The Sons of Baroth
Greg J Miller
~O~
Chapter 21
Tirdas the 6th of Sun's Height 4E49
The sun was setting in the west as the towers of Castle Skingrad caught the glow of the last rays of daylight. Karl gro-Baroth continued marching onward. He'd made fairly good time along the road, but it would still be dark by the time he arrived at Skingrad's western gates.
Thirteen days had passed since Karl had met with his estranged brother and his family in the township of Ripwold in High Rock. That was already starting to seem like a long time ago, but that was probably just because most of that time had been relatively tedious and uneventful. That was really because the greatest portion of that time was passed sitting about on a ship during the long voyage back from Iliac Bay.
In the company of Garish gro-Yargol, he'd departed Ripwold the morning after meeting with Uzgark and his family. That journey back to Wayrest had been more uneventful than the outbound trek. At the least, they'd not encountered any raiders. Added to that, travelling on horseback was a bit easier. The only trouble that they had to deal with had been some wolves that stalked them along the road between Midpath Hill and Reytry. Even though Westcroft's body had been wrapped in a treated shroud, the wolves could still smell what was tied to that third horse. Nevertheless, the wolves never actually got close enough to force the issue.
Only to avoid travelling at night along those roads of the high country, they'd stayed the evening at Reytry, then headed straight back for Wayrest the next morning. That journey proved pleasantly free of incident all the way. The greatest challenge had been boredom.
As reasonably anticipated, Guildhead Wickfield had not been at all pleased over losing Westcroft. Still, any difficulties that Garish might have faced had been somewhat eased by a couple of things. Karl's presence was probably one thing. The other being that they'd successfully eliminated a band of raiders in the outer regions.
Getting past the unsavoury matter of losing a member of the Guildhall, Wickfield was pleased to hear that Karl had succeeded in finding his half brother. At the least, his search had proved fruitful in the end.
That led onto a further discussion relating the concerns of some of the people at Ripwold. Karl explained what was likely to happen in the old Orsinium region, provided that various things went according to tentative plans.
Though Wickfield remained slightly sceptical that those outlying settlements would actually manage to organise themselves in that manner, she agreed that it did seem like a sound plan. She even agreed to advocate on their behalf, when the time came. Of course, that remained dependent upon those people actually managing to present that level of organisation. In either event, she'd indicated that she'd try to keep him informed of any developments via future correspondence.
Wickfield had reminded him that she still intended to follow his advice with regard to improving relations between the unaffiliated Guildhalls of her region. She also planned to let him know how that worked out.
All of that sat well enough with Karl. After all, it was the best that he could reasonably hope for. Still, it was a fair assumption that each of those things would take some time.
Karl remained in Wayrest for barely two days. Since he'd learned of a suitable trade vessel heading southbound on the Loredas, he'd secured passage right away. Added to that, since that ship was stopping at Sentinel, it was just what he needed.
He'd arrived in Sentinel on the Sundas. Wasting no time, he'd headed directly for the office of the Imperial Consulate. Once he'd managed to meet with the Consul, he'd learned that the negotiation process to gain authorisation for a proper Fighters Guild presence in that city was still in progress.
According to Cipius, everything was still going according to expectation. He'd assured Karl that an acceptable outcome was only a matter of time. He'd estimated that an official agreement was likely to come about in the coming weeks. Almost certainly by the time that the construction of the new Legion garrison was completed. He'd also expected that the old Legion house would be available to serve as a Guildhall for the Fighters Guild. The Consul intended to keep him properly informed by correspondence.
Since there was no good reason for him to remain in Sentinel, Karl headed straight back to the docks to secure passage on that vessel to continue onward to Cyrodiil. That didn't present any problem for him. That same cabin was still available.
Given that the ship wasn't departing until the next day, he'd had time to head over to Sentinel's Foreign Quarter to visit the Legion house. Over there, he had another brief conversation with Captain Broder.
Fortunately, he was also able to speak with Ceno and the other Guild Fighters, since they weren't out on any contract at the time. He'd passed on detail of what knew at that stage, advising that everything would continue to be business as usual until word came of anything different.
