Click.

That's the sound of everything in your head finally coming together.

Jacob's right.

Semra's right.

YOU'RE right.

The Emperor needs to die and at this point the reasons are overwhelming and you can't deny it any longer. You lower your sword causing Jacob to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Okay…so the Emperor needs to die. Any advice on how I should accomplish this task, because I'm fairly certain it's not going to just be a matter of storming in and chopping his head off." You ask Semra who is surprised by your response.
"Semra? You listening?" you repeat.
"Yeah…I just…I didn't actually think you'd listen to me…I'm glad you finally have though. Yes, you're right of course it won't be just a matter of chopping his head off, he'll most likely detect your intent as soon as you enter his chambers. At which point he'd melt your brain with just a thought and your mind shield spells wouldn't even help you. Fortunately you will have me along to help you in this task. He can't do that little trick on me, svelk brains work differently."
"Don't I know it." You mumble. "I still don't see how that is going to help me though."
"Easy, I'm going to shield you by joining our minds together. It'll come in handy during the fight as well since we'll be more in sync with our attacks…"

You immediately interrupt.

"Wait a minute, I don't know about this plan. Linking our minds and you having access to mine? That sounds like I'd be at your complete mercy."
"(Sigh) You've trusted me this far, why not a little further? You already know I've been trying to help you from the start. Besides, we've done this to a minor degree already when we were destroying gnome souls in Gnome's Home. Also it works both ways you know. You'd have access to my mind as well."
"You make that sound like that's a good thing."
"Oh trust me lover, it'll be a very good thing. Just think our minds in harmony and knowing each other greater than we could ever express in words. We'd have a level of intimacy that most beings can't even comprehend. Doesn't that sound just so… invigorating?"
"It sounds like something all right. Look, I don't know if I'm going for this. Maybe I'll just take my chances with getting my brain melted."
"I highly suggest you don't. I know you think you are strong of mind, but this is something you are not going to have any defense for without my help. I'm going to meet you down in the hall just before you enter the Emperor's chambers. I suggest you reconsider my generous offer by the time you get there."

At this point Semra's image disappears and its just you and Jacob left in the room. He's still very nervous.

"Jacob, you can stop shaking I'm not going to kill you. In fact since you're partly responsible for this power grab in process, what are you going to be doing?"
"Me? I don't know. I wouldn't be much good in a fight as you well know. I guess I'll be packing a few bags just in case I need to make a hasty getaway, not that it'll probably do me much good."
"Way to have confidence in me, Jacob."
"I do have confidence, but I have to maintain a pragmatic attitude too. You understand."
"Yeah, I get it…so what about Semra? You think I should let her invade my head?"
"You're asking me?"
"Sure, why not? You and her have been plotting this whole thing. You obviously trusted her enough to work up the courage to try to bring me into this. So what's your opinion?"
"I don't know. And I'm not saying that to be evasive or frustrating, I really don't know. I mean if you were anyone else I'd say go for it because you wouldn't have anything to lose because quite frankly I don't think anyone BUT you would have a chance of coming out of this alive."
"But…?"
"But since you DO have a chance of surviving this, who knows what Semra might pull after the Emperor is dead? And if she can get in your head…well…I just don't know."
"Great."
"But didn't she say you'd be in hers as well? Maybe she wouldn't try anything, because she'd be just as vulnerable."
"So she says…shit, just wish this was clear cut. You know? This isn't where I envisioned where my life was heading. In fact I never envisioned this."
"I don't think any of us did, but here we are never the less. The only other thing I can tell you is given how obsessed she is with you, she probably won't kill you."
"There are things worse than death, Jacob. (Sigh) I guess I'll figure it out soon." You reply and turn to leave before you do though, Jacob calls out to you.

"Just in case we don't get to speak again…I just want to say thank you for the times you helped me out."
"Just doing my part in serving the Empire." You say and leave.

"Serving the Empire." You chuckle at that dark joke. You're about to try to kill the man who created it. You might be inclined to rationalize such an act by thinking you're serving the Empire by killing a leader that is no longer good at ruling it.

Of course that would be complete bullshit. You're killing the Emperor for your own personal reasons first and foremost. Some of that is your own desire for power, but a lot of it is for revenge of Alison's murder. In fact the more you think about it, the angrier you get and that's good, because it's keeping out the fear you do have about facing the Emperor.

Eventually you reach the large hall before the Emperor's chambers and just as she promised, Semra is there waiting.

"What took you so long lover? The Emperor is probably aware I'm here by now and possibly even suspecting something is amiss with you as well."
"What's the difference? You said he'd know I was going to kill him as soon as I enter the chambers."
"I suppose so, but I was at least hoping that maybe we'd have a slight chance at a surprise attack. Those are always the most efficient. Killing your enemy before they even get a chance to strike. Less messy, don't you agree?"
"Maybe, but personally I don't mind getting messy."
"Mmmm, yes I imagine you don't. Anyway come to me so we can merge our minds and get this task underway."

