Year 46

"Think the girl will survive your big attack plan?" Dendrin asks.
"If she does, she does. If she doesn't, well that's the way it goes." You reply.
"You don't mean that. You're just trying to play tough. I know better."
"Well if you know better why do you insist on asking stupid questions?"
"Tradition?"
"Hah…okay I'll admit that one was a little amusing."
"Glad to see you're in a better mood nowadays, but I imagine having someone to converse back and forth with on a regular basis might be helping. I told you, that you couldn't go on with your life as it was and I was right! And you say I don't look out for you."
"Yeah, that must be why you've seen fit to deprive me of nearly all my magic abilities."
"You're not a believer. I can't give to someone who has no faith. Sorry, but I don't make the rules. Besides, you were never a magic lover anyway."
"Perhaps not, but I found it useful in certain situations. Doesn't matter, I've been making due…I suppose it has made me adapt, and kept me from relying on a crutch."
"Well if that's your way of saying thanks, I guess I'll take it. Good luck tomorrow."

You wake up.

Today is the day, after months of carrying out a personal guerrilla war on Brutus' gang (you refuse to acknowledge such rabble as any sort of "army") you've managed to whittle it down to a manageable size to the point where he's had Sinkhole barricaded. You're not sure why considering its not going to stop you, but if the fool actually thinks building a shaky wooden wall and locking himself in his house is actually going to save him, so be it.

While you get ready, Lena's already set to go. You think she's been anxious for this day more than you have.

Lena has been helping you and for her part she's done an adequate job. She's taken to training well, though that's probably because she doesn't have much left anymore. You've had to pull her fat out of the fire on more than one occasion, but you expected you would when you first agreed to have her help you.

And at least she's helping you. That's more than can be said about anyone else! Despite all the damage you've done to their oppressors, your actions have not inspired others to take up arms against what's left of the eternals. You can't say you're surprised though. Lena on more than one occasion has travelled to a few of the swamp villages in the hopes of getting help, but no luck. You told her it was a waste of time, but she had to learn on her own your suppose.

You probably never show it and you'd certainly never admit it, but you do respect Lena and don't mind her company. Though there's still another whose company you prefer. (And that that isn't Dendrin)

"I'm going now. I'll be back later to tell you all about it." You tell Talia before you leave.

You and Lena make your way to Sinkhole. Along the way Lena makes her usual snappy comments. It's one of her less endearing qualities.

"So you couldn't get Talia to help us for this one?"
"Well maybe if I'd been a believer in Dendrin, he would've seen fit to raise her from the dead or something, but seeing as he's as much of an asshole as you're being right now, no I couldn't get Talia's help. Maybe next time." You reply.
"I'm sorry, I really shouldn't have said that, I…"
"Forget it. You're nervous just like you are whenever we go into battle and you're deflecting as usual. Just save those witty remarks for combat. Seems to work on those wannabe eternals who get flustered over the smallest taunts."

Sinkhole's rickety wall doesn't quite extend all the way around the town, but its enough that there's no way to easily go around it without either wading through the deep marsh water or just barging through the front gate. If you still had your magic, you'd just scale the wall with the spider walk spell, but you don't have that luxury anymore. Chopping or kicking through the wall would probably take time and attract attention. You'd like to at least catch the enemy a little off guard.

So you decide to do the classic "pincer maneuver."

"Lena, you sneak around through the marsh where there is no wall and enter Sinkhole that way."
"Wait, where are you going to be?"
"I'm going through the main gate of course. They'll be focusing on me so much that you'll probably be able to take down several of Brutus' men before some of them converge on your position."
"Are you going to be all right?"
"We've worked together for months now and you have to ask me that? Don't worry about me, I've faced worse. A lot worse. Now Brutus will probably be hold up in that big house of his. Don't try to enter it until I get there since the place will probably be trapped."
"What if I see him outside?"
"I doubt it since the coward seems determined to throw everyone under his command at us while he hides. In the off chance you do see him, he'll probably be trying to escape so by all means try to stop him in that case. Now let's get going."

As you and Lena part company you know there's a fifty fifty chance Lena is going to disregard everything you've said and try to enter Brutus' home and try to kill him herself. You're going have to be quick if you want to beat her there.

Predictably several eternals guard the front gate and when you appear before them, the alarm is raised and they attack. If they're lucky, they might actually last more than a five minutes against you…

Four minutes later you've already fought your way through the main gate. You see several more eternals standing in the road with weapons drawn, but they look unsure to as whether or not to attack you or run away. Surprisingly one speaks up, he's a short man with brown hair wearing leather armor. He's very average looking and not at all anything like what the second generation eternals are supposed to be which are great hulking warrior types.

"Hold for a moment! I would speak with you. There is no need for animosity."
"What, you trying to stall for time and set up an amubush? Not likely, let's get on with this!" you reply and advance.

He and the two other eternals standing behind him all back away while still attempting to hold a defensive position.

