Kane and Cyrus look at each other and Kane looks back at you with a less cheery disposition.\n\n\u201cVery well. It was only a matter of time before I was going to have to bring this up to you anyway. I\u2019ve made myself general and as of recently this fort is no longer under Empire authority.\u201d\n\u201cYou what?!\u201d\n\u201cI saw the light, with the help of Cyrus here I suppose. The Empire is crumbling, I give it a decade at best and we need to make sure we have a good position when the shit goes down. Don\u2019t you see? That\u2019s why I called you here. You\u2019ve got the plebs further south of the Rask frontier under control and if we combined forces, nobody could stop us!\n\nYou\u2019re in shock for a moment. Nothing could have prepared you for something like this.\n\n\u201c\u2026Kane, you can\u2019t believe that I would go along with something like this!\u201d\n\u201cBut why not? Surely you have heard the reports of the mass civil unrest going on in the Empire, why even in your own area you have had to put civvies in their place.\u201d\n\u201cYes, and that just means we have to work harder to preserve the Empire, not abandon it in its time of need!\u201d\n\u201cBah! Why bother? It had its time in the sun and now its time for something new to take its place. What better than us? We\u2019re Eternals after all. Just think we could even unite with some of our other siblings in this dying Empire to make ourselves even stronger!\u201d\n\nYou hold your head in your hands at Kane\u2019s words of secession and treason. This is not the same man you knew, and he is certainly not your \u201cbrother.\u201d You never thought the day would come when you\u2019d have to kill a fellow Eternal.", "action_results": [{"action": "Accept his offer", "result": "It takes everything in you to not attack, but you\u2019re hoping you can bide your time to gain a better advantage. You\u2019re never really lied before though, so you take deep breath before speaking.\n\n\u201cKane\u2026 I think you\u2019re right. Maybe I\u2019ve always known on some level, but it just took someone close to me to point it out. I will join your cause\u2026 my brother.\u201d\n\nKane smiles and is certainly overjoyed at your response, but Cyrus looks less than enthusiastic, in fact he\u2019s looking past you.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s great! I knew you\u2019d join us! I told you Cyrus!\u201d Kane says looking at Cyrus, but Cyrus is still looking past you, he makes a nod.\n\n\u201cCyrus\u2026wait no!\u201d Kane shouts\n\u201cHe\u2019s lying Kane! Kill him!\u201d\n\nYou attempt to get up and attack the battle mage behind, but unfortunately he\u2019s already anticipated that and stepped far enough way for you to not get to him in time before he\u2019s already cast a lightning bolt straight in your face. If it had been your body, perhaps you would\u2019ve survived, but a straight blast to your face fries not only your eyes so badly that they melt, but your brain as well.\n\nYou drop down dead before you can hear Kane\u2019s argument that you could\u2019ve been \u201cturned\u201d to the cause.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Decline his offer", "result": "The idea is so repugnant to you that you can\u2019t even bring yourself to even lie about joining him. It probably wouldn\u2019t work anyway; you\u2019ve never been a good liar. You breathe deeply before speaking again.\n\n\u201cKane, I am NOT going to help you. Now you do what you must, and I shall do what I must.\u201d\n\u201cTold you this was a waste of time, let us be done with this.\u201d Cyrus says and points a small crossbow on his wrist and fires it at you, though Kane knocks his hand away causing the bolt to just hit your shoulder.\n\nYou fall back in your chair and grab the battle mage who was still standing by. He falls to floor on top of you and you break his neck. You feel a little dizzy though; whatever was in that dart is putting you to sleep fast.\n\nYou hear Kane and Cyrus arguing as large orcs stomp into the office and begin kicking you as you fall unconscious.\n\nWhen you wake up, you hear an unexpected familiar voice, though the most unexpected thing is that you woke up at all.\n\n\u201cHey, get up. Good thing that weak ass poison doesn\u2019t work on us very well.\u201d Edgar says helping you up.\n\u201cEdgar? What\u2019s happened here?\u201d You ask looking around and finding yourself stripped of most of your clothing and in a cell.\n\n\u201cI knew he wouldn\u2019t be able to convince you. I told Kane that, but he kept going on about how you\u2019d understand, just like how in time I would come to understand. He said that siblings may have their fights, but in the end they always make up.\u201d\n\u201cIs that how come he hasn\u2019t killed us?\u201d\n\u201cI guess so, though I don\u2019t think Cyrus would have such sentimental feelings and would have us killed if he had more say in the matter.\u201d\n\u201cWell, Cyrus at least seems to be thinking like an Eternal in that respect. Kane has apparently gone completely mad though\u2026how the hell did this happen?!\u201d\n\u201cYou got time for a story?\u201d Edgar asks rhetorically before explaining from the beginning.\n\nEdgar says that when he and Kane first arrived they were met with a little hostility from everyone else and while their prowess in battle earned them respect, they still were never really \u201caccepted\u201d by anyone.\n\nEdgar says he didn\u2019t care of course and was content with the respect that he had earned and getting accolades for slaying giants and such. Kane wasn\u2019t handling the isolation as well and was becoming increasingly more withdrawn. He did his job, but he behaved in a manner that even the orc soldiers found a little unnerving. Nobody wanted to even eat with him, got to a point where the captain of the fort had to send him out primarily on scouting missions by himself.\n\nEdgar believes that Kane must\u2019ve really taken the split of the team harder than any of you could\u2019ve known. He suspects that might\u2019ve first lead to his quirk of referring to other Eternals as siblings. He would often mention to Edgar sometimes about how much he missed spending time with you all and couldn\u2019t wait for the day when you all would be together again.\n\n\u201c(Sigh) All he needed was for me to interact with him on a regular basis, but I was too busy concerned with my own glory. Time in this cell has really given me time to reflect on a lot of bad choices I\u2019ve made in the present and the past.\u201d\n\u201cWhat\u2019s done is done now, but where does Cyrus come in?\u201d you ask.\n\nEdgar explains that Cyrus was transferred here four years ago as part of a replacement Shadow Guard detachment to help with the latest giant incursion. He knows Kane was sent on a mission with the Shadow Guard during that time and that\u2019s probably where they started to talk more to each other. Normally Shadow Guards don\u2019t interact with anyone other than other Shadow Guards, but Kane hung around him to such a degree that Cyrus eventually began to talk with Kane on his own accord.\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t think Cyrus\u2019 Shadow Guard buddies approved of it too much, but he was their leader so they didn\u2019t say much.\u201d Edgar says.\n\u201cSo how did they control over the whole fort?\u201d\n\nEdgar explains again that Cyrus and Kane must\u2019ve cooked up this plan in secret for years, as in time various changes began to occur.\n\nThe only initial thing that Edgar began to notice was the increase in orc troops being sent here. Granted there was always some stationed here, but now they were starting to out number the human soldiers, and he thought they were mostly going to the front lines on the Felkan border. However, this area was still very dangerous, so ultimately more orc troops here didn\u2019t raise any immediate alarms.\n\nThe next thing he noticed was that there were less and less attacks by giants and ogres, but Edgar chalked that up to him killing so many of them that naturally they would probably have less members to spare now. Not to mention with all the orcs here now, the giants were having a tougher time of it.\n\nThe third thing he noticed was Kane becoming less introverted and more aggressive towards the orcs. He witnessed several fights that Kane himself started with various orc leaders. He won with ease of course and it appeared as if he was just being combative out of boredom, but in retrospect there was very real purpose. To establish no doubt to as who is the \u201creal leader.\u201d Captain Ian wasn\u2019t fond of this sort of behavior in any way though and reprimanded Kane several times, but it was obvious he didn\u2019t care.\n\n\u201cIt was at this point I finally started to talk to Kane on a serious level, just to figure out what was going on with him. All he said to me, was you\u2019ll see in another year brother, with a great big grin on his face. Of course when that year came I found out everything. His private orc army. his alliance with the neighboring giant and ogre tribes, his plans to unite this land completely under him and take on the Empire itself. As you can see I didn\u2019t agree with his plans. I know I have my faults, but disloyalty isn\u2019t one of them.\u201d\n\u201cHe\u2019s allied with ogres and giants? So wait, how long has Kane taken control of this place?\u201d You ask. \u201cWe were still getting reports from here from Captain Ian up until last month.\u201d\n\u201cHah! Captain Ian\u2019s been dead for more than a few months now! Kane\u2019s just been going through the motions of sending reports and messengers, probably to make sure you or nobody else sent anyone to investigate before he was ready to openly defy the Empire.\u201d\n\u201cBy the Emperor I can\u2019t believe I was so close and never suspected anything wrong going on up here, let alone treason!\u201d you say.\n\u201cIf it\u2019s any consolation, you weren\u2019t the only one. Besides like I said, I was here and I should\u2019ve been the one to do something before anyone. Instead I got myself captured. Tried to bust out a few times, I figured I\u2019d either escape or die trying. There\u2019s just too many of those tough orc bastards though. Even when I managed to get a weapon the blasted battle mage would cast some sort of spell and I\u2019d go completely weak and groggy. Then I\u2019d end up back here again. Heh, Kane\u2019s so crazy now that he still believes that I\u2019ll eventually side with him.\u201d\n\u201cDid you say battle mage? As in one?\u201d\n\u201cYeah, used to have two and they probably would\u2019ve liked to get more stationed here before unleashing their plan, but they had to make due with the ones that cooperated. I killed one of them before my first capture.\u201d\n\u201cWell they don\u2019t have any now, because I killed the other one before I got sent here.\u201d\n\nEdgar tries to contain his enthusiasm.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s great! I mean with you by my side and none of that magic shit to complicate things, you\u2019ve given us a much improved chance to escape for good!\u201d\n\nNever thought you\u2019d hear Edgar to be so happy to fight along side you, and normally you might even be a little happy too, but right now you\u2019re concerned with escape. The longer you\u2019re gone, the more likely Lieutenant Verant will send someone up here to investigate. They\u2019ll be killed of course and then Kane will undoubtedly push a full attack on to Fort Destiny ad you don\u2019t have the highest hopes that they\u2019d survive an attack by a combined army of orcs, ogres and giants without being prepared at least.\n\n\nYou waste no time coming up with a plan. Simplest ones often work the best, Edgar tells you that it\u2019ll be feeding time soon and that you should remain \u201cunconscious\u201d and he\u2019ll do the rest.\n\nYou get into position and eventually hear the footsteps of your orc jailer.\n\n\u201cHere\u2019s yer food, Ed!\u201d one of them says carrying a bowl.\n\u201cHey! Why\u2019d you dump a dead body into this cell with me?\u201d Edgar says.\n\u201cWha? He ain\u2019t dead he\u2019s just knocked out! I should know I was one of guys that kicked him in da head! Har har har har!\u201d\n\u201cWell he died in his sleep then from your kick to his head. I recognize him as an Eternal and Kane\u2019s gonna be pissed that you killed him!\u201d\n\u201cHe ain\u2019t dead! He sleep!\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m telling you he\u2019s dead! Don\u2019t believe me, you better check yourself.\u201d\n\u201cOh no, I know you Ed. You gonna try bash my skull in as soon as I open door. If he really dead, then I just say you killed him.\u201d\n\u201cAnd you really think Kane\u2019s gonna believe that? He knows Eternal don\u2019t kill each other, that\u2019s why he\u2019s keeping me alive even though I escape!\u201d\n\nThe orc pauses for a moment and decides he can\u2019t take the chance.\n\n\u201cBah, alright, I\u2019ll check, but I\u2019m tellin\u2019 you he\u2019s just still unconscious! That shadow guy hit \u2018im with one of doze bolts of his. But YOU are gonna do something first.\u201d\n\nThe orc tells Edgar to turn his back and get close to the cell bars, at which point the orc shackles him so her is unable to attack him. Thank the Emperor that most orcs are still not the brightest lanterns.\n\nThe orc approaches you and that\u2019s when you spring into action. You struggle with the orc jailer until you manage to grab his dagger and repeatedly stab him in the throat with it to the point where you nearly decapitate him.\n\nAfter kicking the dead orc in the face you grab his keys and release Edgar.\n\n\u201cOkay I know of a route we can try to escape through, nearly made it the last time, but again the mage showed up. That won\u2019t be a problem this time and they probably won\u2019t think I\u2019ll try it again.\u201d Edgar says.\n\nThe obvious thing to do is to concentrate on escaping the fort, though another part of you wants to go back to find Kane and Cyrus to kill them.", "action_results": [{"action": "Escape", "result": "As much as you\u2019d like to kill both Kane and Cyrus, you\u2019re outnumbered and you can\u2019t even be sure if you\u2019d catch them together again in this big fort. Better to escape and come back later better prepared to punish them. Still you\u2019re going to need some sort of gear to survive the cold outside of the fort.\n\n\u201cWe can\u2019t just escape half naked like this. We\u2019re going to need some sort of clothing or better yet armor and weapons.\u201d You say\n\u201cYeah, there is a small supply room on the way. It isn\u2019t the main one, but it shouldn\u2019t have any guards by it either. We have to make our way to the kitchen area first, should be relatively empty right now.\u201d\n\nIt takes some sneaking around, but Edgar\u2019s knowledge of the layout gets you there with relative ease. When you do get to the room you find some old battered armor and dull weapons. It will have to do. Edgar mentions that there is a garbage dump chute in the kitchen which leads underground, from there, there\u2019s a long tunnel which eventually leads to a dead end with a hidden hatch. He says he\u2019s knows it leads into a forest area, but not much more than that since the battle mage zapped him and he was dragged back by that time.\n\nYou and Edgar sneak into the kitchen, but it isn\u2019t completely empty. The cook and a couple of his assistants are there, you and Edgar make quick work of them before they notice you, though Edgar is a little sloppier than you and the assistant that he cuts down knocks over a bunch of pots as he body hits the floor. The clatter is quite loud and you waste no time in looking for the garbage chute. It\u2019s foul and disgusting, but there\u2019s no other option. You jump in and slide down quite easy due to the slimy remains of food greasing the chute.\n\nWhen you reach the bottom a giant pile of garbage cushions you. The smell is almost overpowering, but you have no time to worry about awful smells as you are attacked by larger than normal vermin feasting through the pile. Your boots squish through the disgusting muck as you swing your weapon to drive away or kill the aggressive rats. Edgar comes crashing down from the chute and helps you.\n\n\u201cUgh, forgot how bad this place smelled.\u201d Edgar says kicking a rat.\n\u201cGuess you forgot about the giant rats as well?\u201d\n\u201cNo, but I figured it wouldn\u2019t be that big of a surprise for you.\u201d\n\nYou and Edgar manage to fight your way down the small mountain of trash and make your way down the tunnel until you eventually get to a built in ladder leading up to a hatch.\n\n\u201cIs this it? It seems like a terrible idea to have this at the fort. Anyone could sneak down here and infiltrate.\u201d You mention.\n\u201cNah, it\u2019s pretty well hidden from the outside, in fact it can only open from the inside. Not like any ogre is bright enough to notice it and a giant certainly couldn\u2019t get down here. Plus it locks shut when you get outside. I think it was originally supposed to be an escape tunnel in the first place, but it looks like it got turned into a garbage pit instead. Come on.\u201d\n\nEdgar opens up the hatch and holds it open for you as you make your way to the cold outside world. You look around and it is just as Edgar said, a forest area with no major distinguishing markers. You see that the sun is setting and use that as a guide for which general direction you need to go. You figure it\u2019ll probably take a few days to get back to Fort Destiny, but you should be able to make it.\n\nYou and Edgar walk a good half hour before you realize something is wrong.\n\n\u201cShhh. You hear that?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cCan\u2019t be ogres, they would\u2019ve attacked us by now.\u201d\n\u201cIt probably isn\u2019t\u2026find cover!\u201d you exclaim.\n\nSeveral bolts whiz past you as you duck down rolling around in the snow and run in a zig zag fashion getting behind several trees so as to not get hit. Edgar isn\u2019t as quick as you and he is hit by two of the bolts. Not enough to kill him, but if they have that same toxin that you experienced on them he\u2019s not going to stay conscious for long.\n\nThe Shadow Guard assailants finally show themselves and jump out of the trees. Edgar is feeling the effects of the toxin, but he struggles to stay awake to defend himself. You find yourself fighting three of the shadows that circle around you. One of them attacks and you grab his arm breaking it in one quick move, when another attacks you, you shove his broken arm friend into his blade. They both fall to the ground.\n\nThe third one lands a couple of hits on your back; cutting through the poor armor you\u2019re wearing. You deliver a hefty back kick to his gut and follow up with a spinning swipe with your sword. Your sword\u2019s edge is dull and not sharp enough to cleanly decapitate the shadow, instead it makes a large cruel gash in his neck which spurts blood like a small fountain. The result is still effective and he collapses into the snow. Your other adversary has gotten up off the ground and throws a dagger at you, which you just narrowly avoid. He tries to fight you fairly, but it\u2019s clear he is no match for you and you easily dispatch him. You then finish off the shadow with the broken arm and wound in his belly.\n\nEdgar is still fighting the two shadows attacking him. Under normal circumstances, he\u2019d probably easily dispatch them, but the toxin is having its effect and from the front and back their short swords stab him. He falls to the ground when the shadow behind him cuts at his tendons. You strike your blade into the skull of one of the shadows when he only crumples to his knees, you slam the dull blade on his head again splitting it open and revealing the gooey brains within. The last shadow tries to run away, and climb to a nearby tree in the hopes of escaping you, but you manage to jump up and grab hi dangling legs and pull him crashing to the ground. After a small scuffle you wrap your forearms around his neck and break it.\n\nYou walk over to Edgar who is still struggling to stay awake, but he\u2019s fighting more than just the toxin now, his wounds are quite severe. You kneel down beside him, it seems odd for you given your past history, but you feel a sense of sadness.\n\n\u201cHe\u2026hey\u2026did you get him?\u201d\n\u201cYeah, Edgar, I got him.\u201d\n\u201cThat\u2019s\u2026 good. I\u2019m sorr..\u201d\n\u201cIt\u2019s in the past Edgar. Don\u2019t worry about it.\u201d You tell him, as you know what he\u2019s going to apologize for. He then quietly loses consciousness and stops breathing altogether.\n\nAfter a few moments of silence, you carry on to Fort Destiny without Edgar. You think about all the things you plan to do to Kane and Cyrus if you manage to get your hands on them the entire time you\u2019re traveling back to Fort Destiny.\n\nEventually you get to a town where you ride the rest of the way to Fort Destiny. Lieutenant Verant is relieved to see you. He says was just about to send someone up to Fort Defiance to see what happened to you. You\u2019d really like to raise your entire force from the fort and march upon Fort Defiance immediately, but you question if you\u2019d be able to take it. Other than the defenses being on full alert now, Kane may have already rallied his ogre and giant allies. It might be best if you report this back to the generals at home. Surely they\u2019ll spare you some reinforcements for something like this, not to mention they\u2019ll need to be warned anyway due to the Shadow Guard revolt that\u2019s already been in planning for quite some time. Still, it could be awhile for you to wait, not to mention they may not send you any at all. All which would be wasted time you could\u2019ve spent attacking Kane so he doesn\u2019t get too dug in.", "action_results": [{"action": "Wait for reinforcements", "result": "With all the extra allies Kane has, you can\u2019t possibly take the fort without heavy losses and with all the problems you\u2019ve been having with peasants you\u2019re still going to need enough troops to keep them in line afterwards. You need at least another army up here. You tell Verant to send a message to the generals back home about the situation and if they can provide reinforcements then to do so right away. In the meantime you\u2019re going to build up the defenses on the fort and the towns in the surrounding area.\n\nA week or so passes before you get any sort of reply. You are given orders to hold the area, but that\u2019s about it. With this new revelation of the Shadow Guard treachery and dissention within the orc ranks the generals are busily attempting to weed out any more within the home territories as well as having to redistribute regular soldiers where Shadow Guard were keeping the peasants in line. The war with the Felkans is also still going on, so any immediate reinforcements would go to that area first anyway.\n\nIn short, you\u2019re on your own as usual and reports are already coming in about ogre attacks on the outer villages. It\u2019ll only be a matter of time before those are giants or Kane\u2019s entire army of orcs. You curse your situation and prepare yourself for a long ongoing war.\n\nYear 26\n\n\u201cShoot the bastards!\u201d you shout at the catapult crews. They unleash another volley of rocks on the attacking giants. Several of the rocks hit their targets, but it\u2019s not like you\u2019re not taking a barrage of large boulders either, in fact the orcs have taken to lobbing large balls of dung over the walls and it\u2019s already been starting to cause sickness among your troops. Especially after days of ongoing attack, a dwindling food supply and no relief in sight.\n\nThe months of battling Kane\u2019s traitor brigade has all lead up to this, completely surrounded by them. You did your best to hold them back, but ultimately Kane could replace his losses faster thanks to the brutality of his own troops. After ogres destroyed several of the smaller villages completely along with the mere threat of giants it wasn\u2019t long that some of the peasant communities were willing to accept Kane\u2019s \u201crule\u201d more readily than the Empire\u2019s, which they were already disgruntled with due to the lack of proper protection among other things.\n\nThe Shadow Guard didn\u2019t help matters as most of them that had been rooted out in the home territories fled up to the Rask under Cyrus\u2019 leadership, along with some of the orcs that had heard about the rebellion. Any towns that hadn\u2019t immediately fell under the sway of the direct fear from Kane\u2019s army fell to the subversive and terror tactics of the Shadow Guard.\n\n\u201cGet those orcs on the north side! They\u2019re climbing up the fucking walls!\u201d you shout.\n\nBoiling oil is thrown over the side of the wall, scalding the orcs on ladders. Some of them fall, others are tougher and maintain their grip. You shove the ladder back, making sure to get the ones that the oil failed to. You look around and see that the orcs have begun to break through the front door. You then have that familiar sense that you\u2019ve had so many other times over the past few months. You duck down and roll while swinging your sword in front of you. You hit something and uncloak a Shadow Guard that has managed to infiltrate the fort. He isn\u2019t the only one though. Several more appear nearby to kill the remaining men you have defending the walls.\n\nYou continue to fight valiantly, cutting down many of the Shadow Guard that have managed to get inside the fort. A boulder crashes into the side of the wall destroying it and causing you to fall off the walkway and to the ground within the fort.\n\nYou get back up as quickly as you can to see orcs pouring into the front gates and the remainder of your men slaughtered. Griping your sword one last time your only regret is not taking the opportunity to kill Kane and Cyrus a year ago when you were captured at Fort Defiance. Indeed you played everything a bit too cautiously. None of it matters now though, the only thing you can do is go out like a true warrior. If not victory, then you can take comfort in that at least.\n\n\u201cFor the Empire!\u201d you shout and charge into the horde.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "March upon the fort now", "result": "You can\u2019t wait. You may serve the Empire and be against Kane\u2019s traitorous ways, but there is an unfortunate element in truth in what he says. If you need to get anything done around here, you\u2019ll have to do it yourself, not rely on the Empire. You tell Verant to send a message to the generals back home about the situation and if they can provide reinforcements then to do so right away, but in any case you\u2019re attacking Fort Defiance immediately.\n\nYou muster up all your forces, troops, siege weapons, everything that could help you and leaving only a skeleton crew back to guard Fort Destiny. When you begin your march, you try to remain confident that you can take the fort. As soon as you start to enter the long stretches of snowy wilderness that precede Fort Defiance, tribes of ogres attack you. Kane\u2019s already prepared.\n\nWithin a mile of Fort Defiance and you can see large looming figures in the distance almost as big as the fort itself. You have to remind your troops to find their courage and that no overgrown abomination is going to best any soldier of the Empire.\n\nOn the first day of the siege your catapults hurl their boulders at the fort and your ballistae fire at the giants. It\u2019s an impressive volley, which damages the walls and critically wounds some of their giant allies, but the counter attack is just as brutal to your side. Multiple boulders comes crashing down on your men hurled by the giants. Fort Defiance\u2019s own ballistae aim for your siege weapons, destroying several of them.\n\nBy the third day, you pull your sword out of the last giant after stabbing him several times in the neck and jump several feet to the ground just before his falling body and crush you. Your men are still attempting to break down the doors of the fort which is heavily reinforced. Attempting to scale its walls results in them being scalded to death by boiling oil. The orcs have even resorted to catapulting their dung at you; it\u2019s only going to be a matter of time before disease starts to take effect on your men. You would\u2019ve tried the same thing, but orcs are notoriously resistant to such biological warfare.\n\nBy the fourth day, your troops are dwindling and you\u2019re still no closer to capturing the fort. Ogre tribes harass your people from the outside and you lead your best men to the hidden hatch you escaped from. Upon finding it again, you destroy the hatch door and descend. When you and your men arrive at the garbage pile though, you\u2019re in for a minor surprise, as a troop of orcs are waiting for you. Apparently somebody figured you might try to get in this way.\n\nThe battle with the orcs isn\u2019t a pleasant one. Along with the smell, there is also the disgusting ichor that\u2019s ankle deep as you fight the orcs. Through the filth and trash though you manage to maintain your composure and dispatch the orcs with the help of your men. After the fighting is over, your next plan is to climb up the chute and do damage from within. It takes a little exertion due to the chute being incredibly greasy, but eventually you manage to apply pressure to the sides of the chute and start climbing up it slowly. Your men do likewise.\n\nYou\u2019re about midway through this slimy tube when all of a sudden the top part opens up and your heart sinks when an orcish face appears.\n\n\u201cHah, boss waz right. Time to burn now!\u201d he says and throws at torch at you. Normally this wouldn\u2019t do much damage by itself, but with the combination of grease, oil and other flammable muck you\u2019ve been rolling around it, you light up like a tinderbox along with the entire grease covered chute. You lose your grip and slide back down crashing into your men and setting them on fire as well.\n\nWhen you hit the pile of garbage below, you\u2019re completely engulfed by the flames and the garbage pile goes up like an inferno. The screams of your men burning alive and your own skin crackling are the last sounds you hear.", "action_results": []}]}, {"action": "Fine Kane and Cyrus", "result": "\u201cWe can\u2019t leave yet, we have to take care of Kane and Cyrus.\u201d You say.\n\u201cWhat? You don\u2019t think it wouldn\u2019t be a better idea to escape and then come back with an army or something?\u201d Edgar replies\n\u201cIt would be preferable yes, but by that time they\u2019ll be entrenched and possibly already on the move with their own army of giants, ogres and orcs. That\u2019s less likely to happen without Kane or Cyrus here.\u201d\n\u201cYou don\u2019t think someone else will take their place?\u201d\n\u201cI KNOW someone else will take their place, but by getting rid of Kane and Cyrus that shaky allied army that they\u2019ve built up will fall apart. It will then be far easier to handle seeing as it won\u2019t commanded by Eternals.\u201d\n\u201cWell, that\u2019s true\u2026okay let\u2019s do it.\u201d\n\nEdgar suggests getting some basic armor with helmets to disguise and protect yourselves in and mentions the supply room in the human section of the fort should have some. It takes some sneaking around, but Edgar\u2019s knowledge of the layout gets you there with relative ease. When you do get to the room you have to kill a couple human guards, and get dressed in some armor without raising an alarm.\n\nAt least not an obvious one.\n\n\u201cI told the others that you wouldn\u2019t try to escape. Glad to see I was right.\u201d A man\u2019s voice says from somewhere. You and Edgar both grab weapons and look around putting your backs to each other.\n\u201cKnew it was too easy.\u201d Edgar says.\n\u201cIt still can be.\u201d The voice remarks.\n\u201cWho are you? Show yourself!\u201d you demand.\n\u201cAnd have you possibly kill me? Oh no, I know the skill and ruthlessness of the Eternals all too well having served with Cyrus for years, not to mention seeing Edgar in action. And your own reputation speaks on its own, Bane of Rask. There is no need for animosity however, I am willing to help you.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s a Shadow Guard, he\u2019s using his blasted magic tricks to stay invisible to us.\u201d Edgar whispers.\n\u201cIf you\u2019re here to help, why have you allowed this to treason to happen in the first place?\u201d you ask still keeping your guard up.\n\u201cOh various reasons, but let\u2019s just say the major reason is that Cyrus is a very convincing fellow. He probably doesn\u2019t seem like it to you, but he has a certain charm about him. It\u2019s how he\u2019s managed to convince Kane to go along with all this I imagine.\u201d\n\u201cSo this was all Cyrus\u2019 idea.\u201d You say still scanning the room.\n\u201cEh, it\u2019s a little more complicated than that I think, even I\u2019m not privy to all the details. I only know as much as I do because Cyrus is a little more talkative after sex\u2026\u201d\n\u201cOkay, I didn\u2019t need to hear about that!\u201d Edgar exclaims.\n\n\u201cLook we could stand around and talk all day until the guards realize something is wrong, or you can accept the help of me and the rest of the Shadow Guard. We have come to realize for a while now that this plan is not in our best interest and will only lead to our destruction.\u201d The voice says,\n\u201cYou do realize that you have already participated in treason and this attempt at switching sides because you know you\u2019ll lose anyway, will not save you?\u201d you say undiplomatically.\n\u201cHa ha! Yes, I would expect no less from the Empire and especially not from an Eternal such as yourself. You Eternals, you think in such absolutes and that\u2019s why you\u2019ll be the death of us all\u2026not YOU of course, but for the rest of us. (Sigh) I think the Shadow Guard should\u2019ve broken away from the Empire years ago before you lot popped up. Anyway it hardly matters now, I\u2019m still offering my help\u2026\u201d\n\nBefore the man can complete his sentence you have managed to locate his whereabouts in the room and grab him. His invisibility disappears to reveal a mundane looking man in a gray cloak. As you hold your sword to him, Edgar does likewise.\n\n\u201cI hate to burst your ego, but this isn\u2019t the first time an Eternal has managed to detect me, you took longer though.\u201d The gray-cloaked man says.\n\u201cHow can I trust someone who has defied the Emperor and participated in treasonous acts?\u201d you ask, ignoring the Shadow Guard\u2019s flippant nature.\n\u201cYou can\u2019t. And being a Shadow Guard probably makes me even less trustworthy. The only thing I can say is you\u2019ll have to make a leap of faith Eternal. I will confess this though. The Shadow Guard\u2019s loyalty to the Empire is starting to be less than absolute. Granted there are still debates about this within our order and not everyone can decide on how we should do it. Personally I felt we should all just leave and not make a big mess about it. Obviously some, like Cyrus feel otherwise. Now I have just relayed perfectly good intelligence on a potential major threat to the Empire. You will be able to warn others after you take care of Kane and Cyrus.\u201d", "action_results": [{"action": "Trust the Shadow Guard", "result": "You still don\u2019t trust the Shadow Guard, but if what he\u2019s claiming is even partly true then it is indeed something you need to warn others about. This idea of mass treason by the Shadow Guard is troubling to you as their reputations for loyalty to the Empire are impeccable\u2026but then Eternals were supposed to be without disloyalty either.\n\nThere will definitely be a reckoning after this immediate problem is taken care of.\n\n\u201cVery well, we\u2019ll accept your help, if only because there\u2019s nothing you can do to stop us anyway.\u201d You say releasing the man.\n\u201cSpoken like an Eternal. Okay while you track down and face Kane, my brother and sister shadows will create chaos with the orc troops. That should give you plenty of time to kill him and escape.\u201d\n\u201cWhat about Cyrus?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cHe\u2019ll probably be with Kane discussing strategies as usual, at least I hope he will be. I don\u2019t relish the thought of having to face him myself even with the rest of the shadows behind me. That would be a rather bloody break up and probably not in my favor. But I\u2019m sure you two will have no problems. Let\u2019s get to it shall we?\u201d\n\nAt this point you and Edgar reluctantly leave the Shadow Guard to carry out his part of the plan.\n\n\u201cYou don\u2019t really trust him do you?\u201d Edgar asks.\n\u201cOf course not, but if there is the chance that he\u2019ll help it\u2019s a gamble I\u2019m willing to take. We\u2019re already severely outnumbered and in hostile territory if he was lying then nothing was really lost. Let\u2019s get to Kane\u2019s office, that\u2019s probably where he\u2019ll be.\u201d\n\nYou manage to walk through the halls of the fort without difficulty thanks to the face covering helmets. Everyone just assumes you\u2019re just two soldiers going about your routines. When you arrive near the office there are several heavily armored orc guards milling around there. You and Edgar briefly wonder how quickly you can kill them before more come running, but fortune strikes, when another one comes running for a completely different reason.\n\n\u201cAy! Ay! You guyz! The prisoners have escaped and doze shadoze are in on it! They snuck up and attacked us in our own quarters! Come on!\u201d the orc yells.\n\u201cWha?! Never did trust dat lot! We can\u2019t leave, da boss is in his office!\u201d one of the guard says.\n\u201cWe gotta tell \u2018im anyway!\u201d another guard adds about to enter the office.\n\u201cHey we\u2019ll tell the general and you take care of the shadows. You orcs are tougher so you\u2019ll be able to handle the situation better than we would. Besides you should go get yourselves some payback for what those bastards have done.\u201d You pipe up and say.\n\u201cYeah! Da humie iz right! Okay, you tell da boss and we\u2019ll take care of doze shadoze!\u201d one of them says and they all going running off without realizing a thing.\n\n\u201cYou know I\u2019ve been serving along side these orcs for years and it still baffles me how Captain Gruz was so articulate and intelligent when compared to the rest of his kind.\u201d Edgar remarks.\n\u201cWonder about it later, we\u2019ve got more important matters.\u201d You say opening the door, and stepping into Kane\u2019s office.\n\nKane steps out of his private quarters wondering what\u2019s going on.\n\n\u201cWhat the hell is going on out there, I heard all this\u2026you\u2019re not my bodyguards!\u201d\n\u201cAn Eternal shouldn\u2019t need them, but then you\u2019re no Eternal, you\u2019re a traitor!\u201d you shout.\n\nKane draws his weapon and the fight commences. Kane always was one of the more skilled fighters when he served under you, but it\u2019s obvious that he\u2019s improved even more when he manages to disarm Edgar within moments and knocks him into the wall.\n\n\u201cWhy are you doing this brothers!? I\u2019m trying to help us! We could join forces! We could all be a family again! It\u2019s not too late!\u201d Kane pleads while defending himself.\n\u201cIt is too late for you! You\u2019ve been a fool to believe Cyrus\u2019 lies, where is he?\u201d you yell narrowly missing Kane.\n\nKane ignores your questions and fights back with less reluctance. Edgar attempts to help you again, but Kane once more proves to be the better fighter, smashing him in the face and stabbing him in the leg. Edgar falls to the floor.\n\n\u201cCyrus was right, I wasted my time with you! And you never were the great warrior you thought you were!\u201d Kane says almost landing a killing blow on Edgar, but you manage to save him by deflecting the sword blow.\n\nKane attempts to counter attack but fails and you land a blow across his chest and then another across his face, blinding him in one eye. He drops his weapon and staggers back holding his hand on the gaping bloody wound.\n\n\u201c(Pant) Why\u2026you\u2026I can\u2019t\u2026\u201d he wheezes and tries to escape past you, but you stop him completely by running him through. You wrench the sword upward to slice further into his internal organs. Blood spills out from the wound and onto the floor and your feet. He looks at you with his remaining good eye. Surprisingly, he smiles.\n\n\u201cI\u2026forgive you\u2026broth\u2026\u201d he gasps and dies.\n\nIt\u2019s strange; you feel satisfaction for killing a traitor to the Emperor, yet a small part of you feels something else. Sadness perhaps? You turn and see Edgar recovering from his wounds.\n\n\u201cThanks. Saving me again, must feel like old times.\u201d Edgar says.\n\u201cOld times didn\u2019t involve me killing one of us, speaking of which we need to go find Cyrus.\u201d\n\nYou and Edgar leave Kane\u2019s office and hear the sounds of chaos filling the halls. A human soldier turns the corner and you nearly decapitate him before he shouts at you to stop. He doesn\u2019t recognize you since you still have the helmets on.\n\n\u201cHey hold on! I\u2019m human! Man, looks like you guys must\u2019ve fought some of those orc fuckers as well. Have you seen General Kane? He\u2019s supposed to be keeping these idiots under control and they\u2019ve completely lost it!\u201d\n\u201cGeneral Kane\u2019s dead. The orcs killed him.\u201d You say.\n\u201cHe\u2019s fuckin\u2019 dead? Great, he and Cyrus got us into this mess and he\u2019s dead and the other one is missing!\u201d\n\u201cWhere is Cyrus?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cI don\u2019t know, but what I do know is all those Shadow Guard assholes caused all this strife by attacking the orcs in the first place! Then they just took off! At this point I don\u2019t know why I ever listened to this idiotic scheme of breaking away from the Empire! If we get out of this alive, we\u2019ll be lucky if the Empire doesn\u2019t hang us all for treason!\u201d\n\u201cYou needn\u2019t worry about that, I\u2019ll take care of that right now.\u201d You say and strike down traitor before he can act.\n\nYou curse the fact that Cyrus and the rest of his shadows got away, but there\u2019s no way to track them now, so you and Edgar decide to make your escape from the fort.\n\nYour escape is fairly easy. When you and Edgar arrive back at Fort Destiny where Lieutenant Verant says he was just about to send someone up to Fort Defiance to see what happened to you. Your own command is to raise every soldier from Fort Destiny and march upon Fort Defiance.\n\nBy the time you arrive, the fort is half in ruins and burning. All the human soldiers have been killed and the surviving orcs have reverted back to their uncivilized nature. It\u2019s a bloody battle, but after it\u2019s all said and done, every orc is slaughtered for their lack of loyalty.\n\nYou report the events to your superiors and tell them everything that happened and Edgar backs up the story with his confirmations as well as his own experiences at Fort Defiance. The news is devastating and drastic measures are taken in an attempt to maintain order.\n\nThe first thing is Fort Defiance is completely abandoned with no plans to rebuild it. The area falls back under the dominion of giants and ogres once again. The small villages that do exist up there are soon destroyed, as they have no protection at all anymore. Fort Destiny takes up the duty of driving away the monstrous tribes that do wander further south now. The lives of the Empire citizens in the Rask frontier are now as hard as they were when you first arrived at the place.\n\nNext a full investigation is made on every Shadow Guard member, at least the ones the Empire manages to get a hold of. Many openly resist, while other still just make their escape when they can. After a series of major decisions, the Shadow Guard is purged, even some of the ones who claimed their undying loyalty. Their number, while small to begin with, is reduced to zero and bounties are placed on the few that escaped. Including Cyrus.\n\nAs for the orcs, their kind is spared from any sort of major investigation, though it might be because most of them are serving on the front lines of Felkan War and enough of them are getting killed there to thin out their ranks. Not to mention they\u2019re generally not seen as intelligent to be as much of a major threat and it was only due to the manipulation of Cyrus and Kane that they turned. Still, they are watched and they are never to be stationed in such a way that they outnumber human troops again. Questions still abound to as who allowed such orders to transfer so many to Fort Defiance in the first place.\n\nOddly even though Cyrus and to a lesser extent Kane were the leaders of this attempted secession, no Eternal is investigated. If anything you\u2019re rewarded with a medal for your service to the Empire. Edgar isn\u2019t though for some reason.\n\nYou maintain your post at the Rask frontier though Edgar is transferred to the Felkan front. You say your goodbyes to him on a friendlier note this time, which after what happened with Kane, you\u2019re glad to do.\n\nYour position at Fort Destiny is less monotonous now, but its a thankless one as always. The citizens in the area still complain and protest even though you\u2019re protecting them. And despite all their precautions and attempts to crack down on order, the events at Fort Defiance are just the beginning of what the Empire has yet to experience in the years to come.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 30\n\n\u201cThis place won\u2019t be the same without you sir. I don\u2019t know how I\u2019ll be able to run this place as well as you.\u201d Lieutenant Verant says as you finish packing your things.\n\u201cYou\u2019ll do fine lieutenant, or should I say captain. You\u2019ll probably get an official promotion soon. Just remember, when the citizens protest I\u2019ve found that flogging one family with children at random keeps the rest in line. Can\u2019t really afford to execute them like we did in the old days, too many ogre attacks already doing a good job of that. Well at least you don\u2019t need to worry about the giants as much anymore.\u201d\n\u201cYou always did know best sir.\u201d\n\u201cWell, I tried to do what I could up here. I don\u2019t know why I\u2019m being stationed to Delerg Province. It\u2019s one of the more peaceful places of the Empire next to the Nalin province. I would prefer to be here or on the Felkan frontlines where I could do more to serve, but I suppose the Emperor knows best where my skills will be used.\u201d\n\u201cOh well I\u2019ve heard the war with the Felkans is coming to an end soon.\u201d\n\u201cYes, I\u2019ve heard that as well\u2026and it concerns me the things that I\u2019ve heard why it\u2019s ending. Mass riots in the major cities of the Empire, soldier shortages, even heard about some of those traitorous shadow criminals carrying out terrorist tactics. And because of these problems what do we do with the Felkans? Another non-aggression pact! We should be butchering them and burning down their cities, not making peace with them again. If all of the Emperor\u2019s enemies had one neck, I would sever it with one sword swipe.\u201d\n\nVerant says nothing after your rant. Indeed over the past few years he\u2019s heard you rant about the troubles of the Empire a lot more and knows to keep quiet. But if you\u2019re making more outbursts than usual, it\u2019s only because the Empire has more problems than usual.\n\nLately you\u2019ve been questioning how \u201cgreat\u201d the Empire is supposed to be. This is not the place you heard about when you were being trained by Mistress or Captain Gruz. In fact, during your first assignment in the Nalin province you encountered decadent officers and disobedient citizens even then.\n\nThis questioning of the Empire then makes you question the Emperor which causes you great concern for that it treasonous thinking. But still\u2026how is it he has allowed this to happen to his land? He is supposed to be all wise and all-powerful, but you\u2019ve not seen much evidence of either. Never mind the fact that you\u2019ve never seen him at all.\n\nIt\u2019s a rare thought, but there have been even a few times where you wondered what would\u2019ve happened if you had joined Kane when he asked.\n\nYou leave Fort Destiny without another word and board the carriage to the Delerg province.\n\nA few days later you arrive and Delerg is everything you\u2019ve heard about, very swampy. The town you\u2019re scheduled to arrive in looks like it\u2019s sinking into marsh, which might explain why it\u2019s even called Sinkhole.\n\nWhile you don\u2019t know why you\u2019re here, you do know you\u2019re supposed to meet with a contact here, though you don\u2019t know who that is or where you\u2019re supposed to meet.\n\nAs you take in the sights of this dismal town, the villagers look like they can barely contain their fear of you. You aren\u2019t sure if it\u2019s because they\u2019ve heard of your reputation, or if it\u2019s due to their natural suspicious nature. The swamp folk have always been known to be that way. They were one of the few people that didn\u2019t resist Empire dominion at all when they first came to this land, but despite this submissiveness the swamp folk still maintained their wary ways.\n\n\u201cWell if isn\u2019t the Bane of Rask! It\u2019s been a long time!\u201d a voice calls out to you. You turn around and see not one, but two familiar faces.\n\u201cRoldan? Gerald?\u201d you say seeing how much older they\u2019ve gotten. It makes you realize just how much time has passed.\n\u201cOf course it\u2019s us!\u201d Roldan says.\n\u201cYeah, we didn\u2019t know you\u2019d be the contact.\u201d Gerald adds.\n\u201cContact? I\u2019m not anyone\u2019s contact. I\u2019m supposed to meet someone here, you guys aren\u2019t it?\u201d you say.\n\u201cErm, no. In fact when Gerald arrived I thought he was the contact and vice versa. Well this is odd. I wonder who we\u2019re supposed to be meeting?\u201d\n\nYou reply that you don\u2019t know and then begin to feel slightly uneasy. With all your past experiences, you start to feel like this might be a trap, then another carriage comes into the town. When the passenger steps out, it\u2019s an old, but still tough looking orc in battle armor. It\u2019s Captain Gruz! He sees all three of you milling about in the open and shuffles over to you.\n\n\u201cWhat in blazes are you lot doing out in the open like this? Any potential assassin could strike you down! I thought I taught you better than that! Come on let\u2019s get into the tavern, we can talk there.\u201d He scolds and then heads towards the tavern, you, Gerald and Roldan follow.\n\nThe tavern is dark and nearly empty. The patrons inside see you four sit at a table and then move as far away as possible.\n\n\u201cYou thirsty? I sure am. Four ales!\u201d Captain Gruz says.\n\u201cI\u2019m not thirsty captain.\u201d You say.\n\u201cThey\u2019re not for you, they\u2019re for me! You guys order your own drinks! Anyway I imagine you\u2019re all wondering what this small reunion is all about. Well let\u2019s just say the Empire finally saw fit to take me off the sidelines and place me in charge of something worthwhile for a change. I\u2019ll get right to the point and tell you, the Shadow Guard is here, or at least what\u2019s left of them. For awhile we thought that they might be working with the Felkans, but they\u2019re just taking advantage of the war.\u201d\n\nThis news causes you to sit forward and then look around.\n\n\u201cOh don\u2019t worry, they\u2019re not right HERE, lad. They\u2019re in this province though; and you might be interested that Cyrus is the one leading this miserable little band of shadows. I imagine you and he got some unfinished business. In fact that\u2019s why you\u2019re here, since you\u2019ve had a lot of experience in dealing with this situation before. As for you two, your own records are excellent and you\u2019re Eternals. The only ones that are going to be skilled enough to handle this situation I think are Eternals.\u201d\n\u201cHow come Edgar isn\u2019t here? He also had experience with the Shadow Guard and was with me during the Fort Defiance incident.\u201d\n\u201cEh, Edgar\u2019s skills are best served on the Felkan frontlines right now. I know the war might be coming to an end, but there\u2019s still quite a bit of fighting going on. Besides best not to have all you guys in one place.\u201d\n\u201cThat\u2019s a different perception than I remember you having when you were arguing with Mr. Mol fourteen years ago.\u201d You say.\n\u201cHeh, remembered that did you? Well, as I\u2019m sure you know things change, ideas change. You get older and see things differently. Wouldn\u2019t you agree?\u201d\n\nYou pause before answering, which causes Gruz to study you for a moment.\n\n\u201cYes, I suppose so.\u201d You reluctantly reply.\n\u201cOf course you do, lad. You\u2019d be a bleeding idiot if you didn\u2019t.\u201d Gruz says taking a drink of one of his ales.\n\u201cSo, where are these Shadow Guard fanatics anyway?\u201d Gerald asks.\n\u201cAn old temple deep in the swamps. Used to be their old place of worship back before their Empire days apparently. Looks like Cyrus really bought into that dead religion, though it\u2019s also arrogant of him to try to hide right underneath our noses. Hell, who knows? Maybe he knew he\u2019d get discovered eventually and was just itching for a fight. Anyway, we\u2019ll have some extra help when we arrive there. Trust me, I\u2019ve got it set up.\u201d\n\nThe remainder of the time is playing a little catch up with your former team members while Captain Gruz enjoys his ale. It\u2019s interesting to see how vastly different their experiences have been.\n\nGerald says his time was initially boring until the war broke out. From then on he and Warrick were constantly paired up to perform commando mission deep into Felkan territory. Dangerous work, but he says they were treated pretty well by everyone and held in high regard among their fellow soldiers. Even the citizens were less troublesome in the Arat province and the local women threw themselves at him and Warrick every night he laughs.\n\nRoldan mentions his time was mostly spent cleaning up the rest of the kobolds in the Nalin province, breaking small bandit rings, and ultimately trying to keep the peasants in line. No problems from the usksha again though. When Captain Anu was promoted and sent to the Felkan frontlines, Brenda got promoted to command Fort Glory. The most surprising thing though, he and Brenda apparently married. Wasn\u2019t anything fancy and there was paperwork that had to be filled out (A lot of it) but it was completely approved of by the Empire.\n\nYour own tales sound remarkably grim when compared to theirs.\n\nThe strangest thing about all this is how they\u2019ve all had contact with each other either directly or through messages. Gerald and Roldan even mention how they got letters from Kane years ago before his actions at Fort Defiance. They both confirm how the letters sounded very longing of the \u201cold days\u201d and referring to them as \u201cbrother.\u201d Warrick and Brenda apparently got similar ones too.\n\nYou ask Gerald if he met Edgar when he was transferred there. He replies that he did, but said that he was mostly sent to fight Felkan armies directly right along side most of the orcish detachments.\n\n\u201cSheesh. He\u2019s gotta love that considering his experiences with orcs at Fort Defiance.\u201d You say.\n\u201cEdgar\u2019s an idiot. Always has been. I saw that even when I was training you guys. He\u2019s a good warrior, but lacks vision. Surprised he\u2019s lasted this long.\u201d Captain Gruz suddenly replies.\n\u201cWell, I agree he\u2019s always had a tendency to act without thinking, but after my last dealings with him, I think he\u2019s improved a bit. Changed his outlook. You know, got older and sees things differently now.\u201d You reply.\n\u201cHmm. Maybe, but as far as I\u2019m concerned being a meat shield is about the best thing he\u2019s ever been good for, just like all the rest of dumb fuckers on the Felkan frontlines.\u201d\n\u201cHey, I\u2019m on the Felkan frontlines!\u201d Gerald protests.\n\u201cYeah, and you\u2019re not marching straight into those Felkan shooty weapons either. You\u2019re being a lot more than just a meat shield like the rest of those stupid ass orcs.\u201d\n\u201cRest of those orcs? Not to point out the obvious, but you\u2019re an orc, I mean aren\u2019t those your people?\u201d Roldan asks.\n\u201cYeah and? Does that make us all relatives or some shit? Fuck my people! I got no patience for any of them anymore\u2026\u201d Captain Gruz begins to get loud and cause a scene.\n\n\u201cOkay captain I think you\u2019ve had enough. I think I saw an inn across the way, let\u2019s get some rooms there and make plans to deal with the shadows tomorrow.\u201d You suggest.\n\u201cGrrm, maybe you\u2019re right\u2026\u201d Captain Gruz replies and then promptly falls to the floor. Gerald tries to pick him up.\n\n\u201cSomebody go get the rooms and the other person help me carry the captain.\u201d Gerald says.", "action_results": [{"action": "Help carry the captain", "result": "\u201cGo get the rooms Roldan, I\u2019ll help Gerald.\u201d You say.\n\u201cOkay.\u201d Roldan agrees and leaves.\n\nYou and Gerald help the Captain Gruz up who is mumbling things the whole time.\n\n\u201cFucking idiots. It was perfect\u2026who I am kidding? It was futile to begin with.\u201d\n\u201cJust settle down sir.\u201d Gerald says trying to calm him down.\n\u201cOr what? You\u2019ll kill me too? Hey I\u2019m not tryin\u2019 ta put the moves on ya, you got your arm around me!\u201d\n\nGerald gets quiet really fast and even you start looking around.\n\n\u201cOh what? You think I didn\u2019t hear about that incident? Ha ha ha! Relax, ya did the right thing, fuckin\u2019 degenerate deserved it\u2026\u201d Gruz laughs.\n\nYou\u2019re just about to get to the door and that\u2019s when you hear yelling and an explosion coming from the outside followed by screams. The force of it is enough to cause you all to fall back a bit.\n\n\u201cShit!\u201d you blurt out and leave Gerald to tend to the captain.\n\nYou look around and see a couple of damaged buildings, more than a few dead bodies in pieces. Your heart sinks though when you see Roldan lying on the ground in front of the damaged inn.\n\nWhen you rush over to him, his insides are clearly visible and one of his legs is gone. He struggles to breathe as he looks up at you. You can\u2019t do anything for him.\n\n\u201cFuck. Damnit\u2026\u201d you quietly say and kneel down towards his bloody body.\n\u201c\u2026tell Brenda that I love her.\u201d\n\u201cI will.\u201d\n\u201cThat\u2019s good\u2026that\u2019s good\u2026hey if we\u2019re all\u2026all siblings like Kane said\u2026that\u2026that doesn\u2019t make Brenda\u2026my sister\u2026does it?\u201d Roldan asks with a small smile.\n\u201cHeh, I don\u2019t think so, and even if it did so what? You found happiness with her.\u201d You smile back.\n\u201cYeah\u2026you\u2019re right. You\u2026 usually were.\u201d he says and then drifts away.\n\nThis time you do feel sadness at the loss of one of your own. Especially when you had just gotten to know him again. Gerald dashes over to you and even captain Gruz has sobered up a bit from this incident and is now interrogating the nearest hysterical citizen.\n\n\u201cWho the fuck did this?! Answer me woman!\u201d he demands and slaps her a few times, but she just pathetically cries and begs him to stop.\n\u201cCaptain! Stop it! It\u2019s obvious she doesn\u2019t know anything!\u201d Gerald shouts.\n\u201cMaybe not, but someone here does.\u201d You say. \u201cAlright, listen up! I am an Eternal and the man laying dead next to me was also an Eternal! My wrath for his death shall be the likes you\u2019ve never known and you don\u2019t want to know. One of you saw something, so someone better start talking or else this little town you call home is going to get a whole lot bloodier.\u201d\n\nNobody says anything for a while and there\u2019s just dead silence, but eventually a little girl comes out from behind a barrel and speaks up.\n\n\u201cI saw something Mr. Eternal.\u201d\n\u201cGood, glad to see this town isn\u2019t completely infested with cowards. You\u2019re coming with me.\u201d You say and take the girl to a room at the inn and proceed to question her.\n\nThe girl is still a little nervous at first, but soon opens up quite a bit. She mentions that she was walking home from the general store and she saw Roldan leaving the tavern. He was almost to the inn when she saw these two figures shimming like they were almost invisible. She then says what happened next was very quick. The figures ran up to Roldan and then these two men appeared in gray cloaks. They both stabbed him several times before he could defend himself.\n\nDespite his wounds, he managed to stab one through the neck and grabbed the other when he tried to escape. She said at this point she had been hiding behind the barrel, but saw that the man in gray produced a gas sphere plant from his cloak and he yelled something she couldn\u2019t understand. A blackish field started to emanate from the man, Roldan then fell to the ground and then the large explosion occurred killing several people that didn\u2019t have the sense that the little girl did to get the hell out of there as soon as possible.\n\n\u201cSo much for the shadows not being here.\u201d Gerald remarks.\n\u201cShit, I fucked up. I should\u2019ve known that they might\u2019ve realized that we we\u2019re coming.\u201d Captain Gruz says.\n\u201cDoesn\u2019t matter anyway. It\u2019s obvious they\u2019re prepared for a last stand sort of fight, if they\u2019re willing to blow themselves up. No sense in depriving them of that, though I\u2019m hoping they don\u2019t start favoring blowing themselves up. It\u2019s going to make fighting them more dangerous than it should be.\u201d You say.\n\u201cMmm, I know what you mean. Serving on the Felkan frontlines I had to experience several of their own explosive type weapons first hand, but from what I\u2019ve heard those gas plant spheres aren\u2019t common and grow rarely even in this area. Even then, they aren\u2019t explosive on their own. The shadow probably used some sort of magic to make it explode like that. Is that right little girl?\u201d Gerald asks to confirm, to which she nods.\n\n\u201cAlright enough talk, we all need to get some rest before wiping the bastards out tomorrow.\u201d Captain Gruz says and lies down on his bed.\n\nAt this point you send the little girl away and tell her she\u2019s served the Empire well and leave with Gerald.\n\n\u201cDo you really think Gruz should be coming with us tomorrow? I mean with his leg and his age and all.\u201d Gerald asks.\n\u201cIf he wants to go on one last mission then I\u2019m not going to deprive him of that. Don\u2019t worry, he\u2019ll keep up. I get the impression this is sort of personal to him.\u201d\n\u201cPersonal to him? I imagine it\u2019s personal to you a lot more.\u201d\n\u201cTrue, but I\u2019m trying to not let it.\u201d\n\nOf course that\u2019s pretty hard to do when you have to put Roldan in a casket and sent back to Brenda. Gerald writes the letter to her. You can only imagine what her reaction is going to be about this news. This makes you wonder about the whole scenario that they were in love and got married. You know you briefly spoke to Roldan about this back at the tavern, but a lot of it still baffles you. How did it first come about? What was it like? Who initiated it? Was the attraction always there, even back when you were all in training? Could something like that ever happen to you?\n\nYou think about the time you were with Captain Krozer and that\u2019s the closest equivalent you have, but you know that wasn\u2019t anything like love. You did respect her though and you\u2019re pretty sure the feeling was mutual. Perhaps that\u2019s how it started, but Brenda and Roldan were just in contact with each long enough to develop it further.\n\nEventually you dismiss all these meaningless thoughts and rest up to prepare for your mission tomorrow.\n\nThe next morning, you Gerald and Gruz set off on your journey. The trip through the swamps isn\u2019t an easy one; it actually makes you long for the days of stomping through ice and snow. The whole time you\u2019re traveling you\u2019re constantly alert and feel like at anytime you could be attacked, which turns out to be true with the oversized insects and other minor hostile swamp animals dwelling here, but they aren\u2019t the enemies you\u2019re expecting.\n\n\u201cSo how many Empire troops are we going to have as back up?\u201d Gerald asks Gruz during the trip.\n\u201cEmpire? I\u2019m lucky I managed to get them to accept my request to go on this mission! They didn\u2019t send me anyone, not that they\u2019d be much help anyway. Most Empire soldiers would stick out like a sore thumb and get themselves killed before they even reached the place. No, I\u2019m relying on the ones that found these ruins to begin with. Dark elven mercs. If anyone can hide out better than the shadows, it\u2019ll be them.\u201d Gruz replies.\n\nDark elves. You hated having to work with them back in your early years on the Rask frontier, but you can\u2019t deny their effectiveness.\n\n\u201cShh! Do you hear that?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cProbably another Sul Monkey. Those things are all over the place. Just glad it\u2019s not mating season for them, otherwise we might be in big trouble. Hey, aren\u2019t you humans related to them in some way?\u201d Gruz asks.\n\nGerald is about to reply, and then you hear a whizzing sound followed by a \u201cthunk\u201d sound. You then see Gerald with a large crossbow bolt directly in the center of his head. A single trickle of blood comes from the wound and drips off his nose.\n\n\u201cI\u2026been hit\u2026\u201d Gerald says and his eyes roll back as he falls into the soft mushy ground.\n\n\u201cShit!\u201d Gruz shouts and ducks down into the mud.", "action_results": [{"action": "Duck down into the mud as well", "result": "You instinctively duck down into the mud like Gruz did; regrettably the hidden assassin anticipated that and begins shooting downward.\n\nYou and Gruz both receive several bolts to the back. Gruz manages too shake off these annoyances partly because he\u2019s wearing heavy armor and the other because as an orc his skin is pretty tough to begin with, especially with his experience.\n\nWhile you\u2019re certainly wearing protective gear as well and an Eternal to boot, the bolts sink into your flesh a lot easier and deeper. The pain is great, but you manage to get back up in an effort to find better cover. Gruz spots the shadow assassin and engages him unfortunately two more shadows jump down from the trees to finish you off. Under normal circumstances you\u2019d easily be able to handle the pair of them even with bolts in your back, but in typical shadow fashion, the bolts were dipped in some sort of poison, not strong enough to kill you, but enough to make you sleepy.\n\nAnd it\u2019s this drowsiness that is your downfall. You swing at the two shadows a few times before they manage to land their own attacks on you. A quick slash to your neck releases an arterial spray and you\u2019re dead before you even hit the ground.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Hide behind a tree", "result": "From the trajectory of the bolt, the assassin is in front and probably was trying to hit you instead of Gerald. You immediately run for the nearest tree as several more bolts whiz past you.\n\nWhen you reach the tree two Shadow Guards jump down from it and attempt to stab you. You kick one in the groin as hard as you can, while deflecting the blow of the other with your sword. You dodge another attack by falling to the ground and chopping the shadow at one of his legs, nearly hacking it off. When he falls in agony you finish him off with your sword.\n\nThe one staggering around with damaged man part, finally recovers, but attempts to disappear again. You throw your dagger at him as he begins to turn invisible, impaling him in the stomach. Meanwhile it appears that Captain Gruz is taking care of the one who was shooting bolts at you.\n\n\u201cBastard!\u201d he says with his boot on the shadow and chopping the shadow\u2019s head in two with his axe. Blood and brains splatter everywhere.\n\nYou move around and scan the area cautiously and try to see if there\u2019s any more shadows lurking about, but if there were they would\u2019ve either attack you by now or run off. When you\u2019re confident that none are left you walk over to Gerald who is dead already.\n\n\u201cFUCK!\u201d you shout while kicking a nearby piece of clumped up mud. You don\u2019t feel sadness this time so much as you feel frustration. All those years he was performing commando raids in Felkan territory and he gets killed like this? Not even in close combat! Somehow it doesn\u2019t seem right. Just like how Roldan died. You search Gerald\u2019s body and find the letter he was planning on sending Brenda about Roldan, it seems you will have to do it now. Perhaps even alter it.\n\nCaptain Gruz walks over to you, he has a few bolts in him, but he doesn\u2019t seem particularly bothered by them.\n\n\u201cFeh, I\u2019ve had way worse than this.\u201d He says as he pulls them out. \u201cY\u2019know we\u2019re on our own now.\u201d\n\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cI\u2019m saying these bolts, they ain\u2019t Shadow Guard, these are dark elven quality. That fucker over there with his head cleaved in two had one of those fancy repeating dark elven crossbows too. And while I know dark elves to be treacherous bitches that\u2019ll switch sides to whoever\u2019s paying the most, they would NEVER allow anyone to use their equipment. My guess is those mercs that were going to meet us are all dead, well either that or they ran off.\u201d\n\u201cGood, I want to kill the rest of these shadows anyway.\u201d You say and proceed on to the ruins.\n\nYour next step of your journey confirms Gruz\u2019s theory. You and he see signs of battle on your way to the ruins. Several of the bodies are dark elven, but an equal amount are Shadow Guard.\n\n\u201cLooks like they were ambushed. Heh, pretty hard to do with dark elves. Still, it also looks like the dark elves gave the shadows a hell of a fight. Looks like those are the ruins up ahead. I\u2019m guessing there probably aren\u2019t too many left, this should be over pretty quick.\u201d\n\nYou and Gruz dispense with caution and boldly march into the ruins. You both look around as the crumbling statues of old forgotten gods loom over you. Eventually you find who you\u2019re looking for in the remains of a temple that\u2019s covered in vines and partially sinking into the swamp\n\nA single Shadow Guard stands over the bodies of several others of his kind. Near the bodies are empty flasks.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll be with you soon my brothers and sisters. And especially you Draven.\u201d Cyrus says looking at the bodies and ignoring you completely.\n\u201cAw, how sweet. Glad you decided not to pussy out like the rest of your buddies by poisoning yourself and are at least are willing to face your death like a man.\u201d Gruz replies.\n\u201cYes, well it still remains to be seen Gruz. Though speaking of being a man, I\u2019m impressed that you actually showed up here. I thought that you would\u2019ve continued to hide and try to keep your involvement of these events a secret as you have for all these years.\u201d\n\nThis statement from Cyrus causes you to pause and look at Gruz. He looks guilty of something for a moment and then gives a toothy smile.\n\n\u201cI wasn\u2019t hiding Cyrus. I was waiting. Waiting until the day when I could finally track you down. It wasn\u2019t my fuck up that got us into this mess. We could\u2019ve been strong enough together to make a break from the Empire if you hadn\u2019t decided to backstab us at Fort Destiny to save your own skin. Hah! See how well that turned out. Look at you now.\u201d\n\nEven as jaded as you have become about the Empire, you are somewhat surprised about Captain Gruz\u2026but in retrospect, somebody had to have some sort of input on having all those orcs transferred to Fort Defiance. Despite this revelation you\u2019re too numb to excessively care. All you know is over the past few days you\u2019ve seen two of your fellow Eternals die ignobly while doing their duty for the Empire. Something these traitors have obviously disregarded a long time ago.\n\n\u201cWell, what\u2019s it gonna be lad? You killin\u2019 me or the shadow first?\u201d Gruz asks.\n\u201cI think I\u2019ll stick with the original plan. We\u2019ll kill the shadow together, then you and me are going to settle up.\u201d You say calmly.\n\u201cThat\u2019s the spirit boy!\u201d Gruz laughs and steps towards Cyrus.\n\nCyrus makes no more small talk or last minute threats. He focuses purely on combat. You expect him to use his Shadow Guard tricks like poison or invisibility, but he doesn\u2019t.\n\nHe easily dodges Gruz\u2019s powerful yet clumsy attacks and lands a few well placed strikes on him, but Gruz shrugs them off like you\u2019ve seen him do the whole time you\u2019ve been fighting along side him. You can only imagine what an unstoppable juggernaut he must\u2019ve been back in his younger days.\n\nAs for you, you match Cyrus in sword skill. Whatever he learned from the Shadow Guard won\u2019t help him in a face-to-face battle with you. All it takes is for you to take advantage of his divided concentration and you land a mortal blow, slicing his side clean open.\n\nCyrus falls and deflects your attempt to split his head open, but he drops his sword from the force of your blow in the process. Weaponless, tired and bleeding out from a deep hole in his side, Cyrus accepts defeat.\n\n\u201cDo it. Eternal slave of the Empire.\u201d He says coldly and then you fulfill his request by decapitating him.\n\nYou quickly turn to face Gruz, who already has his axe ready.\n\n\u201cAlright Eternal, let\u2019s finish this.\u201d\n\nYou and Gruz clash weapons. As you battle, you\u2019re reminded of the times when you were still a child and how he taught you to fight.\nCLANG!\nHow he told you to keep a calm head in battle.\nTING!\nHow he told you to serve the Empire.\nSHING!\nHow he had confidence in your skills.\nCLANK!\nHow he saw you as a leader.\nCLANK!\nHow he told you not to die for the Emperor\u2026but to make the other dumb bastard die so that you could continue serving the Emperor\n\nSWIPE! SLICE! SLISH! SLISH! SLASH!\n\nHow he told you that failure wasn\u2019t an option.\n\nGruz finally succumbs to his multiple wounds and falls to one knee leaning on his axe in an effort not to completely collapse.\n\n\u201cDamn\u2026shit\u2026.\u201d Gruz gasps as he breathes heavily and feels his strength completely leaving him.\n\u201cWhy?\u201d you ask him.\n\u201cWhy? Heh heh.\u201d Chuckles a bit while at the same time coughing up some blood. \u201cAfter all you\u2019ve experienced in your service of the Empire, you have to ask me why? My people had already been tamed and conquered decades ago and I bought into the same bullshit you did when I was a little green snot that didn\u2019t know any better. I worked my way up the ranks and did pretty good for myself, but for what? To be a lap dog that begged for a treat every time I did something right and get slapped down because I was rising too much above my so called station? I was still holding on to an idea that was long gone or never existed to begin with. It wasn\u2019t until shortly after your training was complete that I started to seriously change my mind. The Felkan war and the conspiracy that the Shadow Guard came up with just made it easier\u2026 I think I\u2019m gonna just lay down for a while.\u201d Gruz says as he loses his last battle with staying conscious.\n\nYou step towards him with your sword ready to strike, but instead you just watch him slowly drift off and hear his last words.\n\n\u201cI lived a lot longer than I should have. This is a good death for an orc. I\u2019ve seen your new replacements Eternal. They\u2019re monsters. They\u2019ll finish off what\u2019s left of this decaying husk of an Empire, not save it. Good riddance. Heh, don\u2019t worry though; you\u2019ll probably survive the coming shit storm. You\u2019ll outlive everyone.\u201d He says and then finally dies.\n\nWith the way things have been going lately, Gruz may be correct. It doesn\u2019t necessarily make you feel any better though.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 35\n\nAnother rebellion put down. You wipe your sword of blood and shake your head as you look around at the chaos. This is the Quala province, the very heartland of the Empire. You shouldn\u2019t have to be trying to maintain order here only a few miles away from the capital itself.\n\n\u201cHa ha ha! Come on bitch, give it up! I\u2019m an Eternal, you oughta be flattered that I\u2019m even wasting my time on your normal ass!\u201d private Felding says as he attempts to rape a nearby girl.\n\nYou briskly walk over to Felding and pull him off her. You know damn well that the rest of his kind are probably doing stuff like this all over the place, but this one is in your direct sight and under your command.\n\n\u201cWhat the hell, captain? If you wanted first dibs you could\u2019ve just said so! Ah look, now she\u2019s getting away!\u201d\n\u201cWe\u2019re here to maintain order private, not create more chaos.\u201d\n\u201cOh yeah? Coulda fooled me by destroying the entire town like this.\u201d\n\u201cRegrettable, but during battle only victory matters.\u201d\n\u201cExactly! We won! So now it\u2019s time to have our fun with these disobedient peasants. Y\u2019know instill fear in them so they won\u2019t do it again.\u201d\n\u201cYou\u2019re not instilling fear though, you\u2019re just satisfying your own desires.\u201d\n\u201cHey, who says we aren\u2019t supposed to have fun while doing it?\u201d\n\nIt\u2019s like talking to a brick wall. You\u2019ve had these \u201cNew Eternals\u201d under your command for a few months now and they are some of the most undisciplined troops you\u2019ve ever had. You can try to encourage them, you can try to reason with them, you can punish them, and none of it has a real effect. The only constant is that they know of your reputation and know that you\u2019re also an Eternal, which makes them just fearful of you enough that they don\u2019t attempt to directly challenge your authority like they have with so many of their other commanders.\n\nIf it were up to you, you would\u2019ve had them all killed for treason as soon as they murdered their first CO, but for whatever reason the Empire wants them active. You\u2019re guessing because the Empire\u2019s desperate. So they were ultimately transferred to you and unfortunately you\u2019re not allowed to kill them either\u2026well unless they try to kill you first.\n\nYou swear this must be what it\u2019s like to be a svelk.\n\nThey are like children, malicious hateful little children. It\u2019s not even their suspect loyalty that baffles you; it\u2019s their complete lack of discipline. Even Kane and Cyrus who opposed you had discipline. Hell, Edgar who was arguably the most emotional and hotheaded of the group was a hundred times more disciplined than any of these new \u201cEternals.\u201d You remember back to your own training and there were a few of your fellows that didn\u2019t learn proper discipline either. They never made it past Mistress and the few that did, didn\u2019t survive Gruz. Whoever was in charge of their training did a horrible job and should\u2019ve been executed for incompetence along with the rest of these vicious monsters. That old orc was right, they will destroy what\u2019s left of the Empire, but you doubt if they\u2019ll survive long after its downfall.\n\nYou think back to all the real Eternals. You, Edgar and Brenda are the only ones left, as Warrick killed in the final days of the Felkan War. At least you assume that\u2019s what happened, his body was never found and you know he would\u2019ve rather died than let himself be captured to rot in a P.O.W. Camp. Either way it\u2019s truly a loss you never ever got to talk with him again.\n\nFrom what you know Edgar is still stationed in the Arat province, probably trying to keep his own \u201ceternals\u201d in line to keep the peace there. As for poor Brenda you know she has her command in the Nalin province and probably still quietly grieving for Roldan.\n\nAfter all you\u2019ve been through, it\u2019s come to this and you\u2019re wondering what the hell you\u2019re still fighting for. The Emperor? You haven\u2019t cared about that unknown ruler for years. For all you know he\u2019s some feeble minded inbred idiot figure head that his advisors keep locked away while they bumble around ruling things probably about as well as he would.\n\nThe Empire? Perhaps at one time, but as it has lost territory, respect and apparently all resemblance of sanity over the years you\u2019ve lost all faith that it can ever regain any sort of glory it might have had, if it ever had it to begin with. You\u2019ve tried your best to stem back the tide of chaos, but you\u2019re only one man even if you are an Eternal.\n\nWhile you ponder your potential future, private Felding interrupts you.\n\n\u201cHey, cap? You\u2019re in a bit of a daze there. So if you\u2019re done I\u2019m going to go now.\u201d\n\u201cHold on, I have one more thing to tell you.\u201d\n\u201c(Sigh) What?\u201d Felding says with an exasperated tone.\n\u201cYou\u2019re not a fucking Eternal. None of you little shits are.\u201d You say and run Felding through and pull up on the sword unleashing his blood and guts onto the ground. Felding makes a high pitched scream and slumps on top of his entrails after you remove the sword.\n\n\u201cShit! The cap just killed Felding!\u201d another so called eternal shouts while he and his buddy have just come back from looting some farmer\u2019s home. The pair of them look like they want to run, but you make it easy on them.\n\n\u201cGo ahead and run or stay. I don\u2019t care anymore. I\u2019m leaving. I will tell you this though, if the Empire sends any of you unruly scum after me, know that I shall take great pleasure in not just killing you, but in drawing it out for as long as possible. Remember this.\u201d\n\nAnd with that last warning, you leave your service to the Empire.\n\nThe question now is, where will you go? What will you do? This all feels so wrong when you think about it. You\u2019ve killed so many for abandoning, opposing, or attempting to betray the Empire and here you are doing the same thing. Was it all for nothing? Was it worth it?\n\nYou don\u2019t know. You always believed at the time you were right and that you were doing the right thing. Maybe you were, maybe you weren\u2019t. You just know that you can\u2019t serve something you don\u2019t believe in anymore. Especially when everyone else around you doesn\u2019t either.\n\nSpeaking of not knowing, you don\u2019t know how to do anything except kill people. While you\u2019re certain that you\u2019d be able to hire your skills out somewhere, the idea of being a mercenary is a little distasteful for you. You\u2019d rather not push the svelk comparison that far.\n\nYou could swear loyalty to another government you suppose. Perhaps the Felkan Kingdom? You\u2019re not sure they\u2019d want you, what with all their high tech weapons and your own government once fighting against them.\n\nThe only other alternative for you is to carve out your own territory and rule it as your own. While it\u2019s true you do have leadership qualities, you know nothing of actually running a government. You honestly wouldn\u2019t know where to begin.", "action_results": [{"action": "Become a mercenary", "result": "You have no desire to serve another government that\u2019s likely to be just as corrupt and useless as the one you served. You don\u2019t really feel like carving out your own territory either, what could you gain, the petty power thrill of being another tyrant with delusions of grandeur? You\u2019ve seen that story play out several times and it hasn\u2019t gotten the people who pursued it anywhere.\n\nMaybe the svelk had it right. Ultimately serve nobody, but yourself. After all you\u2019ve pretty much had to do that most of the time since the Empire rarely ever saw fit to help you out in any meaningful manner. The question is where can you find work as a mercenary without needing to work for any sort of government. You then remember, Rask.\n\nThe Rask territory completely broke off from the Empire and declared itself independent years ago. No attempt has been made to retake it either, as far as you know Fort Destiny was just completely abandoned. The towns there have banded together as a loose alliance for protection and trade, but nothing more than that. Despite this, they still have need for warriors and such to defend against the many monsters that lurk in the wilderness.\n\nSounds like a perfect place for you to earn a living and you\u2019re already are quite familiar with the area. You find a nearby horse and set off for the north. Along the way you see the landscape of the Empire, which at one time was orderly and even idyllic is now burning and in tatters. Despite the chaos you don\u2019t need to do any battle, not even when passing groups of angry peasants who are taking every opportunity to get revenge on their oppressive government and its agents in all forms. You can only assume your reputation is enough to scare them off or they don\u2019t even recognize you. If it\u2019s the latter then it only confirms your belief that you weren\u2019t making that much of a difference in the Empire anyway.\n\nWhen you eventually make it to the Rask borders the cold chill and snow are almost welcoming to you. As bad as it was here at times, this harsh place is probably the closest you can call home now, you only hope you can still make one here without too much problem.\n\nA few miles in and you see Fort Destiny in the distance, it looks about the same. You wonder what it\u2019s being used for now, but you see several young men standing around outside, they look like guards. You approach and are stopped.\n\n\u201cHalt, this is Kenneth\u2019s Rest. If you\u2019re here to trade then you may enter, but don\u2019t cause any trouble or you\u2019ll find yourself in more than you bargained for!\u201d a young guard says. He\u2019s wearing a patchwork Empire uniform, all of them are. You wonder if these were young recruits that just stayed when the Empire abandoned the place. If so then there are probably others as well, in fact the name Kenneth sounds familiar, but you can\u2019t place it. In any case you could do with a small break so you decide to stop here, you also figure this would be as good a place as any to start looking for work.\n\nYou tell the young man that you are not here to cause trouble, but to look for work. The young guard tells you that you might want to look for Kenneth as he usually needs various jobs done. He says he\u2019s usually found at the inn that being where he keeps his office.\n\nYou enter the fort and see that it has changed quite a bit with various traders selling and buying with each other in the courtyard. It still seems to have most of its defensive siege weapons, though they look like they\u2019re in disrepair. You notice there are still guards patrolling the top walkways, though significantly less than when this place was still a military installation. It is at this time an older guard patrolling in the crowds sees you.\n\n\u201cHey! I know you! It\u2019s the Bane of Rask!\u201d he shouts.\n\nWith this call, everyone else now turns to you. Some of the other older guards with long memories begin to realize it\u2019s you as well and move in to advance with their halberds. The younger guards who never served under you do likewise, but from their own hesitation its apparent that stories about you have been told. One of the guards whispers to another who runs off.\n\nYou take all this in stride; you figure that they believe you\u2019re here to punish them all for desertion or treason. Amusing, since at one time that would\u2019ve been true, but you\u2019re actually here for the same reason.\n\n\u201cAlright you just get off that horse slowly. We don\u2019t want any trouble, we\u2019re just trying to make a new life for ourselves.\u201d\n\u201cI understand that, but if I have to get off my horse for any reason, I promise you it won\u2019t be in your best interest that I do so. I\u2019m not here to cause trouble anyway. I just want to talk to Kenneth, I heard he\u2019s the one who has several jobs that need done.\u201d\n\u201cSounds like a trick to me.\u201d One of the younger guards says.\n\u201cI assure you as any of the men that have served under me here can attest to, I do not trick. How about I just wait here for Kenneth and the rest of you go about your business\u2026 or continue to hold your weapons pointed at my direction if you believe it will make you any safer. That\u2019s fine too.\u201d\n\nYou wait a few minutes still on your horse, hoping you don\u2019t need to turn this place into a bloodbath, and then Kenneth finally appears. That\u2019s when you suddenly remember the name.\n\n\u201cLieutenant Verant! I knew the name Kenneth sounded familiar. Just forgot it was your first name, never having called you by it on a regular basis and all.\u201d You remark. Kenneth looks like he\u2019s about to collapse from fear.\n\n\u201cOh shit. Now look sir, we can explain all this. I mean\u2026we thought\u2026uh\u2026\u201d\n\nYou hold up your hand for him to stop before he has a heart attack.\n\n\u201cVerant\u2026Kenneth. There is nothing you can say that could possibly prevent you and everyone here executed for treason to the Empire. Fortunately for you, I am no longer in the service of the Empire.\u201d\n\u201cYou\u2026you\u2019re not?\u201d\n\u201cNo. I am shall we say a free agent and looking for a way to put my combat skills to use.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2026don\u2019t know what to say.\u201d\n\u201cHow about saying that you have some work for me?\u201d\n\nAnd so your career as a mercenary begins\u2026", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Chapter 3A1: Bane of Rask\n\n\nYear 45\n\n\u201cBastard!\u201d you say landing a killing blow on the last auravrax.\n\nYou do a double check of the cave just to make sure you\u2019ve got all the beasts. It\u2019s times like this you\u2019re reminded of your kobold hunting days. Of course auravraxes are a lot furrier and stupider. Doesn\u2019t make them any less dangerous though considering they\u2019re basically balls of hair with lots of teeth and a vicious streak a mile wide. You wonder how it was you never encountered them before when you were posted up here. You can only assume that the larger creatures like ogres and wendigos kept them in check. Thanks to your depletion of such creatures other predators managed to gain better dominance. Nature is wonderful at balancing things out that way.\n\nAfter making a check you pile up the bodies and start skinning. You figure between the payment for this job and the sale you\u2019ll make on the pelts you\u2019ll have enough money for at least of week\u2019s worth of wine, women and song.\n\n\u201cNah, to hell with the song. More women.\u201d You chuckle to yourself.\n\nThoughts about such \u201ccommon\u201d pleasures would\u2019ve never entered your head decades ago. Makes you realize how much you\u2019re changed since then, but it\u2019s a good change you think. For the first time, you\u2019ve actually been enjoying life rather than just going through the motions of it like a golem. Life is so much simpler and easier when you don\u2019t have anyone to answer to; especially when that \u201csomeone\u201d doesn\u2019t even know what the fuck they\u2019re doing half of the time. Life of course still has its bad moments, but compared to your time serving the Empire, it\u2019s like a non-stop party.\n\nThe Empire, now just another government resigned to the trash heap of history. All of its years of power and whatever glory it claimed it had completely gone. And of course much like Mother Nature, the smaller predators get to take their chance in the sun now that the big one is extinct. One of those smaller predators being one your old fellow Eternals, Edgar.\n\nYou don\u2019t know all the details, but from the rumors you\u2019ve heard he\u2019s declared himself a general and is calling the territory in his control, The Eternal Dominion. He apparently managed to get some of those chaotic eternal wannabes in some semblance of order to help him as well. When you first heard about this you could only shake your head in disappointment. Not even so much for what he\u2019s doing, but more with how he\u2019s doing it. It\u2019s almost like he\u2019s going down the same path that Kane did, but with even less planning and followers that are probably more duplicitous than Shadow Guards. You\u2019d think that he would\u2019ve learned something from that mess.\n\nStill, it\u2019s his life and you have yours. You stop reminiscing about the past and concentrate on skinning the auravraxes. When you\u2019re finished you cook up one of them to eat and then get some sleep. The next day you set off to Keplavisk with your furs.\n\nWhen you get to Keplavisk, the usual people acknowledge you. Some are friendly, some aren\u2019t, and others with longer memories hate your guts for your action when you were trying to maintain order here a long time ago. Just one of the things you have to put up with, after all you still have your reputation of being\u2026\n\n\u201cBane of Rask! Bane of Rask! Hey wait up!\u201d Ulivik yells.\n\u201c(Sigh) Boy, I told you to stop calling me by that ridiculous name. In fact I told you to stop following me period!\u201d\n\u201cSorry, Mr. Bane. Hey are those auravrax furs? Did you kill all of them? I bet you just went in and totally destroyed them without fear!\u201d Ulivik says while making sword whooshing sounds.\n\nYou roll your eyes at the teenager\u2019s over enthusiasm and resign yourself to him following you while you head to the town hall. For whatever reason he sees you as some sort of brave \u201chero\u201d though you wish he wouldn\u2019t. You can\u2019t get too mad at him though, not his fault he\u2019s a dark elf brought up by humans. There\u2019s got to be a lot of confusion going on there.\n\nYou mostly ignore Ulivik\u2019s incessant questioning until you get to the town hall where upon his guard run him off with racial slurs and threats. You enter the building and see the mayor. Mayor Stundle is sitting his fat ass at his desk doing nothing of any importance as usual.\n\n\u201cAh Mr. Bane, I can see by the numerous pelts you\u2019re carrying that you\u2019ve taken care of the problem, I knew you would. That\u2019s why you\u2019re the best merc in the Confederation. Your payment is on the desk there.\u201d\n\u201cGood, and my name isn\u2019t Bane you know. I keep telling people that.\u201d\n\u201cIndeed it may not be, but that\u2019s what everyone knows you as. Can\u2019t fight fame or maybe in your case infamy. Heh heh.\u201d\n\u201cYeah, anyway I showed you the proof, I\u2019ve got some furs to sell.\u201d\n\u201cGot a special job for you if you want.\u201d\n\u201cMaybe later, I\u2019m going to enjoy myself.\u201d\n\u201cOkay, but I can\u2019t promise you it\u2019ll be available when you get back.\u201d\n\nAs you leave Mayor Stundle\u2019s office, Flog is just entering with several ogre scalps. He displays his obvious dislike of you as usual. As thorough as you were when you destroyed Fort Defiance, Flog survived because he did the smart thing of running away and hiding as soon as he saw your army approaching.\n\n\u201cOutta da way Bane, Flog has to see fat mayor!\u201d\n\u201cHe\u2019s all yours.\u201d You remark not really wanting to deal with his attitude today, of course in typical orc fashion, Flog feels the need to press the issue. He sees the auravrax furs and makes his move.\n\u201cGruh. You kill little furry things. Flog kill big ogres! More proof that Flog better merc than you!\u201d\n\u201cSure Flog, whatever.\u201d You say dismissively which of course annoys Flog even more.\n\u201cFlog gonna kill you one day Bane!\u201d he shouts as you walk away.\n\u201cSure Flog, whenever you\u2019re ready.\u201d You say almost yawning. Another time and place you would\u2019ve killed him for speaking to you in such a manner, but over the years you\u2019ve mellowed with age. Besides he\u2019s been threatening to kill you for the last eight years. The first few times you took him seriously. Now it\u2019s just boring. If he really ever wants to try he knows where to find you, not like you\u2019re hiding.\n\nAfter selling your furs you make you take your money to the closest tavern where you proceed to make good on your claim of relaxing. After a couple days of carousing you\u2019re lying in bed with a couple of serving wenches and you decide that you should probably get back to work. No point in waiting around until all your coin is gone, you\u2019ve had your fun now its time to get back to what you\u2019re really good at, killing stuff. You tell the girls in your room to leave and get prepared to go find some more work.\n\nYou\u2019ve barely stepped out of the inn and Ulivik has already found you and nearly gets himself stabbed for sneaking up on you.\n\n\u201cHey Mr. Bane, it\u2019s just me!\u201d he says with a worried tone.\n\u201cBoy, didn\u2019t I tell you to never sneak up on me like that? I could\u2019ve killed you and I doubt if anyone would\u2019ve blamed me for it!\u201d you shout\n\u201cSorry, Mr. Bane. Hey are you going on another mission?\u201d\n\u201cWhat do you think?\u201d\n\u201cI think you are! But Mayor Stundle already gave out all of the jobs, you\u2019ll probably have to go to another town.\u201d\n\u201cAnd how do you know this?\u201d\n\u201cBecause I tried to sign up, but I got thrown out of the town hall and called names.\u201d\n\u201cSounds about right, but how did you get in there in the first place?\u201d\n\u201cI snuck in. I think I\u2019m getting really good at it!\u201d\n\u201cHmm, sounds like your svelk heritage is finally paying off.\u201d You say.\n\u201cSvelk?\u201d Ulivik asks as if you\u2019ve spoken a made up word.\n\u201cSvelk, you know it\u2019s the proper name for you dark elves, you mean you\u2019ve never heard the term?\u201d\n\u201cNo, I\u2019ve been called a dark elf before, but I mostly get called a lot of other names.\u201d\n\u201cWell life\u2019s tough kid, now you go run along\u2026\u201d\n\u201cHey why don\u2019t I come with you on your next mission!?\u201d\n\nAnd there it is. You knew the day was coming where he\u2019d start asking you to bring him with you.\n\n\u201cYeah, no. I work alone.\u201d\n\u201cAw come on! I need the experience! I try to sign up for even the easy jobs and I get thrown out! I\u2019ve even tried going door to door asking if there are any monsters they need killing and they usually just say, yeah the one standing front of me! Then they slam the door in my face! It\u2019s not fair!\u201d\n\u201cWhy do you want to be a merc anyway? I mean I know you\u2019ve got a family that takes care of you. They must, if they were willing to take on the ostracizing that would come in raising a dark elf baby.\u201d\n\u201cThey do and I know they love me, but working as a hide tanner is boring! I want to be a mercenary and live a life of adventure! I mean I\u2019ve heard stories of how my race is composed of nothing but mercenaries! Just think, a long proud line of brave ancestors that lived a glorious life of excitement! I should be as noble as them!\u201d\n\nYou almost laugh when hearing how Ulivik has spoken of his race. He truly is out of touch as there is absolutely nothing glorious, proud or noble about them. Even brave is debatable most of the time.\n\n\u201cUlivik, if you really want to be a merc, why not just go to Kenneth\u2019s Rest? He doesn\u2019t give a shit who he hires. Hell, he hires dark elves on a regular basis.\u201d\n\u201cI would, but uh, I\u2019m not allowed to leave the town\u2026but I know if you were with me, my parents would let me go! So can I please come with you?!\u201d\n\nThis scenario is just so bizarre; you hardly believe that it\u2019s happening, a dark elf practically begging you to teach him to be a mercenary. The crazy thing about all this is you\u2019re actually considering it. You must finally be suffering from some of the blows you\u2019ve taken to the head in the past. It\u2019s the only explanation.", "action_results": [{"action": "Take Ulivik with you", "result": "You decide to humor the boy and agree. Chances are, he\u2019s not going to get permission from his parents anyway and when that happens he\u2019ll be less likely to bother you again. If he does get permission, well it\u2019s not that far to Kenneth\u2019s Rest and you were going there anyway. Plus you\u2019ll have given him the chance he wants and again he\u2019ll be less likely to bother you.\n\n\u201cAlright Ulivik, you go ask your parents, but I\u2019m taking you to Kenneth\u2019s Rest and no further. And when we get there, you\u2019re on your own, don\u2019t think that you\u2019re going to be tagging along with me anywhere else.\u201d\n\u201cOkay! That\u2019s great! I\u2019ll be right be back\u2026uh could you come with me, so they know I\u2019m telling the truth?\u201d\n\u201cOh fer\u2026fine.\u201d\n\nYou follow Ulivik back to his parent\u2019s store which smells heavily of leather. The pair of them are working on some sort of the hide when you both walk in.\n\n\u201cMom! Dad! Mr. Bane said he\u2019d take me to Kenneth\u2019s Rest and teach me to be a mercenary! So can I go now?\u201d\n\u201cHey wait I never said I\u2019d teach\u2026\u201d you start to say before Ulivik\u2019s dad interjects his own comments.\n\u201cOh is that right? And how do you know that? How do you know he won\u2019t just rob and kill you along some lonely road?\u201d\n\u201cOr worse!\u201d his mother says.\n\u201cHey wait a minute now\u2026\u201d\n\u201cBut this isn\u2019t fair! You said if I could find somebody to teach me, that you\u2019d allow me to go!\u201d Ulivik whines.\n\u201cYeah, well we didn\u2019t think you\u2019d actually be successful, let alone get a cold hearted killer like Bane here to agree. Which makes me wonder why he did\u2026\u201d\n\u201cTrust me, at this point I\u2019m wondering the same thing.\u201d You reply.\n\u201cUlivik, why can\u2019t you just be interested in the family business? It\u2019s a more honorable profession than being a mercenary. It\u2019s honest work.\u201d\n\u201cYeah and the workin\u2019 man is a sucker! Look at where we live!\u201d\n\u201cHey! We get by just fine, and this business has put food in your belly, clothes on your back and a roof over your head! So don\u2019t you dare bad mouth this proud family tradition!\u201d\n\u201cYeah, well I\u2019m not really your son anyway! And you\u2019re not my real parents! I hate this place and every here hates me!\u201d Ulivik screams and leaves slamming the door.\n\nYou\u2019re left in an awkward situation with his parents.\n\n\u201cOkay, so I guess that settles that, I\u2019ll just be going now\u2026\u201d you say.\n\u201cNo, you get back here you sonofabitch.\u201d Ulivik\u2019s dad says.\n\u201cExcuse me?\u201d\n\u201cI called you a sonofabitch, now if you want to kill me for that you can do it after hearing what I\u2019ve got to say first.\u201d\n\u201cHeh, okay. It\u2019s been a weird sort of day today anyway, I\u2019ll play.\u201d You say with a smile.\n\u201cYeah, well I ain\u2019t playing. Look, I know all about you, and you probably don\u2019t know me at all but I remember your ruthless reputation when you were still in service of the Empire. There was a family that lived down the block from me and my wife. We we\u2019re friends and they even had a couple of children. Children that we would sometimes love to entertain because we couldn\u2019t have any of our own. But this family wasn\u2019t happy with the Empire\u2019s rules so they along with several others protested\u2026\u201d\n\nYou stop the tanner right there.\n\n\u201cYeah, yeah, I know what you\u2019re going to say, I had them all killed for treason and had their heads put on pikes. Well I was trying to maintain order and I did what I had to do to get the job done. I\u2019m sure this story pales in comparison to others have screamed at me in the past and you don\u2019t even need to make your point about hating me, because I\u2019m used to it anyway. Besides you don\u2019t want your son going to Kenneth\u2019s Rest and I\u2019m certainly not going to drag him along. If anything I\u2019d wish he\u2019d stop looking up to me as some sort of hero and following me around. I was hoping by doing this for him I\u2019d finally be rid of him. So if you don\u2019t mind, I\u2019ll be going now and I\u2019ll also be disappointing you again, by not killing you before I leave.\u201d\n\nYou turn to leave and that\u2019s when you get another unusual request.\n\n\u201cIf you take him to Kenneth\u2019s Rest, will you also look after him?\u201d Ulivik\u2019s mother asks.\n\u201cWhat?!\u201d\n\u201cIf you want money to do so, we can pay. Just can you look after him for a while at least?\u201d\n\u201cOkay\u2026now I\u2019m confused. I thought not only did you not want him to go, but that I was also a ruthless bastard that would probably rob and kill him along a lonely road?\u201d\n\u201cYeah, we don\u2019t want him to go, and yeah you are a ruthless bastard\u2026but I also know you actually do have some sort of code of honor. You might\u2019ve left the Empire behind, but the regimented way of thinking you have is still there. You wouldn\u2019t bother killing my boy unless you felt he was a direct danger to you, and I think we both know that isn\u2019t the case.\u201d Ulivik\u2019s dad says.\n\u201cWell that\u2019s the truth.\u201d\n\u201cThe other thing is\u2026we\u2019re not going to be able to stop him. He\u2019s been getting more and more restless about this, and he\u2019s going to want to pursue this career path whether we want him to or not. At this point he\u2019s just going to run away from home and who knows what trouble he\u2019ll get into. (sigh) Maybe it\u2019s just his nature, bein\u2019 a dark elf and all, but for good or ill, me and my wife have taken on the responsibility of raising him. And part of that is making sure he has the survival skills that he\u2019ll need to make it in this world. We can\u2019t teach him that, but you could. Look, like my wife said, we can pay you a good sum just for you teach him the basics, or whatever else is involved, if you need more, I dunno we\u2019ll try to figure out something.\u201d\n\nYou\u2019re speechless for a moment. Just when you think you\u2019ve seen the worst in people, something like this happens and surprises you.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m not sure what you expect me to do. I mean this job isn\u2019t something I can teach like from a book. Most of what he\u2019s going to have to learn is going to be from direct experience. I mean I suppose I could teach him some combat skills, but the rest is going to mainly be up to him.\u201d\n\u201cWell do what you can, and take this in the meantime.\u201d\n\nUliviki\u2019s mother hands you a small bag. When you look inside, it\u2019s nothing but gold coins. This has to be some of their savings, possibly all of their savings. They must really trust you, if they\u2019ve given you this much.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll do my best. You have my word as an Eternal.\u201d You say and pocket the bag of coins. With those last words you exit the tanner\u2019s store intending to find Ulivik. Fortunately you know he isn\u2019t far.\n\n\u201cUlivik, I know you\u2019re around the corner. Stop sulking, or pouting or whatever teenage angst you\u2019re doing and let\u2019s go.\u201d\n\nUlivik slowly comes out from behind the corner.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re taking me with you?\u201d\n\u201cYeah, I scared your parents into letting you come with me. Now grab whatever gear you want to take and let\u2019s go before all the good jobs are taken.\u201d\n\nUlivik is completely giddy at this turn of events and runs back into the store to get his stuff. You on the other hand are wondering how the hell you got yourself into this. Then you feel the bag of coins again and remember.\n\nOn your journey to Kenneth\u2019s Rest, you explain to Ulivik some of the things he should know such as haggling for better prices on jobs and the art of intimidation. You also teach him a few combat moves. He\u2019s a rookie to be sure, but his agility allows him from getting hurt too badly.\n\nWhen you get to Kenneth\u2019s Rest, the place is as busy as always. Ulivik is more than a little distracted by the surroundings, and you have to keep reminding him to stay alert.\n\n\u201cHey stop staring at the harlots and pay attention! Just because fighting isn\u2019t supposed to be allowed here, doesn\u2019t mean it doesn\u2019t happen. In fact people around here love to start trouble. Don\u2019t stare at anyone in the eye for too long and make sure you don\u2019t bump into anybody. You could either get into a fight, or someone might even try to pick your pocket.\u201d\n\u201cOkay. Here isn\u2019t the job board that way?\u201d\n\u201cJob board? Hah. I never use those things. I go straight to the source. Trust me, if you want to get a job that pays well; get to know and make contact with the owners or government officials. Fortunately Kenneth used to work for me at one time, so it was quite easy for me to make contact with him. And when we find him, just keep your mouth shut, and let me do all the talking.\u201d\n\nEventually you find Kennth, he\u2019s as jumpy as ever whenever you first see him.\n\n\u201cSir! I didn\u2019t expect you to be down this way so soon? What can I do for you today?\u201d\n\u201cKenneth, will you relax? It\u2019s been what, like ten years now? I\u2019m not your superior officer anymore; you don\u2019t have to keep calling me sir and getting all nervous and shit.\u201d\n\u201cI know sir, just old habits you know? Who\u2019s this with you?\u201d\n\u201cThis here is Ulivik, and he\u2019s going to be my apprentice for a while.\u201d\n\u201cApprentice? Seriously? Never pegged you as the teaching type.\u201d\n\u201cRight, Kenneth, like all those years of training soldiers in this very fort count for nothing at all.\u201d\n\u201cNo, that\u2019s not what I mean\u2026I just oh I dunno. It\u2019s just odd I guess. He\u2019s a svelk, how come he\u2019s not with his own people?\u201d\n\u201cThat\u2019s a long and unusual story, and one I don\u2019t have time to go into. Besides we\u2019re not here to satisfy your curiosity, we\u2019re here for jobs, but seeing as this is Ulivik\u2019s first time and all, can we get something maybe a little less\u2026lethal?\u201d\n\u201cHmm, usually that sort of stuff is on the boards, but I think I got something. Oh! There\u2019s a nest of auravraxes a few miles from here.\u201d\n\u201cUgh, more of those furry things? I just wiped out a nest of them a week ago!\u201d\n\u201cWell that\u2019s all I got that\u2019s on the easy side. I mean I\u2019ve got some other jobs too, but you said this was more for training your apprentice than anything else.\u201d\n\u201cI can take on a harder task Mr. Bane. I mean I have to learn from experience right?\u201d Ulivik pipes up forgetting that he was supposed to keep his mouth shut.\n\nStill, he might have a point.", "action_results": [{"action": "Take on the easy job", "result": "Ulivik might think he\u2019s ready, but he\u2019s definitely not. Killing auravraxes might be easy for you, but they\u2019ll be more than enough for him to handle. Anything harder and he may very well be killed in the blink of an eye. Normally this would just be on the job training, but you were sort of paid to look after him for a while at least.\n\n\u201cGive us the auravrax nest job.\u201d You say. Ulivik looks a little disappointed, but he doesn\u2019t speak out of turn again. Kenneth proceeds to tell you exactly where the creatures have been spotted in large quantities and the pair of you are on your way.\n\nAlong the way, you tell Ulivik how he should approach fighting these things and how not to take them lightly as they can easily take an arm off or any other limb if you aren\u2019t careful. He seems to understand the risk.\n\nAs you get closer to their nest, you begin to encounter the furry fiends. Ulivik slightly freezes up when they spot you and attack. You have to snap him out of it and take up the fighting slack.\n\n\u201cCome on kid, move in and attack! This is the moment of truth!\u201d you shout. Fortunately, this motivates him to do just that. Of course after the fight, he\u2019s got a very different view of things now. He\u2019s out of breath, his heart is racing and he\u2019s probably feeling a mix of excitement and fear, or perhaps just fear in his case.\n\n\u201cSo, is it everything you expected it to be?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cI\u2026yeah, I mean no. I mean\u2026(pant) that was intense.\u201d\n\u201cYeah, well it\u2019s about to get even more intense, we\u2019ve still got a whole bunch more to kill.\u201d\n\nThe auravrax nest is another typical hole in the ground filled with them. Standard stuff for you, but its Ulivik\u2019s true test. If he can make it through alive and in one piece, he might just have what it takes after all. You let him do most of the fighting, only intervening when it really looks like he\u2019s going to get himself eaten or when you\u2019re directly attacked. After he thinks he\u2019s killed them all, you point out that he should double check the entire dwelling just in case.\n\n\u201cWhat? But we got \u2018em all! I mean if any were still alive they would\u2019ve attacked by now.\u201d\n\u201cNot necessarily. A few of the smarter ones will actually find some place to hide and attack when you think you\u2019re safe and let your guard down. Trust me, you better double check. It might be boring, but this is part of the job and you will do it if you want to stay alive. And while you\u2019re at it bring the bodies of the dead ones back here for skinning. You always need proof and the furs usually fetch a good price. It\u2019s a good way to earn extra money. Off your go, and if I hear any more whining from your apprenticeship is at an end and you truly will be on your own.\u201d\n\nUlivik certainly doesn\u2019t want that, so he obeys what you tell him to do. You can sort of tell his \u201chero worship\u201d is already starting to wane a bit though, but that\u2019s good. It\u2019ll keep him grounded and show him that this isn\u2019t some glorious profession that he thinks it is. You figure after about a week of this and he\u2019ll probably be ready to go back to wanting to take up his dad\u2019s business or at least considering it.\n\nEventually after all the double checking, skinning and some sleep you head back to Kenneth\u2019s Rest.\n\n\u201cI know I asked you this earlier, but it bears repeating. Is it everything you thought it would be?\u201d\n\u201cSome of it I suppose, I dunno it\u2019s weird. Part of me almost wants to go back to take up my dad\u2019s business.\u201d He says, causing you to smile to yourself at being correct.\n\u201cWell if you want to get out, the best time to do it is when you\u2019re ahead. If you\u2019re going to stick with it though, I\u2019m going to warn you, my combat training is only going to get tougher.\u201d\n\u201cTougher? But you saw me handle myself.\u201d\n\u201cI saw you nearly get your head bitten off several times if I hadn\u2019t been there to help. And if you think if I\u2019m being mean, you have no idea what being mean really is. MY first training instructor was a sadistic svelk bitch and out of all the people I\u2019ve ever met, she still ranks number one.\u201d\n\u201cSo is this why you agreed to train me? Some sort of revenge then?\u201d Ulivik asks.\n\u201cHa ha ha! Is that what you think? If I was going to hold grudges for something like that, I\u2019d be bringing genocide to the svelk race. No, if anything she helped me survive and that\u2019s what I\u2019m trying to do for you, assuming you even want to pursue this path. I\u2019d say you\u2019d better decide what your priorities are between now and by the time we get our payment from Kenneth.\u201d\n\nUlivik is silent for the rest of the way, makes for a nice change. Still, you are wondering if he\u2019s going to let his steadily decreasing opinion of you change his mind about being a merc. Eventually you get back to Kenneth\u2019s Rest which is busy as usual, you also run into another face you haven\u2019t seen in a while, though you weren\u2019t really missing it in the first place.\n\n\u201cWell if it isn\u2019t the infamous Bane of Rask, heard you were around.\u201d Eldolith remarks with her small group of svelk milling about behind her.\n\u201cEldolith, I notice your little band of cutthroats is getting smaller and smaller. Keep this up and you\u2019ll soon have no more warm bodies to hide behind and actually have to do the fighting yourself.\u201d\n\u201cAnd I\u2019ve heard you acquired yourself a new one. What\u2019s wrong, human aging finally catching up with you at last Eternal? Is this him? A svelk? Hmmm he is very young, is he your pleasure boy?\u201d\n\nBefore you can reply, Ulivik steps up and speaks.\n\n\u201cI am a mercenary, like you and the rest of our kind!\u201d\n\nThis of course causes laughter among Edolith and her men.\n\n\u201cYou? You\u2019re no mercenary, let alone one of our kind following around a human like some harlot in heat. No, what you are is a poor mockery of what a svelk should be. Now be gone, your mere presence offends me.\u201d Edolith says and turns her back on you both. Ulivik nearly takes the bait, but you intervene and hold him back from getting himself killed. Eldolith and the rest of her group laugh and head to the inn.\n\n\u201cEasy, there. Words nothing more. I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard worse when you were still working as a tanner.\u201d\n\u201cPerhaps, but this is different! I\u2019m a mercenary now, not some weakling tanner!\u201d\n\u201cTo most you\u2019re still a snot nosed kid that doesn\u2019t know shit and that would be a correct assessment, especially to a svelk. Now I\u2019m sure harsh words from one of your own kind has filled you with a bruised ego, anger and disappointment, but if you try to challenge her, she\u2019d cut you down before you even knew what was happening, as would any of her men.\u201d\n\u201cWe could take them together!\u201d\n\u201cWe? No, I might be able to take them. You on the other hand would get in my way and get yourself killed. Besides I am here to train you to become a mercenary, not be your personal avenger. Part of this training is learning when to pick your battles. Now I suggest you ignore her words for now, and let us get our payment from Kenneth. Money tends to cheer most up.\u201d\n\nUlivik obeys and follows, then he asks an amusing question.\n\n\u201cIs she the svelk bitch you spoke of that trained you?\u201d\n\u201cHa ha, no not her. Eldolith pales in comparison. No, she\u2019s just another arrogant svelk merc that likes to do a lot of posturing. She\u2019s actually really insecure about her leadership position. Always has been, even when she was hired by the Empire decades ago, but those are stories for another time.\u201d\n\nYou and Ulivik soon meet up with Kenneth who gives you your payment. This does cheer up Ulivik a little and soon he\u2019s forgotten Eldolith\u2019s insults. Predictably he spends most of his coin on some strumpet looking for an easy mark, she still gives him a good time though.\n\nThe next day, Ulivik\u2019s training continues as it does for at least a year after which time you figure he\u2019s ready to go out on his own. He\u2019s still a little reckless for his own good, but you can sense he really does want to be independent. His hero worship of you is gone and he may even dislike you now, but the respect is still there as it always has been.\n\nPart of you feels glad that the \u201cjob\u201d is over with, but another part of you feels a sense of loss. As strange as it may seem, you started not minding Ulivik\u2019s company. It\u2019s been a long time since you\u2019ve lead anybody into battle or otherwise. Ulivik may have only been one svelk trainee, but it still brought back memories of the \u201cold days\u201d. The old days, back when you had more of a purpose.\n\nIn some ways training Ulivik gave you a higher purpose than just killing for coin again. You also think back to Eldolith\u2019s words about human aging. Sure they\u2019re meaningless now, but how long can you truly keep up a mercenary life? You are definitely in better shape than most humans your age and barring violence you still probably have several years left, but the future is something you are starting to ponder about. Despite being an Eternal, you ARE still human, and from your own experience, being an Eternal does not make one immortal. Growing \u201cold\u201d is something you never considered, at one time you always figured you\u2019d just die in battle one day. That day may still come, but even you have to admit that the prospect of dying in battle no longer holds the same \u201cappeal\u201d as it once did when you were in the service of the Empire.\n\nAt one time you also wondered what other skills you had besides killing. Now you see that you haven\u2019t given yourself as much credit as you should have. You have decades of combat experience behind you, experience that you could easily pass on to others if they were willing to pay for the knowledge.\n\nYou begin to entertain the idea that maybe you should open up some sort of combat training school. The more you think about it, the more the idea appeals to you. You\u2019re going to have to remain a mercenary for quite awhile still as you attempt to gain the coin to get such a place started, and probably still go on jobs even a little afterwards, but you feel like you have a true purpose again.\n\nAnd so you set off with your new goal in mind\u2026", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 55\n\nAfter another hard day of training various citizens of Rask, you lie in your bed thinking about how much has changed over the years. Never did you think that you\u2019d be running a real business, though to be honest if it wasn\u2019t for legitimate paranoia on the part of the Rask Alliance, you\u2019d probably be spending all of your time still as a merc, as it stands you\u2019re practically responsible for training the closest thing to an army that Rask has, though it\u2019s probably more of an organized militia.\n\nIt\u2019ll be the first line of defense if the Eternal Dominion starts to look to this way for expansion. When the ED started re-conquering the old territory of the Empire it was only natural that the towns and villages of Rask started getting worried. They didn\u2019t break away from the Empire only to replace it with something similar or worse. It was just their luck (and yours) that you wanted to become a professional combat instructor. Soon people from all over Rask were coming to see you. You hardly ever have to do any sort of mercenary work anymore and the mayor of Keplavisk is overjoyed by the fact that you set up shop in his town.\n\nAs for the Eternal Dominion threat, you aren\u2019t sure what to think. There has been no formal declaration of war or even a diplomatic visit to Rask yet, but that doesn\u2019t mean there won\u2019t be, Rask has lots of resources after all. Still, the ED has its hands full still trying to keep everyone in line from the top to the bottom while attempting to gain more holdings. Mass orc migration to Rask are becoming common, even the svelk are more welcome in Rask again. Partly due to the possible need for more mercs if war comes to pass and partly due to dark elves being disliked by the ED, which apparently frowns upon mercenaries (and probably the attitudes of the dark elves in general).\n\nYou have to hand it to \u201cGeneral\u201d Edgar though, you didn\u2019t think he\u2019d be able to get those chaotic brats calling themselves \u201ceternals\u201d organized, though it sounds like they\u2019re still as sadistic as ever and if the rumors are true, another generation of Eternals are being trained as well. You can\u2019t even imagine what they\u2019re going to be like. If war is coming like everyone thinks it is, you know immediately that you\u2019re probably going to be nominated and begged by the various mayors and council members to be some sort of commander. You aren\u2019t sure if you\u2019d accept the position though you probably will mainly because you don\u2019t want to be bothered moving anymore and you\u2019ll be damned if you\u2019ll live under the rule of some half assed Eternals.\n\nPart of you wonders what the hell is going through Edgar\u2019s mind. He seemed more level headed the last time you saw him, like the incident with Kane forced him to mature, but you guess his aspirations for personal glory were just too great to keep suppressed for long. You also wonder about Brenda, she\u2019s the only other old Eternal that was left, and you have no idea if she\u2019s even still alive or serving with Edgar. You get your answer and then some in a few days.\n\nAnother hard day of training various citizens of Rask and you\u2019re ready to close up shop and then two figures wearing hoods enter. You have flashbacks to fighting the Shadow Guard and you draw your sword.\n\n\u201cHold on! It\u2019s me! Warrick! See?\u201d a familiar voice says and reveals himself from under the hood. The face is much older than you remember and sporting an eye patch, and the hair is now nearly gone. But considering you thought Warrick to be dead, you aren\u2019t completely convinced until the second cloaked figure reveals herself and speaks.\n\n\u201cI told you wearing these things was a bad idea. He probably thought we were Shadow Guards!\u201d she says. Her face is also much older and the hair is completely gray, but you definitely know this one is Brenda. Between the pair of them it truly makes you realize how much time has passed since you saw them.\n\u201cAnd I told you, we need to keep a low profile, this situation is dangerous to the both of us.\u201d Warrick says.\n\n\u201cWarrick back from the dead and Brenda, I was just recently thinking about what had become of you.\u201d\n\u201cWe need to talk to you about Edgar.\u201d Warrick says cutting right to the point.\n\u201cYeah I thought so\u2026okay let me lock up and we can talk about this in my quarters.\u201d\n\nThe first thing you find out is that Warrick is now working for the Felkan Kingdom. He says it\u2019s a long story, but it has its roots in his becoming disillusioned with the Empire much like you did. Warrick also goes on to say that\u2019s one of the reasons why he\u2019s here. Edgar definitely has plans to attack it in the future and the crown hopes to avoid another long and troublesome war by recruiting allies this time. He mentions real Felkan diplomats will probably be arriving in Rask soon to speak with the leaders of the towns, but he was sent to specifically reach out to you, because whether you knew it or not, your reputation here carries weight.\n\nAs for Brenda, her position is much more dangerous. She is currently serving the Eternal Dominion, (another long story) but is trying to encourage an underground dissident movement. Not really difficult considering how oppressive Edgar\u2019s regime is. It is the hope of the Felkan Kingdom that the ED will wear itself out on keeping down riots and other potential conquests like Rask before it turns its eyes on the Felkan Kingdom.\n\nYou tell Warrick that he\u2019s probably wasted a trip as the paranoid mentality of the Raskians are already preparing for war with the ED and will have no problem allying with the Felkan Kingdom and that you\u2019ll no doubt be called upon to command the people you\u2019ve been training. Warrick seems relived to hear that, and you and he begin to do a little catching up. Brenda participates as well, though the whole time she seems a little preoccupied. Eventually as the night goes on, Warrick says he must be getting back to report to his superiors. Brenda says that she is not ready to leave as she wishes to speak to you about Roldan and his last days with you. Warrick understands, but warns her that she should not be away for too long so as to arouse suspicion. He would hate to have her sacrifices should lead to her death.\n\n\u201cSacrifices\u2026as if he would know about such things. When the Empire needed him the most what did he do? He ran to the fucking enemy. Now his new masters give him commands and the running lapdog thinks he\u2019s free, but he\u2019s still a slave.\u201d She remarks with distain, before continuing.\n\n\u201cEdgar may be an egomaniac with delusions of grandeur like he always was, but he at least tried to keep the Empire together, even if it is in a different form now. He believes in something better, even if he\u2019s not exactly intelligent enough to carry out that idea. And you, you\u2019re worst of them all. You just dropped out altogether and dedicating yourself to nothing, but coin like a fucking svelk. What the hell happened to you? You used be our leader.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m not exactly sure what your point is, but if this all pent up anger at me due to Roldan dying I\u2026\u201d\n\u201cDon\u2019t you dare fucking mention him! I heard enough of hollow apologies in that damn letter you wrote to me.\u201d\n\u201cThey were Eternals as we all are. Dying in combat is always a possibility for us, I know their deaths weren\u2019t the most glorious, but at the time they died doing something they believed in. I can hardly help that the institution that they believed in, crumbled soon afterwards. I tried like hell to maintain my own belief in the Empire despite having it time after time again tested. Eventually I saw the light when I had to command a bunch of those new eternals while attempting to put down mass riots near the capital. Was leaving the right decision? I don\u2019t know, but it was for ME. The fact is ALL of our lives were nothing but duty and dedication to a corrupt government that deserved none of it. Kane knew that, Gruz knew that, and as much as I still hate them to this day, the Shadow Guard knew that. When the Empire was in its death throes it affected us all differently. I can\u2019t help the fact that you decided to stay loyal and it didn\u2019t work out resulting in you eventually having to capitulate to Edgar later on. At least you and Roldan had an experience that none of us will ever have. You have at least that to cherish.\u201d\n\nBrenda is silent for a moment as she takes in your statement. She looks at a ring on her finger, which is obviously still her wedding ring to Roldan. She smiles and then speaks.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re right I suppose. You usually were when we all served under you. Even you couldn\u2019t have prevented the Empire from falling, the damage was done long before we came into existence. I guess I just never got over Roldan\u2019s death and had nobody except you to blame since you were the only one still alive. The funny thing is I didn\u2019t start blaming you until I found out you left the Empire. You were always our leader, and it seemed unthinkable that you would leave willingly. You know I think none of us really saw anyone else as their leader except you. It\u2019s probably why Kane wanted you to join him, it\u2019s no doubt why Warrick insisted on reaching out to you and it\u2019s why Edgar sent me\u2026\u201d\n\u201cExcuse me?\u201d\n\u201cOne of the things you were wrong about and Warrick too. I am not helping him though he still thinks I am. There is no underground resistance, or at least none that matters. Warrick and his Felkan masters think they can undermine the Eternal Dominion, but they are quite wrong. When Edgar first came to me and explained his cause and ideas I realized it was a just and worthy one. I joined in an effort to help with some of the details that Edgar himself is not nearly as skilled at, still he has proven himself to be more charismatic than he once was, at least to the other eternals and that\u2019s who is mainly important. He wants to create a nation where we Eternals are in control, as it should\u2019ve been.\u201d\n\u201c\u2026so why would he want me for, wouldn\u2019t he consider me an enemy like Warrick?\u201d\n\u201cNo, not like Warrick. While your abandonment did sadden Edgar, he always figured you had a good reason. He never questioned it. And now that you\u2019ve told me your views I see he was right. It\u2019s really quite odd to see how high of regard he holds you. I guess your time with him during Kane\u2019s attempted secession really impacted him.\u201d\n\n\u201cBrenda, this is a lot to take in, what exactly are you expecting from me then?\u201d\n\u201cAs Warrick said, your reputation carries weight here and you have the ear of several of the mayors here. Perhaps you could explain to them that even with training that resistance will be useless and that the ED will just slaughter everyone. Better that they should surrender now and have a benevolent overseer such as\u2026you running things.\u201d\n\u201cAnd you really think Raskians are going to go for that idea?\u201d\n\u201cWhat does it matter? They are going to be conquered eventually anyway. I merely suggest other options to Edgar\u2019s plan, which was to convince you to just come with me where you could take command of a battalion to conquer Rask seeing as you know the place the best.\u201d\n\u201cHeh, sounds like him. So what was the plan if I refuse altogether? Killing me I suppose?\u201d\n\u201cDidn\u2019t come up though I even asked him about it, but as I said Edgar really believes that you\u2019ll help us. Perhaps in some way he didn\u2019t want to think about the alternative. I\u2019m guessing that you are considering the alternative?\u201d\n\u201cDon\u2019t see why I shouldn\u2019t, do you?\u201d\n\u201cYou would have a true purpose again. Serving an idea greater than yourself.\u201d\n\u201cI have a true purpose now. I\u2019m training others to fight against those that would take their lives. The Raskians don\u2019t want to be ruled over and quite frankly neither do I, let alone by Edgar.\u201d\n\u201cNo! You would be different! You, like myself would be given an equal place in the decision making process! Even the other Eternal don\u2019t get that.\u201d\n\u201cYeah, that\u2019s the other thing, I\u2019m loathed to live in a land that considers those new\u2026things, eternals.\u201d\n\u201cThey are much different now, true they still have their sadistic streak, but only towards the non-eternals and who cares about them?\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m sure the non-eternals do, and while they may very well be inferior, enough of them can topple any government. We saw it happen, and it\u2019ll happen to you too if you aren\u2019t careful.\u201d\n\u201cSo are you saying you won\u2019t join us?\u201d\n\nYou get the impression that if you say no, she\u2019s going to attack you and you\u2019ll have to defend yourself. Killing Brenda is something you do not want to do, but lying and saying yes is duplicity you\u2019d rather not engage in.", "action_results": [{"action": "Say no", "result": "You didn\u2019t lie to Kane when he wanted you to join him and you aren\u2019t going to lie to Brenda, but you are going to try to reason with her.\n\n\u201cBrenda, I didn\u2019t join Kane all those years ago, because his path wasn\u2019t mine and I\u2019m not joining you and Edgar for the same reasons. However I would hope that we don\u2019t end up like me and him did.\u201d\n\u201cWhat you think I\u2019m going to try to kill you? No, I doubt if I could by myself. I fear I probably haven\u2019t kept up my combat skills as honed as you have. To be quite honest, I wasn\u2019t sure what I was going to do, if you rejected the offer. I guess I\u2019ll give Edgar the bad news, but I know he\u2019s not going to take it well and he\u2019ll definitely attack this place with his army and I doubt if you\u2019ll be spared for old times sake.\u201d\n\u201cThen you\u2019re going to have to convince him not to. Look, this place is not going to bend to his will. The paranoia and the idea of freedom is stronger here than it has ever been. If you attack Rask, be prepared to suffer considerable losses as I personally will make sure of it. This is my home now. I\u2019m not leaving and I\u2019m not serving another empire either. Even if you win, you will not easily recover from the losses let alone be able to fight the Felkan Kingdom, in fact they will most likely take advantage of the chaos. Now you\u2019ve been in contact with Warrick long enough to know that the Felkan Kingdom is counting on you being disorganized and weak from attacking Rask. If you want to play it smart? Attack them instead and don\u2019t worry about Rask.\u201d\n\u201cWhat\u2019s stopping Rask from attacking us if they ally with the Felkan Kingdom?\u201d\n\u201cThey won\u2019t trust me. The Felkan Kingdom can send all the diplomats they want, but the Raskians are ultimately not going to stick their necks out for them.\u201d\n\u201cAnd you think Edgar will go for this idea?\u201d\n\u201cYou know what? He\u2019ll go for it, because if he TRULY respects me, he\u2019ll fucking listen to my advice which has never steered him wrong, not to mention I saved his damn life more than once. I\u2019m telling you to tell him, that he needs to consolidate his forces, get his house in order, maybe retake a few other areas of the old Empire and THEN attack the Felkan Kingdom if he absolutely needs to. Rask is just death zone, it didn\u2019t do the Empire any good and they only held on to it for as long as they did because I was here. I say that not as a boast, but as truth. Does Edgar have anyone like me in his army? I doubt it. The hostile inhabitants here didn\u2019t call me the Bane of Rask for nothing. A name, which I\u2019m still called, even by those I\u2019m helping. If he sets an army in these lands, I\u2019ll make sure they\u2019ll start calling me the Bane of Edgar.\u201d\n\nBrenda smiles a bit again at your last remark.\n\n\u201cYou always did have a way with words. I missed that sometimes. Okay, well I guess I\u2019ll go then, to deliver your message.\u201d\n\u201cBrenda y\u2019know there is another option. You could stay here, or go somewhere else. You don\u2019t need to follow Edgar. You\u2019re fully capable of doing something else with your life.\u201d\n\u201cTrust me, it\u2019s tempting. I even thought about joining Warrick when he first approached me, but it\u2019s not for me. Warrick\u2019s path to me is one of a traitor, even if I do understand it and your path is one of freedom\u2026something I guess I just can\u2019t comprehend. I still need the structure and hierarchy. I dunno, maybe I just need to be with other likeminded Eternals. None of them are Roldan, but I don\u2019t feel as lonely.\u201d\n\nAnd there it is at last. The real reason why Brenda is following Edgar, you knew it couldn\u2019t be because she blindly believed in his cause. You can\u2019t imagine what is going on in her head and there will be no talking her out of her choice, but you\u2019re glad you won\u2019t have to fight her and hopefully her message to Edgar will get through to him as well. You bid farewell to Brenda, probably for the last time. You go to bed that night, but you don\u2019t really sleep, you just wonder what events the coming months will hold.\n\nMonths pass and just as Warrick said, diplomats from the Felkan Kingdom visit Rask. As you thought, they get a lot of promises of an alliance and some trade deals, but that\u2019s about it. The general consensus of the Raskians is that they won\u2019t be committing any troops unless war comes directly to their doorsteps. Great, now you just hope that Edgar follows your advice\u2026\n\nYear 58\n\nEdgar took your advice, or at least you guess he did. He never attacked Rask. Never even sent anyone, he did however send thousands across the Felkan borders a couple years ago. The war is still going on and you hear it\u2019s even more brutal than the one with the Empire. Edgar has adapted with the times unlike the Empire and is implementing stolen technology from the Felkans. You can only imagine how Warrick is faring and while it is unfortunate, you stopped being their \u201cleader\u201d decades ago and their motives, goals and dreams are their own concerns not yours.\n\nAnd your only concern lately is getting old. Every day you notice new pains in your joints and muscles. You\u2019re slower than you once were and not quite as strong anymore. You wonder how your fellow Eternals feel about getting old, though perhaps due to still being engaged in warfare, maybe they don\u2019t dwell on it as much. Brenda and Warrick will probably expect to die in battle, as for Edgar, the fool probably believes he\u2019ll live forever.\n\nYou don\u2019t have as many students anymore, as many of the other towns have taken to creating their own combat schools, mostly run by those you taught. Mercenary work is even harder to come by nowadays; thanks to you each town actually has competent militias that can clean out hostiles without much mercenary aid anymore. Indeed they need something to do considering Edgar never attacked Rask.\n\nEven the ogre tribes in the far north have settled down. Last you heard, Flog \u201cretired\u201d at one of their primitive villages, a forced wedding to an ogre bride for killing her husband to be. Bet he wishes he\u2019d died with his fellows at Fort Defiance now! Eldolith ended up taking her remaining men to work for the Felkan Kingdom, one of the last mercenary squads to stay in Rask.\n\nUlivik said his goodbyes to his family and you even before the mercenary work dried up. Said he was bored of it and wanted to see more of the world and become an \u201cadventurer.\u201d You think his parents were even less pleased to hear that than when he wanted to be a merc, and you\u2019ve never quite understood the appeal of the wandering life of an adventurer either, but you wished him the best. When he left, he thanked you one more time for taking the time to teach him when nobody else would.\n\nYou were always glad he got over his resentment of you due to your harsh training. And while it is true you did initially train him for coin and swore an oath to his parents to look after him during that time, it is because of those actions that you discovered a little more about yourself and focused yourself in the direction to open up your combat school.\n\nOf course your actions have now changed Rask to an extent that you may have very well put yourself out of a job, but you aren\u2019t worried. You still get students from Keplavisk, so you\u2019ll probably always have a bit of business. Even if you don\u2019t, you\u2019ve been doing some saving over the years.\n\nYou can only prepare yourself now, for whatever changes might come in the future.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 65\n\nYou get a knock on the door to which causes you to wonder who would be bothering you at this time of night. You\u2019re more than a little annoyed since you were sleeping.\n\n\u201cGo away, I ain\u2019t getting up.\u201d you say from your chair trying to go back to sleep.\n\u201cOpen the fuck up, you useless old man!\u201d you hear from outside and it\u2019s enough to motivate you to answer it and punch out the fool who said it. When you open it however, an unexpected visitor meets you.\n\n\u201cUlivik?\u201d\n\u201cYeah, it\u2019s me! Well, aren\u2019t you going to invite me in?\u201d he laughs.\n\u201cYeah sure.\u201d You say and the both of you head to your quarters to sit and talk. You still shaking the cobwebs after being awaken from your slumber.\n\n\u201cWere you asleep?\u201d\n\u201cYeah, what of it?\u201d\n\u201cNothing! Just sort of surprised, I mean I know it\u2019s night, but its still pretty early.\u201d\n\u201cEh, it\u2019s been kind of a lazy day today, felt like sleeping for most of it.\u201d\n\u201cYou didn\u2019t teach a class today?\u201d\n\u201cClass? School\u2019s been officially closed for about two years now. I mean I get few people that seek me out looking to increase their skills every once in awhile, but nowadays everyone goes to that new military academy they opened up here.\u201d\n\u201cOh, I was wondering what that big new building looming near the edge of town was, so they didn\u2019t offer you a job there?\u201d\n\u201cEh, they did, but I didn\u2019t want it. People who I originally trained run it and most of them I didn\u2019t even like when I was teaching them, so I\u2019d rather not have to follow whatever silly guidelines they\u2019ve come up with for that place. Anyway, I sometimes get paid to give speeches on tactics and strategies there. I get by. So where have you been and what brings you back?\u201d\n\nUlivik mentions he mainly returned to when he heard his father had died and that he\u2019s probably going to be around for a while to look after his mother. He then excitedly goes on about his various adventures of exploring ruins, caves and finding treasures and lost trinkets. Not enough to get rich, but he\u2019s not in it for that. You enjoy hearing about it all, it\u2019s not like you really go anywhere or do as much anymore. And as the years go on, you are finding yourself with less and less to do. You sort of thought your school and teaching would occupy your time and that if you got bored of that you could always break it up with a little mercenary work. But both of those options are pretty much closed off to you at this point, at least in Rask. The place is less wild and more peaceful now than it ever was under the Empire.\n\nYou could move you suppose, but it\u2019s not such a bad life maybe you should just settle in and enjoy your elderly years in relative peace\u2026\n\n\u201c..and so then I got my head split open and my entrails eaten by the clawbeast and died. Hey! Are you still with me?\u201d Ulivik asks.\n\u201cHuh? Yeah you got your entrails eaten and died.\u201d You answer.\n\u201cWell glad to see you\u2019re still listening.\u201d Ulivik laughs.\n\u201cSorry, just a little preoccupied. Anyway, go on.\u201d\n\nUlivik knows something\u2019s up with you, and he\u2019s got a pretty good idea what it is.\n\n\u201cHey, have you ever thought about leaving Rask and joining your old buddies in the Eternal Dominion?\u201d he asks.\n\u201cWha\u2026oh I don\u2019t think that\u2019s for me. Besides I only have two there, dunno if one of them is even still alive and I never really was exactly friends with Edgar. Speaking of which did you have much trouble traveling through the ED? I heard they aren\u2019t too fond of svelk there ever since most of your people have been hiring themselves out to the Felkans.\u201d\nWell as you once pointed out, we\u2019re not really liked anywhere we go, but I never really kept to the populated areas while in the ED so I didn\u2019t have too many problems. However, I did find that dropping your name helped me a few times. You\u2019re sort of known there.\u201d\n\u201cHuh. Dunno, why I would be, not like I was ever part of the place. Guess Edgar really did look up to me. Unexpected.\u201d\n\u201cDidn\u2019t he offer you a job too one time?\u201d\n\u201cYeah. Don\u2019t think it\u2019s still available though. Like I said, my time serving big governments is over with. I wasted more than thirty years of my life doing it. Not going to waste the remaining years I have left even if it\u2019s a high position of power. Besides, I\u2019m still not sure that I wouldn\u2019t have to kill Edgar if I ever got into an argument with him over something.\u201d\n\u201cSurely it would be more interesting than sleeping all day.\u201d\n\u201cHah, probably. I dunno, I just feel like Edgar\u2019s Eternal Dominion is just mimicking a lot of the old Empire. Sure it\u2019s doing well now, but ultimately it\u2019s going to fall just like the Empire did, so what\u2019s the point?\u201d\n\u201cHmm, well you could offer your services to the Felkan Kingdom, I think they could use the help.\u201d\n\u201cYeah, no. I\u2019m not into lost causes. Did that before too and saw the results. The Felkan Kingdom could\u2019ve won the war if they didn\u2019t fight so defensively. There were many times early in the war where they should\u2019ve pressed an attack and took territory. Their fate is probably sealed at this point. Only a matter of time, assuming the ED keeps with it\u2019s policy of total conquest, and doesn\u2019t fuck it up. Anyway don\u2019t get me started on how I nearly got dragged into serving on both sides of that conflict.\u201d\n\n\u201cOkay, but how about another proposal?\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019ll bite. What is it?\u201d\n\u201cWell, as you know I\u2019m going to be here awhile looking after my mother, but I need something to do. Rask still has areas of it that are largely unexplored. I sort wondered if you\u2019d like to come with me on an adventure in this very area.\u201d\n\u201cOh? And where would this place be? Most of the places you\u2019re speaking of involve mountains, and as bored as I am, I\u2019m not about to go dragging my ass up a fucking mountain.\u201d\n\u201cHa ha, nah not the mountains, though it still might involve a little bit of climbing.\u201d\n\u201cOkay, so where?\u201d\n\u201cThe Wendigo Hills.\u201d\n\nNow there\u2019s name that\u2019s spoken of in only whispers nowadays in Rask. Everyone knows about it and doesn\u2019t speak about it, let alone go near it, from humans to ogres and even the few giants still left. Ever since you wiped them out forty five years ago, there have been little problems from those evil spirits. Years later after you first left Rask you heard the various villages got their holy men together to perform some sort of ritual to make sure none of the spirits managed to ever escape from those cursed hills ever again. Of course every once in a blue moon some unfortunate idiot\u2026usually an adventurer gets himself possessed and no expense is spared in hunting down the creature and destroying it.\n\nNow it looks like Ulivik is intent on being that new unfortunate idiot.\n\n\u201cHave you lost your fucking mind, because if you haven\u2019t, then you will if you go there and that\u2019s if you\u2019re lucky. I went to that blasted place once, I had a company of soldiers with me and I was in my prime. I barely got out of that place alive and you know what happened to the few soldiers that survived with me? Four of them ultimately committed suicide from their nightmares and the other two got discharged and thrown in the asylum for just going batshit insane. No, I\u2019m not going and if you got any sense, you won\u2019t either. That place does shit your mind. The spirits there are pure evil, and they are not to be trifled with.\u201d\n\"No, I have a remedy for that! Look at these!\" Ulivik says and produces two amulets with a faint blue glow.\n\n\"Let me guess, these things are magical and they're supposed to protect us from getting possessed.\"\n\"Correct! Even when I was little, I heard there was supposed to be great treasure in those hills. Nobody has ever had the skill to go in there and claim it, but I want to be the first because I truly feel like I'm ready now. You're the about the one who has traveled the most in those hills and survived. You would be a great help and we can even share whatever we find! Come on, it'll be like old times!\"\n\n\"Old\" being the key word here. While you were wondering if you were becoming more complacent in your old age, you aren't sure if going to the Wendigo Hills is something you want to do just to prove \"you still got it.\"", "action_results": [{"action": "Help Ulivik", "result": "Ulivik may be an accomplished warrior now, but out of all the tales he\u2019s told you about his adventures; he still hasn\u2019t faced anything like the wendigos and he\u2019s going to get himself killed or worse if he goes into this with just the hope of some magic bauble around his neck. As much as you\u2019re loathed to go through this again, you decide to help Ulivik.\n\n\u201cAlright I\u2019ll go, but as soon as I think we\u2019re in a shitload of danger that we can\u2019t handle, you better listen to me, because this isn\u2019t going to be the fun adventure you think it\u2019s going to be. Understand?\u201d\n\u201cSure, but I really don\u2019t think it\u2019s going to be as bad as all that.\u201d\n\u201cNo, it\u2019ll probably be worse. Now if you don\u2019t mind I\u2019m going to get some sleep and get my mind focused on this fool\u2019s task.\u201d\n\u201cFool\u2019s task? You\u2019re coming with me.\u201d\n\u201cYeah, which says more about my own foolishness than yours, because you don\u2019t know any better. I know we got these magic amulets or whatever, but these\u2026 things are going to try to get inside your head and if they succeed, it\u2019s all over. If that happens to you, I won\u2019t hesitate to put a sword through your head, and I expect you to do the same.\u201d\n\u201cHa ha you\u2019d kill me so easily?\u201d Ulivik laughs, but you\u2019re in no mood.\n\u201cHello, I don\u2019t believe we\u2019ve met\u2026by the gods have you remembered nothing of the stories of my past? Of course I\u2019d fucking do it so easily! I\u2019ve killed innocent men and their entire families just because they disagreed with how the Empire was doing things, hell I even killed one of my Eternal brothers because of it. Wouldn\u2019t be anything to kill someone who was turned into a mindless beast even if\u2026\u201d\n\nYou stop yourself right there.\n\n\u201cEven if what?\u201d Ulivik asks.\n\u201cEven if\u2026he\u2019s too stupid to see this is a really bad idea! Anyway, I\u2019m ranting and I\u2019m tired. I\u2019m going to bed, you can let yourself out. And don\u2019t say that I don\u2019t have to go, because I\u2019m already committed now. I gave you my word as an Eternal.\u201d\n\nUlivik knows when you say something like that, you\u2019re being serious, so he just nods and tells you he\u2019ll be by tomorrow morning before leaving. As for you, you head off to bed with a myriad of thoughts going on in your head.\n\n\u201cCan\u2019t believe I nearly said he was like a son to me. What the fuck am I thinkin\u2019 about? Better get your head in the game old man, because wendigos are going to thrive on that. They live on weakness.\u201d You mumble before drifting off to sleep.\n\nThe next morning you and Ulivik set off for the infamous Wendigo Hills. Along the way, you go on about your own major conflicts with them, even when they were originally just thought to be people infected with lycanthropy like the rest of the old barbarian tribes around Rask. Ulivik listens to you in fascination like he did when he was much younger as you\u2019ve never spoken of your experience with the wendigos before to him except in passing. It\u2019s good to know he\u2019s still listening.\n\n\u201cSo after that battle, no wendigo has ever left those hills?\u201d Ulivik asks.\n\u201cEh, we had a couple that still managed to snag bodies and kill a few people before being brought down and exorcised by some of the local hedge wizards we recruited later, but that was mainly due to people idiotically still going into the hills in the first place. Sort of like what we\u2019re doing.\u201d You say.\n\u201cBut if they\u2019re spirits can\u2019t they just float about possessing people?\u201d\n\u201cYou\u2019d think so, but for whatever reason they can\u2019t leave these the hills in pure spirit form, they need a body. That\u2019s why when they\u2019re killed they immediately try to hop into a new one or else they get pulled back to the hills. Dunno why, and I don\u2019t think anyone\u2019s bothered to learn the history either. Everyone\u2019s just glad they were deprived of nearly all of their bodies by a certain Eternal decades ago.\u201d\n\u201cHa ha, but what about animals? Couldn\u2019t they just possess animals and leave the hills that way?\u201d\n\u201cAlways wondered that myself, but again if they could I\u2019d imagine they\u2019d still be a major threat. Besides, when I traversed those hills I didn\u2019t see a single animal, not one, of course I assumed that they probably ate them all. The wendigo are basically consumption and hunger in its purest form. They aren\u2019t big thinkers in the scheme of things and it\u2019s fortunate that they never organized past their barbarian tribal hosts.\u201d\n\u201cSounds like it, but if they are all spirits as you say, then we shouldn\u2019t experience any physical combat at all and with these amulets and our steel trap minds we should be fine! We might even find some sort of ancient lore about how the wendigos came to be tied to those hills!\u201d\n\u201cWell you\u2019re as optimistic as ever. I suppose that\u2019s good, it\u2019ll keep your mind better prepared when the wendigos try to oppressively crush your free will. Y\u2019know, now that I think about it, I think that\u2019s what partially saved me. My mind was so dedicated to the Empire back in those days, the wendigos were trying to crush something that wasn\u2019t really my own to begin with.\u201d\n\u201cAnd now?\u201d\n\u201cNow? I got my impenetrable cynicism to protect me, which I\u2019ll definitely put more stock in than this ridiculous magical amulet that\u2019ll undoubtedly fail to do anything.\u201d\n\u201cLooks like you\u2019re off to a good start with your cynicism.\u201d\n\nThe after a couple days of travel, you eventually make it to the base of the Wendigo Hills. The markings and warning signs line stretch up, down and all the way around as far as you know. No real physical barriers of course, but even those dumb ass ogres that can\u2019t read know better than to pass the line. Of course they usually knew better to begin with, which proves that they\u2019re smarter in that respect. You take a deep breath and step past the markings and make your way up the forested hills.\n\nIt\u2019s at this point your amulet starts to glow a brighter blue, Ulivik claims \u201cthat\u2019s how you know that it\u2019s working!\u201d Great. Still, you don\u2019t hear any sinister whispers yet, but there is still that dead silence you remember. As if nothing living is here.\n\nUlivik, mentions that he found a crude and well worn map of some of the Rask area during his trip through Eternal Dominion lands and wants to explore some ruins that are clearly marked on it. You mention you haven\u2019t been here in a long time, but you don\u2019t remember ever seeing any, so you can\u2019t be as of much help as he might\u2019ve thought. Ulivik says he doesn\u2019t care though, he\u2019s just glad to have you along.\n\n\u201cThat map is probably old Empire. Like really old Empire, and much might\u2019ve changed since then. It could also be inaccurate to begin with.\u201d\n\u201cYeah, that\u2019s true, but we might as well find out. It\u2019s the journey, not necessarily the destination that\u2019s important! That\u2019s what adventuring is all about.\u201d\n\u201cFunny, I always thought it was the misguided hope of finding lots of loot and the avoidance of a real job.\u201d You reply.\n\u201cThat\u2019s just a bonus.\u201d Ulivik comments and you allow yourself to chuckle. Never thought you\u2019d do that while in this cursed place.\n\nAfter a half hour or so of walking, you start to get an uneasy feeling of being watched. You mention this to Ulivik and he says he\u2019s getting that impression too. You ask him if he\u2019s hearing anything, but he says he isn\u2019t except the snow crunching under foot. Neither are you, maybe the amulets are working, but it\u2019s obvious the presence of the wendigos is near.\n\nAnother hour of travel and you and Ulivik see something you didn\u2019t expect.\n\n\u201cDo you see that? That\u2019s a rabbit! I thought you said nothing was living here?\u201d Ulivik says.\n\u201cWhen I came through I didn\u2019t see a living creature, so I just assumed there wasn\u2019t. I guess there is though.\u201d You reply.\n\u201cMaybe the wendigo aren\u2019t here anymore and everyone has been scared of this place for decades for no reason.\u201d\n\u201cI wouldn\u2019t go that far. Something is definitely here and just because we\u2019re seeing rabbits doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s safe. It just means animals must not be suitable hosts for them.\u201d\n\u201cWell\u2026hey that rabbit it\u2019s hopping towards us. Hmm, a little larger than average and hopping towards people is rather unusual behavior for a ra\u2026\u201d\n\nBefore Ulivik can finish, his leg is leaped upon and viciously attacked by the rabbit. After some hollering from the surprise, you grab the little furry beast and break its neck. You toss its lifeless body in the snow while Ulivik examines the bite marks in his pants\n\n\u201cFuck, that thing chewed through my pant leg and broke the skin! You never mentioned killer rabbits on your travel to here.\u201d\n\u201cThat\u2019s because I didn\u2019t encounter any, and I doubt if that was really a rabbit anymore. It would seem that animals CAN be hosts after all, they just need a human one or something similar to leave the hills. Anyway, we should really get out here, there are more coming.\u201d\n\u201cWhat? So? I\u2019m sure we can handle a few overgrown possessed rabbits.\u201d Ulivik says still preoccupied with his very minor wound.\n\u201cA few, sure, but how about hundreds of them?\u201d you say and draw his attention to literally that number popping up all around you.\n\nThe glaring red eyes of hundreds of possessed bunnies are upon you and their herbivore buck teeth have now been replaced with the toothy fangs of a carnivore hungry for flesh. And they look like they haven\u2019t tasted a bi-ped in a long time\u2026", "action_results": [{"action": "Fight your way back home", "result": "You slash out at the nearest rabbits and shout at Ulivik that you need to get the hell out of here.\n\n\u201cWhat?! We can\u2019t run from rabbits! We\u2019ve both fought worse than this!\u201d Ulivik shouts chopping down a few more of them.\n\u201cFirst of all they aren\u2019t just rabbits, they\u2019re rabbits with wendigos in them. Second of all rabbits are notorious for breeding at an alarming rate. Chances are there are even more bunny bodies for the wendigos to take control of even if we manage to kill all of the ones here. Running from rabbits might not exactly be the bravest thing, but constantly being assaulted by a horde while going deeper into enemy territory and trying to find something that might not even be there anymore is just stupid.\u201d You say hacking at more of them and shaking off the ones jumping on you.\n\u201c\u2026agh! Oh all right!\u201d Ulivik shouts and the pair of you manage to cut a path through the rabbit mass and make a break for it.\u201d\n\nYou and Ulivik run chopping up rabbits along the way as the \u201clittle\u201d nippers are hopping after you and occasionally leaping on you and get a few bites in. This might all be very comical if your life wasn\u2019t in mortal danger.\n\n\u201cSHIT!\u201d Ulivik shouts when a group of rabbits catch up and pile on one of his ankles, biting and clawing at it. He falls down face first into the snow and you immediately get rid of the rabbits around Ulivik who is doing likewise.\n\n\u201cGet off! Get off!\u201d he shouts killing them.\n\nWhile you\u2019re kneeling down trying to help, one of the rabbits jumps on your back and with his teeth takes the amulet chain and leaps off with it.\n\n\u201cWhat the\u2026get that little furry bastard!\u201d you shout when you feel it lifted from around your neck, but it\u2019s too late the rabbit has run off with it and the rest of the horde is coming.\n\n\u201cCome on we gotta get outta here!\u201d Ulivik says and the pair of you resume your escape. Unfortunately you\u2019re starting to hear the whispers again. The multitude of them, though one in particular stands out.\n\n\u201cWelcome back Bane of Rask, we\u2019ve been waiting for you\u2026I\u2019VE been waiting for you.\u201d A voice in your head says.\n\u201cShit, it\u2019s starting, they\u2019re getting inside my head!\u201d you say stomping on another rabbit.\n\u201cJust ignore it like you did last time!\u201d Ulivik exclaims.\n\u201cEasy for you to say! Argh dammit! My fucking head!\u201d\n\u201cYou\u2019ve gotten old Bane\u2026you should just give up and let me take over, you\u2019ll be able to lifetimes\u2026\u201d the voice says.\n\u201cShut up.\u201d\n\u201cWhy do you resist, you\u2019re too weak now. Just submit and this will all go easier\u2026\u201d\n\nBetween the spiritual assaults on your mind and Ulivik\u2019s chewed up ankle the pair of you aren\u2019t exactly running the fastest anymore. You have to stop many times to fight your way through, but it may be true that luck favors the fool and the pair of you have been mighty foolish for doing this in the first place, and eventually you see the end in sight.\n\n\u201cThere! The markers! If we get past those we\u2019ll be fine!\u201d\n\nUlivik speaks too soon however as it is at this point several hundred white rabbits who were blending in with the snow open their eyes and reveal the glowing red pin points of evil within them. They sit between you and the closest escape and a larger gray rabbit comes bounding out of a nearby hole in the ground. It\u2019s nearly the size of a bear. You fought a gray wendigo before; you would guess this is the same one. Their leader and the main one that\u2019s been taunting you the whole time.\n\n\u201cGive up Bane! Your time on this earth is over!\u201d\n\u201cSHUT THE FUCK UP!\u201d\n\u201cBecome meat then! I\u2019ll just use your svelk friend since you seem to care for him so much!\u201d\n\nYou hadn\u2019t heard it yet even with the assault on your head, but all of the rabbits in unison make that awful howling noise that you tried so hard to forget about. Even Ulivik with his magical protection winces at the noise. The battle is then joined as they run at you. You feel bites and slashes of several little claws and teeth breaking your skin. In a way the physical pain helps since its counter acting the mental attack still going on in your head.\n\nThe wendigo leader clumsily leaps towards you even stepping on his own smaller brethren. You roll away and give him a couple chops to his head, succeeding in lopping off part of his ear. This only serves to anger him further and he does a short rush into you, knocking you down. Other rabbits immediately take advantage of the situation and hop on top you and start to bite. You\u2019re busily trying to get them off of you and then the leader smacks you in the head with his oversized claws. You fall into the snow again, this time in a daze.\n\n\u201cYou call yourself an Eternal\u2026such arrogance of an incredibly short lived race. WE have more right to be known as eternals and I will make you suffer for your hubris!\u201d you hear the voice say and then several long fangs sink into the lower part of your leg as the leader attempts to eat you alive. Now you aren\u2019t exactly sure at this point due to the extreme physical pain, but you believe the wendigo leader has most likely bitten straight through your leg and if it hasn\u2019t been completely severed yet, it\u2019s only hanging on by broken bone and torn skin.\n\nYou yell out and muster all your remaining strength, sit up and bring your sword down onto the wendigo leader\u2019s head. Blood spurts everywhere as you twist it into his skull and your own leg is still chewed on in the death throes of the wendigo\u2019s host. Ulivik, who was being overwhelmed by the rest of the rabbits, finally manages to get to you and runs his own sword into the side of the gray wendigo several times causing it to finally release its fangs from your mangled leg. You quickly remove it from the wendigo\u2019s mouth and see a good portion of your leg completely destroyed and bleeding profusely. Despite this fact, you\u2019re determined that you are NOT going to die today. You didn\u2019t get this far just to be eaten by some possessed fucking rabbits. Ulivik helps you up and you hop as fast as you can towards the markers leaving a trail of gore in your wake. When you fall, you crawl as fast as you can instead. Ulivik tries to carry you, but you tell him to just keep the rest of the rabbits off of the pair of you.\n\nExhausted and severely injured you manage to make it past the safety barrier, causing the attack to completely cease and you no longer hear the whispers in your head any longer. The rabbits all stare at you from afar. You\u2019re only about ten feet away and you can feel their hatred all the way from here. Ulivik drags you further away from the wendigo area until you tell him to stop.\n\n\u201cHey! Stop it, I\u2019m not a fucking rag doll!\u201d you shout. \u201cI need to do something about this leg and fast, I\u2019m beginning to feel really dizzy over here. Make a fire and quickly!\u201d\n\nOne quick look and you know there\u2019s no way it can be saved. It\u2019s only hanging on as it is. You make the decision and chop through the remaining bone and muscle that was still connecting it to the rest of your body. This part doesn\u2019t hurt as it\u2019s mostly already disconnected from any nerves anyway. The following part of applying your heated sword to stop the bleeding hurts like hell though.\n\nDizzy and weakened from this whole ordeal, you see that you\u2019ve stopped the bleeding and fall unconscious mumbling \u201cDon\u2019t leave my leg here.\u201d\n\nA couple days later you finally wake up, though you almost weren\u2019t expecting to.\n\n\u201cAh, you\u2019re up, good. Your new leg is finished; I had the wood carver make one for you after I dragged your body back to town. The people here were shocked to see you laid out in such a manner. They thought you were dead at first.\u201d\n\u201cUgh, I sort of wish I was\u2026I\u2019m hardly the supreme warrior I once was, if I\u2019m getting my leg chewed off by oversized rabbits. I\u2019m just not quite ashamed enough to kill myself over it, my will to survive is just too strong I guess.\u201d\n\u201cIt\u2019s my fault anyway, I should\u2019ve went into that area myself\u2026\u201d\n\u201cOh no. Don\u2019t start doing that. Blaming yourself for what MIGHT have happened is a losing battle. Trust me, I\u2019ve had that same battle. I\u2019m an adult I make my own decisions and I chose to go with you, besides if I hadn\u2019t have come you would\u2019ve had all those little killer wendigo bunnies all over your ass instead and knowing you, you would\u2019ve still insisted on heading to those ruins and gotten yourself killed in the process.\u201d\n\u201cHa ha, maybe so.\u201d\n\u201c(Sigh) fucking rabbits...you know they must\u2019ve been cannibalizing themselves in those forms for years. Well the wendigos might not have killed me, but I\u2019m sure my reputation is. Ah fuck it, if I get a few snickers from the locals for losing my leg to a damned rabbit, it\u2019s not the worst thing in the world.\u201d\n\u201cYeah, about that\u2026I sort of lied. I told everyone you saved my life from a ten-foot wendigo that had taken host in an ogre turning it into a complete abomination with rows of teeth and that it was planning to organize a way for the rest of its fellows to leave the barrier.\u201d\n\u201cWhat?!\u201d\n\u201cI know you don\u2019t like to lie, but I just thought it sounded a lot more impressive. I mean you know the situation was really dangerous and I know the situation was really dangerous, but everyone else would just think\u2026rabbits? And then laugh like you said.\u201d\n\u201cFirst of all, I\u2019m not actually opposed to lying, I just don\u2019t do it when I respect the person enough not to do it to them. Anyway, I guess you were just concerned about my reputation. I won\u2019t argue the point and it\u2019s done now, besides it\u2019s not like anyone\u2019s going to confirm it by going up there. Hopefully I just don\u2019t get anymore snot nosed kids following me around town begging me to train them because those days are long over.\u201d You laugh.\n\nYou and Ulivik both talk for a few more hours before he eventually leaves to go see his mother. You take the opportunity to inspect your new wooden leg and try it on. It\u2019s going to take some time getting used to, but most major changes do and you\u2019ve survived those.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 75\n\nAs the years creep up on you and despite missing part of your leg, you still feel don\u2019t feel in any ill health. It\u2019s mostly just aches and pains from your more physical years catching up with you. After the leg incident though, you took that permanent position at the Keplavisk military academy as a strategy instructor, though nowadays it\u2019s looking like it\u2019ll become the Rask military academy. Rask is in the process of becoming a \u201creal nation\u201d rather than just a collection of allied towns. You don\u2019t really know all the politics of it, but the main guiding force was justified Raskian paranoia again. Ever since the Eternal Dominion\u2019s war with the Felkan Kingdom grinded to a halt, the ED has been making overtures to Rask to join them in the veiled form of threats rather than any sort of diplomatic alliance agreements.\n\nWhile starting a war on two fronts is always a bad idea you\u2019re guessing Edgar needs the resources that Rask has to make his final push to conquer the Felkans once and for all. You\u2019re also guessing he\u2019s intent on ignoring your advice of not attacking Rask too, you\u2019re just surprised he held out this long. You\u2019re not really worried about it if it comes to war. The Raskians may not have the unnaturally bred \u201ceternals\u201d like the ED does, but they\u2019re trained well enough to make the cost very high if they are in invaded. You should know, you trained most of them.\n\nYou hear a knock on your door and you slowly make your way over.\n\n\u201cMail for you Mr. Bane.\u201d A delivery girl says to you when you open up the door. You toss a gold coin to her and take your letter.\n\nAt first you figure it\u2019s from Ulivik, no doubt telling you about whatever grand adventure he\u2019s on this time. The last time he was here, he was for his mother\u2019s funeral. He kept his composure for the most part, but it still wasn\u2019t a good time for him. He didn\u2019t say it in so many words, but he did say that you were the only family he had left. You didn\u2019t follow up, but the pair you said your goodbyes both of you knowing that you had that bond similar to that of a father and son.\n\nBut this letter isn\u2019t from Ulivik, it\u2019s mysteriously labeled as from \u201ca friend.\u201d Considering you\u2019ve never really had any, you\u2019re baffled to as who it could be. When you open it you see that it\u2019s from Edgar, several pages in fact. You sit down to read all of it.\n\nThe beginning of it hopes that the letter has found you as he wants you to take in all of what he has to tell you. He begins by stating that he\u2019s dying. He mentions his health is deteriorating by the day and he doesn\u2019t know how much longer he has left. His \u201csuccessors\u201d are likely to start a war with Rask soon after his death, it\u2019s only due to their respect that they don\u2019t. The same way his respect for you caused him not to.\n\nThe majority of the letter explains that he wants you to understand why he did what he did and how he wished that you had joined him. He says the incident with Kane never left him and how if he\u2019d only been there to listen to him and help him more, none of that might\u2019ve happened. Perhaps even the Empire would\u2019ve survived. (You doubt that though, it would\u2019ve just taken longer) When the Empire was in its last days he saw how chaotic the new eternals were and realized they needed guidance and a purpose much like Kane did. He always thought that you\u2019d do it, but you left leaving him as the only person willing to. He says it was very difficult and while they ultimately they fell in line, but without the purpose of conquest they wouldn\u2019t stay that way for long. So he began forging a new empire as it were, with the eternals as the leaders as it always should\u2019ve been. The newer generations of eternals were better disciplined, as he made sure their training went very much the same way yours did. Still, they are much more arrogant that he ever was. They believe it is their destiny to rule the world and he believes that he\u2019s set something in motion that even he is no longer in control of.\n\n\u201cAh Edgar, always getting yourself in over your head.\u201d You say to yourself.\n\nThe rest of the letter mentions that you two are the last of the old Eternals. Warrick died in Battle of Yaquan when the ED successfully took the city from the Felkans eleven years ago. He says that while he still considered him a traitor to side with former enemies like that, he took no pleasure in his death and heard he died well.\n\nBrenda died four years ago, but she apparently had become increasingly withdrawn years before that, to the point where she no longer even participated in the major decisions concerning the ED. She was found dead by her own hand with a note stating that she wished to be burned and her ashes scattered near Fort Glory like she did with her husband Roldan. This wish was of course granted.\n\nEdgar\u2019s last portion of the message also states that he has a last request as well, he wants you to come to the Eternal Dominion as he would like to see you again. He knows that you\u2019ve had your differences and you weren\u2019t ever friends, but right now, you\u2019re the closest thing he\u2019s got. He\u2019s already made the arrangements to let you through and will have an escort waiting for you on the Rask/ED borders for the next few days. He also has placed a separate message with his seal on it, so that they may identify you.\n\nThe message ends there.", "action_results": [{"action": "Take a trip to the Eternal Dominion", "result": "If Edgar wants to see you, then why not? If he had anything sinister planned for you like having his escort kill you when you arrive. Besides you\u2019re old and you didn\u2019t worry about dying in combat when you were twenty, you\u2019re not going to start worrying about it now.\n\nYou pack a few things for your trip and get your horse ready since you know Rask carriages don\u2019t travel through ED territory anymore. It\u2019s hard getting on damn a horse ever since losing part of your leg, but you\u2019re not about to walk the way there!\n\nWhen you reach the border the next day, you see a group of soldiers camped out in the distance beyond it. You see an ED Flag flying so you assume that\u2019s the escort Edgar told you about. When you approach several of the soldiers point muskets at you\u2026heh you sometimes forget of how technology has marched on.\n\nThey immediately ask for identification and you state your name and hand them the message with Edgar\u2019s seal on it. The leader, who is a blonde woman with fair features reads through it and greets you.\n\n\u201cGreetings sir. My apologies on the initial caution, but we had to be sure. I am Sergeant Kalah, and I am to escort you to Prime Eternal Edgar. I am told he will be most pleased to see you, though I must admit I was also curious about you myself. Many are, as the Prime Eternal has mentioned you several times in high regard.\u201d\n\u201cHeh, yeah I\u2019ve heard about that before. Never get used to it though. Well let\u2019s get on our way then.\u201d\n\nSergeant Kalah is very talkative on your trip, and goes on about great the ED is, and how it provides for all. She sounds very much like you did a long time ago. You\u2019re a little curious about something so you interrupt her propaganda speak.\n\n\u201cTell me sergeant, you and your men are all on the youngish side, what generation of eternal are you exactly?\u201d\n\u201cMe sir? I am fourth! We all are, we are newest eternals to serve directly in combat and I\u2019m proud to say that we are so far the first to have natural night vision!\u201d\n\u201cYou can see in the dark eh? That must come in pretty handy. Wish I\u2019d had that back in the day.\u201d\n\u201cOh yes, the glorious Eternal Dominion was able to fight those treacherous svelk mercenaries that the cowardly Felkans employ on equal footing when we were deployed!\u201d\n\u201cHmm, any other natural abilities?\u201d\n\u201cThe fourth generation also regenerates better than the third even though they were the first to have such abilities. Under the right circumstances we can potentially regenerate a lost limb.\u201d\n\u201cNow THAT is something I definitely would\u2019ve liked to had!\u201d you say knocking on your wooden leg. \u201cStill, with all these advantages I\u2019m sort of surprised you haven\u2019t utterly crushed the Felkans yet.\u201d\n\u201cI believe we would, even with our resource shortages. Most of us do! We have the Felkans on the run, I do not understand why we have not pressed forward with our attacks, I long to be in combat again\u2026but it is not my place to question the Prime Eternal\u2019s decisions, I\u2019m sure he has a good reason\u2026\u201d\n\nWow, that line sounds familiar.\n\n\u201cWell all I can say is, sometimes the political aspects of a nation are more complicated than the wars.\u201d You reply\n\nSergeant Kalah doesn\u2019t argue, but just says that you may have more wisdom about such things. Kalah and you continue to speak with each other about various subjects and she\u2019s courteous the entire time, in fact she\u2019s downright friendly. You definitely weren\u2019t expecting that and it\u2019s sort of a nice change of pace. While traveling through a town, a couple of pathetic peasants are being beaten in the streets by another soldier, though his uniform seems to be a different color even though it has the same markings.\n\n\u201cYou there! Why are you beating these peasants! What crime have they committed?\u201d she demands.\n\u201cMa\u2019am! These peasants were caught stealing food.\u201d\n\u201cWell you shouldn\u2019t be beating them just for that\u2026you should be chopping their hands off!\u201d Kalah says, followed by pleas and screams of the peasants.\n\u201c\u2026yes ma\u2019am\u2026alright get over here you lousy thieving scum, let\u2019s make this quick!\u201d the soldier says drawing his sword and striking out at the screaming peasant. However, in his enthusiasm to follow orders he ends up hacking off the peasant\u2019s entire arm.\n\nMore screaming arises from the female peasant who rushes to what is probably are dying husband. Sergeant Kalah rolls her eyes.\n\n\u201cI swear never let a human do an Eternal\u2019s job\u2026men shoot all three of them.\u201d\n\u201cNo wait!\u201d the soldier says before several musket balls hit his body. The two peasants are also killed instantly.\n\nThe onlookers of this event duck and hide, but the sergeant makes her point known.\n\n\u201cListen up! This town is now on watch! If I hear of anymore thievery or other crimes, I\u2019ll be back to burn down this whole town! And for those of you in charge of keeping the law around here, I better see more competence displayed in the future than I saw today or I\u2019ll have you drawn and quartered! You are ALL servants of the Eternals! We are your masters, we know better than you and you will OBEY.\u201d\n\nAnd there it is, the ruthless arrogance. It would appear than Kalah\u2019s friendliness extends only to other Eternals. Can\u2019t say you\u2019re surprised though. You all move on and eventually you reach the capital and the palace where Edgar resides. Funny how this is the first time you\u2019ve ever been to the palace after all those years serving the Empire.\n\n\u201cThis is where we part company, but I must say I hope we meet again in the future, it was an honor to meet you.\u201d\n\u201cAnd it was a pleasure to meet you too\u2026\u201d you say and then you decide to give her a big fat thrill. \u201c\u2026and if I may say if we have more eternals as pretty and commanding as you, we will no doubt rule for thousands of years to come.\u201d\n\u201c\u2026I\u2026oh\u2026well thank you sir!\u201d she stutters and smiles before riding off.\n\nNew guards accompany you into the palace and through it. You\u2019ve never been in here before, so you do a little sight seeing as you walk. Eventually you reach the royal bedroom. An older woman is sitting on a chair outside sobbing. She looks regal. Did Edgar get married? You\u2019ve never heard of their being any sort of \u201cqueen\u201d of the ED you always assumed he was just ruling alone. Another older muscular man with a stern expression is standing nearby pacing. When you arrive, he frowns even more.\n\n\u201cOh so you decided to come after all. A pity.\u201d He says.\n\u201cWell, I certainly can say your military is politer than the royalty around here.\u201d\n\u201cThat is probably because they believe all the stories Prime Eternal Edgar says about you. Such is the foolishness of youth.\u201d\n\u201cAnd who the hell are you exactly?\u201d\n\u201cHmm, not surprised a deserter like you doesn\u2019t remember me. My name is Rissok and I served under you during the Empire riots. I saw you kill my friend in cold blood. A true eternal who served with honor!\u201d\n\n\u201cOooooh now I remember. You and your other buddy were looting houses while Felding was attempting to rape a woman. Yeah, real honor there.\u201d You say and Rissok gets in your face.\n\u201cDon\u2019t mock me! You are only here because the Prime allows it! If it were up to me, I would have you labeled as a traitor and have you killed!\u201d\n\u201cWell nothing is stopping you. You got the guards here, Edgar\u2019s too sick to prevent it and I\u2019ve only got one leg, so I\u2019d say it\u2019s a fair fight.\u201d You remark.\n\u201cStop it! Stop it please! My Edgar is dying! Can\u2019t we have one moment without murder and killing?\u201d the woman sobs.\n\nAt this point Rissok storms off without another word, the guards stick around and tell you that you may enter at any time. Before you do, you have to ask the woman who she is because you get the impression she isn\u2019t an eternal. You just sense it.\n\n\u201cMy apologies, I didn\u2019t know that Edgar was even married. What title do you go by, queen? Emperess?\u201d\n\u201c(sniff) No, I\u2019m none of those things. I\u2019m just Eva. Sometime Lady Eva if we\u2019re being formal, but I am not married to Edgar nor am I common knowledge to a majority of the public, I am merely his companion of sorts. He could not marry me, for concern of marrying a non-eternal might weaken his position of leadership. I understood this from the beginning though and do not blame him for it. Eternals have more wisdom on these matters.\u201d\n\nYou\u2019re pretty sure that isn\u2019t necessarily true, but you understand Edgar\u2019s rationale and Eva seems to genuinely be in love with him. You ask her if she wants to come in with you, but she says she has already said her goodbyes and that he wants to see you alone when you arrive. Having no other questions, you enter the bedroom.\n\nWhen you see Edgar, he\u2019s lying in his bed and looking completely unwell. He\u2019s pale and his face has a gaunt looking appearance. You can\u2019t even believe this is the same man you fought along side at Fort Defiance.\n\n\u201cEdgar? \u201d\n\u201c(wheeze) ah\u2026you came\u2026I knew you would. (cough cough) You\u2019re also looking much better than I am\u2026minus a leg I see. How did that happen?\u201d\n\u201cLong story\u2026but you! How the hell did you get this sick?! Other than physical pains racking my body, I\u2019ve never been actually sick. I didn\u2019t think we could!\u201d\n\u201cWell\u2026after you\u2019ve suffered five or six assassination attempts all laced with various poisons, it tends to fuck up your body a lot quicker\u2026anyway there isn\u2019t much time left I doubt if I\u2019ll make it through the night (cough cough) you\u2019ve read my letter I take it?\u201d\n\u201cYes.\u201d\n\u201cWell then you know that when my death comes, anarchy will ensue.\u201d\n\u201cDon\u2019t you have a successor? What about Eva?\u201d\n\u201cI don\u2019t know if you\u2019ve noticed, but we can\u2019t have children. We Eternals seem to be sterile or barren. I\u2019ve had people try to look into this problem, but they haven\u2019t come up with anything yet. It would seem what makes us superior, takes away our ability to reproduce. Maybe it\u2019s nature balancing itself out, so that we don\u2019t take over the world like so many of our younger eternals seem to want to do.\u201d\n\u201cHmm, I have to admit, I always wondered why all those strumpets I slept with during my merc days never came back with little bundles demanding support.\u201d You reply. \u201cAnyway (cough cough) I\u2019ve drawn up official forms for the person I think could be a successor\u2026\u201d\n\nYou already know where Edgar is going with this.\n\n\u201cOh no\u2026don\u2019t say that\u2019s why you dragged me out here\u2026Edgar they aren\u2019t going to listen to me! I haven\u2019t even been living in the ED since it\u2019s formation!\u201d\n\u201cThat doesn\u2019t matter! You\u2019re still an Eternal! One of the first and probably the best of us! (wheeze cough) They\u2019ll listen more likely than you believe, why do you think I always spoke so highly of you? The younger ones will most likely follow without question, your major opposition will probably be the second generation\u2026but there aren\u2019t too many of them left, you could easily purge them all if you had to.\u201d\n\nSheesh, you haven\u2019t even agreed to anything and Edgar\u2019s already suggesting mass purges. It\u2019s like you never left the Empire.\n\n\u201cPlease\u2026I tried to build something here\u2026(cough) I tried to do what you might\u2019ve done if only you\u2019d taken the reins of power, but I can\u2019t go on any longer. The only person who can guide the Eternal Dominion into something worthier is you. I\u2019m asking you not just as former comrade in arms\u2026but as a (cough cough) a fellow Eternal\u2026\u201d\n\nEdgar\u2019s trying to guilt you into this mess, but it\u2019s just not going to work. This plan of his is doomed to fail and you know it. Every high ranking Eternal is probably going to be vying for power and that idiot Rissok will probably the worst of the lot before Edgar\u2019s body is even cold. Still, this is his dying request. You could always accept his proposal just to appease him on his deathbed.", "action_results": [{"action": "Lie and tell him you'll accept the position", "result": "This is his last request, what could it hurt to reassure him on his deathbed? It\u2019s not like he\u2019s going to know after he dies.\n\n\u201cOkay, Edgar. I\u2019ll take it, but I\u2019m still skeptical that I\u2019ll do as good a job as you.\u201d You say to Edgar who manages to smile.\n\u201cThank you, but as I have said, you will find that you will have more support than you think. Now then, let us talk, I wish to know what you\u2019ve been up to. So many years have passed and my own time is short.\u201d\n\nYou oblige Edgar and try to tell him as much as you can about what you\u2019ve been doing since you first left the Empire. He seems to enjoy your tales while interjecting a few of his own, but he mostly just listens as the hours pass his life tether to this world begins to slip away. Finally he has stopped listening completely and died. You sit in silence for a moment to say goodbye to your former comrade in arms\u2026no, a brother.\n\nYou are about to leave and that\u2019s when Rissok comes barging in with a couple of guards and Eva.\n\n\u201cIs he dead yet?\u201d Rissok asks.\n\u201cYes, and show some fucking respect.\u201d You say.\n\u201cRespect? I have been serving the Prime with distinction for years! What have you done, except turn your back on the eternal name! You\u2019re no better than that traitor Warrick! Worse, you think to come here to steal the throne, well not on my watch!\u201d\n\nAt this point Rissok pulls out a flintlock pistol and points it at you.\n\n\u201cSteal the throne? Hah! I wouldn\u2019t want to run this asylum even if I was begged to, which I was.\u201d\n\u201cI knew it! I knew the Prime wanted to see you for such a reason!\u201d\n\u201cYeah, and I said I wasn\u2019t interested, so you can just calm the hell down\u2026\u201d\n\u201cRissok stop it! Is your lust for power so overwhelming that you can\u2019t even contain yourself even in the presence of my dead loved one\u2019s body?\u201d Eva shouts tearfully.\n\n\u201cShaddup, ya human harlot!\u201d Rissok says and smacks Eva in the face with the flintlock, dropping her to the floor. You take this opportunity to rush at Rissok, but unfortunately you aren\u2019t as fast as you used to be. Rissok manages to step backward just in time to shoot you in the chest. You fall to the ground mortally wounded.\n\n\u201cAnd so ends the first generation. You had your time in the sun, now it is time for the seconds to take over where you failed. Guard, finish this relic off.\u201d\n\u201cNah, we\u2019re not following you either.\u201d A guard says and raises his own musket to Rissok and blows his head off. Rissok\u2019s body collapses on to the floor next to you, blood, skull and brains leaking all over the place.\n\nStaring at Rissok\u2019s headless body, you chuckle in between your dying gasps before finally passing from this world.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Tell the truth and decline", "result": "You didn\u2019t lie to Kane when he asked you to join him.\n\nYou didn\u2019t lie to Brenda when she asked you to join the Eternal Dominion\n\nAnd you aren\u2019t going to lie to Edgar now. It might not be what he wants to hear, but it\u2019s what he\u2019s going to hear.\n\n\u201cEdgar, I\u2019m not accepting this position. First of all it\u2019s not realistic despite what you want to believe and I think deep down you know that. Second of all, if I wanted the reins of power as you say, I would\u2019ve taken them a long time ago. Did I ever think about it? Sure, but I came to the conclusion that it wouldn\u2019t lead to anywhere good\u2026and given your condition I\u2019d say I was half right. I say half right, because it is apparent that you did gain a loving wife out it, or whatever she is to you.\u201d\n\nEdgar is silent while you continue.\n\n\u201cAnd while I don\u2019t say my own path was any better, it was ultimately mine and it\u2019s one I intend to finish whatever the future may hold for it. Edgar, don\u2019t worry about what you accomplished and if it\u2019ll last. Just be proud of it now and spend your last moments with your wife. That\u2019s who you need to be concerned about.\u201d\n\nEdgar hacks and coughs up blood and spits it into a nearby bucket and struggles to breathe, but manages to answer you.\n\n\u201cVery well\u2026you\u2019ve made your point. And you\u2019re probably right. You usually were. (wheeze) Bring my\u2026my wife in. I do wish to spend the last moments with her\u2026and farewell\u2026my brother.\u201d\n\u201cFarewell Edgar.\u201d You say with a nod and leave.\n\nYou step outside and tell Eva that Edgar wants to spend his remaining time left with her. She seems happy with this idea though of course still upset. She runs in and one of the guards says he will escort you out. On the way out, you run into Rissok in the halls and once again he gets into your face.\n\n\u201cLeaving again are we? Just as well you aren\u2019t welcome here anyway. In fact I\u2019d suggest you make it quick. As soon as Edgar\u2019s breathes his last breath I\u2019m going to make a lot of changes around here.\u201d\n\u201cYou\u2019re saying you\u2019re going to be in charge after Edgar?\u201d\n\u201cOf course! Others might say they are, but they\u2019ll be silenced soon enough, just like all traitors will be. I am the only one qualified to run this nation!\n\u201cHm, well\u2026we can\u2019t have that.\u201d you say and with a quick motion you pull out your dagger and stab Rissok in the neck. Blood spurts out like a fountain when you pull it out and Rissok gurgles clutching his throat attempting to curse you the entire time.\n\nYou pretty much expected to get your head blown off by the guard standing next to you, but he just stood there and did nothing.\n\n\u201cI had a feeling you were going to do that.\u201d He says in an almost bored tone. \u201cHow old is that dagger anyway? That design was outdated even before I was born. We use a much lighter weight metal now that allows a for a smoother cut.\u201d\n\u201cStill gets the job done. So I\u2019m guessing by me being still alive, you have no objections with his death?\u201d\n\u201cFeh, you could\u2019ve killed him in front of the entire army and nobody would\u2019ve lifted a finger. He was an asshole and I know I wouldn\u2019t have followed him even if the entire Eternal Dominion depended on it. Besides, we third generation eternals are more fit to run things than any of the seconds. Just glad you didn\u2019t decide to stick around, would\u2019ve hated to have to kill a legend.\u201d\n\u201cWell if you ever decide to go to war with Rask, you might still get your chance.\u201d You say and the pair of you leave Rissok\u2019s body behind in the corridor as you exit the palace.\n\nA carriage takes you back to the border where a horse is supplied to you to make the rest of journey home. And you are certainly glad to get back. It\u2019s certainly been a strange few days for you, but then you\u2019re use to strangeness going on in your life.\n\nA couple days later you get the news that Edgar has died and that the new leadership of the Eternal Dominion as of now is uncertain. Rask of course is still fully expecting war to come their way, but you suspect that probably other than a few skirmishes, most of the fighting will be within the ED itself, or pushing ahead against the Felkan Kingdom.\n\nYou also realize that you really are the last one left now. Kane, Roldan, Gerald, Warrick, Brenda and Edgar all gone. The thought saddens you and you\u2019re reminded of the phrase Gruz told you as he died.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019ll outlive everyone\u2026\u201d\n\nIt looks like it\u2019s come true at last.\n\nOh sure there still are all the newer eternals around, but you were the first to be the perfect Empire soldiers in the misguided hope that you could save it. A project that failed utterly for its leaders.\n\nYou think about some of the other Eternals in your class that didn\u2019t even make it past training, or the few like Cyrus that were transferred to the Shadow Guard. You also heard there was a group of eternals that came before you, though all of them died in training and never even made it into the field while the Empire was still \u201cperfecting\u201d their plan.\n\nYou wonder if all of you had made it and kept together as a separate unit, would it have made a difference? Who knows? You wonder if you\u2019ll even be remembered as the years go by. Not just years or decades, but centuries. Edgar tried to create something to last and while he\u2019ll probably have the best chance out of everyone in your group, ultimately history may just list him as a footnote as some obscure ruler.\n\nAs for the rest of you, you\u2019ll be forgotten. At best, you may have the \u201chonor\u201d being brought up in tall tale by drunkards and bards in taverns, which you can live with, but you\u2019d like the rest of your old friends\u2026 no, your old brothers and sister to be remembered.\n\nThat\u2019s when you get the idea. You shall write you memoirs. Maybe nobody will read them or care, but what the hell, you need something to occupy your time in your twilight years. You\u2019ve got a lot of it after all.\n\nGrabbing a quill and some parchment you begin to write. You want to get as much down as you can, but of course a lot of history has passed and you\u2019re having a little difficulty of where to start.\n\n\u201cDamn, I should\u2019ve done this a lot sooner\u2026oh yeah\u2026might as well start with her.\u201d\n\nMistress was her name, and that was about the only thing I ever knew about her. Oh that and the fact that she was a sadistic svelk bitch that helped trained me and my bothers and sister to be killers. Not just killers though, Eternals.\n\nThis is our story.", "action_results": []}]}, {"action": "Write a letter back to Edgar", "result": "While Edgar may not have any ill will towards you, you just aren\u2019t sure about his subjects. You decide it wouldn\u2019t be the best idea to go deep into Eternal Dominion territory, but Edgar does deserve a letter back, so you begin to write.\n\nWhen you\u2019re finished with the letter, the next day you have a professional letter carrier take care of it with your instructions to where it is suppose to be sent. Hopefully it gets to Edgar.\n\nAs the days pass into weeks, you receive the news that Edgar has died and that the Raskians are all concerned that war with the ED may come soon. You aren\u2019t really concerned about such things, but you do feel a little bad that you didn\u2019t visit Edgar now. You hope he got your letter in time, but you guess you\u2019ll never know. It feels odd knowing that you\u2019re the last eternal left from the \u201coriginal\u201d group.\n\nThe rest of your days are spent mostly going about your business. War never comes to Rask as the Eternal Dominion seems to descend into civil war after Edgar\u2019s death. There are some changes in Rask society, but you just find yourself with less and less to keep yourself occupied. Still, you do enjoy the visits from Ulivik whenever he has the time.\n\nYear 101\n\nDuring one of Ulivik\u2019s visits, you finally lose the battle you\u2019ve successfully been fighting for over a century and death at last takes you peacefully in your sleep.\n\nThe day after your death Ulivik finds you. After his own short immediate morning period, he makes the arrangements to have your body burned as requested. He then takes your ashes to a high hill and scatters them to the winds.\n\n\u201cRask may not have originally been your home, but it became your home. And now you\u2019re part of it forever.\u201d He says as his final words to you.\n\nWhile never remembered on a large scale, tall tales about you pop up in taverns in Rask from time to time of various things you did or didn\u2019t do and Ulivik would always speak fondly of you whenever he was asked about his own past.", "action_results": []}]}]}, {"action": "Fight your way to the ruins", "result": "You\u2019ve come this far, no sense in running back home now especially not from rabbits, even if they are possessed by wendigo spirits.\n\n\u201cCome on let\u2019s get to that ruin of yours, hopefully we\u2019ll be less out in the open there!\u201d you shout slashing out at the nearest bunch of bunnies.\n\u201cIt should be nearby, this way!\u201d\n\nThe pair of you run chopping up rabbits along the way as the \u201clittle\u201d nippers are hopping after you and occasionally leaping on you and get a few bites in. This might all be very comical if your life wasn\u2019t in mortal danger. After about fifteen minutes of this, you\u2019re still practically waist deep in rabbits and no closer to your goal. You\u2019re starting to regret your initial decision.\n\n\u201cUlivik, what the fuck man? I though you said it was close by?!\u201d\n\u201cIt is! It is! I just need to look at my map again!\u201d Ulivik says fumbling with his map.\n\u201cUlivik we don\u2019t have time for all that! We\u2019re getting surrounded, and like normal rabbits they seem to have multiplied severely. They\u2019re going to wear us down by attrition if this keeps up.\u201d\n\u201cHold on I, agh!\u201d\n\nWhite rabbits, which were blending into the snow, suddenly pop up and bite at the legs and ankles of you and Ulivik. This causes Ulivik to fall to his hands and knees in the snow as they continue their attack.\n\n\u201cGet off! Get off!\u201d he shouts killing them, unfortunately one the rabbits jumps on his back and with his teeth takes the amulet chain and leaps off with it.\n\n\u201cUlivik no! Your amulet! We need to get the fuck outta here now!\u201d\n\u201cArrrrgh! My head feels like it\u2019s going to explode! Shut up! Shut up!\u201d Ulivik yells.\n\nThe mental assault has already begun and you tell Ulivik to quickly try to think about other things and drown out the wendigo voices, he\u2019s obviously in pain though. In the meantime you\u2019re attempting to drag him back the way you came while still fighting off rabbits.\n\nMore and more of the ferocious furballs leap on to you and Ulivik, and sure enough your own amulet chain is eventually broken off as well.\n\n\u201cWelcome back Bane of Rask, we always knew you\u2019d come back.\u201d You hear in your head and then a gray rabbit the size of a bear comes bounding out of a hole in the ground. It is at this point, the wendigos make their awful howl in unison. Ulivik screams in pain and you\u2019re not feeling so great yourself, but you refuse to be beaten by an overgrown rabbit.\n\nYou quickly run over to the wendigo leader and hack at its head, putting out one of its eyes. The beast roars and succeeds in smacking you to the ground with its claws.\n\n\u201cFoolish mortal! You cannot hope to win this battle! Give up now and let me take over\u2026\u201d\n\nYou ignore the taunts of the wendigo leader, you ignore the whispers of the wendigos\u2019 mental assault, you ignore the countless bites into your flesh from their hosts. You just focus on one thing. Killing that gray sonofabitch.\n\nYou roll out of the way the leader\u2019s attack and shove your sword in his side and then using your dagger you put out his other eye. Blind and still enraged he clumsily tries to lash out against you with his claws again, but once again you dodge and pulling your sword of his side, you shove it into his head this time and twist it back and forth making sure it cuts through skull, brains and everything else.\n\n\u201cYou haven\u2019t won\u2026\u201d you hear in your head while stomping on some nearby rabbits still biting at your ankles. Ulivik is staggering towards you with a trail of his own dead rabbits in his wake.\n\n\u201cUlivik, come on we still need to get outta here, before the leader regroups with a new body!\u201d you say and grab at Ulivik to help pull him towards you. Ulivik stares at you blankly for a moment, and then his demeanor changes to a less friendly one.\n\nYour heart sinks knowing what has happened, and you try to let go, but his own grip becomes very tight as his nails dig into your flesh.\n\n\u201cI told you, you couldn\u2019t win.\u201d\n\nIn Ulivik\u2019s body, the wendigo is much quicker than you and manages to knock your sword out of your hand and then knock you to the ground. You scramble for your weapon, but you feel a kick to your head followed by a couple of stomps to it. Bloody and dazed, you lose consciousness before you are made into the wendigo\u2019s long awaited meal.", "action_results": []}]}, {"action": "Stay home", "result": "Complacent or not, you\u2019re really thinking that this is just a bad idea all the way round.\n\n\u201cUlivik, I\u2019m telling you, this isn\u2019t a good idea. I\u2019m not about to place your faith in some amulet that may or may not work and you shouldn\u2019t either. I know you\u2019re an adventurer and all, but some places are just better left alone.\u201d\n\u201cOh come on! The man I knew wouldn\u2019t have backed down from a challenge like this!\u201d\n\u201cThe man you knew was twenty years younger, and I still had a purpose for my wandering. I was a merc, remember? Look, if the fact that I won\u2019t go traipsing around in wendigo territory looking for ruins that might not even be there and wearing an amulet hoping it\u2019ll protect me disappoints you, well I guess I\u2019m just going to have to disappoint you.\u201d\n\nUlivik does indeed look disappointed, but he doesn\u2019t argue the point anymore. Instead he just abruptly gathers his belongings and starts to leave.\n\n\u201cUlivik, I really wish you\u2019d heed my advice on this. Think about it, have I ever lead you wrong?\u201d\n\nHe stops for a moment, and thinks, but continues his exit.\n\n\u201cNo, maybe you haven\u2019t, but just as you have picked your path to become an old man who is content on resting on his laurels now. I still feel the zest for excitement and danger, and I am compelled to do what I must. It\u2019s just a shame we couldn\u2019t have shared in it together just one more time.\u201d Ulivik says and leaves.\n\nOnce again you are left by yourself to reflect on your life and Ulivik\u2019s words. He might have his own point about resting on your \u201claurels\u201d but what the hell, it\u2019s not like you haven\u2019t deserved it. You could go back and forth on such things, but honestly you\u2019re a little more concerned about Ulivik and what he\u2019s potentially going to get himself into. Still, he\u2019s an adult and capable of making his own decisions.\n\nDays pass and you don\u2019t hear anything from Ulivik. True he was a little mad at you, but you\u2019re pretty sure he\u2019d come back to see you before he left. You begin to fear the worst. You end up going to his mother\u2019s house to see if he\u2019s been there or shown up, but she says she hasn\u2019t seen him. She\u2019s worried as well, though she\u2019s understandably more upset about it.\n\nYour next move is to go to the militia and make a report, you don\u2019t expect anything to be done, but you figure that the \u201crisk\u201d of a possible wendigo possession is more than enough to keep all the towns alert about it. You are nearly tempted to go looking for him in wendigo territory yourself, but you decide that it would only serve in getting you killed as well, and there\u2019s no way you\u2019d even be able to track him.\n\nWeeks pass into months and there is still no sign of Ulivik. No wendigo attacks either, so you can only assume that he wasn\u2019t possessed, just killed and eaten. Many times you go back and forth in your head wondering if you\u2019d just gone with him that maybe he\u2019d still be alive\u2026or maybe there would be two dead instead of one. Can\u2019t second-guess your decisions, you learned that a long time ago, but still you feel saddened by Ulivik\u2019s passing. He had a lot of potential and in some odd way he almost felt like a son to you.\n\nLife goes on though, but it feels a little emptier.\n\nYear 73\n\nThe rest of your years have been spent mostly going about your life with increasingly less and less for you to do. There are some changes in society, but ultimately you begin to feel the decline of your own will to live. You never thought you\u2019d feel that way, but there it is. You just don\u2019t have anything else to keep you motivated anymore.\n\nThe thrill of living finally disappears from you entirely and you are found dead by your own hand. While you were not sick and still in relatively good health for a man your age, you decided that you would end it before you might not be in such a condition to do so. A note explaining your suicide is left nearby and the town gives you a proper cremation. Some of your old students turn out for it and say a few words, but in time you are soon forgotten and only brought up as the subject of \u201ctall tales\u201d by drunkards in Rask taverns every once in a blue moon.", "action_results": []}]}]}, {"action": "Lie and say yes", "result": "This is probably going to bite you in the ass later, but you just can\u2019t bring yourself to kill Brenda\u2026at least not this day. It may very well come in the future though.\n\n\u201cAlright Brenda, I\u2019ll help you, but I\u2019m staying here in Rask. Forgive me, if I\u2019m not quite trusting enough to go walking into ED territory just yet.\u201d\n\u201cWell I guess I can understand your caution, but what are you going to do up here to help us?\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019ll do what you said I\u2019ll try to convince people that they should submit to the ED, it will most likely still require a lot of bloodshed and it this goal isn\u2019t going to be an immediate one. However, I\u2019m confident that I can do this, I have enough supporters to raise an a big enough army to get me started. I know this territory the best so any wannabe freedom fighters hoping to escape into the wilderness to wage a guerilla war won\u2019t be a problem either. When I think the time is right, I\u2019ll contact the ED to step in to mop up and to reinforce order, but I really think your armies would be better spent on hitting the Felkan Kingdom and hard. If they\u2019re putting out feelers for alliances with Rask, then they\u2019re probably desperate. You tell Edgar I\u2019ve personally suggested this, he\u2019ll listen. He should, after all I\u2019ve never given him bad advice before.\u201d\n\nThat last part is very difficult for you to say, knowing that you\u2019re blatantly lying. The worst part is Brenda doesn\u2019t even question you. She too believes that you\u2019re being completely genuine and requires no further \u201cproof\u201d that you\u2019re actually going to do what you say other than your word and your impeccable past reputation.\n\nShe leaves a little happier than when she arrived. You on the other hand are a little sadder. At best The Edgar will follow your advice and the Felkan Kingdom will do enough damage to the Eternal Dominion that they won\u2019t be in any condition to attack Rask. It may even collapse. Not exactly great for Edgar or Brenda, but at least you wouldn\u2019t need to fight against them.\n\nAt worst\u2026well you\u2019d rather not have to think about that, but you\u2019ve always prepared for the worst. The next day you suggest to the mayor of Keplavisk that Rask seriously invest in thinking about building a proper military academy, possibly even a professional army.\n\nIn the following months several meetings with the heads of the Rask towns occur. You give your opinion on the Eternal Dominion situation, but you leave out the whole meeting with Brenda and Warrick of course. Eventually the politicians agree that more protection might be necessary and steps to ensure it are taken. Since you brought all this to their attention, you are nominated to run the military academy.\n\nYear 58\n\nEdgar took your advice\u2026at least initially. He sent thousands across the Felkan borders a couple years ago. The war with the Felkan Kingdom is currently at a stalemate, but you hear it\u2019s even more brutal than the one with the Empire. Edgar has adapted with the times unlike the Empire and has implementied stolen technology from the Felkans. You can only imagine how Warrick has fared, but you got your own problems due to your lying, though maybe it was inevitable, who can say?\n\nWhen it became apparent that you weren\u2019t actually doing anything to help bring Rask under the Eternal Dominion banner, Edgar correctly came to the conclusion that you lied. Sensing that Rask may even be gearing up for their own invasion, Edgar risks a two front war and strikes out at Rask.\n\nWhile the Eternal Dominion is certainly short of man power due to their war with the Felkan Kingdom, they make up for it with ruthless fanaticism and of course the fact that they\u2019re using updated technology as well. Their first major push is at Kenneth\u2019s Rest. The old fort stands strong for a day before it is taken. Everyone that wasn\u2019t killed during the battle or escaped was executed upon capture. This happens with a couple of the smaller villages before the Raskian army manages to stop the advance. From the butchery that the ED troops have been displaying it\u2019s obvious that they aren\u2019t taking prisoners.\n\nOn the Raskian side, patriotism goes up and they have no intention on surrendering if that was even indeed an option. Mercenaries, who were previously beginning to leave due to the lack of jobs for them suddenly become in the market again. They are used mainly for harassment purposes such as destroying supply lines. Flog has turned out to be quite the asset. He sees the Eternal Dominion to be nothing more than the Empire under a new name (And he really hated the Empire) and has managed to unite some of the more \u201ccivilized\u201d ogre tribes to help destroy the inheritors of the Empire legacy. Eldolith still runs her small svelk band and charges the highest price as usual for her services. Ulivik even has a small group of humans following him now. They mostly consist of survivors who managed to escape death at the hands of the ED attacks on their homes and in it for revenge not the money, in fact neither is Ulivik anymore. Ever since the invasion he gave up his mercenary life in exchange for that of a patriot fighting for his family and home. You\u2019re glad to see he has become a competent warrior.\n\nDue to your warning of this threat years before, your position at the academy and all your years of combat experience you are made into a full blown general and practically given extensive powers over all military functions. A very powerful position, in fact it\u2019s rather ironic. You didn\u2019t ask or even want to \u201crule\u201d over Rask, but your current arrangement practically makes you a potential dictator. Even more so due to the fact that you\u2019re an Eternal, a representation of a past oppressor and a current aggressor towards Rask.\n\nWhile the politicians have given you this role, not all Raskians are happy with this idea, but as long as you\u2019re fighting the Eternal Dominion no disgruntled Raskian has tried to assassinate you yet. While you miss being able to personally lead troops into battle, you still try to be as close to the action as you can, by traveling with the army rather than staying in an office somewhere.\n\nThe war with the ED has already taken quite a toll on Rask, and it doesn\u2019t look lik it\u2019s going to end anytime soon. The best you can do is dig in and make sure you make the ED pay for every inch they step deeper into Rask territory.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 65\n\nAs you settle down for the night, you think about how you got in this position.\n\nAs the war started to drag on, the tactics changed from one of conquest to one of annihilation. The ED began outright destroying any village and town they managed to capture. They sent in suicidal fanatics to blow themselves up or blow up mines and other areas of production. They managed to poison the water supply of one towns, but the worst was their intentional sacrifices in the Wendigo Hills. The ED dragged over a hundred of their own citizens into the Wendigo Hills, which had been off limits to any right thinking being ever since you went into that cursed territory. The wendigos had been confined there for decades with no sentient hosts to possess and allow their escape, but that all changed when presented with the new ones the ED provided. The wendigos of course immediately ran amok with their new bodies and became a problem for everyone.\n\nIn the meantime the ED attempted one last push on Keplavisk. It was a bloodbath on both sides and the cost was high, but ultimately it never fell, and it was that the last major battle with the ED. Hostilities with the Eternal Dominion aren\u2019t over, but they have stopped mostly due to their own internal problems. As powerful as they were, they couldn\u2019t keep up a two front war with two foes that had no intention on rolling over. It was only a matter of time before attrition took its toll on the ED and fortunately the arrogance of the younger eternals caused them to finally question Edgar\u2019s abilities to lead properly. Wasn\u2019t long before they started squabbling amongst themselves.\n\nOf course the damage they did to Rask left a permanent mark.\n\nYou were initially hailed as a hero by most and the rebuilding process begun, but Rask was in terrible condition. Towns and villages that hadn\u2019t been completely destroyed were still wrecked to a degree that would take months or even a year to recover. This wouldn\u2019t be so bad, if they weren\u2019t also under protected due to a shortage of soldiers from the war. Wendigos, bandits, other monsters and even rogue eternals from the ED are such a problem that it makes the rebuilding process even longer and you conclude that spreading the soldiers too thin will ultimately hurt you in the long run.\n\nYou argue with the remaining politicians that what needs to be done is to cluster and re-group. Keplavisk is still the most intact and has always been the \u201ccapital\u201d of Rask of sorts and it\u2019s the biggest town to the point that\u2019s its practically a city. You say that the remaining Raskian population should move to Keplavisk where the focus can be directed into rebuilding it and protection can be easier.\n\nThis isn\u2019t a popular decision. Some Raskians don\u2019t understand why you can\u2019t just station more troops at their respective towns, but the fact remains you won\u2019t have enough to defend Keplavisk, if you stretch them out any more and quite frankly Keplavisk is the most important city if Rask has any hope of not descending into anarchic wilderness again. Some citizens of Keplavisk don\u2019t especially like the idea of \u201cimmigrants\u201d moving into their city, but the major accusation is that since the mayor of Keplavisk was killed (along with most of his immediate staff) in the last battle with the ED, you\u2019re about the closest thing to a leader. As such, some of the pessimists who claimed you would become a dictator with the powers that were given you at the start of the war are sort of becoming true.\n\nSo you ultimately play the role that was given you.\n\nThe first thing you do is call back all soldiers to Keplavisk and urge all other Raskians to do likewise. You say nobody has to come and you won\u2019t force anybody, but as of now, you\u2019re focusing only on Keplavisk and defense will be solely on the shoulders of the towns themselves.\n\nFortunately as a successful military leader, you\u2019re popular with the soldiers, so most of them return. Some originally lived in Keplavisk, some had no home any more, and some sensed a better life so they brought their families with them. With absolutely no more protection anymore, this has the bonus effect of bringing in non-military Raskians to Keplavisk as well though a lot aren\u2019t exactly happy about it.\n\nThe citizens that stubbornly stayed to rebuild their own homes didn\u2019t last too long. By the end of the year only a few of the villages far north (that were mostly spared the ravages of war anyway) exist as other beacons of civilization.\n\nKaplavisk on the other hand is transformed from a town half in ruins to a well defended prosperous city state by the end of that same year. No longer is town hall the \u201ccenter of government\u201d, but rather the military academy, which also serves as your new home. Defenses are as best as you can get them, sturdy walls, cannons, implementation of firearms and when you can draft them, people with minor magic powers to upkeep wards to prevent wendigos from sneaking into the city.\n\nTrue there are still the occasional protests about how there is much less \u201cfreedom\u201d now, but it never really gets out of hand. Well at least not yet. The major rabble-rouser unfortunately is Ulivik of all people. His years as a \u201cfreedom fighter\u201d against the Eternal Dominion have changed a bit of his outlook on life, namely he sees that Rask won the war just only to be conquered by an Eternal anyway.\n\nYou tried to speak to him personally about this, but he seems firm in his beliefs. He states that when you trained him to be a mercenary even though you were tough, he still respected you. When you fought against the ED he mentions that his original worship of you almost returned as nobody did more to prevent them from taking over than you did.\n\nBut now that you\u2019ve allowed people to die without protection just because they wouldn\u2019t do what you say and turned his home into a police state he cannot just stand by and do nothing. He says he doesn\u2019t want to fight you for a couple reasons, but if it comes down to it, he will.\n\nHe\u2019s put you in a difficult position, which normally wouldn\u2019t be very difficult if he were anyone else. You have a slight soft spot for Ulivik, but that soft spot only goes so far. You\u2019ve got to deal with him some how because if you let him continue he\u2019ll gain more followers, despite his svelk origins. Capitulating to him isn\u2019t an option either, you start giving in now, you\u2019ll have to give in later, maybe not even to him, but others with similar ideas and you can\u2019t afford to start loosening up the reins. At least not anytime soon.\n\nYou need to come up with an idea before you can get some sleep tonight.", "action_results": [{"action": "Execution", "result": "It is with a heavy heart and regret that this has to be done, but the only way you\u2019re going make this problem go away is by making an example out of him. While it\u2019s possible he\u2019ll become a martyr, his \u201ccause\u201d is still manageable for your soldiers if a riot breaks out. After he\u2019s dead, it\u2019s unlikely anyone else will take up the mantle and those that might\u2019ve been on the fence will fall in line. Besides he\u2019s a svelk, who is going to shed many tears over him?\n\nHaving made this decision you finally get some sleep, though not very restful sleep.\n\nThe next day you order for Ulivik\u2019s arrest along with his main followers. This doesn\u2019t go over well. Ulivik refuses to be taken into custody and puts up a fight. A very good fight that involves him escaping completely and several soldiers dead.\n\nYou order a full manhunt for Ulivik, but he proves quite elusive. In the meantime you execute his followers, but this is when other citizens start expressing a dislike for how you\u2019re handling things. The major advantage you have is the military, but as you crack down harder, the soldiers become slightly overworked. Some of them even have their own disagreement with how you\u2019re doing things.\n\nBefore you know it you\u2019ve got small riots in the streets and Ulivik keeps popping up every now and then just to stir the chaos even more. Before you know it, work places like woodmills and mines have to shut down due to you having to keep more troops inside the city rather on the outside to protect the workers. It\u2019s all falling apart.\n\nYou put down riots, execute more people, but ultimately it all come to a head one late night in your own room.\n\nYou wake up and grab your weapon to see Ulivik lurking in the shadows. He\u2019s obviously snuck in, and most likely killed any guards nearby. Doesn\u2019t matter, you\u2019ll either kill him or he\u2019ll kill you before anyone arrives.\n\n\u201cI figured it would come to this.\u201d You say and prepare for battle.\n\nThe two of you clash and you give him a good fight, but his youth, speed and dedication to his cause are an advantage, while you are old, slower and at this point you don\u2019t even care anymore.\n\nHe eventually slashes you across the chest and runs you through. You fall to the floor feeling the life drain from you.\n\n\u201cUgh\u2026shit that really hurts (cough).\u201d You say coughing up blood.\n\u201cWhy didn\u2019t you just give the people more freedom?\u201d Ulivik asksin a demanding tone. The strange thing is, in retrospect you don\u2019t have a really good answer except\u2026\n\n\u201cI\u2026guess the old Eternal ways of (cough) domination and war just got the better of me\u2026heh knew there was a reason why I originally didn\u2019t try to become a tyrant all those years ago. It never ends well\u2026\u201d\n\u201cIt didn\u2019t have to be this way!\u201d Ulivik now exclaims almost as if he\u2019s holding back tears.\n\u201cMaybe\u2026but now\u2019s your chance to make it better. Hope you\u2019re prepared for it\u2026I was getting tired of it anyway\u2026\u201d you say and pass from this world.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Exile", "result": "You don\u2019t think you could bring yourself to kill Ulivik directly or indirectly, besides it\u2019s not likely to help anything. He\u2019d most likely become a martyr and you\u2019d never be done fighting future uprisings in his name.\n\nYou then come up with an idea: Exile. If people are really unhappy here they can get the hell out and they can take their chances making it on their own. It has the potential to cause an exodus, but you doubt if it will. Not many with families will be willing to leave and it\u2019s still less harsh than execution. You are giving people a chance to live after all, it\u2019s up to them if they can survive in Rask without the benefit of protection or survive long enough for them to leave it entirely.\n\nNot killing dissidents, it\u2019s a radical idea in it\u2019s own right, but you\u2019re going to gamble on it.\n\nHaving made this decision you finally get some sleep, though not exactly restful sleep.\n\nThe next day when Ulivik is protesting with his little group in front of the academy you and several soldiers march up to him.\n\n\u201cOkay Ulivik, this ends today.\u201d You say.\n\u201cAnd so it begins, I was wondering when you\u2019d finally let loose and start threatening people for speaking out against you. That\u2019s what you used to do back in your Empire days isn\u2019t it? Well we aren\u2019t going quietly to be executed, as I said, if you want a fight, I\u2019m more than willin to give it to you right here and now!\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m not executing you Ulivik.\u201d\n\u201cWell we\u2019re not going to rot in your jails either.\u201d\n\u201cWill you shut the fuck up? I\u2019ve heard your complaints outside my window for the past several months, the least you can do is listen to me for a change.\u201d\n\u201cVery well, but this better be good.\u201d\n\u201cDon\u2019t presume to tell me what is good, because this isn\u2019t a compromise. I\u2019m going to say this once and once only and this is going out to all of you. Any more dissension or acts of stirring up shit for no reason, and you\u2019re gone. And what I mean by gone, I mean exile. And not just you, I\u2019m talking ALL your family, all your friends and even your fucking pets. All of you that don\u2019t like how things are being run in this city, well you can get the fuck out. Let\u2019s see you do better out there. Lots of luck\u2026\u201d\n\nUlivik is a little surprised by your tactic, but it doesn\u2019t deter him and he gets in your face. You keep your soldiers back.\n\n\u201cYou can\u2019t just throw people out of the city! These people have a right, we ALL have a right to live here and voice our concerns when the government is failing to provide a suitable quality of life!\u201d Ulivik exclaims.\n\u201cFailing? What the hell are you talking about? We\u2019re protecting everyone from bandits, monsters, eternal dominion hold outs and do I even need to mention the wendigos? Nobody starves, everyone has a job, and all people have to do is follow a few simple fucking rules. I\u2019m not demanding people bring me their virgin daughters! I\u2019m not having people routinely tortured for not believing in some religion! Yeah there have been some sacrifices like food rationing and curfews, but I\u2019ve been pretty damn fair about everything and YOU of all people should know that!\u201d\n\nUlivik stops for a moment and while it seems like he knows you have a point, he refuses to back down still. Perhaps you taught him too well.\n\n\u201cSo basically what you\u2019re saying is we should just be grateful that you\u2019re not Edgar\u2026\u201d\n\nAnd that\u2019s the last straw, you lose your temper and proving you can still be quick for your age, you punch Ulivik in face. He staggers back and is disoriented enough for your soldiers to get a firm grip on him. He tries to twist free, but you have four soldiers lift him up grabbing one of his limbs each.\n\n\u201cLet me go tyrant! Too cowardly to face me in battle? So much for your eternal bravery!\u201d\n\u201cLucky for you, since you weren\u2019t even fast enough to dodge my punch, open the gates and throw his ass out. And if the rest of you want to join him, you can pack your shit and go too!\u201d\n\nAs you and the soldiers escort Ulivik out of the city, the rest of his followers lose their courage. Most of them have families and friends and aren\u2019t willing to risk your wrath anymore. Other citizens look on at the spectacle and just stare in silent awe. The only one making any sort of noise is Ulivik who is cursing you and everyone else who isn\u2019t helping him. You ignore his curses, and just simmer in anger at the situation.\n\nEventually you reach the gates and with a mighty heave your soldiers throw Ulivik a few feet and face first into the snow. He scrambles to get up and upon turning around; your soldiers draw several muskets on him.\n\n\u201cGoodbye, Ulivik, don\u2019t come back or else I won\u2019t be as merciful next time.\u201d You say from the gate.\n\n\u201cMerciful? You\u2019re throwing me out of my own fucking home you bastard!\u201d\n\u201cAt least I\u2019m not throwing your mother out as well, and at least you\u2019re still alive.\u201d\n\u201cFuck you. I can\u2019t believe I used to look up to you.\u201d\n\u201cAnd I never told you to, you chose to do that! And you chose this path as well. I\u2019m merely doing what I think is best, just like I did then. (sigh) I\u2019m sorry it has to be this way, but you\u2019ll survive Ulivik\u2026I know I taught you that\u2026close the gates.\u201d\n\nAs the gates close you see Ulivik just standing by himself looking very alone. It\u2019s sort of sad. He started out as a disliked \u201coutsider\u201d due to his race in this town when he was growing up and now he has at last been banished from it for good. Not even one of his so called followers or even a bystander pleaded for him or even joined him by leaving. He did a lot for Rask during the war and he was speaking out for their \u201crights\u201d, but that doesn\u2019t seem to account for shit in the scheme of things to people. While it\u2019s a fortunate situation, it still doesn\u2019t seem right even if he was opposing you.\n\nOver the next few months you half expect Ulivik to be attacking soldiers outside the gates of the city and holding some sort of one man vendetta or possibly even gathering a small group of bandits robbing the miners or loggers and such, but that doesn\u2019t happen. He\u2019s gone, but you\u2019re confident he\u2019s not dead. You just hope he\u2019s moved on to better things.\n\nAs for you and everyone else life goes on.\n\nYear 75\n\nWith age catching up on you every day you sometimes wonder if it\u2019s even worth getting out of bed anymore. You tire of the tedious act of governing, but you have no real successor to take your place. There are a couple of officers you have in mind, which could do a competent job you suppose, and that\u2019s when you make a major decision. You decide to step down from power and hand this mess over to someone else. Since you know whoever you pick is going to have to be a strong leader and nip any potential coups in the bud, you pick the three most charismatic, intelligent and loyal that you can think of and call them into the training area in front of an audience of soldiers.\n\nYou then announce that the three men will fight to the death and whoever is left standing gets to be in charge. The three officers look a little surprised and the audience is silent, but it doesn\u2019t take long for one of the men to try to sneak attack on one of the others.\n\nThe fight is a good one. As you watch you fight back to the days when you watched your classmates fight each other for Mistress. That was so long ago and as crazy as it seems you\u2019ve actually been missing those days lately, everything much simpler at least. All of them are gone now. Last you heard of Edgar is that he was assassinated four years ago as the Eternal Dominion continued to fragment into petty fiefdoms ruled by equally petty eternal warlords. You don\u2019t know about Warrick or Brenda, but you sometimes like to think they managed to escape the madness and are living satisfying lives. Barring that, you hope they died well in whatever battle that was their last.\n\nEventually one man is left standing. Bruised, bloody and battered, but victorious. It is at this point you stand up and congratulate him and make another announcement to the crowd.\n\n\u201cCaptain Eddings has proved himself worthy of succeeding me. I trust you will serve this man as well as you have served me all these years. Congratulations Eckers, you\u2019ve just been promoted to\u2026uh general I guess.\u201d\n\u201cThank you sir, I will do everything in my power to ensure the safety and prosperity of the city.\u201d Eddings remarks with pride.\n\u201cI\u2019m sure you will, I\u2019m sure you will, why don\u2019t you head to the infirmary first though. As for me I\u2019m going back to sleep. You can catch up with me later if you need some explanation on anything, but I left some notes on my desk for you as a general guideline.\u201d You say and head back to your room.\n\nYou know you\u2019ll probably still be running things for a while at least and probably be consulted many times, but you still feel as if a weight has been lifted off you. The problem is, you wonder how you\u2019ll spend your free time. You\u2019ll think of something you suppose.", "action_results": []}]}]}]}]}, {"action": "Take a harder job", "result": "Nothing like trial by fire, if Ulivik thinks he can handle it, he\u2019ll learn soon enough.\n\n\u201cKenneth just give us whatever job pays the most currently right now.\u201d You say.\n\u201cOh okay then, that\u2019s easy. There\u2019s a troll somewhere south of here near the old Empire border. Dunno exactly where he\u2019s making his home, I\u2019m guess there\u2019s a hole in the ground somewhere though, anyway it\u2019s been eating a lot of travelers and merchants on the roads whenever it\u2019s feeling a little hungry. It\u2019s only just arrived, but it\u2019s hurting business and for some reason none of these fucking cowards will go and kill it!\u201d Kenneth shouts so everyone in the bar can hear him.\n\n\u201cA troll? Where the hell did he come from? They\u2019re rare enough as it is, and even less likely to wander around above ground.\u201d You remark.\n\u201cI have no idea, but it\u2019s ruining business. So are you going to take the job?\u201d\n\u201cYeah sure, should be interesting.\u201d You say.\n\nYou and Ulivik get up and leave who looks less enthusiastic now.\n\n\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong with you?\u201d\n\u201cOh uh, nothing. Just didn\u2019t expect it would be a troll. You only hear about them in stories.\u201d\n\u201cYeah, well this ain\u2019t no story and they\u2019re quite real. I should know I\u2019ve fought one before when I was serving as a soldier here. Damn thing blended in the darkness of the cave and took out three men before we even knew what was going on. Now it\u2019s a common misconception that you can only kill them with fire, but that\u2019s probably the best way to kill \u2018em anyway given how tough their skin is, let alone their regenerative abilities\u2026\u201d\n\nAt this point Ulivik begins to look pale, an amazing feat for a dark elf. You address the situation before continuing.\n\n\u201cOkay and I can tell by your look, you\u2019re having second thoughts about all this. If you want to back out, there\u2019s still time you know. Do you want to back out?\u201d\n\nUlivik\u2019s silence isn\u2019t an answer.\n\n\u201cLook, you better tell me now because when we\u2019re facing nine feet of green and black horror I don\u2019t want to be having to pull your fat out of the fire because you\u2019re freezing up in terror.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m not backing out and I won\u2019t freeze up!\u201d he exclaims.\n\u201cOkay then, come on we need to get a few extra supplies.\u201d\n\nUlivik\u2019s answer doesn\u2019t exactly convince you that he still isn\u2019t scared about all this, but sometimes fear can be a good thing. Keeps you on your toes. Besides one would have to be a complete moron to not be a little worried about facing a troll. The only time you faced one, wasn\u2019t exactly a picnic and you had the advantage of numbers on your side. Normally you don\u2019t waste your money on things like explosives, but you make an exception and buy a couple of firebombs along with some oil flasks, torches and a whetstone to make sure your sword is extra sharp.\n\nAlong the way to your destination, you tell Ulivik how he should approach fighting the thing and whatever he does to not let it corner him or get the drop on him. If either one happens he\u2019s dead. You also tell him that unlike an ogre or a giant, trolls are a lot faster and sneakier than their size would indicate.\n\nYou travel for about a good portion of the day on your way towards the southern Rask border. You stick to the road since you figure if the troll has been ambushing merchants and travelers, he\u2019s got to be stalking the road. When night comes you make a camp along side of it, but there still is no sign of any troll yet.\n\n\u201cHey you said these things don\u2019t usually come out from underground?\u201d Ulivik asks.\n\u201cWell the one I encountered was living in a cave that was being mined, and all the other stories I\u2019ve heard and you\u2019ve probably heard is that they\u2019re completely subterranean. Whatever the truth is, this one has been lurking above ground and out in the open, so maybe they just don\u2019t like sunlight. Probably has a home somewhere nearby, but there aren\u2019t any hills or mountains in this part of Rask, just forest. Could be living in there I suppose, but I\u2019m betting he\u2019s probably got a hidden entrance in the ground somewhere and he\u2019s living right underneath us.\u201d\n\nThis of course causes Ulivik to start looking at the ground around him.\n\n\u201cHow do we know it\u2019ll even show up?\u201d\n\u201cWe don\u2019t, but if it\u2019s been attacking people like Kenneth says it has, then us lingering around the road will probably draw its attention. Of course there\u2019s no point in sitting around and using up all our energy by staying up all night. We\u2019ll be taking shifts. You seem to be alert already so you\u2019re taking first watch while I get a little rest.\u201d\n\nWhen you close your eyes you begin to slowly drift off, though you\u2019ve always been sort of a light sleeper, so you never really fall into a deep sleep. What wakes you up completely is a sickening cracking sound and heavy breathing.\n\nYou stand up with your sword in hand and you\u2019re just in time to see a large gangly figure with its hands around Ulivik\u2019s head which is now completely backwards. He didn\u2019t even have a chance. Seeing you, the troll emits a low growl and drops Ulivik\u2019s body. The troll lurches and leaps about in a chaotic manner. It tries to circle you in such a way that it\u2019ll be behind you, but you don\u2019t allow that to happen. Eventually it gets frustrated and attacks you head on.\n\nFighting the troll is harder than the last time you fought one before and not just due to the fact that you had back up. The open space of the outside world is actually more beneficial for the troll\u2019s fighting style which is jerky and involves a lot of leaping around. Many times the creature manages to smash you with its hardened fists due to its extended reach alone. Feels like getting hit by fucking battering ram.\n\nYour own hits against it don\u2019t seem to do anything, except the one time when you actually manage to cleave one of the troll\u2019s legs off just below the knee. This doesn\u2019t deter its attack though. It merely backs off long enough for it to change its fighting style. It comes at you on all fours (or rather threes in this case). During this time you\u2019ve taken the opportunity to light up one of the firebombs to throw at the thing, but by the time you light it, it\u2019s already upon you and knocked you down. Pinnining you to the ground as best it can, the troll punches you in the face, breaking your nose to a point where it practically explodes into a mess of blood. You gasps for air as it follows up by sinking its teeth deep into your sword arm. The sound of bone cracking is a sure sign that it won\u2019t be long before the troll chews it off completely.\n\nIn the meantime the firebomb you lit fell close by and its fuse is still burning down. Somehow between your eyes covered in blood, the difficulty breathing and the pain wracking your entire body while a troll is eating you alive, you manage to grab the firebomb with your good arm and hold it right near the troll\u2019s head.\n\nYou get a minor satisfaction at the troll\u2019s expression when he sees the bomb just before it goes off, blowing the pair of you up.", "action_results": []}]}, {"action": "Don't take Ulivik", "result": "While it\u2019s an interesting possibility, you\u2019re not training soldiers anymore; you\u2019re done with that mess and quite frankly, you doubt if Ulivik would make a good warrior of any kind.\n\n\u201cLook kid, I\u2019ve put up with you for quite some time now, but enough is enough. I told you, go down to Kenneth\u2019s Rest and get a job. If you\u2019re too much of a sissy to disobey your parents, then you ain\u2019t gonna have what it takes to be a merc in the first place. Now leave me the hell alone, or I\u2019m gonna hurt you very very badly and you don\u2019t want that.\u201d\n\nUlivik tries to beg some more, but after a few menacing glares and threatening steps towards him, he backs off, saddened by your hostility. Having gotten rid of Ulivik, you set off for a different town further north, they\u2019re always having problems up there.\n\nA few months later when you\u2019re back in Keplavisk, you fully expect Ulivik to be bothering you again, but you see no sign of him which is odd since he always seems to know exactly when you come into town. While getting a drink at the tavern you ask the barkeep in passing where he is.\n\n\u201cOh that dark elven boy? Ran off and got himself killed a couple months ago. Damn fool was trying to be a mercenary and I guess some bandits finally taught him that he wasn\u2019t. Good riddance I say. Don\u2019t need any of their kind around, didn\u2019t like \u2018em when they were doing thug work for the Empire\u2026erm, no offence Mr. Bane\u2026\u201d\n\u201cHmm, just gimme my drink.\u201d You say.\n\nWhile Ulivik\u2019s death doesn\u2019t affect you on any emotional level, you are a little surprised to hear about it. You didn\u2019t think he actually would have the heart to try to strike out on his own. Oh well, that\u2019s how it is in this business though, one moment you\u2019re here the next you aren\u2019t. Everything is fleeting and you can\u2019t worry about tomorrow, you just have to live for today.\n\nLife for you continues on as usual.\n\nYear 50\n\nYou wake up from another night of debauchery and predictably you feel pretty terrible from it. Your head hurts and your body aches all over, of course your body would ache anyway. The years have been taking a toll on how you push yourself physically and the battles you fight. The excessive parties in between really don\u2019t help though.\n\nYou just lay in bed for a while dreading the fact that you\u2019ll be running out of coin soon again and have to go to work again. It\u2019s an endless cycle, and while the freedom you\u2019ve enjoyed since leaving the Empire has been nice, the past couple of years you\u2019ve started feel like something is missing. Namely purpose and direction. The Empire had numerous faults, but in the beginning it did give you such things and part of you misses it.\n\nYou begin to wonder if you shouldn\u2019t go join Edgar in his Eternal Dominion or maybe offer to serve the Felkan Kingdom to give yourself some sort of goal larger than yourself. You quickly dismiss such thoughts though for several reasons, one of the biggest ones being that you now you\u2019ve had your taste of freedom, you don\u2019t really want to be following orders from a large government again. (Let alone Edgar)\n\nOf course maybe you just need a change of scenery and just leave this area entirely. There certainly nothing really tying you down except perhaps your own comfort of familiarity. You\u2019ve spent more than half of your life in Rask, hell it\u2019s actually been more of your \u201chome\u201d than the Empire ever was so despite your emotional disconnect with people, you \u2018re a little attached to the area.", "action_results": [{"action": "Leave Rask", "result": "You\u2019ve lived in Rask as an \u201coccupier\u201d and as a \u201ccitizen\u201d and neither one have really fulfilled you. You decide that it might very well be time to leave. You have no idea where you\u2019re going to go or what you\u2019re going to do, but you guess you\u2019ll figure it out eventually.\n\nYou pack up what belongings you can carry and do a little shopping for other necessities before you set off on your journey. When you eventually get to the Rask border, you take a look back, wondering if you\u2019ll ever return one day\u2026\n\nYou don\u2019t.\n\nYou spend your remaining years traveling far from Rask, far from old Empire territory and far from any land you\u2019ve ever known. While some of it is interesting, you still never feel \u201ccontent.\u201d You mostly support yourself just by living off the land and doing some occasional mercenary work when passing through towns and villages. You never do settle down in one area for long though.\n\nYou might be an Eternal and your fighting spirit is always willing, but that doesn\u2019t stop the ravages of time from taking their toll on your body. Between the constant traveling and the combat, your body is aching all the time. You aren\u2019t as fast or as strong as you used to be and you often forget you aren\u2019t young anymore, or more likely you have full knowledge of it and are just too stubborn to change.\n\nYour unwillingness to settle down and die peacefully in your bed eventually catches up with you during a mercenary job you take in some small town in a far away land. Bandits are raiding the town on a regular basis and you take part in defending it. You do well enough for a man your age, but ultimately you are brought down by several of them who manage to surround and gain the advantage over you.\n\nYou fall to several sword blows to your body and collapse in a bloody heap in the streets of the town.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Stick around", "result": "You may be in a \u201crut\u201d but you realize you\u2019re too old to just start all over again, somewhere else and quite frankly you don\u2019t really want to. Rask is your home now, and while life might not be perfect here, it\u2019s a lot better than how your life was during the Empire. You just need to push that lingering Empire indoctrination from your mind that you thought was gone.\n\nYou roll out of bed and get yourself in the frame of mind to go to work again\u2026\n\nYear 54\n\n\u201cAnd that\u2019s how I killed the last giant in Rask! Another round!\u201d you exclaim as everyone in the tavern hangs on your every word. Later you continue your tradition of bedding whatever wench that is pretty enough and willing that night.\n\nThe past four years have been relatively good for you, or at least you\u2019ve been trying to make the best of them. Since your last self reflection you\u2019ve funneled your energy in not only your mercenary work, but to be the best one in Rask by deliberately taking on the most dangerous jobs as well as blatantly stealing jobs from other mercs. While this has made you a lot more famous with the average citizens who appreciate your monster and bandit slaying, it\u2019s also made you quite unpopular with all the rest of the mercs.\n\nNaturally this unpopularity puts a target on your back and while most of the mercs are far too scared to actually to confront you face to face they do eventually build up a coalition to take you out once and for all.\n\nOne day on your way to take out what you believe to be a bandit hideout, you\u2019re traveling into a wooded area and get the impression that something is amiss, like you\u2019re walking into an ambush.\n\nAt first you think it might be the bandits who caught on to you, but you\u2019ve dealt with too many of those types to know that they\u2019re either too stupid to lay an ambush or they\u2019re smart enough to have already run away.\n\nThat\u2019s when you draw your sword\u2026\n\n\u201cAlright, I know you\u2019re all out there! I guess this has been a long time coming, so let\u2019s get this shit over. The merc population needs a little thinning out anyway.\u201d You shout.\n\nPredictably Flog comes out hiding with a motley group of humans and even a couple of ogres he must\u2019ve intimidated into joining him.\n\n\u201cFlog told you he\u2019d kill you one day! Today is da day!\u201d\n\u201cTook you long enough and you still need a group to help you\u2026\u201d you hear the crunch of a twig behind you and you instinctively duck and roll to your left as several bolts go flying into trees narrowly missing you.\n\n\u201cReload!\u201d you hear a female svelk voice shout while you run for cover behind some rocks.\n\u201cHey! This is Flog\u2019s kill! Told you not to try to kill him, just prevent his escape!\u201d\n\u201cHah! You got Eldolith to help you? You working for orcs now Eldy? My how far you\u2019ve come from once working for the Empire!\u201d you mock.\n\u201cYou won\u2019t be laughing for too much longer Eternal. You\u2019ve stolen your last job from us!\u201d Eldolith shouts back.\n\nWhile you hide behind the rocks, Flog orders some of the other mercs to go after you, doesn\u2019t take any time for you at all to kill several of them. Eldolith orders another volley of bolts from her men, but you use a merc you grabbed as a shield and run deeper in the forest.\n\nFlog\u2019s ogres run after you and thanks to their great stamina, they manage to catch up to you before long, you stop your running, spin around and with as much force as you can you chop at one of the ogre\u2019s legs. He doesn\u2019t stop in time and you nearly chop it completely off, unfortunately he crashes into you bellowing in pain the whole time. You crawl out from under the one leg ogre and finish him off, only to have his buddy nearly cave your head in with his club.\n\nYou shove your dagger upwards into the ogre\u2019s balls and his low growls and snarls become high-pitched squeaks as his manhood is now shredded. He falls to his knees and before you can finish him off, the svelks arrive with their blasted repeating crossbows again. A couple take aim immediately while two others attempt to run around behind you. Having little in the way of options you run to the nearest tree for cover and try to get close enough to cut one of them down.\n\nYou succeed in dodging and reaching the first two, who put up a poor showing of swordsmanship, but the other two that ran around in back of you fire their own volleys and you feel the piercing pain of two bolts going into your left leg and another going into your back. You collapse on top of one of the other dead svelk. The pain is coursing throughout your body, but you\u2019re in a vulnerable position, and in order to survive you can only hope you\u2019re fast enough to get the drop on them.\n\nPlaying dead you rely on your hearing to sense how close the svelk are stepping through the snow to check on you. This is harder than in sounds with a severely wounded ogre moaning about his wounds the whole time. You also see two other images running towards you, it\u2019s Flog and Eldolith. You can\u2019t wait any longer.\n\nYou grab one of the dead svelk\u2019s crossbows and with all your strength you roll on your back (Biting your lip at the pain due to the bolt there) and fire at the surprised svelks moving towards you. You were never an expert on ranged weapons, but you don\u2019t miss at your range and the two svelk go down. You then point it at the balless ogre and put him out of his misery with a single bolt to his head.\n\n\u201cShit! He\u2019s got one of the crossbows!\u201d Eldolith shouts and pulls out her own with taking cover. Flog on the other hand doesn\u2019t seem particularly worried.\n\n\u201cNo more hiding! Flog put an end to Bane once and for all!\u201d he yells and charged at you with his axe. You shoot your remaining bolts at him, but only succeed in hitting Flog in the arm, which barely stops his stride. You scramble to get up and throw the crossbow at Flog who bats away the oncoming object.\n\nFlog swings his axe and catches you with a glancing blow to your chest, ripping your armor and breaking the skin. You stagger backwards trying not to fall again.\n\n\u201cYooze gonna die today Bane! Ha ha ha ha ha!\u201d Flog laughs followed by a sudden yell of pain as he feels several bolts go into his own back. He immediately stops his advance on you and falls to one knee coughing up blood.\n\n\u201cTraitorous dark elven bitch!\u201d he shouts.\n\nThis gives you enough time to stagger away again and grab another one of the dead svelk crossbows and hide again. You aren\u2019t feeling so great yourself; you know the svelk bolts probably were dipped in some sort of poison. In fact you\u2019re surprised it hasn\u2019t incapacitated you yet. You just hope you can get through this quick enough to drag yourself back to the closest town.\n\nYou look out from behind your cover just in time to see Flog attempting to advance on Eldolith and her firing another volley into his body. She ends up having to step back quite a bit and reload again before finally finishing him off. He falls backwards into the snow looking like a pin cushion.\n\n\u201cBad move Eldy. Should\u2019ve let Flog wear me down a lot more and then killed him.\u201d You shout.\n\u201cWear you down? Hah, he would\u2019ve killed you, in your current condition. No, I want the pleasure of killing you myself.\u201d\n\nWhile she pontificates you attempt to shoot at her from behind your cover, but you miss.\n\n\u201cNice try. How are you feeling over there Bane? Not too good I imagine. Had to make sure the poison was really strong, I know how you Eternals got that annoying resistance to the stuff.\u201d\n\nAt this point, you are indeed starting to feel quite unwell. You begin to feel nauseous and you\u2019re having a hard time standing up. When you begin retching, you hear Eldolith speak again.\n\n\u201cYou know Bane, this is near the same area where I helped your old captain kill all those elves. That was a good day too. You\u2019re starting to sound pretty bad over there Bane, how about you just give yourself up and let me finish you off? Wouldn\u2019t you rather be killed by a worthy foe rather than just succumb to the poison? There\u2019s no shame in being beaten by your betters.\u201d\n\nYou\u2019re running out of time and you know it.\n\n\u201cAlright\u2026you got a point damn you. I\u2019m coming out, here I\u2019ll throw out the crossbow just to reassure you!\u201d you shout and throw your crossbow from behind your cover.\n\u201cGood, good, glad to see you submitting to the inevitable. Now come out slowly.\u201d\n\nThe way you\u2019re feeling right now, you doubt if you could come out any other way. You see Eldolith pointing her crossbow at you while stepping out from her own cover and moving closer towards you. She smirks and in typical svelk fashion can\u2019t help but gloat.\n\n\u201cI must say I am surprised that you decided to surrender, I would\u2019ve thought your eternal pride would\u2019ve prevented such a thing. But I guess those days are long gone just like the Empire you once served eh?\u201d\n\u201cJust get this over with.\u201d You say and then fall to your hands and knees in the snow vomiting up blood.\n\u201cMmm, perhaps I\u2019ll enjoy watching you squirm some more. The once great Bane of Rask finally\u2026\u201d\n\nYou knew you could count on Eldolith being a typical svelk. While she\u2019s taunting you, she doesn\u2019t pay attention that your hands are doing something rather simple such as balling up the hardened snow. With all your strength you throw the snowball at her. Being caught off guard she dodges it and shoots wildly at you. You manage to roll out of the way and grab the crossbow you threw away. You unload the entire thing at her and as luck would have it, the bolts land true for the most part. Three of them go into her side and another into her neck.\n\nShe falls into the snow coughing up blood and holding on to her side. You hear her cursing you with her dying breaths as you attempt to leave the area. While you have won, you know you aren\u2019t going to survive too much longer.\n\nYou manage to crawl a few more meters before the poison finally takes it toll. Your last thoughts are nostalgic ones. You allow yourself to smile at the times you got to enjoy life and your past victories, even this one. Yes this is a good death you think and then you pass on.", "action_results": []}]}, {"action": "Ulivik (Outcast)", "result": "Ulivik is a strange young man. First of all he\u2019s a svelk that had been abandoned as a baby, presumably by one of the many mercenaries that travel through the area. It\u2019s not uncommon for dark elf mothers to abandon their young if they are an \u201cinconvenience\u201d, it is however less common for these babies to survive, let alone taken care of by others. Ulivik was that lucky rarity that a human couple that couldn\u2019t have any children of their own literally stumbled upon him in the woods.\n\nOther than that, he hasn\u2019t exactly been all that lucky. Given the reputation of his kind, it\u2019s hardly surprising that he\u2019s practically run off or insulted everywhere he goes. How his adopted parent\u2019s business hasn\u2019t suffered is amazing, but it\u2019s a small enough town that people understand that the couple was trying for a child for a very long time and keep their dislike for the svelk youth to a minimum. Doesn\u2019t stop other youths from being complete bastards to him though.\n\nPerhaps due to his outcast nature he\u2019s latched on to the idea of a mercenary life of being a glorious life of excitement and adventure. Naturally when he found out that you were one of the best mercenaries in the region, he attached himself to you almost immediately and whenever you\u2019re in town, he asks you a bunch of questions. Even getting hostile with him doesn\u2019t drive him away since he\u2019s so used to it, so nowadays you just resign yourself to the temporary annoyance.\n\nHe\u2019s sort of a good example of the whole nature vs. nurture nonsense you overheard some drunk philosopher babbling about in a local tavern once. You have to admit, sometimes you feel a little sorry for him, never thought you\u2019d feel that way towards anyone, let alone a svelk.", "action_results": [null]}]}]}, {"action": "Serve another government", "result": "You can\u2019t bring yourself to be some lawless mercenary like a svelk and you can\u2019t fathom even trying to run your own piece of territory. You\u2019re no ruler. You\u2019re a warrior that currently has no direction or mission. The only chance to find purpose is to pledge yourself to another nation. Again, the only one you know of any note is the Felkan Kingdom. You only know a little about them based on the propaganda the Empire has told you as well as the brief conversation you had with Gerald when you temporarily reunited with him.\n\nTechnically the Empire is at peace with the Felkan Kingdom, but there are still skirmishes. Though nowdays it\u2019s due to rogue Empire soldiers (and peasants too) becoming outright bandits rather than any patriotic reason. The Felkan Kingdom has been trying to keep out Empire refugees as well, which means you\u2019ll probably just get turned around, if not outright fired upon. Still with shitty situation you\u2019re in, getting shot doesn\u2019t even seem like a bad option at this point\n\nYou find a nearby horse and set off for the west. Along the way you see the landscape of the Empire, which at one time was orderly and even idyllic is now burning and in tatters. Despite the chaos you don\u2019t need to do any battle, not even when passing groups of angry peasants who are taking every opportunity to get revenge on their oppressive government and its agents in all forms. You can only assume your reputation is enough to scare them off or they don\u2019t even recognize you. If it\u2019s the latter then it only confirms your belief that you weren\u2019t making that much of a difference in the Empire anyway.\n\nWhen you get to the Arat province you find it in a bit better condition than other territory you\u2019ve rode through, though when you ride through the town of Bucklesberg the peasants give you hateful glances or just outright run into their homes. You see in the middle of the town square several heads stuck on pikes with their eyes gouged out, some of them of children. In the very center of that is a pole with a sign attached.\n\nTHIS TOWN IS UNDER THE DOMINION OF THE ETERNALS. LAW WILL THRIVE UNDER THE NEW ORDER. DISOBEDIENCE WILL BE CRUSHED.\n\nOBEY AND LIVE. REBEL AND DIE.\n\n-GENERAL EDGAR\n\nYou read the sign twice you to make sure what you\u2019re reading is correct. You almost wish you could say you\u2019re surprised, and perhaps that small naive part of you still is, but you\u2019re disappointed more than anything else. You of course don\u2019t know the whole story, but quite frankly you don\u2019t even want to know. All this revelation does is make you want to get out of Empire lands as quick as possible because it seems like it really was ever good for is turning everybody into a wannabe sovereign.\n\nYou hasten your pace to the Felkan border as you don\u2019t wish to have any potential conflict with this new \u201cregime\u201d that seems to be trying to form here. It\u2019s a shame, because you did think about trying to find Edgar before going to the border hoping that maybe he\u2019d join you. Now? He\u2019d probably try to convince you to join him. Seen that story play out too, you\u2019d rather not have to go through it again. Edgar obviously has chosen his path to deal with the Empire\u2019s inevitable collapse and you must choose yours.\n\nEventually you get to the Felkan border which is predictably well guarded by several men with their fancy musket weapons. From what you\u2019ve heard they aren\u2019t very sporting, but can blow through even a heavily armored orc instantly. Could\u2019ve used some of those yourself ten years ago.\n\n\u201cAlright just stop right there. You come any closer and you\u2019ll have a brand new hole in your body.\u201d One of them says pointing his weapon at you.\n\u201cSheesh Harry, can\u2019t you come up with a better threat than that?\u201d\n\u201cFuck you Wally, we\u2019re turning back refugees every damn day, they can\u2019t all be winners.\u201d\n\u201cUh guys, I don\u2019t think this one\u2019s a refugee, he\u2019s wearing military armor.\u201d Another one says which at this point all of them point their weapons at you.\n\nYou take this in stride you figured they wouldn\u2019t exactly be welcoming.\n\n\u201cAlright I don\u2019t know why the hell an Empire soldier is here, but I suggest you just turn right back around. We\u2019re supposed to be at peace now in case you didn\u2019t know it, which judging by some of you lot you don\u2019t.\u201d Harry says.\n\u201cI no longer serve the Empire, I request to serve your kingdom instead.\u201d You say.\n\u201cHa ha ha, yeah right. Look even if we were inclined to believe you, we don\u2019t need your kind especially since you can\u2019t even keep your own shit together. We know you\u2019re having a civil war or whatever it is right now. You\u2019re lucky our king is such a pussy that he refuses to take advantage of the situation otherwise, we\u2019d fucking own the Arat province right now.\u201d Harry replies.\n\u201cHell yeah Harry! We should\u2019ve just marched in and took it when they were begging for peace!\u201d Wally adds\n\nThe one soldier\u2019s words are most interesting. Especially how he speaks about his ruler so freely and without fear. It is apparent that despite their dislike of their ruler, yet they are very dedicated to their nation. It is sort of a comforting thing to see after so many you\u2019ve encountered over the years weren\u2019t. Perhaps you could find a place here, assuming you can get past this first obstacle.\n\n\u201cVery well gentlemen the only thing I can tell you that might convince you, is that I am an Eternal, born and bred for combat. I say with no boast that I am the best of my kind and while I am not yet familiar with your weapons, I dare say my combat skill and knowledge would allow me to learn rather quickly. All I ask is that I be allowed to speak with someone with more authority so that I can be given a proper chance.\u201d\n\u201cEternal? You ain\u2019t no Eternal, you\u2019re way too old. I\u2019ve seen those bastards running around on the other side of the border and they\u2019re either in their twenties or younger. Dunno why you\u2019d claim to be one of them for anyway, they\u2019re not even human, they\u2019re fucking soulless monsters. Heard enough horror stories from all the refugees we have to turn away. Some of those stories\u2026pretty heartbreaking stuff\u2026\u201d Harry says getting a little choked about one of the stories he seems to be thinking about. It\u2019s at that point one of his buddies pipes up.\n\u201cHey, uh maybe he\u2019s one of those OTHER Eternals.\u201d\n\u201cOh an original? I dunno, didn\u2019t they not make too many of them?\u201d Wally asks as if any of his buddies know.\n\u201cHow the hell should I know Wally?\u201d\n\u201cWell you were the fucker that brought it up! All right there\u2019s an easy way to do this. Chuck, head back to Fort Soot, and see Captain Warrick, he\u2019ll\u2026\u201d\n\u201cHold on did you say Captain Warrick?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cYeah? And?\u201d\n\u201cI know him seeing as we practically grew up together. He was believed to be dead, how is it that he\u2019s a captain in the Felkan military?\u201d\n\u201cHmm, well perhaps you can ask him that yourself, if you really do know him. Okay change of plan, we\u2019ll take you to see Captain Warrick, but you better not try anything funny. We\u2019ll need you to get off that horse and hand over your weapons. Chuck and Wally, you\u2019re with me, the rest of you keep an eye on the border as usual, we\u2019ll be back soon.\u201d\n\nYou comply with their demands and have them march you to Fort Soot. The thing you notice immediately are all the trenches built into the land. Left overs from the war you imagine. When you get to Fort Soot it isn\u2019t particularly large, though it does seem to be heavily defended with weapons you\u2019ve heard about before. Cannons they\u2019re called, and they are very devastating. You remember Gerald telling you how they could destroy stone golems as if they were made of paper. Makes you wonder why for all it\u2019s power that the Empire didn\u2019t fund money and time into developing such wonders as it certainly would\u2019ve helped a lot more than their Eternal project. You quietly chuckle at the irony of that thought briefly thinking what you would\u2019ve been doing now if there hadn\u2019t been such a project. Probably not marching into a Felkan fort that\u2019s for sure.\n\nWhen you are brought into Warrick\u2019s office it\u2019s like a trip to the past. Warrick\u2019s changed quite a bit. He\u2019s wearing an eyepatch for one thing and he\u2019s lost most of his hair, but you\u2019d still recognize him. He also recognizes you though he\u2019s still having trouble believing it.\n\n\u201cBy the gods, is it really you?\u201d\n\u201cYes, it\u2019s me. By the gods? Not by the Emperor anymore I see.\u201d\n\u201cNope and never will be again, which brings me to my next question. Why have you come here? I certainly hope it isn\u2019t on some fool mission to bring me to justice for being a traitor\u2026\u201d\n\u201cHa ha. Maybe at one time, but not anymore either. I guess you could say, I\u2019m also a traitor, though I don\u2019t think I am. The Empire betrayed itself a long time ago and I can\u2019t serve a place that has not even the slightest concept of honor or loyalty even if it was the one that taught me such ideals.\u201d\n\u201cI must say, I am a little surprised that you of all people would come to that conclusion. You were the most dedicated of all of us. I know that you are telling the truth though, as you were never a liar. So you\u2019ve left the Empire then and come here to\u2026?\u201d\n\u201cPledge myself to the Felkan Kingdom, though it seems I wasn\u2019t the only one who had that idea.\u201d\n\u201cHah, yeah a bit of a long story that. Before we continue I\u2019ll have to clear this with a lot of people first, and you\u2019re probably going to have to prove yourself several times, but if you\u2019re serious about this then you\u2019ll most likely be accepted. I\u2019ve found things work with a little more leniency in the Felkan Kingdom.\u201d\n\u201cAll I want is a new chance.\u201d\n\nAnd so began your service to the Felkan Kingdom.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Chapter 3A2: For the Kingdom!\n\n\nYear 40\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t understand why the hell we haven\u2019t just gone marching into the Arat province and taken it from the Eternal Dominion. We have superior weaponry, and they aren\u2019t even that organized. I don\u2019t care how skilled they are in combat, they can\u2019t stop a bullet.\u201d A soldier complains.\n\u201cSo, do you think we\u2019ll really be going to war again?\u201d his buddy asks.\n\u201cIs there any fucking doubt? The Empire might be dead, but that Eternal Dominion or whatever it\u2019s called took its place and from what I can gather the ones running that are complete monsters. No small feat considering how the Empire was run\u2026uh no offense sarge.\u201d\n\nYou shake your head as a sign that you could care less how they discuss the Empire, as you\u2019re busy keeping on the look out for potential enemies and you tell them to stop talking and do likewise. Felkan soldiers tend to be a little more chatty than you\u2019re used to, they also tend to be a little over confident in battle at times due to their reliance on firearms. Their melee skills aren\u2019t bad, but they aren\u2019t anywhere near those of a say an Empire soldier, let alone an Eternal. You learned how to handle a musket pretty quickly, but much like the same reason you avoided using bows and such, ranged combat just isn\u2019t quite your thing. Still, you appreciate their destructive power and having an advantage so you have no problems carrying around a couple of flintlock pistols on your person.\n\nAnother thing that\u2019s different is a government that isn\u2019t actually interested in conquest despite its people often expressing such desires. You\u2019ve never met the king or any of the royals, but from what you\u2019ve heard the king is more of a scholar rather than a warrior ruler. Some consider this a weakness, but you aren\u2019t convinced that it is. The king apparently believes conquest would just drain the coffers of what is currently a healthy economy (despite a recent war) and it\u2019s better to put that money to other uses. The Felkans in general are always looking for new ways to advance the quality of life for all through scientific advancement. You don\u2019t remember that sort of thing in the Empire where the status quo was law. While magic was reserved for the elite and still not common in the Empire, it\u2019s practically non-existent in the Felkan Kingdom, which might explain their tendency towards scientific endeavors. Well that, and the fact that a good number of gnomes live among them who probably produce most of the great inventions in the kingdom.\n\nStill, you often hear a lot of criticism about the king; sometimes it makes you wonder if there shouldn\u2019t be cause for concern. If this were the Empire you would\u2019ve been expected to harshly discipline all of those soldiers that insulted the Emperor. Here, there is a lot more freedom in what you can say.\n\nYes, there are so many differences from the Empire and you often feel out of place. Hell you feel strange enough only being a sergeant again. Five years and they still haven\u2019t felt that you warrant a promotion to a higher rank, you don\u2019t know why they still don\u2019t trust you as much as they trust Warrick considering he actually fought against them directly. Of course he actually saved the lives of some important Felkan royals, so that\u2019s probably the reason.\n\nThey don\u2019t keep you stationed on the frontlines of the Arat border like they do with Warrick either, for the past several years you\u2019ve been stationed at a fort at the other end of the kingdom, though the fort is so small it\u2019s more like an outpost. Fort Green is located near a small village called Blossomdale and that\u2019s basically what you\u2019ve been defending. It\u2019s a rather dull assignment and only broken up by the occasional skirmishes with gnolls, bandits or other denizens living in the untouched forests and the hills. You\u2019ve tried to make the best of things. You keep your mind mostly focused on your job like you always do.\n\nOne good thing is that the soldiers that serve under you don\u2019t seem to mind your Eternal origins, but you do get the impression they\u2019re a little afraid of you. Your superior officer Captain Eckers seems okay with you as well. He\u2019s the only one stationed here that\u2019s older than you and probably sees you as someone he has a little more in common with, not to mention you bring a little more discipline to the fort and encourage more drilling and combat training.\n\nEventually your shift is over and as usual, nothing happened today. Your replacements take over your post and you make your way back to the fort. The rest of the soldiers head to Blossumdale presumably for a little R&R as they often do.\n\nWhen you get back to the fort, somebody tells you that Captain Eckers wants to see you, so you proceed to his office.\n\n\u201cHave a seat sergeant. So was today any different than yesterday? Any hostiles to be dispatched or anything?\u201d\n\u201cNo sir, things were quiet as usual.\u201d You answer.\n\u201cI figured as much. It\u2019s been like this for the past eight months. You know it\u2019s always been slow around here, but lately\u2026(sigh) I don\u2019t know. I suppose we should be glad this place isn\u2019t under attack constantly, but the boredom of nothing to do is frustrating.\u201d\n\u201cI know the feeling sir.\u201d\n\u201cHeh, I\u2019ll bet. Bred for war and all that\u2026you once had a command at a fort at one time did you not?\u201d\n\u201cYes sir I did, in Rask.\u201d\n\u201cYeah, I\u2019ve heard about that area. I\u2019ll bet you never ran out of fighting up there.\u201d\n\u201cWell sir, we sort of did since I did my best to try to exterminate the most dangerous threats. For a while things got slow then we had a series of uprisings became a problem and I had to be in involved in putting those down so I wasn\u2019t quite as bored anymore.\u201d\n\u201cUprisings. Now that would be an interesting event, though I don\u2019t think I\u2019m quite that bored yet. Still, I wonder if one wouldn\u2019t do some good. Get those royals off their asses and actually do something for a change.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m sure they do what they can\u2026the land is prosperous after all.\u201d You say unsure of how to react and still wondering why you were called in here.\n\n\u201cYeah, yeah, I know, but really what good is that going to do when the Eternal Dominion comes beating down our door? I served on the front lines of the war with the Empire from beginning to end, and I saw shit that even I wasn\u2019t prepared to see. Even with our technological advantage, sometimes I don\u2019t know how we managed to hold the Empire off\u2026I guess you guys really had a lot of internal problems.\u201d\n\u201cYes, yes we did sir. A lot.\u201d\n\u201cRight, and that\u2019s the only reason why we held out. If the Empire had been a united front like it used to be\u2026 well me and you probably wouldn\u2019t be having this conversation.\u201d\n\u201cCaptain, if I may interject for a moment. I have heard citizens and soldiers on more than one occasion suggest that the Felkan Kingdom should become more aggressive. I\u2019m puzzled to as why if things are going well. after all the Empire engaged in continual conquest and I think we know how that turned out.\u201d\n\u201cYou have a point about the Empire, but you also should remember the Empire lasted several centuries before collapsing. I don\u2019t presume to know exactly all the problems you had, but I can tell you what the problems we have are and why the people are getting sick of it.\u201d\n\u201cAnd what are those sir?\u201d\n\u201cFucking gnomes.\u201d\n\u201cGnomes? Don\u2019t they provide all the wonderful inventions for this Kingdom?\u201d\n\u201cYeah, and they also have been using us as protection for decades and the royals are in their fucking pockets. We aren\u2019t really ruled by the royals, the damned gnomish inventors and businessmen rule us. They don\u2019t want us expanding too much, because then we just might be harder to control. They also don\u2019t want us to become too strong militarily because we just might turn it against them. I mean hell, I think you\u2019ve seen how our soldiers aren\u2019t exactly the best fighters and rely on firearms. I shudder to think if we ever had to actually fight without them. It didn\u2019t always used to be that way, at least not back in my day. That\u2019s why you\u2019re a damn breath of fresh air. You\u2019re actually a REAL warrior.\u201d\n\nYou just sit and listen as the captain begins getting even angrier during his rant.\n\n\u201cYou know why I\u2019m stationed here in the ass end of nowhere? Because I spoke my mind on what I thought about gnomes and suggested we needed to stop being pussies and actually start taking more land. I mean take this place for example. If we had just a couple more platoons, and the orders, we could march into those hills nearby and wipe out all those damned gnolls for good. But what do we do instead? Wait around for the fuckers to attack us then sit here with our thumbs up our asses until they rebuild and do it all over again. We\u2019re better than that! Or at least we used to be!\u201d at this point Captain Eckers slams his fist on his desk. He\u2019s silent with his head looking down for a moment and then looks up to address you.\n\n\u201c\u2026forgive me sergeant, I get a little emotional about this stuff sometimes. I really shouldn\u2019t. Thank you for your report and listening. I just need someone to speak my mind to sometimes\u2026anyway dismissed.\u201d\n\nYou get up and leave, thinking about what has transpired.\n\nIt basically sounds like the captain doesn\u2019t believe in his government anymore. You know what that\u2019s like, but you just aren\u2019t sure if it\u2019s as bad as he\u2019s claiming or he\u2019s just a bitter old man that\u2019s mad because times changed and he pissed off the wrong people in charge of his career. However as you\u2019re reminded he isn\u2019t the only person you\u2019ve heard speaking out, he just happens to be the only one that\u2019s gone into more detail than you\u2019re used to.\n\nYou also wonder if he told you all this stuff for a reason, is he hinting for you to do something? And what could you do? You\u2019re a lower rank than him and not exactly high on the hierarchy. You\u2019re also pretty much an outsider. Stirring up trouble isn\u2019t exactly something you should be doing, and you pledged yourself to serve the kingdom and its king, not overthrow it. If you were going to be doing that, you might as well have joined the Eternal Dominion.\n\nYou aren\u2019t sure of what to make of all this gnome business though, if that is even true. You\u2019ve never paid too much attention to them being in a lot of the positions of power. Part of you though does make you wonder about who you\u2019re really serving and if it is really the gnomes like the captain claims, then your whole oath to the kingdom is pretty much a joke. Then again if they really are controlling everything, does it really make a difference? Things seem to still be running well and you personally just don\u2019t have any real proof that there is some conspiracy even though it wouldn\u2019t surprise you too much if there was one going on.\n\nOne thing you know though, if others are feeling like the captain does, this isn\u2019t going to go away. This is going to get worse; in fact it may already be too late to stop something from occurring. You could very well find yourself serving in another collapsing government again.", "action_results": [{"action": "Report to the captain", "result": "You don\u2019t know if this is actually going to do any good, but if the captain ever decides to suddenly secede from the Felkan Kingdom, you want someone to know that you weren\u2019t part of it from the beginning. The problem there isn\u2019t a higher-ranking officer at the fort and you don\u2019t really know anybody that you could report this to. You suppose you write a letter to Major Samuels at Fort Smoke. He\u2019s in charge of the whole Ibim province, but then you think what if he feels the same way as the captain? If that\u2019s the case, then you\u2019d probably become hated not just at your fort, but in other circles as well. You\u2019d possibly even be demoted or worse. You\u2019ve managed to make a life here with minimal friction, and you\u2019d hate to just throw that all away, but you have to do something. For good or ill your duty is to the kingdom now and you need to defend against all potential threats, external and internal, and from your experience the internal ones are the worst.\n\nThat\u2019s when you come up with the idea that you\u2019ll write to Warrick about this. He might not be able to do anything about it considering he\u2019s in another province, but he\u2019s about the only one you can trust and maybe he knows something and can at least give you advice.\n\nYou write a letter to Warrick that night and hand it to a professional courier in Blossumdale the next day. Not having anything else to do, you return to your duties. Days pass into weeks and weeks pass into months. Just when you\u2019re starting to wonder if your letter got intercepted and someone having sinister plans for you, you get a letter back from Warrick.\n\nYou\u2019re anxious to see his reply and you find a quiet place to open it up and read it private. You\u2019re expecting a long letter, but instead you get a short one that\u2019s to the point.\n\nThings are already in motion to remedy the situation soon and your duty to the kingdom has been noted.\n\nWarrick\n\nYou can only guess that Captain Eckers will soon be gone with wording like that. You didn\u2019t expect anything to be done either, just advice. Warrick must have better connections than you thought.\n\nAnother week passes since you received Warrick\u2019s reply and Fort Green is visited by a general with his personal assistants, a couple of royals and a well-dressed gnome. The visit is unexpected by everyone, especially Captain Eckers since he\u2019d know first if anyone was scheduled to visit.\n\nCaptain Eckers and several others are taken into rooms and questioned separately. The rest of you are ordered to go about your business and to not interfere. Later you are called in as well. You find yourself face to face with one of the generals. General Benson. He\u2019s probably about the same age as Eckers, though obviously more successful.\n\n\u201cSergeant, I\u2019m going to make this quick. You are the one who wrote the letter to Captain Warrick are you not?\u201d General Benson asks.\n\u201cYes, sir.\u201d\n\u201cAnd why did you write to Captain Warrick about your concerns? Why not write to Major Samuels? He is the superior officer in charge of this province.\u201d\n\u201cWell, I wasn\u2019t sure if I should sir. For all I knew he might\u2019ve had sympathies with Captain Eckers and if that had been the case, my situation would not have been a good one.\u201d\n\u201cHold on sergeant, are you telling me Major Samuels is also part of this?\u201d\n\u201cNo, I don\u2019t even know the Major sir, I was just being cautious on my part. I wrote to Warrick because\u2026well he\u2019s the only person I felt I could absolutely trust.\u201d\n\nThe general is silent for a moment while he looks you up and down.\n\n\u201cTell me, have you had any conflict while being here?\u201d\n\u201cConflict with the other soldiers? No sir, can\u2019t say that I have, I tend to just do my job and keep to myself as far as social matters are concerned.\u201d\n\u201cWhat about your relationship with Captain Eckers?\u201d\n\u201cIt\u2019s a respectful one sir, I feel no malice towards him nor perceive any towards me.\u201d\n\u201cYet you felt the need to report him.\u201d\n\u201cWell sir, I thought it was something that might be needed to be brought to the attention of those in a higher position than me. Dissension in the ranks is no good sir. These sorts of things need to be taken care of before they spread. I know from direct experience, sir.\u201d\n\u201cHmmm, yes I suppose you would\u2026\u201d\n\nGeneral Benson continues to study you as if he\u2019s trying to read your mind, after a minute of this, he backs off and starts to pack up some papers on a nearby desk.\n\n\u201cI think we have everything we need to know. We weren\u2019t exactly sure about you for a long time, and quite frankly some of us still aren\u2019t. Your lack of trust among your fellow soldiers is concerning, but considering what we\u2019ve found here, possibly understandable. As of now, I\u2019m promoting you to captain and putting you in charge of Fort Green until further notice. You\u2019ll be receiving some new soldiers soon to replace the men that will be leaving here. And hopefully this reward for your dedication to the Kingdom alleviates some of your trust issues.\u201d\n\u201cIt will sir. It will. Thanks you sir.\u201d\n\u201cVery good, you\u2019re dismissed.\u201d\n\nYou step out of the room feeling a sense of accomplishment. This is truly the first time since you pledged loyalty to the Felkan Kingdom that you feel appreciated. With this new command you actually feel like you\u2019re back to where you\u2019re supposed to be again, which is something you haven\u2019t felt since you were taken off of your command in Rask. Granted Fort Green is no Fort Destiny, but it\u2019s better than where you were.\n\nAs for Captain Eckers, he and several other soldiers are escorted out of the fort as the rest of you stand by and watch. On his way out Eckers glares at you, he doesn\u2019t say anything, but you can feel as if his stare is burning a hole in you. He knows someone said something, and he knows that someone was you. It\u2019s too bad it had to be this way, but what\u2019s done is done and it\u2019s time to move on.\n\nOver the next few months you begin running the fort a lot more efficiently, the soldiers aren\u2019t particularly thrilled about it since they\u2019ve gotten used to not doing as much under Captain Eckers, which is another good reason why he needed to leave. Instead of whining, he should\u2019ve been thinking up stuff to keep everyone\u2019s mind\u2019s occupied.\n\nAfter a few more months of extra training, you pick the soldier who has shown the most promise and pull them aside in your office for a talk.\n\n\u201cLet\u2019s see\u2026 Sergeant Dawn Young\u2026easy name to remember. You\u2019re one of the newer transfers here. Says that before you came here, you served on the Kilania Plains. Not exactly familiar with that area, but I hear it\u2019s infested with centaurs. Half man half horse or something like that?\u201d\n\u201cYes sir, they are little more than wild beast. They get drunk, breed, start fights and from what I can tell that\u2019s about it.\u201d\n\u201cHmm, bet they were a joy to fight. Well from your record it says you successfully lead several attacks on them. I\u2019m guessing they are no longer a problem anymore?\u201d\n\u201cWell they are less of a problem than they were. I was told to hold back, by my commanding officer at the time. I know if we had pressed against them though we could\u2019ve wiped them out completely though.\u201d She remark with a slightly annoyed tone.\n\nSounds like typical Felkan policy. You have to admit, Eckers did have a point about certain things. While you\u2019re not going to support possible rebellion like he did, you are going to change some things.\n\n\u201cOkay you sound like the kind of soldier I need. Consider yourself promoted to lieutenant and you\u2019re my new second.\u201d\n\u201c\u2026wow\u2026thank you sir!\u201d\n\u201cDon\u2019t go thanking me just yet, you still have live to enjoy it. I want you to take two platoons of soldiers, march over to those hills a few miles away and I want you to wipe out ALL of the gnolls that you see.\u201d\n\u201cAll of them sir?\u201d\n\u201cAll of them. Their warriors, their citizens, their women, their children. If there are little baby gnolls sucking on marrowbones in their cribs, I want you to kill them too.\u201d\n\nYour orders are a little shocking to Dawn. She\u2019s probably never heard anyone commanding the murder of infants before let alone the total war doctrine you\u2019re following, even if it is against a bunch of barbaric monsters.\n\n\u201cLieutenant, am I going to have to find someone else to do this?\u201d you ask.\n\u201c\u2026Um no sir. I just\u2026well\u2026the other soldiers sir. I\u2019m not sure if they\u2019ll follow such orders.\u201d\n\u201cOh yes they will. Because it\u2019s going to be YOUR job to make sure they follow them. Besides I\u2019ve noticed guns tend to take away a lot of the emotional impact of killing. Not even like you have to look someone in the eye and take away their life. You can sit back comfortably from a few feet away and pull the trigger. They\u2019ll be able to kill baby gnolls a lot easier than you think, and after this first time, it\u2019s only going to get easier. I\u2019m sure you\u2019ll do fine, I have faith that you\u2019re up to this task. I wouldn\u2019t have picked you if I didn\u2019t. You\u2019re dismissed.\u201d\n\nLooking a little overwhelmed, Dawn nods and leaves your office.\n\nNow all you have to concern yourself about is whether your changes get you thrown out of the fort like Captain Eckers.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 45\n\n\u201cThey\u2019ll probably attack at night sir.\u201d Dawn says to you.\n\u201cYeah, gnolls are predictable that way. Is Blossumdale under control?\n\u201cYes sir, we executed most of the rabble rousers, the rest have shut up complaining about food rationing and troops permanently stationed in the town now sir.\u201d\n\u201cGood. Ooooooh I\u2019m gonna hear it for that one.\u201d You groan.\n\u201cI don\u2019t see why sir, you were merely keeping order and doing what needed to be done to help protect the kingdom.\u201d\n\u201cPerhaps, but the top brass won\u2019t see it that way. There won\u2019t be any way to keep this one quiet. News is going to travel eventually, despite the fact that I\u2019m already keeping a lot of stuff out of the reports as it is. Hell, I\u2019ve been getting blamed for stirring up a so called hornet\u2019s nest with the gnolls since this war began.\u201d\n\u201cThat\u2019s not true sir, if you hadn\u2019t sent me into those hills all those years ago, we wouldn\u2019t have found out that they\u2019d been planning a mass invasion for quite some time.\u201d\n\u201cThat may be the case, but it doesn\u2019t change the fact that they need to blame me for whatever reason.\u201d\n\u201cSir if they\u2019re so displeased with you, why have they not just replaced you?\u201d\n\u201cGood question. I imagine it\u2019s because the gnolls are a very real threat and that I am actually doing a good job at holding back the gnolls with what little resources I do have. Everyone is still so worried about the Eternal Dominion possibly invading that they\u2019re shoving all the troops along that border. Oh well, I guess I should be grateful they finally sent us some new cannons, though it took three years to get them. Okay lieutenant, that will be all, I suggest you prepare everyone because I get the feeling the gnolls\u2019 attack tonight is going to be a big one.\u201d\n\nDawn nods and leaves your office. She\u2019s a good second; you couldn\u2019t have picked a better choice. You\u2019re actually proud of how all your soldiers have stepped up over the past few years. All they needed was a little more discipline and something to keep them focused like a relentless army of hyena men eager to rip them apart and feast on their bodies.\n\nDespite the fact that the top brass nearly hates you and you\u2019re on the eve of what is probably going to be a vicious battle. You feel good, like the best you\u2019ve felt in years. You have a command, you have soldiers that are utterly dedicated and you have a ruthless enemy to fight. The excitement of battle is near and you can\u2019t wait to bask in the violence of it. This is what you were BORN for.\n\nAs darkness falls, you stand on top of the battlements and see the gnolls arrive right on time. They might be fierce warriors, but their ongoing crap strategy of throwing as many troops at you as possible isn\u2019t working for them. You think orcs might\u2019ve even been smarter than that, well at least Gruz would\u2019ve been. There are an awful lot of them though this time, it appears that you were right, tonight\u2019s battle is going to be a big one.\n\nAs the horde gets closer, you also see several flying creatures in the distance. Wyverns. The bastards actually managed to tame wyverns. Looks like they\u2019re a little brighter than you initially gave them credit for. You tell the cannon crews to fire upon the wyverns as soon as they get in range, all musket men on top of the fort as well.\n\nYou stare down at the temporary wall you\u2019ve built around the fort where some of your other troops are guarding and hope it\u2019ll hold up well. They\u2019ll eventually break it down, but hopefully not before heavy losses. You also hope the fortifications at Blossumdale will hold out. You couldn\u2019t spare as many troops there, but you\u2019re confident that Dawn will be able to handle the situation if the gnolls split up their attack.\n\nThe battle starts off with the gnolls attempting a rain of arrows technique, fortunately you prepared for that by having everyone equipped with shields nearby. The Felkans as a general rule don\u2019t use them too much anymore due to their reliance on firearms, but your re-emphasis on close combat training made your request for a shipment of shields quite logical.\n\nThe wyverns then dive in from above while the horde concentrates on below. A couple of your new cannons prove their worth by landing a nice cannon ball into the side of one their heads, even better when it crashes into the gnoll horde. Another cannon ball tears a hole in the wing of another causing it and it\u2019s rider to attempt a crash landing in the distance.\n\nOut of the remaining three wyverns, one veers away and heads to Blossumdale, while the other two focus on the fort. You order all your men to fire upon one of them which riddles it with gunshot wounds. Not enough to kill it however as lands on the fort and manages crush and bite some of the cannon crews. It\u2019s rider fires a bow taking out a musket man next to you, and that\u2019s when you make a running leap forward to stab the wyvern right in the neck. Blood gushes out and the beast flails about, causing the rider to fall off and over the fort walls to the ground below.\n\nYou dodge the beast\u2019s attempt at biting you in two and make a long slash cut through one of it\u2019s wing so it can\u2019t fly away. It tries to smash you with it\u2019s tail, but you roll out of the way and finally land a killing blow by jumping on its back and running your sword through the top of it\u2019s head.\n\nThe other wyvern has been faring better against the remaining men on the fort roof, though it\u2019s rider lies dead with a gunshot wound to his face. Since the beast is intent on hovering above rather than actually landing you have to make another running jump to grab on to one of its feet. The creature attempts to shake you off, but you manage to hang on long enough to stab upward several times into it\u2019s soft underbelly. The creature twists and roars in pain, this time managing to cause you to fall to the fort roof, you are then covered in gouts of wyvern blood and chunks of entrails. You order your remaining men to fire upon it as it desperately tries to fly away. The musket balls do their job and the beast falls to the war zone bellow, unfortunately crashing into one of the temporary walls you put up. Granted the dead beast\u2019s bulk is now acting a small block now, but the gnoll horde has a slightly easier access than it did before.\n\nYou tell your men to start firing upon the horde, which is starting to surround the entire fort, while you rush down to the ground floor to help out the rest of your troops. You also notice that some of the horde is indeed breaking off into a separate group and moving past the fort towards Blossumdale.\n\nLadders go up to scale the walls, and axes attempt to bring them down completely. Some of the gnolls have already gotten in. Won\u2019t be long before they completely overrun this first layer of defense. After hacking down several of them, you tell all your men to fall back to the front gates and inside the fort. You have everyone barricade the doors as best you can while telling several soldiers on top to start dropping firebombs on the gnolls from the roof.\n\nSeveral explosions deafen the ears of all involved in this battle, smokes completely envelopes the fort and gnoll body parts are covering the battlefield. After briefly falling back, the gnolls continue their attack and try to scale the fort walls with ladders and break down the front gates with a battering ram.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019re out of firebombs and we\u2019re running low on gunpowder sir!\u201d one of your men says.\n\u201cWe\u2019ve greatly decreased their numbers now, we can take the rest of them hand to hand, hell just start dropping the rest of the cannon balls on their heads when they try to come up!\u201d\n\nThe gnolls fail at scaling the walls, but their size and strength makes their attempts at breaking down the front gate a lot more successful. Dozens of them come pouring in and you\u2019re the first one to charge into battle. You aren\u2019t even paying much attention to the rest of your troops at this point, you\u2019re goal is to just kill as many as these gnolls as possible. You were covered in blood already, now you\u2019ve just replaced one coat of blood for another.\n\nEventually after lopping off the heads of several of these hyenas you see one their number arrive standing much larger than the rest. It\u2019s the leader. The biggest one is ALWAYS the leader with these types.\n\nAfter making that annoying laughing growl sound that they love to make the gnoll leader sees you and swings his huge morning star into the floor near your feet. When he lifts it up to strike again you attempt to close the gap and you duck just in time for it to miss your head. You bring the gnoll leader down with a chop to his shins. Like a great tree he falls to his knees and you chop his head off like you\u2019ve done with so many of his other kin.\n\nOne of the gnolls seeing their leader dead, and already taken considerable losses, the gnoll shouts something in his strange language and they begin to retreat.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019ve won!\u201d a soldier shouts.\n\u201cNo, not yet, we\u2019ve still got gnolls at Blossumdale, not to mention not all of these fuckers are running away yet.\u201d\n\nWhile you are pretty certain the battle here is indeed finishing up, you aren\u2019t sure what the situation is at Blossumdale. Besides Blossumdale, part of you is specifically concerned about Dawn, you know you really shouldn\u2019t be as she\u2019s a very capable soldier, but the concern is still there.\n\nThere is still mopping up to do around the fort, but you really should send reinforcements to Blossumdale, the question is whether or not you should lead them personally.", "action_results": [{"action": "Lead the reinforcements personally", "result": "The situation at Blossumdale needs to be looked after directly, the fort will be fine now. Besides saving the town, your concern for Dawn is great and you want to make sure she\u2019s okay. After dispatching the remaining gnolls in the fort, you order a platoon to accompany you to Blossumdale while the rest of the soldiers reinforce the fort. You rush as quickly as you can to Blossumdale.\n\nCall it bad luck, rash behavior, or the fate of the battle, but unfortunately you never make it. On your way to Blossumdale, gnolls that retreated from the fort are still very much lurking about on the fringes of the area. A group of them notices you, but you\u2019re in such a hurry you don\u2019t notice them in time.\n\nSeveral arrows fly out from their hiding spot and bring down several of your men. You try to look for somewhere to hide and take cover, but you\u2019re completely out in the open. A couple more arrows fly and they hit their mark, and one that flies into your neck is the last one you feel.\n\nAs you lay dying, you can only hope that Dawn is alive and well, because you aren\u2019t due to your lapse in judgment.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Stay behind and secure the fort", "result": "You need to stay here and oversee the purging of this fort, and the surrounding area. You can\u2019t start running off half assed because you\u2019re a little worried about one soldier even if she is one of the best ones you\u2019ve had under your command. (Not including your fellow Eternals of course)\n\nAfter slaying all the gnolls still in the fort, you regroup your soldiers and tell one of the sergeants to head over the Blossumdale with a couple platoons and help in whatever way they can. You tell the rest of your soldiers to start rebuilding the walls, clear out the dead bodies and to help you do a sweep of the area.\n\nYour sweep of the area is a tedious, but vital one. A lot of the gnolls retreated to various areas just enough to be out of sight, but were obviously still attempting to regroup again. Good thing you stayed behind to mop up all these little clusters so they didn\u2019t form a big one again. By the time you\u2019re satisfied with your results, the sun is coming up and you return to the fort more than a little tired.\n\nWhen you get back, you\u2019re happy to see Dawn there.\n\n\u201cSir, Blossumdale still stands sir, the rest of the soldiers are securing it and the area.\u201d\n\u201cGlad to hear it, and glad to see you made it out in one peace. Was the fighting heavy?\u201d\n\u201cIt was, but from the looks of it, the fighting was worse here. The only problem we had is with a wyvern.\u201d\n\u201cLucky you only had one. We had four of them and I had to kill two of them myself.\u201d\n\u201cThat\u2019s one more than me then, sir.\u201d\n\nYou smile at her remark and after a brief discussion on what the next course of action will be, you get some rest.\n\nOver the next few months the gnoll attacks die down, but they don\u2019t stop completely. Most of your activities involve going further into the wilderness and taking out whatever villages or camps they have. In the meantime your superiors are telling you to stop your actions as the war has been won and now you\u2019re just using up valuable manpower and resources. You really aren\u2019t though; you\u2019ve been doing just fine with the limited supplies that they see fit to give you. Somehow this situation seems very familiar\u2026\n\nWhile your superiors do a lot of complaining, nothing actually happens to you. It would seem they\u2019re bitching at you just for the sake of bitching. The gnolls might not actually be able to invade properly anymore, but if you let them regroup again, they\u2019ll try it. Your goal is to purge them all, or at the very least drive them away so they don\u2019t try it ever again.\n\nYear 50\n\n\u201cThis is bullshit sir, executing those protestors was the right thing to do!\u201d\n\u201cCalm down lieutenant.\u201d You say to Dawn.\n\u201cNo sir, this isn\u2019t right! They can\u2019t punish you just for doing your fucking job!\u201d\n\u201cOkay lieutenant I said calm down! Now listen, I need you on your best behavior, because they\u2019re going to question all of us. I saw this happen to my predecessor. (sigh) Who knows maybe I did go too far, I mean I haven\u2019t exactly been following Felkan policies, I\u2019ve been sort of doing my own thing out here for the past ten years.\u201d\n\u201cYeah, but your actions are protecting the kingdom! How can that be wrong?\u201d\n\nYou look at Dawn and see that she\u2019s changed quite a bit since she stood here in this office several years ago hesitant to kill baby gnolls. She\u2019s practically like an Empire soldier now. Everyone in this fort is and that\u2019s what is no doubt getting you into trouble. Still, they shouldn\u2019t be blamed for what you just ordered them to do.\n\n\u201cWell, maybe I was protecting the kingdom, but I still wasn\u2019t following the laws. And I certainly broke enough of them. Just don\u2019t worry; I\u2019ll do everything in my power to make sure nobody here gets blamed. I mean you were all just following orders.\u201d\n\u201cThank you sir, but I knew exactly what I was doing and if they put you against the wall in front of a firing squad for treason, then I want to be standing right next to you.\u201d\n\u201c\u2026that\u2019s a very\u2026enthusiastic sentiment, but I don\u2019t think that will be necessary. I mean maybe this won\u2019t even be all that bad, they did at least warn me that they were coming. They didn\u2019t even do that with Eckers. Look lieutenant\u2026Dawn, whatever happens don\u2019t go doing something foolish like trying to save me or sacrificing yourself or something. Just continue to serve the kingdom and try to follow the laws the best you can, okay?\u201d\n\nDawn is visible upset by all this. She turns her head for a moment while sniffling, then turns back to you and agrees. She then excuses herself to get ready for this investigation. Wasn\u2019t really until this moment that you see that you\u2019ve have a very deep effect on her. You didn\u2019t expect to, as you treated her like any one else under your command, well maybe you did compliment her a little bit more, but that\u2019s only because she did more.\n\nEventually the investigation group gets arrives. To your surprise it consists of only two people, General Benson, and that gnome you saw before during Captain Ecker\u2019s investigation, you certainly hope this turns out a lot better.\n\nAll your troops stand at attention and you greet the general. After a brief exchange the well dress gnome parts company with the general who approaches you and just shakes his head.\n\n\u201cI knew we made a bad decision.\u201d He says and motions you to your office.\n\nYou sit down and the general sits down and he begins his questions right away.\n\n\u201cLet\u2019s get right to it shall we? You are aware that you\u2019re serving the Felkan Kingdom aren\u2019t you?\u201d\n\u201cYes sir.\u201d\n\u201cOh? You do? Well then, is there any particular reason why you\u2019re treating this area as if you still serving your long dead Empire?\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m not sure I follow you sir.\u201d\n\u201cDon\u2019t play stupid with me, I\u2019ve read the reports and followed all your actions for the past ten years! You\u2019ve trained these soldiers to the point that they\u2019re fanatically loyal and dedicated, you started a war with the gnolls and didn\u2019t stop hostilities until you completely eliminated their species, during which time you executed several Felkan citizens in Blossumdale and now you\u2019ve done it again! Tell me, is war, murder and genocide all they taught you in the Empire?\u201d\n\u201cBasically.\u201d\n\u201cYou might not want to be so flip with me, Eternal, your ass is just a step away from the gallows yourself.\u201d\n\u201cSir, with all due respect if I was such a problem for the past ten years, why not get rid of me before now?\u201d\n\u201cOhhh, believe me, if I\u2019d had any say in the matter you would\u2019ve been.\u201d\n\u201cSir, everything I\u2019ve done has been for the good of the Felkan Kingdom. I mean loyal and dedicated soldiers, since when is that a bad thing? Soldiers are supposed to follow orders of their superiors and government. That\u2019s sort of their whole purpose.\u201d\n\u201cThat\u2019s rather ironic coming from you who seems to blatantly ignores orders like not starting wars.\u201d\n\u201cSir, the gnolls were an ongoing problem even if they weren\u2019t planning an invasion. Isn\u2019t it better that they\u2019re all dead so that Felkan citizens don\u2019t have to worry about getting robbed and killed on the roads? Blossomdale probably wouldn\u2019t be standing if we hadn\u2019t stopped them.\u201d\n\u201cDo you really want to bring up Blossumdale captain?\u201d\n\u201cWhy the hell not? You\u2019re bringing everything else up.\u201d You say starting to get angry.\n\u201cWatch your tone, and if you insist\u2026I already know your half assed excuse for executing citizens during the war with the gnolls, but please explain to me why you did it again this time, just so I can try to understand your fucked Eternal logic.\u201d\n\u201cWell it\u2019s rather simple, some of the citizens were protesting the new tax that the king imposed. They were in front of the town hall screaming at their mayor as if he was directly to blame. We stepped in to calm them down, they started getting more violent and began throwing rocks. We told them to stop, they didn\u2019t, so we opened fire on them. After rounding up the main rabble rousers who didn\u2019t get shot the first time, we executed them properly.\u201d\n\u201cAnd that\u2019s it? That\u2019s your excuse for gunning down several citizens?\u201d\n\u201cIf they hadn\u2019t done , what we told them not to do, they\u2019d still be alive right now, sir.\u201d\n\u201cAnd there it is again, they didn\u2019t do what you told them to do, so they got killed, but when it comes to you, you apparently do whatever the hell you want.\u201d\n\u201cThat\u2019s not true sir I was trying to stop a potential rebellion, you can ask the mayor and any of my soldiers about the situation and\u2026\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m not asking them, I\u2019m asking you! You wantonly executing protestors like that is more likely to cause a damn rebellion not stop one! Or\u2026 maybe that\u2019s what you really want Eternal? I mean that\u2019s what you\u2019re doing isn\u2019t it? You train the troops to be utterly loyal, not to the Kingdom but to YOU. You\u2019re starting wars, you\u2019re executing Felkans which is going to cause more harm than good. Maybe this is your way of getting revenge on us? Perhaps you\u2019re trying to start your own little Empire with you as the emperor this time?\u201d\n\nYou can\u2019t believe these accusations. Here you\u2019ve been doing what you can for the Felkan Kingdom by fighting off hostiles and putting down dissidents and you\u2019re the one getting accused of treason. You just rub your hands over your face trying hard not to chuckle too much at the dark humor in all this. General Benson just stares at you disapprovingly as he usually does, but remains silent. It is at this point the well-dressed gnome walks in and nods at the general, he lights up some pipeweed and stands in the corner observing.\n\nIt\u2019s at that moment you think back to Captain Ecker\u2019s accusations on the gnomes. Maybe he was right after all. Hardly matters at this point, because as far you\u2019re concerned everyone in charge here has been an asshole.\n\n\u201cSir, I chopped up a shitload of gnolls and executed dissidents in the service of this fucking kingdom and the whole time I\u2019ve done it all I\u2019ve gotten is bitching and general ungratefulness, yet I haven\u2019t complained. I didn\u2019t even complain when you fuckers never sent me supplies on time to help fight the gnoll invasion. I execute some worthless fucking peasants stirring up shit, and I\u2019m the fucking bad guy some how. Sir, I don\u2019t need to re-create the Empire, because as fucked up as the government policies are here, I THOUGHT I WAS STILL SERVING THE FUCKING THING!\u201d you shout.\n\nYou slump back in your chair still fuming after your outburst, and that\u2019s when the gnome speaks up in between puffs of his pipe.\n\n\u201cSo, Eternal did you want to leave?\u201d he asks.\n\u201cWhat?\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m asking you, did you want to leave? If you can\u2019t find a place here, then perhaps it would be better if you left. In gratitude of all your service to the kingdom, this is a one time offer for you to leave free and clear. There will be no repercussions except that you can never return here.\u201d", "action_results": [{"action": "Leave", "result": "You\u2019ve tried to fit in here, but maybe it just isn\u2019t meant to be. The Felkan Kingdom hasn\u2019t given you the sense of purpose that you wanted except during the time you were fighting the gnolls and that\u2019s only because you created an environment that you felt comfortable in. This place operates in such a way that is at odds with how you do things and this \u201cgenerous\u201d offer that the gnome has given you is probably the best you\u2019re going to get, if you insist on staying.\n\nWhen you tell the gnome you\u2019re going to leave, General Benson is obviously pleased, though the gnome doesn\u2019t gloat. He simply nods and tells you that perhaps this is for the best. He assures you that nobody will be punished for any of the actions taken place her and that Lieutenant Young will take command of the fort. He also says he hopes you can find somewhere you belong.\n\nYou pack up your stuff and attempt to make a silent exit, but that\u2019s doomed to failure. Most of your soldiers want you to stay and even want to join you, but you tell them all that the Felkan Kingdom needs them and that there duty is here. Dawn is the most upset, but she manages to keep it together\n\nAs you put Fort Green and the Felkan Kingdom further behind you, you start to wonder what you\u2019re going to do now. Thinking back to what the gnome said, \u201cSome place you belong\u201d and you wonder if you do belong in the Eternal Dominion. From what you\u2019ve heard Edgar\u2019s been getting more organized, he\u2019s even managed to conquer some of the old territories that the Empire lost. Perhaps he could use your help and maybe you could find your place there.\n\nAnother part of you wonders if you shouldn\u2019t just leave this whole region. Travel to someplace far away and completely different. Maybe you need a brand new start.", "action_results": [{"action": "Travel to the Eternal Dominion", "result": "You\u2019re an Eternal and while you never cared much for the new generation of Eternals, it\u2019s probably the best chance you\u2019ve got at feeling a sense of greater purpose. Eternal Dominion is in its own way sort of the successor to the Empire, so maybe with a little work, you can get things going to how you like them again.\n\nAs you make your trek back east, you get the feeling that you\u2019re being followed, but when you reach the outskirts of the Eternal Dominion you no longer have that feeling. You travel through the southern portion of the Arat province and stop at a small village where you ask the local innkeeper where the nearest Eternal stronghold is. He tells you there\u2019s a new fort several miles away where there are some Eternals stationed, he also mentions that you shouldn\u2019t go messing around with them as they don\u2019t like anyone who isn\u2019t an Eternal to be wandering near there without reason.\n\n\u201cWell guess they\u2019ll like me then.\u201d You say and leave.\n\nWhen you get to the fort you are predictably stopped and given the hard looks. You\u2019re not intimidated in the least and explain who you are. They seem a little skeptical at first, obviously they\u2019ve heard of you, but since they never served directly under you, they aren\u2019t sure what you look like. One of them tells you to wait, while one of their fellows goes to ask someone inside.\n\nYou stand around waiting, while the remaining guards continue to give you dirty looks. Eventually one of them comes back out.\n\n\u201cWell? You confirmed who I was?\u201d\n\u201cYeah, our captain said he served under you, during the rebellions in Quala. Watch your head.\u201d\n\nThis strange remark causes you to instinctively look up just in time to see someone pointing a musket at you from the top of the fort. Then you hear a loud blast and the top of your head is blown off in an explosion of skull and gray matter. You continue to stand and stare up for a moment and with what\u2019s left of your brain you realize the bastard who just shot you was one those new eternals present when you killed private Felding.\n\nYour body then collapses in a heap, while the rest of the new eternals congratulate their captain on his shot.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Travel to a distant land", "result": "You don\u2019t feel as if the Eternal Dominion is really the place for you. You couldn\u2019t stand the new generation of eternals and you doubt if you\u2019ll like the ones coming after them. You aren\u2019t even sure if Edgar would be all that friendly to you as it\u2019s a pretty fair bet that he knows you went to join the Felkan Kingdom. Who knows how he\u2019d react and with an entire nation under his command the odds wouldn\u2019t be in your favor.\n\nSo that only leaves one choice for you. Leaving these lands completely and finding your place elsewhere. It\u2019s a little daunting as you\u2019re wading into unknown waters as it were, but after all the things you\u2019ve faced in your life you\u2019re ready for the next challenge.\n\nYou travel further west putting the Felkan Kingdom far behind you. Over the course of the next three days you live off the land and basically just observe your surroundings. You haven\u2019t even been attacked, which you figured you would be by something the further you got from civilization. You have gotten the impression that you\u2019re being followed however\u2026\n\nThe next night you make camp as usual and go to sleep, or at least you pretend to. You \u201csleep\u201d for a couple hours and then get up in the middle of the night to circle around whoever it is that\u2019s following you.\n\nEventually behind a large rock in a small copse of trees you find your stalker. You had a feeling who it might be, but you weren\u2019t sure.\n\n\u201cI really hope you aren\u2019t following me, why I think you\u2019re following me.\u201d You say to Dawn.\n\nShe awakens slightly groggy, but still fully aware of her surroundings.\n\n\u201cDamn, I thought I was being sneaky.\u201d Dawn remarks while slowly getting up.\n\u201cYou might\u2019ve been had it been anyone other than me, so why are you following me?\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m not here to kill you, if that\u2019s what you think sir.\u201d\n\u201cI didn\u2019t actually, though I sort of wish you were, might make this a whole lot easier.\u201d\n\u201cYou\u2026you aren\u2019t going to kill me are you?!\u201d Dawn says in alarm.\n\u201cWhat? No! What I am going to do is send you back home. I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve been AWOL long enough.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m not going back home sir, I resigned my position shortly after you left.\u201d\n\u201cYou what? Dawn, why did you do that? You had a command position!\u201d\n\u201cI didn\u2019t want it sir, I don\u2019t want to serve the Felkan Kingdom, I want to be with you.\u201d\n\u201c(Sigh) See this is the reason why I hoped you weren\u2019t following me.\u201d\n\u201cSir, I\u2026\u201d\n\u201cStop calling me sir! I\u2019m not your commanding officer anymore! Look\u2026I think I know why you\u2019re following me and I don\u2019t think it\u2019s a good idea.\u201d\n\nDawn doesn\u2019t immediately comment and the both of you are silent for a moment, as the pair of you knows you\u2019re referring to feelings she has for you go beyond simple respect. And while you\u2019ve been pretty closely guarded about the situation as well, it would be a lie to say you don\u2019t feel something for her as well.\n\n\u201cOh\u2026 and why is that exactly?\u201d she slowly asks.\n\u201cBecause I don\u2019t know where the hell I\u2019m going or know what the hell I\u2019m going to do with myself now. All of what I was taught to believe in, is gone and there is no getting that back. I\u2019m literally lost and I doubt if I\u2019ll ever settle down.\u201d\n\u201cWell if I come with you, perhaps you\u2019ll be a little less lost with another set of eyes helping you.\u201d\n\u201cDawn. You have a country. A home. A life. You even have a command if you get back there quick enough. You have something to fight for, do you really want to give that up?\u201d\n\u201cIf I don\u2019t have you, then yes. Maybe because of your upbringing, you hold such things in very high regard. Most people don\u2019t work that way, you know.\u201d\n\u201c(Sigh) Yes I know, but what I\u2019m saying is coming with me is unlikely to result in us settling down and living out our lives in some sort of wedded bliss with a house and kids.\u201d\n\u201cAnd who says I want that? I will be happy just as long as I\u2019m by your side. If that means forever wandering, then I\u2019ll be right there wandering next to you. My life before I met you, wasn\u2019t a great one as you probably know and I only joined the military as an escape from poverty. You believed in me enough to give me my very first command. You taught me that I was capable of more when I sometimes wasn\u2019t even sure myself. After all you\u2019ve done for me it wouldn\u2019t be right for me to leave you when you\u2019re feeling something similar now.\u201d\n\nEven you can\u2019t help but be touched by that remark and you aren\u2019t exactly sure of how to respond. When Dawn approaches closer to you, and the pair of you look into each other\u2019s eyes, the response is certain and the pair of you kiss, finally taking those first steps towards your love for each other.\n\nThe next morning after your passionate embrace, you and Dawn begin your journey together and leave the known region far behind. In the years that follow the pair of you wander, seeing new sights and getting into adventures. Several times you genuinely attempt to find a place where you feel comfortable, but it just never happens. While the pair of you never do settle down, your love continues to last.\n\nWhat ultimately happens to the both of you is lost to time.", "action_results": []}]}, {"action": "Continue to stay", "result": "As tempting as it might be to leave, you did that once before and it hasn\u2019t turned out that great. Besides where would you go now? The only place that you know of that has any resemblance of civilization is the Eternal Dominion, and you\u2019re fairly certain you wouldn\u2019t be welcomed. Right now you\u2019re sort of wishing that you\u2019d stuck around during the last days of the Empire instead of leaving. Perhaps you could\u2019ve made more of a difference than you thought, or maybe you could\u2019ve fit in better among the ranks of the Eternal Dominion. The general was probably correct on a few points. You have tried to make this place more \u201cEmpire like\u201d, but it\u2019s all you know. You can only change so much. You wonder how Warrick managed to adapt as well as he did in a much shorter period of time.\n\nThe only other option is leaving this land far behind and living as a directionless wanderer hoping that you find something. You can\u2019t do that either. You\u2019ve made your choice and you have to stick by it now for good or ill.\n\n\u201cI want to stay. I pledged myself to this Kingdom and I meant it. So whatever punishment you feel is necessary, I\u2019ll accept, but I just ask that you don\u2019t punish anyone under my command. They\u2019re good soldiers and only did what they were told to do.\u201d\n\nThe gnome asks the general to step outside and for you to stay put. You do so and wait in your office mostly staring at the various objects in it. Eventually the gnome returns, he pulls up a chair and sits across from you.\n\n\u201cFirst things first, you\u2019re not going to be punished for and anything and your actions have been appreciated. Perhaps not by everyone in the kingdom, but in certain circles they are. Personally, I don\u2019t think you were intentionally trying to carve out your own piece of land, I truly believe you were doing what was best for the Felkan Kingdom. However, some are still concerned with your Empire past. I know you can\u2019t help what you were and in some cases still are, but there is always a slight fear there. Especially you being one those Eternals and all.\u201d\n\u201cWarrick\u2019s an Eternal, he directly fought against the Felkan Kingdom and he seems be accepted.\u201d You point out.\n\u201cWarrick, is a special case\u2026(sigh) I probably shouldn\u2019t even be telling you this, but considering the cluster fuck this situation is becoming, I\u2019m going to be just as honest as you have with me. Warrick didn\u2019t voluntarily join the kingdom, he was made that way.\u201d\n\u201cMade? What do you mean? Mind control? Torture?\u201d you say in shock at this revelation.\n\u201cI doubt if any torture would cause anyone to switch their allegiances, at least not permanently and we don\u2019t engage in any sort of magic mumbo jumbo around here. No, Warrick was a dedicated foe against the Felkan Kingdom. We tried to get him and his partner for a long time, but never could catch them. Things got even worse when his partner was replaced by that Edgar fellow. By the gods, Edgar was a menace on the battlefield\u2026anyway back to Warrick. Warrick as you probably know was mainly engaged in sabotage and similar tactics. Well, his luck just ran out one day ironically towards the last days of the war. Had a small explosive hit the side of his face by one of the many traps set up.\u201d\n\u201cBut he lived.\u201d\n\u201cYes, but he wouldn\u2019t have if our medics hadn\u2019t been nearby at the time. When he was found he was bleeding from his eye socket and didn\u2019t even know where he was or who he was. Soldiers probably would\u2019ve probably killed him, but like I said, he was luckily found by a couple of gnome medics, they decided to\u2026re-align him instead. Memories are an unpredictable thing, so attempting to practically reconstruct his entire past would\u2019ve been a fool\u2019s errand, instead they just slowly over time convinced him that he had willingly joined the Felkan Kingdom due to his disillusionment of the Empire as he healed up. It worked a lot better than we thought, I can only guess that Warrick may have had some genuine disillusionment with the Empire.\u201d\n\u201cBut isn\u2019t that still risky? Couldn\u2019t he still remember what really happened one day?\u201d\n\u201cDoubt it, as I\u2019m sure you\u2019re aware from talking with him, his memory when discussing anything before his injury is patchy. In any case we also keep an eye on him\u2026you seem to be taking this well, I would\u2019ve thought you might\u2019ve been angry and trying to kill me by now.\u201d\n\u201cMaybe at one time I would\u2019ve been furious, perhaps a small part of me is, but I\u2019m more baffled by the idea that you\u2019d go through the trouble that you as opposed to the more efficient task of killing him.\u201d\n\u201cAhh yes, well that is one of the failings of my race I believe. A lot of us are non-violent at heart; ironic considering that we also develop some of the most destructive weapons in the known world. Peace through superior firepower I suppose.\u201d\n\nWith the way the gnome is speaking, he\u2019s practically telling you how things are really run in the Felkan Kingdom. His very presence is proof of it.\n\n\u201cSo it\u2019s true? The gnomes do really run the kingdom?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cHeh, I wish that was the case, certainly we have a lot of influence, but nothing is ever certain. There are always complications.\u201d\n\u201cSo why are you telling me all this? Aren\u2019t you worried that I\u2019ll kill you and try to free Warrick from your brainwashing techniques or try to stir up anti-gnome rhetoric like Eckers or others?\u201d\n\u201cYou could certainly try, but I doubt if you\u2019d be very successful. The only thing you might be able to do is easily kill me and start a small rebellion with your company of Empire-like troops. You\u2019d probably do a lot of damage, but you wouldn\u2019t topple the kingdom. Besides what I\u2019m telling you, I\u2019m telling you for a reason.\u201d\n\nThe gnome stops smoking completely and leans forward as best he can with as short as he is.\n\n\u201cThere are changes coming Eternal, necessary changes to keep the Kingdom from falling and quite frankly I believe we NEED someone like you. The conspiracy theory that we gnomes run everything is only half true. The fact is, we\u2019re suffering from as much infighting as any other race does. Tell me Eternal, were you aware that a long time ago the gnomes used to live in the Empire as slaves? Hell we were responsible for most of the technological advancements that the Empire even had, like the aqueducts and such. Good thing we never discovered gunpowder during that time, we\u2019d probably still be living under Empire boots.\u201d\n\u201cYes, I did study Empire history when I was little, it was required. Don\u2019t remember anything specific being said about your people though, just that you were slaves.\u201d\n\u201cHeh, figures that they would play down our achievements. Truth is, while we were slaves we had comfortable positions. We were treated well and kept safe. Wasn\u2019t until we saw what the Empire did to our Halfling cousins that we made the decision to make a mass exodus. They were slaves too, but not treated as well, so naturally they wanted equal rights like any normal citizen. When they didn\u2019t get that, they pushed harder. When the Empire pushed back, it wasn\u2019t a pretty.\u201d\n\u201cYes, the Halfling uprising. I read about that.\u201d\n\u201cUprising? It was more like a slaughter. We tried to warn them against such actions, but they were too proud even though they had no chance. The Empire as you know wiped them all out. I believe it was the first time we saw the Empire practice genocide on such a scale. We couldn\u2019t fight the Empire, but we couldn\u2019t stay for fear of our own lives. After all what would\u2019ve happened if the Empire decided that we were also getting too uppity one day? When we eventually arrived to these lands the Felkans didn\u2019t even have a kingdom yet, but when it started looking like they would get organized, we made the decision to ingrain ourselves into helping shape it. We would not become slave again, but living in a powerful nation could protect us if the Empire ever started expanding this way, and given the past few decades I\u2019d say we were right.\u201d\n\nA fascinating little part of history you have to admit, but you still aren\u2019t sure what this all has to do with you.\n\n\u201cSo, exactly how do I fit in here?\u201d\n\u201cThe Empire might be gone, but you and specifically the Eternal Dominion are its successors. And from what I can tell the ED looks like its every bit as ruthless as the Empire, perhaps even more so. Some of us are starting to believe the Felkan policies on aggression need to be altered. Due to our past with seeing first hand of what happened to the Halflings, our people are generally disgusted by the thought of slavery or total annihilation of any race. Hence all the policies against engaging in wars of conquest and aggression and the more relaxed political views\u2026well at least until you came along.\u201d\n\u201cWell I know why I act the way I do, but there were others who obviously don\u2019t agree with the policies long before I showed up.\u201d\n\u201cAnd that\u2019s true too. Mostly humans though, I suppose humans just have a natural tendency towards conquest. That\u2019s why my circle believes we need to let go of our past a bit and start changing before the grumblings get worse. Perhaps a little nationalism is what the Felkan Kingdom needs to direct the hatred towards external threats rather than crumbling from within. And as bad as I feel saying this, what you did with the gnolls was very necessary.\u201d\n\u201cWell if it eases your conscience I probably didn\u2019t strictly wipe out ALL the gnolls, I\u2019m sure quite a few of them just ran far away.\u201d\n\u201cDoesn\u2019t really matter, they\u2019re gone and no longer a threat. The fact is we\u2019re probably going to need more like you when we eventually go up against the ED, if only because of your experience, let alone your mindset. You\u2019re going to be transferred; in fact everyone here is going to be transferred to Fort Soot. You\u2019re going to be needed on the frontlines.\u201d\n\u201cIsn\u2019t that where Warrick is stationed?\u201d\n\u201cYes, but we\u2019ve got another task for him, his sabotage and stealth skills can be used to help us as opposed to all those years he was working against us. Now there\u2019s some other stuff that needs to be done as well, but you really don\u2019t need to worry about it. All I need you to do is to prepare everyone along the Arat border for a possible invasion. The ED is getting more organized everyday and we can\u2019t afford to be caught off guard. You said you pledged yourself to defend this kingdom\u2026I trust even after all of what you\u2019ve learned here, that pledge is still true?\u201d\n\u201cI gave my word and you\u2019ve revealed much about the real way things work around here. That\u2019s probably more than the Empire ever did. The Felkan Kingdom has my loyalty, but I must be allowed to do things my way when it comes to battle and war.\u201d\n\u201cThat\u2026will be arranged. As I\u2019ve said, other things need to be taken care of, but rest assured you will have support, just one thing, could you stop killing protesting peasants? I understand that\u2019s a hold over from your Empire training, but that\u2019s something you\u2019re really going to have to stop doing.\u201d\n\u201cI will. My apologies.\u201d\n\u201cIt\u2019s alright, just no more of it in the future unless you\u2019re specifically given the order to do so. Anyway probably won\u2019t be a problem, not many villages along the Arat borders anymore since the last war. Okay, I believe that\u2019s it, oh by the way, my name is Klemto Zookwinkle and I\u2019ll most likely be in touch in the future.\u201d\n\nThe gnome shakes your hand, straightens his hat and leaves the office, leaving you to take in all of the new information thrust upon you. Oddly the only thing you can immediately think is:\n\n\u201cKlemto Zookwinkle? That\u2019s silly fucking name!\u201d you laugh.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 55\n\nAnother clear night and you look out across the Arat border from the fort roof knowing that the ED could invade soon\u2026though you\u2019ve been waiting for about five years now. If anything you\u2019d wish that they\u2019d hurry up and do it or as you\u2019ve often suggested to Klemto, that you strike at the ED first.\n\nHe of course claims he\u2019s still trying to sway the royals to do such a thing, most importantly the king. Seems the gnomes are still playing tug of war with their puppet strings. You suggested that a few assassinations would do the trick, but Klemto was a little upset at you for that suggestion.\n\nIn any case Klemto better hurry up and get this war started, because more anti-gnome groups are starting to pop up and it\u2019s getting harder to keep them quiet, especially since they aren\u2019t wrong about their accusations.\n\nAs for you, you\u2019re a major now and you\u2019re not only in charge of Fort Soot, but the entire Gan province as far as military is concerned. You\u2019ve been busying yourself with having the soldiers keep to their patrols and training. Instilling the same routines that you did at Fort Green. Your results have been more or less just as successful. Dawn is still your second, though she\u2019s a captain now and she\u2019s more of a concern to you than any potential war right now.\n\nYou really should\u2019ve transferred her to another fort, as she\u2019s certainly competent enough to run one and even during the gnoll war you suspected that she had feelings for you that were more than just a professional respect. The problem is, you had feelings for her too and by the time both of you admitted them to each other it unleashed itself in a night of passion. This wasn\u2019t like what happened between you and Alison at Fort Destiny though, you didn\u2019t separate love and sex from each other and now you\u2019re too attached to Dawn to have her transferred.\n\nIt hasn\u2019t been an excessive problem in day-to-day operations, but to you it\u2019s a definite weakness on your part. You don\u2019t even know how the hell you can even feel love as you\u2019ve never really experienced it before, but then you remember Brenda and Roldan and they did. They even worked together and married. Perhaps you\u2019re over thinking it.\n\nSpeaking of Brenda, you\u2019ve finally got information on what she\u2019s been up to thanks to Warrick\u2019s intelligence gathering missions. She\u2019s apparently still in charge of all of the Nalin province and the only other Eternal that has equal rank to Edgar. She joined the Eternal Dominion years ago when Edgar came to her in Nalin, but Warrick has told you that she isn\u2019t happy with the situation. Warrick has said that she is willing to give out Edgar\u2019s plans and troops movements. So far they\u2019ve been updating their equipment and consolidating their territory still. She claims that Edgar has his sights on either re-conquering Rask or invading the Felkan Kingdom, but nothing is certain yet. The big thing is Edgar has actually managed to completely unite the new eternals under a doctrine that only they are fit to rule and new generations of eternals are still being trained. You have to say, you\u2019re a little impressed by his accomplishments.\n\nEdgar a despot, Warrick a brainwashed spy, Brenda a traitorous informant and you in charge of an army that was once an enemy. If someone told you when you were fresh out of Gruz\u2019s training school that this is how the four of you would end up, you never would\u2019ve believed it.\n\n\u201cRoldan, Gerald\u2026Kane, I can only imagine what you\u2019re thinking as you watch us all from wherever you are.\u201d You say out loud, briefly thinking about the good old days when things were simpler.\n\nYou stop with the nostalgia to return to your room to get some rest, where you find Dawn sleeping. You try not to wake her, but you\u2019re doomed to failure. She moves over to cuddle next to you.\n\n\u201cGo back to sleep.\u201d You tell her.\n\u201cHey, if you\u2019re here, who\u2019s in charge of the fort?\u201d she groggily asks.\n\u201cLieutenant Baker.\u201d\n\u201cHim? Ugh, I better go on duty\u2026\u201d\n\u201cHey come back to bed. He\u2019s capable of handling it, besides, it\u2019s not like anything is going on.\u201d\n\u201cI guess so. I just feel more comfortable with you or me in charge.\u201d\n\u201cYeah, well you\u2019ve been working too hard anyway. You probably need more rest than anyone, so go back to sleep.\u201d\n\u201cMmmm, I\u2019m up now, but if you\u2019d like me to stay in bed, we could do something else\u2026\u201d Dawn says rubbing your chest and kissing the side of your face.\n\nYeah, you\u2019ve been over thinking the possible downsides of this relationship too much lately. You take Dawn up on her offer and have fun living for the moment rather than pondering the past or concerning yourself about future.\n\nThe next morning you return to your duties as usual. For most of the day it looks like it\u2019s going to be another routine one, and that\u2019s when you get an unexpected visit from Klemto. When he arrives in your office, he has a slight frown in his face.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m suspecting bad news.\u201d You say.\n\u201cWell, it\u2019s fifty fifty I suppose. Warrick has just given me news that Edgar is planning on attacking the Rask frontier. Not exactly sure how long it\u2019ll take him, before he sets his sights on us again though. There isn\u2019t really a government system in place there, it\u2019s more of a collection of isolated towns relying on mercs to keep monsters at bay from what I\u2019m told.\u201d\n\u201cEdgar and I were both stationed at Rask for many years. He\u2019s got the advantage of knowing the area and everything else, but he also has to know that the place tends towards lawlessness. He might be able to easily conquer towns, but the manpower involved in keeping them under control is a constant drain. Not to brag, but if it hadn\u2019t been for me keeping a tight leash on things there, the Empire would\u2019ve never gotten control of it as well as they did.\n\u201cHeh, well the ED has several eternals to keep a tight leash on it as you say.\u201d\n\u201cAnd those eternals aren\u2019t me.\u201d\n\u201cWell, you seem to be in proud mood today.\u201d\n\u201cJust stating the facts.\u201d\n\u201cI see, well in any case that brings me to the next bit of news. You may be getting a transfer soon.\u201d\n\u201cTransfer? Why?\u201d\n\u201cWell the king and several others have always been uncomfortable with you in charge of the armies here on the frontlines as you probably know. It\u2019s only due to the threat of the potential invasion and my circle\u2019s influence that we managed to keep you in power here.\u201d\n\u201cAre you fucking kidding me? After all their worrying about an invasion for years, you mean they\u2019re suddenly not anymore, because Edgar\u2019s attacking Rask? That\u2019s pretty fucking short sighted.\u201d You say.\n\u201cNo, the intention is to still keep up the defenses here and keep the same procedures you set in place of course, but just uh, replace you.\u201d\n\u201cRight, because I could suddenly raise an army and try to overthrow the throne at any given time\u2026fuck. I thought you were supposed to calm those fears!\u201d\n\u201cI tried! I really did! I mean I think I\u2019m lucky we accomplished what we did! And I tried to fight for you on this too, but it\u2019s just too much now and they want you gone. It\u2019ll make everyone feel better.\u201d\n\u201cYes, everyone but me obviously.\u201d\n\u201cHey you\u2019ve always claimed to be a soldier dedicated to the kingdom for good or bad. Isn\u2019t this one of those times where you stepping down quietly to make everyone feel better would be best for the kingdom, instead of causing a fuse and potentially causing more problems?\u201d\n\u201cSo I accept this, and then what happens? Where am I getting transferred to? Some fort in the middle of nowhere again?\u201d\n\u201cWell, that\u2019s just it, you\u2019re kind of going to be transferred to the uh\u2026private sector. Are you familiar the merchant\u2019s guild at the capital? Well, you\u2019ll be the new head of security there!\u201d Klemto says trying to make it sound impressive.\n\nYou can\u2019t believe this.\n\n\u201cAre you telling me I\u2019m not even going to be part of the damn army anymore? I\u2019m just going to be a glorified guard?\u201d\n\u201cYou\u2019ll be well paid and get a better place to stay than this dreary fort!\u201d\n\u201cYou know I don\u2019t give a shit about all that, I\u2019m a warrior! I want to fight!\u201d\n\u201cAnd that\u2019s still an option! I mean it\u2019s not like you\u2019ll be sitting around doing nothing. In fact with the guild could use a little extra protection since the rise in anti-gnomism going on lately.\u201d\n\u201cTrust me, there\u2019s some of that going on here too, right now.\u201d\n\nKlempto seems like he wants to pat your arm reassure you, but decides better of it.\n\n\u201cLook, I\u2019m sorry about all this. It sucks I know, but the popular opinion is just not in our favor. That\u2019s why we want you at the guild; most of my faction of likeminded fellows are there. We think we could still remedy this later.\u201d\n\u201cYou\u2019d think with all your influence and control of the economy you\u2019d be able to do something about this now.\u201d\n\u201cYes, well it isn\u2019t as easy as you think.\u201d\n\u201cYeah, well it could be.\u201d You say.\n\nKlempto musters up all his courage and points a finger at you.\n\n\u201cAnd I don\u2019t want to hear you talking like that anymore! I know what you\u2019re implying and the answer is no! Unlike you humans, we gnomes don\u2019t kill one another despite our disagreements! Now I suggest you prepare for your transfer, take care of all your affairs here and a carriage will come and get you in a few days. I suppose you\u2019ll want that Dawn girl to take over here, which will be acceptable. I managed to convince the opposition of that.\u201d\n\u201cGee, thanks for small favors.\u201d\n\nAt this point Klemto just backs away from you and begins to leave, before he does though he speaks once more.\n\n\u201cY\u2019know, you shouldn\u2019t really see this as a bad thing. I mean think about how old you are getting. You humans don\u2019t have that high of a life span. Shouldn\u2019t you want to start slowing down on the war and battle a bit and start concentrating on enjoying your approaching elderly years?\u201d\n\u201cIf you\u2019re still trying to convince me you\u2019re failing miserably, because that\u2019s the biggest load of shit I\u2019ve ever heard for several reasons that I\u2019m not even going to get into. But I\u2019ll address the age thing briefly. Yeah I know I\u2019m not twenty, but I fucking know I\u2019m still a better warrior than any of the soldiers under my command, let alone an average Felkan soldier. And while you keep saying I\u2019m human, I\u2019m not. I\u2019m a fucking Eternal. We\u2019re better than a normal human and when the ED invades they\u2019re going to SHOW you that they are mainly because they aren\u2019t afraid to do whatever it kill their enemies, unlike you lot.\u201d\n\nSensing he better leave this time, Klemto quickly runs off out of your office, leaving you to ponder your situation. Just last night you were feeling good in the arms of Dawn, and now you got a bunch of shit shoved at you that you\u2019re supposed to just sit and eat it.\n\nIt\u2019s enough for you to attack the Eternal Dominion anyway", "action_results": [{"action": "Follow orders", "result": "As much as you don\u2019t like it, if even a third of what Klemto said is true, if you went ahead and did your own thing again, you could very well destabilize the kingdom even more, possibly even a civil war. You aren\u2019t looking to become like Kane, and if it means you have to step down to preserve the kingdom, then that\u2019s what you\u2019ll do. It just frustrates you that after all you\u2019ve done, you still aren\u2019t trusted, but perhaps it will always be this way. If anything its perhaps something of a phenomenon that they accepted you in the first place, though if Warrick is anything to go by, it\u2019s only to exploit you.\n\nResigned to your orders, you make preparations to pass your command to Dawn. She doesn\u2019t like the news any better than you do, in fact she suggests that you should attack the Eternal Dominion anyway, but you explain the repercussions of such actions.\n\n\u201cBut you did that with the gnolls and that worked out!\u201d\n\u201cYeah, and that was a different situation. Don\u2019t have the luxury of doing whatever anymore even if I do think it would be in the kingdom\u2019s best interest. Listen, you\u2019re going to be in charge here, so I don\u2019t want you doing anything rash either. No point in you getting into trouble, you understand?\u201d\n\u201cYes, but I still don\u2019t like this. And I don\u2019t think this is a good idea.\u201d\n\u201cNeither do I, but we have our orders.\u201d\n\u201cWell maybe you like your orders, but I still don\u2019t. If you\u2019re not going to be commander here, then I don\u2019t want to serve here anymore either.\u201d\n\u201cWhat?! You can\u2019t just throw away your career like that because of me! Besides without me here, this place is going to need a good leader.\u201d\n\u201cI don\u2019t care about all that. I care about you, and if the kingdom isn\u2019t seeing fit to give you the respect you deserve then it doesn\u2019t deserve me as a leader. Besides if all is so great as they claim then they won\u2019t need me there.\u201d\n\u201cI really think you should think this through. Besides what are you going to do, if not this?\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m pretty sure with my vast skill set, I\u2019ll find something, I\u2019ll also probably move to the capital and get married.\u201d\n\u201cMarried?\u201d you say not grasping her insinuation immediately, then when she touches your hand, you get it.\n\nA lot of upcoming changes has been dumped on you this day, you just hope you can adapt to all of them.\n\nYear 58\n\nThe Eternal Dominion gains ground every day, yet the people here in the capital act like everything is going well. If you\u2019d attacked like you wanted to, the Felkan Kingdom wouldn\u2019t have gotten caught off guard like it did. Warrick and whatever other spies the Felkan Kingdom had on the field were all fed bad intel, and while the soldiers in the Gan province fought well, the commander who was put in charge of the province was an idiot that allowed most of it get overrun. Even if shitty intel, you\u2019re damn sure that you would\u2019ve at least prevented that from happening. Dawn would\u2019ve too.\n\nYou regret not ignoring orders and going through with your plan. Dawn isn\u2019t as hard on herself, but she does sometimes wonders if she should\u2019ve stayed on as commander of the Gan armies. But it\u2019s too late for any of that now. The pair of you just go about your less exciting lives. She a combat instructor at an academy and you still head of security for the merchant\u2019s guild.\n\nIn the beginning your job was slightly more engaging, with all the anti-gnome stuff going on. You even prevented a nutjob from blowing up the guild once. Nowadays the anti-gnome sentiment has more or less disappeared. It\u2019s sort of hard to be angry at the little guys who are continuing to make weapons that blow up an enemy that\u2019s bashing the door down.\n\nAs a result you\u2019re mostly attempting to figure out the best guards for the various caravans that get sent out. Sometimes you go out on these as well just to break up the monotony. Predictably they\u2019re always supply caravans to the frontlines so you can get the latest and best information on what\u2019s going on, because the gods know that they never claim anything bad is going on in the capital.\n\nHere, closer to the fighting is where you feel a little more comfortable. You really miss it. While your current married life with Dawn is good, and you have no major worries, you still feel the call of war, but you are unable to participate. It\u2019s a very frustrating situation that you never get used to and you never will. It\u2019s just not in your nature.\n\nOne day on one of your supply runs, you travel to a town called Yevdin which is in desperate need of almost everything as it is being held by only a few soldiers. Most of the civilians have evacuated save for a few of the stubborn ones unwilling to run. You respect that.\n\nIt\u2019s of some surprise that you meet Warrick there; he\u2019s equally surprised to see you as well. While you wait for the supplies to be unloaded, you go over and speak to him.\n\n\u201cWhat\u2019re you doing here?\u201d Warrick asks.\n\u201cStaving off the boredom of my current assignment, and you?\u201d\n\u201cWaiting for my impending death.\u201d\n\u201cWell at least your punishment will be over soon\u2026I thought you were a captain. Why are you a sergeant now?\u201d\n\u201cGot busted down for being wrong on the intelligence reports, all those years ago. I guess I should be lucky I didn\u2019t get executed for gross incompetence. I really fucked up on that one.\u201d\n\u201cOh, I\u2019d say you\u2019re in good company as far as that\u2019s concerned, so don\u2019t be too hard on yourself. Besides even if you\u2019d done your mission right, you might\u2019ve just gotten drummed out of the military altogether.\u201d You say.\nAfter a brief discussion with Warrick, you learn that this town is facing an imminent large-scale invasion. Not that the town is really important, but it happens to be in the way of another important target, so it\u2019s going to be overrun on the way. These supplies aren\u2019t so much as to ensure the soldiers\u2019 survival, but rather their survival long enough to make it a costly victory for the Eternal Dominion. Warrick doesn\u2019t appear to be concerned though.\n\n\u201cSo, I never did get the whole story, why\u2019d you get removed?\u201d Warrick asks\n\u201cLong story, but let\u2019s just say I think the ones running things like things the way they are right now.\u201d\n\u201cSurely you\u2019re joking. Why would anyone in the Felkan Kingdom want this situation?\u201d\n\nYou could tell Warrick all about the things you\u2019ve overheard, things you\u2019ve suspected and things you\u2019ve outright seen just by being closer to the gnomes in the merchant\u2019s guild. But it wouldn\u2019t make any difference. Warrick\u2019s been on a string for a long time now and despite his own situation, he seems in a very positive mood. Perhaps ignorance is bliss, or perhaps its because he\u2019s still fighting and doing what he always was meant to do. The same thing you were meant to do.\n\n\u201cCome on, we\u2019ve delivered the stuff, let\u2019s get the hell outta here!\u201d the gnome merchant shouts to you.\n\u201cYou go on ahead with the rest of the guards. I\u2019m staying here.\u201d You say.\n\u201cWhat?! Are you crazy? This place is about to be destroyed!\u201d\n\u201cYeah I know. Tell my wife I really tried, but that this is what I was meant to do.\u201d\n\nThe gnome doesn\u2019t try to talk you out of your plan, he just shakes his head and gets in the carriage ordering the rest of the guards to ride off as quick as possible. Warrick says nothing about your decision either. Even though the pair of you haven\u2019t really been in close contact since you both served together in Nalin, he knows why you made your decision.\n\nThe next few days aren\u2019t filled with impending doom, but rather one of contentment. In between keeping a look out, and checking your defenses you and Warrick do a lot of catching up on the past, though the pair of you mostly stick to the happier memories of when you both were in the Empire. The other soldiers listen in on your stories. They don\u2019t quite get all of them, but seeing the good spirits of their leader, seems to put them in a slightly better mood as well. And that\u2019s good, their last moments should be as unpleasant as possible, there will be plenty of time for that when the Eternal Dominion arrives.\n\nEventually the Eternal Dominion arrives with an impressively large force. The small part of you that believed you\u2019d make this out alive shortly disappears, but this doesn\u2019t make you second-guess yourself. You\u2019re still comfortable in your decision and this is certainly preferable to what you\u2019ve been doing for the past three years.\n\n\u201cSir, it\u2019s been an honor to serve with you.\u201d Warrick suddenly says to you, even giving you the old Empire salute.\n\u201cThe honor is both of ours.\u201d You say.\n\u201cFor the Empire, sir.\u201d\n\u201cFor the Empire, Warrick.\u201d You reply.\n\nThe first volley of cannon shots strike the front ranks of the Eternal Dominion troops and the battle is joined\u2026\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\u201cPrime Eternal, the town of Yevdin was taken, but we suffered massive casualties, we need reinforcements before we can take Fort Everlast.\u201d A messenger says.\n\u201cWhat?! You idiots! You see what we\u2019re working with here Brenda? I expect this sort of incompetence from our human soldiers, but that army had a good portion of Eternals in it! Bah! These new ones for all their extra abilities, they still lack that spark that we have!\u201d Edgar cursed.\n\u201cWhy did we suffer so many losses at Yevdin? Do the Felkans have a new weapon?\u201d Brenda asks.\n\u201cReports indicate no new weapon, but there were a group of soldiers that seemed to be incredibly determined. Even when the town was taken, a few of them had taken to an underground shelter beneath the town and skirmished with the force for five more days.\u201d\n\u201cWe should be so lucky to have Eternals such dedication.\u201d Edgar mutters.\n\u201cAny description of these enemy soldiers?\u201d Brenda asks.\n\nThe messenger reports that there was nothing out of the ordinary about any of the soldiers and doesn\u2019t have a description since he didn\u2019t know that it was important. He says he knows the leader had an eye patch which clues Edgar and Brenda that that was Warrick.\n\nHe also mentions one other that wasn\u2019t in a soldier uniform, but was the last to be killed. Edgar and Brenda briefly wonder a bit, and then nod to each other before dismissing the messenger.\n\n\u201cIt was stupid of the Felkans to remove him from command in the first place, but I guess even they couldn\u2019t keep him off the battlefield forever.\u201d Brenda says.\n\u201cNo, and that was that spark I was referring to earlier. Just think if the pair of them had stayed here instead? Think of all the things we could\u2019ve accomplished! Such a waste. Well it\u2019s over now and with those two out of the way, I think our plan is going to be a lot easier.\u201d\n\u201cTrue, but I still wish things had been different.\u201d\n\u201cSo do I Brenda, so do I.\u201d", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Disobey orders", "result": "You wouldn\u2019t have gotten promoted if you hadn\u2019t reported Captain Eckers, and you wouldn\u2019t have gotten this command if you hadn\u2019t took it upon yourself to launch an attack on the gnolls. The fact is, throughout most of your life, you\u2019ve followed orders, but it\u2019s only when you\u2019ve taken matters into your own hands on important decisions that you\u2019ve gotten anywhere.\n\nWhy should this time be any different?\n\nFor one thing, just because there are reports that the ED aren\u2019t planning an invasion any time soon, doesn\u2019t mean that\u2019s true. Not that you doubt Warrick\u2019s skills as a spy, but there\u2019s always a possibility that false information is being leaked intentionally and that someone is on to him. Hell, maybe its even Brenda pretending to be on his side, you don\u2019t know.\n\nThe other thing is even if the info is true it\u2019s not like they couldn\u2019t still invade during or after their invasion of Rask. And it would be better to catch THEM off guard instead of the other way around, because you\u2019re pretty sure they aren\u2019t expecting the Felkan Kingdom to attack first.\n\nYou\u2019re most likely going to get into a shitload of trouble for all this, but when you get this war started, the ED isn\u2019t going to listen to diplomacy, when they get attacked; they\u2019re not going to stop. When that happens the kingdom isn\u2019t going to have any choice but to help you. Or it could just backfire horribly.\n\nIt\u2019s all a gamble, but one you\u2019re willing to risk, because you\u2019re damned if you\u2019re going to grow old and just become a guard for fat gnome merchants after all you\u2019ve done and sacrificed. And if you die in battle, then it\u2019ll be a death you\u2019ve been destined for since birth.\n\nYou find Dawn and tell her that you want orders put out to all the forts in the province. A full offensive across the Arat border and into ED territory is to be launched.\n\n\u201cSo the ED is invading soon?\u201d Dawn asks.\n\u201cNo, but after we destroy a couple of their forts and towns they will be. Have the message sent out that all forces are to converge on that ED town about twenty miles past the border, Bucklesberg. I\u2019ll meet the rest of the battalion commanders there and plan the next attack after the place has been razed to the ground.\u201d\n\u201cWait, you\u2019re going?\u201d\n\u201cYes, I\u2019m leading this attack personally. I\u2019m not some helpless old man you know!\u201d\n\u201cI didn\u2019t say\u2026wait, this plan isn\u2019t official is it? What did that gnome tell you?\u201d\n\u201cA bunch of shit as usual. Now I\u2019m going to need you here to keep things orderly on this side of the border. It might get ugly, but I know you can handle it. Just remember, we\u2019re doing this for the good of the kingdom, even if its leaders are too stupid to see it.\u201d\n\nDawn looks a little concerned and it reminds you of when you first asked her to completely wipe out a gnoll village, but then she proves herself, as you knew she would.\n\n\u201cIt will be done, my love.\u201d She says and leaves to send out the messengers.\n\nYou order all troops in the fort to ready themselves for battle save for a skeleton crew to protect the fort. When they\u2019re completely ready, you ride your horse up and down the line of them and are glad to see the dedication they are displaying. You can see that they have no need for any sort of long-winded motivating speech; they\u2019ve been anticipating this moment for years, just as you have.\n\n\u201cFor the kingdom!\u201d you shout which is followed by a loud cheer from your soldiers, then your army begins its march to war.\n\nWhen you get within a mile of Bucklesburg, a scout reports that the town isn\u2019t completely undefended. In fact there is a larger than normal group of soldiers there along with Eternals. There may even be a mage there.\n\n\u201cHmm, it might appear that Edgar might\u2019ve been amassing troops to prepare for an invasion after all, either that or he\u2019s just distrustful. Doesn\u2019t matter, we\u2019re killing everything there anyway.\u201d\n\nThe battle of Bucklesburg is a massacre. The ED puts up as good a fight as they could have, but ultimately they\u2019re overrun and outnumbered. The town is completely burned to the ground and the only survivors are the few villagers that had sense to run when you were seen coming in the distance.\n\nThis is just the first step of the plan. When the rest of your soldiers arrive from the other forts you march again.\n\nBy day nine, you\u2019ve taken one the Eternal Dominion\u2019s forts. It\u2019s very damaged from the fighting, but you figure it will serve as a temporary base of operations while you plan your next attacks. After this battle you\u2019ve also confirmed from various documents that you\u2019ve found in the commander\u2019s office that Edgar WAS planning to invade the kingdom, meaning you were right to attack.\n\nOn day sixteen you get a message from Dawn, stating that the entire Gan province has been declared \u201cunder hostile control\u201d and that all fort commanders are to relinquish their control to the kingdom immediately. Naturally this hasn\u2019t happened, but the rest of the kingdom\u2019s soldiers are supposedly being prepared to take back the province by force, however there is a lot of civil unrest going on as well due to some of the public opinion openly agreeing with conquest. She says that it\u2019s part of the anti-gnome movement that claims they\u2019ve been keeping the kingdom weak on purpose. She also says she is doing everything in her power to keep control of the Gan province and sends her love.\n\nOn day twenty-two you get a visitor to Fort Ruin (as you\u2019ve renamed it).\n\n\u201cHello Klemto, I hope your journey here wasn\u2019t too dangerous, we\u2019ve been trying to keep the road to the kingdom somewhat safe.\u201d You say.\n\u201cEternal, we\u2019ve got a lot to talk about.\u201d\n\u201cYes, I suspect we do. So here, this\u2019ll save time.\u201d You say and throw a journal at Klemto who catches it.\n\u201cWhat\u2019s this?\u201d\n\u201cIt\u2019s the ex-captain of this fort journal. Makes mention of all the plans for the invasion on the kingdom, as well as a few amusing sexual desires. Second generation eternals certainly are a twisted bunch even when brought under control.\u201d\n\u201cAt least they can be brought under control, which is more than can be said for you.\u201d\n\u201cI don\u2019t understand, I\u2019m did this for the kingdom and the proof is right there that I\u2019m right! Don\u2019t believe me? I\u2019ve got more official documents I can give you.\u201d\n\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter if you\u2019re right! It never fucking mattered! What you were supposed to do is obey orders! You pushed a boundary that\u2019s too far this time I can\u2019t fix this! Not now!\u201d\n\u201cI question if you ever could in the first place. I\u2019m sure you only kept me around as long as it served your purpose. Build up the pitiful defenses along the Felkan borders and then just get shuffled off to defend your fat merchants because they\u2019re getting death threats from bigots that actually have a point whether they even know it or not. Face it, YOU fuckers helped create the Felkan government and you share part of the problems with it. Me? I\u2019m just serving it. I told you before, I pledged myself to the kingdom, but my only stipulation was that I do things my way and that I not be held back in doing it. You got in my way and I had no choice, but to defy you. You can\u2019t give a sword to me, and tell me not to kill the enemy with it. That\u2019s what a fucking sword is for.\u201d\n\nKlemto, rubs a hand over his face and sits down in silence. His face has a slightly gaunt appearance than you last remember it. Every time you\u2019ve seen him he\u2019s always been dressed very nice, but even his expensive clothing is a bit disheveled, even a small tear in his jacket. He takes a deep breath and speaks.\n\n\u201cMajor, you really don\u2019t know what\u2019s going on back home do you?\u201d\n\u201cDawn sent me a letter recently about a week ago about some of what\u2019s going on. I hear the Gan province has been declared hostile and the rest of the kingdom army is planning to retake it.\u201d\n\u201cYes, and even that is being put on hold, you know why? Because somebody blew up the merchant\u2019s guild two days ago! The day before? A duke was executed for conspiracy to kill the fucking king! At this point the Eternal Dominion doesn\u2019t need to invade us, the Felkan Kingdom will be in ruins by the time their armies even arrive! You haven\u2019t saved the kingdom, you\u2019ve destroyed it!\u201d he shouts with his eyes beginning to water and nearly hyperventilating the whole time. You have to say, you\u2019ve never seen him ever this upset. You quickly get some water from a nearby pitcher and pour him a glass.\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t know what we\u2019re going to do\u2026I don\u2019t know what we\u2019re going to do\u2026\u201d he says in between drinks.\n\u201cLook calm down Klemto, maybe it isn\u2019t as bad as you think.\u201d You tell him.\n\u201cBad? It\u2019s fucking tragic! With the destruction of the merchant\u2019s guild, the economy is going to go down the fucking privy hole, the king is an ineffectual idiot that\u2019ll probably be successfully assassinated in a couple months, we\u2019re suffering from civil revolts, we got a rogue province and on top of everything we\u2019re at war with the Eternal Dominion!\u201d\n\nSounds pretty familiar.\n\n\u201cWell, maybe it is as bad as you say. The question is what are YOU going to do about it?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cDo? What can I do? I\u2019m just one gnome! I\u2019m hated in general by most non-gnomes and even most of my own people since they personally blame me, for having a hand in allowing you to be in charge of all the military in Gan. Even most of my friends that agreed with me were all killed in the bombing! I have nobody to help me fix this!\u201d\n\u201cYou\u2019re wrong there, you\u2019ve got me. Look, take all these documents concerning the invasion plans, and do your best in convincing everyone and anyone important that this first strike was very necessary. If you\u2019re telling me that the king already is in danger of being assassinated\u2026well maybe it\u2019ll be best to let that happen and place someone who is more likely to support the cause. I have to imagine that there\u2019s some power hungry royal ready to step up to the task.\u201d\n\u201cAssassinate the king, this is what it\u2019s come to? I don\u2019t know maybe you\u2019re even right, it\u2019s just I really hoped it wouldn\u2019t come to that. We gnomes have been puppet masters, but we\u2019ve never engaged in assassination tactics before.\u201d\n\u201cWell, I think you\u2019re going to have to forget your previous tactics if you want the kingdom to survive regardless of who is actually on the throne. It\u2019s either that or cut your losses and leave like I did with the Empire. I caution you though, if you truly believe in the kingdom and love it like I think you do, you might later regret that decision.\u201d\n\nKlemto calms down a bit and looks at you to see that you speak from experience with that last remark. And it is true; there is a part of you that misses the Empire for all its faults. You\u2019re making the best of things and you even manage to be content most of the time, but there is always something \u201cmissing\u201d and you can\u2019t get it back.\n\n\u201cOkay, Eternal. Okay. Hand me all the documents that you mentioned, and I\u2019ll get started on a plan. (Sigh) I just hope you can hold back the full wrath of the Eternal Dominion all by yourself.\u201d\n\u201cDon\u2019t you worry about that, I brought this problem on, so I\u2019ll be the one to take care of it. Just try to keep the rest of the Felkan army off of my back, even if they aren\u2019t going to help.\u201d\n\nKlemto leaves with the documents and you return to your duties. You can\u2019t be sure what\u2019s going to become of the kingdom, but one thing is certain, you aren\u2019t going to abandon your duty like last time.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 58\n\nYour soldiers stand ready at camp as a single enemy approaches you. He shows no fear and has a look of determination and blazing fury in his eyes. He might even be able to cut down everyone in his path just to get to you, but that won\u2019t be necessary, as you have ordered everyone to stand down. This is between you and him. He\u2019s an Eternal, a true one that you once served with, if either of you are to die today, it should at the hands of the other. No others are worthy.\n\nHe\u2019s stood in opposition to you for a few years now and now that his side has finally lost completely, his side has resorted to acts of desperation to continue a long lost battle. This is just another example of that desperation.\n\nThe pair of you look at each other and say nothing. It wouldn\u2019t do any good anyway, neither of you is going listen. You both believed in the same thing once, but not anymore. In his eyes you ruined all that.\n\nThe two of you clash swords.\n\nYou remember when you saw him after a long stretch of distance from each other; you felt a sense of relief. There you were in a hostile environment not exactly knowing what would come next and you saw a friendly face that was more than willing to help out.\n\nYou land a kick to his stomach and smash his face with the pommel of your sword, destroying several of his teeth. He staggers back mouth filled with blood, but manages to block your next attack.\n\nAfter that last time you saw him you were soon separated again. Oh sure, you heard about him, and he probably heard about your deeds as well, but you haven\u2019t actually seen each other until this moment. No matter who wins, it\u2019s going to be the last time.\n\nYou feel the deep cut of the sword sinking into your shoulder. Fighting through the pain, you manage to keep a firm grip of your sword and swing it into his side. You both hear a crack signaling that not only have you opened up a severe wound, but also broken a rib or two. He reels back from you as his side now drips red with gore. He\u2019s unsteady and breathing hard, but he\u2019s not going to stop. He\u2019s got nothing left to lose. If you were in his shoes, you wouldn\u2019t stop either.\n\nThe funny thing about this is you always thought you\u2019d be having this battle with Edgar, not Warrick.\n\nA slash at your leg brings you down to one knee, but Warrick isn\u2019t able to capitalize on bringing his sword down on your head, since you slash upward into his groin. He screams out, dropping his weapon and you painfully lift yourself up on your one good leg and land your own strike across his head. The sickening sound of skull meeting metal is heard and he falls to the ground with blood and brains leaking out the side. He gurgles a few unintelligible things, but some of it starts to form complete thoughts.\n\n\u201cYou\u2026? Wha\u2026what are you doing here? I thought\u2026you were still stationed in \u2026Rask\u2026 I\u2026don\u2019t rem\u2026gnomes\u2026\u201d\n\nAfter all this time, his memory is starting to come back. Your hit to his head, must\u2019ve done something. You kneel down beside his bloody body and provide him a better last memory.\n\n\u201cI was sent here to help you Warrick. It was a very important mission for the Empire. You got blown up by a trap, but we succeeded Warrick. We won. Remember this.\u201d\n\u201cWe\u2026won\u2026yeah\u2026we\u2026\u201d Warrick mumbles and then finally expires.\n\nYou tell your soldiers to burn his body and not to disturb you for the rest of day, despite the medic insisting that you really should have your wounds seen to.\n\nYou sit in your tent in silence trying to rationalize killing yet another one of your former comrade in arms. He was trying to kill you. Warrick was on the wrong side of the civil war. A new king had to be installed and new policies had to be implemented. It had to be done, to protect the kingdom. Just like you had to kill Kane to protect the Empire\u2026\n\nIt was a shitty end to an honorable man, but death by your hand is probably the best thing you could\u2019ve done for him and at least in his final moments he believed he was elsewhere. You sometime wish you were.\n\nThe next day, you get your wounds properly patched up and get back to the business of holding off the Eternal Dominion, which hasn\u2019t been the same since Edgar was assassinated last year. Apparently the new eternals didn\u2019t agree with his leadership since it wasn\u2019t producing the results they wanted. They might not have agreed with it, but he was doing better than whoever the idiot that\u2019s in charge now is.\n\nYou wonder what happened to Brenda, you knew she was up there with Edgar in ranking, but since she\u2019s not in charge of the ED you can only assume that she was killed along with Edgar. You\u2019re the last one left and you think back to Gruz\u2019s last words to you.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019ll outlive everyone\u2026\u201d\n\nIt\u2019s finally come true.\n\nYear 65\n\nMore aches and pains as you slowly get out of bed. With every passing year you feel more of them and it\u2019s getting to a point where you can\u2019t reasonably get into the thick of battle anymore with sword in hand. Sure you\u2019re still a good fighter, but you\u2019re slowing down and don\u2019t have the strength that you once did. Of course some would say you weren\u2019t supposed to be doing that anyway as a leader should stay in the back and give orders from behind the safety of his soldiers. But then you always did cling to your old ways.\n\nStill, it\u2019s not like you need to anymore, as the Eternal Dominion hasn\u2019t been a threat in years. You knew they\u2019d fall apart soon after Edgar died. Their territory or what\u2019s left of it basically consists of petty warlords fighting each other more than fighting anyone else, let along the kingdom. Nowadays your job as a general mostly consists of pushing a few bits around on a map. Sometimes you still try to remain active by visiting areas that are experiencing heavy combat.\n\nWith no real opposition anymore and a stronger king in charge, the Felkan Kingdom is entering a period of aggressive expansion. With the newly acquired Arat province under control right now the king is looking towards Rask due to its resources. Diplomatic feelers were sent to see if the towns up there would join willingly, but no luck. You know from experience how difficult it is to hold, as the land is wild and its people are fiercely independent minded especially since they threw off the shackles of Empire rule and aren\u2019t willing to have another large government tell them what to do.\n\nWhile you\u2019re certainly the most qualified to carry out an invasion on Rask, you aren\u2019t sure if you still have the energy anymore. Granted you wouldn\u2019t be personally, but you still remember the headaches of holding the place. Ever since Dawn retired to become an instructor, she\u2019s been dropping hints about you retiring as well. Perhaps it\u2019s time to follow in your wife\u2019s footsteps and join her.", "action_results": [{"action": "Continue as general", "result": "You can\u2019t retire, at least not yet. Despite your aches, pains, and old age, you still feel the call of war within and the fire of it still hasn\u2019t disappeared from you. You wonder if it ever will, but until that time, your place is on the battlefield despite your diminished capacity.\n\nWithin a few months the decree in passed. Rask is to be invaded, as you knew it would. You know how the powers in charge work. They want results and they want them fast so you\u2019re going to try your best to provide just that, you amass a large army and send it forth to conquer. Since you\u2019ve got access to more powerful weapons this time, perhaps this invasion won\u2019t be as difficult as you think if you show an overwhelming display of force.\n\nThe first strike is against Kenneth\u2019s Rest which you once knew as Fort Destiny. The place apparently had been converted into a hang out for mercenaries and a trading spot. Your army faces a lot of dark elven mercenaries that were enjoying their pay at the time, but most of them flee seeing as there isn\u2019t any profit in defending a place they don\u2019t actually have any loyalty to.\n\nWhen Kenneth\u2019s Rest is taken, you ride out to it so you can carry out your orders closer to the action.\n\n\u201cSo you\u2019ll be leaving soon again?\u201d Dawn asks.\n\u201cYou know how it is, if I don\u2019t make a personal appearance they\u2019re likely to fuck up my orders.\u201d\n\u201cThey can\u2019t handle it themselves?\u201d\n\u201cWhile I\u2019m sure they could, I\u2019m still the most familiar with the area. I think it would be best if I went there myself. Dawn, you shouldn\u2019t really worry. I mean I\u2019m not even going to be on the frontlines and there were more times in the past of when I could\u2019ve been killed.\u201d\n\u201cIt\u2019s not that, it\u2019s just I dunno, when we got married and as we both get older I suppose I just figured we\u2019d settle down a bit more so we could enjoy our remaining time together.\u201d\n\u201cLike a normal married couple?\u201d\n\u201cWell, yes.\u201d\n\u201cDawn, I think you know you didn\u2019t exactly marry a normal person.\u201d\n\u201cYes, I know that too. Still, I do wonder when you\u2019ll eventually realize that you don\u2019t need to prove yourself anymore. I think everyone knows you aren\u2019t an armchair general. Ever since the new king took the throne, you\u2019ve actually had nothing but support. I\u2019m pretty sure your name will go down in history.\u201d\n\u201cIt\u2019s not about that, I pledged myself to this kingdom and its survival. Part of that is me making sure this invasion of Rask doesn\u2019t go badly, because while we\u2019re on top now, I\u2019d rather make sure we stay that way and it doesn\u2019t become a drain on our kingdom which then has a chain reaction of making things worse.\u201d\n\u201cYou didn\u2019t abandon your duty.\u201d Dawn says to you.\n\u201cWhat?\u201d you ask, turning to face her.\n\u201cYou didn\u2019t abandon your duty to the Empire. I know that\u2019s why you try so hard here and still do. I\u2019ve always known that the first time you told me of your past. You always speak in such a way about it with a mix of regret and frustration yet always with a sense of pride. You still struggle with that one thing that you consider a failure on your part, when if you think about it\u2026it was the best thing you ever did.\u201d\n\nYou hold Dawn\u2019s hand and the pair of you look at each other\u2019s wedding rings. She has an argument that can\u2019t be debated as far as that is concerned. If you hadn\u2019t left the Empire when you did, you doubt if you would\u2019ve been married. Most likely you probably would\u2019ve gotten a knife in the back by one of those treacherous new eternals by this point.\n\nYou hold Dawn tightly and kiss her, before explaining.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re absolutely right of course. It was the best thing I could\u2019ve done, but that\u2019s not the whole picture. I was raised different than anyone in the Felkan Kingdom, hell I was raised different than most in the Empire. I was brought up not just for war, battle and combat, but also to this ideal. An ideal that wasn\u2019t reality unfortunately, but there it was still implanted in my mind regardless. The thing is while that ideal barely existed in the Empire as I knew it, I see the spark of it coming to pass here in the Felkan Kingdom, and it\u2019s like I finally belong here and I want to be apart of it\u2019s glory as much as I can before I\u2019m too old to be of any more use. Maybe I\u2019m trying to live out the rest of my life as IF the Empire had never fallen. Perhaps that\u2019s what I\u2019ve been doing all along for the past few decades.\u201d\n\nDawn nods and understands, but you know she would still prefer you to stay closer to home.\n\n\u201cSomeday Dawn, someday.\u201d You tell her before you leave for Rask.\n\nYou almost feel like history repeating itself when you enter Kenneth\u2019s Rest, though it\u2019s a comforting feeling.\n\nUsing Kenneth\u2019s Rest as your base of operations in the Rask province, you decide the next attack should be the largest town in the region, which is Keplavisk. While Rask doesn\u2019t strictly have a proper central government, Keplavisk is the closest thing to a capital. Take that out and everything else should be a lot easier. You tell your captain that when he enters the smoldering ruins of the town to relay a message to the survivors.\n\n\u201cTell them that the Bane of Rask has returned.\u201d\n\nYear 75\n\nYou have to admit, that while retirement has it\u2019s good and bad points, you think you\u2019ve finally gotten your \u201cstruggle\u201d out of your system now. You initially thought after you retired you would still have that \u201cpull\u201d but you don\u2019t. Your successful campaign in Rask was truly a bookend of sorts. Maybe it was a kind of closure for you.\n\nYour retirement basically consists of you spending a lot of time with Dawn which is time well spent as you grow old together. You sometimes wonder if Dawn wanted children, though she never specifically addressed it. Nature never took its course in that area. Dawn is about twenty years younger than you, and she was still in her childbearing years when you first got together. You don\u2019t think it was a problem with her though, you hold the belief that it probably was with you. Perhaps Eternals weren\u2019t meant to reproduce, or maybe you weren\u2019t. Still, you know that Roldan and Brenda never had any children that you know of, so you maintain the belief that it\u2019s one of the limitations of an Eternal. After all if an Eternal could breed offspring his attention might not be solely on war.\n\nBesides your time with Dawn, you sometimes fill your time giving instruction at one of the military academies. You attend the occasional special royal event and recently you just accepted an award for everything you\u2019ve done for the kingdom. There are also plans on having a statue made of you, but that isn\u2019t set in stone (literally) yet.\n\nYou sometimes walk down the streets of the capital and see how much it\u2019s changed in such a short time and continuing to thrive. Soldiers marching down the street keeping order. Citizens going about their business, proud of their nation and not trying to overthrow anything.\n\nThis is what the Empire should\u2019ve been like.\n\nThis is what you were taught to believe in.\n\nAnd it fills you with happiness that it was you that was part of making this come true.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Retire", "result": "As much as you might like to go on, you decide that perhaps it is finally time to pass the torch to younger and more energetic men and women than yourself. You also know it would probably make Dawn happier. You\u2019ve done quite a bit for the Felkan Kingdom and served as well as you could have under the circumstances. You just wish you had time to do more, or at least the youth, if not the time.\n\nWhen you step down, its sort of a surprise to the entire Felkan military, they always figured you\u2019d never willingly step down and probably die in office. Even the new ruling class is a little disappointed to see you leave, you were after all instrumental in their rise to power.\n\nA small service celebrating your years of dedication to the Felkan Kingdom is held which you naturally attend and you even give a small speech. It\u2019s all very patriotic and keeps the up the morale and optimistic outlook of the kingdom for everyone. Shortly after your retirement, you do indulge in the frivolities of said retirement; this pretty much consists of not doing much of anything or spending time with Dawn. It\u2019s fun for a while.\n\nWhen you start to keep up on the news on the Rask invasion, you become increasingly dismayed by what your successor is doing. There are victories at first, but they eventually become costly ones. The Raskians begin organizing enough to make further conquest difficult.\n\nEventually several lower ranking officers begin calling for you to return if only as a consultant or strategic advisor. You actually would gladly volunteer as you definitely want to help the kingdom and you\u2019re starting to find your retired life a little boring. Unfortunately the current general doesn\u2019t want that, as he wants to take all the credit for the conquest of Rask and if he\u2019s able, to surpass your victories. The fool manages to sway the king in his favor by pointing out that they hold most of the territory and are plundering its resources. The king of course is just concerned with the bottom line, so he keeps him on.\n\nOf course the biggest problem with this, is it\u2019s incredibly short sighted. The Raskians sabotage their mines and fight a guerilla war that makes things even worse. Felkan soldiers die by the thousands over the course of several years and this begins to have a downward spiral. Not a grand one, but it\u2019s noticeable that the cracks are starting to show and people are beginning to protest again.\n\nYou don\u2019t agree with how the government is handling things, but you\u2019re a patriot to the end and one day you get into an argument with a group of them on the street. Dawn tells you to let it go, but the more they get in your face, the more you won\u2019t let it go and eventually you feel that call to violence again\u2026\n\nYou punch out one of the protestors, which causes more shouting from the rest of the crowd as well as the soldiers attempting to keep order. One the soldiers respectfully attempts to hold you back, but you continue to try to attack the rest of the protestors and screaming at them of how ungrateful they all are. With tensions heating up on all sides, it\u2019s only a matter of time before things escalate and somebody fires a shot and it isn\u2019t from the soldiers, it\u2019s from one of the protestors carrying a concealed pistol.\n\nYou feel the impact to your chest and fall to the ground as mass chaos erupts all around you. Dawn screams for a medic and attempts to drag you out of the way, but you\u2019re already coughing up blood and gasping for breath as the chest wound continues to bleed out your vital fluids.\n\n\u201cDawn\u2026(gasp, gurgle)\u201d is all you can utter before your heart stops beating.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Year 61 (Klemto's Lamentation)", "result": "As you think about your own possible future and if your \u201ctime\u201d has come to settle into old age and compromise, you also think back to another who was struggling with his own future\u2026\n\n\u201cEternal, come drink with me one last time!\u201d Klemto says sitting in a very basic chair near an equally unimpressive table. He\u2019s not drunk yet, but he will be soon, if he keeps drinking.\n\nYou take a quick glance at his home and most of it is very simplistic and lacks the luxury that he once had. It\u2019s obvious he\u2019s fallen on hard times now that the civil war has wrapped up. He no longer wears a suit; instead he has on a drab torn shirt and a pair of plain pants. Even one of his shoes has a hole in it.\n\n\u201cNo that\u2019s okay, Klem\u2026it is my understanding that all of the remaining gnomes in the kingdom are leaving on their own accord. I thought that you would be busy making preparations to join them.\u201d\n\u201cOf their own accord? Hah! That\u2019s rich! Richer than me anyway! No, my dear Eternal, I think the change in the regime has made it quite clear that our kind are not wanted in any capacity. In fact I got a personal warning from that bastard calling himself king right now. After all the shit we did for him too\u2026oh well. At least they\u2019re letting us leave peacefully this time. Lot more than I can say for the Empire.\u201d\n\nYou aren\u2019t exactly sure how to respond, but it doesn\u2019t matter because Klemto is in a talkative mood.\n\n\u201cY\u2019know though, I don\u2019t blame him.\u201d\n\u201cYou don\u2019t?\u201d\n\u201cPfftt no. He\u2019s a fucking human. And all humans are alike, power hungry and ready to backstab someone as soon as they get it and crush all those when they get on top. I get it. They got short life spans. Gotta get shit done a lot quicker. All of them do and if persecuting, enslaving or killing an entire race stands in their way, so be it.\u201d\n\u201cYou seem to be taking all this well.\u201d\n\u201cWell? Well how else can I take it? I certainly can\u2019t do shit about it can I? Hell, I\u2019m just lucky I backed the right side of the civil war, otherwise we probably wouldn\u2019t be having this conversation and I\u2019d be in a mass grave right now.\u201d\n\u201cThat\u2019s a good way to look at things. By surviving you can still make a life for yourself and rebuild.\u201d\n\nKlemto bursts out laughing, spitting out most of his drink.\n\n\u201cOhhhh, that\u2019s a good one Eternal. I guess that\u2019s why I don\u2019t blame you either. You don\u2019t know any better.\u201d\n\u201cBlame me? I didn\u2019t put you in your current position.\u201d\n\u201cOh and you mean to say you had NOTHING at all to do with the current change in regime? The expansion of the Felkan Kingdom? Hell, even the rise in nationalistic fervor? You can stand here and look me in the fucking eye and say you had absolutely NOTHING to do with that?\u201d\n\u201c\u2026very well. Perhaps my actions did set certain events in motion, but I did it for the kingdom!\u201d\n\u201cRight! You\u2019re right. You DID do it for the kingdom and that\u2019s why you don\u2019t know any better. You aren\u2019t even human. You look like one. You sound like one. Hell, you must even have some feelings like one given your marriage. Still a little surprised about that one\u2026but like you once said to me, you aren\u2019t human. You\u2019re a fucking abomination that managed to finish a job that a corrupt dead society set in motion long ago.\u201d\n\u201cAnd what is that exactly, Klemto?\u201d\n\u201cConquest and genocide. My people\u2026my people escaped the slavery of the Empire centuries ago, and for what? For us to be practically destroyed by YOU. Whether you did it knowingly or not, you managed to complete the job. The Felkan Kingdom? It\u2019s not the Felkan Kingdom anymore. It\u2019s the fucking Empire. My people? My people are scattered and more divided in away that we\u2019ve ever known! We\u2026turned on each other\u2026(sob)\u2026we KILLED one another (choke)\u2026you\u2026you did so\u2026(sob) much damage\u2026\u201d\n\nKlemto breaks down completely at this point and cries softly to himself. You really don\u2019t know how to respond at all. Part of you actually feel sorry for him, as odd as it may seem. You and he didn\u2019t always get along; you never really trusted him and you certainly never forgave his kind for what they did to Warrick...\n\nAnd yet, besides Dawn, he\u2019s the closest you\u2019ve had to a \u201cfriend\u201d since you\u2019ve been in the Felkan Kingdom. Despite all of what he is saying to you, the fact remains he did help you several times.\n\nAnd that\u2019s where the problem lies\u2026\n\n\u201c(Sniff) And despite all of the damage you did, you are not to blame. We are, or rather I am. I was the fool who believed that you could bring about change for the better. I was the fool who helped you the entire time. There is no way you could\u2019ve gotten away with most of what you got away with had I not intervened with my connections and even convinced some of my fellows to go down the path to hell. If I had any of the great intelligence that we gnomes are supposed to be known for, you should\u2019ve been executed the first time we met, but I had to be an optimist. Idealism\u2026the disease of idiots.\u201d\n\nKlemto takes a long swig of his bottle draining it completely before throwing it to the floor.\n\n\u201cKlemto\u2026I did appreciate your help when you gave it. I mean that.\u201d\n\u201cI know you did, just wish I could help myself.\u201d\n\u201cYou can. Like I said, you\u2019re a survivor and intelligent. You can rebuild somewhere else maybe even better than ever.\u201d\n\u201cHeh, while I appreciate your words of encouragement Eternal, I don\u2019t think so. You see, I\u2019m not just an exile from the Felkan Kingdom, I\u2019m also an exile from my own people now, or what remains of them. Seems they blame me for what\u2019s happened as well\u2026I guess I can at least take solace in the fact that their hatred of me has kept them united them on some level.\u201d\n\u201cBut, surely you could make it on your own, somewhere!\u201d\n\u201cI don\u2019t think so. We gnomes have always been communal in nature. Perhaps in some ways we DO rely on integrating into other societies to protect us. Hopefully one day we won\u2019t and we\u2019ll carve out a land of our own. But in any case I won\u2019t be there to see it, and I\u2019m too old to try to make it on my own even if I was going to attempt such a mad plan. No Eternal, there comes a time in your life when you realize it\u2019s time to retire. I think I probably should\u2019ve done so a LONG time ago, but I stayed in the game because I thought I could do some more good. Instead I just made things worse, A LOT worse. Sometimes you have to look back at your past, smile at the good times, forget about the bad and enjoy old age. Unfortunately for me there are too many bad times to forget and no place for me to enjoy the good times\u2026\u201d\n\nYou begin to get a little apprehensive by Klemto\u2019s tone and words.\n\n\u201cKlem\u2026\u201d\n\nKlemto suddenly pulls out a flintlock pistol and points it to his head.\n\n\u201cGoodbye Eternal.\u201d\n\nAnd with those last words you saw Klemto blow his brains out.\n\nNaturally you don\u2019t have the same problems as he did, but perhaps he could\u2019ve been right about there coming a time to retire. Quitting while you\u2019re ahead so to speak, and not screwing up your past accomplishments by being too stubborn.\n\nYou certainly wouldn\u2019t want to end up in a hopeless position like poor Klemto.", "action_results": [null]}]}, {"action": "Year 56 (Wedding Day)", "result": "You never thought such a day would come for you, ever. But here you are standing before a woman that you\u2019ve come to feel closer to than anyone else. Not even your fellow Eternals, who at this point are all pretty much hostile to you, even Warrick, now that he\u2019s taken the side of the loyalists in the Felkan civil war. You are hardly surprised though; you knew it was bound to happen given what the gnomes did to him. Even Klemto, who managed to convince most of his brethren to join you, can\u2019t undo the unwavering loyalty they instilled in him.\n\nThe civil war pales in comparison to the war you\u2019re fighting with the Eternal Dominion, you might\u2019ve gotten an initial advantage over them, but they are certainly trying to make up for it now. Edgar must be enraged.\n\nBut none of that matters right now.\n\nA Felkan civil war and war with the Eternal Dominion, and still you are able to put all those more pressing conflicts aside to focus on Dawn. You look at her youthful face and into blue eyes and it makes you realize just how much younger she is than you. You wonder briefly if her youth is part of what makes her so desirable. Not for the superficial reasons that most would consider, but her youth itself. Looking at how young she is, makes you forget how old you are. You dismiss such thoughts, as you have enough aching joints and pains to always remind you how old you\u2019re getting.\n\nBesides, it\u2019s a much deeper connection and the pair of you knows that. She has been with you through all of this and supported you the entire way. You don\u2019t even think you could\u2019ve accomplished all of this without her. It is like the pair of you is in perfect harmony with each other at times. You can\u2019t imagine yourself without her in someway.\n\nYou think you now understand what Roldan was talking about when he spoke of Brenda.\n\nWith war looming all around the pair of you, death is always a possibility, but this gesture, this ritual, this bond that you both are going through will signify that even if the unfortunate should occur to either one of you, you know that the love you felt was always there, and will always be there.\n\nThe pair of you aren\u2019t even paying attention to the local holy man performing the ceremony or the few soldiers in attendance as witnesses, it\u2019s just you and her as the pair of you embrace and kiss.", "action_results": [null]}]}]}]}]}]}, {"action": "Dawn Young (Personnel File)", "result": "Dawn grew up in a poor neighborhood with a mother that barely wanted her to begin with. Despite this disadvantage and her humble upbringing she was determined to not stay stuck with her lot in life and turn to a life of crime like so many of her peers. Instead she decided to make something of herself by joining up with the Felkan military at sixteen; a younger age than most in the Felkan army, which is usually at least eighteen.\n\nShe\u2019s about twenty now and from what you can tell she\u2019s served pretty commendably wherever she was stationed. You can also respect the fact she overcame the obstacles that life placed in front of her and it\u2019s probably what made you choose her over a couple of the other potential candidates. She also transferred here shortly after you replaced Eckers, which might explain why she doesn\u2019t have the bad habits that a lot of the other troops have which also made her the best candidate.\n\nShe seems capable, and you\u2019re confident you\u2019ve made a good choice in picking a second.", "action_results": [null]}]}, {"action": "Leave it alone", "result": "Captain Eckers is probably just venting, you doubt if he\u2019s actually going to do anything. Besides the captain is about the only one you can slightly relate to around here and he\u2019s always been all right with you so you decide it wouldn\u2019t be a good idea to report him.\n\nYou return to your duties as usual without giving it anymore thought. In the passing months, the captain never spouts off anything else to you so you figure you were right in your assumption that he was just venting. Nothing to major worry about except the increasing boredom of not having much to do at the fort. You haven\u2019t seen a gnoll in months now and you don\u2019t really like it. They\u2019ve never disappeared for this long of a stretch and it makes you suspect they could be up to something because you refuse to believe that they\u2019ve just decided to leave you alone.\n\nThe next time you see the captain, you tell him that you\u2019d like to take a platoon up into the hills to scout out the area, and while he says he\u2019d like to send you, he has his orders.\n\n\u201cBut you said yourself, that we could do a lot more good if we just went into the hills and wiped out all the gnolls.\u201d You point out.\n\u201cI know what I said that day, and perhaps I shouldn\u2019t have spoken out like that to a subordinate. (sigh) Look, despite my feelings on this situation I know I\u2019ve damaged my career enough as it is. If I go disobeying orders, I\u2019m just going to get myself in deeper. Besides if the gnolls have been as quiet as they have been perhaps we did kill them all, or at least scared them so much that they won\u2019t attack ever again.\u201d\n\nYou of course aren\u2019t convinced, but there is little you can do. If the captain is content on sitting on his hands you\u2019re going to have to do some hand sitting yourself. It\u2019s very frustrating.\n\nYear 41\n\n\u201cThey\u2019re breaking down the doors!\u201d a soldier yells.\n\u201cHold \u2018em dammit! Don\u2019t let these hyena bastards step one foot into this fort!\u201d Captain Eckers commands.\n\nThe captain can order everyone all he wants, but the fact is those gnolls ARE breaking down that door. They have an overwhelming superiority of numbers on their side and even of reinforcements did arrive right now, you\u2019re still sure that it wouldn\u2019t be enough to save you in time.\n\nAs you grimly prepare yourself for the onslaught that\u2019s about to bust through the doors, you think about how bad of a choice you made seeking to find your place here in this kingdom of cowards and fools. If you\u2019d stayed with the Empire instead of leaving it, you wouldn\u2019t be in this situation now. Even if you failed to keep it from collapsing, you would\u2019ve at least died honorably in its service.\n\nBut this? There will be no honor in this death. You\u2019re going to die, because your superiors and their superiors were either too timid or idiotic to do what was necessary and you\u2019re an even bigger idiot for following along into oblivion.\n\nNo more time for regret now though, the gnolls are breaking through. Already the first soldiers still trying to keep the doors shut are screaming their death cries from the axes cleaving into their flesh and spilling their innards onto the floor. Captain Eckers displays a pitiful showing as a gnoll with a halberd severs his head from his body before he can even attack once.\n\nAs for you, you make the gnolls earn every inch they step into the fort. The first two that step to you have their heads blown to gooey pieces with your flintlocks, and then you resort to tried and true methods of slaughter.\n\nYou hack down several of their number before suffering any major wounds. Even then, you continue to fight with the determination of ten men. The bodies of gnolls pile up, the blood is everywhere and you\u2019ve just suffered an injury that should\u2019ve rightfully killed you, but you continue to fight. All the anger you feel at this situation is being directed utterly towards the gnolls until it finally burns itself out and your body pushes itself past its limitations of physical exertion.\n\nAn axe cleaves into your skull, followed by another into your arm, severing it just enough to hang from a bit of tendon. You fall to your knees, then to the floor and that\u2019s when you feel another axe to your back destroying your spine. A finally kick by a hefty boot to the face and the gibbering laughing howls of the gnolls is the last thing you hear.", "action_results": []}]}, {"action": "Warrick (AWOL)", "result": "\u201cSo when did you decide to leave the Empire?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cOh that was a slow drawn out process actually. After all the shit I saw, I began to feel a severe amount of disillusionment for the Empire. Even on the front lines and being involved in a lot of fighting, I saw all the corruption going on, the incompetence of lazy commanders\u2026it was like Captain Pollo multiplied by ten. I mean here we are trying to conquer an enemy that was somewhat equal to us as far as military and in some cases superior and we\u2019re just throwing soldiers into the field, without any regard for tactics or strategy!\u201d\n\u201cSounds pretty bad, last time I spoke to Gerald, he never mentioned all the problems.\u201d\n\u201cHeh, well I think Gerald didn\u2019t like to focus on the negative, but trust me when I tell you it was a complete fuck up from beginning to end. The only competent officer I remember was a Major Krozer\u2026\u201d\n\u201cWait, did you say Krozer? As in Alison Krozer?\u201d you interrupt.\n\u201cYeah I guess. Never knew her first name, never really met her either, but she was sending out orders that were making a whole hell of a lot more sense for a while. A shame she got assassinated by a fucking bomb only a few months after her arrival.\u201d\n\nYou don\u2019t say anything to this news. You sort of figured that maybe she had gotten killed, but a part of you sort of hoped that maybe she found a way out of the Empire as well. Seems silly to have a strong feeling about her given you hadn\u2019t seen her in so long and your one night tryst, but even not counting that, she was still a good officer that always played straight with you. The fact she got killed in a similar manner than Roldan did, certainly makes you feel that she deserved better.\n\nWarrick begins to notice your silence, and then you quickly pick the conversation up again.\n\n\u201cSo\u2026how did you lose your eye?\u201d\n\u201cTo be quite honest I don\u2019t even remember, though that\u2019s probably due to me losing the damn eye in the first place. I remember reaching my limit with the Empire towards the last days of the war. I mean we were supposed to be making peace with the Felkans, because we couldn\u2019t get our own shit together and we still had commanders throwing soldiers at the Felkan borders! What kind of logic is that? Anyway, at that point I just said fuck it and decided to leave. I wasn\u2019t entirely sure where I was going to go, and I don\u2019t remember exactly what happened soon after, but I\u2019m guessing I must\u2019ve crossed into Felkan territory or something, because the last thing I remember was a flash and everything went black. Guess I was so pre-occupied, I forgot to stay alert for traps. Next thing I knew, I woke up on a Felkan medic table. They said they found me and kept me alive, but couldn\u2019t save my eye. I still have memory problems about other parts of the past too, but nothing serious.\u201d\n\u201cSurprised they didn\u2019t kill you, or leave you to die instead.\u201d\n\u201cEh, the Felkans have always been a little odd that way. Their medics have some sort of code or something, but still here was a hated enemy and they were treating me a hell of a lot better than the Empire ever did. That\u2019s pretty much when I offered my services to them. Took a while for them to trust me, but eventually they did. Of course it helped later on I saved the lives of some royals, but that\u2019s a tale for another time. I think we need to get you started on your own new life here.\u201d\n\u201cYeah, I still feel a little odd about all this.\u201d You say.\n\u201cYou\u2019ll get used to it, and in time you\u2019ll see that your efforts will be better appreciated here than they ever were in the Empire. Trust me, you\u2019re on the winning team now.\u201d\n\nYou just smile and nod at Warrick\u2019s statement. While you don\u2019t doubt that you\u2019re on \u201cthe winning team\u201d only time will tell if you will be truly appreciated.", "action_results": [null]}]}, {"action": "Rule your own territory", "result": "You can\u2019t bring yourself to be some like the svelk and be mercenary scum who have no other goals than to earn coin. By the same token you\u2019re not going to pledge yourself to yet another government that will probably be just as corrupt and decadent as the one you just left. Maybe in a way, Kane was right. He was obviously suffering a mental breakdown as well as being manipulated, but the concept of forming your own nation would be the surest way to \u2018get it right.\u201d You could run things the way they SHOULD be.\n\nThe question is where to start? You\u2019d need at least an army to conquer anything and right now you don\u2019t really have that. You\u2019re sure you could probably get those \u201cnew eternals\u201d to follow you, but there still isn\u2019t enough of them even if you were inclined to subject yourself to the torture of futility. Regular soldiers would probably follow you, but nowadays they\u2019re so scattered that you\u2019d literally have to travel all over most of the Empire to collect them, not to mention all the fighting you\u2019d have to do during this state of anarchy. The only place you can think of is the Nalin province. It\u2019s virtually the one place still left in the empire that isn\u2019t suffering outright revolts, though the citizens are reportedly still severely disgruntled, Brenda is also there in command of Fort Glory. Perhaps she\u2019ll see the wisdom of your plan and help you, if that\u2019s the case you should be able to pull it off.\n\nYou find a nearby horse and set off for the south. Along the way you see the landscape of the Empire, which at one time was orderly and even idyllic is now burning and in tatters. Despite the chaos you don\u2019t need to do any battle, not even when passing groups of angry peasants who are taking every opportunity to get revenge on their oppressive government and its agents in all forms. You can only assume your reputation is enough to scare them off or they don\u2019t even recognize you. If it\u2019s the latter then it only confirms your belief that you weren\u2019t making that much of a difference in the Empire anyway.\n\nWhen you get to the Nalin province you find it in much better condition than the rest of the places in the Empire that you\u2019ve ridden through. Fort Glory looks slightly different, namely it looks more heavily fortified and a lot better cared for than when you left this place. When you approach Fort Glory, you are momentarily halted by the guards, but when you tell them who you are and that you need to see Brenda they immediately let you in.\n\nBrenda is very surprised to see you. She looks a lot different from the teenage girl you parted company with. Her hair is going gray and she has a very \u201ctired\u201d look about her. As if the whole weight of responsibility is crashing down on her, but she still carries herself with confidence and strength.\n\n\u201cWhen my soldiers told me it was you I couldn\u2019t believe it, it\u2019s been so long since we\u2019ve seen one another. Wow you haven\u2019t really changed at all.\u201d She says almost smiling.\n\u201cIt is good to see you too, Brenda. Still as pretty as ever.\u201d You say, unsure of how to respond.\n\u201cPretty? Now that\u2019s a word I never thought I\u2019d hear you say. Let alone to me. Maybe you have changed more than I thought.\u201d\n\u201cWell I mean I never thought you were ugly, Brenda. I was just trying to reply to your compliment with one of my own.\u201d\n\u201cHa ha, a complete lack of tact. That\u2019s more like the old you. Still it\u2019s nice to hear, though I hope for your sake, you\u2019re a better sweet talker to the other girls out there.\u201d\n\u201cBrenda, I have to talk to you in private about something it\u2019s very important and I don\u2019t know how you\u2019re going to react.\u201d You say by passing her statement.\n\u201cOh geez, you\u2019re not going to suddenly confess some sort of hidden love for me that you\u2019ve kept to yourself all these years are you?\u201d\n\u201cWhat?! NO! This is something important!\u201d\n\nBrenda\u2019s a little amused by how you worded your statement especially since she was joking. You just aren\u2019t in a \u201cjoking mood\u201d though right now and after what you have to tell Brenda you doubt if she will too.\n\n\u201cLook, I apologize for my outburst. It\u2019s just that this is really important.\u201d\n\u201cOkay, we\u2019ll go to my office and speak privately there.\u201d\n\nWhen you get to Brenda\u2019s office you don\u2019t bother beating around the bush and you just tell her everything. Your thoughts, feelings, actions and ultimately your plan and why you came here. Now she really is amazed. You of all people were practically a paragon of duty and loyalty and here you are openly confessing that you\u2019ve abandoned the Empire.\n\n\u201cOkay, wow. Well you\u2019ve just been full of surprises today.\u201d\n\u201cWill you help me?\u201d\n\u201cWhat exactly am I supposed to do? I mean are you seriously asking me to just hand over control of this fort to you while you play pretend emperor?\u201d\n\u201cNo! I mean shit I don\u2019t know I haven\u2019t thought out all the details yet I guess. It\u2019s just (sigh) Look Brenda, I just left ALL I\u2019ve known. Everything I\u2019ve ever been taught to believe in is GONE, if it ever existed to begin with. I didn\u2019t have many choices on what to do next and this seemed to be the best choice all things considered. I came here because I didn\u2019t know where else to go quite frankly. I see now that this was just as foolish an idea leaving the Empire in the first place, I guess\u2026\u201d\n\u201cNo it wasn\u2019t.\u201d\n\u201cWhat wasn\u2019t?\u201d\n\u201cLeaving the Empire. I mean I certainly understand your reasons. I share them. Maybe not in the exact same way, but they are there. Hell I think in these dark times, everyone shares them. I dunno perhaps you just made that extra step that the rest of us here aren\u2019t quite willing to make yet.\u201d\n\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cI mean everyone in this fort and probably the entire province would be for seceding from the Empire at this point. I think the only reason why nobody has done it yet or even rioted is due to way we run things here at Fort Glory. We found it much better by just letting people go about their business if we\u2019re not threatening them all the time and actually defending them from real external threats. The only real problem here is the high taxes which the Empire imposes on this region, that of course tends to make people a little grumpy, but not quite enough to riot. They remember what this place used to be like after all.\"\n\u201cNot threatening people you say? That\u2019s a pretty wild concept. Did you think that one up?\u201d\n\u201cNah, the credit goes to Roldan, he was the first to suggest it. He probably would\u2019ve made a better fort commander too and if he had been promoted instead of me, he might still be here\u2026\u201d\n\u201cBrenda, okay you can\u2019t think like that. If he\u2019d been promoted then you\u2019d probably be dead and\u2026\u201d\n\u201cI know, I know. I just get a little sad thinking about him not being here sometimes. Okay, anyway let\u2019s do it. Let\u2019s break away from the Empire. Like you said, shouldn\u2019t take much convincing, though I hope you\u2019re prepared for a shitstorm from this. We might not much problem from the population, as I said they\u2019ll probably be relieved to not have to pay the high taxes any more, but we\u2019re going to get Empire armies to come down here eventually.\u201d\n\u201cPossibly, but it\u2019s pretty bad Brenda. I\u2019m not sure if they\u2019ll be able to really do anything, the government is on the brink of collapse. If anything we might be getting an influx of people wanting to come here to join. You\u2019re just lucky they didn\u2019t saddle you with those new eternals. If they had, I guarantee this place wouldn\u2019t be as nice as it is now.\u201d\n\u201cSo I\u2019ve heard. I suppose I am lucky. This whole province is lucky.\u201d\n\nBrenda takes a deep breathe before speaking again.\n\n\u201cOkay so how exactly are we doing this? I mean what system are we going to have in place?\u201d\n\u201cWell, given what you\u2019ve told me about how you\u2019ve been running things, I\u2019ve had one new idea. How about YOU run this place and you be the leader?\u201d\n\u201cME? But\u2026I don\u2019t know anything about running a nation or anything like that!\u201d\n\u201cSeems to me you\u2019ve been running this place pretty well for years. You know the people and better yet, they know you. I think if I was in charge\u2026well they\u2019d think they were living under the Empire again. No, I realize now my place isn\u2019t to rule, but to fight. It really is what I\u2019m good at. About the only thing.\u201d\n\u201cNow come on, you have great leadership skills!\u201d\n\u201cLeadership skills for combat perhaps, but not for ruling. I think whatever is it that you had with Roldan made you and him more in touch with human nature and that\u2019s a good thing.\u201d\n\u201cYes\u2026it was a good thing. I just wish he was here. I could certainly use his help right now.\u201d Brenda says reminiscing.\n\nYou pat Brenda on the shoulder in your effort to comfort her; she tells you she\u2019s fine though. You and Brenda at that point set your plan in motion to split from the Empire.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Chapter 3A3: Remnant\n\n\nYear 45\n\nIn all the years you served the Empire, you always felt like you were being held back in some way; lack of supplies, lack of equipment, ungrateful rioting peasants, or incompetent commanding officers. In most cases it was never a failing on your part.\n\nFor the past few years, you\u2019ve come to appreciate no longer having any of those limitations. In Nalin everyone more or less works for the greater good of the country. In fact it could be argued that this is more the case here than it ever was in the Empire, at least as far as you saw. Brenda eventually declared the biggest town (Now a city) Dalt to be the capital and moved there to better manage things. You of course are head of the army and remained at Fort Glory.\n\nDespite her initial inexperience at running a nation, Brenda has proven to do a fair job at it. Hand picking town mayors and other bureaucratic types to help run things certainly helps. What also helps is Nalin is a much smaller nation than the Empire was. The long arm of the army doesn\u2019t need to go far to catch someone doing something against the law.\n\nYour intimidating reputation as head of the army obviously keeps people in line as well. Still, it isn\u2019t complete fear; they know you\u2019ll also keep them safe. When Usksha raiders started gathering around the southern borders again, you made sure to strike at them before they could attack any of the southern towns. You wish you could just go into the Usksha Desert and wipe them all out, but you know you just don\u2019t have the resources for such a thing. Still, you did find a temporary solution in the form of an equally old annoyance. The kobold tribes who eventually realized that continuing to fight against you would result in genocide, agreed to relocate to the edges of the southern Nalin border where they would help defend it. This has worked out quite well. The harsh terrain conditions closer to the desert as well as the occasional Usksha raids keep the kobold population down as well as aid as a front line defense without having to waste valuable troops.\n\nFor the most part everything has been running quite well, perhaps a little too well to the point where you get a little bored, but you don\u2019t even mind that now. You\u2019re just glad to be part of a nation that isn\u2019t crippled by corruption.\n\n\u201cThis is the last remnant of the true Empire.\u201d You sometimes think.\n\nOf course a certain person might disagree with that thought, namely Edgar.\n\nEdgar hasn\u2019t contacted you or Brenda. Brenda wonders if it\u2019s because he considers you both traitors for seceding from the Empire, and while that sounds like Edgar, you suspect it\u2019s more because he\u2019s been very busy. Ever since the Empire fell, Edgar has been busily trying to unite all the new \u201ceternals\u201d under his command and his results are quite surprising. He\u2019s not only managed to do it, but he\u2019s forged his own nation calling it the Eternal Dominion. He claims it is the successor to the Empire and as general he has vowed to reunite all the old lands by any means. So far he\u2019s had varying success, but he\u2019s doing well under the circumstances. He\u2019s also created a strict hierarchy system where Eternals are considered to be the superior ruling class and everyone else is below them. You aren\u2019t exactly sure what to make of this ideology.\n\nAssuming he\u2019s successful, you know it\u2019s only going to be a matter of time before Edgar comes marching an army from the north. Brenda has the same concerns and lately a majority of the military has been stationed on the northern borders. You just aren\u2019t sure it\u2019ll be enough. Brenda wonders if an alliance would be best, but the only other major power in the region is the Felkan Kingdom, and you\u2019re not exactly sure if they would even be in a position to help, let alone willing to help. The enemy of my enemy isn\u2019t always your friend.\n\nThis ties in with the other matter that has come up is expansion. Nalin has had a steadily growing population for quite some time and since the south is hostile desert, the western side of Nalin is covered by an equally imposing mountain range and to the north is old empire lands suffering from destroyed infrastructure and near anarchy, the only logical conclusion is to the east.\n\nSlowly over time Brenda has encouraged Nalin citizens to systematically settle the eastern wilderness. The Empire for some reason never colonized this territory. It probably was marked, but just never exploited due to other more pressing matters. In any case, things have gone more or less peacefully as there have been no encounters with any hostile natives and it has proven to be great farming land. While things are peaceful there now, there\u2019s no telling what could happen later and due to all the troops on the northern border, the eastern territory has a minimum number of soldiers there. Right now you and Brenda are discussing on how to best to maximize your defenses.\n\n\u201cHave you sent envoys to Edgar? Is it possible that he wouldn\u2019t be a problem in the future?\u201d you ask Brenda.\n\u201cI actually have a couple times over the years and none of them ever returned. Which is why I\u2019m convinced he\u2019s pissed at us.\u201d\n\u201cHmm, well guess we better up keep the defenses on the northern borders then. Still, my own reports say he\u2019s still nowhere near us. He\u2019s been trying to tame the core region of the old Empire as well as maintain order in places he\u2019s already conquered. There is the option to take redeploy some of the troops to the east.\u201d\n\u201cBut of course that would weaken us in the north.\u201d\n\u201cWell yes, but if you\u2019re really worried about the east, then that\u2019s all I can suggest other than conscription.\u201d\n\u201cYeah, thought about that, and I\u2019m not exactly keen on that idea. The people have been happy for quite awhile. We start conscripting like the Empire did, they might not be as happy.\u201d Brenda says\n\u201cThey\u2019ll be even less happy, if Edgar comes barging down here declaring them all inferior while letting his Eternal troops run amok.\u201d\n\u201cYou wouldn\u2019t allow that to happen.\u201d Brenda says.\n\u201cWell I certainly would try my best to not let it happen, but let\u2019s just say I\u2019m not as certain about things as I once was, there is always the chance things can go horribly wrong.\u201d\n\u201cYeah, I understand that. (Sigh) Well, I suppose we can restart conscription. It\u2019s not going to be popular, but I think if we stress how much of a threat Edgar potentially is, we\u2019ll prevent the civil unrest. I\u2019ll get my civilian advisors to start spinning the propaganda. I\u2019ll leave it up to you how you want to deploy the troops; I think it would be best to put most of the conscripts on the east though, as I think we\u2019ll need most of the experienced troops on the northern borders.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019ll certainly consider all the options. I guess I\u2019ll get to it then and leave you to your work as well.\u201d You say and are about to leave when Brenda calls out to you.\n\u201cHey, I know you\u2019re very duty bound anyway, but I just want to say, I\u2019m glad you\u2019re here to help me.\u201d\n\u201cWell I\u2019m happy to help, but I\u2019m sure you\u2019d do just as well without me here.\u201d\n\u201cPerhaps, but it\u2019s sort of comforting to have another Eternal around to talk to. I just feel like we connect a lot better you know?\u201d\n\u201cYes, I do agree. We do share a bond that most others will never know.\u201d\n\nBrenda goes to hug you and you\u2019re a little unsure of how to react at first, but you hug her back. Before you leave Brenda asks you one more question.\n\n\u201cDo you think Edgar\u2019s ideology for his nation is correct? Do you think Eternals are superior to everyone else?\u201d\n\nYou think about the question for a moment, then answer.\n\n\u201cI think Edgar thinks it is correct. In one aspect, I agree with it, I mean look at the pair of us. We\u2019re both in the highest positions of power and people seem to be accepting of it. However, from my own experiences with the new Eternals I\u2019m not actually convinced that THEY are superior to the average human except in combat and sadism which I suppose are good enough to instill fear into the masses.\u201d\n\u201cHeh, but isn\u2019t that what we do?\u201d\n\u201cOf course, but we do it because we know it\u2019s necessary to maintain order. The new Eternals engage in pointless cruelty because they enjoy it. They\u2019re no better than svelks in that regard. They\u2019re so eager to move on to next atrocity that they let their emotions cloud their purity of battle. I believe this is a weakness on their part and that is why I do not consider them superior.\u201d\n\nBrenda smiles a bit at your answer.\n\n\u201cThe Empire really should\u2019ve made you a general straight out of training. I\u2019m certain you would\u2019ve single handedly saved it.\u201d\n\u201cI don\u2019t know. Perhaps it was beyond saving by that time. If you\u2019ll excuse me\u2026\u201d you say and leave Brenda\u2019s office.\n\nAs you leave the capital building, you think back on how you left the Empire. While you\u2019re satisfied with your decision, part of you does wonder IF you could\u2019ve done anything. Not just at that time, but before then. Is there another decision you could\u2019ve made that would\u2019ve prevented the situation you\u2019re in now?\n\nAfter a brief run down in your mind of endless possibilities you quickly dismiss such thoughts as a fool\u2019s game. You were right, the Empire was beyond any help you could\u2019ve provided. Nalin is your concern now and you need to make the decisions to how to best protect it starting with deciding where to send the conscripts when Brenda enacts her decree.", "action_results": [{"action": "Send them to the northern borders", "result": "As much of a threat Edgar could potentially be, he\u2019s not knocking down your door right now and as safe as the east seems to be, it\u2019s still mainly uncharted territory. Anything could be lurking over there. Best to have experienced troops there just in case, in fact you\u2019re going to have them make scouting expeditions.\n\nWhen Brenda enacts conscription there is a lot of grumbling as was expected, but nothing more. Many of the conscripts are a little nervous about being put on the northern borders after hearing all the scary things about Edgar and his \u201cbaby eating\u201d army. You make sure to keep enough vets there to keep them in line until they toughen up a bit more. You also make sure to keep a close eye on the situation.\n\nMonths pass a life goes on as usual, and you begin to get reports on the eastern wilderness. Most of the scouts say that there is evidence of other denizens living further east. In fact there seems to be a small tribal war going on between four separate groups. Two of those are human barbarian tribes, one them is elven, but much wilder than what you know of them and the last one is a race you\u2019re not familiar with called the Slin. They\u2019re apparently reptilian in nature though, similar to the kobolds, but much larger and meaner.\n\nAll of them save for one of the human tribes have been hostile to your scouts. Your scouts report that most attacks were accompanied by slurs and curses against the Empire. Even the Slin have been reported to utter a few recognizable insults in their strange reptilian tongue.\n\nYou can only guess that all of these folks at one time came in contact with the Empire and it wasn\u2019t a good experience. Makes sense they would mistake you for Empire troops as well considering that all your troops are either still wearing the same armor or very similar armor. Some of the really old guard are still wearing the same insignias. Sort of like you do actually.\n\nWhile you\u2019re confident that individually these uncivilized savage tribes wouldn\u2019t be a match in a straight up fight, there is always the possibility that they could all unite against you which would make things a little more difficult. They\u2019ve all most likely been living here a long time too, so they\u2019ll have the advantage of knowing the land better.\n\nRight now the situation is similar to the one you have with Edgar. They\u2019re all preoccupied fighting each other and not immediately close to any Nalin settlements. Stirring up a hornet\u2019s nest by marching east could bring that tribal alliance that you don\u2019t really want.\n\nThen again you have been getting sort of bored lately\u2026maybe you DO want it a little.\n\nYou make the decision and you\u2019re wiping out these troublesome tribes before they become a major problem. You\u2019re also going to personally lead this campaign of expansion; it\u2019s been far too long since you\u2019ve experienced a real battle again.\n\nBrenda is supportive of the idea, though she reminds you that if trouble comes to the northern borders she\u2019s going to have to pull everyone back immediately. Since that could happen at any time, you decide you need to handle this as quickly as you can, but at the same time, not sloppy.\n\nFirst thing you do is establish a sizable war camp near the closest Nalin village in the eastern wilderness. You then have your scouts contact the human tribe that wasn\u2019t hostile and to tell them that you want to meet their leader to discuss about destroying their enemies.\n\nYour scouts return with a crude map and report that the chieftain of the Belkaz Tribe is willing to listen, but that you must come meet him in his own village several miles away towards the southern hills and that if you arrive with more than five men he will consider you hostile and order an attack.\n\n\u201cAcceptable. I was going there by myself anyway.\u201d You say taking the map.\n\u201cSir?\u201d one of your scouts says after looking at the other in surprise.\n\u201cIt\u2019s fine. Corporal Bajin isn\u2019t it? You did your job. Take a break, and tell the rest that I\u2019ll be back soon.\u201d\n\u201cBut\u2026don\u2019t you think you should take some of us with you? I mean they\u2019re barbarians and not exactly trustworthy.\u201d Bajin says.\n\u201cOh I know that, but if I can\u2019t handle a simple mission every once in awhile, well what kind of general am I? Relax, I\u2019ll be back.\u201d You say and gallop away on your horse towards the village.\n\nAs you get closer to your destination, you start noticing the usual primitive totems typical of such tribes establishing their territory. Eventually several barbarian types wrapped in furs and other crude cloth stop you.\n\n\u201cThis is Belkaz territory! You go back or die!\u201d one of them shouts as they all point spears at you.\n\u201cI have business with your chieftain. My scouts contacted some of your fellows about it not too long ago.\u201d\n\nAfter speaking amongst themselves for a moment, one addresses you again.\n\n\u201cYou must be leader of the Empire men to the west. Other tribes hate you. Scared of you. Very funny because you are not scary. Not even that big. But other tribes cowards, we not. Come with us and do not try anything!\u201d\n\nYou follow the Belkaz to their village which is a fairly large one. You assume that there are probably others, but that this is just their \u201ccapital.\u201d You get off your horse and look around and see the usual trappings of a primitive village. This whole situation is starting to remind you of your time in Rask. Though you hope that these particular barbarians aren\u2019t shapeshifters or spirits in disguise otherwise this idea of yours is not going to go well.\n\nThe Belkaz chieftain comes out of his hut. He\u2019s certainly a big muscular man. Almost ogre sized. Hell, he may even have ogre blood in him. Heavily tattooed, various tribal piercing. All proof of his manhood and tolerance to pain no doubt. A worn looking axe hangs by his side. Probably has seen a lot of battle. You figure he slaughtered his way to the top like most of his kind do. Whether it was enemies of the tribe or rivals within the tribe, it doesn\u2019t matter, he\u2019s proven himself to be the best warrior and that\u2019s what makes him the leader. The rest fall in line when he give them an order.\n\nHe stands before you looking down at you. Probably wondering how someone so small could be a leader of anything.\n\n\u201cHuh. Empire man. You wanted to discuss a possible alliance?\u201d\n\u201cNo, I wanted to discuss destroying your enemies.\u201d You say looking up.\n\u201cHrm? Yeah, I said alliance. You need help destroying other tribes.\u201d\n\u201cYes, I need help, but no I do not need an alliance.\u201d\n\u201cYou speak in riddles Empire man.\u201d\n\u201cMy apologies. Perhaps this is something you would better understand.\u201d You say and draw your sword.\n\nThe Belkaz immediately goes for his axe, but fails you draw it in time since you land a heavy blow on his forearm nearly chopping it completely off. He bellows in pain and falls back holding on to his dangling bloody limb. Two Belkaz attempt to spear you in the back, but you easily dispatch them with spinning swing to their bellies unleashing their innards all over the ground.\n\nYou run another Belkaz through as you advance towards the chieftain who has managed to draw his axe and recover from the initial shock of losing a vital limb which still partially dangles by the skin and bleeds profusely. He swings his axe recklessly at your head screaming the whole time. The battle was over long ago for him though as you easily duck such an attack and aim your sword directly at his groin. Literally destroying his manhood, his screams suddenly become much higher pitched as the useless member falls to the ground along with its two friends.