text: [Themes: grimdark fantasy, villain protagonist]
  
  The idea is so repugnant to you that you can't even bring yourself to even lie about joining him. It probably wouldn't work anyway; you've never been a good liar. You breathe deeply before speaking again.
  
  "Kane, I am NOT going to help you. Now you do what you must, and I shall do what I must."
  "Told you this was a waste of time, let us be done with this." 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.
  
  You 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.
  
  You hear Kane and Cyrus arguing as large orcs stomp into the office and begin kicking you as you fall unconscious.
  
  When you wake up, you hear an unexpected familiar voice, though the most unexpected thing is that you woke up at all.
  
  "Hey, get up. Good thing that weak ass poison doesn't work on us very well." Edgar says helping you up.
  "Edgar? What's happened here?" You ask looking around and finding yourself stripped of most of your clothing and in a cell.
  
  "I knew he wouldn't be able to convince you. I told Kane that, but he kept going on about how you'd 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."
  "Is that how come he hasn't killed us?"
  "I guess so, though I don't think Cyrus would have such sentimental feelings and would have us killed if he had more say in the matter."
  "Well, Cyrus at least seems to be thinking like an Eternal in that respect. Kane has apparently gone completely mad though...how the hell did this happen?!"
  "You got time for a story?" Edgar asks rhetorically before explaining from the beginning.
  
  Edgar 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 "accepted" by anyone.
  
  Edgar says he didn't care of course and was content with the respect that he had earned and getting accolades for slaying giants and such. Kane wasn't handling the isolation as well and was becoming increasingly more withdrawn.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.
  
  Edgar believes that Kane must've really taken the split of the team harder than any of you could've known. He suspects that might've 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't wait for the day when you all would be together again.
  
  "(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've made in the present and the past."
  "What's done is done now, but where does Cyrus come in?" you ask.
  
  Edgar 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's probably where they started to talk more to each other. Normally Shadow Guards don't 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.
  
  "I don't think Cyrus' Shadow Guard buddies approved of it too much, but he was their leader so they didn't say much." Edgar says.
  "So how did they control over the whole fort?"
  
  Edgar explains again that Cyrus and Kane must've cooked up this plan in secret for years, as in time various changes began to occur.
  
  The 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't raise any immediate alarms.
  
  The 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.
  
  The 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 "real leader." Captain Ian wasn't fond of this sort of behavior in any way though and reprimanded Kane several times, but it was obvious he didn't care.
  
  "It 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'll 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't agree with his plans. I know I have my faults, but disloyalty isn't one of them."
  "He's allied with ogres and giants? So wait, how long has Kane taken control of this place?" You ask. "We were still getting reports from here from Captain Ian up until last month."
  "Hah! Captain Ian's been dead for more than a few months now! Kane's 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."
  "By the Emperor I can't believe I was so close and never suspected anything wrong going on up here, let alone treason!" you say.
  "If it's any consolation, you weren't the only one. Besides like I said, I was here and I should've been the one to do something before anyone. Instead I got myself captured. Tried to bust out a few times, I figured I'd either escape or die trying. There's 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'd go completely weak and groggy. Then I'd end up back here again. Heh, Kane's so crazy now that he still believes that I'll eventually side with him."
  "Did you say battle mage? As in one?"
  "Yeah, used to have two and they probably would've 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."
  "Well they don't have any now, because I killed the other one before I got sent here."
  
  Edgar tries to contain his enthusiasm.
  
  "That's great! I mean with you by my side and none of that magic shit to complicate things, you've given us a much improved chance to escape for good!"
  
  Never thought you'd 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're concerned with escape. The longer you're gone, the more likely Lieutenant Verant will send someone up here to investigate. They'll be killed of course and then Kane will undoubtedly push a full attack on to Fort Destiny ad you don't have the highest hopes that they'd survive an attack by a combined army of orcs, ogres and giants without being prepared at least.
  
  You waste no time coming up with a plan. Simplest ones often work the best, Edgar tells you that it'll be feeding time soon and that you should remain "unconscious" and he'll do the rest.
  