"Wait just a moment, damn it! There are not enough of us left to set up a fucking ambush! We're all that's left, besides Brutus barricaded in his house. I mean we already know you could kill us all within seconds, is it really going to hurt to hear what I have to say?"
"Alright, make it quick."
"Okay, we're giving up. I mean just let us get the hell out of here and we'll never enter this damn swamp ever again. This ain't worth it and I certainly ain't dying for Brutus."
"What makes you think I'd let you go?"
"Look I know who you are. You're not just some crazy ass old shadow; you're also an eternal. A first gen. Oh yes, I heard stories about you in the old days and unlike most of my kind, I took them seriously. I also remember because I was assigned here when you were still causing trouble for the old Empire. Everyone thought you died when we collapsed the temple on you, but when our boys started getting picked off over the last year, I had a feeling who it might be. I tried to warn Brutus that we should just leave, but the fool wouldn't listen.
"Hmm, too bad you weren't smart enough to leave yourself."
"Well, Brutus may be a fool, but he's still my friend."
"Friends? Didn't know you second gens, had the concept of it…but he's so much of a friend, that you're ready to abandon him now?"
"I don't like it, but if I have to chose between loyalty to my friend and survival, survival is going to win."
"While this is all very interesting, you still haven't answered my question, why the hell should I let you go?"
"Because I talked Brutus out of destroying this entire town and the rest of the little villages in this swamp? Did you know when you started murdering us, his first order was to wage systematic genocide on the people of Delerg? Granted he still wiped out a few villages completely, but I managed to save lives because even I thought that was going too far. Other did too, I was just the only one brave enough to tell him in a way that showed it wouldn't be wise to do it."
"So that makes you a good guy?"
"No, I didn't say it makes me a good guy, I'm just saying that my deeds at least should be taken into consideration. I mean…fuck…you've killed a lot of us and you'll likely kill Brutus as well. Isn't that enough? We're no threat to you and we're not going to come back to launch some sort of sneak attack. You can have free reign of this place, I'd rather just put this shithole far behind me. You'll never see us again."

This guy might not be playing for time to have more of his buddies ambush you, but he's still taken up more than enough and there's no indication of Lena showing up who probably would've attacked them by now. Since she hasn't that can only mean she's decided to take on Brutus himself, which means she's probably going to get herself killed if you don't reach the house soon.

You let them go and help Lena

Lena's more important right now. This lot seems like they're not eager for a fight. Even if they do regain their courage at a later date, you figure you can easily deal with them then.

"Today is your lucky day, get the hell out of here and don't let me see you again!" you say. The speaker of the group nods and thanks you while he and the rest of his fellows quickly run past you and out the front gate.

You head quickly to the "mansion" sized home near the marshlands. You approach cautiously and that's when you see Lena just arriving. You're glad you got here in time.

"Good there you are, did you have any problems?" you ask.
"Other than having to pull leeches off my body? No. There were a couple eternals near the area where I came through, but I killed them while they were still trying to make up their minds on whether or not to leave their posts to investigate the noise you were stirring up at the front gate. Besides that, I investigated the surrounding area outside this house and I haven't seen any evidence that Brutus has tried to leave it."
"Let's just hope he doesn't have some sort of underground tunnel built. Let's go."

After breaking down the door, you cautiously move throughout the house. While certainly bigger than the rest of homes in Sinkhole, it probably doesn't look much better from the inside. The place is a wreck, you'd think as a leader he'd want to keep his own home in better condition, but then given that you live in an underground hole of a collapsed temple which was already in ruins when you arrived there, maybe you aren't exactly in a position to make judgments as far as living arrangements are concerned.

"No traps so far." Lena whispers.
"Considering there's so much junk and garbage in this place, they could be well hidden. Keep a look out anyway, and stay quiet! No need to give our position away."
"I'm sure he already knows we're…"

Before Lena can complete her statement, Brutus appears from around a corner and nearly takes her head off with an axe. Fortunately for her, you block the attack. At last you get a close look at the great leader himself, and once again you're unimpressed by what you see. Makes this whole endeavor hardly even worth it at this point.

"I'll make you wish you hadn't come back from the dead shadow!" Brutus exclaims right before you shut him up with a head-butt and then slicing his belly open. Falling to the floor and desperately attempting to hold in his entrails he starts to scoot back from you.

"You new eternals always talk too much." You say. "Lena…if you'd like to do the honors."

Lena wastes no time in taking up your offer. She points her spear at Brutus, who makes a plea for his life through bribery. It doesn't work and Lena skewers him in the chest with the spear.

Then she does it again… and again… and again… and…

"Sonofabitch! You killed my family! Bastard! Die! Die! Fuck you…" Lena sobs the whole time.
"Lena he's dead. You can stop…" you start to say and then you feel a crushing blow to the back of your skull knocking you to the floor.

You were paying so much attention to Lena's breakdown that you didn't hear anyone else enter the house. It's the trio of eternals that you previously let go. You attempt to get up, but only get another smash to your head for your troubles.

"We kept our word shadow, you never saw us again!" you hear one of them laugh and this is followed by a final blow to your skull which splits it open causing bits of brains to splatter nearby.

Lena charges at them already in a rage from before and while she manages to wound one of them, they ultimately take advantage of her unhinged state and finish her off with ease.