Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak,
I write to you for three reasons.
The first is to apologize for my behavior in the Palace of the Kings the other day. I ought not have acted so rashly, or said the things I did. I realize words enough may not be enough to show sufficient apology, however, which brings me to my other two reasons.
The second is to apologize for not leaving Windhelm when you ordered me to. I have been in the city since you gave Elenwen and I the order to leave, or risk execution at your hand. I will confess, it was initially born out of spite, but now we both believe we have a chance of making the incovenience up to you.
The third is to inform you of what we're planning. Elenwen, myself, and three friends/allies are preparing to break the Thalmor blockade outside your city on our own. For Elenwen and I, this is the best way we can imagine to make up the inconvenience we have brought upon Windhelm. By day's end, the city will be free of the blockade - though whether that's because we have succeeded or perished yet remains to be seen. Should we survive, I would speak with you at length about the Thalmor and their plans.
If your Stormcloaks are up to it, they are invited to join us in our assault, and improve our odds of eliminating the Thalmor blockade. We will not force the matter, but do not think for a moment that we are denying your troops the chance to fight their most hated enemy, either.
Best regards,
-Runael
Arch-Mage of the College of Winterhold
"Are we... are we sure this is a good idea?" Elenwen asked, casting a glance at Adalla.
"It's not the best," Adalla murmured, her attention straight ahead, "but let's not forget who we've got watching out backs."
Elenwen wasn't fully assured. She trusted Runael, yes, more than she had in quite some time... and to some extent, she trusted Mia, who had saved her life days ago... but it was Najati she was most worried about. When they'd last met, Elenwen and the Khajiit had been... at odds with one another. She knew Najati had arrived at the Embassy to kill Elenwen, who had been a prisoner at the time. What was to stop her from killing Elenwen by accident, with bow and arrow from afar?
She had brought that concern up during the meeting they'd held a couple hours ago.
"If I were going to kill you, Elenwen, I would have done so by now," Najati had said. "I may yet kill you, but you have my word I will not kill you during this operation."
It had done little to reassure Elenwen that she was safe, but Najati had seemed to hold Elenwen's well-being at hand... though whether that was genuine concern or simply a means of mocking the former First Ambassador, she couldn't tell. She wasn't sure she wanted to know, either.
What she did want to know, however, was why she was chosen to venture forth, stepping into the thick of danger. She was a mage, and best suited for combat from afar; she was nowhere near the melee fighter Adalla was, nor was she as nimble or well-suited to armor as Mia or Najati. She was also fairly certain her own repetoire of spells was vastly inferior to Runael's, who would have made a better choice because of that fact.
Nonetheless, she had begrudgingly agreed to the idea, and was now walking toward the road. It wouldn't be too long before she and Adalla were both noticed... and thus, the fighting itself would begin.
"They doubled the guard," Adalla muttered softly. "I guess Mia's and my earlier attack didn't sit well with them. We took out... five or six, I think it was, but now..." She gestured to the western barricade.
Sure enough, there were easily a dozen Thalmor soldiers at the barricade; the patrols along the road were also doubled to pairs, and there were two patrols now.
During the meeting, Adalla had said there was only a single patrol, with a single Thalmor soldier. In effect, the patrols had been quadrupled.
"It's hard to believe they're not here to wage war against Windhelm," Elenwen grumbled, thinking of the Thalmor camp Mia had spotted on the southeastern ridge overlooking Windhelm. She hadn't been able to determine precise numbers because of her position, but she knew she'd spotted at least nine tents, one of which was the largest. However many Thalmor were outside Windhelm, there were more than a few. To call it a 'simple fight' would be foolish.
One patrol turned to continue their seemingly dreary duty, but the two soldiers spotted Elenwen and Adalla near the entrance to the bridge. They hurried over to the two elves, and as they drew nearer, one of them made a noise of recognition.
"It's you," he growled, drawing his sword and pointing it at Elenwen. "Thellias has been waiting for you to show your ugly face for-"
"Hold. If she's here, then where is the other traitor?" his companion said, looking around.
"You'll never find her," Elenwen said as calmly as she could - a task made difficult by how anxious she was feeling right now. She was aware that her voice wavered very lightly as she spoke.
"Yet that's indicator enough that she's in the city," the first soldier said. "Once we take you in, I'll convey that information to Thellias, who will take appropriate action against the city and its Jarl." He stepped toward Elenwen, seemingly ignoring Adalla altogether; as far as she could tell, he had no idea who she was.
