Hello everyone~ Sorry for such a long delay between this chapter and the last one, I've been playing so much Tears of the Kingdom, Zelda's not gunna save herself ya know.

Beta'd by: Old man of the mountain/Darklord331, The Immortal Spank

Arriving back at the base late at night, I scoured the area, relieved to see nobody was dead, and that my new assassins were now settled into their new quarters – a new wing of the base that Gavnuk had built that served as a massive barracks.

Once I calmed down, I had managed to settle down and sleep. In the morning, I had gathered everyone together for a group wide meeting.

Gavnuk was the first to speak. "What did you wish to tell us, Ragnar?"

"Well," I began, "two things primarily. First, I have acquired more…workers, for lack of a better term." I waved my hand towards Babette and the other former assassins. "They have not been assigned tasks, but it's likely that they will all be kept together, they're all…similarly skilled in what they do, and I don't wish to break them apart."

Murmurs were exchanged as my followers happily greeted my new recruits, and while the assassins were not happy about it, they were smart enough to recognize they needed to be cordial with my subjects.

I waited for the quiet noise to die down before I spoke again. "The second thing I need to announce is that, as of last night, I am now a Thane of Falkreath."

The former homeless workers gasped in awe, the researchers just nodded at me, recognizing the significance of the accomplishment but otherwise not caring, and the assassins just stood around.

"Moving forward," I continued, "Routine inspections from the Jarl's men will occur, I suspect that they'll be looking for any excuse to confiscate the silver we mine under false pretenses."

"Why would they do that?"

My gaze met one of the miners, "Because from all my interactions with the Jarl, he has come off as a greedy man. I've caught him strong-arming my silver off my good friend Amelie; a Jeweler in Falkreath." I paused, letting them digest that statement before continuing. "It would not surprise me if Siddgeir plans on trying to take the silver from me by confiscating the silver we mined with false infractions of some kind."

I smiled, "Regardless, I've been made Thane. And as such, I believe it's cause for celebration; all your wages will be getting an increase, and today you can all take the day off with pay. If you still wish to work, I will pay double your salary for today only."

A celebratory cheer shouted out from the group.

I laughed, "Now, go do whatever you all wish." My eyes roamed until they met Babette's, "Except for you and your group, Babette. Stay here for now, I wish to discuss what the future holds for you all."

I watched as everyone started to leave, hugging and shaking hands with those who wished for them. I caught Ferack's gaze as he walked back to his study, and nodded to him, silently promising to come to him later. Soon, it was just the former Assassins and me, standing in the main hall of the base.

I stood silently in the hall, my gaze sweeping over every member assembled before me. The silence created an uncomfortable air (for them) around us, the awkwardness increasing in presence as the quiet drew on.

I decided to spare them, "I'll start by debriefing you all on what will be happening moving forward. I have no plans on squandering your skills and stopping you from doing what you do best." My eyes hardened, "However, you will not be killing for hire, your targets will be assigned by me, or by targets chosen discussed between myself, and the head of your group, who I've already decided."

"Most of you will be joining Guruk, the general of my forces. I do not plan for you to join my frontline fighters. Instead, this will work as a sort of…joint training. We will train you, teach you more styles of combat and refine what you already know to a razor's edge. In exchange, we'll be having you teach my forces to be more aware of hidden threats, stealth, and assessing weak points." I said, pausing to let the information settle.

"Now," I continued, "I've already decided who will be in charge of you all while you're with Guruk…Veezara," The groggy argonian looked up, "You trained the new recruits before, correct?"

He looked surprised, "…Yes. How did you..?"

Know? I didn't, it was simply an educated guess based on what I knew what everyone else did and made assumptions based on it. Babette was the alchemist, and despite her abilities, new recruits wouldn't listen to someone who looked like a child. Nazir handled the contracts, I figured he'd be far too busy managing whatever network he had to get these contracts to train anybody. Gabrielle…I had nothing to off of, but given that she is – seemingly – out on a mission, I made the assumption that she's an active member of the dark brotherhood and wouldn't take well to sitting in the base and training newbies. Festus, while experienced, was far too old to actively train new recruits. If I were Astrid, I'd never assign my new recruits to someone who couldn't devote time to ensure that my new subjects knew what they were doing.