\n\nDropping his axe, falling to his knees and attempting to hold himself up with his one good arm, you finish him off with a chop to his head, and then another, and then another until his head splits in two. Already dead at this point, you then stomp on his split skull crushing the brain matter leaking out.\n\nThe rest of the Belzak tribe at this point is either hiding or staring in awe of how easily you dispatch their leader. You look around and after catching your breath, you speak.\n\n\u201cThis man did not lead your tribe to victory against your enemies. As such he was also your enemy and needed to die. This will be your fate as well if you do not submit to my army. If you wish to live and see victory over your enemies, then you will join me. If not\u2026well you will join him.\u201d You say and point at their dead chieftain with your sword.\n\nYou get back on your horse unopposed and ride back to your camp where some of your soldiers have been mildly concerned about you. You address the camp and one of your lieutenants in particular.\n\n\u201cEveryone get some rest tonight our path to victory begins tomorrow. Lieutenant Harren I\u2019m going to need you to take a platoon and head out to the main Belzak village tomorrow. Be on guard, as usual, but I think you\u2019ll find the natives quite agreeable with helping you in any way they can. In fact I dare say after this is all over they\u2019ll be some of the most loyal of our newest citizens.\u201d", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 46\n\nIt took longer than you expected, but you\u2019ve at last tracked down the main lair of the Slin. They\u2019ve stretched this little war out the longest, but this is where it\u2019s going to end.\n\nArrows unleashed by Slin bows hit some of your Belzak skimishers, but your own soldiers advance on the cave opening undeterred with their shields held up to protect them.\n\nYou shake your head when you see the remaining Belzak run away. They\u2019ve actually been completely useless when fighting the Slin. The only time they seemed to prove useful is when you were wiping out the Fleg tribe.\n\nThe Fleg were pretty odd as you came to find out that they were decedents of once regular Empire citizens that started believing in some weird cult that took hold in the Nalin province long before you were around. The Empire stomped it out, but obviously the remainder fled here. Surrender and backing down wasn\u2019t an option for them. When you got to their last village you found that they all committed ritual suicide. Their cult finally wiped out.\n\nYou and your men fight your way into the cave entrance, several large Slin come lumbering from various tunnels hissing and charging at you. You like that. You appreciate a foe that gives no quarter and doesn\u2019t run even in the face of certain death.\n\nIt\u2019s more than can be said of the wild elves. They were fierce fighters at first, but after you wiped out the Fleg and started making great progress against the Slin, something in them must\u2019ve changed. It\u2019s as if all their courage left them. Their elder came to you and begged you to spare them from genocide. These elves were all former slaves that managed to run away from the Empire long ago. The elder spoke of how he should\u2019ve known it was folly to run away and that eventually the Empire would eventually find them again even if it took them hundreds of years. You told him that the Empire was no more, but his peoples\u2019 attacks on your soldiers was something that couldn\u2019t be forgiven.\n\nTaking a page from Captain Krozer\u2019s handling of elves in Rask, you had all the adults and elderly killed. Any children were taken to become wards of the state. While slavery doesn\u2019t exist in Nalin as it did in the Empire, you figure these children can still be indoctrinated to be proper citizens and given a second chance at a better life. Sometimes mercy can be a good thing.\n\nSeveral Slin lie dead at your feet. More of them continue to pour in as you and your remaining men travel further into the cavern.\n\nNo, there will be no capitulation, or cowardly escape through suicide here. Before you killed the elven elder, he told you that the Slin apparently once lived in the Delerg swamps before being driven out by the Empire. (With the help of the Shadow Guard) Funny how all these people managed to settle in the same area and fight each other rather than unite, but then they all had different reasons and ways of life.\n\nThe Slin don\u2019t even realize that the Empire has fallen, and attempting to explain it to them at this point wouldn\u2019t do any good even if you wanted to bother with such a thing. You\u2019re close enough to being one of their oppressors in their eyes and your goals of kill or be killed were locked in as soon as you stepped into their territory\n\nThe final confrontation takes place in what you guess to be brood chamber. Even Slin children are vicious enough to take part in battle. The Slin matriarch isn\u2019t as big as the ones you\u2019ve been fighting, but she has the advantage of some sort of primitive magic. She casts a poisonous cloud causing several of your troops that had followed you, immediately gag, cough and vomit. They eventually succumb to the toxins and choking on their own blood and bleeding from every orifice. The cloud doesn\u2019t make you feel too well either, but being an Eternal you\u2019re made of stronger stuff and have natural immunities to most poisons.\nHer brood bite at your legs as you attempt to fight through the haze of the poison cloud. You slaughter all of them and ignore the pain of several teeth cutting through your leggings and into your flesh.\n\nThe matriarch hisses at you backing away as you advance towards her. She attempts to cast another spell, but you interrupt her by slashing her staff out of her hand. Lacking any other weapons, she resorts to her natural ones that are just as good to kill someone with. She lunges at you and wrestles you to the ground where you lose your sword in the process.\n\nHaving a hard time seeing and breathing due to the cloud, you begin to feel a lot weaker and you struggle to free your arms from her talons.\n\n\u201cBabies! Ssss! You kill my babiessss!\u201d She says attempting to bite your face off. You more your head in such a manner that she only manages to bite your ear off instead. At this time you finally manage to free one of your arms and bring a fist to the side of her head. It isn\u2019t enough to knock her off of you, but it\u2019s enough to daze her enough so you can free your other arm. With both hands free you take your thumbs and jam them into the red orbs of the matriarch succeeding in pulling one out completely.\n\nThe matriarch shrieks in pain holding her face and you push her off of you. Blind and crawling on the ground, she attempts to look for her staff. You stand up and easily grab your own weapon and put the matriarch out of her misery with a chop to her leathery neck. Another severs her head completely.\n\nYou stagger out of the Slin brood chamber coughing up some blood from all the poison you inhaled from the now dissipating cloud. Some of your troops that were still fighting Slin in other parts of the cavern see that you\u2019re not feeling your best and go to help you.\n\nYou don\u2019t remember exactly what happened after that. You must\u2019ve passed out briefly because the next thing you know you\u2019re lying outside the cave surrounded by some of your soldiers and a few of the belzaks who must\u2019ve regained their courage after they ran away. You\u2019re still not feeling good, who knows how much of that poison is in your system.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ve seen this before! He needs certain herbs to cure the poison, and I have some, I can mix up an antidote right here!\u201d one of the belzak says.\n\u201cShut the fuck up tribal, you oughta be glad we\u2019re not executing you right now for desertion on the battle field! In fact let\u2019s take care of that right now!\u201d a soldier remarks and you hear a scuffle and protests of wanting to help and begging for life.\n\nYou struggle to get up, and you manage it just barely. You feel like you\u2019re going to collapse again and you aren\u2019t sure if you\u2019re going to make it to the medic back at the war camp.\n\nIn the meantime the belzakians are begging you to call off you soldiers.", "action_results": [{"action": "Call off the execution", "result": "You\u2019re feeling so ill at this point that if these deserters can actually do something to help you, you\u2019ll give them a pass.\n\n\u201cRelease them\u2026let them make their antidote.\u201d You gasp.\n\nYour soldiers are hesitant, but fulfill your orders and release the belzakians so that they can do their work. The one who spoke up thanks you immediately and starts asking his buddies to help him mix up the antidote.\n\nYou lie on a bed roll drifting in and out of deliriousness hoping they hurry up with that antidote, eventually one of them approaches you.\n\n\u201cThis is for you, my merciful general!\u201d\n\nYou grab the wooden bowl that they\u2019ve mixed the antidote in and struggle to sit up. After gazing into the green liquid you drink deeply.\n\n\u201cYes, drink, soon all your pain will be no more!\u201d the belzak exclaims\n\nYou might be ill and your hearing might be off due to missing an ear now, but the tone of the belzak\u2019s voice is a little concerning. And you have every right to be concerned unfortunately it\u2019s a little too late.\n\nYour throat and your entire insides feel like they\u2019re on fire. If you were ill before, that \u201cantidote\u201d you just drank made it ten times worse. You struggle to breathe and attempt to grab at the belzak who avoids your feeble attempts, though your other soldiers grab him and his fellows.\n\n\u201cYES DIE TYRANT! DIE FOR MAKING MY TRIBE SLAVES!\u201d he screams before one of your soldiers cuts his throat.\n\nIt\u2019s no victory though; your own life ends soon after as the mixture of poisons in your system shut down your body completely.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Have them killed", "result": "\u201cKill these fucking deserters and get me to the medic.\u201d You say.\n\nThe screams of the belzak deserters begging for their lives and death squeals fall on deaf ears\u2026or rather ear as the case may be now.\n\nEventually you manage to make it to the medic who immediately starts administering an antidote to you. You\u2019re out of commission and very sick for a couple of days, but after which time you\u2019re at least able to stand without feeling ill anymore. Your chewed off ear isn\u2019t an excessive problem as you can still hear relatively well, still you do feel a sense of \u201closs.\u201d\n\nIn any event the expansionist eastern campaign is over. All the tribes have been either wiped out or subdued to the point of submissiveness. Brenda will be relieved to hear it, as you know she was always concerned about having most of the veteran troops there instead of the northern borders. She\u2019ll also be pleased that there weren\u2019t many losses overall.\n\nYou\u2019re satisfied with the results, though now you\u2019re just wondering what you\u2019re going to do with yourself again.\n\nYear 50\n\n\u201cOur defenses are strong in the north. Have been for years. No need to be concerned about that.\u201d You say.\n\u201cI know, but this is a big thing. I mean after all these years now Edgar wants to speak with us?\u201d Brenda asks.\n\u201cMy reports say he\u2019s gotten a lot more organized and isn\u2019t dealing with anarchy in his ranks anymore. He even re-conquered the old core lands of the Empire. It could be that he wants to see how strong we really are. His message said he\u2019s coming alone without anyone else.\u201d\n\u201cWell, maybe that\u2019s a good sign. Maybe he just wants to talk.\u201d\n\u201cOr maybe he wants to kill us both to a great show of strength so Nalin will capitulate with minimum fuss.\u201d You point out.\n\u201cYeah\u2026there is that tactic. (sigh) Well I guess we all knew this day was coming. Guess I better practice my combat skills., which sadly have probably declined from lack of use. Would you spar with me?\u201d\n\u201cOf course. Don\u2019t worry, I\u2019m sure you\u2019re not that out of practice.\u201d You remark.\n\nYou and Brenda go to her personal training room where you and her prepare to spar. Brenda makes a few remarks about this being like the old days when Mistress made you fight each other. Brenda mentions the time when you broke Gerald\u2019s arm and Kane\u2019s nose when she pit them both against you.\n\n\u201cYeah, I remember that. That was my first match. Mistress had it in for me after I begged for my life. I was always pretty aggressive after that, well at least until Gruz told me I should master my anger better, and I did\u2026anyway let\u2019s get on with this.\u201d You say not really wanting to think about those days or any of the names mentioned.\n\nBrenda isn\u2019t quite as skilled as you remember her to be and she has indeed let her talents decline. Then again as you remember she always was more skilled with the bow. Something you never quite got the hang of yourself. You begin to get more in a \u201cdrill instructor mode\u201d and shout commands at her to watch her techniques.\n\n\u201cAlright, alright, I told you I was out of practice.\u201d She shouts back.\n\u201cWell you shouldn\u2019t have let it get this bad in the first place.\u201d You say.\n\nAfter this remark, Brenda begins to get a little annoyed, which of course means she makes even more mistakes.\n\n\u201cBrenda, come on I know you\u2019re better than this! Focus!\u201d\n\u201cI am!\u201d\n\u201cWell prove it!\u201d\n\u201cWell, I\u2019m sorry I\u2019m not the fucking lord of war that you are!\u201d\n\u201cYou don\u2019t need to be me, you just need to be an Eternal!\u201d\n\u201cWhat the hell for? The Empire is fucking dead and we\u2019ve just been upkeeping a parody of it for the past fifteen years! I don\u2019t even know what I\u2019m doing trying to run this fucking country anymore! I never wanted this! I\u2026I just wanted\u2026to spend the rest of my\u2026(sob) life with Roldan\u2026(sob)\u201d\n\nAt this point Brenda sits down on the floor and completely breaks down in tears. You can honestly say you weren\u2019t expecting this.\n\n\u201cBrenda\u2026\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m sorry, but I can\u2019t be the Eternal you are. I can\u2019t even be the Eternal that Edgar is. I lost that edge when I fell in love. I wasn\u2019t supposed to and neither was Roldan! If we hadn\u2019t been so weak, he\u2019d still be alive and\u2026\u201d\n\u201cDammit Brenda, you can\u2019t keep blaming yourself for his death! Your relationship and whatever feelings you had for each other had nothing to do with some insane asshole blowing him up. What\u2019s bringing this all on? Edgar? I think you\u2019re worrying about him more than you need to. I mean for all we know he just wants play catch up and even if he doesn\u2019t we\u2019re going to be ready for him and his army of half assed Eternals\u2026\u201d\n\nBrenda shakes her head and tries to compose herself.\n\u201cNo, it\u2019s not Edgar. It\u2019s you.\u201d\n\u201cMe? What do you mean? Out with it.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2026I think I\u2019ve developed the same kind of feelings for you that I did for Roldan.\u201d Brenda says.\n\nAnother surprise for you today, not exactly the best timing with all that\u2019s coming up soon.\n\n\u201c\u2026Uh\u2026I don\u2019t know what to say\u2026I guess\u2026I mean\u2026are you sure?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cI think I\u2019d know. It\u2019s been building up slowly over time. At first I was just happy to have you around, another Eternal to talk to. Sure you weren\u2019t Roldan, and you\u2019re certainly less fun loving than he could be, but there was that familiar bond. Then when you were so instrumental in helping to keep order in this place, I remembered why we all admired and respected you as a leader so much back in the day. It also began to remind me of how Roldan and I complimented each other in keeping order here during the days of the Empire. You were bringing the memories of those good old days back and making them reality again.\u201d\n\u201cYou probably just still miss him and are transferring those feelings.\u201d\n\u201cI thought so too, which is why I didn\u2019t do anything before. In fact I was feeling guilty about it, I thought I was dishonoring Roldan\u2019s memory. Wasn\u2019t until I heard about your close call with death during your campaign in the east that I knew it was more than mere transference. I was so happy that you were still alive, I nearly told you how I felt when you came back. I just didn\u2019t think you suffered from such weaknesses and I wanted to remain strong because your respect was more important than my silly attractions.\u201d\n\nYou don\u2019t have much experience with any of this, but you need to say or do something make Brenda feel better.\n\n\u201cBrenda, you\u2019ll always have my respect. As for anything between us, I never thought about it because I figured you\u2019d always be carrying a torch for Roldan. I\u2019m not opposed to the idea however. I mean we do have much in common and contrary to popular belief, I\u2019m not quite the unfeeling golem that most consider me to be. I do have feelings, even if I don\u2019t show them a lot and I would\u2019ve thought you knew that.\u201d\n\u201cI know you do, but you\u2019re in control of them or you at least direct them better. I worry that if by some chance something would to occur between us, that you would lose your edge. I don\u2019t want you to become weaker or distracted because of me. You\u2019re needed as you are now.\u201d\n\nYou\u2019re about to reply, and then there\u2019s a knock on the door.\n\n\u201cSorry to disturb your training, but I\u2019ve been told that the leader of the Eternal Dominion has been spotted at the northern border. He\u2019s on a horse by himself, and several soldiers are already escorting him to Fort Glory. Did you want to meet him there or did you want us to escort him all the way to the capital?\u201d a voice asks from behind the door.\n\nThe pair of you didn\u2019t expect him this soon, let alone be in the middle of the discussion you\u2019re having now. You\u2019d probably both like to wrap this up before having to focus on Edgar, though the question is if you\u2019d have enough time to do it anyway.", "action_results": [{"action": "Meet Edgar at the fort", "result": "You and Brenda might have a bit more on your mind now, but this is much more important.\n\n\u201cBrenda, I know emotions are running high right now, but I think we need to go meet Edgar. We can talk more about this later.\u201d You say.\n\u201cYes. Yes, of course. We need to get back to business. I\u2019ll be okay. This was silly anyway. Need to focus.\u201d Brenda says standing back up and wiping her eyes.\n\nYou and Brenda ride off to Fort Glory. The ride there is done with minimal talking, but that\u2019s sort of to be expected. The thing is you never seriously thought about Brenda in that way until she just brought it up today. Sure you always knew you had that bond from both of you being Eternals and the fact that you\u2019ve served together for so long. You may have even had the occasional sexual thought about her, but like you said to her, you always figured she would\u2019ve carried a torch for Roldan. You would\u2019ve just been a substitute at best.\n\nNow you\u2019re having scenarios in your head about the two of you being together in a closer way and you really shouldn\u2019t be thinking about that at this moment. Maybe she\u2019s right in a way maybe if you did have something together it would cause you to lose your edge. It\u2019s certainly clouding your judgment right now and you\u2019re not even together.\n\nWhen you get to Fort Glory you\u2019re told that Edgar is waiting for you in your meeting room. When you ask how he seems, the soldiers say he\u2019s been stand offish, but not overly hostile. About what you expected.\n\nWhen you and Brenda reach the meeting room, you ask her if she\u2019s ready, and she remarks that she is. The door opens and you both step in and see Edgar sitting in a chair with a big grin on his face. He stands up and addresses the both of you.\n\n\u201cWell it\u2019s about time! I\u2019ve missed the both of you! Come here!\u201d he says jovially with his arms out walking towards you.\n\n\u201cUh\u2026 yeah, hey Edgar. Good to see you too.\u201d Brenda says when he gives her a big hug.\n\nLooks like it\u2019s going to be a day of surprises\u2026\n\nEdgar stops hugging Brenda and then looks at you. You stand a little back from him as you don\u2019t want to be hugged, but Edgar doesn\u2019t try it.\n\n\u201cOh don\u2019t worry, I know you\u2019re the serious minded Bane of Rask! Bane of Nalin too now I hear! Heh, but how are you?\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m fine Edgar.\u201d You say.\n\u201cGood, good. I just have to say it\u2019s really great seeing the both of you again! I mean you two are like my brother and sister! No, you ARE my brother and sister!\u201d\n\nThe last time you heard this sort of sibling talk before was from Kane and if you weren\u2019t wary before, you certainly are now.\n\n\u201cEdgar, I\u2019m glad you seem to be in a good mood and all, but I sent envoys to contact you several times in the past and none of them ever returned. We always assumed you had them killed and were angry at us.\u201d Brenda says.\n\u201cYou did? When was the last one?\u201d\n\u201cMmm, last one was about six years ago I believe. After that, I saw no need to waste lives.\u201d\n\u201cAw! You should\u2019ve kept sending them! I don\u2019t know if you\u2019re aware of just how much anarchy and infighting I\u2019ve had to put up with! Those envoys probably got killed by the new Eternals and nobody ever told me about it! Hell, they might\u2019ve even gotten killed by run of the mill bandits, it was pretty lawless back in the early days! Shit, if I had known you guys weren\u2019t pissed at ME, I would\u2019ve made this trek sooner!\u201d\n\u201cWait, so you weren\u2019t mad at us?\u201d\n\u201cMad at you guys? What the hell for?! Oh you mean seceding from the Empire? Well I have to say I was more shocked than angry about that. I mean YOU especially.\u201d Edgar says pointing at you. \u201cBut in time I heard about what you two were doing down here and I respected what the pair of you were attempting to do.\u201d\n\nYou and Brenda look at each other, wondering what Edgar THINKS you both were trying to do.\n\n\u201cOh? And what was that exactly?\u201d Brenda asks.\n\u201cYou saw that the Empire was a lost cause, but you were trying to uphold a portion of it, though this patch of territory. I\u2019ve heard about your great success in keeping order and how you\u2019ve even added more land to your nation. Only an Eternal could do something like that and that\u2019s why both of you were successful!\u201d\n\nEdgar isn\u2019t far off, at least from your perspective. Though he probably has a more idealistic vision of it than the reality, which was this; you didn\u2019t know where else to go and over time Nalin was transformed into a \u201cmini Empire\u201d because you didn\u2019t know any other way. Brenda\u2019s reasons are probably based on simple emotional attachment.\n\n\u201cWell, we were doing the best we could under the circumstances, but you forged a whole new nation, so you\u2019ve been successful too Edgar.\u201d Brenda says.\n\u201cAh yes, but it wasn\u2019t easy! There were many times I almost wanted to give up and come join you two! But I knew I couldn\u2019t do that, I had a vision that I had to make work! A nation run by Eternals and I\u2019m proud to say it\u2019s all finally coming together and I think it\u2019s finally time for us, to reunite like we were meant to!\u201d\n\nYou and Brenda look at each other again.\n\n\u201cEdgar, I don\u2019t think it\u2019s quite as simple as all that. We\u2019re going to have to discuss this, all of it.\u201d Brenda remarks and the three of you sit down to do just that.\n\nEdgar starts off by saying that while he respects what you\u2019ve done, he doesn\u2019t think that you\u2019re going about things the right way and that you\u2019re still thinking like \u201cThe Empire\u201d and clinging to the old way of doing things. He points out that within his new regime he\u2019s pushed for advances in weapon technology like the Felkan Kingdom has and managed to even \u201cacquire\u201d such gunpowder based weapons. He\u2019s also managed to get a few mages to help in getting the Eternal process started again.\n\nWhen you bring up your experience with the new Eternals, Edgar reassures you that they don\u2019t have the discipline issues at all anymore. He says he\u2019s manages to instill the pride of being an Eternal into them and they\u2019ve shaped up enough to no longer behave like the bloodthirsty children you knew them to be. He also says the next generation of Eternals are almost ready to prove their worth now as well and says he has made sure that their training was stricter and more in line with how you were trained.\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t you see I\u2019m creating a new nation like the Empire, but how it should\u2019ve been run! A nation run by us Eternals! Only we are able to efficiently run things. The lessers can either wisely listen to us, or be crushed underfoot.\u201d\n\u201cThat sounds very nice Edgar, but what is our place in this new nation?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cWell, you\u2019d be helping of course! I mean we would be ruling as\u2026uh\u2026a council! Yes! A council of three! The Eternal Council!\u201d\n\u201cA council huh? Don\u2019t you think that might ruin your standing with the new eternals who you\u2019ve probably conditioned to listen to a single strong leader?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cAnd they\u2019ll still listen to me, because if they don\u2019t they\u2019ll get executed!\u201d\n\u201cSo\u2026you\u2019d actually be in charge then.\u201d\n\u201cWell yes. I mean no. I mean\u2026fuck, why are you fighting me on this!? I just want us to all work together again like we should\u2019ve been doing a long time ago!\u201d Edgar says in an exasperated tone. He\u2019s actually getting upset. You\u2019re not really being a dick on purpose, but you have a lot of reservations about this plan Edgar has, even if he has genuine good intentions.\n\nBrenda has been fairly silent for a while, but she suddenly stands up and says to Edgar that she needs to speak to you outside. He says okay, but is obviously troubled by how this is going.\n\nBrenda and you leave and after dismissing the soldiers standing outside, you\u2019re standing in an empty corridor.\n\n\u201cI think we should join Edgar.\u201d Brenda says.\n\u201cWhat? Just like that? You\u2019d be giving up control of your own nation. Don\u2019t you have some concerns?\u201d\n\u201cNot really. I think you heard me say not too long ago, that I never wanted it. And you heard him, it sounds like Edgar\u2019s done a good job so far and just wants our help.\u201d\n\u201cAnd I\u2019m not sure if I want to. I know he claims to have those second generation Eternals under control, but I just don\u2019t trust them. And now he\u2019s saying there\u2019s a whole new batch to deal with.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m sure we can handle it, that\u2019s probably why he wants us to help. Besides, we\u2019d be with others of our kind at least; don\u2019t you wish for that sometimes? To not constantly be alone?\u201d\n\u201cMaybe my experiences are different, but not particularly. Besides, you\u2019re not alone. You\u2019ve got me.\u201d\n\nThere is an uncomfortable silence with that statement. The unresolved issue between the pair of you has reared its ugly head again.\n\n\u201cI know, but I still have conflicting feelings about you and if we don\u2019t join Edgar he\u2019s going to declare war on us. Can we truly have any sort of meaningful relationship then? Would you become less focused with me on the back of your mind? If we join Edgar, the pressure to constantly run things would be off of us. We would have time to explore the potential for a deeper relationship. Look, I know your feelings on the new Eternals, but I don\u2019t think it\u2019s just that. You\u2019re in charge here at least in the military aspect of things, which quite frankly is the only thing that does matter to you. You don\u2019t want to give that up and I understand, but I think you need to look at the bigger picture here.\u201d", "action_results": [{"action": "Join Edgar", "result": "Maybe Brenda\u2019s got a point; maybe you need to let go of your control a bit. Edgar has certainly proven to be a more capable leader than when you last knew him, and he seems to genuinely want you and Brenda to have an equal partnership. You\u2019re still a little skeptical of that, but you\u2019ll see how it goes.\n\nThere\u2019s also your unresolved situation with Brenda. She has feelings for you and you realize you do have them for her. If there is the potential for something deeper here, maybe it would be better if the pressures of potential war with the Eternal Dominion were eliminated. Plus she wants to join, and you feel as if trusting in her judgment would be a positive step in your relationship.\n\n\u201cOkay Brenda. I agree. Let\u2019s join the Eternal Dominion.\u201d You say.\n\nBrenda smiles and gives you a hug added with a kiss, which startles you a little. You both very nearly make out in the hallway, but then you remember Edgar is still waiting for you.\n\nYou and Brenda return to the room where Edgar looks a bit on edge. You decide to let Brenda break the news to him.\n\n\u201cEdgar, we\u2019ve talked it over and we accept your offer.\u201d\n\nEdgar looks incredibly relieved and leaps out of his seat to shake both of your hands.\n\n\u201cGreat! That\u2019s great! Whew! For a moment I thought you weren\u2019t going to go for it, but I should\u2019ve known you\u2019d see the wisdom in this! This is going to be the best thing for all of us! You\u2019ll see!\u201d\n\u201cYou realize, there\u2019s going to be a lot of things to sort out Edgar.\u201d You say.\n\u201cOh yeah! I know we\u2019ll hammer out the details and we\u2019ll be equals in this. You don\u2019t know what this means to me! The rest of our family united again, nothing can stop us! Not even that traitor Warrick!\u201d\n\u201cWarrick?\u201d you and Brenda ask in unison.\n\u201cYeah, he joined the Felkan Kingdom didn\u2019t you know? He joined a former enemy of the Empire! I guess you two probably wouldn\u2019t know being so far away from it and all. Oh well, doesn\u2019t matter we\u2019ll take him down like with did with Kane! Eh? Remember that?\u201d Edgar says nudging you.\n\u201cYeah I remember Edgar.\u201d You reply.\n\nEdgar is so happy right now, you think he\u2019s almost about to cry. It\u2019s definitely not a side you\u2019ve ever seen of him before.\n\n\u201cAh, well I wish I could stick around longer to celebrate, but I have to return. Got some things to take care of and prepare before the great merging of our territories! But we\u2019ll be seeing a lot of each other soon enough!\u201d\n\nEdgar leaves in good spirits and biding you both goodbye. As you and Brenda see him ride off, you shake your head in almost disbelief after all that\u2019s happened today.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s been an overly emotionally day for you today I imagine.\u201d Brenda says.\n\u201cYou\u2019re not joking. I guess I am an emotionless golem compared to the rest of you.\u201d\n\u201cOh I wouldn\u2019t say that. You handled everything very well, for a golem.\u201d\n\u201cHeh. I just hope this is the right decision.\u201d\n\u201cYou still think you and Edgar will clash?\u201d\n\u201cAfter today, it\u2019s not really Edgar that I\u2019m concerned about, there\u2019s still all those newer generation of Eternals to deal with. I hope Edgar really does have them under control.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m sure everything will be fine. Odd news about Warrick though, thought he was dead.\u201d\n\u201cYeah, that was just one of the many surprises today.\u201d\n\u201cWell enough about them, I think we\u2019ve got us to discuss.\u201d\n\nYou and Brenda retire to your quarters at Fort Glory. After an hour or so of talking, you both decide that it\u2019s time to take it to the more physical side of things. The night of passion you spend with Brenda is just one of many you hope in the years to come.\n\nYear 53\n\nYou and Brenda now oversee the Nalin territory as a married couple. The transition hasn\u2019t been a completely easy one, there was a lot of outright dissent when the announcement that Nalin was going to be annexed by the Eternal Dominion. Many of the citizens saw you and Brenda as their protectors against the ED, and then you went and joined it, and they had no say in the matter.\n\nMultiple rebellions had to be put down, Edgar wanted to send in Eternals to take care of the problem, but you and Brenda disagreed with that idea as it would just reinforce the fears of the less rebellious population. You instead resorted to more traditional means using normal Nalin troops, though your soldiers weren\u2019t exactly happy about it as they felt betrayed as well.\n\nWhile things in Nalin eventually settled down, the area feels like it could erupt with another rebellion at any time. You and Brenda haven\u2019t really been able to enjoy your newfound relationship with all the problems cropping up, though you do make the time when you can.\n\nIn the meantime Edgar has suggested that you and Brenda move into the royal palace and live there instead. He\u2019s wanted you to do that for some time. He\u2019s also been hinting and letting the Eternals go in and reinforce law and order at Nalin once and for all.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019ve already joined the Eternal Dominion why not leave and live in the palace? It is the capital after all and we are partial rulers.\u201d Brenda asks.\n\u201cBecause there\u2019s still problems here and I\u2019d like to fix them before traipsing off to some cushy palace.\u201d You reply.\n\u201cYou\u2019re just stalling. We\u2019ve done the best we can to get this place to assimilate, and at this point it really would be for the best to let the Eternals come in and maintain the order now. We\u2019ve moved beyond this, and we deserve spending some downtime together. Besides, I would\u2019ve at least thought you\u2019d want to talk with Edgar about his battle plans to invade the Felkan Kingdom. Best way you can do that is to be at the palace.\u201d\n\u201cBecause\u2026ah shit. You\u2019re right. I am stalling. It\u2019s still hard to let go of personally managing this place I suppose. There\u2019s also the fact that I still don\u2019t like the idea of having to deal with those second gen Eternals on a daily basis.\u201d\n\u201cOh come on, you\u2019ve spoken with some of them when we visited the palace before. They all seem pretty respectful.\u201d Brenda says.\n\u201cYeah, I suppose, I dunno\u2026okay let\u2019s move to the palace. I suppose we do deserve the break of living on the edge of dirty peasants possibly storming the gates.\u201d\n\nBrenda moves closer and hugs you in a loving way and kisses you. Despite all the shit you\u2019ve had to deal with concerning Nalin, you\u2019ve never felt happier than you have with Brenda. It is still weird to you that you can even feel this way. You never thought it was possible to feel so comfortable with another person on this sort of level, not even with another Eternal. Brenda has a way about her that manages to make you feel like everything is going to be okay. Safe even.\n\nYou and Brenda send word to Edgar that you\u2019re both making your preparations to move and he sends a letter back stating how pleased he is and will send one of his personal royal carriages to come pick you. You accept, what the hell, why not ride in needless luxury?\n\nYou both pack what you can and intend on sending for the rest of your things later. The pair of you board the carriage when it arrives and settle in for a long ride.\n\n\u201cSee, told you the new Eternals respect us, you saw how polite our drivers are.\u201d Brenda says.\n\u201cWell these ones seem to be anyway. But I have been thinking more about it and I\u2019m starting to accept the idea of making this change. I\u2019ve been thinking of some ideas about Edgar\u2019s plans for the Felkan Kingdom invasion.\u201d\n\u201cI figured you\u2019d see a bright side to it.\u201d\n\u201cYeah, he\u2019s going to need my direct help on that plan. I\u2019m just glad I managed to talk him out of invading Rask. That would\u2019ve been a disaster.\u201d\n\nYou excitedly tell Brenda what you plan to tell Edgar for the Felkan Kingdom invasion, and she listens intently, but also gives her own input on some things. You take some of her ideas into consideration and generally enjoy this time you have. Later the pair of you begin to drift off together, not exactly the easiest thing to do in a carriage, but you\u2019ve always been a light sleeper any way.\n\nTimes passes and then suddenly\u2026\n\n\u201cSHIT! ATTACK!\u201d you hear one of the Eternal drivers shout followed by the sound of a pistol shot.\n\nYou instantly wake up and Brenda does likewise. You look out the window on your side and see several people armed with bows firing at the carriage. You then hear a loud crash that sounds like it came from in front of you, then the carriage screeches to a halt. The sounds of dying whinnies of horses soon follow.\n\nYou grab your own flintlock and fire off a shot from inside the carriage; Brenda meanwhile loads up her bow and fires off arrows from her side. You can hear the two Eternal drivers jumping off and yelling about getting to cover and closing the gap on these attackers. That\u2019s exactly what you had in mind; you never did get the hang of these gunpowder weapons.\n\nYou step out of the carriage and head for the nearest tree to get some cover. You look over at the other two Eternals ducked behind a large rock and motion them to run around the other way to help Brenda, They seem to understand.\n\nIn the meantime you manage to dodge arrows by ducking tree to tree and when you finally close the gap, you cleave one of your attackers\u2019 heads clean off. The rest of them draw their own swords and axes to attack, but in close combat it\u2019s no contest. You dispatch all of them with ease. They don\u2019t appear to be the unwashed rabble you\u2019ve been pissing off lately, they\u2019re too well armed and armored. You doubt if they\u2019re simple bandits either. These are probably mercenaries, but you don\u2019t have time to figure out right now who hired them, you turn around to go help Brenda.\n\nBy the time you get to the half destroyed carriage again, you don\u2019t hear anymore sounds of battle. When you see the Brenda\u2019s side of the carriage has been opened and some blood stain you begin to worry. Running over to the other side, you see several bodies of the attackers and then a few feet away, you see Brenda lying face down on the ground. Your heart sinks.\n\nYou run over to her and turn her over and your worst fears are confirmed, her eyes show no signs of life. Your eyes begin to water and a mixture of rage and sorrow causes you to cry out. As you hold her body you don\u2019t see any arrow or sword wounds, you do notice two gunshots to her chest though\u2026\n\nUpon the realization of who killed your beloved Brenda, you don\u2019t even get to face the treacherous dogs. The two Eternal drivers blast you from afar, one shot to your back and one to your head, killing you instantly.\n\nYour deaths are blamed on an ambush by some of the disgruntled population of Nalin. To his credit, Edgar doesn\u2019t believe the story and has the two Eternals executed for suspicion and incompetence.\n\nIt\u2019s of minor consequence though, the real conspirators of this assassination remain uncaught and you\u2019re still dead.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Don't join Edgar", "result": "Brenda\u2019s argument that you don\u2019t want to give up a lot of your autonomy is correct in many ways. Perhaps you are a little stuck in the past as well. You still remember having to save Edgar\u2019s life on more than one occasion. The idea of him telling you what to do is something that just doesn\u2019t sit right with you, even if you have put away your differences with him a long time ago. His council idea, while a valiant attempt is doomed to failure. Ultimately there can only be one real leader and while you don\u2019t mind following Brenda, you are not going to follow Edgar. The moment you disagree with him on something major it\u2019s going to get ugly again.\n\n\u201cBrenda I understand that you\u2019re officially in charge of Nalin so ultimately it is your decision, but call it pride or even a hunch, but I feel that joining with Edgar would only lead to bad things occurring. What we control now is stable and with minimal chaos, maybe it isn\u2019t the Empire or even the Eternal Dominion, but it is ours. If Edgar declares war on us for not joining, then so be it. At least that tells us where we always stood with him in the first place. And as for us, well if there is anything at all between us, then that relationship won\u2019t be effected whether we\u2019re at war with Edgar or not, so you shouldn\u2019t even let that cloud your judgment on this matter.\u201d\n\u201cAnd what if I decided that we should join with the Eternal Dominion? Would you leave?\u201d Brenda asks.\n\u201cHonestly I don\u2019t know what I\u2019d do\u2026(sigh) I suppose I\u2019d support your decision even though I didn\u2019t agree with it. Where that would leave us as far as a relationship is concerned, well as I said before, if there is anything genuine and meant to be there, then it\u2019ll survive it. Wouldn\u2019t change my feelings for you.\u201d\n\nBrenda smiles at your remark. The first you\u2019ve seen her do so all day. She then approaches and kisses you and you embrace her. You then both remember you\u2019ve got Edgar waiting for an answer.\n\nYou and Brenda return to the room where Edgar looks a bit on edge. You decide to let Brenda break the news to him.\n\n\u201cEdgar, I\u2019m sorry, but we both feel that Nalin should remain independent of the Eternal Dominion at this time.\u201d\n\u201cBut\u2026but you\u2019ve seen everything I\u2019ve done! I\u2019ve done all this for us! Eternals! Don\u2019t you see that?!\u201d Edgar says in an aspirated tone.\n\u201cWe\u2026know you did and we appreciate it, but I think our path is different from yours.\u201d Brenda says and then looks at you. Edgar notices this and tries a different tactic.\n\u201cOh wait. You two are together now? Well that\u2019s great! I mean I wasn\u2019t aware of it, but that\u2019s great! You weren\u2019t worried I was going to try anything did you? Ha ha, I\u2019ve got tons of concubines! I wouldn\u2019t dream of coming between you two! Heh, so if that was your only concern, you can join me and\u2026\u201d\n\u201cNo Edgar, it\u2019s not that. We\u2019re just happy with the way things are, but thank you all the same.\u201d Brenda says.\n\nAnd here it comes. Edgar\u2019s face changes to red and he begins breathing heavier.\n\n\u201cHAPPY? How the fuck can you two be so damn happy living in such mediocrity?! You\u2019re fucking Eternals! We\u2019re supposed to be ruling the fucking world! You two are no better than that traitor Warrick!\u201d\n\u201cWarrick?\u201d you and Brenda ask in unison.\n\u201cYeah, he joined the Felkan Kingdom didn\u2019t you know? He joined a former enemy of the Empire! Of course you two probably haven\u2019t been keeping up on events since you\u2019ve been playing grab ass with each other for the past fifteen years! By the Emperor\u2019s dead cock, you didn\u2019t wait long for Roldan to be dead did you?\u201d\n\nThis remark causes Brenda\u2019s calm demeanor to shift entirely and she stands up and draws her weapon.\n\n\u201cYou say one more fucking thing about my dead husband, and I\u2019ll send you back to the Eternal Dominion in fucking pieces!\u201d\n\nEdgar draws his own weapon, but was a little surprised by her response. It\u2019s all you can do to hold Brenda back.\n\n\u201cAlright, I think\u2026\u201d you start to say before Edgar cuts you off.\n\n\u201cAnd you! What the fuck happened to you? You were supposed to be the BEST of us! You were the one that was the leader! Now look at you! You\u2019re following Brenda because she\u2019s spread her legs for you? Where the hell are your balls? You know when we were young I disliked you a lot, but I always respected you. After our escape from Fort Defiance I liked you as well as respected you. Now? I can\u2019t say I feel either.\u201d\n\u201cOkay Edgar\u2026\u201d\n\u201cOut of all of us YOU were the one that was supposed to prevent the Empire from falling! What did you do? You ran away! You know what I did? I stayed until the bitter end picking up the pieces! I saw the fucking capital in flames! I tried so hard to prevent it\u2026I tried\u2026and you didn\u2019t help me, (sob) none of you did\u2026\u201d\n\nAt this point Edgar collapses back in his seat sobbing and going on about how he failed. His motivations for everything he\u2019s done are a little clearer now. Even after the verbal abuse he laid down on Brenda, she sees now he probably didn\u2019t mean any of it.\n\nAfter all these years, Edgar is still like a teenager trying to prove himself by over compensating. You actually feel sorry for him. You can only imagine the internal torment he\u2019s been going through all these years since the Empire fell. Justifications, rationalizations, outright blocking out reality, he\u2019s probably done it all.\n\nYou sit down next to Edgar and pat him on the back.\n\n\u201cEdgar. There was nothing any of us could\u2019ve done. It was a doomed mission to begin with. You did your best and that\u2019s all anyone could\u2019ve done. Even an Eternal.\u201d\n\nEdgar tries to compose himself while you give your pep talk.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019ve accomplished much and you should be proud of your achievements on their own merits, not as compensation for perceived failings. This is your path and your destiny. Brenda and I, we have our own path.\u201d\n\u201cOkay\u2026okay\u2026\u201d Edgar sniffles.\n\nBefore he leaves he apologizes to Brenda and says he has no intention on invading Nalin, but he still hopes that one day you\u2019ll reconsider in joining him\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s possible. Perhaps one day our paths will reunite.\u201d You answer.\n\u201cI hope that day will be soon, goodbye my Eternal brother.\u201d Has says extending his hand.\n\u201cGoodbye Edgar.\u201d You reply and shake his hand.\n\nAfter Edgar leaves the fort you sit down and run your hands over your face and taking a deep breath from all the emotional baggage you had to put up with today.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s been an overly emotionally day for you today I imagine.\u201d Brenda says.\n\u201cYou\u2019re not joking. I guess I am an emotionless golem compared to the rest of you.\u201d\n\u201cOh I wouldn\u2019t say that. You handled everything very well, for a golem.\u201d\n\u201cHeh. Well anyway that\u2019s one less thing to worry about.\u201d\n\u201cYou don\u2019t think we shouldn\u2019t still be concerned about him? I mean I know he said he wouldn\u2019t invade, but there\u2019s always the possibility of a sneak attack.\u201d\n\u201cEdgar\u2019s a lot of things, but he not a backstabber. At least he wouldn\u2019t be for us. If he ever does decide to do it, I promise you, it\u2019ll be announced in a very dramatic fashion weeks in advance.\u201d\n\u201cYes, I suppose you\u2019re right. Odd news about Warrick though, thought he was dead.\u201d\n\u201cYeah, that was just one of the many surprises today. But I guess that was his path and how he dealt with the fall. It\u2019s all in the past now anyway, I\u2019m not going to judge him.\u201d\n\u201cWell enough about them, I think we\u2019ve got us to discuss.\u201d\n\nYou and Brenda retire to your quarters at Fort Glory. After an hour or so of talking, you both decide that it\u2019s time to take it to the more physical side of things. The night of passion you spend with Brenda is just one of many in the years to come.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 55\n\nYou and Brenda now rule the nation of Nalin as a married couple. There has been some issue on what your official titles are now. The simplest choices would be emperor and empress or king and queen. Eventually Brenda settled for imperatrix, which would officially make you imperator, though you still go by general for the most part.\n\nIn any case life has been good. You don\u2019t even mind that things have been slow since you conquered all those tribals in the east. You\u2019ve been taking a slightly more active role in running the nation from an administrative point of view, but sometimes you still long for the day of a good battle. When that day comes you\u2019ve also tried to keep up on the changing times of changing warfare. While the days of close combat are far from over, if the Eternal Dominion is starting to slowly incorporate firearms into their ranks, then you better do likewise if only to maintain a show of strength.\n\nThe ED isn\u2019t hostile though and you maintain a good trading relationship with them. Edgar still hopes you\u2019re going to join him one day, especially since you know he\u2019s got designs on going to war with the Felkan Kingdom (You gave him some friendly advice to not bother with invading Rask).\n\nHe\u2019d probably like you to at least be involved in a joint military operation with him, but you think he\u2019s over extending himself and the Felkan Kingdom is no pushover. It\u2019s not exactly like you\u2019re near the Felkan Kingdom as far as location is concerned either. All you\u2019d be doing is having soldiers die in a war that doesn\u2019t even directly benefit your nation.\n\nThat being said, Nalin hasn\u2019t sided with the Felkan Kingdom either in any way. Again, due to your location, you\u2019ve had minimal contact with them. Brenda thought about allying with them in the past, but that was never seriously considered (Good thing too). Somehow though you imagine you\u2019re going to get dragged into this saber rattling between the Eternal Dominion and the Felkan Kingdom.\n\nFunny how that feeling turns out to be true.\n\nLate one night you and Brenda are awakened from your sleep. Some envoy from the Felkan Kingdom has sudden decided to show up in the middle of the night. Demanding to see the pair of you and claiming it\u2019s very urgent. You and Brenda don\u2019t get much sleep as it is, so you\u2019re inclined to tell your soldiers to just shoot him and go back to bed, but you\u2019ve got a good idea of who it is.\n\n\u201cYou really think it\u2019s him?\u201d Brenda ask.\n\u201cYou really think it isn\u2019t? It was only a matter of time. Ugh, I guess we better get this over with.\u201d\n\nYou shout at the guard behind the door to hold the envoy in the meeting room and keep a close eye on him until you and Brenda get there. After grumbling and getting dress you and Brenda head to the meeting room where you see a familiar face. He\u2019s missing an eye, all of his hair and his face has a few more winkles and scars on it now, but you still recognize him.\n\n\u201cWarrick, you better have a damn good reason for waking us up in the middle of the night.\u201d You say.\n\u201c\u2026you aren\u2019t surprised it\u2019s me?\u201d\n\u201cNot really, I actually thought you\u2019d show up sooner, and how the hell did you manage to join the Felkan Kingdom anyway?\u201d\n\u201cIt\u2019s a long story\u2026but well anyway, I\u2019m glad to see you both. I was surprised to hear about your marriage. Didn\u2019t think that\u2026\u201d\n\u201cWarrick, I\u2019m tired as well. It\u2019s not easy running a nation and I\u2019ve been doing it even longer than my husband has, so get to the damn point of the visit or let this wait until tomorrow.\u201d Brenda demands rubbing one of her eyes.\n\nWarrick looks a little hurt by your remarks, but he gets on with it.\n\n\u201cVery well, to business. The Felkan Kingdom wants an alliance with you.\u201d\n\u201cYeah sort of figured that. Anything else?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cErm, no, but\u2026\u201d\n\u201cOkay then, the answer is no. We can talk more about old times tomorrow, if you want. Good night.\u201d Brenda says starting to turn around to go back to bed.\n\u201cHey wait! No? Just like that?! You don\u2019t even want to consider the benefits?\u201d Warrick asks.\n\u201cWhat benefits? If we ally with the Felkan Kingdom, all it\u2019s going to do is piss off the Eternal Dominion who we have a good relationship with diplomatically and tradewise. What is the Felkan Kingdom going to offer?\u201d Brenda replies.\n\u201cHow the fact that we\u2019re more likely to leave you alone after the war with the Eternal Dominion is over?\u201d\n\u201cWarrick\u2026Warrick\u2026you should know threats aren\u2019t going to sway us.\u201d You remark.\n\u201cWhat?! NO! I meant, argh look. What I\u2019m saying is if the unfortunate should happen and the Eternal Dominion wins don\u2019t you think that they\u2019ll try to invade you next?\u201d\n\u201cI suppose it\u2019s possible yes.\u201d\n\u201cWhereas if the Felkan Kingdom wins, we have no intention on even expanding our borders.\u201d\n\u201cProbably true, but that still doesn\u2019t help us during the war. A war that is really between you and the ED.\u201d\n\u201cI can\u2019t believe I\u2019m trying to convince YOU of all people to go to war. I would\u2019ve thought you would\u2019ve jumped at this chance!\u201d Warrick says in a raised tone.\n\u201cThings change Warrick, and just because I\u2019m not jumping through your hoops doesn\u2019t mean I\u2019ve lost a taste for battle. But I\u2019m thinking on a grander scale now. Going to war with the Eternal Dominion doesn\u2019t do us or Nalin any good. It\u2019s just going to result in dead soldiers at best. We\u2019ve found that our continued expansion eastward is much better in building up the country. Maximum gain with minimum losses.\u201d You say.\n\nWarrick paces a bit and sputters. He obviously thought this was going to go better.\n\n\u201cSo that\u2019s it then huh? You just take Edgar\u2019s side over mine. I thought you didn\u2019t like him anyway.\u201d\n\u201cWarrick, it\u2019s not about taking sides. If you haven\u2019t noticed we\u2019re not exactly allied with the ED either. We trade with them and are on friendly terms, but that\u2019s out of convenience more than anything. Trust me, Edgar\u2019s been trying to get us to join for years. I don\u2019t know what you\u2019re even worried about, the Eternal Dominion is formidable I\u2019m sure, but the Felkan Kingdom survived a war with the Empire. I\u2019m guessing you should be able to handle the ED.\u201d\n\u201cI don\u2019t know if we can.\u201d He calmly states.\n\nThere\u2019s a moment of silence where you weren\u2019t expecting him to say such a thing so blatantly like that.\n\n\u201cLook, I didn\u2019t want to say anything. The Felkan Kingdom is what I serve now and I serve it to the best of my abilities as I did the Empire. To do anything less would be a failure as an Eternal on my part.\u201d\n\u201cBut?\u201d\n\u201cBut I see the weaknesses that we have and I can\u2019t ignore them. It\u2019s not public knowledge to anyone outside the kingdom, but we\u2019re also suffering a large gnoll invasion from the west. It caught us completely by surprise. The Felkan Kingdom is a mighty nation, but right now it\u2019s straining its resources just to stay alive. A war with the ED\u2026and we all know it\u2019s coming, could break us. The funny thing is I feel like I\u2019m in the Empire all over again. You know during the bad times.\u201d\n\u201cI think they were ALL bad times Warrick. We just made the best of them.\u201d Brenda says.\n\u201cPerhaps. (sigh) I guess I can\u2019t convince you ally with us, I mean you\u2019ve got a good thing going on here and you shouldn\u2019t wreck it. I\u2019m glad. Glad that some of us are doing well. But couldn\u2019t you at least break off your trade routes? I mean that would at least cause Edgar\u2019s attention to be diverted. He might suspect you\u2019re up to something and not attack the Felkan Kingdom. At least not right away. It might be enough time for us to put up a better defense.\u201d\n\u201cYeah and he might also attack us instead.\u201d Brenda remarks.\n\u201cI don\u2019t think he will, because then he has to divert his own soldiers and resources and then he\u2019ll be worried that we will attack. He can\u2019t fight a two front war, even Edgar\u2019s smart enough not to risk that. And that\u2019s if he dares fighting you in the first place.\u201d\n\u201cThat\u2019s a big if, there Warrick.\u201d You say.\n\nYou and Brenda tell Warrick you\u2019ll both discuss this in a little more detail outside. He says he understands and will await your decision.\n\nYou and Brenda don\u2019t have too much to talk about really, since it\u2019s basically coming down to helping out a former comrade in arms and starting a possible war with another one or avoiding the situation entirely. Brenda is for staying neutral; oddly you\u2019re actually of two minds of this.", "action_results": [{"action": "Stay neutral", "result": "As much as you might like to help Warrick out, you just really aren\u2019t in a position to do so on any meaningful level. Breaking your trade routes with the Eternal Dominion is just foolish. You tell Brenda you\u2019ll break the news this time.\n\nYou both enter the room where Warrick awaits your answer.\n\n\u201cSorry Warrick, while we do understand your troubles, we can\u2019t help you. What you\u2019re asking for is too much and we see no benefit for us or Nalin in general.\u201d\n\nWarrick\u2019s face doesn\u2019t drop and he doesn\u2019t get any angrier, All in all, he takes your response a lot better than Edgar did.\n\n\u201cVery well. I shall tell my superiors that you are not interested in any sort of alliance with us. I hope that one day this may change. I suppose I will also take my leave now, sorry to have bothered the both of you, but it was still good to see you again.\u201d He says and leaves immediately.\n\nYou and Brenda remark on he was probably more disappointed than he let on, but what\u2019s done is done and you\u2019ve all made your choices now. The pair of you go back to bed and try to get some sleep.\n\nYear 56\n\n\u201cWe\u2019ve got to do something about this epidemic. If this keeps up we\u2019re not going to have a population left to rule over!\u201d Brenda says.\n\u201cWell so far the problem has hit the eastern territory of Nalin yet. We\u2019ve scoured the land for healers, medics and a few hedge wizards and they\u2019re doing all they can, but this thing is really bad in a few of the towns. I\u2019ve quarantined all of the major areas where this plague is taking place, but understandably a lot the soldiers aren\u2019t exactly keen on their duties there mainly because they don\u2019t want to get sick either. The only ones who aren\u2019t kicking up much of a fuss about it are soldiers with families in those towns.\u201d You reply.\n\u201c(Sigh) Shit. I\u2019ve talked to all of the advisors and nobody has a clue where, who and why this thing might\u2019ve started. You got any ideas?\u201d\n\u201cUnfortunately the only one I can think of just a hunch, and I\u2019d rather not believe it. I think Warrick, or at least the Felkan Kingdom had something to do with it. For all we know they could\u2019ve had saboteurs in here for years planning this.\u201d\n\u201cIf it was them, I hope Edgar rips them a new asshole now that he\u2019s at war with them.\u201d\n\u201cBe that as it may, I\u2019m still hoping that wasn\u2019t the case, not because I don\u2019t want to believe a former friend could do this to us, but more because it doesn\u2019t reflect well on my duties to protect the nation. I mean if the Felkan Kingdom had saboteurs here, how was it that I didn\u2019t see it until now?\u201d\n\u201cYou can\u2019t start doubting yourself, we need to focus on the problem at hand first.\u201d\n\u201cYou\u2019re right of course. Well as I see it, if we really want to stop the plague, we need to kill everyone in the quarantined areas, then cleanse everything with fire.\u201d\n\u201cWait, hold on. There\u2019s no other way? Can\u2019t we just have more medics and healers transferred to those places?\u201d\n\u201cI don\u2019t see what good that would do. From the reports a lot of these people are practically dead or dying as it is. It doesn\u2019t do any good for them to linger and possibly get others sick. Better to just kill them now and save the medics to observe the places that only have a few sick people.\u201d\n\u201cYou do realize that something like this is not going to be popular right? I mean are the soldiers even going to be willing to do such a thing?\u201d\n\u201cWell we try pretty hard to keep up the old ways of Empire indoctrination, I don\u2019t think we should have major problems, though I suppose those with families might protest (Sigh) I guess we\u2019ll have to take care of them as well.\u201d\n\u201cThis isn\u2019t sounding like a great idea. Maybe we should just keep the quarantine and let them all slowly die off. We could always say we\u2019re looking for a cure, and whether one comes or not, the problem will take care of itself.\u201d Brenda suggests.\n\u201cThe problem with that plan is we\u2019re diverting soldiers from more important duties and continuing to risk lives that can still be useful to Nalin.\u201d You say.\n\nYou and Brenda weigh the pros and cons of your limited choices.", "action_results": [{"action": "Kill everyone in the quarantine", "result": "Ultimately, when in doubt killing everyone has worked for you on several occasions in the past, no reason to change tactic now. Brenda really doesn\u2019t think this is such a good idea, but you convince her that if there is going to be problems you might as well get them over with quickly.\n\nFirst thing you do is get every remaining \u201cold guard\u201d officer that\u2019s still serving since the days of the Empire and have them put in charge of this operation. You know they won\u2019t even question this command coming from you. Then you tell them to go through their personnel rosters to see who is going to be up for this grim task. You personally suggest to include all of those elves you made into orphans years ago. While they may all be good indoctrinated soldiers now, you think they wouldn\u2019t hesitate at a chance to kill some humans and would be good candidates for this job. Besides, elves seem to be more resistant to the plague anyway.\n\nThree entire towns are put to the sword, gun and torch until there is nothing left, but burned corpses and hollowed out buildings. In keeping with non-humans being seemingly less affected by the plague, you have kobolds remove the bodies and clean out what they can. They\u2019re more than happy to do this as they get the chance to loot some stuff for their own impoverished reservation you\u2019ve set aside for them.\n\nThis action causes an outcry, which hasn\u2019t been seen in a long time. Not even when conscription was implemented were things this bad. As predicted you have to execute several soldiers who took up arms against you during the cleansing. Many Nalin citizens aren\u2019t happy with the fact that you\u2019ve implemented several non-humans in helping with this massacre as well. Indeed some begin calling you their inhuman \u201cEternal overlords.\u201d\n\nAs far as the plague goes, you did successfully wipe it out from being an ongoing danger. Medics, healers and the like are able to focus their attentions on the places where it\u2019s less of a problem and eventually it is gone completely.\n\nThe repercussions of this action are that you now have a split nation. Eastern Nalin is still prosperous as the plague barely even reached the area. You also still have all of your supporters mainly from there who appreciate the fact that you stopped the plague from spreading. Western Nalin however is a mess and pockets of lawlessness begin to appear. You naturally take steps in trying to curb this problem by being more oppressive\u2026\n\nYear 60\n\n\u201cYou want to move the capital?\u201d\n\u201cI don\u2019t see why not. It\u2019s obvious that eastern Nalin is where the prosperity is, I don\u2019t see why us as rulers shouldn\u2019t be living there instead.\u201d Brenda remarks.\n\u201cI do. By having the seat of power here, we still maintain control over this area and are displaying a show of dominance. If we go running to the east, it looks like we\u2019re effectively abandoning the area and that\u2019s going to make the less desirable elements here even more motivated to pursue whatever lawlessness they want. We need to maintain control.\u201d\n\u201cWell what if I don\u2019t? Ever since the plague hit, it\u2019s been a downward spiral for western Nalin. We\u2019ve tried and tried to get it back to what it once was, but throwing soldiers at the problem is just a bandage. It didn\u2019t help that you had soldiers shaking down people looking for other possible Felkan Kingdom saboteurs.\u201d\n\u201cI had to be sure to make sure something like the plague didn\u2019t happen again!\u201d\n\u201cLook, I know you don\u2019t like losing control of anything and we\u2019ve had arguments about how the plague was handled to begin with, but we are in a spot now that we need to make a serious change in things if we want to avoid getting overthrown by mobs and our heads on pikes in the future.\u201d\n\u201cOh come on, like that\u2019s going to happen.\u201d\n\u201cI said in the future, not immediately. And don\u2019t be so sure of yourself, you\u2019re not twenty anymore you know.\u201d\n\u201cI know that!\u201d\n\u201cDo you? Because sometime I wonder. I love you and you\u2019re still a great warrior and you\u2019re probably still better than most men half your age, but you can\u2019t go around thinking you\u2019re invincible anymore. There are guns now you know, someone could just assassinate you from a few feet away and not even engage you in combat. The days of the Empire are over, you have to realize that.\u201d\n\u201cI know that too, Brenda.\u201d\n\u201cAnd that\u2019s why you\u2019re frustrating to deal with sometimes, because you DO know it, yet sometimes you completely lapse into the mindset of the good old days.\u201d\n\u201cSo what the hell are you proposing? That we just relinquish complete control of the western Emp\u2026Nalin? That we run and hide to the east, because it\u2019s easier?\u201d\n\u201cLet me put this into terms you can understand. Eastern Nalin is healthy, thriving even. Western Nalin is very sick and slowly dying. It can\u2019t be cured, so what\u2019s the best way to deal with it? Cut it off and focus on the more important area that is still of use.\u201d\n\nBrenda\u2019s analogy to your idea of how you handled the plague makes sense even if you don\u2019t want to admit it. Brenda\u2019s right about a lot of things, you aren\u2019t young anymore. You haven\u2019t been for a long time and even though you aren\u2019t even on the frontlines of any fighting anymore you find yourself getting tired and weary of the constant conflict that Nalin has been suffering from the past few years.\n\nYou\u2019ve tried to halt the ravages of time to the best of your abilities, but ultimately even as an Eternal, you\u2019re not immune to such things. You begin to wonder if the past few years were more about you wanting to relive your \u201cyouth\u201d a bit rather than seeking out possible traitors, saboteurs, and other dissidents.\n\nYou could insist on staying and Brenda would probably go along grudgingly, but she\u2019s also right. You\u2019re just going to become even more hated by the citizens in this area and it only takes one dumb ass peasant with a with a gun or even a bomb, to kill you. Maybe at one point you wouldn\u2019t have even cared if that had happened, but you\u2019ve had a long and enjoyable life with Brenda for several years now. A relationship you never even dreamed of before it happened.\n\nYou see now that want to live as long as possible with her as your older years advance, because ultimately she is the only other one you have in your life and the only other one that is going to understand you.\n\n\u201cOkay Brenda. Let\u2019s cut off the sick limb.\u201d You say.\n\nBrenda is happy you see reason and her plan is set in motion.\n\nOver the next few months, the Nalin government is relocated to one of the bigger central towns in the eastern territory, Adlen. The town soon swells to become a city with the influx of people. Military is pulled out of the west next. A few soldiers desert and don\u2019t follow in this exodus, but you just let it go. If they don\u2019t want to be here, then it\u2019s better off that they aren\u2019t. Most merchants and businesses are the next to follow.\n\nAfter these major transfers, western Nalin is declared no longer under protection and an independent territory. This causes some debate on if eastern Nalin is still \u201cNalin\u201d since technically it was never part of the territory originally. After some discussion eastern Nalin is renamed the nation Naleen. Most of the eastern citizens have oddly developed an accent in which they\u2019ve been pronouncing \u201cNalin\u201d like that anyway for years.\n\nAs for Nalin, the people that still dwell there are either happy about it or too poor to move. You figure the biggest winners will be the kobolds, at least until the Eternal Dominion sends in forces to take the land, assuming they have the time and manpower. You\u2019ve heard they\u2019re doing well against the Felkan Kingdom, but things could always change.\n\nIn any event none of it is your concern anymore. Still, you hope that this really is the last time you have to make a big move like this again, you don\u2019t know if you want to bother with a third time.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 70\n\nIt\u2019s a calm night and you stand outside on the balcony of your palace and look down at the city of Adlen. Brenda comes out to join you.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s good when everything is going well isn\u2019t it?\u201d Brenda asks.\n\u201cIt\u2019s definitely going better for us now. Certainly going better than it is for Prime Eternal Edgar too.\u201d\n\u201cAlways thought that was a ridiculous title. I don\u2019t understand how he\u2019s at a stalemate with the Felkan Kingdom, he was doing so well against them for the longest time.\u201d\n\u201cI figured he\u2019s eventually over extend himself, though he\u2019s also had a few personal set backs like several assassination attempts for one. From his last letter he doesn\u2019t sound like he\u2019s doing too well healthwise. He says the last two times he\u2019s been stabbed, the assassin\u2019s knife was coated with a heavy duty poison. The bolt that went into his back was too. If he wasn\u2019t an Eternal he\u2019d probably be dead by now.\u201d\n\u201cWell that\u2019s better than Warrick.\u201d\n\u201cYeah, but from that letter Edgar sent, he said Warrick died at the battle of Yaquan six years ago. Regardless of his loyalties, he died like how an Eternal is supposed to die. Edgar will be lucky if he dies from a successful assassination, because it\u2019s sounding like the poison build up in his system might get him first. He\u2019s sick and weak. It\u2019s a shame really, I remember him being so hale and hearty at one time. If I were him I\u2019d probably give up the ruling nonsense, join his soldiers in the next battle and die in one last blaze of glory.\u201d\n\u201cIs that how you wish to die? You want to go out in one last blaze of glory?\u201d Brenda asks.\n\u201cEh, sometimes I still think about it, but not really seriously. I guess I\u2019ve finally grown past it.\u201d You laugh.\n\u201cDidn\u2019t think that would happen actually.\u201d\n\u201cWell, if Naleen starts suffering an unstoppable rebellion I guess I still got a shot at it. I\u2019ll meet the unwashed mobs with sword in hand.\u201d\n\u201cHeh, well if that happens I guess I\u2019ll join you, because I\u2019m too old to be moving the capital again.\u201d\n\nYou both smile and hold each other side by side still looking out at the city. Yes, life is good when things are running well.\n\nYear 75\n\nYou, Brenda and your elite guards step into Edgar\u2019s palace, and it\u2019s every bit as impressive as you thought it would be. Lots of statues, symbols of war, etc. Certainly a lot of bigger than your humble palace, but then Edgar always was one for overcompensation. You all are taken through the palace to see Edgar, along the way you and Brenda continue to take in some of the sights.\n\n\u201cIsn\u2019t weird that all those years we served the Empire that this the first time we\u2019ve ever stepped foot into this place?\u201d Brenda says.\n\u201cYeah, Edgar must\u2019ve spent a fortune rebuilding it.\u201d\n\u201cDid he ever actually meet the emperor?\u201d\n\u201cNo he never did. He said he assumed that he either fled or burned up in the fire, by the time he got to the palace. For all we know, maybe there never was an emperor.\u201d\n\u201cJust one of life\u2019s mysteries I guess.\u201d\n\nEventually you reach the royal bedroom. An older woman is sitting on a chair outside sobbing. She looks regal. You wonder if this is \u201cEva\u201d that he\u2019s referred to a couple times in his letters. She\u2019s not exactly his queen since she\u2019s human, but you know she is definitely his companion. Another older muscular man with a stern expression is standing nearby pacing. When you arrive, he frowns even more.\n\n\u201cOh so you two decided to come after all. A pity.\u201d He says.\n\u201cAnd who the hell are you exactly?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cHmm, not surprised a deserter like you doesn\u2019t remember me. My name is Rissok and I served under you during the Empire riots. I saw you kill my friend in cold blood. A true Eternal who served with honor!\u201d\n\n\u201cOooooh now I remember. You and your other buddy were looting houses while Felding was attempting to rape a woman. Yeah, real honor there.\u201d You say.\n\u201cDon\u2019t mock me! You are only here because the Prime allows it! If it were up to me, I would have you labeled as a traitor and have you killed!\u201d\n\nAt this point your guards take up a defensive stance and Rissok\u2019s do likewise.\n\n\u201cWell if you\u2019re going to make a move, better do it quick.\u201d You say.\n\u201cStop it! Stop it please! My Edgar is dying! Can\u2019t we have one moment without murder and killing?\u201d the woman sobs.\n\nAt this point Rissok storms off without another word, the guards stick around and tell you that you and Brenda may enter at any time, but your own guards must stay outside. Before you do, Brenda addresses the woman.\n\n\u201cWe apologize, we did not mean to cause you distress. Are you Lady Eva by any chance?\u201d\n\u201c(sniff) Yes. Yes I am.\u201d\n\u201cEdgar\u2019s spoken highly of you in his letters.\u201d Brenda says which causes a slight smile on her face.\n\u201cI know that he\u2019s better than me in everyway being an Eternal, yet he shows such compassion and sweetness by making me, a non-eternal, his only companion. I don\u2019t know what I ever did to deserve such an honor, but I will always be grateful for it.\u201d\n\nBrenda asks her if she wants to come in too, but she says she has already said her goodbyes and that he wants to see you both alone when you arrive. Having no other questions, you both enter the bedroom.\n\nWhen you see Edgar, he\u2019s lying in his bed and looking completely unwell. He\u2019s pale and his face has a gaunt looking appearance. You can\u2019t even believe this is the same man you fought along side at Fort Defiance.\n\n\u201cEdgar?\u201d you ask just to make sure.\n\u201c(wheeze) ah\u2026you both came\u2026I knew you would. (cough cough) There isn\u2019t much time\u2026I trust you\u2019ve read my letter?\u201d\n\u201cYes.\u201d\n\u201cWell then you know that when my death comes, anarchy will ensue.\u201d\n\u201cDon\u2019t you have a successor?\u201d\n\u201cI don\u2019t know if you\u2019ve noticed, but I imagine Brenda has and that\u2019s we can\u2019t have children.\u201d\n\nYou look at Brenda and she nods and mentions she learned that with Roldan when they were together. It\u2019s never been a topic you\u2019ve brought up, but you always had your suspicions. Edgar continues his speech.\n\n\u201cWe Eternals seem to be sterile or barren. I\u2019ve had people try to look into this problem, but they haven\u2019t come up with anything yet. It would seem what makes us superior, takes away our ability to reproduce. Maybe it\u2019s nature balancing itself out, so that we don\u2019t take over the world like so many of our younger eternals seem to want to do. Anyway (cough cough) I\u2019ve drawn up official forms for the only two I think could be proper successors\u2026\u201d\n\nYou already know where Edgar is going with this.\n\n\u201cOh no\u2026don\u2019t say that\u2019s why you dragged us out here\u2026Edgar they aren\u2019t going to listen to us! We aren\u2019t even ED citizens!\u201d\n\u201cThis is rather unrealistic Edgar.\u201d Brenda adds.\n\n\u201cThat doesn\u2019t matter! You\u2019re still Eternals! (wheeze cough) They\u2019ll listen more likely than you believe, why do you think I always spoke so highly of you two? The younger ones will most likely follow without question, your major opposition will probably be the second generation\u2026but there aren\u2019t too many of them left, you could easily purge them all if you had to. Please\u2026I tried to build something here\u2026(cough) but I can\u2019t go on any longer. The only people who can guide the Eternal Dominion into something worthier are you two. I\u2019m asking not just as a dying man or friend \u2026but as a (cough cough) a fellow Eternal\u2026\u201d\n\nYou and Brenda look at each other and you both know your answer. Edgar\u2019s trying to guilt you into this mess, but it\u2019s just not going to work. This plan of his is doomed to fail and you know it. Every high ranking Eternal is probably going to be vying for power. And you and Brenda have your own nation, your own lives, and you\u2019ve told Edgar this before, but it\u2019s time to tell him one last time.\n\n\u201cEdgar, we\u2019re not accepting this position. First of all it\u2019s not realistic despite what you want to believe and I think deep down you know that. Second of all, these are your final moments Edgar. Don\u2019t worry about what you accomplished and if it\u2019ll last. Just be proud of it now and spend your last moments with your wife or whatever you consider her. That\u2019s who you need to be concerned about.\u201d\n\nEdgar hacks and coughs up blood and spits it into a nearby bucket and struggles to breathe, but manages to answer you.\n\n\u201cVery well\u2026you\u2019ve made your point. And you\u2019re probably right. You usually were. (wheeze) Bring my\u2026my wife in. I do wish to spend the last moments with her\u2026and farewell\u2026my Eternal siblings.\u201d\n\u201cFarewell Edgar.\u201d You say with a nod. Brenda says goodbye as well before you both leave.\n\nYou step outside and tell Eva that Edgar wants to spend his remaining time left with her. She seems happy with this idea though of course still upset. She runs in and you, Brenda and the rest of your group are escorted out and back to the carriage that brought you here.\n\nWhen you finally get back to Naleen, you and Brenda are both glad to be home, though you both talk for quite awhile about this recent event and how it\u2019s odd to think that you both are going to be the only original Eternals left soon.\n\nA couple days later you get the news that Edgar has died and that the new leadership of the Eternal Dominion as of now is uncertain. Fortunately you don\u2019t really have to worry about it. Naleen is strong enough and far enough away that any sort of chaotic attack from the new ruler is very unlikely. You suspect that most of the fighting will be within the ED itself, or pushing ahead against the Felkan Kingdom.\n\nIn the meantime you wonder about your own legacy and if you\u2019ll be remembered on any meaningful level. Brenda isn\u2019t really concerned about it; she figures you\u2019ll both be in the history books as the first rulers of Naleen if nothing else. That sounds fine, but you wonder if that would necessarily be the case, after all you never met the emperor, you don\u2019t even know his name or really anything about him except what you were taught as a child and that was most definitely all propaganda. You know even less about his predecessors. History may very well remember the Empire, but information on its rulers is either going to be sketchy or non-existent in another century. Edgar will probably be forgotten in even less time.\n\nYou get the idea that a solid written record is in order.\n\n\u201cSince when are you a writer?\u201d Brenda asks.\n\u201cI\u2019m not, but maybe we can work on this together, I mean you are part of this too.\u201d\n\u201cWell that\u2019s certainly true. Okay, so how did you want to go about this?\u201d", "action_results": [{"action": "Create a book painting you in a positive light", "result": "While you toy with the idea of creating a book telling the complete truth, but decide it would probably be better to just do one as a partial propaganda piece. People have enough excuses to complain about you, no need to add more sticks to the fire.\n\n\u201cSounds like that might be for the best. So are you going to still start from the beginning?\u201d Brenda asks.\n\u201cWell I\u2019ll briefly touch upon some of my time serving the Empire, but I\u2019ll mostly deal with when Nalin broke away from it and beyond. Obviously I\u2019ll focus on the most memorable parts, not the times where I just sat around reading skirmish reports.\u201d\n\u201cStill going to take a while you realize.\u201d\n\u201cI know it\u2019s not going to be in one night, but I feel like a lasting record of us should exist. I mean after we\u2019re gone, who\u2019s to say that we won\u2019t be forgotten soon after? I mean I understand what Edgar was trying to do, but sadly I don\u2019t think he\u2019s going to be remembered in the scheme of things. I don\u2019t think the Eternal Dominion is even going to survive too much longer now that he\u2019s dead.\u201d\n\u201cHmm, you might be right about that. So you don\u2019t mind that the book might be excessively biased?\u201d\n\u201cBrenda, ALL history is biased in favor of its victors. Why should we be any different? Besides, I\u2019m sure people will make up more than enough lies about us to make up for it when we\u2019re gone.\u201d\n\u201cHeh, you\u2019re probably right about that too. Okay then, let\u2019s get started, I want to make sure I\u2019m in a good portion of this history as well.\u201d Brenda says with a smile.\n\nYou and Brenda immediately get to work on your project. You and her take turns doing the writing for the most part, but the pressures of ruling sometimes get in the way, so it takes longer than it probably would have if you both didn\u2019t have other responsibilities.\n\nYour ambitious project takes more than a few years to complete, but when it is finally finished you definitely feel a sense of accomplishment. It may not be conquering an enemy or territory or anything like that, but if this goes the way you want, you will have achieved much more than simple victory. You will have achieved a kind of immortality.\n\nThe huge tome immediately copied several times when it is complete. The great thing about being a ruler is you\u2019ve got underlings that can do this. You make sure to keep the original writing for yourself. The first copies go out to a few Naleen schools, libraries and other places of higher learning where you decree that it is to become required reading. (Another great thing about being in charge!)\n\nIn time there probably isn\u2019t a single citizen that hasn\u2019t at least heard of the book, if not read it. There are a few criticisms about the book from intellectual types claiming that it is little more than the usual propaganda, but such people don\u2019t voice such opinions for very long or they quickly shut up about them. For the most part though, the book brainwashes the masses enough that you at least never have to worry about any possible uprisings again.\n\nYear 101\n\n\u201cBrenda\u2026did you say that our book Eternal Vigilance has reached lands outside Naleen?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cYes, I have been told as much, but from what I\u2019ve heard it isn\u2019t popular like it is here. It\u2019s been dismissed as little more than the fat musings of tyrants\u2026that would be us.\u201d\n\u201cAh, I suppose everyone\u2019s a critic. Well I guess we at least we\u2019ll probably be remembered by our subjects, for however long that lasts.\u201d\n\u201cYou shouldn\u2019t worry about such things right now, it\u2019s not important.\u201d\n\u201cI know Brenda. I suppose it was just a last foolish attempt to keep the Empire alive. I know it sounds odd, but even though the Empire fell long ago, I still felt like it existed in a small form as long as we original Eternals lived. Silly I suppose.\u201d\n\u201cNo, it was just something that you believed in. No sillier than any of the gods that people worship.\u201d\n\u201cHrm. The gods. We never were a religious bunch were we? I wonder after I die if I\u2019ll meet any of the gods if they even exist.\u201d\n\nBrenda gets a bit quiet at that last statement, you don\u2019t mean to upset her, but you\u2019ve got to be realistic at this stage.\n\n\u201cBrenda, I love you.\u201d You say.\n\u201cAnd I love you.\u201d She says back and squeezes your hand.\n\nFor a moment the two of you are just silent for a while. You\u2019re were getting tired anyway, but the both of you don\u2019t really need to speak to communicate. You know each other better than any two people could. You\u2019ve been through a lot together and this is will be your final journey with her.\n\nAs you begin to get sleepy, you surprise Brenda by making a small chuckle.\n\n\u201cWhat\u2019s so funny?\u201d she asks.\n\u201cCaptain Gruz\u2026he said I would outlive everyone. I\u2019m glad to have proved him wrong.\u201d You say and give Brenda a smile. She manages to smile back through the tears.\n\nLife is slipping away now. This your final battle against an opponent who has stalked you for over a century.\n\n\u201cFor the Empire\u2026\u201d you whisper as your last battle cry and finally succumb to eternal sleep.\n\nYour funeral is a big deal. All of Naleen comes out for it, and there is a lot military marching, saluting, and all of that. Various officials give several speeches in your honor about your deeds and accomplishments. Brenda says a few words, but your death has been an emotional drain on her and she saves her strength to get through the day.\n\nYou\u2019re ultimately placed in a fancy tomb with nice statues of you and Brenda in your \u201cwarrior prime\u201d just inside the doorway of it.\n\nA couple months later Brenda joins you in death and she is placed in the same tomb by your side where upon it is sealed, shutting the pair of you in darkness forever.\n\nYour place in history is remembered best in the nation of Naleen, but as time goes on as time always does, you are remembered less fondly. Eventually there comes a day when the latest rulers have your books burned altogether as to establish their own cult of personality. Your book never reached many other far off lands and if it did, it wasn\u2019t wide spread to cause any significant impact.\n\nThe nation of Naleen goes through various changes of government systems as decades pass by and you and Brenda ultimately become just \u201cnames\u201d of past rulers and not much more than that.\n\nUltimately when it too ceases to be (Conquered by the great kobold/usksha alliance three hundred years later) you are forgotten altogether. Though the kobolds and usksha still stay far away from the graveyard ruins of your tomb, fearing it to be cursed and believing that disturbance will cause the vengeful spirits of the Eternals to rise up.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Tell the whole story", "result": "While creating a book for all the masses to read and absorb might help solidify a remembrance of you and Brenda, you\u2019re thinking on a bigger picture.\n\n\u201cWait, you want to tell your experiences from the past seventy five years?\u201d\n\u201cWell, just the most memorable ones. Obviously I\u2019m not going to focus on the days where I just sat at a desk reading skirmish reports or what I was eating on a particular day.\u201d\n\u201cDo you realize how long that\u2019s going to take?\u201d\n\u201cI know it\u2019s not going to be in one night. I want to tell the whole story or at least as much as I can.\u201d\n\u201cThat\u2019s pretty ambitious. I figured you were just going to start from Nalin\u2019s independence from the Empire at most.\u201d\n\u201cSee that\u2019s just it, I, WE didn\u2019t just suddenly appear when we took official control of Nalin and later Naleen. We\u2019ve got a lot of history behind us. We\u2019re Eternals and we\u2019re the last of our kind. There should be some sort of lasting record of us.\u201d\n\u201cLast of our kind? There\u2019s a whole nation of them if you remember.\u201d Brenda reminds you.\n\u201cYes and that\u2019s exactly my point. Do you think it\u2019s going to last? Do you think any of new generations are going to be stable enough to think beyond their own petty power? I\u2019d wager that they don\u2019t even continue the method to create anymore of them, now that Edgar\u2019s dead. He was the only one who was trying to leave a lasting legacy beyond himself. The rest of them? They\u2019re going to wonder why they\u2019re creating potential rivals and no longer bother.\u201d\n\u201cYou might be right about that. So, you weren\u2019t interested in creating this in a more positive light for people to remember you?\u201d\n\u201cHa ha, I\u2019m pretty sure such a task is impossible. No matter how much propaganda I churned out for the masses, I\u2019m certain it wouldn\u2019t make the citizens start believing I\u2019m a nice person. Even the military doesn\u2019t think such a thing. This isn\u2019t going to be about making me look good. I\u2019ll let history decide that, but this written account will at least provide a solid guide from which they can judge.\u201d\n\u201cBut won\u2019t it still be biased?\u201d\n\u201cProbably, but given that I want to include everything, I\u2019m still not portraying myself as some benevolent ruler with a pleasant background. Now you said you would help, did you still wish to? I mean I want to include everything, but I guess I can leave out anything that portrays you in a negative way.\u201d\n\u201cMy love, I was right along side you on your less popular decisions, in fact I made a lot of them myself. I\u2019m not innocent and I would imagine the average citizen wouldn\u2019t consider me a nice person either. Well, maybe nicer than you, but you\u2019re a hard act to follow.\u201d Brenda says with a smile.\n\nYou and Brenda immediately get to work on your project. You and her take turns doing the writing for the most part, but the pressures of ruling sometimes get in the way, so it takes longer than it probably would have if you both didn\u2019t have other responsibilities.\n\nYour ambitious project takes more than a few years to complete, but when it is finally finished you definitely feel a sense of accomplishment. It may not be conquering an enemy or territory or anything like that, but if this goes the way you want, you will have achieved much more than simple victory. You will have achieved a kind of immortality.\n\nThe huge tome immediately copied several times when it is complete. The great thing about being a ruler is you\u2019ve got underlings that can do this. You make sure to keep the original writing for yourself. The first copies go out to a few Naleen schools, libraries and other places of higher learning where you decree that it is to become required reading. (Another great thing about being in charge!)\n\nIn time there probably isn\u2019t a single citizen that hasn\u2019t at least heard of the book, if not read it. There is a slight backlash to \u201ctelling all\u201d however. Some students, professors, intellectuals and other academics take the opportunity to use examples from the book to prove what tyrants you are and Brenda are and how if Naleen is ever going to achieve its maximum potential then relics of tyranny need to be gotten rid of. An increase in protests about silly \u201cfreedoms\u201d and \u201crights\u201d pop up a little more.\n\nAn annoying side effect to be sure, but a predictable one. Executing them all would only prove their point of course, but you really don\u2019t disagree with them in the first place. You and Brenda ARE relics of tyranny. In fact you stated as much in the book. You were created by a government obsessed with control and molded into Eternals to enforce that control. You can\u2019t help what you are and you\u2019re not going to apologize for any of your actions.\n\nIn any case, if it wasn\u2019t this, you would\u2019ve gotten protests about something, it\u2019s been a while. Besides you have more than your share of intellectual defenders as well your loyal military, so you\u2019re not worried about revolutions anytime soon.", "action_results": []}]}]}, {"action": "Let the healers find a cure", "result": "Killing everyone might have its benefits, but perhaps a less bloodthirsty approach would be for the best right now. You and Brenda decide to keep the quarantine up and just encourage the medics to work harder on a cure.\n\nThe next few months are relatively calm, there\u2019s a lot of grumbling, but nothing serious yet. No cure has been found yet and while the less affected areas seem to be stabilized, the ones in the quarantine aren\u2019t getting any worse either. This is somewhat of a problem, part of the hope is that they would ultimately just all die off if a cure isn\u2019t found. As it stands, the ones that have managed to survive the plague are now just carriers which makes them a lot more dangerous.\n\nA few healers try their hand at various cures, but nothing works, if anything you just lose more physicians as they too become infected and have to stay inside. The situation gets worse when you have escapees and the soldiers stationed outside the quarantine area start to show symptoms of the plague and have to be shoved in as well. Eventually you station all those elves you made orphans (now proper Nalin soldiers) all those years ago around the quarantined area, as non-humans seem to be more resistant. You even \u201cdeputize\u201d kobolds as soldiers as well as they\u2019re virtually immune. This isn\u2019t a popular decision, but purging the infected areas would be even less so. You hold out hope that a cure will be found soon.\n\nYear 60\n\nYou sit quietly contemplating everything that has transpired for the past four years.\n\nWhen the plague had managed to re-establish itself throughout Nalin, and worse in eastern Nalin and it became apparent that no one was close to a cure, you went through with your original plan of cleansing the infected areas. There were still protests against you carrying out such a grim plan, but such dissent was silenced. However it was a bit too late at that point.\n\nSeveral towns in eastern Nalin claimed you and Brenda were unfit as rulers for letting this happen and threatened to secede. Resistance probably would\u2019ve been crushed with ease, but with a shortage of troops due to the plague, general dislike of your rule and others just taking advantage of the coming chaos, it wasn\u2019t as easy as it could\u2019ve been. Opposition was crushed, but ultimately large sections of Nalin had either been ravaged by the plague or civil war. Nalin wasn\u2019t so much of a nation anymore than it was a collection of towns in a war torn land.\n\nEventually the strain of holding so much land with the troop shortage you now suffered was too much and territory had to be abandoned anyway. After some restructuring, the nation of Nalin was much smaller than it was when the Empire ruled over it. It was a small poor miserable country, with equally poor miserable citizens. Edgar has offered to absorb Nalin into the Eternal Dominion and give you a place at his side, but you\u2019re still too prideful to except such an offer, even if you know he means well.\n\n\u201cBrooding again, dear?\u201d Brenda says tapping you on the shoulder.\n\u201cJust temporarily lost in thought.\u201d You answer.\n\u201cYou figure out how to re-conquer all our lost territory yet?\u201d\n\u201cNot quite, but I\u2019m working on it.\u201d\n\u201cWell I wouldn\u2019t worry about it. I think we had a good run, we should just look at other options.\u201d\n\u201cBrenda are you seriously reconsidering joining the Eternal Dominion, because\u2026\u201d\n\u201cNo, but there are other options.\u201d\n\u201cYou mean just focusing on building up what we have left?\u201d\n\u201cWell that\u2019s certainly one possibility, but quite frankly I\u2019m not interested in that either. This whole ruling business\u2026it\u2019s not fun anymore. I question if it ever was at least for me anyway. You sort of made it tolerable, but I think I\u2019m done.\u201d\n\nYou get a little worried by this statement.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re not talking about suicide are you?\u201d\n\u201cWhat? No! Sheesh, I\u2019m not ready for the grave, but it is something that is much closer than it was in the past. I mean is fighting over this little piece of shitty land and running it really what I want to be doing in my twilight years? Not really, life\u2019s short enough as it is. I\u2019ve come to that conclusion and that\u2019s why I\u2019m leaving all of this behind. I\u2019m guessing you might feel a little different about it though.\u201d\n\u201cYou\u2019re damn right I feel different about it! We can\u2019t just run away from this! We\u2019ve got to re-establish our rule! I know it\u2019ll take a while, but it can be done!\u201d\n\nBrenda smiles and touches your face.\n\n\u201cFor what purpose? I hate to tell you this, but you\u2019re not young anymore either.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2026I know that!\u201d\n\u201cDo you? Because sometime I wonder. I love you and you\u2019re still a great warrior and you\u2019re probably still better than most men half your age, but you can\u2019t go around thinking you\u2019re invincible anymore. There are guns now you know, someone could just assassinate you from a few feet away and not even engage you in combat. The days of the Empire are over, you have to realize that.\u201d\n\u201cI know that too, Brenda.\u201d\n\u201cAnd that\u2019s why you\u2019re frustrating to deal with sometimes, because you DO know it, yet sometimes you completely lapse into the mindset of the good old days. Look, you know I love you, and I know you love me, but I can\u2019t do this mini empire shit anymore.\u201d\n\u201cSo what\u2019s your solution then?\u201d\n\u201cWell, I was thinking we just leave.\u201d\n\u201cAnd go where?\u201d\n\u201cI dunno, someplace else. Further east I guess, someplace far away from this entire region though. I mean there\u2019s probably a great big world out there, and we\u2019ve just been stuck in a small portion of it.\u201d\n\u201cHmm, so you\u2019re suggesting we just live like vagabonds and wanderers with no set home?\u201d\n\u201cWell maybe for a time, but who knows maybe we\u2019ll eventually find some place to settle down.\u201d\n\u201cWait a minute you\u2019re going on about how we\u2019re not young anymore, yet you\u2019re advocating wandering the wilderness like some young snot nosed adventurers. Sounds like you\u2019re talking out both sides of your mouth\u2026\u201d\n\u201cOkay fine, you don\u2019t have to come with me, you can sit here and play brooding overlord until somebody either assassinates you or the unwashed masses storm the palace.\u201d Brenda says turning away and walking.\n\n\u201cHold on! Wait! (sigh) Look, I know what you\u2019re saying and you\u2019ve got a point. It\u2019s just really hard for me to give all this up. I\u2019d feel like I would be abandoning my post and I did that once already with the Empire. And while it was the best decision I ever made, it still stays with me like a black spot, and I\u2019m sure you know that. Abandoning Nalin is like history repeating itself all over again.\u201d\n\u201cRemember what you told Edgar when he visited? There was nothing any of us could\u2019ve done. It was a doomed mission to begin with. You did your best and that\u2019s all anyone could\u2019ve done. Even an Eternal.\u201d\n\nYou give a slight smile and nod.\n\n\u201cOkay, Brenda. Let\u2019s get out of here.\u201d\n\nYou and Brenda pack some equipment and take your leave of your rulership of Nalin. You don\u2019t even bother assigning a successor or anything like that, you decide whoever wants it bad enough can hold it if they have the desire. You and Brenda head east and stick to the wilderness when traveling through old Nalin territory, eventually you pass through it and you\u2019re exploring new land. Living off the land is quite easy for you and the freedom is a nice change of pace. After a few months, you don\u2019t miss Nalin at all, and are just glad to be spending more quality time with Brenda.\n\nIn the years that follow the pair of you wander, seeing new sights and getting into a few skirmishes a long the way. Eventually the pair of you do settle down close to a small village in a far away land where you live out the remainder of your lives in complete obscurity and peace.", "action_results": []}]}, {"action": "Convince Brenda to help Warrick", "result": "Maybe it isn\u2019t the most tactically sound decision, but he\u2019s still an Eternal and you feel like you should give him a fighting chance. It takes some convincing, but Brenda eventually agrees with you, but she still thinks this isn\u2019t one of your better ideas. You both go back inside to tell Warrick the news.\n\n\u201cOkay, Warrick after talking it over, we\u2019ll help you indirectly by breaking trade with the Eternal Dominion.\u201d\n\nWarrick\u2019s face doesn\u2019t show a great degree of happiness, but one more of relief..\n\n\u201cThank you. Thank you both, my friends. This might not seem like much, but it still helps. I\u2019ll never forget what you\u2019ve done here.\u201d\n\u201cYeah, yeah, you better go before I change my mind.\u201d Brenda says.\n\nWarrick, not wishing to wear out his welcome he bids you both goodbye and takes his leave. Brenda remarks again that she sees no good coming of this, but what\u2019s done is done and you\u2019ve all made your choices now. The pair of you go back to bed and try to get some sleep.\n\nYear 56\n\n\u201cGreat that\u2019s all we need a war with the Eternal Dominion while we have a fucking epidemic going on right now!\u201d Brenda shouts throwing a paperweight against the wall in frustration.\n\nWhen the trade routes were broken with the Eternal Dominion, Edgar did not take it well, and while it was always a risk, you didn\u2019t think he\u2019d actually wage a two front war over it. He immediately suspected you both were in league with each other and declared war on you both.\n\nYou would probably fare better against the ED, but a terrible plague has hit Nalin pretty hard around the same time. Nobody knows exactly where it came from or how it spread, but the common thought is that the Eternal Dominion has something to do with it. You on the other hand entertain another idea, one that you\u2019d rather not believe and that\u2019s Warrick had something to do with it.\n\nDestabilize your country and weaken it to a point where the Eternal Dominion can destroy it completely while they also waste their own manpower at the same time. Possibly even spread the plague to their own lands too. It\u2019s a good plan.\n\nIf that really is the case, you question your judgment and beginning to wonder if you\u2019re even fit to command anything anymore. You know Brenda has been a little distant towards you lately, however to her credit she has not blamed you for the current situation. Though she wouldn\u2019t since she\u2019d only blame herself as well for agreeing to break trade with the ED to begin with.\n\nIn any case, right now is not really the time to second guess or lament possible past mistakes, a serious situation rears it\u2019s ugly head right now and it must be take care of.\n\n\u201cWell, the plague hasn\u2019t hit eastern Nalin yet and we\u2019ve drafted every healer, medic and hedge wizard we can find to help cure this blight. We\u2019ve managed to quarantine the towns and cities that have been hit the hardest. The problem with that though is we\u2019ve had to redistribute soldiers to those places where we could desperately use them on the northern borders.\u201d You explain.\n\u201cYes, I\u2019m aware of the situation, what\u2019s your solution?\u201d Brenda demands.\n\u201cKill everyone in the quarantine and cleanse it with fire. No more people, no more plague and we can focus on the war.\u201d\n\nBrenda chuckles.\n\n\u201cFigures you\u2019d suggest something like that.\u201d\n\u201cWell I\u2019m coming up with the most efficient plan, waiting around for the docs to come up with a cure isn\u2019t really time we can afford.\u201d You say.\n\u201cAnd massacring entire settlements isn\u2019t going to endear us to anyone. You know what? To hell with it, I\u2019m leaving this up to you, I\u2019m sick of running this fucking country anyway\u2026\u201d Brenda says and walks out the room.\n\nYou aren\u2019t exactly sure of what to make of that response, but you go through with your cleansing plan since you can\u2019t afford to wait around for some cure that may never come.\n\nKilling everyone has worked for you on several occasions in the past, no reason to change tactic now. First thing you do is get every remaining \u201cold guard\u201d officer that\u2019s still serving since the days of the Empire and have them put in charge of this operation. You know they won\u2019t even question this command coming from you. Then you tell them to go through their personnel rosters to see who is going to be up for this grim task. You personally suggest including all of those elves you made into orphans years ago. While they may all be good indoctrinated soldiers now, you think they wouldn\u2019t hesitate at a chance to kill some humans and would be good candidates for this job. Besides, elves seem to be more resistant to the plague anyway.\n\nThree entire towns are put to the sword, gun and torch until there is nothing left, but burned corpses and hollowed out buildings. In keeping with non-humans being seemingly less affected by the plague, you have kobolds remove the bodies and clean out what they can. They\u2019re more than happy to do this as they get the chance to loot some stuff for their own impoverished reservation you\u2019ve set aside for them.\n\nThis action causes a great outcry and you even have to execute several soldiers who took up arms against you during the cleansing. Many Nalin citizens aren\u2019t happy with the fact that you\u2019ve implemented several non-humans in helping with this massacre as well. Indeed some begin calling you their inhuman \u201cEternal overlords\u201d and wonder if they aren\u2019t already under the rule of the Eternal Dominion.\n\nAs far as the plague goes, you did successfully wipe it out from being an ongoing danger. Medics, healers and the like are able to focus their attentions on the places where it\u2019s less of a problem and eventually it is gone completely.\n\nAs for everything else, western Nalin, is in horrible condition and soldiers from eastern Nalin have to be brought in to reinforce the northern borders which have now changed hands a bit as the ED army has pushed you back. Eastern Nalin is in good shape as it was spared the plague and isn\u2019t in any immediate danger from the fighting, but there are rumors of the population aren\u2019t happy.\n\nWith the plague gone though, you dig in ready to focus on the Eternal Dominion invasion.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 60\n\n\u201cFort Glory has fallen sir.\u201d A disheveled messenger tells you while you look over a map of Nalin in your tent.\n\u201cDoesn\u2019t matter, it was no longer a priority anymore.\u201d You say not looking up.\n\u201cSo you\u2019re still going through with the plan involving the kobold sappers?\u201d\n\u201cYes. I figure it\u2019ll take a few days for those eternals get settled in their new conquest and then that fort crumbles right underneath them. A shame, I used to like that fort, but this is war.\u201d\n\u201cSir, I don\u2019t mean to question your orders, but how can you trust those little scaley bastards? They\u2019re little more than animals.\u201d\n\u201cThat may be, but they\u2019re animals that are more scared of me than anything else, and that\u2019s all that\u2019s important. Speaking of which how do things fare in eastern Nalin?\u201d\n\u201cAll major settlements are under martial law, lots of structures destroyed, several dissidents executed and there are reports of rebels in the wilderness, but most of it is still under our control.\u201d\n\u201cGood enough for now I suppose. Tell Captain Yasil, that I want her to mount an attack on Camp Conquest in a tomorrow. We\u2019re going to make our major offensive soon and I want her to weaken that camp as much as possible.\u201d\n\u201c\u2026you mean that large eternal camp in northern Nalin? The main one? That\u2019s suicide! Her company is only at half strength from the last mission you sent her on!\u201d the messenger exclaims.\n\u201cHer sacrifice will be remembered. That will be all.\u201d You say still not looking up.\n\nThe messenger sounds like he would like to say something else, but realizes he better not and just leaves. Smart move on his part. You would\u2019ve killed him. You have little patience for hesitation nowadays, especially since you\u2019ve got nothing left to lose.\n\nYou rub your eyes and stop looking at the map of Nalin and sit down to take a short break. You\u2019re tired, but you don\u2019t remember the last time you had a good night\u2019s sleep. You look over at a portrait you had made of Brenda a long time ago before this war ever broke out. An image of her in happier times.\n\nYou often speak to the portrait, during times like this and tonight is no different.\n\n\u201cYou were right, shouldn\u2019t have broken that trade agreement with the ED (Sigh) just wish I would\u2019ve been the one that paid for that mistake instead of you. Though I suppose I paid for it, when some suicidal asshole shot you in the head two years ago.\u201d\n\nYou focus more attention on the portrait\n\n\u201cMaybe you\u2019re better off\u2026I mean you were getting increasingly unhappy. Heh, who knows maybe you would\u2019ve just left altogether. You were right about ruling not being any fun too, I\u2019ve been trying to do your job and mine, but I find myself just not caring about much lately. I\u2019m half ready to just get up and leave it all behind, but I still feel the need to control and regain what has been lost. Maybe it\u2019s that old Empire syndrome popping up again. I dunno. Recently I\u2019ve just been focusing on the war. It\u2019s about the only slight pleasure I get anymore. Sometimes I wade into battles, bones creaking, joints aching and five times slower and weaker than I once was, yet do it anyway. I guess I\u2019m hoping to at least die a warrior\u2019s death, but somehow I still manage to survive. The war\u2019s not over yet though, so maybe there\u2019s still time right?\u201d\n\nYou pick up the portrait and look directly into Brenda\u2019s face.\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t know if you still loved me near the end of everything, but I still loved you. Still do. Maybe I\u2019ll be with you soon.\u201d You say.\n\nYou put down the portrait and lie down on your bed. You won\u2019t get a good night\u2019s sleep, but you don\u2019t need it. You just need a quick recharge before you go back to the business of war.\n\nThe next couple of day pass and you\u2019re ready for your final push. You have no idea if you\u2019ll actually succeed in driving out the Eternal Dominion, but you\u2019re ready to put an end to this one way or another. You lead the battalions to the north.\n\nWhen you arrive to the frontlines, you receive a report that Fort Glory completely collapsed and killed a couple of companies of eternals that were planning their next move from there. Kobolds took advantage of the chaos and finished off the wounded. Captain Yasil\u2019s mission was also somewhat successful, you see the smoke in the distance from the main ED camp. The smell of gunpowder from the cannons lingers in the air; hundreds of trenches are filled with the living and the dead on both sides.\n\nYou heard that this is how the battlefield looked when the Empire fought the Felkan Kingdom, seems like this is going to be standard for war, until something else changes in the way people kill others. You remember when things were much simpler though. The funny thing is that the Felkan Kingdom is despite being accustomed to this sort of fighting and more technologically advanced, they\u2019re apparently having a much worse time holding off the Eternal Dominion than you have, though you imagine that they\u2019re getting more of the brunt of the combat.\n\nYou are approached by several of your officers; they say their respective companies are ready to advance, if you give the word. You nod and tell them the attack will commence.\n\nYou watch as thousands of your soldiers run forward to kill and die for you. If there has always been one consistency with you, is you ability is muster up a shitload of people to do that, even when you\u2019re not popular. And you\u2019re REALLY not popular with the average Nalin citizen right now.\n\nBut ungratefulness is something you\u2019re used to. You experience the same thing in Rask, after you destroyed all the barbarian tribes. Peasants complain and know nothing of real sacrifice. Not like you do.\n\nThe battle is going strong and a cannon ball from the other side even crashes a few feet away from you. One of your majors advises that you should step further back from the battle so you stay out of harm\u2019s way.\n\nBut maybe you don\u2019t want to; in fact maybe you want to just end it all right now.", "action_results": [{"action": "Walk into the battle", "result": "You look out at the battlefield from your horse and get off of it. This is it. The time is right. The major is screaming at you to take cover and asking you what do you think you\u2019re doing walking forward into the battlefield like you\u2019re doing, but you ignore him.\n\nNo sooner have you taken number of steps forward and large explosion occurs behind you causing you to fall forward. You push yourself up and look behind to see a small crater where the major and your horse once stood. Your head hurts and seems to be bleeding, but you shake off the cobwebs and crawl into the nearest trench.\n\nThe stench of death fills your nose immediately. You see several dead soldiers with various fatal wounds. A few living ones are looking for their next opportunity to crawl forward to the next trench. They see you and are quite surprised.\n\n\u201cGen..general?\u201d one of them says.\n\u201cWhat are you lot waiting for? There\u2019s a great big war out there just dying to be won!\u201d\n\u201cUh, well the enemy cannons are\u2026\u201d\n\u201cNo excuses! Come on, follow me! I\u2019ll lead you to fucking victory!\u201d you shout excitedly and crawl out of the trench.\n\nThe soldiers are a little reluctant to follow you at first, but they do so anyway. Explosions and gunfire are all around you as you crawl forward. The danger you\u2019ve put yourself in right now is giving you a rush. You make your way to the next trench where you encounter even more of your soldiers who are in close combat with the enemy eternals. You help out with your own superior swordsmanship.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s how you do it!\u201d you shout as you run your sword through the neck of an enemy. \u201cEternals my fucking ass! Back in my day, a single eternal could\u2019ve killed the lot of you! And that Eternal would\u2019ve been me!\u201d you tell your men who are a little unnerved by your remarks.\n\n\u201cBut fortunately I\u2019m helping!\u201d you shout with a slight giggle and motion them to follow you forward.\n\nYou crawl from trench to trench through mud, blood, guts, bodies, and all around nastiness and you love every moment of it. The soldiers you\u2019ve \u201cpicked up\u201d along the way believe you\u2019ve gone completely mad, but they continue to follow since you\u2019re actually making progress and your combat abilities still surpass their own.\n\nYou don\u2019t even know how many eternals and \u201cregular\u201d soldiers you\u2019ve killed so far, but you aren\u2019t keeping track. All that you do know is that you still haven\u2019t reached your goal. Along with completely disregarding your safety, you start to become a little delusional as well, you end up shouting at your men that they need to watch out for possible wendigos in the area confusing the hell out of them.\n\n\u201cWhy isn\u2019t there snow? There\u2019s usually snow in Rask.\u201d You mumble to yourself.\n\nYou see the enemy camp in sight and there is already some fighting going on there, but by the Emperor, you are NOT going to miss this fight!\n\n\u201cFor the Empire!\u201d you shout, which at this point your soldier aren\u2019t even surprised by whatever you yell about now. They\u2019re too busy thanking their gods that you managed to lead them to the enemy camp with no losses.\n\nCamp Conquest is in chaos. There is fighting everywhere and you jump right in the middle of it. You proceed with your bloodthirsty adrenaline crusade. You suffer several wounds that probably would\u2019ve stopped a normal man your age in their tracks and even you\u2019re starting to feel the effects. Fortunately you\u2019ve still got your small personal troop behind you to take up the slack.\n\n\u201cLook general there\u2019s the commander\u2019s tent!\u201d one of them shouts. It would appear your enthusiasm has finally rubbed off.\n\nWith sword cuts across your face, a bleeding gash on your left arm, your armor half destroyed and a bullet in one of your legs, you continue forward. You\u2019re starting to feel a little wobbly though.\n\n\u201cThese Eternals will pay for their betrayal of the Emperor!\u201d you mutter.\n\nThe enemy commander with some of his own staff stands around several dead bodies and upon seeing you he pats his mace in his hand waiting for you to arrive. As you get closer, there\u2019s something somewhat familiar about him. Like you knew him, but he\u2019s older now.\n\nHe bashes the face in of one of your soldiers before clashing with you. He starts to babble about how he\u2019s wanted revenge on you for killing his friend twenty-five years ago. He kicks you to the ground and tries to crush your skull, but you roll out of the way.\n\nYour head is really starting to hurt, and you\u2019re feeling a little dizzy. Images of the past and present begin to mix together and you have a moment of clarity of where you are, and it isn\u2019t Rask and you aren\u2019t serving the Empire.\n\nThe bleeding from the back of your head was actually caused by shrapnel from the explosive cannon ball that nearly killed you at the beginning of the battlefield. You\u2019ve been suffering from a mild brain injury the entire time, hence your delusions. This fool that\u2019s trying to kill you now is one of those eternals that was under your command when you left the Empire and killed private Felding in the process.\n\nYou dodge another mace swing as you try to regain your wits. You\u2019re stating to feel your strength really ebb. This is what reality feels like and it sucks, you were enjoying yourself up until this point.\n\nYou don\u2019t know if you\u2019re actually going to survive this, but you\u2019ll be damned if you\u2019re going to give this asshole the satisfaction of getting his revenge. You hack at his foot causing him to fall to one knee. You then strike out against one of his soldiers trying to sneak attack you. Before the commander to get back up, you hack his arm off at the shoulder. Blood spews from the stump and he screams in agony. He stops screaming when you kick his teeth in and sever his head from his body.\n\nYou look around and see that your soldiers are winning the day. You know that the Eternal Dominion presence is still in Nalin, but it has now been greatly reduced with this victory. The war isn\u2019t over yet, but maybe it is for you.\n\nYou stagger to the asshole\u2019s tent you just killed and lie down on his bedroll. You head hurts something fierce and you\u2019re starting to feel like you\u2019re about to pass out. One of your soldiers says he\u2019ll go find a medic or healer, but really you don\u2019t care anymore.\n\nYou\u2019re going to die here and that\u2019s okay. You\u2019ve had your last win and really even if you did survive to see final victory; you\u2019d rather not go through the drudgery of ruling alone anymore. You\u2019re too old and too tired and now that Brenda\u2019s gone, you just don\u2019t have the motivation anymore.\n\n\u201cBrenda, I\u2019m coming to join you.\u201d You say and close your eyes.\n\nYou never wake up.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Stay where you are", "result": "You tell you subordinate to fuck off and state that you\u2019re not going to run away and cower in some tent. You\u2019re going to observe and give assistance when necessary like a general should. He pleads with you once more, but you merely tell him that if he doesn\u2019t get out of your face you\u2019re going to kill him yourself.\n\nNo sooner have you said that, a nearby explosion knocks you off your horse, which ends up falling on top of you as well. You feel a sharp numbness in your right leg, which is under the horse.\n\nYou look over at the major who was speaking to you and half of his face has been blown off. You can\u2019t hear a thing as the explosion has made you completely deaf though your hearing wasn\u2019t the greatest with only one ear and all.\n\nUsing all your strength you pull yourself out from underneath your horse, which is quite dead. A couple of your other officers see you and come to help pull you out and you see that your leg is broken to the point where the bone is coming through the skin. One of your lieutenants goes to stop the bleeding and she\u2019s obviously yelling at others to get help, but you still can\u2019t hear a thing.\n\nYou can make out her saying something to you, probably that she\u2019s going to put the bone back in place. You just nod quickly and shout at her to do it. She does and it\u2019s one of the most excruciating things you\u2019ve felt in a long time and you\u2019ve had more than your share of wounds. It\u2019s only through your own will power that you don\u2019t scream out.\n\nWhile the lieutenant wraps up your leg with a splint, two others come with a stretcher. You don\u2019t want to be helped up, but you are any way. \u201cStanding up\u201d straight you decline being put on the stretcher and insist that you\u2019ll hop to the nearest horse if you have to. The female lieutenant says something to you while she continues to help prop you up, but you\u2019re still deaf and can\u2019t hear anything she\u2019s saying. You can only guess it\u2019s something about doing it for your own good.\n\nYou aren\u2019t going to be told what to do and you push her away, only to fall down. You curse and yell at your weakness and begin to crawl away. You can only assume the rest of your staff is yelling at you back, but you can\u2019t see their faces, your eyes are staring at dirt right now.\n\nYou crawl for a moment and that\u2019s when you start to hear something again.\n\n\u201cGen\u2026\u2026..mu\u2026.now! C\u2026 on!\u201d\n\nYou feel several hands turn you around and your staff is intent on forcibly putting you on the stretcher. You don\u2019t bother struggling because that\u2019s when through your damaged hearing that you hear a distinct whistling sound.\n\n\u201cBrenda, I...\u201d You say before the explosive cannon ball wipes you all out.", "action_results": []}]}]}]}]}]}, {"action": "Let the soldiers escort Edgar to the capital", "result": "Edgar can wait, you need to wrap this up now, or at least get some sort of temporary closure on this situation.\n\n\u201cBring Edgar here, it won\u2019t hurt him to ride a little longer!\u201d you yell before turning your attention back to Brenda.\n\n\u201cOkay, we\u2019ve got a little more time and that\u2019s all I need. Stop worrying about me, I\u2019m not going to suddenly turn into some love sick idiot that can\u2019t think things through if we have a deeper relationship! My question is, do you want one with me? Do you genuinely feel that strongly for me?\u201d\n\u201cYes, I do.\u201d Brenda says.\n\u201cThen we shouldn\u2019t avoid how we feel.\u201d You reply and kiss Brenda.\n\nBrenda kisses you back and the pair of you give in to your physical desires. You\u2019re both at it so long you lose track of time and you\u2019re interrupted again with another knock at the door.\n\n\u201cErm, I hate to disturb you again, but I\u2019ve just received word that general Edgar was attacked on the road by fanatics opposing our talks with the Eternal Dominion. We don\u2019t even know what\u2019s happened to him and soldiers are\u2026\u201d\n\u201cWHAT?!\u201d you shout. \u201cFuck, hold on!\u201d\n\nIn exasperation you get dressed as fast as you can and Brenda does likewise. You\u2019re cursing the entire time, Brenda says nothing, but you can imagine that she\u2019s already starting to blame herself for this.\n\nYou question the advisor on what he\u2019s heard and he mentions that Edgar and his escort were ambushed near the village of Helas. Apparently nobody even saw it coming, the guards that were assigned to escort had several crossbow bolts in their bodies. Edgar must\u2019ve put up a fight since there were some of the assassins found dead at the scene, though no sign of him. There was a blood trail, but it disappeared after a half of mile or so. So far none of the villagers from Helas have been incredibly helpful, which pretty much indicates that most of them must\u2019ve known about it.\n\nBrenda orders a complete search of the area, while you press forward to interrogating the entire village of Helas. You don\u2019t have too much success and just find out how much the inhabitants really don\u2019t like the idea Nalin becoming friendly with the Eternal Dominion. They assume if that happens then you\u2019ll start lording it over them like the Eternals do in the Dominion (as opposed to the \u201cnice\u201d way you do it now)\n\nAfter executing half of the village, you proceed with the search, but you still can\u2019t find any trace of Edgar. You suspect that he\u2019s covering his tracks and making his way back home. You can\u2019t allow that to happen, because if he does, he\u2019s going to declare war on you probably believing this to be a set up, and while that may happen anyway, you\u2019d at least like to try to convince him that it wasn\u2019t. Or failing that, depriving the Eternal Dominion of their leader\u2026\n\nYou order double the amount of troops along the northern borders; you\u2019re going to need them there regardless of what happens. Brenda and you have a long argument about how your feelings lead to this situation. Brenda of course says that it just proves her right and that you need to put an end to the relationship. You get to the point where you\u2019re too frustrated with her to argue anymore and perhaps in some small way she has a point so you ultimately agree and say it\u2019s business from here on out.\n\nA couple months pass and still no word on Edgar either. You aren\u2019t exactly ready to declare him dead, but if he was still alive and managed to make it back to the Eternal Dominion, it really seems like he would\u2019ve declared war on you by now. As it stands you haven\u2019t heard a word from them. They haven\u2019t even sent any threatening messengers asking about their leader (you assume he told them he was going to visit you). You chalk it up to whatever selfish power grab they probably got going on. Still there\u2019s always the possibility they could attack even with disorganized leadership. However it isn\u2019t really Edgar or the ED that you\u2019re worried about, things are obviously strained with Brenda. Brenda and you barely even meet in person anymore and you mainly stay at Fort Glory. She\u2019s been delegating a lot of responsibility to her staff and become increasingly withdrawn. You attempt to reach out to her, but she doesn\u2019t respond positively and just requests that you leave her alone. From what her advisors tell you, she spends most of her time staring and talking to a portrait of Roldan a lot and constantly re-reading love letters he wrote to her. Mostly apologizing for straying from him and being responsible for his death.\n\nYou step in to take up the slack of rulership, and there aren\u2019t too many objections though things in Nalin haven\u2019t exactly been the most calm as far as civil obedience goes lately.\n\nYear 51\n\n\u201c\u2026and so I\u2019m sorry. I\u2019m sorry that my weakness diminished your strength. Even though we didn\u2019t go through with a closer relationship, I know you were continuing to worry about me. I couldn\u2019t let you be distracted with lesser concerns. I saw that happen with Roldan, and I wouldn\u2019t let it happen to you too.\n\nI think this will be for the best. I feel like I\u2019ve just been walking through a parody of life ever since Roldan died and I think you know that I was growing weary of rulership anyway.\n\nAssuming Edgar is indeed dead, I guess this will make you the last of the original Eternals. I guess what you once told me what Captain Gruz\u2019s last words were are true. You outlived everyone.\n\nThank you for your company and making the last fifteen years much more bearable, I wish you well in whatever your future plans are, but I\u2019m going to be with my beloved Roldan now.\n\nMay you always remain the paragon of the Empire that you are.\n\nLove Brenda\n\nYou knew it was only a matter of time and you suspected it was coming, but perhaps this is the only way it could\u2019ve been. Apparently she hadn\u2019t been happy for a long time, still, you wish that things could\u2019ve been different. Maybe you didn\u2019t exactly have a relationship with Brenda like Roldan did, but you did have one of sorts for the past fifteen years and now you definitely feel a great sense of loss because she\u2019s gone.\n\nHowever, life goes on. After shedding a few tears in private and composing yourself, you fold the letter and put it with the rest of your personal belongings. You then make arrangements for her funeral, which is a small one. You have her body burned outside Fort Glory since you know that she had Roldan\u2019s body burned outside the fort as well. It only seems fitting.\n\nYou officially take over as sole ruler of Nalin unsure of what the future may hold.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 56\n\n\u201cSir, you want us to completely wipe out all settlements with the plague?\u201d Colonel Gemma asks.\n\u201cThat\u2019s what I said isn\u2019t it? I\u2019ve already assigned all the medics, healers and hedge wizards in the land to focus on the less affected areas. As for those places really bad off kill all the people, cleanse the area with fire, no more problem.\u201d\n\u201cBut, you\u2019re going to have mass riots! The people will protest, even soldiers! I mean some of their families are in the quarantined areas!\u201d\n\u201cWell I guess you better have those soldiers executed then if you think they\u2019ll be a problem. In fact I\u2019m surprised to hear you balk from these orders, I remember you when you were a young soldier wiping out Belzak women and children without hesitation.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2026I\u2019m not sir, I\u2019m just concerned about the repercussions of potentially losing more of our army.\u201d\n\u201cYou let me worry about the repercussions! Look here\u2019s what you do, gather up all the old guard such as yourself to carry out this plan. In fact get those elves I made into orphans during the tribal wars. I\u2019m guessing they should be good and obedient soldiers by now, but they probably won\u2019t hesitate to murder some defenseless humans. The plague doesn\u2019t seem to be affecting non-humans as much anyway, so they\u2019re probably more resistant. In fact gather some of those kobolds too; they can clear out the bodies. Those little bastards seem to be immune altogether. That\u2019s all for now.\u201d\n\nGemma nods and takes her leave.\n\nYou have more concerns today, but you\u2019re delegating them to the advisors as usual. If it isn\u2019t a problem that can be solved by force, you\u2019re not very interested in it. Brenda was right; ruling is a pain in the ass. When she was alive, you still had the \u201cfun\u201d part to focus on, now you have to do it all. This latest plague is probably the most exciting thing that\u2019s happened in years. Still can\u2019t figure out how and where it originated from though. A passing thought was it might be saboteurs from the Eternal Dominion, but they\u2019ve been fighting amongst themselves ever since Edgar died. Never did find his body. You still wonder exactly what it was he wanted to discuss with you and Brenda. An alliance perhaps? A threat to submit? You\u2019ll never know.\n\nThe nation of Nalin has become a lot more totalitarian under your rule. You\u2019ve actually made it even more \u201cEmpire like\u201d than it already was mostly because it\u2019s what you know, but also because it makes you at least feel like things are how they \u201cshould be\u201d. Lately though even that hasn\u2019t helped your mindset. You\u2019ve become increasingly bored with just plain ruling, and after this plague nonsense is taken care of, you\u2019re thinking of doing something to shake things up a bit.\n\nThe obvious idea is to expand again, specifically aggressive expansion into Eternal Dominion territory. It\u2019s been too long since you\u2019ve experienced a good fight.\n\nThe other idea you\u2019ve had is one you probably wouldn\u2019t have considered again, but at this point any change would be welcome. You\u2019ve thought about just leaving. Leaving everything behind and the region entirely.", "action_results": [{"action": "Expand", "result": "You left the Empire behind because you no longer believed in it. Nalin has become a kind of substitute for it though and ever since Brenda died, you\u2019ve tried to make it even more like the Empire. This may be the closest you\u2019re going to get back to the \u201cgood old days\u201d and with age ever creeping up on you, you need to make the best of things and not wallow in indecision or hesitation. You\u2019re the last of the real Eternals and you\u2019re going to act as such.\n\nNalin WILL become the new Empire.\n\nAfter a few months of putting out some of the backlash of how you handled the plague, you make your plans for expansion. You also fully intend overseeing it personally.\n\nThe first round of conquests go well. The disorganized Eternals and their slaves don\u2019t give you too much trouble; indeed some of the population welcomes your intervention. Most of the new generations of Eternals have been so excessively cruel that their subjects are willing to accept any other tyrant as an improvement, even if it\u2019s another Eternal.\n\nEventually you do hit a brick wall of sorts, the remaining Eternals realize they need to unite against you. The Eternal Dominion is more advanced technology wise (having stolen ideas and equipment from the Felkan Kingdom), though through your initial conquests, you\u2019ve made steps to try to close the gap in the availability of gunpower-based weapons for your own soldiers.\n\nStill, even with the current stand off with the Eternal Dominion, you victories restore some of the appreciation of your citizens in Nalin who are probably just glad your violence is focused on others for a change.\n\nThe balance of power has been shifted enough for the Felkan Kingdom to take greater notice of you too, especially since now your territory borders some of their own. They send one of their own to speak to you, while you\u2019re currently at a conquered ED Fort making plans for your next attack. To your surprise one of their own, is also one of your own too, or as least was at one time.\n\n\u201cWarrick?\u201d you ask. He\u2019s obviously older, has a missing eye and no hair, but you still recognize him despite your near disbelief.\n\u201cYes, it\u2019s me\u2026see you\u2019re missing a few body parts as well.\u201d He says causing you to touch where your ear used to be. Sometimes you even forget that it\u2019s missing.\n\n\u201cWell you know how it is\u2026but I thought you were dead! I mean I\u2019d heard\u2026how is it that you\u2019re working for the Felkan Kingdom now?\u201d\n\u201cThat\u2019s a long story, but let\u2019s just say I found my own path, like I see you found yours. Which is sort of why I\u2019m here.\u201d\n\nWarrick mentions to you that the Felkan Kingdom has been expecting an attack from the Eternal Dominion for more than a decade, even after the disappearance of their leader Edgar. However, now that the ED seems to be no longer a potential threat they\u2019re worried about Nalin invading, perhaps even more so since you seem to be a more organized potential threat.\n\n\u201cWell, you can tell your king or whoever, that I\u2019m not interested in the Felkan Kingdom. The Nalin Empire isn\u2019t in a position to attack such a powerful nation at this time.\u201d\n\u201cAt this time\u2026that implies that you might later.\u201d\n\u201cHeh, well you might be right, just as I might believe that you\u2019re planning on attack us.\u201d\n\u201cTrue, and while you probably will rightfully remain suspicious, the Felkan Kingdom has no interest in conquest. Especially not right now. I probably shouldn\u2019t tell you this, but we\u2019re still dealing with a massive gnoll invasion that hit our land years ago. Fighting another war isn\u2019t something we want right now.\u201d\n\u201cHmm, you\u2019re right, you shouldn\u2019t be giving vital intelligence away like that. This new information gives me an advantage. Knowing that you aren\u2019t as powerful as I once thought, I may very well attack you now.\u201d\n\u201cWell I suppose you\u2019ll do what you have to then, but if you\u2019re still the leader I know you to be, you won\u2019t. You don\u2019t want to fight a war on two fronts either.\u201d Warrick says in an unconcerned tone.\n\u201cHa ha! And you would be correct! But enough about power struggles, let\u2019s talk for a moment just as Eternals.\u201d\n\nWarrick\u2019s tale of how he came to be in the service of the Felkan Kingdom is a little sketchy. He mentions that during the last days of the Empire he was still under orders to perform his usual sabotaging missions. He says that he managed to integrate himself in their favor by rescuing some of the royal family who were apparently in the wrong place at the wrong time. Children actually. He says he doesn\u2019t remember all of it exactly though except there was a big explosion and the next thing he knew when he woke up is that he was missing an eye and was given a job. Already knowing how the Empire was beginning to crumble he accepted.\n\nYou proceed to tell Warrick about your time since the Empire fell. He listens intently as you go on about the various thoughts you\u2019ve gone through since that time. You mention Edgar to him, which interests him greatly. He says the Felkan government assumed that he was killed by one of his own men in a power struggle. He asks if you ever found his body or any evidence of his death. You tell him you never did, for all you know he still got killed by one of his own men, assuming he had managed to get back to the Eternal Dominion.\n\nYou also mention Brenda. Warrick displays a bit of sadness when he hears the whole story, and you sort of relive some of that sadness as well. It hasn\u2019t been that long since she died after all.\n\n\u201cSo, we\u2019re really the last two left then?\u201d Warrick says.\n\u201cLooks that way, though to be honest I thought you\u2019d been dead for years. Glad to see you\u2019re still around.\u201d\n\u201cEven if we may be enemies one day?\u201d\n\u201cWe\u2019re Eternals. The originals. We\u2019ll always have a bond that nobody else will and if we should end up on opposite ends of the battlefield it still doesn\u2019t change that. Assuming that day ever comes and we\u2019re both still in fighting condition, seek me out as I shall seek you out and we\u2019ll settle things in the only way they can be.\u201d\n\nWarrick nods at your proposal and is silent for a moment as if deep in thought. He then eventually gets up and tells you he has to leave. He mentions that he\u2019ll tell his superiors that the Nalin Empire has no hostile intentions towards the Felkan Kingdom at this time.\n\nThe pair of you shake hands and part company, possibly knowing if you ever do see each other again, it won\u2019t be on friendly terms. Still, there is a small bit of you that was happy to see an old comrade again.\n\nYou return to the business of waging war on the pathetic remains of the Eternal Dominion.\n\nYear 65\n\n\u201cSir, you are incredibly lucky that the sword didn\u2019t hit any vital organs and just pierced the top layer of muscle.\u201d Lieutenant Davis says as he applies a mixture of some salve to the wound.\n\u201cAgh! Yeah, lucky me. Just patch me up, I want to finish off these wannabes once and for all.\u201d You say wincing at the burning sensation of the ointment working to seal the wound.\n\u201cGeneral, victory is assured, is it really necessary for you personally be involved in the combat? Your military expertise is better served as the mind. Colonel Gemma says she\u2019s got a handle on things.\u201d\n\u201cYeah, well if she\u2019s got such a handle on things, why did I have to save her ass at the Battle of Julk Pass? And what\u2019s this shit about my military expertise is better served with my mind? You\u2019re lucky I don\u2019t have you executed for saying shit like that! I was killing werebeasts, orcs and other shit you ain\u2019t even heard about before you were even a twinkle in your parent\u2019s eyes! I\u2019m still every bit of a warrior as I\u2026 ah shit! My fucking head!\u201d you suddenly shout and lie back down on the table.\n\nA couple of other medical types apply something cold to your head saying that you need to rest. The plate they put in your head from the bullet wound needs to be \u201cadjusted.\u201d You grudgingly comply and close your eyes.\n\nYou hate this weakness. Old age, the only enemy you can\u2019t outmaneuver, regardless of how hard you try. Death isn\u2019t something you\u2019ve ever been afraid of, indeed part of you never expected to even live this long. But death by old age? Natural causes? That\u2019s something you never even seriously considered before, even if it was in the back of your mind.\n\nIf you continue your insistence on believing you\u2019re still in your twenties, you\u2019re going to die on the battlefield. You know that, and you\u2019re okay with that idea, but part of you wonders if it\u2019s just foolish to throw your life away over being stubborn when you could still live and do more with you life. The Nalin Empire is thriving and you\u2019ve almost conquered the Eternal Dominion which means you effectively restored most of the old Empire. A feat Edgar was probably trying to accomplish no doubt, but much like him, if you died suddenly, who knows how long it would last before it crumbled.\n\nIf you want to leave any sort of real legacy, you would most likely have to step back now and begin to make preparations for a line of succession and you\u2019d need a lot of time to do that to sort out all the details. This would mean you\u2019d no longer be able to take such a personal approach to war again. Your days as a warrior would effectively be over and you\u2019d be back to the drudgery of bureaucratic rulership again.\n\nYou have to take a long look at yourself and decide now, if that\u2019s what your fate is going to be.", "action_results": [{"action": "Continue to lead by example", "result": "You spend the rest of the day in your personal tent still recovering from your last battle thinking about your situation.\n\nYour head still hurts from where part of your skull was replaced with a crude metal plate and your body aches all over as it has been for years. You\u2019re nearly deaf in your one working ear. You\u2019ve got scars all over your face and body. You even have a couple of missing fingertips now. Yet for good or ill, you\u2019re going to at least see this war through to its end. You have to be hands on when it comes to battle. You were raised to be a warrior, a killer, and an instrument of war. There have been times you\u2019ve had stray thoughts on a different life, but ultimately it\u2019s always come back to war.\n\nYou weren\u2019t meant to be an old man who dies on his throne either through natural causes or assassination, and you definitely weren\u2019t meant to find a love and live happily ever after.\n\nYou are an Eternal and you were meant to die in battle. Whatever happens afterwards is of minor importance.\n\nThe next morning you muster up all your strength and stand. You\u2019re a little wobbly, but you manage it and step outside. Several of your staff urges you to rest, but you ignore their concerns.\n\nYou plan your attack on the \u201cEternal City\u201d with your top staff. It was once the capital of the Empire, now it\u2019s the last stand of the Eternal Dominion. At this point there really isn\u2019t too much strategy involved. You just plan on blowing up the walls and storming the place with as many soldiers as possible. You remark that when the walls are down, you\u2019ll be leading the first assault.\n\n\u201cGeneral! You can\u2019t be serious! I understand you want to be involved in the battle, but this is going too far! You know very well the battalion that goes in first is going to suffer the most losses.\u201d Colonel Gemma exclaims.\n\u201cIt won\u2019t if I\u2019m leading it.\u201d You say. \u201cHowever, when I fall, you\u2019re next in line. I trust you know what to do. ALL of you know what you\u2019re supposed to do.\u201d\n\nThis remark causes a dead silence among your staff. You didn\u2019t even say IF you fall, you said WHEN you fall. You realize this and collect your thoughts in what you believe to be your last speech to all of them.\n\n\u201c(Sigh) Look, I\u2019m tired. I\u2019m old. I got more scars than all of you put together. I\u2019m missing portions of my body. I\u2019m in constant pain and I got a fucking plate in my head. I appreciate all the service you\u2019ve given in the past few years and in some cases decades. Your concern for my life is noted, but I know it\u2019s time. I\u2019ve lived a satisfying life. I won\u2019t say good, because I\u2019ve been through enough shit to know that isn\u2019t true, but I can say it had its good moments. And I fully intend on making my last moments on earth satisfying as well by leading all of you to victory before it\u2019s all over. So! You all have your orders, and if I\u2019m wrong about my impending death\u2026well I\u2019ll see you all in the palace when this is over and you all can taunt me for being an overly dramatic old man. One taunt per person of course.\u201d\n\nThis last remark lightens the mood enough for a couple of them to smile. One even manages to give a small chuckle. You figure even if you don\u2019t believe it, you should try to keep morale up.\n\nThe attack on the city commences. It won\u2019t really take long to bring the walls down. Never thought the day would come where you\u2019d actually be attacking this place. It\u2019s funny, in all the years you served the Empire, you never once set foot into it\u2019s capital, let alone the Emperor\u2019s palace. You sometimes wonder what exactly happened to the Emperor when the Empire fell. Was he killed? Did he escape? Was there really ever an Emperor at all?\n\nIt\u2019s all irrelevant now you suppose.\n\nAfter a couple days of bombardment by catapults and cannons you at last breach the walls enough that the opening cannot be repaired quick enough. That\u2019s when you make your move.\n\n\u201cATTACK!\u201d you shout while galloping forward with your horse, which is shaking you enough to make every bone in your body ache. You\u2019ve never really liked riding horses, but if you want to be the first one in the city, you need the speed, because running just isn\u2019t something you do much anymore.\n\nYou get closer and closer to the city nearly getting blown to pieces in the process by the cannon fire. How you aren\u2019t shot off your horse by a stray bullet is short of amazing. It\u2019s just as well you\u2019re nearly deaf, you doubt if you could stand the noise of the explosions if you weren\u2019t.\n\nYou reach the wall breach and it is there your horse rears up from the wall of pikes held by the enemy. This temporarily saves its life, but a few shots are fired and the beast makes one last neigh before collapsing. You are also hit in the leg by one of these shots, but you fortunately manage to avoid having the horse land on you when you\u2019re thrown from it. Sensing that you\u2019re an easy target some the enemy soldiers break their formation and attempt to attack you while you\u2019re down, but you\u2019re far from being out of this fight. Ignoring the pain, you stand up and meet your attackers head on, easily slaying them. You then proceed to fight your way through the breach just before the rest of your soldiers reach it to help you.\n\nThe bodies of the dead surround you and the streets are quite literally running red with blood. The mixture of gunpowder and death fills your lungs when you breathe deeply and it smells a hell of a lot better than that poison cloud that Slin witch inflicted on you years ago.\n\nLimping around on one good leg, you help out the rest of your soldiers who are a little faster than you now in engaging the enemy. You tell them all to take the palace, a lot of them shout back at you, but you can only really read their lips due to the noise and your bad hearing.\n\nThe Eternal Dominion\u2019s last stand has them pulling out all the stops for this battle, at one point you find yourself facing a large group of orc troops in heavy armor and a single battle mage desperately trying to defend the gates of the palace. It\u2019s been a while since you\u2019ve faced either of these enemies, but you\u2019re not going to run at this late stage.\n\nYour soldiers engage the orcs and you try to focus on the battle mage who is chanting something, a couple of shots are fired at him, but whatever magic barrier he has up blocks them. When you reach him, his eyes turn completely red and a ring of flame suddenly emanates from him burning you and several others nearby. You fall to the palace steps trying to put the flames out and after managing to do so you realize you\u2019re now blind in one eye and the other eye sees a statue outside the palace beginning to move.\n\n\u201cFuck, he\u2019s bringing it to life.\u201d You say to yourself. Your body then feels a heavy mace blow to your left arm shattering several bones in it. It\u2019s quite possible that you would die right there if not for a fellow soldier killing the orc that attacked you. Somebody helps you up and you\u2019re feeling nearly delirious at this point. Someone shouts about you bleeding from the head, but you can\u2019t really hear them, you\u2019re still focused on the mattle mage, who has nearly brought the statue to life.\n\nFighting through the pain as usual, you rush at the mage, even knocking an orc down in the process. The barrier doesn\u2019t stop non-projectiles and you easily tackle him. He tries to cast a spell, but is unable to when you shove your armored fist into his mouth. As he chokes on his own blood and teeth, you pull part of his tongue out and then smash his skull open on the palace steps painting them with his brains. Whatever magic that was about to power the statue dies with him and it stops moving.\n\nYou stand back up with great effort, one of your soldiers shouts something about getting into the palace and you just nod and limp your way inside. Victory is at hand.\n\nYou step inside the palace and even in the midst of this carnage it is certainly impressive. You can only imagine what it looked like at the height of the Empire\u2019s might. Several of your soldiers engage the last remaining hold outs, but you just wander about looking at the palace. You feel sort of odd, like almost delirious, but you try to ignore it. It has been a tiring day after all.\n\nYou see the skirmishing going on in the hallways and rooms, but you\u2019re looking for something in particular, the throne room. You eventually find it, and surprisingly it\u2019s empty. A couple of vases and banner have been knocked to the floor, but other than that, it\u2019s in relatively good condition.\n\nYou gaze upon the single impressive platinum throne at the back and approach it. You feel a sudden sense of accomplishment and pride in your deeds. You\u2019re also still feeling woozy and you collapse to one knee, but some how it seems appropriate.\n\n\u201cI see. The Emperor\u2026he was still watching\u2026he was always watching\u2026I\u2019ve passed the test.\u201d You says to yourself staring at the floor.\n\nYou then look up at the empty throne.\n\n\u201cI have restored the Empire. I have restored its glory. I will take my place with you soon.\u201d You say and then pass out, never to wake up.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Retire your sword", "result": "Your head still hurts from where part of your skull was replaced with a crude metal plate and your body aches all over as it has been for years. You\u2019re nearly deaf in your one working ear. You\u2019ve got scars all over your face and body. You even have a couple of missing fingertips now. Even if you did go into battle again, you probably wouldn\u2019t even make it to the city.\n\nYou\u2019ve finally realized that your days of battle are over, or at least over on any meaningful level. It\u2019s a sobering thought and not one you\u2019re happy with, but if you\u2019re going to truly re-establish the Empire or have a reasonable successor nation, then you\u2019re going to have to step back from the battlefield.\n\nThe next day you call in your top staff and tell them that you will indeed pull yourself out of the final push on to the \u201cEternal City\u201d, they all of course agree with your decision and state they are glad to hear you\u2019ve made it. You tell them all what you want done still as far as the attack is concerned and you also say you aren\u2019t going to be running off the battlefield just yet, as you still want to oversee things from a distance at least.\n\nThere really isn\u2019t too much strategy in the scheme of things. You plan on breaching the wall with cannons and catapults and then your soldiers will kill everything hostile within. Simple enough.\n\nYou watch from outside your tent when the attack commences, hours pass and everything is going as planned and then your head begins to hurt once again. Cursing, you go back inside to lie down for a while. After a few minutes you begin to feel better, but now you\u2019re tired. If your hearing was better you probably wouldn\u2019t be able to fall asleep, but as it is, the faint sounds of the cannons and battle aren\u2019t enough to keep you awake. You figure a small nap won\u2019t hurt, so you allow yourself to drift off.\n\nYou begin to have a dream where you are back in Mistress\u2019 classroom. Everything is the same except you\u2019re the only one there and you\u2019re five years old again. Mistress then walks into the room with a sneer on her face.\n\n\u201cYou disappoint me, but then I should\u2019ve expected such weakness from one that begs for his life when faced with the possibility of death!\u201d Mistress says to you.\n\u201cI\u2026\u201d is all you get out before she kicks you in the chest and steps on you. You look up and see her cruelly smiling at you.\n\u201cSilence! Did you learn nothing from me? You lack discipline! You always did! You\u2019re weak and soft! That\u2019s why your Empire fell! You think you can restore it? It\u2019s gone! Just like most of your fellow Eternals and you\u2019ll be next, if you don\u2019t beg. Now do it! Beg!\u201d\n\u201cNo\u2026I\u2026\u201d you gasp.\n\u201cWhat?! You dare disobey me?\u201d Mistress shouts and ceases stepping on you for a moment to pick you up and slap you across the face. You slap her back and she throws you into a bunch of chairs.\n\u201cImpudent whelp! You will learn to obey!\u201d she yells and moves towards you.\n\nYou scramble back and stand up. She approaches closer and you pick up a chair and attempt to hit her with it, but she grabs it and yanks it from your hands.\n\n\u201cNice try Eternal, but it\u2019s too late for fighting back.\u201d\n\nYou try to get out of the way, but you feel hard wooden chair smashing into your body which is already bruised and sore from being thrown. You collapse on the floor and feel something wet dripping from your head. It\u2019s blood.\n\nYou are picked up and turned around by Mistress; she spits in your face and lifts you in the air. You can barely focus on her face as you\u2019re feeling very dizzy.\n\n\u201cIs this the best you can do? You couldn\u2019t even land one hit on me and you\u2019re trying to restore the Empire? You need to just let it die. Its time came and went just like yours did. Yet instead of letting go and dying with dignity you\u2019re choosing to live as a parody of yourself ruling a parody of the Empire. Pathetic!\u201d Mistress says and throws you, though you don\u2019t hit a wall like you expect to, you just continue to fly backwards in the air and then someone catches you.\n\n\u201cOof! What the hell son, I\u2019m not carrying you, you fight your own battles!\u201d you hear Captain Gruz say and then he drops you to the floor. When you stand back up you\u2019re a little bigger. You\u2019re twelve and in Gruz\u2019s training room.\n\n\u201cNow listen, I know we had our differences, but don\u2019t you listen to that svelk bitch, she\u2019s just projecting her own failures onto you. I say go for it. I mean I think you know you can achieve anything you set your mind to. So what if you\u2019re an old broken down warhorse now? You can still restore the Empire. The hard part is over! It\u2019s just the boring part that you have to take care of, and if you start on it now, you might even take care of all of it before you die! But remember you have to work with others, for it to succeed! Now go on, and for the Emperor\u2019s sake, let go of the fucking past, it doesn\u2019t need to be perfect! Nothing ever is!\u201d\n\nAt this point Captain Gruz points to a door and you comply and grab the handle and pull the door towards you\u2026\n\n\u201cSir! Sir! It\u2019s just me!\u201d Colonel Gemma shouts. You open your eyes and see her blurry image and your hand strongly grabbing her wrist. She probably was trying to wake you up and you instinctively reacted. Seeing that you\u2019re not in danger you let her go.\n\n\u201cWhat the hell\u2019s going on?\u201d you say sitting up and rubbing your head.\n\u201cI just wanted to inform you that we won. The city is uh\u2026ours.\u201d\n\u201cHmm, what\u2019s that hesitation in your voice?\u201d\n\u201cNo hesitation, just well\u2026\u201d\n\u201cColonel, my head still hurts so I\u2019m in no mood for your sputtering, now out with it!\u201d\n\u201cThe city is ours and the enemy has been defeated, but I\u2019m afraid that the city has been totally destroyed.\u201d\n\u201cDestroyed? What the fuck happened?\u201d\n\u2018There were some complications\u2026sir\u2026I\u2026\u201d\n\nYou don\u2019t let her finish; you get off you bed, push her aside and are blinded by the light when you open the tent. When you fell asleep it was mid-day, now the sun is coming up! Were you asleep the whole damn day?\n\nYou look in the distance and see the Eternal City with heavy smoke rising from it. In fact there is a weird purple cloud hovering over part of it as well. You can\u2019t even see any of the large towers anymore and it looks like the palace was trashed as well, if the destroyed domes and spires are any indication. So much for making this the new capital or even stepping foot into a place that you never even got to visit when you were serving the Empire.\n\n\u201cWhy the hell didn\u2019t someone wake me?!\u201d you shout. Several officers nearby are silent. Gemma once again attempts to explain that someone did, but you were in a deep sleep and thought you\u2019d only be angry if you thought they couldn\u2019t handle things.\n\nYou look at her and the rest of your staff. Here they are scared of your next reaction and there are several of them and one of you. Some are in very fit condition and all of them are armed with firearms as well as close combat weapons. If they were all of the mind to overthrow you by putting several bullets in your body they could easily do it, and quite frankly you wouldn\u2019t even blame them either.\n\nYet somehow their mixture of fear and respect for you prevents them from doing so. This is what you have to work with and this is as good as it gets. It could be a lot worse.\n\n\u201c(Sigh) Alright. You all did well and I\u2019m proud of all of you. There\u2019s going to be some changes in command structure, but we can get to that later. I want a carriage sent here to take me back to the capital, but before that I guess a small victory celebration is in order.\u201d\n\u201cGeneral, you don\u2019t want the Eternal City?\u201d someone asks.\n\u201cWell it would\u2019ve been nice, but no. In fact just leave it; I don\u2019t even want it rebuilt. It\u2019s a relic of a past that\u2019s long dead. The Nalin Empire doesn\u2019t need it.\u201d\n\nYou go back in your tent to lay down while hearing the faint sounds of cheering of your staff and surviving soldiers outside.\n\nYou drift off again and hope you have better dreams this time around.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 75\n\nAnother day of aches and pains, getting old sucks.\n\nAfter a couple of years of finally putting down the rest of the new Eternal hold outs, you\u2019ve been spending most of your time restructuring the Nalin Empire\u2019s command structure, economy, security and all the rest that goes with it. You haven\u2019t done a bad job considering you were bred for war, not administration, then again you\u2019ve been doing it in limited capacity for years, you just decided to totally focus on it for once and the results are excellent.\n\nWhile you still have the reputation for ruthlessness, you\u2019ve managed to temper that a bit in last few years even with all the changes you\u2019ve made. Most rulers would probably have to worry about coups or assassination attempts, but those haven\u2019t been a problem due to the high amount of respect you\u2019ve earned from the military. General Cynthia Gemma is officially your second in command, so if anything happens to you, she takes over. Though sometimes you wonder if you\u2019ll outlive her given your knack of surviving. Warrick who was the only other Eternal left besides you died last year. Before he did, he sent a letter informing you that his final hours were upon him.\n\nHe didn\u2019t exactly say what was wrong, just that he felt the combination of his age and old wounds catching up to him. It wasn\u2019t a long letter, just mostly him saying how he was glad he never had to fight you as he still respected you as a leader. The respect was mutual. Indeed it was one of the factors to as why you never attacked the Felkan Kingdom. You mourned his passing as you morn the passing of all your fellow Eternals. Most of them deserved better ends. All of them actually.\n\nAnd now here you are the last of not just your old comrades, but of your kind. The last words that Gruz once told you, have at last come true\u2026you outlived everyone.\n\nWhether you were tougher, smarter, or luckier than the rest you don\u2019t know. Maybe it was something by design when the Empire altered you. Maybe it was just common sense and the simple will to live.\n\nThough lately you\u2019ve been wondering about \u201cliving.\u201d You don\u2019t have too many thrills left anymore and the constant pain you\u2019re in, doesn\u2019t make things any easier. You didn\u2019t quite understand all of Brenda\u2019s choice to end her life at the time, but as you\u2019ve reflected on it again and again over the years you get it now and you\u2019re starting to wonder if it\u2019s time to join your fellows.\n\nBesides all you victories in battle, you\u2019ve practically rebuilt the Empire. At least you have as best you could\u2019ve done, all things considered and that\u2019s no easy achievement. You have done enough for anyone to feel proud of doing and if you died now, there would be no shame.\n\nStill, part of you wonders if you\u2019ve lived this long what else could you accomplish if you went on a little longer? Granted you could mess up your already strong reputation, but you could also go on to other great things.", "action_results": [{"action": "End your life", "result": "If you were younger perhaps you\u2019d go on to try to conquer the world, but that\u2019s a task for other more energetic leaders than yourself. You\u2019ve had your battles and won your victories, now it\u2019s time for your hard earned rest.\n\nHowever you fully intend on going out the same way you lived and you call Gemma and all your closest staff to assemble in the throne room. You dress in your old Empire gear and ignore the constant pain as you slowly walk to meet them there. When you arrive, they\u2019re all at attention and respectful as usual. You look them all over and sit down on your throne to rest before you go through with what you have planned.\n\n\u201cMy loyal staff and soldiers, the time has come for me to realize that I may no longer be in fit condition to properly lead you all anymore. I believe I have done a good job all these years, but a good leader also knows when his or her time is possibly at an end.\u201d\n\nYour staff and some of the guards look a little surprised by your remark. They would probably verbally disagree with you, but they\u2019ve grown accustomed to know when to speak and now is not the time.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m not just getting old, I\u2019m a shell of my former self, I have been for quite some time. However there was still work that needed to be done, so I persevered through the pain and the stress to achieve my goal. And that has been accomplished, the Nalin Empire is now a worthy successor to the old Empire.\u201d\n\nYou take a long pause and stand up again. The ache of this action alone makes you glad you won\u2019t have to go through it anymore soon. You slowly step towards your staff and address them.\n\n\u201cI may no longer be fit to lead\u2026but then again maybe I am. There is still battle lust that rages in these old bones. I will not just step down and live out some sort of feeble existence where I am only trotted out during celebrations or when advice is needed. I won\u2019t be some ancient relic to be handled with sympathy or awe. No, if my reign is truly meant to end today then it shall be by combat. General Gemma draw your weapon.\u201d You say and draw your sword.\n\u201cSir, I\u2026\u201d\n\u201cI SAID DRAW YOUR WEAPON OR I\u2019LL KILL YOU WHERE YOU STAND!\u201d you demand.\n\nGeneral Gemma draws her weapon and steps forward. You stand back and position yourself into your fighting stance.\n\n\u201cAlright now the rest of you listen, if the good general here kills me, you follow her. If not, then you still follow me. It\u2019s pretty easy. And as for you, defend yourself!\u201d you shout and attack.\n\nYour swords clash and the battle commences. At first Cynthia seems to only be on the defense, as if she\u2019s unwilling to harm you, let alone kill you. You can see it in her eyes that this isn\u2019t a battle she wants to fight, not so much due to fear, but due to respect. Part of you understands her reluctance and you appreciate it, so you figure you need to push her a bit.\n\n\u201cWhat\u2019s the matter? Can\u2019t beat an old man? Then again you\u2019re no spring chicken yourself, perhaps I should\u2019ve chosen a younger successor.\u201d\n\nIt\u2019s not the cruelest thing you\u2019ve ever said, but it does the job. Cynthia begins to go on the offensive.\n\nPain wracks your body with every sword swing, but even with your battered body and slower reflexes you\u2019re still proving to be a match for Cynthia. She\u2019s not an unskilled warrior, she wouldn\u2019t be in her position if she was, but even with a few more taunts you\u2019re getting the impression she\u2019s still holding back\u2026either that or you\u2019re still that good.\n\nPerhaps it\u2019s a combination of both, because Cynthia leaves herself wide open for a killing blow that you could easily take advantage of. You don\u2019t think she even did it intentionally; she\u2019s just so upset at having to fight you that her head is not completely in the fight. Of course that\u2019s never really ever been a problem for you even during the worst of conditions, and there were some bad ones.\n\nYou realize that you\u2019ll probably win this fight and you weren\u2019t really expecting to. You nearly laugh at the absurdity that you may very well have to kill half your staff before one of them is able to take your position through combat, and that\u2019ll only be because you\u2019d be so tired by that point. If you were even ten years younger you could probably kill them all.\n\nBut that isn\u2019t your goal today. You goal was to go out in one last battle and if that means you\u2019re going to have to \u201chelp\u201d events along then so be it. You don\u2019t take advantage of the opening, but you do leave one for Cynthia. One that she can\u2019t ignore, though there is a split second of hesitation\u2026\n\nThen you feel the sharp blade rip past your flesh and into your upper chest. A couple of ribs break from the force and your heart is sliced open as it passes by it and out the other side of your back.\n\nYou stop to look down and see the blade slowly being withdrawn from your body and covered in your blood. It won\u2019t be long now and you feel death already beginning to take you. You see Cynthia convey a troubled expression on her face and look away as your body falls to the floor. Everyone else looks on in stunned silence.\n\nCoughing up blood and bleeding out all over the floor, the last thing you hear even with your near deafness is a quiet \u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d and feel the touch of a hand.\n\nThen you feel nothing else ever again.\n\nYour funeral is a large event, with lots of military honors and grand speeches about your accomplishments. You are placed in a fancy tomb with an impressive statue nearby. It\u2019s a fitting funeral.\n\nThe memory of you exists for quite some time, but as time does with all things, eventually it wears away. Successor after successor become less capable of holding together what you have built. Nothing lasts forever.\n\nCivil wars, invasions, in fighting and countless other factors play apart in the eventual complete dissolution of the Nalin Empire as an entity three hundred years later and a new dark age begins once again.\n\nStill, every once in awhile various savage tribes stumble upon your weathered broken statues when scavenging through the various ruins that dot the landscape. They don\u2019t know your name, they don\u2019t know what you did, they know nothing of what you accomplished or where you came from. Yet the dominating stance and the determined look on the face still convey the idea that a great warrior once called these lands his own.\n\nIt is hardly surprising that eventually one of these savages found inspiration in these statues to forge her own empire.\n\nSuch is the cycle of things.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Continue to live", "result": "No, there are still battles to be won even if they aren\u2019t of the physical nature anymore.\n\nOne of these battles is how to prevent all of what you\u2019ve built from collapsing soon after you die. You don\u2019t believe it\u2019ll fall into complete anarchy immediately of course and you\u2019re sure that your first few successors will probably do a good enough job since you\u2019ve set it up in such a manner, but entropy and decline seem to be factors as certain as death.\n\nYou wonder if this would be easier if you had been able to have children. You know that you can\u2019t just by experience and your own past discussions with Brenda when she spoke of Roldan. No Eternals could have children. You never did know why and just chalked it up to it being something in the process of your creation. Maybe nature balancing itself?\n\nIn any case you do come up with something. You think back to the old Empire and the emperor. You never did get to meet him\u2026or her\u2026or it! You once wondered if there even was an emperor. You assume there had to have been at one time, probably several, but something changed. Something changed to make people believe that the emperor wasn\u2019t just a mortal anymore, but an immortal of sorts. It\u2019s this sort of thinking that held the old Empire for a very long time.\n\nIt occurs to you that you need to start this very same mindset now. Most of the citizens as of right now hold a certain respect for you and the military is in near awe. You need to keep that going even after you\u2019re dead. The population needs to believe that you\u2019re still alive, watching and protecting them forever. You\u2019re not really looking for immortality for yourself so much as you\u2019re looking for immortality for what you\u2019ve struggled to rebuild. Even creating a strong cult of personality so that you still have \u201cfollowers\u201d long after your death won\u2019t solve the problem.\n\nBasically, you can\u2019t die and you mean you literally can\u2019t die.\n\nOf course this is impossible, so you have to do the next best thing. Fake your life. Create the same lie that the Empire did. Granted you don\u2019t know if they did, but you\u2019re going to have to attempt it the best way you can. It\u2019s a gamble and it might not even work, but you figure it\u2019s worth a shot and you won\u2019t really know if it fails or not since you\u2019ll be too dead to care.\n\nYou call General Gemma into your chambers. She arrives promptly as usual though she seems a confused as you never call anyone into your private chambers.\n\n\u201cAh good, you\u2019re here. We\u2019ve got some important things to talk about.\u201d\n\nYou begin to explain your plan to Cynthia. It\u2019s a lot for her to take in, but she certainly understands it, she also provides some input that you didn\u2019t immediately think about.\n\nIn time a few more of your closest staff are informed of this plan and sworn to absolute secrecy then the plan is set into motion. You begin to make less public appearances and have little contact with anyone else except your staff, and begin to have propaganda spread about how you seem to be undergoing a transformation.\n\nYou confine yourself to your private chambers most of the time and never leave the palace at all. It\u2019s like a prison, but this is what you need to do in order to carry out this grand plan. You keep yourself busy by thinking up more ideas for your grand plan and making notes as you go.\n\nYou think about having all your palace guards replaced by some sort of golem, but then that would require having mages around all the time and you\u2019d rather not deal with that factor. So you do something else, you implement your own elite warrior program. The Silent Ones, utterly loyal soldiers conditioned from birth to serve the Nalin Empire and you no matter what. Their tongues are also removed so that they cannot speak any lies or speak out of turn.\n\nYear 88\n\nThe Silent Ones have replaced all other normal palace guards and nobody else other than a select few are able to enter the palace at all and only Cynthia is able to directly have contact with you.\n\nThe palace becomes a very quiet place which you enjoy as you can now wander more around your own home without bumping into anyone other than your new guards. The Silent Ones may be young still, but you don\u2019t doubt their loyalty or their skill. When you look them in the eyes, you can see the near worship they\u2019ve been trained to have. Reminds you of the old days when you used to feel the same way about your leader, though at least they\u2019ve gotten to see you and know you\u2019re real, you felt you owed them that much for their indoctrination.\n\nCynthia is supposed to meet with you today as she normally does. You figure it\u2019ll be about the usual stuff She meets you in your private chambers as usual.\n\n\u201cHello Cynthia, I hope you are well today.\u201d You say.\n\u201cI\u2019m fine sir, and you?\u201d\n\u201cThe usual aches and pain, though ever since I threw everyone out of the palace, I\u2019ve actually felt better than I have in years. Things sort of feel more relaxed when you don\u2019t have a host of advisors constantly chattering in your ear all the time wanting to get your attention about something.\u201d\n\u201cYes, it would be a blessing I suppose. You sure you don\u2019t want a medic or anything to keep track of your health?\u201d\n\u201cWhat for? I\u2019m going to live forever remember? Start bringing doctors in here and all there needs to be is one bystander to see it and start spreading lies about me possibly being dead or dying.\u201d\n\u201cWell there are a few rumors about you already\u2026\u201d\n\u201cAh yes, but just that there are strange goings on at this palace, changes and such. That coupled with the ongoing propaganda about me, the commoners and the average soldiers don\u2019t really know what to think. It\u2019s important that they believe that they don\u2019t just have a series of tyrants watching them, they need an immortal sentinel.\u201d\n\u201cWhy not just create a religion and tie it into the state?\u201d\n\u201cOh no, not doing that. I\u2019ve already seen some of that in action with my countless battles with barbarian tribes. In Rask, several of them were all practically worshipping the same faceless deities and continued to fight each other due to small disagreements in how it was interpreted. They would\u2019ve done better to put aside their petty differences in doctrine and unite under it against us instead. Religion can unite people, but it can also divide them worse than anything else, it\u2019s why I outlawed organized religions and cults a long time ago. It\u2019s a silly concept anyway. The idea of beings with so much power over us, yet do nothing.\u201d\n\u201cBut who says they don\u2019t? Maybe they work through us or something\u2026\u201d\n\nYour eyebrows rise a bit.\n\n\u201cWhy Cynthia, I didn\u2019t take you for a believer in the gods.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2026I don\u2019t know. I mean, even though there is less magic in the world nowadays, it still exists. There are so many fantastic things in this world that I just don\u2019t think it\u2019s out of the realm of impossibility to have gods.\u201d\n\u201cHmm, well I\u2019m not convinced. I think holy men of all kinds just perpetuate this lie to serve their own ends.\u201d\n\nAt one time Cynthia might\u2019ve been a little too scared to approach you about this, but given how close you\u2019ve been over the years, perhaps she has gotten a little more familiar.\n\n\u201cBut, isn\u2019t that similar to the lie we\u2019re trying to perpetuate?\u201d she says.\n\nYou look at her with a completely serious expression, one of annoyance actually. She looks slightly worried now, and then you smile.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re probably right, but in our case we\u2019re doing it for the greater good!\u201d you laugh.\n\nAs your laugher can be heard throughout the quiet halls of the palace, somehow it brings a little joy to the Silent Ones. Your happiness brings them happiness.", "action_results": []}]}]}]}, {"action": "Leave", "result": "You thought you left the Empire because it no longer felt like the government you swore to serve. Now that you\u2019re actually in charge and made things more like how they should be, you still feel dissatisfied. Maybe you\u2019ve just got too much \u201cwarrior\u201d in you to deal with the minute details of rulership, maybe you just miss Brenda; maybe it\u2019s a combination of several things. The point remains that you\u2019re burned out on civilization in general and maybe you just need to be by yourself for a while. Granted you\u2019ve always been a bit by yourself even among your fellow Eternals, but you\u2019re thinking you need to be really alone. By yourself and maybe finding your own way elsewhere.\n\nSo you pack up some of your belongings and leave. You don\u2019t bother even telling anyone, you just go and head east. You keep to the wilderness and eventually when you step beyond the borders of eastern Nalin, you at last feel like a great weight has been lifted off your shoulders. After a few months, you don\u2019t miss Nalin at all.\n\nIn the years that follow you wander, seeing new sights and getting into a few skirmishes a long the way. Sometimes you genuinely attempt to find a place where you feel comfortable, but it just never happens and you continue your wandering.\n\nWhile you continue to feel the ravages of old age always creeping up on you, you stubbornly refuse to submit to them. Ever the warrior, you eventually meet your end in battle with a group of opportunistic svelk bandits.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Cythia Gemma (Personnel File)", "result": "From all accounts Cynthia had a very average upbringing, though it would appear that her family was never big on the military lifestyle as most of them seem to have had a history of working as laborers of some sort. You can only guess she was a bit of a black sheep.\n\nActually you\u2019ve never really known Cynthia on a personal level, but you\u2019ve known her to be a competent soldier and later officer. Though currently a colonel, in some ways she\u2019s still a little \u201cunready\u201d than her position would suggest, as she has risen through some of the ranks due to the older officers retiring or dying off. Still, she\u2019s served with distinction during the tribal wars in the east and has kept on top of the bandit rings that sometimes still pop up and you wouldn\u2019t have suggested her promotions if you didn\u2019t think she could handle it.\n\nShe\u2019s always been a little too eager to please at times, but you really can\u2019t fault her for being loyal.", "action_results": [null]}]}]}]}]}]}, {"action": "Send them to the east", "result": "If the Eternal Dominion ever does decide to attack, it\u2019ll be better if your best soldiers are already assigned to the northern borders rather than having to scramble to pull them back from the east. You also figure the conscripts can put in their time exploring the eastern wilderness along with defending the few settlements you currently have there right now.\n\nWhen Brenda enacts conscription there is a lot of grumbling as was expected, but nothing more. Many of the conscripts are just glad you aren\u2019t assigning them to the northern borders after hearing all the scary things about Edgar and his \u201cbaby eating\u201d army. They won\u2019t just be there without any supervision either, as you\u2019ll still have a few veteran officers overseeing the situation.\n\nMonths pass a life goes on as usual, and you begin to get reports on the eastern wilderness. Most of the scouts say that there is evidence of other denizens living further east. In fact there seems to be a small tribal war going on between four separate groups. Two of those are human barbarian tribes, one them is elven, but much wilder than what you know of them and the last one is a race you\u2019re not familiar with called the Slin. They\u2019re apparently reptilian in nature though, similar to the kobolds, but much larger and meaner.\n\nAll of them save for one of the human tribes have been hostile to your scouts. Your scouts report that most attacks were accompanied by slurs and curses against the Empire. Even the Slin have been reported to utter a few recognizable insults in their strange reptilian tongue.\n\nYou can only guess that all of these folks at one time came in contact with the Empire and it wasn\u2019t a good experience. Makes sense they would mistake you for Empire troops as well considering that all your troops are either still wearing the same armor or very similar armor. Some of the veteran officers are even still wearing the same insignias. Sort of like you do actually.\n\nYou\u2019re very disappointed by the reports you\u2019ve been getting on the various skirmishes your soldiers have had. Most of them involve heavy losses or in some cases outright defeats! Most of the conscripts apparently just aren\u2019t cut out to handle these savages, they\u2019re still too green and they also lack the desire to fight in the first place.\n\nThe problem is worse than just losing soldiers though. Most of these were young males and females, sons and daughter taken from their homes that didn\u2019t want to be soldiers in the first place. Predictably there is peasant backlash from this.\n\nNot willing to risk any more soldiers, you immediately order a halt to the scouting and make the decision that you\u2019re going to have to go oversee things personally. Normally you wouldn\u2019t mind this since you were getting bored lately, but you don\u2019t like the circumstances to why you have to do it.\n\nBrenda certainly hopes you can fix things, because while keeping the peasants in line through force is a time-honored tradition, it isn\u2019t really helping things right now. You can\u2019t afford to have a full-scale revolt over this. What you\u2019d like to do is wipe out every single one of those tribes as soon as possible before they can unite against you, but you know you can\u2019t really do that without either toughening up the conscripts or taking your vets off the northern borders and since that really isn\u2019t an option, you\u2019re going to have to toughen up the recruits.\n\nThe first thing you do is gather all your officers assigned there and reprimand them, stating if they were doing their job properly, you wouldn\u2019t have to come here and do it for them. You might\u2019ve even had some of them executed for incompetence, but you really can\u2019t afford to lose anyone right now.\n\nSecond of all you have a new camp built near one the eastern Nalin villages. This is where all the soldiers are going to be housed and training until further notice. Soldier rotations to be stationed at the few eastern settlements will be implemented. But most importantly a whole new training schedule is going to be put into action. You need to get these folks to start thinking the right way. It is your hope that in a couple of months, they start shaping up into the solider you need them to be.\n\nThe first few weeks go pretty horrible. Your rigorous and harsh training causes some of the conscripts to go from low morale to suicidal. After three deaths, one of your officers claims you\u2019re pushing them too hard and you\u2019re going to have to ease up.\n\n\u201cCaptain Talger isn\u2019t it?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cYes sir.\u201d\n\u201cYou did serve under the Empire didn\u2019t you?\u201d\n\u201cYes sir, for many years until we\u2026uh seceded.\u201d\n\u201cYou remember what the punishment was for questioning a superior\u2019s decisions?\u201d\n\u201c\u2026yes\u2026yes I do sir.\u201d He says in a very worried tone.\n\nAfter a moment of silence, you tell him to follow you outside to the training grounds.\n\nYou and Captain Talger walk to the middle of the grounds where several people are training, if they aren\u2019t you tell one of your other officers to call everyone to the grounds immediately. When everyone arrives, you address the crowd.\n\n\u201cIt has come to my attention that I may be training you lot too hard. This has been told to me, by Captain Talger here and he may have a point.\u201d\n\nTalger looks slightly surprised to hear you say that, he also relaxes a little.\n\n\u201cI understand that many of you do not want to be here. I also understand that many of you are not naturally killers. Few are. Most of you would just like to go back home and live nice little safe lives. And contrary to popular belief, I actually can understand that as well.\u201d\n\nYou walk over to a nearby weapon rack and examine a few swords, taking one of fairly good quality. You begin to speak again.\n\n\u201cHowever, that\u2019s not going to happen.\u201d You say and throw the sword to the ground near Captain Talger\u2019s feet.\n\n\u201cCaptain pick up the sword.\u201d\n\u201cSir?\u201d\n\u201cI SAID PICK UP THE SWORD!\u201d you shout.\n\nTalger immediately picks up the sword. You see him tremble a little, but manages to keep it together. The crowd looks on anxious to see what will happen next.\n\n\u201cGood, now attack me.\u201d You say and draw your own blade.\n\nTalger nearly speaks, but stops himself. He realizes he doesn\u2019t really have any options in this. He closes his eyes for a brief moment presumably to calm himself and then approaches you.\n\nHe attacks you with some skill and nearly manages to hit you, but ultimately you are the superior warrior and you stop holding back. You manage to smash his face with the pommel of your own sword. His nose nearly explodes into a mass of blood, but before he falls, you grab his sword arm and break it, causing him to drop his weapon and cry out before tumbling to the ground.\n\nYou kick the sword away and address the crowd again.\n\n\u201cYou see this? This man knew he was facing potential death and he did not run away. He faced it like a soldier and tried to do his best. He showed true dedication. You all should be so brave. That\u2019s all I\u2019m asking, it is not such a difficult lesson to learn.\u201d\n\nYou look down at Captain Talger who is trying hard not to scream out in any more pain and is having a hard time breath due to his bloody nose.\n\n\u201cHowever, this man also spoke out against me\u2026Captain Talger are you ready for your sentence?\u201d\n\u201c\u2026(wheeze)\u2026argh\u2026.(wheeze)\u2026I\u2026acce\u2026(wheeze) accept\u2026\u201d\n\u201cYour life will serve as a lesson to the rest, you will have an honorable burial.\u201d You quietly say and bring your sword down on his chest killing him instantly.\n\nThe crowd remains silent as you draw out your sword from Talger\u2019s body.\n\n\u201cLearn from this man\u2019s bravery and dedication\u2026but also learn from his mistakes. DO NOT FUCK WITH ME! You all WILL become proper soldiers and you WILL serve Nalin with nothing less than your best! If you do not, none of you will leave here alive. For anyone thinking about suicide I suggest you just come down here now and let me kill you so I\u2019m not wasting my time training you fucking grub worms! Oh and in case you all want to get cute and unite by walking down here together as a group, I suggest that you don\u2019t if you value your lives, because I have no problem killing every last one of you by myself if I have to! I\u2019ve destroyed entire villages of werewolves including their young, it\u2019ll take me even less time to lay waste to you pathetic shitheads.\u201d\n\nYou continue your rant.\n\n\u201cLet me make this clear you maggots, we have enemies to the east of us, that won\u2019t fucking hesitate to rip your guts out and eat them. Do you really think if you all just go back home they\u2019re going to leave you alone? No, they\u2019re going to eventually advance westward and invade all those nice little peaceful homes you all so desperately want to go back to. You want a nice safe home, well you\u2019re going to need to earn your keep and fight for it. You either die in here or die out there; it\u2019s your choice. The big difference is out there you have a chance against those fucking savages. In here with me? You\u2019ve got none. So I suggest you all start getting your shit together now, I don\u2019t want to repeat this lesson again.\u201d\n\nYou take you leave and head back to your office, leaving everyone to ponder your words.\n\nA few days later there is an improvement in performance. Still a few suicides here and even some training deaths, but its just the weak being culled from the heard as usual.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 48\n\n\u201cWe can\u2019t take anymore forces off the northern borders you know that!\u201d Brenda says.\n\u201cI know that better than anyone, but we\u2019re making progress against those barbarians in the east. I just need a company\u2026\u201d\n\u201cAnd I said no! Look I know you\u2019re mainly in charge of all the military stuff here, but you remember that I\u2019m the one that\u2019s in charge of the entire country! In fact I was running this area quite fine until you came along and started gradually changing things! Now I got a war in the east, peasant uprisings, a potential aggressor up north and a troop shortage that can\u2019t possibly deal with all these problems! I\u2019m beginning to wonder if you didn\u2019t create all this chaos just to relive your Empire days again\u2026\u201d\n\u201cHey! I\u2019m done nothing but try to protect this nation and build it up! And I think my success in the east has proven that!\u201d\n\u201cLook, I know you\u2019ve done your part, and I hate to sound like an old Empire bureaucrat, but we can\u2019t spare anymore soldiers for the eastern provinces. Can\u2019t you make due with what you have?\u201d\n\u201cBelieve me, I would if could. Molding the conscripts into proper soldiers took longer than expected and even after I was successful, a small portion of them died in the process. Then I had hoped to get the one tribe that wasn\u2019t initially hostile to us to ally with us as a useful diversion, but due to our initial losses against the other three tribes, the savages assumed we were too weak to make an alliance with and began attacking us too. I still think we would\u2019ve been okay though if they had all stayed fragmented. After we wiped out the Belkaz Tribe for their poor judgment, the other three tribes formed a truce and united under one banner. It\u2019s made fighting them a lot more difficult especially since they know every inch of the land better and they outnumber us. The only good thing is they haven\u2019t really launched any effective counter attacks on our settlements so far, but they have been getting better at it.\u201d\n\nBrenda rubs a hand over her face before speaking again.\n\n\u201cYou can\u2019t just build up the defenses on the villages and maintain a solid defense?\u201d\n\u201cWell that\u2019s sort of where we\u2019re at right now, and that\u2019s the problem. The elves are no problem; the other tribe of humans isn\u2019t either. It\u2019s those Slin that are causing the most grief. They can replace their losses a lot quicker, or at least they must mature much quicker. In fact I\u2019ve noticed a disturbing tactic by them, if they can call it that. Namely whenever there is a group attack by the three tribes, the Slin will deliberately hold back and the first to retreat when the battle starts to swing the wrong way. I see larger groups of them all the time yet they\u2019re taking the least amount of losses from their side. At this point, I\u2019m even wondering if there is an \u201calliance\u201d so much as the Slin eventually enslaved the two remaining tribes and is using them to weaken us, while they continue to breed more lizards. If that is the case, we could be overrun even if we adopt siege mentality.\u201d\n\u201cSo what is it that you want to do exactly?\u201d\n\u201cWe know where the Slin home is at. I want to launch a full assault on it. I figure if we at least take them out, the other two tribes will be easy, they may even surrender, not that it\u2019ll do them any good\u2026\u201d\n\u201cRight and I imagine that you want to lead this attack personally.\u201d\n\u201cOf course.\u201d\n\u201cUh huh, and don\u2019t you think it\u2019s very dangerous to go rushing into the heart of enemy territory outnumbered and undermanned like you are?\u201d\n\u201cWell I wouldn\u2019t do it without the soldiers.\u201d\n\u201cRight, and that\u2019s why you aren\u2019t doing it at all. Look, even I gave you the men you require, you\u2019d have to promise me that you wouldn\u2019t let a single one get killed, and you and I both know that\u2019s not going to happen. The other thing is, I can\u2019t really afford to potentially lose you either.\u201d\n\u201cBrenda, have you so little faith in me? I\u2019ve been in more dangerous situations than this! One time in Rask I\u2026\u201d\n\u201cYes, yes, I know all your deeds and they\u2019re all very impressive, but you\u2019re not in your twenties anymore and we don\u2019t have the soldiers! I\u2019m sorry, but we\u2019re dealing with multiple problems right now and I need every capable commander possible even the stubborn ones like yourself. Now that\u2019s it, and I don\u2019t want to hear anymore about this!\u201d\n\nBrenda\u2019s remark dismissing your accomplishments and implying that you\u2019re no longer in your prime is incredibly insulting and you lose your composure. It doesn\u2019t help that you\u2019re already frustrated with how the eastern campaign has been playing out. You grab one side of her desk and flip it over. This noise causes two guards rush in, but they\u2019re a little unsure of how to react given that it\u2019s you. Brenda leaps back and puts her hand on her weapon, instinctively you put your own hand on your weapon as well.\n\n\u201cHave you lost your mind?!\u201d she says.\n\u201cNo, my mind is quite clear, it\u2019s you who has lost their mind if you think I\u2019m going to just let you forget all the shit I\u2019ve done, and let you just dismiss it like that! How soon you forget that I used to lead you into battle against kobolds and uskshas. I\u2019ve been risking my life for years, what the hell have you been doing except stagnating here behind a desk much like this entire area would\u2019ve been until I came along. I gave you a fucking purpose when the Empire fell!\u201d\n\nYou soon find that Brenda is every bit as mad at you as you are with her.\n\n\u201cYeah? Well maybe I didn\u2019t fucking want it in the first place! You\u2026you know what? If you want to take control, you go right ahead, because I\u2019m done with it! Done! I\u2019m leaving this shit behind.\u201d\n\nBrenda walks past you, without fear and out the door. Her guards try to address her, but she pulls away and continues to walk, leaving you in her messy office. You\u2019re still angry, so you don\u2019t really believe she\u2019s serious, however you ARE going to take those soldiers like you planned.\n\nA couple days pass and you\u2019re about to make your way back to the east when you receive word that Brenda has completely disappeared. She can\u2019t be found at all. You can\u2019t believe that she would really abandon all this just because of an argument and part of you is a little concerned. You wonder if you should set aside your mission for a moment to find her.\n\nHowever, if she really is gone, then you\u2019ll be head of Nalin by default, while this is somewhat appealing to you, it also means you have to deal with all the stuff that Brenda usually took care of, namely all the unfun stuff that doesn\u2019t involve killing and battle.", "action_results": [{"action": "Go look for Brenda", "result": "You and her have been through too much to let this end like this, you don\u2019t like it, but you decide to put off your mission. You tell the company commander to proceed to the destination and just help with the defenses until you return. You then inform Brenda\u2019s advisors to take care of things while you personally search for her. They tell you that soldiers are already looking for her, but you say they aren\u2019t doing a good enough job.\n\nYou follow some leads based on previous reports, and while nobody else seems to be able to find Brenda, you\u2019re a little more skilled in finding a fellow Eternal. Your tracking eventually leads further south into the kobold reservations. For some reason nobody thought to question these scaly bastards who turn out to be pretty helpful, though it\u2019s probably because they\u2019re very scared of you. They tell you they saw the \u201cEternal lady in charge of everything\u201d walking by herself heading even further south towards the Usksha Desert. They think she\u2019s going there to kill all the uskshas by herself, now they think you\u2019re going to help her and seem pretty optimistic that the pair of you will eliminate the usksha forever.\n\nBrenda may be an Eternal, you still never pegged her as the sort to deliberately kill herself through battle. This can\u2019t all be because of an argument. You quickly make your way to the last known direction that the kobolds saw her heading in. After a day of non-stop riding, you see her standing at the edge of the Usksha Desert. It\u2019s obvious she hear you, but she continues to look out across the endless sand.\n\n\u201cI thought you\u2019d be on your way to wage war on those barbarians in the east by now.\u201d She says as you get off your horse.\n\u201cBrenda, this is silly and not like you. Come on back to where you belong.\u201d You demand.\n\nBrenda laughs at this statement.\n\n\u201cYou think you can order me around like a common soldier? Fuck you! You aren\u2019t my commanding officer and haven\u2019t been in years. I\u2019m my own person and I\u2019ll do whatever the hell I want!\u201d\n\u201cAnd what do you want?\u201d\n\u201cWhat I want? I want my husband back and that\u2019s impossible.\u201d\n\u201cSo\u2026you blame me for his death? Is that it?\u201d\n\nBrenda shakes her head in exasperation.\n\n\u201cNo, no, no! This isn\u2019t even about you! This is about me! It wasn\u2019t until our argument, that I finally realized I\u2019ve just been living a parody of life. The Empire is gone, my husband is gone. What the hell is my purpose for living anymore? I\u2019ve just been running Nalin all these years, because quite frankly I don\u2019t know what the hell to do with myself. You think I really care about any of that? No. That\u2019s why I can leave it all behind, just like that.\u201d\n\u201cBrenda, something must\u2019ve kept you going, if you only just recently came to this conclusion.\u201d\n\u201cYeah, and that something were delusions. When you first came back, it was a nice. I knew we hadn\u2019t seen each other in years, and I knew you were the same rigid emotionless golem you\u2019ve been since we were young, but you were like a solid anchor in what was a sea of uncertainty during those dark days of the Empire\u2019s fall. I had nobody else I could relate to, but we still had a bond of sorts. So I latched on to you and decided to go along with your ideas and it was comforting\u2026for a while. Then as the years went by, I started to get bored, then dissatisfied. When the little war in the east began and problems began to crop up and headache after headache started, I seriously started questioning what I\u2019m doing.\u201d\n\u201cOkay\u2026so you\u2019re bored by the administrative duties\u2026\u201d\n\u201cI wish it was just that, but I don\u2019t think you still understand. Let me see if I can explain it better.\u201d\n\nBrenda approaches you and sits down on the ground. You do likewise, but you\u2019re still alert about possible wandering usksha raiders who could ride by. Brenda comments on this.\n\n\u201cSee, look at you. Here we are just talking and you\u2019re probably expecting to do battle with some wandering uskshas. That\u2019s what gets you going. I know the fall of the Empire had to be pretty hard for you, seeing a system which you believed in fall apart and dissolve before your eyes. Even though you eventually knew it was all built on lies, a piece of you was still gone forever. However, I don\u2019t think it was your true love. It might\u2019ve been your first, but not your true love. Battle, war, killing. That is your passion. That\u2019s your true love. As strange as that may be to some, I understand it.\u201d\n\nBrenda\u2019s somehow words ring true with you. You still aren\u2019t quite sure on all this love stuff, but you\u2019re listening.\n\n\u201cThe Empire was my first love as well. It probably was for all of us Eternals, but Roldan was my true love. I\u2019m not getting him back, and I don\u2019t even have the Empire to fall back on. I don\u2019t know, perhaps by falling in love with Roldan, it weakened me as an Eternal and I should be stronger. I\u2019m convinced it weakened Roldan.\u201d\n\u201cWe\u2019ve been making progress in making Nalin similar to the Empire. It could even be better or greater if we work at it.\u201d You say, unsure of how to react to her Roldan comments.\n\u201cYes, I know that\u2019s what you\u2019ve been trying to do and for a while that\u2019s what I thought might help me as well, but it\u2019s not. Also, like I said, you at least can keep yourself happy for your love of battle. Nalin won\u2019t replace the Empire, and even if it could, it won\u2019t make any difference. It would be if I tried to replace Roldan with another\u2026it won\u2019t make me happier.\u201d\n\nThe way Brenda looks at you with that last statement implying that maybe she feels something for you.\n\n\u201cBrenda, are you developing feelings for me?\u201d you ask and she just smiles.\n\u201cAs I\u2019ve always said, I\u2019ve always liked your directness. Let\u2019s just say I might\u2019ve, but I came to my senses. And that isn\u2019t an insult towards you; it\u2019s just not meant to be for me. Okay, I think I\u2019ve wasted enough time.\u201d She says and stands up. She begins to walk towards the desert.\n\n\u201cHey wait!\u201d you call out.\n\u201cGoodbye, I\u2019m sure you\u2019ll make an excellent emperor for Nalin, or whatever you decide to call yourself.\u201d\n\nYou grab Brenda\u2019s shoulder.\n\n\u201cSo this is it? You going to just commit suicide by walking into the desert?\u201d\n\u201cI assume the uskshas will overwhelm me before the heat gets me, and why are you trying to stop me. I would\u2019ve thought you of all people would\u2019ve approved of dying in battle.\u201d\n\u201cI would, but it just doesn\u2019t make sense here! I mean you still have purpose! You\u2019re still fully capable and healthy enough to accomplish many things!\u201d\n\u201cPerhaps, but the thrill of living is gone and I\u2019m not waiting any longer to see if it comes back. Now I\u2019m heading into that desert and you can\u2019t stop me, well you could, but that would no doubt have the same result I\u2019m looking for.\u201d\n\nYou let Brenda go and stand in silence for a moment. You think about your own goals and your own past briefly. Brenda is right about several things concerning your personality and your motivations, but she doesn\u2019t know everything. You run up next to her as she makes her first steps into the desert.\n\n\u201cWhat\u2019re you doing?\u201d she asks.\n\u201cI\u2019m joining you. I figure you could use the help.\u201d\n\u201c...I don\u2019t believe you. I\u2019m trying to end my life with dignity and on my own terms and you\u2019re going to get in the way of that?\u201d\n\u201cWho said I was stopping you? I\u2019m just traveling with you, I don\u2019t have some magical ability to stop the usksha from attacking. And who said I was doing this all for you? My true love is battle remember? Fighting an endless amount of usksha in a hostile environment? Sounds like a challenge worthy of a warrior of my stature.\u201d\n\u201cBut\u2026you can\u2019t just throw away your life like this!\u201d\n\u201cWho said I was? I fully intend on making it to the other end of the desert long after you\u2019ve died.\u201d You remark.\n\nBrenda begins to get annoyed.\n\n\u201cWhat?! Look I know I\u2019m out of practice, but I\u2019m not going to die that quickly! I\u2019m still a fucking Eternal you know!\u201d\n\u201cYes, I do know and that\u2019s why I\u2019m coming with you. You made a lot of good points about me, but one you forgot is that I\u2019m not quite the emotionless golem you make me out to be. My time with you has reminded me of that bond I used to have with all of you before we all got separated. We\u2019re Eternals, and I\u2019m not going to leave you. Now if that means we die together in this desert, then so be it. BUT I want to propose something.\u201d\n\u201cOh? What\u2019s that?\u201d\n\u201cIf we do manage to get to the other side of this desert, you need to abandon your death wish.\u201d\n\nBrenda chuckles a bit.\n\n\u201cOkay, I guess that\u2019s fair. Hell, if we make it through I might just have to re-evaluate my fleeting feelings for you.\u201d\n\nYou don\u2019t answer her on that comment; you just keep an eye out for potential danger. The heat isn\u2019t a problem right now since it\u2019s getting dark, which is at least one good thing. As you continue to walk Brenda begins to speak again.\n\n\u201cSo what makes you think there IS another side to this desert? Not like it\u2019s ever been explored before. For all you know it\u2019s just endless desert\u201d Brenda asks.\n\u201cOh I dunno. I just have a hunch. It has to end somewhere. Besides I\u2019m curious now. I once briefly considered leading troops into here before, when we were first assigned to deal with the usksha.\u201d\n\u201cReally? What stopped you?\u201d\n\u201cThe fact that Edgar was screaming in my ear about it meant it was bound to be a bad idea. Common sense mostly. Strange that I had more of it back then, than I do right now.\u201d\n\u201cThere\u2019s still time for you to turn back.\u201d\n\u201cWhat and run Nalin by myself? Not for me. I\u2019d likely end up executing the entire nation. I wasn\u2019t meant to rule\u2026shh hear that?\u201d\n\u201cYeah, sounds like those lizards that the usksha like to ride. They\u2019ll be here soon. Just like old times eh?\u201d\n\u201cLike I never left.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2026I\u2019m glad you\u2019re here with me.\u201d Brenda says looking at you.\n\nYou look at her and nod.\n\n\u201cMe too Brenda. Me too.\u201d\n\nThe pair of you soon engage the usksha in battle, just one of many during your time in the desert.\n\nMany believe you both died in the desert eventually succumbing to the heat and your wounds. The kobolds still tell an interesting story of how you both died, but then became vengeful spirits that continue to stalk the usksha to this day.\n\nA few believe you managed to make it through and made a new life with each other in a far away land.\n\nWhat ultimately happened to you and Brenda is unknown and lost to time.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Continue with your mission", "result": "If Brenda wants to abandon her duty, you\u2019re more than willing to take up the slack. Wouldn\u2019t be the first time anyway. You don\u2019t know if she\u2019s just sulking or really not returning, but either way you\u2019re pretty disappointed in her right now. You always thought she was stronger than that, you guess that\u2019s what love does to someone. Makes them weak. It\u2019s probably why Roldan wasn\u2019t alert to stop that Shadow Guard that killed him.\n\nYou can\u2019t dwell on such things now; you\u2019ve got more important matters to deal with. You tell Brenda\u2019s advisors that as of now you\u2019re taking over rulership of Nalin and that you want them to take care of things while you destroy the eastern barbarians. They tell you that there are several matters that really require your attention, but you say eliminating the threat in the east is your primary concern first.\n\nYou head east with your company of veteran troops and meet up with the rest of your forces at Camp Steadfast. You explain your plan of attack and how it is to be carried out. Granted there isn\u2019t much to it other than marching straight into the heart of Slin territory and wiping them all out, but you try to give a motivational speech, to improve their morale and mindset because it isn\u2019t going to be easy.\n\nAt the crack of dawn, you begin your march. Doesn\u2019t take long before you face opposition. You defeat them with ease for the most part. When you begin to enter the woods though that\u2019s when things get tougher.\n\nThe elves and the degenerate human tribe known as the Fleg begin to attack you from the trees. Or more accurately, the elves stay in the trees and the Fleg throw themselves at you like the suicidal idiots they are. A few of your men catch arrows, and some of them are killed by the various traps the elves have set, but eventually the Fleg are all killed and the elves have either fled or run off as well.\n\nYou take a moment to rest and regroup. Your company is still strong, but you aren\u2019t at the numbers you\u2019d like to face the Slin. You curse yourself for not spreading them out a little more, part of you is still a little pre-occupied with Brenda leaving.\n\n\u201cDamn it, get your head in the battle.\u201d You mutter to yourself.\n\nAfter taking a very short break, you continue towards where you know the Slin make their home. It\u2019s a slightly swampy area. Not as bad as the time you spent in the Delerg Province, but it still isn\u2019t the best of fighting conditions for you and your soldiers. You start meeting large groups of Slin hissing and lumbering at you from all sides. Your soldiers put up a good struggle as usual and you fight through what seems to be the endless horde, but you suffer many losses before you even make it their cave lair.\n\nOne of your men begs you to turn back as he does not believe you have the numbers to take on the rest of the Slin. After all who knows how many are in there. You don\u2019t listen though. You\u2019re furious by their desire to leave everything, and it doesn\u2019t help that you\u2019re still angry about Brenda doing the same thing.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019re nearly there and you dare suggest retreat on the verge of victory? I\u2019ve faced worse odds and more dangerous enemies by myself! You\u2019ve all been slacking off on the northern borders too long and getting weak! That ends today, I\u2019m in charge of this company, I\u2019m in charge of this army, I\u2019m even in charge of the whole fucking nation of Nalin! Now we\u2019re going to finish this and we\u2019re going to win! There\u2019s going to be a lot of changes after this is over, now come on!\u201d\n\nYou and your men fight your way into the cave entrance, several large Slin come lumbering from various tunnels hissing and charging at you. There\u2019s so many that you sometimes have to resort to punching the beasts because there isn\u2019t even any room to swing your sword. The Slin aren\u2019t weaklings though and are creatures of great strength, you and your remaining soldiers are beaten severely. You continue to struggle, but several of your bones are broken, your flesh is ripped and torn and you\u2019ve got a few chunks bitten out of you.\n\nAs more Slin run towards your position, you look around and see you\u2019re the last of your company left. You don\u2019t understand what went wrong. You\u2019ve been in worse situations, you\u2019ve survived worse conditions, how is it that you\u2019re losing and on the verge of death?\n\nIn your last moments you see your loss as not your failure, but those around you for not being as strong as you. It hardly matters in the end as the Slin still put your skull as a trophy along side the rest of the \u201cweaklings\u201d they killed.", "action_results": []}]}]}]}, {"action": "Brenda (Loss)", "result": "After discussing a few more things about the plan to break away from the Empire, you change the subject to a more personal nature.\n\n\u201cSo other than the slow collapse of the Empire\u2026how have you been doing?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cMe? I\u2019ve been okay. Just been taking one day as it comes, I guess in times like this though, that\u2019s about all anyone can do. I\u2019ve just been keeping myself occupied, sometimes hard to do since like I said, it\u2019s relatively peaceful here. Guess our plan might shake thing up a bit though.\u201d Brenda remarks.\n\u201cYeah, hopefully for the better.\u201d\n\nThere is a long pause before Brenda continues the conversation\n\n\u201cI just want to say, I appreciated the letter you sent when Roldan died.\u201d Brenda says.\n\u201cWell I felt it was only right, I probably didn\u2019t have the words that Gerald might\u2019ve had though.\u201d\n\u201cNo, they were fine. I was almost just as upset to hear about him as well that day, even though I hadn\u2019t spoken or seen him in years. Had a hard time keeping it together for the next few months, don\u2019t really know how I did it.\u201d\n\u201cYou\u2019re an Eternal, and you\u2019ll always have an inner strength to carry you through the hard times when you need it.\u201d\n\u201cPerhaps. (Sigh) It\u2019s been a few years now and I still think about Roldan. I mean I know there was always the potential for danger, and one of us getting killed was a possibility, but I dunno it just doesn\u2019t seem real at times. I remember when we first started to desire one another, it didn\u2019t seem real either, but then it just felt so right. We knew each other, we grew up together, and we just operated in perfect sync.\u201d\n\u201cYes, Roldan mentioned feeling the same way. He loved you very much.\u201d\n\u201cI know.\u201d\n\u201cSo\u2026where did you bury Roldan?\u201d\n\u201cI didn\u2019t. I had his body burned and his ashes spread to the wind outside Fort Glory. He would\u2019ve wanted it that way. He said when he died, he didn\u2019t want some lavish military funeral. Still, a lot of the soldier still paid their respects by standing on the battlements and giving a salute in unison.\u201d\n\u201cWell, sounds a lot nicer than what I could do for Gerald. After the mission I dragged his body out of the swamp and back to Sinkhole. The local Empire officials said they wouldn\u2019t bother with a proper funeral since he had no family and that it would\u2019ve been better to just leave him in the swamp. After slamming that pencil pusher\u2019s head into the desk, I went straight to the local undertaker and had him dig a hole for Gerald in the cemetary. Not the most elaborate of funerals, but he deserved a proper buried rather than just being left face down in the mud\u2026though I guess in the scheme of things it hardly matters, its still in the ground and getting eaten by worms\u2026\u201d\n\u201cNo, no, you did the right thing.\u201d Brenda says reassuringly. \u201cYou always did look out for the rest of us in some way. That\u2019s why I never blamed you for Roldan\u2019s death. I knew you would\u2019ve prevented it if you could\u2019ve.\u201d\n\u201cYes, I would\u2019ve.\u201d\n\u201cWell, let us not dwell on such dark issues too much longer, we\u2019ve got other things to think about. Better ones for a better future, like you said.\u201d\n\nBrenda smiles at you and you return the gesture.\n\nYou feel sort of funny about it, but you briefly wonder if you had still been stationed here instead of Roldan, would you and Brenda gotten together?", "action_results": [null]}]}]}, {"action": "Letter to Brenda (An apology)", "result": "Dear Brenda\n\nI\u2019ve never been any good with this sort of stuff, but I hope this letter will explain the exact nature of what happened.\n\nIt is with the sincerest regret to inform you that Roldan has died in the line of duty. I will be having his body shipped back to you, so that you may have a proper funeral for him or how ever you wish to dispose of the shell that once contained a great warrior. I suppose I should also mention that Gerald also died during the mission. He actually wrote the first letter to you, but given his death soon after, I felt that it be more appropriate to rewrite it altogether.\n\nHow I wish I could at least tell you Roldan died a great noble death, slaying hundreds of enemies before falling, but that was not the case. Instead, he was practically assassinated by suicidal Shadow Guards that blew him up and themselves as well, because they were too cowardly to face him in an honorable fight.\n\nI know the two of you fell in love and were married. I am not an expert on such things, and I can\u2019t imagine the sense of loss that you will feel because of this, but know that you have my sympathies. When I saw him die before my very eyes from a gutless attack I felt a sadness dwell inside me as I had lost a comrade in arms.\n\nI also felt anger. Anger that I wasn\u2019t there to stop it and anger at those who did it. I realize though the anger at myself was pointless. There is no point in blaming yourself in situations like this. Better to deal with the direct cause of the problem and focus all of the anger towards that instead.\n\nI don\u2019t know if it will be of any comfort, but I killed all those responsible. I wish I could\u2019ve killed more, but most of the spineless shadows committed some sort of ritual suicide by the time we reached their hideout. I did manage to kill their leader Cyrus though. I also killed Captain Gruz. Turned out he was a traitor the whole time. I\u2019m beginning to wonder who isn\u2019t a traitor nowadays.\n\nThe past few days have seemed surreal, like nothing is making as much sense anymore, but then I think things stopped making sense the day I had to kill Kane. The Empire isn\u2019t like how we learned about when we were children. Everything was so much simpler then.\n\nI\u2019m going to stop writing now, because I think I\u2019m getting off focus of the important topic at hand and that\u2019s Roldan. I\u2019ll close this letter with letting you know that in his last moments he spoke fondly of you, and that he loved you.\n\nWe should all be so lucky to have something so certain in life and actually have it last.", "action_results": [null]}]}]}, {"action": "Go get the rooms", "result": "\u201cI\u2019ll get the rooms, you help Gerald.\u201d You say.\n\u201cOkay.\u201d Roldan agrees and proceeds to lift up Gruz on the other side.\n\nYou exit the tavern and make your way to the inn, which is across the road. You\u2019re half way across when you sense something isn\u2019t right. You notice a little girl across the road staring at something and that\u2019s when you realize there are shadows about.\n\nThe first one attempts to stab you in the back, but you spin and dodge, then stab him through the stomach. The second one aborts his own attack and attempts to escape. You however grab him with your free hand.\n\nIt is at this point, he pulls out some sort of odd round plant and screams something you don\u2019t understand and a black aura suddenly emanates from him.\n\n\u201cShit!\u201d you shout and run him through in the hopes of killing him before he can complete whatever spell he\u2019s casting. He drops the plant on the ground, but smiles at you.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s already done Eternal!\u201d he laughs and then you are both engulfed in an explosion and blown several feet from where you were, though only part of you.\n\nWhat remains of your body is scattered in pieces along the road of Sinkhole. You actually manage to live a few more seconds to see the images of what you presume to be Roldan and Gerald running out of the tavern, then everything goes dark.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Old Comrades (Catching up)", "result": "\u201c\u2026and so that\u2019s what Warrick and I have been up to. Just making things difficult as best we can for the Felkan Kingdom.\u201d Gerald says.\n\u201cI\u2019m just surprised that put you on these sneaky commando raids, Warrick I can understand, he\u2019s always been a stealthy individual, but you were usually rushing into battle like the rest of us.\u201d You reply.\n\u201cHey, I\u2019ve changed a bit since you last saw me. Besides, it\u2019s not all sneaking around. Some of it requires just enough to get in and then we can raise as much havoc as we need to. Still, if it\u2019s a mission that requires a lot of covert operations, then Warrick goes in by himself. I\u2019d go to, but I\u2019m too damn tall and stick out like a sore thumb sometimes.\u201d\n\u201cHeh, maybe they should put Edgar on your missions, he\u2019s short enough.\u201d Roldan laughs.\n\u201cYeah right, he\u2019d go charging in screaming at the top of his lungs for the entire Felkan Kingdom to attack him.\u201d\n\u201cOh I don\u2019t know about that, he\u2019s changed as well last time I saw him. He\u2019s a lot better disciplined now. Speaking change, how the hell did YOU get married?\u201d You ask Roldan.\n\u201cWell you see, when a man and a woman love each other\u2026\u201d\n\nThis causes a bit of laughing from Gerald and Roldan, but you\u2019re as serious as ever.\n\n\u201cYou know what I mean, Roldan.\u201d\n\u201cYes, I know what you mean, sheesh. I see some things haven\u2019t changed. Well it\u2019s rather simple. Brenda and I spent so much time together and our thoughts, our actions, and just I dunno everything about us seemed to be in relative harmony. It only seemed natural that we end up together. It was like\u2026what other people call love I guess? Hard to know for certain, I mean I think we all know that wasn\u2019t something we were trained to for. Anyway we just ended up taking the next logical step, but we were pretty worried that the Empire would frown upon it and possibly even split us up. Turned out of course they just made us fill out a bunch of annoying paperwork. I don\u2019t even think whatever pencil pusher was in charge even realized we were Eternals. Just bureaucracy as usual.\u201d\n\u201cBah, you just got lucky you had no real competition. Had I still been stationed there, things would\u2019ve been a lot different!\u201d Gerald remarks.\n\nWhile Roldan gives Gerald a light punch to his arm, you\u2019re about to ask further questions about Roldan\u2019s marriage when Gruz suddenly asks you a strange question.\n\n\u201cTell me Eternal, what are you going to do when you get old?\u201d\n\u201cHuh? Get old?\u201d\n\u201cYes, when you get old, you do realize it will happen right?\u201d\n\u201cWell\u2026uh yeah.\u201d\n\u201cOkay then, what are you going to do?\u201d\n\u201cI guess I never thought about it.\u201d\n\u201cHm. Sounds about right. Most young people don\u2019t.\u201d he replies and goes back to his ale.\n\nThis odd interlude is interrupted once again by Gerald and Roldan who were so preoccupied with their little playful banter that they didn\u2019t even hear Gruz\u2019s remarks.\n\n\u201cSo\u2026 big bad Bane of Rask! Heh.\u201d Gerald says and does a little drumming motion on the table. \u201cHeard a lot of stories about some of stuff you\u2019ve done. Maybe you can clear up some of the rumors and truths.\u201d\n\u201cYou mean like Kane?\u201d you bluntly say.\n\u201cEr\u2026well actually I got some of that story about that from Edgar last time I saw him. I was certainly surprised how bad it was when he told me directly, but after one of the letters I got from Kane months before, it did have an odd tone to it\u2026\u201d\n\u201cWait a minute. Hold on. Kane sent you a letter?\u201d\n\u201cYeah, I assumed he sent one to all of us. Warrick got one the same time I did.\u201d\n\u201cBrenda and I received letters as well. Very odd. Kept referring to us as his brother and sister throughout the thing.\u201d Roldan adds.\n\nYou\u2019re at a loss that you didn\u2019t receive one considering when Kane first met you he was very eager to have you on his side. You initially chalk it up to Cyrus\u2019 meddling, but then Gerald asks another question.\n\n\u201cYou know speaking of letters, how come you never answered any of mine? I had a few sent to Rask a few months after we all got split up, but never got a reply. I was sort of worried you were dead for a while until deeds of your exploits started popping up.\u201d\n\u201cLetters? I never got any letters. Never got any letters from anyone.\u201d You say.\n\u201cWell that would explain your surprise at Brenda and I getting married because we made sure to send one to everyone on the team. Hell, even Edgar wrote back to congratulate us.\u201d\n\nGerald makes a remark to Roldan that maybe Rask has shitty mail service, and then Gruz pipes up again while they\u2019re talking with each other.\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t worry about it lad. Isolation makes one stronger anyway.\u201d\n\u201cWhat?\u201d\n\u201cTeamwork, cooperation, greater good, its all bullshit. In the end it\u2019s just about survival and who crosses that finish line between life and death last is the winner. Just sucks about those last laps though when you\u2019re practically crawling towards it just to get the shit over with.\u201d Gruz says taking another drink.\n\nYou aren\u2019t exactly sure what Gruz is going on about, but you\u2019re getting the impression that he\u2019s had more than enough to drink. You decide that you all need to start wrapping up this little get together soon so you can concentrate better at the true task at hand.", "action_results": [null]}]}]}, {"action": "Kill him", "result": "There is no way you\u2019re going to trust a Shadow Guard even if he has given you good information. He\u2019s still a traitor that would betray you at the nearest opportunity he deserves no less than death. Without another word you run him through and muffle any yelps he might\u2019ve made during his death.\n\n\u201cGood idea, no way we could\u2019ve trusted him.\u201d Edgar says.\n\u201cCome on, we should head to Kane\u2019s office, that\u2019s probably where he\u2019s at, hopefully Cyrus is there as well.\u201d\n\nYou manage to walk through the halls of the fort without difficulty thanks to the face covering helmets. Everyone just assumes you\u2019re just two soldiers going about your routines. When you arrive near the office there are several heavily armored orc guards milling around there. You and Edgar briefly wonder how quickly you can kill them before more come running, but unfortunately, when another one comes running your potential plans of distraction them are gone.\n\n\u201cAy! Ay! You guyz! The prisoners have escaped! Come on!\u201d the orc yells.\n\u201cWha?! Well we can\u2019t leave, da boss is in his office! Go get dem shadoze ta help!\u201d one of the guard says.\n\u201cHey we\u2019ll tell the general and you take care of the prisoners. You orcs are tougher so you\u2019ll be able to handle the situation better than we would.\u201d You pipe up and say.\n\u201cHmm, you might be right about us bein\u2019 stronger, but even weaklings like you should be able to handle two unarmed prisoners. We gots orders, we stay here wit da boss.\u201d\n\n\u201cTo hell with this.\u201d Edgar suddenly says and attacks one of the orcs.\n\nYou do battle with the orcs, though it isn\u2019t an easy fight, they\u2019re obviously Kane\u2019s bodyguards for a reason. You haven\u2019t even defeated all of them yet, when Kane comes out of his office.\n\n\u201cWhat\u2019s going\u2026assassins!\u201d Kane shouts, not immediately realizing it\u2019s you and Edgar with your helmets on.\n\nYou attempt to engage Kane, but one of the last orc guards knocks you into the wall and attempts to get you in a bear hug. You manage to get free, and after landing a couple of good strikes, the orc collapses to one knee where upon you finish him off. You turn around in time to see Kane taking advantage of Edgar\u2019s own fight with the last orc guard. Kane runs his sword through Edgar\u2019s side. Edgar pauses his attack from the blow which allows the orc guard to follow up with a good strike with his mace.\n\nA sickening crunch of Edgar\u2019s skull along with the clang of metal accompanies his helmet being knocked off of him. Edgar crumples to the floor and doesn\u2019t move.\n\n\u201cEdgar?\u201d Kane says to himself. You waste no time more time and attack.\n\nYou dodge the last orc guard\u2019s clumsy attack with his mace while blocking Kane\u2019s own as well.\n\n\u201cWhy are you fighting me?! We should be on the same side brother!\u201d he exclaims desperately, realizing who you are.\n\nThe orc guard winds up another swing, and you aim low taking out his legs, when he falls to the floor, you kick Kane away from you so you can finish off the last guard.\n\nAfter killing the orc, Kane attempts to attack you but fails and you land a blow across his chest and then another across his face, blinding him in one eye. He drops his weapon and staggers back holding his hand on the gaping bloody wound.\n\n\u201c(Pant) Why\u2026you\u2026I can\u2019t\u2026\u201d he wheezes and tries to escape past you, but you stop him completely by running him through. You wrench the sword upward to slice further into his internal organs. Blood spills out from the wound and onto the floor and your feet. He looks at you with his remaining good eye. Surprisingly, he smiles.\n\n\u201cI\u2026forgive you\u2026broth\u2026\u201d he gasps and dies.\n\nYou don\u2019t have time to check on Edgar or anything else when you feel several bolts go into your back. You collapse to the floor and feel that same toxin you felt when Cyrus shot you, except this time you feel a whole lot sicker, due to getting a heavier dose.\n\n\u201cI have to say this probably worked out a whole lot better this way. With Kane out of the way, perhaps we can use these orcs to our more direct advantage after all.\u201d You hear Cyrus remark as several Shadow Guards circle around you.\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t expect to wake up from this one.\u201d Is the last thing you hear before another bolt goes into your skull.", "action_results": []}]}]}]}]}]}, {"action": "Seek out the elves", "result": "\u201cI\u2019ve had to work around those svelk for a while now. If they\u2019re going to help us attack the elves, it might be a good idea for me to go on that one so I can keep an eye on them, captain.\u201d You say.\n\u201cYes, you do have a reputation even among those shifty bastards, though they\u2019d never admit it. Okay, sounds good. I shall send another officer to lead the mission against the Wendigo tribe. I may even just go along on that mission.\u201d Captain Krozer replies.\n\u201cYou are captain?\u201d\n\u201cYes, I find that I\u2019ve been getting stuck behind the desk too much lately. It\u2019ll be good to be back out in the field. Don\u2019t want to become like one of those fat self-important generals that do nothing except point to maps and make equally fat musings on tactics. A true leader should lead from the front, I\u2019m sure you agree.\u201d\n\u201cIt is preferable yes\u2026but I do understand the need to keep those with keen military minds safe from major war zones. Such people have their place as all do in their service of the Emperor.\u201d\n\u201cWhy lieutenant, are you complimenting me on my intelligence? It\u2019s not like you to flirt.\u201d Captain Krozer asks in a tone slightly friendlier than usual, it catches you a little off guard.\n\u201cI\u2026no! I mean yes, you are very intelligent, but\u2026\u201d\n\u201cRelax lieutenant, just having a little fun, didn\u2019t mean to put you on the spot. Anyway, we\u2019ll pick this up later, you better get prepared for your mission, and good luck.\u201d\n\nYou do exactly that. You know that this is going to be a tedious mission. The elves rarely ever fight in straight up combat. It\u2019s typically a series of ambushes and hit and run tactics with some traps thrown in for good measure. Attempting to locate their hideout is going to be equally as tedious. While the dark elves will certainly be helpful, you wish you had a few battle wizards, but most of those have been assigned either at Fort Defiance or on the frontlines of the Felkan War.\n\nThe first thing you do is talk with the leader of the dark elven mercenaries about how would be the best way to track down the elves. Eldolith normally is outwardly disdainful of humans, but she manages to just barely contain that distain in your case. She\u2019s typical of her kind, arrogant and acts like she\u2019s doing you a favor just by being in your presence. Reminds you of the days when Mistress trained you.\n\n\u201cAh the Bane of Rask, if it isn\u2019t my favorite mon\u2026human. What do I owe this dubious pleasure?\u201d she asks while polishing one of her leather boots.\n\u201cWe want to find the elven home and destroy them for good.\u201d\n\u201cFinally ready to destroy those sveld eh? About fucking time. The whole time we\u2019ve been playing around with your semi-evolved barbaric kin, I\u2019ve had a few of my men out scouting this entire forsaken frontier. We got a lead a few months ago and we\u2019re pretty sure it\u2019s good.\u201d\n\u201cWait. Hold on. You\u2019ve known where they\u2019ve been hiding and you didn\u2019t report it to us?\u201d\n\u201cAs I recall your superior isn\u2019t paying us for reconnaissance. We\u2019re just here to fight. Besides, it\u2019s still not necessarily a one hundred percent sure thing.\u201d\n\u201cIf you\u2019re so opposed to doing jobs that you aren\u2019t being paid for, why\u2019d you do this secret scouting mission anyway?\u201d\n\u201cWe\u2019re also not just here for YOU, human. We have our own agenda. The only reason why we have not followed up on this lead, is because we\u2019ve been busy helping you monkeys, not to mention we all felt it would also be best if we had more warm bodies to distract our hated kind with. Congratulations.\u201d Eldolith sneers.\n\nIn typical dark elf fashion she\u2019s attempting to provoke you to get angry for her amusement and to put on a show for her men. Won\u2019t work though.\n\n\u201cWise decision Eldolith. No way you could\u2019ve handled them yourselves.\u201d\n\u201cWe could have, but as I stated we were busy helping YOU.\u201d\n\u201cIf you say so. Anyway I\u2019ll expect to your group to be ready in a couple hours.\u201d You say and leave, but your own dismissive behavior annoys Eldolith so much that she boldly grabs your arm. This is all the excuse you needed.\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t you turn your back on\u2026ack!\u201d Eldolith is interrupted when you quickly turn around grab her arm, spin her around and twist it behind her back. You other arm is wrapped tightly around her neck.\n\nHer men grab their crossbows and point them at you, but it\u2019s a futile gesture, she\u2019s in front of you, they\u2019d be more likely to hit her than you.\n\n\u201cPut your bows down you fools!\u201d she struggles to yell.\n\u201cI advise you all to heed your leader\u2019s orders. Even if you did manage to kill me, not one of you would make it out of this fort alive. I might remind you that you initiated this by putting your hands on me in the first place, surely I had the right to defend myself correct?\u201d\n\u201c(Sigh) Yes, it would\u2019ve been foolish to react in any other way I suppose. The mistake was mine. Ugh, I\u2019m going to have the stench of human on me for days. Release me!\u201d\n\nNo please or begging of course, just more orders. Still, you\u2019ve made your point. You let her go by shoving her down on the floor. As you leave you can hear her verbally abusing her own men. She\u2019s going to have problems maintaining her leadership position now after looking so weak. You\u2019re going to have to be careful as well, lest you \u201caccidentally\u201d get a bolt in the back during the heat of battle, but then again you\u2019re always alert while dark elves are around.\n\nEventually you set off on your mission. For a while it\u2019s a simple uneventful march through ice and snow. Eldolith mentions that the Alabaster Pines are where they think the elves are making their home, but not in the traditional sense. There is evidence that they are actually making their home underground.\n\n\u201cCan you believe it? Members of our kind actually living like those disgusting rock eaters? It shames me to even think that these sveld were actually even related to us at one time.\u201d Edolith says.\n\nWhen you reach the Alabaster Pines, you remind your company to keep alert for traps and potential ambushes. You also tell them to keep alert of your so called \u201callies\u201d as well.\n\nIt doesn\u2019t take long before you\u2019re attacked. The elves predictably engage in their guerilla tactics. These attacks might\u2019ve taken a greater toll, but with the help of the dark elves, the long range attacks that they favor are less effective. The deeper you go into the forest, the more desperate the attacks become. They begin to attack you directly in hand to hand combat and to the death. They scream curses and obscenities in your language and their own calling you all murderers and evil.\n\nThe dark elves of course are enjoying all this. You and your company on the other hand aren\u2019t. Not due to any sort of sympathy they are the enemy after all, but this is just another mission to you. Funny that you should have a more \u201cdetached\u201d attitude than the mercenaries themselves.\n\nSoon you enter a part of the forest where the trees are so tall that they completely block out the sky. There isn\u2019t even that much snow ground. Almost a \u201cwarm\u201d feeling encompasses the place.\n\n\u201cOne of my scouts said they made it this far before and that\u2019s where he found evidence that these sveld had an entrance to an underground lair. Should be near an odd blue rock. Let\u2019s look around.\u201d Edolith says to you.\n\u201cWhere\u2019s that scout of yours, shouldn\u2019t he be able to show us directly?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cThe useless bastard is lying dead with two sveld arrows in him a mile back. Now come on, we\u2019ll be able to find this place better if all us look.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m not sure. Something about this seems too easy. Why don\u2019t you look, and we\u2019ll stay alert to make sure this isn\u2019t an ambush.\u201d\n\u201cIf the sveld were going to ambush us, they would\u2019ve done it by now or haven\u2019t you noticed how desperate their attacks have gotten? They probably already know we\u2019re coming and building up defenses as we speak. The longer we take, the tougher it\u2019s going to be to root them out.\u201d", "action_results": [{"action": "Help in the search", "result": "Edolith\u2019s right, the elves would\u2019ve attacked already. You order your men to help in the search. It doesn\u2019t take long to find what you\u2019re looking for.\n\n\u201cLieutenant! I found a blue rock and it looks like there\u2019s a hidden door in the ground.\u201d One of your men yells.\n\u201cYour monkeys are as subtle as ever with their howling.\u201d Edolith says. You ignore her and make your way to the location along with the rest of your company.\n\nYou look down the hole and see a long ladder descend into the darkness. This will probably be the most dangerous part as the elves could pick you off as you attempt to climb down. Elves can see in the dark, while you and your men are going to have to rely on torches. You\u2019re about to go down, when several of your men volunteer first, claiming that they\u2019d rather you not be placed in potential uncertain danger as your combat skills will be necessary for the final battle to come. You reluctantly agree and allow it.\n\n\u201cAh blind loyalty, such a wonderful thing is it not?\u201d Edolith says. \u201cI could only wish my own men would volunteer their lives so selflessly rather than me having to threaten them. Of course if I didn\u2019t threaten them every now and then, they\u2019d forget their place and try to stab me in the back.\u201d\n\nWhile Edolith\u2019s speech on dark elf culture is fascinating, you are in no mood to hear anymore of her musings, so you descend down the ladder next.\n\nAs it turns out there wasn\u2019t anything to worry about, your men that have proceeded before you are safely waiting for you at the bottom. They say they haven\u2019t even noticed any traps, though it\u2019s pretty dark down here. You call up and say you want the svelk to start coming down since their own night vision will come in handy. When enough of them have descended down the ladder, you begin to proceed ahead.\n\nYou travel down a long corridor of dirt with a couple of the dark elves leading the way. You arrive at what is a larger open area with minor lighting and that\u2019s when you hear more shouting followed by higher pitched screams. One of the dark elves yells at everyone to either get out of the way or duck. A bright ball of flame then appears. You just barely manage to scramble out of the mouth of the corridor and into the dirt before the fireball engulfs a good portion of it. Most of the people who were near the front end of it are incinerated instantly while the ones towards the back you can only hope that the blast didn\u2019t travel that far.\n\nYou and a the few dark elves that got out of the way engage what looks to be an older elf mumbling something in his language. He\u2019s obviously a wizard. The dark elves attempt to take him down with their repeating crossbows, but he has some sort of magic shield up. The dark elves keep firing as he picks them off with well placed lightning bolts, you take cover behind some sort of house structure. You can hear whimpering inside and also hear the rest of your men and dark elves who didn\u2019t get caught in the fire blast rush into the area.\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t just stand out in the open catching lightning bolts! Take cover and keep firing!\u201d you hear Edolith shout.\n\nYou peer out from behind your cover and see your men valiantly attempt to rush the wizard, but only succeeding in dying to his lightning spell which conducts and spreads very well due to their metal armor. The dark elves can\u2019t break through his barrier either, the only option will be to get in close enough to chop his head off or get him to drop his shield, but how to do that without getting fried is another matter.\n\nStill hearing the whimpering from inside the house structure, you quickly run inside to investigate. Inside you see a female elf with a younger one cowering in the corner of their home. They say something in their language, which you can only guess is pleas for you not to kill them. You also see a crib with a baby in it and you quickly get a plan.\n\nYou grab the baby and push aside the mother\u2019s feeble attempts to stop you. Carrying the crying baby under your arm you run out of the house. You see the wizard still blasting bolts at the dark elves and you make a beeline towards him. He notices you and as he begins to cast his spell you throw the baby at him as hard as you can. The shock of having a baby thrown at him catches him severely off guard and he stops casting. He also drops his shield to catch the baby.\n\n\u201cFIRE!\u201d you hear Eldolith shout and the dark elves comply.\n\nBolts sinks into the wizard\u2019s head dropping him.\nAnother bolt ceases the baby\u2019s cries.\nSeveral more bolts enter your body. You crash to the ground severely wounded.\n\nYou attempt to crawl away, but you\u2019re coughing up blood and already breathing hard. Edolith runs over to you and kicks the sword out of your hand when you weakly attempt to defend yourself.\n\n\u201cBaby throwing\u2026I gotta admit that was a good one. A worthy tactic of even a svelk. It\u2019s almost a shame I had to kill you. You weren\u2019t bad for a monkey, but I got a reputation to maintain among my own men. Just business, nothing personal. Well okay, maybe it is a little personal.\u201d\n\nYou grab at her leg while she gloats, your grip is strong enough that she has to hack your arm off before she can get her foot away. You lose consciousness just before Edolith announces the gleeful massacre of the remaining elven women and children.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Stay vigilant", "result": "This still feels off to you, no your company isn\u2019t going to scatter themselves looking for odd colored rocks, the dark elves first found this place they can do the leg work. Edolith of course is annoyed that you aren\u2019t going to help and for a moment she almost says if you\u2019re not going to participate in the search then they aren\u2019t either. However it\u2019s quite clear her desire to put more of her kin to the sword is a lot stronger than defying you, she throws up her hands, mumbles something about you being scared monkeys and orders all of her men to start searching the area. You tell your own men to set themselves up in a defensive perimeter, so just in case this is still an ambush, you\u2019re at least no going to get caught off guard and have a weak point open. About an hour passes and one of the dark elves finds the rock with a hidden door in the ground nearby.\n\n\u201cWell we found it, some of my more enthusiastic men have taken it upon themselves to head down there already. Just as well considering you monkeys can\u2019t see in the dark.\u201d Edolith says to you.\n\nYou have your own men light up torches and follow the dark elves down the ladder and into the darkness. As it turns out there wasn\u2019t anything to worry about. There was no trap waiting to pick anyone off the ladder, just like there wasn\u2019t any ambush.\n\nWhen you finally get down into the elven hideout, many of the dark elves and some of your own men have already gone on ahead. Edolith has opted to stay near the back, closer to where you are. A few moment after traveling down the dark dirt corridor, you hear a bunch of yelling up front, followed by high pitched squeals further up ahead and then something spoke in the elven that sounds like a command. Then a bright light appears far in front of you.\n\n\u201cSHIELDS AND DUCK DOWN!\u201d you yell, realizing this is a fireball. There\u2019s no place to run because you\u2019re stuck in the corridor, you duck down behind the large shields that the men in front have and hope for the best. You feel the heat of the flame that incinerates the unfortunate souls caught in front, and you\u2019re even burned a little, but you were lucky that the blast didn\u2019t extend too far back.\n\nHaving survived the blast, you and the survivors run over the burned bodies and out of the corridor into the large open dimly lit area beyond as soon as you can before another fireball comes at you. It is then you see an older elf mumbling something in his language. Obviously a wizard of some sort. The dark elves that survived are attempting to shoot bolts at him, but he has a magic shield up. He strikes a couple of them down with well placed lightning bolts.\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t just stand out in the open catching lightning bolts! Take cover and keep firing!\u201d you hear Edolith shout.\n\nYou tell your own men to take cover as well. With all their metal armor they\u2019d end up being mass fried by the lightning. As for you, you find cover behind a house structure where you hear whimpering inside.\n\nYou peer out from behind your cover and see your men pinned down behind cover, but safe. The dark elves can\u2019t break through his barrier, the only option will be to get in close enough to chop his head off or get him to drop his shield, but how to do that without getting fried is another matter.\n\nStill hearing the whimpering from inside the house structure, you quickly run inside to investigate. Inside you see a female elf with a younger one cowering in the corner of their home. They say something in their language, which you can only guess is pleas for you not to kill them. You also see a crib with a baby in it and you quickly get a plan.\n\nYou grab the baby and push aside the mother\u2019s feeble attempts to stop you. Carrying the crying baby under your arm you run out of the house. You see the wizard still blasting bolts at the dark elves and you make a beeline towards him. He notices you and as he begins to cast his spell you throw the baby at him as hard as you can. The shock of having a baby thrown at him catches him severely off guard and he stops casting. He also drops his shield to catch the baby.\n\n\u201cFIRE!\u201d you hear Eldolith shout and the dark elves comply.\n\nBolts sinks into the wizard\u2019s head dropping him.\nAnother bolt ceases the baby\u2019s cries.\n\n\u201cWATCH OUT CAPTAIN!\u201d you hear one of your men shout and you instinctively attempt to get back into cover. Several bolts just miss you, but your still catch one to the leg before scrambling behind another rock.\n\nThe sounds of battle between your men and the dark elves fills your ears as you try to pull the bolt out. You just get the bolt out of your leg, when Edolith attempts to cleave your head in. You roll out of the way and pick up your sword, though you\u2019re having a little trouble standing.\n\n\u201cI have to admit, baby throwing was a tactic worthy of a svelk. Too bad I have to kill you, you were okay for a monkey. But I got a reputation to maintain among my men.\u201d\n\u201cSo do I.\u201d you answer and clash weapons with Edolith.\n\nShe\u2019s quicker and lands a few good hits, but her mistake is getting in close enough for you to grab her long flowing hair. She attempts to pull free, but you yank hard and grab her wrist. You then break it causing her to drop her weapon. She holds back yelling out in pain and knees you as hard as she can in the groin and jamming her sharp fingernails straight into your eye.\n\nThis doesn\u2019t cause you to release your grip. With the pain slowly creeping up from your nuts and into your stomach and bloody ocular jelly leaking out your socket you take both of your arms and wrap them around Edolith\u2019s waist and squeeze tightly in an attempt to break her back. You then smash her in the face several times with your head, breaking her nose completely and even knocking out a few teeth. The pair of you crash to the ground and you finish her off by viciously biting out her throat. The copper taste of her blood fills the taste buds of your tongue and you spit a thick glob of it on her face as she gurgles and dies.\n\nAfter it\u2019s all said and done, you stagger to your feet victorious over your opponent. One of your men comes up to you.\n\n\u201cSir! Are you alright?\u201d\n\u201cNo. But I\u2019ll heal.\u201d\n\u201cOkay\u2026well all the treacherous dark elves are dead and it looks like all the regular elves are too. There are only women and children left hiding in their homes and none of them are fighters.\u201d\n\u201cAre they still elves?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cWell yes.\u201d\n\u201cThen kill \u2018em all. I\u2019m sick of the whole fucking race at this point.\u201d You say and stagger off.\n\nAfter the grim business of extermination the elves, you and the remainder of your company set off back to Fort Destiny. A day later when you finally arrive at the fort you notice it\u2019s a lot more empty from when you left it. In fact Captain Krozer isn\u2019t even here. Lieutenant Verant seems to be in charge though he\u2019s almost subservient when you address him.\n\n\u201cBy the Emperor! Lieutenant I think you need to see a medic, you\u2019ve got a limp, your skin is burned and cut up and your eye is missing!\u201d he says when seeing your wounds.\n\u201cWhere\u2019s Captain Krozer? I wish to report our total victory on the elves as well as the treachery of the dark ones that we\u2019ll no longer have to pay.\u201d\n\u201cCaptain Krozer? She went with most of the men to do battle with the wendigo tribe. Their territory is quite a ways, but I imagine she\u2019ll be back soon. Congratulations on your victory, but go see the medic right away!\u201d\n\nYou nod and allow yourself to finally relax at the medic\u2019s office. You\u2019ve been running on adrenaline for quite some time and now that your safe, you at last feel like you can rest a little. Most of your wounds aren\u2019t particularly bad, except for the eye, which can\u2019t be repaired. The medic just does his best to remove the permanently damaged orb, clean the socket and give you a patch.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019ll be able to fight good enough with one eye. You just have to move your head a lot more.\u201d He says.\n\nYou rest for a couple days, which are still pretty quiet around the fort. You and everyone else are expecting Captain Krozer to show up, but the worst is starting to creep into everyone\u2019s mind.\n\n\u201cWe need to send a search team.\u201d You say.\n\u201cWe can\u2019t afford to! Between the men you lost fighting the elves, and the entire missing company that Krozer lead, we need all of them here in the area!\u201d Verant says.\n\u201cOh come on Verant! We can\u2019t spare at least ten? I\u2019ll lead the search!\u201d\n\u201c(Sigh) Look I didn\u2019t really want this responsibility. I figured she\u2019d come back and I could go back to filing out reports!\u201d\n\u201cWell if we don\u2019t find her or if she\u2019s dead, then you\u2019re going to be in this job a lot longer than you thought.\u201d\n\u201cI know\u2026I know\u2026hey why don\u2019t you take over?\u201d\n\u201cWhat?\u201d\n\u201cSure! You\u2019re a leader of men and a big tough Eternal! You\u2019d do a better job than me.\u201d\n\u201cWell of course I would, but doesn\u2019t this have to be official, like assigned from a higher commanding officer?\u201d\n\u201cYou said it yourself, Krozer may already be dead, if that\u2019s the case then who\u2019s really going to know? Besides I\u2019m in charge I can hand over the reigns of power if I feel I am no longer fit to command.\u201d\n\u201cOkay, but what if she\u2019s not dead? When she comes walking in, she\u2019s going to wonder what the hell\u2019s going on, and both of us are going to get in trouble and I am not getting in trouble over nonsense.\u201d\n\u201cI shouldn\u2019t think we\u2019d get in that much trouble. I mean you know Captain Krozer, she\u2019s fairly easy going as far as commanding officers go. She\u2019s probably yell at me more than anything, but not likely to put us on report or anything serious.\u201d", "action_results": [{"action": "Take command", "result": "Verant is right about one thing, you\u2019ll probably get more accomplish if you\u2019re in charge. You agree and take command, of course your first order of business is to have Verant catch you up on what exactly has been going. He explains that in addition to Captain Krozer\u2019s disappearance, there have been a few patrols not reporting in either, when you ask what has he done about this, he says nothing, in fact that\u2019s why he didn\u2019t want to send you out for fear of losing you too.\n\n\u201cSo your approach to everything has been to just adopt a siege mentality and not let any of the soldiers out while someone is obviously picking us off? By the Emperor I should have you killed right now for extreme incompetence, but quite frankly I\u2019m going to need you for all the bureaucratic stuff that I\u2019m not exactly familiar with.\u201d\n\nYou breathe deeply to contain some of the anger you\u2019re feeling with Verant\u2019s cowardice before continuing.\n\n\u201cOkay I want double men on all the patrols, I want them to question every townsperson within the area about what they might know. I also want you to send word to the generals back home about the situation, maybe we can get some reinforcements up here. In fact send a well armed group up to Fort Defiance too, maybe they can spare some help too.\u201d\n\u201cVery well sir, and Captain Krozer?\u201d Verant asks.\n\u201cWell with this new information that you gave me with missing patrols, we probably should hold off on the search. If anything she\u2019s probably dead and the wendigos are most likely behind the missing patrols too. This seems a little sneaky for them though, who knows maybe we\u2019ve got another threat that we don\u2019t know about.\u201d\n\nYour first orders as head of Fort Destiny are carried out. It takes days of waiting, but eventually you get some results, though not all good.\n\nYour patrols aren\u2019t attacked, but the townsfolk are very upset with how things have been going for them. They\u2019ve been victims of kidnappings as well as the occasional outright murder. The main problem is nobody has been caught doing any of it. People are either just turning up missing, or pieces of their bodies are being found have eaten and mauled. Again, this part points to the wendigos, but this is still very odd behavior for them if it is them. They have never been known for their stealth tactics, and have always been the most outright brutal of all the barbarian tribes. You can only wonder if its due to them being the \u201clast\u201d major ones in the area that they\u2019ve changed.\n\nRegardless, you don\u2019t really have enough troops to go marching into wendigo territory now. Which bring you to your second problem.\n\nWord from headquarter approves of you taking command and even officially promotes you to captain. Another letter from Mr. Mol even states that he\u2019s impressed with your progress and says you no longer need any sort of supervision. Unfortunately that\u2019s all the help you get. The top brass claims that they can\u2019t afford to send you anyone as most are needed on the Felkan border. As for the team you sent to Fort Defiance, it disappeared. You can only assume they were killed, this also makes you wonder if Fort Defiance is alright. You can\u2019t think of a time any communication has really gone on between the two forts since you\u2019ve been here. In any event you\u2019ve got your own concerns for now and you\u2019re going to have to figure out what to do with your limited resources\u2026\n\nYear 23\n\n\u201cGet the bastards on the north side! They\u2019re climbing up the fucking walls!\u201d you shout.\n\nBoiling oil is thrown over the side of the wall, scalding the wendigos as they fall to the ground several feet below. You look around and see a nearby soldier laughing uncontrollably.\n\n\u201cIts heh heh heh heh heh all so clear! We should stop fighting. We need to EMBRACE THE BEAST!\u201d he snarls and runs at you. You decapitate him and throw his body over the battlements below.\n\n\u201cWhy do you resist us Eternal? Your skills would be most welcome to our\u2026\u201d\n\u201cSHUT UP! SHUT UP!\u201d you shout at the disembodied voice.\n\nThe years of battling the wendigos has all lead up to this. Surrounded by an army of them. You did your best to try to curb their growth, but ultimately they replenished their numbers with greater ease than you did. Even when you did manage to get reinforcements it still was never enough. The wendigos as you would come to learn aren\u2019t truly flesh and blood creatures. They are spirits that possess the minds of others. You demanded battle wizards, but none were sent. You demanded golems, but none were sent. You did get a company of orcs, but this was more of a detriment as their minds were even more susceptible to wendigo influence.\n\nYou chop off the hand of another wendigo that attempts to make it over the wall. You look around and see that they\u2019ve already broken through the front door.\n\nHow the wendigos suddenly became so sneaky is still somewhat of a mystery and it hardly matters at this point, but if you had to guess; When captain Krozer attacked them all those years ago, they must\u2019ve possessed her, learned from her and adapted her tactics. They realized that if they did not they would\u2019ve been destroyed without any more hosts. So they watched, they waited; they picked off victims and possessed converts one by one. And even with you opposing them at every turn town after town fell. Those peasants that weren\u2019t killed or turned, fled to the southern parts of the Empire. Even some of your soldiers deserted.\n\nThe wendigos deprived themselves of food for far too long though and over the past few months it has finally unleashed itself into this orgy of violence. An all out attack on the fort, which really is the only bastion of civilization left in the Rask frontier.\n\nYou see what few men you have left get slaughtered below before struggling against two more wendigos of your own. You shove your sword through a wendigo\u2019s heart while trying to ignore the pain of it sinking its teeth into your flesh. Despite swiveling your head around as much as you can to see all your opponents, you feel a heavy blow to your back and claws ripping through your armor. You\u2019re then thrown from the walkway and to the ground.\n\nYou try to get back up as quick as you can and then foot to the face prevents you from doing so. Your weapon is ripped from your hand and another foot comes down on top of your head cracking your skull. The internal bleeding in your brain causes a delirious effect for one moment and then you pass out forever before the wendigos feat upon your body.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Seek out Captain Krozer first", "result": "\u201cI would still like to seek out the captain first. If I can\u2019t find her after my search, then I will take command.\u201d\n\u201cBut, what if YOU go missing then?\u201d\n\u201cWell I guess you\u2019ll still be in power then won\u2019t you? But you feel it would improve my chances of coming back then perhaps you better authorize some soldiers to come with me.\u201d\n\u201cOh very well! But be careful!\u201d\n\nYou shake your head at Verant\u2019s meek style of leadership and gather your men for a search mission. You have no idea why such a man would go into the military if he didn\u2019t want the authority over others, let alone how he got as high as he did in the first place.\n\nWhen you gather your men, you set off on your journey to find out if Captain Krozer is dead or alive. As you make your way to Wendigo territory, you travel through a few towns you get a lot of pleas and complaints from the peasants. Apparently they\u2019ve been suffering from attacks, but not in the traditional raiding sense. People have been going missing, or sometimes there have been pieces of bodies found, but no outright raids. You of course ask where are all the normal patrols that guard the area and the peasants either tell you that they\u2019ve all disappeared or they stopped showing up days ago. More of Verant\u2019s lack attention. The fool should\u2019ve been investigating these incidents a long time ago, as soon as soldiers stopped reporting in. After this is over with, and assuming Captain Krozer is indeed dead, you definitely will be taking command and most likely have Verant executed for extreme incompetence.\n\nIt\u2019s obvious the Wendigo tribe must have something to do with this, but this doesn\u2019t really seem like their style based on their reputation and your own brief combat with them in the past. They are the most brutal and vicious of the barbarian tribes, they out of any of them wouldn\u2019t rely on covert tactics like this, something must\u2019ve have severely changed.\n\nYou continue your journey and just before you get to the territory of the Wendigos you pass through another town. This one looks like it was a fairly new one made up of some determined settlers. It also looks like it was attack recently which is amazing since there are actually survivors. Some of the townsfolk fixing a building see you, wave you over and you approach them\n\n\u201cCitizens, why have you built a town here? Nevermind the fact that the Empire has not authorized such a settlement, but this is dangerously close to Wendigo territory. It would be for your own safety to leave this place.\u201d You say.\n\u201cOh yes, we know, we suffered an attack by them about a week ago, but we won\u2019t be scared off! Really they aren\u2019t nearly as bad as their reputation claims.\u201d The carpenter says while looking around at his fellows as they nod. Something is very strange about all this. The peasants all have a peculiar smirk like they\u2019re hiding something.\n\u201cHey, wait aren\u2019t you Roger from Keplavisk? Your wife mentioned her husband going missing and you match his description.\u201d One of your men suddenly pipes up.\n\n\u201cHuh, uh no. My name isn\u2019t Roger and I\u2019ve never been there. Never married either. You must have me mixed up with him. I just got one of those faces y\u2019know. Hey why don\u2019t you guys rest at our inn? I mean you probably will want to, before you fight the big bad Wendigos in their home territory and all.\u201d The carpenter\n\u201cWho said that\u2019s what we were going to do?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cWell I assumed you were\u2026if you aren\u2019t well I suppose that\u2019s fine too! But you\u2019ll probably still want to rest in our inn.\u201d\n\u201cYou\u2019re acting very strange citizen\u2026\u201d\n\nIt\u2019s at this point you draw your weapon, the rest of your men do likewise. The townsfolk don\u2019t look too bothered, but they do back up smiling the whole time which reveals that their teeth are decidedly less human looking.\n\n\u201cGood, prefer it this way anyway. Fuck all this sneaking around!\u201d one of them remarks and in complete unison they howl an unpleasant noise and begin to transform.\n\nYou manage to chop down a few of them before they complete their change, it doesn\u2019t make things any easier though. Despite their great strength, you and your men are winning the skirmish and that\u2019s when more of that awful howling penetrates your ears.\n\nMany more Wendigos come running into the town, completely cutting you off from any sort of retreat. You continue to fight as your own men begin to fall under the onslaught of the Wendigos eventually you are the last one left and severely outnumbered. You attempt to ignore the pain of their claws digging into your flesh and their powerful blows knocking you around like a ragdoll, you do your best, but your weapons is ripped from you along with your hand that was welding it. Desperate, you bite the current Wendigo, holding you in his grip, though you find that his bite is much more damaging than your own when part of your shoulder is chewed off.\n\nYou feel a snap and the bone in your other arm is broken through the skin. The wendigo throws you up against the wall of one of the damaged houses and you fall to the snow bleeding profusely from several wounds. You struggle to stand, but you just don\u2019t have the strength left. You expect the killing blow to come soon, but you hear one more of those awful howls before it\u2019s over.\n\nCaptain Krozer stands over you, though you know it can\u2019t be her.\n\n\u201cY..you are not th\u2026the captain\u2026\u201d you say.\n\u201cYou would be correct Eternal, however she did mention before her mind was absorbed that you would stop us. Good thing her mind was so full of strategies and tactics for me to impliment. I think it really was time for us to update our way of life anyway. Can\u2019t stagnate and remain in barbaric bodies forever. I would have you just us\u2026but in your current state, well I just don\u2019t think you would be as effective anymore. A shame, your body would\u2019ve provided as an excellent host. Oh well I still should be able to enjoy the succulent life blood from your heart.\u201d\n\nThe last thing you see is the inhuman face of whatever it is inhabiting Krozer\u2019s body as it reaches into your chest to pull out your still beating heart.", "action_results": []}]}]}]}, {"action": "Rask Frontier (History Lesson)", "result": "Much like the Nalin province, Rask is on the outskirts of the Empire, except to the north rather than the south. It\u2019s a cold, snowy land made up of a lot of mountain ranges and long stretches of forests. It\u2019s also rich with resources and the Empire has made great strides in building mines and lumber mills here.\n\nThe Empire\u2019s been attempting to tame this area for decades, but its history here hasn\u2019t been the best, as it almost seems that it is fighting the very natural order of things here. The environment is harsh all by itself, but when you add in the various denizens that live there, it makes things even more difficult.\n\nSeveral vicious barbarian tribes live here some of which carry various \u201cconditions\u201d that allow them to turn into beasts such as wolves or bears. Elves who have managed to escape the shadow of the Empire have made their homes here as well. The worst of the lot are the numerous ogre tribes and giants that live here, fortunately they stick further north, but every once in awhile they wander further south and cause trouble.\n\nThe military presence is strong here, but isn\u2019t as well supported like it should be and as a result it can only do so much. Svelk mercs are usually used to bolster the ranks a bit, but they\u2019re not something the various fort commanders like to use. There are even a few battle mages, elite orc troops and Shadow Guard stationed here, though they are mostly further north where the ogres and giants are the problem.\n\nAnother problem is the citizens themselves, for whatever reason the citizens in Rask tend to have a more independent mindset. Many that live here see themselves as pioneers taming the land despite the fact that if it wasn\u2019t for the Empire, most of them would\u2019ve been massacred, raped, or eaten by now. In any event, they\u2019re more likely to openly criticize the government and its gotten to the point where most of the military barely bothers to do anything about it. They\u2019ve got so many other concerns that unless the plebes are openly rioting, a few mouthy peasants don\u2019t even rank on the countless list of dangers in Rask.", "action_results": [null]}]}]}]}, {"action": "Refuse to leave him behind", "result": "Despite your desire to go on an official mission, you feel that it would be worse to leave one of your team members behind, especially what would lie in store for him.\n\n\u201cI will not leave a member of my team behind. We need to be together to produce the best results, captain.\u201d\n\u201cI see. Well, we\u2019ll see how true that is when you\u2019re all cleaning out the toilets. You\u2019re on clean up detail until further notice. That will be all.\u201d Pollo says in a perturbed tone.\n\nYou leave Captain Pollo\u2019s office with the bad news to your team.\n\n\u201cWHAT?! I was ready for a fight!\u201d Edgar yells.\n\u201cWhat happened in there?\u201d Roldan asks.\n\u201cYeah, we were going on a proper mission and not we aren\u2019t!\u201d Gerald adds completely oblivious that he wasn\u2019t going anywhere to begin with.\n\u201cLook, there will be other times, let\u2019s not dwell on it, we\u2019ve got toilets to clean\u2026\u201d\n\nThe rest of your team follows your lead and grumble a bit, but Edgar is doing the most of it. By the end of the day you\u2019ve cleaned up a lot of the fort, but really, this isn\u2019t what you want to be doing.\n\nThe next day, Captain Pollo feels that you\u2019ve done such a good job that he says that your talents would be wasted in battle. He feels that other more experienced soldiers can now be freed up from such trivial duties that your team is performing. You\u2019re kept at the fort doing all sorts of menial labor.\n\nDay pass into months and the mocking never stops from the other soldiers in the fort who call you the \u201cmop kids\u201d. This angers all of you, but of course once again Edgar is the one that nearly comes to blows with other soldiers. You have to stop him several times. Eventually his anger is directed towards you.\n\n\u201cFuck! This shit is all your fault anyway! What the hell did you do to piss off Captain Pollo all those months ago?\u201d\n\u201cNevermind Edgar! And you\u2019re out of line, I am your leader!\u201d\n\u201cHah! Some great job you got us fearless leader! We\u2019re making the Empire safe from filthy shitholes and dirty floors!\u201d Edgar says getting in your face.\n\nBefore the others can break it up, you grab Edgar and slam him up against the wall.\n\n\u201cYou wanna know what I did? I refused to leave Gerald behind to get fucked by that sick dipshit captain!\u201d you shout in his face.\n\u201cWhat?\u201d Edgar says.\n\u201cHe\u2026he wanted to fuck me?!\u201d Gerald says in disbelief\n\u201cWell it was pretty obvious when we first met him, Gerald.\u201d Brenda remarks.\n\u201cSurprised he didn\u2019t just order you to leave him, or more logically order Gerald himself.\u201d Roldan adds.\n\nYou let go of Edgar.\n\n\u201cI dunno, I think he\u2019s playing some sort of game. Maybe it\u2019s a test even. Like if I\u2019m willing to leave a man behind or not.\u201d You answer.\n\u201cWell I sure wish you had sergeant, because that would\u2019ve been the smart thing to do! So what if Gerald would\u2019ve had to please the captain? It\u2019s not like it would\u2019ve been a big deal. The greater good of the team and the Empire would\u2019ve been better served with the rest of us chopping up some kobolds, not mopping floors and cleaning!\u201d Edgar says unsympathetically.\n\u201cHEY!\u201d Gerald replies.\n\u201cRight, Edgar, I\u2019ll remember your speech the next time some sicko wants me to leave you behind instead.\u201d\n\u201cLook all I\u2019m saying, is you gotta make tough decisions like that if you want to be a real leader! Just think if we were on a mission and you had to leave Gerald or any of us behind to die, to complete it? You would\u2019ve probably froze up and got us all killed. I\u2019m not sure if I believe in you as our leader if you can\u2019t make simple choices\u2026\u201d\n\nBetween the monotonous cleaning, the mocking, Edgar\u2019s bitching and your own doubt about your leadership abilities, you can\u2019t take it anymore. You punch Edgar in the face mid-sentence and knock him to the floor, he\u2019s dazed for a moment, but doesn\u2019t hesitate to attack you right back.\n\nThe pair of you are going at it which draws the attention of several passing soldiers, who take the time to mock you. This is a mistake on their part as you and Edgar are in a heightened state of anger causing you both to attack them instead. This then escalates into others aiding them, which in turn causes your team to aid you as well.\n\nThe brawl is chaotic and counter productive, but for a brief moment you actually feel \u201calive\u201d again. You imagine most of your fellow Eternals do too after all this is the first \u201cbattle\u201d they\u2019ve had in months. Unfortunately Kane feels so alive, he forgets that he\u2019s fighting fellow Empire soldiers and ends up killing three of them.\n\nThe brawl ends with the opposing soldiers running and the rest of you standing around looking at Kane who doesn\u2019t know why you aren\u2019t celebrating your victory.\n\nWhen this is brought to the attention of Captain Pollo he\u2019s furious and has you all put in the stockade and mentions that a trial will be held tomorrow to decide what to do with you. He already doesn\u2019t like you, so you\u2019re guessing it\u2019s just going to be for show and then he\u2019ll do whatever he likes anyway.\n\n\u201cLook, Kane is the one who killed them, he should be the one to take the fall!\u201d Edgar points out.\n\u201cFor the greater good of the team huh, Edgar?\u201d Warrick replies.\n\u201cDamn right! Look you know I\u2019m right! If we try to fight this, the captain is just going to punish all of us!\u201d\n\u201cHe\u2019s going to punish us all anyway Edgar!\u201d\n\u201cAnd you\u2019re probably right, but Kane here is the only one who\u2019ll get the noose. I mean no offense Kane, but come on even you know I\u2019m right on this!\u201d\n\nAs much as you\u2019d like to punch out Edgar again, that\u2019s what lead to this in the first place. Actually if you had just left behind Gerald, this could\u2019ve all been avoided. Maybe Edgar\u2019s right, the good of the many outweighing the needs of the few. You were taught that before in training, you don\u2019t know why you questioning it now.\n\nStill, it doesn\u2019t feel right just throwing Kane to the wolves, just like it didn\u2019t feel right leaving Gerald behind.", "action_results": [{"action": "Defend Kane", "result": "You\u2019re a team and you were trained together as one. You feel that you should do everything you can to protect one of your own, especially in this sort of situation. Besides, Captain Pollo is most likely going to punish you all anyway. You might well stand for what you believe in.\n\nEdgar naturally disagrees with you again, but grudgingly goes along with it since he doesn\u2019t want to be on the receiving end of another one of your beatings. Everyone else agrees more readily. Kane while appreciative seems to be oddly detached from the situation, almost as if he doesn\u2019t care.\n\nThe next day all of you are marched into the cafeteria, which is serving as a makeshift court room. Many of the other soldiers are calling for your blood, but some of them are just sitting quietly. Captain Pollo asks both sides what exactly happened, and despite the other side making themselves look more sympathetic, fact remains Kane DID kill three of them. There really isn\u2019t any way to defend against it. You attempt to direct blame to the other soldiers and claim it was an accident, but nothing works.\n\nCaptain Pollo decides that all of you are at fault and says you\u2019re all going to be executed for treason. It is at that point to make one last plea.\n\n\u201cCaptain! I beg you not to carry out this sentence! At least not on my team! I was the leader. I was the one who should\u2019ve kept a better handle on them. This incident is my fault. If you have to execute someone, execute me, but not for treason, for incompetence in the service of the Empire. I may have failed to serve the Emperor, but the rest of my team may still make up for this terrible mistake that is mainly my fault.\u201d\n\nIt\u2019s an impassioned plea. Even the soldiers that were cheering for your sentence are silent. Captain Pollo thinks for a moment and readdresses you.\n\n\u201cVery well. I suppose you have a point. However Kane still killed three men, his crime can\u2019t go unpunished. He will still be executed for murder and treason. The rest of your team members will be freed, but I\u2019m having them all separated and transferred to other places. I can\u2019t take the chance of having another incident like this happening again. Maybe the Rask frontier would be a better place for them since they want to fight so much. Execution will take place tomorrow morning. Court adjourned.\u201d\n\nBefore you\u2019re taken away, you address the rest of your team one last time.\n\n\u201cLearn from my mistakes. Be a better Eternal than I was and live up to the name. Serve the Emperor well.\u201d\n\nYou and Kane are taken to separate cells. You spend the rest of the night thinking about why you felt the way you did. It doesn\u2019t make sense based on your training. Mistress beat duty and obedience into you, yet you rejected Captain Pollo\u2019s initial request. Gruz certainly thought you were leadership material. He was obviously was wrong. A lot of questions go through your mind, but ultimately you realize it\u2019s futile. You\u2019re to be executed at morning and it\u2019ll hardly matter what reason you had for any of your actions. You eventually fall asleep.\n\nThe next morning, you and Kane are taken from your cells and marched to the gallows. The pair of you say nothing the entire time until the hangman puts the noose around your neck and you are asked if you have any last words.\n\nKane continues to remain silent. You are slightly more verbal.\n\n\u201cLong live the Emperor! Long live the Empire!\u201d you shout before the lever is pulled and your neck snaps like a twig.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Place all the blame on Kane", "result": "You already made one mistake by place one man\u2019s welfare above the good of the team. You can\u2019t afford to do it this time when all your lives may very be at stake.\n\nEdgar is of course happy you came to this conclusion, the rest of your team isn\u2019t as happy. A couple even argue with you a bit, though it isn\u2019t over so much that you\u2019re not standing up for him, so much as you aren\u2019t consistent. Kane on the other hand seems oddly okay with your decision. He says if it\u2019s for the good of the team then so be it. It\u2019s almost as if he doesn\u2019t care.\n\nThe next day all of you are marched into the cafeteria, which is serving as a makeshift court room. Many of the other soldiers are calling for your blood, but some of them are just sitting quietly. Captain Pollo asks both sides what exactly happened, and despite the other side making themselves look more sympathetic than they are, you do nothing to protect Kane in any way. You say that it was all his fault and you had no control over his actions. Kane accepts full responsibility and doesn\u2019t even try to defend himself.\n\nWhile this keeps you and the rest of your team from facing the gallows, it doesn\u2019t keep you out of complete trouble. Since you were the leader of the team, you are stripped of your rank and busted back down to private. Captain Pollo says that all of you are to be transferred as well since he doesn\u2019t want something like this happening again. Kane is scheduled to hang in the morning.\n\nWhen court is dismissed all of you return to your room. Edgar goes on about how lucky you all were, but nobody is in the mood to hear it. Eventually he says he\u2019ll be glad to get transferred from everyone anyway since you\u2019re all holding him back, he then leaves to report to his cleaning duties.\n\nThe next morning when Kane is executed none of you attend to watch it, indeed you\u2019re all wonder where you\u2019re going to be transferred, which is supposed to be in a couple days.\n\nAs it turns out you didn\u2019t need to wonder at all. Mr. Mol finds out about what happened and isn\u2019t pleased about how it was handled. He allows the transfer of most of your team, since he believed you all would be better off separate to begin with, but you\u2019re left at Fort Glory since he also believes that you utterly failed to show any leadership qualities. As such you\u2019re not fit to be located anywhere important.\n\nCaptain Pollo, who never liked you to begin with is even more perturbed that he couldn\u2019t get rid of all of you (At least not the one he found attractive) keeps you on clean up detail and other menial jobs. You\u2019re a private now, so it\u2019s not even like you can use your rank as an excuse of how your skills are being wasted.\n\nThe only thing that keeps you going is the delusion that maybe your service is still benefiting the Empire in some small way, even if you aren\u2019t actively fighting for it. At least it does for a while.\n\nYear 17\n\n\u201cBut captain, you\u2019ve got kobolds running all over the countryside, there are those desert nomads destroying entire towns in the southern part of Nalin, you\u2019re starting to get bandit reports\u2026at least let me go on patrol!\u201d you say to Pollo.\n\u201cEverything is under control private, the last thing I need is your help! And why aren\u2019t you attending your duties?\u201d\n\u201cCaptain, if I may say, we do need every man we can get out there. Most of the ones we got are reluctant to even leave the fort at this point. Surely you must see that someone who wants to fight is a benefit, not a hindrance.\u201d Lieutenant Anu interjects.\n\u201cAnd when I want your opinion lieutenant I\u2019ll ask for it! I gave you a chance to fight before and you didn\u2019t take it, when you had the chance.\u201d\n\u201cOh fer\u2026captain I\u2019d think you\u2019d want anyone going out there to fight if only so you won\u2019t have to do it.\u201d\n\u201cWhat are you implying lieutenant?\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m implying you\u2019re a fucking incompetent asshole who worries more about procuring young boys from nearby towns rather than the safety of this province! And I for one can\u2019t stand by and watch it any longer! As of right now I\u2019m invoking the right to take command; you have proven a complete fuck up since I\u2019ve been stationed here. Private, I\u2019m giving you permission to get on a horse and out to the town of Yalef. They\u2019re in the middle of a siege from the usksha there. Hopefully you can get there and do something.\u201d\n\nCaptain Pollo protests and he argues back and forth with his second in command, but when the guards enter the room, they are obviously on Anu\u2019s side. Not wishing to get involved in this anymore than you are, you take the opportunity to follow Anu\u2019s orders.\n\nPart of you is very excited about this, at last you feel like a weight has been lifted off your chest and you\u2019re finally free to serve the Empire in a more substantial way.\n\nYour journey to Yalef isn\u2019t an uneventful one. You\u2019re actually attacked several times by kobolds. One of these ambushes succeeds in killing your horse. You dispatch the kobolds, but even with all your training you find that not being in any sort of combat for a year has made you slightly rusty.\n\nYou carry on to the town of Yalef, fighting and resting when you must. By the time you get within sight of the town, half of it is in ruins and multiple horsemen surround the place. These must be the usksha or the desert horsemen you\u2019ve heard about. Some of them see you and immediately attack.\n\nYou do well against them all things considered that you\u2019re outnumbered, fighting alone, tired and slightly wounded with your many skirmishes with the kobolds. The problems come when the usksha change up tactics and begin firing arrows at you instead. You\u2019re caught by a couple of the arrows before you can get cover.\n\nAs you hide behind a rock, trying to figure out how you\u2019re going to actually get to the town, you feel a sharp pain in your body. This is followed by several more and you slump into the rock, struggling to breathe. You notices several more arrows in you, but these are smaller and you from you\u2019ve seen all the usksha were in front of your near the town.\n\nThen sounds of inhuman high pitched giggling fill your ears. It\u2019s another kobold ambush! The little fuckers must\u2019ve been hiding in the mud and dirt nearby waiting for their own time to strike.\n\nYou see several approach you, while others go off to engage the usksha, but you know your role in this is over. Your eyes close and are just glad your last moments were fighting for the Empire.", "action_results": []}]}, {"action": "Surviving Soldiers (Your Team)", "result": "There were eighteen of you that were sent to Captain Gruz, now there are only seven of you left, but that\u2019s because you all proved to be the strongest and you proved to be the most gifted of them all.\n\nWhile you were picked to be a \u201cleader\u201d fairly earlier on in your training, you never really interacted with your classmates as much on a social level since you felt as team leader you were supposed to keep a proper barrier between you and your subordinates.\n\nStill, you have gotten to know them all on a personal level due to practically growing up with all of them, even if you haven\u2019t been excessively close to any of them.\n\nGerald is blonde with fair skin and probably the tallest. You remember when Mistress first put you against him you were slightly afraid of him, though you learned that day that size does not always equal skill. Still, he has certainly improved since those times otherwise he wouldn\u2019t be here. From other observations you\u2019ve made, he is one of the more talkative members of your team, and tends to get along with everyone.\n\nWarrick is a brown skinned youth with very curly hair. He tends to be more serious minded than some of the others, but can be talkative when he wants to be. Warrick\u2019s fighting abilities were always good, but never anything special. He has proven to be a lot stealthier than the rest of you, but other than that nothing stands out about him.\n\nBrenda is the only female that made it through training, though there weren\u2019t many to begin with. Female Eternals weren\u2019t given any special treatment, so the fact that she is here, means she has definitely proven herself. Her fighting skills are adequate, but it is with ranged weapons like a bow where she really shines. While you all were altered at birth to function slightly differently than a normal human, the biology of a teenager and all that entails still affects all of you on some level. On more than one occasion your fellow male Eternals have begun to look at her a little differently than each other and sometimes you hear discussions about her and her physical attributes (Mostly Edgar and Gerald). It is unknown if she thinks similar things about the rest of you. As always you have attempted to maintain a proper barrier, though even you cannot deny that you\u2019ve let yourself get distracted a few times by her\u2026 green eyes.\n\nRoldan, like Warrick doesn\u2019t stand out in any meaningful way, however he does display a great sense of duty like you do. His combat skills are also about the same as Warrick\u2019s. He tends to try to diffuse disagreements between others in the team when they arise. Almost like a \u201cpeacemaker.\u201d You find this behavior a little strange for an Eternal, but you appreciate his efforts in helping to support a cohesive unit. If you were looking for a second, it would be Roldan. He\u2019s a stable influence on the team.\n\nKane is probably the best warrior in the team besides you. Mistress pitted him against you in your first match as well. After you incapacitated Gerald, Kane nearly beat you, but you managed to pull out a victory. (Much to Mistress\u2019 dismay) Since that first victory, Kane and you have had several sparring sessions. Most of the time you won, but there were times when he did. Every time he did though, he would always ask if you were okay. Outside of these sessions, he has always been very respectful of you. You might even consider him to be your second, but he tends to stay in the back even more than Warrick and takes no initiative on anything unless directly called upon. He barely speaks to anyone, has a rather distant demeanor towards everyone else and he keeps to himself even more than you do. Still, he works well in the team when the time comes and nobody can doubt his combat skills.\n\nEdgar is your \u201cproblem\u201d teammate with fiery red hair and an equally fiery temper. He\u2019s always been a little more emotional than the rest of you though that doesn\u2019t detract from his combat skills, which rank up there with Kane\u2019s though unlike Kane, he\u2019s never beaten you, but oh boy would he like to. Edgar would like to do a lot of things; one of those things is be the leader. He borders on insubordination at times and is probably the most outspoken of the group and will be the first one to point out flaws in something even if he turns out to be wrong (which he usually is). He also is an arrogant braggart that boasts about his abilities or successes whenever they arise. Unsurprisingly, he tends to rub everyone else the wrong way and if there is ever a major disagreement on the team, he\u2019s usually the center of it. However, he can back up most of his boasts and is more than willing to prove himself and is not a coward in any sense of the word. Your own opinion of him is that he would be a much better warrior, and possibly could be a leader if he became more disciplined, a LOT more disciplined. You\u2019re guessing his short stature (only Brenda is shorter) is part of what makes him behave the way he does.", "action_results": [null]}, {"action": "Nalin Province (History Lesson)", "result": "The Nalin province exists on the southern outskirts of the Empire and is one of the quieter areas of it, one might even call it \u201cbackwards\u201d but that wouldn\u2019t really be a fair assessment. The people here are slightly simpler than in the other parts, but they maintain a strong work ethic and loyalty for the most part.\n\nDue to its lack of importance, lack of \u201cserious\u201d problems and remoteness, only the barest amount of military is actually stationed here to oversee the province, probably not nearly enough, but until the Empire decides to explore the wilderness to the east of it or possibly the Usksha desert to the south, then the status quo will remain.\n\nThe major problem that the Nalin province suffers is mainly the kobolds that infest the area. Citizens have complained, but nothing has really been done to eradicate the problem. Without a concentrated effort to root them out, they\u2019ll always be a menace and while they may be small they are can do a lot of damage in large numbers, and that always seems to be the case.\n\nOther than kobolds, the only other common problem is with bandits, but lately there has been another threat coming from the desert. Odd nomads that ride lizard mounts have been sighted more and more on the edges of the desert and Nalin. There haven\u2019t been many encounters, but the few there have been, have been hostile. Why they have been wandering from their desert is unknown, but they\u2019ll be a bigger problem than kobolds if more of them decide to make sort of mass migration.", "action_results": [null]}]}, {"action": "Captain Gruz and his kind (History Lesson)", "result": "While you were under Mistress\u2019 class you learned that orcs were conquered by the Empire long before you were even born. They probably would\u2019ve been wiped out completely if someone didn\u2019t have the great idea of enslaving them for their strength instead.\n\nIn time someone suggested that they be used as shock troops for places where fighting was heavy. This wasn\u2019t a popular idea at first, but was implemented with caution as by that time the first generation of conquered orcs had long died out.\n\nIt turned out to be a good idea as most orcs have an ingrained love of battle in the first place and while usually not that intelligent, it\u2019s enough that one can tell them to \u201cgo kill the enemy over there\u201d and they\u2019ll do it. Orcs were eventually \u201craised up\u201d from a slave race to a more indentured servant one where most served in the military; it also helped keep their population down.\n\nCaptain Gruz is a very rare orc in that he\u2019s brighter than most of his kind. He\u2019s probably smarter than some humans. Second, he\u2019s in a much higher position than those of his kind are usually allowed. However he proved himself countless times in battle, and if there is something that usually gains respects from Empire officials, its combat victories. He also had the fortune to have superior officers that were open minded enough to promote him.\n\nDuring his training sessions, he always speaks highly of the Empire and of the Emperor and always reminds you all of your own duty to them both. He also has a tendency to tell tales of past battles he has had as examples to follow or to learn from. You don\u2019t know about the rest of your class, but you find these tales fascinating. You know he must love to fight with how he tells these tales, and you also know he must be a great warrior. All of which makes you wonder why he isn\u2019t still on the battlefield.\n\nStill, it isn\u2019t your place to question such things.", "action_results": [null]}]}, {"action": "Die", "result": "The pain is great and you want it to be over with as quickly as possible, but you know to beg for mercy would be shameful, so you gasp say you\u2019d rather die than beg. This response surprises her to a point that she actually takes her boot off your chest giving you relief.\n\n\u201cTruly, little one? You accept death so quickly? Have you no instinct for survival, or are you merely a fool? Still, your refusal to beg at least shows promise. It also shows that you know your place and that your life is ultimately not your own. It is nothing. ALL of your lives are nothing! Your lives will never be anything more than warm bodies to serve the Emperor! Remember this.\u201d\n\nAt this point much like your other classmate hit by her magic bolt, you slowly get up and back in your seat, clutching your chest. It hurts, but you compose yourself the best you can.\n\nTime passes by under the harsh guidance of Mistress. She teaches you all that she promised she would and then some. Your lessons are not only that of a combat nature, but of an academic one as well. You wouldn\u2019t be aware of it, but you and your classmates are probably much better educated than other children your age.\n\nAs for you, Mistress doesn\u2019t treat you any worse or better than any of the other children, but your first experience with her did have an effect on your behavior. You take her lesson that your life ultimately not being important to heart and you become more and more withdrawn. So withdrawn in fact that you almost become invisible to your fellow classmates and even Mistress sometimes forgets that you\u2019re there at all. If it was not for group projects and sparring lessons you probably would be forgotten.\n\nYou obey commands and do your training and that is all. Why bother worrying about anything else when your life is not your own? You must follow orders even if it means your death, it\u2019s the only way you\u2019ll be able to please the Emperor.\n\nDespite your low key nature, your personality doesn\u2019t completely go unnoticed by your instructor and watchers, they make note of it and decide how you should be handled in the next step of your training.\n\nYear 12\n\nYou are in a room with a few of your fellow classmates standing in a row. Most of your class has been separated for reasons unknown to you. All you know right now is there is a man in a dark robe speaking with a well dressed man. They are speaking about you, but not actually speaking TO you\u2026\n\n\u201cFar be it from me to question orders, but I thought the whole point of this program was to create a separate elite fighting unit. Why are they now being split up and more importantly why are some being placed with us?\u201d\n\u201cThings have changed since the program\u2019s inception. Besides I would\u2019ve thought the Shadow Guard would\u2019ve appreciated such an honor of receiving such worthy candidates.\u201d the man dressed in black formal wear calmly retorts.\n\u201cThat remains to be seen. I\u2019m sure you\u2019re fully aware of our strict guidelines on who is accepted. There are tests and rituals to go through.\u201d\n\u201cSo, put \u2018em through whatever it is you do. Look, I\u2019d say you could benefit by having a few Eternals in your ranks, if nothing else than to keep you from getting lax.\u201d\n\u201cLax? Our group has been the eyes and ears of the Empire for centuries, and our vigilance is beyond reproach. We haven\u2019t even seen one of these so-called Eternals can do. It\u2019s all been just speculation, and if I may be so bold, a misguided appropriation of time and funds. The Empire should be providing the regular military better equipment and more of it, so that we don\u2019t have to be sent in to help them on the frontlines when we could be doing better things with our time such as keeping the Empire safe from subversives and other internal parasites.\u201d\n\u201cYour concerns are irrelevant. This is the Emperor\u2019s project and he has his reasons. If I were you I\u2019d watch your tone. For someone who doesn\u2019t question orders, one wonders if you have to be reminded that you are a servant of the Emperor and you will obey or you will be replaced.\u201d\n\nThe robed individual steps towards the well dressed man before speaking.\n\n\u201cFortunately for you, I do serve the Emperor, for that is the only thing keeping me from ripping out your throat. Never question my loyalty again\u2026very well I shall take these so called Eternals, but if they fail to live up to Shadow Guard standard, then they shall die like anyone else.\u201d\n\u201cAs you wish brother, I leave it in your capable hands. You will keep me apprised of their progress on a weekly basis. Good day.\u201d The well dressed man says and leaves the room, leaving you all alone with the robed man. You\u2019ve never seen a Shadow Guard before, but while he doesn\u2019t look quite as menacing from what you\u2019ve heard about them you know that he is a force to be reckoned with by reputation alone.\n\nHe walks up and down the row sizing you all up before speaking.\n\n\u201cI am Brother Gray, and I will be in charge of the rest of your training until the Emperor deems otherwise. I imagine that your former instructor was that svelk woman, so I trust you all know by now that failure and weakness have no place here. Correct?\u201d\n\u201cYes Brother!\u201d you all shout in unison.\n\u201cHmm, well glad to see her skills in teaching discipline are still as effective as ever. Good. Now let\u2019s see how good your combat skills are\u2026\u201d\n\nAt this point you and your fellow classmates instinctively start to pair up to spar with each other, but Gray stops you and immediately knows what\u2019s going on.\n\n\u201cOh no, you won\u2019t be fighting each other. The svelk\u2019s cultivation of mistrust and loathing in all of you has its place, but not for our purposes. As a Shadow Guard you will learn that the reliance on such emotions to be a hindrance, as all emotions are. I can see I will have to undo some of the foolishness she has instilled in you all.\u201d\n\nTime goes by and Brother Gray begins to train you in various forms of combat. It\u2019s actually similar to some of the stuff Mistress was starting to teach you as he goes on about unconventional warfare such as poisoning water supplies and assassinations. However he also teaches you and your classmates to work better as a team. One test involves fighting a strange beast called a Thought Lurker. It is one of the most grueling battles you\u2019ve ever had and it doesn\u2019t require weapons at all. It takes place all in your mind and it utterly destroys a few of your classmates. It is only when you and your classmates concentrate together as one you are ultimately successful in defeating it.\n\nAcademically speaking, you are still given a well-rounded education. A strong mind and knowledge wins more battles than any blade did as Brother Gray says.\n\nBrother Gray is just as uncompromising as Mistress in his training, but he is not gleeful about it at all. His verbal abuse is a cold disappointment rather than gloating about your failures. He still reminds you all regularly about how it is your sworn duty to serve the Emperor, but you hardly need him to tell you that, to believe otherwise is unthinkable.\n\nAs for you, you find yourself fitting in better here. It might be due to the conditioning that emotions are a hindrance and the emphasis on duty since you already had a slightly stoic personality coming in. There is a calming peace of knowing exactly what you need to be placing importance on. Despite your nature of blending into the background, you have not gone unnoticed by Brother Gray who approaches you to give you direct advice one day.\n\n\u201cYou are a little different from your fellows. I have noticed that you adapted much better to training than they did. You may even survive the ritual when the time comes, however I will give you a little advice. I can see that you do not believe your life is truly important. You believe that you feel it is merely your duty to serve and if you die in the process, then you will die. I imagine this might be the result of something that the Svelk woman did to you\u2026in any event, this approach will not do. There is no weakness in maintaining a survival instinct while serving. Yes, you will be called upon to perform dangerous duties or even suicidal ones in the service of the Emperor, but you should always try to survive even if the odds are against you. The Shadow Guard has been doing it for centuries. Remember, the longer you survive, the longer you can continue serving the and there is no greater honor. Think on this on your next training assignment.\u201d\n\nBrother Gray\u2019s words carry much weight with you and in the years during your training you begin to discard your overly fatalistic approach to life well as becoming an accomplished warrior.\n\nYour instructor and watchers once again note your growth and skills, and as usual they make decisions on how you will best serve the Emperor.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 16\n\nYou and four of your fellow Eternals stand once again before Brother Gray this time though he is joined by another one of his fellow shadows. This man is almost indistinguishable from Brother Gray, similar robe, head covering hood, the only thing really different about him is that he\u2019s slightly taller.\n\n\u201cEternals, you have survived this far when some of your fellows have not. This means you show promise in joining our order, but it does not yet mean you belong. There is one more test that you have to pass through, before that can happen. I shall let Master Ebon explain more.\u201d\n\nWith this, Master Ebon steps forward and begins to speak, it is at that moment you notice that something is slightly off about him. Like part of him is becoming translucent momentarily.\n\n\u201cEternals, I have heard much about you and how skilled you all are. So far I am not impressed. You have been given gifts and advantages from birth yet only a few of you actually made it this far. However, given Brother Gray\u2019s sterling assessment of all of you that do remain, perhaps I just need to see it for myself. In any event, all of you shall be undergoing the Ritual of the Shadow. It is in this important ceremony that you will gain abilities such as this\u2026\u201d\n\nMaster Ebon, suddenly disappears completely and before you know it, he is behind all of you, forcing you all to turn around.\n\n\u201cThis is just a simple ability, compared to others you will gain in time, assuming you survive the ritual. I should also mention this ritual will also open your eyes to the truth and bind you\u2026all of us in a way you have never even pondered before. I am not sure if you Eternals have bonded despite growing up together, but you even if you have, that bond will not compare to that of the shadows. Our order has existed for a very long time and will continue to do so long after other systems haven fallen to the dung heap of history.\u201d\n\nMaster Ebon at this point turns around and begins to chant in some strange language. After about five minutes of this, a shimmering portal opens up, though it sort of fades in and out of existence.\n\n\u201cAnd now Eternals, the ritual begins. You two, enter the portal together.\u201d Ebon says pointing at Cyrus and Brian. The pair of them nod and walk into the portal.\n\nAfter a few moments have passed, Ebon speaks again.\n\n\u201cYou two, enter the portal together.\u201d He says and Talia and David enter the portal leaving you by yourself.\n\nA longer stretch of time passes and even you begin to feel a little anxious despite your best efforts.\u201d Master Ebon naturally notices this.\n\n\u201cSince you have been spoken about in such high regard from Brother Gray, I have decided that you do not need to take this test, you are already skilled enough. In fact I believe that you probably do not belong in our order, and you would best serve the Emperor as a soldier. I will inform Mr. Mol of this and he will probably have you transferred to an appropriate post of your skill.\u201d\n\u201cMaster Ebon, I\u2019m not afraid to go through the ceremony! I want to do this!\u201d you protest.\n\u201cHmm, didn\u2019t expect you to protest. I was told that you have a habit of not questioning orders almost to a suicidal degree, though due to your skill, you manage to survive, so I know you are not afraid. However, while loyalty and obedience are certainly important traits to have, I believe that your particular mindset really would serve the Empire\u2019s military instead. The military is a very simple place. Your superiors tell you to kill and you kill. They tell you to die, and you die. The Shadow Guard is a less\u2026absolute branch that requires questioning and deeper thought at times. Contrary to popular belief we do not just snatch people off the streets because someone criticizes the Empire. Such a policy would undoubtedly depopulate countless cities and towns. No, we only seek out those that truly desire the fall of the Empire and sometimes that requires investigations.\u201d\n\u201cSo you are telling me I am not intelligent enough to be a Shadow Guard.\u201d\n\u201cI didn\u2019t say that. Again from what I\u2019ve heard, you have exceptional intelligence. No, what I\u2019m saying is your mindset is different. Now I know Brother Gray said he spoke to you about maintaining a survival instinct, but mere survival isn\u2019t enough.\u201d\n\u201cI know this. I survive so that I may serve the Emperor longer.\u201d\n\nMaster Ebon at this point raises his hands and drops them.\n\n\u201cAnd that\u2019s exactly why you would better serve in the military. There is no shame in this, not everyone is meant to be a Shadow Guard, not even an Eternal. I will make the preparations to have you transferred.\u201d\n\nMaster Ebon turns from you to speak to Brother Gray and you\u2019re left speechless. You\u2019re also left with a lot of conflicting feelings. You feel disappointed, angry and confused all at the same time. Part of you is content on accepting Ebon\u2019s assessment. He may even be right. He\u2019s talking about questioning and complex thought and you don\u2019t exactly know what he means by all that. What else could there be other than serving the Empire?\n\nAnother part of you feels defiant. You want to prove that he is wrong, you want to jump into the portal before he can do anything about it. Maybe he\u2019s expecting you to do that though. Maybe this is a test? But why would there be a test that encourages disobedience?\n\nIn any event, if you\u2019re going to make your move, you need to do it now.", "action_results": [{"action": "Stay where you are", "result": "You might not agree, but you aren\u2019t going to disobey orders. Besides, maybe the military would be better for you. To be quite honest you thought you were going to be serving in it anyway.\n\nYou are taken back to your room by Brother Gray who says he will be sorry to lose one so talented, but if Master Ebon feels you are not right for the order, then you should not be here. He says that Mr. Mol will be informed at once of the situation and he will give you your new assignment from there.\n\nYou aren\u2019t too sure what to think about everything, but you\u2019re confident that you will be placed somewhere fitting to your skills. Hopefully soon, so you can start serving the Emperor properly.\n\nA couple days pass and it is all straightened out. Mr. Mol seems slightly disappointed that you\u2019re being transferred out, but mentions that he knows where to put you. He has you transferred to the Rask frontier, specifically a place called Fort Defiance.\n\nIt\u2019s a long carriage ride to a cold snowy land, but eventually you make it there. You haven\u2019t gotten off the caravan five minutes when a man wearing battle armor approaches you.\n\n\u201cHey are you one of those Eternals?\u201d\n\u201cYes I am.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m Captain Ian, I\u2019ve heard about you and while you don\u2019t look like much, we\u2019ll take anyone at this point. Though I would\u2019ve preferred more battle mages or even orcs at this point.\n\nCaptain Ian begins to give you a run down on the entire area. He mentions that the mortality rate here is high so morale isn\u2019t the best. He goes on to mention that Shadow Guard detachments have been assigned here to help out, but between the ogres and the giants there\u2019s only so much that even they can do. He mentions the new unit you are to be assigned to and to report to it as soon as possible.\n\nWith the caravan leaving, you head to your new unit. When you see them, quite a few of them are predictably much older than you, but surprisingly you see that half of them are around your age. Your superior gruffly introduces himself as sergeant Baily and that he expects you to pull your weight and then some, because there is no room for slackers here. You of course say you have no intention of slacking, and are thrilled to be here to serve the Empire.\n\nYour enthusiasm is met with dismissal from Baily and a couple of snickers from other soldiers, but nobody else really says anything. You are told to find a bed and make it your own.\n\nYou settle in as you begin your assignment at Fort Defiance.\n\nYear 17\n\nKnee deep in snow with minimal visibility due to a blizzard and chilled to the bone. This situation would be unpleasant even without ogres trying to cave in your skull at the moment.\n\nYou dodge the ogre\u2019s swing and cleave one of his legs causing him to fall into the snow, then you finish him off. You look around and see the bloody dead bodies of several members of the squad and of the ogres that ambushed you.\n\n\u201cDamn it! I knew this was going to fucking happen! He does this every fucking year! He sends a bunch of unlucky bastards to patrol this pass during the worst winter month and they get torn up every time. To hell with this, we\u2019ve been out here long enough, we\u2019re getting outta here!\u201d Sergeant Baily shouts to you and the remainder of the squad.\n\nYou have to admit you didn\u2019t see the logic in sending a group to patrol Kragen Pass either, but then you\u2019ve noticed that Captain Ian isn\u2019t the greatest mind for tactics or strategy. Your whole time here hasn\u2019t been what you expected, but then you\u2019re just glad that you\u2019re doing something meaningful to serve the Emperor.\n\nYour squad leaves the bodies behind and makes its way through the blizzard in silence. You briefly think about how this time last year, you were a potential candidate as a Shadow Guard, funny how things change so quickly. You\u2019ve seen some of the Shadow Guard that have been stationed here, but you\u2019ve never spoken to any of them, they tend to keep to themselves, like they\u2019re hiding secrets nobody else is supposed to know about. In any case, you appreciate their combat training, its certainly helped you survive in this harsh environment.\n\nDuring this momentary retreat into your own thoughts, a large rumbling is heard. You look overhead and even in this blizzard you can see the large figures looming on the cliffs. Given that you can actually make out the figures in this snow, you know that these aren\u2019t more ogres.\n\n\u201cGIANTS! RUN!\u201d Sergeant Baily shouts to you and the remainder of the squad. You all attempt to run as fast as you can out of the pass. Large boulders crash down along side the cliffs with an equally large amount of ice and snow. You see two of your number crushed by the boulders thrown by the giants. You and Sergeant Baily make it a little further, only to be engulfed in snow and buried in the stuff.\n\nYou\u2019re disorientated, tired, freezing and slowly suffocating, but with determination, you manage to dig yourself out. You look around to find Baily, but apparently he was killed immediately or didn\u2019t have the strength to dig himself out. It\u2019s too bad, because you could\u2019ve used his help when you see several giants now advancing on your position, though perhaps it wouldn\u2019t have mattered.\n\nYou know that this is most likely going to be your last battle. You draw your sword and walk towards the giants. It will be a good death, but your only regret is that you will not survive to serve the Empire for longer than you would\u2019ve liked.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Run into the portal", "result": "Test or not, you\u2019re not going to stand here and accept the judgment that Master Ebon has passed on you. You\u2019re more than strong enough to pass through the ceremony, you know you are and to prove it, you immediately make a run for the portal.\n\n\u201cMaster Ebon, the Eternal is running towards the portal!\u201d you hear Brother Gray shout just as you make a leap into the shimmering portal. If Ebon said anything you didn\u2019t hear it, in fact as soon as you pass through the portal you don\u2019t hear anything. You also don\u2019t see anything or even feel anything. It\u2019s like you\u2019ve stepped into a place that has sucked out all your senses. You even attempt to speak out loud, but nothing comes out, of course you wouldn\u2019t really know since you can\u2019t hear anything. You don\u2019t believe you\u2019re standing on anything and feels like you\u2019re \u201cfloating\u201d in some sort of void.\n\nAs for your mental state of mind, your feelings have become muted. You still have them, but they aren\u2019t as strong as they once were. Even before when you suppressed your feelings yourself, you never managed it to this degree. Everything has become deadened.\n\nAll of this is so strange and you briefly wonder if you\u2019ve made a mistake, but then you hear a voice, but it\u2019s inside your head. It isn\u2019t some sort of subconscious either. It\u2019s a very real external force speaking to you in your mind. The voice is a whisper, but loud at the same time, almost overpowering.\n\n\u201cYou were not given permission to be here. Why have you disobeyed your superior?\u201d the voice asks.\n\u201cI\u2026I wanted to prove I was worthy.\u201d You answer. It is a strange sensation to speak with just your brain.\n\u201cI see\u2026so do you think you are worthy?\u201d\n\u201cYes.\u201d\n\u201cYour confidence is admirable. Yet, you do not even where you are, let alone WHO you are.\u201d\n\u201cI am an Eternal.\u201d\n\u201cAre you? Tell me, how can one be an Eternal, when one has not even experienced life outside what your superiors have told you? How can one be eternal when one is a mere baby in terms of existence? How can one be eternal when you are before a being that has existed longer than you mortals first came up with the idea of your primitive methods of measuring time? No, you are not eternal. You are confused.\u201d\n\nThe voice is absolutely oppressive. Any feelings that were dead before are replaced with an extreme feeling of hopelessness and as the voice stated confusion. Within that moment you start to question everything you were taught. Not the skills, but the ideology. Still, you try to maintain your mind, by asking questions.\n\n\u201cAre\u2026are you the god of the Shadow Guards?\u201d\n\u201cThat designation I suppose is accurate in a sense, but one should not get stuck with just one description, lest it confine you. I am many things as are you, even if you do not realize it yet, despite what your superior believes. Not to say he is wrong, just that he does not have the\u2026insight I possess. Now your fellows that entered before you did are limited in their thought processes. Some have already failed due to their lack of complex thought. Tell me, are you loyal to your Emperor and your Empire?\u201d\n\u201c\u2026of course!\u201d you say, though due to your experience in this place, you feel a lot less certain of that, for the first time. This whole event is troubling to you. You almost feel suicidal for not answering with absolute certainty.\n\u201cOne cannot serve two masters, or at least not for long. The ones your Empire has designated the Shadow Guard are my loyal servants. They are loyal to ME, first. You cannot be a true member of this order if you place your Emperor above me. My followers have survived by hiding in plain sight and making themselves indispensable to the Empire. They have done this for centuries, but there will be a reckoning some day soon and the question is, who\u2019s side are you going to be on?\u201d\n\nYou cannot answer. The concept of not placing the Emperor about all is so abhorrent to you that you can\u2019t even comprehend it. Yet here you are being asked this question by a god no less. He\u2019s even suggested a reckoning of some sort that indicates the Shadow Guard will betray the Empire in the future! How can you argue with such a being though? If you disagree it is likely to destroy you, but in this place you almost can\u2019t help but to swear subservience to this god. You feel so helpless that it\u2019s almost like the choice Mistress gave you except even worse.", "action_results": [{"action": "Swear to serve the god to survive", "result": "You want to live so much that nothing else matters to you, and no matter how much it sickens you utter \u201cI\u2026I will serve you\u2026\u201d with great effort.\n\u201cYes, you will serve, but do you mean it? I don\u2019t think so. You\u2019re lying to survive this encounter. This is interesting. I was correct in that you are not as rigid as your fellows. If you are willing to risk lying to me in an attempt to save your life, then you are possibly willing to do ANYTHING to save your own life\u2026that means there is still hope for you. I\u2019d advise you though, do not wait too long to pick a side, otherwise you may find that even your will to survive won\u2019t be enough to save you.\n\nThe feeling of oppression leaves you, and it\u2019s instead replaced by a surge of pain jolting through your body. You\u2019d probably cry out if you could, instead you suffer in silence.\n\n\u201cYou will be given the powers I bestow to all my worshippers. Whether you will use them to further the cause or not, is another matter, but one that shall be interesting to see unfold. I have a feeling we shall speak again Eternal.\u201d\nAnd with those last words, you blackout and lose consciousness.\n\nWhen you wake up, you find yourself back in the room where you first stepped into the portal. Master Ebon, Brother Gray, Cyrus and Talia all stand around you.\n\n\u201cHe\u2019s awake.\u201d Brother Gray remarks.\n\u201cHmm, it truly is the work of Dendrin that he survived the process. Dendrin must\u2019ve seen something in him that I did not. I will have to ask for forgiveness of my lack of vision tonight in my prayers. You two, help your brother up, he has proven worthy to be called a shadow and passed Dendrin\u2019s judgement.\u201d\n\nAs Cyrus and Talia help you up, you\u2019re feeling a little groggy and you ask who Dendrin is. Everyone goes silent as if you\u2019ve said the wrong thing.\n\n\u201cWho is Dendrin? Are you jesting? Dendrin is our god! Surely his name appeared in your mind when he spoke to you during the ceremony.\u201d Talia exclaims.\n\u201cHuh\u2026oh\u2026right\u2026I dunno I feel so drained and woozy right now.\u201d You sputter, so as to cover up your less than typical experience with Dendrin.\n\u201cHmm, well that does happen. Some new members take days to fully recover after being in the presence of his power.\u201d Master Ebon remarks. \u201cIn any case, I welcome the three of you to the fold and you are now truly as brothers and sister to us. Our bond is stronger than any can hope to imagine and with Dendrin\u2019s guidance there is nothing we can\u2019t accomplish. You three shall report to Fortress Gloom, from there you will receive your future assignments and even additional training on your new powers. I shall take my leave now as I have other more important duties to perform. Brother Gray I trust you can take it from here.\u201d\n\nMaster Ebon leaves, and Brother Gray does indeed take over. He mentions that the four of you will be heading by carriage to Fortress Gloom, which is located in Quala, the home province of the Empire. Fortress Gloom is apparently the sole head quarters of all the Shadow Guard.\n\nOn the carriage ride there Brother Gray speaks more on Gloom.\n\n\u201cPersonally we\u2019d prefer it if we were located in the Delerg province, but since most of our assignments are in Quala, the Empire desires that we stay close by, still our home at least borders on Delerg so it isn\u2019t all bad and things will be set right one day.\n\u201cWhat is so special about Delerg?\u201d you ask and once again you\u2019ve said something that causes disapproving silence followed by scolding.\n\n\u201cSheesh, you really are out of it aren\u2019t you? Delerg is the original home of the Shadows! You should know this when Dendrin open your mind to our history!\u201d Cyrus shouts.\n\nOnce again you apologize and claim you\u2019re having problems with gaps in your memory and continued disorientation. Brother Gray is a little more understanding and says that you\u2019ll soon recover and remember everything and that in the mean time you can refresh your memory with the books at Fortress Gloom.\n\nYou thank him and decide to stay quiet until you can get a better understanding of your situation. It is apparent that you did not pass through the ceremony like everyone else did. Cyrus and Talia seem like they\u2019re dedicated converts now. Brian and David are no where to be seen and nobody has mentioned them. You can assume that Dendrin destroyed them for some reason. Presumably because they refused to serve, but still that doesn\u2019t explain why you were spared. Dendrin obviously knew you were just paying him lip service to save your own life, and he passed you anyway. Is there something else in store for you?\n\nYou don\u2019t know and you can\u2019t do much about it right now. You just hope you can make it through this.\n\nEventually the carriage stops at the edge of a forest area.\n\n\u201cOkay we have to walk the rest of the way; it\u2019s not too far though.\u201d Gray remarks and all of you get out and the carriage driver quickly makes his way out of the area.\n\nGray leads the way through the dark forest. The trees have so much foliage that they\u2019re blocking out most of the sunlight. Several times you could swear something is watching you in the trees, but nothing attacks. Gray, Cyrus and Talia, aren\u2019t on edge as you are, but then they wouldn\u2019t have cause to be.\n\nEventually you all an area with a large rock formation in the forest. Gray mumbles a few words and then another portal opens up in one of the large rocks. He tells you all to follow and you do. After a long flight of stairs downward, you finally reach Gloom proper. It certainly lives up to its name as you travel the corridors the entire place is barely lit, the place is also very quiet. Gray goes on to explain that the place used to be a former Derro stronghold, but they abandoned it for unknown reasons long before the Shadow Guard started to use it.\n\nAfter a small tour of a small portion of the fortress, Brother Gray tells you all that you will all share the same room with some of the other newer members for now, though he says that the room itself might currently be empty as they are probably on their duties right now. He also goes on to say that he wants you to test out your shadow powers in the training are tomorrow before you go on assignments, so you should try to rest in the meantime.\n\nYou, Cyrus and Talia retire to your room and sure enough it is indeed empty of any other members right now. You all grab a bed that doesn\u2019t look like it has been taken yet. Cyrus begins to speak.\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t know about the rest of you, but I\u2019m going to test some of my powers now. I figure I should get a head start on the practice.\u201d He says and then attempts to make himself invisible. He flickers for a moment, but then fails completely causing himself to collapse on the bed.\n\n\u201cWow, maybe I shouldn\u2019t have tried something so hard at first.\u201d He says breathing hard.\n\nTalia does something a little different; she begins to run from one end of the room to the other. For a brief moment she is a barely visible blur, but she too is winded from the effort.\n\n\u201cI think we should wait until we have proper instruction first. You two are going to hurt yourselves.\u201d You say.\n\u201cProper instruction? All the knowledge is right here! Dendrin saw to that!\u201d Cyrus says pointing to his head. \u201cAll we need to do is practice.\u201d\n\u201cLeave him be brother, he\u2019s still recovering from his experience being in the presence of Dendrin.\u201d\n\u201cYeah, I guess. What an eye opener that experience was though! Seriously, all that stuff we learned was really enlightening. Don\u2019t you agree sister?\u201d\n\u201cOh yes. Just think, all those lies they told us just to try to keep us loyal to the so called Emperor. Murderous tyrant is all he really is and his day will come.\u201d Talia says.\n\nYou can\u2019t believe what you\u2019re hearing. It\u2019s unreal to hear two Eternals you\u2019ve practically grown up with to speak such\u2026treason! You don\u2019t know what they heard when they went through the ceremony, but it\u2019s very apparent they have been corrupted. As much as you\u2019ve been trying to keep your feelings on everything secret, you almost feel like you must speak or do something about it.", "action_results": [{"action": "Confront Cyrus and Talia", "result": "Cyrus and Talia are still Eternals and you have to believe that despite whatever divine indoctrination has taken place that they still have some sort of loyalty to the Emperor and not the Shadow Guard and certainly not Dendrin.\n\nIn any case, you\u2019re going to try to get through to them and you don\u2019t know how to do that except just by being direct.\n\n\u201cDo you two really think Dendrin is more powerful than the Emperor?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cOf course! How could he not be? Why would you even ask such a thing?\u201d Cyrus says.\n\u201cDendrin showed us\u2026all of us that the Emperor and the Empire is a lie and corrupt! He is the only true path! You were in his presence! How can you doubt him?\u201d Talia adds.\n\n\u201cI might ask you two how you can you suddenly revere Dendrin and turn your back on all of what has been taught us? Dendrin\u2026whatever he is obviously is going to show us, or tell us whatever he wants for his own purposes, that doesn\u2019t make it true! We\u2019re Eternals first remember? We swore to serve the Empire, it\u2019s why we were born!\u201d\n\u201cStop it! Just stop! You\u2019re speaking heresy and foolishness! I think your mind was too weak to withstand the greatness of Dendrin and has been damaged!\u201d Talia says.\n\u201cOn the contrary I would ask how is it that I have maintained MY ability to question the Shadow Guard agenda? Why is it that Dendrin did not just destroy me if I wasn\u2019t worthy? Perhaps I\u2019m the strong one. I managed to hold on to my beliefs against a god while you two quickly abandoned them completely. Now you\u2019ve got two options, you can either leave this place with me and we shall report this treasonous organization to the Empire and I swear I will not mention your own doubts in the Emperor.\u201d\n\u201cThe only reporting you should be doing is to either Brother Gray or Master Ebon about your sickness and hope they know how to treat it! I\u2019m warning you, continue to speak the way you have been or\u2026\u201d\n\u201cOr else what Cyrus? You\u2019ll kill me?\u201d you ask and shake your head. \u201cDo what you must then, but see now that I will not be able to get through to you. Now what about you Talia? Are you completely\u2026\u201d\n\nBefore you can complete the sentence, Cyrus attacks you. You narrowly miss a blade to your chest and throw Cyrus face first into a nearby bed. You then follow up with a stomp to his spine though you fail to break it and instead he just grunts in pain. You pull out your own sword and then that\u2019s when Cyrus starts using his new shadow powers. He rolls out of the way and turns invisible.\n\nYou begin swinging at his closest location, but he slips by and stabs you in the foot. You wince at this pain and kick forward with your other foot. I lands somewhere into Cyrus, because he makes another sound. At this point he\u2019s flickering in and out and also breathing heavy. His inexperience at the shadow magic has reared its ugly head again to your advantage.\n\nUnfortunately you were so focused on fighting Cyrus that you completely forgot about Talia, she however hasn\u2019t forgotten about you. You feel two daggers go excruciatingly into your back and puncture your vital organs. You yell out in pain and collapse on to the floor.\n\n\u201c(Wheeze) Thank you my sister. (Pant) Only a shadow for a little while and we\u2019ve already managed to kill an enemy of Dendrin! I\u2019m sure someone heard our fighting, but I\u2019m going to go find Brother Gray, you stay here and watch his body, though I imagine he won\u2019t give you anymore trouble.\u201d Cyrus says and leaves.\n\nYou aren\u2019t dead yet, but you soon will be. Talia, stands far enough away from you so you can\u2019t do anything sudden to her in your last moments.\n\n\u201cWhy did you have to say anything? Why didn\u2019t you just submit to the will of Dendrin? You made me kill you!\u201d Talia says with a tone of regret in her voice.\n\u201cNo I didn\u2019t\u2026I did my duty. You chose to abandon yours\u2026\u201d\n\u201cI didn\u2019t! I\u2026\u201d\n\nTalia\u2019s voice quivers a bit, like she\u2019s genuinely upset about having to kill you. You didn\u2019t expect that, maybe it will cause her to question her priorities now. Perhaps your actions here have accomplish something after all and the seed of chaos has been planted to destroy the Shadow Guard from the inside before they can carry out whatever plans to betray the Empire.\n\nYou comfort yourself with these thoughts as you pass from this world.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Remain silent", "result": "As much as you want to, speaking about your own thoughts on this situation would be folly. Cyrus and Talia have obviously been brainwashed and you\u2019re deep in a fortress that contains traitors that would undoubtedly overwhelm you even if did try to escape. No, your time will be better spent waiting until you are at least able to get out of the fortress and report to someone of importance in the Empire.\n\nIt\u2019s about the only thing you can do. In the meantime you\u2019re going to have to do your best to fit in and learn. Instead of engaging in the practicing of your shadow powers (Which you\u2019re still too worried about using to be honest) you take one of the books in a nearby shelf and begin reading about the laws and scripture of the Shadow Guard seeing as you didn\u2019t experience the immediate knowledge of all this stuff during your encounter with Dendrin.\n\nYou fall asleep reading, but you don\u2019t exactly have a restful sleep. The next morning you are awakened and the three of you are taken to the training room as discussed the day before. Talia and Cyrus seem to master their new powers relatively quickly; you on the other hand have some problems. Your trainer, Brother Shade doesn\u2019t understand why you are, but is somewhat frustrated that he has to spend more time with you. He never threatens you with any sort of physical punishment though, which is a relief.\n\nAfter a few weeks Talia and Cyrus have been sent on various assignments, meanwhile you\u2019re still confined to the fortress due to your sub-par shadow magic (Though not your fighting skills) Brother Shade insists that you stay another few months before being sent on any mission. This gives you more cause for some anxiousness since you really want to leave in order to tell someone about this place. Instead you continue to try to learn as much as you can through reading.\n\nYou don\u2019t mix too much with the other Shadow Guards and mostly keep to yourself. You just don\u2019t feel any connection with any of them even after studying more of the history and beliefs. You just look at them and see traitors to the Empire. The eeriest thing is how the Shadow Guard occasionally makes passing treasonous remarks and will mention how the Empire will fall soon, like it\u2019s a foregone conclusion.\n\nEven Cyrus and Talia, are sort of distant now. The only time they really speak is to taunt you about your magic training. You have to wonder if they is a little revenge going on there as you were always a better close combat fighter than either of them. They of course are fitting in very well with the rest. Cyrus especially seems close to another Shadow Guard by the name of Draven.\n\nYou try to remain positive though that you\u2019ll eventually get the chance to leave this place. While to most people in your situation feeling fear and nervousness would be pretty natural, but for you it is definitely something that isn\u2019t natural and you don\u2019t like it at all.\n\nEventually that day comes and you are summoned to Brother Gray\u2019s office.\n\n\u201cOkay, I believe you\u2019re ready. I don\u2019t understand why it took you so long though, you showed such promise during our initial training exercises.\u201d\n\u201cI suppose I\u2019m just not magically inclined Brother Gray.\u201d\n\u201cPerhaps, but the power and knowledge that Dendrin infused into you, should\u2019ve circumvented any of that\u2026no matter I\u2019ve been told by Brother Shade that your skill is good enough now. Still, I\u2019m also trouble by the reports that you\u2019ve been distant to your fellow Shadows. This is your family now, you shouldn\u2019t be stand offish to them, you need to embrace them as your brothers and sisters because that\u2019s what they are.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m sorry Brother Gray, I guess I\u2019ve just felt self-conscious about my lack of magic skills. Everyone else picked it up so easy compared to me and I didn\u2019t feel like I belonged.\u201d\n\u201cHmm, well I suppose you probably received some taunts, but family members do that too. You shouldn\u2019t have taken it too personal, and I think if you would\u2019ve asked, one of them would\u2019ve helped you. Surely Brother Cyrus or Sister Talia would\u2019ve helped given that you have the most in common with them.\u201d\n\u201cMaybe\u2026I dunno. They fit in better.\u201d\n\u201c(Sigh) This won\u2019t do at all. Here I am thinking that you were ready, but apparently you have some deeper issues. I swear you are the first to have such a problem. I mean you know that we are all on the same side here right? You know that we will stick together no matter what correct? We all have a duty to Dendrin and we are going to see to it that his glory be restored and that means teamwork, community and family.\u201d\n\u201c\u2026yes I suppose you\u2019re right.\u201d\n\u201cWell I\u2019m not right about everything. I think you need to be involved in some more socializing around here, before we send you out.\u201d\n\u201cWhat? But I\u2019m ready! I want to leave!\u201d you say with a loud tone.\n\u201cAnd I don\u2019t think that\u2019s a good idea. You obviously don\u2019t feel welcomed by your fellow Shadows, and that\u2019s not a good mindset to have out in the field if you don\u2019t trust your own family.\u201d\n\u201cBut\u2026\u201d\n\u201cNo buts! I know you\u2019re probably anxious to start serving Dendrin in a meaningful way, but I still think you need to stay a little longer. There will be no more debate about this. Dendrin demands that his worshippers trust one another, for it is our unity that will ensure our struggle will succeed. I think you\u2019ll need to stay in here for the remainder of the year, then I think you should be ready. You are dismissed, brother.\u201d\n\nThe remainder of the year, your heart sinks into further hopelessness. You don\u2019t know if you can stand this place much longer, let alone have to make \u201cfriends\u201d with the people here.\n\nYet you must if you want to survive. And that\u2019s what you did when you met Dendrin isn\u2019t it? You did what you had to, to survive. You leave Brother Gray\u2019s office.\n\n\u201cBy the Emperor, give me the strength to exist in this lair of traitors that seek to do you harm. May I be strong enough to survive and warn you in time.\u201d You quietly say to yourself.\n\nAs you head back to your room to attempt to make friends. You wonder why Dendrin let you live when he knew you would seek to destroy his followers. Is it some sort of sick game that a being like him finds amusing?\n\nIt must be, because it\u2019s the only rational explanation at this point.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 18\n\n\u201cAnd so I said to the blacksmith, well if you\u2019re intending on killing the Emperor, you better damn well have a better plan than those group of thugs you\u2019ve been supplying with weapons in the sewers. At least supply them to some thugs who the Emperor wouldn\u2019t be able to smell six miles away!\u201d you say, and this is followed by a few laughs from some of your fellow shadows.\n\u201cHah, good one brother! Tell me, what did you do to the blacksmith?\u201d Brother Murk asks.\n\u201cOh we relocated him to our safehouse in Derlerg along with his buddies, reported that we eliminated him as a dissident\u2026you know the usual. I must say, their surprise that we aren\u2019t going to kill them is always amusing though.\u201d You reply.\n\u201cYes, given our reputation, I imagine it is. Still, it\u2019s all for a good cause eh, brother?\u201d\n\u201cYes brother, it certainly is.\u201d You say to Murk with a nod and take another drink of black tea.\n\u201cWell I have to say I\u2019m very glad you\u2019ve finally managed to settle in brother, I have to admit, for awhile I was getting a little worried about you. You just didn\u2019t seem like yourself after our ceremony initiation.\u201d Talia says.\n\u201cYeah, well I guess I was just a late bloomer or something.\u201d\n\u201cDon\u2019t worry about it brother, it\u2019s all in the past. What matters now is that we\u2019re all on the same page now.\u201d Murk replies.\n\nOn the same page\u2026the problem is you really aren\u2019t on the same page. You haven\u2019t been since you got here. The other problem? You\u2019re starting to feel like you might be getting there though. During the time you were forced to socialize you just swallowed your fear and self-doubt and proceeded like it was any mission. And you were successful. Perhaps a little too successful.\n\nOnce you actually got sent out on a mission, you were paired up with Brother Murk. A fellow you had become semi-friendly with during your months of socializing. Your original plan was as soon as you left Gloom, you were going to run to the nearest Empire fort and make your report.\n\nThough for this plan to succeed in any meaningful way you would\u2019ve had to kill Murk and despite your better judgment, you couldn\u2019t bring yourself to do it. You later cursed yourself for this temporary weakness and the next time you were sent out, you vowed to yourself that you\u2019d do it again, the problem was you had only become friendlier with Murk within that time. You failed again.\n\nBy the time they rotated your partnership and you were paired you with someone else, you still couldn\u2019t do it, because now you actually started to feel like the Shadow Guard really was like a family to you. And you liked that feeling. In fact it was the best you\u2019ve felt in a long time.\n\nYet, now you are in a difficult position. You are still loyal to the Empire and the Emperor first, but you haven\u2019t been able to find the fortitude to expose the Shadow Guard for what they are. You attempt to rationalize it in your mind, by claiming the longer you stay the more you learn about their exact plans, and while that\u2019s certainly true, it really isn\u2019t the TRUTH.\n\nThe real truth is you\u2019re starting to believe in the Shadow Guard\u2019s cause slightly. You don\u2019t know if it\u2019s because you\u2019ve spent so much time here that you\u2019ve developed some sort of emotional attachment or some odd sort of subtle indoctrination.\n\nIs this what Dendrin really had in store for you? Did he know you could be turned even without his intervention? Before you had that experience everything was so certain, your feelings weren\u2019t a constant source of ups and downs. Even under Mistress, you don\u2019t remember ever feeling this. It was either success or death. It was very simple and you preferred it.\n\nNow you don\u2019t know what the hell you\u2019re doing. Are you a traitor? Are you still loyal? Are you both? Are you neither?\n\nYou excuse yourself from the rest of your brothers and sister and say you have to get some rest, though in reality you have to take a long look at your priorities. Once again you spend a few more months going through your usual routines and quietly suffering in silence.\n\nThat comes to a halt when Murk comes into the barracks one day\u2026\n\n\u201cHey, where are brother Cyrus and sister Talia?\u201d he immediately asks you.\n\u201cUh, sister Talia I think is in the library and brother Cyrus is probably with brother Draven somewhere.\u201d You reply.\n\u201cOh, well I\u2019ll go get Talia, someone else can look for Cyrus, but you need to report to Master Ebon right away.\u201d\n\u201cWhat\u2019s this all about?\u201d\n\u201cI don\u2019t know, just that he wants you, Talia and Cyrus to see him. Something about someone from the Empire wanting to meet with all three of you. Sounds important.\u201d\n\nYou get up and walk to Master Ebon\u2019s office which remains closed, so you wait. A few moments later, Talia joins you.\n\n\u201cHello, brother. Isn\u2019t master Ebon here?\u201d\n\u201cIf he is, he isn\u2019t answering his door, so I\u2019ve been waiting outside.\u201d\n\u201cDo you know what this is about?\u201d\n\u201cDunno, just that someone from the Empire wants to see us.\u201d\n\nTalia nods and remains silent. Soon Cyrus joins you and asks a similar question, to which you answer in a similar manner. He grunts at you and stands as far from you as possible, though he says something polite to Talia. Same old Cyrus.\n\nNo sooner has Cyrus got there, when Ebon\u2019s door opens. You hear a voice that tells you to come in. You didn\u2019t even think he was inside, but you guess he was really waiting to see you all together. When you all enter, he tell Cyrus to close the door and gets right to the point.\n\n\u201cYou three have been summoned by Mr. Mol. Apparently he wants to ask you a few questions and is insisting on doing it somewhere in the capital I believe. In any case, he claims he wants to check on your progress as an Eternal, but I suspect he\u2019s fishing for information about us.\u201d\n\u201cYou don\u2019t think he suspects anything do you?\u201d Talia asks.\n\u201cI do not believe he knows anything about our true goals, if he or anyone did, I have no doubt we would\u2019ve been moved upon by now. No, I think this is just another Empire ploy to try to get more inside intel on our organization, which for the reasons I just mentioned they cannot know about.\u201d\n\u201cI won\u2019t say a word to this running dog of the Empire! My eyes have been open a long time and my loyalty is and will always be to Dendrin.\u201d Cyrus says.\n\nMaster Ebon nods. \u201cYes, I know it will be. I have no doubt, but I still would like you all to just be on your guard when answering questions none the less. It probably won\u2019t come to this, but kill yourselves if you have to. It won\u2019t be ideal, since it\u2019ll arouse suspicion, but it\u2019ll still give us time to go ahead with our plan anyway, even if it would be a few years early. Anyway, the three of you are to make your way to the town of Lenet and from there you\u2019ll take an Empire carriage to the capital. Return immediately if you are able. May Dendrin and the shadows hide your true intentions.\u201d\n\nWith those last words, Ebon sends you away and the three of you set off on your journey. You begin to feel nervous as soon as you leave Gloom, you weren\u2019t expecting this happening, but deep down you did know that something like it was going to happen eventually. You remain mostly quiet during the journey as you try to get in a certain frame of mind of what you\u2019re going to do or say. Cyrus is mostly silent as well, though you\u2019re guessing that\u2019s because he\u2019s so firmly entrenched in his belief in Dendrin, that he knows what he\u2019s going to say and do.\n\nTalia is the only talkative one and that\u2019s mainly questions about what you both think Mr. Mol will ask you. You know she\u2019s dedicated herself to Dendrin, but you sense that perhaps she\u2019s a little nervous too, though you don\u2019t know if it\u2019s due to her new loyalty to Dendrin or because she\u2019s been harboring secret loyalty to the Empire like you have. You decide to imagine it\u2019s the latter, mainly because you want to make yourself feel better.\n\nEventually the carriage from Lenet reaches Qale, the Empire\u2019s capital and several soldiers immediately step forward to say they are here to escort you to Mr. Mol. The three of you are taken from the opulence of one of the main streets and quickly through a system of back alleys until you eventually reach a non-descript building. You enter and there you see Mr. Mol. It\u2019s the well dressed man you saw speaking to Brother Gray six years ago. He\u2019s also wearing the same formal black suit he was back then.\n\n\u201cAh, the Shadow Eternals. I\u2019ve so wanted to catch up with your progress, but my attention was on your less subtle peers for a while. I think we\u2019ve sorted them out though, so now it\u2019s time to sort you out as well. Just a formality really, we just want to see if you\u2019re achieving your full potential in the Shadow Guard. After all you\u2019re Eternals first, and we wouldn\u2019t want your talents to not be used to their fullest potential in the service of the Emperor, right?\u201d\n\nCyrus and Talia say nothing, but you feel obligated to acknowledge that question if only to not look suspicious.\n\n\u201cCorrect. All that we are, we owe to the Emperor\u2019s will.\u201d you say.\n\u201cGlad to hear it! Now then we\u2019re just going to be asking you some questions, these soldiers will take you to a place to wait. Off you go.\u201d\n\nAt this point the three of are marched out of the room and down a long hallway. The cold broken stone walls and desolation of this place almost makes Gloom look cheery by comparison. Eventually you reach a door on your left and Cyrus is told to wait inside the room. He enters without a word, but gives you and Talia a look like \u201cSay nothing!\u201d\n\nA few moments later you reach another door on the left, this time Talia is told to wait inside. She hesitates for a moment, but enters. She gives you a look as well, though this one is more of concern.\n\nFinally you reach the last door on the left and you are told to enter and wait. You do so without looking at anyone. The door shuts behind you and the ominous sound of a lock is heard.\n\nThere isn\u2019t much you can do, so you sit down at one of the chairs in the middle of the room and wait.\n\nAnd wait\u2026and wait\u2026and wait\u2026and wait\u2026\n\nYou don\u2019t know how much time has passed, but you get up and move about several times before sitting down again. You don\u2019t quite panic as much as you think you would, but being alone with your thoughts is definitely not the best thing for you. Right now you\u2019re already thinking they\u2019ve managed to break Talia into talking and probably killed Cyrus.\n\nMaybe if you cooperate right now, there will be leniency? Why shouldn\u2019t you cooperate? The Shadow Guard ARE traitors after all, and this is just the kick in the ass you needed to remind you of that.\n\nBut then there\u2019s the other part of you that feels loyal to the shadows and how you shouldn\u2019t betray them. You go back and forth what you\u2019re going to do several times, and then you hear the lock on the door. Mr. Mol enters\u2026", "action_results": [{"action": "Tell him everything", "result": "You\u2019re going to tell him everything. Yes, it is true that you\u2019ve bonded a bit with the Shadow Guard and you can even understand their motivations, but Mr. Mol is right. You\u2019re an Eternal first and your duty is ultimately to the Emperor. If you suffer any punishment due to not coming forward sooner then so be it.\n\nMr. Mol sits down in the other chair in the room and before he can even say anything you get straight to the point.\n\n\u201cThe Shadow Guard is planning to betray the Empire. They have been for years. Centuries even. They\u2019ve just been biding their time for the right moment to strike, and that moment is supposed to be soon.\u201d\n\nMr. Mol sits back and exhales deeply.\n\n\u201cWell, I guess that saves me a little time. I certainly thank you for that, your fellow Eternals were disappointing in that regard.\u201d\n\u201cAre\u2026are they dead?\u201d\n\u201cDead? Oh no. They\u2019re very much alive. Knew they were hiding something, but I assumed it was just typical Shadow Guard bullshit about their god and rituals. Possibly even manipulating things to benefit their order, but that\u2019s certainly to be expected. (Sigh) We really should\u2019ve been doing something about them a long time ago, and to a certain extent that\u2019s why you Eternals were created. I\u2019m glad at least one of you managed to avoid brainwashing\u2026which brings me to another question. Why didn\u2019t you come forward with this information before?\u201d\n\u201cI\u2026I have no excuse\u2026I felt very influenced sir. After I went through the shadow ceremony and their god spoke to me\u2026I\u2026\u201d\n\u201cHold on, you actually spoke to Dendrin?\u201d Mr. Mol stop you.\n\u201cYes, you know the god\u2019s name?\u201d\n\u201cOf course I do, it isn\u2019t as much of a secret as the shadows like to pretend. It just isn\u2019t spoken out loud in public because that\u2019s part of the original agreement. Certainly don\u2019t need a bunch of religious fanatics gaining any more power by speaking highly of their god to the masses. Even if said fanatics are loyal to the Emperor, which apparently has never been the case if what you\u2019re saying is true. Now start at the beginning and ALL of what you\u2019ve learned.\u201d\n\nYou start from the moment you ran into the portal and continue about your experiences from there. Mr. Mol makes several notes and tells you to explain in greater detail on certain things. As you tell him all the shadow secrets you know, you feel a great weight lifted off of you, but you still feel very anxious since you don\u2019t know what\u2019s going to happen to you afterwards.\n\n\u201cOkay\u2026this is great information. Makes a lot of sense now any past attempts to infiltrate the Shadow Guard have never worked when their own god is indoctrinating them completely in their ceremony. Well except you of course. Guess nobody\u2019s perfect, not even a god. Still, we shouldn\u2019t have been so complacent either, but with this information I think we can get this under control within time.\u201d\n\u201cSo what\u2019s next?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cNext? Well you and your fellows go back to Gloom like nothing has happened. I\u2019ll be in touch with you in the future to give you further instructions.\u201d\n\u201cYou\u2019re not going to destroy them now?\u201d\n\u201cHeh, well we certainly could with this information alone, but from what you\u2019ve told me, the dissention is more than just the Shadow Guard at this point. They\u2019ve got safehouses of dissidents in various locations\u2026this is a big job and ideally, we want to neutralize the majority of this threat in one swoop. If we moved now all it would do is tear the Empire in half sooner rather than later. This isn\u2019t going to be pretty even if our counter plan goes right, but the best thing is we do know that we need to focus internally now. Plans to invade the Felkan Kingdom again will have to wait unfortunately.\u201d\n\u201cSo, I\u2019m not to be punished?\u201d\n\u201cPunished? What for? Oh you mean because you felt influenced? Well, that is concerning, however considering you just told me everything after constantly being bombarded with shadow propaganda not to mention Dendrin\u2019s own words I\u2019d say your willpower is strong enough to resist anything. In fact I need to make a note of that too, it\u2019ll help to know for future Eternals.\u201d\n\u201cFuture Eternals?\u201d\n\u201cOh yes, the project is still going on. In fact we\u2019ll need more of your type to fill in the gap that will be left by the Shadow Guard when they\u2019re gone. Those that know the value of loyalty and duty to the Empire like you of course. We\u2019ll try to prevent mistakes like Talia and Cyrus this time. Like I said nobody\u2019s perfect, but we can still strive towards it.\u201d\n\nMr. Mol then sits forward, puts a hand on your shoulder and stares into your eyes.\n\n\u201cThe Empire needs you more than ever to defend it from its enemies and you\u2019re in the perfect position to do so. Is your duty clear?\u201d\n\u201cYes, I live to serve the Empire and the Emperor. They will always come first, before everything else.\u201d You confidently reply.\n\u201cGood. Good. I\u2019m glad to hear it and I certainly hope now you feel better and less alone knowing that you have the entire might of the Empire supporting you.\u201d\n\u201cI do. Thank you.\u201d\n\u201cNow then, I want you to go back with your fellows and carry on as normal. As I stated I will be contacting you in the future and your official mission now is to gather as much information of the Shadow Guard as possible. I know you\u2019ve given me a lot already, but there\u2019s always more that can be acquired.\u201d\n\nThis new sense of encouragement, purpose and direction coupled with telling Mr. Mol everything makes you feel a lot better about your choice. So much so, that you even volunteer to go beyond what he asks.\n\n\u201cDid you want me to assassinate anyone?\u201d\n\u201cHeh, I like your enthusiasm, but it might be best for you to concentrate info gathering first. Though I suppose if you can somehow arrange a group of shadows to face with an accident without getting caught, I\u2019m not opposed to it. Simple sabotage is good too, as long as they don\u2019t get the impression that anyone is on to them.\u201d\n\nYou understand, and you are lead out of the room and back into the main room where you see Cyrus and Talia waiting with the soldiers.\n\n\u201cOkay I believe we are done here. I am pleased to find that all of you are obviously living up to your potential. I was a little concerned only because a couple of your non-shadow Eternals already have proven to lack the discipline we thought they had. One was executed for killing his superior officer and another one died by breaking a solid fighting formation during a battle. I\u2019m glad to see all of you are much better in that regard and I can only chalk that up to the Shadow Guard\u2019s superior training techniques. Perhaps more Eternals in the future will join as it is obvious you all have tremendous willpower and great loyalty to the Empire.\u201d Mr. Mol says glancing over at you with that last line.\n\nAnd with that, the three of you are lead back to the carriage, which takes you back to Lenet, and from there you walk back to Gloom. You\u2019re all more talkative at this point, Talia and Cyrus go on about the questions with each other and you. Of course you lie and state you were asked similar ones.\n\n\u201cSo do you think he suspected anything?\u201d Talia asks.\n\u201cDoubt it. The Empire fool didn\u2019t even ask anything remotely important. It is obvious Dendrin\u2019s shadow covers his eyes from the truth. So much so that it required minimum effort on our part to even lie to him. I mostly just omitted truth.\u201d Cyrus mocks.\n\u201cOmissions of the truth are usually better than outright lies anyway. Less of a chance to get caught up in a web.\u201d Talia comments.\n\u201cYeah, I didn\u2019t even need to lie at all.\u201d You say which causes you to laugh inside your head given the double meaning of that remark.\n\nAfter the three of you report to Master Ebon, he seems pleased with how things turned out, but states that he\u2019s pushing to enact the plan sooner for concern that the Empire may still suspect something. He then says to expect things to get hectic soon, but with Dendrin\u2019s guidance you all will surely prevail and the Empire will collapse.\n\nYou retire to your bed to get some rest as it\u2019s been a long stressful day. You\u2019re finally glad to have settled your crisis of loyalty though. With these comforting thoughts you drift off to sleep\u2026\n\nAs you sleep you begin to dream. You dream that you\u2019re in the same void like space when you walked into that portal two years ago. You feel nothing and you sense nothing for a long time then you hear the voice, that oppressive voice that invades your mind completely.\n\n\u201cSo Eternal, you have chosen to betray me.\u201d\n\u201cYou said yourself that I was only saying I\u2019d serve to save myself in your presence. Why are you so surprised?\u201d\n\u201cI am not, I\u2019m merely observing your motivations which were equally unsurprising. I\u2019m fascinated that one such as you would have the willpower and strength to defy a god, yet still be narrow minded enough to trust in a mortal government. You may as well be a golem.\u201d\n\u201cThe Empire hasn\u2019t threatened me with death, unlike you have.\u201d\n\nThe whispery voice suddenly lets out a hearty laugh to loud in your mind that it\u2019s painful.\n\n\u201cAnd you believe that? The Empire has done nothing BUT try to kill you from birth! Wasn\u2019t until you arrived to train under the shadows that your risk for death was lowered! Even when you met me, I never directly threatened you with death, I gave you a choice for which you should be grateful!\u201d\n\u201cDeity, if I offend your omnipotence so much, then why not kill me now? You obviously have the power to invade my dreams and if I\u2019m a threat, you should do what needs to be done.\u201d\n\u201cEternal, Eternal, you are no more of a threat to me than your beloved Empire is. And your insolence does not offend me, it is your ignorance that offends me. If you believe this path is one of survival you are sadly mistaken.\u201d\n\u201cAnd joining a hopeless cause like your cult of fanatics is?\u201d\n\u201cEternal, you will see. Eventually you will see. You ask me to kill you now and though I could, I wouldn\u2019t because it will be interesting to see you running about trying your best to undermine my loyal followers. However, the major question is, will you survive in the process? The odds are against you Eternal. Severely against you.\u201d\n\u201cI will prevail.\u201d\n\u201cPerhaps, but at what cost?\u201d\n\nWith those last words, you wake up. You try to go back to sleep, but it isn\u2019t easy. Just like actively spying on the shadows isn\u2019t going to be easy, especially since Dendrin himself knows what you\u2019re doing. You just can\u2019t figure out why he is insisting on tormenting you like this, what can he possibly get out of this other than sadistic pleasure? You can even comprehend that aspect, but what you don\u2019t get is why he wouldn\u2019t immediately get rid of you in order to help his own followers.\n\nIs this an elaborate trick or does he just not give a shit about his worshippers? You don\u2019t know. The best you can do is what you can achieve in the mortal realm and leave the motivations of any gods out of the picture.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Chapter 2B1: The Emperor\u2019s Shadow\n\n\nYear 20\n\n\u201cSo you say, Brother Cyrus and Brother Draven are going to be assigned to Rask soon?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cThat\u2019s what I\u2019ve heard from Brother Gray. Them and a few others. Next year at the latest.\u201d Murk says\n\u201cWhat\u2019s the reason, from what I\u2019ve heard it doesn\u2019t seem like the Empire has a good grip on Rask anyway.\u201d\n\u201cWell that\u2019s sort of the point! By weakening the areas where the power isn\u2019t as strong it causes the Empire to divert resources from other places and making those much easier to bring down as well. We\u2019re going to need it too, Master Ebon was sure the Empire would\u2019ve started another war with the Felkan Kingdom by now, but as it stands they\u2019re practically friends with them, well as much as the Empire can be. Oh well there\u2019s still time I suppose.\u201d\n\u201cWe don\u2019t have that much time, we should push things along in our favor with some international incidents.\u201d Brother Shade says. \u201cIn fact, I\u2019m going to mention that to Master Ebon next time I see him.\u201d\n\u201cYou don\u2019t think that he hasn\u2019t already thought of such a plan?\u201d Talia asks.\n\u201cPerhaps, but let\u2019s just say I\u2019ve been here a little longer than the rest of you, and while I know Master Ebon is just waiting for the right time to strike, he\u2019s been playing the waiting game a little longer than I think is necessary. In fact I think he\u2019s been playing it so long that maybe his vision has become clouded from certain opportunities.\u201d\n\nThis statement from Brother Shade gets a lot of looks, but nobody says anything. The shock is too great. Even you are surprised as this is the first time you believe you\u2019ve heard something close to an open criticism about Master Ebon or the leadership structure in general\n\nAnd that\u2019s something you can definitely use.\n\nSoon after his statement Brother Shade leaves to attend his duties.\n\n\u201cBrother Shade should watch how he talks about Master Ebon. Ebon speaks directly to Dendrin on a daily basis and knows best on how to proceed.\u201d Murk remarks.\n\u201cThen why did you not speak up, instead of just sitting there?\u201d Sister Bianca asks.\n\u201cUh\u2026well\u2026\u201d\n\u201cAlways trying to impress the ladies, eh Murk?\u201d you chuckle and take your leave as well to go seek out Brother Shade, he hasn\u2019t gone far and you catch up with him in the hallway. Fortunately nobody else is around. When you get his attention he\u2019s not exactly cordial.\n\n\u201cOh it\u2019s you, what do you want, I have duties to attend to brother.\u201d\n\u201cNothing excessively important brother, I just wanted to say you aren\u2019t alone.\u201d\n\u201cAren\u2019t alone in what?\u201d Shade asks.\n\u201cYou aren\u2019t alone in how you feel. I think we should strike against the Empire now as well. All this waiting around isn\u2019t helping our cause.\u201d\n\u201cWell I suggest if you want to help our cause, you keep your feelings to yourself brother and focus on your responsibilities\u2026and your magic skills.\u201d\n\u201cBut brother, you said\u2026\u201d\n\u201cNevermind what I said! I spoke in haste to a bunch of snot nosed shadows that barely know what it truly means to serve Dendrin. Now leave me be!\u201d\n\nShade at this point pushes you aside and walks off. Well that didn\u2019t go like you hoped; still, you can report this to Mr. Mol who you have to meet in a few days anyway.\n\nWhen you meet Mr. Mol at the usual spot, you tell him everything you know as usual.\n\n\u201cSo, planning to destabilize Rask, eh? Well I\u2019ll see what we can do about that\u2026tell me have you heard any plots involving orcs?\u201d Mr. Mol asks.\n\u201cMmm, I don\u2019t believe I have. I would\u2019ve told you.\u201d\n\u201cOkay then, maybe it\u2019s not related, but some of our orcish troops have been getting restless lately, mostly those stationed in Rask too. If we had proceeded with our invasion of the Felkan Kingdom like we wanted, we could\u2019ve thinned out their ranks a little. As much as we need them in the far northern reaches of Rask right now, I fear that having them all in a large group is asking for trouble. I guess we\u2019ll transfer some to Nalin, I hear they\u2019re having problems with the usksha nomads and kobolds down there. Speaking of the Felkan Kingdom tell me about this plot to start a war with them.\u201d\n\u201cThere isn\u2019t one, so much as there have been suggestions to do so by a Brother Shade.\u201d\n\u201cOhhh, dissention in the order. I like it. So is this guy losing his faith or something?\u201d\n\u201cI do not believe its that more so that he feels Master Ebon is being too cautious. He wants to strike now and he knows that Ebon\u2019s plan hinged on the Empire being distracted with the Felkan Kingdom, so he suggested starting one ourselves in passing, though when I approached him about how I agreed that we were being too cautious, he told me to not speak of it again and to leave him alone.\u201d\n\u201cWe can still possibly use this. The fact that he mentioned it says that he\u2019s thinking about it, even if he himself isn\u2019t totally committed to the idea. Try to speak to him some more on the subject of starting a war with the Felkan Kingdom.\u201d\n\u201cBut if he does want to go through with the plan, won\u2019t starting a war with the Felkan Kingdom be exactly what they want?\u201d\n\u201cWell, it\u2019s a gamble to be sure, but quite frankly we were going to invade the Felkan Kingdom again anyway, but\u2026ha ha I got it.\u201d Mr. Mol says with a big grin on his face.\n\n\u201cOkay forget what I told you about speaking with Shade, I\u2019ve just gotten a better idea. I\u2019m going to have to discuss this with a few others and the order is going to have to come from the Emperor himself, but I\u2019m pretty sure he\u2019ll agree to this.\u201d\n\u201cWhat the plan?\u201d\n\u201cI think we should send several Shadow Guard into Felkan territory to assassinate their king and other high ranking officials. We should even demand the best. This will occupy some of the shadows and hopefully this puts the Felkans in a state of chaos as well. While this operation is taking place, I doubt the remaining shadows will act just yet with several of their best fellows gone. In the meantime, we can start wiping out those safe houses and dissident hideouts you\u2019ve been giving us the locations to over the years. This will no doubt alert what remains of the shadows that we\u2019re on to them at this point, but it won\u2019t matter. Thanks to you, we also know the exact location of Gloom and let\u2019s just say we\u2019ve got some allies that can help us with that underground fortress.\u201d\n\u201cThat sounds like a good plan.\u201d\n\u201cThanks, just thought of it, but like I said, I need to speak with a few others first. As usual I\u2019ll be in touch, but all you need to do for now is go about your usual duties within the Shadow Guard. You\u2019ve done excellent work as usual.\u201d\n\nMr. Mol shakes your hand as you part ways and you feel a great sense of pride in your accomplishments. You also feel better that this charade may all come to an end soon and you\u2019ll be free of masquerading as a shadow.\n\nWhen you get back to Gloom, Brother Shade suddenly surprises you on your way back to your bunk.\n\n\u201cHey you, where have you been?\u201d he demands to know. You\u2019re so taken by surprise; all you do is stumble over your words.\n\u201cUh\u2026well\u2026\u201d\n\u201cUh huh. Probably slacking with some cheap tart as usual. I know you sneak off sometimes to the nearby villages. I know you\u2019re young and full of hormones, but you know very well that making yourself unclean with non-shadows is frowned upon.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2026I\u2019m sorry, Brother Shade.\u201d You say.\n\u201cWell you can ask for Dendrin\u2019s forgiveness in your prayers later, right now I want to discuss something with you. Come with me.\u201d\n\nYou follow Brother Shade through the winding halls of Gloom until you eventually reach a small empty storage room. After doing a quick perusal, closing the door and casting a cloak of shadows spell, he speaks to you again.\n\n\u201cOkay, it\u2019s safe to speak. You and me are going to start a war with the Felkan Kingdom.\u201d\n\u201cWhat\u2026you spoke to Master Ebon, about this?\u201d\n\u201cYes, and the old fool is too set in his ways just as I thought he would be. Says it\u2019s too risky. Bullshit. What better time than now?\u201d\n\u201cWell I suppose, but\u2026uh\u2026just us?\u201d you say in an attempt to stall.\n\u201cAs far as I know you\u2019re the only one who feels we need to do something now and I can\u2019t wait around and investigate if others feel like you do. Besides we can easily do this. I know your shadow magic is weak, but your fighting skills are excellent.\u201d\n\nYou didn\u2019t expect this.\n\n\u201cOkay, so just us\u2026sure. Dendrin shrouds us in protective darkness right? We can easily assassinate the Felkan king\u2026\u201d\n\u201cHold on there brother. Now we\u2019re just starting a war, not destabilizing the government. Well, not their government anyway. Heading deep into Felkan territory to kill their leader isn\u2019t necessary and will just serve to waste time. No, we just need to go in, make a statement and get out. Maybe take out a large portion of one of their outposts and leave a maimed survivor to tell the tale.\u201d\n\nSounds like Brother Shade has already planned this out. The problem is his plan doesn\u2019t exactly fit your own. Mr. Mol wants to assassinate the Felkan King and possibly some other high ranking types. It\u2019ll also bide a little time for him to get things in place. Brother Shade\u2019s plan probably won\u2019t throw the Felkan Kingdom into chaos, but will serve to anger them and that might distract the Empire too much if the Felkans are focused. Who could\u2019ve thought starting a war would be so precise?\n\nIn any event, you agree to Shade\u2019s plan and he says the pair of you will head to the village of Venji in the Arat province near the Felkan border. From there, you\u2019ll cross the Felkan border and infiltrate the nearest Felkan outpost to carry out the plan. When you ask about the others, Shade dismisses the consequences of his fellow shadows. He says when things have been set in motion they will have no choice but to accept the reality. He then mumbles about there possibly being some more changes before leaving.\n\nOf course you don\u2019t want to carry out that plan, so you\u2019re going to have to kill Brother Shade on the way. Not exactly an easy task, so you might try reporting him to Master Ebon or Brother Gray instead and try to have him taken care of using the shadow\u2019s own code of conduct.", "action_results": [{"action": "Kill Brother Shade", "result": "His plan is going to mess everything up and reporting him probably will just result in him getting scolded and he\u2019ll sneak off later anyway. You need to kill him. It\u2019s part of your overall goal anyway.\n\nThe next few days you spend mostly in the training room, trying to get yourself ready for what will probably be a grueling battle. Quite frankly if you do it right, you won\u2019t have to fight him at all as you\u2019re going to try to catch him completely with his guard down, but if that doesn\u2019t work, you\u2019re going to have a struggle on your hands and you need to be prepared.\n\nBrother Shade helped directly train your magic skills, so as usual you\u2019re hoping your combat skills will be the deciding factor, but your major advantage will be the element of surprise. You make sure your blade is extra sharp and your arm crossbow is in good working condition. You fully expect Dendrin to harass you in your dreams, but that doesn\u2019t happen.\n\nWhen the day finally arrives you and Brother Shade take your leave of Gloom and head to Venji. Brother Shade and yourself travel under the cloak most of the time, though up keeping such magic is tiring business, so you rest a few times on your way. During your time together, you find out more about Brother Shade\u2019s thoughts. He goes on about how Master Ebon is not fit to speak for Dendrin anymore. Shade believes the old man isn\u2019t even in contact with Dendrin anymore as Shade knows that Dendrin would not want to wait any longer for the shadows to live under Empire rule. Shade knows that Dendrin would want action to be taken right now and that only those that prove themselves to be proactive in these times will be rewarded when the dust finally settles.\n\nYou can\u2019t speak for Ebon, but from what you can tell, Shade doesn\u2019t really know shit what Dendrin really wants. You don\u2019t either, but then you aren\u2019t one of his blind sheep that follows his orders. Still, it\u2019s somewhat fascinating to see one of the shadows not fall completely in step with the rest. If Mr. Mol hadn\u2019t suggested his idea, you probably would\u2019ve gone through with Shade\u2019s mission and try to sew a little more dissension on both sides to flame the fans of a shadow civil war. As it stands though, he needs to die, but you\u2019re still trying to build yourself up to do it. You have no idea why either, you\u2019ve had the opportunity a few times and you\u2019re far enough away from civilization since you\u2019ve been sticking to the back roads.\n\nEventually the humble village of Venji is in sight, and you\u2019re going to have to kill Shade soon. You think you\u2019re going to pass the village, but Shade starts heading towards it.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019re not actually entering it are we? So far we\u2019ve managed to stay out of sight.\u201d\n\u201cAnd we\u2019ll continue to do so, I can maintain the cloak, but if you\u2019re feeling weak you stay here. I\u2019ll be back soon anyway.\u201d\n\u201cBut why are you going into the village?\u201d\n\u201cBecause there\u2019s bound to be a couple of Empire soldiers stationed there. We\u2019re going to need a couple of disguises.\u201d\n\u201cYou\u2019re going to kill Empire soldiers?\u201d\n\u201cYes, and why is that a problem?\u201d\n\nIt\u2019s not. Actually it\u2019s a perfect excuse for you.\n\n\u201cNo, I just didn\u2019t know the entire plan. I guess I\u2019ll wait here I am feeling a little drained from the magic and I wouldn\u2019t want to jeopardize the mission.\u201d You answer.\n\nBrother Shade grunts and turns his back to you, and just before he cloaks again, you raise your arm and fire your crossbow at him. Your aim is true and the bolt lands directly into the back of his skull. He\u2019s dead even before he falls face first into the ground .\n\nIt\u2019s done and it was so quick. He didn\u2019t suspect anything or even see it coming. Now you\u2019ve got to get rid of the body and think up a story. Nobody saw you leaving together, you made sure of that, but you\u2019ve both been gone awhile. You figure you\u2019ll think of something on your way back to Gloom.\n\nYou strip Shade of his robe, weapons, then you cut off his head and dig a small hole to toss it into along with his robe and weapons. You figure nobody is going to recognize him now and that\u2019s not even counting the wolves or other wandering animals that will probably find the body to feast on first.\n\nWhen you finally get back, you get several people asking you where you\u2019ve been.\n\n\u201cWhere in Dendrin\u2019s name have you been? You just left without reporting to Brother Gray for assignment!\u201d Brother Murk exclaims.\n\u201cI was doing my usual patrols in the Quala province. I didn\u2019t think I was being switched from them any time soon, so I just left. Was it a problem?\u201d\n\u201cWell sort of, Brother Shade is missing as well, you weren\u2019t with him were you?\u201d\n\u201cNo, I wasn\u2019t, I haven\u2019t seen him since I left Gloom a couple days ago either.\u201d\n\u201cOkay, well you\u2019re going to need to explain that to Master Ebon, he believes Brother Shade went and did something rash.\u201d\n\u201cOh? Like what?\u201d\n\u201cLike defying Master Ebon and the will of Dendrin. Anyway, you better hurry to Master Ebon\u2019s office.\u201d\n\nYou do as Murk suggests. You just hope you can convince him as easily.\n\nYou enter Master Ebon\u2019s office and see him, Brother Gray AND Cyrus. You can guess what the first two are doing here, but you don\u2019t know why Cyrus would. He\u2019s giving you a dirty look from underneath his hood as usual.\n\n\u201cAt last, we can get to the bottom of this.\u201d Brother Gray remarks.\n\u201cI certainly hope so, because there are some serious allegations going on and conspiracy in the air.\u201d Master Ebon says while looking at you.\n\u201cI\u2019m telling you I saw the pair of them together several times and the day they both left, he made sure to leave several minutes after Brother Shade.\u201d Cyrus remarks.\n\nAnd there it is. Cyrus is on to you, well maybe not entirely, but apparently he was skulking around spying on you when you thought nobody was looking. And here you were thinking he was on assignment or with his boyfriend most of the time.\n\n\u201cSo what if I left several minutes after Brother Shade? What does that prove? Am I supposed to wait hours? A day? What would be enough time for you? And what\u2019s this all about anyway? What did Brother Shade do?\u201d\n\u201cOh like you don\u2019t know.\u201d\n\u201cBrother Cyrus, quiet!\u201d Master Ebon says before continuing. \u201cAnd to answer your question, I\u2019m sure you\u2019re aware of Brother Shade\u2019s recent behavior and his desire to move things along as far as our plan goes. He approached me not too long ago, about starting a war with the Felkan Kingdom, I told him no and he got very angry. Then he disappears for a few days when I specifically told him to stay here and concentrate on his prayers to Dendrin. We believe he\u2019s gone and tried to do this himself. You being gone without reporting to Brother Gray wouldn\u2019t normally be held to such scrutiny, but Cyrus here has said he\u2019s seen you speaking with Brother Shade several times before his disappearance.\u201d\n\u201cSo I shouldn\u2019t have spoken to him? I can\u2019t be the only one that spoke to him before he disappeared.\u201d\n\u201cYes, but you are the only one that left without reporting to Brother Gray first, not to mention up until then I\u2019ve been told that you and he never interacted much. All of this seems very suspicious and it grieves me something like this is being brought to me, especially when so much is at stake right now.\u201d\n\nYou\u2019re trying to remain as calm as possible, but the pressure is on. Cyrus looks on with a faint smug expression like he\u2019s anxious to see you get into trouble. You need to come up with an explanation and you aren\u2019t sure if outright lying is going to help you. Maybe you should tell them the truth\u2026up to a point of course.", "action_results": [{"action": "Stick with your lies", "result": "If you tell them you killed Brother Shade because of what he was planning to do, the first thing Master Ebon is going to ask is why you didn\u2019t report it to him sooner and you\u2019re libel to get yourself into more trouble. The best thing to do is just lie; after all it\u2019s what you\u2019ve been doing the whole time you\u2019ve been here.\n\n\u201cI tell you honestly and under the ever watchful gaze of Dendrin, that I was on my usual patrol in the Quala province\u2026but\u2026\u201d\n\u201cBut what?\u201d Master Ebon asks.\n\u201cWell, I\u2019m embarrassed as I have strayed from Dendrin\u2019s lessons in restraint.\u201d\n\u201cWhat\u2019re you talking about? Speak!\u201d\n\u201cI\u2026uh was with a woman. A couple of them in fact\u2026\u201d\n\nThis explanation isn\u2019t one any of them expected.\n\n\u201cIn fact that\u2019s why Brother Shade was speaking to me so much, he said he knew about my dealings with women of uh\u2026low moral fiber and told me to stop it at once. I did and I tired, but when he left I assumed he was going on his own usual assignment in the Delerg province and wouldn\u2019t know if I left to go meet with my\u2026uh favorites\u2026\u201d\n\nAt this point Master Ebon puts his hands over his face. Brother Gray gives you a stern look, and Cyrus starts shaking his head.\n\n\u201cNo, I don\u2019t believe that. He\u2019s lying!\u201d he says.\n\u201cBrother Cyrus I told you to be silent! I won\u2019t tell you again!\u201d Master Ebon snaps.\n\u201cI\u2019m not lying! In fact I assumed that\u2019s partly why I was being called in here, I figured Brother Shade somehow found out I\u2019d been whoremongering again and told all of you.\u201d\n\u201cWell you didn\u2019t need Brother Shade to tell on you, because you\u2019ve done a fine job of it yourself!\u201d Brother Gray remarks. \u201cI\u2019m very disappointed in you.\u201d\n\nMaster Ebon stands up at this point.\n\n\u201cOkay, enough. Obviously the only thing you\u2019re guilty of is not keeping your dick in your robes. We\u2019ve got more important things to worry about though. Brother Shade is still missing and possibly going to ruin our plans because of his own foolish impulsiveness. I want all available shadows to go searching for him and for Dendrin\u2019s sake keep this dead silent! We don\u2019t need the Empire suspecting anything.\u201d\n\u201cUnderstood, I\u2019ll inform them now.\u201d Brother Gray says and leaves.\n\nMaster Ebon then stares at Cyrus.\n\n\u201cWell? What\u2019re you still doing here? Go find Brother Shade!\u201d\n\u201cBut what about him? I know he\u2019s lying and hiding something! My instincts tell me I\u2019m right!\u201d\n\u201cAnd I suggest you stop listening to your instincts and start listening to Dendrin\u2019s orders. Now I know you thought you were protecting the order, but I would remind you that falsely accusing a brother is considered forbidden. Next time you get the urge to do so, I\u2019d advise you to have better proof or else it\u2019ll be YOU who is in here facing the judgement of Dendrin. Dismissed.\u201d\n\nCyrus is obviously angry at this verdict, but merely nods and leaves. You\u2019re about to as well, but Master Ebon calls you back.\n\n\u201cOh no, you stay. I\u2019m not done with you just yet. There are still a few questionable things about your story and the only reason why I\u2019m giving you the benefit of the doubt is because I hardly believe Brother Shade would\u2019ve asked you of all people to help him. His open criticism of your shadow magic abilities displayed exactly how he felt about you, which wasn\u2019t very fondly. I believe he would\u2019ve asked Sister Dusk if he would\u2019ve asked anyone to help him considering that was his lover. She\u2019s already been cleared though. And speaking of lovers, I\u2019d warn you to cease your whoremongering RIGHT NOW. If I find out you\u2019ve relapsed, you\u2019ll be undergoing the long abandoned ritual of the sexless shadow. I\u2019ll let your imagination fill in the details.\u201d\n\nYou give a minor wince and nod.\n\n\u201cUnderstood, Master Ebon. I shall pray for Dendrin\u2019s forgiveness and strength to guide me.\u201d\n\u201cVery well, now go help your siblings search for Brother Shade.\u201d\n\nYou leave Master Ebon\u2019s office and you don\u2019t get far when Cyrus suddenly appears next to you.\n\n\u201cYou think you\u2019re really clever don\u2019t you?\u201d he sneers.\n\u201cShouldn\u2019t you be helping in the search for Brother Shade instead of spying on me?\u201d you reply.\n\u201cThe search for Brother Shade\u2026hah\u2026that\u2019s a laugh. I think we both know what happened to him.\u201d\n\u201cWell if you know then maybe you should tell Master Ebon, because I sure don\u2019t know.\u201d\n\u201cYes, play your little game. But I know you\u2026we\u2019re Eternals and we grew up together long enough for me to know you\u2019re hiding something. I\u2019ve noticed you leaving and disappearing during your off hours, this incident with Brother Shade isn\u2019t the only thing you\u2019ve been hiding. Something is going on.\u201d\n\u201cCyrus, why the hell are you stalking me? Things not going well with Draven or something? Well I\u2019m not interested, in case you haven\u2019t been paying attention, my preference is female whores, not boys.\u201d\n\u201cCute, but I\u2019m going to find out what you\u2019re up to, and when I do Dendrin himself will see who you truly are.\u201d Cyrus says and then walks briskly past you.\n\n\u201cOh I think Dendrin already knows better than any of you who I truly am, which is why all of you are fucking idiots for following a god that doesn\u2019t give a shit.\u201d You mutter quietly.", "action_results": [{"action": "Time passes...", "result": "Year 21\n\n\u201cSo do you think you\u2019ll be going on the assassination mission?\u201d Talia asks.\n\u201cI dunno, I think I\u2019m still under watch for my past indiscretions.\u201d You reply.\n\u201cOh come on, even Master Ebon can\u2019t believe you\u2019re going to find some Felkan trollop to lay with while on your way to kill the king!\u201d Murk laughs.\n\nYou give a small chuckle and go back to poisoning your bolts. When Mr. Mol explained to you that the plan was going through, you wondered if you were going to be one the assassins. Mr. Mol said he was leaving it up to the Shadow Guard to pick \u201ctheir best\u201d as requesting you, might give you away especially given the mess you told him that followed with Shade. Mr. Mol congratulated you on how you handled that and as far as that event is concerned to the Shadow Guard, it\u2019s still a mystery. His body was never found and it\u2019s known he didn\u2019t start a war with the Felkan Kingdom. The general consensus is he just left never to return due to his disagreement with Master Ebon. Brother Murk remarked on the irony that if he\u2019d only waited a little longer, he could\u2019ve been one of those sent to kill the Felkan King now.\n\nIn any event you know the plan on both sides. As soon as the assassination mission is underway the Empire is going to start purging the shadow safehouses and all known dissidents before moving on to Gloom. From what you know, orc troops are going to be used liberally in this. Mr. Mol said it will thin out the ranks and put their restlessness more at ease. He also mentioned that he\u2019s going to be sending in some of your former classmates as well. Your mission will differ depending on where the Shadow Guard send you. If you\u2019re going on the assassination, then you\u2019ll carry that out, but it will also be you job to eliminate all the rest of the shadows with you. If you\u2019re left at home, then it\u2019ll be your job to start sabotaging Gloom and taking out any shadow that gets in your way in the process. Mr. Mol mentions that some allies that owe the Empire a favor will be taking down the brunt of Gloom.\n\nMaster Ebon has decided to make the move when the Felkan War is in full swing. Fortunately their plan to destabilize Rask was abandoned as all shadows were \u201csuddenly\u201d transferred out of there by decree of the Emperor. The Shadow Guard\u2019s plan won\u2019t even get off the ground if all goes well, at best, there will be a few major battles and then the hunting of escapees.\n\nEverything should go well for the Empire. The only perpetual pain is Cyrus. He\u2019s only gotten more hostile since the Shade incident and even more so when he found out he wasn\u2019t being sent to Rask. He claimed it was your fault and the pair of you had to be separated. He didn\u2019t make any more accusations further than that, but he knows something is going on. You\u2019re guessing he\u2019ll probably be one of those on assassination mission. If he\u2019s not around and you\u2019re left behind, it\u2019ll make your job a whole lot easier without the possibility of him spying on you.\n\nThen again if you\u2019re both on the mission, it\u2019ll give you an excellent chance to kill him, because at this point you want to as much as he probably wants to kill you and that idea certainly appeals to you. Later that day you pay a visit to Brother Gray.\n\n\u201cCan I help you brother?\u201d he says looking up from his desk.\n\u201cBrother Gray, I know you\u2019re still disappointed with my indiscretions, but I would like to prove myself that I am dedicated to Dendrin\u2019s laws and commandments and I feel the best way to do that is to be on the assassination mission. I\u2019ve even been practicing my shadow magic and while it isn\u2019t as strong as say Sister Talia\u2019s, I\u2019m confident that it will be sufficient for the mission.\u201d\n\u201cHmmm, well you were being considered, but you were still on the fence as it were. As for me being disappointed, you shouldn\u2019t have been concerned with that, so much as you should\u2019ve been concerned with offending Dendrin. However, if it puts you at ease, I ceased being disappointed a while ago. I\u2019ve noticed that you\u2019ve been more focused lately, so I know you\u2019re trying to atone for your actions. It\u2019s mainly why I was considering you for the mission. As for your skills, I\u2019m still baffled to as why your magic abilities aren\u2019t as strong as they should be, but I suppose your combat abilities make up for it and I think you\u2019d be more than suitable for the mission in that regard, but I\u2019m a little more concerned with sending you on any mission with Brother Cyrus since he is being considered as well. I\u2019d rather not risk jeopardizing the mission, so I need to leave one of you here.\u201d\n\nIt\u2019s apparent that whether you stay here or go on the mission that you probably won\u2019t be dealing with Cyrus, which is a little disappointing and a minor reason to as why you wanted to go on the assassination mission in the first place.\n\n\u201cI understand brother and I accept your judgment.\u201d You say humbly.\n\u201cWell I don\u2019t have the final say, that honor belongs to Master Ebon and he ultimately answers to Dendrin as do we all. He will determine if you\u2019re worthy or not, but I\u2019ll see what I can do for you. So is that all brother?\u201d\n\u201cYes. I shall take my leave and return to my duties.\u201d\n\nYou leave Brother Gray\u2019s office, shaking your head at it all. Not about the mission, but more about the fact that Brother Gray still believes very much in you. In fact other than Cyrus and perhaps Draven you still can\u2019t believe how you\u2019re so accepted here, it never seems real to you. You can\u2019t be exactly sure, but you think Talia has been examining you as a potential mate. Especially after all that business of you sleeping with countless whores became public knowledge. You can only guess she figures you\u2019ve got a lot of experience, well that and the only other Eternal around is gay.\n\nEven Master Ebon hasn\u2019t doled out any harsher punishment on to you more than what he did during your false confession. If you were in his shoes, you would\u2019ve had yourself executed for the slightest possibility that you were involved in Brother Shade\u2019s disappearance. Strange that the shadows\u2019 treacherous nature would be so blind to someone so close to bringing them down.\n\nTheir deity Dendrin hasn\u2019t spoken to you in any dreams lately, or for quite awhile actually. Perhaps he got tired of taunting you or whatever game he\u2019s playing. Though\nperhaps he\u2019s lulling you into a false sense of security. You still always expect him to visit you any time you sleep. Of course maybe that\u2019s part of his way of fucking with you as well.\n\nIn any case, you return to your room and engage in your routine fake behavior of friendship. You\u2019ll be so glad when this will be over, it sickens you when you actually start feeling like you\u2019re actually friends with these traitors rather than crushing them under foot in the Emperor\u2019s name.\n\nA couple days pass and you get called to Master Ebon\u2019s office and when you get there, you also see Talia, Murk, Bianca and Dusk. He mentions that you\u2019ve been chosen to go on the mission. He wasn\u2019t sure at first, but after Brother Gray\u2019s recommendation on your behalf and after consulting Dendrin for a sign, he says that you were chosen instead of Cyrus. He goes on to say he hopes that the pair of you straighten your feelings out soon, because there is going to be a great need for solidarity more than ever after this mission.\n\nMaster Ebon also goes on to explain that Sister Dusk will be in charge of this mission and that you all will defer to her experience. Ebon brings up a bit of a change in the mission too, a change you\u2019re not too pleased to hear.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019re not assassinating the Felkan king. Dendrin showed me that our cause would be best served by deliberate incompetence.\u201d\n\u201cWhat?\u201d you ask out loud, feeling a very real sense of having heard this plan before a year ago.\n\u201cKilling the king would only throw the Felkans into disarray. We want them to be focused when they declare war on the Empire. Instead I want you to infiltrate the palace, kill a few guards and then get out as if it was a failed assassination attempt. This will definitely alert the Felkans to start beating their war drums and it hinders the Empire\u2019s own plans. You all will be assumed dead by the Empire for obvious reasons, but in reality you will just return to us and will have to stay out of sight\u2026 which shouldn\u2019t be too hard given our nature. When you do return, we shall put the final part of our plan in motion when the Felkans retaliate.\u201d\n\nMaybe he\u2019s not visiting you in your dreams anymore, but he\u2019s definitely still fucking with you. Now you\u2019ve got two things to take care of personally. You have to kill the shadow squad AND the king.\n\nMaster Ebon tells you that the mission will be underway in the next few days and dismisses the lot of you.\n\n\u201cHey you got in after all!\u201d Murk says after you leave the office.\n\u201cI\u2019m glad, you certainly deserve it.\u201d Talia adds with a smile.\n\nWhen you return to your barracks, a death glare comes from Cyrus and Draven doesn\u2019t look too happy with you either. The pair of them immediately leave the room. You can only imagine that he\u2019s super pissed because you\u2019ve been chosen to go on the mission rather than him. You wouldn\u2019t be surprised if he tried to kill you in your sleep tonight.\n\nNot that you\u2019re going to get any sleep, since you\u2019re going to be up all night trying to figure out how you\u2019re going to pull off your additional assignment.\n\nThe day soon arrives and everyone gathers in the assembly hall to see you off. Master Ebon makes a small speech.\n\n\u201cBrothers and sisters of the shadow, today is truly the beginning of the end for the Empire. These five have been chosen by Dendrin to carry out his plan. May their mission be a success and may all of them get back safely so that they may help the rest of us continue the fight at home. And if they should fall, know that they fall for a worthy cause and will pass from this world to serve in Dendrin\u2019s shadow realm forever and there is no greater honor.\u201d\n\n\u201cDeath to the Empire! For Dendrin!\u201d Master Ebon shouts and everyone else follows suit, then the five of you leave.\n\nThe first part of the trip to the Arat province is fairly laid back and the usual friendly banter goes on during this time, though Sister Dusk is consistently telling the rest of you to knock it off as your minds should be more focused on this mission. You\u2019ve never really had too much interaction with Dusk before, but it is apparent to as why she was Shade\u2019s lover. She seems very much like him in some ways.\n\nYes, this mission is starting to feel all too familiar.\n\nIn between the party banter, you\u2019ve been coming up with various potential plans. One plan involves continuing the mission and during the infiltration of the palace you\u2019ll try to kill them or get them killed by the guards. This allows you to get inside the palace with their help and you\u2019re still in a good position to try to kill the king, of course this also means you\u2019re going to have to be quick if you want to kill everyone without anyone getting away.\n\nThe other plan would be to try to convince Dusk to split up the group and meet up at the Felkan palace. This would allow you to pick off a few of them before you get to the palace and perhaps make it more manageable. The problem is you\u2019re going to have to come up with a good excuse, not to mention you\u2019ll be a few bodies short in case you do run into trouble with the Felkan soldiers. Never mind the fact you\u2019re going to have to convince Dusk of this in the first place.", "action_results": [{"action": "Continue with the original plan", "result": "Too complicated and too much can go wrong. It\u2019ll probably be better to just play it by ear. You\u2019re fairly confident that so much will be going on that you\u2019ll be able to pull it off.\n\nThe next part of the journey is your first big step. Crossing into Felkan territory. This is actually very easy. The outposts aren\u2019t nearly as well guarded as they should be and combined with sticking to the wilderness and using magic to cloak yourself and its incredibly simple. The five of you camp out in a secluded wood where Sister Dusk addresses the situation.\n\n\u201cOkay, now this is focus time. The Felkan capital Dessle, is still a long way to go, but I think we can get there by tomorrow night. It\u2019s just as well since night is when we work best. Now remember we\u2019re just breaking in, killing some guards and getting out. Don\u2019t actually kill the king, assuming we run into him. Good thing we don\u2019t have to, it\u2019s not like we exactly have a map of the palace to go hunting him down.\u201d\n\u201cCan\u2019t we just take out one of those outposts we passed by? I mean it would still start a war.\u201d Murk jokes, but Dusk isn\u2019t amused.\n\u201cBrother, I suggest you stop joking about such things, you know the reason why, we\u2019re doing things the way we\u2019re doing them, but more importantly Dendrin wants it done this way!\u201d Now get some rest, we\u2019re going to need to be at full strength tomorrow.\u201d\n\nMurk shuts up and mentally chalks up yet another way he embarrassed himself in from of Bianca. You also make mental notes, namely on who you should kill first. You wonder if you should take out the strongest or weakest first. You could probably easily dispatch Murk and Bianca without too much trouble. You aren\u2019t aware of Dusk\u2019s full abilities, but you know she is at least accomplished as Shade was. Talia, however is an Eternal and you know how strong she is.\n\n\u201cYou thinking about how you\u2019re going to handle things if everything goes wrong?\u201d Talia suddenly asks.\n\u201cHuh? Oh. Yeah I guess you could say that.\u201d\n\u201cFigured. You\u2019re always deep in thought, I\u2019ve noticed you\u2019ve been doing that a lot lately, especially at night in your bed.\u201d\n\u201cHm, glad to see Cyrus isn\u2019t the only one spying on me.\u201d You answer.\n\u201cI wasn\u2019t really spying, so much as I was studying you, besides I think you noticed that I was.\u201d\n\u201cYes, I did notice.\u201d\n\u201cOf course you did, because you\u2019re always alert. You\u2019re always aware. And I think you know of my desire.\u201d\n\nTalia sits next to you very closely. While you were certainly aware of her interest, you didn\u2019t expect it right now! You react immediately to her advances.\n\n\u201cTalia, stop for a moment. Do you really think this is a good idea right now?\u201d\n\u201cWhat better time than now?\u201d\n\nYou\u2019ve heard that line before though the situation is completely different than the one a year ago. This state of affairs is a little weird even for you, considering you were thinking about killing her not a few moments ago.\n\n\u201cTalia, I really don\u2019t think we have time for this. We need to get some rest, we\u2019ve got a very important mission tomorrow.\u201d You reply.\n\u201cWell it won\u2019t take that long will it?\u201d\n\u201cWon\u2019t take long?\u201d\n\u201cWell I mean I know you\u2019ve been with all those trollops, and your goal there probably wasn\u2019t to make them feel good, but rather yourself. And I imagine you wanted to do that as quickly as possible. I don\u2019t need to be pleasured\u2026I mean perhaps I will express some interest in it during the act and maybe we can try for fun if the mission goes well, but right now I just want your essence.\u201d\n\u201cMy essence? Wait a minute; you just want me to impregnate you?\u201d\n\u201cWell I want you to try. I suppose I should\u2019ve come to you sooner with this, but I do see you as a potential mate. Even though we are all siblings and equals in the eyes of Dendrin, quite frankly WE\u2026\u201d Talia grabs your hand and puts it to her heart and then your own. \u201c\u2026are Eternals. We still have a bond that the others don\u2019t and you\u2019re the only one I believe is worthy for me. Our child will be an Eternal and a Shadow like us and we will raise him or her to follow Dendrin as we do. Now I believe you will come out of this mission alive and we will probably talk about our future together in greater detail later, but like you I also prepare in case something should go wrong. If you should fall in battle, then I want to at least have a part of you to live on through me.\u201d\n\nThis was definitely not something you anticipated. All these years of managing to distance yourself emotionally from all of these traitors and it\u2019s been cracked within a few moments. Or maybe you still had the feelings and you never got rid of them, only buried them deeply. Doesn\u2019t matter, you\u2019re still left with the same problem, pangs of conscience. Weakness.\n\nThough perhaps it\u2019s due to Talia being a fellow Eternal that has caused it. She obviously hasn\u2019t abandoned all of her superiority complex. And she\u2019s right; you do still have a bond. You just wish she was on the right side, because you don\u2019t have time to convince her.\n\nYou hope Dendrin\u2019s having a good laugh at all this, because this is the best twist yet. Bastard.\n\nYou could decline her advances, no you SHOULD decline her advances, but for whatever reason you accept them. Maybe it\u2019s your weakness of will, maybe it\u2019s your hormones or maybe it\u2019s just your own twisted way of granting a dead woman her last request, even if she\u2019s unaware of it.\n\nThe pair of you leave the camp far enough away, cast a spell for privacy and embrace. At least neither of you will die not knowing the pleasures of the flesh. You have to admit, you were always a bit curious. How funny that your reputation as a whoremonger couldn\u2019t have been any further from the truth. After it\u2019s over you both return and go to your bedrolls without speaking another word. You notice Sister Dusk sleeping against a tree and open one eye as if to let you know what you were up to, but she doesn\u2019t do anything else. Perhaps she understands the need for hasty copulation, having lost her own mate only a year ago.\n\nThe next day, you set off. Murk tries to speak to you and makes a few comments about noticing that Talia was eyeing you a lot yesterday, but you tell him to leave it alone and focus on the mission. Dusk tells him the same thing when she sees him jabbering on as usual. As for Talia, she hasn\u2019t spoken to you, though perhaps her mind is focused on the mission like it should be. Where your mind should be actually.\n\nYou try to get back your focus and are finding it difficult. What are you supposed to do now? Throw everything away just for a one night with a woman? Even if she is an Eternal and you could reconcile yourself with being a traitor, you don\u2019t fit in with the shadows and you never will. You\u2019ve done too much to go back and the shadows are doomed at this point anyway.\n\nNo, the Emperor and the Empire need you, and that\u2019s who your life is dedicated to, nobody else.\n\nYou spend the remainder of the journey cloaked and sticking to the less populated parts of the Felkan kingdom, though you eventually reach the capital and sneak over the walls of the city. Fortunately night is falling by that time. While you\u2019re still struggling with your own dilemmas you do take the time to notice how much different the Felkan society is. A lot less soldiers first of all, though their soldiers all carry gunpowder based weapons in addition to their normal weapons. In fact their whole society is slightly more technologically advanced than the Empire, but that won\u2019t mean anything compared to the sheer might of the Empire when they bring their full force to bear down on the Felkans. You hope that you\u2019ll perhaps be part of that after crushing the shadows.\n\nEventually the five of you are just outside the palace walls of where you presume the king is located. It is here where Dusk addresses the group again.\n\n\u201cYou all know the plan, get in, cause some havoc, don\u2019t kill the king and get the hell out. Still, I think we\u2019ll do a better job with the last part if we\u2019re not all bunched up as a group. I want some of us to go to the other side of the palace and start from that side, the soldiers and guards will be less likely to gang up on all of us that way. I\u2019d say about thirty to forty five minutes should do it and afterwards, we\u2019ll meet up at that wood where we made camp yesterday, then we\u2019ll continue the rest of the journey back to Gloom from there. Now I just need someone to volunteer to come with me and the rest of you can scale the palace wall here.\u201d\n\nWell it looks like your original plan of trying to split up the group is going to come true after all, the question is do you want to take care of Dusk first or whoever decides to be on the second team?", "action_results": [{"action": "Volunteer to go with Dusk", "result": "This is a perfect time to get Dusk alone, so you immediately volunteer.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll go, unless you\u2019d prefer someone else.\u201d You say.\n\u201cNo, you\u2019ll do. Come on, we\u2019re going around to the other side, as for the rest of you, wait about five minutes before scaling that wall, afterwards, I leave you to use your best judgment on how to handle things. May Dendrin\u2019s shadow keep you safe.\u201d\n\nYou and Dusk leave the group and hurry as fast as possible to the other side of the palace. When you arrive you both cast your spider walk spell to scale the wall. The pair of you find yourself on the edge of some sort of palace garden. Farther away, a couple soldiers stand guard on a stone patio area near an entrance to the palace proper where some steps lead up to.\n\n\u201cWell that was certainly convenient. We can use all this shrubbery to hide in, give our magic a rest for a moment.\u201d Dusk says.\n\u201cGreat, I was getting drained anyway.\u201d You remark.\n\u201cOh I don\u2019t know brother, I think you\u2019ve held up better than most give you credit for. I think after all this is over, I owe you a big apology.\u201d\n\u201cWhat for? Until this mission, we\u2019ve never interacted for good or bad.\u201d\n\u201cWell let\u2019s just say someone told me to never trust you because you were responsible for Brother Shade\u2019s disappearance.\u201d\n\u201c(Sigh) Cyrus.\u201d You say.\n\u201cYes, but I think your actions on this mission so far have disproved him\u2026especially your meeting with Sister Talia yesterday. I believe if you really had any ill intent, you wouldn\u2019t have submitted to her plan to be impregnated.\u201d\n\u201cOh?\u201d\n\u201cYes, Sister Talia has spoken to me about her plan to have you as a mate before, though I didn\u2019t think she\u2019d act on it during the mission. Obviously you have some connection to her as well, I guess it\u2019s an Eternal thing. Anyway, let\u2019s get on with the mission.\u201d\n\nSister Dusk slowly crawls through the bushes in the garden, steadily getting in range where she can take out the guards. Her back is to you and you slowly draw your blade.\n\n\u201cYou know these bushes are also good to hide bodies in so no wandering guards suddenly come across them.\u201d You say and suddenly grab Dusk roughly with one hand over her mouth and then slashing her throat deeply with your knife.\n\nDusk attempts to flail about, but you keep her from doing too much of it, but putting all your weight on top of her body and slamming her face into the ground. The gurgling death sounds she makes are muffled by the soil, which is now being watered by her blood. Eventually she stops moving, but apparently it was enough to move the bushes enough that one of the guards noticed something odd. You see the both of them through the cover of the undergrowth approaching your position.\n\nYou wait until they\u2019re close enough then stand up and throw your knife into the eye of one of them, and then before the other can lift his firearm, you fire your own bolt from your armbow. It strikes him in the chest and he falls down dead instantly. The one who got hit in the eye is still on the ground, groaning, but you quickly silence his moaning with a sword to his neck. You drag both of their bodies into the bushes to keep Dusk\u2019s body company.\n\nNow you just have to figure out where the hell the king is in this big place. Hopefully you\u2019ll bump into a servant or maybe even a royal family member who you can scare into giving you information, so you\u2019re not wandering around while more Felkan soldiers pour into the place.\n\nYou systematically search nearly twenty rooms, which probably doesn\u2019t take you very long, but it feels like forever given how precious time is. You still can\u2019t believe you haven\u2019t run into any more soldiers yet, the Felkans seem to have a false sense of security with their superior weaponry and in general.\n\nAbout ten minutes pass of searching and while you\u2019re in a spare bedroom you hear noise and shouting. Something about there being assassins in the palace and to get the king to safety. Talia and the others must be doing their work, and now you\u2019ve got even less time to do your job. You curse and cloak yourself in a dark corner of the room fully expecting a guard to step in, but instead you finally have a bit of luck.\n\n\u201cCome on inside here, lock the door and got through the secret passage in here.\u201d A well-dressed young man says.\n\u201cAre you sure? Shouldn\u2019t we be with the guards?\u201d a young female in a fancy dress says, locking the door.\n\u201cNah, we\u2019ll be fine. These passages go all over the palace, even outside the city. The gnome builders did a good job of making sure this place had escape routes everywhere. Besides, you\u2019re with me and I\u2019ll protect you.\u201d The young man says patting a flintlock pistol by his side.\n\nHe pushes the bed and feels around the floor until you see him open up some sort of hatch. He starts to climb down and that\u2019s when you make your move.\n\nThe young man looks up just in time to see you materialize behind his girlfriend and slit her throat. He doesn\u2019t even get a chance scream out, when you use your unnatural speed to kick him in the face. He loses his grip on the ladder and falls. You follow him down by jumping down the hatch, landing on top of him hard feet first. A crack is heard and you\u2019re pretty sure you\u2019ve broken one or two of his ribs.\n\nDespite the pain he must be in, he still tries to grab his pistol, but you easily take it from him and continue to kneel on top of his chest. He\u2019s too busy trying to catch his breath to be able to scream now.\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t cry out and you might get out of this alive. You look like you might be important\u2026you a royal or a noble or something?\u201d\nHe painfully nods and wheezes.\n\u201cOkay, good then you probably know where the king is. Tell me or the pain you\u2019re feeling right now will become ten times worse.\u201d\n\nThese royals must not have any sort of disciplined upbringing or even have the concept of honor at all, because the only thing the prevents him from telling you immediately is the extreme pain he\u2019s suffering. You\u2019re actually surprised he told you at all, you figured it would be a long shot. You also ask him where the exit to outside the city is from this passage and he tells you that as well. After you\u2019ve gotten all you feel you need, you finish him off with a dagger to his throat.\n\nYou run down the twisting dark passageway trying to look for the door that leads to the king\u2019s room, and eventually you find it. You search and listen to the door first, just in case the young royal wasn\u2019t as soft as he seemed and actually lied to you. You do hear some talking, but you can\u2019t quite make out what is being said. Having little other options you unlock the door and enter.\n\nYou exit through a big painting and find yourself in a very luxurious room with very fancy furniture. Two figures, a man and a woman, in regal clothing stare at you in a mixture of terror and disbelief. Four more figures are dressed in standard guard gear.\n\n\u201cGUARDS! ASSASSIN!\u201d the male figure shouts at which point all his guards lift up their firearms and point them at you. You speed up again and duck as the musket balls fly in slow motion above your head. You return fire on your own with your armbow. The bolt flies true and it strikes the male figure in the head. You\u2019re going to take a guess that you just killed the king.\n\nYou quickly run out of the entryway, before you even see his body hit the floor. A scream is heard from what is probably the queen as you run down the passage. The sound of guards chasing you soon follows. You feel like you\u2019re going to pass out just by running and stopping to fight them isn\u2019t an option, there\u2019s going to just be more of them and they\u2019ll easily overwhelm you in the state of exhaustion you\u2019re in. You\u2019re going to have to use your magic again, but that\u2019s part of the reason why you\u2019re feeling so drained. You\u2019ve probably tapped into that blasted shadow magic more than you ever have for the past few days.\n\nWhile speeding yourself up seems like the logical thing to do, it drains you a lot more than merely cloaking yourself, which is aided by the natural darkness around you. You nip just out of sight and cloak yourself and continue on your way. You hear a couple guards shouting orders for some of them to go one way and they\u2019ll go the other.\n\nYou can hear three of them heading in your direction, though they obviously can\u2019t see you and believe that you\u2019ve ran so far ahead of them. You step into one of the passages entryways and hide, hoping they won\u2019t think to examine it. Fortunately after one of them briefly glances at the entryway and sees nothing has been disturbed, they all pass you by. You could try to pick them off now, or you could go through the entryway and hope it leads somewhere secluded so you can rest a bit more.", "action_results": [{"action": "Dispatch the guards", "result": "You can\u2019t afford to linger, you need to get out of here, if not only to escape but also to catch up with the other shadows so you can kill them before they reach Gloom.\n\nYou head in the direction where the young royal you killed told you where an exit existed, or at least you hope it does.\n\nAlong the way you see some of the guards up ahead still searching for you. Their backs are towards you, so it\u2019s a simple matter of picking them off even in your exhausted state. A bolt hits one in the head for an instant kill, by the time the second one turns around to see his partner slump to the floor you\u2019ve already run up and dispatched him with a dagger to his throat. The third one shouts for help and attempts to fire his weapon at you. You feel the hot burn of lead graze the side of your leg before tackling him and shoving your sword through his chest.\n\nYou quickly examine your wound which isn\u2019t life threatening, but it\u2019s enough to cause you to limp a bit. You can hear more guards heading your way, so you continue to press onward, hoping you\u2019ll get to the exit soon. Unfortunately you never make it. You\u2019re so tired from all your magic use that you\u2019re having trouble even staying awake, combined with the fact that you just used up your remaining energy dispatching those soldiers and your limp, you aren\u2019t going very far.\n\nYou pass out before the soldiers even capture you. When you come to you find yourself in chains and in a cell. The regal woman you saw when you killed the king stands before you with several soldiers and a dagger in her hand.\n\n\u201cGood, I wanted you to be awake for this. Soldiers, open his mouth. We\u2019ll start with his tongue first, I don\u2019t feel like hearing whatever lies or final attempts at taunts while I show this Empire scum the true meaning of pain.\u201d\n\nYou attempt to struggle, you even bite part of a finger off, but it\u2019s about the last damage you ever do to anybody. Some of your teeth are knocked or pulled out and then your tongue soon follows.\n\nThe woman\u2026the queen as you come to learn is quite upset with you killing her husband, but even more upset that the young royal you killed was apparently her son. She mentions how bloodshed for its own sake or revenge is mostly frowned upon in the kingdom, but in your case she\u2019s making an exception.\n\nThe queen puts you through a long list of agonizing tortures; she never does get the satisfaction of hearing you scream though. She begins to get angrier, which would cause you to laugh if you weren\u2019t suffering in silence. The suffering you feel isn\u2019t from the torture though, it\u2019s from the fact that you only half completed your mission. You can only hope that your deeds will be enough for the Empire to bring down the shadows and the Felkan Kingdom. It will have to be.\n\nEventually, the queen tires of torturing you and orders her men to put an end to your misery by slitting your throat.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Go through the door", "result": "As much as you\u2019d like to get the hell out of here, you\u2019re in no condition to fight. You\u2019re practically on the verge of falling unconscious. You take a risk and open up the door.\n\nYou step inside and find yourself in some sort man sized wooden structure, almost like a box. Upon further inspection the top of it opens up and it basically is a box, though its really just an elaborate structure to blend in with the other wooden boxes in the storage room you appear to be in. The storage room proper also consists of a lot of barrels and other assorted junk. It\u2019s not very big and the junk just makes it cluttered, though there is a single door that leads out.\n\nYou have no intention of doing that though; you just need to rest a bit. You close up the passage entrance behind you and sit down in one of the corners of the \u201cbox\u201d you\u2019re in. Yes, you just need to rest a moment, and then you\u2019ll be fine\u2026\n\nYou find yourself in total darkness without your senses again.\n\n\u201cThat last bit seems to have put you out. Just think how much easier this would\u2019ve been if you had served me. Your magic wouldn\u2019t cause you to feel so drained and it would be a lot stronger as well. Of course if you were following me, you wouldn\u2019t be engaging in this elaborate duplicity.\u201d Dendrin says\n\u201cDuplicity? Your worshippers are dedicated to duplicity! You accuse me of such things, when you are doing nothing but reveling in such behavior! I am merely serving the Empire as I was always meant to. You on the other hand are supposed to be a god to your followers yet you do nothing to warn them.\u201d you reply.\n\u201cMy reasons for how I treat my followers are my own and you are not worthy to know them.\u201d\n\u201cWorthy\u2026like the rest of your worshippers that blindly follow you into destruction?\u201d\n\u201cNo\u2026but are you really so much different? You follow the Emperor blindly and he is just a man, at least the shadows are wise enough to revere a superior being. You believe you are superior to the shadows, but you are not. You do not see the flaws and that is why you\u2019ve earned no explanation. Not because you aren\u2019t a true shadow, but because of your own lack of vision. You will eventually see though, if not now then later. Of course by then it will be much too late. I\u2019m sure we will speak again, no matter how much you deny me and crusade against the shadows, we will forever be linked\u2026for as long as you\u2019re alive anyway.\u201d\n\nYou suddenly wake up. After a moment of grogginess, you suddenly remember where you are. The Felkan palace! How long have you been asleep? You have no idea, but you\u2019ve really dodged an arrow if nobody found you sleeping right in the heart of the enemy territory! You quickly open up the passage door again and it would appear that the coast is clear. Remembering what the young royal you killed earlier said you make your way to the exit that leads outside. Once again you expect there to be soldiers placed at the exit, but there are none. The Felkans must think you escaped already, either that or they\u2019re very poor at security, either one doesn\u2019t surprise you at this point.\n\nIt\u2019s about noon, and you\u2019ve undoubtedly kept your \u201cfellow\u201d shadows waiting, if they are still waiting at all. They probably think you were killed along with Dusk. You have no idea if they know anything about the assassination, but you\u2019re guessing they probably left before you completed your task. In any event, you\u2019ve still got the job of killing them three and you don\u2019t know if you\u2019re going to get the chance now. Lacking a better idea, you head to the meeting point and hope that they\u2019re still there.\n\nYou finally get there just as it starts to get late in the day. No Felkan patrols in the area, but you still cautiously enter the woods. You aren\u2019t completely out of luck as you see Murk pacing back and forth, looking around nervously.\n\n\u201cMurk, where are the others?\u201d you say, causing him to jump and nearly point his armbow at you.\n\u201cBrother! You\u2019re alive! Thank Dendrin!\u201d he says with a bit of joy, though he look visibly upset.\n\u201cIt wasn\u2019t easy, but where are the others?\u201d\n\u201cTalia went on ahead and assumed you and Dusk were dead. Bianca\u2026she\u2026(sniffle) didn\u2019t make it.\u201d He quickly wipes his eyes when he tells you.\n\u201cOh.\u201d\n\u201cI don\u2019t understand, everything was going well and were already on our way to escaping, then all of a sudden there were Felkan soldiers everywhere! Bianca got shot in the back, by one of those infernal Felkan weapons! (sniffle) I know she didn\u2019t see me as a potential mate, but I always hoped one day that\u2026(sob)\u2026sorry brother\u2026I know there are more important things right now.\u201d\n\u201cIt\u2019s understandable brother, but how long ago did Talia leave?\u201d\n\u201cShe left not long after we arrived here which was this morning. She\u2019s probably already in Empire territory by now. I stayed just to make sure we hadn\u2019t lost any more people. I had to hope. I\u2019m glad to see you alive, but I hesitate to ask\u2026 Dusk isn\u2019t with you. Did she fall as well?\u201d\n\u201cYes.\u201d\n\u201c(Sigh) Another loss. Well as grim as this has been, I suppose we should get used to it in the coming months when we finally strike against the Empire properly. There are going to be a lot of our brothers and sisters that will probably fall in the cause of Dendrin.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell you\u2019re right and wrong about that Murk.\u201d You say, approaching him.\n\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d\n\u201cYou\u2019re right that a lot of shadows will fall in the cause of Dendrin\u2026you\u2019re wrong about thinking that I\u2019d really consider any of you traitors to be my siblings!\u201d you say and quickly grab him towards you and stab him in the stomach. The look of shock overwhelms him.\n\n\u201cWh\u2026why broth\u2026er\u2026wh\u2026\u201d he sputters before you finish him off with a snap of his neck.\n\nYou look down at Murk\u2019s dead body and you feel nothing for him. You remember the times you nearly killed him before, but hesitated. Perhaps this is a good sign that you\u2019re finally getting all these lingering feelings out of your system. Well three out of four were taken out, still not good enough though and you doubt if you\u2019ll get to Talia in time for her to make her report to Master Ebon or Brother Gray. Still you have to try, so you make your journey right away and leave the body of Murk behind.\n\nYou push your magic to the limit to speed your yourself up, you just hope Talia isn\u2019t doing the same; it\u2019s going to be hard enough to track her. You\u2019re going to take a wild guess that she\u2019ll probably use the same route you took to get to the Felkan border, at least you hope so.\n\nNight falls and you\u2019ve made good time by getting into Empire territory as quickly as you have, but you\u2019re getting incredibly exhausted. Even if you do get to Talia, you aren\u2019t even sure you\u2019ll have the energy to take her. You continue to press on though.\n\n\u201cI will NOT be stopped by Dendrin\u2019s petty favor of magic. My mind WILL overcome and I WILL use the gifts he gave me against him!\u201d You mutter to yourself.\n\nNight eventually passes into day again and you manage get just outside the town of Lenet which is the closest town to Gloom. You still haven\u2019t seen Talia, and can only hope she hasn\u2019t made it to Gloom yet. In the meantime you feel horrible at this point and on the verge of passing out. You decide to head over to a small river that you know nearby and hope that some water will perk you up or at least prevent you from falling unconscious again.\n\nYou retch and cough the whole time you drag yourself to the river. Finally you collapse nearly face first into the damned river. You look at your reflection which is just inches away from your face and you nearly see a stranger looking back.\n\n\u201cWhat the\u2026\u201d you say to yourself.\n\nYour reflection doesn\u2019t display the age that you know yourself to be, but rather that of an older you. You put your hands to your face and can feel the wrinkle lines. You hadn\u2019t been noticing before, but you look at your hands and see how weathered they look. This overuse of shadow magic has taken its toll on your body. You may have even shortened your life span, you have no idea.\n\n\u201cBrother! What are you doing over there by the river? Are you sick?\u201d you hear a familiar voice ask.\n\nYou turn around and see Talia. You must\u2019ve somehow unknowingly passed her in your rush to reach her, since she is coming from the same direction you were. When she sees you, her surprise nearly matches that of Murk when you killed him.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re\u2026alive! But\u2026what happened to you? Your face! Some of your hair is white! What manner of magic did this?\u201d she asks out of concern and begins to approach you.\n\nYou look at Talia one last time as a fellow Eternal that once held the ideals of the Empire. There is so much you could say to her, but there really wouldn\u2019t be any point. Better to just get this over before you get overcome with feeling again.\n\nYou forgot to reload your armbow, but fortunately you still have the flintlock that you took from the young royal. You hope it\u2019s reliable, because you don\u2019t have the energy to fight her.\n\nWithout another word, you pull out the flintlock and shoot it straight at Talia\u2019s head. She falls instantly when she\u2019s hit. You slowly stagger up and walk over to her and see that a good portion of the top left side of her head has been blown off. The deadness in her eyes is apparent, as are the brains leaking out.\n\nMission accomplished.\n\nYou stumble into the town of Lenet and make arrangements for a carriage to take you to the capital. From there you hope you can contact Mr. Mol. For now though you\u2019re going to sleep the whole way there and hope you don\u2019t get some annoying visit from Dendrin, because as of now you\u2019ve finally freed yourself of the shadows.\n\nAs far as your concerned the only time you want to be in their presence again is to face them in battle as a proper enemy and you are looking forward to that in the near future.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 25\n\n\u201cGood work on destroying another shadow cell, the sooner we get them all, the sooner we can focus all our attention on the Felkan Kingdom.\u201d\n\u201cI agree sir, especially since I would like to be involved in the conquest of the Felkans.\u201d\n\u201cHeh, well I\u2019m sure something will be found for you. I assume you\u2019ll report to someone else after this is over though.\u201d Mr. Mol says.\n\nThis bit of casual news surprises you a little; you can\u2019t help but to question it.\n\n\u201cSir, where are you going?\u201d\n\u201cMe? Nowhere, but if you\u2019re referring to reporting to someone else, what I mean is if you are transferred to serve in the Felkan war, I probably won\u2019t be your superior anymore. You\u2019d be a military matter as opposed to the unique situation you are now. Quite frankly if it wasn\u2019t for you, I probably wouldn\u2019t be in charge of anyone. Even the new Eternal Project is in the hands of another now, has been for years.\u201d\n\nThis seems like information that shouldn\u2019t be freely shared with a subordinate, but once again Mr. Mol says it so casually its like he doesn\u2019t care. He also notices that you\u2019re wondering if you should inquire further, but he stops you.\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t worry about it. I spoke of things you needn\u2019t have known or have to concern yourself with. Let\u2019s focus on the task at hand.\u201d\n\u201cVery well sir.\u201d\n\nYou and Mr. Mol get back to the business of eliminating the remaining shadow cells. In some ways it is hard to believe that this is almost over. By your estimate there are probably only about thirty shadows left at best, most of them were killed three years ago during the destruction of Fortress Gloom. You wish you could\u2019ve been involved in that, but for whatever reason, the Empire\u2019s allies took care of it by themselves. You never met or even saw these allies, but you heard that it was the Derro. You do know that Master Ebon and Brother Gray died in this assault, meaning someone else took control of the remaining shadows, and you know that had to be Cyrus.\n\nCyrus and the surviving shadows managed to incite the pathetic remains of dissidents the Empire hadn\u2019t silenced yet, but nothing excessive thanks to the destruction of all those safe houses in advance. The only major cause of concern was very the minor orc revolt at a fort in Rask that was separate from shadow influence. It was lucky that Mr. Mol separated most of them with transfers and prevented the shadows from establishing any sort of presence there otherwise it might\u2019ve been much worse.\n\nIn any event this whole thing probably would\u2019ve been over by now if the Empire\u2019s attention weren\u2019t also focused on the war with the Felkan Kingdom. Fortunately that\u2019s going well too due to their own internal strife going on with the crown.\n\n\u201cFrom what I can tell, they\u2019ve pulled out of all the other provinces and mainly retreated to Delerg. Somewhat predictable, but I suppose it's the best place for them to hide out right now. I\u2019ve tried to get more soldiers posted there to help, but again the Felkan war takes priority. I wish I could\u2019ve even got one of your former classmates to help, but well, I\u2019ve mentioned the problem with that.\u201d\n\u201cNo matter, I\u2019ll handle it with what help I\u2019ve got.\u201d\n\u201cI know you can, but I\u2019ve hired some extra hands anyway. I\u2019ve got a dark elf mercenary attachment in Delerg I know they\u2019re supposed to be helping with the barbarian tribes in Rask, but I\u2019m paying for this out of my own pocket and they\u2019ll go where the money goes. Besides I think this group is sick of the snow anyway.\u201d\n\u201cIf you think they\u2019ll help, then they\u2019ll be put to good use.\u201d You remark.\n\u201cTheir leader is called Tyren. Met him once and he\u2019s a typical svelk, arrogant and condescending. His mercenary band is currently at the town Sinkhole. You\u2019ll be meeting them there. Now I know you\u2019ve worked with Empire soldiers and that\u2019s worked out okay, but working with the svelk will be different\u2026though I imagine that won\u2019t be a problem for you. Just never turn your back on them and be on your guard.\u201d\n\u201cI will as always, but now I must ask, will they be more of a liability than help.\u201d You ask.\n\u201cNo, I wouldn\u2019t have bothered if I thought that. It\u2019s just\u2026 well they\u2019re svelk and all that goes with it. A lot of bullshit posturing by them that\u2019s all. You\u2019ll be fine, anyway I suppose you\u2019ll want to get some rest before your trip to Delerg tomorrow. Carriage will pick you up tomorrow. That will be all.