Chapter 4

Freedom Smells like…

There was something different about Carnath, Ulfric came to realize by the end of the week. His eyes were no longer completely devoid of emotions but seemed to swirl with a hidden determination, only he seemed to have noticed it as Carnath did not react differently too how the bandit's treated him. The Thalmor let men come and go through him without a bat of his eyes.

When they were alone and the muffle removed Ulfric asked, "You… have you been through this kind of thing before." It wasn't really a question, more a statement as he picked apart everything he had seen.

Carnath looked startled for a moment before pulling his cold farce, but Ulfric gave him a firm look making the Thalmor sigh in annoyance, "Yes." He replied in a drawling tone, "That is all you need to know. My past is my own…" He halted as his voice suddenly broke making Ulfric frown in curiosity. Something that the Thalmor just remembered had hit him hard.

The elf went silent and looked away, his face and eyes like stone making Ulfric sigh and sit beside him against the wall, "What would my men think if they knew I was sitting with a Thalmor?"

Only a snort was his reply at first before Carnath drawled out in a smooth voice a few moments later, "What would they think about the things you did with said Thalmor?" Ulfric grimaced but Carnath continued speaking, "Most likely nothing because I would not tell them, and I am certain you wont either."

That was true, neither of them wanted to admit to the monstrosities that the bandit's were making them do with each other, it would lead only to… dark unrest amongst their brethren. Ulfric's followers would feel betrayed while Carnath would probably be killed; whichever side did it was uncertain but death was. A Thalmor being… raped by bandits and having sex with Ulfric Stormcloak, no one would let him live, at least not with his Altmer pride.

But it wasn't like he regretted anything. Ulfric didn't voice his thought as he stared at the wall, only just catching the twitches of Carnath's ears. It usually meant someone was coming but… something in his molten eyes had Ulfric looking at him uneasily, "What…?"

"I believe it is time…" Said the Thalmor in a deep, even tone while adjusting something in his sleeve. What he alluded to made Ulfric tense up. He wanted to escape now? What made this decision come to the patient elf? They didn't have any plan, "Trust me…"

For a moment Ulfric was about to say in a mocking tone 'Didn't you say trust is unimportant here' but couldn't express himself as golden lips pressed against his passionately and he was pulled around so he was in front of Carnath. Giving a surprised gasp allowed the warm tongue to press past his lips and teeth.

Behind his back he felt deft fingers working at his cuffs before turning the attention to his trousers when they clicked undone, in the kiss Ulfric moaned and grasped at the Thalmor's hips as their legs spread either side of his, and a hand began to pump his manhood. Moving his lips to kiss at the Nord's jaw, Carnath focused attention on making Ulfric hard while also getting his pants down enough to bare his arse.

"Where did you get the lock pick?" Asked Ulfric through his moans, his hips grinded into Carnath's hand making him shudder.

"Pickpocketed it last night from a bandit." Carnath proudly sneered against Ulfric's jaw as he fondled the man's balls with expert fingers. The Jarl managed out an approving grunt as an answer while letting his words fail. When Carnath felt Ulfric was solid enough he coaxed the tip to his entrance with a couple of his fingers and wrapped his arms around the Jarl's shoulders, "Be as loud as you can." After purring that line into the man's ear, Carnath brought his hips down taking Ulfric inside. With a loud roar infused with his Thuum that thundered off the walls and seemed to vibrate through the slightly deafened Thalmor's body, Ulfric slammed into him and took instant control.

The sound of his voice brought the two bandits watching over the doorways to come rushing to the bars to see the commotion. Their mouth's dropped open as they witnessed Ulfric fucking Carnath fast, and seeing the typically cold elf looking like he was in ecstasy as he moaned against the Nord's cheek and clung his arms around his fur covered back. Within seconds the two hardened and struggled to get the gates open.

Neither bandit gave a damn that Ulfric's hand's and mouth were free of his binds, nor why the Thalmor was suddenly clinging to the man like a wanton whore, all they knew was they had to join in before they burst. One bandit freed his manhood and moaned as Carnath took it willingly into his mouth, sucking the bulb and lavishing it with kisses instead of simply letting the man thrust inside.