  You get into position and eventually hear the footsteps of your orc jailer.
  
  "Here's yer food, Ed!" one of them says carrying a bowl.
  "Hey! Why'd you dump a dead body into this cell with me?" Edgar says.
  "Wha? He ain't dead he's just knocked out! I should know I was one of guys that kicked him in da head! Har har har har!"
  "Well he died in his sleep then from your kick to his head. I recognize him as an Eternal and Kane's gonna be pissed that you killed him!"
  "He ain't dead! He sleep!"
  "I'm telling you he's dead! Don't believe me, you better check yourself."
  "Oh 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."
  "And you really think Kane's gonna believe that? He knows Eternal don't kill each other, that's why he's keeping me alive even though I escape!"
  
  The orc pauses for a moment and decides he can't take the chance.
  
  "Bah, alright, I'll check, but I'm tellin' you he's just still unconscious! That shadow guy hit 'im with one of doze bolts of his. But YOU are gonna do something first."
  
  The 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.
  
  The orc approaches you and that's 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.
  
  After kicking the dead orc in the face you grab his keys and release Edgar.
  
  "Okay 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't be a problem this time and they probably won't think I'll try it again." Edgar says.
  
  The 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.
  
  > Fine Kane and Cyrus
  "We can't leave yet, we have to take care of Kane and Cyrus." You say.
  "What? You don't think it wouldn't be a better idea to escape and then come back with an army or something?" Edgar replies
  "It would be preferable yes, but by that time they'll be entrenched and possibly already on the move with their own army of giants, ogres and orcs. That's less likely to happen without Kane or Cyrus here."
  "You don't think someone else will take their place?"
  "I KNOW someone else will take their place, but by getting rid of Kane and Cyrus that shaky allied army that they've built up will fall apart. It will then be far easier to handle seeing as it won't commanded by Eternals."
  "Well, that's true...okay let's do it."
  
  Edgar 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's 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.
  
  At least not an obvious one.
  
  "I told the others that you wouldn't try to escape. Glad to see I was right." A man's voice says from somewhere. You and Edgar both grab weapons and look around putting your backs to each other.
  "Knew it was too easy." Edgar says.
  "It still can be." The voice remarks.
  "Who are you? Show yourself!" you demand.
  "And 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."
  
  "It's a Shadow Guard, he's using his blasted magic tricks to stay invisible to us." Edgar whispers.
  "If you're here to help, why have you allowed this to treason to happen in the first place?" you ask still keeping your guard up.
  "Oh various reasons, but let's just say the major reason is that Cyrus is a very convincing fellow. He probably doesn't seem like it to you, but he has a certain charm about him. It's how he's managed to convince Kane to go along with all this I imagine."
  "So this was all Cyrus' idea." You say still scanning the room.
  "Eh, it's a little more complicated than that I think, even I'm not privy to all the details. I only know as much as I do because Cyrus is a little more talkative after sex..."
  "Okay, I didn't need to hear about that!" Edgar exclaims.
  
  "Look 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." The voice says,
  "You do realize that you have already participated in treason and this attempt at switching sides because you know you'll lose anyway, will not save you?" you say undiplomatically.
  "Ha 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's why you'll be the death of us all...not YOU of course, but for the rest of us. (Sigh) I think the Shadow Guard should've broken away from the Empire years ago before you lot popped up. Anyway it hardly matters now, I'm still offering my help..."
  
  Before 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.
  
  "I hate to burst your ego, but this isn't the first time an Eternal has managed to detect me, you took longer though." The gray-cloaked man says.
  "How can I trust someone who has defied the Emperor and participated in treasonous acts?" you ask, ignoring the Shadow Guard's flippant nature.
  "You can't. And being a Shadow Guard probably makes me even less trustworthy. The only thing I can say is you'll have to make a leap of faith Eternal. I will confess this though. The Shadow Guard's 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."
  
  > trust the Shadow Guard
  You still don't trust the Shadow Guard, but if what he's 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...but then Eternals were supposed to be without disloyalty either.
  
  There will definitely be a reckoning after this immediate problem is taken care of.
  
