Sarydos pulls his blade from the Frostbite spider and wipes it clean before sheathing it, he turns his gaze forward towards the road ahead, he has almost made it to Solitude and it's not much further now. The day is still young and the sun is still high in the sky, the light not the heat bears down on the land below, Haafingar, like most of skyrim is quite cold. The winds of the north blow through the entire country chilling the inhabitants to the bone. Sarydos passed the carriage then the outer gate, as he approached the main gate the guard spoke to him.

"You're just in time to that traitor Roggvir off."

At this Sarydos gave no reply, simply ignoring the the man, after what had happened in Markarth he didn't very much trust guards or Nords for that matter, in fact, the longer he stayed in Skyrim the more he distrusted them. The way they treated his people in Windhelm, The way they treated the Reachmen in Markarth, just their attitude in general was enough to warrant his disdain. He pushed his way through the gates, as he entered the city his attention was drawn to the right of him. The townsfolk all gathered as if to watch a performance, as he drew near Sarydos realized why everyone had gathered, they were there for an execution. Sarydos could hear the townsfolk speaking amongst each other.

"They can't hurt uncle Roggvir. Tell them he didn't do it." A little girl pleaded to her father.

"Positions." called out the guardsmen heading the execution.

"Svari, you need to go home." The girls father says "Go home and stay there until your mother comes." The little girl runs off passing by a woman on her way to watch the execution.

"You should tell her that her uncle is scum that betrayed his High King. Best she know now, Addvar." The woman says holding disgust in her voice.

"You're all heart, Vivienne." The girl's father says shaking his head and the execution proceeds.

"Roggvir. You helped Ulfric Stormcloak escape this city after he murdered High King Torygg. By opening that gate for Ulfric you betrayed the people of Solitude."

"Traitor!"

"He doesn't deserve to speak!"

"There was no murder!" The man being executed cries out "Ulfric challenged Torygg. He beat the High King in fair combat." The crowd is not pleased by his words.

"Liar!"

"Such as our way! Such as the ancient custom of Skyrim, and all Nords!" He proclaims proudly.

Sarydos had heard the name Ulfric before and to him it was a name belonging to a racist coward, it was probably the same Ulfric, but as much as he despised Ulfric he could not understand why this man was being executed over what seemed to be something so petty. The crowd still gave the man no love.

"Booooo."

"Booooo."

"Cut em down!"

"Booooo." They cried over and over again releasing their hatred on the man.

"Guard. Prepare the prisoner."

"I don't need your help." Roggvir snarls

"Very well, Roggvir. Bow your head."

"On this day... I go to Sovngarde." are his last words as the headsman's axe is brought down upon his neck severing his head sending it rolling across the stone.

Sarydos sighs and continues on his way to the blue palace, It's ridiculous how much the people of Solitude enjoyed that execution, he aspect concerning Sarydos was not death or the act of taking the life of another, for he had taken many lives in his occupation, but rather it was the manner in which the life was taken. In battle one takes the life of another in fair combat and the victor's skill is needed in order to do so but an execution, a man stripped of his weapons and armor and bound so that he has no chance to fight back. An execution is not a show of skill and it is not won honorably, an execution has only one purpose: to send a message. Executions are used to assert power or authority and sometimes to spread fear, Executions are a show of dominance over the one being executed, Sarydos would not be surprised if Executions fell under the sphere of Molag Bal. When Sarydos reached the Blue Palace he was treated to yet another display of Solitude's politics, A man from a nearby village stood before the Jarl's court.

"I swear to you, unnatural magics are coming from that cave! There are strange noises and lights! We need someone to investigate!" The man sounds nervous and desperate, The Jarl herself replies to his plead.

"Then we will immediately send out a legion to scour the cave and secure the town. Haafingar's people will always be safe under my rule."

"Th...thank you, my Jarl thank you." he stutters surprised yet pleased by her answer at this moment a woman who Sarydos concludes is the court wizard decides to cut into the conversation.

"Your eminence, my scrying has suggested nothing in the area. Dragon Bridge is under imperial control. This is likely superstitious nonsense." She says snobbishly, Sarydos' first impression of Solitude's court mage….. She's a bitch, he rolls his eyes at her arrogance.