Adalla waited until he was close enough to Elenwen before acting; in what seemed like a flash, her mace was in hand and arcing through the air at his right elbow in a fierce blow. He didn't see it, but his companion shouted the warning and drew his own blade. The first soldier turned to face the source of the blow, and instead of taking the mace in the elbow, it caught him square in the chest. He staggered back from the impact, clearly dazed; she took advantage of the situation to follow it up with another swing, this one aimed at his right shoulder directly. This time, he couldn't evade the blow, and he cried out as the impact knocked his sword from his hand.
"You little-" the second guard started, raising his sword over his head and advancing on Adalla swiftly.
The only warning he got of an archer in the distance was the whistling of an arrow. He turned his head just quick enough to see the ebony arrow soaring directly toward him, and watched it bury itself in his left shoulder. He, too, cried out from the attack, and rather than turn his attention back to Adalla, he began to search for the archer.
Elenwen, meanwhile, just watched. She'd never been good at handling under pressure, especially not in combat... and especially not alongside allies, whom she had to worry about harming by accident with her own magic. She didn't want to hurt Adalla, which left her in a very tenuous position. Instead, she opted for the small steel dagger Mia had given her before they'd departed the stony chamber, and swiftly plunged it into the second soldier's chest. She knew she missed his heart, but there was still a lot of blood spraying through the air. She wrenched it from his body, staggering back a little from the excessive force she'd employed to remove it, and the subsequent momentum.
Another arrow soared through the air, this one burying itself in between the eyes of the first soldier, who had turned his attention to Elenwen - and, in so doing, faced himself toward the bridge. The fact that his eyes widened before the arrow nestled between them was the indicator that he'd spotted the archer in question.
With that, they successfully purged the first patrol. They now had to worry about the second - along with any other soldiers who happened to notice, such as the soldiers at the eastern blockade.
Which they had, Elenwen noticed as she glanced toward the stables and the road stretching beyond. Soldiers were looking in their direction now, and were starting to advance on their position; surely the cries of their fallen comrades had alerted them. She glanced over her shoulder to check the western barricade, and noticed that the soldiers out that way seemed... preoccupied? Was something else happening on that end?
"Elenwen!" Adalla said sharply. "Here they come! Look sharp!"
She didn't respond, choosing instead to simply turn her attention to the eastern barricade once more, and to the... six soldiers now advancing on them.
Najati had never been the type to sit idly by and fire a bow at far targets. She'd agreed to it for the sake of breaking the blockade, of course, but she knew Mia was faster on the draw and release; archery was her rival's strong suit, and it showed. All Najati really did was sit idly by, hand gripping the bow and holding an arrow, and watch Mia shoot both of the soldiers.
"Feel free t'shoot, dammit," Mia grumbled, casting a small glare at the Khajiit.
"You've got that well enough under control," Najati replied. She set her bow down and the arrow next to it.
"What are ya-"
"Najati!" Runael hissed softly. "What are you doing?!"
"My own thing. Relax, I will help break the blockade... but I've seen Elenwen 'fight' before. She's sorely lacking in any real... 'up close and personal' situations. If I can cut down the number of foes that would catch her by surprise, however..." Najati stepped toward the edge of the bridge, and took her best guess at how far of a drop it was to the ground below - and whether she'd survive the fall unscathed.
"This ain't what we agreed on!" Mia snarled, focusing her attention on the Thalmor soldiers now focusing on Adalla and Elenwen. She nocked another arrow and drew the string back.
"If you stick to the plan all the time, you will ultimately fail; sometimes, improvisation is the best method of achieving victory." She decided the drop wasn't too far, and if she loosened her limbs and let herself fall forward and into a roll...
"Najati!" Runael snapped angrily as the Khajiit slipped down from the eastern side of the bridge and upon the southern bank of the river. "Get back-"
"No," she said, just loud enough for Runael to hear. "You four have the bridge entrance well enough under control; I'm going to make sure their reinforcements have reason to think they'll be joining their comrades so easily." With that, the Khajiit slipped away from both women, ignoring their protests.
It wasn't the first time she'd gone up against impossible odds, of course: she and Mia had both been caught in the midst of a civil war dispute once, and were accused of being spies for both sides by both sides. To say that the Legion and the Stormcloaks were unified in purpose, at least at that point in time, was an understatement.
And yet, by the end of it all, Mia and Najati both had slain more than twenty Stormcloaks and Imperials alike between themselves. The rest had scurried off, realizing they were out of their league trying to fight these two women.