\u201d\n\nThe next day you take the carriage to the Delerg province. It doesn\u2019t take long, but it does give you time to yourself, which you use to briefly reflect on the past few years and your possible future, among other things.\n\nWhen you get to Sinkhole it looks exactly like how the name describes it, half of the town in the swamp and the rest of looking like it\u2019s about to collapse. Still, you\u2019re not here to sight see, you\u2019re here to hopefully put down the remainder of the shadows for good. Since you\u2019re anxious to get this over with, you immediately head to the tavern where you\u2019re guessing the svelk are hanging out. You anxious to get this over with too, granted you\u2019ve only had a single experience with one of their kind, but that was enough even without Mr. Mol\u2019s previous warnings.\n\nYou enter the tavern, which isn\u2019t much better than the outside of it. The dark elven presence is unmistakable since they\u2019re the only ones in the place since they\u2019re the only ones in the place save for the poor bartender and the couple of waitresses. You\u2019d guess that the svelk intimidated the usual patrons. You wonder why there aren\u2019t any Empire soldiers taking care of this, but again you remember, there aren\u2019t many stationed here and they\u2019re all probably at an outpost or a fort in the area. They see you and three of them approach.\n\n\u201cWho let the monkey in? I thought their kind were content swinging in the trees in the jungles and swamps outside.\u201d One of them says\n\u201cYou must have some sort of balls walking into this place monkey. We thought we did a good job of scaring the rest away, except the bartender and his lovely wait staff of course.\u201d another says.\n\u201cLovely? If you like slumming I guess, but I suppose you males really will rut with anything won\u2019t you? Monkey, I suggest you leave, before my comrade\u2019s macho boasting is put into action.\u201d A female svelk remarks.\n\nYou don\u2019t have time for this, and these mercenary svelk scum only respect one thing anyway. You don\u2019t like using it anymore, but you feel an impression must be made and you tap into your shadow magic.\n\nIn lightning speed you punch the female svelk in the nose and stab the bragging male svelk in the leg and trip him face first into the floor. The third svelk raises his crossbow, but you use your own armbow to shoot a bolt right through his hand.\n\nThe three svelk all lie on the ground nursing their wounds, meanwhile the rest of them haven\u2019t even moved to help their fellows, though a dark elf with long black hair speaks from the table he\u2019s sitting at.\n\n\u201cSo, I\u2019m guessing you\u2019re our Empire contact. That traitor shadow we\u2019ve heard so much about. I suppose your skills are impressive enough\u2026for a monkey.\u201d\n\u201cAnd you must be Tyren and don\u2019t address me as monkey again, let alone as a traitor shadow. I did not betray the shadows, they betrayed the Empire! I am an Eternal and loyal only to the Empire and the Emperor!\u201d\n\u201cPity, you were more interesting as a traitor. Loyalty is overrated. Now\u2026Eternal, if you\u2019re done beating up my people, I have information where the shadows have been hiding out at.\u201d\n\u201cYou already know where they are?\u201d\n\u201cOf course. We scoured most of this forsaken swampland as soon as that Mol guy hired us. Quite frankly it wasn\u2019t hard to find them, they\u2019re at some old temple dedicated to their god I think. Surprised the Empire with all it\u2019s resources couldn\u2019t do it, but then what do you expect from a government run by monkeys? Anyway, we\u2019ve been waiting on you, Mol said that you\u2019d want to take care of this personally. We\u2019re just here for back up, so when you want to take them out, let us know, until then let us get back to our drinks.\u201d\n\u201cWait, so what have the shadows been doing all this time?\u201d\n\u201cHell if I know Eternal. They haven\u2019t been stirring up trouble if that\u2019s what you think though. As far as I can tell they\u2019ve been doing their best to try to lay low, because they haven\u2019t left that ruined temple of theirs in weeks. I mean I suppose it\u2019s possible that some of them have been sneaking out to go elsewhere, but we\u2019ve checked up on them a few times and the majority of them are still at the temple.\u201d\n\u201cAnd you don\u2019t think that they don\u2019t know that you\u2019ve been spying on them?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cHardly. Perhaps you humans clumsily stomp around when spying, but we svelk have been doing it for centuries! Even some religious fanatics with shadow magic aren\u2019t going to detect us. Oh sure they probably know we\u2019re in the area, but that\u2019s about it. Trust me; we\u2019re still going to catch them by surprise when we slip into their sad little temple.\u201d\n\nNot exactly the kind of thing to fill you with confidence that the svelk are on top of things like their leader claims. Still, if the shadows haven\u2019t been causing any problems like Tyren claims, then striking against them now before they can do any sort of regrouping might be the way to go.", "action_results": [{"action": "Invade the temple now", "result": "Even if the svelk weren\u2019t as thorough as they claim, whatever defenses the shadows have or don\u2019t have aren\u2019t going to be enough to stop you anyway, so you decide to get this done with once and for all.\n\n\u201cAlright Tyren get your people together, we\u2019re going right now.\u201d\n\u201cDon\u2019t presume to order me about human. Just because you took down a few of my weaker subordinates does not put you in charge here.\u201d\n\u201cNo, the fact that I am on important Empire business and you\u2019re just hired hands DOES put me in charge. If you would prefer a more physical demonstration of my authority however, I can certainly oblige.\u201d\n\nTyren gives you a look that he like to put you up to your threat, but common sense causes him to back down. Instead he forces a fake smile.\n\n\u201cSheesh, you Eternals are so damn serious about everything. Glad the Empire never cooked up more of your type. We\u2019ll be ready to go in a few minutes, large bar tab to settle up with you understand. Wouldn\u2019t want our sterling reputation be tarnished by not paying our debts.\u201d\n\nYou shake your head and wait outside. Naturally the dark elves take a little longer than a few minutes, but eventually they emerge from the tavern and all of you are on your way.\n\nThe journey deeper into the swamp is fairly uneventful. Despite the unfriendly nature of the terrain, there aren\u2019t any dangerous denizens in these swamps. The only creatures of any note are the Sul monkeys, which the dark elves continually make jokes about how humans are related to them. Tyren still gives you a glare every once in awhile, but that\u2019s to be expected given that you threatened his authority in front of his people. He probably had to reassert it after you left the bar to wait for them.\n\nEventually you start getting closer to the temple and you wonder if you should cloak yourself, but there really isn\u2019t any point considering you\u2019re traveling with all these dark elves. Actually you\u2019re a little surprised you haven\u2019t sensed or detected any shadows skulking around. You\u2019d think they\u2019d at least want to patrol the outer perimeter of their temple. Between that and what Tyren told you, this behavior of the shadows has been very strange, unless they believe they can hide for another couple hundred centuries to get revenge. If that is the case, they\u2019ve gone completely delusional.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019re here.\u201d Tyren says when you arrive within the sight of the temple.\n\u201cThis is very strange. I would\u2019ve thought they would\u2019ve had a patrol or even a look out standing outside the temple. Even if they were cloaked I would\u2019ve sensed something.\u201d You reply.\n\u201cTold you they haven\u2019t been seen leaving the temple that much, so how did you want to handle this?\u201d\n\nYou\u2019re a little amazed that Tyren openly asked for your advice. You tell him that when you get inside the temple to just be a little cautious as the shadows could be hiding anywhere insider it and maybe they set up traps inside. Tyren nods and relays a couple of orders in his native language to the rest of his people.\n\nAll of you quickly move towards the temple entrance and suddenly you get that sense of something not being right, you at first figure it\u2019s the shadows about to decloak for a surprise attack. The reality is a lot worse.\n\nThe shadows cloaked something, but not themselves. They cloaked some sort of explosive which more than a few dark elves bump into when approaching the temple. They go off immediately and cause a spectacular chain reaction. The only thing that saves you, is the fact that you speed yourself up just quick enough to avoid the majority of the blast. Even then the explosion still catches you and you\u2019re thrown into a tree at high impact several feet away. You\u2019re hurt bad enough that you\u2019ve broken a few bones and you struggle to stand up.\n\nYou fully expect a shadow to come leaping out from somewhere or Cyrus himself to appear, but that doesn\u2019t happen. In fact when you stagger back to the temple area, you see that it\u2019s practically collapsed on itself (along with the charred remains of a lot of dark elves). You have no idea if the shadows planned to destroy their own temple, but if there were any inside, it would be unlikely that they survived. Still, you can\u2019t take that chance, and you begin to limp over to the devastated temple.\n\nYou hear a noise and swing around to defend yourself, but see that it\u2019s Tyren and a couple of his people. One of them looks in pretty bad shape, and Tyren himself looks a little worse for wear.\n\n\u201c(Cough cough) Shit\u2026certainly didn\u2019t expect that.\u2019 He says.\n\u201cWell maybe if you\u2019d done your job correctly your little band of mercs wouldn\u2019t be in pieces right now. Come on, we have to make sure all the shadows are dead. For all we know they aren\u2019t even here and this was just a set up.\u201d You reply and turn to head towards the temple.\n\nMaybe if you\u2019d been thinking more clearly and weren\u2019t still a little scattered from the explosion, you wouldn\u2019t have turned your back on Tyren. However, you did and he took full advantage.\n\nYou feel the piercing pain of the first bolt going into your back, followed by three more. You collapse to the muddy ground attempting to crawl away. You even try to use your shadow magic, but as fate would have it, it doesn\u2019t work. It would appear Dendrin\u2019s \u201cfavor\u201d has been finally taken away. You\u2019re left with the question to as why now of all times and there are several answers that pop into your head, but the only one that comforts you is that perhaps he finally lost all power due to losing all his followers.\n\nYou\u2019ll never know of course, just like you\u2019ll never know if the svelk will be punished for killing you when the next bolt goes into your skull.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Do some scouting of your own", "result": "As much as you\u2019d like to get this over with and put an end to Cyrus once and for all, you aren\u2019t putting your faith in svelk recon. You\u2019ll some of your own spying and if you even need them, you\u2019ll enlist their help.\n\nWhen you ask Tyren where the temple is so you can do your own spying, he says that you\u2019re just wasting your time and likely to just give your element of surprise away if you linger and insist on this foolishness. He doesn\u2019t really care though since he\u2019s getting paid either way, so he gives you the information.\n\n\u201cYou know where to find me, when you\u2019re done fooling around.\u201d Tyren says as you head towards the door. You look back and scan the three svelk sitting in a corner still bandaging their wounds.\n\n\u201cFrom what I can tell, your people can\u2019t handle it when I\u2019m just fooling around. I question if they could handle it when faced with folks who won\u2019t be.\u201d You reply and leave.\n\nYou immediately make your way deeper into the swamps towards the shadow temple. Despite the unfriendly nature of the terrain, there aren\u2019t any dangerous denizens in these swamps. The only creatures of any note are the Sul monkeys and they seem to be content going about their normal routines. While you were in the Shadow Guard, you heard a few tales that a reptilian race called the Slin used to live here until the shadows removed them all at the request of the Empire.\n\nEventually you start getting closer to the temple and decide to cloak yourself. Again, you hate to use the magic anymore, but as long as you don\u2019t over do it, you\u2019ll be fine. Actually you\u2019re a little surprised you haven\u2019t sensed or detected any shadows skulking around. You\u2019d think they\u2019d at least want to patrol the outer perimeter of their temple. Between that and what Tyren told you, this behavior of the shadows has been very strange, unless they believe they can hide for another couple hundred centuries to get revenge. If that is the case, they\u2019ve gone completely delusional.\n\nYou then finally see them, just outside the temple. You hide behind a nearby rock and spy on what they\u2019re doing. You see them placing spherical plants in various places outside the temple. You\u2019ve seen the plant several times in the swamp; they give off a faint harmless gas nothing more, but it looks like the shadows are doing something to change that.\n\nYou see them infusing the plants with magic causing them to give a pulsating green glow. The shadows back away cautiously every time they do this. Then they cloak the plant. You\u2019re guessing that bumping into or lingering too close to the plants causes something very bad to happen now. You watch them do this for about an hour before they go back into the temple. Another couple hours pass, and none of them have exited from it again. It would appear they have retired for the day and you\u2019re left pondering what to do next.\n\nGoing back and getting Tyren\u2019s help would probably be the intelligent thing to do, but you really don\u2019t know how they\u2019re going to get past the plants. Even if they toss rocks at them to cause them to go off, you have no idea what the result is going to be. For all you know, the shadows might have an escape route to go through as soon as the plants do whatever it is they\u2019re going to do. By yourself, you could probably speed your way past the plants without anything happening.\n\nYou decide you\u2019ll do this alone. You\u2019ve practically been taking down the shadows since the beginning by yourself; you might as well finish it by yourself. If you fall in battle, then you fall, but either way, you\u2019re making sure Cyrus dies today.\n\nYou take a deep breath, mumble those infernal incantations and prepare yourself to speed past the plants, you\u2019re just glad you saw exactly where the shadows placed them. As you\u2019re running by them, you half expect them to still do something. They don\u2019t though and you reach the entryway.\n\nThe whole place is silent as you\u2019d expect, but this seems different. It\u2019s like you can\u2019t even detect anyone here. Not to mention you\u2019d expect to run into some shadows at least guarding near the entrance. Makes you question what the hell they\u2019re doing in here. After moving deeper into the temple you soon find out.\n\nYou see Cyrus standing over the bodies of several shadows. Near the bodies are empty flasks.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll be with you soon my brothers and sisters. And especially you Draven.\u201d Cyrus says looking at the bodies and ignoring you completely.\n\u201cAfter all your talk of freedom and all your supposed dedication against the so called tyranny of the Empire, this is what it comes to Cyrus? Ritual suicide? I expected at least more of a fight during the last stand of the shadows.\u201d You call out.\n\nCyrus finally pays attention to you and his eyes display a distant coldness rather than outright hatred.\n\n\u201cYou never did understand us or the will of Dendrin, Empire puppet. You never will.\u201d Cyrus says.\n\u201cOh I think I understood all too well, considering Dendrin spoke to me on several occasions. The difference is, I was strong enough to resist his lies. You call me a puppet, then what are you? A discarded toy by an uncaring god who has lead you to ruin? How fitting that your death is to be in one of his half forgotten temples. In another hundred years the shadows will be forgotten completely.\u201d\n\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter. We carried out Dendrin\u2019s faith as best we could\u2026we can only hope that he will take mercy on us for our failure as we pass from this world to the next.\u201d\n\nYou shake your head at Cyrus\u2019 words. You can hardly believe he\u2019s speaking such rot and believing it. It\u2019s actually making you angry to hear it.\n\n\u201cYou actually believe that shit? When you die here today, and you WILL die here. It will just be your corpse rotting until it finally disappears completely to time. Dendrin cares NOTHING for you or any of the shadows! He never did! If he did, he would\u2019ve done a better job at helping you! He knew I was working against the shadows from the very beginning and yet he didn\u2019t see fit to expose me! Did he come to any of you in a dream or a vision or anything? No, because ultimately he didn\u2019t give a fuck and probably only saw the shadows as his personal playthings. Shit, the only person in that order that had any resemblance of sense was you of all people. YOU knew I was working against the shadows before anyone else suspected and nobody even listened to you! They told you that you were overacting and did nothing until it was too late. So why the hell would you still stay loyal to an order that is so short sighted?\u201d\n\nCyrus kneels down by the body of Dravin and touches his face. Cyrus looks up at you again, this time with a faint trace of emotion this time. It seems you might\u2019ve misjudged his true motivations.\n\n\u201cPerhaps all of what you say it true, but Dendrin did lead me to Dravin and for that alone earns my loyalty even if everything else was a lie. I pity you. Duty is all that is in your heart and it\u2019s apparently all you\u2019ll ever know.\u201d He says.\n\u2018Pity yourself. You\u2019re even more weak willed than I thought if you did this for something as silly as love.\u201d\n\u201cI have no regrets, but I don\u2019t owe you anymore explanations. You\u2019re not here for that, you\u2019re here to mindlessly carry out your duty. Well come on then and finish it!\u201d Cyrus shouts and draws his sword.\n\nThe battle between the pair of you is finally joined. There is no magic use or shadow tricks. It\u2019s just one Eternal fighting another in straight up combat. Cyrus\u2019 mistake. He would\u2019ve done well to use magic as it could\u2019ve put him on equal footing, perhaps even gave him the advantage, but perhaps he didn\u2019t want it. Maybe this is his form of suicide.\n\nEventually you land a mortal blow, slicing his side clean open. Cyrus falls and deflects your attempt to split his head open, but he drops his sword from the force of your blow in the process. Weaponless, tired and bleeding out from a deep hole in his side, Cyrus accepts defeat.\n\n\u201cDo it. Eternal slave of the Empire.\u201d He says coldly and then you fulfill his request by decapitating him.\n\nIt\u2019s finished. At last it\u2019s finally finished. You begin to smile.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s finished Dendrin! You see this? In your own home! All of your followers, all of your sheep, fucking dead! Never again will you threaten the Empire! It has survived your treachery and you will be forgotten like you should\u2019ve been centuries ago!\u201d you shout, followed by your laughter.\n\nSome very loud explosions outside in turn follow your laughter. Someone or something has stumbled on to those plants. The temple, which was already in ruins, begins to crumble from the force of the explosions. You narrowly avoid getting hit by a large piece of ceiling, but the rest of it will be collapsing soon.\n\nYour first instinct is to speed yourself up to get out of the temple, but you find that your magic isn\u2019t working. You quickly run to the entrance and find that it\u2019s already blocked by debris. The temple is still collapsing and you\u2019re either going to have to find another way out of act quickly to remove the rubble blocking the entrance.", "action_results": [{"action": "Find another way out", "result": "If you stand here trying to move rubble you\u2019ll probably get crushed, surely there has to be another opening somewhere considering this place was falling apart before the explosions.\n\nYou run back to the main room where all the shadows lay dead and you try to scan a possible opening you can get through while dodging pieces of concrete nearly hitting you. You think you\u2019ve spotted an exit and run to it, but your luck finally gives out as fast as the ceiling. You feel a crushing blow to the back of your head. Not enough to knock you out immediately, but enough to do it eventually. You stagger back and forth as blood pours from the top of your head.\n\n\u201cDamn it\u2026can\u2019t die\u2026here\u2026\u201d you say and fall to the floor unconscious as the temple continues to collapse around you.\n\nOnce again you\u2019re in a place where your senses are completely dead.\n\n\u201cNo, Eternal you will not die here today, but you would\u2019ve done better to do so I believe.\u201d\n\u201cStill speaking cryptically Dendrin? Face the truth, the Empire beat you. I beat you. Your followers are all gone and there is nobody left to spread your lies.\u201d\n\u201cI wouldn\u2019t say that. I\u2019ve still got you.\u201d\n\u201cNo you don\u2019t, you\u2019ve NEVER had me.\u201d\n\u201cPerhaps not your mind, but as I said, we will forever be connected, whether you like it or not.\u201d\n\u201cI don\u2019t think so, I tried using your magic and it didn\u2019t even work! My link to you is so distant now that it will soon be severed!\u201d\n\u201cIs that what you think? Is it not more likely that I stopped you from being able to tap into the realm of shadow for your magic anymore? If anything you should be thanking me, since you obviously didn\u2019t have the willpower to stop doing it yourself, despite all your bravado that you wanted nothing to do with the shadows.\u201d\n\nYou ignore Dendrin\u2019s mocking; you won\u2019t let him attempt to turn his ultimate defeat into some sort of \u201cvictory.\u201d\n\n\u201cI used your so called gifts against you Dendrin! I\u2019ve won your little game and you have no more toys to play with. I will continue to live my life serving the Empire and you will have to find another way to amuse yourself.\u201d\n\u201cWell Eternal, you may be right on both accounts, but that doesn\u2019t mean those two aren\u2019t intertwined\u2026but don\u2019t worry Eternal, I don\u2019t intend on visiting to bother you again. I doubt if anything I could say would change your mind about anything. Though I do wonder how you can justify your continued existence.\u201d\n\u201cWhat are you babbling about?\u201d\n\u201cYou said the shadows were a threat to the Empire. You obviously felt this stronger than anyone considering that for the past four years you\u2019ve been ruthlessly seeking them out. You even charged into this temple by yourself without any back up.\u201d\n\u201cDoes this have a point?\u201d\n\u201cYou\u2019re the last shadow, Eternal. How can your beloved Empire survive as long as you do? How do you know that one day something within you doesn\u2019t suddenly turn you against it?\u201d\n\u201cI AM NOT A SHADOW!\u201d you manage to shout verbally in this ocean of sensory deprivation. The sound is so loud it becomes deafening, then painful and then you wake up.\n\nYou look around you and find yourself still in the temple, or what remains of it. As it stands now there are plenty of exits since there a gaping holes in the walls. You rub your aching head and make your way out of the temple. On your way out you see several body parts strewn about the front of the temple. Upon further inspection they\u2019re dark elven. You don\u2019t see Tyren\u2019s body (or head), but then he might\u2019ve been blown up beyond recognition.\n\nYou can only guess Tyren and his people came to the temple when they thought you\u2019d been killed. Seems a little odd though considering they were pretty much content on swilling ale until you were going to give them the order to invade the temple. In any case you\u2019ll relay all this information to Mr. Mol when you return to report to him. For now you\u2019re in for a long walk back to Sinkhole.\n\nA few days later you get in contact with Mr. Mol who immediately sends a carriage to come pick you up. According to reports, you were assumed dead, apparently some of the dark elves that didn\u2019t get blown up by the gas plants reported you dead without bothering to check.\n\nWhen you arrive in the capital a large group of soldiers escort you to Mr. Mol. Like more than the average amount, it makes you wonder what\u2019s been going on while you\u2019ve been gone. Maybe the Felkans made their own assassination attempt?\n\nWhen you arrive before Mr. Mol, he\u2019s flanked by several more soldiers. In fact these ones are orcs. Mr. Mol sees you and looks down rubbing his fingers through his hair in a nervous manner. What is going on here?\n\n\u201cI thought you\u2019d died. Guess I should\u2019ve known better than to trust those lazy svelk mercs. Guess I won\u2019t be hiring them out of pocket ever again. Heh. So the shadows\u2026are they all dead?\u201d\n\u201cYes, though sadly most of them committed some sort of suicide by the time I got there. I did however slay Cyrus myself. So it\u2019s over.\u201d\n\u201cGood. Good.\u201d Mr. Mol says with a deep exhale.\n\u201cMr. Mol, what\u2019s with all the soldiers? Was the capital attacked while I was away? Is there some sort of need for all this extra protection?\u201d\n\u201cNo, the capital wasn\u2019t attacked, but there is a need for extra protection\u2026against you.\u201d\n\nAt this point Mr. Mol stands as far as he can from you and the heavily armed orc soldier step forward to block any potential advance you\u2019d make on him. The soldiers behind you suddenly grab your arms to restrain you. You\u2019re taken by surprise and natural instinct takes over and you react violently. A small scuffle ensues and Mr. Mol is shouting the whole time for them not to kill you, but only to restrain you. It\u2019s doomed to failure, as you\u2019re still more than a match for the soldiers and you kill two of them, before Mr. Mol tells them all to back off and calls more guards to come in.\n\nYou\u2019re left in a corner confused and angry with your sword drawn.\n\n\u201cWHY?! What is this?!\u201d you demand.\n\u201cIt\u2019s a precaution. The shadows are dead and they need to stay that way! You\u2019re the last of their kind.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m not a fucking shadow!\u201d\n\u201cIt\u2019s not my call. This is a decree from an office higher than mine, probably from the Emperor himself. I did all I could, but it has to be this way.\u201d\n\nYou can\u2019t believe this. You can\u2019t believe what you\u2019re hearing.\n\n\u201cBut I\u2019ve proven my loyalty! I\u2019ve proven that I serve the Emperor and the Empire!\u201d you shout.\n\nMr. Mol once again puts his hand over his face and breathes deeply before speaking.\n\n\u201cI know, but how do we know it\u2019ll stay that way? You told me Dendrin was playing head games with you on several occasions. How do we know your indoctrination won\u2019t kick in at a later time? Maybe he\u2019s always had power over you, maybe this is all just another part of his plan.\u201d\n\u201cNO! I beat him! My willpower and duty to the Emperor was stronger!\u201d\n\u201c\u2026look\u2026I believe you. I always have. But as I said, this is out of my hands. Honestly you were treading in dangerous waters as soon as you confessed the plans of the shadows and you were running on borrowed time when they transferred me out of the Eternal Project. It was only due to your over zealous dedication in hunting the shadows and my intervention that your existence was continued. When the extermination of the shadows was complete, you were to follow. I had hoped those svelk would\u2019ve done the job, but I guess there were unforeseen complications. Just as well, I should\u2019ve been brave enough to do it face to face anyway. You deserved that much. I apologize.\u201d\n\nYou ignore Mr. Mol\u2019s attempt at justification. This all doesn\u2019t seem real to you, you think that maybe this is some sort of mind fuck by Dendrin, but unfortunately it isn\u2019t and you know it. You just can\u2019t believe that you were lied to the whole time and about to be discarded as a tool that has no more use.\n\nIs this what you fought so hard to preserve? Is this your reward for all your hard work? Your whole life has involved nothing but lies, duplicity and treachery and you tried your best to persevere through all of it.\n\nYou find yourself nearly laughing despite the anger you\u2019re feeling right now. Dendrin\u2019s last words to you, was how can you justify your existence due to being a shadow. You wonder if he knew the Empire would feel that way, even if you didn\u2019t. Chances are, he did. Maybe that\u2019s what he meant by your continued service to the Empire and his amusement being intertwined.\n\nThe situation now isn\u2019t good. Even if you did manage to fight your way out of here, where would you go? You\u2019d be a wanted criminal of the Empire and that\u2019s the only thing you\u2019ve ever dedicated yourself to. Even though it wants to kill you right now, you can\u2019t bring yourself to fight against it. You worked too hard to preserve it.\n\nAnd that\u2019s when you remember a lesson you learned a long time ago in Mistress\u2019 class. An important lesson that is going to get you through this: Submit and obey the Empire. You are nothing compared to the Emperor's glory and you will die if necessary to preserve his reign.\n\nYou put your sword down slowly and address Mr. Mol.\n\n\u201cYou should not be apologizing sir. I should be the one to apologize as I have killed two men who were only doing their duty and I have also tried to prevent you from doing yours as well. If the Empire believes I am a potential danger then I must die. I will not see it destroyed after I have spent my life trying to defend it from internal threats, even if that threat could be me. We all may have to give our lives in the service of the Empire and today I will give mine.\u201d\n\nYour speech is followed by several soldiers restraining you, though it\u2019s hardly necessary. Mr. Mol approaches you with a display of regret on his face.\n\n\u201cMaybe it won\u2019t be widely acknowledged, but your service was important and as long as the Empire lives, you will also live. (Sigh) You deserved better though.\u201d\n\nAnd with those words, Mr. Mol makes a nodding gesture and you feel several blades go into your body repeatedly. You don\u2019t even feel the pain; you just put your mind in another place to numb yourself. One of those shadow tricks you learned. You guess perhaps it is better that you die if you\u2019re still using such things. Maybe Dendrin was playing a sick waiting game with you. Well it won\u2019t work and Cyrus was wrong too. You do know something of love. You love the Empire and the Emperor and that\u2019s why you\u2019ll willingly die for them.\n\n\u201cLong live\u2026the Em\u2026pire\u2026\u201d you say and then expire.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Move the rubble", "result": "There\u2019s no time to go searching for another exit, the whole place is probably going to collapse. You start moving rocks as fast as you can as the roof continues to tumble down. Unfortunately you\u2019re not quick enough and while your attention is divided, you don\u2019t evade the rest of the ceiling that crashes on your head. Buried under several pounds debris you begin to lose consciousness.\n\n\u201cNo\u2026can\u2019t die\u2026not in this accursed place.\u201d are your last words.", "action_results": []}]}, {"action": "The carriage ride (Self reflection)", "result": "As you wait in the bumpy ride to Sinkhole, you think back on some of the things that have occurred to you within the past few years and your current situation.\n\nYou remember soon after Gloom was officially destroyed, everyone figured mopping up the remaining shadows wouldn't take too long. Who knew they'd be able to hold out for four years? Though to be honest, you knew they'd be able to hold out for as long as they had the ability to do so, mainly because they were being lead by not just a shadow, but by an Eternal. No matter what his allegiances are, Cyrus is always going to be one and that is what truly makes him a formidable foe, not because of his silly faith in Dendrin. In fact his faith in Dendrin is what makes him weak like the rest. There were several times you nearly caught up to him, but he always managed to stay one step ahead of you. He ran like a coward with no sense of honor. With any luck, this will be his last holdout and he'll have nowhere to run this time.\n\nDendrin. Another being that you haven't had much contact with in several years, thankfully. You don't know why. Maybe it's due to his loss of followers making him weaker or perhaps you've sufficiently distanced yourself now that he can't contact you anymore. Or maybe he just saw the futility of trying to play head games with you. You stood in the very heart of the enemy and won. He couldn't break you and is suffering considerable losses because of it.\n\nYes, when Cyrus is finally dead, you'll be able to thrive and spread the Emperor's glory elsewhere. You continue to look forward to being transferred to the frontlines of the Felkan war zone. You just hope the war isn't won before you get there given how successful things have been on that front.\n\nPart of you does wonder about the new Eternal Project that Mr. Mol speaks of though. Will the new Eternal be the same as you or possibly better? If they are better, are you going to be considered obsolete? This is why you MUST prove yourself. You have to show that even by the time the new Eternals are ready, YOU will be still of value to the Empire. Perhaps it will even be you who will lead the new ones into battle. Part of you likes that idea. Not just leading troops into battle as you've done that before during raids on shadow hideouts, but leading other Eternals.\n\nSometimes you wonder what life would've been like if you'd been one of the Eternals to serve as a soldier instead. You don't know much about those former classmates, but you do know not many of them are left either, though you have heard two of them ended up marrying each other. One of them is on the Felkan frontlines while other is stationed in the Nalin province defending it from desert nomads from the south.\n\nMakes you think about Talia, and how it was a shame that she had to die. She was a fine Eternal otherwise. Perhaps if she had been on the right side, you would've married her. She certainly wanted to produce a child with you.\n\nThough maybe its best you hadn't been assigned as a soldier or else the shadow plot wouldn't have been uncovered by you and then where would the Empire be? In a much worse situation most likely.\n\nYes, your journey thus far while not an easy one, is one you can feel a sense of accomplishment in. You sit back and relax for the rest of the carriage ride, knowing that your deeds have probably prevented the Empire from plunging into mass riots or even rebellion.\n\nIt fills you with pride and a little happiness that you have served it and the Emperor so well. You can only hope to serve with such distinction in the future.", "action_results": [null]}]}]}]}, {"action": "Stay silent", "result": "Dusk could pick you anyway, so there really isn't any need to volunteer. You're still going to have to find the king, kill him and the rest of the shadows regardless of who you're \"working\" with.\n\nDusk ends up picking Talia and tells you, Bianca, and Murk to wait five minutes before scaling the wall after they leave to head to the other side. She then tells you she trusts you to use your best judgment on things. Killing Bianca and Murk should be too hard without Dusk or Talia here, the pair of their combat skills are nowhere near your own. The hard part will be tracking down the king.\n\nWithin the five minutes you wait, you see Murk fail to impress Bianca as usual with his wooing attempts. You can't believe he'd waste his time on the eve of such of an important mission. As you see him fail for the umpteenth you have no idea why you ever considered him your \"friend.\" He's an idiot even in the hierarchy of the shadows.\n\n\"Why the hell did they even pick him?\" you wonder.\n\nMaybe it's a lot of built up rage, hatred and other bad thoughts you've been keeping under wraps for years, but you can't help but continue to feel disgust for Murk.\n\n\"Okay, I think about five minutes have passed. We should get going.\" Murk suggests.\n\"Might as well, I'm not here to watch you bumble around all night trying to impress Bianca who obviously isn't interested in you and never will be.\" You say.\n\nThere's a momentary silence and both Bianca and Murk give a look of surprise to the fact that you've said something so direct concerning their \"relationship.\"\n\n\"I\u2026we\u2026we'll speak on this later.\" Murk says and starts to cast his spider walk spell.\n\"No, we really won't.\" you reply and cast your speed spell. You raise your armbow and hit Bianca with a bolt to her throat. She falls helplessly attempting to gurgle a spell. Murk, sees this tries to cancel his current spell to match your speed, but he isn't fast enough. You draw two daggers and impale him several times with them before he even hits the ground.\n\nYou think he tries to ask you \"why?\" before he dies, but you aren't really sure because you're too busy driving your daggers into his skull for the kill at the time. After dealing with Murk, you go over to finish off Bianca who is still attempting to struggle against death.\n\n\"Let this be known before you die, the Emperor shall reign forever and your dying god will be forgotten like he should've been centuries ago!\" you say and stab her in the heart.\n\nYou feel as if you've just taken your first steps towards freedom at last with the deaths of Bianca and Murk. Two more to go, but first you need to find the Felkan king and finish off that part of your mission before an alarm is raised when Talia and Dawn start killing guards. You cast your spider walk spell and quickly scale the wall.\n\nWhen you get to the other side you're near a lot of carts with stacks of supplies on them. A quick look reveals that they're mostly sacks of food. You must be outside the royal kitchen or something. Sure enough you hear several voices coming from a nearby door which opens up.\n\n\"Alright start hauling in those sacks of potatoes; we got enough space for them in here now.\" A chef says with several of his staff following outside.\n\nWell you weren't planning on massacring an entire kitchen staff, but you don't have the luxury of waiting around or looking for another quick entrance and using any more magic right now is going to start making you feel exhausted. You ready your blade.\n\nThe hapless kitchen staff is naturally unable to fend against you. The head chef throws a cleaver at you, but that's about the closest any of them come to hitting you. By the time you're finished, the entryway looks like it's leading into a cannibal's kitchen rather than a royal one. A few of the staff made some yelps of pain when you killed them, so you quickly leave the area and hope you can find the king.\n\nYou search about eight rooms before you start hearing yelling and the sounds of alarm. A lot of them mention guards being killed. Surprisingly you haven't even run into any guards yet, so you're guessing Talia and Dawn must be to blame. You curse since that means they're probably already on their way to making their escape and this place is going to be crawling with soldiers. Never mind the fact that the king is probably going to be actively hiding now.\n\nAgainst your desires, you cloak yourself and speed yourself up in an effort to help your search. You kill several soldiers during this time, but no king. You do manage to get a hold of a couple fancy dressed women that look like nobility or royalty. It doesn't take much to scare them, but they claim they don't know where the king is, and tell you he's probably already been moved from the palace.\n\nThere is just no way you're going to be able to assassinate the king and kill Dawn and Talia in time. In fact at this point, you aren't even sure if you'd be able to kill the king seeing as you have no idea if he has left the palace, or if he's still in it. That isn't even the main problem, the main problem is your excessive magic use has left you incredibly fatigued. You feel like you're going to pass out at any moment. While you're struggling to stake awake and decide on what to do next, the Felkan soldiers finally pinpoint your location and begin coming in force.\n\nWere they attacking you with close combat weapons, you might've been able to fight them off. Were you more alert, you might've been able to dodge their bullets. As it stands neither of those possibilities exist and several soldiers fire their muskets at you. Hot lead hits you in the arm and the leg. When you fall and try to crawl away another blast hits you in the back.\n\n\"I've\u2026failed\u2026forgive me\u2026my Emper\u2026or\u2026\" are your last words.", "action_results": []}]}, {"action": "Try to convince Dusk of your plan", "result": "Felkan soldiers aren't going to be a problem, but you need to get rid of Dusk and perhaps a few others before you get to the palace because you aren't going to have time to do it when you need to focus on assassinating the king. You approach Dusk as she stands away from the rest of the group examining the map.\n\n\"Sister Dusk, why don't we split up and meet at the palace?\" you ask.\n\"For what purpose, brother? It would be more efficient to just all go together.\" Dusk replies.\n\"If we run into major trouble during our journey in Felkan territory, it would be better if some of us still got to the palace in a timely manner. Besides a larger group will attract more attention.\"\n\"And neither of those things are going to be a problem since we'll be cloaked the whole time.\"\n\"Well how do we know the Felkans don't have something to prevent that? Wouldn't it be better to remain on the side of caution?\"\n\"I think it would be better for you if you had more faith in Dendrin's protection and stopped speaking nonsense. I'm in charge and I'm telling you we're all going as a group. Besides I don't want all five of us running around separately, because as you say if we do run into trouble, we'd be stronger as a group.\"\n\"I didn't mean all five of us go separately, we could still be in groups. Like you and I go as one group and the other three go as another.\"\n\"You and I? Seems like you've thought this out.\"\n\"Despite Murk constantly failing to impress Bianca, they work very well together, so they should stay together and I assumed Talia would be the logical choice as a leader. Her skills are better than Bianca and Murk's so she could lead them. Granted my combat skills are probably better, my magic is not. I believe I would be better off with you where your magic and my combat abilities can complement each other. We're going to have to split up when we get to the palace anyway if our intent is to sow as much chaos as possible before escaping, better that we do it now before we get too comfortable with a larger group.\"\n\nDusk still doesn't look entirely convinced, however she tells you to wait and she goes over to speak to the others. After a few moments of discussion, she turns back to you.\n\n\"Okay, you might have a point. You'll come with me and we'll approach the Felkan capital Dessle from the north, Talia and the rest will approach it from the south. Neither of us are going to reach it today, but we'll definitely make it by tomorrow night where we can meet up and I'll relay the next course of action. Try to stick to the wilderness and non-populated areas until then. May Dendrin guide us all.\"\n\nDusk and you set off, about five minutes in she states that she forgot to mention that the area Talia is suppose to be heading into is supposed to be have regular patrols, so she should be warned about that. You wait for Dusk to return pondering when the best time would be to kill her. Probably not until you a good ways into Felkan territory, maybe just before you get into Dessle. Eventually Dusk comes back and you're on your way again.\n\nCrossing into Felkan territory is very easy. The outposts aren\u2019t nearly as well guarded as they should be and combined with sticking to the wilderness and using magic to cloak yourself it's incredibly simple. You eventually camp out in a secluded wood where Sister Dusk becomes more talkative.\n\n\"We made pretty good time, with minimal problems. I guess you had a good idea. I suggest we both get some rest, tomorrow will be the big event.\"\n\"Yeah, hopefully the rest are doing just as well.\" You remark.\n\"Oh I wouldn't worry about them. I'm sure they're fine.\"\n\nNodding in agreement, you decide this would probably be the best place as any to get rid of Dusk. You figure you'll pretend to go to sleep, wait until she's asleep and make your move.\n\nAfter waiting for about an hour, you finally get the impression she's asleep thanks to the sounds of snoring. Not very quiet for a shadow, but it helps you any way. You slowly get up and make your way towards her.\n\nYour blade is drawn and just before you strike, you feel a bolt go into your side.\n\n\"Ah shit!\" you cry out and fall to the ground. Another bolt goes into your leg and Dawn \"wakes up\". She wasn't the only one faking sleep it seems.\n\n\"I knew it! I knew Brother Cyrus wasn't just ranting and I knew you probably were involved with killing my mate Shade. Filthy traitor!\" Dusk exclaims, kicking you in the face.\n\nTalia, Murk and Bianca all come out from the underbrush. Dawn must've told them to follow you the whole time. They all look on in disappointment at you, but Talia especially.\n\n\"I didn't want to believe it\u2026how could you betray Dendrin like this? How long have you been a traitor?\" Talia asks while reloading her armbow.\n\"Me a traitor? No, it is YOU who is the traitor! All of you! All of you have betrayed the Emperor for your pitiful god who cares nothing for you!\" you shout in defiance. \"I know this because Dendrin himself has spoken to me on several occasions trying to convert me to his will, but it didn't work.\"\n\"He does care, or else he would not have tried to bring you into the fold. How sad that you did not learn his wisdom and accept his mercy.\" Murk says.\n\"How sad that you actually believe that. You're more pathetic than he is. If he really cared for any of you, he would've warned you about having a so called traitor in your midst. He didn't, so that says a lot about your revered deity.\"\n\"Enough! I won't hear anymore of these vicious lies! Your treachery ends here today traitor.\" Dusk shouts back and attempts to finish you off with a sword blow, but you've got enough fight in you to roll out of the way and return with your own attack, hacking Dusk's foot off.\n\nIt's a small victory though, the rest of the shadows move in and run you through several times. Defiant to the end you laugh and state that they've won nothing here and the Empire will survive as you die.", "action_results": []}]}]}, {"action": "Tell them the altered truth", "result": "Blatant lying tends to complicate things and if you're caught, it's only going to make you look worse. You might be better off telling the truth and omitting part of it.\n\n\"Alright, alright, I'll tell you the truth, but I was only trying to protect Brother Shade's memory\u2026and I was ashamed.\"\n\"What are you talking about brother?\" Master Ebon asks.\n\"(Sigh) Brother Shade did speak with me, but he was mainly complaining. Stating that you didn't really know the will of Dendrin at all and action needed to be taken now regardless of what you said. At first I thought he was just spouting his usual rants, but the last time we spoke he wanted me to go with him to attack a Felkan outpost. The plan was to kill everyone there except one maimed survivor to tell the tale. He hoped that would bring war quicker and you'd have no choice, but to act on the plan.\"\n\"Why didn't you report this?\" Brother Gray snaps.\n\"I told you, I didn't want Brother Shade to get into trouble just for having a momentary lapse in judgment and I thought I could talk him out of it. So I followed him and I caught up to him I tried to convince him his plan was folly. I failed and when I tried to physically stop him, he beat me and warned if I tried again he'd kill me. Fearing for my life I ran. That was the last I saw him.\"\n\nMaster Ebon is silent and puts his face in his hands. Brother Gray gives a look of disapproval and shakes his head. Cyrus on the other hand takes the opportunity to question you.\n\n\"You really expect us to believe your lies? You probably agreed to the plan, got scared and tried to back out of it. You killed Brother Shade and made up this story to\u2026\"\n\"Brother Cyrus that's enough! You are not the one doing the interrogating here! Know your place in Dendrin's shadow! There has obviously been too much of people overstepping their bounds lately and you'd do well to not follow that same path. In fact, you need to leave. Brother Gray and I will handle it from here.\"\n\nCyrus looks a bit put off by this order, but obeys. He gives a dirty look at you before leaving though. You're left standing in front of Master Ebon and Brother Gray.\n\n\"Brother, do you realize what sort of position you've put us in?\"\n\"I realize it's bad, but\u2026\"\n\"No, you don't! All of our plans could be ruined because YOU didn't report this like you should have! For all we know Brother Shade has completed his rash mission and the war will be occur too soon!\"\n\"And that's the best case scenario.\" Brother Gray adds. \"Brother Cyrus' theory, though accusatory, does make me question if what you're saying IS the entire truth.\"\n\"It is! I swear to Dendrin!\"\n\"Perhaps, but due to your deeds, a punishment still must be decided\u2026I believe the silence of the shadow will do since you prefer to remain quiet. When your tongue is removed, I believe you shall forever know the price of your failure. Brother Gray please escort\u2026\"\n\nYou aren't about to let yourself be mutilated by these religious fanatics, you draw your weapon, but Master Ebon mumbles a few words and you're held in place.\n\n\"Brother, cease your hostility NOW! You will submit to this punishment or you will face much worse!\" Brother Gray shouts.\n\"Never! I'll never submit to you! The Empire will live forever and your order will be ground into dust! Long live the Emperor!\" you shout breaking all pretense of your allegiance, which causes a look of surprise from Brother Gray's face. Master Ebon however just shuts his eyes.\n\n\"Dendrin will preserve us through this unforeseen hardship, and we will prevail, just as he has said we would centuries ago. Your actions will not stop what cannot be stopped.\" Master Ebon says calmly and with a few quietly spoken words, your heart stops killing you instantly.", "action_results": []}]}, {"action": "Report Brother Shade", "result": "Killing him is just going to complicate things for you, better to be a good little shadow and go through the proper channels in this case. You immediately go see Brother Gray and state you need to see Master Ebon.\n\n\"And why do you need to see him right now?\" Brother Gray asks.\n\"It's about Brother Shade, I fear he's going to do something rash that could ruin everything the shadows have worked so hard for.\"\n\"What is it?\"\n\nYou explain Brother Shade's plan in its entirety and how you pretended to go along with it so he wouldn't suddenly run away or attempt to attack you.\n\n\"This is a very serious accusation, but\u2026(sigh) not really all that surprising given his behavior lately. Before we take this to Master Ebon, I'm curious to as why he approached you of all people to help him. I don't believe hearing him ever saying a good word about you, so picking you is a bit puzzling to me. Is there something you should tell me?\"\n\"Well\u2026I'm sort of embarrassed, but Brother Shade knew that I saw a few uh\u2026women of low moral fiber during some of my patrols and threatened to report me, if I didn't help him.\"\n\"(Sigh) Well\u2026I'm glad you at least had the sense to come clean in the face of a greater threat. I'll keep this from Master Ebon, but we're going to have a serious talk about your own indiscretions later! As for Brother Shade do you know where he is now?\"\n\"I believe he's in his room getting his stuff prepared for the mission.\"\n\"Okay, I'm going to send some brothers outside his room to make sure he doesn't leave while I go fetch Master Ebon. If Brother Shade even tries to escape instead of staying put, well that's going to prove his guilt, though I'm hoping it won't come to that and he'll at least stay put and submit the proper punishment that Master Ebon deems necessary.\"\n\"What should I do?\" you ask.\n\"You, go back to your own room and stay there until you're called for to tell your story in front of Master Ebon and Brother Shade.\"\n\nYou nod and head back to your bunk. Nobody is there though; they must be on their patrols. You wait a few minutes expecting Brother Gray or someone else to come get you to come confirm your story in front of Master Ebon or whoever, but nobody does. You do however begin to hear the sounds of fighting though in the halls.\n\n\"Wonderful, they can't even hold their own defectors in place.\" You mutter and draw your weapon. You then cast cloak on yourself and hide in one of the corners of the room with your eyes on the doorway at all times. Eventually someone enters the room, but it's not Shade, its Murk.\n\n\"Hey brother, are you in here? I just came back from patrol and heard Brother Shade is running amok through Gloom! What's going on?\"\n\"Shhh! Quiet you idiot! He's\u2026\"\n\nBefore you can even complete that sentence, Murk is suddenly thrown face first into the floor. It would seem your instincts were right and he decided to get revenge rather than seek escape. You attempt to cast a decloak on Shade which works, but not in time for Murk to get his bearings. Shade smashes Murk's face into the floor. He may or may not have killed him, but in any event he's not going to be getting up to help you anytime soon.\n\n\"You may have prevented me from serving Dendrin like the rest of these short sighted fools, but I guarantee that you will not live to see the fruits of your treachery.\" He says and attacks.\n\nYou engage Shade in battle and the pair of you are fairly matched as far martial combat are concerned. The problems arise when Shade falls back on magic. He speeds himself up getting few good hits on you. You attempt to do the same thing and it helps, but you still are at a disadvantage. He matches every move you've got and has wounded you to the point where you're starting to doubt that you'll win this battle. You push yourself harder and hope your will to survive will win out. Eventually help comes in the form of several more shadows and Brother Gray.\n\nSeveral bolts go flying into Shade's back and he falls to the floor in a heap. You never thought you'd think this, but you're actually glad to see the shadows this time.\n\n\"Brother are you alright?\" Brother Gray asks.\n\"Yes, I think so (Whew) lemme catch my\u2026ulk!\" you utter and then you feel a bolt go through your heart. You look down long enough to see Shade's armbow stretched out and then the rest of his body become still for the final time.\n\nYou soon follow him, unable to believe that your service to the Empire came to such an abrupt end.", "action_results": []}]}]}, {"action": "Keep quiet", "result": "You\u2019re fooling yourself. You\u2019ve only been struggling with your loyalty issues because you were brought up to obey the Emperor and serve the Empire.\n\nBut really what have you learned since then? You\u2019ve learned that a great majority of it is all lies. True, the Shadow Guard has their own agenda, but it isn\u2019t just based on following their god, it\u2019s actively trying to free others under the tyranny of the Empire. And are they seeking to take the place of the Empire? No, they\u2019re just going to return to Derlerg and return to how their lives used to be, before the Empire arrived, everyone else is free to do as they please.\n\nIs that something you really need to fight against? People that want to bring freedom to not just themselves, but to others as well? Dendrin said that he didn\u2019t believe you were going to serve him and you were just saying you were to survive. He also said you weren\u2019t as rigid as your fellows. He\u2019s right on both accounts. You don\u2019t think that you\u2019ll ever be a true shadow, but perhaps you agree with their goals at least in this case. Besides, you\u2019ve bonded more with the people at Gloom who have actively helped you in the past than you have with a faceless Emperor who you haven\u2019t even seen let alone gotten any help from. If anything the Empire has nearly tried to kill you since the moment you were born.\n\nYou make your choice within that moment. You\u2019re going to remain quiet and not tell Mr. Mol anything, but if you get accused you doubt if you\u2019ll kill yourself, you\u2019re more likely to make a valiant escape attempt instead.\n\nMr. Mol sits down and begins his line of questioning.\n\n\u201cSo how are you today?\u201d he asks.\n\u201cI\u2019m fine.\u201d\n\u201cAnd how are your duties going in the Shadow Guard?\u201d\n\u201cFine sir. The rooting out of dissidents and traitors to the Empire is a tireless one, sir.\u201d\n\u201cYes, it is\u2026\u201d Mr. Mol says with a pause. \u201cTell me, are there times when you have found someone not guilty?\u201d\n\u201cNever sir.\u201d\n\u201cNever? Really? Surely not all your searches come up with violent dissidents. Perhaps some of the citizens are merely just speaking harmless nonsense?\u201d\n\u201cIf they are, then they would\u2019ve been wise to keep their mouth shut sir. The Emperor is not to be criticized and his will is what guides the greatness of the Empire.\u201d\n\u201cI see\u2026\u201d Mr. Mol says and takes some notes.\n\n\u201cTell me, what do you think of the Shadow Guard?\u201d\n\u201cThey are the hands of the Emperor, sir.\u201d\n\u201cHis hands huh? That implies they are so important that the Emperor cannot do without them.\u201d\n\u201cNot at all sir. The hands are nothing compared to the mind that controls it. The Emperor is the mind that controls the hands. They are nothing without his direction and guidance. This is known and accepted as it has been from the beginning. But I am not truly a Shadow Guard, I am an Eternal. My duty is and will always be to the Emperor first. If you order me to abandon the Shadow Guard because you feel my talents would be better served elsewhere, I shall do so.\u201d\n\u201cHmm, no I do not think that\u2019s necessary.\u201d\n\nMr. Mol asks you a few more questions and you answer in the best way you can. All in all Mr. Mol seems almost bored by your answers, like he was hoping to hear something much more exciting. You\u2019re not sorry to disappoint him, but you\u2019re definitely trying your hardest to maintain a cool demeanor in the face of certain treason if he suspects the slightest lie.\n\nEventually he finishes and you are lead out of the room and back into the main room where you see Cyrus and Talia waiting with the soldiers.\n\n\u201cOkay I believe we are done here. I am pleased to find that all of you are obviously living up to your potential. I was a little concerned only because a couple of your non-shadow Eternals already have proven to lack the discipline we thought they had. One was executed for killing his superior officer and another one died by breaking a solid fighting formation during a battle. I\u2019m glad to see all of you are much better in that regard and I can only chalk that up to the Shadow Guard\u2019s superior training techniques. Perhaps more Eternals in the future will join as it is obvious you all have tremendous willpower and great loyalty to the Empire.\u201d Mr. Mol says.\n\nAnd with that, the three of you are lead back to the carriage, which takes you back to Lenet, and from there you walk back to Gloom. You\u2019re all more talkative at this point, Talia and Cyrus go on about the questions with each other and you. Of course you lie and state you were asked similar ones.\n\n\u201cSo do you think he suspected anything?\u201d Talia asks.\n\u201cDoubt it. The Empire fool didn\u2019t even ask anything remotely important. It is obvious Dendrin\u2019s shadow covers his eyes from the truth. So much so that it required minimum effort on our part to even lie to him. I mostly just omitted truth.\u201d Cyrus mocks.\n\u201cOmissions of the truth are usually better than outright lies anyway. Less of a chance to get caught up in a web.\u201d Talia comments.\n\u201cOh I dunno, all I did was lie and he never suspected a thing.\u201d You say.\n\nAfter the three of you report to Master Ebon, he seems pleased with how things turned out, but states that he\u2019s pushing to enact the plan sooner for concern that the Empire may still suspect something. He then says to expect things to get hectic soon, but with Dendrin\u2019s guidance you all will surely prevail and the Empire will collapse.\n\nYou retire to your bed to get some rest as it\u2019s been a long stressful day. You\u2019re finally glad to have settled your crisis of loyalty though. With these comforting thoughts you drift off to sleep\u2026\n\nAs you sleep you begin to dream. You dream that you\u2019re in the same void like space when you walked into that portal two years ago. You feel nothing and you sense nothing for a long time then you hear the voice, but it isn\u2019t oppressive like the first time.\n\n\u201cSo you did not betray me after all\u2026I am a little surprised mortal. Perhaps you see after all.\u201d\n\u201cI see that the Empire is indeed a corrupt system that needs to be brought down, but I don\u2019t feel the need to worship you.\u201d\n\u201cIt is a start, but know that this path you take now will be very dangerous. As strong as you are your survival is not guaranteed. It shall be interesting to see you try however.\u201d\n\nWith those last words, you wake up. You try to go back to sleep, but it isn\u2019t easy. Just like bringing down the Empire isn\u2019t going to be easy. You just can\u2019t figure out why Dendrin, doesn\u2019t take a more active role in helping his followers. He obviously has the power, but you don\u2019t know. The best you can do is what you can achieve in the mortal realm and leave the motivations of any gods out of the picture.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Chapter 2B2: Dendrin\u2019s Shadow\n\n\nYear 20\n\n\u201cSo Brother Cyrus and Brother Draven are going to be assigned to Rask soon?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cThat\u2019s what I\u2019ve heard from Brother Gray. Them and a few others. Next year at the latest.\u201d Murk says\n\u201cGood idea, from what I've heard the Empire is always having problems with that area, though I think they'll start having problems in other areas too soon now that they're officially at war with the Felkan Kingdom.\"\n\"Personally I don't think we should be waiting around now, we should push things along even more.\u201d Brother Shade says. \u201cIn fact, I\u2019m going to mention that to Master Ebon next time I see him.\u201d\n\u201cYou don\u2019t think that he hasn\u2019t already thought of such a plan?\u201d Talia asks.\n\u201cPerhaps, but let\u2019s just say I\u2019ve been here a little longer than the rest of you, and while I know Master Ebon is just waiting for the right time to strike, he\u2019s been playing the waiting game a little longer than I think is necessary.\u201d\n\nThis statement from Brother Shade gets a lot of looks, but nobody says anything. Even you are surprised as this is the first time you believe you\u2019ve heard something close to an open criticism about Master Ebon or the leadership structure in general.\n\nSoon after his statement Brother Shade leaves to attend his duties.\n\n\u201cBrother Shade should watch how he talks about Master Ebon. Ebon speaks directly to Dendrin on a daily basis and knows best on how to proceed.\u201d Murk remarks.\n\u201cThen why did you not speak up, instead of just sitting there?\u201d Sister Bianca asks.\n\u201cUh\u2026well\u2026\u201d\n\u201cAlways trying to impress the ladies, eh Murk?\u201d you chuckle and take your leave to go about your duties as well.\n\nLater that night you fall asleep and have an encounter with someone you don't want to interact with unless you have to\u2026\n\n\"So I see you\u2019re fitting in well after all. Glad to see it seeing as you still don't particularly hold a lot of faith in my help. You are a most puzzling creature Eternal.\" Dendrin says.\n\"For someone with god powers, you aren't very omniscient. As I said, I joined the Shadow Guard's cause because it\u2019s the best chance to bring down the Empire. Master Ebon is the leader and whether he's getting reliable guidance from you or not is irrelevant, he's who I'm following not you.\u201d\n\"Interesting, so you've just exchanged one Emperor for another.\"\n\"No, for one I actually have interacted with Master Ebon and understand his motivations and goals better. As far as I know about the Emperor and the Empire, they're just into power for power's sake. And what do you care? I'm following Ebon and he follows you, so shouldn't you be happy?\"\n\nAt this point a low chortle pierces your brain.\n\n\"Perhaps I am. Perhaps I am. As always I enjoy our little talks Eternal.\"\n\nSometime later you wake up from your sleep, still wondering what the hell Dendrin's game is.\n\nYear 21\n\n\"Besides the hidden cells we already have, I think we can definitely count on the elven population for support when the time comes, I don't think there's a single one that would defend the Empire, if it meant a true end to it. As for the human population well its hit or miss. We know we'll stir up any slaves and probably criminal types looking to take advantage of the chaos. The poorer folk might be a bit divided. Some are still brainwashed fools happy to toil under the iron fist, though happily a lot seem to be grumbling as of late. It'll probably go more to our favor when the revolution goes full swing.\" You tell your fellow shadows.\n\"Good to hear. The reports I get from Cyrus at Fort Defiance are promising as well. He says that he's made contact with the orc commander who has been stirring up a bit of rebellion in the orcs. He's been slowly transferring many of them to Rask and concentrating on having them all rebel there though. This Captain Gruz states it would be too risky to do it with the orc serving on the Felkan frontlines as well since he needs to keep his profile somewhat low and they're probably just going to get killed soon in that meat grinder anyway.\" Brother Gray remarks.\n\"And I still say we should've pushed further on sabotage on that front, not to mention try to convince Gruz to influence the orcs stationed there anyway.\"\n\"Yes, yes, so you've said. Brother Shade isn't it enough that your voice was heard on the orc issue at all? You should be satisfied with that fact rather than pushing for needless recklessness. Your idea contribution was utilized in the best way that will advance Dendrin's agenda. Be happy for such a thing brother.\" Brother Gray responds.\n\nBrother Shade sits back down and scowls, but says nothing else except a few grumbles. He does glare at you as if you're to blame, but it's not your fault. You've been putting in just as much work as everyone trying to cultivate dissension and looking for weaknesses to exploit when the time comes, you sort of hope it comes soon though because even you are getting tired of the waiting around. You're still an Eternal and the desire for combat on a grand scale is still there.\n\nAfter the meeting you head towards your room since you have no more duties for today. As you walk down the corridor Talia catches up with you.\n\n\"Where is Brother Murk, normally he's by your side talking to you after these things.\"\n\"He had to rush to the Delerg province; he had duties to attend to there immediately after the meeting.\n\"I see, for a moment I thought you were going to tell me he was attempting to unsuccessfully attempt to charm sister Bianca again.\"\n\"He probably still did that before he left.\"\n\"I don't know why he puts himself through the hassle. It is obvious she will never feel that way about him.\" Talia remarks.\n\"Oh I dunno, with enough time he might wear her down in twenty years.\"\n\"Perhaps, but his time would better spent elsewhere pursuing a mate. Certain people just aren't made to be together, unlike say us for example.\"\n\nWhile you and Talia have grown slightly closer over the years, you weren't aware it was to that level!\n\n\"Okay Talia, you're going to have to explain in greater detail on this issue, because I'm lost.\"\n\"I intend to. Basically I am choosing you now as a mate. I think you know there is wisdom in this.\"\n\"Wha? Now? Me? Why?\"\n\"Because even though we are all siblings and equals in the eyes of Dendrin, quite frankly WE\u2026\u201d Talia grabs your hand and puts it to her heart and then your own. \u201c\u2026are Eternals. We still have a bond that the others don\u2019t and you\u2019re the only one I believe is worthy for me. Besides, I'm sure you are sick of waiting around for the revolution to get started and are feeling the urge for combat a lot. I figure we could both blow off some of those urges with other intimate activities.\"\n\"\u2026does that really work?\"\n\"I dunno, I've heard it does. It's not like I've tried this before, I guess we'll have to find out, assuming you want to that is\u2026you aren't like Brother Cyrus are you?\"\n\"Hah, no. I just haven't thought about it a lot about it in general. I guess I've got a lot on my mind most of the time.\"\n\"I sensed as much, as you always seem to be deep in thought a lot. Is it anything in particular?\"\n\nYou almost want to tell her how your whole experience with the Shadow Guard has most likely been a lot different from everyone else's. How you don't have faith in Dendrin and how you've personally had several frustrating conversations with him. And most importantly how you always wonder if secretly attempting to overthrow the Empire is even going to work in the first place.\n\nYou don't though because it's only going to complicate things and perhaps you should take the time to relax every once in a while. You aren't even going to wonder if getting it on with Talia is even a good idea at this time. You're just going to act on her advances.\n\nThe pair of you find a secluded spot and embrace. While it's a completely new sensation to the pair of you, it somehow feels natural. Not just the act itself, but rather who you're with. Perhaps Talia was right in thinking that as Eternals you do still have a bond that the others don't.\n\nShe was also right about another thing too, sex does help with some of the pent up energy you both have. The pair of you engage in this activity quite a bit in the months to come.\n\nNear the end of the year, the time to revolt is still no closer, but it would seem a spontaneous riot has broken out in one of the smaller towns just within province and several have been on the verge of doing so. Ever since the Felkan war broke out, the Shadow Guard haven't really been assigned there since the Empire has soldiers coming in and out of the area most of the time so it keeps the idea of rebellion down with the masses.\n\nHowever it would appear that's part of the problem in the first place as a lot of the soldiers have just been taking advantage such as supplementing their food supplies by emptying entire grain storages or fields. The rumors of worse things abound as well, but as always the Empire doesn't pay any attention to such things. The military and its conquest of the Felkan Kingdom is top priority. The peasants are just going to have to make do and suffer through it as always.\n\nNormally soldiers would put down the dissension going on in the province, but most of the military is currently attempting to make a big push on the Felkan Kingdom to break the current stalemate and it doesn't really want to divert any more soldiers than necessary. As the Shadow Guard are supposed to be the secret police enforcers in the first place, your order has been assigned to take care of the problem and the Empire wants an example made of the town of Hewlif which has openly rioted to the point where they've murdered all the Empire soldiers within it.\n\nWhile Brother Shade urges that this would be good time to openly strike, Master Ebon again says no and says the charade still needs to be kept. Even you find this to be a little strange since this would indeed be a good opportunity and judging by some of the other reactions of your fellow shadows they may be in agreement.\n\n\"But how are we supposed to hide any potential rebels this time? I mean this is a whole town that the Empire wants us to wipe off the map!\" Sister Bianca exclaims.\n\"We aren't. We're going to obey the Empire on this one and do exactly what we're told.\" Master Ebon says.\n\"WHAT?! Are you serious? This is supposed to be what we're fighting against! These average ordinary citizens have displayed more courage than you by taking matters into their own hands!\"\n\"Brother Shade!\" Brother Gray snaps.\n\"NO, I will not be silent this time! I must speak! We have the resources, we have infiltrated enough! Now is not the time to sneak about in the background, Dendrin wanted us to be free and I won't let you or this doddering old fool hold us back with your indecisiveness any longer!\"\n\nWithout another word, Brother Shade speeds himself up and moves in for the attack. He can't possibly win even if he does reach Master Ebon in time\u2026unless you attempted to help him.", "action_results": [{"action": "Help in the assassination", "result": "Brother Shade has a point, waiting around for things to happen isn\u2019t why you\u2019re going along with the shadows. You thought they were actually trying to make major changes, but it\u2019s apparent a change in leadership might be indeed necessary.\n\nYou speed yourself up and fire your armbow at Master Ebon, but instead of hitting him it hits Brother Gray instead. He clutches his eye and falls to the floor. You really didn\u2019t mean to hit him though; he just got in the way. Several shadows behind you tackle you to the floor, but this followed by more shadows assaulting your attackers. Apparently you and Shade\u2019s actions have caused a minor civil war within the shadow ranks and those that disagreed with Master Ebon are taking their opportunity.\n\nWhile you\u2019re trying to avoid getting trampled to death, Brother Shade\u2019s attack isn\u2019t as successful; he gets just within reach of Master Ebon before he\u2019s struck down with whatever mind power that Master Ebon apparently has. He displays it quite prominently when Shade instantly clutches his head as if it's about to explode. While that doesn't happen, he does begin to bleed from his ears and nose. He lets out one long scream of pain before collapsing to floor, this causes the current in-fighting to stop and just stare at Master Ebon who is now displaying an expression of fury the likes you\u2019ve never seen on anyone before.\n\n\u201cSO THIS IS WHAT IT HAS COME TO?\u201d He shouts and points over at Brother Gray\u2019s body. \u201cHow can we possibly defeat the Empire if we\u2019re killing each other and doubting Dendrin\u2019s will? If Dendrin right now struck ALL of us dead for this blasphemy, I could not blame him! Nor would I because it is not my place, nor anyone else\u2019s to judge his plans! It is obvious that this order must undergo purification before we are even able to overthrow the Empire! Centuries of planning completely gone, but this is how it MUST be if we are ever to be truly free under Dendrin\u2019s blessed design.\u201d\n\nMaster Ebon pauses a moment and then points in your direction.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019ll start with you for your murder of Brother Gray!\u201d\n\nBefore you can even react you feel a sharp pain wrack your brain then it courses throughout your entire body. It feels like your entire body is on fire and having thousands of blades stabbing you at the same time.\n\nYou begin bleeding, screaming and writhing on the floor just like Brother Shade did with one importance difference, Master Ebon actually makes your head explode into gooey chunks just to get his point across about purifying the shadow order.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Stop the assassination", "result": "Brother Shade has gone too far this time in this foolish attempt at a coup. You didn't think he attempt such a thing, but maybe you should've seen it was coming. As such you feel like it's your duty to try to stop him before he can do any major damage.\n\nYou speed yourself up and fire your armbow at Shade just as he reaches Master Ebon and Brother Gray. It's not a fatal hit, since your bolt amusingly hits him in the ass; however it's enough to throw him off and whatever power Master Ebon has, he displays it quite prominently when Shade instantly clutches his head as if it's about to explode. While that doesn't happen, he does begin to bleed from his ears and nose. He lets out one long scream of pain before collapsing to floor.\n\nEveryone else stands silent as Brother Gray checks to see if he's dead and then confirms it. You hear a quiet whimper of \"I told him.\" come from the crowd. It must be Sister Dusk who was Brother Shade's lover. Even she didn't help him.\n\n\"This is a sad day for all shadows. To think that one of our own would\u2026I cannot speak of it\u2026(Sigh) I am only relieved to see that the rest of you still hold more faith in Dendrin than Shade did.\" Master Ebon say and then looks at you.\n\n\"And I thank you for reacting so quickly brother. I always know your loyalty to Dendrin to be impeccable. I think that's why you need to be one to be in charge of this mission. I know it's grim, but our order has done such deeds in the past. Just think of this as being a means to an end. A means to an end before we're all truly free.\"\n\"I\u2026understand Master Ebon. And I accept your confidence in me.\"\n\nAfter some discussion on the events that just occurred you are instructed to gather together some shadows to help you put down the revolt in Hewlif. You already know who you're going to pick though, Murk, Bianca and Talia, though you're sensing they have the recent event on their minds.\n\n\"It's just like Master Ebon said, this is just one of the things we have to do before we put our own plan into action.\" You say back at your barracks.\n\"I just don't know. I mean I don't agree with Brother Shade's actions on trying to kill Master Ebon, but he might've had a point about all this waiting around. When ARE we going to strike out against the Empire properly?\" Sister Bianca says.\n\"Yeah, I mean I know we've had to kill a lot of innocent people here and there for the Empire to keep up appearances, but we're talking about an entire town here. I just don't know\u2026\" Brother Murk says.\n\nYou can't believe what you're hearing right now. Why all the doubts? Is this the so called faith in Dendrin? You're so frustrated that you lash out.\n\"Oh for\u2026I thought we were all doing this to serve Dendrin! I mean Master Ebon gets his orders from him and then we follow Master Ebon! It's a hierarchy that I THOUGHT we were supposed to adhere to, that's why I tried to stop Brother Shade in first fucking place! I don't have time for this, look if you lack the stomach to do this, I'll wipe out the entire town myself, and won't think twice about it!\"\n\nYou turn from your fellows and storm out of Gloom. As you're walking out you can sense other shadows that don't agree with Master Ebon, give you a few glares on the way out. You don't understand any of this. You thought Dendrin's brainwashing technique made them all utterly loyal, you can see now that it has its limits. Granted the only one that actually did anything against the order was Brother Shade, and he at least had enough courage to try to carry out his convictions, unlike the rest who just stood around to watch him die. You find it ironic that you're probably least faithful when it comes to Dendrin himself, yet your loyalty to the order is a lot more secure.\n\nOn your way to stop at Lenet, you sense someone following you. You turn and see Talia.\n\n\"It's you.\"\n\"And a big greeting to you too, brother! Sheesh, I thought you'd wait for me after your rant at least.\"\n\"I didn't think anyone was interested in coming with me.\"\n\"You should know better than that.\"\n\"So you agree with what I did?\"\n\"Well, I have to admit\u2026and I'd only admit this to you\u2026I sort of thought Brother Shade had a point.\"\n\"Well of course he had a point. I mean for the briefest moment I thought about helping him.\"\n\"You did?\"\n\"Yes, but I didn't because as far as I'm concerned I've chosen a side and for good or ill I fully intend on carrying out its mission or die trying. So if that means I've got to wipe out every town in the Arat province to bring the Empire down, well so fucking be it.\"\n\nTalia smiles a bit at your statement.\n\n\"Now that is why YOU are the only one worthy of me.\"\n\"Oh, you just picked me because Cyrus turned out to be gay.\"\n\"Ha ha! Nah, I already knew what was up with him even back when we were all in Mistresses class. He was always staring that that one classmate of ours\u2026what was his name\u2026oh yeah Gerald. Can't say I blame him though, Gerald was probably the most handsome in class.\"\n\"Hmm. I didn't take much notice of any of that.\"\n\"No I wouldn't expect you would've. You tended to lurk in the background and just focus on the training and your orders. Though you're still focused on your orders, you're a lot more pro-active about it rather than lurking in the background now. I suppose that sort of unquestioning dedication is what makes you a great fighter though.\"\n\nYou thank Talia for her compliment. For the remainder of journey you and her keep the chatter to a minimum. After all it is true that you do prefer to keep your mind focused on the task at hand.\n\nWhen you finally arrive near the town of Hewlet, you see a group a ragged Empire soldiers standing nearby. They hardly look like the Empire's \"best\".\n\n\"Are you the shadow people the Empire sent for?\" one of them asks. He doesn't look very old, in fact he's probably younger than you are. All of them look like that. You didn't realize how bad it was on the Empire's recruitment front.\n\n\"Yes, yes we are and who are you supposed to be?\"\n\"I'm private first class Jones and this is my squad. We're sort of supposed to be watching the town. To make sure none of the dissidents attempt to leave it.\"\n\"And?\"\n\"And what\u2026uh sir?\" Jones asks unsure of how to address you.\n\"And so have any of them left?\"\n\"Um, not really. Well I mean I guess a few did before we arrived, but it looks like the rest are hunkered down in the town. I think they're building barricades around it.\"\n\"How come the Empire hasn't sent a company in there to just wipe them out.\"\n\"Not sure sir, but they said it wasn't the army's priority right now and that's what you Shadow Guard were here for.\"\n\nYou shake your head at the absurdity of this. If there was ever a good argument for overthrowing the Empire this would be it. The sheer inefficiency of this is just ridiculous. Instead of having a group of snot-nosed recruits to play sentry, the Empire could've easily sent in a company of well trained troops to put down the fucking uprising and been done with it! Unless the war with the Felkan Kingdom is going a lot worse than you've heard of course. Right now you're glad you decided to aid the Shadow Guard despite your recent frustration with them.\n\n\"So uh, where are the rest of your people? Are they invisible or something?\" Jones asks.\n\"No, it's just us.\" You answer.\n\"\u2026just you? But there's at least two hundred people in that town!\"\n\"Two hundred? Then that probably means only about fifty have any sort of combat experience, and maybe out of those, ten of which have beyond the basics. The rest\u2026hardly worth thinking about. Still with only two of us here there are bound to be a few escapees. Oh well, we'll do what we can, the rest of you just stay out the way.\"\n\nDue to your cold seriousness, Jones is at a loss of how to respond other than a yes sir. You look at Talia, who nods at you as an indication that she's ready.\n\nThe pair of you don't speed up or use any shadow magic tricks on your way to the town. The sounds of threatening shouts are blocked out as you approach. A few arrows are shot at you, but they are so pitifully aimed you don't even need to dodge most of them.\n\nAs you get closer, you feel the stirring of battle approaching and you can hardly contain yourself. Whether this will help the Empire or the Shadow Guard cause you don't care right now, because all you're thinking about is how finally you'll be getting into a proper battle.\n\nYou sense that Talia feels the same way.\n\nThe following is a bloodbath, the hapless townspeople are no match for you or Talia. You don't even bother speeding yourself up, you rely on natural raw skill. By the time you've butchered most of the combat capable people, the rest of the townsfolk have either run and hid or tried to run off completely. You catch most of the stragglers though when you find a group of small children cowering in their school house (after running one of their teachers through with a sword) you get an idea.\n\n\"Children, this is your lucky day, for today you not only get to be witnesses but also messengers. It is an important message that I want you all to spread to whatever other town you to run to. Tell the people that if they continue to cause trouble, they won't have to fear the Empire, but the Shadows. Oppose the Empire, and you will die. Oppose the Shadows and you will beg for a death that won't come quick enough. We have displayed mercy here today. Remember this.\"\n\nYou then dismiss the children with a wave of your hand who go running and screaming out of the room and probably in several different directions. When you leave the school, Talia waves at you.\n\n\"Hey are we chasing these kids down too? I just saw a bunch of them rushing out of the school crying the whole time.\"\n\"No, I sent them off with an important message.\"\n\"Oh, what was it?\"\n\"Hopefully an incentive for when the big day eventually arrives, the people will be more likely to side with us than the Empire or at least more afraid of us that they won't oppose us. In any case we've done our job here and the Empire shouldn't be bitching about it anymore.\"\n\nYou and Talia take your leave of the newly created ghost town. You wonder if your small idea will have any effect, probably not, though you guess you won't really know until the day of the big revolt comes.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 25\n\nYou settle into the bed of the dead Empire captain for the night. Normally you'd be a lot more alert, but you've got an entire group of shadows here at the conquered Empire outpost, not to mention several elven freedom fighters. You're fairly confident that they'll wake you if a counter attack comes.\n\nFor now though you really need to get a good night's rest. You've been fighting non-stop for the past couple of weeks and you need a quick recharge at least. It doesn't help that the use of shadow magic drains you as well and probably why you don't use it much. Not that you really need to anyway, your natural skills work well enough.\n\nWhile the rebellion has only just gotten started, a lot of progress has been made. All the provinces from what you know of are suffering revolts on some scale. The worst of the lot being Rask where Cyrus has taken control of Fort Defiance. The shadow/orc alliance seems to be working well up there and the rest of the towns aren't exactly in line to help the Empire. Apparently the strongest resistance is from the second Empire fort called Destiny and another Eternal called Captain Kane is in charge. You barely remember him from class, though you heard he made a name for himself wiping out various barbarian tribes.\n\nSpeaking of Eternals, one has been personally put in charge of attempting to eliminate the shadow striker cells like yours. A Captain Roldan. You do vaguely remember him from class. Tended to follow orders to the letter during training. Sort of like you in a way, but different. He was more extroverted you think, you guess that's why he was chosen to be a soldier rather than a shadow. You still don't know the reasoning was for making you a Shadow Guard candidate anyway, if you had to guess it was to try to spy on them.\n\nOf course this all makes you wonder what if you hadn't been chosen? What if you'd been a regular soldier? Would you have been content on just following Empire orders and never knowing any better? You'll never know of course. You've chosen your path and it's best to make most of it. Not that you regret your decision as the rebellion goes well.\n\nAnd with that positive thought you fall asleep. As you drift off you find yourself back in the numbness of the void\u2026\n\n\"It's finally happened. Rebellion across the Empire. Are you finally satisfied?\"\n\"I'm satisfied in that I'm glad we've finally stopped sitting on our hands. Why ask me anyway? You're the one that's been guiding the shadows all this time for centuries to rebel. Shouldn't you be the one that's excessively happy about it?\" you ask\n\"Oh I suppose\u2026\"\n\"You suppose? I don't get you. You act like you don't care one way or another about it!\"\n\"Perhaps the time has passed.\"\n\"What?!\"\n\"Oh don't get me wrong, I once wanted to see the Empire fall because it infringed on my own control over the mortals that were worshipping me at the time. And it's been interesting how over the decades and centuries that my little followers have been building up their strength to defeat them, but quite frankly I figured they would've done it long before then. Now? Well its okay, but I've lost a bit of interest since that time.\"\n\nIf you weren't floating in a void of sensory deprivation you'd yell and scream at Dendrin so loudly that the rage would be felt throughout your body right now.\n\n\"But that's your fucking fault. YOU were the one guiding them! If you wanted them to strike before now, you should've made some sort of sign to Master Ebon, or whoever was in charge at the time!\"\n\"Quite frankly I stopped giving them any advice centuries ago. I found it was much more interesting to see them figure out things on their own. The only time I speak to any of them is during the ceremony process.\"\n\"If that's the case, why all the indoctrination, if you're such a fan of free will?\"\n\"How long do you think that actually lasts? It's only temporary! Just long enough to get them to have faith in me. Whether they continue to follow me or not is all them and on a related note, whatever so called signs the shadow leaders have been talking about are either ones they made up or made up in their heads. Glad to see Ebon finally decided to get off his ass and do something and be interesting for a change though.\"\n\"So I was right! I've been right all along! You're nothing but a fucking fraud. You're not a god at all.\"\n\"No, Eternal YOU got it wrong. It isn't I who is a fraud. It's the religion itself! I didn't originally call ANYONE to worship me. They did that naturally when one of those big hairless monkeys stumbled into a cave and messed around with some lost magical Derro object that opened up a portal where I dwelled. I was perfectly content spending infinity in my own realm until that time, but things change and I took an interest in these new creatures and their world. Wasn't my fault that they saw me as some deity just because they couldn't comprehend me in any other way.\"\n\"You didn't exactly deter that thinking though.\"\n\"Well you have me there Eternal. And I say so what? I gave these creatures purpose, meaning and even magical power! In return they worship me and serve. If you really think about it, is that not the definition of a god? And so what if I have lost interest in my subjects? True, they have proven loyal, but I grow bored with their antics. I seek other stimulus now.\"\n\nAs strange as it may seem you sort of understand Dendrin's point of view. He views humans and mortals in general as you would watch insects. They're interesting to watch for awhile, but after some time has passed you're ready to move on. And really who's to say that if you weren't some powerful being you wouldn't do the same? Still, you have more questions.\n\n\"Okay, but why not move on then if you're so bored?\"\n\"Because I'm not quite THAT bored yet. Besides when you arrived things started to get interesting again. Never had anyone resist my indoctrination so strongly before. I probably could've increased it, but that might've killed you besides I thought it would be more interesting to see if you followed me even without the indoctrination. It's interesting to see that while you have decided to follow the shadow's cause, you have been nothing but indifferent to outright hostile towards the religion even before you found all this out. That displays a grain of imagination and it's mainly why I've been in contact with you. In fact you're about the only mortal I've spoken to on a regular basis in centuries.\"\n\"I guess I'm the lucky one then.\" You remark.\n\"Your sarcasm aside, you actually are lucky, because I'm about to give you some friendly advice. Namely, don't go back to Gloom.\"\n\"What? What are you talking about?\"\n\"That's all you get Eternal. Heed my advice or don't, it makes no difference to me. Talk to you again later perhaps.\"\n\nOnce again you wake up though this time Dendrin gave you some direct information. Quite a bit of it really. You aren't even sure of what to make of all of it. You mean you always knew something was off with the whole shadow religion, but you didn't think he'd actually admit it all to you. Makes you wonder why he did, when he's been so cryptic in the past. Then against perhaps he knows you can't actually tell anyone, or rather you could, but wouldn't be believed and most likely attacked as a heretic. Perhaps that's his little joke on you. Yeah sounds like him.\n\nStill he's also given you a warning of not going back to Gloom. Why? Is something terrible going to happen there? Does he mean forever or just in the near future or is he just trying to play head games with you as usual?\n\nIn reality, you aren't even scheduled to go back to Gloom anytime soon. Your job has been to sew as much chaos as you can across the Quala province. Still, if something bad IS going to happen there, maybe you should try to prevent it or warn somebody or something because right now Brother Gray and Master Ebon are supposed to be preparing a proper army of shadows to march directly on the capital, though not in the traditional way. Apparently they're going to try to use a magical gate to travel through the shadow world and pop up right in the heart of the Emperor's Palace. Such magic is very powerful to use, but also very time consuming and fatiguing. You know they have been going through some sort of long involved ritual which is involving several of the more powerful shadows to link their energy and even draw upon some of the weaker ones. You know Murk and Bianca are there rather than working in a shadow guerilla detachment. (They never quite looked at you the same way again after the incident with Shade.) Talia is also there, though she's one of those lending her powerful shadow magic skills to the ritual.\n\nAnd despite one of the most important events occurring at Gloom right now, the ONLY reason why you'd return there to possibly risk your own life is for Talia. You've grown closer to her in a way that you never thought possible. The relationship you've experienced with her is just one more reason why fighting against the Empire is the best idea you ever had.\n\nStill all of this might be for naught if something happens to Gloom. You still don't know WHAT that could be and for all you know it could just be something that will affect your life not anyone else's. (And from Dendrin's tone, not for the better)", "action_results": [{"action": "Go back to Gloom yourself", "result": "Considering you willingly chose to oppose the Empire, you'd say you've already gotten over the whole putting yourself in great danger bit. You might as well go back to Gloom to find out what's going on if anything at all. If something is happening, then you need to help anyway. If something isn't, well nothing will have been lost except time attending your own duties you suppose. Still there isn't any reason for you to hold up the rest of your group. You call to speak to one of your fellow shadows that you believe to be the most skilled.\n\n\"Sister Yvette, I need to go back to Gloom and no I can't be talked out of it either, but I assure you it is incredibly important. I want you to take charge of this group until I return. I think you know your mission and I'm sure you'll do a fine job.\"\n\"But brother, your orders from Master Ebon are to stay with this group, and do not need to report your progress. He's busy performing the ritual at Gloom at this time, what is so important that you have to go back?\"\n\"It's a long story, but let's just say I've had my own personal sign from Dendrin himself.\"\n\"You\u2026you have? Is something bad going to happen? Should we all go with you?!\"\n\"As I said, you stay here and carry on the fight. I don't know if something bad is going to happen, but if it does, we're going to need shadows like you still doing your job to help bring down the Empire.\"\n\nSister Yvette reluctantly agrees though it's apparent she would either prefer to go with you or for you to stay with the group. You don't know why, since she's actually been a shadow longer than you and should have more confidence in her ability to lead, but it's like with anything, some people are just naturally more gifted than others, even if they are supposed to be equals.\n\nYou make your way back to Gloom as fast as possible, even using some magic to speed yourself up. It's tempting to attack some of the stray Empire soldiers you hide out from along the way, but you need to focus on just getting back. One thing you've noticed though is that you aren't really encountering any soldiers heading in the direction of Gloom. You would've thought (even without the warning) that more Empire soldiers would've been marching that way. In fact this revolt has been going on for months now and there have been no attempts by the Empire to attack Gloom, they've just been focusing on putting out the fires you've been setting everywhere else. You don't know if that's because they're lacking the manpower to adequately attack it due to the Felkan War, if they're just biding their time or maybe it's just Empire incompetence due to them not anticipating this even happening and having a backup plan for it.\n\nEventually you arrive at Gloom the next night. You're a little tired, but you can't let that bother you. When you approach the rock formation you chant the usual words to reveal the opening and descend down the stairs. Gloom is normally a pretty quiet place. Rare is the time where you can hear lots of shouting or the clomping of footsteps.\n\nRight now you're hearing both in abundance, followed by the familiar sounds of metal clanging against metal. Apparently your worst fears have been confirmed.\n\nYou rush down the rest of the stairs and peer around a corner just in time to seem half a dozen heavily armored figures chopping a shadow to pieces with axes. The figures themselves aren't very tall, almost squat like, but their armor still makes them look massive and you can't even see their faces.\n\nIt makes you pause a bit; these are a powerful unknown foe as you've never seen any soldiers like this before in the Empire military and you can only assume they're helping the Empire. You take a deep breath and cast a cloak on yourself along with speeding yourself up again before pressing forward with your attack.\n\nYou try to drive your blade through the armor of one of the figures, but it resists your attempts. The only thing you do manage is to do is knock him off balance long enough for him to tip over completely. You fire a bolt from your armbow at another one. It pierces his full face helm and knocks him back, but apparently not enough to kill him because he doesn't fall down.\n\nThe other four have now turned their attention to you and while you run around striking them with your weapon, your blades just aren't getting through their armor. With your cloak off and your speed wearing down, one of them helps their buddy off the ground and the one with the poison bolt in his face helm has rejoined the fight after having pulled it out. What sort of creatures are these?\n\nYou decide to back off a bit and reassess the situation, and then you make a complete retreat when the six of them start advancing on your position. Your saving grace is they aren't very fast in that armor and you easily find a storage room to hide in. You think you're alone, but you aren't.\n\n\"Brother\u2026 I never thought I'd see you again\u2026\" you hear familiar voice struggle to exclaim.\n\nYou turn and see Murk lying in a corner bleeding profusely. One of his hands is missing and he's holding in his innards with the remaining one.\n\n\"Murk? What's going on? What's happened here?\"\n\"It's the Derro\u2026they've returned\u2026(cough) always heard they abandoned this place. Guess they REALLY want it back.\"\n\"The Derro? How? When?\"\n\"A couple days ago brother. We've been fighting them off here for the past two days, but unsuccessfully I'm afraid. Everything was going well with the ritual and we would've been making a full invasion right in the heart of the capital if they hadn't just suddenly showed up. They disrupted everything. They came out of the damn walls and even from underneath the floors. They aren't as big as us, but the little bastards are the toughest things I've ever encountered and who knows what they look like under all that heavy armor.\"\n\"The Empire is probably behind this attack.\"\n\"Probably, but does it matter? They're killing us and no matter how much we try, we can't beat them!\"\n\"They can't be invincible. Everything dies.\"\n\"Oh yeah, you can kill 'em, just really hard to, due to all that armor. Even without that, though they seem to have some natural magic resistance. (cough) I saw one of those fuckers take a full blast of shadow fire from Master Ebon himself, and he kept coming at him like a golem. It wasn't until Brother Gray stepped in to help that they turned him into blackened heap of melted metal.\"\n\"Where are Master Ebon and Brother Gray?\"\n\"Brother Gray is dead. I saw him surrounded and literally torn apart by those things, I mean they (choke) ripped his limbs off like a rag doll\u2026it was horrible. I don't\u2026even want to\u2026\"\n\nBrother Murk begins to get upset, but you really need him to continue so you can get a better idea of how bad this is and maybe find some way of turning it around.\n\n\"Murk, what about Master Ebon?\"\n\"I don't know. Probably dead! Just like Brother Gray and (sob) Bianca\u2026I tried! I tried so hard to save her!\"\n\"Sister Bianca is dead too?\"\n\"No, not the last time I saw her. A couple of the Derro were dragging her unconscious battered body in chains to one of their invasion entrances. I've noticed they've been doing that with several of the female shadows. I tried to save her, and what you see before you is the result of my attempted heroics. I know she never saw me as a potential mate, but\u2026I don't want to think about what they'll do to her\u2026(sob).\"\n\nThis new information suddenly makes you ask the question that you're afraid to ask.\n\n\"Talia? Did you see them take Talia?\"\n\"No, brother. I haven't seen Sister Talia since the interruption of the ritual. She may still be alive and fighting. Oh why didn't Dendrin prevent this destruction? Why wasn't this foreseen? We were on the verge of victory and now all is lost!\" Murk cries out.\n\"Hey! All isn't lost yet! The Empire WILL fall, I promise you.\" You say looking at Murk.\n\nHe manages a faint smile, but his life force is fading fast.\n\n\"Perhaps it will brother, but I won't live to see it anymore \u2026I'm sorry for\u2026\"\n\"Murk, you don't have\u2026\"\n\nAnd you don't bother finishing you sentence. Murk is dead and even though you drifted apart slightly in last few years, you're going to miss him.\n\nRight now though you need to figure out what you're going to do. Tactically, this looks like a no win situation. From Murk's last words, the Derro have already managed to slaughter most of the shadows and have successfully overrun the fortress. You've already tried to fight a few and didn't make much headway. You might do better to get out of here and inform the remainder of the shadows topside of the bad news so that you can regroup.\n\nOf course the other part of you wants to at least try to find Talia, and even some other shadows that may need your help, because assuming you get out of this alive, you're going to need all the help you can get in continuing your plan to overthrow the Empire.", "action_results": [{"action": "Leave Gloom", "result": "This place is a mass grave at this point, these Derro have left nothing alive and if anyone is, then they\u2019re probably dying like poor Murk was. You need to get out of here now and try to regroup the shadows above ground.\n\nYou make your way back towards the entrance; unfortunately the large group of Derro that were in your way when you entered are still in your way while you\u2019re trying to exit. They\u2019re guarding the entry gate to the stairway up which is now locked so you aren\u2019t going to be able to sneak past them and fighting them is obviously not a winning solution either.\n\nYou find a spot nearby to hide in and wait for hours hoping that the group moves, but they just stand there like statues. You don\u2019t even see them speaking to each other. After even more hours of waiting they still haven\u2019t moved and you have to change your hiding spot anyway, because another group of Derro starts approaching uncomfortably close to your position.\n\nSo you do the only thing you can think of, you sneak back to where Murk\u2019s body was and hide there. You figure eventually they will have to move on.\n\nAfter one day passes you still hear the clanking of armored foot steps roaming about Gloom, you manage to sneak out again and to your dismay the Derro are not only still there, but they\u2019re in the same exact positions. At this point you\u2019re getting very frustrated; you need to get out of here!\n\nSince you\u2019re trapped anyway, you decide to start looking for possible other survivor, though you\u2019re less optimistic now than ever. You spider climb on the ceiling and cloak yourself to avoid the Derro, but you don\u2019t find much save for massacred shadows and Derro patrols thoroughly searching Gloom. You can\u2019t believe how relentless this race is.\n\nIn your search you never do find Talia. Not even her body. You can only hope she somehow managed to escape and didn\u2019t suffer the fate of Bianca. You\u2019d actually rather not think about it. You do find Master Ebon\u2019s body though. He was heavily wounded and alone in some forgotten room, not unlike Murk.\n\nTwo more days pass and you\u2019re still stuck in Gloom. You\u2019ve managed to keep yourself going by raiding the kitchen for food and drink, but the Derro are still all over the place. (And still guarding the entryway) You don\u2019t know if they\u2019ve permanently moved in here or what, but you hope that isn\u2019t the case because that\u2019s going to make escape even harder.\n\nBy day five you get desperate. You come up with a plan to try to kill a few of the Derro guarding the entryway. You fail utterly and are turned back, worse the Derro now realize there is still at least one shadow in the area so they double up on patrols around the entryway and other important zones like the kitchen\n\nOn day nine you\u2019re exhausted from evading Derro patrols. You don\u2019t know how the hell they\u2019ve been managing to track you, but your cloak spell isn\u2019t working anymore. Just as well, because using your shadow magic is draining all your endurance at this point.\n\nOn day twelve you\u2019re awakened by several explosions followed by the stomping of metal boots at a much quicker pace. You can hear shouting in Derro tongue, but you have no idea what\u2019s going on except more explosions are occurring shaking loose the stones and dirt above your head. You step out from your hiding spot and feel the rumbling all over and the strong scent of brimstone and smoke in the air. The Derro have purposely done something to collapse the entire complex!\n\nYou immediately speed yourself up and rush to the entrance as you need to get out now or you\u2019ll be buried alive. Fully expecting that at least the entryway will be open now, you are in for a brutal shock when you see the same group of Derro STILL guarding it despite the fact that the entire place is coming down. If you could even see their faces, it probably would be a look of unconcern on them, because the Derro are still more or less not moving while standing guard.\n\nWith no more hope, you rush into battle in a vain attempt to escape. You don\u2019t make it far, though you give as good of a fight as you can. The battle ultimately ends with you getting an axe in your spine, which is then followed by another axe blow to your left hand severing it.\n\nWhen you collapse to the ground mercy comes swiftly in the form of a large stone falling on your skull.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Search for Talia", "result": "Your main purpose of coming here in the first place was to make sure Talia was safe. You can't leave now without trying to find her or at least her body if she's dead.\n\nYou leave the storage room and decide your best bet would be to keep yourself cloaked the entire time while you search the fortress. You also decide to use spider crawl just to make sure you're really out of sight.\n\nAs you stick to the ceilings of corridors and rooms you survey the carnage of what the Derro have wrought on the shadows. It's almost like they didn't have a chance. You now have to believe that this was why the Empire wasn't attacking Gloom, they had some sort of deal with the Derro to do it for them and since this used to be a Derro home at one time, they probably knew every ancient secret passage and entire layout of it.\n\nYou progressively get more and more discouraged in your search and that's when you hear a voice in your head. Not Dendrin's though, it's distinctly a human one.\n\n\"To\u2026the left and down the hall\u2026hurry\u2026not much time\u2026\" you hear Master Ebon say. Lacking any other ideas, you follow his instructions and make your make to his location from where you are. As you do so, you notice there aren't any Derro in this direction, though there are a few dead ones. You're guessing that the rest of their fellows haven't searched this area as much.\n\n\"The door\u2026at the end\u2026hurry\u2026\"\n\nSensing that there are no Derro in the immediate area, you climb down from the ceiling and prepare to enter the door at the end of the corridor. When you arrive in front of it, you hear a loud click as it opens.\n\n\"Quick, inside!\" a brother says pulling you in by the arm roughly.\n\nA quick glance and you see a couple more shadows both in wounded condition. You then see Master Ebon in some sort of spell trance. He's also wounded, but his status looks a lot worse. He probably shouldn't even be alive with the deep bleeding gashes he displays across his body. A female shadow stands near him also wounded. When you see her face more clearly and recognize her as Talia, your worries are at least divided by half.\n\n\"What are you doing here?\" she exclaims.\n\"I heard the voice of Dendrin and\u2026\" in that moment you realize you've just admitted you've heard his voice for the first time. You then realize this isn't the time to keep it a secret and you continue. \"\u2026he\u2026uh gave me a warning\u2026 are you alright?\"\n\"Just a light wound\u2026wait, you said Dendrin spoke to you? He warned you about the attack?\"\n\"Well, not in so many words. Look we need get out of here, I can explain everything later.\"\n\nYou then hear Master Ebon's voice again. He still isn't speaking verbally though and is using his mind.\n\n\"Dendrin spoke to you? Lucky lad. He hasn't spoken to me since I first became a shadow. I always thought he would eventually, but he never did. I assumed he was testing me, to make my own decisions. Perhaps I offended him by claiming those decisions came from him directly, but I didn't know what else to do\u2026\"\n\"Master Ebon, we can discuss this later, right now we really need to leave!\"\n\"Is Master Ebon speaking to you through his mind?\" Talia asks.\n\"Yes, and what's he doing anyway? He's just sitting there with gashes in his chest deep enough for me to see his heart beating and bleeding out. As I said we need to leave before the Derro kill us all.\"\n\nMaster Ebon interrupts you.\n\n\"They've already succeeded in killing me I fear, but I still have powerful magic\u2026enough to save the remainder of you\u2026to carry on the fight\u2026\"\n\nMaster Ebon's eyes begin to turn completely black, this is followed by his entire body. A shimmering portal then opens up nearby.\n\n\"This\u2026was to take us to strike at the very heart of the Empire\u2026but now just an escape\u2026to friends. Continue the fight there. The Empire will fall as long as you continue to fight. Dendrin I hope you can forgive my failures as I have served to the best of my abilities\u2026I am ready to enter your realm of shadow if you will allow it\u2026\"\n\n\"Master Ebon!\" Talia shouts when she sees his body undergo his transformation.\n\"He can't be helped and he's giving us a chance to escape. We need to take it now!\"\n\"But where is it going?\" the shadow that grabbed you by the arm asks.\n\"He said to friends, but quite frankly it could lead into the middle of an Empire battalion and I think we'd still have better chances! Now come on!\"\n\nWithout another word you all enter the portal. Within seconds your eyes are nearly blinded by the whiteness of snow and you feel a blast of cold air whipping around you.\n\n\"DIE! Shadow bastard!\" you suddenly hear and turn around just in time to avoid a sword strike to the head. Realizing that this is an Empire soldier and not a Derro, you quickly dispatch your assailant who falls turning the snow red.\n\nWhen you said being transported into the middle of an Empire battalion would be a better situation, you didn't actually mean it! Fortunately it isn't quite as bad as all that.\n\nGetting your bearings you notice you're on a battlefield. The bodies of several Empire troops lay on the ground and are mixed in with those of orcs and shadows. A great fortress looms in the distance.\n\n\"Fort Defiance\u2026\" you say to yourself.\n\"Brother, we're over here!\" one of the shadows calls out to you and you run over to the group. (Apparently, all the others teleported to a place out of immediate danger!)\n\n\"Are we in Rask?\" the shadow who grabbed you asks. You still don't know his name, you can only guess he was one of the newer recruits after you joined.\n\"Well it doesn't look like Delurg that's for sure. I'm guessing that group ahead of us fighting the Empire troops are our brothers and sisters from Fort Defiance.\" Talia says.\n\"Looks like it, well no time like the present, we need to go help them.\"\n\"But what about those two? They're badly wounded and can't fight properly.\" The new shadow asks.\n\"(Sigh) Very well, you, what's your name anyway?\"\n\"I'm Brother Gannon. I just joined recently\u2026\"\n\"Yes brother, we can get all that getting to know you stuff out of the way later. I want you to take those two and head over to that fort in the distance. I'm sure they can get help there. What about you Talia, I know you're wounded too, do you need any first aid?\"\n\nTalia draws her weapon.\n\n\"I'll worry about my minor cuts after we take care of this Empire scum.\" She answers in a harsh tone.\n\"Okay then let's go down there and drive back the Empire!\" you answer back.\n\nYou and Talia sprint as fast as you can to where all the action is taking place. Swords are clashed, halberds are swung, skulls are smashed and heads are severed. Mostly all in your favor and the Empire troops were actually losing even before you got here. Still, it's good to be on a winning side of a fight today and you feel energized by the battle.\n\nA short reunion occurs as you finish off the last of the stubborn Empire soldiers.\n\n\"What the\u2026? What are you doing here?! I thought you were supposed to be in the Quala province!\"Cyrus exclaims running his sword through an enemy.\n\"Things change brother and how have you been doing?\" you answer doing the same.\n\"We've been getting wave after wave of Empire skirmishers recently, but nothing serious yet. Honestly I would've thought we would've had a full on assault by now. I think they're trying to whittle us down, it won't work though. We're entrenched and have people all over the area slowly turning the population of Rask against them\u2026is that Talia over there? What's SHE doing here? Last I heard she was supposed to be back in Gloom helping with the ritual that Master Ebon and Brother Gray were doing.\"\n\"Like I said, things change Cyrus.\"\n\nAt this moment there is a lull in the fighting that allows Cyrus to actually stop fighting. He looks at you his expression is one you've never seen before. One of genuine worry.\n\n\"Oh no\u2026what happened?\"\n\nYou don't even know where to begin.\n\n\"Cyrus let's just get through this battle and celebrate THIS victory over the Empire. We can dwell on the troubled times to come later.\"\n\nThe pair of you say nothing more for the rest of the battle which soon ends with your victory. You just wish it was a better one, because it cannot possibly counteract the incredible loss you have suffered this dark day.\n\nYou think back on how you told Murk in his dying breaths that the Empire would fall, you also think back to how Master Ebon believed it would fall in his on dying breaths. If you had to guess, you think Talia probably still believes it and you know Cyrus will even when you tell him all that has happened. The righteousness in the shadows' cause and its unwavering faith in Dendrin has always been its strength that it cannot lose no matter how bad the odds.\n\nOf course it would help if you actually believed all that nonsense.\n\nWhich brings you to your next dilemma: You already let it slip to Talia that you spoke to Dendrin and Brother Gannon was also there to hear it (and maybe even the other two wounded shadows heard it as well) , so it'll probably be brought up after everyone is caught up to speed on the war front and what happened at Gloom. The fact that Dendrin spoke to you is actually why you're here in the first place.\n\nThe question is should you even mention what Dendrin said to you or just lie about what he said? Your own feelings on the situation are that Dendrin, god or not, is not worth following let alone creating a fanatical religion around. He obviously doesn't give a shit about any of you and sees you all as amusing toys at best. However, given the grim situation, the misguided slavish devotion to Dendrin might be the only thing that'll keep their spirits up. Not to mention you wonder if you'd even be believed. Cyrus himself is a very dedicated believer, he may even turn violent and you aren't even sure if Talia would believe you.", "action_results": [{"action": "Tell the truth about Dendrin", "result": "You really can't pay any more lip service to Dendrin after what you know and it's silly to let this charade go on. What's the point of rebelling against the Empire if it was solely built on the whim of a being that doesn't even care about his own followers anymore?\n\nAfter Cyrus catches you up on the situation at Rask, you and Talia tell him what happened at Gloom. Talia fills in the details better since she was actually there. Cyrus seems a little distraught at hearing so many shadows dying nevermind losing the shadow home, but he doesn't seem broken in his goals to continue to fight the Empire.\n\n\"It doesn't matter, we've still got agents in the Quala province and other places. Once we reconnect with the various cells we can regroup. We need to tell the others here though now, the sooner we get this information out the way the quicker they can deal with the loss. The Empire is desperate and we'll overcome whatever else they decide to throw at us because Dendrin will see us to victory.\"\n\"Yeah, about that I've got some more to tell you, in fact Talia you'll want to hear this as well. And before I start I need to both to not interrupt until I'm finished. Afterwards you can do what you like.\"\n\nThis gets their attention and they sit down to listen to your tale. You start from the moment Dendrin first spoke to you and go from there. The look on both of their faces is first one of shock then as you explain more, Cyrus' face is one of calmness with a simmering anger that is only growing with every \"blasphemy\" you speak about Dendrin. He eventually closes his eyes as if blocking out the sight of you will help keep him from attacking you.\nTalia's expression displays more of a concern than anger. You aren't sure if it's because she believes you or is pained by the idea that someone she loves is basically speaking out against something she has placed unwavering faith in.\n\nYou'll soon find out you suppose.\n\nWhen you finish, there is a moment of silence and then Cyrus takes a deep and opens his eyes. You feel him staring right through you and you are ready to fight if necessary, but he speaks instead.\n\n\"Is that it?\" he asks.\n\"Yes.\" You reply.\n\"What the hell do you hope to gain by this?\"\n\"Wha? Nothing, I just feel that the\u2026\"\n\"And I'm supposed to believe this shit?\"\n\"Believe what you want Cyrus, it's the truth.\"\n\"No, it isn't! Look I can believe that Dendrin perhaps warned you about Gloom because it was a dire situation, but I DO NOT BELIEVE\u2026\" Cyrus catches himself raising his voice and then stops to calm down again.\n\n\"I do not believe that you were speaking to him on a regular basis. Only Master Ebon could speak with him in such a manner!\"\n\"He couldn't speak to Dendrin at all! He even admitted as much before he died! Talia was there for that, come on back me up here!\"\n\nTalia turns away and hides her face. It's obvious now that she believes you, but doesn't WANT to believe you. Her silence though doesn't help in convincing Cyrus.\n\n\"Just because you're mates doesn't mean you're allowed to bully her into your heretical way of thinking!\"\n\"What? No! Look, I can drag in Brother Gannon and confirm it as well since I'm pretty sure he heard everything as well!\"\n\"No, you're not poisoning anyone else with this shit. I can't believe\u2026I mean where do I fucking start? You've stood here and just admitted that you've never been a believer in Dendrin! That's the whole foundation of our organization!\"\n\"Okay first of all I never said I didn't believe in him. He's very real and I know because he's been playing games with the shadows for centuries and fucking with my head since I met the bastard.\"\n\"Yes, so you've said. So why you? You say that when you first met him during the ceremony that you resisted him and then gave in only to save your own life. You even said you still weren't sure if you weren't going to turn us all in to Mr. Mol when he questioned us that one time. Why would Dendrin speak with someone whose faith in him was so lacking?\"\n\"Fuck, I don't know Cyrus! Don't you think I've tried to figure that out? My best assessment? He's a sadistic fucker that gets bored easily so he finds new ways to amuse himself.\"\n\"You insult Dendrin one more time and it'll be your last.\" Cyrus warns.\n\"Oh fuck you Cyrus, you've wanted to kill me since we were Mistresses class. Just admit it and stop hiding behind an excuse.\"\n\"Really? Is that what you think? Because if it is, then you're wrong about that as well. Yes, it's true I didn't like you for a long time, but after that moment when all of us walked out of Mr. Mol's interrogation room without betraying the shadows and staying true to the cause my opinion of you changed. I saw then we really were as brothers. Pity it turned out to be a lie. A horrible vicious lie.\"\n\nAt this point Talia steps in.\n\n\"So where does this leave us?\"\n\"What do you mean?\" you ask.\n\"I mean you've been keeping this all a secret for years. Why tell us now when things are at their worst for us?\"\n\"I\u2026don't know. Maybe because things ARE at their worst and if we're going to continue this fight against the Empire, then we need to do it for the right reasons rather than for the misguided devotion of a false god\u2026\"\n\"DENDRIN IS NOT A FALSE GOD!\" Cyrus snaps and attempts to tackle you. You and he roll around on the floor punching each other for a while until you both finally break a few pieces of furniture and back off to catch a breather. Talia tells the both of you stop fighting.\n\nAs you stare at him from across the room, you know that some part of him must be questioning his beliefs. If he really thought you were completely full of shit, he would've made more of an effort to try to kill you. And this scuffle tells you is he's pissed at you for making him question his beliefs. Still doesn't mean he won't try to kill you later if you press this issue, but it's more than you could've hoped for.\n\n\"Look Cyrus, I know this sucks and maybe Dendrin is a god\u2026 I know he certainly thinks he is, but I'm still not following him. It's enough that I have to listen to his cryptic warnings and outright taunts on a random basis. I do see the need for the Empire to fall because it's corrupt, it's inefficient, and it's oppressive. However, I also see that in this shadow organization. How can you be against something when you're part of something else that's just as bad?\"\n\nCyrus doesn't answer he's still standing there fuming at you, but Talia says something.\n\n\"I understand what you're saying, but Dendrin has at least given us our powers and shadow magic. Maybe everything what you've said about him is true, but does it really matter? In a way he sparked this rebellion centuries before any of us were even around. Without him, would their even been a rebellion able to hurt the Empire as bad as it has? I mean even with all that happened at Gloom, I still believe as Cyrus does that victory will come. I'm sure the orcs, the elves, the poor, the criminals and others all have their own reasons for wanting to see the Empire fall. Does it really matter why as long their beliefs carry them to see it through?\"\n\"(Sigh) No, I guess it doesn't Talia, but maybe for ME it does and I can't be a shadow anymore, or at least not one that buys into this worship of Dendrin. I can't live a lie and just go through the motions anymore. Now I will continue to fight the Empire. I'm still here for that, if I wasn't I would've betrayed you all to Mr. Mol years ago. Though I might be fighting the damned Empire for the most clich\u00e9 reason ever now, which is love. When we bonded Talia, that's what gave me more of a purpose to fight the Empire more than anything. It's why I even went back to Gloom AFTER Dendrin told me not to. I couldn't leave you in potential danger.\"\n\"Oh fucking spare me your romantic sense of nobility!\"\n\"Cyrus stop!\" Talia yells.\n\"He's just using honeyed words to get you on his side and somehow excuse his blasphemy. I can't believe you're even listening to him or even trying to see his side of things.\"\n\"Oh really Cyrus and your reasons for fighting the Empire are purely for Dendrin huh?\" you say.\n\"Of course, why else would they be?\"\n\"Oh I don't know, maybe a certain shadow by the name of Draven comes to mind? Sure you aren't just a little more dedicated because of him?\"\n\"You leave Draven out of this!\"\n\"Fine, but your little outburst just proved my point. You're ready to fight me again just for mentioning his name which proves you might be doing a little of this for love as well.\"\n\"I'm ready to fight you again, because you're attempting to sew chaos and dissent and I for one have had enough! If you want to abandon Dendrin fine. If you want to continue fighting the Empire for your own reasons fine. But you're not doing it here. I want you out of my fucking fort and I don't want to see you ever again!\"\n\"You can't kick me out, you're not head of the fucking shadows.\" You laugh.\n\"Oh no? All of our leaders are dead! WE are the next in line if you haven't noticed and quite frankly I've got more support than you do. Always have. And if I wanted to I could expose your heresy to the shadows in the fort and have your head right now. The only reason why I'm not? Because I'm doing this out of respect for Talia and at one time I did consider you my brother. But you're nothing to me now. You're not an ally, you're not a brother, you're not a friend!\"\n\nYou look over to Talia hoping for support, but she offers none.\n\n\"Talia, aren't you going to help me over here? All your professed love for me meaning nothing? Aren't we supposed to be mates?\"\n\"And we always will be my love\u2026but I cannot follow your path. I just can't\u2026I'm sorry\u2026\"\n\"But\u2026\" you start to say, but you see that it won't do any good. You thought you were getting through to them too, but it would appear that even in the face of the truth, they are willing to stay in denial. Not even love can overcome faith it seems.\n\nYou gather up all your belongings and start to leave, but you turn to address both of them before doing so.\n\n\"You both know I'm right and you know why? Because all three of us have another bond and that's the fact we're Eternals and as such we have a tendency to acknowledge a hierarchy especially among our own kind even if we don't want to do it. Cyrus, I'm stronger than you, I'm smarter than you and just better than you in general. You've always known that. If we were in any other organization, I would be your superior officer or leader and what I would say would be unquestioned because you'd know that as your superior, I'd ALWAYS be right. You just can\u2019t admit it to yourself and let's face it, given how you flaunted how much support you had and how our leaders are dead, I'd say your true Eternal colors are finally showing. Talia\u2026well I think you know where we stand. You were the one that brought up our bond as Eternals years ago. One would think that you would be listening to that instinct now, but for some reason you're not. When you're ready to tell me, I'll be around.\"\n\nWith those last words you leave Fort Defiance wondering if they'll ever face the truth. In the mean time you now have to figure out how to fight a one man war against the Empire. A daunting task to be sure, but part of you feels strangely free now that you've officially broken away from the shadows. Time will tell if you've broken away from Dendrin however.", "action_results": [{"action": "Time passes\u2026", "result": "Year 30\n\nYou throw another log on to the fire in an effort to keep warm. A futile task, but it's better than freezing. You'd like to stay in a town, but Empire troops seem to be everywhere in Rask nowadays ever since they halted the war with the Felkan Kingdom. From what you hear it wasn't exactly on favorable terms either, but you imagine that they needed to just so they had enough manpower to fight the rebellion.\n\nAnd if it isn't them, then it\u2019s the shadows who you've had a few unfortunate runs in with over the past couple years. Seems Cyrus told everyone you were a heretic after all. You aren't really surprised though, you even understand it. He's trying to solidify his power base and he still sees you as a potential threat even though you have no desire to take anything he has, let alone the shadows. You haven't even heard Dendrin's voice since you left the shadows and while you're glad of that, it's still like everyone has completely abandoned you. (Your shadow magic abilities have weakened quite a bit, but aren't gone completely, so you're guessing Dendrin's probably still watching you for whatever twisted reason.)\n\nYou wish you could figure out why Talia turned on you though, but the only answer you can come up with is her bond with the shadows was stronger than her bond with you despite everything you shared.\n\nIt doesn't sadden you so much as it disappoints you though perhaps you had too much faith in the relationship. You laugh to yourself about that one since you probably lost faith in the Empire and Dendrin quicker than you did in Talia. Even now you still hold out the hope that she'll return to you and see that her own in Dendrin is incorrect.\n\nOf course this also makes you question why the hell you're still doing all this. Like fighting the Empire for instance, why are you still bothering? When you were first part of the shadows, you were united with them in their cause if not their reasons. It wasn't probably the best motivation, but it was enough for you at that point because back then you were so damn confused about who you should even be loyal to.\n\nWhen you got together with Talia, your motivation became stronger. However that motivation is all gone. Talia isn't around and the shadows have for the most part turned on you. Why bother? What are you getting out of it really? Even if the Empire does fall, then what? The shadows original plan was to go back to their old ways of private worship, but if Cyrus' leadership is any indication that plan will be thrown out. He'll most likely just try to carve out a nation of his own using similar oppressive measures.\n\nYou doubt he'll get the chance though. Sure the Empire has been greatly weakened, but by your observations it'll eventually overwhelm the rebellion through sheer numbers alone and things will most likely go back to the way they were before and the people will just accept it. It's not like your efforts are even appreciated by anyone at this point. The more you think about it, the more you think how you probably should've just stayed loyal to the Empire. You would've saved yourself a whole lot of hassle.\n\nYou wonder if you're just going through the motions because you don't have anything better to do. Though perhaps that's not entirely true, there is ONE thing that has stayed with you and that's your love of battle.\n\nYou think that has to be a major part of it. You could be fighting Empire soldiers or shadows and it ultimately wouldn't matter to you (And it really doesn't at this point because they're both hostile to you) you just like getting into the thick of combat and striking down whatever enemy that's in your way. Makes you think you'd probably be better off working as a mercenary like those svelk do. Unfortunately you don't really have that option considering both sides of this conflict hate you. If you wanted to pursue that life you'd have to move on to a different land somewhere, after the world has to be a bigger place than what you've seen right?\n\nStill, you aren't and have never been motivated by money. You figure if it really is battle lust that's keeping you going then you might as well stay here since there's no shortage of it. And despite your brief period of re-assessing your situation, you are still hoping Talia will one day see the light and come back to you.\n\nIn the meantime you're just going to have to live off the land and continue the fight though you don't even know how much longer that's going to last, Captain Kane has been pushing for final victory a lot harder lately.\n\nYou know Cyrus has sent out assassination attempts against him, but they've all failed. Kane might not have the fancy shadow tricks, but he's still an Eternal and a pretty vicious one. Really you're sort of disappointed that Cyrus wouldn't at least try to do the deed himself, if he's serious about being a leader.\n\nLikewise Kane has tried to take Fort Defiance, but so far it has lived up to its name, the problem though is it won't for long. The Empire has slowly been putting down the major rebellions in the south, and Captain Roldan has been hunting the remaining shadows still down there and doing a good job of it too. This means more troops have been getting sent up to Rask lately. Not enough to finish off the shadows, but enough to start making a difference in swinging the long stalemate.\n\nIt doesn't help that the alliance with the orcs has broken down with the shadows and you've heard rumors that their ring leader Gruz was finally caught in the act of sabotaging and misinformation and executed. Flog took it upon himself to take charge and didn't agree with how Cyrus was doing things since the orcs were still taking the brunt of the casualties. One would think this would've ended in bloodshed, but Flog apparently was remarkably forward thinking for an orc.\n\nFlog took the remainder of his people and headed even further north to where the giants, ogres and other manner of monsters make their homes. As far as he was concerned the Empire wasn't going to ever be able to extend its territory that far north in the state they're in and saw no more reason to waste more lives to help the shadows (who only saw them as tools anyway).\n\nAs it stands the shadows, civilian dissidents and even some soldiers that turned traitor are about all that's left to defend Fort Defiance. Village and town support is next to nil now. There are probably still a few rebel bands hiding in the wilderness (much like you do) but you'd venture to say that they do even less damage than you do, which is pretty sad considering they at least have a bit more support and people than you do.\n\nThis rebellion will be crushed in a few months if something doesn't change quickly and about the only thing that's going to do that at this point is doing something Cyrus has been failing to do: Killing Kane. Get him out of way and it'll probably take months for the Empire to get their shit together before they put in an equally competent person. (You'd guess that will probably be Roldan, but you'll have to deal with that later.) It'll give the rebellion a bit of breathing room up here in Rask at least.\n\nThe question is how to do it. You could try to break into Fort Destiny, but security there is always at maximum and your shadow magic stealth tricks aren't as strong now. Even trying to disguise yourself as a guard might only get you so far. Still, you can always trust that your combat skills will get you through day if magic and trickery fail.\n\nYou also could wait for an opportunity for Kane to leave the fort, he does do that from time to time when he wants to make an example of a town or engage in a major battle. The problem is the next major battle he'll probably engage in is trying to take Fort Defiance again, and by that time it'll be too late since he'll probably win this time.\n\nThis means you're going to have to do something that'll make him so angry that he'll want to make an example of some hapless village that isn't falling in line with the Empire.", "action_results": [{"action": "Sneak into the fort", "result": "Elaborate plans usually mean more chance of failure, better to just stick with a simple assassination where you\u2019re at least sure to face Kane. You make preparations mainly in the form of a making a strong poison. The shadows always used them on their bolts, but given that Kane\u2019s an Eternal he\u2019s not going to be floored by the stuff instantly. Ideally you\u2019ll get a single shot while he\u2019s asleep, but who knows how this is going to play out so you take the time to heavily poison several small throwing daggers you\u2019ll take with you as well. Not very sporting perhaps, but you\u2019re trying to accomplish a very difficult task by yourself as quickly as possible.\n\nThe next day you make you way to the outskirts of Fort Destiny, making sure to avoid getting spotted by the multiple patrols along the way. One thing about the Empire is they typically stick to certain building designs. While you weren\u2019t in Fort Defiance very long you do remember the layout. If you\u2019re lucky, Fort Destiny\u2019s layout should be similar.\n\nSneaking about and scaling the walls of the fort aren\u2019t really a problem for you. You don\u2019t even need to rely on your magic that much. You make things easier for yourself by slitting the throat of an isolated guard in one of the towers and disguising yourself in his clothing and armor. It won\u2019t fool everyone, especially if they take a closer look, but it should help.\n\nAs you make your way through the fort you\u2019re relieved to find that the layout is indeed very similar to Fort Defiant\u2019s layout. This will make escape a lot easier. The closer you think you\u2019re getting to Kane\u2019s quarters the larger amount of soldiers standing around as guards. Eventually you get to a point where there\u2019s no way you\u2019ve going to be able to bluff or sneak your way in. You\u2019re going to just have to kill them, the problem is that\u2019s going to alert everyone. So you do the only thing you can think of.\n\nYou cloak yourself and start tossing your poisoned throwing daggers at the soldiers. Naturally you catch them off guard and the poison is strong enough to kill them almost instantly. While you\u2019ve cleared the way and done it as silently as you were able, there\u2019s still enough noise of their lifeless bodies hitting the floor.\n\nThis is just enough noise to alert Kane who was sleeping in his quarters, or perhaps he wasn\u2019t sleeping since when he steps out of his room, he\u2019s fully dressed in battle armor (It\u2019s entirely possible he sleeps in it though) with axe in hand.\n\nHe\u2019s certainly as imposing as his reputation.\n\nWasting no time you throw your remaining daggers at him and shoot your armbow bolt at him. The daggers unfortunately are deflected from his armor or he dodges them completely, the bolt sinks into his arm, but the poison doesn\u2019t seem to slow him down.\n\n\u201cPfah! You shadows and your poisons. I developed immunities to those years ago! Now fight like a man!\u201d he says and charges at you.\n\nYou block his attack just barely. In fact he keeps on the pressure for a good five minutes before you can even maneuver in such a way to attack back. By this time more soldiers have arrived, but Kane shouts at them saying he wants to slay you himself. They obey, but there\u2019s enough of them to block all the immediate exits. This is pretty grim, even if you win, you don\u2019t see how you\u2019re going to get out alive, unless you impress them so much with your victory that you break their morale.\n\nOf course first you have to win, and right now that\u2019s looking more doubtful by the second. Kane is matching you in combat skill in everyway. In fact he\u2019s actually a little bit better than you and you\u2019re forced to rely on your shadow magic to give you a slight edge.\n\nIt doesn\u2019t give much of one though; Kane\u2019s slaughtered so many shadows trying to assassinate him with magic that he\u2019s developed his own battle style against them. Your own weak magic is more of a hindrance to you in the long run as you quickly begin to get fatigued from using it.\n\n\u201cWhat\u2019s the matter outcast? Weak magic, because you\u2019re no longer Dendrin\u2019s favored? Ha ha! I know who you are and you\u2019re a disgrace to the name Eternal!\u201d Kane remarks and slams you into the wall with all of his weight. You feel like all the air has left your body and you struggle to catch your breath when you receive another slam to your head with his metal gauntlet.\n\nBleeding from your head and lying prone of the floor isn\u2019t a great position during any sort of fight and this one is no exception. Kane wastes no time in finishing you off with an axe blow to your face.\n\nThe Butcher of Rask has claimed another victory.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Lure him out", "result": "If you actually had a little help, you probably would be able to pull off killing him in the fort, but the risks are too great and while you might have a love of battle, you also have a strong sense of self-preservation. So luring Kane out it is.\n\nThe next day you come up with a plan and your first step is seeking out a lone peasant. It doesn't take long and after you get him to calm down you ask him a few simple questions such as if he has family, where he lives, is he part of the rebellion, etc.\n\nHappily he's pretty informed on things being a travelling peddler and all. He ultimately tells you he has no ties to the rebellion, but he's aware of certain villages that he's visited that still have sympathies a lot stronger than they let on. You make a note of where to head to for the third step of your plan. The second step involving killing the peasant and disguising yourself as him, well not as him, but as another wandering merchant.\n\nAfter disposing of his body you set off towards the town of Volgst. You start off by assessing the Empire strength there. It's moderate, but nothing that couldn't be handled. It's obvious the people are just trying to go about their business, but if what the peddler said was correct, this place has just been temporarily cowed into submission due to occupation and closer proximity to Fort Destiny.\n\nYou decide to head to the local tavern and take in some of the atmosphere. You order a drink sit at a table in the corner and pretend you're just going through some of your inventory. You get a few people asking you about some of the jewelry you have on the table. To you it looks cheap and it probably is, so you don't charge much, just what you think its worth since you aren't here for that anyway.\n\nYou sit there a few hours and then finally some Empire soldiers come through the door. The tavern gets a bit quieter and that's when you decide to make things louder again.\n\n\"Hey barkeep! Gimme another ale!\" you shout walking up to the bar interrupting the soldiers who were attempting to order their own drinks.\n\"Uh, hold on sir. I just have to serve these gentlemen first.\"\n\"Oh come on, I was here first and they aren't supposed to be drinking on the job anyway!\"\n\nAt this point one of the soldiers addresses you.\n\n\"We happen to be off duty right now citizen.\"\n\"Off duty? When there are rebels running around all over the place? What the hell man? You should be out there killing the sons of bitches, not getting drunk!\"\n\"I can assure you we are, and citizen you need to calm down.\"\n\"Why is it taking so long anyway? Is that captain of yours just sitting on his fat ass in that fort all day while rebels terrorize the area? I thought the Empire was supposed to be doing something about it, but it looks like it's as impotent as ever!\"\n\nAt this point now several bar patrons start to take notice, some try to get you to calm down, others just outright leave. The soldiers to your surprise haven't tried to kill you yet. It's almost like they're trying to diffuse the situation and dismiss you as some loudmouth drunk because all they really want to do is relax after a long day. Oddly enough, you can understand it, unfortunately you can't relax either.\n\nYou step it up and physically push one of the soldiers. That does it, and the swords come out. You kill two soldiers almost immediately, the third one runs off for help, leaving the fourth one to try to finish you off. He fails miserably when you run your sword through his chest.\n\nThree bodies lay at your feet and several patrons are in shock along with a very scarred bartender.\n\n\"What the fuck did you just do? We're all dead men!\" he screams.\n\"You were dead long before I got here. Now if you want to live, you'll help me fight these Empire assholes and get them the hell out of this town.\"\n\"You dumb fuck, don't you realize they'll just send more troops? The Butcher of Rask himself will probably come here himself and lay waste to the entire town!\"\n\"That's what I'm counting on. Now I know this place still has rebellion sympathies, and I'm telling you right now, if you really want to be free of the Empire you'll start helping me rather than hiding\u2026or don't if your conviction is lacking. Either way I'm stepping outside and I'm going to be killing Empire soldiers and I'm not stopping until all of them are fucking dead. Do what you like.\"\n\nYou take your leave at this point and face the small platoon of soldiers that is running in your direction. You don't use any shadow magic, just pure skill to put soldier after soldier down. After you've killed about six of them in the open street, some of the citizens actually start growing a backbone and begin to help.\n\nA riot ensues and you've accomplished your mission. The remaining soldiers are quickly overwhelmed and those that aren't manage to run off. You could easily catch up with them, but you figure Kane will show up quicker if someone's alive to talk about what happened. While the celebrating is going on, you take the opportunity to slip away before someone holds you up as some sort of hero when you really aren't. This is all just a means to an end to you.\n\nYour escape back into the wilderness isn't completely unnoticed though and you draw your weapon again when you sense yourself being followed.\n\n\"Alright I know somebody is following me\u2026shadowing me even. Might as well come out now so we can get this over with because no cloak is going to help hide you.\"\n\nA lone shadow materializes. To your surprise it's Brother Gannon. He's little older now and a lot more worn looking, almost beaten. He has no intention of trying to kill you.\n\n\"Did you have to do that? That place was one of the few towns left that was still able to sneak supplies to us! When Kane finds out what happened he's going to destroy the place! We're suffering from a lack of supplies and allies as it is!\" he exclaims.\n\"Yeah? Well maybe if Cyrus was taking a more personal hand in this war like I just did, he'd be inspiring more people to follow him more openly. What the hell happened to him? I've been out here on my own for five fucking years and I've seen nothing but Cyrus make mistake after mistake! Pulling back and attempting to lay low? Losing your orc allies? Not reconnecting with the shadows south of Rask?\"\n\"Actually we did try to do that, but\u2026(sigh) nevermind you're right it's all gone horribly wrong. Master Cyrus' leadership isn't like Master Ebon's. I mean I know he's the one that's guiding us and speaking to Dendrin personally, but his need for control is so uncompromising sometimes. As much as I hate it, I'm actually glad I got assigned to be this town's liaison, anything to be out of that fort! He keeps saying that Dendrin won't let us lose and that final victory will come, but it seems so bleak now. I'm trying to keep the faith, I'm really trying, but\u2026oh why won't Dendrin just hear our prayers and help us now?\"\n\nYou shake your head and smile at the delusion that continues to plague the shadows. \"Why should he? It's more amusing for him to see you all desperately try to squirm out of your hopeless situation.\"\n\nThis cynical (yet true) answer is met with a dead silence. Poor Gannon looks so forlorn that he's probably agreeing with you in his head. Gannon might come in useful though so you decide to try to not break his spirit completely.\n\n\"However, MAYBE Dendrin did answer your prayers, namely in the form of me. I probably just bought you all a little more time.\" You add.\n\"What? Your big plan to kill Kane? The Butcher of Rask? I heard you down there in the tavern! If Captain Kane even comes he's going to come with a company of elite soldiers not by himself! Besides, Cyrus sent the best shadows against him and he's killed them all! Why do you think you have a chance?\"\n\"Simple. I'm an Eternal and if Cyrus remembered that he was instead some Dendrin worshipping fool, we wouldn't be in this situation now.\"\n\"Yeah? Well Sister Talia is one of you Eternals too, she could've done something as well. I don't see you blaming her.\"\n\nYou grab Gannon by his collar before he can react. You stop yourself from killing him, because you know he's just pissed at his lot in life right now. Not to mention he's got a point.\n\n\"You know what you're right. She could've. It's not really important right now though, what IS important is that we get prepared for Kane's arrival.\"\n\"We?\"\n\"Oh yes. You want to help turn things around, you'll help me.\"\n\"How?\"\n\nHow is a good question. The easiest way is to have him help you organize the townsfolk so that they can at least put up a good fight against the soldiers while you take care of Kane.\n\nThe long shot would be to send him back to Fort Destiny to explain your plan and hope he can convince the shadows to come help you. It's a gamble, but maybe Cyrus hates the Empire just a little more than he hates you.", "action_results": [{"action": "Send Gannon back", "result": "While the people of this town can probably put up a bit of resistance, they aren't going to last too long if Gannon is to be believed. You need some help of worth, so you tell Gannon that he needs to go report back to his master.\n\n\"What? Master Cyrus isn't going send anyone to help a heretic like you!\"\n\"He will if he wants to keep this town still supplying you lot. I'm not asking him to come down here himself, since I know that would be too much for him now, but I'm saying he could at least send some shadows down here to help kill someone who is detrimental in your continued existence. However, regardless of what you or Cyrus decide I\u2019m going to be fighting the Empire, because contrary to popular belief, I'm not your enemy.\u201d\n\nAnd with those words you head back to your campsite to get prepared. You check up on the town the next day and see they\u2019re already starting to barricade the place. If they\u2019re lucky, you figure they\u2019ll only lose about a half of the town before the battle is over. A couple days later you scout a little further south of Volgst and that\u2019s when you see a large group of soldiers approaching. Several on horseback, many more on foot and unfortunately a single catapult as well. If Kane is actually with them, you\u2019d guess he\u2019d be on horseback, but then you can\u2019t tell at this distance.\n\nYou find a good elevated spot in some trees and when the mass of troops get in range you do a little sniping with your bow which you\u2019ve gotten a lot better with over these past five years thanks to your need to hunt on a regular basis (And certainly a lot better than your single shot armbow which you practically never use anymore) You fire at the ones on horseback first, you don\u2019t get Kane, but you do find out he\u2019s the one that starts shouting the loudest about getting that sniping sonofabitch. Turns out he was walking the entire time. You try to aim for him, but now the chaos is so great within ranks that he wisely takes advantage of getting lost in the mass.\n\nDoesn\u2019t take long before they figure out where it\u2019s coming from and start responding in kind. You immediately dash from your position and retreat deeper into the wilderness. A group of soldiers are sent to look for you though you dispatch them with relative ease as you use the terrain to your advantage.\n\nBy the time you\u2019re done with the goon squad that was sent after you, the rest of them are hastening their way towards Volgst. If Cyrus is sending anyone, they\u2019re obviously coming at the eleventh hour, or more likely not at all. Can\u2019t say you\u2019re surprised, but it would\u2019ve been nice to have some help.\n\nWhen you make it back to the outskirts of Volgst, you see that it\u2019s prepared for a frontal assault. You watch from distance for about a half hour before Kane\u2019s company arrives. He doesn\u2019t bother with any sort of diplomacy and orders the catapult to fire. A rock smashes through the barricades and the make shift wall that was set up in front of the town. They\u2019re wide open for the Empire troops to pour in now, with the Butcher leading the way.\n\nYou make your way towards town and jump into the battle, which naturally isn\u2019t going well for the citizens of Volgst. When you arrive it gets a little better, but even you can\u2019t stop the carnage and what will probably be the utter destruction of Volgst. Right now though all you\u2019re trying to do is seek out Kane and kill him.\n\nAnd as luck would have it, you bump into him, or rather the pair of you catch sight of each other in the middle of the chaos. He doesn\u2019t dodge you or even make any sort of threatening war cry, he just walks straight towards you and you to him.\n\nWhen he stands before you, he certainly displays the signs of a battle-hardened warrior, but there\u2019s something more to it than just his size, armor and scars. It\u2019s his eyes. Not like a hate filled wraith behind them, but more like he\u2019s experienced something that\u2019s caused the light in them to go out. Almost soulless.\n\n\u201cThe Butcher of Rask, himself. At last we meet.\u201d You say.\n\u201cYes, and you would be the shadow outcast and it will be a pleasure to finally bring you to the Emperor\u2019s justice that you\u2019ve evaded for so long.\u201d\n\u201cHmm, guess you better get to it then.\u201d\n\nKane swings his axe, which you dodge and the battle is joined.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re weak. You cannot hope to win this battle.\u201d He says preparing for another swing.\n\u201cRight now, just getting rid of you will be sufficient.\u201d You reply.\n\u201cYou think you can best me? This isn\u2019t Mistress\u2019 class anymore and you\u2019re no Eternal. When I look at you, I see the mockery of what is supposed to be an Eternal. You\u2019re not even a shadow. You are a pariah that has no honor at all. You\u2019re part of the sickness that has infected the Empire. A sickness that will be cut out and purified like all others.\u201d\n\nWhile Kane tells you what he really thinks about you, he\u2019s also matching you in combat skills. To be quite honest you might\u2019ve been a little too over confident in your abilities because he\u2019s really putting you to the test. It doesn\u2019t help that in the midst of this one on one fight you also have to dodge other attacks. You use a little shadow magic to speed yourself up and it helps, but it isn\u2019t nearly as strong as it once was not to mention you feel the drain a lot quicker. You land a couple of good hits on Kane before you have to stop from fatigue. Kane however has no such problems and isn\u2019t slowed at all by his wounds\n\n\u201cIs that the extent of your precious shadow magic outcast? No wonder you were kicked out.\u201d Kane says and catches you with a glancing blow across your chest followed by a hefty to your left knee, which causes you to lose balance and fall. You barely roll of the way of his next swing.\n\nYou stagger back up only to get your sword knocked out of your hand when you attempt to block another of Kane\u2019s axe blows. Becoming desperate you fire your armbow and a bolt flies into Kanes chest. It doesn\u2019t stop him and he charges into you knocking you back onto the ground. He doesn\u2019t follow up with his axe this time, instead he puts all his crushing weight upon your chest by sitting on it and attempting to choke the life out of you with his own hands.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re going to die here today, because you believe in nothing and that makes you nothing and when I\u2019m finished choking the life out of your pathetic body I\u2019m going to eat your fucking heart because I can.\u201d Kane at this point pauses with a deranged little smirk. \u201cHeh, maybe one of those wendigo bastards did get to me just a little\u2026\u201d then his face becomes deadly serious again.\n\nAs you struggle to remain conscious all you can see are the souless eyes of Kane looking down upon you as he intends to make good on his threats. You punch him several times in the face to no avail. You even take out one of his eyes and he\u2019s still not deterred as it dangles uselessly from its bloody socket. You\u2019d probably be a lot more scared if you weren\u2019t teetering on passing out.\n\nDuring this walk along the line of life and death a familiar numbness washes over you and you hear a voice you haven\u2019t heard in a long time\u2026\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re lucky I still find you interesting.\u201d Dendrin says and then within that moment you feel Kane\u2019s hand release their death grip followed by him bellowing in pain. His weight is soon lifted off you and you attempt to regain your assessment of the situation.\n\nStill feeling woozy you grab a nearby sword and see Kane (with a brand new bloody dagger in his back) fighting what looks to be a blurry shadowy figure. It\u2019s Talia and you\u2019re glad to see her in more ways than one.\n\nWasting no time, you run up behind Kane and hamstring him. He falls to his knees cursing you the entire time. Talia follows up with a slash to his neck.\n\n\u201c(gurgle) Long live (sputter) the\u2026Em (gurgle) pire\u2026\u201d he utters and falls to the ground dead.\n\nYou take a quick look around at your surroundings and see that most of the town has indeed been destroyed or on fire. Bodies are everywhere, but it looks like what remains of the Empire is in retreat mainly due to the death of their leader who you have to agree was a pretty impressive figure. As for the townsfolk, a lot of them are just trying to help their wounded along with open grieving for their dead.\n\nThe one thing you aren\u2019t seeing are any shadows. Well other than Talia of course who is now walking towards you.\n\n\u201cThank you.\u201d you say to Talia still trying to catch your breath.\n\u201cYou know that\u2019s not necessary, but I do question what the hell you were thinking attempting to take on not just the infamous Bane of Rask by yourself, but a whole company of Empire troops as well.\u201d\n\u201cI thought I was trying to change the tide of the rebellion, because if you haven\u2019t noticed it isn\u2019t going well for you.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m surprised you even still consider it your concern actually. You don\u2019t believe in the Emperor, you don\u2019t believe in Dendrin, why bother taking any side? You could\u2019ve just left years ago.\u201d\n\u201cFirst of all you do know I believe in Dendrin, I just don\u2019t worship him. Second of all I made a vow to you years ago and I\u2019ve never abandoned it. So if your fight is still with the Empire then my fight is also still with the Empire. Besides, I\u2019ve always believed the Empire is made up of a bunch of arrogant oppressive bastards that need to be taken down a peg anyway. So where are the rest of the shadows?\u201d\n\u201cThere aren\u2019t any. I\u2019m it. Cyrus had no intention of helping you, in fact he even killed poor Brother Gannon for not attempting to kill you when he had the chance. That\u2019s when I left.\u201d\n\u201cDidn\u2019t he try to stop you?\u201d\n\u201cHe made threats, but ultimately did nothing other than saying I was a heretic and mentioned that I would be considered an enemy of the shadows from now on.\u201d\n\u201cWell I\u2019d probably tell you right now that you should\u2019ve done that a long time ago, but considering you just saved my life, I won\u2019t.\u201d\n\nTalia shakes her head.\n\u201cYou realize you just said, \u201cI told you so\u201d anyway don\u2019t you? Doesn\u2019t matter though because my reasons for leaving are slightly different than yours. I still believe in Dendrin, I just don\u2019t believe in Cyrus, at least not anymore. Though I was questioning his leadership ability for a few years now. Guess this suicidal attempt of taking on the Empire by you was just the final kick I needed to get me to leave because I never abandoned my vow to you either. So thank you as well.\u201d\n\u201cNot necessary.\u201d You say with a smile and the pair of you embrace.\n\nThere are still a lot of unresolved issues between you and Talia, but none of those really matter right now. What does matter is that when you needed help she helped you thus reconfirming your belief that not all your waiting was for naught. As for Dendrin, you can\u2019t really be sure if he actually had anything to do with guiding her to you, or if he\u2019s just giving the impression that he did, either way you\u2019re still not worshipping him.\n\nThough you imagine you\u2019ll have plenty of time to debate about religious philosophy with Talia now that the pair of you are reunited, it\u2019s just a question of where you\u2019re going to go and do now.", "action_results": [{"action": "Time passes...", "result": "Year 31\n\nSometimes it seems surreal that the Empire hasn\u2019t attempted to retake Rask yet, but then there have been a few major changes all decidedly not in the favor of the Empire.\n\nFirst off, Kane\u2019s death was a bigger deal than even you thought it would be. Kane\u2019s \u201cButcher of Rask\u201d infamy wasn\u2019t exactly the most efficient way of keeping the plebs in line, but it was working better than nothing at all. Not to mention it was also keeping his command in line as well. When he died, Empire troop morale in Rask dropped and the native Raskians\u2019 morale went up significantly. The towns finally unified enough that they declared Rask to be independent of Empire law and rule.\n\nYou figured the Empire would send more troops to re-establish order, but instead they started withdrawing from the area entirely. Apparently some of the shadows still causing problems for the Empire south of Rask started engaging in suicidal tactics and taking out high ranking commanders, including Captain Roldan (Who you always thought would\u2019ve been one of the first to be sent to Rask) With this set back, the Empire decided it would be better to crush all the opposition in places where they at least had a majority of control, hence Rask was left alone for now at least.\n\nIn the meantime, the shadows are\u2026well a shadow of their former selves. It is almost quite certain that all of them south of Rask are being ruthlessly hunted to extinction and there weren\u2019t many left in the first place (even less when they started with suicide tactics). The last shadow \u201cstronghold\u201d is Fort Defiance where presumably Cyrus still rules over his small group of brainwashed followers. You say presumably because nobody has heard anything from them since Kane was killed. You haven\u2019t even been the target of any revenge assassination attempts. The place is still intact, but has effectively closed itself off from the outside world. Despite the major shadow influence on starting the rebellion in the first place and people helping them in the past, nobody is in any particular hurry to thank them and Fort Defiance is looked upon as a monastery of religious fanatics that should be steered clear of.\n\nAs for you and Talia, you\u2019re exceptions, but not by much. You were known as a shadow outcast long before Kane\u2019s death so nothing much has changed with how people treat you, though sometimes you get a few small thank yous for directly being involved in Kanes death, then on the flip side you also get a few fuck yous for indirectly being involved in the near total destruction of Volgst.\n\nTalia on the other hand doesn\u2019t get much of either. It\u2019s somewhat known that she was the one that actually killed Kane, but due to her continued dedication to Dendrin, she\u2019s just looked upon as one of the \u201cacceptable\u201d religious fanatics, rather than any sort of hero. Not to mention nobody wants to piss off the killer of the Kane.\n\nIn keeping with your outcast nature you and Talia have made yourself at home in one of the many abandoned cabins in the wilderness. It\u2019s not much, but after fixing it up it\u2019s a suitable home. You both are fairly self sufficient\n\nWhile things are currently peaceful, you\u2019re finding it harder and harder to find ways to pass the time. Part of you is always on guard believing that one day the Empire will eventually come back or even closer to home, that shadows will attempt to kill you. You\u2019ve set up many traps and scouted several potential escape routes as possible. Even with that large of a concern you\u2019re still left with a lot of extra time which is mostly spent with Talia and that\u2019s becoming another situation lately.\n\nTalia is also finding herself restless, possibly even more than you are. Part of the problem is that she was once part of a bigger community that she identified with and now she is effectively isolated from that community. That isn\u2019t the only the problem though, she still believes in Dendrin and the \u201cshadow way\u201d and namely that means all her ideals and plans for the future have practically gone by the wayside. She once stated to you that one of the reasons why she bonded with you is because she had this idea that when the Empire was brought down you and her would spawn several Eternal shadows to become little Dendrin worshippers and presumably strengthen the community because of it.\n\nWell, the Empire hasn\u2019t fallen, the shadows are near extinct and Talia hasn\u2019t gotten pregnant despite how much the pair of you have had sex. To be quite honest you were never really paying too much attention to that last one until Talia started bringing it up recently. You always figured she was using some sort of shadow magic to prevent such a thing in the past due to how inconvenient it would be (You know planning a rebellion and all), but now in this time of \u201cpeace\u201d it\u2019s been brought to your attention that something must be seriously wrong.\n\nGiven that you weren\u2019t really a true shadow to begin with, the whole legacy thing wasn\u2019t really something you were placing a priority on, though you do find it a bit odd. You can only come up with the conclusion that you, her or perhaps both of you just can\u2019t produce offspring. Talia on the other hand feels that something NEEDS to be done to try to correct this, and that something is placing greater faith in Dendrin to bless you with children.\n\nThis in it of itself is asking the impossible of you, but Talia also wants to travel to the Delerg province to locate his original temple. She remembers where it is and she figures that perhaps the connection to him will be stronger there.\n\nAs one can imagine this has caused a great source of arguing on your part. Disregarding the fact that Derlerg is still Empire territory and that both of you aren\u2019t exactly wanted there, there\u2019s also the fact that you\u2019re never going to \u201cbelieve\u201d in Dendrin like Talia, no matter how much she wants you to. The best you\u2019d be able to do is fake it, and you\u2019ve tried that before, didn\u2019t work for you. You also aren\u2019t really convinced that he\u2019d bless you with children anyway, given how unhelpful he is in the first place and that\u2019s assuming he\u2019s even able to do such a thing.\n\nHowever, all of these arguments have fallen on semi-deaf ears. Talia is quite aware of your feelings on the matter, but she would like you to make the attempt. She tries to point out that Dendrin has been guiding or at least looking out for you in some way, because if he wasn\u2019t he wouldn\u2019t have spoken to you on a regular basis in the past or guided her to you when Kane was getting the better of you. If that were anyone else telling you about that last one, you\u2019d think they\u2019d be trying to get you to do what they want as \u201cpayment\u201d for saving your life. However, given that it\u2019s Talia, you know she\u2019s being sincere in her belief, which makes it even harder to argue against since you can at least understand the idea of owing someone.\n\nAt this point, if you really insisted on staying put you aren\u2019t sure if Talia wouldn\u2019t just leave again, after all she did put her faith of Dendrin over you before. This makes you question if this is even going to work out to anyway. Sure, you and Talia have had some good times in the distant past and even recently, but this just might be an obstacle that\u2019s always going to be between you both and going to be insurmountable.", "action_results": [{"action": "Stay in Rask", "result": "Maybe Talia\u2019s a believer, but you\u2019re not and you aren\u2019t about to go traveling across miles of hostile territory, let alone staying in it, just for the purpose of her religious beliefs. You\u2019ve put up with enough of Dendrin and this shadow nonsense long enough and you\u2019re not pointlessly risking your life because of it. You put your foot down and tell Talia that she can worship Dendrin all she wants, but you\u2019re not going on some fool pilgrimage in the hopes of having children.\n\nTalia doesn\u2019t argue anymore, she just resigns herself to her defeat. However, things between the pair of you are noticeably strained now, if they weren\u2019t already.\n\nYear 33\n\nShe hadn\u2019t been happy in a long time, you knew that due to the fact the pair of you barely spoke to each other anymore. You even figured you\u2019d wake up or return from hunting one day and she\u2019d be gone like last time. But you didn\u2019t think it would be like this.\n\nYou finish covering up her snowy grave and stand there for a while cursing the whole situation. The suicide note simply stating the words \u201cI\u2019m sorry\u201d will forever be embedded in your mind.\n\nThe thing is you don\u2019t think it was just the conflict of religious beliefs or even the desire to have child (which was tied to her belief of Dendrin being able to help in that matter). To be sure those two factors probably didn\u2019t help, but you always got the impression there was something else. Something you think she wanted to tell you, but couldn\u2019t for some reason.\n\nDoesn \u2018t matter now whatever the case may be. She\u2019s dead and that\u2019s that.\n\nYou return to your cabin.\n\nYear 35\n\nYou always knew the Empire would come back to Rask, but you thought they\u2019d come back to conquer it, not destroy it.\n\nThere were always rumors, but you never paid too much attention most of the time mainly because you had so much else going on in your life, but when the announcement of the Empire\u2019s new eternals came about, you had no choice but to pay attention especially since there was a lot more of them, hundreds actually. And the first place they sent them was to Rask to raze the place to the ground.\n\nTown after town has been completely obliterated by these new eternals and the people no matter how united can\u2019t stop them. Some have tried to pledge their allegiance to the Empire again, but they were killed like everyone else. Not since the days of Kane has Rask experienced such brutality on a wide scale.\n\nYou thought what remnants of the shadows are left would be trying to do more, but so far there hasn\u2019t been a peep from them. Cyrus seems content on keeping all of them hold up in Fort Defiance. It won\u2019t work because you know that they\u2019re the main target, the rest is probably just combat practice and to send a message. When the time comes, Fort Defiance and all the shadows within are going to massacred. You\u2019ve toyed with the idea that you could probably easily evade the advancing army if you went further north and laid low in the mountains or deep forests. You\u2019re pretty confident that you\u2019d be able to survive this onslaught that way.\n\nThe thing is you\u2019ve sort of lost the will to go on. You haven\u2019t been the same since Talia died. Even when you were apart for five years the hope of her returning was still there to keep you going. Even when your relationship had been strained in the last years of her life she was at least still there. But now? She\u2019s dead and she won\u2019t be coming back and there\u2019s no more reason for you to fight the Empire any longer. Even Dendrin hasn\u2019t spoke to you in years; you\u2019re guessing he\u2019s moved on. Makes sense given that you haven\u2019t been very entertaining lately.\n\nFrom your estimates an army should be passing through your area soon, you need to get prepared\u2026\n\nThe next day you visit Talia\u2019s grave for the last time.\n\n\u201cFor what\u2019s worth\u2026 I\u2019m sorry too Talia.\u201d You say and head towards the main road.\n\nYou stand in the center and see a massive force in the distance, won\u2019t be long now you think as you draw your weapon. Several hundred eternals march straight towards you on foot and horseback. They don\u2019t even stop to see if this is possibly an ambush of some sort. Perhaps they don\u2019t care or are confident that if it is, they\u2019ll be able to handle it.\n\nDoesn\u2019t take long before you can hear them shouting about how they\u2019re going to enjoy killing you and the rest of your shadow \u201cfriends\u201d. You can\u2019t help but smile at that one.\n\nYou do about as well as someone could be expected against an army of eternals. Meaning you kill about three of them, before you\u2019re enthusiastically overwhelmed and ultimately chopped, stabbed, crushed and stomped into bloody pieces.\n\nYou last dying thoughts are how these new eternals might be young but they\u2019re already vicious bastards. Didn\u2019t seem very disciplined though. Who knows, perhaps they will eventually become a problem for the very Empire that created them.\n\nYou certainly did.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Travel to Delerg", "result": "Maybe you love Talia more than she loves you, or maybe you\u2019re just tired of practically being a loner all the time and at least if you have Talia, you know you\u2019ve got someone on your side. Whatever the reason, you tell Talia that you\u2019re willing to go to Delerg with her. Her reaction is a happy one though she admits she\u2019s a little surprised you agreed as quickly as you did.\n\nLater that night you fall asleep wondering how the hell you got yourself into this.\n\nThen a numbness washes over you\u2026\n\n\u201cSo, ready to come back to the fold eh?\u201d you hear Dendrin say.\n\u201cHardly.\u201d You reply.\n\u201cI didn\u2019t think so, but you always continue to intrigue me. I mean here you are supporting a woman that obviously places faith over love. Why would you do such a thing? The Empire\u2019s most fanatical soldiers have faith in their false Emperor and the shadows\u2026what\u2019s left of them still have faith in me yet they have no real proof that their respective masters approve of them or feel anything back. Yet you have proof that Talia\u2019s faith in me is stronger than her love for you and you still stand by her.\u201d\n\u201cBecause I\u2019m an idiot obviously.\u201d\n\u201cThat remains to be seen, but I don\u2019t think so. In fact you\u2019re being clever enough to avoid my question. Don\u2019t think I haven\u2019t noticed. Is it possible that you\u2019re heading to into Empire territory in the hope of getting into major battle again? Has been awhile and I know you do enjoy it so.\u201d\n\nYou don\u2019t answer, you just try to go back to waiting out this \u201cdream\u201d, but Dendrin isn\u2019t letting you.\n\n\u201cPassive silence? That\u2019s not your usual tactic with me. You\u2019ve always been a fighter, a warrior! But I\u2019ll take that silence as a sign that I was right.\u201d\n\u201cTake it however you want, but take it away from me.\u201d\n\u201cHmm, not sure if I like this new approach to our talks, but if I had an opinion on your decision, it\u2019s that you\u2019ve made the right one. I think that you\u2019ll find something else in my old temple too. Well now you will since I\u2019ve just mentally transferred the position of a very hidden place in it. Hope the baby situation works out for you, I think fatherhood would suit you, and it\u2019ll give me a new follower! I\u2019ll be watching as usual.\u201d\n\nIn the next few weeks you and Talia make your preparations to leave Rask. When you tell her that Dendrin spoke to you and placed the image of a stone \u201cbutton\u201d to reveal a secret part of the temple, Talia is again overjoyed and remarks that this is a good sign that he cares for your well being and merely wants your worship in return. You don\u2019t bother saying what you really think, but instead just nod and tell Talia that perhaps she\u2019s right and that maybe one day your faith in him will be as strong as hers.\n\nThe journey is a long one, it probably wouldn\u2019t be if you could actually use shadow magic to speed yourself up without passing out anymore, but since you\u2019re not yet a \u201ctrue believer\u201d again, looks like ol\u2019 Dendrin\u2019s withholding the perks still. Doesn\u2019t seem to bother Talia, she\u2019s very positive during the whole trip. She talks about how you can both make your home in the temple and start your new lives there. She goes on about how you can also put out feelers on how the rebellion situation is going on in Delerg and how maybe you can get it split from the Empire like Rask did. You have to admit you don\u2019t mind that idea.\n\nThere are a few times on the trip through the Quala province you could\u2019ve avoided combat with Empire patrols, but you deliberately engage them when the time is right. You make an effort to leave no survivors in these attacks; every dead soldier is a blow to the Empire right?\n\nEventually you make it to Delerg and the place is crawling with Empire troops, it looks like they\u2019ve really been trying to clean up around here. You keep a lower profile here and it takes a lot of sneaking around, but eventually you make it to Dendrin\u2019s temple which have several rotten heads on pikes facing the temple along with several rotten bodies (partially eaten by the wildlife and insects) strewn around and even inside the temple.\n\n\u201cThese are shadows.\u201d Talia says with a touch of sadness in her voice.\n\u201cI know\u2026even with half her face covered in maggots I recognize that one. Sister Yvette. I always wondered what happened to her after I left her in charge of my cell when I went back to Gloom. (Sigh) I figured it would be something like this.\u201d\n\u201cDo you think these are all the shadows that we lost contact with south of Rask?\u201d\n\u201cMost of them I suppose. I guess maybe they had the same idea and made a last stand here where they thought Dendrin would protect them. Looks like\u2026\u201d you stop yourself from saying something completely negative like \u201che didn\u2019t.\u201d so you think of something slightly less negative and say: \u201cthey fought so hard that the Empire tried to make some sort of example out of them.\u201d\n\u201cWe need to take them down off the pikes.\u201d Talia says.\n\u201cNo we need to leave them be, since I\u2019m sure the Empire has patrols come around here, and if they see all the heads suddenly gone, they\u2019re going to correctly assume shadows are around. We need to keep a low profile if we\u2019re going to stick around here remember?\u201d\n\u201cI\u2026suppose discretion would be best right now.\u201d\n\nYou and Talia move past the pike heads and enter the temple, which is surprisingly in good condition though signs of battle obviously took place here. You waste no time in seeking out the stone \u201cbutton\u201d that will open up a secret place in the temple. Eventually you find it (which you doubt you would\u2019ve been able to do if Dendrin hadn\u2019t told you) and descend down.\n\nWhat you find is better than you could\u2019ve hoped for when you first arrived and that\u2019s living quarters for what you presume would be for the old shadow high priests or whatever. It isn\u2019t fancy, but it\u2019s fairly clean. You imagine that this place hasn\u2019t been accessed in centuries. The walls are very solidly made so it doesn\u2019t even look like signs of any natural intrusion have occurred either. There is one \u201croom\u201d that sticks out which isn\u2019t man made and that\u2019s a small natural cavern, which seems to be an underground garden of some sort with a shallow stream of fresh water flowing through it. Blue glowing fungus lights up the place and there are no exits other than the small openings the water is flowing through.\n\nWith no suspicion whatsoever Talia immediately takes some purple berries off one of the bushes and pops them in her mouth and remarks how good they taste.\n\u201cHey those could be poisonous!\u201d you exclaim.\n\u201cOh you doubter, Dendrin lead us here! We won\u2019t come to any harm!\n\u201cI\u2019m being cautious. This cavern is strange; I mean wouldn\u2019t a garden like this have overgrown or decayed without regular care? I imagine the water stream is seeping into the soil and sustaining them, but some of these plants wouldn\u2019t survive without sunlight either.\u201d\n\u201cIt\u2019s obviously magical and don\u2019t you see? Dendrin provides as usual. We now have a good supply have fresh sustenance and water. Why question it, for it is one less thing to worry about! With this place we could easily hide underneath the Empire\u2019s noses and strike from the shadows again.\u201d Talia says.\n\u201cAs long as they don\u2019t call in their Derro buddies again, I agree that this will make a suitable hideout. I suppose you\u2019re probably right about the garden being magical. Sort of odd though, never known Dendrin to be into the whole nature thing.\u201d\n\u201cWell we cannot hope to know all of a god\u2019s interests and thoughts. As I\u2019ve said, why question it? It is enough that it\u2019s something good and we could use that right now. Now come, we should thank Dendrin for this together.\u201d\n\nAs you join Talia in thanking Dendrin, you can\u2019t help but wonder if this is all some elaborate plan by Dendrin to actually get you to be a true believer, or if he doesn\u2019t really care if you believe, just as long as you\u2019re going through the motions.\n\nEither way, you\u2019ll do this for Talia because that\u2019s who you\u2019re really faithful to.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 35\n\nDespite your best efforts, stirring up more dissent in Delerg seems to be a losing battle. It\u2019s not just the Empire though; it\u2019s the people here in general. Most of them are content on being dominated. Funny how in the \u201cbirthplace\u201d of the shadows, that rebellion would be less here.\n\nThe best you\u2019ve been able to do is organize small groups of society\u2019s misfits, lowlifes and outright psychopaths and they\u2019re just doing it for the shits and giggles for the most part, but whatever works at this point.\n\nYou and Talia have been very careful about not giving the impression of any shadow activity in the area and that\u2019s a good thing because lately the Empire has been throwing its weight around once more. Almost as if it\u2019s gotten a second wind.\n\nAnd it has.\n\nThere were always rumors, but you never paid too much attention most of the time mainly because you had so much else going on in your life, but when the announcement of the Empire\u2019s new eternals came about, you had no choice but to pay attention especially since there was a lot more of them, hundreds actually.\n\nThe first place they sent them was to Rask. Not surprising considering the Empire lost the territory. What wasn\u2019t expected is that the Empire didn\u2019t just send them to conquer the place. They sent them to destroy it. Town after town was completely obliterated by these new eternals and the people no matter how united couldn\u2019t stop them. Some tried to pledge their allegiance to the Empire again, but they were killed like everyone else. Not since the days of Kane had Rask experienced such brutality on a wide scale.\n\nAfter most of the towns had been laid to waste, Fort Defiance was next. In fact this was the main objective in the first place. The rest of it? Just in the way and served to test the viciousness of the new eternals. Perhaps even to scare the remaining shadows still huddled up in that run down fort. \u201cDefiance\u201d was a reminder of an old wound. A loss. A humiliation. The Empire didn\u2019t just lose a fort, or even a whole province; they lost it because of the shadows, the ones who caused all this in the first place. They had to be eliminated once and for all.\n\nYou heard that the siege didn\u2019t even last three days and Fort Defiance was destroyed along with all the remaining shadows inside. Cyrus himself was found dead with another male shadow (Who you presume was probably Draven) in an embrace. Apparently they had poisoned themselves rather than give the satisfaction to the Empire of killing them.\n\nTalia gets a little sad when she hears the news. While she left due to her feelings for you and Cyrus\u2019 incompetence, she was there for five years and still considered them all her brothers and sisters. A loss of any of Dendrin\u2019s faithful is a loss to all who revere him.\n\nWhile you aren\u2019t exactly broken up about it, you certainly aren\u2019t jumping for joy. Now that the Empire has satisfied its blood revenge on what they believed to be the last of the shadows, they\u2019re going to unleash these new eternals on the rest of their provinces in full force too. They\u2019ve already started deploying them in the Quala and Arat province. Delerg can\u2019t be far behind.\n\n\u201cWhile I hate to always be the cynic. Things are looking really damn bleak right about now Talia.\u201d\n\u201cThey\u2019ve been bad before and we\u2019ve still pulled through. Dendrin will preserve us and the Empire will fall.\u201d\n\u201cYeah\u2026well\u2026\u201d\n\u201cOh come on now my love, don\u2019t tell me you\u2019re starting to lose your faith again.\u201d\n\nIt\u2019s always so charmingly na\u00efve of Talia to believe that you\u2019re not just faking everything. Still, even while faking it, you can\u2019t help but be a \u201cdoubter\u201d sometimes.\n\n\u201cWell no\u2026but we\u2019re the last two shadows left Talia. I mean, sure Cyrus was obviously a bad leader and all that, but above all else he was a devoted worshipper of Dendrin along with all the rest. I have to question why Dendrin isn\u2019t doing something more direct to help his own followers now more than ever.\u201d\n\u201cCyrus\u2019 actions had obviously offended Dendrin, and he was punished along with all those that followed him. True, I weep for their passing, but they strayed from the teachings. They were no longer fighting the Empire or trying to carry out Dendrin\u2019s will and as a result Rask was ravaged. We on the other hand were smart enough to leave and carry on the fight. For years now we\u2019ve successfully hid ourselves right under the noses of the Empire. I know we\u2019re careful, but we\u2019re not that lucky. Dendrin has obviously clouded the Empire\u2019s collective mindset from believing there are shadows here in Delerg. Your magic is back completely. I\u2019d say Dendrin is looking out for only those that are worthy. When the Empire does finally fall, it will be a new era and it only takes two\u2026\u201d\n\nTalia takes your hand and looks into your eyes.\n\n\u201c\u2026to recreate the shadows stronger than ever.\u201d\n\nWhile you\u2019re glad Talia\u2019s confidence in victory is so certain, you\u2019re not convinced as usual. Even if Dendrin is helping you both out on some small level like Talia believes he is, he\u2019s going to have to do a hell of a lot more. In the meantime you\u2019re going to prepare yourself for the inevitable new eternal invasion. You begin setting up traps in and around the temple though you imagine the day when they actually get used is probably going to be the day you\u2019re making your last stand.\n\nMonths pass and you go through your usual routines of opposing the Empire, then that fateful day comes. A platoon of the new eternals arrive in Sinkhole. They aren\u2019t there to destroy it, but they barely act like it. Under the cover of cloak you spy on them for a period of several days, and you see them routinely assaulting people even when there is no real cause for it other than pure sadistic glee. Even their non-eternal commander doesn\u2019t have much control over them. Sometimes when he tells them to stop beating someone, they just look at him like he\u2019ll be next. Whoever trained these eternals obviously didn\u2019t do a good job, it\u2019s like they have no discipline what so ever.\n\nThat\u2019s when you begin to wonder if the Empire hasn\u2019t put the last nail in their own coffin. These monsters the Empire has unleashed upon the world are going to cause them more problems than they\u2019re going to solve. You can see that even now.\n\nAnother month passes and more of them arrive in Delerg. You and Talia engage small bands of them during their patrols, and they aren\u2019t slouches in a fight either despite only being teenagers. Naturally when dead eternals start becoming more common, Delerg starts getting the thumbscrews put to it. While all the little villages in Delerg aren\u2019t put to the torch a lot of them are. Sinkhole becomes a staging ground for public executions and worse.\n\nEventually the few that were actually supporting the rebellion are all rounded up and killed. It gets harder and harder to sneak around the swamp ambushing patrols, and you and Talia never seem to get enough rest to recharge up your magic.\n\nAnd today is the day when all this catches up with you both\u2026\n\nAs you withdraw your sword from a dead foe, you hear the sounds of several bows being drawn behind you as well as above you. Fortunately, whoever is in charge has decided to be an overly dramatic fool and doesn\u2019t attack immediately. You and Talia stand back to back trying to get a bit of a breather before the next assault.\n\nA young man appears from behind the archers. He\u2019s obviously one of the new eternals though he\u2019s wearing a captain\u2019s rank, which strikes you as a bit odd.\n\n\u201cGive it up shadow scum. Oh yes, we\u2019ve figured out who you really are now. Should\u2019ve known a few of you would\u2019ve been sneaking around somewhere, but that ends now. You\u2019ve exhausted yourselves and your magic won\u2019t help you now. Even if you can outrun the arrows I\u2019ve got eternals all over the swamp right now waiting for you in all directions.\u201d The young captain sneers.\n\u201cThe Empire getting so desperate they\u2019re promoting babies now?\u201d you say.\n\u201cThe Empire is getting better now that we\u2019re around. Our former captain was inferior so he was replaced. Only an eternal is fit to lead other eternals. Of course you two would know nothing about being real eternals having betrayed the Empire after all, but really even if you had stayed loyal, you\u2019d be obsolete now anyway. Time to put an end to your kind in more ways than one.\u201d\n\u201cYou brats talk too much.\u201d You say and you and Talia speed yourselves up to run back into the undergrowth and avoid the arrow barrage to come.\n\nYou\u2019re successful, but you\u2019re getting really tired really fast. Even Talia is experiencing fatigue. You need to run to safety to get some temporary relief, but chances are if they know about you being shadows, they\u2019ll assume you\u2019ll run straight to Dendrin\u2019s old temple where there might be a larger group of eternals waiting for you.", "action_results": [{"action": "Run to the sanctuary", "result": "Given that the captain said he had eternals all over the swamp, going deeper into it probably isn\u2019t going to help. Hell, who knows what else could attack, not like the swamps are exactly a friendly place and all you need to do is get yourself killed stepping into quicksand because you\u2019re tired and not paying proper attention.\n\nYou and Talia race to the temple, dispatching eternals that get in your way, but the constant arrows flying from what seems to be everywhere are what prove to be the most hazardous in this gauntlet because despite your unnatural speed, it doesn\u2019t make it impossible to get hit.\n\n\u201cAh! Damn it!\u201d you hear Talia shout and fall to the ground. She\u2019s got an arrow in her back by some lucky shot. You barely avoid getting shot yourself when you stop to pick her up.\n\n\u201cYou got enough in you to cloak yourself?\u201d\n\u201cYeah I think so\u2026\u201d\n\u201cOkay do it.\u201d\n\nThe pair of you cloak yourselves and you get out of the area as eternals continue to fire blindly at where they think you\u2019re located.\n\nIt takes you a little longer to make it back to the sanctuary under cloak, carrying Talia over your shoulder, as well as trying to avoid the eternals swarming the swamp, but eventually it\u2019s in sight. Unfortunately you were right and a large group of eternals are stand watch around the place.\n\nYou sneak by just long enough to make it to the steps and that\u2019s when your own energy starts to give out and you collapse breaking your cover completely. First eternal that reaches you gets a sword blow to his face causing him to fall backwards into two of his fellows. You engage two more and Talia, despite having an arrow in her back manages to fight off another one. Though she\u2019s still far from peak condition. A sword strike catches her across the leg and then a dagger is shoved into her stomach. Before you can react to help her, she manages to helps herself by slitting the throat of the eternal who believed her to be already defeated.\n\nTalia manages to drag herself into the temple while you attempt to fight the rest of the eternals off as long as you can. When you dispatch them you see more eternals begin to swarm out of the swamp and approach the temple.\n\nFinding Talia in the temple entry way bleeding out, you pick her up in your arms once again and make haste for the sanctuary. While you\u2019re running down one of the corridors you hear the work of your various traps going into action when death screams echo throughout the temple.\n\n\u201cI told you not to enter the place you fools! I knew this place was going to be trapped! We\u2019ll wait them out!\u201d you hear another voice shout.\n\nNobody sees you enter your sanctuary and only when you seal it up do you take time to worry about how much Talia\u2019s been hurt. It\u2019s bad and while you\u2019re good at fighting and even some basic first aid, you can\u2019t fix this. Not even your magic can.\n\n\u201cThey\u2019re going to be waiting awhile\u2026we\u2019ve got unlimited food and water down here\u2026\u201d Talia says.\n\u201cShh, don\u2019t speak. We gotta\u2026Dendrin! Dendrin will help!\u201d you say and start praying to Dendrin in desperation.\n\nAfter a few minutes of this, Talia speaks again.\n\n\u201cWhy are you praying\u2026you don\u2019t believe he\u2019s going actually help anyway\u2026you never have\u2026it\u2019s okay I know you did it for me. You\u2019ve always done it all for me\u2026that\u2019s your real faith...\u201d\n\nYou stop and look at her; she looks so pale now due to the blood loss.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m going to go back up there and kill every last one of those sons of bitches!\u201d you exclaim, trying to fight back the tears.\n\u201cNo\u2026stay here with me my love\u2026please\u2026\u201d\n\nYou hold on to her hand and watch as life slowly ebbs from her and eventually she begins to drift into unconsciousness.\n\n\u201cI\u2026heard him\u2026\u201d she says with a faint smile and then passes on.\n\nYou sit by her side quietly sobbing in a small pool of her blood on the floor for what is probably an hour or so. Eventually you pull yourself together and do what needs to be done. You take her body to the garden and bury it there. It\u2019s as fitting of a gravesite as any for her and really you don\u2019t have many options right now anyway.\n\nYou were tired when you arrived here and now after burying your beloved you\u2019re exhausted along with being emotionally drained. If those new eternals come for you now they\u2019re going to have to kill you in your sleep, because that\u2019s what you do in the garden.\n\nUnconsciousness takes you followed by the numbness, though now the numbness is welcome.\n\n\u201cYou probably don\u2019t believe it, but you have my sympathies Eternal. Talia was always devoted, no matter what hardship was thrown in her face, she always believed even if her own logic told her not to at times.\u201d Dendrin says.\n\u201cAnd look where it got her.\u201d\n\u201cYes, and look where it got her. Are you honestly going to keep blaming me for everything tragic in your life? You could easily blame yourself for not being quick enough to help her, or those new eternals for killing her in the first place.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m done blaming you for anything, because ultimately you don\u2019t DO anything, which is what I\u2019ve been saying for years. Tell me, was it ever in your power to bless Talia with a child?\u201d\n\u201cNo.\u201d\n\u201cReally? You admit this so freely? The great Dendrin admits to something he can\u2019t do?\u201d\n\u201cWhy wouldn\u2019t I? You know there are already limitations to my power so why tell you I can do something when I can\u2019t? I\u2019m not a fertility god and I can\u2019t cure the sterility that infects you eternals.\u201d\n\u201cHold on, so you\u2019re saying it wasn\u2019t just Talia, it was me as well?\u201c\n\u201cYes. Cyrus too, though it wouldn\u2019t have mattered in his case. So I imagine it has something to do with the process of how you Eternals are magically altered. Perhaps it\u2019s nature\u2019s way of balancing itself out. Who knows? But procreating was never really on your high priority list nor was creating a new line of shadows, so the question is what are you going to do now?\u201d\n\u201cWell when I wake up I intend on carrying out my promise of killing every one of those bastards up top.\u201d\n\u201cFor what purpose? Revenge? Talia already killed the one directly causing her mortal wound and killing the rest won\u2019t bring her back. Even if you did manage to kill all the ones currently up there, more are just going to come and you\u2019ll fall to them eventually.\u201d\n\u201cThen that\u2019s what will happen.\u201d\n\u201cEternal I urge you to reconsider. I know of your love of battle, I know it\u2019s probably one of the few things that stirs something within you and ultimately that\u2019s how you want to die. I can respect that. But I also know that you have a strong survival instinct as well. Not to mention I don\u2019t think Talia would want you to just throw your life away on a hopeless battle when there is no need to.\u201d\n\u201cWhy the sudden sense of concern, afraid of losing your source of entertainment? Besides, I don\u2019t think I\u2019m going to have a choice anyway. If I wait down here, all they\u2019re going to do is eventually storm the place anyway, traps or not. Then they\u2019ll eventually find the button that leads down here.\u201d\n\u201cYou\u2019re correct on the first assumption with the traps, but they won\u2019t find out how to get down here. They just won\u2019t, trust me.\u201d\n\u201cTrust you? Are you trying to be funny?\u201d\n\u201cNot at all, but you do what you want. I can\u2019t stop you. I will say this though, despite our unstable relationship I think you do know I HAVE been looking out for in small ways. Perhaps I haven\u2019t helped the way you\u2019d like me to, but I have helped. And yes it is true that if you died I would be losing my favorite form of entertainment, but I do genuinely like you Eternal and I don\u2019t see your part in this world at an end yet. Far from it actually, I still see much potential in you, but you\u2019re going to have to be patient for a while. There is always time for revenge if you still desire it. Trust me.\u201d\n\nYou can\u2019t argue with Dendrin on that one, he would know all about planning and waiting to make the right time to serve revenge. That\u2019s what the rebellion started by the shadows\u2019 was all about for the most part. He seems pretty adamant that you won\u2019t be found down here, so you\u2019re guessing he\u2019s probably going to make it impossible for anyone to even stumble upon the hidden button that leads down here.\n\n\u201cDendrin, I just have one more question. Did you really speak to Talia before she died?\u201d\n\u201cYes. As I said, as devoted as she was, she deserved to hear the voice of her god.\u201d\n\u201cWhat did you say exactly?\u201d\n\u201cHa ha. I fear that would be telling Eternal and also a private matter. Let\u2019s just say the words were of a comforting nature in her final moments of life.\u201d\n\u201cThen I guess it was all worth it.\u201d\n\nWhen you wake up, you don\u2019t follow through with your suicidal plan of charging into battle and you decide to take Dendrin\u2019s advice and wait. Fortunately the place is stocked with it\u2019s own library. You never really bothered glance at the books before let alone read them, but there\u2019s no time to start like the present.\n\nA few weeks pass and you start hearing noises from up above. You take that to mean that they finally got tired of waiting you out and are searching the temple along with many of them falling afoul of the traps no doubt. You stay alert at this time, believing that they will find their way down here eventually, but as Dendrin told you, they never do.\n\nAt one point the whole underground sanctuary shakes and you hear several loud crashing noises from above. You\u2019re ultimately okay, but if you had to guess they probably just destroyed the temple either with magic or maybe even with a catapult they dragged through the swamp. For all you know you might be trapped down here now, but you\u2019re not worried. You\u2019ll get out of here eventually, when you feel that the time is right.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Chapter 3B2: Last Shadow\n\n\nYear 45\n\nYou travel back to the sanctuary under cloak as you have many times before. The sanctuary isn\u2019t much to look at anymore ever since it collapsed ten years ago, but one thing\u2019s for sure, nobody ever comes around here, making it the perfect place to live ever since you started to live like a recluse.\n\nYou scan the area to make sure there is nobody around before you go through your secret entrance; you remember how long it took you just dig your way out of the place. You probably could\u2019ve stayed down there indefinitely, but there are only so many times you can read the same books over. It was only natural that you got curious about what was going on in outside world after the first few years of being buried had past.\n\nAbout another year of digging and it was a brand new world. The Empire had fallen, but not much had changed in the scheme of things. In some ways the situation might\u2019ve been worse for the average person. You travelled under cloak to explore what used to be the territory of the old Empire, only to find that most of it was now divided up into petty fiefdoms run by the new eternals.\n\nYou knew as soon as you saw these new eternals they were going to hasten the Empire\u2019s fall, not save it. You also weren\u2019t surprised to find most of them fighting over the scraps of their dead \u201cparent.\u201d They lack any sort of discipline of your generation, as far as you\u2019re concerned they\u2019re twisted mutants of eternals, but not real ones.\n\nMost of the population that had existed under the Empire has become practically enslaved under the new eternals. There are a few that remain autonomous, but this is mainly in Rask where the place is a war zone even compared to places like Quala or Arat. From what you\u2019ve heard Flog and his orc/ogre horde have been spreading to southern Rask and making it hard for any eternal attempting to plant a flag and keep it there. It\u2019s gotten so bad that what eternals do lay claim there have resorted to hiring svelk mercenaries to help. And the svelk aren\u2019t exactly well liked by the new eternals (Though that\u2019s one issue you\u2019d have to agree with them on).\n\nThe other area that remains free from of new eternal domination in Nalin, which is seemingly a beacon of \u201clight\u201d and under the control of the only other first generation eternal known to be alive, Brenda. She apparently has a non-aggression pact with the eternal upstarts, but has made it clear she will not let them destroy what\u2019s left of what she considers to be the last remnants of the Empire. You don\u2019t know whether it\u2019s out of respect or fear that she has managed to avoid war with any of them.\n\nAs for Delerg, it\u2019s not a warzone, but it\u2019s no paradise. Delerg is slightly unique in that it\u2019s currently only \u201cruled\u201d by one eternal by the name of Brutus, with no major competition. Brutus is not quite as ambitious either; he and his crony eternals seem content to just wallow in the swamp. One might think that perhaps he\u2019s just biding his time and waiting for an opening to invade the weakest eternal in Quala, but in reality he wouldn\u2019t have the means to do it anyway, his entourage is more of a gang rather than any proper army. He\u2019s just lucky Delerg isn\u2019t a profitable target by any other eternal or else he\u2019d probably be wiped out by a real invasion.\n\nYou\u2019ve often wondered why you continue to stay in Delerg or even the general area even after you took your \u201ctour\u201d of the old provinces and saw the chaos for yourself. You have no real answer other than you have nowhere else to go and that you\u2019ve lived at the temple for so long now that you consider it your home regardless of who is calling themselves ruler there.\n\nThe other reason you guess is Talia. Even after all these years you still haven\u2019t quite moved on. You speak to Talia a lot, but she\u2019s not much of a conversationalist anymore, not that you mind. You\u2019d rather speak with her than Dendrin who you don\u2019t know why still insists on speaking with you at all though thankfully it\u2019s been rare nowadays.\n\nLater that night you go through your usual routine of a little training to keep your skills sharp and eating your dinner. You then visit the garden and speak with Talia about what you did today.\n\n\u201cVisited Sinkhole again today. Still the same rundown town it\u2019s always been. You\u2019d think since Brutus made it his headquarters that he\u2019d actually have a little pride to build it up a bit. Instead he and his lackies seem to just enjoy kicking around the same pathetic peasants, molesting hapless young girls and generally being assholes. Must be nice to enjoy doing the same routine over and over again.\u201d\n\nYou grab a handful of dirt and throw it where you buried Talia.\n\n\u201cSometimes I feel like uncloaking and killing them all, just to see what they\u2019d do, you know? I bet they\u2019d be scared shitless. The return of the shadows! Ooooooooh!\u201d\n\nYou laugh a bit.\n\n\u201cOf course you know I did feel like killing them all after you died, but now? What\u2019s the point? It won\u2019t bring you back, and most of those bastards get themselves killed over stupidity anyway. Hell I\u2019d probably be honoring them by gracing them with my blade to their hearts.\u201d\n\nYou throw a stone in the small stream nearby.\n\n\u201cI mean I suppose if I did kill them, I\u2019d be helping out those they\u2019re tormenting now\u2026but why bother? Most of those wretches were content living under the yoke of the Empire, they can be happy with what that mindset got them! Remember when I was trying start up a minor rebel cell here? All I could practically get were the fucking criminals and other miscreants. I mean what the hell does that say about society when those are only type willing to fight against tyranny?\u201d\n\nYou start to get angrier at the predictable silence.\n\n\u201cI mean it\u2019s not my fight anymore! I did what I could back in the day and it wasn\u2019t appreciated by anyone, sometimes not even by you! The Empire is dead! I\u2019ve done my bit, so if someone else wants to play freedom fighter they can have at it. I\u2019m done\u2026I\u2019m...I\u2019m sorry\u2026\u201d you say as you slump down near Talia\u2019s grave.\n\nYou sit in silence for quite a while, and eventually you fall asleep.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re not still moping about are you? I thought you\u2019d be over the hermit thing by now.\u201d Dendrin says\n\u201cI can\u2019t really be a hermit when you keep interrupting my solitude all the damn time.\u201d\n\u201cOh please, you secretly crave it! If you really cherished your solitude that much, why the hell do you even bother leaving this place to make your little trips all over the countryside?\u201d\n\u201cI only did that once because I was curious about the changes in the world.\u201d\n\u201cBut you still continue to make your routine trips in Delerg at least. You know nothing has changed for quite some time, same eternals tormenting the peasants as usual. It\u2019s almost as boring as a routine as you have, must be an eternal thing. My point is, if you really wanted solitude, you wouldn\u2019t risk leaving this place at all. You wouldn\u2019t lurk on the outskirts of civilization spying on what others are doing. You also wouldn\u2019t still be talking to your mate who hasn\u2019t been in any condition to talk back in quite some time. I don\u2019t think this hermit thing is for you. You need to be doing something else.\u201d\n\u201cOh like what? Entertaining you? Look if you\u2019re so bored, why don\u2019t you go bother someone else and leave me alone? I\u2019ve repeatedly told you, I\u2019m not here for your amusement.\u201d\n\u201cObviously not. (Sigh) Very well Eternal, but you know I\u2019m right. You can\u2019t keep going on like this. You\u2019re going to have to change your surroundings eventually, because you might as well be lying in a grave right next to Talia given that you\u2019ve fallen asleep in the dirt and have small cave insects crawling on you.\u201d\n\u201cDon\u2019t think I haven\u2019t considered it.\u201d\n\u201cStop talking nonsense. You\u2019re not suicidal and even if you were, you\u2019d be too cowardly to go through with it anyway. Just like you\u2019re too cowardly to change your current situation by leaving this place.\u201d\n\u201cFirst you say I\u2019m not really a hermit because I\u2019m leaving here on a regular basis, but now you\u2019re saying I\u2019m too cowardly to leave it? How does that make sense?\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m saying you\u2019re going about everything half assed! You want to be a hermit? Fine then you need to shut yourself off from the outside world completely and not run around topside and vicariously getting your socialization kicks by spying on others. However I don\u2019t think that\u2019s what you want. I think you WANT to go back to doing what you used to do, but you\u2019ve been staying hidden from the known world so long that you don\u2019t want to risk what peace you have. Its safer that way.\u201d\n\u201cAnd I haven\u2019t earned a little peace? Given everything I\u2019ve been through?\u201d\n\u201cMaybe you have Eternal. I don\u2019t know, but what I do know is you don\u2019t seem to be satisfied with it, so what I\u2019m saying is you need to change your situation. Otherwise you might as well be dead because you\u2019re not living, you\u2019re just surviving.\u201d\n\u201cIt\u2019s enough.\u201d\n\u201cAre you sure?\u201d\n\u201cAlways has been.\u201d\n\nAt this point Dendrin stops speaking. You don\u2019t know if it\u2019s because he\u2019s just tired of arguing with you or if it\u2019s because you\u2019ve actually won the argument. Dendrin can\u2019t really deny that surviving to a certain extent has been enough for you in the past.\n\nIn any case the numbness eventually subsides and you wake up.\n\nAfter brushing yourself off you head back to your real bed and ponder what you\u2019re really going to do since despite it all, Dendrin has once again managed to weasel a little truth in his words and its enough to make you think.", "action_results": [{"action": "Continue to live here", "result": "Dendrin can chatter in your ear all he wants it\u2019s not going to make you change how you want to live your life. What the hell has he ever done for you?\n\nYou the sleep the rest of the night in your bed and most of the day as well. In fact you don\u2019t leave the sanctuary for over a month. Eventually you start to get restless again and you go for a walk in the middle of the night.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m leaving Talia, I\u2019ll be back soon.\u201d You say.\n\nTromping around through the swamp at night isn\u2019t something you normally do since the place is already a breeding ground for biting insects during the day, its even worse at night. The Sul Monkeys are usually a little more active as well. Sometimes they even get vicious if they sense an easy target; fortunately they seem to be scared of you.\n\nAs you wander through the night you reminisce about the old days, back when you were in Rask and temporarily separated from Talia. It wasn\u2019t an easy time, but you survived it, just like you\u2019re surviving without her now.\n\n\u201cPfft. Dendrin thinks he\u2019s so smart. Suggesting that I can\u2019t\u2026\u201d you begin to whisper to yourself, but just then your thoughts are interrupted by shrieks and pleas nearby. This is followed by some loud obnoxious voices.\n\n\u201cGo ahead a scream bitch, not like anyone\u2019s going to save you!\u201d a voice yells.\n\u201cHey are you taking your turn?\u201d the second voice asks.\n\u201cNaw, I\u2019m just gonna fuck the boy, seein\u2019 as we already beat him unconscious. Less trouble.\u201d A third voice replies.\n\u201cSuit yourself.\u201d The second voice says.\n\nGreat, you wandered in the middle of a sexual assault in progress. What is it with these new eternals and rape? They\u2019re always engaging in it like its going out of style. Must be some sort of defect in their minds during their training or something because none of the first generation eternals that you know of were so focused on their genital region. Even Kane, as infamous as he was for his atrocities was never known for rape. Though given some of the other things he did to his enemies, that\u2019s not saying much.\n\nYou shake your head as the cries, grunts and laughter gets louder and louder. They presumably have all the same natural ability and training the first generation eternals had and this is what they do with it. You turn back to go home.\n\n\u201cSHUT UP BITCH!\u201d you hear followed by a smacking sound.\n\u201cHah! Teach her to open her mouth when she doesn\u2019t have a dick in it.\u201d\n\nYour hand tightens around your sword hilt as you stop walking for a moment.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m not getting involved. They don\u2019t deserve my help. None of them ever did\u2026\u201d you mutter and take another step.\n\n\u201cShit! This bitch is tight! She must be a virgin!\u201d\n\u201cSo must be her boyfriend\u2019s ass!\u201d\n\nYou do a complete pivot.\n\n\u201c(Sigh) Damn it\u2026\u201d\n\nYou rush towards the sounds of the group and after passing through some tall swamp plants; you find two of the eternals on top of the bodies of their victims. The third one is standing around watching the pair of them, laughing.\n\nHe stops laughing when he catches the sight of your blade shining in the moonlight.\n\n\u201cOh shi\u2026\u201d he utters and you split his head with your sword.\n\nThe eternal on top of the girl manages to stop what he\u2019s doing long enough to look up, which allows her to give him enough of a shove and crawl away backwards from him.\n\nThe other eternal on top of the young man doesn\u2019t even bother getting off his victim, instead he makes idle threats.\n\n\u201cCome closer and I\u2019ll break this boy\u2019s fucking neck!\u201d he shouts and pulls the unconscious young man\u2019s head into his arms preparing to twist.\n\u201cHe\u2019s better off dead anyway at this point.\u201d You say.\n\nYou hear a bone crack followed by the sound of your sword cleaving the neck of the eternal. He attempts to grab at you while making horrible gurgling noises, but he only manages to falls face first into the muddy ground.\n\nThe third eternal at this point has pulled up his pants and drawn his weapon, but given that he hasn\u2019t attacked you immediately like he should have, you know that means he\u2019s scared. They haven\u2019t been challenged in so long, they\u2019ve forgotten what its like.\n\nYou forgot too. You forgot how thrilling combat was. All those old feelings are starting to come back. You\u2019re enjoying this.\n\n\u201cGive me a fight.\u201d You say.\n\nThe eternal attempts to oblige your request, but does a poor job at it. A couple of sword parries and dodges later and you\u2019ve already opened up a wound in his chest and hacked a deep cut in his leg. He drops his sword and collapses on his ass in the mud.\n\n\u201cPlease! Stop! Look, you can have the girl okay? Do whatever you want with her!\u201d\n\u201cHow the hell did you idiots ever take over anything? You\u2019re not eternals. You\u2019re fucking pathetic.\u201d\n\u201cAnd what are hell are you?\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m a shadow of the past and right now the past is catching up with you.\u201d\n\nA little dramatic, but you\u2019re having too much fun.\n\nYour line is lost on the eternal anyway who continues to plea like the girl did when he was raping her. You show the same amount of mercy and smack him across the face with your hilt before shoving your sword into his crotch. His voice goes into a high scream and then silent when you finish him off with a couple stomps to his head cracking his skull. Another couple stomps and his body stops breathing.\n\nYou look around the area and see the young girl still nearby. In this moonlight you can see she\u2019s huddled with her knees up to her body and her arms wrapped around them. She\u2019s also completely naked with bruises on one side of her face and partially covered in mud and dirt. She can\u2019t be any older than twenty; her dead boyfriend was probably around the same age. She rocks back and forth sobbing.\n\nEven when the physical damage heals, this is event is still going to be a scar in her mind for as long as she lives. You have no reassuring words for her, only advice.\n\n\u201cGo home girl and grow stronger from this experience.\u201d You say and leave her to her misery.\n\nYou eventually arrive back at the sanctuary and excitedly tell Talia about what happened tonight.\n\n\u201c\u2026yeah, it was something to see. I sort of wondered if I was going to be rusty, but it all came back pretty naturally. Didn\u2019t even use any magic. Heh. I\u2026I think I\u2019ll be really busy soon. So if I forget to talk to you or anything, its not because I don\u2019t love you. I\u2019ll just have my mind on other things okay? Okay. I\u2019m glad you understand.\u201d\n\nOver the next few days you pick off a few more eternals that you catch unawares in the swamps. Doesn\u2019t take Brutus long to start realizing that someone is standing up to him, though from conversations you\u2019ve eve\u2019s dropped on, he isn\u2019t entirely sure who it is yet and even thinks it might be the pre-cursor to an invasion. He\u2019ll wish that was the case by the time you\u2019re through.\n\nThe peasants though are still being oppressed as usual. Perhaps even worse than they already were, since the eternals are taking their frustrations out on them, you can\u2019t understand why they aren\u2019t at least being encouraged by the situation and trying to fight back.\n\nYou briefly wonder if you should dispense with your secretive solitary operations and try to get a \u201crebellion\u201d going again, but you quickly dismiss such ideas. Maybe you\u2019re indirectly helping the people, but you\u2019re mainly just doing this for your own personal reasons. You\u2019re not going to do is try to enlist aid again. Those days are long gone you\u2019re not putting up with the headache of them anymore. Someone else can do it if they feel so inclined. You\u2019re working fine on your own. You\u2019ve done it many times in the past and will continue to do so in the future.\n\nBesides if you were successful in starting up a rebellion, then you\u2019d eliminate your targets too quickly. As it stands right now, you\u2019re enjoying taking your time. If you wanted to kill them all as fast as possible, you could easily do it.\n\nOver the course of a few months you continue your activities. Brutus starts sending patrols in large groups. He also destroys one of the smaller villages claiming that they know who has been attacking them if not involved in the attacks directly. If something like that doesn\u2019t motivate the people nothing will.\n\nAs it turns out, it has motivated at least one and when you\u2019re spying an eternal patrol camp you aren\u2019t surprised to see a familiar smaller figure hiding nearby. She thinks that nobody sees her, and so far she\u2019s correct as far as the eternals are concerned, but you see her as clear as day. She hasn\u2019t seen you of course due to your cloak.\n\nLooks like she took your advice, but she has no idea what she\u2019s doing. Her desire for vengeance is going to get her killed, though maybe she feels like she has no reason to live at this point.\n\nIn any event, she\u2019s going to get in the way of your own plans, if you don\u2019t do something.", "action_results": [{"action": "Approach her", "result": "You\u2019re not going to rush into battle when you aren\u2019t entirely sure of the situation yet. You need to get her out of here before she messes everything up.\n\nYou silently move towards her staying cloaked the whole time. You try to pay attention to what the eternals are doing while still moving towards the girl. When you finally reach her, she still isn\u2019t quite aware of your presence, you she begins to look around as if she senses something.\n\nYou\u2019re just about to lunge at her, when her sense that someone is near causes her to panic and she ends up falling backwards causing enough noise to attract the attention of the nearby eternals.\n\n\u201cShit.\u201d You curse and decloak before the girl. She\u2019s very surprised to see you.\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t speak, just get the hell out of here!\u201d you shout at her as you here the eternals rushing over to check what\u2019s going on.\n\u201cBut\u2026\u201d she utters.\n\u201cI said don\u2019t\u2026\u201d you say and then feel a spear fly into your back from a second group of eternals that were just returning to camp.\n\nYou manage to spin around and muster enough of a fight to dispatch a couple of the eternals advancing on you, but even you can\u2019t hold your ground against such odds with a sharp object puncturing your vital organs. Even speeding yourself up only serves to prolong the inevitable and you eventually succumb to the onslaught.\n\nAs for the girl she didn\u2019t get far and the eternals make good on finishing her off this time.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Launch your attack now", "result": "Even as quiet as you are, if you head over to her location, you might miss your best opportunity to attack even if you were waiting for a slightly better opening. Still no point in taking chances, you speed yourself up just give yourself that extra edge.\n\nAs your blade sinks into the back of one of the eternals you materialize before the rest of their eyes and they look as if they see a ghost. Their surprise doesn\u2019t last long, but it\u2019s enough for you to chop down another one before they can put up a decent defense.\n\n\u201cBehind you!\u201d you hear a voice shout and you instinctively duck down and spin around to shoot a bolt at whatever might be behind you. You catch an attacker in the leg with it, but from what you can see a bunch more eternals have arrived to help their buddies. This is why you wanted to wait a moment longer before attacking.\n\nOne of the eternals in charge shouts at one of his men to go catch the girl that just shouted a warning to you. At this point running might not be a bad option for yourself. If you had your back against something, you might be better able to fight them, but being surrounded and outnumbered like this isn\u2019t the best situation.\n\nYou make a break for it, but the eternals are wise enough to not all chase you directly, some instead run along either side of you hoping to head you off. It doesn\u2019t help that a few are carrying spears and are fairly proficient at throwing them.\n\nYou cloak yourself and climb up a tree, which helps lose them. They continue to search the area where they last saw you. Eventually they give up and argue with each other about losing you.\n\nYou wait about an hour in the tree before you decide its safe to come down. You head back to the sanctuary cursing your unpreparedness. That speed spell also took it out of you. You feel more drained than you have in a long time; it\u2019s almost like the old days when you were complete crap at casting magic. You\u2019re guessing your long detachment from Dendrin has made your shadow magic even weaker. At least you can still cloak without too many problems it seems.\n\nEventually you get back home only to see a visitor waiting for you. It\u2019s the girl and she\u2019s sitting on a pile of rubble near your secret entrance. Now that you can see her in a better light, she\u2019s much different looking from the wailing waif you last saw. She stinks of the swamp like she\u2019s been living in it for days. Her face is healed up with a few minor scars, but her eyes display a stare that could be matched by some battle weary warriors. You\u2019re actually a little surprised to see her since it implies that she knew where you lived, meaning she\u2019s sneakier than you thought.\n\n\u201cNobody followed me. I lost my pursuer.\u201d\n\u201cDid you kill him?\u201d\n\u201cNo.\u201d\n\u201cThen how the hell do you know you really lost him? Maybe he let you get away, just to follow you at his leisure. What the hell were you doing out there, you know damn well you\u2019re no match for those guys.\u201d\n\u201cNeither are you it seems.\u201d\n\u201cI would\u2019ve been had I waited a little longer to gather all the information instead of jumping into battle like an idiot.\u201d\n\u201cSo why\u2019d you jump in like an idiot?\u201d\n\u201cBecause I saw you and you were already a factor I didn\u2019t need to deal with if you decided to jump in like an idiot. So I did it instead, hoping that was all of them. Apparently not. Still, got a few of them I guess. There\u2019s always tomorrow. Now if you don\u2019t mind, I\u2019m going inside and I don\u2019t need you knowing exactly where the entrance is even if you already knew where I lived.\u201d\n\nThe girl doesn\u2019t move.\n\n\u201cSo basically what you\u2019re saying is you risked your life to prevent me from getting hurt.\u201d\n\u201cNo, I told you why I did it. Don\u2019t read into something that isn\u2019t there, now I suggest you do what I told you to do last time and go home.\u201d\n\u201cI can\u2019t considering they destroyed my village not long ago. Completely.\u201d\n\nYou exhale deeply since you heard about that, but of course you had no idea she was from there.\n\n\u201cSo that was your village? Was it random, or did they know you were there for the\u2026first attack?\u201d\n\u201cI think they knew. They didn\u2019t know exactly what had happened or who was there, but they guessed someone in the village knew something. Some in the village knew what I told them, like my family, Aaron\u2019s family, and close neighbors, but nobody gave me up. I sort of wished they did, they\u2019d all be alive right now.\u201d\n\u201cIf you felt that way, why not turn yourself in?\u201d\n\u201cBecause I was scared? Because I didn\u2019t want to die? Because I\u2019d somehow beaten the odds and endured something I shouldn\u2019t have?\u201d\n\u201cBecause you wanted to survive.\u201d You say.\n\u201cYes, because I wanted to survive. Just like I wanted to survive when they started lining up everyone to more efficiently butcher them. I managed to run. I left my mother, my father, my little brother, my friends. I left them ALL behind. I didn\u2019t try to save them Maybe I could\u2019ve I don\u2019t think so, but I didn\u2019t even try. All I wanted to do is survive. And that\u2019s what I\u2019ve been doing ever since, living in the swamp attempting to survive and plot revenge.\u201d\n\u201cHmm, well you\u2019ve got the survival bit down at least. So were you the only survivor from your village?\u201d\n\u201cI dunno, I think some others ran. Don\u2019t know what happened to them though. So when are we going to attack again?\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019M going to get some rest and I\u2019ll attack again when I feel like it. YOU I don\u2019t know what you\u2019re going to do, but I suggest you go find some place to hide where those bastards can\u2019t find you. Now leave. I\u2019m not going to ask nicely again.\u201d\n\nThe girl hops down from her sitting spot.\n\n\u201cNo, I\u2019m not going anywhere. YOU saved me. Twice. Which means right now you\u2019re the closest thing I have to a friend and friends help each other out. Besides, I did warn you about that guy going to attack you. Surely that warrants me at least some place to stay. I won\u2019t get in the way. I know how to take care of myself. I know I can do a lot more than I used to\u2026\u201d\n\u201cLook this isn\u2019t some shelter for lost girls! This is my damn home! I don\u2019t owe you shit! Now get the fuck outta here!\u201d you yell and stand directly in front of her, but she\u2019s unmoved.\n\u201cYou\u2019re going to have to fucking kill me then!\u201d she shouts back in your face.\n\nAt this point you\u2019re more worried about your voices attracting attention. You feel like knocking her out, but that would only be a temporary solution and despite being a fairly ruthless killer, you\u2019re not going to oblige her alternative.\n\nYou push her out of the way and open up your entrance. She\u2019s probably a little amazed that she was so close to it and didn\u2019t realize it.\n\n\u201cWell? Don\u2019t just stand there with a dumb look on your face; get inside before we attract the attention of something other than Sul Monkeys.\u201d You say and motion her inside.\n\n\u201cWhat\u2019s your name anyway?\u201d\n\u201cLena.\u201d\n\nDendrin\u2019s going to have a field day with this and you\u2019ve got nobody to blame but yourself.", "action_results": [{"action": "Time passes...", "result": "Year 46\n\n\u201cThink the girl will survive your big attack plan?\u201d Dendrin asks.\n\u201cIf she does, she does. If she doesn\u2019t, well that\u2019s the way it goes.\u201d You reply.\n\u201cYou don\u2019t mean that. You\u2019re just trying to play tough. I know better.\u201d\n\u201cWell if you know better why do you insist on asking stupid questions?\u201d\n\u201cTradition?\u201d\n\u201cHah\u2026okay I\u2019ll admit that one was a little amusing.\u201d\n\u201cGlad to see you\u2019re in a better mood nowadays, but I imagine having someone to converse back and forth with on a regular basis might be helping. I told you, that you couldn\u2019t go on with your life as it was and I was right! And you say I don\u2019t look out for you.\u201d\n\u201cYeah, that must be why you\u2019ve seen fit to deprive me of nearly all my magic abilities.\u201d\n\u201cYou\u2019re not a believer. I can\u2019t give to someone who has no faith. Sorry, but I don\u2019t make the rules. Besides, you were never a magic lover anyway.\u201d\n\u201cPerhaps not, but I found it useful in certain situations. Doesn\u2019t matter, I\u2019ve been making due\u2026I suppose it has made me adapt, and kept me from relying on a crutch.\u201d\n\u201cWell if that\u2019s your way of saying thanks, I guess I\u2019ll take it. Good luck tomorrow.\u201d\n\nYou wake up.\n\nToday is the day, after months of carrying out a personal guerrilla war on Brutus\u2019 gang (you refuse to acknowledge such rabble as any sort of \u201carmy\u201d) you\u2019ve managed to whittle it down to a manageable size to the point where he\u2019s had Sinkhole barricaded. You\u2019re not sure why considering its not going to stop you, but if the fool actually thinks building a shaky wooden wall and locking himself in his house is actually going to save him, so be it.\n\nWhile you get ready, Lena\u2019s already set to go. You think she\u2019s been anxious for this day more than you have.\n\nLena has been helping you and for her part she\u2019s done an adequate job. She\u2019s taken to training well, though that\u2019s probably because she doesn\u2019t have much left anymore. You\u2019ve had to pull her fat out of the fire on more than one occasion, but you expected you would when you first agreed to have her help you.\n\nAnd at least she\u2019s helping you. That\u2019s more than can be said about anyone else! Despite all the damage you\u2019ve done to their oppressors, your actions have not inspired others to take up arms against what\u2019s left of the eternals. You can\u2019t say you\u2019re surprised though. Lena on more than one occasion has travelled to a few of the swamp villages in the hopes of getting help, but no luck. You told her it was a waste of time, but she had to learn on her own your suppose.\n\nYou probably never show it and you\u2019d certainly never admit it, but you do respect Lena and don\u2019t mind her company. Though there\u2019s still another whose company you prefer. (And that that isn\u2019t Dendrin)\n\n\u201cI\u2019m going now. I\u2019ll be back later to tell you all about it.\u201d You tell Talia before you leave.\n\nYou and Lena make your way to Sinkhole. Along the way Lena makes her usual snappy comments. It\u2019s one of her less endearing qualities.\n\n\u201cSo you couldn\u2019t get Talia to help us for this one?\u201d\n\u201cWell maybe if I\u2019d been a believer in Dendrin, he would\u2019ve seen fit to raise her from the dead or something, but seeing as he\u2019s as much of an asshole as you\u2019re being right now, no I couldn\u2019t get Talia\u2019s help. Maybe next time.\u201d You reply.\n\u201cI\u2019m sorry, I really shouldn\u2019t have said that, I\u2026\u201d\n\u201cForget it. You\u2019re nervous just like you are whenever we go into battle and you\u2019re deflecting as usual. Just save those witty remarks for combat. Seems to work on those wannabe eternals who get flustered over the smallest taunts.\u201d\n\nSinkhole\u2019s rickety wall doesn\u2019t quite extend all the way around the town, but its enough that there\u2019s no way to easily go around it without either wading through the deep marsh water or just barging through the front gate. If you still had your magic, you\u2019d just scale the wall with the spider walk spell, but you don\u2019t have that luxury anymore. Chopping or kicking through the wall would probably take time and attract attention. You\u2019d like to at least catch the enemy a little off guard.\n\nSo you decide to do the classic \u201cpincer maneuver.\u201d\n\n\u201cLena, you sneak around through the marsh where there is no wall and enter Sinkhole that way.\u201d\n\u201cWait, where are you going to be?\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m going through the main gate of course. They\u2019ll be focusing on me so much that you\u2019ll probably be able to take down several of Brutus\u2019 men before some of them converge on your position.\u201d\n\u201cAre you going to be all right?\u201d\n\u201cWe\u2019ve worked together for months now and you have to ask me that? Don\u2019t worry about me, I\u2019ve faced worse. A lot worse. Now Brutus will probably be hold up in that big house of his. Don\u2019t try to enter it until I get there since the place will probably be trapped.\u201d\n\u201cWhat if I see him outside?\u201d\n\u201cI doubt it since the coward seems determined to throw everyone under his command at us while he hides. In the off chance you do see him, he\u2019ll probably be trying to escape so by all means try to stop him in that case. Now let\u2019s get going.\u201d\n\nAs you and Lena part company you know there\u2019s a fifty fifty chance Lena is going to disregard everything you\u2019ve said and try to enter Brutus\u2019 home and try to kill him herself. You\u2019re going have to be quick if you want to beat her there.\n\nPredictably several eternals guard the front gate and when you appear before them, the alarm is raised and they attack. If they\u2019re lucky, they might actually last more than a five minutes against you\u2026\n\nFour minutes later you\u2019ve already fought your way through the main gate. You see several more eternals standing in the road with weapons drawn, but they look unsure to as whether or not to attack you or run away. Surprisingly one speaks up, he\u2019s a short man with brown hair wearing leather armor. He\u2019s very average looking and not at all anything like what the second generation eternals are supposed to be which are great hulking warrior types.\n\n\u201cHold for a moment! I would speak with you. There is no need for animosity.\u201d\n\u201cWhat, you trying to stall for time and set up an amubush? Not likely, let\u2019s get on with this!\u201d you reply and advance.\n\nHe and the two other eternals standing behind him all back away while still attempting to hold a defensive position.\n\n\u201cWait just a moment, damn it! There are not enough of us left to set up a fucking ambush! We\u2019re all that\u2019s left, besides Brutus barricaded in his house. I mean we already know you could kill us all within seconds, is it really going to hurt to hear what I have to say?\u201d\n\u201cAlright, make it quick.\u201d\n\u201cOkay, we\u2019re giving up. I mean just let us get the hell out of here and we\u2019ll never enter this damn swamp ever again. This ain\u2019t worth it and I certainly ain\u2019t dying for Brutus.\u201d\n\u201cWhat makes you think I\u2019d let you go?\u201d\n\u201cLook I know who you are. You\u2019re not just some crazy ass old shadow; you\u2019re also an eternal. A first gen. Oh yes, I heard stories about you in the old days and unlike most of my kind, I took them seriously. I also remember because I was assigned here when you were still causing trouble for the old Empire. Everyone thought you died when we collapsed the temple on you, but when our boys started getting picked off over the last year, I had a feeling who it might be. I tried to warn Brutus that we should just leave, but the fool wouldn\u2019t listen.\n\u201cHmm, too bad you weren\u2019t smart enough to leave yourself.\u201d\n\u201cWell, Brutus may be a fool, but he\u2019s still my friend.\u201d\n\u201cFriends? Didn\u2019t know you second gens, had the concept of it\u2026but he\u2019s so much of a friend, that you\u2019re ready to abandon him now?\u201d\n\u201cI don\u2019t like it, but if I have to chose between loyalty to my friend and survival, survival is going to win.\u201d\n\u201cWhile this is all very interesting, you still haven\u2019t answered my question, why the hell should I let you go?\u201d\n\u201cBecause I talked Brutus out of destroying this entire town and the rest of the little villages in this swamp? Did you know when you started murdering us, his first order was to wage systematic genocide on the people of Delerg? Granted he still wiped out a few villages completely, but I managed to save lives because even I thought that was going too far. Other did too, I was just the only one brave enough to tell him in a way that showed it wouldn\u2019t be wise to do it.\u201d\n\u201cSo that makes you a good guy?\u201d\n\u201cNo, I didn\u2019t say it makes me a good guy, I\u2019m just saying that my deeds at least should be taken into consideration. I mean\u2026fuck\u2026you\u2019ve killed a lot of us and you\u2019ll likely kill Brutus as well. Isn\u2019t that enough? We\u2019re no threat to you and we\u2019re not going to come back to launch some sort of sneak attack. You can have free reign of this place, I\u2019d rather just put this shithole far behind me. You\u2019ll never see us again.\u201d\n\nThis guy might not be playing for time to have more of his buddies ambush you, but he\u2019s still taken up more than enough and there\u2019s no indication of Lena showing up who probably would\u2019ve attacked them by now. Since she hasn\u2019t that can only mean she\u2019s decided to take on Brutus himself, which means she\u2019s probably going to get herself killed if you don\u2019t reach the house soon.", "action_results": [{"action": "Take care of the eternals first", "result": "If Lena\u2019s gone ahead without heeding your warnings, she\u2019s going to have to fend for herself, because there\u2019s no way you\u2019re taking chances with just the word of this asshole.\n\n\u201cIf you paid attention to history and old stories like you say you do, then you\u2019d also know that I was never one to show mercy to my enemies. You\u2019re a bigger fool than your friend Brutus if you\u2019re thinking I\u2019m going to let you go for any reason.\u201d\n\u201cI had to try.\u201d The eternal says with a resigned sigh. He turns and nods to his cohorts and they scatter in different directions while he advances on you.\n\nGreat, now you\u2019ll have to chase them all down.\n\nYou dispatch the big talker fairly quickly, you manage to catch another one with your armbow before he gets too far and you finally chase down the third one just as he reaches the front gate. You notice several citizens starting to creep out from their homes and other hiding places. Still helpful as ever.\n\nYou head quickly to the \u201cmansion\u201d sized home near the marshlands. You approach cautiously and that\u2019s when you see Lena waiting nearby it. Apparently she decided to listen after all.\n\n\u201cWhat took you so long? I\u2019d like to get rid of this bastard and change out of these wet clothes.\u201d\n\u201cGlad to see you listened for once, but didn\u2019t you think I\u2019d need help?\u201d\n\u201cYou told me, not to worry about you and to just wait for you.\u201d\n\u201cHmm, I suppose I did. Nevermind, did you have any problems?\u201d\n\u201cOther than having to pull leeches off my body? No. There were a couple eternals near the area where I came through, but I killed them while they were still trying to make up their minds on whether or not to leave their posts to investigate the noise you were stirring up at the front gate. Besides that, I investigated the surrounding area outside this house and I haven\u2019t seen any evidence that Brutus has tried to leave it.\u201d\n\u201cLet\u2019s just hope he doesn\u2019t have some sort of underground tunnel built. Let\u2019s go.\u201d\n\nAfter breaking down the door, you cautiously move throughout the house. While certainly bigger than the rest of homes in Sinkhole, it probably doesn\u2019t look much better from the inside. The place is a wreck, you\u2019d think as a leader he\u2019d want to keep his own home in better condition, but then given that you live in an underground hole of a collapsed temple which was already in ruins when you arrived there, maybe you aren\u2019t exactly in a position to make judgments as far as living arrangements are concerned.\n\n\u201cNo traps so far.\u201d Lena whispers.\n\u201cConsidering there\u2019s so much junk and garbage in this place, they could be well hidden. Keep a look out anyway, and stay quiet! No need to give our position away.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m sure he already knows we\u2019re\u2026\u201d\n\nBefore Lena can complete her statement, Brutus appears from around a corner and nearly takes her head off with an axe. Fortunately for her, you block the attack. At last you get a close look at the great leader himself, and once again you\u2019re unimpressed by what you see. Makes this whole endeavor hardly even worth it at this point.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll make you wish you hadn\u2019t come back from the dead shadow!\u201d Brutus exclaims right before you shut him up with a head-butt and then slicing his belly open. Falling to the floor and desperately attempting to hold in his entrails he starts to scoot back from you.\n\n\u201cYou new eternals always talk too much.\u201d You say. \u201cLena\u2026if you\u2019d like to do the honors.\u201d\n\nLena wastes no time in taking up your offer. She points her spear at Brutus, who makes a plea for his life through bribery. It doesn\u2019t work and Lena skewers him in the chest with the spear.\n\nThen she does it again\u2026 and again\u2026 and again\u2026 and\u2026\n\n\u201cSonofabitch! You killed my family! Bastard! Die! Die! Fuck you\u2026\u201d Lena sobs the whole time.\n\u201cLena he\u2019s dead. You can stop now. He can\u2019t order anyone else anymore. None of them can do anything anymore, we killed them all.\u201d You say and grab the spear from her.\n\nShe looks at you with tears streaming down from her eyes and for the first time since that first night you saw her assaulted she looks vulnerable again. The hardened exterior has allowed itself to collapse. She hugs tightly you and continues to sob. You aren\u2019t exactly sure how to react except to reciprocate for a moment, but you\u2019re uncomfortable so you gently push her away when you feel enough time has passed. She\u2019s still upset, but begins to compose herself.\n\n\u201c(sniff) So what\u2019s next?\u201d she asks.\n\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d\n\u201cWhat\u2019s next? I mean we killed all of the eternals here in Delerg. Aren\u2019t we going to go to Quala and continue? Where should we strike first?\u201d\n\nYou figured something like this would happen. Lena isn\u2019t going to stop here. Already her desire for more vengeance is taking over. And while you certainly understand it and even agree with it to an extent, you just aren\u2019t sure if this is truly the path for her.\n\nShe has talent to be sure, but she\u2019s attempting to take on a task that will far exceed her abilities even with you at her side. That\u2019s the other problem. You fear that you might not even be on your best performance since you\u2019ll always be worrying about her in the back of your mind.\n\nStill part of you would like to continue your partnership with her wherever that may lead. You certainly aren\u2019t moping around like you used to and Lena\u2019s enthusiasm bring a bit of a joy to your life.", "action_results": [{"action": "Join Lena", "result": "Lena will probably go whether you do or not so you might as well go with her to keep her safer. You can also continue training her which can only help in her survival. You also enjoy Lena\u2019s company too and your spirits haven\u2019t been remotely this high for a long time.\n\n\u201cSlow down girl, we\u2019ll get to them eventually. They aren\u2019t going anywhere. Right now we should take a break before planning our next attack.\u201d\n\nLena nods and says that maybe you\u2019re right and that you should take a break. The pair of you takes your leave of Sinkhole and head back home as the peasants start to slowly fill the streets again.\n\nWhen you get back home, Lena is definitely in a much better mood.\n\n\u201cIt felt so good killing all those bastards! I think I\u2019m only just realizing just exactly how good though!\u201d she says followed by a triumphant yell of victory.\n\u201cWell you should be proud of what you managed to accomplish. It was a great victory and I\u2019m proud of you too.\u201d\n\nLena smiles at your remark and hugs you again.\n\n\u201cOh I would\u2019ve never done it without your help! You\u2019ve been so good and helpful to me! We\u2019ll go on to more victories against those eternal bastards, I just know it!\u201d\n\nLena\u2019s body against yours so good to you right now. You feel closer to her than ever and not just in a physical way. During your embrace both of your eyes meet and it doesn\u2019t take long before your lips follow along with other parts of your body.\n\nLater while she\u2019s asleep beside you, you walk into the garden feeling somewhat guilty for your actions.\n\n\u201cI\u2026uh\u2026I\u2019m home. I meant to tell you sooner, but I\u2026(sigh)\u2026\u201d you begin to say to Talia\u2019s grave.\n\nIt takes you a while to even muster up courage to speak again.\n\n\u201cTalia, I\u2019m sorry\u2026but as much as I tried to fight them I have feelings for Lena. She\u2019s a brave girl. She has that same fighting spirit. You know, like you did\u2026\u201d\n\nYou take the silence that follows as accusatory.\n\n\u201cNo! I\u2019m not replacing you! I just\u2026NO! She won\u2019t die like you did! I\u2019ll make sure she\u2019s safe! That\u2019s why I\u2019m going to look out and be with her! Look I can\u2019t morn you forever! Why won\u2019t you just let me move on? I have to move on right?! Wouldn\u2019t you want me to do that?!\u201d\n\nThe further silence just makes you run out of the garden and into one of the other rooms. You begin to curse and sob at your situation. You know it\u2019s completely irrational, but you don\u2019t understand why you can\u2019t move on.\n\nAfter you compose yourself, you head back to your room where Lena is still happily sleeping. Fortunately despite your rather loud outbursts, she hasn\u2019t stirred at all. When you get back into bed she instinctively cuddles next to you.\n\n\u201cWhere\u2019d you go?\u201d she asks sleepily.\n\u201cUh\u2026just thought I heard a weird noise. It was nothing.\u201d You remark.\n\u201cOh.\u201d She replies and drifts back to sleep.\n\nYou on the other hand are practically up for the rest of the night trying to put a ghost to rest once and for all. You manage to succeed, but you still don\u2019t feel good about it. Hopefully in time, you\u2019ll be able to live with it, but in order to do that, you\u2019re going to have to leave this place and not come back. There are just too many memories here.\n\nYear 50\n\nLena wanted to take the fight to the eternals, and she\u2019s really been sticking to that promise.\n\nIn the beginning you were mainly targeting eternal soldiers and such. This naturally drew the ire of whatever local warlord that had established dominance there. This wasn\u2019t a problem since you mostly just moved on to another location in Quala.\n\nThe problem was you weren\u2019t just fighting eternals now, you were fighting the multitudes of human followers said eternal warlords have under their command. Given that you were only two people, you were more than a little outnumbered. Also while Lena may be better skilled than she was, but she still does not have the capability to assassinate a battle hardened eternal warlord commanding said armies. You probably might have had better luck, if you were younger and still had access to your shadow magic, as it stands though, you\u2019ve lost that ability completely now. It would seem that Dendrin\u2019s link to you has practically been broken at this point, though he has still spoken to you from time to time. Mostly to tell you that your actions are a pathetic attempt to live in the past and you\u2019re just following around Lena like a glorified bodyguard. This has lead to the usual predictable arguments. Dendrin must\u2019ve gotten tired of arguing with you though since he hasn\u2019t been speaking with you in quite some time, which suits you just fine.\n\nEventually, Lena once again attempted to stir up the local populations in the hopes of getting some more help, she was a little more successful this time, but nobody has ever lasted very long. They either they quit for various reasons after the first few missions, or they get themselves killed. The ones that do stick around are mostly criminal types who enjoy the violence along with the looting on the side.\n\nAll of this pretty much means Lena\u2019s the leader of a group of bandits masquerading around as \u201cfreedom fighters.\u201d You and Lena are now wanted in several territories in Quala. Even a few eternal rulers have declared temporary truce just so they can send joint forces against you. Svelk mercs have also been hired to hunt you down. While you\u2019ve been generally supportive of Lena\u2019s misguided quest for vengeance, you haven\u2019t always thought its necessarily the wisest thing to pursue. Your last raid on a small encampment got half of the gang killed and Lena wounded to the point where she\u2019s going to be in no condition to go on another until she heals.\n\nRight now you\u2019re siting beside her bandaged body while she rests. You wonder if you shouldn\u2019t at least try to talk a little sense into her. Its getting to the point where you believe your luck is going to run out eventually and while you\u2019re enjoying fighting side by side with her, part of you would like to pull back a bit. If only to ensure your survival so you can actually enjoy her company a lot longer.\n\nJust as you\u2019ve completed pondering this situation, Lena starts stirring from her sleep.\n\n\u201cDid we win?\u201d she asks.\n\u201cYes, but it was at a high cost. I told you we should\u2019ve prepared longer. And you shouldn\u2019t have charged into battle like that.\u201d\n\u201cDoesn\u2019t matter, as long as we got that bastard.\u201d\n\u201cYou do realize that the sergeant was the only eternal in the platoon right? The rest were just regular humans.\u201d\n\u201cSo? If they take orders from an eternal and do their bidding, they\u2019re just as bad. You know that better than anyone.\u201d\n\nThere it is again. Her blind need for vengeance as usual. You\u2019re beginning to think she cares more about that, than she does you.", "action_results": [{"action": "Talk to Lena about quitting", "result": "\u201cLena, you\u2019ve been getting more reckless lately, and I\u2019m starting to get concerned.\u201d\n\u201cWhat? These wounds? I\u2019ll heal. And I don\u2019t even need to wait that long anyway, I could be up and around before then.\u201d\n\u201cIf you didn\u2019t pick a fight every chance you get, and actually took time to step back for a moment, you\u2019d probably suffer less cuts and bruises. And while I know the group we hang around with are a bunch of low life scum for the most part, we still can\u2019t afford to lose them like we\u2019ve been doing. Especially when the risk is starting to severely outweigh the potential rewards.\u201d\n\u201cWell, maybe its time we get some new people to help. Try to find some disgruntled peasant or something again.\u201d\n\nYou shake your head.\n\n\u201cLena, you\u2019re not hearing me. I\u2019m saying maybe its time to quit while you\u2019re ahead. I mean what are we even doing anymore?\u201d\n\u201cWe\u2019re fighting against injustice and tyranny! I thought that\u2019s what you used to do!\u201d\n\u201cYeah, that\u2019s what I USED to do. What I\u2019m doing now I\u2019m not so sure. Lena, you\u2019re letting your desire for vengeance overwhelm you. You\u2019re not thinking straight. You shoot down all my ideas when it comes to sound strategies. I mean lately you\u2019ve just been throwing cautious right out the window.\u201d\n\u201cAnd you always played it cautious, when fighting the Empire?\u201d\n\u201cY\u2019know what? YES. Yes I did whenever it was possible, y\u2019know why? Because they fucking outnumbered us in everyway that\u2019s why! And despite the fact that I taught you how to fight, you are NOT me. You will NEVER be me. You passion for vengeance brought on by your unfortunate experiences, will never replace the rush I get when I get into a battle which always gives me an edge. And let me tell you something else. As good as I am, I can\u2019t always be everywhere so that I can save you just in time.\u201d\n\u201cWell who the hell is asking you to save me?!\u201d Lena says with a displeased look on her face.\n\u201cSomeone needs to save you, because you sure as hell haven\u2019t been of clear mind to maintain your self-preservation anymore! Lena look, I know you\u2019d like nothing more than to personally kill every eternal you could get your hands on, but it\u2019s not going to happen. Even if you could, it won\u2019t change what has already happened.\u201d\n\nYou hold on to Lena\u2019s hand.\n\n\u201cLena, I\u2019m asking you for me, stop this now, before it completely consumes you. Are your feelings for vengeance stronger than your feelings for me?\u201d\n\nYou look into Lena\u2019s eyes and her previous expression of displeasure turns to one of avoidance. She tries to speak, but stops. Sensing that she needs to respond, she gives you an answer.\n\n\u201cYou, you know I love you.\u201d\n\u201cYes, I\u2019m sure you do, but you will not avoid my question so easily.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m not\u2026I\u2026I\u2026just\u2026\u201d\n\nAt this point, you close your eyes and sigh deeply.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s okay Lena. It\u2019s okay. This was probably my own damn fault anyway. Good luck.\u201d You say and kiss her on the head before attempting to leave.\n\u201cWait! Where are you going?!\u201d\n\u201cI can\u2019t stay with you Lena. You\u2019re on a path to self-destruction that I can\u2019t follow. I did that already with Talia and her dedication to Dendrin. Now that I think about it, this whole thing has been me trying to relive my own past by being with you. Trying to rekindle the same spark I had with Talia. I can\u2019t even lie to myself about it anymore. Anyway I\u2019m rambling now, so I bid you goodbye and I hope you eventually see that you don\u2019t need to follow the path you\u2019re on.\u201d\n\nYou exit the tent with the Lena still calling for you, but you just keep walking. You notice you aren\u2019t the only one leaving. You see some of the thugs packing up their stuff and heading off to greener pastures no doubt. Maybe with less people to help, Lena will be less likely to mount foolish attacks. At least you hope she has that much sense.\n\nAs for you, you realize that if you\u2019re going to live in the past, you\u2019re going to do it the right way.\n\nYou travel back to Delerg. Back to the temple. Back home. The place is the same, its like you never left. You enter the garden\u2026\n\n\u201cI\u2019m home Talia. I\u2019m home and I shouldn\u2019t have left. I see that now. I can only hope you can forgive me. Can you forgive me?\u201d\n\nYou approach Talia\u2019s grave.\n\n\u201cYes. Yes of course you forgive me. Just like I forgave you. We\u2026we were always meant to be together.\u201d You say closing your eyes and unsheathing your blade.\n\n\u201cI should\u2019ve done this a long time ago.\u201d You say and thrust your blade into yourself.\n\nYou fall beside Talia\u2019s grave as your life force drains out. Your last thoughts are peaceful ones.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Continue to stand by her", "result": "You\u2019ve been a fool over one woman in the past, why not another one? At least you can identify with Lena\u2019s obsession a bit better than Talia\u2019s worship of Dendrin. It may be true that one day your luck will run out, but you\u2019ve been running on borrowed time for decades. What better way to die in battle beside one you care about?\n\nJust like you should\u2019ve years ago\u2026\n\n\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong?\u201d Lena asks due to your silence to her previous statement.\n\u201cNothing. Nothing at all.\u201d You say and give her a kiss on the lips.\n\n\u201cI\u2019d just prefer if you listened to my ideas a little more in the future. I\u2019m only looking out for your safety.\u201d\n\u201cI know. You\u2019re probably right. I\u2019d like to stay alive long enough to kill every eternal after all.\u201d Lena says with a small chuckle and then holds on to her side when it causes a bit of pain.\n\nLena spends the rest of the week healing up. It\u2019s the longest amount of \u201cdowntime\u201d you\u2019ve had in quite a while. You\u2019d actually enjoy it a bit more, if Dendrin didn\u2019t visit you and continue to impart his views on your situation.\n\n\u201cShe\u2019s going to lead you to ruin. I\u2019m telling you Eternal.\u201d Dendrin remarks.\n\u201cYes, yes, yes. You\u2019ve been telling me that for years now. You should know at this point I don\u2019t give a shit if it does. It\u2019s better than living like I was. At least now I feel alive again. Besides you were always bitching at me for living like a hermit anyway.\u201d\n\u201cYes, but I didn\u2019t know you were exchange one self destructive lifestyle for another.\u201d\n\u201cDendrin, my whole fucking life has been self-destructive, long before I even had the misfortune of meeting you. My first major choice I can remember was either to beg for my life or die when I was five. I chose to die. Pretty much tells you all you need to know about me. So how about you leave me alone once and for all and let me get back to it okay? You\u2019ll get no more entertainment from this mortal.\u201d\n\u201cApparently not. Very well then Eternal, go forth and die.\u201d\n\nAnd that\u2019s the last time you ever hear from Dendrin.\n\nYear 54\n\nHere you are hold up in some abandoned cabin with svelk mercenaries shouting obscenities from outside. Lena lies on a dirty bed bleeding out and attempting to stay conscious. You\u2019re not doing too good yourself. You knew it would end like this and you still don\u2019t regret your decision in what is probably going to be your last moments on this world.\n\nIt\u2019s only a matter of time before the svelk just decide to burn you out. Somehow you can\u2019t help but laugh at the fact that the first person who nearly killed you was a svelk. Everything has come full circle it seems.\n\n\u201cIs..it\u2026(cough) time?\u201d Lena weakly asks.\n\u201cCan you stand up?\u201d\n\u201cI don\u2019t think so\u2026I hurt all over and just want to sleep.\u201d\n\u201cIts okay, you\u2019ll be able to sleep soon. We both will. Here I\u2019ll help, just grab your dagger.\u201d\n\nYou pick up Lena in an attempt to stand her up and while she\u2019s practically dead weight, you manage to do it.\n\n\u201cDo\u2026you ever regret saving me?\u201d Lena asks.\n\u201cNever.\u201d You tell her and kiss her one more time before exiting the cabin with her.\n\nYou and Lena make it five steps before the svelk open fire on you with their crossbows.", "action_results": []}]}, {"action": "Persuade against her idea", "result": "This isn\u2019t going to be easy or fun for you, but it is regrettably necessary. You\u2019re going to not only have to convince her that she shouldn\u2019t pursue this path, but also push her away in general.\n\n\u201cLena, you won, be happy with your victory. I know you\u2019d like to kill every eternal out there, but it just isn\u2019t feasible.\u201d\n\u201cI won? My family is still fucking dead!\u201d\n\u201cAnd? You think you\u2019re the only one who\u2019s ever lost something dear to them? Going on a vengeance crusade still isn\u2019t going to bring them back and it\u2019s just going to get you killed!\u201d\n\u201cWhat the hell else do I have to live for?!\u201d\n\u201cWhat do you have to live for? You\u2019re still young for one thing, you\u2019ve got your whole life ahead of you. Yes, what happened was tragic for you, but you\u2019ve grown stronger because of it and you survived the ordeal. Now make the most of it. Live your life. Find someone to settle down with or whatever it is normal people do.\u201d\n\u201cNormal people\u2026do you really think I can go back to a normal life? Be someone\u2019s little housewife?\u201d\n\u201cOkay maybe not normal\u2026look I\u2019m just saying you going on some fool errand of trying to kill every one of those assholes claiming to be eternals is going to get you killed. Not all of them are going to be as inept as the ones that were hanging around here. The other ones? They\u2019re constantly at war and are battle hardened. I guarantee they\u2019ll be much tougher opponents and much more organized.\u201d\n\u201cBut wouldn\u2019t you be there to help? You could train me more and\u2026you could start up a rebellion in Quala! Just like you did in the old days you told me about!\u201d\n\u201cHa ha. No, those days are long over. I\u2019ve told you that before. I\u2019m not going anywhere and I\u2019m not training you any more. You are not meant for this sort of life. I helped clear out this swamp and now I will probably go back to my previous life of solitude.\u201d\n\nLena begins to tear up again. It\u2019s obvious she doesn\u2019t like where this is going.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re kicking me out of your home aren\u2019t you?\u201d\n\u201c(Sigh) You had to know this arrangement wasn\u2019t going to last forever. I know you\u2019ll find some place to be I mean I\u2019m sure you\u2019ll be treated very well by most people considering you just helped remove their oppressors.\u201d\n\u201cSave me your words, (sniffle) I thought we were\u2026a team\u2026I thought you cared\u2026just go away. Leave me alone.\u201d\n\nYou don\u2019t say anything else, because saying anything else is just going to make things harder and likely make things worse. So you just leave.\n\nIt feels like forever getting back home, but eventually you do and head straight to the garden.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m back home, just like I said I would be. I even brought you something.\u201d You say and put some blue flowers you picked on your way back home on her grave.\n\n\u201cOh Lena? Yeah she\u2019s gone. I think its for the best she didn\u2019t live here anymore y\u2019know? Dendrin already impedes on us enough. Didn\u2019t need her around too.\u201d\n\n\u201cI mean if she\u2019d stayed she would\u2019ve just been miserable here and eventually we would\u2019ve ended up going to Quala like she wanted and she would\u2019ve gotten herself killed. At least this way, she won\u2019t do it now\u2026well I suppose I can\u2019t be sure of that, but I think the fact that she waited for me instead of charging into Brutus\u2019 place by herself is a good indication. Showed me she\u2019s always heeded my advice and not only that, she\u2019s not as overly confidant as I thought she was. Without me around she\u2019ll eventually abandoned her need for vengeance and settle into the normal life she was supposed to lead. She\u2026 deserves it, don\u2019t you think?\u201d you say with your voice quivering a bit.\n\nYou begin to wipe your eyes and sniffle a bit.\n\n\u201cNo, of course I didn\u2019t love her! What kind of opportunist would I be if I took advantage of some girl half my age that had a shitload of emotional baggage and a fragile personality? I\u2019d be no better than those wannabe eternals that\u2019s what. Besides, I didn\u2019t think of her in that way, I just\u2026look I\u2019m tired all right? I\u2019m going to bed.\u201d\n\nYou leave the garden and collapse on your bed. It takes awhile but eventually you start to fall asleep hoping that you don\u2019t have to put up with any smart-ass comments from Dendrin anytime soon.\n\nHe has uncharacteristically heard you for once because he leaves you alone for quite some time.\n\nYou briefly consider doing what you told Lena not to do and that\u2019s go kill eternals in the Quala region, but really that bores you already. Besides, you feel it isn\u2019t going to be quite as much fun anymore without Lena around.\n\nIt suddenly occurs to you that you should do some travelling again. You don\u2019t have much else to do, so why not? Still, this will always be your home no matter what. You won\u2019t leave for good. You just need a change of scenery.\n\nYou decide that you\u2019ll travel not to places you\u2019ve already been or already know about, but to parts unknown, namely Delerg itself. Despite it being part of the Empire, much of it still remains unexplored. You decide you might as well stay relatively close to home if you have the intention of coming back.\n\nYou pack up some gear and get ready to go, of course saying good-bye to Talia and telling her you\u2019ll return eventually.\n\nYear 50\n\nPassing the time by exploring uncharted parts of Delerg has kept you a bit busy over these past few years. It\u2019s amazing that nobody had done it before, but the stories about the Delerg swamp being much more hostile the deeper you went were true.\n\nYou travelled north for quite awhile, but eventually the swamp thinned out completely until it turned into vast bodies of water. Going further would\u2019ve required a boat and you didn\u2019t really have any wish to do that once you saw a glimpse of some of the things lurking in the water.\n\nTravelling east was an ordeal that you nearly didn\u2019t survive. The swamp became more jungle like and it almost seemed as if the land itself was protecting something or otherwise it just didn\u2019t want anyone going further east. You did battle with several beasts that you\u2019d never seen before and probably nobody else from the \u201ccivilized\u201d world had either. It wasn\u2019t just beasts that were hostile, or even the plants, but also a short dark race of humans. Their small stature didn\u2019t make them any less dangerous. Eventually you had to turn back because of the constant attacks that even you couldn\u2019t keep defending against. You swear the trees must\u2019ve been spawning the little bastards.\n\nThankfully as an eternal you\u2019re somewhat resistant to poisons, because it served you well during that time.\n\nStill if you stopped doing something just because it nearly killed you, you wouldn\u2019t have accomplished anything in your life. So eventually you travelled south and beyond the swamp and jungle you discovered a whole new land, yet very much the same as the one you\u2019re familiar with.\n\nFour tribes, two of them human, one elven and another one reptilian, all of them warring with each other and all of them fairly hostile towards you when confrontation was your only option with them.\n\nFrom what you could figure out, three of the factions were all displaced by the Empire in some way when it still existed. The reptilian tribe apparently was nearly exterminated by the shadows in the earlier days of the Empire as they once lived in the Delerg province. (Which explains why they were especially hostile towards you)\n\nYou explored as much as you could and eventually departed leaving the factions to their private war.\n\nNaturally the whole time you were exploring you were periodically returning back home. Delerg itself never changed, it was the same quiet place it always had been. Every once in a while you\u2019d attempt to trade goods in Sinkhole for the rare items you might need, people never accepted any payment you might offer and instead just handed it to you for free. Nowadays you\u2019re considered the last shadow protector of the land and well respected. Of course you aren\u2019t the only one.\n\nLena is also well respected thanks to her deeds. Her assumption that she would never be able to fit into a normal life again were wrong as she did find someone to settle down. Though she was right that she would not be a simple housewife and is a hunter and trapper by trade. You know she lives in one of the smaller villages, probably much like the one she grew up in, but you\u2019ve never spoken to her directly. You see no point in dredging up the past and you have both gone your separate ways now. You\u2019re glad that she managed to move on, which is more than can be said for others\u2026\n\n\u201cWhy have you been writing a lot lately? Never known you to pursue such interests.\u201d Dendrin asks.\n\u201cI dunno. Why not? Not like I\u2019m currently wandering topside at the moment and I already read all the books here. Figured I\u2019d write about stuff I encountered or did on my last travels.\u201d\n\u201cSo you\u2019re writing a book?\u201d\n\u201cMore like a personal journal. Not like I\u2019m going to share it with anyone.\u201d\n\u201cSo why do it?\u201d\n\u201cAs I said, why not? Don\u2019t you have something better to do?\u201d\n\u201cNot really, though I thought you would be considering the impending invasion.\u201d\n\u201cInvasion?\u201d\n\u201cYes, the invasion. I know you\u2019ve been running all over the place lately, but haven\u2019t you been keeping up on the local discussions, I assumed you had since I know you do visit Sinkhole on occasion. One of those eternals or several of them apparently have figured out this place has no active resistance of any kind and would be easy pickings.\u201d\n\u201cOh that. Yes I\u2019m aware of what\u2019s going on and I\u2019ve been preparing for the inevitable.\u201d\n\u201cWhat? Your usual training? You really think you\u2019re going to be able to pull off what you did before by yourself? You do realize that if this place is invaded again, it won\u2019t be occupied by the ones that were here before?\u201d\n\u201cYes, I\u2019m well aware and as I said, I\u2019ll be ready.\u201d\n\u201cAre you planning on leaving?\u201d\n\u201cNo, but I\u2019m glad you\u2019ve still got faith in my combat abilities\u2026as I asked before, don\u2019t you have something better to do?\u201d\n\u201cI might have to find something better to do soon if you aren\u2019t around anymore.\u201d Dendrin says.\n\nYou wake up.\n\nYou\u2019re also left to ponder his \u201cconcern\u201d for you. He\u2019s right in that if there is an invasion, it\u2019ll most likely be a proper army like when the Empire occupied Delerg.\n\nSo what can you really do about it if it does happen? Leave? You\u2019re past thinking like that. This is your home until the day you die.\n\nFight? You probably will eventually just to break up the monotony, but you doubt if you\u2019ll be able to keep your \u201csecret\u201d home a secret. Ever since you made your reappearance it\u2019s a well known fact of where you live by most of the Delergites. Even the group of eternals you got rid of before eventually figured it out, though by that time they were too damned scared to ever launch any sort of offensive.\n\nThe other problem to this is you are starting to feel your age. It\u2019s partly why you stopped your exploring and returned home to rest. Fighting your own extended personal war by yourself for any reason is getting to be less of a viable option especially if this potential invasion force is dead set on keeping the province. And it isn\u2019t like anyone else is going to help\u2026\n\nWell perhaps one person might, but the situation would be vastly different and she has her own life now, though you wonder what sort of life that might be when the invasion comes.\n\nThe only other option you have is to just lay low in the temple and never come out when the invasion arrives. You could easily seal up the entrance that even if it were found, it wouldn\u2019t be easy to get in.", "action_results": [{"action": "Live as you have", "result": "You spent many years practically buried alive, you\u2019re not about to spend your remaining life that way. Better you should just die in battle instead. Of course you only intend on doing that if there are no other options.\n\nSo if this place stands any chance at all you\u2019re going to enlist the help of the only person you know that will fight tooth and nail. You have no idea how Lena is going to react to seeing you again, but its something you\u2019re going to have to do.\n\nYou travel to the small village that lies to the south of Sinkhole where you know Lena has made her home. Its nameless, unspectacular and the people there live simple lives, but that\u2019s usually the standard for the villages around here.\n\nAfter asking a few of the locals, one of them directs you to where Lena\u2019s house is located. It doesn\u2019t surprise you that it\u2019s a bit isolated from the rest of the village. In any case it looks a lot better made than the rest. The muscular man outside chopping wood might have something to do with that though. He\u2019s younger than you, though probably not more than ten years and probably a wood cutter by trade. He puts down his axe when he notices you walking up, which shows he doesn\u2019t sense believe you mean him harm. While he\u2019s probably a little surprised by your presence, it\u2019s obvious he knows who you are, why not? Everyone does in this swamp.\n\n\u201cSo\u2026the shadow finally comes to visit. I always wondered when this day would come. My name is Henry. Lena has spoken about you on several occasions.\u201d\n\u201cNothing good I expect.\u201d\n\u201cOn the contrary, she\u2019s always spoken highly of you. If I was a more insecure man, I\u2019d probably be jealous. However, I believe the bond I have with Lena is an unbreakable one\u2026well save for death of course. Even love must give way for reality after all.\u201d\n\nShows how much he knows given that you still speak to Talia as if she were still alive. Of course you may not exactly be the beacon of sanity.\n\n\u201cAnyway, if you\u2019re here to see Lena, she\u2019s out right now hunting, but should be back soon. I can\u2019t promise that she\u2019ll greet you warmly however.\u201d Henry remarks and then crying is heard on the front porch of the house from a basket. He excuses himself to go see to it.\n\nYou watch from a distance as you see Henry take a child from the basket and make the usual parental reassurances to calm the child. The child must only be a few months old, you didn\u2019t know that Lena had a baby recently. You hear the name Tulla being said a few times and then Henry looks back over to you.\n\n\u201cA handful this one sometimes. Still worth it though.\u201d He says to you with a smile.\n\u201cWorth fighting for I hope.\u201d You reply.\n\nHenry\u2019s smile disappears at your remark.\n\n\u201cOf course.\u201d\n\u201cWell that would make you better than most parents in this forsaken swamp. But the willingness to fight isn\u2019t going to carry the day you know.\u201d\n\n\u201cNeither is an old broken down eternal who belongs to a long dead order.\u201d A familiar voice says. You turn around and see Lena carrying few dead Sul Monkeys and a small Croxidile. She\u2019s changed a bit, a little older and weathered by life, but its still the girl you remember. She motions to Henry to go inside and he nods and complies.\n\n\u201cSo that\u2019s the family huh?\u201d you say. \u201cI didn\u2019t realize you had recently given birth. Congratulations I guess. I knew you\u2019d find\u2026\u201d\n\u201cWhy are you here?\u201d Lena asks as she sets up the Sul Monkeys for skinning.\n\u201cOkay, right to the point then\u2026there\u2019s an invasion coming.\u201d\n\u201cYes, I\u2019m well aware of the rumors.\u201d\n\u201cI doubt if they\u2019re rumors at this point.\u201d\n\u201cSo? What are you suggesting then?\u201d\n\u201cI really don\u2019t know. I mean\u2026(Sigh) look if there is an army coming from Quala, they aren\u2019t going to be the push overs that were here before.\u201d\n\u201cYes, I\u2019m aware of that too. That\u2019s why I\u2019ve been trying to build up a resistance. I dunno if they\u2019ll be any good in a fight, but it\u2019s better than nothing.\u201d\n\u201cWait, you mean you actually got people to potentially help you? When?\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019ve been doing it ever since you abandoned me. Making contacts, building up friendships and all that stuff. I\u2019m surprised that you didn\u2019t know about it, but then you have been traipsing around the swamp for the past few years. Surprised you didn\u2019t just leave for good. I mean what is there for you here?\u201d\n\u201cIts my home too you know.\u201d\n\nLena snorts at your answer.\n\n\u201cHome\u2026you don\u2019t have a home. You aren\u2019t even a true shadow by your own admission. The only reason why you still live here is because you buried Talia in that wrecked temple you call home. You can\u2019t move on.\u201d\n\u201cPerhaps, but someone else hasn\u2019t moved on from her school girl crush either apparently. Henry\u2019s nearly my age. He\u2019s my height and his hair is even my color, one might call that\u2026 substitution.\u201d\n\u201cDon\u2019t you dare criticize Henry! He\u2019s a good man! Better than you\u2019ll ever be!\u201d Lena shouts, but you notice she is careful enough to throw down her skinning knife before getting in your face and poking you in the chest. Not that you would\u2019ve taken it as a serious threat anyway.\n\n\u201cAgain perhaps, but I didn\u2019t come here to criticize him or fight with you. Look, I\u2019m going to be fighting the eternals regardless of your answer, but I thought it might be wise to contact someone else who I know is a fighter. Apparently though you\u2019ve managed to find more though so perhaps you don\u2019t need my help. Now if you don\u2019t want or need my help, I shall take my leave, but it\u2019s always here if you want it directly.\u201d\n\nLena says nothing other than picking up her knife and going back to skinning. You turn to leave and get about a few paces, before she calls back to you.\n\n\u201cWait. Since you\u2019re more out of the loop than I thought, it might be good to bring you up to speed on the specifics of what is known and what is planned. If only to make sure you don\u2019t get in the way of our own operations with your lone wolf tactics. So let me finish this first and you can come on in. We\u2019ll have dinner before going over some of the details.\u201d\n\u201cVery well.\u201d You respond.\n\nAfter your visit is over, you leave with a better grasp of what\u2019s to come. You just aren\u2019t optimistic about it being enough, but then fighting the odds has always been what you\u2019ve done all your life. No point in changing precedent.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass\u2026", "result": "Year 55\n\nYou always were one to defy the odds, but you knew it could only end like this.\n\nLuck certainly played a large factor in your favor at the beginning. First off the invasion rumors were still just rumors for quite a while. It gave you and Lena more time to prepare and it was definitely preparation that was needed.\n\nBy the time the eternal warlord Victor sent anyone to establish dominance, most of the population had actually been motivated to help. This was mostly thanks to Lena again, as well others she recruited. Victor\u2019s first attempt was surprisingly diplomatic, as he sent in an ambassador of sorts along with a company of his troops in Sinkhole. There was an attempt to talk the Delergites into just capitulating with assurances that no harm would come to them if they had. Ultimately these empty promises were wasted and with your help, the first battle of Delerg was a crushing defeat for Victor. There was a lot of celebrating afterwards.\n\nYou knew it was just the beginning though.\n\nThe first few years were a back and forth guerilla war. Victor immediately seized Sinkhole and made it his base of operations. Battles were fought throughout the swamp and jungle. Some of the villages were occupied during this time, but there was still hope.\n\nThen came the moment you knew was going to happen and that\u2019s when Victor got tired of playing nice.\n\nLosing way more troops and spending a lot more time than he wanted to, Victor started making demands that if the Delergites didn\u2019t surrender immediately he was going to set the whole province to the torch. He also wanted you personally to be delivered to him dead or alive. He probably assumed that since you were a shadow, you were actually the main one responsible for leading this thing.\n\nThere were a couple attempts to assault your home, but you had made sure it was a death trap for anyone even entering the nearby area, let alone the ruins themselves. The other attempt was to surround the area to at least contain you, but that didn\u2019t really work either considering you just used a different access route that you made years ago and they\u2019ll probably never find that one since its nowhere near the ruins and you have to actually swim underwater to access it.\n\nEventually an order was given to just try to kill you on sight when possible and that the subjugation of Delerg was the main priority.\n\nTo her credit Lena managed to maintain the Delergites\u2019 enthusiasm of resisting Victor and most continued to fight, but heart alone isn\u2019t enough sometimes. Victor just sent in more troops and began to make good on his promises of setting the province on fire. Village after village burned. Those that weren\u2019t killed were taken away, probably in slavery.\n\nThings got so grim that you briefly pondered the idea of praying to Dendrin for help if only to try to get your shadow magic back, but given that it didn\u2019t save Talia, you saw no reason to bother. Dendrin even told you not to bother, as he knew you\u2019d never be a believer. Apparently your mere lip service would no longer be sufficient at this point.\n\nDendrin did suggest that you attempt to convert others to the shadow religion though and he\u2019d be more than willing to grant them powers providing they went through all the normal procedures. You laughed at that idea, you\u2019re no missionary and had no time to bother with whatever self-serving plan Dendrin was hatching. Besides, the Delergites weren\u2019t interested in anything else except surviving the next attack by Victor, they were already committed to one \u201ccause\u201d and that was more than enough.\n\nAnd now here you are in Lena\u2019s village, the last stand of the Delerg resistance. It doesn\u2019t much resemble a village anymore so much as it resembles a small walled fort now. And when Victor\u2019s forces attack again, it\u2019ll resemble a smoldering ruin.\n\nAs you look around the village through the rain you see so many wounded and many more just plain exhausted. Things weren\u2019t even this bad for them under the Empire during its last days. They weren\u2019t even this bad under Brutus\u2019 gang.\n\nThis is what fighting the good fight has brought them. Death for those that resist and slavery for those that gave up long ago. All of them have to be thinking or have already thought at one time: \u201cWas it worth it?\u201d Some probably think no. Some probably think yes. And they\u2019d both be right.\n\nIt\u2019s definitely what you think and have thought in the past.\n\nThe difference is you know that YOU can survive this. You\u2019ll live to fight another day. Its what you\u2019ve always done and it\u2019ll probably what you\u2019ll continue to do until some lucky bastard manages to kill you. Who knows? Maybe that day is sooner than you think.\n\nYou really aren\u2019t worried about yourself though; lately you\u2019ve been slightly more concerned about someone else.\n\nAnd it isn\u2019t Lena.\n\n\u201cHey Uncle Shadow, are the invaders coming today?\u201d Tulla walks up and asks you seemingly oblivious to the fact that it\u2019s raining.\n\nYou have no idea where she got the idea to call you \u201cuncle shadow\u201d, but she\u2019s been doing it for so long now that you don\u2019t bother to tell her not to anymore.\n\n\u201cProbably not in this rain. Victor\u2019s soldiers are still going to need a catapult or battering ram to get through the gates. They aren\u2019t going to be able to drag one of those things here in the mud at least not effectively. Not just mud either, but water as well; the rivers and marsh are overflowing because of the rain. If you look down there you can see we\u2019ve practically got a small moat around us. No my guess is they\u2019ll wait for the rains to stop and then a few days after so the water level drops.\u201d You explain while fixing your hood over your head.\n\u201cAnd then they\u2019ll attack?\u201d\n\u201cYes, and then they\u2019ll probably attack.\u201d\n\u201cAnd will we win again?\u201d\n\nYou don\u2019t answer; instead you motion Tulla to the overhanging roof at a nearby sleeping house.\n\n\u201cDidn\u2019t your mother teach you to come in out of the rain?\u201d you say shaking off your own water soaked tunic.\n\u201cI like the rain. It feels nice.\u201d Tulla remarks.\n\nIt\u2019s funny to see how Tulla was brought up in such a warzone yet she maintains an innocent sense of appreciation for simple things like rain.\n\n\u201cWhere is your mother anyway? Shouldn\u2019t she be looking out for you?\u201d\n\u201cOh you know her, she\u2019s busy a lot making plans with people to fight the bad people that attack us. It\u2019s boring to sit there.\u201d\n\u201cPerhaps, but you still should stay near her. Its not exactly safe out here.\u201d\n\u201cBut I am safe, because you\u2019re here and you\u2019re a great warrior! Mommy says so!\u201d\n\u201cHmm. I\u2019ll bet, but I\u2019m also busy and I can\u2019t keep an eye on you all the time.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019ll bet you can! Mommy says that you\u2019re also the fastest warrior here!\u201d\n\u201cMommy talks a lot about me to you does she?\u201d\n\u201cYes! She says that you\u2019re a lot more useful than daddy was.\u201d\n\nYou don\u2019t even know how to respond to that. You always figured that even if Lena never did truly \u201clove\u201d Henry, you always thought she at least respected and cared for him. Henry wasn\u2019t a bad guy; he just wasn\u2019t cut out for fighting. It\u2019s certainly not his fault that he died trying to defend this village. He\u2019s only been dead a year and it really doesn\u2019t seem right that she\u2019s bad mouthing him to their daughter like this. Its not really right that she\u2019s always been so distant to Tulla in general, but you\u2019ve never understood that.\n\nOr maybe you do.\n\nLena\u2019s deluded herself that she\u2019s always pursued this resistance because it\u2019s about defending her family, other families and the homeland from tyranny, and it is to an extent. But her real reasons? She still hasn\u2019t let go of the hate she has for eternals and she wants to kill as many as possible before she dies. (Never mind the fact that it\u2019s mostly other humans actually making up the rank and file of Victor\u2019s troops and Vic himself isn\u2019t anywhere near the battlefield)\n\nIn the scheme of things she never really wanted a family because as far as she was concerned her family died when she was a little girl and all that was left was the hatred that burned within. Everyone else to her is a secondary concern. You might be the exception because you managed to better focus her rage and possibly even quell the fire of it a bit.\n\nWho knows what might\u2019ve happened had you taken Lena as some sort of youthful substitute for Talia. Who knows what might\u2019ve happened had Victor not invaded. Would Lena still have insisted on her vendetta?\n\nYou don\u2019t know and it isn\u2019t important because it\u2019s the past and now is the present. She has obviously chosen a path and its not one you\u2019re going down because you\u2019re not responsible for her. You\u2019ve helped as much as you could and you\u2019re done.\n\nStill, while it probably won\u2019t do any good, part of you feels like you should go confront Lena before you leave.", "action_results": [{"action": "Confront Lena", "result": "You\u2019re going to try one last time with Lena. MAYBE you can talk some sense into her.\n\n\u201cCome on.\u201d You say and grab Tulla by her little hand to pull her along as you walk.\n\u201cWhere are we going?\u201d\n\u201cTo see your mother.\u201d\n\nLena usually holds her meetings in a drab looking two-floor house near the center of the village which she\u2019s made into her home since the village was walled up. You go there immediately and find her standing behind a table while she speaks to a bunch of other people standing in the room. It\u2019s packed, but you make your way through the crowd. Lena notices and wonders if you\u2019re here to tell everyone that there\u2019s an attack coming.\n\n\u201cWhat\u2019s going on? Are those bastards coming to attack us?\u201d Lena asks.\n\u201cNo, but I need to talk to you NOW.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m in the middle of something, can\u2019t it wait?\u201d\n\u201cNo, this is something that needs to be addressed in private, and if you\u2019re unwilling to do so, I\u2019m going to start clearing this room out in a less civilized manner.\u201d\n\nKnowing that you\u2019ll do it, Lena tells everyone that the meeting is over and that everyone should go back to their duties. When the home clears out, you\u2019re left with just Tulla and Lena in the room. You tell Tulla to go upstairs and find something to busy herself with. She complies though she\u2019s not enthusiastic about it. She also isn\u2019t a fool and knows when an argument is about to happen.\n\n\u201cOkay everyone\u2019s gone, now what\u2019s so damned important?\u201d Lena says.\n\u201cWell for starters how about your own daughter? You let her wander away like this all the time, knowing damn well how dangerous it is.\u201d\n\u201cShe seeks you out right? I trust that you\u2019ll look after her.\u201d\n\u201cYeah, but the problem with that is I\u2019m not her damn parent and I\u2019m supposed to be keeping an eye on other things that are of more importance remember?\u201d\n\u201cAnd? I just sit around all day doing nothing? What exactly do you think I do and have been doing?\u201d\n\u201cLosing a war and satisfying your desire for vengeance, but that\u2019s not what I\u2019m here about, I\u2019m here to try to talk sense into you one last time\u2026\u201d\n\u201cOh here we go. Wisdom from the old shadow once again. Save your breath I\u2019ve heard your fat musings about our situation time and time again. And as I\u2019ve said before nobody is forcing you to stay. Go on back to your hole and hide with your beloved corpse. That is what you\u2019re best at right?\u201d\n\u201cLena, this isn\u2019t about me, this is about YOU and your family, or what remains of it. This battle is lost, you know it and I know. Everyone probably knows it, but they\u2019re still following you out of loyalty and desperation.\u201d\n\u201cYou know damn well we can\u2019t surrender.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m not talking about that! I\u2019m saying you need to take Tulla and just get the fuck out of here. You fought the good fight as long you could; you probably crippled Victor\u2019s army and wasted his resources to the point where he\u2019s probably struggling to maintain his holdings in Quala. I mean I think you\u2019re way past even now.\u201d\n\u201cEven? Is that supposed to be a joke? Victor kills us and enslaves us all and because he\u2019s suffering from a little manpower shortage we\u2019re supposed be even? What kind of leader would I be if I just abandoned everyone?\u201d\n\u201cFine then, if you really care about the people then talk them into leaving with you. Hell, I even know of an area where everyone could settle down anew. It\u2019s not the friendliest place, but it\u2019s the northern part of Delerg and out of reach from Victor or anyone else desiring to establish a military presence.\u201d\n\u201cSince when have you been some protector of the people?\u201d\n\nNow you start to get exasperated.\n\n\u201cLena, we\u2019ve had this discussion before, but if you insist\u2026I was doing this YEARS before YOU were even a lust filled idea in your parents\u2019 heads! Protector of the people\u2026I\u2019ve probably been doing more than YOU to protect the people of Delerg even now. At least I\u2019m suggesting a way for them to survive, but let\u2019s get serious for a second. You\u2019re right, I don\u2019t care about any of them, I only care about one in particular. Okay two, but you don\u2019t want me to care in that way\u2026you want me to want me to care on a whole other level but the time for has long since past if it was ever a possibility to begin with.\u201d\n\nLena\u2019s expression, which is usually one of coldness nowadays, begins to crack a little. She turns her head a bit and brushes her hair in an effort to hide possible tears starting to form.\n\n\u201cLook Lena, the first time you explained your reasons for staying to fight five years ago, you managed to convince me because you were right and despite how I knew this was going to play out, it was still a worthy cause. However, I\u2019m right too. There is nothing to be gained by being a martyr or dying a hero, or whatever it is exactly you\u2019re trying to do here. If you don\u2019t care about your own life, at least think of your daughter\u2019s life. You\u2019ve been distant with her ever since she was born, one would think in these times you\u2019d want to spend more time with her not less. Let alone bad mouthing her father who DID spend time with her or leaving her in the company of a complete stranger.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019m not leaving her with a complete stranger, I\u2019m leaving her with you!\u201d Lena says and begins to break down.\n\n\u201cSHE\u2019LL BE SAFE WITH YOU! SHE\u2019LL BE HAPPY WITH YOU!\u201d\n\nLena collapses in a nearby chair with her head in her hands weeping.\n\n\u201cShe\u2019ll\u2026survive with you\u2026(sob)\u201d\n\nYou suddenly realize the situation that Lena has placed you in, and you hate her for it. You shake your head in disbelief. Out of all the things that have happened in your life, this has got to be the most unforeseen to your mind. You have no words; you instead just leave Lena to her crying and walk out the front door.\n\nYou stand outside the house for a moment as the rain continues to fall just trying to wrap your head around all of this. You don\u2019t even know where to start. Did she always plan this? Was this a last minute decision? Does she just expect you to\u2026\n\n\u201cHey Uncle Shadow are you and mommy done fighting?\u201d you hear Tulla ask as she comes from around a corner.\n\u201cHuh? Where\u2019d you come from? I thought you were upstairs.\u201d\n\u201cI was, but I sneaked out while you and mommy were yelling at each other. Sneaked like you do! I wanted to play in the rain. So are you done fighting?\u201d\n\u201cYeah\u2026I think we\u2019re done fighting\u2026\u201d you say looking back at the door.\n\u201cThat\u2019s good. I didn\u2019t like it when mommy and daddy fighted either.\u201d She says.\n\nWith her question answered, Lena\u2019s attention has already been distracted by the rain, which she gleefully plays in by splashing a nearby puddle. She has no idea what the hell is going on and what just happened.\n\nYou watch her play for a moment and then call her over.\n\n\u201cTulla, come here.\u201d\n\u201cYes, uncle?\u201d\n\u201cDo you have any items that are special to you?\u201d\n\u201cYes!\u201d\n\u201cWell go in and grab them, but ONLY the ones you think are really important. Some clothes too. We\u2019re going on a trip and we won\u2019t be back for a long time.\u201d\n\u201cWhere are we going?\u201d\n\u201cWe\u2019re uh, going to your uncle shadow\u2019s secret hideout. Nobody will be able to hurt us there.\u201d\n\u201cYay! Is mommy coming too?\u201d\n\u201cNo\u2026she\u2019s got important stuff to do here. Look, get your belongings and let\u2019s go. I\u2019ll be right here waiting.\u201d\n\nTulla goes inside and you wait. Doesn\u2019t take long For Tulla to come back out with a small bag of her things.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m ready uncle.\u201d\n\u201cYou say good bye to your mom?\u201d\n\u201cYes. She was crying and sad when I first went inside, but when I told her I was leaving with you, she looked up at me and smiled a little. She told me that she loved me and to do what you say.\u201d\n\nYou nod at Tulla\u2019s explanation of events.\n\n\u201cAre you going in to say goodbye?\u201d\n\u201cNo, your mother and I have said our goodbyes. Let\u2019s go.\u201d\n\nYour trip back to the temple is surprisingly uneventful. You don\u2019t even need to avoid any patrols. You do take the long way though and go through your alternate entrance. This causes a bit of worry for Tulla since she\u2019s never gone underwater before, but you reassure her that as long as she holds on to you, you won\u2019t let her drown and will hold her up to catch her breath using the air pockets in the underground tunnel. Naturally she believes you can do anything so this immediately alleviates her fears.\n\nEventually you\u2019re home.\n\n\u201cThis place is dark and scary.\u201d Tulla remarks looking around.\n\u201cYeah, but my home, and your home too now. You can stay in this room, it was your mother\u2019s at one time.\u201d\n\u201cWow there are a lot of books in that room!\u201d\n\u201cThat\u2019s the library.\u201d\n\u201cWhat in there?\u201d Tulla asks and points to the cavern with the garden.\n\u201cThat\u2019s\u2026a private area. Don\u2019t go in there without permission okay? Even if you talking or faint whispering.\u201d\n\u201cA ghost doesn\u2019t live there does it?\u201d\n\u201cHeh, well sort of I suppose.\u201d You smirk. \u201cBut don\u2019t worry she\u2019s friendly\u2026in fact forget what I said, let\u2019s go into that room right now.\u201d\n\nYou enter the garden with Tulla hiding somewhat behind you still nervous about the \u201cghost.\u201d You point out Talia\u2019s grave to Tulla.\n\n\u201cThere she is. She doesn\u2019t speak or anything though. She just listens, mainly to me of course. Her name is Talia.\u201d\n\u201cOh is she like my daddy?\u201d Tulla asks making the connection that Talia isn\u2019t a real ghost and just dead.\n\u201cYes, yes she is, but I still talk to her. Because I still love her.\u201d\n\nTulla starts to ask another question, but you are in mood to answer any more as its been a long strange day. You tell Tulla to go to her room and dry off and unpack. You then mention you\u2019ll see her shortly. Tulla leaves you alone to be with your beloved. You sit down beside Talia\u2019s grave and think about the strange situation you\u2019re in.\n\n\u201cWell Talia, it probably isn\u2019t exactly how you ever envisioned it, but we have a child now.\u201d", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass\u2026", "result": "Year 70\n\nAs the years go by, you know that day is coming soon that you won\u2019t and shouldn\u2019t keep Tulla sheltered from the surface too much longer. Granted you\u2019ll still be with her when that day comes, but having been to the surface every once in a while to keep apprised of the situation, Delerg still isn\u2019t exactly the friendliest place.\n\nVictor dumped so much into the campaign to conquer Delerg he\u2019s been trying to get the most out of it by rebuilding Sinkhole into a proper town (Calling it Triumph). Apparently he\u2019s also decided to make more plans to develop the area namely by chopping down the jungle to the south and to the east. This has been slow going though especially to the east which you know full well just how hostile the jungle flora and fauna get in that direction. (Oddly he hasn\u2019t decided to expand north which is just as well since he\u2019d probably call for the temple\u2019s ruins to be dug up or built over, or something similar and you\u2019d have to deal with his troops more directly.) As a result of all this redevelopment he\u2019s not only got the pitiful remains of the enslaved Delergites working day and night, but he\u2019s also imported many of his subjects from Quala to do work as well. A lot of these seem to be prisoners of varying types. Some are genuine criminals like murderers and thieves. Most though just couldn\u2019t pay their taxes and it was either this or as a conscript to serve on one of the war fronts that Victor is engaged in with other Quala warlords.\n\nAmusingly you\u2019re no longer on the \u201cwanted list.\u201d An eternal captain by the name of Brom that runs the military garrison in Triumph claims he killed you during the final battle for Delerg. (In fact that\u2019s how he got his current promotion) You\u2019re not exactly sure how he \u201cproved\u201d this, but you\u2019re guessing he just threw a black cloak on some dead body, destroyed the face to the point of recognition and made everything up.\n\nNaturally he brags quite a bit about doing it. You\u2019re not sure what\u2019s funnier, the fact that he\u2019s lying about it, or the fact that he managed to fool everyone into believing his lie (Including Victor, apparently).\n\nIn any event, it doesn\u2019t bother you since it makes life easier without some angry warlord trying to hunt you down. Besides you\u2019ve got enough on your mind just looking after Tulla.\n\n\u201cCome on, get your head out of those books, its time for your training.\u201d You say to Tulla.\n\u201cBut we train all the time! Can\u2019t I just finish this one book?\u201d Tulla whines.\n\u201cNo! We have to keep to a schedule. Now let\u2019s get to it.\u201d\n\nTulla puts away her book in defeat and leaves the library to head to the training room. It\u2019s been more of an effort to get her to do her training lately.\n\n\u201cWhy do I have to train so hard? You never let me go up to the surface anyway.\u201d Tulla says.\n\u201cAnd you won\u2019t be going up to the surface until I\u2019m confident that you can take care of yourself. I know you think I\u2019m just being mean, but trust me what I\u2019m doing is going to ensure your survival. I won\u2019t always be around, you know.\u201d\n\nTulla doesn\u2019t reply to your remark she just picks up her wooden sword and gets into the fighting stance you\u2019ve been teaching her. You and her spar for a few moments and fortunately despite her less than enthusiastic desire to be here, she does not slack off and proves to be absorbing everything you\u2019ve been teaching her all these years.\n\n\u201cGood. Glad to see you\u2019re taking this seriously. Now let\u2019s try something new.\u201d You say and change up your style. You tell Tulla to pay attention.\n\nAn hour later you and her are taking a break. Though it\u2019s mainly for you. Every damn bone in your body aches and the ravages of time never let you forget that your earlier years of near perpetual combat have taken their toll.\n\n\u201cAre you okay uncle?\u201d Tulla asks in concern.\n\u201cYes, I\u2019m fine. Just old war wounds acting up as usual. We\u2019ll pick up training again in a few minutes.\u201d\n\nWhile you lay prone recovering, Tulla decides to be inquisitive as usual.\n\n\u201cUncle, did you train as hard as this when you were my age?\u201d Tulla asks.\n\u201cHeh heh\u2026I was trained harder than you at an even younger age.\u201d You chuckle.\n\u201cWas it the shadows who trained you so hard?\u201d\n\u201cNot at first. It was some sadistic svelk bitch that called herself Mistress. She trained me up until I was twelve, and then I was transferred over to the shadows.\u201d\n\u201cOh. So is that when you learned magic?\u201d\n\u201cYeah I learned it eventually. Never really liked using it though.\u201d\n\u201cI would like to use magic like a shadow! I\u2019ve read you could turn yourself in invisible, make yourself really fast or even walk like a spider on a ceiling!\u201d\n\u201cYeah some of it was pretty handy I guess. Haven\u2019t been able to use any in years though.\n\u201cBecause Dendrin doesn\u2019t like you anymore?\u201d\n\u201cNot exactly\u2026but something like that\u2026yes.\u201d\n\nYou\u2019ve explained a little bit about Dendrin to Tulla in the past, you don\u2019t think she fully understands all of it, but you do know that she spends a lot of time reading the old tomes about shadow history and such. Which is why she\u2019s been getting increasingly more curious about him and the shadows in general. She probably would like to hear a more personal view of the organization.\n\nA view you don\u2019t even want to get into anytime soon. So you try to change the subject.\n\n\u201cAlright, we\u2019ve rested enough, let\u2019s get back to it.\u201d You say getting off the floor.\n\nJust as you\u2019re about to begin, Tulla makes a statement.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s a shame you and Dendrin don\u2019t get along anymore. If you did, you could teach me shadow magic and it would help me survive better.\u201d\n\nYou say nothing and just tell her to focus on defending herself. Tulla complies, but she\u2019s not the one that\u2019s preoccupied, you are. The remark she\u2019s just made is going to be the first step in a long series of questions and problems. You know she\u2019s going to eventually ask why can\u2019t she become a shadow. They already intrigue her the more she reads the books.\n\nWhat are you going to do? Tell her she can\u2019t read anymore? Put further restrictions on her? The whole point of this is to make her independent and avoid sheltering her.\n\nYou dwell on this for the rest of day and until you manage to fall asleep\u2026\n\nNothing happens. You fully expected Dendrin to visit and give some sort of \u201csagely\u201d advice and most likely try to convince you to let Tulla become a shadow, but he doesn\u2019t.\n\nWeeks go by while you\u2019re still struggling with this decision and you still get no visit from Dendrin. This is one of the rare times you\u2019d actually wish he\u2019d show up and try to convince you just so you\u2019d have a compass of doing the exact opposite. Of course maybe he doesn\u2019t care. He did say he was bored of the shadows for centuries after all.\n\nIn the end this isn\u2019t up to him. This decision is on you. Tulla\u2019s interest in the shadows is only going to increase and you\u2019re going to have to let her find her own way or nip it in the bud now. The problem is despite all your own prejudices against Dendrin and the shadow religion in general, you\u2019d be a complete hypocrite if you didn\u2019t admit that the training did provide you with the means of surviving this long. The shadow magic also helped in that endeavor. Even Tulla made that connection.\n\nTulla already shows much promise combat wise. If she could cast magic, she\u2019d probably become very powerful indeed.", "action_results": [{"action": "Allow Tulla to be a shadow", "result": "After some further thinking you realize that its not really your decision either it\u2019s hers. If being a shadow is what she wants to be, then you\u2019re not going to stand in the way.\n\nThe next day you approach Tulla about it and she\u2019s noticeably happy about the situation.\n\n\u201cSo I\u2019ll get to use magic?\u201d she asks.\n\u201cWell that\u2019s part of it I suppose, but if you\u2019re going to pursue this, you\u2019re going to have to train even harder AND you\u2019re going to have to do some of it on your own. I can tell you what I know, but I can\u2019t cast magic anymore so you\u2019ll have to really absorb what you learn in those spell books in the library and keep up on your prayers to Dendrin. Though I\u2019m pretty sure as long as you\u2019re praising him you\u2019ll get your powers.\u201d\n\u201cWhat about the initiation ritual?\u201d\n\u201cThe what?\u201d\n\u201cThe initiation ritual. The ritual every shadow has to go through. I\u2019ve read about it and it says it involves opening up a portal to Dendrin\u2019s realm.\u201d\n\u201cOh yeah, that. Well I dunno, I think that\u2019s just a formality.\u201d\n\u201cNo! I have to connect with Dendrin before I\u2019m able to use the magic and even if I got the ritual right, I can\u2019t open the portal unless I have magic ability to begin with!\u201d\n\u201cOkay okay\u2026don\u2019t worry, I\u2019ll think of something.\u201d\n\nOf course that \u201csomething\u201d isn\u2019t something that you particularly want to do,\n\nLater that night before you go to sleep, you pray to Dendrin. It isn\u2019t exactly the most pious of prayers, but you figure you\u2019ll at least get a visit this time.\n\nYou figure right.\n\n\u201cWell it\u2019s been a long time since you\u2019ve done that. I\u2019m guessing you need something from me.\u201d Dendrin says.\n\u201cYeah and you know what.\u201d\n\u201cNo I actually don\u2019t, why don\u2019t you tell me, I\u2019d be very interested in what has caused you to pursue such a desperate measure. For you of course.\u201d\n\u201cDetermined to play this up for all its worth I see. (Sigh) Fine. Tulla wants to be a shadow, but she can\u2019t be one until a portal to the shadow realm can be opened. Is there anyway you can help with that?\u201d\n\u201cAre you asking me to give you your magic powers back?\u201d\n\u201cI was actually going to ask if you\u2019d grant powers to Tulla. She thinks that she has to go through the initiation ritual in order to gain them.\u201d\n\u201cShe does. If it were as simple as worshipping me, then everyone would be doing it. So how are you going to open up the portal to my home?\u201d\n\u201cCome on you can\u2019t help me out here?\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m sorry, but what do you want me to do? I have no connection with the girl and I can\u2019t just grant her powers! Those are the rules.\u201d\n\u201cAlright so can you grant me powers so I can open up the portal then?\u201d\n\u201cAnd why would I want to do that?\u201d\n\u201cBecause I\u2019ve provided you with years of fucking entertainment that\u2019s why! I mean shit, you can even take \u2018em away after I open the damn thing if you want. One would think you of all people would want this anyway, it\u2019s a new follower for you.\u201d\n\u201cYou presume much Eternal.\u201d\n\u201cYeah I suppose I do. Fine then, don\u2019t help me. I\u2019ll fine some way of helping myself as usual\u2026\u201d\n\u201cHold on, I never said I would help you, but tell me Eternal why do you want this so much? You do realize that once she enters my realm she will undergo a change that will cause her to become a proper devotee correct? In time her faith will only get stronger and your own influence on her will dwindle. I know you care for this little girl, so I\u2019m asking you now are you prepared to make this sacrifice?\u201d\n\n\u201cIf it will better ensure her survival, then yes.\u201d You then think about Talia\u2019s own devotion to Dendrin \u201cBesides, it wouldn\u2019t be the first time.\u201d\n\u201cVery well then Eternal, I shall grant you your magic powers temporarily so that you may help Tulla on her first steps to becoming a shadow. Who knows, perhaps you may even realize that I\u2019ve actually been helping you all this time and come back to the fold\u2026\u201d\n\u201cI won\u2019t argue and claim that you haven\u2019t given a few good pieces of advice or even genuinely helped me on occasion. But you and I both know that any help you\u2019ve given me, is to help yourself as well as your own twisted fascination with me. I\u2019ll always know that and it\u2019s why I can\u2019t ever worship you as a god.\u201d\n\u201cYou do realize however, your life could\u2019ve been a lot less painful if you had just complied and paid respect even to a superficial degree?\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m not sure how much more superficial I could\u2019ve gotten. I mean I was practically walking on the unbeliever line at the best of times. After Talia died, what was even the point of that anymore? Besides, I\u2019d say you giving me my powers back now despite my blasphemous ways is a win for me in my book.\u201d\n\u201cHa ha, perhaps, but what of my influence over your daughter?\u201d\n\nIts weird, even though you\u2019ve taken care of Tulla like a daughter you\u2019ve never called her that. Not even in your conversations with Talia. Dendrin\u2019s choice of words you imagine is him trying to make some sort of point, but whatever it is you don\u2019t care.\n\n\u201cWhat of it? Despite everything I know about you, you\u2019ve never been actively malicious towards me or even your own followers. Apathetic? Inattentive? Yes, but you\u2019ve always done the bare minimum as far as help is concerned which is providing the ability to tap into the shadow realm so that your worshippers can cast spells. I don\u2019t really see you being any more influential than that because it would actually require effort on your part. It\u2019s why you just indoctrinate everyone during the initiation ritual. So Tulla will pray to an uncaring god of a silly religion. Whatever. As long as it helps her survive, I\u2019m fine with your influence. The most you\u2019ll do is take away the magic if Tulla ever overcomes the indoctrination and stops worshipping, which I don\u2019t see happening. Not even Talia\u2019s love for me overcame it.\u201d\n\nThere\u2019s a brief silence followed by a low chuckle.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re lucky I\u2019ve always liked you Eternal. Tell your daughter that I will be looking forward to seeing her soon.\u201d\n\nYou wake up and the first thing you do is try to cloak yourself. It takes a little effort, but it works. You then try to speed yourself up and that works as well. You decide to spare your endurance on anymore tests and head to the library. Unsurprisingly you see Tulla there reading by candlelight.\n\n\u201cOh, I didn\u2019t know you were up. I was just reading up on some of the old shadow masters.\u201d\n\u201c\u201dWhat you should be doing is reading up on one of those spell books rather than history. I\u2019ll be preparing to open the portal to Dendrin\u2019s realm after I study up on the spell first.\u201d\n\u201cYou\u2026you are? But how? Your magic\u2026\u201d\n\u201cIts back, Dendrin has seen fit to bless me with the ability again if only to help you. He also says he\u2019s looking foreword to seeing you.\u201d\n\u201cHe is? I don\u2019t know what to say! I mean this is an opportunity I\u2019ve wanted for a while now.\u201d\n\u201cI know you have, so you better get yourself prepared because as I\u2019ve already said, this will be a big commitment. When you go through that portal, you will be changed. You will think differently due to your connection to Dendrin. You may even dislike me afterwards\u2026\u201d\n\u201cOh that\u2019s silly! Why would I dislike you? You\u2019re the one who saved me from certain death and has trained me for all these years. You\u2019re the one who is making this all possible and for that I shall always be grateful to you.\u201d\n\nYou see the sincerity in her eyes and the brightness in her smile when she says that. You can only hope that she retains that feeling.\n\nThe next few days you spend reading over the initiation ritual. You remember reading about it before during your \u201chermit\u201d years, never thought you\u2019d actually ever be casting it though.\n\nFinally the day comes and you open up the portal much in the same way Master Ebon opened it up for you so long ago. It\u2019s funny; Master Ebon actually tried to talk you out of entering the portal. Claimed you didn\u2019t have the right mindset to be a shadow. Of course at the time, you had no idea what he was really talking about. You just saw it as an insult that you weren\u2019t worthy enough and you just went in anyway disregarding orders just to prove you were worthy. That decision probably changed your life forever just like this will change Tulla forever, though in a different way.\n\nThe shimmering portal to Dendrin\u2019s realm fades in and out of existence and you watch Tulla approach.\n\n\u201cAre you ready for this?\u201d you ask her.\n\u201cI am uncle.\u201d She replies\n\u201cThen enter the portal.\u201d\n\nAfter a quick hug, Tulla composes herself and enters the portal. You watch and begin to wait for her return.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 75\n\n\u201cWell the liberation of Delerg seems to be going better this time around, Triumph has been seized. Let\u2019s hope when Tulla wins this war, it\u2019ll stay free of petty dictators once and for all.\u201d You say to Talia.\n\nTulla\u2019s been succeeding in her goal nearly as soon as she put her mind to it, which wasn\u2019t long after her shadow initiation. Tulla managed to recruit people even easier than her mother did, you guess she inherited her charisma in that way. Of course it helped that the people from Quala forced to live in Delerg weren\u2019t very happy with Victor for a long time anyway. Not to mention all the criminal types that had been brought here to work off their sentences as well as the outright slaves. Delerg pretty much became a breeding ground of recruits. What was surprising is that Tulla managed to not only recruit them into a rebellion, but also got some interested into becoming shadows. That\u2019s mainly where your help came in. You provided your home as the training ground along with performing the initiation ritual for said recruits. With their help you even managed to rebuild the temple a bit, though you still tend to keep to your underground sanctuary.\n\nIt\u2019s odd though, this new generation of shadows don\u2019t seem quite as fanatical as the ones you were familiar with. They revere Dendrin of course, but they don\u2019t regard someone like you with hostility. You remember you were shocked when Tulla first came back from the portal and you found that she treated you with the same respect that she always had despite your attitude towards Dendrin. At first you figured that maybe your previous influence over her had been so great that it over came Dendrin\u2019s indoctrination, but its obvious now that Dendrin hasn\u2019t been doing the old routine of indoctrinating the shadows with mindless loyalty anymore.\n\nYou\u2019d ask him about it, but he hasn\u2019t been speaking to you lately. Besides, you\u2019d rather not jinx a good thing. It\u2019s enough that you\u2019ve still got your magic to a small degree.\n\n\u201cJust wish I could be of more help to her. Damn old body. I hate this weakness. I used to be so quick and strong.\u201d You continue to say to Talia. You haven\u2019t had a chance to speak with her like this in a while so you\u2019re taking advantage of your sudden clearing of responsibility.\n\n\u201cYou ever think we could\u2019ve actually won a sound victory against the Empire? I\u2019ve been thinking about it, and I think we could\u2019ve. Maybe I shouldn\u2019t have been so proud and just never told you and Cyrus the truth about Dendrin. It might\u2019ve kept us more united. Certainly would\u2019ve help when I fought Kane practically all by myself. Remember that? What a battle! I was probably at my peak and I still couldn\u2019t get the advantage over that tough bastard. I was really happy to see you when you showed up and not just because you saved my life either, though it played a big part of it at the time.\u201d\n\nYou suddenly stop reminiscing because your statement has now made you think about how you didn\u2019t manage to save her life. After all these years, you wonder why you continue to do this to yourself and why you can\u2019t move on. You can only guess its because what Talia once said. You\u2019re Eternals and you had a special bond that nobody else did.\n\nThere must be some truth to it, Brenda was the ruler of the Nalin Empire for decades and she never married or even took another lover after her beloved Roldan died during the Empire War. Last news you heard of her was that she committed suicide a couple years ago and her second in command Tarna took power. You guess the absence of her mate for so many years was just ultimately too much for her to bother going on. You wonder if it hadn\u2019t been for your encounter with Lena and later your relationship with Tulla if you would\u2019ve eventually done the same thing. Probably not in the same way, but still\u2026\n\nIt also makes you realize how many people you\u2019ve outlived in general. If you were anyone else you probably would\u2019ve been dead several times over already. You\u2019re not just the last of the true Eternals, but as the second generation has been murdering each other out of existence, you might very well end up being the last one period.\n\n\u201cSurvival Talia, I always was good at it.\u201d You say patting the earth near the grave.\n\nYou suddenly hear Tulla calling for you.\n\n\u201cYes, Tulla I\u2019m in here.\u201d\n\nTulla stands near the entrance of the cavern with a large black book in her hand. She knows when you\u2019re speaking with Talia, she prefers not to disturb you.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m sorry I didn\u2019t realize you were busy.\u201d She asks.\n\u201cIt\u2019s fine, I was finished anyway. What is it? The liberation of Delerg is going well I trust?\u201d\n\u201cOh yes. Victor\u2019s troops have been pushed back to the borders. Actually there are reports that he\u2019s suffering strife in his territory in Quala as well.\u201d\n\u201cNot surprising. Most of those so-called eternals have little grasp on how to rule effectively. As soon as a crack forms their little dominions start folding like a house of cards. Look at Warden Matron Brenda. She ran the Nalin Empire for what, about thirty some odd years? She kept it stable and those second generation eternals never dared to attack her.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m surprised to hear you praise her. Didn\u2019t you fight against her in the old Empire war?\u201d\n\u201cNot directly, but it doesn\u2019t matter. I can at least respect her even if she was on the other side. Who knows? Maybe if things had been different, we may have fought on the same side. Bah, I\u2019m rambling nonsense, what was it that you needed?\u201d\n\u201cOh, this book.\u201d Tulla says and hands it to you.\n\nYou glance through it and then close it.\n\n\u201cYes, what about it?\u201d\n\u201cDo you know what it is? I can\u2019t really make any sense of the rest of it and most of it is in a language I don\u2019t even understand.\u201d\n\u201cOh yeah, I vaguely remember this book now. I tried reading it once during my hermit days, but I put it back pretty quickly and never looked at it again until just now. It holds a spell called the ritual of ascension.\u201d\n\u201cRitual of ascension? Sounds pretty impressive.\u201d\n\u201cI suppose it does. It was supposedly passed down from Dendrin himself to the first Shadow Master. It wasn\u2019t really clear what it does exactly except that it would strengthen the shadows link to Dendrin\u2019s realm forever. I guess that means it would make the shadows more powerful. Dunno though. Seems weird that no Shadow Master ever tried to use it. Maybe it was more of a symbolic thing.\u201d\n\u201cMaybe\u2026but maybe now is the time to try it!\u201d\n\u201cI doubt if you need this spell to win the war with Victor.\u201d\n\u201cNo, but a chance to bring ourselves closer to Dendrin? Why shouldn\u2019t we jump at such a chance?\u201d\n\u201cEh...I think you\u2019re asking the wrong person, Tulla.\u201d\n\u201cI know, but I\u2019m so busy with coordinating the war effort, I just don\u2019t have time to study this book like I would\u2019ve been able to in the old days. I mean I suppose I could wait until after the war is won, but who knows how long that will be exactly? And there\u2019s never a guarantee on survival.\u201d\n\u201cDon\u2019t say that.\u201d You remark.\n\u201cYou know better than anyone that life can be cut short in a blink of an eye.\u201d\n\u201cHmm, I also know that sometime life can just go on and on and on\u2026\u201d you say causing Tulla to laugh.\n\n\u201cAlright, I\u2019ll study this book again, I\u2019ve got the time after all. You just be careful out there.\u201d You say.\n\nTulla thanks you and after a couple more brief exchanges she\u2019s on her way again, leaving you alone.\n\n\u201cWell Talia, I said I wanted to help more, guess I better get to it.\u201d\n\nYou spend the next few days reading over the book. You thought you weren\u2019t going to have any better luck than you did decades ago, but actually you understand it a little better now. You can even figure out some of the unfamiliar language. The problem though is you\u2019re still not getting a good feeling about the ritual.\n\nIt\u2019s still vague on what exactly will happen, but the shadows would be linked with Dendrin\u2019s realm not just in a spiritual sense, but also in a very real physical sense. The shadows essentially would become REAL shadows. Incorporeal and no longer susceptible to the weaknesses that most beings suffer. At least that\u2019s what you think it means.\n\nWorshipping Dendrin is one thing, but becoming some sort of a wisp? An intangible being with real no sense of self? You can\u2019t imagine wanting to transform yourself in such a manner regardless of the benefits. However you wouldn\u2019t be involved, it would be Tulla and the rest of her shadows and they may be more willing to jump at the chance. True they aren\u2019t the fanatics like the old shadows, but one never can tell.\n\nYou even attempt to pray to Dendrin, just so you can ask him more about this ritual, but you have no luck. You\u2019re on your own in this and you\u2019re only left with a couple choices. You could just destroy the book and solve the problem that way or you can tell Tulla the truth about the spell and let her make her own decision.", "action_results": [{"action": "Destroy the book", "result": "You\u2019re not taking any chances, this ritual doesn\u2019t feel right to you and you\u2019re not going to let Tulla put herself in any more danger in the name of Dendrin. You put the book to the flame. You half expected it to be invulnerable or something similar, but it burns fairly quickly and easily.\n\nYou wonder if you should think up a lie to tell Tulla. Maybe tell her that you lost the book or something, but you can\u2019t lie to her. Besides, you\u2019re fairly certain she wouldn\u2019t believe you anyway. You\u2019re just going to have to deal with her getting angry with you.\n\nUnfortunately you don\u2019t expect her to get quite as angry as she does.\n\n\u201cYou destroyed the book?! What\u2019s wrong with you?! That was obviously a sacred book with a sacred ritual to Dendrin and the shadows! I trusted you!\u201d Tulla yells.\n\u201cI\u2019m sorry Tulla, but that ritual didn\u2019t feel right. Not in my heart. I couldn\u2019t let you perform it and something bad happening to you.\u201d\n\u201cBut that wasn\u2019t your call! That was mine!\u201d\n\u201cTulla, I know you\u2019re a shadow and a dedicated follower of Dendrin and all that, but you really don\u2019t know what a manipulative uncaring and unfeeling bastard he is. I know! I\u2019ve been speaking with him for decades!\u201d\n\u201cYes, I\u2019ve heard all this countless times. And just because your relationship with him wasn\u2019t positive, it doesn\u2019t give you the right to dictate MY relationship with him!\u201d\n\nYou can\u2019t contain your own anger at how Tulla is reacting to you just trying to look out for her.\n\n\u201cWhat fucking relationship? Does he even speak to you? Does he? No! He doesn\u2019t! You know why? Because he doesn\u2019t give a shit about you! And the sooner you learn that fact, the better off you\u2019ll be!\u201d\n\u201cDendrin will speak to me when he deems it to be so. In fact maybe he\u2019s not speaking to me because I\u2019m still associating with you.\u201d\n\u201cAre you listening to yourself? How can you even say such nonsense?! I\u2019M the one who even got your foot in the door to be a fucking shadow in the first place! I\u2019M the one who\u2019s been training you, and supporting you all these damn years! I\u2019M the one who SAVED your life when you were a little girl! So don\u2019t tell me that your associating with me is some sort of negative!\u201d\n\nTulla gets quiet and looks at you with a stare you\u2019ve never ever seen her give to you before.\n\n\u201cYou know something uncle? You\u2019re right. And I am grateful for everything you did for me up to this point. But I see now that our minds are not the same on this and our paths differ completely. I shall continue to respect you, but I believe our relationship will not be the same after this.\u201d\n\nTulla takes her leave immediately. You call out to her, but she doesn\u2019t listen. You curse yourself for getting angry like you did, but you still believe you did the right thing.\n\nDays pass and you hear nothing from Tulla. There aren\u2019t any of her shadows coming to the temple for training either. You begin to get concerned so you make a trip to Triumph and start asking questions.\n\nYou find out that nothing has happened to Tulla, except that she\u2019s been fighting directly on the front lines. You imagine that she\u2019s probably working out her anger through battle. A bit reckless, but you\u2019ve often turned to battle many times when you were angry so its one way of channeling it you suppose.\n\nWeeks pass into months and eventually into years. Victor has been driven out completely, yet you hear nothing from Tulla in all that time. You don\u2019t hear anything from any shadow or Dendrin for that matter, not that you don\u2019t mind his silence, but its like everyone has abandoned you completely. You learn that Triumph has been renamed New Gloom and a new shadow temple is in the process of being built there. When you attempt to find out more about Tulla, other shadows barely speak with you and only say that Tulla cannot be bothered as she has important business as Shadow Mistress.\n\nNaturally you become outraged that you\u2019re not being allowed to see her and despite your best efforts you are only beaten by shadows for your troubles. If only you much younger and they weren\u2019t hiding behind their shadow magic.\n\nAs you drag your bloodied body out of New Gloom it is at that moment you realize that Tulla has not and will not forgive you for what you did. You feel a great sorrow that you haven\u2019t felt since Talia died. You return home that day and go to the only one who has continued to stand by your side for decades.\n\n\u201cTalia\u2026 I have tried to do the right thing whenever I could, but everyone I\u2019ve ever cared about has either died or in this last case pushed me away. There is no longer a place for me in this world. I come to join you at last and put aside this life time of anguish once and for all.\u201d\n\nYou lie down beside Talia\u2019s grave and thrust your blade into yourself.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Tell the truth", "result": "You believe you\u2019d probably be better off destroying the book, but this isn\u2019t about you. Once again it\u2019s about Tulla. You allowed Tulla to make her own decision on becoming a shadow; you\u2019ll allow her to make this decision on her own as well.\n\nDoesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t try to sway her against it though.\n\nA week passes and Tulla returns for a visit and asks you what you\u2019ve learned about the ritual. You explain to her what is involved and what you think the result is after it is completed. She\u2019s intrigued, which makes you a little worried.\n\n\u201cTulla, I know you might not want to hear this and you\u2019ll probably think that I\u2019m just displaying my own prejudices against Dendrin, but I don\u2019t think going through with this ritual is a good idea.\u201d\n\u201cOh? Why not?\u201d\n\u201cBecause you\u2019d be giving up you so much. I mean do you really want to be a real shadow that does nothing but serve Dendrin? I mean I know you\u2019re happy serving him now, but you still have the chance to walk away if you should ever change your mind later. This ritual would be a one-way trip. And who knows what it will do to you exactly.\u201d\n\u201cIt could be nothing like what you\u2019re worrying about then.\u201d Tulla points out.\n\u201cYes, or it could be something even worse than what I\u2019m worrying about. (Sigh) I dunno Tulla, I mean it is ultimately your decision, but I do not believe performing this ritual is a good idea and I worry about you. It is supposed to be cast by a Shadow Master anyway. As it stands, this order doesn\u2019t even officially have a Shadow Master. I mean I certainly don\u2019t count, and I don\u2019t know about you, has Dendrin spoken to you?\u201d\n\u201cNo. Sadly Dendrin has not yet seen fit to speak with me in the same way he does with you.\n\u201cHmm, he hasn\u2019t spoken to me in a long time either. I even tried asking him about the ritual, no luck though.\u201d\n\nTulla looks at you in silence for a moment.\n\n\u201cWell given that we still need to worry about Victor, I suppose maybe this isn\u2019t the best time to be messing about with unknown spells and rituals especially when we don\u2019t exactly know what they do. Dendrin hasn\u2019t seen fit to tell you and he hasn\u2019t seen fit to speak to me, so perhaps we\u2019re not worthy of performing it anyway. Maybe nobody has, which is why its never been cast. Another day perhaps.\u201d Tulla says.\n\u201cPerhaps.\u201d You say causing Tulla to smile a bit and then give you a great big hug. You\u2019re a little surprised at the suddenness of it given the situation.\n\n\u201cWha\u2026what\u2019s this for?\u201d\n\u201cFor being so wonderful of course! You obviously had deep concerns about this ritual and worried about me in particular yet you still allowed me to make the decision. You have always allowed me to make my own choices, just like when I wished to become a shadow to begin with. You could\u2019ve easily forbade me to become one, just like you could\u2019ve destroyed the book.\u201d\n\u201cTrust me, it did cross my mind on both accounts.\u201d\n\u201cBut you didn\u2019t, because you encourage me to be my own person.\u201d\n\u201cHmm, some might call that being overly permissive.\u201d\n\u201cWell I call it being a supportive father.\u201d Tulla exclaims.\n\nThe two of you just look at each other for a moment. The realization that Tulla just acknowledged you as her father takes only a few seconds to sink in.\n\n\u201cAnd you\u2019re the best I could ever have in a daughter.\u201d You remark trying to not burst into too much emotion and the pair of you embraces tighter as if the pair of you never wants to let the other one go.\n\nEventually you do though and Tulla gives you a small peck on the cheek before saying she has to get back to the battle for Delerg.\n\n\u201cI can still help directly you know. I could lob a few shadow bolts a peoples\u2019 heads.\u201d you remark.\n\u201cI know, but I worry about you as well. Besides, I\u2019ve been having success in getting more people interested in being shadows. They\u2019ll be coming here for brief training and initiation soon. Your skills a better put to use here.\u201d\n\u201cVery well, I\u2019ll be here.\u201d\n\nTulla leaves and you\u2019re soon left alone pondering all of what just happened. While you\u2019re certainly glad you managed to convince Tulla against the ritual today, who knows what will happen in the future. Still, you can\u2019t dwell on the possible doom and gloom of the future. You\u2019ve done that most of your life. Right now you\u2019re little more than happy that you\u2019re no longer just \u201cuncle\u201d to Tulla. She considers you her father just as you\u2019ve considered her your daughter for a long time.\n\nYou naturally go to Talia and tell her the news.\n\n\u201cTulla called me her father today. Didn\u2019t expect it and I have to say I got all choked up about it nearly to the point that I couldn\u2019t reply back. Made me happy. Don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever been exactly this happy in a long time. I mean I\u2019ve had moments where I wasn\u2019t unhappy, but I\u2019ve haven\u2019t felt this good since, well since before you died.\u201d\n\nYou sit down near Talia\u2019s grave and touch the ground.\n\n\u201cI\u2026just wish you were here to experience it.\u201d You say with a few sniffles. You rub your eyes a few times and just sit quietly near the grave until you eventually fall asleep\u2026\n\n\u201cYou continue to surprise Eternal. I really thought you\u2019d destroy that book and make it seem like an accident.\u201d\n\u201cJust shows you haven\u2019t been paying attention for over sixty years. However, I am in good spirits and I won\u2019t even let this visit from you bring me down.\u201d\n\u201cIt\u2019s never my intension I assure you. But you aren\u2019t worried about Tulla one day casting the ritual of ascension?\u201d\n\u201cSorry, like I said, I\u2019m not going to dwell on such matters right now. If she does, then so be it. It\u2019ll be her decision to make as usual. Oh and thanks for helping me out on that as usual. You could\u2019ve at least told me what it does.\u201d\n\u201cSorry, but you don\u2019t get that knowledge. It\u2019s something a shadow master just has to know to do when they feel the time is right. Their choice, not my influence. Something you\u2019re encouraging in your daughter right? But if it\u2019ll ease your mind a bit, she\u2019ll never be able to perform it in your life time.\u201d\n\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d\n\u201cShe\u2019s not a Shadow Master or Mistress in her case and she won\u2019t be until the current one dies.\u201d\n\nYou don\u2019t get it at first, but then you do which just raises further confusion.\n\n\u201cWait\u2026so that means\u2026me? I\u2019M the Shadow Master? Since when?\u201d\n\u201cUnofficially since Master Ebon died, though when you were the last one left you were pretty much the only candidate left.\u201d\n\u201cWha\u2026but you never told me!\u201d\n\u201cYou never asked, plus I doubt if I had told you, it would\u2019ve made much of a difference to your antagonistic mindset.\u201d\n\u201cBut\u2026this still doesn\u2019t make sense! I strayed so far that I didn\u2019t even have shadow magic ability!\u201d\n\u201cEh, you were still the closest thing to a shadow. Though I\u2019m pleased that a new group will be able to carry on after you. It\u2019s odd, I was bored with the shadows, but I think starting fresh like this has renewed my interest a bit. I think giving them a bit more free will and making them a little less mind numbingly devoted helps with that. Just think when the group starts numbering in the hundreds or thousands, oh the conflicts of doctrine interpretation they\u2019ll have! I can just see the holy wars now! And I suppose I have you to thank for all of it.\u201d\n\nYou shake your head at Dendrin\u2019s enthusiasm at his predicted carnage. He hasn\u2019t changed at all, it\u2019s all still just a game to him, but you\u2019re hardly surprised. Still, you doubt if such a thing will happen any time soon and oddly, you are sort of pleased to hear that Tulla can\u2019t perform the ritual even if she tries. Though you do wonder one thing.\n\n\u201cSo tell me, did you know all this was going to happen? Did you know that I would eventually bring about a new group of shadows for you to enjoy all over again?\u201d\n\u201cWell as I always said, I predicted you making a major change and you did.\u201d\n\u201cAnd that\u2019s that?\u201d\n\u201cAnd that\u2019s that.\u201d Dendrin says. If you could see place a face with this reply, it would definitely be a smug one.\n\nYou\u2019re not getting any more information out of Dendrin, he\u2019s back to being his usual cryptic self so you don\u2019t bother trying anymore.\n\n\u201cI shall leave you now Eternal, we will only speak once more to each other in the far future, but for now I give you a much needed rest from my divine discourse. Think of it as your reward for all your service\u2026as a shadow.\u201d Dendrin says with a laugh.\n\nYou eventually wake up. You brush the dirt off of yourself and groggily look over at Talia\u2019s grave.\n\n\u201cWell Talia, Dendrin say\u2019s he\u2019s leaving me alone for a long time. I guess you were right, he does eventually answer all prayers.\u201d", "action_results": []}]}]}, {"action": "Don\u2019t allow it", "result": "Forbidding her to do anything or restricting her is only going to cause her to resent you even more or worse run away completely. You aren\u2019t going to let her be a shadow and become some indoctrinated idiot with no mind of her own though.\n\nThere\u2019s only one solution you can come up with, you\u2019re going to have to leave this place and live elsewhere. If the temptation isn\u2019t readily available then it the desire for it may eventually go away. Well you hope at least.\n\nBut where could you go? Its not like the surrounding areas are exactly all that friendly. The only places you can think of that might be relatively free of strife are the Nalin Empire and the Felkan Kingdom.\n\nThe Nalin Empire is closer since you\u2019d only have to travel through part of Quala. It\u2019s still run by Matron Warden Brenda, and from what you know she keeps it pretty orderly and safe. It\u2019s somewhat amusing to think that you\u2019d be running to a place that is basically the last remnants of the old Empire. Your only real concern with going there is that Brenda\u2019s as old as you and you\u2019ve heard rumors that her second in command Tarna is a very ambitious woman. You might end up heading to a place that will either be going on a war of conquest or even suffering a civil war soon.\n\nThe Felkan Kingdom is a much longer trek and you\u2019d have to travel through Quala and Arat, which is daunting prospect given how dangerous both places are. You also don\u2019t know much about the Felkan Kingdom save for the propaganda that the Empire told everyone which probably means it isn\u2019t that bad of a place. It still exists so you\u2019re guessing it\u2019s fairly stable.\n\nIn any case you\u2019ll figure it out later, right now you have to make preparations.\n\nWhen you tell Tulla the news that you need to leave this place and go to the surface her reaction is a mixture of confusion and joy. Confusion to as why it is so urgent to leave, but joy that she\u2019s finally getting to leave. You make up a story of saying you\u2019ve been noticing Victor\u2019s people scouting the topside of the temple ruins lately and how you think its only a matter of time before they try to either start digging or collapse the place on you. This excuse seems to work.\n\nTulla of course tries to pack some books with her, but you tell her to leave such things, as you need to go quickly and travel light. She complains a bit, but after you raise your voice slightly, she capitulates.\n\n\u201cOkay, I\u2019m ready to go uncle. Do you think it\u2019s raining? I hope so, I really miss the rain.\u201d Tulla remarks.\n\u201cWell, we\u2019ll know soon enough, but I need to do one more thing first. Wait by the entrance, I\u2019ll be there shortly.\u201d\n\nWhile Tulla waits, you head into the garden one last time.\n\n\u201cTalia, I\u2019m leaving now and I probably won\u2019t be returning this time. I wish there was some other way, but I just can\u2019t allow Tulla to become a shadow. I need to take her out of this place. Its for the best anyway, can\u2019t allow her to become sheltered.\u201d\n\nYou move closer to Talia\u2019s grave.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll continue to honor your memory even though I won\u2019t be here anymore. I promise. I love you you\u2026goodbye.\u201d You say and kneel down to touch her grave before leaving.\n\nImmediately after you and Tulla leave the temple, she happily takes in the outside scenery.\n\n\u201cThe sky! The trees! Its all as wonderful as I remembered!\u201d she says.\n\u201cYeah, well keep the joy to a minimum, Delerg\u2019s become an even less friendly place than you probably remember too. We need to keep a low profile until we reach our destination.\u201d\n\u201cSo what is our destination?\u201d Tulla asks.", "action_results": [{"action": "Travel to the Nalin Empire", "result": "The Nalin Empire is closer and quite frankly you\u2019re too damn old to be sneaking around on long extended trips nowadays.\n\n\u201cThe Nalin Empire? Are you sure? I thought you told me it was run by an eternal.\u201d Tulla says.\n\u201cIt is, but she\u2019s like me. She\u2019s a first gen and given that she\u2019s run the place for several decades without any attacks or other major problems it\u2019s one of the more stable places I can think of.\u201d\n\nYour journey out of Delerg is fortunately without conflict. Your journey through Quala isn\u2019t however, though you\u2019re lucky enough to not get harassed by any professional soldier types and its just bandits.\n\nTulla does well against them, you don\u2019t do too bad yourself considering your age, but during the fight it\u2019s never been more apparent of how old you actually are.\n\n\u201cYou okay uncle?\u201d Tulla asks you after the battle.\n\u201cYeah\u2026(pant)\u2026just\u2026well like I\u2019ve said before. I\u2019m just old. Though I can honestly say, I\u2019m proud of you and glad to see that you\u2019re more than capable of taking care of yourself. Now let\u2019s loot these sons of bitches and hope they actually robbed some people before their pathetic attempt on us. I\u2019m pretty sure we\u2019re going to need some money when we get to Nalin.\u201d\n\nWhen you eventually arrive in Nalin, you make your way to Dalt, which is one of the major cities in the land. Tulla is in awe. Most of her life has been spend underground in practical isolation. She\u2019s never seen anything so busy, everything is almost overwhelming, but she seems to enjoy it. The funny thing is, you\u2019re pretty much in the same situation as Tulla. Most of your life has been spent away from civilization and in isolation. Even when you were around other shadows you were still alone. Unlike Tulla though, you don\u2019t feel comfortable here.\n\n\u201cUncle this place is amazing! There\u2019s so much here to do!\u201d\n\u201cMm, well keep in mind that while this place isn\u2019t Delerg or Quala, there are still dangers here. Perhaps more subtle ones. Here.\u201d You hand over what valuables you have to Tulla.\n\n\u201cNow with this stuff, you can probably get a room at a quality inn for quite a while. I imagine you\u2019d probably be able to get a job as a serving girl easily, but I doubt that\u2019s something you\u2019d want to do. So I suggest maybe something in the local security or maybe even the recruiting office. Given most of female soldier types I\u2019ve noticed stomping around here, I don\u2019t think they\u2019d turn you away due to gender. Age maybe, but after you prove what you\u2019re capable of, I don\u2019t think you\u2019ll have any problems.\u201d\n\nYou give Tulla a hug though she seems confused.\n\n\u201cUncle, I don\u2019t understand.\u201d\n\u201cTulla, this is your chance to start a new life. I wish you all the best with it, but this\u2026\u201d you make hand motions at the buildings around you. \u201cThis isn\u2019t me. I wanted to bring you to a place where you can have a normal life, well as normal as it can get anyway. And I have. As for me, I\u2019m too old to change and get accustomed to new situations.\u201d\n\u201cBut where will you go?\u201d\n\u201cOh, I\u2019ll be around. You don\u2019t think I\u2019d just abandon you completely do you? I just won\u2019t be here. Besides, I noticed when we took that short cut through the woods; we passed a run down old cabin on the way here. Pretty sure it\u2019s abandoned. Seems like it would be a good place to spend my remaining years.\u201d\n\nYou give Tulla a hug. Tulla returns your hug and kisses you on the cheek, promising to visit you at some point when she gets the chance.\n\nYou leave the city and return to the abandoned cabin you mentioned to Tulla. The place is indeed abandoned. Needs some fixing up, but you can get to that tomorrow, its been a long past couple days and you\u2019re glad to have proper place to sleep for a change\u2026\n\n\u201cYou really think this is what\u2019s best for Tulla? Encouraging her to become some common soldier? A soldier of a government for all intents and purposes is a remnant of what you spent your life fighting against?\u201d Dendrin asks.\n\u201cYeah, I\u2019m amused by the irony myself.\u201d You say. \u201cBut I believe she will thrive in this environment or least she\u2019ll have a better chance than where she was.\u201d\n\u201cIf you\u2019d gotten past your irrational prejudices, and allowed Tulla to become a shadow she would\u2019ve thrived a lot better no matter what environment she was in.\n\u201cAnd that\u2019s what you\u2019re really pissed about isn\u2019t it? You were hoping that the shadows would be resurrected somehow with Tulla? Well sorry to disappoint you, but the shadows die with me and as far as I\u2019m concerned they already died long ago.\u201d\n\u201cYou short sighted fool, this wasn\u2019t about Tulla, this was a chance for you to finally achieve something worthwhile in your miserable life!\u201d\n\u201cYeah, well I\u2019ve never been here to impress you, so if I\u2019m no longer a source of amusement or interest to you I guess you can start leaving me alone finally.\u201d\n\u201cI suppose so. You\u2019re a great disappointment Eternal.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m sure I am.\u201d\n\nAnd that\u2019s the last time you ever hear from Dendrin ever again.\n\nIn the months to follow you spend fixing up your cabin and generally living a simple life. Tulla comes and visits you as she promised. The next time you see her she\u2019s in a soldier\u2019s uniform. Apparently she made an impression. She mentions that the Nalin Empire is always on the look out for new recruits anyway.\n\nA couple years pass and the ruler of Nalin dies. Apparently Brenda committed suicide, but given how ambitious her second is, you wonder if Tarna didn\u2019t have anything to do with it. You briefly have a concern that Nalin will be plunged into civil war, but fortunately Tarna keeps the Empire together and it was never in such danger. Tarna is perhaps s a little stricter than Brenda is, not that it matters to you since you live a self-sufficient life in the middle of nowhere and have a \u201cdaughter\u201d in the army. The only thing you ever have problems with is competing with the nearby kobold tribe for game.\n\nTulla still visits you from time to time, but the visits get rare due to her responsibilities, but you don\u2019t mind. She\u2019s living her life after all and that\u2019s what you always wanted for her.\n\nYears pass into decades and you live long enough to see the Nalin Empire embark on a war of conquest of Quala. You know Tulla was sent to the front lines because she made one last visit before leaving. You wished her luck as you always do, but you know better than anyone that war is an ugly business and death can come at any time.\n\nYou never do see her again. You never know if she was killed or if she was just on assigned elsewhere.\n\nEventually your last remaining years are spent as you most often lived: Alone and your thoughts mostly revolving around Talia. With your last dying breath you tell her that you\u2019ll be joining her soon.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Travel to the Felkan Kingdom", "result": "The Felkan Kingdom is further away from the chaos and while it\u2019ll be a long trek, you feel it\u2019ll be a better place for Tulla to start a new life.\n\n\u201cThe Felkan Kingdom? That\u2019s a long distance, are you sure you\u2019re up for that?\u201d Tulla asks.\n\u201cOf course I am! I\u2019m not so old that I can\u2019t make a simple trip! Now let\u2019s get going.\u201d You snap.\n\nYour journey out of Delerg is fortunately without conflict. Your journey through Quala isn\u2019t however, though you\u2019re lucky enough to not get harassed by any professional soldier types and its just bandits.\n\nTulla does well against them, you don\u2019t do too bad yourself considering your age, but during the fight it\u2019s never been more apparent of how old you actually are.\n\n\u201cYou okay uncle?\u201d Tulla asks you after the battle.\n\u201cYeah\u2026(pant)\u2026just\u2026well like I\u2019ve said before. I\u2019m just old. Though I can honestly say, I\u2019m proud of you and glad to see that you\u2019re more than capable of taking care of yourself. Now let\u2019s loot these sons of bitches and hope they actually robbed some people before their pathetic attempt on us. I\u2019m pretty sure we\u2019re going to need some money when we get to the Felkan Kingdom.\u201d\n\nYou continue your journey through Quala and continue to feel your age. You don\u2019t have too many more problems in Quala, but Arat is another story.\n\nAs bad as Quala is, Arat is still in relative anarchy. You and Tulla are attacked several times and unfortunately it is during one of those attacks that your age catches up to you. In this case your attackers happen to be a small group of svelk.\n\nThe svelk are more than a match for Tulla despite her skills, and you as well. Though you manage to at least fight long enough for Tulla to escape. You on the other hand succumb to your wounds and the svelk finish you off with a few bolts to your head.", "action_results": []}]}]}, {"action": "Shadow shelter for lost girls (Dendrin\u2019s Input)", "result": "\u201cPlanning on turning this place in an orphanage and calling it Uncle Shadow\u2019s shelter for lost girls?\u201d Dendrin mocks. You knew this was coming.\n\u201cI\u2019m really in no mood, you know.\u201d You reply.\n\u201cOh you\u2019re always in a mood. Just never a fun one.\u201d\n\u201cWell get your jabs in now and get it over with, I know you want to.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m sure I don\u2019t know what you\u2019re talking about. If you think I\u2019m going to make fun of you and this situation you\u2019ve misjudged me as usual. On the contrary, I think it\u2019s very brave of you to take on such an unfamiliar responsibility at your age.\u201d\n\u201cI wasn\u2019t left with much choice, now was I?\u201d\n\u201cSure you were, you could\u2019ve just left the girl to die along with her mother. You didn\u2019t though, I imagine for several reasons. Such as your not so secret need for living mortal company, or your dormant paternal instinct that apparently has gotten stronger in your later years. Even I didn\u2019t see that one coming until you took in this girl\u2019s mother a decade ago.\u201d\n\u201cYeah\u2026 let\u2019s not bring her up right now.\u201d\n\u201cMy apologies. Anyway this should certainly be fascinating to observe.\u201d\n\u201cAnd there it is, the whole reason for your interest. Something new to view. Glad I can always be a constant source of amusement to you Den.\u201d\n\u201cEternal you\u2019re more than a source of amusement for me and I think you know that. I still believe as I did when I let you live during your shadow indoctrination ceremony that you are destined for important things.\u201d\n\u201cWell let me know what those important things are when you find out.\u201d\n\u201cIt may be that you\u2019re already involved in them.\u201d\n\nBefore you can make a retort about Dendrin\u2019s usual vagueness, you wake up.", "action_results": [null]}]}, {"action": "Just leave", "result": "You\u2019re not wasting any more time with Lena or stretching this out any longer than you have to. You begin to leave.\n\n\u201cUncle Shadow where are you going?\u201d Tulla asks.\n\u201cHome. And I suggest that\u2019s where you go. Tell your mother if she\u2019s got any sense of self preservation left she\u2019ll get you and herself out of here too.\u201d\n\u201cBut aren\u2019t you staying to help us fight the bad men?\u201d Tulla asks, not fully understanding the situation.\n\n\u201cNo, I\u2019m not. (sigh) I\u2019m sorry Tulla, but even if you don\u2019t realize it yet you\u2019ve been dealt a bad hand in life. If your mother doesn\u2019t flee soon like I think she won\u2019t then I can only tell you one last thing.\u201d\n\nYou put your hand on Tulla\u2019s shoulder and look her in the eyes.\n\n\u201cWhen the bad men come, you HIDE. Find a safe place and hide, and then run when you\u2019re able. Even if you see or hear them doing bad things to your mother you continue to run or hide. They won\u2019t show mercy and they will do bad things to you as well. If you want to survive, you will listen to me.\u201d\n\nIt\u2019s a cold hard truth and Tulla just stares at you with the rain continuing to pour down on the pair of you. You think she\u2019s probably more upset that you\u2019re leaving than anything else you\u2019ve told her. You can\u2019t do anything for her though except hope that she absorbs your advice.\n\nAs you start to leave, you briefly consider taking Tulla with you, but you dismiss the idea. You already \u201ctook in\u201d one young girl in trouble and you can see how that turned out. You\u2019re no parental figure and you\u2019re not responsible for Tulla either.\n\nYour journey back home is an uneventful one. When you finally arrive you immediately head to the garden.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m back Talia. For good this time, as I don\u2019t believe I\u2019ll be making many more trips topside.\u201d\n\nThe silence continues to question you.\n\n\u201cWhy? Well because I\u2019m done with it all that\u2019s why. I mean I tried to relive the thrill of battle and that only has a temporary effect on my good mood, eventually it just gets boring. I\u2019ve explored most of lands and found nothing of interest save for hostile people and unfriendly terrain. I\u2019ve helped those in need and it only serves to either make their situations worse or prolong the inevitable. What\u2019s the point of it all? I\u2019ve come to realize that down here with you is where I belong and it\u2019s where I shall stay for the rest of my life. However long that happens to be.\u201d\n\nAfter telling all this to Talia, you feel like a great weight has been lifted off of you. It feels good to no longer have to worry about anyone other than yourself again. You excuse yourself to Talia and head off to your bedroom to get some much-needed sleep\u2026\n\n\u201cWhile I appreciate that you finally had the common sense to abandon a hopeless cause I\u2019m a little concerned by your return to a hermit life style.\u201d Dendrin remarks.\n\u201cYeah, well I would think by now that you\u2019d know I don\u2019t really care about your opinions on my life.\u201d\n\u201cBut you can still be so much more, or at least you could still be destined for greater things. I see that, how come you don\u2019t?\u201d\n\u201cMaybe I don\u2019t want to be destined for such things even if they are true? Maybe I\u2019m happy just spending the rest of my life here? What difference does it make? Besides I\u2019m sure my so-called destiny would only serve to benefit you in some way so that\u2019s not exactly a motivator either. And if you don\u2019t like what I\u2019m doing or you no longer find that I provide you with the amusement that your own pathetic existence so desperately craves then you can fucking leave me alone.\u201d\n\u201cVery well Eternal. I can see I should waste no more time with you. My only regret is I did not see your inadequacies sooner. Perhaps I should\u2019ve picked someone more motivated. Oh well. Time to move on.\u201d\n\nAnd with that, you never hear from Dendrin ever again. You also never go to the surface again.\n\nYears pass as they always do. You more or less keep yourself occupied by writing in your journal and speaking with Talia. It\u2019s not much stimuli, but don\u2019t seem to mind it at first. In time though you begin to get a little more detached from reality. You begin adding new people to speak with, such as arguing with Cyrus on a regular basis about how his tactics will not work against an Empire encampment or laughing at Murk on his latest tale of how he\u2019s failed to woo Bianca.\n\nIn other words, you practically go mad. One moment you\u2019re fully aware of your surroundings and living in the present, the next you\u2019re living in the past again. You\u2019ve created your own reality and aren\u2019t leaving it anytime soon.\n\nYou continue like this for a few more decades until you eventually die as the mad hermit you are, and like most mad hermits, you leave no lasting presence in the world.", "action_results": []}]}, {"action": "The family (Henry and Tulla)", "result": "While eating at the dinner table, you find that unlike Lena, Henry is actually very hospitable. You discover that your guess that he was a woodcutter by trade was correct. He\u2019s also lived here all his life and still remembers when the old Empire claimed Delerg.\n\n\u201cI do not ever recall seeing you in the resistance during the Empire days.\u201d You remark.\n\u201cI wasn\u2019t. At the time I was more concerned with taking care of my first wife who was sick, than changing the government\u2026besides as much as it may make me look like a coward, the Empire did not interfere much with our lives, so I saw no reason to fight. Especially since you shadows looked to have the matter well in hand.\u201d\n\u201cHmm, glad we kept up a good appearance considering we ultimately lost.\u201d\n\u201cBut the Empire did fall.\u201d\n\u201cIt may have fell, but it got replaced with something far worse. Sometimes I think things would\u2019ve been better if we hadn\u2019t done shit. Your reasons for not fighting are certainly valid ones, but tell me, what did you do when the eternals first arrived? I have to admit I am not entirely familiar with the last years of the Empire and its immediate aftermath. I was trapped underground for a while you see. But I do know that there were a group of thuggish eternals that eventually laid claim here. I know because Lena and I eventually got rid of them. Why did you not fight then?\u201d\n\nLena starts to get agitated with you questioning her husband, but he calms her and says it\u2019s quite all right.\n\n\u201cWhen Brutus\u2019 group came around and set up shop independently of the Empire I just laid low as I would never have been a match for any of them, even if they didn\u2019t severely outnumber me. Fortunately laying low was easy as you can see this village is one of the furthest ones from Sinkhole. It\u2019s practically on the ass end of civilization. Besides, my first wife had died of her illness around that time and I went through an extended period of mourning. I\u2026uh sort of shut myself off from the world I guess. I was in no condition to fight anyone. If anything I might\u2019ve welcomed death at that point in my life. All I did most of the time during those days was visit Alanna\u2019s grave a lot and speak to it.\u201d\n\nYou can\u2019t help but see a very strong similarity here. When you look at Lena, she looks away as if you\u2019re going to call her out on her choice of husbands again. Of course you aren\u2019t though, but it does prove you were right about some of your previous remarks about her.\n\nMeanwhile Henry finishes his tale.\n\n\u201cBut eventually I realized that I had to move on with life and eventually I accepted reality.\u201d\n\u201cGood for you Henry. It takes a brave man to face reality.\u201d You say and drink from your cup giving Lena the option of calling you out on your own flights of fantasy concerning Talia. Of course she doesn\u2019t.\n\nYou chat a bit more with Henry. He says while he isn\u2019t much of a fighter due to inexperience, he says that Lena has shown him a few things as she has been trying to teach others as well.\n\n\u201cI have to say, I\u2019ve never quite understood the Delergites\u2019 unwillingness to fight. Well the majority of them anyway.\u201d You mention.\n\u201cSurely as a shadow, you know the reason.\u201d\n\u201cI do? I\u2019m afraid you\u2019ll have to enlighten me Henry. While I may be a shadow in name, let\u2019s just say I may not be the best representative.\u201d\n\u201cWell you are aware of what most of us in Delerg are taught about the shadows right? I mean about how conquerors may come and go, but the shadows will always remain as they have for centuries. And that the shadows will always defend and protect this place. With the shadows around, most people just believe that eventually they\u2019ll take care of the major problems.\u201d\n\u201cYes, I am aware of it, I just never thought any of you lot bought into it so seriously. The dependency issues aside, why continue to believe it at all? The shadows belong to the rubble heap of history now. Surely YOU don\u2019t still believe such things.\u201d\n\nHenry thinks a bit, but not too long.\n\n\u201cWell, yes.\u201d\n\u201cYou do? Why?\u201d\n\u201cYou\u2019re still here to help aren\u2019t you?\u201d\n\nYou give a smile and even chuckle a bit.\n\n\u201cHeh, well maybe you\u2019re right, Henry.\u201d\n\u201cHowever as I mentioned before outside I am willing to fight and not rely others. After met Lena, I found that there are some things worth fighting for. Now with my new daughter Tulla in this world I find that to be truer than ever.\u201d Henry says while looking at the baby basket nearby.\n\nLena reaches over to squeeze Henry\u2019s hand briefly. You say nothing to this moment of closeness; you just get temporary lost in thoughts of long ago. You think about how this arrangement is probably similar to something Talia wanted. Well perhaps not exactly, but definitely the family part.\n\nThe thing is, you never really seriously considered such things even when Talia spoke of it. Part of it was your foremost concern of surviving the next thing the Empire decided to throw at you. The other part is it just wasn\u2019t something you were excessively interested in. Now though, looking at something like this a little more close up, you can\u2019t help but think \u201cwhat if?\u201d\n\nOf course that\u2019s not a \u201cwhat if\u201d that can ever be achieved. Even if Talia was still alive, you couldn\u2019t have children anyway. Quite frankly you\u2019ve spent so much time killing, wouldn\u2019t really know what to do with the prospect of taking care of anything so helpless like a child, though you\u2019d guess that perhaps Talia would\u2019ve been more of the nurturing one while you trained it to fight or something you actually knew about.\n\nThe funny thing is you get the impression that Henry serves more of that purpose of a \u201cnurturer\u201d than Lena does, who while obviously loving towards the child, she maintains more of a distance from it than Henry does. Almost as if she\u2019s reluctant to bond with it on a major level.", "action_results": [null]}, {"action": "The warrior wife (Lena)", "result": "Soon, dinner is over and Henry says that he\u2019ll clean up, as he knows you and Lena have things to discuss concerning the possible invasion. Lena motions you back outside to talk.\n\n\u201cWon\u2019t Henry be joining us for this?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cHe doesn\u2019t need to, he\u2019s already more up to speed on things than you are, besides he needs to clean up and look after the baby.\u201d\n\u201cOkay then.\u201d\n\nWhile Lena goes over to speak with Henry about some more mundane domestic manner, yoou head back outside into the silent darkness. Usually there are a few Sul Monkeys making noises at night, but you\u2019d guess that Lena being a hunter and all, the monkeys have learned to stay far away from this area. You find a nearby stump to sit on and wait for Lena who makes her appearance soon.\n\n\u201cOkay I know we spoke about some of the this at dinner, but what exactly do you know about this impeding invasion?\u201d\n\u201cLike I said, all I know is its one of the local eternal warlords in Quala. I think he just calls himself The Victor or something silly like that because of his conquests.\u201d\n\u201cSomething exactly like that, though I believe he thinks it\u2019s a clever play on words due to his real name being Victor. He doesn\u2019t seem to be an excessively cruel ruler for an eternal, just a very arrogant one. Believes everyone should serve him. His ego aside, he has been one of the more successful warlords in Quala, but I think he\u2019s turned his sights on Delerg for extra conscripts and tribute to help fund conquests elsewhere.\u201d\n\u201cWell it isn\u2019t like there\u2019s much else here. So do you have any idea what his military strength might be?\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m not sure, but uh, I think it\u2019s in the thousands.\u201d\n\u201cIs that low or high? I mean this does make a difference.\u201d\n\u201cI don\u2019t know! I mean I think it might be around ten.\u201d\n\u201cOkay\u2026so if its around ten and if he\u2019s not a reckless idiot, that probably means he\u2019ll only send around fifteen hundred troops maximum here, probably less initially since he won\u2019t believe he\u2019ll have any resistance. Now how many people do we have?\u201d\n\u201cAltogether we might have a little less than a hundred.\u201d\n\nLena as she continues to go on about how not all of those that she\u2019s managed to enlist to help are even combat capable. Some have just agreed to help in a no combat way such as passing on information and such. Which means if they aren\u2019t willing to fight, they\u2019ll be practically useless when the battle starts getting heavy and Victor decides to just start decimating entire towns.\n\nLena finally asks your opinion on the situation.\n\n\u201cSo what do you think?\u201d\n\u201cI think we\u2019re fucked, that\u2019s what I think. How much have you trained the people that will fight?\u201d\n\u201cSome of them already know how, and I\u2019ve trained others a little. I intend on stepping up the training sessions more soon.\u201d\n\u201cNot going to be enough, I can tell you that right now, also when I say fight I\u2019m talking at least your level or better. You better get on it fast. Now what about traps?\u201d\n\u201cWhat about them?\u201d\n\u201cHave you set any up? I mean time at least could be taken to do that; you are a damn trapper after all.\u201d\n\u201cAnd what do you expect me to do? Dig a hidden spiked pit in a road that people use on a regular basis? I can\u2019t start setting up traps in public areas! I\u2019ve done as much as I can around this village and even then I have to be careful. Some child playing in the wrong area and I\u2019m the one getting blamed.\u201d\n\u201c(Sigh) Fine, I\u2019ll figure out something then. I\u2019ll start trapping the less travelled roads and the clearer parts of the swamp and jungle where an army might travel through. You might want to let people know if you\u2019re that concerned with avoiding potential accidents.\u201d\n\u201cWhy don\u2019t you tell them? You are considered the revered protector of Delerg, last shadow.\u201d\n\u201cBecause I\u2019m done with people? Because I did all that shit in the past and it didn\u2019t work? If I was really all that respected and revered, I should be able to walk into Sinkhole and say hey, you\u2019re all in great danger and if you want a slim chance of surviving the shitstorm that\u2019s going to come your way then you better follow me and have everyone do it with absolute loyalty.\u201d\n\u201cSo you want to have the same sort of absolute authority that one of those eternal warlords has because you know what\u2019s best for the lessers?\u201d\n\u201cThat\u2019s not what I meant, but if you\u2019re going to go there, yeah it would make things a hell of a lot easier. Besides, YOU\u2019RE the leader of this resistance, not me. I\u2019m here to help as much as I can, but as good as I am, I can\u2019t do every damn thing.\u201d\n\u201cSo far the only thing you have done is point out that I\u2019m doing everything wrong. When you actually start helping let me know.\u201d\n\nYou begin to get angry.\n\n\u201cWhat Lena? You want me to pat you on the head like some doting father and say you\u2019ve done a good job so far and that everything will be all right? Well I\u2019m not going to do that, because the outlook on this isn\u2019t fucking good! A superior force with better resources and most likely better fighting ability over all outnumbers us. You seem to forget I fought this battle before thirty damn years ago with better odds. You know how that ended? Complete destruction of my side, that\u2019s how it ended. We fucking LOST Lena, spectacularly and completely. So what if the Empire fell soon after? Did it help anything in the long run? No, not one bit. Did drunken bards at taverns sing the valiant but hopeless deeds of the shadows or anyone else? No. Was it all fucking worth it at all? No. And do you think when Delerg is eventually overrun, its towns destroyed, its people killed and its jungles burned to the ground; it\u2019ll make any bit of difference what we did? No. And you\u2019re an idiot if you think it will.\u201d\n\nAt one time Lena might\u2019ve cried or run away by your harsh words, but she\u2019s much harder now of course.\n\n\u201cIf you feel we\u2019re all doomed anyway then why help at all?\u201d she asks.\n\u201cBecause I\u2019m an a mean old bastard that doesn\u2019t have much else to do with the remainder of life except enjoy a good fight from time to time. And my point is, that YOU aren\u2019t. Remember how after we killed Brutus you wanted to go on a suicidal rampage of attacking eternals in Quala? Remember how I managed to guide you from that by pushing you away? Seems like that worked out pretty well didn\u2019t it? You\u2019re alive and have a family rather than the rotting corpse that you\u2019d probably be if you\u2019d went ahead with your original idea.\u201d\n\nYou take a deep breath and exhale and touch Lena\u2019s shoulder before continuing.\n\n\u201cWell I\u2019m making another guiding attempt except I\u2019m telling you straight to your face now. You have a family and you have something to fight for, it\u2019s true. But you\u2019re not winning this. You can get the hell out of this forsaken swamp and make a new life elsewhere. I know you have it within you. Even if you don\u2019t care about yourself or even Henry, think about Tulla. I mean\u2026\u201d\n\u201cLet me stop you right there asshole.\u201d Lena says with authority.\n\n\u201cSo let me get this straight, you telling me I should just run away? That I should leave my home?\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m telling you, you should survive.\u201d\n\u201cWell survival isn\u2019t enough sometimes. Maybe it was when I fled my village as it burned to the ground, but not anymore. I\u2019m fighting BECAUSE of my family. This is OUR home and we aren\u2019t going to be bullied by anyone or run away when things look bad. You once fought for a worthy cause, overthrowing the tyranny of the old Empire. You must have believed in it at one time or else you would\u2019ve just fled the area at the nearest opportunity.\u201d\n\u201cTo some extent yes, but if it wasn\u2019t for Talia, I probably wouldn\u2019t have stayed as long as I did.\u201d\n\u201cYes, the great love of your life that was the reason for most of your choices\u2026I know. But how long are you going to hide behind that ghost? You told me you once broke up with her for a few years due to a disagreement of faith. You didn\u2019t even think you\u2019d ever get back with her, yet you stuck around in that frozen wasteland Rask and continued to fight the Empire all by yourself. You still must\u2019ve believed in your cause. When you saved me on that terrible night, you didn\u2019t do that for Talia either. You didn\u2019t even do it out of boredom, or the thrill of battle, or whatever other reason you want to hide behind. You did it because you felt it was the RIGHT thing to do.\u201d\n\nYou stand silent as Lena continues her speech.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re a survivor, but I do not believe that it\u2019s enough for you either. You still want to fight for a worthy cause and your morality keeps getting more in the way than you\u2019d like to admit. If you were truly just a survivor, you wouldn\u2019t even be here. You want to help me, because you CARE. You\u2019re even trying to convince me to leave because you care. I\u2019m not leaving. Preventing Delerg from being occupied by a hostile force is a worthy cause to fight for. Many won\u2019t fight, well I think as you once told me, they\u2019re weak. And even though it may be frustrating and unrewarding sometimes its up to the strong to protect the weak. I believe that fighting for a positive cause will be setting a good example for Tulla and she will grow up seeing that. And if we die\u2026then at least we all died fighting for something worthy and what we believe in. I would think you of all people would approve of such a death.\u201d\n\nYou have no argument.\n\n\u201cI would. Very well, I believe I have most of the information I need here, I\u2019ll probably start doing my own spying into the Quala province and find out more. I\u2019ll keep you posted. I\u2026um\u2026well\u2026\u201d you start to fumble with an apology, but Lena stops you.\n\u201cDon\u2019t worry, I know. You\u2019re just a mean old bastard.\u201d She says.\n\u201cHeh, yeah.\u201d You chuckle and start to leave, but before you go Lena grabs your arm and leans in to kiss you on the cheek.\n\n\u201cWhat was that for?\u201d\n\u201cFor everything.\u201d\n\nYou and Lena look into each other\u2019s eyes for a moment and then you turn to leave again. When you get few paces you turn to see Lena still watching you for a moment and then turn to head back to her home.\n\n\u201cShut up Dendrin.\u201d You mutter as you walk back to the temple.", "action_results": [null]}]}, {"action": "Lay low", "result": "You had a brief revival of the \u201cglory days\u201d when you first fought along side Lena. And while it was fun while it lasted, you believe you\u2019re done with such things now. A storm is coming and you\u2019re not going to stand in its path because it\u2019ll ultimately be a fool\u2019s game.\n\nYou take steps to seal up the more accessible entrance to your sanctuary. It would take quite the effort to try to break in now, but you doubt if anyone will make the effort. You\u2019ve been in this situation before and you handled it just fine. You can easily do it again despite what Dendrin might say.\n\nYou do wonder how Lena will handle the situation. She\u2019ll probably fight, but if she\u2019s learned anything, she\u2019d do better to flee with her family. In any case you\u2019ve made your decision and you return to the familiarity of the garden.\n\n\u201cLooks like I\u2019ll be spending a lot more time with you again Talia, just like the old days.\u201d\n\nYear 65\n\nSeveral years have passed and you still haven\u2019t a clue what\u2019s been going on the surface nor do you care anymore. You haven\u2019t even made the attempt to even take a peek, you\u2019ve kept your entrance sealed and haven\u2019t dug out any new ones. As predicted nobody has attempted to intrude on you, so why bother leaving?\n\nThroughout the years you\u2019ve been trying to keep your mind occupied with your conversations with Talia and even Dendrin when he sees fit to speak to you anymore. You also continue to write in the journal you keep, but if anyone read it now, they probably wouldn\u2019t understand any of it as your thoughts have become disjointed and not of a sound mind.\n\nYou babble a lot to yourself nowadays, and not just in the usual way you do with Talia. Over the years you\u2019ve actually been including others, such as arguing with Cyrus on a regular basis about how his tactics will not work against an Empire encampment or laughing at Murk on his latest tale of how he\u2019s failed to woo Bianca.\n\nIn other words, you\u2019ve practically gone mad. One moment you\u2019re fully aware of your surroundings and living in the present, the next you\u2019re living in the past again. You\u2019ve created your own reality and aren\u2019t leaving it anytime soon. Dendrin tries to snap you out of it, but eventually he realizes the futility of the task and stops speaking to you altogether. Hardly matters as you\u2019ve got more than enough disembodied voices in your head to keep you company.\n\nYou continue like this for a few more decades until you eventually die as the mad hermit you are, and like most mad hermits, you leave no lasting presence in the world.", "action_results": []}]}]}, {"action": "Let them go and help Lena", "result": "Lena\u2019s more important right now. This lot seems like they\u2019re not eager for a fight. Even if they do regain their courage at a later date, you figure you can easily deal with them then.\n\n\u201cToday is your lucky day, get the hell out of here and don\u2019t let me see you again!\u201d you say. The speaker of the group nods and thanks you while he and the rest of his fellows quickly run past you and out the front gate.\n\nYou head quickly to the \u201cmansion\u201d sized home near the marshlands. You approach cautiously and that\u2019s when you see Lena just arriving. You\u2019re glad you got here in time.\n\n\u201cGood there you are, did you have any problems?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cOther than having to pull leeches off my body? No. There were a couple eternals near the area where I came through, but I killed them while they were still trying to make up their minds on whether or not to leave their posts to investigate the noise you were stirring up at the front gate. Besides that, I investigated the surrounding area outside this house and I haven\u2019t seen any evidence that Brutus has tried to leave it.\u201d\n\u201cLet\u2019s just hope he doesn\u2019t have some sort of underground tunnel built. Let\u2019s go.\u201d\n\nAfter breaking down the door, you cautiously move throughout the house. While certainly bigger than the rest of homes in Sinkhole, it probably doesn\u2019t look much better from the inside. The place is a wreck, you\u2019d think as a leader he\u2019d want to keep his own home in better condition, but then given that you live in an underground hole of a collapsed temple which was already in ruins when you arrived there, maybe you aren\u2019t exactly in a position to make judgments as far as living arrangements are concerned.\n\n\u201cNo traps so far.\u201d Lena whispers.\n\u201cConsidering there\u2019s so much junk and garbage in this place, they could be well hidden. Keep a look out anyway, and stay quiet! No need to give our position away.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m sure he already knows we\u2019re\u2026\u201d\n\nBefore Lena can complete her statement, Brutus appears from around a corner and nearly takes her head off with an axe. Fortunately for her, you block the attack. At last you get a close look at the great leader himself, and once again you\u2019re unimpressed by what you see. Makes this whole endeavor hardly even worth it at this point.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll make you wish you hadn\u2019t come back from the dead shadow!\u201d Brutus exclaims right before you shut him up with a head-butt and then slicing his belly open. Falling to the floor and desperately attempting to hold in his entrails he starts to scoot back from you.\n\n\u201cYou new eternals always talk too much.\u201d You say. \u201cLena\u2026if you\u2019d like to do the honors.\u201d\n\nLena wastes no time in taking up your offer. She points her spear at Brutus, who makes a plea for his life through bribery. It doesn\u2019t work and Lena skewers him in the chest with the spear.\n\nThen she does it again\u2026 and again\u2026 and again\u2026 and\u2026\n\n\u201cSonofabitch! You killed my family! Bastard! Die! Die! Fuck you\u2026\u201d Lena sobs the whole time.\n\u201cLena he\u2019s dead. You can stop\u2026\u201d you start to say and then you feel a crushing blow to the back of your skull knocking you to the floor.\n\nYou were paying so much attention to Lena\u2019s breakdown that you didn\u2019t hear anyone else enter the house. It\u2019s the trio of eternals that you previously let go. You attempt to get up, but only get another smash to your head for your troubles.\n\n\u201cWe kept our word shadow, you never saw us again!\u201d you hear one of them laugh and this is followed by a final blow to your skull which splits it open causing bits of brains to splatter nearby.\n\nLena charges at them already in a rage from before and while she manages to wound one of them, they ultimately take advantage of her unhinged state and finish her off with ease.", "action_results": []}]}, {"action": "Lesson One for Lena (A conversation)", "result": "\u201cAnd this will be your room. You can fix it how you want, but don\u2019t make a fucking mess. Also I don\u2019t know what combat skills you\u2019ve learned since I last saw you, but if you\u2019re serious about this like you appear to be, you will be training under me starting tomorrow. I\u2019m not taking you along if you don\u2019t know how to handle yourself better.\u201d You say.\n\u201cGreat. It\u2019s what I want anyway.\u201d\n\u201cHmm, you\u2019ll probably rethink that, once I actually start training you. Anyway, goodni\u2026\u201d\n\u201cHey I know you have some magic abilities, but are you really a shadow?\u201d Lena asks.\n\nHer question catches you off guard.\n\n\u201cYeah, I guess. I mean not really. Shit, I dunno. Just go to bed kid, you\u2019ll need the sleep because you\u2019ve got other things to worry about.\u201d\n\u201cWhat sort of answer is that?\u201d\n\u201cThe only one I\u2019m giving you right now. \u201d\n\u201cSheesh, I just figured it would be important if I knew if you were actually what you claimed when you killed those eternals that\u2026assaulted me.\u201d\n\u201cWhat? What did I say? I remember a lot of killing and screaming, but that\u2019s it.\u201d\n\u201cYou said something like I\u2019m the shadow of the past and right now the past is catching up with you. And then you killed one of them.\u201d\n\nYou now remember that line. That was rather over the top of you, and you\u2019re sort of surprised you forgot it so quickly.\n\n\u201cHeh, remembered that did you\u2026but then I suppose it might\u2019ve been more memorable for you\u2026(sigh). The answer to your question is\u2026complex. Officially I am a shadow, but\nI am not a faithful one as far as the crazy religion is concerned.\u201d\n\u201cSo you don\u2019t believe in Daylin?\u201d\n\u201cDendrin is his name and I didn\u2019t say I didn\u2019t believe in him, I just don\u2019t worship him. One would think he\u2019d want to leave me alone because of it, but for whatever reason he still insists on speaking with me on occasion. Don\u2019t ask me why, I don\u2019t know either. Maybe he just finds me interesting because I\u2019m an eternal.\u201d\n\nYour statement causes Lena\u2019s eyes to go wide. She wasn\u2019t expecting you to say something like that.\n\n\u201cOh don\u2019t worry, I\u2019m an original eternal, not like the ones you know about.\u201d\n\u201cHow did an eternal become a shadow?\u201d\n\u201cLong story and maybe I\u2019ll tell you one day assuming you survive training, now that\u2019s it for questions for tonight. You better get some rest, I\u2019m serious.\u201d\n\nLena ceases her questions and realizes that she\u2019s reached the limit on them for tonight. You leave her and head to your room wondering what the hell you\u2019re thinking. You hesitate to sleep just because you don\u2019t want to suffer through Dendrin\u2019s predictable taunts and questions. So you end up heading to the garden to speak to the only person you can.\n\n\u201cHi Talia, as you might know we\u2019ve got a visitor. It\u2019s that girl that I saved a few months ago. She seems to think she\u2019s a warrior now.\u201d You say shaking your head and sitting by Talia\u2019s grave.\n\n\u201cYeah I dunno what I\u2019m doing either, but I figure if she wants to get revenge that bad, then maybe she\u2019s earned the right to succeed and I should at least train her properly. I mean hell, it isn\u2019t like I have much else to do and it wouldn\u2019t be so bad having someone help me again.\u201d\n\nYou suddenly begin to feel a little nervous.\n\n\u201cI mean of course she\u2019ll never replace you. NEVER. I just\u2026um\u2026I look\u2026\u201d\n\nWhile you sit there trying to explain yourself to a dead woman, you don\u2019t even notice Lena entering the garden.\n\n\u201cWhat\u2019s going on? Who are you talking to?\u201d she asks in all innocence and you fly into a rage at being intruded on.\n\n\u201cGET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE! DON\u2019T YOU EVER FUCKING ENTER THIS PLACE AGAIN!\u201d you stand up and shout while walking towards her. You\u2019re menacing enough that Lena genuinely fears that you\u2019re going to hurt her and she runs out of the room.\n\nWhile Lena runs back to her room, you calm down a bit and stop yourself at the entryway of the garden and realize that you might\u2019ve gotten a little more upset than you should have.\n\n\u201c(Sigh) Shit.\u201d You quietly say and begin to head towards Lena\u2019s room. When you get there you see her trying not to cry and packing what little belongings she owns.\n\n\u201cWhere are you going?\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m leaving, I guess you\u2019re right, I shouldn\u2019t be here.\u201d\n\u201cLena, stop. Where are you going to go? Back to live in the swamp with eternals hunting for your head? Look I\u2019m sorry, but I haven\u2019t had anyone living here for quite a while and you caught me off guard during, well a private time.\n\u201cSo who were you speaking with?\u201d\n\u201cTalia, my dead wife. Except I like to pretend she\u2019s still alive sometimes. Hmm, now that I think about it, that\u2019s not a very strong incentive for you to stay.\u201d You morbidly joke.\n\nYou sort of expect Lena to agree and continue her attempt to leave, but she doesn\u2019t.\n\n\u201cI\u2026suppose I understand. For a while after my boyfriend Aaron was killed, I still couldn\u2019t quite accept the fact he was dead either. Sometimes I pretended he was just off travelling for an extended period of time. When the rest of my family died, well I didn\u2019t hold that illusion for any of them or even Aaron anymore. I had to accept reality. No point in living in a fantasy land when it isn\u2019t real right?\u201d\n\u201cTruer words have never been spoken. I believe you have the right mindset Lena and I also believe your training will go well.\u201d\n\nAs you turn to leave, Lena can\u2019t resist asking that last question.\n\n\u201cUh, if you don\u2019t mind me asking, but how did your wife die?\u201d\n\u201cIn battle against the eternals, about ten years ago.\u201d\n\nLena\u2019s expression is a puzzled one. Here you just congratulated her on her acceptance of reality, yet you\u2019ve been drifting in and out of fantasy for a decade. You stop her before she even asks.\n\n\u201cLesson one, do as I say, not as I do.\u201d You remark and leave.", "action_results": [null]}]}]}, {"action": "Leave the area", "result": "Whether you\u2019re content on just surviving or not isn\u2019t really the issue, staying here in what amounts to be an oversized grave wallowing in self pity from time to time probably isn\u2019t the best thing for your mind. You\u2019re already starting to go a little off kilter in that regard. There is really nothing for you here or Delerg or even the area in general. Maybe shouldn\u2019t just change your surroundings, maybe you need to just leave them completely.\n\nIt takes you about a month, but eventually you gather up the motivation to leave the temple for good. You visit Talia\u2019s grave one last time before you leave.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m sorry Talia, but I have to leave you now. We\u2019ll\u2026 be together again some day.\u201d\n\nYou keep your goodbyes to Talia short because if you draw it out any longer you\u2019ll end up staying.\n\nWhen you leave the temple you aren\u2019t exactly sure which direction to head in. You could head west through Quala, Arat and eventually to the Felkan Kingdom. From there you\u2019ll decide your next course of action of what to do next.\n\nOf course you could do the unthinkable and do what even the Empire avoided and that\u2019s head east deeper into the Delerg swamp. There are rumors of horrors that live further in and while that might be true, the swamp has to end somewhere. It isn\u2019t like anyone to your knowledge has ever explored past it. Part of this intrigues you a bit. At the very least the danger would keep your mind focused on other things.", "action_results": [{"action": "Head east into deep Delerg jungle", "result": "The whole point of changing your surroundings is to go someplace where you haven\u2019t been before. You\u2019ve been through Quala and Arat and you\u2019d rather not have to travel through them again. You\u2019re going to off in a completely new direction.\n\nYour journey through the eastern swamp is an ordeal to say the least. The swamp eventually becomes more of a jungle it almost seems as if the land itself is protecting something or otherwise it just doesn\u2019t want anyone going further east.\n\nYou do battle with several beasts that you\u2019ve never seen before and probably nobody else from the \u201ccivilized\u201d world has either. It\u2019s not just beasts that are hostile, or even the plants, but also a short dark race of humans. Their small stature doesn\u2019t make them any less dangerous. If it wasn\u2019t for your magic abilities you doubt if you\u2019d be able to handle so many because you swear the trees must be spawning the little bastards. Thankfully as an eternal you\u2019re also somewhat resistant to poisons.\n\nStill the constant attacks are taking their toll and you\u2019re exhausted from fighting and magic use. The moment you are able to get a small bit of sleep, even Dendrin is suggesting that perhaps you should go back. You ignore him though. He\u2019s always giving you contradictory suggestions. One moment he\u2019s telling you to something like change your surroundings, and the next he\u2019s telling you how that\u2019s bad. You wish he\u2019d just leave you alone once and for all.\n\nYou press onward and eventually the jungle thins out a bit and you discover what looks to be some very old ruins. Another temple perhaps, but its design isn\u2019t like the shadow temple. Your curiosity gets the better of you and you decide to enter. If nothing else, it\u2019ll give you a bit of relief from the tree dwelling attackers.\n\nYou cautiously explore, but so far the ruins seem empty. You don\u2019t even come across any of the jungle fauna making their home here. Your guess that it was once some sort of temple seems to be on target as you come across several altars and odd symbols. Lot of drawing of snakes too. You\u2019re guessing it was dedicated to some sort of snake god.\n\nNot finding anything of interest, you step back outside only to suddenly feel four sharp darts going into your body. The pygmies set up an ambush! You stagger back inside the ruins cursing yourself for not being more observant.\n\nYou can hear them shouting excitedly from outside while you\u2019re pulling out the dart from behind a fallen stone pillar. Given that they typically attack you with abandon of their own well-being, you fully expect them to come rushing into the temple to attack you. It\u2019ll be taxing, but you\u2019ll have the advantage in the cover of the darkness.\n\nThat doesn\u2019t happen however. They don\u2019t enter the temple at all and seem to be waiting for you to come out. You wonder if they consider this place taboo or something. In any case you decide you\u2019ll take advantage by resting a moment and when you feel like you\u2019ve got the energy, you\u2019ll cloak yourself and sneak past them all.\n\nYou wait in the darkness for quite a while and keeping an ear out for the pygmies. Though while you\u2019re listening out for them, you then hear another sound which sounds very close. A hissing sound that is right behind you\u2026\n\nYou turn around and swing your weapon, but the instant you do, an incredibly bright light blinds you. You then feel the whip of a tail smashing you in the chest causing you to fall backwards and hit your head on the stone floor.\n\nThrough your grogginess and hazy eye sight you manage to just make out your attacker which seems to be some sort of serpent creature, but with arms like a human holding a staff with a glowing tip.\n\nYou attempt to mumble a spell to speed you up, but the serpent creature is faster even without magical enhancements. Its head lunges forward and you feel its fangs sink deep into your throat puncturing the jugular. You die instantly.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Head west to the Felkan Kingdom", "result": "You think you\u2019d still rather stick to familiar terrain first, so you decide that you\u2019ll head to the Felkan Kingdom and see what happens from there.\n\nYour journey through Quala takes a while, but is fairly uneventful. Same chaos going on that you saw before with various eternal warlords squabbling over the scraps of a fallen regime. You don\u2019t really see it getting better any time sooner. In fact you wonder if overthrowing the Empire made a damn bit of difference at all. In some ways things are even worse.\n\nArat fairs even worse. There doesn\u2019t seem to be any sort of law and order of any kind here. There isn\u2019t even a petty dictator around, its just complete anarchy. The only semblance of order is on the Felkan boarders where the overworked Felakans are busily attempting to keep the riff raff from coming in. Naturally you simply cloak and sneak over.\n\nThe Felkan Kingdom is something you\u2019ve heard about usually in a negative light from the Empire, but of course like with most things that seems to have been propaganda. The Felkan Kingdom is very different from what you\u2019re used to seeing though. The whole place seems to embrace technology and new ideas more readily than the Empire did. You see many instances of soldiers carrying around the \u201cblack powder\u201d weapons you\u2019ve heard about.\n\nYou stay in the Felkan lands for a while mostly keeping to the more rural parts of it, but the land is currently involved in a war of its own against a race of creatures called Gnolls making those same rural parts fairly dangerous. You have many of your own run ins with them while attempting to make a home here.\n\nEventually you decide to move on and leave Felkan territory.\n\nYou travel for years to distant lands, never finding a place to call home. In time, Dendrin stops speaking to you altogether and you find that you no longer have any magic ability at all. You see it as a small price to pay for never having to deal with him again.\n\nWhat ultimately happens to you is lost to history.", "action_results": []}]}]}]}, {"action": "Run deeper into the swamp", "result": "You don\u2019t want to risk heading back to the temple, it\u2019s bound to be crawling with new eternals.\n\n\u201cTalia, don\u2019t go to the temple! This way!\u201d you exclaim grabbing her arm.\n\u201cWhat? We need to go where Dendrin will protect us the most!\u201d\n\u201cHe\u2019s not helping us now! Let\u2019s gnnnt!\u201d\n\nWhile you were standing around arguing you catch two arrows to the back and then another to your side. You\u2019re down and Talia attempts to drag you into cover before cloaking the pair of you. Cloak or not, the arrows continue to be fired in your vicinity, won\u2019t be long before more find their mark or worse the rest of the eternal chasing you catch up.\n\n\u201cWe need to get out of here and back to the sanctuary now! Can you stand up?\u201d Talia asks.\n\u201cProbably, but I\u2019m not going to be going too fast all shot full of arrows, and with this pain I\u2019m not sure how long I\u2019m going to be able to upkeep the shadow magic. Look, just go on without me, I\u2019ll figure out something.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m not doing that! I already left you once when you needed help, I\u2019m not doing it again!\u201d\n\u201cWell this situation isn\u2019t looking good, you realize that right?\u201d\n\u201cI know.\u201d\n\nYou and Talia look into each other\u2019s eyes and briefly kiss. You had some good times; your only regret is you won\u2019t have any more with her.\n\nThe arrows stop as more eternals start swarming the vicinity. While one of them is barking orders to find you, Talia decloaks and cleaves his head in starting the battle off. Despite your limited mobility, you manage to throw some of your attackers off their game by fighting low to the ground. A couple of them go down by your hand, but ultimately there are too many of them and you feel a crushing mace blow to your head followed by a blade to your chest.\n\nAs your sight begins to fade, you see Talia still giving the eternals a good fight. Hopefully she\u2019ll make it back to the sanctuary like she wanted to in the first place.\n\nYou won\u2019t.", "action_results": []}]}, {"action": "Talia\u2019s Revelation (Year 33)", "result": "When you first got to Dendrin\u2019s sanctuary (As it came to be called), you basically stayed in your underground paradise a lot, since Talia was still pre-occupied with the idea of you both having a baby during that time. It was actually fun shutting out the world completely for a while. Even the prayers to Dendrin you faked didn\u2019t bother you.\n\nAs months went by, it was apparent nothing was happening and Talia began to get noticeably upset. She started blaming you, stating that because you had turned from Dendrin he was still punishing you and her by association. Naturally you argued back pointing out that you\u2019ve been praying to Dendrin right along side her and the fact you traveled here should be proof that\u2019s you\u2019re trying to change. It doesn\u2019t help and ultimately she just gets more upset. Weeks pass by where you don\u2019t even speak to each other, and that\u2019s when you tried something voluntarily that you never thought you\u2019d do.\n\nYou genuinely prayed to Dendrin. Not for yourself, but for Talia. You even bargained with him stating that you\u2019d actually become a true believer if he just granted her prayers. Predictably he never answered. All this caused you to do is get angry and curse him like you have so many times in the past. In the meantime, Talia wasn\u2019t angry with you anymore so much as she had fallen into a depression.\n\nWith Talia in a depression, you found yourself getting angrier at the situation. At Talia, at Dendrin, at the shadows, at the Empire and at yourself. Naturally you had to get your mind off things and that\u2019s when you remembered what the hell you were there for in the first place. To stir up shit for the Empire here in Delerg again.\n\nYou began leaving the sanctuary on a regular basis and ambushing Empire troops. Pretty soon you were back to a routine like you were in Rask during your isolated years. Talia never helps you during this time and mostly remains in her depression, but it hardly matters since you\u2019re focused on Empire soldiers. This remains your routine for months.\n\nBut recently things take an odd turn, namely you feel your shadow magic getting stronger again. You don\u2019t know if was due to the temple or the prayers or Dendrin being a whimsical asshole as usual, but you try to focus on the positive and hope that maybe this will snap Talia out her general sadness as well.\n\n\u201cTalia, I know you\u2019ve been feeling down for the past year or so, but I think I\u2019ve got some good news for you. My shadow magic is coming back.\u201d\n\u201cReally?\u201d\n\u201cYes, so I imagine that this means Dendrin must be happy with me and if he\u2019s happy with me, he\u2019s gotta be happy with you right?\u201d\n\nYou see Talia temporarily smile, but then this drops as quickly as it appears. In fact the expression on her face looks even sadder if that was possible.\n\n\u201cWhat the hell, I would\u2019ve thought that this would\u2019ve snapped you out of this long time depression you\u2019ve been in.\u201d\n\u201cI wish it did (sob) but instead it only confirms what I think the problem has been all along. (sob).\u201d Talia weeps.\n\u201cI don\u2019t understand.\u201d\n\u201cI should\u2019ve told you before\u2026\u201d\n\u201cWhat?! What should you have told me?\u201d\n\u201cYou were never the problem, it was me! (sob) I wasn\u2019t good enough! (sob)\u201d\n\u201cTalia, you need to calm yourself, and explain what you\u2019re going on about.\u201d\n\u201cDendrin, he speaks to you. He always has, regardless of your thoughts and beliefs about him he obviously sees the greatness in you. You couldn\u2019t have been problem.\u201d\n\u201cAre\u2026are you talking about getting pregnant? Talia, you don\u2019t know that. I mean I probably have pissed off Dendrin on some level, and just because I got some of my magic back doesn\u2019t mean he\u2019s going to suddenly\u2026\u201d\n\nTalia interrupts you.\n\u201cNo! You don\u2019t understand! I\u2019ve tried this before and it didn\u2019t work! I betrayed our vow! Our bond! And Dendrin is punishing me for not being patient with you!\u201d\n\nThis revelation causes a dead silence from you. It certainly wasn\u2019t something you were expecting. You feel like you should be angry and you are, but you\u2019ve got more questions first.\n\n\u201cWait so you had sex with someone else? When? It can\u2019t have been recently unless you\u2019ve been sneaking off to Sinkhole while I\u2019ve been killing Empire soldiers.\u201d\n\u201cNo, not recently. It was during the five years we weren\u2019t together. I don\u2019t know what sort of emotions you went through while we were apart, but I went through a lot. Kept them bottled up for the most part, but they were still there. I loved you, but after you left I saw all our future plans disappear. It was devastating. For the first couple of years I held out hope that maybe somehow you\u2019d return, but then I realized you wouldn\u2019t. So I thought I had to move on in my life and alter my future plans with someone else.\u201d\n\u201cSo\u2026what then? You fucked an entire barrack of shadows?\u201d\n\u201cPlease! This is hard enough for me without you being judgmental and hostile!\u201d\n\u201cYou know what Talia, I\u2019m mad, but I guess I\u2019m not really surprised. I mean you placed your faith in Dendrin over me, so why not someone else?\u201d\n\u201cI did not! Yes it is true that my faith in Dendrin will always be stronger, but I didn\u2019t place my love for you under anyone else. I\u2019ve never loved any other person except you! (sob) And I wasn\u2019t fucking an entire barrack of shadows! I picked ONE. One that seemed strong and fairly intelligent. One that looked like he\u2019d sire a strong child. One I thought might prove to be a suitable father even if he was a poor substitute for you. And I only did that, because I wanted the shadows to start preparing strong stock for the next generation of Dendrin worshippers, because I knew Cyrus wasn\u2019t going to be able to fucking do it!\u201d\n\nYou rub your hand over your face. It always comes back to Dendrin. Why and how you fell in love with a religious fanatic is a mystery to you, but the fact is you are and despite this revelation, you really can\u2019t stay mad at her. And really for all intents and purposes you weren\u2019t a couple for those five years despite the fact that you might\u2019ve pined over her a couple times. She probably did the same; she just did it in her own way.\n\nYou almost ask who guy was, but you don\u2019t bother. You probably don\u2019t know him or if you did, you probably don\u2019t remember him since all the shadows you knew from the old days in Gloom are pretty much a blur to you now. Besides it\u2019s not like you\u2019re going to travel all the way to Rask just to satisfy some macho need to kick his teeth in. The poor bastard is still living under Cyrus\u2019 rule anyway, not much more you could do to him, assuming he is still alive in the first place.\n\nThat just leaves you to deal with Talia, which you aren\u2019t sure what to do. Her sadness and depression isn\u2019t just a result of her perception of betraying you, it\u2019s also her overall perception that she believes she isn\u2019t worthy in Dendrin\u2019s eyes. Personally, you think if Dendrin is even paying attention to this little drama at all he\u2019s probably having a good laugh. Your own view here doesn\u2019t matter, so you do what you\u2019ve been doing. Fake it.\n\n\u201cTalia, have you ever considered that maybe Dendrin has decided that now is not the time for you to have children?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d she replies sniffling.\n\u201cWell I mean wartime isn\u2019t exactly the best time to have children. The Empire is still out for our blood and we have to remain alert. Harder to fight if you\u2019re carrying a baby in your belly. You said Dendrin was the one who started the seeds of this rebellion, maybe he wants you\u2026us to help finish it before blessing us with children which we can raise a lot better when we don\u2019t have arrows flying at our heads.\u201d\n\nThis explanation, this rationale, this excuse causes Talia to reassess her thoughts. You watch her for a moment mentally thinking about how she\u2019s going to fit this into her perception of the world.\n\n\u201cDo you really think that\u2019s the reason?\u201d she asks.\n\u201cI think it could be, but then I don\u2019t presume to know Dendrin\u2019s grand plan.\u201d\n\u201cOh no, nobody could\u2026 but still it makes sense. Yes, I can see the wisdom in that plan.\u201d\n\u201cIt is a wise plan. So, are you starting to feel a bit better?\u201d\n\u201cYes, I suppose so. I really shouldn\u2019t have let myself get like this in the first place. I should\u2019ve had more faith in Dendrin. If I had, I wouldn\u2019t have become weak like this!\u201d\n\u201cDon\u2019t worry about it now, I\u2019m sure this happened for a reason too. Everything is over and done with and whatever happened in the past is in the past.\u201d\n\nThis statement seems to be the last one that gets her out of her dark mood. As she hugs you, you breathe a sigh of relief that you managed to convince her. Actually you aren\u2019t really sure if you did convince her, so much as she took your offer of something to support her mental defenses on facing possible reality.\n\nThis problem might pop up again if you actually succeed in toppling the Empire, but given that you still have a lot to do before that\u2019s a reality, you won\u2019t have to worry about Talia\u2019s self-doubt again.", "action_results": [null]}]}]}]}, {"action": "Keep Gannon with you", "result": "Cyrus isn\u2019t likely to help you no matter what so the most help you\u2019re going to get is Gannon and while that won\u2019t be much it\u2019ll be better than nothing.\n\n\u201cGannon I want you to go back to the town and do what you shadows are supposed to be doing, stirring up the people and getting them organized.\u201d\n\u201cWhat? I\u2019m not doing that! When the Empire army arrives with or without Kane, the whole place is going to get leveled anyway!\u201d\n\u201cLook you either help me now and have a chance to make a difference or return to Cyrus and try to explain why you aren\u2019t at your post. I\u2019m pretty sure he\u2019ll be able to sense if you\u2019re lying given how nervous you constantly are. Now what\u2019s it going to be?\u201d\n\u201cOh alright I\u2019ll help, but we\u2019re all dead men anyway!\u201d\n\u201cReally need to work on that confidence Gannon. Maybe you should pray to Dendrin for some.\u201d\n\nAnd with those words you head back to your campsite to get prepared. You check up on the town the next day and see they\u2019re already starting to barricade the place. Gannon\u2019s even taking a bit of a leadership role. If they\u2019re lucky, you figure they\u2019ll only lose about a half of the town before the battle is over. A couple days later you scout a little further south of Volgst and that\u2019s when you see a large group of soldiers approaching. Several on horseback, many more on foot and unfortunately a single catapult as well. If Kane is actually with them, you\u2019d guess he\u2019d be on horseback, but then you can\u2019t tell at this distance.\n\nYou find a good elevated spot in some trees and when the mass of troops get in range you do a little sniping with your bow which you\u2019ve gotten a lot better with over these past five years thanks to your need to hunt on a regular basis (And certainly a lot better than your single shot armbow which you practically never use anymore) You fire at the ones on horseback first, you don\u2019t get Kane, but you do find out he\u2019s the one that starts shouting the loudest about getting that sniping sonofabitch. Turns out he was walking the entire time. You try to aim for him, but now the chaos is so great within ranks that he wisely takes advantage of getting lost in the mass.\n\nDoesn\u2019t take long before they figure out where it\u2019s coming from and start responding in kind. You immediately dash from your position and retreat deeper into the wilderness. A group of soldiers are sent to look for you though you dispatch them with relative ease as you use the terrain to your advantage.\n\nBy the time you\u2019re done with the goon squad that was sent after you, the rest of them are hastening their way towards Volgst. You hope Gannon\u2019s done a decent job in rallying the people.\n\nWhen you make it back to the outskirts of Volgst, you see that it\u2019s prepared for a frontal assault. You watch from distance for about a half hour before Kane\u2019s company arrives. He doesn\u2019t bother with any sort of diplomacy and orders the catapult to fire. A rock smashes through the barricades and the make shift wall that was set up in front of the town. They\u2019re wide open for the Empire troops to pour in now, with the Butcher leading the way.\n\nYou make your way towards town and jump into the battle, which naturally isn\u2019t going well for the citizens of Volgst. When you arrive it gets a little better, but even you can\u2019t stop the carnage and what will probably be the utter destruction of Volgst. You haven\u2019t seen Gannon at all, he\u2019s either dead already or more likely the coward\u2019s run off. Right now though all you\u2019re trying to do is seek out Kane and kill him.\n\nAnd as luck would have it, you bump into him, or rather the pair of you catch sight of each other in the middle of the chaos. He doesn\u2019t dodge you or even make any sort of threatening war cry, he just walks straight towards you and you to him.\n\nWhen he stands before you, he certainly displays the signs of a battle-hardened warrior, but there\u2019s something more to it than just his size, armor and scars. It\u2019s his eyes. Not like a hate filled wrath behind them, but more like he\u2019s experienced something that\u2019s caused the light in them to go out. Almost soulless.\n\n\u201cThe Butcher of Rask, himself. At last we meet.\u201d You say.\n\u201cYes, and you would be the shadow outcast and it will be a pleasure to finally bring you to the Emperor\u2019s justice that you\u2019ve evaded for so long.\u201d\n\u201cHmm, guess you better get to it then.\u201d\n\nKane swings his axe, which you dodge and the battle is joined.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re weak. You cannot hope to win this battle.\u201d He says preparing for another swing.\n\u201cRight now, just getting rid of you will be sufficient.\u201d You reply.\n\u201cYou think you can best me? This isn\u2019t Mistress\u2019 class anymore and you\u2019re no Eternal. When I look at you, I see the mockery of what is supposed to be an Eternal. You\u2019re not even a shadow. You are a pariah that has no honor at all. You\u2019re part of the sickness that has infected the Empire. A sickness that will be cut out and purified like all others.\u201d\n\nWhile Kane tells you what he really thinks about you, he\u2019s also matching you in combat skills. To be quite honest you might\u2019ve been a little too over confident in your abilities because he\u2019s really putting you to the test. It doesn\u2019t help that in the midst of this one on one fight you also have to dodge other attacks. You use a little shadow magic to speed yourself up and it helps, but it isn\u2019t nearly as strong as it once was not to mention you feel the drain a lot quicker. You land a couple of good hits on Kane before you have to stop from fatigue. Kane however has no such problems and isn\u2019t slowed at all by his wounds\n\n\u201cIs that the extent of your precious shadow magic outcast? No wonder you were kicked out.\u201d Kane says and catches you with a glancing blow across your chest followed by a hefty to your left knee, which causes you to lose balance and fall. You barely roll of the way of his next swing.\n\nYou stagger back up only to get your sword knocked out of your hand when you attempt to block another of Kane\u2019s axe blows. Becoming desperate you fire your armbow and a bolt flies into Kanes chest. It doesn\u2019t stop him and he charges into you knocking you back onto the ground. He doesn\u2019t follow up with his axe this time, instead he puts all his crushing weight upon your chest by sitting on it and attempting to choke the life out of you with his own hands.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re going to die here today, because you believe in nothing and that makes you nothing and when I\u2019m finished choking the life out of your pathetic body I\u2019m going to eat your fucking heart because I can.\u201d Kane at this point pauses with a deranged little smirk. \u201cHeh, maybe one of those wendigo bastards did get to me just a little\u2026\u201d then his face becomes deadly serious again.\n\nAs you struggle to remain conscious all you can see are the souless eyes of Kane looking down upon you as he intends to make good on his threats. You punch him several times in the face to no avail. You even take out one of his eyes and he\u2019s still not deterred as it dangles uselessly from its bloody socket. You\u2019d probably be a lot more scared if you weren\u2019t teetering on passing out. Eventually darkness envelops you and Kane finishes you off with a brutal snap to your neck.\n\nFor what it\u2019s worth he doesn\u2019t eat your heart afterwards.", "action_results": []}]}]}]}, {"action": "Don't address it", "result": "If this war against the Empire is going to succeed on any level, the unity and upkeep of morale must be there. You\u2019re not going to destroy those things at such a fragile time, even if you do know that Dendrin\u2019s opinion of the shadows hasn\u2019t been high in a long time. Besides, you\u2019ve paid lip service to the lie this long, you can do it a little longer. You have to, no matter how much you don\u2019t like it.\n\nAfter Cyrus catches you up on the situation at Rask, you and Talia tell him what happened at Gloom. Talia fills in the details better since she was actually there. Cyrus seems a little distraught at hearing so many shadows dying never mind losing the shadow home, but he doesn't seem broken in his goals to continue to fight the Empire.\n\n\"It doesn't matter, we've still got agents in the Quala province and other places. Once we reconnect with the various cells we can regroup. We need to tell the others here though now, the sooner we get this information out the way the quicker they can deal with the loss. The Empire is desperate and we'll overcome whatever else they decide to throw at us because Dendrin will see us to victory.\"\n\u201cIndeed he will. I know its why he warned me to go back to Gloom and help who I could there.\u201d You respond.\n\nCyrus looks at you as if he\u2019s unsure of how to take your claim.\n\n\u201cYes, so you mentioned before in how you even knew about Gloom. Are you sure it was Dendrin and just not perhaps some sort of instinct? We are all shadows after all and we do have a bond.\u201d\n\u201cThere can be no mistake, Dendrin spoke to me and warned me in a dream. Even Master Ebon believed me in his final moments.\u201d\n\u201cIt\u2019s true, he did.\u201d Talia says.\n\u201cForgive me brother, it\u2019s not that I meant to call you a liar, it\u2019s just I would\u2019ve thought if Gloom was in danger that he would\u2019ve spoken directly to Master Ebon about it or any other shadow at Gloom, like Sister Talia.\n\u201cI cannot know the will of Dendrin brother, I can only follow the way he guides me.\u201d You answer.\n\nCyrus nods at you answer as if to acknowledge that it satisfies him.\n\n\u201cTrue brother. Well, I suppose maybe this was all part of Dendrin\u2019s great plan. I mean not to speak ill of Master Ebon as he was a great man, but perhaps Dendrin saw that he wasn\u2019t the one to lead the shadows into the next era. Perhaps it was meant to be that a new leader take charge.\u201d\n\u201cOh? And who do you think that leader is?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cI don\u2019t know, but I\u2019m sure Dendrin will pick the next Master when the time is right. In the meantime I think that we three should pick up the leadership slack.\u201d Cyrus answers.\n\u201cYes, I agree.\u201d\n\nAfter you agree, Cyrus excuses himself saying that he should break this news to everyone else. When he leaves it gives you and Talia a chance to speak.\n\n\u201cThanks for backing me up, I don\u2019t think Cyrus really believed my claim.\u201d\n\u201cNo problem, but I don\u2019t see why he wouldn\u2019t, I mean it makes perfect sense that Dendrin would warn you about Gloom. As I have often said, we may be shadows and devoted to Dendrin, but we\u2019re also Eternals and are better qualified to lead. Perhaps Cyrus is right and Dendrin sees that as well. I heard Master Ebon when he said Dendrin never spoke to him. It\u2019s obvious that he was never truly meant to lead the shadows.\u201d\n\u201cMaybe, but personally I\u2019m just glad I got to you in time.\u201d\n\nTalia smiles and moves closer to kiss you. With all that\u2019s gone on today, you just enjoy the moment.\n\nIn the weeks to come, the three of you are taking steps to regroup the shadows and the rebellion in general. Despite some of his earlier claims of reconnecting with shadows south of Rask, Cyrus doesn\u2019t seem to put much effort in to it and focuses his attention mostly on consolidating power in Rask. Cyrus claims that if you get enough support pushing the Empire entirely out of Rask would follow and then you could get so entrenched that the Empire would never be able to take back the province.\n\nWhile that\u2019s a not a bad idea, you believe it would ultimately be folly to only focus on such a plan. The Empire can\u2019t be allowed to mop up the rest of the rebellion in other places. They need to have their attention and forces divided as much as possible. Cyrus of course feels it would be a waste of time to continue supporting the rebellion in other places and would only weaken your position in Rask overall. When Talia points out that it\u2019s not just rebels, but fellow shadows that need help, Cyrus relents a bit, but he still doesn\u2019t seem to eager to send people.\n\nSo you take it upon yourself to reconnect with the other shadow cells. You tell Talia, that she should stay to help Cyrus since you can easily do it on your own and that Cyrus wants all the help he can get consolidating power in Rask.\n\nWhat you don\u2019t tell her is that you\u2019d like somebody in Rask to keep an eye on things since Cyrus is starting to act a little sketchy. You figure that if Cyrus is up to something, Talia will no doubt inform you.\n\nAfter a few months you manage to make contact with most of the shadow cells and get them regrouped to do the maximum amount of chaos. You were glad to find that Sister Yvette has been leading well in your absence. Her and another shadow cell leader, Brother Theo have joined together and have been doing their best in creating trouble for the Empire. After your new orders and some encouraging words about how Dendrin will still see the shadows to victory, you assign them both to be your \u201cgo to\u201d shadows as far as rebellion operations outside of Rask are concerned.\n\nIn the meantime, Talia has been attempting to fix the allied relationship with the orcs at Rask. The orc leader Captain Gruz still hasn\u2019t been heard from, so it is assumed that he was found out and executed. The orc liaison Flog at this point has declared himself leader and is increasingly feeling underappreciated mainly because Cyrus has been more or less treating the orcs as battle fodder, which is exactly how the Empire was treating them. Not a great idea especially since he\u2019s big on the whole idea of getting enough support to drive the Empire out of Rask.\n\nOn the outside, Cyrus is supportive and even friendly at times towards you when you\u2019re actually in his presence. Talia says other than what you\u2019ve noticed, he hasn\u2019t acted strange in any way. Cyrus has just been focused on stirring up more dissent in Rask, but you get the strong impression he\u2019s plotting something more. You just don\u2019t exactly know what it is yet, but you imagine you\u2019ll find out eventually.\n\nHopefully it won\u2019t involve killing him because you didn\u2019t fake your devotion to Dendrin just to have the shadows torn apart by a petty power grab.\n\nIf it wasn\u2019t for Talia, you\u2019d be half tempted to just let it all fall into ruin at this point, but you\u2019ll see this through for now.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass\u2026", "result": "Year 30\n\n\u201cNo, I say we take all of our resources and make a forward push on Fort Destiny. We can hit Captain Kane from the north and from the south.\u201d Cyrus says.\n\u201cAnd I\u2019m telling you that we can\u2019t do that. Our people aren\u2019t grouped together on the southern Rask border ready to strike, they\u2019re scattered all over the place and that\u2019s how they should remain! I keep telling you this, besides I\u2019ve got a better plan for the shadow cells in the Quala province.\u201d You remark.\n\u201cBrothers, this yelling isn\u2019t helping.\u201d Talia sighs.\n\nAnother typical day on the \u201cShadow Council\u201d, you and Cyrus arguing, with Talia stuck in the middle. You really wish that wasn\u2019t the case, but it is just inevitable that you and Cyrus are going to always disagree on something. You don\u2019t even know why you bother meeting to discuss battle plans nowadays, what usually happens is a bunch of arguing like this and then you both go off and do your own thing. This hasn\u2019t really been a problem in the past mainly because your plans are all outside of Rask, while Cyrus\u2019 plans are always within Rask so they never conflict for the most part. Also, the Empire\u2019s attention was divided due to their war with the Felkan Kingdom.\n\nHowever things have changed. The Empire recently signed a non-agression pact with the Felkan Kingdom meaning they\u2019ve been able to focus a hell of a lot better on the rebellion. You need to do something to swing the tide in your favor before they begin to gather enough momentum to roll right over you.\n\nCyrus\u2019 plan is the one he\u2019s been endorsing for years. Consolidate Rask and drive out the Empire from it completely. As the war has raged on over the years this has been done for the most part. The only thing that really stands in the way are a few of the loyalist border towns and Captain Kane in Fort Destiny. The problem is that\u2019s still a big obstacle to get over and a major assault would result in considerable losses.\n\nCyrus has in the past sent groups of shadows to assassinate Captain Kane, but so far all attempts have failed. Kane\u2019s reputation as the \u201cButcher of Rask\u201d isn\u2019t just for show and him being a battle hardened Eternal means he\u2019s more than a match even for the average shadow. Cyrus probably would\u2019ve sent more, but Talia convinced him that it was just pointlessly sending shadows to their deaths. You didn\u2019t necessarily think the idea was without promise, but you suggested that an assassination attempt might work if you, Talia and Cyrus actually did it since you feel that you\u2019d have the skill to pull it off, but Cyrus dismissed that idea, claiming that Talia is right and that assassination should be taken off the table.\n\nSo a major assault it is, of course this is why Cyrus wants you to gather all of your shadow cells outside of Rask and have them attack from the south in a classic pincer maneuver. It would probably work, but you\u2019d still have heavy losses especially those attacking from the south since the Empire could redeploy reinforcements early enough that your forces could be caught in the middle too.\n\nYou imagine this idea would appeal to Cyrus since then options would be limited to just focusing on Rask and you wouldn\u2019t have any forces at all anymore. You get the impression that when the Empire is finally defeated Cyrus has major plans for Rask given how badly he wants to focus on it. Perhaps he has some long-range goal of starting his own \u201cempire.\u201d However, he\u2019s still short sighted as far as your concerned because even if you went along with his plan, it would just hold off the Empire a few extra years and wouldn\u2019t stop them from taking back Rask given the new information you\u2019ve received from your contacts.\n\nThe Empire has been breeding new Eternals, the number is unknown, but it\u2019s apparently enough to create an army of them. They\u2019re not \u201cready\u201d yet, but in a few more years they soon will be and if that happens you might not be able to stop them if the Empire unleashed them on Rask. However, you\u2019ve received the information of where this new Eternal training camp is which is a remote location in the Quala province close to the Arat border. The only other information you have on the place is that the main complex appears to be underground since children. The place doesn\u2019t appear to be heavily guarded up top, but who knows what security is like down below. Considering magic is involved in creating Eternals, it\u2019s a sure bet that there are going to be wizard types about.\n\nYour plan is to destroy this place by leading a small group of the most skilled shadows you have. While this is going on, your other cells will strike out at vital areas in the Empire at the same time to keep them from immediately sending out reinforcements to the camp. You actually wouldn\u2019t mind Cyrus to come with you since he is a skilled fighter, but you aren\u2019t even going to ask since you know what his answer will be. Cyrus doesn\u2019t even believe that it\u2019s a top priority and claims that if Rask is liberated then you can attack the camp later since these new Eternals still won\u2019t be battle ready for a while.\n\nIf you go off and do your own thing, your concern is that Cyrus is going to do the same thing and get everyone under his command killed in his attempt to take Fort Destiny. Of course if you help him you\u2019re left with the same problem that it\u2019s very probable that your shadow cells are going to get hit pretty hard during the assault on Fort Destiny and Cyrus won\u2019t actually lend any help when you want to destroy the new Eternal camp.\n\nThere\u2019s also the issue that you\u2019re trying to maintain the unity as always. Cyrus is really pushing for this assault on Fort Destiny and doing your own thing this time might be the \u201clast straw\u201d and the last thing you need is to do is start a shadow civil war.\n\nAfter a lot more arguing, everyone decides to call it a day and make a decision tomorrow. Talia as always says she\u2019ll side with whatever you decide, but would prefer if you and Cyrus actually worked together for once. That doesn\u2019t exactly help you and you have a hard time sleeping. When you finally do get to sleep you still don\u2019t get any rest\u2026\n\n\u201cSo what are you going to do Eternal? You and Cyrus continue to clash and it\u2019s only a matter of time before things between you are going to end badly.\u201d Dendrin remarks.\n\u201cDoesn\u2019t take a god to figure that one out.\u201d You say.\n\u201cYes, but it takes a fool to blatantly ignore the obvious. By continuing to not support Cyrus\u2019 you\u2019re just driving a wedge deeper in the shadow organization that will eventually split you in two. Something I thought you were trying to avoid given that you made such an effort to keep it together.\u201d\n\u201cWell someone had to, because you certainly weren\u2019t doing it.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m not here to hold the collective hands of the shadows. As I\u2019ve said, I\u2019ve done that already and it was a boring experience. Besides you seem to be enjoying your new leadership role, who am I to take it away from you?\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m not leader of the shadows, I\u2019m\u2026.\u201d\n\u201cNonsense! You ARE leader of the shadows. Perhaps you\u2019re currently sharing that duty with your Eternal peers, but you\u2019re clearly the strongest of that group. Talia certainly has potential, but her blind devotion to certain things is her weakness. It clouds her judgement.\u201d\n\u201cSo she\u2019s not worthy because she\u2019s so loyal to you?