Which led me to the coin toss. Arnbjorn was strong, there's no question, but he also was super into his forge, but that doesn't necessarily mean that he couldn't devote the time to training. I didn't know anything about Veezara, but by eliminating the other options I was left with those two as the logical options.

If Arnbjorn turned out to be the one to do it, I was fucked, but I took a shot in the dark and it looks like it paid off.

"That's unimportant," I answered him, "but what is, is because that's the reason I'm making you the leader of the assassins that train with Guruk."

My eyes left his, ignoring whatever reaction he had to the information I dropped on him. "Which leads me to my next point," I continued, "I am not stupid enough to assume all of you are combat focused, I can recognize while you are all trained to kill, you all have specialties. To those who are magically inclined or are practitioners of alchemy, you may stay here and join my divisions."

I tilted my head down to Babette. "You, babette, are highly skilled in poison brewing. I would never squander your talents by forcing you to work under or for someone less skilled than yourself. It is for that reason that I am appointing you as the head of my toxicology branch of the alchemist division. You will report to no one but myself and you are of equal power to the head of my potions branch, Umak."

In truth, Umak would always outrank her unofficially, but it would be a fool of me to insult Babette's skills in alchemy by having her report under someone who was (as much as I liked Umak) less experienced, and less skilled than her. I have no doubt that Babette is…less than thrilled about the situation, but if I play into her pride, maybe I can salvage at least a cordial working relationship with her. And if it proves to evolve into a real friendship that's all the better.

I have always liked her character in the games, a loyal companion who survived Astrid's imbecilic betrayal of the player character.

I mentally smirked as I saw Babette straighten up just a tad, a small smirk flashed briefly on her face before her expression settled.

"Babette, do you have anyone you would like to add to your division?" I asked.

A quick selection process later and around six new mooks joined me as I took Babette and her crew to Umaks new and improved alchemist hut.

Calling it a hut was a bit of an understatement, Gavnuk and his construction team have been working on this little shindig for a bit now. It's nothing extravagant, but it's a really well made large building, two floors tall with a one way slanted roof made from a combination of moss and wooden planks that have been charred. It even comes with a "basement" used for growing the various mushrooms that Umak needs for his potions.

I entered through the door, watching as a variety of Umaks assistants shuffled around with bags full of alchemical ingredients, likely foraged from the surrounding areas and the garden at the Carin. Umak himself was at a large table with two others, examining ingredients brought forth and either tossing them away or placing them in wooden containers that I assumed were used for storage.

I should probably work with Umak a bit more, I'm not that interested in potion making but it would be good of me to understand the process so I could help Umak when I need to allocate resources.

I motioned for Babette and her little group to stay where they were as I walked forward, making sure my steps were loud so I could announce my presence without startling anyone.

An assistant of Umak's grabbed his attention as she noticed me. A quiet exchange later and Umak stood up to greet me.

"Ragnar!" Umak grinned, "Nice of you to stop by, you need more potions?" His head tilted to the side, looking over my shoulder and noticing the ensemble I brought. "Ah, more people for the team!"

I nodded, "These people are new…recruits to our operations. These people have experience in alchemy but with poisons unlike you who specialize in healing and stamina. Babette here," I motioned to the young vampire, "Has the most experience of them all, and is frankly more knowledgeable than pretty much everyone here. And as such, have made her co-leader." I leaned in slightly, my voice naught but a whisper. "To be clear, Umak, you will always oversee this division, but this woman is too skilled to be called anything but. Rest assured, you will always have final say, but cooperation with Babette would be preferable."

Umak nodded minutely at me. "To be honest," he rumbled, "I don't care much about having authority over them, but it's kind of you to assure me that how we run things won't change with their presence."

I grinned, "that's right," I said, loud enough for everyone to hear, "Don't worry, how you all run things won't change from how you were doing everything before, but Babette will now be in charge of a new branch for these operations, as she specializes in poisons and other miscellaneous effects."

I could see some of Umak's previous attendees relaxed visibly

"Do you use the upstairs at all Umak?" I asked.

Umak nodded, "Yes, but mostly for storage. I can get everything moved down here for Babette and her team to use until I can get Gavnuk to dig out more of the basement."

