Heyyy everyone! Finals concluded and I'm officially on summer break! Uploads should be a little better from before, but of course when I get a job that'll put a damper on chapter releases, but I'm really looking forward to having the time to write again!
Beta'd by: Immortal Spank, Old man of the mountain/Darklord331
'Okay,' I thought as every assassin in The Dark Brotherhood pounced on me, 'Maybe throwing their boss's head on the floor while surrounded by seasoned assassins wasn't my best idea.'
The closest assassin: Nazir, had drawn his Scimitar immediately and slashed at me with it the second his brain caught up with the situation. I had dodged the swing, but that had been enough time for everyone to shake themselves off from the shock. With clear minds, all the nameless mooks (I think, hard to see with so many bodies blocking my vision) that had disregarded me earlier were literally dogs piled on top of me with knives drawn, all aimed to stab me in places that I would rather not be stabbed at.
Every piece of media had gotten these group fights so wrong. There wasn't any spectacle, no dramatic martial arts, or clashing of swords. It was fast, ugly, and dirty.
I grit my teeth as I tumble onto the ground from the weight of so many people. With my back to the ground, I made a split-second decision and partially transformed my arms into my werebears, the knives of the assassins that were aiming to kill me instead sunk into my enlarged arms. I growled in pain, but I was able to ignore it. Keeping one arm guarded in front of me, I placed the other onto the ground and started to push myself against the weight of so many people, fully transforming as I managed to get onto one knee.
With my surging power, I managed to shove what I estimated to be fifteen people off me. A feral grin tugged at my black bear lips as the assassins took steps backward, their weapons were drawn but now in a defensive stance.
I didn't allow them the chance to regroup; I quickly charged at the cluster of assassins, swiping at them with my sharp claws, meeting steel and flesh as they raked across my enemies. Those that managed to block my assault lived, those unfortunate enough to fail met their end swiftly. The remaining assassins leaped back, unwilling to get close to me in fear of getting sliced open by my razor-like claws.
I reveled in their fear, their unwillingness to fight me head on. It was almost tantalizing to see their legs shake just the slightest; the only visual cue of fear I'd ever see from seasoned killers.
However, I did need to finish this quickly. If I didn't, I risked some of them getting away. And if they got away, they could always regroup and pose a potential threat in the future. I took a big breath, tiny wisps of purple fog dancing around my fangs as I gathered my magicka.
"RRRAAAAHHHHHH!" I immediately registered the bestial sound from behind me and knew exactly who it was; Arnbjorn, who I now had to deal with immediately before he could do some serious damage to me.
I released the gathered air and magicka and casted the skill that Nocturnal gifted to me. Purple and blue fog exploded out from my mouth, filling the entirety of the room with it. My own vision was tinged with a hue of lavender, but otherwise I could see quite clearly, but I could tell the skill was working as I could see the panicked body language of the assassins around me.
I ignored those closest to me, they weren't a threat. I turned around, spotting Arnbjorn looking around, his murderous expression made me shiver slightly as we locked eyes (not that he could see). I growled, placing my paws on the ground and ran towards him. My weight, speed, and power effectively turned me into a battering ram as I charged right into him: knocking him to the ground as I trampled over him. With reflexes that beguiled my size, I turned around on a dime and slammed my front paws onto the beast's chest.
However, something like that wasn't enough to keep him down for long. Despite my superior strength, Arnbjorn has been a werebeast far longer than I have. With gritted teeth, Arnbjorn seized my arms and forced me off of him. Without anything restraining him, he quickly got up and wrapped his arms around me in a manner like a choke hold.
Sufficiently secured around me, he leaned back with all his weight, taking us both down to the ground but now my throat was being constricted by his massive forearms. I struggled angrily, my feet kicking up and down to try and loosen his grip from pain.
The fierce grip he had on his choke hold started to wane. With a renewed sense of urgency, I wailed on Arnbjorn; kicking and punching wherever I could reach. With each hit, his grip loosened just a tad, until finally I was able to move my neck just enough to viciously bite his arm.
Roaring in pain, Arnbjorn ceased his choke hold and slashed my head with his free hand, but I didn't care so long my windpipe was free. Growling in anger, I tossed my head around, his arm still captured by my teeth – which tore into his muscles and caused a bloody mess.
I had to end this quickly, we were causing too much noise and I could already see some of the nameless assassins starting to close in on us.