  "Very well, we'll accept your help, if only because there's nothing you can do to stop us anyway." You say releasing the man.
  "Spoken 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."
  "What about Cyrus?" you ask.
  "He'll probably be with Kane discussing strategies as usual, at least I hope he will be. I don't 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'm sure you two will have no problems. Let's get to it shall we?"
  
  At this point you and Edgar reluctantly leave the Shadow Guard to carry out his part of the plan.
  
  "You don't really trust him do you?" Edgar asks.
  "Of course not, but if there is the chance that he'll help it's a gamble I'm willing to take. We're already severely outnumbered and in hostile territory if he was lying then nothing was really lost. Let's get to Kane's office, that's probably where he'll be."
  
  You manage to walk through the halls of the fort without difficulty thanks to the face covering helmets. Everyone just assumes you're 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.
  
  "Ay! 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!" the orc yells.
  "Wha?! Never did trust dat lot! We can't leave, da boss is in his office!" one of the guard says.
  "We gotta tell 'im anyway!" another guard adds about to enter the office.
  "Hey we'll tell the general and you take care of the shadows. You orcs are tougher so you'll be able to handle the situation better than we would. Besides you should go get yourselves some payback for what those bastards have done." You pipe up and say.
  "Yeah! Da humie iz right! Okay, you tell da boss and we'll take care of doze shadoze!" one of them says and they all going running off without realizing a thing.
  
  "You know I've 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." Edgar remarks.
  "Wonder about it later, we've got more important matters." You say opening the door, and stepping into Kane's office.
  
  Kane steps out of his private quarters wondering what's going on.
  
  "What the hell is going on out there, I heard all this...you're not my bodyguards!"
  "An Eternal shouldn't need them, but then you're no Eternal, you're a traitor!" you shout.
  
  Kane draws his weapon and the fight commences. Kane always was one of the more skilled fighters when he served under you, but it's obvious that he's improved even more when he manages to disarm Edgar within moments and knocks him into the wall.
  
  "Why are you doing this brothers!? I'm trying to help us! We could join forces! We could all be a family again! It's not too late!" Kane pleads while defending himself.
  "It is too late for you! You've been a fool to believe Cyrus' lies, where is he?" you yell narrowly missing Kane.
  
  Kane 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.
  
  "Cyrus was right, I wasted my time with you! And you never were the great warrior you thought you were!" Kane says almost landing a killing blow on Edgar, but you manage to save him by deflecting the sword blow.
  
  Kane 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.
  
  "(Pant) Why...you...I can't..." 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.
  
  "I...forgive you...broth..." he gasps and dies.
  
  It's 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.
  
  "Thanks. Saving me again, must feel like old times." Edgar says.
  "Old times didn't involve me killing one of us, speaking of which we need to go find Cyrus."
  
  You and Edgar leave Kane's 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't recognize you since you still have the helmets on.
  
  "Hey hold on! I'm human! Man, looks like you guys must've fought some of those orc fuckers as well. Have you seen General Kane? He's supposed to be keeping these idiots under control and they've completely lost it!"
  "General Kane's dead. The orcs killed him." You say.
  "He's fuckin' dead? Great, he and Cyrus got us into this mess and he's dead and the other one is missing!"
  "Where is Cyrus?" you ask.
  "I don't 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't know why I ever listened to this idiotic scheme of breaking away from the Empire! If we get out of this alive, we'll be lucky if the Empire doesn't hang us all for treason!"
  "You needn't worry about that, I'll take care of that right now." You say and strike down traitor before he can act.
  
  You curse the fact that Cyrus and the rest of his shadows got away, but there's no way to track them now, so you and Edgar decide to make your escape from the fort.
  
  Your 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.
  
  By 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's a bloody battle, but after it's all said and done, every orc is slaughtered for their lack of loyalty.
  
  You 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.
  
  The 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.
  
  Next 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.
  
  As 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're 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.
  
  Oddly even though Cyrus and to a lesser extent Kane were the leaders of this attempted secession, no Eternal is investigated. If anything you're rewarded with a medal for your service to the Empire. Edgar isn't though for some reason.
  
