Blood Runs Deep 4

With the sun slowly rising over the eastern mountains of Skyrim, Tarrion, Serana, Elaine and her escort started with their journey toward Whiterun. It was still early, and the forests of Falkreath only just started to wake up, but the company was wide awake.

Rayya was delighted when she entered the guest rooms and saw that the soldiers had been professional. She feared that everything would lie everywhere, but the beds were already made and the room itself was clean, aside from the smell of a dozen sweating men. She only needed to open a few windows and let the room clean itself.

Tarrion had suggested to Elaine to head for Whiterun. The city lay in the centre of Skyrim and because of this position it would be one of the first cities to know anything about events that would occur, even in the far corners of the other Holds.

"Right… so we get there and start questioning people?" Marcus had asked.

"No…. the exact opposite." Tarrion explained. "If we start questioning everyone we can either start a panic for fear of a new rebellion, or we give away that we are looking for them, or we might entice people to join them."

He had shaken his head. "No. We ask only the people who might know something. No-one else."

Marcus rode at the head of the group, with Elaine riding right behind him. She decided to leave the carriages behind, and had donned regular clothing so as not to arouse more suspicion than necessary. The soldiers, ten in total rode behind her and Tarrion and Serana closed the ranks in the back. They talked little, and when they did it was softly, making sure the soldiers would not hear them.

"It seems another adventure awaits us." Serana joked and Tarrion chuckled.

"Yes… but let's hope we stay out of any dwemer ruins."

"You still hate them?"

"I hated the first one I've been in, and I hated the last one I've been in and each and every one of them in between."

"Hmm… Maybe we can trick Marcus into one of them." Serana whispered with a smirk. "Nobody will find out."

"You still hold a grudge against him, don't you?" Tarrion smirked back.

"Of course I do. You heard what he called me. 'Pale squeeze'… I'd like to see how pale he gets when I squeeze his throat out."

"You know I would love to see that, and I would let you have all the fun…. But I must ask you not to…."

"Not now." he added with a smile.

Serana chuckled and steered her horse a bit closer. "I was actually more worried about Elaine."

Tarrion gave her a confused look. "How so?"

"Well, when she saw you and recognized you… and you recognized her… both of you whispering each other's name…. for a moment I feared she was an old girlfriend of yours. Because that would complicate things."

Tarrion wasn't sure what she meant by that. "How would that complicate things?"

"Well… it is never a good sign if you're about to marry someone… and suddenly an old flame of theirs shows up. Have you ever heard of a story where that happens and it has a happy ending?"

"I… don't think I have ever heard of a story where that happens."

"Exactly! Nobody likes those stories so nobody ever tells them."

"I see…" Tarrion smirked. "Well, don't worry. Even if all my old flames would show up… it wouldn't change a thing."

"'All your old flames'?" Serana blurted out a bit louder than she meant, and two guards turned their heads.

After a several day journey that took them through Riverwood, they arrived at Whiterun. Tarrion tried to persuade the guards to leave their Imperial uniform behind, pointing out it would only arouse more suspicion, but they refused.

"Fine then…. But then you go straight to the Jarl. Serana and I will ask around town. They know me and will be willing to talk to me."

Elaine had agreed with this and while she and her escort left for Dragonsreach, Serana and Tarrion walked to the Warmaidens smithy. There they saw Adrianne hammering on some plate-armour. Her bronze skin was glistening with sweat from both the heat of the forge and the effort of hammering down on the steel plates.

"Adrianne."

The Imperial woman looked up and smiled when she saw the two approaching.

"Tarrion.. Serana. Hello. How are you?"

"We're both fine, thank you." Serana answered with a smile.

"It has been a while since I've seen you, thane." Adrianne responded, and with a sly smirk she looked at the two. "You two have taken to yourselves in Falkreath?"

"Ahem… yes." Tarrion said with a cough. "We decided to spend some time alone."

"I bet you did."

"Anyway…" he interrupted her. "how are you? Business going well I hope?"

"Ah same old, same old." Adrianne sighed. "A small purchase here, a few repairs there. Sometimes a special order, but nothing too crazy. People tend to ask Eorlund for the really difficult stuff, but Ulfberth and I get by just fine."

"So nothing new? No strange and large orders?" Tarrion asked as subtle as he could.

"No, not real-, well… acutally."

Her gaze went to Tarrion with a look like she tried to remember something. Tarrion immediately listened closely.