I smiled, "Excellent! Thank you Umak, I'll be sure to get you some good stuff to use."

Umak waved me off as I strode back to Babette, watching as Umak sent people upstairs, grabbing boxes and moving them down to the dugout basement downstairs.

"Alright Babette, you're in charge of your group so it's up to you to make sure they abide by the rules, okay?"

"Okay." Babette said, resigned.

I sighed, "If you have anything you need you can come to me, I'll see about rearranging resources or money if I believe what you're asking will be beneficial."

I paused, contemplating, and placed my hand on her shoulder gingerly. "I'm sorry." I spoke quickly, leaving just as fast.

As I got further away I let a smile bled through my face.

Getting Babette onto my side will be an uphill battle, but she's the most important asset I've gained from the skirmish with the Dark Brotherhood, and as such her compliance and eventual loyalty is paramount.

But that's not easy, Babette has been with the Dark Brotherhood for however many years now, possibly decades given she's been a vampire for centuries, it won't be easy getting into her good graces.

I can lie by omitting details, that's easy, but full-on manipulation will never be something I could pull off, not only because I'm unskilled in the practice but also because it's not something I want to rely on.

I've simply seen too much media of said manipulation being undone by others to believe it would be foolproof enough to work long term.

Instead, I'll treat her just like I've done with everyone else, just with (much need) caution, and patience. But the first step was to establish a much needed foothold to begin forming relationships with the vampire.

And I think it worked, putting her in a position of authority while also expressing a "genuine" apology should work.

Am I sorry for what happened? To a degree, I was sorry it came to it, not that I did it.

But no one else would know that but me.

I quickly made my way back to the last remaining members and escorted Veezara and his group to the training camp. Once we got there, I gave the same rundown that I gave Umak to Guruk, after a series of greetings and small talk I had with some of the forces.

Guruk was, understandably, uneasy about the presence of armed and deadly assassins mixed in with his men and women but was able to calm down once he noticed the rather…nonaggressive aura the assassins had.

It may have had something to do with the dozens of buff men and women milling about.

I swear, their thighs could crush watermelons with ease, Gifted Training is truly a godsend.

Once everything got settled, I spent a bit more time with my underlings, exchanging pleasantries and cracking jokes when possible. I chatted with some of the mages about their magick's intricacies, talked with fellow war axe users, and arm wrestled an orc.

I won by the way.

I left the camp soon after and entered the base, passing by some of the drinking workers as I made my way to Ferack's study.

I walked past his opened door into his room and saw him hunched over a long wooden table, stacks of books on its face and more on the floor. Several papers with unintelligible scribbles and symbols scattered around the room, and a glowing curved knife sitting on a wooden stand, unsheathed as Ferack was examining the knife's blade.

So that's what happened to the blade of woe.

I knocked loudly on the open door, "Ferack!"

He grunted in annoyance, "Must you Nords be so loud? In case you oafs can't see, I'm in the middle of important research."

I hummed as I strode over, hands on my hips as I leaned over and examined the paper and ink in front of him.

It was blank.

"Amazing findings Ferack," I drawled, a dry sarcasm laced in my tone.

The tired Breton growled, "I know! It's infuriating, these symbols and carvings mean nothing to me, and without any direct translations they will remain that way!"

Symbols? What is he talking about…

I squinted at the blade, and sure enough, just barely large enough to see a trio of symbols carved into the blade.

What in the…what was this?

His hands slammed on the table, the table rattling at the force. "And of course, I still don't know what it does, whatever power it wields is too powerful to experiment on test mice, the few I've managed to acquire have all died instantly at the smallest prick. And of course I can't test on anything else, because someone" an accusatory glare sent my way "won't let me…"

I raised an eyebrow, ignoring the sinking feeling that started to slowly creep into my stomach. "I'm not going to give you living people to test on Ferack, it's unethical."

"Oh please, no one's going to miss one or two peasants."

"Ignoring your blatant apathy for human life," I pushed on, "I may have an idea of what the knife does."

Ferack scrambled for a paper and quill, "How did you come across such information?!"

I handed him a piece of blank paper from a stack, "A member of the Dark Brotherhood gave me the information."

That member was me, in the game.