You cautiously step towards Semra who gives a faint smile as you do so. Her attempts at being friendly and inviting are probably more disturbing to you than when she used to beat and verbally abuse you. When you get within range, her arms reach out and around you.

"Hey, what are you doing?!" you ask backing up.
"Will you relax? This is part of the spell. We need to be looking at each other and focusing. Now here, just put your hands around me like this…" Semra says and starts to position your hands though you can't help but notice she initially positioned your hands so they were temporarily on her ass before she slowly moved them up around her waist. Her hands find their way on your shoulders and at this point you feel like you're in a compromising embrace rather than preparing for some spell.

"Now stare into my eyes and focus." Semra remarks as her own face is only a few inches away from your own. Your eyes don't immediately focus on her eyes though, you stare at her full blood red lips. You think about how you want to press your own lips against hers.

And then she suddenly does and your mind goes to another place.

You see what's in Semra's mind or at least a glimpse of it. Images are coming at you so fast you can't make out all of it, but you see a mixture of the horrifying and impressive at the same time.

You see what must've been during the time of when the svelk ruled. Everything is very regal and elegant looking, though much like the svelk themselves, it radiates a certain coldness. You also see the svelk treating their subjects (Most of which are of races you've never even seen before) worse than the Empire ever could. They also have greater control too thanks to their magic.

What you aren't seeing is any images of Semra herself and you're even sensing that she's experiencing pain during this process. Semra is obviously blocking some of her more private thoughts. She's showing you a general history of her life, yet somehow only telling you half the story. Meanwhile she's probably trying to scour through your mind of everything.

With this moment of clarity during the spell, you wonder if you shouldn't break off this link given that she's intending this to be a one-way affair. She might have ill intent for you once this is over after all.

You keep focused

In for a silver, in for a sack as they say. If this spell is going to protect you from the Emperor, you'd best stick with it and worry about Semra's intentions later. Though at this point you don't even feel any pain on your side of things, but maybe that's because you aren't trying to hide anything from her.

Your life has more or less always been an open book. You've never really hidden anything because you've usually come clean eventually anyway. You're not even going to be hiding your desires to kill the Emperor pretty soon. If Semra's hoping to learn something to use against you, she's in for disappointment.

She already knows most of your combat techniques having taught most of them to you. She already knows your mindset well enough that she has more influence over you than you'd like. She already is well aware of your feelings towards her. There is quite literally nothing she is going to find out that won't give her any advantage that she doesn't already have.

Yet you can sense she STILL wants more, its almost as if she's insecure about not having total control over you. You sense a lot of that actually. She can't comprehend why you can have a sexual desire for her, yet not desire her in the way you did with Alison. She's at a loss on what to do about it. And that confusion is a big ball of anger, frustration and pain.

Suddenly you see the image of a young svelk girl. You aren't sure how old, but by human standards she would definitely be considered a child. It's Semra and she is holding the hand of an adult male svelk though you can never quite make out his face.

They are both in a city where a large crowd of svelk are gathered having a good time throwing what looks to be sveld babies against a nearby wall which has a big target on it. Semra looks very happy and cheers whenever one splats into a bloody mess in the center.

It would seem that Semra's entertainment preferences didn't change much for her. Several images of her enjoying similar activities with the same adult male flood your mind. You can only guess that the adult male might be her father, but Semra must be blocking you from confirming that.

In any case, the idea that she was once a child is bizarre, but then everyone starts as one at some point right? She had a twisted childhood to be sure, but she had more of a childhood than you ever did.

Just as think you're starting to see more images of a personal nature, the contact is broken off and Semra pushes you away.

"There. It's done. Let's get this over with." She remarks while rubbing the sides of her head. She also starts rubbing her eyes and is sniffling a bit.

You're silent for a moment, just staring at her. You know that she must be hiding loads of whatever unhappy memories she does have. And she certainly can't have you seeing them, she can't trust you enough to believe you wouldn't mock her in some way or exploit a weakness.

"WHAT?!" she shouts when she notices you staring.
"Nothing. Keep your secrets. Like you said, let's get this over with."

As you make your way to the door to the Emperor's chamber, you do feel the connection of your mind to Semra's. Its not like you can read her thoughts, but its rather a sixth sense kind of feeling. You're curious how this will play out during battle.

After speaking the password, the door opens and you both enter the Emperor's chambers. You look at each other, simultaneously cast your magical shield spells and spread out. Almost immediately you hear the voice of the Emperor, though he hasn't made an appearance yet.

"So it's come to this has it? After all I've done for you. After all I've given you. You turn traitor for a piece of svelk tail?"

The Emperor steps out from his bedroom.