"There was this one guy…. A few weeks ago he tried to convince me to give him some arms. I don't exactly remember him, but he was shady. Wore a hood like he didn't want to be recognized. He requested several of our weapons and armour. For free no less!"

"The nerve." Serana remarked.

"I know. I quickly kicked him to the curb, and I never saw him again."

"Did you remember what he looked like? A bandit?"

Adrianne tried to remember what the man looked like and stared into the fire of the forge for a few moments. "No… not a bandit. If he was, the guards wouldn't have let him in. He did seem like one, though. He wore some kind of rag-tag armour…. but his face was shaven. I don't see bandits do that. Oh, and he wore a cape."

She stared into the fire for another two seconds before shaking her head. "I don't know. Maybe he was a bandit, or…. I don't know. It was a few weeks ago and I never saw him again."

Adrianne knew nothing more, and after they had greeted Ulfberth as well, Tarrion and Serana left for Breezehome. It lay fairly close to the smithy, something that Serana wasn't too fond of. Adrianne would wake up every morning before the sun was up, and would start hammering the armour at the crack of dawn, causing Serana to wake up whenever they stayed in Whiterun.

When nearing Breezehome Serana looked up to the first floor window.

"Lydia is home." she said quaintly a she looked up. "And she's not alone."

Tarrion looked at her. "How do you know?"

"I can sense her."

But when Tarrion grabbed the door, Serana tried to stop him.

"No, wait." but she was too late. Tarrion froze with the door half open and they heard the noises that came from upstairs.

Tarrion was lucky enough not to hear everything, but Serana, with her Vampriric senses, was able to hear everything. She heard a bed creaking under movement, a sound she recognized immediately from her countless nights of passion with Tarrion. She heard moans and grunts. The sound of two people with their lips and tongues intertwined. She heard soft voices saying only syllables of words and other lewd noises.

"Shut the door… shut the door!" she whispered to Tarrion, and he had also heard enough to understand why. Quickly and quietly he closed the door to shut the two lovers out and looked at Serana and both were frozen.

"So this is what Rayya feels half the time?" he asked after a while.

"I guess." Serana responded plainly, before she held her hand over her mouth and started snickering.

"Oops." she said quietly between two laughs and Tarrion chuckled as well.

"Let's eh…. Let's go…. Somewhere else."

Serana subconsciously sensed Lydia, even when trying not to, and the two quickly left for the Bannered Mare on the far end of town. Neither of them said anything, but silently agreed not to talk about it and Tarrion walked up to Hulda, the innkeeper.

As the innkeeper, Hulda would be one of the first to hear anything about anything. Whether they were rumours, gossip or even hints of stories, she was likely the one to talk to. But Tarrion had no luck, as she hadn't heard anything about a possible growing unrest. Seeing as no-one seemed to have any solid leads, the two decided to go to Dragonsreach and join Elaine and the soldiers.

As they walked through the market and uphill to Dragonsreach, Tarrion decided to also visit the Companions.

"I need to check on them anyway, and maybe they know something. With the jobs that we have to do in all of Skyrim, they might have heard more."

Under the Gildergreen, the large tree that overlooked the Wind District, they saw Carlotta Valentina, resting on one of the benches. While Tarrion left for the Companions, Serana walked to her.

"Good afternoon, Carlotta." Serana happily said and came sitting next to her.

"Good afternoon, Serana." she responded. Her voice was a bit down, and her face was not as radiant as always. "How are you?"

"I'm good, more than good." and Serana meant this. "But…. How about you? You seem a bit down."

Serana looked with concern at her friend, and Carlotta stared at the steps that lead down to the marketplace.

"Don't worry about me…. It's just that a number of Imperial Soldiers came by."

"And?"

"Ugh… it's just." Carlotta started with a sigh. "One of them… I guess their leader… asked me where they could find Dragonsreach."

Serana raised her eyebrow. "It's just up the hill…. You can't miss it."

"Exactly… it was that, and the way he asked. 'Pardon me, milady. May I ask a beauty as you a question?'… it was a bit too obvious what he tried. And he was hardly making eye-contact. He almost looked cross-eyed as he tried to ogle both my chest and rear. And his men weren't that different."

Serana had heard how Carlotta was often regarded as the most beautiful woman of Whiterun, maybe even all of Skryim, with numerous men having proposed to her, and others fighting over her. Her flawless skin, soft brown hair and striking, clear brown eyes made even Serana admit that she was indeed a beauty.

"If you had a septim for every honeyed word…" Serana smiled.

