Eternal
Making some sort of “pilgrimage” isn’t 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’re 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.
Tomorrow you resolve to go out to the village where Flog has been making his home (Which he’s renamed “Flogtown”) and bring down the wrath of the shadows upon him. He probably won’t be expecting it, but he’s brought this on himself.
Just as planned you tell Cyrus and the rest that you have asked for Dendrin’s 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’re gone. Though you don’t anticipate this being a drawn out conflict.
Your 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’s 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.
“Halt! You shadows have no audience with Flog or any business here, get out!” one of the guards says.
You don’t 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.
The “town” itself looks like slave camp, and that’s probably because it is. Of it’s also because you allowed it in exchange for Flog’s 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’s like the orcs have broken their spirit so much that they can’t even rejoice at the orc’s inevitable demise.
The slaying of the orc and ogre contingent doesn’t take long in fact you’re 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.
You then see one of them attempting to open up the cages with the slaves inside, at first you assume that he’s trying to free them. Then when he gets the door open he throws one of the women to the ground and…
“Hey you! What the hell are you doing?” you question.
“I’m taking the reward that Dendrin has provided master!” the eternal remarks without any hint of shame of what he’s attempting to do.
“That isn’t a reward and more importantly the fucking battle isn’t over yet! So get your dick back in your pants and get back to fighting!”
“Yes, master.” 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.
You 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’t going dwell on it now, but you’re 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’s 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’s all you get out of her.
Soon the fighting begins to die down, still no sign of Flog though, he apparently was never here. You’re going to have to hunt him down at one of his other villages. Still, that now leaves you with what you’re going to do with the now free townspeople.
“They certainly aren’t the traditionally spirited people of Rask anymore. I don’t think they ever will be. They’re pretty pathetic, death might be a welcome release to some of these folks.” Cyrus remarks.
“Maybe, but we’re not going to be the one to decide that. Let’s just release their shackles and open up the cages and move on to Flog’s other villages.”
You order the enslaved villagers to be released and eventually some of them actually begin to speak.
“Is…is it over? Are we free?” an older man asks you.
“Yes, you are free now. Free to go about your business and your lives.” You say.
“Well, I suppose that’s a good thing then…I just have one question shadow.”
“What’s that?”
“How?”
“How what?”
“How are we supposed to just go back to our old lives after this?”
When you don’t answer right away, the old man then stands up straight as much as he can and looks you directly in the eye.
“You did this shadow. I know, we all know. You think that orc bastard didn’t boast about how you all allowed him to enslave the lot of us in exchange for his help against the Empire? I can’t even blame the orcs, they’re brutes by nature, but you. You were supposed to be helping the people of Rask, but instead it looks like you were helping yourselves.”
“That’s 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.”
“Right, 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’t 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’ve been any less pissed at you, but it would’ve at least showed that you gave a shit to a minor degree.”
“Old man you better shut your mouth right now! You are speaking to the Shadow Master! The Chosen One of Dendrin!” one of the new eternals shouts and pushes the old man to the ground. You stop him from going any further with it though.
The old man wobbly stands back up.
“Shadow Master huh? Chosen One? All sounds like emperor to me. So tell me, why DID you come? I get the impression it wasn’t to free us.”
“No. Flog has been stepping out of line and needs to be dealt with.”
“Ha ha ha ha! You hear that? The shadows’ pet orc was disobedient and that’s why we can have our freedom today! Thank the gods for the chaotic nature of orcs eh?”
At this point the newly freed villagers are starting to find their “spirit” 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’t what you want. For one it wouldn’t be a fight, it would be a slaughter. Second they’re completely right to be angry and you can’t really blame them.
“Look, I cannot apologize for the decision that was made. It happened and it can’t be changed. I don’t think you’d accept an apology anyway. Is there anything you need from us? Perhaps help in rebuilding or…”
“No shadow. We need nothing from you. Well maybe one thing, none of us ever want to see you shadows in this town ever again.”
“Very well, we shall take our leave.” You say and call your shadows to exit this forsaken town.
The 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’t exactly prepare for an extended pursuit. You could probably return to Evergloom and prepare properly, it isn’t likely that Flog is going to be leaving the area, and whatever pitiful defense he can muster isn’t going to be a match for you anyway.