The other man also freed himself and howled as Ulfric turned his head, taking a page out of Carnath's book and going the with flow he began to suck the other man. He was inexperienced but mimicked everything he saw the Thalmor do from the corner of his eye, he and the two bandit's were none the wiser as Carnath skillfully pickpocketed the keys to the bandit hive and let them fall into his sleeve to stop somewhere near his elbow before grasping a leather clad hand against the bandits arse.

Then as all of them tensed for release Carnath raised his hands so his palms were against the two bandits chests, the second they came a purple light filled the room. The bandits dropped to the ground dead, eyes wide and lips holding a smile, as they didn't fully catch onto what the Thalmor was doing amidst their ecstasy. On shaking legs Ulfric stood with a splutter as he spat out the warm cum in his mouth, and then remedied his clothing. He uneasily eyed the sizzling body of the bandit he had been sucking and grimaced as he tasted the man on his tongue.

After spitting out the cum in his own mouth Carnath gave a drained sigh as he felt the magicka he had been saving up evaporated in that attack and anything left was sapped away by the cuffs around his wrists, leaving him with nothing. Seeing his weakness Ulfric fixed his clothes for him as the elf had done many times for him and lifted a bandit's axe, "Can you stand?"

"Not yet." Mumbled the Thalmor as he glanced up at Ulfric while weakly removing his enchanted cuffs with the keys he pickpocketed, "But you wont be fighting alone… some of your Stormcloak's finally broke through the walls and are fighting in the courtyard."

Muscles became taunt at the prospect of escape and a fight, but Ulfric paused in running out to join his men. He sent a glance to the flightily calm looking Thalmor, "Here let me…"

"Go, I will catch up soon. The Chief is a coward and will try to escape in the confusion…" Not wanting the bastard to get away from him Ulfric nodded and rushed out of the prison while Carnath crawled through the shadows to the alchemy lab he memorized it to be to gather enough energy to find his sword and also… investigate a certain matter.

Killing every bandit he came across, Ulfric made it to the courtyard drenched in blood, hiding the caked cum in the fur, where Galmar led a camp or two worth of Stormcloak's against the castle, the second in command looked at Ulfric with relief, "Ulfric!" They all cried while pressing back the enemy. Seeing him in a bad state made them fight with more vigor.

Giving Galmar a nod as he drew up beside his people with fist tight around his borrowed axe and left the gates with them to get in wider territory while fighting off the swarm that followed, Ulfric searched for the Chief amongst the hoard. A glint down the road had him cussing up a storm, "That bastard! Get to the Chief!"

Ulfric and his men struggled to get through the swarm making the Chief get further and further away. Then there was Carnath at the gates swinging a beautiful blade around smoothly in one hand as if it had a life of its own, twirling around his wrist in expert dexterity while killing bandits like they were insects and not leaving a drop of blood on his filthy robes. He didn't show any magic meaning he was still drained, or saving up what he had left for the Chief.

As the Stormcloak's all gave the Thalmor startled looks while fighting back the bandits Ulfric cried out and jabbed a finger down the road while blocking a sword, "The Chief is getting away!" Carnath's eyes followed Ulfric's hand while not being fazed by anything as he pushed through the bandits like they were children annoying him, when he spotted the bastard he broke into an instantaneous sprint. Rushing from the reach of the bandits fluently.

Ulfric blinked in amazement, as Carnath became a small dot down the hill on his long legs and tackled the Chief to the snow in record time, "By Talos how did he manage that after…?" He went quiet before helping to dispatch the last of the bandits, then at a slower pace with his men came down the hill to join the Thalmor and the Chief.

They all caught onto his conversation, "… and don't think me stupid, barbarian scum. I did not find the bodies of my guards in your pit, so I repeat. Who gave you the order to assassinate me?"

"Think I am afraid of you, elf-whore!" Growled the Chief, "You're nothing but the husk of a former hero turned into a booty call for the Thalmor and Empress! All you deserve is face full of dirt and arse full of…" Crack! The blank faced Carnath's elbow smoothly connected with the Chief's nose making it pour with blood, choking him as it filled his gasping mouth.

The Thalmor's voice dropped into a deep, dangerous tone that made Ulfric and his people to tense, "So you know who I am? Then you should know what I am capable of." Pure terror filled the Chief's eyes making the hairs on the back of Ulfric's neck stand up; he looked at Carnath and wondered whom this Thalmor was.

