Year 55

You wake up with yet another permanent ache in your body. Getting old really sucks and it probably doesn't help that you've spent decades fighting all your life. Who knows how many broken bones, deep cuts, head blows and other bodily trauma you've had. However, you're probably more fit than most people your age and your magic ability is certainly a great equalizer.

You 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's from Flog you're a little impressed that he was able to write as well as he did.

From what you can make out in the horribly written letter, he wants to meet with some of your people because he's got a major problem on his hands and he hopes that seeing as he once helped you fight the Empire, you'd help him out in return.

You shake your head at that remark considering that as you recall you basically spared his life in exchange for his support. He doesn't go into specifics about who he wants killed, but he goes on to say that he's acquired a lot of wealth in his "conquest" 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.

Amusingly 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'll go into more specifics then, mainly because he doesn't 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't necessary, he'd prefer to meet with you personally since he's confident in your abilities to get the job done.

You can't help but smile a little at that last statement.

"You're not going are you?" Talia asks.
"Why not? I've been running the shadows for this long and I haven't even taken a contract myself. Seems a bit hypocritical don't you think?"
"You're the Shadow Master, you don't need to concern yourself with such things."
"Maybe, but I've always believed that a leader really should lead by example and I've done that for the most part."
"What about that incident with the dark elves?"
"Eh, I actually didn't even plan that and it really doesn't count. I just think I need to go on this one."
"You just want to prove that you aren't getting old. Don't think I haven't noticed you been mentioning it lately."
"Yeah…well maybe. But still…hey why don't you come with me?"
"Me?"
"Well why not? Flog's always liked you and it'll probably make the meeting go over better. Besides, you should be keeping your abilities up as well."
"Excuse me, but I continue to spar with the Blades every day."
"And so do I, but it isn't enough unless their real danger involved. Come on, you mean to say you don't miss the old days just a little bit?"
"Not particularly, but I see that this is important to you, so I shall accompany you, but aren't you concerned about this being a trap?"
"Not really, no. While Flog has always been a little more cunning than the average orc and an opportunistic fool, he's never been suicidal. I'm pretty sure he knows if he tried to ambush me, it wouldn't 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'll just make things more interesting and Dendrin's always looking out for us anyway."

Your flip remark about Dendrin gets a nod in agreement by Talia who doesn't take it as a flip remark, but rather that you're being genuine. "Well I suppose there is that and as the chosen of Dendrin you'd be even better protected, but who is going to be running things while we're gone?"
"I don't think we're going to be gone for that long, but Cyrus can do it. Not like he goes on many missions anymore either."

This 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's a little sad. It's 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'd 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.

Though perhaps his current fate is worse than death.

When you approach Cyrus about the situation with Flog, he's surprised that you're 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't at least express the same concerns about meeting with him like Talia did, and then it occurs to you that perhaps he's hoping you do get killed.

In any event, you're 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.

The 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 "stable" 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's realms by the pair of them. If it is, then he better have a hell of a lot of money.

When 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.

"Hey Flog didn't say anything about safe passage did he in his letter?" Talia asks.
"No, but I don't think he'd be able to enforce it very well anyway. You know how tribal orcs are, even under a strong leader they tend towards chaotic acts."
"Well as you said, I suppose that'll 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't exactly fond of the freezing cold back in the old days either."
"Really? I kind of preferred it, but we're going to be making camp soon, we can warm up a little then."

Later that night at your campsite you take first watch. You can't 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.

As you lose yourself in the past a bit you suddenly hear a noise. Like howling, but it isn't from any sort of wolf that you've ever heard. Doesn't even sound like a natural one and it sounds pretty close by.

"Everyone get up!" you shout with your weapon drawn.

As everyone starts to get up ready for battle, more of those howls can be heard. They're nearly painful at this point and several of you are clutching at least one of your ears.

"What the hell is that?" Talia shouts.
"Not sure, but we're about to find out." You say as all of you form a back-to-back circle for defense.

Several 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).

"You think Flog set this up?" Talia asks you while eyeing her closest possible attacker.
"Let's worry about it afterwards." You say and the orcs attack.

You've had to fight a few unruly orcs in the past and though its been awhile, you know their tactics wouldn't 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't 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't even attacking with weapons at all and are just using their nails, which are unnaturally long for orcs.

You cross swords with one of them and even while speeding yourself up, it's still nearly matching you blow for blow. Its face is close enough for you to get the good look and it's contorted looking with an extra wide mouth filled with teeth. Whatever the hell this thing is, it isn't any kind of orc you've ever seen or encountered. You muster up all your strength and land a powerful strike against the orc's 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.

Then you hear a whispery voice in your mind. At first you think its Dendrin, but then you're not asleep and you don't feel the same numbness, but rather the exact opposite. A sharp pain in your head.

"The battle is lost mortal. You cannot kill us. You must submit to us, it is the only way to save yourself."

You 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't orcs you're fighting considering they're using some sort of psychic attack.

You 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.

You finish them off

You're having a hard enough time concentrating as it is, you aren't 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.

You quickly kill the orc that Talia is fighting and just in time too since she is visibly exhausted from the battle.

"Are you all right?"
"Yeah…I just…my head…"
"Stay out of the way and just keep fighting it, this'll be over soon." You say and Talia staggers over to a nearby tree out of the way of the major fighting.

You dispatch another orc and then another and then another, but the voices seem to be growing more numerous and more powerful.

"You cannot win! Cease your struggle! You are…"
"SHUT UP!" you yell out as you run your sword through the neck of another orc.

You 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're dealing with, wendigos. You briefly read about them in Kane's journal after you took Fort Destiny. They're evil spirits that constantly crave flesh and possess bodies of the living, which explains why the voices have been getting stronger as you've been depriving them of bodies. Now they've hopped into the bodies of your shadows.

You 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.

The 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.