.

Chapter 25 - Battle for Windhelm

The wedding was nice, the bride beautiful - of course; weren't they always? - and the reception enjoyable, what of it Yssha and Marcurio could stay for. But then it was time to get back to work if they wanted to keep their promise to General Tullius, and they excused themselves to return to their apartment and get into their armor.

With that done, they 'ported to the Eastmarch encampment, to find the General at the head of a full Legion ready to march. He greeted them with, "Right on time, Legate. Let's go. Once we get there, make it to the Palace of the Kings as quickly as you can."

She and Marcurio accompanied him on the march to Windhelm, but not much was said, or needed to be, until they got to the city's gates. Then General Tullius turned to address the troops.

"All right. It's time to deliver the final blow to the Stormcloak rebellion. You have all fought bravely, and sacrificed much to bring us to this point. Ulfric thinks he can hide behind the walls of his castle. But we will fight our way in and drag him out through the rubble to face justice. Because this is the end for them, the Stormcloaks will fight like cornered rats. They will be fierce and crafty. But they are no match for Legionnaires. You are the best and the brightest warriors in Tamriel. Professional soldiers, fearless and devastating. The Emperor will be paying close attention to what happens here today. Men who distinguish themselves will be well rewarded. Ready now! Everyone, with me! For the Empire! For the Legion!"

Then he turned and entered the city, with Rikke, Yssha, and Marcurio right behind him, the rest following as closely as they could. Yssha had only been in the city once before, but she'd been studying what maps she could find, and was pretty sure she could find her way to the Palace through the Stormcloaks and rubble as long as Legionnaires could keep out of her line of fire and the only offensive Shout she knew yet.

She oriented herself, then went left till she came to the first alleyway, then right, using her mace to smash a barrier. Marcurio was close behind her, using his body to protect her back and his magic to protect her front as best he could, though there were enough Stormcloaks that she had to do her share of fighting, mace in her right hand, Healing in her left.

A brief respite as they turned left into the cemetery gave her a chance to finish healing, but when they went up a short staircase and turned right, a wave of Stormcloaks sent them into battle again. She had to use Slow Time to get through them and up more stairs. When she recovered from that one, she was a little disoriented, and had to look around to reorient. That wasn't easy, given how much one part of Windhelm looked like another to a stranger, but if she was where she thought, it was the next right, and through another barricade.

More Stormcloaks. Unrelenting Force sent them tumbling back, and she went left. Still more Stormcloaks, fighting hard but as tired as she was, so she got past them and saw the doors of the Palace. Briefly clear, she ran, catching up with Rikke and Tullius as they entered. She slumped against a wall, trying to catch her breath, as she heard the door slam behind her.

"Secure the door," Tullius ordered.

"Already done, sir," Rikke replied.

The group of Imperials approached Ulfric and Galmar, who were standing in front of the throne. When they were in comfortable speaking distance, the General said, "Ulfric Stormcloak! You are guilty of insurrection, murder of Imperial citizens, the assassination of King Torygg, and high treason against the Empire. It's over."

"Not while I'm still breathing, it's not," Galmar snarled.

"Step aside, Galmar," Rikke said. "We're here to accept Ulfric's surrender."

Ulfric was firm. "I'll never surrender Skyrim into the hands of a corrupt and dying Empire."

"Skyrim doesn't belong to you, Ulfric," Rikke said, sounding almost sad.

Ulfric retorted, "No ... But I belong to her."

"Enough!" Tullius exclaimed. "You are traitors and will die traitors' deaths. Stand down and face public execution, or advance and face summary execution by my hands. It matters little to me. Either way I'll be sending your heads back to Cyrodiil."

"Well? What are we waiting for?" Galmar asked.

All four drew their weapons then, Tullius and Rikke going after Ulfric while Galmar headed for Yssha. It was a brief fight, with both her and Marcurio against him. When he was dead, the two of them turned to the other battle, to see Ulfric struggling to remain on his knees instead of collapsing, while the General sheathed his sword and spoke.

"Well Ulfric, you can't escape from me this time. Any last requests before I send you to ... to wherever you people go when you die."

"Sovngarde ... sir." Rikke was not happy, but calm.

"Right. Well?"

Ulfric's voice was faint, but clear. "Let the Dragonborn be the one to do it. It'll make for a better song."

"Song or not, I just want it done." Tullius handed Yssha an enchanted sword. "Will you do as he wishes, Dragonborn?"

Yssha breathed deeply, accepting the sword. "Since he must die, and wishes it from me, yes. He is wrong in many ways, but I see him as an honorable man." She approached the badly injured Ulfric.

"Do you have a preference, Jarl Ulfric?"

He managed a tight smile, looking up at her. "Your Voice, Dragonborn. I would die as I killed."

"As you wish. Talos grant you entry to Sovngarde." She turned to the rest. "Cover your ears. I will focus as closely as I am able, but there will be out-washes."

Then she turned back to Ulfric. "Fus ... Ro Dah!"

It was messy. It was very messy, Unrelenting Force against someone already on a hard surface, and she heard sounds of vomiting behind her. She wanted to do so herself, but managed not to, somehow. When she turned back to them, General Tullius and Legate Rikke were only pale, and seemed to be recovering.

"Talos be with you," Rikke murmured, looking at what remained of Ulfric.

"What was that, Legate?" Tullius asked.

"Nothing, sir. Just saying goodbye."