"I… I am not afraid of you or death…" He flinched when Carnath gave disappointed clicking sounds of his tongue, betraying him to his fear.

"Didn't your master teach you better spy?" The Chief tensed and the fear rooted deeper, purple magic softly graced Carnath's fingers, which was a Conjuration spell but felt unsettling, "I can give you something worse then death… now you were going to say something?"

"Elenwen! She gave us the order to catch and kill you!" The man struggled against the tall elf but failed to throw him off, "She said to make it as humiliating as possible so when your body was sent to the Elder Council…"

"While blaming it on either the Stormcloak's or Imperials, thus making the Elder Council give the Empress and her dogs permission to 'cleanse' Skyrim?" Finished Carnath for the Chief, his words made unrest erupt through the Stormcloak's.

Many voiced their hate for the Thalmor, while others questioned who in Oblivion was Carnath to get a reaction like that from the Elder Council. Ulfric thought the same as the later as he looked down at the elf dry mouthed, inside he had an inkling but couldn't voice it as of yet, not while Carnath mounted the stomach of the terrified Chief. His mind filtered to the events of the week.

"Please let me go! I will tell the Council the truth and get Elenwen…"

"Oh I don't care much about Elenwen's plans, I just wanted to know who I was going to send your head and a thank you letter to." Before the Chief could voice any more begging for his life, Carnath's blade moved with such speed it seemed like it took one blink for everything to end. The spy's head rolled down the hill before stopping a few feet away while the Thalmor rose to his full height. He spun and trotted casually up the hill while undoing the clasps of his filthy robe at the same time.

Quickly Ulfric and his people stuck to his heel all the way back to the castle gates, "What was that 'hero' business about, are you the…?" Before he could voice his suspicion Carnath shoved his beautiful, sheathed sword into Ulfric's arms. The sudden and surprising weight of the blade made the man's knees buckle and stumbled back with a struggle to right his footing. For a moment Carnath's eyes flickered with admiration before closing off, as if he expected Ulfric to drop the sword.

"Hold that a moment, boy." At his rude sneer the Stormcloak's hissed and began to draw their blades, Carnath didn't even look at them as he threw off his soiled robe leaving him in his trousers and plain black tunic, and examined each body at his feet with a look of scorn. It was like he was searching for something…

"What are you doing?" Ulfric frowned while shifting the heavy sword in his arms, the elf didn't reply as he didn't find what he wanted and instead disappeared inside. Beside him Galmar clenched his war hammer in his hands and glared into the castles darkness at the Thalmor's annoying rudeness, how dare the elf insult and treat Ulfric like a child!

"Who is he? A Thalmor spy?" Galmar wanted to question the Chief's words, about being a booty call for Thalmor. Knowing his thoughts Ulfric sent him a look, begging him silently not to ask.

Thinking over what to say as he and his people waited for the Thalmor to return, Ulfric finally replied in a careful and strained voice as he shifted the sword again, "I have a feeling I know who he is, and if he is it would be best to… not anger him."

While waiting Ulfric drew the blade slightly from its sheath with a struggle and examined its beauty, it was shaped like a simple steel sword but the blades metal was like the purest of pearl and flawless, its hilt had a beautiful red ruby made into a diamond point. The entire blade hummed in his hands with powerful enchantments… and felt heavy. Heavier then even a great hammer making Ulfric have to lean it against some rubble beside him after sheathing it.

"How does he use this thing like he does?" A Stormcloak frowned at his words and tried to lift it, they clenched their teeth and strained with both hands around the hilt as it barely budged for them, they swore while making another try. Soon every single one of the Stormcloak's had attempted at the blade before Carnath returned dressed in a pair of tight leather and fur he found in a chest. He blinked when he saw everyone eyeing his blade with suspicious ire.

"Can't lift it?" It sounded like he was disappointed in them making the Stormcloak's glare at him, and then watch in amazement as he lifted it in one hand and strapped it around his waist as if it weighed nothing, "Of course you can't… Barbarian's."

