Chapter 1 Fort Neugrad
In the early hours of a mid-autumn morning, a cold wind blew over Fort Neugrad. Men and women tasked to different parts of the old outpost were already hard at work readying for another day. As the Imperial legion labored, the last low menacing clouds of another storm moved through the region. It had blanketed the fort and surrounding area with fresh snow. It piled up around them forming steep walls as they cleared it from entrances and pathways. An-shei, an argonian from Bravil, shoveled listlessly under the dim torchlight breaking the hard icepacks. He had been cutting through the deep snowdrifts all week, the blizzard reburying his previous efforts each time. Unsure of the sanity of it, only the imaginative swearing from his orc superior kept him going.
Ri'vanni, a khajiit, helped him combat the heavy Skyrim snow. They and the other enlistees endured the biting Nordic wind as it sapped precious warmth and energy from their bodies. Thinking about how the recent snowfall made his day's chore more difficult, and the frigid wind whipping around him, An-shei pulled tighter on the layers of clothing wrapped around his freezing tail. Any adjustment was in vain, it was just too cold for his reptile blood. He had trouble keeping pace. Even now holding his tail up above the frozen ground and out of the deep snow was becoming increasingly impossible. Fatigue plagued him.
He looked to Ri'vanni, his khajiit comrade, and eyed his precious fur, envying it for a moment. For the first time in his life he wished for some of those tiny, laughable hairs and not the bright beautiful plumage adorning parts of his body. That made him very sad, he was usually very proud of his black marsh heritage. Letting the wave of melancholy pass, his yellow eyes turned to the dark morning sky and looked for the first signs of daylight.
He and the other legionnaires, under the command of lieutenant Gro shak Bur, awoke a couple hours before sunrise and started their assigned work. Life at the fort was a routine mostly maintaining the fort and rebuilding its fortifications. They worked until sun down and ended the day resting by the fire. If An-shei and Ri'vanni weren't shoveling snow, they were shoveling horse shit from the stables which Ri'vanni and his khajiit nose particularly despised. As the icy wind started to become unbearable, An-shei rubbed his claws together vigorously and blew warm moist air onto his stiff digits. He didn't care about the stable's pungent smell. He wanted to be inside the shelter of its thin walls rather than out in this miserable weather.
"Goddamned horses get treated better than Ri'vanni" He heard the khajiit suddenly cry. He must've been thinking the same thing. "How do you stand it An'shei? How do you keep your tail from falling off? It's been freezing for days!" He asked desperately looking for an answer on the lizard's expressionless face. An-shei only returned the inquisitive stare argonians are known for.
"Ri'vanni is always complaining" An-shei thought "even as his fur grows thicker and thicker." He and Ri'vanni had arrived at the dilapidated Fort Neugrad in the same week. Both were still adjusting to the harsh conditions. "At least he has fur" he thought "I have none." An-shei had a similar adaptation however. One he had just noticed, a fine down beginning to grow out from underneath his scales. He considered it a strange curiosity though, completely unrelated to the harsh climate.
An orc stomped over and yelled in response to the khajiit's cries "Furball one more word out of before chowtime and I will take a giant shit on of you. Do you understand me numb nuts? Get back to work!" He then walked over to An-shei towering over him. "Boot if you don't get the lead out, you will be spending the rest of your time here with my size 13 up your ass. Pick up the pace!"
As beast folk, they were targets of colorful insults, frequently picked on by the orc. It wasn't just him. They were always chosen to work outside. Serving in the legion for them was like actual servitude. The elves and men had the more privileged duties like building fires inside the fort and such. On this day in the fourth age they dealt with the same open secret prejudices their fathers had. Indifference was their greatest enemy, but they continued working silently all the same. An-shei knew as well as anybody, unjust and insufferable as it may be, it was incomparable to the imperial dungeon now being utilized by the Aldmeri Dominion where they might have been now.
It felt like only yesterday he had been boldly hunting and fishing private lands in Cyrodil's southern woods. In a peculiarly bountiful part of forest though, he was eventually discovered and placed under arrest. At his sentencing, he was only given three choices: pay the hefty fine for poaching on a royal preserve, do hard time under the merciless Thalmor, or serve in the standing army. It was an offer he couldn't refuse and he took his chances in the legion.
The campaign in Skyrim had become increasingly demanding, fresh troops were needed to replace those that had defected in the wake of the White Gold Concordat. The Empire's response was to resort to the lawless men in its remaining provinces. An-shei and Ri'vanni had marched shoulder to shoulder with all sorts from the cyrodilic underworld: thieves, bandits, mercenaries, and murderers. They traversed the fertile plains of Tamriel, its deep valleys, and wide winding rivers over the snow-capped mountains to the Nord's homeland. A place An-shei had no interest in, into a war he had no stake in. And so here he was with the other unfortunate souls toiling in the harsh conditions waiting for the sun and the little comfort it would bring.
"Sir Yes sir!" a group of soldiers yelled assembling into lines in Neugrad's large inner yard. The sun had barely begun to illuminate the night sky as it crawled out from the east horizon. It would still take some time for the first rays of light to break over the mountains.
"Rellus front and center." Old Gro shak Bur barked, a heavy set orc covered head to toe in heavy armor. A lanky dark haired imperial stepped out of the formation and quickly stepped toward the robust orc almost breaking into a jog. He stopped a short distance away not wanting to get too close to the intimidating wrothgarian. "Corporal Rellus, you're taking a group of men to the eastern watch tower today and delivering some supplies. Go and speak with Captain Astius he'll have more to brief you on. He's in his office and is expecting you." Gro shak said in his throaty orcish voice, gruff with the demeanor of a decorated officer, then he immediately roared very orc like. "The rest of you, quit standing around with your heads up your asses. Start fortifying these walls!"