  You 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're glad to do.
  
  Your 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're 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.
  
  > Continue
  Year 30
  
  "This place won't be the same without you sir. I don't know how I'll be able to run this place as well as you." Lieutenant Verant says as you finish packing your things.
  "You'll do fine lieutenant, or should I say captain. You'll probably get an official promotion soon. Just remember, when the citizens protest I've found that flogging one family with children at random keeps the rest in line. Can't 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't need to worry about the giants as much anymore."
  "You always did know best sir."
  "Well, I tried to do what I could up here. I don't know why I'm being stationed to Delerg Province. It's 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."
  "Oh well I've heard the war with the Felkans is coming to an end soon."
  "Yes, I've heard that as well...and it concerns me the things that I've heard why it's 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's enemies had one neck, I would sever it with one sword swipe."
  
  Verant says nothing after your rant. Indeed over the past few years he's heard you rant about the troubles of the Empire a lot more and knows to keep quiet. But if you're making more outbursts than usual, it's only because the Empire has more problems than usual.
  
  Lately you've been questioning how "great" 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.
  
  This questioning of the Empire then makes you question the Emperor which causes you great concern for that it treasonous thinking. But still...how is it he has allowed this to happen to his land? He is supposed to be all wise and all-powerful, but you've not seen much evidence of either. Never mind the fact that you've never seen him at all.
  
  It's a rare thought, but there have been even a few times where you wondered what would've happened if you had joined Kane when he asked.
  
  You leave Fort Destiny without another word and board the carriage to the Delerg province.
  
  A few days later you arrive and Delerg is everything you've heard about, very swampy. The town you're scheduled to arrive in looks like it's sinking into marsh, which might explain why it's even called Sinkhole.
  
  While you don't know why you're here, you do know you're supposed to meet with a contact here, though you don't know who that is or where you're supposed to meet.
  
  As you take in the sights of this dismal town, the villagers look like they can barely contain their fear of you. You aren't sure if it's because they've heard of your reputation, or if it's 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't resist Empire dominion at all when they first came to this land, but despite this submissiveness the swamp folk still maintained their wary ways.
  
  "Well if isn't the Bane of Rask! It's been a long time!" a voice calls out to you. You turn around and see not one, but two familiar faces.
  "Roldan? Gerald?" you say seeing how much older they've gotten. It makes you realize just how much time has passed.
  "Of course it's us!" Roldan says.
  "Yeah, we didn't know you'd be the contact." Gerald adds.
  "Contact? I'm not anyone's contact. I'm supposed to meet someone here, you guys aren't it?" you say.
  "Erm, no. In fact when Gerald arrived I thought he was the contact and vice versa. Well this is odd. I wonder who we're supposed to be meeting?"
  
  You reply that you don't 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's an old, but still tough looking orc in battle armor. It's Captain Gruz! He sees all three of you milling about in the open and shuffles over to you.
  
  "What 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's get into the tavern, we can talk there." He scolds and then heads towards the tavern, you, Gerald and Roldan follow.
  
  The tavern is dark and nearly empty. The patrons inside see you four sit at a table and then move as far away as possible.
  
  "You thirsty? I sure am. Four ales!" Captain Gruz says.
  "I'm not thirsty captain." You say.
  "They're not for you, they're for me! You guys order your own drinks! Anyway I imagine you're all wondering what this small reunion is all about. Well let's 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'll get right to the point and tell you, the Shadow Guard is here, or at least what's left of them. For awhile we thought that they might be working with the Felkans, but they're just taking advantage of the war."
  
  This news causes you to sit forward and then look around.
  
  "Oh don't worry, they're not right HERE, lad. They're 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's why you're here, since you've had a lot of experience in dealing with this situation before. As for you two, your own records are excellent and you're Eternals. The only ones that are going to be skilled enough to handle this situation I think are Eternals."
  "How come Edgar isn't here? He also had experience with the Shadow Guard and was with me during the Fort Defiance incident."
  "Eh, Edgar's skills are best served on the Felkan frontlines right now. I know the war might be coming to an end, but there's still quite a bit of fighting going on. Besides best not to have all you guys in one place."
  "That's a different perception than I remember you having when you were arguing with Mr. Mol fourteen years ago." You say.
  "Heh, remembered that did you? Well, as I'm sure you know things change, ideas change. You get older and see things differently. Wouldn't you agree?"
  