I let go of his arm suddenly, flinging him slightly in the opposite direction of the assassins closing in on us. Without a moment to spare, I charged up and slammed Astrid's husband to the ground.
I growled and reared back, standing on my hind paws, and at the apex of my height I slammed back down again, the force of my attack dealing massive damage to Arnbjorn's chest – enough where I felt ribs crack under my paws.
My furry ears twitched at the pained gasps the beast under me took. A small amount of pity filled my blood craved heart, and with a mercy I didn't know my bestial form could possess, I killed him as quickly as I could. Eating the beast's heart so that he could join Astrid in the Hunting grounds. Or the void; whoever got their souls between Sithis or Hircine.
With the biggest threat taken care of, I returned my attention to the assassins who were bumbling around in my fog. A savage grin stretched across my bloody bestial face as I watched them had become increasingly panicked from the sounds of me tearing open Arnbjorn's chest and eating his heart.
'Babette, Nazir, Gabriella, Veezara, and Festus. The remaining five Dark Brotherhood members from the games.' I thought as my eyes swept across the main foyer. 'Three are accounted for, but Gabriella and Festus are still missing. Either they're further into the base or both currently out on missions.'
I really hope they're here; I'd love to get all this shit sorted out immediately with everyone now.
I blew out another blast of my Evergloam Fog, filling the room again as I got back down on all fours. I bounded forward, trampling anyone unfortunate enough that was in my path as my massive body crashed through the random assassins.
I managed to barrel through Nazir and Veezara too, knocking them both to the ground. Nazir unfortunately hit his head against an upturned rock, knocking him out almost immediately. Either that or he was dead. Veezara though managed to get back up; his Argonian physique providing an unseen boon as his tough scales and leathery skin absorbed most of the impact.
With a shout, Veezara slashed out wildly with his curved serrated daggers into the fog. I was well out of his range, so I was unharmed.
The same could not be said about his ally, who committed the grave sin of standing too close to his ally. Veezaras daggers shredded through the man's abdomen, killing him instantly either from injury or shock.
I transformed back into my human form and quickly brought out my axe and shield. With soundless steps I rushed in behind Veezara and swung the back of my axe full force onto the back of his head. A loud crack echoed out as the Argonian crumpled to the ground. I didn't have time to check if he was alive as I saw Babette as a bat trying to flee.
She didn't get very far.
Even as a vampire bat, no one that was my enemy could see far into the mist. She had no idea where she was going, so it was easy to beat her to the entrance. As soon as she got in range, I jumped high into the air and grabbed her with both hands, my fingers restraining her bat wings as we fell back to the ground.
"Hello there," I grinned.
Babette transformed into a human, momentarily breaking my grip, but I managed to restrain her in a bear hug.
Heh.
"What did I tell you before, hm?" I grunted as she struggled frantically in my grip.
"I told Astrid to leave you alone, I swear!" She cried out, her panicked voice alerting the other assassins to my location.
I transformed one of my arms back into its bestial state, with one claw threatening to slit Babette's throat open, I deactivated my Fog of Evergloam. The fog seemed to slowly dissipate, slowly revealing my location to everyone in the cave, but revealing that I had a hostage. Some of the assassins tried to move, but a quick press of my razor-sharp claw into Babette's throat ceased their movements.
"Anyone still wants to fight, well?!" I challenged, my eyes roamed the room, meeting as many eyes as I could. No one moved, however, either afraid of what would happen to Babette or what would happen to them once I got my hands on them. The reasoning didn't matter, it was clear that the ones still remaining wouldn't make a move.
"Good," I practically purred. "I wouldn't want to kill all of you for something so ridiculous as ignoring my warnings a second time." My amused smile died a slow death, replaced by an angry snarl. "I warned you idiots to leave me alone, and what did you do?!" I gestured wildly to Astrid's head. "Your troglodyte of a leader decided to try and kill me in the dead of night, but we can all see how that turned out. Don't we?!"
An uncomfortable silence permeated throughout the base.
I turned my full attention to the terrified ancient vampire I had currently in my grasp. "It's absolutely ridiculous, I literally said we'd be cool if I was left alone, what part of that screams 'let's kill him now!'" I snorted, "Honestly if I would have left you shit heads alone, I had plans that could have used your assistance. Instead, I had to come and clean up a mess that shouldn't have been created in the first place."