As the indomitable Gro Shak set the men on the task at hand. Rellus strode toward the entrance of Neugrad's front doors. Entering the main hall, a group of men were busy using it as a makeshift armory repairing armors and sharpening an assortment of weaponry. He walked through not making much eye contact, unfamiliar with the soldiers that were mostly orsimer. As he passed the fireplace which was being used as an improvised forge, he coughed and choked as the stifling smoke burned his lungs. The stoutly mer hustling and bustling made getting across the room into the hallway more of a chore than he anticipated. Once inside the long narrow corridor, the uncomfortable draft of the run down fort provided him with some respite. He paused, let out a sigh of relief then continued on, with the echoes of hammers and orcs following him into the next great room, the mess hall and kitchen. More legionnaires were busy preparing the first meals of the day, cooking, cleaning, and washing among other things he didn't care to notice; for the hundred or so men occupying the fort. He stopped and observed for a minute to catch a glimpse of his brother but didn't see him. The smell of today's course unappealing to him, began walking without investigating further, rounded the corner and headed up the stairs.
Soon he came upon the officer's quarters, a few small rooms joined together by larger one. Inside the largest of the rooms was a map of the surrounding area. Flag's and figurines were scattered across it showing what he assumed to be enemy positions and movements. Out of the window to his right he could see the silhouette of the eastern watch tower and behind it the pink and gold morning sun he had not seen all week. It looked quite far but being able to see it guessed it could not be more than a half day's hike. If it wasn't for the rugged terrain he might have been back before nightfall he thought and wouldn't have to stay there cramped and eating old rations.
Prefect Astius's office was on the west end of the room along with the other head honcho. It was warm, cozy even, nothing like the tents pitched outside the fort walls he was used to. Astius, an immaculately groomed imperial younger and shorter than he was had graying hair. He sat quietly thumbing through reports on his desk. Rellus was unimpressed by the man. He didn't have the same bearing of an officer Gro shak possesed. But here he was addressing him.
"Commander Astius, I understand that you have an assignment for me." Rellus spoke trying to remain interested.
"Corporal Rellus" Astius said in his usual officer's goloss. "Lieutenant Gro shak has spoken of you very highly and recommends promotion. He says you're responsible with a good head on your shoulders. Now, if that's true then you can get this done relatively easily and quickly." He spoke without taking his eyes off the reports. "Those boys at the watchtower needed provisions a few days ago. But with the way the weather's been, I wasn't about to send any. Not even the damn stormcloaks would go romping in a storm like this. Luckily for them though, the sky seems to be clearing up. So here are your orders. Round up a squadron to accompany you and deliver said supplies to Sergeant Tacitus A.S.A.P. They're probably eating their fucking boots by now." He chuckled pausing briefly to look for the same amusement on Rellus's face, but not finding any. "Ahem. Also, while you're there inform him that the platoon is scheduled to leave soon and will be joining up with the rest of A Company in Helgen, maybe in a couple days, maybe less you never know. B Company should already be on its way through the mountains to relieve us. Tell him to hold the tower until B Company can get their shit together and get some men up there. Then he can go to Helgen where I'll be awaiting his debriefing."
Rellus met a few officers in his career but none had the same note of regal authority Astius spoke with. He seemed used to ordering others around.
"Yes captain," Rellus answered. "When should I leave for the tower?"
"Get yourself something to eat then get on down the road. The supplies are out by the stables. You should have plenty for the men at the tower and the six soldiers going with you." The young Imperial said, well aware that Rellus was not very enthused about trudging through the snow to tell Tacitus that his stay in the wilderness was being prolonged indefinitely.
"Look, I hate to make you the bearer of bad news, but don't let Tacitus give you shit. In Helgen, he'll get enough time to put his boots up. We'll all be staying there a few days for some R'n'R. Then we're going down into Riverwood for who knows how long. Essentially, assure him that'll it all be downhill from here. So keep good time and get back here quick. If you can't, you'll be pushing your squad through the snow to Helgen yourself. Once B Company arrives, I'm getting the fuck out of here. It's colder than a witch's tits here." Astius's swearing immediately quelled any thought Rellus entertained of him being any sort of nobility.
"Another thing" Astius added as Rellus shifted his weight toward the door. "If you happen into the patrol, let corporal Baurus know there is a cave northeast of the fort somewhere along the river. He's redguard if you hadn't guessed by the name. He'll need to locate it for us. Locals call it Shimmermist. It's an old cache used by bandits and who know what else, as far as I know it's abandoned, but that'll be why he's going to check it out. We just need to know where it is exactly and if anything is there worth looking into."
"And what if I don't find them sir?" Rellus asked, somewhat exhausted of his encounter with the younger man.
"Then you'll carry on sergeant. Yeah that's right you're getting your promotion. I can't have you leading soldiers around Skyrim as a corporal. Here take this to serve as your new badge of office." Astius handed him a sergeant's medal. "Also, word to the wise choose carefully about you'll be taking. Some of these guys aren't the type to be ordered around, you know? What the hell kind of government sends criminals to a war anyway?" He asked rhetorically. "Your dismissed Rellus, congratulations now go take care of this."
Finally excused, Rellus decided wait in the mess hall out of the cold. The tables had been set and the first few legionnaires had begun pouring in.