When Karl was there at the Legion house, Taimar took his ear to go on about an Orc called Borgath who fought in Sentinel's arena. She'd been trying to persuade him of the idea of leaving the arena to join up with the Fighters Guild.
Of course, Karl had no particular problem with that, provided that Borgath met the requirements and went through the usual process. Still, he reminded Taimar it was still too early to do anything about it. He suggested bringing it to Ceno, when they actually had a proper Guildhall and they were in a position to look to taking on recruits.
By the next morning, Karl was sitting about on that trade vessel and heading southward again, sailing down along Iliac Bay and toward home. He had plenty of time to look to reading those books that he'd picked up Wayrest before heading off.
That ship headed back along a different route from the one he'd taken on the way up to Sentinel and Wayrest. After leaving Iliac Bay, the vessel rounded the cape of eastern Hammerfell, then headed out into deeper waters, bound for the island of Stros M'Kai.
The trade vessel remained at the port city of Stros M'Kai for just the day. It was just enough time for Karl to stretch his legs and take a quick look about the place.
He'd heard about Stros M'Kai before, but he'd never actually been there himself. He was just a bit surprised at how busy the place seemed. In some respects, it immediately struck him as somewhat similar to Sentinel. It did feature a lot of old Yokudan styled architecture. That was especially obvious with the big palace structures up on the hill. Some other parts of the city looked nothing like that sort of thing. It seemed a broad mix of the old and the new.
Still, he didn't have all that much time to take a really good look about. He needed to be back aboard the vessel before the unloading and loading of cargo was completed.
Soon enough, the trade vessel was back on its way and headed directly for the Gold Coast of Cyrodiil, bound for Anvil. Karl would have preferred the chance to again speak with Razaal in Rihad, but that would just have to wait. There'd be opportunity for correspondence once things were settled.
It was only when Karl had finally arrived at Anvil that he first he heard word of trouble in the southern and eastern parts of Cyrodiil.
Speaking with Guildhead Llaram, he'd learned that trade ships from the east had brought rumours of problems in the south of Cyrodiil along the border regions with Elsweyr. There'd been trouble affecting Leyawiin, Water's Edge and Bravil over the past few weeks.
Though the details remained scant, Llaram indicated that she'd heard talk of raids upon the outlying settlements of those regions. The rumours suggested that Renrijra Krin bandits from Elsweyr were responsible. The word was that both the Fighters Guild and the Imperial Legion were involved in dealing with the threat, but she'd yet to hear anything of substance through the regular official channels.
For a variety of reasons, that information alarmed Karl in a suitable manner. Isolated bandit attacks were not so unheard of, but it wasn't so often that the Renrijra Krin were implicated in such things. At least, not in Cyrodiil. Not recently, anyway. Add to that, it seemed like it had to be more than just the typical roadside bandit trouble if both the Fighters Guild and Legion were on alert. He was also concerned and a bit annoyed that Montrose hadn't been keeping the other Guildheads properly informed of what was going on.
Karl decided to waste no time in getting back to making his way for Chorrol. The next morning, he was up very early and marching along The Gold Road toward Kvatch at a determined pace. He hadn't bothered with trying to coordinate with trade wagons or the like. He figured he'd get to Kvatch quick enough on his own without wasting time or effort on that.
In Kvatch, Karl spoke with Guildhead Farrel and Merandil. Aside from hearing vague rumours of increased bandit attacks in those southern counties, they knew nothing more of it.
Of course, just like Guildhead Llaram, his comrades in Kvatch were pleased to hear of Karl's decision to assume the role of Guild Master. They'd also received news of his tenuous successes in Sentinel and Wayrest with favour.
Farrel had firmly suggested that what he'd achieved in the west was clear indication that he was most certainly the right person to take over as Guild Master at Chorrol.
After an early night at Kvatch's Guildhall, Karl was up before the dawn and again marching along The Gold Road at a sturdy pace. In the early part of the day, a close call with a mountain lion threatened to delay his progress. However, the cat took flight in response to Karl's swinging battleaxe and his superior roar. Any roadside bandit dumb enough to take him on that day would've been unlikely to live to tell the tale.