\u201d\n\u201cNot just me, but to you as well. It doesn\u2019t occur to her in the slightest that you\u2019re keeping secrets or lying to her about your real feelings on the shadows. She just believes you, just like she misguidedly believes that one day she\u2019ll have eternal shadow babies with you.\u201d\n\u201cWait, she can\u2019t have kids?\u201d\n\u201cNo and neither can you. Neither can Cyrus for that matter, though I doubt it that\u2019s ever going to come up with him. Don\u2019t ask me why you can\u2019t, I don\u2019t know. I can only imagine it has something to do with how they magically altered you Eternals back in the labs. I\u2019m not a fertility god either, so her constant praying to me isn\u2019t going to help.\u201d\n\nThis sudden news does explain a few things. You\u2019re going to have to inform Talia of this at some point, you just don\u2019t know when would be the best time. Yet another thing for you worry about.\n\nDendrin continues his speech\n\n\u201cAnd for all of Cyrus\u2019 bluster of being a shadow he obviously lacks as a good leader. I dare say if you weren\u2019t around, the Empire would be on the verge of driving the shadows to extinction right now. He may be better liked than you, but even that\u2019s starting to change and it certainly doesn\u2019t hold true for any shadow not stationed in your little fort. You\u2019ve got allies and support in places other than Rask, Cyrus doesn\u2019t and it worries him. After all it\u2019s well known now that you were the one that heard my warning about Gloom and attempted to save who you could.\u201d\n\u201cYou didn\u2019t warn me, you gave a cryptic comment and it wasn\u2019t even one that urged me to return to Gloom. I just told everyone you did.\u201d\n\u201cSee, lying to the rest of the shadows about something I didn\u2019t actually say. You\u2019re already doing a great job of following the traditions of shadow leaders!\u201d Dendrin laughs.\n\nIs Dendrin mocking you, is he encouraging you, is it both? You can never quite tell.\n\n\u201cSo what are you saying? Are you officially appointing me as the new leader of the shadows?\u201d\n\u201cOfficial? Since when have you known me to be so formal? And I\u2019m not appointing you as anything; you don\u2019t even have faith in me anyway, but if you really want to be in charge just do it already. I\u2019d be careful though, that Cyrus fellow might get the same idea someday soon and I suppose you\u2019ll need to decide if the expense of your own ambition is worth keeping the shadows together.\u201d\n\nOnce again after Dendrin\u2019s little mind games you wake up. Whether Dendrin\u2019s encouraging you or not, you\u2019re going through with you plan and if that hurts Cyrus\u2019 fragile ego then you\u2019ll deal with it later, because the Empire is still a bigger threat right now.\n\nThe next day you tell Talia that you\u2019re going through with your plan.\n\n\u201cI figured you would, but you know Brother Cyrus isn\u2019t going to be happy about this.\u201d\n\u201cBrother Cyrus needs to realize that Rask isn\u2019t only front we\u2019re fighting the Empire on and get over it.\u201d\n\u201cYes, I know. (Sigh) Well I\u2019ll try to keep things stable here while you\u2019re gone. Hopefully I can convince him that now is not a good time to assault Fort Destiny.\u201d\n\u201cNo, I\u2019d rather you join me on this mission. I could use all the powerful shadows I can get, because I\u2019m certainly not going to be able to get any other shadows to join me from here.\u201d\n\u201cYou want me to go? I mean of course I\u2019ll go with you, but aren\u2019t you worried about what might happen here if I don\u2019t stay to help look after things?\u201d\n\nWhile Talia would certainly be a great asset to your mission, but she also serves as a bit of a counter balance to Cyrus when you\u2019re not around.", "action_results": [{"action": "Have Talia go with you", "result": "As much as it might be wise to have Talia keep Cyrus in check, you\u2019d rather her come with you on this mission, as you\u2019ll need all the skilled help you can get. Talia\u2019s shadow magic is certainly more powerful than your own, even though you\u2019ve found in recent years that yours isn\u2019t weak as it once was.\n\nWhen the pair of you confront Cyrus, he\u2019s predictably furious claiming that the pair of you are wasting time and not following Dendrin\u2019s plan like you should be. He goes on about how the attack on Fort Destiny should take top priority. You don\u2019t bother arguing, it\u2019s all been said before and if he wants to do anything about it, then he can try to stop you. He doesn\u2019t of course, but there\u2019s definitely a hostile glare as you leave.\n\n\u201cYou think he\u2019ll go ahead with his attack anyway?\u201d Talia asks.\n\u201cIf he does, I can only hope he\u2019s as determined to drive the Empire out of Rask like he seems to be because that raw desire might just win him through the day. Anyway we\u2019ll deal with it after this mission.\u201d\n\nTalia and you travel a couple of days to the Quala province and eventually reach the meeting spot at night. There await around twenty shadows you picked which also includes Sister Yvette. You would\u2019ve picked Brother Theo as well, but you needed someone to coordinate the other shadow cells in Quala.\n\n\u201cAs soon as I got the message that you were coming, our other shadow cells got into position to strike out at the other targets across Quala. I assume you\u2019re ready to assault the camp brother?\u201d Sister Yvette asks nearly as soon as you arrive.\n\u201cYes, let\u2019s get this over with, because this is going to be pretty grim business. Now I know some of you have already done a few necessary things, but probably not on this scale. These new eternals are only going to be children, and if the rumors are true, hundreds of them. Despite this they will still be dangerous, as they have no doubt gone through some of the Empire\u2019s brainwashing techniques and training. You are not to hesitate just because they are young. Slay all of them\u2026for Dendrin.\u201d You add at the end.\n\u201cFor Dendrin!\u201d the rest of the shadows say in unison.\n\u201cAlso be aware that there will no doubt be battle mages around and who knows what else. Let\u2019s try to do this as silently as possible until it\u2019s no longer an option. Everybody cloak.\u201d\n\nSister Yvette and couple of the other shadows take the lead due to their basic knowledge of the outside of the camp and even some of the interior. When you have to go below ground though, it\u2019s going to be anything goes. You know going in that you\u2019ll be severely outnumbered, but the whole point of doing it this way is to utilize your strengths which is stealth and terror on a grand scale. Something Cyrus doesn\u2019t really get despite his dedication to Dendrin.\n\nNeck snaps, bolts to the head and blades to the back dispatch the patrolling soldiers quietly and quickly. You then move from bunkhouse to bunkhouse slitting the throats of the sleeping soldiers inside. With everyone up top dead, it\u2019s time to descend into the underground.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll take the lead for this.\u201d You remark. \u201cEveryone remember, we\u2019ve got a lot of killing tonight, there\u2019s A LOT of these new eternals. Try not to speed yourself up unless it\u2019s necessary. You don\u2019t want to exhaust yourself prematurely. In fact save the magic for just cloaking if possible, we\u2019re still going to try this the stealthy way.\u201d\n\nYou make your way through the underground complex, which is very well made. In fact the solid stonewalls remind you of Gloom\u2026and that might not be a good thing.\n\n\u201cWhere do you think they\u2019re keeping these new eternals?\u201d Talia asks.\n\u201cI don\u2019t know, they have to be around though. I mean I\u2019m a little surprised that they\u2019d all be asleep. As I remember our training we didn\u2019t get much of that and were even woken up in the middle of the night to perform tasks.\u201d You reply.\n\u201cTrue, I can still remember Mistress\u2019 domineering voice commanding that we all wake up followed by a whip crack\u2026maybe she\u2019s not in charge anymore?\u201d\n\u201cI hope she is, I\u2019d like to repay that bitch while we\u2019re here.\u201d You remark.\n\u201cYou don\u2019t think they moved everyone out do you?\u201d Talia asks.\n\u201cWe\u2019ve been watching this place for a few months now and just yesterday I saw a large group of those new eternals training up top. I don\u2019t see how they could\u2019ve moved them all so quickly without us noticing.\u201d Yvette answers\n\u201cWe are underground, who knows maybe they\u2019ve got escape tunnels. (Sigh) Shit, I really hope that isn\u2019t the case, because I\u2019m already concerned with the architecture of this place.\u201d You say.\n\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d\n\u201cThe walls, the archways, doesn\u2019t it look a little familiar? Like Gloom right? And who originally made Gloom?\u201d\n\u201c\u2026the Derro.\u201d Talia says.\n\u201cExactly and while I was expecting battle mages or elite guards, I wasn\u2019t expecting those little armored juggernauts on legs. Okay fine, we\u2019ll deal with it, we just need to decide on what to do next.\u201d\n\nYour comment is met with silence, mainly because everyone figures that you\u2019re the one to come up with the plan on what to do next.\n\n\u201cEveryone stay here, Talia and I will scout ahead a little bit then come back with a plan.\u201d You say.\n\nYou and Talia continue down one of the corridors hoping to find something, almost anything really and that\u2019s when you finally stumble upon an argument between a derro and a mage at the far end of the corridor. The pair of them don\u2019t sense either of you, but there\u2019s no reason to be foolish, you and Talia quickly get out of their possible line of sight and you listen for a moment.\n\n\u201cWhen the hell are you dwarves going to start harvesting those trolls? I want to get on with the enchantment process!\u201d a disheveled looking mage with a scraggly beard says.\n\u201cWhen Marik\u2019s done brewing the last batch of regeneration serum. No point in doing it until then and I\u2019d remind you to watch your words with me wizard.\u201d A short figure in heavy armor remarks in a very deep tone. This is the first you\u2019ve ever heard a derro speak common before, you don\u2019t know if that\u2019s his voice or his armor causing it to sound like that.\n\u201cWatch my words? I\u2019ll do as I please! I don\u2019t even want to be here with you rock eaters! Your boss is a mad man that barely knows what he\u2019s doing. I swear we were better off with svelk mercenaries as trainers.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m not surprised you would praise such a decadent race as your own race is decadent as well. You are lucky to even have us as allies due to a pact, now I suggest you go back to your quarters where the rest of your kind may play with your magic lights until you\u2019re called upon to actually do something useful for a change. Do not speak with us again until such time.\u201d\n\nThe wizard nearly says something, but decides not to and storms off in one direction while the derro warrior walks off in the other.\n\n\u201cWell if that\u2019s any indication we know where the wizards are and we know where the derro are.\u201d Talia says.\n\u201cYeah, but where the hell are the eternals?\u201d\n\u201cPerhaps we\u2019ll find them after we dispatch those two groups first?\u201d\n\u201cI sure hope so.\u201d\n\u201cWe probably should split up the group and tackle them at the same time, because I\u2019m sure we won\u2019t remain stealthy for too long while fighting either group and we certainly don\u2019t want the other to come running and attack us from behind when they hear the sounds of battle.\u201d\n\nAs far as you can tell magic isn\u2019t all that effective on the derro and while Talia\u2019s an excellent fighter, her superior magic skills would probably be more effective eliminating the mages. You tell her that you\u2019ll take on the derro and to go get the rest of the group.\n\nAfter retrieving the rest of the group, you and Talia part company. Yvette goes off with Talia as well. You\u2019re confident that they\u2019ll easily succeed in their task, you\u2019re a little more concerned with how you\u2019re going to accomplish yours though especially if it turns out to be a lot of derro.\n\nYour groups heads off in the direction that you saw the derro walking towards. Doesn\u2019t take long for you to start seeing a few of them milling about in the hallways and side rooms. None of the shadows in your group have ever faced the derro before, they\u2019ve just heard the stories of how they destroyed Gloom. Naturally they want revenge.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019re not attacking them yet. We\u2019ll find a better way\u2026 Dendrin always provides a better way.\u201d You say which calms them down. You can\u2019t believe how effectively either. It\u2019s a little unsettling to control a group with just the mere mention of a name, but that\u2019s how shadow masters have been doing it for centuries you suppose.\n\nYour group takes to spider walking on the ceilings to avoid the derro, It worked back in Gloom and it works here too. As you creep through, you can hear rumbling and monstrous growling followed by shouting in the derro\u2019s language. You follow sound and eventually you reach a large lab area filled with contraptions, a lot of alchemy equipment and several metal boxes of what you would guess to contain very angry trolls. From their growling they sound as horrible as the stories you\u2019ve heard. You\u2019ve also heard how strong they were too; whatever the derro got them locked up in must be some very strong material because you can see several punch marks even from this distance.\n\nSeveral derro warriors stand near the boxes with weapons ready, a few more are standing guard at strategic areas. In the center of all this is another small figure, but this one isn\u2019t armored. He\u2019s bald with a gray skin color and dressed in a white robe of some sort, which is covered in blood, and several other unidentifiable fluids. He\u2019s frantically going back and forth to several tables with mutilated bodies on them, waving a sharp knife in his hand all the while yelling in his language. You\u2019re guessing that\u2019s what one of these derro really looks like. Certainly less impressive.\n\nYou have no idea what exactly is going on here and what it has to do with the new eternals, but you need to attack the derro fast before Talia attacks the mages and causes enough noise for some of the derro to investigate it.\n\nYou suppose you and the rest could just drop down from the ceiling in a surprise attack, speed yourself up and hope for the best, but circumstances have given you something else to work with.\n\nIt\u2019s a simple magic trick that most shadows take for granted, in fact most never really appreciate its uses and that spell is one that unlocks regular locks which the derro have seen fit to use on the boxes they\u2019re holding the trolls in. If you did that, you could unleash the trolls on the derro, of course the problem with that plan is you\u2019ve never faced trolls before and they could be ten times worse than the derro. Not to mention you\u2019d have to deal with both groups.", "action_results": [{"action": "Drop down for a sneak attack", "result": "Not wishing to add a third unknown element to the fray you decide to just deal with the derro. You signal to your group to speed yourselves up and jump down for the attack.\n\nThe derro are surprised at first and due to your unnatural speed, your group actually manages to bring a couple down due to ganging up on them. The problem is you\u2019re outnumbered and despite your speed, your weapons are largely still not very effective on them in one on one combat. It doesn\u2019t help that the derro begin to haphazardly lob their firebomb weapons in order to stop the shadows from zipping around all over the place. It\u2019s sloppy, but effective as you see several of your fellows get caught in the blasts. The derro on the other hand are mostly protected by their heavy armor.\n\nYou see the unarmored derro run away to a locked door on the far side of the room, and just when he manages to open it; you shoot him in the back with your armbow, which causes him to collapse to the floor. You don\u2019t know where he\u2019s trying to go, but he\u2019s not getting far.\n\nUnfortunately neither are you as a firebomb lands right near your feet and explodes. You feel the impact and the burning as you go flying in the air. Your death comes quickly when your burning body lands wrong and breaks your neck.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Unlock the boxes", "result": "You all move close enough so you\u2019re above the boxes and then with a brief whisper, every lock on the troll boxes clicks.\n\nAnd then all the box doors are suddenly torn open.\n\n\u201cTROLLS! TROLLS! TROLLS!\u201d is all you can make out from the derro who are now shouting rushing into the lab to combat the trolls now emerging from their prisons. Their appearance is indeed as fearsome as you heard in stories. Tall with long gangly limbs and blackish green skin. You sort of expected them to be more massive much like an ogre, but there isn\u2019t an ounce of fat on them, and even though they\u2019re relatively thin they\u2019re all solid muscle. They definitely look hungry though with their large teeth though.\n\nThe trolls also prove to be a lot quicker than you expected as well. You watch them leap and dodge the derro attacks, which look slow and clumsy by comparison. You see a troll smash a derro to the floor with one punch, leap on top of him and easily peel off his armor with its talons. A scream soon follows when the troll eviscerates him. Several more derro begin lighting some sort of round metal objects and toss them at some of the trolls. These devices explode into flames and seem to hurt the trolls who howl in pain, but continue to attack while still on fire. The unarmored derro tosses a few glass beakers at the trolls too. You assume it must be some sort of acid given how it starts to eat away at a troll\u2019s skin when it hits.\n\nAs you and the rest of the shadows stay cloaked on the ceiling watching this carnage unfold, you\u2019re unsure of whom to start attacking because you can\u2019t let either group completely dominate the other.\n\nThere are more derro, but the trolls are very tough and are putting up more than enough of a fight. You see the unarmored derro run away to a locked door on the far side of the room, and just when he manages to open it; you shoot him in the back with your armbow, which causes him to collapse to the floor. You don\u2019t know where he\u2019s trying to go, but he\u2019s not getting far.\n\n\u201cSHADOWS!\u201d one of the derro shouts as you all decloak to join the fight. For the most part you all keep your distance when you can from the trolls and attempt to finish off any severely wounded derro.\n\n\u201cKill everything!\u201d you shout and make your way to the staggering unarmored derro to finish him off. He fumbles with some sort of strange weapon he takes out of his pocket, but you kick it from his hand and smash him in the face with the pommel of your sword.\n\n\u201cShadows! You narrow minded religious fanatics dare desecrate the progress of science? Your actions will not go unpunished here toAGH!\u201d the unarmored derro is cut short on his dying monologue with your blade to his chest.\n\nYou look around and see that most of the derro have been literally shredded open by the trolls who have focused most of their attention on them, but they\u2019ve started to pay more attention to the shadows now that the derro numbers have dwindled. Speeding yourselves up at least manages to match their own swiftness, but they\u2019re still no pushovers as you find out when you\u2019re locked into one on one combat with one of the trolls. Being this close to the creature, you get the full force of its horrible odor and that combined with the smell of its still burnt flesh are almost enough to put you off your fight. You haven\u2019t smelled something so bad in\u2026well ever.\n\nYou do manage to overcome though only after nearly hacking off its leg long enough for you to realize that the derro were using fire and acid on the trolls for a reason. Troll may not instantly regenerate, but you need to stop it before you give them time to do so. As the troll continues to rapidly crawl after you on three limbs, you grab one of those firebombs from a dead derro and light it with a near by torch.\n\nYou narrowly avoid the explosion when you toss it at the troll who is successfully blown to pieces.\n\n\u201cReally hope those pieces don\u2019t reform into little trolls.\u201d You mutter.\n\nThe remainder of the battle involves much of the same tactics, though some of your shadows aren\u2019t quite as skilled as you are and fall in combat. Fortunately reinforcements come in the form of Talia and Yvette and with their help you finally finish off the remainder of the trolls and whatever derro that are still attempting to cling to life.\n\n\u201cWere those things actual trolls?\u201d Yvette asks.\n\u201cYep and if they weren\u2019t such savage monsters I\u2019d be thanking them for killing most of the derro for us. Are you two the only ones left?\u201d\n\u201cNo, but only Brother Haze besides us made it and he\u2019s currently tending to his wounds. He would\u2019ve been in no condition to help fight the trolls and derro. The fight with the mages wasn\u2019t an easy one.\u201d Talia says.\n\u201cI\u2019ll bet, but I never had any doubt that you wouldn\u2019t be victorious. Did you see any sign of any new eternals?\u201d\n\u201cNo, the mages\u2019 quarters didn\u2019t seem to house any of them and there weren\u2019t any other bedrooms in that direction either. I saw some training facilities and a large library, but nothing more. What about over here?\u201d\n\u201cWell other than this big lab, we haven\u2019t seen anything of any note either. We passed a lot of derro bedrooms a long the way, but that\u2019s about it.\u201d\n\u201cWhat about that door?\u201d Yvette asks pointing over to the one where the unarmored derro lies dead.\n\u201cI don\u2019t know where that one goes to. That derro certainly was in a rush to escape out that way though. Guess we all might as well check it out.\u201d\n\nYou quickly take a head count and altogether there\u2019s six of you left, seven if you count Haze who isn\u2019t even with you. If this door leads to the hundreds of young eternals, you question if you\u2019ll even be able to kill them all before they can overwhelm you.\n\nWhen you open it up you find yourself on a platformed level, which overlooks a huge room. It\u2019s nearly the size of a small hamlet you think. There are several ladders that descend down to the lower level which contain translucent containers all hooked up with tubing and connected with each other and large strange machines. When you climb down the ladder you inspect the containers more closely and make out a small figure floating in liquid within it.\n\nThere are hundreds of these containers, possible even a thousand.\n\n\u201cI think we just found the new eternals.\u201d You say.\n\u201cWait, are they in those tanks?\u201d Talia asks.\n\u201cI believe so. Looks like the Empire has a whole new way of breeding Eternals or at least altering them. I assume they take them out to train them and then pop \u2018em back in when they aren\u2019t needed. Pretty convenient I suppose.\u201d\n\u201cThis\u2026this all seems wrong somehow. Against nature. We should destroy this place as soon as possible. Those derro weapons you were using on the trolls were explosive, if we could find more we use some of them to collapse this place.\u201d Yvette says.\n\u201cOr maybe there\u2019s a some sort of switch that kills them in the tank. Seems like the Empire would be inclined to implement something like that.\u201d Talia adds.\n\nNormally you\u2019d be all for killing all these little bastards while still lying in their \u201ccribs\u201d, but it suddenly hits you that you might have an opportunity here. You didn\u2019t think about it before, because you thought you were going to have to fight these little runts in the corridors of this place. However circumstances have definitely changed.\n\nMaybe you could get them to be on YOUR side. Why not? They\u2019re young enough that they could probably take re-indoctrination. Problem is, it still might take a lot of time and while this was a great blow to the Empire, it doesn\u2019t put them out of the fight yet. They may eventually find out what\u2019s happened and come back for this place and you\u2019re not really in a position to defend it.", "action_results": [{"action": "Kill the new eternals", "result": "It\u2019s a good idea, but probably impractical and you don\u2019t have the luxury of being impractical at this time. You\u2019d have to retrain them and everything. No, better to just kill them and get this mission over with.\n\nYou and the rest of the shadows search for more derro explosives and find a whole room filled with them. You take your time setting up them up in areas, though quite honestly you don\u2019t really know what you\u2019re doing. Yvette seems to have a little better grasp on them for some reason, but even she\u2019s just guessing since she\u2019s never worked with such weaponry before. Talia tries to find some sort of \u201ckill switch\u201d as a safer alternative, but fails to do so.\n\nWhen you think you\u2019re prepared, you tell everyone else to leave the complex and you\u2019ll light the extended fuse. You assure Talia that you\u2019ll be all right since you\u2019ll just speed yourself up. Sister Yvette interrupts you however saying that she\u2019ll volunteer to light the fuse since she feels that if anything does go wrong, it would be a greater loss to the shadows if you died instead.\n\nYou ask Yvette if she really wants to take the risk and she assures you that risking her life to save a brother isn\u2019t a risk, it\u2019s an honor to all that serve Dendrin.\n\n\u201cWell\u2026I can\u2019t argue with that I suppose. Okay, but I\u2019m sure we\u2019re all worrying over nothing.\u201d\n\u201cYou\u2019re probably right brother, but just in case we aren\u2019t, I was honored to serve beside you brother.\u201d Sister Yvette says.\n\nYou and the rest of the shadows leave the complex as fast as you can and put a good deal of distance away from the camp before you hear a very large explosion. You turn around and see the entire camp sink into itself. You\u2019re guessing it worked.\n\n\u201cDoes anyone see Sister Yvette?\u201d you ask looking for a figure running in the distance.\n\u201cNo, but let\u2019s wait a bit.\u201d\n\u201cYes well we can\u2019t wait too long, that explosion was loud enough to alert someone. Won\u2019t be long before the Empire sends troops here.\u201d\n\nYou wait a few minutes, but Yvette still hasn\u2019t shown up. Thinking that maybe she\u2019s hurt, you insist on going back to the camp to search for her.\n\nThere isn\u2019t much left of the camp when you see the destruction caused by the blast. You all look around the wreckage, but you find no trace of her body. You get angry.\u201d\n\n\u201cFuck! She surely had enough time to get out of the blast! I mean that\u2019s what our speed spell is for isn\u2019t it?!\u201d you shout.\n\u201cIt is regrettable, but this mission was filled with danger right from the start and she died for a reason. That could\u2019ve been you.\u201d Talia says.\n\u201cYes, but\u2026(Sigh) I dunno. If she had fallen in battle that would\u2019ve been one thing, but to die like this after we already achieved victory? She deserved better.\u201d You says.\n\u201cWell, I\u2019m sure she\u2019s in a better place with Dendrin now as she has served him well.\u201d\n\u201cYeah\u2026\u201d you mutter, severely holding back on what you really think about Dendrin. \u201cCome on let\u2019s get out of here before any Empire soldiers show up.\u201d\n\nBefore heading back to Rask you tell Brother Theo about the new changes. Fortunately he\u2019s still alive, when you check to see how those other shadow cell attack turned out. Reports have started to come in about the attack on the camp, which isn\u2019t too surprising despite all the chaos going on elsewhere that brother Theo caused. He is saddened to hear of sister Yvette\u2019s death and says she was very instrumental in helping him coordinate the shadow cells, but he\u2019ll make do.\n\nEventually you make your way back to Rask which you\u2019re happy to find out Cyrus was smart enough to not risk attacking Fort Destiny. Unfortunately he caused a different set back entirely. Talia was about the only one keeping the Flog and the rest of his orcs on good terms. You rarely interacted with him and he never got along with Cyrus who was usually condescending to him. While you were gone apparently a small skirmish ensued between the orcs and shadows. Amazingly nobody was actually killed, but several were wounded and ultimately Flog left with the remainder of the orcs.\n\n\u201cAre you fucking kidding me?\u201d you yell in exasperation.\n\u201cWhere did they go?\u201d Talia asks.\n\u201cHow should I know, further north I think where the rest of those overgrown idiots dwell. I don\u2019t care, we don\u2019t need them anyway!\u201d Cyrus says.\n\nAfter your recent loss of Yvette, you\u2019re not really in any mood for Cyrus\u2019 shortsightedness.\n\n\u201cOh well, I\u2019m glad that YOU decided that for all of us! Did it even occur to you that we might need them if we were going to attack Fort Destiny?\u201d\n\u201cNow you think that\u2019s a good idea? What about all the arguing you did, saying it was a rotten idea?\u201d\n\u201cI said it wasn\u2019t the best idea at this time, I wasn\u2019t opposed to it AFTER we got rid of the new eternals. Priorities!\u201d\n\u201cSure, that\u2019s great when they\u2019re YOURS brother. When it comes to the rest of our plans you just ignore them.\u201d\n\u201cWell that hardly matters now, because you just fucking ruined your own plans by pissing off our orc allies. Nice going with the self sabotage brother!\u201d\n\nCyrus looks you up and down with distain in his face. \u201cFine. We\u2019ll do it your way.\u201d Cyrus begins to storm off\n\n\u201cWait, brother Cyrus where are you going?\u201d Talia asks.\n\u201cWell seeing as our chosen brother of Dendrin is obviously correct about everything and as he pointed out that we cannot do anything without our orc allies any longer, I\u2019m going to follow his suggestion that he gave me not long ago. I\u2019m going to lead an assassination squad myself to get rid of Kane once and for all.\u201d\n\u201cHold on! Wait, we need to plan better for something like that we can\u2019t just\u2026\u201d Talia runs after him.\n\nYou dismiss Cyrus and whatever he plans to do, you don\u2019t care anymore. You already offered your help to him on this before and the whole plan at the time was dismissed because of his own pettiness. If he succeeds then that\u2019s good. He\u2019s done something useful for a change, if not then he\u2019ll be out of the way and no longer whining about his our feeble plans. Either way he\u2019s on his own on this.\n\nThree days later reports come in on Cyrus\u2019 death and all shadows he took with him on the mission. Kane wasn\u2019t even severely wounded. In fact all this has done is raise his reputation. Talia doesn\u2019t say it, but she implies that you should\u2019ve helped Cyrus even if claimed he wouldn\u2019t have accepted it.\n\nDraven is devastated by the news and commits suicide soon afterwards. With this sudden loss of several prominent shadows, morale takes a bit of a dive, especially since Cyrus was still well liked around Fort Defiance.\n\nYear 31\n\n\u201cSo Flog\u2019s dead?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cYes, I couldn\u2019t get through to him. He insisted that if he didn\u2019t keep raiding the northern villages that support us, his people would\u2019ve just seen him as weak and killed him anyway. Ultimately he said he would\u2019ve preferred to die by my hand and so he did.\u201d Talia replies.\n\u201cWell, I suppose that\u2019ll stop organized raids, but it won\u2019t stop them completely.\u201d\n\u201cIndeed. Flog\u2019s leadership was probably keeping the rest of his tribe in line and all those various ogre tribes as well. With him gone, it\u2019s going to be chaos.\u201d\n\u201cI know. I know. Shit. Well we can only hope that they spend more time fighting each other. In the meantime I\u2019ve got to figure out a way of keeping up the pressure south of Rask. Captain Roldan is starting to become as much of a problem as Kane, has he even left that fortress yet?\u201d\n\u201cNope, report say ever since brother Cyrus\u2019 attempts he doesn\u2019t leave it anymore and he\u2019s been getting an influx of troops as reinforcements lately.\u201d\n\u201cDamn it! (Sigh) All right, double up on the shadow protection in key towns. Last thing we need is Kane\u2019s mindless scorched land tactics destroying the places that are helping us.\u201d\n\nYear 32\n\nYou slash through the jugular of Kane and even as blood gushes from his throat he laughs madly claiming that you\u2019ll never defeat the Empire. You shove his body out of the window just to shut up his final death throes.\n\nYou look over at Talia\u2019s body and curse yourself for allowing this to happen. You knew you should\u2019ve gone on this mission by yourself, but she wanted to be by your side. You don\u2019t even have time to morn right now as you hear the rest of the soldiers scrambling up the stairs to defend their now dead master.\n\nYou climb out the very window you threw Kane out of and scale down the walls of the fort and make your escape. When you make it back home, you find plenty of time to weep and morn for your dead love.\n\nWith Talia dead, a small portion of your own will to go on has died as well.\n\nYear 33\n\n\u201cThe south wall of the fort has been breached!\u201d Brother Gannon shouts.\n\u201cWell get ready to kill the bastards that are going to be pouring in then damn it!\u201d you shout back.\n\nThe situation is grim and getting worse with every passing second. You can\u2019t believe how the Empire has managed to turn this all around, though it didn\u2019t help that you had a few set backs of your own. Now Captain Roldan is at your gates and there\u2019s nothing you can do to stop it.\n\nYou watch as the remaining shadows desperately fight the overwhelming number of Empire soldiers.\n\n\u201cDendrin, if you\u2019re still watching, I hope you had a good run of amusement, because it\u2019s about to end.\u201d You mutter and rush into the hopeless battle.\n\nDuring Roldan\u2019s life, he would go on to speak about how you were a worthy opponent during conversations about the battle of Fort Defiance. Probably out of minor respect that you were an Eternal.\n\nUltimately though history only remembered Roldan and how he gloriously destroyed the shadow traitors once and for all.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Attempt to convert them", "result": "\u201cI think we should take this opportunity to make them see the way of the shadows.\u201d You say.\n\u201cWhat?!\u201d Yvette exclaims.\n\u201cAre you serious?\u201d Talia asks.\n\u201cWell okay maybe not all of them, but I\u2019d think that with the right teaching they could become valuable assets.\u201d\n\u201cNO! These are the enemy and must be destroyed! You said so yourself when we first began this mission!\u201d Yvette says.\n\u201cAnd perhaps I was a bit hasty. I can\u2019t be entitled to speak out of turn and make a mistake once in awhile?\u201d\n\u201cNo brother, but I think leaving these\u2026abominations alive for whatever reason is a bigger mistake.\u201d\n\u201cAbominations\u2026and I suppose you believe me and Talia are abominations too eh sister?\u201d\n\u201cWha\u2026no! I mean\u2026(sputter) you\u2019re different! You\u2026\u201d\n\u201cHow? Me, Talia, and Cyrus for that matter were all brought up from birth and indoctrinated to serve the Empire, but what happened? We saw the truth of Dendrin\u2019s wisdom instead! Is it not possible that these\u2026children who aren\u2019t even as old as we were be re-educated to do the same?\u201d\n\u201cWell\u2026I suppose, but\u2026\u201d\n\u201cThink about it sister, some of the greatest enemies of the Empire were brought up within the very heart of it! Let\u2019s continue to turn the Empire\u2019s obsessive need for control against itself! And better yet, bring more servants into the fold of Dendrin.\u201d\n\nSister Yvette looks a bit hesitant, it\u2019s obvious she has some real problems with this plan, but she isn\u2019t really sure how to argue against you. Part of it stems from you making a bit of a point, and the other stems from the fact that despite her own confidence being better than it was, she still feels inferior to you\u2026perhaps that\u2019s just the aura you have as an Eternal though.\n\n\u201cYes\u2026I suppose I see the wisdom in attempting to educate these children in the ways of Dendrin.\u201d Sister Yvette says. She might not believe it now, but in time she\u2019ll either convince herself or get used to it. Either way you just need her obedience.\n\nAs for the remainder of the shadows if they have anything meaningful to say on the subject they keep it to themselves. That just leaves Talia, who is going to require a little bit more convincing since you sense her look of disagreement.\n\n\u201cUm\u2026sister Yvette, could you and the rest leave me and sister Talia alone for a moment.\u201d\n\nAs the rest of them leave, you move over to Talia who looks out over the hundreds of eternal containers.\n\n\u201cI sense some disapproval from this plan?\u201d\n\u201cNot so much disapproval, but rather apprehension.\u201d\n\u201cWhat about the training? I know it won\u2019t be easy, but I figure we can open up that ritual portal to Dendrin and let him decide if they\u2019re worthy or not, you know, like he did with us.\u201d\n\u201cAnd you know how to do that? Because I sure don\u2019t! It\u2019s not like Master Ebon or Brother Gray imparted that knowledge on to me before they died!\u201d\n\u201cWell your magic is strong, and hey I know Cyrus has some old shadow tomes back at Fort Defiance, we can probably find something in there about it.\u201d\n\u201cWell I\u2019m glad you seem to have this all figured out then, just wish you would\u2019ve let me on this sooner.\u201d\n\u201cI would have, but this honestly just came to mind. I mean how was I to know that these kids were going to be safely locked up in oversized glass tubes? I thought we were going to be waist deep in their blood by now.\u201d\n\u201cSo who is going to train them? I know it\u2019s not going to be you. Me I suppose right?\u201d\n\u201cWell\u2026you would be the best qualified\u2026but hey Sister Yvette could help you and other shadows too! In fact I could have some transferred here just in case of an Empire attack when\u2026\u201d\n\u201cDamn it I\u2019m not worried about all that, I\u2019m wondering WHY you came up with this plan at all! I know there\u2019s another reason than just turning them against the Empire or even bringing new shadows into Dendrin\u2019s fold and don\u2019t say that there isn\u2019t! We\u2019re the same and we\u2019ve bonded as lovers. I know there\u2019s more going on in your head because I know YOU. Now tell me.\n\nTalia never was one to mince words and perhaps it is time you didn\u2019t either.\n\n\u201cVery well my love. You should know everything.\u201d\n\nAnd from there you tell Talia everything\u2026except you don\u2019t.\n\nYou tell her that Dendrin did not only speak to you on the day Gloom was attacked, you tell her he\u2019s spoken to you in the past on several occasions. You just never said anything about it before Gloom because you didn\u2019t want to be thought a liar and be labeled a heretic.\n\nYou also tell her that Dendrin has urged you to follow your own path and to seize leadership of the shadows. You didn\u2019t want to initially because you wanted to try to hold things together because things seemed so fractured, but given that Dendrin has recently warned you about Cyrus\u2019 potential treachery you thought it might be best to have another group of allies in case the worst occurs.\n\n\u201cSo\u2026we\u2019re keeping this a secret from Cyrus?\u201d\n\u201cYes, I think that would be for the best. If he knew about this, you know he\u2019d be against it. Cyrus is clinging to the old shadow ways and still has clout, but that will be coming to an end soon.\u201d\n\u201cI dunno\u2026I mean I agree that Cyrus shouldn\u2019t be leader and that you would make an excellent shadow master especially since Dendrin talks to you, but hiding things from Cyrus and possibly planning for his death? I mean is there no other way? He\u2019s not just a shadow, he\u2019s one of us.\u201d\n\u201cSo are a few other eternals from our class if you remember. These little bastards here were going to be against us until we intervened\u2026which bring me to my other reason and this one is harder for me to tell because it involves you and me.\u201d\n\u201cAll of this involves the both of us, what else could it possibly be that would trouble me more than conspiracy against one of our brothers?\u201d\n\nYou bring up the very real and unaltered truth that Dendrin told you about eternals. The fact that none of you are able to have children due how you were created. Talia gets quiet and sits down for a moment. She tries very hard not to cry, but her voice is obviously quivering when she speaks again.\n\n\u201c\u2026I\u2026guess (sniff) that explains a lot\u2026but um\u2026I mean Dendrin could do something\u2026I mean he\u2026\u201d\n\u201cDendrin\u2026 (Sigh) \u2026how do I put this? Dendrin is\u2026complex. It\u2019s true that he helps us directly by granting our magical abilities and perhaps in ways of major importance when he warned me about Gloom, but he\u2019s not here to collectively hold the hands of the shadows. (You can\u2019t believe you just repeated Dendrin\u2019s own words) He would prefer that the shadows made their own destiny as it were. I mean, I\u2019m sure if he wanted to, he could\u2019ve just laid waste to the Empire a long time ago, but he didn\u2019t. He wanted the shadows to endure and in enduring grow stronger from the situation they were placed in. Just like you\u2026we will have to endure in not being able to have children. But getting back to the heart of the matter, that\u2019s part of why I decided that we should try to save these young eternals. I mean you\u2019ll get to train them first hand in the ways of Dendrin. It would almost be like you were the mother of several hundred eternal shadows.\u201d\n\u201cBut then they can never produce offspring either.\u201d\n\u201cWell we don\u2019t know that. I mean it looks like they\u2019ve been altered in a significantly different way. But even if they can\u2019t so what? If we had had children there would be no guarantee that they\u2019d all survive to reproduce either. You mustn\u2019t worry about this, because after all is said and done, you will still be doing Dendrin\u2019s work and serving him faithfully and really isn\u2019t that what it\u2019s all about?\u201d\n\nYou look into her eyes and touch her on the shoulder. She grabs your hand on her shoulder and looks down for a moment and breathes deeply. After a couple of seconds she looks back up at you.\n\n\u201cVery well, this does seem to be a suitable course of action. But quite frankly I don\u2019t think we can save all of these children. Some of them are going to be lost causes and if the Empire ever attacks this place in force, we\u2019re going to have to collapse this place anyway, we can\u2019t properly defend it, at least not at this time.\u201d\n\u201cOf course, I agree. I trust you will do what you can.\u201d\n\u201cI always do my love.\u201d\n\nWith this new plan settled, you and Talia kiss each other before parting company. You tell Sister Yvette that she is to report to Talia directly now and that you\u2019ll be contacting Brother Theo about the new changes. Fortunately he\u2019s still alive, when you check to see how those other shadow cell attack turned out. No reports have even come in about the attack on the camp, which isn\u2019t too surprising given all the chaos going on elsewhere that brother Theo caused and the fact you didn\u2019t leave any survivors or let anyone escape.\n\nEventually you make your way back to Rask which you\u2019re happy to find out Cyrus was smart enough to not risk attacking Fort Destiny. Unfortunately he caused a different set back entirely. Talia was about the only one keeping the Flog and the rest of his orcs on good terms. You rarely interacted with him and he never got along with Cyrus who was usually condescending to him. While you were gone apparently a small skirmish ensued between the orcs and shadows. Amazingly nobody was actually killed, but several were wounded and ultimately Flog left with the remainder of the orcs.\n\n\u201cWhat?! They\u2019re gone? Where?!\u201d you ask.\n\u201cHow should I know, further north I think where the rest of those overgrown idiots dwell. I don\u2019t care, we don\u2019t need them anyway!\u201d Cyrus says. \u201cAnd where is Sister Talia? Did you get her killed in your foolish mission?\u201d\n\u201cNo our mission was a success, and she\u2019ll be taking care of some of the business we have in the south from now on because it\u2019s apparent my attention should start being more focused here.\u201d\n\u201cOh so now you\u2019ve decided that, after all those times I\u2019ve suggested that since you first arrived here? You know what, I\u2019ve been putting in work here for nearly a decade now, what makes you even think you know what the best plan of action is here?\u201d\n\u201cWell I wouldn\u2019t have pissed off our orc allies if I had the desire to attack Fort Destiny for one. (Sigh) Cyrus I\u2019m on your side for Dendrin\u2019s sake! I mean we\u2019re supposed to be fighting the Empire, not each other. Can\u2019t you see that brother?\u201d\n\nCyrus looks you up and down with distain in his face.\n\n\u201cAll I see is someone that talks a good game about serving Dendrin, but ultimately his words ring hollow to my ears. Always have. Time will tell though, brother and there will be a reckoning. Dendrin will not suffer false prophets and pretenders. I hope for your sake you aren\u2019t one because his wrath will be terrible. Do what you want.\u201d Cyrus says and leaves the room.\n\nFunny how Cyrus is probably the only one who can see through your bullshit, yet still be painfully wrong. More amusement for Dendrin you suppose.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 35\n\nFinally after years of set backs, Rask is at last free of the Empire and the other provinces are sure to follow. Kane is dead and most of the last Empire fanatics in Rask are dead. The Empire can\u2019t send any more troops because it\u2019s barely holding on to what it has. It\u2019s the beginning of the end for it, but for the shadows it\u2019s just the beginning.\n\nFor the past couple years during the mopping up process, the shadows have slowly been withdrawing from other parts of the Empire and heading to Rask. This consolidation of forces is something that Cyrus has been wanting for years, but of course you never felt it was the right time. Now with the Empire on the decline you can agree that it is something that can be done.\n\nFort Defiance has become the new shadow home and has officially been renamed as Evergloom, not the most original name, but everyone seems to like it.\n\nIronically Evergloom is about one of the only major beacons of \u201clight\u201d in Rask nowadays. The sheer destruction that Kane caused to most of the towns in Rask before he died has left little in the way of civilization. The rebuilding process is in swing, but it\u2019ll be awhile before it gets back to the way it was, perhaps it\u2019ll never be the same again and nature will reclaim the land.\n\nIt hardly matters though; the shadows have their own rebuilding process to go through, one of which is how leadership is going to be settled once and for all. As it stands, you still haven\u2019t officially taken full control of the shadows yet and it\u2019s still more or less run by a \u201ccouncil\u201d of sorts made up of you, Talia and Cyrus. Cyrus has been somewhat less antagonistic towards you since the Empire was driven from Rask, but that might be because he\u2019s running out of supporters. Your decisions and victories have earned the respect of most shadows and they see you as leader.\n\nThere are also the new eternal shadows that have been coming along in their training very well and the well-known fact that you\u2019ve spoken directly to Dendrin, though you haven\u2019t lately, not for a long time in fact. Doesn\u2019t stop the fact that you say you have though when you want to get things done. Part of you feels like the biggest hypocrite in the world for it, but then the other part of you feels like your ends have justified the means at this point so why care about it? You\u2019ve kept the shadows together with lies, but really the whole organization has been kept together through lies for centuries, you\u2019re not really doing anything different.\n\nPerhaps though it isn\u2019t so much the lying that gets to you, but rather the idea of being a shadow when you\u2019ve never really \u201cfelt\u201d like one. You stayed motivated by fighting the Empire because that was something you could get behind, but now what are you supposed to do? Revere Dendrin and worship him? Not something you\u2019re really interested in doing full time especially considering your knowledge of him.\n\nOf course then there\u2019s always Talia, who is practically the only reason at this point why you\u2019d want to stay leader for the shadows, well that and the budding desire to be in charge thanks to your Eternal heritage. There\u2019s also the fact that given how much effort you went through to hold the shadows together it would almost seem a waste to toss it all away.\n\nYes, a decision is going to have to be made soon, but not today. You fall asleep later that night and after all this time you finally get some \u201cdivine\u201d advice.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s been awhile.\u201d You say.\n\u201cDon\u2019t tell me you actually missed me.\u201d Dendrin remarks.\n\u201cHardly, though I was wondering if you\u2019d lost interest at last.\u201d\n\u201cIn you? Not at all, I\u2019ve just been quietly observing. I\u2019ve found that you seem to work best with minimal influence. Keep doing what you\u2019re doing and I\u2019m unlikely to ever lose interest in you.\u201d\n\u201cKeep doing what I\u2019m doing eh? So you want me to officially take full leadership of the shadows.\u201d\n\u201cI didn\u2019t say that. Not then and not now. Do what you want. I told you that before. If you\u2019re asking me what I think, yes I would prefer you to take up as leader and quite honestly I\u2019m surprised you haven\u2019t done it already.\u201d\n\u201cI was planning to, but now that the Empire is on its way out, I\u2019m not sure if I want to be bothered.\u201d\n\u201cNonsense, you\u2019re an Eternal. Aren\u2019t you lot sort of born to lead?\u201d\n\u201cI suppose, but I can\u2019t see myself spending the rest of my life living a priestly existence in our new monastery where all I do is tell people to kiss your ass all night and day, let alone do it myself.\u201d\n\nThis remark causes a booming laugh echo throughout your mind.\n\n\u201cSo don\u2019t do that.\u201d Dendrin remarks.\n\u201cWell wouldn\u2019t I sort of have to?\u201d\n\u201cYou haven\u2019t for this long, why would you start now?\u201d\n\u201cI mean I know I\u2019d be faking it, but I still see it as a dreary existence.\u201d\n\u201cAnd like I said, don\u2019t do that. You\u2019re the leader, what you say goes. If you want to abandon the old shadow ways there isn\u2019t anything keeping you from doing it. I don\u2019t usually point out the obvious, but what you have right now is potentially very powerful. You have in your hands is the ability to guide a religion, an ideology. You shouldn\u2019t waste that. Take advantage before someone else does.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m not blind, I see that, but I question where do you come in? Surely if I some how lessened the shadows\u2019 reliance on prayer, they\u2019d also lose their abilities.\u201d\n\u201cNot entirely unless you made them stop worshipping me altogether.\u201d\n\u201cBut I don\u2019t worship you, I mean not really and I still have my powers.\u201d\n\u201cWell that\u2019s because you\u2019re special, but if you did have a little more faith in me, your powers would increase too. You could be as strong as your old Master Ebon for example. That\u2019s just how it works and you have take the good with the bad, but I\u2019m sure you knew that already.\u201d\n\u201cSo it would seem.\u201d You answer.\n\nShortly after this exchange you wake up.\n\n\u201cSomething wrong?\u201d Talia asks when she sees you waking up so suddenly.\n\u201cHuh? Oh, nothing. Dendrin just spoke to me again.\u201d\n\u201cHe did? What were his divine words this time?\u201d\n\u201cOh\u2026uh he said that now is the right time to officially become the Shadow Master.\n\u201cThat\u2019s wonderful! Though I thought he would\u2019ve told you a lot sooner\u2026no matter though as I\u2019m sure he had his reasons.\u201d\n\nGood old trusting Talia. You love her, but you\u2019ll never understand how na\u00efve she can be when it comes to this. As you start to get ready to call a shadow gathering there\u2019s a knock on your room door.\n\n\u201cWho\u2019s there?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cIt\u2019s me brother. Brother Gannon. Brother Cyrus wants to see you immediately in the meeting room. He says it\u2019s extremely important.\u201d\n\u201cWhat\u2019s it about?\u201d\n\u201cI dunno, he just said it\u2019s really important and he needs to see you immediately.\u201d\n\u201cOkay then, thank you brother.\u201d You reply.\n\nAs you continue to get dressed, Talia speaks to you again.\n\n\u201cWhat do you think he wants?\u201d\n\u201cWith Cyrus, who knows?\u201d\n\u201cDo you want me to come with you?\u201d\n\u201cWhat for? You might as well get all the shadows together while I\u2019m talking to Cyrus.\u201d\n\u201cBut\u2026I don\u2019t know\u2026I\u2019m just a little concerned.\u201d\n\u201cAren\u2019t you always telling me I should try to get along with Cyrus? Besides, he\u2019s actually been tolerable lately. Maybe with the Empire gone, he\u2019s lightened up a bit.\u201d\n\u201cMaybe\u2026well if you think it\u2019ll be okay, I\u2019ll go round up the brothers and sisters.\u201d\n\nAs you and Talia part company you make your way to the meeting room. On your way it occurs to you that Cyrus may very be planning to kill you rather than talk. You aren\u2019t sensing anyone cloaked yet, but then maybe they\u2019ll all be in the room with him.\n\nIf this is an ambush, the only one he\u2019s going to be able to count on to help him is probably Draven. Cyrus just doesn\u2019t have the clout he once did in fact you believe if he tried, he wouldn\u2019t be accepted as leader anyway. Of course you don\u2019t have any intention of getting killed if this is what he\u2019s planning.\n\nYou open up the door and see Cyrus standing near the table by himself. You can\u2019t sense anyone else; maybe he wants this to be a one on one matter.\n\n\u201cThere you are, I wasn\u2019t sure you were coming. I want to speak to you on something very important and this has to be settled right now.\u201d\n\nNo doubt he\u2019s talking about the leadership position. You know he still desperately wants it and he\u2019s just going through the motions of being civilized about it right now. You aren\u2019t waiting around\u2026\n\nBefore Cyrus even knows what\u2019s going on, you fire your armbow at him. He reacts in time to move, but not before a bolt goes into his arm.\n\n\u201cAgh! What the fuck are you doing?!\u201d he says clutching his arm and backing away from you.\n\u201cI\u2019m settling this right now, we both know what this is all about. You\u2019re going to kill me because you want to be in charge and that\u2019s not happening.\u201d\n\nYou rush forward to attack and Cyrus once again dodges and backs away from you. He hasn\u2019t even drawn his weapon yet.\n\u201cWhat? No! Look! I just called you in to talk! I was going to tell you that I\u2019ve come to the realization that you\u2019re the worthy one to lead the shadows! I know it\u2019s taken me a long time, but I see that you\u2019re the chosen one of Dendrin.\u201d\n\u201cBullshit, you\u2019ve desired to be shadow master since Master Ebon died.\u201d\n\u201cAnd probably even a little bit before, but I see that I was wrong to think such things even if I never spoke them out loud. Perhaps Dendrin punished me for it by never speaking to me. He speaks to you and your actions have lead us to finally be free of the Empire. Why should I keep questioning your ability? It\u2019s obvious that you have a greater destiny and I realize that I should just graciously step aside. Who am I to question the will of Dendrin? I yield to you shadow master.\u201d\n\nCyrus seems pretty sincere in his words and despite everything he has always been a dedicated disciple of Dendrin for good or ill. If he really believes that Dendrin has a plan for you, he wouldn\u2019t stand in the way of it.\n\nNow that you really think about it, he\u2019s never really done anything that would indicate that he was ever actively trying to kill you. It\u2019s possible you\u2019ve just been paranoid about this whole thing.", "action_results": [{"action": "Allow Cyrus to live", "result": "You think back on all the things you\u2019ve been doing and some of it has been pretty questionable. True you thought you were doing what was necessary because you were trying to fight off the Empire. And your actions as ruthless as some of them were, they may have been necessary, but now? What\u2019s the justification to kill Cyrus? Because you think he\u2019ll try to kill you in the future?\n\nHonestly at this point you\u2019d completely understand it if did, but as you look at him he\u2019s obviously begging to be included in your plans now. You\u2019ve overshadowed him so much that he\u2019s given up and acknowledging your dominance much like a beta wolf does with an alpha. If you distrust him because you feel as an Eternal he\u2019s going to take power from you, what of all those young eternals you rescued? Do you kill them too just in case? What of Talia? Where does it all end? Dendrin hasn\u2019t helped either considering he\u2019s been more or less favoring you to kill Cyrus and seizing power for a while now. Doing the opposite of what he suggests might be the right move.\n\nSure Cyrus been a dick in the past, but you don\u2019t need to continue your own ruthless behavior towards him. This is supposed to be a new beginning for the shadows after all and maybe putting aside old dusty quarrels is a way to start it.\n\n\u201cCyrus, I\u2019m sorry. I should\u2019ve been more trusting of a fellow shadow.\u201d You say.\n\nCyrus seems more surprised than anyone to hear you apologize. He pulls out the bolt before speaking again.\n\n\u201cThank you brother. And I meant what I said, I accept you as the new shadow master.\u201d\n\u201cWell, there are going to be a lot of changes around here and I\u2019m going to need your help in implementing them. Let\u2019s go to the gathering hall, I was going to make my official announcement as shadow master there.\u201d\n\nYou leave with Cyrus to address the rest of the shadows that are no doubt waiting for you in the gathering hall. When you arrive, they\u2019re all waiting around for you as expected. You see Talia standing nearby and approach her while Cyrus goes to join Draven in the audience.\n\n\u201cIs everything okay? I noticed Cyrus rubbing his arm.\u201d Talia remarks.\n\u201cEverything\u2019s been settled. Cyrus and I have come to an understanding.\u201d\n\u201cReally?\u201d\n\u201cWell for now, but I\u2019m hoping that it stays that way. We\u2019ll see I suppose.\u201d\n\nYou give Talia a quick kiss before heading to the front of the hall and addressing everyone.\n\n\u201cWe may have defeated the Empire my fellow shadows, but that does not mean we can rest! Dendrin spoke to me again today and told me that today is the day that I claim the title of shadow master and lead the shadows properly into this new era. The first thing we need to do is rebuild and that involves spreading our faith when possible. We must be strong so that there will never again be the possibility of the shadows having to submit under another power ever again.\u201d\n\nThis reaction predictably gets a small shout of approval.\n\n\u201cAnd though I am shadow master, I cannot do this by myself. I need all of your help, some of you more than others, but everyone will do their part in serving Dendrin\u2019s will. This is a new era for the shadows and we will see it prosper.\u201d\n\nYou end your speech with a \u201cFor Dendrin\u201d remark to solidify a positive reaction, which seems to do the trick. You take your leave and start making plans on restructuring the shadow organization and how things have been done. It\u2019ll take a bit of time and you\u2019ll have to slowly introduce a few things, but it can be accomplished.\n\nLater that night you predictably get another visit from Dendrin.\n\n\u201cSo\u2026you didn\u2019t kill him after all, you sure that\u2019s wise?\u201d Dendrin asks.\n\u201cAs I told Talia, we\u2019ll see, but I\u2019m not convinced he\u2019s my enemy, if he ever truly was. He\u2019s just overly devoted to an uncaring god and that\u2019s warped his world view.\u201d\n\u201cCareful, all those overly devoted followers of that uncaring god are officially under your command now. You might want to start rethinking how you approach speaking to me if you wish to remain that way.\u201d\n\u201cWhy? If you have something planned, I certainly can\u2019t stop you. Besides, you\u2019ve told me time and time again, the only reason why you pay attention at all any more is because of me. Maybe I don\u2019t agree with you or the role that I\u2019ve been thrust into, but I\u2019m going to continue doing my best at it, because that\u2019s just how I am. But if you\u2019re going to kill me for the shits and giggles, just go ahead and do it and quit with the idle threats.\u201d\n\nAgain you hear that booming laughter echo throughout your head.\n\n\u201cAnd that\u2019s why I\u2019ve always liked you Eternal. It\u2019ll be interesting if you\u2019re right about Cyrus or the shadows in general for that matter. But as you said, I guess we\u2019ll see. I\u2019ll be watching as always.\u201d\n\nAnd so begins the new era of the Shadows\u2026", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Chapter 3B1: Shadow Master\n\n\nYear 41\n\n\u201cWe had to kill another group of ogres sniffing around the fort today.\u201d Cyrus remarks.\n\u201cYeah, I know the battle woke me up, by the time I got ready, all of them had been killed.\u201d You reply. \u201cI\u2019m going to have to speak with Flog, because I thought we had an understanding that he was to keep the giant and ogre population down or at least manageable.\u201d\n\u201cI say we just kill him and be done with it.\u201d\n\u201cHmm, yeah I know he\u2019s not your favorite person, but he\u2019s proven himself useful, vital even in the past. Besides he\u2019s the only thing keeping that\u2019s keeping that rabble in line.\u201d\n\u201cHe\u2019s also the only thing keeping them organized. Maybe he\u2019s planning on making an army to march upon us.\u201d\n\u201cYes, I have considered that too, I\u2019m just wondering what\u2019s worse. A completely hostile unchecked horde of giantkin or a semi organized army of the same which may or may not be reasoned with.\u201d\n\u201cPerhaps you may need to ask Dendrin for guidance on this matter.\u201d Cyrus says.\n\u201cPerhaps\u2026\u201d\n\nIf Dendrin actually did have any advice on the matter, it probably wouldn\u2019t do you much good anyway considering how whimsical he is, not to mention he\u2019s chosen not to speak to you for quite some time, as he is prone to do.\n\nBeing Shadow Master has been a bit of odd since you\u2019ve taken the position mainly because you don\u2019t feel like you have a specific purpose.\n\nThe first two years were easy enough as you were still mostly concerning yourself with rebuilding Evergloom for defense, additional training for the shadows and making sure Rask kept its independence, but that was never truly ever an issue since the Empire never did make a come back and reports of their continual descent into chaos was assured.\n\nThe next two years consisted of a halfhearted attempt at spreading \u201cthe faith\u201d mainly to build up numbers. From what you could piece together of shadow history from the few books that Cyrus still had, the shadows never had an aggressive policy on such things, pre or post Empire days, they mostly relied on people either coming to them of their own free will or being \u201cborn\u201d into it. There have been a few shadow births, but you\u2019d rather have a more traditional way of gaining recruits because \u201cbreeding\u201d a new order isn\u2019t really going to be a big option seeing as your current ratio of men and women isn\u2019t great and those with Eternal heritage can\u2019t reproduce at all. While you could\u2019ve easily told everyone to start putting the remaining Raskian towns to the blade and do the whole \u201cconvert or die\u201d thing, you decided it wouldn\u2019t be that great of an idea for several reasons. So you relied on a more missionary way of doing things like sending certain shadows to towns and stressing the benefits of being a shadow. It got a few people interested, but nothing major. The Raskians in general have become less trustful of the shadows over the years now that the war with the Empire is over, almost as if they are expecting you to start launching a religious crusade. You soon got the impression that the Raskians would prefer if the lot of you would just leave them alone now. Somewhat ungrateful considering all you\u2019ve done in securing the country\u2019s freedom, but hardly surprising.\n\nLast year was the official fall of the Empire, from what you heard the Emperor\u2019s palace was in flames and the few remaining generals or strong military men have taken it upon themselves to carve out various fiefdoms for themselves while other places have gone the way of total anarchy. There was even a little bit of celebrating in Rask and among the shadows when it occurred. However, you couldn\u2019t help but be a little disappointed that the great enemy you struggled so hard against was now gone forever. Like you craved the chance to fight them again if only for the opportunity to be in battle once again which has sorely been lacking.\n\nNow with the giantkin starting to become a problem once again, you\u2019re half tempted to take Cyrus\u2019 advice. You\u2019re certain that it would be a sure victory for you and to an extent, Flog has been getting less and less reasonable as the years have gone on. Perhaps it is time to get rid of him and take your chances with more problems with giantkin in the future.\n\nInstead of talking with Dendrin about it, you choose to discuss this situation with someone that will have a better opinion on the situation.\n\n\u201cIt sounds like you\u2019ve sort of made your mind up about Flog already.\u201d Talia remarks.\n\u201cYou might be right, but I was wondering what your opinion was on the matter.\u201d\n\u201cBetter you should ask Dendrin for guidance on that, rather than me. Though I suppose if he has become more militant maybe it\u2019s for the best, but\u2026\u201d\n\u201cBut you think I should try to renegotiate with him?\u201d\n\u201cNo, I wasn\u2019t going to suggest that, I was going to say maybe we should leave Rask altogether.\u201d\n\u201cWhat? Why?\u201d\n\u201cThe people here obviously don\u2019t want us around, food isn\u2019t the easiest thing to come by and we\u2019re basically the first target whenever a group of ogres or giants come lumbering down south.\u201d\n\u201cWe faced the Empire and survived against all odds, I think we can handle being disliked by the plebs and the occasional giant attack.\u201d\n\u201cYou\u2019re probably right, but I just feel like we\u2019re stagnating here. Like we aren\u2019t rebuilding the order the way that we should. We\u2019ve also lost a lot of history, even certain rituals. I mean I\u2019ve remembered as much as we were taught and tried to pass these lessons on to the new eternals when I first trained them and continue to do so. The tomes we still have here help a bit, but ultimately when we lost Gloom, we lost a lot more than just a home.\u201d\n\u201cWell, where would we go?\n\u201cThat I don\u2019t know. Delerg perhaps?\u201d\n\u201cThat\u2019s quite the distance, not to mention the area isn\u2019t all that much more hospitable in terms of environment given that it\u2019s mostly swamp.\u201d\n\u201cYes, but it is the birthplace of the shadows and we do have an old temple there.\u201d\n\u201cYeah and it hasn\u2019t been used in centuries and is probably a crumbling ruin that\u2019s half sunk into the swamp by now! Has anyone here actually ever been there, because I\u2019ve only ever heard about it.\u201d\n\u201cYes, I believe a few of the older brothers and sisters have. They would know the best way to get there. I want to just say though, that this is merely my opinion. I do not know if moving all of us somewhere else is the best solution or if it will even help, but I just feel like the longer we stay here, the further away we\u2019re going to get from our roots and in another couple of generations, the shadows won\u2019t be anything like the ones of old. But perhaps that is Dendrin\u2019s will, as I said I don\u2019t know. Only you would know being the Shadow Master and able to speak to him directly for guidance.\u201d\n\nYou give an acknowledging nod, but in reality you\u2019re just left with another decision to make all by yourself. What Talia is suggesting sounds crazy and quite frankly you don\u2019t even care about shadow history, but what does make this idea appealing is the journey and the challenge. You were just thinking about a change of some sort and while killing Flog and his little band would break up the monotony, perhaps a whole change of scenery is really in order.", "action_results": [{"action": "Kill Flog", "result": "Making some sort of \u201cpilgrimage\u201d isn\u2019t really what you need at this point. While you might be drawn to the journey because of the potential for combat in the end you\u2019re going to be left with the same problem again when you finally do get settled. Not to mention who is to say the temple is even big enough or in any condition to act as a new home.\n\nTomorrow you resolve to go out to the village where Flog has been making his home (Which he\u2019s renamed \u201cFlogtown\u201d) and bring down the wrath of the shadows upon him. He probably won\u2019t be expecting it, but he\u2019s brought this on himself.\n\nJust as planned you tell Cyrus and the rest that you have asked for Dendrin\u2019s guidance on the matter and he has stated that the orcs and giantkin must be purged. You decide to take Cyrus and most of the new eternals with you as they are the most eager for the chance to do battle. Talia offers to join you, but you tell her you want someone with authority to still maintain the fort while you\u2019re gone. Though you don\u2019t anticipate this being a drawn out conflict.\n\nYour trip is uneventful other than the beginning of some light snowfall. When you arrive at Flogtown, you see that Flog has made a few changes since the last time you were here. Namely he\u2019s erected a tall crude fence around the village, the gate is open, but there are several orc guards standing by. When they see you, they immediately go into a battle stance and one of them runs inside the gate presumably to warn Flog.\n\n\u201cHalt! You shadows have no audience with Flog or any business here, get out!\u201d one of the guards says.\n\nYou don\u2019t respond, you just order a command to fire where upon several bolts pepper the outspoken guard and the rest of your people attack the remaining ones. When the gate closes down, all of you just spider walk over the walls and gain entry that way.\n\nThe \u201ctown\u201d itself looks like slave camp, and that\u2019s probably because it is. Of it\u2019s also because you allowed it in exchange for Flog\u2019s help years ago. You can only imagine what the other few towns that Flog seized control of look like. You see miserable wretches of human beings locked in cages or in chains and making no effort to fight or even escape. It\u2019s like the orcs have broken their spirit so much that they can\u2019t even rejoice at the orc\u2019s inevitable demise.\n\nThe slaying of the orc and ogre contingent doesn\u2019t take long in fact you\u2019re almost bored while you do it. The younger eternals seem to be getting a kick out of it though, gleefully lopping heads off and laughing the whole time. You sometimes wonder about them. Even with all the indoctrination and discipline that Talia has instilled in them, you see a certain bloodlust that they continue to share and they just go completely wild when actually in battle. You can only chalk it up to whatever experimentation that occurred to them before you arrived.\n\nYou then see one of them attempting to open up the cages with the slaves inside, at first you assume that he\u2019s trying to free them. Then when he gets the door open he throws one of the women to the ground and\u2026\n\n\u201cHey you! What the hell are you doing?\u201d you question.\n\u201cI\u2019m taking the reward that Dendrin has provided master!\u201d the eternal remarks without any hint of shame of what he\u2019s attempting to do.\n\u201cThat isn\u2019t a reward and more importantly the fucking battle isn\u2019t over yet! So get your dick back in your pants and get back to fighting!\u201d\n\u201cYes, master.\u201d He sheepishly obeys and pulls his pants back up before going off on his way and leaving the slave woman who is still lying on the ground.\n\nYou shake your head because know damn well Talia did NOT teach them that and none of them have even exhibited that sort of behavior before. You aren\u2019t going dwell on it now, but you\u2019re going to talk to Talia about it when you get back. In the meantime you attempt to help the woman, but she continues to be practically limp. Since there\u2019s no place to really take her right now, you just put her back in the cage and tell her to stay there until the fighting is over. She mumbles some sort of acknowledgement, but that\u2019s all you get out of her.\n\nSoon the fighting begins to die down, still no sign of Flog though, he apparently was never here. You\u2019re going to have to hunt him down at one of his other villages. Still, that now leaves you with what you\u2019re going to do with the now free townspeople.\n\n\u201cThey certainly aren\u2019t the traditionally spirited people of Rask anymore. I don\u2019t think they ever will be. They\u2019re pretty pathetic, death might be a welcome release to some of these folks.\u201d Cyrus remarks.\n\u201cMaybe, but we\u2019re not going to be the one to decide that. Let\u2019s just release their shackles and open up the cages and move on to Flog\u2019s other villages.\u201d\n\nYou order the enslaved villagers to be released and eventually some of them actually begin to speak.\n\n\u201cIs\u2026is it over? Are we free?\u201d an older man asks you.\n\u201cYes, you are free now. Free to go about your business and your lives.\u201d You say.\n\u201cWell, I suppose that\u2019s a good thing then\u2026I just have one question shadow.\u201d\n\u201cWhat\u2019s that?\u201d\n\u201cHow?\u201d\n\u201cHow what?\u201d\n\u201cHow are we supposed to just go back to our old lives after this?\u201d\n\nWhen you don\u2019t answer right away, the old man then stands up straight as much as he can and looks you directly in the eye.\n\n\u201cYou did this shadow. I know, we all know. You think that orc bastard didn\u2019t boast about how you all allowed him to enslave the lot of us in exchange for his help against the Empire? I can\u2019t even blame the orcs, they\u2019re brutes by nature, but you. You were supposed to be helping the people of Rask, but instead it looks like you were helping yourselves.\u201d\n\u201cThat\u2019s not even remotely true, we were still the main ones fighting the Empire and shouldering the brunt of their hostility. I made some tough decisions that would ultimately result in their downfall and it worked.\u201d\n\u201cRight, the Empire falls and everyone is free except for us. Being slaves and all we never got much in the way of news, but from what I heard, the Empire hadn\u2019t been a real threat in a significant number of years. Did you even think that maybe when the threat of the Empire was over you should at least attempt to free us? Not that we would\u2019ve been any less pissed at you, but it would\u2019ve at least showed that you gave a shit to a minor degree.\u201d\n\u201cOld man you better shut your mouth right now! You are speaking to the Shadow Master! The Chosen One of Dendrin!\u201d one of the new eternals shouts and pushes the old man to the ground. You stop him from going any further with it though.\n\nThe old man wobbly stands back up.\n\n\u201cShadow Master huh? Chosen One? All sounds like emperor to me. So tell me, why DID you come? I get the impression it wasn\u2019t to free us.\u201d\n\u201cNo. Flog has been stepping out of line and needs to be dealt with.\u201d\n\u201cHa ha ha ha! You hear that? The shadows\u2019 pet orc was disobedient and that\u2019s why we can have our freedom today! Thank the gods for the chaotic nature of orcs eh?\u201d\n\nAt this point the newly freed villagers are starting to find their \u201cspirit\u201d again and begin crowding around the old man in a show of solidarity. Your eternal shadows are more than willing to kill them, but this isn\u2019t what you want. For one it wouldn\u2019t be a fight, it would be a slaughter. Second they\u2019re completely right to be angry and you can\u2019t really blame them.\n\n\u201cLook, I cannot apologize for the decision that was made. It happened and it can\u2019t be changed. I don\u2019t think you\u2019d accept an apology anyway. Is there anything you need from us? Perhaps help in rebuilding or\u2026\u201d\n\u201cNo shadow. We need nothing from you. Well maybe one thing, none of us ever want to see you shadows in this town ever again.\u201d\n\u201cVery well, we shall take our leave.\u201d You say and call your shadows to exit this forsaken town.\n\nThe other towns that Flog controls are much further away and the snowfall and the wind are starting to get worse. You could go ahead and chase him now, but you didn\u2019t exactly prepare for an extended pursuit. You could probably return to Evergloom and prepare properly, it isn\u2019t likely that Flog is going to be leaving the area, and whatever pitiful defense he can muster isn\u2019t going to be a match for you anyway.", "action_results": [{"action": "Pursue Flog", "result": "You need to take care of this now; you can\u2019t risk the chance of Flog making things harder for you than they need to be. There\u2019s also the fact that these eternals are still hyped up from battle. You\u2019d rather they get it out of their system before taking them back home.\n\nPressing on through the beginnings of a blizzard, you eventually reach the second town that you suspect Flog to be dwelling. Your reception there isn\u2019t any better and battle predictably follows. The shadow magic and natural skill win out the day, but once again the shadows get a little overzealous in their desire to kill.\n\n\u201cWhat the fuck\u2026HEY! Leave the damn slaves alone!\u201d you shout when you see a group of eternals near a bunch of them. They either can\u2019t hear you due to the howling wind (very unlikely) or they are deliberately ignoring you because they\u2019re so engrossed in what they\u2019re doing.\n\nWhen you reach them, you push them aside and see several dead slaves, some of them children and the elderly. None of the eternals say anything, they don\u2019t need to given that their weapons are covered in blood.\n\n\u201cWhy the fuck did you lot not only disobey my earlier orders, but blatantly ignore me when I shouted at you?\u201d\n\u201cSorry master, but the slaves started attacking us for some reason and we only defended ourselves. It all just happened so fast that I guess we got focused on battle.\u201d One of the eternals says, the others looks to him and agree.\n\nThis has to be the absolute WORST lie you\u2019ve ever heard. They surely can\u2019t really believe you\u2019ll accept it as an excuse. Nevertheless there it is, a bold face lie. They probably think that you\u2019ll just chew them out, but they\u2019re wrong about that\u2026\n\nWithout another word, you kill the one who came up with the lie with a slash to his throat. You then dispatch the other three as quickly as possible. The rest of the eternals look on intently. Cyrus makes no move to stop you either. Even after you\u2019ve killed them, you\u2019re still incredibly angry. It isn\u2019t even so much about them killing the slaves. It\u2019s the fact that they not only disobeyed you they also feebly tried to lie to your face about it.\n\n\u201cNow you all are going to listen up, because I\u2019m not repeating myself! I am the Shadow Master here! This means that I am Dendrin\u2019s chosen and you ALL are to follow my orders without question or argue about them! I catch ANY of you disobeying me again, you can join your fellows lying dead in the snow over there! Now free the rest of the slaves, and let\u2019s get the fuck out of here since Flog doesn\u2019t seem to be here either.\u201d\n\nYou head to the front gates of the town, cursing the fact that you have to keep traveling in this horrible weather and put up with these disobedient eternals. Yes, you\u2019re really going to have to have a LONG discussion with Talia, when you get back. Cyrus and the rest follow you out when they\u2019re finished freeing the slaves. You leave immediately since you\u2019re in no mood to hear any \u201cscolding\u201d from the newly freed population or you\u2019ll be prone to start killing them yourself.\n\nThe last town you know Flog enslaved is an even further distance, so much so it\u2019s practically on the edge of giant territory. Makes you wonder how the hell the town survived as long as it did before Flog enslaved it. The snow continues to fall and the cold is getting near unbearable. Cyrus suggests that perhaps it might be a good idea to turn back to Evergloom since not even using magic to speed yourself up is very effective when the snow is getting knee deep. Even cloaking wouldn\u2019t be an advantage due to tracks being left in the snow. You aren\u2019t thinking clearly though and you insist on pressing forward.\n\nWhen you get to the last town, there is a giant standing guard. You dispense with any pretenses and order an immediate attack. Normally speeding around the giant and chopping him down like a tree would probably work, but as Cyrus pointed out even with unnatural speed, your movement is still hampered by the snow. It doesn\u2019t help that the visibility isn\u2019t the greatest either. The giant on the other hand has no such problems and manages to smash two of the eternals with his great club.\n\nWhile you\u2019re all trying to take down the giant, an alarm sound is raised. You quickly order the eternals to climb over the walls and wipe out the orcs while you and Cyrus take care of the giant since they just seem to be getting in your way.\n\nYou and Cyrus circle around the giant, dodging and stabbing when you can. Eventually the giant has so many holes in his legs that he loses balance and falls backwards onto the wooden fence of the town. The wooden posts naturally impale the giant in several vital organs finishing him off. You and Cyrus enter the village and see a few buildings crushed under the giant\u2019s body. Not surprisingly there have also been a few people crushed under the giant as well, orcs, slaves and even eternals. This is turning out to be a mess, though at this point you don\u2019t even care that you\u2019re losing some of the eternals given how they\u2019ve been acting lately.\n\nYou shout at any nearby shadows to start looking for Flog who still hasn\u2019t made an appearance of course it\u2019s hard to see anyone at this point with the snow falling as heavy as it is.\n\n\u201cWe need to get into one of these buildings! This snowstorm is getting too strong!\u201d Cyrus yells.\n\u201cAlright, let\u2019s get in that one!\u201d you shout back in agreement.\n\nYou approach a building that vaguely looks like a store of some sort. You try the door, but find it locked. Using all your might, you bash the door open and stumble inside.\n\nThat\u2019s when you find Flog, but unfortunately you never see him since he was hiding near the door and he cleaves you in the head with an axe when you bashed it open and stumbled in.\n\nIt\u2019s a sudden and ignoble death after surviving everything that you have. The only consolation is that Cyrus kills Flog in retaliation, but it hardly matters when you\u2019re dead.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Return to Evergloom", "result": "While it may be just a \u201clittle\u201d snow and wind now, you\u2019re quite familiar with just how bad the weather can suddenly change in Rask, especially as far north as you are. You aren\u2019t going to get yourself half frozen to death due to bad planning. You tell everyone you\u2019re all returning to Evergloom,. Nobody protests, but by the looks and whispering, you can tell they aren\u2019t happy about it. They\u2019re obviously all in the mood for more killing, but they\u2019re going to just have to wait. You need to talk to Talia about some of the new eternals\u2019 recent behavior anyway.\n\nWhen you arrive back at Evergloom, the snow has already gotten past ankle deep and it\u2019s still falling. You believe now you\u2019ve made the right decision and you probably won\u2019t be able to pursue Flog until this sudden snowstorm lets up. In the meantime you go to Talia and explain the situation at Flogtown and what happened with one of the new eternals. The funny thing is she doesn\u2019t seem entirely surprised by the behavior.\n\n\u201cWell, it was definitely wrong for any of them to grumble about your orders. I will speak to all of them about this on our next training session, but I don\u2019t think you need to worry, they are still just young and prone to a bit of undisciplined behavior at times. They all still know you are the Shadow Master and must be obeyed.\u201d\n\u201cTalia, I\u2019m not even worried about that since I\u2019m sure if they got too out of line I could handle any one of them. I\u2019m more concerned with this uncontrolled bloodlust that they seem to display along with other more unsavory acts when engaging in battle.\u201d\n\u201cAs I said they are just young and full of piss and vinegar. Besides, don\u2019t you usually enjoy battle too?\u201d\n\u201cYes I don\u2019t deny that, I never have. I believe it\u2019s part of being an Eternal, but I don\u2019t get a sadistic gleeful pleasure out of it like they seem to do and I certainly don\u2019t try to violate anyone.\u201d\n\u201cThe one you\u2019re speaking about, Brother Seminai, was he successful in his attempt?\u201d\n\u201cNo, I told you I stopped him before he could.\u201d\n\u201cHmm, perhaps you should\u2019ve let him continue.\u201d\n\nYou are genuinely shocked to hear Talia say this.\n\n\u201cWhat?! Are you seriously encouraging that we allow our people to rape others?\u201d\n\u201cNot encouraging, but\u2026(sigh) look I\u2019m sure you\u2019re aware that the numbers of our order currently aren\u2019t that great and the ratio of men far exceeds the women. Our human members are either single men or attached to other human women and while I expect our female shadows to do their duty to help bring in new shadows to this world, it still isn\u2019t enough.\u201d\n\u201cTalia, We tried recruiting\u2026\u201d\n\u201cYes, I know and that hasn\u2019t been successful either. Now my point was, our eternal shadows are also mostly male, there are currently only a couple of females and the pairing of an eternal male and female seems to result in no offspring. So\u2026\u201d\n\u201cWait a minute! Just stop right there. How do you know this?\u201d\n\u201cSimple, I caught two of them raping one of the girls in a storeroom three years ago and after nine months the act produced no offspring.\u201d\n\nNow you\u2019re floored. You can\u2019t believe what you\u2019re hearing.\n\n\u201cAnd you never thought to tell me this?\u201d\n\u201cI never told you about it, since I saw no reason to trouble you with it especially since you had other matters on your mind at the time. The new eternals are primarily my concern and as such it was my responsibility to keep them in line. My initial thought was to put them to death obviously, but then I realized we don\u2019t have the numbers to just throw away like that and I saw an opportunity to see IF the new eternals were fertile, unlike us. If they had been, it would\u2019ve solved both of our problems by replenishing our numbers with superior eternal blood. So instead I only harshly punished the boys and reminded them that Dendrin does not permit the harming of fellow shadows and that if they ever do it again, then they will suffer final judgment by your hand. They obeyed and understood.\u201d\n\u201cAnd what of the victim?\u201d\n\u201cIt took some time, but I calmed the sister and reassured her that it would never happen again, but to never speak of it for it may disrupt the order of the shadows. She understood. I watched her for a while to see if she was pregnant, but nothing ever showed up and that was the end of it. A pity, but I still held out hope that maybe it was only one gender that was sterile. I don\u2019t know which one though, so that\u2019s why I was saying earlier that it might\u2019ve been in our best interest to let the Brother Seminai have his way with that peasant girl. A potential half eternal is still better than none.\u201d\n\nYou know Talia sees the new eternals to a certain extent as her \u201cchildren\u201d and as such she\u2019s tends to do the protective mother thing on rare occasions. You also know that Talia still harbored the idea of re-creating the shadow order with hundreds of eternal babies. Especially after you told her of how you and her couldn\u2019t have any, but you never thought she\u2019d go to these lengths. This is almost delusional, no, it IS delusional and you\u2019re putting a stop to it right now.\n\n\u201cTalia, this is\u2026misguided. It\u2019s obvious that these eternals are just like us in that they are sterile. And I don\u2019t think replenishing our numbers by raping the population is the answer.\u201d\n\u201cOh? Just like your choice to allow Flog to enslave several towns was misguided? Well I don\u2019t see you coming up with any better ideas on attempting to preserve the order from dying out, let alone the eternals! Don\u2019t you dare make me out to be some monster, I\u2019m only trying to figure out a way to keep us from just disappearing from history once we\u2019re all dead and turned to dust!\u201d Talia yells getting upset in the process. She\u2019s completely ignoring all \u201cprotocol\u201d that you\u2019re Shadow Master at this point, but you don\u2019t care about that, never have when it comes to her. Still, you\u2019re going to have to settle this matter before the night\u2019s over and to be fair, she\u2019s right in that you aren\u2019t in any position to judge her. Ultimately the both of you make up and you make the decision that you\u2019re going to call a meeting of the shadows.\n\nIt\u2019s just as well you decide to get your \u201chouse in order\u201d because the snowstorm only gets worse as the night goes on and you\u2019re literally snowed in for about a month, but fortunately you\u2019ve got more than enough food stored up. You take the time to re-establish the rules and what is acceptable and what isn\u2019t.\n\nThis goes about as well as can be expected. Nobody speaks up out of turn or protests, but you know that there is a simmering resentment underneath. By the time the snowstorm is over, you\u2019re glad to send them all out to go seek out Flog and murder him along with anyone under his command..\n\nWhen you get to the next enslaved village, you find the place in even worse shape than the first one. The snowstorm hit this place pretty badly and apparently not much food had been stored up. Gruesome sights of half eaten bodies on spits are prominent and not all of them consist of human slaves, some of them are of other orcs, even an ogre. You\u2019re attacked on sight immediately, but it\u2019s probably more due to hunger than anything else. After a quick skirmish you don\u2019t find anything else alive in the village. All the slaves have either been eaten or froze to death. Flog apparently wasn\u2019t here either, you shake your head and mutter \u201cOf course it would have to be the last one.\u201d\n\nGoing to the final village, you find it in better condition than the last one, but that isn\u2019t saying much. Looking at the mostly eaten giant laying outside the village, it looks like Flog got enterprising in his cannibalism and rationed out the meat on a larger target.\n\nThe gate isn\u2019t even guarded and you walk right in. Orcs and slaves alike both take notice. It is there you finally catch sight of Flog.\n\n\u201cFlog.\u201d You call out.\n\u201cShadow.\u201d He answers.\n\nThere is a brief pause of wondering what your intentions exactly are, but not for long and he orders his people to defend themselves. It\u2019s a futile order as the new eternals have been itching for a real fight since they left Evergloom and are more than a match for the orcs and ogres. You can only hope none of them decide to take out their enthusiasm on the human slaves like last time.\n\nFlog himself is cut down in a joint effort between you and Cyrus. Flog never does question why you\u2019re attacking him, probably because he was too busy trying to survive at the time. Wouldn\u2019t matter anyway, his fate was decided long ago.\n\n\u201cWhat are we going to do about the slaves?\u201d Cyrus asks.\n\u201cFree them before we leave of course.\u201d You remark.\n\u201cDo you think they\u2019ll really survive? None of them look too good.\u201d\n\u201cWell of course they don\u2019t, they\u2019re fucking slaves, Cyrus. What are you suggesting, that we take them with us?\u201d\n\u201cWell no, I just wasn\u2019t sure, since you seemed to want to help the ones in the other village.\u201d\n\u201cIf there\u2019s anything I\u2019ve learned, it\u2019s that we\u2019ve done enough to these folks. The best thing we can do for them has been done. We\u2019ve freed them. It\u2019ll be up to them if they want to survive.\u201d\n\u201cUnderstood.\u201d\n\nWith that last bit of wisdom, the slaves are freed though none of them are in any particular condition to enjoy it. You take your leave before they muster up the strength to start cursing you like the last ones did.\n\nOn the long trek back home, you ponder the future of what you\u2019re going to have to do to keep this order sustainable and right now you\u2019re coming up blank. You hope that you can to better than that soon, because that\u2019s an unacceptable solution. It\u2019s times like this when you wish you had a misplaced faith in a god so that you could pray to them for guidance.\n\nOf course it wouldn\u2019t do you much good, if that god were anything like Dendrin.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 45\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s no use Master, I tried to speak with the mayor, but they refuse to deal with us anymore. They said it is no longer a good idea to trade with us anymore since they depend on other the trade of other villages and they\u2019re more important.\u201d Brother Gannon tells you.\n\nAnd that was the last of the known places in Rask to cut ties with you. Now you\u2019re truly on your own. This has been going on for quite some time now ever since citizens of those enslaved towns you freed managed to make contact with the other towns south of you. There were always rumors, but nobody ever knew for sure, they may not have even cared, but when those ex-slaves told them of the exact horrors they faced, well it put you in a pretty bad light and you weren\u2019t exactly on the honor list to begin with. One by one the towns started banning shadows from even entering and stopped trade with you.\n\nNormally two such things wouldn\u2019t mean a lot, but given that were currently attempting to recruit through missionary work again, that is no longer an option at all now. As for trade, the shadows are self reliant, but the land is pretty harsh and sometimes a little trade for things you need helps a lot. You don\u2019t have that option either anymore.\n\nThe shadows are divided on their opinions. Some say none of it matters as long as they trust in Dendrin to provide. These are mostly from the older human shadows. Some of the ones with families are a little more concerned, but most of them have taken it upon themselves to become dedicated hunters and gatherers. Cyrus surprisingly is in this camp. He and Draven have been responsible for bringing in most of the basic supplies you need. Though sometimes they come back with things that don\u2019t seem to come from the \u201cwild\u201d. You can only guess they\u2019ve taken to thievery of some of the closer villages. Doesn\u2019t matter to you, whatever works and as long as they don\u2019t get caught.\n\nThe eternal shadows on the other hand are militant as usual about things. They believe the villages should be paying you tribute for freeing them from the Empire in the first place. In a way, you can understand their frustration, but launching an assault on the Raskians isn\u2019t going to help anything. In the meantime you\u2019ve been trying to keep them occupied with killing giantkin that lumber down from the northern mountains. It helps a little, but there have been times you\u2019ve had to stop one or two of them from starting fights with the human shadows.\n\nYou\u2019ve spoken to Talia repeatedly about their behavior, but she tells you that she\u2019s done all she can. She thinks part of the problem is that they never heard Dendrin\u2019s voice or been in his presence, so while she has attempted to indoctrinate them as best she could, only Dendrin could make it absolute. Barring finding a book (which no longer exists) to perform that same ritual that you, Talia and Cyrus experienced long ago, you\u2019d have to speak to Dendrin himself about it, and he still hasn\u2019t seen fit to speak to you for a long time. It\u2019s been quite a while now, you wonder if he\u2019s finally lost interest in you.\nOf course since you\u2019ve wondered if that\u2019s the case, he ends up popping up a few days later during your sleep.\n\n\u201cShould\u2019ve known better than to think you\u2019d left for good.\u201d You say.\n\u201cWell, I did leave for quite awhile, I can see where you came up with that conclusion, sorry about that, but I was preoccupied with other matters. No need to worry yourself about them and anyway I\u2019m here now! So rejoice that I may help you in your time of need!\u201d Dendrin replies.\n\u201cYeah, don\u2019t think that\u2019ll be necessary.\u201d\n\u201cOh no? From what I can tell you\u2019re having a bit of trouble keeping those eternal shadows of yours under control. I would\u2019ve expected better, but no matter as I\u2019ve said I\u2019m here to help.\u201d\n\u201cAnd just what did you have planned, were you going to offer to indoctrinate them like you tried to do with me?\u201d\n\u201cA possibilities, is that what you\u2019d like me to do?\u201d\n\u201cWould it work?\u201d\n\u201cOf course, but loyalty to the shadows or to me isn\u2019t their problem. Your mate has done an excellent job indoctrinating them herself. In fact they\u2019re so loyal they\u2019re ready to start kill the local population because of it. I say why not let them?\u201d\n\u201cBecause you don\u2019t have to deal with the headache of the situation and starting a potential war isn\u2019t what I had planned.\u201d\n\u201cWell why not? You\u2019re obviously failing to keep the order thriving under peace, you might as well go for more violent means. It is what you Eternals are good at and what you know isn\u2019t it? I\u2019m sort of surprised you\u2019ve shied away from it.\u201d\n\u201cDoes everyone believe me to some sort of warmonger? Look, yes its true I enjoy battle, I probably always will. I will also probably always feel a sense of boredom or dissatisfaction when going for long periods of time without doing it. However, I was never one to seek it out on a whim. I fought the Empire, because it was the right thing to do, I took out Flog for similar reasons and to correct mistakes of the past.\u201d\n\u201cYou killed Flog because he wasn\u2019t useful anymore and he was becoming a thorn in your side, don\u2019t fool yourself, Eternal.\u201d\n\u201cVery well, but there was still a purpose. Attacking the Raskian people just because they distrust us or hate us? What is the purpose? Some sort of petty revenge because they won\u2019t bow down? Why should they, and I can\u2019t say as I blame them. Even not counting after they found out about the slavery incident, we were attempting to convert their people. People aren\u2019t too fond of others pushing their beliefs on them. We were also part of the Empire too at one point. The shadows willingly aided it as a sort of secret security force in the hopes of betraying it one day. Sure there was always the claim that it was for \u201ceveryone\u201d but at the core it was ALWAYS for the shadows first and foremost and you KNOW it because YOU were the one that set the rebellion in motion centuries ago.\u201d\n\u201cAnd? What if it was?\u201d\n\u201cYes, the ends justify the means and I understand that, but I see no justification in attacking the Raskians. If my goal had been to carve out some sort of Shadow version the Empire I might as well had fought for the other side instead and saved myself the trouble. Besides if we did start attacking, they would see us exactly as how we saw Flog; A thorn in the side, which had outlived its usefulness. Sure we could easily subjugate them all, but only at a great cost of stretching ourselves very thin and we all saw how that worked out for the Empire.\u201d\n\u201dThose are all interesting things to think about, but I think your real problem is clear enough and quite basic. You\u2019ve primarily got a division of the flock and that\u2019s your biggest concern. You\u2019ve got normals and you\u2019ve got Eternals. You aren\u2019t going to be able to settle anything properly until get rid of one or the other and if you have any intention on keeping this order together like you\u2019re trying to do\u2026why are you at this point?\u201d\n\u201cGood question, but I think the only answer is the same one as usual.\u201d\n\u201cOh yes, your mate\u2026well I suppose that does make things a bit harder for you doesn\u2019t it? I don\u2019t even think she would want you disposing of her \u201cchildren.\u201d Might make for an unhappy marriage I suppose. Then again, the normal shadows are the only ones who can breed. Yes, looks like you\u2019re going to have an interesting decision to make.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m not ordering half of the shadows to death just for your amusement.\u201d\n\u201cYou might not have to, events may thrust you into such a position where you\u2019ll be forced to choose one side or the other anyway. Well I leave it in your capable hands as usual shadow. As usual I\u2019ll be watching.\u201d\n\nAs usual Dendrin has not helped you at all. Nice to see some things never change. Still, the new eternals are the ones that have caused problems and will probably continue to do so in the future. It would be nice if they just went away.\n\nYou flirt with the idea that maybe whittling down their numbers might at least make them more manageable. Unfortunately they\u2019ve proven quite capable in combat, so you\u2019d have to find some sort of excuse of sending them deep into giant country, namely the actual mountains. You\u2019d probably have to lead them yourself too, just to make sure everything goes \u201cright.\u201d\n\nOf course if you did this, you\u2019re not only potentially causing problem between you and Talia if she ever found out, but also you\u2019d be engaging in double dealing on a level equivalent to selling out those villages to Flog and you just learned the hard way on how wrong that was.", "action_results": [{"action": "Leave it alone", "result": "As much of a pain in the ass as they may be, you can\u2019t just start planning a mass assassination of them because of it. They really haven\u2019t defied you directly yet anyway. Of course you\u2019ve rather them not get to that point, so you\u2019re going to hope that things get better\u2026\n\nNaturally things like this never just \u201cget better\u201d.\n\nYear 46\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s it! They went too fucking far this time. You warned them and more importantly I warned them about this. I told them to stay AWAY from the damn peasants and the villages, they didn\u2019t and now we\u2019ve got a massacre on our hands! Our reputation in this country is bad enough without assholes with short tempers slaughtering a handful of peasants that were rightfully giving them suspicious looks!\u201d you yell.\n\u201cI think you need to calm yourself, this isn\u2019t as bad as it may seem. Brother Seminai said that\u2026\u201d\n\nYou interrupt Talia.\n\n\u201cAh yes, the usual instigator and trouble maker. Why wasn\u2019t I surprised to hear it was he that came up with the idiotic plan to steal food from one of the local villages and why the hell were they doing it in the first place? Cyrus and Draven take care of that and they do a fine enough job of it!\u201d\n\u201cI believe he just thought it might impress or please you to show some initiative.\u201d\n\u201cIf I wanted him to go skulking around pilfering supplies I would\u2019ve given the order! His job and the rest of the eternal shadows are to just patrol our territory. It\u2019s not that damn hard! If they were really bored they could\u2019ve went hunting or even sought out a giant to kill. I mean they didn\u2019t even use their cloak to go about their thievery! What the fuck were they thinking? They either wanted to get into a fight deliberately or they\u2019re stupidier than I thought! Either way I\u2019m not putting up with such incompetence, where are the five of them right now?\u201d\n\u201cThey\u2019re currently in the barracks, but I don\u2019t think you should\u2026\u201d\n\nYou push Talia out of the way and head to the barracks, she chases after you and tries to plead on their behalf, but you\u2019re tired of it and them. After today, everything is going to be different in more ways than one.\n\nYou get to the barracks and see several of the eternal shadows standing around talking, the five involved in the incident are in the center. All of them look at you when you enter the room.\n\n\u201cYou have disobeyed direct orders from me and more importantly Dendrin. I don\u2019t care what your excuses are, because I\u2019m tired of hearing them. The punishment will be death.\u201d\nYou say and draw your weapon. Talia cries out a \u201cNo!\u201d but you are unmoved.\n\nTo their credit, Brother Seminai and the other four step forward and kneel before you.\n\n\u201cWe accept your decision Shadow Master\u2026but I beg you not to punish all of us. It was my idea. I beg not for my life, but those of my brothers who merely followed my lead.\u201d\n\u201cThen they deserve death even more than you, since they were foolish enough to simply follow like sheep. This is my final judgment and the will of Dendrin!\u201d\n\nWith those words you kill Brother Seminai first, then you go down the line. All the rest of the Eternals stand watching. You think this might be the first time they\u2019ve actually paid any genuine attention to you. With your sword drenched in blood you point to the five bodies on the floor.\n\n\u201cThese five disobeyed and have paid their price, but we may still pay our own due to their actions. You lot always seem eager for battle, well I certainly hope you want that, because I guarantee that it will definitely be coming to us.\u201d\n\nYou turn to Talia, who is trying to cry as quietly as possible at seeing five of her \u201cchildren\u201d dead. You lift her chin up with your hand.\n\n\u201cTalia\u2026my love. See to it that they\u2019re ready to attack Volgst in twenty minutes.\u201d\n\u201c(sniffle) You\u2026you\u2019re commanding an attack on one of the villages?\u201d she asks in confusion.\n\u201cWhat choice have I got? These fucking idiots just started an incident that can\u2019t be repaired by diplomacy, which wouldn\u2019t be an option for us anyway. The way I see it, we either start attacking fast and hard now, or we wait around for them to build up an army of some sort. We\u2019re already going to be vilified, might as well go with it at this point.\u201d\n\nYear 48\n\nIt\u2019s amazing how quickly the tide of a war can change in just a couple years. You\u2019re sure the Empire felt the same way.\n\nYou stand amidst the ruins of Evergloom. Well not really the ruins so much as the \u201cempty halls\u201d of Evergloom. Almost all of the shadows are dead, you\u2019ve spent most of the day clearing the bodies. You knew the Raskians would strike back, that was certain. It was also futile on their part. Even the most skilled militiamen their towns could muster wouldn\u2019t be any match for the shadows. You also knew you wouldn\u2019t feasibly be able to occupy the towns, so you didn\u2019t bother, instead putting most of them to the torch. You might as well been called \u201cThe Shadow Butcher of Rask\u201d (The old ghost of Kane must be laughing his crazy head off at that one.)\n\nHowever what wasn\u2019t anticipated was the amount of wealth the Raskians scraped together in order to fight back. They hired lots of Svelk mercenaries to assist in the war. The dark elves proved to be better fighters and just as ruthless. You knew this having had to fight a few of them during the Empire war, but the new eternals let their arrogance get the better of them as usual and many of them were killed before they figured out that this wasn\u2019t a game anymore.\n\nThe major turning point was year ago at the battle of Keplavisk where the Raskians won their first outright victory against you. Since that time, it\u2019s been one skirmish after another. Your numbers slowly dwindling and the Raskians getting support from a warlord south of Rask. (He\u2019s an ex-Empire general, so he\u2019s probably helping due to revenge as well as for his own personal gain on Rask)\n\nThen bad timing struck when Evergloom suffered giant tribe attack, you don\u2019t know what caused them to suddenly stir from their mountains, but they struck hard. Didn\u2019t help that the vicious svelk took advantage of this situation by slipping in their own assassination team. The target wasn\u2019t you or even any of the eternals though. It was any child or mother they found in the Evergloom. They had succeeded in their plan by the time they were all cut down.\n\nThis was devastating to the morale of the human shadows, who increasingly began blaming the eternal shadows for causing this mess in the first place. Eventually all that unifying faith in Dendrin bullshit went out the window and ultimately the tempers exploded into an orgy of violence.\n\nWhat you\u2019re cleaning up right now is the bloody aftermath of four days of infighting. Only a few of the eternal shadows survived and they are now no longer the loyal disciples of Dendrin anymore. The events have changed them into the selfish cold blooded killers that they were always were at their core. The ones that survived abandoned Evergloom, presumably to go wage their own personal battle on the Raskians. You guess that they\u2019ll probably be little better than common bandits and probably survive just as long as one.\n\nThe funny thing is they were bred probably in the hopes of destroying the shadows, and they\u2019ve actually done it. Perhaps a little later than what was planned, but the shadows are certainly no more.\n\nThe Eternals will soon follow as well. Cyrus is dead. Died defending his \u201cnormal\u201d lover Draven. You sort of wish you went out the same way, but ever the survivor you managed to live when others died. Besides, you had to kill Talia yourself when she sided with her \u201cchildren\u201d, claiming that you always hated them and how all of this was your fault. She never did get over the fact that you killed five of them in front of her and by the time the big fight occurred the both of you weren\u2019t exactly on amicable terms anymore. Still you never did harbor the same sort of feelings of anger for her that she did for you.\n\nAs you look down at her bloody body, you shed a few tears and say a few words telling her that you still love her. After a few more moments, you put her body with the rest and set the pile on fire, before leaving Evergloom forever.\n\nYou briefly wonder if you should seek your death in battle with the Raskians, but you dismiss that plan since you\u2019d hate to give them the satisfaction. Instead you decide to go further north, to the mountains where the giants roam. Surely you\u2019ll be taken down eventually by a combination of them and the harsh elements alone.\n\nYou figure you\u2019ll get there quicker by speeding yourself up, but you immediately find out that your spell doesn\u2019t work. In fact none of your magic works. It would appear that Dendrin has finally lost interest.\n\n\u201cHuh. Well that\u2019s one good thing at least.\u201d You say and begin to walk.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Engage the plan", "result": "Given that you were supposed to be loyal to the Empire and then backstabbed them in probably one of the most traitorous acts in history. What\u2019s one more betrayal? Your situation with Flog, is much different than your situation with the new eternals. With him, you originally caused more problems by keeping him alive. With the new eternals you\u2019ll actually be solving problems by killing them off. It\u2019s going to be tricky, but you\u2019re pretty sure you can do it.\n\nYou decide to call a meeting that you have received a message from Dendrin himself and how he has warned you of an impending invasion of giants. Dendrin has told you that you need to march into the mountains and thin out the population as much as possible in a pre-emptive strike since they\u2019d never expect it.\n\nSince this would be a \u201cmission\u201d for the best warriors, several of the new eternals are perfect for it, doesn\u2019t even take much convincing since they\u2019re all practically begging to go. You don\u2019t take them all however, since that might be a bit suspicious. Instead you take all of the ones that you know have been showing the most signs of disruptive behavior. (Which is still most of them). As far as you can tell all of the shadows, human or eternal take you at your word and suspect nothing. The only two you\u2019re concerned about is Talia and Cyrus.\n\nTalia, is a little concerned, that you\u2019re embarking on this dangerous undertaking with several of her \u201cchildren\u201d, but using the excuse that it is \u201cDendrin\u2019s will\u201d stirs up no suspicion from her. Cyrus volunteers to go, indeed he assumed he was, but you tell him that he\u2019s needed at Evergloom in case something major happens while you\u2019re away. Cyrus is probably so honored that you\u2019d put him in charge of something so important that he doesn\u2019t get suspicious either.\n\nYou set off with around thirty of the eternals and head straight for the Raskian Mountains. You don\u2019t really have plan at this point, other than to wander the mountains long enough killing giants that attrition will take its toll. When the survivor number gets low enough, you\u2019ll take care of the rest personally, and make the trek back to Evergloom alone claiming how you eventually fought a giant king and that everyone died gloriously in Dendrin\u2019s honor.\n\nBefore you even reach the mountains you get into combat with ogre tribes, then mixed tribes with a couple giants and ogres. No problems so far, but you\u2019re noticing that a few of the eternals are starting to get a little tired because the fools have been over using their shadow magic. This is going to be over sooner than you think if they continue to not pace themselves.\n\nTracking giant lairs in the mountains really isn\u2019t all that difficult, just like for the large footprints in the snow and the really big caves. The first few battles go well, but after that, people start getting wounded. A few days go by and exhaustion starts setting in along with hunger. It\u2019s not just tough on the eternal shadows, it\u2019s a challenge for you as well since you\u2019re right there along with all of them. Things start to get interesting when you start facing something more than giants, namely lizard like creatures that breathe gouts of ice at you. These ice drakes are the cause of your first casualties.\n\nA couple more days pass, and you\u2019ve lost a little more than half of your people. Most of them in battle, but a couple of them have died due to the treacherous terrain of the mountains like falling off the side of it. You sort of expected them to whine or at least grumble by this point. They haven\u2019t done any of that, and they\u2019ve followed your orders without question. You\u2019re a little impressed. The fact that so many of them have died on this mission is probably a humbling experience for them; perhaps it has even changed them a bit. You decide that maybe you don\u2019t need to kill them all and just an experience like this is enough.\n\nWhen you wake up the next day, you call the remaining eternals to order and tell them that Dendrin has visited you and has said that your mission is finished and that the invasion will no longer take place. (You actually feel pretty safe saying that considering how many giant you really did kill!) You then also tell them that Dendrin has looked favorably on all of them for carrying out his orders and obeying their Shadow Master without argument. They seem to like the idea that their god has given them some praise.\n\nAs you make your way back to Evergloom, you begin to think about this plan you came up with and while you don\u2019t feel bad about it, you do wonder if there was another way that might not have involved so much death. Still, what\u2019s done is done now, and it seems to have had a desired effect. Probably for the best that you did cut the plan short though since even you are feeling very tired after this ordeal and would like to get some rest in a proper bed. Also reminds you of how you aren\u2019t as young as you used to be either.\n\nThe rest of the trip is fairly uneventful until you step into Kragen Pass and then you start to get an uneasy feeling half way through\u2026\n\nA rumbling is heard on both sides of the pass and then several large snow covered boulders are flying over your heads.\n\n\u201cGIANTS! RUN!\u201d you shout.\n\nDuring your bloody march through the mountains, some of the giants figured you were trying to kill all of their kind. It would appear that when facing potential genocide, the big brutes are able to employ a little strategy in their usually dim noggins, like retreating from the mountains and ambushing you in this pass by throwing big ass rocks at you. Crude, simple, but effective.\n\nBefore anyone can speed their way through the pass, the giants block it off by causing a minor avalanche on both ends while continuing to hurl boulders at you. In everyone\u2019s current state of exhaustion, it isn\u2019t long before some of the eternals are crushed.\n\nYou try your best to find a potential hiding spot or even a small cave, but there are none. Eventually the barrage of boulders being thrown crushes you too.\n\nThe irony in all this is your actions actually cause a massive giant attack on Evergloom in the next few weeks as they seek to preserve themselves from being killed, by destroying Evergloom and the remaining shadows.", "action_results": []}]}]}]}, {"action": "Make the journey to Delerg", "result": "While you aren\u2019t convinced that going to Delerg is necessarily the best idea, maybe you do need a change of scenery. With the population being unhelpful and the troubles with Flog, it might very well be best to leave before this gets worse. Besides, while it isn\u2019t common knowledge that you made a deal with Flog to enslave the northern most towns in exchange for his help, there have always been \u201crumors\u201d amongst some of the Raskians and eventually those rumors are going to become an even bigger problem.\n\nPart of you feels like you\u2019re \u201crunning away\u201d from conflict and that somewhat bothers you. However, you spent your life running away from the Empire and striking at the right time to strengthen your own position while weakening their own. Why shouldn\u2019t you employ a similar outlook on life in general? Retreat from an unfavorable position to hopefully a better one, it couldn\u2019t hurt at this point.\n\nThe next day you call all the shadows to gather in the main hall and announce that you\u2019ve conversed with Dendrin and that he\u2019s told you that the shadows need to go back to reclaim the shadow homeland in Delerg and that your future is there not in Rask. Many of the human shadows seem to be enthusiastic about this idea. The Eternal shadows less so, but that might be for several reasons. In any event, you tell everyone that all of you will be packing up everything and moving on as soon as possible. Since it is looking a snowstorm is coming you\u2019ll have plenty of time to prepare and you\u2019ll leave Evergloom when it subsides. You also ask some of the older shadows if they know where the original temple is exactly located in Delerg. Brother Theo says that he knows and that he remembers visiting it once back in his youth when he was escorting some rebels to the shadow safe houses in Delerg.\n\n\u201cDespite it being in ruins and covered in overgrowth, I still felt it to be a place of power. Not power in the traditional sense, but more like a feeling. A feeling that the cause of the Shadows was the correct one and that by trusting in Dendrin, we would eventually return to the temple of our forefathers one day. It looks like that day has finally come and I couldn\u2019t be happier.\u201d Brother Theo says.\n\u201cWell brother, we aren\u2019t there yet. We\u2019ve still got to get there. The Empire might be gone, but who knows what might\u2019ve taken its place. The journey still might be dangerous.\u201d You reply.\n\u201cI know Shadow Master, but Dendrin guided us successfully through the Empire War. I know he will guide us to our home just as easily.\u201d\n\u201cYes, I suppose he will.\u201d\n\nA month passes before you can actually get going due to the snowstorm. Everyone\u2019s glad to leave too being stuck in the fort for so long. You wish you hadn\u2019t had to eat up a lot of your food supply though, but you figure you\u2019ll worry about food along the way either by hunting for it or trading for it when possible.\n\nAs you and the shadows begin your exodus from Evergloom, you look back at the old Empire fort that was your home for so long. You wonder how long it\u2019ll be before someone else takes residence there. If you had to guess, Flog will probably figure out it isn\u2019t occupied anymore, take it over and start using it as a staging ground to assault the southern towns of Rask. You\u2019ll bet the Raskians will wish you were still around when that eventually happens.\n\nThe journey through Rask is slow going. You can\u2019t just speed yourselves up considering all the equipment and belongings you\u2019ve got packed on wagons, carts and horses. Still, you aren\u2019t in any danger as you pass through Raskian towns. While it alarms the people to see so many shadows nobody dares attack you. You find trade easy, as they are eager to help see you on your way. You didn\u2019t really think you\u2019d have trouble traveling through Rask though, it\u2019s after Rask that you\u2019re more concerned about.\n\nFrom what news has reached you, ever since the Empire fell the Quala province has fragmented into several bickering warlords, each fighting for control of what\u2019s left. In some ways the people of the land are in a worse situation than when the Empire existed, but that isn\u2019t something you can really dwell on now. Your goal is to get through the land and you\u2019re sure to run into someone\u2019s territory as you travel through and they\u2019ll no doubt be hostile about it. Not much can be done except hope for the best because much like speeding yourselves up isn\u2019t an option, neither is cloaking yourselves. Well you could, but those horses and wagons are still going to be visible.\n\n\u201cHow are we going to play this?\u201d Talia asks as you stand at the Rask border.\n\u201cI know our information structure started falling into disuse when we drove the Empire from Rask, but does anyone have any information on what the exact situation is in Quala?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cLast I heard, an ex-Empire general declared himself the local warlord of the northern most portion of Quala. A General Ackerson I believe.\u201d Cyrus remarks.\n\u201cNever heard of him.\u201d\n\u201cI don\u2019t think most did, even before the rebellion he wasn\u2019t a very prominent general and the Empire tended to have more than a few useless high ranking officers that never did much. I only knew about him due to all the years working in the shadow cells and keeping abreast of all the Empire military commanders. He got his rank mostly due to family connections and was never put in charge of anything important. I don\u2019t even think he was even in charge of anything during the rebellion days, at least not that know of when I was still situated in Quala. Still, I assume he must have some skill in combat and have some charisma if he\u2019s made himself a warlord now. Well that or very rich which might be more of the case.\u201d Brother Theo adds.\n\u201cOkay, any other information on warlords in the area?\u201d you ask.\n\nNobody knows anything else other than he seems to be the top one. Funny how the most obscure people can rise to power when the opportunity presents itself. Stepping off the road, you could probably just trespass through General Ackerson\u2019s territory to reach Delerg and you\u2019d only have him to deal with him if need be, of course it\u2019s going to be even slower going due to all your baggage. The terrain that way is known to be somewhat hilly and if gets too rough, you might even have to leave some of your stuff behind. Rough terrain aside, there\u2019s also the open fields you\u2019d have to cross too. Not much cover if a large patrol of archers happened upon you.\n\nOf course sticking to the road will be quicker and unobtrusive to your baggage carts, but you\u2019d still have to trespass through Ackerson\u2019s territory and assuming you got through that, you\u2019d probably have to go through some other warlord\u2019s territory as well before you reached Delerg. On top of all this, you have no idea how you\u2019ll be treated by any towns you pass through.", "action_results": [{"action": "Travel off road", "result": "The Empire might be dead, but chances are shadows probably still aren\u2019t welcomed in these parts. You\u2019re not afraid of a fight, but you aren\u2019t sure just how much manpower and support this warlord has and there is no need to take unnecessary chances. Besides, some of the shadows traveling with you have actual families; if there is going to be growth in this organization then you can\u2019t risk them.\n\n\u201cOkay everyone, we\u2019re heading off road. I\u2019m warning you now, we may have to drop baggage if need be, but until then, we\u2019re continuing our journey to Delerg. I also want all of you Eternal shadows to cloak yourself and walk on our perimeter. If you see anything or anyone that might be hostile, don\u2019t reveal yourself, but instead report to either me, Cyrus or Talia directly and take a position that will allow you to ambush any interlopers when the time comes.\u201d\n\u201cWon\u2019t we look like an easier target with less people visible? Shouldn\u2019t we have a show of force instead?\u201d Cyrus asks.\n\u201cWe could, but we\u2019d likely be attacked anyway since we\u2019re probably going to be outnumbered here. This way at least we\u2019ll have the drop on anyone who decides to attack. There\u2019s no easy way to do this, better that we play to our strengths and use stealth. That\u2019s why I want to avoid the roads altogether.\u201d\n\u201cVery well Shadow Master.\u201d Cyrus remarks.\n\nAs you continue your journey across the long stretch of uneven fields, Talia comes up to speak to you.\n\n\u201cI think you\u2019ve made the right decision in traveling off road like this.\u201d\n\u201cHope so, we\u2019re pretty open out here. I\u2019d hate for some platoon of patrolling archers to start firing at us.\u201d\n\u201cWell the cloaked scouts around us should give us a little warning at least. That was a good idea too. In fact I\u2019m pretty excited about this whole journey. It\u2019s a new chance to start over and I think it will do everyone some good\u2026though I hope we will find a book or writings of the old ritual to open up the portal to Dendrin again.\u201d\n\u201cWell, it\u2019s a pretty old ruin and in swamp. I don\u2019t think we can get our hopes up too much that anything like that survived, but that doesn\u2019t matter right? I mean if people are going to follow Dendrin, then he\u2019ll find a way to reach them surely.\u201d\n\u201cI suppose you\u2019re right, I just\u2026well it\u2019s silly I guess, but the new batch of eternal brothers and sisters never got properly indoctrinated by Dendrin and I think it would do them well to hear his words from his own voice.\u201d\n\u201cI don\u2019t think we need to worry about their loyalty or dedication at this point, you\u2019ve probably trained and taught them better than anyone could\u2019ve about the ways of the shadow save for Dendrin himself.\u201d\n\u201cYeah\u2026maybe that\u2019s what\u2019s needed...\u201d\n\nTalia at this point gets very quiet. Her face shows a combination of fear and guilt. It\u2019s obvious she wants to tell you more, but now she\u2019s afraid to.\n\n\u201cTalia, let\u2019s ride over there from the rest of the group for a moment.\u201d You say.\n\nTalia nods and rides off and you tell Cyrus to take oversee everything while you talk to Talia privately. When you ride over next to her she\u2019s in the middle of crying.\n\n\u201cTalia, I don\u2019t know what this is all about, but you know you can tell me and not be afraid about it.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m not afraid of you\u2026 (sob) I mean I know your feelings for me are so strong that you\u2019d probably be willing to overlook almost any transgression and that\u2019s partly what I\u2019m afraid of, because (sob) I don\u2019t want you to get in trouble because of my decisions.\u201d\n\u201cWha\u2026? How am I going to get into trouble? What IS this all about and start from the beginning.\u201d\n\nAfter calming herself, Talia begins to tell you what exactly is troubling her and she starts from the beginning which apparently was three years ago. She tells you that she caught two of the male eternals raping one of the female ones in a storeroom and that she did nothing about it, because she wanted to see if they suffered from infertility like the old eternals did. Instead she let the two males off with a warning and convinced the victim that something like this would never happen again. She also tells you that of course the female never got pregnant so it would seem the infertility also exists in the new eternals as well.\n\n\u201cAnd you never thought to tell me this before?\u201d\n\u201cYou had other concerns on your mind and I had it under control, or at least I thought I did\u2026\u201d\n\u201cWhat? What happened?\u201d\n\u201cWhile we were waiting out the snowstorm, remember how Brother Seminai broke his neck while coming back from look out duty? He slipped on some ice and fell down the stairs?\u201d\n\u201c(Sigh) Let me guess, he was pushed?\u201d\n\u201cSister Grace did. It was apparently in retaliation when he had raped her two night before. She told me and begged me not to tell you since she didn\u2019t want to be punished for harming another shadow\u2026it isn\u2019t her fault. Its mine, I should\u2019ve taught them all better, I am their mother and they are my children and I\u2019ve failed them.\u201d\n\nYou shake your head at this point. You know Talia\u2019s always had a maternal instinct towards the eternals, but you didn\u2019t think it would go this far. You also have always known the newer eternals to be a bit more \u201cwilder\u201d but that only seemed to be in battle and you could easily rein them in. You never realized there was a deeper darkness within them and who knows how many harbor these undesirable traits.\n\n\u201cOkay, first question. This Brother Seminai and Sister Grace were they also the ones involved three years ago? I mean is this a repeat action?\u201d\n\u201cNo, those were three different eternals.\u201d\n\u201cWonderful, I was hoping to limit my worry. Anyway, I know we\u2019re low on the women folk in our order, but I think you know we can\u2019t tolerate wanton raping just because their horny and undisciplined.\u201d\n\u201cI know and it was wrong of me to keep this from you in the first place\u2026I just wanted our order to flourish with the blood of eternals\u2026I mean yes I have hope that the shadows will at least grow, but we\u2019re also eternals and we will eventually die out.\u201d\n\u201cWell, if these new ones are displaying these types of traits, maybe it\u2019s better that we do. I mean I don\u2019t pretend to be a devout clergy man that does nothing but good deeds and I will always have a desire for battle, I think most Eternals do having it bred into them, but I\u2019ve never committed cruelty for the sake of it.\u201d\n\u201cWhat are you going to do?\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m not sure yet, but my other question is why did you think I would get into trouble?\u201d\n\u201cBecause while you knew nothing about this, you would still be innocent in Dendrin\u2019s eyes and because I know your love for me is such that no matter what you decide punishment won\u2019t befall me even though it should. Dendrin I fear would not look favorably on you if you decide to do nothing to all those guilty after hearing what I\u2019ve told you.\u201d\n\nIt\u2019s funny, but you\u2019ve been keeping a bigger secret than Talia for decades. You almost feel like telling her that Dendrin isn\u2019t going to give a shit what you decide especially since he hasn\u2019t seen fit to even speak to you in years.\n\nIn any case, you probably need to do something, though you just aren\u2019t sure it needs to be now. You\u2019re in the middle of potentially hostile territory and settling an internal dispute might not be the best thing right now. Still the new eternals are going to have to be dealt with on some level and the sooner the better. As for Talia, she\u2019s right in that you wouldn\u2019t do anything to her, but it is somewhat surprising that she allowed this to happen. She might be a bit delusional, but you still love her. You give her an answer that should seem impartial though.\n\n\u201cTalia, I need to know the names of the brothers involved in the rape three years ago and I need to know of any other eternal who has displayed potential disruptive behavior within the shadow order. I will have to consult Dendrin on this and decide what should be done with them\u2026and you.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2026I understand. I know you must be fair on this matter and I will accept any judgment that Dendrin sees fit to give.\u201d\n\u201cWell, I will have to as well and despite you only just now telling me, I may still be in trouble as well. After all as Shadow Master I really should\u2019ve been more aware of my own people, but don\u2019t worry about me. I will beg Dendrin for his forgiveness and that of all involved in this. Perhaps he will show mercy.\u201d\n\u201cWe can only hope.\u201d Talia replies and tells you the names as the two of you ride back to the group.\n\nLater that night you continue to ponder whether or not to dispose of your more troublesome followers. Granted the two in question haven\u2019t done anything in three years, but that potential is always there, and so are the ones that haven\u2019t done anything yet, but show signs of it. You can only guess this is more due to their breeding not anything they\u2019ve been taught since they still uphold the tenets of being a shadow without question and that\u2019s a bigger problem.\n\nIf you kill them, is it going to stop there? All of them came out of those Derro tanks and who knows what the hell kind of magical concoction is coursing through their veins to make them behave in such an unstable manner and why is it becoming more of a problem lately?\n\nIt\u2019s times like this you almost wish that you actually COULD call upon Dendrin for his help\u2026\n\nAnd why can\u2019t you?\n\nWhat could it hurt?\n\nIf you actually pray to him for help and he doesn\u2019t listen, then nothing was lost and you\u2019re back to what your plan was originally, which is dealing with the situation yourself in a violent manner.\n\nOf course if he actually does listen, he might very well help, but with a \u201ccatch.\u201d You\u2019ve known Dendrin for too long to know that when he does help, he doesn\u2019t often do it in anyway that could be considered generous.", "action_results": [{"action": "Help yourself", "result": "You\u2019ve gotten this far without begging for Dendrin\u2019s help before, you\u2019re not going to start now. Given that he hasn\u2019t spoken to you in years maybe he\u2019s finally lost interest. If that\u2019s the case you\u2019d hate to tempt disrupting that by calling on him directly.\n\nBefore you go to sleep, you decide that it\u2019ll be better off to kill the problem eternals that look like they\u2019re going to continue being as such. You\u2019ll make up some sort of story that Dendrin told you or some such nonsense. Everyone will believe it. You have it done soon after you get to your destination though, no sense in wasting potential manpower in hostile territory.\n\nHaving made your decision you drift off into a deep sleep. You\u2019re really tired, the stress of the day and the move in general has gotten to you more than you thought!\n\nIn fact you\u2019re so tired you don\u2019t even wake up when you\u2019re attacked in the middle of the night. It isn\u2019t until Talia slaps you across the face that you awaken.\n\n\u201cOw! What the hell\u2019s going on?\u201d you ask rubbing your cheek.\n\u201cWe\u2019re being attacked! Get up and move!\u201d she shouts.\n\nA bright light is illuminating the nighttime sky along with several fire arrows. You\u2019 roll under a wagon to avoid immediate danger.\n\nIt would appear General Ackerson\u2019s men have discovered you and have attacked in force. They\u2019re being smart about it too, attacking at night with archers and unfortunately also a couple of battle mages who are making the darkness disappear with their spells.\n\n\u201cHow the hell did they sneak up on us? I had scouts around the perimeter to avoid this sort of thing!\u201d you mutter to yourself. Doesn\u2019t matter now you suppose, what you have to do is get the hell out of here as fast as possible. You don\u2019t like running, but you\u2019ll end up losing more people if you stick around and fight. Besides, there are probably more troops behind the archers or at least on their way. However you do see this as an opportunity, in fact it saves you the trouble of even weeding out various eternals.\n\nYou deliberately give orders that all the eternals need to engage Ackerson\u2019s army while the rest of the shadows make the escape attempt.\n\n\u201cEveryone else, grab what you can, head for those hills, speed up and cloak!\u201d you shout.\n\u201cYou can\u2019t send them to engage the army, they\u2019ll all be killed!\u201d Talia says.\n\u201cIf it is Dendrin\u2019s will, then that\u2019s what\u2019s going to happen, better that they should die in his service than all of be destroyed, now let\u2019s move!\u201d you shout back.\n\nTalia isn\u2019t happy with the decision, but follows your lead.\n\nThe soldiers are still shooting at you of course, but they\u2019re doing it blind. Some of the mages get a few people though by blindly throwing fireballs in the general direction. It isn\u2019t long before the ranged attacks become lessened when the eternals close in for combat. As you get closer and closer to the hills, the arrows and fireballs have seemed to have stopped altogether.\n\nThe next few days also involve some fighting with more soldiers in the hills, and while it\u2019s mostly swordsmen you still don\u2019t have a major advantage as you\u2019re short several good warriors since losing all of the eternals. You curse the fact that you behaved so rashly. Though nobody is cursing more than Cyrus when Dravin gets cut down by a lucky soldier, he nearly kills all the skirmishers himself after that happens. After the battle he still hasn\u2019t calmed down.\n\n\u201cCyrus I know you\u2019re upset about Dravin, but we\u2019ve got to keep moving.\u201d\n\u201cFuck you! This is YOUR fault!\u201d Cyrus shouts as he morns over Dravin\u2019s body. \u201cIf you hadn\u2019t sent all the eternals to sacrifice themselves we might\u2019ve had more people with us to close the gaps in our defenses! What the hell were you thinking?\u201d\n\u201cI was thinking that I was trying to save most of the shadows instead of all of getting killed instead!\u201d\n\u201cWell you\u2019ve sure done a great job of that oh great Shadow Master!\u201d\n\u201cCyrus, you honestly have a problem with me being Shadow Master after you practically begged like a pathetic worm for me to spare your life?\u201d\n\u201cAnd that was the biggest mistake of my entire life! I see now that you were never the chosen one of Dendrin, either that or he\u2019s abandoned you and as a result us completely! Did you ever really talk to him at all or did you just make it all up?\u201d\n\u201cI knew I should\u2019ve killed you\u2026\u201d\n\u201cWhat\u2019s stopping you now?\u201d\n\nTalia attempts to separate the pair of you, but both of you are ready to draw weapons on each other. Meanwhile Theo is attempting to keep the rest of the shadows in order who are not only demoralized by the attacks and loss of people, but also the fact that their leadership is fighting on top of it.\n\nThings go from bad to worse when Talia is accidentally stabbed in the chest by Cyrus when he tries to stab you instead. You see her fall to ground with a look of shock on her face. Cyrus stands with a bloody dagger in his hand with a similar look of surprise on his face.\n\n\u201cI\u2026didn\u2019t\u2026I meant to\u2026I\u2026\u201d Cyrus stutters as your eyes look right through him.\n\nYou waste no time and tackle him to the ground. Theo shouts for you to stop, but you don\u2019t hear anything until you hear the last sounds of Cyrus\u2019 breath as you choke the life out of him before breaking his neck. By the time you\u2019re done, no body knows what to think or do. They just stand around watching the self destruction of their order.\n\nYou go back over to Talia\u2019s body and find her still alive, but breathing weakly.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m sorry Talia, I\u2026should\u2019ve be able to stop\u2026\u201d\n\u201cStop what? It was Dendrin\u2019s will that\u2026I die obviously\u2026at least I\u2019ll see my eternals again\u2026my children\u2026\u201d Talia says and lapses into unconsciousness and then death.\n\nYou shed a few tears over her death, then Theo tries to get you to move.\n\n\u201cShadow Master we have to keep moving as you said.\u201d\n\u201cYou want to keep moving go ahead Theo. I\u2019ll be staying here.\u201d Looking off in the distance.\n\u201cBut you\u2019re the Shadow Master, you have to\u2026\u201d\n\u201cI don\u2019t have to do shit! You want the job? Go ahead, I make you Shadow Master. Lots of luck! Now begone!\u201d you shout.\n\nTheo stands there for a while and starts to say something, but stops. Instead he just tells the remaining shadows to keep moving and eventually they\u2019re all out of the area leaving you alone with several dead bodies surrounding you.\n\nWhen the rest of General Ackerson\u2019s men reach you, you\u2019re still sitting on the ground cradling Talia\u2019s body. They shout some predictable threats and such at you, but you ignore them. You don\u2019t care anymore. You\u2019re numb all the way until you feel a sword blow to your head.\n\nAnd then you feel nothing ever again.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Pray to Dendrin", "result": "You never thought you\u2019d ever be doing this willingly\u2026\n\n\u201cDendrin, if you\u2019re still watching me, we need to have a talk and you probably know what it is about already. So have your giggles if you must about all this, but I\u2019m asking you for your help and I mean real help, not cryptic answers or hollow words. And if you don\u2019t listen to me, then I suppose I\u2019ll figure it out myself as usual.\u201d\n\nAbout ten minutes later after your \u201cprayer\u201d you drift off to sleep and find yourself in a place you haven\u2019t been in a long time.\n\n\u201cBeen a long time Eternal. While I\u2019m glad to see it is you who initiated the dialogue for a change, I am a little hurt though that you\u2019ve only called on me because you need help. But I suppose any progress with a cynical soul like you is better than nothing. Why its almost like you\u2019re taking a leap of faith\u2026\u201d\n\nGreat he\u2019s going to milk this for all its worth.\n\n\u201cAnyway enough of that, what can I do for you exactly today?\u201d\n\u201cWell I figure you being all knowing and all, you\u2019re already familiar with the dilemma, so I was hoping that\u2026in your benevolent wisdom, you\u2019d see fit to help me.\u201d\n\nA loud chortle echos throughout your mind.\n\n\u201cAll knowing and benevolent wisdom is it? A word of advice Eternal, don\u2019t attempt to grovel, it doesn\u2019t suit you. Though I do appreciate the attempt as it shows there is hope for you after all, which I always believed would be the case. The answer is yes, I will help you.\u201d\n\u201cThat\u2019s it?\u201d\n\u201cYes. What? Is there more you required from me?\u201d\n\u201cNo, but\u2026well what are you going to do exactly?\u201d\n\u201cGet rid of your problems of course.\u201d\n\u201cThat\u2019s what I\u2019m talking about. You\u2019re not being specific, I mean for all I know your version of getting rid of my problems means killing me.\u201d\n\u201cMy dear Eternal have you gained faith in me only to lose it so quickly? (Sigh) I suppose this is a bit too much for you. Very well I shall explain MY end of the bargain. When you reach Delerg, I want you to go to my temple and in a very hidden location on one of the walls near a pillar you will find a button. Press it and you shall recover most of the lost shadow history in an area below the temple. One of the books includes the ritual to open up the portal to my realm. Send your remaining Eternals into it and I shall do the rest.\u201d\n\u201cThat\u2026that\u2019s almost exactly what Talia had hoped for when she suggested this journey.\u201d\n\u201cYes, I know. That\u2019s because she\u2019s a believer. So if you\u2019re still wondering what my price is, it\u2019s just gaining more loyal followers that will no longer cause potential strife within the order\u2026 and the assurance on your part that you will be doing your best to restoring my temple to its former glory.\u201d\n\u201cOf course\u2026wait you said remaining Eternals. What did you mean?\u201d\n\u201cOh you\u2019ll find out soon.\u201d\n\nSuddenly you are pulled out your state of numbness and into the real world.\n\n\u201cGet up! We\u2019re being attacked!\u201d Talia yells and picks you up by the arm. A bright light is illuminating the nighttime sky along with several fire arrows. You roll under a wagon to avoid immediate danger.\n\nIt would appear General Ackerson\u2019s men have discovered you and have attacked in force. They\u2019re being smart about it too, attacking at night with archers and unfortunately also a couple of battle mages who are making the darkness disappear with their spells.\n\n\u201cHow the hell did they sneak up on us? I had scouts around the perimeter to avoid this sort of thing!\u201d you mutter to yourself. Doesn\u2019t matter now you suppose, what you have to do is get the hell out of here as fast as possible. You don\u2019t like running, but you\u2019ll end up losing more people if you stick around and fight. Besides, there are probably more troops behind the archers or at least on their way.\n\n\u201cEveryone, grab what you can, head for those hills, speed up and cloak!\u201d you shout. Talia and Cyrus both repeat this order so everyone can hear it. You sort of figured you\u2019d end up dropping most of baggage, but probably not exactly like this!\n\nThe soldiers are still shooting at you of course, but they\u2019re doing it blind. Some of the mages get a few people though by blindly throwing fireballs in the general direction. Of course not every shadow has listened to you, some of them decided to run in the direction of the soldiers instead. These are some of the eternals of course. As you get closer and closer to the hills, the arrows and fireballs have seemed to have stopped altogether, it seems as if some of the eternals have managed to tie up the troops by engaging in close combat with some of them.\n\nThe next few days also involve some fighting with more soldiers in the hills, but since it\u2019s mostly swordsmen you\u2019re got more of an advantage on your side and you lose no more people. Eventually the attacks stop altogether. You\u2019ve either gotten far enough away, or General Ackerson has decided it\u2019s not worth losing any more men over.\n\nYou take a head count to see who is still alive and you now understand what Dendrin meant by the \u201cremaining eternals\u201d as most of the ones who did die were eternals. (Specifically the same ones Talia gave you the names of) Talia also asks you if you consulted Dendrin\u2019s advice on what is to be done about what was discussed before.\n\n\u201cI believe our recent attack has solved some of it, and Dendrin told me that when we reach the temple, he will solve the rest. He also said that you were right all along, we were meant to take this journey. I think we had to suffer a few losses before the shadow order can truly move forward.\u201d You tell Talia, she seems relieved that you or her aren\u2019t in trouble with Dendrin.\n\nWhen the hills begin to flatten and ground starts to become soft, you know that you\u2019ve reached the Delerg border. Brother Theo takes the lead from here and compared to your journey through Quala its downright uneventful other than annoying groups of Sul-monkeys that throw things from the low trees every once in awhile.\n\nEventually you arrive at the temple and everyone is filled with a great joy. You figure you should make some sort of uplifting speech about triumph and such, so you do. Then you tell everyone to start exploring the temple and get settled in where they can, you\u2019ll worry about fixing the place up later.\n\nThe inside of the temple is in surprisingly good condition. You waste no time in seeking out the stone \u201cbutton\u201d that will open up a secret place in the temple. Eventually you find it (which you doubt you would\u2019ve been able to do if Dendrin hadn\u2019t told you) and descend down.\n\nWhat you find is better than you could\u2019ve hoped for when you first arrived and that\u2019s living quarters for what you presume would be for the old shadow high priests or whatever. It isn\u2019t fancy, but it\u2019s fairly clean. You imagine that this place hasn\u2019t been accessed in centuries. The walls are very solidly made so it doesn\u2019t even look like signs of any natural intrusion have occurred either. Just as Dendrin said, there is a fully stocked library which no doubt contain most of the shadow\u2019s history and wisdom, and more importantly the ritual that you can use on the eternals. Talia, immediately starts looking through the books while you and Cyrus explore the rest of the place.\n\nThere is one \u201croom\u201d that sticks out which isn\u2019t man made and that\u2019s a small natural cavern, which seems to be an underground garden of some sort with a shallow stream of fresh water flowing through it. Blue glowing fungus lights up the place and there are no exits other than the small openings the water is flowing through. Cyrus takes some purple berries off one of the bushes and pops them in his mouth and remarks how good they taste.\n\n\u201cLooks like we won\u2019t have to worry about clean water immediately, even our food can be supplemented here. Dendrin provides as usual.\u201d He says.\n\u201cIndeed and while I know we all serve Dendrin, rank also has its privileges. I\u2019ll be sleeping down here in one of those bedrooms with Talia.\u201d You remark.\n\u201cHeh, well there are three of them from what I\u2019ve seen, surely the Shadow Master doesn\u2019t need ALL of them.\u201d Cyrus replies.\n\u201cWell I might\u2019ve needed them to store belongings, but since we dropped most of them, I suppose I don\u2019t have any problem with you and Draven taking one of the rooms. How is Draven anyway, if it wasn\u2019t for you, I\u2019d probably forget he\u2019s even with us.\u201d\n\u201cOh he\u2019s fine. He\u2019s always been a bit more on the quiet side as you know.\u201d\n\u201cMm, well since I\u2019m in a generous mood, I guess Brother Theo and Sister Yvette can take the third room. The pair of them have helped the shadows in more ways than I can count. Besides I know they got something going on with each other, have no idea why they haven\u2019t bonded properly yet though.\u201d\n\u201cMaybe they don\u2019t want to be tied down to one person?\u201d\n\u201cIf that was the case, I wouldn\u2019t see them together almost all the time. I swear since we first kicked the Empire out of Rask, those two have been practically joined at the hip.\u201d\n\nBefore Cyrus can agree with your observation Talia steps in and interrupts.\n\n\u201cI found it! I found the book! We can perform the ritual!\u201d she exclaims.\n\u201cAlready? That was quick. Okay, well you study it and we\u2019ll get to it as soon as possible.\u201d\n\u201cBut you are Shadow Master my love, only YOU can do it properly.\u201d Talia says and thrusts the book upon you.\n\u201cOh\u2026well I suppose my magical abilities have come a long way from what they used to be. Very well then, I shall study this tome and we can give the new eternals a proper induction into the shadows like we all were right?\u201d\n\nTalia and Cyrus both nod at your remark.\n\nYou excuse yourself and retire to your bedroom to begin a long night of studying.", "action_results": [{"action": "Time passes...", "result": "Year 46\n\nTook long enough, and sometimes it never seemed like it was going to happen, but you\u2019ve finally restored Dendrin\u2019s temple. Restoring it wasn\u2019t easy either, especially not one as big and in such disrepair like Dendrin\u2019s. The surprising thing is you\u2019ve not only restored it in appearance, but in use as well.\n\nThe one of the first difficult things was getting the stone. Delerg isn\u2019t exactly flush with rock quarries. The second difficult thing was getting help to restore it in the first place. The shadows might be great warriors and have more knowledge than the average peasant, but nobody in your ranks is a laborer or into masonry. Obviously outside help was necessary.\n\nFortunately since the fall of the Empire, Delerg had once again become a quiet place with no \u201cleader.\u201d Most of the inhabitants were content to go about their simple lives like they once did before the Empire. When you arrived in Sinkhole, to ask around for workers to try to restore the temple, some couldn\u2019t volunteer fast enough to help.\n\nThis need to help you, was a combination of a few things. The most important one being that Delerg was always shadow friendly. The Empire may have ruled it for a while, but the respect that its people had for the shadows was always greater. The shadows after all were once the main protectors of the area before the Empire.\n\nCombining this with the fact that the shadows were the main ones who helped influence so much rebellion and caused the destruction of the Empire, it was only natural that you were as warmly embraced like you were. Good thing too, because you certainly didn\u2019t have the coin to pay the workers in the first place!\n\nAs the temple was slowly being restored, more people started flocking to your aid. Some of these were old rebels that the shadows lost contact with when you started consolidating your forces in Rask. They remember you though and offer help in any way their skills allow.\n\nWhile you were always a little surprised by how much free help you were always willing to get, what surprised you more is how little you really needed to do to get it. These people had no one telling them what to do or how to live anymore, and yet a lot of them seemed to be in a big hurry for that to change by becoming Dendrin worshippers! You understand gratitude, but to willingly surrender a portion of your earnings and time to serve an invisible being that you had no proof existed, while some guy claiming to be his \u201crepresentative\u201d tell you how you should live seemed like a step backwards for them at least. For you though, it was all beneficial as eventually some of these devoted souls wanted to become full-fledged shadows. Naturally you accepted them into your ranks provided they could pass through the testing.\n\nRight now things have been better for you than they have ever been. You\u2019ve got a nice restored temple, a fair sized congregation, the ranks of the shadows are slowly starting to grow again and most importantly you haven\u2019t had to deal with any problems with the new eternals (Now known as the Shadow Blades) ever since they all went through the ritual. Dendrin was true to his word on that, just like you were true to yours by restoring his temple.\n\nStill, even after directly helping you, you still can\u2019t bring yourself to \u201cworship\u201d Dendrin. Not really. Part of you feels like it was the least he could\u2019ve done after all the stuff in the past he\u2019s put you through. Another of part of you feels as if you\u2019ve \u201crepaid the debt\u201d by restoring the temple.\n\nHe\u2019s probably granted you more power as you\u2019ve noticed your magical abilities becoming superior to everyone else\u2019s and it taking much less effort, but again you still feel no sense of \u201cawe\u201d in Dendrin that would cause you to willingly worship him as a god.\n\nTo you, he\u2019s a very powerful being that is a whimsical ally at best. You\u2019ve come to realize that he is probably deserving of your respect in regard to his power and you always keep that in mind when up keeping the charade of his religion. Perhaps it is enough, or at least it\u2019ll have to be since you don\u2019t see yourself changing your mind on the matter anytime soon, especially when you\u2019ve been trying to figure out what your next big course of action should be.\n\nThe problem with a lack of conflict is that you find yourself very bored. Even in Rask, the monotony was broken up with the occasional giant or ogre attack. Here in Delerg there are no such great dangers surprisingly enough. Most dangerous swamp beasts prefer to stick to their own stomping grounds which all seem to be away from your part of the swamp and Sul-monkeys aren\u2019t a threat so much as they\u2019re an occasional annoyance when large groups of them decide to use the temple roof as a mating area! The last time you had any true conflict was when General Ackerson\u2019s men ambushed you and part of you hasn\u2019t forgotten that incident. From what you know, he\u2019s still in power and sometimes you\u2019d like to change that just on principle.\n\nQuala is still an area in a power struggle between competing warlords, but so far there have been no attempt by any of them to expand into Delerg, probably because there isn\u2019t much here in the first place save for swamp. Not to mention there are most likely trickles of news coming in about the return of the shadows to Delerg. Most of the warlords being ex-Empire probably would like to get some sort of revenge, but know that their losses would be considerable if they even attempted such a thing, so you are left alone.\n\nTalia and Cyrus seem to be content with how things are now, why can\u2019t you be? Funny that you were concerned about the new eternals being restless and getting themselves into trouble, while here you are considering starting a fight because your bored with peace! The only real reason you can think of is petty revenge on General Ackerson and that\u2019s not a very good one even if you could easily tell everyone that Dendrin told you all to go kill him.\n\nIn your moment of introspection, you take another look at what you\u2019ve accomplished. You went from being a lone unbeliever practically trapped in an organization that was determined to overthrow an enemy several times larger than itself to the victorious leader of said organization, which is now thriving under your watch.\n\nYou probably could defeat Ackerson, but at what cost? Last you heard he has thousands of men at his command still and that includes a few battle mages. The shadows may be growing slowly, but that\u2019s just it, slowly. You don\u2019t have anywhere near the numbers to start raising armies. Sure, you have the entire support of probably all of Delerg, but that doesn\u2019t mean much in the scheme of things if most of the people aren\u2019t warriors. You kill Ackerson and take his territory then what? You hold it? How long can that last with the numbers you\u2019d have left? You doubt if the people of Quala would be as supportive, if anything they probably blame the shadows for the miserable warring state they live in now. This doesn\u2019t even factor in the OTHER warlords in the area. They may all decide to gang up on you and if you\u2019re in any sort of weakened condition they may even press their attack into Delerg itself.\n\nNo, the risk doesn\u2019t seem worth it compared to the petty gain. The shadows have never been about conquest and they probably shouldn\u2019t start now. However, that doesn\u2019t mean you should stay idle. Peace is fine, but perhaps there is a way of initiating conflict without actually doing it.\n\nIt occurs to you that the warlords of Quala won\u2019t always be fighting. Eventually one of them is going to win or manage to unite the area in some way. When that happens then Delerg might be in potential danger, so it would be in your best interest to make sure that doesn\u2019t happen. Keep Quala weak and disorganized while keeping Delerg the opposite.\n\nYou start sending in shadows into Quala to get a good idea of what the situation is there, but not to actually do anything yet. Theo is mostly in charge of this due to his previous experience of working extensively in the region during the Empire war. Eventually after a couple months you have all the information you really need and ready to put the second part of your plan into action, which is to keep the region destabilized. This is going to include sabotage, misdirection, more spying, and assassinations, all those things that play on the strengths of the shadows.\n\n\u201cI like it. So when do we start assassinating people?\u201d Cyrus remarks causing Draven to chuckle.\n\u201cWell, we probably should decide who needs it first. Some of the leaders sound so incompetent that it might be better if we left them in charge.\u201d Talia adds.\n\u201cShouldn\u2019t we have some sort of plan before doing this?\u201d Yvette asks.\n\u201cWe do have a plan, I just explained it.\u201d You say not understanding why she would ask such a question.\n\u201cI\u2026think what my wife means is should we not have a greater plan other than sewing chaos. I do not presume to disagree with your reasons Shadow Master, but I do believe that causing discord for the sake of doing it might seem a bit\u2026well\u2026short term.\u201d Theo says.\n\u201cSo you believe that we should actually take territory? I explained why I believe that would be a problem.\u201d\n\u201cNo, no, I agree that we shouldn\u2019t be marching armies into Quala, I guess what I mean is perhaps this would also be a good time to launch an aggressive campaign of converting unbelievers. You know send our better speakers to some of the smaller villages that are unhappy with life under the warlords and telling them how Dendrin can release them from such misery. Given enough time, we would have so many converted that we wouldn\u2019t have to worry about raising an army or Quala ever being a threat because most of the population would all be believers in Dendrin.\u201d\n\nAn interesting suggestion from Theo and one you weren\u2019t really expecting from him. He also mentions he could get back in contact with some of the old rebels he knows are still living in Quala to help more directly as well.", "action_results": [{"action": "Go with Theo\u2019s plan", "result": "It might be a bit a more complex than what you first envisioned, but it probably would be well worth it to try. You agree to Theo\u2019s plan and put it in motion.\n\nTheo says that the first thing he should do is to directly contact Sam Jowin, one of the major warlords in the area. He\u2019s fairly sure that Sam will agree to help out the shadows especially if it means stomping out the remaining pathetic remnants of the Empire. Plus it\u2019ll be one less warlord to worry about if he\u2019s on the side of the shadows.\n\n\u201cJust like the old days eh?\u201d you say.\n\u201cYes, I suppose so.\u201d Theo answers.\n\u201cI don\u2019t see why we can\u2019t still send our Blades in to cause some problems yet. I mean we know they can do it without being detected.\u201d Cyrus remarks.\n\u201cWe\u2019ll get a chance, don\u2019t worry. Just have to wait a bit longer for the right time.\u201d You remark.\n\u201cHm, I suppose so.\u201d Cyrus answers.\n\nYou get the impression that Theo is more than a little excited about doing this and Cyrus is a little disappointed that he doesn\u2019t get to do more at this time. Looks like it wasn\u2019t just you getting bored with peace either after bringing this plan up. Though Yvette is looking a bit concerned mainly for her husband most likely, she really shouldn\u2019t though given how skilled he is, let alone the fact that it\u2019s part of his duty as a shadow anyway.\n\nWhile you aren\u2019t actually getting into any action, it still feels good to be planning something more than the daily prayers to Dendrin.\n\nYear 50\n\n\u201cAckerson\u2019s men were seen at the edges of the Delerg borders again. Pretty sure they\u2019re preparing for an attack this time.\u201d Brother Gannon remarks.\n\u201c(Sigh) Call for the Blades to do double patrols.\u201d You say rubbing your head.\n\u201cI told you we should\u2019ve just assassinated him when we had the chance, now that bastard\u2019s not only really entrenched, but he\u2019s also gained ground in Quala! What the fuck is Theo DOING over there, we haven\u2019t heard from him in months!\u201d Cyrus exclaims.\n\u201cHe\u2019s serving Dendrin and the shadows as he always has! Thanks to him, we\u2019ve gotten converts and making our ranks grow! And don\u2019t you think I\u2019m just as concerned about him not having reported in for a long time?!\u201d Yvette snaps.\n\u201cYes, I\u2019m sure you are Yvette, but the converts we\u2019ve gained haven\u2019t really strengthened us to any great degree and in fact they may have been a hindrance as it just brought more attention to ourselves.\u201d Talia remarks.\n\u201cAnd how would\u2019ve Cyrus\u2019 plan of assassinating everyone not called attention to us? You don\u2019t think if leaders just started dropping dead people wouldn\u2019t have suspected us? Everyone knew were located here in Delerg and could\u2019ve attacked us eventually anyway. At least now we not only have a few extra human converts, but also one of the warlords on our side.\u201d Yvette says.\n\nYevette\u2019s \u201chuman\u201d remark gets your attention, despite everyone else missing it. What is she getting at?\n\n\u201cFor now. How the hell do we know this Sam nutter isn\u2019t going to turn on us when he gets strong enough? Ever since he decimated Anu\u2019s forces, he\u2019s gotten into a position where he could attack us in force just as easily as Ackerson could, probably more so. Which brings me to the question of why the hell hasn\u2019t he been pushing Ackerson a lot harder? I mean, he\u2019s supposed to be our ally, move in man! Attack!\u201d Cyrus shouts.\n\u201cWell from last reports months ago, Theo says Sam was having problems with the western front and to the south from Brenda.\u201d Talia interjects, in an attempt to keep Cyrus calm, it doesn\u2019t work.\n\n\u201cOh that\u2019s bullshit Talia and you know it! Those assholes in western Quala are so disorganized they\u2019re barely a threat to each other, let alone Sam. And as for Brenda, I don\u2019t think so. I\u2019ve got some of my OWN people spying down in Nalin and they say the place is pretty damn peaceful apart from the raids that Sam sends down there. Even the kobolds are mostly contributing members of society now. Shit, if Brenda wasn\u2019t on the wrong side I\u2019d say she\u2019d make a better ally than Sam would.\n\nNow Cyrus\u2019 remark gets your attention, in fact it gets EVERYONE\u2019S attention.\n\n\u201cCyrus who and WHEN did you send people to the Nalin province? I didn\u2019t order such a thing!\u201d you remark.\n\u201cI sent a few Blades last year and you\u2019re right you didn\u2019t tell me and if I\u2019m in violation of the shadow code, then you by all means you\u2019re well in your rights to have me executed\u2026but I felt like we needed to know what the hell Brenda is up to! I mean she\u2019s potentially the biggest threat to us military wise, not to mention she IS the last true remnant of the Empire.\u201d\n\nYou shake your head not so much at what Cyrus did, but the fact that you didn\u2019t catch it. You think back to when you first came up with this plan and now you wonder why you just didn\u2019t leave well enough alone. You wanted to be free of boredom and now you\u2019ve got it in abundance.\n\n\u201cWhat\u2019s done is done now, but I\u2019d like to know why the hell you didn\u2019t at least report what you found immediately considering that you said you send them a year ago!\u201d you remark.\n\u201cThey were still gathering intel and I wanted to make sure if this was going to cost me my life, it was going to be worth it at least!\u201d\n\u201cCyrus, stop being so damn dramatic, nobody\u2019s killing anyone here.\u201d Talia says.\n\u201cMaybe they should though\u2026\u201d Yvette says.\n\nAnother statement that causes a pause in the arguing.\n\n\u201cWhat was that Yvette?\u201d Cyrus says in a challenging way, Dravin who has been quiet the whole time now gets up and attempts to hold Cyrus back. Yvette is obviously upset about more than a few things, her husband\u2019s disappearance being one of them, but she doesn\u2019t back down from Cyrus despite she\u2019d be no match for him.\n\n\u201cI said maybe you should be killed! You directly defied the Shadow Master AND Dendrin\u2019s will! You know according to the ancient ways of the shadows, you would\u2019ve been subjected to having your hands and feet cut off followed by your eyes ears and nose before your mouth was fused shut and you were dragged out to the swamp where the Sul Monkeys could feast on what was left!\u201d\n\u201cIn case you haven\u2019t noticed sister, these aren\u2019t the old days anymore.\u201d Cyrus says almost daring her to attack.\n\u201cYeah, don\u2019t I know it.\u201d Yvette says, looking at him, Talia, then you before storming off.\n\n\u201cWell if you\u2019re going to have me killed, I\u2019ll be in my room waiting for your decision seeing as I can\u2019t break any rules there.\u201d Cyrus remarks dryly and walks off as well. Draven follows in an attempt to calm him, giving you a few worried glances as he leaves.\n\nYou and Talia are left in the room by yourselves. Sometimes you wish it was always like that.\n\n\u201cYou can\u2019t seriously be considering executing Cyrus for this.\u201d Talia says.\n\u201cProbably not, but it\u2019s really not a good sign of what he did. We\u2019re supposed to be sneaking around against other people, not each other.\u201d\n\u201cHis intentions were for the good of the shadows.\u201d\n\u201cYeah and you know what they say about good intentions. Ugh, how the hell did I let that slip by me in the first place?\u201d\n\u201cIt slipped by all of us, Cyrus is skilled.\u201d\n\u201cYeah and that\u2019s the problem. Call me paranoid, but in an order where everyone can cloak at will, dropping your guard for one moment could lead to a quick death if someone wanted to do it.\u201d\n\u201cNow, you can\u2019t start thinking like that! We\u2019re all Dendrin\u2019s faithful, we don\u2019t hurt one another.\u201d\n\u201cForgotten about Brother Seminai and Sister Grace huh? Yes, I know that was a different situation, but the problem still stands. In fact it\u2019s the same original problem with just a few minor differences.\u201d\n\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d\n\u201cDidn\u2019t you notice Yvette? It\u2019s obvious that she doesn\u2019t like our kind, meaning Eternals. I dunno if this is a new thing or if she\u2019s always harbored these feelings. Besides getting the new ones under control, I was also hoping it would prevent any possible conflict we might have had between the pure human shadows and Eternal shadows, but apparently not.\u201d\n\u201cWell what are we going to do about that?\u201d\n\u201cGood question, I\u2019m going to have to think on that and Cyrus\u2019 recent behavior, because while he might not be deserving of execution, I can\u2019t just have him going off and doing his own thing like that. Especially since it was only due to me showing him mercy and a hell of a lot of trust that I allowed him to live in the first place. Pulling a stunt like this is making me regret that decision.\u201d\n\nTalia leaves you alone at this point, she just gives you the usual if you find yourself lost, to seek Dendrin\u2019s guidance. The funny thing is maybe you should\u2019ve considering Dendrin warned you that Cyrus would still be a potential problem years ago.\n\nYou sit by yourself thinking and going back and forth on what to do about Cyrus and after an hour you\u2019re still no closer to a solution. At this point you don\u2019t even want to bother thinking about what to do about Yvette, though getting someone to seek out her husband would be a good start.\n\nAs you\u2019re about to leave the council chamber, Draven appears in the doorway. He looks like he\u2019s even more worried than when he left. He\u2019s even shaking a bit.\n\n\u201cUh\u2026um Shadow Master. I\u2026\u201d\n\u201cWhat is it Draven? And why are you shaking?\u201d\n\nHe doesn\u2019t answer and just starts sniffling and trying not to cry. He looks like he\u2019s going to have a complete breakdown and then suddenly he breathes deeply and exhales.\n\n\u201cDraven what happened? Where\u2019s Cyrus and what\u2019s he done?\u201d you ask sensing that this is the cause of his behavior.\n\n\u201cNothing. And I\u2019m sorry.\u201d Draven says and he suddenly speeds himself up and attempts to shoot you with his armbow!\n\nBeing more powerful in the ways of shadow magic now, you easily speed yourself up and dodge this attempt on your life. You react with a shadowfire bolt to his head, Draven falls back and drops dead instantly.\n\nYou briefly wonder why Draven would attempt such a thing, knowing that he couldn\u2019t have won, but you don\u2019t dwell on it too much since you figure that Cyrus was behind it in the first place.\n\n\u201cASSASSIN! SHADOWS BLOCK THE ENTRANCES! LET NO ONE LEAVE!\u201d you yell as loud hoping the whole temple heard it as you can and run out of the council room looking for Cyrus.\n\nIn the chaos, you continue bellowing orders to everyone while still looking for Cyrus and telling others to find him as well. Talia rushes to you asking what\u2019s going on and you explain that Draven just tried to kill you.\n\n\u201cWHAT?!\u201d\n\u201cObviously Cyrus put him up to it. If this isn\u2019t proof that he is not only disobedient to Dendrin\u2019s laws, but also willing to betray them, I don\u2019t know what is!\u201d Yvette says overhearing the conversation.\n\nJust as you\u2019re about to tell some of the shadows to go scouring the swamp for Cyrus, he suddenly pops up running into the gathering hall directly towards you. Thinking that he\u2019s trying to finish the job himself you immediately order him to be stopped and then create a small barrier around yourself. Several of the Blades, along with Talia gather around you as well. You\u2019re glad that the Blades\u2019 loyalty seems to be on your side, even if a couple of them did obey Cyrus\u2019 orders to go into Nalin.\n\nCyrus is practically tackled to the floor though he\u2019s confused to as why it\u2019s happening.\n\n\u201cWhat the\u2026why is everyone holding me down?! What is this? Where\u2019s Draven?\u201d he says.\n\u201cYou know damn well where he is, you sent him to kill me not a few minutes ago!\u201d you answer.\n\u201cWHAT?! I did no such thing! He was upset about went down in the council chambers and\u2026wait where is he?\u201d\n\u201cWhere do you think? I\u2019m still alive to confront you on your treachery aren\u2019t I? I mean you had to have known that I\u2019d easily dispatch Draven.\u201d\n\nThis remark causes silence in Cyrus. He looks down, as you demand to know who else is involved in his little conspiracy. When he looks up again to address you, his face shows a mixture of anger and anguish.\n\n\u201cThere is no conspiracy you paranoid fuck! Don\u2019t you think if I had planned one some of these people would\u2019ve been trying to kill you right now? I would\u2019ve thought that you would\u2019ve at least thought higher of me that I could\u2019ve come up with a better plan, which I wasn\u2019t doing in the first place! I mean if I had, I certainly wouldn\u2019t have allowed myself to be caught like an idiot like this. I thought we settled all this years ago when you first became Shadow Master. I pledged my loyalty and I meant that! I see my words mean nothing after all though, so do what you want. I submit myself to Dendrin and your final judgement as I always have.\u201d\n\nSuch in-fighting of the shadow leaders in a public display hasn\u2019t probably been seen since Brother Shade tried to kill Master Ebon. Cyrus seems resigned to whatever fate you have in store for him, but you\u2019re wondering if he\u2019s trying to stall for time somehow. He claims that he doesn\u2019t have others working for him, but for all you know they\u2019re just staying quiet so that they can\u2019t get into trouble and their courage to go through with your assassination has failed them completely.\n\nOr perhaps they just want Cyrus himself out of the way so that they can take power at a later time.", "action_results": [{"action": "Kill Cyrus", "result": "Cyrus has proven time and time again to be a thorn in your side. You tried to give him a chance, but there is just too much ambition in him. Even if he wasn\u2019t behind Dravin\u2019s actions, his behavior has proven time and time again that he isn\u2019t going to let Dravin\u2019s death go if you spare him. How long will it be before deep-seated resentment and anger get to him and he really seeks out revenge?\n\nYou can\u2019t take that chance.\n\nWithout another word you perform the same spell that Master Ebon once did to stop Brother Shade from killing him. Cyrus\u2019 silence is now broken by his grunts and gasps of pain as he clutches his head. He begins bleeding from the ears and eventually the eyes.\n\n\u201cI\u2026join\u2026you\u2026Drav\u2026\u201d he manages to utter before her brain explodes inside his head. Cyrus\u2019 body lies motionless on the floor and you address the crowd.\n\n\u201cThis was unfortunate, but necessary. Let this be an example to those that would seek to harm or conspire against their brothers and sisters. Dendrin will not tolerate traitors and neither will I. Someone get this out of my sight.\u201d You say waving to Cyrus\u2019 body.\n\nThe next few days are a little tense, but eventually things relax a little. You\u2019re still trying to find Brother Theo. When you manage to contact Sam directly he says he thought Theo was going back to report to you weeks ago since he hasn\u2019t seen him since that time. He goes on to say that Theo tended to move about a lot since he was also spreading a bit of the shadow faith in his spare time. He also apologizes for not keeping a better eye on General Ackerson and his latest patrols on your borders, but he\u2019s been having difficulties with Brenda and even some of the other eastern warlords lately.\n\nSam isn\u2019t the only one apologizing. Yvette also says she\u2019s sorry to you and how she\u2019s just been so upset about her husband that she didn\u2019t meant to speak out of line before. She says she knows that you\u2019ve been leading well as Shadow Master. You tell her that you appreciate her support and tell her to just keep faith in Dendrin that you\u2019ll eventually find Theo even if he\u2019s dead, he\u2019ll be given a proper burial.\n\nUnfortunately when he does pop up again he\u2019s not dead and you find out what he\u2019s been up to isn\u2019t good for the shadows even though he believes it to be.\n\nAll the new shadows Brother Theo has been converting in Quala have been following a much different doctrine than the regular one. Namely one that doesn\u2019t see Eternals in the order at all. He claims that the Eternals have created a caste system where you\u2019re on top and humans are at the bottom. It doesn\u2019t help that he\u2019s also been manipulating Sam into helping him so he not only has a loyal group of heretics to his cause, but also an entire regular army.\n\nThis in itself is bad, but Yvette has been secretly helping him the whole time and spreading dissention to the other human followers in Delerg as well. Twisting your own words by claiming that the Eternals are not true brothers and sisters of Dendrin because they aren\u2019t human so it\u2019s perfectly fine to harm them. Going on about how the Blades were abominations that you and Talia saw as an opportunity to use as leverage over the human members. How she was forced to see the first hand horrors of where they were \u201cborn.\u201d\n\nIt is a testament to Yvette\u2019s speech skills that she managed to convince so many under your nose and fooled you as well despite your initial concern about her. You never knew she was so talented in that way, part of you always still remembered her as the girl who obediently followed your orders during the rebellion.\n\nWhen it all comes out, you curse yourself for not being more observant and suspicious of her. Perhaps if you\u2019d not worried so much about Cyrus being a major problem, you wouldn\u2019t have overlooked another possible coup from someone else.\n\nYvette\u2019s treachery is taken care of soon after the first Blade is suddenly attacked. It\u2019s at a great cost though, not so much due to the casualties on the loyal side, but more due to the fact that she convinced so many that you had to kill. Yvette herself attempts to escape when she sees the battle isn\u2019t going well, but she is brought down by the eternals she sought to destroy.\n\nOf course this isn\u2019t the end. Theo and his army is still out there and they won\u2019t be as easy to put down.\n\nYear 55\n\nThe Temple of Dendrin is in ruins and you\u2019re putting down the last of the culprits.\n\n\u201cYou can\u2019t beat me Theo, despite all your treachery you cannot match my power.\u201d You say slamming him into the wall.\n\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter! You\u2019re finished! The shadows are finished!\u201d\n\u201cThen you defeated your own purpose! Weren\u2019t you trying to save them?\u201d\n\u201cYES! But I soon realized that if Dendrin continued to support you then what was the point of serving him at all?\u201d\n\u201cWas this before or after you killed your own friend Sam and took complete control?\u201d\n\u201cI have no regrets! Anything to ensure your downfall! Look at you now, you rule NOTHING!\u201d Theo starts to laugh.\n\nYou imagine he\u2019s gone slightly mad from this little civil war. This latest suicidal onslaught of his pretty much proves it. You aren\u2019t wasting anymore time with him and you unleash a blast of shadow flame straight to his face. You watch as Theo alternates from laughing to screaming while his flesh burns away until nothing is left except a charred skull.\n\nHe\u2019s right though, the shadows really are no more. What tattered remains exist cannot possibly rebuild the order even if you still had any desire to do so.\n\nOne of your loyal shadows Brother Gannon comes up to you asking what should be done next and you tell them you don\u2019t know, only that you\u2019re going to rest and you don\u2019t want to be disturbed.\n\nYou collapse on the bed in your chambers, which feels lonelier ever since Talia died in battle a year ago, but you\u2019re used to it.\n\nYou drift off\u2026\n\n\u201cQuite the battle Eternal, but I knew you\u2019d win.\u201d Dendrin remarks.\n\u201cLeave me alone, this whole thing is your fault.\u201d\n\u201cBack to blaming me for things I see. Some things never change.\u201d\n\u201cWell I\u2019ll tell you one thing that\u2019s changing\u2026I\u2019m done.\u201d\n\u201cDone with what?\u201d\n\u201cYou know damn well what. I\u2019m done with the shadows. I tried to lead them, but ultimately they were just as self destructive as the Empire. If anything they were doing better under it. Makes me wonder why the hell I bothered opposing it in the first place.\u201d\n\u201cYou\u2019re just feeling discouraged, maybe you should\u2026\u201d\n\u201cMaybe I should what? Pick up the pieces and start all over again? What for? There\u2019s nothing left and I don\u2019t even believe in this fucking religion myself. Not to mention you did nothing to stop its destruction since I\u2019ve known you, so why should I keep knocking my brains out doing it for you? What has it got me, except a lot of grief and a dead wife. So fuck this. I\u2019m quitting this game and as far as I\u2019m concerned this entertainment of yours is over!\u201d\n\nDendrin is silent for a moment and then of course comes back with a retort as usual.\n\n\u201cVery well, you lot were getting boring anyway. Goodbye Eternal, it was interesting while it lasted.\u201d\n\nYou later wake up in the middle of the night hoping that\u2019s the last time Dendrin ever talks to you again. You then pack up some of your belongings and decide to leave the temple for good. You don\u2019t make a clean getaway though as Brother Gannon sees you exiting the front doors as he\u2019s wandering the halls.\n\n\u201cShadow Master where are you going?\u201d\n\u201cAnywhere, nowhere, I don\u2019t really know yet, but I can\u2019t stay here any longer. I don\u2019t think I ever was supposed to\u2026maybe Yvette and Theo were right in a way. Maybe Eternals shouldn\u2019t be shadows.\u201d You say.\n\u201cYou shouldn\u2019t say things like that! We need you to lead what remains of us, to interpret the will of Dendrin clearly.\u201d\n\nYou laugh.\n\n\u201cYou want to see the will of Dendrin clearly? Take a look at the destruction around you. That\u2019s his will. THAT\u2019S what he represents. Do yourself a favor Gannon, get out of this place and live the rest of your life doing what you want. There are already enough people in the earthly realm ready to tell you what to do, no need to add other worldly ones to that list. Goodbye.\u201d\n\nAnd with that you leave the crumbling remnants of the shadows forever and travel to places unknown. What ultimately happens to you is lost to time, but safe to say you never hear from Dendrin ever again.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Question him further", "result": "Something doesn\u2019t quite add up about all this. Cyrus\u2019 position isn\u2019t looking too good right now, but he\u2019s right in that he certainly would\u2019ve come up with a better plan than something like this. You\u2019re willing to at least hear him out.\n\n\u201cCyrus, you convinced me once before that I should trust you. Convince me again.\u201d You say.\n\u201cI can\u2019t, you\u2019ll have to make that decision yourself. All I can do is explain what I think might\u2019ve caused Draven to behave in the manner that he did. (Sniffle) Okay first of all I didn\u2019t send any of the Blades to Nalin secretly\u2026Dravin did. I didn\u2019t even know until a couple months after he did and he confessed everything to me. Naturally I got mad about it, but what was done was done and I just told him to keep his mouth shut about it to anyone else. This didn\u2019t come out again until our earlier council meeting where I claimed I sent them because I didn\u2019t want Draven to get into trouble for it.\u201d\n\u201cRight Cyrus, you expect any of us to believe that? Draven\u2019s dead so you\u2019re just using him as a scapegoat right now in a miserable excuse to escape Dendrin\u2019s justice!\u201d Yvette exclaims, but Cyrus just ignores her and continues with her story.\n\u201cAfter the meeting, Draven got very upset and was worried that you were going to have me executed. I told him that, that wasn\u2019t likely, but he just kept claiming it was all his fault. I tried to calm him down, we argued and he eventually left the room. That was the last I saw of him\u2026I knew he was distressed, but I just never thought that he\u2019d\u2026(sob).\u201d\n\nAt this point Cyrus breaks down into tears. There is an awkward silence followed by some whispering and then your own decision.\n\n\u201cLet him go. He\u2019s innocent. Well innocent of attempting to kill me anyway.\u201d\n\nThis judgment comes to a bit of a surprise to everyone, even Cyrus. A few shadows obviously don\u2019t agree and Yvette makes her voice the loudest.\n\n\u201cHave you left all your senses? This\u2026traitor just tried to kill you and you\u2019re letting him off the hook?\u201d\n\u201cYou would be wise to watch and remember who you are speaking to!\u201d you snap. \u201cI believe Cyrus. You know why? Because he was so damn in love with Draven that\u2019s why. I believe that he would\u2019ve covered up for his mistakes and I also believe he wouldn\u2019t have willingly set up Draven on a suicidal assassination mission. His grief is proof of that.\u201d\n\u201cIt\u2019s all an act! He\u2019s faking those tears!\u201d Yvette exclaims.\n\u201cSo I should believe that your tears for your lost husband Theo are also fake then?\u201d\n\u201cThat\u2019s different! My husband Theo is a loyal shadow! Draven AND Cyrus are obviously both traitors and have no loyalty to anyone save themselves! I cannot believe that you would show this much leniency, but I suppose even a treacherous one of your kind is better to have around to keep us humans in line huh?\u201d\n\u201cYvette, we\u2019re all shadows, whether we\u2019re human or eternal. Nobody here has been shown preferential treatment.\u201d Talia says.\n\nAnd now it all comes out.\n\n\u201cSHUT UP! I won\u2019t listen to your lies any longer! I had to listen to your rationales for YEARS when I helped you in that freak lab where they grew those eternal monsters you misguidedly call your children. You don\u2019t think I knew about all the messed up shit you allowed to happen within your own kind? Theo knew it and I know and I can\u2019t stay silent anymore! You Eternals have twisted this order into your own caste system! The Empire may be dead, but its obvious its creations are still around to carry out its will!\u201d Yvette turns to the crowd around and makes the rest of her point. \u201cA true shadow is human and all are equal in the eyes of Dendrin, but these Eternals can\u2019t see that, so they always seek to be tyrants no matter how benevolent! We must not let this go on! We must appeal to Dendrin\u2019s sense of justice and change the way things are!\u201d\n\nYvette has gone beyond the usual disagreements now and is basically declaring open rebellion you can\u2019t help but notice the pattern. Also makes you realize that Theo most likely isn\u2019t dead, but rather attempting to get reinforcements in Quala to bring back to attack you. Didn\u2019t see that one either, but even at this point it isn\u2019t too late to curb the damage. It\u2019s not going to be easy though.\n\nIn the meantime you\u2019ll have to do damage control right here at home. You just hope that it doesn\u2019t involve killing your entire human population.\n\nYou don\u2019t bother arguing with Yvette, instead you just perform the same spell that Master Ebon once did to stop Brother Shade from killing him. Her ranting turns into groans of pain as she clutches her head. She begins bleeding from the ears and gasps.\n\n\u201cYou\u2026will\u2026not\u2026w\u2026win\u2026\u201d she manages to utter before her brain explodes inside her head. Yvette\u2019s body lies motionless on the floor and you address the crowd.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m going to make this quick. I am Shadow Master, the chosen one of Dendrin, for good or ill, you ALL will follow my orders. This is how it has always been for centuries. Now I\u2019m giving a moment of leniency as of right now\u2026anyone who has problems with that for whatever reason, should leave this temple now and never return. I cannot stop you from continuing to worship Dendrin, but you will no longer be a member of this order.\n\nAt this point a few shadows do indeed start to leave.\n\n\u201cVery well, for those that are leaving, you will have until dawn to gather your belongings and take whatever families you may have out of this temple. Any attempt to approach us in the future will result in death.\u201d\n\nAs the disgruntled shadows leave, you continue your speech.\n\n\u201cAs for the rest of you, I expect NO disloyalty from any of you lest you suffer the same fate at Sister Yvette AND Brother Draven. Which brings me to you Cyrus, what am I supposed to do with you? While I do believe you didn\u2019t have anything to do with what Draven did, you basically covered for someone who disobeyed orders regardless of their intentions and then later attempted to assassinate me.\u201d\n\u201cI have no words Shadow Master\u2026the last few moments have been\u2026interesting. All I can do is put my life in your hands and hope Dendrin will find mercy on me.\u201d\n\nCyrus looks even more defeated than the last time you spared his life. Besides being a shadow, Draven was one of his main reasons for living. He\u2019d probably consider it a mercy if you did kill him at this point. You do consider it, but ultimately you decide living is a more fitting punishment.\n\n\u201cCyrus, you are also banished from this temple. You have until dawn to gather your belongings. Never return or the punishment will be death.\u201d You say.\n\u201cVery well. I shall obey your decision and I will take my leave now as I will have no use of anything where I\u2019m going.\u201d He says. You almost ask him where he intends to go, but given his grim remark you can take a guess that he seek out death via combat.\nJust as Cyrus gets up off the floor to leave, Talia speaks out.\n\n\u201cCyrus! Don\u2019t you want to see Draven\u2019s body before you leave?\u201d\n\u201cNo. The man I loved is long gone; it\u2019s just an empty shell now. Dispose of it as such.\u201d He says and leaves.\n\nAnd that\u2019s that. Draven dead, Yvette dead, Cyrus exiled and Theo is still hiding in Quala somewhere. It\u2019s just you and Talia now\u2026just like you wanted, though perhaps not quite like this.\n\nYou spend the rest of the night with Talia talking about how to go about finding Theo and also tracking down any and all other shadows currently stationed out in Quala. You\u2019re going to have to determine just how many people he\u2019s turned against you and anyone \u201cnew\u201d is going to be under the most suspicion. Even the people in this temple who stayed aren\u2019t completely out of clear, but you can easily perform a ritual that will allow you to root out any potential traitors still in hiding here.\n\nAbout the only ones you can trust completely are\u2026well the eternal members.\n\nAfter the last of the disgruntled shadows leaves the temple, you contact one of the Blades that Cyrus or rather Dravin sent to Nalin. Glen is his name. He probably wonders if he\u2019s in trouble, but you dispel those concerns immediately when you say that you know he was just following orders of a superior and meant no subterfuge.\n\n\u201cShadow Master, how may I serve?\u201d he asks.\n\u201cI want you to take some of the Blades and follow the exiled shadows for a while. See where they go and what they\u2019re doing. Now if you see any of them making contact with other shadows in Quala, I want you to find out all you can, then I want you to kill anyone and everyone there that is plotting against us.\u201d\n\u201cYes Master, it will be done.\u201d\n\u201cGood. Oh and for this mission pick your ranks from other eternals. Let\u2019s just say that after all that has gone on today, some of our human members might be slightly uncomfortable about killing other human shadows even if they are exiles.\u201d\n\u201cVery well, but what if the exiles do not contact other potential traitors?\u201d\n\u201cContinue to have them followed for a few more miles, then find a quiet spot to kill them as well. Can\u2019t have them potentially starting a new sect of Dendrin worship after all. We have to remain united if we\u2019re going to continue to survive this set back.\u201d\n\u201cUnderstood Master.\u201d\n\nIt is at this moment you appreciate having these new eternals with you now. Their dedication to you (and Dendrin) is so certain now that you could tell them to massacre the entire town of Sinkhole and they\u2019d do it without any arguing. You never concerned yourself about it before but you\u2019re beginning to sympathize a bit with Talia on the fact that they can\u2019t breed, because you sure could use a few more of them.\n\nGlen asks one more question before carrying out the order.\n\n\u201cShadow Master, are we to follow the exile Cyrus as well?\u201d\n\u201cNo, he\u2019s probably long gone by now and despite his crime, he was still ultimately loyal. Don\u2019t bother.\u201d\n\nYou\u2019re fully aware that with these last couple of orders, you\u2019ve probably just supported Yvette\u2019s argument. The irony is though; you weren\u2019t trying to create any sort of caste system initially, and it\u2019s only due to current events that you\u2019re having to resort to a bit more preferential treatment because you don\u2019t know who to trust right now. Eternals are naturally better warriors so you made them all part of the elite fighting group and let the less skilled human shadows tend to their families. Theo, Yvette and Dravin were all human and made up half the council, they all had a voice that could be heard. Yes, it\u2019s true that an Eternal is in charge, but that\u2019s hardly your fault when at nearly every turn you\u2019ve been the one to rescue the shadows from destruction whether it\u2019s from external or internal forces.\n\n\u201cAnd Dendrin chose me to lead, so it must be right.\u201d you laugh to yourself, though you imagine Dendrin\u2019s probably having the biggest laugh of all as usual.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 55\n\n\u201cTheo I know you\u2019re here I can sense your presence, you might as well come on out and take your punishment with some dignity.\u201d You say looking down the dimly lit stairway.\n\nYou can\u2019t believe after all these years; it\u2019s come down to you personally tracking Theo hiding in the cellar of a simple abandoned farmhouse. Several of the Blades stand behind you asking if they should go in and get him, but you decline. You can handle this yourself, in fact you\u2019d rather do it yourself.\n\n\u201cJust stand guard, I\u2019ll be back soon.\u201d You say to Glen who nods and has the Blades guard the perimeter.\n\nYou walk down the stairs without any worry about your safety. Even if Theo does attack you, and you\u2019re fairly certain he isn\u2019t going to be in any condition to do, you\u2019ll easily be able to defend yourself.\n\nThe cellar isn\u2019t large and add the fact that there are several stacks of boxes and barrels here make the cellar seem even smaller than it is.\n\n\u201cSupplies. Supplies still here from the Empire rebellion. Never did get around to using them.\u201d Theo\u2019s voice says from the corner of the room. You see him in his torn and tattered robe and sitting against the wall. Between his missing hand and half burned face, he\u2019s a mess.\n\n\u201cDidn\u2019t get around to using them for this one either.\u201d You say.\n\u201cHonestly, I\u2019d forgotten about this place until recently. Had so many old safehouses, I was bound to forget some of them. Don\u2019t know why I forgot about this one though\u2026it\u2019s rather peaceful. Serene even. I guess its remoteness helps. Yeah, this would\u2019ve been a good place to settle down\u2026maybe another life. Right?\u201d\n\u201cI don\u2019t think Dendrin does reincarnation. Least of all for traitors.\u201d\n\u201cYeah, I suppose so I guess. Good thing I stopped believing in him years ago.\u201d Theo laughs weakly.\n\n\u201cYou know, if you stopped believing in him, you could\u2019ve just left rather than cause a whole lot of unnecessary fighting. It\u2019s not like I would\u2019ve stopped you.\u201d\n\u201cAnd tell me Eternal, would you leave if your own wife still believed in Dendrin?\u201d Theo asks accusingly. You don\u2019t know if he\u2019s just asking hypothetically or if he is actually implying something.\n\u201cNo, I suppose I wouldn\u2019t.\u201d\n\u201cOf course not. Besides\u2026I did still believe up until I found out you killed her. From that point I knew that Dendrin truly didn\u2019t support my cause, so why bother worshipping a god that doesn\u2019t? Of course had to still keep up the charade since I had managed to hold sway over some of the new converts in Quala.\u201d\n\u201cAnd that\u2019s when you decided to just kill Sam, declare yourself in charge of his forces and repeatedly tried to invade the temple?\u201d\n\u201cWell seemed like a good idea at the time. Honestly if that bastard Ackerson had just allied with me, I believe I would\u2019ve had a good chance at winning. Didn\u2019t expect him to make a separate peace with you though.\u201d\n\u201cThe fool has still got his sights set on Rask and doesn\u2019t want to expend any military effort that isn\u2019t focused on that endeavor. You might\u2019ve done better trying to get help from Brenda in Nalin, heard she\u2019s not too fond of shadows having caused the death of her husband and all.\u201d\n\u201cBelieve me I tried, she sent my messengers back without heads and a note saying she wasn\u2019t helping even if I wasn\u2019t really a shadow anymore and as far as she was concerned she hoped that we all killed one another.\u201d\n\u201cWell thanks to you, this was certainly another set back for the shadows. Sort of makes the whole original rebellion rather pointless.\u201d\n\u201cNo\u2026not for me. I think those were the happiest days of my life. I had a purpose, my enemy was clear and I knew I would win because Dendrin was on my side. Then I won, and that\u2019s when it all started to slowly fall apart.\u201d\n\u201cHah. I can certainly understand where you\u2019re coming from on that perspective. Part of your behavior in all this probably stemmed from being a rebel for so long that you never knew quite how to adjust and when the opportunity presented itself, you immersed yourself in the role again because it was comfortable. Really, any of your other reasons were all secondary and just an excuse.\u201d\n\nTheo doesn\u2019t answer he just looks down and nods a few times in a rocking motion as he clutches where his left hand used to be. Eventually he staggers upward sliding his back against the wall in an effort to stand up. You\u2019re guessing he\u2019s ready to die now.\n\n\u201cJust one question Eternal, does Dendrin really speak to you?\u201d\n\u201cWhen he feels like it, but if it makes you feel any better he hasn\u2019t cared about the shadows for a very long time and the only reason why he takes an interest in them at all is due to me.\u201d\n\u201c\u2026well I guess I was doomed from the very beginning then.\u201d\n\u201cSo was I Theo\u2026so was I.\u201d you say and hit Theo with a powerful shadowfire bolt which burns directly through his chest leaving a big hole and a black mark against the wall. Theo slumps down and the leader of the \u201cnew rebellion\u201d is dead.\n\nThe damage he\u2019s caused isn\u2019t so readily repairable. In addition to losing many shadows he\u2019s also created a separate faction of them (Something you were trying to avoid), which are still located in pockets across Quala. The beliefs are basically the same (and without the indoctrination ritual obviously), with the exception that YOU or any other non-pure human for that matter shouldn\u2019t be a shadow, let alone in charge of the order.\n\nYour first thought is that you should probably hunt them all down and wipe them out before they become a problem, but then again this little conflict has been taking a toll on the shadows you have left. Some of the children don\u2019t even have mothers and fathers anymore. It might be time to pack up the gear and attempt to rebuild again.\n\nAs you think on this, you make your way up the stairs and wince at a couple of the aches in your joints in doing so. You might be an Eternal, but you sure as hell aren\u2019t starting to feel like one in the past few years as old age is becoming a little more apparent to you. Makes you sort of glad that you don\u2019t have to rely solely on regular combat anymore thanks to your increased magic abilities gifted to you by your \u201cdedication\u201d to Dendrin no doubt.\n\nIn any case you\u2019re tired and you tell Glen that Theo is dead, but you\u2019re going to stay here for the night before heading home again. Glen as usual nods and says he\u2019ll keep everyone on watch.\n\nYou find an old bed that probably has been slept in years, but it doesn\u2019t look infested with bed bugs so you use it. Doesn\u2019t take long for you to slowly drift off to sleep, but you get the impression that you\u2019re not going to get a peaceful rest.\n\n\u201cSo another enemy falls before you, keep this up and you\u2019ll outlive everyone.\u201d Dendrin remarks.\n\u201cFigured you\u2019d show up eventually. Any words of advice on what to do next?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cNot really, you seem to have it under control. So\u2026still bored?\u201d\n\u201cNo, but I hate set backs.\u201d\n\u201cCome now you should be used to such things by now.\u201d\n\u201cI am, but that doesn\u2019t mean I have to like them. Especially when I feel like packing it all in because there\u2019s little point in going on.\u201d\n\u201cSo you don\u2019t intend on destroying the heretic shadows?\u201d\n\u201cI almost don\u2019t intend on going back to the temple. I feel like just leaving altogether.\u201d\n\u201cYou\u2019ve said that before, many times. You won\u2019t though.\u201d\n\u201cOf course I won\u2019t, but I feel like no matter what I do something severely sets back the shadows. Against all odds I\u2019ve taken it upon myself to be their leader and protect them better than you ever do and I\u2019m still lying about being a true believer.\u201d\n\u201cOh you\u2019re a believer, a cynical one, but you\u2019re a believer. If you weren\u2019t you would\u2019ve left a long time ago because it\u2019s a little bit more than just Talia keeping you here.\u201d\n\u201cI don\u2019t see what else there is, because it sure isn\u2019t to bask in the glory of your voice.\u201d\n\u201cIt\u2019s power pure and simple. It\u2019s being in charge. It\u2019s telling others what to do and ruling them like a king or emperor if you prefer.\u201d\n\u201cI might agree with you if I actually thought I was in charge of anything so grand. Besides, it\u2019s really you they\u2019re all worshipping not me.\u201d\n\u201cAnd is that what your problem is? That you\u2019re doing all the work and not getting any of the perks? And here I thought all that nice magical power I\u2019ve been granting to you was a fine way of rewarding you.\u201d\n\u201cWell it hasn\u2019t hurt. You\u2019re right though, I don\u2019t mind being in charge and I do thrive on a bit of conflict, but sometimes it just gets a bit tiring that\u2019s all.\u201d\n\u201cAh, and now you see why I stopped directly leading the shadows altogether!\u201d\n\u201cYeah, well I don\u2019t have that luxury unless you can elevate me to godhood.\u201d\n\u201cHa ha, even if I could, obviously I wouldn\u2019t want the competition.\u201d\n\u201cToo bad, maybe if you could you wouldn\u2019t suffer from boredom either.\u201d\n\u201cHmm, interesting insight as always Eternal. Well, I\u2019ll let you get back to it. Oh and just in case you did want my advice, I\u2019d rather you not destroy the so-called heretic shadows. They might not be following you, but they do still worship me.\u201d\n\nAnd once again you wake up, with more dubious advice from your \u201cgod.\u201d You sometimes wonder whenever he does give you any of his wisdom if he wants you to do the exact opposite of what he says, because you practically do every time.\n\nIn any case, you can\u2019t dwell on the nature of the divine at this moment. You\u2019re still left with the decision about how to fix the mess you have to clean up.", "action_results": [{"action": "Go back to the temple and focus on rebuilding", "result": "What few heretical shadows still remain isn\u2019t many and they don\u2019t exactly have any type of leadership anymore. Hunting them all down seems like a waste of your time and possibly manpower, especially since Quala is more hostile and destabilized than ever now. Chances are the heretics will eventually resort to the typical banditry that goes on here and they\u2019ll get wiped out by one of the warlord factions. Even if they manage to join up with any of the factions, they\u2019ll likely abandon their newfound religion in the process.\n\nRebuilding what you have left seems like a better idea at this point, so you send a message out to all your people to leave this war torn land and head back to Delerg.\n\nWhen you arrive in Delerg, your temple seems so much emptier now. Well certainly empty of more adults. You don\u2019t have many Blades left either anymore, only about a dozen from what remains of the original amount you had. Not counting all the ones that never made it out of their tanks or failed Talia\u2019s training when she was trying to bring them into the fold of course.\n\nOrphaned children that are fairly young have so far been taken care of in more communal way as needed, though you ask if Talia wants to take charge of all them in the same way she did the eternals and eventually train them to be Blades. She declines though and says the children should probably start being assigned to a more permanent family arrangement starting with volunteers first.\n\nYou\u2019re confident that the numbers will build back up since there are always people in Delerg that are drawn to join the order. Assuming you have no further major conflict, things should go back to their previous \u201cboring\u201d ways of simple temple routine in no time. This time though you\u2019re looking forward to a bit of boredom. This last major clash has somewhat made you realize that maybe you should be taking it easier in your later years. Not that you\u2019re ready for the grave, but you just aren\u2019t young like you used to be and you can\u2019t single handedly fight entire wars for the shadows anymore even with your increased magical powers. It\u2019s a strain and you\u2019ve got so much on your plate in general.\n\nMaybe Dendrin knew this too and that\u2019s why he suggested that you not hunt down the heretics in that cryptic way that he tends to do. You think back to how you said to him that you couldn\u2019t afford to not be directly involved and relax in the way that he does, and while that is true, there really isn\u2019t any reason why you couldn\u2019t start following his lead just a little. It also makes you start to wonder if he\u2019s been right about a few things.\n\nWeeks and months pass as you go through the motions of temple routine, though it\u2019s been a little different for you somehow. Like you\u2019ve actually started to attempt to find a deeper reason behind the words of all the texts you read from. You don\u2019t know if it\u2019s because you\u2019re trying to embrace this new moment of peace within the shadows (as opposed to the fidgeting boredom you usually suffer from) or if it\u2019s because you\u2019re becoming genuinely interested in the stuff.\n\nAre you finally becoming a \u201cbeliever?\u201d\n\nDendrin claims you already are and it seems impossible, but you have noticed yourself having slightly more civilized conversations with Dendrin as the years have gone on, even agreeing with him at times. You remember practically ranting at him when you were young, in retrospect it\u2019s amazing that he didn\u2019t kill you given his power. He pretty much put up with you and he didn\u2019t have to. He hasn\u2019t helped you in probably the most direct way most of the time, but really would you have wanted him to? Your insistence on always forging your own way was always paramount to you and he probably saw that and acted accordingly by letting you make your own choices.\n\nYou\u2019ve only really prayed genuinely once to Dendrin and that was back when you wanted help with getting the new eternals under control. Even then it was a last ditch reason and you did it more out of selfish desperation rather than any genuine belief. You begin to wonder if it couldn\u2019t hurt to just sincerely pray to him once in a while. Not in the hopes of getting anything out of him, but just\u2026well to show a little bit of gratitude.\n\nIt is probably due to your new found attempt at piety that attracts more people to the temple and restores some of the hope that the shadows will overcome this set back like they have so many before in the past.\n\nYear 60\n\n\u201cOne of the heretics was caught near the temple. He claims that another group stand at the border of Delerg. We confirmed this and most of them haggard and tired looking. This speaker claims that he wishes to speak with you about making peace and an urgent matter.\u201d Brother Gannon says.\n\u201cHmm, have to say I didn\u2019t think they\u2019d last as long as they did. They didn\u2019t mention what this so called urgent matter was about?\u201d you reply.\n\u201cNo, just that it was of great importance to anyone who reveres Dendrin.\u201d\n\u201cProbably a trick of some sort, you should just have all of them killed.\u201d Glen remarks.\n\u201cYes, that would be the safe bet, but I suppose it wouldn\u2019t hurt to listen seeing as I\u2019m not particularly worried about them. Drag him in, but keep a tight hold on him.\u201d\n\u201cVery well Shadow Master.\u201d Glen says.\n\nThe heretic is brought in and he certainly is a miserable looking wretch. It isn\u2019t due to any roughing up by your own shadows either, as he was confirmed to be in the same state as the rest of his fellows waiting for him. He\u2019s very nervous and looking around as much as he can while two of the Blades grasp his arms and several other shadows look on at the proceedings.\n\n\u201cWell? We don\u2019t have all day. Out with it heretic scum!\u201d Talia demands before you can say anything.\n\n\u201cOh! Right\u2026uh\u2026Shadow Master I beg you in Dendrin\u2019s name to call off your assassins! We have seen that Theo\u2019s teachings were the improper doctrine! We submit to your rule as the rightful chosen one of Dendrin himself and ask for mercy by allowing us to merge with the true and only temple dedicated to him!\u201d the heretic whines. You certainly weren\u2019t expecting this, and you\u2019re also wondering about these assassins.\n\n\u201cAssassins? We haven\u2019t sent anyone to seek out your destruction. If that were the case we would\u2019ve done it years ago.\u201d\n\u201cYou\u2026haven\u2019t? But that seems impossible.\u201d\n\u201cWhy? It isn\u2019t like shadows are well accepted anywhere else except Delerg as you surely know. What makes you think it isn\u2019t General Ackerson or any of the many other warlords in the area?\u201d\n\u201cNo, he is too busy fighting Mog, Son of Flog\u2019s orc and ogre horde in Rask. Rumors are he\u2019s sick as well and his underlings are already squabbling over who is going to take power when he\u2019s gone. As for other warlords, they aren\u2019t a threat to us, at least not in any meaningful way, and most of them are too direct and unsophisticated to engage in the terror tactics that your assassins have. Your assassins tell us that they are the hand of justice in Dendrin\u2019s name.\u201d\n\u201cAs I said we have sent no assassins. I don\u2019t know what kind of game you\u2019re playing, but I\u2019m not falling for it.\u201d\n\u201cNo please wait! Maybe you didn\u2019t send the assassins, but if that\u2019s true then this is more alarming news! Because they\u2019re using shadow magic to accomplish their tasks! If it isn\u2019t you or anyone in your order as you say, who are they? And will they attack you as well?\u201d\n\nThis does give you a bit of pause though it\u2019s hard to tell with someone that\u2019s supposed to be your enemy. He does look quite sincere in his words and his fear.\n\nIf it wasn\u2019t any of your people, then who would it be? It\u2019s quite possible that it\u2019s just another rogue group that split off from the original heretics and formed yet a third faction of shadows. Of course if that was the case, they should know about it instead of jumping to the conclusion that it is you.\n\nOf course this could all still be just an elaborate trick. Perhaps an attempt to make you suspicious of people in your own group carrying out tasks that you didn\u2019t order. There\u2019s also the other urgent matter that they said they had to tell you, which you question the heretic on.\n\n\u201cSo what is this other urgent matter you had to tell us?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cOh, yes that, well there are rumors that Warden Matron Brenda of Nalin is planning on invading Delerg.\u201d\n\u201cWhat? I know she hates the shadows, but reports have always established that she has never set sights on anything north of the Nalin province. She doesn\u2019t even have an established presence in Quala.\u201d Talia remarks.\n\u201cWell, I didn\u2019t say she planned on holding the territory, just that she was planning on invading it. I don\u2019t know. It is what we have heard in our travels to get here.\u201d\n\u201cCould be Brenda that\u2019s sending the assassins then and using something similar to shadow magic that these blasphemous fools are taking as the real thing. Maybe we should prepare ourselves, after killing these heretics of course.\u201d Glen remarks.\n\n\u201cBut we\u2019re sincere! I\u2019M sincere! How\u2026how about we prove ourselves by being judged directly by Dendrin himself? You could perform the initiation ritual to open the portal to his realm. If he accepts our forgiveness then surely that would be proof that our hearts and souls are truthful, right? If he doesn\u2019t then we won\u2019t survive the process anyway.\u201d The heretic exclaims.\n\u201cWell, that would be one way of ensuring their dedication I suppose.\u201d Talia says to you.", "action_results": [{"action": "Perform the initiation ritual", "result": "\u201cVery well, you and what remains of your people may come back to the true temple of Dendrin if he sees fit to forgive you for your transgressions. Glen, get the rest of this miserable lot back here and I\u2019ll prepare the ritual.\u201d\n\u201cIt will be done.\u201d Glen says and gathers some of the Blades to help him.\n\n\u201cAs for you, what is your name?\u201d you ask the heretic.\n\u201cRemi, Shadow Master.\u201d\n\u201cRemi, you\u2019re going to be held outside, I don\u2019t want your heretic ass befouling the temple until it\u2019s time to throw you into the portal.\u201d\n\nThe two Blades holding him take him away and you head off to go get yourself prepared.\n\n\u201cSo what do you think about the potential invasion business?\u201d Talia asks.\n\u201cI\u2019m going to deal with this first and worry about that afterwards, but I don\u2019t think there\u2019s anything to it. Just rumors.\u201d\n\u201cI agree. I\u2019m surprised that you\u2019re giving the heretics a second chance though.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m not. Dendrin is. Well maybe he is, for all I know he\u2019ll still see them as potential troublemakers and do away with them. I\u2019m wondering who is killing them though, because while I don\u2019t think its Brenda behind this, I\u2019m not convinced that we\u2019re necessarily safe. For all we know after they\u2019re done targeting these heretics they could be coming after us.\u201d\n\u201cWait, so do you think it was good idea to allow them to join?\u201d\n\u201cAs I said I\u2019m putting this in Dendrin\u2019s hands. Whoever has been targeting the heretics will most likely show themselves to us a lot sooner. Besides I\u2019d rather they did, since they\u2019re also performing acts that weren\u2019t sanctioned by this temple or masquerading as shadows.\u201d\n\nAs you gather up the components needed to perform the ritual from your room, you hear a lot of noise coming from the ground floor. An alarm has been raised. It would seem that the assassins have decided to show themselves right now. You quickly run up stairs and find mass chaos and\n\n\u201cWe\u2019re being attacked! I was standing outside watching the Blades guards the heretic and then all of a sudden five shadows materialized right beside the three of them and killed them! I didn\u2019t even sense them! None of us did!\u201d Gannon remarks.\n\u201cI was inside, but he\u2019s right I didn\u2019t sense anyone cloaked. You have the best abilities in such matter, did you sense an intruding presence of any kind?\u201d Talia says.\n\u201cNo\u2026but how many did you say there were?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cAt least five! Maybe more!\u201d Gannon answers.\n\u201cOdd, I\u2019m only sensing one hostile presence in the area. Where are the rest of the Blades?\u201d\n\u201cMost of them are still out with the heretics, I\u2019ve had the temple doors locked tight so whoever they are can\u2019t get in, but we\u2019re going to have to fight this one out. We\u2019ll all go out there together in a show of force and\u2026\u201d\n\nYou raise your hand up and shake your head.\n\n\u201cNo Talia, I don\u2019t think that\u2019ll be necessary. I know who the attacker is.\u201d You say and head towards the main temple doors.\n\u201cWait where are you going?\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m facing the attacker myself. They deserve that much.\u201d\n\u201cWait! You can\u2019t go out there alone! We don\u2019t know how many there are and\u2026\u201d\n\u201cAs I have said. There is only one, they\u2019re just really quick and probably using some sort of mirror image. Trust me. Better yet, trust in Dendrin.\u201d You tell Talia with a smile.\n\nTalia says nothing else; her mouth opens to do so, but realizes that you won\u2019t be swayed by anything. Instead she just looks a bit upset.\n\n\u201cTalia, whatever happens, know that I love you.\u201d you say before exiting the temple and closing the temple doors again.\n\nYou walk down the steps and on to the soft ground and look around at your surroundings. To the left you see the bloody bodies of your two Blades and Remi. One clean cut to each of their throats.\n\n\u201cCyrus, you might as well come out. I know its you.\u201d you say.\n\nWithin a few moments a figure materializes in front of you and it is ideed Cyrus. He\u2019s much older looking now of course, but it\u2019s him. He\u2019s also much paler, unnaturally so. You notice his right hand is also sporting a couple missing fingers. Whatever he\u2019s been up to has taken a toll on his body.\n\n\u201cRemember the days when you couldn\u2019t cast a simple cloak spell without tiring yourself out.\u201d Cyrus asks. \u201cNow look at you with your superior extra sensory abilities. You even knew who it was.\u201d\n\u201cWell, given the heretic\u2019s story and the fact that I could only sense a single attacker, I sort of figured it would be you. Why have you come back Cyrus?\u201d\n\u201cIt was not my intention I assure you. I merely wanted to punish the rest of the heretics. I had thought that their plan to come here was going to finish the job for me, but I was surprised to learn that you have decided to show them mercy. When did this happen? When did the great Shadow Master become so lenient against those that have defied him?\u201d\n\u201cIt was decided that the heretics are going to be judged by Dendrin himself. If he sees them as a threat or unforgivable then they will presumably die for their crimes. If not then they will be accepted back. I see no leniency.\u201d\n\u201cOh no? That was more of a choice than I got.\u201d\n\u201cWell perhaps you are right\u2026perhaps you should also get a chance to come back. Did you want\u2026\u201d\n\u201cWhat I want is for YOU to hand over the rest of the heretics or kill them yourself! They are traitors and deserve to die!\u201d\n\u201cCyrus, you\u2019ve dispensed enough of your brand of justice on them. So much so that they\u2019ve run to back to us pleading for help and willing to submit to Dendrin\u2019s judgment, is that not justice?\u201d\n\u201cThey need to die! THAT is Dendrin\u2019s justice! Justice that wasn\u2019t being pursued until I took matters into my own hands. You know. I accepted a lot. I accepted the fact that you were a better warrior than me. I accepted that you were the chosen one of Dendrin. I even accepted it when you killed my Dravin. I accepted exile and a life of wandering. But never once did I think you weren\u2019t up to the task of being a good Shadow Master, until you failed to finish off the heretics. And now, you\u2019re accepting them back into the fold? This is a bigger blasphemy than what Brother Theo pulled! If you continue to protect them I will see to it that you suffer the same punishment!\u201d\n\u201cSo now you know better then Dendrin?\u201d\n\nCyrus is exasperated by your remark and takes a moment to form his new arguments inbetween his huffing and puffing.\n\n\u201cDo not twist my words! And you stand there as if YOU know Dendrin? Hah! You don\u2019t even fucking believe in him! Yes, I know you. I know that you\u2019re just playing a role that you don\u2019t even believe yourself! Even back when we were just fresh out of training I always sensed that your heart and soul was never truly dedicated to the cause! Your whole life has been a fraud!\u201d\n\nYour calm demeanor begins to crack at this remark.\n\n\u201cNot dedicated? After all the countless battles I\u2019ve engaged in personally and the leadership roles I\u2019ve taken to keep the shadows alive and you question my dedication? Cyrus, I\u2019m not going to deny that you are right in that I wasn\u2019t always the strongest of faith. I\u2019ll stand here and shout it in front of the fucking temple and throughout this forsaken swamp that I was practically a heathen most of the time. But people change. I changed. Perhaps I have been a fraud for most of my life, but are you just so damn jealous and bitter that it wasn\u2019t you?\u201d\n\nCyrus gets in your face, but you make no defensive move. You don\u2019t even flinch. Though several of the shadows and Talia are watching from the temple. You sense they want to move in, but you wave them back without looking in their direction.\n\n\u201cYES! YES I AM SO DAMN JEALOUS! WHY WAS IT YOU?! WHY WASN\u2019T IT ME!? I WAS THE LOYAL ONE! I WAS THE ONE WHO ALWAYS BELIEVED! I (Sob) WAS THE\u2026(Sob) Why, why, why didn\u2019t he ever speak to me again?\u201d Cyrus crumples down to the ground and breaks down in tears. You crouch beside him.\n\n\u201cCyrus, I don\u2019t have an answer. Dendrin does what he wants because he\u2019s more powerful than the rest of us. That\u2019s the cynical answer and that\u2019s the answer I\u2019ve believed for years. I probably still do a little bit, but in recent years I\u2019ve come to the conclusion that maybe there is a plan of some sort even if I don\u2019t understand all of it. If there wasn\u2019t Dendrin wouldn\u2019t have chosen me at all and guided me in the unique way that he does right from the start. Cyrus, you can come back to us too. It isn\u2019t too late. You don\u2019t even need to submit to the ritual, I know that you\u2019re more dedicated to Dendrin\u2019s true teachings than anyone.\u201d\n\nYou smile and extend your hand to help Cyrus up. He wipes his face and looks at you for a moment. He attempts to smile back, but it turns into a pained expression.\n\n\u201cSorry Shadow Master, but I can\u2019t play second fiddle anymore. At least I\u2019ll be remembered for this!\u201d he says grabbing your hand to pull you forward and with lightning speed he plunges a dagger into your heart.\n\nThe last thing you hear as your body collapses to the ground are several screams followed by a lot of yelling. Then everything goes black and you feel numb.\n\n\u201cAm I dead?\u201d you ask floating in the void.\n\u201cWell it\u2019s not good.\u201d You hear Dendrin say.\n\u201cI don\u2019t imagine it is. I suppose you\u2019re going to say I should\u2019ve listened from the beginning and that Cyrus was going to be trouble again.\u201d\n\u201cNo, it worked out better this way.\u201d\n\u201cWhat, you wanted him to kill me and take over?\u201d\n\u201cNot at all, in fact Cyrus didn\u2019t live long enough to enjoy killing you. He was riddled with bolts by the Blades who were just returning when this happened. Though I think he could\u2019ve easily avoided the attack and he actually let them kill him\u2026just like you allow him to kill you. Why? Were you finally tired of life?\u201d\n\u201cNo\u2026I just\u2026I dunno I was really attempting to get through to him. I knew it would probably fail, but I had to try. When his eyes gave away his intentions, I knew that he wouldn\u2019t be happy unless he killed me. He was either going to succeed or fail, but I decided to put it in your hands. Seems hard to believe that I\u2019d do anything like this.\u201d\n\u201cWell as you said in your speech to Cyrus, you changed. Unfortunately Cyrus never did, though I say unfortunately for him. You\u2019ll be fine. Off you go and thanks for believing in me.\u201d\n\nWith those last words from Dendrin you suddenly wake up exactly where you fell. You find yourself surrounded by shadows and Talia weeping over your body, though she stops when you appear to be alive again.\n\n\u201cHe\u2019s alive!\u201d Glen shouts and tells some of the others to back off.\n\u201cLook! His chest wound is gone as well! Truly this must be Dendrin\u2019s work, to bring our Shadow Master back from the dead like this!\u201d\n\nWhile several of the other shadows begin to cheer, fawn and act generally awe stricken, Talia merely holds you tightly happy that you\u2019re still alive. As you hug her back, you\u2019re glad to be alive as well.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 75\n\n\u201cSeems hard to believe that we haven\u2019t had any major conflict in over a decade.\u201d Talia says.\n\u201cWhat is harder to believe is that I stopped missing it. But I imagine the major powers are too busy fighting over the Quala region to worry about us as usual. I mean you\u2019ve got the Empire of Nalin, Drog Son of Mog\u2019s Horde and even the Felkan Kingdom all annexing portions of it.\u201d\n\u201cWho do you think will win it?\u201d\n\u201cThe Nalin Empire will probably take most of it. Their new ruler Tarna is very ambitious as she started laying groundwork to invade Quala soon after Brenda\u2019s suicide\u2026which was pretty suspicious anyway. I\u2019m sure Drog is ambitious too, but predictably his son Og will soon challenge him for leadership and they\u2019ll resort to infighting as usual. As for the Felkan Kingdom, I believe the only reason why they started eating up land from Arat to Quala is to initially stop the on going anarchy that was starting to cross over into their borders. I think when they finally reach borders with Nalin, the expansion for them will halt and then it\u2019ll be a long stand off\u2026history repeats itself again.\u201d\n\u201cYou sound a bit concerned.\u201d\n\u201cWell, I\u2019m fairly confident that we won\u2019t be attacked anytime soon, but as I said, history repeats itself and you\u2019re always going to get that one leader that\u2019s determined to prove themselves no matter how foolish the odds.\u201d\n\u201cEven against a chosen one of a god?\u201d Talia chuckles.\n\u201cEspecially against a chosen one of a god, even if only to claim they defied the divine.\u201d\n\u201cIs that what you would\u2019ve done?\u201d\n\u201cOf course.\u201d You laugh. \u201cBut as I said, I do not believe an attack will come in our time. It\u2019s going to come after us, I don\u2019t know how long, but the shadows are going to have to be prepared.\u201d\n\u201cDendrin, will look over them as he always has.\u201d\n\u201cI sure hope so, because I can\u2019t do it forever. I may be an Eternal, but I\u2019m not eternal. I\u2019ve been studying some of our members as a potential successor, but I\u2019m still not sure if any of them are up to the task.\u201d\n\u201cYou have? I didn\u2019t know.\u201d\n\u201cWell unless Dendrin tells me himself who he wants as his chosen, it\u2019s sort of up to me and nobody has told me they\u2019ve been speaking to him on a regular basis either.\u201d\n\u201cActually you never told anyone either until years later.\u201d\n\u201cYeah, but that was a little different\u2026besides I\u2019m also pondering a more permanent solution to our potential safety issues.\u201d\n\u201cOh? What\u2019s that?\u201d\n\u201cThe Ritual of Ascension\u201d\n\nTalia is a little taken back by your statement. The Ritual of Ascension was supposedly passed down from Dendrin himself to the first Shadow Master, telling him that it was only to be used if he felt the shadows were ready for it.\n\nThe results are not entirely clear on what it does, but what Dendrin explained is that it would unify the shadows to his own realm forever. Not just in a spiritual sense, but in a very real physical sense. The shadows essentially would become REAL shadows. Incorporeal and no longer susceptible to the weaknesses that most beings suffer. At least that\u2019s what you think happens.\n\nObviously no Shadow Master ever felt this way for any reason. Even during the time under the Empire, it was never seriously considered as a solution to the problem, which gives an indication to how this ritual is viewed with more awe and fear than anything else.\n\nStill, the procedures of the ritual do exist and they have been written down. Dendrin passed them to the shadows obviously believing that one day it would be used so you don\u2019t see why you shouldn\u2019t consider it as an option.\n\nIn the meantime Talia has gotten over her surprise.\n\n\u201cWell, if you believe that we are worthy and ready, then I will certainly follow you in performing this ritual. I believe everyone will, there is no question about that. You have lead the shadows through some of the toughest conflicts in our long history. You\u2019ve even returned from death itself because Dendrin believed your work here was not done. Perhaps this is why.\u201d\n\u201cHeh, I never thought about that before. Still, perhaps I should consult Dendrin about this before making a final decision.\u201d You say.\n\u201cOf course. Obtaining his guidance in this very important matter would be essential.\u201d\n\nLater that night you pray to Dendrin and go to sleep fully expecting him to see him soon\u2026\n\nBut nothing happens.\n\nYou do this night after night until four months go by, and still you get no sign. Dendrin not speaking to you for month or even years on end is nothing new to you, but in every instance where you\u2019ve directly requested his guidance he has always appeared. Not this time.\n\nYou start to wonder if him not appearing is a sign that maybe you shouldn\u2019t go through with this ritual. Of course maybe this is one of those decisions that\u2019s so important that you need to make it for yourself. Are you ready? Do you consider the rest of the shadows ready?\n\nYou know everyone now is a loyal worshipper of Dendrin and have an equal amount of faith in you as well. You really don\u2019t see how they could be any more ready than they are now. They won\u2019t fear the unknown no matter what it is, as long as they trust in Dendrin. Becoming one with Dendrin seems like it would be ideal to most in the order, though perhaps you have a few reservations about it for a few reasons, but then maybe that\u2019s why the ritual has never seriously been considered in the past by other Shadow Masters.\n\nMaybe it hasn\u2019t been just you. Maybe they all had their doubts about Dendrin\u2019s plan. Maybe it\u2019s just a natural thing when it comes to being \u201ca leader.\u201d\n\nYou don\u2019t fear death. You\u2019ve always accepted it from the first time Mistress put the boot to your chest and demanded that you beg for your life to the time when you stood your ground against Cyrus without fighting back. You always believed you were going to die (well permanently anyway) either in combat or through some sort of violence, but it\u2019s starting to look like you\u2019ll end up dying as an old man in your sleep. Nothing wrong with that.\n\nYour concern is what exactly happens to you after you perform this ritual? Are you dead? Are you alive? Are you something else? Will you still be on this world? There are so many questions and one of them is will you be better off in this form, or is death better?\n\nYou already assume that when you die, you\u2019ll be in Dendrin\u2019s realm. That being your understanding of how death in the service of a god works. What makes this different? Would you just be speeding up the process in some sort of mass suicide?\n\nThe fact is, you won\u2019t know unless you go through with it.", "action_results": [{"action": "Perform the ritual", "result": "There were a lot of things you didn\u2019t have full knowledge on and you risked going through with your ideas anyway. Seems to have worked so far, and since you\u2019ve never been one to play it too safe, you\u2019ll go through with the Ascension Ritual.\n\nAfter another couple days of being completely sure of your dedication, you make the announcement to everyone. Many of the shadows immediately cheer at the news, others aren\u2019t entirely sure what you\u2019re talking about which isn\u2019t surprising since the Ascension Ritual isn\u2019t common knowledge to the newer shadows. Still when you explain it, they all seem excited about the plan. The ritual takes a bit of planning on your part, but eventually you\u2019ve got everything in place.\n\nWhen the time comes you stand outside the temple in front of the several hundred shadows with their heads down in prayer. From the ones nearly as old as you to the ones that are barely out of the crib, all shadows are lending their own energy and faith to your own in the effort of pulling off this historical moment.\n\nTalia stands by your side as always. You look at her and wonder if you would\u2019ve even come this far if you hadn\u2019t fallen in love with her. Of course maybe that was part of Dendrin\u2019s plan too.\n\n\u201cDendrin, we are your shadows! We have served your will for centuries no matter what the struggles. From before the Empire and through it, and after it\u2019s inevitable demise. We will always be your faithful servants in the years to come. These forms however are limited and we would wish to continue serving you in a less restrictive one. We feel we are ready. I feel we are ready. This is the destiny of the shadows! We will become one with you forever at last!\u201d you say and then begin the incantations.\n\nMost of your people recite what you say in unison while others stand at the far ends and chant supporting verses, which are essential to the ritual. Talia is also chanting yet another portion of it while making gestures with her hands to begin the first part of opening up the portal to Dendrin\u2019s realm. This part is is almost like the initiation ritual, but of course much more complex and involved.\n\nA large portal opens up above all of you and darkness spreads across the sky, even beyond your own area. There is no wind or lightning or anything that most would connect with such a grand attempt altering reality. Instead, it remains true to Dendrin, and it just gets very dark and you start to feel a tingling numbness.\n\nYou begin to see some of the shadows fall to the ground. You don\u2019t know if they\u2019ve died or just fainted. None of them are deterred though; they all continue to perform their parts for as long as they are able. This is like one of your personal encounters with Dendrin when you\u2019ve slept, but instead everyone is experiencing it in the real world. You begin to feel all five of your senses becoming non-existent and the numbness is close to complete at this point.\n\nEventually you can\u2019t even see most of the shadows in front of you and you can hardly hear them anymore. Still you know you\u2019re on the right path, the blackness is engulfing everything. You briefly look over at Talia who is barely visible now. She continues to chant like a true believer that she\u2019s always been.\n\nA few minutes pass and you soon can\u2019t hear anything except your own voice now and even that is very faint, though you can\u2019t be sure it\u2019s due to losing your hearing or your voice. Probably both. You look over one more time at Talia who you see start to teeter from exhaustion. You see her look over at you as well before you lose sight of her completely to the blackness.\n\nYou continue to silently chant while your mind fights the fatigue you\u2019re experiencing. It feels like you\u2019ve been doing this forever, but you have to finish. You wonder what\u2019s happening to everyone else. You wonder if they\u2019re still alive. You wonder if Talia is still alive.\n\n\u201cEternal, do you know what you do?\u201d you hear inside your head. It\u2019s Dendrin, he\u2019s made his presence known at last. You can\u2019t talk to him though, you need to focus.\n\n\u201cEternal, once you complete this ritual there will be no going back. Things will never be the same and I do not believe the results will be what you envisioned.\u201d\n\nHe\u2019s testing you. He is always testing you. Of course the results won\u2019t be what you envisioned! For one thing you went into this not knowing what was going to happen exactly. Second of all when it comes to Dendrin you know that nothing ever happens the exact way it should. That doesn\u2019t matter though, because things always work out in the end.\n\n\u201cEternal, are you sure this is what you want?\u201d\n\nOf course it is. You want the shadows to be free of anymore harm. You\u2019ve been their shepherd for over decades now. They would\u2019ve ultimately been destroyed without you. When you\u2019re gone the shadows will fall prey to something else, whether it be from external forces or internal ones. Dendrin still cares very little for them despite his fondness for you. Dendrin knows this as well, that\u2019s why he had the plan to make YOU care.\n\nYou see that now. You see it all so clearly no.\n\nBy directly uniting the shadows with Dendrin, the problems of the past will no longer apply. The shadows will be an extension of Dendrin himself and he\u2019ll have no choice but to care.\n\nYou begin the finishing lines of the ritual.\n\n\u201cVery well, I can see you have made your decision\u2026an interesting one and you\u2019ll get your wish. Farewell Eternal, I shall always remember you as you were and your deeds, even if nobody else will.\u201d\n\nWith those last words you succumb to absolute numbness. Your mind however is being bombarded with the voices of hundreds of voices. Many of them confused and scared, you can\u2019t help but feel similar, you don\u2019t know where you are. Are you still at the temple? Are you dead? Are you in Dendrin\u2019s realm?\n\nYour mind calls out to the rest of the voices to cease, but it\u2019s of little help. You keep trying until you hear one familiar voice in the crowd.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019ve done it my love. We have joined with Dendrin! Join with the rest of us!\u201d\n\u201cTalia? Where are you?\u201d\n\u201cAm I everywhere! We are everywhere! Do you not sense it?\u201d\n\u201cI can\u2019t sense anything. All I hear is the noise of voices.\u201d\n\u201cIgnore them, eventually all of them will be silenced and it will soon just be one voice. I was singled out by Dendrin to help guide you though.\u201d\n\u201cI don\u2019t understand, are we dead? Where are we?\u201d\n\u201cYou will understand everything when you let go. You once told me to trust you, now I\u2019m asking you to trust me\u2026better yet trust in Dendrin.\u201d\n\nTalia was your link to the shadows for the longest time and now she\u2019s your link one last time. You let go and eventually the voices become quieter and quieter and then silent.\n\nThen nothingness\u2026\n\nIn the days following the Shadow Rift of Delerg, several of the super powers fighting over the Quala region actually stopped fighting for a moment out fear that something much worse potentially threatened them all. A united group of explorers eventually traveled into the shadow covered Delerg province to see what was going on.\n\nThey returned unscathed, but said the swamps were now completely devoid of life. The largest settlement Sinkhole was now a ghost town and the Shadow Temple was completely gone. As if it had never existed. Nobody knew what to make of this so for awhile there was an uneasy peace.\n\nYears passed and eventually the same lusts for power started cropping up again and eventually it was business as usual. Delerg was still off limits to most people, but not considered particularly dangerous. Every once in awhile a group of adventurers would explore it, in some attempt to find hidden treasures of the mysterious shadow order, but these always ended in failure.\n\nWithin a century the shadows that once blanketed Delerg began to disappear and once again life started to flourish there. People even started moving there to live again and as with all things, another government eventually placed its flag in the area declaring the land as its own.\n\nAs for the shadows, they lived on as a memory and in time that memory faded into legend and then forgotten completely.\n\nExcept by one being, who had long moved on from this world to seek out a new one to with which to entertain itself.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Train a successor", "result": "There is too much that is unknown to you about the Ascension Ritual that you don\u2019t want to risk it. Maybe it would result in better protection, but at what cost? The problem is you don\u2019t know what the cost is and Dendrin isn\u2019t forth coming about the information anytime soon.\n\nThere is also placing faith in others to think about. You mainly considered the Ascension Ritual because you had concerns about any successor doing your job as well as you could, but really the shadows have had many Shadow Masters in the past and the order never suffered complete destruction. They endured centuries under the Empire, and they\u2019ll easily endure centuries now that they aren\u2019t under it. If anything the shadows are in the best position than they ever have been.\n\nYou tell Talia that you\u2019ve decided to train a successor and that you\u2019d like her help on the matter. She of course agrees, but asks you about the Ascension Ritual.\n\n\u201cThere\u2019s no need for it. The shadows will be alright without me.\u201d You say with a smile. \u201cBut we should still pick the best candidate for the position just to be sure.\u201d\n\nThe follow days are busy ones after you announce that you\u2019re choosing a successor. This news is somewhat surprising since you\u2019re so well respected that it is almost inconceivable that you\u2019ll die one day (Especially since you\u2019ve come back to life once already). Still, those that are chosen are very honored that they have been considered for the position.\n\n\u201cHow come you chose all younger shadows? I would\u2019ve thought you would\u2019ve chosen those more experienced.\u201d Talia asks.\n\u201cIf I was going to do that, I would\u2019ve just made you my successor and been done with it. But since I don\u2019t plan on dying just yet, I figure it would be better for when the inevitable does happen the successor won\u2019t be ready for the grave themselves. Besides, it\u2019s easier to train young people they aren\u2019t set in their ways of doing things yet.\u201d\n\u201cI suppose that\u2019s true. I just realized that most of these candidates were born after the Empire fell. That almost seems surreal that most of them only know about the Empire through stories now. The youngest one here\u2026Sister Celia is only twenty years old. She was just coming into this world as you were putting an end to Theo\u2019s rebellion.\u201d\n\u201cYet she\u2019s one of the main candidates I\u2019m leaning towards. She has shown a lot of promise both magically and combat wise. I believe Glen saw her as a potential future Blade, but I think she\u2019d make a fine successor if she passes the tests. She has proven to be wise for her age as well.\u201d\n\u201cYou seem to be quite fond of her.\u201d Talia remarks.\n\u201cYou aren\u2019t jealous are you?\u201d you chuckle.\n\u201cPfft, hardly. I\u2019m still an Eternal and there\u2019s no way any mere human girl could compete with me for your affections. If I believed that to be the case, then I\u2019d just call for you to step down as Shadow Master right now because obviously you\u2019d gone feeble minded with age.\u201d\n\nThis last remark causes you to laugh out loud in agreement before kissing her in a loving manner. It is true though, probably more than Talia even realizes. If you hadn\u2019t fallen in love with her, you question if you would\u2019ve ever stuck with the shadows in those early years. Cyrus\u2019 last rant that somewhat \u201coutted\u201d you as unbeliever back in the day never was questioned since Dendrin brought you back from the dead. It was more than enough proof that you were his chosen and believer now.\n\nStill, you\u2019ve gotten the impression that Talia has almost wanted to ask you for a little more detail on that matter, but she never has. Of course, maybe she always had her suspicions and didn\u2019t care since she knew you were still doing what she saw as the right thing. On that matter you\u2019ve almost wanted to ask her, but you never have.\n\nSome things are better left unsaid especially if they aren\u2019t true anymore.\n\nAfter the first day of testing the candidates, you finally get a visit from Dendrin that night.\n\n\u201cSo, you\u2019ve finally decided to train a successor. Gone are the plans for the Ascension Ritual?\u201d\n\u201cIs that what you wanted? Because I tried to ask you, but I got no answer.\u201d\n\u201cAnd you\u2019ll continue to get no answer. That\u2019s something only you can decide, besides I think our relationship has worked best when I let you make your own decisions. Are you confident in your decision?\u201d\n\u201cYes, I am.\u201d\n\u201cThen that\u2019s all that matters. I\u2019m sure it will work out fine.\u201d\n\u201cWill you still be watching over the shadows after I\u2019m gone?\u201d\n\u201cThat, I will answer, but I can\u2019t give a solid one because I haven\u2019t made up my mind yet. I hate to tell you this, because you\u2019ve been so very interesting, but you\u2019ve started to become dull to watch lately. This isn\u2019t your fault though; you are mortal and getting old. It was bound to happen that you would start slowing down eventually. This latest dilemma that you were having about the Ascension Ritual was the most interesting you\u2019ve been in years.\u201d\n\nYou don\u2019t know quite how to respond. You\u2019re not angry. You\u2019ve passed that stage long ago. You are somewhat insulted though, since despite it all, Dendrin has always been fascinated by your actions. Takes a bit of wind out of your sails to hear he\u2019s getting bored even by you. Disheartening even, especially since you\u2019ve taken the steps to best ensure the survival of the shadows as well as making your own leap of faith.\n\n\u201cYeah, well we can\u2019t all be deities.\u201d You answer, as you do not wish to argue.\n\u201cNo, but perhaps\u2026\u201d\n\u201cWhat?\u201d you ask, but all you hear is Dendrin speaking to himself.\n\n\u201c\u2026hmmm\u2026maybe that would work\u2026but\u2026no\u2026I suppose I could try that\u2026yes that will take time\u2026but then\u2026oh well if it doesn\u2019t work it\u2019s no loss of mine anyway.\u201d\n\u201cWhat are you talking about?\u201d you ask again.\n\u201cCan\u2019t talk right now. I need to work on some things. As I said you\u2019ve got the situation well in hand it looks like, so I\u2019ll speak to you again when you die.\u201d\n\u201cWait!\u201d you say and then you wake up.\n\nYou spend the next few days wondering what Dendrin has planned, but of course you can\u2019t really know. All you do know is he promised to speak with you when you die, whenever that is, hopefully not too soon.\n\nRealizing that you can\u2019t worry or actually do anything about it, you focus your attention back to testing the potential candidates. By the end Celia does indeed prove to be the best one and you make it official.\n\n\u201cSister Celia, I hope you realize that by being chosen, a great amount of responsibility will be placed upon you. I also hope you will be prepared to endure whatever it is that I will ask of you.\u201d you start to say.\n\u201cOf course Shadow Master I\u2026\u201d\n\u201cThe Shadow Master was not finished speaking! Speak when you are allowed to do so!\u201d Talia snaps causing Celia to shut up immediately.\n\n\u201cAs I was saying, you will be working closely with me directly or Talia in most cases, but who knows where you may need to be sent in the future. Perhaps we will need to send someone to speak with the Warden Matron of the Nalin Empire. Perhaps you will have to patrol the Delerg border with your fellow shadows. Any and all of these tasks from the complex to the mundane may be asked of you, because if you are to perform the duties of the Shadow Master you will need to be skilled in everything. Dendrin may watch over us, but that does not mean you can rely on him to pull you out of every situation. He favors the strong and the intelligent that can be self-reliant first and foremost. Remember this.\u201d\n\nAfter a bit of silence Celia realizes that she can now speak when you nod to her.\n\n\u201cI will Shadow Master. I will.\u201d\n\u201cGood. That will be all for today. I suggest you get some rest, for tomorrow you will begin your TRUE training.\u201d You say and dismiss her.\n\nAfter she leaves you turn back to Talia.\n\n\u201cNice job in putting a little fear into the girl, though I can\u2019t help but think you enjoyed that a bit.\u201d\n\u201cOf course I did, but I bet she\u2019ll remember not to do it again.\u201d\n\u201cOh of that, I have no doubt. Really as long as she remembers everything we plan to teach her she\u2019ll be fine I think.\u201d\n\u201cHah. No small task.\u201d\n\nTalia\u2019s right about that, it won\u2019t be a small task, not for Celia and not for you either. Still, nothing is worth doing without hard work and that\u2019s basically been your whole life.", "action_results": []}]}]}, {"action": "Have them killed", "result": "You\u2019ve spent a lot of time and effort trying to rebuild what these heretics destroyed and now they want your help? You\u2019re in no mood.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll spare Dendrin\u2019s time and judge you all myself. And that judgment is death, kill this traitor and go wipe out the rest hanging out near our borders.\u201d You say.\n\u201cNo! No wait! Please, you\u2019ve\u2026.\u201d The heretic pleads before one of the Blades cuts his throat. After disposing of him, Glen takes a small group of them to finish off the rest, from what you hear it was easy, but brutal business as usual.\n\nOf course that still leaves a few questions to as who was killing them in the first place. Your guess is if General Ackerson is as sick as the heretic claimed, then perhaps the current power struggle going on involves getting rid of potential wild cards in the nearby region like say groups of fanatical cultists. They are the only nearby major power with battle mages that could reliably emulate the sort of magic the heretics claimed to see.\n\nThe only other power that you know of that has a few magic users is the Nalin Empire, but you can\u2019t see Brenda bothering with such elaborate tactics. She\u2019d be more likely to just send a traditional group of assassins or even a small platoon of well trained warriors and even then only to get rid of the shadows closest to her borders. The rumor that she\u2019s planning to invade Delerg seem like just that, rumors.\n\nStill you tell everyone to keep alert and double your own patrols on the Delerg borders just in case. Not much more you can do except wait.\n\nWeeks and months pass and nobody has invaded or even come close to wandering near the Delerg borders. General Ackerson dies of his illness, the government collapses and Mog takes advantage of the situation, but other than that major change nothing else notable happens in Quala. As for the Nalin Empire, not a peep from them either.\n\nYou stick to your usual heightened alert status for a little while longer, and then eventually relent a bit by the year is over.\n\nYear 63\n\n\u201cI KNEW I should\u2019ve killed that bastard! I KNEW it!\u201d you yell.\n\u201cYou couldn\u2019t have known he\u2019d do something like this.\u201d Talia says in an attempt to calm you.\n\u201cI should\u2019ve known that he\u2019d do SOMETHING though! Fuck! If he wasn\u2019t dead already, I\u2019d personally find him and kill him myself!\u201d\n\nYou\u2019re speaking about Cyrus of course. Years after exiling him you have finally heard from him again in a second hand manner which will plunge you into a war with the Nalin Empire. If the rumors weren\u2019t true before, they\u2019re going to be true soon.\n\nYou aren\u2019t exactly sure what Cyrus was up to during his years in exile, but if you had to guess it was planning some sort of revenge or looking for a way to redeem himself (In retrospect, it wouldn\u2019t surprise you if he had been behind the heretic killings as well)\u2026maybe it was both. Either way the day he assassinated Warden Matron Brenda during a speech to her people the whole time shouting \u201cDown with Empires! Dendrin Forever! Shadows Forever!\u201d is the day he fucked all of you over.\n\nHe apparently didn\u2019t survive too long after that, but you\u2019re guessing he knew it was a suicide mission anyway. Didn\u2019t take long before Brenda\u2019s successor Tarna declared war on you. Makes perfect sense, seeing as their well-respected leader was killed by a shadow. Doesn\u2019t matter if he was a nutter that was acting alone, someone has to pay. Someone also has to be a good scapegoat while Tarna consolidates her own power and gains enough popularity by destroying her predecessor\u2019s old enemies.\n\nThat someone is you naturally.\n\nWhile the Nalin Empire has to actually march an army over Quala before reaching you, the situation isn\u2019t good. Unlike the first time you fought an Empire, you had a lot more support, even after the Gloom incident, you still had the help of the normal people pissed at the Empire everywhere. The old Empire was also already greatly weakened, corrupt and fighting multiple front battles.\n\nNow? You have no such advantage. The Nalin Empire is a strong power on the rise that is now unified by a very ambitious and focused leader who very much wants to add the destruction of the shadows to the first of her great achievements.\n\nThere\u2019s also the fact that you\u2019re no longer a young man anymore. You\u2019re old, tired even. And while you\u2019ll fight harder than someone half your age, the fact remains you\u2019re not as energetic as you once were.\n\nYou bury your hands in your face for a moment just thinking about the shitstorm that is to come. Talia rubs your shoulders.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019ll get through this. Dendrin saw us see victory over one Empire, he\u2019ll let us see victory over another.\u201d She says optimistically.\n\nYou look up at her to see her smiling back. After all these years you still can\u2019t resist her cheerful faith in Dendrin. Quite frankly, you really wish you had listened to Dendrin decades ago when he suggested that you kill Cyrus. You might\u2019ve avoided a lot of unnecessary conflict throughout your time as Shadow Master.\n\nToo late now and no looking back. You\u2019ll deal with this problem as you have with all others that have ever been thrust upon you, which is with a weapon in hand. Not really like you have a choice anyway. You tried to open a dialogue with Tarna, but she isn\u2019t interested in speaking to you.\n\nYear 65\n\nYou look over at the remainder of your shadows. You know that they will fight to the last and for every one of them that falls, they will take ten enemies with them, but this is your last stand.\n\nBy your side stands Talia, even now she holds faith that Dendrin will magically turn the tide of this battle, but you don\u2019t see it happening. In fact you haven\u2019t spoken to him for quite a while. He probably knows when something is coming to an end. He must be still watching since you all have your shadow magic so he hasn\u2019t abandoned you completely.\n\nSeems like he could\u2019ve at least gave you a \u201cGood luck\u201d speech before battle, but who knows? Maybe he doesn\u2019t like goodbyes.\n\nStill, you see no reason you can\u2019t give your own.\n\n\u201cShadows! The enemy is pounding down the door as I speak so I\u2019ll make it brief. Whether we live or die here today is irrelevant. What matters is that fight so furiously that we will always be remembered. If we live, then they will remember to never attack us again.\u201d\n\nYou pause for the next part; because this is what you know will happen.\n\n\u201cIf we die\u2026well they will remember the day they almost lost to a force much smaller than themselves. Perhaps a lesson will be learned that those faithful to Dendrin were a force to be reckoned with during their time on this world. And perhaps from there a seed of intrigue will be planted causing some to seek out his wisdom. For while we may die here, we will still live on forever with Dendrin in the afterlife! And there can be no greater reward than that.\u201d\n\nIt is an inspiring speech and morale is raised. Talia gives you one last hug and kiss afterwards.\n\n\u201cI love you.\u201d she says.\n\u201cAnd I love you.\u201d you reply back.\n\nThe temple doors crack at last and the stone crumbles before the might of the battering ram. Hordes of Nalin troops pour in.\n\nYou embrace your final battle.", "action_results": []}]}, {"action": "Wipe out the rest of the heretics", "result": "If all your years of knowing him has taught you anything, its what\u2019s best for Dendrin hasn\u2019t always been what\u2019s best for you. While rebuilding is certainly going to be a priority, you still need to wipe out the rest of the heretics as well. It\u2019s the only way you\u2019re going to prevent problems in the future.\n\nYou call Glen and the rest of the Blades and tell them that you\u2019ll be heading back to the temple for a break and get some things in order and then you\u2019ll be helping them again soon. In the meantime they can use this place as a base of sorts while attempting to hunt down the rest of the heretics. Glen nods, but has noticed your physical pain increase over the course of this conflict. He suggests that perhaps you shouldn\u2019t worry yourself about it directly as you have more important duties to the shadows and they\u2019re confident that they can handle it.\n\n\u201cGlen, I\u2019m not some crippled old man. I still got fight left in me. I was killing men by the dozens long before you were even thought about. Do not assume just because I have a few extra aches and pains that I\u2019m not fully capable of combat!\u201d you say getting angry at his innocent suggestion.\n\u201cMy apologies Shadow Master. Didn\u2019t mean to offend.\u201d He replies with a nod.\n\u201cNo\u2026no\u2026of course you didn\u2019t. Sorry, this is been a long ordeal and it\u2019s not over yet. Just gets tiring sometimes. Okay, I\u2019m off, I can make it back to the temple by myself, don\u2019t worry about escorting me back.\u201d\n\nGlen is about to ask if you\u2019re sure, but he stops himself from doing so lest he be reprimanded again.\n\nThe journey back to the temple is uneventful. You let everyone know that Theo has been killed, but heretics still remain. You then go on to say that the Blades and yourself will seek the rest out, but everyone else should focus on rebuilding. Talia questions if you should be going.\n\n\u201cI think the Blades can handle whatever pathetic remnants are left of the heretics. You\u2019d probably be better serving here where you can help in the rebuilding process. You know how the shadows like you around as an inspiration.\u201d Talia says.\n\u201cThey should be getting their inspiration from Dendrin and if people liked me so much we wouldn\u2019t have had a civil war. Besides, the shadows will like me more if I\u2019m actively doing something about potential threats in the future. Part of the reason these heretics got out of control in the first place is because I wasn\u2019t paying enough attention. It\u2019s my responsibility to see this through to the end.\u201d You answer.\n\u201cAre you sure that\u2019s what this is about? And not about say\u2026getting old and trying to prove that you\u2019ve still got it?\u201d\n\u201cYou too? I just had to hear this before from Glen. Granted he didn\u2019t say it like you did, but I know damn well he thought it. Let me tell you something, I could still take out every one of those Blades AND the heretics on top of it all by myself!\u201d\n\nTalia smiles a bit and rubs your shoulder.\n\n\u201cYes, I know you could my love. Nobody is truly suggesting that you still aren\u2019t a great warrior, but you don\u2019t have to prove anything to anyone, least of all to me. You don\u2019t need to go wading into battle anymore, those days are past, Dendrin made you Shadow Master not just for your combat skills. You\u2019re a leader and you can allow yourself to rest.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019ll rest when I\u2019m dead. Besides, the last time I got complacent, Theo and Yvette conspired against us, but I\u2019ve said this before.\u201d\n\u201cYes, you have. (Sigh) I suppose you want me to take charge of things here while you go off to prove your alpha maleness. Very well, have fun and be careful.\u201d Talia says and kisses you goodbye.\n\nTalia is right of course. You are doing this mainly to prove you still \u201cgot it.\u201d That you can still travel across the countryside getting into fights. It\u2019s silly and pointless, but its what you want to do and another part of you has missed it.\n\nThe next few weeks you travel with the remaining Blades hunting down heretic hideouts all across Quala. It\u2019s actually amazing how fast some of them have spread out, and they\u2019ve probably spread out even more since the news of their leaders death and how you\u2019re actively hunting them.\n\nThe heretics aren\u2019t the only problem however. You also have to deal with the chaos that\u2019s currently going on in Quala. With Sam and now Theo gone, the region has destabilized again, with several would be leaders all rising up with their own little factions ready to attack anyone who is trespassing on their turf. This doesn\u2019t even include the already established warlords that are eyeing the new leaderless territory that\u2019s ripe for the taking. Even General Ackerson\u2019s troops have been seen patrolling further south than they normally do. Doesn\u2019t help that shadows aren\u2019t really popular for several reasons, but fortunately you can avoid most unnecessary battles due to cloaking.\n\nHowever, you probably don\u2019t do that as much as you should thanks to your mindset of trying to prove something. As a result you lose the remainder of your Blades in a skirmish with a very large group of General Ackerson\u2019s men lead by a battle mage who despite the non aggression pact, decided that you were just too tempting of a target in the \u201cnew land\u201d they recently claimed.\n\nYou manage to drag yourself back to Theo\u2019s old hideout, which you were using as a base, cursing the whole time. You\u2019re wounded and angry that once again you weren\u2019t strong enough to stop something bad from happening, yet not really realizing that it was your arrogance that was the cause of it this time.\n\n\u201cFuck! Shit! I\u2019m not old! I\u2019m not useless! I\u2019m still a warrior!\u201d you say to yourself as you nurse your wounds sitting in the dark farmhouse.\n\u201cNo, I\u2019m afraid your time has passed.\u201d You hear a whispery voice say.\n\nAt first you think its Dendrin since he\u2019s always been one to kick you while you\u2019re down, but then you\u2019re wide awake and he\u2019s never contacted you in that state. Your focus has been so preoccupied with your own pride that you didn\u2019t sense another presence in the farmhouse when you dragged yourself here\u2026\n\nYou turn around just in time to utter \u201cCy\u2026\u201d before you feel a blade slash across your throat.", "action_results": []}]}]}]}, {"action": "Stick with your own plan", "result": "Theo might mean well, but you\u2019re a firm believer that simple plans often work best and since you\u2019ve got the last word, you\u2019re sticking with your original plan.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s a good idea Theo, but I believe it may stir up more attention towards us, if we start attempting to convert people outside Delerg. It may even cause certain warlords to unite against us if they believe us to be threatening enough. Better that we keep our presence to a minimum and especially not try to contact any of them directly. What I want you to do instead is to just keep an eye on Anu and Sam since they\u2019re close by, but since they seem to be content on bashing each other in the head just send some Blades to perform sabotage on both sides just to keep them mired down.\u201d\n\u201cAs you wish Shadow Master.\u201d Theo remarks.\n\u201cThe western Quala warlords seem pretty occupied as well so we don\u2019t need to deal with them either. General Ackerson though I want assassinated. I know he\u2019s attempting to expand into Rask, but the man is the biggest threat as far as powers in Quala and I don\u2019t want him to improve that position in the future. Cyrus, since you\u2019re really eager about doing this, I\u2019m going to leave it up to you who to send, but I imagine you\u2019ll want to oversee things personally.\u201d\n\u201cIt will be done Shadow Master, and thank you.\u201d\n\u201cI believe that\u2019s about it, we can go over more details one on one later.\u201d\n\nAfter the meeting Talia speaks to you directly.\n\n\u201cYou sure you want to leave it to Cyrus? I would\u2019ve thought you would\u2019ve wanted to handle something so important yourself.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m confident that Cyrus can do the job efficiently. If nothing else he\u2019s enthusiastic for things like this. I thought about going too, but I\u2019m slowly begining to realize I\u2019ll be needing to delegate and remaining at this temple more. Besides I\u2019m sure there will be other opportunities to go kill someone. Never seems to be a shortage in fact.\u201d\n\u201cWell that\u2019s true.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m thinking I\u2019ll spend more time looking after the security within the Delerg province. I mean yes we have potential enemies outside the province, but it doesn\u2019t hurt to keep alert in our homestead.\u201d\n\u201cI suppose not, but we\u2019re pretty well liked here.\u201d\n\u201cPerhaps, but if I\u2019ve learned anything, its that enemies can exist anywhere of you look hard enough.\u201d\n\nOver the next few days your initial plans go off quite well. General Ackerson is assassinated successfully and there wasn\u2019t even any indication there was shadow involvement. As of now his group is fighting amongst itself and no longer united. Captain Anu and Sam Jowin have each been suffering set backs and of course blaming each other for them.\n\nYou then relent a bit to let the chaos do its work in Quala until it looks like the place is going to stabilize once again and that\u2019s when you send in shadows to create strife again. It becomes routine just like any of the prayer sessions for Dendrin.\n\nOf course as good as the shadows are, you can\u2019t go undetected forever and eventually someone catches on to what\u2019s really been going happening\u2026\n\n\u201cThere\u2019s a huddled mass of people outside the temple, Shadow Master. We\u2019re keeping them out obviously, but their speaker really wants to see you.\u201d Brother Gannon says to you.\n\u201cWho are these people?\u201d\n\u201cMostly peasants I believe, but they aren\u2019t from Delerg, they\u2019re from Quala. Under Sam\u2019s dominion I think. They say they want our help.\u201d\n\u201cOur help? What\u2019s bringing this on and what makes them think we\u2019re going to help a bunch of unbelievers?\u201d Cyrus asks. In fact you all are wondering what this is all about.\n\n\u201cWell I guess the best way to find out is to ask them. Send in their speaker and keep the rest outside. If anything looks suspicious kill them all.\u201d You say.\n\nBrother Gannon nods and waves in the Qualans\u2019 speaker. While you expect a grubby peasant with dirty clothing to come shuffling in, you instead get a young man dressed in leather armor. Despite his warrior garb he\u2019s nervous. He\u2019s trying his best to be brave, but you sense the fear in him.\n\n\u201cWell? Out with it, you traveled a long way just to waste our time.\u201d Talia remarks.\n\u201cYes, my apologies, um Shadowlord is it?\u201d\n\u201cShadow Master actually, but let\u2019s just get on with why you saw fit to lead a bunch of peasants here and why you think we can even help you.\u201d you say.\n\u201cOh yes that. My name is Flynn and we all live in the Quala Freelands, which as you know is run by Sam Jowin. I myself am a soldier of relatively low rank\u2026and uh\u2026look there\u2019s no easy way of saying this so I guess I\u2019ll get right to it. We want you to kill Sam.\u201d\n\nYou have to admit this wasn\u2019t exactly the sort of help you thought they were going to ask for. You and the rest of your council look at each other before you speak again.\n\n\u201cAnd why do you think we would do that?\u201d\n\u201cBecause you routinely sabotage our side and Captain Anu\u2019s? Because you were most likely involved in the assassination of General Ackerson? It wasn\u2019t apparent at first, but\u2026\u201d\n\u201cNow stop right there for a moment Flynn, and think very carefully on your next words.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2026I\u2019m sorry Shadow Master, but I do not know any other way to put this.\u201d\n\u201cVery well then, let me help you. Even if we were involved in such activities and that\u2019s not an admission, what still makes you think that we would be willing to assassinate your beloved leader?\u201d\n\u201cHe\u2019s NOT a beloved leader! Sam is no better than the tyrannical Emperor that ruled over us before! I will admit during his freedom fighter days he was an inspiration, but now? He\u2019s just another petty warlord that doesn\u2019t give a shit about anything other than his own power!\u201d\n\u201cThat\u2019s a pretty bold statement. I knew Sam during the Empire War years and even fought along side him a couple times. He was always a fair man from what I knew of him and cared for those under his command.\u201d Theo remarks.\n\u201cYeah, well he\u2019s changed drastically since then, the things he\u2019s done... the things I\u2019ve had to do in his service\u2026I do not even wish to think about let alone discuss. So do you need payment? We weren\u2019t sure what we\u2019d need to get your help. We have scraped together valuables and gold for you. I don\u2019t know if its enough, I mean I think we could scrape a bit more, but\u2026here\u2019s what we got.\u201d\n\nAt this point Flynn reaches for a small pouch on his side and extends his hand towards all of you with it. Cyrus snatches it from him and reveals a few gold coins and a couple of gems of low quality. Probably a paltry amount, but then you don\u2019t really know what the going rate is for assassination is these days never having done it for money before.\n\n\u201cAnd you think we\u2019re mere thugs for hire?\u201d Cyrus asks throwing the pouch back at Flynn who barely catches it.\n\n\u201cNo! I mean well\u2026we uh\u2026are also prepared to give you a virgin girl in exchange for your help if you aren\u2019t motivated by profit.\u201d\n\u201cA virgin girl?\u201d Yvette asks.\n\u201cYeah, for your sacrifices to Dendrin. Isn\u2019t that what you guys do?\u201d\n\nAt this point Cyrus gets so pissed at Flynn he punches him in the face. Theo isn\u2019t too happy with him either and begins calling Flynn names. You on the other hand, chuckle to yourself thinking that human sacrifice might actually break up the monotony around the temple sometimes. And while you\u2019re not seriously considering such a thing, you are seeing an opportunity here to change things up a bit.\n\n\u201cAlright Cyrus that will do for now. This man obviously came to us for help and kicking the hell out of this poor bastard isn\u2019t going to help matters.\u201d\n\u201cBut he insulted Dendrin! And he insults the shadows by coming to us like we\u2019re some lowly criminals!\u201d\n\u201cNo this man came to us looking for skilled assassins who can get the job done right. And that\u2019s what we are, aren\u2019t we? I mean that\u2019s partly how we won the war against the Empire isn\u2019t it? If there are already rumors going around by ignorant peasants that we killed General Ackerson and have been involved in sabotage in Quala then our cover has already been blown at this point. We may as well embrace it.\u201d\n\u201cWhat are you saying?\u201d Talia asks.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m saying that we should take this man up on his offer. However, our payment will be that he owes us a favor. In fact ALL of those that are with him today will owe us a favor. Be sure to get all their names before they leave here. It may be big, it may be small, it may never come at all, but when we call it in, they better deliver\u2026are we agreed to this Flynn?\u201d you say extending your hand to help him up.\n\nHe\u2019s unsure at first, but eventually he takes it and gets up. Sam must really be some sort of bastard if Flynn is agreeing to this arrangement.\n\n\u201cI\u2026I accept your terms Shadow Master.\u201d\n\u201cGood, it\u2019ll be taken care of as soon as possible.\u201d\n\u201cThank you! Thank you!\u201d he says and starts to bow a lot while he steps backwards towards the door.\n\u201cExcuse me, but where do you think you\u2019re going?\u201d\n\u201cI was taking my leave Shadow Master.\u201d\n\u201cNot with that pouch of valuables you aren\u2019t. They were a gift to us were they not?\u201d\n\u201cOh\u2026yes\u2026of course. Here you go. My apologies Shadow Master.\u201d Flynn says and tosses the bag to you.\n\u201cGood. NOW you may go.\u201d\n\nAfter Flynn leaves the temple you remind some of the Blades to get all their names down. Meanwhile your council is a little confused by your latest decision\n\n\u201cAre you serious about this?\u201d Theo asks.\n\u201cOf course I am, if I wasn\u2019t I wouldn\u2019t have made the offer.\u201d You answer.\n\u201cBut we\u2019re helping unbelievers!\u201d Cyrus says.\n\u201cSo? We helped them during the Empire War too, what makes now so different? I\u2019ll tell you what makes it different, we\u2019re actually going to be profiting from it for a change. Look if we\u2019re going to stay safe, and I mean truly safe from external threats we need to get back on to the world stage. Staying isolated in this swamp is only going to work for so long and eventually someone is going to come here with an army and attempt to overwhelm us. Last time I checked our numbers are still low.\u201d\n\u201cOkay, but weren\u2019t we ensuring our safety by destabilizing Quala?\u201d Theo asks.\n\u201cWe were, but as I said our presence has obviously become known now. It\u2019s nobody\u2019s fault, it was bound to happen eventually, but that means we\u2019ve got two options. Either we stop completely and risk Quala being united under one person who decides they want to emulate the Empire which means war in the far future. Or we continue doing what we\u2019re doing and risk pissing everyone off to such a degree that they stop fighting each other and unite against us, which means war in the near future. Neither of those sound attractive so I\u2019m choosing the third option.\u201d\n\u201cWhich is?\u201d Yvette asks.\n\u201cWe offer our services to the highest bidder. We become the go to organization for assassination. We spread so much fear and terror that nobody will ever want to attack us, they will instead wish to curry our favor in exchange for our help. And Cyrus I already see you\u2019re about to protest and I don\u2019t know why because you\u2019re the first one who usually wants to go practice your killing skills on someone. I\u2019d think you of all people would be happy with this arrangement.\u201d\n\u201cYou may be right.\u201d Cyrus says.\n\u201cBut what about Dendrin?\u201d Yvette asks.\n\u201cYes! What about the integrity of this order?\u201d Theo adds\n\u201cDendrin is the god of shadows. Why else would he give us such powers if not to use them in such a manner? But if it will calm everyone down I will certainly consult him on this matter. At this time though I have made my decision on what is best for the shadows.\u201d\n\nNone of them may see it now, but you really are taking steps to ensure the survival of the shadows. The shadows were feared during their lackey days under the Empire and during the rebellion the Empire itself learned to fear the shadows.\n\nNow? The fear still exists, but not to the extent that it needs to be. Not to the extent that it SHOULD be. You\u2019re going to get that fear back and that reputation is what going to keep you all alive and thrive.\n\nSurely Dendrin would certainly approve of that. In fact you know that sadistic bastard would.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 50\n\nWith all business taken care of, you tell Talia to let you know if anything important comes up since you\u2019re going to catch a few moments of sleep. Seems like you don\u2019t do much of that anymore.\n\nAs you settle down for some much needed rest, you drift off thinking about all what you\u2019ve managed to accomplish.\n\nQuala is essentially under your thumb and you haven\u2019t even resorted to an army to do it. You\u2019ve got people from there paying you left and right to assassinate their enemies whether it is in tangible goods or simple favors that you intend on calling in some day.\n\nIt doesn\u2019t stop there either; you\u2019ve even had a few people travel all the way from the Arat province and even Rask to use your services. It of course helps that you\u2019ve never failed to assassinate a chosen target.\n\nAs a result, you\u2019ve accomplished much of what you first envisioned. You\u2019ve managed to put enough dread into those in power to not want to invade Delerg for fear of their own deaths or on the more pragmatic side of things they\u2019d prefer to have you around in case they want to get rid of someone.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re enjoying all this aren\u2019t you Eternal? I know you\u2019re playing the emotionless cold hearted assassin guild leader and all, but deep down you\u2019re enjoying every moment of it. It\u2019s okay to admit it, not like I\u2019m going to tell anyone.\u201d\n\u201cOf course I am, but not for the reasons you believe. I\u2019m enjoying this because things are going well for the shadows for once AND I\u2019m not terminally bored while leading them. For the longest time I could achieve one or the other but not both.\u201d\n\u201cGoing well? Haven\u2019t you had to execute ten shadows, including two of your own council? Theo and Yvette I believe?\u201d\n\u201cIt was necessary. They were conspiring and disagreeing with the new direction the shadows needed to go in order to thrive. Besides, I didn\u2019t say we were without problems. I just meant things were good in general and you don\u2019t seem to have a problem with what I\u2019m doing. You even encouraged me when I made the effort to consult you about it.\u201d\n\u201cOf course I don\u2019t. In fact you\u2019ve actually made the shadows more interesting than they have been in a long time. So\u2026now that you\u2019re on top of the world so to speak, what\u2019s your next move?\u201d\n\u201cNothing major though I imagine it won\u2019t stay like that for long. I don\u2019t delude myself that the calmer times last forever, just that I should enjoy them while I can.\u201d\n\nThose words prove to be true considering that Delerg sudden gets a large influx of svelk mercenaries in the town of Sinkhole one day. What\u2019s more disturbing is they weren\u2019t detected until they were in the town. This could be the precursor to an invasion for all you know and you personally go with Cyrus and several other Blades to sort this out.\n\nWhen you arrive, a few shadows that were in the town report that the svelk haven\u2019t been doing anything except carousing at the tavern. He says they\u2019ve been obnoxious, but nothing serious yet. Besides Mistress, the only dark elves you\u2019ve had to deal with were those that were hired by the Empire to kill you during your time in Rask, so your opinion of them isn\u2019t exactly high to begin with, but that probably makes you the same as everyone else in that aspect.\n\nYou know damn well they have to be here for a reason other than spending money on booze though.\n\nYou enter the tavern and it gets suddenly much quieter from the revelry you heard before entering. The staff looks miserable, particularly the waitresses and only a few other customers remain trying to hide in a dark corner, probably too scared to pass the dark elves to leave.\n\n\u201cAh! The great Shadow Master graces us with his presence! I was wondering if we could be expecting you. I told my soldiers here that if we showed up unannounced that we\u2019d get your attention. It is truly a testament to your patrols that we found ourselves hard pressed to evade them undetected until we arrived in this dismal town.\u201d One dark elf says while sitting at a table with his fellows. You presume he\u2019s probably their leader.\n\u201cWhat do you svelk want and make it quick.\u201d You say.\n\u201cStraight to the point eh? Very well then. My name is Tyren and what I want is to hire your services.\u201d\n\nYou don\u2019t believe it.\n\n\u201cYou? You want to hire the shadows to kill someone? Since when did svelk rely on assassins? Doesn\u2019t your race learn such a trade from birth and gleefully kill as a matter of course?\u201d\n\nSuddenly Tyren stands up as if he\u2019s offended by your remark.\n\n\u201cAnd what do you know of us, shadow? What do you know that you haven\u2019t heard second hand from the grubby ignorant peasants?\u201d\n\u201cTrust me, I know your kind well enough that your senseless posturing and fake attempt at being offended are not going to intimidate or second guess myself. You\u2019re a race of sadistic murderous mercenaries that go from battlefield to battlefield profiting from conflict which I don\u2019t have a problem with. What I do have a problem with is when a bunch of them suddenly show up in my backyard where there is no conflict. You come here saying you need our help, yet show up unannounced and without coming to us directly. That shows a severe lack of disrespect, and there is no reason why I shouldn\u2019t just kill the lot of you now and throw your worthless carcasses to the Sul-Monkeys.\u201d\n\nYou and your shadows take a step forward and Tyren\u2019s demeanor changes immediately though he tries to play it off like he was joking.\n\n\u201cSheesh, calm down. I didn\u2019t realize you shadows were so fucking serious all the time. Fine I\u2019ll explain in greater detail. I want you to kill the leader of another Svelk mercenary company. She goes by the name of Edolith. Currently she\u2019s located in the eastern part of the Quala province fighting for one of the half assed warlords there. I want her dead because she\u2019s been taking all the good paying jobs for years and also with her dead I may even be able to gain her warband which has no other viable leaders to take her place.\u201d\n\nTyren takes a drink before continuing.\n\n\u201cNow I know what you\u2019re thinking why don\u2019t I do this myself or even join an opposing side and kill her on the battlefield that way. Well it is with great risk in front of ALL my soldiers that I admit that I am neither clever or strong enough to take her on, though I would remind my soldiers that I could easily kick all of their asses.\u201d And with those words he quickly draws a dagger and stabs one of his men in the throat. The dark elf spits out a glob of blood and falls backwards gasping for life until Tyren finishes him off with a crushing stomp to his head.\n\nNaturally all the rest of the svelk look upon this as a normal thing, Tyren then turns to you.\n\n\u201cSo I call upon you, the shadows for help, the greatest assassins ever known in recent history. I believe that your order has the skill to pull off her assassination. So do we have a deal?\u201d\n\u201cNot really considering you haven\u2019t even described payment yet. What could you possibly offer? Svelk mercenaries aren\u2019t known for their wealth and trust me you\u2019d need a considerable amount for me to even consider this.\u201d\n\u201cHmmm, well what about we owe you a favor?\u201d\n\nNow you laugh.\n\n\u201cA favor from you lot? Not likely. We have no need of mercenaries and I doubt if you\u2019d come through with it anyway. We\u2019d probably have to slaughter you all and while that would be doing the world a favor and maybe even sort of fun, I\u2019d like to at least have something tangible if I\u2019m going to help you.\u201d\n\u201cYou\u2019re incredibly suspicious of us. You sure you don\u2019t have svelk blood? No probably not, you\u2019re pretty ugly even for a human, but what can you do seeing as you all evolved from those Sul-Monkeys out there right? Ha ha ha ha! Okay but seriously\u2026 Zarren! Get over here with that big bag!\u201d Tyren shouts at one of his underlings.\n\nZarren comes to Tyren\u2019s table with a big bag and dumps the contents out on it. What is revealed is more than just regular valuables. There are also some books and other objects as well. So much that part of loot falls to the floor.\n\n\u201cHey, I recognize that book\u2026its one I read during my days at Gloom! I thought it was lost forever.\u201d Dravin suddenly exclaims. \u201cIn fact a lot of these objects are from Gloom! These ceremony rings, these cups\u2026where the hell did you get this stuff?\u201d\n\u201cOh we svelk do a lot of trading with all kinds of people in our travels, those rock eating dwarves just being one of many. We sort of thought you all might be interested in lost objects from your old stomping grounds. Along with the gems and gold, I\u2019d say this should be more than enough payment shouldn\u2019t it?\u201d\n\nWhile you aren\u2019t overly attached to any \u201clost objects\u201d from Gloom, you can see Dravin is pretty fond of some of them. You imagine the older human shadows that are still around would be happy to see such things again. Even Cyrus is looking at a couple things, and you know Talia would be interested in them. The actual valuables are probably a fair payment for a job such as this.\n\nStill part of you doesn\u2019t trust the svelk. Something about all this seems a bit sketchy. You don\u2019t know what exactly, but it just doesn\u2019t feel quite right to you.", "action_results": [{"action": "Accept the contract", "result": "You don\u2019t trust the svelk, but if they have some sort of ambush planned, you\u2019re fairly confident that you can handle anything they\u2019re going to throw at you. In any event you\u2019ll be taking the payment in advance.\n\n\u201cVery well svelk. We\u2019ll take the job. Pack up the loot and put it in the bag.\u201d\n\u201cHey wait, we didn\u2019t say we were paying you all of it now. We need some assurance you\u2019ll complete the job! Half up front, half later!\u201d\n\u201cYeah, not going to happen. I don\u2019t trust you as it is; you really think I\u2019m not taking all the payment now? You\u2019re delusional.\u201d You say.\n\nTyren is perturbed by your insistence, but then he realizes he\u2019s not exactly in friendly territory and severely outnumbered.\n\n\u201cFine, just as long as that bitch is dead.\u201d He replies and he proceeds to give the specifics of where Edolith is located before he takes his leave. You tell Cyrus and Dravin to take the best Blades and carry out the job.\n\n\u201cAnd be very careful. Don\u2019t take anything for granted. I still don\u2019t trust them.\u201d You say.\n\u201cDon\u2019t worry about us, we\u2019ll be able to sense a trap.\u201d Cyrus remarks.\n\nWhen you make it back to the temple with the lost items from Gloom, all the older shadows are eager to look through them, hoping to find something personal of theirs. Talia is especially glad to see the return of them and reassures you that you made a good decision to take the contract.\n\nThe next day Cyrus, Dravin and several other Blades have set off on their mission and its business as usual at the temple.\n\nAbout afternoon, several shadows report that they suddenly aren\u2019t feeling well. Given that you\u2019re in a swamp, you could chalk this up to the environment, the problem with that is the shadows tend use their magic to fend off such ailments. Plus some of the eternals are sick as well and they\u2019re naturally resilient to disease and sickness.\n\nBy night time, you and Talia aren\u2019t feeling well either and a couple of the shadows have already died of this mysterious illness. Prayers to Dendrin have been made, but he\u2019s not listening as usual.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s the fucking svelk. I know it. They caused this somehow.\u201d You say in between feeling sick.\n\nYou\u2019re so dizzy you can barely think, but it suddenly occurs to you what\u2019s going on. It\u2019s what they paid you, or rather the objects from Gloom. They must\u2019ve done something to them. Maybe a curse of some sort.\n\n\u201cGet all of the objects out of this temple and we need to cast a purification ritual right now!\u201d you say.\n\nAs several shadows attempt to carry out this order, you try your best to get prepared for the ritual. Other shadows are deathly ill by this point and you\u2019re not going to save them in time.\n\n\u201cShadow Master, the svelk are attacking just outside the temple!\u201d Brother Gannon wheezes.\n\nYou attempt to order the temple doors locked, but the svelk have already managed to barge in by this point. Under normal circumstances, you\u2019d be more than a match for them, but whatever this curse is, it\u2019s affected the shadows quite severely and they\u2019ve taken full advantage of your weakness. Most are so sick they can\u2019t concentrate to cast any spells, and that includes you.\n\nYou put up a good fight, but ultimately the effects of the curse and Tyren\u2019s sneak attack prove to be too much. You eventually fall to one of their repeating crossbows. With several bolts lodged in your vital organs your last thoughts are of the hope that Cyrus will survive whatever the svelk had planned for him.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Decline the contract", "result": "While it probably would make some of your shadows happy, you just don\u2019t trust Tyren at all. This all seems too straight forward and with these objects from Gloom he\u2019s offering\u2026well its almost as if he\u2019s over eager for you to take the job.\n\n\u201cTyren, I\u2019m sorry you traveled all this way from wherever you previously were and dragged a bag of treasure with you along the way, but I\u2019m going to have to say, this contract is not in the best interest of the shadows at this time.\u201d\n\u201cWhat?!\u201d Dravin asks.\n\u201cAre you serious?\u201d Cyrus exclaims.\n\u201cSince when do the shadows turn down a contract?\u201d Tyren asks.\n\u201cIt\u2019s been known to happen. Now if you please, leave these premises and don\u2019t return.\u201d You say ignoring Dravin and Cyrus\u2019 outbursts.\n\n\u201cBut this part of our history he\u2019s got here! How can we not take the contract?\u201d Dravin says.\n\u201cI realize that, but it\u2019s the past, not the future and I believe taking this contract is not the best for our future.\u201d\n\u201cBut\u2026\u201d\n\u201cDravin! I am Shadow Master here, do NOT question me further on this!\u201d\n\u201cHey, he\u2019s asking a valid question. You don\u2019t need to pull rank like that.\u201d Cyrus adds.\n\u201cCyrus, don\u2019t you start too. This is not the time or place.\u201d\n\nWhile you bicker with Cyrus and Dravin, Tyren and his men begin to snicker which causes you to snap at them.\n\n\u201cDidn\u2019t I tell you merc scum to get the fuck out of here?\u201d\n\u201cOkay, okay, we\u2019re leaving.\u201d Tyren chuckles though they\u2019re taking their time gathering up the valuables that they spilled on the table.\n\nMeanwhile Dravin insists on arguing with Cyrus backing him up naturally.\n\n\u201cLook, I don\u2019t mean to question you Shadow Master, but I just think Dendrin would want us to have our history back, if only part of it.\u201d\n\u201cI agree. Besides I\u2019m sure Talia would like some of these things as well.\u201d\n\nYou can hardly believe the insubordination going on here.\n\n\u201cThe both of you are unbelievable right now. Questioning me and arguing in front of fucking dark elves? Did we turn into a pack of orcs overnight? Attempting to use my wife as some sort of support for your disobedience? You want the past? Fine, let\u2019s just take it!\u201d you shout and you draw your weapon. Before anyone can do anything else you grab the nearest dark elf and run him through.\n\n\u201cTreachery! Defend yourselves!\u201d Tyren shouts and drops some gems to pull his crossbow.\n\nThe skirmish in the tavern is quick and bloody affair. The dark elves fight the best they can, but the advantage is to you in every way. You allow none to escape and the tavern is littered with their dead and a couple of your own by the end of it. The bar staff peep out from behind their hiding places.\n\nWhile the rest of the shadows gather up the valuables that are now all over the floor and place them into the bag, you search Tyren\u2019s body on a hunch you had long before you engaged in this bloodbath and fortunately you find something in the form of a letter.\n\nTyren,\n\nMake sure to wait a day before triggering the curse we put on those objects the rock eaters sold us. That should be more than enough time for the shadows to have placed them somewhere in their temple. The magic words are at the bottom of this letter and they should be simple enough even for you to memorize.\n\nAs for the shadow assassin squad they\u2019ll send after me, don\u2019t worry about that, I\u2019ve got that covered and have the ambush ready. You just stay near the Delerg province and monitor the situation with the after effects of the wasting curse. If it looks like they\u2019re severely weakened by it then by all means attack the temple yourself before I get there.\n\nAlso remember to destroy this letter, the last thing I need is for the shadows to kill you and find this on your corpse because you were an incompetent fool. Assuming you don\u2019t mess this up on your end. We should at least be able to cripple the shadows to a degree that they\u2019ll no longer be a threat to our livelihood.\n\nEdolith\n\nYou figured it was something like this. Makes sense the svelk would see the shadows as major competition.\n\n\u201cNext time just listen to my orders instead of bitching like a couple of housewives at the market!\u201d you say shoving the letter in Cyrus\u2019 hand.\n\nCyrus looks it over.\n\n\u201cOkay, so you were right, but we outsmarted them, got their stuff and we can perform a sanctify ritual on these objects. This situation turned out better than if we had just let them go.\u201d\n\nYou\u2019re already angry at this whole situation and this is just the final straw for you.\n\n\u201cCyrus that\u2019s not the damn point. My point is you AND Dravin undermined my authority in front of not only the rest of the shadows but outsiders as well as if you knew better. When I told you to desist you continued to piss and moan\u2026in fact you\u2019re STILL doing it!\u201d\n\nBefore Cyrus can come up with another snappy come back, you speed yourself up and punch him in the face. He reels backwards and you follow up with a kick sending him to the floor. He attempts to get up, but you kick him again in the face and then with a power stomp you smash his shin, breaking the bone through the skin. He bellows in pain and Dravin dares to try to stop you.\n\n\u201cShadow Master plea\u2026\u201d is all he utters before you give him a chop to his throat and then twist his arm behind his back before slamming his face into the table.\n\n\u201cYou! Stretch out his other arm across the table and take out your dagger.\u201d You say to closest Blade, while continuing to hover behind Dravin. The Blade obeys without hesitation and Dravin is begging for mercy when he hears the unsheathing of a dagger. You can also hear Cyrus pleading for you not to harm Dravin.\n\nStill holding on to Dravin\u2019s other arm, you half turn around to face him.\n\n\u201cYOU shut the fuck up, before I break your other shin! I\u2019m not killing him, but a lesson must be taught to both of you! Now you, what\u2019s your name?\u201d you ask the Blade since you never can keep track of these new eternals\u2019 names, you swear they must\u2019ve altered them all in those tanks to look similar or something.\n\u201cGlen, Shadow Master.\u201d\n\u201cGlen, take Dravin\u2019s pinky finger.\u201d\n\u201cNO!\u201d Dravin screams.\n\u201cOkay take his ring finger too!\u201d you say and twist Dravin\u2019s arm further. \u201cYou wanna go for the whole hand? Then keep fighting me! You\u2019re lucky I\u2019m not taking them from your dominant hand! Glen proceed.\u201d\n\nGlen cuts off Dravin\u2019s pinky first which causes him to let out a stifled yelp. Glen moves on to the ring finger, and you\u2019re not sure if it\u2019s the combination of the shock and fear, but whatever the reason Dravin ends up passing out completely.\n\n\u201cWrap up his hand and carry him back to the temple.\u201d You tell Glen.\n\nCyrus is still on the floor sitting up with his shinbone sticking out of his leg. He\u2019s still in great pain, but you believe he\u2019s more upset about Dravin. You crouch down beside him.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m sorry it had to be this way brother, but I spared your life once for a reason Cyrus. You agreed to obey my commands as Shadow Master and today you repeatedly defied my will. Am I going to regret that decision?\u201d\n\u201c\u2026no\u2026no\u2026\u201d Cyrus says trying not cry out.\n\u201cNo what?\u201d you ask again forcing him to look directly into your eyes.\n\u201cNo\u2026Shadow Master\u2026\u201d\n\u201cGood. Good. Something like this can never happen again.\u201d You say and stand back up.\n\nYou tell the other Blades to carry Cyrus and grab the ill gotten bag of loot back to the temple since you\u2019re going on ahead of everyone else. You then turn your attention to the frightened tavern staff.\n\n\u201cApologies for the mess. Leave them some gold to help clean up this filth off their floor and tables.\u201d You say while stepping over a dark elf corpse and then heading out the door.\n\nWhen you get back the temple Talia asks you what happened and where everyone else is.\n\n\u201cHad to put down some treacherous svelk, as far as I\u2019m concerned all of their kind now has a permanent target on their backs if any us see one of them again. But we got some things off of them I think you\u2019ll be pleasantly surprised with, you\u2019ll have to perform a sanctify ritual over them first though before bringing them into the temple. As for the rest of the Blades, they\u2019ll be along shortly with said loot I imagine, oh and I\u2019m dissolving the Council. Really no point in it anymore.\u201d\n\u201cWha\u2026well you are Shadow Master, but did you mention this Dravin and Cyrus?\u201d\n\u201cOh trust me, they know.\u201d", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 55\n\nYou wake up with yet another permanent ache in your body. Getting old really sucks and it probably doesn\u2019t help that you\u2019ve spent decades fighting all your life. Who knows how many broken bones, deep cuts, head blows and other bodily trauma you\u2019ve had. However, you\u2019re probably more fit than most people your age and your magic ability is certainly a great equalizer.\n\nYou go over some of the newest contract requests and one catches your eye due to it suffering from multiple misspellings and the murdering of language in general. When you see that it\u2019s from Flog you\u2019re a little impressed that he was able to write as well as he did.\n\nFrom what you can make out in the horribly written letter, he wants to meet with some of your people because he\u2019s got a major problem on his hands and he hopes that seeing as he once helped you fight the Empire, you\u2019d help him out in return.\n\nYou shake your head at that remark considering that as you recall you basically spared his life in exchange for his support. He doesn\u2019t go into specifics about who he wants killed, but he goes on to say that he\u2019s acquired a lot of wealth in his \u201cconquest\u201d of Rask. A bit of stretching the truth since while its true he owns the biggest stretch on territory there, the area is far from conquered.\n\nAmusingly he wants you to meet him at Blood Tooth, which is apparently what he renamed Evergloom after he moved in years after you left. He states he\u2019ll go into more specifics then, mainly because he doesn\u2019t want the letter possibly falling into the wrong hands and also because all this writing makes his brain hurt. He also mentions that while it isn\u2019t necessary, he\u2019d prefer to meet with you personally since he\u2019s confident in your abilities to get the job done.\n\nYou can\u2019t help but smile a little at that last statement.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re not going are you?\u201d Talia asks.\n\"Why not? I\u2019ve been running the shadows for this long and I haven\u2019t even taken a contract myself. Seems a bit hypocritical don\u2019t you think?\u201d\n\u201cYou\u2019re the Shadow Master, you don\u2019t need to concern yourself with such things.\u201d\n\u201cMaybe, but I\u2019ve always believed that a leader really should lead by example and I\u2019ve done that for the most part.\u201d\n\u201cWhat about that incident with the dark elves?\u201d\n\u201cEh, I actually didn\u2019t even plan that and it really doesn\u2019t count. I just think I need to go on this one.\u201d\n\u201cYou just want to prove that you aren\u2019t getting old. Don\u2019t think I haven\u2019t noticed you been mentioning it lately.\u201d\n\u201cYeah\u2026well maybe. But still\u2026hey why don\u2019t you come with me?\u201d\n\u201cMe?\u201d\n\u201cWell why not? Flog\u2019s always liked you and it\u2019ll probably make the meeting go over better. Besides, you should be keeping your abilities up as well.\u201d\n\u201cExcuse me, but I continue to spar with the Blades every day.\u201d\n\u201cAnd so do I, but it isn\u2019t enough unless their real danger involved. Come on, you mean to say you don\u2019t miss the old days just a little bit?\u201d\n\u201cNot particularly, but I see that this is important to you, so I shall accompany you, but aren\u2019t you concerned about this being a trap?\u201d\n\u201cNot really, no. While Flog has always been a little more cunning than the average orc and an opportunistic fool, he\u2019s never been suicidal. I\u2019m pretty sure he knows if he tried to ambush me, it wouldn\u2019t end well for him. Even if he managed to succeed, he also knows that the full force of the shadows would hunt him down personally and with as many enemies as he probably has I doubt if he needs to add more. Besides if it is an ambush, that\u2019ll just make things more interesting and Dendrin\u2019s always looking out for us anyway.\u201d\n\nYour flip remark about Dendrin gets a nod in agreement by Talia who doesn\u2019t take it as a flip remark, but rather that you\u2019re being genuine. \u201cWell I suppose there is that and as the chosen of Dendrin you\u2019d be even better protected, but who is going to be running things while we\u2019re gone?\u201d\n\u201cI don\u2019t think we\u2019re going to be gone for that long, but Cyrus can do it. Not like he goes on many missions anymore either.\u201d\n\nThis is true. Ever since the incident with the dark elves, Cyrus and Dravin started becoming more withdrawn. Granted Dravin was never an extrovert, but with Cyrus it\u2019s a little sad. It\u2019s like you completely crushed his spirit that day. He lost his unofficial position as leader of the Blades due to the permanent limp you gave him and resigned himself to keeping up on internal security. Sometimes you feel a little bad about it, but you believe that in the long run it was a good thing. Cyrus, even though he\u2019d pledged himself to you still harbored a bit of willfulness that was starting to come back. If allowed to flourish longer, he may have become more of a problem and would have had to been killed.\n\nThough perhaps his current fate is worse than death.\n\nWhen you approach Cyrus about the situation with Flog, he\u2019s surprised that you\u2019re going, let alone putting him in charge of the temple until you get back. He of course agrees and wishes you luck. Given how Flog was never his favorite person, you wonder why he didn\u2019t at least express the same concerns about meeting with him like Talia did, and then it occurs to you that perhaps he\u2019s hoping you do get killed.\n\nIn any event, you\u2019re not going to worry about it. You instead hand pick some of the best Blades to come with you to Blood Tooth and set off on your journey as soon as possible.\n\nThe journey to Rask is fairly uneventful. While you mostly keep to the off beaten trails, you know most in Quala are wise enough to not attack a group of shadows even if they did see you. The \u201cstable\u201d leader of northern Quala, First Mage Galen has practically bent over backwards to stay on your good side. You sort of wonder if that is who Flog wants you to assassinate considering all the back and forth attempts at conquest into each other\u2019s realms by the pair of them. If it is, then he better have a hell of a lot of money.\n\nWhen you reach the Rask it mostly looks very much how it did when you left it. Much of it untouched wilderness though the occasional battlefield markings are apparent. Some are even fairly recent.\n\n\u201cHey Flog didn\u2019t say anything about safe passage did he in his letter?\u201d Talia asks.\n\u201cNo, but I don\u2019t think he\u2019d be able to enforce it very well anyway. You know how tribal orcs are, even under a strong leader they tend towards chaotic acts.\u201d\n\u201cWell as you said, I suppose that\u2019ll make things more interesting. Actually a battle would probably warm me up right about now. I think I got too used to the heat, though I wasn\u2019t exactly fond of the freezing cold back in the old days either.\u201d\n\u201cReally? I kind of preferred it, but we\u2019re going to be making camp soon, we can warm up a little then.\u201d\n\nLater that night at your campsite you take first watch. You can\u2019t really rest anyway since your body aches a bit. As the night goes on, you remember back to the time when you doing this as a regular thing, seems like a lifetime ago.\n\nAs you lose yourself in the past a bit you suddenly hear a noise. Like howling, but it isn\u2019t from any sort of wolf that you\u2019ve ever heard. Doesn\u2019t even sound like a natural one and it sounds pretty close by.\n\n\u201cEveryone get up!\u201d you shout with your weapon drawn.\n\nAs everyone starts to get up ready for battle, more of those howls can be heard. They\u2019re nearly painful at this point and several of you are clutching at least one of your ears.\n\n\u201cWhat the hell is that?\u201d Talia shouts.\n\u201cNot sure, but we\u2019re about to find out.\u201d You say as all of you form a back-to-back circle for defense.\n\nSeveral glowing red eyes appear in the dark forest around you, when your assailants finally show themselves, they are in the form of orcs, but more feral and savage looking (even for orcs).\n\n\u201cYou think Flog set this up?\u201d Talia asks you while eyeing her closest possible attacker.\n\u201cLet\u2019s worry about it afterwards.\u201d You say and the orcs attack.\n\nYou\u2019ve had to fight a few unruly orcs in the past and though its been awhile, you know their tactics wouldn\u2019t have switched up that much. They almost lope at you and circle around you like an animal would, in fact animalistic is the best way to describe them since at this range you can see they aren\u2019t even wearing much clothing beyond a loin cloth and a few grisly trophies in the form of bloody body parts. Their hands resemble claws and some of them aren\u2019t even attacking with weapons at all and are just using their nails, which are unnaturally long for orcs.\n\nYou cross swords with one of them and even while speeding yourself up, it\u2019s still nearly matching you blow for blow. Its face is close enough for you to get the good look and it\u2019s contorted looking with an extra wide mouth filled with teeth. Whatever the hell this thing is, it isn\u2019t any kind of orc you\u2019ve ever seen or encountered. You muster up all your strength and land a powerful strike against the orc\u2019s head nearly severing the top part of it completely. It attempts to still attack you, flailing its arms wildly and still making that horrible howling sound.\n\nThen you hear a whispery voice in your mind. At first you think its Dendrin, but then you\u2019re not asleep and you don\u2019t feel the same numbness, but rather the exact opposite. A sharp pain in your head.\n\n\u201cThe battle is lost mortal. You cannot kill us. You must submit to us, it is the only way to save yourself.\u201d\n\nYou look around to see Talia and most of the other shadows still fighting, but you also see a couple of them clutching their heads and falling to the ground in pain. These definitely aren\u2019t orcs you\u2019re fighting considering they\u2019re using some sort of psychic attack.\n\nYou could either try to finish off the rest of the orcs to stop the attacks or cast a shield over the minds of you and your shadows, though its very difficult to concentrate right now.", "action_results": [{"action": "Cast the spell", "result": "You attempt to block everything out in your mind a concentrate on your spell. More voices invade your mind and you begin shouting out Dendrin\u2019s name loudly during your chanting in an effort to drown out the supernatural voice in your head. You also shout to everyone to try to shut out the voices you know they have to be hearing as well.\n\n\u201cNO! You cannot escape us! You are MEAT!\u201d you hear and the voices begin to fade a bit. You notice that your shadows aren\u2019t struggling with their mental assaults anymore either and regular combat goes a lot better. Soon, all attackers are killed and Talia comes over to you rubbing her head a bit after dispatching her orc.\n\n\u201cWhat the hell are these things?\u201d\n\u201cWell I\u2019m not exactly sure, but if I had to guess, they\u2019re wendigos. Evil spirits that take over the bodies of the living and try to consume anyone they can. Found notes written about them after we took Kane\u2019s fort. He apparently fought them all the way back to their home territory and trapped them there. Looks like these idiots let them loose again or something. We should be safe now and I\u2019ve got everyone shielded, but everyone else should keep up their own shield just as added protection. We can link that mental power to each other if we just focus.\u201d\n\u201cJust like back in shadow training when we all fought that brain lurker huh?\u201d Talia asks.\n\u201cI believe it was a thought lurker, but yeah something like that. Odd that we never encountered another one of those creatures.\u201d\n\u201cI think I remember Brother Gray said they typically only lived underground or something.\u201d\n\nProbably some sort of \u201cgift\u201d from the Derro no doubt, but you stop dwelling on the past and pack up you camp so you can continue your journey. You\u2019ll have to get some sleep later.\n\nThe rest of the journey is more of an endurance test against the elements rather than any more fighting. Even while sticking to the forests you feel the full strength of the cold winds and snowfall that has decided to grace you with its presence. You see a village in the distance, and briefly ponder if you should head to it and sleep at an inn, but the fact remains you don\u2019t know what you can expect there. You\u2019re guessing Flog might\u2019ve enslaved most of the towns in Rask, but who knows what they\u2019ve been turned into. Chances are they\u2019re probably the equivalent of slave camps now patrolled by a bunch of over eager orcs or ogres ready to attack anyone they don\u2019t know.\n\n\u201cI certainly hope Flog told his people to expect us when we finally get to Blood Tooth!\u201d Talia says wrapping herself up and walking on as you decide to avoid the village.\n\nWhen you finally arrive at Blood Tooth, you see that Flog hasn\u2019t changed your old home too much, other than the typical orc totems that their kind seem to favor. A group of orcs stand outside looking off in several direction as if they\u2019re expecting someone, but that might not necessarily be you though. They still haven\u2019t noticed you though.\n\n\u201cWell, this is it. We might as well just approach. Be ready for anything though.\u201d You tell everyone.\n\nYou reveal yourself from your cloak and begin to walk towards the group. They finally see you and begin waving you down.\n\n\u201cShadows! Come quickly! Not safe out here!\u201d one shouts.\n\u201cWell I\u2019m guessing we\u2019re being welcomed at least.\u201d Talia says.\n\u201cFor now. Like I said be ready for anything.\u201d\n\nThe orcs waste no time in calling for their fort doors to be opened and you\u2019re lead in. Now the place looks less like how you remember. It\u2019s definitely got that orcish touch now, not to mention smell. Eventually you meet Flog on his throne. The years have taken their toll on him to the point where you don\u2019t feel so old any more. Flog stands up slowly and limps over to you, refusing the use of any sort of cane. His face bear the scars of multiple battles and he\u2019s only got one hand, though the stump naturally has some sort of crude weapon grafted to it. His reign is most likely in danger being the age he is, let alone some of his obvious injuries. Still he\u2019s hanging in there somehow, you\u2019ve got to give him credit.\n\n\u201cShadow Master, its been a long time. And your mate Talia\u2026wait you did not bring the strange lover did you?\u201d\n\u201cStrange\u2026oh!\u201d you realize. \u201cNo, Cyrus is back in Delerg.\u201d\n\u201cGood. Good. Never liked him. You two. Like. Treat Flog fairly and with honor. Um, let us go to my meeting room. Much to discuss. Very important. Your shadows can stay here, drink and partake of our females!\u201d\n\nYou look over and see several female orcs AND ogres attempting to look seductive towards some of your shadows. You think this is the first time you\u2019ve seen any of them look genuinely scared during this mission.\n\n\u201cAh no, I don\u2019t think that\u2019ll be necessary Flog.\u201d You say.\n\u201cAll strange lovers too huh? Just as well, couldn\u2019t survive being with an orc woman anyway. Let us go.\u201d\n\nFlog takes you and Talia to the very place where you used to hold small meetings and you all sit down before he speaks.\n\n\u201cFlog is old and will die soon. Flog know this and accepts it. Flog can only hope that Flog die in combat, but that time is not yet now. Flog cannot let it be so, so Flog call on those who may help.\u201d\n\u201cWell that\u2019s the whole reason for this, but I don\u2019t understand the need for secrecy and why the hell we had to drag ourselves all the way up here. You know there are wendigo prowling about in Rask now?\u201d\n\u201cYes, Flog well aware of it because Flog\u2019s son Mog foolishly attempted to harness them in his grab for power. Now Rask have evil spirits wandering about and Mog is making his move against Flog. Mog need to die.\u201d\n\nThere\u2019s your contract, but you still don\u2019t get all of this.\n\n\u201cOkay, but\u2026well normally I don\u2019t ask why, however my curiosity about all this is still there. I mean in orc culture is it not the tradition of the strong to kill the current chief, most preferably one of his sons?\u201d\n\u201cIndeed that would be the case, but Flog not feel that Mog deserve it. Mog\u2019s reckless behavior with the wendigo is just one example. Mog also prove to be wasteful with slave towns. If Mog take charge, all of this will collapse. Flog not want it to collapse. Flog want orcs to continue to expand kingdom. Crush puny Galen one day and then beyond.\u201d\n\u201cBeyond huh? That include the shadows Flog?\u201d Talia asks.\n\u201cHeh. Perhaps one day the shadows and orcs will do battle and on that glorious day orcs will stand on top of the burning ruins of your god\u2019s temple\u2026but not today or even in Flog\u2019s lifetime. All Flog ask now is for help, willing to pay large fee. You shadows also left things here when you abandoned this place. Stuffed things in a storeroom, perhaps you might want them back?\u201d\n\nThat sounds very familiar.\n\n\u201cSo if you don\u2019t want Mog to take charge who did you have in mind?\u201d Talia asks.\n\u201cNext son in line of course. Skog. Skog smart like Flog but not strong enough to beat Mog. Skog from proper orc woman. Mog from terrible drunken night with an ogress. Glad cannot remember much, but Flog do remember a lot of hair and\u2026\u201d\n\u201cOkay didn\u2019t quite need those details. So where is Mog?\u201d you say.\n\u201cMog at Mogtown further north plotting my death and preparing to invade Bloodtooth. Be here soon, that\u2019s why he needs to die soon. Mog prefer the company of ogres and giants mostly. Mog also have slave witch with him. Human. She one who released the wendigo and try to tame. Foolish. Cannot tame spirits. Bad idea.\u201d\n\u201cI see\u2026well Talia and I need to talk privately first. Just to discuss the exact details.\u201d\n\nFlog nods and lets you and Talia go off in a corner to speak quietly to each other.\n\n\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong?\u201d Talia asks.\n\u201cI dunno that part about giving us old shadow items as payment got me suspicious.\u201d\n\u201cWe can always sanctify them first, but I doubt if Flog put any sort of curse on them. If he\u2019s honest enough to say the orcs will wage war on us one day he\u2019s not going to bother with the same trickery the dark elves did.\u201d\n\u201cWell there\u2019s that too. I\u2019m wondering why the hell should we help a potential enemy in the future.\u201d\n\u201cReally anyone we perform jobs for could be our enemies in the future.\u201d\n\u201cTrue, but they\u2019re all human and they generally have a healthier fear of us and death in general than orcs. Flog only has some sense because he\u2019s a little smarter and he\u2019s known us longer.\u201d\n\u201cExactly, these are orcs we\u2019re talking about, do you really think it\u2019s going to matter who takes charge? While that idea in Flog\u2019s head is a nice dream for him, I think we both know it\u2019s just that. There is no way orcs are going to stay unified long enough to form some major kingdom of any kind, not for long anyway. Even with Rask more or less under their rule, its still very tribal here and prone to infighting. Besides, with Dendrin on our side, how would then even stand a chance?\u201d\n\u201cHeh, yes I suppose so. Though I\u2019m just wondering if rather than dragging our asses further up north and facing giants, ogres, witches and who knows what else out in the open and by ourselves, if we shouldn\u2019t just make a different offer to Flog.\u201d\n\u201cLike what?\u201d\n\u201cWell like staying here and helping him in a more direct way. Flog claimed that Mog would probably be coming to invade soon. There will be so much chaos going on, we could probably slip out the fort and move around behind the army to assassinate Mog that way. Might even be easier.\u201d\n\u201cYeah, but who knows how long it\u2019ll take him to invade or if he\u2019ll even come personally and I don\u2019t think Flog is going to go for that idea. Besides don\u2019t you think being involved in a siege would be even more dangerous than trying to sneak into a town when they aren\u2019t expecting trouble?\u201d", "action_results": [{"action": "Go ahead with the original plan", "result": "Flog probably won\u2019t go for it and being here during a siege probably will be just as if not more dangerous.\n\n\u201cOkay, we\u2019ll stay here for a moment to get some rest and then get going. I hate to admit it but with the recent wendigo encounter and traipsing across the countryside I\u2019m eager to get this over with since I\u2019m starting to feel my age.\u201d You quietly say to Talia.\n\u201cAre you going to be okay?\u201d\n\u201cYes, I\u2019ll be fine, just need to get this mission over with.\u201d\n\nYou stay at Blood Tooth for a few hours to rest, but soon set off on your mission since the company of orcs isn\u2019t something you or any of the shadows want to endure for very long.\n\nThe journey to Mogtown is a miserable one, since the snow begins to fall heavier the further north you go. The snow is so deep that you can\u2019t really speed yourself up since your legs are buried in the snow to the point where you can\u2019t even run. Cloaking is useless since you\u2019re leaving tracks everywhere. By the time you reach your destination, you\u2019ve half frozen and exhausted.\n\nWhen you see Mogtown in the distance, you\u2019re in for a slight surprise. The front of the town is crawling with troops. Giants, orcs, and ogres are all standing around preparing to invade Blood Tooth no doubt. You expected some guards outside, but nothing like this.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019ll sneak around the back and scale the wall from there. Mog\u2019s probably still inside the town in one of the more important looking buildings.\u201d You tell everyone.\n\nYour plan is about the best you can do under the circumstances and while you manage to avoid detection from the patrols, unfortunately there are more wendigos lurking on the outskirts ready to pick anyone off that comes near. They waste no time attacking you and while you\u2019re better prepared for such creatures now, the noise ends up attracting the town garrison.\n\n\u201cQuick, scale the walls and let\u2019s find this half breed bastard!\u201d you shout.\n\nAfter scaling the walls you find yourself surrounded by more enemies waiting for you. You have to butcher your way through several orcs and ogres before you can catch a breather. You run down an alleyway to avoid more troops descending on your position.\n\nThe alley way seems to have been converted into a slave pen filled with humans. You briefly consider freeing them in order to cause a little chaos, but the humans in the cages look so pathetic, you doubt if they\u2019d have the power to even move.\n\nSuddenly large shadows loom over you in the form of a couple giants who are standing on the outside of the nearby town walls throwing great clots of snow at you.. They succeed in destroying some buildings, killing some slaves as well as slowing you down when you feel a great force slam you to the ground from above.\n\nYou struggle to maintain consciousness as you try to dig your way out of an icy grave. You don\u2019t have time to morn when you notice Talia\u2019s lifeless body as you dig by it. When your head reaches air you take a deep breath, but this small comfort is cut short when you catch an arrow in the skull.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Propose to help Flog against the siege", "result": "\u201cIt can\u2019t hurt to ask, if he declines we can just go through with the regular plan.\u201d You say.\n\u201cI guess so, but I still don\u2019t see Flog going for this idea.\u201d\n\nYou approach Flog about your idea and just as Talia said he isn\u2019t keen on it.\n\n\u201cThe whole point of having you kill Mog is so Flog doesn\u2019t get siege!\u201d\n\u201cBut you have the advantage now of us helping you. Think about it Flog, if you send us to assassinate Mog you get rid of your rival, but you still need to bring his followers under control who will all break up into petty warbands that you\u2019ll have to chase down. That\u2019s time wasted. On the other hand, if Mog were to die in battle against you, that would be different. You\u2019d not only be killing him, but also killing most of his troops on top of it. You might even get some to switch sides and pledge new allegiance to you. You\u2019ll also have the added bonus of still looking like a powerful chief who can defeat would be rivals. You could be ruling a lot longer than you think.\u201d\n\nYou just said all the right things because it doesn\u2019t take long for Flog to think about your words and agree.\n\n\u201cHmm, you shadows might be right. Okay you help with siege instead, but must prepare quickly!\u201d Flog says and leaves to go bark orders at his people.\n\n\u201cWell you convinced him, but I\u2019m curious why this change in tactic? You don\u2019t really think we couldn\u2019t have succeeded the other way?\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m sure we could have, but let\u2019s just say I think we would\u2019ve suffered greater losses. I suppose the recent battle with the wendigo and this very trip up here has made me realize that I AM getting old and trying to prove that I can wade into battle either by myself or with only a small group isn\u2019t necessarily the best option for me anymore, especially not when your life is in danger too. Here, we can keep low and not be the main targets. Mog is going to be focused on tearing down the defenses and killing Flog first and foremost. He\u2019s not going to expect us sneaking up on him and neither are his troops. I\u2019d prefer if we had as many orc grunts taking the brunt of the fighting.\u201d\n\u201cJust like the old days huh?\u201d\n\u201cJust like.\u201d\n\nYou make your plans to stay; you just hope you don\u2019t have to wait too long for an attack. A couple days pass and you get a visit.\n\n\u201cSlumming nowadays are we?\u201d Dendrin asks.\n\u201cTrust me I\u2019m regretting that I ever came here now.\u201d You answer.\n\u201cOh, I think we both know you had to do this, if only to see if you still could do it. After this is all over, this\u2019ll be out of your system and you\u2019ll content setting up assassinations from the safety of your desk again.\u201d\n\u201cThanks for your confidence in me, and while you\u2019re probably right, I can\u2019t help but think I\u2019ve just given up and accepted mediocrity and the eventual limitations brought on by old age now.\u201d\n\u201cWhat limitations? You\u2019ve made the shadows a force of fear to entire nations. You\u2019ve got some of the leaders of those nations to even show deference to you in the form of gifts just so you might not take a contract out on their miserable lives. So what if you aren\u2019t as effective with a sword anymore? You\u2019ve got magic to compensate! And what is any of that compared to the influence you\u2019ve spread?\u201d\n\nYou have to admit, Dendrin is right.\n\n\u201cWhen that half breed moron comes marching down with his army over grown brutes, you needn\u2019t go skulking around his camp like a common thief. You don\u2019t even need to rely on ducking and weaving while casting shadowfire from behind some boulder. Stand on top of the world and tap into your full potential and most of all trust in me.\u201d\n\u201cWhat do you mean exactly?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cYou\u2019ll have to figure that out for yourself, but it\u2019s pretty easy. You don\u2019t much time though.\u201d\n\nJust as you\u2019re about to ask Dedrin what he means, you\u2019re sudden awakened by a general alarm.\n\n\u201cMog\u2019s coming! Everyone to arms!\u201d you hear shouted several times throughout the fort.\n\nTalia is already preparing for battle, she sees you\u2019ve awakened.\n\n\u201cGood, you\u2019re awake we\u2019ve got to get moving.\u201d She says approaching you.\n\nYou slowly get up and take your time as you shake away your grogginess.\n\n\u201cNo we really don\u2019t. You go gather all the rest of the shadows and meet me on the battlements as soon as you can.\u201d\n\u201cWhat are you going to do?\u201d\n\u201cNot sure yet, but I\u2019m going to do something.\u201d\n\nYou don\u2019t even get fully dressed in your armor. You just head to the highest battlements, which you know to be at the roof of the tower portion of the fort. When you reach the top, the cold wind whips around you and there are no orcs here. You imagine they\u2019re all on the lower battlements or reinforcing the doors.\n\nFrom the top of the tower you can see Mog\u2019s army in the not so far distance. Besides the orcs and ogres, he\u2019s also got several giants with him along with hordes of human slaves dragging the baggage carts and pushing war machines.\n\nYou continue to watch Mog\u2019s army get into position to attack the fort. You look up into the sky and see that more snow is starting to fall. Funny, but you don\u2019t feel the cold at all now.\n\nYou close your eyes and concentrate. You mentally chant in your head and try to draw on the power of Dendrin and of the shadow realm.\n\nTalia and the other shadows eventually arrive during your chanting and while you hear a couple of them call out to you, you ignore them and then you can\u2019t hear them at all. It\u2019s like your whole body has shifted into the shadow realm and nothing around you exists save for that numbness.\n\nThe attack on Blood Tooth begins and a boulder goes crashing into the side of a wall and you don\u2019t even know about it. Talia and some of the shadows try to pull you back in since they fear a boulder could hit the tower next. But its silly, you have nothing to fear because you\u2019re about to bring it\u2026\n\nThe sky begins to darken unnaturally and you suddenly find yourself outside in between Blood Tooth and Mog\u2019s army except it isn\u2019t \u201cyou\u201d its some sort of shadowy avatar of yourself. You see hundreds of Mog\u2019s orcs and ogres before you. They looked confused at first, but they should be scared and they soon will be. You move in for the attack.\n\nYou cut down the first row of attackers in front of you with ease and then the next, and then the next and so forth. The hundreds of weapon blows you experience are nothing to you as they pass through your avatar. Eventually they wise up and start panicking, crying out about dark magic and running in the other direction.\n\nA couple of giants try to stop you, but they don\u2019t have any more luck than anyone else. Their large bodies eventually just become large corpses that only manage to crush a few unlucky souls that don\u2019t get out of the way in time.\n\nEventually you make your way through to Mog\u2019s encampment where you see a very large orc with light green skin and a great fat belly. You\u2019re guessing that would be Mog. Mog still isn\u2019t fully aware of why his men are breaking and running. All he knows is his battle plans are falling into disarray. One of his lieutenants sees your shadowy form and points at you shouting several things in orcish.\n\nMog shouts something as well, motioning a haggard looking human woman to help; you\u2019re guessing that this is his witch. She begins to cast some sort of spell, but she blinks once and you\u2019re suddenly before her eyes. This breaks her concentration, but not as much as your blade through her abdomen.\n\nSeeing his only source of magic power killed and most of his troops running away he attempts to do likewise. He may as well be running in slow motion though due to your speed. He doesn\u2019t even feel it when you thrust your blade through his back and pierce his heart. He just looks down long enough to see the tip of the blade disappearing from the newly made hole in his chest as it is being pulled back out. He doesn\u2019t have time to ponder anything else except his own death within that split second and then fall down dead.\n\nYour goal here in Rask is done and you slowly fade from the battlefield. You suddenly find yourself back in your own body, which is still standing on top of the tower. Talia and your Blades are standing by.\n\n\u201cIt is done. Mog is dead.\u201d You say.\n\u201cWhat happened exactly? I mean we tried to approach you, but a force of some sort suddenly protected your body so we didn\u2019t wish to proceed any further. We just observed, but we could hear the fighting still going on from below.\u201d Talia says.\n\u201cI tapped into my full potential like Dendrin suggested. Though I might not be doing that all the time in the near future, I actually feel a little drained from it. Still, it felt good to be on the battlefield just one more time. We better go find Flog, I\u2019m sure he\u2019ll be wondering what the hell is going on.\u201d\n\nYour actions were seen by most of Flog\u2019s soldiers and they were in awe. Flog himself is pretty humble when talking with you again. You do not gloat over any of it though because you believe you\u2019ve made a lasting impression here. Even if the orcs do manage to keep some sort of kingdom together, your actions today are going to remembered well enough for them to tell stories about to their offspring and those offspring will fear the shadows properly just as their parents do today.\n\nEventually you take your payment and begin your journey back to Delerg.\n\nWhile you appreciate Dendrin\u2019s suggestion and it helped you out immensely, but if his goal was to make you more into a \u201cbeliever\u201d it didn\u2019t entirely work. One act of channeling divine power doesn\u2019t make you believe in him as your \u201cgod\u201d so much as it makes you desire that power on a more stable basis.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 65\n\nDelerg has been completely transformed. No longer is it known as just that dismal swamp where the shadows make their home. It\u2019s literally been transformed into the land of shadows.\n\nYou called upon powers of Dendrin in one great ritual to forever cast a cloud of darkness over the area. Delerg is now a land of perpetual twilight. Most in Quala would not ever dare raise an army to invade it now even if they wanted to, for fear of the unnatural shadow magic that now pervades the place. Indeed the High Council of the Quala Freelands pay you tribute due their border touching Delerg. Since nobody even wants to visit Delerg anymore, you\u2019ve established a smaller settlement in the Freelands for a few reasons. One being for potential recruits of which there are always a few that wish to join and another for those that have need of the shadows\u2019 services, which are still in demand.\n\nSkog\u2019s tribes of Rask may very well overrun the magiocracy of northern Quala one day, but they definitely will never set one green foot into Delerg, but then ever since your actions in Rask you didn\u2019t have much concern about that happening anyway.\n\nThe svelk have all been run out of the immediate area. You\u2019ve either hunted them all down, or they moved further east towards the Felkan Kingdom, which has begun to spread to the west in an attempt to establish order in the still chaotic Arat province.\n\nStill despite Delerg\u2019s fearsome appearance and reputation now, there are still those that would prefer to address you directly\u2026\n\n\u201cAn emissary from the Nalin Empire on the Delerg border wants to see you. Says she has an offer that you\u2019ll find most enticing.\u201d Gannon tells you.\n\u201cDon\u2019t they all? Very well give her passage to approach the temple.\u201d You say wondering what this could be about.\n\nThe Nalin Empire is still the only major power nearby that you have not had a major effect on. It continues to be run by Warden Matron Brenda whose hatred for the shadows is quite well known. As your influence has steadily grown beyond Delerg relations between that government and your organization have grown in intensity. The Nalin Empire has made it quite clear that any shadow found within its borders or anyone enlisting the aid of shadows will be executed.\n\nStill it doesn\u2019t keep you from having a few agents still there though information is still hard to come by. At least any meaningful information. Brenda is a private person and her citizens are all fairly loyal. You\u2019ve only ever gotten a few people from there actually trying to hire you and that was only in the early years. You\u2019ve had no contracts from there for maybe ten years or more and never any meeting from a formal member of the government there. So to get an emissary from there now? This is an odd day indeed.\n\nWhen you find out this emissary is Tarna, your preoccupation dwindles a bit and focuses more on this meeting. Tarna is known to be Brenda\u2019s second in command and the one who enforces most of the laws of the land. When she arrives she looks like all the reports you\u2019ve heard. Long brunette hair, swarthy skin, warrior type with a haughty air about her, etc. She travels only with a couple servant types who look scared shitless to even be in Delerg let alone the actual temple of Dendrin. Tarna though looks genuinely unimpressed and you don\u2019t even sense any fear in her. A state of combat readiness perhaps, but she\u2019d be a damn fool not to feel that way\u2026actually she\u2019s a damn fool as far as you\u2019re concerned seeing as she isn\u2019t afraid.\n\nShe should be.\n\nNormally Talia would be with you to meet her, but Talia\u2019s currently meeting with Cyrus and Dravin in Quala to see if any of the potential shadow recruits are worthy. So you meet with Tarna privately.\n\n\u201cSo what brings such a high ranking member of the Nalin Empire to Delerg? Has the Nalin Empire finally decided to lift its ban on shadows traveling through its domain?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cHardly, and I\u2019m fairly certain the illegality of it doesn\u2019t stop you from doing so anyway. But I\u2019m not here to make small talk with you fanatics, I\u2019m here on a matter that I think you\u2019ll want to take.\u201d\n\u201cDo tell.\u201d\n\u201cIt\u2019s about Warden Matron Brenda. She needs to be\u2026removed.\u201d\n\nA little surprising perhaps, but not really. You\u2019ve heard that Tarna has shown signs of great ambition.\n\n\u201cJust like that eh? You wish for the death of your master so easily?\u201d\n\u201cThat old bitch is NOT my master\u2026\u201d she begins to say, but you interrupt.\n\u201cYes she is. We ALL have a master in some way. I am master for example of all the shadows, but then Dendrin is master over all of us. Sometimes it is even natural to want to overthrow our masters\u2026\u201d you say with a very real double meaning, though Tarna isn\u2019t concerned with your own thoughts.\n\u201cWhatever, I didn\u2019t come here for your loony shadow philosophies. I came here to hire your people. I can promise you more than payment in the form of money, I can also promise you legality. Make it so it isn\u2019t an offense for shadows to enter Nalin or to hire them.\u201d\n\u201cWell, I suppose that would make things easier, and that\u2019s quite generous. However, I question why you would do such a thing. I mean what do you gain by letting us freely in your newly acquired country?\u201d\n\u201cSafety and a powerful ally.\u201d\n\u201cHeh, don\u2019t think either of those terms have been ever used to describe the shadows, but I\u2019m intrigued.\u201d\n\u201cYou shadows are the most powerful organization in this part of the world. More powerful than some so called governments. Far more power than you should have actually, if I had been Brenda I would\u2019ve sent an army to crush you long ago before you got too entrenched. I never understood how she could hate you so much yet never act directly towards you. She claims her actions are tempered with caution, but I say they are riddled with cowardice.\u201d\n\u201cStrong words\u2026so how would putting you in charge benefit us? You just said you\u2019d attempt to destroy us.\u201d\n\u201cBecause I\u2019m pragmatic and I see such a war would bring ruin to Nalin and I wish only to bring glory to it. For far too long the Nalin Empire has remained stagnant, still clutching on to the skeletal remains of the old Empire that Brenda served. It needs to grow and I intend to make it do just that. The shadows can help in this task. I believe I should want to call upon your services many times when usual tactics aren\u2019t enough in the future. And then there are those that may want to call upon you to stop me from achieving my goals. If we have an understanding, it can be profitable for you.\u201d\n\nSounds like Tarna really wants to be in charge. She gives you the price she\u2019s willing to pay and it certainly is reasonable, doesn\u2019t make you immediately agree to it though.\n\n\u201cSo, you desire the shadows to serve as your government\u2019s personal assassins? We had an arrangement like that once before\u2026I believe you know how that ended.\u201d\n\u201cNo! This would be different! The shadows would remain completely independent. You could still worship your silly god and not answer to any government. I do not even wish to conquer Delerg, you can have this swampland. I just want the rest! Quala, Arat, Rask, even the Felkan Kingdom! And as I said the shadows would still have free reign to ply their trade anywhere in the glorious Empire of Nalin.\u201d\n\nShe\u2019s certainly confident and upfront about things, of course perhaps not too much since she is here attempting to hire you after all. You can certainly see an upside to such an arrangement. It also sounds like a lot of promises that might not be kept, however it isn\u2019t necessarily because Tarna\u2019s a liar. Her big plans may just fall flat due to arrogance. If so, it\u2019ll probably be better than her being successful and you\u2019ll have your foot already in the door to start gaining more of a presence in the Nalin Empire. There is always the fact you could just kill her if she attempts to betray you, the problem though is the Nalin Empire isn\u2019t like the many mini-states of Quala, or even the orc tribal alliance in Rask, it\u2019s a much larger unified entity. A war with them could get very costly though you\u2019ve certainly faced bigger and you\u2019ve got the resources.\n\nA bigger concern for you is getting distracted with a war. Your growing obsession over the past few years is with wanting to somehow harness Dendrin\u2019s power independent of him. He\u2019s vaguely hinted at several times in the past that he isn\u2019t a real \u201cgod\u201d just very powerful. What if you could do the same and somehow take his place? You\u2019ve been trying to study all the old tomes you have in your possession over and over again in the hopes of finding something and you believe that you\u2019ll probably have to mix several complex incantations and rituals in order to even attempt such a thing. Most likely you\u2019ll have to study some non-shadow magic as well. You received some of those books back that Brenda snagged from the Derro lab when Flog gave those that were left behind at Evergloom to you, but you still haven\u2019t found quite what you\u2019re looking for in them.\n\nStill, you\u2019re fairly certain the magiocracy of northern Quala probably has more books that you lost years ago when you had to flee General Ackerson\u2019s attack. Flog\u2019s already at war with them, it might be time to give him a little extra help again and forget about helping Tarna achieve her petty dreams entirely.", "action_results": [{"action": "Help Tarna", "result": "You\u2019ve done some questionable things, but you\u2019ve always honored a deal and never pursued a war of aggression. As much as you might want to loot the Quala magiocracy for their magic treasures in an effort to pursue your own plans, you do have an agreement of non-aggression with them.\n\nThat just leaves Tarna\u2019s offer which you could still decline, but you see an opportunity here.\n\n\u201cOkay we might have an agreement, but do you have any old magical tomes laying around or treasures of a magical nature? Because that\u2019s what we\u2019re going to need to get this job done.\u201d\n\nTarna is understandably hesitant.\n\n\u201cYou want me to deliver potential weapons that be used against us in the future?\u201d\n\u201cWell if you want to put it that way, yes. However, if you really want the throne as bad as I think you do, you\u2019ll find it to be a fair offer. Besides, I\u2019m risking giving you the throne and taking it on your word alone that you won\u2019t ever attack us, though I\u2019m fairly certain whatever we have now is more than enough to defeat you anyway. You really wouldn\u2019t be giving us an advantage.\u201d\n\u201cShadow arrogance\u2026(sigh) well I mean we have a few gathering dust in our treasury. Powerful mages aren\u2019t exactly common in our realm, but I don\u2019t want to risk stealing them away and then you tell me that you don\u2019t want them for whatever reason.\u201d\n\u201cJust bring what you have along with the payment you mentioned, but we\u2019re not doing the deed until we get paid first.\u201d\n\u201cWhat?! That means I have to have an excuse to make another trip up here, which might take me a few months from now!\u201d\n\u201cNot my problem, but like I said you\u2019re the one who wants the throne, surely if you\u2019ve waited this long, you can probably wait a little longer. There\u2019s always the option of sending someone else to deliver the payment though.\u201d\n\nTarna is getting more and more frustrated, but she can\u2019t help but capitulate to your demands.\n\n\u201cFine you\u2019ll see me in a few months from now because quite frankly I don\u2019t trust anyone else enough to handle what I\u2019ll turn over to you.\u201d\n\u201cSo be it. See you then.\u201d\n\nTarna leaves and its back to business as usual, when Talia returns she has a lot of reservations about the deal with Tarna for several reasons, but after a bit of debating she stops since you being the chosen of Dendrin means you presumably know what you\u2019re doing.\n\nAfter a few months pass, Tarna comes back with the payment as promised. The spell books she\u2019s hands over to you aren\u2019t quite what you hoped, but a deal\u2019s a deal and you send the best Blades to assassinate Brenda. Within the week the job is successful\u2026though unfortunately not without a hitch since some of the shadows were killed during the job and it becomes well known who did the deed.\n\nNaturally Tarna attempts to save her own ass by accusing the shadows of aggressive behavior and proof that you all need to be invaded. This doesn\u2019t entirely work in her favor though as it was long suspected that Tarna\u2019s ambition was what caused this in the first place. The Nalin Empire ends up going through a minor power struggle and by the time the dust settles Tarna has been executed for treason and one of Brenda\u2019s loyalists takes power.\n\nUnfortunately this loyalist faction now in power decides that Tarna\u2019s suggestion that the shadows be invaded is the only good idea she ever came up with and steps are made to do just that in revenge for the death of their beloved leader.\n\nThe initial phases of the Nalin Shadow conflict begin in the Quala Freelands where the shadows have an outpost. It not only serves as a way of hurting you, but also expanding their own territory. Tarna might not have gotten throne, but her dreams of a new expansionist Nalin Empire are coming true.\n\nYear 67\n\nThe shadows have been pushed back to the Delerg province entirely now. The Nalin Empire in the meantime has managed to completely annex the Quala Freelands into its territory and has even managed to \u201ctame\u201d a few of the eastern Quala warlords.\n\nOn the shadow front, you\u2019ve been doing all you can to keep the Nalinites out of Delerg to the point that it\u2019s distracted you from your original goal of attempting to figure out a way to free the shadows from Dendrin\u2019s whims and harness his power independently.\n\nYear 69\n\nNalin\u2019s attempts to repeatedly conquer Delerg continue to fail, but the attrition on the shadows is starting to take its toll. You just can\u2019t replace your numbers like the Nalinites can. Worse is the fact that they\u2019ve been using kobold \u201ccommandos\u201d which continue to dig underground tunnels in an effort to launch sneak attacks. The only reason why that tactic hasn\u2019t been more successful is due to the soft swampland that collapses very easily or just starts filling tunnels with water. Still there have been a few times it has worked.\n\nThe shadows have had to go completely on the defensive and all involvement in assassination for hire has been stopped. The shadows are also starting to lose their aura of \u201cfear\u201d they once had due to the Nalinite\u2019s determination to destroy you as a result you no longer have what you could consider \u201callies\u201d anymore.\n\nYear 73\n\nIt took nearly all your energy but you\u2019ve just turned back an entire Nalin battalion along with their svelk mercenaries. Damned dark elves would have to come back like opportunistic scavengers.\n\nYou look around at the blasted area. Your last spell probably destroyed several miles of swampland, trees, wildlife and most likely Sinkhole. The temple is still intact more or less, though you can\u2019t say too much for the shadows themselves. Cyrus, Dravin, Glen, Gannon are all dead from this war. Even your beloved Talia died in this latest attack.\n\nYou\u2019ve won this day, but you question the next time. There are only a few shadows left and while you probably could continue to fight you wonder why bother, the Nalin Empire has practically won at this point even if you have made it very costly for them. Your only consolation is that you\u2019ve probably depleted much of their coffers in this war.\n\nDendrin himself has been suspiciously quiet during this time and hasn\u2019t spoken to you at all. You almost wonder if he some how set up events due to his knowledge of what you were originally planning concerning him. Hardly matters you guess since that isn\u2019t a possibility anymore.\n\nYou bury Talia and order the rest of your remaining shadows to prepare for the next attack.\n\nIt takes a while, but eventually another attack does come. Not quite as big as last time, but it doesn\u2019t need to be. You\u2019re so tired at this point that you don\u2019t even fight as hard as you could. When the finale comes in the form of several swords and spears pointing at you, you welcome it just to put an end to it all.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Decline her request", "result": "You\u2019ve got other important things to concern yourself with; you don\u2019t have time to risk backing a potential wild card. When you decline to help her, she\u2019s surprised.\n\n\u201cWhat?! Are you serious? Since when do the shadows decline a contract?\u201d\n\u201cWhy does everyone assume we take everything? We only accept deals that would be in our favor and quite frankly dealing with you seems like it would be a losing game at best, so if that\u2019s all our business here\u2026\u201d\n\n\u201cBut you would be destroying an enemy!\u201d\n\u201cAn enemy who as you just said is too cowardly to make a move against us. I think the status quo is working just fine right now. Now I suggest you leave before you make me angry.\u201d\n\nTarna stares at you for a moment and looks exasperated, but realizes there will be no convincing you.\n\n\u201cFine! But remember this shadow. Brenda isn\u2019t going to be in charge forever and I will be taking power one day. You may find that declining to help me now was not a good idea. I will remember this shadow.\u201d She says and walks out of the room.\n\nYou sit there for a moment thinking, and then you get up to follow her. Just as she is storming out the front temple doors with her servants you hit her in the back with a small bolt of shadowfire, not enough to kill her, because you\u2019re not done with her yet.\n\nHer servants attempt to run, but you tell the nearby shadows to dispose of them which they do so with ease and then drag Tarna\u2019s body towards you. She tries to pull her sword out, but her hand is stepped on by a shadow and then her sword taken away completely.\n\nDespite all this, she remains defiant.\n\n\u201cFool! You kill me and you\u2019ll have the entire might of Nalin on your head! You really think I won\u2019t be missed?\u201d\n\u201cNot really. I know for a fact, you were on a mission to meet with the High Council of the Freelands before you came on this little detour. I mean come on; you came here to hire us to assassinate your master. You weren\u2019t going to report your sidetrip here. Even if you have co-conspirators back home, I doubt if any of them have the balls you do and they\u2019ll most likely keep quiet about your disappearance. Oh they may very well try to blame the shadows for your death, but I believe at worst, Brenda will assume you were killed by bandits in the wilderness of the Freelands.\u201d\n\u201cYou assume much, shadow.\u201d\n\u201cPerhaps, but just to be safe, I\u2019ll keep you around for maybe a few months. Just in case a Nalin army does come sniffing around, then I can drag your ragged ass out in chains where you can fully admit you were plotting treachery to them first hand and prove that not only did we not act against the Nalin Empire, but in fact helped it\u2026heh heh. Who knows? Maybe it\u2019ll even be a brand new era of peace between our two people.\u201d\n\nTarna is starting to break at this point, she\u2019s starting to realize that she has vastly overstepped her bounds.\n\n\u201cYou\u2026you really think they\u2019ll believe that? You really think I would admit it?\u201d\n\u201cOh yes, because IF they do arrive, you\u2019ll tell them everything and practically be begging them to execute you if only to end the nightmares you\u2019ll soon experience.\u201d you say and then move your face closer to hers. \u201cI can sense your fear\u2026funny how you should feel it only now when its too late. Take her away.\u201d\n\nNobody will come for her, you\u2019re sure of it. Now with that out of the way you can get back to your own plans.\n\nAggressively pursuing conflict with the magiocracy is probably going to be a violation of your agreement with them, but with Skog\u2019s help you don\u2019t see any need to worry. As for Skog, he\u2019s very much like his father in that he knows a good deal when it presents itself.\n\nThe shadows will follow as long as you tell them that Dendrin commands it. You\u2019ll get no dissent, that hasn\u2019t been a problem in quite some time.\n\nYou begin to make the preparations.\n\nYear 66\n\n\u201cWe\u2019ve completely looted the magiocracy\u2019s treasury of their most prized magic items and tomes. Some of them are items we lost long ago, but most of it is stuff we\u2019ve never seen before. Possibly old Empire.\u201d Glen tells you as he hands you a few books.\n\u201cMakes sense. Most of those mages running that place were ex-Empire after all. Well good, our mission was a success then. I trust the magiocracy is probably on its death knell?\u201d\n\u201cIt is Shadow Master. While it hasn\u2019t collapsed completely yet, I believe Skog\u2019s rabble is doing its best to make sure it stomps out.\u201d\n\u201cGood. Just bring in the rest of the stuff and we\u2019ll sort through it. That\u2019ll be all for now.\u201d\n\nGlen nods and takes his leave. As you leaf through the pages of one of the books, Talia addresses you.\n\n\u201cWhen are we going to hold the ceremony for all those shadows lost in the service of Dendrin?\u201d\n\u201cHuh? Oh, I dunno, soon I suppose. You can take care of those details.\u201d You say without looking up.\n\u201c\u2026I will\u2026but\u2026\u201d\n\u201cWhat?\u201d you say starting to get annoyed.\n\u201cWell you could show a little more sympathy. I mean these brave shadows died. Our brothers and sisters died. They should at least be given the honor and respect they deserve.\u201d\n\u201cTalia, they died serving Dendrin. That\u2019s what they\u2019re SUPPOSED to do. By all means have the ceremony honoring the dead, but I have other living concerns that require immediate attention.\u201d\n\u201cAnd that\u2019s the other thing I\u2019ve been wanting to speak to you about. I\u2019ve noticed over the years, you have become obsessed with magic of all kinds. You pour over the old shadow tomes even more than I do. In fact I practically have to snatch them out of your hands if I need to look up something at times. You\u2019ve also become much colder and distant. It\u2019s almost like you don\u2019t even care about any of us anymore and see us all as minions and henchmen. You talk about spreading fear to our enemies and how it is Dendrin\u2019s will, but is it absolutely necessary to treat your fellow shadows in the same manner?\u201d\n\u201cTalia, I never treat you with anything other than respect and honor. You know that.\u201d\n\u201cFor now, but I\u2019m not talking about just me. I\u2019m talking about everyone else. Look I know you\u2019re the chosen of Dendrin and you know his plan better than anyone, but have you become so far removed that you don\u2019t even feel a shred of empathy anymore? I mean remember Master Ebon? He cared for all of us\u2026\u201d\n\u201cHe\u2019s also dead, so I don\u2019t see how following his example is going to get us anywhere the shadows need to be which is what I\u2019m trying to accomplish. You say that I\u2019m far removed from the rest, when in actuality I\u2019ve been trying to keep my knowledge of my surroundings to damn near omnipotent level. I\u2019ve kept the shadows thriving by implementing changes. Changes that Dendrin obviously agrees with, but what you don\u2019t realize, what none of you realize is that I\u2019m trying to accomplish something that will establish shadow survival long after I\u2019ve shuffled off this mortal realm.\u201d\n\u201cAnd what is that exactly? You mind at least telling me?\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m talking about transcending.\u201d\n\nTalia pauses and thinks she knows what you\u2019re talking about.\n\n\u201cAre\u2026are you talking about performing the ritual of ascension?\u201d\n\nShe\u2019s only partially right. You\u2019ve read through the ritual and while you don\u2019t exactly understand all of it, you believe that you should only implement a large part of it. You do not believe it is the direction the shadows need to go and you are still seeking out a way to alter it to suit what you want to accomplish.\n\n\u201cI cannot give you an answer yet as I\u2019m still working on the specifics, but rest assured you will be the first to know when I figure everything out. Just trust me as you would trust in Dendrin. Have I ever lead the shadows wrong? And if I was doing something wrong, would Dendrin not smite me?\u201d\n\nOnce again invoking Dendrin\u2019s lack of action towards you manages to convince Talia that whatever you\u2019re planning it must be for the greater good of the shadows.\n\nAnd you are, just not for Dendrin\u2019s sake.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 75\n\n\u201cDo you really believe you can separate yourself from me? You think that you can actually steal my power without consequence?\u201d Dendrin asks.\n\u201cYes, I have figured out a way and you will do nothing about it. You know why? Because you are a being of much power sure, but you and I know that you are no god and. More importantly we would not even be stealing any power from you, because I also know you are not even native to the shadow realm; you are merely using it as a source to act as a god. In my years of study, I have come to learn what you truly are and that is a Yequk, a whimsical being of the planes that loves to leech of the energy of a plane. Your kind also has a tendency to masquerade as gods or demons for amusement purposes and will bestow magic powers to those who believe in you or in my case, for the hell of it.\u201d You reply.\n\nThere is silence for a while, but eventually Dendrin speaks.\n\n\u201cWell done Eternal, I always thought I would manage to make you a believer though. I always thought that eventually you would come around, and for a while it looked it like you might, but ultimately you resisted. I suppose it\u2019s my own fault for not killing you immediately, but your potential for amusement value was too great to resist. However even with this knowledge do you really believe the shadows will survive without me granting them powers?\u201d\n\u201cThe shadows could directly draw upon the source of the shadow realm under the right circumstances. Circumstances that I have finally unlocked, all I need to do is perform the ritual.\u201d\n\u201cWell, it looks like you\u2019ve got it all figured out Eternal. I just hope there aren\u2019t any unforeseen consequences to your plan\u2026\u201d\n\u201cIs that supposed to be a threat?\u201d\n\u201cPerhaps, but not necessarily one from me because let\u2019s face it what would be the point? No, I believe your problem is of more mortal matters.\u201d\n\u201cThe shadows will follow me in performing the ritual.\u201d\n\u201cOh of that I have no doubt, you know why? Because you\u2019ll tell them what you\u2019ve always told them, that it\u2019s my will that must be carried out! But tell me this Eternal, what is the point of this endeavor if I am most likely going to be worshipped anyway? Do you really believe that you can just expose the truth so easily? If you could, you would\u2019ve done so long ago.\u201d\n\u201cNo! Now is different, because I can actually do something about it. I can show the shadows that they don\u2019t need you to sustain their powers. That\u2019s the whole point of this.\u201d\n\u201cNo, the whole point of this is I\u2019m the only enemy that you\u2019ve never been fully able to beat. You\u2019ve denied me, you\u2019ve ignored me, you\u2019ve blatantly insulted me and you\u2019ve even changed the religion to something that you prefer better\u2026though I always agreed with what you did in that aspect. This whole thing is nothing more than an attempt to defeat me before you die of old age and it\u2019s a pointless endeavor based on your pride if you ask me.\u201d\n\u201cWell nobody asked you.\u201d you say starting to get angry.\n\u201cI genuinely don\u2019t understand what your problem is, because we\u2019ve ALL benefited from this arrangement. You\u2019ve even called on me for help in the past.\u201d\n\u201cMoments of weakness, I assure you.\u201d\n\u201cYes, I\u2019m sure seeing as you\u2019ve been hung up on the whole instilling fear into everyone and no room for the weak type of thing for the past couple of decades. Your problem started when you started believing in your own rhetoric. YOU want to be the one that the shadows worship. YOU want to be the god of fear and shadows. You don\u2019t want to share any of the credit with me.\u201d\n\u201cAnd why should I? I\u2019m the one whose really been guiding them all these years! You\u2019ve done absolutely nothing! They\u2019d all be fucking dead if you had your way! You even admitted as much. You\u2019ve claimed on several occasions that you\u2019ve been bored of the shadows for years and you\u2019ve only taken a more direct interest in them recently because I came along.\u201d\n\u201cWhile all of that may be true, what you\u2019re forgetting is I\u2019ve been guiding them a lot longer than you have. I gave them purpose for centuries! And what did you think other shadow masters were doing all those years? Twiddling their thumbs? No they were also guiding the shadows! You think you\u2019re not the only shadow master to have these sorts of feelings? You already know by Master Ebon\u2019s own dying admission that he never spoke to me and lied the whole time. You really think other shadow masters didn\u2019t have their own doubts of whether I was a god, or even existed? You\u2019re just the first one to figure out the entire truth and let the bitterness get to you. So by all means perform your little magic ritual and tap directly into the power of this shadow realm. I\u2019m sure it\u2019ll be a success, but you will never be free of the religion tied to it. My name will always be attached to the shadows. Perhaps now more than ever, for a day may have soon come that I would\u2019ve abandoned the shadows entirely and moved on to other things. On that day, they would\u2019ve lost all their powers and undoubtedly the organization would\u2019ve soon collapsed afterwards. Now? You\u2019re going to give them access to the power directly whether I\u2019m here or not. Who do you think is going to still be worshipped? That\u2019s right.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo I\u2019ll risk exposing the truth.\u201d You say in an attempt to continue to be defiant.\n\u201cBefore or after the ritual? If its before, you\u2019re not even going to get a chance to complete it because you\u2019ll be strung up as a heretic or you\u2019ll be forced to kill them all. I doubt even your own mate would side with you even if she and possibly a few others might suspect you\u2019re right. Faith is a powerful thing and you know this. If it\u2019s after the ritual, you might have better success, but I doubt it. At best you\u2019ll end up getting utter chaos because you\u2019ll get rogue shadows that will see no reason to be part of the group anymore. Just think about those in the past that dared to oppose the status quo like Theo, Yvette or even Shade. Don\u2019t you think there will be MORE dissident types when they know there is absolutely no chance of them losing their powers now? The shadows will eventually splinter apart through selfishness. Of course perhaps you don\u2019t care, but I think you do care about the shadows more than you let on sometimes. If you didn\u2019t, you wouldn\u2019t be making such a grand effort of trying to free them from me.\u201d\n\nYou hate it when Dendrin makes good points and this time he\u2019s made several.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m\u2026not going to win this one am I?\u201d you say.\n\u201cMy advice? You\u2019d be better off letting this one go. You\u2019re a mortal and have limitations. Enjoy what little time you have left. But it\u2019s your choice, and I\u2019ve always believed that you work better without guidance, so do what you will.\u201d\n\nYou wake up from your mental ordeal and sit up placing your head within your hands trying to come to grips with your own short sightedness. It\u2019s almost enough to make you cry.\n\n\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong? You seem upset. Bad dream?\u201d Talia asks when she sees you after rousing from her own sleep.\n\u201cNo\u2026I\u2026no. I\u2019m fine. Just still tired I guess.\u201d\n\nYou lay back down and Talia soon goes back to sleep. You\u2019re left wondering what you\u2019re going to do, but it all seems so pointless now no matter what you decide.\n\nIf you go ahead with the ritual anyway and expose the truth, you\u2019re going to face all the potential problems Dendrin mentioned. Of course you could just keep up the lie about Dendrin, but that seems to be defeating your original purpose.", "action_results": [{"action": "Perform the ritual and tell the truth", "result": "The whole point of this is to free the shadows from the lie. They\u2019ll be pissed at first and there will probably be violence, but you see this will be for the best in the long run.\n\nYou get up and gather the books you\u2019ve been studying and go over one more time this ritual you have planned. You don\u2019t even know if it\u2019ll even work, but you\u2019re fairly certain you haven\u2019t gotten any of the magic words or signs wrong.\n\nYou send a general announcement out that after all assassination missions have been completed, no more are to be given and that all shadows are to remain at the temple until the Ritual of Ascension is to be completed. (Which is what you\u2019ve called it, because you\u2019re practically performing the same thing just with some of your own alterations)\n\nMany of the shadows immediately cheer at the news, others aren\u2019t entirely sure what you\u2019re talking about which isn\u2019t surprising since the Ascension Ritual isn\u2019t common knowledge to the newer shadows. Still when you explain it, they all seem excited about the plan.\n\nWhen the time comes you stand outside the temple in front of the several hundred shadows with their heads down in prayer. From the ones nearly as old as you to the ones that are barely out of the crib, all shadows are lending their own energy to your own in the effort of pulling off this historical moment.\n\nTalia stands by your side as always. You look at her and wonder if you would\u2019ve even come this far if you hadn\u2019t fallen in love with her. Lately you\u2019ve been a bit distant with her, but you promise that\u2019ll change when this is all over.\n\n\u201cWe are shadows! We have endured for centuries no matter what the struggles. From before the Empire and through it, and after it\u2019s inevitable demise. We will continue to thrive in the years to come. We feel we are ready for this power. I feel we are ready. This is the destiny of the shadows!\u201d you say and then begin the incantations.\n\nMost of your people recite what you say in unison while others stand at the far ends and chant supporting verses, which are essential to the ritual. Talia is also chanting yet another portion of it while making gestures with her hands to begin the first part of opening up the portal to Dendrin\u2019s realm. This part is almost like the initiation ritual, but of course much more complex and involved.\n\nA large portal opens up above all of you and even with the sky already in perpetual darkness; it seems to get even darker. There is no wind or lightning or anything that most would connect with such a grand attempt altering reality. Instead, it just gets very dark and you start to feel a tingling numbness.\n\nYou begin to see some of the shadows fall to the ground. You don\u2019t know if they\u2019ve died or just fainted. None of them are deterred though; they all continue to perform their parts for as long as they are able. This is like one of your personal encounters with Dendrin when you\u2019ve slept, but instead everyone is experiencing it in the real world. You begin to feel all five of your senses becoming non-existent and the numbness is close to complete at this point.\n\nEventually you can\u2019t even see most of the shadows in front of you and you can hardly hear them anymore. Still you know you\u2019re on the right path, the blackness is engulfing everything. You briefly look over at Talia who is barely visible now. She continues to chant like a true believer that she\u2019s always been.\n\nA few minutes pass and you soon can\u2019t hear anything except your own voice now and even that is very faint, though you can\u2019t be sure it\u2019s due to losing your hearing or your voice. Probably both. You look over one more time at Talia who you see start to teeter from exhaustion. You see her look over at you as well before you lose sight of her completely to the blackness.\n\nYou continue to silently chant while your mind fights the fatigue you\u2019re experiencing. It feels like you\u2019ve been doing this forever, but you have to finish. You wonder what\u2019s happening to everyone else. You wonder if they\u2019re still alive. You wonder if Talia is still alive.\n\n\u201cDecided to go through with it after all eh? I thought you might.\u201d you hear inside your head. It\u2019s Dendrin, you can\u2019t talk to him though, you need to focus since you\u2019re going into the part of the ritual that you\u2019ve created yourself with other non-shadow incantations.\n\n\u201cEternal, are you sure this is even going to work? Perhaps you should stop before you continue any further.\u201d\n\nAnd now you know that you\u2019ve made the right decision. He\u2019s trying to talk you out it.\n\n\u201cEternal, are you sure this is what you want?\u201d\n\nOf course it is. This is what will be for the best for the shadows. You\u2019ve been their true master for over decades now. They would\u2019ve ultimately been destroyed without you. When you\u2019re gone the shadows will fall prey to something else, whether it be from external forces or internal ones. Dendrin doesn\u2019t give a shit about them despite his fondness for you. By doing this, they\u2019ll always be strong and independent of him whether they know it or not.\n\nYou begin the finishing lines of the ritual.\n\n\u201cVery well, I can see you have made your decision.\u201d\n\nWith those last words you succumb to absolute numbness and pass out.\n\nHours later you awaken to Talia\u2019s face staring at you along with several other shadows.\n\n\u201cThank Dendrin, he\u2019s still alive.\u201d You hear Gannon say.\n\u201cMy love are you all right?\u201d Talia asks.\nYes. Yes I\u2019m fine, just a little disorientated. How is everything else? Did it work?\u201d\n\u201cWell I suppose so. I mean we all feel a little different now. Some have expressed an increase in magical abilities. What exactly was the ritual supposed to do?\u201d Talia asks.\n\u201cIt was to make us more powerful and our shadow magic stronger.\u201d You say.\n\u201cYou mean like make our link stronger to Dendrin?\u201d\n\u201cMore like the opposite.\u201d\n\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d\n\nAs you attempt to explain what you did and why you did it the reactions are varied but most are not positive. Some of them are in such a state of shock they don\u2019t know what to think. Others are angry to the point of saying you have damned them all in the eyes of Dendrin. Others are angrier that you were lying to them this whole time. Faith is a powerful thing and when you directly challenge it like you\u2019ve just done, it tends to result in bad things.\n\nTalia herself can\u2019t even look at you, she leaves your side as an angry mob of shadows begins to close in on you. You tell them all to back off before you\u2019re forced to destroy them, then you call them a bunch of ingrates that should be thankful for what you\u2019ve done. This goes over about as well as can be expected.\n\nYou end up vaporizing several shadows to ash and wounding many severely before you\u2019re eventually mobbed and restrained. They don\u2019t even give you the dignity of stabbing you to death, one of the shadows smashes your head with a rock and you crumple to the ground feeling the countless kicks and punches to your body. Eventually you\u2019re beaten to a bloody pulp, but the shadows continue to torment your body in death by ripping it apart and throwing it to the Sul Monkeys.\n\nThe order of the shadows doesn\u2019t survive too much longer after your gruesome death. Most shadows are unable to come to grips with reality and commit suicide. The more cynical ones simply walk away and pursue new lives as independent \u201cshadow wizards.\u201d\n\nSome of the more fanatical ones descend into outright insanity and continue to worship Dendrin and commit increasingly bizarre and bloody acts in order to \u201cregain his favor\u201d. Talia ends up leading a group like this for a while before she finally loses it completely and kills herself.\n\nAs for Dendrin he sticks around to watch the final death throes of the religion he once posed as a god for, and when it\u2019s finally over he moves on to new and more entertaining things.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Perform the ritual and keep up the lie", "result": "It\u2019s not the most ideal plan that you had, but at least if you perform the ritual, the shadows won\u2019t be left in the lurch whenever Dendrin decides to cut out on them. Sure they\u2019ll still be paying tribute to an uncaring and possibly empty god, but then again haven\u2019t they always?\n\nYou get up and gather the books you\u2019ve been studying and go over one more time this ritual you have planned. You don\u2019t even know if it\u2019ll even work, but you\u2019re fairly certain you haven\u2019t gotten any of the magic words or signs wrong.\n\nIt suddenly occurs to you that maybe you should also create a new initiation ritual too. It won\u2019t be necessary for new recruits to be brainwashed into meeting with Dendrin anymore, in fact it would probably be a hindrance.\n\nAnd that\u2019s when you suddenly realize a bunch of things you can\u2019t believe you overlooked!\n\nYou\u2019re not going to \u201cbeat\u201d Dendrin in your lifetime. He probably won\u2019t even be beaten decades after your death, but you still have time to set the plans to do it now. First things first though.\n\nYou send a general announcement out that after all assassination missions have been completed, no more are to be given and that all shadows are to remain at the temple until the Ritual of Ascension is to be completed. (Which is what you\u2019ve called it, because you\u2019re practically performing the same thing just with some of your own alterations)\n\nMany of the shadows immediately cheer at the news, others aren\u2019t entirely sure what you\u2019re talking about which isn\u2019t surprising since the Ascension Ritual isn\u2019t common knowledge to the newer shadows. Still when you explain it, they all seem excited about the plan.\n\nWhen the time comes you stand outside the temple in front of the several hundred shadows with their heads down in prayer. From the ones nearly as old as you to the ones that are barely out of the crib, all shadows are lending their own energy to your own in the effort of pulling off this historical moment.\n\nTalia stands by your side as always. You look at her and wonder if you would\u2019ve even come this far if you hadn\u2019t fallen in love with her. Lately you\u2019ve been a bit distant with her, but you promise that\u2019ll change when this is all over.\n\n\u201cDendrin, we are your shadows! We have served your will for centuries no matter what the struggles. From before the Empire and through it, and after it\u2019s inevitable demise. We will always be your faithful servants in the years to come. We feel we are ready for this power. I feel we are ready. This is the destiny of the shadows!\u201d you say and then begin the incantations.\n\nMost of your people recite what you say in unison while others stand at the far ends and chant supporting verses, which are essential to the ritual. Talia is also chanting yet another portion of it while making gestures with her hands to begin the first part of opening up the portal to Dendrin\u2019s realm. This part is almost like the initiation ritual, but of course much more complex and involved.\n\nA large portal opens up above all of you and even with the sky already in perpetual darkness; it seems to get even darker. There is no wind or lightning or anything that most would connect with such a grand attempt altering reality. Instead, it just gets very dark and you start to feel a tingling numbness.\n\nYou begin to see some of the shadows fall to the ground. You don\u2019t know if they\u2019ve died or just fainted. None of them are deterred though; they all continue to perform their parts for as long as they are able. This is like one of your personal encounters with Dendrin when you\u2019ve slept, but instead everyone is experiencing it in the real world. You begin to feel all five of your senses becoming non-existent and the numbness is close to complete at this point.\n\nEventually you can\u2019t even see most of the shadows in front of you and you can hardly hear them anymore. Still you know you\u2019re on the right path, the blackness is engulfing everything. You briefly look over at Talia who is barely visible now. She continues to chant like a true believer that she\u2019s always been.\n\nA few minutes pass and you soon can\u2019t hear anything except your own voice now and even that is very faint, though you can\u2019t be sure it\u2019s due to losing your hearing or your voice. Probably both. You look over one more time at Talia who you see start to teeter from exhaustion. You see her look over at you as well before you lose sight of her completely to the blackness.\n\nYou continue to silently chant while your mind fights the fatigue you\u2019re experiencing. It feels like you\u2019ve been doing this forever, but you have to finish. You wonder what\u2019s happening to everyone else. You wonder if they\u2019re still alive. You wonder if Talia is still alive.\n\n\u201cDecided to go through with it after all eh? I thought you might.\u201d you hear inside your head. It\u2019s Dendrin, you can\u2019t talk to him though, you need to focus since you\u2019re going into the part of the ritual that you\u2019ve created yourself with other non-shadow incantations.\n\n\u201cEternal, are you sure this is even going to work? Perhaps you should stop before you continue any further.\u201d\n\nAnd now you know that you\u2019ve made the right decision. He\u2019s trying to talk you out it.\n\n\u201cEternal, are you sure this is what you want?\u201d\n\nOf course it is. This is what will be for the best for the shadows. You\u2019ve been their true master for over decades now. They would\u2019ve ultimately been destroyed without you. When you\u2019re gone the shadows will fall prey to something else, whether it be from external forces or internal ones. Dendrin doesn\u2019t give a shit about them despite his fondness for you. By doing this, they\u2019ll always be strong and independent of him whether they know it or not.\n\nYou begin the finishing lines of the ritual.\n\n\u201cVery well, I can see you have made your decision.\u201d\n\nWith those last words you succumb to absolute numbness and pass out.\n\nHours later you awaken to Talia\u2019s face staring at you along with several other shadows.\n\n\u201cThank Dendrin, he\u2019s still alive.\u201d You hear Gannon say.\n\u201cMy love are you all right?\u201d Talia asks.\n\u201cYes. Yes I\u2019m fine, just a little disorientated. How is everything else? Did it work?\u201d\n\u201cWell I suppose so. I mean we all feel a little different now. Some have expressed an increase in magical abilities. What exactly was the ritual supposed to do?\u201d Talia asks.\n\u201cI believe that\u2019s what it was supposed to do, increase our abilities. The ritual was vague. Maybe it just brought us a little closer to Dendrin\u2019s power source\u2026allow us to tap directly into his divine energy as it were.\u201d You say.\n\u201cYou mean like make our link stronger with him?\u201d\n\u201cYes, I suppose so.\u201d You say in a non-committal way.\n\nAs you are helped up and give a squeezing hug to Talia, you realize you need to get several things in order now. You aren\u2019t exactly young anymore and you have much to accomplish.\n\nAfter things have calmed down a bit and it\u2019s back to business as usual, you announce that you will be choosing a successor. This comes somewhat of a surprise, but not entirely as you are of advanced years. You and Talia go through a list of the potential candidates and eventually you settle on a young twenty year old girl by the name of Celia. She shows much promise in her combat and magic abilities and Glen had been considering her as a Blade before you picked her.\n\nMentoring her begins immediately, but that isn\u2019t your only plan. The shadows are still going to believe in Dendrin for quite some time, you don\u2019t have years left in you to make such a large change in that system, but you have set up the foundation as best you can.\n\nSo you begin to write a journal, a journal containing the truth. You intend on passing this on to Celia when you die. Hopefully you can mold her a bit in such a way that when she does read this, she\u2019ll be strong enough to accept the truth about the shadows, about Dendrin, about all of it.\n\nIt\u2019s all a bit of a gamble, but then most of your actions have been your entire life.", "action_results": []}]}, {"action": "Twilight of the Eternals (Year 73)", "result": "It\u2019s been a strange year. You\u2019ve outlived two more of the original Eternals. In both cases it was suicide and oddly enough, for similar reasons.\n\nThe ruler of the Nalin Empire, Warden Matron Brenda was found dead by her own hand earlier this year. It was quite the big event, but it doesn\u2019t look like it\u2019ll fall into chaos though, as there was already another successor established soon after Tarna went \u201cmissing.\u201d You always knew nobody was going to come looking for her, hell perhaps Brenda knew of her treachery and just gave her the rope to hang herself with.\n\nBrenda apparently left no explanation other than how she had wanted to join her beloved Roldan at last and had grown weary of life without him.\n\nRight now you\u2019re in the attendance of the burial ceremony for Cyrus who did the same thing. Dravin died last year of natural causes and you know it was a major loss for Cyrus who had been with him so long. Still you thought he\u2019d get over it eventually, but then again what else did he really have? After you established your undisputed dominance as well as crippling him, the only thing that he had to keep him going was Dravin and his faith in Dendrin. And his faith was probably a lot less than it once was given all that had happened to him. Really Dravin was his only constant and the only one who had stuck by him.\n\nPerhaps it was an eternal thing? Something within that causes eternals pre-disposed to suicide after losing their mate? Still not likely since Brenda went on for decades and none of the new eternals display such behavior, though granted they were created in a much different manner than the originals. Also while you love Talia, you can\u2019t imagine killing yourself if she died. You\u2019d morn certainly, but you\u2019d have to carry on. Especially with what you\u2019re attempting to accomplish. You briefly wonder if that means you love her less, but you dismiss such thoughts, after all if every person committed suicide after the death of their own mates there would be a hell of a lot less people in the world. You wonder if you died if Talia would end her life. You certainly hope she wouldn\u2019t and would go on with living life. There are enough things trying to kill you without doing it yourself.\n\nNow you and Talia are the last of the originals and it\u2019s a bit of a sobering thought. You were bred to serve the Empire and neither of you ever did. You\u2019ve outlived the Empire, you\u2019ve outlived all the other original eternals and you\u2019ve outlived several shadows you once considered friends and peers. People like Murk. Like Bianca. Like Brother Gray. It all seems so long ago. You can\u2019t even remember their faces anymore.\n\nYou\u2019ve even managed to outlive most of the second-generation eternals. A handful of them still live, but it seems funny that barely any of them have survived up to this point when there were so many more than the first generation. The age old \u201cThey don\u2019t make them like they used to\u201d statement you suppose could apply here.\n\nAs you stand and stare at Cyrus\u2019 body you don\u2019t even know you\u2019re here. He\u2019s dead and that\u2019s that. You\u2019ve got much more important things to do. You very nearly didn\u2019t bother to come, but Talia\u2019s insistence was a large part of your attendance.\n\n\u201cWell Cyrus, I always thought it would come to one of us killing the other, and I suppose it nearly did a couple times, but it would seem fate had other ideas.\u201d You quietly say to Cyrus\u2019 body.\n\nOkay perhaps the other part of your attendance was out of the genuine respect you once had for him.\n\n\u201c(Sigh) You\u2019re an idiot. You didn\u2019t need to kill yourself. What did it accomplish? I could\u2019ve still used your help on certain things. You weren\u2019t useless you know, you were always loyal despite everything.\u201d\n\nPerhaps your attendance was out the genuine respect you STILL have for him.\n\n\u201cNow you\u2019re useless of course. Now I have to have someone else look after the temple security. Heh. You probably killed yourself just to inconvenience me. Bastard. Good one though.\u201d You chuckle.\n\nYou take one last look at Cyrus. He does look peaceful. Free of worry, concerns, and all of that other shit. He probably thought he was going to meet Dravin in the shadow realm where Dendrin holds a party for all loyal shadows. Of course that\u2019s a fool\u2019s idea. You know the truth about Dendrin and you need to get back to that particular problem right now.\n\n\u201cSo long Cyrus\u2026my brother.\u201d You say and take your leave.", "action_results": [null]}]}]}]}]}, {"action": "Finish them off", "result": "You\u2019re having a hard enough time concentrating as it is, you aren\u2019t going to waste time trying to cast a spell. Besides you got by just fine without magic in the past and if you kill them all quick enough the danger will be over.\n\nYou quickly kill the orc that Talia is fighting and just in time too since she is visibly exhausted from the battle.\n\n\u201cAre you all right?\u201d\n\u201cYeah\u2026I just\u2026my head\u2026\u201d\n\u201cStay out of the way and just keep fighting it, this\u2019ll be over soon.\u201d You say and Talia staggers over to a nearby tree out of the way of the major fighting.\n\nYou dispatch another orc and then another and then another, but the voices seem to be growing more numerous and more powerful.\n\n\u201cYou cannot win! Cease your struggle! You are\u2026\u201d\n\u201cSHUT UP!\u201d you yell out as you run your sword through the neck of another orc.\n\nYou barely avoid another attack, but not from an orc, but rather from one of your own shadows. When you see his face up close it has that same unnaturally wide mouth filled with sharp teeth. Its at that point you realize what you\u2019re dealing with, wendigos. You briefly read about them in Kane\u2019s journal after you took Fort Destiny. They\u2019re evil spirits that constantly crave flesh and possess bodies of the living, which explains why the voices have been getting stronger as you\u2019ve been depriving them of bodies. Now they\u2019ve hopped into the bodies of your shadows.\n\nYou go on the defensive and put up a good fight despite being outnumbered and assaulted physically and mentally, but it all comes to an end when you suddenly feel a strong force hit your back and then through your body and out your chest. You look down to see a clawed hand drenched in blood and what looks to be part of your heart.\n\nThe claw is pulled back out and you fall to the snow dead. Talia gobbles up your heart before joining the rest of the shadows devouring your body.", "action_results": []}]}]}]}, {"action": "Adapt or die (Year 49)", "result": "Theo and Yvette are brought before you restrained by two Blades each. They are heavily beaten, but still display a look of defiance on their faces. The rest of the shadows look on in anticipation of what you intend to do. Indeed some may still be in the dark about what exactly is going on.\n\n\u201cHere they are Shadow Master, brought to you alive as you wanted.\u201d\n\nYou approach the both of them, starting with Theo first.\n\n\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong? Have you grown so drunk with power that you\u2019ve become too lazy to do your own dirty work anymore?\u201d Theo asks.\n\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong? Have you grown so cowardly that you had to conspire with other shadows rather than attempt to sink the blade in my back yourself? If I was as lazy as you claimed, I wouldn\u2019t have been keeping track of your increasing insubordinate activity and your attempts of poisoning the minds of other shadows. Doesn\u2019t matter though, you were useful in that regard by saving me the trouble of determining for certain those that can\u2019t adapt with the times.\u201d\n\u201cAdapt with the times? Is that what all this is called? I call it turning away from Dendrin\u2019s will! How can any of you follow this\u2026mad man masquerading as a Shadow Master? We\u2019ve become nothing more than assassins for hire and selling out our very beliefs for petty profit and corrupt favors!\u201d\n\u201cAnd what would YOU have us do? Continue to remain isolated in our dreary temple going through the motions of prayers all day and night until we die? The old shadows did that and look what happened, they\u2026WE were practically enslaved by the Empire! WE were their lackies and servants for centuries! And now that we\u2019ve finally cast off those shackles you want us to be put in a position again where that could happen again? I say never again.\u201d\n\nTheo naturally isn\u2019t convinced, but his fate was sealed a long time ago anyway. Yvette decides it\u2019s her turn to speak out.\n\n\u201cYou keep saying WE as if you\u2019re actually as shadow, but you aren\u2019t! You\u2019re a corruption! An abomination! You\u2019re something the Empire grew in a lab! ALL of your kind are! You treat this order like your own private caste system, with all the Eternals at the top and us pure humans at the bottom! The Empire may be dead, but from where I\u2019m standing its legacy still lives on to continue its tyranny over us in the form of YOU!\u201d\n\u201cThat\u2019s bullshit and you know it. Any human or Eternal can perform the same duties, I show no preferences. You and Theo were on my council. Trusted and well respected advisors that I thought were loyal. Dravin is on the council and he is human as well.\u201d You say\n\u201cYeah, because he\u2019s Cyrus\u2019 bitch\u2026\u201d Theo mutters. This causes Cyrus to lunge at Theo so quickly that you barely manage to keep him from killing him right there.\n\n\u201cLet us kill this traitor and be done with it!\u201d Cyrus shouts.\n\u201cYeah, let\u2019s get on with it, why draw it out, we all know what\u2019s going to happen.\u201d Theo replies.\n\u201cYes we do, but that\u2019s not nearly as important as the journey itself.\u201d You say.\n\u201cWhat journey?\u201d\n\u201cThis one. The one we\u2019re on right now. Let me ask you this so that I may show a glaring flaw in your reasoning. IF I was as bad as you claim and I\u2019ve turned the shadows from the will of Dendrin why was I not stopped? Why was I even picked to be Shadow Master? Why weren\u2019t you able to succeed with your plan to kill me?\u201d\n\nTheo is silent. He has no good answer, though you get the impression he wants to give you his own thoughts on the matter, but you interrupt before he can.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll tell you why. Because what I\u2019m doing here, the direction I\u2019ve taken the shadow IS Dendrin\u2019s will! He WANTED someone like me in charge, because face it; I\u2019ve been a major reason why this fucking order even continues to exist! I have on more than one occasion made the hard decisions that have ensured the survival of the shadows! I fought against the very Empire, which as your wife says created me in a lab somewhere. My loyalty to the shadows and to Dendrin has ALWAYS been there if it hadn\u2019t he wouldn\u2019t have chosen me. You dare stand there and judge me after I\u2019ve either directly or indirectly saved everyone here at one time or another? Nobody can judge me except Dendrin, I think you forgot that lesson.\u201d\n\nAt last you\u2019ve pushed the buttons that cause Theo to utter the words in front of everyone that you were waiting for.\n\n\u201cThen maybe Dendrin doesn\u2019t know what the fuck he\u2019s doing! And maybe I\u2019ve wasted my life following a so-called deity that doesn\u2019t give a shit whether we live or die! Fuck you and fuck Dendrin!\u201d Theo snarls and you give a hidden smile while the rest of the shadows either jeer at him in disgust or show a less verbal way of disapproval such as shaking their heads.\n\n\u201cWell there you have it brothers and sisters, an unrepentant verbal admission of disloyalty, I think we can all see who has really turned from Dendrin\u2019s will here.\u201d You say.\n\nYou say nothing else and focus on Theo\u2019s mind as he stares at you with burning hatred. You begin to perform the same spell that Master Ebon did on Brother Shade when he tried to kill him. Theo dies in very much the same way, with his ears and nose bleeding first, followed by gasps. He never screams though. Eventually his brain explodes inside his head and he slumps down dead.\n\nYou then turn to Yvette, she looks thoroughly beaten at this point and doesn\u2019t even look at you. You were going to ask if she wishes to say anything else, but it would be pointless and besides you\u2019ve gotten what you wanted out of this. You focus on her mind and within a few agonizing moments it\u2019s all over for her.\n\nAfterwards you give a small speech about how this is a reminder of how traitors like Theo will always be brought to justice because Dendrin sees all and knows all. You also reassure them all of how good things have been going for the shadows since you\u2019ve engaged in the current activities you\u2019ve been doing and how loyalty to Dendrin will ultimately be rewarded in the afterlife.\n\nAs you go back to your own duties, you can\u2019t help but think about Theo\u2019s few last words and how you briefly wanted to agree with him, if only to see the amusing confusion on the shadows faces.", "action_results": [null]}]}, {"action": "Council and Blades (New Shadow Structure)", "result": "Since the new eternals all went through \u201cproper\u201d shadow indoctrination, they\u2019ve all been a lot calmer. Still killers of course, but at least now you haven\u2019t seen any signs of them acting unstable.\n\nBesides you, Cyrus and Talia, they are probably still the best warriors you have though, so you decided to still keep them a bit separate from the rest of the \u201crank and file\u201d by naming them the Shadow Blades. They seem to like the designation. There are a few \u201cnormal\u201d shadows in the Blades as well since anyone can be one if they\u2019re skilled enough. While the Eternals still tend to see Talia as their \u201cmother\u201d Cyrus and Draven are the ones who mostly send them out on patrols or missions nowadays. Talia\u2019s learned to let go of her \u201cchildren\u201d a bit.\n\nThe other main reason for the creation of the Blades is due to the fact that a lot of the shadows have families now or are attempting to start on such. Seeing as you don\u2019t do a lot of warring nowadays, you figure it would be all right to relax the need for everyone to be on constant alert all the time. All shadows are still required to upkeep their martial and magic skills though.\n\nThe other change you decided on was to create a council of sorts. As Shadow Master your word goes (Or Dendrin\u2019s \u201cWord\u201d as they all sometimes believe) but you\u2019ve been trying to become more inclusive in some of the decision making mainly because some of the more menial tasks or administrative duties are a bore to you and it helps if you don\u2019t have to do it all by yourself. (Bad enough you\u2019ve got to keep up on all the shadow lore, fortunately you let Talia handle some of that)\n\nSo far the Shadow Council is made up of you, Talia, Cyrus, Draven, Yvette and Theo. Three Eternals, three humans and one of those pairings is one of each. You believe it\u2019s pretty equal all things considered.", "action_results": [null]}, {"action": "Warlord Warzone (Full report on Quala)", "result": "You finally get a full report on the situation in Quala, and even a little bit beyond.\n\nTheo tells you that there are three major warlords in the area still struggling for power in Quala. General Ackerson you know about and most of his forces are concentrated in the northern most region. While he still insists on going by general he\u2019s mostly shed all his old Empire trappings. Even the soldiers have different uniforms now. So far he\u2019s still the best organized and the most secure in his position. Lately he\u2019s come to a bit of a stop though since he\u2019s apparently been attempting to get a foothold into Rask probably for its resources, but with little success.\n\nThe two closest to Delerg have been slugging it out nearly since the Empire fell. One of those is an ex-Empire Captain Anu and the other is apparently an old rebel leader that Theo knew by the name of Sam Jowin. Anu seems to maintain the delusion that by holding on to the completely ruined territory of the old empire that it somehow still exists. The soldiers still wear their increasingly dirty and worn out armor. His territory is mostly poor with little value anymore seeing as the capital was practically burned to the ground in the Empire\u2019s final days. The good captain took the fall pretty hard and is reportedly not the most stable man, but he\u2019s managed to stay in power due to fanaticism and determination alone.\n\nThe same could be said for Sam. From what Theo remembers of his old dealings with him, was that his whole family was ripped from their homes and killed in front of him for not paying their taxes on time. When they were about to get to him, he managed to kill two of the soldiers and escape into the wilderness. Didn\u2019t take long before the shadows found him and brought him into the rebellion that was still in planning at the time. He didn\u2019t like the waiting, but fortunately for him he didn\u2019t need to wait long since all out war broke out in the next year. Theo mentions that Sam was a naturally charismatic leader type that had an absolute hatred for anything Empire. He isn\u2019t surprised that he\u2019s still fighting and determined to stomp out anything that might resemble the old Empire.\nOf course this is coming at a price since Sam is somewhat emulating it by declaring himself \u201cleader of the free people of Quala\u201d whether they want him to be or not.\n\nTheo goes on to say that the southern most region of Quala seems to be \u201cno man\u2019s land\u201d between Sam and one of your old classmates, an Eternal by the name of Brenda. (Probably the \u201clast loyal\u201d one to the Empire and widow of the Eternal Roldan) He also says that her territory extends all the way south of that to include practically the entire Nalin province. She\u2019s basically been running it all by herself and it hasn\u2019t really suffered much since the Empire fell. In fact if there were any place of the Empire that still \u201cexists\u201d it would be here rather than whatever Anu thinks he\u2019s defending. However, Brenda has never pressed further into Quala and only defends her borders whenever Sam gets the urge to launch a raid for whatever reason.\n\nAs for the western region of Quala, it\u2019s mostly an ongoing warzone between several petty warlords. Nobody really of any note and at this point all of them are little more than bandit thugs with delusions of grandeur. The Arat province is apparently even worse in this respect and has descended into complete anarchy to the point that the overflow of banditry and lawlessness has even been giving the Felkan Kingdom minor border headaches.\n\nAll of this is rather fascinating to you, and a little\u2026well the word isn\u2019t disheartening, but you don\u2019t know\u2026you always did slightly believe (Despite your overwhelming cynicism) that you were actually a force of \u201cgood\u201d by toppling the Empire. Maybe the methods weren\u2019t the most pure, but the ends justified the means. Now you see that it didn\u2019t really change all that much, and made it worse in some places. And now here you are plotting to change the landscape even further and probably going to make things even worse.\n\nStill, if this all works in favor of the shadows maybe it\u2019s all worth it, after all it did the first time.", "action_results": [null]}]}, {"action": "Old Tomes (The Ritual of Ascension)", "result": "While studying the book that contains the initiation ritual in the library, Talia comes over to see how you\u2019re doing.\n\n\u201cStill at it? I didn\u2019t realize the ritual was that complex.\u201d She says.\n\u201cIt isn\u2019t actually. From what I can tell it just requires a lot of focus and belief. I\u2019m fairly certain I can handle that. I actually got sidetracked by some of these other tomes here.\u201d You answer and point out a bunch of other books nearby.\n\n\u201cHeh, sort of funny to see you like this. I remember a time when you weren\u2019t the most eager to perform any sort of magic mainly because you weren\u2019t very good at it.\u201d\n\u201cTrust me, it\u2019s still not my favorite area, but I feel I have been growing in power and gotten better. So I figured I should learn some of the other major rituals and such.\u201d\n\nTalia nods as she looks through the books. Eventually she picks up a heavy black one and begins glancing through it.\n\n\u201cThe ritual of ascension? What\u2019s that?\u201d\n\u201cGood question. I actually wasted quite a bit of time reading through that one, before starting on reading the stuff I was supposed to be reading about. Basically I don\u2019t know what it does exactly. In fact some of it is in a language I don\u2019t even recognize.\u201d\n\u201cYeah, I see that.\u201d\n\u201cThe rest of the wording I have read is almost deliberately cryptic. Terribly annoying and not very helpful. You\u2019d think whoever wrote it down, would\u2019ve made it a lot clearer. Well anyway, I\u2019ll study it in length some other time. Right now I\u2019m just going to go over the initiation ritual once more and then get some sleep.\u201d\n\u201cVery well. I\u2019ll see you then.\u201d Talia says and kisses you before leaving.\n\nAfter she leaves, you take another glance though the book containing the ritual of ascension. Still not understanding it any better, you toss it aside and return to more immediate studies.", "action_results": [null]}]}]}, {"action": "Travel on road", "result": "You\u2019ve got a lot of baggage to travel with and the longer you can do it on road, the quicker you\u2019ll get to your destination. Whatever tolls or other harassment that any wannabe emperors have in store can be dealt with. Certainly can\u2019t be worse than what you\u2019ve already faced.\n\n\u201cOkay we\u2019re taking the roads brothers and sisters. Remember that we are potentially entering hostile territory, so keep alert and be prepared.\u201d You tell everyone before continuing on the journey.\n\nHalf a day passes without incident; of course it doesn\u2019t stay that way when several people patrolling the road up ahead and immediately head your way. They aren\u2019t dressed in proper Empire armor, but the way they swagger with self-importance; you\u2019re guessing they\u2019re probably some sort of militia recruits under the command of this General Ackerson.\n\nSeveral of the Eternals are itching for a fight and while you don\u2019t doubt you\u2019d win, you\u2019d rather try to get through without doing it. Last thing you need is to fight a running battle through the Quala province.\n\n\u201cShadow scum! This area belongs to General Ackerson, don\u2019t you know your kind aren\u2019t wanted here? It was your kind that caused this once great nation to fall, but fortunately we have people like the general to pick up the pieces to make it stronger than ever.\u201d The leader of the soldiers says.\n\u201cUh huh, we\u2019re just passing through and have no desire to start a fight.\u201d You reply, but of course this idiot doesn\u2019t have a sense of self-preservation.\n\u201cOh no? What\u2019s all this then? A baggage train of supplies to support your war effort? I don\u2019t believe you shadow! Why should any of us trust you after the great betrayal?\u201d\n\u201cBecause if we wanted to destroy you we would\u2019ve done it already, empire dog!\u201d one of the Eternals snaps.\n\nThis isn\u2019t going well and several of the soldiers begin to ready their weapons.\n\n\u201cAs I said, we are merely passing through and have no desire to start a war. We already have our freedom, we don\u2019t care if you\u2019re trying to rebuild the Empire or something else to take its place. We just want to be left in peace. However if you really wish to pursue this course of action, let me remind you that you are currently outmatched and outnumbered. We whittled away the Empire with forces smaller than what you see here. It would not take more than ten of us to destroy whatever government you\u2019re trying to re-establish now. Are you such fools that you would willingly throw your lives away so easily? You say to the soldiers.\n\nThe leader realizes that he\u2019ll have to swallow his overflowing pride and capitulate to your accurate assessment of the situation.\n\n\u201c\u2026very well\u2026let the shadows pass.\u201d He meekly remarks and he and his men step aside.\n\nYou and the shadows pass through, but you know that\u2019s just he beginning of what you\u2019ll probably have to face. Cyrus mentions that perhaps they should be killed so they don\u2019t warn anyone, but really whether they do or not isn\u2019t going to make much of a difference. You\u2019re a big enough target that anyone can see you if they just open their eyes.\n\nYou soon pass through a town in the process of being rebuilt, your reception there isn\u2019t much better. The citizens all give you an evil eye and the soldiers stand ready to attack at anytime. Nobody does anything, but the second town you pass through makes up for that\u2026\n\n\u201cBOOOOOOO! Go home shadow shit!\u201d\n\u201cZealots! Sheep! Go suck your god\u2019s cock!\u201d\n\u201cGet out of our town you fucking fanatics!\u201d\n\nThese citizens are obviously very upset about the shadows. So much so that not only do they call you names, they also start throwing rotten fruit at some of you. This is too much for the eternals who are were barely holding their homicidal urges in check to begin with.\n\nBefore you can react, several eternals respond to the rotten fruit by shooting bolts at the peasants. Naturally none of them miss either. The town\u2019s militia steps in and before you know it, you\u2019ve killed half of the town and the rest of the citizens are running for their lives. The eternals aren\u2019t contents with letting anyone live though, so they make that extra effort to chase most of them down. They seem to get a sadistic pleasure out of it and you have to rein them in.\n\nNaturally you\u2019re pretty mad, but mostly at yourself for trying to cross Quala by road in the first place. You can see now this was a really bad idea, but now you\u2019ll just have to make the best of it.\n\nThe next day one of your people says they\u2019ve scouted ahead and that a large army is heading your way. Worse, more troops are heading from other directions as well. Cyrus advises that you all should dump all non-essentials, cloak, and make a speed run towards the wilderness. Yvette point out that several of the shadow children or even babies in some cases don\u2019t have such abilities and their parents aren\u2019t likely to leave them. Theo says he knows of an old hide out and you could lay low there for a while and it is defensible. Talia is strangely silent on the whole matter, in fact she\u2019s been silent during most of the trip, like she\u2019s preoccupied with something else. You can\u2019t imagine what given the shit you\u2019re waist deep in right now, you\u2019ll have to ask her about it later.\n\nEventually you take Theo\u2019s advice since running isn\u2019t a real option right now and you need a good defensible place. You do take Cyrus\u2019 advice though and have everyone dump all non-essential equipment.\n\nThe trip to the old hideout is uneventful, unfortunately Theo forgot to take into consideration that some of his old hideouts might\u2019ve actually been discovered since the last time he used them. This one in particular has been turned into a battle mage enclave. You didn\u2019t even know Ackerson had any under his command, but he does and they took great measures in protecting their private base with magical security. They were alerted as soon as you entered the area and took steps to ambush you.\n\nThe fight with the battle mages takes a heavy toll. Along with many shadows, you also lose Yvette as well as Dravin. Cyrus launched himself into a rage cutting down several of the mages before being heavily wounded. He\u2019s still alive and being carried on a stretcher, but you doubt if he\u2019ll make it, if you ever get to the temple. Which at this point is looking less likely since you\u2019re now effectively stuck inside the hideout and surrounded by General Ackerson\u2019s troops.\n\nMany of the shadows are praying to Dendrin which you encourage if only to keep their morale up, but of course you\u2019re holding no such faith. The only ones seemingly having a good time are the new eternals who are enjoying the carnage way too much. You don\u2019t care though given the circumstances as they\u2019re about the only worthwhile fighters you\u2019ve got left.\n\nWhile the shadows are used to fighting near impossible odds, not all of those were victories and this will unfortunately be one of those times.\n\nYou think up the only possible plan that might work and that\u2019s if you take all the eternals and try to distract the majority of the army while some of the other shadows get away. When you explain your plan, everyone is content to listen and obey since there really isn\u2019t a choice in the matter.\n\n\u201cTheo, I want you to lead the escape since you still know the area best. Talia, you\u2019re going to be in charge and possibly the new\u2026\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m staying.\u201d Talia says cutting you off.\n\u201cTalia, I don\u2019t know if I\u2019m coming back from this battle.\u201d\n\u201cExactly. Why would I leave you now of all times? Besides, you\u2019re taking my\u2026children with you. If we are to die today, then I would do it as a family.\u201d Talia says and grabs your hand.\n\nYou look down at her hand and then her face. You can see that there will be no changing her mind.\n\n\u201cVery well, then Theo, you will be the new Shadow Master. Good luck and I hope you understand Dendrin better than I did.\u201d\n\nTheo thanks you for the honor and prepares everyone to get ready to move. You, Talia and the rest of the eternals prepare for the attack. It\u2019s funny; you realize that the shadows will no longer be split anymore between human and eternal. Assuming they make it, the surviving shadows will all be human. Perhaps it\u2019s better this way, eternals were not meant to be holy men and worshipping fickle gods. They were meant to die in battle. That was what you were originally bred for after all.\n\n\u201cYou two, carry Cyrus into battle. He\u2019s one of us and he\u2019ll die like one of us.\u201d You say to two of the new eternals. Cyrus, while struggling to maintain consciousness manages a weak smile in your direction.\n\n\u201cYou ready my love?\u201d Talia asks.\n\u201cI was born for this.\u201d You answer.\n\nAnd with that you, Talia, Cyrus and the last of the eternals go forth and face your destiny.\n\nYour names are forgotten, but the surviving solders of that battle always remembered the day they didn\u2019t win a battle against shadows, but instead remember the day that they almost lost a battle against eternals.", "action_results": []}]}]}]}, {"action": "Kill Cyrus anyway", "result": "Your paranoia is justified. Cyrus might even believe his own words right now, but he still wants to be shadow master and he\u2019ll kill you to do it. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but he\u2019ll try it when you least expect it. He\u2019s probably just biding his time; you aren\u2019t fooled by this act. Cyrus may claim to be a dedicated shadow, but he\u2019s an Eternal first and he\u2019ll always have that desire to lead within him.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m glad you yielded to me Cyrus, because there\u2019s no point in putting off the inevitable!\u201d you shout and lunge forward to attack.\n\nCyrus doesn\u2019t move fast enough to dodge your attack and your sword sinks deep into his abdomen. However he also manages to unleash two smaller daggers he had hidden and swings both arms around you to plunge them into your back. The pair of you fall to the floor with each others weapons lodged in vital organs.\n\n\u201cWhy brother? I was going to join you\u2026\u201d he gasps.\n\u201cNo\u2026 you weren\u2019t. You just\u2026stabbed me\u2026\u201d\n\u201cYou attacked\u2026now we\u2019re both done for and along with us, the shadows\u2026\u201d Cyrus says and starts to fall unconscious.\n\nYou attempt to grab at Cyrus\u2019 daggers in your back, but your own lifeforce starts to fade as well.\n\n\u201cTalia still lives\u2026she\u2019ll fix everything\u2026she\u2019ll lead\u2026\u201d you mumble and then join Cyrus in death.", "action_results": []}]}, {"action": "Diplomacy (Year 31)", "result": "This is really annoying.\n\nYou cut down the orc you wounded from before. You knew he wasn\u2019t getting far in this blizzard. Unfortunately you\u2019ve lost sight of Flog again. You\u2019ll pick up the trail again to be sure, but this whole thing is a complete waste of time.\n\nIf Cyrus hadn\u2019t pissed off the orcs, they could\u2019ve been sent to prevent Kane from destroying another town. Instead the Flog and his merry little band have been raiding the little villages north of Fort Defiance, villages that were supporting the shadows.\n\nThis can\u2019t continue and will not continue.\n\nA cave lies up ahead, knowing Flog he\u2019s probably set up some sort of crude ambush, but that\u2019s where he\u2019s going to be. You need to get out of this blizzard anyway before you freeze. Shadows don\u2019t have any magic that keeps you warm after all.\n\nYou\u2019d like to where Cyrus is since he\u2019s supposed to be helping you in this task. (This is fault after all) You told him to not to bother chasing those other orcs as they were obviously just a distraction.\n\nThe cave provides welcoming warmth from the cold outside. It also provides a welcoming committee in the form of three ogres. This would be Flog\u2019s crude ambush.\n\nYou dodge the first ogre trying to cave your head in with a club and make a deep slash across his great fat belly. Innards are emptied out onto the cave floor along with a foul odor. The other two ogres knock over their mortally wounded companion in his own blood and shit to reach you.\n\nAs powerful as they are, ogres in your experience have never been particular good fighters. It\u2019s over reliance on brute strength and no match for your own abilities. A lot easier than trolls that\u2019s for sure. You never want to have to fight one of those things again.\n\nYou easily avoid the ogres\u2019 attacks and hamstring the pair of them before they even know what\u2019s going on. You jump on the back of one of them and put a dagger through the back of his neck. He throws you off as he gags on his own blood.\n\nThe last ogre crawls at you while you shake off the cobwebs of being thrown into the cave wall. A familiar \u201cshhh thunk!\u201d sound is heard and you see a bolt going through the eye of the ogre. He continues to crawl at you for a moment before succumbing to brain death. You look to your left and see Cyrus loading up another bolt in his armbow.\n\n\u201cThese creatures were always unworthy of being in the presence of Dendrin\u2019s faithful to begin with.\u201d Cyrus says calmly\n\u201cWhere have you been?\u201d\n\u201cI got lost in the blizzard temporarily when I was chasing those orcs. I\u2019m here now so let\u2019s finish this brother.\u201d\n\nYou shake you head sometimes wondering why you don\u2019t just kill him and declare yourself shadow master, but he\u2019s still got enough followers to make that problematic and thanks to this orc distraction, you need his help. There\u2019s also the fact that Talia would still prefer you to somehow find a way to work it out with him. There have been times where you think you have, but then there is some sort of disagreement and the both of you are back where you started.\n\nYou figure all of the same reasons are why Cyrus hasn\u2019t attempted to kill you and declare himself shadow master. He certainly could get away with it up here in the hinterlands and you sort of wondered if that\u2019s why he agreed to come with you on this mission. He could kill you and then claim you fell in battle. Who\u2019d really know? But again, he needs you, probably even more than he\u2019d like to admit. You also know that perhaps somewhere within him, he\u2019d prefer that you\u2019d be on better terms as well.\n\nThe pair of you travel further into the cave and eventually you come across a single figure standing by a small fire. It\u2019s Flog.\n\n\u201cShadows, Flog sees that you have finally tracked him.\u201d\n\u201cWasn\u2019t exactly difficult considering all the raiding you were doing. You really brought this upon yourself Flog.\u201d You answer.\n\u201cHow else are we supposed to sustain ourselves? Can\u2019t farm in this land and orcs not farmers anyway. Hunting is scarce lately. Too much competition with giants and unfriendly ogre tribes. Humie villages have lots of supplies. They have more than enough. Stupid for having a settlement in hostile territory anyway.\u201d\n\u201cIt wasn\u2019t excessively hostile until you started raiding them and two, those supplies are to help the rebellion against the Empire, you do remember that war remember?\u201d\n\u201cFlog remembers. Flog remembers all too well since shadows just used orcs as sword fodder to hide behind. Shadows no better than the Empire.\u201d\n\nAt this point Cyrus speaks up. \u201cWhy are we wasting words on this savage, let us kill the beast the be done with it.\u201d\n\u201cHuh, you seemed to hide the most. If not for pretty female shadow, Flog would\u2019ve killed you a long time ago.\u201d\n\u201cEnough! Flog, your alliance with the shadows while probably not ideal, it was to your benefit. Since our split, the Empire has managed to make a small come back here in Rask. If the Empire gets strong enough to defeat us, you know you\u2019ll be next.\u201d\n\u201cBah! Flog not care anymore! Empire is weak enough now. Empire will never be able to tame the upper reaches of Rask. Flog will make his home there and be free. Empire YOU shadows problem now.\u201d\n\u201cVery well Flog, but there\u2019s one problem with that plan. Namely you\u2019re not getting out of this cave to be able to live free. You won\u2019t be living at all in fact.\u201d\n\u201cOh\u2026right\u2026Flog see\u2026\u201d\n\nAt this point you fully expect Flog to make a last moment attack, but he doesn\u2019t, instead he takes his hand away from his weapon.\n\n\u201cAnyway Flog can convince shadows?\u201d he asks.\n\u201cWait, are you seriously trying to negotiate?\u201d you ask\n\u201cYeah, if it gets Flog to live.\u201d\n\nYou can\u2019t help but chuckle a little. Talia always told you Flog was intelligent for an orc. You can only imagine how intelligent Captain Gruz was considering he was the originator of this orc rebellion. Cyrus of course isn\u2019t finding this amusing at all.\n\n\u201cWhy are you laughing? This orc scum insults Dendrin and us! I\u2019m putting an end to this\u2026\u201d\n\nCyrus attempts to shoot Flog with his armbow, but you stop him from doing so and the bolt flies harmlessly into the wall. This would be a perfect time for Flog to try to escape, but he doesn\u2019t. Either he\u2019s smart enough to know you\u2019d just find him again, or he\u2019s serious about coming to some sort of agreement. This situation isn\u2019t totally unsalvageable with Flog, but it certainly makes your current situation with Cyrus worse.\n\n\u201cBrother, you deal with this orc barbarian if you wish, but I\u2019ll not have any part of it! And if whatever deal you make with it bites all of us, I will be the first one to make sure you pay for your poor decisions! I make this vow to Dendrin himself!\u201d Cyrus exclaims and storms off.\n\nAfter a brief moment of silence, you speak to Flog.\n\n\u201cAlright Flog, this is a negotiation, but you won\u2019t be changing anything about them because everything is going to be on MY terms. Okay first off, you can\u2019t raid the villages north of Fort Defiance anymore. The people are expecting the shadows to protect them and we can\u2019t do that AND fight the Empire. I think you know what takes precedence, however if we can\u2019t protect them, they won\u2019t give us any supplies because they\u2019re either losing them to you or they lose faith in us and won\u2019t help.\u201d\n\u201cBut if Flog don\u2019t do that, what remains of my tribe will see me as weak and kill me anyway.\u201d\n\u201cYes I know. And we\u2019d just be left with the same problem. So this is what I want you to do. I don\u2019t want you to raid the villages.I want you to enslave them.\u201d\n\u201cYou want Flog to enslave the villages?\u201d\n\u201cYes, I assume you still have enough orcs to do it, and if you don\u2019t I\u2019m sure you can also engage in your favorite past time of beating up ogres into submission to join you. In fact I\u2019d prefer you to do that, just so we don\u2019t have to deal with those big lugs sniffing around the fort. They waste our time. So enslave the villagers and you\u2019ll never have to raid them again and you can take what you want when you want\u2026and when the shadows want.\u201d\n\u201cHur hur\u2026Flog see now. Won\u2019t that make shadows look bad?\u201d\n\u201cWho is going to know? It isn\u2019t like many people travel back and forth past Fort Defiance, let alone to those remote villages. Just keep anyone from escaping and we should be fine. I trust you\u2019ll be able to handle all this.\u201d\n\u201cSure, sure. Flog can do all that. Giants might still be a problem, but Flog will find a way.\u201d\n\u201cGlad to hear it. I\u2019m counting on you to keep that savage north tamed up there, while we can focus on the Empire.\u201d\n\u201cHrmmm, lotta faith in Flog. Though you shadow only place faith in your god.\u201d\n\u201cI place faith in your desire to live. Talia\u2019s told me about how smart you are before. I know you can see this to be a good deal for you. You get to be practically independent and a leader and all you have to do is supply us every once in awhile. Better than dying by my hand I\u2019d imagine.\u201d\n\u201cHuh yes good deal. Liked pretty shadow female, always dealt straight with Flog. Still not as pretty as orc female. Too skinny and not green enough. Good mate for you though.\u201d\n\u201cHeh, yes well I certainly think so.\u201d\n\u201cAlright shadow. Flog agree\u2026but one question. How you know that Flog not eventually raise army to attack you in the future?\u201d\n\u201cBecause\u2026\u201d you smile. \u201cI also have faith that you dislike Cyrus so much that you\u2019d rather prove him wrong by NOT attacking me.\u201d\n\nWith this statement Flog lets out a hearty laugh and you leave him to his mirth. He may become a problem in the future, but for now you\u2019ve got him back on your side and eliminated the source of trouble to the north of you.\n\nOn your way out of the cave Cyrus stands waiting and asks you if you killed Flog, you tell him you took care of the problem. Cyrus just gives one of his trademark dirty looks and walks ahead of you.\n\nOne thing\u2019s for sure; if your relationship with Cyrus doesn\u2019t get better you\u2019ll be dealing with that problem before one with Flog.", "action_results": [null]}, {"action": "Treachery (Year 32)", "result": "\u201cWe\u2019re going to have to clear out of here soon, the Empire is finally getting their ass in gear to retake this camp. Captain Roldan himself is supposed to be on his way and he\u2019s been pretty efficient in squashing shadow cells as of late.\u201d Talia remarks.\n\u201cYeah I know. He\u2019s proven as hard to kill as ol\u2019 butcher Kane. Both have survived several assassination attempts. Heh, this war would\u2019ve been a lot easier had they been put into the Shadow Guard too.\u201d\n\u201cWell, what are we going to do about him? Because while we can clear out the camp and collapse the rest, it doesn\u2019t stop the fact that Roldan is our biggest potential threat. He\u2019s proving to be the most competent Empire commander they have.\u201d\n\u201cYeah I know\u2026I\u2019ll have to think on it. So how many of the new eternals can we save?\u201d\n\u201cWell there are still hundreds in those tanks and quite frankly I dunno if half of those are even functioning properly anymore. Some were empty to begin with too. I know we\u2019ve open up at least a hundred or so of those tanks and some of the children had to be\u2026dealt with immediately. I\u2019d say we got around sixty or seventy that are still undergoing re-education. And of those? I\u2019d say only about nine that have taken to it completely.\u201d\n\nYou exhale deeply; you knew it was going to be tough, but only nine? That really puts a crimp in your plans for a potential army of loyal eternal shadows on your side.\n\n\u201cThose tomes I gave you didn\u2019t help open a portal to Dendrin so you could do the indoctrination ceremony?\u201d\n\u201cI couldn\u2019t find anything in them about it. The best thing I found was in one of the Empire mage\u2019s spellbooks. A mind control spell which has helped in the conditioning process. Not shadow magic, but whatever works right?\u201d\n\u201cYou\u2019ll get no argument from me. Might as well take those with you, what about derro equipment?\u201d\n\u201cMostly hand weapons that we don\u2019t need or machinery that we can\u2019t use. However there were schematics for stuff laying about. Mostly on those explosive weapons they were using during the troll fight. Sister Yvette has mostly been studying those since I believe it troubles her less than indoctrinating these new eternals. There\u2019s a lot of that explosive stuff unused too. We\u2019ll use that to destroy this complex.\u201d\n\u201cMaybe we could use it to set up a trap as well.\u201d You say forming a plan.\n\u201cHow so exactly? I mean I sort of get where you\u2019re going with your thought process; when Roldan arrives we could blow up his army, but there\u2019s no guarantee we\u2019d get all of them or even him and we\u2019d have to stick around which would most likely be suicide as his army is reportedly the best around and we severely lack in numbers. Hell, I\u2019m not even sure some of those kids we\u2019re educating wouldn\u2019t help the Empire.\u201d\n\u201cExcept those nine right?\u201d\n\u201cWell yes, except them. What are you suggesting?\u201d\n\nYou explain to Talia that you all will evacuate this camp as planned, taking with you spellbooks, derro tech schematics and those children that are in the process of being re-educated. What\u2019s staying are the explosives and those nine children\u2026\n\n\u201cWait, wait, you seriously want these children to sacrifice their lives?\u201d\n\u201cIt\u2019s not like they\u2019re doing it for no reason. They\u2019ll be striking a blow against the Empire, and dying in the service of Dendrin. You told me they were loyal didn\u2019t you?\u201d\n\u201cWell yes, but\u2026\u201d\n\u201cWell when the army comes through Roldan will have it searched from top to bottom. He\u2019ll probably even do a little wandering himself when everything appears to be in order. Then when he\u2019s got his guard down, these nine you\u2019ve told me about will come from their hiding spots light the fuses in the strategically located areas. Just to make sure they accomplish their missions, they will also be carrying explosives on their person. They probably aren\u2019t expecting the new eternals are indoctrinated and some aren\u2019t going to expect finding so called helpless children at all. In fact maybe we should tell one to play up the victim role about the terrible shadows and when Roldan wants to hear their story\u2026BOOM! He\u2019s no more.\u201d\n\nWhile this seems like a solid plan to you, Talia once again is showing reservations about your ideas.\n\n\u201cBut these children have worked so hard to devote themselves to Dendrin. The odds were so against them, yet their trust and faith helped them overcome their Empire brainwashing. It doesn\u2019t seem right for them to die when they have only just awakened. There are other shadows here. Adult ones who would also gladly sacrifice themselves, could we not use one of them instead?\u201d\n\u201cNormally I\u2019d say yes, but an adult shadow is of much more worth in case of a major battle in the near future. Now I\u2019m aware these children are eternals, but they are still children. They are not even the same age that we were when were first exposed to the shadow way. I can\u2019t wait for them to grow and I can\u2019t use any of ones you\u2019re still in the process of educating because I can\u2019t risk any of them not following through with the plan. Talia, I know this is grim business and I know you may have even gotten attached to them\u2026like any mother would. But there comes a time where even a mother has to let go, and really, you knew that something like this might be a possibility. Take comfort in the fact that their actions will save other shadows and their siblings.\u201d\n\u201cI know the reasons. I know the stakes, but I won\u2019t take comfort in it. And I can\u2019t be the one to send them to their deaths. You\u2019ll have to do it.\u201d Talia says and looks away from you, obviously trying to hide her eyes, which are tearing up.\n\u201cVery well. I suppose I owe them that much.\u201d You say and ask where they are.