Lucia reined Ysmir in as they came into sight of Fort Greenwall. The horse let out a whinny and tossed his head nervously so that Lucia had to fight to get him back under control. She had purchased the dapple-grey stallion from the Riften stables and she did not think he was used to her yet. Though that was hardly surprising after only half a day in his saddle. She thought wistfully of Arrow, the young colt her father had bought her earlier that year. He was stabled at Lakeview Manor where she and Sofie would go riding around the country with Uhther, she on Arrow, Sofie on a pony she had named Silver, and Uhther on his old, black mare, Alfsigr.

Llirvalie reined in beside her. Her horse was a black even darker than Alfsigr. So black, in fact, that it seemed to blend with the shadows as they passed between the hills. The sun was just beginning to sink towards the horizon and Lucia had the feeling that once the light was gone, this horse would be all but invisible. That was except for the eyes. They were a red, so bright that they seemed almost to glow. Just looking at the creature made Lucia almost want to shiver so she kept her eyes averted. Where would such a nice, demure woman as Llirvalie have found such a mount?

The dark elf had been most pleasant company as they had ridden through the Rift, talking about the places she had been to and the things she had seen in her life. Her family had apparently come to Skyrim shortly before the Red Year. Her father had been a merchant and had hoped to re-establish the old trade route through the Dunmeth Pass after the Oblivion Crisis. But then Baar Dau had fallen and there had been nothing to return to and nothing from Morrowind to bring through the pass.

'But father was able to start again here in Skyrim,' Llirvalie had said, proudly, 'we came to Shor's Stone and we began transporting the ebony from the mine to other parts of the province. And we've done that ever since.' Her face fell, 'until now.'

Lucia was filled with pity for the elf. All she and her family were trying to do was make a living, no easy thing to do in Skyrim at the best of times, and that was being threatened now by some brutes who wanted to play at being Stormcloak rebels.

'You leave them to us,' Lucia had said, reassuringly, gesturing back at the Fangs, some on foot, some on horses of their own, 'we'll sort them out.'

Those were words easily spoken, Lucia thought now as she beheld the fort, with its high, stone walls, but how was she going to live up to them.

Britte seemed to have similar ideas as she drew level with them.

'So,' she began, her tone as confrontational as ever, 'how exactly are we supposed to get them out of there?'

Lucia grimaced but said nothing, only dismounted from Ysmir.

'For now,' Braith had drawn level with them, 'I suggest we stay out of sight, wait for dark and think of a plan.'

Iona, who had been following behind Lucia on foot, shot Braith an approving smile.

'Your father always favoured the dawn raid,' the housecarl said to Lucia, 'the night guard are tired and the rest are just waking up. A good time to take them by surprise.'

A rustling in the trees behind them wiped away the reply Lucia might have given. Acting on instinct, she drew her axe while the other Fangs who had caught up drew their own weapons and readied shields.

Three men came into view, all wearing padded leather tunics beneath blue short cloaks, all carrying swords and war axes and all holding hunting bows with an arrow nocked and drawn, pointing directly at Lucia.

They were a mismatched trio. Two of them looked to be getting quite long in the tooth, their beards greying, while the third looked only a little older than Lucia. All wore the same expression, however, a mistrust bordering on hatred.

'You are not welcome here,' one of the older men said, 'leave now and you won't be hurt.'

Lucia could not help but let out a snort. True they might have taken them by surprise but there were still only three of them. Braith seemed to be thinking along the same lines because she let out a bark of laughter then rested her twin scimitars on her shoulders in a way that managed to be relaxed yet threatening at the same time. All around them, the Fangs who had caught up were fingering the hilts of their weapons. Runa was drumming her fingers on the rim of her shield while Britte was smiling, appearing all too eager to hit something.

'Wait,' it was Samuel who had spoken. He was looking at the younger of the three whose eyes had widened, 'I know you. You're Assur, Son of Korir.'

Lucia saw the boy's teeth clench but none of the bows were lowered.

'So what if I am?' Assur demanded, 'it doesn't change that you have to leave!'

'Your father, and all the other jarls who rebelled against the empire, were forbidden from taking up arms again,' Samuel spoke over him, seeming barely to hear him, 'them and their families. The Lord Dragonborn may have arranged an armistice for the Stormcloaks but that did not change.'

Assur actually snarled at that.

'We do not recognise the authority of the Thalmor's puppets!' the other of the older men snapped, 'not the Empire and certainly not Uhther the Traitor.' The man spat at the name. The other old one took his turn to speak.

'We follow only the one, true king of Skyrim. Ulfric Stormcloak!' He gestured towards the banner of the bear's head that flapped over Fort Greenwall. 'We are the Kingsworn! The king may be dead, but his vision for Skyrim lives on in us!'

The three were working themselves up into a fury, Lucia realised. In a few minutes they would attack, in spite of the odds. They would be cut down but there was a chance they'd take one or two of the Fangs with them. And Lucia had no wish to lose any of her band, especially to something so needless. But she couldn't speak. She was too incredulous. Thalmor puppet? Traitor? Didn't these fools understand anything?

She had thought stupidity like this was only found in men like Rolff, drunkards with too much time on their hands. She had never expected this.

'Gentlemen, please,' Llirvalie had come to stand beside them. Lucia was only dimly aware of the fact her black horse did not seem to be anywhere nearby anymore. 'I don't think there's any need for trouble.'