Tullius sighed. "Well, the men will be expecting some kind of speech. And we'll need to hand the city over to that Free-Winter fellow."

Rikke nodded. "Brunwulf. Yes, I've sent men to protect him and bring him here. Windhelm will need a government quickly if we are to prevent more violence."

"The Legion will be staying here for quite some time," Tullius pointed out. "I don't expect there to be any further violence."

The group left, to find a large number of Legionnaires waiting. Tullius took a deep breath, and began speaking. "The rebellion is over. Ulfric Stormcloak is dead. His head will be sent to Cyrodiil where it will adorn a spike on the walls of the Imperial City. Let this day be a final warning to all who would still call themselves Stormcloaks.

"We are turning the city over to Brunwulf Free-Winter, an honorable and faithful man. Many of you will be staying in Windhelm to aid the Jarl in restoring order and stamping out any embers of rebellion that may still smolder here. In appreciation for your exemplary service, I am doubling your pay and compensation to the widows of your fallen comrades. I am proud of all of you. All hail the Emperor. All hail his Legionnaires!"

That got loud cheers, not at all to Yssha's surprise.

Then, more quietly, to the four with him, Tullius said, "I hate giving speeches."

"It wasn't so bad," Rikke said. "The men liked it, especially the last part about increased pay."

"They earned it," Tullius said. "I just hope we haven't created a martyr."

"There's bound to be resistance," Rikke pointed out. "There are a lot of Stormcloak camps tucked away in the hills. They'll no doubt strike whenever and wherever they can, for a while. But without Ulfric to inflame their passions, they'll settle down and return to their homes eventually."

"I pray you're right, Legate. In the meantime, we'll continue to root them out and put them to the sword."

Yssha turned to the General. "Sir, is there anything more I can do for the Legion?"

He smiled at her, if not happily. "Ulfric is dead and his army destroyed. There's not much more I could ask of you. However, I suspect the Gods may have further plans for you. That said, Stormcloak true believers are still operating out of hidden military camps in the hills. If you encounter any on your travels, kill them. With luck, they'll soon lose heart and return to their homes and families. If not, we'll be forced to put them all to the sword."

"Will you return to Cyrodiil now that the rebellion has been put down?"

"No, I expect Skyrim will be my home for many years." Tullius sighed. "I can't say I'll ever get used to the damn cold, or understand these Nords ... but I've come to respect them. The harshness of Skyrim has a way of carving a man down to his true self."

"Do you think there will be peace now that Ulfric is dead?" Yssha asked.

"Oh, the fiercest of the remaining rebels will continue to harass us, but by and large, the people here desire peace, so yes. What I'm not so sure about is the peace we've made with the Thalmor. But we'll keep that between the two of us, all right?"

"Of course," Yssha agreed. "For what it is worth, I believe you are correct, and I will be searching for ways to alleviate that problem. If their assassins do not kill me in the meantime; I seem to be one of their favorite targets."

The General nodded. "There is always that. I will pray for your survival and success, Legate. If we can find some way for the remaining Stormcloaks to become our allies, Skyrim could become the anchor of the Empire."

Yssha liked that image, though she had no idea how it could come about, so she simply bowed. "May it be so, General."

That seemed to be all that needed to be said for the moment, so she took her leave, then she and Marcurio made their way out of the city. They were greeted by a number of troopers on their way, stopping to talk a couple of times, but they finally got through the gates.

It was only a little less crowded here, far more people than she was comfortable teleporting around, so they started walking cross-country after more greetings from the Legionnaires outside the city. It was a good ten minutes before they found a suitable place, and she 'ported them outside Whiterun.

It was close to dark, so most shops were closed and the market stalls were empty, but Yssha was reasonably sure Jarl Balgruuf was still awake and probably at work. She heard shouting and laughter when they passed Jorrvaskr, which was unexpectedly welcome after the day's events, and she purred softly.

When they got up to Dragonsreach, she headed directly for Jarl Balgruuf, who was still on his throne. He stared at her. "Great good gods, Dragonborn - what happened to you?"

Yssha looked down at herself and felt the tips of her ears burning. She was a mess, blood and gore liberally splattered on her armor. "I apologize, my Jarl! I should not have come before you in this condition."

"Just tell me none of that's yours, and you're forgiven."

"We are both well, but I felt it important to bring you the news right away." She paused to take a deep breath. "The war is over. Ulfric Stormcloak is dead."

"The first is great news, and Ulfric's death was inevitable if he lost. But we were friends once - can you tell me if he at least died well?"

"You will have to be the judge of that, my Jarl - I still do not know Nords well enough to know what, other than death in battle itself, can be called that. He had been defeated by General Tullius and Legate Rikke, but wanted me to deliver the final blow because it would make a better song. I asked him how he would prefer it done. His final words were, 'Your Voice, Dragonborn. I would die as I killed.' So he died by the same Shout he used on the late King Torryg."

"So that was true, then," Balgruuf said. "I didn't want to believe it of him, but now I must." He dismissed them with, "You're fresh from battle, so you must want to wash, eat, and rest. You can tell me the full story later."

He was absolutely right, so they went upstairs to their apartment, where a tub of water was waiting to be heated by magic for baths. There was food on the dining table, and the bed was turned back. They took full advantage of all three.

Author's Note: Guest, you don't need to worry. This story has a long arc, and I try to stay about ten chapters ahead, in case the characters do a sudden change on me, so I can correct any continuity problems as we go.