"Son, I am disappointed." He says and then just stares immediately in your direction. You feel a slight pain in your head, but its muted. Semra's shielding spell must be working.

The Emperor looks genuinely shocked. Its an expression you don't think you've ever seen before on him.

"You…you let this…creature into your mind?! Have you gone mad?!"
"Probably." You remark and cast a lightning blast at the Emperor, but he easily deflects it back at you causing it to hit your force shield and knocking you to the floor.

Semra casts a spray of acid, and while it sizzles and melts objects within the designated direction, the Emperor's own defenses absorb it. Realizing he can't just explode your brain, he casts a spell, which starts to turn the room very cold. You're reminded of the time you cast this spell on Cyrus' crew and you immediately cast a ring of fire around yourself in the hopes the heat will be enough to keep you from freezing. You follow up with a volley of small fireballs, which set the many bookshelves in the room ablaze.

"You've made a dire mistake son, trusting this svelk whore. Even if you could defeat me, do you really think she'd allow you to live? She's lying to you son. She always has and I thought you were stronger than that." The Emperor remarks as sheets of ice cover the room extinguishing some of the flames.
"And you weren't lying to me?! You had Alison murdered and you planned to kill me as well!" you shout back as you release your feet from the ice that has managed to encase around them.

The Emperor sends a flash of light that blinds you and Semra. You stumble around to the left since you remember there being a solid stone table you can take cover behind.

"(Sigh) Even if any of that was true my son, what of it? I was your father! Your master! Your life was mine to do with as I saw fit! Of course none it matters now. You've decided to stand against me and now your life is most certainly mine to take." You hear the Emperor say and then suddenly hear loud lighting blast followed by a yelp sound to your far right. Must be Semra, but you're still half blind from that flash of light.

"Ha ha! Not as strong as we thought eh Semra? You always were an overconfident bitch. Won't be long before I break through your pathetic force shield."

Your eyes clear up enough and see Semra across the room struggling to maintain her shield from a steady blast of lightning unleashed by the Emperor. Seeing that trading magic isn't going to work, you put up your own shield and try to make your way over to the Emperor to just butcher him, but the combination of your hampered eyesight and icy floor are enough to slow you down.

"Ever the warrior aren't we son? Here, play with these!" the Emperor shouts and stops his attack on Semra, waves his hands and suddenly five hovering undead figures appear. You cast an enchantment spell on your sword and press forward to battle. Meanwhile Semra has taken advantage of her second wind and cast a telekinesis spell throwing a table directly into the Emperor. She follows this up with smacking him with several other smaller objects. He falls to the floor and re-establishes his own magic shield.

"Keep up the pressure!" Semra shouts.

You'd love to, but right now you're trying to destroy the undead creatures in from of you. While you've never faced such things before, you keep your cool and successfully cut down three of them.

"You fools know nothing of the power you face! Now face the true supremacy of a necromancer!" the Emperor shouts and the entire room gets even colder, but this isn't even like the cold of ice or snow, this is something unnatural. You start to feel the tips of your fingers go numb and feel your energy starting to be drained. It's like when Cyrus touched you, but this is all around you.

You nearly get your head cleaved in by one of the wraiths as you start feel dizzy. You dodge the attack and slash the thing in two. The last one is taken down with a blast of fire from Semra who you sense is feeling the affects of the Emperor's magic too.

You stagger and prop yourself up on a burned lab desk. The Emperor stands only a few feet away, but he seems so far for you to do anything. You look over and see Semra staggers towards him, but collapses and begins screaming. You aren't sure what the Emperor's doing, but his eyes are glowing red.

"A scared little girl still crying about her lost birthright. That's all you are and all you ever will be. You svelk think you know about pain and death, but you know nothing! I'll show you true pain and soon I'll show you death and the endless torture that can come after it!"

Semra's confidence that the Emperor couldn't do anything to her mind because of her race has proven false. While he's not exploding her brain you do sense he's creating some sort of waking nightmare in her mind. She's literally crying and begging for him to stop, she even looks over to you reaching out with both hands telling you she's sorry. She pleads with you to help her and that she needs your strength.

You never thought you'd ever feel a slight twinge of sympathy for her.

In any event, you're not exactly doing so well yourself. You aren't even sure if you could help Semra even if you wanted to given how weak you feel. Though your chances of making a lunging attack to kill the Emperor are equally as slim.

You help Semra

Under any other circumstances you'd probably be rejoicing in Semra's misery, but on this she is your ally and as your ally you're not going to leave her in the lurch.

With your remaining strength you stumble over to Semra and then promptly collapse near her and grab her hand. This act causes the Emperor to laugh.

"Ha ha ha ha! What would your beloved Alison say if she saw you rolling on the floor with your svelk harlot? Let's ask her!" the Emperor says and then another ghost appears. It's Alison.