  You pause before answering, which causes Gruz to study you for a moment.
  
  "Yes, I suppose so." You reluctantly reply.
  "Of course you do, lad. You'd be a bleeding idiot if you didn't." Gruz says taking a drink of one of his ales.
  "So, where are these Shadow Guard fanatics anyway?" Gerald asks.
  "An 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's also arrogant of him to try to hide right underneath our noses. Hell, who knows? Maybe he knew he'd get discovered eventually and was just itching for a fight. Anyway, we'll have some extra help when we arrive there. Trust me, I've got it set up."
  
  The remainder of the time is playing a little catch up with your former team members while Captain Gruz enjoys his ale. It's interesting to see how vastly different their experiences have been.
  
  Gerald 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.
  
  Roldan 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't 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.
  
  Your own tales sound remarkably grim when compared to theirs.
  
  The strangest thing about all this is how they've 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 "old days" and referring to them as "brother." Warrick and Brenda apparently got similar ones too.
  
  You 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.
  
  "Sheesh. He's gotta love that considering his experiences with orcs at Fort Defiance." You say.
  "Edgar's an idiot. Always has been. I saw that even when I was training you guys. He's a good warrior, but lacks vision. Surprised he's lasted this long." Captain Gruz suddenly replies.
  "Well, I agree he's always had a tendency to act without thinking, but after my last dealings with him, I think he's improved a bit. Changed his outlook. You know, got older and sees things differently now." You reply.
  "Hmm. Maybe, but as far as I'm concerned being a meat shield is about the best thing he's ever been good for, just like all the rest of dumb fuckers on the Felkan frontlines."
  "Hey, I'm on the Felkan frontlines!" Gerald protests.
  "Yeah, and you're not marching straight into those Felkan shooty weapons either. You're being a lot more than just a meat shield like the rest of those stupid ass orcs."
  "Rest of those orcs? Not to point out the obvious, but you're an orc, I mean aren't those your people?" Roldan asks.
  "Yeah and? Does that make us all relatives or some shit? Fuck my people! I got no patience for any of them anymore..." Captain Gruz begins to get loud and cause a scene.
  
  "Okay captain I think you've had enough. I think I saw an inn across the way, let's get some rooms there and make plans to deal with the shadows tomorrow." You suggest.
  "Grrm, maybe you're right..." Captain Gruz replies and then promptly falls to the floor. Gerald tries to pick him up.
  
  "Somebody go get the rooms and the other person help me carry the captain." Gerald says.
  
  > help carry the captain
  "Go get the rooms Roldan, I'll help Gerald." You say.
  "Okay." Roldan agrees and leaves.
  
  You and Gerald help the Captain Gruz up who is mumbling things the whole time.
  
  "Fucking idiots. It was perfect...who I am kidding? It was futile to begin with."
  "Just settle down sir." Gerald says trying to calm him down.
  "Or what? You'll kill me too? Hey I'm not tryin' ta put the moves on ya, you got your arm around me!"
  
  Gerald gets quiet really fast and even you start looking around.
  
  "Oh what? You think I didn't hear about that incident? Ha ha ha! Relax, ya did the right thing, fuckin' degenerate deserved it..." Gruz laughs.
  
  You're just about to get to the door and that's 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.
  
  "Shit!" you blurt out and leave Gerald to tend to the captain.
  
  You 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.
  
  When 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't do anything for him.
  
  "Fuck. Damnit..." you quietly say and kneel down towards his bloody body.
  "...tell Brenda that I love her."
  "I will."
  "That's good...that's good...hey if we're all...all siblings like Kane said...that...that doesn't make Brenda...my sister...does it?" Roldan asks with a small smile.
  "Heh, I don't think so, and even if it did so what? You found happiness with her." You smile back.
  "Yeah...you're right. You... usually were." he says and then drifts away.
  
