text: 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'll be able to track down the assassin that killed Roldan. Hopefully others will get him though.
  
  Despite Alison getting most of the people back into the palace, Jacob is still sitting on the balcony in shock.
  
  "He... he... he's not... he can't... " Jacob stutters.
  "Jacob get your ass inside now!" you shout and drag him inside.
  
  You 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't really care about any of them. Your number one concern is the safety of the Emperor.
  
  "Alison, I need to... "
  "I know, the Emperor. Go. I can help with keeping shit together here."
  
  You rush down to the Emperor's 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.
  
  When you get inside the Emperor's chambers, he's in bed asleep. You don't want to wake him, but he needs to know the situation.
  
  "Huh? Mmmh? Oh hey... (cough cough) what're you doing here? Are the festivities already over?" he asks.
  "Emperor, there's been an assassination. General Roldan was killed during the parade by what I think was a shadow. We're currently trying to secure the palace just in case this is part of a greater attack."
  "Sounds 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't there? (cough) I imagine Jacob isn't taking Roldan's death too well."
  "Not at all, he's pretty much in shock and was babbling the last time I saw him."
  "Hmm, well it is a shame. Roldan did turn out to be one of our best generals. I'll have to make sure he gets a nice funeral. If we can't celebrate his successes in life, at least we can honor him in death. (cough cough)... what's wrong my son?" the Emperor asks when he notices that you're looking slightly troubled.
  
  "I 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... I feel like I failed." You explain.
  "Nonsense, you did what you could to the best of your ability. I've always known that. Don't even start playing what if for this situation, because it's 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't excessively serious in the scheme of things. (cough cough) If you were worried about me, don't be. Even in my less than magnificent state, I'm 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?"
  "You don't think this sort of thing could cause instability in the Empire?"
  "Hardly. (cough cough) The citizens might panic about things for awhile, they'll be fearful of the big bad shadows' return for revenge or whatever stories they'll make up, but ultimately it all works in our benefit I'm 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."
  "So... what did you want me to do now?" you ask.
  
  The Emperor begins to sit up a bit more before answering you.
  
  "Nothing. 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'll start hammering out the plans."
  "You really don't need me to do anything?"
  "No, your talents are far more useful doing what you're 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."
  
  The 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's 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.
  
  "So what's the next move? What did the Emperor tell you?" Alison asks.
  "He told me not to worry and when things calm down outside to just return to my normal duties." You respond
  "That's it?!"
  "That's it. He wants to see Jacob though, is he in a more coherent mindset now?"
  "Compared to before? Yeah, but he's still pretty shaken up. I know he's been crying."
  
  You walk over to Jacob who is sitting quietly in a chair with his head in his hands. He's still very upset. You have to repeat yourself twice when telling him that the Emperor wants to see him.
  
  You 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're a few miles from the capital the ride becomes more relaxed.
  
  Alison asks you if you're certain about leaving.
  
  "The Emperor told me to just return to more normal duties and not to worry, so that's what I'm 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." You say.
  "Hmm. I guess all those times I worried about you being punished seem sort of silly now... sheesh... today was surreal. I mean I've 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." Alison replies.
  "I don't see what else it could've been. Similar style of clothing, invisibility, incredibly quick, sneak attack, the elements were all there. (Sigh) Damn."
  "You alright?"
  "I just... well I dunno. I just can't believe we... I missed a shadow. Really thought we got them all when I killed Cyrus. The Emperor said it wasn't my fault and I know it really isn't but I still feel like this is a major loss."
  "Yeah, I can imagine you'd feel that way having worked together with Roldan during the Felkan War."
  "Heh, 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'd call friends. Still though he didn't deserve to die like that. He wasn't 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's one less of us."
  "I 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?"
  "Yeah, I suppose in some ways they are. Funny that I never thought of that before." You remark.
  
  As you reflect on all that's 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.
  
  Then 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.
  
  You 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.
  
  It's definitely a shadow, but from this range you can also see it's 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.
  
  The shadow has probably killed the driver and is probably in the process of detaching the horses. Meanwhile you're still holding the body of you beloved Alison.
  > try to heal Alison
  Ignoring the increasingly bumpy ride and still holding Alison in your arms, you concentrate as hard as you can trying to heal her.
  
  "Hang on Alison. I can bring you back. I know I can. Just hold on... " you say.
  
  The carriage doesn't 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.
  
  "SHIT!" you shout followed by several other curses as you scramble back to Alison's body which is now starting to grow cold.
  
  Once 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't react in time to avoid the bolt he shoots at you which pierces your skull. Your body falls on top of Alison's though you're 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're helpless to defend yourself against any further attack.
  
  In 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't see very well at this point, but the assassin's face even in this rotten form looks somewhat familiar. It almost looks like Cyrus.
  
  But it couldn't be him... could it?
  
  The assassin's grinning expression seems to say it all.
  
  But 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.