"I see that you've already forgotten me and found comfort in the arms of Semra. Now you and her make your grab for power. Why was I not worthy enough for your plan to kill the Emperor? Did you always feel that I was so weak and you ultimately held no respect for my skills?" the undead parody of Alison remarks.

"No. No. No. I'm not seeing this and even if I am, this isn't Alison. She wouldn't say such things. Away spirit, I will not play your games!" you shout.

"Now you dismiss me in death? I have returned and you have no loving words? You do not even make the attempt? It's the least you could do for your failure to SAVE MY LIFE!" Alison says and she begins to utter an unearthly wail. It's horrible and despite your best efforts, it's starting to demoralize you. A depression begins to set in, followed by guilt, but you can't let it get to you, because you're too busy trying to shake Semra out of her own hell.

"Semra! Concentrate! You are Semra D'vessa! Mistress of torture and pain! You are the scourge of the lesser born and one of the greatest examples of your superior race! You don't fear anything! You have no frailties for such things are the attributes of the weak! You have my hand! You have my strength, you…"

You breathe in and exhale hard. You never thought you'd say this, but if it'll help…

"…have my love. Always and forever." You say.

This last declaration causes her to snap out of her nightmare and look over at you. She breaks free of her nightmare. Meanwhile the ghostly abomination of Alison shrieks even louder at your statement before completely dissipating. Apparently your complete disregard of your true feelings for your late wife was enough to destroy it.

You and Semra begin to recover from your ordeal and get up, but this is followed by the pair of you being hit by some sort of black ray. Semra tries to cast a spell, but she's still too weak.

You look up at the Emperor who is now standing over both of you still hitting you with the black ray. He doesn't look young at all anymore. He doesn't even look like how did when he was sick. He's nearly skeletal looking. It's obvious this battle has taken its toll on him, but it doesn't matter because he's still got more fight in him than either of you.

"Now look at the pair of you. On the floor writhing like the maggots you truly are. You've both set my plans back severely, but you'll not stop me. The pair of you will supply me with enough energy to do what I need to do! Argh!"

You stab the Emperor in the foot with your dagger; unfortunately it doesn't distract or give you any breathing space and instead kicks your hand away. He increases the intensity of the ray on you and Semra.

"BASTARD! YOU THINK YOUR PATHETIC WEAPONS CAN STOP ME? I AM CASIMIR OF MORTOS! EMPEROR! NECROMANCER! RULER OF THE…"

"You're an asshole, Casimir." Jacob remarks who stands in the entry way of the chamber and the shot from his flintlock breaches the chest of the Emperor who watches it explode in a gout of blood before his eyes. He falls backwards to the floor struggling to breathe.

"No…not…(wheeze) like this…taken down…by a (cough) fucking bean counter…(wheeze)…" the Emperor gasps and coughing up blood.

You get up as fast you're able, retrieve your dagger from the floor and draw your sword to finish off the Emperor. Semra is still trying to gather her own strength.

You stare down at the Emperor who is already on his way to death, but intend to quicken that journey. You hold the sword to his throat and stare him in the eyes.

"Do it then… (cough) finish me off…but know this son…your will not get to enjoy your victory. (wheeze) You've won…nothing."

You don't even reply you just press the sword through his throat causing him to gurgle one last time and twitch slightly before he dies. It's over at last.

Or at least you thought it was.

No sooner have you turned around to check on your allies, when Jacob and Semra shout at you to watch out.

You turn around just into time to see the corpse of the Emperor lift up off the ground glowing a dark red color. His eyes are rolled up into his head and his mouth drops open and a deep voice emanates from it even though it isn't moving.

"THIS EMPIRE WILL DIE WITH ME AS WILL ALL WHO DWELL WITHIN IT. THIS IS MY FINAL CURSE FOR YOUR TREACHERY." The corpse says and then it disintegrates before your eyes.

A great rumbling starts and parts of the ceiling start collapsing along with the floor starting to crack and break.

"You gotta be kidding me…" you remark.
"Come on we need to get the hell out of here!" Jacob exclaims.

Jacob, Semra, and you immediately run out of the Emperor's chambers trying to avoid falling debris and big holes in the floor at the same time. Jacob manages to reach the stairs just in time for them to start crumbling.

"Come on, quickly before…"
"JACOB ABOVE YOU!" you shout, but it's too late. Jacob is struck by a large piece of concrete followed by an even bigger piece, which crushes him completely. It also blocks off your only escape.

"Shit! Fuck! Damn it!" you curse. "Semra you can move those large slabs of stone if I join my magic with yours can't you?"
"Not in my current drained state and not fast enough even with your help." Semra remarks.
"Shields! We still got enough to do that!" you say.
"We're going to have an entire palace and possibly even a whole city collapsing in on our heads. Even if our magic was strong enough to deflect such massive weight, we still have the problem of being buried alive. We'd just suffocate instead of being crushed."

