[]

[]

[]

[]

[]

Chapter 4:

Impressions of the Mighty

.

.

.

5 days after Khepri's arrival in Dawnstar

City of Windhelm, Palace of Kings, private dining room

Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak

"…now that Law-Giver's out of the way," Ulfric swirled the mug of piss Black-Briar had the nerve to call mead, the chiseling bitch, and looked over at Frokmar Banner-Torn, who'd arrived from the Pale that morning in good spirits, "What's this I hear about honey in Dawnstar?"

All the members of the council, save Banner-Torn, looked dubious, and Ulfric couldn't blame them. Dawnstar was too cold, too far north, for bees to thrive in numbers that could make any significant dent in the honey market, something which Honeyside in the Rift had cornered for the past two decades. The Jarl of Windhelm was certain the letter from old Skald that arrived the previous day was just a flight of fancy, a product of the excitable if loyal man's boastful nature. Nothing would come of such an endeavor, insect-controlling mage or no.

Though the idea of having someone who could control Chaurus in his employ… something to consider.

Banner-Torn still leaned forward with a smug smile, "I take it you've heard of the woman in question, Khepri?" Ulfric nodded and waved the man continue, "I've met her. Thin woman, but whipcord strong, for a cripple."

"Cripple?" that hadn't been in Skald's letter…

"Missing her right arm at the elbow," nodded the leader of Skyrim's true sons and daughters in the Pale, "Quite easy on the eyes, all the same. Long hair and legs, dark green eyes, cute mouth and nice laugh-"

"Enough about how often you've tugged your horker over the woman's looks, Frok," Gonnar, the commander in the Rift, moaned with impatience, drawing chuckles and agreeing grunts in equal measure, "What of her abilities?"

"Well, she isn't a mage, I can say that much," reported the young man, folding his hands on the table and looking at his brothers, "She went to the court wizard for advice on awakening her magic. Doesn't know a single spell, though I hear she's been trying. As for the honey," Frok leveled a gaze on Ulfric and Galmar, who was standing at the Jarl's – and future High King's – shoulder, "Khepri has enlisted the help of several of Dawnstar's citizens in building an apiary; before I left, she'd already gathered quite a few bees from the surrounding fields, been keeping them in baskets, while she stays at the inn."

Sighing, Ulfric waved a hand in dismissal, "If this 'Khepri' wishes to waste her time on boondoggles, let her," he did hope she succeeded, however; Black-Briar's mead wasn't nearly as good as that juniper berry stuff he had in Helgen, and the less said about the swill coming out of that new brewery near Whiterun, the better, "Anything else about her, or the Pale?"

Banner-Torn glanced briefly at his papers and went on, "Khepri controls a small group of Chaurus, number unknown but not likely more than fifteen, which she's keeping in a defended cave outside the town, though it's not uncommon to see a Hunter following her around during the day."

Ulfric wasn't the only man who went wide-eyed, but it was Galmar who rumbled, "And Skald lets her? Has he lost his senses?!"

Frok raised his hands, "No one's been attacked, and the streets are cleaner; she uses them, the Chaurus," he explained further, "to pick up waste and trash. Khepri told the innkeeper the Chaurus use waste and trash as construction material for their hives; last I heard, she was looking for records on the sewers, plans on cleaning up the cisterns."

Gonnar snorted and folded his arms, muttering, "Wish she'd visit Riften, if that's her game."

Istar glared at the side of his fellow's head, "And have Chaurus running all over the fields? You've been drinking too much of Black-Briar's piss, methinks."

"Order," said Ulfric, and there was order. He looked at Frok, who shifted and cleared his throat; something else?

"A small group of bandits, ten in total, tried to accost the snowberry minders, the evening before I left," finally, Ulfric was back in familiar territory, "The parents had their children out, teaching them the ropes, when the bastards tried to poke at the town. Three of the bandits are in the guardhouse prison, four were chained to the iron mine, one was killed in the fields, and the last two, including the leader, went to the block."

"Nice to see Skald's taking the initiative," Kottir Red-Shoal, the commander in the Reach, groused bitterly, "Unlike the Imperial asskisser in my region."

"Actually, the bandits surrendered after running afoul Khepri's wasps, then the guards and her Chaurus once they arrived. By the time they made it to the fields, the bandits were blinded and screaming for mercy. The mage was shot dead by the captain of the watch, the rest threw down their arms after seeing the fifteen guards and six Chaurus Hunters arrayed in front of them."

"Shor's balls," Arrald Frozen-Heart's curse set off the rest of the men, some calling for Khepri to join the cause, others calling for her death before she became a threat.