\n\nWhen you go to the room where they\u2019re located, they are all in prayer to Dendrin. They don\u2019t even stop to notice you until they\u2019re finished. Well they\u2019re definitely loyal to Dendrin that\u2019s for sure.\n\nThey recognize you as a shadow and ask who you are. When you tell them your name, their eyes get wide and they suddenly start to get very excited.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re Mother Talia\u2019s husband!\u201d\n\u201cYou\u2019re the one who speaks to Dendrin!\u201d\n\u201cYou\u2019re the scourge of the Empire!\u201d\n\nLooks like Talia\u2019s been speaking about you in high regard to these children as well.\n\n\u201cAre you here to send us on a mission to kill Empire soldiers?\u201d one of them asks.\n\u201cOh yes. I am here to send you all on a mission. Possibly one of the most important in the war against the Empire. We haven\u2019t much time though and I will have to explain quickly, are you all ready to serve in Dendrin\u2019s name?\u201d\n\u201cYes! For Dendrin!\u201d they all shout in unison.\n\nWhile everyone else starts evacuating the camp, you start taking the children through the plan. Sister Yvette briefly shows you and the children where she\u2019s placing the explosives to collapse the underground complex. She also shows the children how to use the explosives. She\u2019s noticeably unnerved by the fact that these children are going to sacrifice themselves. She never agreed with saving the eternals to begin with, but apparently she has now grown a little more used to the children and isn\u2019t happy about seeing them going to their deaths.\n\nYou haven\u2019t been around these children long enough to get so attached to them, but you can understand it. Even within the short time you\u2019ve spent with these nine you can appreciate their enthusiastic potential. It is sort of a shame since who knows what they would accomplish if they were to grow up, but there are still several dozen more that will be saved and hopefully they will eventually become just like these nine.\n\nTowards the end of the evacuation, you wave good-bye to the nine and remind them of their duty and how Dendrin will accept them when their work is done. Talia also sticks around to say her farewells.\n\n\u201cChildren, remember all that I have taught you and remember that Dendrin loves you\u2026and that\u2026(sniffle) I love you\u2026(sniffle) and will always do so.\u201d\n\u201cWe love you too Mother Talia.\u201d They all say in unison and go up to hug her.\n\nAfter a couple seconds of this, Talia tells them good-bye and leaves with you. The pair of you travel behind the rest mostly in silence. No sooner have you traveled out of sight of the camp, Talia breaks down and cries. A few shadows turn around wondering what\u2019s going on, but you tell them all to go on ahead and that you\u2019ll both be along shortly.\n\nYou stand beside her during her sorrow, but you offer no words of comfort since there are none. In fact chances are you\u2019ll make her feel worse as it was your decision after all. Eventually after she lets it all out, she pulls herself together. Still sad of course, but ready to put it behind her. You continue your journey to Brother Theo\u2019s hideout that he\u2019s prepared for the evacuation.\n\nA few days later you get word from contacts of an Empire army being nearly wiped out by a series of large explosions. For a brief moment the Empire first thought it might even be a Felkan attack due to their use of gunpower weaponry, however it was confirmed by the few survivors that it was another shadow ambush. Naturally you are painted to be the lowliest of villains due to children being used, but Empire propaganda has always been so over the top that you doubt if people will even believe it, and those that do\u2026well they were probably never going to be on your side anyway.\n\nThe best news is when you hear that a funeral will be held in Captain Roldan\u2019s honor as he died during one of the blasts.\n\nYou have won a great victory and confirms that your decision to save the eternals was a good one. Even if all the others prove to be untrainable, those nine were more than worth it.", "action_results": [null]}, {"action": "Brutality (Year 33)", "result": "The day has finally come to pass, an all out assault on Fort Destiny. Just what Cyrus always wanted.\n\nWhat he probably didn\u2019t want though is you organizing most of it, but really without you this wouldn\u2019t even be going through. The provinces south of Rask don\u2019t need shadow support quite as much anymore as there is now a sufficient about of chaos going on throughout. So much so that Empire troops have been getting pulled out of Rask just to keep order down south. No more support is coming to Rask, not even dark elven mercenaries and up until last year only the most desperate of them were even taking the jobs. Which is why you decided that now is the best time to pull all your strength from the south to combine with supporters in Rask drive out the Empire once and for all.\n\nThe Empire\u2019s sole beacon of existence in Rask now is Fort Destiny and Captain Kane himself. Without either the Empire will have officially lost Rask. The Empire has been having a shortage in competent military leadership and losing Captain Roldan was certainly a great blow.\n\nThe assault is taking place nearly the same way it was first envisioned, and attack from the north and the south. The difference is that now you\u2019ve brought along derro explosives to help in your cause along with about fifty loyal eternal shadows who may be young, but are already proving their worth. Cyrus needless to say wasn\u2019t pleased to hear about that secret you\u2019d kept from him.\n\nCyrus also wasn\u2019t pleased when you managed to have Flog lend some of his orc and ogre subjects to help out, but what really helped was his inclusion of a couple of giants to provide \u201crock thrower\u201d support.\n\nThe initial attack goes about as expected. Great rocks thrown and crashing into the sides of the fort on the north side, while firebombs blow up the walls on the south side. It isn\u2019t all one sided though as catapults are fired back at your people.\n\nBy day three Fort Destiny stands half in ruins with several holes in its walls and dead soldiers in the courtyard. Both giants are dead, one even lying slumped over a collapsed wall with a ballista bolt through his head. Most of the ogres have died as well. The Raskian people who have lent their support have taken a lot of casualties, but you think that thanks to Kane\u2019s past cruelty and the desire to drive out the Empire they see the losses as acceptable. Fortunately there haven\u2019t been many casualties on the shadows\u2019 side of your army.\n\nAs you, Cyrus and Talia stand alongside your occupying forces; the only real structure left is the battered citadel in the center. The front door to it has been strongly barricaded from the inside, but there are enough holes in the upper parts of it that it would be a simple matter of scaling the thing and entering through one of them.\n\n\u201cAnyone seen Kane\u2019s body in this bloody mess?\u201d Talia asks.\n\u201cHe\u2019s probably in his citadel, but I\u2019m not going to bother going through some sort of drawn out process of getting him.\u201d You reply.\n\u201cSo are you sending in your fancy new eternal babies to scale the walls?\u201d Cyrus asks.\n\u201cProbably could, but they\u2019d probably get slaughtered by the likes of Kane. And Kane\u2019s most likely still got a bunch of solders locked up with him in there to help him. No, we\u2019re not sending in ANY shadows. It\u2019s just a waste of their lives at this point. Got a much better idea.\u201d You say looking up at the citadel.\n\n\u201cKane! Butcher of Rask! The battle is at an end, let us not draw this out any further than it needs to, come on out and face death with the honor I know you to have!\u201d you shout.\n\nFor a long moment there is silence.\n\n\u201cIf you insist on hiding in there like a eunuch I\u2019m going to simply line this citadel\u2019s base with explosives and bring it crashing down with you in it! Is that what sort of death you want for you and your men hiding with you?\u201d\n\nThis statement causes some laughter from the upper reaches of the citadel.\n\n\u201cMy men in here are all dead! I killed them all myself when they talked about surrendering to you shadow scum! Traitors! Weaklings! All of them! This entire country is filled with the disease that infects the Empire! I have done my duty in cleansing it to the best of my abilities.\u201d Kane answers.\n\nGiven Kane\u2019s reputation there\u2019s no real reason to doubt this, but something about the way he\u2019s saying it makes it apparent that he may have very well lost it.\n\n\u201cSo are you coming out to cleanse us as well?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cAny other day I would have, but no shadow parasite, my days of cleansing are indeed at an end. After having to slay my own soldiers, I have spent the remaining time thinking about the future and come to an unfortunate conclusion.\u201d\n\u201cAnd what might that be?\u201d\n\u201cThe disease that has infected the Empire is incurable. Even if I lived my days in perpetual glorious battle I still would not be able to save it. Indeed, I believe I may have already\u2026\u201d\n\nAs Kane trails off and goes silent, Cyrus begins to get impatient.\n\n\u201cAre we really going to listen to this twaddle? Let\u2019s get on with killing this mad bastard and be done with it!\u201d\n\u201cYeah, I don\u2019t think this is going anywhere, it sounds like Kane has snapped or something.\u201d Talia adds.\n\u201cAlright, alright, start getting the explosives ready.\u201d You answer, though you can\u2019t help but be a little curious about what Kane has to say. He\u2019s been a thorn in your side for so long, it just seems so odd for things to end this way. You honestly thought he would\u2019ve been the first to rush head long into battle as soon as your forces started rushing into the fort.\n\nNo sooner have your plans been put into action, Kane begins speaking again and this time he stands upon a windowsill completely naked.\n\n\u201cWhat the fuck\u2026\u201d you say to yourself.\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t envy you shadows. You serve a cause that is inherently corrupt and lacking in purity. My cause was pure and just, but I made a mistake\u2026and I also feel the corruption taking place within me. As hard as I try to suppress it\u2026it\u2019s there and I cannot allow that. I must die before I allow it to infect me completely! Though I may die here today, I will live forever! FOR THE EMPIRE AND THE EMPEROR!\u201d he shouts and then jumps.\n\nThe rest of you on the ground move out of the way to avoid his falling body which splats spectacularly when it eventually hits.\n\n\u201cDidn\u2019t expect that to happen.\u201d Talia remarks.\n\u201cI have to admit this was a bit bizarre.\u201d\n\u201cFeh, obviously a coward when faced against a real opponent. I told you all for years we should\u2019ve attacked him sooner, but I suppose it was easier for the both of you to follow your own agendas and hide things behind my back.\u201d Cyrus says and then turns away from the both of you.\n\nYou aren\u2019t going to argue with Cyrus today, you\u2019ll have plenty of time to do that later. He may even have a point, but you really believe that it was better to wait. Kane didn\u2019t nearly have the same number of soldiers or support as he had three years ago. Still, you wonder about his odd behavior at the end. You tell some of your people to blow up the citadel door and to help you search it.\n\nWhen you get inside, you confirm that Kane was not lying when he said he killed his own men. Butchered would be a completely accurate one here since he didn\u2019t just kill them, he chopped most of them into pieces. As bloody as the sight is, the smell is much worse. The whole place reeks of death and some of the Raskans who enter the citadel walk right back out gagging. You dare say the inside of this citadel is as bloody as the battlefield outside.\n\nUpon a closer inspection of some of the bodies, you notice a few teeth marks, like he might\u2019ve even eaten a portion of them. When you finally get to Kane\u2019s quarters you see several journals strewn about the floor, Some of the journals are shredded and others have pages ripped out, but you skim through a few of them out of curiosity.\n\nKane\u2019s journals provide a fascinating look into his descent into madness. From what you can tell, his personality didn\u2019t start changing severely until after a mission that involved the wendigo tribe. Apparently they weren\u2019t a barbarian tribe so much as they were evil spirits that masqueraded in the bodies of them. They subsisted on eating flesh of any living beings and were always hungry.\n\nApparently they could also possess people at will, and needed to in order to be able to leave their \u201chome\u201d. Kane ended up finding all this out the hard way and lost an entire company. Though ultimately victorious the wendigo mental assaults on his mind took their toll it seems. He wasn\u2019t possessed, but it definitely unhinged him. From there on his behavior started getting more bloodthirsty. His faith in the Empire seemed to be a bit of a solid rock for him that allowed him to maintain a degree of normalcy, but when the Empire started loosing ground in Rask, and elsewhere, it was a cascading effect into full-blown insanity. A lot of his writing towards the end seems to be random and disjointed. His last entry mentions nearly matches what his final words were to you.\n\nYou look around the room some more and find a military map of Rask. You make a note the location of where Kane said he faced the wendigo so that you know to avoid it in the future.", "action_results": [null]}]}]}]}, {"action": "Have her stay", "result": "\u201cPerhaps you\u2019re right. Cyrus is probably going to be fuming about me going ahead with this mission instead of gathering for an assault on the Fort Destiny. Best if you stay here and make sure he doesn\u2019t go off and get everyone killed trying to do it with insufficient forces.\u201d You reply.\n\nAfter kissing Talia goodbye, you set off on your journey immediately figuring Talia can explain everything to Cyrus instead. You travel a couple of days to the Quala province and eventually reach the meeting spot at night. There await around twenty shadows you picked which also includes Sister Yvette. You would\u2019ve picked Brother Theo as well, but you needed someone to coordinate the other shadow cells in Quala.\n\n\u201cAs soon as I got the message that you were coming, our other shadow cells got into position to strike out at the other targets across Quala. I assume you\u2019re ready to assault the camp brother?\u201d Sister Yvette asks nearly as soon as you arrive.\n\u201cYes, let\u2019s get this over with, because this is going to be pretty grim business. Now I know some of you have already done a few necessary things, but probably not on this scale. These new eternals are only going to be children, and if the rumors are true, hundreds of them. Despite this they will still be dangerous, as they have no doubt gone through some of the Empire\u2019s brainwashing techniques and training. You are not to hesitate just because they are young. Slay all of them\u2026for Dendrin.\u201d You add at the end.\n\u201cFor Dendrin!\u201d the rest of the shadows say in unison.\n\u201cAlso be aware that there will no doubt be battle mages around and who knows what else. Let\u2019s try to do this as silently as possible until it\u2019s no longer an option. Everybody cloak.\u201d\n\nSister Yvette and couple of the other shadows take the lead due to their basic knowledge of the outside of the camp and even some of the interior. When you have to go below ground though, it\u2019s going to be anything goes. You know going in that you\u2019ll be severely outnumbered, but the whole point of doing it this way is to utilize your strengths which is stealth and terror on a grand scale. As you go about your business, you can\u2019t help but start thinking about Talia, and briefly worrying about if Cyrus has given her any problems. You really should keep your mind occupied at a time like this, but you\u2019re having a hard time.\n\nNeck snaps, bolts to the head and blades to the back dispatch the patrolling soldiers quietly and quickly\u2026\n\nDue to your distraction, you fail to get a clean hit on one of the guards and he screams out loudly alerting some of the camp. Cursing your luck you signal to the nearest shadows to start moving from bunkhouse to bunkhouse to kill any soldiers still sleeping inside them.\n\nDoesn\u2019t take long before a general alarm is raised. It isn\u2019t quite that bad as you\u2019re still easily taking them down from the cover of night and invisibility. The problem comes when one of the soldiers has gone to get extra help from below in the form of battle mages.\n\nWorking together, the mages form an invisible shield to protect themselves and then dispel your cloak ability. Another one starts casting fireballs from behind the safety of the shield. Your speeding ability helps you and your shadows finish off the rest of the soldiers and once you manage to pass through the shield, you eliminate two of the mages and break their concentration. The remaining ones begin to run back to the underground portion of the camp.\n\n\u201cCome on, we can\u2019t let them get away!\u201d you yell to the remainder of your shadows and chase after the mages.\n\nYou hack down a couple more fleeing mages as you chase them into the complex. The last few remaining are screaming for help and it comes, but not in the form that you thought.\n\nSeveral heavily armored figures with axes begin to fill the corridor ahead of you. Derro.\n\nYou briefly look behind you and see that your own forces are insufficient to tackle such foes. You\u2019re also wondering if the new eternals are even here, as you haven\u2019t seen a single one since you arrived.\n\n\u201cGo back! Go back!\u201d you exclaim.\n\u201cWhat? Why?\u201d Yvette asks not really understanding the reality of the situation. The rest of the shadows are unsure of how to proceed.\n\u201cThose are the derro! We have to go back!\u201d you exclaim.\n\nMeanwhile during this short exchange, one of the derro has thrown one of their firebombs near your feet. You see it just in time to grab Yvette and try to speed out of the way, but the explosion just catches you in its radius. Everything seems like a blur for a few moments and the next thing you know you\u2019re face first on the floor with no feeling in one of your legs and your clothing on fire.\n\nYou attempt to roll in an effort to extinguish the flames, and that\u2019s when you see Yvette\u2019s lifeless burning body nearby staring at you with dead eyes. This is soon followed by a crushing smash to your head and everything goes black.\n\nUnfortunately your life doesn\u2019t end there.\n\nWhen you wake up you find yourself strapped to a table in a large lab. You see a lot of alchemy equipment, other tables with mutilated bodies on them and in a far corner of the room you see several large containers with loud growling noises emanating from them. Derro stand near them with weapons drawn.\n\n\u201cNo need for you to worry about that. Those trolls can\u2019t get out of there I assure you. Good thing too, they\u2019d rip us all apart in minutes! Heh heh heh heh!\u201d a voice says to you. When you look over to your left, you see a short figure nearly eye level with you even though you\u2019re strapped to a table. He\u2019s bald with a gray skin color and dressed in a white robe of some sort, which is covered in blood, and several other unidentifiable fluids. You\u2019re guessing that he\u2019s an unarmored derro.\n\n\u201cWhile you have caused quite a bit of a mess, I\u2019m honestly very glad one of your kind has showed up. The Emperor sort of frowned on my suggestion to take one of their loyal Eternals for experimentation, shame about your leg getting blown off, but beggars can\u2019t be choosers right?\u201d the derro says. He then approaches closer with a mad gleam in his eye and a bloody knife in his hand.\n\nYou say a few defiant words to the derro, but he\u2019s unmoved by your futile protests. He goes on to say how your vivisection will come in handy in helping with the new eternal project. Mentally you try to prepare yourself for the pain, but nothing can prepare you for what will be your last days on this mortal plane.\n\nBy day three you\u2019re begging for them to just kill you. The derro of course ignores your pleas claiming that he has to keep you alive to finish his research.\n\nBy day five, you\u2019re actually screaming for Dendrin to help you. This naturally amuses the sadistic derro who says that he has to remember to strengthen the mind resistance of the new eternals so they aren\u2019t as weak willed to fall prey to such superstitions.\n\nBy day nine, you feel nothing any longer and the derro tells his fellows to toss you to the trolls.", "action_results": []}]}]}, {"action": "War Report (Allies & The Butcher of Rask)", "result": "After the battle, Cyrus tells you more about the situation in Rask on the way back to Fort Defiance. It's mostly positive compared to what you'll have to him about Gloom and possibly Dendrin.\n\nHe says that the orcs have been holding up their end and even managed to ally with some of the ogre tribes nearby (Though it's usually only after killing most of the tribes to establish dominance first) Not much luck with the giants yet, but at least they aren't attacking like they used to in the old days. He mentions that the current orc commander here, Flog has been in contact with Captain Gruz on strategies and tactics, though the letters are getting rarer. One wonders if Gruz hasn't already been discovered or if he's just having to lay low for a while. You get the impression Cyrus seems to see your orc allies as useful, but ultimately expendable tools to take the hits that the shadows don't need to.\n\n\"I think after this is all over, the orcs are going their separate ways and that's fine. This has always been an alliance of convenience, but like I said, we've also been turning the population of Rask against the Empire. Though it's not exactly hard when they've got someone like Kane in charge of the area. The man has probably done more to alienate the citizens of Rask more than anyone.\"\n\"Oh yes, the infamous Captain Kane, Butcher of Rask. Heard about his ruthlessness even way down in the Quala province. Didn't he earn his nickname by wiping out several barbarian tribes here?\n\"Yeah, he was stationed at Fort Destiny, years before I got here. Showed absolutely no mercy when it came to cutting down the various barb tribes from what I heard. Same thing for the renegade elven population here too.\"\n\"Didn't he recently wipe out a small hamlet because the people were complaining about food rationing?\" Talia asks.\n\"One hamlet? Try three and it was only a handful of people complaining. I don't even think they were openly criticizing the Empire's overall tyranny so much as they were just hungry. Captain Kane however took it as a threat to his authority and had the entire hamlet wiped out to the last man, woman and child. Then he did the same thing to two of the neighboring hamlets as a warning for other places to not complain anymore. That sort of thing might be effective on barbs or monsters, but it isn't effective in the long run on citizens you're supposed to be protecting. The fear eventually disappears and only instills great hatred and that's why we've been able to get help from the local population as far as hidden supplies and intelligence when they're able.\"\n\nYou remember Kane in class and him being a very capable fighter who actually killed two of your other classmates during sparing lessons. You don't even think he did it intentionally though, he just thought that's what he was supposed to do because Mistress encouraged such behavior. Given his unassuming and quiet nature back then though, you're a little surprised he wasn't picked to be a shadow guard, though perhaps they realized his dedicated to orders would be more useful as a soldier.\n\n\"Well, I can't say I'm too surprised. I mean he is one of\u2026\" you stop yourself from saying \"us\" since you know Cyrus would probably be insulted by it. He identifies more with being a shadow than an Eternal now.\n\n\"\u2026the Empire's lap dogs after all. They say jump and he asks how high.\" You finish.\n\"True\u2026but\u2026\" Cyrus says and stops.\n\nNow this is interesting. You didn't expect this sort of hesitation from Cyrus.\n\n\"But what Cyrus?\" Talia asks.\n\"I dunno. I sometimes wonder if we all could've turned out like that, if we hadn't been picked to be shadows.\"\n\"Heh, well I have to admit, I have wondered the same thing sometimes.\" You reply.\n\"I know I really shouldn't, but I sometimes feel sorry for our unenlightened classmates. I mean so many of them didn't have a chance to hear the truth of Dendrin's call.\n\"Seriously?\" you ask in genuine surprise.\n\"Yes. The worst part is I really believe I could get through to someone like Kane under the right circumstances and could turn him to our side. Show him that the Empire is a corrupt entity that needs to be destroyed. I'll never get that chance, but such is the will of Dendrin, just as it was his will that we were picked to hear his words instead of them.\"\n\"I suppose\u2026\" you answer.\n\nYour private feelings on Dendrin aside, you have to admit this is a side of Cyrus you've never seen before. He has always been so dedicated to Dendrin, that to hear him express any sort of sympathy towards an unbeliever let alone an Empire enemy is unheard of. You doubt if you could have such sympathy towards people trying to kill you and you aren't even a religious fanatic like he is.\n\nIn any case it doesn't make your decision on whether or not to tell the truth about what Dendrin said to you any easier.", "action_results": [null]}]}]}, {"action": "Send another shadow back instead", "result": "Knowing Dendrin, he\u2019s probably warned you after something bad has already happened at Gloom and is toying with you just to see what you\u2019ll do. You\u2019re just hoping Talia is all right, but you can\u2019t go back just for one woman and your actions here are more important to the cause right now. If some major tragedy already has happened, then you probably won\u2019t be able to do anything about it.\n\nWhile you\u2019re a necessity here, that doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t send another in your place to check on Gloom. You call to speak to one of your fellow shadows that you believe to be the most skilled.\n\n\u201cSister Yvette, I need you to go back to Gloom and check on things there.\u201d\n\u201cWhat? But brother, we are to assault a supply caravan to Roldan\u2019s camp soon. You know it\u2019ll be heavily guarded and it would be best to utilize all the strength we have on it.\u201d\n\u201cI know. That\u2019s why I will have these people here and the cell we have in the Guf Hills to help. Don\u2019t worry about it.\u201d\n\u201cBrother, my place is here to fight along side you against the Empire. We are not due to check in at Gloom anytime soon and Master Ebon is performing the important ceremony there. I don\u2019t understand why you would want me to disturb that for no reason.\u201d\n\nYou didn\u2019t really want to get into this because it\u2019s likely to bring forth more questions, but Yvette is proving to be unmoving on this request.\n\n\u201cSister Yvette I have reason to believe Gloom may be in danger. Call it instinct, call it a premonition or call it the will of Dendrin, I don\u2019t care, but I REALLY feel someone needs to check in on Gloom. I\u2019d do it myself, but seeing as my mission here takes priority it would be irresponsible for me to leave my command. So I\u2019m sending you. Now I hope you will obey my orders and if everything is in fact okay there you can make a complaint to Master Ebon at his earliest convenience. If not, well I believe we\u2019ll have bigger problems.\u201d\n\nYour explanation still doesn\u2019t tell her much and you can sense that she\u2019s very hesistant about just following through on your order based on a hunch, but given that it\u2019s Gloom then it\u2019s still worth checking out even if nothing is going on there. It also helps that you\u2019ve been a very effective cell leader. Sister Yvette has certainly been a shadow longer than you, but your skills and leadership have established your dominance. Despite how everyone is supposed to be equal in the shadows there will always be those who are leaders and those who are followers.\n\n\u201cVery well\u2026I will go. What should I do if there is trouble?\u201d she asks.\n\u201cHelp in any way you can then return to me as soon as possible unless you bump into Master Ebon and he has different order for you. As I said I will be meeting with the cell in the Guf Hills and we will probably be making that a temporary base of operations.\u201d\n\u201cOkay, I\u2019ll take my leave as soon as possible. My Dendrin watch over you and guide you to success on the next mission\u2026and I hope you\u2019re wrong about Gloom, brother.\u201d\n\u201cMe too.\u201d\n\nThe next day you make your way to the Guf Hills, thinking not only about Gloom, but Dendrin as well. You briefly wonder if there might be a way of telling the shadows about Dendrin, but you quickly dismiss the idea. None of them would believe you and it wouldn\u2019t do much good right now any way. The Empire is still the major threat and until that enemy is defeated only then will you even have the time to worry about the shadows\u2019s sham of a religion.\n\nWhen you try to make contact with Brother Theo in the Guf Hills, it isn\u2019t a straightforward process. Naturally there is always a little caution, but those under his command are a suspicious violent lot even before the rebellion broke out. The rebels he\u2019s been directing primarily consist of criminals or ignorant peasants that have always made their homes in these hills and most of them are both. Many of them make racial slurs at the elves in your own company and if you had to guess there\u2019s evidence of some inbreeding going on with some of these hill peasants.\n\nAfter a short stand off, Brother Theo comes out and admonishes all of them for their behavior towards you. Most of them grumble and go back to doing what they were doing. You tell your own people to find a spot and keep away from the others while you and Brother Theo talk to each other.\n\n\u201cGlad you\u2019re here brother and with a couple of fellow shadows I see. That\u2019s good, because we could use more disciplined types here!\u201d\n\u201cBrother Theo, what is going on here? I mean I know we\u2019re using anyone who has a grudge against the Empire, but these people have to be some of the lowest dregs of humanity.\u201d\n\u201cYou\u2019ll get no argument from me brother. It is truly Dendrin testing my patience with these people, but I will pass that test and besides after this is all said and done, the Empire will fall and that\u2019s the major goal right now.\u201d\n\u201cTrue, but are these people actually any good in a fight?\u201d\n\u201cHah! That\u2019s all these people practically know. These folks might be unruly, but they know these hills better than anyone else, so we manage to stay hidden from Empire search teams for long periods of time. And if we can\u2019t, then we stay one step ahead of them before we\u2019re discovered. Having had to listen to their stories over and over, the families around this region have chaffed living under the Empire rule for almost as long as the shadows. Apparently they\u2019ve been planning and building up supplies for a very long time. Pity we didn\u2019t know about them sooner, but as you can tell they aren\u2019t very trusting of anyone who isn\u2019t family.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m sort of surprised the Empire didn\u2019t stomp them out of the hills given their problem with authority figures.\u201d\n\u201cEh, they might seem like idiots, but they\u2019re smarter than they look and can obviously play the waiting game. Also I guess when the Empire discovered there weren\u2019t even any minerals worth mining in these hills, they took less notice of the place and basically just left the Guf people to their own devices as long as they paid their taxes on time. Most were wise enough to at least obey that one law and even those that didn\u2019t pay knew the hills so well it simply wasn\u2019t worth the Empire\u2019s time to track down an evader. Oh sure every once in awhile the Empire would sometimes send a few dark elven mercs to track down the more serious criminals, but that had mixed success and at the time the Empire was always more concerned with either conquest or territory that was actually worth something. Probably never believed that these hill folk could ever be a legitimate threat to them either. A bit short sighted of them, but then that\u2019s the Empire for you.\u201d\n\nYou nod and agree. As fascinating as all this is, your mind is still on Gloom. Of course you\u2019re not going to mention any of that to Brother Theo, so you ask him what the plan is to assault Captain Roldan\u2019s supply caravan. He tells you it\u2019s a simple plan, the caravan is going to be passing through a nearby area that leads into a valley in a couple of days and in that time you\u2019ll be setting an ambush from both sides as well.\n\n\u201cActually I\u2019m glad you\u2019ve brought some elves with you, we could use more archers.\u201d Theo remarks.\n\u201cYeah, well don\u2019t believe all the myths. They aren\u2019t all expert marksmen, but the ones with me are still good enough for this ambush.\u201d You reply. \u201cStill, something about this seems a bit too easy. The Empire has to know that running a supply line through that valley is an all too tempting target especially with a known enemy making their home nearby.\u201d\n\u201cThat supply caravan is going straight to Captain Roldan, it\u2019s going to be very heavily guarded. Chances are they\u2019re just arrogant enough to believe that any possible attack isn\u2019t going to succeed. This is the Empire after all.\u201d\n\u201cHmm, maybe\u2026\u201d\n\nAfter Brother Theo reassures you of the success of the plan you head back to your own people who thankfully haven\u2019t gotten into any fights with the hill folk. Fortunately the next two days of preparation also pass without too much incident. Some the elves get a few more slurs thrown their way, but nothing that they haven\u2019t been called before. One the hill folk actually speaks to you at great length asking you questions and such. You get the impression he was trying to get a feel of not only who you are, but the shadows in general. He wasn\u2019t hostile towards you though, they apparently know better than to anger shadows too much.\n\nIn the back of your mind during all this is still Gloom. Yvette wouldn\u2019t be back yet even if she hadn\u2019t found anything, but you still fear the worst. Makes you wonder if you shouldn\u2019t have gone yourself. It\u2019s too late now though and you need to focus on the task at hand.\n\nThe day finally comes and the supply caravan enters the valley. You on one side with your group and Brother Theo with his group on the other. He also has people ready to cut the supply caravan off from the front and from retreat as well.\n\nThe large group of wagons and carriages are heavily guarded as expected. Several soldiers of the elite variety and you see an Empire battle mage as well. You wait for Brother Theo\u2019s signal\u2026\n\nBut before that can happen, the supply wagons suddenly stop and the battle mage suddenly casts a faint blue barrier over the entire supply caravan. Brother Theo orders his people to fire arrows at them, but they bounce harmlessly off the barrier. You shake your head cursing because you knew this was going to be too easy.\n\n\u201cRebellious fools, did you really think you were smart enough to ambush the Empire so easily? Flee now and enjoy your worthless lives for a little while longer or face your death with a smidgeon of honor by coming down into this valley!\u201d the soldier in charge of the caravan shouts.\n\n\u201cLooks like we\u2019re going to have to do this the hard way.\u201d You say to yourself.\n\nYou\u2019ve still got them outnumbered and surrounded even if you can\u2019t rain a bunch of arrows on them, not to mention your own combat skills are more than a match for most Empire soldiers.\n\nStill there\u2019s no reason to be foolish, you don\u2019t tell your people to charge down the valley, you let the Gufians do that, since they seem eager to do that sort of thing. Even the ones directly under Brother Theo\u2019s command are rushing past him. As for the empire troops, they seem content on waiting for you inside the safety of their barrier. Unfortunately some of them have bows too and theirs work perfectly well from inside the barrier.\n\nYou, Theo and the other shadows easily dodge such attacks thanks to your shadow magic ability to speed yourself up to quickly close the gap. Most of the non-shadows aren\u2019t as lucky. The numbers are evened up a bit more by the time the major close combat occurs.\n\nThe Empire battle mage releases the barrier and then casts some sort of speed spell on his own people. Again, this merely matches the shadows, but it\u2019s a severe advantage against the non-shadows. You need to eliminate that mage quick.", "action_results": [{"action": "Fire a bolt at the mage", "result": "You try to get a clear shot at the mage with your armbow. Despite the chaos your aim is true and the bolt flies directly at the mage\u2019s head\u2026only for an Empire soldier to step in the way and get killed instead.\n\nAnother shadow tries to follow your lead by firing at the mage as well, but at this point he\u2019s put up his own personal barrier. Realizing he\u2019s in danger, he raises his hand up and a large arc of electricity emanates from it hitting several of your allies as well as Empire soldiers. Fortunately you were far enough away and quickly cloak yourself to avoid being targeted more directly.\n\nYou run around one of the wagons and see the mage is still focused on frying his victims. You quickly load up another bolt and fire again, this time you don\u2019t miss this time as the bolt enters his temple killing him instantly. With the mage dispatched the Empire soldiers suddenly slow down to their normal speed and the battle swings in your favor once again. Still after it\u2019s all said and done, this was more costly than it should\u2019ve been. Brother Theo\u2019s lost more than half of his \u201chill folk\u201d and you\u2019ve suffered some losses as well and you\u2019ve still got Gloom to worry about.\n\nYou can\u2019t take the waiting anymore and you decide after a short rest period, you\u2019re heading back to Gloom with the remaining shadows under your command. You get some questions, but you simply tell them that Dendrin himself told you go back and much like Yvette they back down and fall in line.\n\nYou half expect an encampment of Empire troops surrounding the entrance of Gloom, but instead what you find is worse. The rock that acted as the concealed entrance to Gloom is gone, or rather reduced to rubble.\n\nYou and the rest of the shadows with you dig in the rubble for quite a while, but you don\u2019t even reach where the stairs would be, its just more debris. It\u2019s apparent that the entire entryway has been collapsed from beneath; possibly even all of Gloom has been buried. There\u2019s no sign of Yvette either, but you can assume since she never reported back to you, she must\u2019ve entered Gloom before whatever happened here.\n\nWhile the rest of shadows start lamenting what might\u2019ve become of Master Ebon and the rest, you on the other hand mourn quietly for Talia. You also silently curse yourself for not going back to Gloom immediately, if you had maybe you could\u2019ve done something.\n\nWith this destruction of Gloom, the shadows have been dealt a crippling blow. Possibly one they can\u2019t come back from. You\u2019re going to have to try to regroup what cells you can and try to alter a strategy plan. The main problem with that plan isn\u2019t so much the sheer impossibility of it, so much as with Talia gone you don\u2019t know if your heart going to be completely in the \u201ccause\u201d anymore. Really she was one of your main motivations, and now that Dendrin has flat out told you how he doesn\u2019t give a damn about the shadows, you sort of have inside information on how this rebellion is likely to turn out.\n\nOnly time will tell you suppose\u2026\n\nYear 30\n\n\u201cHas nobody been able to contact Cyrus up in Rask?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cMinimal contact brother. As I said, last time we did it was two years ago and he said he couldn\u2019t spare anyone. Reports also said he lost his orc allies up there.\u201d Brother Theo remarks.\n\u201cWonderful, the Empire is closing in on us and we can\u2019t even count on the bare minimum support.\u201d\n\u201cWe shouldn\u2019t give up hope brother. Dendrin has preserved us this long.\u201d\n\nYou ignore Theo\u2019s remarks since you don\u2019t feel like spending what will probably your last moments in life, on a religious debate. Suffice to say, the few shadows that remain with you know full well of your feelings on Dendrin. If you weren\u2019t such a desperate situation, you\u2019d be correct in believing that they\u2019d kill you as a heretic. However, when someone has kept you alive for five years in a grim situation, people tend to overlook certain things they find spiritually offensive. And that\u2019s what you\u2019ve been trying your best to do on sheer determination and revenge, but in the end the numbers have always been against you, and the Empire has finally managed to focus on eliminating the shadows. Stopping their war with the Felkan Kingdom helped, but the efforts of Captain Roldan have probably been the most damaging to the shadows in recent years (Along with Captain Kane in Rask).\n\nYou briefly wonder why you stayed to fight seeing as you had no faith in Dendrin and Talia was gone, but ultimately it was always your desire for battle that kept you around. Maybe it always was leading you to do the things you did.\n\nAnd now here you are hold up in a cave in the Guf Hills where you were five years ago. The Empire has soldiers and dark elven mercs sweeping the hills looking for you. It\u2019ll only be a matter of time. You just hope Captain Roldan himself will be the one to find you. You\u2019d like to at least face the man who\u2019s been hunting you for years in combat before you die.\n\nWhen the cave is swarmed with enemies, you don\u2019t get your wish. Still, you give a fight that satisfies you when sheer numbers finally bring you down.\n\nThe best thing is, you never have to worry Dendrin ever speaking to you again.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Close in for the kill", "result": "You cut down a nearby soldier and try to close the gap between you and the mage. Despite the chaos the mage notices you and then raise his hand up and a large arc of lightning is unleashed from it. Not only are you hit, but several of your allies and even Empire troops are hit as well. Unfortunately for you, the Empire has always considered any of their own people expendable, so the mage doesn\u2019t stop with his chain lightning spell.\n\nYou feel the electricity course through your body and burn you from the inside out. By the time the mage finally releases his spell, you\u2019re one of the many smoking black corpses created by his handiwork.\n\nUltimately you\u2019re just another forgotten body in a long line of victorious battles for the Empire.", "action_results": []}]}]}]}]}]}, {"action": "Shadowy Agenda (More history and goals)", "result": "In the years you\u2019ve been here, you\u2019ve learned much more about the Shadow Guard\u2019s plans along with their history, which of course has a much positive spin than the usual things the Empire puts out about them or the common perception.\n\nBefore the Empire, the worshippers of Dendrin made their home in the Derlerg province. However, only a special few became \u201cshadows\u201d and they became more like protectors and holy people of the territory. Whole villages were dedicated to the worship of Dendrin, but there was no crusade or oppression of those who did not. Dendrin was not a deity that encouraged conversion by the sword, which is more than can be said for the Empire when they eventually arrived.\n\nWhen the Empire (Still known as the Qualan Empire at the time) came to Derlerg, the people were unsure of what to do. Most wanted to fight off this potential aggressor, but instead they asked for the guidance of their Dendrin priests. The shadows then consulted each other, and finally Dendrin.\n\nThe answer to all surprised his faithful. Dendrin told them to surrender without a fight. He told them to not only surrender, but to swear loyalty to this \u201cso called Emperor\u201d and offer to be part of his armies. He said he knew where their true loyalties lay and that all would be revealed in time.\n\nHe told them to ask for only one stipulation of the Empire and that was that they are allowed to continue their worship and to never mention his name except among each other. (Hence why you\u2019ve never heard the name of Dendrin, until you joined the Shadow Guard)\n\nTrusting in Dendrin, the shadows obeyed. When they asked for an audience with the emperor they did exactly what Dendrin told them to. The Emperor was amazed and even overjoyed at such an offer. When he saw the powers that the shadows offered, he accepted their loyalty without many other questions. He was still hesitant about their insistence on their religion, but this was during a time when the Empire was less restrictive about such things and after proving themselves several times in the following years, the Emperor dismissed their worship as silly superstition, but ultimately not a threat to his power.\n\nYears passed to decades and the Derlerg province eventually assimilated completely to the Empire. Most of the people who once worshipped Dendrin, didn\u2019t anymore and the new generation born were completely ignorant of him. However his shadows still kept the faith like they were suppose to, but there were still so few, and that\u2019s when Dendrin came to them again. He told them that they must start actively looking for worthy candidates to join or preferably, to breed with each other to produce more shadows.\n\nThis was a new order by Dendrin to actively recruit as opposed to people seeking out Dendrin themselves, but once again, the shadows obeyed. The Empire certainly didn\u2019t mind having more shadows to serve it either. It was around this time that the decree came that the Shadow Guard proper was formed to serve as a type of internal security since the Empire was growing larger and needed to weed out dissidents. Some most likely objected to this trust in the shadows, but the Emperor was convinced of their loyalty so they were elevated to the status they are today.\n\nUnfortunately for him, the Emperor would\u2019ve done well to be more paranoid and to have listened to his advisors at the time.\n\nThe Shadow Guard have been planning, and scheming and waiting since the very beginning to overthrow the Empire. Dendrin foresaw that if they resisted in the beginning they would\u2019ve been crushed. True the Empire would\u2019ve suffered losses, but his followers would\u2019ve been wiped out completely, and without followers what use is a god?\n\nNow centuries have passed. The Shadow Guard is so entrenched in the Empire that if it were to rebel now, as it surely will, the Empire would surely be vastly damaged and most likely fall. Right now the shadow guard\u2019s duty is to root out dissidents and that\u2019s true up to a point. Some are immediately passed over to the Empire to keep up appearances, others are killed if they prove unhelpful, but for those that are too useful to turn over and are willing to help, then they join the \u201cnormal\u201d resistance that the Shadow Guard has been building up over the years. When the revolution comes, it won\u2019t just be the shadows rebelling.\n\nStrangely, there doesn\u2019t seem to be any grand plans to \u201ctake over\u201d though. The main goal seems to be overthrowing the Empire and gaining \u201cfreedom\u201d. This seems very odd to you. You could understand better if there was a system in place for the shadows to take power afterwards, but why would they want to overthrow something, only to leave anarchy behind?\n\nIt would seem the shadows are intending to do just that, and then a mass exodus back to the Delerg province to rebuild their old temple and continue to worship Dendrin. Nothing more, nothing less.\n\nWhile you should find everything about this agenda repugnant, you can\u2019t help but respect and admire the patience and planning of such a cunning plan. You doubt if you could maintain such a facade for so long. Then again you\u2019ve been blending in as one of them for two years now and your own loyalty isn\u2019t necessarily to them.\n\nPerhaps you\u2019ve come to respect the Shadow Guard so much because you\u2019ve started to think like them\u2026", "action_results": [null]}, {"action": "Dendrin\u2019s Disciples (Your \u201csiblings\u201d)", "result": "In the few years you\u2019ve been with the Shadow Guard, you still haven\u2019t gotten used to the idea their strange hierarchy system. The part you understand is the initiate level, which are the prospects who have not yet gone through the ceremony. They are lowest and understand why as far as the shadow hierarchy goes. It\u2019s after the ceremony where it gets confusing to you.\n\nEveryone that passes through the ceremony is either a brother or sister according to gender and nobody is technically above anyone, though there is obviously still a hierarchy system in place based on experience. For example Brother Gray and Brother Murk are supposed to be equals, but Brother Gray is really his superior (along with most others) since he\u2019s been a shadow for much longer and has more knowledge than Murk.\n\nFrom what you know, this \u201cequality\u201d is part of the idea that Dendrin wanted the shadows to not fight amongst themselves and to concentrate on their true enemy the Empire. While this is a strange concept for you, it must have worked since the shadows do treat each other more like a family and you haven\u2019t observed any real power conflicts with any of them.\n\nThe one exception is Master Ebon. Apparently even in a family of \u201csiblings\u201d, there still needs to be a parental figure and Master Ebon would be that \u201cfather\u201d. It is he who supposedly speaks to Dendrin directly about his greatest visions, ideas and prophecies on how to best proceed.\n\nThough this seems questionable to you, considering if Dendrin spoke to him directly about the most important matters, why wouldn\u2019t he mention you and your doubting loyalties?\n\nIn any event, you\u2019ve come to know quite a few shadows since your time here and against your better judgment, even become friendly with them. You have to admit; they aren\u2019t all like what the common perception of them is. Master Ebon, as mentioned is the overall leader, and other than that you don\u2019t know too much about him personally except that he has been a meticulous planner much like his predecessors.\n\nBrother Gray would probably be the closest thing to a second in command. Brother Gray has always seemed to try to help you though perhaps not in any way you\u2019d like. But his words of encouragement on survival during your training and his concern that you should feel welcome here like a family member display that he genuinely is trying to look out for you since he has on several occasions praised your combat skills.\n\nIf there were a proper hierarchy, Brother Shade would probably be your commanding officer or sergeant since he\u2019s been here longer than the rest of you and relays a lot of orders to the rest of you. He still goes on missions as well, unlike Brother Gray. He seems a little more militant than the rest of his fellows, and you don\u2019t mean in his worship of Dendrin, but rather his desire to see the Empire fall. You get the impression he\u2019s tired of waiting.\n\nSister Talia, or just Talia as you still think of her. During your years with her in Mistress\u2019 class she was much like you in that she kept to the background and mostly just followed instruction. She was a good fighter; you recall her shutting up one of your louder classmates (Edgar you think his name was) with one punch when they were paired up together to fight for the first time. Other than that, you didn\u2019t really talk to her and that continued even during your shadow guard training.\n\nAfter the ceremony however, she interacted with you more, mostly taunting your shadow magic abilities initially, but in time she began to speak to you on a friendlier level, she even apologized and claimed that she should not have mocked you so, and should have tried to help you instead. Since that time, she\u2019s been cordial with you. In different circumstances, you\u2019d probably appreciate her friendliness in your situation; the problem is she\u2019s part of which you consider the enemy. It\u2019s even worse, since she\u2019s an Eternal like you and her brainwashed mindset is much more distressing to you.\n\nBrother Cyrus or just Cyrus as you still think of him. Much like you and Talia, he kept to the background in Mistress\u2019 class. Also like Talia he was a good fighter, though you remember having to go up against him once, and you beat him. It wasn\u2019t an easy victory, but you sometimes wonder if he continued to hold a grudge because he still remains stand offish to you. He even still says something snide about your shadow magic aptitude once in awhile. Especially since Cyrus himself has proven to be quite apt at using shadow magic\n\nCyrus seems to have embraced the worship of Dendrin wholeheartedly, even more than Talia, though again you wonder if his new relationship with Draven has something to do with enforcing that, rather than anything Dendrin did to brainwash him. Lately though he\u2019s been away a lot and given more assignments. Apparently he\u2019s moving \u201cup\u201d as far as shadow responsibilities go.\n\nBrother Draven is Cyrus\u2019 special friend, or in other words his lover. You aren\u2019t exactly sure when it started, since you were concerned with your own crisis of loyalties at the time, but you really don\u2019t care anyway.\n\nDraven has never really spoken too much to you, but when he has he\u2019s at least been friendlier than Cyrus. He\u2019s mentioned he was born into the shadows, but that his own parents died when he was young though he doesn\u2019t say how exactly. From what you\u2019ve seen his combat abilities are nowhere near that of you or any of the other Eternals (Then again few shadows are) but his shadow magic is much better. He\u2019s a little older than Cyrus, probably by a few years, but despite that, Cyrus is still obviously the dominant one of the relationship, but then given that Cyrus is still an Eternal at heart, which seems logical to you.\n\nBrother Murk is probably the closest thing you have to a \u201cfriend\u201d in here. Though he probably wouldn\u2019t be, if he knew your true thoughts. He\u2019s about Draven\u2019s age, but unlike Draven he was born in the Derlerg province and actively sought out to be part of the shadows, since his family was one of the few that still quietly worshipped Dendrin even after centuries of others forgot him. Apparently it was always a dream of someone in his family to become a shadow, so Murk pestered the shadows until they finally gave him a chance. He passed and it was the happiest day of his life.\n\nMurk was one of the few that tried to reach out to you even when he saw you struggling with shadow magic (among other things). During the times when you were paired up and had to fight actual dissidents who didn\u2019t want to listen to you (Not all are willing to trust let alone join the shadow guard agenda, and some are little more than violent criminals) he\u2019s always had your back. In between missions, he likes to tell you of his latest attempts to woo Sister Bianca.\n\nIt is a shame that such a worthy comrade has dedicated his life to the wrong side and it will be regrettable when the day comes that you may have to kill him yourself.", "action_results": [null]}]}]}]}, {"action": "Defy the god with all your strength", "result": "You aren\u2019t going to compromise your beliefs. Not even to a god.\n\n\u201cI will never serve you! My loyalty will always be to the Emperor!\u201d you communicate with your mind. You feel absolutely drained even having this thought.\n\nFor a long time there is a silence and you\u2019re just floating in the void, with only a sense of impending doom ever growing within your head.\n\n\u201cSo be it. I respect your dedication Eternal. May you serve your Emperor in whatever afterlife finds you, because you won\u2019t be doing it in this life.\u201d The voice whispers and then you feel the numbness that has invaded your body, now invading your mind.\n\nIt isn\u2019t painful. It isn\u2019t anything really. Your brain shuts down along with the rest of your body, which is then enveloped by the void. You completely cease to be and are explained to have died during the Shadow Guard ceremony to Mr. Mol when he asks for an update on your progress.", "action_results": []}]}]}, {"action": "The Shadow Guard (History Lesson)", "result": "The Shadow Guard are an elite branch of the Empire\u2019s security force. Technically they aren\u2019t military, but they do help out the rank and file soldiers when assigned to. Their main task is internal security of the Empire\u2019s core regions however. Much like anything concerning the history with the Empire, the shadow\u2019s history is also a little murky, but for as long as anyone can remember, the Shadow Guard have been serving since the early days of the Empire.\n\nWhile the shadows are feared and respected by most across the normal population, the higher ranking military officials tend to be suspicious of them for various reasons. One of the major reasons being their religious nature as they are practically a religious order of \u201cwarrior monks\u201d.\n\nWhile the shadows do serve the Empire and dedicate their loyalty to the Emperor, they also worship a deity of some sort and have always done so, indeed it is supposedly how they all maintain their more magical abilities. Something like this might normally be considered a threat and the religion stamped out, but given their order\u2019s utter dedication to the Emperor for centuries they have been given some allowances that most would not receive. Not to mention that they are absolutely vital at keeping the population in check nowadays.\n\nThe Shadow Guard\u2019s procedures for choosing new recruits are almost as strict as the Eternal process. Besides the usual demanding combat training, they also have to go through some sort of ritual, which the shadows keep very private. It has something to do with their religion though, and not everyone survives the process. If the initiate survives then he or she becomes a fully-fledged shadow and all the abilities and powers that come with it.", "action_results": [null]}]}, {"action": "Struggle", "result": "The pain is great and you want it to be over with as quickly as possible, but you know to beg for mercy would be shameful and you don\u2019t want to die so you desperately try to push her boot off of you. Naturally you are unsuccessful and this response only enrages her further.\n\n\u201cInsolent fool! I said beg or die! Those were your choices and you dare defy my orders?\u201d Mistress exclaims and takes her boot off of your chest, only to begin kicking and stomping on you. You try to escape, but she bends down and roughly picks up by the collar. \u201cDon\u2019t you dare try to run while I discipline you! YOU\u2026 WILL\u2026 O\u2026 BEY!\u201d Mistress says while slapping your face at intervals of her verbal abuse. Finally she throws you to back to the floor.\n\n\u201cNow get back in your seat and never defy me again! Your life is nothing! ALL of your lives are nothing! Your lives will never be anything more than warm bodies to serve the Emperor! And you will not even be able to live up to that honored status, if you do not learn obedience. Remember this.\u201d\n\nAt this point you stagger back in your seat, aching all over. It hurts a lot, but despite the beating, you don\u2019t feel fear, instead you feel anger. Anger at Mistress certainly, but more at yourself for being so powerless.\n\nTime passes by under the harsh guidance of Mistress. She teaches you all that she promised she would and then some. Your lessons are not only that of a combat nature, but of an academic one as well. You wouldn\u2019t be aware of it, but you and your classmates are probably much better educated than other children your age.\n\nAs for you, Mistress rides you the hardest for defying her. There are more than several times where she basically pits the rest of the class against you during the combat training sessions. You suffer horrible beatings most of the time, but eventually you adapt and manage to hold your own until Mistress finds yet another way to make the fight unfair. You are obedient and follow the orders of Mistress, but internally you are harboring thoughts of resentment, hatred and defiance towards her. And so what if you are? She isn\u2019t the Emperor. That\u2019s the only person you really have to revere.\n\nYour personality doesn\u2019t go unnoticed by your instructor and watchers, they make note of it and decide how you should be handled in the next step of your training.\n\nYear 12\n\nYou are in a room by yourself sitting in a chair. Everyone else in your class has been separated for reasons unknown to you. All you know right now is Mistress is speaking with a well dressed man. They are speaking about you, but not actually speaking TO you\u2026\n\n\u201cSo just this one? Are you sure?\u201d the well dressed man asks.\n\u201cShould be thankful you have even that. The last pathetic batch of humans you had me train didn\u2019t even survive, let alone get this far. However this one is the closest for your purposes. Though by Svelk standards he would be put in the slave pits and the rest of your so called Eternals would be killed for their poor performance.\u201d Mistress mocks.\n\u201cHmm, yes and that\u2019s why your own society is doing so well now. No, we will still find uses for the others. Perhaps as military officers, or even members of the Shadow Guard and they will still be of great service to the Emperor. Still, I wish we had more than just one, oh well he will have to do. We will improve the results of the Eternal Program with the next group.\u201d\n\nAt this point Mistress begins laughing.\n\n\u201cIs something amusing?\u201d\n\u201cYes, yes it is. Extremely. You humans and your grand schemes to hold on to power, do you really believe that this Eternal program of yours is going to make a difference? Potential external threats are the least of your concerns. Your Empire is rotting from within and your territory is succumbing to chaos every day.\u201d\n\u201cAnd I suppose you would be an expert on such things, seeing as your own people experienced this millennia ago and still haven\u2019t even managed to rebuild a cohesive unified government again, while your so called lesser cousins have thrived.\u201d\n\u201cMy people were conquering this world and more, while yours were still bumbling around trying to figure out how to make fire like the pack of monkeys you evolved from! And our rulers were the gods themselves, not petty dictators who think they are!\u201d\n\u201cYes and again I ask, what are your people doing now? They\u2019re a race of scattered mercenaries selling their services to the highest bidders with no sense of loyalty to anyone, but to themselves. Speaking of which, you are merely a guest within the Empire. While your services are valuable to us, if you speak ill of the Emperor again you can always be replaced by another money whore of your kind.\u201d\n\nMistress\u2019 eyes narrow and she quickly grabs the man holding a dagger to his throat before speaking.\n\n\u201cFortunately for you, this job is paying very well. For that is the only thing keeping me from slitting your throat. Never speak to me that way again human\u2026now leave so that I may train this so called Eternal.\u201d She says and releases him.\n\nThe well dress man looks a bit shaken up, but he composes himself.\n\u201cYou will keep me apprised of his progress on a weekly basis, and this incident will not be forgotten!\u201d He says and walks quickly out of the room.\n\nAt this point Mistress turns to you, and you fully expect to receive a beating, but instead she questions you.\n\n\u201cSo, what did you think of that little exchange?\u201d\n\u201cIt is not my place to give an opinion on the debates of my superiors. I am merely here to be trained by you so that I may better serve the Emperor.\u201d You say.\n\u201cYes, yes, yes, very nice safe and boring answer, but what do you REALLY think\u2026I order you to tell me.\u201d\n\nYou pause to gather your thoughts and then speak.\n\n\u201cI think it is odd that you are not an Empire citizen and hold no loyalty to him, yet you are training me Mistress.\u201d\n\u201cHa ha ha, yes well it is an odd situation, but not an uncommon one. You will find that many make compromises in life.\u201d\n\u201cBut Mistress, how can you tell me to believe in something, that you yourself do not believe in?\u201d\n\u201cIt\u2019s easy. I\u2019m just saying what they would have me say. What do I care, I\u2019m profiting greatly from this and at the end of the day I\u2019m the one coming out ahead. But I think you need a better example than me, a more personal one\u2026namely yourself.\u201d\n\nYou look confused, before Mistress continues.\n\n\u201cYou hate me. I know you do, do not deny it. You don\u2019t want to put up with me, yet you obey my commands without question. Why?\u201d\n\u201cBecause you are my superior Mistress, and you have been ordered\u2026paid to train me, by the Emperor.\u201d\n\u201cAh, so if I was training you, and the Emperor was not involved, you would still obey my commands?\u201d\n\u201cPerhaps I would Mistress, since I would most likely be killed by you if I didn\u2019t obey, as you are far more skilled than I am. I would obey until there was a way to somehow kill you or even escape.\n\u201cInteresting\u2026so you would compromise you beliefs.\u201d\n\nYou didn\u2019t think about it like that, but you quickly think up a retort.\n\n\u201cNo Mistress, I do not believe it would be a compromise, I would be ensuring my survival so that I may serve the Emperor longer.\u201d\n\u201cHa ha, if you say so. But tell me, does the revelation that not everyone praises your Emperor discourage or shake your own loyalty to him?\u201d\n\u201cNo Mistress.\u201d\n\u201cWhy not? You surely know that all of this is propaganda. You\u2019ve never even met your Emperor. He could be an idiotic cripple for all you know.\u201d\n\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter Mistress, I wouldn\u2019t even be here if not for him. I am being trained to be an Eternal, something he himself ordered. Because of that, I already know I have been given the highest honor and a better chance than most. I owe this training, this loyalty, and this life to him regardless of what others might think.\u201d\n\nMistress just nods at your answer, there is no sneer or smirk in her face this time. She has perhaps a look of semi-respect for you.\n\n\u201cVery well, let us begin your training Eternal\u2026\u201d", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 16\n\nYou stand alone before Mistress face to face in the room you\u2019ve been trained in by her for the past four years. You\u2019re training has been grueling to say the least, you\u2019ve been forced to fight various beasts and people using traditional weapons as well as battle magic. You\u2019ve been subjected to harsh environment conditions not to mention the psychological torture that Mistress seems to enjoy. You can\u2019t imagine that your classmates had training this tough.\n\n\u201cToday is the big day Eternal. Today is the day you get to kill me with your own bare hands.\u201d Mistress says with her usual wry smile. \u201cThink you can handle that?\u201d\n\u201cIf that\u2019s what my training entails today, I shall certainly do my best, Mistress.\u201d\n\u201cYour best won\u2019t be good enough I assure you. Better you should just accept your death now or beg for mercy\u2026but I believe we know you won\u2019t do either of those things mainly because you\u2019re too stupid to know your place.\u201d\n\u201cIf you say so Mistress.\u201d\n\nMistress\u2019 smile becomes a disappointed frown. She would prefer you to fear her, but that\u2019s no longer going to happen so she\u2019d at least like you to get angry which does happen from time to time. It isn\u2019t always easy maintaining a detached demeanor given how much abuse you\u2019ve put up with, but if you\u2019ve learned anything, it annoys the hell out of her.\n\n\u201cYour attempt at remaining emotionless just continues to prove what a mindless fool you are. Attempting to show bravery when today is the day you know you\u2019re\u2026\u201d\n\nAnd before she can even complete her sentence you throw a punch at her face. She dodges, but doesn\u2019t quite make it and part of your fist hits the side of her cheek, which staggers her backwards.\n\nYou press your attack with another punch, but are blocked when she throws up her hand creating a force shield.\n\n\u201cToo bad, that was the only chance you\u2019re going to get.\u201d She says and knocks you to the ground with sweeping kick to your feet.\n\nYou barely have to time to roll out of the way before Mistress conjures some sort of magical sword in her hand and tries to impale you with it. You get enough distance to cast firebolts at her, but again she blocks them with her barrier. She counters with some sort of ice cone, which covers you in frost and chills you to the bone before you can counter it with your own barrier.\n\nMistress is relentless with casting spell after spell and you\u2019re getting weaker with each passing moment just trying to keep up your defenses. Mistress\u2019 magic is not only stronger than yours, but she\u2019s also had a lot more experience in maintaining her stamina while using it. If you keep this up, she\u2019ll kill you for sure.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ve seen better magic cast by half blind hedge wizards!\u201d Mistress mocks and casts a poison cloud that suddenly envelops you within your own protective barrier. You instantly feel sick and stagger out of the cloud, dropping your barrier in the process.\n\nTaking advantage of your distraction she throws her magic sword which probably would\u2019ve decapitated you had you not had your head down and vomiting up a bit of blood at the time. As it stands you merely feel the blade graze the top of your head.\n\nYou look up just in time for her to conjure a new weapon, which materializes in her hand. You waste no time in conjuring one of your own to deflect the second attack she attempts to bring down on your head.\n\n\u201cQuit struggling monkey. You\u2019re no match for me in martial combat either!\u201d\n\nShe might be right, but just like when you were five, you\u2019re not going to just accept death. With all your might you push her back with your weapon and then drop it only to grab her by the wrist with both hands and break it. Mistress makes a yelp and drops her weapon.\n\nShe kicks you in the crotch and punches you in the side of the head with her one good hand. You feel pain, but try to ignore it as you trade another couple of punches and kicks with her before pulling her to the floor while crushing all your weight on her left arm which you were still holding by her broken wrist. The pair of you rolls on the floor for a moment and at this point you\u2019re severely bleeding from scratches on your face and head. She must\u2019ve had a hidden blade on her as well because you definitely feel one go into your back and being twisted around. She attempts to bite your throat out, but you headbutt her in the nose and rotate her around with her left arm. You break it to the point where the bone has snapped out from the skin. She stifles her urge to cry out and instead tries to break free, but you\u2019re doing the best you can to prevent her from going anywhere by pressing all your weight on her and using your free hand to reach around to choke her.\n\nThe pair of you are a mess, but that\u2019s not the weird part, the weird part is you\u2019re starting to get\u2026excited.\n\n\u201c(Gasp) I can feel your enthusiasm\u2026pressing into me. Well\u2026(gasp) is it everything you expected Eternal?\u201d Mistress asks, which catches you so off guard you release your grip from her neck.\n\nHeavily panting and trying to push herself up off the floor with her good arm. Mistress turns her head enough so she can see your face. Her eyes still display that coldness you\u2019re used to, but there\u2019s something else there. Something\u2026seductive.\n\n\u201cI bet right now, you don\u2019t know whether to kill me\u2026 or fuck me.\u201d\n\u201cWha\u2026what?\u201d you exclaim.\n\u201cDon\u2019t deny it\u2026you\u2019ve always wanted me in this way. I know how you\u2019ve looked at my body lustfully during our training sessions. I know your violent primal urges. All the hatred you\u2019ve built up over the years for me could only be unleashed in this way. The need to conquer and defile your enemy in every way imaginable. And who am I, but your enemy? Finish it Eternal or am I mistaken and you\u2019re lacking in that simple task as well?\u201d She says and begins to laugh.\n\nHer taunts, her laughter, everything about her are enough to put you over the edge. The twisted thing is she\u2019s right. You do feel some sort of\u2026the word isn\u2019t attraction\u2026you don\u2019t know what the correct word for it would be, but you feel it.\n\nYou release her arm and painfully pull the bloody dagger out of your back to slice the back of her form fitting clothing and rip most of it off of her. While she continues to taunt you, you toss the dagger aside, proceed to pull down your own breeches and thrust into her roughly from behind.\n\nFrom there it gets surreal as she goes from continuing to taunt you and what are presumably sounds of ecstasy. She even demands that you to continue choking her. All of this puts you in such a state of confusion that you have a hard time even finishing. This whole experience is quite unknown to you as you\u2019ve only read about such activities, but certainly never engaged in them. Surely, it isn\u2019t always like this?\n\nWhen you\u2019ve finished you briefly collapse backwards which is all the time Mistress needs to gain her advantage. She grabs the bloody dagger you pulled out your back and stabs you in the leg with it. You think she was aiming higher, but you managed to drag yourself out of the way in time to avoid such a grievous injury. Unfortunately she still manages to cast some sort of force spell and slam you against the wall with it. You can\u2019t move no matter how hard you try. Mistress, naked and bloodied from your battle approaches you with one useless broken arm and her other hand up keeping the spell with the cruel smile on her face you\u2019re used to seeing.\n\n\u201cLook at you, you\u2019re already spent.\u201d she remarks getting closer to you as you feel her spell continuing to crush you into the wall.\n\n\u201cAll right. That will do. I don\u2019t know what the point of all this was, but I\u2019m putting an end to it right now.\u201d Mr. Mol suddenly says. You didn\u2019t even see him enter the room, though you were sort of pre-occupied.\n\u201cMmm, interesting that you waited until after the floor show before putting an end to it Jacob. Did our actions excite you as well? Maybe you could\u2019ve joined in or perhaps you just like to watch. Yes, I imagine watching is something a eunuch like yourself is only capable of.\u201d\n\nMistress releases her spell as Mr. Mol comes closer to the pair of you. You slump to the floor exhausted.\n\n\u201cThe Emperor says he\u2019s ready now and there is no more need to test him.\u201d Mr. Mol says.\n\u201cMaybe not for your precious Emperor, but I needed to test him for myself.\u201d Mistress replies.\n\u201cFor what purpose?\u201d\n\u201cJust to see if he was up to the challenge, but he was severely lacking in every way just as I suspected. Take your creation Jacob, I am done with him.\u201d\n\nStill in discussion with Mr. Mol, Mistress isn\u2019t paying attention to you at all. You are beneath her notice now and you aren\u2019t sure if that makes you madder than the fact that she just defeated you in battle when you thought for sure you had her beat. You stare at the dagger in your leg and think how easy it would be to use it on that bitch while she isn\u2019t paying attention.", "action_results": [{"action": "Stab Mistress with the dagger", "result": "Mistress has been playing sadistic sick games with you for years and now she\u2019s just \u201cdone\u201d with you? There is no way you\u2019re going to let her continue to walk this world.\n\nYou pull the dagger out of your leg and as quietly as you can you stand up. Unfortunately Mr. Mol spoils your surprise attack by noticing you and speaking.\n\n\u201cYou. Report to the medical\u2026hey what are you doing?\u201d he says realizing that you\u2019re now rushing as fast as you can with dagger in hand.\n\nMistress turns around just in time to stop you plunging the dagger into her. She casts some sort of lightning bolt into your chest with her hand good hand, which throws you back into the wall. Your whole body goes into a convulsion from the shock.\n\n\u201cInsolent worm! You dare to continue with your foolish attempt to kill your betters? Since you obviously failed to learn this lesson, I\u2019m going to have to teach it to you again!\u201d Mistress shouts before unleashing another lighting blast and this time she hits you with a continual charge.\n\nYour body begins to sizzle from the inside out and the last thing you hear is Mr. Mol screaming at her to stop as the Emperor wants you alive.\n\n\u201cThe Emperor\u2019s just going to have to make a new Eternal then, because this one\u2019s done.\u201d She replies and kicks your blackened burned body.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Resist the urge", "result": "As much as you would like to, you know it would be folly. You\u2019re in no condition to attack again and you\u2019ve already underestimated her enough today. Besides, she\u2019s probably expecting you to attack her, perhaps even hoping you will just so she has the excuse to kill you.\n\nIn the meantime, Mr. Mol has stopped speaking with her and points over at you.\n\n\u201cYou. Report to the medical ward and get yourself healed up as quickly as you can. You\u2019ve got an important meeting soon and the appropriate clothing for it will be provided for while you\u2019re there. And for the Emperor\u2019s sake, put your damn pants back on before you leave this room.\u201d\n\u201cUh, yes sir.\u201d You say sheepishly.\n\nMr. Mol gives a disapproving look and shakes his head before walking out the door.\n\nYou pull the knife out of your leg and stagger up to retrieve your pants. While putting them back on, you see Mistress near the door casting some sort of spell over her broken arm. She appears to be healing it all on her own and within the moment it takes you to get over to the exit, she has healed it completely. Once again she turns her attention back to you.\n\n\u201cToo bad you can\u2019t heal yourself so easily, but I couldn\u2019t teach you all of my tricks now could I? Mind if I have my dagger back? No wait, why don\u2019t you keep it as a reminder of our quality time together\u2026and your complete and utter defeat.\u201d Mistress says with a big grin.\n\nShe sees your hand tightening around the handle of the dagger.\n\n\u201cDo it. I know you wanted to earlier when my back was turned to you.\u201d She grabs your hand with the knife and presses it in her stomach and then moves it upward between her breasts. She presses deep enough that the point is cutting her skin a bit. \u201cThrust that blade deep into me. This is your best chance Eternal.\u201d\n\nYou want to, you REALLY want to\u2026but this is just another head game she\u2019s playing. There\u2019s some sort of trick, you know it.\n\n\u201cNo, I am to report to the medical ward immediately.\u201d You say trying not to look into her eyes or focus on her naked body.\n\u201cAh yes, duty calls. Very well. Another day perhaps.\u201d She says and then lets go of your hand only to rub up against the side of you and press her lips near your ear.\n\n\u201cYou were right not to do it. I would\u2019ve killed you. And this\u2026my dear Eternal, is why you will never beat mommy. Remember this.\u201d She says and licks the side of your face followed by a sensual kiss to your lips as her hand rubs your chest.\n\nOnce again your hormones impede your better judgment and the temporary distraction is just another tactic for her to hurt you in some way. She suddenly bites your lip hard enough to draw blood and then spits the blood back in your face laughing the whole time.\n\nIt is at this moment that even within your short amount of years on this world, you can\u2019t ever imagine encountering a more cruel and twisted creature. If there are other such people, beings, or whatever, Mistress has managed to completely desensitize you to the point that you aren\u2019t going to be surprised by them.\n\nBut then maybe that was one of the things she was trying to teach you.\n\nWith Mistress\u2019 laughter still ringing in your ears, you exit the room holding your bleeding lip and head to the medical ward. While you\u2019re waiting you examine your last \u201cgift\u201d from Mistress. It is a very fine weapon and probably svelk made given that its blade is made of an uncommon material. You want to say its mithril, but you can\u2019t exactly be sure since studying various types of metal wasn\u2019t really in your schedule. It certainly isn\u2019t common steel that\u2019s for sure. As for the hilt you can\u2019t even guess, except that it\u2019s some sort of dark metal, sturdy and has a simple design. You eventually put it away when the medical mages are ready to help you.\n\nYou\u2019re healed relatively quickly by the medical mages. Apparently you are not to waste time lying around in a bed, as this meeting of yours is very important. When you put on the new clothes that have been provided, they are of a higher quality cloth and definitely fancier than what you\u2019re used to.\n\nYou don\u2019t have wait long before Mr. Mol arrives.\n\n\u201cThere you are, hmmm well you look presentable enough I suppose. I trust you\u2019re all healed up and feeling better?\u201d Mr. Mol says looking you up and down.\n\u201cYes, much better sir.\u201d\n\u201cGood, because you\u2019re going to meet the Emperor himself. This is a great honor for you Eternal, I hope you realize this.\u201d\n\nThis revelation that you\u2019re going to meet the Emperor in person is more than enough to put you in better spirits.\n\n\u201cOf course sir. I know that the Emperor is all-powerful and all seeing and I should be grateful for my existence to him. And I am.\u201d\n\u201cWell, don\u2019t tell me, tell him when you meet him. Let us be on our way.\u201d\n\nYou follow Mr. Mol outside, something you rarely do. You\u2019re usually cooped up inside the training facility all the time. A carriage waits for you and you enter it with Mr. Mol. Along the way to the capital Mr. Mol tells you how you should act and various other things to expect. The one thing he doesn\u2019t tell you is what the Emperor looks like, but you suppose you\u2019ll find out soon enough.\n\nWhen you reach the capital Qale, it\u2019s just as big as you\u2019ve heard. Though you sort of thought that everyone would be dressed similar to you and the place would be practically paved in gold. Not that you\u2019re disappointed, but it\u2019s just much\u2026different than you expected.\n\nThe palace on the other hand is as impressive as you thought it would be. The inside and out. Royal guards are everywhere and you see more than a few people in the fancy clothes similar to your own and Mol\u2019s. You expect to enter a grand throne room, but Mr. Mol tells you that the Emperor hasn\u2019t used the throne room in all the time he has known him. In fact, from what he\u2019s heard, the Emperor hasn\u2019t used it in centuries since he rarely meets with anyone directly anymore except with a few trusted associates.\n\nWith this sort of information, you truly realize what a really rare opportunity this is and how proud you are that you\u2019re getting to experience it.\n\nAfter going down a long stairway and through several corridors, you eventually come big empty room with a giant sturdy silver door with two equally large black statues on either side, which are made of some sort of crystal. They appear to be warrior figures of some sort, but when you look at the face, they have none; or rather their face is that of a skull. Each one carries a battle-axe in their hands, which arc over the top of the door.\n\nMr. Mol approaches the door and whispers something and in a few moments, the door creeks open just enough for the pair of you to enter.\n\nThe room opens up and all you see are shelves and row after row of books. You\u2019d almost think you\u2019d stepped into a library of some sort. After the rows of books the room opens up to a more spacious area, which consists of luxurious furnishings from the carpet to the tapestries on the walls. And there in a fancy leather chair sits an old man in a robe reading a book. You draw his attention when you and Mol approach and stands up.\n\nIs this the Emperor? If it is, your perceptions have been challenged again. He doesn\u2019t look anything like the figure you imagined.\n\n\u201cAh, Jacob. Good of you to be on time as usual. And this\u2026this must be the one I\u2019ve heard so much about! So am I everything you expected me to be? Well? Speak up son!\u201d\n\u201cUh\u2026yes my Emperor?\u201d\n\u201cYou\u2019re a bad liar son. I thought your previous teacher would\u2019ve taught you better in that regard. Oh well, you\u2019re still young and I can probably teach you better than anyone.\u201d\n\u201cTeach me my Emperor?\u201d\n\u201cOf course teach you, you\u2019ll be learning everything you need to know from me from now on.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2026I\u2019m honored my Emperor!\u201d\n\u201cAnd you can stop with that my emperor nonsense every time you address me. I\u2019m not Mistress, or whatever the hell that svelk bitch is calling herself these days. I don\u2019t demand some sort of power trip formality.\u201d\n\u201cOf course my\u2026of course.\u201d\n\u201cHa ha! They told me you learned quick! Now let\u2019s get to\u2026eh? Jacob you still here? Don\u2019t you have something important to do?\u201d\n\u201cYes, but I needed your input sir, it\u2019s about the shadows, something needs to be done with them.\u201d\n\u201cDon\u2019t you have those other two eternals to use as spies? Wasn\u2019t that your idea?\u201d\n\u201cYes, but\u2026\u201d\n\u201cWell don\u2019t bother me with it again until you find out more. Now leave us.\u201d The Emperor says and waves Jacob away.\n\nJacob looks like he wants to say more, but he stops and instead just nods and makes his exit, leaving you alone with the Emperor who turns his attention back to you.\n\n\u201cSo, back to you son. Where do you see yourself in say\u2026oh five years?\u201d\n\u201cWell, I suppose on the battlefield destroying your enemies and serving you of course.\u201d\n\u201cOf course you would, if you were some grunt destined for sword fodder. No you\u2019re destined for much greater things. That, I promise you. But we can talk about that all in good time for right now I\u2019ll bet you have some questions of your own. Go ahead, ask me anything and I assure you there is no question that will be too personal. If you ask something I feel you do not need to know then I shall not tell you. Simple enough right?\u201d\n\u201cYes, sounds reasonable.\u201d\n\u201cGood, so why don\u2019t you start?\u201d\n\nThe first problem is that you don\u2019t even know WHERE to start. You eventually do ask some things you\u2019re curious about and the Emperor is very forth coming with information. You do not want to take advantage his kindness though so you stop after you feel most of your curiosity has been sated. Besides, there will be opportunity to learn more later.\n\nAnd so the Emperor begins his process of mentoring you\u2026", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 19\n\nThe day of reckoning is coming soon for all traitors; particularly the shadows and you\u2019re just itching to play your part. It was you after all that influenced the Emperor on such an important decision. You just wonder what that role will be since the Emperor is currently explaining part of the plan to you and you\u2019re still not entirely sure of how this is going to play out.\n\n\u201cBut isn\u2019t the military already going to wipe out the shadows?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cI told you son, I had a contingency plan for the shadows a long time ago. Our military isn\u2019t even going to be involved for the most part. Maybe a few soldiers to mop up a few escapees, but their subterranean fort called Gloom is also serving as their handy underground tomb\u2026heh that rhymed. Anyway what I\u2019m saying is I have an old alliance with the derro and the fort the shadows are currently using as their headquarters was originally created by the derro who abandoned it because there wasn\u2019t any worthwhile mining prospects in the area any longer. The derro still know every secret passage and inch of that place and can launch a surprise attack at anytime. And before you even ask, yes they\u2019ll be MORE than enough to finish off the shadows. Personally I wish I could use them against the Felkans, but that\u2019s not meant to be since they don\u2019t do favors like this on a regular basis.\u201d\n\u201cCan we be sure to get all of the shadows though? Won\u2019t a lot of them be on topside?\u201d\n\u201cWell we\u2019re trying to coordinate the attack so there won\u2019t be a lot of shadows on the surface at the time. However we do keep track of their patrol routes and schedules, we even try to keep track of their unofficial patrol routes that they seem to prefer. Basically the derro will get most of them underground, the more tedious thing isn\u2019t getting rid of the shadows, it\u2019ll be wiping out any of non-shadow sympathizers they\u2019ve recruited to their cause. I might use specialized teams to take care of that\u2026in fact I think I\u2019ll put you in that group. It\u2019ll give you an opportunity to put those combat skills of yours to good use! And it\u2019ll also give you a good opportunity to be in demonstrating your ability to lead since I\u2019m also putting you in charge of it.\u201d\n\nYou don\u2019t know what to say. Not that you\u2019re displeased with such an opportunity, its just you really weren\u2019t expecting it.\n\n\u201cI won\u2019t fail you Emperor.\u201d You remark.\n\u201cOf course you won\u2019t since it\u2019s not an option, but as I said I have complete faith in you. Now I\u2019m going to tell you right now all of them have got more battlefield experience and in some cases several decades, but don\u2019t let that intimidate you. YOU are in charge. Never forget that.\u201d\n\nThe Emperor goes on to explain that while you\u2019ll be working with a specific group, you naturally won\u2019t be working without the full support of the Empire. He states that there will be other groups like yours scouring the countryside for shadows and any other potential rebel types.\n\n\u201cMost of those scum are probably going to be hiding out in that backwards swamp province of Delerg, so that\u2019s where you\u2019ll be heading. It\u2019ll probably be a good idea to do a purge anyway, so you\u2019ve got full permission to use whatever means to stomp out anyone who even remotely is showing signs of rebellious behavior. The derro are still getting prepared, so you\u2019ll have a little time to get to know your team before we stop this misguided revolution before it starts. You\u2019ll head to Delerg in a couple days and await further orders there.\u201d\n\nYour trip to Delerg is an uneventful carriage ride, though it does give you time to see a little more of the Empire countryside. Along the way you read up a little more about the Delerg area and how it used to be the original home of the shadows. It was there where the Emperor first made his alliance with them. You also refresh yourself on the shadows themselves and how they typically go about fighting. Their favored tactic is to remain cloaked invisibly and then launch a sneak attack followed by hasting themselves to finish off anyone else.\n\nWhen you reach Delerg you stop in a rundown town appropriately called Sinkhole. From there you are told the rest of your team is meeting you there. No sooner have you gotten off the carriage when you\u2019re approached by a large scarred orc in battle armor.\n\n\u201cYou the Emperor\u2019s boy?\u201d he asks in a gruff tone, though much more coherent than you were lead to expect from his kind.\n\u201cI am in his service and was sent here, if that\u2019s what you mean. Who are you?\u201d\n\u201cAll business, I guess you\u2019re him. I\u2019m Captain Gruz at your command I suppose since I\u2019ve been informed that you\u2019re in charge of this thing. The most of your command is in the local barracks. The svelk mercs have been busy scouting though, better that they stay out our way until its time anyway.\u201d\n\u201cWait, svelk mercs?\u201d\n\u201cYeah, they\u2019re trying to find any hidden safe houses and such that the shadows might have scattered about in the deeper reaches of the swamp. Figured you knew seeing as you\u2019re buddies with the Emperor and all.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m not his buddy, I\u2019m his dedicated agent who is honored to serve him to the best of my ability!\u201d you say starting to get annoyed by the orc\u2019s choice of words.\n\u201cOkay, I meant no disrespect\u2026I will say though you need to lighten up a bit lad. Even the other Eternals I trained weren\u2019t quite as serious as you seem to be.\u201d\n\nWhile this is news to you that he was a trainer to some of your other classmates, you don\u2019t see as that having any bearing on how he should tell you how to behave.\n\n\u201cWell YOU didn\u2019t train me, because I surpassed my classmates! I survived ordeals that would\u2019ve most likely killed them! So do not presume to tell me how I should act!\u201d\n\nCaptain Gruz\u2019s stoic expression cracks a bit, you at first think his face is going to turn into an expression of anger, but instead he smirks a bit.\n\n\u201cMistress trained you didn\u2019t she?\u201d he asks.\n\u201cYes, and what of it?\u201d you snap.\n\u201cNothing, just explains some things. Come then, I\u2019m sure you\u2019ll want to talk to the troops and enlighten them how you\u2019re going to be running things. Now I know this is your first command, but don\u2019t worry, I\u2019ll be here to give advice and make sure the rest of the troops take you seriously.\u201d\n\u201cIf I want your advice, I\u2019ll ask for it captain. And the troops should be taking me seriously regardless of your presence. I am here by the orders of the Emperor himself! That should be more than enough motivation for them to obey my commands!\u201d\n\u201c\u2026I suppose so sir.\u201d Gruz answers though you get the impression he\u2019d like to say more.\n\nWhen you and Gruz enter the barracks, you\u2019re welcomed to a surprising sight. It\u2019s filled with orcs! First svelk mercenaries and now orc troops! You didn\u2019t know you were going to be leading two distinctly different races! When Gruz notices your expression, his own is one of amusement. The other orcs stop their loud discussions and begin to study you. They appear unimpressed.\n\n\u201cEy cappin\u2019 ooo dis humie in da fancy leather armor? You get \u2018im from the local \u2018orehouse fer me? Har har har har!\u201d one orc says which is followed by loud laughter from the rest.\n\u201cAlright everyone calm down this is\u2026\u201d Gruz tries to interject, but you stop him.\n\u201cI can speak for myself!\u201d you say realizing that you must take an aggressive stance. It is clear that the Emperor put you in this situation to force you to deal with surprises and how well you can handle commanding unruly troops.\n\n\u201cAll you need to know about me is that I am your superior for the duration of this operation and you will cease behaving like the near mindless beasts you are and start earning your keep for the Empire by following my orders!\u201d\n\nThis works on a few of the orcs, but the outspoken one has decided to keep pressing the issue of challenging your authority.\n\n\u201cBeast iz it? I\u2019ll have you know ima fookin\u2019 lady!\u201d the orc says standing up. To be quite honest you thought the orc was male, but between the battle armor and ugliness of all of them they all look alike to you.\n\u201cI don\u2019t care what gender you are, you WILL follow my orders or\u2026\u201d\n\u201cOr whut? Whachu gonna do?\u201d the female orc says getting closer and staring down at you ready for a fight.\n\nYou look over at Gruz who just gives you a look that expresses \u201cHey, you said you didn\u2019t need my help.\u201d and you\u2019re right you don\u2019t need his help. You know how to handle this.\n\nYou scan another orc who is egging on the loud female. The orc looks fairly formidable and is on the larger side (though they\u2019re all bigger than you).\n\n\u201cHEY YOU!\u201d you shout out to the orc.\n\u201cHuh? Whut?\u201d\n\u201cYou male?\u201d\n\u201cYeah.\u201d\n\u201cGood.\u201d You say and immediately attack him after pushing past the female orc.\n\nWhile this battle could be over within seconds if you used magic, you can\u2019t do that here. The orcs need to respect your natural battle skills if they\u2019re going to properly respect you. Of course you need to beat said orc first and one you\u2019ve decided to make an example of isn\u2019t about to just let that happen and readies his morning star.", "action_results": [{"action": "Go for his eyes and face", "result": "You attempt to slam the pommel of your sword into the orc\u2019s face, but he anticipates that move and blocks it with ease. Using his strength he manages to push you away so hard that you end up tripping backwards over a small stool on the floor. Now that he has a bit of distance he swings his morning star at you and you just barely manage to get out of the way before it crushes the stool you just tripped over.\n\nYou grab the chain of the morning star in an attempt to take it away from him, but he jerks back so hard that you end up being pulled with it and land right in front of his feet. Then you get a hefty steel boot to the face, specifically the nose\u2026which unfortunately due to the angle of the kick, the bone inside goes inside you brain.\n\nYou convulse on the floor, gurgling and bleeding from the nose and mouth for a few seconds before dying.\n\nCaptain Gruz is naturally furious at his subordinate who insists that he didn\u2019t mean to kill you and can\u2019t help that humans are so weak and squishy. Ever the wily one, Gruz tells some of the other orcs to get rid of your body and ultimately blames your disappearance on the svelk scouts. The svelk being who they are, are not believed when they protest their innocence and those that don\u2019t immediately flee are rounded up and executed by the Empire.\n\nThe Emperor laments your death for a few days, but soon comes to the conclusion that if you were dispatched so easily then you must not have been worthy anyway.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Go for his legs", "result": "The orc assumes you\u2019re going to go for his head, but unless you\u2019re trying to kill them, merely smashing an orc in the face with anything less than an iron maul is likely to just piss them off, so while he guards up, you strike at his legs.\n\nNaturally he\u2019s still armored down there, but he\u2019s taken a bit off guard when you duck down start chopping your sword at his shin protectors. Since your own face is now closer to his feet the orc attempts to kick you in the face and that\u2019s what you were hoping for. You drop your sword and catch his foot so he\u2019s at your complete mercy. The orc is already so off balance that you barely even need to shove him so he crashes to the floor.\n\nAs he tries to get up, now you smash a heavy-duty wooden chair over his head. It doesn\u2019t break the first time, but when you do it again three more times the legs you were holding loosen enough that the rest of the chair flies from your grasp. While his helmet is protecting him somewhat, the repeated impact of the chair to his head is still enough to keep him dazed. In fact he ends up spitting out a couple of teeth. Despite this, he still seems as if he\u2019s going to continue to oppose you, but you see him briefly look at Gruz who seems to give him a certain look back. The orc then puts up a hand as if to say he yields. You accept his capitulation.\n\nVictorious, you\u2019ve made it quite clear you are not to be questioned. The rest of the orcs stop their jeering at you and a few go over to help their companion. Gruz walks over to you and his expression is now one of being impressed.\n\n\u201cWell I guess you definitely walk the walk. You recognized that by beating the head in of one of the bigger males that you\u2019d earn more respect than beating the female that was openly mocking you. You also weren\u2019t trying to kill him, which shows that you were just trying to establish dominance rather than punishment. I\u2019m guessing the Emperor must\u2019ve told you about orc culture?\u201d\n\u201cNot really, I just sort of guessed.\u201d\n\u201cHa ha ha ha! Well I suppose we usually aren\u2019t that hard to figure out. Though you might have more problems on your hands now. Looks like you impressed the lady over there.\u201d\n\nYou look over where Gruz is pointing and it\u2019s the same female orc that was mocking you earlier. Again its difficult for you to tell exactly, but from Gruz\u2019s suggestion and the way the orc is blinking (fluttering?) her eyes you can only make one conclusion.\n\n\u201cShe\u2019s\u2026she\u2019s not flirting with me is she?\u201d you ask in hesitation.\n\u201cShe was flirting with you the moment you came in the door!\u201d Gruz laughs.\n\nNot wishing to think about that any further, you call everyone to attention and explain how things are going to be done in an organized manner and how you don\u2019t want to leave anything to chance when it comes to this mission given that it is of vital importance to the Empire. They seem to understand, though Gruz sometimes reinforces the point to them in a more direct manner. You ask Gruz when the svelk are due to arrive back with their report and he says they should be back within a day or two.\n\nSeeing as you haven\u2019t much else to do, you just wait for the svelk and your orders to proceed with your mission for the next couple days. You don\u2019t interact too much with the orcs though you do converse with Gruz about minor things concerning the mission as well as your increasing annoyance that the svelk still haven\u2019t reported in yet.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019re paying these fools good money to do a job, is it too much for them to act like professionals?\u201d you exclaim.\n\u201cWith the svelk? It\u2019s too much to ask them to do anything. Though it is rather odd they haven\u2019t reported yet. Even they tend to obey the rule of money unless someone else has offered them more.\u201d\n\u201cWait, what are you saying? You think the svelk are in league with the shadows and were bribed?\u201d\n\u201cProbably not. The shadows aren\u2019t known for hording wealth and anything valuable they might own is probably sacred to their god or something. I\u2019d be more inclined to believe they got themselves discovered and perhaps even ambushed. For all we know they\u2019re all dead and we\u2019ve just tipped our hand.\u201d\n\u201cWell, we\u2019ll continue to wait for the official word, besides the svelk have been the ones doing the scouting correct? We can\u2019t very well attack anything if we don\u2019t have a target.\u201d\n\nGruz nods at your decision and goes back to what he was doing. Another couple days pass and at last the svelk do show up.\n\n\u201cUgh. Tyren, did we really have to come back to this place? The stench of these green beasts is offensive.\u201d One of them says as he enters.\n\u201cI know, but apparently the person we\u2019re supposed to report our findings to should be here now\u2026hey any of you foul smelling gentlemen seen our fearless leader yet?\u201d this Tyren shouts. You guess he\u2019s the svelk captain.\n\nAs irritated as the orcs are by the svelk\u2019s words, you\u2019re more irritated by them for everything else.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m in charge of this operation, and where the hell have you been, you were supposed to report in days ago!\u201d You exclaim.\n\nTyren looks at you as if he\u2019s unimpressed by you barking orders at him and continues to remain dismissive.\n\n\u201cSo we\u2019re here now, is it time to attack or something?\u201d he replies.\n\u201cNo, but as I said, you should\u2019ve reported in days ago.\u201d\n\u201cSo what\u2019s the big deal? Maybe you\u2019re not aware of this, but scouting this swamp isn\u2019t exactly the quickest thing to do.\u201d\n\u201cI don\u2019t want to hear your lame excuses! You could\u2019ve easily sent back a single messenger to give me an update!\u201d\n\u201cCouldn\u2019t do that, I needed all my men in case we ran into trouble. Dangerous business out there, I\u2019m sure you know.\u201d\n\nThe svelk has an answer for everything and him giving an arrogant smirk the whole time isn\u2019t helping matters. It reminds you of HER and you begin to get angrier. Captain Gruz starts to notice and even interjects trying to smooth things over.\n\n\u201cTyren I know it\u2019s difficult, but you might want to rein in the whole smug svelk act that your people are so proud of. This man isn\u2019t just your superior, he\u2019s a direct rep from the Emperor himself.\u201d\n\u201cMaybe he\u2019s YOUR superior orc, but he\u2019s not mine. Nobody fucking tells me how to do my fucking job. And I have a very hard time believing that this young whelp is a representation of anything other than a sign of how desperate the Empire is getting for officers!\u201d\n\nSomething within you snaps and all you can see is a svelk you want to kill for all the shit Mistress put you through.\n\n\u201cFucking bitch!\u201d you utter and unleash a small ball of flame into the face of Tyren. He screams in agony as the flesh on his face burns. The rest of the svelk are taken by surprise by this move, though they don\u2019t do anything to stop you. You kick Tyren to the floor while he desperately tries to put the flames on his face out. You help him put the flames out by smashing his face in with your fist repeatedly. Unlike the tougher orc bone structure, the bones of a svelk aren\u2019t as resilient and you can hear the crunching sound of his nose, jaw and skull cracking as you continue to do major mayhem on his face. Tyren\u2019s face is a mass of burnt gory meat at this point yet you still aren\u2019t done. That\u2019s when you take your dagger and scoop his eyes out with it. As you carve out the two bloody orbs, the shrieking is enough that the residents of Sinkhole who happen to be walking outside the barracks quickly run home in fear.\n\nYour actions while excessive are probably made slightly more disturbing due to the fact that you\u2019re muttering incoherently and making small giggling noises the whole time you\u2019re doing them. It\u2019s enough to establish to everyone that they\u2019re obviously in the presence of someone who isn\u2019t just in charge, but also may well be a madman. One things for sure, after Tyren\u2019s makes his last gurgling pleas while you\u2019re slitting his throat and you\u2019re up to your forearms in his blood, nobody is thinking about pissing you off now.\n\nYou stand up from your bloody work feeling surprisingly much better. Happy even.\n\n\u201cRemember this.\u201d Is all you say to the group of svelk, before you turn to go to your own private quarters.\n\nThe next day Captain Gruz gives you the scout report from the svelk. You thank him and go over some strategies since you\u2019re feeling in a better mood now. Gruz is all too willing to give his opinions on how certain places should be approached and handled. He really does have some good ideas. Makes you wonder if you weren\u2019t being a little too hard on him when you first met him.\n\n\u201cCaptain, when the orders come in, I want you to be in charge of a second team. We\u2019ll cover more ground that way and they\u2019ll be less of a chance for potential rebels to escape.\u201d You say.\n\u201cAre you sure sir, you don\u2019t think we\u2019d be better off keeping a larger force together? I\u2019ve always found that it\u2019s always preferable to have more numbers than you potentially need. But you\u2019re in charge of course.\u201d\n\nJust as you\u2019re about to discuss and ponder the pros and cons of each plan, a messenger walks in. It\u2019s the official orders. Looks like the time for planning is over.", "action_results": [{"action": "Go with your plan", "result": "While you\u2019re sure Gruz probably means well, you were put in charge of this mission and you\u2019re not going to second guess your own judgment, which has been sound so far in dealing with the situation.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019ll proceed with my plan and split the team up into two strike forces with you commanding one of them.\u201d You say.\n\u201cAs you say sir.\u201d\n\u201cDid the svelk report say they saw any actual shadows at any of these places?\u201d\n\u201cNot at most of the locations as they seem to be just safe houses for normal rebels, but there was one in particular which seems to be more of an actual armed camp that they saw more than a few of shadows hanging around.\u201d\n\u201cOkay then, I\u2019ll take the svelk and attack that place first and your group can concentrate on the regular rebel locations.\u201d\n\u201cAre you sure you want to do that sir? I mean being alone with all the svelk?\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m well aware of their treacherous nature, but as you just saw I am not intimidated by them. They just saw that as well. Besides, they\u2019re being paid well for this job and I trust that their greed along with my example of their leader is not going to incur any more disobedience or grand standing.\u201d\n\u201cProbably not sir, but just be careful.\u201d\n\u201cNoted. Anyway, let\u2019s get going we\u2019ve got traitors to purge and I\u2019m anxious to see it through.\u201d\n\nYou and Gruz get the troops ready. You give a quick briefing of the plan the pair of you take your respective groups and part ways. After a march through the swamp you reach your first target and it does indeed resemble a small military compound. It\u2019s really just a walled village though. You\u2019d guess that this particular place is so far from normal civilization that this just went unnoticed and the shadows eventually just subverted the entire place or at least started placing sympathizers there.\n\nYou order the attack and all goes well. The svelk and yourself easily scale the walls though given how pathetic the opposition is though, you almost wonder if you couldn\u2019t have taken this place all by yourself. You still haven\u2019t seen any of the rumored shadows in this place though and that slightly concerns you. Did they already flee, or did they just cloak?\n\n\u201cKeep alert! There may be shadows still lurking about!\u201d you shout as you cut down one of the rebels.\n\nNo sooner have you said that, when you sense something amidst the chaos. A feeling like you\u2019re being targeted\u2026\n\nUnfortunately you still don\u2019t know where the attacker is located until its too late. A female shadow decloaks and fires a bolt that sinks into your chest before you can move out of the way.\n\nShadow bolts tend to be dipped in a poison and this one is no different as you begin to feel the affects. Fortunately being an Eternal you\u2019re immune to it killing you, unfortunately it still is enough to start making you feel dizzy.\n\nThe female shadow is moving faster than anything you\u2019ve ever seen and she\u2019s moving right towards you.\n\nYou order the svelk in a slurring tone to fire their crossbows, but nobody answers your call. You can\u2019t be sure if it\u2019s due to the fact that in the chaos nobody could hear or understand what you said or if the svelk have conveniently decided to not follow your orders. In any event you\u2019re on your own.\n\nYou block the shadow\u2019s attack with a force shield and follow up with a stream of fire from your other hand though the shadow easily dodges your attack. You feel two sharp pains in both of your sides and at first you think the shadow has moved so quick that she\u2019s gotten behind you to stab you, but it turns out it\u2019s a second shadow that has snuck up on you.\n\nIn the end it doesn\u2019t really matter as the result is the same and you collapse face first into the ground. A final blade through your back finishes you off for good.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Go with Gruz's plan", "result": "As good as you believe you are in combat, you have to admit to yourself that you don\u2019t really have too much experience in leading a large group. Perhaps it would be wiser to defer to someone who does have such experience.\n\n\u201cVery well, you may be right. I suppose we really shouldn\u2019t worry about anyone escaping since if they do, they\u2019ll eventually be found anyway. Did the svelk report say they saw any actual shadows at any of these places?\u201d\n\u201cNot at most of the locations as they seem to be just safe houses for normal rebels, but there was one in particular which seems to be more of an actual armed camp that they saw more than a few of shadows hanging around.\u201d\n\u201cWe\u2019re going to hit that place first then. I just hope the svelk were as silent about their scouting as you said they claimed to be. Anyway, let\u2019s get going we\u2019ve got traitors to purge and I\u2019m anxious to see it through.\u201d\n\nYou and Gruz get the troops ready. The general idea is to first have the svelk to sneak up on the target locations and then after they initiate the attack the orcs come charging in from all sides. It seems simple, but perhaps simple plans work the best due to less chance of things going wrong. At least you hope they do.\n\nAfter a march through the swamp you reach your first target and it does indeed resemble a small military compound. It\u2019s really just a walled village though. You\u2019d guess that this particular place is so far from normal civilization that this just went unnoticed and the shadows eventually just subverted the entire place or at least started placing sympathizers there.\n\nYou order the attack and all goes well. The svelk and yourself easily scale the walls while Gruz and the orcs bash down the pitiful gates. Given how pathetic the opposition is though, you almost wonder if you couldn\u2019t have taken this place all by yourself. You still haven\u2019t seen any of the rumored shadows in this place though and that slightly concerns you. Did they already flee, or did they just cloak?\n\n\u201cKeep alert! There may be shadows still lurking about!\u201d you shout as you cut down one of the rebels.\n\nNo sooner have you said that, when you sense something amidst the chaos. A feeling like you\u2019re being targeted\u2026\n\n\u201cGET DOWN!\u201d Gruz shouts as a female shadow decloaks and fires a bolt at you. You\u2019re just quick enough to duck down and avoid being hit.\n\nAn orc attempts to strike her down, but she easily fends off the attack and eliminates him instead. She\u2019s moving faster than anything you\u2019ve ever seen.\n\n\u201cCrossbows now!\u201d you order and the svelk mercenaries closest to you unleash their own bolts at the shadow. She may be quick, but she can\u2019t avoid all of the bolts from the repeating crossbows. She catches more than few bolts and collapses in a heap.\n\nAs she attempts to crawl away you go over to her to finish her off and that\u2019s when you get that feeling again only this time you know where its coming from and instinctively pull up your sword to deflect the hit. When the shadow decloaks you\u2019re close enough to see the hatred in his eyes, you\u2019re also close enough to hear him muttering about revenge for Bianca. You\u2019re guessing that was the female shadow that\u2019s now a pincushion.\n\nHe attempts to pull the same speed trick, but you prevent him from doing so by interrupting his spell with a dagger to his side.\n\n\u201cNot such a good day to be a shadow is it traitor?\u201d you ask as you twist the blade around.\n\nShocked by the metal piercing his insides, he reels backwards when you pull out the blade and his death follows when Gruz smashes his axe in the side of the shadow\u2019s head.\n\nYou go over to finish off the female shadow who is still desperately trying to crawl away.\n\n\u201cThere will be no escape. The Emperor\u2019s eye sees all and justice will be delivered to all who oppose him!\u201d you exclaim before running your sword through her back.\n\nYou keep alert for the possibility of more shadows lurking, but either those two were the only ones, or the rest have fled. If they have, no matter, they will be found.\n\nThe rest of the battle is more of a simple matter. The non-shadow rebels are no match for your superior force and a few try to surrender, pleading for you to at least spare their families. You spare no one as traitors cannot be tolerated. Your ruthless orders to cut down every man, woman and child are not questioned, though the svelk take a bit more pleasure in it.\n\nThe village is put to the torch and you\u2019re eager to move on to the next target. You want to stomp out ALL of these traitors before they even get the possibility of regrouping.\n\nDay after day you wipe out several small encampments and hideouts of the rebels. It\u2019s sickening to you that there is as many as there are. How could any citizen defy the Empire or the Emperor? Don\u2019t they know it is a losing proposition? Don\u2019t they realize and appreciate how much he has done for all of their miserable lives?\n\nAs for the shadows, their treachery is even more sickening. The Emperor gave them all a grand honor of serving him in a most important way and they\u2019ve been nurturing rebellion in their black hearts for centuries and enticing the weak willed into helping them. Fitting that they call themselves shadows, as they are cowards who obviously rely on tricks and subversion to gain any sort of advantage. Well that stops very soon.\n\n\u201cThis one was an easy one. They gave up almost immediately.\u201d Captain Gruz says cleaning off his axe after a short skirmish.\n\u201cYes, a pity they should only realize until it\u2019s too late the folly of their treason.\u201d You reply.\n\u201cYes, I imagine many have felt that way.\u201d Gruz answers.\n\u201cAnd all of them are fools for doing so. And fools deserve no mercy. The loyal and dedicated on the other hand are to be rewarded. Captain, we are nearing the end of our mission and I imagine I will soon return to the Emperor to give my report. I want to tell you that I will be speaking highly of you to him and suggesting that you receive some sort of higher position.\u201d\n\nGruz isn\u2019t sure how to respond though he thanks you.\n\n\u201cI was just doing my duty sir, but I thank you. However if you\u2019re serious about your wanting to do something for me and it isn\u2019t too bold of me to ask, I do have specific request.\u201d\n\u201cSpeak freely then.\u201d\n\nGruz looks around as if he\u2019s being watched and then moves closer toward you and speaks almost whispering.\n\n\u201cI know I\u2019m sort of the Empire\u2019s token intelligent orc and that\u2019s fine. However it\u2019s my people sir. I really do try to keep them in line and for the most part it works, but I\u2019m still just one man and despite common perception, orcs do have minds of their own and think about deeper things than just looting and pillaging sometimes.\u201d\n\u201cWhat are you getting at?\u201d\n\u201cWhat I\u2019m saying sir, is all I would request is you ask the Emperor if he could give his loyal and dedicated orc soldiers a pay raise. It doesn\u2019t even have to be that large. I mean the extra fighting and danger they are always assigned to do is fun and all, but just a little something extra so they know they\u2019re being appreciated for their hard work would be welcome.\u201d\n\nWell that was bold of Gruz, but you did tell him to speak freely. However, you\u2019re suspicious of his request, since it almost sounds a bit like blackmail.", "action_results": [{"action": "Let it pass", "result": "You\u2019d call him out on it, but you decide you\u2019ll leave this one to the Emperor to ultimately decide. Besides, you figure you owe him that much for possibly saving your life.\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t know if I have that much pull with the Emperor, but I will mention it to him.\u201d\n\u201cThat\u2019s all I ask.\u201d\n\nIn a few more days your task in Delerg is completed and all known targets have been eliminated. Delerg has also been effectively cowed into submission given what you did there. Stories of the ruthless young Eternal that destroyed entire villages to purge traitors are already being spread. Not exactly true since technically you only destroyed a couple and the rest were just rebel made hideouts, but if it teaches the people to fear the repercussions of treasonous behavior in the future you don\u2019t care. You tell the Emperor as much during your report, he seems pleased with your report and feelings on the matter.\n\n\u201cThe destruction of the shadows went better than I had hoped. There are probably a few shadows that fled while they were on the surface, but the derro took out all of them that were in Gloom. I think to be on the safe side I\u2019m going to have that old ruined temple of theirs in Delerg destroyed. No need for it to become some sort of symbol or some such nonsense. Speaking of Delerg, you did an excellent job. It must\u2019ve been a shock to find out you weren\u2019t just going to lead svelk, but orcs as well. Hated to surprise you like that, but I figured if you could successfully lead an operation with those two types under duress, you were definitely fit to lead anyone.\u201d\n\u201cI am glad I met your expectations.\u201d\n\u201cI never had any doubt\u2026so what are your thoughts on good Captain Gruz and his request? I\u2019m sure you had some on the subject.\u201d\n\u201cPersonally sir, I believe he has overstepped his bounds with this veiled threat, which is regrettable since I was beginning to respect him as a capable leader.\u201d\n\nThe Emperor nods a bit.\n\n\u201cHm, he must\u2019ve made a bit of an impression on you to acknowledge his skills. So what do you believe should be done? Should he be killed or ignored? Obviously I\u2019ve already made up my mind on the subject, but as always, I\u2019m interested in your thoughts.\u201d\n\nIn the past you sometimes hesitated to give an answer, but now you know that the Emperor always wants to hear what you really think and you\u2019re more than willing to tell him.\n\n\u201cWell\u2026I do believe he is genuine. I do believe he only wants his people to receive a little extra recognition for their duty. Some lesser beings cannot be merely satisfied with just serving greatness and they must be rewarded in a more tangible way. If it is possible, I would grant Gruz\u2019s request. It will keep him and the rest of green skins happy for quite awhile and you\u2019ll have no problems from them in the near future. Having the orcs calm and obedient right now is also important also because we have just eliminated our internal security force as it were. We will need to rely on raw force to maintain order as well as to stomp out the remaining shadows and rebels. After the Empire has been better stabilized, we can always purge Gruz and some of the orcs later if necessary.\u201d\n\nThe Emperor displays a big grin on his face and puts his hand on your shoulder.\n\n\u201cI swear son, if I didn\u2019t know better I\u2019d think you had the ability to read minds. Sometimes its like I\u2019m talking to a mirror that\u2019s several centuries younger than me. Yes, I fully intend on granting his request. Time will tell if he requires purging though he\u2019s getting on in years for an orc and who knows what dangerous battlefields he may be sent to in the future? Anyway Jacob and I are already rebuilding a new internal security force. I might get Marik\u2019s help on this too, though I know he really wants to work on his current project, but there really isn\u2019t any need for it now\u2026anyway you don\u2019t need to worry about any of this, I\u2019m sending you to help with more shadow hunting and rebel clean up in the core province area. Don\u2019t want to let up on them yet and you seem to be good at setting an example. Putting the fear into the populace to discourage any further thoughts of treason and all of that. I\u2019ll be so glad when we\u2019ve got things back to normal again, so I can focus my attention to the Felkan Kingdom again. Still, it doesn\u2019t need to be work all the time now does it? Maybe you should go out and celebrate, you have my full permission to take a week off. Go get yourself one of those high priced elven whores I\u2019m always hearing about, its on me son!\u201d The Emperor laughs.\n\nSometimes you still can\u2019t get over just how relaxed the Emperor can suddenly get about everything. The funny thing is, it makes you feel relaxed too, to a certain extent anyway. Maybe it\u2019s due to this that you sometimes wonder about something he\u2019s always calling you a lot\u2026\n\nSon.\n\nYou don\u2019t know if he\u2019s using it as a term of endearment or it\u2019s his \u201cnickname\u201d for you, or what. The funny thing is you do find him to be a \u201cfatherly\u201d figure. You\u2019ve resisted addressing it before, but now something is urging you to do so.\n\n\u201cI have a question and I don\u2019t know how to ask this of you.\u201d\n\u201cWell speak son, you know you can always tell or ask me anything, doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019ll get it though.\u201d The Emperor says with another chuckle.\n\n\u201cAre you my father?\u201d you ask and there is a short pause of silence. The Emperor doesn\u2019t look too surprised that you asked the question though.\n\u201cDo you want me to be your father?\u201d he asks back which naturally just confuses you even more and you feel a little silly for asking in the first place.\n\n\u201cI\u2026I just\u2026I dunno, you\u2019re always calling me son and\u2026just forget it. I allowed my feelings of respect and admiration of you to exceed their boundaries. Forgive me, Emperor.\u201d\n\u201cYou\u2019re too tightly wound sometimes. Don\u2019t worry about it; I wasn\u2019t offended by your question. But my question still stands, do you WANT me to be your father?\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019d like to think you are, but I imagine I\u2019m just wishing you are.\u201d\n\u201cIf you think I am. Then I am. If that\u2019s what pleases you then what difference does it make?\u201d\n\u201cNone, I suppose.\u201d You answer, but the Emperor can see that it does make a difference to you even if you don\u2019t want it to.\n\n\u201cTell me, have you ever wondered about your parents? I mean you obviously know that they didn\u2019t raise you.\u201d\n\u201cNo. I\u2019ve never really thought of them at all.\u201d You answer.\n\nIts true too, you have genuinely never wondered about who your parents were. You were far too busy with torturous training to ever really ponder such things. It\u2019s only been recently that this subject has recently popped into your head.\n\n\u201cI didn\u2019t think so. They were never in your life and you were an orphan in the care of the Empire. And who runs the Empire?\u201d\n\nYou smile and see what the Emperor is trying to do.\n\n\u201cYou. The Empire took care of me and since you are the Empire, then really you\u2019ve been responsible for raising me my whole life.\u201d\n\u201cCorrect! Now, do you feel better?\u201d\n\u201cA little, though how come you call me frequently call me son anyway?\u201d\n\u201cWell because of all the reasons you would think of me as your father. I\u2019ve been providing for you as well as teaching you how to survive in this world. And hell, I\u2019m even fond of you. Those factors alone already qualify me more as a father more than some of those peasants out their that just keep breeding children and never take any responsibility for them, so why not call you son?\u201d\n\nYou know it seems silly, but the fact that the Emperor practically considers you his son gives you a good feeling. Possibly the best you\u2019ve ever felt. Somewhere within the hardened exterior that was beat into you, there still exists a child who would like nothing more than to just hug the Emperor right now. You resist this faint urge of course. As close as you\u2019re feeling to the Emperor at this moment, you still have this sense of duty and protocol stuck in your head even if the Emperor himself isn\u2019t quite as hung up on such things.\n\nI thank you for explaining all this and putting this all into perspective, but I think I still feel more comfortable addressing you as Emperor.\u201d\n\u201cAs you wish, but again if you ever let the occasional paternal label slip out every now and then, it wouldn\u2019t be something that would offend me. I\u2019m sure more than a few of my subjects have called me much worse things.\u201d The Emperor snickers.\n\nLater that night as you preparing to go to sleep you think on the Emperor\u2019s words and just as you\u2019re basking in the comfort of them, your mind briefly wanders into something much more unpleasant.\n\nIf the Emperor is your \u201cfather\u201d does that make Mistress your \u201cmother?\u201d\n\nShe even referred to herself as that once. While she was just being sick when she said it, the twisted thing is now you can\u2019t help but think of her as a semi-maternal figure. She was in your life longer than any other adult during your growing years and for good or ill is responsible for most of your combat skills. In fact, so far she\u2019s been in your life longer and probably more influential on your development than ANYONE.\n\nYou suddenly don\u2019t feel very well pondering that and don\u2019t sleep well that night.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Chapter 2C: Fortunate Son\n\n\nYear 21\n\nThe time for all out war is getting closer and the Emperor is getting more impatient with delaying it any further. He probably feels he\u2019s wasted enough time with putting out the pitiful rebellious fires and the restructuring of the Empire in the past couple of years.\n\nYou\u2019ve been looking forward to a little action as well. You haven\u2019t had much to do in a while ever since your purges in Delerg and Quala. Ever since the official forming of the Eyes they\u2019re supposed to be the primary ones looking after the internal peace of the Empire and rebellious activity has been practically nil. Still, it was practically non-existent just as the Eyes were coming into service. One wonders if it wasn\u2019t due to the threat of a new \u201csecret police\u201d but rather the fact that you had already been overly efficient in purging dissension by depopulating entire areas. Indeed it was probably for the best that you were replaced before you deprived the Empire of potential soldiers for the upcoming war with the Felkans.\n\nStill, there are always those that refuse to give up. The prime one being the so-called \u201cLast Shadow\u201d, Cyrus. Cyrus was an Eternal though you don\u2019t remember too much about him other than he always was one of the stealthier classmates that seemed to never fail in getting a cheap shot on you when Mistress was having you spar against him. You say \u201cwas\u201d an Eternal because as far you\u2019re concerned he ceased being one the moment he betrayed the Empire. Now he is nothing more than a traitor who needs to be exterminated.\n\nCyrus was one of those few shadows that happened to be on the surface at the time of the destruction of Gloom. He also avoided your purges due to initially being in Quala and then eventually fleeing to the rural areas in Arat. He constantly moves around a lot, making hit and run attacks on patrols or caravans. He does travel with a group, but they aren\u2019t so much rebels as they\u2019re just ambitious bandits and thugs. They probably don\u2019t give a damn about whatever Cyrus religious and philosophical views are for opposing the Empire. They\u2019re just in it for the killing and the loot.\n\nNevertheless, they are a nuisance and given that the Arat province is the staging ground to attack the Felkan Kingdom, the Emperor is more than annoyed that the Eyes haven\u2019t succeeded in tracking him yet and he doesn\u2019t want to waste any proper military on Cyrus mainly because he sees it as Jacob\u2019s fault for various reasons\u2026\n\n\u201cWell he\u2019s your failure Jacob, fix it!\u201d The Emperor exclaims.\n\u201cThe Eyes have been attempting to apprehend him my Emperor, but he has proven quite elusive. They just need more time to\u2026\u201d\n\u201cJacob when I told you to put together an efficient internal security force I expected you to succeed in this endeavor.\u201d\n\u201cMy Emperor the Eyes are efficient! I mean rebellious attitudes are the lowest they\u2019ve been in\u2026well probably more than I\u2019ve ever seen!\u201d\n\u201cWell they aren\u2019t good enough, if they can\u2019t capture the so-called Last Shadow. I\u2019d send in svelk mercs if I hadn\u2019t put our funding into Marik\u2019s factory to produce new weapons to combat the Felkans. You do realize we have a war with the Felkans to pursue and your bumbling is delaying that task!\u201d\n\u201cI understand that, but we shouldn\u2019t go to war until we have everything absolutely settled all internal matters in the Empire first! Cyrus is likely to start ambushing supply wagons and then where would we be?\u201d\n\nYou watch as the Emperor continues to verbally abuse Jacob. It\u2019s a scene you\u2019ve seen many times in the past and will probably see many more times in the future. Jacob really does try to serve the best he can and from what you can tell he\u2019s fairly good at his job, but for whatever reason its just never good enough for the Emperor no matter what.\n\nWhile you normally don\u2019t interrupt such sessions, you do feel the need to interject.\n\n\u201cI would have to agree that if we are to crush the Felkans we should just go ahead and start the process now. As much of a nuisance this last shadow has been, his impact has been minimal and certainly not enough to warrant a paralysis in our military matters. We are a large nation and we are always going to have a few internal matters to resolve.\u201d\n\nThe Emperor naturally is pleased that you\u2019ve backed him up in this matter, though Jacob looks less than enthused given that he\u2019s already fighting a losing argument.\n\n\u201cThank you son. See this Jacob? This is a TRUE Eternal! Not like the rest of those losers, traitors and ne\u2019er do wells you oversee!\u201d\n\nJacob has no more words, he might continue but knows it would be a futile endeavor and he\u2019s walking on thin ice as it is given how the Emperor is really letting him have it today.\n\nAgain you feel the need to interject.\n\n\u201cIf I may, I would be happy to assist in this matter with the shadow terrorist.\u201d You say.\n\u201cThat\u2019s not necessary, I wouldn\u2019t presume to take you away from whatever duties the Emperor has seen fit to bestow upon you.\u201d Jacob replies.\n\u201cConsidering how inept you\u2019ve been in taking care of this, maybe I should send him to help.\u201d The Emperor says before turning to address you directly. \u201cI did have plans for you to take a command position when we start our assault on the Felkans, but the position will still be there when you\u2019re done with bailing out Jacob if you so desire. I\u2019ll leave it up to you. In the meantime I\u2019m going to finish up my preparations to make the first attack on the Felkans. Now go with Jacob if you wish to help him, or stay here, but in any event I don\u2019t want to hear anymore about this shadow matter from anyone until it\u2019s been resolved.\u201d\n\nJacob makes his way slowly out the door, though while he hasn\u2019t said it you see a look in his eye that he\u2019s hoping you\u2019ll provide assistance despite his previous words of it not being necessary.", "action_results": [{"action": "Help Jacob", "result": "Maybe its because you feel slightly sorry for Jacob or maybe its because you do see Cyrus as a potential liability if left unchecked and his traitorous ways are an insult to the name Eternal, but whatever the reason you decide to help Jacob.\n\n\u201cI believe I shall help Jacob in this matter. I started out crushing shadows and rebels, I might as well finish the job.\u201d You say the Emperor.\n\u201cVery well, but I trust you won\u2019t take as long as Jacob has. Remember I need you for important tasks for the war!\u201d\n\nYou and Jacob both leave the Emperor\u2019s presence. As soon as you\u2019re out the door, Jacob addresses you.\n\n\u201cI thank you for your assistance.\u201d\n\u201cI haven\u2019t done anything yet.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m not talking about the situation with the shadow, I mean intervening before the Emperor found a reason to have me executed.\u201d\n\u201cOh I doubt if that would\u2019ve happened.\u201d\n\u201cI don\u2019t know. Lately I can\u2019t seem to do anything right by him, I really try to serve to the best of my abilities. I always have.\u201d\n\u201cI know you do.\u201d\n\nJacob and you don\u2019t speak too much too each other normally, but your relationship has always been a cordial one.\n\n\u201cI guess I should be glad the Emperor is so fond of you, it might be the only thing that\u2019s keeping me alive. You are the Eternal that wasn\u2019t a failure of course and for that I am very thankful.\u201d\n\nBecause you were directly trained by Mistress you sometimes forget that Jacob (or Mr. Mol as you once knew him) was the one that was primarily in charge of your development at least in a behind the scenes way. You\u2019ve never really thought about your other classmates since you always had more pressing matters, but now you\u2019re a little curious.\n\n\u201cJust how many of my other classmates survived?\u201d\n\u201cNot many. Besides you? Eight and three of them are already dead and one of those became a traitorous shadow.\u201d\n\u201cAnd another one is the last shadow still giving the Empire grief.\u201d You say.\n\u201cYes. (Sigh) I had such high hopes for Cyrus, he showed so much potential. Damned shadow indoctrination. Anyway that just leaves four who I assure you are not losers or failures and are in fact very accomplished soldiers of the Empire. They finished out their training with Captain Gruz, who I\u2019m sure you\u2019re familiar with.\u201d\n\u201cYes, I am.\u201d You say somewhat wishing that you could\u2019ve been so lucky.\n\u201cI still keep apprised of their activity since they are all still technically under my watch. I\u2019m just glad the Emperor didn\u2019t take the project out of my hands and proceed with Marik\u2019s crazed ideas.\u201d\n\u201cCould you tell me a little more about them?\u201d\n\u201cCertainly!\u201d Jacob remarks perking up a bit. He\u2019s genuinely glad someone is showing an interest.\n\nHe tells you that Kane has been instrumental in taming the Rask frontier. Says that he\u2019s even developing a bit of a reputation of his own given his merciless slaughter of the barbarian and ogre tribes up there. He\u2019s being considered for a fort commander position.\n\nBrenda and Roldan have been doing similar things in the Nalin province with the kobolds and usksha desert raiders that sometimes plague the area. Either one could also become a fort commander as well, though he believes Brenda might be the better candidate as he believes Roldan can go on to greater things. He goes on to say that the both of them have become unusually close though and Roldan has even requested that they be allowed to marry! Jacob sees nothing particularly unreasonable about this request and is considering allowing it.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019ll actually be working with the last one, Warrick. I assigned him to the Eyes and so far he\u2019s been the closest to catching Cyrus. Excellent tracker. I nearly considered Warrick to become an infiltrator for the shadows initially, but it\u2019s a good thing I didn\u2019t considering how things worked out with Cyrus.\u201d\n\nThis is all somewhat fascinating to you as you do remember all of them, but mainly as your opponents in the fighting arena when Mistress was sending the entire class to try to kill you on regular basis. In fact Jacob realizes this and suddenly asks you if it\u2019ll be a problem working with Warrick.\n\n\u201cNo, why would it?\u201d\n\u201cWell I know that due to Mistress\u2019 training you had a less friendly relationship with your classmates than everyone else.\u201d\n\u201cIt\u2019s all in the past, for me it is at least. I survived and grew stronger from the experience. And it certainly wasn\u2019t his fault. He was just doing what he was told. Everyone was. Besides, might be interesting working with someone from the old class on more cooperative terms this time.\u201d\n\u201cGood. I\u2019m glad to hear you say that.\u201d Jacob says with a smile.\n\nEventually you reach Jacob\u2019s office where you see not one but three desks piled in paperwork. Jacob grumbles about how his underlings were supposed to there to take care of some of it today, but as usual he\u2019ll probably have to do it all himself. After rummaging through a stack, he pulls out a few pieces of parchment and some scrolls and then says you\u2019re taking a carriage ride to an Eye staging ground near Bucklesburg in the Arat province. Jacob says he\u2019ll explain more about the situation along the way (as well as doing some of his paperwork.\n\nA carriage ride later, you\u2019re all caught up on the area as well as the specifics of Cyrus\u2019 most recent attacks. When you arrive in Bucklesberg you\u2019re met by who you presume are Eyes and one face that while a little older now you recognize as Warrick. He stares at you at a bit and obviously recognizes you as well, but says nothing since it isn\u2019t his time to speak.\n\n\u201cEyes, you may have heard of this man you see before you. He is the main reason why we managed to stop this potential full scale rebellion and keep it to a few crazed traitors that are desperately trying to hang on to their lives a little while longer.\u201d Jacob starts off telling all of them. A little bit of an exaggeration of course, but then only a few know about the derro involvement in the destruction of shadows, and most of them are currently the same rotting bodies in Gloom. Your involvement on the other hand is infamous.\n\n\u201cNow I leave you to it.\u201d Jacob says and leaves.\n\nSince you are already up to speed on everything due to Jacob\u2019s briefing, you basically tell the Eyes that how they\u2019re planning to catch Cyrus is all wrong and how they need to do things differently.\n\n\u201cWaiting around for Cyrus to attack patrols and caravans and then attempting to stop him in the act isn\u2019t working because Cyrus is quicker and a better warrior than all of you. You know how I know this? Because you haven\u2019t killed him yet. Even if he hasn\u2019t managed to recruit his lackies into following that silly religion of his, he\u2019s obviously trained them into an efficient hardened fighting force. Taking rebel captives and torturing them for information isn\u2019t working because Cyrus is smart enough to change his plans completely when he knows his people have been captured. Besides, I guarantee you could catch and kill all of his people and he\u2019d just disappear for a few years and pop up again with a new group. Which brings me to the point of why trying to search the wilderness for him isn\u2019t working either, you don\u2019t have the numbers to do it.\u201d You say before turning to Warrick. \u201cAnd as good as you are at tracking, Cyrus is still a shadow and he\u2019s got the magic to mask himself. If he doesn\u2019t want to be found, he won\u2019t be.\u201d\n\nBefore you can continue, one of the Eyes is brave enough to question you. Unsurprisingly it\u2019s the one in charge, Sightmaster Davison.\n\n\u201cSo what\u2019s your solution?\u201d Davison asks.\n\nAt this point Warrick\u2019s own face displays a grimace with a small shake of his head knowing that his immediate superior is going to be punished for the disruption.\n\nYou walk up to the Eye and backhand him in the face.\n\n\u201cDo not interrupt.\u201d You say calmly. Davison nods quickly while holding on to the side of his face. Then you slap him a couple more times followed by a punch to his face. He falls to the floor and you launch into a speech.\n\n\u201cMY solution is to bring down this shadow which all of you have failed to do! The Emperor is tired of your failures! We are to conquer the Felkan Kingdom soon and yet you cannot eliminate a few measly traitors! It is only because I decided to intervene that the lot of you haven\u2019t been executed for your incompetence on this matter! While you may all be the Eyes of the Emperor, I am his terrible weapon that carries out his righteous justice. Pray that justice is never to be carried out on you.\u201d\n\nNow that you\u2019ve given a proper \u201cinspirational\u201d speech all you have to do is come up with a solution. The thing is one of their attempted tactics of trying to ambush Cyrus while he\u2019s attacking caravans could still work if YOU get a hold of him. Of course you could come up with your own plan.", "action_results": [{"action": "Set up your own plan", "result": "Cyrus obviously isn\u2019t going to be caught by something so mundane; you\u2019ll have to do something more elaborate. Like if he thought there were shadow sympathizers on the rise again.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019re going to turn this town into a hub of sedition, traitors and shadow sympathizers.\u201d You remark.\n\nSeveral Eyes including Warrick look at each other and WANT to question why you\u2019d want to do such a thing, but nobody dares say anything though.\n\n\u201cGood, Glad everyone waited for me to continue this time. Cyrus will be more likely to let his guard down if he thinks he has a solid base of operations rather than running like an animal in the wilderness. We need this town to become that base. Now here\u2019s how we\u2019re going to do it\u2026\u201d\n\nFirst thing you tell everyone is that you\u2019re going to be harassing the people of Bucklesberg to an unreasonable degree. You get to this fairly quickly and perhaps a little too zealously.\n\nYou begin an inquisition of sorts to \u201croot out\u201d any potential shadow sympathies. Naturally all the folks of Bucklesburg protest their innocence and swear they\u2019ve never even thought such a thing. Of course you don\u2019t listen and have people executed publically anyway. Wives, children, doesn\u2019t matter, the point is to become hated.\n\nWhen you feel you\u2019ve done enough damage you call for the Eyes to pull out of the town.\n\nThe next phase of your plan is to have someone disseminate subversive ideas in Bucklesberg. You have an Eye sneak back in and start by writing graffiti against the Empire on walls and placing simple pamphlets encouraging people to join Cyrus. You have to wait a couple of weeks before this starts bearing any fruit, but eventually one of the Eyes reports that the town is starting to show signs of rebelliousness.\n\nMeanwhile caravans are still being attacked and you get a message from the Emperor saying that he expected you to have settled this problem a lot quicker as he really wants to get on with attacking the Felkan Kingdom. You begin to get a little nervous.\n\nA couple more weeks pass and nothing major has happened. You had hoped that Cyrus or perhaps one of his followers had gotten the rumors about the town of Bucklesberg becoming unfriendly towards the Empire, but Warrick tells you that he hasn\u2019t seen any sign of Cyrus or his group anywhere near the town. They\u2019re still keeping to the wilderness and making their lightning raids on caravans. As for Bucklesberg itself, there have been a few meetings but not much else.\n\nYour plan is failing to produce results and you get another message from the Emperor which is noticeably more hostile in tone. All it says is you better do something about Cyrus by the end of the week or you are to report back to him immediately. Feeling the pressure you can\u2019t wait out this plan any longer, you\u2019re going to have to attempt to catch him in the act of attacking one of the caravans. Your only advantage is nobody has been defending them for several weeks so Cyrus may have been lulled into a false sense of security.\n\nYou and the Eyes travel towards where the supply caravan is and maintain a respectable distance from it and keep out of sight. You travel along side it for miles and there are a couple of Eyes who start wondering if Cyrus is even going to attack it. You know he will though and of course you turn out to be right.\n\nThe caravan guard hold their own against the rebel bandits, but as soon as Cyrus decloaks he begins making short work of them. It is at this point Sightmaster Davison orders the Eyes to attack. As the skirmish between the Eyes and Cyrus unfolds, you begin to concentrate. You visualize water and then that water slowly solidifying into ice. The temperature around you begins to get very cold and soon so does the entire area.\n\nIt is at this point Cyrus notices you in the distance and realizes that he is outclassed this time. He panics like a true coward and calls for a retreat, but its too late, you utter the incantation and cover the surrounding area in ice. The caravan, the guards, the rebels and the Eyes are all covered in frost that causes most of them to be frozen on the spot.\n\nYou run over to the site and see several of the still living shivering profusely and moaning from the pain of frost burn. A few of the hardy have managed to endure the effects of the spell, though they are busily trying to free their feet from ice before frostbite sets in. Others lie dead and frozen, Cyrus is not among them though and you catch sight of him slowly attempting to get away and heading towards a forest. His attempts to speed himself up make him only moderately faster due to the frost covering his body.\n\nYou begin to concentrate in the direction Cyrus was heading. Instead of visualizing water, you now visualize fire and much like the small ice storm you created, you now create one of flame. While you\u2019re casting the spell however, Cyrus manages to turn invisible and you don\u2019t see what direction he fled in before your firestorm hits the area.\n\nThe forest that Cyrus was headed towards is suddenly set ablaze along with the fielded area near it. However Cyrus must\u2019ve escaped because if he had been caught in the firestorm he would\u2019ve instantly decloaked.\n\nYou begin to swear and curse of how you nearly had him while you\u2019re surveying the carnage you caused to your own people. Sightmaster Davison is fully encased in ice, Warrick is only just managing to free himself from his own icy restraints. You were in such a hurry to capture Cyrus that you didn\u2019t think to at least hold Warrick back so he might be able to track Cyrus in case he managed to get away again. That opportunity has been lost now. You and the remaining Eyes head back to the closest settlement which is Bucklesberg where you try to figure out what your next move is going to be.\n\nIts most likely because you\u2019re tired as well as concerned with having to possibly face the Emperor that you don\u2019t appreciate the aura of hostility in Bucklesberg.\n\nYou and the Eyes are suddenly pelted with several rocks. Peasants aren\u2019t usually known for their combat abilities, but forming angry mobs and throwing rocks is certainly something they\u2019re good at.\n\nNot that you don\u2019t put up a fight and massacre several of the peasants, but the fact is they\u2019re in a nearly fanatical state and throw themselves upon you like suicidal lemmings thanks to your own actions that made them that way in the first place. Several of them are actually shouting that the shadows will rise again and that Cyrus will lead them.\n\nYour fate is ultimately an ignoble one of being beaten to death in the streets, drawn and quartered and finally your head stuck on a pole along with the remaining Eyes as a symbol of renewed defiance against the Empire.\n\nLater Bucklesberg is razed to the ground and all within are purged for treason. The Emperor doesn\u2019t morn your loss, but rather is angry with himself for wasting his time on someone who he comes to believe was an idiot.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Catch him in the act of one of his attacks", "result": "The next thing you say surprises all of the Eyes.\n\n\u201cNow there\u2019s a caravan coming through the area north of here in the next few days that is carrying a lot of supplies for the military. Cyrus isn\u2019t going to be able to resist attacking it even if he thinks it\u2019s a set up. We\u2019re going to intercept him when he attacks it and put an end to him once and for all.\u201d\n\nSeveral Eyes including Warrick look at each other and WANT to question why you\u2019d scold them about a particular idea they\u2019ve used and then you want to continue using it. Nobody dares say anything though.\n\n\u201cGood. Glad everyone waited for me to continue this time. You\u2019re probably wondering why we\u2019re going to continue to use a strategy after I just pointed out that it has failed so many times. Well, the strategy was a simple one and sometimes simple ones are best. The advantage you have now is that I am with you and I will be able to handle Cyrus and will not let him get away. Besides, you\u2019ve failed so many times at stopping him that he\u2019s bound to be a little cocky now and won\u2019t be expecting any major surprises. Even if he does, he probably also thinks he\u2019s the chosen one of his god and invincible. Time to show Cyrus that his false god cannot protect him.\u201d\n\nYou finish by telling them all to get themselves prepared, as you will be moving out soon.\n\n\u201cWarrick you come over here. I want to talk with you.\u201d\n\nWarrick complies with your request probably with some concern to his well being.\n\n\u201cI want you to stick with me during this attack. I need you alive and your chances of survival will increase if you\u2019re with me. While I don\u2019t think there will be any problems, it will still be good to have a second just in case we need to chase after Cyrus. Any questions, now is the time to ask.\u201d\n\u201cI have no questions sir.\u201d\n\u201cVery well.\u201d\n\nYou and the Eyes travel towards where the supply caravan is and maintain a respectable distance from it and keep out of sight. You travel along side it for miles and there are a couple of Eyes who start wondering if Cyrus is even going to attack it. You know he will though and of course you turn out to be right.\n\nThe caravan guard hold their own against the rebel bandits, but as soon as Cyrus decloaks he begins making short work of them. It is at this point Sightmaster Davison orders the Eyes to attack.\n\n\u201cNot you. As I said, you\u2019re sticking with me.\u201d You say to Warrick while grabbing his shoulder to hold him back.\n\nAs the skirmish between the Eyes and Cyrus unfolds, you begin to concentrate. You visualize water and then that water slowly solidifying into ice. The temperature around you begins to get very cold and soon so does the entire area.\n\nIt is at this point Cyrus notices you in the distance and realizes that he is outclassed this time. He panics like a true coward and calls for a retreat, but its too late, you utter the incantation and cover the surrounding area in ice. The caravan, the guards, the rebels and the Eyes are all covered in frost that causes most of them to be frozen on the spot.\n\n\u201cNow we get our traitor.\u201d You say to Warrick and the pair of you run over to the caravan battle site.\n\nYou see several of the still living shivering profusely and moaning from the pain of frost burn. A few of the hardy have managed to endure the effects of the spell, though they are busily trying to free their feet from ice before frostbite sets in. Others lie dead and frozen, Cyrus is not among them though and Warrick catches sight of him slowly attempting to get away and heading towards a forest. His attempts to speed himself up make him only moderately faster due to the frost covering his body.\n\nWasting no time, Warrick grabs his bow and fires several arrows at Cyrus, a couple hit their mark. Cyrus stumbles and staggers, but doesn\u2019t fall. He instead manages to turn invisible.\n\n\u201cShit! But he\u2019s wounded, I can track him if we hurry!\u201d Warrick exclaims, but once again you stop him from proceeding.\n\u201cYou\u2019ve proven your worth Warrick, but your tracking skills won\u2019t be necessary today.\u201d You say and begin to concentrate in the direction Cyrus was heading. Instead of visualizing water, you now visualize fire and much like the small ice storm you created, you now create one of flame.\n\nThe forest that Cyrus was limping towards is suddenly set ablaze along with the fielded area near it. A burning figure once again decloaks and you hear the screams all the way from the caravan site which is starting to thaw due to the proximity of the heat.\n\nDesperately Cyrus tries to make his way out of the inferno and back towards the caravan site, you calmly walk to him with Warrick following. By the time you reach him, Cyrus is crawling towards you half frozen, half burned, and death closely following him.\n\n\u201cYou see what this path has brought you traitor. No so called freedom, no glory for your god, not even a heroic death. You\u2019re an embarrassment to the name Eternal and you will not be remembered save as an example of what happens to all that would oppose the Emperor.\u201d\n\nCyrus struggles to look up at you and it\u2019s probably the first time you\u2019ve been this close to each other since Mistress\u2019 class. His face is nearly unrecognizable due to the severe burns. He attempts to speak, but only the utterance of distorted grunts from a scorched throat occurs. Doesn\u2019t matter, he has nothing of value to say. Traitors never do.\n\nYou kneel down and with your dagger you end his life for good.\n\n\u201cWhat next?\u201d Warrick suddenly asks.\n\u201cI report the death of this traitor to Jacob and I return to my place by the Emperor\u2019s side where I wait for his further orders. As for you, I suggest you help what\u2019s left of your group. I believe I saw your Sightmaster encased in ice, meaning he will no longer be able to carry out his duty. I can\u2019t think of a more worthy replacement than you so I will make mention of it to Jacob.\u201d\n\nWarrick is surprised by your words. He looks back at the caravan site, which is still a mess from your previous ice spell, he then looks ahead and watches the flames consume the nearby forest.\n\n\u201cBetter to kill a thousand innocent men than to let one traitor sew chaos. Better to lay waste to paradise than to let it continue to house enemies of the Empire.\u201d You say, though Warrick certainly understands even if he has never truly been in such a situation until now where it was necessary.\n\nJacob\u2019s response when you meet him again is a little less understanding when he finds out how you handled things\u2026\n\n\u201cOf course its good that Cyrus is dead, but\u2026 was it absolutely necessary to burn down an entire forest and sacrifice nearly an entire platoon of Eyes along with the entire compliment of caravan guards?\u201d Jacob asks.\n\u201cI saw it as the best way to be sure to put an end to Cyrus. And I would think you of all people would be happy for the matter to be handled given how worried you were about it before. The Emperor will also be happy and isn\u2019t that what\u2019s most important, that he can proceed with his war on the Felkans without further delay?\u201d\n\nJacob pauses before addressing your statement.\n\n\u201cYes and I really wish we weren\u2019t doing that.\u201d\n\u201cDoing what?\u201d\n\u201cGoing to war with the Felkan Kingdom.\u201d\n\u201cYou don\u2019t believe the Empire should crush its enemies?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cI don\u2019t believe we should waste the resources on a pointless war on a powerful nation that has never shown any signs of aggression.\u201d\n\u201cJust because they don\u2019t openly display it doesn\u2019t mean they aren\u2019t planning something.\u201d You say.\n\u201cYes, I\u2019ve heard the speech about the duplicitous gnome masters several times. You can\u2019t know how glad I was when I first found out that you managed to convince the Emperor to even postpone the war to take care of the shadows first. Can you imagine what might\u2019ve happened had you not done that? I\u2026look you know I serve the Empire and my loyalty will never be in question to it, but on this point I really don\u2019t think this war is a good idea in the long run. Do you not believe that it wouldn\u2019t be better if we conserved our resources and pursued other ways to enrich the Empire that don\u2019t involve war? You convinced the Emperor once to postpone a potentially damaging war, could you not sway his thoughts on this matter any further?\u201d\n\u201cJacob, it is the Emperor\u2019s will that the Felkan Kingdom must be destroyed. The plan has already been set in motion. No words of mine would ever convince him otherwise, even if I wanted to. Which I don\u2019t because as I see it, the gnomes and by extension the Felkan Kingdom must pay for their continued insults towards the Emperor. And that insult is their mere existence. Their punishment will be death.\u201d\n\nJacob realizes that he will have no luck in attempting to incorporate you into his desire to convince the Emperor to not go to war, so he drops the issue.\n\n\u201cI hope so for the sake of the Empire. Well, I suppose my next task will be to find a few more recruits to fill in the gaps for the latest fallen Eyes. Warrick will certainly make a good Sightmaster. Glad to hear that the pair of you worked so well together and he survived at least. I\u2026nevermind.\u201d\n\nJacob once again is starting act like he wants to address something more, but stops himself again, you urge him to continue.\n\u201cWhat is it Jacob?\u201d\n\u201cNothing. Just... I mean your actions in Delerg and also what you just recently did to put down one traitor\u2026well I\u2019m just saying that it\u2019s good that you are so dedicated. Remember that Empire must survive no matter what the cost.\u201d\n\u201cOf course. You don\u2019t need to remind me of such a thing.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo. Of course I don\u2019t.\u201d Jacob says and bids you goodbye.\n\nYou don\u2019t understand Jacob\u2019s odd behavior, especially since it seemed a little contradictory. One moment he was nearly scolding you for your methods, the next he was praising you for them. When you tell the Emperor about you conversation with Jacob he doesn\u2019t seem to be concerned, he\u2019s too excited about finally going to war with the Felkans.\n\n\u201cJacob is like an old woman sometimes. He worries too much, that\u2019s what he does. The only thing we need to worry about is how to make sure none of those little gnome bastards escape this time! Ha ha!\u201d the Emperor says.\n\u201cThey won\u2019t.\u201d you reply with certainty.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 23\n\nWith another town taken, you put your sword through the chest of a Felkan soldier begging for his life, one of many from your experience. The average Felkan soldier to you does not seem to match up to Empire ones in any capacity. They are certainly not better in the ways of martial combat or endurance. The only real advantage you can see them having is their gunpowder weaponry and better proficiency with it and even that isn\u2019t much of an advantage anymore given that the Emperor\u2019s derro friend has been evening up the odds in that way.\n\nYou walk around surveying the carnage of burning buildings and Empire soldiers busily searching homes to make sure there aren\u2019t any more of the enemy hiding out. A small explosion grabs your attention and you see a single Empire soldier stagger out of a home with one of his arms blown off. He stumbles for a bit and then collapses before others rush to his aid.\n\nTraps have probably done more damage to the battalion you were assigned to rather than actual combat. This was an easy battle. In fact your whole time being assigned to Major Krozer\u2019s battalion has been a bit of a breeze for you. The southwestern front of the Felkan Kingdom isn\u2019t as heavily defended or at least from your experience it isn\u2019t defended well. Perhaps all of the better Felkan soldiers are on the other fronts.\n\nYou sort of wish the Emperor had seen fit to have you aid Captain Roldan whose battalion has been seeing a lot of major fighting. However, the Emperor firmly stated that your skills would be of better use here and so you shall carry out your duty. Your main goal is to keep the Felkans from attempting to pull any sort of major flanking maneuver and keeping them boxed in. While conquest isn\u2019t the main goal, it is a secondary objective to make a slow push northward towards the Felkan heartland though you imagine you\u2019ll soon face Felkan reinforcements from the west before then. That is if they don\u2019t still have their hands full with the gnoll tribes that are currently assaulting them their eastern front.\n\n\u201cAnother victory for the Empire, eh Mr. Sunshine?\u201d you hear a voice from behind say. It\u2019s Major Krozer. She\u2019s a competent leader and has obviously earned her position, but much like your experience with Gruz, she seems a little \u201crelaxed\u201d on rules of protocol at times such as her periodic insistence on being too playful with you.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ve told you before to stop calling me by that ridiculous name.\u201d you snap.\n\u201cHey, I didn\u2019t invent it. That\u2019s what the troops call you behind your back due to your\u2026unique personality.\u201d\n\nYou begin to get angry.\n\n\u201cAre you telling me I don\u2019t have the respect of the troops and they use this name to mock me?!\u201d\n\u201cNo! They\u2019re scared shitless of you, hence why they don\u2019t call it to your face. The sunshine reference is due to the fact that you\u2019re so damn grim and merciless all the time. Its supposed to be ironic I guess. If you\u2019d like, I could tell them to start calling you Mr. Harbinger of Destruction instead. Pretty sure the Felkans already call you that.\u201d Major Krozer replies.\n\u201cI\u2019m not interested in having any sort of witty nickname and if anyone continues to refer to me other than by my name or my rank, I\u2019ll have them flogged for their impertinence and that\u2019s just for the first offence.\u201d\n\u201cHm, well I guess I better relay that to the troops. Fun and humor are cancelled until further notice.\u201d\n\u201cFun? We\u2019re at war major! This is not a time to be having fun! It is not a time for jokes! It is a time to be crushing our enemies and ensuring their extinction!\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd you\u2019re claiming that YOU don\u2019t find those two bloody past times fun for you? Let\u2019s talk seriously for a moment, I\u2019ve seen you in battle and you are truly a sight to behold. It\u2019s almost like watching a work of art with how you move from enemy to enemy slaying all those that oppose you. And that\u2019s just close combat, I\u2019m not even referring to when you\u2019re throwing flaming hunks of rocks at the enemy and then following it up with a few lightning bolts. My point is, I\u2019ve seen you lay waste to our opponents and I believe it\u2019s more than just a job to you. Yes, you\u2019re serving the Empire and the Emperor, but you\u2019re having fun doing it. This war is FUN for you and that good, but some of us need to find fun in perhaps less extreme ways and sometimes that might involve the cheap joke here and there. Surely that doesn\u2019t warrant a death sentence? I mean all of our lives could be snuffed out anytime, what\u2019s the harm in a little humor as long as everyone is still doing their job?\u201d\n\nThe major\u2019s words hit a mark with you. You can\u2019t deny that you are having what might be considered \u201cfun\u201d when you\u2019re in battle. You enjoy it because its what you were meant to do. You also think back to what the Emperor said to you one time \u201cSometimes, you\u2019re too tightly wound son.\u201d This might be one of those times.\n\n\u201cAlright, alright, you\u2019ve made your point. Fine nobody will be flogged, but I better not hear the name Mr. Sunshine or any other cute nickname within earshot.\u201d\n\u201cOf course sir.\u201d\n\u201cGood. So\u2026the troops say my battle techniques look like a work of art?\u201d\n\u201cNo. I believe they just see you as a whirlwind of violence that they need to stay out of the way lest they get caught in the path. I\u2019m the one who believes your battle techniques look like a work of art, but then I\u2019m a daughter of the army, so I don\u2019t know much about real art. I just know what I like.\u201d The major says with a smile.\n\u201cOh. Uh, well thanks.\u201d You answer and not feeling quite sure of what else to say.\n\nWith the debate about acceptable protocol out of the way Major Krozer goes on to tell you that despite significant damage most of the town\u2019s population is still alive. While you\u2019re usually known for razing entire settlements to the ground, the major is slightly less bloodthirsty than you are.\n\n\u201cWhile I know you like to eliminate enemies of the Empire and stomp them into a red spot on the ground. I\u2019d suggest that we not do that this time and use this town as a stopping spot for our supplies and reinforcements.\u201d\n\u201cHmm. Perhaps, but we\u2019ll have to leave a detachment here to oversee this place.\u201d\n\u201cWell how big is that going to have to be? Not that big I should think since I really don\u2019t believe the population is going to give us any more trouble. I\u2019ve seen most of them and they look thoroughly defeated.\u201d\n\u201cTrue, but I believe an example should still be made just to get the point across of who is in charge. I\u2019d say about twenty peasants should do it. A mixture of different ages and genders too just to show them that we\u2019re being serious.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019d ask you if that is really necessary, but I know what your answer is going to be. Very well, I\u2019ll get some of our soldiers on it. I sometimes have concerns that we\u2019ll go too far and their hate will override their fear and cause a revolt.\u201d\n\u201cAnd that\u2019s why I prefer to raze entire settlements. Nobody can revolt when they\u2019re all dead.\u201d\n\u201cBut then what\u2019s left to rule?\u201d Krozer asks before taking her leave.\n\nShe has a point, but it isn\u2019t one you\u2019ve concerned yourself with during this war mainly because the Emperor has made it quite clear to you that he\u2019s actually more interested in destroying the Felkan Kingdom rather than conquering it. This is more of a war of annihilation rather than one of subjugation.\n\nJust as you\u2019re about to oversee the execution of peasants, a messenger arrives.\n\n\u201cFor your eyes only sir. Important message from the Emperor.\u201d The messenger says and hands you a sealed scroll.\n\nYou take the scroll and quickly open it. It has been too long since you\u2019ve last heard anything directly from the Emperor. Upon reading it, it states that you are to report directly to the location where Marik has been making all of the new weapons. Doesn\u2019t state why, just says you need to be there. You\u2019ve never been to Marik\u2019s factory before, actually you\u2019ve never even met Marik before despite having heard of him several times. Guess this will be your introduction.\n\nIt is a little odd to be taken out of the fighting like this and also not explaining why, but the Emperor must have his reasons. You immediately tell the major.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re leaving? Why?\u201d she asks.\n\u201cCan\u2019t reveal why, but I assure you that it is on the Emperor\u2019s orders.\u201d You reply.\n\u201cOh. Well I suppose you have to go then. This\u2019ll be a huge blow to the might of our forces with you gone.\u201d\n\u201cYou shouldn\u2019t think such things. You\u2019re soldiers of the Empire. You are more than a match for any enemy, let alone the Felkans. You\u2019re also a skilled leader and tactician that has kept our losses to a minimum. You\u2019ll do fine without me.\u201d\n\u201cI suppose we can get by without your battle skills, but how will we ever cope without your cheerful personality around here?\u201d she says with a serious face which then slowly turns into a smile.\n\nNormally this is the kind of thing that perturbs you, but maybe you\u2019re getting used to it.\n\n\u201cWell I\u2019m sure my sunny disposition has made such a lasting impression that its now within all of your hearts so that you may experience it wherever you go.\u201d You reply in a deadpan manner, surprising the major.\n\u201cWas that a joke you just made?\u201d\n\u201cHow the hell would I know, its not like I\u2019ve ever made one before.\u201d\n\u201cWell you\u2019re on a roll now. Hopefully you will come back so we can actually experience this less self-controlled version of yourself.\u201d\n\u201cAnything\u2019s possible I suppose.\u201d You say and take your leave.\n\nYour only major decision now is whether or not to take the long way around back within all the pacified territory you\u2019ve been pushing through during your time with Krozer\u2019s battalion or risk taking a short cut north through disputed territory that you know is still being battled over by both sides.", "action_results": [{"action": "Take the long way around", "result": "While it\u2019s not usually like you to play it too safe and you aren\u2019t one to avoid conflict, your present duty is to reach your destination in a timely manner. A short cut might seem quicker, but given that you know how hot the conflict is going on right now, its likely that you might very well get caught in the middle of it thus delaying your orders.\n\nYour trip is predictably uneventful save for running into a few small regiments of reinforcements that you redirect towards the town you just conquered. When you make it back to Arat you only make short stops in villages to water your horse. Eventually you see the factory within sight rather than just the permanent black cloud that hoovers over it. The factory has somewhat been a source of concern by the local population as the pollution from the place has contaminated the nearby rivers as well as the land surrounding it. However it has provided a new source of employment though its not the safest place to work, but in this world what is safe?\n\nWhen you get there you are met by a small contingent of Eyes standing outside the factory\u2019s gates, which are locked up.\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t know if I should be happy or worried that the Emperor has sent his terrible weapon of righteous justice.\u201d One of the Eyes says. The Eye doesn\u2019t look familiar to you, but he obviously was with you during the capture of Cyrus. Good to know your words are remembered at least.\n\n\u201cWhat\u2019s going on?\u201d\n\u201cApparently a few days ago a giant green monster punched through one of the doors to the basement of the factory and killed several workers and guards before we got here. Someone claimed it was a troll. If it was a troll I can only imagine it dug itself up from the underground since that\u2019s where they live right?\u201d\n\u201cSo I\u2019ve heard, but what are you doing standing out here?\u201d\n\u201cSightmaster Ansolom\u2019s orders. The troll hasn\u2019t left the factory for whatever reason and he wants to make sure its at least contained while he and some others try to kill the thing. Though they\u2019ve been in there since yesterday, I fear the worst.\u201d\n\u201cAnsolom? What happened to Warrick?\u201d\n\u201cSightmaster Warrick is stationed elsewhere with another group of Eyes. I don\u2019t know where. So are you going in?\u201d\n\u201cOf course.\u201d\n\u201cYou\u2026uh don\u2019t need us to come in with you do you?\u201d the Eye asks while unlocking the gate.\n\u201cNo. Continue your little guard duty, I believe you would only get in my way anyway.\u201d You say and open up the gate.\n\nNo sooner have you entered when the Eyes close the gate and lock it back up. You shake your head and cautiously walk through the factory\u2019s outer yard. You see all manner of strange machines along with hundreds of boxes of various weapons large and small set for shipping, but the place is dead silent. You\u2019re not even finding any dead bodies; you\u2019re guessing they must be inside the factory itself and probably the troll as well.\n\nYou\u2019re wondering where Marik is in all this. From what you know he and a small group of derro work deep underneath this factory unknown to most, even the regular workers. There is supposed to be a battle mage that acts as the factory supervisor too. On top of everything else now you have to look for a sightmaster who is supposed to be here taking care of this problem and you still don\u2019t understand why you were dragged off the frontline just to handle a troll, or what you still assume is a troll.\n\nWhen you enter the factory itself, that\u2019s when you see all the damage to the place. It\u2019s a mess with broken equipment and dead bodies everywhere. While you\u2019ve heard the stories about how terrible trolls are you nearly have a hard time believing it was just one of them that caused all this damage.\n\nBesides looking like a tomb the factory is about as silent as one as well. You would\u2019ve thought the troll would at least be feasting on its kills or at least walking about the factory, but you\u2019ve heard nothing. This of course puts you more on guard since now you\u2019re wondering if the thing is aware of your presence and silently stalking you.\n\nYou climb up to one of the upper walkways to get a better view. You still can\u2019t see the creature from your position, but apparently it was up here at some point since you\u2019re finding the odd limb along the walkway. The supervisor\u2019s office is up here so you decide to head towards it hoping that maybe you\u2019ll find some answers.\n\nAs you get closer you see that a battle must\u2019ve taken place near there because you see a body just outside the doorway of the office. There are a couple other bloody bodies lying near it as well. Upon closer inspection the body just outside the doorway is headless but wearing a robe. This was probably the battle mage supervisor. The other bodies are a little fresher but still in mauled condition. They wear the uniform of an Eye, but you suddenly have more pressing concerns when not one, but two trolls appear on the far end of the walkways.\n\nThey look every bit as vicious as you\u2019ve heard. Big, green, long gangly limbs and seem to lope in a jerky manner towards you snarling and howling the whole time. You have no idea how such large creatures were able to hide from you, but they\u2019ve made their presence known now and you\u2019re trapped with no easy retreat.\n\nThey\u2019re quick, but you manage to unleash a single bolt of flame at one of the trolls, which causes it to immediately leap over the railing and take a long drop down to the floor below busily trying to beat the flames out of its hide. It is so focused on doing this that it fails to realize that it is in a factory with several explosive elements. All it takes is for the troll to crash its body into one of the small barrels of the volatile powder and the troll is blown to pieces though the force of the explosion is even enough to rock you to the floor of the walkway. You get up just in time for the second troll to smash its fist into your chest and you go flying into the office hitting the wall. You feel like you\u2019ve been hit by a giant club and struggle to catch your breath. You scan the room and to your left you see another dead body of an Eye. This one is the sightmaster and he looks as if all his limbs have been broken.\n\nThe troll advances and you manage to kick the door shut, which slows it down long enough to buy you some time. When it slams the door back open you cast a bolt of flame in its face. It reels back bellowing with pain and clutching its eyes, but unlike his friend he isn\u2019t running away.\n\nIgnoring the pain, you stand back up and with sword in hand you slash the troll across one of its knees causing it to stumble. It manages to swipe its claws across your stomach, but fortunately you dodge most of attack and only suffer ripped armor and a surface wound. The troll tries to continue its success, but even as quick as it is, you are able to get the advantage and bring your blade across its think neck.\n\nUnfortunately you fail to sever the troll\u2019s head completely and your sword gets stuck half way through it. Black blood is spraying everywhere and the troll grabs your sword arm digging its claws into the skin and muscle. It will very likely rip it off if you don\u2019t do something immediately.", "action_results": [{"action": "Pull your dagger and stab it in the arm", "result": "You pull out your dagger and begin repeatedly stabbing the troll in the arm to the point where you nearly sever it. Its grip loosens as it hisses in pain. You nearly get your head punched in by the troll\u2019s other fist, but you fall backwards on the walkway in time for it to miss. The troll fails to follow up with another attack since it attempts to remove the sword from its neck presumably to regenerate properly.\n\nTaking advantage of this breather you cast a lightning blast right at the sword, which acts as a great conductor to fry the troll inside and out. You have to back up just so the troll\u2019s flailing body doesn\u2019t hit you. Eventually when the troll\u2019s body is burned to a crisp and you\u2019re fairly certain you\u2019ve fried its vital organs enough that it can\u2019t possibly regenerate you stop and the troll crashes to the floor still smoking and twitching. Then you retrieve your sword and finish decapitating the troll just to be sure.\n\nYou take a small rest after your battle, though you keep alert for another troll. Thankfully no more show up, but there\u2019s still the question about Marik and where the hell the trolls came from in the first place. Both potential answers are going to lie in the basement you imagine so that\u2019s where you continue your exploration.\n\nThe factory basement is in just about as much disarray as the ground floor and there are a few dead bodies, but no trolls or derro for that matter. You search until you come across a large metal door which has been partially ripped off its hinges, a long set of stairs go down. It would appear there is an even deeper part of the factory.\n\nYou go down the stairway, which seems almost like forever and when you finally get to the bottom, you hear a lot of shouting in an unfamiliar language. You walk down a corridor and find a large open area with presumably more factory equipment, but some of it looks very strange. You see machines, which are emanating a lightning arc similar to the spell you can cast or what nature does during a storm. Other things look like giant tubes with something inside, though from this distance you can\u2019t tell what.\n\nAmong the machinery you also see short heavily armored figures busily trying to clean up the area. You can\u2019t even see their faces, but you\u2019re guessing these are the infamous derro.\n\n\u201cYou there! Who are you surfacer? Are you one of the factory workers?\u201d a deep voice suddenly calls to you from the right. You look and see a very pale figure wearing white coat covered in blood and a bunch of other things you can\u2019t identify. This bald wild-eyed fellow is about the same size as the armored figure so you come to one conclusion.\n\n\u201cThe Emperor sent me. Are you Marik?\u201d\n\u201cI am Marik\u2026you must be the one he refers to as his son. But why would the Emperor send you here?\u201d\n\u201cI was only given orders to come here, but within such time I faced two trolls that apparently slaughtered not only many factory workers, but its supervisor AND several of the Emperor\u2019s Eyes! I had thought they might\u2019ve killed you as well, but since that is not the case, I am hoping that you can shed some light on the situation.\u201d\n\u201cShit, I had a feeling one of them escaped up there, but not two. And I assumed that the fucking poncy wizard would at least be able to handle it. Figures that fop wouldn\u2019t have the stones when faced with such a beast, let alone two of them.\u201d\n\u201cEscaped? Excuse me, but what the hell were trolls doing here in the first place? And why did you not send men to help kill the beasts?\u201d\n\u201cIf you have not noticed by the mess already, but my men and I have been dealing with trolls down here as well.\u201d\n\u201cIt looks as if you were not fighting them when I arrived and you still have not answered why there were trolls down here in the first place?\u201d\n\u201cI know you\u2019re held in high regard by the Emperor and obviously your skills are impressive if a scrawny thing like you can handle two adult trolls, but you will cease questioning me in such a manner now surfacer!\u201d\n\u201cI will question your competence if you are the reason for this disaster! These trolls have just caused a stop in production which is vital to the Emperor\u2019s war on the Felkan Kingdom!\u201d\n\nMarik\u2019s expression begins to show more aggression though he\u2019s smiling at the same time. He almost looks as if he\u2019s going to break into laughter.\n\n\u201cSurfacer, I have known the Emperor much longer than YOU have even been alive! Maybe you\u2019re unfamiliar with the complexities of our relationship, so I will let your words pass as ones of a concerned child for his parent\u2019s wishes. But NEVER question my competence ever again! I am the very reason the Emperor is able to pursue a successful war on the Felkans in the first place! My work here is to find even better ways to crush his enemies! The trolls? Part of my experiments as new weapons for the war! Sometimes experiments fail! Science is not always exact! Do you think YOU were the first Eternal?\u201d\n\u201cYes, I\u2019m well aware I was among the first successful ones, but that still doesn\u2019t excuse why you sent no men to at least scout the factory if you believed trolls had escaped.\u201d\n\u201cThe Emperor should\u2019ve told you more about our people then. We derro do not step foot on the surface if we can help it. My people may have an alliance with the Emperor, but that alliance does not extend to such madness.\u201d\n\u201cI was lead to believe madness was a common derro trait.\u201d\n\u201cIt is, but even then there are limits! Indeed I may very well be among the most mad and even I will not soil myself by setting foot on your surface world.\u201d\n\u201cBut the factory is enclosed, you\u2019d still be shielded from the sun if that is death to your kind.\u201d\n\nMarik begins laughing in a tone that is much different from his deep voice. It\u2019s an annoying ear piercing laugh.\n\n\u201cYour ignorance of the derro is embarrassing as is usual for a surfacer. I suggest you learn more in your pitifully short lifespan. Ask your Emperor for guidance, perhaps he will have the patience to tell you more about us, I do not. I have work to do for the Emperor.\u201d Marik says and turns away from you. His fellow derro have been standing by watching the pair of you the entire time as if ready to act if violence should break out.\n\nViolence may still occur if Marik continues to act dismissively towards you.\n\n\u201cDo not walk away from me derro! You still have much to answer for! What exactly is it that you are doing here? What is so important that you so carelessly endanger the war effort? You will give me answers of substance that I can give to the Emperor!\u201d\n\nYour words cause Marik to stop.\n\n\u201cYour loyalty to the Emperor is admirable. Tell me though, what gives you cause to believe that you\u2019d make it out of here to able to report to him?\u201d\n\u201cTrust me derro, I may indeed not be able to take all of you, but YOU I would make an example of.\u201d\n\nMarik once again makes that annoying laugh again.\n\n\u201cYour knowledge of the derro continues to lack. If you truly knew anything, you\u2019d know that death is not something the derro fear.\u201d\n\u201cAnd now it is you who do not listen. I said nothing of killing you, I said make an example of. After I beat you within an inch of your life, I\u2019d drag your bloody body to the surface which you obviously loathe so much. I thank you for exposing your flaws within our short meeting.\u201d\n\nMarik turns to face you once again. He studies you as if to assess if you\u2019re being serious. He realizes you are.\n\n\u201cWell, I\u2019ll be. A surfacer nearly as mad as a derro, for it is the only explanation for your threats that you speak out of your ass and ignorance. Heh. Very well then perhaps we do have something in common. Come with me then Eternal, I will satisfy your questions and then you can go tell the Emperor that we\u2019re not just playing with our dicks down here.\u201d\n\nMarik waves away the other derro and tells them to get back to work while he goes on to explain what\u2019s going on down here.\n\nHe tells you that while he has provided the Emperor with the gift of gunpowder weapons to combat the Felkans he states that he is bored with creating such things. He wants to move on to other, more interesting things. You don\u2019t exactly understand everything he\u2019s saying, but apparently this includes altering trolls in such a way to use them as living weapons.\n\nObviously success has eluded him, but Marik claims it will work eventually he just needs more time. He then goes on to say that the schematics of the weapons he\u2019s already made should be somewhat known to surfacers now and that perhaps those weapons could be built in another factory run purely by surfacers. Allowing him of course to work more unencumbered by the possibility of his experiments causing problems in the future.\n\n\u201cI will report this to the Emperor and allow him to decide, but personally I can\u2019t say as this is a good use of time and resources. Better to perfect the weapons you\u2019ve already created than to play around with uncertain ones.\u201d\n\u201cFunny you should say that Eternal, because one could say the same of your kind.\u201d\n\u201cThere is a difference. Obviously when I was born I was still not a mindless untrainable animal like a troll.\u201d\n\u201cNo, but obviously an effort was made to make you better than the average human and then some. No effort was spared in perfecting you and your kind until some of you actually survived the entire process.\u201d\n\nMarik\u2019s words about the creation of the Eternals peaks your interest.\n\n\u201cTell me Marik, how much were you involved in the creation of the Eternals?\u201d\n\u201cSadly very little. Most of my ideas for the\u2026project were considered a bit too extreme, then that fool Jacob somehow managed to gain complete control of the project. The advantage of being a surfacer I suppose. If I had control, you and your fellow classmates would\u2019ve been even better. In fact you wouldn\u2019t have had to endure much training at all, you would\u2019ve instantly been BORN with natural skill and talent. (Sigh) If only the Emperor saw the wisdom in continuing the project with me at the helm\u2026I could truly create some living weapons.\u201d\n\u201cWhat are you talking about exactly?\u201d\n\u201cFor someone so close to the Emperor, I see he keeps you out of the loop on things and if he is then there must be a reason for it. I have probably said too much\u2026I suggest if you want more answers then speak with him. Go now, I have work to do. Much work to do.\u201d\n\nWhen Marik says this he begins making nervous twitches and see him eye a nearby metal door, which makes you suspicious.", "action_results": [{"action": "Confront Marik", "result": "Whatever Marik is hiding behind that door has peaked your interest. For all you know he\u2019s hiding something that could possibly threaten the Empire. You make your way towards the door and Marik comes just shy of physically stopping you.\n\n\u201cHey, where are you going?\u201d he asks.\n\u201cI wanna see what\u2019s behind that door now step aside Marik.\u201d\n\u201cYou can\u2019t! There\u2019s dangerous material in there. Chemicals and stuff like that. Safe for us derro, but completely toxic to a human like you.\u201d\n\u201cWell as you pointed out not a few minutes ago, I\u2019m better than the average human, now stand aside.\u201d\n\u201cYou can\u2019t!\u201d Marik shrieks and begins giggling.\n\u201cMarik, last chance to get outta my way\u2026\u201d\n\nMarik suddenly stops his annoying giggling and begins snorting and hyperventilating while giving you a hostile stare. It would almost be amusing if you could see the humorous side of it.\n\n\u201cAlright fine! But you\u2019re going to spoil the surprise!\u201d he shrieks and gets out of your way.\n\nYou step to the metal door and open it up to a platformed level, which overlooks a huge room. It\u2019s nearly the size of a small hamlet you think. There are several ladders that descend down to the lower level which contain translucent containers all hooked up with tubing and connected with each other and large strange machines. Even from this distance you can make out small figures floating in liquid within the containers.\n\nYou\u2019re about to ask Marik what all this is when suddenly you hear him scream\u2026\n\n\u201cSURPRISE!\u201d\n\nAnd then the back of your head is blown off by Marik\u2019s personal pistol. Your lifeless body slumps to the floor soon after part of your brains do.\n\nMarik and his fellow derro cover up your death by explaining to the Emperor that the escaped trolls killed you. The Emperor temporarily mourns your death, but ultimately decides that if something like a troll killed you, then perhaps you weren\u2019t worthy of your status after all.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Report to the Emperor", "result": "While part of you wants to confront Marik on your suspicions that he\u2019s not telling you everything you get the impression that you\u2019ve pushed your luck enough with taking an aggressive stance. There are some unknown factors going on here and you\u2019d probably be better off just reporting back to the Emperor about all this, he knows Marik and the derro better than you do.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll leave you to it then and I shall tell the Emperor that the situation here has been dealt with along with your suggestions for a second factory.\u201d\n\nMarik seemingly ignores your statement and goes back to ordering his fellow derro. You make your way to the exit and Marik suddenly calls out to you.\n\n\u201cYes on your way Eternal, back to your accursed surface. Its days are numbered you know and that will be the day that\u2026hehehehehe\u2026what was I\u2026talking about? Back to work you lot!\u201d\n\nOn your way out you tell the Eyes to continue guarding the factory until further notice and make your journey back to the capital.\n\nWhen you get to the Emperor\u2019s room, he\u2019s hunched over a large map and placing small metal figures in certain locations.\n\n\u201cThere you are m\u2019boy. Did you hear? We just took Fort Soot. A great victory this day, though we\u2019ll need to shore up our own defenses there. I trust by your presence you\u2019ve taken care of whatever problem happened at the factory and it is now up and running again.\u201d\n\u201cI regret to tell you that the problem has only been partially solved.\u201d\n\u201cOh? I trust you have a good reason for this oversight.\u201d\n\nYou explain everything to the Emperor hoping that he isn\u2019t mad, fortunately he isn\u2019t or at least he isn\u2019t mad at you.\n\n\u201cBah, damn that crazy derro and his experiments! I told him I just need the practical, not fancy super weapons! Trolls, what the hell is he thinking? You know his race was once on the losing end of a war with those beasts? Marik himself would\u2019ve been eaten by one had I not stepped in and saved his ass. (Sigh) Okay I\u2019ll have a levy of peasants build another factory then, I probably should have several anyway, I just didn\u2019t want to waste time and resources on building them right now.\u201d\n\u201cSo\u2026you\u2019re just going to give Marik what he wants?\u201d\n\u201cWhy not? We gave Gruz what he wanted didn\u2019t we and he\u2019s certainly less deserving. Besides Marik\u2019s right, he\u2019s already provided the schematics for most of the cannons, muskets, pistols and other types of weapons. I\u2019m fairly certain that we can have purely run human factory now. The common folk aren\u2019t entirely dim. Marik can have his little so called secret workshop, maybe he\u2019ll even come up with something useful.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m still concerned about Marik. He seemed like he was hiding something more than just experimenting on trolls though.\u201d\n\u201cOf course he was. He probably has something really twisted going on behind closed doors, but for all his madness, secrets and genuine derro isolationist xenophobia, he\u2019s loyal. He\u2019ll do nothing that will harm the Empire especially since he has no desire to rule it. Derro pacts are for life and to break one would be as offensive to them as walking on the surface.\u201d\n\nThe Emperor says this with a lot of certainty though you\u2019re still a little apprehensive, however the Emperor has had more dealings with the derro and known Marik much longer than you have so he\u2019s more knowledgeable on this than you.\n\n\u201cVery well, if you are not concerned, I shall cease my own.\u201d\n\u201cGood, but I\u2019m glad you\u2019re suspicious. Being paranoid keeps your wits sharp and alert. Besides you might be partially right. While I know Marik doesn\u2019t have any intentional desires to harm the Empire his work may unintentionally harm it as shown with this incident with his troll experiment. I will have a personal talk with him just to keep him on a tighter leash so to speak.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m still confused one thing though, why send me?\u201d\n\u201cBecause you get things done of course. What was I going to do, have Jacob send in more Eyes? You see how well that worked and given that the problem was trolls it\u2019s a good thing I sent you in rather than lose even more of them. I knew what ever it was that was the problem, you\u2019d be able to handle it.\u201d\n\u201cI see, its just I thought my role in the Felkan war was more important.\u201d\n\u201cIt is, it is my son and this was still related to said war and trust me it was far more important than winning some small battle somewhere.\u201d\n\nThe Emperor steps forward towards you and gives you that familiar hand on your shoulder bit when he\u2019s about to tell you something he feels you should take to heart.\n\n\u201cListen, I know you probably would like to be fighting in the thick of the war, slaying Felkans left and right and I know you\u2019d be successful and good at it. However you are MORE than just some glorified soldier to be sent in to fight and die. Hell, I may have even told you to take a back up of Eyes had I known about the trolls with this recent incident.\u201d\n\u201cWait, are you trying to protect me?\u201d\n\u201cOf course I am. Yes, I\u2019m well aware that your life is built on danger and that you\u2019ve never been a stranger to life and death situations, but I\u2019d like to keep your chances of staying alive at least out of the impossible zone. You have been indispensible to me and I am not going to risk sending you into a meat grinder just because you fight well. You are much more important. I need you as not only a commander of troops, but also as my personal agent. Now is there anything else?\u201d\n\nYou take the opportunity to tell the Emperor about what exactly is going on your side of the warfront. He seems pleased with the information and tells you that you can go back to assist Krozer\u2019s battalion now that your assignment is over. The Emperor goes on to say how he continues to be proud of your accomplishments and that he means it when he says just how important you are to him. You leave the palace with a great feeling of pride and accomplishment. Not just that though, you feel like you\u2019re genuinely appreciated and coming from the Emperor\u2026 well there can be nothing better.\n\nSince you haven\u2019t been gone long, you make your way back to the ex-Felkan town you just conquered and find that Krozer\u2019s army hasn\u2019t moved yet.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re back already? That was quick, we hardly had time to miss you.\u201d Major Krozer says.\n\u201cWell I knew you\u2019d all be lost without me, so I figured I\u2019d better hurry back as soon as possible.\u201d\n\u201cAnother joke? Before you left you were attempting some of those.\u201d\n\u201cSo what\u2019s been going on here?\u201d\n\u201cNothing really, after we executed the twenty you suggested, the inhabitants here are truly submissive. I was just about to pick some troops to stay here and head out with the rest. I believe the next target is a small village called Gelim. Not much of one, but then this is further away from the Felkan heartland of course.\u201d\n\nYou think for a moment and say something that shocks the major.\n\n\u201cThe troops could probably due with a small rest. Let\u2019s stay here another three days, it\u2019s not going to make that much of a difference. I doubt that little village is going to provide much of a resistance, let alone be able to shore up any sort of strong defense within that time. We\u2019ve got the Felkans pinned in from here and last reports say they\u2019re focusing most of their troops on the frontlines or against those gnolls to the east. \u201d\n\u201cAlright, the attempts at humor are one thing, but NOW I\u2019m starting to worry a shape shifter has taken your place.\u201d\n\u201cNo worries, let\u2019s just say I\u2019m in a less grim mood.\u201d\n\u201cYou are? Then the gods must truly do exist because I never thought I\u2019d see the day. I guess whatever it is that the Emperor had you doing went well then.\u201d\n\u201cIt did, but this has nothing to do with that. I just want to make sure the soldiers are well rested and not run ragged. Make sure you have them gather here in the town square in a few moments, I\u2019d like to give them a speech about how their efforts have been appreciated.\u201d\n\u201cBy the Emperor?\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m sure he does too, but I figured the troops might wants to know that someone a little closer to them appreciates their hard work even if he doesn\u2019t always say it.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019ll get them together, but I imagine they\u2019ll enjoy the fact that you\u2019re allowing them three days rest more. Still, some encouraging words do help the morale for some.\u201d\n\u201cI hope you know that this appreciation includes everyone here and that especially means you. This battalion is under your command and you\u2019ve done a fine job running it.\u201d\n\u201cI think officially out outrank me, given that you report directly to the Emperor.\u201d\n\u201cPerhaps, but while I have given my own input with strategies and battle, I have always allowed you to make the final decisions because this is still your command and I respect that and you. The Empire is stronger with you leading some of its armies.\u201d\n\u201cWow, I\u2019m nearly speechless right now. Keep complimenting me like that and I\u2019ll start to think you\u2019ve developed intimate feelings for me.\u201d\n\u201cWhat?\u201d\n\u201cOh you know. Saying to me I\u2019d look prettier out of my uniform and how we should talk in private. Then the next thing I know you\u2019re telling me to drop down and give you head.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2026I wouldn\u2019t! I mean, I wouldn\u2019t abuse my position of authority like that!\u201d you exclaim.\n\nThe major laughs a bit.\n\n\u201cRelax, I know you wouldn\u2019t. The whole time on this assignment I haven\u2019t seen you take an interest in anyone.\u201d\n\u201cWhy would I? I\u2019m supposed to be focusing on the task of destroying the Felkans, not indulging in baser pleasures.\u201d\n\u201cMm, perhaps, but not everyone is so single minded in their duties or get their fun from the battlefield like you seem to do. Why do you think we have a group of whores follow our army around? Do you not think some of the soldiers sneak off with each other sometimes? I won\u2019t even get into some of the stuff we probably aren\u2019t seeing after we crush one of the Felkan population zones. And as for the abuse of power from a superior, you\u2019re probably one of the first that I know that hasn\u2019t even tried to use it as some sort of threat to have sex with someone of a lower rank.\u201d\n\u201cYes well I suppose that\u2019s the ugly side of war.\u201d You reply.\n\nNow the major starts laughing out loud even more.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re hilarious! Brutality and carnage on a grand scale, death and destruction everywhere, and you think whores, a few random rapes and some sexual harassment is the ugly bit. That\u2019s why I like you, because you don\u2019t know any better. Anyway thanks for the compliments and know that I have also found that despite your usual overly serious demeanor it\u2019s been a pleasure serving with you as well and I look forward to our continued positive relationship.\u201d\n\u201cAs do I.\u201d\n\nWith you and Major Krozer at a friendlier understanding of one another as well as the Emperor\u2019s earlier words to you, you feel a lot happier about your current assignment.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 25\n\nWhile the war with the Felkans seemed to be going smoothly, the situation has changed somewhat. The Empire still has the upper hand, but unfortunately this has become a three-way entanglement.\n\nThe gnolls tribes harassing the Felkans on the western borders apparently weren\u2019t just separate chaotic bands of raiders, but rather a full-fledged conquering horde. After smashing most of the Felkan defenses they have proceeded further into the heartland and that\u2019s where they finally came to blows with the Empire.\n\nSo far the gnolls been more of an annoyance to the Empire, but its been distracting enough that it\u2019s given the Felkans enough time to retreat and regroup further north. The Felkans are much reduced in strength now, but they are still definitely not a defeated nation yet. If anything their resolve has gotten stronger and their defenses have too.\n\nLast reports tell of how the orcs attempted to break through the defenses of the city of Yaquan only to be nearly wiped out by large weapons mounted to the city\u2019s towers that apparently harness the power of lightning. One blast ripped through the ranks of the heavily armored orcs and spread like a chain of death killing most of them instantly. These new \u201clightning guns\u201d are no doubt the inventions of the gnomes.\n\nYou heard Captain Gruz was amongst the casualties which would put orc leadership in jeopardy, but since there are so few of them left, the remainder of their now decimated number have regrouped under Roldan\u2019s command who is busily trying to figure out a way to proceed without losing half of his troops in the process. So far though the gnolls have been making that task difficult with their own ongoing attacks.\n\nThe only upside to all this is the Felkans seem to be playing up to their typical siege mentality and not making any sort of counter attacks probably hoping that the Empire and the gnolls will continue to kill each other to the point where nobody is in any position to attack them anymore. Of course that just means they\u2019re getting further entrenched. If enough time passes it may very well make most assaults on what\u2019s left of them extremely costly.\n\nMeanwhile you and Alison have been mostly fighting off the gnoll hordes on a regular basis. You\u2019d like to press further west to take the fight to them, but you know you need to stay in occupied Felkan territory to either help defend the main army or to support it when the time finally comes to make the final push on the Felkans. Lately most of your days are dull waiting or slightly less dull combat since the gnolls themselves rely mostly on numbers and terror rather than skill. The terror factor isn\u2019t much of one when going against the hardened troops of the Empire and numbers account for nothing when faced with Empire discipline.\n\nStill, its frustrating not being allowed to do more and tensions are starting to run hot by everyone in the high command\u2026\n\n\u201cBut if we continue to attack as we have, we will risk losing it all! I urge you my Emperor for the good of the Empire we should withdraw now! What can it hurt? We have proven our point and even acquired some territory in the process. Why not just let those barbaric gnolls fight over the scraps what\u2019s left of the ruins.\u201d Jacob says to the Emperor.\n\u201cJacob, I said it before I don\u2019t give a damn what the costs are, I won\u2019t let those fucking gnomes continue to mock from behind their smug little walled cities! And I didn\u2019t come this far to be turned back by the incursions of some mongrel dog men or guns that shoot a little light! I don\u2019t care what it takes we aren\u2019t going to rest until the Felkan Kingdom ceases to exist along with those fucking gnomes!\u201d the Emperor shouts and flips a nearby table.\n\n\u201cWhy are you yelling at me? I\u2019m just giving my honest opinion on the situation, I\u2019m not even in charge of the military matters!\u201d Jacob whimpers.\n\u201cBut you ARE in charge of the other Eternals, and guess who is leading the majority of our forces in Felkan territory? That\u2019s right, Roldan. Now I\u2019ll grant you that he\u2019s been fairly successful up until this point, but the fact that he hasn\u2019t made any progress for the past few months is severely starting to decrease my faith that he can get the job done.\u201d\n\u201cHe\u2019s doing the best he can under the circumstances and he\u2019s the best qualified general we have, I don\u2019t think he should be replaced.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m beginning to think I should start replacing SOMEONE.\u201d The Emperor unsubtly threatens.\n\nYou\u2019ve seen the Emperor mad before and it\u2019s never a good thing. Poor Jacob is trying to stand his ground on this matter, but its obvious the man is incredibly scared for his life. To be fair you actually can see his concerns on the situation, but this thing with the gnomes\u2026well it\u2019s an ongoing source of irritation for the Emperor. Jacob is also taking a verbal lashing for something that really isn\u2019t his fault. True, he monitors the progress of the other Eternals, but in reality it\u2019s not anything meaningful. Not to mention it actually was you who originally convinced the Emperor that Roldan should lead on the main assault force, yet the Emperor has either forgotten this fact, or perhaps still insists on seeing it all as Jacob\u2019s fault.\n\nSince you still feel partly responsible you decide to interject to try to calm things down.\n\n\u201cEmperor, I could take over Roldan\u2019s command if you prefer, though I would still like to keep him on as part of the command staff.\u201d\n\u201cWhile I\u2019m sure you would no doubt do a much better job, I\u2019d rather have you\u2019re where you currently are.\u201d The Emperor says which somewhat disappoints you.\n\u201cOf course, of course. Wouldn\u2019t want to risk your precious loyal dog.\u201d Mistress suddenly remarks, this draws an angry glance of both you and the Emperor.\n\n\u201cWhat? I\u2019m just saying what Jacob\u2019s thinking, personally I don\u2019t really give a shit what drone you decide to sacrifice in your futile war.\u201d Mistress says causing Jacob\u2019s eyes to widen, shake his head and raise his hands assuring that he thought no such thing.\n\u201cEver with the clever remarks. Too bad the rest of your race isn\u2019t half as clever, or you might not be a bunch of mercenaries.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m not sure why we\u2019re even relying on svelk scum anyway. Alison and I have been doing just fine fighting off the gnolls by ourselves for example.\u201d You remark.\n\u201cAlison? Oh, is that the name of the dirty blonde shield maiden that I\u2019ve heard you\u2019ve been getting close to? Tell me, when you\u2019re sticking it to her do you try to visualize that its me?\u201d\n\nA vulgar comment as usual from Mistress. Not unexpected either. While you\u2019d be lying if it weren\u2019t a little annoying, you certainly aren\u2019t going to give her the satisfaction of a retort.\n\n\u201cNo answer? Are you not even going to stand up for the honor of your female plaything? Then again I suppose she isn\u2019t worthy of it. I mean given that you experienced the best, why would you bother defending something so inferior?\u201d Mistress continues to taunt.\n\n\u201cEmperor, we are here to discuss the important business of crushing the Felkans, do we really have to listen to the boring and predictable slurs of this\u2026dubious ally?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cNo, of course we don\u2019t. Hold your vile svelk tongue unless you\u2019ve actually got something more worthwhile to contribute.\u201d\n\u201cI have contributed more than my fair share to your foolish crusade. I have come to the conclusion that this war is a losing proposition for my people. I won\u2019t even go into the meat grinder you\u2019ve got our mercenary bands dealing with on the Felkan front. And while I\u2019m sure that may cause you much joy, we svelk are not mindless orc slaves and will NOT fall into your clumsy manipulative plans of convenient genocide through attrition. Yeah, we\u2019re pulling out and moving on to greener pastures.\u201d\n\u201cSince when are you or any other svelk so concerned about the future of your people? You\u2019re also acting like you\u2019re in harms way and unless you\u2019ve been sneaking off to fight alongside your kin, you\u2019ve personally risked nothing. You\u2019re also still being paid well so what the hell do you care?\u201d the Emperor remarks.\n\u201cYou humans think you always have everything figured out about everything when you really don\u2019t know shit. As I said, the price is too high, and we will be moving on to better opportunities.\u201d\n\u201c(Sigh) Stop being so damn dramatic, and what the hell do you really want?\u201d the Emperor asks in an exasperated tone.\n\nMistress proceeds to tell the Emperor that she\u2019s quite serious about pulling out svelk aid unless she gets more support in return.\n\n\u201cIf you want our continued help, we do not believe that this General Roldan is able to accomplish his assault on the city of Yaquan in an efficient manner. So I would request that you either change the leadership or transfer us to the gnoll front at Major Krozer\u2019s war camp.\u201d Mistress says and glances at you.\n\u201cNo! We\u2019ve been doing just fine without you! We don\u2019t need morale falling low because svelk are infesting the camp.\u201d You protest.\n\u201cAnd here I thought you were a professional first and foremost. Open your eyes. Even you can see the benefit of our superior troops being directly added to your fighting force. Besides, I heard how you handled the first time you worked with svelk warriors before, surely if one of them gets out of line, you\u2019ll just go on a bloodthirsty rampage to make a point of who is really in charge.\u201d\n\nYou look to the Emperor expecting him to say something about this matter, but he waves you over to speak with you privately. Mistress rolls her eyes and wanders over to one of the bookshelves while Jacob fumbles about with some papers.\n\n\u201cSon, I\u2019m going to include you in this decision, because this is something I think you feel strongly about and I\u2019d rather have you in a positive state of mind. I don\u2019t want to lose svelk support as they have been helpful despite their\u2026well you know. I also have doubts about Roldan getting the job done as well, so the suggestion to replace him isn\u2019t out of the question as far as I\u2019m concerned. In any case I\u2019m either going to have to replace him or send all the svelk to the gnoll front, but I know that won\u2019t exactly make you happy.\u201d", "action_results": [{"action": "Suggest that Roldan be replaced", "result": "While you don\u2019t agree with the idea that Roldan won\u2019t be able to get the job done, you\u2019d rather have him replaced than get an influx of svelk troops. You\u2019d try to suggest yourself again, but you know the Emperor has made his mind up on the matter.\n\n\u201cIf you believe General Roldan cannot get the job done, then I suppose it might be better if he\u2019s replaced.\u201d You remark which gets Jacob\u2019s disapproval.\n\u201cBut he can do it! Replacing Roldan at this point would be folly!\u201d\n\u201cEnough Jacob! The decision has been made! General Roldan will be replaced and demoted!\u201d the Emperor remarks.\n\u201cDemoted?\u201d\n\u201cYes demoted! Be happy he isn\u2019t being executed for incompetence on the battlefield!\u201d\n\u201cBut I thought he was just going to be replaced! My Emperor I beg you not to do this! Roldan has worked so hard for his position!\u201d\n\u201cJacob, is there some sort of reason why you keep arguing this point with me? Delusions? Stupidity? A death wish perhaps?\u201d the Emperor asks and Jacob shuts up immediately.\n\nMistress stretches and yawns before commenting on the situation.\n\n\u201cIf you all are done in this pointless exercise male ineptitude, is there anything else I need to waste my time with here?\u201d\n\u201cYes, we\u2019re done. Get the hell out of my chambers and take Jacob with you. And while I wish I could chat with you my son, I still have to speak with Marik. I sometimes wonder if he just uses his madness as an excuse to be absent minded and claim he didn\u2019t know there was a meeting. I just hope he\u2019s actually made progress on his project he convinced me to proceed with.\u201d The Emperor remarks and the rest of you leave his chambers.\n\nYou expect Mistress to make some sort of remark as you\u2019re all walking out of the palace, but she ends up quickly walking ahead of you instead. Jacob doesn\u2019t speak with you either, he glances at you a couple times, but he\u2019s obviously a little upset that you supported the Emperor\u2019s decision to have Roldan replaced.\n\nReally though, you can\u2019t worry about it. As far as you\u2019re concerned hanging on to your sanity is a lot more vital. You can only imagine how the svelk would\u2019ve grated on your nerves if they had been transferred, especially since you\u2019re not actively advancing any more, but rather just defending against gnoll attack. Idle svelk mercs in between the down time isn\u2019t something you want to deal with.\n\nAlison is certainly happy to hear about the close call of playing host to a bunch of svelk.\n\n\u201cWell I\u2019m certainly glad you supported the Emperor\u2019s first decision, I don\u2019t think morale would\u2019ve been great around here with dark elves in the camp.\u201d She says.\n\u201cNo, but I can\u2019t say they\u2019re that great now.\u201d You reply.\n\u201cWhat do you mean? There hasn\u2019t been any major complaining that I know of, and I tend to keep apprised of the situation with my troops.\u201d\n\u201cWell, maybe it\u2019s just me then. I\u2019d like to be actively DOING something other than sitting around waiting to be attacked.\u201d\n\u201cWelcome to the army. You do know that boring waiting around in between battles is what we do right?\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m well aware that\u2019s part of it, but its not like we need to sit here. We could at least be attacking the gnolls so as to make them no longer a threat. I mean we should be doing that anyway. After all, we\u2019re going to have to deal with them eventually, better to do it now when we have the strength rather than later. I\u2019ve heard other soldiers commenting about feeling something similar. And I would think that you probably would like to take the fight to the gnolls as well.\u201d\n\nAlison nods.\n\n\u201cWell, I can\u2019t argue with you on that point. The troops are a little restless in that respect I suppose. I admit it would be good to get some of this pent up violence out of everyone\u2019s system, but as you\u2019ve said, the Emperor\u2019s orders are to stay here.\u201d\n\u201cI don\u2019t know, but I\u2019m starting to think that maybe we should just NOT stay here.\u201d\n\u201cSeriously? You\u2019d go against a direct order from the Emperor?\u201d\n\nAt this point you don\u2019t know. You want to be loyal and follow orders, but your desire for battle is still there. Not to mention you know you could win if it came down to it. Surely the Emperor would approve if you were victorious.\n\nYou decide you\u2019re going to do it, you\u2019re going to make a full attack on the gnolls.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s about time we took the fight to those mongrel dogs.\u201d Alison says with a little enthusiasm, but then her cautious side comes out. \u201cBut what about the Emperor?\u201d\n\u201cYou don\u2019t need to worry about that. I will take full responsibility if he gets angry about it. I\u2019ll just say I took command of your battalion.\u201d\n\u201cHah, I always knew you were going to do that some day, anyway.\u201d\n\u201cSorry, but I can\u2019t think of any other way.\u201d\n\u201cDon\u2019t apologize to me, I won\u2019t have to face the Emperor\u2019s wrath, well I hope I won\u2019t at least.\u201d\n\u201cLike I said, don\u2019t worry about that. And don\u2019t worry about me either. I don\u2019t want to sound prideful, but I\u2019m fairly confident the Emperor won\u2019t even get too angry with me, especially since I intend on wiping out the immediate gnoll threat.\u201d\n\nA month goes by and you\u2019re initially successful on your promise. The gnolls are no match for you in straight up combat. You even manage to save a few of the occupied Felkan communities from complete destruction and are welcomed as liberators.\n\nJust when you think you can drive the gnolls out entirely you\u2019re dealt two big blows.\n\nOne, the siege of Yaquan has not gone well since Roldan was replaced. It seems that General Ackerson has not only managed to fail in taking the city, but he\u2019s also managed to lose so many soldiers that there has been a call for your battalion to support his losses.\n\nThis couldn\u2019t have come at a worse time mainly because now the gnolls who you thought you had on the run were craftier than it seemed.\n\nThe gnolls have been breeding and training a large group of wyverns within a small mountain in the area. They\u2019ve also been bringing reinforcements from beyond the Felkan borders. You\u2019re taken off guard enough that you actually have to fall back before you\u2019re completely overrun.\n\nIf you leave to go to help General Ackerson, the gnolls are going to not only take back everything you gained, but will take your territory as well. However, if you stay to fight back the gnolls, you\u2019d really be defying orders, not to mention possibly costing the Empire a needed victory against the Felkans.\n\nThere isn\u2019t much for it, you\u2019ll have to split the battalion with Alison and decide which front you want to fight on.", "action_results": [{"action": "Stay on the gnoll front", "result": "As much as you wanted to be on the front lines of this war before, now you feel like you\u2019ve got a score to settle with the gnolls. Not to mention you feel like you need to finish up what you started.\n\n\u201cAre you going to be okay here?\u201d Alison asks.\n\u201cI\u2019ll be fine, you just be concerned with your assignment because it sounds like General Ackerson isn\u2019t exactly the best replacement and I\u2019m now cursing myself for having Roldan removed at all.\u201d\n\u201cYou couldn\u2019t have known. Besides, do you really think having the svelk transferred here would\u2019ve made things better for us?\u201d\n\u201cI dunno. Maybe we could\u2019ve used the extra troops to combat the gnolls and at the same time Roldan would\u2019ve still been in charge of the siege. Doesn\u2019t matter now I suppose, let\u2019s just make the best of it.\u201d\n\nWithin the next few days Alison and you say your final goodbyes before she leaves. Afterwards, you try to make the best of your defenses, but you\u2019re stretched thin. You send a messenger to request reinforcements, but naturally most soldiers are being sent to the Felkan front. The gnoll hordes aren\u2019t even being considered a credible threat, which couldn\u2019t be further from the truth considering that you\u2019ve been losing more territory to them and the fact is you just can\u2019t protect it all due to lack of manpower.\n\nA couple more months go by and news on the Felkan front gets worse. The siege of Yaquan has been completely abandoned and General Ackerson\u2019s forces are now in retreat. Word is he\u2019s lost more than half of those under his command, and whatever remaining svelk mercs that were helping have left. You have no idea if Alison is one of those, but you have more pressing concerns of your own. You haven\u2019t had much rest.You\u2019ve had to use your magic with such regularity to combat the gnolls that its exhausting just to cast the simplest of destructive spells. Little by little your remaining soldiers have been getting whittled down. The ones still alive are drained and suffering from low morale.\n\nWithin the week, there is another gnoll attack, a massive push to finally finish off the only viable defenders in the area. You make the gnolls earn every inch they take. The first two wyverns that appear in the distance, you strike down with a powerful lightning spell. Several of the initial attackers have their heads blown to gooey pieces by your troops\u2019 muskets, and then you resort to tried and true methods of slaughter.\n\nYou hack down several of their number before suffering any major wounds. Even then, you continue to fight with the determination of ten men. The bodies of gnolls pile up, the blood is everywhere and you\u2019ve just suffered an injury that should\u2019ve rightfully killed you, but you continue to fight. All the anger you feel at this situation is being directed utterly towards the gnolls until it finally burns itself out and your body pushes itself past its limitations of physical exertion.\n\nAn axe cleaves into your skull, followed by another into your arm, severing it just enough to hang from a bit of tendon. You fall to your knees, then to the floor and that\u2019s when you feel another axe to your back destroying your spine. A finally kick by a hefty boot to the face and the gibbering laughing howls of the gnolls is the last thing you hear.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Go to the Felkan front", "result": "Given that you feel responsible for the problems going on at Yaquan you think you need to go if only to try to fix things.\n\n\u201cI had a feeling you\u2019d want to go to the Felkan front.\u201d Alison remarks.\n\u201cSomeone is going to have to fix this mess. I\u2019m just hoping I can do something about it.\u201d\n\nWithin the next few days Alison and you say your final goodbyes before you leave. You hope Alison will be able to deal with the gnolls with less troops, but she tells you to not worry about her problems and just focus on the task you\u2019ll have to accomplish.\n\nYour march to Yaquan is an uneventful one, but when you arrive you\u2019ve got more than enough to deal with.\n\nGeneral Ackerson\u2019s war camp is one of the most unorganized camps you\u2019ve ever seen. He obviously isn\u2019t that well respected either as he is arguing with a couple of his lieutenants and a mage of some sort.\n\n\u201cGalen, I\u2019m sick of hearing your excuses, just get it done!\u201d Ackerson exclaims to the mage.\n\u201cOh yes, its so easy for you isn\u2019t it? Just sitting in the back giving orders and not being in the line of immediate fire. Magic isn\u2019t an unlimited art that we wizards can just keep on doing for days on end with no rest! It\u2019s bad enough you wasted all of our golems and we\u2019re reduced to salvaging the remnants. By the Emperor, at least Roldan tried to think things out, I wonder if you even passed the academy or if you just had a relative that promoted you\u2026\u201d\n\nAt this point Ackerson lunges at Galen and the pair have to be broken up. You help keep a little order and when they see who you are everyone straightens up a little more.\n\n\u201cIs this what\u2019s been going on here? Petty bickering and incompetence on a scale that could be classified as treason? Everyone needs to shut the fuck up right now, because I\u2019m not going to say this again\u2026\u201d\n\nDoesn\u2019t take long for you to establish a new order of things. Technically General Ackerson is supposed to still be in charge of this operation, but given your close ties to the Emperor you aren\u2019t debated.\n\nWhile you manage to reorganize the army and take new approach of attack, you can still see why Roldan was having so much trouble with this city. The gnome lightning guns are still ripping through most of the troops and its taking all the magic of the remaining mages left just to upkeep a simple barrier so the war camp can\u2019t be targeted.\n\nIn fact you wish Roldan was still here just so you could promote him back up to help you, but unfortunately he was killed in battle shortly after his demotion. (Another one of Ackerson\u2019s bright ideas to make a frontal assault on the city again) The svelk mercenaries at this point have left claiming that no amount of money is worth this meat grinder. All of this makes you really wish you hadn\u2019t supported the Emperor\u2019s idea to replace Roldan.\n\nYou decide to have tunnels dug under the city and bring it down that way. It takes longer than you\u2019d like, but you can\u2019t rely on mage support to help with it due to their main concern to upkeep the barriers.\n\nEventually your men break through to the sewer system where you believe it should be an easy victory from there, but unfortunately the gnomes trapped the hell out the sewers and you lose several troops in the process. One of the Felkans even manages to sneak about the sewers and collapse the invasion tunnels setting your victory back.\n\nMeanwhile your troops on the surface are faring no better, though they fear you more than they did Ackerson or even Roldan and that fear is enough for them to make that push to finally break down the gates. Sensing true victory at last, you decide that you\u2019re going to join the fight personally.\n\nYou enter the streets of the city with your troops, mopping up whatever pitiful resistance remains. There isn\u2019t much though and soon the city is yours and you can\u2019t wait to write to Alison about your great victory.\n\nUnfortunately she will only hear of it from someone else.\n\nWar being what it is, is always a messy endeavor. Just when one thinks a battle is over, there is always that last hold out or trap and that\u2019s what gets you.\n\nThe city\u2019s mayor reportedly stayed in the city hall the entire time of the siege and is supposedly still alive. You, Ackerson and a couple of other officers enter the city hall for the purpose of dictating the Empire\u2019s acquisition of this city, the changes that will come AND seeing if the mayor is willing to comply. Hopefully he does since it saves time on replacing him with your own bureaucrats which might take a while.\n\nNo sooner have you entered and you see the place is completely empty. At first you think its just because people went elsewhere, but it doesn\u2019t take long for you to not feel right about the place.\n\n\u201cWe need to get out of here\u2026\u201d is the last thing you utter before the entire place explodes. One final trap set by the Felkans.\n\nYou are eventually found half burned, blown up and crushed by the rubble. You\u2019re barely breathing by the time they dig you out, and by the time they carry you out, you\u2019ve already expired.\n\nYour victory and death at Yaquan is remembered and used as a propaganda point for the Empire for the remainder of their war with the Felkan Kingdom.", "action_results": []}]}, {"action": "Accept svelk transfer", "result": "You don\u2019t like disagreeing with the Emperor\u2019s strategic decisions and you certainly don\u2019t want to deal with svelk in your camp, but from what you know of Roldan replacing him now wouldn\u2019t be a good move as he is the best-qualified general. The only person you can think of that would be better is yourself, but the Emperor has made it quite clear he wants you to stay put, so you aren\u2019t going to argue the issue.\n\n\u201cIf you believe the svelk can be useful as support on the gnoll front, then I shall figure out a way to make it work.\u201d You remark, which seems to surprise the Emperor.\n\u201cMm, very well. You sure it won\u2019t be a problem?\u201d\n\u201cNo, no problem. However at the slightest sign of some sort of treachery or them not pulling their weight then I\u2019ll suggest the next decree you pass be one that executes all svelk in Empire territory.\u201d\n\nHah, trust me, I\u2019ve nearly had that one on the list for centuries. I know you\u2019ll be able to handle this though. Just wish everyone was as competent as you.\u201d The Emperor says and gives a glare at Jacob who is still briskly going through some papers.\n\u201cI really do think Jacob is trying his best. He only wants what\u2019s good for the Empire.\u201d\n\u201cThen he better start doing a better job. Anyway let\u2019s get on with it.\u201d\n\nThe Emperor proceeds to tell Mistress that the svelk mercenary bands will be assigned to the gnoll front, but that they will ultimately answer to you and that any problems from them will result in mass executions. Mistress doesn\u2019t seem at all bothered by this; in fact she simply chuckles and says that\u2019s fine.\n\nThe Emperor then goes on to tell Jacob that General Roldan better start making more progress soon or he will have another general take his place. Then he says he has to meet with Marik.\n\n\u201cI sometimes wonder if he just uses his madness as an excuse to be absent minded and claim he didn\u2019t know there was a meeting. I just hope he\u2019s actually made progress on his project he convinced me to proceed with. Okay all of you are dismissed.\u201d The Emperor remarks and the rest of you leave his chambers.\n\nYou expect Mistress to make some sort of remark as you\u2019re all walking out of the palace, but she ends up quickly walking ahead of you instead. Jacob on the other hand takes the opportunity.\n\n\u201cI just wanted to thank you for once again trying to shield me from the Emperor\u2019s wrath, though I fear that it won\u2019t be long before my services are no longer needed. That day is coming soon. I know it.\u201d\n\u201cYou\u2019re worrying too much as usual. The Emperor knows you\u2019re indispensible.\u201d\n\u201cNo YOU\u2019RE indispensible. That crazy derro Marik is indispensible. Even that svelk bitch is considered indispensible, though I really don\u2019t know why. Me? I\u2019m just another bureaucratic bean counting pencil-pushing advisor that\u2019s getting old. There are several just waiting to take my place. You know I had twelve attempts to poison me in the last year?\u201d\n\u201cBy who?\u201d\n\u201cBy other bean counting pencil-pushing bureaucrats obviously. I\u2019m sure you know that\u2019s how I got my job. Eliminated the previous advisor. Of course with the way things are going, the Emperor himself is likely to do it personally. I just wish I could get him to see that this war is a drain on the Empire. Even if we win, the victory still won\u2019t outweigh the amount of cost in resources, gold, population we spent to pursue it. I mean sure we have the land, but a lot of it has been rendered unusable due to the slash and burn policy that\u2019s been favored. We haven\u2019t even left a lot of people alive to tax! Now this thing with Roldan, I really don\u2019t know what he expects me to do.\u201d\n\u201cHow is internal security lately?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cIts fine. Good all things considered. The Eyes have successfully replaced the shadows it seems as far as that is concerned. Reputation is everything.\u201d\n\u201cDo you think you could re-assign some of them and it not affect domestic safety?\u201d\n\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d\n\nYou explain that perhaps using some Eyes as assassins and spies might work better than the usual military scouts. Perhaps their expertise of blending in, stealth and other such tactics can get them to sneak in the city and bring it down from within.\n\n\u201cI can\u2019t believe I didn\u2019t think of that. In fact, why didn\u2019t the Emperor think of that? It\u2019s certainly an idea worthy of consideration and Warrick would be an excellent candidate to lead such an operation. If the Emperor believes I have more input in this matter than I actually do, I might as well make such accusations true and hopefully successful for my sake.\u201d Jacob remarks.\n\u201cI\u2019m sure this plan will hasten the fall of the Felkan Kingdom. You\u2019ll have not one but two Eternals in vital positions on the front lines now.\u201d\n\u201cDon\u2019t you mean three? You didn\u2019t include yourself.\u201d\n\u201cOh, well I\u2019m doing my part sure, but\u2026nevermind.\u201d\n\u201cBut you want to be where Roldan is.\u201d\n\u201cI don\u2019t even necessarily want to lead the main attack force at this point, I just feel like I should at least be part of it. I know the Emperor explained to me he doesn\u2019t want to throw me into the meat grinder of war because he sees greater potential in me, but I feel like sometimes I\u2019m not being able to live up to that potential.\u201d\n\nJacob pats you on the side of your arm.\n\n\u201cNow you\u2019re the one worrying too much. You are more vital to this war than you believe. This advice you just gave me proves that. The Emperor is just well\u2026a little protective of you because he\u2019s so proud of you. Can you blame him? Don\u2019t worry; your day to really shine will come some day. Maybe even sooner than you think.\u201d\n\nAfter Jacob\u2019s minor pep talk you feel a little better about your own position, of course then you remember you now have a bunch of svelk assigned to your camp.\n\nAlison is probably slightly less happy about it than you are.\n\n\u201cWas there nothing that could be done?\u201d Alison asks.\n\u201cI told you, it was either this or replace General Roldan and that would\u2019ve been a major strategic mistake.\u201d\n\u201cWell are you going to be okay with this?\u201d\n\u201cMe? Sure. Guidelines have already been established, I\u2019m ultimately in charge of them and believe me I\u2019ve every intention to not letting them get away with shit. I\u2019ll tell them as soon as they start arriving. In the meantime, let\u2019s make arrangements for our new allied support. Better that we do it now before they think they can just make themselves at home here.\u201d\n\nNo sooner do the svelk mercenaries start arriving, you begin laying down the rules of how things are going to be to all the respective captains in private. They are of course unenthused about such things, but given that you didn\u2019t dress them down in front of everyone most grudgingly comply with your decrees.\n\nThere is one captain by the name of Eldolith, however who just manages to rub you the wrong way\u2026\n\n\u201cYes, yes, I\u2019ve already been briefed on the situation. We all have, so you can stop wasting your time by asserting your pitiable need for dominance.\u201d Eldolith remarks.\n\nYou look at the haughty svelk captain and you already know who you see before you. You\u2019re feeling a mixture of things right now, but you told the Emperor that you were going to make this work, so you\u2019re going to at least get a certain amount of enjoyment out of it.\n\n\u201cBut if I don\u2019t keep reinforcing it, then you\u2019ll never truly grasp the idea that you are subservient to me. And as we all know it\u2019s important to keep the lesser born in their place. That is the svelk way is it not?\u201d you say.\n\nEldolith nearly makes a retort, but stops. You aren\u2019t letting her off that easy.\n\n\u201cOh? You wish to say something else? Maybe that I am not a svelk and that I am the lesser born? Perhaps something about how humans are nothing more than hairless Sul Monkeys? Come on, say what you want. I\u2019ve heard it all before by your kind and it\u2019s the same old shit. Come on, just give me an excuse.\u201d you say and then grab her by the throat and begin to squeeze while your hot breath invades her nostrils.\n\nEldolith says nothing, she doesn\u2019t even try to resist she just continues to stare at you defiantly, accepting of death if necessary or whatever else you have in mind.\n\n\u201cYou don\u2019t fool me svelk bitch, deep down you\u2019re scared\u2026or maybe\u2026maybe you\u2019re getting excited? Yeah, I bet that\u2019s it\u2026I know what YOU like\u2026\u201d you say and your other hand begins to wander touching Eldolith\u2019s body. Then you realize what you\u2019re doing and you immediately stop and make haste back to the Empire side of the camp.\n\nAlison asks you if everything went all right, and you sharply dismiss her by exclaiming that of course everything is fine. Alison doesn\u2019t take too much offense since she figures having the svelk in camp is probably going to put you in a bad mood.\n\nYou wonder now if you didn\u2019t want the svelk transferred here so you could have the opportunity to unleash some of your lingering desires. To get a gleeful sadistic pleasure of verbally abusing them or sending them on dangerous missions, or even killing one of them yourself if they step out of line. You don\u2019t even want to dwell on what you felt like doing to Eldolith.\n\nDid Mistress plan this somehow? She couldn\u2019t have. It was your choice.\n\n\u201cBy the Emperor, get a hold of yourself! This is all on you. You need to fight this. This temptation will be great, but you WILL overcome it. You will act like a professional. You need to act like a disciplined agent of the Empire. You will not lower yourself. The Emperor will give me strength of mind and body.\u201d You mutter to yourself.\n\nWhile you\u2019re struggling with your inner demons you also need to focus on the real problem at hand which are the gnolls. Alison, like you, would prefer to do something more proactive to them rather than constantly waiting around for their attacks. Given that you\u2019re now stuck with them, here\u2019s where the svelk will come in handy.\n\nYou could send them in to regularly launch guerilla raids against the gnolls in their own territory, of course this might be seen as using them as \u201cdisposable warriors\u201d which is something that they were complaining about while on the Felkan front.\n\nAbout the only other purpose would be to use them as scouts in order to prepare for a large counter attack against the gnolls. Of course you really aren\u2019t supposed to be doing that, as the orders are clear that you are to remain in occupied Felkans lands just in case your support is needed elsewhere.", "action_results": [{"action": "Use the svelk as skirmishers", "result": "While you aren\u2019t going to defy direct orders you figure you can at least lessen the gnoll attacks and keep the svelk out of your hair at the same time. Alison is certainly supportive of the idea.\n\nYou tell the svelk leaders what you want done and how you want it done. You get no dissension or even any grumbles. They either realize you mean business or they\u2019re all silently conspiring against you to strike at a later time. Probably both, but for right now its enough that they just obey your orders.\n\nThe next few weeks are relatively calm ones. The svelk are doing a good job of keeping the gnolls so off balanced that they haven\u2019t been attacking. The troops have enjoyed the respite from battle, though you\u2019re a bit bored by the continued lack of it. Still, you\u2019re getting a bit of enjoyment out the svelk having to do all the grunt work and follow your orders.\n\nEventually the svelk start losing some of their number and that\u2019s when the complaints begin to start. Naturally they choose the one captain that is most likely to get under your skin\u2026\n\n\u201cWhat?\u201d you ask when Eldolith enters your tent.\n\u201cMy comrades and I wish to discuss the terms of our current assignment.\u201d Eldolith says.\n\u201cTerms? There are no terms. You are to continue harassing the gnolls. What don\u2019t you understand? It\u2019s a simple enough task even for you.\u201d\n\nEldolith pauses. She wants to say something insulting. Something derogatory, but she can\u2019t and she knows it.\n\n\u201cAre we really so loathsome to you?\u201d she asks.\n\u201cHah! Is this a trick question? I mean you are joking right?\u201d you reply.\n\u201cNo, I\u2019m being quite serious. I mean I know what you\u2019re doing, we all do. You\u2019re sending us out to fight the gnolls day after day with barely any rest. You\u2019re hoping that we\u2019ll either all get killed off, or we\u2019ll all just end up leaving.\u201d\n\u201cYou don\u2019t miss a thing do you, guess that\u2019s why you\u2019re part of the higher born eh? Hey, you\u2019re mercs, if you don\u2019t like the job you can always quit right?\u201d\n\u201cRight, and we already protested about our less than stellar position on the Felkan Front. If we leave this job under the same circumstances, well it isn\u2019t very good for our mercenary reputation now is it? Even if there is it the truth that the Empire is just using us as cannon fodder because they ran out of orcs!\u201d\n\u201cYou\u2019re breaking my heart and the hearts of everyone else that has great love for your kind, oh wait nobody likes your kind. Get out of my tent, I\u2019ve got nothing more to say on this matter\u2026\u201d you say and wave your hand dismissively.\n\nEldolith is beginning to get angry. She can\u2019t even form a sentence. Instead she looks behind her and goes back to the entryway of your tent and makes sure it\u2019s closed. Then she turns around with a hostile stare.\n\n\u201cSeriously? You really think you have a chance? Alright then, make your move.\u201d You remark expecting Eldolith to attack you.\n\nInstead she takes off her sword sheath and begins unstrapping some of her armor.\n\n\u201cWhat the hell are you doing?\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019ll be doing you in a few moments. That is what you want isn\u2019t it?\u201d she says.\n\nIt takes you a moment to collect your thoughts before you can answer.\n\n\u201cWhile I won\u2019t deny your beauty, if you think you can fuck your way out of this situation, you\u2019re sorely mistaken.\u201d\n\u201cNo, I don\u2019t. But we have to come to some sort of compromise.\u201d Eldolith says and finishes removing most of her clothing. She gets on all fours and begins crawling towards you in a seductive motion. You might not want it to, but this situation is definitely arousing you. Its not really Eldolith physical attractiveness though, it\u2019s the opportunity to see this svelk so humbled that she has no choice but to debase herself before you like a common whore.\n\n\u201cOkay\u2026so what did you have in mind?\u201d you ask as you look down on Eldolith who is now kneeling before you and starting to unbuckle your own belt.\n\u201cOh perhaps maybe you could rotate the attacks on the gnolls? Like every few days perhaps your troops could launch raids on the gnolls instead? It isn\u2019t like\u2026(mmmm) you can\u2019t spare a few. It would break up their monotony of not doing anything and we can get a chance to\u2026 (mmmm) rest.\u201d\n\u201cAhhh, alright alright, just shut up and keep doing what you\u2019re doing.\u201d You say and just let yourself enjoy being serviced and imagining that it\u2019s really Mistress.\n\nThe next day you approach Alison about the new plan. While she isn\u2019t opposed to the idea, since she thinks the troops shouldn\u2019t get complacent anyway, she\u2019s a little puzzled by your sudden change.\n\n\u201cI thought your plan was to force the svelk to leave or have them all slowly get killed off by the gnolls.\u201d\n\u201cEh, like you said. We probably shouldn\u2019t let the troops get too complacent. Besides, the occasional foray into the gnoll occupied land isn\u2019t really breaking orders.\u201d\n\u201cUh huh.\u201d Alison says with a minor smirk.\n\u201cWhat?\u201d\n\u201cNothing.\u201d\n\u201cNo, you\u2019ve got something to say, so say it.\u201d You say with accusation.\n\u201cSheesh, kind of defensive aren\u2019t you? I don\u2019t care if you\u2019re sticking it to that svelk captain. I told you long ago when we started having our own intimate encounters that we didn\u2019t have any hold on each other. So enjoy your little svelk piece of ass, I know you have\u2026a preference for that.\u201d\n\nAlison\u2019s remark makes you angry.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s not even like that Alison! Its not about sex, its about her utter humiliation and\u2026\u201d\n\u201cHold on there, I don\u2019t need details! Look, I\u2019m just going to tell you this. Whatever arrangement you have with her, just make sure you keep on top of it. Because I know you think you have everything under control, but in my eyes she\u2019s just doing what women have been doing since the beginning of time.\u201d\n\u201cAnd what\u2019s that?\u201d\n\u201cManipulating a man with her pussy. And she\u2019s a svelk on top of everything else, so that makes her fives times as tricky. I\u2019d watch it if I were you.\u201d\n\u201cAlison, I think I have more experience with svelk females than you do, unless you aren\u2019t telling me something.\u201d\n\u201cHa ha, you wish. And keeping within that subject, do NOT even think about trying to orchestrate some sort of bizarre three way with us. I\u2019m not into women and I\u2019m definitely not into svelk.\u201d Alison remarks.\n\u201cWasn\u2019t planning to.\u201d\n\u201cGood, now I guess we better decide which platoon is going to go out there to raid the gnolls.\u201d\n\nThe plan is set into motion and there are no major complaints from Empire soldiers, it would appear that some of them indeed were getting itchy for combat. The svelk mercs are also satisfied or at least not complaining as much.\n\nAs for you, you\u2019ve been able to sate your desire for battle, by taking it out on Eldolith. You enjoy bedding her whenever you can and you are in no way gentle about it. You\u2019re fairly abusive verbally and physically, but Eldolith just takes it in silence, or when you want her to, you make her beg or even thank you for the things you do to her.\n\nAnd the whole time you\u2019re still fantasizing that it\u2019s Mistress. You even call Eldolith that sometimes. It gets to a point where you don\u2019t even let Eldolith go out on missions, you basically make her your personal \u201cpleasure girl.\u201d\n\nA month goes by and the siege on Yaquan is finally successful. A few Eyes managed to infiltrate and bring the walls down from within and from there, Roldan\u2019s army did the rest. While you\u2019re pleased to hear about a victory for the Empire, your own orders remain the same. You\u2019re so busy enjoying degrading Eldolith that you\u2019ve lost a little sight of what you were born to do. You don\u2019t notice it, but Alison certainly does.\n\n\u201cIs this a good time to speak with you?\u201d Alison asks looking cautiously into your tent.\n\u201cSure. What\u2019s up?\u201d you say as you sharpen your sword.\n\u201cI just wanted to tell you that apparently we\u2019ve been making so many successful raids on the gnolls that they\u2019ve been pulling back. We could advance and take their territory if we wanted to. I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if the surviving Felkans even welcomed us as liberators.\u201d\n\u201cThat would certainly be a change from how they usually welcome us, which is not at all.\u201d\n\u201cIndeed. So\u2026?\u201d Alison asks as if you have something more to say.\n\u201cSo what?\u201d\n\u201cWell, I just thought that maybe you had heard something from the Emperor. A messenger from him perhaps. I mean the Yaquan siege was successful and there are no signs that we are needed to support General Roldan\u2019s army anytime soon. I mean it\u2019s starting to get a bit frustrating just sitting here not really advancing especially when we\u2019re beginning to beat back the enemy.\u201d\n\u201cHaven\u2019t heard anything, so our orders to hold this position still stand. Sorry.\u201d You say continuing to sharpen your sword.\n\nAlison stares at you with dismay.\n\n\u201cYeah.\u201d Alison says and starts to leave, but you stop her.\n\u201cIs there a problem?\u201d\n\u201cJust getting restless because I don\u2019t feel like I\u2019ve been actively doing anything lately. You know something YOU used to feel before you became so enamored with your svelk slave girl.\u201d\n\u201cSo\u2026what? You want me to visit your tent sometime? Because I can do that, but you told me \u2026\u201d\n\nAlison interrupts you with more exasperation.\n\n\u201cNo, contrary to your belief, my world does not revolve around your dick. What I AM getting concerned about is my battalion. I had hoped this command would involve a lot more active combat and less waiting around. If I wanted to do that, I could\u2019ve stayed in Rask. You used to feel the same way as I remember.\u201d\n\u201cAlison, orders are orders, you should know that better than anyone. What do you want me to do? We\u2019re supposed to stay put and that\u2019s that. All I can tell you is make the best of the situation.\u201d\n\u201cLike you have? Look I\u2019m just saying, we\u2019ve already bent orders by launching raids gnoll occupied land anyway. Surely we can do something similar now.\u201d\n\nAlison has a bit of a point.", "action_results": [{"action": "Take the land", "result": "Orders or not, it would be foolish to not take advantage of the situation. You\u2019re going to support Alison\u2019s decision to advance and if there are repercussions then you\u2019ll take the responsibility. Alison seems relieved that you\u2019ve listened to her and goes to make preparations.\n\n\u201cAlison, before you leave, you were also right about me getting distracted. I\u2019m sorry I haven\u2019t been keeping my mind on what\u2019s really important lately.\u201d You say.\n\u201cWell, I\u2019m just glad you\u2019re starting to come to your senses. However, I suppose in the scheme of things, there was no major harm done. You\u2019re not the first guy to think with his dick and abuse his power. Congratulations, you\u2019re true Empire officer after all!\u201d Alison laughs and leaves.\n\nYou don\u2019t laugh because you were supposed to be better than that. When you think about it, you weren\u2019t even the aggressor when you started your involvement. Hell, Alison was probably right about that too. Eldolith was manipulating you from the start. For all you know she was planted here by Mistress for that reason. For what exact purpose you\u2019re not sure, but the best thing you can do is to put a stop to it right now.\n\nWhen Eldolith arrives in your tent, you\u2019re packing up some supplies.\n\n\u201cGood, right on time. We\u2019re going to move out soon. You can go join your merc band and stay there, its over.\u201d\n\u201cWhat?\u201d\n\u201cYou heard me. Figured you\u2019d be happy about it.\u201d\n\nEldolith isn\u2019t.\n\n\u201cAre you fucking kidding me? After all the nasty vile degrading shit I did, you\u2019re just tossing me aside like a common whore?!\u201d\n\u201cWell you did behave like one. And please don\u2019t act like there wasn\u2019t some sort of motive of your own. I rotated the raids. You got what you wanted as well, hope it was worth it.\u201d\n\nEldolith doesn\u2019t answer she\u2019s too mad to speak. Instead she just storms out of the tent, which gives you a little chuckle.\n\n\u201cSheesh, if I\u2019d known that would piss her off so severely I would\u2019ve done that a week ago.\u201d You remark to yourself\n\nThe battalion soon moves into the previously occupied gnoll territory and indeed it is as the scouts have been saying. The gnolls have completely pulled out or at least that have from the immediate area. There are probably still some attempting to hold the border territory and they are definitely still going to be beyond the border so defense is still a top priority.\n\nAs for the Felkan communities, there isn\u2019t too much left. The gnolls didn\u2019t leave too many people alive. Your army makes the best of what settlements you do find in adequate condition. The Felkans offer no resistance; in fact they don\u2019t show much emotion at all. Its like most are numb from whatever terror the gnolls caused.\n\nAfter a couple weeks go by scouts begin sighting gnolls lurking about on the outskirts of your perimeters. Not wishing to linger about like you have before, you and Alison agree to just move in and eliminate the rest of them.\n\nThe initial assault is fairly successful, but then you are caught off guard and you curse yourself for not being more careful. The gnolls have been luring you into a false sense of superiority.\n\nThe gnolls have been breeding and training a large group of wyverns within a small mountain in the area. They\u2019ve also been bringing reinforcements from beyond the Felkan borders. You\u2019re taken off guard enough that you actually have to fall back before you\u2019re completely overrun.\n\nIt is during the chaos of one of these retreats that revenge is finally enacted.\n\nAfter doing battle with a small band of gnolls, you get separated from the main Empire battalion. You never do get a chance to meet up with them again, you do however bump into a group of svelk. You don\u2019t even have time to react before you\u2019re riddled with svelk crossbow bolts. You collapse to the ground, bloodied and dying.\n\nIn typical svelk fashion Eldolith shows up now that you\u2019re in no condition to do anything to her.\n\n\u201cMy mother isn\u2019t going to like this, but I don\u2019t give a shit. Besides, you were starting to get cozy with that blonde monkey again, which made this whole stupid idea of hers pointless.\u201d\n\nMother? Could Eldolith\u2019s mother be Mistress?\n\nEldolith crouches near your body and whispers in your ear.\n\n\u201cMy only regret is that you\u2019re not going to experience the pain you fucking deserve. Don\u2019t worry though, you will be quite a sight when they find your body though.\u201d\n\nWith this final threat in your mind, you die of your wounds.\n\nThe svelk carry your body all the way back to Empire occupied territory where Eldolith does work to it personally. Then she orders it left so that Empire soldiers can find it before leaving the area with her group completely.\n\nMembers of Alison\u2019s battalion find it and assume that perhaps the gnolls got a hold of you, but when Alison sees that your body has been practically flayed, your genitals have been cut off and stuffed in your mouth along with your own dagger shoved up your rectum, she knows it was most likely Eldolith.\n\nAlison decides the blame the gnolls anyway. Mainly because it rallies the troops to fight harder and partly because while she had no love for Eldolith, she understands why she did it.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Stay put", "result": "Alison might have a point, but you\u2019re not willing to defy the Emperor so directly.\n\n\u201cNothing can be done, we\u2019re just going to have to stay here.\u201d You remark.\n\nAlison throws her hands up in the air and rolls her eyes.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s not going to change a thing you know.\u201d You say.\n\u201cOh believe me, if I thought it would, I would\u2019ve done it a long time ago. I\u2019m just going to say one more thing, and I don\u2019t give a shit if this is stepping out of my boundaries. This little arrangement you have with Eldolith is getting out of hand. I can\u2019t believe I\u2019d actually start feeling sorry for a svelk, but a couple nights ago when I was making my own perusal of our perimeter I caught her sitting by herself actually crying. I didn\u2019t even think that was possible for a svelk. Of course she tried to play it off and told me to mind my business and called me a blonde monkey, but she wasn\u2019t fooling anyone.\u201d\n\u201cReally? She was crying? Bitch doesn\u2019t cry when we\u2019re together, glad to hear she at least does though.\u201d You chuckle.\n\nAlison is shocked by your gleeful sociopathic behavior.\n\n\u201cBy the Emperor, even when I served with fucking Kane, I never heard him speak in such a manner. Look I know most of what we do for the Empire is pretty ruthless and merciless. I also know you\u2019re probably among the most cold hearted when it comes to such things. But what you\u2019re doing is\u2026\u201d\n\u201cWhat am I doing Alison? What am I doing that is oh so terrible? Didn\u2019t you tell me years ago that you\u2019ve run into Empire officers that take advantage of underlings via sexual favors?\u201d\n\u201cYeah, and I never said that was right either. Also I said sexual favors. The key word being sex. Whatever it is you\u2019re doing to Eldolith is going beyond sex and you know it.\u201d\n\u201cSo what? She\u2019s a svelk anyway. She\u2019s not even a proper Empire citizen, let alone soldier. Hey I\u2019ll tell you this, the svelk would treat ALL of us like I treat Eldolith if they could get away with it. I know that from experience.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo that\u2019s your excuse? Because a svelk woman was cruel to you, you\u2019re going to act like her? You\u2019re going to act like a svelk?\u201d Alison says which causes you to grab her by her throat and slam her to the ground.\n\nAlison\u2019s eyes widen in fear when she sees this person that she thought she knew stare at her with a murderous rage and squeeze tightly around her throat.\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t you EVER fucking accuse me of that. EVER. You do that again, and you\u2019ll be in this tent right along side that svelk cunt. We\u2019ll have that three way you said you didn\u2019t want. And you know what? NOBODY is going to do a damn thing about it, because I\u2019M in fucking charge here. Got it?\u201d\n\nAlison continues to stare as you slowly release your grip to she can talk.\n\n\u201cGot it.\u201d She answers.\n\nYou get off of Alison who can\u2019t leave your tent quick enough.\n\nLater you begin to feel like you went a little too far with Alison. You really didn\u2019t mean to, but her words just set you off. She should\u2019ve known not to compare you to a svelk. The next day you try to speak with Alison, but she\u2019s very distant. She doesn\u2019t want to talk about what happened and as far as she\u2019s concerned the pair of you should just keep things professional now.\n\n\u201cAlison, I didn\u2019t mean\u2026\u201d\n\u201cIf you really do have any sort of respect for me at all, you\u2019ll just leave me be unless its concerning military matters.\u201d Alison remarks.\n\nYou back away from Alison, you realize you\u2019ve destroyed your relationship with her forever.\n\nYou go back to your tent and begin pacing back and forth thinking about your mistake. The more you think about it, the angrier you get. You\u2019re angry with yourself mainly, but then you realize something.\n\nEldolith was the initial aggressor in your arrangement. Not you. This might\u2019ve been a set up right for something else right from the start. It was Mistress! She did this! She was jealous of your relationship with Alison, so Eldolith was sent to fuck it up.\n\nEven worse, you fell for it all and you hit the final nail in the coffin yourself.\n\nNow seething with fury, you storm out of your tent and head over to the svelk encampment. The svelk barely have time to realize who is attacking them before you cut down several of them. You start shouting for Eldolith to come out along with how you intend to\n\nThe Empire encampment at first thinks gnolls are attacking, but when some of the troops arrive and see you massacring svelk, they aren\u2019t entirely sure what to do.\n\n\u201cSir, calm down! I know you don\u2019t\u2026Ack!\u201d a soldier says, trying to restrain you, but only gets a sword in the stomach for his trouble instead. Another soldier tries to reason with you, and you cut him down too. You\u2019re completely unreasonable at this point and the only thing that\u2019s going to stop you is either your death or Eldolith\u2019s.\n\nAs you set fire to three more svelk with a fireball you begin laughing at the carnage you\u2019re causing. Still you aren\u2019t going to be truly happy until you find Eldolith.\n\nAnd then you see her running in the distance. You cast a lightning bolt at her, which drops her instantly. You know it isn\u2019t enough to kill her though, but that wasn\u2019t your intent anyway. You pull out your dagger and walk towards her.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s time to learn another lesson Mistress. And its gonna hurt you a lot more than it will me.\u201d You say.\n\u201cI\u2019m\u2026not Mistress\u2026you crazy monkey\u2026\u201d Eldolith manages to utter.\n\nAt this point you don\u2019t even hear her. Indeed it\u2019s probably not only irrelevant at this point, but most likely unclear if you\u2019re even mentally in the present because all you can see is Mistress\u2019 face. You saw her face on all the svelk you killed. You enjoyed killing her over and over. And now you\u2019re going to enjoy killing her again.\n\nOr at least you would have if a arrow through your neck didn\u2019t stop you first.\n\nYou gasp and clutch at your throat before you slump down to the ground a few inches away from Eldolith.\n\n\u201cShit! He\u2019s dead!\u201d one of the Empire soldiers remarks.\n\u201cHm. I\u2019m surprised myself. It\u2019s been awhile since I used a bow.\u201d Alison answers.\n\u201cYou killed him! You really killed him!\u201d another remarks.\n\u201cYes, but he needed to be put down. You saw him kill Empire soldiers.\u201d Alison says.\n\u201cBut wasn\u2019t he the Emperor\u2019s right hand man or something?\u201d\n\u201cYes. Are there any svelk left alive?\u201d\n\u201cNo, I think he killed them all.\u201d\n\u201cNot all of them.\u201d Alison says.\n\nAlison takes aim with her bow again and aims for Eldolith who is just starting to shake off the effects of the lightning bolt. She slumps down dead as well.\n\n\u201cOkay this is what we\u2019re going to do\u2026\u201d Alison says when turning towards her soldiers.\n\nAlison neatly explains away everything with a gnoll attack. It also helps that the gnolls did attack soon after this incident in greater force than before. Fortunately for Alison she\u2019s well respected and liked by the soldiers so nobody ever contradicts her story. Not to mention they\u2019re glad to be rid of the svelk and to a small degree you as well given how fearful they all were of you.\n\nStill, part of Alison always regretted that it had to be done at all.", "action_results": []}]}, {"action": "Use the svelk as scouts", "result": "This may be the most \u201crebellious\u201d idea you\u2019ve had, but you can\u2019t just sit here like a Felkan waiting to get attacked. You need the battle, you were born for it. Not to mention if you\u2019re actively fighting someone it should keep your mind off of other things.\n\nNow all you have to do is to convince Alison. True she is technically in charge of the battalion and you have always respected that, but if push came to shove you could easily pull rank on her and you\u2019d rather not do such a thing.\n\nFortunately, it doesn\u2019t come to that.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s about time we took the fight to those mongrel dogs.\u201d she says with a little enthusiasm, but then her cautious side comes out. \u201cBut this plan, is this approved by the Emperor?\u201d\n\u201cNo, but you don\u2019t need to worry about that. I will take full responsibility if he gets angry about it. I\u2019ll just say I took command of your battalion.\u201d\n\u201cHah, I always knew you were going to do that some day, anyway.\u201d\n\u201cSorry, but I can\u2019t think of any other way.\u201d\n\u201cDon\u2019t apologize to me, I won\u2019t have to face the Emperor\u2019s wrath, well I hope I won\u2019t at least.\u201d\n\u201cLike I said, don\u2019t worry about that. And don\u2019t worry about me either. I don\u2019t want to sound prideful, but I\u2019m fairly confident the Emperor won\u2019t even get too angry with me, especially since I intend on wiping out the immediate gnoll threat.\u201d\n\u201cWhat happens if we get called to aid Roldan?\u201d\n\u201cIf it\u2019s before we launch our major attack on gnoll lands then we\u2019ll comply. If it\u2019s during, well we\u2019ll give what aid we can. The main thing is to get this finished as quickly as possible hence why I\u2019m sending svelk scouts first to give us info on key locations of where to strike.\u201d\n\u201cYou think we can trust them to do their job properly?\u201d\n\u201cWho knows, but they\u2019re still getting paid well and this is a much easier assignment than where they previously were, so they will most likely do their jobs. Besides I\u2019ll make sure to send some of our stealthier troops with them and make a point of how their safety is also a priority if they don\u2019t want me to think that they\u2019re up to some sort of treachery. They won\u2019t like it, but who gives a shit, they\u2019re svelk.\u201d\n\nAlison laughs at your comment and then says she\u2019ll start getting her end of things prepared.\n\nYou tell the svelk leaders what you want done and how you want it done. You get no dissension or even any grumbles. They either realize you mean business or they\u2019re all silently conspiring against you to strike at a later time. Probably both, but for right now its enough that they just obey your orders.\n\nThe next few weeks are semi-anxious ones while you\u2019re still waiting for svelk intelligence reports. You really hope you can take down the gnoll horde or at least cripple it before anything on Felkan front pops up. You experience a few gnoll raids during this time, but they aren\u2019t anything out of the ordinary. If the gnolls are on to any spying going on they haven\u2019t changed their usual attacks.\n\nEventually the svelk bands start trickling back in and while most of the information is just standard intelligence that will come in useful during the main attack, one of the reports is more alarming.\n\n\u201cThe gnolls have a large group of wyverns in that small mountain in the distance. From what I can tell they\u2019ve been keeping them fed just enough that they\u2019re still strong, but not enough that they\u2019re fat and happy. They\u2019re quite vicious. It\u2019s a wonder the flying beasts don\u2019t just eat the gnolls, but it would appear the mongrel dog men have a way with the creatures. Probably been training them since they hatched.\u201d Eldolith remarks.\n\u201cHow many wyverns exactly?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cNot exactly sure, we couldn\u2019t get that far into the caves without being detected since the place is extremely heavily guarded, but a good number of them. Enough to make things problematic if they attacked. I might hazard a guess that maybe they\u2019ve been trying to lull you all into a false sense of complacency, but that almost seems a bit too cunning for gnolls. Still, its amazing what the\u2026lesser born can accomplish when they aren\u2019t taken seriously.\u201d Eldolith says and gives you a look as if that comment was directed towards you specifically. Other svelk in the tent move a bit nervously since they know she\u2019s possibly endangering them as well.\n\nWhy is she testing you like this?\n\nIgnoring her comment you get back to the business at hand.\n\n\u201cOkay, well this changes things a bit, but we\u2019ll make arrangements. Glad you all found this out. Your actions have helped the Empire immensely. I\u2019ll make sure you all get a little extra gold for this service, dismissed.\u201d\n\nAs everyone leaves your tent, Eldolith stays behind.\n\n\u201cIs their something else you needed captain?\u201d you ask as you mentally prepare yourself.\n\u201cFunny I was going to ask the same of you. I thought that perhaps you\u2019d like to discipline me for my earlier words.\u201d\n\u201cThat won\u2019t be necessary in light of your latest report on the gnolls. I\u2019m willing to let it pass.\u201d\n\u201cOh? Well perhaps maybe I\u2019d like my reward then for my work.\u201d Eldolith remarks and then moves over to you which causes you to move back.\n\u201cWhat the hell do you think your doing?\u201d\n\u201cDon\u2019t worry, I\u2019m not trying to kill you. I know I\u2019d be no match for a great warrior like you. I just thought that maybe you\u2019d like to take this opportunity to get to know me better. I see you still staring at me sometimes, probably wishing that you\u2019d done what you wanted to do when we first met. Your hand clenched around my throat, your loins pulsating and wanting to violate me. Well here I am.\u201d\n\nAt this point Eldolith takes your hand and wraps her lips around your index finger making \u201cmmm\u201d noises. While you can\u2019t deny the desires, you also can\u2019t help but find humor in this since you now know the clumsy intentions for certain.\n\nYou pull your finger out of her mouth and laugh.\n\n\u201cWhy are you laughing?\u201d Eldolith asks in annoyed tone.\n\u201cYou! This! This is a joke. I had my doubts at first when the svelk all got transferred here, but now I know for certain. Mistress put you up specifically to this to fuck with me. Well it won\u2019t work.\u201d\n\u201cAre you sure? You seem pretty distracted.\u201d Eldolith says attempting to be seductive again.\n\u201cHa ha, I won\u2019t deny your beauty and my own fucked up cravings, but sorry your techniques in mindfuckery are sorely lacking and I\u2019ve had the master, or Mistress if you prefer. You\u2019re not even worth me worrying about anymore now that I know your game, which is that you\u2019re just a pawn in Mistress\u2019 own twisted game, whatever that is.\u201d\n\nYour condescension and dismissal is bad enough, but what seems to set off Eldolith the most is\u2026\n\u201cStop calling my mother by that ridiculous name! I don\u2019t know why she insists on adopting your lesser born titles and nicknames!\u201d\n\u201cMother?\u201d you ask genuinely surprised.\n\u201cYes, and I told her this was a stupid idea in the first place! She should be taking steps to return our people back to their rightful place, not playing mind games with some monkey grunt. Ugh! I can\u2019t believe I sucked on your finger.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m sure it was everything you dreamed about. So you\u2019re her daughter. I have to admit I thought there was a resemblance and it wasn\u2019t just that haughty strut or those cold eyes that are so common to your race\u2026 wait so what is her real name?\u201d\n\u201cAsk her yourself! I\u2019m done here. From now on I\u2019m just doing my duty as a merc until I\u2019m transferred out of this human hellhole.\u201d Eldolith shouts and storms off.\n\nWell this little incident has been bizarre to say the least. Mistress basically sent her own daughter to have sex with you. You don\u2019t pretend to understand the mind of the svelk, but what kind of fucked up family dynamic do they have and for what purpose? Is this some sort of ploy to keep you unfocused so you\u2019ll make a critical mistake somewhere? Eldolith did mention about taking steps to return her people to their rightful place and how she\u2019s obviously pissed that Mistress isn\u2019t doing it.\n\nOf course knowing Mistress, maybe messing with you is part of the greater plan? But how? In any case you can\u2019t worry about it now since you do have to get back to accomplishing your immediate task. You meet back up with Alison to tell her of the new plan due to the wyverns.\n\n\u201cSo, I saw your svelk girlfriend stomp out of your tent pretty mad. Trouble in paradise?\u201d Alison asks.\n\u201cHardly. Just more svelk bullshit. And she isn\u2019t my girlfriend.\u201d\n\u201cHey, I said we weren\u2019t betrothed to each other when we started our own little intimate encounters so you don\u2019t need to hide anything. I hear enough things around the camp about you two.\u201d\n\nNOW it hits you.\n\n\u201cOh shit, THAT\u2019S what this is all about! I can\u2019t believe it!\u201d you start laughing again.\n\u201cWhat?\u201d Alison asks.\n\u201cShe\u2019s jealous of you!\u201d\n\u201cEldolith?\u201d\n\u201cNo! Her mother, Mistress!\u201d\n\u201cMistress is Eldolith\u2019s mother?\n\u201cYeah, and she sent her daughter to have sex with me hoping it would fuck up OUR relationship!\u201d\n\nYou tell Alison everything that happened between you and Eldolith, you even confess everything that happened the first time you met her which is probably why the rumors were going around about the two of you. Alison believes you since you\u2019ve never been one to lie let alone to her.\n\n\u201cSo wait\u2026 your former instructor is jealous of me so she sent her daughter to have sex with you?\u201d Alison says.\n\u201cIt\u2019s the only explanation.\u201d\n\u201cI dunno, I mean\u2026wow\u2026that seems pretty hard to believe.\u201d\n\u201cBelieve it. The svelk mind is capable of some truly twisted petty shit.\u201d\n\u201cWell I can believe that, but I\u2019m just having a hard time believing that a svelk female would be jealous of the appearance of\u2026as they would say a monkey.\u201d\n\u201cDon\u2019t say that, you\u2019re beautiful.\u201d You say.\n\u201cOkay I know I\u2019m not ugly, but beautiful is pushing it.\u201d\n\u201cNot at all. You\u2019re a soldier, a warrior of the Empire, a maiden of battle striking fear and terror into the hearts of our enemies. I\u2019ve seen you slay many in battle with a skill that many could only hope to achieve. I\u2019ve seen your sword and armor drenched in the blood of our enemies and the dirt of the battlefield. With each battle you win, with each enemy you kill you carry out the will of the Empire and the Emperor. Your cause is so pure and righteous\u2026 how could I not find that beautiful?\n\nAlison smiles at your unique attempt at compliments.\n\n\u201cWell when you make it sound like that, how can I disagree?\u201d\n\nYou and Alison spend some intimate time that night and in the next few days you begin your risky attack on gnoll territory. It goes well at first, and you aren\u2019t suddenly taken by surprise when flocks of wyvern riders try to swoop in on the battlefield.\n\nSome of the peasants from the Felkan towns that were occupied by the gnolls actually welcome you as saviors and immediately pledge themselves to the Empire, mostly because the Felkan Kingdom failed to defend them in the first place and that any ruler is better than the gnolls. This comes somewhat as an unexpected benefit to your decision.\n\nAfter a month of slaughtering gnolls, two things major things happen, one of them good and one of them possibly bad.\n\nThe siege on Yaquan is finally successful. A few Eyes managed to infiltrate and bring the walls down from within and from there, Roldan\u2019s army did the rest. While you\u2019re pleased to hear about a victory for the Empire, you\u2019ve also just received a message telling you to return to the capital immediately. It would appear that your proactive approach to the gnolls has finally caught the Emperor\u2019s attention. You don\u2019t know if he\u2019ll be angry or pleased, or what.\n\nThe second part of this dilemma is that you are still trying to make that one big push to wipe out the majority of the gnoll forces. Alison naturally says that if you have to leave she can handle it without you and you have no doubt about that, but that\u2019s not the issue. It\u2019s more that you\u2019d like to finish what you started and that if you are going to return to the Emperor to answer for your disobedience, you\u2019d like to at least have a complete victory under your belt.\n\nSurely when the Emperor sees that you\u2019ve crushed another enemy in his name and even added more subjects and territory he couldn\u2019t be too mad could he?", "action_results": [{"action": "Return immediately", "result": "As much as it would be in your favor to return with a massive victory, you\u2019re going to have to settle on what you believe to be an assured one instead. Putting off a direct order from the Emperor would only make matters worse for you and you believe you\u2019re in enough trouble as it is.\n\n\u201cYou shouldn\u2019t worry so much, didn\u2019t you say that the Emperor probably wouldn\u2019t get mad at you?\u201d Alison asks.\n\u201cYeah I said that to convince myself that what I wanted to do was a good idea at the time. Doesn\u2019t matter, what\u2019s done is done and I will face whatever the Emperor has in store for me and as I said before, I\u2019ll take full responsibility.\u201d\n\u201cYou don\u2019t need to do that. You know full well I was itching to get into it with the gnolls as too.\u201d\n\u201cWell, I want to anyway because I\u2026um\u2026uh\u201d\n\nAlison raises an eyebrow when you start to stumble over your words; you quickly recover and change the subject.\n\n\u201cLook, just proceed with the plan as normal. I think we\u2019ve wiped out most of their wyvern forces and even their dire wolf cavalry. We need to at least push them off of all the territory they took from the Felkans. If I return\u2026\u201d\n\u201cWHEN you return.\u201d Alison interrupts.\n\u201cHeh, okay. When I return we can figure it out from there. Oh and this goes without saying but keep an eye on the svelk. They\u2019ve all been fairly professional since we started this aggressive campaign on the gnolls, but well you know, they\u2019re svelk and who knows what they might be up to.\u201d\n\u201cOf course.\u201d\n\u201cOkay I guess that\u2019s about it.\u201d\n\nYou linger a moment longer just sort of staring at Alison wondering if this will be the last time you ever see her again. It seems silly given how the pair of you have risked your lives in battle so many times that death could\u2019ve just been a sword cleave or stray arrow away. This is different though and its not because you\u2019re afraid of any execution that Emperor might inflict on you, its more because you\u2019d hate to not have the chance to spend any more time with Alison.\n\nIs this what is known as \u201cromantic\u201d love? You\u2019re familiar with the concept, it just has always seemed bizarre to you or at least not a priority. Love of the Emperor, love of the Empire, love of duty and battle are concepts you understand, but your feelings towards Alison are a little different even when you attempt to make the comparisons in your head.\n\nSensing you\u2019re more overcome with emotions than you\u2019d admit, Alison once again takes your relationship that extra step further.\n\n\u201cYou don\u2019t need to say it. I know.\u201d She says and kisses you.\n\nWith that pleasant feeling still persisting, you take your leave and make your long trip back to the capital. It\u2019s a miserable trip since it practically rains the entire way, almost like the storm is following you. You cast your shield spell to give yourself some relief from the elements though it still doesn\u2019t help when your horse has to trudge through some of the muddier back roads. Eventually you arrive at your destination.\n\nYou enter the Emperor\u2019s chambers and while lately when you\u2019ve met with him he\u2019s either hovering over his war table with maps and small figures on them or he\u2019s speaking with Jacob and the others, but this time he\u2019s alone and sitting in his chair. He isn\u2019t reading either, he\u2019s staring down at the floor as if deep in thought.\n\n\u201cWhy?\u201d He asks without looking up. His voice doesn\u2019t sound angry so much as it sounds distant.\n\nThis simple question could only be asking you why you disobeyed his orders. You have several elaborate answers you could give. You\u2019ve practiced them all, but now that you\u2019re actually in front of the Emperor you know that no answer is going to help so you cut to chase.\n\n\u201cI have no suitable excuse because there is none. There is no reason good enough to explain why I disobeyed your orders. I have returned merely to accept whatever punishment you have deemed suitable for my betrayal.\u201d\n\nThere is a pause of silence after your words. The Emperor slowly looks up at you and you feel his eyes staring right through you. The room even starts to feel more oppressive. Its as if you aren\u2019t even alone with the Emperor, its like there are a thousand eyes upon you. Judging you.\n\n\u201cI see. But you will not evade my question so easily. Now tell me why, I just need to know. Tell me. I will believe you my son.\u201d The Emperor says in an almost soothing voice.\n\nSo you tell him your reasons; that you were merely tired of sitting on the sidelines waiting around for the gnolls to continue attacking you. That you wanted to do something of more substance for the Empire. The Emperor listens to your explanation, but you get the impression he\u2019s also studying you.\n\n\u201cSo\u2026your reasons for disobeying my orders were entirely your idea? You were not influenced in any way?\u201d\n\u201cOf course.\u201d\n\u201cThere wasn\u2019t perhaps another person of the female persuasion who whispered in your ear late in the night about glory and power?\u201d\n\u201cNo my Emperor. I mean unless you\u2019re speaking of a petty a svelk ploy that I recently experienced. Mistress sent her daughter to\u2026\u201d\n\u201cNo, not her and not her spawn, though I\u2019m well aware of that weirdness going on as well. Don\u2019t worry I fully intend on having a chat with her as well since that sort of thing needs to stop. But that is somewhat related to what I\u2019m getting at and who I KNOW you\u2019re attempting to protect. That young major you\u2019ve been having a relationship with.\u201d\n\u201cAlison? While our relationship is sometimes a physical one, it is always professional. It was my idea to launch the attack on the gnolls and I already gave the reasons. She had no choice but to follow my orders when I took command of her battalion. She is a good solider and was only following orders.\u201d\n\u201cAnd I suppose right now she\u2019s still following your orders. Attacking the gnolls despite the fact that I wanted that battalion purely for defense of our current holdings or for reinforcements to our main attack force\u2026\u201d the Emperor at this point trails off and shakes his head with a sigh. He then gets up off his chair and walks over to you.\n\nThe Emperor soon stands before you and he doesn\u2019t look angry, but he does seem disappointed. In some ways that\u2019s almost as bad and you hang your head down a little in shame. The Emperor then suddenly grabs your head with both hands and stares intently into your eyes for a few seconds, which feels like eternity as you stand completely still staring back.\n\n\u201cVery well. I believe we are done here.\u201d He says with a smile and lets you go.\n\u201cThat\u2026that\u2019s it?\u201d\n\u201cFor now. Yes. You may go back to your battalion and finish your little campaign against the gnolls since I hear you are winning against them, however just kick them out of former Felkan lands and secure the borders. Do not push further into their original territory. We still can\u2019t spread ourselves too thin, remember we still have the Felkan Kingdom to destroy.\u201d\n\u201cUnderstood.\u201d\n\u201cIt better be, because I\u2019m very serious about that order. Our recent victory at Yaquan is getting the ball rolling again and I don\u2019t want to have to be worrying about you going rogue. Especially since I\u2019m going to have need of you for the final push again the Felkans. It is obvious to me now that you do need to be on the frontlines of this war as a general even if your real position is technically higher than that.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2026I don\u2019t know what to say.\u201d\n\u201cWell, don\u2019t thank me. This is probably something I should\u2019ve done a long time ago. The fault is mine for wanting to protect you. I don\u2019t know why, since I know you\u2019re more than capable of handling yourself. I guess we\u2019ll just chalk it up to parental protectiveness. In any case, finish up with those mongrel half dogs quickly because you\u2019ll be called upon soon. That is all.\u201d\n\nYou leave the Emperor\u2019s chambers unsure of how to feel exactly. You were expecting the worst, even death, but instead you\u2019ve practically been rewarded for your actions.\n\nWhen you explain things to Alison she\u2019s very happy for you.\n\n\u201cSee? Nothing but good news and I told you that you\u2019d be coming back.\u201d\n\u201cYeah\u2026\u201d you acknowledge.\n\u201cNow what? I would think you\u2019d be happy not only to be alive, but also be promoted to the Felkan frontlines where you always wanted to be.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2026don\u2019t know. I mean I am and it is a great honor and everything I wanted\u2026but now\u2026well I\u2019m used to having you by my side.\u201d\n\u201cWell that\u2019s sweet, but I\u2019m sure you knew we\u2019d eventually be separated at some point. I mean we are military and military gets moved around.\u201d\n\u201cI know. Still, I\u2019m going to miss all our time together.\u201d\n\u201cYou\u2019re not going yet are you? I thought you were here until the gnolls were booted out.\u201d\n\u201cI am.\u201d\n\u201cWell let\u2019s not get gloomy about things just yet, we\u2019ve still got quite a few of those bastards running about. Let us spend our remaining quality time together kicking their asses and celebrating our victory afterwards.\u201d\n\nYou smile and agree. Perhaps it is best that you enjoy the time you do have together now rather than mope about such things.\n\nYou do wonder if you\u2019ll be able to stay in much contact with Alison when you\u2019re reassigned. You\u2019re skeptical that you\u2019ll have much time to write letters to her and have no doubt that you\u2019ll have to focus more on the Felkans. However, you can\u2019t help but think she\u2019ll still be in the back of your mind. And if it is only a memory then it\u2019s a much better replacement for who was usually in the back of your mind.\n\nMaybe you and Alison aren\u2019t exactly in love as most would see it, but as far as you\u2019re concerned you\u2019ll always love her for at least displacing the twisted memories of Mistress out of your head.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 28\n\nYou hate these baby-sitting missions, but when the Emperor wants something done right he always requests you personally to do it, so here you are marching hundreds of gnomes to their new home.\n\nAs the army has been getting closer to the Felkan capital and conquering its other important cities, the gnome population has been larger. While The Emperor has relented slightly on a complete slash and burn policy of Felkan cities, he\u2019s still made it quite clear that ALL gnomes are to be taken as prisoners to a special place he\u2019s had built in the recently conquered Felkan territory.\n\nIts called Gnome\u2019s Home and you believe Marik had a hand in designing some of it, but it isn\u2019t something you\u2019ve really kept up on since you\u2019ve been focused the business of proper warfare. However you\u2019re on your way there now so you\u2019ll guess you\u2019ll see it soon.\n\nThe whole reason you\u2019re overseeing this prisoner train in the first place is because too many gnomes have been escaping their chains though it\u2019s hardly surprising. Gnomes are very adept at picking locks, combine that with their fear of what\u2019s to come and one gets a lot of escapes. Of course most of them get killed shortly after their escapes, but the Emperor has made it quite clear that he wants no more of that and that he really wants them to be taken to Gnome\u2019s Home.\n\nYou don\u2019t really understand why since you assume they\u2019re just going to be killed there anyway, but you\u2019re just here to follow orders. He is the Emperor and this is what he wants. Still, sometimes you have to admit that you agree with Jacob on this; The Emperor\u2019s hatred of gnomes is a bit\u2026irrational at times.\n\nAs you get closer to the location of Gnome\u2019s Home, you hear a lot of cries and whispered prayers to gods from the prisoners. Some of the guards attempt to quiet them all down, but it\u2019s a losing proposition, you just tell your troops to keep a close eye for escape attempts as usual.\n\nFrom a distance it looks like one of Marik\u2019s factories, as you get closer though there\u2019s something slightly more sinister about it. Granted it\u2019s a place of execution, but you get the impression something more is going on here and its not just torture. The feeling here is oppressive the closer you get to it, even for you.\n\nEventually you get to the black iron gates and make an announcement of your arrival and you\u2019re let in almost immediately. Now you couldn\u2019t smell it before, but when those gates up, you\u2019re nearly overwhelmed by a strong smell of death and that\u2019s saying something given the battlefields you\u2019ve been on and the carnage you\u2019ve engaged in.\n\n\u201cSorry about the smell General, but we\u2019ve been having some problems with our furnaces lately, among other things, so the dead bodies have been piling up. Good thing they\u2019re so small eh?\u201d one of the guards that lets you in remarks with a laugh.\n\nAs the gnomes are herded in you take a look around the \u201cyard\u201d and indeed you do see the largest pile of rotting gnome bodies you\u2019ve ever seen. Nearby you see other guards busily attempting to load the bodies into carts to take them somewhere for proper disposal. Meanwhile you also see what you assume to be small dwellings for the prisoner gnomes since you see pitiful versions of them peeking out at times.\n\nAll in all, it\u2019s not a pretty sight, but the smell is still the worst of it. Shit, piss, vomit, blood, rot, and putrification are all in full force, but none of this horror is bothering you. There is something else going on here that feels severely unnatural that\u2019s causing you to feel off. Maybe its magic, you don\u2019t know, but something about the place tells you it\u2019s more than just an oversized execution center.\n\nJust as you\u2019re about to leave, you\u2019re approached by dirty, unkept looking man with wild facial hair and even wilder hair on his head. He\u2019s dressed in medium chainmail armor and large battle axe is on his back. With him are a couple of larger ugly brutish looking creatures. They aren\u2019t green, so you know they aren\u2019t orcs. Ogres perhaps, but you weren\u2019t aware there were any that lived in this region let alone \u201ctamed\u201d.\n\nThen it suddenly occurs to you who this is\u2026\n\n\u201cIts you! The Harbinger of Death! The Emperor\u2019s right hand and weapon of righteous justice! It\u2019s been a long time! Oh we heard stories about you even all the way up in Rask! What brings you here? Are you assigned here now?\u201d he asks excitedly.\n\nThis is Kane, the Butcher of Rask. He\u2019s nearly unrecognizable from when you last remember him. You\u2019ve heard the stories about him as well and from his unhinged looking appearance they might be true. Though he seems to be quite friendly with you, which you wouldn\u2019t expect given the tales you\u2019ve heard.\n\n\u201cHello Kane, it has been a long time. I have not been assigned here; I\u2019m just dropping off these prisoners because the Emperor considers it of vital importance that I do it. But I thought you were assigned in Rask.\u201d\n\u201cOh no need for me there any longer, we pretty much tamed everything there, well as much could be, but rest assured the Empire isn\u2019t suffering from routine ogre and giant attacks there anymore. These two big lugs here are proof of that. And the barbarian tribes have been completely wiped out along with those pitiful attempts at secessionist movements! Not that those were ever a serious threat.\u201d\n\u201cWell that\u2019s good. I\u2019m glad to hear you were so instrumental in making positive changes for the Empire.\u201d You say.\n\u201cMe? I was just doing what I was supposed to right? I mean killing the enemies of the Empire and slaughtering those that oppose it is what we\u2019re here for! But I don\u2019t need to tell you that, you know duty to the Emperor better than anyone! Anyway with Rask tamed they said my talents would be better spent elsewhere so I assumed I would be sent to the Felkan front to fight or even lead, but I didn\u2019t expect to be sent here. Still I\u2019m just happy to be doing my part!\u201d\n\u201cThat\u2019s a good attitude to have Kane. So\u2026what exactly do you do here?\u201d\n\u201cNothing much, just make sure the gnomes don\u2019t escape. None of them have either. We\u2019ve got lots of things in place to make sure of that. Other than that I oversee the day to day operations. Not quite as exciting as my days in Rask, but I dunno\u2026\u201d\n\nAt this point Kane looks at the large pile of dead gnome bodies on the other side of the yard and sort of zones out for a moment. He then begins to smile a bit before continuing.\n\n\u201cIt has its benefits.\u201d\n\u201cI see.\u201d\n\u201cWould you like a small tour? You know, just so you can maybe let the Emperor know or whoever that everything is running smoothly here?\u201d\n\u201cI don\u2019t think that will be necessary. It looks like you\u2019re doing a fine job here, besides I\u2026\u201d\n\nBefore you can finish that old familiar voice that you\u2019ve come to dread speaks.\n\n\u201cHey lover, it\u2019s about time you got here. Your services are needed for something most important.\u201d Mistress says. Normally you\u2019re on your guard, but somehow she snuck up behind you and startles you even though you attempt not to show it. Naturally this amuses her.\n\n\u201cAww did I scare you? Glad to see some things never change.\u201d Mistress says as she attempts to stroke your face.\n\u201cWhat do you want and why are you here?\u201d you ask slapping her hand away.\n\u201cSent here by the Emperor for something oh so important to him. You didn\u2019t think you were just brought here to escort these pathetic gnomes to their deaths did you? You\u2019re needed here for something else.\u201d\n\u201cI was simply told to escort the prisoners, nothing more nothing less. I don\u2019t have time for whatever fucked up games you want to play with me.\u201d\n\u201cI assure you this is no game this\u2026\u201d Mistress stops speaking and looks at Kane as if wondering why he\u2019s still around.\n\u201cDon\u2019t you have something better to do like counting up the new prisoners or something? Why don\u2019t you and your two equally dimwitted friends go eat some gnomes or whatever it is you do, the superior beings are speaking now.\u201d\n\nWhile you\u2019re a little surprised that Mistress referred to you as a \u201csuperior being\u201d you\u2019re more surprised by Kane\u2019s reaction. Given what you know about Kane\u2019s reputation you\u2019d expect him to at least show a little anger towards Mistress even if he didn\u2019t display any disobedience. Kane shows nothing but subservience though.\n\n\u201cApologies Mistress, I will leave you two alone.\u201d Kane remarks and gives a nod to you and quickly turns away motioning to his ogre guards to follow while bellowing an order to another nearby guard. Mistress shakes her head at all this.\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t know how Jacob convinced the Emperor to let that miserable creature oversee this place rather than putting him down like a mad dog like he deserves.\u201d\n\u201cWhy would he be put to death? From what I\u2019ve heard and seen he\u2019s a completely loyal soldier who has done much for the Empire. His deeds in Rask alone prove that.\u201d\n\u201cNot feeling sympathetic towards your old classmate are you? Yes he was useful, but he\u2019s a loose cannon and such factors shouldn\u2019t be allowed to thrive. Given your own suggestions on using the orcs as sword fodder to keep them from being a problem in the future I would think you\u2019d see the wisdom in such things.\u201d\n\u201cThe orcs were numerous and a genuine threat because of their chaotic nature. Kane is a loyal Eternal even if he does have a reputation for being overly bloodthirsty and even cruelty. And I would think that last one would be a mark in his favor given that you have that in common.\u201d\n\nMistress chuckles at your remark.\n\n\u201cYou comment asides, Kane is still not like either of us. He\u2019s\u2026well perhaps we can discuss such things at another time and in any case its not my concern, what is my concern is this ritual I need your help with.\u201d\n\u201cYou? You need MY help? You\u2019re actually saying that?\u201d\n\u201c(Sigh) Yes, is it so hard to believe? The Emperor needs us to perform a soul banishment ritual. I\u2019ve practically been doing all the prep work myself for a while now, since all of the mages sent to help have been unsurprisingly not up to the task. When you start using magic involving souls it can get taxing even for the most skilled. It\u2019s also been ages since I\u2019ve performed one of these and its obvious that you were the best candidate to help me.\u201d\n\nYou can\u2019t believe what you\u2019re hearing and at this point you\u2019re wondering if the Emperor really does want you here for what Mistress claims. He never gave such an order to you and it seems like that would be something he\u2019d tell you. Then again you were never given the full report on the troll factory either and he did say he was going to speak with Mistress about her on going attempts at making your life miserable. This might also be another test by the Emperor. Maybe to see if you can put aside personal differences to work together?\n\n\u201cVery well, if it is the Emperor\u2019s wish that we work together then so be it. However, do not mistake my compliance for submissiveness. I am only willing to engage in this task because it is of importance to the Emperor and I am trusting that even you would not lie about something like that for you know that any sort of underhanded trick to kill or harm me in anyway would stir his wrath that I believe even YOU do not want to stir up. Now I suggest we get on with it so we can keep our time together at a minimum.\u201d\n\u201cAs you wish, but there is no need for hostility or suspicion. As you\u2019ve said the Emperor would be quite angry indeed if I caused you harm in anyway, not that it\u2019s ever been my intension contrary to popular belief.\u201d\n\u201cIs this some sort of new tactic of yours? Acting civil in some vain attempt to get on my good side? Don\u2019t bother, you\u2019ll never be on it.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m getting that impression, but perhaps we can still talk about this later, for now let\u2019s get on with this as you suggested. Follow me, I\u2019ll take you to where we need to be.\u201d\n\nYou follow Mistress to one of the larger buildings where a lot of smoke is coming from and guards are periodically wheeling gnome bodies into. Large furnaces burn the countless bodies. As you walk through the crematorium, you notice that there are a few gnomes that aren\u2019t quite dead yet, but are being thrown into the furnaces anyway. Eventually you come to a set of stairs going down.\n\n\u201cDown here unfortunately.\u201d Mistress remarks and you follow her down a long flight of stairs to a great open room lit by several candles Along two of the wall you see hundreds of jars with what looks to be wisps inside. They all give off a faint blue glow making the need for candles somewhat unnecessary.\n\n\u201cI hate these designs by Marik, he can\u2019t think past his derro mindset and create something that doesn\u2019t have an underground portion to it.\u201d Mistress remarks. \u201cPersonally I would\u2019ve rather had something like this right in the center of the yard so that all those little gnomes could see just exactly what is going to happen to them every day. I mean its one thing to know they\u2019re going to die, but it\u2019s truly a thing of beauty when you completely obliterate something wouldn\u2019t you agree?\u201d\n\u201cWhat exactly are you talking about?\u201d\n\u201cWhy those souls that you see on the walls of course! Can\u2019t very well perform a soul banishment ritual without souls obviously.\u201d\n\u201cThose wispy things are souls?\u201d\n\u201cYes, hundreds of little souls. Souls that I\u2019ve had to drag out of hundreds of little gnomes. No little feat though, as I said magic involving souls gets draining very fast. Ranks up there with healing magic and other branches of necromancy\u2026I need you to stand over there on the line of that circle across from that wall.\u201d Mistress says pointing over to a large circle on the floor.\n\nYou slowly step over to where Mistress has told you to be. Given how much you\u2019ve been following her orders you half feel like you\u2019re back in her class. Though her attitude is much different and that\u2019s been bothering you since this encounter. Surely she\u2019s up to something and there has to be angle in it for her. If she isn\u2019t up to something you can only believe that the Emperor\u2019s talk really put the fear into her.\n\nMistress stands to the left of you on the line of the circle across from the other wall of souls and tells you that she\u2019s going to begin the ritual all she says she needs from you is to provide support and make sure none of the souls get away.\n\n\u201cGet away?\u201d\n\u201cYou don\u2019t think they\u2019re going to just let themselves get banished to oblivion do you? They\u2019re probably already pissed about being trapped in magic jars. Now concentrate!\u201d\n\nMistress begins to chant something in a language you\u2019re not familiar with and you\u2019ve heard the svelk language before. The wisps in the jars begin to get even more agitated and the faint glow they give off begins to get brighter. You begin to get images of torment invading your head all at once.\n\nYou see exactly everything that\u2019s been happening to the gnomes here, the torture, the humiliation, the executions and now ultimate annihilation. Even from what little you\u2019ve seen from being in this place, your years on the battlefield and even your own brutal childhood training, its still pretty gruesome and sadistic, but it isn\u2019t the images that are currently affecting you. It\u2019s the voices\u2026\n\n\u201cHelp us! Free us! It\u2019s her, she did this! Stole our souls to destroy! Hate her! Kill her! You could kill her. You hate her too. Do it! If not for us or any sort of moral conscience then for yourself. We can see what she did to you. She will always torment you and you will never know rest from her until she is dead. She could die right now. Nobody would know and no one would care.\u201d you hear several voices saying to you all at once and right now you don\u2019t have much reason to not follow their suggestions.\n\nIf Mistress was to die, it could easily be explained away after all accidents happen all the time when performing dangerous magic. And it is true she\u2019s not likely to be missed by anyone save perhaps the Emperor, and you doubt he would for very long.", "action_results": [{"action": "Sabotage the ritual", "result": "You\u2019re doing it. You\u2019re getting her out of your life forever. No longer will you have to put up with whatever mind games she has planned whenever you\u2019re forced to meet with her.\n\nYou step from the circle and break your magic link with Mistress. She\u2019s immediately taken off guard.\n\n\u201cAgh! You fool! What are you doing?! Step back to the circle before you doom the both of us!\u201d she exclaims as she is presumably psychically assaulted by the gnome souls.\n\nYou know Mistress is strong and can probably fend off the attack if really pushed, but you intend on giving her another distraction by drawing your sword. She\u2019s either going to have to stop you which will expose her mind to the vengeful souls or not stop you and get stabbed which will have the same effect.\n\nSuddenly your own mind is completely shattered and multiple souls assault your mind. The pain is excruciating and you collapse on the floor and begin convulsing. You aren\u2019t innocent in all this as far as they\u2019re concerned. Your involvement in the Felkan campaign has probably resulted in most of the gnomes being rounded up and sent to Gnome\u2019s Home in the first place.\n\nFor the first time you not only see the horror that has been this place, but you also experience all of it. Your mind can\u2019t take it and neither can your body, which begins to lose all control of its functions. You\u2019re leaking all manner of bodily fluids out every possible place you could be leaking from.\n\nEventually you\u2019re nothing more than an empty shell, but not quite dead. The souls have stopped attacking and Mistress is lying on the floor not too far from you own, her own mind destroyed as well. The pair of you continue to stare upward and slack jaw in a comatose state for quite some time, until Kane eventually wanders down to investigate.\n\nKane isn\u2019t quite sure of what to make of all of it, but sensing that he can\u2019t leave the pair of you like this he comes up with his own solution.\n\nUnknown to you, Kane was possessed by a wendigo during his tour in Rask, though his hunger is well sated here. Kane never liked Mistress\u2019 threats of exposure or taunts and proceeds to eat her alive. Of course being a vegetable she is unable to scream as his teeth sink into her flesh.\n\nYou on the other hand, Kane ends your life with a blade to your throat out of respect for you before feasting on your corpse.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Proceed as normal", "result": "You are sorely tempted. You are really sorely tempted. However, there are a couple factors at play that are preventing you from doing so. One, you\u2019re dubious about trusting a bunch of gnome souls. It isn\u2019t like they still aren\u2019t your enemy no matter what form they take or the situation at hand. The enemy of your enemy is still YOUR enemy as far as you\u2019re concerned. This could be a trick to get the upper hand on their part.\n\nSecond and most importantly, this is still a mission for the Emperor. If he wanted you to work with Mistress to send a bunch of gnome souls to oblivion then that\u2019s what you\u2019re going to do regardless of your personal feelings towards her.\n\nYou begin to concentrate and try to mentally shut out the voices. Its extremely difficult, in fact you don\u2019t actually succeed in doing so, but you do stay focused enough to keep up Mistress\u2019 energy. An unearthly howl invades your head as a jet-black orb appears in the center of the room. You feel like its sucking the life out of you and you instinctively start to back away.\n\n\u201cNO! Don\u2019t move! You\u2019ll ruin the spell! It won\u2019t be much longer, look its already working!\u201d Mistress shouts and points to the jars, which are now growing dimmer again. You then see one of the wisps completely disappear; followed by another and another, until they all begin fading away. As the souls vanish, the voices begin to get quieter and more desperate sounding as they beg you to stop. Eventually you hear nothing at all and the orb in the room disappears as well.\n\n\u201cThere, that should do it for a while, until the next batch.\u201d Mistress remarks as she wipes her forehead and fixes her hair. \u201cWhew, that was a little more strenuous than I thought it would be, it was very helpful for you to be here. We make a pretty good team\u2026\u201d\n\u201cStop. Just stop.\u201d You say interrupting.\n\u201cStop what?\u201d Mistress asks as if she doesn\u2019t know what you\u2019re talking about.\n\u201cYou know damn well what. I told you that this attempt to be pleasant isn\u2019t going to work and its totally transparent.\u201d\n\nMistress smiles, but it isn\u2019t that cruel smirk that you\u2019re used to, its one more of admiration.\n\n\u201cI guess I deserve this hostility. However, I\u2019d rather you hate me than be weak, though I suppose in some ways you still have a few flaws common to your race\u2026but I can overlook those because I know that they will disappear in time. I just wish you\u2019d recognize and shed those flaws soon, because you may need to do so. As I have said before, I have always tried to help you and I won\u2019t stop just because you can\u2019t see that or harbor thoughts of ill intent on me. Like you briefly considering listening to those desperate gnome souls. You don\u2019t think I don\u2019t know how tempted you were to sabotage the ritual just to get a chance to kill me? I could hear everything they said to you.\u201d\n\u201cAnd I didn\u2019t because my main duty was to see this mission done for the Emperor, do you have a point?\u201d\n\u201cMy point is you have so much more potential than you realize. You just fended off a psychic assault by hundreds of souls. Hundreds of vengeful souls feeding off your already strong desires to do me harm and you still resisted. Not many can boast such will power even if they\u2019ve had superior training by the best teachers. Now your former classmate Kane? He struggles right now with just one miserable wendigo spirit within him and it\u2019s half taken him over already.\u201d\n\u201cWhat are you talking about?\u201d\n\u201cHe\u2019s a wendigo now or rather possessed by one. It\u2019s a spirit that possesses a living host and usually turns them into a slavering beast that is constantly looking for meat and flesh to quell its everlasting hunger.\u201d\n\nWell this is a new twist on whatever angle Mistress is attempting to pull.\n\n\u201cIf that\u2019s the case, why hasn\u2019t he been going around eating everyone then?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cWho\u2019s saying he hasn\u2019t? Wendigo\u2019s may have poor impulse control, but they can be cunning when necessary. I imagine he\u2019s only managed to hide it so well because he\u2019s been associating with the savages and unsophisticated trash in Rask and turned his bloody deeds into the reputation of a ruthless warrior that could be feared and respected. Here? He\u2019s overseeing a death factory with a steady supply of meat. Who\u2019s going to miss a few dead gnome bodies or living gnomes for that matter? The wendigo probably hasn\u2019t completely taken Kane over because it\u2019s gotten lazy and happy with its current arrangement.\u201d\n\u201cAnd of course you\u2019re the only one who knows all this.\u201d\n\u201cPerhaps Jacob suspects something amiss, but I guarantee I\u2019m the only one who knows that doesn\u2019t fear the thing that wears Kane\u2019s skin. The beast knows I can destroy it within a blink and it would rather continue to enjoy its current arrangement.\u201d\n\u201cHmm, excuse me if I\u2019m having a difficult time believing you. In any case, it doesn\u2019t change my own opinions on you, so I\u2019m not sure what you\u2019re trying to gain by telling me all this.\u201d\n\u201cLook, believe me, or don\u2019t, but I assure you there is no gain in this for me by telling you. I merely used him as an example of how you continue to be superior to your former classmates. (Sigh) Sometimes I wonder if I should\u2019ve showed you just a little more intimacy during our sessions together. Perhaps then you would\u2019ve at least known to trust me.\u201d Mistress says and tries to touch your hand. Once again you recoil at her advances and step backward.\n\n\u201cDo that again and you\u2019ll pull back a stump. And the next time you need to banish gnome souls or whatever else you can do it yourself.\u201d\n\u201cWell that\u2019s ultimately not really your call now is it? If the Emperor wants you to help me, then you\u2019ll have to right? Isn\u2019t it a shame that you can\u2019t just do what you want, when you want?\u201d Mistress says with one of her more familiar smirks.\n\u201cThere it is. I was waiting for one of your sneering comments.\u201d\n\u201cSneering comments? But isn\u2019t obeying the Emperor what you WANT to do? Aren\u2019t you glad to follow his every command because he is as you say infallible? How is my comment a sneering one? It just points out the facts, that\u2019s all. Your problem is you think I\u2019m your enemy when I\u2019ve done nothing but try to help you despite yourself.\u201d\n\u201cSure, whatever, I\u2019m tired of your fat musings.\u201d you say and begin to leave, but Mistress gets in your way.\n\n\u201cI see you\u2019ve still got my dagger. Still can\u2019t completely get me out of your mind even though you have your little shield maiden fluff on the side?\u201d\n\u201cThe memories I associate with this dagger are something you should be wary of, lest I share them with you.\u201d\n\u201cOh? Well why don\u2019t you use it right now, if you hate me so much? I gave you a chance to kill me once before and you didn\u2019t take it\u2026but it wasn\u2019t because you were a coward. It wasn\u2019t even because you knew you weren\u2019t strong enough to do it. It\u2019s because deep down YOU know that you love me and I will ALWAYS be the only woman for you. ALWAYS.\u201d Mistress says and with a sudden quickness she grabs your head with both hands and kisses you hard on the lips.\n\nAnd for a split second that twisted part of you enjoys it. Without thinking you nearly begin to put both of your arms around her, then you come back to your senses and push her off of you and draw out the dagger. She backs off.\n\n\u201cOhh, you know how I like foreplay! Come on, stick it in mommy!\u201d Mistress says with excitement.\n\u201cYou\u2026you\u2026you\u2019re one fucked up bitch and I\u2019m not playing your game!\u201d You sharply remark and make your way quickly back upstairs.\n\u201cRemember Eternal, always AND forever! The sooner you learn that, the better off you\u2019ll be!\u201d Mistress shouts and begins laughing.\n\nAs you\u2019re storming out of the furnace building everything is a bit of a blur. You know you knock aside a couple of guards pushing big wheeled containers full of bodies, but you don\u2019t really notice anything else until you see Kane again outside in the yard bellowing orders. He looks different though, like more bestial. You look again he doesn\u2019t even look human anymore. His mouth has become enlarged with several rows of razor teeth and his hands more like claws. The strange thing is nobody else seems to notice this.\n\nYou walk over closer to him and now he looks more like he did. You feel like you\u2019re having a hard time focusing. What the hell is going on? As you begin rubbing your eyes you don\u2019t notice Kane walking over to you.\n\n\u201cHey you\u2019re still here. I trust your business with Mistress went well?\u201d Kane asks you as you open your eyes and there you see it again. That THING instead of Kane. Between what Mistress told you and this, you justifiably feel threatened.\n\n\u201cGet the hell back! I know what you are!\u201d you say and point your dagger at Kane, which was still in your hand.\n\nKane\u2019s ogre guards look unsure of what to do, as do other nearby guards, but Kane raises his hands up.\n\n\u201cIts okay! Its okay! Nothing to see here, get back to work!\u201d Kane says and then gives a nervous smile, but it isn\u2019t a nervous smile to you, it seems more like he\u2019s barring his fangs. In fact to you he looks like he might even attack.\n\nYou don\u2019t know what to do exactly. Obviously you\u2019re seeing something odd with Kane, why you weren\u2019t before is the strange part though. You don\u2019t know if you\u2019re really in danger here or if Mistress did something to you to make you see this and possibly do something rash.", "action_results": [{"action": "Kill Kane", "result": "You don\u2019t hesitate. You see and know what needs to be done. Without another word you lunge at Kane who makes no attempt to defend himself and plunge your dagger directly in the center of his chest.\n\n\u201cThank\u2026the Emperor\u2026\u201d he utters and falls to the ground, though when he finally hits, his body twitches, makes snarling sounds and then stops.\n\nAnd that\u2019s when the wendigo attacks you.\n\n\u201cYou are a much stronger vessel anyway. Let me inside and I can make you even stronger.\u201d The wendigo voice hisses.\n\u201cGet out of my fucking head!\u201d you shout and start clutching your head.\n\nUnder normal circumstances, you probably wouldn\u2019t have had as much trouble fending off the possession attack by the wendigo, but not only are you severely drained from your previous ordeal, but you weren\u2019t feeling right after it either. To make matters worse a few of the livelier gnomes watching decide to take advantage of the situation and make an escape attempt.\n\n\u201cThis is our only chance! Get his keys!\u201d one of them shouts and you are suddenly knocked over and half trampled on by several gnome feet when they make their way towards Kane\u2019s body.\n\nIn the middle of the chaos of guards chasing down gnomes and gnomes attempting to flee, you\u2019re having a seizure and losing the battle for your mind. Things get worse when Mistress arrives.\n\n\u201c(Sigh) Why\u2019d you go and do that for? You got yourself all riled up for no good reason, went and did something foolish and now look at you. Maybe your mind isn\u2019t as strong as I thought it was. Well, as much as you deserve it I can\u2019t let you masquerade as one of those things.\u201d\n\nMistress casts a banishment spell and while that\u2019s a great thing to cast on them while they\u2019re still hovering about, but when they\u2019ve managed to already get their hooks in their desired host it tends to have a negative effect on said host and whatever pain you were going through with the wendigo\u2019s possession is now five times worse as you now begin to experience the pain the wendigo feels as it is slowly obliterated.\n\nAfter it\u2019s all said and done the wendigo is gone along with your mind. While its possible you might be able to live some sort of existence if someone assisted you with things like eating, but you don\u2019t live in such a world and you certainly aren\u2019t around any such people that would be willing to do that, hell if you could express anything anymore you\u2019d say yourself that you wouldn\u2019t want to live any more in this near vegetative state.\n\nFortunately Mistress knows this and puts an end to your life. It\u2019s probably the kindest thing she\u2019s ever done for you.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Leave", "result": "Kane isn\u2019t making any move against you and you aren\u2019t going to kill him based on suspicion especially with all the weirdness going on here in general. The best thing you feel you can do is just get the hell out of here.\n\nAs you order the gates to be opened you continue to keep an eye on Kane and he does the same to you. You aren\u2019t seeing the monstrous traits like you were anymore which makes you believe that Mistress did do something to you. Possibly when she kissed you.\n\nThen as you begin to leave, Kane calls out to you.\n\n\u201cAre you going to tell the Emperor?\u201d\n\nYou turn around and face Kane who now isn\u2019t even looking you in the eye. In fact you\u2019d say he even looks ashamed. The funny thing is Kane just gave himself away, though maybe he wanted to.\n\nSince you aren\u2019t exactly sure what the situation is except what Mistress has told you, you ask Kane a simple question.\n\n\u201cAre you still loyal to the Emperor?\u201d\n\u201cYes.\u201d Kane says looking up, straightening himself a little and making a major effort to look you in the eye.\n\u201cThen he already knows, otherwise I would\u2019ve been sent here to kill you.\u201d\n\nKane nods and begins to form disjointed sentences. You imagine he\u2019s probably going to try to explain his side of things, but quite frankly after the day you\u2019ve had here, you don\u2019t care.\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t need to know how it happened. I don\u2019t need to know why it happened. I am not your judge. Just continue to serve the Empire and the Emperor with distinction and loyally as you have been. However the moment that thing inside you takes over completely, the moment you stop doing your duty, the moment you are considered a dangerous liability to the Empire\u2026 I will be your executioner. Remember this.\u201d\n\u201cI will.\u201d Kane says.\n\nKane steps forward and raises his hand in a salute. You return the salute, which seems to make Kane happy. You get back on your horse and ride away eager to put as much distance between you and Gnome\u2019s Home as fast as possible.\n\nWhen you arrive back at your own war camp, your two main commanders Captain Ackerson and Battlemage Galen are arguing over the battle plans as usual. They\u2019re competent men its just too bad that they can\u2019t get along if you aren\u2019t around to bang their heads together. You learned very quickly why Roldan was quick to shove them on to you.\n\n\u201cSir, I\u2019m glad you\u2019re back, I have tried to reason with this hedge wizard, but the man is being an unreasonable asshole. He doesn\u2019t see that sending in our remaining golems on a suicidal run on Fort Tinker will result in a much quicker collapse of its walls and allow the rest of the troops to just pour in and overrun the place. The quicker we take this fort the quicker we can march on the capital.\u201d Captain Ackerson says.\n\u201cAnd do you realize the waste you\u2019re suggesting? What if we need those golems for our assault on the capital? You think golems are easy to make? No of course you don\u2019t because you\u2019re a muscle bound moron who just thinks brute strength and numbers are going to win the day!\u201d Galen remarks.\n\nYou\u2019re in no mood.\n\n\u201cWill both of you idiots shut the fuck up, I\u2019m sick of your petty arguing! Look, use half of the golems to bring down one of the walls and back them up with a couple cannon units. The golems will probably be destroyed and those cannon crews are probably going to get hammered by whatever new gnome invention the Felkans have, but it should be enough. Or come up with something else, I don\u2019t give a shit right now, just get it the fuck done and don\u2019t bother me again until you\u2019ve made more progress!\u201d you yell and leave the war tent to make your way to your own private tent.\n\nAs soon as you open your tent, you have another unexpected encounter in your long line of unexpected encounters lately, however this one is much more pleasant.\n\n\u201cAlison? What\u2019re you doing here?\u201d\n\u201cI figured I\u2019d surprise you. The eastern front has been pretty quiet ever since we destroyed the majority of the gnoll horde you know. It\u2019s not like I can\u2019t sneak away every once in a while. I was actually surprised when I got here that you weren\u2019t around, so where did you sneak off to?\u201d\n\u201cOrders from the Emperor. Special mission. It was\u2026ugh\u2026it\u2019s done and I really don\u2019t want to talk about it right now, I\u2019m just glad to see you. You\u2019re a welcome sight right now.\u201d\n\u201cAren\u2019t I always?\u201d Alison remarks with a smile.\n\nYou and Alison speak a bit, but you both know not to waste an opportunity like this and the pair of you get to doing what lovers normally do. It\u2019s a good feeling, but its not just the sex (though that\u2019s certainly good too) its just the fact that you still can\u2019t believe someone can make you feel this way.\n\nYou wouldn\u2019t admit to this openly, but sometimes when you\u2019re with Alison you feel a bond there that might even rival your bond with the Emperor. There have even been times you\u2019ve briefly worried if there will come a day where you\u2019d have to outright choose between the Emperor or Alison. The concern though isn\u2019t that you\u2019d have to do it, your concern is that there is the possibility that if it came down to it, you might choose Alison. You try to dismiss such thoughts however, after all when is a situation like that ever going to occur? Better to focus on the pleasant present rather than the possible grim future.\n\nAs the pair of you lies together, Alison starts to drift off in your arms and says something a little strange.\n\n\u201cThank you.\u201d\n\u201cThank you? For what exactly? The orgasm?\u201d\n\u201cFor this night. I just feel so loved right now. And I love you too. You do know that don\u2019t you?\u201d Alison asks looking into your eyes.\n\u201cOf course I know that, I love you too.\u201d\n\u201cJust laying here with you makes me feel so safe.\u201d Alison remarks and cuddles into you even more.\n\u201cI suppose, but I\u2019d hardly think you\u2019d need me to protect you when you\u2019re more than capable of doing it yourself. Is there something wrong? You don\u2019t normally talk like this.\u201d\n\u201cNothing\u2019s wrong. I guess I just felt a little girly there for a moment. Still, it\u2019s nice to hear you say it to me and it\u2019s nice to know this side of you.\u201d Alison says and begins to drift off.\n\nYou briefly wonder if you lived a \u201cnormal\u201d married life, most of your nights would be like this. Lying in bed holding your significant other. Getting up in the morning to do your mundane peasant job. Would you also have children? That\u2019s something you\u2019ve never even considered, though given your several intimate encounters with Alison you\u2019re a little surprised you haven\u2019t gotten into possible baby complications. Perhaps you\u2019ve just been lucky, or maybe she\u2019s been taking Stillness potions bought from Empire alchemists. Of course she might just be barren, or maybe you\u2019re sterile. abort\n\nWhatever the case she\u2019s never brought up the subject and you certainly don\u2019t intend to since it isn\u2019t a priority and as far as you\u2019re concerned, never will be.\n\nWith these final thoughts you join Alison in sleep.\n\nHours pass and you are awakened by the sounds of cannons and warfare in the distance.\n\n\u201cUgh, I guess they\u2019ve started\u2026(Yawn) I suppose I better get up and see what\u2019s going on before Galen and Ackerson start arguing over how to best execute the survivors. Hey did you need to\u2026\u201d you say and then realize that Alison is no longer laying anywhere next to you. She\u2019s not even in the tent. What you do see is a piece of parchment nearby.\n\nYou pick it up and you feel something is wrong as soon as you do.\n\nYour first thoughts are perhaps it is some sort of \u201cbreak up\u201d letter. You have heard of such things occurring with soldiers that have been far away from their wives or husbands sometimes. Perhaps Alison sees the futility in your current arrangement since you have such a significant duty to the Emperor and doesn\u2019t want you to have to \u201cchoose\u201d.\n\nHowever, after you read the words on it you WISH it were a break up letter.\n\nThe words merely say:\n\nAlways and forever. Remember this.\n\nYour heart sinks. You just slept with Mistress.\n\nShe must\u2019ve magically disguised herself as Alison. You don\u2019t even know how to react. Your normally reserved emotions are all over the place. You feel a little sick, you definitely feel rage, but more at yourself for not being observant and falling for Mistress\u2019 tricks once again.\n\nYou end up nearly destroying everything in your tent in rage screaming incoherent obscenities not giving a damn about what the soldiers or officers walking by might be wondering what\u2019s going on. In fact it\u2019s a good thing none of them pop their head to investigate since you\u2019re so angry you might\u2019ve killed them.\n\nAfter you\u2019re spent, you fall to your knees feeling defeated.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m sorry Alison\u2026I\u2019m sorry\u2026\u201d you say over and over again in between catching your breath and looking at your portrait of her.\n\nAnd worst part of all this, is you still enjoyed your night with Mistress. Even if it really wasn\u2019t your fault, you briefly wish you hadn\u2019t allowed yourself to grow so attached to Alison so this wasn\u2019t even an issue. You should\u2019ve just been concentrating on your duty to the Emperor and now you\u2019re paying the price for not staying focused. You\u2019re focused now though.\n\nWith the battle of Fort Tinker already in full swing, you make your way into the war torn fort and unleash the rest of your renewed energy there. Your enemies suffer greatly that day.\n\nBy the time its all over you feel slightly better even though you know you\u2019ll probably still have to deal with Mistress\u2019 shit later. Until then though there are important tasks still at hand and the major one being that the Felkan Kingdom needs to be destroyed and you intend to see that through.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 30\n\nThe day has come at last, the Felkan capital; Dessel has been broken wide open. Its defenses have been shattered and all that\u2019s left now is to scoop out the soft underbelly within.\n\n\u201cHow long do you think they\u2019ll hold out?\u201d Roldan asks.\n\u201cA few more hours, perhaps even a day. No more I suspect. I have to admit that I thought the remaining Felkan ruling class would\u2019ve surrendered long before now, let alone fight to the bitter end. I suppose they were still carrying out the will of their gnomish masters even though most of them are dead or soon will be.\u201d You remark.\n\u201cI know they had a lot of influence and were responsible for the technological inventions along with running the merchant guilds, but do you really believe the Felkan Kingdom was run by gnomes?\u201d\n\u201cOf course. Its what the Emperor believed and ultimately that\u2019s been the purpose of this whole war, to eliminate the gnome threat. Happily with this final nail in the coffin, that\u2019s been accomplished.\u201d\n\u201cYou know some of them probably escaped long before the war started going badly for the Felkans.\u201d\n\u201cPerhaps, but I\u2019m sure in time they will be found. The Emperor\u2019s domain has already been extended much within the past few years alone, I\u2019m sure eventually it will cover the entire world and in the long run all those that oppose the Emperor will be brought to justice. Either by me, or by someone else loyal to his service.\u201d\n\u201cWell, until such time I\u2019m just wondering where I\u2019ll be assigned after all this. Personally I\u2019m hoping to get a little free time so I can see my wife Brenda again. It\u2019s been so long and I miss her. I\u2019m sure you feel something similar about Alison.\u201d\n\nYou pause for a moment before speaking.\n\n\u201cI will go where my duty takes me after this assignment. Alison understands that, she is a military woman after all.\u201d You remark.\n\u201cWell of course, but I was just stating that it would be nice to take a break from duty for a moment to enjoy the company of someone you care about.\u201d\n\u201cWe\u2019re Eternals Roldan. So is Brenda for that matter. Our existence is duty. You would do well to remember that.\u201d\n\u201cI am aware of it! I was just\u2026oh forget it.\u201d Says and walks away from you.\n\nYou and Roldan have been a little less cordial to each other lately, then again the two of you never have quite \u201cclicked\u201d with each other for some reason. Actually there are probably several reasons on your side as well as his, but you aren\u2019t going to waste your time pondering them since you are both able to work together in a professional manner and never engaged in anything other than the low level disagreements. As long as the respect is still there between you two, why bother analyzing it?\n\nBesides this mission is nearly over now anyway. You\u2019re fairly certain you\u2019ll be reassigned somewhere else. You do wonder if you\u2019ll get some down time as Roldan mentioned though.\n\nIf you do, you\u2019re more than likely going to try to spend some of it with Alison, though you\u2019ve still been going back and forth on how well that\u2019s going to go when you tell her what happened two years ago. You certainly couldn\u2019t tell her something like that in a letter and from what letters you\u2019ve received from her she still doesn\u2019t know. Mistress probably wouldn\u2019t tell her to stir up chaos because it would be more fun letting you worry about it for all this time. You\u2019re just glad you never had to help assist Mistress at Gnome\u2019s Home again, though now you\u2019re even wondering if that was ever a real order from the Emperor when it did occur.\n\nYou haven\u2019t spoken to the Emperor directly or even indirectly in quite some time either. That\u2019s actually been a little concerning to you as well. Still, you figure you soon will be when this is all over and the Felkans have finally been crushed once and for all.\n\nYou watch the capital smoke and burn in the distance. Occasionally a small explosion causes pieces of the already breached wall fly into several directions.\n\n\u201cWell I\u2019m not going to miss out on all the fun, before it\u2019s over.\u201d You say to yourself and head towards the city.\n\nAs it turns out you don\u2019t miss much. The city\u2019s defenders consist of mostly children and elders at this point. They don\u2019t provide too much resistance now that they have no walls to hide behind. The royal guard is still around but quick work is made of them. As for the royals themselves most of them took the coward\u2019s way out. You find several of them lying dead at their lavish dinner table with several knocked over empty wine cups.\n\nUpon further searching you find what you guess to be the royal bedroom and who you guess to be the Felkan king and queen lying dead in the bed. They must\u2019ve taken the same poison since you see the same cups near the bodies. As you study the pair of them and how they are holding hands in death, you notice a crib in the corner of the room. While you\u2019re inspecting this, Warrick walks in.\n\n\u201cOh there you are. We\u2019ve found that some of these rooms lead to a system of secret passages. We\u2019ve already started to explore them, but we haven\u2019t found anyone yet. I don\u2019t even think they lead outside the city, just to other portions of the palace. Looks like we won.\u201d Warrick remarks.\n\u201cLooks that way. Sort of a disappointing climax given how the Felkans insisted on dragging this out. Continue your search though; someone still might be hiding in them. You find any gnomes?\u201d\n\u201cNo and I don\u2019t believe there are any in city either. At least no reports have popped up about any.\u201d\n\u201cGuess we got all of them then. The Emperor will be pleased to hear that. Carry on.\u201d\n\nFor the next few days you observe the destruction of Dessel. Roldan remarks that the city shouldn\u2019t be destroyed, but rather appropriated by the Empire as it wouldn\u2019t take much to rebuild the damage and would be easier than building a brand new city here. Orders are orders though. While the Emperor might\u2019ve relaxed his zeal on burning every Felkan city to the ground, he was still pretty clear about the capital. You imagine he sees it as the last symbol of gnomish defiance.\n\nIn the middle of this process Jacob unexpectedly visits you.\n\n\u201cDidn\u2019t expect to see you here.\u201d You remark while sharpening your weapon.\n\u201cWell the Emperor wants to see you, plus I also have to speak with Roldan and Warrick about their next assignments, so I figured I might as well come here in person.\u201d Jacob says looking around at the destruction. \u201cSo, it\u2019s finally done. The Felkan Kingdom is no more. I have to admit, I was worried about this war on more than one occasion.\u201d\n\u201cYou don\u2019t need to tell me, you told me on more than one occasion. You should\u2019ve had more faith in the Emperor, he knew its destruction was inevitable.\u201d\n\u201cWell, thanks in part to your actions no doubt.\u201d Jacob says with a brief smile.\n\u201cI am merely the weapon which does the job. If you\u2019re looking for Roldan, he\u2019s in the large tent on that small hill over to the east. Warrick\u2019s probably with him. I need to get going if the Emperor wishes to see me\u2026is Mistress going to be there?\u201d\n\u201cI don\u2019t believe so.\u201d\n\u201cGood, don\u2019t really need the negativity ruining this moment.\u201d You remark and begin to leave.\n\u201cUm\u2026there\u2019s something else I need to talk to you about before you leave.\u201d Jacob says hesitantly.\n\u201cWhat?\u201d\n\u201cIt\u2019s about the Emperor, he\u2019s uh\u2026well\u2026\u201d\n\u201cHe\u2019s what?! What is he?! Jacob, just spit it out.\u201d\n\u201cHe\u2019s sick.\u201d\n\u201cWhat? Sick? That\u2019s ridiculous! I\u2019ve never known him to ever show illness.\u201d\n\u201cI know it may seem hard to believe, but I\u2019m telling you last time I spoke with him, he didn\u2019t look well. He seemed very tired and just really pale.\u201d\n\u201cHe runs the Empire! Of course there\u2019s going to be times he\u2019s going to be tired! It has to be taxing keeping track of everything. As for being pale, he doesn\u2019t exactly go skipping about in the sunlight you know.\u201d\n\u201cI know all that. Look, just when you see him you\u2019ll know what I\u2019m talking about. I mean I\u2019m sure the Emperor will live a very long time, but we should prepare\u2026um\u2026just in case\u2026\u201d\n\u201cJust in case what Jacob?\u201d you ask beginning to get angry at the insinuation that the Emperor may die. Jacob sensing he\u2019s overstepped a boundary quickly shuts up.\n\u201cErm\u2026nevermind. Forget I said anything. I\u2019m worrying too much as usual\u2026but still\u2026(sigh) forget it. I\u2019ll let you get on your way.\u201d\n\nYou shake your head and begin to leave again, when Jacob once again stops you.\n\n\u201cOh one more thing. Before you go see the Emperor, you\u2019re supposed to make a visit to Gnome\u2019s Home first.\u201d\n\u201cAre you fucking kidding me? Aren\u2019t all the gnomes there dead by now?\u201d\n\u201cMaybe, I dunno. Something to do with souls I think. I never did know exactly what went on there, and I don\u2019t really think I want to know. All I do know is you\u2019re supposed to assist.\u201d\n\u201cAssist who? Mistress? I already assisted her once there and let\u2019s just say what transpired wasn\u2019t pleasant. She hasn\u2019t needed my assistance for the past two years since that time, why does she need it now all of a sudden? Fuck that, I\u2019m not helping her anytime soon. In fact if I saw her again, I\u2019d probably kill the bitch after what happened last time!\u201d\n\nJacob begins to step back from you.\n\n\u201cEasy now, I\u2019m just the messenger here. I don\u2019t even know if she\u2019s there. It\u2019s what the Emperor told me to tell you. I mean if you don\u2019t want to do it, I suggest you take it up with him personally.\u201d\n\nAt this point you might just do that. Nobody can question your loyalty or your dedication to the Emperor, but this request\u2026its just asking too much. You thought he spoke with her about leaving you alone and she\u2019s already ignored that. How long must you put up with this svelk bitch?", "action_results": [{"action": "Head to Gnome's Home", "result": "An order from the Emperor is an order from the Emperor no matter what. If you have to go to Gnome\u2019s Home, then you have to go. If you have to assist Mistress then that\u2019s what you\u2019ll have to do. Doesn\u2019t mean you have to like it though.\n\nYou get on your horse and make your way to Gnome\u2019s Home. On your way you think about how you\u2019re going to handle the situation if you have to assist Mistress. Then you realize that the time has come.\n\nYou\u2019re going to kill the bitch. This has been a long time coming anyway. You aren\u2019t sure if you\u2019re just going to attack her if you see her or if you\u2019ll do something a little more subtle, but one thing is certain, she\u2019s going to be dead by the time you leave that gnome murder factory.\n\nWhen you arrive at Gnome\u2019s Home the outside looks about the same the last time you were here and when you\u2019re let inside the gates, it smells about the same as well. Probably even a little bit worse.\n\nYou step inside and see a lot less living gnomes and lot more dead ones. A few pathetic examples lay half dead outside their dwellings covered in their own filth. Whatever attempts at keeping this place slightly clean have long since stopped. The entire place is disgusting and you feel like you\u2019re going to catch something just standing here.\n\n\u201cHey, I heard you were coming, welcome back!\u201d you hear a voice shout. It\u2019s Kane. He\u2019s a bit unkept and wild looking, but still friendly. You notice he doesn\u2019t have his ogre friends with him any more.\n\n\u201cHello Kane. You\u2019re looking\u2026well.\u201d\n\u201cThanks. I\u2019ve been feeling well. Been keeping very busy what with all the gnome killing and all. As you can see, we\u2019re almost finished. Figured we\u2019d speed up the process by cutting back on the clean up portion, I mean this whole place is going to be shut down after we kill \u2018em all anyway. I\u2019ll be sort of sad to see it go, but nothing lasts forever right?\u201d\n\u201cRight, so my assignment was to assist in something?\u201d\n\u201cOh yes, sorry. I don\u2019t get to talk to many people nowadays. Anyway Mistress is waiting for you down in the soul obliteration chamber. I\u2019m not actually sure if that\u2019s what it\u2019s called, but given what happens there, seems as good a name as any.\u201d\n\nYou thank Kane and make your way to where Mistress is located. Along the way you see the usual piles of bodies being tossed into the large furnaces by bored guards. When you get down to the chamber you see that Mistress is already in the process of preparation. You see more jars containing souls than you did last time and that gives you the idea of how to kill her.\n\n\u201cHey lover, you\u2019re here right on time.\u201d She remarks.\n\u201cYeah, let\u2019s just get this over with.\u201d You say.\n\u201cWell, I\u2019m certainly glad you didn\u2019t feel that way during our last encounter.\u201d\n\u201cYou tricked me during that last encounter!\u201d\n\u201cTrue, but didn\u2019t it feel so good? Besides its not like anyone knows so what\u2019s the harm?\u201d\n\u201cYou know what? I\u2019m tired of fighting it, maybe you\u2019re right.\u201d You answer.\n\nMistress is a bit surprised to hear you say that.\n\n\u201cEr\u2026of course I am! I\u2019ve always had your best interest in mind. That\u2019s what I\u2019ve always been telling you.\u201d\n\u201cAnd I think I finally realize it after all these years. I mean you were the one who practically taught me everything I know. Who would know better for me than you?\u201d you say and walk over to Mistress.\n\nYou grab Mistress around the waist and give her a passionate kiss. All part of the act of course and part of you hates it, but the other part is definitely getting excited.\n\nAfterwards Mistress looks at you with a glee that you\u2019ve only really seen when she\u2019s torturing someone. (Which was usually you).\n\n\u201cOkay, down boy, we\u2019ve still got business to take care of here. Glad to see you\u2019re finally seeing things how they really are though. After this bit of business perhaps we can talk more about the future. Our future.\u201d\n\u201cLooking forward to it.\u201d You say and slap her on her ass before taking your position on the circle line.\n\nMistress goes on to tell you that the process will be just like before, but will require even more focus than last time. She says one of the reasons why she wanted your help this time (Other than wanting to see you again) was because she wants to dispose of more gnome souls than usual. She says that while she enjoyed the torture, suffering and extermination of an entire race she absolutely hates the smell and general dirtiness of the place and the sooner she\u2019s out of here the better.\n\nYour plan is simple. You\u2019re going to sabotage the ritual. You\u2019re fairly certain the gnome souls will try to convince you to do it like they did last time anyway.\n\nMistress begins chanting and soon the spell begins to take effect. You begin to hear the whispers of gnome souls in your head. More than last time and saying the exact same thing.\n\n\u201cBreak the circle! Save us! Kill the svelk! Save us from oblivion!\u201d you hear and you begin to do just that and stop focusing your energy towards Mistress. She of course realizes what you\u2019re doing, but doesn\u2019t say anything, instead she just shuts her eyes as if to concentrate harder.\n\nYou decide a blade through her body should really take her off her game plan, since she\u2019s either going to have to stop you which will expose her mind to the vengeful souls or not stop you and get stabbed which will have the same effect.\n\nYou draw your sword and then suddenly your own mind shield is completely shattered and multiple souls assault your mind. The pain is excruciating and you collapse on the floor and begin convulsing.\n\n\u201cDid you really think I couldn\u2019t see through your charade?\u201d Mistress shouts as your mind continues to be destroyed by the gnome souls. You don\u2019t know why they\u2019re not attacking Mistress, but you see why they\u2019re attacking you. You aren\u2019t innocent in all this as far as they\u2019re concerned. Your involvement in the Felkan campaign has probably resulted in most of the gnomes being rounded up and sent to Gnome\u2019s Home in the first place.\n\nFor the first time you not only see the horror that has been this place, but you also experience all of it. Your mind can\u2019t take it and neither can your body which begins to lose all control of its functions. You\u2019re leaking all manner of bodily fluids out every possible place you could be leaking from.\n\nEventually you\u2019re nothing more than an empty shell, but not quite dead. The souls have stopped attacking and Mistress stands over you.\n\n\u201cI really had hoped you were serious, but I just couldn\u2019t take that chance. I reinforced my own mental shield and cast a repulsion spell. Of course the souls have now completely escaped annihilation, but what the hell, that\u2019s the Emperor\u2019s obsession not mine.\u201d\n\nYou continue to stare upward and slack jaw in a comatose state.\n\n\u201c(Sigh) I suppose the malicious svelk thing to do, would be to continue to keep you alive in this state for a little while longer, but I think you\u2019re probably too far gone for me to even get any enjoyment out of that. Besides, even I couldn\u2019t do that to you. I\u2019m just a fool for love I guess.\u201d\n\nMistress kneels down and takes her dagger that she gave you a long time ago and holds it to your throat.\n\n\u201cWell at least I got to kiss you one last time.\u201d She says and ends what remains of your life.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Go directly to the Emperor", "result": "You get on your horse and make your way to the Empire capital.\n\nYou\u2019re not doing it, plain and simple. The Emperor can deal with you as he sees fit, but you are not going to help Mistress for any reason. You made the attempt and it resulted in trickery again.\n\nBesides, why the hell should you follow every little menial task? You\u2019ve been instrumental in keeping the damn Empire together; you shouldn\u2019t be subjugated to such indignities! Jacob just told you the Emperor is sick, well he better watch it if he wants to stick around long enough to get better.\n\nYou can\u2019t believe you just thought such a thing. What the hell is wrong with you? The thoughts and acts of disobedience are bad enough, but to actually consider\u2026\n\nYou can\u2019t even think it again. Something must be seriously wrong with your mind. Maybe Mistress did something more to you. Maybe she did some sort of magic spell to your head to make you harbor thoughts of dissension. At least you hope that\u2019s case, because if she didn\u2019t then you\u2019d have to come to grips that you thought about killing the Emperor all on your own. Whatever the reason, you\u2019ll be keeping that one to yourself.\n\nWhen you get to the Emperor\u2019s chambers you hear him call for you immediately. Some coughing immediately follows his voice. You\u2019ve definitely never heard him do that before\n\n\u201cThere you are my son, I\u2019m glad to see you. It\u2019s been so long since we\u2019ve talked face to face.\u201d He says as he sits hunched over a desk. He almost looks like he\u2019s struggling to prop himself up. Maybe he is as sick as Jacob says. He\u2019s as pale as Jacob said and his eyes are starting to have a sunken in looking appearance. What used to look like a man in his fifties now looks more like a man in his seventies. In fact he almost looks a bit more like how you thought he was going to when you first met him.\nYou know he\u2019s powerful. Certainly more powerful than you, but he looks so much frailer now. It makes you ashamed that you had thoughts about killing him; especially after all he\u2019s done for you.\n\n\u201cEmperor! I was told you were sick, but I didn\u2019t believe it! How?\u201d\n\u201cSick? (Cough cough) Well I suppose that\u2019s one way of putting it. I\u2019m guessing Jacob told you I was practically on my death bed or something. He still worries too much and you shouldn\u2019t either. I\u2019m not sick, I\u2019m\u2026well its complicated, but suffice to say, I\u2019m not dying anytime soon. Trust me on that one. Now I\u2019d (Cough cough) like a report on the Felkans. Have we finally destroyed them once and for all?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, the capital has been taken and is in the process of being destroyed. The battle mages will be casting defilement spells to make sure nothing ever grows there again. The ruling royals from what we can tell all committed mass suicide.\u201d\n\u201cFigures. But as long as everyone\u2019s dead, it\u2019s still good. So what about gnomes? Any in the capital?\u201d\n\u201cNone. I can only guess we got all of them at Gnome\u2019s Home.\u201d\n\u201cOne can (cough cough) only hope. So have they all been sentenced to oblivion yet?\u201d\n\u201cI don\u2019t know, I haven\u2019t been Gnome\u2019s Home.\u201d\n\u201cYou haven\u2019t? I thought you got here pretty quickly. Surely Jacob told you that I wanted you to go there.\u201d\n\u201cYes, he told me I was to go there to assist and I know that could only mean assisting Mistress with the destruction of gnome souls. It was with great regret that I disobeyed this order, but I simply cannot help that woman again, if ever. The last time I made the attempt was two years ago when I was assisting her at Gnome\u2019s Home and there was some\u2026unpleasantness.\u201d\n\u201cWas there now? I hadn\u2019t heard about this and I spoke to her about leaving you alone, as you well know. So what exactly happened? She try to kill you?\u201d\n\u201cNo, she (sigh) made unwanted advances on me. I turned her down, and later when I went back to my camp she magically disguised herself as Alison and slept with me that way. I of course didn\u2019t now until afterwards.\u201d\n\u201c\u201dIs that all? Here I was thinking it was something serious.\u201d the Emperor replies in a bored tone followed by more coughing. \u201cHowever, I can see that this is something that was very serious to you so I will of course dismiss your transgression of not following orders\u2026again. In the future I will also make sure that you and her are never to work together under any circumstances. I guess my attempt at being peacemaker didn\u2019t work out. (cough cough) Doesn\u2019t matter anyway, but tell me what are you exactly mad concerning that situation that occurred? I get the impression it\u2019s more than just Mistress fucking with you as usual.\u201d\n\nHe\u2019s right. The fact that Mistress tricked you isn\u2019t what bothered you the most; it\u2019s the fact that you unwittingly betrayed Alison. The fact that Mistress cloaked herself as someone you have feelings for\u2026no someone you LOVE to trick you just made it all the worse. You tell the Emperor as much, he nods in between another coughing fit.\n\n\u201cSo, you do love this Alison girl then? It\u2019s not just lust or perhaps a fleeting fancy. You actually love her?\u201d the Emperor asks.\n\u201cI do.\u201d\n\u201cAnd this girl, she feels the same way?\u201d\n\u201cI believe she does.\u201d\n\u201cHmm, you better be sure son.\u201d\n\u201cYes, I know she does.\u201d\n\u201cI see\u2026 well do you want some advice?\u201d\n\u201cFrom you, of course.\u201d\n\u201c (cough cough) Shit. (cough) Okay, here it is then, you\u2019ll save yourself some pain if you end this relationship altogether. Now just listen. I know you\u2019re an intelligent person and an excellent strategist in the matters of war, but on the matters of love you\u2019re\u2026and I don\u2019t mean this as an insult\u2026but you\u2019re a little inexperienced. It\u2019s okay though, even after several centuries I still haven\u2019t figured it all out yet. But I still know more than you and I\u2019m telling you that you\u2019ll be better off not getting deeply involved with such things. Why do you think I\u2019ve never had an Empress by my side? It complicates things to a whole new level and that\u2019s complications YOU don\u2019t need.\u201d\n\nYou\u2019re speechless for a moment. You can\u2019t think of anything to say except\u2026\n\n\u201cIs this an order?\u201d\n\u201cAn order? No, I\u2019d never give such an order concerning matters of the heart; it is merely advice. You may do as you wish. In fact you may do as you wish for quite some time. I\u2019m giving you some down time in light of our glorious victory over the Felkans. We\u2019ll of course be having some celebrations going on here in the capital so if you get the chance you should probably (cough cough) join in the (cough cough) festivities. When you\u2019re needed to return to duty, I\u2019ll send for you as usual. I also want you to know, I\u2019m proud of you son and for all you\u2019ve done for the Empire and know you\u2019ll continue to serve the Empire loyally (cough cough) and with dedication in the future.\u201d\n\nThe Emperor at this point slowly gets up and heads off towards his bedroom area coughing the whole time. You almost ask him if he needs help, but you\u2019d rather not insult him. Besides you\u2019re too busy pondering his advice to you about Alison.\n\nEven you thought about how being in a relationship with Alison put you in a position to fall for Mistress\u2019 trickery. You think about Roldan and how he\u2019s married and it doesn\u2019t seem to affect his judgment, but it\u2019s different for him. He\u2019s married to another Eternal and he doesn\u2019t have the responsibilities you have.\n\nBut as they say, the heart wants what the heart wants and you\u2019ve wanted to spend time with Alison ever since you were split up from her. And now that this war is finally over you have the time to do it. Should you break up with her just because of some potential problems in the future with Mistress or anything else?", "action_results": [{"action": "End things with Alison", "result": "As much as this is going to pain you to do, you need to end your relationship with Alison, if only to save her life. The more you think about it, who knows what the hell Mistress could do next and she\u2019s already proven to ignore the Emperor\u2019s warnings before. Then there\u2019s the Emperor himself. It\u2019s obvious he doesn\u2019t approve of the relationship, and continuing it could potentially be problematic. You certainly wouldn\u2019t want to fall out of favor with the Emperor even if you do love Alison.\n\nYou\u2019re going to keep this as short as possible and hopefully Alison will too. What\u2019s going to make this worse is the fact that this will be the first time you\u2019ve seen each other in years.\n\nYou leave the palace and the capital to make your way to where Alison is currently stationed, which means a long ride back to the new eastern frontier of the Empire. You eventually arrive at Fort Stalwart, which is actually just a renamed and rebuilt fort once held by the ex-Felkan Kingdom.\n\nGiven your reputation, the gates are immediately opened for you. A few of the older soldiers are also probably aware of your relationship with their commanding officer so orders are already given to alert Alison of your sudden arrival. She meets you even before you make it to her office.\n\nShe flashes a smile when she sees you and goes to put her arms around you presumably to kiss you. While you\u2019d love for her to do so, you stop Alison, which confuses the hell out her.\n\n\u201cWhat\u2019s this? Oh. The other soldiers around. You and your insistence on keeping protocol. Very well let\u2019s get to my quarters so we can get you back into your comfort zone, because its been too damn long.\u201d\n\u201cIt has and we should get back to your quarters, but I\u2019m fairly sure you\u2019re not going to be in the mood for what you probably had in mind after I tell you what I have to tell you.\u201d\n\nAlison steps back and gives you a tilted look.\n\n\u201cHmm, sounds serious. You look even more grim than usual. Well let\u2019s get this over with.\u201d Alison says and the pair of you head towards her quarters.\n\nHer private quarters are neat and clean, as you\u2019d expect, on the right wall you see your portrait, which is right across from her bed. Placed in such a way so the first thing she sees when she wakes up is you.\n\n\u201cAlright. Out with it and let\u2019s see exactly how mad you think I\u2019m going to be at you.\u201d Alison remarks closing her door. You sit on the bed and take a deep breath then exhale giving her a look on your face, which contains a hint of regret.\n\n\u201cGeez\u2026this must be bad. I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever seen you like this. Its almost like you\u2019re afraid to tell me. Shit, maybe I better sit down too.\u201d Alison says taking a seat in one her chairs.\n\u201cAlison\u2026I love you. I want you to know that before I say anything else. I never thought I could ever feel this way at all about anyone. It just wasn\u2019t something I was taught or even learned. (whew) Okay enough stalling. Here it is\u2026\u201d\n\nYou tell her that you want to end this relationship. You don\u2019t offer too much of an explanation though, just some vague reason that your duties to the Emperor are always going to take precedence and its not fair to her to have a steady relationship with you because who knows where you\u2019re going to be sent to next and for how long.\n\nYou expect Alison to show some sign of emotion at this point. For the most part she remains stoically silent just listening to everything, but you can tell she is a little surprised by this news.\n\n\u201cI see\u2026well if that\u2019s what you want I won\u2019t try to argue with you about it. Everyone is an adult here and has the freedom of choice. I must admit this has taken me a bit off guard. I sort of thought our relationship was a bit more than just the occasional tumble, but apparently I was wrong. Wish I\u2019d known before though, I could\u2019ve\u2026never mind.\n\u201cI knew you were going to be angry.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m not exactly angry, I\u2019m not sure how I feel. Look just tell me one thing because I have to know. Are you still having a sexual relationship with Mistress?\u201d\n\nNow this statement catches you off guard.\n\n\u201cWhat? No! I don\u2019t love Mistress! You know that!\u201d\n\u201cI didn\u2019t ask you that. I asked you if you were still having some sort of sexual relationship with her. You don\u2019t need to be in love with her. Hell, you don\u2019t even need to like her. But you\u2019ve told me enough of your past with her to know that you both have some sort of twisted attachment to one another. Now I\u2019m going to just ask you one more time. Have you had any sort of intimate contact with her since we parted company?\u201d\n\nYou muster up all your confidence and put on a straight face.\n\n\u201cNo. I swear to you. I haven\u2019t.\u201d\n\nAlison stares at you for a long time. Looking into your eyes and trying to ascertain if you\u2019re lying or not. You get the impression she doesn\u2019t believe you, however since you\u2019ve never been known to be a liar (especially not to her) and your facial expression exhibits a look of truthfulness she can\u2019t completely jump to that conclusion.\n\n\u201cI want to believe you. I suppose if I really wanted to know, I\u2019d tell you to swear on the life of the Emperor, but I won\u2019t do that. It wouldn\u2019t make any difference anyway, because in the scheme of things what does it matter if you\u2019re lying or not. You still came to tell me that our relationship isn\u2019t going to work even if we do have strong feelings for each other, and you\u2019re probably right. The funny thing is before I met you; I was pretty much a free spirited type when it came to relationships. I suppose I\u2019ll return to that mindset, but I\u2019ll always wonder what if?\u201d\n\u201cAlison\u2026\u201d\n\u201cGoodbye Eternal, I don\u2019t want you to see what is going to come next.\u201d Alison remarks as her voice starts to crack.\n\nAnd with those words she turns her back on you. You leave her to her sadness and feel awful about it, but you know it\u2019ll be better for her this way.\n\nAs for you, you\u2019ll just keep serving the Emperor as you always have.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 32\n\nYou look for a seat on the palace balcony to watch Roldan\u2019s big parade celebration.\n\nWell actually it\u2019s supposed an anniversary of the Felkan Kingdom\u2019s demise, but due to Roldan\u2019s important role in the war and his popularity with the people he\u2019s certainly the major focus.\n\nYes, Roldan\u2019s certainly made advances since the Felkan War ended. He got assigned to wipe out the rest of the gnoll tribes in the west. Something you figured you\u2019d get assigned to do considering you did have something to do with beating back those mongrel men in the first place.\n\nInstead, the Emperor has been keeping you closer to home. With the recently acquired Felkan territory and the westward expansion, the Eyes are a little stretched so you\u2019ve mostly been trying to eliminate the new bandit havens popping up in the old Felkan territory along with helping to fend off any desperate gnoll raids that attempt to sneak through. You\u2019re also supposed to be making sure the new \u201ccitizens\u201d aren\u2019t planning to rebel, but given how badly they were beaten down, they\u2019re just glad that you\u2019re allowing them to live. So far no seditious activity has been detected.\n\nYou\u2019re not jealous of Roldan, it\u2019s just that you figured you\u2019d be something a lot more important after the Felkan War. You\u2019d rather be out there conquering new lands for the Emperor and getting into the heat of battles rather than playing super sentinel. At least if you were in active battle it would keep your mind from wandering to thoughts of Alison. It seems like not a day goes by where you don\u2019t think about her.\n\nEven right now as you sit waiting for the parade she dwells in your thoughts, until you hear that old familiar and unwelcome voice\u2026\n\n\u201cHey lover, figured you\u2019d be here. Jacob\u2019s been looking for you. He won\u2019t shut up about how proud he is of Roldan and how he\u2019s so happy about this farce of a celebration.\u201d\n\nYou ignore Mistress, but she keeps talking.\n\n\u201cHe also has Roldan\u2019s wife Brenda with him. One of your old classmates as you know. She\u2019s aged horribly. I mean this is a celebration; the least she could do is attempt to fix herself up rather than stomping around in combat boots and inadequately polished armor like a common soldier. I mean just because you have a lowly status doesn\u2019t mean you always have to look the part. Oh well, I suppose if one doesn\u2019t know, one never will. But enough about her, how have you been?\u201d\n\nMistress sits down next to you and puts her arm around your shoulder. You continue to try to ignore her.\n\n\u201cOh come on, you can\u2019t still be mad at me. You enjoyed our time together. If you hadn\u2019t you wouldn\u2019t have wisely made your decision to split with that little shield maiden of yours. I mean I\u2019ll grant you that she had a certain rustic charm that you sometimes find in lesser creatures, but you knew deep down that she wasn\u2019t for you. Hey, I\u2019ve got an idea why don\u2019t you and I go back to your private quarters and relive some old times? Has to be more appealing than watching this pointless exercise in patriotism. I\u2019ll even let you ejaculate in my mouth and swallow your sweet essence. Come on, I KNOW you\u2019d enjoy that. Seeing me on my knees and debasing myself for you in such a manner. You\u2019d be totally in control. Or maybe you could just bend me over raw and brutally penetrate my\u2026\u201d\n\nAt this point you can\u2019t ignore her anymore and you brush her arm off of you and stand up.\n\n\u201cStay away from me. I\u2019m only going to tell you once.\u201d You say, but Mistress just sits there and smiles.\n\u201cAnd what if I don\u2019t? Will you promise to punish me long and hard?\u201d\n\nMistress says a few more vulgar things causing a bit of a scene for the other spectators. You don\u2019t know if you\u2019ll even be able to stick around for this celebration. You weren\u2019t in the best of moods before and Mistress\u2019 presence is making it worse.", "action_results": [{"action": "Leave the celebration", "result": "You aren\u2019t sticking around to put up with Mistress\u2019 usual obscene suggestions; you\u2019re getting out of here. Mistress of course calls out to you as you leave, but doesn\u2019t follow you. On your way out you bump into Jacob and who you presume is probably Brenda, but you don\u2019t even acknowledge either of them you just want out of this place. You don\u2019t start feeling better until you leave the palace and even then you feel like your whole day has been ruined. You make your way through the hectic streets not paying too much attention to the fact that the parade has started. You\u2019re too pre-occupied with your self loathing on entertaining the idea of going back and taking Mistress up on her offer.\n\nThen you hear a lot of screaming and yelling. This is followed by a lot of people running in all different directions.\n\n\u201cGeneral Roldan\u2019s dead!\u201d\n\u201cShadows! The shadows are back!\u201d\n\u201cThey\u2019ll kill us all!\u201d\n\nYou snap out of your thoughts and process this new sudden information. You see one the Eyes nearby and question him.\n\n\u201cHey you! Where the hell is the rest of your unit? More importantly where the hell is Warrick?\u201d you ask the Eye.\n\u201cMy unit is trying to keep this area under control while searching the nearby buildings here. As far as I know, Sightmaster Warrick was last seen near the city gates.\u201d\n\u201cWell the palace needs some extra protection, I want you to get the rest of your unit over there now. Your primary concern is supposed to be defending the Emperor anyway!\u201d\n\nYou make your way towards the city gates, which is a chore, but when you finally get a clear view of the gates, you find Warrick and Brenda arguing with each in the middle of the chaos.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ve got Eyes scouring the city and mages casting detection spells to back them up, I\u2019m doing all I can Brenda!\u201d Warrick exclaims.\n\u201cWell you\u2019re sure doing a bang up job of that eyeboy, considering you weren\u2019t even able to prevent my husband from getting fucking decapitated in front of everyone! That was a fucking shadow Warrick! It probably already left the city already!\u201d Brenda retorts.\n\u201cI\u2019m well aware of what it was Brenda, I had to track down and fight them a lot more than you ever did!\u201d\n\u201cAnd given that your group was supposed to have wiped them out, you fucked up on that job too!\u201d\n\u201cBrenda if you want to go on your own personal manhunt, fine, you don\u2019t need my permission to do it. Go find and grab the nearest mage and have at it! I don\u2019t have time to argue with you, I\u2019m having a hard enough time trying to coordinate everything in this chaos right now.\u201d\n\nWarrick looks semi-relieved when he sees you arrive.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m glad you\u2019re here, you\u2019ve got magic abilities. Can you take Brenda with you?\u201d\n\nBrenda turns to you though she isn\u2019t as happy to see you either.\n\n\u201cGreat, the other fuck up who was supposed to have been responsible for the extermination of the shadows.\u201d Brenda remarks.\n\u201cBrenda I know you\u2019re angry right now and understandably upset, but I\u2019m not going to tolerate the same sort of verbal abuse you\u2019ve been heaping on Warrick. Now I\u2019ll certainly help you, but we\u2019re going to do this without the arguing.\u201d\n\nYour calm yet firm demeanor doesn\u2019t quell the high emotions going through Brenda right now, but they do at least establish a behavior guideline.\n\n\u201cAlright fine.\u201d She remarks.\n\u201cGood, now let\u2019s start checking the sewers.\u201d\n\u201cThe sewers? Are you sure?\u201d Brenda asks.\n\u201cNo, but I\u2019m making a good guess that it being a shadow, it probably hasn\u2019t gone far and is enjoying the whole idea of hiding right under our noses and possibly even planning the next step to cause further chaos. Besides, shit is often found in the sewers.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019ve got people already searching the sewers.\u201d Warrick pipes up.\n\u201cYeah well, maybe if you had some stationed there and had a thorough search of the sewers before the parade none of this would be necessary now.\u201d\n\u201cThat\u2019s not fair, Jacob said\u2026\u201d\n\u201cI don\u2019t want to hear it Warrick. As far as I\u2019m concerned Brenda\u2019s got a right to be pissed at you considering you were supposed to be in charge of security for this thing.\u201d\n\nLeaving Warrick behind, you and Brenda find the nearest manhole and descend into the smelly darkness. And it does smell pretty awful. Still not as bad as Gnome\u2019s Home though, you don\u2019t think anything will ever smell worse than that place.\n\nYou keep a detection spell constantly on hoping it will catch something worthwhile, but you know this is a long shot and the equivalent of looking for a needle in a haystack. Still, you couldn\u2019t just sit around doing nothing. Brenda might\u2019ve been out of line speaking to you in such a manner, but in some ways you do feel a little responsible since you thought you\u2019d wiped out all the shadows.\n\nBrenda and you are more or less silent the whole time you search the sewers. You never do run into any of Warrick\u2019s people, but then the sewers are just as large as the city itself. It\u2019s not surprising you aren\u2019t having much luck finding a shadow, if one is even hiding down here in the first place.\n\n\u201cDamn it. I\u2019m sorry Brenda.\u201d\n\u201cWhat?\u201d\n\u201cI don\u2019t know where to even look, the sewers were just a blind guess. I have no real idea where to look. You probably were right; the shadow probably already left the city and if that\u2019s the case, who know where the hell it fled to.\u201d\n\nBrenda doesn\u2019t say anything at first and you fully expect her to go off on you, but she doesn\u2019t, instead she starts crying. Or rather she fails in trying not to cry. It would appear that the fact that her husband is dead is finally hitting her hard.\n\n\u201cBrenda I\u2026\u201d you start to say and then a faint whistling sound is heard and you feel a sharp pain going through your back. You look down long enough to see the head of a crossbow bolt. Blood spreads across your chest and you stagger around and stare at a grinning decaying face. You then feel two blades separate your head from your body.\n\nThe good news is your hunch was correct. The bad news is your detection spell couldn\u2019t work on something that was already dead and as a result so are you.\n\nYou can only hope that Brenda gets her revenge and figures it all out, because you won\u2019t.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Stay for the celebration", "result": "You aren\u2019t going to let her run you off, but you aren\u2019t going to put up with her either. You see a seat on the other side of the balcony and head to it. Mistress says a few more things, but eventually stops when you aren\u2019t responding to her anymore.\n\nYou sit there in silence, attempting not to look in her direction, you almost feel glad when Jacob shows up with who you presume is Brenda, but he begins going on about how proud he is a of Roldan and other things you don\u2019t really care about right now.\n\n\u201cJacob, I\u2019m in no mood to speak about anything, I\u2019m only here out of formalities. No offense to you, Roldan or anyone. I just really don\u2019t want to be here right now and would like this over with as soon as possible.\u201d\n\nJacob isn\u2019t sure how to react at first and then he looks over to his left and sees Mistress sitting over at the far end of the balcony. He gets it.\n\n\u201cApologies.\u201d He says and whispers to Brenda about something before turning his attention to the parade, which is just beginning to get underway.\n\nAs you sit there watching you try to lose yourself in the moment, but it\u2019s difficult when you\u2019re fighting the urge to take Mistress up on her offer. Every once in a while you glance over at her and catch a glimpse of her legs. You think about how you\u2019d love to have them wrapped around you while your hands are wrapped around her throat.\n\nWhile you successfully lose yourself in this violent fantasy you are suddenly snapped out of it when everyone starts cheering very loudly.\n\nGeneral Roldan arrives on a giant extravagant platform carried by a dozen or so elven slaves. He stands there in very shiny ornamental armor with an equally ornamental weapon by his side. He waves to the crowds on both sides and accepts their cheers. Brenda and Jacob are both smiling and Jacob is shouting louder than anyone else on the balcony.\n\nThen something unexpected happens.\n\nA cloaked figure suddenly materializes right behind Roldan. From this distance you can\u2019t be sure, but it doesn\u2019t look entirely human. As the crowd\u2019s cheers become sounds of horror, you see this figure draw two curved blades and in one quick move decapitates Roldan before he even knows there is an attacker behind him.\n\nHis body and head don\u2019t even hit the surface of the platform before the cloaked figure disappears again. The elven slaves at this point panic and drop the platform, this is soon followed by the rest of the citizens generally running all over the place and soldiers swarming the streets trying to maintain order. The city is in chaos.\n\nJacob is just sitting there in shock. Alison has immediately ordered everyone on the balcony to get inside the palace. Brenda on the other hand has already left; you imagine she\u2019s taken to the streets to go find her husband\u2019s assassin herself.\n\n\u201cThat was a fucking shadow.\u201d You say to yourself and then you look over to Mistress and see her still sitting in her chair as well, but she\u2019s not in shock. You see a small smirk across her face. That same cruel smirk you\u2019ve seen many times before.\n\nYou KNOW she\u2019s behind this and she\u2019s gone too far this time.\n\nYou push aside the panicking spectators and rush towards Mistress. She turns to your direction just in time for you to tackle her to the ground and begin punching her in the face. Nobody tries to stop you.\n\n\u201cYou fucking treacherous bitch! You did this! I\u2019m putting an end to you once and for all!\u201d you shout.\n\nMistress\u2019 face is bloody and her nose is broken, but she isn\u2019t without fight left in her. She rakes her nails across your eyes, which is enough for her to wiggle out from under you.\n\n\u201cI didn\u2019t have anything to do with this you crazy bastard!\u201d she shouts, but you aren\u2019t listening to her lies. You don\u2019t even care that you\u2019re half blind, you continue to grab at her so she can\u2019t get away.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re not talking your way out of this, you svelk cunt!\u201d you say and stab her in the stomach with the dagger she gave you. She attempts to cast a spell at you, but you grab her hand and break it before she even gets a word out.\n\nYou pick her up off the floor like a rag doll and slam her back against the balcony railing. Her upper half hangs vulnerably over the railing and your intention is to see that the other half soon follows.\n\n\u201cAnd now I\u2019m going to punish you. It might not take you LONG to fall, but when you hit the ground it will certainly be HARD.\u201d You remark as you hands grab both her legs to finish pushing her over, but Mistress still isn\u2019t done yet.\n\n\u201cThere you go, sweet talking me again.\u201d She says and with one last burst of energy and surprising strength she grabs your collar and pulls you forward and the pair of you go tumbling over the balcony.\n\nYour last thoughts before you hit the cold stone courtyard below are of the happier times with Alison followed by the happy thoughts that at least you got to see Mistress hit the ground a split second before you do.", "action_results": []}]}]}, {"action": "Continue your relationship", "result": "You\u2019re sure the Emperor means well and he probably does have more knowledge on these things. But he doesn\u2019t know Alison the way you know her. You also can\u2019t and won\u2019t spend your life in fear that something might occur that will cause strife between you and Alison.\n\nThat\u2019s why you\u2019re going to tell her what happened two years ago and face whatever the consequences may be.\n\nYou leave the palace and the capital to make your way to where Alison is currently stationed, which means a long ride back to the new eastern frontier of the Empire. You eventually arrive at Fort Stalwart, which is actually just a renamed and rebuilt fort once held by the ex-Felkan Kingdom.\n\nGiven your reputation, the gates are immediately opened for you. A few of the older soldiers are also probably aware of your relationship with their commanding officer so orders are already given to alert Alison of your sudden arrival. She meets you even before you make it to her office.\n\nShe flashes a smile when she sees you and goes to put her arms around you presumably to kiss you. While you\u2019d love for her to do so, you stop Alison, which confuses the hell out her.\n\n\u201cWhat\u2019s this? Oh. The other soldiers around. You and your insistence on keeping protocol. Very well let\u2019s get to my quarters so we can get you back into your comfort zone, because its been too damn long.\u201d\n\u201cIt has and we should get back to your quarters, but I\u2019m not sure if you\u2019re going to be in the mood for what you probably had in mind after I tell you what I have to tell you.\u201d\n\nAlison steps back and gives you a tilted look.\n\n\u201cHmm, sounds serious. You look even more grim than usual. Well let\u2019s get this over with.\u201d Alison says and the pair of you head towards her quarters.\n\nHer private quarters are neat and clean, as you\u2019d expect, on the right wall you see your portrait, which is right across from her bed. Placed in such a way so the first thing she sees when she wakes up is you.\n\n\u201cAlright. Out with it and let\u2019s see exactly how mad you think I\u2019m going to be at you.\u201d Alison remarks closing her door. You sit on the bed and take a deep breath then exhale giving her a look on your face which contains a mixture of shame and guilt.\n\n\u201cGeez\u2026this must be bad. I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever seen you like this. Its almost like you\u2019re afraid to tell me. Shit, maybe I better sit down too.\u201d Alison says taking a seat in one her chairs.\n\u201cAlison\u2026I love you. I want you to know that before I say anything else. I never thought I could ever feel this way at all about anyone. It just wasn\u2019t something I was taught or even learned. (whew) Okay enough stalling. Here it is\u2026\u201d\n\nYou tell Alison everything that happened two years ago at Gnome\u2019s Home and afterwards. You also explain that you didn\u2019t want to tell her in a letter because you felt something like this should be face to face. You expect Alison to show some sign of anger at this point, but she remains stoically silent just listening to everything.\n\nLastly, and you weren\u2019t planning on telling her this either, but you mention that the Emperor suggested that you break up with her and how you obviously ignored this advice because your feelings are just that strong for her. This one causes her eyes to widen a little.\n\n\u201cWow, obsessed svelk, rape through magic trickery, warnings from the Emperor, defying orders\u2026sheesh. Bet you never thought you\u2019d have to deal with things like this.\u201d\n\u201cRape?\u201d you say.\n\u201cWell, yes. Its not like you willingly had sex with her, you willingly had sex with what you THOUGHT was me. It might\u2019ve been a civilized form of it, but it still was rape since you wouldn\u2019t have had sex with who it really was. What else would you call what that svelk bitch did to you? The act doesn\u2019t always include a bunch of men holding down a hapless young girl and ramming their dicks into her you know.\u201d\n\nHell, you never even thought about that. For a brief moment you feel slightly\u2026violated.\n\n\u201cAnd here I thought she was just making up shit and posturing.\u201d Alison continues.\n\u201cWait a minute. You\u2026knew? When?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cFor about two years now. Though as you might expect she told things a little differently. Never mentioned about disguising herself as me.\u201d\n\u201cSo she visited you? You never mentioned it in your letters.\u201d\n\u201cWell hey guess what, neither did you. Though in your case I can understand why. In my case it was more I thought she was just so full of shit that I didn\u2019t believe her in the first place and in the second place I knew you were so busy with the Felkans that I didn\u2019t want to distract you with unpleasant thoughts of her in my letters. Figured it would be best to keep her out of them.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat did she tell you exactly?\u201d\n\u201cShe appeared in my office one night claiming that she would always be the main woman in your life. And how I didn\u2019t stand chance against her and that I should just give up now. She said this along with the predictable insults of monkey and my general appearance. Then she mentioned how she easily seduced you into having sex with her and that you would always be hers. Like I said she was so overly dramatic about everything I thought she had to be lying.\u201d\n\u201cSo what did you do?\u201d\n\u201cNothing, I mostly just shrugged my shoulders and told her I thought she was lying. I also mentioned that I found it pretty sad that for all her superior svelk talent and beauty she was still jealous of a mere monkey like myself and obsessed with a man who obviously did not share the strong feelings she obviously has for you. Then to finish up my retort I also told her that even if what she said was true, that even if you did have sex with her it would only make you appreciate me all the more.\u201d\n\u201cYikes. I can imagine she didn\u2019t like that.\u201d\n\u201cOh no, she did not like it at all. Her face turned from a smug sneer to one of frothing anger. I thought she was going to attack me, some flames started emanating from her fingers and for a moment it felt like a force was keeping me from drawing my own weapon. I couldn\u2019t even call out for other soldiers to help. I guess she thought better of it though because she just stood there for a moment staring at me and then made her way out the window. Wasn\u2019t long after that incident the svelk merc support was transferred out of here, which was fine by me and everyone else of course. Not like we needed them against gnoll attacks anymore anyway.\u201d\n\n\u201cI can\u2019t believe all this happened and you aren\u2019t mad.\u201d You say.\n\u201cOh trust me I\u2019m mad, but if you think its with you, you\u2019re mistaken. I can\u2019t do much about it though I suppose. I\u2019m not really concerned with your little svelk stalker. I\u2019m a little more troubled with what you just told me about the Emperor. I get the impression he doesn\u2019t care for my influence, not that I think I really have any over you.\u201d\n\u201cOh that? I wouldn\u2019t worry about him. I believe he\u2019s just overly concerned with my well-being again. He\u2019s always been a little over protective at times, like a father with an only son I suppose. Right now though I\u2019m just wondering how you feel about me after all is said and done.\u201d\n\u201cI don\u2019t feel anything. Ha ha ha \u2026wait that came out wrong. What I mean is I still feel the same way I always have about you. I love you. Nothing has changed.\u201d\n\u201cGood, then let\u2019s get married. Let\u2019s take our relationship to its next logical step.\u201d\n\u201cMarried? You serious?\u201d\n\u201cWell sure. I mean don\u2019t people who feel the way we do get married?\u201d\n\u201cUsually I guess\u2026but I dunno\u2026seems like there some forces against us, and that\u2019s not even including one of us dying violently in battle. I mean in some ways the Emperor might be right. You might save yourself some pain if you ended our relationship now.\u201d\n\u201cPerhaps, but I won\u2019t get to experience the good stuff if I did that.\u201d\n\u201cGood stuff eh? Is that what you\u2019re calling it now?\u201d Alison jokes. \u201cWell, you sure you\u2019re ready for the pain of possibly losing me on some forsaken battlefield somewhere?\u201d\n\u201cHow do you know you\u2019ll die first? You could outlive me.\u201d\n\u201cPfft, please. You\u2019ll outlive everyone. You\u2019d outlast this entire world, if you had the time.\u201d Alison laughs.\n\u201cSo will you marry me?\u201d\n\u201cYes, of course I will.\u201d\n\nAs fitting for two soldiers, you and Alison don\u2019t have a fancy wedding; in fact you get married the next day in some small town in the Arat province by a local bureaucrat. Alison is still on duty for the next week so you return to her post and spend your wedding night in her quarters at Fort Stalwart. She tells you though as soon as she has time off, the pair of you are going to spend quality time doing something fun which doesn\u2019t involve the bedroom. You don\u2019t see the need since the bedroom is just fine with you, but you agree.\n\nWhile waiting for Alison\u2019s time off, you take it upon yourself to have a pair of proper rings made for you and Alison. You also have what possessions you actually own sent to Fort Stalwart since you don\u2019t know where you\u2019ll be stationed next and there is as good of place as any.\n\nAfter you\u2019ve taken care of all that, you still have a day left to wait for Alison, so you go back to see the Emperor, you figure he should know what you\u2019ve done and he\u2019ll know eventually anyway.\n\nWhen you see him again, he\u2019s still coughing a lot and moving slowly when he walks. He seems happy to see you though.\n\n\u201cMy (cough cough) son. This is an unexpected (cough) visit. I would\u2019ve thought you would\u2019ve been off enjoying your down time.\u201d He says.\n\u201cI am, but I have also come to tell you something. I have married Alison.\u201d\n\u201cOh. I see. Well (cough cough) whatever makes you happy son. I trust she makes you happy.\u201d\n\u201cYes.\u201d\n\u201cThen I\u2019m happy for you. (cough cough) Heh, that was quick. Have to admit I didn\u2019t expect you to marry her. You should\u2019ve told me though (cough cough) I could\u2019ve ordered a big city celebration like what (cough cough) we\u2019re doing for the victory over the Felkans. You two could\u2019ve walked down the streets with fancy guard and everything.\u201d\n\u201cThat would\u2019ve been very generous, but I don\u2019t think that would\u2019ve been either of our style.\u201d\n\u201cI suppose not. Well as I (cough cough) have said, I\u2019m happy for you, enjoy your time together and cherish it. So was there anything else?\u201d\n\u201cNo, nothing of any note.\u201d\n\u201cVery well\u2026(cough cough) ugh\u2026I\u2019m still afflicted as you can tell. I need to just rest, so if you\u2019ll excuse me.\u201d\n\nAgain, you feel like asking if he needs help, but you resist. Instead you just quietly start to leave. The Emperor speaks to you as he makes his way back to his bedroom.\n\n\u201cOh. Don\u2019t (cough cough) worry about Semra. I spoke with her earlier a couple days ago about bothering you again.\u201d\n\u201cSemra?\u201d\n\u201cYeah, you know (cough cough) Mistress. I made it quite clear to her if she did do it again that she\u2019d be executed, along with every other svelk in the Empire. (cough cough) Funny thing is, she went into a complete breakdown exclaiming that I didn\u2019t need to worry about that ever again, because as far she was concerned she never wanted to see you ever again. Then she (cough) proceeded to swear in common tongue as well as her own language. Mostly about you. Then she stormed off. If I didn\u2019t know better I thought she was going to cry. I actually wondered what it was that caused all that. Now I know. I guess you had a hidden witness (cough cough) to your wedding.\u201d\n\n\u201cShit.\u201d You say quietly to yourself in amazement. Then you address the Emperor.\n\n\u201cThank you, sir.\u201d\n\u201cNo problem. (cough cough) Think of it as my wedding gift to you.\u201d\n\nWell you couldn\u2019t have asked for a better one, assuming she really does stay away.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 32\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s not just a celebration for Roldan, it\u2019s the celebration of the victory over the Felkans.\u201d You remark.\n\u201cI know that, but why is he getting a special parade? Roldan wasn\u2019t the only one who brought down the Felkan Kingdom! He wasn\u2019t even the only general!\u201d Alison exclaims.\n\u201cHe was involved in the brunt of the major conflicts, including most of the vital forts and cities and most importantly the last siege on the Felkan capital.\u201d You reply.\n\u201cAs I recall YOU played a major role along with several others!\u201d\n\u201cWell Roldan\u2019s also been making great progress in eliminating the gnolls tribes on our western borders too. We probably won\u2019t be having any trouble with them anymore at the rate he\u2019s going.\u201d\n\u201cAnd as I recall YOU also played a major role in that during the Felkan War! Hell, so did I and continued to do so long after you got transferred to the frontlines! Shit, if it hadn\u2019t been for us keeping those mongrel barbarians back who knows how the war would\u2019ve turned out?\u201d\n\u201cAlison why are you so angry about this?\u201d\n\u201cI just don\u2019t understand why you aren\u2019t getting a big parade or accolades either.\u201d Alison says as she finishes getting dressed.\n\u201cI dunno, I\u2019m not really concerned about it though.\u201d You reply apathetically. \u201cBesides you know I don\u2019t care for all this kind of pomp and flash that comes with these sorts of celebrations anyway. If I didn\u2019t have to be here out of formality I wouldn\u2019t even be attending.\u201d\n\u201cMaybe, but it doesn\u2019t seem fair that you\u2019ve been getting punished just because you married me.\u201d\n\u201cHere we go, this concept again\u2026\u201d\n\nAlison goes into her usual rant about how since you got married to her, you\u2019ve been getting less important assignments. She feels that the Emperor has been punishing you by keeping you in the background while allowing Roldan to take more of a prominent role such as sending him to conquer the gnoll tribes of the west.\n\nYou can see this argument, and you have even entertained it a bit from time to time, but ultimately you\u2019ve dismissed it, mainly because despite everything you\u2019re still reporting directly to the Emperor. You\u2019re still his most trusted of all his advisors.\n\nYou\u2019re still his son.\n\nBesides its not like you\u2019re sitting around doing nothing. The Emperor has just been keeping you closer to home because this is where you\u2019re currently needed. With the recently acquired Felkan territory and the westward expansion, the Eyes are a little stretched so you\u2019ve mostly been trying to eliminate the new bandit havens popping up in the old Felkan territory along with helping to fend off any desperate gnoll raids that attempt to sneak through. You\u2019re also supposed to be making sure the new \u201ccitizens\u201d aren\u2019t planning to rebel, but given how badly they were beaten down, they\u2019re just glad that you\u2019re allowing them to live. So far no seditious activity has been detected.\n\nTrue, you\u2019d rather be out there conquering new lands in his name and getting into the heat of battles rather than playing super sentinel, but at least you get to see Alison more often. It\u2019s a good trade off as far as you\u2019re concerned.\n\nAs far as Roldan is concerned you aren\u2019t worried about him being \u201cfavored.\u201d This large celebration for Roldan is more Jacob\u2019s idea mainly because Roldan has largely become well known along with being well liked throughout the Empire. Not just by the military, but by the normal citizens as well. He\u2019s generally regarded as a hero of sorts.\n\nJacob practically begged the Emperor for this special celebration because he felt it would be good for overall morale throughout the Empire. Well that, and the fact Jacob feels \u201cvindicated\u201d that his own influence on the Eternals has proved successful. Though you sort of had a major role in Jacob\u2019s fortune in that endeavor as well, something else Alison mentions in her rant.\n\n\u201cYou know, I might be getting sent to the unexplored land east of Nalin. There\u2019s been discussion about expansion in that direction.\u201d You say to Alison in the hopes that it will calm her down a bit.\n\u201cYeah? Well I certainly hope you\u2019ll get your own special celebration when you conquer whoever lives there. I\u2019m sorry. I don\u2019t know why this is getting to me. This doesn\u2019t bother you, so it shouldn\u2019t bother me. You\u2019re right anyway, I guess if you\u2019d really fallen out of favor you would\u2019ve been sent to go tame the inhospitable usksha desert south of Nalin alone in a loin cloth welding just a wooden sword.\u201d\n\nYou chuckle at Alison\u2019s scenario.\n\n\u201cOkay how do I look? Do I look presentable for the Emperor\u2019s palace?\u201d\n\nAlison stands before you in a black dress. It isn\u2019t excessively fancy, but it\u2019s certainly not something peasant would wear. While you\u2019ve seen Alison in civilian clothing before, you\u2019ve not seen her in something so elegant.\n\n\u201cReally you didn\u2019t need to dress up for this thing, I certainly didn\u2019t. I just made sure I didn\u2019t have a tear in my trousers and polished my armor.\u201d\n\u201cMaybe that\u2019s because visiting the Emperor\u2019s palace isn\u2019t that big of a deal to you. For me however this is a new experience. Just glad my mother\u2019s old dress fit me, since it\u2019s practically the only fancy thing I own.\u201d\nWell, you look lovely and dangerous as usual. The rapier on your hip is a nice touch. Didn\u2019t realize that\u2019s what all the upper class ladies were accessorizing with nowadays.\u201d\n\u201cHa ha, I said I wanted to look presentable, I didn\u2019t say I was going for high society. I\u2019m still a soldier by nature, I\u2019m not going anywhere without a weapon. \u201c\n\u201cThat\u2019s my girl, let\u2019s be on our way.\u201d You remark and the pair of you set off for the capital in a carriage.\n\nAlison\u2019s mood is much better the closer you get to your destination. When you arrive, the capital is already pretty busy along with the surrounding countryside. The city guard and a few soldiers are busily trying to keep order and keep the path clear for the parade later. The palace is certainly less chaotic and you take the opportunity to show Alison some of it. She mostly enjoys the ancient armor and weapon displays along with some of the statues. You have to admit, before you came here with Alison, you never really admired them before.\n\nDoesn\u2019t take long before someone who knows you approaches. It\u2019s Jacob and a brunette woman who looks about your age. She must be a soldier of some sort because she\u2019s dressed in armor.\n\n\u201cThere you are, I was wondering when you\u2019d arrive! When did you get here?\u201d\n\u201cI don\u2019t know, a half hour ago I guess. I was showing Alison some of the palace since she\u2019s never been here before.\u201d\n\u201cAh yes, Alison! It\u2019s a pleasure to finally meet you face to face! Better known as Major Krozer for those of us that have only known her through her military deeds. I heard how you were instrumental during the Felkan War on the gnoll front! That was great work! Between you and your husband here you really paved the way to the destruction of those barbarians.\u201d\n\u201cThank you for the recognition.\u201d Alison remarks politely. Ever the professional, she knows not to bring her personal feelings into a setting like this.\n\u201cEveryone should remember that even though a special parade is being held for General Roldan, all soldiers who did their duty during that terrible war are to be honored and respected. Actually scratch that, ALL soldiers of the Empire should be.\u201d Jacob says as he looks over to the warrior woman.\n\u201cOh I\u2019m sure I didn\u2019t do anything nearly as impressive as my husband or even the major and her husband here. But I suppose can be glad that the kobold and usksha population is a lot lower due to me.\u201d the woman says.\n\u201cBrenda, don\u2019t sell yourself short! You know you\u2019ve done great things as well.\u201d Jacob says.\n\u201cBrenda?\u201d you ask. You didn\u2019t even recognize her, but then it has been quite a while.\n\u201cYep, it\u2019s me. Been a long time. I figured you wouldn\u2019t recognize me right away. Oh, sorry about all that y\u2019know\u2026back in class.\u201d\n\u201cAs I\u2019ve told everyone else Brenda, all in the past. All in the past.\u201d You say.\n\nThe four of you speak for a moment exchanging general pleasantries. Jacob seems even happier than Brenda about Roldan\u2019s celebration. In fact in the whole time you\u2019ve known him, this has to be the happiest you\u2019ve ever seen him. Eventually the four of you head to one of the palace\u2019s large balconies where you can view the entire parade.\n\nThree of the five known Eternals are here, and it makes you wonder where your other classmates are since it seems like they would be important enough to be here. When you ask Jacob this question, Jacob says Warrick is indeed here, but is currently working as head of security for this celebration being Sightmaster of the Eyes and all. As for Kane, Jacob stumbles a bit over his words.\n\n\u201cWell, erm\u2026Kane is having personal problems\u2026he\u2019s been reassigned to Rask while he uh\u2026works things out. They\u2019re always having problems with the occasional giant lumbering down from the mountains and the stray feral ogre bands there anyway.\u201d\n\u201cJacob, I\u2019m well aware of Kane\u2019s condition, you know.\u201d\n\u201cYou are? Yes\u2026I suppose you would, considering you\u2019ve visited Gnome\u2019s Home in the past. (Sigh) Well then you know its best that he\u2019s not around other normal people, even other soldiers. He\u2019s still loyal to the Empire, he just has to be isolated. So he\u2019s at a very remote outpost at the edge of the northern Rask Mountains. He keeps a look out for potential attacks and if he\u2026gets hungry he\u2019s away from civilization and has the beasts from the mountains to prey upon.\u201d\n\nYou shake your head.\n\n\u201cJacob, I can appreciate that you\u2019re trying to help Kane, but I wonder if his reassignment is really a good idea. What\u2019s stopping Kane from losing complete control and wandering to a nearby village and slaughtering it?\u201d\n\u201cHe won\u2019t. He\u2019s extremely far away from the nearest civilized center and even Fort Defiance. The only victims of his will be giants and the like. And they\u2019re enemies of the Empire anyway. Look, can we discuss this later? The celebration is starting.\u201d Jacob says.\n\nYou nod and return to Alison to watch the parade. It is indeed a lavish sight. You see soldiers in impression armor marching in complete unison performing drill techniques with perfect timing. You see wizards creating small extraordinary feats of magic to entertain.\n\nAs you sit there watching you do sort of lose yourself in the moment and actually enjoy just being a \u201cspectator\u201d. Being there with Alison certainly helps make you feel normal for a while.\n\nThen comes the big moment. General Roldan arrives on a giant extravagant platform carried by a dozen or so elven slaves. He stands there in very shiny ornamental armor with an equally ornamental weapon by his side. He waves to the crowds on both sides and accepts their cheers. Brenda and Jacob are both smiling and Jacob is shouting louder than anyone else on the balcony.\n\n\u201cSheesh, you\u2019d think he was the one married to Roldan.\u201d Alison remarks.\n\nYou snicker at her comment and then suddenly as you\u2019re watching Roldan wave on the platform, you get a very bed feeling. You don\u2019t know why or how, but all your instincts scream out at you that something very bad is going to happen\u2026\n\nAnd then it does.\n\nA cloaked figure suddenly materializes right behind Roldan. From this distance you can\u2019t be sure, but it doesn\u2019t look entirely human. As the crowd\u2019s cheers become sounds of horror, you see this figure draw two curved blades and in one quick move decapitates Roldan before he even knows there is an attacker behind him.\n\nHis body and head don\u2019t even hit the surface of the platform before the cloaked figure disappears again. The elven slaves at this point panic and drop the platform, this is soon followed by the rest of the citizens generally running all over the place and soldiers swarming the streets trying to maintain order. The city is in chaos.\n\nJacob is just sitting there in shock. Alison has immediately ordered everyone on the balcony to get inside the palace. Brenda on the other hand has already left; you imagine she\u2019s taken to the streets to go find her husband\u2019s assassin herself.\n\n\u201cThat was a fucking shadow.\u201d You say to yourself.", "action_results": [{"action": "Seek the assassin", "result": "The Emperor is probably the most secure person in the area and even though he\u2019s not been well lately, you know that he\u2019s still more than capable of defending himself against some shadows.\n\nYour best bet is to some how track down the assassin before he gets away, so you tell Alison that you\u2019re going to follow Brenda\u2019s lead and chase after the assassin.\n\n\u201cWait, how do you even know where to look?\u201d Alison asks.\n\u201cI don\u2019t, but I have to try. Just get Jacob inside, he\u2019s still out on the balcony in shock.\u201d You answer before leaving.\n\nAs frantic as the palace is, the streets of the city are much worse. You have to literally fight your way through in order to get anywhere. After pushing several citizens out of the way, you stumble upon one of the Eyes.\n\n\u201cHey you! Where the hell is the rest of your unit? More importantly where the hell is Warrick?\u201d you ask the Eye.\n\u201cMy unit is trying to keep this area under control while searching the nearby buildings here. As far as I know, Sightmaster Warrick was last seen near the city gates.\u201d\n\u201cWell the palace needs some extra protection, I want you to get the rest of your unit over there now. Your primary concern is supposed to be defending the Emperor anyway!\u201d\n\nYou make your way towards the city gates, which is a chore. You still wonder where Brenda went, but when you finally get a clear view of the gates, you find her and Warrick arguing with each in the middle of the chaos.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ve got Eyes scouring the city and mages casting detection spells to back them up, I\u2019m doing all I can Brenda!\u201d Warrick exclaims.\n\u201cWell you\u2019re sure doing a bang up job of that eyeboy, considering you weren\u2019t even able to prevent my husband from getting fucking decapitated in front of everyone! That was a fucking shadow Warrick! It probably already left the city already!\u201d Brenda retorts.\n\u201cI\u2019m well aware of what it was Brenda, I had to track down and fight them a lot more than you ever did!\u201d\n\u201cAnd given that your group was supposed to have wiped them out, you fucked up on that job too!\u201d\n\u201cBrenda if you want to go on your own personal manhunt, fine, you don\u2019t need my permission to do it. Go find and grab the nearest mage and have at it! I don\u2019t have time to argue with you, I\u2019m having a hard enough time trying to coordinate everything in this chaos right now.\u201d\n\nWarrick looks semi-relieved when he sees you arrive.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m glad you\u2019re here, you\u2019ve got magic abilities. Can you take Brenda with you?\u201d\n\nBrenda turns to you though she isn\u2019t as happy to see you either.\n\n\u201cGreat, the other fuck up who was supposed to have been responsible for the extermination of the shadows.\u201d Brenda remarks.\n\u201cBrenda I know you\u2019re angry right now and understandably upset, but I\u2019m not going to tolerate the same sort of verbal abuse you\u2019ve been heaping on Warrick. Now I\u2019ll certainly help you, because I want this sonofabitch almost as bad as you do, but we\u2019re going to do this without the arguing.\u201d\n\nYour calm yet firm demeanor doesn\u2019t quell the high emotions going through Brenda right now, but they do at least establish a behavior guideline.\n\n\u201cAlright fine.\u201d She remarks.\n\u201cGood, now let\u2019s start checking the sewers.\u201d\n\u201cThe sewers? Are you sure?\u201d Brenda asks.\n\u201cNo, but I\u2019m making a good guess that it being a shadow, it probably hasn\u2019t gone far and is enjoying the whole idea of hiding right under our noses and possibly even planning the next step to cause further chaos. Besides, shit is often found in the sewers.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019ve got people already searching the sewers.\u201d Warrick pipes up.\n\u201cYeah well, maybe if you had some stationed there and had a thorough search of the sewers before the parade none of this would be necessary now.\u201d\n\u201cThat\u2019s not fair, Jacob said\u2026\u201d\n\u201cI don\u2019t want to hear it Warrick. As far as I\u2019m concerned Brenda\u2019s got a right to be pissed at you considering you were supposed to be in charge of security for this thing.\u201d\n\nLeaving Warrick behind, you and Brenda find the nearest manhole and descend into the smelly darkness. And it does smell pretty awful. Still not as bad as Gnome\u2019s Home though, you don\u2019t think anything will ever smell worse than that place.\n\nYou keep a detection spell constantly on hoping it will catch something worthwhile, but you know this is a long shot and the equivalent of looking for a needle in a haystack. Still, you couldn\u2019t just sit around doing nothing. Brenda might\u2019ve been out of line speaking to you in such a manner, but in some ways you do feel a little responsible since you thought you\u2019d wiped out all the shadows.\n\nBrenda and you are more or less silent the whole time you search the sewers. You never do run into any of Warrick\u2019s people, but then the sewers are just as large as the city itself. It\u2019s not surprising you aren\u2019t having much luck finding a shadow, if one is even hiding down here in the first place.\n\n\u201cDamn it. I\u2019m sorry Brenda.\u201d\n\u201cWhat?\u201d\n\u201cI don\u2019t know where to even look, the sewers were just a blind guess. I have no real idea where to look. You probably were right; the shadow probably already left the city and if that\u2019s the case, who know where the hell it fled to.\u201d\n\nBrenda doesn\u2019t say anything at first and you fully expect her to go off on you, but she doesn\u2019t, instead she starts crying. Or rather she fails in trying not to cry. It would appear that the fact that her husband is dead is finally hitting her hard.\n\n\u201cBrenda I\u2026\u201d you start to say and then a faint whistling sound is heard and you feel a sharp pain going through your back. You look down long enough to see the head of a crossbow bolt. Blood spreads across your chest and you stagger around and stare at a grinning decaying face. You then feel two blades separate your head from your body.\n\nThe good news is your hunch was correct. The bad news is your detection spell couldn\u2019t work on something that was already dead and as a result so are you.\n\nYou can only hope that Brenda gets her revenge and figures it all out, because you won\u2019t.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Secure the palace", "result": "If this is some sort of shadow attack then the first thing you need to do is keep the palace secure, in particular the Emperor. Besides the city streets are going to be mayhem, you doubt if you\u2019ll be able to track down the assassin that killed Roldan. Hopefully others will get him though.\n\nDespite Alison getting most of the people back into the palace, Jacob is still sitting on the balcony in shock.\n\n\u201cHe\u2026he\u2026he\u2019s not\u2026he can\u2019t\u2026\u201d Jacob stutters.\n\u201cJacob get your ass inside now!\u201d you shout and drag him inside.\n\nYou and Alison both start taking control of the situation telling the guards to lock up every opening they can and the mages on duty to magically seal up the rest. Alison tells the guests to find some place safe to gather, but you don\u2019t really care about any of them. Your number one concern is the safety of the Emperor.\n\n\u201cAlison, I need to\u2026\u201d\n\u201cI know, the Emperor. Go. I can help with keeping shit together here.\u201d\n\nYou rush down to the Emperor\u2019s den constantly looking around the whole time. You keep thinking that a shadow, or whatever that was that killed Roldan is going to suddenly materialize at anytime.\n\nWhen you get inside the Emperor\u2019s chambers, he\u2019s in bed asleep. You don\u2019t want to wake him, but he needs to know the situation.\n\n\u201cHuh? Mmmh? Oh hey\u2026(cough cough) what\u2019re you doing here? Are the festivities already over?\u201d he asks.\n\u201cEmperor, there\u2019s been an assassination. General Roldan was killed during the parade by what I think was a shadow. We\u2019re currently trying to secure the palace just in case this is part of a greater attack.\u201d\n\u201cSounds like a lot happened while I was taking a nap. Shadow huh? Thought we killed all of them. Guess they were just playing a waiting game as usual. Always a few loose ends aren\u2019t there? (cough) I imagine Jacob isn\u2019t taking Roldan\u2019s death too well.\u201d\n\u201cNot at all, he\u2019s pretty much in shock and was babbling the last time I saw him.\u201d\n\u201cHmm, well it is a shame. Roldan did turn out to be one of our best generals. I\u2019ll have to make sure he gets a nice funeral. If we can\u2019t celebrate his successes in life, at least we can honor him in death. (cough cough)\u2026what\u2019s wrong my son?\u201d the Emperor asks when he notices that you\u2019re looking slightly troubled.\n\n\u201cI was one of the ones chiefly in charge of hunting down the shadows. The fact that I missed one or possibly several so that something like this could happen\u2026I feel like I failed.\u201d You explain.\n\u201cNonsense, you did what you could to the best of your ability. I\u2019ve always known that. Don\u2019t even start playing what if for this situation, because it\u2019s not worth it. While this event has certainly been tragic in that it ruined what was supposed to be a happy day, this really isn\u2019t excessively serious in the scheme of things. (cough cough) If you were worried about me, don\u2019t be. Even in my less than magnificent state, I\u2019m more than able to handle a shadow or even a dozen of them. Assuming they could even get in here in the first place. Its probably just one crazed shadow that somehow hid under a rock all these years from our purges and thinks this one act is going to bring us down. Foolish of course, but what can you expect from such fanatics?\u201d\n\u201cYou don\u2019t think this sort of thing could cause instability in the Empire?\u201d\n\u201cHardly. (cough cough) The citizens might panic about things for awhile, they\u2019ll be fearful of the big bad shadows\u2019 return for revenge or whatever stories they\u2019ll make up, but ultimately it all works in our benefit I\u2019m sure you know. (cough cough) We get to continue to display how without us they would be at the mercy of dangerous forces that would have destroyed them long ago.\u201d\n\u201cSo\u2026what did you want me to do now?\u201d you ask.\n\nThe Emperor begins to sit up a bit more before answering you.\n\n\u201cNothing. In fact (cough cough) after things calm down a bit, you can return to your regular duties in the newly acquired Gan and Ibim provinces. I can handle things here in the palace and the city, just get Jacob down here and I\u2019ll start hammering out the plans.\u201d\n\u201cYou really don\u2019t need me to do anything?\u201d\n\u201cNo, your talents are far more useful doing what you\u2019re doing right now. Besides, with Roldan dead you might be needed more than ever on that side of the Empire. Last I heard there were still gnolls running about. (cough cough) I of course appreciate your concern as always my son.\u201d\n\nThe Emperor begins to slowly get out of bed and you take your leave. When you get back upstairs everything is more or less peaceful. Alison and some of the other officers have been making sure the palace is secure. Alison tells you there have been no signs of any potential attackers. Reports from outside the palace are about the same, other than Roldan\u2019s assassination the only other causalities have been from soldiers trying to maintain order or from people getting trampled in the initial chaos. No shadows or anything else like that.\n\n\u201cSo what\u2019s the next move? What did the Emperor tell you?\u201d Alison asks.\n\u201cHe told me not to worry and when things calm down outside to just return to my normal duties.\u201d You respond\n\u201cThat\u2019s it?!\u201d\n\u201cThat\u2019s it. He wants to see Jacob though, is he in a more coherent mindset now?\u201d\n\u201cCompared to before? Yeah, but he\u2019s still pretty shaken up. I know he\u2019s been crying.\u201d\n\nYou walk over to Jacob who is sitting quietly in a chair with his head in his hands. He\u2019s still very upset. You have to repeat yourself twice when telling him that the Emperor wants to see him.\n\nYou and Alison stay at the palace for a few more minutes, but when you get news that a carriage is able to take you back to Fort Stalwart you decide to leave immediately. Its hectic trying to leave at first since there is still a bit of turmoil in the streets as well as the surrounding countryside, but once you\u2019re a few miles from the capital the ride becomes more relaxed.\n\nAlison asks you if you\u2019re certain about leaving.\n\n\u201cThe Emperor told me to just return to more normal duties and not to worry, so that\u2019s what I\u2019m going to do. If he says he can handle this incident himself then I have no reason to doubt that. Besides, he also said with Roldan dead I might be needed more on the western borders anyway.\u201d You say.\n\u201cHmm. I guess all those times I worried about you being punished seem sort of silly now\u2026sheesh\u2026today was surreal. I mean I\u2019ve seen a lot of stuff in my years of service, but nothing like this. The general consensus seems to be that it was a shadow that killed Roldan. Certainly looked like one from where I was sitting.\u201d Alison replies.\n\u201cI don\u2019t see what else it could\u2019ve been. Similar style of clothing, invisibility, incredibly quick, sneak attack, the elements were all there. (Sigh) Damn.\u201d\n\u201cYou alright?\u201d\n\u201cI just\u2026well I dunno. I just can\u2019t believe we\u2026I missed a shadow. Really thought we got them all when I killed Cyrus. The Emperor said it wasn\u2019t my fault and I know it really isn\u2019t but I still feel like this is a major loss.\u201d\n\u201cYeah, I can imagine you\u2019d feel that way having worked together with Roldan during the Felkan War.\u201d\n\u201cHeh, well to be honest Roldan and I were never close. I mean we were professional and civil, but we never really did become what you\u2019d call friends. Still though he didn\u2019t deserve to die like that. He wasn\u2019t just an excellent solder and general, he was an Eternal and I guess that bond was there to an extent even if it was faint. Now there\u2019s one less of us.\u201d\n\u201cI guess given that you all grew up together and were subjected more or less to the same training, the other Eternals are sort of like, your siblings?\u201d\n\u201cYeah, I suppose in some ways they are. Funny that I never thought of that before.\u201d You remark.\n\nAs you reflect on all that\u2019s happened, Alison reaches out to touch your hand, you look over at her and return her smile with one of your own. Happy that you have her.\n\nThen your smile disappears when a bolt grazes your ear and hits Alison right in the eye. Her blood splatters on your face and her body slowly goes limp in your arms.\n\nYou turn your head around just in time to see the assassin hanging outside the carriage window with one hand and his other arm reeling back from having launched his bolt from his armbow.\n\nIt\u2019s definitely a shadow, but from this range you can also see it\u2019s also not human. The face is either severely burned or rotten. It grins at you with blacken teeth and before you can react, it rapidly climbs up which is followed by brief scream from the carriage driver and then the ride gets a lot bumpier really quick.\n\nThe shadow has probably killed the driver and is probably in the process of detaching the horses. Meanwhile you\u2019re still holding the body of you beloved Alison.", "action_results": [{"action": "Chase the assassin", "result": "With revenge filling every inch of your body you immediately open the carriage door with the intent of climbing up to meet your attacker. No sooner have you opened the door when a rotting hand from above attempts to stab you in the face with a dagger.\n\nThe blade superficially wounds you as it slices across your cheek. Unfazed you immediately grab the hand and pull down as hard as you can. The moment you do so you suddenly feel an unnatural drain of energy. Magic is definitely at work here and it\u2019s sapping your strength. Despite this, the shadow tumbles off of the roof, but on its way down it grabs your own arm with its other hand and the pair of you fall from the carriage.\n\nUnfortunately, when you\u2019re pulled out of the carriage you don\u2019t clear it completely and your ankle is run over by one of the back wheels of the carriage that is still in motion. The bone snaps and you know it\u2019s broken along with your nose when you fell flat on your face on the hard road.\n\nThe shadow has recovered from his own fall much better having landed on his feet. You push yourself up just in time for his foot to kick you in the ribs. You roll away struggling to put some distance between yourself and the attacker.\n\n\u201cY\u2019know when I was brought back I was given very specific instructions not to kill you\u2026but I believe I will ignore them. After all I\u2019m already dead, what else can be done to me?\u201d you hear the shadow hiss in a raspy tone.\n\nYou attempt to raise your hand to cast a flame blast, but the shadow grabs your wrist and you feel an even greater drain on your strength than you did before. At this close range you can smell the rot more strongly.\n\n\u201cOh no, you burned me once before, not again.\u201d The shadow hisses as it drains your energy. With its recent comments, you realize this isn\u2019t just a shadow or even some undead horror possibly masquerading as one. It\u2019s Cyrus.\n\nYour whole body feels like its been beaten with a stone pillar yet you manage to muster the strength to pull your dagger and stab Cyrus repeatedly. You aren\u2019t even aware of where you\u2019re aiming, you stab it in the arm, in the shoulder, in the chest, in the face and wherever else you can reach until it lets you go and staggers back with your dagger still in its body.\n\nYou\u2019re dizzy, weak, and have only one good foot, but try to stand up anyway. Cyrus pulls the dagger from his body and does his typical shadow speed tactic in an attempt to rush into you with the dagger. You barely manage to put up a small force shield to block the blade from going into your stomach. Still the impact of the hit knocks you back down to the ground breaking your concentration on the spell. Cyrus kneels down to grab your neck, he\u2019s not even squeezing and you feel the life leaving your body. You start to fade in and out of consciousness.\n\n\u201cNow I\u2019m going to show you something truly eternal. Death. They say the dead feel nothing, but that\u2019s not true. It\u2019s a lie just like the lie I believed about Dendrin meeting me for the afterlife. You know what I experienced instead? A very dark place filled with pain until I was ripped out of it and put back here on this mortal realm. That\u2019s where you\u2019re going brother. You\u2019re going to a very dark place filled with pain and I\u2019m going enjoy every moment putting you there.\u201d\n\nAt this point you have no idea what the hell Cyrus is speaking about, all you know is he\u2019s more talkative in death than he ever was in life and that if he\u2019s going to kill you, you wish he\u2019d just shut up and do it already.\n\nThings get fuzzy again just as Cyrus\u2019 fingers release your neck. What happens next is a blur. You do hear familiar female voice though.\n\n\u201cThis one is not yours to take, revenant.\u201d\n\nThis is followed by an inhuman scream and a bright light which is piercing even with your eyes nearly closed. Between the screaming, the bright light and your weakened state it\u2019s all too much for you and start to pass out.\n\nYou see a female shape with long hair standing over you, but you can\u2019t make out the face.\n\n\u201c\u2026Alison?\u201d you struggle to whisper.\n\u201c(Sigh) Blind to your true allies and lovers as always.\u201d The figure says and then lays your dagger on your body. \u201cHere, I know how much you treasure this gift to you.\u201d\n\u201cOh\u2026fuck\u2026\u201d you say as you pass out.\n\nYou don\u2019t know how long you\u2019re out for, but when you come to you\u2019re in a spare bed in the Emperor\u2019s quarters. Your ankle and nose feel tender but they don\u2019t feel broken anymore.\n\nYou look to your left and see the Emperor standing nearby with a walking stick in hand.\n\n\u201cAh, you\u2019re awake and looking much better too. You looked about as bad as I do when Jacob first dragged you in here.\u201d The Emperor remarks, sitting in a chair near you.\n\u201cJacob found me?\u201d\n\u201cNo, actually Warrick and some of the Eyes picked you up off the road when a travelling patrol reported coming across your body and an overturned carriage crashed into a tree a few feet away. I requested that you be brought to me personally when I heard the news. You were severely injured, and I was damned if I was going to let anyone else bumble in the attempt to help you get better.\u201d\n\u201cAlison?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cI\u2019m sorry son, but she\u2019s dead. If that bolt to the eye didn\u2019t do it, her neck was broken in the crash.\u201d The Emperor remarks.\n\nYou want to cry out, but you just don\u2019t have the energy right now. You still feel woozy for one thing, the other is you had little hope that she was still alive anyway. The moment you saw that bolt in her eye, the moment you felt her blood on your face, the moment you felt her body go completely limp in your arms\u2026you knew then she was dead.\n\n\u201cDid you need some time alone?\u201d the Emperor asks.\n\u201cNo\u2026I suppose I already knew.\u201d You respond. \u201cI\u2019m sort of overwhelmed by everything that happened. I imagine I will grieve later for her.\u201d\n\u201cI know how much she meant to you. I know she was also a loyal soldier and officer. She will be missed not just by you, but also by the Empire as a whole. Whatever type of funeral you wish for her, you know you\u2019ve got it. I mean if you want a holiday to\u2026\u201d\n\u201cThat\u2026isn\u2019t necessary. I believe I will just have a simple funeral for her. She was like me, she didn\u2019t seek out a lot of attention.\u201d\n\u201cAs you wish. Remember though, whatever you need. You got it.\u201d\n\u201cCan you manage an execution for a certain svelk bitch?\u201d\n\nThe Emperor starts one of his coughing fits before answering.\n\n\u201cI assume you\u2019re talking about Mistress. Yes, I fear I did uncover some evidence that it was she that was behind all this chaos. How did you know about her involvement though? Is she the one that attacked your carriage?\u201d\n\nYou explain to the Emperor what happened. He seems surprised to hear that the shadow wasn\u2019t alive and was in fact undead. He concludes that Mistress must\u2019ve raised Cyrus from the dead since she certainly has the skill to do it.\n\n\u201cNecromancy eh? Raising the dead is dangerous stuff to dabble in, especially when summoning something as powerful as a revenant. (cough cough) Very difficult to command something that\u2019s dead, yet still control of most of the skills they possessed in their old life. Too willful. Still I didn\u2019t think that even she would be insane enough to try something like this. Her obsession (cough) with you must be great indeed. I\u2019m not even sure what she hoped to accomplish, other than more chaos and strife I suppose. Hmm, well I guess that does sound like a svelk.\u201d\n\u201cAll I know is she deliberately set this up. Her standing over me as if she was my savior. I\u2019m not fucking fooled! Next time I see her, she\u2019s dead!\u201d\n\u201cWell unfortunately Miss Semra D\u2019vessa has fled the Empire and who knows where she\u2019s gone. There aren\u2019t even many svelk mercs within borders of the Empire anymore. There still might be a few in Rask, (cough cough) if you\u2019d like I could make that law to have all svelk executed on sight. Hell, I think I\u2019ll do that anyway. Someone needs to take the blame for this and it\u2019ll certainly make the citizens happy to have mass hangings of dark elves. I know the elves will love it.\u201d\n\nWhile the Emperor\u2019s attempts to cheer you up with small acts of genocide are kind, you begin to feel the need to be by yourself. Your silence and your eyes looking downward are all the signs that the Emperor needs to take his leave.\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t worry son. We\u2019ll get her.\u201d He says and then leaves you to your solitude.\n\nYou sit in bed for a long time trying to take everything in. Alison is gone. You\u2019ll never see her smile, you\u2019ll never feel her touch, you\u2019ll never hear her voice, you\u2019ll never enjoy anything involving her ever again. You almost feel like you don\u2019t want to go on living and you never thought you\u2019d ever feel something like that especially since survival has been beat and ingrained into your very being.\n\nThat isn\u2019t the worst of it though. You didn\u2019t even get revenge on the one that killed her. In fact her assassin would\u2019ve killed you as well if you hadn\u2019t been saved, but that\u2019s still not the worst of it.\n\nSemra\u2026Mistress\u2026svelk bitch\u2026whatever you call her. She saved your life.\n\nAs far as you\u2019re concerned that\u2019s the worst of it. However you\u2019ll get over it and grow stronger from this experience. You always do.\n\nAll it takes is time.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 35\n\nWhile you\u2019ve never been excessively fond of these important meetings because they take you away from the battlefield, you like them even less nowadays due to having to see the Emperor in such a weakened state. You remember when he first started displaying the signs of being unwell; you dismissed it and thought that he\u2019d eventually get better. Five years have passed since you found out and he\u2019s only gotten worse.\n\nHe barely gets out of bed anymore. Most of these important meetings take place while he remains horizontal under his blankets. He\u2019s still mobile, but he tries to conserve his strength for when it\u2019s necessary.\n\nHe\u2019s never even told you what it is that\u2019s causing his decline, though you\u2019ve never thought to ask. (And Jacob certainly hasn\u2019t) It may just be old age finally catching up with him which means there is nothing that can be done hence why he doesn\u2019t bother bringing it up.\n\nIts funny how when you first met him that he looked so healthy. You thought he was immortal despite him telling you that he really wasn\u2019t. Now you know he wasn\u2019t just being humble.\n\nYou and Jacob have been doing your best as usual in carrying out his most important orders. Though today the order is given specifically to you. You have to go meet with Marik.\n\nMarik\u2019s been running a secret experiment for the last sixteen years and says that its finally ready. The Emperor knew about it and actually told him to abandon it on more than one occasion, but Marik insisted that it would be a good idea, so the Emperor relented as long as it didn\u2019t interfere with project that would be of a more direct benefit for the Empire.\n\nWhen you arrive at Marik\u2019s underground lab, he takes you through a metal door that opens up to a platformed level, which overlooks a huge room. It\u2019s nearly the size of a small hamlet you think. There are several ladders that descend down to the lower level which contain translucent containers all hooked up with tubing and connected with each other and large strange machines. Even from this distance you can make out figures floating in liquid within the containers.\n\nThis experiment: Breeding a new army of Eternals. The derro has been growing them in these tanks. Literally hundreds, possibly even a thousand.\n\n\u201cSo\u2026this is what you were hiding behind this metal door when I came here over ten years ago. Knew something else was going on.\u201d You say as you stand on a balcony overlooking all the rows of tanks.\n\nUnlike you and your siblings these Eternals were practically \u201cmade.\u201d From your understanding they went from some woman\u2019s womb to the tank immediately. (You can only hazard a guess what might\u2019ve become of the mothers, but nothing good no doubt) From there they\u2019ve been getting \u201cgrown\u201d into the perfect soldiers.\n\nMarik has explained to you the \u201cscience\u201d of what he\u2019s done, but some of it is going over your head. Personally you don\u2019t even think Marik understands all of it himself, he just believes it all works. While Marik did use human babies for this second generation of Eternals most would probably tell you that there isn\u2019t anything human about them. Given what\u2019s been said about you as well you can\u2019t really disagree. You are better than the average or even above average human in every way.\n\nYou watch as two of them are released from their tanks, already teenagers and able to understand everything that is told to them. They\u2019re given weapons and display great skill with them when ordered to fight each other. Probably just as good as most Empire soldiers.\n\nStill, there\u2019s something about these Eternals that doesn\u2019t sit right with you. Maybe its because Marik was involved and that his experiments can be hit or miss. Maybe its because you feel that without the experiences of training they don\u2019t truly know what its like to struggle and earn their place.\n\nWhatever the reason, you don\u2019t feel like they are Eternals. As little in common as you have with your own siblings you still feel a small bond there. You have nothing in common with these tank babies. They\u2019re something else as far as you\u2019re concerned.\n\nHowever, none of this matters. What does matter is if these so called new Eternals are going to actually be an asset to the Empire. From what you\u2019ve seen they aren\u2019t without skill, but they\u2019re going to need to be field tested along with drilling the concepts of loyalty and duty into them.\n\n\u201cSure, they look pretty, but can they fight?\u201d you say after seeing the demonstration. This annoys Marik. He starts sputtering and stammering to the point where you think he\u2019s going to go into a seizure.\n\u201cYou just SAW what they\u2019re capable of! How can you even say such a thing?\u201d\n\u201cYes, they were okay for children. I suppose we can find a place for them somewhere. Perhaps we can\u2026\u201d\n\u201cBah! You\u2019re just jealous!\u201d Marik interrupts.\n\u201cExcuse me? Jealous?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cYes! They\u2019re already the perfect warriors and didn\u2019t need any training at all! They didn\u2019t need all the hand holding nonsense that you had to go through to become a killing machine. Face it, these Eternals are the future!