A, frankly, disturbing smile slowly grew on the researcher's face. "Fascinating! With this, we're one step closer to deciphering this strange, enchanting language." Quil met paper, ready and inked. "Now then, get on with it.

I rolled my eyes, "From what the person managed to uncover, the knife steals the vitality of whoever was stabbed and heals the user's wounds." I hummed, "Supposedly it sends the souls of whoever dies to the blade to the void, but that's less provable."

"That would also explain why the mice died immediately," Ferack mumbled as his quil scribbled quickly against the paper, "A mice's constitution would be far too feeble to withstand the power of the knife, leaving me unable to measure the effects." He put the quill back in the ink bottle, leaning back. I took a glance, admiring the highly detailed drawing of the knife, symbols and all and the known effects I just divulged.

"However," the man mumbled, "knowing what the knife does, does not reveal how these symbols function. There are three symbols engraved into the knife, which means these three symbols are needed to absorb the…vitality? Of the victim and heals the user. But does each symbol mean a different function within that effect?" His finger traced the first symbol, "Perhaps this one could mean 'absorb health' while this one," his finger moved to the middle symbol, "could possibly be a 'rule,' so to speak, to ensure the first symbol only works when used against a stabbed target." Ferack shook his head, "or it's entirely possible that it could mean that it transfers that vitality to the user. Frankly, it's impossible to learn with our current understanding until we can understand the process of enchanting itself, at which point we can at least experiment with the symbols and their orders, or how many there are."

I pulled up a chair and sat down next to him, examining the symbols, and delving into my metagame knowledge to try and find a possible source, but I was drawing a blank. I never got around to playing any of the previous Elder scroll titles, so I have no idea if there was any other enchanting method outside of the Skyrim one, and it's already so different from what I know.

For once in this world, I'm going into something blind.

"Strange," I mumbled, "We have a sequence of symbols, and we know the outcome, but we don't know what each symbol represents. It's almost like a mathematical formula…"

"That's certainly an interesting way to look at it," Ferack muttered, "it makes sense though, adding these symbols together creates, or 'equals', the desired effect." His finger tapped absently on the wooden table, "When you look at it like that, this process appears to mirror mathematics to a remarkable level."

I picked up the knife carefully, "Enough about the symbols – like you said, we can't begin to understand them until we can replicate the enchanting process itself." I idly turned the knife, examining the shimmering red power that glowed faintly on the metal, "Strange, the sword I have glows with blue power, not a red one."

Ferack's eyes whipped to look at me, "You have another enchanted item? Why didn't you say something?!"

"…I may have forgotten about it completely…" I trailed off.

Ferack grumbled something about dumb nords while I made my way towards my room, grabbing the sword I got from Halldir, and came back.

Ferack touched the sword's metal, his fingers pulled back to reveal a small layer of frost. "Fascinating…it seems like we can infer that different colors correspond to different types of enchantments; red for draining life, and blue for frost. Or could they mean different types of enchanting? Frost could be related to ice magicka, which could mean blue symbolizes an enchantment related to the field of destruction magicka. And I can see some symbols on the blade's metal, but there are only two this time – and different from the three we've seen previously. Could this mean that these types of enchantments are less complex than the one we examined earli-"

I flicked his arm, interrupting Ferack's ramble. "Fascinating all the same, let's stay on track."

Ferack grunted but ceased his pondering. "Fine, let's get into the theoretics." He placed the blade down on the table, and shuffled through some papers as placed a couple in front of us.

"As far as I can tell," Ferack mumbled as he searched through the piles of paper, "Enchanted items – weapons in this case, are brimming with magickal power. A power completely separate from the wielder of said weapon." His hand brushed against the blade of woe. "I had hypothesized that the weapon's power was possibly related to the wielder, but that guess was immediately disproven when tested."

A hand brushed through the breton's long, brown hair. "I've never seen anything like it…it's almost like the weapon has a power of its own to draw from."

"Maybe because it might?" I said, "Is it not possible that whoever enchanted these weapons simply infused the weapon with their magicka?"

Ferack shook his head, "No, the magicka would have bleed from the weapon long ago." His eyes met mine, adopting a more lecturing tone as he talked. "Magicka isn't something that, how do I explain this to someone who doesn't understand," He mumbled, "…sticks to objects. Magicka is very free in nature, it cannot naturally remain in an inert state, we use specific spells for that but even in those cases it does not last for more than an hour."