That aside, Najati had also been sent on some particularly dangerous missions for both the Dark Brotherhood and the Thieves Guild in the past; the former had involved more bloodshed, while the latter typically involved slipping by overwhelming defenses unnoticed. Unlike the others, Najati had faith in herself to get her own job done.
She had a target in mind already. Whoever led these Thalmor - Thellias, she'd heard Elenwen refer to him as - was her priority. If she could take him out, it would throw the Thalmor forces into disarray. She had no doubt in her mind reaching him would be a difficult matter, and in fact, she was expecting much resistance along the way.
The fact that there was a group of four Thalmor soldiers descending a slope, walking toward the eastern barricade, proved this point; she presumed they were being sent to investigate the disturbances on the road.
Those four would do. Najati sat perfectly still, watching the four closely from her position at the water's edge. Only once she knew they'd turned a blind eye to her general location did she move, and she moved silently and swiftly toward them.
The first soldier didn't even have a chance to cry out in surprise; she'd clamped a hand over his mouth and buried an ebony dagger into his heart, easily piercing the elven armor he wore. Rather than let his body fall limply to the ground, she eased him down so there wasn't so much as a sound.
The second seemed aware that something was amiss among their own numbers, but only got as far as pausing; this opened him up to the same fate as the first. This time, however, Najati kicked his dying body toward the other two, who had slowed as well. The body collided with both, knocking them both down onto their fronts.
The third of her victims had barely pressed his hands to the ground before he felt the dagger slide through his armor and into his heart from the back. He gasped out briefly, though the sound was cut short as she planted her foot on the back of his head and shoved his face into the stone path.
The final soldier managed to push himself to his hands and knees, and turned his attention to the unknown assailant.
"Three out of four while unseen. Not bad," she mused to herself, yanking her dagger from the third's body and drawing the second at her waist.
He let out a cry of fury, drawing his blade as he charged at her. This proved to be a fatal mistake; the tip of the blade hadn't even departed the sheath before both daggers found a home in his neck.
"Draw first, then charge," she said with a small 'tsk' sound. "That way, you're better prepared to face your foe. I thought even rookies knew that." She withdrew both daggers from his neck, and planted a foot in his stomach with a firm kick, knocking him down.
As quickly as she'd descended upon this group of four, she slipped further south, off the road and behind some shrubbery. She couldn't keep that up, unfortunately, or the soldiers would become aware very quickly that something was off... especially if they spotted the corpses of their fallen comrades in the middle of the road.
No, she had to advance toward their camp, and would catch the next group of Thalmor soldiers off-guard when they were sent.
So advance she did, taking care to remain out of sight and crouched down all the while.
Thellias had anticipated some sort of attack, of course, but not like this. Not from within the city, and not from a mix of foes.
He had watched the group of four that had been sent to investigate be assassinated by a single fighter; none of them had any real chance against the foe. She was an assassin, then, and was likely on her way to the camp.
As his gaze shifted to the eastern barricade, he became aware of the fact that there were no standing Dominion forces. That meant the two foes down there had succeeded... alongside any others who fought at distance. So far, he hadn't seen any magic, though, so he wasn't sure if Elenwen or Runael were among their numbers. Or perhaps they were, and had simply fallen back on conventional weaponry for the time being.
Despite the losses the Dominion had already suffered, Thellias smiled. It wasn't planned, of course, nor did he have a thorough contingency plan in place for such an attack... but he'd dealt with such situations before, in other locations throughout Tamriel.
The part he hadn't told the rest of the soldiers was that the blockade served two purposes. The first was to strangle the city's supplies; the second was to lure out any who would dare oppose the Dominion, and summarily eliminate them.
"Sir? You're awake?" One soldier spoke from behind him. "It's late, though."
"The blockade is under attack from within the city," he said simply. "I have no doubt these foes will be content to eliminate the soldiers out there and destroy the barricades."
"Then we should sound the-"
Thellias lifted a hand, clad in ebony. "No. Wake everyone, but do not sound an alarm. We don't want them to know we're aware of the fact. We want them to get this far. We want them to become bold, to think they can actually succeed."
"You're sacrificing soldiers for-"
"No. They are doing their duty, and perishing in the process. I did not order them to fight these foes."
"You ordered them to take up those posts!" the soldier protested.
"True in the case of the barricades, but false in the case of those four." He pointed down at the road, where the fallen group of four still lay, motionless. "The one who killed them is on their way up here - an assassin. They seem to have a mind for priority targets - and thus, will be targeting me next. We will not send anyone else down to investigate the barricades; I've no doubt the assassin is counting on that. No, we will let them come up here, and the soldiers will allow her to pass and reach me."