While his men growled and sent him loud cusses, Ulfric smirked. When Carnath called them that it was without the scorn he had held for the bandits, the Thalmor tugged at his clothes with a twisted up nose at the smell and tried to get them to sit comfortably, then looked down at Ulfric. Waiting for… oh right…

"As I was saying," Ulfric crossed his arms, "are you 'him'?"

A flicker of humor appeared in Carnath's molten eyes before he spoke in a drawling, almost innocent voice, "I don't know what you are talking about, boy. If we are quite done I would like to be far from the Thalmor Embassy when their darling Emissary realizes I am very much alive and decides to send more annoyingly useless assassins."

As Carnath turned to make his leave the Stormcloak's prepared to stop him but halted when Ulfric shook his head and raised a hand, "The furthest you will get from the Embassy is in Windhelm."

Carnath paused and looked over his shoulder to meet Ulfric's firm eyes with his cool ones, he ignored the distrusting and confused expressions Galmar and the other Nord's were sending the pair, "And why would I do that? How would taking shelter in the city of those who would very much love to gut me, simply for the fact that I am an elf, be any better?"

"If you don't come what would you do?" Ulfric kept up his stony look as he tried to come up with a way to persuade Carnath to join him and his cause, having the elf in his army… it gave a high chance that he would win this war. Especially if he was who Ulfric suspected him to be.

"Go back to being a sell sword possibly," Replied the elf smoothly while adjusting the straps around his wrists before kneeling to make sure his Thalmor boots were unrecognizable, "easiest way to gain coin I found during the Oblivion Crisis."

"Then consider yourself hired." Ulfric smirked when Carnath looked up at him; his cold face broke into a smirk that could almost be considered a smile as he conceded to the Jarl and rose back to his feet. Seeing something other then a scornful sneer made Ulfric's pupils dilate, something that was caught by the sharp molten eyes making the sneer return.

"Very well then, boy. Consider your pockets to be drained."

"Any coin spent is worth having the Champion of Cyrodiil fighting for my cause." The smile returned to Carnath's face and grew grew wider as the Stormcloak's behind Ulfric looked like their mouths were about to hit the floor as they finally realized whom exactly this Thalmor was.

Carnath, the Champion of Cyrodiil and defender of the Oblivion Crisis bowed his head to Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak with forearm against his chest, "The Champion of Cyrodiil is at your disposal, my Jarl."

"Welcome to the Stormcloak's… by the way… how do you wield that blade?"

"This old thing?" Carnath pulled the blade out swiftly with two fingers and twirled it smoothly around his wrist in amazing swordplay, "It only weights the same as a iron dagger. Less in fact… like a feather."

"Don't joke with us elf…" Growled Galmar as it felt like Carnath was taunting them, "Some of us couldn't even budge it let alone lift it."

Sheathing the blade with a fluent motion of his arm that only an elf with hundreds of years to perfect could manage Carnath looked coolly down at Galmar while giving a scornful tsk, causing Ulfric's second in command to get riled up. Sighing and rubbing his brow as Galmar instantly began to cuss and throw insults at the sneering elf Ulfric didn't bother to shut him up as he was filled with relief that made his vision bur and spin for a moment.

Sucking in a breath as he recovered the sudden dizzy spell Ulfric looked to his men and smiled, "Good to be free."

"Did freedom always smell like… Nords?" Questioned Carnath in the background in his now familiar drawl, he sneered out the last word like it was filthy followed with a dignified cough, as if clearing his lungs of the mentioned smell.

His words drew attention in the female ranks as they breathed in, "What do you mean, like Nords?" Said a Stormcloak woman beside the tall elf; she and the others looked offended, "What do we smell like?"

"Oh… a little death here and a smelly wet troll there. If you like I can show you a trick with something called soap…" He broke off into a sprint mid speech down the road as a hoard of angry Nord women chased after him, cussing the life out of him all the way. A sight to behold that was for certain.

Ulfric blinked in amazement at what just happened then looked to Galmar, "I don't know if I made the right decision… but he does look a little happier…"

"Happy? What about that sneering elf looked happy?" Galmar looked at Ulfric and felt his shoulders sag at the sad smile his Jarl was giving down the road at the distanced form of the ex-Thalmor and the Stormcloak women as they began to walk side by side, determined to get back to Windhelm for much needed rest.

"His eyes."