Ultimately, however, the Jarl of Windhelm had the final say: Khepri, by her own admission, was in quiet retirement, and would lend her arm and Chaurus in defense of Skyrim's people. Ulfric would not force someone out of retirement, just so they could fight on the battlefield.

Besides, her ability was unheard of, the people of Dawnstar were happy with Khepri's presence, and she was making honey, apparently with confidence in eventual success.

Hopefully, someone would teach the woman to brew some mead, and no silly moron would drag her into the conflict – Ulfric glared around the table until everyone nodded at his decree.

The future High King of Skyrim didn't have any illusions: an ability like Khepri's was worth more than its weight in gold, but using that ability for war might cause undue escalation, which his cause couldn't afford at such an early stage. Morale needed a boost, and the situation in Dawnstar would look good on the broadsheets, not to mention the ledgers, if Zenithar blessed the woman's works.

Therefore, she would be watched, and subtly guarded, and may the Nine watch over her fortunes.

.

20 days after Khepri's arrival in Dawnstar

Thalmor Embassy, Elenwen's Solar

Grand Inquisitor First Ambassador Elenwen

The leader of the Thalmor's efforts in Tamriel's most barbaric province - Orsinium didn't count - rubbed her temples, trying to stave off the headache threatening to overtake her senses; it seemed she would be spending time at her Alchemy station, later.

"A pirate vessel?"

The Pale's spymaster nodded easily, "Quite ma'am. After she outed the Mythic Dawn enthusiast as a secret worshipper of Dagon and was given his house as reward, it wasn't two days before the Ghostbeards came out of the sea and tried to raid Dawnstar. Unfortunately for the churls," he smirked, and Elenwen felt a small twitch of her own lips; the leader of those pirates was a bloody perfidious greenie, "they had quite a few fleas, lice and ticks on board; by the time the landing party arrived, they practically ran weeping into the arms of the town guards. Those who didn't go to the mines swung from the gibbets by morning."

Elenwen would've snorted in mirth, were it not for her headache, a product of disbelief, regarding the seeming-Akaviri woman who appeared from the mists of the Sea, wiped out a den of putrid Falmer without so much as a scratch, and immediately settled down… to research the Chaurus and make honey, in Dawnstar of all places, "And the pirate's leader?"

"Tried to attack Khepri, who came out for a cup of evening tea on her porch, as is her wont," chuckled the Bosmer in front of her; Elenwen rolled her eyes, and the idiot got on with it, "Obviously, that didn't go very well for him. Her largest Chaurus, a prodigiously-sized Hunter, took great pleasure explaining to the idiot why attacking the Beekeeper of Dawnstar is a poor idea."

"Quite," admitted Elenwen with a huff. There were already multiple threat assessments on Khepri's powers, from multiple organizations throughout Skyrim – save the College, who were still in the dark, thank Mephala – and all were in agreement: the young crippled woman might not have much magic beyond what all children learned, or was possessed of notable skill with her blade – though she regularly sparred with the town's guards…

But between Khepri's ability to control insects over a large area – a preliminary survey showed her area of influence covered roughly a quarter standard mile – and the girl's cleverness in enterprise – honey! In Dawnstar! Black-Briar was foaming at the mouth in fury when she found out, according to Elenwen's agents – proved she was either an invaluable potential asset… or a frightful threat.

Eliminating her would be insanely difficult to accomplish without anyone becoming suspicious; the Dark Brotherhood assassin that tried to snipe her while she was walking in Dawnstar's southern fields, entertaining children with butterflies, found that out the hard way. Elenwen wasn't about to underestimate Khepri, but neither would she make an enemy of a potential asset, not one so capable of enriching the coffers of those who held her friendship.

"What of the pirate's ship? I assume the Jarl claimed it?"

Her informant shifted and grimaced, "It flies Dawnstar's flag, yes, but Khepri is encouraged to come aboard whenever the fishermen who man it go out. So she can call crab into the nets, your Worship," the tree-hugger explained to his superior's raised eyebrow.

Elenwen frowned, "Common crab, not just mudcrab?" he nodded, and she huffed again.

Was there nothing with an exoskeleton the girl couldn't control? If there indeed wasn't… "And the Vigilants of Stendarr cleared her… I see," Ellenwen rubbed her chin and dismissed her informant with a wave of a hand.

She updated Khepri's dossier to include 'Not a devotee to Namira', 'Do not escalate hostilities', 'possible means of husbanding insect populations, research into economic implications ongoing', and…

Elenwen added Khepri's name to the list for the Midsummer's Day celebration at the Embassy, underlining the woman's name in gold and throwing a 'plus one' in for good measure. Good inroads now meant quality honey in her tea later; Gods and spirits knew Riften couldn't provide anything approaching quality, and importing goods from Summerset was just so expensive.