"… I could buy Dragonsreach by now." Carlotta sighed.

"This man that ogled you…" Serana asked. "what did he look like? Imperial?"

"Yes." Carlotta nodded.

"Long flowing hair behind his head."

"Yes."

Serana nodded. "Marcus. He is of the Penitus Oculatus."

"You know him?" Carlotta asked astounded.

"Unfortunately, yes. He showed up last week at our house in Falkreath. He demanded our co-orporation… in our own home. He called me a 'squeeze'."

Carlotta snorted. "Ass. I think I'm starting to agree with Ahlam. 'Men are all alike, from Skyrim to Hammerfell.'"

"Hmm…. I'd beg to differ."

"Yes… but you got lucky because you strung Tarrion."

"I 'strung' him?"

"Yes…. He is one of the only men around town that never made an advance toward me. He even helped me get rid of one. There was a moment when I even thought he wasn't interested in women. But I guess he was just trying to find the right one."

"Hmm…" Serana nodded and gave her a sly smirk. "So when men show interest in you… you complain how all men are the same. But when one doesn't show interest in you… you think he might not be interested at all."

Carlotta let out a clear laugh. "Stop using my own words against me."

While Serana chatted with Carlotta, Tarrion found himself in the main hall of Jorrvaskr. The roaring fire in the centre of the room and the long tables around it always gave a warm and welcoming feeling to anyone who stepped in. Just like the first time when Tarrion walked into the hall, looking to join the Companions all those years ago, Njada and Athis had a fist fight with each other, one that Athis was destined to lose as Tarrion had learned. Farkas and Vilkas sat opposite each other in an arm-wrestling match, one that Vilkas was destined to lose. Dar'Hisa, the Khajiit that had joined, sat in front of the fire warming himself after what seemed like a long hunt, because his fur and whiskers were dirty and smudged. Ria was nowhere to be found, but Tarrion heard voices coming from behind the hall and assumed she was training the other Companions. Aela sat alone in a corner, quietly meditating, and Tarrion walked up to her. Before he even announced himself Aela took a breath through her nose and smiled.

"Afternoon, Harbinger." she said without even opening her eyes.

"You can smell me?" Tarrion asked half amused.

She nodded. "Yes… your blood has a peculiar smell to it….. but you also stink a little."

"Thanks." Tarrion said stoically.

"You're welcome…." Aela smiled, and she opened her eyes and looked at Tarrion as he took a seat next to her. "What has brought you here?"

He took his time with his answer. He knew he could trust Aela to be discreet and reliable, yet he wasn't sure if he would tell her the whole story, including his sister.

"Trouble." he eventually answered.

"What else?"

"Not that kind of trouble." he remarked. "This is a bit more serious than a few rogue bandits. I came here to see if you may have heard of anything."

"Heard anything of what?"

"A possible new rebellion."

Aela nearly swallowed her tongue when she heard that, and her brown eyes were wide open in shock, and Tarrion raised his hand to keep her quiet just in time.

"Not too loud, alright? There are only unconfirmed rumours… yet they are persistent enough for me to worry."

Aela looked at him with a gaze that Tarrion immediately recognized. Aela was solitary, but smart and she could see when a person was not telling the whole truth or the whole story. Naturally she asked him about it.

"Last week the Empire arrived on my doorstep." Tarrion explained. "The Penitus Oculatus. The Emperor's guard. They seem to be under the impression that a possible new rebellion is brewing in Skyrim and want to get rid of it before anything escalates. I, of course, had to help them since they are strangers here and need my help. But I cannot start looking in every corner of Skyrim. There are plenty of places to hide, and some are almost impossible to reach. So… I'd like to ask you if you heard anything on your travels? Maybe a contract that lead you somewhere and you heard anything suspicious?"

Aela thought for a few moments until she shook her head, causing her brown hair to wave to the sides. "I haven't heard anything… but we all have become a little lazy."

"How so?"

"Well, there is less to do." Aela explained. "The bandits are less bold than they were during the Civil War… the only things that we get a contract on are a few rabid predators, a person that needs a kick in his ass or one giant that strays too close to a town. That is it. We take almost any contract we can get by now."

Tarrion chuckled when he saw her face. "You almost sound like you don't like the peace that we have."

"No, that's not it. It's just that I get restless. I want something to hunt, something to do… and for now the thing I do the most is make sure the younglings don't get themselves killed. And make sure Azzar doesn't sneak off to Lydia half the time."