He'd encountered two Legion riders patrolling The Gold Road during the first half of the day. In each case, brief exchange informed him that they didn't know much about what was going on in Bravil or Leyawiin. Since they were based in the west, they weren't well informed of what was happening in the east. They'd heard of increased bandit troubles in the southern Niben region and even some mention of the Renrijra Krin, but nothing beyond that.
Karl didn't even bother wasting his time with the other Legion riders he'd encountered a little later in the day. He'd only exchanged courteous greetings and kept moving toward his immediate destination.
He knew he'd need to rest the night at Skingrad, but he was hoping that he would learn something more of what was going on in the southern counties while he was there.
Just as he'd expected, it was dark by the time that Karl approached the main gates on the western side of Skingrad. The current phases of the moons meant that there wasn't so much light once had sun had set. Still, it was just enough to see the road ahead.
Once he'd passed by the farmlands and vineyards just west of the city, the lantern outside the stabling facilities served as a beacon as he headed along the final stretch.
After speaking briefly with the duty guard by the gates, he headed inside the city walls and started making his way for the Fighters Guild.
Though the open stalls of The Low Street were all abandoned by that time, there were still a few people out on the streets, headed to and from either side of town. The warm summer evening seemed to have something to do with that.
Even with most of the businesses of Hightown closed up for the day, there were still a number of people moving along The High Street. Some of them looked to be coming and going from the West Weald Inn. Others just seemed to be out on the streets for no obvious reason.
Arriving at the Fighters Guild, Karl headed straight inside. The Guildhall sounded unusually quiet. It seemed like there was no one about at all.
Before Karl had the opportunity to call out, he heard the noise from a creaking chair coming from the room off to the left of the main entryway. The aged Guild Porter slowly shuffled out to see him.
Fadus Calidius stared at him through squinted eyes. "Karl gro-Baroth."
"Fadus." Karl returned.
"You looking to stay the night?"
"Yeah, just got in from Kvatch."
Fadus grunted. "You know where everything is."
Karl nodded curtly. "Yeah, I do. Wanna see the Guildhead, if she's available."
"A bit late, isn't it?" The old Imperial man commented gruffly.
Karl figured it was probably going on eight. "Yeah well, got here as quick as I could."
Fadus eyeballed him in a condescending manner. "She's in. Can't say if she's available. Might be, for you."
Karl glanced toward the stairs. "Reckon I might go find out."
"Don't let me stop you." Fadus glared for a moment, before turning away and returning to the room he'd just emerged from.
Karl ignored any other passing concerns and headed on up the staircase for the upper level of the Guildhall. By that time of the evening, he'd thought that Adrienne Canne might be in her quarters up on that level. Instead, he learned that she was still in her office, going over some documents with a weary expression on her face.
Canne looked up with a curious glance as she noticed someone approaching the open door to her office. "Karl, you're back. Come on in. Take a seat." She waved him in.
The big Orc entered the office. He took a chair and settled into it with a sigh. His facial expression seemed to convey a feeling of relief to be off his feet.
Canne affected a mild smile. "It's good to see you. How have you been?"
"Good enough. Yourself?"
"Yes, good. Good and busy." She glanced down at the mess of documents.
"Looks like." Karl agreed, without pressing any further, just yet.
Canne looked back with a slightly odd expression. "Have you only just returned from the west?" She was just thinking that more than a month had passed since she'd last spoken with him.
"Yeah, just now. Just got in from Kvatch. Anvil before that."
She returned an expectant gaze. "Oh. So then, how did all that go?"
Karl released a heavy sigh, then went on to briefly outline the highlights of his visits to Sentinel and Wayrest. He only went over the basics of what he expected to come out of his negotiations and discussions in those two places. The bottom line was that Sentinel should have a proper Guildhall sometime soon and that closer relations with some of the Guildhalls of High Rock could be likely, though that second thing was likely to take a bit longer. He didn't bother to get into discussing his other activities that led to him finding his estranged brother. He didn't figure that she needed to hear any of that.