"To imply that such a method is used in enchanting is not supported from the gathered evidence," He continued. "We have already agreed that the enchanting process involves the use of symbols, while possible that they could be entirely decorative it does not make sense why the two enchanted items we currently have both contain symbols, different ones at that."

"Besides, those spells I mentioned earlier are advanced spells in the illusionary field of Magicka, they're used to create soundproof barriers for meetings of significance, and like I said – the duration of time they're active is not long, certainly not as long as the knife, which I can guess has been in the Dark Brotherhoods Possession for a significant portion of time, and this sword – which you've had long enough to the point you forgot you had it." He shook his head, "Based on those reasons, I can say with high certainty that simply infusing an item with magicka cannot be the method used."

"What if it's not just magicka?" I asked, "You had mentioned earlier that magicka does not naturally allow itself to remain inert for a significant amount of time, but what about unnaturally?" I grabbed some of his papers, skimming the contents of some of his observations. "You mention here that the knife had a sort of magicka of its own, is it possible that enchanting requires a form of catalyst to act as a sort of – if we're alluding to your 'sticky' description form earlier – "adhesive" to the magicka used while also providing as kind of…storage, for that magickal power?"

Ferack paused, his eyes staring into nothing as I watched his lips move slightly, silently speaking as his mind whirred with possibilities.

Ferack stood up and grabbed some of his books, "Now that you mention it," he whispered absently, "I believe I remembered that one of these texts mentioned a gem that glowed with mystic power." He tore open the book, eyes blazing through words as pages flew, "I dismissed it as inane spiritualism, but perhaps that was more literal than metaphysical…"

I smiled, standing up. "I'll come by another time, Ferack. I've got a letter to write, and I must meet up with the Jarl's steward later to discuss some of the intricacies of the thane position."

The Breton waved me away, distracted as he poured through his gathered books and scrolls.

I left the man to find, hopefully, the answer to his little problem. The whole symbol thing threw me for a loop, but Ferack's mumblings about a mystic gem gave me confidence that soul gems at least exist in the world.

But it's clear from what we found that it won't be as easy as I thought, but that's alright. All we need is a bit of time, and maybe some more researchers to help the Breton out.

Whether or not he accepts that help remains unknown, the man is prideful; but does that pride extend to refusing a helping hand when presented? I'd like to think not, but you never know with those scholar types – especially at the threshold of their research.

I sighed as I went to my room and sat down at my desk, quillin hand as I dipped it into the ink bottle.

My pen touches paper.

Dear Viarmo…

(-)

As soon as I finished the letter I packed up and made my way to Falkreath, stopping by the local Courier guild building. After my hired messenger took off, I made my way immediately to the Jarl's longhouse.

As I walked inside, I was met with the hustle and bustle of several servants as they brisked around the building, carrying large stacks of paper and other assorted supplies. I looked around the organized chaos and spotted Nenya over at a stairway, handing several letters to the man as he pushed them into his courier satchel. I caught her attention, waving a greeting as she dismissed the courier. I walked up to her, my tall height forcing her to look up at me.

"Good morning, Thane Ragnar." Nenya greeted me respectfully.

"And to you as well, Nenya." I rumbled; my head turned down to greet the shorter woman. "I know it's been just a day, but I'd love to get these intricacies out of the way and not shelve it for too long."

The professional woman nodded, a tiny smile on her otherwise stoic face. "A pragmatic man, if only Thane Dengeir was the same. Come, follow me; it's far too hectic in the main hall, let's go somewhere a little quieter."

I followed her brisk pace, going through halls and passing by several doors until she ushered me into a quaint little study. Big enough to house three people if needed, a large desk with a lavish chair and several bookshelves, each filled to the brim with texts and scrolls.

I whistled, "Pretty spiffy place, I reckon this is yours?"

Nenya closed the door, "Yes, I use this room to go over the many duties I need to attend to. Far enough from the other…louder rooms for some much-needed peace and quiet." Her ears wiggled, "These aren't just for show you know, the main hall can get so noisy so quickly."

I sat down, "Why is it so hectic around the hall anyways?" I asked, "Every time I've been here it's been rather calm."