Tarrion turned his head so fast it hurt his neck, and Aela quickly realized she said something she may or may not should have.

"Azzar is seeing Lydia?" Tarrion asked a bit louder than he intended. "Since when?"

Azzar was the Reguard man that had joined the companions over half a year ago. Tarrion had seen in him a honourable spirit and a thirst for battle. When sparring with Vilkas he showed himself to be a fairly good fighter. Although he did not stand a chance against him in combat at that time, he showed a talent for fighting and quickly became quite a challenge for Vilkas. But Tarrion had no idea that he had been seeing Lydia.

"Since a few months ago." Aela said, and she felt a little awkward talking about it. "I saw them once when I came back from a hunt. I didn't ask him about it since it is not my business, but I did catch him trying to sneak away to see her a week or two ago."

On that moment the doors to the hall opened and a Reguard walked in. He had a wide smile on his face and jovially greeted the Khajiit.

"Speak of the daedra." Alea smirked and she noticed his mood. "He seems a bit too happy."

"Mhm." Tarrion mumbled.

He was Redguard, and thus his skin was dark, just like Rayya's. He had deep, brown eyes and a clean shaven head. He had a similar build to Tarrion, yet was a several inches smaller than him, and not as broad. He did have two golden ear-rings in his left ear, and on his shoulder he had already recieved a small scar from a wolf. His armor was typical for a Redguard, with it being mostly leather with reinforced gloves and boots, but when most Redguard warriors would wear a truban of some kind, Azzar wore a hood.

Azzar smilingly turned his head but when he saw Tarrion sitting next to Aela, his face changed rapidly.

"Ohh… you're in trouble now." Aela whispered as she looked at Azzar and she stood up. "I'll leave you to him." and left.

Azzar and Tarrion looked at each other for a few moments, until Tarrion nodded at the chair Aela just left. The Redguard hesitantly took a seat next to the Harbinger while making little eye contact.

Tarrion kept silent for now, only increasing the tension that Azzar was feeling, and still he refused to look at him.

"Is this how you act in front of the Harbinger?" Tarrion asked. "Because if do, you're not the right man for Lydia."

Azzar looked at him. "So…. You know." and Tarrion nodded.

"Come on…. Man up. Straighten your back and face me like a man."

Tarrion smirked slightly, and Azzar seemed to be at ease for now, seeing he wouldn't be killed just yet.

"Well…. Yes." he started. "Lydia and I have fallen in love."

"I do hope you approve." he added hesitantly.

"Do I approve?" Tarrion asked astounded. "I don't. I don't think you're man enough for her… but you don't have to prove that to me. You'll have to prove that to her. And if she loves you and 'approves', than I have nothing to say."

Azzar was surprised by this and looked at the Harbinger and his dark eyes were confused. "But…. You're her Thane…. I thought…"

"I am her thane, true… but I am her friend first." Tarrion interrupted him. "That means that I care a lot about her, and I know her… and with that in mind I will tell you one thing; Know full well what kind of woman she is. Because if you break her heart…. I will be the least of your problems."

After leaving Azzar half confused and half happy, he pulled Serana away from Carlotta who were clearly gossiping about who knows what and they left for Dragonsreach. There Elaine and the soldiers were waiting for him to show up. They had explained everything to the Jarl already, but Balgruuf preferred to wait until Tarrion could also explain it, before deciding whether or not to help.

"Ah, Tarrion. Finally." The Jarl said as Tarrion approached the throne. "These Imperials seem to think that a new rebellion is rising?"

Jarl Balgruuf had always been direct and had little time, or patience, for fancy words and royal pish-posh. His chin was adorned with a greying beard, yet his cheeks and jaws were shaven. His blonde hair also slowly turned grey as time passed, yet a young fire was still in his eyes.

Next to him stood Proventus Avenicci, the Jarl's steward and adviser. He was Imperial and Adrianne's father. A good man at heart, yet still rusty when it came to understanding the Nord way of life.

On the left side of the jarl stood Irileth, his housecarl, bodyguard and lifelong friend. As a Dunmer she was likely far older than anyone in the room, save Serana but she did not know that, and she had long years of training and experience under her belt. Her eyes were red and looked with a cautious suspicion at the entourage that Elaine had brought.

"So, Tarrion. Explain. What is going on here, and how did you get involved?"