Now, how to convince them to saddle up with me? I could do it by force, but I'd love to not have to watch out for them running away the second my back is turned…or worse, kill as many of my current followers as they could before I slaughter them.
An irritated huff of air escaped my nose, "Here's what's going to happen: You all," I gestured to the people gathered around me, "are going to unconditionally surrender yourselves to me. I don't care if you still follow Sithis or whatever deity you fondle your balls to, but you all work for me now. If you don't…" I made sure to meet everyone's eyes as I finished, "Well, don't say I didn't try giving you a choice."
I released Babette from my grasp. The suddenness of the action didn't leave her time to catch herself, so she ended up stumbling a bit away from me. I stood tall, imposing, and raised an eyebrow at her as she turned around to look at me, daring her to try something.
She didn't.
When one of the big figures of their little club surrendered to my demand, the others fell in line quickly, dropping knives and other assorted weapons to the ground. They weren't happy by any means, gods no; their furious glares of promised murder told me as much. But, Babette knew exactly what I was threatening. Even if these randos didn't, the fact that she wasn't doing anything must've been enough to quell any ridiculous notions of resisting me.
You have killed 2 people! 10 people were killed indirectly because of your skill! You have subjugated 30 people!
+1 LV Werebear Transformation (2/5)
Werebear Transformation (2/5): The user can transform into a werebear. STR and END x2.5, DEX x0.85 for 1 hour. Time extends if the user eats the heart of enemies. If user is transformed for longer than 2 hours, they can succumb to bestial urges and stay transformed until the next day. (This effect is nullified if the user has Hircine's Ring equipped).
+Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary added to Territory List (+1 STR, + 3 DEX)
+1450XP
You have leveled up! +2 SP! +1 PP!
Add those stat points into my END stat.
Profile Updated!
I smirked, "Glad to see you all are so…amicable, to these new arrangements." My smile dropped, "On a more serious note, I can tell many of you aren't in the best of shape." I rummaged around in my bag, drawing upon my inventory and bringing out the small stash of healing potions I had. "I don't have many of these, so let's make sure we prioritize the heavily injured. The rest of you will just have to wait until we get back to my base."
Orders given; I had my new lackeys gather everyone that needed immediate alchemical attention. I had to use every last drop of the potions I had, but now that everyone was in stable enough condition to move we could get the hell out of here.
I'll come back to get the loot later, right now it's more important that I get these people situated with how I run things and assign them to the appropriate stations. I'm sure Morbrukk could use some trained assassins, right?
Yeah, that sounds like a great plan!
I paused as my ears twitched, my brows furrowed in concentration as I glanced at the road to Falkreath. That sounds almost like armored footsteps…
My eyes widened as a small bead of orange danced in the distance.
"Shit!" I hissed, "Falkreath guards!" I twisted around frantically, "Get out of here!"
Babette gingerly raised her voice, "Where do we go…?"
I bit my lip nervously, do I risk them staying by themselves, in the company of my men without my supervision to make sure nothing goes wrong? Or do I place my trust in my men to take care of themselves…
"Head west of here, you'll see a large old Nordic ruin stationed on the edge of the mountain that separates Skyrim and Hammerfell, that's the space where my men and I are occupying. Speak to an ork called Gavnuk, tell them I sent you all, if not him then ask for Isobel, she'll know what's going on." I waved my hands, "Now, git!" I hissed, shooing them away.
The assembled former Dark Brotherhood members practically disappeared into the night, the small pitter-patter of footsteps heading west was starting to get fainter and fainter just as a patrol of around five or so guards rounded the corner. The sight of my blood covered body just in front of an ominous black door must've sprung them into action because they all hustled down the hill towards me.
"Sir!" One of them called out, "Are you injured at all?"
I shook my head, "No, none of the blood on me is mine." I grimaced at the small cuts on my arms, "though that's not to say I'm completely uninjured."
They all clamored to a stop in front of me, "Do you need any assistance with the injuries? We could send one of us to fetch an alchemist?" Three of the guards spread out, taking out scrolls and charcoal sticks as they started to inspect the area around me. Leaving me to talk with who I assume was the captain and vice-captain of this little group of five.
"I'm fine, thank you though."
One of the guards walked closer to the black door, as if inspecting it, "What a creepy looking door…"
"If I may," I interjected, "How'd you guys know I was here?"