The rumbles and shakes continue to get worse and knock you and Semra to the floor. You both try to find a spot where the falling debris isn't life threatening. Things are looking mighty bleak.

"I don't believe it. Here I was worrying about you betraying me, but instead I'm going to die from a stupid final curse!"
"Don't be so sure, there's still time for me to betray you."

Normally you wouldn't laugh, but in this hopeless situation you can't help but to do so.

"Heh, well hurry it up then because the rocks are going to get us both soon. This is a hell of way to die, I almost would've rather had the Emperor kill me. At least there would've been a certain honor in that."
"What honor? You were a traitor. He probably would've had your name stricken from all records." Semra says.
"Yeah…well at least it would've been better than being buried and crushed."

Semra doesn't reply to that, but what she does instead is ask you a question.

"Since we don't have much time left, I have to ask you…did you mean it?"

Thanks your mind merge, you already know what she's asking with that question. You also know you can't lie to her because she'll sense that immediately. However, you also sense it doesn't matter if you do.

"Sure. Why not?" you say with a smile. Semra returns the smile and gives you a kiss on the cheek.

"No, you didn't, but maybe you will for this." She whispers in your ear. You give her strange look when she says this as she stands up. She pulls a ring out of a small bag from around her waist and puts it on.

"Hey wait, what are you doing…" you ask and then you're suddenly struck with a paralysis from the ring and then a strange purple field envelops you. You see everything going on, but are unable to do anything about it. A sizable rock even hits you, but you feel nothing. The field is protecting you.

"Mommy loves you…always and forever. Remember this." You hear Semra say before sound becomes muted completely and your vision goes completely black. You are able to breathe normally, but you don't see how you can survive. You'd probably panic a lot more if a strong wave of sleep didn't suddenly take you.

As the continuous falling rubble buries you, you sleep.

You sleep for a very long time.
Chapter 3C1: Relic


Year ???

"What the hell is that thing?"
"I dunno, it's about time we found something worthwhile in this old rubble though, because this whole expedition has been pretty pointless. Looks like some sort of weird magic shell. It also looks like something is inside, guess we'll finally get to use this old dispel staff after all."
"Hey wait! We don't know what's in there!"

…

"Shit! It's a body!"
"Yeah. Damn, I was hoping it was treasure."
"You think he's dead?"
"Well he ain't moving is he? Probably been here for who know how long, but I assume the shell preserved the corpse. Hey, check out that neat dagger he's got. Is that mithral? Shit, that IS mithral!
"Hey you shouldn't be doing that! You know what Calvin said!"
"Fuck Calvin, I'm taking this for myself. Not like he's going to know, and don't act like you've never done it before. I saw you pilfering some old ring in the debris back there."
"It's not that, I just don't have a good feeling about this."
"What you think he's gonna just wake up or something?"
"Maybe…I mean like a zombie."
"(Sigh) You and your zombies. I swear you think we're going to unearth a tomb of undead horrors on every expedition and in all our years have we ever even encountered something remotely like that? You read too many damn bad copper dreadfuls about necromancers."
"I dunno, I still say you should be careful. We've never found a body so intact before, let alone preserved in some magic shell. Maybe there was a reason for that."
"Maybe, but that's Calvin's job to figure out. Right now I'm just getting my hands on this dagger…ULK!"

You sit up immediately and thrust your dagger in the throat of your assailant. Blood gushes from the fatal wound and you throw him to the side.

"Oh shit! Oh shit! Oh fuck!" you hear another attacker shout and see him fumble with some sort of pistol only to drop the weapon entirely before attempting to make his escape.

He doesn't get far. You stand up and blast him in the back with a lightning bolt. He screams and falls making a few death twitches when his sizzling body hits the ground.

You have no idea who these people were, but that scream was loud enough to attract more enemies if they're in the area and judging by the large sound of foot steps coming in your direction there are.

You quickly scan your surroundings and see quite a few shovels, picks and lanterns nearby, but no way out other than the one entryway that the fried fellow on the ground was trying to run to.

What happened? Last thing you remember is Semra casting a spell on you and you fell asleep as the palace was collapsing in on your heads. You don't even know how much time has passed. The two men that were hovering around you aren't dressed in the typical Empire style. They carry no weapons other than pistols and those are different from the ones you've ever seen. The pistols are more complex looking.

How much time has passed? Has the Empire fallen? What happened to everyone? Hell, at this point you're even wondering what happened to Semra.

As the sound of footsteps get even closer you draw your sword out of its scabbard and prepare for a fight.

A group of men and women appear in the entryway. A some of them carry gunpowder weapons, but most of them are completely unarmed. Again, their style of dress isn't familiar.

"Stop! You point those weapons at me and I can easily incinerate the lot of you! Don't believe me? Watch!" you remark and throw a small fireball on the ground nearby. It's enough to cause them all to back off and even cause a couple of them to run away. One of them demands to be let through so he can see exactly what's going on.