"Yes, jarl." Tarrion obediently said and he made a slight bow with his head. "It indeed seems that there are people in the Empire's higher circles that believe that a new rebellion is brewing in Skyrim. Although there has yet to be any evidence to such claims, they are worried nonetheless. Last week Lady Elaine and her escort showed up at my doorstep in Falkreath Hold. She requested my assistance with this matter… and seeing as I still am a protector of Skyrim and its people, I chose caution over cynicism. I don't know if there is a rebellion brewing again, and I hope that these claims are false… but if they're not, something must be done."

Tarrion spoke with reverence and respect, despite that he fought beside Balgruuf and they considered each other friends. Yet in the presence of others he was Balgruuf's inferior, and thus had to show respect.

"Hmm…." the Jarl grumbled. "I see. Yet why do you show up at my doorstep?"

"We were hoping you may have heard something, Jarl. If there indeed is a new rebellion brewing, Whiterun would be one of the first to know. It lies in the centre of Skyrim… we were hoping that, if there is any information to be had… you may have it."

Balgruuf waited with his answer and thought about what Tarrion said before turning to Proventus.

"Proventus… have you heard anything that would indicate this? A new rebellion?"

"No, my lord." was the answer. "I have not heard anything."

"Irileth?"

But she said the same and had not heard anything.

"It seems no-one here knows about this." Balgruuf answered and he turned himself to Elaine. "Lady Elaine… I hope you are not wasting your time here. What reason do your superiors have for believing that there is a rebellion brewing in Skyrim? Are they sure it is not just paranoia?"

"I believe they are cautious, jarl." Elaine said carefully. "The last thing they want… and I think we can all agree on this… is another rebellion like the last one. Skyrim has been through much already, and it would be best for the people of Skyrim… and for the Empire… that we remain vigilant and cautious."

Tarrion looked at Balgruuf to see what his answer would be, but then he saw Irileth make a slight move. She nodded at him and as subtle as she could tried to give him a sign. With her eyes she pointed him at the staircases that lead upstairs.

"My jarl…" Tarrion said quickly. "If I may… I'd like to take a look at the maps. Just to make sure we don't miss anything. To see if there are any forts that may have been weakened enough for a potential rebel group to take."

The Jarl was clearly a bit surprised by this, but nodded and Tarrion left for the stairs that lead upstairs to a large room with maps of Skyrim. Irileth asked to help him and Balgruuf nodded and she quickly followed him upstairs while Serana was forced to stay behind.

"What is it?"

But Irileth gestured him to follow her upstairs. They entered a large room with in the centre a large table with the map of Skyrim. Small flags dotted the parchment indicating the forts that dotted the landscape of Skyrim, while the larger ones pointed at the capitals of the nine holds.

"What is it, Irileth?"

She sighed and looked down for a few seconds, and he saw that she wasn't sure how she should say it.

"You're here to investigate rumours…. And I might… 'might'.. have some."

"What do you mean?" Tarrion asked her.

Irileth leaned on the large table and looked at the map. "I mean I have heard of a few rumours… small stories here and there that might be what you are looking for. A month ago I heard that a few rebels had taken up residence in Fort Sungard, to the west of here." and she pointed at a small flag on the map. "They were only rumours and I figured that they were only bandits…. But now…"

Tarrion saw a blush on her Bosmer-face, and she clearly didn't like the situation.

"Why haven't you told the Jarl about this?" he asked.

"Because they were only rumours." she whispered loudly back, and she stared at him. "I don't want to waste Balgruuf's time with old-wives tales. And I couldn't tell you downstairs either. What was I supposed to do? Tell the Jarl that there might indeed be a new rebellion brewing and I've been sitting on that information for over a month?"

Tarrion did not answer that, and instead looked at the small flag that Irileth had pointed at. Fort Sungard. He had been there once and he knew that it was a fort that could be extremely well defended. Positioned on a high hill, possibly with barricades blocking the road to the main gate, it would take an army to take it, even if only a handful would defend it.

But he also knew that it had one weakness. There was a secret entrance to the side of the fort, hewn into the side of the rocky hills and a secret passage that lead into the heart of the fort.

He sighed. "Fort Sungard it is then."

=End of Chapter=

=Author's Notes=

So... Lydia also seems to have found someone to spend her time with. I always thought she deserved as much. In the game you don't see anything of the personal lives your housecarls live while you're off killing dragons, so i decided to give her also a little romance of her own.

As for Tarrion's family... the plot thickens. It seems there might be some truth to these rumours of rebellion after all. Let's hope he can diffuse everything before it escalates