Nenya laughed lightly as she sat down in the seat across from me. "Ah, well we're getting preparations ready for your public investiture."

"…my what?" I asked, bewildered.

"Your public coronation," she explained, "While the Jarl and the staff may know of your status as Thane, the rest of the province is unaware. As such, whenever a new one is made, we have a public ceremony. It builds relations between the Thane in question and the citizens, and we send out missives to Helgen advertising it, allowing them to set aside time to come." She glanced at me, "Well, your reputation is already great with Falkreath's capital, but I doubt but a scant few of Helgen actually know who you are."

"When does this…ceremony happen?" I questioned.

"We're planning on this being one week from now, it gives everyone time to set aside the day or two needed and it gives you time in case you had any other responsibilities to attend to. If you're unavailable to come tell me now and I can-"

"I don't have any prior obligations, I'll be sure to attend."

Nenya nodded, "Good. Now, let's get onto the matter of what being a Thane means."

The altmer waved her hand and a scroll flew into her outstretched palm, unfurling it, she cleared her throat. "Now, let's go over the responsibilities and obligations that you have as a Thane of Falkreath, and some privileges that you are entitled to."

"As a Thane of Falkreath, you are expected to support and aid the acting Jarl of the hold. You may be subjected to handling quests, solving internal or external problems, or fulfilling requests on behalf of the Jarl or their court; the Steward, the Captain's Guard, and any other position that current or past Jarls have elected to join since the founding of these rules."

"You are expected to protect the hold," Neyna continued. "As Thane, you are expected to defend the Hold against internal or external threats. This may include participating in battles or assisting in the defense of enemies such as bandits, monsters, or other hostile forces."

"With these responsibilities comes multiple and prestigious liberties awarded onto the Thane. Thanes have the privilege of attending court sessions and participating in the decision-making process. They may have the opportunity to offer counsel, provide insights, or contribute to discussions in the Jarl's court."

"Thanes are gifted with a Housecarl, a personal loyal warrior who serves as their protector and companion. Housecarls are sworn to be loyal to their Jarl, assisting the Thane in combat, offering advice, or accompanying them on their adventures wherever that may take them." Her head turned back to me, "A housecarl may be offered by the hold, but if you already have someone in mind we will accept that as well."

She returned her attention to the scroll, "Thanes are granted the right to own property, such as a house or land, within the Hold. Thanes are not, however, exempt from taxes, and are afforded no tax breaks or other discounts. Should the Thane be found not paying taxes, they are briefly suspended from their position effective immediately until the sum total of their dodged taxes are paid in full."

She sighed, "There are some other things, but those are Dragonborn specific liberties and exemptions." She rolled her eyes, "Honestly, I don't know why the scribes put them in there, the Dragonborn is a myth. Why waste such time on frivolities."

If only you knew, Nenya.

Nenya refocused back on the scroll. "In accordance of ascension, should the current Jarl be incapacitated, rendered unfit to rule, or killed during their reign as Jarl, then the highest ranked Thane (in reference to the duration of their tenure as a Thane of Falkreath) shall temporarily take the mantle of Jarl until a Moot is held by the leaders of Skyrim, at which point a new Jarl may be selected." Nenya read. "If, at any point, there are no acting Thanes of Falkreath, the Steward or Captain of the Guard is expected to take the mantle of Jarl until a Moot is called."

She rolled the scroll back up, placing it back neatly into her bookshelf. "That's everything. If you have any questions, please ask them now, otherwise, I need to get back to my duties."

I stood up from my chair, "No I understood everything, no questions needed on my end." I held out my hand, gently hauling her up when she grasped mine.

Nenya practically beamed "Fantastic! Now, let's get you on your way."

Nenya led me back out and waved me goodbye as I exited the building. I settled into a slow pace as my mind whirred.

So, being a Thane in this world had actual responsibilities. I had suspected as such, but it's good to get confirmation on that.

And I need to get rid of Dengeir, the old fossil would be the one to inherit the position if I just killed Siddgeir, he'll need to be taken care of first.

But I must be careful, my ascension to Jarl will take time. I can't act too quickly, or some paranoid folks might connect the dots.

I'm in no rush, things are proceeding smoothly, I can wait a month or two before really kicking things off. I smirked, things are really starting to kick off~

(-)

"…Isobel?"