The man that shoves his way through looks about in his fifties with thinning hair and is dressed in a fancy suit. You've never seen this man before, but something about him looks vaguely familiar.

When he sees you, he's more in awe than he is scared. In fact he doesn't seem to care at all about the two dead men on the ground.

"I can't believe it! It's you! I mean it's gotta be! The way you're dressed, the magic abilities, the location...I just can't…"

Suddenly a higher female voice shouts from behind the crowd.

"Dad! What's going on?! I heard all this…by the...gods…is that…"
"Yes, Jennifer it is! We've made the find of a lifetime! Quintus will be so pleased!"

The woman is on the younger side with raven black hair. Probably early twenties. Unlike her father her clothes are covered in dirt and more practical in nature. You also notice she's carrying a pistol as well.

"Who the hell are all you people?! Were you sent to dig me up?! What's happened to the Empire? Someone better explain what's been going on!" you demand.
"Forgive us. I'm sure this must all be very confusing for you, but we don't go on these digs to find living people, let alone someone like you. I just…wow…I can't believe it's you. I mean you're the Eternal right?"
"I'm an Eternal. Yes. But you still haven't answered and I'm starting to get impatient!" you exclaim.

"Okay, okay! My name is Calvin Mol. I am head of this archeological dig for the Nalin Republic and Senator Quintus Arillicus in particular. This is my daughter Jennifer…" Calvin begins to say before you interrupt him.

"Wait. Mol? Are you related to Jacob?" you ask because it would explain the very vague likeness. When you ask this question both he and his daughter's eyes light up.

"Yes! He was one of my ancestors! Did you know him?! I have so many questions!"
"And your fucking questions are going to have to wait! You said Nalin Republic, what's that? The only Nalin I know of is a province of the Empire! You also said Jacob was your ancestor, how much time has passed?!"

At this point Calvin and his daughter look a bit nervous at each other. Everyone else behind them who hasn't already backed away entirely, does so now.

"Well…taking into the consideration of the age of these ruins and what we already know about when the cataclysm occurred…um…I'd say about five hundred…give or take a few years." Calvin remarks.

Your heart almost skips a beat and now you're the one in shock.

Year 535

"Five…hundred years…" you slowly utter.

You almost hesitate to ask.

"And… the Empire?"

Calvin and Jennifer look a bit nervous again.

"It's…um…gone. Been gone for centuries. It never recovered from the unknown cataclysm that struck the land. Most of it was outright destroyed. By the time most of the pieces were picked up, those areas that weren't hit as hard had become their own nations." Calvin explains.

This news causes you to sit down on a nearby stone.

"I caused this…" you whisper to yourself.

Jennifer and Calvin don't quite hear what you say, but Jennifer sensing that you're more than a little troubled by this news attempts to cheer you up.

"What my father should've said, is while the Empire as you know it is gone, its spirit lives on in the Nalin Republic! Seriously, Nalin was probably the only portion of the Empire that managed to hold on to a few of its traditions and culture during those dark ages. Even the language didn't change too much. That's probably why you can understand us so well, even if our accents and a few of our words are slightly different to yours."

This has no effect on your mood. You are at a complete loss of what to do. You were supposed to rule the Empire, but instead your actions were part of its destruction. You never wanted that to happen.

Maybe you should've believed the Emperor or at least just followed his orders. Who knows what might've happened? Maybe he would've killed you or maybe he wouldn't have, but at least you wouldn't be in the situation you're in now. A man out of time. A relic of the past. You have no nation to rule or serve. You don't even have a home or a master any more. What are you going to do with yourself?

You have no idea. The only good thing about any of this is you have a minor support base here. Jacob's descendants are obviously very taken with you. You've only been half listening to what they've been babbling about, but they keep mentioning that they want you to return to the Nalin Republic with them so you can meet this Quintus character that apparently is going to be glad to see you as well. It would seem that you are somewhat known in the few old writings they've found about the old Empire.

Jennifer's brief description of this Nalin Republic sounds at least like a good place to familiarize yourself with this new world and you could go with them if only to get some bearings before you decide what to do next.

You go to the Nalin Republic

You don't have much else to do at this point. You might as well go to Nalin. If you decide you don't like it there, you can always leave.

"Okay, okay, I'll go with you. Just both of you stop going on about it!"
"You will? That's wonderful! Hey would you…"
"Calvin, I told you to shut up already!" you snap.

Calvin shuts up and backs away. He starts telling his daughter that he has to stay here with most of the crew because there is still a lot of digging that needs to be done, but that he wants her to take you to Quintus right away. She nods and tells a few of the expedition crew to start loading up a few wagons to leave soon.

Jennifer herself on the other hand starts walking along side you and staring a lot.