Tomorrow you resolve to go out to the village where Flog has been making his home (Which he’s renamed “Flogtown”) and bring down the wrath of the shadows upon him. He probably won’t be expecting it, but he’s brought this on himself.
Just as planned you tell Cyrus and the rest that you have asked for Dendrin’s 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’re gone. Though you don’t anticipate this being a drawn out conflict.
Your 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’s 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.
“Halt! You shadows have no audience with Flog or any business here, get out!” one of the guards says.
You don’t 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.
The “town” itself looks like slave camp, and that’s probably because it is. Of it’s also because you allowed it in exchange for Flog’s 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’s like the orcs have broken their spirit so much that they can’t even rejoice at the orc’s inevitable demise.
The slaying of the orc and ogre contingent doesn’t take long in fact you’re 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.
You then see one of them attempting to open up the cages with the slaves inside, at first you assume that he’s trying to free them. Then when he gets the door open he throws one of the women to the ground and…
“Hey you! What the hell are you doing?” you question.
“I’m taking the reward that Dendrin has provided master!” the eternal remarks without any hint of shame of what he’s attempting to do.
“That isn’t a reward and more importantly the fucking battle isn’t over yet! So get your dick back in your pants and get back to fighting!”
“Yes, master.” 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.
You 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’t going dwell on it now, but you’re 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’s 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’s all you get out of her.
Soon the fighting begins to die down, still no sign of Flog though, he apparently was never here. You’re going to have to hunt him down at one of his other villages. Still, that now leaves you with what you’re going to do with the now free townspeople.
“They certainly aren’t the traditionally spirited people of Rask anymore. I don’t think they ever will be. They’re pretty pathetic, death might be a welcome release to some of these folks.” Cyrus remarks.
“Maybe, but we’re not going to be the one to decide that. Let’s just release their shackles and open up the cages and move on to Flog’s other villages.”
You order the enslaved villagers to be released and eventually some of them actually begin to speak.
“Is…is it over? Are we free?” an older man asks you.
“Yes, you are free now. Free to go about your business and your lives.” You say.
“Well, I suppose that’s a good thing then…I just have one question shadow.”
“What’s that?”
“How?”
“How what?”
“How are we supposed to just go back to our old lives after this?”
When you don’t answer right away, the old man then stands up straight as much as he can and looks you directly in the eye.
“You did this shadow. I know, we all know. You think that orc bastard didn’t boast about how you all allowed him to enslave the lot of us in exchange for his help against the Empire? I can’t even blame the orcs, they’re brutes by nature, but you. You were supposed to be helping the people of Rask, but instead it looks like you were helping yourselves.”
“That’s 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.”
“Right, 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’t 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’ve been any less pissed at you, but it would’ve at least showed that you gave a shit to a minor degree.”
“Old man you better shut your mouth right now! You are speaking to the Shadow Master! The Chosen One of Dendrin!” one of the new eternals shouts and pushes the old man to the ground. You stop him from going any further with it though.
The old man wobbly stands back up.
“Shadow Master huh? Chosen One? All sounds like emperor to me. So tell me, why DID you come? I get the impression it wasn’t to free us.”
“No. Flog has been stepping out of line and needs to be dealt with.”
“Ha ha ha ha! You hear that? The shadows’ pet orc was disobedient and that’s why we can have our freedom today! Thank the gods for the chaotic nature of orcs eh?”
At this point the newly freed villagers are starting to find their “spirit” 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’t what you want. For one it wouldn’t be a fight, it would be a slaughter. Second they’re completely right to be angry and you can’t really blame them.
“Look, I cannot apologize for the decision that was made. It happened and it can’t be changed. I don’t think you’d accept an apology anyway. Is there anything you need from us? Perhaps help in rebuilding or…”
“No shadow. We need nothing from you. Well maybe one thing, none of us ever want to see you shadows in this town ever again.”
“Very well, we shall take our leave.” You say and call your shadows to exit this forsaken town.
The 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’t exactly prepare for an extended pursuit. You could probably return to Evergloom and prepare properly, it isn’t likely that Flog is going to be leaving the area, and whatever pitiful defense he can muster isn’t going to be a match for you anyway.