\u201d\n\nYou stare at Marik in disbelief that he dares to say such a thing to you. To his credit, Marik doesn\u2019t back down, he stares back at you, ignoring your eyes burning through him.\n\n\u201cYou can give me that stare of death all you want Eternal.\u201d Marik remarks.\n\u201cAlright\u2026open up ten of the tanks. Let\u2019s put them to a real test.\u201d\n\u201cWhat? So you can incinerate them with your magic?\u201d\n\u201cIf they\u2019re truly as good as you claim then my advantages shouldn\u2019t matter, but since you seem to be unsure of your creations now. I\u2019ll make it easy for you. Open up twenty of the tanks and I won\u2019t use one damn cantrip.\u201d\n\nMarik starts making that annoying high pitched laugh you hate so much then he suddenly gets very serious.\n\n\u201cWere you planning on fighting them right now?\u201d Marik asks.\n\u201cWhile I\u2019m sure watching me slaughtering twenty naked teenagers would prove my point, I said I was going to make this easy. No, you go equip your twenty creations with whatever armor and weapons you wish. I\u2019ll wait.\u201d\n\nYou wait as Marik orders twenty tanks opened up and has a few of his derro friends herd these children into another room presumably to get outfitted. Marik soon follows behind to oversee personally.\n\nWhile you wait, you reflect on the fact that they\u2019re all the same age as you were when you first got to meet the Emperor. It was one of the greatest days of your life when that happened. This happy moment passes very quickly when you have to dwell on the fact that the Emperor is now on his deathbed. You have no idea what\u2019s going to happen when the inevitable happens. Sometimes you look at the Emperor now and you wonder if that is what you have to look forward to when you get old.\n\nIs that the fate of everyone? No matter how powerful? What\u2019s the point of it all? Will the Empire even survive when the Emperor dies? He doesn\u2019t have a successor. You have often wondered if you would be it, but he\u2019s never mentioned it. Even if you were, you can\u2019t imagine ever doing the job better or even as well than he could. Leading armies is one thing, but an entire nation? You don\u2019t know if you\u2019d have the patience for it. You\u2019re a soldier not a ruler and yet you couldn\u2019t dream of serving any other ruler except the one you think of as father.\n\nYour mood starts getting worse because you also start dwelling on less pleasant aspects of your sixteenth year before you met the Emperor. It always comes back to her. Why the hell can\u2019t you get her out of your head?\n\nEven now the woman hasn\u2019t been seen in three years and yet she still comes back to fucking torment you.\n\nAlison\u2019s dead, the Emperor\u2019s dying, these new \u201ceternals\u201d are obviously meant to replace you, your own future is uncertain, Semra still haunts your thoughts\u2026\n\nAt this point you wonder if it wouldn\u2019t just be best if you let these damn tank babies kill you. It would at least be a warrior\u2019s death and you\u2019d die when the Empire was going through a second golden age of sorts.\n\nYou had some good times and saw several major threats to the Empire destroyed. Why stick around to see a man you have nothing but respect for continue to whither and die? Why see the potential slow decline of a nation you spent all your life trying to keep from the brink of chaos?\n\nMaybe it is time to step aside gracefully and be replaced\u2026", "action_results": [{"action": "Continue your duty", "result": "Sometimes the most dangerous enemy you can have is the one in the mirror. You quickly snap out of your defeatism.\n\nAll this self doubt and self-pity is for weaklings. What would the Emperor say if he knew? What would Alison say? You were trained better than that. You don\u2019t have time to worry about a potential future; you have a duty to serve the Empire. And right now part of that job is to test these tank babies.\n\nThe only death you should be focusing on right now is theirs.\n\nDoesn\u2019t take long before twenty tank babies along with the other two that were involved in the first demonstration come out fully decked out in armor and weapons. Surprisingly the derro didn\u2019t deck them all out in the heaviest body encasing armor they could give them, though there are at least half of them dressed in such a manner. You can\u2019t help notice that the derro didn\u2019t limit their weapons to close combat, you see some with firearms.\n\n\u201cWell here they are. The future of the Empire. I imagine you\u2019ll want to\u2026\u201d Marik says and then he realizes what you\u2019re doing\u2026\n\u201cLying bastard! Get out of the way NOW!\u201d he shouts and runs back into the room they just came out of and slams the door. The tank babies don\u2019t entirely understand, but they soon do when you cast a bolt of chain lightning at the lot of them. The lightning arc easily fries the tank babies in the metal armor, even the ones dressed less conductive material are standing so close they suffer the shock as well. Combine this with the gunpowder weapons and you even get a couple of small explosions which take out a few of them.\n\nAfter you\u2019re done with the spell a couple of them are crawling away desperately trying to find cover or escape. Bodies lie on the floor still sizzling and charred from your attack. You walk over to the carnage and put your sword through the chest of one still struggling to breathe. You stomp on the neck of another who is cursing you. Another one actually begs you for mercy; you show none when you hack the top of his head off.\n\nAs you continue to check the twenty two bodies for signs of life, Marik finally emerges from behind the door along with some of the other derro.\n\n\u201cThought the derro didn\u2019t fear death.\u201d You remark.\n\u201cWe don\u2019t, but we\u2019re not supposed to be the fucking targets today! You lied Eternal! You told me you weren\u2019t going to use magic!\u201d\n\u2018Actually I think my exact words were I wasn\u2019t going to use a single cantrip, and I didn\u2019t use a cantrip.\u201d\n\u201cBah! Trickery!\u201d\n\u201cI prefer to think of it as outmaneuvering your opponents assumptions. This was not a battle of honor. I have nothing to prove to these children and even less to you. I went into battle against superior numbers, I\u2019d be a damned fool to not use all of the tools of killing that I have at my disposal. Whenever you go into a combat situation, you ALWAYS use whatever means to destroy your enemy. Fair play, rules and honor have nothing to do with any of it.\u201d\n\u201cHm, well you don\u2019t need to tell me about it.\u201d Marik responds.\n\u201cI wasn\u2019t telling you, I was teaching this important lesson to this young girl here, trying to play dead.\u201d You say suddenly grabbing the collar of one of the female tank babies. You lift her up by the collar and can smell the singed flesh and leather wafting from her body. She can barely keep her eyes open, but she\u2019s definitely still alive. She\u2019s the only one that is.\n\n\u201cNow heed this lesson tank baby. You are NOT an Eternal. Nor are any of your siblings. You will NEVER be Eternals as long as I live. You only exist to serve the Empire and if you die in the process you will be grateful to do so. Remember this.\u201d You say as you grab her face to look into her eyes. You see the fear. She understands. Good.\n\nYou let the tank baby go and she falls back to the floor while you address Marik.\n\n\u201cI believe I\u2019m going to have trainer come in to teach these children properly. I\u2019d do it myself, but I don\u2019t have the time. Perhaps another Eternal like Brenda or Warrick can do it. Oh and make that one on the floor a squad or platoon leader of some sort. She obviously was strong enough to survive. She at least shows potential. Finally give them a different name as well. I don\u2019t care what, but I meant what I said, they are not Eternals.\u201d\n\u201cAnd you think you can presume to give me orders surfacer?\u201d Marik says.\n\u201cI don\u2019t presume nothing, I\u2019m doing it right now! I was given orders by the Emperor himself to handle this the way I saw fit! And I\u2019m telling you WHAT I want done! You don\u2019t like it? Well, I can always go report to the Emperor about your unwillingness to follow the chain of command, unless you\u2019d actually like to go see him yourself that is. Tell me when was the last time you actually took time out of your schedule to do that? While you sit around down here playing with your toys and walking experiments, I\u2019m actually out there making a damn difference and serving the Emperor with ever fiber of my being!\u201d\n\u201cNow listen here you fucking sun lover, I knew the man BEFORE he was the Emperor! We fought side by side together during the Troll Wars! I saved his life and he saved mine! You have no damn idea the bond WE share. You can\u2019t tell me shit about how I should or shouldn\u2019t act and you damn sure can\u2019t tell me that I\u2019m not helping the Empire! I\u2019M HIS FUCKING FRIEND!\u201d\n\u201cFriend? So what have you done for him lately?\u201d\n\u201cDone? DONE? I just made a legion of soldiers for him, you little kobold shit!\u201d\n\nYou look over the tank baby bodies lying dead all over the place. You look at the female one unconscious on the floor and shake your head.\n\n\u201cYeah, as I said, what have you done for him lately? Maybe he\u2019s your friend, but he\u2019s my father. I\u2019m not debating this anymore Marik.\u201d You say and take your leave.\n\nMarik begins yelling at you in his deep guttural derro language. A slew of curses and other insults fly out of his mouth. While you\u2019re semi-familiar with the derro language you can\u2019t make out all of them. They\u2019re probably pretty vicious though.\n\nEither way you\u2019re hardly concerned, Marik will follow orders because he respects the chain of command and as he said he is the Emperor\u2019s friend. The other reason is because he probably won\u2019t even be angry in another ten minutes. He\u2019ll probably be cackling about some joke he made up in his head.\n\nYou\u2019ve had a lot to ponder this day. You were once concerned about the future of the Empire and your own, but you see now that both will continue on even after the Emperor dies. You still have that zest of life within you and you are not ready or willing to just stand aside yet.\n\nYou\u2019ve come to the decision that when the Emperor dies you will be the one to take his place. While he\u2019s never said it, he doesn\u2019t have to, it\u2019s just a situation that\u2019s understood between a father and son. Still, you think you need to discuss this matter at some point with your father so that he knows that his legacy will live on after him and you will continue to make him proud.\n\nIn the meantime you make your way back to the capital and the palace to report to him. What comes next is a bit of a shock.\n\n\u201cF\u2026father?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cYes, its me son. I believe that\u2019s the first time you\u2019ve called me that.\u201d The Emperor says standing before you.\n\nHe looks exactly like he did when you first met him; in fact he even looks a little younger. A fit fortyish man dressed in fine clothing. You just continue to stare in disbelief.\n\n\u201cAh, yes this. I suppose this would be a bit puzzling. As you well know I haven\u2019t been feeling one hundred percent for oh\u2026about five years now. Had to conserve my strength and power quite a bit to reinvigorate myself. This state I\u2019m in right now isn\u2019t going to last very long, but it\u2019ll be enough for where I\u2019m going.\u201d\n\u201cWhat? Where are you going?\u201d\n\u201cHome. And you\u2019ll be coming with me.\u201d\n\u201cI will?\u201d\n\u201cOf course! This will be a momentous occasion when I return home and your presence will be necessary just as it has been here in the Empire!\u201d\n\u201cForgive me father, but I\u2019m a little lost right now. What is going to happen to the Empire and where is home?\u201d\n\u201cNothing will happen to the Empire son, it can survive a couple days or so without us around I should think. We\u2019ll let Jacob worry about it! Hah! As for my home? Well it\u2019s very very far away. It\u2019s an island to be exact. You can\u2019t get there by any ship though\u2026at least not any more. But you don\u2019t need to worry about that, I know how to get us there. All you need to do is take a day to relax and prepare yourself for the journey.\u201d\n\nThis is all so overwhelming you don\u2019t even know where to start or what to say so you just ask the first question that comes to mind and something you thought was inevitable.\n\n\u201cFather, are you going home to die?\u201d\n\u201cDie?\u201d the Emperor says and then walks over to you.\n\n\u201cNo son, I\u2019m going home to be reborn!\u201d he says and then laughs slapping you on the shoulder. \u201cI\u2019m sorry son if I worried you, what with me coughing all the damn time and dragging my ass around like a dead man. (Sigh) We probably should\u2019ve taken this trip sooner, but we still had to finish off those damn gnomes now didn\u2019t we? Plus I wasn\u2019t sure if it was going to be necessary yet and then you got married, then Semra\u2019s bullshit, it just seemed like stuff kept cropping up. Well now is the perfect time for us to take this trip. I bet you\u2019re glad though now that you know I won\u2019t be dying anytime soon.\u201d\n\u201cYeah\u2026\u201d you answer\n\nThe Emperor goes on to say that your report on Marik\u2019s experiment can wait since this trip is much more important. He then tells you that should go rest up and to meet him here tomorrow. You agree and take your leave.\n\nAs you make your way to your private quarters in the palace, you don\u2019t know what to think now. You were so certain that the Emperor was dying. After years of denying it you at last came to accept it. You were ready to take his place.\n\nPart of you feels relieved that the Emperor is going to live. Part of you feels confused about this whole situation. And then there\u2019s that part of you that feels cheated. That part of you that wishes the Emperor was still lying on his deathbed.\n\nYou think back to what you said to Marik, YOU\u2019VE been the one out there doing things for the Empire. YOU\u2019VE been the one destroying its enemies and keeping it stable. What the hell has the Emperor been doing? Giving orders from his easy chair? Ranting about gnomes? Lying in his bed hacking up a lung? You should be running the Empire not him.\n\n\u201cI can\u2019t believe I\u2019m thinking this. What is wrong with me? This man is my father!\u201d You whisper to yourself. You didn\u2019t want to \u201cstep aside\u201d for those tank babies because your time wasn\u2019t up. Why should the Emperor step aside for you? You begin to feel deeply ashamed of your thoughts\n\nWhile you\u2019re having your moral quandary, Jacob is standing outside your quarters.\n\n\u201cWe need to talk.\u201d He says.", "action_results": [{"action": "The reveal...", "result": "Jacob and you enter your room. Jacob looks almost as bad as the Emperor once did. He hasn\u2019t been the same since Roldan died, but he\u2019s also been overworked since the Emperor has been sick. The man is in his late sixties, but nowadays he looks more like he\u2019s in his late eighties. The stress has been taking a toll.\n\n\u201cJacob, I really hope this is important because I\u2019ve got a lot going through my mind right now.\u201d You say.\n\u201cI\u2019m sure you do, but you\u2019ll have a lot more after you hear what I have to say. Though after you hear it you might just decide to kill me instead, but that\u2019s a risk I\u2019ll just have to take.\u201d\n\u201cCan\u2019t be anything worse than anything I haven\u2019t thought myself today.\u201d You say.\n\u201cI highly doubt that, but I just want you to at least hear me out before you make a decision.\u201d\n\nYou sit down and nod telling Jacob to go ahead.\n\n\u201cOkay. I know you just came from a meeting with the Emperor and his revitalized condition. I\u2019m also guessing he told you to that he wants you to go back home with him.\u201d\n\u201cYes.\u201d You reply.\n\u201cDo you know where his original home is?\u201d\n\u201cHe said it was a very far away island that couldn\u2019t even be reached by a boat. That was about it.\u201d\n\u201cFigures he\u2019d be cryptic. His home is Mortos, an island of necromancers. It\u2019s not a well-known place to the average person. Most that have heard of it just believe it\u2019s a myth, but it exists.\u201d\n\u201cWhat?\u201d\n\u201cThe Emperor is a necromancer. I mean it makes sense doesn\u2019t it? How else would he have the knowledge to extend his life for so long?\u201d\n\u201cOkay, so what?\u201d\n\u201cYou are aware of what necromancers do don\u2019t you?\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m aware of the branch of magic. Most just believe it\u2019s about raising the dead, but it deals with life force in general. Healing mages use it all time at a cost of course. Only the strongest of wizards can use the art, let alone master it. Hence why there aren\u2019t many around and why stories about necromancers creeping about graveyards raising armies of undead horrors are mostly reserved for parents trying to scare their children.\u201d You say.\n\nJacob gets a little frustrated at your apathy at this revelation.\n\n\u201cPerhaps I\u2019m not making myself clear enough\u2026the Emperor is a necromancer. Roldan was KILLED by a revenant. YOUR WIFE was KILLED by a revenant.\u201d\n\nThat got your attention. You stand up and Jacob can\u2019t help but step back even though he knows you\u2019d easily catch him if he tried to run.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re treading on very thin ice Jacob.\u201d\n\u201cBelieve me I\u2019m well aware.\u201d\n\u201cThen you must also be aware that you sound crazier than Marik right now. What you\u2019re implying doesn\u2019t even make sense.\u201d\n\u201cWhy not? It does if you really think about it.\u201d\n\u201cSemra was responsible for my wife\u2019s death and Roldan\u2019s death! She is also a powerful sorceress that is more than capable of raising the dead!\u201d\n\u201cYes, and she\u2019s also a perfect patsy for your wrath. The Emperor wanted you to think it was her, but it wasn\u2019t. Think man, even if she did have your wife killed why would she bother having Roldan killed? She had no grudge. There was no profit in it. Chaos for the sake of chaos? Not Semra\u2019s style and you know it. That woman didn\u2019t do anything without purpose even if she was chaotic about it at times. Besides if she REALLY wanted to kill your wife, she would\u2019ve just done it herself.\u201d\n\nYou think back to when Alison told you she met Semra face to face and entertain Jacob\u2019s theory.\n\n\u201cEven if Semra wasn\u2019t responsible, why would the Emperor have Roldan and Alison killed?\u201d\n\u201cBecause of you. It\u2019s all because of you.\u201d\n\u201cMe? How? Why?\u201d\n\u201c(Sigh) It\u2019s a very long and complex plot. I\u2019ve only been piecing some of it together myself. I\u2019ll try to tell you what I know.\u201d\n\nJacob starts off by explaining that it all goes back to your birth and the Eternal Project. You and all of your \u201csiblings\u201d were picked for it for a reason. You weren\u2019t just to become super soldiers for the Empire. One of you was going to be chosen to be the new vessel for the Emperor, but only if that Eternal showed promise. Apparently you did. Jacob explains that while the chosen needed to be a great warrior with magical skill and be put to the test, the Emperor didn\u2019t want to risk your life excessively, hence why he initially wanted to keep you out of very heavy fighting. Also he didn\u2019t want any of the potential vessels to complicate things by potentially producing offspring so sterility was something that ensured during your \u201cenhancement\u201d period as a baby.\n\nYou were a perfect soldier that was utterly loyal, so much so that you saw the Emperor as your father. Then Alison came along. Alison was the only other person that you had a close relationship with and that distracted you from your duty. Or more precisely, it made your loyalties potentially divided. The Emperor couldn\u2019t take a chance with another person turning your devotion elsewhere or corrupting his influence over you so she had to die.\n\nThe assassination of Roldan was just a simple matter of taking out a potential future rival. Roldan\u2019s fame was at least as much as your own, and he was probably better liked. Even if Roldan was loyal, the Emperor couldn\u2019t take a chance of another potential domestic rebellion with a charismatic leader. Jacob also believes that the Emperor also just did it out of mean spiritedness since he knew how proud Jacob was of Roldan.\n\nOn top of everything else he could lay all the blame on Semra.\n\nJacob isn\u2019t sure exactly how the Emperor plans to transfer himself into your body, but given that it involves a trip to the island of Mortos, he\u2019s sure it can\u2019t be good and that you as a person will cease to be so that the Emperor can continue his immortal reign.\n\nWhile this is all very interesting from a conspiracy point of view, you aren\u2019t convinced.\n\n\u201cSo are you seriously telling me the Emperor has been molding me into some container that is to be filled? You\u2019re telling me that this man who I see as my father and treats me as his son has been lying to me from the beginning about everything? Even if this were the case and I highly doubt it is, HOW do you know all this? What evidence do you have?\u201d\n\nJacob at this point is extremely nervous.\n\n\u201cI\u2026I have no hard evidence. I mean I\u2019ve seen a few private writings, but I dared not to take them.\u201d\n\u201cSo what you\u2019re telling me is that you\u2019ve been snooping into the Emperor\u2019s privacy and can\u2019t even back up your accusations.\u201d\n\u201cNo! I also have another person who can back up these facts! She\u2026\u201d\n\nYou stop Jacob.\n\n\u201cShe? Jacob, I really hope you aren\u2019t talking about who I think you\u2019re talking about.\u201d\n\nJacob ignores your warning and blurts out what he has to say as quickly as he can.\n\n\u201cLook, I pieced together some of the assassination myself, but Semra told me about the true purpose of the Eternal Project. But this isn\u2019t about just you. This is about a potential danger of world proportions! The Emperor isn\u2019t just a ruler seeking everlasting life; Semra says he has a more sinister agenda that he\u2019s been planning for centuries and given that I\u2019ve recently learned his original homeland is Mortos I\u2019m inclined to believe her.\u201d\n\u201cBelieve Semra? Really? Then you\u2019re a damn fool along with being a traitor! Just how long have you been in contact with Semra? WHERE IS SHE?!\u201d you ask and slam Jacob against the wall.\n\n\u201cPlease\u2026I\u2019m telling you the truth! I\u2019m no traitor! I\u2019m loyal to the Empire first and foremost and I see the Emperor\u2019s actions as something that will harm it in the long run! The Emperor needs to be stopped, whatever it is he has planned. You can\u2019t go to Mortos with him! You have to kill him!\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019ll kill YOU for speaking such treason!\u201d and begin squeezing Jacob\u2019s neck.\n\n\u201c(Sigh) I told you this wasn\u2019t going to work Jacob. He\u2019s too hopelessly brainwashed to listen. Not even the death of his beloved Alison will cause him to believe that the Emperor means him ill. I guess I should\u2019ve just killed him long ago, but as they say love makes you do stupid things.\u201d\n\nYou turn around and see Semra. You don\u2019t think, you just lunge, only to pass through Semra and crash into some furniture. Its not really Semra, its just a magic projection of some sort.\n\n\u201cI suppose I should be flattered that you still want to get your hands on me.\u201d Semra remarks.\n\u201cAfter I\u2019m done killing Jacob, I\u2019m going to find and kill you, bitch.\u201d You say getting back up.\n\u201cI\u2019m sure, but I don\u2019t have much time so I\u2019m going to make this brief. Unlike our sniveling associate over there, I\u2019m not going to appeal to your logic or reason, because its always been hampered by your warped sense of mindless duty. I\u2019m going to appeal to your sense of desire and survival, because despite your warped sense of mindless duty, you can\u2019t suppress those.\u201d\n\nYou draw your weapon and walk past Semra\u2019s image to butcher Jacob who pleads with you to spare his life.\n\n\u201cOkay here it is, you WANT to kill the Emperor. You WANT to rule the Empire. Don\u2019t tell me you haven\u2019t thought about it. I know your desires better than anyone else. Even if the Emperor isn\u2019t planning on taking your body as his own and is going to just rejuvenate himself in some other way, why would you still want that? Isn\u2019t it time for him to accept his demise and step aside for someone else? Who better than you? Are you truly happy just surviving and serving like a drone or are you going to finally step up and take what is rightfully yours? You\u2019ve already had a major hand in expanding the Empire and holding it together, why not take the next natural step?\u201d\n\nYou stop yourself from killing Jacob and turn back to Semra.\n\n\u201cYou don\u2019t have to like me, you don\u2019t have to believe me, just listen to me lover. I\u2019ve always known what\u2019s best for you. Kill the Emperor now while he\u2019s at his weakest, there has never been a better time. You were born to rule. Its in your blood, its in your heart, its in your soul. Seize your potential and do what\u2019s meant to be.\u201d Semra says.\n\nWith Jacob\u2019s damning accusations and Semra\u2019s words appealing to your ambitious aspirations, you now don\u2019t know what to do. Should you dismiss everything they say as lies and stay loyal or should you not take any chances with your own survival and kill the Emperor regardless of reasons?", "action_results": [{"action": "Serve", "result": "There\u2019s no way you\u2019d ever murder your father least of all over allegations from Semra and Jacob. None of this makes any damn sense anyway.\n\nSemra\u2019s lying and trying to manipulate you as usual. She\u2019s taken her treachery to its next logical level, attempting to overthrow the Emperor. As for Jacob, the man is just a weak willed traitor that\u2019s easily fooled by her lies. He\u2019s also probably harboring a petty grudge for the countless times the Emperor scolded him for his incompetence.\n\nWithout another word you turn back to Jacob and quickly run him through. He looks at you with a mixture of pain and surprise as if he really though Semra\u2019s words would reach you. He makes a slow groaning sound as the life drains from him. Meanwhile Semra\u2019s image continues to look on at you shaking her head.\n\n\u201cAnd now your subservience is complete. I believe I really am truly done with you now. I\u2019ve tried to always make you see the truth, but you continue to insist on remaining ignorant. Even when you betrayed me with your little monkey shield maiden by marrying her I at least knew you weren\u2019t completely a tool for the Emperor. I knew you at least had a modicum of free will and your own mind even if it was lost on some crude human trollop. Now? I can see I was just wasting my time and at your core, you\u2019ll always be a mindless drone longing only to serve\u201d\n\u201cEnjoy your taunts now Semra, because you won\u2019t have time to run off at the mouth when I\u2019m cutting out your tongue.\u201d\n\u201cChances are this will be the last time we ever see each other. Enjoy your trip to Mortos, perhaps there you will finally see the truth. Of course by that time it\u2019ll be too late, but at last you will see it. Goodbye Eternal.\u201d\n\nSemra\u2019s magical projection disappears and you\u2019re left alone in your quarters with Jacob\u2019s dead body. After a bit of clean up, you go back to see the Emperor.\n\n\u201cHello son, is something wrong? You\u2019re a bit early for our trip.\u201d He remarks.\n\nYou explain everything that just happened about Jacob and Semra.\n\n\u201cCan\u2019t trust anyone these days can you? I mean Semra, I knew she\u2019d pop up again trying to cause trouble, but Jacob? The man could be so timid at times, though sometimes those are the ones you have to watch right? Still, I can\u2019t believe he\u2019d be foolish enough to actually try to talk you into siding against me. Guess Semra\u2019s lies were good enough to convince even him, not you though it seems.\u201d The Emperor replies.\n\nYou don\u2019t respond. Despite the fact that you\u2019ve dismissed what was told you as lies, you can\u2019t help but wonder.\n\n\u201cI see\u2026 I guess maybe their words did convince you more than you\u2019re letting on. So what is it that\u2019s troubling you exactly?\u201d\n\u201cEverything I suppose. I don\u2019t even know where to begin and I know I shouldn\u2019t even be entertaining anything that Semra says, but\u2026(Sigh) Semra said something that I DO know to be true. She said that I harbored a desire to kill you and take over the Empire.\u201d\n\u201cAnd is that what you want to do?\u201d\n\u201cNo! You\u2019re my father. Other than Alison, you\u2019re the only person in this world that\u2019s always been there for me. I owe you a debt that can never be repaid other than my everlasting loyalty and servitude. However, I can\u2019t deny there have been moments where I\u2019ve felt negative feelings towards you. Granted they\u2019ve been very fleeting, but they\u2019ve become more frequent lately. As much as I don\u2019t like it, Semra does know me and if she told the truth about that, then I can\u2019t help but wonder if she has told the truth about other things as well.\u201d\n\u201cWell the best liars do mix the truth with their lies. Svelk do it better than most and Semra is definitely a master. First of all with Mortos, I do intend on rejuvenating myself, but I need your help because you\u2019re the only other person with magical aptitude that I trust and I\u2019ll need your sword arm as well. Let\u2019s just say when I left, it wasn\u2019t on good terms and my return may be met with hostility.\u201d\n\u201cWhy didn\u2019t you tell me that before?\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019ll admit I probably should\u2019ve told you about my former homeland a long time ago. Honestly, I didn\u2019t because its partly because I have my own feelings of shame tied to that place. Yes, there are things in my past I do regret. Not many, but what happened there is definitely one. Which bring me to one of your other concerns and believe me son; I had nothing to do with the murder of your wife. It is true I didn\u2019t approve, but that was just because I\u2019ve had my own experiences with love and loss and didn\u2019t want you potentially going through the same pain. Pain that is greater than any wound that could come from a battlefield as I\u2019m sure you know.\u201d\n\nYou nod silently in agreement and the Emperor continues.\n\n\u201cThat lost love of mine you might even say is one of my other regrets. You are special. Unique even. Its what makes someone like you or me powerful. But it\u2019s also something that makes us doomed to follow a lonely solitary path. I knew that long ago, but I also knew you had to experience it first hand, so I let you do your own thing. Who knows though, if it hadn\u2019t been for Semra, you may very well have had a long happy marriage or you may have grown out of love due to unforeseen differences. I know this is of very little consolation, but at least your Alison died knowing you loved her and she loved you. A lot better than what I experienced\u2026but that\u2019s a tale for another time.\u201d\n\nThe Emperor\u2019s words make you feel a little better now that he\u2019s explained himself and defended his position a bit. Still, he didn\u2019t address your last concern.\n\n\u201cAnd what of my other fear?\u201d\n\u201cOh, yes that. Your hidden desire to kill and replace me. Heh heh. Well I\u2019m not too worried, not because I don\u2019t think you couldn\u2019t do it, but rather because that feeling is probably no different to what all children have felt towards their parents since the beginning of time. You\u2019re not always going to think positive things about me, nor would I expect you to. As you said, Semra does know you and she just played upon your emotions. She forgot though, I also know you and I know you would never willingly harm me in any way. If you did hold that desire, you would\u2019ve never killed Jacob and told me all this. You would\u2019ve came busting down the door and challenging me instead. And you certainly wouldn\u2019t have been troubled about your feelings over it.\u201d\n\nFunny how the Emperor can make everything seem okay with just a few words. Maybe that\u2019s why he\u2019s right about you and that\u2019s why he knows you\u2019d never kill him. With this last concern put somewhat at ease, you feel much more at ease. You have to ask though\u2026\n\n\u201cAre Eternals really unable to have children?\u201d\n\u201cYes. An unfortunate side effect of your enhancement I\u2019m afraid. Another regret I suppose. I do not know if you ever desired to have offspring with Alison, but if you did, you have my everlasting apologies.\u201d\n\nWith this last piece of information the matter is now at rest or at least you feel less apprehensive about going to Mortos now. The Emperor says that with Jacob\u2019s death he\u2019s going to have to promote another bean counter, but that it can wait until you get back.\n\n\u201cThe Empire isn\u2019t going to suddenly collapse just because its ruler and second are gone for a day or so.\u201d\n\u201cBut who\u2019s technically in charge then?\u201d you ask\n\u201cGood question. I suppose Marik!\u201d The Emperor laughs.\n\nThe next morning you meet the Emperor in one of his preparation rooms where you used to practice the magic that he taught you. It is there you see a large glowing blue portal and the Emperor standing right next to it. He looks tired.\n\n\u201cGlad you\u2019re here, I\u2019m anxious to make this trip. Whew. I really should\u2019ve had you help me open up this portal; I underestimated how taxing it would be. No matter. Are you ready?\u201d\n\u201cI suppose so, but is there anything I should really expect? I mean will there be a horde of undead horrors? Will there be ghosts trying to attack my mind? Will there be creatures as powerful like the one I faced during my wife\u2019s murder?\u201d\n\u201cI wish I could give you better information, but I don\u2019t have any since I myself haven\u2019t been there in centuries. I can only suggest to be prepared for all of the above. Though I will say there probably won\u2019t be something like a revenant there. Unlike Semra, the necromancers of Mortos have enough sense to not go around creating powerful free willed undead. Well, usually anyway. You probably should just stick close to me the whole time; Mortos can be pretty unfriendly to the living.\u201d\n\u201cWell I would imagine so.\u201d\n\u201cNo, I don\u2019t just mean the undead roaming about, I\u2019m talking about the very land itself. The entire island feeds on life energy, you step in the wrong area and you could suddenly find yourself transformed into a thousand year old skeleton. As you might expect the population\u2019s life expectancy isn\u2019t exactly a long one save for the necromancers.\u201d\n\u201cWait, there are living people that exist on the island?\u201d\n\u201cSure. Quite a lot of them. Mostly in magically protected enclaves thanks to the necromancers. Mostly humans, but eh\u2026I\u2019d hesitate to call a lot of them that anymore. Let\u2019s just say living in an area filled with undead tends to make people either very pragmatic or bat shit insane or both.\u201d\n\u201cSo they\u2019re basically tall derro that live on the surface?\u201d\n\u201cHa ha ha! Yes, I suppose is some ways they might be.\u201d\n\nWith this little joke to lighten a potentially very grim trip, you and the Emperor enter the portal. Before you know it your surroundings are very different.\n\nAll around you land is dead. Dead trees, rocks, barren soil, cracked ground. Everything has a gray looking appearance mostly due to the unnatural sky. Its not night, its not day, its just a dull gray and you get the impression its always this way. On top of all this you have no idea where the Emperor is. He isn\u2019t by your side and you\u2019d start to worry, if you suddenly didn\u2019t hear his voice in your head.\n\n\u201cSon? Are you there?\u201d\n\u201cYes. I\u2019m here. Where are you?\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m at the location. I\u2019m communicating to you psychically since my powers are enhanced here. Blasted portal still didn\u2019t work properly though. I\u2019m sorry son, but you\u2019re going to have to walk over here. Your destination is a small isolated temple; you won\u2019t miss it if you keep walking west from your location. You aren\u2019t too far, but you\u2019re going to have to walk through one of those inhabited settlements I was talking about earlier. Be on your guard. I\u2019d tell you to go around it, but there\u2019s a lot of harmful energy in the area. I wouldn\u2019t want you to step into a negative zone. I\u2019d also keep in contact with you, but I believe I\u2019m about to be attacked by the guardians of this temple. Seems they upgraded the defenses since I was here last time. I can handle it, but do try to hurry.\u201d\n\nAcknowledging the Emperor\u2019s directions, you begin heading to the west\n\nYou haven\u2019t been here a few minutes and you start to understand what the Emperor was talking about as far as it being unfriendly to the living. You can feel a slight loss not just of endurance, or even mental fatigue, but almost like hope and zest. Like the place is slowly telling you lay down and die. While it\u2019s certainly not a pleasant feeling, after years of mind fuckery from Semra, you\u2019re more than capable of shrugging off the effects.\n\nEventually you stand on the outskirts of a small deteriorating village. You don\u2019t see anyone about at first, but then you do notice a few figures peeking out from the windows of nearby houses. Since your presence is most likely already known; you figure the best bet is to just run through as quickly as you can.\n\nYou pass by several houses and begin to hear a combination of hisses, snarls and howls. Eventually the figures that you\u2019ve glimpsed start to make their appearance and pour out of their homes.\n\nThey look worse than you imagined. All of them have a sickly appearance with either grayish or yellowish skin and wearing either tattered rags or in some cases nothing at all. Deformities plague most of them; some have missing limbs or extra ones in the wrong places. Unsurprisingly they begin screaming at you in whatever bizarre language they speak and give chase.\n\nYou don\u2019t get unnerved too often about dangerous situations, but the combination of their disfigurements, their numbers, the unnatural sounds they make and how they lope after you is a bit unsettling. You need to stop or at least slow them down quickly.", "action_results": [{"action": "Cast a lightning blast", "result": "You attempt to stop the horde chasing you by casting a lightning strike at it. It fries a couple outright, but the chain lightning effect isn\u2019t as effective as you\u2019d like since none are wearing anything conductive and they aren\u2019t even slowed down, let alone stopped. If anything they now seem to be more charged up (literally!) and excited.\n\nNot having any more time to cast something else, you turn and run. As you run through the village more of them are coming out their homes ahead of you. Several of the inhabitants attempt to grab you and while you manage to chop them up, they slow you down enough that the bulk of them chasing you catch up.\n\nDozens of the damn things gibbering, slobbering, laughing and howling in your ear as you try to get free of their clutches. Several misshaped hands attempt to pull you down and deprive you of your weapon. Teeth sink into your armor and some even manage to find exposed bits of flesh.\n\nYou fight the best you can and slay several of the creature, but for every one you kill it seems like two more take its place. Things don\u2019t get any batter when another large group of the creatures come from the direction you were originally running towards show up as reinforcements. The sheer numbers are bad enough, but what\u2019s really making things worse is the slight drain of your energy from the very air of this accursed place.\n\nSeveral of you fingers are bitten off, your armor is stripped off and eventually the creatures manage pile on you so much that you fall to the ground. In your last moments you scream out for the Emperor to help you, but nobody arrives and the creatures finish eating you alive.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Cast a flame blast", "result": "You take the logical approach that most things don\u2019t like fire and cast a few quick flame bolts at the horde. This works to a small degree in that it sets a few on fire and causes them to fall to the ground trying to put the flames out, which stops the momentum a bit as the non flaming \u201cvillagers\u201d trip over the burning ones.\n\nAs you run through the village more of them are coming out their homes ahead of you. Several of the inhabitants attempt to grab you, but you cut them down instead. They\u2019re tougher and stronger than they look and seemingly very resistant to the concept of pain. You sliced into the neck of one and the hideous thing actually began laughing.\n\nThe end of the village is in sight and a little further in the distance you can see another structure, which you guess is the temple. Naturally your line of sight is quickly blocked by another horde of the villagers get in your way. With one group ahead and the other group still behind you, you\u2019d actually be in danger of being trapped if you weren\u2019t the quick thinking one.\n\nYou quickly climb up the side of one of the houses up to its roof. It isn\u2019t the climb that\u2019s difficult, but rather the fact that the house is in such terrible condition that part of it starts crumbling. You nearly fall through the rotting roof when you get to the top. The villagers howl and moan at you as you stand out of their reach, but they begin to correct that by trying to climb up as well.\n\nYou lob a couple of fireballs into the horde, but that soon turns out to be a bit of a mistake as the blast back (along with burning villagers running around on fire) end up setting the house on fire along with others nearby it. The only way you\u2019re getting away from this madness is by rooftop jumping and hoping you don\u2019t fall through them.\n\nYou make your escape across the rooftops while a raging inferno starts to slowly envelop other houses and will most likely burn down the whole cursed village. The villagers don\u2019t give up on you that easily, some of them actually make it up to the roofs as well and continue their pursuit, while the non burning ones start trying to pelt you with nearby stones.\n\nYou get to the last house roof before you need to jump down and one of the bastards manages to grab you at the same time another hits you in the head with a rock.\n\n\u201cShit!\u201d you utter as you fall off the roof taking the villager who grabbed your arm with you.\n\nWith some quick moving you pull the villager so he lands on the ground first and all your weight lands on top of him. With your elbow in his neck when you both hit the ground you hear a satisfying snap. When you scramble to get up, you see that you\u2019re out of the village, but not out of danger.\n\nYou cut down a few more of the villagers that have caught up with you and distance yourself from the damned place by running towards the temple which is looking much closer now. You expect the villagers to chase you all the way there, but they don\u2019t go much past the outskirts of their village, which continues to burn.\n\nYour journey to the temple isn\u2019t far, but it certainly starts to feel like it is. The closer you get to the temple the more you start feel the effects of the island\u2019s toxic environment. Soon each step is an effort and you can hardly concentrate on even walking towards the temple.\n\n\u201cGive in\u2026join ussssss\u2026lay down\u2026diiiiiiiiiiiiie\u2026\u201d you suddenly hear in your head. You hate these psychic spirit attacks.\n\u201cNO! The Emperor will give me strength to carry out my mission!\u201d you yell out and redouble your efforts to shake off the mind assault.\n\nEventually you reach the temple and the signs of battle are very obvious here. You see one of the silver doors blown off the hinges. Several large bones lie strewn about and from the looks of it; these weren\u2019t from any ordinary skeleton. You also notice two ruined black statues on either side of the temple. While they have great large chunks missing from them, you notice that these statues resemble the ones the Emperor has just outside his chambers; they\u2019re just on a smaller scale.\n\n\u201cSon? Is that you outside?\u201d you hear the Emperor ask from within.\n\u201cYes, it\u2019s me. Are you okay?\u201d you answer.\n\u201cYes! Just get in hear quickly, we don\u2019t have much time!\u201d\n\nYou enter the temple which actually isn\u2019t all that large inside. In fact it looks more like a shrine rather than a temple since the only thing inside is a small pedestal against the far wall. You see the Emperor who is holding an old looking book and he seems very excited. More excited than you\u2019ve ever seen, even when all the gnomes were reportedly exterminated he wasn\u2019t this excited.\n\nYou notice he\u2019s drawn several circles and symbols on the floor.\n\n\u201cGood, good, you\u2019re here! We have to begin immediately! Step into that circle\u2026no I mean that one!\u201d he exclaims.\n\u201cErm, okay. You know I got attacked by a whole village of freaks?\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m sure you did. Probably ghouls. Generations of inbreeding and cannibalism tends to make folks insane and unfriendly to outsiders. Please, now we have to begin, they\u2019ll be here soon!\u201d\n\nYou step inside one of the circles and the Emperor steps into another one and obsessively fondles the book he has in his hand.\n\n\u201cWho\u2019ll be here? The ghouls?\u201d\n\u201cNo! The\u2026nevermind, look I\u2019ll explain everything to you afterwards, but right now I have to concentrate and you will have to as well. Now begin this chant with me.\u201d\n\nThe Emperor starts chanting and you try to follow along as best you can. The circles and symbols on the floor begin to glow. As much as you don\u2019t want to interrupt, you\u2019re a little lost on what exactly is going on.\n\n\u201cFather, what is\u2026\u201d\n\u201cSilence!\u201d the Emperor screams and then you hear a second voice, but this one is from no spirit.\n\n\u201cCasimir, is that you? I see you\u2019ve finally returned. Always knew you would. Have you come back because you\u2019ve seen the error of your ways or is this just a visit for a mad dash of power? Judging by the mess, I\u2019d say the latter.\u201d You hear the voice shout from outside the temple.\n\nThe Emperor suddenly looks very nervous. Worried even. You\u2019ve never seen such an expression from him before.\n\n\u201cYes! It\u2019s me, Nicodemus! And you\u2019ll not be stopping me this time!\u201d the Emperor shouts and then a red barrier materializes in the temple entryway. You see a robed figure walk up to it, but can\u2019t make out much more than that.\n\n\u201cCasimir, you have to know this cheap trick isn\u2019t going to stop me. If you just let down the barrier we might be able to talk about this. \u201c\n\u201cNever! I wasn\u2019t deterred then, and I won\u2019t be deterred now! I have the book and after this rejuvenation ritual, you and the entire council won\u2019t be able to stop me from my destiny!\u201d The Emperor shouts and starts making elaborate hand gestures.\n\u201cDon\u2019t you think over six hundred centuries of this nonsense is long enough? You\u2019ve had your fun and now its time to realize you need to act your damn age. Casimir I\u2019m coming in and I assure you if you attack me, you will be destroyed this time.\u201d\n\nThe Emperor ignores this threat and continues his spell. He begins to eminate a purple glow and you soon follow.\n\n\u201cAm I supposed to have this purple glow?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cShhh! It\u2019ll all be over soon. Just have to cast one last spell.\u201d The Emperor quickly says before beginning another spell.\n\nAbout this time the barrier disappears and an ancient looking man in a black robe steps in. He doesn\u2019t look very imposing, but it\u2019s pretty apparent he exudes great power. He completely ignores you and looks directly at the Emperor. Its one of disapproval, but there\u2019s no anger at all behind it.\n\n\u201cCasimir, you have to know this isn\u2019t even necessary. If you desire immortality so much, you could\u2019ve just stayed here to begin with, you could still stay here if you\u2019d just recognize the error of your ways.\u201d\n\nThe Emperor looks out the corner of his eye at Nicodemus, but doesn\u2019t stop his spell. Meanwhile Nicodemus now looks over at you and begins studying you. He then closes his eyes and lifts up his own hand while mumbling something.\n\nYou have no idea what he\u2019s doing, but at this point you\u2019re starting to feel like you\u2019re genuinely threatened. The circle you\u2019re in will probably protect you, but he broke through the other barrier with ease. Who\u2019s to say he won\u2019t do the same with the circle?\n\nThere\u2019s also the matter of risking ruining the elaborate ritual the Emperor is currently casting\u2026which you\u2019re also starting to have separate concerns about.\n\nSemra\u2019s words: \u201cYou will learn the truth too late.\u201d begin to ring in your mind.", "action_results": [{"action": "Defend yourself", "result": "While the Emperor may or may not being lying to you, your immediate concern is Nicodemus. He\u2019s right in the room and casting a spell, if that isn\u2019t an indication of dire threat, you don\u2019t know what is.\n\nSummoning all your energy you unleash a double spray of frost at him in the hopes of freezing him into a block of ice. Its enough to interrupt him, but not for long. He merely turns his gaze towards you and you feel a sudden drain of your energy. Like when Cyrus was clutching your throat, but this is even faster. You fall to the floor instantly meanwhile the Emperor has to stop his own spell casting.\n\n\u201cDAMN IT! You\u2019ve ruined everything!\u201d he shouts and casts some sort of green ray at Nicodemus.\n\nYou crawl out of the way of the ensuing magic battle. You can\u2019t even see who is winning; you\u2019re just trying to get the hell out of the temple so you can gather your strength. The next few moments are a blur, though you manage to stand yourself up and make it to the doorway. You stagger outside and hear the final outcome of the battle.\n\n\u201cCasimir, you\u2019ve brought this fate upon yourself.\u201d Nicodemus remarks and this followed by a long scream. The sound of it gives you the shivers as it\u2019s an obvious sign the Emperor has lost his battle with Nicodemus and most certainly his life.\n\nYou push past your lingering weakness and start running in a random direction, you don\u2019t get far when you suddenly feel that all encompassing drain again. At first you think its Nicodemus, but its something less personal. Its one of those negative zones that the Emperor mentioned, you just ran into one.\n\nHis comment that stepping into one could instantly turn you into a thousand year skeleton isn\u2019t quite accurate. It takes you at least five minutes before something similar happens. The strange thing is you end up feeling every agonizing second of decomposition before you are no more.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Trust in your current defenses", "result": "You\u2019ve believed in the Emperor this long and this far. You and he have overcome all obstacles and enemies together. This Nicodemus is just another in a long line of them. You don\u2019t know all the history that he and the Emperor have, but all you know is he will fall like all others. If the Emperor\u2019s next conquest is to be this island then that is what will be done. If it is you that will be needed to help in this mission, then you will gladly serve and die if necessary.\n\nAnd if\u2026\n\nAnd if the Emperor has lied to you about everything, it doesn\u2019t matter because you have been loyal to the end and have played your role perfectly. The Emperor gave you purpose so if you are to be his new vessel of destruction to accomplish his destiny then there can be no greater honor. You are ready to make that sacrifice. You were created for it.\n\nNicodemus lowers his hand and stops mumbling. If he\u2019s cast a spell it either hasn\u2019t worked or it has no obvious effects.\n\n\u201cCasimir, I know what you\u2019re trying to do and this isn\u2019t going to work. I urge you to stop before it\u2019s too late.\u201d\n\u201cYes, it is too late FOR YOU!\u201d the Emperor shouts and finishes his spell with a laugh. He then turns to you.\n\n\u201cGoodbye my son, I\u2019m sorry I lied to you, but know that your last sacrifice will help me achieve my destiny at last.\u201d\n\nThe Emperor suddenly looks unwell again. Like he did when he was sick except now it\u2019s happening at an accelerated rate. You see him rapidly age before your eyes.\n\n\u201cNO! WHAT\u2019S HAPPENING TO ME?! THE SPELL! THE RITUAL! THE PREPARATION! I HAD THE PERFECT VESSEL! I WAS GOING TO RULE THE WORLD! I WAS GOING TO LIVE FOREVER!\u201d\n\nAt this point the Emperor collapses to the floor as his body continues to decay. Meanwhile nothing is happening to you though you\u2019re in a state of shock watching the Emperor die in front of you.\n\n\u201cSon\u2026help\u2026.meeeee\u2026\u201d the Emperor says in a dying raspy tone.\n\u201cI don\u2019t know how. I\u2019m sorry father\u2026I have failed you\u2026\u201d you reply sadly.\n\n\u201cI\u2026want\u2026to live\u2026foreverrrrrrrrr\u2026\u201d the Emperor says with his last dying breath before he completely decays into a skeletal corpse, then bones, then dust.\n\nAnd with that The Emperor, Casimir, your father is dead.\n\nYou just continue to stare at the dust in disbelief; meanwhile Nicodemus walks over to the pile and picks up the book your father seemed to be so happy to have before he died.\n\n\u201c(Sigh) I warned him it wouldn\u2019t work. When I scanned you with my identify spell I learned all I ever had to about you. You were not a suitable vessel for a transference spell.\u201d\n\u201cImpossible, I am an Eternal! I was born and bred for this purpose!\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m well aware of what you believe, but that isn\u2019t what is. Perhaps your breeding was incorrect or perhaps a mistake was made.\u201d\n\u2018No. My father doesn\u2019t make mistakes.\u201d\n\u201cReally? Recent events would dictate otherwise.\u201d\n\nYou have no response you just continue to stare at the dust.\n\n\u201cEternal, I can tell you are feeling a great sense of loss right now and you have my sympathies. Your life seems to be filled with nothing but pain, war and loss. And tragically one of your only stable foundations was Casimir and even he lied to you. Yet you\u2019re so broken that you believe you\u2019re the one that failed him. You must\u2019ve been the perfect son.\u201d\n\nYou begin to gather your strength and thoughts as you are starting to become annoyed with this Nicodemus.\n\n\u201cI still am.\u201d You reply seriously.\n\"Hmm, I see even with Casimir dead, your indoctrination still holds. (Sigh) I hope for your sake that will fade in time lest you end up like he did or the power hungry ancestors of this place. This island was once lush and full of life you know. Makas as it once was called had a thriving civilization with a strong navy. Even the mighty Svelk Empire at the time didn\u2019t dare attack us. Then this accursed book was created and changed everything. This is why Casimir was exiled.\u201d Nicodemus says and lifts up the non-descript book while still clutching it his arm.\n\n\u201cDid he create it?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cHah. Casimir could\u2019ve only hoped to create something so powerful. No he was just another of our kind that thought he could achieve the impossible, to become a god. This book is just an ancient mistake of our predecessors and a reminder of why we were not meant to live forever.\u201d\n\u201cSo what is it, a powerful book of necromantic spells?\u201d\n\u201cIf it were only that, it might be less dangerous. The more dangerous part is the fact that it's not just a spellbook. It\u2019s a gateway to another dimension. Of course we didn\u2019t really realize that or what we were doing until it was nearly too late.\u201d\n\"I don't understand.\"\n\u201cOur civilization couldn\u2019t leave well enough alone. We had everything, but we still couldn\u2019t stop the ravages of time and ultimately death. So we did the logical thing of exploring the necromantic arts. It was an exciting time to be sure; I was actually a young and eager researcher myself back then. It took decades, but eventually we managed to unlock everything we could about the art of necromancy. We could\u2019ve very well taken over the world I believe with our power, but our goals were bigger. We wanted immortality. To be as gods. Nothing less would do. In this book lies the combined knowledge of every forbidden, obscure and even common necromantic arts. We planned on using it to cast off these fragile mortal shells and ascend to a new plane of existence.\u201d\n\u201cSo\u2026what happened?\u201d\n\u201cThis. The ritual that was to give us immortality destroyed our civilization as we knew it and created what you see today. I was actually not involved in the ritual as at the time I was not as skilled of a wizard, but I saw the devastation that occurred. A black void opened up above the entire island and its very presence killed many weaker individuals instantly. It didn\u2019t take long for the arch mages performing this ritual to realize that they weren\u2019t being imbued with eternal life, they were opening a portal to death itself. Fortunately some of the mages weren\u2019t quite so obsessed with immortality and realized that this was a bad idea and so managed to close the gate before it engulfed the entire island\u2026possibly even the world.\u201d\n\u201cThat can\u2019t be the end of it.\u201d\n\u201cOh no, it most certainly was not. The entire island had been infused with negative energy and necromantic magic to a point where it was oddly keeping those that lived a much increased life span. However it also made many mad with power. Some of the more obsessed mages were furious about the gate being closed. They desired that the gate remain open, still believing it would lead to immortality. Others settled for the lesser immortality, but desired more power. Thus began the war of the necromancers who marched armies of the dead to wage endless battles with each other and destroying the rest of the island in the process.\u201d\n\u201cIt was only when every inch of this place was cursed and forever tainted that the survivors finally stopped to recognize the folly of their ways. The folly that someone can have total control over death, let alone cheat it forever.\"\n\u201cMy father obviously disagreed.\u201d You say.\n\u201cYes, though he wasn't the first and sadly he probably won't be the last. Every once in awhile one of our number gets a little power hungry. Usually it\u2019s a phase and we exile them as we did with Casimir. Most soon learn that their powers gradually weaken and beg to come back, others vainly try to make it on their own and usually die expending all their energy as soon as they try to raise an army of the dead to conquer whatever it is they've set their eyes on. I have to admit though, Casimir proved to be a little more determined than most. He was smart to stop using his necromancy and rely on more traditional means to run a nation. Even his way of attempting to cheat death was rather clever. A shame he didn't focus his energy on something more worthwhile.\"\n\"He did.\" You answer defiantly.\n\nNicodemus seems slightly exasperated now.\n\n\"And again you defend a man who cared nothing for you and would've devoured your life force just to extend his life span a little longer. What did he do that was so worthwhile? Create his Empire? Lesser men than him have done similar things and with a lot less resources, he wasn't really special in that regard. Live for centuries? He could've stayed here and lived for a lot longer than that if he'd just abandoned his mad plans. Power is fleeting Eternal. LIFE is fleeting. No one lives forever and no one rules forever. Not on this world anyway. Even necromancers die. Just takes us a little longer than most and trust me, we aren't ruling anything so much as we\u2019re doomed to act as guardians to this world\u2019s life. Most of us know or learn that lesson, because after it's all said and done, this book teaches that important message.\"\n\"Message? You\u2019ve been going on about how dangerous the book is. And if the book is so dangerous, why not just destroy or get rid of it?\" you say.\n\"You don\u2019t believe that\u2019s been tried? Trust me, it has by every known ability to us and then some. Getting rid of it would be unwise for it could just fall into the hands of someone who does not know its true power and they may unleash its awfulness. Better we should remain its guardians and make sure nobody else ever has to suffer the same fate we do. So if one good thing comes from the book, then it is that lesson. A reminder of what hubris does. Sadly some just fail to learn the lesson. Not everything is black and white, contrary to your worldview of things Eternal. I hope that will fade in time as well. Speaking of time, I believe yours here should be coming to an end. Your master is dead and you have no further business here.\"\n\nNicodemus mutters a small incantation and a portal opens up near you.\n\n\"This will take you back to your Empire. Goodbye Eternal, and I hope for your sake you find your own way, you'll find yourself a lot better off.\"\n\nThe Emperor is dead and while this man may not have caused it directly, you still feel he is somehow responsible. Part of you wants to attack Nicodemus, but you also know that may not be wise as it is obvious the man wields great power. Then there is the book he holds. You almost feel drawn to it\u2026", "action_results": [{"action": "Attack Nicodemus", "result": "While the Emperor might\u2019ve been afraid of this man, you have no such fear. You\u2019re going to succeed where your father failed. You draw your weapon with one hand and cast a spray of ice at Nicodemus with the other.\n\nHe\u2019s not even fazed; he\u2019s not even all that surprised. Ignoring the frost on his body he merely stares at you and suddenly you feel severe drain of your energy. Like when Cyrus was clutching your throat, but this is even faster. You drop like a rock in water, unable to stop Nicodemus from approaching you.\n\n\u201c(Sigh) If I didn\u2019t know better I\u2019d think that Casimir had succeeded in transferring himself into you, but you are not Casimir. You\u2019re not even half as powerful as he was. You are a confused child that\u2019s desperately and misguidedly still trying to prove yourself to an uncaring father figure. Under different circumstances, you\u2019d be a figure of pity and mercy. However you do have the potential to be very dangerous and I can see that you\u2019ve not listened to a single thing I\u2019ve tried to tell you today. You probably never will either. May you find some sort of peace in death that you obviously couldn\u2019t find in life.\u201d Nicodemus remarks.\n\nYou can\u2019t even respond back, your whole body is becoming lethargic and numb. Your heartbeat starts slowing down, and your vision begins to darken. Soon you can\u2019t see anything at all and surrender to eternal sleep.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Enter the portal", "result": "This adventure has drained you physically, mentally and even emotionally. Attacking a powerful necromancer in his homeland might not be the best idea right now. Another day perhaps\u2026\n\nYou approach the portal and give one last look at Nicodemus who stands by watching you. You can't figure him out. A lot of what he said was very condescending yet he seemed to pity you rather than be angry. He was also very nihilistic in his views on how achievements don't matter, not even life, though at the same he seemed to be trying to give you advice and help you in some strange way.\n\nYou step into the portal and find yourself transported back to the Emperor\u2019s chambers. Chambers that seem so empty now. Empty as you feel. Something is bothering you and it\u2019s a strange thing to worry about considering it would\u2019ve lead to your death, but you can\u2019t shake it.\n\nWhy did the Emperor\u2019s ritual fail? Nicodemus said you were not a suitable vessel for the transference spell, but if you weren\u2019t, what does that mean? Would one of the other Eternals been a better choice, or was the plan always destined to fail?\n\nYou believe there have to be some notes on the subject of your alterations somewhere. Jacob probably has several papers about the Eternal Project in his office, but you search the Emperor\u2019s rooms first.\n\nAfter hours of searching you manage to find several bits of private writings about various subjects. You don\u2019t have time to read all of them now, but you focus on anything to the Eternal Project.\n\nOne of the major things you discover is that the pregnant mothers had a specific ritual cast over them while the Eternals to be were still in the womb. This ritual, while elaborate and probably quite frightening to the woman in question didn\u2019t harm her in any way; it was more of a \u201cprep\u201d spell. (You also read that it took several attempts to get this ritual \u201cright\u201d too. The number of dead pregnant women is quite sizable)\n\nApparently this initial ritual was a big key in whether or not the final ritual was going to be successful. You can\u2019t find any other information besides how the Emperor was REALLY betting everything on this plan as he\u2019d run out of ideas on to extend his life any further short of going back to Mortos and apologizing to Nicodemus for his behavior.\n\nStill wanting more information you go search through Jacob\u2019s office. It is actually easy to find everything since he kept everything in immaculate order. Naturally he had everything locked, but you easily remove such annoyances. Nothing is going to stop you from seeking out your origins.\n\nAnd after hours more searching you find more than you ever wanted to know in Jacob\u2019s journal\u2026\n\nI can\u2019t believe those idiots! Trent and Stravid grabbed the wrong fucking infant! We only found out just yesterday when I found their list on the floor of the privy room covered in piss!\n\nI went back to check the Empire nursery numbers hoping that MAYBE they grabbed the correct child anyway, but no such luck. The infant that was supposed to be selected was already disposed of as a rejected candidate. Meanwhile the wrong infant is already going through his magical alterations.\n\nI\u2019m not exactly on the Emperor\u2019s good side at the best of times, and I\u2019m not getting into fucking trouble for this. Those two morons are going to be executed. As for the baby I\u2019m going to have to grovel to get that svelk bitch to help me with this. She can probably perform the same ritual over this new brat so the Emperor won\u2019t be able to detect anything is amiss with it. I don\u2019t understand why the Emperor doesn\u2019t just perform this ritual in person rather than relying on the svelk to do it anyway.\n\nAnd HOPEFULLY that will work. It has to work. Maybe I\u2019m worrying about this too much, what are the chances that this kid will live through training and meet the Emperor anyway?\n\nAnd there it is, your \u201corigins.\u201d You weren\u2019t even meant to be an Eternal. You were a clerical mistake, a bureaucratic mishap, and the Emperor\u2019s death was caused by it. Hell, it\u2019s almost like you went through with Jacob and Semra\u2019s plan to assassinate the Emperor anyway.\n\nOne might think something like this would cause you to doubt the meaning of your entire existence and drive you into depression. Possibly even suicide. An end to this life of misplaced duty, obedience and blind devotion to ultimately an ungrateful master.\n\nJust like Nicodemus said.\n\nBut you don\u2019t really think about any of that. Instead you start to laugh. You laugh for a very long time.\n\n\u201cHe\u2026he didn\u2019t even know I wasn\u2019t originally chosen! What a fool! Why the hell did I ever follow this man? Because I\u2019m an even bigger fool!\u201d you say to yourself in between the guffaws.\n\nPerhaps you\u2019re still being a fool. Casimir lied to you and deep down never really cared save for what he thought you were, but none of that nor his death invalidate your beliefs in the Empire. His idea that the world needs order, that the masses need to be kept in line, that some elements are better off exterminated for the overall good.\n\nMaybe part of you still can\u2019t quite shake being the \u201cdutiful\u201d son, but you fully intend on continuing in your \u201cfather\u2019s footsteps.\u201d Of course the difference now being that your life is truly your own now. Since destiny has conspired to thrust you into the position of a ruler, you will play the role that it would have you play.\n\nNow you just have to convince everyone else.\n\nWithin the week you call for a meeting of the most important leaders of the Empire. Ranging from generals to economists to advisors and other infrastructure types you\u2019ve had little to no contact with before. Everyone is told to gather in the throne room, which is a room that hasn\u2019t been used in centuries; or rather Casmir stopped using it after he decided to become a recluse.\n\nYou won\u2019t be doing that. You\u2019ll be leading from the front rather than hiding in the shadows causing people to wonder if you exist at all. This is your time now.\n\nWhen everyone finally arrives they naturally all wonder what\u2019s going on, you get right to the point.\n\n\"The Emperor as most of us knew him has moved on from this world. As his only logical successor I will be taking his place. If anyone has a problem with this we can have a civilized discussion about it on the battlefield which I have no doubt I will be seeing a lot of when several pretenders, dissidents and outright anarchists attempt to dethrone me. They will fail. The Empire will not fall today or anytime soon. This is just a new era for it and one I fully intend on making successful. The Empire currently is doing well, but I'm confident that with your loyalty and obedience we can make it even stronger.\"\n\nYou take a pause in your speech and scan your audience. None of them are interrupting. They all seem to be captivated, of course maybe some are just planning on trying to assassinate you later, but for now you\u2019ll take their attention as a positive sign.\n\n\"Join me and the Empire will live forever. YOU will live forever! Who's with me?\"\n\nNo sooner have you finished your statement, several of the advisors bend their knee and bow towards you. The soldiers draw their weapons and raise them in air pledging their loyalty.\n\n\"Hail to the new Emperor!\"\n\"Long live the Empire!\"\n\nWell that went better than you expected.\n\nThe only \u201cimportant\u201d person that didn\u2019t attend your meeting was Marik though you didn\u2019t really expect him to being a derro and all. Not to mention you didn\u2019t invite him anyway and had planned on meeting with him personally.\n\nYou have no idea how he\u2019s going to react to the news and he\u2019s erratic at the best of times. You and he weren\u2019t exactly getting along the last time you saw him, so for all you know he may just attack you. Part of you hopes he does, just so you never have to deal with him anymore. Besides Semra, Marik was the next one you never liked dealing with just because his demeanor irritated you.\n\nWhen you get to his personal factory, it\u2019s as silent and as empty as it was when you had to clean out those escaped trolls. You hope that isn\u2019t the damn problem again. On your guard, you cautiously walk through the factory and make your way down to the underground portion and continue to find nobody around.\n\n\u201cMarik! If this is an ambush, let\u2019s just get this over with now because I don\u2019t have time for it!\u201d you shout.\n\nYou see the door to the tank baby room open up, but it isn\u2019t Marik, it\u2019s a young girl. In fact it\u2019s the tank baby that you spared before your trip to Mortos. She looks like she\u2019s been healing well.\n\n\u201cHe\u2026he\u2019s not here sir. I mean my Emperor. I apologize for not addressing you properly.\u201d She remarks nervously.\n\u201cThat\u2019s fine\u2026so word of my ascension has reached down here eh? Wasn\u2019t sure if it did, so where\u2019s Marik? In fact where is everyone? I know there\u2019s still usually a skeleton crew that works in the factory above and there are usually derro guards wandering around down here. In fact shouldn\u2019t there be more of you tank babies running around training?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cMarik killed them all. He shut down the machine that was keeping the rest alive inside the tanks. Said if the Emperor was gone then his debt was paid and he wasn\u2019t going to spend the remainder of his years toiling for the likes of you and called you a\u2026uh\u2026um\u2026\u201d\n\u201cOh just say it, I\u2019m pretty sure it isn\u2019t going to surprise me.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe called you a svelk fucker.\u201d\n\u201cIs that all?\u201d\n\u201cWell then he sort of ranted. He said that you had a svelk lover that would strap on a\u2026uh\u2026sexual device and made you bend over like a woman when you would have relations.\u201d\n\u201cSheesh. Can\u2019t say Marik didn\u2019t have a colorful imagination.\u201d You remark shaking your head.\n\u201cThen he said the pair of you fellated kobolds and ate the dung of\u2026\u201d\n\u201cOkay, I think I got the idea.\u201d You say holding up your hand.\n\u201cHe was very angry at you my Emperor.\u201d\n\u201cMmh, sounds like. So why did he kill all you tankies?\u201d\n\u201cOh, well he also said he wasn\u2019t going to waste any more of his genius for you to use, so he decided to kill all of us in the tanks. He tried to kill me as well by having his men shoot at me and lob several firebombs at me.\u201d She says and points over to a partially collapsed bit of the room where blacked equipment and fallen rock now lays.\n\u201cGuessing it didn\u2019t work.\u201d\n\u201cI managed to duck under one of the desks and made a blood curdling scream as the explosions went off and the rocks fell down around me. After they let up, I heard Marik laugh at how I feared death in my final moments and after a few minutes I heard them leave at which point I started digging myself out of the rubble.\u201d\n\u201cHrm, I see faking your own death actually worked for you this time, good. You shouldn\u2019t disregard a tactic just because it fails in one instance.\u201d You say as you glance over a pile of papers lying on another table in the room.\n\n\u201cMarik was brilliant in some ways, but he was an idiot in others. The fool left all his notes behind. I can easily restart all the work he did.\u201d You add.\n\u201cYou\u2019re going to restart the Eternal Project? But I thought you didn\u2019t like\u2026tankies as you call us.\u201d\n\u201cWell, I was in a different state of mind at the time. Now that I\u2019m Emperor, I\u2019m thinking that I\u2019m going to need dedicated loyal soldiers to help in the expansion of the Empire in the future. Just need to rebuild the factory, get some babies, throw them into the tanks and grow my new army. Of course I\u2019ll be overseeing it and making my own alterations to whatever Marik\u2019s original design was.\u201d\n\u201cWhat about me, my Emperor?\u201d The tank baby asks.\n\n\u201cYes, what about you? Well considering you managed to survive not one, but two major attempts on your life within weeks of being out of your little tank, I suppose you deserve a place somewhere. To be honest, I did spare you in the first place because you showed more promise and strength than your siblings by merely surviving my assault. You know I was singled out too, on several occasions. I grew stronger from the challenges. You will have the same opportunity I did and I\u2019m going to personally train you. Then depending on how well you do, I\u2019ll decide where you\u2019re best needed.\u201d You tell her.\n\u201cYou\u2019re\u2026you\u2019re too kind my Emperor.\u201d She says with a gratuitous expression on her face.\n\nYou start laughing.\n\n\u201cYou won\u2019t be thinking that when we actually start training. Let\u2019s go. By the way it\u2019ll be useful to have something to call you other than tank baby, so what\u2019s your name?\u201d\n\u201cName? I don\u2019t have one, my Emperor. Marik never saw fit to give me one. I do have a number though. Ten.\u201d\n\u201cNo, I\u2019m not going to call you ten. That\u2019s silly, especially since there\u2019s only one of you now. Let\u2019s see\u2026I\u2019ll call you\u2026 Decena. You like that name?\u201d\n\u201cI don\u2019t have any objections to it, my Emperor.\u201d\n\u201cGood. Let us be on our way.\u201d\n\nWith this last bit of business out of the way, you feel you\u2019re getting off on a good start as the Empire\u2019s new Emperor.\n\nYou just wish Alison were here to share it with you.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Chapter 3C2: Successor\n\n\nYear 37\n\nRuling the Empire, it\u2019s a thankless job, but somebody\u2019s got to do it.\n\nWith all the restructuring and consolidation of what holdings you do have, you haven\u2019t gotten around to actually expanding the Empire yet. You have sent quite a few scouts out though.\n\nThere were a few groups sent south of Nalin and into the Usksha Desert, but if there is anything past it, it must be a very long ways off. Every scout team has reported practically nothing but endless sands and hostile usksha nomads. To say nothing of giant sand worms and creatures that can turn people to stone with a mere gaze.\n\nFurther east of Delerg leads to heavy jungle to the point of it being practically impassible. Scouts that survived have told you that it almost feels like the jungle is actively trying to prevent further exploration. Apparently it\u2019s also inhabited by dark skinned Halfling like beings, but a lot more savage. (Though from what Casimir told you, Halflings could get rather savage themselves) They made no attempt to parlay and always attacked on sight.\n\nSomeone mentioned that there was evidence of a few ancient ruins, but these weren\u2019t explored much due the relentless pygmy attacks. Probably just remnants of a long dead civilization that the pygmies degenerated from anyway.\n\nYou didn\u2019t bother with sending scouts further north of Rask, it\u2019s well known that it\u2019s just more mountains and even if there is land past them, it would be so cold that nobody would want to live there, well not the average Empire citizen anyway.\n\nWhile the Empire has never really had a navy to speak of, you\u2019ve been trying to make steps in correcting that problem. So far a few ships have been sent east, but there hasn\u2019t been much news yet of any other major landmasses, just few remote islands that contain nothing of worth. (And none of them are Mortos either.)\n\nOnly the Empire\u2019s western borders hold any immediate promise for future expansion.\n\nSome of the scout reports have been interesting, as there seems to be a wide range of societies further west.\n\nThe major one you\u2019re already having minor skirmishes with are a group of beast like people similar to the now extinct gnolls, but more \u201cmulti-racial\u201d in nature. They refer to themselves as the \u201cChildren of Tor.\u201d (Who you assume is probably some god or ancestor figure to them.) They also call their territory \u201cThe Land\u201d and are largely nomadic just like the usksha. As you might expect, they see the Empire as an affront to nature and the land and have been hostile at every turn.\n\nThe Torites seem to consist of four major races. The most physically imposing being the great bull beings (The minotaurs). They\u2019re reportedly as strong as an ogre and twice as vicious. They probably aren\u2019t the greatest of thinkers, but to write them off as stupid would be a mistake.\n\nThe second group is no less imposing. These are the ones that seem to be half human half horse (The centaurs). The horse beasts must train constantly with their bows considering how accurate they are with them. They are fairly deadly in open plains due to this and their maneuverability.\n\nThe third group seems to be the most common and smaller than the other two, but no less dangerous. These are the \u201cgoat people\u201d (The satyrs) They make up the majority of the population, but they also boast a number of wild mages, shaman and other types that tap into a natural elemental magic.\n\nThe last group has only been rumored, but you can\u2019t dismiss the possibility. Apparently there is also a group of these beast people that have wings like birds that lives in the western most mountain range. Other rumors abound about less sentient beast creatures ranging from large cat like creatures with spiked tails to abominations that are mixed with a multitude of animals.\n\nThis is just one current enemy however. They are other more \u201ccivilized\u201d groups too who may or may not be enemies in the future. Some of these range from hamlets that are fairly isolated from immediate dangers to small petty backwards kingdoms, which aren\u2019t even as great as the one the Felkans had. There are other probably others as well, but it hardly matters since eventually ALL will be submitting to the Empire if you have anything to say about it.\n\nOf course you can\u2019t do it all alone even if you do attempt to have a more hands on approach than your predecessor. This is why you have your own inner circle to help.\n\nJacob\u2019s replacement, Kivan pretty much takes care of all the things he did. Though to be honest, most of that stuff is dull administration duty that tends to bore you anyway. The funny thing is Kivan almost reminds you of a younger version of Jacob in some ways. You guess it must be the typical \u201cbean counter\u201d mindset those administrative types share. In retrospect it\u2019s kind of a shame you killed Jacob as he ultimately was just looking out for the best interest of the Empire, but these things happen.\n\nWarrick is still head of the Eyes, who are more in control of internal security than ever. You didn\u2019t even get a single uprising within the few months you took the throne, though there was a bit of civil unrest that had to be quelled when newborns were taken from families for the Eternal Project. Warrick is good at his job, though you get the impression that he\u2019d like to be out there in the field sometimes. Something you can identify with since you\u2019ve been growing bored due to the lack of battle due to the whole concentration on \u201cruling\u201d thing.\n\nBrenda doesn\u2019t seem to have this problem. She\u2019s actually satisfied with more administrative duties, but then she\u2019s never been at the forefront of war like the rest of the Eternals have. Still, she\u2019s been instrumental in implementing some worthwhile domestic issues such as fully incorporating kobolds into the Empire (The little scalies are now some of the most loyal citizens and always willing to serve its armies!) and giving the remaining orcs their own land in Rask. Brenda reasoned that while their numbers were decimated in the Felkan War, they can probably build them back up within a couple of decades and the Empire will have a new generation of orc soldiers that can be relied upon. Not to mention the orcs are still serving in a good capacity by currently slaying the odd ogre tribe or giant that comes lumbering down from the Rask Mountains.\n\nBrenda still doesn\u2019t really get along with Warrick however. She still holds him partially responsible for Roldan\u2019s death. There really isn\u2019t anything you can do about that though, despite your best efforts. You just give a reminder to the both of them to keep it professional and they do for the most part. Which is more than can be said for General Ackerson and Grand Mage Galen, who you try to keep far away from each other since they\u2019d kill one another if they could help it. Fortunately they aren\u2019t called to the meetings very often. Ackerson is mainly kept on the western borders (currently dealing with the Torites as of late) while Galen has been put on day-to-day duty of overseeing the magic side of things for the Eternal Project. (Though he was a great help last year in helping you banish the wendigo problem for good)\n\nHe hates the job and would no doubt rather be serving as the dean at the mage academy, but you need someone there with competent magic skills when you aren\u2019t available. You\u2019ve actually made cut backs to the academy anyway, There just aren\u2019t that many mages left and there haven\u2019t been many new people to show the aptitude for it, especially after the Felkan War. With the rise of technology within the Empire you wonder if eventually magic will be displaced altogether, but in the scheme of things, its of little concern to you, since you still have all your powers after all.\n\nThe other one in charge of the day-to-day duties of the Eternal Project is an odd fellow by the name of Elam. He takes care of the more technical matters. He\u2019s basically the \u201cnew Marik\u201d except that he\u2019s human, which makes him a whole lot saner, but not by much. He was once training to be a physician, but was kicked out of the guild for\u2026unnecessary experimentation. He then drifted and somehow his interests turned to technology. He was a human supervisor at Marik\u2019s factory, but more than that, he actually was allowed into the derro portion of the factory on a regular basis. After Marik left, he became a recluse and lived in one of the more remote parts of Arat where he tinkered on things and tries to create new inventions. Kivan was the one that actually tracked him down when you stated that you needed someone who had a better grasp of all this \u201cderro techie shit.\u201d So far he\u2019s worked out well, though Galen whines about having to keep an eye on him so he doesn\u2019t do unnecessary tinkering on the Eternal tanks.\n\nFinally there is Decena. In between running the Empire and overseeing the new Eternal Project, you\u2019ve been training her. So far she\u2019s been showing steady improvement due to your harsh training lessons. Lately she has desired the need to go out on the battlefield to use what she has learned and bring glory to the Empire, which was part of your plan when you started training her.\n\nAs you finish up, Decena moans in ecstasy when she climaxes.\n\nBedding her on a regular basis really wasn\u2019t part of the original plan however.\n\n\u201cWhat the fuck am I doing?\u201d you\u2019ve often asked yourself. You certainly did when you first pushed your lips against hers and groped her body during a sparring lesson. She initially thought you were attempting some sort of new attack on her, which in a way you were. One that ended up being entirely successful.\n\nYou sometimes think what you did (and why you continue doing it) was due to quelling a sort of loneliness that exists within you, which is partially true. The other reason is far darker. In some strange way you were re-enacting your own training lesson with Semra. Except now YOU were taking on the role of \u201cMistress.\u201d (You really don\u2019t like dwelling on what possible psychological ramifications that all means, you just buried deeper in your ever growing brain box of suppressed thoughts)\n\nOf course it isn\u2019t exactly like the fucked up relationship you had with Semra, and Decena didn\u2019t exactly resist you and seemed to give in fairly quickly. Of course you can never know if it was because she genuinely felt attraction or she knew that it would\u2019ve been futile to resist. She claims she did feel something, but wasn\u2019t quite sure what it was, which may or may not be true given that she spent most of her life in a fucking tank and isn\u2019t exactly an expert on the whole feelings situation herself.\n\nAs it stands Decena doesn\u2019t ask questions such as if the pair of you are \u201chusband and wife\u201d or even a \u201ccouple.\u201d From what you can tell she just sees your sexual encounters as a form of \u201capproval\u201d from her Emperor. Perhaps even as some sort of \u201creward\u201d for all her duty and obedience. Still, given how much time you do spend with her, she might as well be your young bride at this point.\n\nYou get up off the bed and take a long look at Decena as she starts to fall asleep from your round of passion.\n\nDo you have any sort of feelings for the girl? Perhaps some, but not in the way that you had for Alison. There probably isn\u2019t a day that goes by that you don\u2019t take a good long look at Alison\u2019s portrait and mentally apologize to it.\n\nWhat you really need around here is a change.\n\n\u201cDecena, get up.\u201d You say and pull at one of her arms.\n\u201cWha? Again?\u201d she asks sleepily.\n\u201cNo, not that. You\u2019re not sleeping here tonight, I\u2019m sending you away.\u201d\n\u201cDid\u2026did I do something wrong? I can do better, I\u2026\u201d she hastily begins to say, worrying about your reasons.\n\u201cNo, you\u2019ve done everything right. It\u2019s just that it\u2019s time. You\u2019re not gaining anything more by staying here and the Empire needs to expand. I\u2019m sending you to the western borders to oversee settling some military outposts out that way. Maybe start making major strides against those beast savages that have been giving us problems lately.\u201d\n\nDecena\u2019s eyes light up.\n\n\u201cWait, you mean you\u2019re giving me my own command?\u201d she asks.\n\u201cYep, I\u2019ll have everything set up in a day or so. You need to be out their gaining real experience, not stuck here training.\u201d\n\nDecena at this point proceeds to leap out of bed and embrace you planting several kisses on your face.\n\n\u201cOh thank you Emperor! I\u2019m so happy you\u2019ve finally placed this much faith in me and believe I\u2019m ready for this!\u201d\n\u201cHrm. Yes, well can\u2019t let talent go to waste. I suggest you go get ready.\u201d\n\nDecena excitedly gets dressed and leaves the room. Well that\u2019s a temporary solution at least and it gets the ball rolling on expanding the Empire. Eventually though, you\u2019re going to have to make a more personal decision about her.\n\nAs for you, you need something else to do with yourself as well. You\u2019d like to go back on the battlefield yourself, but there is still so much that requires your immediate attention, the most important still being the Eternal Project. There are also still a few plans and notes that Marik left behind that show some promise. His concept of an \u201cairship\u201d for example is very intriguing to you. You\u2019d like to try to get one built and the only one that\u2019s going to remotely know how to get them started is most likely Elam, so it\u2019s a trip to the Eternal Factory\u2026\n\nWhen you arrive Galen immediately walks over to you.\n\n\u201cEmperor! I\u2019m glad you\u2019re here, I can\u2019t put up with Elam\u2019s eccentricities any longer! At this point I\u2019d rather be working along side that idiot Ackerson! I humbly request that I MUST be transferred! One of the other mages here can easily take over for\u2026\u201d\n\nYou grab Galen by the collar and then throw him to the floor.\n\n\u201cShut the hell up! Do you ever stop whining? I\u2019ve known elven slaves that whimper far less.\u201d You say while Galen continues to stare at you from his new vantage point.\n\n\u201cI\u2026I\u2019m not whining for just my sake. Elam has been trying to make improvements to the tanks again and he damn near blew one up if I hadn\u2019t managed to freeze the flames caused by whatever the hell he was doing.\u201d Galen remarks. \u201cKeeps saying he\u2019s bored just monitoring the tanks, though I can\u2019t say I disagree in that regard.\u201d\n\u201cWell, looks like I better give him something else to do then since he\u2019s so bored.\u201d\n\nYou leave Galen and go find Elam who is excitedly explaining something to a nervous looking man though you don\u2019t know if he\u2019s nervous because you\u2019re here or because Elam\u2019s talking to him waving some sort of tool that has flame emitting from it.\n\n\u201cElam we need to have a talk.\u201d You say.\n\u201cHuh? Oh! Yes, yes, yes, Emperor! Indeed we do! I have figured out a way to improve\u2026\u201d\n\nYou hold up your hand as a signal that Elam should stop talking.\n\n\u201cStop. Not another word or I\u2019ll have your tongue removed. Just listen for a change. The tanks are fine; they don\u2019t need any more improvements. They just need daily monitoring and maintenance if needed. However since you seem to need something more stimulating, here\u2019s something you can do.\u201d You say and hand Elam a bunch of diagrams and notes which causes his eyes to widen.\n\n\u201cThat is your new project. I want you to start building one of these things. If it proves successful, you can do all the improvements you like to future ones to make them deadlier and more efficient. Does that sound good to you? You may speak now.\u201d\n\u201cYes, definitely yes! Thank you my Emperor! I will not disappoint you in this endeavor!\u201d\n\u201cI don\u2019t expect you will. Of course while you will need a crew to help you, I still need some of your engineers here.\u201d\n\u201cOh, of course. In fact how about Gregory take over here for me?\u201d Elam says and points over to the nervous man he was just speaking to.\n\nYou wave Gregory over who walks over like he thinks he\u2019s in trouble.\n\n\u201cYou, can you just do your damn job without the urge to fuck with the tanks unnecessarily?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cYes\u2026yes sir. I mean yes my Emperor.\u201d\n\u201cGood. That\u2019s all I need from you. Now get back to work. And as for you Elam, you\u2019ll be transferred over to another factory, preferably one with a lot of space and far away from populated areas. Oh and I\u2019ll still be coming by to check on your progress. Both of you.\u201d You say and leave the pair of engineers.\n\nYou don\u2019t leave the factory though as you want to make sure your future Eternals are still doing okay despite Elam\u2019s over enthusiasm to improve their current dwellings. Of course while you\u2019re doing this, once again Galen walks over to you. You swear he must have a death wish today or something.\n\n\u201cSo I overheard that you\u2019re transferring Elam out of here.\u201d Galen says.\n\u201cYour hearing is as sharp as ever Galen.\u201d You answer.\n\u201cWhile it would be a blessing to continue to work here without having to deal with him again, I still believe that my own talents are going to waste here. I mean you hardly need a wizard of my stature to oversee these tanks. Another lesser mage could easily do this job.\u201d\n\u201c(Sigh) After all your bitching about Elam, you\u2019re really no better. You know what though, you\u2019re right. Your talents are going to waste here. I\u2019ll have you transferred to western borders.\u201d You say.\n\nNot exactly what Galen had in mind by the look on his face.\n\n\u201cWhat? We\u2019ve got enemies that need taken care of so that the Empire may expand. Goat people with magic abilities of their own if the reports are correct. You said you wanted something that was suited to your talents; well you\u2019ve got it. And don\u2019t worry, I\u2019m not sending you to Ackerson\u2019s command. You\u2019ll be assisting Decena.\u201d\n\u201cDecena? You mean the young Eternal girl? When did she get a command?\u201d\n\u201cJust recently. Now I expect you that you won\u2019t have the same issues with her that you did with Ackerson AND Elam. Because if I hear about shit not running smoothly due to personality conflicts again, I\u2019m going to be very displeased with you. Understand?\u201d\n\u201cYes, my Emperor.\u201d Galen responds dejectedly.\n\nIn the weeks to come, happily everyone seems to be doing well in their new assignments. Elam is already working hard to a degree where it\u2019s actually not detrimental. The future Eternals are now under a more cautious, but still vigilant caretaker. And from her letters it appears that Decena and Galen are working well together or at least not to any degree where there are problems.\n\nDecena\u2019s letters are always full of excitement. You get the impression she wishes she could tell you about her battles in person. It\u2019s obvious she wants you to be proud of her victories. And you are or at least you\u2019re happy to see that she\u2019s effectively using the skills that you taught her.\n\nThe most concerning thing about her reports though is that so far these beast people never engage in traditional battle. She mentions how they prefer to ambush or only attack when they have vast numerical superiority. The most difficult thing about combating them is their extensive knowledge of the land, which they live off of, as they have no towns or cities to conquer. Because of their nomadic nature you anticipate that they\u2019re going to be a problem for quite awhile.\n\nStill, at least Decena seems to be handling the situation. You have a message sent back that you will send reinforcements soon. In the meantime, General Ackerson has also made strides in annexing several of the smaller isolated independent towns and villages. These places will become some of the staging areas of what will most likely be an extended conflict with the Torites.\n\nYou\u2019ll eventually win though and claim the land for the Empire; you have no doubt about that.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 40\n\n\u201cI thought the plan was to keep them in the tanks until the sixteenth year.\u201d Brenda says.\n\u201cNo, those were Marik\u2019s original plans for the last Eternals he worked on. We\u2019re doing things differently. From Elam\u2019s earlier calculations, and my own magic theories on this project we both came to the conclusion long ago that keeping them in the tanks for as long as Marik did is asking for trouble in the long term. While it certainly accelerates their skills and abilities there\u2019s a risk for it to have a terrible affect on the mind. In fact it\u2019s probably just as well that Marik killed them all, otherwise we might\u2019ve had hundreds of mental cases.\u201d You reply.\n\n\u201cBut Decena seems okay. I mean from what I know of the girl.\u201d Brenda says.\n\u201cDecena\u2019s an exception, but I\u2019m not going to tempt fate with this group. Five years seems like a good stopping point.\u201d\n\u201cSo are you going to be training the rest of them?\u201d\n\u201cNo, you are.\u201d You say to Brenda who is speechless for a second.\n\n\u201cWhat?\u201d Brenda says.\n\u201cYou\u2019re going to be responsible for these new Eternals Brenda. I know you\u2019re going to need assistants, but it\u2019s going to be chiefly your responsibility to train them and to make sure they become the best of the best. What Eternals should be. What WE are.\u201d\n\u201cBut, why me? I mean I\u2019ve never been on the frontlines like the rest of us were.\u201d\n\u201cTrue, but I know you\u2019re no stranger to battle and you\u2019re the only one I can trust with this task. Warrick\u2019s job is to be the head of internal security and to directly oversee the Eyes, so he can\u2019t do it. And I feel it would be best if another Eternal should be fully in charge of training these new ones. That leaves you and I know you to be an honorable woman who upholds the ideals of the Empire. Who could possibly be better?\u201d\n\u201cYou?\u201d Brenda says.\n\u201cHeh, well it was a rhetorical question. But besides being too busy myself, I actually don\u2019t believe I\u2019d be the best trainer. I think due to our own experiences of how we were trained as well as our personalities, you will make a better teacher.\u201d\n\u201cBut we both had the same training up to our twelfth year.\u201d\n\u201cYes, and then our next four I guarantee was vastly different. And even during our twelve years together in Semra\u2019s class, MY training experience was very different from yours. I think you\u2019d agree.\u201d\n\nBrenda nods, probably remembering that Semra took every opportunity to single you out in the class and subjecting you to the harshest punishments when it struck her fancy.\n\n\u201cYou had Captain Gruz as a teacher and from what I heard, he taught you all to fight as a team and to have a shared respect for each other and he did it without resorting to excessive measures. I know the common belief is that I\u2019m cruel by nature, but I\u2019m actually not. Ruthless perhaps, but not needlessly cruel. And because I\u2019m not cruel, that\u2019s why I\u2019d rather have a more even-tempered person with at least a less hellish childhood experience than I train these children. They may be Eternals, but they\u2019re still children that will have to be molded into good productive soldiers for the Empire with minimal problems to their mental state. I know you\u2019ll be tough, but fair.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, I don\u2019t know what to say, except I appreciate your confidence in me in all this and I\u2019ll do my best to carry out this task successfully. However, while I do understand that you don\u2019t really have the time to train the new Eternals I\u2019m still slightly puzzled to as why you believe you\u2019d be a rotten teacher. I mean you trained Decena and from what I\u2019ve heard she\u2019s fanatically loyal as well as a great warrior bringing glory to the Empire.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s right, I did. And she is.\u201d You answer and don\u2019t give any more elaboration, which prompts Brenda to just leave it alone.\n\n\u201cOkay.\u201d She responds.\n\nThere\u2019s a brief pause before Brenda decides to break up the silence by changing the subject.\n\n\u201cSo, what\u2019s next on your agenda?\u201d\n\u201cMe? Well after I go inspect the new airship that Elam is supposed to be finished with, I\u2019m going back on the battlefield. I think its time; most of the internal reorganization and major projects have been dealt with and don\u2019t require my immediate watchful eye anymore. I\u2019m sure if any problems crop up, someone won\u2019t hesitate to inform me. Besides, the Torites are causing all sorts of problem on Ackerson\u2019s front. And I think he may even be having issues with that petty kingdom he recently made contact with. I don\u2019t even remember what its name is, and if I have anything to say about it, neither will anyone else.\u201d\n\u201cWell I\u2019d tell you to be careful or wish you luck, but I know you\u2019ll be fine. You always are. Are you going to stay for the grand opening though?\u201d Brenda asks and points at the rows and rows of tanks.\n\n\u201cNo. Probably best if they don\u2019t see me immediately. Keep me a semi-mysterious unapproachable figure for awhile.\u201d You reply.\n\u201cOh like what they told us?\u201d Brenda says.\n\u201cWorked didn\u2019t it? Still, when you\u2019ve sufficiently got that idea into their heads, then I suppose I\u2019ll make my appearance to them, most likely unannounced. I\u2019ll want them to actually believe that I may very well pop up at any time. It\u2019ll keep them on their toes.\u201d\n\u201cHa ha, that\u2019s probably even more frightening than never seeing such a figure as I have to admit even at times I wondered if the Emperor was actually watching me all the time, though Roldan certainly thought so.\u201d\n\nBrenda at this point temporarily spins off into a pleasant memory she has of Roldan. You\u2019ve never told her it was actually Casimir that had Roldan assassinated for his own reasons. You\u2019ve pondered if you should tell her the truth, but ultimately decided it wouldn\u2019t do any good save for perhaps destroying her faith in the Empire, which you don\u2019t want.\n\nYou know Brenda is prone to bouts of depression ever since Roldan\u2019s died, telling her that the government and its ruler that she served was directly involved in her husband\u2019s death might push her into hopelessness. Maybe even suicide. As it stands, you\u2019ve been working to try to keep her spirits up.\n\nWhich is another reason why you picked her to train these new Eternals. Perhaps it will give her a better sense of purpose.\n\n\u201cSorry, I rambled a bit there. I guess I just still miss Roldan.\u201d Brenda says.\n\u201cNo need to apologize, I completely understand. Roldan was a dedicated soldier of the Empire and if he were here today he\u2019d be proud of your accomplishments. Anyway, I have to go; if I\u2019m lucky Elam hasn\u2019t blown up this new machine he just built yet. I trust you have this?\u201d\n\u201cYes I do.\u201d\n\nYou leave Brenda to her task and make your way to your next stop, which should be very different\u2026\n\nYou look at the brand new airship you\u2019ve poured money into. It certainly is as large as you thought it might be, though it is still strange to see such a machine that was only picture on a piece of parchment a few years ago. Elam is visibly anxious about what you\u2019ll think about it. He\u2019s surprisingly quiet though, which might be a good sign that he\u2019s learned to not run off at the mouth all the time.\n\n\u201cHrm, its impressive looking, but does it actually work?\u201d you ask Elam.\n\u201cOh yes! We have tested its flight capabilities and it certainly works according to all the notes and plans Marik left. Had to make some adjustments of course, but I believe now that we\u2019ve made one, we can easily improve upon it and make more.\u201d Elam says.\n\n\u201cGood, glad to hear it. What about weapons?\u201d\n\u201cWe\u2019ve equipped it with the latest cannons and the prototype repeater. There are also firebombs that can be dropped from the sky.\u201d Elam answers.\n\u201cExcellent work as always Elam.\u201d\n\u201cThank you, my Emperor. Will you be boarding it?\u201d\n\u201cBoarding it? Hmm, hadn\u2019t actually given it much thought. I mean is this final product? You don\u2019t need to do anymore testing on it?\u201d\n\u201cWell we were just going to do some weapons testing while it flying it, but the airship itself is fully operational. It won\u2019t go crashing into the ground or anything like that.\u201d\n\nWhile you prefer keeping your feet firmly on the ground, you have to admit you do like the idea of potentially floating through the sky towering over your enemies and all those that might oppose you.\n\n\u201cVery well, but I still want you to go through a weapons test like you planned, before I get on it. Do another safety check as well.\u201d\n\u201cAs you wish, so about a week?\u201d Elam asks.\n\u201cFine, but no more than that.\u201d You reply and leave.\n\nSeeing as you have a few more days to kick around before the airship is ready, you return to the mundane duties of rulership. A couple days later you decide to check up on Warrick to see if there is anything he\u2019s uncovered that needs your attention.\n\nThe Eye Headquarters is probably the safest place in the Empire other than the palace itself. The Eyes may not be Eternals, but they\u2019re the next best thing and Warrick being both is certainly one of the best warriors at your command.\n\nThat\u2019s probably why he looks so bored behind his desk when you meet him. In fact your visit is probably the most exciting thing that\u2019s happened in his life lately.\n\n\u201cEmperor! Didn\u2019t realize you were coming, I was just busy going through all these population lists. You know like who is a potential trouble maker, who is a loyal citizen, that sort of thing.\u201d Warrick says getting up when you enter his office.\n\u201cAnything interesting I should know about?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cNot really. I mean there are still some grumbles from citizens about when we took babies from some families for the Eternal Project and the free elven population is always unsatisfied with the way things are, but I\u2019m not seeing any uprising material. Unless you want to have some dissenters whisked away in the night just to be safe.\u201d Warrick says.\n\u201cI don\u2019t think that\u2019ll be necessary. They can\u2019t all be kobolds.\u201d You reply.\n\u201cHeh, got that right. Still can\u2019t get over how Brenda was so successful in assimilating them the way she did. I still remember during our first major assignment in Nalin we had to wipe out caves of those vicious little bastards.\u201d\n\u201cI just saw her a few days ago actually, she\u2019s going to be in charge of the new Eternals, training and such.\u201d\n\u201cIs that right? Well she\u2019s probably the best candidate. I mean with you busy ruling and me busy being in charge of the Eyes and all. Um, is she still pissed at me?\u201d\n\u201cShe didn\u2019t really say anything about you, but I imagine you\u2019re still not her favorite person.\u201d\n\u201c(Sigh) That\u2019s a shame. You know I don\u2019t harbor any ill will against her and if I could\u2019ve I would\u2019ve had even tighter security that fateful day. I mean I just\u2026\u201d\n\nYou stop Warrick\n\n\u201cWarrick, you don\u2019t need to explain. You did everything you could that day. We all did. I mean hell even I didn\u2019t see a shadow assassination coming. A dead one that I killed no less. Just don\u2019t worry about it. Brenda will probably get over it one day, and if she doesn\u2019t, well it\u2019s still not your fault.\u201d\n\nThis reassuring statement seems to make Warrick calmer. You\u2019ve obviously never told him the real truth about the assassination either and again you see no reason to stir up trouble by doing so.\n\nYou and Warrick talk for a while, some it about the present, some of it about the future, and some of it about the past. During your conversation, it suddenly occurs to you that maybe you could hand a small honor over to Warrick for all his hard work. He certainly could use a break in the mundane paper work that he primarily does nowadays.\n\nYou wonder if you should let him take command of the new airship and see some frontline combat.", "action_results": [{"action": "Let Warrick command the airship", "result": "You figure Warrick deserves something for all his hard work and loyalty, besides you\u2019re still a little hesitant to go flying off into the sky.\n\n\u201cWarrick, I also saw Elam a few days ago too. He told me that by the end of this week, it should be ready for flight as well as combat. Originally I was going to take the first official flight on it, but would you like to do the honors?\u201d you ask.\n\nWarrick looks like he can\u2019t believe his ears.\n\n\u201cAre you serious?\u201d\n\u201cCompletely. I know you\u2019re probably bored at times doing this job, trust me I sympathize. The day-to-day task of ruling isn\u2019t exactly as exciting as being hip deep in the corpses of your enemies. So I\u2019m giving you this chance to be on the frontlines for a while. I mean I assume you\u2019ve got someone here that can take over for you while you\u2019re gone for a little while right?\u201d\n\u201cSure! I\u2019m got more than few very qualified Eyes that can do the job.\u201d Warrick says.\n\u201cOkay, well it\u2019s settled, you\u2019ll report to Elam\u2019s factory in Arat in about four days. Just tell him I sent you, I\u2019m sure there won\u2019t be any problems.\u201d\n\u201cThank you for this opportunity and this position Emperor. I won\u2019t let it go to waste. Oh, what\u2019s the name of this new vessel?\u201d\n\u201cName? Actually I don\u2019t think it has been named yet. Or at least Elam didn\u2019t give it one. Hrm\u2026call it the Storm. I mean you\u2019ll be floating through the sky raining death down upon your enemies in a spectacular fashion. Plus you\u2019re an Eye. I mean Eye of the Storm. Play on words, I dunno, sounds clever to me.\u201d\n\u201cHeh, sounds good to me too.\u201d Warrick agrees.\n\nWith Warrick obviously in better spirits, you leave the Eye headquarter and make your own preparations for heading out to the western front. You might not be riding on an airship to do it, but you\u2019ll still be engaging in battle in some capacity.\n\nIn a couple days you meet up with Ackerson\u2019s company in one of the small towns that has recently been converted into army encampment. The new Empire \u201ccitizens\u201d don\u2019t look very happy about their recent occupation and change to their way of life, but they don\u2019t have much choice in the matter and in time they\u2019ll either get used to it, or they won\u2019t and will have to be put down. No matter to you either way.\n\nGeneral Ackerson himself looks very tired. Like he hasn\u2019t been sleeping for days. In fact many of the soldiers have a weary looking appearance. While this is somewhat expected with long drawn out conflicts, you can\u2019t imagine that they\u2019ve had so much trouble that would cause them this much stress. Decena\u2019s command has had more conflict activity, but she hasn\u2019t given any reports of problems. (Though it\u2019s possible that she\u2019s not reporting such things, but given her idolization, you doubt if she\u2019d lie, and even if she wasn\u2019t telling, you\u2019re pretty sure Galen would send you a complaining letter of sub standard conditions.)\n\n\u201cWhat the hell is wrong with this camp Ackerson? Every man and woman here looks like they\u2019re hung over due to partying for weeks on end, or they\u2019ve been under going months of a siege. I don\u2019t see any castles around here, so it better not be the former.\u201d you demand.\n\u201cI\u2026I don\u2019t know my Emperor. Everything was fine until recently. I mean as fine as it could be with groups of sneaking beast people attempting to bushwhack our patrols every so often. Now it\u2019s like most of us can\u2019t get a restful sleep and a lot of us are just never fully awake anymore. Just a tired feeling even if we haven\u2019t been doing much during a particular day. Some have even reported odd or bad dreams.\u201d\n\nWhile you can\u2019t be certain of what would cause such a thing, you feel you\u2019re pretty safe in assuming one possibility.\n\n\u201cSounds like magic. Or some form of it. Why haven\u2019t you had your mages check it out?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cI would have, but they\u2019re all dead my Emperor. If it isn\u2019t the blasted centaurs with their deadly accuracy, it\u2019s the damn satyrs with their own wild magic. It\u2019s like they target our mages even if they lose more than half of their own numbers in the process.\u201d\n\u201cThat can\u2019t be a coincidence. Seems like it\u2019s the goat wizards doing this to your command. Better double your efforts and hunt them all down within the vicinity.\u201d\n\u201cWell, I have since I thought that might be the case, but I don\u2019t think it\u2019s the Torites doing this. Their mages seem to focus on earth based or elemental magic, nothing to do with the mind or similar witchery. I think they\u2019d be more likely to summon a tornado at us, which thankfully they haven\u2019t done yet.\u201d Ackerson explains.\n\u201cPerhaps, this is just a taste of their what their mages can also do, still if you don\u2019t believe its them, who else? The people here don\u2019t look happy about the Empire taking charge of this place. You sure there isn\u2019t a hidden mage here?\u201d\n\u201cNo, don\u2019t think so. The people of this town have also complained about feeling tired also. In fact that\u2019s probably why they\u2019re pissed at us. To them, we brought this curse as they call it to their town.\u201d\n\u201cOkay, what about that new kingdom you said you made contact with? What\u2019s the name of it?\u201d\n\u201cOh them. The Broki Kingdom. I\u2019m not even sure they have any mages. The whole place is backwards. Its chaotic nature reminds me of Rask before the Empire enforced order to it. It\u2019s barely even a kingdom and certainly not like the one the Felkans had. A single king runs the kingdom this is true, but he\u2019s not a strong one. The only reason why he hasn\u2019t been overthrown is because the rest of the barons are all too busy scheming against each other.\u201d\n\u201cThat sounds like a rather inefficient way to run a government.\u201d You say.\n\u201cFrom what I can tell it is. Practically nothing gets accomplished other than minor civil wars over land by the barons. Some of the barons have seen our arrival as an opportunity to make a mighty friend for their own power grab. The king on the other hand has apparently been making speeches warning his subjects that they all need to put up a united front lest they all be swallowed up by the Empire.\u201d\n\u201cHmm. Sounds like this king isn\u2019t an unintelligent fellow despite the fact that it\u2019ll be a futile task to stop us even if he does manage to keep his kingdom united.\u201d\n\u201cWe haven\u2019t made any major moves against the Broki yet since we\u2019ve been still focusing on the Torites, then this wave of fatigue that\u2019s been plaguing my command and that\u2019s made things more difficult as well.\u201d\n\nJust as you\u2019re about to answer what the next move should be, a messenger who is panting heavily and ragged looking interrupts you.\n\n\u201c(Gasp) Message\u2026(pant) for the Emperor! Very (pant) important\u2026\u201d he says handing you a letter.\n\u201cWhy are you out of so much breath, boy? Surely you rode a horse here?\u201d Ackerson asks.\n\u201cHalf way, (pant) horse died. Rode too hard (gasp) Ran rest of the way. Message from Sightmaster Warrick. (pant) Very important.\u201d\n\u201cShit, well I guess I better open it then. And someone get this boy some water before he collapses.\u201d You say opening the letter.\n\nEmperor,\n\nAs always I hate to be the bearer of troubling news, but it is best you know.\n\nWhile boarding the Storm, I took a little tour of the ship before it took flight. It is quite impressive and I\u2019m sure it will be a mighty weapon in the service of the Empire when it has been inspected again.\n\nI say again, because unfortunately I found one of the crew was a saboteur. It was fairly subtle. He didn\u2019t place a bomb on the ship, but instead had rigged the prototype repeater so that it would explode when used. The explosion would\u2019ve caused much damage and most likely would\u2019ve resulted in setting part of the ship aflame, which then would\u2019ve caused an even bigger explosion by proxy and ultimately caused it to crash to the ground.\n\nI had a list of every member who was working under Elam and all of them save for this saboteur had been an Empire citizen from birth. This one apparently just showed up one day and proved he had engineering skills, so Elam hired him. I would\u2019ve interrogated him, but he committed suicide by slitting his own throat with his dagger as soon as I had discovered the sabotage. Curious that he did not just simply try to quietly sneak off, but I can only assume he did not believe that he was going to get away with it since he was the main one who had last fired the prototype repeater during the weapon testing. Either that or he is working for an unforgiving master who would\u2019ve killed him anyway for his failure.\n\nI\u2019ve already questioned Elam and the rest of his staff, but I believe they genuinely didn\u2019t know, though I wonder about Elam\u2019s judgment skills. I highly recommend that he not screen any further employees he requires, at least not without an Eye present.\n\nI will return to my post as I now have wonder if there is some sort of conspiracy or possibly leaks in our security system. As much as I would\u2019ve liked to have taken that ride to the western front and kill some Torites, the internal safety of the Empire comes first. I\u2019m sure you would agree.\n\nLong Live the Empire,\n\nSightmaster Warrick\n\n\u201cProblems, Emperor?\u201d Ackerson asks.\n\u201cAs always, but Warrick\u2019s got it under control for now. In the meantime we still need to solve your problem. I want your most skilled soldiers reporting to me tomorrow. Have you done a thorough check of that large nearby forest area? Don\u2019t the goats prefer them over other terrain.\u201d\n\u201cSomewhat, but its very vast my Emperor.\u201d\n\u201cWell, I\u2019m going to go over it again. Something is being missed. Maybe I should call in those new kobold commando units too. It\u2019s possible the goats are hiding somewhere right underneath us and if there are, the kobolds can tunnel underground faster than any of us can and find out immediately.\u201d\n\nWhile you\u2019re taking charge of things, you tell Ackerson to go get some rest. You aren\u2019t normally used to casting magic for beneficial reasons, quite frankly other than healing magic it wasn\u2019t ever really part of your training. Still, you know enough to block out the affects of the Torite spell at least temporarily and it\u2019s a welcome relief to your troops who manage to get well rested for once.\n\nYou don\u2019t waste time and begin your search of forest area immediately. It\u2019s not an easy task and you\u2019re attacked multiple times by satyrs along with their minotaur muscle. Your first encounter with them is exhilarating. It\u2019s probably the first proper bit of personal combat you\u2019ve had in years.\n\nThe goats don\u2019t put up that much of challenge for you, but the bulls, now there\u2019s a suitable challenge. During your first encounter with Torite forces, a pair of the bovine monsters attack you with huge axes that a human would now doubt have to hold in one two hands, but for them the weapons are swung around easily with one.\n\nAs you\u2019re dodging their attacks and landing hits when you can, you can\u2019t help but think the whole time that you hope you can at least tame some of these beasts somehow as they would make an excellent addition to your forces.\n\nWhether you eventually will or not doesn\u2019t matter though, since these two in particular eventually fall to your blade after an extended battle.\n\n\u201cAre you okay my Emperor?\u201d one of your soldiers asks.\n\u201cOkay? Are you joking? I missed this shit. This is the best I\u2019ve felt in a long time!\u201d you exclaim.\n\nYou spend another few days searching the forests and have a few more encounters with Torites, some of the groups even contain the goat wizards, but even with their elimination you don\u2019t sense that the magic is gone. In fact the whole time you\u2019re in the forest you get the feeling of being continually watched the entire time and you get the impression it isn\u2019t just the average Torite lurking about.\n\nYou aren\u2019t the only one who feels that way.\n\n\u201cThere\u2019s something out there\u2026and it ain\u2019t no man.\u201d One of your soldiers says to you while you\u2019re staring up at the trees.\n\u201cOf course it isn\u2019t, it\u2019s probably something fairly inhuman.\u201d You respond.\n\u201cWell that too, but I meant literally that it\u2019s female.\u201d\n\u201cOh, not this elven fairy tale shit again.\u201d Another soldier remarks rolling his eyes.\n\nYou probably didn\u2019t notice due to the helmet and armor and the fact that you didn\u2019t inspect every single soldier Ackerson sent with you, but the first soldier who addressed you isn\u2019t actually human. He\u2019s an elf. This is certainly a rarity since as far as you knew there weren\u2019t any elves in the army or at least it isn\u2019t a profession most of them choose. Assuming that they\u2019re free of course.\n\n\u201cQuiet. I want to hear this. What\u2019s your name corporal?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cFlevas, Emperor.\u201d The elf answers.\n\u201cSurprised Ackerson didn\u2019t point you out immediately, might\u2019ve been nice to know I had someone with an affinity to forests and shit in my command.\u201d\n\u201cThe general\u2026let\u2019s just say doesn\u2019t care for my kind very much and prefers to ignore my potential talents. I suppose even he couldn\u2019t ignore my battle prowess though. So I was quietly slipped in. \u201d\n\u201cOkay, so what do you know?\u201d\n\u201cHonestly? Probably nothing. I don\u2019t even know why I spoke. After years of being in an army that barely tolerates my presence I don\u2019t normally bother to speak at all.\u201d\n\u201cAlright, alright, cut the oppressed elven routine, if you\u2019ve got something important to say then just say it.\u201d\n\u201cVery well Emperor.\u201d Flevas remarks.\n\n\u201cI can\u2019t be certain and contrary to popular belief we sveld don\u2019t have some magical all encompassing knowledge to nature. If we did, we most likely wouldn\u2019t be in the current situation we are now. However, I suppose we do tend to have instinct and we do have lots of old stories. One of these stories is of dryads. They\u2019re being that make their homes among the trees or within the trees. The stories aren\u2019t really clear if they\u2019re flesh and blood beings that tend to remain invisible or they\u2019re some sort of spirit. Though from the stories they always appear in female form when they actually appear at all. They also never directly attack and rely on manipulating denizens of the forest and their magic. As I said I think there\u2019s one in this forest, maybe even several. I don\u2019t really know. What I do know is they do have access to magic that can affect the mind.\u201d Flevas explains.\n\u201cAnd you didn\u2019t think this was important enough to tell anyone until now?\u201d\n\u201cAs I said, my opinions are not highly regarded by the general or anyone else for that matter. I did mention it to him long before you arrived and it was dismissed as old elven nonsense.\u201d\n\u201cThen the general is an idiot for dismissing the possibility given all the wonders in this world that have been seen and yet to be seen. But I\u2019ll deal with that later, so in these stories how does one go about killing one of these dryads?\u201d\n\u201cKilling? Heh, well in the sveld stories, dryads aren\u2019t killed, they\u2019re revered as protectors of nature. The only ones actively trying to kill them in stories are the svelk and as you might imagine they always fail in the stories.\u201d\n\u201cOkay so how did the svelk try to kill them?\u201d\n\u201cOh usually by futilely attempting to destroy an entire forest. This can range from the predictable firestorm magic attempts to hilarious efforts of trying to cut down every tree.\u201d\n\u201cFire doesn\u2019t work?\u201d\n\u201cIt works, but not fast enough. I mean even a fire takes time to destroy an entire normal forest assuming it doesn\u2019t burn itself out. Dryads as you can imagine are a little more pro-active on saving their homes. Along with their magic, it would seem that the Torites are willing allies which would mean they\u2019d probably help put out any fire we set. Assuming there are more in the forest.\u201d\n\u201cHrm, maybe the svelk in those stories just weren\u2019t persistent enough.\u201d You say.\n\u201cI dunno, svelk are pretty tenacious when it comes to killing.\u201d\n\nFlevas has given you something to think about and it all involves destroying the forest. The fastest way would be to start building a few more catapults to fling flaming debris, and send for a few more mages to assist you in creating a larger firestorm. You have to believe that it would be more than enough to incinerate the forest within a matter of days.\n\nOf course the better way to ignite that forest is a way the svelk didn\u2019t have, namely an airship that can drop firebombs from the sky. Of course given recent events, the Storm is going through yet another safety inspection then it has to get here, all of which is going to take time. Time which might cause the Torites to increase their defenses and who knows what else.", "action_results": [{"action": "Attack without the Storm", "result": "While Flevas has provided some useful intel, he\u2019s still working off of stories. These dryads if they even are behind this, probably aren\u2019t as powerful as the tales claim. And if they are, then it would be best to attack them as soon as possible without too much waiting around.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019re going back to camp. We need to start constructing more catapults and I also need to send a message for more mage reinforcements, shouldn\u2019t take more than a few days and then we can start burning out the Torites no matter what magic they hide behind. Still, you were very helpful Flevas, Ackerson shall be hearing of his idiocy of not seeing your full potential on this matter.\u201d You say.\n\u201cUm, thank you Emperor.\u201d Flevas says unsure of how to react.\n\nWhen you return, you give Ackerson an earful of his failure to use his resources wisely and not even informing you of the potential of certain soldiers who could come in useful. You also explain that the only reason why he isn\u2019t being demoted is that he had the intelligence to at least see Flevas\u2019 combat abilities and send him with you in the first place.\n\nYou have the army start chopping down trees and constructing catapults while you await the arrival of the mage reinforcements. You attempt to shield the minds of the army as you did when you arrived, but it would seem you\u2019ve definitely caught the attention of the dryads or satyr mages because it\u2019s a little more taxing than it was last time.\n\nIn a couple days the mages arrive and the bombarding of the forest with flaming rocks begins. You along with the help of the newly arrived mages begin casting a firestorm of the largest size. It takes a lot of energy and you can definitely feel resistance, but you break through it and soon a majority of the forest is in flames.\n\nYou also order the army to wait around the outskirts of the forest as much as possible since there will no doubt be enemies running out of it in an effort to escape. So far the plan is going well, you just wish you weren\u2019t so tired.\n\nAs predicted forest creatures, but more importantly Torites eventually come running out of the forests, some manage to get away, others attempt to fight your army in an attempt to kill you and the other mages, but they naturally fail. However what isn\u2019t predicted is the fact that the forest hasn\u2019t completely burned down yet and it\u2019s been more than a few days, in fact the flames have been extinguished completely in areas and somehow a few trees have completely regrown.\n\nEventually some of the weaker mages collapse from exhaustion and even die completely drained of life. You attempt to redouble your efforts, but at this point the army is starting to feel the effects of unrest again and you are as well despite the mind shield.\n\n\u201cEmperor, I don\u2019t think the men can\u2019t take much more of this. I think maybe we should\u2026\u201d Ackerson remarks.\n\u201cDon\u2019t even make that suggestion Ackerson. We are NOT going to be beaten by some fairy magic. (Sigh) Just need to rethink this a moment\u2026damn it my head\u2026\u201d you say to yourself while rubbing your temples. It\u2019s getting harder to concentrate with all the energy you\u2019ve expended and the short naps you\u2019ve taken don\u2019t seem to do any good at all.\n\nYou see Flevas nearby, though he\u2019s wise enough not to say anything. He\u2019d probably like to say, \u201cI told you so.\u201d but values his life more. To be honest you might not blame him if he had the courage to do so since you basically ignored him just like Ackerson did. A mistake on your part and one you\u2019re going to correct.\n\n\u201cAlright fine. I didn\u2019t want to use it so soon after the sabotage attempt, but I\u2019m guessing Elam\u2019s probably got the Storm straightened out by now. Have a message sent to his factory to have it sent with as many firebombs as it can carry. Fix these fucking forest fairies for good.\u201d\n\nYou know its going to take some time for the Storm to arrive so in the meantime you tell your people to just keep up the bombarding. You know everyone\u2019s tired, but its necessary that this attack keeps going, you can\u2019t afford to let up.\n\nCan\u2019t afford to let up\u2026\n\n\u201cShit\u2026I\u2019m going to my tent. I need to try to get some rest before attempting another firestorm again.\u201d You say and stagger to your tent and lie down.\n\nIt\u2019s odd, but you actually feel sleepy. Before you felt tired but not actually sleepy (much like most of the troops here) maybe your attack is weakening the dryad\u2019s magic. In any case you\u2019re taking advantage of the situation and getting some much needed sleep.\n\nYou drift off\u2026\n\n\u201cMy love, wake up it\u2019s time.\u201d You hear a voice say.\n\nYou wake up and find yourself in a lush green field. Nearby you see Alison though she\u2019s dressed in civilian clothing. In fact so are you.\n\n\u201cWhat the hell\u2019s going on? I feel weird.\u201d You say.\n\u201cYou fell asleep shortly after our picnic, you looked so peaceful I didn\u2019t want to wake you up, but it\u2019s time, we have to go.\u201d\n\u201cGo? Go where?\u201d\n\u201cWe have to attend the Emperor\u2019s celebration silly! Everyone\u2019s going remember?\u201d\n\u201cOh right. Yeah, I suppose he\u2019d certainly want us to be there to provide security.\u201d\n\u201cSecurity? Oh you must be having one of those dreams again! You certainly have a vivid imagination! While I\u2019m sure the Emperor would be honored to have you as a bodyguard, I\u2019m sure he\u2019s just as glad to have you tilling the fields, now come on we have to go before the festivities begin!\u201d\n\nAlison at this point takes your hand and you get up. You still don\u2019t understand exactly what is going on, but something about Alison\u2019s smile and the warmth of her hand makes you feel so at ease.\n\n\u201cI\u2026I thought you were dead\u2026\u201d you say and suddenly hug her. She hugs you back.\n\u201cThat was a dream and it\u2019s okay now I assure you. I\u2019m here and you\u2019re here and we\u2019re both very much alive and living safely in the glory of the Empire. Could anything be better?\u201d Alison says.\n\u201cNo, of course not\u2026.I still feel weird though.\u201d\n\u201cWell sounds like you had a nightmare. I\u2019m not surprised you\u2019re still disoriented. Come on, you can tell me all about it on our way to the celebration.\u201d\n\nSomething about this entire situation seems off to you, but it feels right somehow. You don\u2019t question what\u2019s going on any further and happily kiss Alison before walking off to the Emperor\u2019s celebration with her hand in hand.\n\nThen the vision fades and everything goes dark\u2026\n\nYou never wake up from your slumber.\n\nFinding you dead with a faint smile on your face, Ackerson comes to the correct conclusion that the dryads must\u2019ve somehow killed you in your sleep. Considering you aren\u2019t the only one in the army to die in such a manner within the last twenty-four hours he orders a full retreat from the area.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Attack with the Storm", "result": "Whatever defenses the Torites are going to muster within the time you come back with the Storm as far as you\u2019re concerned aren\u2019t going to be enough to save them. Better you should come back prepared and your soliders better rested as well.\n\n\u201cI think it\u2019s time to leave. In fact I think it\u2019ll be best if the entire army moves away from this area.\u201d You say.\n\u201cWe\u2019re retreating?\u201d Flevas asks.\n\u201cCall it a tactical withdraw. I\u2019m not done with this place though. Not done with you either, your input on this was very useful.\u201d\n\u201cUm, thank you Emperor.\u201d Flevas says unsure of how to take the fact that he\u2019s called attention to himself to the ruler of the Empire.\n\nWhen you return, you give Ackerson an earful of his failure to use his resources wisely and not even informing you of the potential of certain soldiers who could come in useful. You also explain that the only reason why he isn\u2019t being demoted is that he had the intelligence to at least see Flevas\u2019 combat abilities and send him with you in the first place.\n\nYou have the army relocate to one of the towns closer to the Empire for resupplying and reinforcements. There is a bit of downtime, but there is also some routine patrolling which allows you to engage in battle against a group of those centaur creatures. Tedious foes. Constantly galloping away while firing their arrows. You appreciated the bull creatures\u2019 attempts at caving your skull in with their axes a lot more.\n\nEventually you get the message you\u2019ve been waiting for and that\u2019s when you make your way back to the vicinity of the forest. When you arrive, you and the back up mages begin to prepare for your assault on the entire forest.\n\nYou call Flevas over, who you see nearby.\n\n\u201cSo what do you think to this plan? Be honest.\u201d\n\u201cWell Emperor, as I said the svelk in the stories attempted something like this as well and while I know that you certainly have powerful magic at your command, I\u2019m not certain that the rest of your mages having your same abilities.\u201d\n\u201cI see. So you don\u2019t believe Empire mages are up to the challenge of setting one measly forest on fire and completely burning it to the ground.\u201d\n\u201cI didn\u2019t say that\u2026\u201d\n\u201cOh, well you must\u2019ve also implied that even if our mages fail that I would not have the capacity to pick up their slack.\u201d\n\u201cI definitely did not mean\u2026\u201d\n\nYou start laughing.\n\n\u201cRelax elf, I\u2019m fucking with you. Beside this isn\u2019t the entire plan, the rest of it is over there in the near distance.\u201d You say and point over at the airship slowing making its way towards your position. Most of the army is looking in that direction too.\n\n\u201cI heard the rumors, but is that the ship that can fly?\u201d Flevas asks.\n\u201cThat is indeed the Empire\u2019s new pride in the skies. The Storm. And that\u2019s exactly what it\u2019s going to do over that forest. Those dryads might be expecting us to attempt a magic firestorm, but I guarantee they\u2019re not going to be expecting one that involves a lot of explosions.\u201d\n\nThe Storm is indeed an impressive sight and you can imagine how it will terrify your future enemies. For right now though, you\u2019re content on it just killing them.\n\nAlong with the airship and your magic, you also have a row of catapults continually barrage the forest with flaming material. You and the army periodically move and keep on the outskirts of forest while the Storm works its assault within the center of the forest. Between the two, the decimation of the forest is certain even if it does take a few days.\n\nForest creatures, but more importantly Torites eventually come running out of the forests, some manage to get away, others attempt to fight your army in an attempt to kill you and the other mages, but they naturally fail.\n\nYou actually do lose a few of the weaker mages who can\u2019t keep up their energy and collapse completely drained of life. Hardly matters since you accomplish your task with vicious efficiency. Eventually the forest goes from being an inferno to a blacked wasteland with only burnt tree husks and stumps left. Whatever is still alive, is going to be easy to find.\n\nYou order a search and participate in it yourself, as you are eager to see if there might be some sort of evidence of this mysterious dryad or dryads. It might be that you just burned down an entire forest for no reason, but then it is one less area for the Torites to hide in.\n\nYou do sense a faint bit of magic though. Very weak, but there none the less. You immediately follow the trail until it leads you to your goal.\n\nAnd there you see a naked, heavily burned female creature. Its limbs are slightly longer and thinner than even the average elf. It has a very delicate appearance and might even be considered pretty looking if it wasn\u2019t covered in burns and struggling for life.\n\nIt pathetically lays on the ground semi-curled up near a stump that is nearly completely burnt. It looks at you with its big eyes and then over nearby at some other bodies you didn\u2019t even notice. They look like more dryads though, all dead.\n\nThe dryad shakes and clutches tighter to the stump as you approach. It even begins making a few sounds, which causes you to immediately raise a force shield, expecting some sort of last attack.\n\n\u201cShe isn\u2019t casting a spell Emperor. She\u2019s whispering some sort of prayer. I think.\u201d Flevas remarks.\n\u201cAbout what and how do you know what she\u2019s saying?\u201d\n\u201cI\u2026don\u2019t know! It\u2019s like she\u2019s in my head all of a sudden and I can understand some of her language. Something about\u2026back to earth\u2026child of nature\u2026unnatural force of death\u2026she\u2019s very sad.\u201d\n\u201cI would imagine so.\u201d You reply.\n\u201cYeah, but it\u2019s not for herself, it\u2019s for me.\u201d Flevas says.\n\nFlevas at this point walks past you and over to the dying dryad. She looks up at him sorrowfully and stops whatever it was that she speaking about. He kneels down beside her and for a brief moment he looks at her sadly as well, but then his face then turns to one of anger and he ends her suffering with a knife to her neck. She gurgles a bit and then dies.\n\n\u201cAnother victory for the Empire.\u201d Flevas says and walks past you.\n\nYou stare at the dead dryad for a moment and survey the surrounding desolation.\n\n\u201cWell, I guess we know they\u2019re flesh and blood creatures now.\u201d You remark and tell the rest of nearby soldiers to start heading back to the camp.\n\nWhen you get back, General Ackerson tells you that they\u2019re holding a courier from the Broki Kingdom. The courier works for one of the opportunistic barons. Baron Divilak\n\nApparently this Baron Divilak has heard much about the Empire and sees no reason to resist your inevitable annexation. He claims that he can make things simpler for you by giving out information of major strong points, security secrets, that sort of thing as well as providing his own military support. Of course he wants to meet in person before all this so that you may hammer out any other stipulations and agreements, but basically what he asks in return is to govern over the new Empire province and that he get to execute King Tiklov himself.\n\nIt certainly would be easier with inside help and you were originally toying with the idea of taking advantage of the disorganized nature of the Broki Kingdom by having one or two of the barons side with you in the first place. Of course you never know with those scheming types after all if they\u2019re willing to sell out everything for their own personal gain now, what\u2019s stopping them from doing something similar to the Empire in the future? At the very least, the amount of corruption might tend to be higher than what is acceptable.\n\nWith the recent display of power by the Storm, you\u2019re wondering if you shouldn\u2019t just make a gross display of force and cow them all into submission and dispense with any pretense of a \u201cfriendly\u201d take over. Of course the problem with this plan, is you might actually unite the kingdom due to your brutality and it might take longer to conquer the place.", "action_results": [{"action": "Deal with the baron", "result": "The whole point of conquest is to not completely destroy the land you\u2019re attempting to take over. Why decimate perfectly good territory when a better way presents itself? Besides its probably best to use a weapon like the Storm sparingly. The threat of it should be enough.\n\n\u201cTell your baron that I\u2019ll meet him, but it\u2019s going to have be at some sort of neutral ground and I\u2019m not coming by myself. If he thinks I\u2019m going to go walking into his land by myself he better just forget this meeting entirely and prepare his armies.\u201d You tell the courier.\n\u201cAh, yes I believe the Baron did expect that you\u2019d say something like that, so he is fully prepared to make arrangements to meet you halfway at an abandoned inn by a crossroads a few miles south from here rather than having to go to him.\u201d The courier replies.\n\u201cHrm. Sounds like he really wants my help. Fine, but if I see an army marching with him, well you can guess what\u2019s going to happen.\u201d\n\u201cOh no, that won\u2019t happen mighty Emperor. He might arrive with some personal servants, but nothing more than that I assure you.\u201d\n\u201cHe better not. Alright then, off with you.\u201d You say and wave away the courier who bows and takes his leave.\n\nWith the courier gone you turn back to Ackerson.\n\n\u201cI want you and the rest of the army to stay here until I get back. The troops could probably use the rest after this whole ordeal with the dryads. Obviously if I don\u2019t get back within a day then I want you to annihilate the Broki Kingdom.\u201d You say.\n\u201cMy Emperor, aren\u2019t you going to take some people with you? Surely you\u2019ll want back up just in case.\u201d\n\u201cWell of course, that\u2019s why Flevas is going with me.\u201d\n\u201cWhile I now see the error of not recognizing his potential sooner, I must insist that you take a few more. Not all the troops are so tired that they can\u2019t help their Emperor!\u201d\n\u201cWell I can honestly say I\u2019m not particularly worried about anything this baron can throw at me even if it is a trap, I suppose it never hurts to have more people. Fine then, pick out ten for me and I\u2019ll get going.\u201d\n\nAfter the ten are picked, you all make your way south. Really you\u2019re sort of wondering where the hell a road is even located, because all you\u2019ve seen is mostly wilderness and long untamed grassy fields. Eventually though Flevas\u2019 tracking skills come in handy and he locates the very faint remnants of one.\n\nThe \u201croad\u201d hasn\u2019t been upkept in years, probably decades. Only portions of stone in a semi straight line are evidence that one even existed. Still, it at least proves you\u2019re going in the right direction and eventually a dilapidated building stands before you in the distance.\n\n\u201cMust be the inn. Don\u2019t see any signs of the baron or an army yet.\u201d You say.\n\u201cMaybe they\u2019re inside.\u201d Flevas says.\n\u201cWell maybe the baron is, but I doubt if even he could fit an army in there.\u201d\n\u201cMaybe not an army, but it only takes a few assassins to kill a man.\u201d\n\u201cGlad to see you\u2019re so suspicious Flevas, were you volunteering to scout out the place first?\u201d\n\u201cIf that is what you wish Emperor.\u201d\n\u201cIf you\u2019re going to scout it out then don\u2019t go alone, take some people with you\u2026.sheesh I sound like Ackerson.\u201d\n\nFlevas and three of your other troops ride away towards the inn and you wait. Twenty minutes pass and you see one of your soldiers riding back towards you.\n\n\u201cWell?\u201d\n\u201cHe\u2019s dead my Emperor.\u201d\n\u201cWhat?! Who?!\u201d\n\u201cThe baron. I mean at least we think its him, never having seen him before and all. He\u2019s dressed pretty fancy. Doesn\u2019t look like anyone else is around, but whether it\u2019s the baron or not there\u2019s still a dead man in there. Flevas is still doing some checking, he said he\u2019d prefer it if you were there to see this for yourself.\u201d\n\u201c(Sigh) Why can\u2019t anything be simple? I knew I should\u2019ve just used the Storm\u2026\u201d you say exasperated as you all ride off towards the inn.\n\nWhen you arrive you enter the inn and see your other two soldiers and on the floor you don\u2019t see the baron or an unknown dead man, what you see is Flevas and before you can react, you feel a couple crossbow bolts hit you in the face. One just below one of your eyes and another into your cheek. A couple more hit you in your right arm and leg. You crumple to the floor on one knee groaning in pain.\n\n\u201cSHIT, I missed his brain! Somebody get him quick before he starts casting magic!\u201d you hear a voice say and several people tackle you forward to the ground. You attempt to get up, but several people are putting their entire weight on your back making it impossible. You attempt to cast a spell, but someone quickly gets the bright idea to repeatedly stomp on one of your hands with their foot while someone else just chops off the other one with an axe blow.\n\n\u201cHey asshole! You nearly hit me!\u201d a soldier shouts.\n\u201cFuck\u2026ing traitors, I\u2019ll kill all\u2026\u201d you start to utter and then a boot kicks you in the face sinking the bolt under your eye deeper. You begin to feel disoriented and unable to see properly.\n\n\u201cStop playing with the fool, just kill him! Like this!\u201d you hear a familiar voice shout.\n\nIs that Eldolith?\n\nYou\u2019ll never know for sure as a well-placed bolt pierces your skull.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Use the Storm", "result": "Negotiating has never been what the Empire has been about. You go in; you crush your enemies under heel and then sort out the details later.\n\nWithout another word, you draw your sword and sever the head of the hapless courier. Blood splatters on the onlookers nearby as the head bounces once on the ground near your feet. You give it a small kick towards one of the soldiers.\n\n\u201cHave that courier\u2019s head sent back to the baron in a bag. That will be our answer to his proposals. Well actually the Storm will be the real answer, but for now his courier\u2019s head will do.\u201d You remark.\n\u201cOh. The flying machine? Won\u2019t that need time to resupply from bombing the dryad forest?\u201d Ackerson asks.\n\u201cYes, but it\u2019ll be fine. Let them wait and sweat it out. When he receives his messenger\u2019s head I\u2019m sure he\u2019ll mobilize all his little soldiers, ready for an attack. Won\u2019t do him any good though when the Storm is laying waste to his castle. Then the rest of us will come in and clean up. After we\u2019ve annihilated nearly everything within the baron\u2019s territory, THEN we will give our own demands to the remainder of the Broki Kingdom. In the meantime, tell everyone to keep alert as usual and enjoy this little respite in what is going to be the shortest conflict of this western campaign.\u201d\n\nYou retire to your tent where you go through a couple of more traditional letters you\u2019ve received since you were away destroying the dryads. Two of them are from Decena. One talks about how she\u2019s confirmed the rumors of the winged Torites or harpies as they\u2019re known. She explains that they\u2019re even more tedious foe than the centaurs due to their flight ability. The standard practice is to fill the skies with arrows and bullets whenever possible. Galen has been pulling his weight, but as you\u2019ve come to expect the Torites have been systematically targeting mages, he\u2019s barely escaped death several times and is one of the few wizards Decena has left. Fortunately she doesn\u2019t report anything close to the dryad activity Ackerson experienced, but you\u2019ll have to send her a message back warning her about them.\n\nHer second letter is something you\u2019re hesitant to open, since you know it\u2019s going to be of a more personal nature. You sort of thought that maybe her time away from you and her apparent enjoyment of battle would slowly erode her feelings for you, but that hasn\u2019t happened.\n\nIn any case, you put aside the letter for later and turn your attention to another letter which is from Warrick giving you an update on his findings. He mentions that he\u2019s uncovered nothing that would suggest an internal conspiracy yet, but just says that the elven population has been complaining more than usual as of late. So far there is no evidence that they\u2019re planning anything from the ones he\u2019s brought in, but that doesn\u2019t mean that they aren\u2019t.\nThis gets you wondering about something that occurred earlier and you have Felvas brought to you.\n\n\u201cSo\u2026that was quite the show back there with the dryads.\u201d You say.\n\u201cI\u2019m afraid I don\u2019t quite understand sir.\u201d Flevas answers.\n\u201cOh come on. You don\u2019t need to hide it. You were upset to see dryads get killed. Hell, you probably were upset to see the forest burn to the ground.\u201d\n\u201cIt was necessary.\u201d\n\u201cOf course it was necessary, but the point is you REALLY didn\u2019t like it. Not only did you not like it, you were personally offended. Why something like could cause a man to habor ill feelings that fester underneath the skin and come out in ill advised ways.\u201d\n\nFlevas is silent as you study his reaction to what you\u2019re implying.\n\n\u201cEmperor, I am not a traitor to Empire. I would never\u2026\u201d\n\u201cYes, yes, yes, I know. You would never betray an Empire that oppresses your people\u2026well if your people\u2019s complaints are anything to go by.\u201d\n\u201cBut I finished off the dryad without your orders!\u201d\n\u201cSo? You\u2019ve probably done a lot of things you don\u2019t like doing. Hell, it was a mercy kill anyway. One might even think that you did it just for my benefit. Believing that you were the good loyal elf. Tell me, is that what your people are doing? Are they emulating the shadows and just biding their time?\u201d\n\u201cWhat?! I don\u2019t know! I mean no! Emperor, I\u2026\u201d\n\u201cSilence!\u201d you shout and backhand Flevas to the face causing him to stagger.\n\n\u201cNow then, you\u2019ve got two options. One is bad, and one is to start telling me the truth.\u201d\n\nFlevas rubs his face and then composes himself. He doesn\u2019t display anger like he did with the dryad, but he does do that elf thing with his eyes, like they\u2019re looking right through you and that you\u2019re nothing at all. Semra was really good at it.\n\n\u201cSo what do you want me to say? Yes! I HATE the fucking Empire! Yes! I HATE every fucking human I have to work with and put up with their shit! I HATE the fact that my people are the lowest rung of society even though that includes fucking kobolds now! FUCKING KOBOLDS!\u201d\n\u201cKobolds are very loyal and eager to serve.\u201d You respond.\n\u201cAnd they\u2019re damn idiots! So are the brainless orcs and look at what you did to them! They\u2019re nearly extinct because you have them soak up all the major fighting during the Felkan War!\u201d\n\u201cThey enjoyed the fighting. Besides, they\u2019re building up their numbers now.\u201d\n\u201cYeah, so you can use them in the next big ass war! Well I\u2019m fucking sorry we sveld don\u2019t feel that way! We don\u2019t enjoy conflict and bloodshed! We cherish freedom! Freedom we haven\u2019t had for centuries! If it wasn\u2019t the orcs hunting us down it was the accursed svelk massacring and torturing us!\u201d\n\u201cExactly, and you\u2019d think that you\u2019d be grateful for the Empire for saving you from such things like the orcs and svelk.\u201d\n\u201cRight. Because humans are so much better? Humans fucking enslaved us.\u201d\n\u201cActually there are probably just as many human slaves than there are elven ones right now.\u201d\n\u201cYeah and all the human ones are criminals! And even if when the sveld aren\u2019t outright slaves, they\u2019re so destitute or desperate that they\u2019re worked like slaves. It\u2019s a fucking sorry existence, yet as much as we bitch and bitch and BITCH about our plight, we\u2019ve got nobody to blame but ourselves.\u201d\n\u201cYou believe that?\u201d you ask a little surprised at his claim\n\u201cHonestly? Yeah, I do. I believe the sveld have been kicked around so long by everyone and cowed into submission that we love playing the fucking victim. It\u2019s actually gotten to the point where it\u2019s more enjoyable than actually trying to DO something.\u201d\n\u201cI dunno about that. There have been sveld rebellions in the past and a lot of them border on being dissidents to this day.\u201d You say.\n\u201cThe full blown rebellions consisting of nothing but sveld are a rarity and considering how badly we\u2019ve been treated why there haven\u2019t been more just confirms my belief that sveld prefer playing the victim. In fact the Empire has had more problems keeping humans in line. As for dissidents, I know the Empire frowns upon anyone who dares to look at it wrong, but I guarantee the main ones bitching probably aren\u2019t doing anything other than just that, bitching.\u201d\n\u201cSort of like you are now?\u201d\n\u201cYes, damn it. Exactly like how I am right now! You asked me to tell you the truth, well that\u2019s what I\u2019m doing as ordered! Why? Because I\u2019m that good loyal sveld!\n\nYou stay silent and continue to listen to Flevas rant, other soldiers have entered your tent believing something amiss, but you wave them away signifying that everything is fine.\n\n\u201cYou know why I ultimately killed that dryad? It wasn\u2019t out of mercy. It was out of anger that such a creature that attempted to know my thoughts and feelings and dared to feel sorry for me. Fuck that, we have enough of that shit going on in the sveld community. Even some of the so-called kind humans will occasionally do the same and it\u2019s sickening every time. In the scheme of things, I\u2019m not an old sveld, but I feel like I know a hell of a lot more how to deal with this shitty life I\u2019ve been handed. Don\u2019t complain and try to just do your job. The best way to do this is in the military. You never have a choice here; it\u2019s kill or be killed. It\u2019s follow orders and don\u2019t think.\u201d\n\u201cSo is that why you joined the military?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cI joined because I wasn\u2019t going to have my wife blowing disgusting humans for coin or have my children begging on the street like paupers. I wasn\u2019t going to clean privy holes for some human piece of shit who probably can\u2019t even read, yet thinks that they\u2019re somehow better just because they\u2019re not sveld. I wasn\u2019t going to fucking whine about my position in life and get my ass whisked away in the middle of the night by the Eyes or just killed on the spot. I was going to at least TRY to make the best of things even if I hate every damn moment of it.\u201d\n\nFlevas\u2019 at this point isn\u2019t doing that elf eye thing anymore; he\u2019s long since lost his calm demeanor and looking far more emotional. You get the impression that he\u2019s probably wanted to say this to SOMEBODY for a very long time. And now he has the advantage of telling it directly to the Emperor. You know that has to feel good for him somewhere.\n\n\u201cAnd with any luck\u2026 I\u2019d get to kill some humans in the process. That\u2019s why I joined. \u201d Flevas says ending his rant which causes a nod from you.\n\n\u201cWell you\u2019ll get your chance soon in the Broki Kingdom.\u201d\n\u201cI thought you were using that flying ship.\u201d\n\u201cI am, but it can\u2019t do all the work can it? Besides, it\u2019s just going to be there for added terror for the most part. As usual the regular army is going to do the clean up work. It\u2019ll be grim business. Despite the civilian population, we aren\u2019t going to be leaving much alive in this particular battle, but as you probably can guess, it\u2019s necessary.\u201d\n\nFlevas nods and continues to stand at attention unsure of what to expect next.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re dimissed.\u201d You say.\n\u201cThat\u2019s it?\u201d Flevas asks.\n\u201cFor now at least. If anything else comes up that I think I need to talk to you about, you\u2019ll be the first to know. Oh actually there is one more question. Is there anything that you do like about the Empire?\u201d\n\nFlevas doesn\u2019t think about it too long.\n\n\u201cThere was a law instituted to have svelk killed on sight.\u201d\n\u201cHeh, yeah that is a good one.\u201d You say and Flevas takes his leave.\n\nYou make a mental note, that Flevas should be promoted in the future. His attitude and views are clear, but he\u2019s no traitor. As you\u2019ve always believed, you don\u2019t need people to like you, you just need them to be loyal.\n\nIn a couple of days the assault is in full force on the Broki Kingdom, or at least Baron Divilak\u2019s land. You specifically tell your troops that only Divilak\u2019s land and people are to be attacked. Of course if he gets any help from neighboring barons or the king himself then the order is to show them no mercy.\n\nDivilak doesn\u2019t receive any help though, or if he was, his allies lost courage when they saw the Storm raining fire down upon Divilak\u2019s castle. You can imagine that the Broki have never seen such a thing before and probably hope to never see something like that hovering above them.\n\nTo their credit, Divilak\u2019s soldiers hold their ground initially, but in the end your army scatters them. You imagine that Divilak probably had one of the stronger militaries in this dysfunctional kingdom given that they didn\u2019t run immediately when they saw the Storm. Of course now, that has been reduced to nothing.\n\nWhile your first plan was going to be to utterly wipe out everyone within Divilak\u2019s territory as a message of sorts to the rest of the Broki population to fall in line lest they suffer the same fate, you decide to hold back and the civilian population slaughter and come up with another plan.\n\n\u201cFlevas, there you are. Got an important job for you.\u201d You say stepping over several bodies on the battlefield.\n\n\u201cEmperor.\u201d He reports.\n\u201cYou\u2019re going to get to do something very important for your people. Hell, you may even go down in history as a hero to them. Would certainly be a more worthwhile story than about some tree hugging dryads. I want you to round up the remainder of the civilian population with this territory. For every one you bring in, you free one elf from his slave chains. We\u2019ll work out the details later, but for now take whoever you think would be best to help you for this mission and if you get any trouble say this is a direct order from the Emperor. I\u2019d also advise you to limit the casualties, but I imagine you already know that.\u201d\n\u201cYes, my Emperor.\u201d Flevas says and instantly runs off to perform the task.\n\nWith any luck, this is the sort of thing that MIGHT cause the elves to stop complaining so much. Maybe they\u2019ll all start following Flevas\u2019 example and not only accept their lot in life, but to stop complaining about it. In time maybe they won\u2019t even be your \u201cproblem citizens\u201d anymore.\n\nOf course the Divilak\u2019s people aren\u2019t going to enjoy their new designation, but then they\u2019re not suppose to. You\u2019re still sending a message to the rest of the Broki. Submit or this is what will happen. Your armies scattered, your buildings destroyed, and your citizens enslaved.\n\nSoon after the razing of the barony, you are visited by a very frightened Broki courier. He is escorted by your soldiers and nervously gives a message to you. It\u2019s from the king and apparently he\u2019s sending you this message even though his advisors have told him not to. He says for the good of his people and he hopes in your mercy that you will cease your attack as he is formally surrendering the Broki Kingdom to the Empire.\n\nA few days later you meet with King Tiklov who makes a formal showing in front of his people that the Broki Kingdom is now no more and that it now will be the Broki province of the Empire. Tiklov will still remain in power, but only as a figurehead and to be involved in the day to day governing, assisted by some of your own administrators of course.\n\nThe annexation goes more or less smoothly, but you come to find out a disturbing discovery. You come to find out that some of the barons had secret dealings with svelk advisors. In fact Divilak was one of them. Certainly explains why the kingdom was involved in civil wars before you arrived. Hell, Divilak\u2019s offer to meet with you might\u2019ve been an attempt on your life.\n\nThese svelk advisors of course have all fled to who knows where by now, but you definitely think you know who tried to have you killed aboard the Storm. You also know that it has to be Semra masterminding all this, wherever she is. You\u2019ll have to keep alert, but then you always are.\n\nYou have the barons that had such dealings with svelk executed. It wasn\u2019t like they were necessary any longer anyway.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 42\n\nWhile you doubt this is going to be your last battle with the Torites, you\u2019re at least hoping it\u2019s going to be the one to break their spirit to the point where they become less of a problem.\n\nStill, the fact that they\u2019ve finally unified their forces into armies shows you that they realize you aren\u2019t going to just go away and their hit and run tactics and attempts to win through attrition aren\u2019t going to succeed. It shows you that this is a concentrated effort to get rid of you once and for all. It won\u2019t work either and really works to your benefit. It allows you the opportunity to kill a bunch of them in one large grouping now.\n\nMaybe there will always be pockets of Torites lurking in the untamed wilderness but one thing is certain. The territory WILL be the Empire\u2019s and the Torites can either submit and see the light like the kobolds eventually did or slowly be driven into extinction like the gnolls.\n\nBut that\u2019s in the future, right now you\u2019re drawing up the plans for this impeding battle. Considering how large the Torite horde is, you\u2019ve combined your available forces with Decena\u2019s army. It was quite the happy day for her seeing as she hasn\u2019t seen you for five years. You still aren\u2019t quite sure how you exactly feel about her, but she\u2019s definitely been winning you over as far as her victories have been concerned. She remains professional always in front of everyone, but the first time she got you alone, she literally jumped on you and wrapped her legs around your waist, planting a kiss on you.\n\nBut again, you can sort out your possible complications with Decena later. Now is the time to make sure the both of you come out of this alive.\n\n\u201cWe should have the second airship here before we begin our assault. Hopefully that will take some of the pressure off of the Storm to deal with the harpies.\u201d You remark.\n\u201cIts isn\u2019t just the bird bitches that flap about though. Don\u2019t forget, there are still those manticores and those chimeras.\u201d General Ackerson remarks.\n\u201cYes, I\u2019m well aware of both, Ackerson. Thank you for pointing out the obvious. However, I\u2019m more inclined to believe the Torites will be relying on those beasts to attack our people on the ground. The beasts aren\u2019t the most graceful of fliers and would most likely just be big target, which they will be for us anyway, but they\u2019ll still do more damage to a group of soldiers on foot and horseback rather than a flying fortress before going down.\u201d You remark.\n\u201cThose chimera things don\u2019t even fly very high. The wings are almost so small that they\u2019re just for show. Never had one swoop down on us.\u201d Decena adds.\n\u201cWouldn\u2019t be best to have us mages together so that we can join our energy and create a shield for the majority of the army?\u201d Galen remarks. He isn\u2019t complaining, but he\u2019s definitely trying to find a loop hole to possibly make himself safer and not have to do as much work.\u201d\n\u201cGalen, you know that the Torites attempt to target spell slingers as soon as possible. If they actually get you in a group and strike lucky, well there goes a powerful chunk of our fighting force. It\u2019ll make things harder for them if you\u2019re all spread out. Besides, you\u2019re personally going to be hiding behind a small contingent of golems and backed up by Captain Flevas\u2019 men. You couldn\u2019t be any safer.\u201d\n\u201cHuh. So my backup lies in the hands of an elf? Might as well kill me now and get it over with.\u201d Galen remarks. You just shake your head and ignore his last comment; he\u2019s too valuable to punish right now.\n\nAfter hammering out the plan, you and the rest start setting things in motion and preparing everyone. You know the Torite horde is on the move not too far from your location. But they aren\u2019t here yet and won\u2019t be for at least a half-day\u2019s time. It gives you a bit of time to at least get some rest since you\u2019ve been running around attempting to take care of everything and haven\u2019t slept. You didn\u2019t even realize how tired you were until you lie down on your sleeping bag.\n\nJust as you lie down and close your eyes, someone enters your tent and you instinctively grab your sword.\n\n\u201cNo point in that, I\u2019m not really here you know.\u201d You hear a familiar voice whisper.\n\nYou sit up and see Semra standing before you, or rather the image of her. She\u2019s no doubt using the same kind of magic she did when she tried to convince you to kill Casimir. She\u2019s probably nearby somewhere though.\n\n\u201cI thought you said we weren\u2019t going to see each other again.\u201d You say.\n\u201cI didn\u2019t think we would. I truly believed you would die on Mortos. I suppose I underestimated your ability to survive even there. Quite impressive and it\u2019s no surprise that you assumed Casimir\u2019s throne soon after. Everything worked out for you, but tell me how did you accomplish such a feat?\u201d\n\u201cJust luck I guess. Look, if you came here to kill me, you\u2019ll need to get behind the long line of Torites marching towards this place.\u201d You say while lying back down and shutting your eyes.\n\u201cMy, you\u2019re quite confident to stay in such a vulnerable position if you really believe I\u2019m here to kill you.\u201d Semra says.\n\u201cNo, I know this is just grand standing. If you were really going to kill me you\u2019d have your underlings conspiring with little plots in the shadows.\u201d\n\u201cYes, I\u2019m aware of the troubles you\u2019ve been having lately and while I\u2019m flattered you believe it to me, I\u2019m actually here to clear my good name.\u201d\n\u201cHah!\u201d you snort.\n\u201cOkay so just my name. In any event. I\u2019m here to tell you that it isn\u2019t me, though you do have enemies of the svelk persuasion.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019ve got enemies of every persuasion and that\u2019s not a very convincing argument that you\u2019re somehow innocent.\u201d\n\u201cOkay how about this then? It\u2019s not me because I\u2019ve been keeping an eye on you and so far you haven\u2019t warranted anything that needs me to stop you yet. My daughter on the other hand disagrees. She claims that my\u2026past with you is clouding my judgment.\u201d\n\u201cWe never had a past Semra. I don\u2019t know what YOU think it is, but WE were and never will be an item.\u201d\n\u201cOh yes, that\u2019s right. You\u2019ve got that vicious little young thing on your dick now. Decena is her name? She is quite the warrior. Lot of those moves are familiar, they\u2019re all the ones I taught you. Hey have you taught her any of my other moves when you\u2019re bedding her?\u201d\n\nAt this point you sit back up, annoyed with Semra\u2019s remark.\n\n\u201cIs this going anywhere because I have a shitload of beast men to slaughter tomorrow and you\u2019re keeping me awake!\u201d You snap.\n\u201cOooh! Struck a nerve did I? Haven\u2019t been able to do that for quite awhile, I really missed it. Tell me though; is it very serious with this one like it was with Alison? Didn\u2019t think you\u2019d get over her so quickly. Really though I don\u2019t know why you pick any of these females. This new one is just likely to wind up dead, if not by the sword then by age. Her youthful appearance with eventually wither and fade like it does with all of those lesser born.\u201d\n\nAt this point you lie back down and close your eyes again. You\u2019re not playing this game.\n\n\u201cYou done already? Disappointed, you used to be so much more fun. Very well, just listen then Eternal. I know you have a hard time with that, but maybe you\u2019ll actually heed what I have to say for once. I am not your enemy. As I have said, my daughter is your enemy and she makes her base of operations in a city-state called Ryglik and lies south of the former Broki Kingdom. Of course that whole area consists of several city-states and she may very well move around, but that\u2019s the main one she\u2019s operating from.\n\nYou remain silent while Semra continues to talk.\n\n\u201cWell I\u2019ll take your silence that you\u2019re at least taking it under consideration. Oh and while you\u2019re at it, you still might want to consider giving up all this foolish nonsense. Perhaps you\u2019re a better Emperor than Casimir ever was, but you\u2019re still mindlessly following a path that you think has been laid out for you. It\u2019s almost like Casimir is still barking orders at you.\u201d\n\u201cI guarantee Casimir\u2019s not saying much of anything anymore.\u201d You answer.\n\u201cBe that as it may, I\u2019d hate to see you follow in his horribly misguided footsteps and make the same mistakes he did.\u201d\n\u201cWell, I don\u2019t have you as an advisor, I\u2019d say that already puts me ahead of the game.\u201d\n\u201cPfft, you\u2019d be lucky to have me by your side. Not my fault you can\u2019t see and accept the truth. Anyway, I\u2019ll take my leave now. Perhaps we\u2019ll see each other, perhaps we won\u2019t. Perhaps we\u2019ll even see each other in the flesh again, wouldn\u2019t that be fun?\u201d\n\u201cSure would, I could give you your dagger back.\u201d You remark.\n\u201cMmmm, I bet you would. Well if that day ever comes, you make sure you give me a long hard kiss as you\u2019re sticking it in me. Oh one last thing, your General Ackerson is planning to betray you at some point during tomorrow\u2019s battle. Not sure when and how, but he\u2019s got quite a few soldiers willing to work with him on it. More of my daughter\u2019s work no doubt.\u201d\n\nWith those final words, you cease hearing Semra\u2019s voice. You briefly open your eyes and find that her image is gone as well.\n\n\u201cFucking bitch.\u201d You mutter, as now you\u2019re never going to be able to sleep with this last bit of information she just gave you.\n\nThe big problem is she may very well be telling the truth, because for the most part Semra has never really lied to you. You didn\u2019t believe her at the time, but she told you the complete truth about Casimir and his intentions. She didn\u2019t have Alison killed either. As usual in her own fucked up way that you still don\u2019t understand she has attempted to help you.\n\nOf course that was in the past, she could be lying about everything right now. While she has confirmed your own beliefs that it\u2019s been the svelk working against you, she\u2019s also trying to put the blame all on her daughter. Granted you know they probably don\u2019t get along, but still.\n\nThere also has never been any evidence that Ackerson has shown signs of being a potential traitor. Doesn\u2019t even make sense, but then again you can\u2019t trust anyone nowadays.\n\nNow you have to play a guessing game to as whether or not someone on your own side is going to kill you in the middle of battle. You miss the days when all you ever concerned yourself with were the people on the other side trying to kill you.", "action_results": [{"action": "Deal with Ackerson", "result": "\u201cShit.\u201d You grumble and get up.\n\nAfter getting dressed, you march out of your tent with sword in hand. Multiple soldiers on duty ask if you\u2019re okay, but you just ignore them and head directly to where Ackerson\u2019s camp located.\n\nWhen you arrive, you tell the soldiers on duty that you want to see Ackerson immediately. The general is of course still asleep and when he gets out of his tent he\u2019s still slightly groggy.\n\n\u201cApologies my Emperor, but what can\u2026\u201d he begins to say and then you cleave his head in with your sword. His face displays a mixture of shock and confusion as the blood trickles down from his head.\n\nYou pull the sword out with a sickly sound following it and strike again, this time practically chopping the general\u2019s head in two. At this point the weight of Ackerson\u2019s now lifeless body pulls downward off of your sword and you wipe your sword off in front of the astonished onlookers.\n\n\u201cAlright, listen up because I\u2019m only going to say this once. This man was a fucking traitor. He was planning to betray me at some point during tomorrow\u2019s battle. Don\u2019t ask me how I know, the important thing is I know because I\u2019m the fucking Emperor and I know ALL.\u201d\n\nYou continue.\n\n\u201cThat being said, I also know he had some of you in on this plan because he was too damn cowardly to face me like a man. I KNOW who you all are and consider this your reprieve from your benevolent Emperor. Help bring us victory tomorrow against the beast folk scum and I\u2019ll forget all about this. However, if I ever get the slightest hint that ANY of you are planning to assassinate me, betray me or be involved in any other type of treason, I WILL make sure that you do not suffer the quick death like I so graciously handed out to the late general here. Do I make myself clear?\u201d\n\n\u201cYES EMPEROR!\u201d everyone shouts.\n\n\u201cGood. Colonel Sini, you\u2019re in charge of Ackerson\u2019s command now. Have someone remove this traitor\u2019s corpse from this camp. I don\u2019t want the aura of his failure and cowardice to rub off on anyone else longer than necessary.\u201d\n\nYou take your leave and head back to your tent. You know what you did might not have been necessary since Semra very well might\u2019ve been lying, however you\u2019re fairly confident that you handled it in such a way that it doesn\u2019t matter. You put so much fear into the rest of them that if they didn\u2019t think you were all knowing before they certainly do now.\n\nIf it is true though, it is sort of disturbing to you that Eldolith managed to somehow convince some of your own military to try to kill you. That\u2019s the group you rely on the most and feel you have the most identification with, though perhaps you\u2019re taking it for granted that most of them LIKE the military and battles like you do. A lot of them probably joined just to feed their families. Some of them were even conscripted. You can only imagine that she offered a shitload of gold as it doesn\u2019t seem likely that she\u2019d have anything else worthwhile to offer.\n\nYou\u2019ll be glad when the orcs have finally raised their numbers back up and the new Eternals are of age to fight.\n\nDespite everything that went on last night, you miraculously actually manage to get a little sleep before the arrival of the Torites. You\u2019re still a little tired, but you think when you get into the thick of battle the thrill of it will kick in and you\u2019ll be invigorated. You usually are.\n\nIt seems word of what happened spread fairly quickly to the rest of the camps, even to Decena\u2019s army. You imagine that will at least have to put Galen in a good mood, maybe he\u2019ll whine less now.\n\nWhen the Torites arrive they certainly look like a chaotic rabble, but it\u2019s no mistake that they mean business. The number of harpies fills the sky to the point where you hope that the Storm can take care of such a flock. The second airship is in far distance behind you. Hopefully by the time it gets to engage in battle it won\u2019t be replacing the Storm so much that it\u2019ll be supporting the Storm.\n\nThe cannons and rifles fire as soon as the Torites are within range. Their centaurs return fire with their accurate arrows. The saytr wizards up the ante by casting their elemental magic which rips solid chunks of rock and earth out of the ground and goes flying at your army. It can\u2019t be said that the Torites are any less dangerous just because they\u2019re less technologically advanced.\n\nHigh above you the Storm takes on the harpy warriors. Even from here, it looks like a swarm of locusts descending on a single blade of wheat. Looks pretty damn grim for the Storm, you just hope if the crew does get overwhelmed they can keep the ship from crashing near your location.\n\nThe bull creatures lead the charge along side their horse beast brethren. Another volley of shots takes out some, but they remain relentless in their charge. The satyr rank and file advance steadily behind. They WILL arrive and there will certainly be enough of them left to give your army a good fight.\n\nYour own cavalry meets them and while they have the best training, they can\u2019t overcome the sheer savagery of the minotaurs and as for the centaurs, their very bodies are half horse. They already have the advantage over your own cavalry as far as maneuverability.\n\nBreaks in the Torite army form as they allow their war beasts participate in the charge. Several manticores and chimera of the largest size make their way straight towards you. At their pace, they\u2019re going to be the first ones your people will have to fight. A cannon blast rips through one of the chimera and fireball from one of your mages brings down another, but before you know it, a manticore is shredding apart your front line with its talons and impaling others with its spike tail.\n\nWhat comes next is utter mayhem. Swords and axes cutting and stabbing. Fangs and claws tearing and biting. Magic on both sides destroying several lives in the blink of an eye. It\u2019s all very glorious.\n\nDecena\u2019s army is holding its own on her front, but then you never had any doubt about that. The only problem they do have is the blasted satyr magic manages to turn the golems against them. Hopefully, Flevas managed to get Galen\u2019s ass out of there before they crushed him. The newly appointed General Sini seems to be doing well on his end. You\u2019re glad to see that the reinforced fear in their ruler has motivated them.\n\nStill, the battle is far from over yet. The fact that you\u2019re simultaneously facing down three bullheads by yourself and a chimera closing in is a great reminder.\n\nYou cast a lightning blast at the bulls, which fells two of them, but the third fights through the pain of having his body fried from the inside out. You dodge his axe and follow up with your own sword swing to his meaty leg. The beast roars, but is still undeterred. Two nearby soldiers attempt to help, but are mauled by the chimera which has finally arrived.\n\nThe minotaur swings again, but this time you cast a force shield to block the blow. This one has to be some sort of leader or hero or some great warrior to his people because when you swing your sword again to strike, the creature catches its blade and snaps it off leaving you with a broken sword.\n\n\u201cOkay. I get it. A challenge.\u201d You say and step backwards from the minotaur who ignores his deeply cut hand to solidly grip his axe once more.\n\nThe bull will have to wait though since the chimera has finally gotten around to attack you. The clumsy beast attempts to pounce, but you leap out of its way and blast one of the its misshaped animal heads with a bolt of fire. Roaring in pain and anger, the creature desperately tries to put out the flames by rubbing the flaming head into the dirt. It hardly stops it from continuing to attack with its scorpion tail. While it misses with its tail, one of its other goat like heads spits a cloud of gas at you. You didn\u2019t even know they could do such a thing, but then these chimeras are rather random beasts.\n\nThe gas is certainly poisonous enough to kill the average person, but then you aren\u2019t average. Unfortunately it\u2019s still potent enough to make you feel sick and you gag and wheeze when you inhale a good bit of the stuff.\n\nA paw smashes into your side and you go crashing to the ground. You barely get out of the way of the stinger tail again. Then your old bull friend is there to help with his axe as usual, fortunately someone distracts the bull by attacking him from behind causing him to drop his axe. Unfortunately they fail to kill him and he turns around and breaks their neck with his bare hands, still it\u2019s given you a temporary respite on what to do next.", "action_results": [{"action": "Pick up the axe and strike back", "result": "Despite being woozy from the gas attack, you grab the minotaur\u2019s axe. The weapon is incredibly heavy, in fact a little heavier than you were expecting. The minotaur advances on you and you clumsily swing at it, but miss completely and you feel the smashing fist of the minotaur across your face which has quite likely broken your jaw.\n\nSprawled to the ground, you attempt to cast a cone of frost, but the minotaur has already followed up its attack and picked you up off the ground with both hands. Then with one quick move he slams your back over his knee breaking it and throws you in front of the chimera, which has successfully put out the flames you bestowed upon its face earlier.\n\nYour last moments are the chimera\u2019s lion head sinking its fangs into your throat.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Crawl away from the immediate area", "result": "You\u2019re in the middle of a danger zone right now and you\u2019re still feeling woozy from that gas, you need to get out as quick as you can.\n\nYou crawl away just in time for the chimera to try to sting you again, though now that one of its faces isn\u2019t on fire anymore the creature is advancing along with the bull. Summoning all your energy you cast a cone of frost at the pair of them. You actually get a few other enemies and several allies in the blast as well, but whatever gets the job done.\n\nThe chimera and bull try to advance despite being slowly frozen solid and they actually make a few more steps, but you keep up the spell ignoring the drain its taking on you. You soon have several ice \u201cstatues\u201d in front of your area. Grabbing the mace of a dead soilder nearby you take several swings at the frozen chimera smashing its body parts into frozen bloody chunks. You then turn your attention to the bull.\n\n\u201cA shame this couldn\u2019t have been a fair fight. You were certainly worthy of one.\u201d You say and with one mighty swing you smash the bull\u2019s head in and kick the rest of the body over. It\u2019s going to be a mess when it all finally thaws out.\n\nA quick glance up displays several winged bodies falling out of the sky, some of them on fire. The Storm is holding so far, but you can tell by the thick black smoke emanating from it that it isn\u2019t without damage. The second airship however is coming along and already engaging the enemy.\n\nIn the distance ahead of you, you see that your kobold teams have successfully dug underneath the battlefield and started to flank the Torites. Even with the element of surprise most of them are probably going to end up getting stomped on by the minotaurs and centaurs, but they\u2019ll at least be in a position to disrupt the satyr mages.\n\nThe confrontation rages on for the remainder of the day and you find yourself all over the battlefield, either giving commands or doing battle. At one point you even find yourself fighting side by side with Decena. While it is no doubt a big thrill for her to actually fight along with you, you actually enjoy it as well. It reminds you of when you fought along side Alison as Decena also has that instinctive knowledge of complimenting your fighting style, but then again she should considering you trained her.\n\nDay becomes dusk and finally to night though the sky lights up spectacularly when the Storm gives out its final service when part of it explodes turning the entire ship into a blazing wreck dropping to the ground fast. Both sides run for cover and out of the area while attempting to avoid the burning shards already hitting the surface.\n\nStill even with this loss, your side is definitely winning. Most of the centaurs are dead, the one who aren\u2019t, have long since galloped away. Most of the satyr troops are dead as well with the few remaining starting to retreat. All their large beasts such as the manticores and chimera have all been slain. The harpies still alive from their assault on the Storm have flapped away. The only ones still putting up any resistance are the minotaurs and that\u2019s because they\u2019re too stubborn to retreat, but eventually they\u2019ll be overwhelmed.\n\nBy the time the clash is finally over the moon is hanging high above the battlefield causing a minor luminescence over the numerous dead on the battlefield. This is definitely going to be one that the scholars and historians are going to write about.\n\nWhile you stepping over the dead and passing by soldiers taking well earned victory celebrations (or just taking well earned rests) Decena comes running up to you.\n\n\u201cHey, I\u2019ve been looking for you. We got split up after those manticores attacked. I mean I knew you weren\u2019t dead, but I just wanted to know you were okay.\u201d Decena says.\n\u201cA few minor wounds, probably some new scars to look forward to, aching muscles and joints, extremely tired, but other than that I\u2019m fine. How many in your army left?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cQuite few. I don\u2019t think my side recieved the brunt of the Torite attack though turning our golems against us was certainly a surprise. Galen managed to rectify that though, even if it did cost us the use of them.\u201d\n\u201cOh, survived did he?\u201d\n\u201cYeah, thanks to Captain Flevas. I know a lot of people don\u2019t like elves, but he was invaluable on the battlefield.\u201d\n\u201cI wouldn\u2019t have promoted him and transferred him to your command if he wasn\u2019t. So besides Galen did any of your other wizards survive?\u201d\n\u201cUnfortunately none.\u201d\n\u201cSame here. The Torites were successful in that regard. (Sigh) Successful in that endeavor as well.\u201d You say pointing to the still flaming wreckage of the Storm in the distance.\n\u201cWell at least we still have the second airship.\u201d Decena says.\n\u201cOh we\u2019ll have more of those, no doubt. Wizards, not so sure about. I\u2019m thinking the age of using battle mages on any large scale might be coming to an end. Better keep what talent we still have left at home in case of an emergency.\u201d You reply.\n\u201cI wanted to ask you about something else, did you ever find out more about the traitors in our ranks? Only a few hours before the conflict with the Torites and it was all over my own camp about how you executed General Ackerson in front of his command and warned everyone that you know others were involved in a conspiracy against you.\u201d\n\u201cOh that. No, but given that the only ones trying to kill me today were the Torites I\u2019d say I squashed it, but I still will have Warrick do a full investigation to anyone close to Ackerson though I can guess a few of them now. I have to believe that Sini who I replaced Ackerson with was involved, being his second in command and all, however Sini has redeemed himself by dying in battle loyally. Saves his family the embarrassment and saves me the need for another execution later.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m just glad you\u2019re okay, but then I shouldn\u2019t have worried I suppose, you\u2019re the Emperor and nothing can ever destroy you.\u201d\n\nAt this point the pair of you have entered your tent and Decena grabs your hand. Decena looks at you with a mixture of concern and adoration. The same adoration she\u2019s had since you took her as your student. While it\u2019s definitely true your actions and position have probably molded her into these feelings, she\u2019s also not a naive babe in the woods.\n\n\u201cEmperor, I need to ask. Now that we have this time together are we ever going to pick up where we left off or are those days over?\u201d she asks.\n\u201cDid you want to continue that sort of relationship? I don\u2019t want you to feel obligated that you have to because of a loss of self control on my part in the past.\u201d You say.\n\u201cDo you regret it then?\u201d\n\u201cI regret that I have made things unnecessarily complicated for you. I probably just should\u2019ve had you enrolled into the Eye training camp or even the regular army. Would\u2019ve made things a lot easier for the both of us.\u201d\n\u201cBut then I wouldn\u2019t be as good as I am. I wouldn\u2019t be able to serve to my fullest capabilities. You managed to bring out my full potential. I doubt if I would\u2019ve survived this very battle without your personal training. You are my Emperor and I will loyally continue to serve the Empire no matter what. But I need to know how things are going to be in the future so that I may conduct myself accordingly towards you.\u201d\n\nA reasonable request.\n\n\u201cDecena, it would be a lie to say I don\u2019t feel something for you, but those feelings are tainted with a lot of negative past experiences of my own. Most of which I don\u2019t even want to get into right now, but rest assured my reasons for initiating the more intimate nature of our relationship was more than just simple loneliness and weren\u2019t exactly positive motives. In fact they were downright twisted at times and I don\u2019t think you\u2019re quite aware of some of the things I thought about doing to you. This isn\u2019t even counting the fact that you\u2019re in competition with a ghost to a certain degree and that\u2019s hardly fair to you.\u201d\n\nDecena of course knows you\u2019re referring to Alison. She\u2019s probably always known that you still have never completely gotten over her. Not with the way she\u2019s seen you stare at her portrait for long periods of time back when she was at the palace.\n\nDecena has her answer.\n\n\u201cI\u2026see. Very well my Emperor. I understand that it is time for me to grow up and put aside the silly emotions of a young girl. I shall no longer trouble you with my immature displays of affection or letters but\u2026 know I shall continue to\u2026 (sniffle) love you in the way that a\u2026\u201d\n\nDecena can\u2019t even complete her sentence. She might\u2019ve even known this was a long time coming, but it still doesn\u2019t make things any easier. She reaches out to hug you and you embrace her. She tries to stop herself from completely crying, but she\u2019s struggling with this a lot.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019ll grow stronger from this and move past it Decena. I know you have it within you to do so.\u201d You say in an attempt to be reassuring, she looks up at you with tears in her eyes.\n\n\u201cCan I just make one request, (sniff) my Emperor?\u201d she asks.\n\u201cWhat is it?\u201d\n\u201cCan\u2026for just tonight. I lie with you one last time? We\u2026don\u2019t even have to do anything\u2026I just\u2026if this is going to be it\u2026I want to experience your body next to mine one last time.\u201d\n\nWhile you\u2019re not exactly sure if this is going to make things harder or easier for her, you don\u2019t have it in you to say no at this point.\n\n\u201cOf course Decena.\u201d\n\nWith those words the pair of you lie together one last time.\n\nThe next day when you wake up Decena is already gone. Not gone from the area, just from your tent and back at her camp probably giving her soldiers orders to move out and head back to the nearest settlement for supplies.\n\n\u201cShe\u2019ll be fine.\u201d You say to yourself though you don\u2019t know if you\u2019re exactly convinced of it. You suppose you\u2019ll see in the future.\n\nAnd while you know it probably was the \u201chealthiest\u201d thing to do, you\u2019d also be lying to yourself if you aren\u2019t going to miss that part of your relationship with her completely.\n\nWho knew that between an army of rampaging beastmen, traitors in your ranks, and a visit from Semra, breaking up with a young woman would be the most emotionally draining?", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 45\n\n\u201c\u2026and even with your natural gifts and after your training is over in six years, your true service to the Empire will have only just begun. You will all be expected to perform to your fullest capabilities because as Eternals you are to be the very best that the Empire has to offer. And out there you will need to show that to our many enemies so that they never forget it. Duty, loyalty, valor and the will to survive, these are traits I expect to see in all of you for I am always watching. Remember this.\u201d You say as your parting words to the new Eternals.\n\n\u201cYES EMPEROR! LONG LIVE THE EMPIRE!\u201d they all say in unison.\n\nBrenda tells them to take a brief break while she follows you out of the training center.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019ve done a very good job with them Brenda.\u201d You say.\n\u201cThank you.\u201d Brenda remarks.\n\u201cNo, really. I know I sort of dropped this in your lap, but you\u2019ve really taken the reins on this. I mean I couldn\u2019t have done it better. From what I\u2019ve seen they\u2019re well on their way of becoming an effective fighting force AND you\u2019ve managed to keep most of them alive in the process. Had it been me two thirds of that class probably would\u2019ve been dead by now under my harsh training.\u201d\n\u201cAh, but those left alive would probably be more lethal than the ones I\u2019ve trained.\u201d Brenda points out.\n\u201cPerhaps, but they don\u2019t need to be put through similar rigors that I faced, I just need them to be better than our enemies and loyal to the Empire. From what I\u2019ve seen, I have no doubt that will be the case when they finally come of age.\u201d\n\u201cWell despite my less unforgiving and more cooperative training methods, I can\u2019t take all the credit for keeping most of them alive, their increased regeneration rates help in that regard. There was many times where I even thought a few of them had suffered fatal injuries only for them to get better given enough time. I believe whatever magic you infused during their tank time increased their regenerative abilities greater than our own.\u201d\n\u201cTheir reflexes are definitely better too. Even at this age, I could see that during the training demonstration. At the very least, they should be on par with Decena in that aspect when they grow up.\u201d\n\u201cHow is your one time pupil doing anyway?\u201d Brenda asks.\n\nYou hesitate a moment, since you\u2019ve sort of wondered that yourself. You no longer get the letters you once did from Decena which were more expressive. Now she only sends you official battle reports. Obviously she\u2019s dealing with the termination of your intimate relationship in a professional manner and is keeping your current relationship that way.\n\nThat being the case, you give Brenda the safe answer because that\u2019s genuinely all you know.\n\n\u201cOh, she\u2019s still mostly combating the Torites. While the Battle of the Beasts three years ago pretty much broke their strength in the area, they still aren\u2019t out of it yet. I\u2019d push forward to eradicate them, but with the need for consolidation of our winnings as well as last years purges, we\u2019ve had to halt expansion for the time being. That\u2019s not even counting that the next place I want to turn my attention to are the city states south of the Broki province. I\u2019ve had Eyes infiltrate most of them and they\u2019re infested with svelk.\u201d You say.\n\u201cReally? Like entire cities of them? I thought they were nomadic.\u201d Brenda says.\n\u201cNot anymore apparently, but it isn\u2019t actually entire cities, more like key positions of importance in the cities, but even one svelk is an infestation as far as I\u2019m concerned.\u201d You answer.\n\u201cSurprised you\u2019re not just sending airships to bombard them.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m fairly sure I wouldn\u2019t get them all if I did that. Airships while powerful are slow enough that any svelk would probably get the hell out of there before they even arrived. Besides, I\u2019m not really looking to level the cities. Bombing one perhaps as an example, to get the rest to fall in line, but not all of them.\u201d\n\u201cAssassination?\u201d\n\u201cAssassinations would probably work better since the svelk direct such actions against each other on a semi-regular basis, would take a bit of time though since if a lot of them start dying suddenly, they\u2019re going to know something is up and they\u2019ll relocate from the cities. Still, I suppose if we timed it right\u2026hmmm, maybe I\u2019ll talk to Warrick about setting something up; in any case we still need to track down Eldolith. We know she is making her home in the cities, but she is proving to be completely elusive as far as pinning her down. Probably using a system of secret tunnels. Might be time to send in the kobold commandos to start digging around.\u201d\n\nYou and Brenda finish up your conversation with a couple of off topic subjects, but before you leave she says one last thing.\n\n\u201cI know you already thanked me for my work with the new Eternals, but I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you. Thank you for giving me a new sense of purpose. I know these Eternals\u2019 purpose is to loyally serve the Empire, but I feel like\u2026I dunno\u2026it\u2019s silly.\u201d\n\u201cNo, what?\u201d\n\u201cI sometimes feel like I\u2019m their mother. I mean I\u2019m not developing attachments to them or anything, but I feel like I\u2019m doing all I can to make sure they survive in this world, because I really DO want most of them to survive. They represent the future of the Empire, and it will fall to them eventually to defend it.\u201d\n\nYou nod at Brenda\u2019s remark and touch her arm.\n\n\u201cAnd that, is why you were the best one for this job.\u201d You say.\n\u201cI suppose another reason I\u2019ve been feeling a little more positive lately is the fact that there are now more of us. Eternals, I mean. Our numbers were always so few, but now with these new ones, I don\u2019t feel so alone I guess.\u201d\n\nBrenda\u2019s feelings on this are probably related to the loss of her husband as usual, but you can\u2019t fault her for it. If this is something that helps her through the pain, then more power to her. Really you never gave it too much thought that there would be more of \u201cyou\u201d around because as far as you\u2019re concerned, \u201cyou\u201d were always unique to begin with. You weren\u2019t even supposed to be an Eternal, but here you are.\n\nThe next bit surprises you though.\n\n\u201cOh and one more thing, the next time you see Warrick tell him, I\u2019m sorry for being angry at him.\u201d Brenda says.\n\nYou smile.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m sure he\u2019ll be glad to hear it.\u201d You answer and leave.\n\nThe next few days are actually spent working alongside Warrick to see if some sort of mass assassination attempt of the svelk would actually work. (You also relay Brenda\u2019s message and just as you figured, he\u2019s glad to hear it)\n\n\u201cWait, so some of the inhabitants in these cities are actually former Felkan citizens?\u201d you ask Warrick.\n\u201cYes and it looks like some of them have been willingly working with the svelk out of revenge. In fact I now believe that the saboteur that tried to destroy the old Storm was from one of these cities. A couple of the other tight-lipped dissidents we\u2019ve had killed during the last purge I believe were from there too originally.\u201d\n\nYou shake your head.\n\n\u201cMaybe I should just have the cities bombed out of existence after all.\u201d You say with a sigh.\n\u201cWhat I don\u2019t understand, is why we\u2019re bumping into them only now. I mean these cities are so far away and the refugee Felkans would\u2019ve not only had to travel through gnoll AND Torite territory at the time, but also the Broki Kingdom. Surely it would\u2019ve been easier to put down roots there.\u201d Warrick says.\n\u201cWell, who is to say some of them didn\u2019t? You\u2019re only coming across the more radical ones obviously. There may have very well been Felkans that just wanted to get away from the Empire and live a normal life. Granted if those individuals had just accepted Empire rule in the first, they could\u2019ve done so anyway with little change, but that\u2019s a different topic.\u201d\n\nYou continue.\n\n\u201cAlso the Broki Kingdom was fairly backwards and having strife of its own, I get the impression that the Felkans just wanted to get as far a way as possible from such things. This journey probably wasn\u2019t without its hazards. Combine that with losing your homeland and anything else that might\u2019ve been personal, it\u2019s not hard to see where their hate would\u2019ve festered to the point where the svelk took advantage of it. The ex Felkans are the tool that the svelk are manipulating. Maybe they don\u2019t have a nation proper anymore, but it\u2019s obvious that the svelk are definitely building the skeleton of one out of these cities states and they see us as the biggest threat to their new endeavors.\u201d\n\u201cIt isn\u2019t just the svelk and these militant ex-Felkans we\u2019ve discovered though, we recently came across something new. Something I know you\u2019re going to want to hear before proceeding with any plan.\u201d Warrick says.\n\nWarrick tell you that there is another community but far enough away to be fairly isolated from the rest of the city-states in the area, in fact the community makes its home in a lone mountain.\n\n\u201cSo\u2026what they live in a cave?\u201d\n\u201cWell not exactly. The Eyes have not been there, but apparently there is a whole city built into the mountain. Basically similar to what the derro do underground I guess, but they aren\u2019t derro. They\u2019re gnomes.\u201d\n\u201cGnomes?\u201d\n\u201cYes, and from what information we have gathered, they\u2019re also from the former Felkan Kingdom. The funny thing is, they don\u2019t seem to have much contact with the rest of the city states. We know that the gnomes trade with the various cities from time to time and we know that there must be humans living in this mountain since those are the ones that do the trading. The place is called New Dessle.\u201d\n\u201cHrm. Name of the former Felkan capital. So do you think they\u2019re working with the svelk in this conspiracy?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cWe don\u2019t know. Like I said, all we know is that they trade sometimes, it seems to be mostly minerals and it\u2019s fairly infrequent. If they are in league, they\u2019re keeping it fairly secret from anyone.\u201d\n\nGnomes. That puts a slightly different spin on everything. Between the svelk and the gnomes, you\u2019ve got two of the most manipulative and smartest races working together to possibly destroy you.\n\nRegardless of whether or not the gnomes are actually involved, it still would be best to gather more information, perhaps even more so.\n\n\u201cUntil we\u2019ve got more information, we\u2019re going to assume the gnomes are just the occasional trading partners. While MAYBE they\u2019re indirectly helping by trading material to these svelk influenced cities, I\u2019d rather we deal with the immediate suspects first. Besides attacking a damn mountain isn\u2019t exactly in the budget right now.\u201d You say.\n\nSo you proceed with your plan. You keep the Eyes spying and gathering information and keep your own internal security tight. You also start having kobolds digging tunnels under the cities.\n\nA few weeks pass and you receive a message. A human rider dropped off a box in a village in the Broki province. Before riding off he stated to the nearby peasants that they needed to deliver that to their Emperor. The box was obviously leaking blood and when one of the braver soldiers opened it, there were several eyes inside. A bloody note attached stated a warning from \u201cDomina\u201d Eldolith that all spies from the Empire will be killed and any further unwanted aggression on the \u201cConfederacy of Free Cities\u201d would be an act of war.\n\nNever mind the fact that Eldolith started this by trying to assassinate you in the first place.\n\n\u201cShe can\u2019t possibly be serious in taking us on. She may have discovered some of our spies, but we already know full well what her strength is and even with our reduced manpower right now we could take on the entire force of this so called Confederacy of Free Cities.\u201d Warrick remarks.\n\u201cOh I\u2019m sure she know that. She\u2019s backed into a corner and is doing typical svelk grand standing hoping it will work. To be quite honest I figured she\u2019d eventually discover some of our spies eventually. The svelk aren\u2019t stupid, but they served their purpose in information gathering and they probably distracted the svelk from possibly discovering our kobolds running around underground. You can start pulling out the rest of your Eyes, we\u2019ll be attacking the cities soon. With any luck we won\u2019t let a single svelk escape and we can wipe out the remainder of the ex-Felkans as well.\u201d You say.\n\nKivan is nearby probably waiting to get your attention for some domestic issue. Normally he just waits patiently, but this time he speaks.\n\n\u201cForgive my presumption my Emperor as I know war is your area of expertise, but what about the gnomes?\u201d he asks.\n\u201cWhat about them? Our spies still have not uncovered anything that would suggest that they\u2019re helping. Even the material that they\u2019re trading couldn\u2019t be considered dangerous for the most part.\u201d Warrick answers.\n\u201cThe gnomes will be dealt with later, Kivan. No need to worry.\u201d You say.\n\nKivan puts aside his scrolls and addresses you directly.\n\n\u201cI have no doubt that will be the case my Emperor, however it is my concern that the Empire not take any more potential unnecessary losses. The Felkan War took a heavy toll on the Empire. A toll that was not necessary had our former Emperor acted more quickly on the matter. The same could be said for the Shadow uprising.\u201d\n\u201cWatch your tone! YOUR current Emperor AND I both served to quell those incidents! Where were you? Counting beans? I suggest you stick to what you know advisor!\u201d Warrick says raising his voice.\n\u201cYou are correct Sightmaster, I AM an advisor. And as I said it is true, I am more of an expert in the mundane domestic affairs that keep the Empire running, I also have to deal with the effects these wars have on such things. If you attack now there will be hardship on the people, BUT our people are used to such things. What is a little more troubling is when unexpected problems pop up or long drawn out affairs.\u201d\n\u201cSo what are you exactly saying Kivan?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cI\u2019m saying that the gnomes can\u2019t be trusted to live. When they rebelled against the Empire and ran away they managed to manipulate a collection of simple villages and towns and turn it into the Felkan Kingdom. Not only that, but they managed to build it up to the point where it actually surpassed the Empire technology wise and all of this was done in a fairly short period of time.\u201d\n\nYou continue to listen while Kivan expresses his point of view on this matter.\n\n\u201cPerhaps the gnomes aren\u2019t working with the svelk, but that\u2019s not to say they aren\u2019t still working against us. I can\u2019t believe that they wouldn\u2019t harbor some sort of revenge. I mean the ex-Felkans obviously do and all they lost were their homeland. The gnomes were systematically exterminated. I just believe that leaving the gnomes for later is going to give them more time to build up their defenses and just make it harder for the Empire to wipe them out in the future. Why take the chance?\u201d\n\nKivan does actually make a pragmatic point. While taking the city-states isn\u2019t going to be too much of a problem, it\u2019s still going to take time and manpower. Your main concern with them is making sure you get all the svelk (especially Eldolith) inside. Consolidating, settling, and rooting out problem people will all take time as well. And while you\u2019re doing all that, the gnomes could be sitting in their mountain building some weapon (or weapons) of imaginable power.\n\nThey already built an entire city in a mountain, who knows what the escaped gnomes have been working on since their exodus?", "action_results": [{"action": "Attack the mountain", "result": "The gnomes do need to be dealt with, the sooner the better. You agree with Kivan.\n\n\u201cWell Kivan, if this turns out successfully you may get promoted to be a war advisor.\u201d You say.\n\u201cI\u2019d certainly be honored, but I believe my talents are still better served on the domestic issues. This was just an extension of those concerns.\u201d He says.\n\u201cOkay, so how do you want to handle this? Because if we are going to attack that mountain, we\u2019re going to have to still deal with those city states.\u201d Warrick asks you.\n\u201cThose are still going to be no problem, we\u2019re going to overrun those and then move on to New Dessle. We probably won\u2019t need the airships at all for the city-states; we\u2019ll just handle it conventionally. And while we\u2019re taking care of those, I\u2019ll send the airships to attack New Dessle. Attacking a mountain is going to be no easy feat, but with the airships we could at least blow enough holes in it to cause not only external damage but more importantly internal structural damage that could hopefully cause portions of it to come crashing down on their heads. Soften them up at least until our armies to arrive.\u201d\n\nWarrick goes on to ask which offensive you\u2019re going to be personally overseeing and if you want Decena\u2019s army called in to help. You tell Warrick that Decena still need to concentrate on mopping up Torite resistance lest they somehow regroup. And as you said, you don\u2019t anticipate many problems from the city-states anyway.\n\nAs for which offensive you\u2019re going to oversee, you\u2019re not sure. Before this gnome business came up you were going to just oversee the fall of the city-states, but with the gnomes now being attacked, you wonder if you shouldn\u2019t be there to oversee that instead.\n\nYou then remember Warrick wanting to be involved in some of the frontline stuff recently.\n\n\u201cWell Warrick how would you like to over see the destruction of the city states? You\u2019ve always said you wanted more work outside that office and get back in the middle of things, well here\u2019s a big thing to get right in the middle of Warrick.\u201d \u201d\n\nWarrick is surprised and honored by your decision.\n\n\u201cI\u2026I thank you my Emperor and it will be my honor to command such a task. Does this mean you\u2019ll be travelling to New Dessel?\u201d\n\u201cYes, I mean as much as I\u2019d like to personally see the destruction of the svelk and ex-Felkans I believe the gnomes are a bigger threat and as such my attendance in our first attack against them is in order. I do request however that if at all possible, bring that bitch Eldolith to me in chains if possible. If not, dead is just as good.\u201d\n\u201cI think that can certainly be arranged, my Emperor.\u201d\n\nInvasion of the Confederacy of the Free Cities. (Which you didn\u2019t even know that\u2019s what this little group of city-states was even called until Eldolith\u2019s message) is prepared. You know Warrick has the skill to lead an army and will not falter at this task; you just hope that he will indeed be able to capture Eldolith alive.\n\nAs for you, this will be your first time boarding one of these airships. Since you had that purge of traitors (and potential traitors) you\u2019re not so apprehensive about boarding one of them now.\n\nThe Storm II is a grand ship and equipped with the best and latest weapons. The other five ships coming with you are equipped in a similar manner. You figure while the gnomes will certainly have cannons of their own, you\u2019ll at least be able to protect the Storm II with your magic somewhat.\n\nEventually you are on your way and the first thing you fly over is your army on the march toward the Confederacy\u2019s territory. The next thing you fly over is the Confederacy\u2019s territory itself where you see small groups of troops desperately preparing for the invasion.\n\nWhen you fly overhead you can only imagine the excessive fear they must feel followed by the confusion when you by pass them entirely. The fact that you didn\u2019t attack might even worry them more, since now they\u2019ll wonder if you\u2019ll be coming back.\n\nYour air fleet continues to fly towards New Dessel which looms in the distance. Part of you wonders just how much of a fight the gnomes will put up and how much damage you\u2019ll actually be able to do. You have it set up though for the airships to signal each other on where to fire so coordination will not be a problem.\n\nWhen you arrive before the mountain, all the airships stop and prepare for your next command. To be quite honest, while the mountain is big enough that peak still looms above your fleet\u2019s current height the mountain is far from being something as impressive as the ones you\u2019ve seen in Rask. Concentrated fire in a few locations should probably have the desired effect you want, and if all goes well, you might get closer to drop a few bombs.\n\n\u201cWell we didn\u2019t come here to sight see this marvel of nature, let\u2019s get on with it blowing it up.\u201d You remark and tell your crew to start signaling the other ships.\n\nWithin moments, all the airships are concentrating their fire on particular place on the mountain. Take a while, but you definitely start causing damage as boulders, dirt, rocks and debris all begin to rumble and fall causing the start of a rockslide in one area of the mountain.\n\nYou manage to do this on two more sections of the mountain before you actually start encountering any kind of resistance. Several \u201cwindows\u201d in the mountain open up revealing cannons, which fire upon your ships. It really isn\u2019t too bad though.\n\n\u201cStart telling the other ships to fire at the cannons. Even if their mountain city seems to be holding up from the inside, we can still deprive them of their defenses.\u201d You command.\n\nA few minutes after you give this command you sense a change in the air. Almost like that of lightning storm. You even begin to feel a little static\u2026\n\nSuddenly a flash of light eminates from the top of the peak and huge bolt of lightning hits one of your airships to the left causing it to explode spectacularly.\n\nIt didn\u2019t get hit and slowly make a fiery descent towards the ground, it actually exploded.\n\n\u201cSHIT!\u201d you suddenly shout, probably along with several of your crew. You then turn your attention to the shining piece of metal on top of the mountain peak where the lightning blast came from.\n\n\u201cEVERYONE TURN AROUND! RETREAT!\u201d you shout and tell your crew to signal the remaining airships to do likewise.\n\nYou\u2019re a sitting duck and you know it right now. You can\u2019t put up a barrier large enough to cover the entire airship, so as your airship begins to turn you attempt to directly aim your own magic bolts in the direction of the gnome\u2019s apparent \u201clightning rod\u201d weapon.\n\nYour magic hits around and even directly on target, but it just isn\u2019t enough to destroy it. You then have that feeling of electricity in the air again. Your hair begins to stand up and this time thanks to your attempt to destroy the rod, the gnomes direct their next blast towards the Storm II.\n\nYou see a bright flash and feel a brief sizzle throughout your entire body and then nothing at all.\n\nAnd you never do get the pleasure of executing Eldolith yourself when Warrick captures her alive.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Just focus on the city-states", "result": "Kivan may mean well, but you\u2019ve got more experience in this matter. In fact you\u2019re going to just find out what\u2019s going on right now.\n\n\u201cWarrick, we know where New Dessle is correct?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cYes, it\u2019s the only large mountain south of the city states. I imagine the entrance is probably hidden, but I\u2019m sure the kobolds could tunnel through with enough time.\u201d\n\u201cThat won\u2019t be necessary. I\u2019m sure the gnomes have several lookout points and will open up when they see me. I\u2019m going to New Dessle.\u201d\n\nAt this point Kivan and Warrick are apprehensive about that idea.\n\n\u201cEmperor, you can\u2019t seriously mean going there by yourself!\u201d Kivan exclaims.\n\u201cI agree, I mean if this is some sort of diplomatic mission you should at least take a retinue with you and even then I\u2019d be against such a thing.\u201d Warrick adds.\n\u201cI never said I was going alone, you\u2019re coming with me, Warrick. I figure the two of us should be more than adequate to take on a mountain of gnomes if need be.\u201d\n\nThis remark is met with silence.\n\n\u201cWhat? You\u2019ve always said you wanted more work outside that office and get back in the middle of things, well here\u2019s a big thing to get right in the middle of Warrick.\u201d You say which causes Warrick to bow his head and put his fist to his chest.\n\u201cApologies my Emperor. This offer was just very sudden and I was taken by surprise. Of course I shall accompany you and whatever we face shall be together. It will be an honor as always.\u201d\n\u201cIt is your choice my Emperor, but I still cannot encourage this idea.\u201d Kivan remarks.\n\u201cWell your concern for my well being is noted. Come on Warrick we need to get underway as soon as possible.\u201d You say.\n\nWhile you and Warrick prepare for your journey you also take the opportunity to start setting the stage for the attack on the Confederacy of the Free Cities. (Which you didn\u2019t even know that\u2019s what this little group of city-states was even called until Eldolith\u2019s message).\n\nThe only potential danger of the journey is the fact you\u2019re going to have to ride through the Confederacy \u201cterritory\u201d and while you\u2019re fairly certain you\u2019d be able to handle whatever they send at you, you don\u2019t want to give them anymore reason to run off before you\u2019re ready to attack, because you know that\u2019s going to be the first thing the svelk do. They did with the Broki Kingdom after all.\n\nYou and Warrick have a more or less uneventful journey however since you stick to the off beaten track and away from the cities patrol areas. The pair of you mostly pass the time speaking about matters of the Empire and this situation with the svelk and what to possibly expect with the gnomes. You do get the idea that Warrick is pretty happy about going on this trip.\n\nEventually you get closer to the mountain, which no longer looms in the distance, but instead stands towering above you. It\u2019s not the size of the ones in Rask, but it\u2019s big enough that if the gnomes have built a city inside the thing, it would have to be quite large indeed.\n\n\u201cWell, we\u2019re here, any idea how to get inside?\u201d Warrick asks.\n\u201cI figure I\u2019d start shouting at the gnomes until they let me in.\u201d you say.\n\u201cAnd if they don\u2019t?\u201d\n\u201cI guess I\u2019ll start smashing holes into the side of the mountain with magic and let myself in.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd maybe you better not, Eternal Emperor. Powerful you may be, I guarantee that even you would not take this mountain all by yourself, but I get the impression you\u2019re not here for that.\u201d A voice says coming from above you.\n\nYou look up and see that several holes in the mountain have opened up with the barrels of rifles all pointing at you. And that\u2019s just the ones you\u2019re seeing, you imagine they probably got more.\n\n\u201cRight you are gnome. I\u2019m here to discuss the possible future of our relationship. So how about you open this mountain up and let us talk.\u201d You shout.\n\u201cI have a better idea, how about you get the hell out of here before we blow your fucking head off!\u201d a different voice shouts.\n\u201cWe should just do it now! Why didn\u2019t you let me shoot him as he approached!?\u201d another voice says.\n\u201cGlenmore! Valen! Shut the hell up! Apologies Emperor, but as you might expect we\u2019re not exactly trusting of the Empire given our history with it. In fact we\u2019re not very trusting of anyone nowadays.\u201d\n\u201cWell I can certainly understand that.\u201d You remark.\n\u201cI thought you might. Hold on let me come to you.\u201d The voice says which is followed by a lot of mumbling and whispering.\n\n\u201cThis isn\u2019t exactly a good position we\u2019re in.\u201d Warrick says.\n\u201cNonsense, we already got one to come out and talk. Probably a leader. We\u2019re already making progress.\u201d You say.\n\nYou wait for about ten minutes still noticing that the rifles are still fixed on you.\n\n\u201cOkay here I am, now we can talk.\u201d A voice says and you turn around to see a gnome with a full face of gray facial hair. Typical of older examples of his race. He is dressed in fine (if dirty) clothing.\n\n\u201cHmmm, it would appear you must also have a system of tunnels and secret doors in the ground surrounding this mountain too.\u201d You say.\n\u201cIndeed. Hate living like a derro at times, but with all the kobolds running around north lately\u2026well best to be safe right?\u201d\n\u201cLooks like you\u2019ve thought of everything\u2026\u201d you say not knowing the gnome\u2019s name.\n\u201cOh, the name\u2019s Klemto. Klemto Zookwinkle. But let\u2019s get to it, I assume you\u2019re here to see if we\u2019re willing to surrender without a fight?\u201d\n\u201cNot exactly, though that is a good subject to discuss later. What I was really here to ask is if you were in league with the svelk.\u201d\n\u201cOh goodness no! We trade with them at times, but only rarely and never anything they could use as a weapon! I believe we\u2019d all sooner trust the Empire before we\u2019d trust the dark elves. At least the Empire is up front about wanting to exterminate us.\u201d\n\nYou stop Klemto right there.\n\n\u201cOkay, first of all there is no plan to exterminate the gnomes.\u201d\n\u201cCould\u2019ve fooled me given the information we\u2019ve heard. Waging a genocidal war on the Torites. Even bombing other human nations into submission. Now you\u2019re planning on annihilating the svelk, though I can\u2019t say they\u2019re the most sympathetic of beings. I know who you are Eternal. You were a general in the Felkan War. The old emperor\u2019s right hand. In fact you even led captured gnomes and them to that infamous death camp called Gnome\u2019s Home.\u201d\n\u201cI did that once.\u201d\n\u201cOh, he did it once! And that makes everything better? Was that a bad attempt at an apology?\u201d\n\u201cOf course not since I have nothing to apologize for. I was merely following orders. You want to know what I really think of your people? Nothing. You\u2019re clever and you invent useful things. That\u2019s it. I think your manipulation of the Felkans to protect yourselves was a useful survival strategy and one to be admired in some ways. Just like your mountain city here. I don\u2019t have some burning great hatred for any of your kind. Personally I thought it was a waste of resources to ship you all off to Gnome\u2019s Home just to go through the unnecessary process of banishing your souls to oblivion. But that\u2019s what the Emperor wanted so that\u2019s what happened.\u201d\n\nKlemto lights up some sort of pipe as you talk and takes a puff before speaking.\n\n\u201cSo just following orders eh? Sounds about right. From what we know of you, you were and apparently still are an emotionless individual. That\u2019s probably what makes you scarier than your former Emperor. At least he had an emotion. An irrational one, but it was something.\u201d\n\u201cOh he had a reason. And it wasn\u2019t just the gnomes rebelling. Your last name, Zookwinkle isn\u2019t unknown to me gnome.\u201d You say.\n\nYou stare at Klemto and he stares back. He instinctively knows that you know something concerning a female member of his family being involved with the Emperor in some way. Warrick just stands by looking a bit confused, but mostly more concerned about the guns overhead.\n\n\u201cHeh, well grandma always did do what she thought was best for survival.\u201d Klemto remarks.\n\u201cWell I suggest you follow in her footsteps then and do the same.\u201d\n\u201cDon\u2019t think you\u2019re my type.\u201d Klemto jokes nervously.\n\u201cAmusing, but you know what I mean.\u201d You say seriously.\n\nKlemto wipes his forehead and begins puffing away again.\n\n\u201cLook, we just want to be left alone. I mean do you really need us under your thumb too even with the countless slaves and subjects you already have?\u201d\n\u201cWell since you bring it up, yes. If you\u2019re under my rule, I can keep a closer eye on you. Not to mention your skills would be of great use to the Empire once again.\u201d You answer.\n\u201cWe were once under the old emperor\u2019s rule too. You see how well that worked out.\u201d Klemto remarks.\n\u201cHe also was blinded by love at the time and as you pointed out, I am the emotionless one. His hatred of your people also caused him to make many mistakes. If you betray me in some way, rest assured I won\u2019t bother going through some elaborate process of torturing you and destroying your souls. I\u2019ll just have you run down and slaughtered wherever you may run to. Where you go in the afterlife is your own affair, but here in the land of the living, that\u2019s my domain.\u201d You say with a cold tone.\n\nKlemto is now contemplating the consequences of what may happen if he and his people try to resist when you eventually do come to stake claim on New Dessel. He\u2019s pondering if they can kill you now before it even comes to that. It\u2019s obviously that he doesn\u2019t think they can or else they would\u2019ve done it long before now. Klemto and the gnomes aren\u2019t stupid, they know that the stories of what abilities you really possess are probably exaggerated, however that old fear that still lingers from their treatment by Casimir mixed with what they DO know what you\u2019re capable of is still enough to stay their hand.\n\nAnd it is this fear that is making this all work in your favor. Just like you knew it would. Had the roles been reversed, you wouldn\u2019t have hesitated. You would\u2019ve killed yourself with a volley of rifle blasts and more as soon as you were in range.\n\nAfter pacing a bit, Klemto finally speaks again.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m going to have to talk this over with the rest of the council and while that\u2019s more of a formality, most of them aren\u2019t going to be happy... (Sigh) Okay, here it goes. We will capitulate to Empire rule and we\u2019ll pay tribute. But we must remain in this mountain. Whatever it is that you need from us to serve the Empire, it will have to be here or at least within the area. Now if some individual wants to leave and help elsewhere in the Empire, then that\u2019s his decision. But at no point will our people be forced to leave if they don\u2019t want to. Also no other Empire citizens may enter this mountain either unless we allow it. This includes the army.\u201d Klemto says.\n\u201cHah! You must be joking.\u201d You interrupt.\n\u201cI\u2019m serious. Now I know you\u2019ll need to keep an eye on us as you say, well your Eyes will be allowed in. As many as you want, but I assure you that it won\u2019t be necessary since there will not be any attempts at betrayal.\u201d\n\nWhile it would appear that Klemto is willing to capitulate, there are a lot of stipulations he\u2019s making. Stipulations that imply he thinks he\u2019s in the position to make.", "action_results": [{"action": "Walk away now", "result": "Without another word you cast a protective barrier around you and Warrick, which startles Klemto and definitely causes shouting from the other gnomes until Klemto waves them down.\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t worry gnome. My intention is not to attack you now as you are indeed correct that it would be stupid to attack a mountain all by myself. However your stipulations are presumptuous and foolish. I made this trip for YOUR benefit, not mine and you have squandered it with unreasonable demands.\u201d\n\nKlemto stands silent.\n\n\u201cI shall return to finish off the Confederacy of the Free Cities and then at some point we\u2019ll pick this up again except I will not be so reasonable next time. Let us leave Warrick.\u201d\n\nAs Warrick and you leave, Warrick asks you a question.\n\n\u201cI thought they\u2019d be shooting at us by now.\u201d\n\u201cThey know it\u2019s futile. Besides, even if they did, my barrier is more than enough to deflect bullets. Used it quite a bit during the Felkan War as you\u2026\u201d\n\nBefore you can finish your sentence suddenly a huge blast of lightning from above hits the ground right near you. You\u2019re protected of course by the barrier, but it\u2019s so unexpected and startling that it actually causes you and Warrick to lose balance and unfortunately you to lose your concentration for a brief moment and your barrier goes down.\n\n\u201cNOW!\u201d you hear Klemto shout, while you\u2019re still clearing the cobwebs. Several gnomes armed with repeating rifles pop up out of the ground and fire upon you. Warrick is struck in the head and killed instantly.\n\nYou are hit in the body enough times to feel the pain of each bit of hot lead going in ripping up your insides and coming out the other end. Then much like your now dead brother in arms, you are hit in the head and killed leaving nothing behind but a bloody bullet ridden body with brains leaking out uselessly into the soil.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Continue to negotiate", "result": "The fact remains; the full capabilities of New Dessle are still unknown and taking this mountain city would be extremely costly for the Empire, so you\u2019re not going to dismiss Klemto\u2019s stipulations yet, but you are going to come back with one of your own.\n\n\u201cVery well, your terms are somewhat reasonable though we\u2019re still going to have to hammer out some details, however I do want one thing from you right now.\u201d You say.\n\u201cOh? What\u2019s that?\u201d\n\u201cYou will assist in attacking the Confederacy of the Free Cities.\u201d\n\u201c...so you would call on our service already eh? Fine. We will assist, just let us know what exactly you want from us.\u201d\n\u201cNothing elaborate, I just want another army south of the cities in case some of the svelk try to escape that way. I don\u2019t want a single one of them to get away. They\u2019re a threat to the Empire and their constant manipulations need to cease being a thorn in my side. Too long they\u2019ve gone unpunished for their treachery. Maybe I won\u2019t be getting all of them on the world. But rest assured I WILL be getting ALL of them in this area.\u201d\n\u201cI see. While you may not have any hatred for my race, you obviously do for the dark elves. It would seem the more things change, the more they stay same\u2026(Sigh) Well better the svelk than us I suppose.\u201d Klemto says.\n\u201cGlad you see the pragmatic side of this.\u201d\n\u201cOh I suspect I\u2019ll be seeing the pragmatic side a lot in the future. Not how I wanted to spend the remainder of my years, but then this is really the only way. I\u2019ve long since learned that opposing the Empire is futile. While it may eventually fall to internal or external forces, it probably isn\u2019t going to be in my lifetime and I\u2019m going to do everything within that time to make sure the gnomes stay out of harm\u2019s way. If that means swallowing what little pride we might have left and willingly becoming the subjects of a nation that once enslaved us and then tried to systematically exterminate us, then that is what we will do.\u201d\n\nKlemto finishes his little speech with another puff of his pipe. He looks defeated even though he\u2019s come out fairly okay on this deal. Well at least you think so, obviously he feels differently.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019ll be remembered as a savior to your people Klemto.\u201d You say before you leave.\n\u201cI\u2019ll probably be remembered as a collaborator, but I\u2019m fine with it as long as they live to keep telling the tale of Klemto the traitor long after I\u2019m dead.\u201d\n\nAt this point you and Warrick take your leave, the next time you look back, Klemto is gone and the mountain \u201cwindows\u201d have all closed up as if everything was normal again.\n\n\u201cYou really think you can trust the gnomes?\u201d Warrick asks.\n\u201cI trust them more now that we have a way in. I want as many Eyes as you can spare in that mountain. Perhaps over time we can pull some out if the gnomes do prove to be loyal and don\u2019t complain too much, but we definitely want to at least gather every single bit of information we can on that place just in case the gnomes DO try to betray us in the future.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019ll get on that, as soon as we return to the Empire. I shouldn\u2019t have had the doubt, but I really thought this plan was going to go bad.\u201d\n\u201cDon\u2019t worry, I had the same feeling, but sometimes you just have to throw caution to the wind and attempt new strategies.\u201d\n\u201cWell maybe I didn\u2019t see any battle, but I was still glad to get out behind that desk. I thank you for that.\u201d Warrick says.\n\u201cIf you\u2019d like we could always go try to take out one of the city states by ourselves. Has to be easier than an entire mountain.\u201d\n\nYou and Warrick laugh at this idea and head back to the Empire.\n\nA month passes and the war against the Confederacy of Free Cities is well underway. The odds are severely in your favor especially with the help of the gnomes who show up and you get a small indication of what exactly they have been working on.\n\nSome sort of powerful battle machine they call automatons. The best way to describe them is they\u2019re golems except work under the power of steam, gears and technology rather than magic. A single automaton is an incredibly destructive force blowing holes in walls with their mounted cannons or just smashing them down with a hammer fist.\n\nThe gnomes also bring out their lightning cannons that you remember during the Felkan War. It was a relatively new invention towards the end of that conflict, but it looks like the gnomes have perfected it their power. Your own inventors never could figure out how to create them though. (Even Elam was at a loss on how they did it without the use of magic)\n\nYou\u2019re sort of surprised they never created their own airships, but apparently they were in the process of doing so. In any case, whatever they\u2019ve created and will create are yours to use now.\n\nThe Confederacy of Free Cities doesn\u2019t stand a chance and half of them are in ruins after it\u2019s all said and done. That wasn\u2019t the original intent, but at this point you\u2019re not really concerned with conquering a few measly cities. You can always have new ones built now that you own the territory. What matters more is the eradication of the svelk menace.\n\n\u201cWe got her Emperor!\u201d a soldier says running up to you in the middle of the burning ruins of Ryglik.\n\u201cAre you sure its her?\u201d you ask\n\u201cYes, Emperor. It\u2019s Domina Eldolith. She was captured by the kobolds attempting to escape through a system of tunnels, she killed quite a few of them, but the little scalies managed to subdue her. She\u2019s been yelling about being the grand domina of the free cities and a bunch of other stuff. Mostly demanding to be treated with the respect that a captured enemy of her stature deserves.\u201d\n\u201cUnbelievable. Defiant and arrogant to the end. Wouldn\u2019t be the svelk way otherwise. Well take me to her.\u201d You say.\n\nYou are lead to the former city hall and down into the basement where several kobolds are proding a bound Eldolith with sharp objects and laughing while she swears and curses at them. They see you and bow in reverence while excitedly looking for approval of their deed.\n\n\u201cCapturr blak elf! For Emp! For Emp!\u201d one of them says.\n\u201cYes, and I will make sure you are awarded appropriately for your deeds. All of you, now leave I want to speak with this one alone. And do not interrupt me, no matter what you may hear. I will leave here when I\u2019m ready.\u201d\n\nThe kobolds leave via the trapdoor in the floor, your human soldiers nearby head back upstairs. Eldolith looks at you as you approach her. It\u2019s been a while since you\u2019ve seen her, but she\u2019s not looking her best right now. Her clothes are torn and wet, she\u2019s covered in dirt and grime. She smells like she\u2019s been running through a sewer. Superficial wounds are on her face and body. Her eyes are burning through you with an absolute hatred.\n\nAnd you love every moment of it.\n\n\u201cIf you think I\u2019m going to beg for my life you\u2019re sadly mistaken. I will NEVER give you that satisfaction. I am a svelk! My people\u2026\u201d\n\nYou backhand Eldolith shutting her up.\n\n\u201cAre dead. And if they aren\u2019t, the ones we captured soon will be. You can stop playing the arrogant svelk Eldy. You\u2019re scared of what is going to happen next. And you should be, because I\u2019m going to revisit some old techniques your mother showed me once.\u201d\n\nAt this point Eldolith\u2019s eyes widen and she tries to edge away when your hands start to touch her body. Suddenly you grip her throat.\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t move away from me bitch.\u201d You say and look into her eyes. Gone is the hatred. Now you see the fear.\n\n\u201cNow then, if you\u2019re concerned that I meant a physical violation, I hate the break your dreams, but that won\u2019t be happening. For one thing, your current stench is enough to give an orc pause. However after I\u2019m done today, you will be wishing that I was displaying such a kindness to you. Begging. In fact I believe your earlier boast about not begging for your life was correct. You won\u2019t be. You\u2019ll be begging for your death. Now let us begin\u2026\u201d\n\nYou pull out a small set of tools you brought for this occasion. To be honest you weren\u2019t sure if you\u2019d be lucky enough to capture Eldolith alive, but fortune smiled on you this day.\n\nYou begin a brutal session of torture on Eldolith. You occasionally ask her for more information on where other svelk may be, but these are met with pathetic moans of denial of knowledge.\n\n\u201cI DON\u2019T KNOW ANYTHING!\u201d Eldolith screams as another finger is cut off.\n\u201cAt this point I actually believe you, but I don\u2019t really care because this is amusing to me. Torturing a svelk. Not just any svelk though. One that tried to have me fucking assassinated on several occasions. Come on Eldy, you really can\u2019t be surprised by my actions here. You svelk pride yourself on showing no mercy and revel in cruelty, I\u2019d think you\u2019d understand all this.\u201d\n\u201cWho told you this? My mother?! And you believed her? What makes you think she wasn\u2019t responsible and just put the blame on me?!\u201d\n\u201cWell for one thing, your mother is a lot smarter than you and if she was planning to have me killed, I have to admit, she might\u2019ve been successful. Fortunately that crazy bitch is obsessed with me, for some unknown reason\u2026\u201d\n\nAt this point Eldolith starts coughing up blood while trying to laugh.\n\n\u201cSomething amusing? Have you finally gone mad from the pain?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cHa ha, (cough) you wish I was her right now. (cough) You\u2019ll never get that satisfaction, she\u2019s played you like a cheap lute since you\u2019ve been born Eternal. Even now you\u2019re doing her bidding. She just\u2026\u201d\n\nAt this point Eldolith vomits a mixture of blood and bile on the floor. Some of it getting on your boots.\n\n\u201cYou were saying?\u201d you ask, but Eldolith just breathes heavily not answering.\n\n\u201cWell, you don\u2019t really need this eye to tell me the rest of your thoughts.\u201d You say and approach her again with a knife\u2026\n\nBy the time dawn comes, Eldolith is barely alive. She\u2019s blind, missing an entire hand, her skin partially flayed, missing most of her teeth, she\u2019s a bloody mess and her face doesn\u2019t even resemble that of a svelk anymore. She\u2019s long since proven your prediction correct and begged for death, which you\u2019ve denied her. But even you have to move on some time.\n\n\u201cI have to admit Eldy, I thought you would\u2019ve been long dead by now. For someone begging for death, your body\u2019s will to survive is strong. The funny thing is, I could easily heal most of you up and do this all over again, but honestly I think I\u2019ve made my point. Besides I\u2019d hate to shorten my own lifespan just for a little bit of amusement, which is getting boring now. Any last words?\u201d\n\nEldolith makes no sound, just shallow breathing.\n\n\u201cRight then.\u201d You say and put your mithral dagger to her throat.\n\n\u201cYou brought this on yourself.\u201d You whisper in Eldolith\u2019s hacked off ear and slash her throat at last putting her out of her living hell.\n\nWhen you exit the building, several officers say they\u2019ve been wanting to speak with you about important matters of the aftermath of the war and similar matters concerning the newly acquired cities. Also the gnomes are wondering what your next orders are now since the enemy has been thoroughly eliminated.\nWhile you certainly feel good about your victory and your recent indulgence, you can\u2019t help but wonder now if Eldolith was just a convenient scapegoat. Eldolith and her sect of svelk obviously still had to die and you\u2019re more than certain that she was involved in trying to have you killed, but who is to say that it wasn\u2019t Semra pulling the strings all along?\n\nIn any event, looks like playtime is over. Back to business as usual.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 50\n\nAs you look at a large map of the known continent of Evigrus you realize that while its been fifteen years since you took the throne as Emperor you\u2019ve already more than doubled the size of the original nation. You\u2019ve also successfully managed to have your ships navigate most of its coastline as well. Even northern most Rask was mapped by your airships.\n\nQuite frankly that\u2019s the main problem you have right now in general you\u2019ve conquered most of what is worthwhile already on this continent. Anything remaining isn\u2019t exactly inhabitable or worth the time to spend on conquest and even in some of those cases, kobold citizens have slowly been making small underground communities in places where nobody above ground would want to live such as the Delerg jungle.\n\nHowever there are always new lands to conquer.\n\nTo the farthest part west lies the only nation on Evigrus left besides the Empire, the Kingdom of Nakol. Nakol has had the benefit of being relatively isolated from the rest of the continent due to the great mountain range that blocked it from the Children of Tor. Your people have only recently had formal contact with it shortly after the defeat of the Torites, though even that was by ship, though now that the Torites are no longer a true threat, small passes through the mountains have been found (Though they\u2019re not exactly safe and Nakol certainly keeps their side very well guarded).\n\nThe nation isn\u2019t quite as large as the Empire, but its still bigger than the old Felkan Kingdom and certainly big enough to defend itself to make aggression very costly, so far however the limited contact you\u2019ve had with said nation hasn\u2019t been hostile. Oddly enough he\u2019s wanted to meet you as he has heard so much about the \u201cGreat Emperor of the East\u201d and very much wants to visit the Empire.\n\nNormally you probably wouldn\u2019t consider such diplomatic meetings as it has never been your style, however this ruler is also known as the \u201cImmortal Sorcerer King\u201d and that is something that has gotten your attention.\n\nIn any event, there are other matters that require your attention and this is where the \u201cother land\u201d to conquer comes in\u2026\n\nLast year your ships finally found a large landmass to the east. Up until then, only a few islands of little worth had been discovered. This new territory from what you\u2019ve been told is similar to Delerg in some ways as there are large portions of jungle. However there are several primitive civilizations living on this land mass. While they are similar to humans in some ways, they have features that certainly aren\u2019t such as having four arms and multiple sets of eyes like an insect. Even their language is a bit insect like as you\u2019ve been told it\u2019s more a \u201cchittering\u201d sound. The most prominent of these groups are known as the Iznac.\n\nThe Iznac like most that seem to inhabit this world before the Empire enlightens them are a superstitious lot that worship their backwards gods by sacrificing others to them. Sometimes this is their own people, but most of the time its captives of the weaker tribes that live on the same continent. Barbarians they may be, they have built cities where their temples seem to be the biggest and most important buildings in them. It would appear they are a theocracy.\n\nThe Iznac so far have been actively hostile towards your people though perhaps wise enough not to attack them outright. Your own people have not made much progress towards the inner part of the new continent due to this fact and they don\u2019t have enough manpower to do so anyway. The only thing they can do is hold up in the newly built outpost and hope they aren\u2019t attacked by an overwhelming number of Iznac (or any other tribe since it isn\u2019t as if the frog like people called the Glip that also inhabit the continent are any friendlier)\n\nYou might be inclined to leave this new continent and its inhabitants alone until you can focus more attention on them, however it\u2019s also been reported that the continent has a seriously unexploited resource potential of valuable minerals and that\u2019s something you could always use more of especially if you\u2019re going to have to fund another war with Nakol in the near future.\n\nThere is also the matter of the orc and kobold population to think about. Both are becoming a problem. The orcs have finally increased their numbers to a point where they can become a viable fighting unit like they were in old days. In fact you planned for that to happen anyway. What you didn\u2019t plan for is that you\u2019d have a period of peace with no major wars to fight! Reports of increased orc criminals or just general chaotic misconduct in Rask are becoming more common. You need to start giving them something to go fight.\n\nThe kobolds aren\u2019t so much of a problem as they tend to live underground and generally stay out of the way due to that fact. But with no war to whittle down their numbers they\u2019re breeding at a rate that\u2019s starting to worry your human subjects. You admit that with as many as the little bastards around they could become a serious threat if they ever became rebellious. Fortunately they\u2019re actually less of a problem than any of your other subjects so you\u2019re actually not worried about them yet.\n\nStill, it seems like a logical solution to start sending large portions of both populations to tame this new continent. Of course if events dictate that you need to war with Nakol soon, then that leaves you with less soldiers on the home front and you\u2019re also fighting a two front war.\n\nThere\u2019s also another factor to consider that the new Eternals will be ready next year. Brenda\u2019s training has ensured that most of them survived and they are already displaying the eagerness to serve the Empire. Elam\u2019s also been working with the gnomes to perfect the automatons.\n\nYou make your decision that with these other factors in play that you\u2019re relatively safe in sending your orcs and kobolds to this new continent. However, you\u2019re going to need disciplined leaders though for this task.\n\nFor the orcs you look for the highest ranked and most respected by his people. The only name that catches your attention when looking through the records is Flog. Flog apparently served most of his military career in Rask fighting ogres, giants and the old barbarian tribes even during the Felkan War. He also served under Kane and was spoken highly of in a few old reports. Kane mentioned that besides Captain Gruz he never encountered an orc almost as intelligent. Apparently he\u2019s been doing a lot of breeding after the Felkan War. He has many children.\n\nAs for kobolds, the records are much sketchier. Kobolds may be loyal and contributing members of Empire society, but none of them really seem to stand out much and if they do, they all died in battle. Plus due to their numbers they probably have many of their kind that could be considered \u201cleaders\u201d within various circles. Eventually you settle on one that distinguished herself during the Tor War. Snilkez\u2019ka managed to take out a manticore all by herself and lead a successful underground sneak attack against a band of minotaurs with only a few casualties. Given the size difference in both cases not to mention that even human officers had problems accomplishing such things, its safe to say that she comes the closest to being a hero among her people. In fact you\u2019re wondering why she was never brought to your attention before.\n\nOf course you can\u2019t just send these two races out on ships to a new continent, which you barely have any control over so you\u2019re going to need at least one company of \u201cnormal\u201d humans to keep a semblance of order or rather someone better than a human.\n\nThe only choice would be Decena. She\u2019s a well-respected leader by all and more than proven herself. While not having Decena immediately available here will be something you\u2019ll have to compensate for, you\u2019ll at least have confidence that she\u2019ll keep things orderly on this new continent.\n\nHaving made your decision you meet up with the three to explain the situation, their reactions are varied.\n\n\u201cFlog will serve all powerful Emperor, but not fooled by intentions. You trying to get rid of orcs again, just like in Felkan War.\u201d Flog says.\n\u201cFlog if I was trying to get rid of the orcs, I\u2019d just have you all strung up and be done with it. I\u2019m sure you\u2019re aware that\u2019s within my power to do so. I\u2019m not even sending all of the orcs anyway, just most of them. I need tough soldiers that can withstand this harsher continent and its equally harsh inhabitants. I already sent humans and you see how well that worked out. Quite frankly I think your people would be best suited for this type of thing. You get to prove just how orcly you actually are. You are an orc aren\u2019t you? Are you not looking forward to the possibility of killing several enemies or dying in a glorious battle?\u201d you say.\n\u201cKilling enemies yes, dying not so much. It is a misconception that orcs deliberately seek death in battle. Flog however is getting old, so death is close anyway. Either death in battle, death by children who will inevitably challenge Flog, or death by old age. The last is the least preferable, so perhaps this will be an opportunity. Not sure about the little scaly runts you\u2019re sending. Never fought along side them before, but Flog has heard of their great viciousness in battle. Also heard many glorious things of General Decena and her many victories. Will be an honor to fight along side her.\u201d\n\nAt this point the kobold leader, Snilkez\u2019ka makes a small hissing growl like sound at Flog, probably due to his runt comment.\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t worry about us orc. Small we may be, but we\u2019ll be here long after the enemy has already butchered your old greenskin ass.\u201d Snilkez\u2019ka remarks, which causes a chuckle from Flog who merely states that perhaps he\u2019ll enjoy fighting alongside her people after all.\n\nSnilkez\u2019ka doesn\u2019t look as amused, but says nothing else other than to directly address you and say that she will make sure that she will bring the fear of the Empire into the hearts of the enemy. You nod and say you know that she will. Always nice to have loyalty and enthusiasm. She\u2019s very well spoken for a kobold.\n\nThe latter one of those traits seems to be lost on your last leader, Decena who isn\u2019t saying anything and only succeeds in looking slightly troubled by her new assignment.\n\n\u201cDecena, is there anything you\u2019d like to say? You\u2019re going to be in charge of this campaign.\u201d You ask.\n\u201cNo. Nothing except I look forward to leading the Empire into victory and claiming this new continent in your name, my Emperor.\u201d\n\nThat sounded very\u2026 formal. Granted that\u2019s a good thing, especially in front of the other two leaders to keep it professional. Still, you know something is wrong and you know it has something to do with your past relationship. If you were the cautious sort you\u2019d just leave it be, but if something is going to be a major problem you need to know now.\n\n\u201cGood, you\u2019ll all be shipping out in about a week. Everyone is dismissed, though I want to speak to you Decena about something.\u201d You say calmly and wait for the other two leave.\n\nNow it\u2019s just you and Decena alone in the room. This hasn\u2019t occurred in years, and this situation is very different. Decena however maintains a very formal stance and does not falter from it.\n\n\u201cI sense something is wrong.\u201d You say.\n\u201cThere is nothing wrong my Emperor.\u201d Decena remarks.\n\u201cOkay stop with the stiff soldier act, it\u2019s just us here.\u201d\n\nThis remark breaks Decena\u2019s facade of being \u201cokay.\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t understand what you want from me my Emperor. You told me we were to remain just subordinate and master. I am carrying out this order to the best of my abilities.\u201d\n\u201cOh no, do not attempt to play word games, you know what I mean. You\u2019re obviously upset about this assignment.\u201d\n\u201c\u2026I\u2019m obeying orders aren\u2019t I? Isn\u2019t that all that is required of me?\u201d Decena says with an exasperated tone.\n\u201cFor you? No. I need you to do more than just obey, I need you to be thrilled with this assignment. Like you USED to be. Remember?\u201d\n\u201cApologies, but I don\u2019t think I can given the situation.\u201d\n\u201cWhat situation? Us? Look Decena I know you\u2019re still upset about that, but you\u2019re going to have to be an Eternal and get over it.\u201d\n\u201cOh yes, I\u2019m an Eternal alright, at least until next year. Might as well sweep me away to a far off land now and be done with it.\u201d Decena remarks.\n\u201cWhat are you talking about?\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m talking about the new Eternals that are scheduled to be ready next year! They\u2019ll be the new thing and I\u2019ll just be old news off in some forsaken land surrounded by scalies and green skinned idiots. In the meantime perhaps you\u2019ll even find another young girl like I was and take her under your guidance too\u2026\u201d\n\u201cDecena\u2026\u201d\n\u201cWell I suppose at least she\u2019ll be happy for a few years even if she\u2019ll be a na\u00efve fool the entire time.\u201d\n\n\u201cDecena STOP! Just stop right now!\u201d you say.\n\nDecena does so, but her eyes say it all. You knew she was probably going to be upset for a while, but it\u2019s turned into bitterness.\n\nYou pace a bit and exhale rubbing your hand over your face.\n\n\u201cDecena, your beliefs that you\u2019re going to be somehow replaced next year are far from the truth. First of all, I\u2019m not giving any of them any extra training because obviously I\u2019m a lousy teacher given what happened between us.\u201d\n\nDecena stays silent.\n\n\u201cSecond of all I picked you for this mission because you\u2019re the only one I trust to carry it out. Just like I trusted you to continue your battles against the Torites and you saw to their practical extinction. I know you can get this job done and you\u2019re not going to be over there forever you know. I anticipate war with the Nakol Kingdom at some point and when that happens who do you think is going to have to lead all the baby eternals into battle? You of course. For now though I need you where you\u2019re going to be the most invaluable and that\u2019s in this new land.\u201d\n\nYou reach out to Decena and lift her face up to look into her eyes.\n\n\u201cI need you for this just like I\u2019m always going to need you. You will never be replaced.\u201d\n\nDecena\u2019s expression turns back to one of sorrow. Her eyes water, but she does not cry out.\n\n\u201cI\u2026I\u2019m sorry my Emperor\u2026I shouldn\u2019t\u2026have\u2026\u201d\n\u201cForget it Decena you don\u2019t need to apologize. (Sigh) If anything I should be apologizing to you. As I said, I still feel you\u2019re the best person for this mission, but if you wish, you may decline this mission and I will find someone else. And there is no need to worry, this will not be a bad reflection on you in any way. If it\u2019s going to make you happier to stay here, then I\u2019d rather you be happy since it\u2019ll make you a better leader. Won\u2019t do anyone any good if you don\u2019t have the best mindset.\u201d\n\nDecena shakes her head.\n\n\u201cNo, I\u2019ll go. For the good of the Empire I\u2019ll go. Staying here would serve no purpose for what I really want is not to be no matter what the situation. I suppose I just overreacted. And you weren\u2019t a lousy teacher. Anyone would be lucky to learn under you. I was.\u201d Decena says.\n\u201cYes, well as I said, nobody ever will again. You were my first and last pupil. You\u2019ll always be special in that regard. Now are you absolutely sure, you\u2019re going to be okay with this assignment?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cI will my Emperor. And I will bring glory to the Empire.\u201d Decena remarks.\n\u201cGood. I knew you were strong enough to see this through and I know you\u2019ll do the Empire and me proud.\u201d\n\nYou end you comment with a small kiss to her cheek. It\u2019s only a shadow of what she really desires, but it\u2019ll be enough to get her through this.\n\nAfter Decena leaves, you think about how you\u2019ve permanently damaged that girl due to your poor judgment and lack of willpower all those years ago. You then think about how easy it is to convince her into anything due to that same lack of willpower years ago. She still worships and loves you and probably always will no matter what. Despite everything, your conditioning was successful.\n\nBy the end of the week your fleet to the new continent (you\u2019re calling it Nyttrus) is on its way to properly claim it for the Empire. You don\u2019t know how long the Iznac are going to be able to stand up against your forces, but hopefully if your people break them, the other tribes will fall in line.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 52\n\n\u201cThe Sorcerer King still wants to meet with you my Emperor, he says he really wants to visit Empire lands and wishes to reassure you that there doesn\u2019t need to be any increasing animosity between the two nations.\u201d Kivan says.\n\u201c(Sigh) Again? That\u2019s what like the sixth letter he\u2019s sent? Never have I known a leader whose country isn\u2019t on the verge of destruction so eager to be friends. And even when said countries have been on that verge of destruction some have preferred death over surrender. Makes me suspicious of him on general principle.\u201d You say.\n\u201cYes, I can see where you would be apprehensive my Emperor. Nevertheless I believe you should at least give a response this time rather than ignoring him. Uh, just a suggestion though. You may of course do what you wish as is your will.\u201d\n\nKivan\u2019s right in that you probably should respond; it\u2019s been long enough. You just wonder if its time to respond with force. The time is starting to feel right. The new Eternals are finally done with their training and are eager to be given their purpose. Elam and the gnomes have just finished working on their new inventions. It would seem now would be as good as time as any to strike. It\u2019s just unfortunate that Decena is still in Nyttrus since you could use her here.\n\nHowever you\u2019re still somewhat intrigued by this Sorcerer King who also claims \u201cimmortality\u201d in his official title.\n\nYou wonder if he is like Casimir in some way. Perhaps another necromancer from Mortos? You haven\u2019t thought about it for a while, but age is starting to catch up to you. While you\u2019re still fit and stronger than the average person your age, you\u2019re starting to feel the aches at times. The idea of \u201cimmortality\u201d is starting to appeal to you especially considering you\u2019ve accomplished so much. Are you to just lose it all due to the ravages of old age? You don\u2019t even have the benefit of a long life span, you might be a powerful wizard in your own right and you might be more than human, but when it comes down to it, you\u2019re going to have much limited life span than Casimir did.\n\nOf course he most certainly won\u2019t be forth coming with any such secret to extending one\u2019s life span, but maybe you can at the very least get a good idea of who you\u2019re dealing with. (And it may just be a \u201cboastful\u201d title anyway and he\u2019s not actually immortal which would be good to know as well)\n\n\u201cKivan, let the sorcerer king know that I\u2019ll be making arrangements to meet with him and allowing him safe passage to visit, but there are going to be some stipulations\u2026\u201d\n\nBasically you tell the sorcerer king that he can bring some of his personal guard, as well as whatever belongings he feels is necessary.\n\nThe sorcerer king returns your message with a gleeful acceptance and states that he wishes to come by ship within the week and dock at your biggest port in Nalin, from there he will meet you and you can travel to the capital together. You return that message and state that will be fine.\n\nWith this meeting underway you get things prepared for extra defense. Naturally Warrick and the Eyes work hard to make sure everything vital is extra secured, but you also have Galen and what few mages remain posted in various areas to act as magic monitors since your visitor is supposed to be a powerful wizard and all.\n\nTo be quite honest you aren\u2019t sure what to expect yourself, as you have no real knowledge of the man or what he\u2019s capable of save for rumors. You spend some time honing your own spell abilities just in case.\n\nOn the day of the arrival, you have Brenda and Warrick (And several soldiers) accompany you near the docks in the Nalin city of Pivod. It\u2019s probably the first time all three of you have been together since the new eternals completed their training.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m surprised you\u2019re agreeing to this meeting. When the new Eternals were done with their training last year I thought for sure we\u2019d be going to war with Nakol soon.\u201d Brenda remarks.\n\u201cI probably would have, but Nakol isn\u2019t going to be an easy conquest. It\u2019s going to be costly. I wanted to make sure we had that extra resource influx and gold income coming from Nyttrus. Plus the gnomes were working on their new inventions, which would contribute greatly to an upcoming war effort. Thought it might be best to wait until we had all our forces brought to the table. This meeting though, well might as well get a good idea of who we\u2019ll be dealing with.\u201d\n\u201cBut won\u2019t he be doing the same thing?\u201d\n\u201cTrue, but it hardly matters. He\u2019s not going to have access to anything sensitive. All that stuff is in New Dessel. He already knows he\u2019s potentially facing a losing situation. The fact remains that even if the war was costly for us, we\u2019d still win. He may be a wizard of great power. Perhaps even as great as the old Emperor, but there is nothing implying that the rest of his nation is anything else than average at best. As I\u2019ve heard, he\u2019s the only wizard he even allows in his nation. Smart in some ways I suppose as it prevents anyone else from becoming as powerful as him, but it cripples his resources in the long run and displays to me a man who is very fearful of losing his advantage. They\u2019ve only just recently created their own gunpowder weapons. They have no airships, they have nothing like any of our technological wonders.\u201d\n\u201cHrm, what about their fleet?\u201d Warrick says and points to a large ship approaching which can only be the Sorcerer King. It is much bigger than the sea going ships you have. Even the ones you sent to Nyttrus weren\u2019t as large. This \u201cKing\u2019s Ship\u201d is ridiculous. You don\u2019t think it\u2019s going to fit in the damn harbor.\n\nAs it gets closer, the ship is also well armed with cannons, but also lavishly decorated. You don\u2019t really see the point in decorating a ship, which is obviously designed with war in mind. Then again you\u2019ve also heard of how Nakol tends to place visual aesthetics over practical ones most of the time. Truly a sign of frivolousness and decadence.\n\nFortunately the giant ship manages to dock without destroying them and the gangplank lowers. You can\u2019t even see who is aboard the ship due to its great height, but a fancy dressed individual walks down with two trumpeters behind him.\n\n\u201cAnd now it is your privledge and honor to receive the Immortal Sorcerer King of the Great Nation of Nakol and all his glory!\u201d the man shouts and the trumpeters begin to play.\n\nA line of people begins to march down the plank. First it\u2019s the guards who are dressed in some sort of ceremonial armor that is obviously for show. Then some other people come down. They don\u2019t look like soldiers or even advisors, they\u2019re barely dressed and they consist of young males and females. They even down a little dance in front of the lot of you.\n\n\u201cWhat the hell? Who are all these people?\u201d Warrick asks.\n\u201cIf I had to guess, probably some sort of pleasure girls and boys.\u201d You say.\n\u201cI thought you told him to keep his entourage light?\u201d Brenda asks.\n\u201cI did, but as you can see, the fool has got to have his fun. The man himself better come out soon, because I\u2019m not waiting around here for my health.\u201d\n\nSure enough right after you make that statement a figure appears at the edge of the ship. He\u2019s a swarthy man wearing a very luxurious looking robe and a crown encrusted with jewels. A pair of servants hold his robe as he makes his way down the plank.\n\nHe certainly carries an air of self-importance and royalty about him. When he approaches, you get a closer look at him. You imagine that he has to be at least as old or maybe even older than you, but his face does not display any signs of age. The only outwardly strange thing about him is that his eyes are an odd purple color. He may or may not be immortal, but he\u2019s certainly using some sort of magic to make himself look young.\n\nAnd here you are looking almost the exact opposite. You\u2019re wearing practical armor, have a sword hanging by your side and absolutely no frills. When you and the Sorcerer King finally come face to face, he looks you up and down in a way that almost implies he\u2019s attracted to you.\n\n\u201cWell, Emperor of the East at last we meet. So stoic and rugged! I heard that about you. I like it. Not my taste, but I believe it works for you. And my, look at all your little soldiers set out just for my arrival. I also detect a few\u2026yes three mages in the nearby area. Guess you want to make sure I don\u2019t secretly cast any aggressive spells eh? Smart. I\u2019m flattered that you believe me so dangerous, but all of this was hardly necessary, as I said I only wish for peace between our two nations.\u201d The Sorcerer King says while using a lot of flamboyant hand gestures.\n\nHe hasn\u2019t been here a few seconds and already he\u2019s starting to irritate you.\n\n\u201cYes, well we\u2019ll speak on that later, right now you\u2019re going to have all your little concubines and some of your soldiers to get right back aboard that ship. I told you that you could have a personal guard not a small company and a few personal belongings.\u201d You say.\n\u201cBut these lovelies ARE my personal belongings. Was I wrong in believing that the Empire does not engage in such institutions?\u201d the sorcerer king asks holding on to one of his young male \u201cbelongings.\u201d\n\u201cIf you\u2019re referring to slavery, we\u2019ve reserved it to criminal scum and prisoners of war nowadays as punishment for defying or insulting the Empire with their dissention or outright hostility. In any case I\u2019m not having extra people running around and having to worry about them being a security risk, they stay on board your ship.\u201d\n\nThe Sorcerer King frowns a bit.\n\n\u201c(Sigh) Very well I understand your concerns for security, but I must say you\u2019re being a terribly dull and inflexible host right now. What about my two closest servants? Surely you would not deny me them?\u201d\n\u201cYou are seriously testing my already uncharacteristic hospitality. (Sigh) Fine, you can have your two robe carriers, or whatever they are to you.\u201d\n\u201cWell I thank you for your permissiveness in this regard.\u201d\n\nAt this point the Sorcerer King tells most of his people to get back on the ship and reassuring them that he\u2019ll make it up to all of them later. You on the other hand tell Warrick that you want that ship closely watched and if anyone is seen trying to exit it, they\u2019re to be shot immediately. Both Warrick and Brenda leave your company to attend to their other duties. No reason for all of you to suffer this fop.\n\nWhat transpires for the rest of the day is putting up with the Sorcerer King\u2019s annoying demeanor. He speaks and acts in a way that you dislike intensely. The man only seems to primarily discuss his sexual habits and you have to keep the conversation back on topic many times.\n\nDespite his evasiveness (or rather his obsession with his sex life) you do manage to get something out of him. He says that he\u2019s never been to the \u201cmythical\u201d Island of Mortos having lived in Nakol all his life. (After you mention a bit about it, he says it sounds like an awful place that he hopes to never set foot on) He also admits that he knows the Empire is much stronger than his own nation, but still hopes that it doesn\u2019t come to war as he claims he\u2019s a lover not a fighter. He even says he\u2019s willing to work out some sort of agreement as long as he can stay in power of Nakol.\n\n\u201cPerhaps, if we paid some sort of tribute? I heard that you worked out a similar agreement with what are those adorable little mustached men that build all sorts of strange gadgets? Oh yes, the gnomes.\u201d The sorcerer king says.\n\u201cHrmm. Well one thing you need to take into consideration. New Dessel is a single city. Granted it\u2019s a mountain, but its still a single location that we keep a very close eye on. There is also the fact that there aren\u2019t many of them. However the most important thing in their favor is that they have a useful trade that contributes to the Empire greatly. Great enough that I\u2019m willing to let them have a little extra autonomy.\u201d\n\nThe Sorcerer King listens with apprehension, as he knows you\u2019re going to now explain why you\u2019re less willing to make the same deal with Nakol.\n\n\u201cNakol on the other hand is a very large nation with a very large population. Call me paranoid, but I\u2019m far from comfortable from giving something that much freedom. And your nation despite being large offers nothing really save for your resources, territory and obviously fat treasury. And I\u2019d rather have those without having to ask at all. Face it, this is beginning of the end for Nakol independence. However there is one thing that stands out that would at least save your own skin and let you keep your position in this upcoming new order.\u201d\n\u201cOh? And what is that?\u201d\n\u201cYour immortality, well at least your supposed immortality. I have my doubts. I imagine the only way to truly test such a thing would be to well\u2026kill you.\u201d\n\nWith a few eye glances to your own soldiers and a couple of swift punches and kicks, you get the sorcerer king to the floor and hold your dagger to his throat. His personal guard are slaughtered and two Eyes hold the sorcerer king\u2019s arms just in case he tries to cast a spell.\n\n\u201cUtter anything that remotely sounds like an incantation and your tongue is the first thing I cut off.\u201d You say.\n\u201cStop! Stop! Please don\u2019t kill me!\u201d the sorcerer king exclaims.\n\u201cThe fear on you is overwhelming. You\u2019re not immortal. Guess I have just been wasting my time\u2026\u201d you say.\n\u201cNo! Wait! (gasp) Maybe (wheeze) I\u2019m not immortal, but I do have knowledge of obscure arts that can keep you young! I mean surely that must be worth something?\u201d\n\nYou relax your blade a bit.\n\n\u201cSpeak quickly sorcerer.\u201d\n\u201cThank you. (Whew) Yes, it\u2019s true that I do not have proper immortality, but I do have eternal youth and what commoners really know the difference right? It\u2019s a very complex ritual though. The type of magic involved hasn\u2019t been practiced in who knows when. When I was genuinely a younger man a century ago, and first found the scrolls in some forgotten cave I only half believed of the power they would bring. I nearly died in the process and I paid a price, but it was worth it as you can see the results.\u201d\n\nYou\u2019re still a little leery\u2026\n\n\u201cPlease! I\u2019m telling the truth! Look, we can perform the ritual right here if you want! I can tell you what to do and get, but we\u2019re still going to have to wait until tomorrow at least since the ritual must be done at a certain time of night and that time has currently past unfortunately.\u201d\n\u201cAll right, you\u2019ve bought yourself a little time, but I\u2019m not going into this blind. Tomorrow you are going to tell me EVERYTHING about this ritual and the price you had to pay, because let\u2019s just say I\u2019m not a stranger to complex rituals and the repercussions involved.\u201d\n\nYou have the sorcerer king shown to his room. You also have him bound, gagged AND watched by several Eyes and a couple of mages. You are not taking any chances.\n\nYou don\u2019t get to sleep that night in your own room; you\u2019re still pondering what this eternal youth ritual might entail. Casimir knew something similar to it, but that was due to necromantic magic and that obviously still had its limits. This apparently is different, you wonder how though.\n\n\u201cMmm, there he is, my ambitious little Eternal desperately trying to unlock the secret to immortality so that he may truly live up to his name. If you wanted to know so bad, you should\u2019ve just asked mommy.\u201d You hear a voice say behind you, which causes you to freeze.\n\nIt\u2019s Semra, and she\u2019s in your room.\n\nThis isn\u2019t an \u201cillusion\u201d either. You know it isn\u2019t because you just felt her hot breath in your ear followed by a gentle lick.\n\nHow she managed to actually sneak in here is irrelevant. You\u2019re in an unsafe position and you can only imagine that this has something to do with the sorcerer king. This whole visit might finally be showing its true colors\u2026", "action_results": [{"action": "Attack quickly", "result": "You\u2019ve got one chance\u2026\n\nYou move your slam the back of your head into Semra\u2019s face. You\u2019re fairly certain you at least hurt the side of her face even if you didn\u2019t manage to break her nose.\n\nYou pull out your dagger and attempt to follow up your attack, but Semra has already jumped back out of your reach.\n\n\u201cForeplay is it? Okay then!\u201d Semra says and pulls out her own weapon.\n\nThe pair of you clash which results in several light scratches and superficial wounds for both of you all within the course of a few minutes. Semra is playing with you, but you\u2019re not playing anymore, and the next time you\u2019re able, you cast a lightning bolt at her, though she blocks it with her own magic field.\n\n\u201cEnough! I\u2019m not here to kill you, you id\u2026\u201d Semra starts to say, but you\u2019re done listening to her and press forward with another attack. Semra casts a holding spell at you in attempt to stop your advance, but you\u2019re not a sixteen-year-old apprentice anymore. You feel the affects and it slows you down, but with your own magic you shake off the affects and tackle Semra to the floor.\n\n\u201cNice to see you\u2019ve learned, but you still don\u2019t know shit compared to me!\u201d Semra exclaims and she drops her guard completely which results in you stabbing her in the stomach, however she puts her hands to her mouth and with a blowing motion some sort of gas emanates and you are hit directly in the face with it.\u201d\n\nPoisonous gas always has been something you\u2019ve been a little susceptible to, even if the poison itself isn\u2019t enough to kill you, it\u2019s still enough to cause you discomfort and gag. This is no exception, but it\u2019s a little worse this time.\n\nYou roll off of Semra gagging. You start coughing up blood, though you can\u2019t see that you are, because the gas has completely blinded you. In between the coughing you go back to trying to grab at Semra who is having her own problems with a dagger in her stomach.\n\n\u201cLet me go you fucking crazy\u2026\u201d Semra starts to say, but your wild swings and grabs connect with her mouth, unfortunately this also results in a bite from her. You manage to avoid losing a couple of fingers completely by blindly (and luckily) connecting your other fist with her face. You\u2019re blind and still having breathing difficulties but you manage to wrap your hands around Semra\u2019s neck.\n\n\u201cGet OFF of me!\u201d Semra says and you feel a burning heat engulf your head. You scream and futilely try to beat the flames out that are now destroying your face.\n\n\u201cAnd I\u2019m sure that will have alerted the guards.\u201d You hear Semra say as she manages to crawl away from you at last.\n\n\u201cI came here to fucking help you! As I ALWAYS do! (Sigh) Fuck\u2026my stom\u2026(groan) y\u2019know what? I\u2019m done with trying to help you, you\u2019ve never been grateful and I can see you never will be. You\u2019ll always be short sighted and never learn from your mistakes. I can do this without your help and you wouldn\u2019t be much good in your current condition anyway. Might as well carry out Mortimer\u2019s original assignment. Hope that effeminate little fop has gotten away by now.\u201d\n\n\nYou are still howling in pain and making incoherent groans, but you try to focus on healing yourself. It isn\u2019t to be however. Healing such grievous wounds would take time and that isn\u2019t time you have right now.\n\nSemra finishes you off by giving her dagger back to you, which results in it going through your neck.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Slowly talk your way out", "result": "As crazy as it is to believe, if Semra\u2019s actually here then it might not be an entirely bad thing. So far she\u2019s always attempted to help you, and you imagine if she really wanted to kill you, you wouldn\u2019t have heard a thing.\n\n\u201cSemra. why am I not entirely surprised to find out you\u2019re somehow mixed up in this?\u201d you say not turning your head.\n\u201cBecause while you may be a fool obsessed conquest and order, you\u2019re not an idiot.\u201d\n\u201cObsessed eh? And what would you call your being here?\u201d\n\u201cA mother\u2019s concern\u2026mmmm\u201d Semra says as both of her hands rub your chest. Her face is now side by side yours and you feel a small kiss on your cheek.\n\n\u201cDo you know how fucked up you sound whenever you address us as mother and son?\u201d\n\u201cOh you know you like it. I trust by the fact that you have not immediately attacked and that you\u2019re actually enjoying my company that you\u2019re willing to hear me out?\u201d\n\u201cI wouldn\u2019t say I\u2019m actually enjoying your company, but you did come all this way\u2026you might as well speak your piece while I\u2019m in a diplomatic mood.\u201d You respond and slowly turn around at which point Semra backs away.\n\n\u201cSo was your clumsy plan always to invite Mortimer and kill him thus chopping off the head of the Nakol Kingdom immediately, or were you actually trying to learn how he became infamously immortal?\u201d Semra asks.\n\u201cMortimer?\u201d\n\u201cYes, you know the lurid little king that you have captive right now? His real name is Mortimer Fudwick. Sounds almost like one of those silly gnome names doesn\u2019t it? If you thought he was annoying within the short time you spent with him, just think if you had to listen to the shit on a regular basis as his advisor.\u201d\n\nAdvisor. Well this is starting to make some more sense.\n\n\u201cSo is that where you\u2019ve been all this time? Hiding out in the Nakol Kingdom as the sorc\u2026as Mortimer\u2019s advisor?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cI wouldn\u2019t say I\u2019ve been hiding. I\u2019ve merely been securing my future. I\u2019ll admit it\u2019s not been easy and Mortimer\u2019s ongoing sexual talk has long since gotten past the point of being boring. He\u2019s not nearly as good as he thinks he is\u2026\u201d\n\nThis last implication shouldn\u2019t surprise you but that twisted part of you that apparently still hasn\u2019t disappeared completely nearly causes you to say something. You manage to stop yourself, however Semra smiles at your momentary lapse in stoicism.\n\n\u201cWhy\u2026you\u2019re jealous!\u201d Semra says nearly laughing.\n\u201cNo I\u2019m not. You\u2019re being delusional again.\u201d You say trying to maintain your calm demeanor.\n\u201cDeny it all you want, I know the truth. See, I KNEW I would ALWAYS be the only real woman for you. You never forget your first eh? Don\u2019t worry, no matter how many times I lay with that effeminate fop he\u2019ll never be anything the man you are.\u201d Semra says totally enjoying this situation.\n\u201cI don\u2019t need your reassurance to tell me that, what I was going to say is that I\u2019m a little surprised that a proud svelk woman like yourself has resorted to thinly veiled whoredom for survival. To a monkey no less.\u201d\n\u201cLook, if this is really bothering you, we can always go discuss this on your bed over there. Doesn\u2019t look like it\u2019s been used in years and I\u2019m sure despite your age you could still give it to me in a way that only you can\u2026\u201d\n\u201cSemra, will you get to the fucking point of your visit, before I stop entertaining the idea that you aren\u2019t a complete fucking selfish backstabbing bitch who ultimately only looks out for her own best interests?\u201d you say in a raised tone of voice.\n\nSemra chuckles a bit at your outburst.\n\n\u201cOh I did miss that anger of yours. Sexy. That passion. That hate that bubbles underneath. Mortimer has none of that. His demon does, but he\u2019s rather useless in the physical aspect due to being trapped in a crystal and all.\n\u201cOkay I heard the word demon. Let\u2019s focus on that.\u201d\n\u201c(Sigh) Very well, to business\u2026\u201d\n\nSemra goes on to explain that Mortimer\u2019s reign over the Nakol Kingdom solely hinges on a deal he made with a demon named Zelvix over a century ago. He got youth, power, magic abilities and all the sex he could ever want in exchange for his soul. However Morty wasn\u2019t a complete fool, he managed to trap the demon in a crystal prison of some sort which has made the deal unable to be completed properly which now has made Mortimer \u201csemi-immortal\u201d. Now the demon just sits biding its time, waiting for the day it\u2019s released or when Mortimer actually dies so it can claim what it was owed.\n\n\u201cSo basically what you\u2019re telling me is that Mortimer doesn\u2019t know shit about eternal youth let alone immortality other than what this demon gave him.\u201d You say.\n\u201cBasically.\u201d\n\u201cKnew it was too good to be true.\u201d You say and get your sword.\n\u201cWhat\u2019re you doing?\u201d\n\u201cWell there\u2019s no point in keeping him alive no is there? Might as well go ahead and be done with it\u2026\u201d\n\u201cWait! That\u2019s another thing I wanted to talk to you about! You can\u2019t just kill him, I mean you could, but it would be extremely\u2026bad. Killing Mortimer is also going to release Zelvix and trust me, you don\u2019t want to do that, he\u2019s a demon lord of great power.\u201d\n\u201cIf he\u2019s so great how the hell did he get tricked by some hedge wizard?\u201d\n\u201cProbably due to typical arrogance like all of his kind. Look I\u2019m just telling you that it\u2019s not going to be a simple matter of just cutting his head off. If it was, I would\u2019ve done it years ago on general principle of being a bad lay. You go in and kill him now and it\u2019s going to be bad in the long term not just for you, but for the entire world.\u201d\n\u201cThe world? Aren\u2019t you being just a little overly dramatic? And since when are you so altruistic?\u201d\n\u201cSince unleashing a demon army would not be in my best interest that\u2019s why. Contrary to popular belief, we svelk aren\u2019t all looking to see the world burn, but that\u2019s definitely what will happen if you kill Mortimer. Personally I was trying to find a way to banish the demon, I think I might be on the right path, but it\u2019s going to take a few decades still I think.\u201d\n\u201cA few decades? Fuck that, I\u2019m not waiting that long and I know you\u2019re not telling me the entire truth anyway; you\u2019ve got another angle in this. Now get the hell out of my way before I forget that you\u2019re actually an enemy of mine.\u201d\n\u201c(Sigh) Fine. You know, usually as people get older they learn to become more patient. I can see though your growing fixation on living long enough to conquer the world is becoming a major flaw. Of course what else do you really have right? You have no master any longer. You have no significant other. You can\u2019t have children. You have nothing except your Empire, which will undoubtedly fall soon after you die and you KNOW it. So you\u2019re now starting to seek out a way to conquer death. You\u2019re getting more like Casimir everyday. Congratulations, you are your father\u2019s son.\u201d\n\u201cI don\u2019t fear death Semra, never have.\u201d\n\u201cNever said you did, I taught you not to. I believe though\u2026bah nevermind. Further discussion on this subject would be wasted on you. Go then, kill little pathetic Mortimer. Perhaps if you\u2019re lucky when the demon army is unleashed by Zelvix and eventually overruns the world, you will get that warrior\u2019s death rather than the old man in bed death where you are decrepit lying in your own filth and too weak to even lift yourself up.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou done?\u201d you ask as you advance towards the door and Semra with sword in hand.\n\n\u201cJust one more thing. I hope you remember this day as one of the many that I could\u2019ve killed you and didn\u2019t. Mortimer wanted me to assassinate you, you know. Now I\u2019ll take my leave. Until next time lover.\u201d Semra says and disappears. You still hear the faint patter of footsteps so you figure she\u2019s only turned invisible rather than some sort of teleportation. You call for soldiers, Eyes, mages and whoever else who will listen, since you have a feeling Mortimer\u2019s escaped.\n\nWhen you enter the cell he was being held in, you find the Eyes and mages that were watching him burned from the inside out. You\u2019re not sure how he did it without other soldiers and such being alerted and him being bound and gagged, but Mortimer\u2019s obviously escaped and Semra was running interference for him while he did so.\n\nSeveral of your soldiers and others begin apologizing for not knowing what had occurred, but you wave them all away saying that you\u2019re not angry at anyone. When they ask if you want a general search and alarm sounded you decline.\n\n\u201cNo. There would be no point, however I\u2019m fairly certain that he\u2019ll be leaving his ship behind. Sightmaster Warrick is probably still in the area having it watched. Someone go inform him to have everyone killed aboard and start having it refitted according to Empire standards.\u201d\n\nJust as you\u2019re finished giving that order, your advisor Kivan has arrived in a hurried fashion.\n\n\u201cEmperor, I just heard! Are you okay? Has the Sorcerer King really escaped?\u201d\n\u201cEscaped, is a relative term, Kivan. Let\u2019s just say he\u2019s temporarily eluded my immediate clutches. If his situation is anything like I was just told, he\u2019s got bigger problems than the likes of me. In any case, we\u2019re officially at war with the Kingdom of Nakol now.\u201d\n\u201cI see\u2026is there anything you need right now?\u201d\n\nYou briefly think for a moment.\n\nThe only thing that comes to mind is getting your best general back to Evigrus. Decena from what you know has more or less pushed back the Iznac and at least established a good foothold on the continent where your people aren\u2019t on the verge of being annihilated. Flog and Snilkez\u2019ka will still be there along with whoever is Decena\u2019s second.\n\nOf course you\u2019ve been regularly receiving much needed resources and riches from Nyttrus thanks to Decena\u2019s presence there. You don\u2019t necessarily worry that the Iznac are going to suddenly be a problem due to her not being around, you\u2019re just a little concerned that without a strong leadership presence, the orcs are going to run wild and fuck up the regular shipments or disregard them altogether. And you can\u2019t afford for that to happen if you\u2019re going to be going to war with Nakol.", "action_results": [{"action": "Keep Decena in Nyttrus", "result": "Decena might be a good general, but without the extra resources from Nyttrus, your war machine efforts are not going to run as smoothly. You need her to keep on top of things there.\n\nWhich means you\u2019ll be leading the new Eternals into battle and that\u2019s fine by you.\n\nYou don\u2019t waste any time getting the rest of your plans underway. You figure a four-pronged attack will work suitably for the initial assault.\n\nYou have your fleet attack south Nakol from the sea and land troops there. You have the rest of your airships fly over the mountain range and bombard northern Nakol. Your kobold forces can dig under the large mountain range as usual. Finally you have the majority of your forces march through the mountain passes. You\u2019ll hold back your Eternals until the passes are completely under your control and no longer contested. It would probably be best to \u201ctest\u201d the Nakol defenses located in the pass choke points anyway.\n\nThis is going to be a bit different from the conflicts in the past, your armies aren\u2019t going to be relying on any magic support at all. What few mages you have left are either overseeing the next Eternal tanks or are part of the Eyes now (Aside from the ones that Mortimer killed recently). You don\u2019t know just exactly how powerful Mortimer\u2019s own magic is, but you do know he\u2019s the only wizard in his kingdom so you\u2019re not anticipating any problems, if technology has proven anything its that the lowliest unskilled peasant can figure it out and use it with great efficiency. A sign of the times you suppose.\n\nIn any case you have no doubt that when the time comes, it\u2019ll probably be up to you personally to take down Mortimer in a magic showdown and if Semra is in your way then you\u2019ll deal with her as well.\n\nA few months pass and just as you figured, Mortimer does have other tricks up his sleeve to make the invasion go a lot more difficult. You don\u2019t know if he always had an agreement with them or perhaps they\u2019re just siding with him out of spite, but the satyr and harpy clan survivors that fled to the Nakol mountains after the Tor War rear their ugly head again. This mainly involves their usual ambush tactics in the various mountain passes, but apparently there are still enough of the harpies to mount full assaults on your airships.\n\nApparently Mortimer doesn\u2019t have a problem with their mages either since they still have a few left and they\u2019re using their elemental magic to a great degree causing rockslides in the mountain passes, strong damaging winds against your airships and even violent tidal waves against your fleet. You don\u2019t remember them having quite that much magical strength before so you imagine Mortimer must be enhancing their abilities with his own.\n\nThere are also reports of svelk mercenaries among the normal Nakol army. You knew that not ALL of them threw in their lot with Eldolith. These must be the ones that followed Semra. Well you can finish that job too.\n\nAll of this might not be a problem if you weren\u2019t suddenly experiencing a problem that you thought you wouldn\u2019t be experiencing. There\u2019s been a slow down in the shipments of resources from Nyttrus, meaning they\u2019ve stopped completely. You also haven\u2019t received any letters from Decena either. No ships have come back from Nyttrus at all and you don\u2019t know why. The only answer you can come to the conclusion to though is that the Iznac have completely overrun your forces on Nyttrus, or have at least destroyed all your ships sent there.\n\nIt\u2019s a worrying enough thought that you think that maybe you\u2019ll need to go there yourself to handle it, but that\u2019s problematic due to your conflict with the Nakol Kingdom and you feel like victory will be close at hand.\n\nThe alternative of course is to send someone else to Nyttrus who you really feel will get the job done. The only who comes to mind is Warrick and he\u2019ll have to take his own contingent of Eyes with him. That of course means less of them overseeing the Empire, but that might be what has to be done because you\u2019re in the middle of putting an end to a potentially dangerous foe on your own continent and you can\u2019t drop that to go do something else.\n\nYou do however; take a temporary leave from the field to speak with Warrick who is more than happy to help.\n\n\u201cI was wondering when we were going to look into that. Do you think Decena has been killed?\u201d\n\u201cIt\u2019s a very real possibility and it would indeed be a loss, but I can\u2019t imagine that the Iznac could\u2019ve just wiped out all of our forces there. I mean the last letter I got from Decena was a fairly positive one. Said we had just destroyed another Iznac town and the kobolds were already in the process of digging their way into another one. I mean its possible the Iznac had their own tricks we didn\u2019t know about, it seems very strange and concerning that we\u2019ve heard nothing at all and even the couple of ships that were sent a few months ago have not returned. Somebody is deliberately making sure nobody leaves Nyttrus.\u201d\n\u201cCan\u2019t we send an airship?\u201d Warrick asks.\n\u201cStill don\u2019t have the long range capabilities to travel to Nyttrus, though the gnomes and Elam are still working on that. So we\u2019re still using boats for now. What I want from you though is to find out what exactly the hell is going on over there. Solve the problem if necessary, but if it really looks bad, then don\u2019t risk it and return home as soon as possible. No good in losing you as well.\u201d\n\u201cUnderstood, I\u2019ll take mage support and I\u2019ll have my second, Kristopher, fully prepared to take care of things while I\u2019m gone. And once again I\u2019m honored you\u2019ve chosen me for this task.\u201d Warrick says.\n\nIn a few days Warrick is on his way to Nyttrus and you\u2019re already anxious to hear what is going on over there. Lacking anything else to do, you return to your war with the Nakol Kingdom.\n\nA few more months pass and you finally receive news and it\u2019s definitely not the good kind.\n\nWarrick manages to return in a small rowboat, half dead from dehydration and malnutrition, but also from whatever his experience on Nyttrus was, fortunately he\u2019s not so far gone that he isn\u2019t able to tell you after he\u2019s taken care of a bit.\n\nLater you speak with Warrick privately and in a relaxed setting.\n\nHe tells you that the situation is worse than you thought. It isn\u2019t the Iznac that are the problem, or at least they aren\u2019t the major problem anymore. It\u2019s Decena. She\u2019s gone rogue. Warrick says he doesn\u2019t know all the details of how this came to be, but he believes that the Iznac had something to do with it, possibly with magic, but it sort of backfired on them.\n\nDecena\u2019s turned herself into a \u201cqueen\u201d over there and has not only the remaining orc and kobold forces still under her command, but even has some of the Glip and Iznac following her as well. She\u2019s actually still fighting the \u201cloyalist\u201d Iznac hold outs that aren\u2019t accepting her leadership. In any case, she\u2019s not acting under the orders of the Empire any more and has declared herself independent.\n\nHe then goes on to say how they were attacked nearly immediately after they disembarked from the ship. He says that probably should\u2019ve turned back when it was realized that the Empire had lost complete control of Nyttrus to the point that it no longer even had a friendly harbor, but he wanted to do some more investigating.\n\nHe mentions he only managed to escape after weeks of ongoing torture. The scars (and a couple of missing fingers) prove that.\n\n\u201cLooks like I didn\u2019t get to solve the problem, Emperor.\u201d Warrick says.\n\u201cI\u2019m just glad you made it back to explain what the problem was exactly. We can take of it later\u2026(Sigh) Shit\u2026 I guess I shouldn\u2019t have sent Decena there after all. She didn\u2019t really want to go in the first place, she only wanted to be close to home. Honestly she probably would\u2019ve been a lot more useful here as well. I just didn\u2019t think that\u2026tell me Warrick, you have seen here correct? Is she truly gone?\u201d\n\u201cI have seen her. But I do not think this entirely due to magic. I mean perhaps the Iznac magic caused a change in her, but whenever I was in her presence, it felt like\u2026well more was in play.\u201d\n\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d\n\u201cHer attitude was all her own. Her actions were all here own. Her curses about you and the Empire were all her own. I mean keeping the orcs under her command after splitting from the Empire? That doesn\u2019t surprise me, the greenskins will take any opportunity to split away. Keeping the kobolds under her command? Now that probably took some doing. We both know how loyal the little scalies are when they respect a strong leader greatly. It\u2019s just unfortunate for the Empire that she managed to convince them somehow that she was greater than you. I can only guess the fact that they fought side by side with her for so long helped. Well that and the fact that I didn\u2019t see Snilkez\u2019ka around. She probably killed her long ago to prove a point.\u201d\n\nWarrick continues.\n\n\u201cThe orcs and even the kobolds are not surprising, but the Glip and especially some of the Iznac themselves? Now that is what surprised me. Neither group were even willing to work with us before, yet Decena managed to recruit entire villages into helping her. I doubt if whatever Iznac magic was cast on her was supposed to make her into a ruler of their own people. This is all her. She has a confidence now that exceeds what she had before.\u201d\n\u201cShe has an arrogance now you mean, if she believes she can take me on. After I\u2019m done with putting the Nakol Kingdom out its misery, I\u2019ll be paying a visit to Decena and she\u2019ll regret her decision to become a traitor.\u201d You say.\n\u201cI don\u2019t think she will. Despite her curses at you, I believe deep down she still can\u2019t face you.\u201d\n\u201cWell she isn\u2019t going to have a choice if I personally get a hold of her, but what do you mean?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cWell isn\u2019t it obvious?\u201d Warrick asks.\n\nAt first you don\u2019t understand his question, but then comes the split moment you understand all too well\u2026\n\nBut you don\u2019t react in time since your guard was entirely down in the company of an old comrade in arms who has shown nothing but loyalty up until this point. Perhaps the same Iznac magic is in play here, but it hardly matters.\n\nWarrick suddenly pulls his pistol and shoots you in the chest twice, before you can react. You aren\u2019t dead yet, but you\u2019re down and struggling to breath. You try to hit Warrick with a flame bolt, but he\u2019s still quick enough to dodge as he runs over to you.\n\n\u201cShe still loves you\u2026that\u2019s why she sent me! Long live the new regime!\u201d Warrick yells and shoots you again in the head.\n\nYou\u2019re already dead when the rest of your soldiers come running and find Warrick cackling about Decena will be coming soon to wipe away the rest of the corrupt Empire.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Call Decena back", "result": "You made a promise that you wouldn\u2019t keep her any longer than necessary and that if war broke out here, you\u2019d want her to lead the new eternals into battle. Your word is still your bond as far as those close to you go.\n\nSeeing as you want her to get back as quickly as possible, you tell Kivan to have one of the new longer range airships that can travel a lot further than their predecessors sent. (Another recent improvement courtesy of Elam\u2019s work with the gnomes) Maybe it\u2019ll even instill a little fear into the natives of Nyytrus if they happen to catch sight of it.\n\nWhile you\u2019re waiting for her arrival back, you aren\u2019t wasting any time getting the rest of your plans underway. You figure a four-pronged attack will work suitably for the initial assault.\n\nYou\u2019ll have your fleet attack south Nakol from the sea and land troops there. You\u2019ll have the rest of your airships fly over the mountain range and bombard northern Nakol. Your kobold forces can dig under the large mountain range as usual. Finally you\u2019ll have the majority of your forces march through the mountain passes. You\u2019ll hold back your Eternals until Decena arrives, besides it would probably be best to \u201ctest\u201d the Nakol defenses located in the pass choke points anyway.\n\nThis is going to be a bit different from the conflicts in the past, your armies aren\u2019t going to be relying on any magic support at all. What few mages you have left are either overseeing the next Eternal tanks or are part of the Eyes now (Aside from the ones that Mortimer killed recently). You don\u2019t know just exactly how powerful Mortimer\u2019s own magic is, but you do know he\u2019s the only wizard in his kingdom so you\u2019re not anticipating any problems, if technology has proven anything its that the lowliest unskilled peasant can figure it out and use it with great efficiency. A sign of the times you suppose.\n\nIn any case you have no doubt that when the time comes, it\u2019ll probably be up to you personally to take down Mortimer in a magic showdown and if Semra is in your way then you\u2019ll deal with her as well.\n\nBy the time Decena arrives your invasion of Nakol is well on its way and going more or less as planned though there have been a few hiccups here and there. You meet Decena when she gets off the Storm II. She\u2019s much more \u201cweathered\u201d looking from when you sent her to Nyytrus. Granted as a warrior she will collect battle scars and such, but she almost is unrecognizable. She has a \u201cstare\u201d that you\u2019ve seen in more than a few soldiers that have broke under the strain of battle, but this seems impossible for someone of Decena\u2019s training and experience.\n\nStill, she manages a smile when she sees you.\n\n\u201cGeneral Decena reporting for duty my Emperor.\u201d She says.\n\u201cNo need for the formalities, I\u2019m just glad to have you back.\u201d You reply.\n\u201cIt\u2019s good to be back. Just show me to my next assignment.\u201d\n\u201cWell we do have a little time before that\u2026are you okay? I mean how is everything Nyttrus?\u201d\n\u201cWhen I left everything was fine. If I seem a bit off, I\u2019m just a little tired I suppose. Apologies Emperor.\u201d\n\u201cHrm, maybe you should rest first before running off into battle again. This war doesn\u2019t need you right this minute.\u201d\n\u201cIf that is what you wish\u2026um can I talk to you in private?\u201d\n\u201cErm, of course.\u201d You answer unsure of what to expect.\n\nYou and Decena find some place secluded and no sooner have you asked her what\u2019s on her mind; she\u2019s wrapped her arms around you and buried her head in your chest.\n\n\u201cPlease never send me away for that long again.\u201d She says.\n\u201cDecena\u2026what\u2026\u201d you sputter unsure of what this is about exactly, but she\u2019s obviously upset. \u201cWhat the hell happened over there?\u201d\n\u201cI dunno\u2026I just\u2026I dunno. I was fine for the first year. I missed you, but I was fine. After that though I started feeling a crushing emptiness. I think it was some sort of Iznac magic. I got hit by a black cloud of some sort by a priest. Haven\u2019t felt right until I got the news I was coming back here.\u201d\n\u201cYou never said anything in the letters.\u201d\n\u201cI didn\u2019t want to worry you, I wanted to stay strong for you\u2026I guess I\u2019m failing again though\u2026\u201d\n\u201cYou\u2019re fine Decena, just come with me, maybe I can figure out what the hell these Iznac did to you.\u201d\n\nWhen you get Decena back to the palace you check to see if she\u2019s under some sort of curse or something similar. Decena insists that you don\u2019t make a fuss and definitely not use any sort of healing magic on her since it will shorten your own lifespan. You reassure her that whatever you need to do probably isn\u2019t going to do anything major to you.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s more important that you\u2019re in the best physical condition and the right frame of mind before I send you back into another major conflict. Besides, if I lose a few days, weeks or even months, what\u2019s the difference? It\u2019s not like I\u2019m going to live forever anyway.\u201d You say.\n\u201cDon\u2019t say that.\u201d Decena says.\n\u201cWhy not? It\u2019s true.\u201d\n\u201cBut I don\u2019t want to believe that it\u2019s true. I want to believe that you\u2019ll somehow live forever and ever. In fact I know you will!\u201d\n\nYou flash a quick smile and shake your head a bit. Decena still retains an image of you being \u201cinvincible.\u201d To be fair, probably most people do (Even the cynical probably just believe you\u2019re too \u201ctough\u201d or \u201cmagical\u201d to die), but then they don\u2019t really know you as closely as Decena does. And the way she believes it is more of a childlike hope that she never really grew out of. Funny considering that she never really had a proper childhood.\n\nAfter a few magical incantations, you discover that Iznac magic is indeed still affecting her, but its rather easy to get rid of, in fact it seemed to prey upon the fears in her mind. Not surprisingly that involved being away from you and that started to gradually mess with her head. It\u2019s a testament to her willpower that she managed to fight it off for as long as she did. Being actually around you probably weakened the magic.\n\nIt\u2019s actually a good thing you called her back when you did, who knows what might\u2019ve happened had you not done so. It is a bit alarming though since you weren\u2019t aware of what powers the Iznac had other than the letters Decena sent.\n\n\u201cYou should be fine now, but you said that everything is okay in Nyttrus? I mean did anyone else get hit with this type of Iznac magic?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cYes it has happened, but Iznac priests aren\u2019t that common. I mean I saw orcs and kobolds get hit with the same spell, but it didn\u2019t seem to affect them. I mean at least nothing I noticed. They seemed to continue to act like\u2026well orcs and kobolds. There were a few instances of my human soldiers committing suicide though.\u201d\n\u201cWell, I guess I won\u2019t concern myself too much about it then since orcs and kobolds are the main ones over there. Guess their more simplistic minds are a good defense against the magic. Orcs don\u2019t really fear anything except perhaps looking weak, and kobolds only fear failing the Empire and myself. I imagine if the magic affects them at all it might only entice them to fight harder. Bad for the Iznac, good for us. In any case as soon as this Nakol business is over with, I might just have to take a personal trip over to Nyttrus.\u201d\n\u201cHow long do you anticipate that this conflict might last?\u201d Decena asks.\n\u201cHard to say, I assumed that it might be a costly war and that the sorcerer king would have powerful opposition, but so far nothing of major consequence. I wonder if there will actually be anything left by the time you lead the new eternals into the thick of it. Hell, I\u2019m starting to wonder if it won\u2019t be overkill, but I\u2019d rather it be overkill than underestimation. Besides I\u2019m sure he\u2019s going to pull out a few tricks that we haven\u2019t seen yet.\u201d\n\nWith a few more brief bits banter, words of encouragement and some rest, Decena seems back to her old self and is eager to lead the new eternals (who are just as eager to get into battle seeing as they\u2019ve been training their whole lives for a moment like this.\n\nJust as you figured, Mortimer does have other tricks up his sleeve to make the invasion go a lot more difficult. You don\u2019t know if he always had an agreement with them or perhaps they\u2019re just siding with him out of spite, but the satyr and harpy clan survivors that fled to the Nakol mountains after the Tor War rear their ugly head again. This mainly involves their usual ambush tactics in the various mountain passes, but apparently there are still enough of the harpies to mount full assaults on your airships.\n\nApparently Mortimer doesn\u2019t have a problem with their mages either since they still have a few left and they\u2019re using their elemental magic to a great degree causing rockslides in the mountain passes, strong damaging winds against your airships and even violent tidal waves against your fleet. You don\u2019t remember them having quite that much magical strength before so you imagine Mortimer must be enhancing their abilities with his own.\n\nThere are also reports of svelk mercenaries among the normal Nakol army. You knew that not ALL of them threw in their lot with Eldolith. These must be the ones that followed Semra. Well you can finish that job too.\n\nIt doesn\u2019t matter what the sorcerer king does though, nothing is going to save him as far as you\u2019re concerned. When Decena breaks through into Nakol lands with all your new eternals under her commands they prove that point by completely razing several major settlements. Between her leadership and their skill, his soldiers aren\u2019t standing a chance against them.\n\nThis war might be far from over, but its not going to take as long as you thought it might.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 54\n\nNakol\u2019s existence as a nation is coming to an end. You\u2019ve seized most of its territory. Its armies have practically been wiped out, and you\u2019ve even eliminated most of Mortimer\u2019s allies.\n\nThe only major objective that\u2019s left is Dequilet, the capital and currently the only thing saving it is a large magical barrier completely surrounding the city. So far it\u2019s proven impenetrable to conventional means, which means you\u2019re going to have to resort to magical ones, which unfortunately despite your own best efforts you\u2019ve failed to bring it down, though you feel as if you\u2019ve gotten close.\n\nYou doubt if Mortimer is doing it himself, you imagine that Semra is probably helping him upkeep the barrier. He might even have a couple of satyr mages still left, though you doubt it. In any case, he\u2019s got help and you\u2019re probably going to have to resort to a bit of help as well if you want to bring the barrier down.\n\n\u201cGalen\u2019s a given, as are the Eye mages, but I\u2019m going to have to take mages off overseeing the Eternal tanks for this project as well. Don\u2019t want to, but it\u2019ll be necessary.\u201d You say while explaining the next course of action in your command tent to Decena.\n\u201cWe\u2019re going to have to wait for those mages to come here, that\u2019s at least a few days. I hate this sitting around, is it truly the only way?\u201d Decena asks.\n\u201cUnfortunately. Last time I tried to bring it down, I nearly fell unconscious. With enough magic energy though I\u2019m certain it can be brought down, as soon as it is, I want you and rest to blow apart those walls and rush in as quick as you can. Don\u2019t worry I won\u2019t be far behind no matter how woozy I feel afterwards.\u201d\n\nJust as Decena is about to acknowledge your plan, that old familiar voice is heard.\n\n\u201cYou know none of that is necessary if you listen to my plan.\u201d Semra remarks.\n\nThe instant Decena sees Semra she raises her voice and attempts to attack her, though you hold her back from doing so.\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t bother Decena, she\u2019s not really there. It\u2019s an illusionary image. Right on time too. You\u2019re starting to get predictable Semra.\u201d You say.\n\u201cSemra? Is this that svelk bitch you\u2019ve told me about?\u201d Decena asks.\n\u201cOh so he did talk about me to you. I\u2019m not surprised. Never could get me completely out of his mind\u2026\u201d\n\u201cFuck you svelk! He told me about all the hell you put him through!\u201d\n\nSemra does her usual gleeful smile at Decena\u2019s anger.\n\n\u201cMy, she IS the aggressively territorial one. Isn\u2019t she? Almost sad that her feelings for you are so strong when your own for her are\u2026limited. Trust me dear, he can\u2019t ever love you back. How could he? You\u2019re not even young looking anymore\u2026\u201d\n\nAt this point you have to restrain Decena again.\n\n\u201cDecena, don\u2019t pay attention to her. She\u2019s just enjoying making you miserable. It\u2019s what she does. Semra, what the hell do you want? Shouldn\u2019t you be making plans to escape or something?\u201d\n\u201cWho said I wasn\u2019t? But right now I\u2019m actually here for you. Need your help in killing Mortimer, well what\u2019s left of him anyway. It\u2019s getting harder to figure out when he\u2019s completely all there or not. Zelvix is starting to gain mental control over him due to his shattered confidence and willpower. This war has been very stressful on him as you might expect.\u201d\n\nDecena asks what she\u2019s talking about and you quickly mention about the supposed demon army that will be unleashed when Mortimer dies, though with the way Semra\u2019s telling it, it sounds like this Zelvix is already getting loose\u2026assuming she\u2019s telling the truth.\n\n\u201cSemra, didn\u2019t YOU claim that it would take you about a decade to properly banish this demon?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cWell with you rushing head long into attacking Nakol, I had to step up my research now didn\u2019t I? Don\u2019t worry though, as I said, I\u2019ve got it figured out, just need your help in doing so. Remember how we linked our energy together when we were extinguishing all those little gnome souls? Well we need to do something like that again, but this is going to require a slightly deeper connection. Namely we\u2019d have to link our very minds together so as to make the magical connection strong enough to face the demon.\u201d\n\n\u201cHere we go\u2026\u201d You think.\n\n\u201cYou can\u2019t seriously trust this woman!\u201d Decena shouts.\n\u201cHe most certainly should trust me considering how many times I\u2019ve warned him about shit and indirectly AND directly saved his life. After all if he\u2019d trusted me all those years ago, he might\u2019ve saved himself a lot of bother on a certain island. Y\u2019know you still have never told me how you exactly came out of Mortos relatively unscathed. Perhaps you can after we take care of this mess?\u201d Semra remarks.\n\nYou don\u2019t answer immediately. You\u2019ve been put in this position several times before and it\u2019s the same old thing. Semra tells you something, you distrust her, you usually follow her advice against your better judgment and while things don\u2019t necessarily go entirely your way, you can never deny that had you not acted things would be much worse.\n\nBut on the other hand\u2026 it\u2019s the same old thing. You know she\u2019s not telling you the whole truth and something about this demon situation seems even more suspicious especially since she\u2019s actually encouraging a linking of your minds. Even if she\u2019s telling the entire truth about the demon and this being the only way she feels is the way to defeat it, would it really be a victory if Semra had magical access to your mind? Who the hell knows what she might be able to do.\n\n\u201cAll of this is pointless anyway, we can\u2019t get in unless that barrier goes down.\u201d You say.\n\u201cOh that thing? I can make a small opening in it for a small period of time. Of course when I do so, Mortimer will probably instantly know I\u2019m working against him and it\u2019s possible he\u2019ll completely lose himself to Zelvix, but we should have enough time to do what we have to do.\u201d Semra remarks.\n\u201cOr I could just wait for my mages to help me bring the barrier down. Then when I do get that barrier down, I assault the city with so much firepower that nothing of this world or another is going to survive it. I don\u2019t care how powerful this demon is.\u201d You say.\n\n\u201cOptimistic that you believe that, but I tell you sincerely that won\u2019t be enough to stop Zelvix. He\u2019s in a weakened state now due to his long imprisonment, but as soon as Mortimer\u2019s dead, it won\u2019t take him long to regain his full strength and when that happens, count on several magical gates opening up. Now MAYBE you\u2019ll be able to even repel the demons that will undoubtedly come screaming out of said gates, but quite frankly, YOU are not the young Eternal you used to be and your odds will not be good. And your Empire\u2019s odds if you should fall in battle? Even worse. You already survived one trip that you very well shouldn\u2019t have\u2026actually you\u2019ve survived many things you probably shouldn\u2019t have, but those days are becoming more unlikely as you approach your twilight years. I understand that you\u2019d rather die a warrior\u2019s death, however I doubt very seriously that you wish to die a fool\u2019s death. It is one thing to die in a battle that has been properly planned. It\u2019s entirely another when you die because you purposely ignore all your information and don\u2019t take advantage of the tools and resources that allow you to win efficiently. I\u2019M giving you this chance to win this war now in the most efficient way possible.\u201d\n\nYou continue to listen.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019ve been in this all too familiar position before Eternal. Why take the chance of making the same mistake twice?\u201d Semra asks.\n\nDecena looks at you as you seriously begin to consider Semra\u2019s offer.\n\n\u201cEmperor?\u201d she asks.", "action_results": [{"action": "Join with Semra", "result": "\u201cFuck it, let\u2019s do it.\u201d You say.\n\u201cThat\u2019s my boy.\u201d Semra remarks.\n\u201cWhat?! Emperor you\u2026you can\u2019t\u2026\u201d Decena reacts.\n\u201cAre you still here? Hush tank child, the adults are speaking.\u201d Semra snidely comments, this time though Decena ignores her and focuses all her attention on you.\n\n\u201cEmperor\u2026I don\u2019t understand why you would trust this woman after all the terrible things you\u2019ve told me about her, but maybe it isn\u2019t my place to understand. Maybe I am unable to understand the ways of a living god. And that IS what you are. At least to me. I will always love you no matter what. I will always serve you faithfully no matter what. Now if YOU believe that this svelk\u2019s plan is what is necessary to win, then I will trust your judgment. However I still cannot trust her and if you\u2019re entering this city, you aren\u2019t going alone. I insist that I go with you.\u201d\n\nDecena has dropped her formal stance at this point and is looking into your eyes while holding one of your hands with both of hers. She still believes so much in you\u2026\n\nYou nod which causes Semra to roll her eyes.\n\n\u201c(Sigh) Very well if you want to bring your former tank baby fuck toy fine. Maybe she\u2019ll come in handy as demon fodder, but that\u2019s it. I don\u2019t have the power to keep an opening in the barrier for very long, now hurry up and meet me at the city gates.\u201d Semra remarks and her image disappears.\n\n\u201cWell I guess I better make a general announcement before we leave.\u201d You say and exit your command tent.\n\nYour announcement to your soldiers is brief though their response is one of encouragement of course. They\u2019re probably inspired by the fact that you\u2019re willing to do a \u201cone on one\u201d confrontation with the leader of the enemy. Whatever their own private thoughts on your policies and rulership, nobody can ever claim that you\u2019ve never been willing to put yourself in the same amount of danger.\n\nOf course with you and Decena entering the barrier, thee is the question of who is going to be in charge of the main attack force just in case something should go wrong.\n\n\u201cColonel Flevas, you\u2019re in charge of the army.\u201d\n\u201cI am?\u201d he asks surprised.\n\u201cSure, you\u2019ve more than proven yourself time and time again. You\u2019ve earned the respect of the troops just as much as anyone else. You have the rank. If anything does happen, get Galen and the rest of the mages here to take down the barrier and then hit the city with everything you got. Though if that barrier comes down and we aren\u2019t out of there within a twenty minutes, bombard the place, and if you start seeing anything that doesn\u2019t look like it belongs from this world coming out of the city, start hitting it with everything anyway.\u201d\n\nWith that last command you and Decena approach Dequilet. As soon as you get to the barrier a small opening appears and the pair of you enter. The city gates then open and once again you and Decena enter.\n\nTwo things are immediately noticeable. One is how very ornate and elaborate the buildings are, even compared to other Nakol cities you\u2019ve been to (Granted those were mostly half in ruins at the time) You\u2019ve never been one for pointless decoration, but you have to admit the city is quite a sight.\n\nThe second thing you notice. There are no people at all. Nothing. It\u2019s like the entire city was evacuated, but you\u2019re fairly certain that didn\u2019t happen. Considering how desperate Mortimer has been to save his own skin, you can\u2019t imagine that he did something so selfless. Besides nobody reported an exodus of people leaving the city and there were no such sightings.\n\n\u201cBeautiful isn\u2019t it? Nothing compared to svelk architecture to be sure, but fairly good for the lesser-born monkeys. Especially without any of them around anymore dirtying up the place.\u201d Semra shouts as she walks towards you.\n\nDecena grips her weapon, but makes no other move.\n\n\u201cSo where is everyone?\u201d\n\u201cOh most of them are inside the big palace just up ahead. In these last few weeks ol\u2019 Morty\u2019s had himself a non-stop orgy. Takes the edge off. I have to admit such things are an amusing distraction, but when it comes to you monkeys even I can only stand one at a time. Anyway, shall we prepare for our\u2026merging?\u201d\n\nAt this point Decena grabs your arm.\n\n\u201cEmperor are you sure abut this? I mean we could still just chop this bitch\u2019s head off then go in and finish off the sorcerer king and whatever demons we may face. Just me and you.\u201d\n\u201cIts okay Decena. This svelk bitch has always been inside my head in one way or another, what\u2019s one more? Besides, my life has always been an open book. I have no hidden secrets of any worth. She\u2019s already know all my combat techniques considering she taught me most of them. As much as I might hate to admit it, she\u2019s a far more skilled magic user than I will most likely ever be so there is nothing to learn there. Anything she might use against me psychologically she\u2019s already tried and failed.\u201d\n\nYou turn to Semra, who stands silently listening. You walk towards her still talking.\n\n\u201cSo she can access my mind because I KNOW I\u2019m strong enough to resist whatever the hell she might attempt. Because ultimately it isn\u2019t me who needs to be worried about this joining, it\u2019s her. This will work both ways, and who knows what secrets might she hold in that svelk brain of hers. Secrets that she doesn\u2019t want ME to know and I\u2019m sure there are quite a lot. Now are YOU prepared for this?\u201d you ask Semra face to face and you notice that there is a brief show of concern, then she answers.\n\n\u201cI can handle it if you can, lover.\u201d She answers confidently.\n\u201cWell let\u2019s get on with it then.\u201d You say.\n\u201cStare into my eyes and focus.\u201d she says and begins the process.\n\nSuddenly your mind goes to another place.\n\nYou see what\u2019s in Semra\u2019s mind or at least a glimpse of it. Images are coming at you so fast you can\u2019t make out all of it, but you see a mixture of the horrifying and impressive at the same time.\n\nYou see what must\u2019ve been during the time of when the svelk ruled. Everything is very regal and elegant looking, though much like the svelk themselves, it radiates a certain coldness. You also see the svelk treating their subjects (Most of which are of races you\u2019ve never even seen before) worse than the Empire ever could. They also have greater control too thanks to their magic.\n\nWhat you aren\u2019t seeing is any images of Semra herself and you\u2019re even sensing that she\u2019s experiencing pain during this process. Semra is obviously blocking some of her more private thoughts. She\u2019s showing you a general history of her life, yet somehow only telling you half the story. Meanwhile she\u2019s probably trying to scour through your mind of everything.\n\nHowever, while you may not have the magic skills she does, your powers have grown considerably over the years. Her attempts to keep portions of her own mind shielded fail and you see even more\u2026\n\nYou see the image of a young svelk girl. You aren\u2019t sure how old, but by human standards she would definitely be considered a child. It\u2019s Semra and she is holding the hand of an adult male svelk.\n\nThey are both in a city where a large crowd of svelk are gathered having a good time throwing what looks to be sveld babies against a nearby wall which has a big target on it. Semra looks very happy and cheers whenever one splats into a bloody mess in the center.\n\nIt would seem that Semra\u2019s entertainment preferences didn\u2019t change much for her. Several images of her enjoying similar activities with the same adult male flood your mind. The adult male is her father.\n\nIn any case, the idea that she was once a child is bizarre, but then everyone starts as one at some point right?\n\nYou see many images of her father. He was obviously a warrior mage of great skill that enjoyed violent battle and crushing the enemies of his empire though you also get a sense of \u201chonor\u201d about him. In that regard he must\u2019ve been unusual for a svelk. He also was much different around Semra who apparently brought out the \u201clighter side\u201d of him.\n\nYou then see more\u2026intimate moments with her father. Namely sexual in nature. You can\u2019t say you\u2019re surprised to see this given her own personality. This relationship apparently went on for years.\n\nYou\u2019re loathed to think it, but her father seems very much like\u2026well you. His face even vaguely resembles your own if you had the dark skin and pointy ears. This must just be another piece of the sick puzzle of why Semra has a bit of an obsession for you.\n\nIt\u2019s obvious that Semra is really trying to do her best in blocking all of this from you, but she continues to fail.\n\nThen you see a black spot. Like a pit of endless despair.\n\nThe next images are brutal and violent. You see war, specifically a civil war. The svelk are warring with their own kind, or rather the \u201cimpure offshoot\u201d of their own kind, the sveld. Dark elf against elf in a war to the death.\n\nThen you see images of svelk cities burning to the ground and falling into ruin followed by hordes of svelk scattering and becoming the nomadic mercenary society you\u2019ve always known them to be.\n\nYou see Semra\u2019s father in battle with a mob of demonic beings. They also have a much older Semra on the ground. This must all be during the fall of the svelk Empire.\n\nThe demons are doing their best in trying to rape Semra, but she manages to get the upper hand and fight them off. Then you see Semra\u2019s father being brutally ripped apart by the demons before Semra can do anything to help him. One demon even runs off with his head. A great sense of sorrow floods your mind.\n\nAnd then you suddenly feel yourself being pushed away. The contact is broken and Semra immediately turns away from you and some sniffling sounds can be heard.\n\n\u201c(Sniffle) There. It\u2019s done. Let\u2019s go.\u201d She remarks while rubbing her eyes and walking briskly towards the palace.\n\nYou stand silent for a moment somewhat in shock by what has just happened. Never thought you\u2019d see AND actually believe Semra having feelings of loss and genuine sadness.\n\n\u201cWhat\u2026what the hell happened?\u201d Decena asks.\n\u201cI think I saw something she thought she could hide from me and failed spectacularly.\u201d You answer.\n\u201cWhat did you see?\u201d\n\u201cA lot, but probably not everything. All I\u2019ll say right now is the woman has serious daddy issues.\u201d You say.\n\nDecena pauses for a moment before speaking again.\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t we all?\u201d she says looking directly at you and walks towards the palace leaving you standing alone.\n\n\u201cAlison didn\u2019t.\u201d you mumble to yourself and follow.\n\nAs soon as you set foot in the palace a horrible stench fills your lungs. It smells like all manner of bodily fluids, waste and then some. Vermin of all kind run about what looked to be a picturesque palace at one time, but now is home to well, filth.\n\n\u201cUgh! That\u2019s really awful! I actually feel sick! Not even sections of the jungles in Nyytrus smelled this bad!\u201d Decena remarks.\n\u201cI can honestly say I\u2019ve only encountered a stench this bad once before and it wasn\u2019t an orgy that caused it.\u201d you say remembering Gnome\u2019s Home.\n\nYou point up ahead into the large chamber that Semra is waiting for the pair of you. And there lies what is causing the majority of the smell. The dead.\n\nHundreds of filthy naked bloody bodies must be piled up in the center of the chamber like some grisly pillar. Other bodies lie about on the floor. Really you can\u2019t really walk into the place without stepping over one.\n\n\u201cIt would appear that the orgy has been cancelled.\u201d Semra remarks.\n\u201cI take it that this is a sign that Morty\u2019s gotten worse?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cIt\u2019s a safe bet. I don\u2019t know if you can feel it, but I\u2019m definitely feeling more of an infernal presence. Zelvix may have very well completely taken over Mortimer\u2019s body by now.\u201d\n\n\u201cSadly the little fucker is still making squeaking pleading sounds for his freedom, though his voice is starting to dim. His torment while delicious now, will be even more so in hell when he finally shuffles off his mortal coil. But I ramble, please come in with your friends Semra. I\u2019m sure all of us can come to some sort of deal\u2026\u201d a dark booming voice says behind the doors up ahead. Probably the throne room.\n\nSemra turns to you.\n\n\u201cWhatever you do, don\u2019t listen to Zelvix. Demons have a way of persuading you into doing things you\u2019d never consider.\u201d\n\u201cWhat like linking your mind with them?\u201d you say.\n\u201cI\u2019m serious! If you think that I\u2019M a manipulative untrustworthy bitch, think of me five times worse and you still haven\u2019t even begun to understand just how bad demons can be. Now as soon as we go in, he\u2019s not going to attack us directly at least not immediately. He\u2019ll try to get us into a deal first. What we need to do is perform my banishment ritual on him. You actually don\u2019t need to do anything; I\u2019ll do the work. I just need your extra magical energy as well as your inner willpower. Together we can do this.\u201d\n\nMaybe its because your minds are linked now, you get the sense that Semra is telling the entire truth about this. Usually you always have suspicion or doubt about her words, but not this time.\n\n\u201cHey what about me?\u201d Decena asks. \u201cBoth of you are wizards with all kinds of mind protection, what the hell am I going to do when the demon starts attacking mine?\u201d\n\u201cDon\u2019t worry Decena, I\u2019ll cast a powerful mind shield spell on you, but I\u2019m more than confident that you\u2019ve got the inner strength to resist any demon lies.\u201d You say.\n\u201cI\u2019d highly advise against that! You need to stay focused! Upkeeping a spell on her is just going to divide your energy. She probably should just wait outside.\u201d Semra snaps.\n\u201cSemra, she\u2019s here to help me just like I\u2019m here to help YOU. I\u2019m not going to deprive her of something she wants to do. You say its going to divide my energy, I say let me worry about that and you worry about your role in this. We\u2019re all in this together remember?\u201d\n\nSemra throws up a hand in exasperation.\n\n\u201cFine.\u201d She remarks.\n\nYou tell Decena that she just needs to deal with any threats other than Mortimer since you know at some point he\u2019s probably going to have minions running in to help him. You also remind Decena to NOT kill Mortimer since the whole point is to keep the demon in weakened form while Semra banishes it.\n\nEach one of you knowing your roles, you all enter the throne room\u2026", "action_results": [{"action": "The confrontation", "result": "Upon entering the throne room, Mortimer paces near his throne, looking up when you arrive. He certainly doesn\u2019t look like the fop you remember, his clothes are now partly torn and dirty. He doesn\u2019t look like he\u2019s bathed in days making his hair to stand up in a way that would almost be laughable if he wasn\u2019t currently possessed by a demon. His eyes give off an unearthly red glow.\n\nThe throne room itself is in shambles and pieces of dead bodies, entrails and blood are practically everywhere. A large broken crystal lies nearby, you can only guess that\u2019s Zelvix\u2019s former prison.\n\nSemra says nothing. She just looks at you nodding, and reaches out for your hand. You give it to her and she grabs it. She then begins chanting. You take the opportunity to cast your mind shield spell on Decena who stands nearby watching every direction.\n\n\u201cSo, THIS is what you\u2019ve brought to beat me with Semra? I would\u2019ve expected better from the likes of you. I don\u2019t know why you\u2019re even chanting that nonsense, it isn\u2019t going to work on me you know.\u201d Zelvix says. (It certainly isn\u2019t Mortimer anymore just on how deep the voice is alone)\n\nWhile the three of you stay silent, Zelvix continues to talk.\n\n\u201cI have no idea why you continue to blame me for your father\u2019s death. Even I can\u2019t control my underlings all the time. Your people made a deal with me and I collected, what\u2019s so wrong about that?\u201d\n\nSemra continues to chant.\n\n\u201cYou believe this woman? She holds a grudge longer than some hell lords do and at least they do for something reasonable like a stolen soul or something. She\u2019s just whining. Bah, I\u2019m done with her anyway, I offered another deal when she first arrived here for old time\u2019s sake, but she refused.\u201d\n\nZelvix\u2019s banter is still met by silence.\n\n\u201cAnyway, how about you two? Oh no. No, I don\u2019t think you\u2019ll do. You\u2019re too much in love with this one. While I think under different circumstances twisting your mind would probably be child\u2019s play, I believe your master\u2019s presence makes it a bit too much of an effort to even try. You want his approval so much that you\u2019d probably strip naked, get down on all fours and open your ass, pussy and mouth at the same time to an entire company of orcs if you thought it would please him. Blind loyalty is such a beautiful thing at times. Shit, I should be so lucky to instill such devotion. Oh well, guess that\u2019s why there\u2019s torture.\u201d Zelvix says to Decena.\n\nEveryone continues to remain silent, but Zelvix now turns his attention to you. You didn\u2019t feel it before, but you start to feel an oppressive presence within your mind.\n\n\u201cNow you I can work with. Can\u2019t work with bitches anyway, too fucking emotional am I right? I\u2019m sure you know what I\u2019m talking about considering the company you\u2019re keeping. You think a svelk female is bad? Heh, try a demon girl. Your dark elves don\u2019t have shit on them. Lots of fun at parties though!\u201d\n\nYou redouble your efforts to block out Zelvix\u2019s words\u2026\n\n\u201cI have to say, you\u2019re quite skilled for a mortal. I\u2019ll even admit, I like your style, showing no mercy to your enemies, ruling your territory with an iron fist, I can appreciate a mortal that rises above his slug like station. And you were quite low weren\u2019t you? You were practically an abortion waiting to happen then through a minor mistake you got kicked upstairs. Good thing bureaucracy sucks doesn\u2019t it? It\u2019s okay though, you made the most of it and that\u2019s what really counts. I mean here you are talking to me, one of the greatest demon lords in the infernal realms\u2026\u201d\n\nAt this point you\u2019d almost make a deal with him just so he\u2019d shut the fuck up. He continues to pace, but you notice he holds his head for a brief moment.\n\n\u201cHrmm, starting to feel something\u2026no it\u2019s gone now. Nice try Semra, but you\u2019re not getting anywhere. Now who was I talking to? Oh yes, the Eternal.\u201d\n\nYou suddenly feel an even greater oppressive feeling on your mind. Between trying to support Semra, protecting Decena and fighting off Zelvix, you\u2019re starting to feel the burden.\n\n\u201cNot easy is it? Protecting everyone? (Sigh) I don\u2019t even know why you\u2019re helping Semra anyway. You know she\u2019d backstab you if it ultimately served her purpose. You\u2019re not a stupid man, you have to know that she\u2019s just using you right now and it\u2019s not even for petty revenge. Well some of it is I suppose, but there\u2019s something greater here at stake and she\u2019s trying to achieve it. Let me tell you\u2026\u201d\n\nZelvix\u2019s deep voice fills your mind despite your best efforts to block it out.\n\n\u201cShe\u2019s trying to revive the svelk Empire. Y\u2019see she actually thinks by somehow killing me that the so called curse I put on the svelk will disappear. It\u2019s complete shit of course. The reason for the svelk downfall is their own doing and none of my own. I didn\u2019t cause their civilization to suddenly descend into civil war and rebellion, that had been coming for centuries long before I arrived. All I did was provide a service. A world saving one in fact. Why in certain circles one might even consider me a hero!\u201d\n\nYou feel a greater drain on your energy as Zelvix continues.\n\n\u201cI bet she even told you that I\u2019m planning on unleashing an army of demons on this world didn\u2019t she? Pfft. Please as if I need to worry about such things, I have my own kingdom in the infernal realm with millions of subjects and even more souls to torment! If its one thing I\u2019ve learned as a demon lord, it\u2019s that you should only conquer what you can actually hold. I had a brother once who learned that lesson the hard way. Got his head chopped off by a mortal for his troubles. Hahahahaha! My brother was a fucking idiot!\u201d\n\nZelvix laughs at his last statement, which is then followed by a roar of pain. Mortimer\u2019s body falls to the ground and he begins twitching and convulsing.\n\n\u201cFUCKING BITCH! I\u2019LL RIP YOUR SOUL APART! RAAAAARGH!\u201d Zelvix shouts while Semra keeps chanting. If anything it\u2019s given you a bit of temporary relief, but only for a little while.\n\n\u201cWell, it seems our little dark skinned whore has been doing her research. I may have underestimated her. The flaw of arrogance comes with being a demon lord I suppose\u2026(Sigh) Very well then, as much as I\u2019ve enjoyed chatting with you, I can see I\u2019ll have to cut to the chase\u2026.\u201d\n\nYou try to think of pleasant thoughts to block out Zelvix, such as ones with your time with Alison, but Zelvix won\u2019t be ignored.\n\n\u201cLook, here\u2019s the deal and it\u2019s not even going to cost you your soul because I know you\u2019re too smart for that. What it is going to cost is a little bloodshed and that shouldn\u2019t be a problem for the likes of you, especially considering you never liked ol\u2019 Morty anyway. Just kill Morty, I\u2019ll take care of Semra and then I\u2019ll be heading back to the infernal plane because honestly I\u2019ve had enough of this world.\u201d\n\nYou give no response, but you can feel your willpower getting to the point where you almost want to give in\u2026\n\n\u201cHey wait a minute. Maybe YOU want to kill Semra? She\u2019s in the middle of her spell right now and you\u2019re so close, there\u2019s never been a more perfect time! You\u2019d catch her completely off guard. You could easily take that dagger that she once stabbed you with and at last do what you\u2019ve always wanted to do with it. Remember just like the time when you two were exterminating gnomes? Don\u2019t you wish you could\u2019ve taken that opportunity instead of following your orders? Well you have no one giving you orders right now. What is stopping you? You know you want to and all I want is to be free from this world. Kill Semra and I\u2019ll happily open up a gate and return home.\u201d\n\nZelvix deep melodic tone begins to make your mind succumb to his persuasion attempts. Never before have you experienced such a powerful force of raw will. Even in a few other instances where you faced a psychic assault it\u2019s never been quite like this. Granted it\u2019s in his favor that what he\u2019s proposing isn\u2019t anything you\u2019d object to doing either. The ONLY thing that\u2019s giving you pause is the fact that it\u2019s a demon lord telling you to do this.\n\n\u201cAh\u2026I see you don\u2019t trust me\u2026smart. Tell you what, I\u2019ll sweeten the deal. You seek to conquer and bring order to this miserable world do you not? You have the skill and ability, what you lack is time. So you seek immortality do you not? An immortality that even eluded your old master, and wouldn\u2019t you like to succeed where he failed? Your answer lies where you\u2019ve always known it to be. The Isle of Mortos. I know you\u2019ve made a halfhearted attempt at trying to locate it again. Would you like to know where it is exactly located? I can tell you right now if you just kill that\u2026ARRGH!\u201d\n\nZelvix once again feel the effects of Semra\u2019s ritual. At this point Morty\u2019s body is desperately crawling over to Semra in an attempt to reach her. Also just as you suspected Zelvix uses some sort of magic to bring the bodies from the room behind you back to life, except these aren\u2019t singular walking corpses. The pile of bodies have melded into each other creating a giant mass of flesh slowly rolling towards all of you howling and moaning while arms, legs and heads twitch about from it. It might be too big to get through the doorway, but you imagine that its sheer weight and girth will just break through the sides of the walls.\n\nYou\u2019re still staggering from your recent mind assault, but now that you\u2019re no longer being mentally attacked, you take a quick assessment of the situation.\n\nDecena prepares to hold off the abomination by herself, Semra is still in her semi-trance and Zelvix continues to drag himself over to Semra.", "action_results": [{"action": "Help Decena", "result": "Maybe you\u2019re not going to help Zelvix, but you\u2019re not going leave Decena to fight off that monstrosity by herself. Semra will just have to hope Zelvix doesn\u2019t have the strength to reach her before you can get back over there.\n\nYou let go of Semra\u2019s hand though you still feel a link with her allowing the transfer of energy. You can tell she\u2019s somewhat angry though that you\u2019re being distracted.\n\nDecena is busily trying to hack away the flailing limbs of the massive blob of flesh trying to squeeze through the doorway. You see the sides of the walls begin to crack.\n\n\u201cDecena, get out of the way that thing is going to grab you!\u201d you say and shove her aside. You follow up by casting a cone of ice at the thing in an attempt to slow it down.\n\u201cWhy not fire?\u201d Decena shouts.\n\u201cIf I set this blob on fire, it\u2019s going to still come at us except it\u2019ll be burning as well. Better that we should freeze it in place. I\u2019ll take care of this thing, you go over to Morty or Zelvix, or whoever the fuck he is and prevent him from reaching Semra, remember don\u2019t kill him!\u201d\n\nDecena nods and runs over to Morty\u2019s body which has nearly reached Semra, that is until Decena pulls his leg, drags him away and kicks him in the face. Zelvix bellows in anger and emanates unnatural hissing noises.\n\nMeanwhile you\u2019re still attempting to freeze his \u201cpet\u201d in place. You periodically smash chunks of it off, but it\u2019s a losing battle. It continues to roll its bulk into the doorway and the sides of the walls now successfully begin to give way. You jump back to avoid being crushed.\n\n\u201cSemra, you better hurry the fuck up before this thing crushes us all!\u201d you say smashing another bloody frozen chunk off of the mass.\n\nAnother unearthly wail from Zelvix and it\u2019s a sign that the end of this conflict is near.\n\n\u201cSSSSSSSSS NO! IT CANNOT END LIKE THIS! I WILL NOT BE DEFEATED BY MORTAL SHIT! I CURSE YOU ALL! NONE OF YOU SHALL AAAARRRRGH!\u201d\n\nMorimer\u2019s body twitches and convulses one last time and you manage to turn your head just in time from your own battle to see a red spirit like mist rise from his body. An angry demonic face can be seen briefly followed by the red mist completely dissipating. In front of you, the mass of flesh you\u2019ve been fighting goes completely lifeless. Mortimer\u2019s body is also lifeless. Whatever spark that was keeping him alive was only due to Zelvix\u2019s magic and he\u2019s truly gone now.\n\nYou walk over to Decena who is near Mortimer\u2019s body. She looks okay, but she\u2019s rubbing her head.\n\n\u201cYou all right?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cYeah, I just\u2026damn. Towards the end there, the demon was trying to get into my mind. It wasn\u2019t even that long, but shit was it intense. I\u2019m glad you had that spell protecting me.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019d never abandon you.\u201d You say and embrace her.\n\n\u201cWell isn\u2019t that just sickeningly sweet? I do all the damn work and you hug her? Not even a thank you to me, but then you\u2019ve never been grateful for anything I\u2019ve done for you.\u201d Semra remarks who is looking a little exhausted herself.\n\n\u201cSemra, if I were you, I\u2019d be thankful that I\u2019m letting you live.\u201d You remark.\n\u201cOh you just say such things. We both know that you could never kill me. We\u2019re mentally linked now you know. I KNOW you still desire me! Even now that you\u2019re turning into a feeble old man I STILL dwell within your thoughts. I will ALWAYS be within your thoughts somewhere.\u201d Semra snaps.\n\n\u201cThen you also know what you just said isn\u2019t entirely true. While before you could at least lie to yourself and make the assumption that in your twisted mind that somehow we were a couple. You now have complete access to my own thoughts and you know what you\u2019ve seen? You\u2019ve seen that my mind has been always honest with you. Would I like to fuck you? Yeah, and then I\u2019d like to slit your fucking throat. I\u2019m not going to pretend to be a completely well adjusted person, in fact I never have. Honestly given everything I\u2019ve gone through, it\u2019s amazing that I\u2019m not completely fucking insane.\u201d\n\nSemra remains silent as you continue your rant.\n\n\u201cIn fact given that we\u2019re so linked now there is less that YOU can actually hide from me now. I\u2019d think you\u2019d like to remember that fact. You know what you are deep down inside Semra? You\u2019re a scared little girl who misses her daddy. I\u2019m not even going to get into your completely fucked up relationship with him, because honestly I\u2019m not in a position to judge. But the fact remains you saw the man you loved and possibly only held any sort of true feelings for get ripped apart by demons before your eyes and you couldn\u2019t do anything to stop it. Just like you saw your entire civilization and way of life get torn apart and couldn\u2019t do anything to stop it.\u201d\n\nSemra\u2019s eyes narrow at your attack on her tragic childhood.\n\n\u201cY\u2019know. You\u2019d be a rotting infant corpse right now if it wasn\u2019t for me. You weren\u2019t even meant to be an Eternal.\u201d She says coldly.\n\u201cAnd? What the hell does all that matter, I\u2019ve made the most of my mistaken life now. And yes, Semra I\u2019m well aware of ALL the times you\u2019ve saved my life or trained me, or graced me with your magical svelk vaginia. It doesn\u2019t matter, I\u2019ve put up with your shit and then some. Your whole weird obsessive relationship with me is some sort of twisted attempt to re-create what you lost. Well as I\u2019ve told you time and time again, I\u2019m not the one and I\u2019ll never be the one. Time to grow up and face that fact. You\u2019re always telling me that I need to stop worrying about keeping the Empire alive and how I should just move on with my life. Well take your own damn advice.\u201d\n\nSemra says nothing and the two of you just stare at one another for a moment. Even though you\u2019re mentally fatigued you begin to prove your point by attempting to access deeper reaches of her mind. She easily stops you, but your point is made.\n\n\u201cVery well Eternal. You\u2019ve made your feelings and your mind quite clear to me. Possibly the clearest they\u2019ve ever been. And as for moving on with my life? After what has happened to today, I\u2019ll certainly be able to do that with better purpose. Unfortunately for you, there are svelk elsewhere in the world and that is where I shall go and unite the svelk properly once again. Oh don\u2019t worry though lover. That won\u2019t likely happen in your pitifully short lifetime. Heh. It probably won\u2019t even happen in my lifetime, but I will plant the seeds and build the foundation. And KNOW that once again WE will be the rulers of this world. I will be remembered long after you\u2019ve been forgotten like the lesser born you are.\u201d\n\nWell the love is gone, if she\u2019s calling you lesser born again.\n\nSemra begins to walk over towards you once again causing Decena to grip her weapon, but you know that she doesn\u2019t intend to attack.\n\n\u201cAnd now I shall take my leave which I\u2019m sure you\u2019ll be most thankful of. I know we\u2019ve said goodbye many times before, but I believe this shall be the real one. I can see that your path is ultimately one of predictability and eventually obscurity. Perhaps good enough for you, but not for me. Never for me. I will say this though, I\u2019m proud of you. You saw my weakness and you pounced. I taught you well. Goodbye Eternal.\u201d\n\nSemra nearly moves closer as if to kiss you, but she takes a look at Decena instead.\n\n\u201cHe\u2019s all yours tank baby.\u201d She says and begins to walk away.\n\nYou watch her walk past the mass of bloody flesh and through the doorway hoping that this will indeed be the last time you have to put up with her.\n\nShe can\u2019t help but say one last thing though.\n\n\u201cBetter get a good look while you can, because it\u2019ll be the last time you get to stare at my ass again.\u201d Semra laughs and in a few more seconds she\u2019s walked out the palace completely.\n\nThere is a silence for a moment and then Decena begins to speak.\n\n\u201cSo what now?\u201d she asks.\n\u201cWell let\u2019s start with this for one thing.\u201d You say and swing your sword downward severing Mortimer\u2019s head from his dead body. Never hurts to be sure.\n\n\u201cCome on, we should leave the city too before Flevas starts having it blown to pieces with us inside it.\u201d You remark.\n\nDecena nods and you make your way out of the palace and towards the city gates. The barrier is completely down now and there is no sign of Semra. She\u2019s probably long gone and on her way to who knows where now. Though you do wonder about this location she mentioned where there are still svelk. Can\u2019t be anywhere on this continent and from what you know there aren\u2019t any on Nyytrus. Another undiscovered land mass perhaps? To be quite honest you\u2019re not sure if you\u2019d even want to bother finding it if it\u2019s full of svelk.\n\nBut if the day ever came where they appear on your shores, you\u2019ll be sure to make certain that none leave to go back to it.\n\nDecena and you are quiet as you leave the city, but just as you see your army banners in sight she has to ask.\n\n\u201cWhy didn\u2019t you try to kill her?\u201d\n\u201cHeh. Good question. I was sort of wondering why myself. (Sigh) The reasons are a bit complicated I guess.\u201d\n\u201cYou\u2026you didn\u2019t really love her\u2026did you?\u201d\n\u201cHah! No, of course not. Everything I said was true and she knew it, that\u2019s why she left and I could tell she meant it this time. Mind connection and all. Hell, if I knew it was going to be advantage to get her to leave me alone, I might\u2019ve agreed to it a lot sooner.\u201d\n\u201cSo what were your reasons for not killing her?\u201d\n\u201cWell for one thing it wouldn\u2019t have ended that way had I initiated hostilities. First of all we were all fatigued and in no position to effectively fight one another. Even with you helping me, she would\u2019ve just escaped and probably bothered me in the future. At least this way I won\u2019t have to deal with her again. Not as good as her death I suppose, but I\u2019ll take it. Second? I made a promise that I\u2019d help her and I was going to keep my word. Call it foolish honor or a foolish sense of gratitude that she did save my life many times in the past. Whatever. I made the choice and it\u2019s done now.\u201d\n\nDecena seems to accept your response even if she doesn\u2019t entirely understand it, but then you give a third reason.\n\n\u201cOne reason I suppose\u2026and I never EVER expected to feel this way\u2026but I actually felt a twinge of pity for her. What I saw in her mind\u2026shit\u2026it\u2019s no wonder why she\u2019s so fucked up even for a svelk. Almost seemed more like a punishment to keep her alive so she can still live with all that emotional burden she tries so desperately to keep locked up tight. I dunno. Maybe I\u2019m just growing soft and weak in my old age. I mean every step I\u2019m taking right now is painful. There was a time when I could\u2019ve taken on two of those abominations and not even have been tired. Guess Semra was right about that. I will grow old like everyone else and eventually I\u2019ll be forgotten.\u201d\n\n\u201cNot to me you won\u2019t. Not to me.\u201d Decena says touching your arm, you touch her hand with your own.\n\n\u201cI know Decena. I know\u2026and I\u2019m sorry for what I did to you.\u201d You reply.\n\nDecena of course doesn\u2019t exactly know why you\u2019d be apologizing to her. In her mind she doesn\u2019t ever think you did anything excessively negative to her. And even the times you did, she\u2019s ultimately written it off as something that was \u201cfor the good of the Empire\u201d in the long term or probably made her own mental excuses for you.\n\nAnd of course that\u2019s the lasting damage you\u2019re apologizing for.\n\nSmiling again at Decena and giving a few words of praise for her deeds during the fight, the pair of you meet up with the rest of your army where Flevas says he\u2019s glad to see you both since he was planning on carrying out an airship bombardment just in case.\n\n\u201cFuck it. Let\u2019s bombard the city anyway and let the wilderness reclaim it.\u201d You say.\n\u201cYou sure? It\u2019s practically intact.\u201d Flevas asks.\n\u201cYeah. I don\u2019t like the architecture. Too\u2026pretty.\u201d You answer.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 56\n\nYou enter Brenda\u2019s office where upon the pair of your smile at each other.\n\n\u201cSo, how\u2019s the new bride?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cWonderful, of course. I\u2019m happier than I\u2019ve been in a long time. Thank you for performing the wedding personally.\u201d Brenda remarks.\n\u201cNo problem. Glad to do it, but I said it before and I\u2019ll say it again. Never did I EVER believe that you\u2019d remarry. Let alone to Warrick of all people! I remember when you hated his guts!\u201d\n\u201cHa ha, yeah\u2026that seems so long ago now. I was too full of misplaced anger and hate. Glad I moved past it and reconnected with Warrick again.\u201d\n\u201cSure, but I just never knew how well you two were reconnecting. When you both told me, I was completely taken by surprise.\u201d You chuckle.\n\u201cWell of course you were unaware. You were too busy fighting demons, monsters and sorcerer kings. Yeah, I know it still seems strange, but Warrick and I have a lot more in common than not, you know? I mean we grew up together, we trained together, and we served together. We\u2019re both Eternals. We\u2019re just always going to have that special connection. I mean I will always love Roldan, but why spend the remainder of my life alone if it feels right with another? We both came to that conclusion.\u201d\n\u201cHey, you don\u2019t need to explain to me. I understand and I\u2019m happy for the pair of you. Anyway I just came here to let you know that the new Eternals have been released from their tanks.\u201d\n\u201cSo did they meet with your standards?\u201d Brenda asks.\n\u201cYes, most of them seem to be very much like the third generation though perhaps with signs of displaying higher intelligence overall. I\u2019d definitely say they\u2019re ready for your training.\u201d You reply.\n\u201cSo you do still want me to train them?\u201d\n\u201cSure, you did well enough with the third generation didn\u2019t you? I\u2019m just wondering where the hell we\u2019re going to send them when they\u2019re all grown up. It\u2019s likely that Nyttrus will be completely under our control by that time.\u201d\n\u201cMaybe we\u2019ll discover a new continent?\u201d\n\u201cMaybe, I\u2019m certain they\u2019re out there, though I\u2019ve cut down on spending for exploration for awhile. I\u2019m trying to focus on rebuilding the destruction that was caused to the Nakol and getting Nyttrus under our control as well\n\u201cHow is it going over there anyway?\u201d\n\u201cBetter than I expected, worse than I hoped. We\u2019ve got more than a few strongholds there now, but the Iznac are far from being beaten, unfortunately most of the humans there are sick or dead due to disease and Iznac magic. Flog\u2019s also dead and the orcs have become slightly less disciplined as of late without his calmer leadership. There have been a few reports of deserters running off into the jungles and forming their own communities. (Sigh) Going to have to do something about them of course.\u201d\n\u201cWhat about the kobolds?\u201d\n\u201cHeh, Dedicated as always. The original leader I sent, Snilkez\u2019ka is still alive and kickin\u2019. She and the rest of them are the main ones holding down the forts. Never thought I\u2019d be so glad of their high birth rates. The third generation Eternals are getting shipped over there soon, so hopefully things will get better.\u201d\n\u201cWill you be going over there?\u201d\n\u201cI dunno. I might, if only to keep myself busy. There are no more major challenges here on Evigrus anymore and I\u2019d rather not send Decena there. Wasn\u2019t a pleasant experience for her and its not necessary for her to go through that again.\u201d\n\nBrenda nods and you suddenly go into a brief speech about Decena and how proud you are of her and engage in general praising of Decena\u2019s accomplishments.\n\n\u201cYou know\u2026and I\u2019ve never addressed this because I didn\u2019t think it was my place to do so, but I still don\u2019t understand why the two of you split up\u2026I mean granted the age difference might normally cause difficulties in being able to relate to one another, but considering that you\u2019re both warriors, you both have an unwavering dedication to preserving the Empire and more importantly you are both Eternals, you have a lot more in common than most people. I mean she is your prot\u00e9g\u00e9e is she not? It only seems natural that the pair of you would be an item.\u201d\n\nBrenda\u2019s bluntness takes you a bit off guard. She normally isn\u2019t so confrontational.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s complicated.\u201d You answer.\n\u201cNo, it really isn\u2019t. Look I don\u2019t know the whole story, but I DO know at one time you and Decena were together even if you didn\u2019t make it public knowledge. I also know that you DO care for her and its not just in an average friendly way or a master-subordinate way. You love her and for some reason you\u2019re denying yourself of it.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m not denying myself of anything.\u201d\n\u201cWell what then? I know it wasn\u2019t Decena\u2019s idea, that girl still worships the ground you walk on. Probably more than anyone in the entire Empire.\u201d\n\u201cLook Brenda, I understand you\u2019re still on a positivity trip due to your own newfound marital bliss, but my situation is different. It will ALWAYS be different all right?\n\u201cIt\u2019s not that much different\u2026\u201d\n\nAt this point you slam your hands down on Brenda\u2019s desk and get in her face, knocking over a few things on her desk.\n\n\u201cIT IS DIFFERENT. You can\u2019t understand and be glad that you don\u2019t.\u201d you remark. Brenda is silent at your aggressive stance. You stare at her for a few seconds and then back away.\n\n\u201cNow then, the new eternals will be transported here in a few days, I suggest you prepare yourself.\u201d You say and turn to leave.\n\nBrenda though is in rare form and can\u2019t help but continue.\n\n\u201cEmperor?\u201d she says.\n\u201cWhat?\u201d you answer.\n\u201cYou didn\u2019t do to Decena, what that svelk bitch did to you and I don\u2019t think Alison would want you spending the rest of your life mourning her.\u201d\n\nYou stand in the doorway for a moment with your back to Brenda.\n\n\u201cI know I didn\u2019t do what Semra did. I was hideously more successful\u2026and as for Alison\u2026she doesn\u2019t want anything. She\u2019s dead.\u201d You reply and leave the office.\n\nWell you\u2019re in a shitty mood now.\n\nYou spend the rest of the day doing a lot of introspection, weighing pros and cons, taking into consideration every side and all your personal feelings on the matter. Every once in awhile you speak to Alison\u2019s portrait as if she\u2019s going to answer. All of which ends up pissing you off even more because you find it to be a pointless endeavor when you should be focusing on more important matters.\n\nYou\u2019ve got a damn Empire to run and here you are struggling on what to do about a girl (Or actually a full grown woman now, that has a bit of an arrested development) that likes you. What the hell are you an idiotic hormonal teenager? You thought you settled this a long time ago.\n\nYou begin to mentally blame everything and everyone. You blame Brenda and Warrick for their new happy marriage. You especially blame Brenda for bringing this up to you. You blame Decena for becoming so attached to you. You blame Semra for\u2026well everything. You blame Alison for dying on you. You blame Cyrus for killing her. You blame Casimir for setting up the assassination. You even blame Marik for having a hand in creating Decena and then not successfully killing her.\n\nUltimately though you\u2019ve got nobody to blame, but yourself and you know it and you need to just make a final decision on what to do about Decena.", "action_results": [{"action": "Go to her now", "result": "You\u2019ve played the brooding tortured loner for too long. You\u2019re the damned Emperor, why the hell are you putting yourself through this unnecessary restriction and misguided attempt at \u201cmorality?\u201d\n\nThe \u201cdamage\u201d was done a long time ago and it isn\u2019t like Decena is special in this regard. You routinely have propaganda pumped out to keep thousands of people brainwashed throughout the Empire. Decena just had the luxury of a personal lesson.\n\nSo you took advantage of her youth and your position of power. So what? You still trained her to be the best. Would she have grown to love you if you hadn\u2019t done what you did? Doesn\u2019t matter. It\u2019s done. She loves you and you do love her. The years that have passed between the pair of you not being together have proven that your own feelings for her are genuine. They always were even if your approach wasn\u2019t quite conventional.\n\nYou\u2019ve done far worse things than the \u201ccorruption\u201d of one young girl who has done nothing but thrive because of your guidance. No, it is a far crueler thing to deprive her of what she wants the most. And it\u2019s a far more intelligent thing for you to accept her fully into your life as an equal.\n\nAnd as for the long shadow of Alison\u2026well\u2026 even Brenda moved on with her life. It\u2019s been long enough.\n\nYou take look at Alison\u2019s portrait.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s true that I\u2019ll always love you in some way. If it weren\u2019t for you, I wouldn\u2019t have known about how good such a crippling emotion can feel.\u201d You chuckle.\n\n\u201cThank you.\u201d You say and leave your room.\n\nDecena is currently still stationed in Nakol mostly keeping the potential chaos down while you rebuild and continue to establish order there. You have a message sent to her to return to the palace at once.\n\nWhen she returns she\u2019s in for quite the surprise when you immediately go to embrace her.\n\n\u201cErm\u2026not that I\u2019m complaining, but what\u2019s all this about my Emperor?\u201d she remarks.\n\u201cIt\u2019s about us. Once and for all I see what was meant to be. We were meant to be together.\u201d You answer.\n\nDecena\u2019s reaction is one of silent shock rather than the overwhelming happiness you believed.\n\n\u201cAre you serious?\u201d Decena asks calmly.\n\u201cYes, why wouldn\u2019t I be?\u201d you reply.\n\u201c\u2026I\u2026just\u2026\u201d Decena stumbles over her words.\n\u201cWhat? What\u2019s wrong? Aren\u2019t you happy with this news?\u201d\n\u201cWell\u2026yes\u2026but\u2026\u201d\n\u201cDid you find someone else?\u201d you ask believing that could be the only reason for her hesitation.\n\u201cNo! There could never be anyone else! It\u2019s just\u2026I have to know\u2026\u201d\n\u201cWhat?! What is it?! Spit it out!\u201d you exclaim.\n\u201cI have to know if this is real. I mean REALLY real. You\u2019ll always be my Emperor, but I have known you in a more intimate way once before and you dismissed me, and I accepted it. In time I have even become used to that fact. But if we are to become intimate once more\u2026 I can\u2019t go through losing you in that way again. I just can\u2019t\u2026so if this is just a flight of fancy or something I\u2019d rather not\u2026\u201d\n\nAt this point Decena is getting upset, and you have to reassure her.\n\n\u201cDecena, this is real. No bullshit. I\u2019m serious. I\u2019ve searched my mind, body and what might be a soul about this and I know there\u2019s nobody else I would rather become my wife.\u201d\n\nNow Decena is struck again with surprise. She probably figured you two were just going to start bedding each other again.\n\n\u201cWife? You\u2019re serious? But wouldn\u2019t that make me\u2026\u201d\n\u201cEmpress. Yes, it would. You would have an equal say in the Empire. Possibly more than anyone else besides myself.\u201d You answer.\n\u201cOh\u2026I don\u2019t know\u2026I mean\u2026I\u2019m a soldier. I don\u2019t understand all the intricacies of running a country like you do.\u201d Brenda says.\n\u201cPfft. You think I agonize over all of it? I let Kivan and other bean counters handle most of the boring stuff anyway. I\u2019m just saying you would no longer have to feel subordinate or subservient. We would be equal. We would rule together. You understand?\u201d\n\nDecena nods and a smile forms across her face.\n\n\u201cI do.\u201d And she leans in to kiss you.\n\nIn the weeks that follow, \u201cI do.\u201d is said by the both of you again at the ceremony when you finally make your joining official. There is celebration and merriment, though the wedding itself is not an excessively fancy one. It certainly has more security than normal however and is held in the palace.\n\nLater as the night goes on, Warrick and Brenda sit at the table with you Decena. The pair of them have been in rare form the entire event with their intake of alcohol. While they aren\u2019t drunk, they\u2019re certainly less formal than usual, but then this isn\u2019t exactly a time for formalities.\n\n\u201cSee? Didn\u2019t I tell you Brenda? I told you he\u2019d marry her.\u201d Warrick says.\n\u201cWarrick you said no such thing! In fact you kept telling me that I shouldn\u2019t have opened up my mouth about it!\u201d Brenda remarks.\n\u201cBah, you must\u2019ve misunderstood me. I always knew it was inevitable.\u201d Warrick says refusing to acknowledge his mistake.\n\u201cGlad to know you had faith in me Warrick.\u201d You say causing Warrick to raise his glass before taking a drink.\n\u201cHeh, well I\u2019m certainly glad you said something Brenda.\u201d Decena says.\n\nBrenda leans in on the table speaking directly to Decena. You can smell the alcohol; she\u2019s definitely been drinking more than Warrick tonight.\n\nI just want to say, you\u2019re fucking beautiful in that dress. Seriously I mean it. I dunno how you still look so young. Must be all those years you spent in that fucking tank.\u201d\n\u201cErm\u2026I guess\u2026\u201d Decena answers.\n\u201cI\u2019m telling you right now. HE\u2019S the lucky one.\u201d Brenda says pointing to you. Without you he\u2019d just be moping about this palace all lonely and still pining over that human girl\u2026\u201d\n\nThis remark causes a bit of silence from everyone, and Warrick starts to tell Brenda to be quiet while Decena just looks at you.\n\n\u201cErm, Brenda I think you\u2019ve really had too much to drink now\u2026\u201d Warrick says.\n\u201cNow no disrespect to Alison\u2026I mean she was a warrior. Certainly someone to be respected\u2026but\u2026\u201d\n\u201cBrenda! Shut. Up!\u201d\n\nYou wave your hand in downward fashion to Warrick.\n\n\u201cNo, it\u2019s fine. Brenda spoke her mind once to me before and this all turned out fairly well, so I\u2019m sort of interested in where this is heading.\u201d You say.\n\n\u201cApologies. I\u2019m a little intoxicated\u2026\u201d Brenda says.\n\u201cBrenda. Seriously. You obviously got something to say. So say it.\u201d\n\u201cAll right\u2026Emp\u2026I will.\u201d\n\nBrenda takes another drink.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m just saying that you and Decena belong together for several reasons, but most of which is because you\u2019re both Eternals! Doesn\u2019t matter if you\u2019re not from the same generation or not, you\u2019ve got more in common than anyone could possibly know. All of us do. We NEED to stick together. I mean it\u2019s not like we can breed\u2026\u201d\n\nWell this is an unexpected twist and now a few bystanders are trying their best not to look like they\u2019re listening.\n\n\u201cWhy can\u2019t we breed anyway? Have you figured that out yet, mighty emp? I mean we\u2019re fucking superior to\u2026like everyone! So why the hell can\u2019t we breed?\u201d\n\nAt this point Brenda\u2019s voice is getting louder and Warrick keeps apologizing and begins to motion Brenda towards an exit. You reassure Warrick that he needn\u2019t worry about himself or Brenda and to just get her to sleep it off somewhere. Kivan runs over to ask if everything is okay and you tell him yes, but that you and Decena are going to retire and the rest of the guests can continue enjoying themselves if they wish.\n\nWhen you and Decena get back to your room, she addresses the situation that just transpired.\n\n\u201cWhat exactly was THAT all about? What was all that about us Eternals having to stick together, asking why we can\u2019t breed and such?\u201d Decena asks.\n\u201cI have no idea. Really. Brenda\u2019s usually always been calm minded about things. I\u2019d say it was the drink, but that was only the spark. It\u2019s obvious she\u2019s had these feelings for a while though. Maybe, I dunno. Maybe she wishes she could\u2019ve had her own children. I know she\u2019s thought of the third generation and now the fourth generation of Eternals as her children sometimes. She\u2019s seen them all grown up and directly trained most of them. I guess a maternal instinct has kicked in.\u201d you reply.\n\n\u201cYou know\u2026I do wonder too though sometimes. Why is it that we\u2019re sterile?\u201d\n\u201cWell the process isn\u2019t exactly the safest. There\u2019s bound to be a sacrifice somewhere. When the original emperor had us created, he probably did it on purpose or wasn\u2019t concerned about such a sacrifice. When Marik created your group, he probably didn\u2019t care about the sacrifice as well. And to be honest, I\u2019ve never looked into the problem too closely either. I was more focused on potential combat ability rather than fertility.\u201d\n\u201cHm, perhaps you should.\u201d\n\u201cYou saying you would\u2019ve wanted children? Barefoot and pregnant? Taking care of little monsters instead of out there on the battlefield brining glory to the Empire?\u201d you ask.\n\nDecena laughs.\n\n\u201cWell maybe not, but I dunno\u2026I mean if you and I were able to have children, I might not mind it. I mean we would be bringing in another Eternal into this world. Certainly a worthwhile endeavor and still serving the Empire. I mean Brenda might\u2019ve been drunk, but she was correct that we ARE superior to the other races. I mean I know we look human, but you know, and I\u2019ll bet every other Eternal out there knows that we are ultimately better than humans. I know you\u2019ve HAD to think it on several occasions. I mean you\u2019re the best of all of us! If we could actually breed, we\u2019d eventually replace humanity as the dominant race. You\u2019d also be able to have heirs.\u201d\n\u201cYou\u2019re my heir.\u201d\n\u201cWell obviously, but I\u2019m going to die too someday. The Empire needs a strong ruler to hold it together.\u201d\n\u201cWait a minute! I thought you always said I was going to live forever.\u201d You say with some amusement.\n\u201cI said I WANT to believe you will, not that it\u2019s actually going to happen. I guess even though I\u2019ve never said it out loud, I am sometimes concerned about the Empire\u2019s potential future.\u201d\n\nNever before have you heard Decena speak in such a manner. Oh you\u2019ve heard her talking like a soldier or a general about ruthless battlefield tactics and strategy. But this\u2026is a little bit different. She\u2019s speaking with a prospective plan for the future of the nation.\n\nShe\u2019s speaking like a ruler. Like an Empress.\n\nBrenda was correct, she is right for you.\n\n\u201cWell, that is all certainly something to think about, but who knows maybe we\u2019ll defy nature tonight.\u201d You say and start moving Decena towards the bed.\n\nThe pair of you proceed to enjoy your wedding night.\n\nThe next day you\u2019re informed of the latest problems on Nyttrus by Kivan who received a message about it in the middle of the night. The Iznac have apparently unleashed a powerful \u201csecret weapon\u201d in the form of three very large flying lizards. And these aren\u2019t wyverns either. They are creatures that Casimir once told you were rare even back in his day. They\u2019re dragons and apparently they\u2019ve already destroyed one of your forts on the continent.\n\nLooks like you and Decena will be taking your honeymoon on Nyttrus.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 60\n\nEighteen years ago the Children of Tor launched an all out assault on you and while it was a fierce battle, it was the beginning of the end for them as an effective fighting force.\n\nYou hope that the Iznac are going to suffer a similar situation here today, because if not, it\u2019s going to be the beginning of the end for the Empire. Only one civilization is going to come out of this alive from this conflict.\n\nYou\u2019re currently holding the line at Fort Canopy, but it isn\u2019t the only major battle going on right now. You know only a few miles away Decena is undoubtedly doing his best to defend Fort Tangle and General Flevas is taking the fight to the Iznac in the jungles.\n\nHigh in the air through the rain and in the near distance you see a multi-colored dragon unleash a gout of flame from its mouth, which engulfs the Tornado. Already heavily damaged the flying fortress can\u2019t take anymore and begins to explode. Minor ones at first, then one large one. Flaming pieces of the machine fall from the sky.\n\nThe Storm II fires another volley of cannon fire at the dragon wounding the great beast, but it isn\u2019t enough to kill it. The dragon bellows and turns its great body around to focus its attack on the Storm II. It isn\u2019t going to die easy like its two siblings did over the past few years. It\u2019s going to fight with everything it has.\n\nYou look over the battlements and see several Iznacs climbing the walls of the fort like an army of ants. They aren\u2019t even using ladders, they\u2019re just scaling the fort with their bare hands. It\u2019s actually rather impressive, until you unleash a chain of lightning to zap all of them. The shock is enough to at least cause most of them to fall off if not outright kill them immediately.\n\n\u201cSlaughter the four armed spider eyed bastards! Make them realize that their domination of this continent has passed! This is the time of the Empire!\u201d you shout to the Eternals defending the fort.\n\nYour people are doing their best though they can\u2019t stop every Iznac from scaling the fort. Soon the gunfire is replaced by sounds of close combat weaponry. No matter how far the advances in technology, it always eventually comes down to looking your opponent in the eye and feeling their blood splatter as you end their life.\n\nWhile you\u2019re busy hacking off the limbs of an Iznac warrior, another loud explosion in the distance is heard followed by a bright flash in the sky. It\u2019s not lightning from the storm, but rather the demise of your Storm. The Storm II joins the Tornado in crashing to the ground after losing its skirmish with the dragon. Hopefully the rain is making the jungle wet enough or else the flames from the wreckage of these downed airships are going to cause an inferno throughout the jungle.\n\nSeveral small frog like beings eventually make their way in by scaling the walls with their masters. They\u2019re generally just referred to as \u201cfrogs\u201d but their formal name is the Glip. The Glip almost remind you of the kobolds. Despite being under the harsh dominion of the Iznac for who knows how long, none of the villages ever joined the Empire when the war broke out. Didn\u2019t matter that the Iznac used to (and probably still do) sacrifice and eat the Glip, they ultimately still remained loyal to them.\n\nWhile they\u2019ve certainly had their moments, mostly due to ambushes with blowguns and poisonous darts and their camouflage abilities. The Glip are not close combat warriors by any means. It isn\u2019t surprising that you\u2019ve not had to fight many of them. Even the Iznac know their skills are better suited elsewhere. The fact that you\u2019ve started to face a lot of them does give you an indication of how desperate the Iznac have become.\n\nA group of orcs smash through the barricades of the fort. You sometimes shake your head at the stupidity of that situation. You have no idea how the Iznac managed to come to accept the rebellious orcs as allies, but you guarantee it wasn\u2019t for any reasons other than convenience. Did the greenskins actually believe that Iznac saw them as anything than handy fodder for this conflict? If they broke away from the Empire because they didn\u2019t like being used in such a way, then they completely missed the point.\n\nThen again being orcs they probably didn\u2019t think that far ahead or perhaps they just wanted to fight the Empire and didn\u2019t care about the reasons. In any case, no matter who wins this conflict, the orcs lose. The Iznac have a habit of ritually sacrificing their \u201cneighbors and allies\u201d to their gods.\n\nIt doesn\u2019t matter in the scheme of things because even with overwhelming odds, your Eternals are still holding their own against all attackers. The only thing that concerns you slightly is\u2026\n\nYou hear a roaring sound getting closer to your position and the sounds of great wings flapping.\n\nIt would appear your concerns will be arriving soon. You just hope that the Storm II and the Tornado did enough damage to it before they both went down. You don\u2019t have the advantage of Decena helping you take it down like you did with the last two dragons.\n\nYou shout a general command for the still working cannons to be pointed towards the dragon and to prepare to fire when the beast is in range. In the meantime you try to keep that side of the fort relatively free of invading forces.\n\nThe dragon gets closer and you give the order to fire and unleash your own magic bolts at the creature. It\u2019s definitely wounded from its ordeal with the two airships, but given your experience with the other two dragons, you know it\u2019s far from being out the fight.\n\nIn fact it\u2019s so determined that it doesn\u2019t distinguish friend from foe when it blasts its flame breath on the fort. You manage to protect most of your people with a magic barrier, but for those outside its protection, most are set on fire if not incinerated immediately. On the positive side, it reduces your enemies, on the negative it ignites the gunpowder barrels for the cannons causing a massive explosion and completely destroying one side of the fort.\n\nWhile the barrier still protects you and everyone within initially, its still a lot of strain on your energy and you begin to feel the fatigue setting in.\n\n\u201cNo! Damnit! Fight through it!\u201d you mutter to yourself hating your weakness.\n\nWhen the dragon passes you temporarily put down the barrier to take a small breather seeing as you aren\u2019t immediately being attacked by Iznac ground forces anymore (Which have mostly been killed or broke and run by this point)\n\nSeveral soldiers point up and announce that the dragon is slowly turning around for a second pass.\n\n\u201cEveryone spread out and find your own cover! Shoot the overgrown lizard when in range!\u201d you shout and make your way back up to the battlements (Those that are still intact that is).\n\nYou stand on top of the battlements and see the dragon coming straight at you. Almost as if it was personal and who knows maybe it is. This creature may very well want you dead for killing its only two companions. Or perhaps it\u2019s just intelligent enough to recognize you as a genuine threat.\n\nYou summon up all your energy and unleash a stream of lightning at the dragon just as it\u2019s beginning to open its mouth to breath fire. It doesn\u2019t stop. It doesn\u2019t even slow down despite the fact that you\u2019ve undoubtedly just shocked the hell of its brain.\n\nA gout of flame comes directly at you.\n\n\u201cShit!\u201d you shout and put up your own personal barrier to block the flames. Which succeeds, but it does nothing to stop the dragon\u2019s approach. It\u2019s fully intent on ramming you at this point.\n\nYou no idea what would happen if you just stood there with your barrier up. It\u2019s possible the dragon would severely smash its own face in from the force, maybe even breaking its neck, however its also possible that it would hit with enough force that it could actually move you. In this case, right off the battlements on to the ground several feet behind you.\n\nYour Eternals unleash gunfire as the dragon gets closer and you\u2019re left to wonder if this high-risk plan could potentially end this dragon threat once and for all.", "action_results": [{"action": "Keep the barrier up", "result": "Probably one of the crazier things you\u2019ve done and its entirely possible you\u2019re either trying to prove something to yourself or you just want this battle to be over with win or lose because you\u2019re getting very tired. Probably a little bit of both.\n\n\u201cOkay, you fucking overgrown flying lizard, it\u2019s either going to be me or you today.\u201d You say and expend more energy to reinforce your barrier.\n\nFor a brief moment you see the dragon\u2019s face get closer and closer and then\u2026\n\nThere\u2019s a great smashing force that causes you to fly off the battlements.\n\nYou don\u2019t actually fall straight to the ground, but instead you actually sail backwards in the air for a moment and into one of the many decimated tree trunks of the nearby jungle. You feel a cracking sound as your back and head slams hard into the solid wood of the tree and then you begin to fall straight down. Even if you weren\u2019t completely knocked senseless by this terrific force you don\u2019t have anything that could slow your decent. The best you can do is shield your face with your forearms as you crash to the ground.\n\nAnother cracking sound is heard when you hit the ground and you\u2019re in more physical pain than you\u2019ve been in awhile. You\u2019re not dead, but when you try to move, you find that you\u2019re unable. At least not your legs, which are completely numb. You\u2019ve broken your back and the bones in your arms are probably broken too, though you\u2019re definitely feeling the pain from that injury.\n\nWhile you\u2019re lying half paralyzed away from the fort, you can hear the audible sounds of battle coming from it. You aren\u2019t sure what happened to the dragon, but apparently it didn\u2019t manage to ram straight through you and keep going. It\u2019s in the fort thrashing about and roaring in pain. Pieces of stone from the fort go flying in different directions; you just hope one of those stone blocks doesn\u2019t hit you since you\u2019re in no position to move right now.\n\nThere\u2019s nothing you can do save for one thing. Heal yourself with magic. You focus all the magic you got on mending your spine first and then your other wounds next. The dragon, gunfire, clanging of weapons and shouting can all be heard while you do this.\n\nBy the time you\u2019re finished, you can barely stand up. You don\u2019t know if it\u2019s due to your drained state or if the magic still needs time to take affect completely. In any case you start to limp back to the fort, which has started to become much quieter.\n\nWhen you enter, the fort is practically destroyed, several Eternals lie dead (or in pieces) and right in the center lays the dragon with severe wounds all over its body, exposed bones, torn wings and bleeding profusely.\n\n\u201cEmperor! You\u2019re alive!\u201d one of the eternals shouts when he sees you.\n\u201cGlory to the Empire! We feared the worst when we saw you fall from the battlements. It was a great show of bravery on your part to face down the dragon in the way you did! Never before have I seen something so inspiring! It also caused the creature to crash to the ground where upon all of us took advantage of the situation. As you can see we have brought honor in your name by finishing off the beast!\u201d another boasts.\n\n\u201cOh really? Is that why it\u2019s still breathing?\u201d you point out causing the eternals standing around to back off suddenly.\n\nThe dragon is indeed still breathing, but it\u2019s very weak. It\u2019s dying. Your eternals go to strike, but you tell them to hold and shake your head at them not being observant enough to see that the dragon is still alive in the first place. You walk towards the dragon\u2019s head and grab a nearby axe on the ground.\n\nThe beast manages to look at you with one eye and does nothing. You wonder if it still actually has some strength left in it, but is just too tired and old to continue fighting. Maybe it\u2019s ready for it all to end. To join its fellows.\n\nYou have no idea what dragon\u2019s think or even if they do think in such complex terms, but when you take a look at this creature you can\u2019t help but think how old it probably is. What has it seen? Did it once have its own civilization of sorts? What was it like at its peak? What caused it to ally with the Iznac? Was the arrangement some sort of compromise to avoid possible extinction?\n\nExtinction that has come anyway at your hands.\n\nYou get closer to the dragon and ready your axe. The dragon still makes no move. It just closes its one good eye.\n\n\u201cY\u2019know\u2026 sometimes I feel like you. Old and broken down, just wanting to lie down and let the sleep take me. Perhaps, I\u2019ll even find myself in the same position one day\u2026(sigh) anyway, on your way dragon. Looks like it was you today.\u201d You say and swing the axe at the dragon\u2019s neck.\n\nYou have to hack away several times before you manage to sever its head. A cheer goes up from the eternals who survived the battle.\n\n\u201cNo cheering yet. This was barely a victory given all of our casualties and the condition of this fort. We also still have no word on Flevas\u2019 company or how my wife is doing at Fort Tangle. Now let\u2019s get organized and find out.\u201d You say.\n\nThe next few days still see a lot of combat. Decena was a lot more successful at Fort Tangle, but then she didn\u2019t have a dragon attacking it. She congratulates you on your victory though and is glad to see you\u2019re still alive from your ordeal.\n\nEventually her and Snilkez\u2019ka\u2019s troops push forward and attack Iznac cities. Without their dragons anymore, it\u2019s a lot easier to go faster on the attack.\n\nUnfortunately Flevas\u2019 suffered an ignoble fate. He was killed fighting off a mixture of Glip and Iznac troops in the jungles and he was unlucky to be felled by several poisonous darts that the Glip love to use. His company fought on and won, but you\u2019ve lost a good commander. Such are the ways of war. You and those who served under him will at least remember Flevas\u2019 deeds. He certainly proved that elves could be an asset to the Empire rather than just whine all the time.\n\nIt is truly the beginning of the end for the Iznac civilization and it is now in sight. You predict perhaps at least one more year of heavy fighting maximum, then maybe three more years of random raiding from the hold outs and survivors.\n\nAfter that? The Iznac will either be hiding in the farthest reaches of wilderness, will have completely submitted to your rule (Unlikely) or completely exterminated. You\u2019re betting on that last one, as it seems to be the way of things.\n\nIn any case you\u2019ll soon be ruler of two continents. What comes next is unknown, but you know that you\u2019re going to have some downtime to think about it. In fact you have somewhat of an idea of what to pursue next.\n\nIts something Brenda and Decena mentioned the day you got married. The Eternals and their inability to reproduce. You\u2019re thinking that will be your next goal. You nearly died in your battle with the dragon and by healing yourself in the way you did, you probably just shortened your life span anyway. It\u2019s time to start thinking about your potential legacy and future of the Empire.\n\nThe current eternals have proven their worth and then some, but they could still be better. The next generation that Brenda is training will undoubtedly be better still, but the fifth\u2026that\u2019s the group you want to break the mold with.\n\nThere\u2019s got to be a way. Maybe you, Elam and possibly Galen can figure it out if you put your heads together. Hell, maybe even the gnomes might have some insight on the science side of things.\n\nThe time for simple conquest of territory is coming to an end at least perhaps for now.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 67\n\nPeace is a good thing for most people and in your elderly years you can even sort of appreciate it a little more, but the problem is, you\u2019ve got hundreds of new Eternals who have been bred and trained for war and nobody to send them up against.\n\nTo be honest you thought maybe that Semra would make good on her claim of resurrecting the \u201cSvelk Empire\u201d again and perhaps invade with an armada filled with svelk warriors, but haven\u2019t heard or seen a svelk since you last spoke to her. Then again she did say it wouldn\u2019t happen in your lifetime.\n\nWhile you haven\u2019t put as much time and money into exploration any more, there are still efforts being made by private expeditions, but nobody has had much luck in finding any new lands worthwhile.\n\nIn any event you\u2019re going to have to have them do something with them soon, just maybe not today. You also have to meet with Elam, since apparently he\u2019s come up with a possible solution to the sterility problem of the eternals.\n\n\u201cWell, I\u2019m sure we\u2019ll find something for them to do, but let me just say you\u2019ve done a fine job with them as usual.\u201d You say to Brenda.\n\u201cThank you, but I don\u2019t think I\u2019ll be able to effectively train the next batch. At least not full time. Getting sort of\u2026\u201d\n\u201cYou don\u2019t need to say it. Trust me, we\u2019re all getting that way, don\u2019t worry I\u2019m going to have Decena training the fifth gen. Training\u2019s definitely going to go a little differently, but then if my meeting with Elam is going to be a positive one then these next Eternals are going to be different anyway.\u201d\n\u201cSo the rumors are true? Elam\u2019s figured out a way?\u201d\n\u201cSo he says. Trust me, I\u2019m just as surprised as you are. In any case, I\u2019m off to meet him.\u201d\n\nYou bid Brenda goodbye and head to the location where new eternals are \u201cborn.\u201d When you arrive a couple of workers and ask if the children will be arriving today to which you reply no and ask if Elam has arrived yet. They tell you that Elam has indeed arrived and is waiting in Chief Supervisor Gregory\u2019s office. They also mention that a woman came with him. You have no idea who that could be. Girlfriend perhaps? If so, you honestly didn\u2019t know Elam even paid any attention to anything that wasn\u2019t scientifically related.\n\nYou enter the office just in time to see Elam criticizing Gregory\u2019s lack of adventure in his chosen profession.\n\n\u201cBah! You\u2019ve always been too cautious Gregory! Even the gnomes with all their needless safety pre-cautions aren\u2019t as timid! That\u2019s why you\u2019re still here watching tanks and I\u2019m creating new and better things for the Empire!\u201d Elam boasts.\n\u201cReally\u2026I\u2019m fine\u2026I like it here\u2026\u201d Gregory says quietly and then looks in your direction and straightens up in his chair.\n\u201cSee? What did I tell you Zana? Same ol\u2019 Gregory! Hah! Oh Emperor! Didn\u2019t see you there! Apologies.\u201d\n\nYou tell everyone to dismiss the formalities and tell Gregory to leave as you have important business with Elam. He nods, and leaves. The woman though does not. You have no idea who she except she looks to be in her thirties, wears spectacles, has long curly red hair and is dressed in technician\u2019s clothing similar to Elam.\n\n\u201cI trust this woman is somehow important to what we have to discuss, otherwise you would not have her here?\u201d you say sitting down.\n\u201cOh! Yes, apologies once again. This is Zana, and she\u2019s been invaluable in helping me on not just this project, but on several others in the past.\u201d Elam says.\n\u201cZana? Why have I not heard of her before? I know the gnomes let Elam into their city on my insistence, but I didn\u2019t realize we had another human inventor there.\u201d You say.\n\u201cOh, she was born there, Emperor.\u201d\n\u201cWhat?\u201d\n\nAt this point Zana speaks for herself.\n\n\u201cActually Elam as I\u2019ve told you once before, I wasn\u2019t born in New Dessle I was just raised there. Sometimes I wonder how you invent so well with your memory as foggy as it is. At least our Emperor has a good reason for not remembering me. He has an entire Empire to rule.\u201d Zana says playfully pushing his shoulder.\n\u201cWait. We\u2019ve met?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cOh yes. We briefly met when you first incorporated New Dessle into the Empire. I\u2019m Klemto\u2019s adopted daughter.\u201d\n\nThat was so long ago, you barely remember, though you\u2019re starting to now. Yes, she was only a teenager then.\n\n\u201cAh yes\u2026starting to remember. I remember you ran up to Klemto telling him that you wanted to help fix your lighting system. Klemto gave you permission, but was slightly embarrassed that you interrupted his meeting with me and then only briefly greeted me before running off.\u201d\n\u201cGood memory. I know it\u2019s late, but I apologize for my impetuous youthful ways.\u201d\n\u201cNone necessary. Wasn\u2019t offended then either, in fact I remember applauding Klemto for raising such a child that wished to serve their community in a meaningful way.\u201d\n\u201cI thank you my Emperor. And I have continued to serve the Empire in the same way.\u201d\n\u201cI believe it, otherwise Elam wouldn\u2019t have you here, so I\u2019m guessing you both must have come up with a solution to our problem. So let\u2019s discuss that, shall we?\u201d\n\nElam begins to excitedly tell you about all the tests they did and a lot of scientific talk without actually getting to the point. He particularly enjoys talking about how some of the fourth generation eternals you granted him permission to take for testing years ago, managed to reproduce under the right conditions. He mentions it was only the one girl and she died in the process, but the child she gave birth too managed to actually survive for a few minutes.\n\nWhen this doesn\u2019t exactly fill you with confidence, Zana speaks up again.\n\n\u201cWhat Elam means to say, that despite the limited success, we have definitely found a way to make the next set of Eternals fertile. The magical process is what is causing the problem. At first we thought it was too much magic, but in actuality it\u2019s too little.\u201d Zana explains.\n\u201cReally?\u201d\n\u201cYes, despite enhancing many of the traits of the eternals with each generation, the magical energy has been too specific in its task. The Eternal\u2019s body should be completely immersed in the energy while in the tank and then the appropriate chemical mixtures can be added, and then\u2026well I won\u2019t bore you again with technical talk. Rest assured though we both believe very strongly that it will work.\n\u201cSo\u2026what? Do we need to sacrifice an entire mage for a single fertile Eternal?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cWell\u2026that would work, if you had the numbers, but from what I do know, magic has been on the decline for some time now. There are\u2026what? Like twenty mages in the whole Empire now? Most of which are old men and women and none of them particularly very powerful. Not powerful enough for our purposes even if we did completely drain them. Honestly we would need someone with at least the power that Galen had, but unfortunately as you know we used him as a test subject, which ended up helping us come to this conclusion in the first place. Not all is lost and we can still accomplish this, but\u2026\u201d\n\nZana hesitates to even speak it and even Elam who is usually in an excited state is very somber looking. You get the impression you already know where they\u2019re going to go with this\u2026\n\n\u201cLet me guess. I have to sacrifice myself.\u201d You say.\n\nElam and Zana don\u2019t answer.\n\n\u201cWell?\u201d\n\u201cYes, but we still aren\u2019t sure about the results, I mean this isn\u2019t an exact science\u2026 I mean\u2026\u201d\n\u201cNot an exact science? Then what the fuck are we talking about Elam? Zana just said she was certain it would work! Now you\u2019re telling me it might not and I\u2019m supposed to kill myself in the process?\u201d\n\u201cNo! That\u2019s not what I mean! (Exhale) Look what I mean is I believe we can set it up so you\u2019ll be able to survive the process. I mean you\u2019re so powerful and your magical abilities are vast. I mean even for a man your age you\u2019re in good physical condition and you can withstand more pain than most. I can\u2019t believe I\u2019m saying this, but\u2026I THINK if we take the necessary safety precautions, you\u2019ll be able to survive this process, but the downside is we\u2019re not going to be able to do this with a thousand or even half that number of potential eternal candidates. We can do it with a hundred maximum and you will definitely lose all your magical abilities in the process.\u201d Elam says and is beginning to sweat.\n\n\u201cAnd what do you say about this Zana? Do you believe this could be done?\u201d\n\u201cI won\u2019t lie. I don\u2019t know. I mean yes it is possible if we were very careful and severely lowered the amount of Eternal candidates, you might survive, but I just don\u2019t know. I do know that the process will still result in the desired outcome for the Eternals though.\u201d\n\u201cHowever, there is another process that Zana and I have discussed that may be more desirable to you.\u201d Elam suddenly exclaims.\n\nElam takes a deep breath and asks you.\n\n\u201cHow would you like to be immortal?\u201d\n\u201cThis is a joke right?\u201d\n\u201cNo joke my Emperor. I\u2019m very serious.\u201d Elam says and you have no doubt that he is, though Zana looks skeptical.\n\u201cElam, the Emperor wants to hear real solutions, not theories.\u201d\n\u201cIt\u2019s no theory! I\u2019m starting to get results! In fact I dare say I\u2019m even more certain about this approach than the one with the Eternals! Emperor, if you give me a little more time to perfect the\u2026\u201d\n\u201cElam, will you explain from the beginning for once?!\u201d you shout.\n\u201cYes. Apologies my Emperor. Okay. It\u2019s going to sound crazy, but then I\u2019m sure the concept of a ship that flies in the air did once too right? I believe I\u2019ve found a way to keep a person alive long after their body has died.\u201d\n\nAlready you\u2019re joining Zana in your skepticism.\n\n\u201cSounds like magic to me. Specifically necromancy. Last I remember you weren\u2019t a necromancer Elam and I have no intention on being some mindless walking corpse.\u201d\n\u201cNo it\u2019s not raising the dead, it\u2019s science! No magic involved at all! In fact YOU wouldn\u2019t have to do much of anything. Y\u2019see, all I need is your brain.\u201d Elam says with a creepy grin.\n\nWell this conversation has taken an interesting turn.\n\n\u201cElam I don\u2019t know if you\u2019re aware, but I sort of need that to live in the first place.\u201d\n\u201c(Sigh) What my over zealous colleague is trying to say is he\u2019s been doing experiments in his spare time on various human subjects. Well, not ALL human subjects, but specifically the brain. He\u2019s managed to remove entire brains and keep the subject alive.\u201d Zana interjects.\n\u201cWHAT?! I just said I have no intention on walking around like a mindless corpse!\u201d you exclaim.\n\u201cNo, he\u2019s not keeping the subject\u2019s bodies alive. He\u2019s been able to keep the brains alive. At least for a little while\u2026\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019ll be able to keep them alive indefinitely with a little more time!\u201d Elam exclaims.\n\nNow this conversation has just gotten weird. You rub your face and head with your hands and try to assess the situation.\n\n\u201cOkay wait. Let me get this straight. You\u2019re saying you can remove my brain and keep me alive? How? Where the hell would I be? How would I do anything?\u201d\n\u201cWell that\u2019s why I need a little more time. However, YOU would be floating in a tank filled with certain chemicals.\u201d\n\u201cFloating in a tank?\u201d\n\u201cYes, well at least temporarily. I mean I believe we could in time hook you up to a machine system so that perhaps your brain waves could control something like the automatons that we create in New Dessel. I believe with your innate magic powers you could probably tap into some sort of telepathic ability with the right jolts of electricity to the tank. You\u2019d be able to give orders to people through their minds so communication might not be a problem\u2026\u201d Elam says and continues speaking, but you\u2019re starting to get overwhelmed.\n\nThis is absolutely insane what you\u2019re hearing. And not just the brain part, you mean all of it. Even the way to make the Eternals fertile sounds crazy. Especially given some of the experiments that were performed in order to explore the possibility in the first place. Now Elam\u2019s telling you he\u2019s been cutting brains out of people and keeping them alive and he\u2019s suggesting on putting YOU in a tank. You can\u2019t help but see the irony of being in a tank for the rest of your life.\n\nAnd the strangest part about all this? You\u2019re more than willing to entertain both ideas.\n\nIf you sacrifice yourself so that the new eternals can breed then it won\u2019t be one in vain. Quite frankly how many more worthwhile years do you have left anyway? Maybe it would be better to die so that a legacy of sorts can live forever. Besides, there is always the possibility that you could survive the process. Of course there\u2019s always the chance it could all fail horribly. Elam and Zana may seem very certain that it will work, but you still have your reservations.\n\nAs crazy as Elam\u2019s idea sounds, part of it intrigues you. Immortality would give you that time you always wanted in past. Time enough to conquer the world. With immortality, you wouldn\u2019t need to worry about some sort of legacy, you would always be. He says he needs more time to work on it though which is a concern, then there\u2019s the fact that you\u2019d be floating in a tank. Would you grow bored? Would you go mad? Would you even be \u201cyou?\u201d Elam said there would be the possibility of setting something up so you could interact with the outside world, but again who knows if that will even work?\n\nYou\u2019ve got a decision and you need to make one or the other.", "action_results": [{"action": "Children", "result": "Elam\u2019s always had wild ideas, but this \u201cimmortality\u201d plan just sounds too far-fetched and quite frankly more than a little risky. You\u2019d be sacrificing the original plan entirely just to what? Live forever as a brain in a tank? What kind of life is that?\n\nEven if something were set up so you could interact with the outside world, you\u2019d still be very limited. Never again could you lift a weapon or cast a spell and face your enemies in battle. Never again could you enjoy the company of Decena in a meaningful way. And what of other potential mates when you eventually outlive her? You can\u2019t imagine how you could be satisfied with the existence even if you did manage to conquer the rest of the world. Who knows what the long-term effects would be. You still think you\u2019d probably go mad eventually.\n\nIf the immortality involved your current body, you\u2019re not even sure you\u2019d accept it. Not with how much you ache on a regular basis. No, immortality was never in the cards for you. This \u201clife\u201d wasn\u2019t even supposed to happen, so why entertain an impossible dream? You\u2019ve achieved much in this life and if the end is coming soon then so be it.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m not spending the rest of my life as a disembodied brain for any reason. We\u2019re sticking with the original plan regardless of the consequences. However, I\u2019m also not quite eager to shuffle off this mortal coil just yet, so we\u2019re going to take the safety precautions and try to keep me alive. So when are we to start?\u201d\n\u201cUh...well, whenever you are of course my Emperor. I mean you\u2019ll have to collect the babies for this project first, then after that\u2019s done, we can get started.\u201d Elam says.\n\u201cOkay then, I\u2019ll have the Eyes gather candidates right away. In fact, given the nature of this project, I\u2019m going to tell them to get an equal amount of males and females. As for you two I want you to gather whatever staff and equipment you need.\u201d\n\nElam and Zana both acknowledge your command and leave when you dismiss them. Elam makes one last attempt at asking if you\u2019re sure you don\u2019t want to be immortal to which you tell him you\u2019ve made your decision.\n\nNow all you have to do is tell Decena which you do so later that night.\n\n\u201c\u2026so that\u2019s the process. If it succeeds spectacularly I\u2019ll still be alive and we\u2019ll have fertile new eternals. If it fails spectacularly then none of that will be true.\u201d You finish explaining to her.\n\u201cAnd you\u2019re sure this is what you want to do?\u201d Decena asks.\n\u201cOf course I am. Why wouldn\u2019t I be?\u201d\n\u201cWell I wasn\u2019t aware that Elam had found a potential way to keep you alive forever.\u201d\n\u201cAs a brain in a jar or tank or whatever? You really think I\u2019d want to live like that? He needs more time to perfect the process anyway and who know how long that would be if ever?\u201d\n\u201cNo, I suppose you\u2019re right. I wouldn\u2019t like to live like that either. Who wants to live forever right? But about this other process, you\u2019ll be putting your life in danger, are you certain it will work?\u201d\n\u201cElam and this Zana are both confident that it will. While Elam\u2019s always been a bit on the eccentric side and prone to take risks, he\u2019s always come through on his projects and Zana\u2019s likely to err on the cautious side anyway due to being raised by gnomes. In any case I\u2019m more than willing to take this risk if it\u2019s going to bring about what we\u2019ve been talking about for the last few years.\u201d\n\nDecena smiles at your response.\n\n\u201cI think that\u2019s one of many the things that I\u2019ve always loved about you. Your willingness to put yourself at risk for the good of the Empire. You\u2019ve never been one of those rulers that has shied away from potential danger. There is one thing I ask though. I mean regardless of whether or not the process is successful, if you don\u2019t survive it. I mean if this indeed it, I want to be with you during this moment.\u201d Decena says holding your hand.\n\u201cOf course. You\u2019ll always be by my side.\u201d You answer and kiss her.\n\nAfter a bit more discussion, it\u2019s also agreed upon that Brenda and Warrick should probably be there as well.\n\nOver the next few days, the Eyes acquire the Eternal candidates and soon everything is ready. You arrive at the Eternal factory with Decena, Brenda and Warrick. Elam, Zana, and several technician and physician types run around hooking up strange machinery and placing the babies in the tanks. Gregory is also here and goes up to you nervously telling you that he\u2019s very concerned, as none of this extra equipment looks very safe.\n\nEventually Elam and Zana approach.\n\n\u201cEverything is ready my Emperor! One hundred candidates all hooked up in the tanks, all we need is to strap you in to that chair over there and we can get started.\u201d Elam points to a chair that looks more like a torture device you\u2019ve had used on enemies before\u2026in fact you think it IS and Elam\u2019s just modified it!\n\n\u201cI have to say you\u2019re a braver man than I.\u201d Warrick says clapping you on the shoulder.\n\u201cYeah, I mean I\u2019m just looking at that thing and it looks painful.\u201d Brenda says.\n\u201cWell I have faith that you\u2019ll laugh off any pain and come out of this alive.\u201d Decena exclaims.\n\u201cGlad to hear someone that\u2019s optimistic about this. Well no point in drawing this out, let\u2019s do this.\u201d You say and walk towards the chair.\n\nSit in the chair and get strapped in. This is followed by several painful needles being stuck in your arms, legs and chest with rubber tubes hooked up to a large machine, which in turn is hooked up to the tanks. Decena stands close by the entire time.\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t worry my Emperor. I\u2019ll make sure Elam doesn\u2019t push the controls too hard. Unlike him, I actually was born with a sense of safety.\u201d Zana says checking on your lines.\n\u201cWell glad to have you working on this then.\u201d You respond.\n\u201cI\u2019m glad just to have this chance to work on this my Emperor. You don\u2019t know how long I\u2019ve waited for the opportunity to work so closely on something directly involving you. It is a very great honor. One that I shall never forget for as long as I live.\u201d Zana says and leaves smiling at you and Decena to check on what Elam is doing.\n\nAs you\u2019re mentally attempting to prepare yourself, suddenly Decena whispers in your ear.\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t trust her.\u201d Decena says.\n\u201cWhat?\u201d you answer.\n\u201cZana. I don\u2019t trust her. Something doesn\u2019t feel right about her.\u201d\n\u201cLike what? Did she say or do something? Because I rechecked her file that the Eyes had on her and she\u2019s nothing but clean. Well maybe except a lack of judgment in sexing up Elam on occasion, but I can\u2019t imagine there are a lot of choices in human males in New Dessel.\u201d\n\u201cI dunno. It\u2019s her tone. The way she\u2019s being so eager to please. It\u2019s almost as if she\u2019s trying too hard and has a hidden agenda.\u201d\n\u201cSo what are you saying?\u201d\n\u201cI don\u2019t want her on this project. I feel you\u2019re in direct danger with her at the helm of those controls.\u201d\n\nDecena is quite serious in this accusation and you have no idea how to respond.\n\n\u201cDecena, Zana worked on this right along side Elam.\u201d\n\u201cWell I don\u2019t know, maybe they\u2019re in it together! Or just have Elam perform this procedure, I don\u2019t care, but I DON\u2019T want that woman involved in this procedure any longer!\u201d\n\nAt this point Decena has made enough noise to call the attention of several people, including Zana and Elam who come over.\n\n\u201cWhat seems to be the problem my Emperor? Are you having last minute concerns? If so, we can call a halt to this\u2026\u201d Elam asks.\n\u201cNo, Elam. I\u2019m fine. Decena is just having I believe some last minute concerns.\u201d\n\u201cMy Empress, as I said, I will make sure that your beloved\u2026\u201d Zana starts to say before being interrupted.\n\n\u201cSilence bitch!\u201d Decena snaps and everyone is silent.\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t know what you have planned exactly, but let me make this clear. I DON\u2019T TRUST YOU. And I don\u2019t want YOU working on this project any longer!\u201d Decena says.\n\u201cMy Emperor, with all due respect, I need Zana to help me with this!\u201d Elam exclaims.\n\nAt this point Zana begins to protest her innocence in a polite way, trying very hard not to sound out of line, but Decena isn\u2019t hearing any of it and even draws her pistol.\n\n\u201cDecena, are you sure you\u2019re not just scared that I\u2019m going to die and deep down you don\u2019t want me to go through with this because you want me around a little longer?\u201d you ask.\n\nDecena grabs your hand and looks straight at you.\n\n\u201cMy love, there are many times you could\u2019ve died and while it was always a concern, I always accepted it as a possibility. If you died in battle, then it would have purpose at least. You would have been serving the Empire. Even if you died of old age or some other natural cause I could accept it because you would have still died serving the Empire. And IF you die in this process then I can accept it, because you will be dying to secure the future of the Empire.\u201d\n\nDecena pauses and takes a deep breath and turns to everyone else while pointing at Zana.\n\n\u201cBut I cannot accept you going helplessly into danger like this. THIS woman has ill intent. I FEEL it in my heart. I FEEL it in what I guess would be my soul. EVERY warning, EVERY instinct about her is telling me that she is wishing you unwell. All of us perhaps. I can\u2019t even prove it, but I don\u2019t need to when I FEEL it.\u201d\n\nDecena then turns back to you.\n\n\u201cMy love, if you genuinely believe this woman has no ill intent then I will as always defer to your judgment, however if you trust my judgment on this matter even a little bit, then I beg of you to let me kill her where she stands.\u201d\n\nAt this point both Zana and Elam\u2019s eyes widen. The nearby technicians almost shuffle back as if not wishing to get caught in the fallout. Even Brenda and Warrick are a little surprised by this.\n\nElam at this point once again begs you not to kill Zana as he needs her for this project to work. Zana stays silent, though she probably believes that anything she\u2019d say at this point might cause Decena to shoot her anyway.\n\nAnd here you thought the only thing you were going to have to worry about today was trying to stay alive long enough to create some fertile Eternals\u2026", "action_results": [{"action": "Believe Decena", "result": "She might be completely wrong, but if she really feels this strongly on this matter you\u2019ll honor her judgment.\n\n\u201cWarrick. Brenda.\u201d You say and with a glance they know and walk towards Zana who continues to remain in shock.\n\n\u201cNo\u2026no!\u201d she shouts and before she can run, Warrick and Brenda both restrain her. She struggles a bit, but then stops.\n\u201cElam, can you do this yourself? Honestly answer the question!\u201d you demand and stare at him.\n\nElam begins to stammer and stutter, but with your eyes piercing him, he looks sadly over at Zana, who looks on helplessly and can\u2019t believe that even he would turn against her.\n\n\u201cELAM! NO!\u201d she shouts.\n\n\u201cYes\u2026I can my Emperor, but I do need someone to watch the gauges, and levels\u2026\u201d Elam says in defeat. You think this is the first time you\u2019ve ever seen him in such a mood. He must\u2019ve had deeper feelings for the girl and she wasn\u2019t just the occasional fling.\n\u201cGood. Gregory! You\u2019re doing that now.\u201d\n\u201cUm, I am my Emperor?\u201d\n\nWhile Gregory is pondering his new position, you turn back to Zana.\n\n\u201cMy apologies Zana, but this is your ruler\u2019s final judgment on the matter. Take solace in the fact that you\u2019ve served the Empire well and that any family you may have will be\u2026\u201d\n\u201cFUCK YOU TYRANT!\u201d Zana shouts, nearly causing Decena to shoot her, but you tell her to hold fire.\n\u201cDecena, stop. Zana has at least earned herself a proper execution rather than being shot like a rabid dog. I\u2019ll look past her current outburst since I understand that she\u2026\u201d\n\u201cI said FUCK YOU. You don\u2019t know SHIT about me! And if it wasn\u2019t for your bitch queen here, this would\u2019ve went smoothly. Oh how sweet that would\u2019ve been to have seen the look of shock on your face as you and all your dreams of fertile Eternals was destroyed before your eyes.\u201d Zana exclaims with her face turning into an angry sneer.\n\nNow everyone is looking at Zana and Decena\u2019s gut instinct has been vindicated.\n\n\u201cWho are you? I mean who are you really? Did Semra put you up to this?\u201d you demand.\n\u201cI\u2019m nobody. Nobody of importance at least not until YOU came around and killed my entire family!\u201d Zana says.\n\u201cDo you have any idea how little that narrows it down?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cI was going to be a princess! I would\u2019ve ruled a kingdom one day! YOU and YOUR EMPIRE destroyed all that before I even had a chance to enjoy a taste of such a life! Klemto didn\u2019t just save a random Felkan baby, he saved an HEIR TO THE FELKAN FUCKING KINGDOM!\u201d Zana shouts.\n\nIt was a very long time ago. Almost a different life even, but you vaguely remember seeing a crib in the Felkan royal palace, yet no baby or even signs of a dead one. You never thought too much of it at the time, but apparently even though Zana was just an infant, Klemto must\u2019ve told her about her real heritage. He probably lied to you thinking that you would\u2019ve had her killed.\n\n\u201cBecause of YOU, I\u2019ve had to live a miserable existence working on machinery surrounded by fucking GNOMES! You know what that\u2019s like? Being the only human in community of damn gnomes? It SUCKS! Then when some humans do fucking arrive, they\u2019re from the same nation that destroyed my birthright! It almost sickened me to even sleep with this crazy fool!\u201d\n\nThis news causes Elam to collapse on the floor. He can\u2019t believe the woman he\u2019s worked with so closely and shared a bed with is admitting to trying to assassinate you. (As well as having a low opinion of him)\n\n\u201cYou really think I was going to let you breed a set of new Empire abominations that could possibly keep it going even longer? Possibly even forever? Never!\n\nHow long must she have been waiting for the right time to strike? Was it always this way or did it slowly gnaw at her? A life that was stolen from her. Did Klemto or the gnomes put her up to this? Was this their plan in some weird way?\n\n\u201cOkay, since you\u2019re in a talkative mood, did Klemto or any gnome put you up to this?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cWhat? So you\u2019ll have an excuse to round them all up and destroy their souls again? I heard about what you did to them. And maybe I might find them to be timid, tiresome unattractive little know it alls, I find it deplorable what the Empire did to them. I can\u2019t believe they allowed themselves to be dominated by a nation that systematically exterminated them from not just this life, but the next as well!\u201d\n\u201cSo did they help or not?\u201d you ask again.\n\u201cNo! No they did not! My father would\u2019ve probably had me jailed if he knew what I was planning. Those cowards wouldn\u2019t dare stand against the Empire, but I fucking would! And did! Not that this will save them. After you\u2019re done killing me, you\u2019ll probably have them all killed as well for any excuse will serve a tyrant!\u201d\n\u201cIt\u2019s amusing that you keep calling me that. What did you think your parents were? They were a KING and QUEEN. You think they ruled by popular decision? Do you think YOU would have if you became queen? My actions that day weren\u2019t even personal. I was just following orders like a soldier. Your actions however today are misguided and fatal. Such a waste. Even had I known your origins, I would not have had you killed if you had remained true to serving the Empire. Your quest for vengeance was as pointless as your entire life. Take her away.\u201d\n\nAs Brenda and Warrick begin to drag Zana off, she struggles once again and this time manages to get free of Brenda\u2019s grip. Then she presses some sort of device underneath her sleeve and an electric shock zaps Warrick causing him to also lose his grip and fall backwards.\n\n\u201cNot how I wanted to do it, but just as good!\u201d Zana says grinning and reveals a bomb strapped under her clothes.\n\nShe takes one step towards you and Decena shoots her in the head. She falls backwards and before the bomb explodes, you raise your hands up (ripping the straps and ripping out some of your attachments in the process) and create a barrier protecting Decena, Elam and yourself.\n\nThe bomb explodes and you look on sadly as you see Brenda and Warrick caught in the immediate blast. A few of the other technicians are killed too. (Gregory fled and hid as soon as things started looking hostile!)\n\nAfter its all said and done, many of the tanks have been destroyed, though not completely a problem since you had a thousand of them. Some of the hundred you were using were unfortunately damaged, but new babies can be acquired. Some of the equipment was damaged, but again not too much of a problem since it can be fixed, rebuilt or replaced and the main piece was protected by the barrier.\n\nWhile Decena unhooks your from all your attachments, Elam is silent the whole time. He\u2019s utterly in shock by everything that\u2019s happened.\n\n\u201cI had no idea\u2026I mean\u2026\u201d he utters and then turns to you.\n\u201cI swear my Emperor I didn\u2019t know!\u201d\n\u201cCalm yourself Elam, nobody\u2019s executing you, especially when you\u2019ve still got a job to do. Besides, nobody apparently knew, well except my lovely wife here.\u201d You say and look at Decena.\n\u201cI\u2019m just glad you\u2019re all right, but this sets our goals back! And Brenda and Warrick! (sniff)\u201d Decena remarks getting a little upset over their deaths and hugs you.\n\u201cI know\u2026I know. It was no way for them to die. There almost isn\u2019t anything left to\u2026well give a funeral. (sigh) I\u2019ll sort out what\u2019s left of them put them in the same coffin and burn it. They can least be sent on their way together. We can have a formal memorial for them both later. As for our plans, they may be set back, but not by much.\n\nYou turn to Elam.\n\n\u201cElam I want all the damaged equipment fixed as soon as possible. Gregory and the rest can help with that. Also catch Gregory up to speed on what his role will be on this project, because we WILL be doing it as soon as possible. In the meantime, I\u2019ll have to appoint a new Sightmaster and have the Eyes get all new candidates again, but before they do that, going to have to purge New Dessel.\u201d\n\u201cYou are?\u201d Decena asks.\n\u201cDo you really see any choice? You didn\u2019t trust Zana on pure instinct and you were correct. How can I trust that she was telling the truth that the gnomes didn\u2019t have anything to do with this? Maybe not even all of them knew. Maybe Klemto anticipated she\u2019d eventually seek revenge and just took a hands off approach so that he couldn\u2019t be directly implemented. Maybe they\u2019re all genuinely innocent. Doesn\u2019t matter. We\u2019re trying to secure the future of the Empire and its obvious the gnomes are a potential threat.\u201d\n\nYou chuckle at that last remark.\n\n\u201cI can\u2019t believe it. I sounded just like Casimir. Guess dad would be proud.\u201d You say.\n\u201cOkay, so how do you want to handle that? As you know that mountain city is a fairly well defended fortress.\u201d Decena asks\n\u201cYes, and things have changed severely since then. We\u2019ve already got a large number of Eyes positioned in that city. All we have to do is send in another large group, telling the gnomes that it\u2019s a routine changing of the guard and when they\u2019re in, they unleash the death. Make no mistake this isn\u2019t going to be an honorable action and it will be ugly, but it will be the easiest way to do it and the fact that it will get done is the important thing.\u201d\n\u201cAgreed. Long live the Empire.\u201d Decena says.\n\nThe project is set back at least a couple of months. The purging of New Dessel takes awhile due to the gnomes locking themselves in hard to reach sections of the city, but eventually the entire city is purged. You at last finished what Casimir started though really you wish it hadn\u2019t been necessary. You never hated them. Klemto just saved the wrong baby and brought death on them all because of it.\n\nIn any event, mostly technicians, inventors and other human families with members that have similar mechanical or scientific skills will resettle New Dessel.\n\nA giant memorial is held for Brenda and Warrick. Heroes of the Empire that shall never be forgotten, right along side Roldan and Kane. Even though Decena is by your side, you can\u2019t help but feel a great sense of loss. They were the last of your \u201csiblings\u201d and now you are alone. In fact you may even be joining them soon. You weep privately for them both.\n\nEventually Elam and Gregory have all the equipment fixed and ready again and the Eyes have the suitable candidates ready. You return with Decena to complete the task you originally set out to do.\n\nOnce again you\u2019re strapped and hooked up to the modified torture chair. Elam is remarkably subdued. You\u2019re guessing he\u2019s still taking Zana\u2019s betrayal hard. Still, perhaps its good, it will give him more focus on what is important, serving the Empire.\n\nAs you prepare you and Decena exchange one kiss for what might be the last time.\n\nElam pulls the lever and the process begins. Lights, buzzing, rumbling, and all manner of machinery noises can be heard throughout the room.\n\nThe oddest thing is you\u2019re not feeling as much pain as you thought you would. There is definitely a tingling sensation and it feels as if all your hair is standing on end, but you\u2019ve felt things a lot more painful.\n\nYou are however feeling very tired and it is all very draining. Eventually you can\u2019t fight it anymore and you fall unconscious\u2026\n\nHours later you wake up on a bed still hooked up to a machine. You feel very weak, but apparently you\u2019ve survived the process. Decena, Elam and several physicians stand around you.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m\u2026I\u2019m\u2026alive?\u201d you say.\n\u201cShhh. Don\u2019t speak too much. You really need to conserve your strength.\u201d Decena remarks.\n\u201cDid\u2026did it work?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cWell I suppose we won\u2019t really know until several years from now, but Elam says he feels the results are very positive. He says there\u2019s been a side effect he didn\u2019t anticipate.\u201d Decena says.\n\u201cSide effect?\u201d\n\u201cYes, my Emperor. Your magical energy actually gave all the candidates an innate magic ability. I mean again, obviously we can\u2019t see exactly what that means now, but I fully anticipate that these Eternals are also going to have magic abilities. Possibly on par with your own. It\u2019s almost as if your own DNA rewrote their genetic code.\u201d\n\nElam just said something that no one except he understood.\n\n\u201cErm. It\u2019s something I\u2019ve been theorizing about. It\u2019s uh\u2026technical talk, don\u2019t worry about it. Basically though what it means is its almost as if you personally created all these children the old fashioned way. You\u2019re the father of a hundred children. I\u2026 uh guess congratulations are in order.\u201d Elam says and shakes your hand which is still weak.\n\u201cSheesh. Thanks I guess.\u201d You say.\n\u201cThere is one thing I really should tell you though, Emperor. It\u2019s your condition. While you\u2019ve survived the process, I fear it has taken a toll on your body. Your life span has probably shortened quite a bit. I mean I dunno how much, but\u2026\u201d\n\u201cElam, I didn\u2019t even anticipate living through this process so whatever I got left will be just a bonus. Really I didn\u2019t even expect to live this long and if events had gone a certain way, I wouldn\u2019t have even made it out of the crib. I\u2019ll tell you this though, I\u2019m going to TRY to live long enough to make sure this process worked. And if it didn\u2019t well you can strap me to the chair and try again!\u201d\n\nElam smiles and says that he\u2019ll try to do everything he can to extend your lifespan a little longer and reassures you that you won\u2019t be dying tomorrow. At this point Elam excuses himself saying he and Gregory should make a routine check on the tanks again. The others follow his lead.\n\nAs the others leave Decena stays by your side. She says nothing and just looks lovingly at you though you feel a bit sad.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m sorry, you\u2019ll have to take care of a feeble old man now.\u201d You say.\n\u201cShh, that doesn\u2019t matter. I love you.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m also sorry that\u2026well\u2026I just had one hundred children and you weren\u2019t directly involved.\u201d\n\u201cHa ha! You think I care about that? I\u2019m THRILLED that you did! It means that you\u2019ll live forever after all! I knew you\u2019d find a way somehow.\u201d\n\u201cBut what about you?\u201d\n\u201cI always expected to die someday and I\u2019m fine with that. What matters is that YOU live forever. Because as long as you live forever, then the Empire lives forever and if the Empire lives forever then I live forever. As do all those that have served it loyally. As will all Eternals. This is just the beginning my love. You have created a new race. One superior to all those before it.