  This 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.
  
  "Who the fuck did this?! Answer me woman!" he demands and slaps her a few times, but she just pathetically cries and begs him to stop.
  "Captain! Stop it! It's obvious she doesn't know anything!" Gerald shouts.
  "Maybe not, but someone here does." You say. "Alright, 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've never known and you don't 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."
  
  Nobody says anything for a while and there's just dead silence, but eventually a little girl comes out from behind a barrel and speaks up.
  
  "I saw something Mr. Eternal."
  "Good, glad to see this town isn't completely infested with cowards. You're coming with me." You say and take the girl to a room at the inn and proceed to question her.
  
  The 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.
  
  Despite 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't 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't have the sense that the little girl did to get the hell out of there as soon as possible.
  
  "So much for the shadows not being here." Gerald remarks.
  "Shit, I fucked up. I should've known that they might've realized that we we're coming." Captain Gruz says.
  "Doesn't matter anyway. It's obvious they're prepared for a last stand sort of fight, if they're willing to blow themselves up. No sense in depriving them of that, though I'm hoping they don't start favoring blowing themselves up. It's going to make fighting them more dangerous than it should be." You say.
  "Mmm, 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've heard those gas plant spheres aren't common and grow rarely even in this area. Even then, they aren't explosive on their own. The shadow probably used some sort of magic to make it explode like that. Is that right little girl?" Gerald asks to confirm, to which she nods.
  
  "Alright enough talk, we all need to get some rest before wiping the bastards out tomorrow." Captain Gruz says and lies down on his bed.
  
  At this point you send the little girl away and tell her she's served the Empire well and leave with Gerald.
  
  "Do you really think Gruz should be coming with us tomorrow? I mean with his leg and his age and all." Gerald asks.
  "If he wants to go on one last mission then I'm not going to deprive him of that. Don't worry, he'll keep up. I get the impression this is sort of personal to him."
  "Personal to him? I imagine it's personal to you a lot more."
  "True, but I'm trying to not let it."
  
  Of course that's 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?
  
  You think about the time you were with Captain Krozer and that's the closest equivalent you have, but you know that wasn't anything like love. You did respect her though and you're pretty sure the feeling was mutual. Perhaps that's how it started, but Brenda and Roldan were just in contact with each long enough to develop it further.
  
  Eventually you dismiss all these meaningless thoughts and rest up to prepare for your mission tomorrow.
  
  The next morning, you Gerald and Gruz set off on your journey. The trip through the swamps isn't an easy one; it actually makes you long for the days of stomping through ice and snow. The whole time you're traveling you're 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't the enemies you're expecting.
  
  "So how many Empire troops are we going to have as back up?" Gerald asks Gruz during the trip.
  "Empire? I'm lucky I managed to get them to accept my request to go on this mission! They didn't send me anyone, not that they'd 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'm relying on the ones that found these ruins to begin with. Dark elven mercs. If anyone can hide out better than the shadows, it'll be them." Gruz replies.
  
  Dark elves. You hated having to work with them back in your early years on the Rask frontier, but you can't deny their effectiveness.
  
  "Shh! Do you hear that?" you ask.
  "Probably another Sul Monkey. Those things are all over the place. Just glad it's not mating season for them, otherwise we might be in big trouble. Hey, aren't you humans related to them in some way?" Gruz asks.
  
  Gerald is about to reply, and then you hear a whizzing sound followed by a "thunk" 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.
  
  "I...been hit..." Gerald says and his eyes roll back as he falls into the soft mushy ground.
  
  "Shit!" Gruz shouts and ducks down into the mud.
  
  > duck down into the mud as well
  You instinctively duck down into the mud like Gruz did; regrettably the hidden assassin anticipated that and begins shooting downward.
  
  You and Gruz both receive several bolts to the back. Gruz manages too shake off these annoyances partly because he's wearing heavy armor and the other because as an orc his skin is pretty tough to begin with, especially with his experience.
  
  While you're 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'd 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.
  
  And it's 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're dead before you even hit the ground.