"But-"
"Whoever this assassin is, they will fail to kill me." Thellias smiled grimly. "They have never fought me before. Most who fight me die in the process; the exceptions are sparring matches within the Dominion, and cowards who run away from the hopeless fight that I pose them." He cast a glance down to a group of three soldiers, all of whom had descended the slope toward the city, and his smile turned to a frown. "These soldiers have a death wish, and are abandoning their posts besides. How unfortunate." He turned his attention to the soldier he'd been speaking with. "Rouse the soldiers who yet remain here at camp, and circulate the following orders..."
"She what?" Adalla said, disbelieving. The Thalmor soldiers at the barricades had been completely defeated, though they still weren't sure what had befallen the western barricade; thus, Mia and Runael no longer had a reason to stay upon the bridge.
"You heard me," Runael said with a shake of her head.
"We should have known she'd go on alone," Elenwen grumbled.
"We shoulda, aye, but we trusted our better judgment anyway," Mia pitched in. "And now, she may make this harder for us t'do."
"But no reinforcements have come yet," Adalla commented after a moment's pause. "Maybe she's interfering?"
"She said as much, aye, but I don't think it's gonna last forever. Even Najati tires, Adalla." Mia looked and sounded troubled. "She's headstrong, as well; if she kills enough of 'em, or can't kill enough of 'em, she may go for the head."
"'The head'... Thellias," Elenwen whispered.
"Aye."
"He's clad in ebony. There's no way she'll-"
"Aye. She ain't the type t'sit idly by, though, and do nothin'. Her biggest flaw, and probably gonna be her end 'cause of it."
All four were silent for a time, each in their own thoughts. Adalla was wondering what Najati stood to gain, risking her life so boldly against so dangerous a foe alone.
"We ought to check the western barricade, and see what happened there," Elenwen said after a time. "They fell to something, and it wasn't Najati, according to what you two said."
"Aye, that's as good a plan as any at this point. Gives us some time t'think of another course of action, and see whether or not Najati comes back t'us with some news of victory or some such."
"And if she doesn't?" Runael asked.
"We'll cover that when it comes up."
"You didn't say 'if'," Elenwen noted.
"That's 'cause she ain't got a rat's chance in Oblivion fightin' an elite Thalmor soldier clad in ebony," Mia said flatly and bluntly. "Much as I hate t'say it, she's gonna die, and we're gonna be down one."
None of them said anything to this. They all, deep down, knew it to be true.
"...Well, the western barricade isn't going to come to us," Adalla offered after a time; she was already starting toward the bridge to the west. "Whoever attacked the Thalmor out that way may be an ally. The more we have for this task, the better our odds."
Najati was growing impatient at a very steady rate. Contrary to her belief, none beyond the next three had come down to investigate. Had they smartened up to the dangers involved? Was Thellias truly so unconcerned with the fall of the barricades to the other four?
Well, no matter. She would slip into the camp, then, and take the fight to him. When he died, she would then take down as many Thalmor soldiers as she could, and would hope the others had a mind to catch up and help her clean up.
As she ascended the slope that seemed to lead to the Thalmor camp, she did her best to remain out of sight. There was next to no foliage up here, though, so that wasn't easy; even with the overall lack of moonlight above, she knew she stood out against the snow. Still, she stayed as close to the rocky outcroppings that were devoid of snow as she could, and assumed she was out of view for the most part; she'd seen a few soldiers now, all of whom had their attention on the slope, and none of them seemed to notice her.
It wasn't until she rounded a corner and saw a soldier holding a torch, casting the area - and her - in a golden light. Her hands darted for her daggers...
And she heard countless blades drawn in response. She took a moment to look around, and realized instantly she was vastly outnumbered.
"Do you morons not sleep?" she said with a scowl.
"Not when there's a threat to our numbers," the soldier with the torch said. "We could fight you, perhaps, but you'd kill many of us before we could put you down."
"How perceptive of you," she cooed with a smirk.
"That's why Thellias wants to face you directly, and first." He swept a hand toward the large tent near the cliff. "He knows you killed seven of our number; he watched you kill them all. He knows you're coming here for him, the leader. He accepts the... 'challenge' you offer."
"He's not running away." The comment was amusing for Najati to think and say. "He's either confident or stupid."
"And you're a fool if you think you can best him."