\u201d\n\nDecena proceeds to give you a kiss and hug you. You enjoy her warmth and realize even if you did die right now, it would be a perfect death.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Let Zana live", "result": "As much as Decena is just trying to look out for you, you can\u2019t imagine that if Zana was up to something you wouldn\u2019t have caught it by now. Actually you\u2019d be more worried if she wasn\u2019t on this project considering that she\u2019s been assisting Elam from day one. She\u2019s pretty much vital.\n\n\u201cDecena, I tell you with absolute certainty that I trust this woman and do not believe she means any ill intent. I understand that you\u2019re concerned about my safety, but Zana is needed for this project and has proven her dedication to it from the beginning. Honestly, I\u2019d rather have her around if only to keep Elam\u2019s tendency towards\u2026overenthusiasm in check.\u201d\n\u201cEmperor, I assure you, I will be\u2026\u201d Elam starts to say, but you interrupt him.\n\u201cYes, yes, I know. But as I said, I\u2019d still feel comfortable with Zana assisting you. In any case, that is my decision Decena.\u201d\n\nDecena looks very apprehensive; she probably didn\u2019t think you\u2019d side against her. She nearly starts to say \u201cbut\u2026\u201d however she stops herself and just gives you a nod.\n\n\u201cVery well, as I said, I will defer to your judgement on this matter, but if anything starts going wrong, you know who\u2019s head is going to roll first.\u201d She says looking at Zana.\n\n\u201cWell, I guess nothing better go wrong Zana.\u201d You say.\n\u201cNothing will go wrong, my Emperor. Everything will go according as planned, that I promise.\u201d Zana remarks.\n\nWith that out of the way the procedure continues and you and Decena exchange one kiss for what might be the last time.\n\nElam pulls the lever and the process begins. Lights, buzzing, rumbling, and all manner of machinery noises can be heard throughout the room.\n\nThe oddest thing is you\u2019re not feeling as much pain as you thought you would. There is definitely a tingling sensation and it feels as if all your hair is standing on end, but you\u2019ve felt things a lot more painful.\n\nYou are however feeling very tired and it is all very draining. Eventually you can\u2019t fight it anymore and you start to fall unconscious\u2026\n\nThen all of a sudden you feel a surge running all through your body, which wakes you back up. Your body begins to go into convulsions and you start to foam from the mouth. Basically you\u2019re being electrocuted.\n\n\u201cZana! There\u2019s something wrong! Turn down those dials!\u201d Elam shouts, but Zana does nothing of the sort, instead she uses some sort of device that fries the controls and runs off pushing a technician out of the way.\n\n\u201cSHIT! I KNEW IT! GET HER!\u201d Decena shouts and attempts to untie your straps, but the electric pulse running through your body is so strong that the charge knocks her down and even stuns her. Elam runs attempt to turn off the machine from another source.\n\nZana doesn\u2019t get far, as Warrick and Brenda easily catch her, but it\u2019s for naught as she reveals a bomb hidden on her person, blowing herself and them up as well. The blast also manages to destroy several tanks, machinery and kill several staff along with Elam. On the plus side, it stops the electrical current frying your body inside out, unfortunately its too late and you\u2019re well on your way to death. Your mind isn\u2019t even functioning anymore save for a faint sense that you\u2019re still alive.\n\nThe secondary explosions from other machinery on fire finishes you off, along with Decena who doesn\u2019t recover fast enough to get out of the blast, though perhaps when she saw your own condition in those moments, she didn\u2019t want to go on.\n\nWith the death of you and all the other top Eternals, the Empire soon descends into factions of the newer third and fourth generation Eternals fighting over who is the rightful \u201cheir.\u201d The other races either get caught in the middle or break off into their own factions.\n\nThis massive civil war would be the final days of the Empire.", "action_results": []}]}, {"action": "Immortality", "result": "It\u2019s surely a mad plan that sounds impossible, but yet the appeal is there. Even you can\u2019t believe you\u2019re actually going for it, but deep down this is something you feel you need to do.\n\nThis idea of having fertile Eternals to \u201ccarry on\u201d your legacy is a nice idea, but ultimately it isn\u2019t \u201cyou.\u201d Only you can lead the Empire to world order. Not to mention there is a risk of you dying in the process of creating said Eternals and then you\u2019d have wait at least twelve or thirteen years just to see if the process literally produced positive results.\n\nIf you\u2019re going to have to risk your life and wait around, you\u2019d rather do it for the chance at immortality.\n\nAnd given all the other wonders and feats you\u2019ve seen or even done in this world who is to say this isn\u2019t possible? Like Elam said, the concept of a machine like an airship was impossible at one time as well.\n\n\u201cHow long would I have to wait for you to perfect this process you\u2019re proposing?\u201d you ask Elam, who gives a big grin at your willingness to choose his new plan.\n\u201cNot long a assure you my Emperor! As I said, I\u2019ve already had limited success on a few test subjects already! In your case though, I will need to build a suitable containment for when\u2026well you ascend to a higher state of being.\u201d\n\nZana is shaking her head at this idea.\n\n\u201cMy Emperor, while I know the desire for immortality is tempting, I really have to advise against this. Elam\u2019s enthusiasm is far exceeding what is reality! While it is true he\u2019s managed to keep a few animal brains alive for a few minutes, I\u2019m fairly sure that that will be the extent of it. This isn\u2019t even taking all the other risks and unforeseen problems that there will surely be. There is only so much science can do, it can\u2019t conquer death.\u201d Zana says.\n\u201cYour concerns are dully noted Zana. Elam, you will have any and all resources available to you for this project.\u201d You say.\n\u201cI won\u2019t fail you my Emperor. This will work I guarantee it!\u201d\n\u201cHrm. Well let\u2019s sure hope so, because I\u2019m putting my trust behind it and throwing away a plan that will not get the chance to be implemented again. In any event, I want to keep very close eye on this project. You said you\u2019re going to have to build a container for me, well if I am going to spend the rest of my life in a tank, then it needs to be at my home. So I\u2019m going to have the entire under palace cleared and open for this project to go down there. There should be more than enough room and if not, we\u2019ll make additions. But you\u2019ll be becoming a permanent fixture at the palace.\u201d You say.\n\u201cI understand. Again, I thank you for this opportunity my Emperor.\u201d Elam responds.\n\nYou tell Elam for him to get all of his equipment, staff and whatever else he currently needs together and arrangements will be made to have it hauled to the palace. Zana says she\u2019s still skeptical of this plan, but if this is what you wish and if Elam still wants her help, then she will of course serve. Naturally Elam wants her working with him on this project.\n\nHaving settled on a new plan, all you have to do now is inform Decena\u2026\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re going to have your what put in a what?\u201d she exclaims.\n\u201cMy brain would be placed in a tank of special chemicals. Elam says that due to my magic powers I could still communicate mentally with people with the proper electrical charges attached\u2026\u201d you don\u2019t even get to finish, Decena is too overwhelmed by this information.\n\n\u201cThis\u2026this\u2026can\u2019t work? Can it? I mean\u2026it sounds so impossible!\u201d\n\u201cI know. Trust me, when Elam explained it, I thought the same thing, but\u2026I have to try. I mean the other plan was nice and all, but really the risks were just as great and still involved an uncertain success as far as I was concerned.\u201d\n\u201cYeah I know you explained that plan, but\u2026it sounded at least like they were ready to enact it. This one is going to involve more testing and who know how much more time? You\u2019ll still have to risk your life and\u2026\u201d\n\nYou stop Decena.\n\n\u201cDecena, weren\u2019t you the one that always believed I could find a way to be immortal?\u201d\n\u201cWell yes, but I dunno\u2026a brain in a tank? Is that really living?\u201d\n\u201cWell Elam said that perhaps arrangements and improvements could be made in the future and that perhaps I could actually leave the tank via one of those automatons that we used in the Nakol and Iznac Wars. Look, the idea of being a disembodied brain isn\u2019t exactly ideal, but at this point I\u2019m starting to feel so much pain in my body on a daily basis that I\u2019d almost be relieved to shed this old shell at this point. And what\u2019s the alternative? Hope that a generation of Eternals can follow in my, or even your footsteps just because they can reproduce? Can\u2019t do it. I have to shoulder the majority of the burden of keeping the Empire running. Nobody else. I have to attempt this plan and this is a worthwhile risk in my mind that I can take.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut\u2026what about us? I mean\u2026if this is all successful and everything goes well. How will our relationship remain as it is now?\u201d\n\nDecena touches your hand and then your face as if it\u2019ll be the last time she\u2019ll get to do it. You return her closeness, as you understand her concern.\n\n\u201cDecena, I know it will be difficult. Honestly if this process goes through successfully, you\u2019re right our relationship will be very different, and perhaps you will be unable to love me in such a form, but\u2026\n\nNow Decena stops you.\n\n\u201cMy glorious Emperor, don\u2019t you know by now that I will always love you no matter what your form? That will never change. It\u2019s just that I would miss the warmth of your body next to mine, our lips touching when we embrace. I can\u2019t say that I am entirely sure of this plan, but I will as always defer and respect your judgment on this matter. If you believe this is possible, then I can think of nothing greater than your everlasting ruler ship over this world.\u201d\n\nAnd with this validation, you feel slightly better about your decision. Even though you never doubted that Decena wouldn\u2019t be behind you, it\u2019s still good to hear.\n\nYour \u201csiblings\u201d on the other hand are a lot less supportive on the matter however.\n\n\u201cWhat?! I thought you were going through with the plan to create fertile Eternals!\u201d Brenda exclaims.\n\u201cYeah, I mean granted that plan sounded a little far fetched, but it seemed like it might be plausible. This just sounds well\u2026insane.\u201d Warrick adds.\n\nThe conversation doesn\u2019t get any better from there. Brenda is probably more upset because of your plans to abandon the Eternal project entirely and place all resources into this immortality plan. You explain that for right now there isn\u2019t any need for more Eternals due to having nowhere to really send the current fourth gens a place to fight anyway. No point in creating more super soldiers when you\u2019ve already got more than enough right now and no war to which to send them.\n\nNaturally Brenda sees this a sort of betrayal. She has grown attached to the younger Eternals and does see them as successors or in her case her surrogate children. You remind her though that they are neither. They are tools to the Empire just as you all were when you all were created. This doesn\u2019t go over well with Brenda.\n\n\u201cSo what, are we ALL just your tools too then?\u201d Brenda asks.\n\u201cBrenda, I didn\u2019t say you\u2026\u201d you start to say, but are interrupted.\n\u201cNo, you said we\u2019re all just tools for the Empire. That includes all of us. Look, maybe YOU got the chance to be the right hand of our old Emperor, and you have become his successor, but YOU also started out just like Warrick and I did!\u201d\n\u201cBrenda, I think you need to calm down, I\u2019m sure he didn\u2019t\u2026\u201d Warrick says, but she won\u2019t hear him.\n\u201cNo Warrick, this needs to be said.\u201d She says and turns back to you. You don\u2019t say anything you\u2019re content on listening to her rant.\n\n\u201cThis plan of yours is vanity, pure and simple. Is your ego such that you cannot even accept your own WIFE taking over after you die? Would you really throw away a good chance of creating fertile Eternals who will carry on the Empire for a remote chance of living forever? You may rule the Empire, but do you really consider yourself bigger than it?\u201d\n\nYou\u2019ve heard enough and put up your hand.\n\n\u201cBrenda. I\u2019ve allowed your outburst because you\u2019re right, we three did start out together. I even see you as siblings of a sort and of course as friends. We all trained under that sadistic svelk bitch until the two of you were lucky enough to be separated. And yes you two were the lucky ones, because quite frankly sometimes I envy your ignorance on everything you\u2019re STILL in the dark about. But shall I tell you? Seems like a perfect time.\u201d\n\nYou start off by telling Brenda that Roldan wasn\u2019t killed by a simple undead shadow assassin and in fact Semra had nothing to do with it like the Emperor\u2019s propaganda said. You explain that the Emperor had Roldan killed just like he had your wife Alison killed AND was planning to kill you.\n\nThe reveal is definitely a shock to both Brenda and Warrick.\n\nYou continue by admitting that you weren\u2019t even meant to be an Eternal in the first place. That you were a candidate by a red tape mistake and it was that same mistake that ultimately resulted in Casimir\u2019s death.\n\n\u201cSo Brenda, as you can see, perhaps I\u2019m not entirely attached to the Eternals, because I wasn\u2019t meant to be one in the first place. Yet here I am. Perhaps I seek immortality because I took it from Casimir. Casimir ruled the Empire for centuries and what did he do with it? Nothing much. I\u2019ve ruled it for significantly less time and look at what it\u2019s become. THINK what I could do if I had more time. I\u2019ve built this nation to be better than it was. I\u2019ve expanded its glory. I\u2019ve defended its honor. I\u2019ve sacrificed for it. I\u2019ve done everything short of DIE for it and if I thought it would secure its continual future, then yes I would do that too.\u201d\n\nYou move closer to Brenda and Warrick who sit in silence listening to your speech.\n\n\u201cYou ask if I think I\u2019m bigger than the Empire. No, I don\u2019t\u2026I AM the fucking Empire.\u201d\n\nYou stare at them both very intensely.\n\n\u201cAnd only I can live forever.\u201d\n\nYou end your speech telling them both that this is the way things are going to be and that they are welcome to be part of it as always.\n\nAnd if they aren\u2019t willing, then they had best stay out of the way.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 72\n\nYou have to admit as the years passed by on this project, you\u2019d wondered if you were just chasing a dream, but it looks like that dream will soon be a reality.\n\nResearch has been tested, advancements have been made, test subjects have been used and hypotheses have been confirmed. Everything is coming together; the only thing that will be needed soon is you.\n\nStill, despite you always stating how much your body aches and how much weaker and slower you are now, there is a part of you that is a little afraid of what this procedure will entail, namely an end to your life as you know it, but still living. It\u2019s funny but how this is a little scary to you, even if simple death is not.\n\nIn fact Elam is probably more excited to see this through than even you are.\n\n\u201cMy Emperor, we may begin the procedure any time you wish. Just let me know when we can get started.\u201d Elam says.\n\u201cDoes it have to be right now?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cNo, of course not my Emperor. I just thought you were eager to see this through.\u201d\n\u201cYou don\u2019t need to push our Emperor, Elam. I\u2019m sure he\u2019d like to take care of some affairs before going through with this.\u201d Zana remarks.\n\u201cIs all the machinery and equipment in working order? Has everything been inspected?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cOf course my Emperor, I inspected everything myself. I figured you\u2019d want someone that has a background with safety procedures doing that rather than Elam here.\u201d Zana remarks with a teasing smile at Elam.\n\u201cBah. YOU didn\u2019t even think this was going to be possible!\u201d Elam exclaims.\n\u201cWell I have to admit, it did sound very unlikely, but I suppose I never should\u2019ve doubted your genius Elam.\u201d Zana says and gives him a quick peck on the cheek.\n\nWhile Zana and Elam are engaging in playfulness, you\u2019re involved in making a life changing choice.\n\n\u201cOkay. We\u2019ll do this in three days. That will give me time to take care of a few things I need to take care of, just in case the worst should happen. No point in drawing this out any longer than that. Everyone is dismissed until that time.\u201d you say.\n\nElam and Zana both acknowledge your command and soon they and their staff all begin to leave. You however continue to stick around. When you\u2019re finally all alone, you begin to walk closer to the giant tank in the room, which is hooked up to a system of machines. As you lean against your walking stick you can\u2019t help marvel at the work that went into all this.\n\nGears, cogs, wires, levers, buttons, mechanical arms \u2026you wonder how the hell some of this works. You\u2019ve actually tried to keep up on the research since this project started, and while you understand a lot of the basic concepts, some of it just goes over your head. Though you aren\u2019t sure if its because you\u2019ve got so much on your mind that you can\u2019t retain the information or if you just don\u2019t have a knack for the technical stuff, or maybe you just find it all well\u2026boring.\n\nA speaker of sorts is attached to the tank and there are three specialized automatons standing nearby. You imagine that these are intended for you to be able to interact with the outside world in some fashion. Elam has admitted though that despite the very technical nature of this project he believes that this wouldn\u2019t be as easy without your own magical abilities that will be able to tap the power of your mind. He\u2019s gone on to say that this will be the ultimate successful blending of science and magic as far as he\u2019s concerned. He better be right considering that all the testing took away most of your remaining mages.\n\nIn any event, this is where you\u2019re going to spend the rest of your life.\n\n\u201cSo, are you ready for immortality?\u201d a voice says behind you. It\u2019s Decena. It\u2019s surprising to see her down here considering she\u2019s only made one or two visits down here before since the project got underway. She\u2019s told you that the less she knows about the project the less likely she\u2019s libel to get worried about your safety and try to talk you out of it hence the lack of visits.\n\n\u201cI guess so.\u201d You answer.\n\u201cYou guess so? That doesn\u2019t sound like the usual certainty you\u2019ve always had about this plan.\u201d Decena remarks.\n\u201cOh, I\u2019m certain. Just trying to take all of this in and get myself used to this room I suppose. Not sure why I\u2019m even concerned about it really, I mean Casimir spent several centuries in a room practically by himself. This very room in fact or at least part of it before I had all the remodeling and expansion done to accommodate all the machinery. Its really surreal sometimes how I\u2019m actually starting to follow in his footsteps. I sometimes wonder if he\u2019d be proud of what I\u2019ve managed to accomplish or if he\u2019d just be very jealous.\u201d\n\nDecena walks over and puts her arm around you while you both stare at the giant tank.\n\n\u201cWell, I\u2019m proud of everything you\u2019ve accomplished and everything you will accomplish after this procedure. So when will it be?\u201d\n\u201cIn three days, then Elam and Zana will be back here to perform it.\u201d\n\u201cHrm, I don\u2019t care for that woman.\u201d Decena remarks.\n\u201cSo you\u2019ve said during the times you wandered down here.\u201d\n\u201cI dunno. Something about her just doesn\u2019t sit right with me in the short moments I\u2019ve spoken with her. She seems phony at times. Even the fact that she\u2019s been concerned with this plan from the beginning and worried about your well being doesn\u2019t seem genuine to me. If it hadn\u2019t already been in the middle of the project when I first met her, I probably would\u2019ve told you to have her removed from it.\u201d\n\u201cDidn\u2019t realize she had gotten under your skin so much. As you know though I rechecked her file that the Eyes had on her long before she started working on this project. She\u2019s nothing but clean except maybe for a lack of judgment in sexing up Elam on occasion, but I can\u2019t imagine there were a lot of choices in human males when they worked together in New Dessel.\u201d\n\u201cAs I said, I can\u2019t place my finger on it, but there is something about her that doesn\u2019t seem right with her. Does she need to be there for this procedure?\u201d\n\u201cWell I don\u2019t know. I mean she\u2019s the main one that\u2019s been working with Elam so I imagine so to some degree. She already did an inspection on the machinery without me even needing to tell her to do so.\u201d\n\nDecena doesn\u2019t immediately respond to your answer instead she just walks forward towards the tank and touches it.\n\n\u201cNothing can go wrong with this plan\u2026\u201d she says softly then she turns around.\n\n\u201cCan you have someone else inspect everything again?\u201d she asks.\n\u201cWhat?!\u201d you respond.\n\u201cI just want everything to go well, don\u2019t you? I just think it would be best if everything was given a second look.\u201d\n\u201cBut\u2026you realize that might very well take more than three days? You realize how complex all this stuff is? I told Zana and Elam that\u2026\u201d\n\u201cNo, I don\u2019t want either of them to do it. Pick someone else that worked on the project.\u201d\n\u201cPick someone\u2026Decena what is this all about?\u201d\n\u201cLook I would just feel more comfortable if someone else did an inspection of the machine that\u2019s going to be your new home okay? I already said how I feel about Zana, so I don\u2019t want her doing it again. And as for Elam we all know he has a tendency to overlook safety protocol even under the strictest supervision. Can\u2019t you get someone else?\u201d\n\u201cNot really, I mean those are the main two who worked on this thing! Decena, I\u2019m as concerned about the success of this procedure more than anyone, but I\u2019d rather not extend my waiting period any longer than necessary. I mean I don\u2019t think I will and I\u2019d only admit this to you, but I don\u2019t want to lose my nerve.\u201d\n\u201cYou won\u2019t lose your nerve my love, but don\u2019t you see this is why another inspection should be done? I mean I guess if you don\u2019t think it\u2019s necessary then I\u2019ll of course respect your wishes and we can spend the next three days not worrying about this until the time comes.\u201d\n\nOn one hand you suppose Decena\u2019s just looking out for you as usual, but on the other you really don\u2019t want to risk losing your nerve on this situation. The longer you think about it, and how it could all go wrong, or even how it can all go right, is enough to possibly change your mind on the whole situation. Then there\u2019s the fact that Zana and Elam were the main ones involved on building the machine, they\u2019d know it the best and if you got someone else to look at it, who is to say they won\u2019t screw something up?", "action_results": [{"action": "Have a second inspection done", "result": "If Decena feels this strongly about your safety then you\u2019re not going to deny it. Besides another way of looking at it isn\u2019t more time to rethink the situation, but instead more time to spend with Decena.\n\n\u201cVery well, if you feel a second inspection should be done, then that\u2019s what will be done. (Sigh) I\u2019m just wondering who had as much experience as Zana and Elam did with the machine that they could inspect it without wondering what certain parts did or accidently make things worse.\u201d You respond\n\u201cWhat about that nervous fellow I saw sometimes in the palace? Didn\u2019t he work on the Eternal Project?\u201d Decena asks.\n\u201cOh\u2026you mean Gregory? Yeah, he did. I transferred him over here as a general supervisor when that project got shut down. Sometimes I even forget he\u2019s here, since he\u2019s such a wallflower sometimes. Still you\u2019re probably on to something, because if anyone is a stickler for safety and thoroughness its him and while he wasn\u2019t involved in the building process, he has familiarized himself with the machine probably just as much due to being a safety supervisor for the rst of the technical staff. He\u2019s probably annoyed the hell out of Elam on several occasions because of it.\u201d\n\u201cGood, he\u2019s sounds perfect.\u201d\n\nThe next day you summon Gregory to the palace, when he arrives he\u2019s nervous as usual. The man must think you\u2019re going to have him executed, but then he thinks that any time you look at him. You tell him that you just need another inspection done on the tank and the machine (It\u2019s really going to have to be given a better name at some point). He of course complies.\n\nWhile he gets started you plan on informing Elam and Zana that there may be a slight delay in the project, but you figure it can wait until tomorrow and you spend some quality time with Decena for the rest of the day.\n\nOn the second day, Kivan tells you that Gregory really needs to speak with you and says it\u2019s incredibly important. When you go to speak with him, he\u2019s very apologetic, but explains that he\u2019s already found some possible problems with the machine.\n\n\u201cApologies my Emperor as I know you want to get this procedure underway as soons as possible, but well I just think I found some possible problems. I mean they seem very minor, but they aren\u2019t. In time some vital parts could break down. In fact I\u2019m very surprised that Zana did not catch the worn tubing and slightly frayed wires on the inside. Besides myself, she\u2019s the only one that has a good eye for that detail.\u201d\n\nDecena who happens to be with you, immediately exclaims about this being proof that she knew that something wasn\u2019t on the up and up with Zana.\n\n\u201cShe tried to make her assassination attempt look like an accident! I KNEW there wasn\u2019t something right about her!\u201d\n\nYou tell Gregory to keep doing his inspection to see if there are any more flaws he can find. While it\u2019s very possible Zana didn\u2019t see these potential dangers, you\u2019re still not pleased with her right now and plan on having the Eyes bring her in. Elam will have to be brought in too.\n\nWhen you arrive at the Eye headquarters, Warrick tells you that they haven\u2019t interrogated to any great length yet, but the pair of them don\u2019t know why they\u2019ve been brought in by the Eyes.\n\nYour main concern is Zana at first so you personally go to see her with the Eye interrogators. What is surprising is that when you see her she\u2019s completely calm. Most people (including Elam) when brought in by the Eyes are scared shitless.\n\nAnd that\u2019s what starts to make you suspicious. You\u2019ve found that the people who are the most calm under pressure are probably the most capable of ruthlessness and plots\u2026\n\nZana explains her inspection step by step and steadily asserts her dedication to the Empire and her loyalty. It probably would\u2019ve been better had she just not spoken at all, because the more you hear the more your own suspicion rises. If Decena was here, she probably would\u2019ve just shot her for lying, and while her fate is definitely sealed as far as you\u2019re concerned, you still want to know the reason.\n\n\u201cZana, I\u2019ll admit, you had even me fooled, but the problem is the more you talk the worse it gets for you. Gregory has already found more flaws in the machine since you were brought in. He\u2019s even said that even he doesn\u2019t think that they could be anything other than sabotage. Even if I assume you\u2019re telling the truth, it displays a gross amount of incompetence on your part. So either you were trying to kill me on purpose or you\u2019re a lot less competent than I believed. And quite honestly I do not believe that from your past experience that YOU are capable of that level of incompetence.\u201d\n\nZana\u2019s calm demeanor begins to change to one of uncertainty. It\u2019s hitting her that she might not make it out of here.\n\n\u201cSo tell me why Zana. Was this something you just came up with, had you been planning this for years? Who else is involved? Did someone put you up to this\u2026did a svelk woman by the name of Semra put you up to this?\u201d you ask.\n\nZana\u2019s face now has dropped to one of fear. She looks like she\u2019s about to cry.\n\n\u201cZana, you know how this is going to end for you. If you ever had any loyalty toward the Empire then at least tell me everything. If you do, I can at least promise you a quick execution.\u201d You say.\n\nZana\u2019s expression now changes to one of absolute rage.\n\n\u201cLike the same quick death you\u2019ve given so many others? The fact is I\u2019ve NEVER had ANY loyalty to the Empire let alone you, murderer. Tyrant. But I\u2019ll tell you everything anyway, because you don\u2019t know shit about me. You think I\u2019m upset because I\u2019m about to die? I\u2019m upset because I won\u2019t get to kill you and spare the world of your future domination and cruelty!\u201d\n\nThis outburst causes the Eyes nearby to move closer towards Zana and grab her wrists just in case she attempts something, though at this point there isn\u2019t much she could do to you now.\n\n\u201cWho are you? I mean who are you really?\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m nobody. Nobody of importance at least not until YOU came around and killed my entire family!\u201d Zana says.\n\u201cDo you have any idea how little that narrows it down?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cI was going to be a princess! I would\u2019ve ruled a kingdom one day! YOU and YOUR EMPIRE destroyed all that before I even had a chance to enjoy a taste of such a life! Klemto didn\u2019t just save a random Felkan baby, he saved an HEIR TO THE FELKAN FUCKING KINGDOM!\u201d Zana shouts.\n\nIt was a very long time ago. Almost a different life even, but you vaguely remember seeing a crib in the Felkan royal palace, yet no baby or even signs of a dead one. You never thought too much of it at the time, but apparently even though Zana was just an infant, Klemto must\u2019ve told her about her real heritage. He probably lied to you thinking that you would\u2019ve had her killed.\n\n\u201cBecause of YOU, I\u2019ve had to live a miserable existence working on machinery surrounded by fucking GNOMES! You know what that\u2019s like? Being the only human in community of damn gnomes? It SUCKS! Then when some humans do fucking arrive, they\u2019re from the same nation that destroyed my birthright! It almost sickened me to even sleep with that crazy fool Elam!\u201d\n\nYou continue to listen to Zana\u2019s rant.\n\n\u201cWhen I heard of your plan to create a fertile version of those abominations called Eternals I already saw my opportunity to get my revenge. Imagine my surprise when you actually took Elam up on his insane plan. To be quite honest I thought it would be a failure and I wouldn\u2019t need to do anything except watch you eventually die of old age having missed your opportunity to carry on some monstrous legacy in the quest for immortality instead.\u201d\n\u201cSo why didn\u2019t you attempt to sabotage the attempt long before now? Hell, why not even go the direct route and try to kill me? Not like you didn\u2019t have plenty of opportunity.\u201d You ask.\n\u201cHah, kill you? The Eternal Emperor? I wouldn\u2019t have stood a chance. No matter how quick, clever or young I might be, even I know that you have more lives than a cat. No, I would\u2019ve never been able to kill you myself. As for sabotage, that might\u2019ve been an option had you not been lingering around as much or Gregory not constantly doing inspections after every new part had been added. I knew I should\u2019ve had him killed. I nearly thought about killing Elam when he started making progress with the project\u2026but what can I say, I\u2019d grown to like the old fool too much. Weakness on my part and a fatal one obviously.\u201d\n\nZana\u2019s confession now has a tone of regret, not because of what she did, but more of what she failed to do. Right now you can see her thinking about the methods she could\u2019ve went through with this plan a better way. So close, yet so far.\n\n\u201cOkay, since you\u2019re in a talkative mood, did Klemto or any gnome put you up to this?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cWhat? So you\u2019ll have an excuse to round them all up and destroy their souls again? I heard about what you did to them. And maybe I might find them to be timid, tiresome unattractive little know it alls, I find it deplorable what the Empire did to them. I can\u2019t believe they allowed themselves to be dominated by a nation that systematically exterminated them from not just this life, but the next as well!\u201d\n\u201cSo did they help or not?\u201d you ask again.\n\u201cNo! No they did not! My father would\u2019ve probably had me jailed if he knew what I was planning. Those cowards wouldn\u2019t dare stand against the Empire, but I fucking would! And did! Not that this will save them. After you\u2019re done killing me, you\u2019ll probably have them all killed as well for any excuse will serve a tyrant!\u201d\n\u201cIt\u2019s amusing that you keep calling me that. What did you think your parents were? They were a KING and QUEEN. You think they ruled by popular decision? Do you think YOU would have if you became queen? My actions that day weren\u2019t even personal. I was just following orders like a soldier. Your actions however today are misguided and as you already admitted, fatal. Such a waste. Even had I known your origins, I would not have had you killed if you had remained true to serving the Empire. Your quest for vengeance was as pointless as your entire life. But I am a man of my word and I believe everything you\u2019ve told me.\u201d\n\nWithout another word, you nod at the Eyes restraining her who back off. You then raise your hand and flash of lightning emanates from your fingers blasting Zana directly in the heart. She shakes for a few seconds and then slumps forward dead on the table.\n\n\u201cFunny. She\u2019ll probably be the last person I\u2019ll ever kill directly. Well in this body anyway. Who\u2019s to say what the future will bring? Anyway, I\u2019ll need to speak with Warrick again.\u201d\n\nYou tell Warrick that you want the Eyes to purge New Dessel. Despite the fact that Zana most likely worked alone, you can\u2019t take that chance. Maybe Klemto anticipated she\u2019d eventually seek revenge and just took a hands off approach so that he couldn\u2019t be directly implemented. Maybe they\u2019re all genuinely innocent. Doesn\u2019t matter. You\u2019re trying to secure the future of the Empire and its obvious the gnomes are a potential threat.\n\nYou chuckle to yourself realizing that you\u2019re even more like Casimir than you ever thought. You have to believe even if he would be jealous of all your other accomplishments, he\u2019d definitely be proud of this one.\n\n\u201cVery well, we\u2019ve already got a large number of Eyes positioned in that city. All we have to do is send in another large group, telling the gnomes that it\u2019s a routine changing of the guard and when they\u2019re in, they\u2019ll purge the city. What about Elam?\u201d Warrick asks.\n\u201cOh, him I need. Besides I\u2019m fairly certain the only thing he\u2019s guilty of is thinking with his dick. Catch him up to speed on the situation and release him. Also let him know that the project will have to be set back until I\u2019m satisfied with the machine\u2019s replacement parts and Gregory\u2019s inspection of every little detail.\u201d\n\u201cUnderstood. Long live the Empire.\u201d Warrick says.\n\nThe project is set back at least a couple of months. The purging of New Dessel takes awhile due to the gnomes locking themselves in hard to reach sections of the city, but eventually the entire city is purged. You at last finished what Casimir started though really you wish it hadn\u2019t been necessary. You never hated them. Klemto just saved the wrong baby and brought death on them all because of it.\n\nIn any event, mostly technicians, inventors and other human families with members that have similar mechanical or scientific skills will resettle New Dessel.\n\nEventually Elam and Gregory have all the equipment fixed and ready again and you return with Decena to complete the task you originally set out to do.\n\nYou\u2019re strapped to a table. Elam is remarkably subdued. You\u2019re guessing he\u2019s still taking Zana\u2019s betrayal hard. Still, perhaps its good, it will give him more focus on what is important, serving the Empire.\n\nAs you are prepared, you and Decena exchange one kiss for what will be the last time.\n\n\u201cKnow that whatever happens, I\u2019ll always love you.\u201d She says.\n\u201cAnd I will always love you.\u201d You respond.\n\nElam injects you with a powerful reagent that knocks you out and the process begins.\n\nThe blackness takes you experience absolute nothingness\u2026\n\nHours later you wake up or at least you believe you\u2019re \u201cawake.\u201d All around you, you feel as if you\u2019re floating and every so often a tingling electrical charge can be felt. Your mind\u2026or rather \u201cyou\u201d are in the tank. The procedure worked.\n\nIt\u2019s a very strange sensation, you can \u201csee\u201d though you don\u2019t have eyes. It\u2019s almost as if the images you see outside the tank are being displayed directly into your brain. Though it isn\u2019t like proper vision. You can only \u201csee\u201d them as blurs in your mind, however you can fill in those gaps due to your real memories of said people.\n\nElam was right, the magic energy within you has allowed you vision, and it has also allowed you to speak. You focus on the female image\u2026on Decena who still stands near your now empty shell of a body on a table.\n\n\u201cDecena\u2026do not cry\u2026it worked\u2026I am\u2026alive.\u201d You say with a bit of effort.\n\nThis statement is followed by some shouts of joy from Decena who starts speaking out loud asking if its really you. When Elam sees what\u2019s going on, he begins to jump up and down exclaiming that the process worked.\n\n\u201cDecena, speak to me with your mind. It is the best way to directly communicate with me now.\u201d You say to which she does so.\n\u201cMy love, I\u2019m so happy to see that this has worked! I was about to have Elam killed if it didn\u2019t! So how is it? How do you feel?\u201d\n\u201cIt is an odd sensation, though not an unpleasant one. Indeed I do not feel the pain I once did any more. Perhaps, I shall get used to this form after all.\u201d\n\nAt this point you hear Elam\u2019s mind and he\u2019s asking you five hundred questions, all of which you will get to in time, but you tell him for now you just want to rest and converse with Decena alone.\n\nHe gets it and says he\u2019ll be back in an hour to check on you since there are still many tests that need to be done, such as the ability to move the automaton bodies and such.\n\nAfter Elam and his staff leave, Decena sits next to the tank touching the glass and looking in on you. It\u2019s the closest she\u2019ll ever be with you ever again, and she begins to sniffle and sob a bit. At first you think its out of sadness, but then you sense her thoughts and its due to happiness.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019ll live forever and so will the Empire now. You did it, my love I always knew you would.\u201d\n\nYou are filled with a sense of bliss that seems stronger than you\u2019ve ever felt before. You wonder if it\u2019s due to your new form. Perhaps without a body, emotions and senses are stronger in some way?\n\nIn any case you know now that this is just the beginning. You\u2019ll have to make special arrangements due to your new form, but that\u2019s all part of running an Empire. Now with your immortality secured, you can get back to expansion and possibly even get the Eternal project back up and running with alterations. Your plans to unite the entire world under Empire world has not changed and you know there are still places out there left to conquer.\n\nStill, when you look on at Decena\u2019s hand on the glass you wish you could just touch her again. If only for a moment.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Leave it alone", "result": "Decena\u2019s heart is in the right place, but you\u2019d rather not waste anymore time. You can\u2019t imagine that if Zana was up to something sinister that you wouldn\u2019t have caught it by now, let alone that she wouldn\u2019t have acted by now. There are countless times she probably could\u2019ve made an attempt on your life since she\u2019s been here.\n\nHowever you do agree to Decena\u2019s insistence that she at least not be involved in the final process. If it\u2019ll make her a little less worried about the situation then you don\u2019t see the harm.\n\nWhile Elam tells you up and down that he can\u2019t perform the procedure without Zana\u2019s assistance, Zana is actually fine with not being there and tells you that she understands that the Empress is just concerned for her husband\u2019s well being. Zana also says that despite Elam\u2019s insistence, she isn\u2019t excessively needed for the procedure. She says that for the final procedure; her main job was going to be reading gauges, monitoring dials and such. She says that the other safety supervisor Gregory can take over for her since he should be familiar with everything as well.\n\nWith everything settled, you spend your remaining two days enjoying your time with Decena who seems a little more at ease with the upcoming procedure due to your compromise about Zana. The time you spend with Decena, puts you in a more relaxed mood as well and you\u2019re definitely feeling more positive about it. You almost don\u2019t even know why you were concerned to begin with.\n\nEventually the day comes and Elam has everything ready (With Gregory standing by to monitor the machine and you return with Decena to complete the task you originally set out to do.\n\nYou\u2019re strapped to a table. Elam still says he\u2019d feel more comfortable with Zana helping him, but reassures you that everything will go smoothly.\n\nAs you are prepared, you and Decena exchange one kiss for what will be the last time.\n\n\u201cKnow that whatever happens, I\u2019ll always love you.\u201d She says.\n\u201cAnd I will always love you.\u201d You respond.\n\nElam injects you with a powerful reagent that knocks you out and the process begins.\n\nThe blackness takes you experience absolute nothingness\u2026\n\nAnd that is the last thing you ever experience for you never wake up from the procedure, which was successful at least for a moment.\n\nWhen your brain was transferred everything was going well at first and steps were being taken to gradually wake you back up, but unfortunately it was during this process that the machine began to fail, break down and eventually explode.\n\nThe initial explosion killed Gregory who was already freaking out when the machine started acting outside the safety parameters. It also killed most of the supporting staff; including Elam who was desperately attempting to fix what he thought was wrong.\n\nDecena survived the initial explosion, but only at a great cost. She ended up losing a part of her arm, a foot and most of her body and face heavily injured. She managed to hang on long enough to declare that Warrick and Brenda were officially in charge of the Empire when Kivan and others found her dying.\n\nWith her last breath to Kivan she told him:\n\n\u201cHave that\u2026(cough wheeze) bitch Zana executed\u2026I know\u2026(wheeze) she did this\u2026\u201d\n\nWarrick and Brenda\u2019s first course of action was to indeed track down Zana, who by this time had long escaped. Klemto and all the other gnomes insisted they knew nothing of this plan, but someone had to pay and unfortunately it was them.\n\nThe gnomes of New Dessel didn\u2019t go without a fight however and it took months before the mountain city was finally taken and even then groups of gnomes had managed to escape or even lock themselves in secret passages within the mountain to conduct guerilla attacks. Eventually Warrick had the airship fleet continually blast the mountain until it collapsed on itself making it useless to all and killing anyone still hiding inside.\n\nAs for Zana, she never was caught, but that was the least of the Empire\u2019s problems.\n\nHer success of killing you (and Decena) along with New Dessel\u2019s extended siege inspired another rebellion. Warrick and Brenda might\u2019ve been up to the task had they been a little younger, but when Warrick died of natural causes suddenly a few years later, it was a great blow to both the Empire and Brenda who took the death of a second husband hard. She eventually joined him a year later via suicide.\n\nFrom there the downward spiral of the Empire was inevitable and in time records of the old regime were erased from history.", "action_results": []}]}]}]}, {"action": "Test Subjects (Year 63)", "result": "Year 63\n\n\u201cAnd you\u2019re sure this is the only way?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cMy Emperor if I thought there was another, I wouldn\u2019t even be bothering you with this. I\u2019m going to need these test subjects if I am going to pursue these theories.\u201d Elam remarks.\n\nElam\u2019s request really isn\u2019t unreasonable and it is for a good cause, its just one part of it isn\u2019t exactly going to be nice for Brenda to hear.\n\n\u201cAlright, I\u2019ll talk to Brenda and I\u2019ll get some of the Eternals that she\u2019s been training. She\u2019s probably not going to be happy about it though.\u201d You say.\n\u201cI do not understand my Emperor, does she not see some of them die in training?\u201d\n\u201cSurprisingly not as many as you think. It\u2019s not like the old days back when I was an Eternal and only a few us survived the process. These kids today have several natural advantages along with accelerated healing abilities. They\u2019re hard to kill even when they\u2019re shooting each other in vital organs.\u201d You say.\n\u201cI didn\u2019t realize this new group was so resilient. That\u2019s good to hear though. I need them to survive this process, at least until they reach the age of puberty when I can see if they can reproduce.\u201d\n\u201cHrm. Well in any case, Brenda\u2019s also gotten a bit too attached to our younger Eternal generations in her years of training. Sort of sees them as her children in a way. It won\u2019t be a problem of course because ultimately she doesn\u2019t have a choice in the matter and she\u2019ll see that this is best for the Empire anyway.\u201d\n\nJust before you leave to break the news to Brenda, Elam asks another question.\n\n\u201cBefore you leave my Emperor. What about the other test subject?\u201d\n\u201cOh, right. The magic source you need. Well despite Galen\u2019s whining, he\u2019s been a valuable asset to the Empire many times. This time shall be no different. So if you need him incapacitated, I\u2019ll see to that business as well.\u201d\n\u201cI thank you my Emperor.\u201d\n\u201cDon\u2019t thank me, just get me positive results.\u201d You remark before leaving.", "action_results": [null]}]}, {"action": "Get out of the way", "result": "Even behind a barrier there is no way you\u2019re going to withstand the full force of a dragon flying directly at you, you need to get the hell out of the way.\n\nAs the dragon approaches you run to one of the battlement towers, unfortunately in your haste, you temporarily drop your barrier and that\u2019s all the time the dragon needs to sense your vulnerability, even worse your expended fatigue doesn\u2019t allow you to react quick enough to get to the shelter you need.\n\nThe dragon unleashes another great blast of fire, which completely envelops the top of the battlements and you along with it. The fire causes your flesh to burn, bubble and literally melt off your bones. You\u2019re already dead by the time the dragon\u2019s open maw swallows you whole as it continue to glide in your direction.", "action_results": []}]}]}, {"action": "Forget about her", "result": "You\u2019re not going down that route again, you broke it off for a reason and while there have been relapses of that reason; you\u2019re not just going to give up completely on it.\n\nIn fact the best way to put all this behind you is to involve yourself in the Nyttrus campaign. You figure immersing yourself in what you excel at is a good way to get your mind off this. Namely killing lots of things.\n\nYou prepare for your journey to Nyttrus and leave orders to Decena that she has full authority to act in your stead while you\u2019re in Nytrrus.\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t anticipate anything going severely wrong while I\u2019m gone, but you never know of course. In any event, I\u2019m sure everyone will accept your authority and if you have any problems Warrick and Kivan are probably your best people to ask advice if you need it. I don\u2019t expect you\u2019ll need to though.\u201d You say.\n\u201cI thank you my Emperor and as always I am honored that you would place this much faith in my ability to oversee an entire continent.\u201d\n\u201cYou are the best suited and this is what you were ultimately trained for in case the worst should happen.\u201d\n\u201cThat won\u2019t happen.\u201d Decena says.\n\u201cWell, let\u2019s hope that is indeed the case.\u201d You reply.\n\nLeaving Decena in charge you finish preparing for your trip to Nyttrus and soon leave with several hundred third generation Eternals.\n\nWhen you eventually do arrive in Nyttrus the place does indeed remind you a bit of Delerg though even hotter. The kobold leader Snilkez\u2019ka is the first one to greet you and exclaim that now that you\u2019re here, the war will go much quicker and victory should come swiftly.\n\nThe first few weeks are indeed very successful ones, and it does appear that victory will come quickly if the Iznac are falling as quickly as they do, but as always not everything is so clear cut\u2026\n\nThe Iznac realizing that they are facing a power that they\u2019ve never encountered before resort to unleashing a powerful \u201csecret weapon\u201d in the form of three very large flying lizards. And these aren\u2019t wyverns either. They are creatures that Casimir once told you were rare even back in his day. They\u2019re dragons and the first thing they do is completely obliterate one of your forts.\n\nTo make matters even more complicated the orcs that abandoned their duty have somehow come to an agreement with the Iznac and are now allied with them. The Iznac have also rallied the other major race inhabiting the island, the Glip against you, though some of their villages were already hostile anyway.\n\nYou fall back a bit on the advance and regroup realizing that the conquest of this continent is going to take a lot longer than anticipated.\n\nYear 60\n\n\u201cWe\u2019ll hold the line at Fort Canopy and Fort Tangle, then after they\u2019ve expended all their energy on this massive assault of theirs, we can make our own advance and wipe them out for good.\u201d You say and then promptly stagger a bit away from the table in pain.\n\nGeneral Flevas and Captain Snilkez\u2019ka move towards you and ask if you need help, but you of course decline. Though the truth is, you could use some help, just not in the way they are offering.\n\nEver since the dragons reared their ugly heads this campaign has been one struggle after another and taken a great toll on your body. While you\u2019ve managed to kill two of the giant lizards already, it\u2019s almost been at the cost of your own life. Your last battle with one of the creatures practically cost you half of the left side of your face given that you\u2019re missing an eye and an ear now. You\u2019re even missing part of your non-dominant hand. While healing magic is powerful, even you can\u2019t regenerate completely lost limbs or other organs and you\u2019ve been pushing it to the limit as it is. You might be holding off death in the in the short term, but you\u2019ve probably been shortening your life span just by using it as much as you have.\n\nYou\u2019ve been in contact with Decena who has been giving updates via letters on what\u2019s been going on in Evigrus since your absence and the general reports are always fairly boring. No major problems or anything, in fact Decena on several occasions has requested that she come help you on the Nyttrus campaign and while she would\u2019ve been of great help you still want to keep yourself separate from her. Not really because of any possible feelings between the pair of you anymore, but more because you want to keep her safe.\n\nQuite honestly, you don\u2019t think you\u2019re going to survive this campaign and even if you do win, how many years do you really have left anymore? Or years WORTH living?\n\nDecena is your successor. While you sometimes briefly thought that you might find a way to live forever, deep down you always knew that it was always going to be Decena to take your place when you died. It\u2019s probably why you\u2019ve wanted to be away from her. She\u2019ll be able to take your death with less pain when it does inevitably occur. She also needs to be alive and while you have no doubt in her abilities, there is no point in playing with her life. Perhaps your own, but not hers.\n\nYou dismiss Flevas and Snikez\u2019ka and tell them you\u2019ll be fine defending Fort Canopy by yourself and that they should focus on Fort Tangle\u2019s defenses and with any luck the airships will take out the dragon.\n\nDays pass and you and your troops prepare for the inevitable assault, which comes in excessive force just as predicted. Perhaps even a little more.\n\nYou look over the battlements and see several Iznacs climbing the walls of the fort like an army of ants. They aren\u2019t even using ladders, they\u2019re just scaling the fort with their bare hands. It\u2019s actually rather impressive, until you unleash a chain of lightning to zap all of them. The shock is enough to at least cause most of them to fall off if not outright kill them immediately.\n\nYour people are doing their best though they can\u2019t stop every Iznac from scaling the fort. Soon the gunfire is replaced by sounds of close combat weaponry. No matter how far the advances in technology, it always eventually comes down to looking your opponent in the eye and feeling their blood splatter as you end their life.\n\nWhile you\u2019re busy hacking off the limbs of an Iznac warrior, another loud explosion in the distance is heard followed by a bright flash in the sky. It\u2019s the destruction of your last airship from the dragon. Flaming wreckage crashes down in the distance. Won\u2019t be long before the dragon turns its attention towards one of the forts.\n\nIznac, glip and orcs all attack the fort and while it\u2019s a brutal affair, your Eternals are holding their own in the face of overwhelming odds.\n\nYou then hear a roaring sound getting closer and the sounds of great wings approaching.\n\nYou shout a general command for the still working cannons to be pointed towards the dragon and to prepare to fire when the beast is in range. In the meantime you try to keep that side of the fort relatively free of invading forces.\n\nThe dragon gets closer and you give the order to fire and unleash your own magic bolts at the creature. It\u2019s definitely wounded from its ordeal with the airships, but given your experience with the other two dragons, you know it\u2019s far from being out the fight.\n\nIn fact it\u2019s so determined that it doesn\u2019t distinguish friend from foe when it blasts its flame breath on the fort. You manage to protect most of your people with a magic barrier, but for those outside its protection, most are set on fire if not incinerated immediately. On the positive side, it reduces your enemies, on the negative it ignites the gunpowder barrels for the cannons causing a massive explosion and completely destroying one side of the fort.\n\nWhile the barrier still protects you and everyone within initially, it\u2019s still a lot of strain on your energy and you begin to feel the fatigue setting in. and you can\u2019t hold out any longer\u2026\n\nYour strength falters and the barrier goes down and the flames envelop you and several of your troops.\n\nIn the last moments of your flesh melting off your bones you only regret that this fort will fall.", "action_results": []}]}]}, {"action": "Help Semra", "result": "Decena\u2019s a good warrior, you\u2019re sure she\u2019ll be able to handle the abomination trying squeeze through the doorway. Plus the quicker Zelvix gets banished, the quicker this all stops. Now that you\u2019ve been given a temporary relief from the mental attacks, you run over to Morty\u2019s body and drag it away from Semra. You also hold him down and begin repeatedly punching him in the face.\n\nMorty\u2019s possessed body struggles against you and while it\u2019s certainly stronger than it should be, it can\u2019t break free of your grip and won\u2019t be reaching Semra anytime soon.\n\nZelvix\u2019s power is fading, but he\u2019s not out of it yet and in between trying to break free he establishes contact with you mentally again.\n\n\u201cRagh! Argh! Fool! You would deny your destiny of immortality? I told you I would tell you how to find the Isle of Mortos! Is that not what you want? You think\u2026ARRRGH!\u201d Zelvix\u2019s bargaining is interrupted by the agony of his impending banishment.\n\nSoon Zelvix will be gone and this will all be over, yet isn\u2019t there a way to get what you want as well.\n\nYou think so and respond back to Zelvix.\n\n\u201cZelvix, you\u2019ve got little time left, so I\u2019m proposing a deal to YOU. Tell me the location of the island now and I\u2019ll kill the svelk bitch myself. You don\u2019t have any options here.\u201d\n\nYou hear a deep chortle inside your head.\n\n\u201cMortal, we ALL have choices. I know you and I know this game. You phrased your proposal in such a way that you didn\u2019t specify WHEN you were going to kill Semra\u2026actually you didn\u2019t even say Semra. You just said svelk bitch. That could be any of them. No deal, I\u2019m not telling you shit. A good attempt, but I\u2019d rather die than have my last moments be one of being outwitted by a pathetic mortal!\u201d Zelvix says\n\u201cConsidering you\u2019re still stuck in Morty\u2019s body and going to be BANISHED in it, I\u2019d say that\u2019s already happened.\u201d\n\nZelvix doesn\u2019t respond, instead you just hear a great bellowing inside your head, this is also followed by a scream nearby, you turn your head and see half of Decena underneath the mass of murderous flesh that has finally managed to break through some of the wall in an effort to reach you all. Decena still struggles to fight, but she\u2019s overwhelmed by the writhing mass of limbs striking her and the horrible rows of sharp teeth biting into her flesh.\n\n\u201cNO!\u201d you shout and run over to help her by hacking away at the disgusting flesh blob. It has little effect other depriving it of a few less flailing limbs. You only succeed in chopping off a few chunks even when you attempt to freeze it in place (Which only slows it down rather than properly freezing it completely) You try to pull Decena away, but she\u2019s stuck and her lower half being devoured, shredded and crushed all at the same time. The strength in her is already leaving.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m sorry my\u2026Emper\u2026\u201d She manages to utter during the chaos of this situation.\n\u201cDon\u2019t talk! You\u2019ll get out of this, I\u2019ll think of something! I\u2019ll\u2026FUCK!\u201d you shout in frustration and still hacking away at the mass.\n\nThe whole time you\u2019ve been distracted, you haven\u2019t paid any attention to the main conflict which is that of Zelvix who fortunately was still too weak to reach Semra.\n\nA final unearthly wail from Zelvix and it\u2019s a sign that the end of this conflict is near.\n\n\u201cSSSSSSSSS NO! IT CANNOT END LIKE THIS! I WILL NOT BE DEFEATED BY MORTAL SHIT! I CURSE YOU ALL! NONE OF YOU SHALL AAAARRRRGH!\u201d\n\nMorimer\u2019s body twitches and convulses one last time and you manage to turn your head just in time from your own battle to see a red spirit like mist rise from his body. An angry demonic face can be seen briefly followed by the red mist completely dissipating. In front of you, the mass of flesh you\u2019ve been fighting goes completely lifeless. Mortimer\u2019s body is also lifeless. Whatever spark that was keeping him alive was only due to Zelvix\u2019s magic and he\u2019s truly gone now.\n\nAnd then the blob of flesh you were fighting becomes lifeless as well and you are able to pull Decena away with some effort. It\u2019s too bad though, she\u2019s missing parts of her legs and even some of her innards, you can\u2019t even imagine how much blood she\u2019s lost.\n\n\u201cOh shit, I\u2019m sorry. I should\u2019ve been there for you, I\u2019ll make this better, I\u2019ll make this better\u2026\u201d you start to say and begin to cast your healing magic, though surprisingly Decena manages to interrupt you by weakly grabbing at your hand.\n\u201cNo\u2026don\u2019t\u2026let me die a warrior\u2019s death. Don\u2019t shorten your life span for me\u2026the Empire needs you\u2026\u201d\n\nYou hold Decena closer to you, it won\u2019t be long now.\n\n\u201cEmperor\u2026I love you\u2026\u201d she says looking up at you.\n\u201cI\u2026love you Decena.\u201d You respond back.\n\nThese words causes a brief smile in Decena\u2019s final moments. It\u2019s all she ever wanted, your love.\n\nThe funny thing is, it\u2019s at this very moment that you realize that you could\u2019ve probably had a real relationship with her. She was more than just a lovesick student that you thought you were re-enacting your experiences with Semra with. She was a worthy mate and potentially your successor.\n\nAnd now that\u2019s all gone.\n\nYou wipe your eyes and get up off the floor, pondering your great loss today. In fact you\u2019ve completely forgotten about Semra, though she hasn\u2019t forgotten about you, and she\u2019s been watching you the entire time.\n\n\u201cWhile I hate to disturb your moment of introspection, we need to get the hell out of here before your army starts bombarding this place now that the barrier is down. I imagine that you probably gave that order or something similar to your army correct?\u201d\n\nYou ignore Semra.\n\n\u201cHey are you listening to me? Look, I know you\u2019re upset about losing your little warrior girl and I\u2019m sure she was a lot of fun in bed, but you need to get over that now. I mean utter devotion is a beautiful thing, but really at least Alison was her own woman and not someone looking for constant approval.\u201d Semra says as she walks over to you.\n\n\u201cWell I guess that\u2019s why you\u2019ll always be the true woman for me, right Semra?\u201d you answer and grab her hand.\n\u201cWhat?\u201d Semra says.\n\u201cThat\u2019s what you\u2019re always telling me isn\u2019t it? I mean any woman I have any sort of feelings for seems to die. You on the other hand survive everything\u2026heh\u2026just like I survive everything\u2026it would seem you\u2019re right we ARE meant to be together\u2026\u201d\n\nAt this point you put both of your arms around Semra\u2019s waist. You can sense that she\u2019s genuinely surprised by this sudden show of affection for her. You can also feel her attempting to read your mind, but she\u2019ll see nothing there but a strong desire to take her right there on the floor.\n\n\u201cHmmm, while I don\u2019t mind this sudden enthusiasm lover, we really should\u2026\u201d Semra starts to say before you shut her up with a kiss. She tastes exactly like you remember and it\u2019s intoxicating.\n\nYou waste no time in stripping off your bloody sweat drenched clothing, and Semra despite her concern that your army will start bombarding the city, loses that worry as well as losing herself in the moment.\n\nThen soon the pair of you are naked on blood stained floor and as you thrust into Semra, you try to ignore your aches and pains from your earlier battle.\n\nIt\u2019s almost like your first time\u2026\n\nWell other than the fact that a rotting mound of dead bodies lies nearby, along with Decena\u2019s corpse which probably hasn\u2019t even gone completely cold yet.\n\nThis is wrong in so many ways, but after your great loss today, you\u2019re going to get something out of it. And that something ISN\u2019T Semra\u2019s magical svelk vagina even though you\u2019ve convinced her that it is.\n\nSemra has to know something about the Isle of Mortos or at least how to get back there. She\u2019s been around long enough and given her relationship with Casimir who was a former \u201ccitizen\u201d there, the chances that she knows something is very likely.\n\n\u201cMmmm yes! Yes! Ravish me! Ravage me you fucking abomination of nature!\u201d Semra exclaims and slaps you hard in the face.\n\nSemra\u2019s having so much fun that she doesn\u2019t seem to realize you\u2019re getting to know her in an intimate way that you\u2019re sure she didn\u2019t want you to. It\u2019s difficult trying to hide your true intentions to Semra, but you manage to do so by filling you own thoughts with a mixture of lust and hatred. You also think about how much you want to slit her throat. It\u2019s certainly enough to be convincing since it isn\u2019t exactly untrue.\n\nIn her state of arousal Semra\u2019s mind is much less guarded, as her focus is no longer one of defense, but one mostly of pleasure. While part of her is expecting you to try to kill her and she\u2019s certainly prepared for it, that\u2019s not your goal at least not today. It\u2019s the perfect cover as far as you\u2019re concerned.\n\nYou see many things about Semra\u2019s life, some very interesting, some rather mundane, and some even sort of surprising to you.\n\nFor example, just before Semra pushed you away during your first mental joining, there was another she was upset about losing, though you didn\u2019t see it the first time, namely an infant son. Apparently demons had killed and consumed part of it before Semra and her father could save it (Which then soon lead to her father\u2019s death). You can only imagine it was their baby together.\n\nThis loss explains a few other things you see which must take place later on in her life, such as a bored one night casual sexual encounter with some svelk warrior that also resulted in pregnancy. This must\u2019ve been Eldolith\u2019s father since she was born soon after.\n\nHer relationship with her daughter was never a good one and it\u2019s apparent she saw her daughter as something barely better than\u2026well \u201cthe lesser born\u201d as most svelk would say. Perhaps Eldy was a constant reminder that she was NOT Semra father\u2019s offspring and never would be.\n\nBut you\u2019re not here to delve into the tragic past of a very broken woman, you\u2019re here to find out vital information that you know she must have.\n\nAnd you think you\u2019ve just found it.\n\nYou see a continent that you\u2019ve never seen before. It isn\u2019t Evigrus and while you\u2019ve never been there, it\u2019s not Nyttrus either as there is no trace of jungle. The place has large tracks of forests and several ruined cities. Inside such ruined areas you see groups of svelk fighting each other. Other groups wander the countryside in the usual nomadic manner that you\u2019ve traditionally known them to do.\n\nOddly there doesn\u2019t seem to be any other race living on the continent, or at least no other sentient creature. (Strange beasts you\u2019ve never seen still seem to exist though) Another thing that stands out though are these large circular structure made out of mithral. They seem to be all over the continent though it looks like most are damaged in some way.\n\nThis has to be the svelk \u201chome.\u201d It is. You gain all this information from Semra\u2019s mind which is like an open book at this point. And these circular structures are portals, or they used to be. They probably lead all over to different parts of the world and that includes\u2026\n\n\u201cDECIEVER!\u201d Semra suddenly shouts and tries to punch you, but you hold her down her arms. She\u2019s on to your plan now.\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t fight it Semra, just lay back and enjoy it.\u201d You mockingly say and try to probe her mind again, but she\u2019s already taken steps to block you out more effectively. You\u2019ve learned all you can, but it might be enough.\n\nFinished with Semra mentally, you \u201cfinish up\u201d with her physically as well before letting her go. Predictably she punches you in the face and crawls backwards from underneath you.\n\n\u201cSo was it good for you?\u201d you say, holding your face.\n\nYour continued mocking is met with a blast of fire that you just barely block with a magic field.\n\n\u201cI know where you\u2019re going Semra. You\u2019re going back home to Dokkrus to ironically try to do something you were criticizing me for. You\u2019re going to try to resurrect the Svelk Empire again. Try to unite the tribes as it were. That\u2019s good. We all should have a goal. I know what mine is.\u201d\n\u201cYou think yourself so clever, but if you try to pursue what we both know what you\u2019re trying to pursue, be prepared to suffer considerable losses.\u201d Semra warns.\n\u201cWhat could I possibly lose Semra? Tell me, because I\u2019d truly love to know. I have no more loved ones for you to kill. The Empire? You told me I\u2019ll lose that when I die anyway. My life? You think I fear death? You know I don\u2019t. I only seek to MASTER it.\u201d\n\nYou pick up your pants and start to dress as you continue your monologue to Semra.\n\n\u201cIn the past you\u2019ve mentioned about how my efforts of world domination and expanding the Empire are all in vain because I\u2019ll eventually grow old and die anyway just like Casimir. Well congratulations Semra, you motivated me to avoid his fate because unlike him, I will succeed. I WILL become truly immortal and NOTHING is going to stop me.\u201d\n\u201cWell, then its good we had one last tryst because I can see now you\u2019re leaving me no choice!\u201d Semra shouts and resumes her magical attack.\n\nYou block the magical bolts and try to run for some sort of cover. Semra casts a poisonous cloud, you remember that one, but this time you\u2019re able to get out of its range, though in doing so you are hit by her follow up attack, which involves throwing a dead body into you. You fall to the floor face first as the body slams into you a fairly fast speed.\n\n\u201cShit!\u201d you groan and turn around with the body still on top of you, and that\u2019s when you see that it\u2019s Decena\u2019s. Her dead eyes stare into your own and then you feel a kick to your face that probably would\u2019ve taken out your eye had Semra been wearing her sharp toed boots rather than her current state of undress.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s been fun lover, but you need to learn the last lesson and that\u2019s no one lives forever.\u201d Semra says\u2026and then the roof of the palace starts collapsing on the pair of you. It would seem the bombarding of the city has begun.\n\nSeizing the opportunity, you push Decena\u2019s body off of you and try to stab Semra with your dagger. Unfortunately between your exhaustion, the crumbling ceiling and Semra\u2019s alertness you miss, but instead of trying to attack back, she takes the survival approach instead.\n\n\u201cNext time Eternal.\u201d She says and runs out the entryway\n\u201cNext time Semra.\u201d You mutter and pick up Decena\u2019s body before making haste for the exit yourself.\n\nIt\u2019s difficult carrying Decena\u2019s body while tired and trying to avoid being blown up by the bombarding. Doesn\u2019t help that you start seeing airships approaching.\n\n\u201cSheesh, Flevas. Glad to see you\u2019re not fucking around, but this isn\u2019t helping me!\u201d you mutter and quicken your pace.\n\nFortunately, you manage to get out of Dequilet before it\u2019s completely decimated and fortunately there is a pause in the bombarding when someone with a telescope spots you just outside the destroyed city walls. You make it back to camp in one piece.\n\n\u201cEmperor! My apologies, but I thought\u2026\u201d Flevas starts to say, but you\u2019re not in the mood to hear anything.\n\u201cForget it Flevas, you were doing your job\u2026just (sigh) here\u2026\u201d you say and lay Decena down.\n\u201cHave her body shipped back to the capital, she will receive a war heroes\u2019 funeral.\u201d\n\u201cCertainly my Emperor.\u201d Flevas says and snaps his fingers to have some other troops move her body.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll be in my tent. Don\u2019t disturb me.\u201d You say and retire to your bedroll. As you allow your body to at last embrace the rest it needs, you think about Decena\u2019s last words to you.\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t worry Decena, your sacrifice wasn\u2019t in vain. The Empire will always have me because it IS me and I will live forever. I promise.\u201d You say as you close your eyes.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass\u2026", "result": "Year 56\n\nYou enter Brenda\u2019s office where upon she smiles briefly at you, though with everything you have on your mind, you don\u2019t return the gesture instead you just nod.\n\n\u201cHello Brenda, I trust you and Warrick are still enjoying your new marital status.\u201d You say guessing that what\u2019s put her in better spirits as of late.\n\u201cYes, Emperor. I\u2019m happier than I\u2019ve been in a long time. Thank you for performing the wedding personally.\u201d\n\u201cThink nothing of it. Though I didn\u2019t think you\u2019d ever remarry, let alone Warrick. But if you two are happy then that\u2019s good. You should hold on to that as long as possible for one never knows when it will suddenly be taken away from you.\u201d\n\u201cUm\u2026of course my Emperor. We certainly do cherish our time together.\u201d Brenda responds at your rather grim comment.\n\n\u201cAnyway, I came here to let you know that the new Eternals have been released from their tanks. You\u2019ll be training them soon.\u201d You say.\n\u201cI\u2019ll be looking forward to it. I trust they met with your standards?\u201d\n\u201cYes, most of them seem to be very much like the third generation though perhaps with signs of displaying higher intelligence overall. Under your guidance, I have no doubt that they\u2019ll be just as effective as the third gens.\u201d You reply with a sigh.\n\u201cIs there something wrong my Emperor?\u201d Brenda asks.\n\n\u201cYes, it\u2019s Nyttrus. The place is becoming a pain in my side that I don\u2019t want to be bothered with, but I find that it might become necessary to step in personally soon. We\u2019ve got more than a few strongholds there now, but the Iznac are far from being beaten, unfortunately most of the humans there are sick or dead due to disease and Iznac magic. Flog\u2019s also dead and the orcs have become slightly less disciplined as of late without his calmer leadership. There have been a few reports of deserters running off into the jungles and forming their own communities. Just glad Snilkez\u2019ka is still alive and the kobolds are holding down the forts there until the third gens arrive.\u201d\n\u201cCouldn\u2019t you send airships to bomb Nyttrus to speed things up?\n\u201cThey don\u2019t really have the range to travel across the vast oceans yet though Elam\u2019s working on fixing that with the gnomes. In any event if they did have that sort of range I might be inclined to have them try to find Dokkrus first since that\u2019s my real goal.\u201d\n\nBrenda tries to give you some words of encouragement, but they don\u2019t improve your mood. Instead you just leave Brenda, once again wishing her well on her new happy marriage.\n\nYou spend a few days wondering whether or not you should head to Nyttrus with the third gens. Ultimately you decide not to as you\u2019re still hoping to hear something soon about Dokkrus. As soon as you get word about that, you want to be on the next ship going there. You don\u2019t want to be in the middle of a conflict that you know you\u2019ll be compelled to complete if you directly get involved.\n\nIn the meantime you go back to more mundane matters such as ensuring that the rebuilding of the new Nakol province remains on schedule. You also take time to hone your magic abilities; in fact since your \u201cintimate\u201d mind connection with Semra, you actually feel a little more powerful or rather you gained a brief insight into spells she never taught you during training.\n\nA few weeks pass and still no word about Dokkrus, however you do get bothersome news about Nyttrus again.\n\nYou\u2019re informed of the latest problems on Nyttrus by Kivan who received a message about it in the middle of the night. The Iznac have apparently unleashed a powerful \u201csecret weapon\u201d in the form of three very large flying lizards. And these aren\u2019t wyverns either. They are creatures that Casimir once told you were rare even back in his day. They\u2019re dragons and apparently they\u2019ve already destroyed one of your forts on the continent.\n\nThis isn\u2019t news you wanted to hear. Now you\u2019re going to have no choice, but to go over there.\n\nYou still can\u2019t do all this alone though, you still want to wrap this war up as quick as you can and you\u2019ll need some competent tacticians and strategists to do that. Snilkez\u2019ka has her way of doing things you\u2019re sure, but they probably work best with other kobolds she commands.\n\nThe third gens are good warriors, and a select few of them are indeed leaders, but most of them are rather\u2026well unimaginative sometimes. You don\u2019t think that\u2019s the fault of Brenda\u2019s training, but perhaps just a tendency towards conformity due to their creation. In fact you can\u2019t even think of a single one that has stood out to you during the war with Nakol. Hopefully the fourth won\u2019t have that problem when they\u2019re ready.\n\nSo you make up your mind that General Flevas should accompany you. The elf is pretty much the best one you have right now and you believe his vast scouting skills should come in handy. Given that all the orcs ran off and rebelled, you also won\u2019t have to worry about Flevas not being respected as a leader. The third gens and kobolds seem fairly neutral towards him.\n\nYou go back and forth on whether or not to bring Galen. His magic would most certainly help against the dragons, but you\u2019re wondering if you want to put up with his tendency to complain. True he\u2019s much better at not doing it, but he always manages to find a way.\n\nWho you really wish you had is Decena. She would\u2019ve been perfect for this mission since she already worked well with the third gens. Just another reminder of your loss.\n\nMaybe though you just need another Eternal. An Eternal who always likes \u201cvacations\u201d away from his usual duties, namely Warrick.\n\nHe certainly commands respect amongst the Eyes and besides you he\u2019s probably the next most feared name in the Empire. As Sightmaster he\u2019s also skilled in less traditional forms of warfare, which will come in handy in the jungle filled continent. Of course the only concern with bringing him is that leaves the \u201cmainland\u201d of the Empire, relatively\u2026 well the word isn\u2019t undefended, but without a major figure to oversee any possible problems that may crop up. You suppose Brenda and Kivan can handle things if something really gets out of hand.\n\nWhich brings you to another problem and that\u2019s taking Warrick into a war in the first place. Warrick\u2019s job at one time was probably a bit more dangerous, but as you\u2019ve established order over the continent, stomped out dissension and all of those other necessary things, it\u2019s become even more like a \u201cdesk job.\u201d Warrick still keeps up on his training and such, and you know if you called for him to assist he\u2019d jump at the chance not just out of loyalty, but because he always has a bit of desire to get in the middle of things again.\n\nHe could very well get killed and a better head of internal security, as far as you\u2019re concerned there is none. His loss would be even greater than Decena\u2019s you believe. Though it\u2019s the more \u201cmoral\u201d problem that surprisingly has you rethinking this.\n\nWarrick just married Brenda, the pair of them don\u2019t see each other every day, but they\u2019re able to do so when they can. It\u2019s the happiest Brenda\u2019s been since she was married to Roldan. If Warrick was to die, well you can only imagine what that might do to her. So if you lost Warrick, you might be \u201closing\u201d Brenda as well.\n\nOf course that\u2019s all speculation. You don\u2019t intend on losing Warrick at all, but you have to prepare for that possibility and the repercussions of such things.", "action_results": [{"action": "Take Warrick with you", "result": "You need to take care of this situation on Nyttrus and the only way you\u2019re going to do that is with people you know that are going to be vital for the task. (Which also why you decide to leave Galen here.)\n\nYou go to see Warrick at the Eye Headquarters, he\u2019s a little surprised at your sudden visit, but happy to see you as always. He\u2019s even more excited when you tell him you want him to come with you to Nyttrus.\n\n\u201cOf course Emperor! I have to say I\u2019m glad for this opportunity again. The last time was when we went to New Dessel together and while I\u2019m glad it worked out anyway, I was always a bit disappointed we never got to fight along side each other.\u201d Warrick says.\n\u201cWell I\u2019m fairly certain that will definitely happen in Nyttrus. Anyway, I\u2019ll be leaving in a few days, will that be enough time to get your affairs in order and delegate various responsibilities here?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cShould be, I\u2019ll get started on that right now.\u201d\n\u201cGood, then I\u2019ll see you in three days.\u201d\n\nThinking nothing more of this, you return to get your own affairs in order, explaining to Kivan that you want regular reports on the Empire sent to you in Nyttrus. The second day comes around and it is you who gets a sudden visitor although perhaps not totally unexpected.\n\n\u201cEmperor, I told her you were busy, but\u2026argh!\u201d Kivan says as Brenda pushes him aside and into the wall. She looks very upset, but apparently she knows better than to come in armed while in such a state of agitation. (Not that doesn\u2019t mean she still isn\u2019t potentially dangerous)\n\n\u201cKivan, I\u2019d suggest you leave us alone.\u201d You say, to which he nods wincing at his aches and closes your door. Brenda continues to stare at you.\n\n\u201cWell? I know you didn\u2019t come all this way to wish me well in Nyttrus, say what you need to say.\u201d\n\u201cYou know that my loyalty to the Empire is absolute. You also know that Warrick\u2019s loyalty to the Empire is absolute as well. We were trained to do everything in our power to ensure its survival and success. I TRAIN all those new Eternals so that they learn that lesson as well. To know that the good of the Empire is above ALL, no matter what.\u201d\n\u201cAnd I know this Brenda. Your actions everyday are proof of your dedication. Yours and Warrick\u2019s.\u201d\n\nBrenda begins nodding her head in agreement in a rapid motion while breathing hard.\n\n\u201cYeah\u2026SO WHY THE HELL ARE WE BEING FUCKING PUNISHED?\u201d she shouts.\n\u201cI wasn\u2019t aware I was punishing Warrick, has he said he doesn\u2019t like the new assignment he\u2019ll be accompanying me on?\u201d\n\u201cHah oh\u2026oh of course not! Not good old loyal Warrick! He of course feels honored by this assignment. He doesn\u2019t even know I\u2019m here, because if he did, he\u2019d try and stop me from getting himself killed!\u201d\n\u201cYou seem to lack faith in your husband, I know him to be a skilled warrior.\u201d\n\u201cOf course he\u2019s a fucking skilled warrior! He\u2019s also not a young man anymore! He\u2019s not as fast as he used to be, he\u2019s not as strong as he used to be and you want him to fight fucking dragons? And unlike you he doesn\u2019t have the advantage of powerful magic abilities to help keep him alive!\u201d\n\u201cBrenda if you haven\u2019t noticed I\u2019m not exactly young myself, why the hell do you think I want his help? Because I greatly increase my chances of survival against three flying lizards and an army of savages! And contrary to popular belief magic is just another tool for battle, it\u2019s not some wonder solution to win wars. If it was and I actually had that power, I\u2019d certainly be using it.\u201d\n\nBrenda now starts shaking her head and sighing.\n\n\u201cYou don\u2019t get it. You don\u2019t understand.\u201d\n\u201cYeah, I think I do Brenda. I get it better than you think. I lost Alison the same day you lost Roldan remember? You just found happiness with Warrick, happiness that you never thought that you\u2019d ever experience again since Roldan died. Now that happiness is in jeopardy because there is the possibility that Warrick may fall in battle. Well you know what? Death is a possibility anywhere.\u201d\n\u201cExcept by going to Nyttrus you\u2019re increasing his chances tenfold! And you\u2019re right you do know about loss, so why the hell would you want to put ME of all people through it again.\u201d\n\u201cBrenda if there was another way, don\u2019t you think I would? You believe I actually WANT to potentially cause you distress? No, I don\u2019t. You and Warrick are pretty much the only ones now that I can identify with on any level anymore and quite frankly losing either one of you would deeply wound me as well. I don\u2019t pretend to say it would be as strong as you feel for each other, but I would feel the sorrow.\u201d\n\u201c(Sob) but why\u2026must he\u2026we just got married\u2026we\u2026(sob).\u201d\n\nBrenda at this point can\u2019t quite keep it together. You have no real comforting words for her. Just cold facts of duty.\n\n\u201c(Sigh) He\u2019s needed Brenda. His Emperor has called him. He has to do his duty and serve his role as we all must for the good of the Empire. It was not my intention to upset you Brenda, but you know that as unfair as this all seems Warrick has a job to do. You worry that your happiness and time with him will be cut too short like it was with Roldan, well even if that does happen, count yourself lucky that you managed to enjoy the moments you DID have with him.\u201d\n\nYou pause for a moment, reflecting on Decena.\n\n\u201cAt least you managed to realize a good thing before it was too late.\u201d\n\nBrenda stops sniffling and manages to compose herself. Still upset, but resigned to fate.\n\n\u201cVery well, I\u2019ve had my say, and I accept your decision my Emperor. Apologies for my momentary lapse in judgment and falling victim to emotions.\u201d Brenda says and starts to turn away.\n\n\u201cBrenda wait.\u201d You say before she leaves.\n\nBrenda turns back around and you exhale deeply.\n\n\u201cI still need Warrick\u2019s help in Nyttrus, however I believe I can get by without him for awhile. Nyttrus is a large continent and I\u2019m going to try to fortify our current holdings and retake our recent losses. So while I\u2019m doing that, you\u2019ve got Warrick for another year. Make the most of it.\u201d\n\nBrenda\u2019s sad expression turns to one of a smile.\n\n\u201cThank you my Emperor.\u201d\n\u201cHm, well just remember you both STILL have your duties here that you need to perform. I expect Warrick to still take care of Eye business just like I expect you to continue training the fourth gens.\u201d\n\u201cOf course. Again I thank you.\u201d\n\u201cOkay then, inform your husband that his trip to Nyttrus is postponed for a year.\u201d\n\nBrenda again thanks you and leaves.\n\nYou finish packing what personal belongings you feel you\u2019ll need for Nyttrus and the next day you get ready to leave for the docks and board the ship to take you to Nyttrus.\n\nThe next day you take a long look at Alison\u2019s portrait before your journey.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll be back Alison\u2026 I always come back to you.\u201d You say and leave.\n\nYear 57\n\nWithin the short time Warrick has arrived, your spirits have picked up a little. It\u2019s been a frustrating time here especially since the dragons have so far still eluded death. Though with Warrick now here you hope to correct that problem, but more importantly Warrick has brought with him very good news.\n\n\u201cSo Dokkrus has been found at last?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cYes, my Emperor. Received word just as I was preparing to leave for here and since I was already on my way I figured I\u2019d deliver this news to you in person.\u201d\n\u201cHa ha! This is great! I\u2019ll have to send another message of how I want to proceed. I don\u2019t want any engagement on there yet, just some spying and exploration.\u201d You say.\n\u201cDid you want a message sent to the Eyes to handle this? My second is more than capable of carrying out these tasks. Wouldn\u2019t have picked the person otherwise.\u201d\n\u201cYes, good idea. I want a ship with Eyes sent to Dokkrus, we\u2019ll send that message to the homeland later, right now though you and I have business with killing one of these flying lizards. I believe we\u2019ve finally managed to track one to where it makes its home in between its attacks.\u201d You say.\n\n\u201cYou mean you haven\u2019t slain all three yourself yet?\u201d Warrick asks.\n\u201cI wish. But now that you\u2019re here I\u2019m confident that their continued existence will no longer be a problem, so you ready?\u201d\n\u201cSure am, Emperor. It\u2019ll be just like the old days!\u201d Warrick exclaims.\n\nIn high spirits and a positive outlook for the future, you, Warrick and a company of Eternals set out to kill one of the dragons.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 60\n\n\u201cWell, looks like we\u2019ve lost the Tornado.\u201d Warrick says as the pair of you see through in the near distance a multi-colored dragon unleash a gout of flame from its mouth, which engulfs the airship. Already heavily damaged the flying fortress can\u2019t take anymore and begins to explode. Minor ones at first, then one large one. Flaming pieces of the machine fall from the sky.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s all right. It\u2019s all right. The Storm II is still there and hopefully it\u2019ll kill that damn thing or at least wound it enough for us to do so. Either way that flying lizard dies today. This war will be all but won with its death. It\u2019s the last one and I\u2019m glad it\u2019s finally decided to come to us this time, because I\u2019m sick of chasing it all over this damn continent. I want to get the invasion of Dokkrus underway properly and I can\u2019t very well do that if I\u2019m stuck in this damn jungle continent.\u201d You say preparing for the large group of Iznac approaching Fort Canopy.\n\n\u201cHrm. Certainly is a lot of them. Better get on with this.\u201d Warrick says and orders the cannons to fire upon the multitude, which puts a dent in their numbers, but doesn\u2019t stop their advancing.\n\nYou look over the battlements and see several Iznacs climbing the walls of the fort like an army of ants. They aren\u2019t even using ladders, they\u2019re just scaling the fort with their bare hands. It\u2019s actually rather impressive, until you unleash a chain of lightning to zap all of them. The shock is enough to at least cause most of them to fall off if not outright kill them immediately.\n\n\u201cSlaughter the four armed spider eyed bastards! Make them realize that their domination of this continent has passed! This is the time of the Empire!\u201d you shout to the Eternals defending the fort.\n\nYour people are doing their best though they can\u2019t stop every Iznac from scaling the fort. Soon the gunfire is replaced by sounds of close combat weaponry. No matter how far the advances in technology, it always eventually comes down to looking your opponent in the eye and feeling their blood splatter as you end their life.\n\nWhile you\u2019re busy hacking off the limbs of an Iznac warrior, another loud explosion in the distance is heard followed by a bright flash in the sky. It\u2019s not lightning from the storm, but rather the demise of your Storm. The Storm II joins the Tornado in crashing to the ground after losing its skirmish with the dragon. Hopefully the rain is making the jungle wet enough or else the flames from the wreckage of these downed airships are going to cause an inferno throughout the jungle.\n\n\u201cDamn! The Iznac brought their little frog slaves and the remainder of those orc traitors!\u201d Warrick says and cuts down several Glip before helping the rest of the soldiers fend off the orcs smashing through the fortress\u2019 gates.\n\nIt doesn\u2019t matter in the scheme of things because even with overwhelming odds, your Eternals are still holding their own against all attackers. You then hear a roaring sound getting closer to your position and the sounds of great wings flapping.\n\nYou shout a general command for the still working cannons to be pointed towards the dragon and to prepare to fire when the beast is in range. In the meantime you and Warrick try to keep that side of the fort relatively free of invading forces.\n\n\u201cHey, you think maybe I can get the chance to kill the dragon this time? I know you\u2019re the Emperor and all, but you don\u2019t need to prove your superiority all the damn time.\u201d Warrick jokes.\n\u201cYeah? Well maybe you\u2019ll get your chance if you aren\u2019t as slow like you were the last two times.\u201d You retort.\n\u201cSlow? Well excuse me Mr. lightning fingers, but we all don\u2019t have the ability to blast something out of the sky with a thought.\u201d\n\u201cWell that\u2019s why I\u2019m the Emperor.\u201d You snicker.\n\nThe dragon gets closer and you give the order to fire and unleash your own magic bolts at the creature. It\u2019s definitely wounded from its ordeal with the two airships, but given your experience with the other two dragons, you know it\u2019s far from being out the fight.\n\nIn fact it\u2019s so determined that it doesn\u2019t distinguish friend from foe when it blasts its flame breath on the fort. You manage to protect most of your people with a magic barrier, but for those outside its protection, most are set on fire if not incinerated immediately. On the positive side, it reduces your enemies, on the negative it ignites the gunpowder barrels for the cannons causing a massive explosion and completely destroying one side of the fort.\n\nWhile the barrier still protects you and everyone within initially, its still a lot of strain on your energy and you begin to feel the fatigue setting in.\n\n\u201cNo! Damnit! Fight through it!\u201d you mutter to yourself hating your weakness.\n\nWhile you\u2019re busily trying to fight through your fatigue, you don\u2019t notice where Warrick went and that was to the highest point he could get to on the fort and some how JUMPING on the damn dragon when it made its pass!\n\nYou almost can\u2019t believe your eyes as you see the dragon flying away from the fort with Warrick desperately trying to hold on to one of its legs. You can see him hacking at the dragon\u2019s underbelly. The dragon bellows in pain and begins to turn to make a second pass, but Warrick\u2019s assault makes another attack on the fort a non-priority for it.\n\nYou see the beast twist and squirm in an effort to shake Warrick free and then eventually the beast makes another loud screech and the both of them go crashing into the jungle no doubt destroying several trees in the process. You can still hear the dragon in the distance, so you know it isn\u2019t dead yet (Though probably badly wounded), but who knows about Warrick\u2019s fate.\n\nIn the meantime Fort Canopy isn\u2019t immediately being attacked anymore as most of the Iznac have fled or been killed at this point. You quickly order your remaining troops to secure the fort and take a small group with you to head towards the dragon\u2019s roaring noises.\n\nFortunately the jungle isn\u2019t thick here and the noises make tracking pretty easy, though by the time you reach your target, you see the severely wounded dragon with Warrick in its mouth and shaking its head from side to side. Then with one more shake, Warrick goes flying out of the dragon\u2019s mouth and slams into a nearby tree. You can\u2019t quite make out all the damage, but it looks like he\u2019s missing an arm at this point. Who knows what other grievous wounds he\u2019s suffered.\n\nIn any case the dragon has now turned its attention towards your direction, but its not exactly in the best condition itself. It makes a coughing noise and a pitifully short burst of flame and a large amount of blood emanates from its mouth. It even tries to flap its wings perhaps in an attempt to escape, but one wing is so torn up that it can\u2019t lift off even if it had the strength to do so.", "action_results": [{"action": "Focus a full attack on the dragon", "result": "As regrettable as it is, Warrick\u2019s condition is secondary; killing this beast is top priority.\n\nDespite the dragon\u2019s weakened state, you don\u2019t take any chances and unleash a blast of cold on the creature, which slows it down even more. Eventually its skin starts to frost over until parts become as ice.\n\n\u201cFire at its head!\u201d you shout and the troops with you do so immediately with chunks of the dragon\u2019s frozen head breaking off as bullets go into it. You finish up with a couple of magic bolts to shatter it completely. The headless dragon flails slowly about for a moment though you don\u2019t really stand around to be mesmerized by its death twitches as you suddenly find yourself attacked by Iznac warriors who had fled from the fort, but apparently were still lurking in the jungle.\n\nThey down a couple of your people, but they\u2019re really no match for you and are quickly dispatched. With all enemies beaten, you finally go over to where Warrick\u2019s body lies. As you predicted, he\u2019s already dead.\n\n\u201cShit. How the hell am I going to explain this to Brenda?\u201d Is about the only thing you can utter at this point.\n\nWarrick isn\u2019t the only loss as you soon to come find out. Flevas also died during his own battle in the jungles with the Iznac (Though the battle was successful). Fortunately Captain Snilkez\u2019ka lived and was also successful in defending Fort Tangle against the Iznac hordes.\n\nWith the dragons dead and this large Iznac offensive repelled, its safe to say that Nyttrus is yours. The Iznac will probably linger with petty raids for awhile, but eventually much like the Torites they will become only a memory. After assigning new orders and giving out a few field promotions, you return to Evigrus with Warrick\u2019s body.\n\nWhen you arrive, you waste little time to give the sad news to Brenda though as soon as she sees you enter the training room by yourself, her face already displays the look of someone who already knows what you\u2019re going to tell her.\n\n\u201cBrenda, I think you can stop training the eternals for the day, I\u2019ve got\u2026\u201d\n\u201cHe\u2019s dead isn\u2019t he?\u201d Brenda interrupts.\n\u201cYes.\u201d You answers.\n\nBrenda is silent and pauses a moment before telling the fourth gens to stop training for the day and to return to their barracks. They comply though most of them take a moment to stare at you and whisper, presumably in awe that their Emperor has paid another visit.\n\nWith the two of you remaining in the room, Brenda addresses you again.\n\n\u201cIt was a death fitting for an Eternal I trust?\u201d Brenda asks.\n\u201cOh yes. Yes it was. He died in battle with a dragon. I cannot think of a more glorious death.\u201d\n\nBrenda inhales and exhales, rubbing a hand over her face, trying to hold back tears.\n\n\u201cGood. That\u2019s good. (Sniffle) That\u2019s more than Roldan got at least. Was there enough of his body left for a proper funeral?\u201d\n\u201cYes, I\u2019ve brought his body back from Nyttrus. The arrangements for a heroes\u2019 funeral will be made as soon as you\u2019re ready.\u201d\n\u201cOkay. Well I\u2019ll see you tomorrow to make the arrangements, now I believe I should get my students back in here, don\u2019t want them to get lazy and make any reckless mistakes when the time comes.\u201d\n\u201cBrenda you can take as much time as you need, you\u2026\u201d\n\u201cNo. I have a duty to train these Eternals and I will see to that task. Warrick did his duty for the Empire and so I will continue to do mine for the Empire. These Eternals are going to help ensure the Empire\u2019s continued survival one day and the Empire must survive for as long as the Empire lives on, Warrick will live on as his sacrifices will not have been in vain.\u201d\n\nYou nod at Brenda\u2019s decision.\n\n\u201cOkay, well I shall take my leave now.\u201d You say not having much more to add.\n\u201cThank you my Emperor.\u201d Brenda says before you leave.\n\u201cWhat for?\u201d\n\u201cGiving me that extra year. I\u2019ll cherish it for as long as I live.\u201d\n\nYou leave Brenda to morn in her own way, which apparently is immersing herself in her work despite feeling horrible. To be honest, you\u2019re not exactly feeling great yourself. Warrick wasn\u2019t just a vital member of your command, he was one of your \u201csiblings\u201d and now it\u2019s just you and Brenda.\n\nWarrick\u2019s funeral isn\u2019t a spectacle. Brenda\u2019s requests a quieter and much more private one. He of course is still placed in a grave next to other honored Empire heroes, but for the most part only you, Brenda and a few of his closest subordinates attend. It is here you get to meet the one Warrick appointed to be in charge when he left for Nyttrus, Cassandra.\n\nWarrick mentioned her a couple times during your time in Nyttrus, though he neglected to mention she was an elf. Actually you didn\u2019t even realize there had been any elves recruited into the Eyes and you\u2019re sort of curious of when this happened and how she rose through the ranks, so its just as well that she makes a point of wanting to speak with you after the funeral.\n\nLater the pair of you go to talk in your meeting room.\n\n\u201cSo\u2026Cassandra is it. You\u2019re my new Sightmaster eh? Warrick never mentioned you being an elf.\u201d you say.\n\u201cI didn\u2019t think that was a problem, my Emperor.\u201d\n\u201cNo. No problem. Warrick just never mentioned recruiting any elves into the Eyes actually. He did mention you to me a few times during our time in Nyttrus though. Assured me you were very competent at your job and had complete trust in you. Considering I\u2019ve come back to a serene Empire, I\u2019d say his judgment was correct.\u201d\n\u201cThank you my Emperor.\u201d\n\u201cHrm. So seeing as that was about all Warrick mentioned about you and I\u2019ve only just come back from Nyttrus and have not yet had time to look up your paperwork, tell me a little about yourself and why you wanted to see me immediately.\u201d\n\nCassandra mentions that she grew up in Rask where her family endured a lot of suspicion due to their being a group of separatist elves that were giving the Empire a bit of grief there before Captain Kane\u2019s effort\u2019s solved that problem. Though some humans that lived in her village at the time still murdered her brother one night. Of course nobody said they saw who did it, but it was known. Of course her family being elven, nothing much was done about it.\n\nCassandra said she was angry about it for a while, but then realized that that sort of thinking wouldn\u2019t get her anywhere in the long term, so made a vow to try to work within the system. Her first step was to join up with an Empire militia, which was used more back then in Rask due to most of the regular troops fighting in the Felkan War and the fact that ogres and giants were still a nuisance. These militia groups were also made up of some of the lower class rabble that were either poor, patriotic, looking to fight or a combination of all three. As such there weren\u2019t any restrictions for the most part.\n\nOf course she had to struggle to be accepted the entire time and was practically disowned by her parents who while law abiding citizens, couldn\u2019t believe she\u2019d willingly join an \u201cinjust\u201d system. She held her own though and learned a lot during that time though it wasn\u2019t really until Warrick became Sightmaster for the Eyes, that she came into her own.\n\nHe was looking for new recruits in Rask and she signed up for Eye training. She nearly didn\u2019t even get in, but fortunately Warrick intervened and allowed her to prove herself, which she did. She goes on to say she kept a relatively low profile since it made life easier in general among her peers.\n\n\u201cNot so low profile now, you\u2019re the Sightmaster.\u201d You say.\n\u201cYes, and believe me I wasn\u2019t even expecting it when Warrick assigned me to take the position. Though as an Eye, I still prefer to keep a low profile.\u201d\n\u201cUnderstandable. I trust you are not having problems with any of your subordinates?\u201d\n\u201cOh, you mean being an elf that\u2019s in charge? Oh no. Actually I haven\u2019t had any of those sorts of problems for quite some time. Really after you had all elves still in slavery freed and promoting a man like Flevas to eventually be a general, I\u2019ve encountered less hostility overall\u2026though I imagine being an Eye might make the average person pause before insulting me.\u201d Cassandra says with a slight smile.\n\nSounds like Cassandra enjoys the little power trip she has over most humans, sort of like Flevas in that regard actually. No matter, as long as she does her job, you don\u2019t care. Warrick was confident in her abilities and you have no reason to distrust his judgment and after your little discussion about her past, she addresses the original point of wanting to see you.\n\n\u201cI wanted to talk to you about Dokkrus. It is my understanding that you plan on invading it?\u201d\n\u201cThat is a major agenda in the near future, yes.\u201d\n\u201cI see. Well since its discovery I have kept apprised of its situation via Eye agents as you requested. Granted this intel is limited due to the distance, but here is what we\u2019ve learned.\u201d Cassandra as this point hands you a large folder filled with reports of what has been discovered about Dokkrus. She then gives you a brief run down on her own thoughts of it.\n\n\u201cNow, I\u2019ve never been to Nyttrus, but from what I\u2019ve heard of the place the situation you\u2019d encounter at Dokkrus would be much the same. Heavy resistance mixed with non-traditional tactics. Perhaps worse given that these are svelk we\u2019re talking about.\u201d\n\u201cI didn\u2019t expect it to be a walk in flower fields. Besides aren\u2019t the svelk fighting each other most of the time?\u201d\n\u201cWell, most of them are, but last reports state that one group is starting to show more signs of unity. Its not a stable thing mind you, but its there nonetheless. There has also been a lot of sudden efforts in mining and metal working. Oddly though, the group of svelk don\u2019t seem to be focusing on building weapons though, it seems to involve these giant metal structures that are in locations all over Dokkrus.\u201d\n\nSemra. This has to be her doing. She\u2019s already preparing and if you had to hazard a guess, she\u2019s trying to repair some of those portals. Is she planning to use them to teleport directly somewhere in the Empire?\n\nCassandra says that this unified groups isn\u2019t very large. It\u2019s not even an army, but then maybe Semra\u2019s just planning a precise strike against you, like say a sudden assassination attempt so she might not need a lot of people. With those portals working, she might be able to just drop in anywhere.\n\nSomething has to be done now. Cassandra has already said she believes an all out invasion is going to encounter problems, but doesn\u2019t everything involving dark elves?", "action_results": [{"action": "Try a different approach", "result": "While the temptation to just send your forces and invade the place is the logical choice, you have a feeling Semra is probably expecting you to do just that. While your current military situation isn\u2019t the worst, you\u2019ve still got most your Eternals locked up in Nyttrus right now and you definitely want them to be sent in if you\u2019re going to invade Dokkrus.\n\n\u201cOkay, I\u2019m thinking no invasion for now, however the svelk need to be stopped on what they\u2019re planning to do, or rather at least what this group is planning to do.\u201d You say.\n\u201cYou\u2019ll hear no argument from me on messing up svelk plans, but given your tone you sound like you already know what they\u2019re planning which is something I was no able to gain knowledge of unfortunately.\u201d Cassandra says.\n\u201cThose metal structures that have been mentioned in reports? Those are portals. You\u2019re aware of the svelk named Semra aren\u2019t you?\u201d\n\u201cYes, I am familiar with that name as Warrick mentioned her a few times. Former advisor to the former Emperor, former trainer to the first Eternals and all around treacherous bitch?\u201d\n\u201cYeah, basically. Well without going into a long story about it, I know that she\u2019s trying to unify the numerous bands of nomadic svelk into another svelk empire. From what you\u2019ve told me, she\u2019s already busy doing that and as I said those metal structures are portals leading to who knows where. Probably all over the world. It\u2019s probably how the svelk used to run their empire in fact. Obviously Semra\u2019s trying to get the things working again as another step in rebuilding her overall goal.\u201d\n\u201cIf that\u2019s the case then maybe you should invade.\u201d\n\u201cNo, I imagine Semra already is expecting that and you\u2019re right in that it\u2019ll be a nightmare to hold territory there. We just need to sabotage what she\u2019s doing, and I\u2019m thinking this is going to be more of a job for the Eyes since they\u2019ve already been doing a good job there and I want you to lead this operation in Dokkrus personally.\u201d\n\nCassandra wasn\u2019t expecting that order.\n\n\u201cOf course I will obey my Emperor, but I\u2019m going to need more details on this plan of yours and I\u2019m concerned about the internal security here if I\u2019m gone along with\u2026well however many Eyes you intend to send.\u201d\n\u201cDon\u2019t worry about the security here, I mean its important as always, but the days of civil unrest seem to be behind us a bit. As for how many of your Eyes you want to take, well that\u2019s up to you. I\u2019d suggest that you take only the best and get by with as few as possible. You\u2019re going to be relying on a lot of stealth and hit and run. Basically I want you to multiply the chaos there. Cause these little nomadic bands to remain at each others\u2019 throats. Shouldn\u2019t be too hard, but try to make sure it seems like Semra\u2019s group is the one doing it. It\u2019ll definitely make them pause before joining her.\u201d\n\u201cSo use their own nature against them. Got it. What about the portals?\u201d\n\u201cSince Semra is the only one trying to get them to work, focus on stopping those efforts as well. Obviously that means sabotaging the mine, mines, or wherever the hell she\u2019s getting the material to rebuild them. Killing the miners works too obviously. The best thing to do is to destroy whatever portal Semra is trying to fix completely. I imagine magic is going to be involved so it would probably be best if you took your Eye mages with you.\u201d\n\u201cWe don\u2019t have too many of those left you know.\u201d Cassandra says.\n\u201cHrm, well if you need to, take non-Eye mages with you. There aren\u2019t many of them left either, but it should be enough\u2026in fact take Galen with you. Lazy whiner needs to be useful for a change. And he WILL whine, but other than myself, he\u2019s the most powerful mage the Empire has, so don\u2019t get him killed unless it\u2019s absolutely necessary to the overall mission.\u201d\n\u201cIs the overall mission to kill this Semra?\u201d\n\nYou chuckle a bit.\n\n\u201cHeh, well if you have a good opportunity to do so, I certainly won\u2019t condemn you for it. In fact if you DO manage to kill her and bring me her head I\u2019ll grant you whatever you want within my means and that\u2019s quite a large list I assure you. However I\u2019d advise you NOT to even attempt to engage her if possible. She\u2019s extremely dangerous and quite frankly will probably know as soon as we start hampering her mining operations that the Empire is involved and will make adjustments to her plans. Even with Galen, you most likely are not going to match an encounter with her so my advice is don\u2019t fight her unless you have no choice.\u201d\n\u201cSo our main mission is just to sabotage her portal fixing attempts?\u201d\n\u201cThat\u2019s only part of it yes. However the other part is just as important, if not more so. I WANT one of those portal structures.\u201d\n\nNow Cassandra looks at you as if you\u2019ve given her the impossible.\n\n\u201cEmperor, from what I\u2019ve heard those structures are\u2026huge! I don\u2019t see how we\u2019re going to be able to move such things.\u201d\n\u201cThat\u2019s because you won\u2019t be, at least not initially. I\u2019ll be travelling to Dokkrus at some point to oversee that part of the plan but I need to discuss with the engineers for a way to extend the airships\u2019 distance so they can reach Dokkrus as well as carry one of those structures back here. Hmmm, I suppose it probably would be best to send a few engineers with you so they can report back and give an idea of exactly how best to move this thing without damaging it. I\u2019d send Elam, but I\u2019d rather keep him here to work on improving the airships. Maybe I\u2019ll just send some gnomish engineers\u2026of course the gnomes won\u2019t like that, but fuck \u2018em they get more than enough special treatment.\u201d\n\nYou finish up telling what else you require of Cassandra and then make your next stop to speak with Klemto about getting some gnome engineers to go on this trip\u2026\n\n\u201cBut\u2026can\u2019t you just use Empire engineers?\u201d Klemto asks.\n\u201cLast time I remember New Dessel was incorporated into the Empire decades ago. Your engineers ARE Empire engineers. If you\u2019re asking why I don\u2019t use human engineers, well let\u2019s just say other than Elam, I still have more faith in gnomish ones. A testament to your peoples\u2019 fine works. You really should be flattered.\u201d\n\nKlemto doesn\u2019t know how to respond to such a remark so he continue to try to plead with you.\n\n\u201cBut Emperor, please be reasonable! Most of my people ever really leave this city anymore and most have no desire to, and you\u2019re asking them to go to a far away land with where sadistic svelk roam all over the place? We\u2019re not fighters, I think our history shows that.\u201d Klemto remarks.\n\u201cHeh, I dunno if that\u2019s entirely true of a race that makes the deadliest weapons outside of the most powerful of magic. Not to mention you\u2019re the only group that ever rebelled from the Empire at one time AND lived. I assure you though your peoples\u2019 safety will be top concern. I need them the most for this part of the mission to succeed. They will have the best protection. As soon as it\u2019s over, they\u2019re coming back immediately. You have my word on that.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2026just don\u2019t know.\u201d\n\u201cKlemto, this is more of a courtesy visit as well as giving you the option of sending those who are\u2026less resistant to the idea. You know the deal Klemto, you\u2019re part of the Empire and you have to obey its leader regardless of how much freedom and leniency he gives this place.\u201d\n\nKlemto looks at you knowing that those words are more than just a polite threat. He sighs heavily and gives no more struggle.\n\n\u201c(Sigh) Very well, let me\u2026\u201d Klemto starts to say before he\u2019s interrupted by a red haired woman dressed in a slightly dirty work outfit. She\u2019s human to your surprise and doesn\u2019t look like one of your Eyes (Let alone Elam).\n\n\u201cHey uncle I\u2019m just, oh!\u201d the woman says when she sees you.\n\u201cZana! I thought someone told you not to disturb me! I\u2019m in a very important meeting with the Emperor!\u201d\n\u201cApologies uncle Klemto, but I left my lucky hammer over here when I visited yesterday and I don\u2019t like being without it.\u201d Zana says while smiling and nodding at you. \u201cApologies to you as well Emperor.\u201d\n\nYou aren\u2019t terribly offended of course, but you\u2019re wondering why a non-Eye human is running around New Dessel until you suddenly remember meeting Zana a long time ago, she was just a teenager then.\n\n\u201cEmperor, uh you remember my adopted daughter don\u2019t you?\u201d Klemto asks.\n\u201cYes, first time I made my visit to New Dessel. As I recall she interrupted that meeting to ask if she could fix some lighting problem you had at the time.\u201d You say.\n\u201cGood memory! I\u2019m surprised you remembered someone as unimportant as me!\u201d Zana beams.\n\u201cMm, well when you\u2019re the Emperor, you have to try to remember everyone no matter what their status because under certain circumstances a peasant can rise to become a general. Besides, I also remember commending Klemto on raising a young lady with respect for dedication and hard work. Glad to see that you\u2019re still at it.\u201d\n\u201cOh yes my Emperor. I work primarily with Elam, do you know him?\u201d\n\u201cElam? Oh yes, I definitely know him.\u201d You answer.\n\nAt this point Klemto begins to get nervous and tries to push his niece out the door.\n\n\u201cOkay, Zana you\u2019ve found your hammer, now the Emperor and I still have important business to discuss.\u201d\n\u201cWhat kind?\u201d Zana asks.\n\u201cOh just something concerning engineers and a rather adventurous mission.\u201d You say.\n\nKlemto\u2019s fears have just come true.\n\n\u201cEmperor\u2026please I beg you\u2026not Zana! I mean I\u2019LL even go if you need me to! I\u2019ll send ALL of New Dessel!\u201d\n\u201cRelax Klemto, if Zana here is skilled enough to work next to Elam, I\u2019d hate to break up the team. She won\u2019t be going to Dokkrus.\u201d You say.\n\u201cYou mean the dark elf continent? Yikes. As much I want to serve the Empire, I do believe I\u2019d be a liability at such a hostile place! I\u2019m no fighter!\u201d Zana remarks.\n\u201cWell you and your uncle don\u2019t have to worry, your skills will be better served here working on the new airships I want Elam to build.\u201d You say before Zana leaves.\n\nAfter getting over his initial worry, Klemto says he\u2019ll get that list of engineers to you immediately. You leave Klemto\u2019s office and head to where Elam\u2019s workshop is located. When you enter he doesn\u2019t appear to be working on anything important, he just seems to be watching some rodents run around in a container, though they look like they have a small piece of metal on their heads with wires connected to them.\n\n\u201cWhat the hell are you doing Elam?\u201d you ask completely startling him.\n\u201cEmperor! Apologies, but I get very engrossed in my experiments sometimes. I\u2019ve been coming up with some theories on brains and how they work. Figured I should test animals first and then work my way up to more sentient subjects.\u201d Elam answers.\n\u201cFor what purpose? I thought you were building new weapons in here.\u201d\n\u201cI am\u2026but\u2026forgive me my Emperor, I\u2019m getting bored with just engineering technological devices and weapons. Lately I\u2019ve been feeling a pull towards my old love of biology. I mean yes we can create machines and other wondrous devices to make life easier, but what about making a LIFE? Y\u2019know when I was young and before I worked under Marik, I was kicked out of the physician\u2019s guild by short sighted fools who couldn\u2019t appreciate my ideas.\u201d Elam says.\n\u201cYes, I believe Kivan mentioned that to me when you were promoted to the Eternal Project.\u201d You says.\n\u201cSometimes I miss working on the Eternal Project. I think we could really make advances there.\u201d Elam says.\n\u201cHm, didn\u2019t know you felt that way Elam. Did you have any particular ideas in mind for the next new batch of Eternals?\u201d\n\u201cOh several. For one, I was thinking of how to go about curing that sterility problem you all seem to suffer from\u2026no offense my Emperor.\u201d\n\u201cNone taken. Your idea is certainly a worthy one, but I believe the magical process that\u2019s necessary to create Eternals is the cause of that one flaw.\u201d\n\u201cYes, but I\u2019m wondering if there isn\u2019t a way to eliminate the magical process altogether.\u201d\n\u201cI don\u2019t see how.\u201d You say.\n\u201cWell I didn\u2019t say I had all the answers yet, but I really believe if I could focus my studies, maybe I could find a way we could create Eternals just using the technology and medical aspect.\u201d\n\u201cOkay, sounds intriguing. Might be good given how few mages there are around nowadays. If you do come up with anything important feel free to let me know, but ONLY if you come up with something solid AND you don\u2019t let it get in the way of your other work here.\u201d\n\u201cOf course my Emperor. So what was it that you wanted to see me about?\u201d\n\u201cOh, I need you to make the airships travel a longer distance. Namely to Dokkrus.\u201d\n\u201cI guess we\u2019re bombing the hell out of that place next eh? Okay, I\u2019m sure its possible; we\u2019ll just have to go through our routine tests and that is still going to take time. Hope you don\u2019t need them anytime soon though.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019d prefer if this was done as soon as possible, but given the vital importance of the mission these airships are going to be going on I DO want it done right. Namely they\u2019re going to be lifting up a large metal portal and carrying it back to Evigrus.\u201d\n\u201cHow big are these metal portals and what are they made out of?\u201d\n\u201cMithril I believe. At least those were the latest reports. As far as size, well they\u2019re about as big as the front gates to the capital. Maybe bigger.\u201d\n\u201cThat large huh? You sure you can\u2019t just put them on a ship?\u201d Elam asks.\n\u201cThat would require digging up their base and dragging the damn things across hostile territory and THEN loading them on to a mostly wooden ship which is at the whims of the ocean and the occasional large denizens that lurk within it. The only ship we\u2019ve got that might be able to carry it without danger of sinking or capsizing is that giant vessel we captured from Mortimer before the Nakol War. And even then I\u2019d still have my doubts.\u201d\n\nElam glances at his rats again before continuing.\n\n\u201cWell you don\u2019t actually think we\u2019d be able to load one on an airship do you?\u201d Elam asks.\n\u201cNo, of course not, but the airships could carry the portal underneath it with strong chains and hooks. Also saves the problem of dragging it across hostile territory since it could just be pulled straight up off the ground. I\u2019m thinking maybe even TWO airships could carry it while flying abreast each other.\u201d You say.\n\u201cWell, that would definitely stabilize and help distribute the weight, it also means the airships are going to have to be smaller so they can even share airspace so close together\u2026\u201d Elam exhales. \u201cBut\u2026it\u2019s certainly doable. Like I said, I just hope you don\u2019t need these immediately. I\u2019ll need specific schematics of the portal as well, I mean exact size, dimensions and weight if possible.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m sending gnome engineers to Dokkrus, I\u2019m sure after a suitable portal is found they will report such findings.\u201d\n\u201cOkay. Good. Well I suppose my side experiments will have to wait a little longer. I\u2019ll get to work immediately on this my Emperor.\u201d Elam says.\n\nAfter a few more words with Elam, you leave New Dessel trying to feel positive about the plan you\u2019ve set in motion. You know there is going to be something that will inevitably try to hamper your plans, but you just try to keep in mind that this is one more step closer to immortality.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 62\n\n\u201cThe transport airships have made their test run to the outskirts of Dokkrus and returned. They\u2019re ready for the real mission now, my Emperor.\u201d Elam remarks.\n\u201cGood, because we\u2019re sending them and a couple of the upgraded regular airships.\u201d You say.\n\nThis is a major step closer to your goals. Cassandra, Galen and the rest have managed to locate and hold a fairly intact portal for you. The base around it has already been dug out for easier lifting and they haven\u2019t suffered many svelk attacks, well not many concentrated svelk attack at least. The svelk that are attacking are just the regular xenophobic type that doesn\u2019t want outsiders on their territory. They have no real grasp of the greater plans that are going on.\n\nSemra\u2019s actions have been surprisingly minimal though apparently she\u2019s been too busy defending her own territory (and portal and mines) from not just your sabotage attempts (Which unfortunately haven\u2019t been too successful), but from other svelk warbands. It would seem that Cassandra and your Eyes have at least successfully managed to keep up the ongoing chaos there.\n\nWon\u2019t be long now.\n\n\u201cEmperor, may I accompany you on this mission?\u201d Zana asks.\n\u201cHuh?\u201d you say being interrupted by your private thoughts.\n\u201cMay I accompany you on this mission, my Emperor? I know I sounded a little afraid the last time Dokkrus was mentioned, but I admit part of me still wanted to go. I\u2019d like to join you on this mission. Besides, I did have a hand in building these airships, it might be best if someone with that knowledge came along.\u201d\n\u201cI imagine Klemto might have some objections to that.\u201d You say.\n\u201cI love him, but he\u2019s too over protective. Besides, you\u2019re the Emperor if you want me to come with you then he has no choice but to comply right?\u201d Zana says almost in a flirtatious way. You\u2019re not exactly sure how to take that, but Elam definitely looks surprised. Maybe even a little jealous.\n\n\u201cWell, that is correct\u2026okay fine you can come with me.\u201d\n\u201cThis will be a great honor my Emperor! I\u2019m looking forward to this!\u201d Zana says.\n\u201cYou will be accompanying me aboard the Storm III.\u201d You say.\n\u201cYou\u2019re going to be on the Storm III?\u201d\n\u201cThat was the plan given that it\u2019s the flagship, why where did you think I was going to be?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cWell I assumed that you\u2019d want to be aboard one of the transport airships to better oversee the process as well as to better defend it from attack in case the svelk try something.\u201d\n\u201cThat\u2019s sort of why I have the Storm III and company going with them. They will be defending against possible svelk attacks, though barring Semra\u2019s meddling; I don\u2019t see any major threat to any of the airships themselves. The svelk are remarkably still stuck in the dark ages when it comes to weaponry.\u201d\n\u201cTrue, but I know you have the ability to cast those large barriers for defense. I dunno I just don\u2019t see your own extra protection on a transport airship as such a bad idea. It would allow the escorts to focus a little more on protecting the other.\u201d\n\u201cHrm. Never hurts to be sure I guess. Duly noted, I\u2019ll think about it.\u201d\n\nWith Zana\u2019s brief suggestion she excuses herself to get her things prepared for the mission, leaving you alone with Elam who realizes his glances of faint jealousy have caught your attention and he is now trying to not make eye contact.\n\n\u201cElam you\u2019re acting like a teenager. I\u2019m not remotely interested in your woman so you can stop worrying that I\u2019m going to start fucking her on the airship.\u201d You blurt out.\n\u201cUh\u2026um\u2026thank you my Emperor\u2026I uh\u2026\u201d Elam stutters a bit at a lost for how to respond.\n\u201cHow long have you two been an item anyway? It doesn\u2019t really show much when you two are together.\u201d\n\u201cWe try to keep it professional my Emperor. Human women here aren\u2019t in big supply here in New Dessel and I can\u2019t identify with any of the Eyes, but Zana\u2026she\u2019s something special\u2026never have I encountered a woman with such a magnificent intellect for science!\u201d\n\u201cMm, I\u2019m sure that the only thing\u2026\u201d you smirk.\n\u201cWell her physical attributes are nice as well.\u2019 Elam says.\n\nElam goes on to ask if he can discuss his desire to work more in the medical and biology field when you return. You tell him that he may continue his experiments as usual, but you\u2019re going to need his help with the portal when it\u2019s brought back most likely.\n\nYour don\u2019t bother talking with Klemto about Zana. You figure she can tell him herself, assuming she even bothers and decides to just make it a surprise for him.\n\nYou do take the opportunity to look at the new airships. It\u2019s odd, but as many times as you\u2019ve seen them up close this will be the first time you\u2019ll actually be on one of these things. Even on your return trip from Nyttrus you went by boat rather than waiting for another airship.\n\nWhen the day arrives Klemto approaches you. You\u2019re guessing he must\u2019ve heard the news by now. He comes to you hat in hand looking pitiful.\n\n\u201cEmperor\u2026I understand my daughter is going with you\u2026I just beg of one thing and that\u2019s that you see that she\u2019s safe.\u201d\n\u201cYou make a lot of demands of your Emperor\u2026(sigh) She\u2019ll be fine Klemto, you worry too much. I doubt if the svelk are even going to be able hit us if they even attack. Besides, she\u2019s going to be aboard the Storm III and given that it\u2019s the heaviest armed airship we have right now, she\u2019ll be one of the safest people there.\u201d\n\u201cWell that\u2019s good to hear. At least she\u2019ll be close to you.\u201d\n\u201cNot necessarily. I might be flying on one of the transports. Zana suggested that it might be best if I was aboard one to better defend it in case the unexpected should happen.\u201d\n\nAs Klemto\u2019s mind fills with worry again, you wonder if you should take Zana\u2019s advice or not.", "action_results": [{"action": "Board the Storm III", "result": "The transports are going to have enough protection with the escorts. Besides you\u2019d rather be on the biggest, most well armed thing in the sky.\n\nZana seems a little surprised to see you aboard the Storm III when you\u2019re about to lift off, but says that it\u2019ll be an honor to be so close to you on this mission. She then says she\u2019s going to be walking around the Storm III making sure everything is running smoothly. You see this as reasonable so you think nothing more of it and tell her to carry on.\n\nAfter about a half hour you finally get used to the idea of being so high in the air and less paranoid. You didn\u2019t think it possible for you to be, but somewhere in the back of your mind, you had the concern of this thing falling out of the sky which is probably why you haven\u2019t stayed in one place on the ship for very long and have felt the need to pace about it.\n\nYou also have been bumping into Zana every so often. Not on purpose, but you seem to just be appearing in the same places she happens to be. This wouldn\u2019t be a problem, but each time you do, Zana seems increasingly agitated whenever she sees you and it\u2019s obvious that she attempts to leave the area as soon as possible.\n\nThe next time you see her she\u2019s coming out of a door on the top deck of the ship wearing a heavy jacket with some sort of backpack on her back. Once again you completely surprise her.\n\n\u201cHey Zana, once again we meet again.\u201d you say.\n\u201cHeh! Um yeah, my Emperor. Still following me I see.\u201d Zana replies.\n\u201cNot on purpose, but should I be following you?\u201d\n\u201cNo. I mean, there\u2019s no reason to of course, it\u2019s just what I\u2019ve been doing is so boring and not very interesting.\u201d\n\u201cProbably, but there isn\u2019t much to do on here anyway\u2026so what\u2019s that on your back?\u201d\n\u201cOh this? Uh, just a back pack full of stuff\u2026\u201d\n\u201cZana, why the hell are you so nervous? Every time we\u2019ve bumped into each other you\u2019ve run off like your ass is on fire.\u201d\n\u201cHave I? My apologies then my Emperor. I suppose your presence is just a little unnerving at times. We all want to do our best in front of you, you know.\u201d\n\nYou give a sideways glance at Zana. You\u2019ve NEVER known Zana to ever be nervous around you. In fact she\u2019s always been very casual to the point that most rulers would probably find it disrespectful.\n\n\u201cOkay\u2026I understand\u2026so what\u2019s in the backpack?\u201d\n\u201cUm\u2026as I said nothing of important my Emperor, just tools\u2026\u201d\n\u201cOkay so let me see inside.\u201d\n\nAnd it\u2019s at this point Zana goes silent for a moment and her nervous facial expression turns into one of complete desperation before she turns around to run from you.\n\n\u201cSTOP ZANA! STOP HER!\u201d you shout and go after her.\n\nYou have no idea where she thinks she can run to until you see her attempting to climb the railing of the Storm III in an attempt to jump off it. Fortunately you and another crew member grab her before she\u2019s able to. She then tries to fumble with something inside her jacket, but you wrestle it away from her. It\u2019s some sort of black rectangular device with a button on it.\n\n\u201cWhat the hell is this Zana?\u201d you say while your crewmembers keep her from getting up.\n\u201cWhy don\u2019t you press it and find out TYRANT!\u201d Zana shouts and now her expression has changed again, but to one of complete hatred.\n\nYou\u2019ve never been the most technologically inclined, but if you had to guess, Zana has planted a bomb aboard this ship and this thing is going to detonate it. You immediately tell crewmembers in your vicinity to spread the word and to look for it while you hang on to the detonation device for safekeeping.\n\nYou then tell your crew to take off Zana\u2019s backpack. It\u2019s odd as it really isn\u2019t a bkacpack at all so much as it\u2019s a large sheet of canvas with reinforced rope attached. You\u2019ve never seen anything like it before, but you again if you had to guess, it was supposed to decrease the speed of Zana\u2019s fall.\n\n\u201cInteresting invention. I\u2019m guessing one of your own design? I\u2019m just wondering though we\u2019re quite far from any land mass. Even had this invention worked, were you really planning on swimming all the way back to Evigrus?\u201d you say.\n\u201cI calculated the distance, maybe I would\u2019ve made it, maybe not, but either way it would\u2019ve been better than allowing your continued existence! Murderer! Tyrant!\u201d\n\u201cSo who put you up to this? Semra?\u201d\n\u201cNobody put me up to this tyrant! I have my OWN reasons as I\u2019m sure countless people would have for wanting you dead! The only difference is that I had the guts to actually try to kill you. YOU MURDERED MY FAMILY! YOU STOLE MY LIFE!\u201d Zana screams with her mouth spitting saliva in anger.\n\n\u201cZana you\u2019ve lost me. You claim I murdered your family, but from what I know I wasn\u2019t even in the vicinity of the destroyed village of where Klemto found you.\u201d\n\u201cI didn\u2019t grow up in a village! I was going to be a princess! I would\u2019ve ruled a kingdom one day! YOU and YOUR I EMPIRE destroyed all that before I even had a chance to enjoy a taste of such a life! Klemto didn\u2019t just save a random Felkan baby, he saved a HEIR TO THE FELKAN FUCKING KINGDOM!\u201d Zana shouts.\n\nIt was a very long time ago. Almost a different life even, but you vaguely remember seeing a crib in the Felkan royal palace, yet no baby or even signs of a dead one. You never thought too much of it at the time, but apparently even though Zana was just an infant, Klemto must\u2019ve told her about her real heritage. He probably lied to you thinking that you would\u2019ve had her killed.\n\n\u201cBecause of YOU, I\u2019ve had to live a miserable existence working on machinery surrounded by fucking GNOMES! You know what that\u2019s like? Being the only human in community of damn gnomes? It SUCKS! Then when some humans do fucking arrive, they\u2019re from the same nation that destroyed my birthright! It almost sickened me to even sleep with that crazy fool Elam!\u201d\n\nHow long must she have been waiting for the right time to strike? Was it always this way or did it slowly gnaw at her? A life that was stolen from her. Did Klemto or the gnomes put her up to this? Was this their plan in some weird way?\n\n\u201cOkay, since you\u2019re in a talkative mood, did Klemto or any gnome put you up to this?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cWhat? So you\u2019ll have an excuse to round them all up and destroy their souls again? I heard about what you did to them. And maybe I might find them to be timid, tiresome unattractive little know it alls, I find it deplorable what the Empire did to them. I can\u2019t believe they allowed themselves to be dominated by a nation that systematically exterminated them from not just this life, but the next as well!\u201d\n\u201cSo did they help or not?\u201d you ask again.\n\u201cNo! No they did not! My father would\u2019ve probably had me jailed if he knew what I was planning. Those cowards wouldn\u2019t dare stand against the Empire, but I fucking would! And did! Not that this will save them. After you\u2019re done killing me, you\u2019ll probably have them all killed as well for any excuse will serve a tyrant!\u201d\n\u201cIt\u2019s amusing that you keep calling me that. What did you think your parents were? They were a KING and QUEEN. You think they ruled by popular decision? Do you think YOU would have if you became queen? My actions that day weren\u2019t even personal. I was just following orders like a soldier. Your actions however today are misguided and fatal. Such a waste. Even had I known your origins, I would not have had you killed if you had remained true to serving the Empire. You probably would\u2019ve even replaced Elam as top engineer when such a time came. Your quest for vengeance was as pointless as your entire life.\u201d\n\nZana says nothing else, she just continues to look at you with hatred in her eyes. At this point a few of your crew has come back saying that they found a bomb near the spare gunpowder barrels and another one near some vital machinery. They were disarmed and disposed of by dropping them over the side of the Storm.\n\n\u201cWell, I guess there\u2019s only one more thing to dispose of.\u201d You say and then nod to your crew still restraining Zana.\n\nTo her credit she doesn\u2019t beg for her life and continues to curse you even as she\u2019s falling over the side of the Storm to her death. Considering some of crew from the other nearby ships may be wondering what\u2019s going on if they\u2019ve seen someone being thrown overboard, you make an announcement that you want the crew to signal the other ships to let them know everything is fine and that the mission is going to continue as expected.\n\nAs for the mission, that goes off relatively quietly without much trouble. The portal is hooked and lifted up without any problems. There doesn\u2019t even to be any weight concerns, though given that you had two transport ships just in case it isn\u2019t too surprising.\n\nThere aren\u2019t any svelk attacks either. When you bring Galen, Cassandra and the remaining Eyes aboard the Storm via rope ladder, Cassandra says if you\u2019d arrived a few days before it might\u2019ve been a different matter since they suffered a very large attack accompanied by mages. In fact Cassandra mentions that they were encountering a lot more mage types among the ranks of the svelk. She goes on to say that Semra\u2019s group has disappeared completely meaning they stopped working on the portal and abandoned all their mining operations.\n\n\u201cKnowing Semra she\u2019s probably changed her plans slightly again.\u201d You say.\n\u201cDid you want us to stay then? I mean we might need some reinforcements, but I think the remainder of us can survive on our own a little longer out here.\u201d Cassandra asks.\n\u201cNo. You\u2019re all needed back home. Dokkrus will be invaded properly at some point in the future, but for now I\u2019ve got more important things on my mind and I need all the security that I can get on the homefront right now. If the svelk suddenly start teleporting an invasion force then so be it. We\u2019ll be prepared, I\u2019m going to start calling the third gen Eternals back from Nyttrus anyway. Besides, we\u2019ve got one of these portals now and if we get it working like how I want to get it working, then we\u2019ll be fine.\u201d You say and then turn to Galen.\n\n\u201cI want to talk to you about your findings, I assume you studied this one and several others while on your vacation.\u201d\n\u201cVacation? Dokkrus was the worst assignment that\u2026\u201d Galen starts to say until you glare at him.\n\u201cUh, nevermind my Emperor. Yes, I\u2019ll speak with you about what I found. Of course.\u201d\n\nWith your mission accomplished and all your people aboard, you return to Evigrus where the airships land in the fields near New Dessel. The portal itself is moved into the mountain city.\n\nFrom there you bump into Elam AND Klemto together. Good, this will save you time.\n\n\u201cWhere is my daughter?\u201d Klemto asks.\n\u201cYeah, where is Zana my Emperor?\u201d Elam says.\n\nYou snort and shake your head at this question.\n\n\u201cWell there\u2019s no easy way to tell either of you this, so here it is. Zana was a traitor that tried to kill me while she was aboard the Storm. So I had her thrown overboard where I assume she died.\u201d\n\nKlemto and Elam\u2019s jaws just about drop.\n\n\u201cWHAT?!\u201d the pair of them exclaim.\n\u201cYou heard me. She\u2019s dead and that\u2019s it.\u201d\n\nKlemto\u2019s face displays the first signs of tears, but also of anger. He\u2019s about to speak, but you stop him before he can do so.\n\n\u201cKlemto. I\u2019d advise you to think VERY carefully the next words you say to me, because there are only a few reasons why I\u2019m not going to have New Dessel purged of every gnome in here. Number one, I still believe I\u2019ll need the help of gnomish engineers for this next project and two Zana made it very clear that her plans were all her own and not the result of some gnomish conspiracy. Given how passionate her hatred of me was, I have no reason to disbelieve her.\u201d\n\nKlemto says nothing.\n\n\u201cThat being said, I\u2019m ALSO going to forget the fact that YOU lied to me and that she was the daughter of the ex-Felkan royalty. I understand the lie, but this might\u2019ve been avoided had you not lied to me in the first place\u2026or failing that you needed to lie to her about her true heritage. Either way, I\u2019ll let the knowledge of your OWN poor judgment be your punishment.\u201d\n\nKlemto continues to say nothing, the man is overcome with grief and can\u2019t even be in your prescence, he just leaves holding his head in hands. Elam is still a bit in shock.\n\n\u201cWas\u2026was there no other way?\u201d he asks.\n\u201cAre you kidding me Elam? (Sigh) No. There was no other way. If it\u2019s any consolation, she never loved or had any real affection for you. She even called you a fool that she only slept with due to the lack of other available humans that didn\u2019t completely disgust her. Well that and I imagine she probably saw a possible opportunity to get closer to assassinate me by being closer to you.\u201d\n\nElam just listens on in silence.\n\n\u201cAnd you, like Klemto, should count yourself lucky that I need you to work on this project because this incident wasn\u2019t the first time you mistakenly placed your trust in an assassin. Or have we forgotten the OTHER bomb attempt on the first Storm that Warrick managed to stop?\u201d\n\u201cUm, no your Emperor. Apologies. I\u2026have no excuses and thank you for your mercy.\u201d\n\u201cHrm. Get that portal working and it will be a start.\u201d\n\nElam leaves your presence and you\u2019re left to rethink the \u201cindependence\u201d policies on New Dessel. That time has now passed.\n\nA few hours later during a discussion with Elam and Galen about how to get the portal working again, an emergency goes up throughout New Dessel. At first you think its some sort of sudden gnome uprising that Klemto has stirred up, but the event is much less urgent though perhaps a little tragic.\n\nKlemto apparently went home, drank a lot of ale and then calmly shot himself in the head. He wasn\u2019t always well liked by his people due to his decisions, but enough of them thought highly enough of him to immediately go into mourning due to his death. There is probably a fear of what will come next too since he was their leader for so long; in fact none of the gnomes of their little council even steps up to replace him.\n\nHardly matter though, since as far as you\u2019re concerned this is as good as time as any to completely do away with the \u201cera\u201d of New Dessel \u201cindependence.\u201d It was a long time coming anyway. Maybe Klemto even realized that and with the death of his daughter he saw no more point in seeing the \u201cbad times\u201d again.\n\nIn any event, things are starting to look up for you and you\u2019re one step closer to your ultimate goals.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 65\n\n\u201cIt\u2026it was horrible, my Emperor! The place was so dead. Like I could feel it everywhere\u2026my\u2026my hands\u2026my skin\u2026wrinkled with age! How could I have aged so quickly? It\u2019s an evil place! Don\u2019t send me back! I beg of you!\u201d the test subject pleads while groveling at your boots, but all you do smile.\n\n\u201cWE FOUND IT! WE\u2019VE FINALLY FOUND IT!\u201d you shout in glee.\n\nAfter Elam\u2019s tinkering with machinery to repair the portal, sacrificing several lesser mages to fuel the portal with magical energy again, you and Galen trying to channel the energy to get the right location and after sending in several \u201ctest subjects\u201d with ropes tied around them, you\u2019ve at last discovered the way to reach the Isle of Mortos.\n\nThe Island of Mortos seems to be so heavily disguised by magic that it\u2019s impossible to actually find through normal means. Basically the necromancers only allow access if they want it to or in your case, meddling with a magic portal for so long that you eventually found it through trial and error.\n\nNow that you\u2019ve found it, the current problem is that it\u2019s a one-way trip. Hence the ropes you tied to the test subjects so you could pull them back through. (Though that still didn\u2019t always ensure their return)\n\nThere\u2019s also the fact that \u201cdialing\u201d the way to get to Mortos in the first place has been fairly taxing on you and Galen who isn\u2019t looking so great nowadays.\n\n\u201cA testament to your persistence, my Emperor\u2026can I go lay down? I feel sort of weak.\u201d Galen remarks.\n\u201cGalen you\u2019re a wizard, you of all people besides myself should be happy to discover a new mystery of the arcane! I mean with magic apparently dying out, I\u2019d think this would be fairly interesting to you.\u201d\n\u201cEmperor, in all honesty I\u2019d rather just be back home using charm spells on young girls.\u201d\n\u201cThat\u2019s your problem Galen, you have no true ambition!\u201d you say.\n\u201cYes, you\u2019re right my Emperor. I\u2019m a lowly worm before your greatness.\u201d Galen says.\n\u201cI\u2019ll let that remark pass since I KNOW you\u2019re intelligent enough to NOT use sarcasm on me. And I\u2019m not going to let your whining and depression annoy me today as this is a great break through.\u201d\n\nAt this point Galen says nothing and just shuffles off to find some place to lie down. You also ignore the test subject who has already been taken away by nearby Eyes to who knows where.\n\nYou continue to stare at the portal, which will now lead you to Mortos. You almost want to enter right now, but you know that it will still have to wait. You call Elam over who normally isn\u2019t a nervous sort, but is when he gets near the portal.\n\n\u201cSo\u2026this is it then?\u201d Elam asks.\n\u201cThis is it Elam. Have you finished building that other smaller portal for me?\u201d you say.\n\u201cIt\u2019s almost finished, though it took a lot of mithril to build it. Good thing Nyttrus had several deposits, because it\u2019s not like we had much of it. Also it\u2019s going to need magical energy of course for it to be fully powered. I imagine you\u2019ve still got mages left?\u201d\n\u201cMaybe a few still locked up, but I question if it\u2019ll be enough\u2026well there\u2019s always Galen. Should work.\u201d\n\u201cYou\u2019re going to sacrifice Galen?\u201d\n\u201cHe\u2019s served his purpose and he\u2019ll serve it one last time for the greater good of the Empire. He\u2019s getting old and weak anyway, how many years does he really have left? Wasn\u2019t aware that you held any fondness for him.\u201d\n\u201cNo, I don\u2019t really. Still though\u2026what about your Eternal Project?\u201d\n\u201cWhat about it?\u201d\n\u201cWell without any more mages you won\u2019t be able to continue it correct?\u201d\n\u201cIf this plan goes the way I hope it does, it won\u2019t matter, besides I thought you were coming up with an idea to take the Eternal Project in a new direction without the use of magic.\u201d You say.\n\u201cI was, but then I had to focus my efforts on this project and as I know it was of great importance to you, I didn\u2019t want to divert my attention.\u201d Elam responds.\n\u201cProbably was wise of you. Well, after we get the second portal up and running, you\u2019ll be able to pursue your desire for more biological experiments and find a new way of creating Eternals.\u201d\n\nElam nods and excuses himself to go back to work on finishing the other portal. The smaller one is going to be the \u201creturn\u201d portal back here after its power up, \u201ccalibrated\u201d and dragged through the Mortos portal.\n\nThe test subject didn\u2019t say anything about any ghoul creatures or other undead around, just a dead feeling everywhere so it looks like you go lucky as far as the location is concerned. Though you still have no idea where you\u2019ll be located on Mortos. After all you only visited the place once and that was thirty years ago. You were so different back then. The trusting, loyal, good soldier that never questioned anything.\n\nYou\u2019ve been thinking more about those last few days with Casimir recently, your trip to Mortos and the days immediately afterwards. The big lie that Casimir perpetrated just to secure his own immortality was still nothing compared to the one that nobody except Jacob and Semra knew about. It\u2019s still odd to think about how you were never truly meant to be an Eternal.\n\nStill, it\u2019s often been said the bigger the lie; the more people are willing to believe it. Maybe its because your entire life is a \u201clie\u201d that you managed to achieve so much within it. Maybe that\u2019s why you managed to become a successful Emperor and maybe that\u2019s why you intend to succeed where your \u201cfather\u201d failed.\n\nNicodemus, the necromancer that you encountered during your last trip to Mortos, tried to convince you to not pursue the same path as Casimir. Semra has tried to do the same on several occasions. As far as you know, they\u2019re still the only two that are going to be your major obstacles between you and your goals. You aren\u2019t sure what Semra\u2019s been up to as there has been no sign of her or any indication of an attack from Dokkrus, but rest assured when she does pop up again, you have no doubt its going to be at the most inopportune time.\n\nAs for Nicodemus, you imagine you\u2019ll have quite a fight on your hands with him and that\u2019s not even counting other necromancers that must live on the island and their undead. You haven\u2019t been idle though. You\u2019ve been practicing and strengthening your own magic abilities.\n\nEventually you stop your reminiscing and decide you need to get on with your plans, you aren\u2019t getting any younger.\n\nIn another few weeks, Elam tells you that the second portal is ready, so you gather up Galen and the remaining mages to go about its activation. Galen repeatedly tells you that he doesn\u2019t think there\u2019s going to be enough energy within the captive mages power up the second portal, but you assure him that there will be. The fool doesn\u2019t even consider the possibility that HE is going to be joining them. Well not until the last moment when he\u2019s grabbed by Eyes and strapped down to the draining chair hooked up to the portal.\n\n\u201cEmperor?! What is this?! No! I was loyal! You can\u2019t! You\u2026\u201d Galen shouts before you punch him in the face and have him gagged.\n\u201cStop whining Galen.\u201d You say motioning Elam to hit the switch and watch the last of your mages being drained of their energy and life.\n\nWhen the portal is powered and you finish your calibrations, you have the smaller portal ready to be dragged through the larger one. Several Eyes, several third gen Eternals and some very nervous engineers all prepare to enter, plus one.\n\n\u201cEmperor, you\u2019re going with them?\u201d Elam asks.\n\u201cI\u2019m confident that this is going to work and if not, well then I don\u2019t deserve to be Emperor any longer. Let\u2019s get going.\u201d You say.\n\nYou enter the portal and you have that old familiar feeling\u2026\n\nA deadness all around you. The land is still dead, everything is still drab and gray. Same way it was when you last were here. The others with you all begin to complain about not feelings quite right.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019ll pass if you keep your mind focused, the key is to not let this place cause you to spiral into a depression. Come on we need to get this portal into a good place\u2026that large rock structure in the ground over there looks as good as any. I want the engineers to embed this portal in it, don\u2019t want it just standing out here in the open wasteland. Follow me and DON\u2019T stray too far. There are magic areas or what are called negative zones. You step into one and you could be an old man or even a corpse before you knew what was going on. I\u2019ll be able to detect them, just follow me.\u201d\n\nYour small march to the rock destination is uneventful other than some of your people still saying how this all feels so hopeless. Unfortunately most of it is from the engineers who are less accustomed to this sort of thing.\n\nAs you wait for the portal to be embedded in the rock, you begin to ponder if you still shouldn\u2019t wait awhile before marching an army into Mortos. It might be this place sapping your \u201centhusiasm\u201d but the grim reality of how difficult this is really going to be is starting to set in the closer you get to your goals. It does occur to you that Nicodemus was powerful enough to destroy Casimir with barely any effort.", "action_results": [{"action": "Do some scouting now", "result": "You decide that the best way to keep your mind off things is to keep yourself occupied. So you tell some of the Eyes to accompany you and tell the Eternals to keep a good watch over the engineers.\n\nYou remind the Eyes to follow you, as the danger of stepping into a negative zone is great. They all acknowledge your order apathetically and follow.\n\nA few moments after the portals are both out of sight, you start to hear more complaining, bitching and overall whining. You\u2019d swear you were travelling with Galen or several copies of him.\n\n\u201cDamn it, what the hell is wrong with you all? You\u2019re supposed to be Eyes! Start acting like it before I have to make an example out of one you!\u201d\n\u201cOh what\u2019s the point? We\u2019re all dead men anyway!\u201d one of the Eyes exclaims.\n\nYou travel a little longer and eventually you encounter a ruined structure. Probably not where the book is located, but no point in not checking it out since you\u2019re already here.\n\nYou all approach the structure slowly. You because you\u2019re cautious, the rest well because they\u2019re all still suffering from the effects of the oppressive aura of Mortos.\n\nWhen you get close enough an ugly head pops out from around the corner of the ruins. When it sees you it makes an inhuman scream and comes loping at you.\n\n\u201cShit, ghoul. Quick, there will be a multitude of them!\u201d you exclaim backing off and blasting the ghoul with a fireball.\n\nAs more ghouls come pouring out of the ruin, you motion the Eyes to prepare themselves for combat, which they do so but only reluctantly.\n\n\u201cCOME ON! These fuckers are going to eat you!\u201d you shout.\n\nThere aren\u2019t as many ghouls like when you walked into that town of them last time, but there\u2019s enough to be dangerous. You fight the ghouls with blade and spell, but your Eyes are barely putting up a fight despite you yelling at them and the very real threat of death the ghouls pose.\n\nPretty soon the ghouls begin to get the upper hand over your Eyes, some of whom have given up completely and practically laid down to die.\n\nFrustrated by this place altogether you begin flinging fireballs at the ghouls regardless if the Eyes are in the vicinity or not. If the weak willed fools wish to die then so be it. Eventually the only thing left is you and many charred bodies.\n\nYou sit and rest for a moment from the battle. You realize that you\u2019re going to have to train your people to endure this place. It\u2019s obvious that this place is going to affect your people more than you realized\u2026\n\nThen suddenly a panic wells up inside you and you make haste back to the portal.\n\nAt first your major concern is that you\u2019ll find everyone not doing their job or at worst dead by their own hand, the reality is much worse however.\n\nThe portal lies on the ground and partially broken, magic still powers it, but its highly unstable now and its changing different colors quickly. All the engineers are dead and some of your Eternals are too, but it doesn\u2019t look like everyone took their own life. It looks more like a slaughter.\n\nTwo of the Eternals still live and have a deranged look in their eye; in fact they\u2019re eating one of the engineers. It would appear that the negative aura of Mortos may have another side effect other than severe depression.\n\nUpon seeing you, they both attack like a pair of ghouls. You easily put them down with a couple of magic bolts, but the damage is done.\n\nYou look at the portal and you ponder if you should risk going through it or possibly continue searching Mortos for the book and hope that maybe you could find a way out of here that way.\n\nYou also ponder if you just stayed put that maybe someone from Evigrus would try to send someone else with a rope tied to them through the portal and you could get home that way.\n\nYou ultimately do decide to wait for what you think is a few days but nobody shows up. You\u2019re actually a little surprised, but then they might think that if going through killed you that what chance would any of them have?\n\nThis doesn\u2019t have a good effect on your own morale which has been diminishing by the day due to the oppressive aura of Mortos and your current hopeless situation. You also haven\u2019t eaten or drank anything for quite some time, you\u2019re starting to feel those effects as well.\n\nLacking any other options, you decide that you\u2019ll have to take a chance on the portal because you don\u2019t think you\u2019ll have the strength to find the book in your current condition, even if you had any idea where it might be located.\n\nYou stare into the portal, which still changes different colors rapidly. You don\u2019t have a good feeling about this. You\u2019re fairly certain in fact that you\u2019ll wind up on the other side in pieces, but there is little choice in this matter.\n\n\u201cWell better an unknown risk than a certain death.\u201d you say and you jump in\u2026\n\nThe good news is you do make it out of Mortos in one piece.\n\nThe bad news is you reappear several miles under water in the middle of one of the oceans. Taken completely by surprise by this you gasp for air and your body cannot handle such crushing pressure.\n\nYour dead body falls to the bottom ocean where it provides nourishment for the creatures that live there.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Wait", "result": "Whether this place is a cause of disillusionment or not, the fact does remain that you still need to take this goal step by step. While it\u2019s true that you want to get this on with quickly, you can\u2019t afford to rush headlong into things.\n\nSpeaking of which, you also can\u2019t allow hopelessness to take over the mindset of your people so you begin to yell words of encouragement to everyone. You talk about tales of former glories. Not just your own, but those also containing people resembling your current crew. Meaning you remind the third gens of their glorious deeds during the war against Nakol and the hated Iznac of Nyttrus. You remind the Eyes of their important work of maintain order throughout the Empire and how they\u2019ve often they\u2019ve played vital roles in undermining the enemy.\n\nAnd while the engineers have never usually directly participated in battle, you remind them of their contributions to building the weapons and machines of war that have repeatedly brought the Empire\u2019s enemies low. Even now the skill of the engineers may possibly be one of the most important roles in achieving this mission.\n\nSometimes words really can go a long way to motivation even when in an accursed place like this. Everyone more or less snaps out of their low spirits and gets on with their tasks.\n\nWhen the job is done, several people are still eager to leave this place and are more than willing to enter the portal regardless of whether its going to work or not. You still go first however, and taking a deep breath you enter the portal, which should go back to your previous location in Evigrus\u2026\n\nAnd suddenly you do indeed find yourself back at Elam workshop in New Dessel.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re back!\u201d Elam exclaims as the rest of your people suddenly appear beside you as well. Everyone is certainly happier to be back too.\n\n\u201cThe next time I get the chance to go in, I think I need to re-adjust the location of where its going to send returning people. The last thing I want is a bunch of undead wandering into New Dessel.\u201d You say.\n\u201cSounds like a plan. So\u2026when are you invading?\u201d Elam asks.\n\u201cI\u2019m holding off, or rather re-thinking the approach just like I did with Dokkrus. Honestly this recent visit has put a few things in perspective. Tell me, have we made any advancement in those gnome automatons?\u201d\n\u201cAutomatons? Uh, not much since the end of the Nakol War. Nyttrus wasn\u2019t the best environment for them and you wanted to keep a low profile in Dokkrus.\u201d\n\u201cYeah, well as much as I\u2019d like to keep a low profile in Mortos, I don\u2019t think its going to be possible for long and more importantly automatons don\u2019t suffer morale problems. I know I said you were going to be able to work on your biological experiments, but you might need to hold off still and start making not only improvements on the automatons, but making A LOT of them.\u201d\n\nElam seems a little disappointed that once again his own ideas are going to be placed on hold again, but he doesn\u2019t argue since it would be pointless anyway.\n\nYou decide that you\u2019re going to have to condition your people to steel their minds against the oppressive atmosphere of Mortos by having regular scouting missions and guard duty for the \u201creturn portal\u201d on Mortos. You\u2019re fairly certain that most, if not all the third gen Eternals are going to be able to achieve this without too many problems. The Eyes are mostly made up of \u201cnormal\u201d humans (and a few elves) though they\u2019re certainly trained for difficult conditions. As for anyone else you need to send in, you\u2019re going to have to limit their time in Mortos and have them supervised by someone that has already proven themselves to be resistant to the debilitating effects.\n\nAll the while, the new automatons will act as good support troops in case conflict should arise and you have no doubt that it will. You need to find that book that Casimir desired so badly and that\u2019s going to require tracking it down first. This all may take a while, which brings you to the idea that the fourth gen Eternals are going to be ready in a couple years. Assuming you haven\u2019t achieved your goals by then, you\u2019ll be able to start sending them in as well, but then why wait? They\u2019re going to have to get resilient to Mortos sometime.\n\nYou\u2019re next visit is to Brenda who has been looking more than a little worn and tired nowadays. She still does her job like the loyal Empire soldier she\u2019s always been, but underneath is a lot of heartache from another lost love. You imagine the only thing that keeps her going nowadays is her love of training the Eternals. She\u2019s always seen them as her \u201cchildren\u201d of sorts. Though today she\u2019d going to lose them a few years early\u2026\n\n\u201cNow? They\u2019re still two years away from proper training.\u201d Brenda remarks.\n\u201cWell, there is a new war coming and they\u2019re not only going to have to be prepared for it physically, but mentally as well. They\u2019re going to start their first assignment in Mortos and they need to start getting accustomed to the horrors of the place because trust me, as good as you think you\u2019ve prepared them, there is nothing that is going to prepare them for this experience short of going their personally.\u201d You say.\n\u201cBut\u2026(sigh) nevermind. Take who you need.\u201d\n\u201cSomething wrong Brenda?\u201d\n\u201cOf course something is wrong, you\u2019ve come to me yet again asking me to hand over something I hold dear.\u201d Brenda says starting to get upset.\n\u201cBrenda, I really don\u2019t understand why the hell you\u2019re getting upset with me, whether they go now or in two years either way, they\u2019re going to leave here and you know this. I know you see them as your children, but as any parent knows, you\u2019ve got to let them go eventually.\u201d You say, but Brenda\u2019s not really listening.\n\u201cEverytime you see me, it\u2019s just to ask me for something, not even to exchange pleasantries. Years ago it was Warrick, now it\u2019s the fourth gens, I\u2019m fully expecting you to come in here one day and ask me to go sacrifice myself for the greater good of the Empire. I mean why not right? I already heard how you\u2019ve recently sacrificed all the remaining mages in the Empire, which means no more Eternal Project. Won\u2019t be much need for me anymore.\u201d\n\u201cNow you\u2019re being overly dramatic. I think you know that isn\u2019t true.\u201d You say.\n\nBrenda puts her head in her hands and then makes a rubbing motion at her temples.\n\n\u201cApologies. I\u2019m just\u2026tired. Tired of all this. I continual question why I\u2019m even doing this anymore. I\u2019m losing my passion for it and just counting down the days for death it seems. I know you\u2019ll say that I should be doing this for the greater good of the Empire and all of that, but I just don\u2019t believe it anymore. I mean obviously I\u2019d never be a traitor and I\u2019m too old to do anything else with my life, but quite honestly I\u2019m not seeing much to look forward to in the future.\u201d\n\nGiven Brenda\u2019s state of mind, you\u2019d almost think she\u2019d taken a trip to Mortos. You probably could come up with something inspiring, but this is Brenda and she\u2019d see right through it, or even if she didn\u2019t she wouldn\u2019t be in the mood to here it, so you take a gamble and try a different approach.\n\n\u201cBrenda, I\u2019m going to tell you something that I\u2019ve NEVER told anyone. I wasn\u2019t even supposed to BE an Eternal. I\u2019m a fucking mistake. A bureaucratic mistake that was covered up so the Emperor wouldn\u2019t get pissed off. Oh and here\u2019s another kicker. The Emperor? He died because of me.\u201d\n\nThis information certainly gets Brenda\u2019s attention.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s right, I\u2019m partially responsible for killing our old Emperor Casimir, but if its any consolation, he fucking deserved it because not only was he responsible for Alison\u2019s death, but he was ALSO the one that had your husband assassinated.\u201d\n\nBrenda\u2019s face now turns to shock as you reveal secrets that you\u2019ve kept hidden for so long.\n\n\u201cI wasn\u2019t even supposed to be here and I saw everything I believed in nearly destroyed with a single action and one of the people I grew up completely trusting to be the worst liar of all. Even that fucking svelk bitch didn\u2019t lie to me like Casimir did. And yet like an idiot I still blindly trusted him all the way up until his spell failed and resulted in his death.\u201d\n\nYou pause for a moment to allow Brenda to ask any questions, but she has none. She still continues to remain in silent shock.\n\n\u201cSo if you think that the institution you were bred, raised and trained to loyally serve all your life has somehow resulted in you feeling underappreciated, well\u2026that\u2019s partially true. The Empire is unforgiving. It demands everything and YOU as an Eternal are one of its top servants, which means the most is expected of you. As Emperor everything is expected of me. Quite honestly, I get tired too. Even when I\u2019m winning, there\u2019s some sort of catch, or problem, or something that makes it less fun than it could be. Getting old doesn\u2019t help. In fact if I wasn\u2019t Emperor, I might be questioning my future as well. I\u2019d probably march into Dokkrus or Mortos by myself and just fight and fight until I was eventually overwhelmed and killed, but that isn\u2019t an option for me. I AM the Empire and if its going to survive, I can\u2019t fucking die. It\u2019s that simple. If there was any other way, I\u2019d probably take it, because the journey that has lead me up to this point hasn\u2019t been easy and it\u2019s resulted in considerable losses.\u201d\n\nYou touch Brenda\u2019s hand.\n\n\u201cSo all that being said, if I as a mistake who should\u2019ve been killed at birth can shoulder the weight of the entire Empire, I believe YOU as a TRUE Eternal, can handle the sacrifices that are asked of you. Look, I won\u2019t need all of the fourth gens right now\u2026just give me your best leaders. They\u2019ll be going in with the third gens anyway, so they won\u2019t get too overwhelmed.\u201d You say.\n\u201cI\u2019ll get a list and get back to you as soon as possible my Emperor.\u201d Brenda answers.\n\u201cOkay\u2026and thank you Brenda for all your hard work for the Empire. I appreciate it.\u201d\n\u201cI live to serve. Long live the Empire.\u201d\n\nWith those last few words, you leave Brenda\u2019s presence feeling more exhausted than you did when you visited Mortos. In fact you think you\u2019d rather be back there.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 67\n\n\u201cSvelk? And you\u2019re sure about this?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cAbsolutely sure my Emperor. We fought off a band of them just the other day. There have also been other sightings of them roaming about the wastes of Mortos.\u201d General Damon responds.\n\nYou silently curse to yourself about this news. You knew the svelk were going to show up at the most inopportune time and sure enough they have. You didn\u2019t expect them on Mortos though. Is this what Semra was planning? Is she trying to get the book herself?\n\nGeneral Damon goes on to report that the fourth gens have been proving themselves very well in battle and showing good resistance against the negative effects of Mortos.\n\n\u201cThey\u2019re a true credit to the name Eternal, my Emperor.\u201d Damon remarks.\n\u201cHrm. Well I\u2019d expect nothing less, especially after having the best trainer.\u201d You say.\n\u201cMentor Brenda was indeed a very good teacher, I will always be grateful for her lessons when she taught me the rest of the third gens.\u201d Damon says with a bit of pride.\n\nCassandra speaks up next and tells you that the Eyes have still not yet located the temple you last remember the book being at, but they have located more than a few ghouls towns and mapped out where some negative zones are located.\n\n\u201cJust glad we\u2019ve got a relatively large population of Sul Monkeys to use as testing for such zones. It certainly cuts down on our own casualties.\u201d Cassandra says and then starts to say something else before stopping.\n\u201cWhat is it?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cOh nothing my Emperor, it\u2019s just a silly thought, nevermind.\u201d\n\u201cYou were going to ask me if humans are related to Sul Monkeys somehow, weren\u2019t you?\u201d\n\u201cHow did you know?\u201d Cassandra asks.\n\u201cGiven that I had to hear Semra and several other svelk refer to humans as monkeys on more than one occasion, I\u2019ve heard the theories before.\u201d\n\u201cOh. So is it true? I mean my parents said it was and most others of my kind believe it, but I always wondered and I figured you being the Emperor and all might know for certain\u2026\u201d\n\nYou nearly laugh.\n\n\u201cAs much as I might like the idea of being all knowing, I have no idea nor do I really care. You\u2019d probably be better off asking Elam, he knows more about all that stuff. Speaking of which I need to go talk with him about increasing automaton production.\u201d\n\nAs you\u2019re about to make your way to do just that, you receive an urgent message.\n\n\u201cMessage from Kivan, Emperor. Very urgent.\u201d The courier says.\n\u201cEverything is urgent according to Kivan, let\u2019s see\u2026\u201d you say and then begin to read.\n\nThen you feel a small sinking feeling when you see the news. It\u2019s a short message, but one of great impact.\n\n\u201cI have to go.\u201d You say and leave New Dessel.\n\nBrenda has killed herself. Her body was found by an Eye who was going to pick her up for her re-assignment as a trainer for them. She was in her bathtub with slashed wrists. Her body has already been taken for preparation; Kivan decided it would be best to keep this incident relatively quiet and contact you immediately.\n\nWhen you arrive at the capital, Kivan is already outside waiting for you and trying to apologize for disturbing you.\n\n\u201cNevermind all that, where is she?\u201d\n\u201cThe mortuary, of course. She\u2019ll be ready for the hero\u2019s funeral that\u2026\u201d\n\u201cNo. No, we aren\u2019t going to have all that. She wouldn\u2019t want it. We\u2019ll do what we did with Warrick. A simple private funeral.\u201d You say still trying to wrap your head around the fact that Brenda\u2019s dead.\n\u201cAs you wish Emperor. Uh\u2026this was also found on the site of her death. It hasn\u2019t been opened and it was addressed to you.\u201d\n\nKivan hands you an envelope, which you take and read alone.\n\nMy Emperor\n\nBy the time you read this, you no doubt will know I have decided to move on from this world. I just can\u2019t go on any longer. I\u2019ve given all that I have and anymore that I do have left isn\u2019t worth much anyway.\n\nI thank you for not taking all the fourth gen Eternals immediately and giving me those last two years with most of them, just as you gave me that one last year with Warrick.\n\nI did try to heed your words that you spoke to me a couple years ago and I almost even convinced myself, but ultimately they just weren\u2019t enough. I hope that I haven\u2019t disappointed you too much. I always tried not to; all of us did and still do.\n\nYou told me that you were a \u201cmistake\u201d that wasn\u2019t supposed to be an Eternal. I don\u2019t believe that\u2019s true. Whatever the nature of events that occurred; there is no denying that you aren\u2019t a TRUE Eternal. You are the best of all of us and I have no doubt that you won\u2019t accomplish your goals in achieving immortality to keep the Empire alive.\n\nI always had a feeling you\u2019d outlive all of us, even when that svelk bitch tried to break your spirit on the first day of training. Personally I believe you\u2019d outlive the Empire itself if you and it weren\u2019t so intrinsically linked.\n\nI die knowing that not just the Empire will live on, but that the name Eternal also lives on.\n\nIt was an honor to serve under you. I go now to join our fallen siblings.\n\nBrenda\n\nNot much moves you emotionally nowadays, but this has certainly done it. You aren\u2019t disappointed by Brenda\u2019s actions. You understand them from her point of view, you just wish you could\u2019ve convinced her that her life did still have purpose. Brenda may not have been the traditional Eternal bringing glory on the battlefield, but her role was nevertheless an important one and like the loss of Warrick, Roldan, Kane and Decena, the Empire is just a little worse off because she\u2019s no longer part of it.\n\nBrenda is eventually placed where the other great heroes of the Empire are entombed. Her deeds will forever be remembered and when the news of her death is made public to the Eternals she trained you remind them all that she would want them to not falter in their assignments nor spend time lingering over her passing.\n\nLife goes on and so do your goals.\n\nGetting back to the current problem at hand, the recent incursions of svelk are growing to become more frequent, still no real confirmation on what they\u2019re doing there exactly. It hardly matters you suppose since whatever they\u2019re there for it\u2019s only to hinder you.\n\nKnowing Semra, part of her plan is to try to divide your attention. She wants you to attack Dokkrus so you\u2019ll get tied up in a land war there and lose your edge in Mortos. Better that you should keep to your plan. If Semra wants to open up another front, she\u2019s going to have to come to you and you\u2019re more than ready for that.\n\nIn fact you probably can do more to damage her if you start capturing some of her people. Granted svelk aren\u2019t necessarily the most talkative captives, but if you can capture some of her mages to power up a second portal or even more, well that would at least allow you have more entryways in and out of Mortos. You also could hamper the svelk by destroying or capturing their own portals. Either way, your best decision is to keep your efforts focused on Mortos. You\u2019ve still got a book to track down and you haven\u2019t even begun to face the full power of the necromancers yet. In fact you\u2019re starting to wonder when that shoe is going to drop.\n\nYear 70\n\nIgnoring the stench and claws of your nearby zombie attackers, your Eternals make quick work of them while you put down the necromancer with a lightning bolt to his baldhead. He\u2019s not coming back and the last of his minions fall uselessly into piles of putrid mush.\nIf there\u2019s one thing that\u2019s sure to stop an undead army, it\u2019s taking out the necromancer.\n\nThe undead in general are vastly outclassed, not just in the face of your highly skilled soldiers, but also due your superior weaponry. Guns have advanced drastically since they were introduced to the battlefield and such power easily rips through the relatively weak and slow moving undead. Your automatons are the perfect foil against them.\n\nReally the only advantage the dead have over your own people is numbers and their annoying tendency to not stay down. But eliminate the necromancer and a shambling rotting horde goes down quicker than a house of cards. True, there is still enough negative energy here to keep some of the corpses still standing, but not enough to be a threat and certainly not as organized.\n\nStill, fighting the necromancers on their own home isn\u2019t completely easy. If it were, you wouldn\u2019t still be at war with them. The insane Mortos ghoul \u201ccitizens\u201d actually give you more trouble besides the necromancers themselves. Something about the fact that they\u2019re actually \u201cliving\u201d makes them somehow worse than the undead. Their gibbering, howling and just general unpleasantness is still enough to make you shudder at the fact that you nearly once got caught by a pack of them on your first visit here.\n\nOf course the group that has been the biggest thorn in your side are the svelk, which as you\u2019ve come to learn through captives is that they are actually allied with the necromancers.\n\nYou have no idea how this ever came to be, something about a very old \u201cagreement\u201d which you never knew the svelk as a collective group could be so honorable about. Of course maybe its just Semra\u2019s doing, but either way it doesn\u2019t change the fact that they\u2019ve been making things difficult for you.\n\nSo far you\u2019ve found none of their portals back to Dokkrus, so it appears that the svelk are sending their people on a one way trip. Of course if they\u2019re allies, they might have an easier time of heading back through the necromancers\u2019 magic.\n\nYou haven\u2019t found the book yet either despite actually locating the temple where it was last time. Figures it would be moved and you have an idea that it\u2019s probably with Nicodemus who still hasn\u2019t made an appearance or tried to contact you at all like you almost expected he would.\n\nA few \u201ccities\u201d have been scouted out on Mortos, but none of them seem like places of major importance. Given the utter ruin of every population center its hard to know exactly where it might be kept, so you\u2019re going to just go through the tedious process of search every corner of this dismal island if you have to.\n\n\u201cEmperor, Sightmaster Cassandra has just sent word that they\u2019ve managed to capture another svelk mage.\u201d A fourth gen comes up to report to you while you\u2019re making double sure that the necromancer is dead.\n\n\u201cNot surprised, Cass loves capturing svelk more than she loved intimidating humans.\u201d You respond.\n\nYou imagine Flevas would\u2019ve enjoyed the chance as well if he were still alive. You sometimes wish the elf were still around, as he\u2019d definitely be an asset right now, but then you wish a lot of people were still around. Even your top advisor Kivan died a few years ago of natural causes. That\u2019s a rarity nowadays, at least for people that know you on a personal basis. His replacement is capable, but honestly you barely remember what his replacement\u2019s name is since you\u2019ve been spending most of your time in Mortos.\n\nSome probably believe you shouldn\u2019t push yourself so hard, and they may very well have a point since you\u2019re not in your twenties anymore and you\u2019re in pain most of the time due to a combination of age, old wounds, and just general exertion. You can\u2019t afford to stop though, not when you\u2019re so close to your goal. The funny thing is, your time here in Mortos somewhat envigorates you. It\u2019s probably just a mindset as it certainly can\u2019t be physically. Still, you haven\u2019t been involved in a real war since Nyttrus and getting back into battle again, even to your limited degree (mostly relying on magic) almost makes you feel \u201cyoung\u201d again. But then, you always were one to embrace the call of war and the personal glories of direct combat. Something about killing your enemies directly has always been a lot more satisfying. If you weren\u2019t weakened and slowed by your age, you\u2019d be tempted to go wading in with a sword in hand again.\n\nOnly you could find a zest for \u201clife\u201d in a literal land of the dead.\n\n\u201cShould I tell the messenger any new orders you may have for her?\u201d the fourth gen asks.\n\u201cNo, just tell him the message has been received and approved of. Cassandra knows what to do with the dark elven bastard. She\u2019s probably already hauling him away back to Evigrus. We should have enough of them soon.\u201d You say.\n\nYou\u2019ve already been going through with your plan of using the svelk mages that you\u2019ve managed to capture to \u201cpower up\u201d new portals\u2026bigger portals. Portals large enough that will allow a large new weapon of destruction to enter Mortos.\n\nThese weapons are called the juggernauts; large heavily armored wheeled machines mounted with a cannon and repeater rifles on their sides. A crew apparently operates them from the inside. You have no idea how Elam came up with the concept, but you\u2019re glad he did. He must be channeling his creative energy back into technological advances since he hasn\u2019t had the time to work on his desire to his biological experiments. (Every once in awhile he still tells you that he\u2019d like to restart a new Eternal Project)\n\nThey might not be airships, but if you can get them rolling into Mortos, it would definitely give an advantage or at least even the playing field, because deep down you know you still haven\u2019t seen the worst this place has to offer. At some point when the necromancers start getting desperate and realize that you aren\u2019t going to just go away, they\u2019re going to start bringing out their own \u201cbig guns\u201d and you\u2019re going to have to be ready for whatever those may be.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 75\n\nThe longer you spend in this place, the more you\u2019re starting to like it and that is somewhat of a worrying thought to you, because it certainly isn\u2019t a thought shared by anyone under your command. The last five years have probably been a nightmare to most.\n\nYou\u2019ve had to rotate your \u201cnormal\u201d military personnel fairly regularly. Most of them can only handle the psychological impact of the powerful undead horrors the necromancers have unleashed a limited amount of times before they become more of a liability rather than an asset. You can only imagine how full the asylums are getting back home. For the most part you\u2019ve regulated most of your military to defend Evigrus since the svelk in last two years have tried to open up a new front by transporting groups of elite via portals. They\u2019ve been relatively unsuccessful and even less so when they attempted to do the same thing on Nyttrus where your kobolds easily overwhelmed them and used the land to their advantage. The svelk for the most part have seemingly pulled out of Mortos though altogether.\n\nYou\u2019ve had to pull back your Eyes as well. Well trained they may be, most of them are still human and with that they suffer the same failings of the mind. It\u2019s just as well, since things are starting to get a little unstable back home. It\u2019s probably a combination of several things (Some of which might be all the new asylum patients) so Cassandra and the Eyes are back to their primary job of maintaining order.\n\nEven the Eternals are starting to get weary of this war and most of them have aged several years than normal. Still, they are Eternals, and whether they are third or fourth generation, they stand by your side\u2026even in death.\n\nSince your time here, you\u2019ve learned how to use the necromancer\u2019s magic against them. You\u2019ve managed to unlock the secrets of necromancy. You\u2019re no master at it, and it takes great concentration on your part, but its come in handy at times. The odd thing is you seem to only be able to maintain control over fallen Eternals. Attempting to raise others has only resulted in them eventually turning against you. You wonder if its because of the way Eternals are \u201cmade\u201d or their conditioned loyaty from birth, or maybe a combination of both that seems to result in their dedication to you and resist the overpowering will of the necromancers.\n\nAs far as your own concerns about your state of mind you\u2019ve been trying to hold it together. You sometimes think you\u2019re living on borrowed time and that if you don\u2019t achieve your goal soon, this place will eventually consume you. Maybe that\u2019s why you\u2019re starting to like it here, because you feel so close to death and this place is basically a home to the dead.\n\nBut you\u2019re not dying here if you can help it; in fact the whole point to this is so you don\u2019t die at all. You\u2019ve already begun to unlock the talents of the necromantic arts by yourself. As soon as you get that book, you KNOW you\u2019ll be able to master them completely and become immortal.\n\nAnd that goal is now closer than ever because you\u2019ve finally tracked it down.\n\nYou stand on a slightly elevated bit of land with what remains of your army of Eternals (both living and dead) and a few juggernauts filled with crews of half mad engineers. In the distance a ruined fortress lies before you. It is a non-descript thing and has no real defenses since its walls are mostly broken or gone completely, but THAT is where your goal lies. Inside it somewhere.\n\nAnd that is also where Nicodemus must be.\n\nYou need to attack now, because you know it\u2019ll be only a matter of time before reinforcements to help him show up. There are ALWAYS undead, no matter how many you put down in this place.\n\n\u201cGeneral Damon, today the Empire assures its mastery over death itself.\u201d You say.\n\u201cWe are all prepared my Emperor, we just await your word.\u201d\n\nYou nod and for a moment there is complete silence.\n\n\u201cATTACK!\u201d you shout and then in unison, you and your Eternals advance towards the target. You lead from the front, just like the old days\u2026\n\nYour juggernauts rumble past the sides of your army and then that\u2019s when you finally hear him in your head\u2026\n\n\u201cThis will not end well for you, Eternal. Turn back from this path now, or suffer the same fate as your father Casimir.\u201d\n\nNaturally you ignore this pitiful attempt at stopping you, so Nicodemus finally unleashes his defenses.\n\nSeveral undead rise up out of the ground. Not just the normal type either, these are the remains of some sort of long dead gigantic beasts that must\u2019ve once roamed this island. They are accompanied by the appearance of several ghostly forms. Wraiths and spectres with their ability to drain life with a mere touch.\n\nTo your far left and far right, hordes of skeletons and zombies come popping up out of the ground. Nicodemus probably believes that you\u2019ve foolishly walked into an obvious trap, but honestly you knew something like this would happen. Your goal here is to get the book at all costs.\n\n\u201cDeath will not stop us today! But then some of you personally already know that! Destroy these abominations and take the fortress!\u201d you shout.\n\nOne of your juggernauts is already moving far ahead of your army and firing off its canon, blowing away bits of the gigantic bone horrors. Under the right circumstances you believe it would easily finish up the task, but it isn\u2019t those undead giants that are the problem, the problem lies with the wraiths and spectres who easily glide through the machine and turning it into a steel coffin by killing the crew within.\n\nYour other juggernaut decides not to engage such ghostly creatures and instead turns off to fend off the approaching undead horde to your left. Hopefully it can destroy a good chunk of them.\n\nThe undead giants still intact begin to lumber forward to meet your army while throwing large pieces of stone lying nearby. You cast a barrier in front of your army to protect against the projectiles and then throw your own projectiles in the form of fire at the giants while your army opens fire at their legs until the bone and rotting flesh that are allowing them to still stand is finally severed to a degree that the rest of their bulk goes crashing to the ground. Most of them splinter into pieces from the fall, but other continue to come at you, dragging themselves toward you with their arms. These are dispatched with a few well places magic bolts and more gunfire.\n\nWith the giants mostly taken care of, you notice the spectres and wraiths steadily approaching. You immediately drop the barrier and redirect your energy to cast an enchantment over your soldiers\u2019 hand weapons. Guns are useless against things like spectres and wraiths, but with some skill they can still be overcome by an enchanted melee weapon.\n\n\u201cPrepare for melee and don\u2019t let them touch you!\u201d you shout.\n\nThe unearthly howls and shrieks by the ghostly assaliants fill your ears as you blast them with your magic bolts. Your dead Eternals come in very handy here as they directly engage the spectres and wraiths and try to shield their living brethren (and you) from being touched. It isn\u2019t without some casualties though and the problems increase when the horde on your right finally reaches you. Fortunately the left side seems to be preoccupied with overwhelming the juggernaut, which has now resorted to its inside mounted repeater rifles, and just trying to run them over though its wheels are starting to get jammed with body parts.\n\n\u201cFIGHT THROUGH THESE ROTTING BAGS, WE\u2019RE NEARLY THERE!\u201d you shout just in time to see several necromancers appear on the battlements and begin doing some sort of chant.\n\nSuddenly there\u2019s an aura of death around you, and it isn\u2019t just becase you\u2019re surrounded by zombies. You feel like you just walked into one of those negative zones, except this one is being forced on you.\n\nYou\u2019re old enough as it is, you can\u2019t afford to age anymore. You have to do something now because you won\u2019t even make it to the broken fortress gates at this point.\n\nYou call your Eternals to surround you and you begin to cast a spell of your own. Your living Eternals are suffering the affects of the necromancers\u2019 spell, but trying to cancel their spell through your willpower isn\u2019t going to help because they\u2019re too strong collectively.\n\nSo you rely on your traditional blast everything in the nearby area and hope it kills everything.\n\nYou bring down an inferno on not just your enemies, but you and your people as well. Though you attempt to protect some with a surrounding barrier, but you just don\u2019t have the strength to protect everyone.\n\nMost of the horde to your right are incinerated as are most of your people. There isn\u2019t even much left to \u201craise.\u201d\n\nTo your left, there is a similar sight with a pile of burned undead no longer in any condition to pose a threat, though the juggernaut sits still and completely blackened by the rain of fire. The crew inside has no doubt cooked to death.\n\nMost importantly are the effects you see in front of you. You no longer see the row of necromancers and no longer feel the effects of their spell. The ruined fortess is also partially on fire, but it being made of stone it isn\u2019t doing much more than cracking the already damaged structure.\n\nYou\u2019re incredibly drained however. This battle has really taken it out of you and you\u2019ve still got Nicodemus and who knows what else to deal with. General Damon still by your side helps you from falling down. The Eternals that are still alive are finishing up putting down the undead that managed to survive by being within your protective barrier when you cast it.\n\n\u201cCome on, my Emperor. As you said, we\u2019re almost there.\u201d He says.\n\nThere are other necromantic arts that you\u2019ve learned besides raising your Eternals, though you haven\u2019t really pondered using them since there wasn\u2019t any need or you still didn\u2019t really have mastery over them.\n\nOne of these was emulating the life drain of some of the undead here.\n\nAnd suddenly you\u2019re actually pondering draining your own Eternals of their lifeforce to sustain your own. The thought does not give you any pleasure to do so, but you just aren\u2019t sure if you\u2019re going to make it otherwise.", "action_results": [{"action": "Drain the living", "result": "If there were any other way, you\u2019d do it, but there isn\u2019t. You set out on this task with the mindset of achieving it at all costs. And if this task involves the death of ALL your troops, then so be it. They will have died in honor of the Empire and their Emperor.\n\nThe irony isn\u2019t lost on you that you\u2019ll be essentially doing something similar to what Casimir was planning on doing with you.\n\n\u201cDamon, your service to me will always be remembered.\u201d You say and then tighten your grip on him as he continues to prop you up. Before he can reply, you begin the process. It happens so quick that he doesn\u2019t even have time to struggle or cry out. His body falls to the ground a drained husk.\n\nYou feel a little better, but far from full strength. Your remaining Eternals stand nearby in utter shock. You know several of them were always a little uncomfortable with the fact that you could raise the dead, all of them accept the idea that they are to die in battle for you\u2026but this a little different. They aren\u2019t sure what to think.\n\n\u201cEternals! My children! An Eternal\u2019s life is dedicated utterly to the Empire and by proxy it\u2019s Emperor! Do not hesitate before your Emperor! Your FATHER. In order for me to defeat my enemies, I need you! I need you all as I always have! I cannot do this alone and I willingly admit it for there is no shame in a father needing the help of his children! It is true your bodies will die today, but all of you will LIVE on through me. Are YOU not willing to fulfill your oaths to make the ultimate sacrifice for me? Are you not deserving of the name ETERNAL?\u201d you shout.\n\nThere is a slight silence after your speech and for a moment you believe you\u2019re going to have to take what you need by force, but just as you foolishly did when Casimir asked it of you, all your remaining Eternals willing step forward and bow to you on one knee accepting their fate.\n\n\u201cIf it is your will my Emperor that we die to today so that you may achieve victory, then we accept our fates with dignity.\u201d\n\nBlind loyalty, it\u2019s a beautiful thing\u2026\n\nWithout another word you proceed to drain the life force of your Eternals. To their credit, most of them make a minimum of sound as they die. One by one they fall to the ground as husks.\n\nYou on the other hand begin to feel a lot better in fact you believe you\u2019ve actually turned back the clock a bit! You don\u2019t have a mirror to look at your face, but your hands aren\u2019t as wrinkled anymore and when you go to touch your face, you feel less wrinkles there as well. You don\u2019t even feel all normal aches and pains you\u2019ve gained through old age. (They\u2019re still there though)\n\nWhile you\u2019re marveling at this magic feat, you hear that voice in your head again\u2026\n\n\u201cYou didn\u2019t heed anything I tried to tell you, did you Eternal? If Casimir were still here, I\u2019m sure he\u2019d be proud that he molded a near perfect copy of himself. Enter then\u2026let us get this over with so that you may learn how futile all your plans have been. It will be the black trap door to the far left once your enter the fortress. I think the fire from your little inferno rain has died down around it by now. Down the ladder and straight ahead to the large room. Can\u2019t miss it.\u201d Nicodemus says.\n\nThe tone in Nicodemus\u2019 voice is almost one of boredom. He either doesn\u2019t believe you\u2019ll be any serious threat against him or either that he\u2019s just as eager to put an end to this conflict once and for all.\n\nYou\u2019re not going down there completely alone though. With a little effort, you raise a few of your recently drained Eternals back from the dead. As usual, they no longer retain any \u201cpersonality\u201d they just exist to follow your commands. Sort of how they were trained to do in life actually.\n\nWhile you\u2019re doing all this, you can\u2019t help but feel like you\u2019re still being watched or there is another presence here and you don\u2019t mean Nicodemus.\n\nYou enter the ruined fortress, which still has a few minor fires burning, but nothing dangerous. You see the trapdoor where Nicodemus mentioned it and go a few more steps before stopping.\n\n\u201cSemra\u2026I know you\u2019re here thanks to our little mind link.\u201d You say looking up and around for her.\n\nSemra materializes between you and the trapdoor and your dead Eternals stand ready.\n\n\u201cSo let me guess, you\u2019re here to distract me or waste my time while Nicodemus sneaks away to take the book elsewhere?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cActually I\u2019m here to stop you from taking it period since I\u2019m the only one who seems to actually care about this world anymore.\u201d\n\u201cYou care about the world? Since when?\u201d\n\u201cMy dear Eternal, I care about the world when it\u2019s about to be destroyed by a short sighted mistake that has delusions of grandeur and a serious case of megalomania.\u201d\n\u201cWhen you say mistake, do you mean me specifically or your actions that allowed me to live in the first place?\u201d\n\u201cBoth I suppose. I know I should just try to kill you, but somehow the maternal instinct in me just makes it difficult sometimes\u2026\u201d Semra steps forward, but when she sees that you (and your Eternals) are not about to let her get any closer she backs away again.\n\n\u201cOh right, that\u2019s why you\u2019ve been sending svelk warbands to continually try to kill me.\u201d You say.\n\u201cPfft. You know as well as I do, you were never in any real danger\u2026well no danger you couldn\u2019t handle anyway. If I really wanted to kill you, I would\u2019ve made a better effort don\u2019t you think?\u201d\n\u201cNot really. I know you Semra, and you like playing games. Perhaps you didn\u2019t so call try hard enough because it would be more amusing to you to watch me struggle. So you did just enough to make things difficult, and figured I\u2019d either give up or if your people got lucky, then great. If not, well there was always the entire island of Mortos doing a good enough job of trying to kill me.\u201d\n\nSemra smiles a bit at your theory.\n\n\u201cWell, I suppose you do know me a little better now that our minds are so closely linked. To be fair though, I never thought you\u2019d give up. I knew you\u2019d die first if it came down to it.\u201d\n\u201cWhatever, I\u2019m tired of talking\u2026\u201d you say raising your hands to cast a spell.\n\u201cWait!\u201d Semra says backing up towards the trapdoor and getting into a defensive position.\n\u201cWHAT!?\u201d\n\u201cJust... Just hear me out okay?\u201d\n\u201cHear you\u2026Are you drunk or something?\u201d you say in exasperation.\n\u201cLook you can see into my mind that I have no trickery planned. This is just me here. I don\u2019t even have any reinforcements.\u201d\n\nSemra at this point relaxes her stance by opening her arms wide. She has completely let her guard down, physically and mentally.\n\nShe\u2019s telling the truth. There is no trickery and this isn\u2019t a delaying tactic, Nicodemus is still waiting for you. You also sense a little concern within her. You have to admit that\u2019s somewhat surprising.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019ve got a few seconds. Better make them good.\u201d You say.\n\u201cOkay. Look, don\u2019t do this. That book nearly destroyed the world before, it may or may not hold the secrets to immortality, but it also opens up a gate to the realm of the dead! You think Mortos is bad? Think about when that gate is opened up!\u201d\n\u201cYes, yes, I\u2019ve heard this horror story before. Nicodemus told me about it right after he killed Casimir. If I\u2019d had any sense, I would\u2019ve tried to take the book then and saved me all this trouble in the first place.\u201d you answer.\n\nSemra shakes her head.\n\n\u201cIf you had any sense, you\u2019d turn back right now.\u201d\n\u201cHm. I\u2019ll be sure to have that written on your tombstone, unless you\u2019re planning on running off and letting Nicodemus shoulder the responsibility of trying to kill me.\u201d\n\u201cNicodemus doesn\u2019t even give a shit anymore what you do. I\u2019m sure he\u2019s contacted you. Haven\u2019t you detected a tone of apathy in his voice?\u201d\n\nYou chuckle.\n\n\u201cAre you serious? You\u2019re saying Nicodemus has no intention of stopping me?\u201d\n\u201cNo, he doesn\u2019t. At least not anymore. He claims he\u2019s tired of life, so he\u2019s effectively given up.\u201d\n\u201cI don\u2019t believe it.\u201d\n\u201cBelieve that or don\u2019t, but one thing you better believe is that book is bad for you, me, and everyone on this fucking world. It already turned Mortos into a permanent graveyard and it eventually resulted in the destruction of my own Empire because we svelk had to make a pact with the infernal realm just to combat the utter annihilation that would\u2019ve consumed everyone. We even made a deal with the necromancers that should this problem ever get this bad again, we would assist to prevent it if possible. Never thought we\u2019d have to actually honor it though just because we didn\u2019t think anyone get close enough and be foolish enough to try again.\u201d Semra says.\n\u201cYeah\u2026the destruction of your Empire doesn\u2019t sound like a bad thing. And it wasn\u2019t the book that caused that; it was your own government\u2019s idiocy with dealing with demons in the first place. So once again, you lot were your own worst enemy.\u201d You say.\n\nSemra rubs her head in an attempt to continue to try to \u201cget through\u201d to you.\n\n\u201cLook, you won. I mean think about it, you\u2019ve unlocked some of the secrets of necromancy and even mastered some of its spells. I just saw you drain the lives of these now dead Eternals standing near you. You drained their lives and made yourself even a little younger. Think about that for a moment. You\u2019ve already ACHIEVED immortality. I mean yes, it isn\u2019t perfect and you\u2019re going to need an ongoing supply of people to sustain you, but you\u2019re the ruler of the Empire. How hard is it going to be to just shuffle in a bunch of worthless peasants, criminals, sveld, or whoever every so often to be feasted on like cattle?\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m not a wendigo or ghoul you know.\u201d You say establishing the fact that you are a lot of things, but cannibal isn\u2019t one of them.\n\u201cI don\u2019t mean literally of course, but the premise is the same.\u201d\n\nYou continue to listen while also continuing to read Semra\u2019s mind. You still sense no lying and nothing but sincerity. Unless she\u2019s found a way to lie so convincingly that she herself believes everything\u2026which you wouldn\u2019t put past her. She does have somewhat of a point about draining the life force of people being able to sustain you theoretically indefinitely.\n\n\u201cWe of course are never going to have a relationship in the way I\u2019d desire us to. We aren\u2019t even going to be friends. And one day you and I are going to finally meet on the battlefield and one of us is going to die, but I tell you\u2026no I BEG you\u2026DO NOT do this thing. This path will lead to all of our ruin and nobody will win save for death itself.\u201d\n\nSemra looks on at you expecting your response.", "action_results": [{"action": "Turn back", "result": "Maybe it\u2019s due to sensing no deception and hearing Semra actually beg you for something that does it, but she actually manages to convince you.\n\n\u201cOkay.\u201d You reply.\n\u201c\u2026Really?\u201d Semra says with a little shock.\n\u201cYou\u2019ve never lied to me Semra. You\u2019ve always had an ulterior motive, but you\u2019ve never lied. I can\u2019t even sense a hidden motive either and given your genuine concern I have to believe that there must be something to what you\u2019re saying.\u201d\n\u201cOkay\u2026so where does that leave us?\u201d\n\u201cSame as always. However since I know if I engage you in combat right now you\u2019ll just run away as soon as you start losing, so I suggest we leave this place and just chalk this up as a sign of things to come on Dokkrus.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019ll be waiting.\u201d Semra says.\n\nThe pair of you linger a few seconds looking at each other before you back away releasing control of your dead Eternals and allowing them to fall to the ground. As you leave the fortress, you half expect a comment from Nicodemus in your head again, but you hear nothing though perhaps he knows you\u2019re planning on leaving because you aren\u2019t attacked by anything on your long trek back to safe territory.\n\nWhen you arrive at \u201cHome camp\u201d you\u2019re immediately seen to by the Eternal detachment that constantly guard the portals back home.\n\n\u201cEmperor are you all right?\u201d one of the Eternals asks.\n\u201cI\u2019m fine. Start telling people to pull out of here, I got what I came for.\u201d You say and return to Evigrus where the aura is a lot livelier and a lot less oppressive.\n\nYou have a kind of immortality now. It isn\u2019t perfect, but you believe that it should work for your purposes. Having solved the problem of dying via old age, you decide to set up your next major plan. Invading Dokkrus.\n\nYear 80\n\n\u201cSo you\u2019re sure Semra is in this fortress you speak of?\u201d you ask Cassandra.\n\u201cYes Emperor. We\u2019ve seen her going into and out of the place several times now.\u201d\n\u201cGood, hopefully we can get her before this time before she runs off again. Let\u2019s try to capture more svelk this time as well, I think I\u2019ll need a bit of a recharge after this is over. The life force of the svelk is so\u2026 invigorating.\u201d\n\u201cIf you say so my Emperor.\u201d Cassandra answers shuffling a bit nervously.\n\nSince you\u2019ve been here on Dokkrus you\u2019ve been killing two harpies with one stone by draining svelk to sustain yourself. They\u2019re a great target for your purposes. They\u2019re your enemy for one, but due to their long life spans they sustain you a lot longer than a shorter lived race like humans for example.\n\nStill even with this advantage, as the years have gone on you\u2019ve noticed a need to drain more svelk with more frequency just to sustain yourself. It is probably this past time that has Cassandra a bit nervous given that she\u2019s an elf herself. It is a bit of a slight concern for yourself as well because you didn\u2019t think this was going to be quite the problem it currently is becoming.\n\nIn any event, you\u2019re fine for now and even after you go kill Semra there are more than enough svelk to round up, a whole continent full of them. Maybe you could even do something similar to them like what Casimir did with the gnomes.\n\nWasting no more time, you order an assault upon the fortress where Semra was last located. The siege goes fairly quickly, Semra must be running out of powerful svelk mages to give you a challenge anymore.\n\nWhen you get inside the fortress, you attempt to follow your inherent sense of where she might be, eventually you get to her private chambers where you\u2019re beginning to sense her very strongly. Meanwhile a few of your Eternals catch up to you saying that they and the rest have been tearing the place up looking for Semra but say she\u2019s nowhere to be found.\n\n\u201cNo\u2026she\u2019s here. I can sense her. In fact she\u2019s so close I can almost touch her. Go search again, I\u2019ll stay here and have a look around.\u201d You say to your Eternals who immediately follow your commands and leave.\n\nClosing the door behind you make your next move.\n\n\u201cOkay Semra, you can show yourself now. Come on now I know you\u2019re here. No need to be shy, it\u2019s just me and you. We won\u2019t be disturbed and it won\u2019t take long.\u201d You say.\n\nAt that moment Semra does indeed show herself and she materializes in front of you sitting on her bed.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m guessing you don\u2019t mean sex.\u201d She says.\n\u201cOh no, the only penetration you\u2019re going to feel today is this.\u201d You say and brandish the mithril dagger.\n\n\u201cMy gift to you. I\u2019m still surprised you have it.\u201d Semra remarks.\n\u201cI made a promise I was going to one day stick this inside you and I aim to keep it.\u201d You say and start approaching her. Semra still makes no attempt at aggression you can\u2019t even detect any such thoughts in her head. In fact from what you can tell from her body language and her mind she\u2019s resigned herself into giving herself up to you.\n\n\u201cI thought you\u2019d put up more of a fight than this.\u201d You remark now in front of her.\n\u201cWhat for? At this point your power has grown to be greater than mine. I can\u2019t beat you. You\u2019ve already destroyed a portion of Dokkrus and made it hard enough for me to ever build up another force to oppose you again. And as you might have been able to tell I\u2019m tired of running. You\u2019ll just hunt me down again and since our minds have been linked its much easier for you now.\u201d\n\nAt this point Semra stands up from the bed.\n\n\u201cSo kill me now and fulfill all your desires since the day I first tormented you in class. Carry out all the revenge you\u2019ve ever wanted due to my action\u2026I only have one request.\u201d\n\u201cOh?\u201d\n\u201cYou told me that you\u2019d give me one last kiss as you stuck the knife in. That\u2019s my last wish.\u201d\n\nSame old Semra.\n\n\u201cVery well, as you wish then\u2026Mistress.\u201d\n\nYou and Semra look at each for a moment in silence perhaps even wondering if things had been different\u2026just maybe you two would have been an item in some strange way.\n\nYour lips press against Semra\u2019s own and your dagger plunges into her stomach. As she stifles calling out in pain, you begin draining her life force. She manages to put both arms around you at this point.\n\nWith the pair of you still embraced in a death kiss and your knife still being twisted inside her, you begin to feel her life force reinvigorating you.\n\nAnd then you don\u2019t and then you begin to feel the exact opposite\u2026\n\nSemra is starting to drain you! You attempt to pull away, but Semra squeezes on to you tighter and jumps up to wrap her legs around your waist as well.\n\nYou don\u2019t know how this is possible, you detected no malicious intent and Semra never had this sort of ability, she didn\u2019t having any necromantic powers.\n\nOr at least she didn\u2019t when you last met her.\n\n\u201cOh my dear sweet trusting Eternal, there were a few tricks that Nicodemus taught me before I took my own leave of Mortos. I have to admit though neither one of us expected you to listen to me back then. Even with extensively training myself to block you out of my deepest thoughts despite our link, I still didn\u2019t think you\u2019d listen to me having always been mistrustful of me in the past. Funny that the one time that you believed me to be completely truthful is the one time you should\u2019ve trusted your suspicious nature.\u201d\n\nYou attempt to slam Semra into a wall and furniture, but it doesn\u2019t get her off of you. You try to twist the dagger deeper inside her, but she bears the pain. You even try to punch her in the head, but by that time your punches aren\u2019t enough to stop her.\n\nEventually you lose enough energy that you fall to the floor with Semra still on top of you. Feeling very dizzy you see Semra pull the dagger out of her stomach.\n\n\u201cAh shit, (pant) that\u2019s going to require some healing\u2026glad I just recharged. Still could use a bit more though\u2026shhhhh just let this happen lover.\u201d\n\nYou weakly try to get her off of you, but Semra easily pins both of your hands down on the floor. Semra then moves her body downward on to yours. Face to face, you lay helplessly before her.\n\n\u201cRemember this.\u201d She says and kisses you one last time and soon you are utterly drained to a husk and Semra has once again escaped long before anyone arrives to help you.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Press forward", "result": "Semra\u2019s words aren\u2019t entirely lost on you. However, she either has overlooked one thing or again, managed to lie so convincingly that she\u2019s allowed her mind to believe it to be the truth.\n\n\u201cNice idea Semra, very nice idea. I think perhaps even you believe it. There\u2019s just one problem with it. I lose most of my necromantic powers as soon as I leave Mortos. The whole reason for Casimir\u2019s return here was because the necromantic energy weakened the longer he stayed away from Mortos. He was a resident here and master necromancer and he only used his own powers sparingly in order to keep himself alive for so long.\u201d You say.\n\nSemra\u2019s expression changes to one of disappointed as you continue to speak.\n\n\u201cI on the other hand have only just begun to dabble in the necromantic arts and I\u2019m no native to this land. Currently the necromantic energy is sustaining me, but I know I\u2019m going to start aging again perhaps even more rapidly now that I\u2019ve abused its power to keep myself alive. Even if I DO manage to sustain myself through necromancy, it\u2019s a habit of diminishing returns. Nicodemus told me that and Casimir certainly knew it. That\u2019s why he wanted that book. It was the answer to everything.\u201d\n\nRealizing how this is going to end, Semra prepares to defend herself.\n\n\u201cIf I turn back now, I\u2019ll live maybe a few decades longer perhaps? Maybe even a hundred after draining a few thousand people maybe? And while I have no qualms about such a thing, it\u2019s not really going to solve my problem now is it? If anything it might cause rebellions and eventually I\u2019ll still weaken and die to the ravages of time. So why turn back now? What have I got to lose?\u201d\n\nYou begin to cast a spell and Semra does likewise. Your undead Eternals move forward towards her.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ve already got one foot in the grave.\u201d\n\nYou unleash a blast of frost towards Semra, who blocks with a magical barrier. Your undead eternals are undeterred by the frost and move within range to attack. She has to temporary drop the barrier in order to defend herself effectively as they attempt to surround her.\n\nSomehow despite suffering a semi-hit from your frost spell, she dodges and weaves enough to avoid your Eternal\u2019s attacks. She cuts down one of your Eternals and tries to lob a piece of heavy stone at you via telekinesis, but to her surprise you manage to stop it in mid air where upon it falls uselessly to the ground.\n\n\u201cThere are so many things I\u2019ve learned since our minds have grown closer\u2026\u201d you say and then produce a poisonous cloud at her. It catches her just enough to make her gag and cough before jumping and climbing to the top of the broken wall behind her.\n\n\u201cOpen that trapdoor!\u201d you command one of your Eternals to do while you try to blast Semra with fireballs as she jumps from crumbling piece of block to crumbling piece of block.\n\nShe returns fire with a lightning bolt, but you quickly put up a barrier and focus your energy to that the barrier actually repells the bolt back. It misses her, but in her effort to dodge, she loses her balance and falls backwards off the piece of wall she was standing on. She\u2019s most likely still alive, but you\u2019re not wasting any more time with her. Seeing that the gas cloud has disapated, you rush down into the now open trapdoor and order your Eternals to follow. When you get to the bottom, you tell them to shut it and to wait and kill anything that tries to enter.\n\nYou run down the long dark corridor, ignoring the several alcoves to your left and right. You half expect something to attack you like a ghoul, but nothing does and eventually you reach the large room that Nicodemus told you about.\n\nThe room is dimly lit and furnished in a similar style that Casimir had his room furnished. You even see smaller versions of the two large skeleton warrior statues that still exist outside his old chambers. It\u2019s actually fairly nice looking compared to well\u2026almost anything in Mortos.\n\nTo your left you see Nicodemus sitting in a very luxurious looking chair. The man looks older, though he was old looking when you first met him, but this \u201cold\u201d definitely looks like tired accompanies the status. In fact he almost looks like he\u2019s asleep, he stirs awake when you walk acouple more steps in the room.\n\n\u201cOh, it\u2019s you. Apologies. I was just resting my eyes. Hrm. Took you long enough to get here, I imagine Semra tried to stop you. I told her not to bother and just let the inevitable happen. I mean she\u2019s a svelk, she\u2019s lived and enjoyed more lifetimes than most beings have anyway. Sometimes you just have to know when to let go.\u201d Nicodemus says.\n\u201cFrom what she told me, that\u2019s what you\u2019ve decided to do.\u201d You reply.\n\u201cYes, I imagine I have. It surprised me as well having kept such a close protection of this book for centuries. Granted most of those were from other necromancers similar to Casimir. You\u2019re the first outsider to attempt it. You\u2019re also the only one who is about to succeed as well. I guess congratulations is in order.\u201d\n\u201cAnd I\u2019m expected to believe you just changed your mind? That you\u2019re just going to let me take the book? You just had a small army try to stop me.\u201d\n\u201cEh, not really my idea. I mean I wasn\u2019t opposed to it, but my fellow necromancers thought that they\u2019d make the effort to stop you. They all were a little younger than me, so I can\u2019t blame their dedication to protecting the book. As for me, I\u2019ve gotten to the point where I\u2019m tired and no longer care. I\u2019d lecture you again, but I did that the first time you visited and given your determination, there is nothing I can say now that would change your mind. I could kill you with little effort, but I\u2019m done with trying to stop you and your type from taking it. I think by the time you started rolling in those large steel machines of yours that was the point where I began to think what\u2019s the use? This man isn\u2019t going to stop short of his own personal death and even then someone like him will try again eventually. If this is the type of world where nobody can ever learn the simplest of lessons then maybe its better off dead.\u201d\n\nNicodemus shifts a bit in his chair and relaxes a bit more. Nearby you see the infamous book on a table near him. You approach cautiously forward.\n\n\u201cYes, there it is. Take it. Kill me first if it makes you feel any safer, I won\u2019t put up any resistance.\u201d\n\nYou hesistate at Nicodemus\u2019 willingness to let you have the book. It has to be a trick.\n\n\u201cWell what are you waiting for Eternal? Why do you hesitate? Kill me, take the book and leave! That\u2019s the goal right? Well do it!\u201d Nicodemus demands with a raised voice.\n\nSeeing not much else to do, you oblige him. You blast Nicodemus with a lightning bolt to his head exploding it like a ripe melon. His headless body remains slumped in its seat motionless.\n\nYou briskly walk over to the table and grab the book. You half expect something horrible to befall you, but nothing happens. You glance through the book and it appears to be the same one that Casimir had. You definitely feel a faint surge of power just by handling it.\n\nWith nothing else to do, you leave this room and head back the way you came. You find that your Eternals still waiting for you, you\u2019re somewhat surprised that Semra didn\u2019t make another attempt to stop you.\n\nThough that thought soon goes away when one of your Eternals pops up from the trapdoor and from the bottom of the ladder you see him blasted to pieces by a magic bolt.\n\nShielding yourself from the falling pieces of your undead soldier you rapidly ascend the ladder where you cast a barrier to block Semra\u2019s attempts at sniping you. Blocking her magic, you scramble to a better location so you can allow the rest of you Eternals to climb up to help you.\n\n\u201cYou were right Semra, Nicodemus didn\u2019t try to stop me. This seems like destiny to me. Like I was meant to have this book! Why do you hate destiny?\u201d you shout in a taunting fashion.\n\nSemra makes no response back; she just continues to try to kill you. Looks like she\u2019s gotten over her whole \u201cmaternal\u201d feeling towards you. You return the favor and the pair of you must combat each other for several minutes running and dodging and flinging spells at one another.\n\nHonestly you\u2019d try to end your feud with her right then and there, but during the battle you notice another army approaching in the distance. Not one of your own either, it\u2019s another undead horde and you can\u2019t fight Semra AND an entire undead army practically all by yourself.\n\nSo you decide that escape is the order of the day and Semra\u2019s death will have to be another. After all you have your prize, better you should leave with it now.\n\nYou collapse a small tower within the fortress with a well placed lightning bolt. Semra happens to be standing nearby it fortunately causing her to focus on saving her own life. In the meantime you order your Eternals to stay behind and find her to finish her off. You know that they will fail, but it will give you time to make a hasty retreat from the advancing undead horde.\n\nIt is a long journey back to \u201csafe\u201d territory. You try to keep a low profile most of the way, though no matter how well you try to avoid attention, inevitably a pack of hungry gibbering ghouls always seems to find you. Fortunately they\u2019re in manageable numbers and you manage to make it back without major problems.\n\nWhen you arrive at \u201cHome camp\u201d you\u2019re immediately seen to by the Eternal detachment that constantly guard the portals back home. They make a fuss, but you assure them that you\u2019re fine and that you just need to get back home right now.\n\nWithout too many more words, you enter the portal back home and you\u2019re suddenly back in Evigrus where the aura is much more lively and a lot less oppressive.\n\nAnd with you now is the book that Casimir wanted so badly and several others tried to prevent you from having. The same book that you have clutched under your arm. The key to immortality.\n\nYou begin to glance through it and while you don\u2019t understand all of it, you feel the power contained within. It\u2019s almost as if the book wants you to master it.\n\nA challenge you will gladly undertake.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 80\n\n\u201cSo you\u2019re really going to do it?\u201d Cassandra asks while lying in bed next to you.\n\u201cThat was sort of the point of going to Mortos in the first place.\u201d You answer.\n\u201cTrue I suppose. I really hated it there. I mean killing and capturing svelk was about the only thing that was remotely enjoyable. I was pretty glad you eventually sent all the Eyes back home.\u201d\n\nYou get up out of bed to get your day started.\n\n\u201cAh, shit.\u201d You say feeling an ache in your back.\n\u201cAre you alright? I thought you\u2026um\u2026replenished yourself recently.\u201d\n\u201cIf by replenished you mean drained the lives of twenty of my citizens last month then yes I did, but as I\u2019ve told you before, it doesn\u2019t last long and it wears out quicker as the years have gone on. Not to mention humans don\u2019t exactly have the most sustaining life forces to begin with so it takes more of them just to turn back the clock a few decades.\u201d\n\nAs you look in the mirror at yourself trying to determine if you need to \u201crecharge\u201d today, Cassandra doesn\u2019t pursue that line of questioning anymore. She knows that elves being long-lived creatures would probably require less effort on your part and sustain you longer. In fact that\u2019s probably why she started to show \u201cattraction\u201d towards you a few years ago. She\u2019d never admit it, but she fears that you\u2019ll suddenly start rounding up elves and draining them instead.\n\nWhile it definitely had occurred to you to do so, you tended to limit it to just a few since they still don\u2019t have the largest of populations and you had no idea how long you\u2019d have to \u201cration out\u201d the lives of your citizens before you could unlock all the secrets of the book. Cassandra probably believes she\u2019s \u201cswaying\u201d you through sex though.\n\nGnomes probably REALLY feared being rounded up, but fortunately for them you still respect their engineering skills and you don\u2019t have a gnome fetish like Casimir did. Besides, ever since your human engineer losses in Mortos and Elam dying last year (Another rarity via natural causes), you need all the skilled engineers you can get.\n\nAs for your \u201crelationship\u201d with Cassandra you have no love for her, a mild fondness, a respect for her abilities and her usefulness, but nothing more. You\u2019re fairly certain Cassandra has no true love for you either. Respect and loyalty sure, a desire to place herself in a higher and \u201csafer\u201d position, most definitely, but she does not love you.\n\nPart of you has wondered if you reciprocated her advances in the first place was because she was an elf. Besides the natural attractiveness common to their race, she very faintly reminds you of Semra. Not in personality or even looks, but she\u2019s an elf and it\u2019s close enough.\n\n\u201cI am seriously fucked up.\u201d You mumble to yourself as you think about that again.\n\u201cWhat did you say?\u201d Cassandra asks.\n\u201cNothing, just thinking about something. You better get dressed, I\u2019m going to need you and the Eyes on full alert for this thing.\u201d You say which stirs Cassandra to get up and follow your lead in getting dressed.\n\n\u201cEmperor, the\u2026subjects are currently all being held at the ritual pyramid in the Usksha Desert, all ten thousand of them are still alive and restrained. I know I\u2019ve told you this before, but Empire citizens\u2019 have not been calm about this. Most don\u2019t even know exactly what you\u2019re planning, but they\u2019re already coming up with stories and most of which are not too far off from the truth. The Eyes have been working overtime in keeping the peace, but I fear that a rebellion of some sort will be inevitable. Most likely in Rask and Nakol province, perhaps even in the Tral province.\u201d\n\u201cThe citizens\u2019 would like it even less if I continued to just drain random people at a greater rate eventually exceeding ten thousand. This ritual is going to prevent having to do that anymore. After it\u2019s done, we can deal with the civil unrest and in time Dokkrus as well.\u201d\n\nCassandra smiles a bit when she hears that, you know she\u2019s probably been eager to go kill more svelk again.\n\n\u201cI always meant to ask, but why is this to be performed in Usksha?\u201d Cassandra says.\n\u201cNo major settlements nearby and it isn\u2019t like the usksha nomads are a problem anymore. Haven\u2019t even had a sandworm pop up in decades. I thought about the plains of Tor, since there was nice flat land there to build the pyramid, but the Usksha desert works just as well. Besides, this is only going to be necessary once. No need to have the pyramid any more afterwards and it\u2019ll be cheaper to just let the sands consume everything rather than having to tear it down and having crews to dispose of all the bodies.\u201d\n\u201cCouldn\u2019t you just animate them to walk into the ocean or something?\u201d\n\u201cHah, I\u2019m sure a dead march to the ocean is just what the already agitated citizens\u2019 would want to see.\u201d You chuckle.\n\n\u201cNo, this is a better way. To be honest raising the dead takes a great deal of willpower and I find it to be a waste of the time and energy. I mean I did it to a limited degree in Mortos with the fallen Eternals because it bolstered the ranks and using the dead negated some of the advantages the necromancers had. Personally though I\u2019d rather just cast a rain of fire down or chain lightning to directly harm my enemies. I don\u2019t need unreliable rotting corpses to do my work.\u201d You say.\n\nCassandra nods at your answer and the pair of you are off to the Usksha Desert.\n\nEven before your carriage reaches the desert the black pyramid is visible from the Nalin border. The closer you get the more it looms ominously.\n\nThere are grim deeds going to be performed this day and night and well\u2026until the ritual is complete.\n\nThe necromancers of Mortos didn\u2019t need as many sacrifices when they attempted this ritual since there were a lot more of them to perform it and support each other\u2019s magical energy. They were also more skilled. You are just one man that has tried to shove as much necromantic knowledge into your head in just a few years. You sometimes wonder if this is indeed a fool\u2019s errand.\n\nBut you\u2019ve gone over the rites, you\u2019ve gone over the symbols, the steps, made allowances for your unique situation, and of course had a big ass pyramid built just to accomplish all this. You don\u2019t think you could be any more ready.\n\nWhen you arrive at the ritual pyramid, several Eternals stand ready for your commands. There are so few of them left now and they\u2019re all fourth gens. It wasn\u2019t but a decade ago that together with the third gens, Eternals were nearly two thousand strong. When this is all over, you really need to get that project back on track again. Too bad Elam isn\u2019t still around to carry out some of his theories, but maybe he left some notes in that now abandoned workshop of his.\n\n\u201cThe sacrifices are inside the pyramid, my Emperor. All we await is you to take your place and begin.\u201d An Eternal says when you exit the carriage.\n\u201cVery good, we will begin soon.\u201d You reply as you shield your eyes to look up at the pyramid which does look pretty impressive this close up.\u201d\n\nCassandra begins to leave the carriage, but you stop her from doing so.\n\n\u201cCassandra, why don\u2019t you head back. I don\u2019t think you\u2019re going to want to be here for this. Not because I don\u2019t think you can\u2019t handle it, but because it\u2019s going to take awhile and I\u2019d rather have you keeping a check on the potential civil unrest situation you\u2019ve been concerned about. I mean other than my Eternals here, you\u2019re about the only person I can truly trust and rely on anymore.\u201d\n\u201cVery well, and thank you my Emperor.\u201d Cassandra says and kisses you before getting back inside the carriage.\n\nWith Cassandra on her way back, you begin to make the long climb up the pyramid feeling the aches the entire time. You\u2019ll be glad to put an end to that soon. When you finally get to the top, you take a short breather and accept the water that a nearby Eternal hands you.\n\n\u201cShit, that sun is a killer. Maybe I should\u2019ve had this built on the Tor plains after all. (Whew) All right then let\u2019s get on with this. Bring out the first sacrifice.\u201d You say and a couple of your Eternals nod and go through the entryway to carry out your orders.\n\nWhile you wait you place the ritual book on a nearby stone podium and examine the sacrificial altar and the symbols you had etched into it. The altar itself was designed to be sturdy, but also has a slight elegance to it. The craftsman really put some artistic touches to it. You aren\u2019t normally one to admire something like that, but in this case you do.\n\nAs the screams of your first sacrifice get closer you draw out your mithril dagger. Ah this dagger has certainly been with you a long time. Saved your life more than a few times too.\n\nStill, you only keep it for one reason. As a reminder to end Semra\u2019s life with it one day. (Yet another thing on the to do list after achieving immortality)\n\nYour Eternals bring out your first sacrifice. A young elven girl. She\u2019s terrified, crying and begging for her life.\n\n\u201cWell, it\u2019s a good thing I sent Cassandra home. Pretty sure she wouldn\u2019t have wanted to see this. How many elves are there in there anyway?\u201d you ask one of the Eternals ignoring the girl\u2019s screams.\n\u201cApologies, but I\u2019m not exactly sure my Emperor. I know we brought in a lot, but we\u2019re not sure how many the Eyes brought in.\u201d\n\u201cThey most likely didn\u2019t bring in any. Probably primarily stuck to humans. So\u2026who do we have in there anyway?\u201d\n\u201cMostly humans as you might expect. They\u2019re from all over the Empire. Some elves, some kobolds, some orcs, some usksha, I know we even dragged a few ogres down here. All of them are of varying ages, colors, occupations and gender. You said the more variety from walks of life the better.\u201d\n\u201cThat\u2019s true. For some reason this will work better with more variety of life. Not exactly sure why, but I\u2019m following the instructions. Just out curiosity, any gnomes?\u201d\n\u201cWe did get a few. Tried to limit them to criminals though.\u201d\n\u201cAs long as we got a few, okay throw her on the altar and let\u2019s get started.\u201d You say.\n\nAs the girl continues to scream for her life, your Eternals place her on the altar.\n\n\u201cDid you want us to gag these people in the future?\u201d one of your Eternals asks.\n\u201cNo, apparently the terror and fear they outwardly display helps this ritual too, again don\u2019t ask me why, I\u2019m just following what was in this book\u2026shhhh\u2026I\u2019ll make this quick.\u201d You say and then chant as you bring the dagger down.\n\nWhen the deed is done and the girl\u2019s life has indeed been exstinguished, her body is thrown down the steps on the left side of the pyramid. That pile is going to get very big before this over.\n\nTime passes from day and night as one by one people are dragged for you to kill. You have to take breaks every so often and after a few days of this you even resort to draining the life of some of your Eternals just to keep your strength up.\n\nYou know its working though, you can feel it. By the time you\u2019ve passed the five thousand mark the daytime sky no has a sun beating down on you and a constant overcast hangs in the air. A sandstorm whips up and at one point it even begins to rain, which it practically never does in this desert.\n\nYou preserve through the sand and the rain as you did with the sun. The closer you get, the more you can feel your success. Eventually you don\u2019t even begin feeling tired after killing a few hundred people, you\u2019re starting to feel energized by it. Eventually you stop taking breaks and start dragging victims out yourself since your Eternals are certainly tired.\n\nBy the time you hit over nine thousand your surrounding area is in a permanent state of unnatural darkness. A blackness has covered a wide area of the desert and you\u2019re not even seeing the stars at this point, its just black like a void.\n\nAnd then finally the last victim is brought out. A miserable looking malnourished kobold who looks like he\u2019s on his last legs anyway. He\u2019s so weak that one of your Eternals picks him up by one hand and places him on the altar.\n\nYou speak the last parts of the spell and bring down the knife ending the kobold\u2019s life instantly and that\u2019s when it happens.\n\nYou feel a surge of energy like you\u2019ve never felt before. It\u2019s like when you drain the life of someone, but this is different, like a feeling of completeness. You believe its working. You don\u2019t have a mirror handy, but your hands are certainly deprived of wrinkles now and you don\u2019t have any aches or pains from age anymore.\n\n\u201cI feel it! It\u2019s working! It\u2019s\u2026\u201d you shout and then suddenly you fall to the ground and a large rumbling sound from above is heard almost to the point to it being deafening.\n\nYou are helped up by your Eternals, who begin to ask you what to do next. You look up and see several ghostly forms screaming out of the black void above. They don\u2019t attack, they just seem to hang there and float around, but that doesn\u2019t mean they won\u2019t soon.\n\n\u201cEmperor! Watch out!\u201d an Eternal shouts and hacks down the kobold you just killed.\n\nJust as Nicodemus told you what the necromancers did, just as Semra warned you, you\u2019ve opened up a gate to the Realm of the Dead.", "action_results": [{"action": "Run over to the ritual book", "result": "\u201cI can close it! I need to get over to the book!\u201d you shout and quickly run over to it and flick through the pages.\n\nYou find the page and begin to speak the words only for several of those ghostly forms to suddenly swoop down and take it. Before your eyes they rip it to pieces laughing the entire time. Pieces of the book either fly off never to be seen again or fall before you completely useless.\n\n\u201cNO!\u201d you shout helplessly and try to blast them with magic bolts. You hit some of them causing those to dissipate, but the damage is done.\n\n\u201cThe end will come soon\u2026this world has been marked on the list for a long time\u2026you have welcomed death back to it because of your hubrissssssss\u2026.\u201d One of the ghosts mocks.\n\nThe ghosts continue to taunt you as you desperately try to pick up some of the pieces that actually landed near you in the meantime your Eternals are urging that you all need to get away from the pyramid as more of these ghostly forms are starting to appear and one of them has noticed that the large pile of bodies on the left side of the pyramid is starting to animate.\n\n\u201cEmperor! We must go!\u201d\n\u201cNO! I won\u2019t be beaten! Not when I have achieved my goal, I\u2026Aaaagh!\u201d you start to say when all of a sudden you begin to feel very weak. It\u2019s not just you either; it\u2019s your Eternals too. The feeling is similar to the draining effect by undead creatures or the negative zones of Mortos. You might not be aging, but you definitely don\u2019t feel well, in fact you feel like you\u2019re going to die and given how close to death you\u2019ve been on several occasions, you\u2019re very familiar with what that feels like. In fact, you\u2019re reminded of the time when Cyrus nearly killed you. Feels like that.\n\nRealizing that standing to fight isn\u2019t going to work, you listen to your Eternals and begin down the pyramid steps to your right. Though you make sure to be careful since you\u2019re dizzy and feel like you\u2019re going to tumble at any time.\n\nWhen you get to the bottom, you see more spirits and the like pour out of the black void above the pyramid and the pile of bodies that were one dead have now begun to shuffle around their original area to the other side where you are currently at. You attempt to control the slowly advancing horde in perhaps an effort to turn some against each other, but your spell has absolutely no effect and it\u2019s like some greater force is controlling them. It\u2019s Mortos all over again.\n\nAfter dispatching the closest ones by the more traditional sword, gunYou and your remaining Eternals make haste through the desert towards the Nalin border. The more distance you put between you and the pyramid makes you feel a little better, but you\u2019re also concerned. You\u2019re supposed to be immortal now, and while you know that doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t feel pain, you wonder if the spell actually even worked at all because you had the very real feeling that you were going to die back there. You may have very well doomed the word for nothing.\n\nYou try not to not to think about it for now, you\u2019ll have plenty of time to dwell on it when you get back to civilization.\n\nWhen you do reach the closest village in Nalin, the peasants there are so far unaware of the impending danger, but many of them have begun feeling scared since even from this distance they can see the large blackness that has unnaturally gathered above the pyramid in the distance. You make a short announcement in the middle of the village.\n\n\u201cPeople of this village, listen to your Emperor. There is a darkness coming in this direction and it will consume you and everything within if you stay here. I\u2019d advise you all to move on to one of the larger cities for safety if you can. Do not give into fear and stay strong and you will survive this. The Empire WILL survive this.\u201d\n\nHaving little else to say, you move on leaving the villagers to heed your advice. You proceed to do this with every settlement you move through on your way back to the capital and urge the bigger ones to start sending out messengers to other settlements to warn people as well.\n\nWhen you get to the capital, you\u2019re immediately giving orders to make this situation news throughout the Empire. If there was civil unrest before there probably will be more of it, but keeping people in the dark until the dead are beating down their door is likely to result in unreadiness and lead to more causalities which will in turn\u2026result in more undead.\n\nSteps are taken to completely eradicate the dangers of the dead rising up when you have the graveyards ordered to be dug up in all major cities and the bodies burned immediately (The kobolds are the main ones that take care of this task)\n\nIt is a grim day indeed though when you have the cemetery of Empire heroes cleansed. The final resting place of some of your closest former companions is broken open and their bodies destroyed. In those cases you do the job yourself, because well they deserve that much.\n\nBut better it should be this way than for them to rise up as some undead monster that will no longer the person you knew any more.\n\nDespite these steps, the Empire is a large place and not every small village or hamlet can be accounted for and that\u2019s not even counting Nyttrus which only gets the news weeks later when the first reports of the dead rising up from their graves starts.\n\nWorse is the fact that another large void similar to the one in the Usksha Desert has opened up near New Dessel. When it did, the effect was sudden and instant. Several airships were destroyed in the area. This so far hasn\u2019t happened anywhere else (yet) but you wonder if its due to the portals to Mortos being located there. Perhaps some sort of thinner barrier between the dead and living there or something.\n\nWhatever the reason New Dessel itself has gone silent. It can be assumed everyone there has decided to lock themselves up in the mountain, but all attempts to send people to investigate have failed. Either the hostile spirits screaming out of the void are too overwhelming or the investigators don\u2019t come back at all. The ones have managed to come back also report of a life draining effect they feel as soon as they enter the area. Their description is similar to what you felt back at the pyramid.\n\nIt\u2019s a major loss considering the importance of New Dessel. You were considering making a trip to Mortos to ask the necromancers for help since only they might know how to stop this, but with the portals either destroyed or inaccessible now that\u2019s no longer an option. (And given your last visit it\u2019s probably unlikely they would\u2019ve helped anyway)\n\nWhile you initially believed that more civil unrest would follow this catastrophe, you\u2019ve surprisingly found that hasn\u2019t been the case, if anything this event has caused people to band together. While you don\u2019t doubt that a lot blame you for this there remains a greater fear of this undead plague and a slight hope that you MIGHT be the only one to save from it. In short, they don\u2019t really have many other options, because going it alone without the help of the Empire would surely be suicide.\n\nWith few options of your own, you rally a general state of emergency and the war against the dead begins in full swing. You can\u2019t be everywhere at once, but you try your best and fend off major attacks personally when you can.\n\nYear 90\n\nYou stare at the portrait of your beloved Alison. As much as you\u2019ve always missed her, a part of you is glad that she perhaps isn\u2019t still around to see what you\u2019ve done.\n\nWould she have still stood by your side? Would she have tried to stop you? Would you have even bothered with any of this had she still been alive?\n\nLike many questions that rely on \u201cwhat if\u201d the answers are irrelevant because what they are is not reality.\n\nYou tear yourself away from Alison\u2019s portrait for a moment to glance into the mirror to your left.\n\nA young face stares back at you. An Eternal in his prime ready to conquer the world. The problem is you\u2019re no longer in any position to do so, for something else is doing it better than you ever could.\n\nYou think about all you\u2019ve lost within the short time you\u2019ve achieved \u201cimmortality.\u201d\n\nYou lost contact with Nyttrus years ago, and you don\u2019t know what\u2019s going on there now. Who knows if anything still lives on that jungle continent.\n\nSeveral more voids in the sky began appearing, releasing more undead into your realm and draining the life energy of the living. Entire provinces at this point have now been depopulated leaving only the dead behind, some provinces like Nakol have been cut off from you. Rask and Delerg are the only places left of the Empire and you imagine even that won\u2019t be true for very long. Even now a void hangs over part of Quala and everyday it grows bigger. It\u2019s only a matter of time before the entire world is completely enveloped by death.\n\nAll your Eternals are dead, along with most your Eyes and military. Cassandra herself was killed last year in the last desperate struggle to hang on to the Arat province, but it was a futile task when the enemy is literally without end.\n\nAs for you, you\u2019ve never given up the fight even though you know you\u2019re going to lose. It\u2019s inevitable, but you can\u2019t just lie down and die. You have to fight, you have to survive\u2026but you\u2019re also so tired. And it\u2019s not just from the effects of death slowly creeping up on you. There\u2019s a part of you that just wants to put away your instincts and training for a moment and do what Nicodemus did. Let nature take its inevitable course.\n\nYour introspection is cut short when one of your advisors knocks on your door rapidly.\n\n\u201cEMPEROR! EMPEROR! THE UNDEAD ARE HERE! THEY\u2019RE AT THE GATES! THEY\u2019RE ACK!\u201d a voice says being suddenly cut short and several grinning specters come through the closed door.\n\n\u201cHm, looks like they\u2019re already past the gates.\u201d You say and then unleash magic bolts at the specters sending them back to wherever they came from.\n\nThis is somewhat unexpected. While it is true there is a large amount of undead currently in Quala, there wasn\u2019t any sign of an army anywhere near the capital yet, let alone the palace. You heard no signs of battle outside or even any yelling that would denote an alarm or call to arms. And you certainly would\u2019ve been alerted long before an army was at the gates.\n\nIn fact other than this interruption, its dead quiet.\n\nAnd then a feeling of oppressive dread swarms over you followed by that draining experience. This isn\u2019t good.\n\nYou open your chamber door and see a desiccated husk in front of it. It\u2019s not animating so that\u2019s the good thing. The bad thing is when you start exploring the rest of the palace; you\u2019re finding everyone like that. Several of those specters float about the palace, which you dispatch as quick as you can, but you\u2019re still feeling weaker by the second.\n\nYou don\u2019t know what is causing this sudden drain, but it\u2019s not the specters and the void isn\u2019t near enough yet. It\u2019s something else.\n\nAnd by the time you drag yourself outside your palace you see it with your own eyes.\n\nYou see a black-cloaked figure standing in your courtyard with several bodies lying all over the place. The trees and the other plant life are completely dead as well. This thing is giving off a negative energy that is sapping you at an alarming rate. You struggle to keep standing.\n\nWhen it glides over to you, you try to cast a spell, but it fails. You draw your sword only to end up using it as a crutch to prop yourself up on.\n\nThis is it. This is death itself and you\u2019re now right in front of it.\n\n\u201cDo your worst.\u201d you say trying to prepare yourself for it to attack.\n\nTo your surprise, you get a response.\n\n\u201cOh trust me, you wouldn\u2019t like that. My worst makes your worst look like a kindness.\u201d The being says in a slightly deep voice.\n\nYou have no answer, but once again to your surprise the being speaks again.\n\n\u201cBut this is no time for threats or boasts, I have come to talk mortal.\u201d\n\u201cTalk? Are you\u2026fucking with me?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cNot at all, however I feel it would be in your best interest to listen. It would seem you have a slight difficulty in doing that at times, but then again it\u2019s never too late to change. Even in your final hour.\u201d\n\u201cI guess\u2026I don\u2019t have much of a choice\u2026\u201d you wheeze.\n\u201cGood. I understand your current condition, so I\u2019ll try to be brief. Don\u2019t worry though I\u2019ll keep you alive until we\u2019re finished.\u201d", "action_results": [{"action": "Last choice", "result": "\u201cBefore we begin, if you have any major questions, now is the time.\u201d The being says.\n\nYou have to admit, this situation is so unique that you can\u2019t help but be curious so you do decide to ask questions. (As well and somehow holding out the futile hope that you might find an advantage)\n\n\u201cAre you a god?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cI suppose I am, but in the scheme of things I am more of a collector and caretaker. Gods typically get to do fun irresponsible things like torment mortals and encouraging holy wars. Strange though, this world wasn\u2019t really high on any deity influences, the only record I can find of major divine influence here is a powerful yet non-divine being masquerading as a so called god of shadows and going by the name Dendrin and that thing left this world when you eradicated the shadows long ago.\u201d It answers.\n\u201cIsn\u2019t killing the world considered tormenting mortals?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cTo you and most others I suppose it would be, but this is really more of a necessary service. A reminder that death can\u2019t be cheated. In reality, the divine don\u2019t really want immortal types running about since it tends to threaten the status quo. If someone achieves immortality on a world then potentially someone else can do it too. Before you know it, you\u2019ve got a whole new set of beings achieving godhood and believe me; we\u2019ve got more than enough of them now. Too many really.\u201d\n\u201cHow the hell is that fair? I mean as you said these gods haven\u2019t even been paying attention to this world and yet now they do?\u201d\n\u201cWell as I said, you\u2019re a potential threat. And of course you\u2019re right. It isn\u2019t fair, but there are strict laws on this matter. Certain conditions have to apply, has to be an opening, and a bunch of boring diety debating. I didn\u2019t make them up either, they were long in place before I got this job so don\u2019t blame me. Really though your world was marked a long time ago when the Mortos necromancers attempted the same thing several centuries ago. I was so busy though with other things at the time that wasn\u2019t paying attention to just how close they were at closing the gate back up. Needless to say nobody was pleased about it and I got bitched at, but considering there wasn\u2019t any danger of someone becoming truly immortal anymore on your world I just had it marked and kept a closer eye on it.\u201d\n\nYou helplessly listen to the death god\u2019s words as the life continues to ebb from your body.\n\n\u201cKnew it wouldn\u2019t be long before someone here tried it again and then I\u2019d get this world. Figured it would be one of those Mortos necromancers, but I have to admit I didn\u2019t see someone like you doing the deed. Then again given your background maybe I shouldn\u2019t be too surprised. For a mortal you\u2019re somewhat interesting and I don\u2019t say that lightly.\u201d\n\u201cThanks\u2026I guess. Is that why you wanted to speak to me?\u201d you ask starting to feel very frail and tired.\n\n\u201cFor the most part yes, but more than that. You see despite my assigned duty, I genuinely respect mortals who have a desire to endure at all costs. I always have had an admiration for those that have a strong survival instinct and you Eternal, definitely have one of the strongest. So\u2026I am going to make a few offers to you. Unique offers that I have never given any living being before. And trust me, I\u2019ve been through this process quite a few times.\u201d\n\nYou struggle to keep standing and use your sword as a crutch to prop yourself up.\n\n\u201cWha\u2026what\u2026are\u2026my choices\u2026\u201d you weakly ask.\n\u201cWell, your first choice is obvious. You pathetically continue to oppose me. You\u2019ll inevitably lose of course. I highly recommend that you do not take this option. While I may respect a strong survival instinct, I do not respect foolishness and if you continue to fight me, that\u2019s what you\u2019ll be, a complete and utter fool. I do not think you are, but then again you just might prove me wrong. Besides dying in a fairly inglorious way your assigned afterlife will not be a pleasant one.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2026I\u2026suppose I haven\u2019t really been a good guy.\u201d You say.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s a severe understatement. In fact you alone have contributed to the deaths of so many either directly or indirectly on this world that I almost wondered if I even needed to bother showing up. But honestly your brutal politics and such aside, that isn\u2019t really what got you into trouble. Indeed there are many deities that admire and reward such behavior. Your complete and total obliteration of gnome souls however was severely frowned upon by certain deities. Those gnomes were supposed to go to a happy friendly afterlife, not get completely annihilated. Personally I don\u2019t really give a shit since I know at the time you were just following your own orders, but I like to keep the rest of the deities off my back so if you continue to piss me off by opposing me, well I\u2019ll be throwing you into that very dark painful place of which there is no hope, myself.\u201d\n\nThe death god pauses before announcing your next choice.\n\n\u201cYour second choice is a very simple one, but probably not as obvious to the likes of you. Your second choice is to simply die. Lay your burdens down and rest. I realize that something like this would be hard for a warrior such as yourself, but I can assure you that if you do, I will guarantee you a place with your long lost love Alison.\u201d\n\nYou feel a slight surge of energy within you when you hear that name.\n\n\u201cAl\u2026Alison?\u201d you utter.\n\u201cYes, Alison. Granted, you probably don\u2019t belong where she currently is, but fortunately for you I can pull a few strings to get you there. You and her will re-united at last. You will get to exist for the rest of eternity with her in perfect happiness.\u201d\n\nThe chance to be reunited with Alison does sound like a good deal, but you can\u2019t help but wonder if it\u2019s a lie or maybe there\u2019s a catch just to lay down and die without struggle. Is this a trick? And if it is a trick, does that mean the death god believes you\u2019re more powerful than he\u2019s letting on and you could potentially defeat it?\n\nIn any case you still haven\u2019t heard your third choice, which the death god begins speaking on.\n\n\u201cBut perhaps your long lost love isn\u2019t the true love that died. Perhaps your true love has always been with you in your heart. Perhaps you could potentially wish for that love affair to continue forever.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2026certainly hope you\u2026aren\u2019t talking about\u2026a certain svelk\u2026\u201d you remark.\n\nSurprisingly this causes a dark chortle from the death god.\n\n\u201cOh no\u2026not that one, Eternal. I am referring to a mistress of a more abstract nature. Your love of battle, war and bloodshed in general. That has always been a constant for you. As I have already mentioned your actions alone have either directly or indirectly caused multitudes of souls pour into my realm. I can also admire and respect a mortal that dedicated to death whether they realize it or not. Such a being could be of great use to me.\u201d\n\u201cUse?\u201d\n\u201cYes. As you may have somewhat gathered from our pleasant chat here I am an incredibly busy deity. Mortals die all the time and I have a duty to collect souls, assign them and even completely obliterate a few sometimes. This is in addition to the periods where I have a whole world to purge and when the appointed time comes, I have to personally oversee its harvest. It breaks up the monotony to be sure, but it also takes time especially when I\u2019ve got stubborn little mortals like yourself opposing me to the bitter end. Also people on other worlds don\u2019t stop dying just because I\u2019m purging another one. Souls stack up and then I get complaints from other deities saying they\u2019re missing this and that soul. The complaints don\u2019t really matter of course in the grand scheme of things, but it\u2019s not something I need to hear when I\u2019m already doing the thankless job that nobody else wants.\u201d\n\nYou never realized being a deity was so bureaucratic. You still don\u2019t quite grasp how this is your problem though. Your only problem right now is struggling to live.\n\n\u201cTell me Eternal, how would you like to be truly eternal?\u201d\n\u201cWhat\u2026do you mean?\u201d\n\u201cYou have a gift. A gift that I wouldn\u2019t mind putting to good use and this is your third choice. Beg me to make you my avatar on these world purging assignments.\u201d\n\u201cWhat?!\u201d\n\u201cI said beg me to make you my herald of death. Instead of me having to slog through a marked world, I\u2019d send you in my place. Naturally I\u2019d give you a little of my power to help you along, but I trust command over literally legions of the dead is more than enough for you to get the job done. Just think, you\u2019d get to enjoy what you truly love over and over again. Battle, war, death, and everything else that goes along with it. Best of all, you never have to worry about silly things like troop morale or morality in general, because the goal will always be the same and you will never run out of willing soldiers.\u201d\n\nNow this offer sounds really too good to be true. You can\u2019t even believe that the death god is practically offering you a place by his side.\n\n\u201cSo, wait\u2026you\u2019re saying I can join\u2026\u201d\n\u201cNo. I didn\u2019t say join\u2026I said beg. There\u2019s a difference.\u201d The death god interrupts.\n\u201cI\u2026 don\u2019t understand.\u201d You answer.\n\u201cIt\u2019s a test. A simple one really, but a test nevertheless. You are a proud being. Even when you served your Emperor with utter devotion, you were still a proud being. Again I can respect your pride. However, I can\u2019t have you believing that you\u2019re equal to me, because you aren\u2019t. Not by a long shot. I also can\u2019t have you thinking that somehow you\u2019re going to try to turn this opportunity into a way to destroy me and take over, because you can\u2019t. If this association is going to happen, I need you to humble yourself before me. Only then can I fully trust you because an oath will have been made. Such things are impossible to break when the gods are watching.\u201d\n\u201cBut\u2026if I don\u2019t stand a chance anyway then why do I need to\u2026humble myself?\u201d\n\u201cLet\u2019s just say it\u2019s a formality and the principle of it. Plus I\u2019m suspicious by nature especially with a resourceful one such as yourself. Still, it is entirely up to you. I won\u2019t force you to do something you may find repulsive to your nature. But I don\u2019t think pride is in your nature. I believe war and battle is. And I believe the desire for those is a lot stronger than any pride you may have. Again though, you may prove me wrong.\u201d\n\nAnd there you have it, you\u2019ve been given your three choices, such as they are.\n\nYou\u2019ve been through a lot in your life and you never could\u2019ve imagined it would end like this. You\u2019re going to die no matter what you do that fact is certain.\n\nAnd yet this death god respects you enough to give you choices. Choices that you could\u2019ve never dreamed of, but at the same time are somewhat familiar.\n\nYou remember the very first time you had to make this choice\u2026", "action_results": [{"action": "Struggle", "result": "All you life the odds have been against you and you\u2019ve always struggled against them.\nAs weak as you are right now, you\u2019re not going to give in or lay down for the whims of some so-called \u201cgod.\u201d\n\nThe fact that he\u2019s giving you a \u201cchoice\u201d indicates that perhaps he isn\u2019t as all-powerful as he claims. You\u2019re going to take your chance while you can.\n\nMustering up all your strength you attempt to cast another spell at the death god. This time you actually manage to get a flicker of flame appear in your hand before it goes out. Between the combination of attempting such a feat and your life energy already draining at a rapid rate, you collapse face first to the ground.\n\n\u201cShit\u2026\u201d you say feeling like you\u2019re going to lose consciousness.\n\nAs you lie helpless on the ground, the death god floats over to you. You can\u2019t stop him.\n\n\u201cThat was a very silly thing to do mortal, looks like I severely misjudged your character and you are indeed a fool. Ah well can\u2019t be right all the time.\u201d\n\nContinuing to be defiant you struggle to reach into your side sheath where you keep your dagger. You manage to pull it out half way before your strength completely fails you and you can\u2019t even move any longer.\n\n\u201cSee now you\u2019re just embarrassing yourself.\u201d The death god replies.\n\u201cFuck\u2026y\u2026\u201d\n\nYou don\u2019t even get to finish that last comment when suddenly your body experiences unimaginable pain. Whatever injuries or tortures you may have experienced pale in comparison to this. You are experiencing death, but not just your own. You are experiencing the death of everyone you ever killed all at the same time.\n\nAs you go through this agony the death god speaks.\n\n\u201cYou know under normal circumstances a person like you goes to the Infernal Realm. Land of demons and such. Can\u2019t stand \u2018em myself, most sensible beings don\u2019t, but if there\u2019s one thing they do well that\u2019s torture the shit out of people for all eternity. Well\u2026normally that happens anyway\u2026\u201d\n\nYou aren\u2019t even paying attention to what the death god is saying to you, the image of every single death is filling your mind and you can\u2019t shut out the physical, emotional or spiritual anguish you\u2019re experiencing. You can\u2019t even cry out and you\u2019re bordering on madness.\n\n\u201cHowever that\u2019s not what is going to happen to you. Oh no. I know you. You\u2019d thrive in such a place of adversity. You\u2019d probably find a way to break free and even give those demons a run for their money. You were already involved in killing one demon lord after all. I have to admit, that was a nice one, but I ramble\u2026\u201d\n\nAt this point the words \u201cpain\u201d and \u201cagony\u201d are no longer adequate words to describe what you\u2019re feeling. \u201cLiving Hell MIGHT come close, but the death god continues to speak.\n\n\u201cNo Eternal, you are going to a place where your suffering will be legendary even compared to the infernal realm. Where the laws of the universe don\u2019t even apply. It is a rarity that is usually saved for immortals, gods and other such beings of power when they really fuck up. I suppose it is impressive that as a mere mortal you\u2019ve managed to achieve such a thing. However this is no reward, this is your own doing Eternal.\u201d\n\nAt last scream out and suddenly everything goes black for a split moment and your surroundings change severely.\n\nEverything around you is wrong. Your mind cannot comprehend the utterly bizarre things about you. In fact you\u2019re not even standing on the ground, you\u2019re floating throughout some sort of fluid space.\n\nYou see grisly parodies of various people you\u2019ve known. They all taunt and hurt you in ways that you never thought possible. These mimics then will melt into disgusting things like hordes of oversized worms and maggots which will proceed to crawl all over you. As you float helplessly you can feel vileness, enter every orifice of your body. All of your senses are assaulted at the same time and the smell, the taste, the feeling, the sight and the sounds are all indescribably awful.\n\nEvery once in a while strange tentacle creatures float nearby and assault your body and your mind even worse than the mimics. Other times the very plane seems to do the same thing. Sometimes you are completely ripped apart only to be reformed again and not always in the correct way. You go completely insane, but never to a point where you no longer care or are bothered by the horrific experiences you are enduring.\n\nThere is no defense, no hope, and no escape from this living nightmare. Your mind shattered, your body broken, and your spirit crushed, you continue screaming having no other choice but to suffer your eternal torment.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Die", "result": "It takes you a few seconds, but you soon yield to the inevitable.\n\nYou\u2019re tired of conflict. While it is true that war, bloodshed and the like are the very core of your essence and you do enjoy such things, you have to wonder is that what you really want? Do you wish to be nothing but destruction personified forever? (Or at least until the Death God has no further use for you?)\n\nYou don\u2019t know. Part of it has its appeal to you and if things were different maybe you\u2019d choose such a role.\n\nHowever the Death God has offered you a chance to be with your first and only true love, Alison. Your time with her was STILL the happiest you ever were during your life. How can you possibly pass up such a chance? A chance to be with her forever.\n\nYou smile at this prospect and with this idea in mind you collapse to the floor before the Death God.\n\n\u201cI\u2026am done\u2026take\u2026me\u2026back to my\u2026Alison\u2026\u201d you struggle to say as you feel all life leaving your body.\n\nThe Death God hovers above you.\n\n\u201cAs you wish Eternal. I admit I did not expect you to make this choice. It is a difficult thing for most to deny their nature and pursue another path\u2026but then I also understand the desire to be reunited with that one true love. Many should be so lucky to experience such a thing one day.\u201d\n\nWith the Death God\u2019s last words to you, your life force ends and everything goes black.\n\nWhen you wake up you find yourself in a much different place. You\u2019re lying in a bed first of all. Upon sitting up and looking about the room, it appears that you\u2019re in some sort of house. A single closed door leads out, but before you even get out of the bed, you hear footsteps coming towards you.\n\nInstinctively you reach for a weapon, but you have none, instead you ready yourself to cast a spell.\n\nThe door opens and a blonde woman in casual clothing with a sword in hand appears.\n\nIt\u2019s Alison.\n\n\u201cWho are\u2026wait\u2026I feel like I should know you\u2026do I know you?\u201d she asks.\n\u201cIt\u2019s me! Alison, surely you know who I am?\u201d you remark.\n\u201cI\u2019m not sure.\u201d\n\nYou begin to slightly panic and get up off the bed to approach her, she doesn\u2019t sheath her weapon, but she\u2019s no longer holding it up in a threatening manner.\n\n\u201cAlison, I\u2019m your husband. We met while serving the Empire.\u201d\n\u201cEmpire? Husband? I\u2019m sorry, but I\u2019m just not quite placing you\u2026what are you doing in my house and how do you know my name?\u201d\n\u201cI came here to be with you! We fought in the Felkan War together! We loved one another and were married! You died while on a carriage ride back home from an assassin! Please! Listen to me, you have to remember!\u201d\n\nYou begin to wonder if this was the Death God\u2019s elaborate joke on you. Putting you with your true love only for her to not remember you. You\u2019re just about to curse the god, you hear hope.\n\n\u201cWait\u2026I vaguely remember. Yes, we do know each other...\u201d\n\u201cYes! We were together! We were married!\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m still not sure, but you seem very sincere and I can\u2019t deny that you aren\u2019t familiar to me. I\u2019m not sure about all the other stuff you\u2019re talking about though. It sounds very interesting though, why don\u2019t you tell me all about it, I don\u2019t get many visitors out here so I\u2019m happy for the company. Try not to talk so fast this time; I didn\u2019t even catch most of what you said before. I could\u2019ve sworn you told me I died and that\u2019s just ridiculous of course!\u201d Alison chuckles, puts away her sword and tells you to follow her to the kitchen.\n\nWhat was supposed to be a happy occasion is turning out to be a frustrating one, but at least Alison is being friendly with you. You\u2019re wondering what exactly is going on here. Why can\u2019t she remember anything?\n\nIn the brief time between walking from the bedroom to the kitchen you try to come up with some sort of explanation. She doesn\u2019t even know she\u2019s dead or you\u2019re dead for that matter. Is this some sort of \u201cnew life\u201d for her? Seems sort of an odd one; you never pictured Alison living in a place like this, which while a nice home it\u2019s seemingly too peaceful. And that\u2019s far from the type of military background that she came from, though she still has a sword for protection you guess, so some things must not have changed.\n\nWhile she\u2019s pouring some water from a pitcher into a mug, you decide that maybe you should ask some questions.\n\n\u201cAlison, how long have you lived here?\u201d\n\u201cOh, I dunno. I feel like I\u2019ve lived here all my life, it\u2019s a nice place though so no point in moving.\u201d\n\u201cWhere does the food come from? Do you farm or something?\u201d\n\u201cMe? No, I wouldn\u2019t know how. Sometimes I do a little hunting in the woods nearby, plenty of wildlife to provide meat. Got a garden outback too and sometimes I tend it, but the funny thing is it doesn\u2019t seem to need it. Always has fresh vegetables and fruit available. Guess I just got strong healthy plants.\u201d\n\u201cI see. So what about people? Have you ever seen anyone else?\u201d\n\u201cNot really. There has been the occasional traveller passing through, usually they just smile and wave. Most are very friendly. In fact I believe you\u2019re the first person besides myself that\u2019s ever set foot inside my home. Here\u2019s some water, you look a bit thirsty.\u201d\n\u201cUh, thanks\u2026\u201d you say and take the water.\n\nUpon drinking it, it\u2019s some of the best water you\u2019ve tasted in\u2026well you don\u2019t know whenever you\u2019ve appreciated water or food for that matter. You just ate and drank because you had to usually. Never got any sort of enjoyment out of it.\n\n\u201cWhere does this water come from? No, wait let me guess a sparkling stream.\u201d You say.\n\u201cHa ha! No, it comes from a well out front, but there is a river that runs through the woods nearby. Doesn\u2019t sparkle though.\u201d Alison says smiling at what she believes is a small joke on your part.\n\u201cWell, I guess not everything is perfect.\u201d You say.\n\u201cWell of course not everything is perfect, sometimes I even have problems with gnolls.\u201d\n\u201cGnolls?\u201d\n\u201cYeah sometimes a few of them pop up and harass me. Nothing major though, I usually just chop some of their heads off and the rest go running off. I\u2019m pretty good with my sword, so they\u2019re more comical and annoying than actually dangerous.\n\nYou touch Alison\u2019s hand from across the table. She gives you a look of confusion, but doesn\u2019t pull away.\n\n\u201cAlison listen to me. You used to fight gnolls while serving in the Empire army. We even fought many together. Don\u2019t you remember any of that?\u201d\n\u201cNo\u2026no can\u2019t say that I do. Don\u2019t remember ever being in any sort of army either, but sounds pretty exciting. You say we fought together? Tell me all about it. In fact why don\u2019t you tell me all that stuff you were talking about before? It isn\u2019t like I have anything better to do and I\u2019m enjoying your company.\u201d\n\nSeeing no better option you do just that. You focus on when you first met and everything involving her. You try to stick to major events hoping that those will spur her memory the most, but mostly because you\u2019re having trouble remembering all the details yourself.\n\nAlison hangs on your every word and is enjoying your story. You have to admit even though you\u2019re not entirely sure you\u2019re getting through to her, you\u2019re appreciating the time you\u2019re spending with her.\n\nAfter you\u2019re done you\u2019re almost feeling a bit dizzy.\n\n\u201cWow, that\u2019s some tale. And you say that was us huh? Wish I could remember it. Hey, wait didn\u2019t you say I died earlier? What was that all about?\u201d Alison asks.\n\nYou look at Alison as she waits for your answer. You are about to explain again, but then realize that it won\u2019t do any good.\n\n\u201c\u2026nothing. I was just saying something outlandish to get your attention because I really wanted you to remember me.\u201d\n\u201cWell I suppose it did get my attention. Hmm seems to be getting dark outside, guess you better stay here for the night. Let me\u2026\u201d Alison suddenly gets up from her chair and stops speaking and stares off into the distance.\n\u201cAlison?\u201d\n\nHer head turns toward you.\n\n\u201cI\u2026I think I remember\u2026\u201d\n\u201cYou do?\u201d you say standing up hopefully.\n\u201cYes\u2026I\u2026mean not all of it. But I DO remember YOU. I remember that we were married! I loved you! Why were we apart? What\u2026what\u2026happened?\u201d Alison asks.\n\u201cWe were separated for many years due to forces beyond our control, but none of that matters, what matters now is that I\u2019ve found you and we can be together again. I have come home and we will be together for all eternity now!\u201d you remark.\n\nYou open up your arms to hug her and within that moment tears well up in her eyes and she embraces you.\n\nOnce again you feel the warmth of her body and the taste of her lips. A feeling you missed so much, but now that has changed forever.\n\nAlison and you hold each other for a long time as if the pair of you are going to be split from each other again even though that will never be the case again.\n\nThe pair of you then retire to the bedroom and reunite in the way that lovers do.\n\nThe next morning you wake up beside Alison who smiles sweetly to you and kisses you on the cheek. You enjoy her affection, but you feel a bit strange.\n\n\u201cGood morning my love. Did you sleep well?\u201d Alison asks.\n\u201cYeah, but I feel a little weird.\u201d You say.\n\u201cHow do you mean? Like sick?\u201d\n\u201cNo, I feel fine. I dunno, I can\u2019t explain it. I do know I\u2019m happy to be with you though.\u201d\n\nThis comment earns you another kiss and the pair of you get up to start the day, though to be honest you aren\u2019t sure what you\u2019ll do with yourself. Everything seems to be taken care of already; maybe you could hunt you suppose. (Or kill gnolls if they show up)\n\nA little later when you\u2019re still pondering on what to do with your day, Alison asks you some more about the stories you told her. She says that maybe she\u2019ll remember more stuff if you tell them again. She also asks what you\u2019ve been doing since you lost contact with her.\n\nAnd the strangest thing is you don\u2019t know. Your mind is completely blank. In fact you barely remember the stories you did tell Alison.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s odd. I can\u2019t remember.\u201d You say.\n\u201cReally? You seemed to tell them in great detail yesterday considering you spent the whole day telling me the stories. Oh well I\u2019m sure if they are really important you\u2019ll remember again. Just like I remembered you!\u201d Alison says.\n\nYou smile at her comment and tell Alison that you\u2019re taking her bow to hunt and will be back later.\n\nAnother day and night passes and when you wake up this time you remember nothing of your old life at all. Alison doesn\u2019t remember anything you told her either and the pair of you are unaware of the last two days even occurring.\n\nThe only constant is that the pair of you know that you\u2019re married and you love one another and that this has always been the case for as long as you both can remember.\n\nAnd so you and Alison live together in eternal bliss.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Beg", "result": "It takes you a few seconds, but you soon yield to the truth.\n\nThe death god is right. War is in your nature. It always has been. Whether it was bred into you or you grew into it is irreverent. It\u2019s yours now and you\u2019re going to embrace it.\n\nYou fall to your knees and bow before the death god. Humbling yourself and disregarding whatever foolish pride you may have had.\n\n\u201cI beg you oh great god of death, make me your herald of destruction. Let me be the bringer of doom to a thousand worlds. Let me unleash the endless war on the heavens.\u201d You say with all your remaining strength.\n\u201cTake it easy there, we aren\u2019t going to be doing all that. Just the worlds appointed for death. However, I do appreciate the enthusiasm.\u201d The death god remarks.\n\nThe death god hovers before you and a skeletal hand reaches out towards your head.\n\n\u201cHold still, this may hurt\u2026a lot.\u201d\n\nThe death god clutches your head with its fingers and suddenly your body experiences unimaginable pain. Whatever injuries or tortures you may have experienced pale in comparison to this. You are experiencing death, but not just your own. You are experiencing the death of everyone you ever killed all at the same time.\n\nThe image of every single death fills your mind and you can\u2019t shut out the physical, emotional or spiritual anguish you\u2019re experiencing. You can\u2019t even cry out. For a brief moment you think you\u2019ve made a horrible mistake before you go utterly insane as your mind is completely destroyed by the dreadful experience.\n\nAnd then you feel nothing at all and everything goes black.\n\nYou don\u2019t know how long time passes, but suddenly you are awakened by the death god\u2019s voice:\n\n\u201cArise, harbinger. Your glorious work and new purpose begins now on this very world.\u201d\n\nYou stand up and notice that you are no longer breathing. You do not feel the essence of life flowing through your system. You walk outside the city gates and before you stand legions of undead awaiting your command to purge the rest of this world of life. You stare at them and they stare at you with the same dead eyes.\n\nAnd something about it is beautiful to you. You didn\u2019t know that the dead could experience anything like feelings, but you can feel a thrill of anticipation of the death and destruction you\u2019re going unleash on this world. Nothing in your old mortal life can compare to this moment.\n\n\u201cAnd to think, I hesitated.\u201d You whisper.", "action_results": []}]}]}, {"action": "Run down the pyramid steps", "result": "Realizing the immediate danger you\u2019re in, you waste no time in running down the steps of the pyramid. The ghostly forms begin to mock you.\n\n\u201cWhy do you fear death mortal? Did you not ssssummon it here?\u201d one of the ghosts says nearly causing you to lose your footing on the steps when it suddenly floats in front of you.\n\nYou blast the ghost with a magic bolt and then proceed to do the same thing to others that fly near you. Several of them dissipate instantly.\n\n\u201cUndead bastards! You won\u2019t\u2026.AGH!\u201d you start to say when all of a sudden you begin to feel very weak. It\u2019s not just you either; it\u2019s your Eternals too. The feeling is similar to the draining effect by undead creatures or the negative zones of Mortos. You might not be aging, but you definitely don\u2019t feel well, in fact you feel like you\u2019re going to die and given how close to death you\u2019ve been on several occasions, you\u2019re very familiar with what that feels like. In fact, you\u2019re reminded of the time when Cyrus nearly killed you. Feels like that.\n\nAnd unfortunately due to this sudden weakness you do lose your footing on the pyramid steps, as do a couple of your Eternals. You end up tumbling down the rest of the steps smacking your head against the hard stone several times. By the time you hit the bottom you have most certainly broken your neck. You aren\u2019t dead, but you\u2019re definitely not in a good position.\n\nHaving little option you attempt to mend your broken neck through healing magic. It\u2019s requiring all your focus which is already weak due to the negative energy in the area. The spell is working, but it\u2019s going much slower than normal.\n\nIn the meantime more spirits and the like pour out of the black void above the pyramid and the pile of bodies that were one dead have now begun to shuffle around their original area to the other side where you are currently at. Your Eternals that didn\u2019t manage to kill themselves falling down the pyramid try to slow down the horde, but ultimately they fall before the sheer numbers and the unnatural magic affecting them.\n\nSoon it is only you who are left and your broken neck still isn\u2019t quite mended, you only manage to sit up just in time for the newly risen bodies of your sacrificial victims to eat you alive.", "action_results": []}]}]}]}, {"action": "Continue onward", "result": "You can\u2019t do it. While you\u2019ve sacrificed many in several different ways, you\u2019re not going to start draining the life force of your own Eternals like some undead horror. You\u2019ve crossed many lines and all its done is brought you to this ruined state.\n\nYou struggle towards the fortress, but even with Damon helping you, you don\u2019t think you\u2019re going to make it, let alone have the strength to face Nicodemus.\n\n\u201cTake\u2026take me back home\u2026\u201d you order Damon. You don\u2019t even need to tell him twice, he sees how pale and weak you are and all of you are making a hasty retreat.\n\nUnfortunately between your age, your wounds, your exhaustion and the general negative energy in Mortos, you don\u2019t make back home alive and you unceremoniously pass away just before you get to the home portal.", "action_results": []}]}]}]}]}]}, {"action": "Board one of the transports", "result": "Zana had a good idea; the transports could use a little extra protection so you decide to get on one of them.\n\nAfter about a half hour you finally get used to the idea of being so high in the air and less paranoid. You didn\u2019t think it possible for you to be, but somewhere in the back of your mind, you had the concern of this thing falling out of the sky which is probably why you haven\u2019t stayed in one place on the ship for very long and have felt the need to pace about it.\n\nJust as you\u2019re getting used to the long flight over the ocean, you are suddenly in for something extremely unexpected.\n\nThe a few of the Storm III\u2019s cannons suddenly fire upon your transport ship! The transport you\u2019re on is hit severely and is set ablaze along with several of the crew killed. More than that though is from this distance you can also see the Storm III suffering its own explosions in several places. You have no idea what is going on, but it\u2019s obvious some sort of treachery has occurred. The only other thing you see is a figure jumping off the Storm and then a large odd piece of what you guess is white fabric comes out of the figure that jumped, slowing the descent.\n\nMeanwhile your ship slowly starts veering towards the other transport while continuing to burn around you. Between the collision, the fire and the other explosions going on aboard the ship you are caught in this disaster and even your magic can\u2019t save you. One explosion knocks you unconscious and you aren\u2019t awake when the wreckage finally hits the ocean.", "action_results": []}]}]}]}, {"action": "Order your troops to do it and help Warrick", "result": "You can\u2019t let Warrick die, not with how much he\u2019s helped you. You\u2019d almost be at a loss on how to tell Brenda if it happened.\n\n\u201cKill the dragon!\u201d you shout at your troops and run over Warrick\u2019s bloody body.\n\nIgnoring everything else, you quickly turn Warrick over who isn\u2019t even conscious. He\u2019s still alive, because you can see his heart still beating from the open wound in his chest.\n\n\u201cHang on, you\u2019re not dying today!\u201d you say and begin to focus on healing Warrick\u2019s fatla wounds.\n\nIn the meantime your soldiers are doing a fairly good job at combating the dragon, which is distracted with them. Had this been the only obstacle, you probably would\u2019ve been able to save Warrick\u2019s life. Unfortunately there are enemies in this jungle other than wounded dragons.\n\nSeveral Iznac who retreated from the fort earlier were lurking nearby and taking advantage of your soldier\u2019s preoccupation with the dragon and your preoccupation with healing Warrick one of them throws a spear right into your back. The force is such that the head of it actually protrudes a bit from your abdomen.\n\nLosing complete concentration you yell out in pain and your own body slumps over Warrick\u2019s. You struggle to crawl to a safer location and attempt to heal yourself, but the ambushing Iznac manage to cut you down before you are able.", "action_results": []}]}]}, {"action": "Leave Warrick behind", "result": "Warrick is possibly the closest thing now you have to a \u201cright hand\u201d anymore. True there is still Brenda, but if Warrick died, what were her state of mind be? It took her a long time to get over Roldan\u2019s death. You don\u2019t think she\u2019d be able to handle another great loss, which is another reason why you\u2019ll leave Warrick here.\n\nBesides, with him overseeing things here you won\u2019t have to be concerned about the homeland getting out of hand while you\u2019re away.\n\nLeaving Warrick in charge you finish preparing for your trip to Nyttrus and soon leave with several hundred third generation Eternals and Flevas. (But not Galen since you don\u2019t feel he\u2019ll be necessary)\n\nWhen you eventually do arrive in Nyttrus the place does indeed remind you a bit of Delerg though even hotter. The kobold leader Snilkez\u2019ka is the first one to greet you and exclaim that now that you\u2019re here, the war will go much quicker and victory should come swiftly.\n\nThe first few weeks are indeed very successful ones, and it does appear that victory will come quickly if the Iznac are falling as quickly as they do, but as always not everything is so clear cut when you have dragons involved. You first encounter with one of the great beasts results in you losing half your company at the time and the dragon flying away.\n\nAfter this experience you fall back a bit on the advance and regroup realizing that the conquest of this continent is going to take a lot longer than anticipated.\n\nYear 60\n\n\u201cWe\u2019ll hold the line at Fort Canopy and Fort Tangle, then after they\u2019ve expended all their energy on this massive assault of theirs, we can make our own advance and wipe them out for good.\u201d You say and then promptly stagger a bit away from the table in pain.\n\nGeneral Flevas and Captain Snilkez\u2019ka move towards you and ask if you need help, but you of course decline. Though the truth is, you could use some help, just not in the way they are offering.\n\nEver since the dragons reared their ugly heads this campaign has been one struggle after another and taken a great toll on your body. While you\u2019ve managed to kill two of the giant lizards already, it\u2019s almost been at the cost of your own life. Your last battle with one of the creatures practically cost you half of the left side of your face given that you\u2019re missing an eye and an ear now. You\u2019re even missing part of your non-dominant hand. While healing magic is powerful, even you can\u2019t regenerate completely lost limbs or other organs and you\u2019ve been pushing it to the limit as it is. You might be holding off death in the in the short term, but you\u2019ve probably been shortening your life span just by using it as much as you have.\n\nYou\u2019ve been in contact with Warrick who has been giving the occasional updates via letters on what\u2019s been going on in Evigrus since your absence and the general reports are always fairly boring. The only thing that has been of major importance is the discovery of Dokkrus. Warrick says he\u2019s already sent Eyes there to spy on things as you requested, but not to engage yet.\n\nQuite honestly, sometimes you question if you\u2019re even going to survive this campaign and even if you do win, how many years do you really have left anymore? You need to speed this up if you intend on invading Dokkrus and reaching Mortos.\n\nYou dismiss Flevas and Snikez\u2019ka and tell them you\u2019ll be fine defending Fort Canopy by yourself and that they should focus on Fort Tangle\u2019s defenses and with any luck the airships will take out the dragon.\n\nDays pass and you and your troops prepare for the inevitable assault, which comes in excessive force just as predicted. Perhaps even a little more.\n\nYou look over the battlements and see several Iznacs climbing the walls of the fort like an army of ants. They aren\u2019t even using ladders, they\u2019re just scaling the fort with their bare hands. It\u2019s actually rather impressive, until you unleash a chain of lightning to zap all of them. The shock is enough to at least cause most of them to fall off if not outright kill them immediately.\n\nYour people are doing their best though they can\u2019t stop every Iznac from scaling the fort. Soon the gunfire is replaced by sounds of close combat weaponry. No matter how far the advances in technology, it always eventually comes down to looking your opponent in the eye and feeling their blood splatter as you end their life.\n\nWhile you\u2019re busy hacking off the limbs of an Iznac warrior, another loud explosion in the distance is heard followed by a bright flash in the sky. It\u2019s the destruction of your last airship from the dragon. Flaming wreckage crashes down in the distance. Won\u2019t be long before the dragon turns its attention towards one of the forts.\n\nIznac, glip and orcs all attack the fort and while it\u2019s a brutal affair, your Eternals are holding their own in the face of overwhelming odds.\n\nYou then hear a roaring sound getting closer and the sounds of great wings approaching.\n\nYou shout a general command for the still working cannons to be pointed towards the dragon and to prepare to fire when the beast is in range. In the meantime you try to keep that side of the fort relatively free of invading forces.\n\nThe dragon gets closer and you give the order to fire and unleash your own magic bolts at the creature. It\u2019s definitely wounded from its ordeal with the airships, but given your experience with the other two dragons, you know it\u2019s far from being out the fight.\n\nIn fact it\u2019s so determined that it doesn\u2019t distinguish friend from foe when it blasts its flame breath on the fort. You manage to protect most of your people with a magic barrier, but for those outside its protection, most are set on fire if not incinerated immediately. On the positive side, it reduces your enemies, on the negative it ignites the gunpowder barrels for the cannons causing a massive explosion and completely destroying one side of the fort.\n\nWhile the barrier still protects you and everyone within initially, it\u2019s still a lot of strain on your energy and you begin to feel the fatigue setting in. and you can\u2019t hold out any longer\u2026\n\nYour strength falters and the barrier goes down and the flames envelop you and several of your troops.\n\nIn the last moments of your flesh melting off your bones you only regret that this fort will fall.", "action_results": []}]}]}]}]}, {"action": "Carry out your original plan", "result": "Semra\u2019s agendas have never always been completely clear with you, but you\u2019re sure that whenever it is that you do listen to her, it somehow advances them to an end that will ultimately be no good for you in the long run.\n\nThis is one of those times where she\u2019s going to have fall back to her plan \u201cb\u201d because you\u2019re not helping her in this instance.\n\n\u201cSorry Semra, I\u2019m going with my own agenda this time. And you\u2019re seriously underestimating my abilities if this so called demon invasion does take place. True, I might not be young anymore, but I guarantee I\u2019ll be able to handle whatever is going to come next after we destroy Dequilet which is probably nothing anyway.\u201d\n\u201cThen you\u2019re a damn fool. A stubborn old fool who just doesn\u2019t want to look weak in front of his devoted\u2026\u201d Semra starts to say, but Decena suddenly cuts her off.\n\u201cShut the fuck up, svelk cunt! You\u2019ve spun enough of your bullshit lies today! You got your fucking answer from the Emperor, now scuttle back to whatever fucking hole you\u2019ll hide in before I hunt you down and I slice that venomous tongue out and shove it up your ass!\u201d\n\nSemra merely smirks at Decena\u2019s threat.\n\n\u201cAnd you used to kiss him with that mouth? Okay, I can see my efforts are going to wasted here. I hoped for a different way, but perhaps this will still work out. Goodbye Eternal, I don\u2019t think we\u2019ll meet again.\u201d\n\u201cYou said that before.\u201d You answer.\n\u201cSo I did\u2026well perhaps you\u2019ll surprise me again. You always did have that special way about you.\u201d\n\nWith those final words, Semra\u2019s image disappears and you can get back to your original plan. Decena is certainly happier about the situation. You execute the order to have mages sent here to help bring down the barrier. You can imagine how upset Galen will be when he\u2019s been taken away from whatever less dangerous task he\u2019s doing at the moment.\n\nIn a few days, your mages arrive and you all focus to bring the barrier down. You tell your army as soon as it\u2019s down, to bombard with every catapult, cannon, lightning gun, ballista, and trebuchet they\u2019ve got and the airships nearby have the same orders to open fire.\n\nWhen everyone is in place you begin the spell to break down the barrier. It\u2019s similar to the time you were focusing on casting the continual firestorm on the dryad forest, but this is actually taking even more focus and energy. It\u2019s apparent that Mortimer or possibly the demon inside him doesn\u2019t want you getting in.\n\n\nAt some point during the spell, Galen flips out and starts babbling about hearing a voice inside his head. It\u2019s enough to cause a temporary break in focus and you try to calm him down, but he exclaims that bringing the barrier down is going to unleash something worse. You have no patience for this and he begins to worry the other mages. You blast him with a lightning bolt while he\u2019s in mid-babble and have his body removed from your sight.\n\n\u201cNow then, I want the rest of you to FOCUS! That so-called sorcerer in there is just playing mind tricks in order to save his worthless hide! Whatever voice any of you may hear is just a mere parlor trick and the only voice you should be concerned about is mine and what command it is giving!\u201d you say to the remaining mages.\n\nGoing back to the spell there are no more interruptions, but as to be expected a couple of your weaker mages also collapse from the strain of the spell. The barrier however is definitely gone and the bombardment of Dequilet starts immediately.\n\nThe utter destruction of Dequilet is loud and full of explosions. You continue to have it bombarded until you\u2019re satisfied that nothing is going to be left alive. Eventually though you do call a stop to it.\n\n\u201cAlright, that will do for now. We\u2019ll let the fires die down a bit and then send in some squads to rummage through the ruins of that place. I\u2019m fairly certain we killed everything, but never hurts to be sure.\u201d You say.\n\u201cHopefully that svelk bitch was in there too.\u201d Decena remarks.\n\u201cWe could only hope, but my guess is she probably fled when she realized I wasn\u2019t going to help her.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m glad you didn\u2019t. Are you okay though?\u201d\n\u201cMe? Yeah, just need to rest a bit. (Whew) Bringing that barrier took it out of me a little. More than I expected I guess. That needn\u2019t have been the case had Galen not lost his shit. Bah, no matter. The man did nothing but complain anyway.\u201d You remark.\n\nJust as Decena is about to respond, you suddenly feel a change in the air. One brimming with magical energy and a malevolent presence.\n\nA large portal opens up just above the ruins of Dequilet and a red flying creature comes out and then another, and another, and then\u2026\n\nWhile seemingly hordes of demons are pouring out of this one portal, another portal opens up nearby and then another, and then another and then\u2026\n\nWhile your army is shocked and scrambling to prepare for this unexpected attack, you just curse silently to yourself.\n\n\u201cDamnit\u2026she was fucking right\u2026AGAIN\u2026\u201d you say.\n\u201cEmperor! There are demons everywhere! What are your orders?!\u201d Decena asks in between telling nearby officers to adopt a defensive position.\n\nYour orders are of course to fall back because right now you\u2019re starting to become heavily outnumbered as more and more demons come pouring out of the portals. Unfortunately you\u2019re also starting to become surrounded. It doesn\u2019t help that most of your siege machine ammunition is gone due to your bombardment of Dequilet. The airships are still functioning fortunately, but a good number of flying demons are already making their way to try to solve that situation.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019re going to have to fight our way of this mess and regroup at the nearest fortress! In the meantime kill anything red with hooves and horns!\u201d you shout. You really wish you weren\u2019t as tired as you are, but you\u2019re going to have to just fight through it.\n\nA few minutes in and the retreat is definitely looking grim. You got separated from Decena and you have no idea if your other general Flevas is even still alive. Your Eternals are doing their best as always, but the rest of your troops are suffering from a severe drop in morale and mostly screaming in terror desperately trying to get away rather than an organized defensive retreat. You don\u2019t know if it\u2019s due to fighting otherworldly beings and a seemingly endless supply of them, or if its some sort of unnatural fear aura that the demons themselves are causing. Probably a bit of both.\n\nYour kobold troops however are ever resourceful and in the middle of slicing off the head of a demon, a single kobold tugs at your scabbard. You almost kill him thinking him another attacker before he holds up his arms in panic.\n\n\u201cNo! No! Emp! Emp! Help! Hole! Over here here! Scape scape!\u201d the kobold says and points to a hole that one of his people have no doubt made.\n\nEscaping through the tunnel would probably be a good idea since its starting to look like the demons are attempting to cut off your path of retreat, but then you are also concerned about Decena\u2019s whereabouts. If your next war is going to be against these otherworldly monsters, you\u2019re going to need all the skilled leaders you can get.", "action_results": [{"action": "Go with the kobolds", "result": "Decena\u2019s a big girl and can handle herself Chances are she\u2019s already making a path towards the nearest fort. You\u2019re sure she\u2019s fine\u2026well you hope she is.\n\nIn any event, you aren\u2019t going to be much good if you don\u2019t survive this assault so you follow the kobold soldier down the hole.\n\nThe tunnel as you expect is smaller than the average human size, but you\u2019re able to walk even if you do have to crouch a bit and keep your head down. Several kobolds enter the tunnel after you in an effort to keep the back of you better protected just in case some demons come wandering down.\n\nThe kobold who lead you here in the first place continues to runs just a bit ahead of you and repeat directions of where he\u2019s heading next. You have to cast a dark vision spell just so you can see since its pitch black.\n\nYou follow the tunnels for a bit and there aren\u2019t even any demon attacks from behind (or ahead for that matter) and you begin to think that this was probably the best idea, but unfortunately events take an unexpected turn.\n\nWith the battle still raging above ground, the tunnels do suffer from minor damage as bits of dirt periodically fall from the ceiling of them. It doesn\u2019t get bad until one of your airships which had been destroyed by the demon onslaught comes crashing down right above the tunnels you\u2019re in right now.\n\nYou hear a loud crash from above and then a louder rumble as massive amounts of dirt fall around and upon you. The kobolds you\u2019re travelling with yelp in panic and try to get away either by retreating back the way you came or forward to where you\u2019re going. You however can\u2019t move quite as fast in the cramped tunnels and you become buried alive under rock and dirt.\n\nNot even a glorious warriors death, just a convenient burial.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Seek out Decena", "result": "You\u2019re not leaving Decena behind. In fact with the way things are looking, you\u2019re not even sure you\u2019re going to be able to escape anyway. The demons have already started cutting off your escape paths and getting stuck in a cramped tunnel is going to make you a perfect target if they wander down there. Hell they might just try to collapse the tunnel on you from above.\n\nIf this is going to be the day you die, better that it be in battle than buried alive.\n\nYou tell the kobolds to escape on their own if they wish, but you need to stay and at least see if Decena\u2019s still alive. The kobold tries to convince you to leave again, but sees that you are unconvinced, so he wishes you luck and runs off.\n\n\u201cPfft. Scaly little bastard could\u2019ve at least offered to stay.\u201d You mumble, and start your search for Decena admist all this chaos.\n\nWhile you\u2019re starting to search several explosions from above catch your attention. It\u2019s your airships. They\u2019ve finally been overrun and destroyed to the point where flaming wreckage will be hitting the ground at any moment. You hastily move to a point where you\u2019ll at least be far enough away from the next explosion when they land.\n\nYou cut and zap your way through more demons and then you hear the voice you were hoping for.\n\n\u201cEMPEROR! Over here!\u201d Decena shouts and you see her with several eternals and Flevas trying to hold their ground surrounded by a growing pile of demon bodies. You run over to help with a cone of cold freezing several demons in place. Decena and the rest follow up by smashing their frozen bodies and giving all of you a temporary breather in the middle of the battle.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m so glad to see you!\u201d Decena exclaims. \u201cBut why haven\u2019t you escaped?! These portals are just continually spitting out more demons! You were right, we have to fall back!\u201d\n\u201cBecause I was thinking about it and I was wrong. What we need to do is go chop off that demon lord\u2019s head Zelvix, or whatever the hell Semra called him. Because the sooner we end him, the sooner this invasion ends.\u201d You say.\n\u201cDemon lord? Wait? Is that what caused this? I didn\u2019t know anything about a demon lord.\u201d Flevas says.\n\u201cWell you do now and if you\u2019re lucky enough you\u2019ll get to be involved in killing him as well.\u201d You say.\n\u201cI don\u2019t think I have much of a choice at this point given that the demons have surrounded us from escape. So where is he?\u201d Flevas asks.\n\u201cMy guess is somewhere within the ruins of the city, let\u2019s get going now!\u201d\n\nYou, Decena, Flevas and only four of the new Eternals make your way towards the ruins of Dequilet. Surprisingly the demon count is a lot lower the closer you, but then that\u2019s probably because most of them are focused on slaughtering your retreating army and rampaging across the countryside. Not much fun to be had in a city where everyone is already dead.\n\nThe flames, rubble and wandering demons all make your search more lively, but eventually you find what you believe to be Zelvix. He looks like the typical demon from all the stories you\u2019ve ever heard and indeed probably most have heard. Great big wings, cloven hooves, furry lower half, muscular upper body, redish skin tone and two large horns on his head. He\u2019s the biggest thing in the city and he\u2019s certainly bigger than any of those minotaurs or chimeras you fought during the Tor War.\n\nWhen you make your noisy arrival by killing his immediate underlings, he still doesn\u2019t move from his position, which seems to be one of concentration. Only when you cast several ice bolts at him does he move. He raises his hand and absorbs the bolts and turns his attention to you.\n\n\u201cAnd now you\u2019ve gone and broke my concentration. Do you realize that keeping these portals open to my home isn\u2019t as easy as I make it look? (Sigh) No matter, so I imagine you must be the Eternal that Semra has mentioned in the past\u2026hrm I thought you\u2019d be taller. I hardly see how she expected you to defeat me.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m not here because of Semra and honestly I don\u2019t give a shit what sort of dispute you and her had. I\u2019m here on my own to kill you, because NOBODY threatens my Empire!\u201d you say and advance upon Zelvix who doesn\u2019t move from his spot, he doesn\u2019t even react.\n\n\u201cAh how I love mortal arrogance. Really I could use someone like you on my side, why not join me? Why not all of you join me?\u201d Zelvix\u2019s deep voice exclaims which seems to penetrate your mind. The presence is strong. Stronger than you were expecting really. It\u2019s even worse than the time you had to listen to hundreds of gnome souls all at once.\n\nAnd you aren\u2019t the only one, a quick glance to your left and right shows that your companions have stopped in their tracks as well and are holding on to their heads trying to fight Zelvix\u2019s mental attack.\n\nThe deep voice of \u201cJoin me.\u201d continues to echo throughout your own mind and despite your best efforts you can\u2019t block it out.\n\nAnd that when you feel an arrow go into your side. You barely manage to block the second one with a force shield. Flevas is gone, he\u2019s given in completely and he\u2019s not the only one. Two of the Eternals have turned and already killed one of their siblings. The last one is one the ground screaming for Zelvix\u2019s voice to get out of his head.\n\nFlevas attacks you again with his bow, but you manage to keep up your protection. You return fire with a blast of magical energy. Flevas stands no chance against it and falls dead. It\u2019s enough to make you collapse though. The combination of your expended energy, your wounds and Zelvix\u2019s mental assault is becoming overwhelming.\n\n\u201cWhy are you fighting me Eternal? If you just join me, you can expand your Empire to the entire world! All I require is a tribute. Why, we could even track down Semra together and have our way with her. Doesn\u2019t that sound fun Eternal? Wouldn\u2019t you like that? Just JOIN ME\u2026\u201d\n\nThe tone, the voice is so convincing\u2026part of you just wants to give in\u2026\n\nYou feel a blade go into the upper left side of your back. One of the Eternals has attacked you while you\u2019re struggling to retain your mind. The second one would probably land the killing blow, but you\u2019re saved by someone who loves you so much that turning against you is completely unthinkable to her.\n\n\u201cNO!\u201d Decena yells and cuts down both of the Eternals attacking you. The third Eternal who had finally succumbed to the mind control makes a half hearted attack, but Decena takes care of him as well.\n\n\u201cNow this one shows promise!\u201d Zelvix says and suddenly more demon reinforcements arrive to defend their master.\n\nDecena holds her own against the demons that attack her, though some of them attack you instead, believing that you\u2019re an easier target. While it\u2019s true you\u2019re in a more weakened state, you\u2019re far from being an easy target.\n\n\u201cTch. Tch. Can\u2019t having you help her, wouldn\u2019t be fair now would it?\u201d you hear Zelvix say and see the big demon lord standing over you. You feel a smashing blow to your face by his fist, which sends you falling back to the ground. The inside of your face feels like every bone in it has been broken and the exterior feels like its on fire.\n\nSpitting out a few bloody teeth, you cast an enchantment on your weapon and try to strike at Zelvix\u2019s leg, but he dodges and manages to step on your sword breaking it with his cloven hoof.\n\n\u201cThat was pathetic, did you really think\u2026\u201d\n\nZelvix\u2019s taunt is interrupted by the fact that he wasn\u2019t paying attention to the attack that you were really planning. A stream of lightning hits Zelvix in the chest and you don\u2019t let up even though you\u2019re feeling the effects of such a strong spell at this close range.\n\nZelvix roars in pain and the spell has definitely had an effect, but Zelvix is made of stronger stuff and bulls his way through and kicks you in the body breaking several ribs and causing you to fly into a nearby pile of rubble. You smack your head against several jagged rocks adding an open head wound to your list of injuries.\n\nZelvix attempts to finish you off by breathing fire at you, but you still have enough energy to block it with a force shield. You don\u2019t think you can keep it up, but fortunately you don\u2019t have to when Decena steps in and runs one sword into Zelvix\u2019s back and cuts through one of his wings with another one. Zelvix feels the damage but it still isn\u2019t enough to stop this monster. He swings around and backhands Decena to the ground. He then picks her up and smashes her entire body several times to the ground again. Her body battered, she hangs limply as he picks her up by one arm.\n\n\u201cBitch! You think your pathetic love for this fool will save either one of you?! I\u2019ve destroyed greater beings with less effort! You both should\u2019ve joined me when you had the chance, but that time has passed. Time to die! Who wants to watch first?\u201d\n\nZelvix is definitely more powerful than either one of you, but his weakness is he talks way too much. While he\u2019s pontificating on who to kill first, you summon all the energy you have and cast a concentrated frost ray at Zelvix\u2019s feet. It\u2019s enough to startle the demon and drop Decena.\n\n\u201cStill wanting to play eh? Fine, you\u2019re first then!\u201d Zelvix says and throws a fireball at you. You\u2019re hit full force and the flames engulf you, but you refuse to die. You flesh burns, but you\u2019re expending so much energy into your frost beam, that your body is actually growing colder and forms frost, which is enough to keep you from burning to death.\n\nMeanwhile Zelvix realizes his own body isn\u2019t just being encased in ice, its actually starting to become ice.\n\n\u201cDECENA ATTACK HIS LEGS! NOW!\u201d\n\nYou didn\u2019t even need to give the word though, Decena was already on it. Seizing the biggest rock she could grab and wield effectively. She smashes it into one of Zelvix\u2019s legs causing it to shatter. An unearthly wail eminates from the demon lord as he falls to the ground, which in turn snaps off his other leg.\n\nWith Zelvix on the ground, you continue your freezing assault on him, only this time his position allows you to aim straight for his face. You see your hands going blue and starting to age. You\u2019re not going to survive this, but someone else needs to because someone else has to lead the Empire\u2026\n\nZelvix desperately tries to crawl in an attempt to reach you, but eventually he\u2019s frozen to a point where he\u2019s barely moving at all.\n\n\u201cDecena\u2026finish\u2026it\u2026\u201d you say and you at last run out of energy of any and all kind. You collapse backwards and begin to drift in and out of consciousness.\n\nYou don\u2019t see it, but Decena does indeed manage to take advantage of the situation and smashes Zelvix\u2019s frozen head into several pieces. The demon lord\u2019s body convulses and tries to move (and even attack) but death is certain.\n\nWith Zelvix dead, it seems like the portals have closed as well as there haven\u2019t been anymore demons attacking you or Decena, though it can safely be guessed that the ones that are already scattered and causing havok will still need to be dealt with.\n\nDecena comes over to your dying body and holds you in her arms. You can imagine how cold you must feel to her, but it\u2019s not going to deter Decena.\n\n\u201cDid\u2026did we win?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cYes\u2026we won my Emperor.\u201d Decena says.\n\u201cGood\u2026good\u2026(wheeze) but you\u2019re the Emperor now\u2026\u201d\n\u201cEmperor don\u2019t\u2026\u201d\n\u201cIt\u2019s done. I\u2019m not making this one\u2026(wheeze) just be a strong ruler. The ruler\u2026I always knew you could be. I\u2019m so proud\u2026of you\u2026\u201d\n\nDecena at this point doesn\u2019t answer. She\u2019s desperately trying not to cry. Maybe it\u2019s a little late, but in these final moments you realize that you could\u2019ve probably had a real relationship with Decena. She proved that she was more than a worthy mate for you. She had long since grown from being just your student with a crush. She is a true warrior and will be a worthy successor.\n\n\u201cDecena\u2026I\u2026love you...\u201d you whisper to her as your final words.\n\nAs your vision goes dark you sense a brief kiss on your lips, which is the last bit of warmth you ever feel.\n\nAnd then you feel nothing at all.", "action_results": []}]}]}]}]}]}, {"action": "Eternals United (Year 51)", "result": "Year 51\n\nYou stand with Brenda and Warrick in front of hundreds of third generation Eternals. The day has finally come. They\u2019re trained and ready for war. Whether that means they\u2019ll get sent to Nyttrus or sent to attack the Nakol Kingdom that still remains to be seen, but wherever it is, you\u2019re sure they\u2019ll be a formidable force.\n\nYou give a rousing speech that encourages and reinforces the sort of loyalty that has already been drummed into their heads since they were born. They probably don\u2019t need it, but words directly from their Emperor are never a bad thing.\n\n\u201cThis is way things should be.\u201d Brenda says.\n\u201cWhat\u2019s that, Brenda?\u201d Warrick asks.\n\u201cThis. You, me, the Emperor and all these new Eternals standing together united as a single force. I can\u2019t wait to train the next generation.\u201d Brenda says.\n\u201cWell you\u2019ll definitely get that chance Brenda. As I\u2019ve said before, you did an excellent job with these.\u201d You say.\n\u201cWe Eternals are the true rulers and defenders of this great Empire. And while I hold nothing but repsect to our former Emperor, I have to say that I feel that YOU have already proven that Eternals are the future. (Sigh) If there were only more of us\u2026\u201d\n\u201cThere will be eventually.\u201d Warrick says.\n\u201cOh I know. I just wish Roldan was here to see this.\u201d Brenda says.\n\u201cMm, he would\u2019ve certainly approved. I think Kane would have too.\u201d Warrick remarks.\n\u201cYes, to fallen siblings and to reunited ones who spent too long angry at one another.\u201d Brenda says and looks at Warrick. The pair of them hug for a moment.\n\nYou remain silent at their display of affection. Seemed almost unbelievable at one time, you\u2019re just glad they get along now.\n\nWith the new Eternals dispersing and on their way to their assignments, you just sort of start off into the distance until Warrick and Brenda cease their hugging to ask you what\u2019s going on with you.\n\n\u201cIs there something wrong my Emperor?\u201d\n\u201cOh, nothing really wrong. I was just thinking, not every Eternal is here in this grand unification. Decena\u2019s still over in Nyttrus.\u201d You say.\n\u201cOh yes, that\u2019s correct. I can\u2019t believe I forgot about her.\u201d Warrick says.\n\u201cYeah well, Decena\u2019s always felt like a bit of an outsider in some ways I think.\u201d\n\u201cWhat? That\u2019s silly.\u201d Brenda says.\n\u201cIs it? Think about it, there never were a bunch of us to begin with, but there are still three of us first ones. Then there are these third gens. Hundreds. And the fourth gens and beyond will probably be in the hundreds as well. But Decena? She\u2019s the only second gen left. All her siblings were killed. Most by a mad derro and a few of them even by me when I got tested against them.\u201d\n\nWarrick and Brenda continue to listen.\n\n\u201cI dunno, I was just thinking of something she was worried about before I sent her to Nyttrus. Her concerns that she was somehow obsolete. Of course I explained that she wasn\u2019t, but still sometimes in her letters I detect a bit of lonesomeness in tone.\u201d\n\u201cEmperor, Decena was trained by you. I think she\u2019s probably the luckiest Eternal since\u2026well since you got the chance to be trained by the former Emperor.\u201d Brenda remarks.\n\n\u201cHrm. Yes, lucky.\u201d You say nearly snorting at both of those conclusions. Brenda and Warrick still don\u2019t know the whole story and you hope for their sake they never have to learn the truth.\n\n\u201cWell I have to go attend to a rather mundane matter that I can\u2019t just assign to Kivan. I trust you both can handle the rest of the matters here?\u201d\n\u201cOf course, my Emperor.\u201d Warrick says.\n\nYou nod at Brenda and Warrick and return to your private quarters in the palace. You sit down at your desk and spend the rest of the night writing an encouraging letter to have sent to Decena in Nyttrus.\n\nMaybe she couldn\u2019t be here for the \u201cEternal unification\u201d but you still want her to know that in your eyes she is the most cherished of all of them.", "action_results": [null]}]}, {"action": "The Grand Tour (Inside New Dessel)", "result": "As you walk through the halls of New Dessel with Klemto, you have to admit to being impressed with the place. The gnomes have once again succeeded in the face of adversity. This city inside a mountain not only has comfortable living arrangements and external defense measures, but is also self sufficient in food and other resources.\n\nIt helps that the mountain had a large system of natural caverns already inside which allowed the gnomes to take advantage of the layout. Edible fungus and an underground water source were definitely bonuses. Klemto remarks that they probably would not have put that much effort into making the mountain into a \u201ccity\u201d had none of these things been available.\n\nNow that you\u2019ve gotten a good look at the inside of the place, it\u2019s a very good thing you didn\u2019t attack this place like Kivan suggested. You might\u2019ve very well gotten fried on the spot. Besides their numerous cannons mounted in the rock to defend New Dessel, the gnomes have what can only be described as a giant metal lightning rod except they can shoot lightning from it AND direct its attack. It runs from the bottom of a water source, which has some sort of strange machine in it (It generates \u201celectricity\u201d as Klemto calls it) and the pole goes all the way up to the top of mountain peak where it can direct a blast of lightning powerful enough to probably destroy one of your airships.\n\nDefinitely very useful though Klemto says its really only good for nearby defense as they can\u2019t hit something, as far away as say where the former City State Confederacy was located. This puts you at ease since you did wonder if such a weapon could hit your capital!\n\nThe gnomes have also managed to create something else you lack in the Empire. Lighting without any sort of fire.\n\n\u201cHow do you produce light like that with no fire? It seems similar to the lightning that comes from the sky or from magic spells.\u201d You ask.\n\u201cOh yes. Electricity again. We were trying to harness that into something less destructive even during the last days of the Felkan War when we were using our lightning guns. In fact had the war not come about the Felkans might\u2019ve had electrical lighting by now. Well, at least we solved the mystery I guess.\u201d Klemto says.\n\u201cHrm.\u201d You answer.\n\u201cErm, I suppose you probably would like your own engineers to implement such things in the Empire. We can certainly give the method on how to do it.\u201d\n\u201cEh. Perhaps in time. To be quite honest it isn\u2019t a pressing concern, I\u2019d rather they learn the methods on how to create those lightning guns of yours, and those things.\u201d You say pointing at an automaton being fixed by a group of gnomes.\n\n\u201cOh yes, I imagine your interests do place military matters first. Well of course we\u2019ll be willing to oblige. As I said great Emperor, New Dessel is at your service.\u201d\n\u201cIndeed.\u201d You respond.\n\nJust as you are about to bring up the subject of stationing Eyes in New Dessel to Klemto a young girl with red hair comes running up to him. She looks to be a teenager and is dressed in a slightly dirty work uniform.\n\n\u201cUncle Klemto! Uncle Klemto! The lightning has gone out in section eight again! Can I go assist this time?\u201d she says which causes Klemto to look very embarrassed.\n\u201cZana! I told you not to disturb me today! This is the Emperor I\u2019m speaking with right now and his time is very precious!\u201d\n\u201cOh. Well can I go help fix the lighting then? I\u2019ll be out of your hair!\u201d She says thinking nothing more of Klemto\u2019s words causing him even more concern that you\u2019re getting angry.\n\nYou aren\u2019t really angry so much as you\u2019re intrigued. To your knowledge only gnomes live in New Dessel, so you\u2019re wondering how this human got here. And calling Klemto uncle no less.\n\n\u201cZana! If you\u2019re going to interrupt my important meeting the least you can do is show the proper respect for the Emperor. OUR Emperor. We\u2019re part of the Empire now as I mentioned to you, remember?\u201d Klemto says.\n\u201cOh. Okay.\u201d Zana turns to you and raises a dirty hand for you to shake. \u201cHello Mr. Emperor.\u201d\n\nKlemto is cringing the entire time, but you return her attempt at being friendly by shaking her hand.\n\n\u201cZana, you can go help with fixing the lighting in section eight, just get out of here!\u201d Klemto orders.\n\u201cAlright! Thank you uncle!\u201d Zana beams and gives the old gnome a little peck on the cheek before running off.\n\nAt this point Klemto is as red as a tomato which is actually making you chuckle a bit at this point.\n\n\u201cKlemto, relax. I\u2019m not the unreasonable head-chopping tyrant everyone thinks I am. I do have to ask though, how is it that a human came to be here and calls you uncle no less?\u201d\n\nKlemto does relax a little, but only a little.\n\n\u201cHeh, oh that. Well during our\u2026evacuation of the Felkan Kingdom, a group of us travelled through one of the many ruined Felkan towns. As we travelled through, I heard the mewling of a baby. I investigated and sure enough I found one. The house was in shambles and I had already passed the body of a man and woman in the room before I found the baby. I can only guess it was the baby\u2019s mother and father. Several of my fellow gnomes told me I should just leave it as we had enough to worry about, without a baby possibly giving away our position, but I just didn\u2019t feel right doing such a thing. So I took her, named her Zana and over the years I raised as if she was my own.\u201d\n\u201cHrm, that\u2019s unusual.\u201d\n\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d\n\u201cWell the Empire was fairly thorough about going through towns. Seems odd that a crying baby would\u2019ve been missed. Oh and contrary to popular belief we didn\u2019t always kill everything in sight if we razed a town. Sometimes children and infants were taken to be wards of the Empire. Still, if you were on the run, I imagine you had to at least be going through the area where General Alison Krozer was stationed with her army. One of the best I have ever known, as were those under her command. I mean I suppose its possible something like that was missed but\u2026\u201d\n\nKlemto quickly interrupts you.\n\n\u201cWell uh, the gnolls were a problem on that side of the Felkan Kingdom too remember? Probably was gnolls.\u201d\n\u201cWell that seems even less likely then.\u201d You answer.\n\u201cWhy?\u201d\n\u201cWell for one thing Alison had pretty much taken care of the separate gnoll invaders by the time you lot start seeing that the Felkan Kingdom was dying and start abandoning it. I mean sure there were still some here and there, but they weren\u2019t really focusing their attacks on Felkans anymore, they were focusing on Empire forts and our patrols. Besides, these are gnolls we\u2019re talking about. Those savages used to steal everything they thought valuable and destroy the rest. A crying baby? They probably would\u2019ve eaten such a thing while it was still in its crib! They\u2019re worse than svelk when it comes to stuff like that.\u201d You say.\n\u201cYeah\u2026uh well whoever it was I guess she was just\u2026lucky?\u201d\n\u201cI guess so. Well in any event you\u2019re certainly to be commended on raising a child that learned the importance of serving the good of her community.\u201d You answer though you feel like something about Klemto\u2019s story doesn\u2019t add up.\n\n\u201cYes, well I thank you for your kind words my Emperor. Shall we get back to your proposal on your Eyes? As I said before, you can station as many as you feel are needed here!\u201d Klemto says almost eager to stop discussing his adopted daughter.\n\u201cSure, let\u2019s get back to that.\u201d You respond.", "action_results": [null]}]}]}]}]}]}, {"action": "Dismiss the accusation", "result": "There is no proof and indeed it would be incredibly stupid even for a traitor to attempt to kill you while there\u2019s a rampaging army of beastmen that could very well kill everyone if you weren\u2019t around.\n\nYou roll over and salvage some sleep.\n\nDespite everything that went on last night, you miraculously actually manage to get a little sleep before the arrival of the Torites. You\u2019re still a little tired, but you think when you get into the thick of battle the thrill of it will kick in and you\u2019ll be invigorated. You usually are.\n\nIt seems word of what happened spread fairly quickly to the rest of the camps, even to Decena\u2019s army. You imagine that will at least have to put Galen in a good mood, maybe he\u2019ll whine less now.\n\nWhen the Torites arrive they certainly look like a chaotic rabble, but it\u2019s no mistake that they mean business. The number of harpies fills the sky to the point where you hope that the Storm can take care of such a flock. The second airship is in far distance behind you. Hopefully by the time it gets to engage in battle it won\u2019t be replacing the Storm so much that it\u2019ll be supporting the Storm.\n\nThe cannons and rifles fire as soon as the Torites are within range. Their centaurs return fire with their accurate arrows. The saytr wizards up the ante by casting their elemental magic which rips solid chunks of rock and earth out of the ground and goes flying at your army. It can\u2019t be said that the Torites are any less dangerous just because they\u2019re less technologically advanced.\n\nHigh above you the Storm takes on the harpy warriors. Even from here, it looks like a swarm of locusts descending on a single blade of wheat. Looks pretty damn grim for the Storm, you just hope if the crew does get overwhelmed they can keep the ship from crashing near your location.\n\nThe bull creatures lead the charge along side their horse beast brethren. Another volley of shots takes out some, but they remain relentless in their charge. The satyr rank and file advance steadily behind. They WILL arrive and there will certainly be enough of them left to give your army a good fight.\n\nYour own cavalry meets them and while they have the best training, they can\u2019t overcome the sheer savagery of the minotaurs and as for the centaurs, their very bodies are half horse. They already have the advantage over your own cavalry as far as maneuverability.\n\nBreaks in the Torite army form as they allow their war beasts participate in the charge. Several manticores and chimera of the largest size make their way straight towards you. At their pace, they\u2019re going to be the first ones your people will have to fight. A cannon blast rips through one of the chimera and fireball from one of your mages brings down another, but before you know it, a manticore is shredding apart your front line with its talons and impaling others with its spike tail.\n\nWhat comes next is utter mayhem. Swords and axes cutting and stabbing. Fangs and claws tearing and biting. Magic on both sides destroying several lives in the blink of an eye. It\u2019s all very glorious.\n\nDecena\u2019s army is holding its own on her front, but then you never had any doubt about that. The only problem they do have is the blasted satyr magic manages to turn the golems against them. Hopefully, Flevas managed to get Galen\u2019s ass out of there before they crushed him. General Ackerson seems to be struggling a bit, but is hanging in there.\n\nStill, the battle is far from over yet. The fact that you\u2019re simultaneously facing down three bullheads by yourself and a chimera closing in is a great reminder.\n\nYou cast a lightning blast at the bulls, which fells two of them, but the third fights through the pain of having his body fried from the inside out. You dodge his axe and follow up with your own sword swing to his meaty leg. The beast roars, but is still undeterred.\n\nTwo nearby soldiers from General Ackerson\u2019s army see you and they both pull out their pistols. At first you think they\u2019re just trying to shoot the chimera, but then you realize they\u2019re going to shoot you. You mutter a curse about Semra being right.\n\nWhile you manage to block the shots with a quick force shield, you are also being attacked by a very vicious chimera, which takes advantage of your distraction. You feel a large singer impaling you through the leg followed up by the chimera\u2019s goat head breathing poisonous gas in your face.\n\nDisoriented, hobbled and half blind, you don\u2019t even see the minotaur that you temporarily fried with your lightning blast come at you with a great axe, cleaving half of head off.", "action_results": []}]}]}]}]}, {"action": "Take command of the airship yourself", "result": "Everyone\u2019s got his or her place and Warrick is needed where he is. Perhaps another time.\n\nYou bid Warrick goodbye and in a week you make your way over to Elam\u2019s factory where you can board the new airship.\n\nIt does look rather impressive. Just looking at all the cannons stick out of the sides, makes you wonder how the hell it lifts off the ground with all that weight, but then someone probably also wondered how the hell a regular ship can float with the same amount of weight on it at one time too.\n\n\u201cThis is a minor thing my Emperor, but I was wondering what did you want to name this ship? I figured you\u2019d want the honor of doing that.\u201d Elam asks.\n\u201cName? Oh yes, I suppose a name would come in handy. Let\u2019s see\u2026call it the Storm I guess. Raining down destruction on our enemies and all that. Sounds good to me.\u201d You reply to which Elam agrees.\n\nYou board the Storm with Elam and meet the crew who will be flying this thing. All of them stand at attention when you arrive. a man dressed in a standard Empire engineer uniform walks up to you and salutes. It looks like his uniform has been crudely altered.\n\n\u201cEmperor on deck! It is an honor to meet you in person! My name is Tavis\u2026\u201d he starts to say before you interrupt.\n\u201cWhy the hell do you have small metal cogs on your shoulders?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cOh\u2026yeah that well when we started this project nobody knew anything about flying so Elam picked me for a lot of first tests. It was dangerous, but exhilarating at the same time! In time I became the most proficient at commandeering this technological marvel, so Elam made me captain.\u201d\n\u201cGlad to see Elam\u2019s taken it upon himself to completely ignore all military protocol and just arbitrarily assign ranks and such. So I\u2019m guessing those little cogs you put on yourself are supposed to represent your new status?\u201d\n\u201cErm...uh\u2026yes my Emperor. I meant no offense!\u201d\n\u201cCalm down, I don\u2019t care that much. In the future though, assuming this turns out well. We really need to get you proper uniforms for airship crew rather than this poor attempt of altering old ones. Anyway, take me on the grand tour before we lift off.\u201d\n\nElam and Tavis both take you to various parts of the airship and explain various things mostly involving technical talk, eventually you grow bored and decide you just want to get on with getting this thing to the battlefield where you can see its destructive capabilities.\n\n\u201cAlright I get the picture, let\u2019s get this thing to the front lines and blow up some Torites.\u201d You say.\n\u201cAs you wish my Emperor, I\u2019ll leave you in the hands of Captain Tavis here, uh he\u2019s still a captain isn\u2019t he?\u201d\n\u201cYes, since it\u2019s as good as a designation as any for now. If he proves competent, he may very well keep the rank.\u201d You respond.\n\nElam and some of the other engineers that were testing the safety of the airship soon leave it so that the rest of you can get on your way. The airship takes a moment to warm up, but soon you\u2019re lifting off and high in the air. The experience isn\u2019t that bad and a fairly smooth ride. You honestly half thought you\u2019d go crashing down to the ground, but it really looks like your engineers came through. You give some praising comments which seems to put the crew and Tavis in good spirits.\n\nYou explain you\u2019ll be head towards the south where General Ackerson\u2019s command is located. You figure you can meet up and see what the situation is and have the Storm assist accordingly.\n\nAlong the way one of the lookouts see a group of the centaur Torites galloping across the plains. There are actually quite a few of them. Enough to be a raiding party probably. When asked if the Storm should try to take them out, you say of course.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019re too far away to use bombs and the cannons aren\u2019t angled in a position to fire at them yet. We could use the repeater prototype though. It\u2019s located over there and it has terrific range! Would you like to do the honors my Emperor?\u201d Tavis asks.\n\u201cWell I don\u2019t usually use firearms and I could probably hit some of those horse beasts from here with a few fireballs, but what the hell.\u201d You say and walk over to the repeater prototype.\n\nYou turn the mounted gun towards the centaurs who are now quite away that the \u201cbig machine\u201d in the sky is heading toward them and means to do them harm. They begin to scatter and you press the trigger\u2026\n\nAnd the gun promptly explodes spectacularly. Enough so that it sets a large part of the ship on fire which then in turn causes more minor explosions.\n\nAs the surviving crew runs around attempting to put out fires and move away gunpowder, you find that you are several feet away from your original location and your arms have become bloody stumps. Your body is in bad condition as well considering you can see out of your one remaining eye that your organs are exposed to the air now.\n\nHealing magic wouldn\u2019t be of too much help even if you could concentrate to use it. The explosions aboard the airship are deafening and you\u2019re barely conscious as it is. Someone goes over to help you and then you pass out.\n\nYou are not awake to experience the Storm\u2019s fiery crash to the ground.", "action_results": []}]}]}, {"action": "Tilda Zookwinkle (Casimir\u2019s dark secret)", "result": "You must have spent a lot of your down time searching through Casimir\u2019s libraries and personal items in an attempt to possibly find some sort of magic or treasure or secret that could increase your own power, but you haven\u2019t had much luck in that regard. Most of Casimir\u2019s power came from his own magic strength along with his mind and had little reason to have such trinkets lying around.\n\nSurprisingly most of his notes and journals are of the more mundane sort. You don\u2019t find the discovery of some powerful spell he didn\u2019t teach you or anything. Again, such things would\u2019ve probably been locked up in his own mind, which of course is inaccessible now.\n\nStill, one thing that you found stands out and it\u2019s something that completely surprised you.\n\nDearest Tilda,\n\nIn all my years, I have never met a woman that makes me feel the way you do and I\u2019ve met many in my travels. Never did I think that I would find paradise in the arms of a gnome woman.\n\nIt\u2019s like you\u2019ve known me all my life, I don\u2019t need to explain myself to you. You just know and understand. If I didn\u2019t know better I\u2019d swear you were some sort of trickster demon. Of course I know that cannot be the case, because you have such a kind and gentle spirit despite also being grounded in realism.\n\nI am not ashamed to tell you that I love you. I never thought I could experience such a wonderful emotion. I know your people are not magical by nature, but I cannot help think that you must\u2019ve cast a powerful spell over me!\n\nI vow from here on out, that you will always be major factor in my future goals. I want to share everything with you.\n\nYou find several, no a multitude of these sorts of love letters. Apparently Casimir once loved a gnome woman by the name of Tilda. Many of these letters were obviously sent and read, but you wonder how he got them back.\n\nAfter scanning through a few more of them, you find one letter that answers more questions to this mystery. It\u2019s not Casimir\u2019s writing, its Tilda\u2019s.\n\nCasimir,\n\nWhen you find this letter, it will be on my dead body and hopefully most of my people will have escaped your bloody purge. You are a man of unspeakable evil, I always knew this, but within these last few months you proved it tenfold when you committed genocide on our Halfling cousins.\n\nWhy? They wanted nothing more than equality, yet you would rather kill them all rather than grant that tiny bit of dignity. There will be a day of reckoning for all your evil, mark my words and when that day comes, I shall be watching and laughing at your downfall in the afterlife.\n\nYou claimed that you loved me with all your heart, but you proved time and time again that you have no heart. You did not truly love me. You wished to possess me as a favored toy. Someone to pat you on the head whenever you whined about how the people just \u201cdon\u2019t understand\u201d why you have to do the terrible things you do. You\u2019re pathetic, and I curse the day your eyes set their sights on me.\n\nDo you know how much I rolled my eyes at your sorry attempts of writing me love letters?\n\nDo you know how it made my skin crawl every time I had to lay with you?\n\nDo you know how much I utterly hated you from the moment you enslaved my people? Yes, ENSLAVED. No matter how \u201cfavored\u201d our position we were still SLAVES. And you made me your personal one.\n\nI go to my grave happily knowing that I did everything I could to distract you from realizing the truth of our exodus before you could act in time. Know how a simple gnome woman fooled the mighty Emperor.\n\nAnd if by some bizarre twist that you actually did have genuine feelings of love for me in that black heart of yours, then my revenge is even sweeter. Live with a broken heart, and may it hurt as much as all the pain you\u2019ve ever inflicted onto others.\n\nYou will also find all the worthless letters you wrote to me. Take them back, and keep them as a reminder of your utter failure.\n\nTilda Zookwinkle: Proud gnome woman\n\nWow. This letter isn\u2019t even addressed to you and you can feel the viciousness dripping from it. Good enough to rival the cruel ruthlessness of a svelk you think. It\u2019s very apparent now why Casimir hated gnomes so much. You always knew it had to be more than what he told you.\n\nShe obviously was still having an effect on him for centuries as he kept his grudge and the letters rather than destroying them. Makes you think back to when he was trying to tell you that he knew about love and loss and how he was trying to guide you away from such things.\n\nOf course you know the main reason was due to his own agenda, but now upon reading these letters, you can\u2019t help but think a small portion was truthful and him speaking from this experience.\n\nCasimir certainly kept his promise in one of his letters though; he did say Tilda would always be a major factor in his future goals. While Tilda may have gotten a little revenge, she didn\u2019t exactly do her people any favors given what happened.\n\nYou wonder if she knew what lengths Casimir would ultimately go to utterly destroy her people, would she have done it anyway?", "action_results": [null]}]}]}]}]}, {"action": "Rule", "result": "Click.\n\nThat\u2019s the sound of everything in your head finally coming together.\n\nJacob\u2019s right.\n\nSemra\u2019s right.\n\nYOU\u2019RE right.\n\nThe Emperor needs to die and at this point the reasons are overwhelming and you can\u2019t deny it any longer. You lower your sword causing Jacob to breathe a sigh of relief.\n\n\u201cOkay\u2026so the Emperor needs to die. Any advice on how I should accomplish this task, because I\u2019m fairly certain it\u2019s not going to just be a matter of storming in and chopping his head off.\u201d You ask Semra who is surprised by your response.\n\u201cSemra? You listening?\u201d you repeat.\n\u201cYeah\u2026I just\u2026I didn\u2019t actually think you\u2019d listen to me\u2026I\u2019m glad you finally have though. Yes, you\u2019re right of course it won\u2019t be just a matter of chopping his head off, he\u2019ll most likely detect your intent as soon as you enter his chambers. At which point he\u2019d melt your brain with just a thought and your mind shield spells wouldn\u2019t even help you. Fortunately you will have me along to help you in this task. He can\u2019t do that little trick on me, svelk brains work differently.\u201d\n\u201cDon\u2019t I know it.\u201d You mumble. \u201cI still don\u2019t see how that is going to help me though.\u201d\n\u201cEasy, I\u2019m going to shield you by joining our minds together. It\u2019ll come in handy during the fight as well since we\u2019ll be more in sync with our attacks\u2026\u201d\n\nYou immediately interrupt.\n\n\u201cWait a minute, I don\u2019t know about this plan. Linking our minds and you having access to mine? That sounds like I\u2019d be at your complete mercy.\u201d\n\u201c(Sigh) You\u2019ve trusted me this far, why not a little further? You already know I\u2019ve been trying to help you from the start. Besides, we\u2019ve done this to a minor degree already when we were destroying gnome souls in Gnome\u2019s Home. Also it works both ways you know. You\u2019d have access to my mind as well.\u201d\n\u201cYou make that sound like that\u2019s a good thing.\u201d\n\u201cOh trust me lover, it\u2019ll be a very good thing. Just think our minds in harmony and knowing each other greater than we could ever express in words. We\u2019d have a level of intimacy that most beings can\u2019t even comprehend. Doesn\u2019t that sound just so\u2026 invigorating?\u201d\n\u201cIt sounds like something all right. Look, I don\u2019t know if I\u2019m going for this. Maybe I\u2019ll just take my chances with getting my brain melted.\u201d\n\u201cI highly suggest you don\u2019t. I know you think you are strong of mind, but this is something you are not going to have any defense for without my help. I\u2019m going to meet you down in the hall just before you enter the Emperor\u2019s chambers. I suggest you reconsider my generous offer by the time you get there.\u201d\n\nAt this point Semra\u2019s image disappears and its just you and Jacob left in the room. He\u2019s still very nervous.\n\n\u201cJacob, you can stop shaking I\u2019m not going to kill you. In fact since you\u2019re partly responsible for this power grab in process, what are you going to be doing?\u201d\n\u201cMe? I don\u2019t know. I wouldn\u2019t be much good in a fight as you well know. I guess I\u2019ll be packing a few bags just in case I need to make a hasty getaway, not that it\u2019ll probably do me much good.\u201d\n\u201cWay to have confidence in me, Jacob.\u201d\n\u201cI do have confidence, but I have to maintain a pragmatic attitude too. You understand.\u201d\n\u201cYeah, I get it\u2026so what about Semra? You think I should let her invade my head?\u201d\n\u201cYou\u2019re asking me?\u201d\n\u201cSure, why not? You and her have been plotting this whole thing. You obviously trusted her enough to work up the courage to try to bring me into this. So what\u2019s your opinion?\u201d\n\u201cI don\u2019t know. And I\u2019m not saying that to be evasive or frustrating, I really don\u2019t know. I mean if you were anyone else I\u2019d say go for it because you wouldn\u2019t have anything to lose because quite frankly I don\u2019t think anyone BUT you would have a chance of coming out of this alive.\u201d\n\u201cBut\u2026?\u201d\n\u201cBut since you DO have a chance of surviving this, who knows what Semra might pull after the Emperor is dead? And if she can get in your head\u2026well\u2026I just don\u2019t know.\u201d\n\u201cGreat.\u201d\n\u201cBut didn\u2019t she say you\u2019d be in hers as well? Maybe she wouldn\u2019t try anything, because she\u2019d be just as vulnerable.\u201d\n\u201cSo she says\u2026shit, just wish this was clear cut. You know? This isn\u2019t where I envisioned where my life was heading. In fact I never envisioned this.\u201d\n\u201cI don\u2019t think any of us did, but here we are never the less. The only other thing I can tell you is given how obsessed she is with you, she probably won\u2019t kill you.\u201d\n\u201cThere are things worse than death, Jacob. (Sigh) I guess I\u2019ll figure it out soon.\u201d You reply and turn to leave before you do though, Jacob calls out to you.\n\n\u201cJust in case we don\u2019t get to speak again\u2026I just want to say thank you for the times you helped me out.\u201d\n\u201cJust doing my part in serving the Empire.\u201d You say and leave.\n\n\u201cServing the Empire.\u201d You chuckle at that dark joke. You\u2019re about to try to kill the man who created it. You might be inclined to rationalize such an act by thinking you\u2019re serving the Empire by killing a leader that is no longer good at ruling it.\n\nOf course that would be complete bullshit. You\u2019re killing the Emperor for your own personal reasons first and foremost. Some of that is your own desire for power, but a lot of it is for revenge of Alison\u2019s murder. In fact the more you think about it, the angrier you get and that\u2019s good, because it\u2019s keeping out the fear you do have about facing the Emperor.\n\nEventually you reach the large hall before the Emperor\u2019s chambers and just as she promised, Semra is there waiting.\n\n\u201cWhat took you so long lover? The Emperor is probably aware I\u2019m here by now and possibly even suspecting something is amiss with you as well.\u201d\n\u201cWhat\u2019s the difference? You said he\u2019d know I was going to kill him as soon as I enter the chambers.\u201d\n\u201cI suppose so, but I was at least hoping that maybe we\u2019d have a slight chance at a surprise attack. Those are always the most efficient. Killing your enemy before they even get a chance to strike. Less messy, don\u2019t you agree?\u201d\n\u201cMaybe, but personally I don\u2019t mind getting messy.\u201d\n\u201cMmmm, yes I imagine you don\u2019t. Anyway come to me so we can merge our minds and get this task underway.\u201d\n\nYou cautiously step towards Semra who gives a faint smile as you do so. Her attempts at being friendly and inviting are probably more disturbing to you than when she used to beat and verbally abuse you. When you get within range, her arms reach out and around you.\n\n\u201cHey, what are you doing?!\u201d you ask backing up.\n\u201cWill you relax? This is part of the spell. We need to be looking at each other and focusing. Now here, just put your hands around me like this\u2026\u201d Semra says and starts to position your hands though you can\u2019t help but notice she initially positioned your hands so they were temporarily on her ass before she slowly moved them up around her waist. Her hands find their way on your shoulders and at this point you feel like you\u2019re in a compromising embrace rather than preparing for some spell.\n\n\u201cNow stare into my eyes and focus.\u201d Semra remarks as her own face is only a few inches away from your own. Your eyes don\u2019t immediately focus on her eyes though, you stare at her full blood red lips. You think about how you want to press your own lips against hers.\n\nAnd then she suddenly does and your mind goes to another place.\n\nYou see what\u2019s in Semra\u2019s mind or at least a glimpse of it. Images are coming at you so fast you can\u2019t make out all of it, but you see a mixture of the horrifying and impressive at the same time.\n\nYou see what must\u2019ve been during the time of when the svelk ruled. Everything is very regal and elegant looking, though much like the svelk themselves, it radiates a certain coldness. You also see the svelk treating their subjects (Most of which are of races you\u2019ve never even seen before) worse than the Empire ever could. They also have greater control too thanks to their magic.\n\nWhat you aren\u2019t seeing is any images of Semra herself and you\u2019re even sensing that she\u2019s experiencing pain during this process. Semra is obviously blocking some of her more private thoughts. She\u2019s showing you a general history of her life, yet somehow only telling you half the story. Meanwhile she\u2019s probably trying to scour through your mind of everything.\n\nWith this moment of clarity during the spell, you wonder if you shouldn\u2019t break off this link given that she\u2019s intending this to be a one-way affair. She might have ill intent for you once this is over after all.", "action_results": [{"action": "Break the link", "result": "Something about this is suspicious and you aren\u2019t risking it. You push yourself away from Semra.\n\n\u201cWhat are you doing?! I\u2019m not done yet!\u201d Semra exclaims.\n\u201cWell I am. I\u2019m not going to be put in a position where you can access my brain.\u201d\n\u201cYou damn well better, because when the Emperor has access to it, he\u2019s not going to be nice about it like me.\u201d\n\u201cLook, let\u2019s just get this over with.\u201d You say.\n\nSemra wants to argue more, but she sees she isn\u2019t going to convince you.\n\n\u201cFine.\u201d She replies.\n\nAfter speaking the password, the door opens and you both enter the Emperor\u2019s chambers. You cast your magical shield spells and distance yourself from Semra. Almost immediately you hear the voice of the Emperor, though he hasn\u2019t made an appearance yet.\n\n\u201cSo it\u2019s come to this has it? After all I\u2019ve done for you. After all I\u2019ve given you. You turn traitor for a piece of svelk tail?\u201d\n\nThe Emperor steps out from his bedroom.\n\n\u201cSon, I am disappointed.\u201d He says and then just stares immediately in your direction. You feel a slight pain in your head, which then gets much worse nearly immediately.\n\nSemra casts a spray of acid, and while it sizzles and melts objects within the designated direction, the Emperor\u2019s own defenses absorb it. Meanwhile you\u2019re collapsing on the floor clutching your head in extreme pain.\n\nYou bleed from your nose, from your ears and finally your eyes. Your death screams are ignored as Semra attempts to defend herself against the Emperor\u2019s overwhelming lightning blasts.\n\nYour brain liquefies inside your skull and you are no longer a factor in this attempted grab for the throne.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Keep focused", "result": "In for a silver, in for a sack as they say. If this spell is going to protect you from the Emperor, you\u2019d best stick with it and worry about Semra\u2019s intentions later. Though at this point you don\u2019t even feel any pain on your side of things, but maybe that\u2019s because you aren\u2019t trying to hide anything from her.\n\nYour life has more or less always been an open book. You\u2019ve never really hidden anything because you\u2019ve usually come clean eventually anyway. You\u2019re not even going to be hiding your desires to kill the Emperor pretty soon. If Semra\u2019s hoping to learn something to use against you, she\u2019s in for disappointment.\n\nShe already knows most of your combat techniques having taught most of them to you. She already knows your mindset well enough that she has more influence over you than you\u2019d like. She already is well aware of your feelings towards her. There is quite literally nothing she is going to find out that won\u2019t give her any advantage that she doesn\u2019t already have.\n\nYet you can sense she STILL wants more, its almost as if she\u2019s insecure about not having total control over you. You sense a lot of that actually. She can\u2019t comprehend why you can have a sexual desire for her, yet not desire her in the way you did with Alison. She\u2019s at a loss on what to do about it. And that confusion is a big ball of anger, frustration and pain.\n\nSuddenly you see the image of a young svelk girl. You aren\u2019t sure how old, but by human standards she would definitely be considered a child. It\u2019s Semra and she is holding the hand of an adult male svelk though you can never quite make out his face.\n\nThey are both in a city where a large crowd of svelk are gathered having a good time throwing what looks to be sveld babies against a nearby wall which has a big target on it. Semra looks very happy and cheers whenever one splats into a bloody mess in the center.\n\nIt would seem that Semra\u2019s entertainment preferences didn\u2019t change much for her. Several images of her enjoying similar activities with the same adult male flood your mind. You can only guess that the adult male might be her father, but Semra must be blocking you from confirming that.\n\nIn any case, the idea that she was once a child is bizarre, but then everyone starts as one at some point right? She had a twisted childhood to be sure, but she had more of a childhood than you ever did.\n\nJust as think you\u2019re starting to see more images of a personal nature, the contact is broken off and Semra pushes you away.\n\n\u201cThere. It\u2019s done. Let\u2019s get this over with.\u201d She remarks while rubbing the sides of her head. She also starts rubbing her eyes and is sniffling a bit.\n\nYou\u2019re silent for a moment, just staring at her. You know that she must be hiding loads of whatever unhappy memories she does have. And she certainly can\u2019t have you seeing them, she can\u2019t trust you enough to believe you wouldn\u2019t mock her in some way or exploit a weakness.\n\n\u201cWHAT?!\u201d she shouts when she notices you staring.\n\u201cNothing. Keep your secrets. Like you said, let\u2019s get this over with.\u201d\n\nAs you make your way to the door to the Emperor\u2019s chamber, you do feel the connection of your mind to Semra\u2019s. Its not like you can read her thoughts, but its rather a sixth sense kind of feeling. You\u2019re curious how this will play out during battle.\n\nAfter speaking the password, the door opens and you both enter the Emperor\u2019s chambers. You look at each other, simultaneously cast your magical shield spells and spread out. Almost immediately you hear the voice of the Emperor, though he hasn\u2019t made an appearance yet.\n\n\u201cSo it\u2019s come to this has it? After all I\u2019ve done for you. After all I\u2019ve given you. You turn traitor for a piece of svelk tail?\u201d\n\nThe Emperor steps out from his bedroom.\n\n\u201cSon, I am disappointed.\u201d He says and then just stares immediately in your direction. You feel a slight pain in your head, but its muted. Semra\u2019s shielding spell must be working.\n\nThe Emperor looks genuinely shocked. Its an expression you don\u2019t think you\u2019ve ever seen before on him.\n\n\u201cYou\u2026you let this\u2026creature into your mind?! Have you gone mad?!\u201d\n\u201cProbably.\u201d You remark and cast a lightning blast at the Emperor, but he easily deflects it back at you causing it to hit your force shield and knocking you to the floor.\n\nSemra casts a spray of acid, and while it sizzles and melts objects within the designated direction, the Emperor\u2019s own defenses absorb it. Realizing he can\u2019t just explode your brain, he casts a spell, which starts to turn the room very cold. You\u2019re reminded of the time you cast this spell on Cyrus\u2019 crew and you immediately cast a ring of fire around yourself in the hopes the heat will be enough to keep you from freezing. You follow up with a volley of small fireballs, which set the many bookshelves in the room ablaze.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019ve made a dire mistake son, trusting this svelk whore. Even if you could defeat me, do you really think she\u2019d allow you to live? She\u2019s lying to you son. She always has and I thought you were stronger than that.\u201d The Emperor remarks as sheets of ice cover the room extinguishing some of the flames.\n\u201cAnd you weren\u2019t lying to me?! You had Alison murdered and you planned to kill me as well!\u201d you shout back as you release your feet from the ice that has managed to encase around them.\n\nThe Emperor sends a flash of light that blinds you and Semra. You stumble around to the left since you remember there being a solid stone table you can take cover behind.\n\n\u201c(Sigh) Even if any of that was true my son, what of it? I was your father! Your master! Your life was mine to do with as I saw fit! Of course none it matters now. You\u2019ve decided to stand against me and now your life is most certainly mine to take.\u201d You hear the Emperor say and then suddenly hear loud lighting blast followed by a yelp sound to your far right. Must be Semra, but you\u2019re still half blind from that flash of light.\n\n\u201cHa ha! Not as strong as we thought eh Semra? You always were an overconfident bitch. Won\u2019t be long before I break through your pathetic force shield.\u201d\n\nYour eyes clear up enough and see Semra across the room struggling to maintain her shield from a steady blast of lightning unleashed by the Emperor. Seeing that trading magic isn\u2019t going to work, you put up your own shield and try to make your way over to the Emperor to just butcher him, but the combination of your hampered eyesight and icy floor are enough to slow you down.\n\n\u201cEver the warrior aren\u2019t we son? Here, play with these!\u201d the Emperor shouts and stops his attack on Semra, waves his hands and suddenly five hovering undead figures appear. You cast an enchantment spell on your sword and press forward to battle. Meanwhile Semra has taken advantage of her second wind and cast a telekinesis spell throwing a table directly into the Emperor. She follows this up with smacking him with several other smaller objects. He falls to the floor and re-establishes his own magic shield.\n\n\u201cKeep up the pressure!\u201d Semra shouts.\n\nYou\u2019d love to, but right now you\u2019re trying to destroy the undead creatures in from of you. While you\u2019ve never faced such things before, you keep your cool and successfully cut down three of them.\n\n\u201cYou fools know nothing of the power you face! Now face the true supremacy of a necromancer!\u201d the Emperor shouts and the entire room gets even colder, but this isn\u2019t even like the cold of ice or snow, this is something unnatural. You start to feel the tips of your fingers go numb and feel your energy starting to be drained. It\u2019s like when Cyrus touched you, but this is all around you.\n\nYou nearly get your head cleaved in by one of the wraiths as you start feel dizzy. You dodge the attack and slash the thing in two. The last one is taken down with a blast of fire from Semra who you sense is feeling the affects of the Emperor\u2019s magic too.\n\nYou stagger and prop yourself up on a burned lab desk. The Emperor stands only a few feet away, but he seems so far for you to do anything. You look over and see Semra staggers towards him, but collapses and begins screaming. You aren\u2019t sure what the Emperor\u2019s doing, but his eyes are glowing red.\n\n\u201cA scared little girl still crying about her lost birthright. That\u2019s all you are and all you ever will be. You svelk think you know about pain and death, but you know nothing! I\u2019ll show you true pain and soon I\u2019ll show you death and the endless torture that can come after it!\u201d\n\nSemra\u2019s confidence that the Emperor couldn\u2019t do anything to her mind because of her race has proven false. While he\u2019s not exploding her brain you do sense he\u2019s creating some sort of waking nightmare in her mind. She\u2019s literally crying and begging for him to stop, she even looks over to you reaching out with both hands telling you she\u2019s sorry. She pleads with you to help her and that she needs your strength.\n\nYou never thought you\u2019d ever feel a slight twinge of sympathy for her.\n\nIn any event, you\u2019re not exactly doing so well yourself. You aren\u2019t even sure if you could help Semra even if you wanted to given how weak you feel. Though your chances of making a lunging attack to kill the Emperor are equally as slim.", "action_results": [{"action": "Help Semra", "result": "Under any other circumstances you\u2019d probably be rejoicing in Semra\u2019s misery, but on this she is your ally and as your ally you\u2019re not going to leave her in the lurch.\n\nWith your remaining strength you stumble over to Semra and then promptly collapse near her and grab her hand. This act causes the Emperor to laugh.\n\n\u201cHa ha ha ha! What would your beloved Alison say if she saw you rolling on the floor with your svelk harlot? Let\u2019s ask her!\u201d the Emperor says and then another ghost appears. It\u2019s Alison.\n\n\u201cI see that you\u2019ve already forgotten me and found comfort in the arms of Semra. Now you and her make your grab for power. Why was I not worthy enough for your plan to kill the Emperor? Did you always feel that I was so weak and you ultimately held no respect for my skills?\u201d the undead parody of Alison remarks.\n\n\u201cNo. No. No. I\u2019m not seeing this and even if I am, this isn\u2019t Alison. She wouldn\u2019t say such things. Away spirit, I will not play your games!\u201d you shout.\n\n\u201cNow you dismiss me in death? I have returned and you have no loving words? You do not even make the attempt? It\u2019s the least you could do for your failure to SAVE MY LIFE!\u201d Alison says and she begins to utter an unearthly wail. It\u2019s horrible and despite your best efforts, it\u2019s starting to demoralize you. A depression begins to set in, followed by guilt, but you can\u2019t let it get to you, because you\u2019re too busy trying to shake Semra out of her own hell.\n\n\u201cSemra! Concentrate! You are Semra D\u2019vessa! Mistress of torture and pain! You are the scourge of the lesser born and one of the greatest examples of your superior race! You don\u2019t fear anything! You have no frailties for such things are the attributes of the weak! You have my hand! You have my strength, you\u2026\u201d\n\nYou breathe in and exhale hard. You never thought you\u2019d say this, but if it\u2019ll help\u2026\n\n\u201c\u2026have my love. Always and forever.\u201d You say.\n\nThis last declaration causes her to snap out of her nightmare and look over at you. She breaks free of her nightmare. Meanwhile the ghostly abomination of Alison shrieks even louder at your statement before completely dissipating. Apparently your complete disregard of your true feelings for your late wife was enough to destroy it.\n\nYou and Semra begin to recover from your ordeal and get up, but this is followed by the pair of you being hit by some sort of black ray. Semra tries to cast a spell, but she\u2019s still too weak.\n\nYou look up at the Emperor who is now standing over both of you still hitting you with the black ray. He doesn\u2019t look young at all anymore. He doesn\u2019t even look like how did when he was sick. He\u2019s nearly skeletal looking. It\u2019s obvious this battle has taken its toll on him, but it doesn\u2019t matter because he\u2019s still got more fight in him than either of you.\n\n\u201cNow look at the pair of you. On the floor writhing like the maggots you truly are. You\u2019ve both set my plans back severely, but you\u2019ll not stop me. The pair of you will supply me with enough energy to do what I need to do! Argh!\u201d\n\nYou stab the Emperor in the foot with your dagger; unfortunately it doesn\u2019t distract or give you any breathing space and instead kicks your hand away. He increases the intensity of the ray on you and Semra.\n\n\u201cBASTARD! YOU THINK YOUR PATHETIC WEAPONS CAN STOP ME? I AM CASIMIR OF MORTOS! EMPEROR! NECROMANCER! RULER OF THE\u2026\u201d\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re an asshole, Casimir.\u201d Jacob remarks who stands in the entry way of the chamber and the shot from his flintlock breaches the chest of the Emperor who watches it explode in a gout of blood before his eyes. He falls backwards to the floor struggling to breathe.\n\n\u201cNo\u2026not\u2026(wheeze) like this\u2026taken down\u2026by a (cough) fucking bean counter\u2026(wheeze)\u2026\u201d the Emperor gasps and coughing up blood.\n\nYou get up as fast you\u2019re able, retrieve your dagger from the floor and draw your sword to finish off the Emperor. Semra is still trying to gather her own strength.\n\nYou stare down at the Emperor who is already on his way to death, but intend to quicken that journey. You hold the sword to his throat and stare him in the eyes.\n\n\u201cDo it then\u2026 (cough) finish me off\u2026but know this son\u2026your will not get to enjoy your victory. (wheeze) You\u2019ve won\u2026nothing.\u201d\n\nYou don\u2019t even reply you just press the sword through his throat causing him to gurgle one last time and twitch slightly before he dies. It\u2019s over at last.\n\nOr at least you thought it was.\n\nNo sooner have you turned around to check on your allies, when Jacob and Semra shout at you to watch out.\n\nYou turn around just into time to see the corpse of the Emperor lift up off the ground glowing a dark red color. His eyes are rolled up into his head and his mouth drops open and a deep voice emanates from it even though it isn\u2019t moving.\n\n\u201cTHIS EMPIRE WILL DIE WITH ME AS WILL ALL WHO DWELL WITHIN IT. THIS IS MY FINAL CURSE FOR YOUR TREACHERY.\u201d The corpse says and then it disintegrates before your eyes.\n\nA great rumbling starts and parts of the ceiling start collapsing along with the floor starting to crack and break.\n\n\u201cYou gotta be kidding me\u2026\u201d you remark.\n\u201cCome on we need to get the hell out of here!\u201d Jacob exclaims.\n\nJacob, Semra, and you immediately run out of the Emperor\u2019s chambers trying to avoid falling debris and big holes in the floor at the same time. Jacob manages to reach the stairs just in time for them to start crumbling.\n\n\u201cCome on, quickly before\u2026\u201d\n\u201cJACOB ABOVE YOU!\u201d you shout, but it\u2019s too late. Jacob is struck by a large piece of concrete followed by an even bigger piece, which crushes him completely. It also blocks off your only escape.\n\n\u201cShit! Fuck! Damn it!\u201d you curse. \u201cSemra you can move those large slabs of stone if I join my magic with yours can\u2019t you?\u201d\n\u201cNot in my current drained state and not fast enough even with your help.\u201d Semra remarks.\n\u201cShields! We still got enough to do that!\u201d you say.\n\u201cWe\u2019re going to have an entire palace and possibly even a whole city collapsing in on our heads. Even if our magic was strong enough to deflect such massive weight, we still have the problem of being buried alive. We\u2019d just suffocate instead of being crushed.\u201d\n\nThe rumbles and shakes continue to get worse and knock you and Semra to the floor. You both try to find a spot where the falling debris isn\u2019t life threatening. Things are looking mighty bleak.\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t believe it. Here I was worrying about you betraying me, but instead I\u2019m going to die from a stupid final curse!\u201d\n\u201cDon\u2019t be so sure, there\u2019s still time for me to betray you.\u201d\n\nNormally you wouldn\u2019t laugh, but in this hopeless situation you can\u2019t help but to do so.\n\n\u201cHeh, well hurry it up then because the rocks are going to get us both soon. This is a hell of way to die, I almost would\u2019ve rather had the Emperor kill me. At least there would\u2019ve been a certain honor in that.\u201d\n\u201cWhat honor? You were a traitor. He probably would\u2019ve had your name stricken from all records.\u201d Semra says.\n\u201cYeah\u2026well at least it would\u2019ve been better than being buried and crushed.\u201d\n\nSemra doesn\u2019t reply to that, but what she does instead is ask you a question.\n\n\u201cSince we don\u2019t have much time left, I have to ask you\u2026did you mean it?\u201d\n\nThanks your mind merge, you already know what she\u2019s asking with that question. You also know you can\u2019t lie to her because she\u2019ll sense that immediately. However, you also sense it doesn\u2019t matter if you do.\n\n\u201cSure. Why not?\u201d you say with a smile. Semra returns the smile and gives you a kiss on the cheek.\n\n\u201cNo, you didn\u2019t, but maybe you will for this.\u201d She whispers in your ear. You give her strange look when she says this as she stands up. She pulls a ring out of a small bag from around her waist and puts it on.\n\n\u201cHey wait, what are you doing\u2026\u201d you ask and then you\u2019re suddenly struck with a paralysis from the ring and then a strange purple field envelops you. You see everything going on, but are unable to do anything about it. A sizable rock even hits you, but you feel nothing. The field is protecting you.\n\n\u201cMommy loves you\u2026always and forever. Remember this.\u201d You hear Semra say before sound becomes muted completely and your vision goes completely black. You are able to breathe normally, but you don\u2019t see how you can survive. You\u2019d probably panic a lot more if a strong wave of sleep didn\u2019t suddenly take you.\n\nAs the continuous falling rubble buries you, you sleep.\n\nYou sleep for a very long time.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Chapter 3C1: Relic\n\n\nYear ???\n\n\u201cWhat the hell is that thing?\u201d\n\u201cI dunno, it\u2019s about time we found something worthwhile in this old rubble though, because this whole expedition has been pretty pointless. Looks like some sort of weird magic shell. It also looks like something is inside, guess we\u2019ll finally get to use this old dispel staff after all.\u201d\n\u201cHey wait! We don\u2019t know what\u2019s in there!\u201d\n\n\u2026\n\n\u201cShit! It\u2019s a body!\u201d\n\u201cYeah. Damn, I was hoping it was treasure.\u201d\n\u201cYou think he\u2019s dead?\u201d\n\u201cWell he ain\u2019t moving is he? Probably been here for who know how long, but I assume the shell preserved the corpse. Hey, check out that neat dagger he\u2019s got. Is that mithral? Shit, that IS mithral!\n\u201cHey you shouldn\u2019t be doing that! You know what Calvin said!\u201d\n\u201cFuck Calvin, I\u2019m taking this for myself. Not like he\u2019s going to know, and don\u2019t act like you\u2019ve never done it before. I saw you pilfering some old ring in the debris back there.\u201d\n\u201cIt\u2019s not that, I just don\u2019t have a good feeling about this.\u201d\n\u201cWhat you think he\u2019s gonna just wake up or something?\u201d\n\u201cMaybe\u2026I mean like a zombie.\u201d\n\u201c(Sigh) You and your zombies. I swear you think we\u2019re going to unearth a tomb of undead horrors on every expedition and in all our years have we ever even encountered something remotely like that? You read too many damn bad copper dreadfuls about necromancers.\u201d\n\u201cI dunno, I still say you should be careful. We\u2019ve never found a body so intact before, let alone preserved in some magic shell. Maybe there was a reason for that.\u201d\n\u201cMaybe, but that\u2019s Calvin\u2019s job to figure out. Right now I\u2019m just getting my hands on this dagger\u2026ULK!\u201d\n\nYou sit up immediately and thrust your dagger in the throat of your assailant. Blood gushes from the fatal wound and you throw him to the side.\n\n\u201cOh shit! Oh shit! Oh fuck!\u201d you hear another attacker shout and see him fumble with some sort of pistol only to drop the weapon entirely before attempting to make his escape.\n\nHe doesn\u2019t get far. You stand up and blast him in the back with a lightning bolt. He screams and falls making a few death twitches when his sizzling body hits the ground.\n\nYou have no idea who these people were, but that scream was loud enough to attract more enemies if they\u2019re in the area and judging by the large sound of foot steps coming in your direction there are.\n\nYou quickly scan your surroundings and see quite a few shovels, picks and lanterns nearby, but no way out other than the one entryway that the fried fellow on the ground was trying to run to.\n\nWhat happened? Last thing you remember is Semra casting a spell on you and you fell asleep as the palace was collapsing in on your heads. You don\u2019t even know how much time has passed. The two men that were hovering around you aren\u2019t dressed in the typical Empire style. They carry no weapons other than pistols and those are different from the ones you\u2019ve ever seen. The pistols are more complex looking.\n\nHow much time has passed? Has the Empire fallen? What happened to everyone? Hell, at this point you\u2019re even wondering what happened to Semra.\n\nAs the sound of footsteps get even closer you draw your sword out of its scabbard and prepare for a fight.\n\nA group of men and women appear in the entryway. A some of them carry gunpowder weapons, but most of them are completely unarmed. Again, their style of dress isn\u2019t familiar.\n\n\u201cStop! You point those weapons at me and I can easily incinerate the lot of you! Don\u2019t believe me? Watch!\u201d you remark and throw a small fireball on the ground nearby. It\u2019s enough to cause them all to back off and even cause a couple of them to run away. One of them demands to be let through so he can see exactly what\u2019s going on.\n\nThe man that shoves his way through looks about in his fifties with thinning hair and is dressed in a fancy suit. You\u2019ve never seen this man before, but something about him looks vaguely familiar.\n\nWhen he sees you, he\u2019s more in awe than he is scared. In fact he doesn\u2019t seem to care at all about the two dead men on the ground.\n\n\u201cI can\u2019t believe it! It\u2019s you! I mean it\u2019s gotta be! The way you\u2019re dressed, the magic abilities, the location...I just can\u2019t\u2026\u201d\n\nSuddenly a higher female voice shouts from behind the crowd.\n\n\u201cDad! What\u2019s going on?! I heard all this\u2026by the...gods\u2026is that\u2026\u201d\n\u201cYes, Jennifer it is! We\u2019ve made the find of a lifetime! Quintus will be so pleased!\u201d\n\nThe woman is on the younger side with raven black hair. Probably early twenties. Unlike her father her clothes are covered in dirt and more practical in nature. You also notice she\u2019s carrying a pistol as well.\n\n\u201cWho the hell are all you people?! Were you sent to dig me up?! What\u2019s happened to the Empire? Someone better explain what\u2019s been going on!\u201d you demand.\n\u201cForgive us. I\u2019m sure this must all be very confusing for you, but we don\u2019t go on these digs to find living people, let alone someone like you. I just\u2026wow\u2026I can\u2019t believe it\u2019s you. I mean you\u2019re the Eternal right?\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m an Eternal. Yes. But you still haven\u2019t answered and I\u2019m starting to get impatient!\u201d you exclaim.\n\n\u201cOkay, okay! My name is Calvin Mol. I am head of this archeological dig for the Nalin Republic and Senator Quintus Arillicus in particular. This is my daughter Jennifer\u2026\u201d Calvin begins to say before you interrupt him.\n\n\u201cWait. Mol? Are you related to Jacob?\u201d you ask because it would explain the very vague likeness. When you ask this question both he and his daughter\u2019s eyes light up.\n\n\u201cYes! He was one of my ancestors! Did you know him?! I have so many questions!\u201d\n\u201cAnd your fucking questions are going to have to wait! You said Nalin Republic, what\u2019s that? The only Nalin I know of is a province of the Empire! You also said Jacob was your ancestor, how much time has passed?!\u201d\n\nAt this point Calvin and his daughter look a bit nervous at each other. Everyone else behind them who hasn\u2019t already backed away entirely, does so now.\n\n\u201cWell\u2026taking into the consideration of the age of these ruins and what we already know about when the cataclysm occurred\u2026um\u2026I\u2019d say about five hundred\u2026give or take a few years.\u201d Calvin remarks.\n\nYour heart almost skips a beat and now you\u2019re the one in shock.\n\nYear 535\n\n\u201cFive\u2026hundred years\u2026\u201d you slowly utter.\n\nYou almost hesitate to ask.\n\n\u201cAnd\u2026 the Empire?\u201d\n\nCalvin and Jennifer look a bit nervous again.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s\u2026um\u2026gone. Been gone for centuries. It never recovered from the unknown cataclysm that struck the land. Most of it was outright destroyed. By the time most of the pieces were picked up, those areas that weren\u2019t hit as hard had become their own nations.\u201d Calvin explains.\n\nThis news causes you to sit down on a nearby stone.\n\n\u201cI caused this\u2026\u201d you whisper to yourself.\n\nJennifer and Calvin don\u2019t quite hear what you say, but Jennifer sensing that you\u2019re more than a little troubled by this news attempts to cheer you up.\n\n\u201cWhat my father should\u2019ve said, is while the Empire as you know it is gone, its spirit lives on in the Nalin Republic! Seriously, Nalin was probably the only portion of the Empire that managed to hold on to a few of its traditions and culture during those dark ages. Even the language didn\u2019t change too much. That\u2019s probably why you can understand us so well, even if our accents and a few of our words are slightly different to yours.\u201d\n\nThis has no effect on your mood. You are at a complete loss of what to do. You were supposed to rule the Empire, but instead your actions were part of its destruction. You never wanted that to happen.\n\nMaybe you should\u2019ve believed the Emperor or at least just followed his orders. Who knows what might\u2019ve happened? Maybe he would\u2019ve killed you or maybe he wouldn\u2019t have, but at least you wouldn\u2019t be in the situation you\u2019re in now. A man out of time. A relic of the past. You have no nation to rule or serve. You don\u2019t even have a home or a master any more. What are you going to do with yourself?\n\nYou have no idea. The only good thing about any of this is you have a minor support base here. Jacob\u2019s descendants are obviously very taken with you. You\u2019ve only been half listening to what they\u2019ve been babbling about, but they keep mentioning that they want you to return to the Nalin Republic with them so you can meet this Quintus character that apparently is going to be glad to see you as well. It would seem that you are somewhat known in the few old writings they\u2019ve found about the old Empire.\n\nJennifer\u2019s brief description of this Nalin Republic sounds at least like a good place to familiarize yourself with this new world and you could go with them if only to get some bearings before you decide what to do next.", "action_results": [{"action": "Go to the Nalin Republic", "result": "You don\u2019t have much else to do at this point. You might as well go to Nalin. If you decide you don\u2019t like it there, you can always leave.\n\n\u201cOkay, okay, I\u2019ll go with you. Just both of you stop going on about it!\u201d\n\u201cYou will? That\u2019s wonderful! Hey would you\u2026\u201d\n\u201cCalvin, I told you to shut up already!\u201d you snap.\n\nCalvin shuts up and backs away. He starts telling his daughter that he has to stay here with most of the crew because there is still a lot of digging that needs to be done, but that he wants her to take you to Quintus right away. She nods and tells a few of the expedition crew to start loading up a few wagons to leave soon.\n\nJennifer herself on the other hand starts walking along side you and staring a lot.\n\n\u201cShouldn\u2019t you be helping load up the wagons?\u201d you say implying that you\u2019d like her to leave you be.\n\u201cNo, they got it. Hey, so how well did you know my ancestor?\u201d she asks ignoring or oblivious to your wishes.\n\u201cNot as well as I thought, considering he never mentioned having a family to me.\u201d\n\u201cOh I do not believe he had one of his own. But from what I\u2019ve seen of my father\u2019s family tree diagrams, Jacob had a couple of brothers that were just normal civil servants. Record keepers, that sort of thing. Obviously they had families though, otherwise my father and I wouldn\u2019t be here. He never mentioned siblings?\u201d\n\u201cNope. Perhaps he wasn\u2019t on good terms with them. I dunno. I only interacted with him on things concerning important Empire business. He was pretty immersed in his work most the time. I suppose I can say, he was a dedicated servant of the Empire.\u201d\n\nThis remark makes Jennifer display a big grin.\n\n\u201cHah, I knew it. We Mols have always been patriots to our nations!\u201d\n\u201cHm, well he definitely would do anything to save his nation. Unfortunately that seems to have been for naught given that it no longer exists.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo\u2026um, why were you in that magic shell?\u201d Jennifer asks changing her line of questioning.\n\u201cWhy do you ask so many questions?\u201d\n\u201cBecause we could\u2019ve never believed that we\u2019d discover a living person from the old Empire, yet here you are! I mean we know about the Empire only from a few tattered incomplete writings or mostly oral stories. Now we\u2019ve finally got someone who lived during those glorious times! Someone who can give us the truth about what happened. I mean the cataclysm for example. All anyone knows is it was a great disaster of a magical nature that occurred five centuries ago. Nobody really knows how or why it happened. You had to have been there for that. Do you know what happened?\u201d\n\u201cOh\u2026I have an idea\u2026\u201d You say.\n\u201cAnd?!\u201d Jennifer asks.\n\u201cAnd I\u2019m not going to tell you.\u201d You remark.\n\u201cWhat?!\u201d Jennifer exclaims in total disbelief. She actually is at a loss for words, but unfortunately not for long.\n\n\u201cBut why aren\u2019t you going to tell me?!\u201d\n\u201cDon\u2019t take it personal. I\u2019m not planning to tell anyone. It\u2019s very apparent that you folks want something from me, which I can provide. History, information, and the truth. If I just give all that shit away, who\u2019s to say you won\u2019t just toss me aside and try to have me killed after you\u2019ve milked me for all of it?\u201d\n\u201cThat\u2026that wouldn\u2019t happen! How could you even think we\u2019d do such a thing?\u201d\n\u201cHow could I NOT think such a thing? Besides, I\u2019m fairly certain you wouldn\u2019t want the real truth anyway.\u201d\n\u201cOf course we want the truth!\u201d\n\u201cNo, I don\u2019t believe you do. Not really, I think you just want to hear what you want to hear. You want the truth? Here\u2019s one for you. The Empire existed, and then it didn\u2019t. End of history lesson.\u201d\n\nThis cynical comment causes Jennifer to again briefly shut up which you hope will send her away, but she\u2019s not going to be deterred so easily.\n\n\u201cLook, I realize you\u2019re probably a little upset about your situation. I get that, but you don\u2019t need to take it out on me. I\u2019m just saying you\u2019re living history. And more specifically you\u2019re a very important part of my nation\u2019s past. You could fill in so many blanks. You\u2019re more than just some old magical weapon that we found in the dirt.\u201d\n\nYou snort at that last statement.\n\n\u201cNo. That\u2019s exactly what you found, an old magical weapon that was buried in the dirt. Not even buried, but sealed away. And like most old magical weapons found sealed away and buried for centuries, sometimes the smartest thing you can do is leave them alone. I would think the dead bodies of two of your crew would be a good example of that.\u201d\n\nJennifer perceives your comment as a threat, as well she should. She makes no smart comment back; she just shuts up like her father and continues walks along side of you. Glad to see these Mols have as much sense as their ancestor did.\n\nEventually you make it out of this dig site and into the open air. And what you see before you is severely different from what you remember.\n\nWhere you once knew a great city once stood is gone. These explorers have uncovered a few pieces of it, but by and large it\u2019s gone. Even the surrounding area where you once knew farmland and even lush fields would\u2019ve been is gone. Everything has been replaced by sickly undergrowth. A wasteland.\n\nJennifer remarks to everyone needing to keep an extra eye out for orc raiders. Jennifer looks over at you briefly again, but casts her eyes down and tries to get on with packing up the front wagon. You shake your head and walk over to Jennifer.\n\n\u201cLook, Jennifer is it? I apologize for my remarks earlier, but as you said all of this IS a shock to me. I\u2019ve seen a lot during my time, but I don\u2019t think anything could\u2019ve prepared me for this.\u201d\n\u201cI can only imagine. I guess overwhelming you with questions was inconsiderate of us.\u201d\n\u201cWell I suppose your curiosity is natural, but let\u2019s just say I\u2019m not quite ready to discuss everything. At least not yet.\u201d\n\u201cI understand. Your last memories of the Empire were during the cataclysm and you\u2019re only just now seeing the results. It must\u2019ve been a terrible time!\u201d\n\u201cYes, you could say that it was.\u201d\n\nJennifer nods and you help her with loading the last bags on the head wagon. When you step aboard it, you\u2019re on your way. For a while there\u2019s silence between the pair of you as you ride through the wasteland, but you decide to be social and break the silence.\n\n\u201cSo orcs huh? They\u2019re a threat? I would\u2019ve thought they\u2019d all be extinct by now. There weren\u2019t even many left in the Empire during my time.\u201d you say.\n\u201cSadly, that is no longer the case. I imagine without the Empire around, they reverted back to their chaotic natures and they bred unchecked. Now they\u2019re all over the Qualan Badlands and elsewhere too. They probably were one of the few races to thrive during the dark ages. I\u2019m not too worried about that happening today though now that we\u2019ve got powerful Eternal travelling with us!\u201d\n\u201cYou shouldn\u2019t be too overconfident of that. Under the right circumstances, anyone, no matter how powerful they appear to be can be brought down sometime by the humblest of things. Still, I see the reputation of the Eternals has still survived. So are there any in Nalin?\u201d\n\u201cHa ha ha ha! No, of course not! Before we found you, the last one died over four hundred years ago. First Matriarch Brenda of the Nalin Dominion. She was probably the main one responsible for keeping the fledging remnants of the Empire together during the cataclysm.\u201d\n\u201cGlad to know someone was trying to uphold order. Good for her.\u201d\n\u201cDid you know her well?\u201d\n\u2018Not excessively, but we did have dealings on a few matters, like during the taming of the lands east of Nalin for example. There was another major event too, but I\u2019d care not to discuss that at this time.\u201d\n\u201cUnderstood\u2026well anyway that was back then. Things have changed a lot since her time, our government being just one of those things, but for all intents and purposes she sort of laid the foundations for the Nalin Republic by keeping the country safe in the first place.\u201d\n\u201cYou\u2019re going to have to explain what the hell a republic is. Never heard of it before.\u201d You say causing Jennifer to smile a bit.\n\n\u201cWell, nowadays a single leader doesn\u2019t rule our government. It\u2019s run by a senate, which consists of a group of politicians that are chosen by the people. They ultimately decide on the laws and such by discussing and debating them.\u201d\n\nYou are completely baffled by this concept.\n\n\u201cThat sounds like an inefficient way of running things. How does anything get accomplished?\u201d\n\u201cWell, sometimes things do take time, but the citizens are a lot freer and happier by choosing their leaders.\u201d\n\nNow you\u2019re really lost.\n\n\u201cWhy the hell would people want to be free and happy? They should just be grateful for the protection and order that the government provides for their miserable lives! One strong leader to rule over them with an iron fist is only thing the citizens really need. And if they grumble too much they get executed, problem solved. Hell, it\u2019s not like slaves cost that much if they need an extra hand in the fields.\u201d\n\nJennifer chuckles at your totalitarian views.\n\n\u201cYes, I imagine that it would be a bit strange to you. I\u2019m sure it might also surprise you that we don\u2019t have slavery anymore either; it actually became less cost effective. Still, you\u2019ll see that it isn\u2019t all bad. In fact you\u2019ll probably get along with Quintus, he\u2019s a very big admirer of old Empire history and culture. He\u2019s the one been privately funding all these expeditions.\u201d\n\nJust as you\u2019re about to ask Jennifer who this Quintus is, you hear war cries and howling in the distance. It might have been five hundred years, but you know the sounds of orcs when you hear them.\n\nNot long after the general warning, you soon see them coming from the far left and the far right. They look every bit as big, mean and green as you remember them. No heavy armor, but the giant boar creatures they\u2019re riding and the willingness to use bows are new.\n\nJennifer orders everyone to ride faster and ready their firearms. While readying the firearms is always a good idea, there is no way you\u2019re going to outpace the orcs at the speed you\u2019re going, the wagons are just not fast enough and are weighed down by equipment. There are also enough orcs that some of them are going reach you before they get shot off their pigs and that\u2019s assuming everyone in this caravan is a crack shot that can hit them in the head.\n\nMeanwhile you feel like you\u2019re a sitting kobold on your own wagon. Part of you would rather just get on one of the horses and unhook the wagon, so you\u2019ve got a little more maneuverability. Of course you could just start flinging magic spells at the orcs.", "action_results": [{"action": "Cast spells", "result": "No need to endanger yourself unnecessarily you think, so you start focusing on flinging fireballs at the orcs.\n\nMaybe it\u2019s the unstableness of the wagon as it runs over uneven land, maybe the orcs are much better pig riders than you thought, maybe you\u2019re just out of practice or maybe it\u2019s a combination of all three factors, but whatever the reason you don\u2019t actually hit many of them.\n\nDoesn\u2019t take long before the orcs return fire with their bows. You immediately cast a personal shield to prevent being shot to death. Jennifer on the other hand isn\u2019t quite as lucky as she is caught by several arrows. Her face is one of shock as she stares at the arrow shafts now inside her body puncturing vital organs.\n\nShe begins to fall, but in doing so she grabs on to your arm, perhaps in some sort of last attempt of begging for someone to help her. This catches you off guard and your arm is pulled away from your next spell gesture. Before you can pull away from her death grip, orcs on the other side of the wagon have unleashed their own volley of arrows and since you\u2019re distracted you don\u2019t manage to put up your shield spell in time.\n\nYou\u2019re relatively \u201clucky\u201d in that you only catch three arrows in the back. A grievous wound that would probably kill most, but under the right circumstances you\u2019d pull through.\n\nUnfortunately after getting with three arrows in the back, and already slightly off by your footing when Jennifer grabbed you, you lose complete balance due to the wagon going over bumpy land. Doesn\u2019t help that arrows also hit the horses and collapse from their wounds which all results in you getting thrown to the ground and smacking your head on a rock when the wagon abruptly stops.\n\nAgain though, even with something as bad as this, you\u2019d probably pull through if you had time to heal yourself through magic.\n\nThe problem is you don\u2019t have that luxury and after you finally manage to shake off the cobwebs of your head wound, you look up just in time to see one of the orc boars galloping towards you and then OVER you. A hoof crushes your skull and the rest break your bones.\n\nYour body broken and bloody is eventually stripped clean by the orcs and left to rot in the wasteland.\n\nYour \u201creturn\u201d was a short and ignoble one.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Get on one of the horses", "result": "While it\u2019s entirely possibly that you\u2019d come out of this thing alive, (You\u2019ve certainly been through worse) there\u2019s little guarantee that anyone else will. If you\u2019re going to keep your \u201crescuers\u201d alive, you\u2019ll need to be unhindered.\n\n\u201cWhat\u2019re you doing?!\u201d Jennifer asks as you leap on a horse.\n\u201cI\u2019m getting off this thing, and I suggest if you don\u2019t want to be a big target you will too, there\u2019s another horse here, jump on it and we\u2019ll unhitch the wagon!\u201d\n\nSensing that you\u2019re going to do this whether she likes it or not, she realizes that she doesn\u2019t really have a choice. She jumps on a horse and you take your sword and cut the harness. You tell Jennifer that she should order everyone else to concentrate their gunfire to the left.\n\n\u201cWhere are you going now?!\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m going to take care of the ones on the right!\u201d you shout and ride in their direction.\n\nThe orcs are so agitated about you heading directly towards them, they practically stop focusing on the caravan and begin firing arrows at you. Of course you anticipated such a thing and cast a shield to protect you and your horse. With your other hand you spray a cone of cold on the orcs closest to you, freezing them quite literally in their tracks.\n\nThis feat of magic is enough to cause the orcs to attempt to rear up their boars and change direction back towards attacking the caravan. Others are undeterred and continue to head toward you with large weapons in hand. You aim your next spell at their boars, which consists of a couple fire blasts. The pigs go up in a blaze and soon so do their riders who end up dropping their weapons in an attempt to beat out the flames.\n\nYou turn your attention at the orcs who decided to attack the caravan instead. At first glance the expedition crew have held their own fairly well considering none of them seem to be warriors and they seem to have fended off most of the orcs on the left side. However you see orcs getting the best of a couple of them when they close the gap and begin jumping onto the wagons.\n\nYou ride back to the caravan and put your own combat skills good use. Orcs may be fierce and unrelenting fighters sometimes, but without the heavy armor that you remember they used to wear for the Empire, they get killed as easily as anyone else if you\u2019re skilled enough, and you\u2019re more than skilled enough. As you battle the orcs, the remaining expedition crew tries to help, though you\u2019re nearly shot a couple of times in the process. You end up yelling at them to stop \u201chelping\u201d you before you start firing at them with something a lot more accurate.\n\nSoon after you\u2019ve killed your last orc after hopping from wagon to wagon, you hear Jennifer shouts to everyone that you\u2019ve won and the rest have rode off. The caravan stops for a moment to take some time to clean up dead bodies on the wagons, and gather up any equipment that fell off during the fight.\n\nJennifer comes up to you as you\u2019re cleaning off your own sword.\n\n\u201cWell that was exciting to see a real Eternal in action! I knew we were going to be safe with you!\u201d\n\u201cHmm, yeah well I almost wasn\u2019t safe with your people, because I nearly got shot a couple times!\u201d\n\u201cYeah, sorry about that. Fear of the orcs actually on the wagons was probably causing higher nervousness than usual.\u201d\n\u201cYou should get some soldiers on these trips. Then at least you\u2019d have some people who actually know how to fight when things get a little close.\u201d\n\u201cWe do have soldiers, can\u2019t you tell by the uniforms?\u201d\n\nHonestly you hadn\u2019t really paid much attention to the fact that several of the people on this expedition crew do have similar outfits. It\u2019s just regular clothing though, none of it is proper armor, light or heavy. You also now notice that the firearms are much different too, namely they can fire multiple shots before being reloaded. A very handy improvement indeed.\n\nYou realize that time has definitely marched on, it would seem that shooting someone with a rifle or pistol is the order of the day. Not much use for the old armor if that\u2019s indeed the case. Still, you\u2019re also reminded of the Felkans and their over reliance of such weapons. It would seem the Nalin Republic has the same technological disease. And these people are the supposed \u201csuccessors\u201d of the Empire.\n\n\u201cGuns.\u201d You say shaking your head.\n\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong with guns? You don\u2019t think they\u2019re honorable or something?\u201d Jennifer asks.\n\u201cNo, I believe they are very useful and it would be foolish to not employ such weapons of fantastic destruction during battle and war. I just have a problem with the reliance of them in place of natural combat skill, because one day you\u2019re going to run out of bullets and then you see who the real soldier is.\u201d\n\u201cHow is using a gun any different from casting down lightning from your fingers or throwing fireballs around?\u201d\n\u201cIt isn\u2019t in the scheme of things. I just said I don\u2019t have a problem with gunpowder weapons. However you also noticed I didn\u2019t just toss around magic like I had unlimited energy either. I used it when it was needed and engaged in close combat for the rest of them. I could\u2019ve easily just rained down a firestorm and wiped out all of the orcs, but that would\u2019ve taken out the caravan too. Something I\u2019m sure nobody wanted. The Empire used firearms AND magic during the Felkan War, but individually the soldiers were still some of the toughest warriors you\u2019d ever want to face. The Felkans soon learned that fatal fact. Perhaps if their soldiers still had the formidable close combat skills of an Empire soldier, they might not have lost so many battle when physical prowess was needed.\u201d\n\nJennifer doesn\u2019t debate your views or experience, she just thanks you again for your help and you\u2019re soon underway. The rest of the journey is relatively silent.\n\nEventually you arrive in the Nalin Republic. The landscape here is more like you remember, though it isn\u2019t until you get towards the capital of Dalt that you start seeing a resemblance to civilization, but even that\u2019s different when it comes to the architecture and such. You get a few stares from passing citizens.\n\nJennifer and you disembark from the wagons when you arrive at Quintus\u2019 house, or rather his very large mansion, which has guards posted at the gates. Honestly it\u2019s the closest thing resembling the Empire you\u2019ve seen since you got here.\n\n\u201cYou wait here, I\u2019ll have to speak with Quintus about all this first. While I\u2019m sure he\u2019ll really want to see you, there is protocol to follow.\u201d\n\u201cSure, do whatever it is you have to do, I\u2019m not going anywhere, but who is this Quintus anyway?\u201d\n\u201cQuintus Arillicus is one of the most influential leaders in the senate and as I\u2019ve already mentioned an admirer of old Empire history, but he\u2019ll tell you more when you meet him.\u201d\n\nAs Jennifer walks through the gates, you\u2019re left standing around with a few guards who give you the stares that you\u2019ve come to expect from everyone. You wait for about ten minutes before you begin to wonder why you\u2019re even entertaining this again.\n\nThen you remember, it\u2019s because you don\u2019t have much else to do right now. Though you\u2019re wondering what place you\u2019re going to have in this new world. You imagine that maybe you could be a soldier again though it doesn\u2019t look like there\u2019s a war going on. Doesn\u2019t even look like this place is suffering from any discontent from the citizens, but then looks can be deceiving.\n\nJennifer eventually comes back to the front gate and waves to come with her.\n\n\u201cYou can come in now. Quintus is very excited to see you!\u201d\n\nAt this point this Quintus better be just as impressive, because from what little you know of this guy, you\u2019re not nearly as excited to see him.\n\nYou and Jennifer walk into the mansion and while it\u2019s certainly fancy and has a design style similar to Empire architecture, it isn\u2019t nearly as extraordinary as the first time you saw the Emperor\u2019s palace. Of course you\u2019re a harder sell from those old days. Jennifer and you enter what is apparently a conference room. She says that he shouldn\u2019t be long and you both take a seat at the table.\n\nSoon a middle-aged man walks into the room with some guards, but he dismisses them at the door so that you three can be alone. He\u2019s dressed in an older style suit that looks more like those you remember Empire bureaucrats wearing and carries a staff of some sort with him. He also wears several rings. You sense that they all might be magical.\n\nEither way you fail to be impressed, just as you suspected you would be. Quintus on the other hand, now that he sees you in person, he\u2019s very impressed.\n\n\u201cI never believed in all these years\u2026all the digging\u2026all the research\u2026everything. And none of what I\u2019ve found compares to this! Yes! This is indeed a glorious day! A real live Eternal! Not just any Eternal either, but the one who served the Emperor himself!\u201d Quintus exclaims as he sits down across from you.\n\n\u201cNow let me stop you right there. I know you\u2019re all excited and shit, but for me this is going into unknown territory. Possibly even enemy territory. I have no idea WHAT exactly you want with me. I\u2019m going to tell you right now though if you\u2019re thinking of putting me in some sort of museum or some weird aristocratic version of a sideshow like they have at the fairs peasants go to you better get that idea out of your head right now.\u201d\n\nJennifer tries to temper your words, but Quintus raises his hands as if no offense was taken.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s alright. Our Eternal friend is quite right to be suspicious of me, but I can honestly tell him there is no reason for him to be because I think my goals will fit his honorable ideals. I\u2019m still sure there is much he wants to know and questions that he has, but I will say that it is my hope that he and I will change history together!\u201d\n\nQuintus and Jennifer try to get you fully up to speed on everything first\u2026", "action_results": [{"action": "Time passes...", "result": "After sitting here for about an hour or so listening to the sorry state the republic is in, let alone the rest of the area that used to be part of the old Empire, you\u2019ve had enough of it all.\n\n\u201cStop. I\u2019ve heard enough about your wretched country. I can already tell what YOU want. You want the Empire back.\u201d\n\u201cYes! I want to resurrect the Empire!\u201d Quintus exclaims.\n\u201cAnd that\u2019s a lovely thought, but sorry to tell you this, it\u2019s dead. Long buried and resigned to the trash heap of history.\u201d You remark.\n\nThis comment is definitely not what Quintus expected. Jennifer on the other hand isn\u2019t quite surprised you\u2019d say such a thing given your own cynical remarks to her.\n\n\u201cBut\u2026you\u2019re here now\u2026a symbol! A symbol of the old ways! Proof of honor! Proof of strength! Proof of power! You\u2019re an Eternal!\u201d\n\u201cAnd? I obviously couldn\u2019t prevent the destruction of the Empire. Am I supposed to just resurrect it with my mere presence? Am I to just kill the entire senate and establish perhaps you as an emperor? Do you think the people would accept that?\u201d\n\u201cWell maybe not so direct\u2026\u201d Quintus remarks.\n\u201cNo? Because that might be the only way to get things done around here. And what makes YOU think you\u2019d even be a good emperor? You do not even have the support of the people.\u201d\n\u201cI do have the support of my constituents! I even have a few allies in the senate!\u201d Quintus protests.\n\u201cWell you still don\u2019t have enough for what you desire. I\u2019d say that I\u2019d have a better chance of being accepted as an emperor before you would just due to the fear factor and raw power, and I\u2019d still have to be looking over my shoulder constantly before I finally got run out by a complete rebellion or I destroyed so much of Nalin in the process of maintaining order. Given what you\u2019ve told me of the average citizen it sounds like they\u2019re perfectly happy with the way things are. Happy with their hedonistic freedom. Do you really think they\u2019re going to listen to a relic of a time when the strong just ruled over the weak and the weak not only accepted it as a way of life, but some were even happy about it? The sheep have been let out of their pens and do not wish to return. Do you believe your people, even those that apparently keep voting for you to represent them are ready to accept a more restrictive and harsher culture? Do you believe you can foster such an environment?\u201d\n\nQuintus remains silent and you throw up your hands at his inability to answer.\n\n\u201cWell you see my problem with your plan. You probably thought when you dug me up; you\u2019d have a powerful tool that would be your key to reforming a parody of the old Empire. And it would be a parody, because even if you were successful, it would NEVER be like the old Empire. You can read all the lore and books you want about the old days and nothing is stopping you from holding fantasies about such days. But make no mistake those good old days aren\u2019t EVER coming back. You\u2019re about five hundred years too late. I haven\u2019t been awake one complete day yet, and even I\u2019ve come to accept that hard truth\u2026but then I\u2019ve had to accept so many hard truths. This is just another one to me.\u201d\n\nQuintus nods solemnly. The spark that was in him is gone, but you can tell he isn\u2019t completely defeated. Jennifer just tries to look away from both of you and shuffles some papers she has with her.\n\n\u201cYou\u2026you aren\u2019t how I expected you to be\u2026\u201d Quintus says.\n\u201cNobody ever is. Another hard truth I learned a long time ago.\u201d You answer.\n\u201cMm\u2026well I seem to be at a loss of what to say. Which is rare considering they often complain that I never shut up in the senate.\u201d\n\n\u201cLook, Quintus. I won\u2019t deny that your ideals and goals aren\u2019t admirable ones. However, I had to drag you back to reality. You still have a long way to go before even bringing something resembling the Empire back. As much as it might be fun to send me to just kill the senate with a firestorm and then establish martial law across the land, it\u2019s not going to be that simple. At least not yet.\u201d\n\u201cYes, I suppose you\u2019re right. It\u2019s just I\u2019ve read about some of your deeds, scraps of parchments really and I guess when I found out you were alive and in my house I just figured all of my country\u2019s problem were solved.\u201d\n\u201cWell, they may still be eventually. Now despite what I\u2019ve said, I will help you. Because personally, I\u2019d like to see you succeed if only so I could live in a place that didn\u2019t seem so damn strange and it\u2019s not like I have anywhere else to go.\u201d\n\u201cSo you are going to help bring back the Empire?\u201d\n\u201cWell, something like it anyway. I can\u2019t promise anything, but I\u2019ll try. Now then, with me on your side, you shouldn\u2019t worry about the military side of things. I can take care of those matters when they arise, and they most certainly will. You\u2019re going to have to take the lead on the political matters obviously, but I can still advise you in this capacity. All my years of working side by side with the Emperor contributed to such skills despite being on the battlefield most of the time.\u201d\n\nQuintus seems to have that spark of life again when you agree to help him after all. He happily asks where you should get started. Jennifer at this point is glad to also see things have worked out and says she should leave you two alone to talk more and get back to the dig site. Before she leaves Quintus calls out to thank her.\n\n\u201cAnd tell your father he has my thanks as well! If it weren\u2019t for you two, we would not be in the better position we are now. Expect a bonus in pay this week.\u201d Quintus says.\n\u201cThank you senator. I was wondering though and I hate to ask, but it just came to me. Do you think our new friend here could come back up to the dig site when he has the time? It\u2019s just that he was buried there and it might be of great help if he could at least perhaps give us a good indication on where it might be beneficial to dig.\u201d\n\u201cWell we\u2019ve got a lot to go over first, but afterwards if he wants to, I have no objections.\u201d\n\nDoesn\u2019t take you long to agree. You briefly remark that where they were digging was near the Emperor\u2019s main chambers and you\u2019d like to see if anything survived yourself. This new revelation causes a bit of excitement from Jennifer and Quintus wondering what other magical treasures that might be of use in the coming days of change or even some scraps of history that can enlighten them more about such glorious days.\n\nYou just wonder if you can find the remains of Semra. Call it curiosity; call it a sense of closure.\n\nThe first thing you and Quintus talk about is the military. You explain that it is of vital importance to get them to support him the most, but it\u2019s also of great importance to get them be more vicious warriors. You say you understand that battles are probably fought a little differently nowadays, but the intense training isn\u2019t necessarily just to make them expert fighters. It\u2019s also to instill discipline and hopefully a warrior\u2019s mindset. Make it so that they want to go to war, that they long for it.\n\nQuintus says that he does already have some pull with the military. A little more than most find comfortable, but of course it\u2019s nowhere near absolute. You\u2019re glad since that cuts down on a little extra work.\n\nYou tell him to track down the most spirited and skilled warriors that are in the military and have them gather somewhere secluded just outside the northern borders of Nalin. You say you need to get started on training as soon as possible, you just hope you don\u2019t have too many wash outs (or casualties). You then say you also need to get started on an outside threat.\n\n\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d\n\u201cI mean you need an outside threat that genuinely scares people. Makes it so people are more supportive of a strong military. Makes it so eventually people prioritize their safety so much that they\u2019re willing to give up their freedom just to be safe. I mean I know you\u2019ve been warning the senate and the people about all the scary things out there and you\u2019re right, but people don\u2019t believe it until its beating down their door with a battle axe.\u201d\n\u201cYes, but how exactly are we going to do that?\u201d\n\u201cWell YOU aren\u2019t going to do anything except going about your usual business. I on the other hand am going to incite one of those threats you\u2019ve told me about. Obviously one of the closest ones.\u201d\n\u201cThe usksha immigrants?\u201d Quintus asks.\n\u201cHeh, well maybe in due time, but that\u2019s bit more on the\u2026political side. Plus its not a large enough threat and the follow through of invading the desert is a logistics nightmare that we are nowhere near in a position to carry out at this time. No, I was thinking something much simpler. Something much easier to incite violence in and a lot easier to get people to fear, namely orcs.\u201d\n\u201cOh, do you think you can do it?\u201d\n\u201cEncouraging an orc to attack isn\u2019t a challenge at all. Herding them to all attack in a specific direction takes a little more skill, but I can do it. It\u2019ll just take a little time and we have to make a balancing act of it. Going to have to let the orcs win a few major battles in the beginning at least. It won\u2019t be pretty, but it\u2019ll also serve to purge some of the less than skilled soldiers you have around here. Some villages on the borders are going to have to burn as well.\u201d\n\u201cVillages? Are you sure?\u201d\n\u201cThe problem with the Nalinites is they\u2019ve never really been under a true threat for a very long time. When the people experience the loss of a couple border villages and see the bloody aftermath, trust me they\u2019ll be begging for more protection. When they see the brutality of what an orc horde can do they\u2019ll be screaming for justice and for us to march into the Quala Badlands to wipe out every last green skin. The first steps to expansion and the first steps to resurrecting the Empire.\u201d\n\nQuintus understands and says it sounds like a good plan. You and he talk a little more about some of the specifics before he eventually says he has a big day tomorrow of arguing against some silly law that one of his opponents is trying to have passed and needs to get some sleep. He says that you may have a bed in one of his spare rooms, as it isn\u2019t like the rest of his family is going to complain about you being here. You agree but say that you intend on heading back to the dig site like you promised Jennifer tomorrow and also to get started on that orc situation you spoke on. Quintus remarks that you can take one of his horses and says he hopes to see you within a weeks time.\n\nThe next day you ride off to your destination and you feel somewhat calmer than you did when you first woke up. You also feel like you have a worthy purpose now. You know you\u2019re going to have a big task ahead of you trying to reform the Empire, but at least it gives you something to do. Who knows, you might even be successful.\n\nOr you might be instrumental in the downfall of yet another nation\u2026", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 537\n\n\u201cAh, there\u2019s nothing better than when a plan comes together! Your actions of stirring up the orcs have been paying off and I\u2019ve finally managed to get the public to become in favor of a strong army and your training has been producing much tougher and disciplined soldiers to create that stronger army.\u201d Quintus remarks to you while he sips his wine.\n\u201cI\u2019m certainly glad someone you finally found someone more competent than yourself. Makes all your years of failure totally worth it.\u201d Quintus\u2019 wife Nalia remarks in a bored tone lying on a couch. She\u2019s already on her second bottle of wine and it\u2019s not even the afternoon yet.\n\nWhile Quintus dismisses his wife\u2019s usual emasculating remarks, you\u2019re wondering why you\u2019re here when you could be doing something more important to keep this plan in motion because its nowhere near coming together like Quintus seems to think it is. The orcs haven\u2019t even made a major attack yet. They\u2019ve just been harassing a few patrols, but it\u2019s just as well since you\u2019re still trying to whip the paltry number of spirited soldiers you do have into shape so that they the orcs do attack they\u2019ll be ready for them.\n\nYou can\u2019t really complain, because you are doing something you\u2019re familiar with and good at, but the main thing that\u2019s been nagging at you is Quintus himself. You don\u2019t respect him and it\u2019s starting to become a problem sometimes.\n\nIt\u2019s not anything he\u2019s done to you either. He\u2019s practically bent over backwards to accommodate you in anyway he can. You wondered at first if it\u2019s his overly smarmy demeanor with you which at times seems fake, but that isn\u2019t it. Part of that is that he\u2019s a politician and he probably can\u2019t help but be that way as part of his personality, not to mention you\u2019ve become quite a good judge of character and you believe his admiration for you is genuine.\n\nRegardless of what his wife claims, Quintus is extremely ambitious and a hard worker which you can appreciate. He\u2019s just been hampered by the social and political climate. If he\u2019d been born during the time of the Empire, he would\u2019ve fit right in. Might\u2019ve even been one of the Emperor\u2019s advisors.\n\nDespite all this, you\u2019ve been developing an increasing lack of respect for the man. Not to the point that you\u2019re ready to kill him or anything, but taking orders from him has got you questioning why? Of course you know the reasons why, because the republic is still a pussy whipped place that has long since abandoned the ideals of people like yourself and trying to take power like a strong man would ultimately only result in chaos and collapse. Ironically, you\u2019d probably be more at home in one of the city-states in Arat where they still favor a single ruler.\n\nWhat it all comes down to you think is Quintus\u2019 family. Something about Quintus\u2019 lack of admiration from his own family bothers you. If he can\u2019t reach the people that are supposed to be closest to him, how the hell can you respect him? Gets harder to when you have to be subjected to these meetings and see his family walk over him first hand. They all either criticize him or belittle him even though he\u2019s been trying to make life better for them.\n\nHis wife is a slothful alcoholic that has never a word of encouragement for him. She looks much older than she actually is mainly due to hitting the bottle so much. She\u2019s never truly addressed you directly, but her attitude seems apathetic at best.\n\nHis teenage daughter Yollanda is a red headed trollop that routinely sleeps with the sons of his senate rivals and in some cases the rivals themselves. And those are the \u201cclassier\u201d encounters. Quintus once complained that if there was a good purpose for her bed hopping like say for gathering important information on his enemies it could be acceptable, but she has no higher purpose other than the pleasure of her girl parts. You try to stay away from her as her outright sexual advances that\u2019s she\u2019s made towards you in the past is a complication you don\u2019t desire or need. Makes Jennifer\u2019s obvious minor crush on you downright subtle by comparison.\n\nThen there\u2019s his younger son Gelo who is an idiot. Not in the traditional sense that he does stupid things without thinking them through, no he\u2019s a dyed in the wool, born and bred moron. You imagine that his mother might\u2019ve drank while she was carrying him, but who knows? By and large he\u2019s harmless, but extremely annoying. He yells a lot, breaks things and is generally obnoxious mainly because he doesn\u2019t even have a stable structure to mold him into something at least somewhat useful. You don\u2019t understand why he wasn\u2019t killed at birth. Such defective babies were usually either put to death by the family or at least sold into slavery so that they could be productive to the Empire on a minor level. It was a good policy. The only positive thing is he seems to be afraid of you and thus stays away (Often screaming his head off and runs away if you\u2019re ever in the same room.)\n\nAnd that\u2019s just Quintus\u2019 immediate family, it\u2019s not even counting the other in laws and extended family that basically mooch off of him. For a man that has ruthless ideals he\u2019s a doormat when it comes to his family. Fortunately for Quintus, he seems to have a lot more luck with the general population and has been getting more support just like he\u2019s been bragging about lately. If you were Quintus, you might crave the respect of strangers as well.\n\n\u201cQuintus, why am I here? I\u2019d like to get back to my job.\u201d You remark.\n\u201cBut that\u2019s precisely why you\u2019re here my Eternal friend! Your job! Since the army problem is well on its way to being taken care of, I think its time to move on to our navy.\u201d\n\u201cNavy?\u201d\n\u201cYes, you do remember we have one such as it is. I\u2019d like you to have a hand in making it stronger as well.\u201d\n\u201cAnd just how the hell am I supposed to do that?\u201d\n\u201cI dunno, you told me you were the military expert. Just do it the same way you did with our army I suppose. Stir up the pirates of the Delerg islands so they start attacking our costal towns en masse and the people demand a stronger navy.\u201d\n\u201cQuintus, I\u2019m glad you\u2019re excited about the plan, but the first part of it isn\u2019t even ready yet. I don\u2019t feel the soldiers are even ready yet. They\u2019ve been in a few skirmishes, but nothing that is really going to test them. And there\u2019s still the matter of the orcs. They\u2019re riled and I have noticed large tribal gatherings as if they\u2019re preparing for a large attack against a bigger foe, but by and large they\u2019re still disorganized and in some cases still attacking one another.\u201d\n\u201cBut surely you\u2019ve trained some of the soldiers enough that they can perform these duties in your stead? Delegate responsibility to the more talented ones?\u201d\n\u201cI have, but its a slow process from them to train their fellows as well as I trained them and I still wouldn\u2019t trust any of them to do what I\u2019m doing with the orcs, or at least not do it and live. Quite frankly I need more time with them and diverting my attention to your navy is just a distraction.\u201d\n\u201cBut the senate is going to dismantle it!\u201d Quintus exclaims.\n\n\u201cOh please will you stop whining in front of the help Quintus. It is soooo undignified. You don\u2019t have to try to impress me anyway; I always knew you weren\u2019t man enough to help my brother out with his shipyard. If the senate does dismantle the navy and his shipyard goes under because of less business, well he can always live here. No big deal.\u201d Nalia remarks taking another long swig out of her wine bottle.\n\nQuintus has no words he just throws his hands up and looks to you for help, but what can you do short of killing his wife? And you\u2019re fairly certain he doesn\u2019t want that no matter how much she gives him grief.\n\nYou suppose you could see what you could do with the naval situation, but the main problem is you have practically no experience in such seafaring things. You dare say the average sailor has much more experience than you do about such matters. Sure you\u2019ll be assisted, but without the actual experience you\u2019ll still have a disadvantage that you don\u2019t feel comfortable with.\n\nOn the other hand what exactly does the republic need with a powerful navy anyway? As far as you know they don\u2019t have an enemy trying to invade them from sea and they don\u2019t have contact with a big nautical trading partner. They just send merchant ships to travel along the southern coast to the Usksha Emirates. If the pirates got too out of control, they could just send large shipments through the desert.", "action_results": [{"action": "Focus on the land military", "result": "You\u2019re not going to change the plan just because Quintus is trying to please his drunken bitch of a wife. If he really wants this to happen he\u2019s going to have to follow your lead.\n\n\u201cQuintus the navy isn\u2019t important at this time, we need land strength if we\u2019re going to get anywhere. We\u2019ll need it to fight the orcs, we\u2019ll need it to keep the unhappy citizens in line when we finally get rid of this damn republic and we\u2019re going to really need it when we have to expand and annex more territory. Now I understand you\u2019ve got a pirate problem, but really other than trade with the usksha we don\u2019t even need to send many ships out anyway other than small fishing boats for food. Start sending trade caravans directly through the desert. The usksha do it all the time.\u201d\n\u201cYeah because the sand savages are used to it! The merchant\u2019s guild is going to pitch a fit.\u201d\n\u201cWell fuck, I dunno what to tell you. The merchants are either going to have to tough it out in the desert or risk getting attacked by pirates. Shit\u2019s tough all over. Come to think of it, you don\u2019t even like the damn usksha and want them out of the country anyway. Seems to me you could start working on that policy now that you\u2019ve been getting a little more of the public on your side. If all goes well, Nalin won\u2019t have to trade with the usksha at all in the future. No trade with the usksha, no need for merchant ships. No merchant ships, no pirates, unless they get crazy desperate and start attacking the coastal towns, but that\u2019s why we\u2019ve going to protect against such invasions.\u201d\n\nQuintus thinks about your proposal for a moment and of course he sees the wisdom in it.\n\n\u201cYes, and the funds that are being spent on the navy can be used for other things. Hm, I suppose if I support the senate majority to dismantle the navy anyway I\u2019ll look a little more agreeable, I imagine that\u2019ll be good too. The question is where all the displaced sailors are going to do and go. I suppose some will just become fishers.\u201d\n\u201cYes, and if not, well there\u2019s always more room in the army. I\u2019ll let you worry about that, I need to get back to it.\u201d\n\nQuintus bids you goodbye and you\u2019re glad to leave his mansion before you run into his slutty daughter. You\u2019re in no mood for her tiresome attempts at seduction right now.\n\nOver the next few months you continue getting Nalin\u2019s \u201cbest\u201d into shape and start launching your own raids into known orc territory. You always make sure not to do too much damage of course, but you\u2019re not yielding the results you want. You\u2019re not getting orc counter raids or attacks. In fact you think they\u2019ve lessened!\n\nThis is somewhat discouraging, because while you\u2019re succeeding in creating a stronger army, you\u2019re failing in the second half of your plan. You think you might have to do something else.\n\nOn you way back from a raid, you and your men stop off at Calvin\u2019s excavation site to rest. Two years have passed since you got dug up and they\u2019re still digging through the ruins of the old capital. It\u2019s actually impressive how much they have managed to find. Calvin even found a few of the flattened broken bones of his ancestor Jacob. (Never did find Semra\u2019s though)\n\nCalvin and his crew are always glad to have more soldiers around so you\u2019re naturally awarded all the hospitality they have to offer. While you sit by yourself pondering your next move with this situation, Jennifer suddenly pops up to speak with you.\n\n\u201cI see you\u2019re your usual brooding self.\u201d Jennifer says coming up to you.\n\u201cHm, that took awhile. Usually when I make stops here, you\u2019re here a lot sooner. I was beginning to worry.\u201d You remark.\n\u201cWell you did looked worried, but I doubt if it was about me hovering around you. So what\u2019s wrong this time?\u201d\n\nOver the years Jennifer has probably become the closest thing you have to a friend. Granted you never had many before in your old life, but you at least had a few people to speak with about your own troubles. So far Jennifer is about the only one you feel comfortable with speaking about your own private concerns.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s just the orcs. I thought for sure they\u2019d be attacking en mass by now.\u201d\n\u201cAnd an orc horde would be a good thing?\u201d\n\u201cIf we want Quintus\u2019 dreams of reviving the Empire it would be. Guess I\u2019m going to have to redouble my efforts on antagonizing the orcs.\u201d\n\u201cHave you ever considered that you\u2019re scaring them more than you\u2019re angering them?\u201d\n\u201cThat seems unlikely. Orcs are nearly immune to fear. Most of them are too stupid and the rest are too bold.\u201d\n\u201cMaybe that was true during your time, but I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve noticed things have changed.\u201d\n\u201cThey\u2019re orcs Jennifer, how much could they have changed? Well besides the war paint I mean.\u201d\n\u201cSurely you\u2019ve noticed on your raids and travels that these orcs are still very different than the ones you knew. They\u2019re tribal for one, but not just that, they\u2019re also superstitious. Tends to come with tribal societies.\u201d\n\u201cSo?\u201d\n\u201cSo, over the centuries they\u2019ve probably built their own tales, taboos and lore based on the ruins of the old Empire alone. That\u2019s a lot of symbols and icons that they\u2019ve probably incorporated into their society. Then you pop up and you\u2019re still dressed in your old Empire armor and who know what stories that might cause because of the similar symbols and insignia on them. Think about it, for about two years now you\u2019ve been mostly acting alone in attacking them. You\u2019re shooting lightning and fire from your fingers as if it was nothing and you\u2019ve probably slain more of them with your sword than the whole Nalin army ever has with bullets. They probably think you\u2019re some immortal warrior spirit of old.\u201d Jennifer explains.\n\u201cWell, I was dug up from a kind of grave.\u201d\n\u201cExactly, so in the scheme of things orcs have every reason in the world to fear you just like most people with a lick of sense do.\u201d\n\u201cHeh, you don\u2019t fear me.\u201d\n\u201cOf course I don\u2019t. I\u2019m your friend.\u201d Jennifer says and grabs your hand. You clasp your other hand on top of hers.\n\u201cYes. Yes you are. Well I guess I need to find out if I am indeed something special to these orcs or not.\u201d\n\u201cWhat\u2019re you going to do?\u201d\n\u201cWell I know the biggest tribe in the Quala Badlands is the Floggers. Maybe if I can bring them under heel, I can just make them DO what I want. I probably should go alone.\u201d\n\u201cHold on, the Floggers are pretty damn big and are positioned near Rask which is monster haven, you sure you shouldn\u2019t have some sort of back up? I know you\u2019re a big tough Eternal and all, but maybe you should take some of the soldiers you\u2019ve been training.\u201d\n\u201cNah, I\u2019d be better off doing this by myself.\u201d You say.\n\n\u201cEver the loner eh? Well I figured as much. I know it\u2019s silly to worry after all you\u2019ve survived, but just be careful okay?\u201d Jennifer says and she briefly moves her face closer to yours, but then stops and then awkwardly excuses herself.