"Shouldn't you be helping load up the wagons?" you say implying that you'd like her to leave you be.
"No, they got it. Hey, so how well did you know my ancestor?" she asks ignoring or oblivious to your wishes.
"Not as well as I thought, considering he never mentioned having a family to me."
"Oh I do not believe he had one of his own. But from what I've seen of my father's family tree diagrams, Jacob had a couple of brothers that were just normal civil servants. Record keepers, that sort of thing. Obviously they had families though, otherwise my father and I wouldn't be here. He never mentioned siblings?"
"Nope. Perhaps he wasn't on good terms with them. I dunno. I only interacted with him on things concerning important Empire business. He was pretty immersed in his work most the time. I suppose I can say, he was a dedicated servant of the Empire."

This remark makes Jennifer display a big grin.

"Hah, I knew it. We Mols have always been patriots to our nations!"
"Hm, well he definitely would do anything to save his nation. Unfortunately that seems to have been for naught given that it no longer exists."

"So…um, why were you in that magic shell?" Jennifer asks changing her line of questioning.
"Why do you ask so many questions?"
"Because we could've never believed that we'd discover a living person from the old Empire, yet here you are! I mean we know about the Empire only from a few tattered incomplete writings or mostly oral stories. Now we've finally got someone who lived during those glorious times! Someone who can give us the truth about what happened. I mean the cataclysm for example. All anyone knows is it was a great disaster of a magical nature that occurred five centuries ago. Nobody really knows how or why it happened. You had to have been there for that. Do you know what happened?"
"Oh…I have an idea…" You say.
"And?!" Jennifer asks.
"And I'm not going to tell you." You remark.
"What?!" Jennifer exclaims in total disbelief. She actually is at a loss for words, but unfortunately not for long.

"But why aren't you going to tell me?!"
"Don't take it personal. I'm not planning to tell anyone. It's very apparent that you folks want something from me, which I can provide. History, information, and the truth. If I just give all that shit away, who's to say you won't just toss me aside and try to have me killed after you've milked me for all of it?"
"That…that wouldn't happen! How could you even think we'd do such a thing?"
"How could I NOT think such a thing? Besides, I'm fairly certain you wouldn't want the real truth anyway."
"Of course we want the truth!"
"No, I don't believe you do. Not really, I think you just want to hear what you want to hear. You want the truth? Here's one for you. The Empire existed, and then it didn't. End of history lesson."

This cynical comment causes Jennifer to again briefly shut up which you hope will send her away, but she's not going to be deterred so easily.

"Look, I realize you're probably a little upset about your situation. I get that, but you don't need to take it out on me. I'm just saying you're living history. And more specifically you're a very important part of my nation's past. You could fill in so many blanks. You're more than just some old magical weapon that we found in the dirt."

You snort at that last statement.

"No. That's exactly what you found, an old magical weapon that was buried in the dirt. Not even buried, but sealed away. And like most old magical weapons found sealed away and buried for centuries, sometimes the smartest thing you can do is leave them alone. I would think the dead bodies of two of your crew would be a good example of that."

Jennifer perceives your comment as a threat, as well she should. She makes no smart comment back; she just shuts up like her father and continues walks along side of you. Glad to see these Mols have as much sense as their ancestor did.

Eventually you make it out of this dig site and into the open air. And what you see before you is severely different from what you remember.

Where you once knew a great city once stood is gone. These explorers have uncovered a few pieces of it, but by and large it's gone. Even the surrounding area where you once knew farmland and even lush fields would've been is gone. Everything has been replaced by sickly undergrowth. A wasteland.

Jennifer remarks to everyone needing to keep an extra eye out for orc raiders. Jennifer looks over at you briefly again, but casts her eyes down and tries to get on with packing up the front wagon. You shake your head and walk over to Jennifer.

"Look, Jennifer is it? I apologize for my remarks earlier, but as you said all of this IS a shock to me. I've seen a lot during my time, but I don't think anything could've prepared me for this."
"I can only imagine. I guess overwhelming you with questions was inconsiderate of us."
"Well I suppose your curiosity is natural, but let's just say I'm not quite ready to discuss everything. At least not yet."
"I understand. Your last memories of the Empire were during the cataclysm and you're only just now seeing the results. It must've been a terrible time!"
"Yes, you could say that it was."

Jennifer nods and you help her with loading the last bags on the head wagon. When you step aboard it, you're on your way. For a while there's silence between the pair of you as you ride through the wasteland, but you decide to be social and break the silence.