The Vice-captain (I assume) stood a little taller, his voice crisp and dry as he answered my question. "We were just about to begin our usual night patrol when we managed to catch sight of an odd purple smoke rising into the air in the area. We came over as soon as we gathered supplies in case people needed help."
"Speaking of which," The captain interjected, "What exactly happened here?"
I mentally sighed, "I came across a Dark Brotherhood base," I raised my hand at the guards' alarmed expressions and hastily opened mouths, "They're no longer an issue here. Thankfully, the base wasn't heavily populated, twelve people at most from what I remember, so I was able to beat them by myself."
The captain peered into my eyes, "We'll be taking a look inside to corroborate what you've told us. But…" He reached up and placed an armored hand on my shoulder, squeezing slightly as he continued "If what you say is true, you've done Falkreath a service greater than you could imagine."
He retracted his hand and turned to address his men. "Alright guys, we're sweeping the place! The structure is believed to be vacant, but I want weapons drawn and ready! We can't be certain that there aren't any stragglers; be it human or beast. Except you Erik," He pointed to one guard, "You go back to the barracks and round up some more men, we could use the backup in case any stragglers are left." He paused, "On that note, inform Jarl Siddgeir after, he'll need to be aware of what's going on when we get back.
"Yes Sir!" They all chorused. Two of the assembled guards stood behind the Vice-Captain, weapons drawn as they ventured into the former Brotherhood Sanctuary. The one who was supposed to go back to Falkreath, Erik, walked up to me.
"Can I get your name, sir?" His gentle, young voice asked me, "I'll need it in my report for the Jarl."
"Ragnar, no last name if that's of any importance."
His eyes widened in recognition, "Aren't you the one who freed those people from that mine?"
I inwardly smirked, good. My reputation already precedes me in Falkreath, things are going nicely~
I grinned, "You heard of me?"
"My mother won't stop talking about it," he said with a twinge of embarrassment, "She was a part of that group ya know? I didn't even realize she was in danger; I just thought her usual trip to Whiterun was taking a bit longer than usual." He clenched his fist angrily, "I didn't even know…"
"Well, she's safe now, isn't she?" I patted him on the shoulder, attempting to ease his worries, "And those guys aren't going to be a problem anymore. But if you're still worried about her, I'm sure you could go with her to Whiterun."
The young man sighed, "I guess you got a point. Still, I can't just take that much time off my job." He shook his head, "I need to get to Falkreath immediately, but thank you, Ragnar, for saving the lives of the citizens and my mother."
"It was nothing," I brushed off, "Just doing what anyone would have."
Erik smiled and left, hurriedly running back to Falkreath to gather more guards and share his report, leaving me alone with the captain of the little squad that happened upon me.
"Hm, you're rather humble for an adventurer." The captain remarked.
"I'm no adventurer sir," I chuckled. "But what do you mean by that?"
"You're not?" The captain asked in disbelief, "How the hell did you manage to deal with the Dark Brotherhood?"
"I'm simply built different."
The guard stared at me. "I'm not even going to pretend I know what you mean by that."
I grinned.
"…Anyways," The guard drawled, "usually adventurers are pretty…full of themselves - the accomplished ones, anyways. To do something like taking out a Dark Brotherhood base by yourself is something that highly accomplished adventurers could do, but those people are hard to come by. It shouldn't be surprising that with that pedigree of strength comes a hefty amount of arrogance – earned or not."
"I'm surprised I haven't run into any," I mused.
"Really? I'm not," The guard snorted. "I may be a proud Falkreath Native, but even I can say readily that the hold isn't exactly an exciting place." He shook his armored head, "You'd be hard pressed to find an adventurer in a hold that has little to no tombs and whatnot to explore." The captain shrugged, "That's a good thing to me though, thank Kynareth that we don't have to deal with those Falmer creatures."
"Yeah, you're right." I nodded, "Sorry to cut this short, but am I needed here? I'm covered in blood and grim and I'd love to get it off."
'And to make sure none of my followers have died, but he doesn't need to know that.'
"I wish I could let you go, Ragnar, really." The guard apologized, "But we're going to need to bring you back to Falkreath to go over what happened to the Jarl." The squad captain glanced at the black door, "What happened here is too significant to just write down in a report, a firsthand account of what happened is important."
Aedra damn it.