"Yes Champion Ragnar?"

I spread my hands out at the assembled werebeasts, exasperated. "When the hell did we get five more werewolves?"

"We? My, my, Ragnar, Nord knows what to say~" Isobel teased.

I held down my shudder, "Oi, don't change the subject!"

"Naughty, naughty men of night try to leave, yes yes. But Isobel fix it!" Isobel cackled, "More pets too feed, yes? More beasts of Pack for champion! Isobel do good."

I held my palms out in front of me, taking a deep, calming breath.

Isobel high fived me.

My brow twitched but I suppressed it in favor of patting her shoulder.

She leaned into my touch, practically preening at my silent praise.

I sighed, "Well, I can't say it's a bad thing, but do I need to show them who's boss like I had to with my first two?"

Isobel's smile shifted a tad on the sadistic side, "No."

I raised an eyebrow, turning to the now cowering werewolves.

"…I'll take your word for it."

(Next day, Solitude)

Viarmo started his day off like usual, waking up at the ungodly hour of 8am to ensure the beginning classes were running smoothly, check in with the coin counters to ensure their budget was set, go over courses with the teachers board, and plan for future practical exams and projects while he listened to the wondrous music from his senior classes.

The altmer shuddered, he always hated the afternoon, his freshman – while enthusiastic! Were bad.

His morning routine was interrupted as the college's steward knocked on his door, delivering a letter addressed to him personally, along with a hefty bag of coin.

He glanced out his window, the sun rising in the morning sky. He should have around 10 or so minutes he supposed, it couldn't hurt to take a read.

He grabbed a small letter opener and folded open the letter, quietly admiring the quality of the penmanship.

Dear Viarmo,

Greetings, my name is Ragnar, and I am a humble owner of a mine that operates in the mountains just west of Falkreath Capital. I write to you on this day to hire a bard to play music for my men. I have in my possession a beautiful lyre that I was gifted by a dear friend, but neither I nor my workers possess the talent necessary to play it. And that's when I remembered the Bard's college!

I am offering to purchase the services of a college attendee or graduate that is an expert with the Lyre – I will accept no less skill than that! I am willing to pay handsomely, as I'm sure my donation to the college can attest to. Please be sure to send someone to the Dead-man's Drink Inn in Falkreath asking for my name if you choose to accept, one of my workers will be waiting there for a week to escort the fine musician to my mining facility. I offer said musician a hefty sign on bonus and pay, accommodations and free amenities such as food, water, and facilities.

Regards,
Ragnar.

'Generous indeed,' Viarmo thought to himself as he hefted the coin pouch in his hands, taking out a glimmering silver septim. 'By the weight of it I can feel hundreds in here.'

Hmm…okay, why not? Viarmo leaned back in his chair, the annual Senior Journey was just around the corner, it wouldn't be the first time a college student got the opportunity for a career just as it began.

Though that was mostly reserved for their more prestigious students. Then again, when you come from big money you often make big money.

Viarmo pulled out the senior register. From the numerous names listed, only a select few fit the criteria of being at least an expert in the Lynn

'Who to choose…Astrid is a masterful player, but would never accept working in a mine, too dirty for the expensive tastes of that girl. Sadia? It could work, but her attitude needs a tad bit more adjusting before we send her off into the world…oh? There we go, found her…'

Viarmo placed the student list back on his desk and saw his steward just down the hall.

"Aia? Can you grab Lisette from Igne's class? I have something I need to discuss with her."

Name: Ragnar

Race: Nord

Level: 23

EXP: 730/ 1,200

Health: 300 Magicka: 510 Stamina: 300

STR: 20 (27)

INT: 40 (51)

END: 24 (30)

DEX: 24 (30)

SP: 0

PP: 1

Land Controlled:

Falkreath (›) [14]

[+7 STR, +6 END, +11 INT, +6 DEX]

People under your leadership: [150]

Happy: 67

Neutral: 53

Unhappy: 30

Why hello my seggsy viewers, sorry for such a long wait but I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Things will start picking up soon, so I hope you're ready :)

For those who care, have a link to an author's discord I'm very active in, https/ /: discord . gg / wd3tU YWVCd – just remove the spaces.