\n\nYou tell your soldiers that they can either stay here or return to their posts and say you have your own business to take care of. Since they\u2019re used to you going off by yourself, they acknowledge your orders and you think no more of it.\n\nJust as you\u2019re about to leave you get a surprising visit from Calvin.\n\n\u201cHey, I\u2019m glad I caught you before you left.\u201d He says.\n\u201cCalvin? You don\u2019t normally want to speak with me.\u201d\n\u201cWell, as my daughter has probably no doubt told you I\u2019m a little afraid of you, but I\u2019m having one of those infamous brave Mol moments. It\u2019s actually about my daughter.\u201d\n\u201cWhat about her?\u201d\n\u201cYou are aware that she\u2019s fond of you right?\u201d\n\u201cYeeeah\u2026I think she just tried to kiss me but stopped herself from doing so. It was sort of uncomfortable.\u201d\n\u201cI see\u2026so I trust you do not feel the same way.\u201d\n\u201cWell\u2026(Sigh) it\u2019s not that, its just\u2026look it\u2019s not my area of expertise and I\u2019ve got a lot else on my mind right now.\u201d\n\u201cHm, understandable.\u201d Calvin remarks.\n\u201cThere are also some other feelings that involve the past that I don\u2019t wish to discuss right now. That being said, I can honestly say I enjoy her company. She\u2019s the only real friend I have.\u201d\n\u201cThat\u2019s good. That\u2019s good. I only bring this up because I know that great change is ever looming and most likely that change is going to be violent no matter how you and Quintus are going to go about it. I\u2019d just like to make sure my daughter\u2019s safe and I figure if she was with you then that safety is guaranteed, along with her happiness of course.\u201d\n\u201cHm, don\u2019t be so sure of that. I imagine I\u2019ll be drawing a lot of fire no matter what happens.\u201d\n\u201cBetter that she be with a strong shield that draws a lot of fire than with no shield at all.\u201d\n\u201cHa ha ha! So I\u2019m a shield am I?\u201d you chuckle.\n\u201cAren\u2019t we all before the chaos?\u201d Calvin remarks and tells you to just think about your own feelings towards his daughter.\n\nYou\u2019ve never had someone trying to pair you up with their daughter before. Something about it makes you feel a little strange. You decide to get on with your task to intimidate some orcs into submission, at least that\u2019s more familiar to you.\n\nYou make your way north. You haven\u2019t had too many run ins with the Flogger tribe, due to their far away location, but you did ambush a few of their kind a couple times. You don\u2019t know how the survivors have described you, hopefully it is as Jennifer suggested, and it\u2019s with awe.\n\nAlong the way you don\u2019t encounter much trouble, you get attacked by a few half mad bandits, but that\u2019s about it. Eventually you know you\u2019re coming to the Flogger territory since you see the dead bodies of other orcs, humans, and even a few elves and ogres stretched across various wooden frames with their backs completely flayed of all skin. Down to the bone actually. Crows and other scavenger types gnaw at the rotting carcasses. The gruesome sight stretches from east to west as far as your eyes can see.\n\nYou notice two orcs standing look out on a crude watchtower just behind the wall of bodies. When you get closer they call out to you and raise their bows.\n\n\u201cOi! What you doin\u2019 \u2018ere \u2018uman?\u201d one of them asks. You didn\u2019t expect such civility, let alone coherence.\n\u201cI\u2019m here to see your chieftain!\u201d you answer.\n\u201cWez gots no chieftain! Wez stronger than dat! Wez got shaman! Other tribes jealous! Ha ha ha ha ha ha!\u201d\n\u201cGreat, so let me see your shaman. I have something to discuss with him.\u201d\n\nThe two orcs look at you and then whisper to each other a bit. This is all a bit strange, you fully expected to get attacked when you arrived or failing that the orcs running away in fear. They haven\u2019t done either yet.\n\n\u201cMm, yeah youz look like him, but need to be sure\u2026um Bilge what waz we spose to ask again?\u201d one orc asks the other.\n\u201cYouz forgot? Youz an idjit Fatbelly! You said youz remember! Me dunno either!\u201d Bilge says.\n\u201cOkay, okay, shaddup! Me member now. Are youz dah \u2018ternal man?\u201d Fatbelly asks you.\n\u201cYes.\u201d You answer assuming he means eternal.\n\u201cOkay, youz can go troo, Shaman Trog been \u2018spectin you. Just keep goin straight ahead an\u2019 he should meet youz.\u201d\n\u201cWait, expecting me? How?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cDreams. Vishuns. Sumthin. Dunno, he magik. Ugh, brain hurt thinkin\u2019 bout it. Go away now.\u201d\n\nThere doesn\u2019t seem to be much else to do, so you proceed to follow Fatbelly\u2019s instructions. You pass through the line of flayed corpses and the watchtower. In the distance you see what looks to be enough simple huts to be considered a village. However you aren\u2019t going to have to walk that far because a single orc dressed in tribal garb stands between you and it. He holds a decorated staff in hand and looks old for an orc. This must be Shaman Trog.\n\nYou aren\u2019t sure what to expect, but you draw your weapon just in case.\n\n\u201cAh, you here finally. Trog saw that you come and Trog\u2019s visions always right\u2026well most of time.\u201d\n\u201cYou can see into the future eh? Well then I suppose you know why I\u2019m here then.\u201d You remark.\n\u201cNo Trog not know. Cannot predict future. Just see that Eternal man come. The last true remnant of the long dead Empire that enslaved all within its shadow. So why you here? You here to finally kill us all?\u201d\n\u201cWell, that\u2019s up to you Trog. I have a proposal.\u201d\n\u201cHuh, can\u2019t be good if you here. Very well, Trog shall hear your proposal.\u201d\n\nYou explain to Trog what the situation is though at first you wonder if he\u2019s going to understand all of it, but it would seem he\u2019s one of the smart ones, then again he is a shaman so he can\u2019t be entirely dim in the first place.\n\n\u201cTrog see\u2026so it\u2019s worse than Trog feared, you seek to make slaves of all of us again.\u201d\n\u201cNo, I just need you to attack the Nalin Republic.\u201d\n\u201cYes, you seek to manipulate us into doing your dirty work. How is that not slavery? Worse, your plan seeks to bring back the power that nearly lead us all into extinction. Only after centuries we are strong and free again.\u201d\n\u201cYou know, orcs didn\u2019t fare so badly under the Empire. They were some of the best soldiers.\u201d\n\u201cThey were used as expendable shields for the weaker human troops.\u201d\n\u201cAnd how do you know all this?\u201d\n\u201cHa ha! Writings! You think orcs not write, but we do! Maybe just pictures, but we do! We also tell stories! After Empire fall to big bang, orcs of old pass down tales. Tribe\u2019s founder and my great ancestor, Flog pass down first stories. We never forget. That\u2019s why we orcs know you. You wear the mark of the old days. Not know how you still alive. Maybe you really eternal, but if we are to die, then we die free, not die slow as slaves.\u201d\n\nYou can\u2019t believe it. You\u2019re arguing with an orc about civil liberties! Still, if he is up on the history as he says then there is surely mention of one orc in particular and it might just convince him to change his mind.\n\n\u201cCaptain Gruz did not consider himself to be a slave.\u201d You remark, which causes Trog\u2019s eyes to widen.\n\u201cYou\u2026you knew the Warmaster?\u201d Trog asks.\n\u201cOh yes, I met him and he even gave me a little insight to be a better soldier during my first assignment. I only regret I didn\u2019t get to serve with him during the Felkan War. I heard of his many magnificent deeds though.\u201d\n\u201cHe slew many enemies on the day of his death. The entire story of that day is a glorious tale.\u201d\n\u201cYes, and he was hailed as one of the greatest heroes of the Empire. He did his duty as a soldier of the Empire and had no shame about it. He was no slave, let me tell you. He was a proud soldier who loved that he served the Empire. His only wish was to die a glorious death in its service and he did. Because he served the Empire with distinction even now the knowledge of his deeds are still known. Help me bring it back and your deeds may become as well known as his own, possibly even more so.\u201d\n\nTrog studies you as if to determine if you\u2019re just trying to sweet talk him. He looks tired though, as if he doesn\u2019t really want to fight you even if you are lying to him.\n\n\u201cTrog\u2026cannot completely determine your ultimate intentions Eternal, however Trog sense your words about the Warmaster to be respectful and truthful. Trog suppose if great Warmaster Gruz taught you to be a better warrior then you would not speak lies about him. (Sigh) Very well, Trog shall do what Trog can to help you, but Trog can\u2019t promise that Trog will be able to unite all of the tribes in the Quala Badlands.\u201d\n\u201cDon\u2019t need them all, just enough to cause a lot of damage.\u201d\n\u201cHm, well if there\u2019s anything we\u2019re good at, it\u2019s that. Trog suppose a lot of my people are going to die in the process of this scheme, Trog only hope that in the long run we will be in a better position.\u201d\n\u201cI promise you that your people will always remember what you have done today.\u201d\n\u201cTrog not sure if that good yet.\u201d Trog remarks and shuffles off towards the village in the distance.\n\nYou guess your work is done here. Now only time will tell if this is going to be successful or not.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 540\n\nIt\u2019s not there yet, but the political and social climate in the republic is finally getting to a point that\u2019s a little more recognizable to you. Thanks to Trog\u2019s actions the orcs have been attacking the Nalin just like you wanted. After a couple of burned down massacred villages, the Nalinites are a lot more supportive of military endeavors (Kobold citizens especially, but that\u2019s hardly surprising given their nature).\n\nThe citizens are also becoming more fearful and suspicious of other \u201cforeign threats\u201d like the usksha. Highlighting the sandman drug epidemic and the crime due to it, Quintus has managed to get restrictions on the southern borders of Nalin. The usksha that used to live within Nalin are starting to go back to their desert due to the increasingly hostile population. Trade hasn\u2019t completely stopped, but the relationship between the republic and the emirates is very strained now.\n\nOf course some of this still wouldn\u2019t be possible without senate support, however that\u2019s become more in Quintus\u2019 favor due to a combination of several factors. Some are just like the peasants, they\u2019re getting scared because their comfortable lifestyle are at risk and want to protect themselves. Some were weak from the start and vote depending on which way the majority is heading.\n\nThere are still holdouts that don\u2019t agree with the more militant policies however. Even the \u201cwill of the people\u201d does not sway them to fall in line. The most vocal of these is Senator Batalimus Ventis who has been a long time rival of Quintus. He\u2019s stated that this trend towards militarism is going lead back to the dark days of when Matriarch Tarna ruled the land. He has also stated quite openly that Quintus is a warmongering fool that is only a puppet for his \u201cmysterious Eternal\u201d advisor.\n\nQuintus hates the man more than he hates the usksha and feels he\u2019s the main cause of all his woes. Apparently he\u2019s also decided that even if it isn\u2019t quite time to dismantle the senate, it is time to get rid of Batalimus and has tried to have the man assassinated on a few occasions. All attempts have failed so far though and all it\u2019s done is served to make Batalimus more cautious and legitimize his accusations about Quintus (Even if he can\u2019t quite connect Quintus to the actual assassins).\n\nYou\u2019re going to have to speak with Trog soon about the attacks having served their purpose and that he needs to ease up. Trog is under the impression that after all this is over; he or at least his people will have a place within the new order when it finally comes about. In truth, you\u2019d like to have a few orc legions if only for the intimidation factor of keeping the citizenry in line. However, you aren\u2019t exactly sure how likely that\u2019s going to be since orcs are increasingly becoming hated by the average citizen and are unlikely to want them to be incorporated into the new order no matter what. Let alone as soldiers.\n\nAnother problem for another day you suppose. Right now though you\u2019re on your way back from another visit with Quintus (who basically did nothing but bitch about Bartalimus) and on your way back to Quala. You\u2019re a lot better known now and as you pass through you mostly get a lot of respectful nods from the military and worried glances from citizens. Your reputation within the republic has grown and it\u2019s much like it was back in the old Empire days. There\u2019s a certain familiar comfort in that.\n\nBefore you leave Dalt you decide to pay a visit to Calvin\u2019s museum to see Jennifer. Since the orc war, expeditions to the Quala Badland have been put on hold so Calvin and Jennifer have returned to work at their museum to study what they have found in more detail and ultimately put it on display.\n\nWhen you enter, you see a sign that tells people to be sure to visit their brand new Empire exhibits. Naturally you wander over to where these displays are, so you can see how much they actually got right.\n\nWhen you get to the exhibit its currently empty of visitors. You\u2019re impressed with what you see though. They\u2019ve managed to recreate a small portion of the Emperor\u2019s palace and fill it with the old stuff they found. Some of the things are just replicas, but they\u2019re very good replicas and in the correct locations. They even managed to restore one of the Emperor\u2019s big black statues.\n\nJust looking at all this stuff makes you feel like you\u2019re back where you should be. When you close your eyes you can almost imagine that you are where you WANT to be. If only things had been different, you wouldn\u2019t have to be starting all over again\u2026\n\n\u201cWe tried to make it look like what we thought it looked like in the past and based on writings we found.\u201d You hear Jennifer\u2019s voice say and you open your eyes to see her stand to the right of you.\n\u201cYou did a good job, almost feels like home. That big ass black statue wasn\u2019t in the throne room though. In fact the Emperor never even used the throne room when I knew him.\u201d You say.\n\u201cYeah, but we did have any place else to put it. I think its impressive looking where we did put it though. Should draw in a lot of people. So did you come here to revisit old memories?\u201d\n\u201cNot at first, but this is was a nice distraction.\u201d\n\u201cGlad to hear it, well I\u2019ll leave you to your thoughts.\u201d Jennifer says and begins to leave.\n\u201cNo, stay here with me, I came here to see you in first place. Besides, no point in reliving past glories when I don\u2019t have anyone to share said glories with.\u201d You say and grab her hand.\n\nJennifer\u2019s reaction is a positive one in that she doesn\u2019t let go and moves closer to you.\n\n\u201cSo since you\u2019ve got the time, how about you tell me about some of those old glories?\u201d Jennifer asks.\n\nYou gladly do so.\n\nYou talk with Jennifer for hours until it starts getting late at which point you say you have to get back to your mission in Quala. Jennifer understands and wishes you luck on it.\n\n\u201cIf you\u2019re going wish me luck, how about you do it with a kiss?\u201d you ask which takes Jennifer by surprise.\n\u201cThat\u2019s certainly new. What brought this on?\u201d\n\u201cI thought you liked me. You do don\u2019t you?\u201d\n\u201cOf course, I\u2019m sure I was pretty obvious about it.\u201d\n\u201cWell why ask why? I\u2019m fond of you as well. I like your company and you\u2019re the only person I\u2019ve ever considered my friend since I got dug up. You\u2019re independent, you\u2019re physically attractive and you listen to all my stories. What\u2019s not to like?\u201d You say which causes a small chuckle from Jennifer.\n\u201cOkay\u2026we\u2019ll talk more about this later, but for right now, here\u2019s that kiss.\u201d\n\nJennifer moves in to kiss you and the pair of you embrace.\n\nAfter your minor amorous interlude, you take your leave of the museum. You briefly wonder if pursuing a relationship with Jennifer is a good idea, but what\u2019s done is done and you\u2019ll just have to figure it out. Once again, another problem for another day you suppose.\n\nJust as you get out of the gates of Dalt, two guards approach you. They\u2019re not military or domestic security, they look like private guards, probably those of a senator.\n\n\u201cYou the Eternal?\u201d one of them asks.\n\u201cYes.\u201d You answer.\n\u201cSenator Batalimus wants to see you. If you would accompany us to his home please, it\u2019s just a few miles west of this city.\u201d\n\nWell this is an interesting turn of events, though perhaps not entirely unexpected. If you had to guess, Batalimus either plans to have you killed when you arrive to meet him or he\u2019s going to try to convince you to be on his side. You doubt he has the means to do either.\n\nYou don\u2019t know if you should even bother entertaining him at all, but then you think if he does try to kill you, then you\u2019ll have eliminated the need to kill him later. Hell, even if he doesn\u2019t try to kill you, maybe you should just do it anyway.\n\nYou agree to follow the guards and eventually you reach Batalimus\u2019 estate. His home isn\u2019t much bigger than Quintus\u2019 home, though there are a lot more trees and gardens on his grounds. As you expect there are a lot of guards patrolling about. When you step through the front door you feel like you\u2019ve stepped into a barracks rather than a senator\u2019s mansion due to all the guards standing around.\n\nSoon an older balding man dressed in a purple robe comes down the grandiose staircase. It\u2019s Batalimus.\n\n\u201cAh the Eternal, at last we meet face to face.\u201d Batalimus says.\n\u201cYes, I\u2019m surprised that you didn\u2019t confiscate my weapons though.\u201d You answer.\n\u201cWhatever for? We all know you can just incinerate or fry everyone in the room with the snap of your fingers. It\u2019s not like you actually need a sword or even a pistol. You\u2019re a walking weapon without such things.\u201d\n\u201cSo? Why risk bringing me here then?\u201d\n\u201cBecause I have nothing to lose. Your associate, Quintus seems quite determined to have me killed. Granted he always has harbored ill feelings, but now that the little reprobate has the advantage his confidence has reached an all time high. I suppose the fool has to have his fun though given the family he has. In any case I figure its only a matter of time before he sends you to do the deed and while I could increase my security even further, I quite frankly doubt if it would stop the likes of you. At best you might get mad.\u201d\n\nYou have to appreciate someone who knows exactly where they stand.\n\n\u201cSo\u2026you brought me here to kill you?\u201d\n\u201cHah, I hope not, but I suppose that is a strong possibility. No, what I\u2019d like to do is try to convince you to perhaps not kill the republic because that is what you and Quintus are striving to do, though I believe I actually have a shot with getting through to you. You aren\u2019t saddled with any emotions of hatred towards me. To you, I\u2019m just another potential obstacle in your goals. If I have to be killed then you will, but if it isn\u2019t necessary you won\u2019t.\u201d\n\nWell it looks like Batalimus has opted to try to get you on his side, just like you thought he might. He is over estimating your willingness to kill him though. True you don\u2019t have any hatred for the man and quite honestly you probably already respect him more than Quintus within the short time you\u2019ve met him, but you\u2019ve been known to kill folks even if you believe that they will be potential obstacles in the future.\n\nStill, killing Batalimus right now isn\u2019t exactly part of the plan, so you\u2019ll most likely just leave unless he tries to stop you. Then again you did come all this way so there is no harm in hearing him out.", "action_results": [{"action": "Stay", "result": "\u201cOkay, I\u2019ll listen to your pleas, but I doubt that you will be able to convince me of anything.\u201d You remark.\n\u201cYou seem so certain.\u201d Batalimus says.\n\u201cOf course I am. For one I am not some scared citizen or greedy senator that can be bribed or frightened into submission. I am not an ignorant peasant either that can be merely swayed by lies.\u201d\n\u201cNever thought you were.\u201d\n\u201cSecond and more importantly, I was not impressed with your republic when I was first dug up and I continue to be unimpressed with it now. It is an inefficient form of government that allows too much power to the people and it doesn\u2019t even do that right, considering all the corruption.\u201d\n\u201cOh I wouldn\u2019t say that. Within the last few years the people have been making demands for more security and defense and Quintus has been delivering appeasement to them. It would seem that you\u2019ve managed make the system work for you.\u201d Batalimus says.\n\u201cAnd don\u2019t you think that\u2019s proof that your system is broken? If YOU were the ruler of this country you wouldn\u2019t be in the situation you are now. You\u2019d be able to have Quintus executed along with everyone that didn\u2019t fall in line.\u201d\n\u201cYou may be right.\u201d\n\u201cOf course I\u2019m right, because the masses are by and large weak-willed fools that actually desire a strong hand to rule them and do the thinking for them. Honestly I don\u2019t know how your system lasted as long as it did.\u201d\n\u201cBecause it worked or at least it did before you came around.\u201d\n\u201cSo\u2026you\u2019re going to blame me for your system\u2019s weaknesses? Seems to me it should\u2019ve been strong enough to weather the presence of one man.\u201d\n\nBatalimus begins laughing.\n\n\u201cOne man? Yes. It\u2019s done that for quite some time. Do you think Quintus is the ONLY one who has ever wanted to bring back the so called good old days? His kind has always existed in some form or another since the infancy of the republic. Sometimes there were even whole groups of his type. The difference is, there was never any incentive for the rest of the population to actually listen to them before. There was never a living god on their side defending everyone from vicious foreign attacks like those of the orcs, let alone scaring the hell out of everyone by his mere presence.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m not a god.\u201d\n\u201cFor all intents and purposes you might as well be. The rumors alone are enough to cause most to think you are, but even without such rumors, the facts are still enough to impress what you would call the masses. Quintus isn\u2019t the only one who has access to old Empire history at the Mol Museum. You were the right hand man of a supposedly near omnipotent emperor, you survived the cataclysm that destroyed the old empire, you\u2019re certainly the most skilled warrior that anyone has ever seen and you command the use of magic, which is an incredibly rare thing nowadays. Other than the few exceptional svelk in Lenay, wizards just don\u2019t exist anymore let alone any of your power. I doubt with even all the magic trinkets Quintus has dug up, he\u2019ll be able to protect himself when you finally decide to kill him.\u201d\n\nGranted you haven\u2019t given that possibility much serious thought, Batalimus is probably right about that outcome.\n\n\u201cWhile all this is very interesting, you\u2019ve still failed to make your case and you\u2019re beginning to waste my time.\u201d You say.\n\u201cYes, forgive me. I\u2019m used to droning on in the senate, I forget that someone like you would rather get right to the point. Right then, here it is, the Republic is better in the long term for the people than your Empire.\u201d\n\nYou\u2019re silent.\n\n\u201cI certainly hope that isn\u2019t your only argument Batalimus.\u201d\n\u201cNo, but it should be the only one that matters. Even if you succeed in all your endeavors, you have to know that this revived Empire isn\u2019t going to last. At best it\u2019ll last a century after your own death and given that you\u2019re constantly walking in its shadow who knows how quick that might come.\u201d\n\u201cChoose your next words carefully, one could perceive that as a threat.\u201d\n\u201cA threat? No. Poorly worded, I\u2019ll agree. Mainly because I doubt you\u2019ll actually die violently despite your particular lifestyle. I\u2019d almost be willing to wager that you\u2019ll die an old man in your sleep. A great irony I suppose. Anyway, the point still remains, you have to know that your Empire will not last long after your death, it didn\u2019t even last long during your life.\u201d\n\u201cIt only fell because of\u2026\u201d you nearly say because of your actions, but you stop yourself.\n\u201cBecause of what?\u201d Batalimus asks.\n\u201cBecause of the cataclysm. It would\u2019ve still been standing today if that hadn\u2019t been the case.\u201d\n\u201cYou\u2019re guessing. Even if the cataclysm hadn\u2019t occurred it would\u2019ve been something else. Despite the fact that you belonged to a repressive system, I do know that in your way you served the concept of the greater good. You believe that you\u2019re actually helping the people by keeping them in line. And maybe you even are to a certain extent, but it\u2019s at the cost of liberty and freedom and that is an anathema to me. I\u2019m watching all of what was built being slowly destroyed before my eyes. We as a people came out from the chaos of cataclysm and eventually found a better way to live. One that didn\u2019t submit to the whims of a single ruler or is at the mercy of a tyrant. No, it wasn\u2019t a perfect system, but we were always working to fix the problems for the people and they were happy. I don\u2019t see any joy when I look at people nowadays; all I see is fear, paranoia and suspicion. Can\u2019t you see that all you\u2019re doing is throwing the people to a backwards age and ultimately it will do nobody any good?\u201d\n\u201cGood thing I\u2019m not trying to please you then and I\u2019d argue that I\u2019ve already fixed a few of the major problems with the recent changes. For one, crime is down and you\u2019re no longer a potential doormat if anyone stronger should suddenly appear. Even the pirate attacks are much lower now.\u201d You answer.\n\u201cYes, military strength the backbone of all proper dictators. Let me guess, after this place is completely under your thumb your next step will be to send it forth and conquer land right? How are you going to do that for the Qualan Badlands? You going to force thousands of people to settle on inhospitable land where it\u2019s near impossible to farm? And how do your orc friends figure into all this? I know that you probably have some sort of conspiracy going on with them, because they never attacked us like they have been recently. You going to somehow force the Nalin citizens with their newfound xenophobia to live with them or are you going to just commit genocide on the orcs and chalk them up to expendable losses? Then what after? You going to waste countless lives conquering the six cities of Arat? The Usksha Emirates? The Redcap Kingdom? Where is it going to end? Tell me, what do you personally hope to gain by re-establishing an empire? A need for familiarity? A simple power grab? Is it all because of an outdated sense of duty? Whatever the reason, none of them are really good ones for what you\u2019re doing. Your time was the PAST and you can\u2019t recapture what you lost. Your Empire as you knew it is long dead because all things eventually end. All of this, what you\u2019re doing is proof that you just can\u2019t accept that fact.\u201d\n\nYou\u2019ve heard enough.\n\n\u201cFunny that you said that Bata, because I\u2019d say that it\u2019s the opposite.\u201d\n\u201cWhat?\u201d\n\u201cYou. Your republic is dying and this desperate attempt to try to convince me to not continue my actions is proof that YOU can\u2019t accept that all things eventually end.\u201d\n\u201cI know somewhere within you that you can see my side of this! I mean I won\u2019t deny that your presence hasn\u2019t been positive for the country in some ways. You could still have a place here in the Republic. You have so much power. Power that could be used to help people in a positive way! Wouldn\u2019t you rather be known as a loved hero rather than a figure of fear?\u201d Batalimus exclaims.\n\u201cI\u2019ve known several heroes in the past. Some of them fellow Eternals and all of them were figures of fear. Look, I\u2019ve already pointed out the weakness of your inferior system and you\u2019ve failed to convince me otherwise. Doesn\u2019t matter if I do or don\u2019t see your side of things. Whatever motivations you think I\u2019m doing this for don\u2019t matter. I\u2019m fairly certain whatever other arguments you may have aren\u2019t going to convince me either, so this has just been a waste of both of our time.\u201d\n\nIt takes a moment for Batalimus to gather his thoughts.\n\n\u201cI had hoped and perhaps naively thought that you were a reasonable man, but I was wrong. Apparently I did bring you here to kill me. Maybe not in the physical sense, but I see now that there will be no stopping what is to come. It\u2019s a bitter thing seeing what you love the most die before your eyes.\u201d\n\u201cJoin the club Bata. And I\u2019m not talking about the Empire.\u201d You answer and take that as your cue to leave.\n\nYou half expect Batalimus to have his guards attack you in some last attempt to save his republic, but he just sits there impotently in defeat.\n\nAnd that\u2019s exactly why his republic is dying. Nobody cares enough about it to fight for it. This man is probably the only one left who does care and he used words as his weapons. Better that he should\u2019ve tried to have you assassinated as soon as you walked in the door.\n\nBut this isn\u2019t your problem, your problems are elsewhere and after you leave Batalimus\u2019 home, you head back to the Qualan Badlands.\n\nA few days later while at your patrol camp, you receive a letter from a messenger. At first you think it\u2019s from Quintus with another request to help him with some task that is too difficult for him, but you\u2019re surprised when you find out it\u2019s from Batalimus.\n\nEternal,\n\nBy the time you read this, I will be dead. I want to thank you for I believe our little talk finally gave me the courage to just end it all. The funny thing is I had the idea to have Quintus assassinated before I spoke with you thinking that even if I couldn\u2019t kill you, I would at least have taken away your partner on the public relations side of things, making the transition from republic to empire a little more difficult for you. Perhaps you would\u2019ve even gotten so frustrated that you would\u2019ve left.\n\nThen I realized I can\u2019t save the republic by destroying it or my ideals. And it wouldn\u2019t have stopped you anyway. The days of the republic are indeed numbered and I\u2019d rather remember it as it was rather than continuing to see its own death throes. It is my time that has passed. Your time is now.\n\nStill, I can\u2019t help being an idealist. Perhaps if your Empire can live again, then perhaps one day so will my republic. I can have faith in that as I pass on to the other world.\n\nGood luck Eternal in your pursuit of war and conquest, though I should like to think that maybe my words still got through to you a little bit. That maybe you will realize that the people are important and not just resources to be used on a battlefield or wherever else. That a government can exist that doesn\u2019t require repressive domestic methods or the subjugation of foreign lands.\n\nBut then as I said, I am an idealist.\n\nBatalimus Ventis\n\nAfter reading the letter you toss it in the fire. One of the soldiers asks you if it\u2019s another order from Quintus.\n\n\u201cNo, just news that another obstacle is no longer an issue.\u201d You remark.\n\nA few days pass and you have been thinking about Batalimus\u2019 words a lot more since there isn\u2019t much going on in the way of action in camp. While he ended up agreeing with you that the republic is coming to an end no matter what, you\u2019re still struggling with the idea that what is going to replace it, since it won\u2019t truly be the Empire as you knew it. Ol\u2019 Batty was right even you did change his mind. Your time is STILL the past.\n\nYou\u2019ve had five years to get \u201cused\u201d to the changes and while you have and are even thriving, you\u2019re never going to feel comfortable. Even if you kill Quintus and seize power and everything goes well with that, you still have to go through the process of reconquering everything again. Something you really shouldn\u2019t have to do.\n\nYou should\u2019ve had a your \u201cbirthright\u201d over five hundred years ago. Now you feel like you\u2019re having to play catch up for a much lesser prize. Most of the old lands are indeed ruined to a degree that you can\u2019t imagine anyone wanting to live there even if you did conquer it. Pushing people into doing so is libel to cause a revolt at worst or just flat out attrition at best\u2026ugh\u2026shit you don\u2019t want to even ponder yet.\n\nAnd what\u2019s the alternative? Not killing Quintus and serving as his loyal right hand goon? Continuing to watch that fool take ALL the credit for stuff you will no doubt have a hand in? No, you did that already and at least with the Emperor you didn\u2019t have to put up with any sort of dysfunctional family every time you visited him.\n\nYou think back to when you spent time in the museum with Jennifer talking about that past. That\u2019s still the happiest you\u2019ve been since you woke up. You even wonder if you shouldn\u2019t just abandon all these desires and ambitions. What has it really gotten you in the scheme of things? You made the big gamble the first time and it didn\u2019t work out maybe that was a sign.\n\nYou wonder if you shouldn\u2019t just settle down with Jennifer and try to live a normal life.", "action_results": [{"action": "Dismiss such thoughts", "result": "This is silly, here you are with the Empire so close to resurrection and you\u2019re sitting here wondering if it\u2019s all worth it. Of course it\u2019s worth it! It\u2019s what your whole life has been about and it doesn\u2019t matter what time period it is.\n\nWhether you\u2019re ruling it, or someone else is, it doesn\u2019t matter. The Empire must live on. If you just give up now, then what was the point of any of it? And as for Jennifer, you probably should just put an end to that disaster waiting to happen as soon as you can.\n\nShe\u2019s a nice girl and everything, but she\u2019s not Alison and she never will be. Not to mention with you by her side she\u2019s likely to wind up dead just like Alison. You have no doubt that you\u2019ll eventually acquire some powerful enemies looking to take advantage of any possible weakness you might have.\n\nYou return to your duties without another thought.\n\nAfter about a couple of weeks of your regular rounds in Quala, you decide its time to go visit Trog about your arrangement and how it needs to be altered. With Batalimus\u2019 suicide, Quintus\u2019 larger influence and the army now stronger than it ever has been, you don\u2019t really need orcs as a terror distraction anymore, especially if you want to incorporate them into this new Empire one day. Of course that plan may still fail, but your current deal is a deal and you and Trog have dealt straight with each other so far.\n\nYou travel the Flogger tribe\u2019s territory and just like last time, Trog was already expecting your visit.\n\n\u201cSo once again the Eternal visits Trog. Is our arrangement going as planned?\u201d\n\u201cYes, but that\u2019s why I\u2019m here. We\u2019ve gotten what we need from the war. You no longer have to play any role in it, that is stirring up the other orc tribes.\u201d\n\u201cTrog see. Very well we did have an agreement and the Floggers have benefitted greatly from this arrangement, so it is done for now. However, Trog cannot promise that other minor tribes will not still attack. Can only promise that Floggers will no longer play any part in such attacks.\u201d\n\u201cThat\u2019s fine, probably for the best that we still get a few attacks. Well that was all I had to say, I\u2019ll see you around\u2026\u201d\n\nYou\u2019re about to leave, but Trog speaks up.\n\n\u201cAre you not also here about your people that went up to explore Rask?\u201d Trog asks.\n\u201cNo. What people?\u201d\n\u201cTrog surprised that you did not know. Two weeks ago a group came here attempting to seek passage through Flogger territory. They were lead by a woman with black hair. Trog assumed you knew about this because the woman certainly knew enough about our arrangement to attempt such a thing in the first place.\u201d\n\u201cWait, was this woman\u2019s name Jennifer Mol?\u201d\n\u201cTrog believe that it was. Said she was trying to explore Rask for some warrior\u2019s guild or something. Even Trog not sure if it exists, just heard the rumors at times.\u201d\n\u201cSo did you let her through?\u201d\n\u201cNo. She refused to pay the toll which was to leave a couple of her people here for good will.\u201d\n\u201cSo she went back home then.\u201d\n\u201cNo. She said she\u2019d go around, but then she attempted to sneak through our territory at a weakly guarded area during the night instead.\u201d\n\nYou almost don\u2019t want to hear what is going to come next.\n\n\u201cTrog see that this woman is someone important to you? If it helps, Floggers did not kill her. She managed to hide and escape before we could. Floggers did however capture and kill some of her crew though. Floggers cannot just have people coming through territory without permission. Cannot show weakness. Trog hopes you understand this. Trog even had guards that were supposed to be watching that area killed for their lack of attention.\u201d\n\nStrangely enough you do understand. You can\u2019t really be angry at Trog and the rest of his tribe for being territorial. It was actually pretty civilized of them to offer a toll option in the first place. Really you can\u2019t believe Jennifer would be so foolhardy to attempt something like this, but then she has been braving the dangers of Quala long before you even showed up, so maybe this isn\u2019t too out of character for her, especially when she\u2019s got her mind set on an expedition.\n\n\u201cSo\u2026do you know where she went?\u201d\n\u201cNorth, past Flogger territory. That was two weeks ago though, Trog doubts that she still alive. Rask is very harsh, even more than Quala, also the dreaded wendigo live there. She has not tried to sneak back through Flogger territory and Flogger\u2019s would know because we\u2019ve increased the guards since her break through.\u201d\n\nPart of you almost wants to go try to find her; despite the fact you just recently believed that the two of you shouldn\u2019t attempts any sort of relationship. Now you start to wonder if you could\u2019ve prevented all this if you HAD gone to see her two weeks ago. You resist the urge though. For one thing, it\u2019s been two weeks. Any way of tracking her is going to be poor at best given all the snowstorms Rask endures. Second, her group isn\u2019t the most battle ready. They\u2019re going to mostly consist of scholar types that can\u2019t fight worth shit. While she probably took a few soldiers with her, even they\u2019re going to be fucked when they encounter something like a wendigo or even a giant.\n\nShe\u2019s dead and that\u2019s it. Just eliminates the need for you to worry about one more decision. It doesn\u2019t put you in the best of moods though.\n\nIt\u2019s that mood that has you return to Nalin and the capital where you see Quintus.\n\n\u201cGood, I\u2019m glad you\u2019re back, we need to\u2026\u201d Quintus begins to say when you come through the front door of his house and then he notices the fresh blood on your sword and his guards nowhere to be seen. His eyes widen when you raise your hand up to cast a lightning bolt to his face.\n\nYou find however that the spell fails to work on him and one of his rings glows brightly.\n\n\u201cI figured one of those rings protected you from magic. Pity, I was trying to give you a quick and less painful death.\u201d You say and advance upon him with your sword in hand.\n\u201cNo! What\u2019re you doing?! We\u2019re on the same side! We were going to revive the Empire!\u201d Quintus exclaims backing up on the stairway and attempts to rub one of his rings. You aren\u2019t exactly sure what he\u2019s attempting to do, but you\u2019re not going to let him do it.\n\nYou making a lunging rush at him and he nearly disappears before you, but you\u2019ve already stuck him like a pig. His brief attempt at invisibility fades as his dying face stares at you.\n\n\u201cWh\u2026why? I\u2026helped\u2026I\u2026was going\u2026to be\u2026emperor\u2026\u201d\n\u201cPlans change.\u201d you say and throw Quintus over the stair railing where his body falls to the floor in a bloody heap.\n\nAfterwards you take care of Quintus\u2019 family. As dysfunctional as they all are, the last thing you need is for any of them to attempt revenge for whatever reason.\n\nThe day after, you gather as many soldiers as you can, march into the senate and officially dissolve it in a very violent way. Every senator is killed and the floors of the senate hall run red with blood that day. Most beg for mercy, but you\u2019re not in a mercy-giving mood.\n\nA few days later and it\u2019s official. You make your announcement that the Republic is dead and that the Empire now lives again. The general public doesn\u2019t know quite what to make of everything. You\u2019re sure that there will be some sort of misguided rebellion, but with the military behind you\u2019re confident that you won\u2019t have too much trouble.\n\nYear 542\n\nYou\u2019re so damn tired you don\u2019t even know when the last time you had any proper sleep. It\u2019s just been one rebellion after another and ongoing strife. You haven\u2019t even had thoughts of expansion mainly because you\u2019ve been attempting to maintain order on what you do have.\n\nYou have attempted to recreate a secret police in a similar style of the Emperor\u2019s Eyes, but efforts haven\u2019t proved too successful mainly because you\u2019re too busy using the military to keep direct order.\n\nIt isn\u2019t that the people don\u2019t fear you, it\u2019s that they hate you more than they fear. Even after you\u2019ve destroyed entire towns that have dared defy you, you still get pockets of resistance running off into the wilderness to cause ongoing problems.\n\nYour methods in the beginning months were probably too harsh in retrospect, but your mind wasn\u2019t in the best place then due to Jennifer\u2019s death, which you took a little harder than you imagined you would. Killing everyone in the senate certainly didn\u2019t help as perhaps some of those experienced fools might\u2019ve still been useful in swaying public opinion and dealing with the more mundane issues of running the government. Combine this with the fact that the idea of things like \u201cliberty\u201d still lingered within the people, your brutal actions only proved to them what happens when a single tyrant takes power. Instead of cowing them into submission, you ended up lighting a fire of freedom that you still haven\u2019t put out yet and at this point you wonder if you ever will.\n\nEven portions of your military have turned against you, if not outright treason then desertion. Some have fled to find work within the six cities of Arat or even joined up with the pirate groups in Delerg.\n\nBetween the steady attrition of loyal soldiers, the ongoing defiance of the people, external threats like the Flogger tribe hearing of your struggles and taking advantage of your lightly defended outposts in Quala (And certainly have no intention of joining your Empire now) you are pushed to the brink and beyond.\n\nYou decide if the fools won\u2019t submit to your rule, you\u2019ll burn the whole damn thing down. You unleash a terrible force of magic the likes most have never seen. You begin destroying entire cities and farmland. It gets to the point where even the most loyal won\u2019t even follow you into destroying their homeland.\n\nYour reign of terror eventually comes to an end through a combined effort of the citizens of Nalin. Even your powerful magic can\u2019t stop an entire nation out for your blood and near the end you\u2019re exhausted and half crazed from bloodlust anyway.\n\n\u201cBah, I don\u2019t need magic to do my work!\u201d are your last words before you slaughter a few dozen men and women and are shot with several bullets and stabbed repeatedly by a mob.\n\nYou might\u2019ve still went down in history as reminder to the people of Nalin of why they should value freedom and never submit to a totalitarian state\u2026\n\nBut then the Flogger tribe rampaged through the decimated nation, which had practically depleted all of its resources in its war against you. The orcs leave no evidence of an Empire or a Republic ever having existed.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Go to Jennifer", "result": "You may have lost your mind thinking that you can even attempt living a normal life, but then you\u2019re the same guy who actually listened to a twisted abusive svelk bitch that convinced you it was a good idea to attack the Emperor too.\n\nAnd what\u2019s this decision compare to something like that?\n\nYou tell your second to take command of the camp, when he asks for how long, you just tell him until further notice. He\u2019s at a loss of how to respond as you leave.\n\nWhen you arrive back at the museum, you find that Calvin, Jennifer and several others are packing up a lot of equipment.\n\n\u201cHey, what\u2019re you doing here?\u201d Jennifer asks.\n\u201cI had to talk to you\u2026what\u2019s all this?\u201d\n\u201cAnother expedition! After all these years, Quintus is funding another one.\u201d\n\u201cWhat? He\u2019s sending you to dig around in Quala again?\u201d\n\u201cNo, we\u2019re going to Rask!\u201d Jennifer says excitedly.\n\u201cRask!?\u201d\n\u201cYes! Remember when I mentioned there were rumors of a warrior\u2019s guild up there? Well over the years I\u2019ve been studying old maps and the newer charts created by the few adventurers that came back alive from there and I think I\u2019ve managed to pin point the location. See?\u201d\n\nJennifer suddenly unfolds a map and points to a circled spot on it. You know a lot of time has passed, but if your knowledge of Rask geography is still remotely relevant at all, that looks like where Fort Defiance would\u2019ve been located.\n\n\u201cThat looks like where Fort Defiance was located.\u201d You remark.\n\u201cThere was a fort there?\u201d Jennifer says.\n\u201cYeah, it was the furthest military outpost in the north of the Empire, well save for one other, but that was more like a small watchtower.\u201d You answer.\n\u201cI didn\u2019t know you served in Rask.\u201d\n\u201cI didn\u2019t actually, but I did carry out one personal favor there for a fellow Eternal, the one manning that watch tower I just mentioned actually.\u201d\n\u201cOh. Well still, this would be one of those times I wish you could come with us. Your knowledge of the area even if it is out of date would probably be useful.\u201d\n\u201cBelieve me, I\u2019m tempted to. I can\u2019t believe Quintus is just sending you out there like this. The dangerous journey TO Rask is bad enough, but the weather in Rask is just as treacherous as the inhabitants and I can only imagine after centuries without any order there its probably only gotten worse since.\u201d\n\u201cWell he probably wouldn\u2019t have if I hadn\u2019t went to him about the information I found. Plus he was in a good mood about senator\u2019s Batalimus\u2019 recent suicide. Did you hear about that?\u201d\n\u201cUh, yeah another lucky break for our side, look I better go with you.\u201d You say.\n\u201cBut don\u2019t you have orcs to slay or defending our borders or\u2026\u201d\n\u201cAll of that can be done without me, I think the army is competent enough now that I don\u2019t need to hold their hands and if they still do then you\u2019re REALLY going to need me to come with you because that means the soldiers you are taking won\u2019t be worth shit in a fight. In fact if you even want to get to Rask, you\u2019re going to need me to negotiate with the Flogger tribe. Not to mention there\u2019s much worse things in Rask than ogres and giants.\u201d\n\u201cWhat about Quintus? Don\u2019t you have to report this to him?\u201d\n\u201cFuck Quintus, he\u2019s not my master. He could stand without me holding his hand every five minutes too. Nobody tells me what to do.\u201d\n\nJennifer takes a pause from your remark, before continuing.\n\n\u201cWell, alright then, as long as you don\u2019t think it\u2019s going to cause any problems I\u2019d be very happy for you to join us. So what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?\u201d\n\u201cHuh? Oh\u2026that. Uh, nevermind now.\u201d\n\u201cOh come on, you obviously had something pretty important if you left your post in Quala to tell me.\n\nThis expedition to Rask business sort of distracted you from your original intent of coming here in the first place, but nevertheless you haven\u2019t really abandoned your previous thoughts of settling down with Jennifer so you take her to one side and tell her. Her reaction is mixed though not one of any negativity.\n\n\u201cSounds like you\u2019ve given this some thought and this decision couldn\u2019t have just been on a whim for you.\u201d Jennifer says.\n\u201cIt wasn\u2019t, that\u2019s why I had to see you. I mean I know there\u2019s something between us and why shouldn\u2019t I focus on that?\u201d you reply.\n\u201cWhat about reviving the Empire?\u201d\n\u201cYeah, originally after I woke up and got a bit more of my bearings, the concept of doing that did sound appealing and move me into the direction I\u2019ve been currently going in, but that\u2019s been my whole life! I mean my original purpose is gone. MY Empire is gone. Why shouldn\u2019t I try something else? What could it hurt?\u201d\n\u201cNothing I suppose, but have you thought about what else you would do with your time? I mean no offense, but battle and war are pretty much your best skills.\u201d\n\u201cYes, I know. I wasn\u2019t talking about abandoning such things completely though, I mean I could go with you on expeditions and guard your museum.\u201d\n\u201cGuard the museum?!\u201d Jennifer says followed by laughter.\n\u201cWhat\u2019s so funny?\u201d\n\u201cThe idea that we\u2019d need a warrior mage to guard my father\u2019s museum is hilarious to me. I think the word overkill comes to mind. While the expedition protection would no doubt be of help, it isn\u2019t like that\u2019s what we do all the time as you well know. We\u2019re in the museum most of the time and you\u2019d get bored. Very bored. Besides, it isn\u2019t like we get people trying to steal anything on a regular basis. The last time was ten years ago and the thief in question only managed to grab the tooth of an old Usksha sand worm before he was apprehended.\u201d\n\u201cWell I could talk about the old Empire when people come through or something\u2026\u201d\n\u201cSo you want to be part of the tour? Yeah, I don\u2019t see that working in the long term either. Look I think you\u2019re just feeling home sick or time sick or something again. Why don\u2019t you think about this decision more after our trip to Rask, and if you still feel the same way when we come back, we can make arrangements for your future plans I suppose.\u201d\n\nYou agree to Jennifer\u2019s proposal since she does have some good points and now you\u2019re a little less worried about your future so much as you\u2019re more concerned with this expedition. When Calvin hears that you\u2019re accompanying the expedition he looks relieved. He mentions that he actually tried to talk his daughter out of going on this thing, but she wouldn\u2019t be swayed so he was going to go with her knowing that he\u2019d probably die in the process. Since you\u2019re going now, he\u2019s going to stay at the museum stating that he\u2019s completely confident that she\u2019ll come back alive now.\n\nAlong the way to Rask you warn everyone about the wendigo. Other than Jennifer nobody else seems to know anything about them and she\u2019s only heard stories. Apparently they\u2019re just \u201cmyths\u201d nowadays, but you assure everyone that they\u2019re very real and if anyone begins to feel like an unnatural force trying to gain control over their mind, they need to see you immediately and fight the mental attack as if they\u2019re life depended on it because it does. This information probably makes everyone a bit more paranoid and on edge, but quite frankly they should be.\n\nEventually you get to the Flogger tribe territory, which seems to have moved further south from when you last remember. Apparently Trog has indeed been taking advantage of uniting the other tribes under his banner. The decor hasn\u2019t changed though; they\u2019re still favoring the hundreds of dead bodies stretched across various wooden frames with their backs completely flayed of all skin to mark their turf.\n\nNaturally everyone (especially the soldiers) are expecting a fight given that you\u2019re technically at war with the orcs in general, but you tell them you can handle this and tell them to stay put.\n\n\u201cOy! Youz that Ternal man!\u201d an orc shouts from the crude watchtower. Not that you\u2019re an expert, but this orc is familiar, if only because of his great fat belly.\n\u201cFatbelly wasn\u2019t it? Where\u2019s your comrade?\u201d\n\nIt takes awhile for Fatbelly to process this question at first, but he eventually he knows who you\u2019re talking about.\n\n\u201cOh, youz must mean Bilge. He dead. Idjit got \u2018imself killed by gettin\u2019 into scrap wit an ogre. \u2018Ead got popped off an lived for awhile. Won bet on how long! Hah! Anywayz Trog spectin\u2019 you again. \u2018Ead on in.\u201d\n\u201cHe knew I was coming?\u201d\n\u201cGeez, maybe youz powerful, but yooz stooped as Bilge. Trog Shaman! He haz vishuns member?\u201d\n\u201cHmm, how could I forget.\u201d You say ignoring the rest of Fatbelly\u2019s insult and heading past the dead bodies. Trog isn\u2019t far ahead.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo once again the Eternal visits Trog. And once again Trog see that you come, but not know the reason. Is our arrangement going as planned?\u201d\n\u201cYes, in fact while I\u2019m here I might as well address that too. We\u2019ve gotten what we need from the war. You no longer have to play any role in it, that is stirring up the other orc tribes.\u201d\n\u201cTrog see. Very well we did have an agreement and the Floggers have benefitted greatly from this arrangement, so it is done for now. However, Trog cannot promise that other minor tribes will not still attack. Can only promise that Floggers will no longer play any part in such attacks.\u201d\n\u201cThat\u2019s fine, probably for the best that we still get a few attacks. The other reason that brings me here, is that I and my group need to get through to Rask.\u201d\n\u201cTrog see. Can you not just go around us?\u201d\n\u201cFrom what I can tell Trog, that isn\u2019t even possible anymore. Your territory was probably blocking the easiest route to Rask to begin with, now it looks like you\u2019re blocking it entirely. We have to go through your territory.\u201d\n\nTrog doesn\u2019t look enthused by your suggestion, but ponders it a bit.\n\n\u201cVery well, but you cannot just pass for free. Need to extract some sort of payment or security of goodwill.\u201d\n\u201cWe aren\u2019t really carrying any valuables Trog.\u201d\n\u201cDo not want things. Want people. Give us two. One for your passage through and one for the return trip.\u201d\n\u201cOkay\u2026so what are you going to do with them?\u201d\n\u201cNothing. Just keep here so you do not pull any tricks.\u201d\n\u201cWhat tricks would I play, I\u2019ve always dealt straight with you. And you do realize that if I was going to play any sort of trick, I\u2019d be more than willing sacrifice whoever I did leave behind and do it anyway?\u201d\n\u201cHmm, true. But still, cannot just let you pass for free. Tribe would perceive as weakness. Those are the terms. More than fair.\u201d\n\nTrog IS being more than fair. He\u2019s downright civilized compared to most humans you\u2019ve known. Under normal circumstances you\u2019d do it without a blink, but you\u2019re fairly certain the group is going to be VERY resistant to this idea and you can\u2019t say you\u2019d blame them.\n\nIt\u2019s this or just pushing your way through.", "action_results": [{"action": "Make the deal", "result": "\u201cAlright, you\u2019ll have your two Trog, I need to go back and speak with my people about which two though.\u201d\n\nTrog nods and you return to the group to explain the situation, it goes about as well as you expected.\n\n\u201cYou can\u2019t expect us to stay with these savages! They\u2019ll kill us!\u201d one of the workers exclaims.\n\u201cWe\u2019re at war with these monsters!\u201d a soldier remarks.\n\u201cI\u2019d have to agree that leaving anyone here is tantamount to leaving them to die.\u201d Jennifer adds.\n\u201cLook, this is the ONLY way we\u2019re getting into Rask without a fight. And I guarantee we\u2019re in no position to be fighting hundreds of orcs.\u201d You remark and then point at the soldiers in the group. \u201cNow you lot are soldiers which technically puts you under my command and if I order any of you to stay you better damn well do it or else you\u2019re going to have me to deal with and I assure you if that happens you\u2019d rather have orcs.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat being said, I\u2019d rather NOT leave any soldiers behind, because we\u2019re going to need every competent fighter we can get when we do get in Rask.\u201d You say and then point to the civvies in the group. \u201cYou lot on the other hand, I can afford to leave any one of you behind.\u201d\n\nThis remark is met with more protest and exclamations of how which one of them is a valuable member of the group. You\u2019re unimpressed and simply say if there\u2019s any digging or carrying to be done, anyone can do that and if its for some intellectual purpose, Jennifer is still going to be the most knowledgeable one on whatever it is you do find in Rask, so again the rest are superfluous.\n\nThis statement is met with more protests until Jennifer suddenly tells them all to shut up.\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t like this, but he\u2019s right. I\u2019ll take volunteers first.\u201d Jennifer remarks.\n\nPredictably more begging, protests and threats follow, which Jennifer addresses that it\u2019s either stay with the orcs or try to head back to Nalin without any escort protection. Eventually one brave soul volunteers, muttering that if he\u2019s lucky maybe they won\u2019t eat him and he can learn more about their culture. The second one loses a lot draw. She\u2019s not happy about her bad luck and the situation, but resigns herself to her fate.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m glad you backed me up.\u201d You say.\n\u201cI didn\u2019t really want to and I\u2019m sure I\u2019m going to get a lot of backlash from my workers, but the potential for this discovery is too important and I trust you. I just hope you trust this orc as much.\u201d Jennifer remarks.\n\u201cI don\u2019t, but he\u2019s been reliable on matters much greater than this one. The worst that could happen is that he plans on killing us on the return trip when we\u2019re exhausted from the dangers of Rask, but we\u2019ll deal with that when the time comes.\u201d You answer.\n\u201cWell I guess this is all worth it then.\u201d\n\nAfter the two \u201csacrificial lambs\u201d are presented to Trog, he promises once again that no harm will come to them and the rest of you cautiously pass through Flogger territory, which actually overlaps partially into Rask. In fact you pass by an area where you believe Fort Destiny once stood. There\u2019s no evidence of it anymore though, it\u2019s just wilderness now. You wonder if was destroyed during the cataclysm or if it was time that ultimately took it over.\n\nEventually you clear Flogger territory and you\u2019re in the true wilderness of Rask.\n\nYou, Jennifer and a couple of others go over the maps deciding which way would be the best. Using your memory, you point out that despite the long passage of time, there are still evidence of old Empire roads and that you should use those as a basic guide to head north. If you\u2019re lucky, it may very well take you all the way to Fort Defiance, or at least where the fort used to stand.\n\nThe journey north is as miserable as you remember when you first came to this unforgiving land. If anything it seems worse now that it\u2019s no longer tamed by the Empire. Still, you travel quite a distance before you catch sight of figures moving about in the surrounding forests.\n\n\u201cStop. We\u2019re being watched and we\u2019re going to be attacked soon. In fact, we\u2019re probably surrounded, I suggest everyone prepare themselves.\u201d You say.\n\nThe group forms a protective circle as best they can while you try to keep an eye on all the possible directions of attack.\n\nEventually a few orcs and ogres emerge from the trees. However, something doesn\u2019t look quite right about them. They\u2019re savage looking like you\u2019d expect, but even for their kind they\u2019re moving a fashion that isn\u2019t typical. It\u2019s more like how an animal would move. They don\u2019t make any usual taunts or threats either, but you do hear some loud guttural growling sounds.\n\nIt probably isn\u2019t surprising that some of the soldiers decide they aren\u2019t going to wait around to be attacked and go ahead and fire. Two or three of the attackers are wounded, but then the rest make a horrible wailing sound which causes everyone to clutch their ears in pain.\n\nThen they move in for the attack, but it\u2019s more like a loping gait rather than running. Ogres don\u2019t typically run either\u2026\n\n\u201cOh shit, WENDIGOS!\u201d you shout and start casting your mind shield spell, but before you can complete it a possessed orc is already upon you.\n\n\u201cMeat!\u201d the orc hisses with its fang filled mouth right in front of your face. You feel a claw dig through your armor and puncture your skin just before you stab the monster through the neck with your dagger. Blood spurts all over you before manage to get the thing off of you and stomp it repeatedly in the throat, crushing it completely.\n\nYou then hear a voice in your mind.\n\n\u201cSssssss! I sense power\u2026great power\u2026you\u2019re an Eye! Hated Eye! Eyes! Away! Away my fellows! Before this they destroy us all!\u201d the voice exclaims.\n\nBefore you know it, the possessed orcs and ogres cease their attack and begin backing away. Everyone is a bit confused and quite frankly you are too.\n\n\u201cWhy\u2019d they stop attacking?\u201d Jennifer asks.\n\u201cBecause we were kicking their asses! Hah! So much for the dreaded wendigos!\u201d a soldier remarks, several of the other soldiers cheer in agreement and press forward to attack the retreating wendigos.\n\nYou aren\u2019t exactly sure what\u2019s going on, but apparently this wendigo knows you have the capability to destroy it. However, nobody else here can and if the wendigos figure that out, you\u2019re going to be in trouble when the spirits are released from their dead hosts.\n\nYou\u2019re not about to give away the fact that everyone else is defenseless by shouting verbal commands to stop attacking, so the best thing you can do is cast your spell. Which is going to be a brand new experience for you since you\u2019ve never actually cast a mind shield spell over other people before.\n\nIgnoring the sounds of gunshots and shouting around you, you concentrate on your spell and try to focus it on the group. It takes a lot more energy than you anticipated. Meanwhile you\u2019re getting questions on what you\u2019re doing.\n\n\u201cShut up! All of you! I\u2019m trying to protect our lives and it\u2019s taking all my concentration! Now does anyone hear any voices? And I\u2019m not taking about my own right now. I\u2019m taking about raspy sounding voices going on about giving up or something similar.\u201d\n\nThis question is followed by the group all-stating that they don\u2019t hear anything like that. You breathe a sigh of relief and while you still can\u2019t sense any wendigo spirits lurking about, you\u2019re not going to take your guard down yet.\n\n\u201cOkay, good. Like I said before we got here, if anyone does hear voices let me know immediately. I heard one of them in my head and it thought we were eyes, or they thought I was. It got scared and told the rest to retreat before I destroyed them all.\u201d\n\u201cAn eye? What does that mean?\u201d someone asks.\n\u201cIf I had to guess? They thought I was part of an elite military branch force of the old Empire.\u201d You say.\n\u201cWe\u2019ve only found a bit of information on the Eyes, but I didn\u2019t know they actively hunted wendigos.\u201d Jennifer says.\n\u201cThey didn\u2019t. In fact other than some stealth operations during the Felkan War their primary function was internal security after the shadows were disposed of. They didn\u2019t have any magic abilities to destroy creatures like wendigos.\u201d\n\u201cSomething must\u2019ve changed then.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019ll say. The only time I\u2019ve ever heard fear in a wendigo\u2019s voice is just before I banished it. I\u2019m guessing it sensed I had that ability and figured I was an eye, which leads me to believe that this mythical warrior\u2019s guild we\u2019re trying to find must be run by the eyes or decendents of them. Heh. Glad you held something together ol\u2019 friend.\u201d You say with a smile.\n\u201cWhat\u2019s that?\u201d Jennifer asks not knowing what you\u2019re thinking about.\n\u201cWarrick. He was head of the Eyes. A Sightmaster. I can only imagine that if the Eyes did survive to this day, he must\u2019ve had a hand in it somehow. Come on, I\u2019m actually just as anxious as you to find this place now.\u201d\n\nAfter patching up some of the wounded you\u2019re soon on your way again. You hate dispelling the protection, but if you keep it going constantly, you\u2019ll be running out of stamina when you might need it for more physical foes. You just hope that the wendigos continue to believe that you\u2019re all Eyes.\n\nAs it turns out, the rest of your journey is plagued by horrible weather conditions instead. There\u2019s also debate on which way to go when the remnants of the Empire roads disappear to wilderness and can no longer provide a base guideline of where to travel.\n\nJennifer and most of her workers want to follow the maps, but you\u2019re convinced that you should continue in the direction of where you last remember Fort Defiance to stand.", "action_results": [{"action": "Follow the maps", "result": "As much as you hate to go against your instincts, you were only here once and it was over five hundred years ago. Your memory of things isn\u2019t going to be correct due to the changes in the landscape alone. Even if the maps aren\u2019t giving the exact location, they\u2019re at least a more reliable guideline brought back by people who managed to survive this land.\n\n\u201cOkay, we\u2019ll use the maps. We\u2019re going to have to endure this weather either way I suppose and we\u2019ll be less likely to get lost.\u201d You remark.\n\nYou continue your journey using the maps. It turns out to be a good idea, but nothing is stopping the cold and freezing ice storm that hits hard within a couple hours.\n\nWhat remaining horses and other pack animals you had left end up either panicking or outright collapse from the exhaustion. Your group ends up having to dig out a shelter and hunker down for the storm to pass. Food isn\u2019t much of a problem since you just butcher the animals that are dying any way. Fire isn\u2019t either since you can conjure it up. Still, it\u2019s not an ideal situation and others in the group are starting to experience minor frostbite and argue with one another.\n\nYou tell everyone to shut up and listen when you hear a rumbling sound approaching close by. Some think it\u2019s just the sounds of the storm, but you point out that it must be something else since the ground is vibrating a bit.\n\n\u201cGiant! Get the hell up and move!\u201d you exclaim and the group scrambles to run out of the make shift shelter. Some of you even make it out before a large foot crushes it.\n\nNow the term giant has never been used lightly, they\u2019re called that for a reason. However, this one is certainly larger than average. In fact, you don\u2019t even think it noticed you when it squashed some of your group. Well it didn\u2019t at first at least, when it feel the gushiness of flattened humans on its foot along with seeing several scattering about the snow, it comes to the conclusion that a giant could only logically come to, namely flatten the rest of you as well.\n\n\u201cSpread out! Spread out! He\u2019s going to swing that damn club!\u201d you shout. Meanwhile, the giant successfully crushes a couple of the soldiers with his club and at this point you don\u2019t know where the hell anyone else is because their fear has caused them to run out of your line of sight which is small enough with the ice storm hindering long range viewing.\n\nYou roll out of the way of a club slam and run up to the giant\u2019s foot and begin hacking at the back tendon. It isn\u2019t easy since the giant\u2019s skin is calloused to the point where it acts like armor. You only manage to cause a superficial wound before He nearly crushes you again. Realizing you aren\u2019t getting anywhere with that approach, you resort to magic and literally give the giant a hot foot, burning the skin enough to cause a roar of pain. The giant starts moving his foot to sooth the injury in the cold snow.\n\nYou look up and can barely make out the top half of this monster through the storm. You aren\u2019t sure if it\u2019s going to work with the storm being as bad as it is, but you\u2019re going to try anyway. You cast more fire at the giant, not at his foot though, but at his loincloth which is undoubtedly made of some sort of fur. You don\u2019t stop flinging fire until you\u2019re confident that the flames aren\u2019t going out any time soon.\n\nPredictably the giant starts beating its own flaming crotch in an effort to stop the burning sensation, bellowing so loudly that you image all of Rask can hear. The giant runs away from the combat area grabbing snow and ice around it and throwing it on the still burning fur loincloth.\n\n\u201cSheesh, that brings a whole new meaning to the term fireballs.\u201d A voice shouts behind you. You turn around and see a figure completely bundled up in snow gear standing with others dressed in a similar manner. Naturally you\u2019re ready for a fight, but the one who spoke holds up his hands.\n\n\u201cHold on there! Are you part of the expedition group? We just bumped into a few of them running from the giant. Said one of you was actually insane enough to fight the damn thing.\u201d\n\u201cYes, what have you done with them?!\u201d\n\u201cNothing! We were on patrol, got caught in the storm and then we heard all the screaming and came to investigate. Your people are right over this small hill here with some more of us. Normally, we\u2019d just send you all on your way and tell you that you were fools to come to Rask in the first place, but now that we\u2019ve seen you in action, I can\u2019t help but think the Vision Lord would want to meet you.\u201d\n\nVision Lord?\n\n\u201cAre you the Eyes?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cWe are from the Order of the Eye and I\u2019m Sightmaster Crowley but if we\u2019re going to talk, I\u2019d prefer it if we\u2019d do it at Fort Everwatch. You and the others can rest up there.\u201d\n\u201cAnd if we don\u2019t want to go with you?\u201d\n\u201cThen you don\u2019t go and you all can return to wherever it is you came from. We\u2019re not holding anyone prisoner, though the lady of your group, a Miss Mol I believe, says you\u2019ve been looking for us. As I said normally we try to keep to ourselves and turn away most visitors, but given that we\u2019re inviting you in with open arms I should think you wouldn\u2019t turn down this opportunity. Besides, I\u2019m fairly certain that none of us here wants to tangle with the guy that just chased away ol\u2019 Snowtop single handedly.\u201d\n\u201cWhat, that giant?\u201d\n\u201cIf you hadn\u2019t noticed, he\u2019s not just any giant, if he was, he\u2019d be dead by now. He\u2019s probably the oldest living frost giant that we know of and he\u2019s tougher than a troll steak and almost taller than some of the smaller mountains in this area. Fortunately he seems to only wander about during these bad ice storms that usually no idiot would be caught in, but then here we are.\u201d\n\nAnd here you are. You insist that you want to see Jennifer before going anywhere. Crowley takes you to see her and the few survivors. She\u2019s glad to see you\u2019re alive and hugs you. Her enthusiasm for this trip hasn\u2019t diminished and she definitely wants to go see the Eyes\u2019 home, despite the fact that you all were nearly crushed to death by a giant, though that can\u2019t be said for some of her employees. You\u2019re just glad she\u2019s all right and you\u2019re within reach of your destination.\n\nIt doesn\u2019t take too long to get to Fort Everwatch. It wasn\u2019t anywhere near Fort Defiance once stood though so its just as well that you didn\u2019t go that way. Everwatch isn\u2019t particularly large or fancy, but it does look like it was built to stand the test of time. The interior is just as utilitarian Other than symbols of an eye adorning various parts of the fort, it actually reminds you of an old Empire fort. You can\u2019t help but feel at home here despite only just entering the place.\n\nYou are brought to a great hall area and Crowley says he\u2019s going to fetch the Vision Lord. In the meantime he\u2019s tells you all to stay here, but feel free to look around.\n\n\u201cThis is pretty exciting, I hope they\u2019ll let us take something back from this place.\u201d Jennifer says while looking at the various plaques.\n\u201cAnything\u2019s possible I suppose, but they don\u2019t look like they\u2019re much into luxuries. The only decorations here seem to be dedicated to their fallen like these plaques or those eye symbols\u2026oh wait, they seem to have battle trophies as well, check out that giant\u2019s skull hanging high on the left wall.\u201d You remark still feeling a little wary of things.\n\nEventually Crowley comes back with who you guess to be the Vision Lord. The Vision Lord doesn\u2019t look particularly impressive despite his name though it is certain by the scars on his face he is no stranger to battle. You were expecting him to be a lot older though as it stands he looks about your age\u2026well not counting your five-century nap of course.\n\nHe stares at you, Jennifer and the rest for a moment and then he points to Jennifer.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m guessing you and this lot come from the Nalin Republic.\u201d\n\u201cHow did you know?\u201d Jennifer asks.\n\u201cWhere else would you come from? You\u2019re certainly not from one of the six cities of Arat. They\u2019re too busy with their petty squabbles. Besides, we\u2019ve come across some of your type before wandering up here. A few of them even joined our group rather than head back down.\u201d\n\u201cYou recruited our explorers?!\u201d Jennifer says.\n\u201cYes, if they showed promise and desired to join. I\u2019m sure you might even bump into a couple of them in this place assuming you haven\u2019t already. Now you on the other hand\u2026you are very interesting. Your armor looks as if it comes from another time, you can cast magic with ease and I heard you fended off Snowtop all by yourself. That\u2019s a feat so impressive I can\u2019t imagine you are native to the Republic.\u201d the Vision Lord remarks and points to you.\n\u201cWhat I find interesting is this place and from what I can tell by your commemorations of the your fallen, you feel keeping history is important. So tell me, did Warrick have this fort built or was it sometime after his death?\u201d you say causing some eyebrows to raise.\n\u201cYou know of Vision Lord Warrick then? Not many outside our order know our founder. How did you come across this information?\u201d\n\u201cEasy. We were practically siblings. He was an Eternal, just like I am. He wasn\u2019t a Vision Lord back then, just a Sightmaster, though I guess he felt the need to assign himself a higher title. Doesn\u2019t matter. I\u2019m just glad to see another piece of the old Empire still alive, even if it has taken a very different form.\u201d\n\nWith this response the Vision Lord steps back and the other Eyes now begin whispering amongst themselves.\n\n\u201cSo, the rumors are true. An Eternal does walk the earth again and it is indeed the one Vision Lord Warrick mentions in his writings. As you might expect we don\u2019t get much news this way and we don\u2019t venture too far from here, let alone Rask. In fact the few recruits we manage to get are probably our biggest source of new information. Tell me, how is it that you live?\u201d\n\nYou explain the exact situation as vaguely as you did to Jennifer and Quintus. The cataclysm struck suddenly, you were encased in a magic shell, etc. etc. and eventually Jennifer\u2019s crew dug you up.\n\n\u201cI see. How unfortunate that you came in contact with the Republic first, but then I suppose it\u2019s better than being stuck in a magic coffin. Still, you\u2019re here now and I believe you will find a better home here.\u201d The Vision Lord remarks.\n\u201cWhat?\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m inviting you to stay with us. Come now. This Order was founded by an Eternal I\u2019m somewhat familiar with their mindset based on the writings of Vision Lord Warrick. I can only imagine the dull tedium you\u2019ve endured in the Republic. How have you managed to occupy your time?\u201d\n\u201cDo not presume you know me based on the writings of Warrick. Truth be told, he didn\u2019t exactly create the Eyes, at least not in their original form. The Eyes were originally created by this woman\u2019s great ancestor Jacob Mol.\u201d You say pointing to Jennifer.\n\nThe Vision Lord nods his head a bit.\n\n\u201cApologies. I did not mean to offend. And if as you say this lady\u2019s ancestor had a hand in creating the Eyes then we\u2019ve been doubly blessed by the presence of her as well. However, I do believe that you were and still are a man of battle and war. And again I can\u2019t imagine those things being in great supply in the Republic. Surely you would enjoy living here instead. You would be great asset in our own war of extermination of the wendigo. We could certainly use the help.\u201d\n\nThis is a sudden offer and certainly one you weren\u2019t expecting. The strange thing is it isn\u2019t out of the question either. A few days ago you were just going on about to Jennifer about how you were restless in the Republic even with your efforts to help restructure it into a new empire. A glorious undertaking to be sure, but one you\u2019ve had doubts about recently.\n\nNow this opportunity is certainly less impressive, but there\u2019s something alluring about its simplicity. All you would have to concern yourself with is the battle. The war. The victories over your enemies in melee combat. You\u2019d even live in a place that\u2019s much comfortable to you.\n\nOf course there\u2019s also Jennifer to think about, but while your relationship with her is blooming into something more romantic what future do you have with her really? She\u2019s not even like Alison in that she\u2019s a warrior and can truly connect with you on some level even if she does make the attempts.\n\nThere\u2019s also the fact that you\u2019ve been worried about her the whole trip. Will you continue to worry about her and allow that to be a weakness to be exploited? If she\u2019s killed will you go through the same emotional ruin you did when Alison was murdered? Do you even want to deal with any of that again?\n\nYou tell the Vision Lord that you and he are going to have to discuss this all in more detailed before you make a decision. Jennifer looks concerned when you say this, but doesn\u2019t say anything. The Vision Lord says that while you and he talk, the rest of your group can rest up or feel free to explore as there is nothing of major value and he trusts nobody would be foolish enough to steal anything.\n\nYou speak with the Vision Lord (who reveals his name is Kells) for quite awhile on the current situation of his order as well as the history of this place and Rask in general. He also remarks about how the Eyes are so hated and feared by the wendigo. As you might\u2019ve guessed magic is in play, but only to a minor degree. Over the centuries the Eyes have managed to focus their minds to create shields against wendigo mental attacks along with being able to banish them to oblivion. (Still vulnerable to normal death through wendigo hosts obviously though)\n\nAfter your discussion he tells you that he\u2019ll leave you to your decision, but that he hopes you\u2019ll stay. You then speak with Jennifer about your situation; naturally she wants you to return with her and explains all reasons why. You end up sleeping on the offer and pondering everything some more, but ultimately the decision is up to you.", "action_results": [{"action": "Stay at Fort Everwatch", "result": "Since you\u2019ve been dug up, you\u2019ve been trying to make a go of your new life and while it hasn\u2019t been all bad, you feel like ultimately you\u2019re just living a shell of your old life that\u2019s been gone a long time.\n\nYou don\u2019t belong to this time, even the new \u201cempire\u201d you\u2019re trying to help re-establish isn\u2019t going to be the one you knew. Maybe some things should just stay in the past.\n\nIf you stayed here at least you\u2019d be doing something you actually felt somewhat connected to. Really the only thing you\u2019re going to possibly miss is Jennifer, but she\u2019s not enough for you to stay and she\u2019ll be better off without you in her life anyway.\n\nNo point in second guessing your decision. You\u2019re going to stay. You go tell Vision Lord Kells immediately. He\u2019s very happy.\n\n\u201cExcellent! Your presence here will be a great asset to the Eyes! Together we\u2019ll wipe out the wendigo completely from this land!\u201d Kells exclaims.\n\u201cI\u2019m sure. However, I\u2019ve got one more thing to do before I join. I have to explain all this to my companion Jennifer and escort her back to Quala.\u201d\n\u201cOf course, I understand. Your official ceremony will begin when you return.\u201d\n\nYou approach Jennifer who is already packed and ready to go, but when she sees your face she already knows what you\u2019ve chosen to do.\n\n\u201cNo\u2026no, you\u2019re not really staying are you?\u201d she asks.\n\u201cI\u2019m sorry Jennifer, but I just can\u2019t deal with your time anymore. I don\u2019t know maybe it\u2019s all the complicated politics or the new technology or I just feel constantly out of place, or a combination of several things, but I feel more at home here than I ever did at Nalin.\u201d\n\u201cBut what about the Empire?! You\u2019re helping it live again! How can you leave now?\u201d\n\u201cIt\u2019s not my Empire and it never will be. I believe I have helped Quintus enough in getting the foundations in place if he really wants to go forth with the plan he has. If anything I\u2019m doing him a favor by bowing out now. I probably would\u2019ve only ended up killing him anyway.\u201d\n\u201cBut\u2026but\u2026what about\u2026\u201d\n\u201cUs? (Sigh) I think you\u2019d be better off with someone\u2026well more your age for one thing, but also someone with similar interests as you. I believe you\u2019re more enamored by the idea of me.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m not some idiot with a school girl crush you know! I have genuine feelings for you!\u201d Jennifer exclaims.\n\u201cLook, I know and I have feelings for you as well, but it\u2019s just not enough and you\u2019ll be better off in the long run anyway.\u201d\n\nJennifer looks at you with a mixture of sadness, frustration and anger.\n\n\u201c\u2026fine. You\u2019ve obviously made up your mind about this. And I know how stubborn your Eternal mind works, so let\u2019s not argue about this any longer. You might be right anyway, but I think this decision of yours sucks and is ultimately selling yourself out of a good future. And I\u2019m not talking about just us. I\u2019m talking about all the work you put into trying to resurrect the Empire and now just walking away from it all. I thought you were a man of greatness, but I see now that you are just a man\u2026just like the rest.\u201d\n\nYou try to tell Jennifer that you\u2019ll escort her out of Rask, but she tells you she\u2019ll be fine. Seeing that you aren\u2019t going to take no for an answer she reluctantly agrees.\n\nYour journey out of Rask is a quiet and uneventful one. If you weren\u2019t already feeling the cold from the weather, you\u2019d most certainly be feeling it from Jennifer who says nothing to you the whole time.\n\nWhen you eventually get to the Flogger tribe borders, you part company with Jennifer and the rest. You tell your soldiers to let command know that you won\u2019t be returning and not to bother to come find you.\n\nYou try to say goodbye to Jennifer one last time, but she\u2019s already walking towards Quala with her crew. Having nothing else to do, you return to Everwatch to begin your new life.\n\nThe Eyes have a big ceremony for you and you\u2019re appointed as a Sightmaster immediately due to your vast years of experience and magic. Kells catches you up on all the procedures and a little more history, but for the most part you\u2019re still wondering if you have made the right decision.\n\nAfter a month of slaying creatures and banishing wendigos you get in the swing of things and your thoughts about anything connected to Nalin start to lessen.\n\nWithin the year, you feel completely at home with only the occasional fleeting thoughts of concerns outside of Rask. Sometimes you half expect someone from Nalin to come, but nobody does. You imagine Quintus is glad to have you conveniently out of his life now (assuming he succeeded with his Empire idea without you) and Jennifer has gotten over you.\n\nJust proves that you weren\u2019t really missed or wanted after all and you did make the right decision. At least here you feel genuinely respected and wanted.\n\nYears go by and you settle into your routine. It\u2019s a very simple one and in time when Vision Lord Kells dies of natural causes, it\u2019s very evident that you are the one to take up the mantle.\n\nYears become decades and Rask continues to remain fairly isolated. You sometimes wonder if Quintus was ever successful and if he\u2019s still emperor or if he failed and Nalin is still a republic. You sometimes also wonder what Jennifer is doing. One time you walked all the way to the Rask borders only to turn back, resisting the sudden urge to revisit that life.\n\nThis is your life now and you\u2019re going to stick with this one.\n\nYou do begin to have some concerns about the potential future of the Eyes. You\u2019re essentially an isolated \u201cmonk\u201d order dedicated to wiping out dangerous monsters. Attrition through combat is not only taking its toll, but age is as well. A discussion about a potential remedy like say actively trying to go outside Rask to recruit new members is held, but ultimately nothing is done.\n\nSo ultimately you continue until eventually all that\u2019s left of the order is a few old men and yourself, also of old age by that time.\n\nYou all go out one day and never come back.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Return to the Republic", "result": "Retreating from the world and living a simple life dedicated to battle would be a kind of escape from any major responsibilities or headaches. You\u2019d just engage in one battle to the next until you finally fell. At worst, you might become the \u201cVision Lord\u201d (Which would probably be very likely) but even then you wouldn\u2019t have much responsibility or cares.\n\nBasically staying here would be like your form of \u201cretirement\u201d for all your years to ungrateful master and an unforgiving system that demanded everything from you and gave next to nothing in return.\n\nYeah, you\u2019re too young to retire and you\u2019ve always been the type to do things the hard way even at your own expense. You\u2019re going back to the Republic, you\u2019ll be damned if Quintus is going to take credit for all your hard work. Even now he\u2019s probably making preparations for doing just that, assuming he hasn\u2019t made a complete mess of things.\n\nStill, if you have it your way you aren\u2019t going back alone. No point in coming all this way for nothing. First thing you do is go to Jennifer.\n\n\u201cIt may please you to know that I\u2019ll be coming back with you to Nalin\u2026\u201d you say.\n\u201cI sense a but in there somewhere.\u201d Jennifer remarks.\n\u201cIt\u2019s actually a however. Anyway I\u2019m going to try to convince the Eyes to come back with us.\u201d\n\u201cWhat? I know I wanted to bring something back, but I don\u2019t think the entire order is what I had in mind.\u201d\n\u201cI doubt if I\u2019ll convince everyone, in fact I\u2019ll consider it a victory if they don\u2019t try to lynch me when I suggest it, but I have to try. If only to rebuild the Empire properly.\u201d\n\u201cSo are we in any danger?\u201d\n\u201cAlways. Don\u2019t worry it probably won\u2019t be that bad.\u201d\n\nJennifer gives you an apprehensive look, but says she\u2019ll trust you in this matter. You tell her that everyone should pack up and get ready to run just in case though.\n\nBreaking whatever rules the Eyes have in place for decorum you begin to call whoever is nearby to listen to you.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m only going to say this once because if I can\u2019t convince you the first time, I\u2019m not going to waste my time doing it again. Now I know you\u2019re all very proud warriors. That\u2019s good, you should be, but your talents are going to waste rotting in this dreary little fort. This isn\u2019t what Warrick would\u2019ve wanted for the lot of you.\u201d\n\u201cAnd how do YOU know that?! What do you know of the first Vision Lord?!\u201d an Eye angrily shouts. You\u2019re guessing he hasn\u2019t heard the news on you yet.\n\n\u201cI knew Warrick a hell of a lot better than any of you for one thing seeing as I actually interacted with the man! He was a dedicated soldier of the Empire first and foremost! I\u2019ve read some of his writings and that was true up until the day he died! He never wanted the Eyes to devolve into some strange monastery. He intended for the Eyes to hold what little of the Empire was left together and eventually rebuild if possible. Now I don\u2019t know what exactly changed after he died, but it\u2019s obvious that the Eyes or whoever took charge of them changed that mission. Well I\u2019m here to tell you all that your original mission can be restored\u2026\u201d your speech is sudden interrupted by Kells who comes storming into the room.\n\n\u201cWhat is the meaning of this?! We have shown you courtesy and respect and THIS is how you repay us? You attempt to use us as puppets\u2026\u201d Kells speech is interrupted with a lightning blast to his face. No mental shield in the world is going to protect against that. Kells falls backwards with his blackened head still sizzling and making popping sounds.\n\nMost of the Eyes are unsure of what to do, though four of them immediately make their good attempt to kill you. You dodge and weave the attacks of the first two and successfully run the pair of them through. The third you freeze to the spot and grab the fourth one\u2019s arm, breaking it before snapping his neck. Seeing that nobody else is willing to attack, you kick the frozen third attack so that he falls over and shatters into multiple pieces.\n\n\u201cNow as I was saying your mission can be restored. What you just witnessed here, I took no pleasure in doing, but I would hate for any of you to pass up an opportunity because of an old system that is leading this great order into extinction. Besides the random worthy adventurer that decides the join, how do you replenish your numbers at a reasonable rate? I don\u2019t see many women in your ranks. I don\u2019t even see any children. You may be putting dread fear into the wendigo and other denizens of Rask, but your order is slowly dying. Within another fifty years, I\u2019d say the Eyes will at best consist of a few old men. The Empire is going to live again and you can be part of it. You were meant to be part of it. Come with me, and the Eyes will NEVER die.\u201d\n\nYour speech is met with silence.\n\n\u201cOr stay here and die a slow lingering death. The choice is yours, I hope you make the right decision.\u201d You say and walk past the crowd.\n\nYou head towards the exit of the fort and see Jennifer standing there alone.\n\n\u201cWhere\u2019s everyone else?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cThey started running when they heard the sounds of battle even the two remaining soldiers. I assume they\u2019re already on their way to Nalin by now.\u201d\n\u201cAnd you didn\u2019t run?\u201d\n\u201cNo, I figured you\u2019d either win, and I\u2019d be safer travelling with you anyway, or you\u2019d die and I\u2019d get killed trying run back to Nalin because if the Eyes didn\u2019t get me, the wendigo or giants probably would. So did it work?\u201d\n\u201cI don\u2019t know. I mean I made my point, but there\u2019s a lot of indoctrination there. Centuries worth, it was a long shot I guess.\u201d\n\u201cEven after you killed some of them?\u201d\n\u201cA show of force isn\u2019t always as effective as we want it to be, but like I told them, if I wasn\u2019t going to convince them this first time, I\u2019ll never be able to. Oh well, let\u2019s get going.\u201d\n\nYou and Jennifer exit the fort and make your way back to Nalin, fortunately the ice storm has let up. For a while you try to track where the others of your group ran, but unfortunately it looks like they ran in the wrong direction or at least not the way you came. Jennifer wonders if you should make the attempt to look for them, but you say that you\u2019ll just be in danger of getting lost yourself and say they\u2019re on their own.\n\nAs you and Jennifer trudge through the snow you get a sense that you\u2019re being followed. You turn around and your stalkers make no attempt to hide. They\u2019re Eyes. One of them walks towards you alone. It\u2019s Crowley.\n\n\u201cI can\u2019t say you convinced everyone, but if it\u2019s any consolation you convinced the smart ones. We\u2019re ready for something new and I was getting tired of this weather anyway.\u201d He says.\n\nWith a new group to travel with and better supplies, you continue on your way. The Eyes also know of several short cuts so it decreases your travelling time. Eventually you make it back to Quala and Flogger territory. To be honest, you\u2019re glad to have some people that can actually fight now. Your more formidable force is met by Trog and just as he promised Jennifer\u2019s two people are still alive and unharmed. In fact one of them excitedly tells Jennifer everything he\u2019s learned about orc culture since he\u2019s been here.\n\n\u201cTrog see that you return with an army from the north. Always heard there were humans living in Rask, never knew for sure though. Your two people have not been harmed as you can see and I trust after you leave our arrangement of non-hostilities will continue in the future.\u201d\n\u201cWell that\u2019ll be up to you.\u201d\n\u201cIndeed.\u201d\n\u201cWho is this orc?\u201d Crowley asks in a semi-hostile tone.\n\u201cHe\u2019s a great leader to his people and more worthy to be called a vision lord than Kells was given that he can actually see the future sometimes. Let\u2019s go.\u201d\n\nYou continue your journey with no more major stops, other than a couple of times to rest.\n\n\u201cSo what happens when we reach Nalin?\u201d Jennifer asks coming into your tent.\n\u201cI\u2019ll assess the situation of course, but I can\u2019t imagine much has changed. I mean there\u2019s possibility Quintus has dissolved the senate and declared himself Emperor already in my absence, but it\u2019s hard to tell if he hasn\u2019t just freaked out without me around.\u201d\n\u201cYou\u2019re going to kill Quintus aren\u2019t you?\u201d Jennifer says.\n\n\u201cWell it is looking that way. I doubt if he\u2019s going to just step aside and even if he did I don\u2019t think I could trust him to stay out of the picture. I take it, you\u2019d rather I didn\u2019t?\u201d\n\u201c(Sigh) At one time I might\u2019ve said that would be true, but now things are so different. Still, he is the only one that funded and supported my father\u2019s expeditions and museum. He\u2019s also the main reason why the Empire is a possibility. I mean it is true he couldn\u2019t have done this without you, but you might not have been dug up at all had it not been for him. I don\u2019t know, it just seems fairly ruthless to do to someone that\u2019s been alright with you.\u201d\n\u201cIt is and I won\u2019t argue that it isn\u2019t, but unfortunately I\u2019ve found that when it comes to power, ruthlessness is what keeps you from getting killed and getting shit done. I mean that was pretty apparent with getting the Eyes to join us.\u201d\n\u201cI mean if you\u2019re going to I can\u2019t stop you and it won\u2019t change my feelings for you, but I also wonder about that as well. I mean call it keeping my head in the sand, but I\u2019m not sure if I\u2019d be able to walk that same path as you even if I\u2019m not actively involved in the darker side of things. I mean I\u2019m can you really see me as an Empress or something similar?\u201d\n\nBy the look on your face Jennifer sees that you hadn\u2019t even pondered it.\n\n\u201cLook, let\u2019s forget about this tonight. Right now let\u2019s just consummate our relationship, whatever that might be in the future. If this trip has taught me anything it\u2019s that life is too damn short to worry about the future. You\u2019d think I would\u2019ve learned that lesson a long time ago, but better late than never.\u201d\n\nWhen you embrace Jennifer, you notice a big difference in the act. Namely you don\u2019t engage in the forceful roughness that you have in the past. Even though you learned to control during your time with Alison you still always had that urge of aggressiveness. You can only imagine that centuries of being encased in a magic coffin and with Mistress long dead, you don\u2019t have that fucked up hang up any more. You certainly have larger concerns nowadays.\n\nOne of which is what you\u2019re going to do exactly when you go marching into Dalt with a bunch of Eyes\u2026\n\nOne day later\n\n\u201cWhere have you been? When I heard you weren\u2019t at your usual post and\u2026\u201d Quintus begins to ask when you come through the front door of his house and then he notices the fresh blood on your sword and his guards nowhere to be seen. His eyes widen when you raise your hand up to cast a lightning bolt to his face.\n\nYou find however that the spell fails to work on him and one of his rings glows brightly.\n\n\u201cI figured one of those rings protected you from magic. Pity, I was trying to give you a quick and less painful death.\u201d You say and advance upon him with your sword in hand.\n\u201cNo! What\u2019re you doing?! We\u2019re on the same side! We were going to revive the Empire!\u201d Quintus exclaims backing up on the stairway and attempts to rub one of his rings. You aren\u2019t exactly sure what he\u2019s attempting to do, but you\u2019re not going to let him do it.\n\nYou making a lunging rush at him and he nearly disappears before you, but you\u2019ve already stuck him like a pig. His brief attempt at invisibility fades as his dying face stares at you.\n\n\u201cWh\u2026why? I\u2026helped\u2026I\u2026was going\u2026to be\u2026emperor\u2026\u201d\n\u201cYeah, well I never told you something Quintus. I was involved in killing the last Emperor and NOW I\u2019m finally going to take MY rightful place!\u201d you say and throw Quintus over the stair railing where his body falls to the floor in a bloody heap.\n\nAfterwards you take care of Quintus\u2019 family. As dysfunctional as they all are, the last thing you need is for any of them to attempt revenge for whatever reason.\n\nThe day after, you and the Eyes march into the senate and officially dissolve it. This actually involves much less bloodshed as none of them want to oppose you. Indeed some of them offer to be \u201cadvisors.\u201d You\u2019re sure some of the fools will be useful so you stay your hand.\n\nA few days later and it\u2019s official. You make your announcement that the Republic is dead and that the Empire now lives again. The general public doesn\u2019t know quite what to make of everything. You\u2019re sure that there will be some sort of misguided rebellion, but with the military behind you and with the support of the Eyes you\u2019re confident that you won\u2019t have too much trouble.\n\nThis is it. You\u2019ve finally achieved what was always meant to be.\n\nNow all you have to do is hold it.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 545\n\nIt isn\u2019t what you would\u2019ve inherited had things been different, but you achieved what many said couldn\u2019t be done. You tamed Quala badlands and have successfully incorporated it into the Empire. It certainly helped that you and Trog already had an understanding long before hand, but encouraging more kobolds citizens to settle the area worked out a lot better than you hoped. The eager little scalies seem to like the wilder and more untamed lands and it also got them out of the more \u201ccivilized\u201d Nalin too, making more than a few rural human populations happier that their homes weren\u2019t suddenly collapsing from over dug kobold tunnels.\n\nThe Eyes have been doing a good job of being the imposing internal security you wanted them to be and you\u2019ve already attempted to re-establish a training center for the magic arts. Besides you, the Eyes are the only source of magic in the Empire, if they can strengthen their abilities and train others in such things, you\u2019ll have magic might on your side which can only help in the long run.\n\nOf course all this expansion has made your neighbors nervous mostly the six cities of Arat, but the Usksha Emirates as well (Though they\u2019ve been wary about you even before the republic fell thanks to Quintus kicking them all out) There\u2019s also the Island League of Delerg to contend with now. The pirates and other ne\u2019er-do-wells had to give up their first profession and actually start putting down roots on their dreary little island hideouts, thanks to the fact that Nalin started cutting back on its naval and seafaring endeavors.\n\nNone of this really matters though, because you know none of them are strong enough to actually do anything to you. Your neighbors form petty alliances with each other in the hopes that if you did decide to strike that somehow they could stand against you. Though in some cases they\u2019d rather join you, Regnik being one of the city states that sees the writing on the wall. Governor Daniel Tivas has requested several meetings with you and surprisingly you\u2019ve also gotten a message from an emissary of Lenay. Seems that Domina Eldolith D\u2019vessa wants to also speak with you, though you can\u2019t imagine that it has anything to do with joining forces. One of your newer advisors David (former senator) has suggested that it wouldn\u2019t hurt to speak with them. Of course most of your military is in favor of just crushing the cities and not talking at all. General Ingrid being the most vocal about it. (Ah the joys of having an enthusiastic military once again under your command.)\n\nSightmaster Crowley has suggested in shutting the doors to any talks and instead retaking Rask since it still contains lots of valuable resources that could be used in the future. While not completely out of the question you imagine that\u2019s his former life influencing that advice. He probably hopes that there might be reconciliation between the ones that stayed as well as wiping out the rest of the wendigo.\n\nFinally there\u2019s Jennifer. She\u2019s not an empress, she\u2019s not even formal advisor, but you still have a close enough relationship with her that you still speak with her from time to time. The two of you realized that your \u201cpaths\u201d were indeed different and parted ways amicably. While certainly a supporter of the Empire, she decided that her place was still archeology, exploration and looking after the museum (Even more so after her father Calvin died of natural causes four years ago). Still, as was mentioned, you do correspond with her and lately she\u2019s been expressing an interest in the islands of Delerg and even the great ocean past them.\n\nOf course with the Island League there, that makes her desire to mount any kind of expedition non-existent. Then again if you were more active there that wouldn\u2019t be the case. You could rebuild the navy again to do more exploration properly and possibly claim those islands for yourself along with eliminating a potential danger in the future (and a pain in Nalin\u2019s side even before you were dug up).\n\nOne direction you\u2019re not looking is south though. The Usksha desert is still a formidable environment and sending an army that way you believe would be a waste as there is literally nothing to hold. Nothing of worth anyway since the usksha are still largely nomadic and have no real cities. As long as the Usksha keep to themselves, you have no problem leaving it alone.\n\nWhatever you decide, you know you\u2019re going to take a prominent role in it. It\u2019s time to lead from the front again to keep everyone remembering that you\u2019re no throne bound ruler.\n\nIn the meantime you decide to listen to David\u2019s advice and set up a meeting with two of the rulers from Arat. At first you think neither ruler will agree to meet you in Nalin, but surprisingly both do rather than insisting on neutral or even their own territory.\n\nIn a few days both rulers arrive in Dalt with their respective entourage. Neither one is happy about the other one being here, and the presence of svelk probably puts everyone in Dalt on edge. The Eyes are on extra alert.\n\nDaniel obviously isn\u2019t a warrior by any means. He\u2019s a skinny man with a goatee and a few lines on his face due to the stress of ruling. As for Eldolith, she looks about the same as you last remember, though perhaps slightly older looking. Well as \u201cold looking\u201d as svelk get anyway.\n\n\u201cWhen I first heard that an Eternal appeared in Nalin, I had hoped it wasn\u2019t you.\u201d Eldolith says when she sees you again.\n\u201cMm, I\u2019m sure you\u2019ll have to explain yourself to all the other svelk now about how you attempted to seduce me by sucking on my finger.\u201d You retort which causes her entire entourage to react with shock and a particular female svelk gives Eldolith a dirty look. Daniel and his people on the other hand are just as surprised, but find it more amusing.\n\n\u201cWatch yourself and your slander! I am no longer a lowly merc following the whims of my delusional bitch mother. I am the ruler of my people and we are not about to be conquered by your so called renewed empire!\u201d Eldolith exclaims.\n\u201cWe\u2019ll see.\u201d You remark with a smile and tell everyone to sit down at the meeting table.\n\n\u201cFirst, I\u2019m glad you both felt the need to come see me in person. This makes what we will discuss here so much more personal, though I know there are six cities. Do you know why none of the other rulers have desired to see me?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cI can answer that.\u201d Daniel says. \u201cThe rulers of Atinil and Valizza are already under the influence of Eldolith so by her being here they already have their master to speak for them.\u201d\n\u201cDaniel, you\u2019re just frustrated that YOU could not sway them into becoming whores for the Empire like you seem to desire.\u201d Eldolith remarks.\n\u201cOkay, so what of the other two?\u201d\n\u201cWell since you decided to incorporate those stinking greenskins into your society, the people of Zo want nothing to do with you and I can\u2019t say as I blame them. As for Telis, who the hell knows? There hasn\u2019t been word from them for almost a decade. The entire city could be dead for all anyone knows.\u201d Eldolith says in a bored tone.\n\nAfter hearing this, you ask why both of them wanted to see you in the first place. Daniel tells you that he is basically seeking protection for his city-state. He says that he realizes that Regnik can no longer afford to be independent and that he is willing to become a vassal of the Empire. He doesn\u2019t care if half the citizens are against it; he says it\u2019s the best thing for the survival of Regnik. He does make it clear though that he is not asking to be annexed completely. He still wants Regnik to be independent on a day-to-day basis, just that it will be paying you money in exchange for protection.\n\nEldolith sneers at Daniel and begins to call him a weakling raising the hostilities of both sides of the table until you demand that everyone calm down.\n\n\u201cAlright Eldy, what the hell is it that you want to say, because I know damn well it isn\u2019t an alliance let alone vassalhood.\u201d\n\u201cYou\u2019re right. It isn\u2019t being subserviant, but rather a setting of boundaries right now. The svelk people are independent AND strong. We will NOT bend to your will and if you doubt this then send your armies to invade and see them slaughtered by the thousands!\u201d\n\u201cSo, I\u2019m supposed to just sit back and watch you get stronger until you attack us eh? And I\u2019d watch your next words Eldolith, in case you\u2019ve forgotten you\u2019re not exactly in friendly company right now.\u201d\n\u201cYou think I care about your threats? Attempt to kill me if you wish, but I will not grovel like this weak human here.\u201d\n\nEldolith is certainly going all out to be confrontational, though you wonder how much of it is an act for her people because you embarrassed her with the finger comment. Still, you know svelk and they aren\u2019t all bluff. She\u2019s probably being very serious with her grandstanding which makes you also wonder what power is it that she holds that could potentially stand against you. You\u2019re aware that the svelk do have mages, which does put them above most people, but even you can match that now.\n\nIf Daniel is correct then she does have the support of two other city-states and will probably have Zo as well seeing as they hate orcs. Still even with the extra military help it still wouldn\u2019t be enough. Might take awhile, but you\u2019d conquer eventually.\n\nEither Eldolith is got something else up her sleeve or she\u2019s being overconfident. Could go either way.\n\nThe temptation to indulge her threats is great, but maybe some caution might be in order. You decide to take Daniel up on his offer and use his city as a launching zone for spies and other possible intelligence gathering plans before you make a final decision on Eldolith. That would also give you time to bring your attention to other potential areas of conquest like Rask or Delerg.", "action_results": [{"action": "Make Regnik a vassal and retake Rask", "result": "Having extra resources to fund a potential war in the future isn\u2019t a bad idea so Rask is probably the better choice in that you don\u2019t have to worry about building a bunch of ships to take it. Not to mention you\u2019ve already got a presence of sorts there with Trog\u2019s Flogger tribe that makes up most of the population in Quala and spilling over into Rask.\n\nThe only main concern you have is that you\u2019re going to have to transfer more Eyes to that front due to the wendigo danger there which will take away from internal security as well as magic training, but there\u2019s nothing else for it.\n\nAs for Daniel and Eldolith you\u2019ll indulge both of their requests for now. You tell Daniel that he can consider his city now under the protection of the Empire and that any foreign invasion attempts in any form with be met with force.\n\n\u201cWhy are you looking at me when you say that?\u201d Eldolith asks.\n\u201cBecause I know your kind and Daniel\u2019s already mentioned you have your influence in two other cities. Now you can have your little territory for now, but make no mistake, you\u2019re going to be watched from here on in and if I sense ANYTHING that could be a potential danger to the Empire you\u2019re going to wish that you never managed to unite the svelk to begin with.\u201d\n\u201cWe\u2019ll do as we please and nobody is going to stop us!\u201d\n\u201cOkay then, as you said just send an invasion force in my direction and see if I\u2019m not being serious.\u201d\n\nAt this point Eldolith just rolls her eyes, but shuts up. Obviously she knows anymore antagonism might result in war which its apparent now that she doesn\u2019t truly want if she can help it.\n\nDaniel profusely thanks you for heeding his request and will make sure to accommodate your people in anyway he can. You almost shake your head at the man\u2019s naivety if he actually believes his city is going to remain autonomous in the way he believes it will. He\u2019s going to allow your military there, it won\u2019t be long before you\u2019ve got complete control and any \u201cindependence\u201d the city thinks it has is only because you\u2019re allowing it. Of course maybe he knows what is probably going to happen and he\u2019s just trying to convince himself otherwise.\n\nIn any event you\u2019re glad when the svelk leave (everyone is no doubt), it was a reminder of less happy times in your life.\n\nYou tell Crowley that you are planning to retake Rask and steps will have to be made to steadily start transferring Eyes up there to combat the wendigo threat. Since there isn\u2019t any real centralized government to conquer in Rask, the bigger concern is getting folks to settle up there though you\u2019re sure more than a few enterprising sort or people desperate for work will eventually pour into the area when establishing the first towns. If nothing else you\u2019ve always got orcs who are probably going to be doing most of the fighting anyway since with less Eyes around in Nalin, you\u2019re going to have to rely on normal military to keep the plebs in line. (Or rather keep them from getting ideas about getting out of line)\n\nWithin the first few months you have the basics of a town up and running along with a fort. As you predicted orcs are making up most of your fighting force up here and are being lead by Eyes. As for the regular work force surprisingly most of it consists of elves who have been finding Nalin less friendly to their kind in recent years and prefer the \u201cless human/more wilderness\u201d much more to their liking. You take part in the \u201cretaming\u201d of Rask.\n\nFor the most part the campaign is successful though not without its struggles. With less Eyes around in Rask, it seems the wendigo took advantage of the situation and made a concentrated attack on Fort Everwatch and they managed to massacre the remaining Eyes or in some unfortunate cases possess them. The fort itself is found in a destroyed state.\n\nCrowley naturally is furious by this, as even though he disagreed with his fellow Eyes that stayed, he didn\u2019t wish this on them. He becomes so zealous in his vow to wipe out every single wendigo in Rask, you actually have to rein him in a bit so he doesn\u2019t go get himself killed by going off by alone on some revenge mission.\n\nWithin six months you\u2019ve got the wendigos on the run again more and other dangerous denizens of Rask are becoming even less of a problem or at least retreating away from the slow encroachment of civilization. Fort Sentinel is finally finished along with the new town Tiblik.\n\nDuring this \u201ctaming\u201d of Rask you get a message from David telling you in a letter that so far things are going smoothly in Arat, at least on your end of things. The governor is reportedly having some problems with protestors taking umbrage with your troops being in the city. The commanding officer of your soldiers has offered to deal with the problem, but Daniel has said that will only confirm their fears and insists on having his own people deal with the protests.\n\nDavid also tells you that things are also going well in Nalin though there has been a slight increase in crime due to there being less Eyes around. Nothing major, but he felt he should let you know.\n\nYou throw away the letter and grumble a bit at the realization that you\u2019ll have to return to Nalin soon. Even though these concerns aren\u2019t big ones, you can\u2019t help but believe that if you stay away too long, more problems will crop up and existing ones will get worse.\n\nYou look at the snowy scenery from the battlements of Fort Sentinel and take a moment to bask in your accomplishment before making that trudge back to Nalin. The cold air actually feels good to you right now.\n\nYou hear Crowley coming up to find you.\n\n\u201cThere you are, I was wondering if you knew about the messenger that was looking for you.\u201d\n\u201cYeah, I got the message. You know people probably thought Rask would never be tamed again, but the first steps are being taken and eventually it\u2019ll be part of the Empire again proper, just like Quala.\u201d You remark.\n\u201cI\u2019m certainly glad to see it my Emperor. Just wish all of my brothers had joined me when I first left Everwatch.\u201d\n\u201cA tragic loss for you I\u2019m sure, but do not dwell on them too much, for you are here and they are not. You saw a chance for the Eyes to live forever and took it. And because you did, the Eyes are destined to live as long as the Empire exists. Those that fell in Everwatch will live on in a way.\u201d\n\u201cI suppose you\u2019re right. I\u2019m a little surprised to hear you say so though. I might\u2019ve thought you considered them traitors.\u201d\n\u201cAt the time I asked you to join me, the Empire was not even yet reborn. They couldn\u2019t be traitors to something that didn\u2019t exist. I thought them shortsighted fools perhaps, but not traitors and certainly not cowards. To be honest I was sort of hoping when we did come back here that maybe some of them might\u2019ve changed their minds.\u201d\n\u201cAs did I. I swear I\u2019m going to make sure the wendigo are exterminated from Rask.\u201d\n\u201cHm, well that would be a blessing, but as I said before don\u2019t get too caught up in revenge. Especially since you\u2019re going to have to be in charge of this place.\u201d\n\nCrowley gives you a quizzical look.\n\n\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d\n\u201cI mean as much fun as I\u2019ve had slaughtering the wendigo, ogres, uncivilized orcs and those...(sigh) shit I forgot the name of those little vicious furry things with big teeth\u2026\u201d\n\u201cAuravraxes, my Emperor.\u201d\n\u201cYeah those things. Anyway as much fun as I\u2019ve had doing that and overseeing the first flags being replanted here, I know I have to get back to Nalin. The boring duty of being in charge calls. So I need someone competent to look after stuff here in Rask and since you already know the landscape, probably better than I do, you might as well do the job.\u201d\n\nCrowley gives a faint smile and a nod.\n\n\u201cI won\u2019t fail you in this task, my Emperor.\u201d\n\u201cI should hope not, but I\u2019m sure you\u2019ll have a handle on things. Really it\u2019s not going to get really tough until more citizens start settling up here. I imagine you probably won\u2019t have too much problem with the orcs since strength of arms is always respected. The elves on the other hand, well they tend to bitch about anything. You\u2019d think the pointy ears would be grateful that I didn\u2019t bring back slavery. Anyway, just don\u2019t kill too many unruly citizens if it comes to it, we\u2019re trying to keep people up here.\u201d\n\u201cDon\u2019t worry, remember I\u2019m a sightmaster, part of my job is keeping the citizenry in line.\u201d\n\u201cOkay, well then I\u2019ll leave you to it. You\u2019ll find all the latest reports and such in your office.\u201d\n\nWith this final command, you take your leave of Rask and return to Nalin.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 550\n\nMore and more each year your nation is starting to resemble the Empire of old. More and more each year you\u2019re also starting to feel old too. The aches and pains of battles long past (and not too long past) are starting to catch up with you.\n\nYou never tried to think about getting \u201cold\u201d too much, except during the years of when the Emperor was \u201csick.\u201d Recently you\u2019ve begun thinking about what his plans were again. How he was going to defeat death by transferring his essence or spirit or mind or whatever into your own body. Well at least that\u2019s what Semra and Jacob told you and what ultimately lead to the situation you\u2019re in now.\n\nUnfortunately, you haven\u2019t really the means to go about such a thing. Your knowledge of magic is better than most, but the Emperor never showed you that trick let alone how to get to the Isle of Mortos. You wouldn\u2019t even know about how to go about \u201ccreating\u201d another one of your kind either which was also required\u2026again so Semra and Jacob told you.\n\nMakes you wonder what happened to the \u201ceternals\u201d Marik created. You wonder if they survived the initial cataclysm and if so, what became of them? Did they plan any major role during or after it? It\u2019s apparent that the technique to create an eternal like you or Marik\u2019s tank babies was lost too.\n\nWell it doesn\u2019t matter much now anyway, you can assume they\u2019re all certainly dead now, along with crazy ol\u2019 Marik. Still, you wonder about his factory, as it was located in Arat.\n\nIn fact there have been a lot of events going on in Arat lately according to your spies.\n\nThe major thing being that there have been sightings of the Xi Hive in Arat, not many and certainly no major attacks, but the insectoid creatures have been attacking anyone they see as usual. It won\u2019t be long before they become a major threat in this area. Right now it isn\u2019t your problem at all, but you imagine they will be eventually.\n\nFrom what you\u2019ve heard the Xi have been really putting the Redcap Kingdom on the defensive, but the gnomes are still holding out and not even losing any ground. You certainly can admire that, and you\u2019d even try to send an emissary to go speak with them if only to get a better feel of the Xi threat, but you\u2019ve also heard the gnomes have also ordered a kill on sight to well\u2026anyone.\n\nYour best shot at learning more about the Xi would probably be Eldolith, but she\u2019s also been her usual antagonistic self, especially ever since you officially annexed Regnik into the Empire. Pointing to you and the Xi as a threat she managed to unify the other city-states of Zo, Valizza and Atnil into something called the Arat Confederacy. In reality it\u2019s a new nation with four cities rather than a true alliance where everyone is supposedly still autonomous.\n\nThe only other city-state that doesn\u2019t belong to Eldy\u2019s little alliance is Telis, which as usual, nobody seems to know anything about. Still, it seems like it\u2019s probably in the most danger of the Xi considering its proximity to where Xi territory is starting to expand. You never really gave it much thought until now, but according to the maps and if your memory isn\u2019t completely off, Telis isn\u2019t too far away from where Marik\u2019s factory was located. Now you\u2019re starting to wonder if its \u201cmysterious\u201d nature isn\u2019t due to that factor.\n\nIn a perfect world Arat would be your next and only priority, but there have been concerns about the Delerg islands as well. There has nearly been no reports about the Island League\u2019s activities for years, it\u2019s almost as if they all just disappeared, but more concerning is the fact that strange humanoid creatures have been sighted off the coasts of Quala at night. While Quala is still mostly home to your orc population and the place is still the poorest of your territories, you still don\u2019t want a potential invasion to occur. It might be time to start exploring and possibly conquering the islands at last.\n\nSeeing as the orcs will have the most familiarity with this potential coastal threat, you decide to go speak with Trog about it. You might as well anyway if only to see who his potential successor is going to be seeing as you know Trog is supposed to be dying.\n\nWhen you arrive to meet with him, you see just how true that is. The old orc is lying prone on fur skin bedding with two younger female orcs attending to him. It\u2019s very strange to see orcs behave in this manner. Orcs don\u2019t tend to have a long life span to begin with due to all their fighting, but to see one being actually cared for rather than taken to the wilderness and left to die (at best) is unusual. Then again Trog was a very respected leader. He\u2019s obviously weak, but when he notices you he tries to sit up and waves away his attendants.\n\n\u201cAh\u2026the Eternal\u2026 dreams told Trog that we would see each other one last time before the end. Now that you\u2019re here Trog now know death coming soon for me. Sad that Trog could not die as a warrior, but still a good life with many children to carry on name.\u201d Trog says.\n\u201cAnd who would be that successor Trog?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cTrog believe that Sprog take over next. Already killed several of his siblings, others too scared to oppose. Was a great contest, only well enough to see some of it, but very good. Very bloody.\u201d\n\u201cSorry I missed it.\u201d\n\u201cTrog warn you though, Sprog not quite as accepting of our current situation as Trog. Believes orcs should be independent. Might be right, might be wrong, not care. Trog too tired to care anymore.\u201d\n\u201cAm I going to have to kill him?\u201d\n\u201cDo not know. Perhaps, perhaps not. Do as you wish. You always have. As Trog has said, too tired to care anymore.\u201d\n\u201cSo I take it that I probably should ask this Sprog about the reports of the humanoid interlopers off Quala\u2019s coast?\u201d\n\u201cHrm. That. Trog can still help a little\u2026 Yes, there have been sightings, but nothing human about them. Fellow orcs tell me they look more like fish than anything else. Appear on land sometimes, but never for very long. Not sure if they are able or if they are just scouting. Orcs ready for a fight as always if they do decide to invade. Kobolds too. Was not sure about the little scalies living here at first, but enjoy their antics. Respect our strength too\u2026\u201d\n\nTrog begins to drift off to sleep, but you aren\u2019t done with him yet.\n\n\u201cWhile I hate to interrupt your journey to the afterlife, you have any last visions for me?\u201d\n\u201cHrm\u2026yes\u2026Trog did actually. War is coming.\u201d\n\u201cThat\u2019s a given Trog, war is always coming.\u201d\n\u201cTrue, but this one will be against an enemy that you\u2019ve never faced the likes of before. They will be relentless, they will not stop and even as strong as the Empire is, I fear that it will not be enough. Worse is the fact that you are approaching your own twilight years as this terrible threat comes. You will no longer be able to just march in like the great warrior you once were\u2026\u201d\n\u201cTrog, I might be getting old, but I\u2019m not ready for the damn grave yet.\u201d\n\u201cTrue, but you acknowledge that you ARE getting old. Still\u2026perhaps that is a good sign. Knowing your limitations. Trog knew his\u2026\u201d\n\nAt this point Trog falls unconscious and despite your prodding and nudging him, he isn\u2019t waking from it. From his breathing patterns, you know he\u2019ll be dead soon.\n\n\u201cDamn it Trog, you could\u2019ve at least told me who this relentless enemy was going to be. Guess that was your last little joke on me. Good one Trog.\u201d You remark and exit Trog\u2019s tent. You tell the group standing outside that he\u2019ll be soon passing on, if anyone wants to see the final moments. Several female orcs go in, but the male orcs just give a solemn look downward save for the very large one standing nearby with an equally huge battle axe. When he approaches you, your entourage of guards stands ready to defend you, but judging by his appearance he\u2019d give them a good fight all by himself.\n\n\u201cSo is the old man dead?\u201d the orc asks gruffly.\n\u201cWell if he isn\u2019t yet, he soon will be\u2026I\u2019m guessing you\u2019re Sprog.\u201d\n\u201cRight. Guess you da Emp. Huh. Thought you\u2019d be bigger. Old man say you powerful though. Guess cause of magic abilities like old man. Feh.\u201d\n\u201cI take it, you don\u2019t like magic?\u201d\n\u201cMagic give unfair advantage even more than shooty weapons. Orcs have no more magic types now. Least none Sprog know of. No chance to rebel now.\u201d\n\u201cYou\u2019re telling me you\u2019d rebel?\u201d\n\u201cYes, I\u2019d lead a rebellion if we had magic to even up odds. Told old man that he should challenge you long time ago, but said you were too powerful for him. Scared to die like proper warrior, now he die like old man that he is and we still have to serve the Empire.\u201d\n\u201cWho says? You could still rebel. You\u2019re standing right here in front of me surrounded by your fellow orcs, I\u2019ve only got five men with me. I\u2019d say right now is the best chance you got of killing me and making your people free again.\u201d\n\nSprog grips his axe a bit and gives you a suspicious look pondering if you\u2019re being serious or not. You are of course, but even though Sprog eventually senses that, he\u2019s not taking you up on that offer.\n\n\u201cBah, want to be free, but still stand no chance of killing you. At best might get lucky and wound you before you set Sprog on fire or somethin\u2019. Dying in battle one thing, but Sprog not suicidal. Most orcs too comfortable now with livin\u2019 under the Empire anyway. Half would probably attack me, the idjits.\u201d\n\u201cAlways did appreciate you orcs and your honesty. Now that I know I don\u2019t need to kill you anytime soon, what can you tell me about these sightings off the coasts of Quala?\u201d\n\nSprog tells you much of the same things you\u2019ve already heard. Fishmen sighted skulking around the coasts and then disappearing. He says he\u2019s already got patrols marching up and down the coasts, but no sign of them again.\n\nFor all you know these fish people are this relentless force that\u2019s going to be coming at you, of course it also could be the Xi Hive which is the only other force you could think of, at worst it could be both. Could even be the usksha or someone you haven\u2019t even met yet.\n\nIn any case, you still need to do something about this potential aquatic threat. This has really been a long time coming. Whatever the hell is living out on those islands, be they human or otherwise is going to feel the full might of the Empire.\n\nThanks to having all the extra resources in Rask now your task of getting a proper fleet up and running isn\u2019t a drain on the Empire and gets done a lot quicker. Training sailors takes a little longer, but fortunately your people aren\u2019t completely ignorant of seafaring ways.\n\nWithin months you have a sizable armada that should do the job. The only thing you\u2019re unsure of is whether or not you should go along on this conquest.\n\nMaybe because you\u2019re older and beginning to realize you aren\u2019t as fast or as strong as you once were, or maybe because you have uneasiness about being on the open water and possibly even an slight fear of it (A fear you weren\u2019t even aware of), or maybe it\u2019s a combination of the two, you don\u2019t know.\n\nWhat was it that Trog said before he died? Knowing your limitations?", "action_results": [{"action": "Lead from the front", "result": "There might be a day where you\u2019re going to have to command all your armies from bed as a sick old man, but today is not that day. As long as you can wield a weapon and move reasonably well, nobody is stopping you from fighting. As far as being on open water, well this is the perfect chance to get over that possible phobia.\n\nSince your own intelligence reports on Delerg have always been hazy at best, you gather your information from less reputable places, namely some of the prisons. Nalin sailors as a rule stayed away from Delerg waters due to the Island League, Still there were always the occasional forays into it for illegal smuggling purposes and you specifically have these types give you any and all information as well as a chance to earn their freedom by enlisting in the navy.\n\nWhile getting the information on island details isn\u2019t too much of a problem due to the threat of violence, you don\u2019t get a lot of takers to enlist even with the promise of freedom (or implied threats of conscription); at first you believe it\u2019s just a criminal attitude of not wishing to be part of the government, but one fellow by the name of Len tells you it\u2019s a little more than that. Len is about your age, probably a little older and is the embodiment of an \u201cold sea dog\u201d with his untidy white hair and beard.\n\nLen says he stopped smuggling years ago when he started to feel uneasy sailing in the waters, let alone dealing with some of the people who had become enamored with a weird religion.\n\n\u201cReligion? What kind of religion?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cNot exactly sure, but I\u2019m pretty sure it involved the worship of some water god. I remember finding it strange since it wasn\u2019t like any of the inhabitants of Delerg were particularly religious before. When one of my friends came into the docks one night babbling a mad tale about how he barely escaped from an ambush of screaming cultists that was around the time I decided to stop making smuggling runs and go into something less dangerous like burglary, obviously I wasn\u2019t as good at that since I got caught.\u201d Len replies.\n\u201cSo where is this friend of yours and what did he see?\u201d\n\u201cNot in a jail cell if that\u2019s what you\u2019re wondering. Last I heard he was committed into an asylum. I think he may have very well killed himself. He never did quite get over it and had a hard time talking about the details, but I do remember him saying that the cultists weren\u2019t quite human looking and fully intent on sacrificing him, like they did with the others who weren\u2019t so lucky to escape I guess.\u201d\n\u201cWhat, like the recent fishmen descriptions?\u201d\n\u201cPerhaps not quite that far, but he did say they had unnatural eyes and their skin was slimy looking. The reason why you\u2019re not getting many enlistees is probably either due to these stories or from personal experience and I imagine the personal experience is rare given that my own friend went completely mad from his own experience. To be quite honest, I\u2019m sort of surprised the Empire never knew any of this before.\u201d\n\u201cWasn\u2019t an issue before. A few rumors and tales from mad sailors and criminals isn\u2019t going to catch serious attention. In fact before people starting seeing fishmen on the coasts I didn\u2019t even know about any of this. Delerg was considered low priority, though that may have been a mistake, then again we\u2019re probably in a better position to handle this now. So what is your answer on enlistment?\u201d\n\nLen pauses for a moment.\n\n\u201cWell, I\u2019ve been a criminal nearly all my life and never had much use for following orders. But as much as I like living, I like freedom a lot more. So if enlistment means possibly getting killed by a bunch of fish monsters but the chance of getting out of those hellholes you call prisons, then I\u2019ll take the risk. Besides, I\u2019d say my odds are a lot better now seeing as I\u2019ll be travelling with the Empire\u2019s navy. I figure I can\u2019t get any safer than that.\u201d\n\u201cSure you can, you\u2019re going to be aboard my own personal ship.\u201d\n\u201cI am?\u201d\n\u201cYou were a captain weren\u2019t you? According to your record you\u2019re probably one of the more experienced ones in the damn Empire. Criminal or otherwise. You\u2019re going to be navigator of my personal ship, because I sure as hell don\u2019t know anything about steering a ship. Plus you have better knowledge of the area, so you\u2019re coming with me directly.\u201d\n\nLen isn\u2019t sure how to respond except with a hesitant thank you. He probably thought he was going to be able to sneak away at some point, but that will be next to impossible now with him being aboard your ship.\n\nWhen the time comes, you board your personal ship, which is decked out in the best gear available. Actually it\u2019s much slower than the rest of the ships due to its size, but then its meant to fight and take punishment, not outmaneuver a possible enemy. Honestly, you aren\u2019t even sure what you\u2019ll encounter. If the Island League is indeed completely gone, then you may face no opposition at all as far as other ships are concerned. Maybe you\u2019ll have strange fishmen scaling your ships in an attempt to kill you. Whatever you face, you\u2019ll be ready.\n\nSince the occupation of the islands is the main priority, you\u2019re taking a strong force of orcs with you. Sprog himself has volunteered to come, possibly to prove to the rest of his people of how much of a warrior he is. Crowley sent a letter asking if you needed his assistance or the assistance of any of the Eyes as things are much calmer in Rask nowadays, but you tell him the Eyes are needed at home as they always are.\n\nWithin a few days you\u2019re in Delerg waters, but you\u2019ve come across no islands yet. Len remarks about how strange this is since according to his memory you should\u2019ve come across a couple by now. Even the information you received from others with knowledge of the area would dictate that you would\u2019ve encountered some sort of landmass by now.\n\nWhen you sail further out to sea, you still don\u2019t find any major landmass. There are small patches of land, but nothing that would support a town or other settlement. At best you might be able to build a small guard tower on them and that would be only if the land was relatively flat and solid, which it doesn\u2019t appear to be.\n\n\u201cThis is damn odd, that small patch of land right there where the Island League\u2019s biggest island was! It even had their largest settlement, Barnacle! It\u2019s like the waters just swallowed everything up!\u201d Len remarks.\n\u201cI\u2019m getting a vague impression I know what happened to this place. All of Delerg in fact. There\u2019s nothing here worth conquering now, we might as well\u2026\u201d\n\nBefore you can complete your sentence there is a sudden rumble in the water.\n\n\u201cEVERYONE BRACE THEMSELVES!\u201d you shout and then you see several of your ships fly up off of the waters when a large sea monster spectacularly arises from below. Your own ship is rocked severely with water crashing everywhere. For a moment you think night has fallen, but it\u2019s just the sea creature blotting out the sun.\n\nThe creature is bigger than anything you\u2019ve ever faced. Even \u201cSnowtop\u201d would be the size of a gnome compared to this thing. Doesn\u2019t help that the creature has two heads and several tentacles already crushing some of your ships that weren\u2019t destroyed when it ascended in the first place.\n\n\u201cFIRE EVERYTHING AND DON\u2019T STOP UNTIL THAT THING IS DEAD!\u201d you shout and the cannons roar desperately trying to harm the creature. Fortunately the ships that you have left don\u2019t seem to be losing their courage and presumably their captains have the same idea of attacking since you can see cannon fire coming from them. Though given their proximity to the creature, they wouldn\u2019t be able to retreat in time for it to crush them anyway.\n\nThe beast isn\u2019t as invulnerable as it would seem as the cannon fire does its work and delivers wounds but the main problem is, it\u2019s just too damn big. You cast frost bolts at its tentacles that are attempting to wrap around the ship, you then order your troops to shatter them while they\u2019re still frozen. This works well enough that it keeps your ship afloat, but there\u2019s more than just the sea monster to worry about and you fully expected something like this to happen even before you met the leviathan.\n\nSeveral of the fishmen begin scaling your ship. While your ship is well defended and has the skilled manpower it needs to repel the attack, you get the impression that some of the aquatic attackers are probably trying to put holes in it from underneath.\n\n\u201cSprog take some of your people, get in the water and kill everything!\u201d you shout. Sprog doesn\u2019t argue, he just nods at your command. Assuming if the both of you manage to get out of this alive, you at least know you\u2019ve got his complete loyalty now. Nothing like fighting side by side against impossible odds to gain respect.\n\nStripping off what little armor he was wearing in the first place, Sprog goes into full bezerker orc battle frenzy while ordering some of his best to follow him down into the water. You know orcs are tough, but you hope they\u2019ll be able to fight these fishmen in their own environment. It is a severe disadvantage after all.\n\nMeanwhile the beast is continuing to destroy the rest of your fleet. You can see people in the water desperately attempting to cling to floating wreckage, only to be pulled underneath the waves by the fishmen who are picking them off. Your own ship has slowly changed direction thanks to Len taking command of the steering wheel.\n\n\u201cWe can\u2019t fight this monster! We have to retreat!\u201d he shouts pulling the wheel of the ship as hard as he can.\n\nHe\u2019s probably right and who knows, if you tried right now, you might actually manage to get away while the beast is still primarily occupied. That certainly would be the most sensible thing to do; of course something about this whole experience is making you feel well\u2026good. Your heart is pumping, you\u2019re full of energy and you\u2019re determined to show this undersea abomination that you\u2019re not ready to lie down and accept the fact that you\u2019re getting older.\n\n\u201cNO! I can\u2019t let this beast beat me! I never lose!\u201d you shout and knock Len off of the wheel who looks at you like you\u2019re insane and scurries off to find a hiding spot.\n\nWith battle and bloodshed all around you, with the sounds of cannons and swords filling your eardrums, you make your way to the crow\u2019s nest to gain the highest vantage point you can. From there you get your best look at the sea monster. The large holes in its body where cannons have blown off chunks of it convince you that it can be defeated. It\u2019s just going to take a little magic that\u2019s all\u2026 or rather a lot of it.\n\nYou begin to focus\u2026", "action_results": [{"action": "Create an ice storm", "result": "Frost has been doing a good job at freezing the beast\u2019s tentacles, so you decide to try to freeze the entire thing.\n\nYou concentrate and as you do you begin to feel little the air grow colder and colder. The wind begins to pick up and soon ice pellets begin to rain down on the area.\n\nYou directly unleash a blast of frost right at one of the creature\u2019s heads and while ice does indeed start to form around it and movement begins to get sluggish. It isn\u2019t quite enough to stop it completely from moving.\n\nInstead the creature bashes its own head against a nearby ship in an attempt to break the ice shell now around its frozen head, destroying it and cracking the ice in the process. The beast\u2019s other head completely submerges under water, followed by the rest of its body.\n\nIn the meantime the fishmen that are scaling your ship are having a bit of difficulty with the cold which is slowing them down, unfortunately it isn\u2019t the best thing for your own crew either, but they\u2019re doing better than the fish at least.\n\nYou help your crew by continuing to cast ice bolts from the crow\u2019s nest, but this is soon cut short when a large tentacle whips out of the water and heads directly towards your position. You attempt to freeze the tentacle and you succeed, but you fail to stop its momentum. The frozen tentacle smashes into the crow\u2019s nest and the mast, destroying both along with part of the tentacle shattering in several pieces in the process.\n\nAs for you, you\u2019re hit with such a great force that all the wind is knocked out of you and you go flying into the ocean and hit the water quite hard. You barely manage to swim back up to the water\u2019s surface and you\u2019re still feeling quite woozy and having trouble breathing normally. You\u2019re fairly certain you\u2019ve got cracked or broken ribs.\n\nFloating in the middle of the ocean with pieces of your once great fleet drifting nearby, you struggle to swin to some nearby debris before you pass out. You don\u2019t get far however, when all of a sudden you feel several claws grabbing your legs, this is soon followed by the feeling of teeth sinking into your legs. You attempt to kick away, but you can\u2019t shake them.\n\nA fish person rises up from the water to grab your upper body in an attempt to drag you under for good. The smell of saltwater fills your nostril along with the foul smell of sea life in general. Already struggling to catch your breath, you soon succumb to watery death by the hands of the fish people.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Create a lightning storm", "result": "As high as you currently are, the beast is still several times higher and should easily be a perfect target.\n\nYou concentrate and as you do you begin to feel little charges and sparks around you and the air begins to have a faint smell of electricity. As dark as the sky is with the beast blocking the sun with its size, the sky gets even darker when storm cloud gather.\n\nYou directly unleash a blast of lightning right at one of the creature\u2019s heads. It must be enough to addle what passes for brains in the creature, because the serpentine head begins to flail back and forth making an incredibly loud bellow and knocking into the other head and taking it off its concentrated effort to destroy your fleet. Then a rumbling comes from the sky and you\u2019re nearly blinded by the light show that occurs next.\n\nWith the storm clouds, the creature takes several lightning strikes to both of its heads. If the creature wasn\u2019t in pain or addled before, it certainly is now. Its roaring of pain is so great that it\u2019s practically deafening. You don\u2019t let up though, you continue to summon the lightning and that\u2019s when you learn that you only have so much control over nature. The lightning strikes begin going all over the place. Some hit your ships, so hit the water and some continue to hit the beast.\n\nYou struggle to direct the lightning, but your energy ebbs quickly as you fail to do so and you take a direct bolt yourself. It\u2019s a quick and odd feeling. You feel a great deal of pain, followed by a warm sensation and then you briefly realize you\u2019ve fallen from the crow\u2019s nest, which was completely destroyed by the blast.\n\nYou then feel extreme agony when you not only crash onto the deck of the ship, but also through it. You land on some barrels though all you know is when you land you heard a snap and a numbness wash over your body.\n\nAnd that\u2019s when you know; you\u2019re paralyzed from the neck down.\n\nYou hear the sounds of battle continue all around you, some of the crew that were manning the cannons on the lower deck call for help when they see you, but there\u2019s nothing anyone can do to help you. Everything\u2019s blurry, you\u2019ve probably got a concussion, and death has never been so close to you since you fought the Emperor.\n\nYou\u2019re going to fall asleep and your body will sink under the water when the ship is inevitably destroyed. There the fish will eat you or possibly the creatures you\u2019re fighting will eat you. Its possible Crowley might step up and take command of the Empire, but after him? You don\u2019t see it lasting very long. Your own legacy will eventually be forgotten and that will be the story of you.\n\nThat is if you had any intention on dying today.\n\n\u201cGet away from me and get back to fighting, you\u2019re not done yet!\u201d You weakly command the crewmembers that are standing around gawking at you.\n\nYou remember the lessons the Emperor taught you about healing yourself. At this point you\u2019re in dire need of A LOT of healing and you imagine you\u2019ll easily be shortening your life span quite a bit in the process, but then you aren\u2019t supposed to be alive right now anyway.\n\nYou focus again. You will your body to mend itself together. In your weakened state you\u2019re drifting in and out of consciousness already, but somehow you manage to push through it and feel the magic doing its work.\n\nYou start to feel your body again. You\u2019re wracked with pain, but you can feel again. You try to get up, but you\u2019re still just too weak and drained. You see a fishman coming down the ship\u2019s stairway and alert your crew with a shout. The last thing you see is the thing coming at you before you pass out.\n\n\u201cLover? Have you finally come to join me?\u201d you hear a voice ask.\n\u201cHuh? Who is that?\u201d\n\u201cIt\u2019s me, of course.\u201d\n\nYou open your eyes and see Semra hovering over you. She looks exactly like you remember well except she happens to be completely naked right now. (Though you remember that too)\n\n\u201cShit, I\u2019m dead after all.\u201d You say. \u201cAnd given that you\u2019re here I must be in some sort of hell.\u201d\n\u201cAh, I missed that dry sense of humor. I also missed this.\u201d Semra remarks and you feel a hand on your crotch.\n\nNormally you\u2019d probably push her away, but given everything you just went through you figure that if this is your personal hell, you could certainly do worse. Just as you\u2019re about to give in completely, Semra\u2019s head is cleaved in with a single sword blow. Blood splatters all over you and her body slumps lifelessly onto your own.\n\n\u201cIs this what you fucking want? I thought you were stronger than that! The man I married never gave up!\u201d another familiar voice says.\n\nAfter pushing Semra\u2019s dead body off of you, you look up and see Alison in all her warrior maiden glory. You never thought you\u2019d ever see her again though you wish she were in a happier mood.\n\n\u201cAlison I\u2026\u201d\n\u201cNope, don\u2019t even try to make an excuse! I caught you and you\u2019re not getting off that easy. I\u2019m doing this for your own good!\u201d\n\nYou see Alison\u2019s sword coming straight at your head, but you don\u2019t attempt to dodge, instead you sit up to meet the sword half way\u2026\n\nAnd you wake up with a splitting headache and your body still hurting all over.\n\n\u201cHah, told you he was going to wake up. He\u2019s not called an Eternal for no reason you know. You owe me two gold pieces Sprog!\u201d Len exclaims.\n\u201cSprog owes you what?\u201d\n\u201cErm, nevermind. Welcome back to the living Emperor. Everyone wasn\u2019t sure if you were going to make it or not, but I had a feeling you might.\u201d\n\u201cBah, should\u2019ve died. Was a glorious battle. Be great honor to die in such a battle.\u201d Sprog remarks.\n\u201cOh really? Then why didn\u2019t you make more of an effort to die then?\u201d Len asks.\n\u201cSprog still need to produce more children first, now more than ever since three sons died on other ships. Must ensure legacy!\u201d Sprog says and walks away.\n\nYou look around and find yourself still on the lower deck of your personal ship. You guess that nobody wanted to move you for fear of doing more damage to you body. It\u2019s a mess on the lower deck and there\u2019s still a hole from where you crashed through, but obviously the ship survived the battle. As you sit up, you nearly lay back down due to the pain. A volley of expletives soon follows.\n\n\u201cEasy there! While I know you just survived something no man should have, I\u2019m pretty sure taking a direct hit from a lightning bolt and crashing through the deck of a ship from a great height still has to be painful. In fact its odd, but you even look a little older because of the experience.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou have no idea\u2026\u201d you remark.\n\u201cInsisting on fighting that beast had to be the single most insane things I\u2019ve ever seen, but while I was personally afraid I can\u2019t help but admire it. Despite him believing you were going to die, I know Sprog certainly admired it.\u201d Len says.\n\u201cHe probably hoped I was going to die. Still glad to see he\u2019s honorable enough that he didn\u2019t try to take advantage and kill me while I was unconscious though. Glad to see you didn\u2019t either.\u201d\n\u201cI was a smuggler, not a murderer. Besides I don\u2019t think anything I could do would actually kill you anyway after seeing what you just survived.\u201d\n\u201cSo did we win? I can only assume us still being afloat means we won\u2026unless we\u2019ve retreated\u2026\u201d\n\nLen gives an apprehensive look before answering.\n\n\u201cWell\u2026yes and no. Technically we won, though I\u2019m not sure if we actually killed that sea monster. After you crashed through the deck of the ship, the fishmen continued to scale the ship, but the sea monster continued to be hit by lightning. It eventually sank back beneath the waters, but like I said, I dunno if we killed it or it just swam away. Soon after that happened the fishmen stopped attacking too.\u201d\n\u201cBut?\u201d\n\u201cBut, other than this ship and a couple of others straggling along side us your fleet is gone, along with all of your people aboard them. We had patch up several holes they managed to put in this ship and we\u2019re only sailing at half speed due to all the broken masts, but we\u2019ll make it back to Nalin okay barring any other attacks of course.\u201d\n\nYou curse again, but this time it\u2019s more at yourself rather than the pain you\u2019re in. You wasted a lot of troops and resources on this endeavor for no real prize. You didn\u2019t even acquire any new territory. You think back to Trog\u2019s words again about getting old and knowing your limitations, well you certainly learned that lesson today hard.\n\n\u201cWell I suppose it isn\u2019t all bad, you did teach those fish creatures that you\u2019re not to be trifled with. It was like a battle between gods when you unleashed lightning on that beast\u2019s heads. They might think twice about popping up on your shores now.\u201d Len says in an attempt to cheer you up.\n\u201cWe can only hope I suppose.\u201d You answer.\n\nThe first thing you do when you get back home is try to rest. You do so for as much as you\u2019re able for weeks and while you do eventually recover, you\u2019re never quite the same again. You\u2019ve visibly gotten older due to the healing magic and it only did so much, you\u2019re still experiencing dull aches and pains on a daily basis. Worse than you did before you went on the mission. You\u2019ll never be like you were. Those days are long gone.\n\nOn the bright side, there have been no more sightings of fish people on the coasts, so perhaps your venture was fruitful after all, unless they\u2019re biding their time and trying to regroup which is exactly what you\u2019d do, so naturally you\u2019ve ordered the building of a new fleet along with proper naval training for potential sailors.\n\nOf course if the fishy people are no longer a threat that still means Trog\u2019s vision of a relentless enemy still looms. Which means it\u2019s either the Xi Hive or an as of yet unknown enemy.\n\nMore things to look forward to as you approach your twilight years.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 555\n\n\u201cReports as usual say that the Xi have been becoming more frequent in the Arat region and that they have been sighted close to Empire borders, specifically near the city of Regnik.\u201d David remarks.\n\u201cWell that would be the most logical place for them to attack first seeing as it\u2019s the closest. Seeing as the Xi like to attack from underground, have all of our kobold units on alert and have the seventh scaly brigade stationed in Arat. I know they\u2019re the best of those little vicious bastards and I\u2019m confident that they can slow down or repel such a Xi attack before the rest of the armies get mobilized. Probably can do some tunnel scouting and digging as well.\u201d You remark.\n\u201cVery well, but I also have a report stating that the Xi have mostly been focusing on the Arat Confederacy. All four cities have been attacked and apparently Eldolith wants to speak with us about coordinating forces to destroy the threat. Apparently she\u2019s also been sending people to speak with the Redcap Kingdom too. No idea if that was successful.\u201d\n\u201cSo Eldy\u2019s having a bug problem and now she\u2019s begging for help. I\u2019m a little surprised that she swallowed her pride enough that she\u2019s willing to talk at all. So when is she due to arrive?\u201d\n\u201cShe isn\u2019t, she claims that if you want to talk that you should meet her on neutral ground between Lenay and Regnik.\u201d\n\u201cTypical svelk arrogance. Call for help and then insist that it be on their terms. (Sigh)\u201d\n\u201cYou\u2019re aren\u2019t thinking about going are you?! Surely it will be some sort of trap.\u201d\n\u201cOf course it will be a trap. But if I did go I could probably learn more about what she\u2019s been up to if I go and in the off chance that this isn\u2019t a trap and completely on the up and up then I can still better assess what her situation is and the Xi Hive threat.\u201d\n\u201cBut Emperor, your condition\u2026I mean not to say your aren\u2019t a fit man for your um\u2026age\u2026but that battle with the sea beast five years ago\u2026well I just mean I don\u2019t want to see you walk into something a tad overwhelming for you again. The Empire needs you.\u201d\n\nThese are some pretty bold words, though David was as diplomatic as he could\u2019ve possibly been. Really brave on his part, though he didn\u2019t need to fear anything from you. He\u2019s right, you\u2019re still feeling that battle to this day and will continue to until the day you die.\n\nDavid\u2019s actually been a bit of a surprise to you. When he first groveled for the job of being your top advisor you assumed that like most of the senators of the old Nalin republic he was just looking to save his skin while also looking for the best possible position he could get in the new order of things. He got it because he seemed to be competent and the least annoying at the time. Since then though he\u2019s proven himself to be good at his job and genuinely care about his work and the good of the Empire.\n\n\u201cWhile your concern is noted, I\u2019m not going anywhere. Send a message to her stating that if she really wants to discuss terms of an alliance or something similar she\u2019s going to have to drag her svelk ass here.\u201d\n\nDavid nods and leaves your presence.\n\nSeeing as all your major business is concluded today you head back to your personal chambers. You spend a little time reading a new book that Jennifer has written with her new husband. It\u2019s all about the old Empire and called \u201cThe Glory Before the Fall\u201d Fairly accurate, but then again she did have your input on the thing. Still never told her (or anyone for that matter) about you her ancestor being involved in killing the Emperor which indirectly caused the Cataclysm. You suppose that\u2019ll just be one of those secrets lost to history when you die.\n\nAs you\u2019re reading you begin reflecting on your old relationship with Jennifer. It sometimes seems strange that the two of you have remained friends despite not being romantically involved anymore. Of course the two of you just see one another as much anymore either so that might help.\n\nReally your relationship with her was more due to a young crush on her part and perhaps a bit of loneliness on your own. She saw you as a \u201cpillar of strength\u201d and the pinnacle of a \u201cwarrior.\u201d Basically someone who got things done which was somewhat lacking with most of the leaders and citizens of the republic. You were different and it was attractive, then she slowly grew out of it.\n\nNow she\u2019s happily married to someone more similar to her. A scholar interested in history. She even had a son a couple years ago. And that\u2019s all okay with you. You\u2019re happy for her. You\u2019ve got so many more concerns nowadays that you can\u2019t be bothered to feel pangs of regret of \u201cwhat could\u2019ve been.\u201d\n\nBesides, Jennifer was and will always be nice and one of the few people you could consider a friend, but she was no Alison. Nobody ever will be.\n\nAll this self-reflection and thoughts about Jennifer\u2019s family makes you ponder your own lack of one though. Not so much due to an overwhelming desire to have one, but more of what\u2019s going to happen to the Empire after you die?\n\nYou\u2019ve been thinking about that on and off ever since your last brush with death actually. To be quite honest you never really thought about a successor mainly because for a long time you were focused on actually being the Emperor rather than passing the title on. It would be easier of course if you could have children, and then just pass it on that way, but then even if you could, that wouldn\u2019t be a guarantee they\u2019d be worthy or show the desire or interest. You were unnaturally molded into the way you were, who is to say how your imaginary children would\u2019ve turned out even if you attempted to mold them into mirror images of yourself.\n\nThat of course just leaves passing the Empire on to someone worthy. You\u2019ve briefly entertained the idea before and believed that Crowley would potentially be the best candidate. Of course given that he\u2019s around your age, he\u2019s not likely to live any longer than you are, assuming you die of natural causes which isn\u2019t necessarily a given even if you are taking less risks nowadays.\n\nYou begin thinking that perhaps you should get some sort of list of the Empire\u2019s best and brightest and subject them to a series of tests to see if they\u2019re worthy enough to be an apprentice of sorts. Basically what the Emperor did with you except without all the magical alteration and the sadistic svelk taskmasters.\n\nYou spend the next few days going over records of various soldiers, Eyes, administrators, technicians, politicians and others, though being a warrior yourself you can\u2019t help but be biased toward the military types, but you don\u2019t want to overlook anything.\n\nDuring this time David reports to you that Eldolith is actually in Dalt and demanding an audience. That didn\u2019t take long though you\u2019re a little surprised she actually showed up in person, you figured she\u2019d send a flunky of some sort.\n\nWhen you go to meet her she\u2019s standing with her personal guard and looking around as if just being in a room full of humans is tainting her svelk \u201cpurity.\u201d\n\n\u201cHello Eldy, I\u2019m sure you\u2019re anxious to get this over with\u2026\u201d\n\u201cDon\u2019t address me by a shortened version of my name in an attempt to be condescending, I am Domina Eldolith D\u2019vessa of the Arat Confederacy!\u201d\n\u201cHrm, and I\u2019m sure that sounds very impressive when you tell your subjects in that little nation of yours.\u201d\n\u201cYes, a little nation that stood strong against the Xi for years and managed to survive your expansion efforts. A testament that it\u2019s the QUALITY of the nation rather than the size.\u201d\n\nYou chuckle.\n\n\u201cEldy, the only reason your nation is still around is because I\u2019ve allowed it and I suggest that YOU do not come here grand standing when you are in no position to do so. We all know you\u2019re here to beg for my help with the Xi because they\u2019re kicking your ass. Now we can make this as easy OR as humbling as possible. Your choice.\u201d\n\nEldolith gives you a look of absolute burning hatred and is silent. Her personal guards shift uncomfortably and your own soldiers are fondling their rifles looking for an excuse to open fire.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re enjoying this aren\u2019t you?\u201d Eldolith remarks.\n\u201cActually not as much as you\u2019d think, mainly because I don\u2019t want you here anymore than you want to be here, so how about we get to the point like I originally suggested?\u201d\n\u201cFine, here it is. The Xi are beating on the Confederacy\u2019s doors. We\u2019ve been your buffer zone between them and you. If we fall then you\u2019re going to have to face them in full force.\u201d\n\u201cAnd? You seem to believe that we aren\u2019t going to be able to handle that. Not a very compelling argument Eldy.\u201d\n\u201cBecause you\u2019re a short sighted f\u2026\u201d Eldolith stops herself. \u201cWhat I mean is you haven\u2019t let me finish. We have an ancient magic weapon at our disposal that could end this threat completely, but the problem is\u2026(sigh) none of our own mages are powerful enough to tap its full potential. As much as I hate to inflate your ego any more than it is, I believe you magical abilities would be able to. So as you can see, you don\u2019t need to marshal armies to our defense or waste any resources. All that is required of you is to get up off your throne for one moment and take a trip to Lenay and we can get started\u2026\u201d\n\nYou burst out laughing.\n\n\u201cOh yes, let me just go walking into a city filled with svelk! That won\u2019t be a death sentence at all! You expect me to just trust you at your word? Even if you do have this so called powerful weapon, I still have a hard time believing that there isn\u2019t some sort of trick or catch or angle that doesn\u2019t involve me dead in some way.\u201d\n\u201cI thought you were the Emperor? Mr. invincible and fearless? Have you gotten so cow\u2026cautious in your old age that you can\u2019t handle being alone?\u201d\n\u201cEldy, if you think this pathetic attempt of character assassination is going to suddenly cause me to behave in some erratic manner and go to Lenay you\u2019re sadly mistaken. You never were any good in the art of persuasion. The only way you\u2019re going to see me in Lenay is if I\u2019m leading a conquering army through it which given your continued insolence is starting to look more appealing, so who knows maybe you will see me there soon. Now get out of my sight before I put an end to your miserable life before the Xi do!\u201d\n\n\u201cFuck this, I told her this was futile!\u201d Eldolith exclaims and her personal guards surround her with a magic shield. Bullets from your soldiers are absorbed into the barrier.\n\n\u201cCongratulations, you just made this easier.\u201d You say and focus on bringing down the shield, while your soldiers advance with their weapons.\n\u201cI think not, a lot of time has passed since I was a mercenary captain and you were an Empire puppet who had not yet cut his master\u2019s strings!\u201d Eldolith says and suddenly she floats above her own personal guards followed by a red glow of light from her. Her personal guards at this point all begin screaming in pain. Whatever it is she\u2019s doing she\u2019s sacrificing her own people to do it. Then a super blast of telekinetic energy repels all of your troops back. You even have a hard time not falling over.\n\nEldolith casts some sort of spell that literally starts melting your soldiers\u2019 weapons. Some manage to drop them before the hot metal scalds them too much. Your own Eye mages lob offensive spells at her, but they aren\u2019t penetrating the shield. Some aim for her soldiers, but they aren\u2019t moved despite some of them even being on fire. They\u2019re already in a living death state anyway.\n\nEldolith never had any magic abilities, and while its possible she studied and trained herself, but something seems off about all this, not to mention her odd comments.\n\nJust as you bring her shield down, a portal opens up behind you. You have no idea where it\u2019s going, but you can feel it pulling you in slightly.\n\n\u201cTime to be reunited!\u201d Eldolith shouts and a red beam of magical energy is thrown in your direction.", "action_results": [{"action": "Dodge the beam", "result": "If you were twenty years younger and not saddled with countless old wounds that cause your body to react much slower nowadays, you\u2019d probably easily dodge the beam, hell if you were just ten or five years younger even.\n\nHowever, you aren\u2019t and your agility isn\u2019t what it used to be. When you attempt to duck and roll out of the way, you just succeed in spraining your back with your sudden move, but that\u2019s the least of your concerns when Eldolith\u2019s red beam hits you directly in the head. You feel a crushing pressure all around your skull for a moment and then a \u201cpop\u201d sound is heard inside our head before your brain is completely scrambled by an overload of\u2026well whatever the hell Eldolith hit you with. All you know is it hurts a lot in the few moments you\u2019re actually conscious to experience the pain.\n\nWith your brain fried and blood leaking out of your ears you collapse to the floor.\n\nIf Eldolith\u2019s goal was to get you into that portal, she\u2019s going to have to drag your corpse in there now.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Put up your own shield", "result": "Given that your reflexes aren\u2019t what they used to be, you don\u2019t risk physical avoidance and instead put up your hands to create a shield for the oncoming beam of magic. At first you assume that the beam will either absorb into the shield or deflect completely, instead the force of it knocks you back much more than you were expecting.\n\nAnd right into the portal.\n\nYou don\u2019t feel any pain or anything really other than a minor fall on your back, which hits a stone floor. You\u2019re not in your palace anymore, but what catches your attention immediately is what is in the room with you.\n\nA fancy chair with an old withered looking body in it. You can tell its svelk, but you\u2019ve never seen an \u201cold\u201d svelk before, or at least not one that displayed this great deal of age. At this distance you can\u2019t even be sure if its alive or not.\n\nSurrounding the chair are several tall rods, which emanate a magical field. The rods are embedded in the floor, they look like they\u2019re made of adamantium. Very strong material usually used by the derro. Nearby there are several orbs mounted on similar shorter rods, they aren\u2019t glowing or anything, but you assume that they\u2019re also magical.\n\nOther than this sight, there isn\u2019t anything else in the room, which is made of solid looking stone. The other notable feature is the fact there aren\u2019t any doors or any other apparent way out\u2026\n\n\u201cI knew one day, you would return to me.\u201d You hear a voice utter in your head. The voice is familiar and for a brief moment you think you\u2019re dreaming, but a closer look at the withered body in the room and you know this is all too real.\n\n\u201cSo you survived after all. Explains why there was no svelk body nearby when I got dug up.\u201d You say.\n\u201cNot without a price as you can see.\u201d Semra says. Apparently she can only communicate through your mind. The magical field prevents you from getting too close, but Semra\u2019s face looks like it\u2019s in a permanent slack jaw state. It would also appear that some magic never dies as you can sense Semra\u2019s \u201cemotions\u201d right now thanks in part to that little spell she cast on you before you faced the Emperor.\n\nRight now Semra\u2019s probably gathering all the information of what you\u2019ve been more or less up to since you were freed. As always, your own ability is limited and you can\u2019t read what she\u2019s been up to, however given her current state you don\u2019t imagine it\u2019s involved much physical activity.\n\nYou can sense a faint sign of\u2026happiness(?) from her because you\u2019re here, but then you never did quite understand her unnatural obsession for you. You also sense a slight feeling of shame for appearing the way she does (Though she\u2019s trying really hard to block it from you). Vanity of course. Really though you\u2019re more concerned with how you\u2019re going to escape from here. You doubt that you can destroy the field surrounding Semra, if you could, you wouldn\u2019t have been brought here in the first place. It\u2019s obvious that Semra really wants to talk with you.\n\n\u201cDo you have no desire at all for a brief discussion with me after all we\u2019ve been through?\u201d Semra asks.\n\u201cNot particularly, though since I can see no apparent way out at this time, I suppose I\u2019ll indulge you for now.\u201d\n\u201cDon\u2019t worry, unlike me, you are not a prisoner here. (Sigh) You don\u2019t know how good it is to see you again, even if you are a little older\u2026ha ha like I\u2019m in a position to judge.\u201d Semra remarks.\n\u201c Yeaah, about that\u2026so\u2026what is this? Are you dead? Are you alive?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh I\u2019m alive, but thanks to my daughter\u2019s treachery I have been reduced to this pathetic shell.\u201d\n\u201cWhen did that happen and how?\u201d\n\u201cHow, why and when it happened isn\u2019t important. The fault is mine for not being more observant and allowing myself to still hold a torch for you which contributed to my weakness. I cannot blame Eldolith for her actions that lead me to this fate. She only did what a true svelk daughter would do.\u201d\n\u201cSo I take it you\u2019re proud of her for turning you into a wizened invalid?\u201d\n\u201cI was for a time, however despite a few shining moments she has ultimately proven to be a failure in her ambitions. She could\u2019ve expanded the svelk so that we had our own Empire once again, but she was too busy bedding and torturing her slave girl lovers or indulging in other petty pleasures. She ultimately has no real confidence in her own abilities, if she did she wouldn\u2019t keep me around.\u201d\n\u201cI figured she kept you around as some sort of torture for you.\u201d You remark.\n\u201cWhile you\u2019re partially correct, the other reason is she still needs me around to hold her hand and tell her what to do next. She claims that she keeps me around because she enjoys mocking my decrepit impotent form while occasionally tapping my powers, but without me advising her, she wouldn\u2019t have even held on to THIS city for as long as she did. If she\u2019s trying to torture me by continuing to display her idiocy and making foolish decisions, while I can\u2019t actively do anything about them, then it\u2019s working. I urged her that she should\u2019ve sought you out as soon as I sensed your active presence, but she just ignored me, claiming I was just being a sentimental fool. She never saw the big picture until it was too late, but I did. I still do. Which is why I wanted to see you.\u201d\n\u201cWhat, the Xi threat?\u201d\n\u201cThat is indeed a threat, but it is perhaps just the catalyst for what is going to come.\u201d\n\u201cAnd I suppose you can see into the future? I don\u2019t remember you ever having that ability.\u201d\n\u201cI didn\u2019t, but after Casimir\u2019s death, or the Cataclysm as most call it, many things were unleashed. Large waves of wild magic being one. Wish I had developed the ability BEFORE I was reduced to this husk, but then I suppose my current state allows for such dormant powers to manifest themselves due to being unable to do anything else except sit and think. Another thing that was unleashed was the Xi. Did you know they\u2019ve lived far underground for millennia? Even further than the Derro or any other known subterranean race. Practically unknown to the surface world. It was only due to the massive upheaval of the earth due to the Cataclysm that they slowly started to make their way up to the surface. I believe they thought it was an attack, and now they\u2019ve finally amassed their numbers to a point where they can overrun the surface world. Took them a few centuries, but here they are and they will be very difficult to stop.\u201d\n\u201cBut you said they weren\u2019t the only danger.\u201d\n\u201cThey aren\u2019t. The old Empire may have died, but its actions are going to be the destruction of the new one you have forged one way or another. The Xi are just one way, the other way is much more personal and the wound still runs deep. Wounds that we were also both were responsible for.\u201d\n\nYou think back and you can only think of one thing\u2026\n\n\u201cThe gnomes?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cCorrect. My daughter has clumsily acquired info on the Redcap Kingdom over the years, but I trust my visions more. And if any of this is remotely accurate, they plan on committing mass genocide to everything in the area. This apparently will be done with a combination of weapons only their expertise in technology could\u2019ve brought forth, it will also be done far above the ground.\u201d\n\u201cWhat from the air? What did they figure out how to fly or something?\u201d\n\nYou hear a small chuckle in your head from Semra.\n\n\u201cI see that you have not been very observant of the gnomes. You probably just heard that they had become less peaceable creatures, but the reality is much much more than that. In their war of survival against the Xi, they have been developing technology that can kill as quickly if not as elegantly as battle magic. Their most recent inventions have been strange flying machines. Airships for the lack of a better word, from these they rain down explosive death on the Xi.\u201d\n\nThis is a lot of information to assess, but thanks to your link to Semra, you can sense no trickery from her. She has indeed been having visions similar to how Trog had them, except perhaps stronger.\n\n\u201cOkay, so basically I should just let the Xi and gnomes continue fighting until they wipe each other out to a point where neither one is a threat.\u201d\n\u201cYou can\u2019t afford to do that, lover. Letting them battle it out hasn\u2019t worked. That\u2019s what my fool daughter thought and it\u2019s proven to be a failure. The Xi AND the gnomes have managed to avoid extinction despite being at each other\u2019s throats for decades now. The Xi has just expanded towards our direction and the gnomes have just developed more powerful weapons. If it keeps going, the war is going to ultimately engulf the entire area and chaos will ensue. The line needs to be held here in Arat if only to prevent the spread and that\u2019s why you\u2019re needed here.\u201d\n\u201cSo I\u2019ve heard. Your daughter mentioned an ancient magical weapon that would only work if I helped charge it or something.\u201d\n\nSemra\u2019s voice chuckles again.\n\n\u201cYes, that was her way of insolently describing me, though I suppose it isn\u2019t too far off as a description. Really though it isn\u2019t a true solution. Basically you and I would join our energy together and form a protective barrier over this city. Something great enough that I doubt if even gnome weapons could penetrate it and I know the Xi wouldn\u2019t be able to dig through it.\u201d\n\nYou can\u2019t believe that would be an option.\n\n\u201cThis sounds pretty sketchy that some how I would be the convenient answer to the problem. I mean you\u2019ve got other mages here and your daughter\u2026\u201d\n\u201cMy daughter is a fucking charlatan. She has learned no real magic herself. As I\u2019ve said she only taps my own powers which is why she can cast magic in the first place. As for other svelk, most of them are pretenders as well. The few that do actually have magical talent they wouldn\u2019t be able to handle the full might of my magic either. But you. You are different. YOU actually have the ability. The power. I know because I trained you myself and what I didn\u2019t teach you, Casimir certainly did. YOU and I could join together and survive the coming destruction like we did before.\u201d\n\u201cYeah because that turned out so well right? I was in stasis for five hundred years and you\u2026well just look at yourself. You\u2019d be better off dead. Am I to join your fate when I join with you in this magic spell that is supposedly going to save this city? And why would I want to save a city full of svelk?\u201d\n\u201cBecause you could be their ruler? What difference does it make when in the scheme of things you do not really care about your subjects so much as you care about the power you wield over them? I have seen your thoughts. Lately you have been dwelling on your own death and who will be worthy to take your place. Let me answer both questions. Nobody will EVER be worthy to take your place. Your Empire, what you have built will fall even if you do manage to save it from the Xi invasion or the inevitable revenge of the gnomes. You WILL be forgotten in time. But I\u2019m offering you a chance at avoiding that fate. I\u2019m offering you a kind of immortality and the chance to be in power FOREVER. Yes it is true, you would be confined to a state similar to mine, but you do not know the true power of the mind. Your body might be in a prison, but your mind would never be. I could teach you if you just join with me.\u201d\n\nAs strange as it may seem, Semra\u2019s words do hold a little weight. Immortality is appealing and lording it over the svelk would probably be amusing, but at what cost? Semra claims that her mind allows her freedom in a way that her physical body never could, but you just can\u2019t see living like that voluntarily. You might be facing your own mortality soon, but if that is going to happen then that\u2019s how it shall be. The future hasn\u2019t been written yet as far as you\u2019re concerned.\n\nPlus there\u2019s also the fact that Semra just wants someone to join in her living death misery, who better than you?\n\n\u201cSemra, I\u2019ve listened to your offer and indulged you long enough. I decline and will deal with the threats to my Empire on my own terms. Now then, I trust you have the ability to let me go?\u201d\n\nSemra says nothing, for a moment you think you\u2019re going to have to make a threat. While you aren\u2019t sure if you\u2019d actually be able to take down the magical field around her, you\u2019d give it a good try. It doesn\u2019t come to that though and soon another portal open up.\n\n\u201cGo then. You will see that I\u2019m right though and you will come back to me. You know we were meant to be together.\u201d Semra remarks.\n\u201cWell thanks to your daughter, your nation has officially declared war. So perhaps you\u2019re right, maybe I will be back with an entire army.\u201d You answer.\n\u201cI will be looking forward to that day, lover.\u201d\n\nYou step through the portal and find yourself back in your palace where things are in turmoil. Your return quells things down though. Unfortunately Eldolith got away. Apparently she escaped through another portal. You aren\u2019t worried though; she\u2019ll pay for what she did. The svelk won\u2019t have to wait for the Xi to overrun them; you\u2019ll get there first.", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 557\n\nArat is nearly yours...well what\u2019s left of it anyway and even after you take it completely there is still the matter of holding it. And that will certainly be a great task, one you even wonder if you\u2019ll live to see. The aches and pains in your body continue to get worse with age, you tire a lot easier and you get short of breath at times. Everyone tells you that you shouldn\u2019t be anywhere close to the battlefield, but you can\u2019t help it. It\u2019s the only place you feel you truly belong and gives you a thrill even if you\u2019re not doing a lot of active fighting nowadays.\n\nTo be quite honest this war has been a blessing for you as there is no end in sight. It allows you to focus on something other than mundane things like the economy or civics. It\u2019s also allowed you to put off the task of finding your \u201csuccessor\u201d and you don\u2019t even care anymore. You\u2019ve come to the conclusion that when your days are done in this world whoever gets the Empire is whoever is strong enough to hold it. If that means it disintegrates and falls into the abyss then so be it. The Empire fell once before and you revived it. It can do it again.\n\nOnly four major cities to conquer and the Arat Confederacy would be resigned to the history books, but they proved to be much harder to crack mainly because of Xi AND Redcap interference. Arat is a massive warzone and now all the major players are involved.\n\nZo was the toughest nut to crack in terms of fighting, but perhaps the easiest in some ways as there were no other elements to make things complicated. It was a straight up battle and it only defied you mainly due to its hatred of orcs, which make up a large part of your armies. It is almost unfortunate that the entire city population had to be practically eradicated because its citizens were certainly the bravest and had the best soldiers in this war.\n\nValizza was next. The crimelords there practically opened the gates for you. If it was a choice between suffering Zo\u2019s fate or being ruled by the Empire, there was no choice at all. After all crime always exists somewhere in societies no matter how hard a government tries to stomp it out. The crimelords there no doubt assumed that they could just switch sides and slither into the underworld that exists in the Empire.\n\nMost of them were wrong. You couldn\u2019t be worrying about petty gang violence between warring factions you needed another city on the frontlines contributing to the war effort. You immediately had all the \u201cleaders\u201d sized up, determined which one was the most efficient and made him \u201cgovernor\u201d while the rest were executed. \u201cHand Cannon\u201d Harry was grateful and now knows that the city is ultimately run for Empire purposes FIRST. And whatever criminal activity he has going on comes second. You\u2019re the \u201cBoss.\u201d\n\nAtinil, ever the bootlicking city to Lenay of course fought back, though not very well. The only reason why it posed any problems is due to Lenay\u2019s forces attempting to bail them out and Xi incursions which had started to become more of a problem by this point. It was during this battle that your armies had begun facing any sort of heavy Xi opposition. Semra was right, there are an awful lot of them and they attack in waves with no regard for their own lives. They also make their first strikes mainly from below; in fact that\u2019s what ultimately ended the siege of Atinil. Towards the end, its citizens threw open the gates begging you to destroy the Xi who had managed to enter the city before you did. By the time it was all said and done the Xi had destroyed half of the city before you managed to beat back the infiltration.\n\nYour kobold commando units have been doing a good job at blocking off tunnels or creating new ones to form counter attacks, but again there are just so many of them that for every ten you kill it seems like a hundred take their place.\n\nTo make matters worse, the Redcaps have been making excursions into Arat via their airships. You\u2019ve only manages to catch sight of a few from a distance, but others have described them to you in greater detail. Great big oval shaped contraptions that seem to move by propellers and some sort of gas that keeps them aloft. (At least that\u2019s how someone tried to explain it to you, really you still never got all that \u201cscience\u201d stuff)\n\nAnd just as Semra had mentioned in your visit with her, they\u2019ve been bombing indiscriminately on the Xi AND your own troops. You\u2019ve yet to take one of these airships down mainly because they never stay around long enough in a battle (and certainly not in any battle that you\u2019ve personally participated in. They float in to cause destruction and then leave, though you have noticed that they\u2019ve all been going in a particular direction. Namely towards the city-state that has always remained a mystery, Telis.\n\nNow Lenay is all that remains of the Arat Confederacy and it\u2019s making sure that all attackers will not stomp out its presence with ease. A magic barrier has formed around the city, and probably extends far below the earth as well otherwise the Xi would\u2019ve gone under it.\n\nThe barrier has proven impenetrable to all known weapons and magic or at least anything your soldiers can throw at it. Given how strong it is you can only guess that Semra is having a direct hand in the matter. So much for her claims that \u201cyou\u201d were needed to create the barrier in the first place, then again she did imply that she merely needed your help to keep her from using up all her power.\n\nUsually a \u201csiege\u201d mentality isn\u2019t very successful (certainly didn\u2019t work for the Felkans) but the svelk seem to be content on \u201cwaiting\u201d everything out while you and the Xi slaughter each other, they may even be building up something that will change the tide of the war. (And probably are)\n\nSo once again it\u2019s all falling onto you. You\u2019re the only one that has magic remotely powerful enough to bring down that barrier and even then you might need help. You half wonder if taking the barrier down is going to kill you, but if it comes to that then so be it, but there might be a more pressing concern.\n\nThe recent appearances of the gnomes and their travels towards Telis make you wonder if you shouldn\u2019t direct your attention toward them. Semra did warn you about them and their recent actions of bombing your own troops haven\u2019t exactly proven her wrong.\n\nIt\u2019s just a question of what you want to spend your time and resources on. Making a long trip to Telis probably through Xi occupied territory and then face whatever the gnomes have there (which you have no sort of intel on) or bring down the barrier (And continuing to fend off the Xi in the meantime).\n\nBoth of those are probably going to result in considerable losses.", "action_results": [{"action": "Bring down the barrier", "result": "You aren\u2019t going to wait around and marching your troops off to Telis seems like a waste of time when you\u2019re so close to finishing off the Arat Confederacy. Most of all you want to get your revenge on Eldolith for her attack on you in your own palace years ago.\n\nYou gather all the mages that are currently within your war camp and explain that you\u2019re going to bring down that barrier. It\u2019s going to require a great deal of energy and that it\u2019s completely possible that some won\u2019t even survive the process, but once that barrier is down, Lenay will be ripe for the taking.\n\nIn the meantime, the regular army is going to have to deal without magic back up for awhile when repelling Xi incursions.\n\nYou and your mages focus on the massive barrier protecting Lenay. You envision it coming down and staying that way. Doesn\u2019t take long before you begin to feel a force combating your efforts. With a personalized touch that only Semra can do.\n\n\u201cWhat do you think you\u2019re doing my eager eternal? If you wanted me to let you in, you could\u2019ve just asked you know.\u201d You hear her voice inside your head.\n\nYou try to block it out, but that\u2019s a losing task. You and Semra are locked in more than just a battle of the wills right now. Your minds are still linked.\n\n\u201cThis is a useless endeavor eternal. Even with your little followers you aren\u2019t going to bring down this barrier. I can keep this up forever.\u201d\n\nOne good thing about having a linked mind, is you can sometimes tell an outright lie, though in Semra\u2019s case it\u2019s always better to assume that she\u2019s lying anyway. However, you know she can\u2019t keep this up forever, her power is nowhere near how it used to be, otherwise she wouldn\u2019t have wanted you to \u201cjoin her\u201d years ago.\n\n\u201cVery well, continue if you must\u2026\u201d Semra\u2019s voice says and thankfully you\u2019re just left with silence.\n\nFive days pass and your army is fending off the Xi well enough, but the barrier still stands strong. You have not eaten, slept or drank anything and are really starting to feel those effects even if you are in a trance like state right now. The only thing that\u2019s managed to sustain you is\u2026well leeching off the energy of your other mages of which you\u2019ve lost seven at this point.\n\nStill, you really feel that you\u2019re making progress. You can sense that the barrier is weakening, perhaps only a little, but it\u2019s still something.\n\nUnfortunately you may never know if you would\u2019ve succeeded eventually because something occurs that interrupts everything. Something big and something you and probably nobody else could\u2019ve ever envisioned\u2026\n\nAn incredibly large object hovers high above the earth and moves slowly towards the city of Lenay. It\u2019s high enough that it\u2019s fairly safe from conventional weapons. It isn\u2019t an airship either; it\u2019s something much more.\n\nIt\u2019s Telis.\n\nThe gnomes have somehow managed to uproot an entire city and have it floating in the fucking air.\n\nWhile your army is certainly panicking about this, you\u2019re nearly completely oblivious due to your continued spell focus on bringing down the barrier. You hear some of your officers shout at you about a flying city or something similar, but you\u2019re more or less out of the loop.\n\nEven when Telis begins to unleash a volley of mortar rockets in your area you still aren\u2019t completely entirely cognizant of the situation. Loud explosions strike all around you and it\u2019s amazing you aren\u2019t killed in the blast, you do finally lose focus though and fall to the ground.\n\nIt is then when you realize how much danger you\u2019re in. The gnomes are continuing their vicious bombardment of the area, probably hoping to wipe everyone out and they\u2019re doing a fairly good job all things considering.\n\nYou look around and see your army completely panicked and running away. They are some of the bravest men and women from all walks of races, but they\u2019ve never had to face something so large and massively destructive before. In fact you don\u2019t even know if you\u2019re going to be able to make it, you feel so weak and the most recent blast just killed or severely maimed the soldiers that were trying to carry you away from danger.\n\nDizzy, tired and very drained, you struggle to retreat from the area as your legs feel very wobbly.\n\n\u201cCan\u2019t let it end like this. Argh! Hate this fucking weakness!\u201d you exclaim as pain shoots all through your body and you collapse. It shames you, but you almost feel like just giving up and letting the gnome weapons finish you off.\n\n\u201cYou see what happened my darling eternal? You were so focused on revenge on my idiot daughter that you completely neglected keeping up on what those red cap miscreants were up to. Now look at you, you\u2019re all spent, just like when we first made love. Remember that?\u201d you hear Semra\u2019s voice say in your head. Apparently she\u2019s still in contact with you. You make an audible groan when you believe that mocking voice of Semra is going to be the last thing you hear in your final moments.\n\nHowever, as usual her mysterious and still baffling obsession with you might be your salvation\u2026again.\n\n\u201cFear not, lover. Mommy can save you. It will have to involve me lowering the barrier for just the briefest moment, but I can open a portal to your safety. Enter it and you\u2019ll be back with me, right where you should\u2019ve been all this time.\u201d\n\nNo sooner do you hear these words uttered when you see a portal open up not far in front of you.\n\n\u201cCome to me, let us embrace again. You know it was always meant to be. We are the survivors. We did it once and we can do it again.\u201d\n\nSemra\u2019s creepy attempt at temptation aside, you don\u2019t have much time to react to your situation. The gnomes are undoubtedly going to unleash another volley of explosives and who knows if you\u2019re going to be lucky enough to avoid a direct hit this time.\n\nThen again, if you enter that portal who knows what the hell is in store for you.", "action_results": [{"action": "Enter the portal", "result": "You know this probably isn\u2019t going to end well, but if you jump into the portal you at least know you\u2019ll buy yourself a little time and a chance at survival. Staying out here is probably going to result in your getting blown to pieces.\n\nYou don\u2019t think anymore about it and you take a crawling tumble into the portal. When you go through you\u2019re instantly transported before Semra again. Same withered body, same chair, same plain room without any doors and the portal behind you is gone. You then hear an incredibly loud noise coming from above. It\u2019s enough to even shake your surroundings a little.\n\n\u201cGlad you finally decided to listen to me again. Those little redcap assholes nearly managed to hit Lenay with their crude explosive weapons. If I had held that portal open any longer for you, they might\u2019ve even destroyed this city. I hope you appreciate the sacrifices I make for you.\u201d Semra says.\n\u201cRight\u2026so what now? What\u2019s your plan?\u201d you ask getting up off the floor.\n\u201cPlan? I assumed you knew that by now. I mean you did come through my portal.\u201d\n\u201cYeah, I only took your escape route because I would\u2019ve been a dead man had I not. That doesn\u2019t mean I\u2019m siding with you and I\u2019m still not done with your daughter or this city.\u201d\n\n\u201cI see\u2026well perhaps we can arrange something to appease you better.\u201d\n\u201cI doubt it.\u201d\n\u201cYour faith in my capacity to see what you desire wounds me, especially since you have stated it so plainly here. Now if you give me a few moments, I can give you what you want, but I suggest you prepare yourself.\u201d\n\nAt first you\u2019re about to ask what she means, but even if you couldn\u2019t get a glimmer of her mind, you believe you\u2019d guess correctly fairly quickly.\n\nAnd within a few moments another portal opens up and soon after that Eldolith steps through.\n\n\u201cMother, the barrier went down for a few seconds and those gnomes nearly killed us all! You\u2019ve got one job to do and you failed to do it! What the fuck are you doing down here? It\u2019s bad enough that we had to stop the annual sveld infant hurling competition because\u2026\u201d\n\nEldolith suddenly stops her complaining when she notices you in the room. Her eyes grow wide and she says nothing, but instead tries to re-enter the portal, but Semra has closed it. Having chosen to unsuccessfully run rather than attempt to defend herself properly, you easily give her a large shock with lightning. She falls to the floor, her body convulsing from the jolt, but not dead yet.\n\nYou sort of expected that when you finally faced her, she\u2019d put up more of a fight and inevitably you\u2019d either kill her with a powerful magic strike or perhaps a quick sword thrust if you managed to get that close.\n\nBut now that she\u2019s more or less at your mercy, something comes over you. A desire for cruelty. It\u2019s strange, but you haven\u2019t felt that way towards\u2026well anyone for quite sometime. In fact the last time you felt this way was when you stopped yourself from giving in to such feelings when Eldolith was smarting off to you in Alison\u2019s war camp. You remember some of the things you wanted to do to her.\n\nMaybe this is some sort of repressed emotion that\u2019s been coming for a very long time\u2026\n\n\u201cWe\u2019re not finished Eldy. We\u2019re not finished by a long shot. This has been a long time coming.\u201d You say and kick her in the stomach and chest several times as hard as you can. You then get on top of her and begin to just punching her in the face. Her svelk \u201cbeauty\u201d quickly starts to diminish as teeth become broken and her nose follows suit.\n\n\u201cMoth\u2026ARGH!\u201d Eldolith cries out as she desperately attempts to call for a maternal figure that just looks on in sadistic pleasure.\n\nEldolith weakly tries to claw at your eyes with her hands, but you easily grab them both and break her wrists. Eldolith screams at this point, begging you to stop and just kill her already.\n\n\u201cApologies, but this is too much fun, in fact don\u2019t you feel my\u2026excitement?\u201d you whisper in her bloodied ear and then slam the back of her head on the stone floor.\n\nAches and pains shoot through your joints, your hands, arms, your legs and your feet, but such things are overridden by the enjoyment you\u2019re getting by beating the shit out the Eldolith.\n\nEventually Eldolith\u2019s breathing becoming very \u201cautomatic.\u201d It\u2019s getting near the end where her body is just \u201cfunctioning\u201d and higher brainpower is quickly fading. Even through the blood all over her face, you notice the tears coming from Eldolith\u2019s eyes.\n\n\u201cOh no, not yet. I\u2019m going to take you up on that offer you once gave me so long ago.\u201d You say and roll Eldolith\u2019s body over\u2026\n\n\u201cYes! YES! Do it! Do it my lovely eternal! Do it for mommy! Teach her that you are the master and that she is to be utterly destroyed!\u201d you hear Semra\u2019s voice in your head exclaim.\n\nThese calls of encouragement are followed by Semra\u2019s real sounds of excitement made by her own withered body. The wheezing sickly noises are only drowned out by your half crazy rants of pure hate and grunting sounds.\n\nAfter a short but brutal process later you end it by shoving your dagger through Eldolith\u2019s skull, cracking through bone and brain. You even enjoy the sound it makes as you slowly pull it back out.\n\nPainting heavily and covered in blood, you don\u2019t feel nearly as bad as you usually do from such energetic activity. You almost feel\u2026invigorated.\n\n\u201cThere now. Don\u2019t you feel better? Don\u2019t you see this is how it should\u2019ve always been? And just think you can enjoy this sort of thing all the time if you stay here with me. You think what you just experienced was revitalizing? When you fully embrace the power of your mind, you will truly know freedom.\u201d\n\nYou just stare at Semra\u2019s disgusting wizened body in a semi-trance as you listen to her alluring voice.\n\n\u201cYou will have an entire city to rule and defile! To torture and humiliate! Let the gnomes burn the outside world to a crisp! Let the Xi overrun the land with their hives! WE will be still here LONG after their time in the sun has gone! We will be like the GODS of old here FOREVER.\u201d\n\nSemra\u2019s personal barrier that surrounds her body goes down and another chair materializes next to her own.\n\n\u201cJoin me my love and we can have everything\u2026\u201d\n\nSemra\u2019s voice is so entrancing. She\u2019s making a lot of sense. You don\u2019t detect any lying and you can even see into her mind more clearly. She\u2019s letting you in. You still don\u2019t quite understand a lot of it or see all of it, but you catch a glimpse of perhaps why Semra harbors \u201cromantic\u201d feelings for you.\n\nYou see the image of another svelk. A male, obviously a soldier, but a mage as well. You also see images of him battling creatures and conquering foes all in the name of his Empire. He obviously enjoys the violence and takes great pleasure in battle, but there\u2019s a certain \u201chonorable\u201d trait about him though too.\n\nIt\u2019s odd and you\u2019re loathed to admit such a thing, but despite being a svelk he seems very similar to\u2026well you. He even looks vaguely like you in your younger years if you had black skin and the pointy ears.\n\nYou think you\u2019re about to see more, but Semra finally shuts you out. You guess she\u2019s decided you\u2019ve seen enough. Whether that means she\u2019s trying to hide something or just merely unwilling to because the memories are too painful, you cannot be sure.\n\nIs this why Semra\u2019s been so obsessed with you? Was it really that simple? You reminded her of a long dead lover?\n\nShe could\u2019ve just said something, but then of course that wouldn\u2019t be the svelk way, let alone Semra\u2019s.\n\nMaybe this is all a trick. Maybe she\u2019s making you see something that isn\u2019t real to make you more sympathetic towards her despite all the rotten things she\u2019s done.\n\nMaybe she intends on killing you. Maybe the spell she cast on you over five hundred years ago was all part of some incomprehensible long range plan that only she understands and you\u2019re finally falling under her complete influence.\n\nOr maybe she\u2019s just scared of dying alone.\n\nYou don\u2019t know. What you do know that you\u2019re probably never getting out of here. (Wherever \u201chere\u201d actually is, though you assume its somewhere under Lenay) Even if you kill Semra, you don\u2019t have the ability to create magical portals or anything like that so you\u2019ll essentially be in a living tomb waiting to die.\n\nOf course you probably won\u2019t be waiting too long. Considering she\u2019s currently the only thing up keeping the protective barrier over Lenay as soon as you kill her, you\u2019d wager that the gnomes are going to bomb the shit out of this place and you\u2019ll die in a cave in and that\u2019s assuming the Xi don\u2019t come digging through and overwhelming you first.", "action_results": [{"action": "Kill Semra", "result": "Maybe you aren\u2019t going to defeat the gnomes and maybe you aren\u2019t going to defeat the Xi.\n\nMaybe either one or both of those races will eventually destroy the Empire you resurrected.\n\nMaybe you\u2019ll be completely forgotten.\n\nAnd that\u2019s all okay, because what you\u2019re about to do is going to be completely worth it.\n\nYou walk slowly towards the chair that Semra has provided for you. You keep your mind completely clear of any murderous thoughts.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re right. This is destiny\u2026\u201d you say with a smile.\n\nYou are soon in front of Semra\u2019s husk of a body. It\u2019s even worse looking up close, not to mention the smell, but you continue to smile as you put your face in front of hers.\n\n\u201cBut before I take my place by your side my lover, let me give you one last thing\u2026\u201d\n\nYou see Semra\u2019s face, as slack jawed as it is, manages to make a disturbing grin.\n\n\u201cYes, my eternal, kiss me...\u201d you hear her voice say in your head.\n\nAnd at that moment you grab your dagger\u2026the very dagger you just killed her daughter with while you fucked her. The very dagger Semra stabbed you with and gave to you as a gift when you were just sixteen years.\n\nIt has at last been returned to its owner when you stab Semra in the chest with it.\n\n\u201cHHHAAAAGGGHHHH\u2026\u201d Semra\u2019s desiccated vocal cords gasp. The foul odor of her breath invades your nostrils and the scent of death has never smelled so sweet to you.\n\n\u201cSmmaahhh! Lovely.\u201d You remark and step back to watch Semra soon expire from her mortal wound. When her body slumps downward in her chair you know she won\u2019t be healing her way out of this one.\n\nAnd soon you\u2019re alone and feeling very tired. You take a rest in the chair Semra created for you and dwell on your life in general.\n\nYou think back mostly on your old life before you were dug up five centuries later. The good old days when you knew exactly who was always by your side.\n\nAlison.\n\nYou think back to your wedding day and how happy you were then and how you thought the glory days would never end.\n\nBut everything ends eventually, just a question of when. If anything, your life has been running on borrowed time for the last twenty some odd years. When you think about it, you did pretty good all things considering.\n\nYour introspection is put to an end when you hear several large explosions above you and this time, its not just shaking, the ceiling to the room is beginning to crack and stone begins to fall.\n\nLooks like it will be the gnomes that get you even if they\u2019re unaware of it. In fact nobody is going to be aware of what happened to you. You just disappeared off the battlefield. You imagine you\u2019ll be presumed dead though.\n\nIt doesn\u2019t matter really, but perhaps it is fitting that you die the same way you were originally meant to, buried and crushed by dirt and rubble.\n\nIn your last moments as the ceiling comes crashing down on your head, you surprisingly grab on to Semra\u2019s cold dead hand.\n\nPerhaps in some strange way you were meant to be together after all.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Join Semra", "result": "You realize you don\u2019t want to die yet.\n\nYou also realize that events have conspired against you to lead up to this moment, so perhaps maybe you should just give in to fate.\n\nYou hate Semra. You\u2019ve always hated her. And whenever she\u2019s helped you\u2019ve resented it even more. And when she\u2019s right that\u2019s when you hate her the most.\n\nBut you can\u2019t deny her appeal. Even after all these centuries, that part of you, that sick twisted part of you that thought was gone forever is still there and as strong as it ever was.\n\nSo you give in. You take your place by Semra\u2019s side and sit in the chair that Semra has provided for you. You can sense the delight in her mind.\n\n\u201cSo\u2026now what?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cNow the fun begins, lover! Just close your eyes and relax. As always mommy will take care of everything\u2026\u201d\n\nYou feel your magical essence join with Semra\u2019s own and together you both feel stronger. Most of the energy goes towards the barrier protecting Lenay, but the rest goes towards your own whims, which are now endless at least within your mind, and the city is concerned.\n\nYou and Semra take a more direct control over Lenay now without Eldolith in charge. You both instill fear into the populace and give commands via your mind to the next highest in rank. (Who just happens to be Eldolith\u2019s latest ambitious girlfriend who gladly accepts the position of Domina).\n\nFor the most part you just let the city run itself and enjoy watching the excess the city has to offer. Semra herself says things like gladiator matches, the torturing of sveld slaves and the baby throwing competitions are much more enjoyable now that she has someone close to share them with.\n\nAnd when you aren\u2019t doing that, you engage in an activity that\u2019s more common. Of course seeing that your bodies are in no longer suitable for that activity, you engage intimately on a whole mental level. Semra was right about this too, it is somehow more intense than you imagined that could be. Your mind is not limited like the body and you and Semra indulge in many twisted fantasies.\n\nYou have to admit though, you don\u2019t ever really see baby throwing as a \u201csport\u201d, but more like an activity. You and Semra constantly have debates over this issue\u2026\n\n\u201cBut there\u2019s a target and points and everything! How the hell is it not a sport?!\u201d Semra asks.\n\u201cJust doesn\u2019t seem like one to me. Gladiator matches I can see. There\u2019s clearly skill and training involved.\u201d\n\u201cYou think there isn\u2019t any training or skill with baby throwing? Do you realize how much sveld babies squirm about before your throw them? It\u2019s not like just lobbing a nice round rock you know. They don\u2019t tend to fly straight, you have to practice and adjust for wind and all kinds of other little factors. Like whether or not the baby has eaten within the last couple of hours or so.\u201d\n\u201cWhat? If you\u2019re going to kill them anyway why the hell would you even feed them so close before throwing them?\u201d\n\u201cIt shouldn\u2019t surprise you, but baby throwing is taken VERY seriously in svelk society. So much so that some like to cheat by secretly feeding their opponent\u2019s babies before hand. Nothing worse than a baby-spraying diarrhea all over you while you\u2019re swinging it around to throw. Even the smell could distract you from your throw and cause you to lose valuable points.\u201d\n\u201cI dunno, still just seems like a celebrated svelk activity to me. I mean why don\u2019t you consider torturing elves a sport? Surely the torturers have practiced their trade enough to keep victims alive long enough to give a good show.\u201d you ask.\n\u201cBecause that\u2019s not a sport, that\u2019s a fucking art! (Sigh) You humans are such uncultured barbarians.\u201d\n\nWhile you and Semra remain safely inside the barrier of Lenay, the world outside goes on, but not in a good way. The Empire suffers greatly without your leadership. The Xi begin overrunning the borders and the gnomes continue to bomb the hell out of both.\n\nDoesn\u2019t take long before holdings in Arat fall completely and Quala is well on its way. Sightmaster Crowley does his best to fill your shoes, but it just isn\u2019t enough when the gnomes come out with an even deadlier weapon than their airships.\n\nThey develop a plague of some sort to kill the Xi and it works spectacularly. The Xi die off by the thousands. Then the citizens of the Empire start to die off as well. Whether it\u2019s from the same disease or a different one the gnomes created, it doesn\u2019t matter. Elves, humans and even orcs begin to sicken and die. The only ones with somewhat of a resistance are the kobolds and they quickly abandon their duties and scurry back to the safety of their underground dwellings when the gnomes start fire bombing the dying husk of the Empire.\n\nThe gnomes don\u2019t give up on Lenay either. They attempt to use different weapons to breach the barrier and continue to use the old ones in the hopes that eventually the magic on the barrier will weaken, after all you had the same idea that even Semra couldn\u2019t keep it up forever.\n\nAnd it\u2019s true she can\u2019t by herself. With your help though it isn\u2019t quite as much of a problem. Unfortunately even with the two of you, you can\u2019t keep it up forever either, especially you when you realize that Semra\u2019s been slowly draining all your energy little bit by little bit. You were so wrapped up in enjoying decadence that you didn\u2019t think about how Semra was ultimately using you and eventually killing you.\n\nYou try to free yourself, but her spell that melded your minds keeps you in place and too weak to resist her.\n\nYou try to reason with Semra by stating that if you die, it\u2019ll only buy her a bit more time and the gnomes will eventually break through anyway.\n\n\u201cPerhaps, my sweet eternal, but not today\u2026I will miss you\u2026\u201d Semra says sounding genuinely sad.\n\nYou curse yourself for being so weak as you have nobody to blame but yourself. Semra was just being true to herself, something you should\u2019ve done. You were so afraid of death that you ran from it only to die a slave rather than a warrior or even as a free man.\n\nYou lament your poor judgment as your mind begins to fade into the ever-lasting darkness.", "action_results": []}]}, {"action": "Run for it", "result": "Mustering up all the strength you can, you pull yourself up off the ground and run around the portal rather than through it.\n\n\u201cStop! What\u2019re you doing!? I\u2019m your only chance! Don\u2019t you remember last time?!\u201d you hear Semra\u2019s voice exclaim in your head.\n\nYou answer back in your head, hoping Semra hears the message.\n\n\u201cSemra, I was an idiot to listen to you five hundred years ago, not repeating that mistake again.\u201d\n\nWhether or not she heard you, you\u2019ll never know because several large explosions occur behind you and the force of the blast even from this distance causes you to fall again.\n\nWith the barrier temporarily taken down, the gnome rockets were able to hit Lenay quite hard, you turn over to see the portal disappear and Lenay in flames. What you don\u2019t see is the barrier going up again.\n\nWhile you temporarily sit there looking at the destruction, some of your troops see you and rush to your aid. You\u2019re carried away and you survive this day, but you know it\u2019s definitely no victory.\n\nYear 560\n\nThe Empire that you resurrected from the ashes is now returning to that state. Maybe not quite yet, but it will be soon.\n\nIt wasn\u2019t the increased overwhelming Xi attacks on your borders. You were managing them.\n\nIt wasn\u2019t the superior technological machines of the gnomes. Even the mass fire bombings of Arat and Quala from their airships weren\u2019t enough. In time you would\u2019ve caught up and crushed them.\n\nIt was however another gnomish \u201cinvention\u201d that has lead to your ruin. Biological warfare of the likes nobody had even seen.\n\nThey created a disease to wipe out the Xi and it worked spectacularly. The Xi began dying off almost immediately when it took affect. Unfortunately this plague also affected your people as well. Or perhaps maybe they engineered another one for other races, you don\u2019t know, it doesn\u2019t matter because people started getting sick and dying. Elves, humans, even orcs. The only ones with somewhat of a resilience were the kobolds of all races. Well them and yourself. Despite your physical frailties and age, it would seem your Eternal roots have protected you from the disease.\n\nEveryone you knew who was close to you has died of the plague. Your top advisor David, Sightmaster Crowley, even Jennifer. Your citizens are dead or sick. Your workforce is non-existent and all you\u2019ve got left for a military force are fucking kobolds and quite frankly they aren\u2019t going to be enough to stop the gnomes from finishing everyone off. And you know they\u2019ll be coming soon.\n\nYou\u2019re tired though and you don\u2019t have the fight left in you to oppose the red-capped bastards anymore. Indeed there isn\u2019t much left to fight for. Your own life doesn\u2019t even mean much to you any more, you doubt if you\u2019d live much longer anyway given how much your body is in pain and much weaker than you used to be.\n\nIt\u2019s no kind of life. Not for an Eternal.\n\nThat\u2019s why you aren\u2019t going to run. When the gnomes come in their flying machines to bomb Nalin to cinders, you\u2019ll be right here to go along with it.\n\nAnd in a few months, you meet your fate.", "action_results": []}]}, {"action": "Divert your forces towards Telis", "result": "You\u2019re not wasting any more time on Lenay and as much as you\u2019d love to put a blade into Eldolith from your last encounter, she\u2019s not worth the time either. The Arat Confederacy is no longer a concern. Let the Xi have Lenay if they want to continue throwing bodies at it. The gnomes are the greater threat; they\u2019ve already got ships that fly in the air and who knows what the hell they have planned. Maybe if you take Telis, you can also gain the knowledge of how to build such machines because so far the experiments by your inventors haven\u2019t had much success.\n\nThe first thing you have to do is order a withdraw from the Lenay area. This confuses your officers, but other than General Ingrid who insists that the city can be taken, they all just follow your commands. (As does Ingrid after a bit of arguing)\n\nThe next thing you do is have the major wounded transferred back to Velizza or Atnil. The Xi are still a major concern in the area and hopefully the wounded will get well before the Xi start advancing on those cities because they\u2019re going to need all the extra protection they can get.\n\nYou also send a message to Sightmaster Crowley to send a full battalion of Eyes. You tell him to even take them away from security positions if he has to, because you anticipate that you\u2019re going to need the extra magic power.\n\nYou also tell Crowley that if you fall in battle that he\u2019s officially the successor of the Empire. A bit of an abrupt way of passing this decision on, but there it is at last. If he decides to use this as an excuse to stage a coup later, you\u2019ll have to deal with it later, but again, you doubt if you\u2019ve really got much time anymore for \u201clater.\u201d\n\nThe next step is making the long march to Telis. You know where it is, but even if you didn\u2019t you could just follow the occasional airship in the far distance. Unfortunately you have a feeling that if you\u2019re close enough to see them at all, the crews aboard such things can probably see your massive forces heading their way as well. There\u2019s nothing for it though, Arat has always been pretty open and there\u2019s no real way to hide a force as large as yours. You half hope some of those airships make a detour towards you, so you can call down a lightning storm on them the same way you did on that sea monstrosity years ago, but none of them do.\n\nThe Xi however give you more than enough trouble on your journey. You continued to be impressed by the Xi\u2019s tenacity to completely abandon any sense of self-preservation. They exceed orcs even in that regard and that\u2019s something you thought you\u2019d never see.\n\nIf only there was a way you could\u2019ve had them fighting for you instead, you wouldn\u2019t have had to waste so many years rebuilding the Empire in the first place. You could\u2019ve just had it immediately.\n\nYou watch in the distance as some of the kobolds take down a single Xi warrior. That\u2019s something you never thought you\u2019d see either. Fighting along side kobolds of all creatures and them actually being some of your best soldiers within their limited capabilities. Funny that you should respect or find a certain affinity to such non-human races like orcs, kobolds or even the Xi than you do with humans. Then again maybe it\u2019s because you\u2019ve never really truly been human. You\u2019re just masquerading as one.\n\nAfter a week of marching through Xi infested territory Telis is finally in sight. And from where you\u2019re standing, you see it being besieged by the Xi. Unlike Lenay however, Telis doesn\u2019t have the benefit of an impenetrable magic barrier defending it. It does however have several airships launching all manner of explosions and gunfire to the area around the city.\n\nIt would seem the gnomes are reluctant to damage Telis itself (though some of that is probably unavoidable), but the reason isn\u2019t clear. Are the gnomes Telis\u2019 allies? From what you\u2019ve heard Telis did have a human population, so it seems unusual that the gnomes would be helping them given their new outlook on life. Unless they\u2019re invaders as well and just don\u2019t want their potential prize destroyed.\n\nIn any event you\u2019re somewhat glad that the Xi are involved. Gives the gnomes another target and divides the attention from you.\n\nSeeing as the gnomes are less willing to blow up Telis itself, you figure your best course of action is to get your army into the city right away. Actually getting in doesn\u2019t look like it will be a large problem thanks to the efforts of the Xi, the problem lies more with fighting your way through the Xi while avoid potential bombings from the gnomes.\n\nAll available mages are ordered to put up shields and all soldiers are ordered to protect them while making the long march towards Telis or else nobody is going to make it to the city at all.\n\nIt\u2019s not a long distance, but it feels like one. Explosion after explosion crashes down on the magical shields. Since your shields are simple ones the Xi simply dig under them and attack that way, but the soldiers do a good enough job of keeping them from killing your mages. You do your part by supporting the magical energy required for this feat. It\u2019s a great strain on you, but you try to block out the pain.\n\nYou can see the Telis gate wide open and it reminds you of the day when the Felkan capital fell to your forces. What a glorious victory that was.\n\n\u201cAdvance! Kill everything! They can\u2019t stop us! Not the Xi and not the gnomes and their machines! We will be the last ones standing and remembered long after worms have eaten all their corpses! Long live the Empire! Long live the Emperor!\u201d you shout.\n\nWhile it\u2019s a simple speech meant to encourage the surrounding troops, your last line was probably a little strange since you\u2019re the Emperor and it sounds odd. Of course you realize this soon after you said it because you temporary forgot what the hell time period you were in.\n\n\u201cShit, get focused\u2026\u201d you mumble.\n\nMemory lapses aside, your army continues to battle its way into the city. Some of your people have already reached the entryway and that\u2019s when a large rumbling noise is heard from the city and then the ground begins to shake. The shaking soon becomes more violent tremors to the point that the ground starts to crack and that\u2019s not from Xi digging\u2026\n\nMany of your people have a hard time keeping their footing and during this time some of the mages lose their concentration. This is a fatal mistake, which soon results in entire companies being blown to bloody pieces by the airships continuing to dump bombs from above.\n\nThe airships aren\u2019t the only things that are flying now though.\n\nThe loud rumbling continues along with the earth shaking and you soon see what is going on. It\u2019s Telis. The city is rising off the ground. Whatever the hell the gnomes have been doing, this has to be part of it. They\u2019ve created a flying city!\n\nThe gnomes have already displayed a significant amount of power with their airships. With this city they could very well be unstoppable.\n\nQuestions about how and when they did this will have to wait, what matters now is that you have to stop them. The city has only just started to rise and its taking a long enough time that you see several Xi and your own troops grabbing on to what they can before its completely out of reach.\n\nYou\u2019re either going to have to destroy it or capture it.\n\nIf you were younger you\u2019d just unleash a firestorm or something similar without another thought, but that\u2019s a risky endeavor in your condition for several reasons.\n\nCapturing it is probably going to be even harder, especially since you\u2019re going to have to board the damn thing. You MIGHT reach it in time if you make a full dash towards it now, but that would mean no longer supporting the mages to defend the rest of your army.", "action_results": [{"action": "Destroy the city", "result": "You\u2019re not going to reach it in time, but you can\u2019t allow the gnomes to wield such power. If this spell kills you then so be it, still maybe you won\u2019t need to summon a firestorm so large. The airships are close enough to the city that if you could damage them, they\u2019ll probably crash into the city themselves and bring it down.\n\nYou concentrate on flames, fire, and the entire sky burning. Doesn\u2019t take long before the sky around you goes red. Your soldiers aren\u2019t quite sure what\u2019s going on, but when it\u2019s obvious that you\u2019re casting something, multiple officers shout to their subordinates to find shelter within mage barriers if they aren\u2019t there already.\n\nThen it comes. Fire from the sky.\n\nAirships are hit with a rain of fire. There is no shelter or escape for the machines and the gnome crews are equally helpless. Attempts to fly out of the area of danger fail as they catch fire and soon turn into a crashing inferno of metal, wood and the incinerated crew and sure enough some of those go crashing into the city which has also been catching fireballs.\n\nOn the ground, it looks like a vision of hell. Large sections of torn up fields and plains are burning, and the only thing protecting your soldiers are your mage barriers and a general retreat has been sounded now that airships are falling out of the sky and it soon looks like the city will too. Even the Xi have chosen to retreat at this point, making their escapes by burrowing back under the earth.\n\n\u201cEmperor, we have to go!\u201d you hear a voice shout. You aren\u2019t quite sure who it is though because you\u2019re woozy after casting your spell. In fact you\u2019d be completely exposed by the rain of fire, if you weren\u2019t being dragged away by your loyal soldiers within the cover of Eye mages.\n\nEventually you regain your bearings and tell your soldiers to let you go and that you can make it yourself. They\u2019re hesitant to do so at first, but comply. You\u2019re drained, but you\u2019ve still got the energy to move clear of the inevitable spectacular explosion that occurs when Telis finally come crashing down from the sky.\n\nThe amount of destruction is actually quite impressive, but as you look at the burning wreckage from the distance you curse the fact that you could not utilize such a powerful weapon for yourself.\n\nAfter a few days pass the fires finally die down enough that you order a full search of the wreckage of anything that might be useful, but there isn\u2019t much left. At best you have some of the debris carried away so that your inventors might figure out how to re-create at least the airships, but that doesn\u2019t seem very likely to occur anytime soon.\n\nIn the meantime, the Xi slowly begins to re-invade the area and continue to press forward towards your territory. They\u2019ve also managed to completely cover the area surrounding Lenay despite still not being able to get into the city. Having no more wish to waste anymore manpower on capturing the city yourself, you decide to have your forces to hold the line at your own territory in Arat. Lenay is just going to be one target that you won\u2019t get to eliminate any time soon, if at all.\n\nYear 559\n\n\u201cArat has completely fallen, Quala is starting to suffering an influx of Xi troops and reports say that there have even been sighting of Xi in Rask.\u201d David remarks.\n\u201c(Sigh) What kind of fools\u2026(sigh) have three more armies reinforce the forces in Quala. Send another one up to Rask and have Sightmaster Crowley mobilize everything he has there to combat the threat. Have him recruit ogre if he can!\u201d\n\u201cVery well my Emperor, I uh\u2026should let you know that our people have still made no progress on re-creating an airship.\u201d\n\u201cDidn\u2019t think they would. The little gnome bastards took that secret to their little graves when the Xi finally wiped out the Redcap Kingdom a year ago. Even they couldn\u2019t hold out against them forever, just like Semra couldn\u2019t keep her barrier up forever to protect Lenay and also got resigned to the box of now extinct cultures. Which is something we\u2019ll eventually be at this rate. (Sigh) Cancel the project; have them go back to working on perfecting our existing weapons or something.\u201d\n\nDavid leaves without saying another word and you\u2019re left to ponder this increasingly grim scenario. A scenario that you\u2019re not entirely sure you\u2019re going to win, in fact you\u2019re almost certain you won\u2019t.\n\nThe odd thing is you\u2019re okay with it, mainly because you\u2019re also fairly certain you don\u2019t have long to live anyway. You tire a lot easier and your body hurts all the time now, you might have five or six years left tops and that\u2019s assuming the Xi don\u2019t overrun Nalin first.\n\nThe only question that remains for you is how you want to handle this. You\u2019re going to continue to fight to the bitter end no matter what, but you wonder if that fate shouldn\u2019t necessarily include your people.\n\nYou wonder if maybe you should have an \u201cescape\u201d plan for your people. Unfortunately there aren\u2019t too many places to run to, a mass exodus through the Usksha desert is likely to result in death for several reasons and you imagine the Xi would easily just invade there as well. Heading further north through the mountains of Rask has similar problems.\n\nThat only leaves one major \u201csafe\u201d option, the ocean.\n\nThere haven\u2019t really been any major efforts to explore the open seas to see if new land does indeed exist, but you figure if there is an \u201cIsle of Mortos\u201d there must be other lands. (Hopefully) Still this is going to be very short notice and a massive undertaking of building ships big enough to carry not just people, but supplies as well for this uncertain journey.\n\nHowever, if it worked and there was land, then the survivors would definitely be free of the Xi threat, even the Xi can\u2019t cross the ocean.\n\nIf you\u2019re going to enact this escape plan though, you\u2019re going to have to do it soon because time is not on your side.\n\nOf course the other side of you still believes that maybe, just maybe if you concentrate your efforts you could still win this war.", "action_results": [{"action": "Prepare for the exodus", "result": "You already made the mistake of believing you were more important than the Empire before and it lead to its destruction, you\u2019re not making it again. The Empire must live on in some form even if you do not and that means your subjects must live.\n\nYou make the preparations; you call your advisors who are all very surprised by this plan as it involves the mindset that you have already been defeated. When you quickly remind them that most of the ones that are going to have first dibs on having a seat on one of those ships are most likely those in the upper part of the hierarchy, they don\u2019t argue too much about it. They suggest that you don\u2019t announce the plan as it\u2019ll cause a great lowering of morale, but you see no reason to hide it and rumors are going to abound anyway which may cause some trouble anyway, so you make a grand speech about your plan to the people.\n\nYou explain that despite the dark days ahead, the Empire is not going to die as long as some of them live. You tell them that you won\u2019t lie about the escape possibly being just as dangerous as staying and fighting, but for those that want to leave there will be a merit system. Those that work the hardest towards making this plan feasible will get first consideration for getting aboard a ship. This doesn\u2019t mean just building a ship, it could mean being a soldier and defending said workers of the ships and other helpful positions.\n\nShip builders and all other manner of laborers are assigned right away to work on building the arks. You realize that considering the time its going to take to build these things, you\u2019ll need to hold off the Xi for as long as possible, so you consolidate the majority of your forces back to the borders of Nalin. This leaves Quala and Rask to fend for themselves and while you urge citizens that if they want protection they need to make their way back to Nalin. However, some people are stubborn and the orcs that live in Quala are the most stubborn. In fact most of them outright say you\u2019re abandoning them and see now that the late Warlord Sprog was right and that orcs don\u2019t need the Empire. You wash your hands of such insubordination. You figure the Xi will sort them out. Kobolds on the other hand are a bit more compliant and since most of them used to live in Nalin before, they return.\n\nSightmaster Crowley doesn\u2019t agree with this decision, but thankfully he pulls most of his forces out of Rask (The ones that didn\u2019t insist on staying) and returns to Nalin.\n\nAdmiral Len is overwhelmed by the fact that you\u2019ll be saddling him with so much responsibility of commanding this exodus plan. He states that he doesn\u2019t even know if land exists past the vast eastern ocean. Your response is \u201cFind some.\u201d Len says he\u2019ll send out scout ships while the arks are being made, but he isn\u2019t hopeful.\n\nFinally you contact Jennifer. You reassure her that her family will definitely have a seat on one of the ships. She of course is grateful, but asks if there is nothing that can be done to defeat the Xi. You say you wish you had a more combative solution, but you still feel this is the best chance of the Empire continuing to exist. She understands, but is upset by it and hugs you one last time, before you never see her again.\n\nAfter it\u2019s all said and done, Nalin is slightly more crowded than before, but is very well protected now with its entire military in one area. The Empire has shrunk, but it isn\u2019t dead yet.\n\nYear 564\n\n\u201cHave all the arks left?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cReports are sketchy at this point, but I believe yes, the last of them have departed. Our forces were successful in holding off the Xi in that regard.\u201d David remarks.\n\u201cWell that\u2019s something at least. So I\u2019m guessing the rest of the struggle for Nalin isn\u2019t going well?\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m uh\u2026afraid not Emperor.\u201d\n\u201cFigured as much.\u201d You reply.\n\nYou and David are both silent for a while. In fact your palace has been fairly silent in general now that many either died or left on the arks.\n\n\u201cDavid, tell me. Why did you stay?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cMe? Well, I\u2019m so old now I don\u2019t think I\u2019d survive the journey on the open seas anyway.\u201d David says.\n\u201cHmm, you too huh?\u201d you say.\n\u201cBesides, my place is here and you need at least one of your staff still here seeing as you sent Sightmaster Crowley away on an ark.\u201d David continues.\n\u201cHeh, yeah I thought we were going to have to knock him out and have him dragged aboard one those things. Still when I explained that the new Empire is going to need the Eyes and their leader to defend it he got the point.\u201d\n\u201cHe always was a duty bound soldier.\u201d\n\u201cYes, yes he was.\u201d\n\nAnother moment of silence passes and then you get your aching body off of your throne.\n\n\u201cWell, I guess I might as well get this over with.\u201d You say.\n\u201cGet what over with?\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m not going to wait around for the Xi to come get me. I\u2019m going to go out there and kill the first ones I see and repeat that process until they finally bring me down. I\u2019m thinking I might be able to last a few days at least.\u201d\n\u201cOh. Well, erm you might increase your chances if you meet up with one of our units. There are still many out there and\u2026\u201d\n\u201cNo, I\u2019m going to meet death alone. That\u2019s how we all die in the end anyway.\u201d You reply.\n\u201cVery well\u2026it was an honor serving you my Emperor.\u201d David says and you nod silently before making your way out of the palace.\n\nIn your last days of fighting the Xi (and through your own physical pain) you wonder if those ships will find a new place to settle. You did your best and really given the circumstances, that was all you could\u2019ve done.\n\nEventually you are struck down by the Xi and your last thoughts are wondering if you\u2019ll be reunited with Alison.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Prepare for the final war", "result": "You\u2019re not going to waste time on a possibility that doesn\u2019t even have any proof behind it. There is no knowledge of land west of the ocean and there just isn\u2019t time to mobilize a half cocked plan to evacuate people who might die a slower death on the open sea anyway. Better to stay and fight.\n\nYou continue organizing your forces and mobilizing them in the best way that you\u2019ll think that they will be the most effective.\n\nYear 566\n\nAs you lie on your deathbed weakened by your own physical frailties the war with the Xi still carries on and not in the Empire\u2019s favor.\n\nYou struggled as best you could, but it just wasn\u2019t enough. The Xi are indeed a relentless force that even you cannot stop. Quala has completely fallen. Rask has been cut off, you have no idea if it\u2019s been overrun as well, but it hardly matters by this point. Your last report states that possibly within a year or even six months the Xi will completely overrun Nalin.\n\nAnyone who was remotely close to you is gone. David was taken by natural causes, Sightmaster Crowley in battle, even Jennifer was killed along with her entire family by a surprise Xi attack on Dalt.\n\nYou believe there were some last ditch efforts of escape via ships. Some have successfully done so, but it\u2019s hard to imagine where they will go. Makes you wonder if setting up an escape plan might\u2019ve been a better idea to at least save some people to possibly keep the Empire alive, but you dismiss such thoughts.\n\nNo, you are the last of a dying Empire. The old one and now this one. When you die, it will die with you.\n\nYour only regret is that you didn\u2019t decide to face death in battle when you at least still had the strength to do so. Your body hurts so much right now that you almost wish the Xi were here just to put you out of your misery.\n\nEventually your pain comes to a quiet end when you manage to drift into unconsciousness and finally death.\n\nAnd just as you believed, the Empire follows you in death soon after, though perhaps not quite as quietly.", "action_results": []}]}, {"action": "Capture the city", "result": "Probably a fool\u2019s task, but if you survive this you\u2019re going to have to still deal with the Xi. A flying fortress would give a significant advantage.\n\nYou stop using your own energy to support your mages and refocus on a creating a personal shield around yourself. You give the order for everyone to get out of your way or grab on to Telis if they can.\n\nIt isn\u2019t too bad, most of your mages hold their own, and continue to protect a majority of the army, but its yourself that you\u2019re concerned about as you attempt to reach Telis which is slowly becoming completely airborn. You ride your horse as hard to the point where it probably isn\u2019t going to survive after you intend to make a leap forward off of it.\n\nYou pass your soldiers, you pass the Xi fighting them, you pass over the torn up ground from the battle and bombs and you look up and see Telis escaping your reach.\n\n\u201cNo, I\u2019ve come too far!\u201d you say and you stand on top of your horse, nearly falling off in the process while still attempt to upkeep your shield\u2026\n\nYou make the jump towards the city and manage to grab ahold of one half of Telis\u2019 front gate doors which is currently hanging off its hinges. Your shield is down, your body hurts and you\u2019re practically deaf from all the explosions going on around you.\n\nYou hang on for dear life as the ground gets further away and attempt to climb up, but your strength is failing you and even if it wasn\u2019t the door is slowly loosing its weak attachment to the rest of the city.\n\n\u201cShit! Shit! No! No! No! Not like this! Fuck! Hate this weakness!\u201d you exclaim as you prepare to either lose your grip or for the door comes loose. And you doubt you\u2019ll be in any condition to \u201crepair\u201d yourself when you take this long fall.\n\nFortunately it doesn\u2019t come to that.\n\n\u201cEmperor! Take my hand!\u201d a human soldier shouts and reaches over the side. You waste no time in accepting his help and soon a couple of other soldiers help him lift you up just in time for the door to fall to the ground.\n\nAfter catching your breath and assuring the soldiers that helped you that you\u2019re fine, you get a better assessment of your surroundings.\n\n\u201cOkay first things first, what\u2019s your name so I know what to call you.\u201d\n\u201cLieutenant Renly, my Emperor and this what\u2019s left of my platoon.\u201d Renly says and waves his arm to six other soldiers. \u201cWe\u2019re not the only ones here, I believe there\u2019s a couple of orc platoons further in the city. They\u2019re probably fighting the Xi that managed to get in or combating the gnome clockwork golems. Hell even the teams of gnomes with their rapid repeaters isn\u2019t something you want to deal with and that\u2019s not even counting the ones probably trying to spot us from the nearby airships.\u201d\n\u201cSo wait, are there no humans or regular citizens in this place?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cNot from what anyone can tell. It\u2019s like the whole place is empty other than the Xi, the gnomes and us. Unless the Telis citizens are all hiding somewhere.\u201d\n\u201cOr maybe the gnomes did something to them all. Well it doesn\u2019t matter we need to figure out where the hell the controls are for this thing. We get control and we can get rid of those airships with a lot more ease.\u201d\n\u201cNot sure where something like that would be located Emperor.\u201d\n\u201cThat\u2019s easy, we keep moving towards the areas that have most of the little bastards and their damned contraptions. It\u2019s going to be the most heavily defended place because it\u2019s the most important thing in the world to them.\u201d\n\u201cWell then I believe we should take a left down that street over here. Saw a gnome patrol accompanied by two clockworks not long ago.\u201d\n\u201cOkay, but when possible we should probably stick to the back alleys. Don\u2019t need one of those airships floating by and spotting us. In fact our best chance is to do this as stealthily as possible. A rare tactic for us I know, but our main task is getting control of this thing.\u201d\n\nYou, Renly and the rest of his platoon make your way towards where you hope some sort of master control is located. Along the way, you see the remnants of where small skirmishes have already taken place. Bodies riddled with bullets or in some cases chopped up. They\u2019re mostly bodies of the Xi, but some of your soldiers as well. You don\u2019t see any gnome casualties other than pieces of their golems.\n\nThe sounds of battle can still be heard throughout the city, but it gets concerning when the sounds get less infrequent, since that means the gnomes are probably mopping up invaders to their city, which means less distraction for them.\n\nYour attempts at sneaking around are fairly successful. As you stealthily avoid these patrols, you finally see the gnomes and you can\u2019t get over how radically they\u2019ve changed. With their dark red caps, goggles and stylish leather uniforms, they couldn\u2019t look anymore different than their pathetic ancestors that you helped round up centuries ago to have their souls utterly obliterated.\n\nReally though, after an event like that and who knows what else during the Cataclysm you suppose it shouldn\u2019t be surprising that the gnomes decided they wouldn\u2019t be victims and became hostile towards other races. Let alone rely on other societies to defend them any longer.\n\nThey shaped their own destiny and you can certainly respect and even admire that; after all you never hated them. That was the Emperor. You were just following orders at the time.\n\nEventually the gnome patrols are getting too thick and you can\u2019t really properly proceed without engaging the enemy. Just as well, you were getting sick of acting like a shadow.\n\n\u201cAlright, everyone get ready, because it\u2019s going to be killing time from here on in. I\u2019ll take the lead on this.\u201d You say.\n\u201cEmperor, shouldn\u2019t you stay behind us so we can better protect you?\u201d Renly replies.\n\u201cWhile I appreciate the sentiment, I\u2019ve been doing this a lot longer than you have, if anything you all should try to stay behind me and in cover until I clear out most of the rabble. Don\u2019t worry, I may be old, but I\u2019m not out of this yet. And if you all survive this, you\u2019ll all be getting promotions and whatever else I think might be an appropriate reward, so it behooves you all to listen to me if you want to reap the benefits of this situation.\u201d\n\nWith this understanding, Renly and his platoon follow your lead. Still unseen, you take advantage of a group of gnomes tanding around with their clockwork creations.\n\nYou unleash a flurry of fireballs, which not only has the desired effect of killing some of the gnomes outright, but also causing an explosion due to their hand thrown bombs they carry on them The explosion takes care of the golems.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s one group down, but the rest aren\u2019t going to be as easy!\u201d you say and advance with a shield up.\n\nNot easy is correct because the little bastards start coming out in full force. You just try not to get surrounded. The unrelenting repeater weapons are bad enough, but the gnomes also come out with weapons that emulate some of your spells! A single gnome who managed to sneak up on two of Renly\u2019s men blasts them with some sort of weapon that emits flames. Renly shoots the gnome in the head before turning his attention to grab one of the repeaters from a nearby dead gnome.\n\n\u201cThey\u2019re all coming out of that big red building, that\u2019s probably where we need to go! Come on!\u201d you shout and take out another golem.\u201d\n\nDuring the carnage you think back to how you used to mainly use your sword during battles. During this one, you haven\u2019t even used it yet. In fact you haven\u2019t done so for so long, you wonder if you\u2019d even be able to use it effectively anymore. Granted in this situation like this you\u2019ve practically got no choice but to rely on your magic, still though you miss the good old days.\n\nThe closer you get to the building, the waves of gnomes lessens, until you see one of them close the door just as the last few golems are shot to pieces. The sky above you grows darker and you notice an airship looming overhead. They don\u2019t throw bombs at you, but they certainly unleash a volley of gunfire, which manages to kill another one of Renley\u2019s platoon before he and the rest can get into cover.\n\nAs for you, your shield is working just fine, but you need to get into that building which is probably locked and barricaded. You aren\u2019t going to be able to blast it open with that airship firing at you.", "action_results": [{"action": "Refocus the shield to repel the bullets back", "result": "Normally you don\u2019t do this, because repelling projectiles actually takes more focus than flinging fireballs or putting up a shield in the first place, but if you can take out all the guns firing on you with their own bullets then you\u2019ll get the breather you need.\n\nYou refocus the shield and sure enough the bullets are repelled back towards the guns that are firing on you. It isn\u2019t an exact hit, but enough of them hit their own guns (or in some cases the gunner) enough that it puts them out of commission, other bullets either go flying off wildly into the air or into other parts of the airship. In any case you hit something that causes problem since you see and hear minor explosions, which the gnomes are probably busily trying to contain. The airship shudders in the sky a bit, but it isn\u2019t falling out of sky, which it probably would have done if you\u2019d lobbed hunks of fire at it.\n\nTaking advantage of the respite, your soldiers take what explosives they\u2019ve found on the bodies of the gnomes, pile them up against the building\u2019s door and you hurl a ball of fire at it. Naturally it not only explodes spectacularly, but it also succeeds in destroying a couple of golems that were waiting to ambush you. You and the other run inside, before the airship above you manages to get its guns working again.\n\nWhen you get inside you see that the building consists of a lot of desks and generally laid out like a bureaucratic office. You briefly think that maybe this was all for nothing and your hunch was wrong, but sure enough when an automated repeated pops up out of the floor and puts several holes into one of Renly\u2019s platoon and more golems appear from other trapdoors in the floor you\u2019re fairly certain you\u2019re still on the right track.\n\nYou and Renly\u2019s ever dwindling platoon take care of your assailants though at this point they\u2019re probably hoping there aren\u2019t too many more.\n\n\u201cGlad this building doesn\u2019t have multiple floors.\u201d One soldier remarks.\n\u201cIt still might, those golems came out of the floor. There might be several basement levels.\u201d Renly points out.\n\u201cIt can\u2019t go too far down, the city is flying in the air now. It\u2019s not going to be a Derro complex.\u201d You say peering door one of the trapdoors.\n\u201cDerro?\u201d Renly asks.\n\u201cOh. Before your time I suppose. They were a subterranean race that were primarily hostile isolationists and had a knack for technology. Sort of like the current gnomes I suppose. I always wondered if they were related in some way to be honest.\u201d You answer.\n\u201cAnd they were enemies?\u201d\n\u201cAllies actually. Well\u2026 such as they were. Anyway I imagine whatever is causing this city to fly would be located right under it, so we might as well start searching there especially since the rest of this building looks more like an oversized office rather than any example of engineering.\n\nYou all descend down one of the trap doors and find yourself in some small narrow corridors. Not so small that you can\u2019t move around, but certainly small enough that you all have to crouch down. Even at the best of times your body aches, this bending and stooping routine just makes it worse for you. The corridors are also filled with a light steam with gears, pumps and other manner of machinery that you assume are keeping this city afloat. A noisy hum and the occasional jarring metal on metal screeches also surround you and you briefly wonder just how much solid stone floor is between you and the sky right now.\n\n\u201cGuess the gnomes designed this part of the city.\u201d Renly says.\n\u201cNever thought I\u2019d say this, but I wish we were kobolds right about now.\u201d Another soldier remarks.\n\u201cAlright let\u2019s focus. The good thing about this corridor is I can easily shield us from any attack from the front or the back but you\u2019re all going to have to fire upon on any enemy that attacks us. If I start throwing magic bolts or whatever around here I\u2019m libel to damage something severely and send this thing crashing to the ground with us in it.\n\nYou travel the corridors for what you believe to be an hour at least. It twists and turns, but you remain convinced that SOMEWHERE down here is a control room. In the meantime more gnomes attempt to stop you and while they have better maneuverability your shield continues to protect everyone and you fend off attacks.\n\n\u201cAt least they\u2019re just sticking with guns now.\u201d One of the soldiers says.\n\u201cThey don\u2019t really have choice, explosives or those flame weapons would damage all these gears that are involved in holding up the place.\u201d Renly remarks.\n\nWhile your followers make minor comments about the situation, you begin to notice a slight change in surroundings. The mist that fills the corridors is dissipating, the floors have become steel and now there are actual walls coving the previously exposed engineering. It suddenly occurs to you that the gnomes hadn\u2019t actually finished this place up yet and you are now seeing the areas that took priority.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019re near the control room.\u201d You say.\n\u201cWe are?\u201d Renly says.\n\u201cI\u2019m sure of it.\u201d\n\u201cWouldn\u2019t there be more defenses?\u201d\n\u201cI said I think we\u2019re near it, we\u2019re not actually there yet. For all we know the actual control room has shit we\u2019ve never seen before.\u201d You answer.\n\n\u201cOh it does, Eternal. It does. Come on in and see.\u201d You hear a voice say nearby. You and the others look around and at each other.\n\n\u201cJust continue a little bit forward and turn the corner. Don\u2019t worry, you\u2019ve killed all of my people, but then you always were an expert at such things weren\u2019t you?\u201d the voice says.\n\nWhen you follow the voice you enter a room filled with a bunch of technical equipment and machines. You no idea what any of it does, but its certainly a technological feat that you\u2019ve only seen matched by Marik when he was growing tank babies.\n\nAlso in the room a single gnome sitting in a chair dressed in the traditional leather uniform you\u2019ve seen others of his kind wearing. He also sports the same bushy facial hair and red cap they all seem to favor. The only main thing that causes him to stand out is that he\u2019s obviously older than the ones you\u2019ve been fighting and he\u2019s wearing explosives around his waist with a wire attached to another device he\u2019s gripping tightly in his hand.\n\nThe other thing that stands out is that he is completely unconcerned about you or your soldiers pointing their weapons at him.\n\n\u201cYou know, this really was one of our greatest works. (Sigh) It\u2019s going to be a shame to destroy it, but anything is better than letting it fall into your hands. Can\u2019t let a gnome killer like you have it can we?\u201d the gnome remarks.\n\u201cYou speak as if you know me and I don\u2019t mean by my present reputation. You speak as if you know me from the past.\u201d You say.\n\u201cOh not personally, but my family\u2019s ancestors told me stories about you. Yeah, great ancestor Klemto made sure the story got passed down so that something like Gnome\u2019s Home could never happen again. One of the few gnomes you didn\u2019t manage to round up and have systematically slaughtered.\u201d\n\u201cWell I see your mind is made up, no point in debating the issue.\u201d You answer.\n\u201cOh no, please I\u2019d LOVE to hear your defense on the matter. I could use a good laugh before I blow us all up.\u201d\n\nAt this point having one of your soldiers shoot him would be counter productive, he\u2019d just release the switch when he died. Rushing the gnome would likely have the same result\n\nYour only option is to cast a freeze spell and encase his hand in a solid block of ice. The problem with that right now is you\u2019re exhausted. You\u2019d have to stall for a little time so you could muster up the energy to do it right now.\n\nSo you stall for time and engage the gnome in conversation.\n\n\u201cI was just following orders.\u201d You say.\n\u201cReally now? That\u2019s your defense?\u201d the gnome asks.\n\u201cIt\u2019s not a defense because I don\u2019t think I have anything to defend against. The Emperor\u2026Casimir hated your kind. Not I. Why he hated your people so intensely I cannot say because I never fully understood the depths of it. He gave reasons, but as I said I believe there was more to it. It doesn\u2019t matter though, since I merely acted on his orders.\u201d\n\u201cSo you were just a blindly loyal soldier just doing your duty eh?\u201d\n\u201cAt the time yes. Look, if you want me to beg for my life, you\u2019ll not get it here. I didn\u2019t begin my life as an Eternal begging so I\u2019m certainly not going to end my life begging.\u201d\n\n\u201cI see\u2026I suppose I should\u2019ve known your arrogance and lack of emotions would prevent you from such actions\u2026\u201d the gnome remarks, but you cut him off.\n\u201cFunny you should say that. Since I would think someone with the same arrogance and lack of emotions would understand.\u201d You say.\n\u201cWhat?!\u201d\n\u201cTHIS! This flying fortress! And all your airships! You really expect me to believe you designed them for peaceful purposes?\u201d\n\u201cWe had to protect ourselves!\u201d\n\u201cAgainst the Xi, yes I can see that, but you\u2019ve been bombing us as well and we didn\u2019t even declare war on you!\u201d\n\u201cBah! You would have eventually! And your pathetic attempt at comparing us bombing your soldiers and you rounding up gnome civilians for slaughter is laughable.\u201d\n\u201cI wasn\u2019t actually, I\u2019d say that would be closer to what you did to the original citizens of this city. So what did you do with Telis\u2019 original citizens?\u201d\n\nThe gnome begins to get annoyed.\n\n\u201cNothing. This city was always ours!\u201d\n\u201cBullshit. Maybe this place was wrapped in mystery, but not to such a degree that it wasn\u2019t known that humans lived here. Or at least they USED to live here. Just looking at the buildings and one can tell that this place was originally designed for humans rather than the smaller architecture that make up these corridors. So how did you go about it? I\u2019m actually curious how you managed to wipe out an entire city without anyone getting a hint of what was going on. I know from your reputation that you don\u2019t associate with other races any longer so I can only assume that you had the citizens of this city done away with long before you actually moved in and started making this place into a flying city. Perhaps maybe like something similar that was done to the gnomes?\u201d\n\nThe gnome now actually gets off his chair and both of his hands are balled up in anger, which is good since you want him to grip that kill switch as tight as possible.\n\n\u201cIt was a completely different situation!\u201d the gnome exclaims.\n\u201cWas it? Your ancestor said we rounded gnomes up to be slaughtered, what he probably didn\u2019t know since he avoided capture is HOW we did it. We didn\u2019t just kill them. We completely obliterated their souls. It\u2019s what the Emperor wanted. Then again, you lot probably didn\u2019t go that far\u2026no magical skill to speak of, I guess that\u2019s why you like your mechanical toys so much\u2026\u201d\n\u201cYou\u2019re going to pay for your crimes you evil bastard. When I release this switch my only regret is going to be that you won\u2019t suffer!\u201d\n\u201cNo doubt. But it\u2019s a shame that the real culprit won\u2019t taste your justice after you blow us all up.\u201d\n\u201cWhat\u2019re you talking about?\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m talking about the main executioner. Maybe I rounded some up and killed a few and the Emperor gave the orders, but there was one in particular who was enjoying the job around the clock. She\u2019s still alive too you know, or maybe you didn\u2019t. She isn\u2019t very mobile or social these days. All I\u2019ll say is she\u2019s a svelk and she\u2019s the mother of that bitch that currently runs Lenay, well assuming Lenay hasn\u2019t been overrun by the Xi\u2026\u201d\n\u201cENOUGH! This ends now!\u201d the gnome yells getting ready to release the switch.\n\n\u201cTruer words have never been spoken.\u201d You say and cast a blast of frost at the gnome\u2019s left hand and fortunately you encase his whole arm in ice before he can release his hand from the switch. You collapse on the floor just from that small feat of magic. You really need to rest.\n\nThe gnome desperately tries to break the ice, but the remaining two soldiers from the platoon restrain and knock him out.\n\n\u201cTake this little shit topside and throw him off the city. Renly and I will try to figure out the controls to this thing. And do it quickly, that arm won\u2019t stay frozen and there still might be some gnomes running around.\u201d You say and drag yourself to sit up against a nearby wall.\n\n\u201cEmperor are you okay?!\u201d Renly asks.\n\u201cI\u2019m fine. Just very very tired. And unfortunately my work isn\u2019t even done yet\u2026\u201d you answer.\n\n\u201cBut just maybe this thing will make it easier at least.\u201d", "action_results": [{"action": "Years pass...", "result": "Year 560\n\n\u201cEmperor, the Xi have made their first incursions into Quala.\u201d David remarks.\n\u201c(Sigh) It was only a matter of time I suppose. The damn bugs just can\u2019t seem to be wiped out. Even with this floating fortress and the new airships we created. Have we lost Arat completely?\u201d\n\u201cNo, but the only city left is Regnik and its slowly in danger of becoming overrun. It probably won\u2019t last another week despite the carpet-bombing we\u2019ve done around the area. Quala is having problems as well and last reports stated that Warlord Sprog fell in battle.\u201d\n\nYou sometimes wonder if the Xi are some sort force of nature taking everything back from the others races that have caused so much turmoil and strife. Like the other races had their day in the sun at some point and now it is the time of the Xi to rise to power. Of course you\u2019ve never been one for giving into fate or \u201cdestiny\u201d, so your main concern is how to deal with this seemingly unstoppable foe.\n\nFortunately after you took Telis (Now called Apex) from the gnomes, you found some rather interesting notes on how it might be possible and your brightest and best have been attempting to decipher them.\n\nTechnology wasn\u2019t the only thing the gnomes were working on; they were also working on a bunch of stuff to do with biology. Apparently they had plans to design and release some sort of germ that would kill all the Xi.\n\nSounds like a blessing, but the problem is you have no idea how long that\u2019s going to take. You have your inventors and doctors and wise people, but honestly they\u2019re only going by a few found pieces of scraps and half thought out plans from a race of people now no longer around. Nobody has even had this sort of idea before; using unseen organism as weapons. But then nobody had the idea to create weapons that could destroy entire buildings or allow one unskilled peasant to murder an entire squad of swordsmen at one time either.\n\nIn the meantime, you\u2019re still left with the same problem. You have to fend off the Xi from destroying the Empire. You\u2019re doing your best, but you have to admit, the outlook is grim. Just as you\u2019re about to give David your list of commands for the day and retire to your private abode, David tells you that you have an audience today.\n\n\u201cAudience? With who? I\u2019m the only ruler left in the land and I doubt very seriously the Xi are wanting to speak with me about peace negotiations.\u201d You say.\n\u201cNo, it\u2019s a regular citizen Emperor and know normally you don\u2019t hold such audiences, but I thought in her case you might. It\u2019s Jennifer.\u201d David replies.\n\u201cReally? Well what does she want?\u201d\n\u201cShe didn\u2019t say, other than wanting to see you. Should I tell her to reschedule?\u201d\n\u201cNo, I suppose I can spare the time to see what she wants and I could use a diversion from this Xi situation anyway.\u201d\n\nDavid nods and fetches Jennifer from the next room. You haven\u2019t seen her in a while, but she still looks about the same, just a few extra gray hairs. You have to admit you\u2019re mildly glad to see her after dealing with the Xi day in day out. After a few pleasant greetings you both go back to your private chambers to speak.\n\n\u201cSo\u2026it\u2019s been a long time.\u201d You say.\n\u201cIt\u2019s been about ten years since we were in the same room together.\u201d Jennifer answers.\n\u201cHas it? Time really flies. As you probably know I\u2019ve been a little busy. Apologies for not keeping in better contact.\u201d\n\u201cNo, it\u2019s fine. Seriously, you\u2019re the Emperor and keeping us all safe from hostile forces is a full time job. I always knew better than to expect that you\u2019d be able to stay on constant contact.\u201d\n\u201cGlad you understand. So where\u2019s your family?\u201d\n\u201cThey are on the surface, my son really wanted to see the flying city, but his father\u2026well let\u2019s just say he wasn\u2019t fond of the idea.\u201d Jennifer says with a bit of hesitancy. It\u2019s apparent that not everything is well with her marriage, but you don\u2019t want to pry.\n\u201cI see\u2026well tell your son that the Emperor has said he can see it any time its convenient. It isn\u2019t like the place is off limits, just difficult to get to I suppose.\u201d\n\u201cIndeed. Tickets for an airship here are expensive and not many have that sort of money to throw around anymore. Anyway about why I\u2019m here, I\u2019ve been working on another book.\u201d\n\u201cAnother one? So what is this one about?\u201d\n\u201cAbout you actually. I need your input with it obviously considering you\u2019re the main subject.\u201d\n\u201cA book about me huh? Any reason why you wanted to write such a book?\u201d\n\u201cWhy wouldn\u2019t I? You\u2019re only one of the most important people in history. I mean there needs to be records of this for when\u2026I mean so people don\u2019t forget your deeds. I mean sometimes I have to argue with idiots at the museum who don\u2019t know how good you\u2019ve made things for them! At one time people used to view the Old Empire exhibit with wonder and questions. Now it seems all some of them want to do is criticize it and claim it\u2019s nothing more than a pile of falsehoods and lies! Some of these dissidents have even been claiming this flying city is just an example of how you believe you\u2019re so much better than they are!\u201d\n\u201cHmm, haven\u2019t heard about too much dissident activity for quiet some time, but then the Eyes are stretched pretty thin these days.\u201d\n\u201cWell some of these morons that enter the museum need to be rounded up! You\u2019re not better than them because of a flying city; you\u2019re better than them for a whole bunch of other reasons! Being a strong leader and making the tough decisions that in the long run are best for all of us! I intend for my book to reinforce the needed understanding of why the things you do are completely necessary. I\u2019ve already managed to interview some people that have seen your greatness in action like Captain Renly and Admiral Len. Their testimony and others will make great additions, but the words from your own lips will be what\u2019s most important!\u201d\n\nYou\u2019ve seen Jennifer get excited and fired up about things in the past, but you sort of figured such excitement would never be reserved for anything related to you ever again. You had thought that Jennifer had long since outgrown her \u201cworship\u201d of you when she got married and had a family, but either it never left and had been dormant or something has changed to cause it to revive such feelings again.\n\nAnd if you had to guess you imagine it might have something to do with her marriage.\n\n\u201cJennifer, while I\u2019ve always appreciated your support, I doubt if any book is going to change a lot of minds. You even said not many people have disposable income these days to buy luxury items. You can\u2019t let every loudmouth with an opinion get you so upset. I mean I\u2019m glad you told me, and I\u2019ll even get Crowley to have some Eyes look into matter and see if it\u2019s a potential larger problem, but I think you\u2019re really upset about something else.\u201d\n\u201cOf course I am! I\u2019m upset because I made the wrong choice! I followed some silly notion of wanting a normal life! I\u2019m married to a man who has successfully sickened me with his criticism of the government and you to the point where I cannot even stand his touch anymore! I should\u2019ve tried harder to serve you! I should\u2019ve stayed with you! By your side! That\u2019s where I belonged! I was a Mol and a Mol has always served their ruler loyally in whatever capacity they can!\u201d Jennifer exclaims\n\nYou have no words. Even if you the whole story you probably still wouldn\u2019t have the words. How can you condemn someone who obviously thinks so highly of you?\n\nIf you had more of an ego you\u2019d just take advantage of the situation and let Jennifer write her book and fill it with propaganda and have the book be distributed for free, but you can\u2019t help being a little grounded in reality even if it means shooting yourself in the foot.\n\nWhile you don\u2019t scold Jennifer for her slightly misguided loyalty, you do feel she has the right to know the whole truth so you start by telling the thing you never told anyone before.\n\n\u201cYou know, Jacob Mol was loyal to the Empire, but not to the Emperor. Well at least not towards the end.\u201d You say.\n\u201cWhat?\u201d Jennifer asks.\n\u201cHe personally killed the Emperor Casimir. Shot him in the back actually.\u201d\n\nJennifer is speechless.\n\n\u201cOh don\u2019t judge your ancestor too harshly, he was only helping me at the time since I was doing a miserable job of attempting to kill the Emperor. Me and the true late svelk ruler of Lenay, Semra. It was a group effort I suppose and to be fair, Casimir was planning to have me killed despite my lifetime of loyalty.\u201d\n\nJennifer continues to remain speechless.\n\n\u201cWhen we killed the Emperor, he unleashed a magic curse when he died which fucked up the rest of the land in various ways, regular folks know that event best as the Cataclysm.\u201d\n\nJennifer is finally about to speak, but you put up your hand to let her know one more thing.\n\n\u201cThe kicker of all this? A few years before Semra died she even told me the Xi were living undisturbed deep underground and it was only because of all the violent earthquakes that they turned their attention to the surface. ALL of what\u2019s going on right now is my fault. Hell, even the fact that the gnomes were also planning to bomb us into oblivion is my fault. I can tell you more about that gruesomeness though and you could even get Renly to confirm it since he was there when one of those red capped bastards confronted me about it. I\u2019m an usurper. A tyrant. A killer. And worse. And you know what? I\u2019m perfectly fine with that.\u201d\n\nYou move closer to Jennifer.\n\n\u201cNow then\u2026how do you THINK the citizens would REALLY feel about their strong leader if they knew the truth from my own lips?\u201d\n\nJennifer moves her own face closer to yours.\n\n\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter, because I\u2019m writing the damn thing how I want to.\u201d Jennifer remarks.\n\u201cSo true history doesn\u2019t matter to you despite being dedicated to it?\u201d\n\u201cHistory is written by those in power and the winners. Perhaps some of what you told me was a surprise, but do you think I didn\u2019t have my suspicions that you probably had something to do with the death of the old Emperor? Your continued vagueness of the topic even years later was a give away. I\u2019m not stupid. I know what you think of me. You probably believe me to be a mindless fanatic at worst or a misguided loyalist at best, but you couldn\u2019t be more wrong. I am a true patriot. My family always has been. You even said it yourself my ancestor Jacob was loyal to the Empire, but he obviously saw its ruler as lacking to its greatness. He saw that greatness in YOU, otherwise he wouldn\u2019t have helped you overthrow the Republic or even warn Quintus that you were going to kill him.\u201d\n\nJennifer grabs your hand.\n\n\u201cI still see that greatness in you. I always have. If I didn\u2019t, I wouldn\u2019t be here. Let me be by your side again. Like I should\u2019ve been. Don\u2019t send me back down to the surface. Let me stay and help.\u201d\n\nJennifer looks at you hopefully and preying upon that small part of you that actually does have feelings. It\u2019s just too bad; you don\u2019t feel the same strong feelings as she does for you.", "action_results": [{"action": "Let Jennifer stay", "result": "Again you think: How can you really punish such dedication? Casimir tried to kill you for similar loyalty and while you wouldn\u2019t kill Jennifer, sending her away would most certainly be the same thing to her.\n\nWhile you are lucky to have someone so dedicated and even though she explained herself somewhat, you don\u2019t really understand why. Then again, you never fully understood Semra\u2019s obsession for you either. Some motives only make sense to the mind that creates them.\n\n\u201cVery well. I will find a place for you, but what of your son? Surely you want your son don\u2019t you?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cYes! Yes of course I do. It\u2019s just if I left him he probably wouldn\u2019t care at this point, but he\u2019d make things difficult and probably try to stop me if I tried to take our son Marcus with me. Then there\u2019s Marcus to think about, I can\u2019t reasonably whisk him away from his father. He still loves him. So um, can you arrange for something to happen to my husband?\n\u201cWait\u2026you want me to kill him?\u201d You ask.\n\u201cWell\u2026I mean\u2026(Sigh) I dunno\u2026\u201d\n\u201cYou better make up your mind Jennifer, because once its done, its permanent you know.\u201d\n\u201cI know! I know! Alright\u2026\u201d Jennifer says and starts mumbling to herself and staring upward as if she\u2019s weighing all the pros and cons. After a few seconds, she gives you her answer.\n\n\u201cOkay, do it. Kill him.\u201d\n\u201cVery well. He must\u2019ve really pissed you off.\u201d\n\u201cIt\u2019s for the best in the long run. He poisons my son\u2019s mind with anti-Empire ideology at times. He\u2019s practically a dissident, he might as well die.\u201d Jennifer says with absolute certainty.\n\nThough you can tell in her eyes that while she\u2019s successfully convinced herself of that, there\u2019s still some tiny part of her that is sad her marriage has come to this.\n\nStrangely, you feel a little odd doing this too. You can\u2019t even begin to count how many deaths you\u2019ve inflicted or ordered and yet this one feels weird to you. You\u2019ve never even met the guy, but you\u2019re essentially you\u2019re going to be murdering him and \u201ctaking\u201d his wife and son. On the scale of things its a far cry from orchestrated genocide of an entire race, and granted you aren\u2019t struggling with it like before you decided to kill Casimir, but its just something that makes you feel a little off.\n\nYou have an Eye take care of the situation and to make it look like an accident for the boy\u2019s sake. It naturally all goes off fairly quickly and successfully. It\u2019s barely even noticed, after all what\u2019s one \u201caccidental\u201d death of an average citizen compared to the thousands dying on the front lines with the Xi every day?\n\nAfter a funeral (again, to keep up appearances for the boy) and a trip back to the surface, Jennifer returns to Apex with Marcus who is taking his father\u2019s death pretty well, though you imagine Jennifer has probably been trying to mold the boy to her liking.\n\nAs for your other promise to Jennifer, you aren\u2019t really sure how to proceed, mainly because you don\u2019t really have much for her to do. You already have your official advisors and generals and the like. To be honest Jennifer was probably serving you well enough as a propaganda outlet with her museum constantly promoting Empire values, history and such.\n\nSo you leave her to continue such work. She still owns the museum of course, but has someone else run it now. In the meantime she works on the thing that originally brought her back to you in the first place, her new book.\n\nOf course this involves several sessions of her asking you some questions and going over the book\u2019s content. And sure enough, you and Jennifer do experience a bit of rekindled closeness during such time.\n\nIt\u2019s not the same as it was, and you\u2019ll never feel as strongly for her as you did for Alison, but you\u2019ve learned to enjoy the moments again if only because the Xi problem dominates the most of your thoughts and blocking out the constant pain your body is in makes up the rest.\n\nIn a couple weeks you receive word from one of your scientists that in order to work on the disease to kill the Xi, experiments are going to have to be done on captured Xi. Naturally you agree that a few forces can be set-aside for capture missions and think nothing more of it.\n\nWhen you briefly mention this to Jennifer she has another perspective on the situation.\n\n\u201cExperiments on the Xi huh? Sure that\u2019s a good idea?\u201d Jennifer asks.\n\u201cWell I\u2019d rather that our armies just focused on killing them, but if capturing a few of them is going to lead to something that will eventually kill all of them, then I\u2019m all for it. Don\u2019t worry, every precaution is going to be in place for our scientists.\u201d\n\u201cThat\u2019s not what I mean. I mean are you sure they should just be experimenting on the Xi?\u201d\n\u201cWho else would they be experimenting on?\u201d\n\u201cWell, our own people for one. How do we know this germ or whatever is going to just affect the Xi? I\u2019ve had an opportunity to read copies of some of those notes that the gnomes left while I\u2019ve been up here in Apex and maybe your other people missed something, but I got the impression that the gnomes were planning to design something that wasn\u2019t going to just wipe out the Xi.\u201d\n\nIt\u2019s odd, but that had completely slipped your mind. You figured the gnomes were just going to bomb you out of existence or something similar. Makes sense that if they planned biological warfare on a grand scale for the Xi, they\u2019d do it to the Empire as well.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s good thinking\u2026so you believe we should what? Round up some folks for experimentation?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cWell it couldn\u2019t hurt. I mean we don\u2019t want to release something that\u2019s going to kill us all.\u201d Jennifer replies.\n\u201cOkay, well I\u2019ll let them know immediately to start emptying out the prisons for this project. Pretty sure there\u2019s more than enough for a good diverse mix of our population.\u201d\n\u201cYou think?\u201d\n\u201cWell mostly humans, but thanks to their violent personalities, there\u2019s more than enough kobold and orc criminals in the prison system.\u201d\n\u201cWhat about elves?\u201d\n\u201cDunno. They don\u2019t tend to last long in prison from what I\u2019ve heard. I guess we\u2019ll take our chances if we don\u2019t have a lot. I\u2019m sure it\u2019ll be fine.\u201d\n\nYou thank Jennifer who is very happy that you\u2019re pleased with her and begins discussing some parts of her book again.\n\nYear 564\n\nYou look over your balcony and stare at the grand view of the surface below. The Xi have been starting to establish great hills of earth where a central hive is located. This is a good thing since it makes targeting key locations a lot easier.\n\nSmall porcelain bombs of infection meant for the Xi are going to be dropped from Airships anywhere the Xi are greatly located. There are even kobold commandos that will be doing their best to deliver the disease more directly. (Turned out the little scalies were the most resistant to the disease in the first place)\n\nIt all rides on this plan and you certainly hope it will work.\n\nJennifer comes to see you and holds your hand. As gentle as she is you still feels a sharp ache going up your arm causing slight recoil of it.\n\n\u201cDamn it. I used to be so young and strong once. Now I\u2019m just this\u2026old bag of broken bones.\u201d You remark.\n\u201cYou\u2019re the Emperor.\u201d Jennifer says.\n\u201cWell for now anyway. Won\u2019t be long before that won\u2019t be the case. Just hope this plan works so I\u2019ll be remembered if only for a little while longer.\u201d\n\u201cOf course it will work.\u201d\n\nYou flash a smile at Jennifer who smiles back. In silence, the pair of you watches an airship in the distance drop its plague bombs onto a Xi hill before returning back inside.\n\nWeeks pass and you continue to receive steady reports of large numbers of dead Xi bodies being found and Xi attacks dropping off completely in places. The plague has worked.\n\nBetter yet, you\u2019re not getting reports of mass sickness from your own people. Well there have been reports of your elven citizens suddenly getting sick, but you can\u2019t save everyone.\n\nIt\u2019s still a long road ahead to rebuild the massive damage the Xi did, but this is a positive step in the right direction. Jennifer\u2019s book \u201cEternal Leader\u201d, which had been released shortly before the bug bombing suddenly sees an increase in popularity and sales.\n\nCelebrating good fortune all around, you officially make Jennifer your consort making her very happy. Which technically makes her son your heir. You don\u2019t have much time to teach him the ins and outs of rulership. In fact in your condition you can\u2019t even teach him the art of combat or magic, but Jennifer had him enrolled in a military school shortly after she made her home in Apex (You\u2019ve barely even seen the boy), so you\u2019re guessing he\u2019ll be okay in that department. After all, it isn\u2019t like the old days now. Combat is becoming an increasingly non-personal affair. How you\u2019ve defeated the Xi is proof of that.\n\nPlus Jennifer will probably do her best to guide him. She\u2019s already proven adept in the advisory role.\n\nYou don\u2019t know how long you have left in this world, but you think you\u2019ll be taking it easy for a while.\n\nAnd why the hell not? You\u2019re the Emperor.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Turn her away", "result": "While you might have some sympathy for Jennifer, honestly you don\u2019t see any benefit of her being by your side. Are you supposed to just kill her husband and marry her or something? If Jennifer is having marital problems or going through a mid life crisis of some sort she\u2019s going to have to work it out herself because you really haven\u2019t the time or the patience for any of this sort of drama, you\u2019ve got so much more on your mind right now. You don\u2019t have a place for her in your cabinet and you don\u2019t feel the same way that she feels about you and you\u2019re not going to pretend otherwise.\n\n\u201cJennifer, I appreciate your loyalty and your honesty. You will always be someone I have a certain fondness for, but you\u2019re already serving the Empire and me well enough with your museum. I have no place for you here. Go home. Go back to your family and work it out with your husband or divorce him, whatever you wish.\u201d\n\nJennifer is shocked by your response. She probably was so sure that you wouldn\u2019t turn her away due to your history together.\n\n\u201cYou\u2026you\u2019re turning me away?\u201d Jennifer asks.\n\u201cI\u2019m turning your proposal away. Look, we had our time together, but that time has passed and there is no point in going back to that. Nowadays, my mind is preoccupied with the Xi, my body is in constant pain, and to be honest I\u2019m probably not going to live too much longer. You still have a long life ahead of you, enjoy it while you can. Don\u2019t squander it with some delusional concept of loyalty and duty. I know you\u2019re probably surprised to hear someone like me say that, but I\u2019m speaking from personal experience. I spent a good chunk of my life serving a man and a system that ultimately cared nothing for me. Then I was locked in a fucking magical coffin for five centuries. Now towards the end of my life, I\u2019ve got all the freedom and choice in the world as Emperor, yet I can\u2019t really enjoy any of it because I\u2019m an ancient pile of broken bones. Can\u2019t even hold a sword for very long anymore, let alone practice with one.\u201d\n\u201cI could\u2026\u201d Jennifer starts to say, but you interrupt.\n\u201cNo. You CAN\u2019T help. Not with this. What I want isn\u2019t obtainable. I want my youth back. I want MY Empire back. I want my Alison back. You can\u2019t provide any of these. Everything I know is dead and has been for quite some time and the only thing keeping me going is my stubborn innate will to survive and to win. I can\u2019t let the Xi beat me, so I will see this through for as long as I can. But you can\u2019t help me with that either. So as I have said, go back Jennifer. Live your own life. You did it before I came into your life and you were doing it after we parted ways years ago. You can easily do it again. I know you\u2019re strong enough to do so.\u201d\n\nJennifer\u2019s eyes are watered up with tears, she\u2019s trying very hard not to cry, but she\u2019s failing. You touch her shoulder.\n\n\u201cEven Jacob knew when to stop serving his ruler.\u201d You say.\n\nJennifer wipes away her tears and sniffles a bit. It takes her a moment to compose herself, but eventually she does and gives you a serious look. You expect her to either start cussing you out or telling you that she understands. She surprises you again.\n\n\u201cI will go my Emperor. (sniffle) If you say I have no place here, then I shall redouble my efforts to prove myself.\u201d Jennifer says.\n\u201cJennifer, that\u2019s not what I meant\u2026\u201d\n\u201cNo, I understand. My place is at the museum and educating the ignorant masses and making them see the light of your greatness. I will continue to work on my book and I will distribute it throughout the Empire so that everyone will know of your hardships and the sacrifices you made and continue to make to keep us all safe.\u201d\n\nYou don\u2019t really have a response. You can see she isn\u2019t going to be swayed despite your best efforts to get through to her.\n\n\u201cThank you, my Emperor. I see what must be done now.\u201d Jennifer says, grabs your hand one last time and kisses it before leaving.\n\nAnd you are alone again.\n\nFor a while you ponder what Jennifer will do or what she has planned. You wonder if maybe you should\u2019ve just indulged the girl and allowed her to stay. Would it really have been an inconvenience? Maybe, maybe not, in any case it\u2019s done and after a short rest you return to the business of combating the Xi.\n\nA few weeks later you receive word from one of your scientists that in order to work on the disease to kill the Xi, experiments are going to have to be done on captured Xi. Naturally you agree that a few forces can be set-aside for capture missions and think nothing more of it.\n\nLife continues much as it always has for you.\n\nYear 563\n\nYou look over your balcony and stare at the grand view of the surface below. Complete and utter desolation of what remains of your Empire.\n\nYou had the plague released to kill the Xi a year ago and its affects are still being felt. Small porcelain bombs of infection meant for the Xi dropped from airships ended up doing their job well enough, but unfortunately your scientists failed to take extra precautions.\n\nThe plague mutated or evolved, or whatever it did, it spread and infected your people as well. It wasn\u2019t noticeable at first, but eventually hundreds followed by thousands of Empire citizens were sick and eventually dying. Rask, Quala, Nalin, nowhere was safe even a small case hit Apex. Your closest advisor David died of it just recently. Oddly you haven\u2019t got sick despite suffering from your increasing frailties of old age. Not even a symptom. Perhaps you have your Eternal roots to thank for such immunities.\n\nElves were hit the hardest by the disease whenever they caught it. There almost aren\u2019t even many left now. Even as resilient as orcs normally are, they\u2019ve been suffering from the plague as well. The only ones who seem to be doing okay are the kobolds of all beings. If the plague continues to be as effective as it has been, that\u2019s all your Empire will consist of.\n\nIf the plague wasn\u2019t enough, a lot of those that haven\u2019t fallen ill have decided to blame you personally for all this. You\u2019ve got mass riots all across the Empire, despite the Eyes valiantly attempting to maintain control of the situation. You\u2019re just glad Sightmaster Crowley didn\u2019t succumb to the plague (yet).\n\nAnd to top it all a small group of your citizens have taken it upon themselves to enact their own brand of vigilante justice on dissidents. This group is lead by Jennifer of all people. She finished her book called \u201cEternal Defender\u201d and distributed it for free throughout the Empire, well as much as it could be under the circumstances. It doesn\u2019t really matter though since the group actively goes around like religious missionaries preaching about your \u201cvirtues\u201d and even that the plague is evidence of how the unworthy are being culled from the true believers. From what you\u2019ve heard, the museum she once ran is now practically a temple and her husband is dead. (You have no idea how)\n\nYou do nothing to stop her delusions or her group. It wouldn\u2019t matter and on a practical level she\u2019s helping contain the chaos. That\u2019s all she ever wanted, to help. You can imagine that she\u2019s out there night and day preaching fanaticism in your name and hoping that it will somehow please you and invite her back to Apex and \u201cascend to the heavens.\u201d\n\nThat won\u2019t happen though. Nowadays you just want to live out the rest of your years in solitude. You did everything you could to resurrect the Empire, and just as you did over five centuries ago, you\u2019ve practically destroyed it again. Makes you wonder what the hell the point was.\n\nYou look forward to the day when you\u2019re free of this damn broken down old body and this world. You\u2019re tired of being Emperor. It hasn\u2019t been any fun, but then maybe it wasn\u2019t supposed to be. Maybe your \u201cquest\u201d to be Emperor was a lot more desirable than the actual goal. Which makes your decision to help assassinate Casimir an example of complete foolishness on your part. Perhaps it would\u2019ve been better for the Empire if you had just let Casimir kill you\u2026if that is indeed what he had in store for you. You\u2019ve allowed yourself believe that was the case and it probably was, but still\u2026there\u2019s that one part of you that has always wondered if Semra wasn\u2019t just lying and you fell for it.\n\nIf she was lying, then she got the last laugh on you.\n\n\u201cWait a minute\u2026no she didn\u2019t. She\u2019s fucking dead and I\u2019m still here. She got eaten by the damn Xi.\u201d You say to yourself then you think about that a little longer.\n\nYou think about how they must\u2019ve easily eviscerated her withered old helpless body. Probably dissolving her insides, sucking them up and then taking the bloody slop back to their Xi maggot babies to feed on via regurgitation. Leaving nothing more than a husk behind. Everything she was just gone, and in such an undignified manner and how she must\u2019ve suffered the entire time.\n\nThen you start to laugh.\n\nYou laugh for a long time\u2026", "action_results": []}]}, {"action": "Mysteries revealed (Notes on Telis and Gnome Plans)", "result": "After successfully bringing Telis under control and eliminating the gnomes still in the city and either driving off or destroying the nearby airships, several notes, books and journals are found and it\u2019s a veritable treasure trove of information solving more than a few mysteries and indeed confirming some of your own suspicions.\n\nTelis was mostly inhabited by humans (and perhaps a few elves) and it\u2019s technological bent was due to its proximity to Marik\u2019s old factory. Apparently during the initial days of the Cataclysm, many managed to take refuge in the place and the survivors in time founded Telis.\n\nOne of the journals is extremely old, nearly destroyed and barely legible, but you manage to make out that the writing is derro on the few pages it has left. And to your surprise its must be Marik\u2019s. There\u2019s no name, but the type of language used and some of the references signify that it could only be him.\n\nOne of the more\u2026 coherent entries catches your attention.\n\nEntry 101\n\nFuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! I do everything around here and those ignorant fucking surfacers appreciate nothing! I don\u2019t need this shit! I\u2019m a fucking shit king! I mean I\u2019m king of shit! I don\u2019t have to play third fiddle to some fucking eternal and his svelk bitch! I\u2019M the damn fucker! The KING OF THE FUCKERS!\n\nI need to remember to eat today.\n\nWho the fuck does he think he is telling me my creations are no match for him? Fuck him! Fuck him with a fucking horse dick! Dick! Dick! DICK! I know what I\u2019ll do! I\u2019ll slaughter them all! Drown \u2018em in their tanks! That\u2019ll teach them for failing me! And then I\u2019m leaving this shithole and then the Emperor will see his lack of vision for listening to his idiotic so called son! FUCK THAT SVELK FUCKER!\n\nPerhaps I should work on dirt golems. Why not? There are stone ones and iron ones. Why not dirt? There\u2019s a bunch of dirt! I could create a fuckload of them! And then I could be a FUCKING MASTER!\n\nMust remember to take this journal with me. This is good stuff.\n\nThe remaining pages contain a lot of drawings of schematics and similar things that you guess went through Marik\u2019s insane mind, but nothing more about the \u201ctank babies\u201d who you assume Marik had killed like he mentions he would.\n\nYou can only assume Marik himself must\u2019ve died during the initial chaos of the Cataclysm due to the fact that his journal was found by the survivors hiding out there. Probably killed during the violent earthquakes and shockwaves that caused cave-ins and tunnel collapses.\n\nGetting back to Telis, the place managed to maintain a better standing due to not falling into the dark ages so easily and by staying closely guarded. When the svelk founded Lenay, Telis became even more unwelcoming to strangers and effectively closed its doors too all.\n\nOr at least it did until the gnomes founded the Redcap Kingdom.\n\nDespite the gnome\u2019s new outlook on life they noticed that due to Telis being the only other closed society that embraced technology they secretly made contact with them. Telis was suspicious at first, but due to similarities, in time the rulers of the city became more open to the idea of trade and even visits.\n\nIt would be a grave mistake on their part. The population of Telis was indeed annihilated by the gnomes, though apparently it was an insidious process. Worthy of a svelk actually.\n\nThey slowly and gradually poisoned the water supply. Not to a degree that people were dying instantly either. Just to a point where apparently they couldn\u2019t reproduce anymore and in many cases a lowering of intelligence as well. Over the decades, eventually when the population was low enough, the gnomes offered \u201chelp\u201d and then proceeded to exterminate the rest in a more traditional fashion. From there, they worked on turning the entire city into a flying fortress. You wonder why they just didn\u2019t do this with one of their own cities, but if you had to guess, their own cities were under constant attack by the Xi (especially underground) making ongoing work problematic (Hence their hasty attempt to get this one up and running when the Xi started becoming more of a problem in Arat)\n\nFrom what you can tell this all started before you were even dug up. At least according to Flemto Zookwinkle\u2019s journal here. (What a silly name) You\u2019re guessing he\u2019s the one that confronted you and is now nothing more than a bloody red spot on the ground.\n\nYou\u2019ve found some other plans and scraps of info about what the gnomes were up to recently as well, but a lot of it is pretty technical and some of it looks biological. Specifically Xi. Maybe they were looking to poison the Xi somehow too.\n\nIn any event, you decide to let your inventors and doctors take a closer look at the mess and maybe they can figure out how to apply it.", "action_results": [null]}, {"action": "The Fall of Lenay and the Redcap Kingdom (Year 558)", "result": "Year 558\n\n\u201cNo sign of any survivors?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cWell scouts say that Lenay is crawling with Xi. If anyone has escaped, they\u2019d have to be incredibly lucky. There aren\u2019t any svelk suddenly running to our borders either which would be the closest safe haven. None of their elven slaves either.\u201d David remarks.\n\nAnd so Lenay has finally fallen. You knew as soon as that magic barrier went down; it would be the end for the city. Even Semra couldn\u2019t keep it up forever. And so ends the last living link to your past. The funny thing is, you didn\u2019t even know she was still alive until a few years ago.\n\nYou look at the mithril dagger she nearly killed you with when you were in your sixteenth year. At the time Semra mockingly gave it to you as some sort of twisted gift. Perhaps as a reminder of your failure to kill her. You kept it of course as a reminder of your failure as well, but also with every intension of killing her with it one day. Of course that personal goal was given up long ago and even if you did still harbor the motive for revenge, the Xi have deprived you of that. You\u2019re more disappointed that you didn\u2019t get to kill Eldolith, but you guess she got hers as well.\n\nAs you study the dagger and fondle it, you ask David if there has been an activity by the gnomes.\n\n\u201cWell, after we destroyed all their airships, I don\u2019t believe any of them managed to escape the Xi either. The Xi have finally completely overrun the Redcap Kingdom. If they aren\u2019t all dead already, then they soon will be. We are the last hope against the Xi my Emperor.\u201d\n\u201cHm.\u201d You acknowledge.\n\n\u201cLast hope\u201d isn\u2019t quite a term you\u2019ve been successful with. You were supposed to be a \u201clast hope\u201d for the Empire too, and you ended up destroying it. So much has turned out differently from what you expected.\n\nYou have another realization which is you just indirectly carried out the elimination of the gnomes due to your actions. Over five hundred years later, Casimir\u2019s wish has finally been fulfilled. Feels odd that you managed to serve him in this last capacity.\n\nCasimir and Semra; the closest thing to \u201cparents\u201d that you\u2019ve ever known and everything you are today is partly due to their influence in one way or another.\n\nSnapping out of your introspection, you address David more directly.\n\n\u201cBegin moving our reserve armies toward Arat. Regnik will be our main hub of operations in the area and we\u2019ll start sending out those new airships of ours to start bombing the Xi as soon as possible. Can\u2019t just rely on this oversized flying fortress to do all the work.\u201d You say.\n\u201cVery well, it shall be done.\u201d David replies and turns to leave.\n\n\u201cOh David, here take this.\u201d You say hold out the mithril dagger for him to take.\n\u201cWhat\u2019s this for?\u201d David asks taking the dagger.\n\n\u201cTo dispose of, I have no more need of it.\u201d You answer.", "action_results": [null]}]}, {"action": "Launch a fireball at the airship", "result": "Best way to get them to stop shooting at you is to return the favor with superior firepower literally.\n\nYou unleash a torrent of fireballs at the airship, which land all over the place. Some hit the gun shooting at you, which causes it to explode. In fact other your hits cause several explosions and then one large one creating a blast that knocks you down on the ground even from you were standing.\n\nThe airship is in flames and falling out of the sky, unfortunately since it was directly hovering over the city that means it\u2019s crashing into it. You scramble off your feet and hope to find some sort of cover and maybe at least get away from where the major impact is going to be.\n\nYou keep your barrier up to protect yourself from the falling debris, but Renly and the others have no chance at all especially when the airship begins hitting the larger buildings causing them to collapse and setting what looks to you like the whole sky ablaze.\n\nWhen the airship finally hits the city surface it is engulfed by fire and the impact strikes your barrier so hard that even you are pushed away by the force. Your entire body hits the ground and you lose concentration of your spell. Fire is all around you and you pass out.\n\nYou never wake up to experience Telis falling out the sky and causing an even greater explosion on the surface.", "action_results": []}]}]}]}]}]}, {"action": "Jennifer\u2019s visit (A friendly face for once)", "result": "\u201cI told you I don\u2019t want any visitors and I\u2019m not dealing with anything today, I\u2019m resting!\u201d you tell David as you wince from the aches all over your body.\n\u201cI know, but under the circumstances, I thought you might make an exception for this person. It\u2019s Jennifer Mol, my Emperor.\u201d\n\u201cReally? Well what does she want?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cI think she heard what happened and just wants to see you.\u201d\n\nDespite your pain, you suppose you can spare the time for Jennifer.\n\n\u201cAlright send her in.\u201d\n\nYou take a seat and mumble about the sharp pain in your back when Jennifer enters your room. She notices your discomfort immediately and walks briskly towards you.\n\n\u201cAre you okay?\u201d she asks.\n\u201cNot really, but there\u2019s nothing you can do. Don\u2019t worry about it. Good to see you.\u201d\n\u201cI had to come to see if you were as wounded as I had heard. I also heard that you had a great battle with a sea monster?\u201d\n\u201cWell, I did have a battle with a sea monster and I also managed to paralyze myself in the process, fortunately magic has its advantages.\u201d You say.\n\u201cParalyze?!\u201d\n\u201cYes, but as I said magic has its benefits. Look, its all been taken care of. I\u2019ll just have to put up with a few more aches and pains now, but I\u2019m alive and still functional and that\u2019s the important thing.\u201d\n\u201cI suppose so. I\u2019m guessing you succeeded against those fish people then?\u201d\n\u201cWell there haven\u2019t been any more sightings, so I certainly hope that\u2019s the case. I regret to inform you that Delerg no longer exists in any form though, its nothing but water now. I remember you once expressed a desire to explore the islands at one time.\u201d You say.\n\u201cOh yes, I did. I sort of gave up on that idea though when I realized it wasn\u2019t possible. Sometimes you just realize those sorts of things you know?\u201d\n\nJennifer says that like she\u2019s talking about something more than just Delerg. Like your former relationship.\n\n\u201cHeh, but then of course in your case I suppose everything is possible for you.\u201d Jennifer adds.\n\u201cNot getting severely injured seems to still elude me as well as getting old\u2026bah I don\u2019t want to dwell on this shit anymore. Tell me about what you\u2019ve been up to.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh! Well nothing important, I mean certainly nothing as exciting as protecting the Empire from external threats.\u201d Jennifer remarks.\n\u201cDoesn\u2019t matter. It\u2019s important to me, I\u2019m genuinely interested.\u201d You say.\n\nThis comment garners a smile from Jennifer who begins to tell you what has been going on in her life. The big thing she mentions is the book she\u2019s working on. She hasn\u2019t thought of a title for it yet, but it\u2019s going to be all about the old Empire or at least from what she\u2019s pieced together from what she\u2019s found and from what you\u2019ve told her.\n\nWhile she\u2019s explaining the process, you notice a male name keeps popping up when she discusses having another person helping her put it together. You can\u2019t help but wonder\u2026\n\n\u201cSo your partner, is this the one?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cOne?\u201d\n\u201cYour new boyfriend of course. I might not be an expert on these matters, but I do notice a bit of extra excitement when you speak his name and how much he\u2019s supported and helped in putting together the book.\u201d\n\nJennifer doesn\u2019t know how to react; you reassure her that she\u2019s done nothing wrong.\n\n\u201cJennifer, what we had ended amicably and years ago, I certainly didn\u2019t expect you to continue your life alone. I\u2019m certainly not uncomfortable or going to be angry about it.\u201d\n\u201cOkay.\u201d Jennifer says as if a weight has lifted off of her.\n\u201cSo anyone I know? Tell me about him.\u201d you ask.\n\nJennifer says, that he isn\u2019t anyone you would know. He\u2019s a historian that started working at the museum about a year ago, but that they got along almost immediately. She says that they are already talking about getting married and maybe starting a family. You are a little surprised by that news, but not displeased. You\u2019re glad she found someone that\u2019s probably a little more \u201cstable.\u201d\n\nStill, when she explains all this, you can sense almost an apologetic tone at times. Like she feels in some way that she\u2019s betrayed you even though logic dictates otherwise and you\u2019ve even said as much.\n\n\u201cWell that sounds very good, I\u2019m glad life is working out for you and you\u2019re doing well. And if you need more information for your book you\u2019re free to ask me at anytime\u2026well assuming I\u2019m not fighting any more sea monsters or whatever else the world decides to throw at me.\u201d\n\u201cHa ha, If I need more information I will certainly ask you. Well\u2026I guess I better leave you to your rest. I know you\u2019ve got an Empire to run and you need all your strength for that.\u201d\n\nJennifer starts to leave, but turns around.\n\n\u201cI just want to say I will always be a loyal citizen to you and the Empire. I have always believed in you and appreciate how you ascended this nation to greatness. Maybe people tell you these things all the time, but I want to reinforce the fact that I respect and appreciate the sacrifices you make to protect us all.\u201d\n\nYou certainly weren\u2019t expecting all that.\n\n\u201cWell I thank you very much Jennifer. I never doubted your loyalty for a second, you didn\u2019t need to tell me.\u201d You reply.\n\nJennifer smiles again, but her eyes look slightly watery like she\u2019s going to cry.\n\n\u201cI\u2026know. I just wanted to say it to you.\u201d She remarks and then nods silently and walks out of your room, leaving you alone.\n\nYou get out of the chair you were sitting in slowly and make your way to the bed ignoring all the pains the whole time. When you finally get horizontal you actually feel a little relief.\n\n\u201cAh\u2026better.\u201d You say as the pain in your back lessens. \u201cShe\u2019ll get over those lingering feelings eventually. Everything fades in time.\u201d\n\nYou say that, knowing that isn\u2019t necessarily true when you begin thinking about Alison as you drift off to sleep.", "action_results": [null]}]}]}, {"action": "Lead from the back", "result": "While you may still have many years ahead of you, the days of your prime are starting to fade. Perhaps you need to start accepting the fact that your days of charging first into battle are gone and probably should be. Your mind is more important for running the Empire than your sword arm or even your battle magic at this point.\n\nThere\u2019s also the fact that it\u2019s true, you don\u2019t relish the idea of being on a boat. You decide to that you\u2019re going to sit this one out.\n\nA week goes by and business in the Empire continues as usual, but you hear nothing from the large fleet that you sent out. One of the faster messenger ships should\u2019ve at least come back to give a report by now.\n\nAnother week goes by and you know something is terribly wrong. There has been no word back from your fleet. Naturally the families of the soldiers and sailors that left on this mission are very upset. True, that their lives are always in potential danger, but everyone labored under the impression that it would be a quick mix up with the Island League and then heading back home. Even if there were losses it would be acceptable, but as it stands nobody knows exactly what happened. They\u2019re just gone, all of them.\n\nLike the waters just swallowed them all up, and for all anyone knows, maybe it has.\n\nSuch mystery is frightening especially when you\u2019re getting more sightings of fish people now off the coasts of Nalin. These fish people have also started outright attacking orcish settlements near the shores in Quala. It\u2019ll only be a matter of time before they start attacking Nalin as well.\n\nDoesn\u2019t take long before you\u2019ve not only got on going raids from the coast, but also rabble rousing from the orcs. Warlord Sprog has been actively condemning you for failing to eliminate this threat like you were supposed to and begins claiming that the orcs have been taking the brunt of the attacks. He also openly says to any and all who will listen that they would be better off on their own. Naturally when you hear about this treason talk you have several Eyes sent to go bring him in.\n\nHe succeeds in slaying five of them before escaping into the Arat wilderness with several followers. With your inability to fend off the fish people properly, the loss of your entire fleet, a panicked population and now an orc rebellion in the making, you know you have dark days ahead.\n\nYear 552\n\nBeing a tyrant is one thing, but being one who can\u2019t protect his territory and is inefficient is even worse so when the troubles started piling up, you decided you couldn\u2019t afford to just sit back and command anymore. You had to take direct action and lead from the front like you did before.\n\nGetting the population back in line took a bit of doing from the Eyes, but it was done.\n\nThe orcs were a bigger problem and a costly one. Warlord Sprog continued to incite your orc population to the point where Quala and parts of Rask were hostile territory. It about a year before you personally slew Sprog in combat. The damage was done however, they razed several towns, even Regnik in Arat was destroyed. Though you suspect that Eldolith might\u2019ve had something to do with that. Probably secretly funding or helping Sprog somehow or got spies into the city to lower the gates.\n\nYou also had no more orc population to use as soldiers anymore and those that lived took to the wilderness and continue to be a nuisance. It was a waste of resources and manpower that quite frankly you couldn\u2019t afford to lose.\n\nDuring the whole time this was happening you couldn\u2019t really effectively combat the fish people threat who continued to raid the coasts and in much greater force. Some have been so bold to even create camps along the shores of Quala. Most of Nalin\u2019s port towns were still fairly well defended in the beginning, but then the sea beast arrived and completely destroyed most of them. The leviathan has two heads and countless tentacles. You believe it is the \u201cgod\u201d of the fish people, or at least leading them.\n\nUnfortunately the beast never stays near the coast and retreats back to the deeper water when it\u2019s done rampaging. There\u2019s nothing for it except to go out there and kill it.\n\nYou have another fleet built in the southern most port town in Nalin since the fish people haven\u2019t attacked that far yet. Building the fleet take awhile though due to the decreased labor force and having to practically restart from scratch again. The whole time you\u2019re building the fleet you\u2019re anticipating an attack from the fish people, you half expect the usksha to attack you with claims that you\u2019re planning to invade them. Thankfully that doesn\u2019t happen.\n\nWhen it\u2019s all said and done, you\u2019ve got a new fleet, though much smaller than before, but you can\u2019t afford to wait too much longer. The quick you kill the monster the better. You have to win back your considerable losses. You\u2019ve been made to look foolish and sometimes weak these past couple of years. Time to put an end to that once and for all.\n\nAnd after you kill this thing, your next order of business will be to invade Arat.\n\nNo more than a day has passed and your fleet is already attacked by fish people. They were never the best fighters, but they aren\u2019t worst either and being on their territory as well as being outnumbered certainly gives them an advantage as some don\u2019t even bother to scale your ships and just bore holes in the ships with whatever tools they\u2019re using for such a task. You\u2019ve lost half of your fleet by the time the sea monster makes its presence known and now having seen it first hand with your own eyes, you feel incredibly small in comparison. Stories about how it \u201cblotted out the sun\u201d weren\u2019t exaggerations. It is just that huge and you\u2019re surrounded by water with no where to run.\n\nYou try to cast a lightning storm, but the ship is being so overrun with the aquatic invaders that you can\u2019t possibly concentrate on such a spell. Your crew fights bravely, but they\u2019re just so outnumbered that they can\u2019t defeat the numbers or keep from completely panicking that they\u2019re going to die on the water this day.\n\nA large tentacle smashes the deck of the ship and also succeeds in smashing three of your increasingly dwindling crew. You run your sword through another fishman and dodge the other tentacle coming from the other side.\n\nEven if you do survive this, you\u2019re not sure if you\u2019ll even be able to get back to land within a reasonable amount of time. You\u2019ve lost every ship and your own is now in danger of becoming driftwood if it takes any more punishment, which it most certainly will.\n\nYou blast a group of the fishmen with lightning which gives you a breather, but only so you\u2019re just in time to see another tentacle come sweeping towards you. Unfortunately you don\u2019t quite get out of the way in time and the hefty blow shatters your legs. This also has enough force to knock you off the boat and into the water.\n\nYou struggle a bit in the water desperately trying to keep above it, but soon the claws of several fish men grab at your broken legs and torso. Your struggling is put to a complete end when one of them rises up out the water to sink his teeth into your throat.", "action_results": []}]}]}, {"action": "Make Regnik a vassal and retake Delerg", "result": "While not a true threat in the scheme of things, the Island League of Delerg is still a hostile \u201cpower\u201d on your borders. If you have to go to war with the Arat Confederacy in the near future, you don\u2019t want to be worrying about getting possibly attacked from another side. Rask can wait for now.\n\nAs for Daniel and Eldolith you\u2019ll indulge both of their requests for now. You tell Daniel that he can consider his city now under the protection of the Empire and that any foreign invasion attempts in any form with be met with force.\n\n\u201cWhy are you looking at me when you say that?\u201d Eldolith asks.\n\u201cBecause I know your kind and Daniel\u2019s already mentioned you have your influence in two other cities. Now you can have your little territory for now, but make no mistake, you\u2019re going to be watched from here on in and if I sense ANYTHING that could be a potential danger to the Empire you\u2019re going to wish that you never managed to unite the svelk to begin with.\u201d\n\u201cWe\u2019ll do as we please and nobody is going to stop us!\u201d\n\u201cOkay then, as you said just send an invasion force in my direction and see if I\u2019m not being serious.\u201d\n\nAt this point Eldolith just rolls her eyes, but shuts up. Obviously she knows anymore antagonism might result in war which its apparent now that she doesn\u2019t truly want if she can help it.\n\nDaniel profusely thanks you for heeding his request and will make sure to accommodate your people in anyway he can. You almost shake your head at the man\u2019s naivety if he actually believes his city is going to remain autonomous in the way he believes it will. He\u2019s going to allow your military there, it won\u2019t be long before you\u2019ve got complete control and any \u201cindependence\u201d the city thinks it has is only because you\u2019re allowing it. Of course maybe he knows what is probably going to happen and he\u2019s just trying to convince himself otherwise.\n\nIn any event you\u2019re glad when the svelk leave (everyone is no doubt), it was a reminder of less happy times in your life.\n\nYou tell everyone that your next move is taking the islands of Delerg which means you have to rebuild the navy. Crowley is a little disappointed that you aren\u2019t retaking Rask, but he understands your desire to eliminate the Island League first.\n\nSince building the fleet and having more sailors trained is going to take awhile, you spend the next few months trying to gather more intelligence on the League since your information on them has been spotty at best. Nalin sailors as a general rule have avoided the islands for obvious reasons, but there\u2019s always illegal smuggling so you get some of the information from the prisons.\n\nMost of the information you get is fairly basic though perhaps more than you had. You find out that the League in general has started to become more introverted over the years, which might also explain why you don\u2019t have much conflict with them anymore.\n\nTheir capital Barnacle is on the largest island and still more or less a pirate haven, but the other islands have no major settlements and those that do tend to just be small groups of people not wanting to share anything with the ruler who lives in Barnacle.\n\nWhen the time comes you have what you hope to be a sizable fleet assembled. You doubt if your ships are going to be more maneuverable, but you\u2019re hoping that their size and firepower will be enough to out power any resistance you may have. You also decide to accompany the fleet. Part of you has always been a little uneasy about being on the water, but you figure this would be the perfect time to get over that possible phobia.\n\nWithin a few days you\u2019re in Delerg waters, but you encounter no other ships. You pass by a few small islands, but you decide to make your way to where Barnacle is located. You figure if that\u2019s the largest settlement, you need to take that one first and possible launch more attacks from that point.\n\nWhen you sail further towards your destination, you at last encounter a flotilla of ships surrounding a large island. You have an order issued to all of your ships to prepare for battle, but as you get closer a single smaller sailboat with a raised white flag approaches your fleet.\n\nThe crew of the sailboat is taken aboard your own ship when it is confirmed that the boat isn\u2019t containing a bomb or some other trick. The sailboat crew only consists of two people and neither one is armed. They are disheveled and unkempt looking, but apparently one of them is the ruler of Barnacle.\n\n\u201cUm\u2026hello great Emperor of the\u2026uh Empire. My name is Jon, mayor of Barnacle and this is my first mate Corino.\u201d Jon remarks.\n\u201cI\u2019m surprised you were brave enough to parley, or perhaps just foolish. You may speak your mind, but know that we aren\u2019t not leaving until these islands are under my rule.\u201d You say.\n\u201cYes, I already assumed such a thing. That\u2019s why I\u2019m graciously opening up his town to you without conflict.\u201d\n\nYou weren\u2019t expecting much of a fight, but you weren\u2019t expecting this.\n\n\u201cTruly? You\u2019re surrendering?\u201d\n\u201cWell, I\u2019d prefer to think of it as negotiating a better deal, but if you prefer to think of it as a surrender, then we are in no position to argue. I know that in the long run he will not be able to defeat you. Even if we fought today and won, you would only come with more ships later. We only have limited resources, while you have much much more.\u201d\n\u201cSo\u2026that\u2019s it? The Island League is officially capitulating to the Empire?\u201d\n\nJon laughs a bit at your question.\n\n\u201cWell, let\u2019s just say that I\u2019m capitulating. I\u2019m not sure if the Island League as a whole is, and that\u2019s assuming you even considering a semi-cohesive unit nowadays. Barnacle is yours, and whatever that entails. I just hope that I can continue on as mayor. I believe my experience can\u2026\u201d\n\u201cYeah, yeah, you\u2019re looking to save your own ass. Got it.\u201d You interrupt. \u201cWe\u2019ll see, but what\u2019s all this about the rest of the Island League?\u201d\n\nJon goes on to tell you that much like the Arat Confederacy, the Island League is not a single entity, but rather an alliance of several groups. Barnacle just happens to be the biggest and most powerful. Jon says that despite the size of the other groups, they may not wish to join and will have to be eliminated completely. He also states that some of the groups have disappeared completely, he says he doesn\u2019t even know what happened to them.\n\n\u201cPerhaps the environment just swallowed them up. Strange things have been found on the less explored islands after all.\u201d Jon says.\n\u201cHmm, well I suppose if you want to keep your current job, you\u2019ll be providing me of good maps of what you have.\u201d\n\u201cOf course. Anything you need! So, shall you be coming to Barnacle now to claim it?\u201d\n\u201cWell it is one of the goals of this journey.\u201d You reply.\n\nWhen you get to Barnacle, the place is fairly well kept despite being a haven for disreputable criminals. The funny thing is, you don\u2019t really get a sense of resentment as you pass through with platoons of soldiers. It\u2019s early yet though. Jon himself is very accommodating, providing you and your people whatever they want or need. You don\u2019t know though if this is because he really wants to please you so he can keep his job, or he\u2019s planning on tricking you some how. While deceit is always a possibility you sense it\u2019s almost more like\u2026relief? Maybe he was having problems with the rest of the Island League leaders and now with you here he sees it as a way for him to eliminate them while still keeping his position.\n\nIn any case you tell everyone to keep alert and be prepared as usual.\n\nAfter a few days, you think you\u2019ve seen everything you need to and gotten all the information you need from Jon and Barnacle in general. After a bit of thinking about it, you decide that you\u2019ll just go to all the inhabited locations that Jon has provided for you and either wipe out the groups or incorporate them into the Empire if they prove to be cooperative. Rather simple plan really.\n\nYou decide that Jon can go ahead and stay mayor of Barnacle, but you\u2019ll be keeping troops here of course as well as your own ships. Now you\u2019re just wondering if you need to stick around for this rather mundane search and destroy mission, or go back to the Empire.", "action_results": [{"action": "Stay in Barnacle", "result": "Considering that you\u2019re not really going to launch any other major operation until these islands have been tamed, you might as well oversee the process.\n\nJon warns you that you\u2019ll probably be doing more fighting than diplomacy. He mentions that some of the other groups living on the islands have become very odd and more isolated, some of them to the point where they attack anyone on sight.\n\nIn the next few days you see what Jon was talking about when you come in contact with your first group of islanders. They don\u2019t even speak other than war cries and in some cases complete gibberish. Other groups, while not as wild they\u2019re still just as hostile and need to be eliminated. It\u2019s a fairly time consuming process sometimes due to their intimate knowledge of their own islands, but it doesn\u2019t matter in the end, because well where are they going to run?\n\nThere is the rare occasion you\u2019re met by hostile ships, but these are much rarer. Jon apparently had the biggest fleet in the League so you easily outnumber and out power any such encounters.\n\nWhile you\u2019ve got more than enough ships and troops to split up and search the numerous islands, it still takes months. You do start getting friendlier islander encounters however. Jon figures what you\u2019ve been doing to everyone else is beginning to get around and people are finally waking up to the idea that you mean business and aren\u2019t going away. Seems like a likely conclusion.\n\nJon tells you that your search and destroy missions should probably be coming to an end soon as he\u2019s dug around his office and found some of the older maps that haven\u2019t been used in a long time.\n\n\u201cNot sure if it\u2019s necessary, but I know the Empire likes to be thorough. There\u2019s an island cluster far out to the northwest that you probably haven\u2019t searched yet.\u201d Jon says handing you a dusty old map.\n\u201cWhat, are these like so called lost islands or something?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cHeh, not really lost so much as not visited too much anymore. They used to be used more when piracy was more lucrative, but as time went on, they got used a lot less. Also they\u2019ve actually drifted further out to open sea as well so those maps are more of a guide than a precise location. Just another reason why they became less visited or used. Still, who know who might be living out there.\u201d\n\nWith this in mind you set off on what will hopefully be the last mission on these islands. You\u2019ve had enough of ships and water for a long time.\n\nThe journey to the island cluster takes about a week, but the maps weren\u2019t too inaccurate. Jon was right though they have drifted from what the locations were on the charts. You wonder what caused such a thing to these, but not the other islands. Then again you\u2019re not an expert on geology or the ways of the sea, you\u2019re just here to claim the damn islands and be done with it.\n\nThere are no signs of ships, so these islands probably are empty, but you don\u2019t need any possible surprises later. As usual you have some of your fleet split up to have their crews search the other islands.\n\nWhen you land on the island that you\u2019ve chosen to search you find that the island\u2019s ground is fairly soft and water seems to seep through it every step you take. You wonder if this place is in the beginning stages of sinking completely.\n\nThe island shows no signs of any life, though upon a bit more exploration, you do come across something you thought was lost to time long ago.\n\nA ruined structure lies half above the ground, half submerged under water. Its worn and crumbling from age, water and other elements, but it\u2019s the old shadow temple. You\u2019re actually surprised to find it, considering it was leveled when the shadows were eliminated back during the old Empire days.\n\nNot exactly the most pleasant of memories for you considering they were your enemy and your experience with Cyrus, but you get the impression Jennifer would love to dig around this place for the history value.\n\nJust as you\u2019re about to call it quits, you hear a loud explosion coming from the direction of where your ship was. You and the rest of your soldiers waste no time in running back it.\n\nWhen you arrive you see it on flames and slowly sinking into the sea. You also see some of the crew that stayed aboard dead on the ground nearby, but more disturbing, is that you see some of the same crew cheering at the fact the ship on fire and sinking. You don\u2019t know what exactly the hell is going on here, but you know this is a very bad situation.\n\nThe first thing you do is order the soldiers with you to open fire on the traitors. After that\u2019s done you try to keep morale up.\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t worry, we\u2019re not going to be stranded here. We\u2019ve got a whole fleet out there and I\u2019m sure several of our ships saw that explosion.\u201d You say.\n\nNaturally no sooner do you calm everyone\u2019s immediate fears when new ones crop up\u2026 all around you.\n\nSeveral humanoid creatures begin popping up from the water. They have fishlike qualities and weld weapons made out of coral or bone. It\u2019s obvious what their intent is as they advance on your position.\n\nYou order your troops to form a defensive circle. You lob a couple of fireballs at the fish people group in an effort to thin out their ranks.\n\nMore of them emerge from the water and you realize out severely outnumbered you are. Your soldiers only have so many bullets and eventually they manage to start closing the ranks. You focus on casting an area effect spell in the hopes of eliminating more of them.\n\nYou rain fire and ice down on the island and kill multitudes of the fish people, but it\u2019s at a terrible cost. Most of your troops are wiped out as well. Those that aren\u2019t are severely wounded and yet, you STILL haven\u2019t stopped the fishman horde.\n\n\u201cWhat the fuck, it\u2019s like they knew I was\u2026\u201d you don\u2019t even complete that sentence as you mumble it to yourself.\n\nYou suddenly come to the realization that this whole thing, from Barnacle to this island has been one big trap. There\u2019s an island league all right, but the only thing the humans around here are in league with are these aquatic monsters. The worst thing is somehow they got to some of your people and turned them against you.\n\nProbably managed to do it when groups split up and then came back to report that they didn\u2019t encounter any hostiles, only \u201cfriendly islanders.\u201d Who knows how many they managed to brainwash or mind control, or well you don\u2019t know exactly how they got to your people, but it hardly matters right now.\n\nYou spend the better part of the day personally slaying fish monsters. Eventually the rest retreat, but that doesn\u2019t stop the fact that you\u2019re stranded on here. You wait another couple days for the hope of rescue from one of your other ships, but you get none. Instead you see and hear several explosions in the distance, probably from battle or sabotage no doubt.\n\nYou attempt to build a raft, but the wood on this island is scarce and in any case, you don\u2019t have time to finish it as another horde of fishmen come back to attack you again. You manage to fend them off, but they actively destroy what bit of raft you did create.\n\nThey continue this cycle every few days and you\u2019re successful in driving them back despite the odds. You manage to survive on fish person meat to survive, but the problem is a lack of fresh water (And as for fishman blood, well you might as well be drinking sea water). You just can\u2019t keep up your strength to survive the ongoing assault and again, there is no rescue in sight.\n\nEventually after a week of holding out, you eventually succumb to a combination of dehydration and the fishman attacks. Soon after your bloody death, your body is mostly consumed and some of your bones used to make new weapons.", "action_results": []}, {"action": "Return to the Empire", "result": "Seeing as you\u2019ve taken care of the major problem here, you don\u2019t see any need to stick around for the mundane search destroy missions that will undoubtedly take months. You could be focusing on more important things.\n\nSo you return to the Empire giving Jon a warning that while you\u2019ve graciously allowed him to keep his position, any signs of possible betrayal or anything similar will be met with a complete cleansing of Barnacle and his painful drawn out demise.\n\nWhen you get back to the Empire, you make the announcement that the Delerg Islands are now currently being incorporated into the Empire and what remains of the so called Island League is being hunted down as you speak. Sightmaster Crowley seems to be happier than anyone as he suggests once again that retaking Rask should be the next priority.\n\nYou tell Crowley that the retaking of Rask will definitely be next on the agenda, but you know it\u2019s going to take a lot more manpower than Delerg. You\u2019d rather wait until you\u2019ve completely tamed those islands first before launching another major operation. Still you can make the preparations in the meantime.\n\nAs the months pass you get a few reports about how things are going in Delerg and so far there have been no major troubles. While there have been a few skirmishes, for the most part your soldiers have found most Delerg inhabitants to willingly surrender to Empire law.\n\nIt is also around this time that you get a letter from Jennifer. She asks you about your recent visit to the Delerg islands and if it might be safe to launch an expedition to the islands. You write back and tell her that its probably \u201csafer\u201d but considering there are still hostile League members and who knows what sort of dangerous wild life on those islands you tell her that she probably shouldn\u2019t go. However, you follow up with if she does insist on going like you know she probably will, then to at least stop at Barnacle first and to take your seal that you\u2019re sending with the letter you\u2019re writing to the nearest officer or even the mayor and she\u2019ll have an armed escort to protect the expedition.\n\nAnd just as you suspected, Jennifer goes off on her expedition. She never was one to play it too safe, but you\u2019re pretty sure she\u2019ll be fine.\n\nYear 547\n\n\u201cTrouble, my Emperor?\u201d Crowley asks.\n\u201c(Sigh) It looks like. David just sent a message saying that there\u2019s some weird religion that\u2019s been cropping up in Nalin. He says there hasn\u2019t been any real trouble yet, but he felt I should know due to my stance on organized religion. Ugh, I\u2019m going to have to return to the Empire and straighten all this shit out. You know when we brought most of the Eyes with us here to Rask so we could effectively fight the wendigo, I was concerned about perhaps an increase in crime or possibly even a bit of rabble rousing in Nalin. Not this shit. We\u2019re finally making good progress and I don\u2019t need religious fanatics to possibly fuck up my plans.\u201d\n\nYou explain to Crowley that you\u2019ll be leaving him in charge of all operations in Rask. Seeing as he\u2019s very familiar with the territory already you have confidence that he\u2019ll be fine here. Of course he\u2019s been slightly revenge driven on the wendigo when you found out Everwatch was overrun and destroyed by them.\n\nWhen you arrive at your palace in Dalt, you\u2019re anxious to get down to this new religion business. David greets you immediately and states that Jennifer is also here and wanting to see you.\n\n\u201cJennifer? I thought she was still digging up shit in Delerg and trying find lost islands. She\u2019s finally back?\u201d you say.\n\u201cYes, I just sent her into your private chambers. I thought due to your history, you wouldn\u2019t mind seeing her.\u201d\n\u201cNormally I wouldn\u2019t mind, but I\u2019d like to get down to this new religion you mentioned in your message. Can\u2019t afford to waste any time with it.\u201d\n\u201cApologies, Emperor.\u201d\n\u201c(Sigh) Very well, she\u2019s already here, I might as well see her\u2026what the hell is that on your arm?\u201d you ask David, pointing at the skin on left forearm. It\u2019s almost scaly looking.\n\nHe reacts rather sheepishly and tries to pull his sleeve back down.\n\n\u201cOh that. Just a bad skin rash. I need to make a quick trip to the apothecary.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019ll say, its pretty nasty looking.\u201d You remark and head on to see Jennifer.\n\nWhen you arrive to see Jennifer, she\u2019s fiddling with a box of some sort. She closes it up when you walk in.\n\n\u201cHey if it isn\u2019t the conquering Emperor of Rask! How is everything going up there?\u201d Jennifer asks.\n\u201cBetter than expected I suppose, what\u2019s that box?\u201d\n\u201cOh this? Just something I found while digging around Delerg. Y\u2019know you really should\u2019ve stuck around that place longer. It has a lot of fascinating historical things relating to the old Empire.\u201d\n\u201cHmm, well I\u2019m more concerned with the new one myself, but I trust you haven\u2019t had any problems during your time there.\u201d\n\u201cNo, none at all. My expedition there went very well.\u201d\n\u201cGood, good. Look Jennifer, I\u2019d like to play catch up and all that with you, but you\u2019ve caught me at a bad time right now. David has told me there\u2019s a new religion starting to take root in Nalin, and I want to stomp that out, before it becomes a problem.\u201d\n\u201cYou mean like the shadows caused for the old Empire?\u201d\n\u201cExactly like that.\u201d\n\u201cYou know one of our discoveries was an old shadow temple located on one of more remote islands. Most of it was underwater, but it was still very interesting.\u201d Jennifer says.\n\u201cHrm. They did have their original temple located in Delerg. Surprised its still around, we had it demolished even back when we finished off their seditious religion for good.\u201d\n\u201cI think the problem with the shadows is that they waited too long to strike.\u201d\n\u201cWhat?!\u201d you exclaim.\n\u201cOh don\u2019t get me wrong, I\u2019m glad the Empire defeated them. Its just that from what you\u2019ve told me about the shadows and from what I\u2019ve learned from my findings, its that the shadows waited too long to strike out against a powerful enemy.\u201d\n\nYou\u2019re about to ask Jennifer what the hell is she getting at, when all of a sudden the doors to your private chambers are kicked open and four soldiers fire at you. You\u2019re taken completely by surprise and most of their shots hit you. You fall to the floor wheezing and in pain, but you muster up enough strength to cast a fireball at your assailants who are all set ablaze due to their proximity to each other.\n\nWhile they scream and flail about in the hallway trying to put the flames out, you realize you need to heal yourself immediately before you succumb to your mortal wounds. You being to concentrate, but are suddenly kicked in the side of the head and shot again, this time in the neck. You still aren\u2019t dead yet, but you most certainly will be soon.\n\nYou stare up from the floor at Jennifer who holds a smoking pistol in her hand. Probably what she had in the box she was messing with earlier.\n\n\u201cI wish things could\u2019ve been different, but I knew you would\u2019ve never accepted the glory that is to come when Hukleev rises from his underwater kingdom and submerges the Empire, transforming all into his subjects.\u201d\n\nYou can\u2019t even reply or react to Jennifer\u2019s words let alone her treachery. You just bleed out and start to lose consciousness. The last thing you see is Jennifer moving in closer to you where upon she gives you one last kiss, which tastes faintly of brine.", "action_results": []}]}]}]}, {"action": "Voices of the past (Writings of Vision Lord Warrick)", "result": "While you\u2019re trying to make up your decision on whether or not to stay here or not, you end up walking around fort and bumping into Kells again. He holds a small old worn book in his hand and holds it out to you.\n\n\u201cWhat\u2019s this?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cThis is the journal of the first Vision Lord Warrick and your fellow Eternal.\u201d Kells says.\n\nYou have a sudden feeling that you\u2019ve done this before\u2026\n\nYou take the book and it would seem that at least the Eyes took better care of Warrick\u2019s private journal than the numerous collectors (including Quintus) did with Brenda\u2019s since the pages aren\u2019t falling out.\n\n\u201cNormally only the Vision Lord is allowed to read through it, but under the circumstances, I believe you have just as much right seeing as you knew the man. You\u2019re probably thinking that I\u2019m trying to influence you with nostalgia and you\u2019d be right, but I think if you read through the book, you\u2019d see how the Eyes have kept the spirit of the Empire alive and that ultimately you belong here with us. I\u2019ll leave you to your decision.\u201d Kells remarks and leaves you alone.\n\nSeeing as you could take your mind off of your current dilemma you figure you might as well scan through the journal. You don\u2019t quite have the feeling of \u201csnooping\u201d through Warrick\u2019s privacy like you did with Brenda. Perhaps because you\u2019ve gotten used to the fact that they\u2019ve been dead for centuries and they aren\u2019t going to care what you do.\n\nWhile Warrick\u2019s journal is in much better condition than Brenda\u2019s, it still displays a lot of wear and tear probably from too much handling. Honestly if these people really honored their predecessors so much you\u2019d think they\u2019d take better care of these things!\n\nApparently Warrick was \u201clucky\u201d enough to be near the Rask border when the cataclysm hit. He mentions that he barely survived the magic acid storms that engulfed the northern part of Quala. Rask wasn\u2019t doing too much better, but at least severe ice storms were better than acid falling out of the sky.\n\nHe goes on to mention that during the cataclysm the magic barrier that contained the wendigo was destroyed and the evil spirits ran amok throughout Rask. Entire towns were cannibalizing each other before Warrick could scrap together what remained of the military and the Eyes. He mentions being fortunate that several Empire mages escaped to Rask and they were able to combat the wendigo menace.\n\nStill, it was never enough, even driving the hungry spirits away was only a temporary solution, there were only a few mages to outright banish them and that always took a lot of energy. And wendigos weren\u2019t the only threat. Ogres and giants also took advantage of the chaos.\n\nStill Warrick wasn\u2019t going to be deterred in his mission to hold together Rask since for all he knew it was all that remained of the Empire. Quala was still too dangerous to travel through and he had heard no news.\n\nOne passage gets your attention.\n\nEntry 34\n\nAnother wendigo attack and lost another good soldier today. Still the fact that I only lost one makes it a good day. The fact that the mages actually managed to banish the bastard makes it even better.\n\nI have still heard no news from any higher command. I was hoping that my Eternal brother who serves by the Emperor\u2019s side would have contacted me by now, but sadly I fear that he along with the Emperor may not have survived this terrible disaster. I can hardly believe it. I always thought he\u2019d outlive all of us. At this point I\u2019d even tolerate Brenda\u2019s hostile condemnations towards me, at least then I\u2019d know she was still alive.\n\nI may very well be the last Eternal, but I will not be the last Eye and if I can help it, Rask will not be the last bastion of the Empire. We\u2019ve lost too much already. Even now several towns have fallen here and only a handful of huddled masses remain in the more secured ones.\n\nThe Eyes have always been the ones to keep the Empire together and if they\u2019re going to continue doing that they are going to have to change to combat the wendigo threat more effectively. They are going to have to learn magic and fortunately we have mages to teach them. It isn\u2019t going to be easy, and most are probably not going to be able to learn at all, but I do know if one has the potential, then it can be done.\n\nThis task, this great work, this VISION is going to take years, possibly even more than I have, but someone will take over for me and that person after that and so forth.\n\nWe will live on for as long as the Eyes survive, the Empire will survive.\n\nYou close the book and reflect upon the words within.", "action_results": [null]}]}, {"action": "Follow your instinct", "result": "Maybe things have somewhat since you were here last time, but the fact remains, you were actually in Rask once, nobody else here has and who knows if those maps are accurate. You\u2019re going to trust your gut and head towards where you remember Fort Defiance was located. Nobody in Jennifer\u2019s expedition crew is exactly pleased with that decision, but Jennifer calms them down and says she trusts you.\n\nYou continue your journey and it\u2019s a miserable experience as a freezing ice storm hits hard within a couple of hours.\n\nWhat remaining horses and other pack animals you had left end up either panicking or outright collapse from the exhaustion. Your group ends up having to dig out a shelter and hunker down for the storm to pass. Food isn\u2019t much of a problem since you just butcher the animals that are dying any way. Fire isn\u2019t either since you can conjure it up. Still, it\u2019s not an ideal situation and others in the group are starting to experience minor frostbite and argue with one another.\n\nA couple more days of this and you\u2019re still not at your goal and the cold is even worse. Either you\u2019ve gotten lost or Fort Defiance has long since fallen to the wilderness. More arguing occurs and blame is placed on you.\n\n\u201cI told you we should\u2019ve followed the maps!\u201d one of Jennifer\u2019s crew remarks. \u201cWhy the hell are we listening this guy for? He\u2019s also the one that insisted on leaving two of our people with blood thirsty orcs!\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m also the guy that\u2019s keeping you alive, but that situation can be changed\u2026\u201d you answer.\n\nSurprisingly the man doesn\u2019t back down.\n\n\u201cOh sure, threaten me with violence, that\u2019s your solution to everything isn\u2019t it?\u201d\n\u201cIt\u2019s worker pretty well so far and suggest you back off if you don\u2019t want a demonstration to see just how well.\u201d\n\u201cGo ahead Mr. badass eternal! We\u2019re already fucking dead anyway now that you\u2019ve gotten us lost! Of course you probably don\u2019t give a shit because you\u2019ll just survive by eating our bodies after we all\u2026\u201d\n\nYou can\u2019t hold back any longer, you punch the man in the face breaking his nose. He falls to the ground in a daze. You step forward to give him more of a thrashing, but Jennifer gets in your way.\n\n\u201cAlright that\u2019s enough! I think you\u2019ve proven your point to Kevin. We\u2019re already fighting the elements and the hostile creatures that live here, we don\u2019t need to fight each other as well.\u201d\n\u201c(Sigh) Fine, but this asshole better not step out of line again, otherwise I might not be as reasonable!\u201d you remark and then gesture to your soldiers to help Kevin up.\n\nAs they do so, it would seem that Kevin isn\u2019t quite through with you yet. He grabs a pistol from one of your soldiers and fires it right at you. He\u2019s not accurate enough to get a kill shot, but he\u2019s close enough that he doesn\u2019t miss. You feel a hot burning sensation go right through your stomach and pass through your back.\n\n\u201cShit! Fuck\u2026\u201d you utter and fall to the ground. While you\u2019re bleeding internally and externally, your soldiers make quick work of Kevin causing remainder of Jennifer\u2019s people to either look on in horror or scream and yell.\n\nJennifer rushes to your aid, but she isn\u2019t quite sure what to do.\n\n\u201cDamn it, should\u2019ve\u2026get off me!\u201d you exclaim. Your body is partially in shock, but you manage to catch a breath long enough to gather your thoughts. You need to heal yourself quickly.\n\nWith you attempting to concentrate, Jennifer\u2019s crew screaming, your soldiers threatening to subdue them and Jennifer trying to reason with everyone, nobody is paying attention to their surroundings. at least not until an ogre comes loping out from the trees and rips off one of your soldier\u2019s heads.\n\nMore ogres come out of the trees as well and they aren\u2019t normal kind\u2026\n\n\u201cFucking wendigos!\u201d you shout.\n\nThe wendigos must have been watching you and finally figured out you aren\u2019t Eyes at all and given that you\u2019re somewhat incapacitated now, they also figured now would be good time to strike and they were correct.\n\nYou can\u2019t even get up, because the bullet ripped through your spine paralyzing you from the waist up, the bet you can do is wave your sword around in an attempt to slash at the wendigos nearby.\n\nIt doesn\u2019t take long for them to easily kill Jennifer and her crew, followed by your soldiers and by the time they get to you, you\u2019re still weak from blood loss and having limited mobility.\n\nYou manage to kill one of them before one puts its fist through your chest and rips off the top half of your torso for a feast.", "action_results": []}]}, {"action": "Push your way through", "result": "Trog is being fair, but there is always the chance that Trog is outright lying and he\u2019ll have them for breakfast or something. It isn\u2019t likely, but it\u2019s still a possibility. Plus he needs to realize that he\u2019s gained a lot with your alliance.\n\n\u201cTrog, I understand your position, but I can\u2019t just leave two people with you. Now our deal was pretty good for you, so I\u2019d say letting us through is the least you can do.\u201d You remark.\n\nTrog continues to remain stoic and unmoved by your remark.\n\n\u201cThis offer is not negotiable, Eternal. Perhaps you are mistaking Trog\u2019s civility for weakness, but Trog urge you not to make such a mistake. You either pay price or you can find another to Rask.\u201d Trog says.\n\u201cErm\u2026maybe we should do that. Surely we could find another way around and\u2026\u201d Jennifer begins to say, but you\u2019re only half paying attention. You\u2019re too annoyed with Trog right now.\n\n\u201cLook, we\u2019re not going to waste time going around your shitty barren territory. It\u2019s not like you\u2019ve got anything worth while here that we\u2019re going to disturb anyway. YOU seem to forget who the fuck I am Trog. I could slaughter you right now and you know it! We\u2019re going through and that\u2019s it!\u201d\n\u201cEternal you kill Trog and you\u2019ll bring down the entire wrath of the Floggers down on your head! And even if you get away, Floggers will turn their eyes towards your precious nation and never stop waging war until it has completely been burned to the ground.\u201d\n\u201cGiven some recent events I\u2019ve experienced, you seem to think I actually care about Nalin\u2026but perhaps killing you isn\u2019t the solution.\u201d You say and then suddenly grab Trog. He attempts to struggle, but after a couple of hard punches to his face you knock him the ground and tell one someone to hand you a rope.\n\n\u201cWhat\u2026what the hell are you doing?! Isn\u2019t this going to bring every orc here down on our head?!\u201d Jennifer exclaims.\n\u201cNope. Trog here is going to be our safe passage. Now gimme some damn rope!\u201d you order.\n\nOne of the Jennifer\u2019s crew nervously throws one to you, meanwhile everyone including your soldiers are looking around anticipating an attack.\n\n\u201cYou\u2026you fool. Eternal, you believe Floggers will not attack just because you have Trog hostage? You think Trog cares about life?\u201d\n\u201cNice try Trog, but it\u2019s all bullshit. If you were a regular simple-minded orc, I\u2019d agree, but you aren\u2019t are you? You\u2019re a fucking shaman, I\u2019d wager that even most of the Floggers know how advantageous that is and they won\u2019t risk your death. As for your life, well like I said, if you were the average orc I\u2019d say no you don\u2019t care, but you\u2019re not average. You have a sense of self-preservation. If you didn\u2019t you wouldn\u2019t have made a deal with me in the first place. Now let\u2019s go!\u201d you say and pull Trog up from the ground after tying him up.\n\n\u201cYou will rue this day Eternal.\u201d Trog says, but complies with your commands.\n\u201cI\u2019m really afraid, this seems really dangerous, maybe we should just go back.\u201d Jennifer says.\n\u201cWhat the fuck did you think this was going to be Jennifer? A walk through the flower fields? If you think this is dangerous, what the hell do you think Rask is going to be like? It\u2019s a pitiless land filled with fucking monsters that will eat your fucking heart! Now this is YOUR expedition, I suggest you get comfortable with the fact that unexpected things like this might happen!\u201d you yell.\n\nJennifer is taken back by your response. Granted she\u2019s been on the receiving end of your vitriol before, but not for quite some time and at the time you weren\u2019t putting everyone in danger.\n\n\u201cCome on, we\u2019re getting the hell out of here.\u201d Jennifer remarks to her crew. \u201cThis is just insanely dangerous.\u201d Jennifer remarks and begins to walk in the opposite direction. Her crew slowly follows her.\n\u201cAre you fucking kidding me?\u201d you say. \u201cAfter all I\u2019ve done for you?!\u201d\n\u201cDone for me? You ruined this expedition by taking an orc shaman hostage! Even if we DO make it through, did you think about how we were going to make it back? I dunno what the hell happened with you recently, but you are not thinking shit through. You just told Trog that you didn\u2019t even care if orcs burned down Nalin! I highly suggest you get your\u2026\u201d\n\nJennifer\u2019s speech is cut short with an arrow through her back and out her chest. She stares down briefly to see the head of the arrow still dripping blood and piece of her heart on it. She then falls to the ground dead.\n\nThe weird thing is you don\u2019t even see any orcs in the direction where the arrow came from. In fact there aren\u2019t any around, yet another arrow hits one of your soldiers.\n\nYou turn to Trog who just stands there silent and still tied up.\n\n\u201cCall off your fucking greenskins Trog! You turned them invisible or whatever you did, I don\u2019t care, call them off or your life ends here!\u201d you command.\n\u201cYou were right Eternal, Trog do value life. That\u2019s why Trog not even really here.\u201d Trog says and before your eyes you see Trog\u2019s image completely disappear. An illusion. All along you were talking to an illusion. Who knows where the real Trog is.\n\nYou have little time to find out as more arrows from invisible orcs rain down on your position killing whoever is still left. Had you been paying more attention, you could\u2019ve just cast a barrier around yourself and avoided them, but while you were threatening illusionary Trog, several arrows puncture your internal organs.\n\nYou fall to the ground and begin coughing up blood. You desperately try to heal yourself before you succumb to your wounds, but there isn\u2019t enough time. You start to lose consciousness before the orcs finally materialize and finish you off in a more up close and personal way.\n\nYour last moments are being beaten and chopped to a bloody unrecognizable pulp by several clubs and blunt axes.", "action_results": []}]}]}, {"action": "Leave", "result": "You know what this is going to be, his attempt to convince you of why you shouldn\u2019t be helping Quintus. You\u2019re not interested in anything he has to say, and it will be pointless to do so.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m going to just leave now and stop wasting both of our time, Batty. I suggest you don\u2019t try to stop me.\u201d You remark and begin walking towards the door.\n\u201cBut, you\u2019re already here! You can\u2019t just listen?\u201d Batalimus says.\n\u201cNo. This was a lapse in judgement on my part I suppose. Still, I guess I got a good idea of the layout of this place when I eventually have to kill you.\u201d\n\u201cVery well then, but I had hoped you\u2019d be reasonable about this Eternal.\u201d\n\nWith those last words you leave Batalimus\u2019 house and return to your duties in Quala. Just as you\u2019re thinking about how you need to go see Trog soon about your little arrangement you get an urgent message from a republic messenger.\n\n\u201cHe\u2019s fucking dead?!\u201d you exclaim.\n\u201cYes sir, as I said he was found dead in his home, poisoned. His assets are all being seized due to him owing various people, though his wife is contesting\u2026\u201d\n\nAs the messenger drones on about this, you realize you\u2019re in position that you really should\u2019ve considered. Namely, you have no \u201cpatron\u201d anymore. Sure, you\u2019re somewhat popular with the military, but Quintus\u2019 influence on the population and his fellow senators were a big deal. Batalimus must be behind this and even if he isn\u2019t, he\u2019s going to be the main one taking advantage of the situation.\n\nWithout another word you ride off to Nalin and you don\u2019t stop until you arrive at Batalimus\u2019 place. Batalimus\u2019 personal guards are surprised to see you and even more surprised when you start chopping them down with your sword. Despite killing everyone in his home, you don\u2019t find Batalimus so you go to the next logical place to look, the senate building.\n\nYou don\u2019t have any more luck there, all you manage to do is interrupt some of the senators debating something or other.\n\n\u201cWhere is Batalimus?!\u201d you demand.\n\u201cI don\u2019t know! We don\u2019t know!\u201d the senator that has the floor answers, but it really isn\u2019t the answer you want to hear.\n\u201cLies!\u201d you say and fry the senator with a lightning bolt.\n\n\u201cYou really think your republic is going to survive? Most of you were already supporting Quintus\u2019 ideas, now I bet you\u2019re ready to turn your back on those same ideas just because he\u2019s dead. Well Batty killed the wrong man. I will see the Empire return even if the rest of you are too cowardly to do so!\u201d you shout and begin throwing fireballs at the rest of the senators. You don\u2019t stop until you leave the senate house in flames.\n\nBy this time the military is on the scene, but they\u2019re unsure of what to do for several reasons. So you give them the reasons.\n\nYou take immediate control of the military and tell them to start hunting for Batalimus and to maintain order. A few days later and it\u2019s official. You make your announcement that the Republic is dead and that the Empire now lives again. The general public doesn\u2019t know quite what to make of everything. You\u2019re sure that there will be some sort of misguided rebellion especially with Batalimus still on the run probably stirring up dissent, but with the military behind you\u2019re confident that you won\u2019t have too much trouble.\n\nYear 541\n\n\u201cYou really think this is going to change anything? Look at the nation! Despite your attempts to crush its spirit with your outdated concepts of order it still resists you! Face it, you\u2019ve already lost and my death will not save you!\u201d Batalimus screams defiantly.\n\nYou break a couple more of his ribs with a few stomps to his chest. The older man wheezes and gasps in pain. He won\u2019t show fear though; he\u2019s fully willing to die.\n\n\u201cIt may not change anything, but keep this in mind before I send you on your way. Your actions did NOT save the republic; it only increased the chaos and strife. You may have fucked up my plans, but you have completely destroyed and betrayed your own.\u201d\n\u201c(Wheeze) Perhaps\u2026Eternal\u2026(gasp) but better the people should live in anarchy than under your brutal order!\u201d\n\nYou shake your head at his answer and crush his windpipe with your boot. At last the thorn in your side has been removed, but the damage he\u2019s done has not. In fact you\u2019re not even certain that you can repair it. Even with Jennifer doing her best with the propaganda machine, it\u2019s still not enough.\nYou have attempted to recreate a secret police in a similar style of the Emperor\u2019s Eyes, but efforts haven\u2019t proved too successful mainly because you\u2019re too busy using the military to keep direct order.\n\nEven portions of your military have turned against you, if not outright treason then desertion. Some have fled to find work within the six cities of Arat or even joined up with the pirate groups in Delerg.\n\nIt isn\u2019t that the people don\u2019t fear you, it\u2019s that they hate you more than they fear. Even after you\u2019ve destroyed entire towns that have dared defy you, you still get pockets of resistance running off into the wilderness to cause ongoing problems.\n\nYour methods in the beginning months were probably too harsh in retrospect. Killing everyone in the senate certainly didn\u2019t help as perhaps some of those experienced fools might\u2019ve still been useful in swaying public opinion and dealing with the more mundane issues of running the government. Combine this with the fact that the idea of things like \u201cliberty\u201d still lingered within the people, your brutal actions only proved to them what happens when a single tyrant takes power. Instead of cowing them into submission, you ended up lighting a fire of freedom that you still haven\u2019t put out yet and at this point you wonder if you ever will. Batalimus of course took advantage of that fact too.\n\nBetween the steady attrition of loyal soldiers, the ongoing defiance of the people, external threats like the Flogger tribe hearing of your struggles and taking advantage of your lightly defended outposts in Quala (And certainly have no intention of joining your Empire now) you are pushed to the brink and beyond.\n\nYou decide if the fools won\u2019t submit to your rule, you\u2019ll burn the whole damn thing down. Jennifer however talks you out of it saying that it won\u2019t solve anything. She also tries to convince you that maybe you should consolidate what holdings you do have and build from there.\n\nIt\u2019s a nice thought and it\u2019s certainly logical, but you\u2019re so exasperated at the entire situation that you decide to just give up. You realize that your time has come and gone. The people don\u2019t want you around and at this point you don\u2019t even care to rule them anymore. In fact you don\u2019t even care about ruling anything anymore. All you really ever wanted to do was serve the Emperor and the Empire and enjoy your time with Alison.\n\nThings were so much simpler back then.\n\nYou shouldn\u2019t have ever listened to Semra. Even if the Emperor had killed you, at least you wouldn\u2019t exist in a time where the Empire doesn\u2019t. You would\u2019ve died at least knowing the Empire would still be around.\n\nNot being able to go on and unwilling to stick around, you suddenly leave Nalin forever. Where, nobody knows. Some say you found death in the Usksha Desert, others say you found it in the cold mountains of Rask, but ultimately what happened to you is lost to time.", "action_results": []}]}]}, {"action": "Try to strengthen the navy", "result": "While the military definitely still needs your attention, you\u2019ve got the ball rolling on that aspect already. You can see that Quintus really wants this navy build up to happen for several reasons and there are still pirate troubles after all, so you might as well see what you can do on this front.\n\n\u201cAlright, we\u2019ll get the navy strong again, or whatever it was before I showed up.\u201d You remark.\n\u201cGood, good! I\u2019m sure we\u2019ll make improvements so quickly that I\u2019ll be able to convince the senate that the navy shouldn\u2019t be dismantled. So, I guess you\u2019ll want to get started immediately, so you should make your way to Waveview, it\u2019s the largest of our port towns where our most experienced sailors are and most of the shipbuilding takes place. In fact Admiral Jarred Plickus should be there right now.\u201d Quintus says.\n\u201cWheeee! My incompetent husband finally managed to convince one of his goons to actually do what he wants for a change. This calls for a drink!\u201d Nalia says and finishes off her bottle and grabs another one nearby.\n\nYou leave before you insult Quintus\u2019 wife, well actually you leave before you do something worse than just insult her.\n\nYou make your way to Waveview and then to seek out this Admiral Plickus. After asking a few passing sailors and shipwrights they direct you towards one of the larger ships and say he\u2019s aboard that one. The admiral apparently likes to spend all his time aboard his favorite ship.\n\nFrom afar the ship looks impressive, but when you\u2019re up close it looks less so. You expected the pride of the Nalin fleet with the admiral aboard it would at least look more presentable. With as many noticeable \u201cpatches\u201d they\u2019ve nailed into the hull, they might as well have just built a new ship.\n\nThe rest of the crew direct you to Admiral Plickus\u2019 cabin when you finally board the ship where upon you find him fast asleep. He looks so damn old, you half wonder if he was alive during the time of the old Empire. (He\u2019s human though so you know that isn\u2019t the case) When you finally manage to wake him up to interact with him, he\u2019s not exactly young of mind either. You honestly don\u2019t know why this man is still commanding anything, let alone a fleet.\n\nFrustrated you leave the cabin call for the captain of the ship.\n\n\u201cYeah, I\u2019m here.\u201d A bearded man little older than you replies.\n\u201cI\u2019m here? What the hell kind of answer is that?\u201d you answer back in a threatening manner.\n\nThe captain suddenly realizes who you are exactly and makes more of an effort.\n\n\u201c\u201dOh shit, you\u2019re that Eternal. Apologies sir. We didn\u2019t know you were coming. My name\u2019s Len.\u201d The captain says desperately attempting to straighten himself up.\n\u201cBy the status of the admiral it seems like he still doesn\u2019t know I\u2019m here, let alone who I am.\u201d\n\u201cYes, well the admiral is getting on in years, but the senate doesn\u2019t seem to care. I believe two of his sons are on the senate in fact.\u201d\n\u201cFigures. If he\u2019s here, then they don\u2019t have to take care of him at their own home. (Sigh) If this is supposed to be the best the fleet has to offer, I\u2019d hate to see the other ships up close.\u201d You say.\n\u201cIt\u2019s um, well I dunno what to tell you sir, except the truth. It\u2019s true, the fleet isn\u2019t given much attention; in fact you\u2019ll probably find our cargo ships kept in better condition because of our trade with the usksha.\u201d\n\u201cAnd that\u2019s fucking stupid for the sole fact that you need to defend those same ships from pirates. That means warships that don\u2019t look like they\u2019re on the verge of sinking themselves!\u201d\n\u201cI agree sir, and I\u2019ve tried to make due with what I can, but spending on the navy has been cut a lot over the years. In fact I heard a rumor that the senate was going to dismantle the navy altogether.\u201d\n\u201cWell not now they aren\u2019t. I\u2019ve been told to try to get something done with this sorry excuse for a fleet.\u201d\n\u201cOh? Well I suppose that would be a blessing, sir.\u201d\n\u201cGlad you think so, because as of right now, you\u2019re the new admiral of the fleet.\u201d\n\u201cI am?\u201d\n\u201cWell I assume you\u2019re the next most competent and experienced sailor if you\u2019re commanding this wreck. Is that not the case?\u201d\n\u201cWell I don\u2019t like to boast sir, but I am indeed the best captain that the Nalin fleet has to offer\u2026such as it is. But trust me sir, that I routinely make forays into the Delerg islands in the hopes of whittling down some of those pirate bastards.\u201d\n\u201cGood, shows you\u2019re at least proactive.\u201d\n\nAfter a bit of explanation of what you want done to shape up the navy, you tell Len that you\u2019re going to go talk with the shipyards and have them to start concentrating on building new warships.\n\n\u201cDidn\u2019t you want a demonstration?\u201d Len asks before you leave.\n\u201cDemonstration of what?\u201d\n\u201cOf whether I\u2019m really up to this task. I mean I think it\u2019s a great honor that you\u2019ve placed so much responsibility on me, but I\u2019d still like to prove myself to you. Come with me on a patrol. I mean this might be my last time in a long time since I\u2019ll have to be organizing stuff for a while.\u201d\n\nYou think about it for a while and you can appreciate the fact that Len wants to show you that he\u2019s up to the tasks you\u2019ve set before him.\n\n\u201cOkay, but what about the ex-admiral?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cHim? Bah, we patrol with him on board all time, he never even wakes up despite the cannons. Let\u2019s set sail.\u201d Len says.\n\nSoon you\u2019re on your way towards the islands of Delerg. That still seems odd to you. Wasn\u2019t a place you visited a lot, but the idea that that swampy landmass is now just a cluster of islands is still a little weird.\n\nYou find that being on the open water isn\u2019t quite as bad as you thought either. You sort of had a minor concern about this whole navy thing at first, but going into battle on the water will certainly be a new thing you can experience and you\u2019re sure this crew will appreciate the extra magical firepower you can bring.\n\nYou do ask Len about going on patrol alone and wouldn\u2019t it be better to bring more ships, but he mentions how half of them are being repaired and some are pulling shore defense duty elsewhere. He mentions that pirates usually try to run rather than fight anyway and that while this ship looks horrible, it\u2019s a lot more durable than it looks and certainly more than anything the pirates have.\n\n\u201cThe major handicap is speed and maneuverability, usually they can outsail us if they really want to get away, but our firepower prevents most from escaping before they get that far.\u201d Len laughs.\n\nA few days pass and you\u2019re finally in Delerg waters. You see several islands nearby, but the fog is making it harder to make out anything in the far distance.\n\n\u201cIs it always this foggy?\u201d you ask looking out across the limited foggy view.\n\u201cNot always, but this is actually a good thing. This will allow us to sneak up on the pirates.\u201d\n\u201cOr allow them to sneak up on us if we aren\u2019t careful.\u201d You say.\n\n\u201cFunny you should say that\u2026\u201d Len says and then two gunshots are heard and a painful sensation in two parts of your back. You gasp and your upper half falls over the side of the ship.\n\n\u201cDamnit, I told you idiots to aim for the fucking head!\u201d Len says\n\u201cSorry sir, can\u2019t see for this fucking fog.\u201d A sailor answers.\n\u201cNevermind all that, help me throw him overboard!\u201d Len replies.\n\nAs you\u2019re gasping for air and trying to move to do something to defend yourself, captain Len and his treacherous crew grab your limbs and throw you overboard.\n\n\u201cSorry Eternal, but the smuggling business is too profitable for me to start making enemies out of my business partners. And with you around breathing down my neck with this navy shit, I\u2019d never get anything accomplished.\u201d Len says as you plunge into the water below.\n\nUnder normal circumstances, you might\u2019ve been able to heal yourself of the two big bullet holes in your back that also caused severe internal damage, but floating in cold water, with limited mobility and a profuse loss of blood is a deadly combination.\n\nYou eventually lose consciousness and the merciless sea does the rest.", "action_results": []}]}, {"action": "Voices of the past (Matriarch Brenda\u2019s writings)", "result": "Before you prepare to get some rest for the night, Quintus hands you an old small worn book.\n\n\u201cWhat\u2019s this?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cSomething I thought maybe you might find interesting. It\u2019s the old journal of Matriarch Brenda, first ruler of Nalin and your fellow Eternal.\u201d Quintus answers.\n\nWhen you handle the book, the spine cracks and some of the pages nearly come falling out.\n\n\u201cYeah, be careful, as you might imagine it\u2019s very old and sadly missing quite a few pages already. For centuries nobody even knew she kept one, but this was found about three hundred years ago when the builders were tearing down her old home to make room for the new senate forum. Such a loss really, tearing down the home of a woman who did so much for this country. I can tell you one thing, had I been alive during those days, I would\u2019ve made every effort to keep the house as an important historical site.\u201d\n\u201cSo who had this before you?\u201d\n\u201cOh several people. Mostly collectors that didn\u2019t really do anything with it save not really keeping good care of it. For a while I do believe it was actually lost, but eventually it popped up again and found its way into that museum run by the Mols. Finally through a mutually beneficial deal I acquired the book from that family.\u201d\n\u201cI see, well I\u2019m not sure if I feel comfortable reading something that was Brenda\u2019s private thoughts.\u201d\n\u201cOh. Well, you can just put it on that table over there if you feel that way. Just thought maybe you\u2019d be interested in it. No harm done. Anyway goodnight.\u201d Quintus says and leaves the room.\n\nYou begin to settle down for sleep, but find you that you can\u2019t. You are tired, but not sleepy, probably because you\u2019ve been sleeping for the past five hundred years!\n\nYou explore the room a bit, but there isn\u2019t anything much of interest that\u2019s going to keep you occupied, well except Brenda\u2019s journal. It probably seems silly, but in your mind Brenda hasn\u2019t been dead for centuries. In your mind, the last time you saw her was only a few years ago and reading her journal would be an invasion of her privacy.\n\nHowever Brenda has been dead for centuries and under the circumstances you can\u2019t help, but be a little interested.\n\n\u201cApologies Brenda, but I fear my curiosity has gotten the better of me.\u201d You say and start flipping through the journal trying to be a careful as you can since last time it nearly fell apart in your hands.\n\nReally it seems like the journal shouldn\u2019t even be handled anymore, it\u2019s missing more than a few pages and the writing has faded as well. For all Quintus\u2019 claims of respecting historical items of the old Empire, he hasn\u2019t even bothered to put the loose pages back in proper order. Still, you manage to make out some of it.\n\nOne entry in particular stands out for you mainly because you get the best sense of Brenda\u2019s frustration of her situation, but then realizing that she has to do something about it.\n\nEntry 51\n\nSometimes I wonder why I even keep this stupid thing. I think I had some weird idea that someone needed to keep a record of events after the cataclysm. Still don\u2019t know what caused it, nobody does. In another two hundred years is anyone even going to care?\n\nChaos hasn\u2019t completely overtaken Nalin, but I need to keep some sort of order. I don\u2019t want to use extreme measures, but it\u2019s getting to the point where I\u2019m going to have no choice. They aren\u2019t bad people, they\u2019re just panicking and scared more than anything else. It\u2019s understandable, I am too.\n\nI know who wouldn\u2019t be scared, that paragon of Eternalhood. The Emperor\u2019s Weapon of Terrible Justice or whatever it is they used to call him. Can\u2019t remember all the nics and titles he had. If he were here, he\u2019d probably already be rebuilding the Empire. Alas, I have heard no word of him or much word of anything past Quala really and it\u2019s been months. I can only believe he must be dead along with millions of others. Warrick too, though I shed no tears for his passing. It was his bumbling that resulted in my husband\u2019s death.\n\nIt would seem I am the last of the Eternals. It is a strange sad thing being the last of something. Everyone looks to me like I\u2019m supposed to solve this problem with the snap of a finger, but I\u2019m just one woman even if everyone somehow believes I\u2019m this superior being just because I\u2019m an Eternal.\n\nI honestly wish I wasn\u2019t most of the time. I certainly don\u2019t feel any more powerful or smarter because of it and nowadays I feel like I\u2019m got a huge target on my back and I have to constantly look over my shoulder because some idiot thinks I\u2019m being a repressive tyrant. People either hate me, fear me, worship me, or a combination of all three.\n\nWhat the hell do these people want? I\u2019m doing the best I fucking can! Not only am I trying to maintain civilization and order in these dark days, I\u2019m also trying to keep some semblance of the Empire alive. We can\u2019t just abandon our way of life because of a terrible disaster.\n\nOr maybe I\u2019m just holding on to something that I know because I\u2019ve lost everything else. I don\u2019t know, but it doesn\u2019t matter.\n\nStarting tomorrow, I\u2019m going to make some major changes. I\u2019m not even sure what exactly, but changes are going to be made if only so civilization and order can go on and damn what the people think. History can be the final judge.\n\nI just wish Roldan was here.\n\n\u201cI wish you all were here.\u201d You say to yourself and close the book.", "action_results": [null]}, {"action": "Picking through the past (The dig site)", "result": "You\u2019ve spent the past two days with Calvin\u2019s crew, which has been fumbling about trying to dig up the rest of the Emperor\u2019s chambers. So far they haven\u2019t found much of consequence though, mostly just pieces of the Emperor\u2019s belongings that were made of stone or metal, like a bed frame or one of his many work tables. The biggest things were broken pieces of the two large statues that stood outside the door and the half destroyed door itself. Any books that have been found have mostly been destroyed over the passage of time. Between insects, small subterranean rodents and centuries of gradual decay it would seem the earth has consumed most of the important stuff. While Calvin still appreciates what has been found, he was really hoping to find a treasure trove of magical items, but you told him he wouldn\u2019t have had much luck anyway. The Emperor himself never really kept much of that around, probably because as a powerful wizard himself he didn\u2019t need to rely on such things\n\nYou on the other hand haven\u2019t found what you were looking for and that\u2019s the remains of a svelk. You and Semra were in the immediate area yet no bones have been found. But then Jacob wasn\u2019t too far from the same location and his bones haven\u2019t been found either. (You still haven\u2019t mentioned to Calvin or Jennifer about knowing the specifics about their ancestor\u2019s death.) At this point you can\u2019t do too much more lingering you need to get on with your more important assignment. You decide to make one more quick look though so you grab a shovel and start digging.\n\nOf course you can\u2019t be left alone while doing this, Jennifer decides to come up and bother you in her usual way. You swear the girl insists on trying to hang around you whenever possible. You certainly hope she doesn\u2019t have a crush or something, because you don\u2019t really have time for such things.\n\n\u201cHey, you shouldn\u2019t just be digging haphazardly like that near the support beam! One wrong dig and you could fall into a sinkhole or cause part of this excavation to collapse! You don\u2019t want to be buried alive again do you?\u201d Jennifer says.\n\u201cI dunno, I\u2019m still wondering if I wouldn\u2019t be better off.\u201d You remark.\n\u201cOh you don\u2019t mean that. I thought you said you and Quintus had big plans that gave you a sense of purpose now.\u201d\n\u201cYeah, but that doesn\u2019t mean I can\u2019t ponder if it\u2019s worth it or not. (Sigh) Damn it, what am I doing? I\u2019ve never going to find anything. I need to just get started on that business I spoke about with Quintus.\u201d\n\u201cWait, what ARE you looking for anyway? I\u2019ve noticed you before looking through piles of dirt and overturning stones since you got here. If you told us, perhaps we could help you. I mean we do do this for a living and all.\u201d\n\u201cIt\u2019s nothing. Don\u2019t worry about it.\u201d\n\u201cLook if it\u2019s personal, you don\u2019t need to tell me or anyone else the significance, but if we know what to look for surely it could help couldn\u2019t it? Maybe we already found it and it\u2019s in our pile of ever-growing objects.\n\nSensing that Jennifer isn\u2019t going to let this go you give in and tell her.\n\n\u201c(Sigh) I\u2019m looking for bones.\u201d\n\u201cBones? Well we found a bunch a few feet higher up\u2026\u201d\n\u201cNo, the bones I\u2019m looking for would be at least approximately in the same area that you found me. They would be elven in nature, specifically svelk, if that makes a difference.\u201d\n\u201cDark elven? What was a dark elf doing down here near the Emperor? You know, you still haven\u2019t told us anything about how you came to be in your situation. I mean we\u2019ve all been wondering if the Emperor was down here during the cataclysm, though we haven\u2019t found any trace of his remains.\u201d\n\nNow you wish you hadn\u2019t told her.\n\n\u201cLook! Let\u2019s just focus on one thing at a time! Now I\u2019m looking for svelk bones, unless you\u2019ve found anything like that, then we have nothing more to discuss.\u201d You snap and start to leave.\n\u201cOkay, okay! No need to snap like that, but can you at least tell me who this svelk was? Obviously they must\u2019ve been important to you or else you would not be trying to find the remains. I\u2019m really just trying to help!\u201d\n\nWell that\u2019s true and you can\u2019t necessarily fault her for it.\n\n\u201cAlright, I\u2019ll tell you a little bit. The svelk\u2019s name was Semra and believe or not she was a top advisor to the Emperor. And since we\u2019re on the topic, yes all of us were down here when the cataclysm hit. As the palace was collapsing in on our heads, Semra was the one who put me in that little magical box you all found me in. Basically she saved my life when certain doom was imminent.\u201d\n\nThis bit of information predictably gets a big reaction out of Jennifer.\n\n\u201cWow! I can\u2019t believe it. The Emperor had a svelk advisor? She must\u2019ve been an outcast from her people. I thought they were only nomadic mercenaries back in those days.\u201d\n\u201cThey were, but Semra was a bit more ambitious than that. Make no mistake she was no outcast. She was every bit as ruthless and treacherous as any of her people. Probably more so. She always had an angle.\u201d\n\u201cHm, surprised the Emperor trusted such a creature, but still she saved your life. A self sacrificing svelk; never thought such a thing existed. The two of you must\u2019ve been close surely? Were you friends or um\u2026\u201d\n\u201cNo we weren\u2019t friends, and don\u2019t even suggest we had a romantic affiliation.\u201d You say before she even completes that sentence. \u201cOur relationship was\u2026complex. Let\u2019s just say she played a big role in who I am today and despite whatever differences I did have with her I do owe her my life.\u201d\n\u201cSo, it\u2019s kind of like a paying last respects thing?\u201d\n\u201cSomething like that. I mean she was literally the last person I saw before I went into my big sleep. My last moment during the old days were with her. Guess I felt like seeing her bones would be a kind of closure, but I guess it doesn\u2019t matter anyway right?\u201d\n\u201cNo, I understand. Well, we\u2019ll keep an eye out I guess for svelk bones. So\u2026 you said the Emperor was down here too?\u201d\n\u201cYeah, but before you even ask. There\u2019s no point in trying to look for his remains. He disintegrated before my eyes.\u201d\n\nJennifer is in shock.\n\n\u201cHe\u2026he disintegrated?! How?!\u201d\n\u201cWell, it was the cataclysm. Hit pretty suddenly and hard. One moment he was there, then he wasn\u2019t.\u201d\n\nYour vague explanation isn\u2019t exactly untrue. You\u2019re just glad it seems to be sufficient for now.\n\n\u201cSheesh, no wonder you didn\u2019t want to talk about it. Must\u2019ve been stressful even for you. I have to tell my father about this. He\u2019ll be very interested in learning more about this mystery.\u201d Jennifer says.\n\u201cI\u2019m sure you will. You know I\u2019m very surprised he doesn\u2019t speak to me more often given that he\u2019s the one in charge of this expedition and his extreme interest in the history aspect.\u201d\n\u201cI would imagine he would if your personality was different. You\u2019re a bit intimidating and he still fears you a bit, so as it stands I think he believes it would be better if I spoke to you.\u201d\n\u201cWhy? Does he think I am easily swayed by a pretty face?\u201d\n\u201cEr\u2026no\u2026what I was going to say is that I am a little more willing to take risks like interacting with you for example. You\u2019re more likely to respect someone that\u2019s brave and thus open up to them. I love my father, but he\u2019s not exactly the bravest of men, though he has his moments.\u201d\n\u201cHm, sounds like someone I used to know.\u201d You say thinking about Jacob, which makes you add a bit more to your story.\n\n\u201cBefore I leave there are a few other bones you might want to look for while you\u2019re down here.\u201d You say.\n\u201cOh? I thought it was just you and Semra.\u201d\n\u201cIt was in the end, but there was another top advisor to the Emperor here that died shortly before that.\u201d\n\u201cWait, you don\u2019t mean\u2026\u201d\n\u201cYes, your ancestor Jacob. Though his remains might be a bit\u2026crushed. A large falling stone block fell on him.\u201d\n\nYour news once again renders Jennifer silent for a moment.\n\n\u201cWe always did wonder what happened to him exactly. I mean it was always assumed he got killed during the cataclysm, but never knew the specifics. Well at he didn\u2019t suffer long.\u201d She remarks.\n\u201cNo it was pretty quick and sudden. Just like everything else when the cataclysm hit. Still, if it\u2019s any consolation, Jacob had his own moment of bravery before his life ended. He actually saved Semra and I from getting immediately killed during that dark time.\u201d\n\u201cHe did?\u201d\n\u201cYes. Anyway, as I said, I\u2019ve got other things to do, so I\u2019ll leave you to it.\u201d\n\nBefore you leave, Jennifer thanks you for the information and hopes in time that you\u2019ll open up more information about the past. You don\u2019t make any promises, but you know you probably will eventually.\n\nYou leave the dig site and think about what you originally went there for in first place. Closure. Since you didn\u2019t really get that, you do it yourself.\n\n\u201cWell Semra, I don\u2019t really know why you saved me. Then again I didn\u2019t understand your twisted obsession for me either. Whether it was genuine love, svelk psychological torture, your own personal fucked up mind or a combination of the three I\u2019ll never know. And I guess now, I never will. But for what it\u2019s worth. Thank you.\u201d\n\nAfter your monologue to yourself, you ride off in search of orcs to antagonize.", "action_results": [null]}]}, {"action": "The Cataclysm (Fall of Civilization)", "result": "One of the first questions you ask is to be caught up to speed on what the current situation is on the land. Jennifer fills you in on most of this topic though Quintus interjects when it comes to more political matters on the subject.\n\nJennifer starts off by stating that the cataclysm that destroyed the Empire not only led to a dark age, but as you might\u2019ve been able to tell it changed the very landscape. Quala, which was once the heartland of the Empire, is now a wasteland. She mentions that besides the numerous orc tribes that live there, the place is also home for outlaw types.\n\nQuintus remarks that the Nalin Republic has made a bit of an attempt to tame the southern most portion of it along the borders and says that he would like it to do more, but then complains that his hands are tied due to pacifistic fools in the senate.\n\nJennifer tells you Delerg got it even worse than Quala as most of the land just fell into the ocean! Delerg consists little more as an archipelago though a small portion of it is still attached to the mainland. She says there are rumors of horrors that were awakened and now dwell on several of the islands, but the main danger is that the place is now a haven for pirates.\n\nQuintus remarks that the Nalin navy has problems dealing with them on their eastern coast. Again, he\u2019d like to do more about it, but once again most of the senate claims it isn\u2019t in the budget and is thinking about dismantling the navy altogether.\n\nWhen you ask about Rask, Jennifer states that there isn\u2019t too much to tell other than wilderness has reclaimed most of it. She says all that\u2019s known is that it\u2019s now infested with orcs, ogres, giants and worse. There are rumors of a warrior \u201cguild\u201d of some sort, but she can\u2019t imagine that they\u2019d be sane living in such a hostile environment.\n\nQuintus doesn\u2019t have much to add other than he\u2019s sent a few adventurer types up there to explore, but none of them have come back alive. He\u2019d like to send a full expedition up there, but he barely gets approval from the senate about the one he sends to dig up the Quala Badlands. You\u2019re sensing a pattern here\u2026\n\nJennifer next moves on to the more \u201ccivilized\u201d areas of what once was the old Empire. She uses the term loosely though.\n\nArat is fairly lawless though it currently consists of six city-states which supposedly have an agreement of mutual protection (The Arat Alliance, but in practice they\u2019re all out for themselves or at the very least concerned with their own problems. In some cases that means attempting to gain control over the rest. Particularly Lenay, which is the most powerful of the cities and is run by svelk.\n\nYou interrupt Jennifer.\n\n\u201cExcuse me? Svelk? They finally managed to settle down?\u201d\n\u201cOh yes, for quite a while now. Sovereign Eldolith has been running it for\u2026\u201d\n\u201cWait, Eldolith?!\u201d you interrupt again.\n\u201cYes, do you know her?\u201d\n\u201cWe were acquainted. She was only a mercenary captain when I knew her.\u201d You answer.\n\u201cInteresting\u2026well she\u2019s come a long way from a simple leader of mercenaries. She\u2019s currently ruling Lenay unopposed and has influence over those weak willed idiots in Atinil and the criminal dominated Valizza.\u201d Quintus interjects. \u201cAs you might expect the svelk treat the non-svelk little better than slaves, if they aren\u2019t already.\u201d\n\nQuintus goes on to tell you that he\u2019s been warning the senate that having a strong unified svelk dominated power nearby would not be a good thing, but as usual his warnings are mostly going unheard. He says that at the very least there should be steps to support more independence amongst the cities if only to keep Eldolith from gaining more power. He says one of the cities, Regnik is fairly friendly towards the republic and basically the most reliable source of information of what\u2019s going on in the region.\n\nTelis is the most isolationist of the bunch, but at least it isn\u2019t under the influence of Eldolith. Not much is known about it save that it seems to be very well defended.\n\nThe last city is Zo. Though Zo is currently in such dire straits that the six cities may soon become known as the five cities. Zo constantly suffers attacks from orcs. How it remains standing is certainly a testament to its citizens\u2019 resolve, but if the frequency of the attacks keep going the way they are, it won\u2019t matter how stalwart the citizens are.\n\nJennifer finally comes to what was the newest edition to the Empire during your time, the territory consisting of the Felkan Kingdom. Jennifer says that it mostly consists of small hamlets and even a few towns, but none of them are united like a nation or even as big as one of the six cities of Arat. There is one small nation though that calls itself the Red Cap Kingdom.\n\nThe Red Cap Kingdom is a small nation of militant gnomes. Only gnomes live within its borders and they are fiercely independent and hostile to anyone who isn\u2019t a gnome. They are extremely well defended too and probably the most technologically advanced. They call themselves the Red Caps due to being so merciless in battle that they supposedly dip their hats into the blood of their fallen enemies.\n\n\u201cBloodthirsty gnomes\u2026now I\u2019ve heard everything\u2026\u201d you say nearly laughing. \u201cWell considering all that happened to them, I can\u2019t say I\u2019d blame them for abandoning their pacifism. Always knew we didn\u2019t get all of them. Surprised they came back to the area though.\u201d\n\nJennifer is a bit confused by your statement, obviously not really knowing the whole story, though Quintus seems a little more up on the topic.\n\n\u201cMy dear Miss Mol, during the time of the Empire, the Felkan Kingdom was secretly run by gnomes who did everything in their power to destroy the Empire. Gnomes as you might imagine were specifically targeted to ensure the safety of the Empire.\u201d Quintus explains to Jennifer.\n\u201cYeah\u2026something like that. Though to be quite honest I believe the Emperor just really hated gnomes. He explained his reasons, but I always thought there might be another deeper personal motive. In any case never did learn it, and I didn\u2019t need to. His will was mine and I followed orders.\u201d You remark. This causes an outburst by Quintus who bangs his fist on the table startling Jennifer.\n\u201cYou see that Miss Mol!? Utter dedication! A ruler gave orders and his soldiers carried them out! This why I wish the old Empire still existed! Shit got done back in those days!\u201d\n\nConsidering how much Quintus bitches about the senate he\u2019s certainly right about the Empire getting shit done. Jennifer continues.\n\n\u201cWell the gnomes may have re-entered the area due to being on the run from the other new nation that has reportedly arrived in the area, the Xi Hive.\u201d\n\u201cNow who the hell are they?!\u201d you ask.\n\u201cA great danger if the sources are even only half correct.\u201d Quintus interjects. \u201cAnd a perfect reason for the senate to get their shit together, but will they listen? No of course not! I just get accusations of being a warmongering troublemaker when in fact I\u2019m trying to save all of their ungrateful asses!\u201d Quintus shouts causing you and Jennifer and you to stare at him.\n\nQuintus hasn\u2019t really told you what his goals are yet and what role you might play in them, but you can already make a good guess at what one of them might be.\n\n\u201cSorry. Please continue explaining the Xi Hive to our guest, Miss Mol.\u201d Quintus says.\n\u201cSo, the Xi Hive is apparently ruled by a race of insectoid creatures. Almost ant like in nature, they\u2019re probably even directed by a queen. They don\u2019t really have any proper settlements. We think they might be primarily subterranean, but that doesn\u2019t stop them from attacking the humble villages that are on the surface. They don\u2019t leave anyone alive and take survivors as captives; presumably underground where I can only guess they might eat or enslave them. They haven\u2019t attacked any of the major powers yet like the Red Cap Kingdom or one of the six cities, but they have been slowly moving east, so it\u2019s only a matter of time.\u201d\n\nYou sit there taking all of this in. Orcs running amok, a new gnome nation, united svelk, ant people\u2026and you haven\u2019t even heard the whole sad story on the Nalin Republic yet.\n\n\u201cTell me something is there ANYTHING that didn\u2019t go to fucking hell when the Empire fell?\u201d you ask.\n\nQuintus and Jennifer aren\u2019t sure how to respond. They think for a moment and then Quintus thinks of something.\n\n\u201cUm\u2026before the cataclysm, Empire was in the process with wiping up gnoll rabble on its western borders wasn\u2019t it?\u201d\n\u201cYes.\u201d\n\u201cWell, they must\u2019ve never recovered from it, because there hasn\u2019t been a gnoll seen in nearly five centuries!\u201d\n\u201cGee\u2026well thank the Empire for small victories.\u201d You say shaking your head with your hand on your forehead.", "action_results": [null]}, {"action": "The Nalin Republic (Successor to the Empire)", "result": "After hearing about the terrible state the rest of the former Empire is in, you ask about the land that managed to somewhat keep it together thanks to Brenda.\n\nJennifer says that the cataclysm did hit Nalin, but it didn\u2019t change the landscape so much as it changed the weather patterns. For the longest time, Nalin was about as wet as Delerg was before most of that place just submerged under water. It got so rainy that the Usksha Desert actually started receding. After a hundred years of this, Nalin\u2019s territory grew just due to weather as the usksha nomads retreated deeper into their desert and border raids became non-existent.\n\nMeanwhile Nalin continued to slowly evolve. After Brenda\u2019s death, her second in command, Tarna, took power. She ruled much in the same way Brenda did, but not as wisely. She was considered far too authoritarian to an unreasonable degree and she did not have the charisma or respect to pull it off. There were even accusations that she had Brenda assassinated.\n\nWhatever the case, after a few decades of her rule, the general public had had enough her. There was a rebellion and she was violently disposed. At first an attempt to rule the Nalin Dominion by a small council of leaders, this worked for a while, but there were still problems with this. In time it was decided that the people wanted to be even better represented, it was around this time that the beginnings of the republic were truly born.\n\nThe republic in its current form has lasted about two centuries, with alterations in certain procedures and laws here and there. During that time slavery has been completely done away with and there is trade with some of the more reasonable city-states in Arat. There is also trade with the recently re-emerged usksha nomads who apparently have formed their own new government of sorts called the Usksha Emirates.\n\nPopulation here is mostly human, though there are elves here as well. In fact it\u2019s about the only area where they\u2019re treated as full equals now. While kobolds were \u201cassimilated\u201d even during Brenda\u2019s time, they\u2019re still not entirely accepted by everyone despite most of them now being productive members of society. There are even a few usksha that have set up permanent shops and live within the republic. These oddities mostly live on the desert borders and are viewed with suspicion even if there is a peace with their people now. Quintus in particular believes they should go back to their desert and doesn\u2019t like the idea of them not being proper members of the republic since they don\u2019t adopt the language or customs.\n\n\u201cLook, I don\u2019t have any problem with the sand savages on a personal level. I\u2019m just saying that if they want to live in the republic, they should learn the language and adopt OUR culture! Even the kobolds make the effort! Of course most of those fat bastards in the senate are just concerned about is maintaining a good relation with the Usksha Emirates so they can line their pockets with the coin made from trade kickbacks. Not to mention all the drugs they allow to go through.\u201d Quintus\n\u201cDrugs?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cOh yes. You haven\u2019t been here long enough to see it, but despite the republic\u2019s veneer of peace there lies a very serious drug problem. The sand savages trade more than just their crystal trinkets and cloth. They deal in a drug known as sandman and make it out of a type of lizard creature that only exists in that desert of theirs. A basilisk I believe. It puts people in a sleep state to the point of near paralysis. I mean it\u2019s almost impossible to wake them up while they\u2019re under the influence. I guess it gives people really intense dreams that most really enjoy, because a lot of people get addicted. Of course a lot don\u2019t wake up either. It\u2019s a major problem yet it\u2019s not the only instance of the senate turning a blind eye to illegal substances coming into the country.\u201d\n\u201cWhat else do the usksha bring in?\u201d\n\u201cOh it isn\u2019t just the sand savages. It\u2019s also the pirates and smugglers from the Delerg islands. Besides attacking our pathetic excuse for a navy they sneak in that foul brew that makes people go blind. I have no idea why people even want the damn stuff when we have our own superior alcoholic beverages right here. It\u2019s this kind of moral degeneracy and apathy that\u2019s going to lead to our demise if we don\u2019t start doing something about it!\u201d\n\u201cCan\u2019t the military do something about this or maybe a police force? You ask.\n\u201cHah. Jennifer told me of your opinion on our military, and you\u2019re absolutely right. Most of them are not up to the task. They\u2019re not disciplined like they should be and they certainly don\u2019t have the most intensive training. I\u2019ve read about how the Empire used to train its average ground troops. Our soldiers wouldn\u2019t last one day in that form of basic training. As for a police force, we do have the peacekeepers, but they\u2019re even less effective than the military mainly because they have limits on what they\u2019re allowed to do to citizens. Even if said citizen is behaving in a suspicious manner they can\u2019t do anything unless they\u2019ve already slit the throat of some old woman for coin so they can go buy more sandman.\u201d\n\nYou can certainly understand Quintus\u2019 frustration. The Empire had its share of problems, but maintaining order over the plebs wasn\u2019t one of them.\n\n\u201cThe senate is made up of a bunch of corrupt plutocrats who aren\u2019t interested in making Nalin better. As I said most of them are only in it for money. Others are just weak willed and go along with the crowd. A few are genuinely dangerous idealistic fools who want to introduce even more liberty amongst the populace! Can you believe that? This place needs more order not less!\u201d\n\nYou knew this \u201crepublic\u201d concept sounded terrible when Jennifer first explained it to you. Looks like you were right.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019ve become lax and complacent! The orcs of the Quala Badlands are only going to grow in numbers. How long before their numbers become too unmanageable? How long before the Usksha decide to backstab us while we allow them to infiltrate our borders? How long before the svelk unite the six cities and become a power to be feared? How long before the Xi Hive consumes us all?\u201d\n\nQuintus continues ranting, you get the impression he\u2019s given a similar speech to the senate on many occasions.\n\n\u201cWe should be growing stronger by expanding! Instead we\u2019re just rotting on the inside! Even our research in new technology has become stagnant! The gnomes are ahead of us in this way and if the rumors are true, so is the city state of Telis!\u201d\u2019\n\u201cWhat about magic power?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cWell, even since the cataclysm, magic isn\u2019t very common anywhere anymore. In fact as far as I know the only place that does have it is the city state of Lenay and even then the svelk only have it to a limited degree. If it weren\u2019t for me, we wouldn\u2019t have anything at all. I\u2019ve been funding all these expeditions in the hopes of unearthing powerful magic weapons of the old Empire, but other than the few personal rings you see me wearing, this staff and a few other things I have locked away, I haven\u2019t had much luck. I\u2019ve even tried getting a magic school started in the hopes that perhaps there are some latent mages or perhaps a hedge wizard out there, but the idea was dismissed as a waste of public funds.\u201d\n\nQuintus goes on about the failings of the republic for quite some time, but it all is sort of boring you. The republic is a weak inefficient state that coddles its citizens and is run by corrupt fools. You got it the first time. Jennifer told you Quintus was influential, but so far all you\u2019ve heard is a lot of his failures to get things accomplished.\n\nYou certainly hope he\u2019s got a better plan of action than just whining.", "action_results": [null]}]}]}]}]}, {"action": "Attack the Emperor", "result": "Semra\u2019s just going to have to suffer a bit longer because you need to kill the Emperor. Besides, if you do kill him, you will have helped her anyway.\n\nYou stagger towards the Emperor and raise your sword in an effort to strike him, but it\u2019s a clumsy attack that he easily evades. He instead grabs your sword hand and you feel an even greater drain on your energy than you did before.\n\n\u201cTch. Tch. What were you thinking son? I guess you weren\u2019t otherwise you wouldn\u2019t have tried to kill me in the first place.\u201d\n\nThe Emperor continues to drain you of your life and it doesn\u2019t take long before you see your hand shrivel and wizen before your eyes. Your entire body soon follows this sequence until your organs fail and death is instantaneous though definitely not painless.", "action_results": []}]}]}]}]}, {"action": "Retire", "result": "You think back to when you had to \u201cretire\u201d Kane. Different circumstances of course, but he knew when it was time. You know when its time too and the time is now.\n\nHowever, you aren\u2019t going to accept death so easily. It\u2019s going to have to be earned.\n\nDoesn\u2019t take long before twenty tank babies along with the other two that were involved in the first demonstration come out fully decked out in armor and weapons. Surprisingly the derro didn\u2019t deck them all out in the heaviest body encasing armor they could give them, though there are at least half of them dressed in such a manner. You can\u2019t help notice that the derro didn\u2019t limit their weapons to close combat, you see some with firearms.\n\n\u201cWell here they are! Where the hell are you? Hehehehehehe! Did you lose your nerve and run away already?\u201d Marik says calling out for you.\n\nThen you jump from the top of one of the tanks you climbed up on and bring your sword down on one of the tank babies, and quickly stab another in the throat with your dagger. You take advantage of their confusion by dispatching the ones with gunpowder weapons first. After snatching one of their flintlocks and blowing the head off of one, Marik tries to rally the tank babies with a simple instruction.\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t just stand there letting him massacre the lot of you, kill him!\u201d\n\nYou cut down another three and begin to get into battle mode.\n\n\u201cMarik, release more of them!\u201d you shout ducking a mace at your head.\n\u201cWhat?!\u201d\n\u201cI said release more of these tank babies! If they\u2019re going to replace me, they need to learn and these aren\u2019t going to be enough to teach that lesson!\u201d you shout back and dispatch the mace wielding tank baby.\n\nYou\u2019re too busy fighting to pay too much attention to what Marik is doing, but the sound of several tanks opening up followed by the sound several new footsteps are an indication that he listened to you.\n\nYou slay more of them and demand that Marik keep throwing more at you. The tank babies aren\u2019t without skill, but you\u2019re proving to be a little too much for them to handle. Thoughts of \u201cretirement\u201d begin to leave your mind, and this thrill of battle is giving you that renewed incentive to live.\n\nUnfortunately you don\u2019t anticipate your derro host to take matters into his own hands. Seems Marik isn\u2019t pleased with you easily killing off his experiments.\n\n\u201cSvelk loving bastard!\u201d you hear Marik shout and then followed by a shot from a high platform above. The bullet hits you in the side and causes you to fall to the floor. The tank babies that you were currently fighting take advantage of the situation and gleefully stab at you or bludgeon you with maces and clubs.\n\nYou try to get back up, but you\u2019re overwhelmed and too badly wounded. Boots stomp and kick your body followed by several blades through your internal organs. You\u2019re finally finished off by another gunshot to your head.\n\nLater on Marik explains to the Emperor that you insisted on fighting fifty of the new eternals to test them and that despite his warnings you were killed in the ensuing melee. If you were still alive you probably would be honored that the Emperor had Marik killed soon afterwards.", "action_results": []}]}, {"action": "Empire Expansion (Year 33)", "result": "Year 33\n\nWhile the Emperor may be physically sick, his ambition remains perfectly fine and the Empire continues to grow thanks to you leading its armies.\n\nShortly after the death of Roldan, you were assigned to the eastern frontier of Nalin just as you thought you might. Though with Roldan dead, you also thought you might immediately get reassigned to take care of the gnolls, but expansion westward was put on hold since there was no longer an immediate danger.\n\nYou worked with Brenda for some of the campaign. She was most familiar with the region east of Nalin and had scouts sent that way many times. You remember during Roldan\u2019s funeral you wondered if she might be angry with you for your inability to kill the assassin that killed her husband, but apparently what really happened was made a secret. You got credit for killing Cyrus and then Semra ambushed you and left you for dead. As a result, Brenda has always treated you with a lot of respect and gratitude. She may even feel a certain kinship with you since you both experienced loss of a significant other.\n\nBrenda however has never forgiven Warrick who she felt was supposed to be in charge of security that day. Indeed he and several Eyes might\u2019ve normally been executed for incompetence or even suspicion of treason, however he swore up and down that he believed everything to be secure. As upset as Jacob was, he said Warrick was not at fault and surprisingly neither did the Emperor. Besides you all know it was really the work of Semra anyway.\n\nIn any case, Brenda\u2019s scout information proved most useful. There was a small tribal war going on between four separate groups, though all of them are hostile save for one of the and that\u2019s mainly because the other three have come in contact with the Empire before. Two of them are human barbarian tribes, one them is elven, but much wilder than what you know of them and the last one is a race you\u2019re not familiar with called the Slin. They\u2019re reptilian in nature though, similar to the kobolds, but much larger and meaner. The fools obviously thought they could escape the reach of the Empire by hiding, they soon learn that they cannot hide from the Emperor\u2019s wrath.\n\nThe Belkaz were one of the human barbarian tribes. Since they had no prior hostilities to the Empire, they were dealt with first diplomatically. Of course your version of diplomacy meant that their most argumentative and hostile members were executed as an example and the rest were given warning that if they do not submit then the rest of them will be put in chains at best or follow their executed brethren at worst. Doesn\u2019t take long for them to submit and provide further intelligence on their rivals.\n\nThe other human tribe, the Fleg were the next to fall. The Emperor told you that he vaguely remembered the Fleg. Said they were a very minor cult that cropped up and became disruptive in the Nalin province about a century ago. The Emperor doesn\u2019t quite remember what the hell they worshipped, but that like most religions it was subversive to the proper order of things. The Empire stomped it out, but it can be assumed that some of the members fled here and these were their descendants. They didn\u2019t provide much of a challenge despite their fanatical beliefs in whatever gods they worshipped. Ultimately their cult was finally wiped out for good when you got to their last village you found that they all committed ritual suicide.\n\nThe wild elf tribe was next. They were fierce fighters at first, but after you wiped out the Fleg and started making great progress against the Slin, something in them must\u2019ve changed. It\u2019s as if all their courage left them. These elves were all former slaves that managed to run away from the Empire during the chaos of the Halfling rebelling long ago. The elder that lead them actually called for a white flag parley with you and spoke of how he should\u2019ve known it was folly to run away and that the Empire would eventually find them again even if it took them hundreds of years. You told him that it was indeed foolish, but that his realization of this reality wouldn\u2019t be enough to save the remainder of his people.\n\nYou have all the elves slaughtered like the cowering dogs they are. Their begging and pleas fall on deaf ears and sicken you. Part of you briefly wonders if you should spare the children and take them back as slaves, but then you think, why run that risk again in another couple decades? They\u2019re already tainted with the idea of \u201cfreedom\u201d and will only repeat the mistakes of their parents and grandparents.\n\nFinally, the last to fall are the Slin. The Emperor told you that he remembered the Slin and thought he\u2019d made a point of making them extinct centuries ago. They originally dwelled in the swamps of Delerg and were once at hostilities with the Shadows that lived there as well. Wasn\u2019t long after the Shadows made their convenient alliance with the Empire that the Slin started taking heavy losses against them. It was thought to be the case that the shadows were successful in killing them all, but it seems they were not and the Slin ultimately had the last laugh of outliving their former foes. Though not for long.\n\nStill, they fought to the last, giving no quarter and showing none themselves, they were about the only worthy enemy you fought against in this region. In many ways to be admired.\n\nWith the four major inhabitants subdued, the region was claimed and it will only be a matter of time before proper Empire citizens settle it. Further east leads to vast open sea. You predict that in time as the coast is settled the Empire will eventually have a navy to rival its army and who know, new lands may be conquered across the ocean. There are certainly tales of other such lands.\n\nAfter this victory, the next bit of business was finishing off the gnolls. You were put in charge of this as well and it didn\u2019t really take too long. You and Alison had broken most of the might of the gnoll tribes long ago. Roldan was just mopping up the remnants and you complete the task at last.\n\nWith the last major gnoll lair destroyed the Empire expanded its western borders even further. What lies beyond is a little bit of a mystery as there are no major reports of any organized societies, though there are certainly reports of other civilizations beyond the immediate western wilderness, they are very far away. Whatever they may be you\u2019re confident that they will be no match for the Empire.\n\nOf course these thoughts of future victories are all you have now to keep yourself in a positive mood nowadays. Your recent success has basically ensured that further major expansion and conquest won\u2019t be necessary for quite some time. Alison\u2019s gone and the Emperor\u2019s health is still poor and showing no signs of improving.\n\nIt is no wonder that your mind drifts into possible better days ahead.", "action_results": [null]}, {"action": "Kane's Retirement (Year 34)", "result": "Year 34\n\nThrough the extreme cold, the wailing the winds and the relentless snow, you look up and finally see your destination in sight; A lonely outpost which consist of a small watch hut on a hill near the Rask Mountains.\n\nHow the hell such a structure continues to exist is amazing. The rough weather around here is bad enough, but the fact that it exists on the very edge of ogre and giant territory and who knows what else living in those mountains is almost impossible to believe.\n\nYet the very fact it continues to exist is a testament to the man who lives inside it. A man who has been doing his best to serve loyally despite his condition.\n\nA condition that has at last become too unbearable for him. You received the letter a week ago. As far as you know, you\u2019re the only one who knows this. He apparently hasn\u2019t even told this to Jacob.\n\nThis has been a long time coming. You knew it was only a matter of time, you just hope it isn\u2019t too late.\n\nYou wake your way up the long winding path up to the hut. There are signs that a battle occurred here weeks ago. Fresh ogre skulls have been put on several sharpened wooden poles like a grisly totem pole. A frozen giant head lies nearby the poles, some of it looks like its been eaten. This is a good sign at least. Kane has probably still managed to contain his hunger to his enemies and hasn\u2019t been thinking about other potential victims.\n\nThe closer you get to the hut, the more cautious you become. You have no idea what Kane\u2019s state of mind is right now. Has he completely lost it? Is he still relatively in control? Will he attack you as soon as you enter the hut?\n\nYou\u2019re about to find out when you open the door up with sword in hand.\n\nKane sits by a kettle making some sort of stew; you can guess what it might be. He looks up and you can see in his face that he is much different than when you last saw him. The beast within is taking over. His mouth is wider and exposing his teeth which are now fangs. His hands have become more like claws. Just like you saw him temporarily during your visit at Gnome\u2019s Home.\n\nDespite his appearance, he doesn\u2019t seem hostile or out of control.\n\n\u201cGot my letter I see. Glad you could make it. Wasn\u2019t sure if you were busy, I don\u2019t get much news this way.\u201d He says testing his soup.\n\u201cActually I don\u2019t have much to do nowadays. The Empire has stopped its period of expansion for now and all of its enemies are inconsequential.\u201d\n\u201cHuh, tell that to the giants that lumber down from the mountains around here. You know how hard it is to instill a fearsome reputation among creatures that are twice or three times your size? It isn\u2019t easy.\u201d\n\u201cI would imagine it isn\u2019t, but given that Rask doesn\u2019t suffer as many giant or ogre raids anymore I\u2019d say you\u2019ve done a good job.\u201d\n\nKane gives you an unsettling toothy smile.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s all I\u2019ve ever wanted to hear, you know? However, I\u2019m not entirely successful since there are still attacks I have to stop. I don\u2019t think there\u2019s much for it though, some are just too plain stupid to know the meaning of fear. When I\u2019m gone make sure Fort Defiance gets extra troops. I know we\u2019ve since invented all these great killing machines and new weapons that can kill a lot faster, but extra manpower can\u2019t hurt.\u201d\n\u201cIs it really that bad now?\u201d you ask.\n\u201cWhat do you think?\u201d Kane answers as if his appearance is enough to prove his condition is indeed getting to the point of no return.\n\n\u201cI can\u2019t take the hunger pains any longer. Each day I grow closer to giving in completely. The funny thing is, this\u2026 creature inside me is probably the closest thing I\u2019ve ever had to a friend. It sometimes even speaks to me as if it is a comrade in arms. In some ways it is. I don\u2019t believe I could keep up some of the things I do without its great strength helping me. It has allowed me to serve the Empire longer than I probably would have otherwise.\u201d\n\nYou almost want to say that the abomination that has possessed Kane\u2019s body is not his friend and has only been using him to help feed its unending hunger, but Kane is probably struggling to find some measure of peace in his situation, so you do not lecture.\n\n\u201cPerhaps it was meant to be.\u201d You say.\n\u201cI like to think so\u2026but I also know it is time. As much as I would like to continue serving my duty forever, I know I cannot. So I called upon you. The only one I know that could take me down if need be. The only one worthy to. I know even though we never spoke much, those moments we did talk in Gnome\u2019s Home I knew you to be a man of honor. You found out the truth about my situation, yet you saw that I was still an Eternal at heart. You will always have my thanks for that brother.\u201d\n\nKane continues to sit focusing on his stew. At this point you feel as if it would be best to get this over with quickly. You walk over to him with your weapon still drawn. He makes no effort to defend himself and even puts his head down so as to expose the back of his neck to you for a better cut.\n\n\u201cI was sorry to hear about your wife. Major Krozer was an excellent warrior. It was also a loss to the Empire. So was the death of Roldan, as will the death me, but I know the Empire will survive. And because it will survive, I will survive along with all others who died within its duty. Just promise me two things brother.\u201d\n\u201cYes?\u201d you ask preparing to strike.\n\u201cTell them I died in battle with ogres and giants.\u201d\n\u201cAnd the second?\u201d\n\u201cSteel your mind. The demon will attempt to possess you, but I imagine you\u2019ll be stronger to resist it than I. You always were the best of us. Perhaps the only true Eternal.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re an Eternal Kane, you always will be.\u201d You remark and bring your blade down on his neck. It isn\u2019t a quick death mainly because Kane isn\u2019t himself. The wendigo inside is finally unleashed and Kane begins howling and snarling as he writhes on the floor with his neck half severed.\n\n\u201cYou will torment this honorable man no longer, demon.\u201d You say and finish the decapitation. Kane\u2019s body still twitches on the floor even with his head now detached. It even manages to weakly kick at you. The deed is done, but now you do indeed feel the invading presence of the wendigo.\n\n\u201cI remember you from that wonderful place where all those delicious gnomes and that obnoxious svelk woman were. You are strong and powerful, but just think how much more powerful you could be if you just let me in\u2026\u201d the wendigo remarks.\n\u201cIf you do remember me, then you also know that I\u2019ve been psychically assaulted by hundreds of angry gnome souls at the same time. Do you really think you stand a chance?\u201d\n\u201cSsssss! I am no weak gnome soul! I am wendigo! I am hunger everlasting and forever yearning! And soon YOU will share that desire!\u201d the wendigo hisses.\n\nThe wendigo\u2019s threats are in vain however. You are more than equipped to take care of one now. You\u2019ve long since strengthened your mind from psychic attacks and you also took the time to study wendigo lore before even coming here. You begin chanting.\n\n\u201cWhat\u2026what are you doing?\u201d the wendigo asks, but you ignore it and concentrate on banishing it. In the middle of this process you sense that the wendigo halts its pathetic attempts to possess you and instead attempts to escape back to the land that it was originally bound to, but you aren\u2019t letting it get away.\n\n\u201cNo! Not oblivion! Stop or I\u2019ll make you suffer mortal!\u201d\n\nMore empty threats. Funny how even a demonic spirit like this one when faced with the possibility of ultimate death it still pleads for its \u201clife\u201d just like\u2026well a mortal would.\n\nEventually its voice disappears along with its very essence. The wendigo is gone and you\u2019re left with another dead \u201csibling.\u201d\n\nAfter a bit of clean up you report the incident to Jacob, who while not as upset when Roldan died, is still visibly saddened.\n\n\u201cI didn\u2019t know it had gotten that bad. He never said\u2026\u201d Jacob remarks.\n\u201cI don\u2019t think he wanted you to know. Probably thought you\u2019d keep trying to protect him, especially since Roldan died two years ago. And he knew I\u2019d take care of it. Not just killing him, but killing the demon within him too.\u201d\n\nJacob begins looking through his paperwork for a blank piece of paper and starts writing. It\u2019s probably some decree to give Kane a proper military funeral along with the usual accolades about how he died gloriously in battle with several giants.\n\n\u201cHis duty to the Empire won\u2019t be forgotten. I\u2019m going to make sure of that.\u201d Jacob says.\n\u201cThat\u2019s all he ever wanted.\u201d You reply and take your leave.", "action_results": [null]}]}, {"action": "Try to heal Alison", "result": "Ignoring the increasingly bumpy ride and still holding Alison in your arms, you concentrate as hard as you can trying to heal her.\n\n\u201cHang on Alison. I can bring you back. I know I can. Just hold on\u2026\u201d you say.\n\nThe carriage doesn\u2019t hold on however and soon its bumpy ride comes to a sudden stop when it crashes into a tree and turns over. You and Alison are thrown about causing you to lose focus.\n\n\u201cSHIT!\u201d you shout followed by several other curses as you scramble back to Alison\u2019s body which is now starting to grow cold.\n\nOnce again you attempt to heal her, trying not to break down emotionally, but once again you are interrupted. This time by her killer who appears above you standing on the outside of the now ruined carriage. You don\u2019t react in time to avoid the bolt he shoots at you which pierces your skull. Your body falls on top of Alison\u2019s though you\u2019re not quite dead yet. The brain is a funny thing when damaged in a very specific way. Instead of dying immediately, your body is twitching involuntarily and you\u2019re helpless to defend yourself against any further attack.\n\nIn your final moments the assassin jumps in the carriage with you and grabs you by your neck. You feel a great drain on your remaining strength. You can\u2019t see very well at this point, but the assassin\u2019s face even in this rotten form looks somewhat familiar. It almost looks like Cyrus.\n\nBut it couldn\u2019t be him\u2026could it?\n\nThe assassin\u2019s grinning expression seems to say it all.\n\nBut why or how he came to this state will remain a mystery to you along with whoever it was that raised him in the first place.", "action_results": []}]}]}, {"action": "Married without children (Year 31)", "result": "Year 31\n\nYou didn\u2019t mean to get into a minor argument about this, but you like to be prepared for all eventualities, so you had to ask the question\u2026\n\n\u201cAlison, I actually don\u2019t care if you\u2019ve been drinking stillness potions to avoid unwanted burdens, because I\u2019d understand. I just wanted to know if you were drinking them.\u201d You explain.\n\u201cNo, I haven\u2019t. I used to before I met you and I did even in the beginnings of our relationship, but I stopped taking them years ago.\u201d\n\u201cReally? I would\u2019ve thought you would\u2019ve waited until after marriage.\u201d\n\u201cWhat for? It wasn\u2019t like I had any intimate encounters after you got transferred, well other than my hand.\u201d\n\nYou quickly start counting up the times in your head when you\u2019ve had sex with Alison since you\u2019ve been married.\n\n\u201cYes dear, it\u2019s been MORE than enough times for an accidental burden as you put it to have occurred.\u201d Alison remarks. \u201cI\u2019m not sure why you\u2019re even concerned about this, I\u2019ve never known you to want kids. Is this something you want?\u201d\n\u201cWell no\u2026(Sigh) I just wanted to know if it was something you wanted because I think\u2026and I don\u2019t know this for certain, but I believe I am unable to provide you children. I probably should\u2019ve told you this before, but honestly you\u2019re right in that I\u2019ve never gave children much consideration before. In fact, I\u2019ve probably only been pondering this more because I\u2019ve had more downtime than I ever had since we defeated the Felkans.\n\nAlison gets silent for a moment.\n\n\u201cI see. But why do you think this? I mean do you have any proof? It can\u2019t be an equipment problem because we both know that works. You might take into consideration that sex doesn\u2019t always lead to a screaming infant. Just most of the time.\u201d\n\u201cYeah, but as you pointed out, once is all it takes. I guess I\u2019m just thinking about Roldan and his own marriage with Brenda. He once told me they\u2019ve genuinely tried to have children on several occasions. Even to the point of both of them imbibing fertility potions. Nothing worked.\u201d\n\u201cSo? Just because Roldan or Brenda sterile that means you are too?\u201d\n\u201cQuite possibly. You forget, we\u2019re all Eternals. Roldan told me that he and Brenda came to that conclusion. He believes that it might have something to do with all the enhancements that are made on us when we were still babies. I mean its not like Warrick or Kane have any children either.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019d hate to think about Kane having any offspring given what I knew of him and what you\u2019ve told me since you saw him again. Look, I think you might be worrying over nothing.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m not worrying for me, so much as I\u2019m worrying for you. I mean I don\u2019t know if you\u2019ve ever wanted children. You\u2019ve never mentioned it much. But I don\u2019t know if you\u2019re going to change your mind one day and if that\u2019s the case then you\u2019re going to be mighty upset with me.\u201d\n\u201cFunny enough, I thought you bringing up the subject was going to result in you being upset with me.\u201d\n\u201cWhy the hell would I be upset with you?\u201d\n\u201cWell, I don\u2019t know if you\u2019re aware of this, but stillness potions aren\u2019t exactly the best thing for your lady parts. I mean they don\u2019t do any fatal damage to the drinker as far as I know, but given that they are designed to kill potential offspring, it can make it a bit hard for future pregnancies. I guess it\u2019s the mixture that stays in your body or something. So for all we know, the problem might lie with me.\u201d\n\u201cOh. Didn\u2019t know that. Um\u2026are you okay?\u201d\n\u201cSure. I mean I knew the risks every time I drank the foul tasting potions. That\u2019s why I don\u2019t even think you should concern yourself with this. I mean if we create a future hell spawn then we do, if not well that\u2019s fine too. I didn\u2019t marry you for the idea of hanging up my sword so I could pop out kids. And as far as your potential sterility problem it\u2019s not like you\u2019ve got much to test that theory on. If you were some super stud that fucked multiple women and didn\u2019t get any of them pregnant I could see your concern. You\u2019ve had at exactly two women in your life and in my case we\u2019ve already explored the possibility that it could be me. And as for the other\u2026well she\u2019s a svelk. It isn\u2019t like elves and humans can produce offspring.\u201d\n\u201cThank the Emperor for that.\u201d You say.\n\u201cAlthough as you\u2019ve pointed out, you\u2019re not quite the average human are you? So for all you know you\u2019ve got some half svelk bastard running about that your obsessive stalker hasn\u2019t told you about.\u201d Alison jokes.\n\u201cThat\u2019s not funny Alison.\u201d\n\u201cHey it would explain why she\u2019s still carrying a bit of a torch for you. Okay, I\u2019ll stop I can see you\u2019re getting grumpy. Let\u2019s get off the subject entirely.\u201d\n\nAt this point you\u2019re more than willing to do just that rather than dwell on very unlikely yet very depressing possibilities.", "action_results": [null]}]}]}]}]}]}]}, null]}, null]}]}]}, null]}]}, null]}, null]}, null]}]}, null]}]}, null]}]}]}, null, null, null]}]}]}]}]}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/scraper/scraper.py b/data/scraper/scraper.py
index c7f7a73..bb6ef92 100644
--- a/data/scraper/scraper.py
+++ b/data/scraper/scraper.py
@@ -29,10 +29,12 @@ class Scraper:
         exec_path = "/usr/bin/chromedriver"
         self.driver = webdriver.Chrome(chrome_options=chrome_options, executable_path=exec_path)
         self.max_depth = 10
-        self.end_action = "End Game and Leave Comments"
+        self.end_actions = ["End Game and Leave Comments",
+                            "See How Well You Did (you can still back-page afterwards if you like)"]
         self.texts = set()
 
     def GoToURL(self, url):
+        self.texts = set()
         self.driver.get(url)
         time.sleep(0.5)
 
@@ -85,7 +87,7 @@ class Scraper:
         action_result["action_results"] = []
 
         for i, action in enumerate(actions):
-            if actions[i] != self.end_action and actions[i] != "Epilogue":
+            if actions[i] not in self.end_actions and actions[i] != "Epilogue":
                 sub_action_result = self.BuildTreeHelper(result, i, depth, actions)
                 if action_result is not None:
                     action_result["action_results"].append(sub_action_result)
@@ -105,7 +107,7 @@ class Scraper:
         story_dict["action_results"] = []
 
         for i, action in enumerate(actions):
-            if action != self.end_action:
+            if action not in self.end_actions:
                 action_result = self.BuildTreeHelper(text, i, 0, actions)
                 if action_result is not None:
                     story_dict["action_results"].append(action_result)
@@ -119,8 +121,30 @@ def save_tree(tree, filename):
 scraper = Scraper()
 
 urls = ["http://chooseyourstory.com/story/viewer/default.aspx?StoryId=10638",
-        "http://chooseyourstory.com/story/viewer/default.aspx?StoryId=11246"]
+        "http://chooseyourstory.com/story/viewer/default.aspx?StoryId=11246",
+        "http://chooseyourstory.com/story/viewer/default.aspx?StoryId=54639",
+        "http://chooseyourstory.com/story/viewer/default.aspx?StoryId=7397",
+        "http://chooseyourstory.com/story/viewer/default.aspx?StoryId=8041",
+        "http://chooseyourstory.com/story/viewer/default.aspx?StoryId=11545",
+        "http://chooseyourstory.com/story/viewer/default.aspx?StoryId=7393",
+        "http://chooseyourstory.com/story/viewer/default.aspx?StoryId=13875",
+        "http://chooseyourstory.com/story/viewer/default.aspx?StoryId=37696",
+        "http://chooseyourstory.com/story/viewer/default.aspx?StoryId=31353",
+        "http://chooseyourstory.com/story/viewer/default.aspx?StoryId=31013",
+        "http://chooseyourstory.com/story/viewer/default.aspx?StoryId=45375",
+        "http://chooseyourstory.com/story/viewer/default.aspx?StoryId=41698",
+        "http://chooseyourstory.com/story/viewer/default.aspx?StoryId=10634",
+        "http://chooseyourstory.com/story/viewer/default.aspx?StoryId=42204",
+        "http://chooseyourstory.com/story/viewer/default.aspx?StoryId=6823",
+        "http://chooseyourstory.com/story/viewer/default.aspx?StoryId=18988",
+        "http://chooseyourstory.com/story/viewer/default.aspx?StoryId=10359",
+        "http://chooseyourstory.com/story/viewer/default.aspx?StoryId=5466",
+        "http://chooseyourstory.com/story/viewer/default.aspx?StoryId=28030"
+        ]
+
+for i, url in enumerate(urls):
+    print("****** Extracting Adventure ", url, " ***********")
+    tree = scraper.BuildStoryTree(url)
+    save_tree(tree, "stories/story" + str(i) + ".json")
 
-tree = scraper.BuildStoryTree(urls[0])
-save_tree(tree, "scraped_story.json")
 print("done")