Before Karl managed to shift the topic toward what he most wanted to know, Canne prompted him to speak of the one obvious thing that he hadn't addressed. "What about the Guild Master position?"
He affected an awkward grin, scratching an itch on one of his pointed ears. "Yeah well, decided to listen to what everyone kept tellin' me."
Canne's raised eyebrows prompted him to elaborate.
"Yeah, sent off messages a coupla weeks back. Informed The Elder Council and Chorrol that I was steppin' up an' takin' the job. That word shoulda reached 'em by now."
Canne nodded her approval. "Good, good to hear. In my view, what you've achieved over the past few weeks just goes to demonstrate that you're the right person for it."
Karl accepted her opinion without further comment, instead steering the discussion in another direction. "Didn't see no one about downstairs, but Fadus. There stuff goin' on that I need to know about?"
Canne met his gaze. "I take it you've heard something?"
"Nothin' proper. Just some rumours of trouble over in the southern counties."
"Yes, there's that and more." She paused with a sigh. "The trouble over in County Leyawiin started up a few weeks ago, while you were away in the west."
Karl's silent expression indicated that she had his full attention.
Canne continued. "Well, it started with what seemed like coordinated attacks at three locations by raiding parties. Border Watch, Water's Edge and farms just outside of Leyawiin, were each attacked by raiders at about the same time, on the very same day."
Karl's brow furrowed. "Heard rumour that it mighta been Renrijra Krin."
Canne nodded with some reservation. "Well, that's what they're saying. According to reports, the attackers were mostly Khajiit. Didn't say for certain that it was Renrijra Krin." She paused on that thought. "The reports seemed to indicate a firm suspicion of that, but apparently it remains unconfirmed. I took it to mean that the raiders hadn't been making any loud declarations."
Karl grunted. "Ain't like the Renrijra Krin not to crow about it."
"Agreed. I suppose it's possible that there's been some sort of reorganisation of those rebel groups in Elsweyr or maybe some sort of breakaway faction. Who can say?"
"You heard anythin' from Quaspas about this?"
Canne rolled her eyes slightly. "I heard that he was over in Chorrol when it all started. Supposedly, looking for you." She paused to gauge his reaction.
Karl appeared outwardly unmoved. Though he was feeling suitably annoyed.
Canne resumed. "Apparently, he went straight back down to Leyawiin as soon as he heard of it. From what I've heard, there've been several more attacks since he got back down there. There were more attacks on farms in County Leyawiin. There was even a raid on Blankenmarch and that's over the other side of the Niben. It's not just Leyawiin either. There were similar attacks about Faregyl and Ione and a farm just near Bravil."
Karl rubbed his bristled chin, mulling over those details with some concern on his face. "Has Chorrol been keepin' you informed?"
"Your second briefed me with the basics by messenger. He advised keeping an eye toward the Elsweyr border. Especially since the Renrijra Krin were suspected. I've heard some more from Legion sources since then."
Karl nodded with a grimace. "Ain't usual for the Renrijra Krin to be active about the Riverhold area, but ya never know."
"That's what I thought. I have Elynwen and Ras'Dar scouting the south of The West Weald. Nothing has caused any alarm along the road to Riverhold, but I have them looking into the other areas about The West Weald Track and over toward Faregyl way."
"Just the two of them?" Karl prompted.
Canne tilted her head. "Well, right at this moment, yes. I have Forester and the others dealing with another problem."
"What's that?"
The Breton Guildhead sighed. "We've had some more trouble with goblins."
Karl frowned. "How much more?"
"Well, my people dealt with a group of goblins at a cave north of here just a few weeks ago. That was not long after you were last here."
"Yeah, remember you sayin'."
"Yes well, my people sorted that out, well enough. There were just over a dozen in that breakaway tribe. Then, nearly two of weeks ago, another group of goblins came out of the forest and moved into Greenmead Cave."
Of course, Karl knew exactly where that was. It was along The Gold Road, about half way between Skingrad and the Imperial City. "I expect that's been causin' problems for travel along that stretch of road."
"Yes, it has. It's right by the roadside. It's caused trouble for trade wagons passing that way and the Legion actually lost a rider." She paused. "I've sent Forester with three Guild Fighters and four Legionnaires have gone with them. They only left this morning."