She cast her eyes at the rest of the soldiers behind the one holding the torch. It seemed as if the whole camp was awake, as she'd suspected. If he was as talented as this soldier was saying, she didn't realistically have a chance against Thellias, and if she was going to die, she was going to take as many Thalmor with her as possible.
But what if she could kill him? She would sever the head, and then bring down as many of the Thalmor as possible in addition. It may cost her her life, true, but at least she would strike a severe blow to the forces stationed here...
It was a gamble. Najati didn't usually like gambling, but this... this was one she was willing to risk.
"Fine. Take me to him, then, and we'll all see just how much of a 'fool' I actually am." She filled her voice was as much confidence as she could, hoping it would unsettle some of the soldiers. To her delight, it did; a few murmured among themselves, presumably wondering if she actually had a chance... she had, after all, slain seven of them without being so much as scratched. What was one old mer?
"First, a question. Do you have any regrets?"
"Of course I do. My only regret is not cutting Elenwen's throat when I had the chance - and gods know I've had several by now."
The mention of the name sent murmurs through the crowd. She drowned out all of them, not really all that curious as to what was being said.
"This way, then. Gods have mercy on your soul, for Thellias will have none."
She was led through the crowd of soldiers, and her eyes were upon several of them as she passed. Some sneered at her, some shot her glares, some even looked amused that she was even there.
Not one of them looked afraid of her, however. That, in turn, made her a little uneasy. If they weren't afraid of her... no, it had to be because they were in a group. That whole 'strength in numbers' thing, and all. She had no doubt any of them alone would be terrified by her presence.
So distracted by her own thoughts was she, she didn't realize she'd bumped into someone wearing a suit of heavy armor. It snapped her out of her thoughts, and turned her attention to the figure wearing it.
Ebony. Hair with streaks of grey here and there, yet as he turned to face her, his eyes sparkled with a hidden youth and energy. He certainly looked old, but his movements didn't betray his age.
"And you must be Najati," he commented, looking her over briefly. "The erstwhile assassin that has slain seven of our number alone."
"I am. And you would be... Thellias, yes?"
"I would be he."
Her movements were swift; in an instant, her daggers were pressed against his exposed neck... no, it wasn't exposed as she'd initially thought: there was resistance to the blades...
"So rude," he said with a sigh. "And here I thought we could talk for a moment."
"I have no words for-"
"You wish for a chance to kill Elenwen, yes?"
The words made her pause. She did long for the opportunity, but didn't know if trusting anything he said was in her best interests. "I do," she finally murmured, lowering her daggers.
"I may be able to grant you that, if you would humor me. She has been a thorn in my side for far too long, and with this brazen crime against the Dominion, she is wanted dead or alive. As it stands, she may surrender if she were surrounded and outmatched, simply to preserve her own life..." His eyes glinted dangerously. "But why give her the chance?"
"I want to clear something up," she said after a pause. "Are you... 'hiring' me?"
"If your talent is for sale, then yes; if not, then I am simply giving you the opportunity to die without regrets."
She considered the offer. Perhaps this was her lucky day; if she could kill Elenwen, then Thellias, and then as many of the Thalmor as possible...
"I'm assuming you have a plan to get her here, then?" was all she said for now.
A.N. - Oh snap. Najati's turned her back on the others! Or has she...?
I had admittedly far more fun writing Najati's assassination of the first four Thalmor soldiers than I probably should have. It was refreshing, to just settle into the action and portray her as the efficient killer she actually is, beneath any soft exterior she may possess.
When it comes to writing fight scenes that contain Elenwen, she always strikes me as the 'fifth wheel on a wagon' - there, but unnecessary and basically useless, if not in fact. Maybe it's because our only encounters with her are diplomatic - we never actually see her fight (unless one attacks her in the Embassy, but that's neither here nor there; I've never done it, myself... though that does give me an idea for my next main quest playthrough...). For me, the biggest thing inhibiting her in 'team fights' is her magic: if she unloads, she risks harming her allies, but if she abstains from casting, she's useless. The dagger was the remedy to that situation. Why was she on the front line with Adalla? Well, because someone (between her and Runael) had to show who was leading the 'assault'.
Thellias is not all-knowing, no, and he does not have an answer for everything, either. That said, I wanted to display that sort of 'oh shit' moment one gets when they realize the guy that just MAY be outsmarted actually has a trick up his sleeve. He's got a plan for just about everything, though that doesn't mean he can always put said plans into action in a timely manner.
Anyway, this begins the ending of Flames. Follow along for the next part of the final chapter.
-Spiritslayer