Far from pacifying the situation, Llirvalie only succeeded in bringing the animosity of the three Kingsworn on herself.

'You stay out of this, Elf!' one of the older men spat at her, contempt plain in his voice.

'But...,' Llirvalie began, looking upset, but was cut off by an arrow that went speeding past her, missing her throat by a little over a foot.

'That was a warning, Elf,' Assur said, already pulling another arrow from his quiver, 'the next will be lodged in your dirty hide.' Then he stopped moving his arm. In fact, he became suddenly as still as stone. Likely, Lucia thought, due to the arrow shaft that had just appeared in the tree Assur had been standing beside. The shaft was so close to the boy's face that, as the arrow shuddered from the impact, the fletching tickled his nose.

Lucia tried to hide her surprise enough to look at the three Kingsworn with as much contempt as she could muster.

'That was your warning,' she said, 'run back to your fort now, or more will follow.'

The three men looked at each other, nervously. They spoke no more words but did not seem to want to risk the chance that Lucia had more archers hidden out of sight. They took off at a steady run back to the fort, pausing only to shoot dirty looks at Llirvalie.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Lucia heaved a sigh of relief and looked with gratitude towards Haming who had just emerged from the trees, longbow in hand and a small smirk on his face.

'It would have been smarter to kill them,' Britte said, looking after the three men.

The other Fangs looked like they agreed with Britte, even Iona was frowning at Fort Greenwall.

'They will surely tell the rest that we are here,' the housecarl muttered, 'whatever chance of a surprise attack we had is now lost to us.'

Murmurs of agreement went up.

Lucia couldn't blame them. Killing the three would have been the sensible thing to do. Why hadn't she? Maybe it was because they had not been a threat. The Fangs could have easily overpowered the three men. Had she been stayed by pity?

Uhther would not have been merciful, she thought, feeling disgusted with herself. Uhther would have done what was necessary. Iona was right. Now Assur and his friends would be able to tell the rest of the men in the fort that they were there. If she'd killed them, they could have still surprised them. She needed to get tougher.

'Set up camp just behind the treeline,' she said, her voice firm, 'they may know we're here but they don't know how many they are. If they think we're some big army, that might give them pause.' She hoped that was the right decision. She looked towards Iona, who smiled and gave a slight nod.

The other Fangs went to begin setting up their tents, except for Braith and Samuel. They were waiting to be told the plan, Lucia realised, or else help her come up with one. A hierarchy had definitely formed within the band. And it had happened by itself. Without needing to be agreed upon, it had been decided that Lucia was in command, with Braith, Samuel and Blaise as her seconds.

Lucia wished she had something to tell them. How was she to root out the Stormcloaks, or Kingsworn as they called themselves now, now that they knew they were there?

Uhther would have known what to do, she thought. During the Civil War, he had taken Fort Kastav in the middle of the day, almost single handed. How had he done it again?

'Where's the elf gone?' Samuel said suddenly. Lucia looked around. Llirvalie had vanished.

'Maybe she's gone to Shor's Stone?' Braith said, hesitantly, 'maybe she's gone to find reinforcements.'

'Or maybe,' Samuel said, 'she was just scared. She hardly seemed that bold and those bastards did nearly shoot her.'

'Maybe,' Lucia said slowly, while inwardly cursing the dark elf. She'd been counting on Llirvalie to provide some knowledge about the surrounding country that might provide the key to taking the fort. Maybe some hidden passage or cave...

That was it, Lucia remembered, Uhther had taken Fort Kastav by sneaking into the dungeon and releasing the prisoners there, who had then helped him fight through the Stormcloaks and open the gate for the rest of the soldiers. Lucia remembered her father telling her that he had found a drain grate at the base of the fort which had led through to the lower levels. Perhaps Fort Greenwall had a similar way in. Perhaps a sewage tunnel? They would have to dispose of waste somehow. If only Llirvalie hadn't disappeared, she could have told them about any nearby caves or streams.

'Talos take the woman,' Lucia cursed under her breath. She supposed she could ask Braith and Haming to scout out the area, though the gods knew how long that would take. But what choice did she have? They couldn't leave the Kingsworn in that fort. They would be a thorn in the side of the new Jarl Saerlund, who they'd no doubt see as another Thalmor puppet due to his loyalty to the Empire.

And it'll be one more thing father has to deal with, she thought, disgustedly. In spite of the situation, she couldn't help feeling rankled that the Kingsworn were only acting now, when for the past five years there had been an actual Thalmor puppet on the throne of the Rift. Lucia supposed a friendship with the Thieves Guild had helped Maven with that, somehow.

Lucia was just turning to ask Braith to go grab Haming when suddenly Llirvalie was there again. Lucia could have sworn that the demure woman had not been there a moment before.

'I think I know a way in,' said Llirvalie, giving no explanation, 'there is a cave to the north of the fort that leads into the castle's dungeon. If you go in after dark, you might be able to take them by surprise.'

Lucia was taken aback. It was everything she had hoped for. Too good to be true? It was certainly very convenient. And surely the Kingsworn would know about it. But she saw no other option.

'To the north, you say?' Lucia said, thoughtfully. The dark elf nodded. Lucia turned to Samuel and Braith. 'Tell everyone we're moving out,' she said, 'pack up and make it obvious that we're leaving. We'll move north to Shor's Stone.'