The furrows in Karl's brow deepened again. "How many gobs are there?"
"We don't really know. From what I've heard, at least a dozen. Possibly more. There hadn't been opportunity to properly scout the area beforehand." She waved a hand absently. "I understand that those caves are fairly large, so there could be quite a few goblins in there. Added to that, more could come from The Great Forest."
Karl nodded grimly, thinking back to part of the conversation that he'd had with her several weeks earlier. It was the part about dealing with the increased goblin population in The Great Forest that came to mind. "Yeah, gonna hafta do somethin' about that."
"I can't argue with that. It's been at least about twenty years since there's been any serious effort on that front."
"Yeah, I remember." Karl recalled how the Fighters Guild had worked with Mede's Legion troops back then to make a serious dent in the goblin population of the forest.
Canne met his gaze. "Well, as I said before, you can count on Skingrad, when the time comes."
Karl nodded his assent. "Yeah, I wanna get Bruma in on that, as well. Reckon it'll be a good idea if we can get some Legion too." He sighed. "Reckon that's gonna hafta wait 'til all that trouble in the southern counties gets sorted."
Canne wrinkled her nose. "Yes, I suppose so. In the meantime, we'll deal with any smaller groups of goblins as the need arises."
Karl grunted his assent. "Yeah, reckon we will. Meanwhile, I'm eager ta get back to Chorrol and take control of things."
"Of course." Canne agreed.
Having discussed all the relevant matters at hand, they soon exchanged friendly farewells and Karl left her in her office.
Leaving the upper level of the Guildhall behind, Karl headed off downstairs for the bathroom to tend to immediate matters. He was feeling sweaty, hungry and tired from the long day's march from Kvatch. Added to all that, a growing sense of concern was beginning to weigh upon him. By his reckoning, the quicker he got back to Chorrol, the better.
After he'd relieved himself of other burdens, he took the time to properly wash and clean up while he was in the bathroom, dealing with those first problems first. He was feeling a little better after all that.
Once he was all cleaned up, Karl headed straight for the kitchen area on the ground level of the Guildhall to get some food in his belly. He didn't care too much about what he was eating. It was just a matter of dealing with the immediate need.
As he absently stuffed his face, his mind drifted toward what he expected to learn once he made it back to Chorrol. He wondered whether Montrose had matters in hand or whether he'd made a mess of things. Even though he trusted Monika to have his second's back, he hadn't been counting on the kind of things that were going on in the southern parts of Cyrodiil.
Etrius Quaspas was another concern of sorts. It wasn't too hard to guess why Quaspas had been in Chorrol instead of tending to his own patch. Nevertheless, Karl was properly annoyed that he'd chosen that particular time to do it. After all, he hadn't come near Chorrol during those first three months since the old boss got himself killed.
Not that anyone could be expected to know everything about everything, by Karl's reckoning, Quaspas should have had some sort of idea of bandit gangs moving into County Leyawiin before that kind of trouble came about. It wasn't like the Leyawiin Guildhall was short of Guild Fighters and he figured that they ought to be keeping their ears to the ground to stay ahead of that sort of thing.
Either way, he hoped that they were dealing with it effectively after the fact. That's what the Fighters Guild was supposed to do. Working with the Legion, he had to figure that they'd shut down the raiders fairly quickly.
Still, he wondered whether the Leyawiin Guildhead was going to end up giving him some sort of trouble over the Guild Master position. As far as Karl was concerned, he expected that he would have the support of those that mattered. Even so, he still figured that just one dissenting voice could make things difficult. He was hoping that Quaspas wasn't going to try taking things down that road.
After cleaning up after himself in the kitchen area, Karl trudged up to the common sleep area on the second level. With everyone else out, he had his pick of the bunks. He selected one close to a window, figuring that would help keep him from sleeping late. He planned to be up real early and on his way back to Chorrol as soon as possible.
He didn't have to worry that his troubled thoughts would keep him awake. He'd fallen asleep almost as soon as he'd settled onto the bunk.
~O~