Eternal
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.
The 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.
Happily 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.
After 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.
You 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.
You 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.
"Hey barkeep! Gimme another ale!" you shout walking up to the bar interrupting the soldiers who were attempting to order their own drinks.
"Uh, hold on sir. I just have to serve these gentlemen first."
"Oh come on, I was here first and they aren't supposed to be drinking on the job anyway!"
At this point one of the soldiers addresses you.
"We happen to be off duty right now citizen."
"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!"
"I can assure you we are, and citizen you need to calm down."
"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!"
At 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.
You 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.
Three bodies lay at your feet and several patrons are in shock along with a very scarred bartender.
"What the fuck did you just do? We're all dead men!" he screams.
"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."
"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!"
"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…or 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."
You 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.
A 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.
Your escape back into the wilderness isn't completely unnoticed though and you draw your weapon again when you sense yourself being followed.
"Alright I know somebody is following me…shadowing me even. Might as well come out now so we can get this over with because no cloak is going to help hide you."
A 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.
"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.
"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?"
"Actually we did try to do that, but…(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…oh why won't Dendrin just hear our prayers and help us now?"
You 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."
This 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.
"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.
"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?"
"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."
"Yeah? Well Sister Talia is one of you Eternals too, she could've done something as well. I don't see you blaming her."
You 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.
"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."
"We?"
"Oh yes. You want to help turn things around, you'll help me."
"How?"
How 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.
The 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.
The 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.
Happily 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.
After 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.
You 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.
You 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.
"Hey barkeep! Gimme another ale!" you shout walking up to the bar interrupting the soldiers who were attempting to order their own drinks.
"Uh, hold on sir. I just have to serve these gentlemen first."
"Oh come on, I was here first and they aren't supposed to be drinking on the job anyway!"
At this point one of the soldiers addresses you.
"We happen to be off duty right now citizen."
"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!"
"I can assure you we are, and citizen you need to calm down."
"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!"
At 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.
You 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.
Three bodies lay at your feet and several patrons are in shock along with a very scarred bartender.
"What the fuck did you just do? We're all dead men!" he screams.
"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."
"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!"
"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…or 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."
You 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.
A 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.
Your escape back into the wilderness isn't completely unnoticed though and you draw your weapon again when you sense yourself being followed.
"Alright I know somebody is following me…shadowing me even. Might as well come out now so we can get this over with because no cloak is going to help hide you."
A 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.
"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.
"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?"
"Actually we did try to do that, but…(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…oh why won't Dendrin just hear our prayers and help us now?"
You 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."
This 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.
"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.
"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?"
"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."
"Yeah? Well Sister Talia is one of you Eternals too, she could've done something as well. I don't see you blaming her."
You 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.
"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."
"We?"
"Oh yes. You want to help turn things around, you'll help me."
"How?"
How 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.
The 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.