"Perhaps a more... tempered reaction... might be called for?" A well-dressed Nrod man with a red beard states to ease the tension of the room, He must be Falk Firebeard.

"Oh. Yes, of course you are right. Falk, tell Captain Aldis I said to assign a few extra soldiers to Dragon Bridge."

Thank you, Jarl Elisif. But about the cave..." the man says.

"I will have someone take care of the cave as well Varnius, you can rest easy. You're dismissed."

Sarydos waits until the man has left and the court returns to it's standard daily activities before approaching the Jarl's steward about the bounty. He walks up to Falk Firebeard attracting a few stares carefully keeping distance from the arrogant court wizard in the process.

"Do you have business with the court" Firebeard asks regarding the foreign visitor with a little suspicion. Sarydos hands him the note.

"I came to see you about this." He says, Falk Firebeard unfolds the the bounty looking it over quickly, he then folds it back up and sighs lowering his head.

"I see…" He sighs with a hint of sadness in his voice. " I should've known you'd be here for this…"

"Is there something wrong?"

"This Necromancer…. he's been a problem for a long time….."

"All the more reason to be rid of him."

"Aye."

"Do you know where he is?"

"Yes."

"Where?"

"He's made his home in Shadowgreen Cavern along the coast, but please… I urge you not to go looking for him…"

"Why not?" Sarydos asks confused, Falk sighs and lowers his head.

"I've sent sent so many on this hopeless errand and none have ever returned… The Necromancer….. Calnaro… he is powerful and he is ruthless… I don't want to send another person to his death….."

"I understand your reasoning but this decision is mine, you can't stop me from going. I am in need of the reward and besides how would the Jarl feel if she knew you were preventing the problem from being resolved." At this Falk firebeard had nothing to say he simply sighed in response.

"There is a way you can help, though." Sarydos continued and Falk lifted up his head "Just tell me whatever you can about this Necromancer, you may know something that could help me defeat him."

"Alright." Falk says hoping his information will help keep Sarydos alive. "Calnaro is an Altmer necromancer who is very skilled in Conjuration, Alteration, Illusion, Restoration, and Destruction magic, our reports say that he may have served the Aldmeri Dominion during the Great War but was relieved of duty when his Necromantic activities were exposed."

"What exactly did he do to be thrown out of their army?"

"There are rumors that he experimented and performed Daedric rituals on Aldmeri recruits serving under him…"

Sarydos was surprised at this, the Aldmeri Dominion was a dark force itself and they often participated in shady underhanded activities that the average citizen would be disgusted by but even they condemned Calnaro's actions.

"Calnaro has killed many people who have come to kill him: Guards, Soldiers, Bounty Hunters, Adventures, Thalmor Justiciars, and even Dark Brotherhood Assassins…. none have succeeded in defeating him…"

At this, Sarydos was taken aback, He was beginning to see why Falk Firebeard didn't want to send him, Calnaro will prove to be the difficult challenge Sarydos has ever faced and will require some preparations. Knowing all he needed to know, Sarydos left the blue palace and decided to visit the the city's shops. He stopped by the Apothecary and picked up a few choice potions:

6 Healing Potions

4 potions of Magika

5 potions of Stamina

1 Paralysis poison

Next Sarydos headed up the stone pathway to the local Blacksmith, he figures that a sharpened blade could help improve his chances of surviving.

"I've got weapons for givin', and armor for gettin'" the Blacksmith shouts aloud trying to bring in the customers over to his forge, Sarydos approaches the Blacksmith.

"What can I do for you, friend?" The blacksmith says while tanning some leather.

"I need a sharpening for my blade, do you know how to sharpen enchanted an enchanted blade?" He asks.

"Of course I do!" he says happily "Let's take a look."

Saydos unsheathes his blade and hands it over to the blacksmith.

"A glass blade, hmm?" he says while examining it. "Of Elven make." after a moment he finally says "I think I've got the material to sharpen this blade." after another moment of searching the blacksmith returns with a malachite ingot and begins work at the grindstone and after a short time of careful labor the blacksmith returned with the blade having sharpened it to a fine sharpness. And Sarydos set out for Shadowgreen Cavern for his confrontation with the Necromancer Calnaro.

Author's Note: This story has taken longer than I thought it would to complete but things keep popping up but fear not the story has nearly concluded, there will only one or two chapters after this.