"So orcs huh? They're a threat? I would've thought they'd all be extinct by now. There weren't even many left in the Empire during my time." you say.
"Sadly, that is no longer the case. I imagine without the Empire around, they reverted back to their chaotic natures and they bred unchecked. Now they're all over the Qualan Badlands and elsewhere too. They probably were one of the few races to thrive during the dark ages. I'm not too worried about that happening today though now that we've got powerful Eternal travelling with us!"
"You shouldn't be too overconfident of that. Under the right circumstances, anyone, no matter how powerful they appear to be can be brought down sometime by the humblest of things. Still, I see the reputation of the Eternals has still survived. So are there any in Nalin?"
"Ha ha ha ha! No, of course not! Before we found you, the last one died over four hundred years ago. First Matriarch Brenda of the Nalin Dominion. She was probably the main one responsible for keeping the fledging remnants of the Empire together during the cataclysm."
"Glad to know someone was trying to uphold order. Good for her."
"Did you know her well?"
'Not excessively, but we did have dealings on a few matters, like during the taming of the lands east of Nalin for example. There was another major event too, but I'd care not to discuss that at this time."
"Understood…well anyway that was back then. Things have changed a lot since her time, our government being just one of those things, but for all intents and purposes she sort of laid the foundations for the Nalin Republic by keeping the country safe in the first place."
"You're going to have to explain what the hell a republic is. Never heard of it before." You say causing Jennifer to smile a bit.

"Well, nowadays a single leader doesn't rule our government. It's run by a senate, which consists of a group of politicians that are chosen by the people. They ultimately decide on the laws and such by discussing and debating them."

You are completely baffled by this concept.

"That sounds like an inefficient way of running things. How does anything get accomplished?"
"Well, sometimes things do take time, but the citizens are a lot freer and happier by choosing their leaders."

Now you're really lost.

"Why the hell would people want to be free and happy? They should just be grateful for the protection and order that the government provides for their miserable lives! One strong leader to rule over them with an iron fist is only thing the citizens really need. And if they grumble too much they get executed, problem solved. Hell, it's not like slaves cost that much if they need an extra hand in the fields."

Jennifer chuckles at your totalitarian views.

"Yes, I imagine that it would be a bit strange to you. I'm sure it might also surprise you that we don't have slavery anymore either; it actually became less cost effective. Still, you'll see that it isn't all bad. In fact you'll probably get along with Quintus, he's a very big admirer of old Empire history and culture. He's the one been privately funding all these expeditions."

Just as you're about to ask Jennifer who this Quintus is, you hear war cries and howling in the distance. It might have been five hundred years, but you know the sounds of orcs when you hear them.

Not long after the general warning, you soon see them coming from the far left and the far right. They look every bit as big, mean and green as you remember them. No heavy armor, but the giant boar creatures they're riding and the willingness to use bows are new.

Jennifer orders everyone to ride faster and ready their firearms. While readying the firearms is always a good idea, there is no way you're going to outpace the orcs at the speed you're going, the wagons are just not fast enough and are weighed down by equipment. There are also enough orcs that some of them are going reach you before they get shot off their pigs and that's assuming everyone in this caravan is a crack shot that can hit them in the head.

Meanwhile you feel like you're a sitting kobold on your own wagon. Part of you would rather just get on one of the horses and unhook the wagon, so you've got a little more maneuverability. Of course you could just start flinging magic spells at the orcs.

You cast spells

No need to endanger yourself unnecessarily you think, so you start focusing on flinging fireballs at the orcs.

Maybe it's the unstableness of the wagon as it runs over uneven land, maybe the orcs are much better pig riders than you thought, maybe you're just out of practice or maybe it's a combination of all three factors, but whatever the reason you don't actually hit many of them.

Doesn't take long before the orcs return fire with their bows. You immediately cast a personal shield to prevent being shot to death. Jennifer on the other hand isn't quite as lucky as she is caught by several arrows. Her face is one of shock as she stares at the arrow shafts now inside her body puncturing vital organs.

She begins to fall, but in doing so she grabs on to your arm, perhaps in some sort of last attempt of begging for someone to help her. This catches you off guard and your arm is pulled away from your next spell gesture. Before you can pull away from her death grip, orcs on the other side of the wagon have unleashed their own volley of arrows and since you're distracted you don't manage to put up your shield spell in time.

You're relatively "lucky" in that you only catch three arrows in the back. A grievous wound that would probably kill most, but under the right circumstances you'd pull through.

Unfortunately after getting with three arrows in the back, and already slightly off by your footing when Jennifer grabbed you, you lose complete balance due to the wagon going over bumpy land. Doesn't help that arrows also hit the horses and collapse from their wounds which all results in you getting thrown to the ground and smacking your head on a rock when the wagon abruptly stops.

Again though, even with something as bad as this, you'd probably pull through if you had time to heal yourself through magic.

The problem is you don't have that luxury and after you finally manage to shake off the cobwebs of your head wound, you look up just in time to see one of the orc boars galloping towards you and then OVER you. A hoof crushes your skull and the rest break your bones.

Your body broken and bloody is eventually stripped clean by the orcs and left to rot in the wasteland.

Your "return" was a short and ignoble one.