Happy with her decision to keep hands off of Khepri – for the moment; the human was rather fit, and would soon be in Elenwen's domain – the leader of Skyrim's Thalmor set both dossier and invitation list aside, folded her hands on her desktop and smiled at her next appointment as he entered.

"Ancano, I trust you've packed your things?"

.

22 days after Khepri's arrival in Dawnstar

College of Winterhold, Hall of the Elements

Arch-Mage Savos Aren

"And you are certain of this?"

Urag nodded slowly at Savos' wondering question, and grunted, "There's a couple who order books by letter, living in the town. Husband is a dockworker, we keep up correspondence. Guy isn't a fool or a drunk."

Savos stroked his beard and hummed with interest. Great interest. A woman, who appeared from nowhere dressed in Akaviri gear, possessed not only the ability to control every insect in Dawnstar – which was now gaining notoriety as 'flea and bedbug free' – but could also control and communicate with the Chaurus!

In all his years, the Arch-Mage had never heard such a claim, but there it was; other claims had reached his ears, over the past weeks, regarding the rising sensation in the Pale, regarding the one called Khepri, but to hear it from Urag, a most sober and learned fellow…

His colleagues certainly seemed to take the implications seriously, particularly Mirabelle, the resident Master Alchemist and his Master-Wizard.

"Savos, do you know what this means?" the woman excitedly gushed, many of her counterparts looking equally interested; Savos only hummed. He could think of dozens of things Khepri's skills could mean, not just for the college, but for Nirn, "A chance to actually study the Chaurus, without fear of being eaten! This is the chance of an Era!"

He looked at her and said soberly, "I'm well aware of that, Mira. More importantly, her ability suggests she may be able to tell us about many other species of insect… including silt-striders, possibly," an excited murmur ran through the Hall, but Savos ignored it. He needed to make a move, before the Synod or College of Whispers caught wind of Khepri, "Faralda, take that Neophyte, ah, Brelyna, I believe – no, Tolfdir, don't argue; based on my observations and her test grades, I'm confident the girl is ready for her Apprentice test – take Brelyna and go interview this Khepri woman, see what you can learn from the girl, and if she's willing to teach whatever spell or enchantment allows her to do what she does."

Such an ability was worth more than many of his own, Savos deduced. The kwarma foragers of Vvardenfell would've given their left hands for such a skill, were they still alive. He wondered if that old Telvanni bastard, Neloth, was still out there… then dismissed the thought. The last thing Skyrim needed was one of those types, especially given the political climate. The eccentric ass could stay in his dusty mushroom.

Mirabelle looked displeased by his choice of emissary, likely due to not being able to go herself and gather hard-to-get Chaurus ingredients, such as antennae and eggs. Tolfdir looked sad but accepting; the old Nord really needed to learn that, while safety was all well and good, the students couldn't be Neophytes forever. Brelyna was 16, for Boethiah's sake, and could easily handle a few bugs.

Still… with a smile, Savos added an order, "Oh, and see if she's willing to part with a few chitin samples and Alchemical ingredients – I'll draw up some spending money for you both – and make sure to take copious notes on what you see."

Faralda nodded with an agreeing smile, "Brelyna is getting quite good at sketching, Arch-Mage. We'll set out tomorrow morning and stay in Dawnstar for, say, a week?" splendid! Savos nodded, happy that he chose an emissary that was both independent and organized. She and the soon-to-be Apprentice would be back in no time, possibly with a revolutionary spell on hand, "Though, Arch-Mage, my classes…"

He waved her off, and then Savos put on a shit-eating grimace; time for the bad news, "I will cover them until your return, my dear Faralda. That… and I'd rather you not be here when the Thalmor overseer arrives."

As the protests and wails began, Arch-Mage Aren hoped – though it was a small hope – that Khepri would come to Winterhold. The idea of one of those racist Thalmor fatally insulting the Chaurus Whisperer… well, if it didn't happen, at least Savos could imagine it after every inevitable argument with the no-doubt up-themselves goldskin.

"Enough," he waved his hands for quiet, "We will do as we've always done. The Thalmor can stick his nose in our business all he wants, but our independence lies outside the treaties and laws of the lands; whatever his opinion, we are the College, and will continue our research whether he likes it or not," that mollified them, so Savos smiled and pressed on with the staff meeting, "Now that's out of the way, let us speak on other matters. Sergius, what's this about the remains of a barrow out on the glacier?"