The guard chuckled, "I promise once we're done inspecting the area, we'll go straight to the barracks and get you cleaned up." He grinned and slapped my shoulder, "We're pretty much experts at cleaning up bloody armor."
'The things I do to uphold my reputation,' I lamented as I resolved to let everything play out. 'I just hope everything is fine at the base.'
(Babette)
It didn't take long to reach the building that Ragnar had spoken of, but it was fairly late at night so it was no surprise that most of the fortress was asleep. But he hadn't exactly given a description of who Gavnuk was, so she and the rest of her former guild just stood around in the courtyard awkwardly, wondering what to do.
One of the initiates broke the silence, "Do we really plan on staying here Babette?"
She glanced up at the hooded man, "What would you suggest we do otherwise, initiate?"
A different member spoke up, "We could just leave, Ma'am."
She raised an eyebrow, "And go where, exactly? We don't have another sanctuary in Skyrim to my knowledge. There'd be no safer place than that."
"It's better than being forced to work for that blasted Nord!" The first man hissed.
"He's got a point…" another member mumbled.
Another scoffed, "That man knew exactly how to get into the building, and Madam Babette seemed frightened at the man. I get the feeling that no matter where we went we'd come to regret it."
She glared at the man who dared to imply that she was scared at some belligerent Nord. She wasn't! Not in a hundred years would she be scared of Ragnar, she was simply highly cautious around him.
Yeah, that was it!
"Even if we wanted to leave," Babette drawled, "we have a great number of injured amongst us. It was already a chore to carry everyone in a dead sprint here, at least if we stay, we're guaranteed some medical assistance. What could we do for them if we just ran?"
The two outspoken members shared a look and then nodded. The first man turned back to address her, "Fine, stay here and look after the deadweight." He turned back around to the assembled guild members and spoke loudly, "Unlike our cowardly leader, I'm not fine with following the orders of some random nobody, so I'll be leaving right now. Whoever agrees, follow me."
The man started to walk away, and a small number of the assembled assassins started to follow him as well, leaving her, Nazir, and Veezara with the wounded and a few of the able bodied behind.
A piercing cackle interrupted the otherwise dead silent night, startling most of her former guild members from the abruptness. All of our heads shot up to the mountain that the old Nordic fort resided against, and we noticed a dark figure walking down the shadowed mountain. The sound of bare feet slapping against the ground echoed out as a heavy breathing increased in volume the closer the mysterious figure.
"Such much humans! Champion Ragnar won against assassin people then, yes? Wonderous moment yes yes…" said a raspy, ugly voice.
The men who were attempting to leave turned to sprint into the night, but all were knocked down. Babette closed her eyes briefly in remembrance as she heard the familiar sound of bestial grunts, and the struggles of someone trying to get out of their hold.
So, whoever was speaking could also control Ragnar's werewolves then?
"Naughty naughty little men," The voice reprimanded, "Beaten you are, stay you must."
"Fuck you!" The man bit out, spitting on the ground in defiance.
A ball of fire appeared in the darkness of the night, illuminating the face of the mysterious figure – who revealed herself to be a Hagraven.
"Spirit this one has!" The creature barked a disgusting, excited laugh, "Great great indeed!" The avian woman tilted her head at all the men captured by the werewolves, "Isobel wonders what beasts you all would make, hm?"
The small swell of pity that swelled in her gut was squashed ruthlessly, these men decided to jump the gun and not wait for the right moment, and now they were paying the price.
Besides, they implied she feared Ragnar. How absurd! She was not scared of anyone.
They deserved everything that came to them.
"Ah, small girl Isobel knows!" The hagraven gleefully spoke, "young vampire in charge of group now, yes?"
Babette glanced at the unconscious Nazir and Veezara, "I guess I am."
Isobel motioned to her still standing - but terrified -members, "running bad. Stay here, otherwise it's beast time for all people who try."
Babette sweated, "Of course lady Isobel, wouldn't dream of it!" She turned her head to the guild members, "Right guys?" She asked loudly.
They all nodded their heads quickly.
The monster cackled, "Good good! Night is now, go find sleep in building. New rooms added by Orc called Gavnuk, Champion Ragnar show up and decide what to do."
Isobel looked at the captured men, and smiled. "Can not wait for Champion Ragnar to be at home, new pets training will be needed!"
The Hagraven cackled as Isobel had the two werebeasts drag her frantically struggling initiates into the dark mountain, leaving them alone in the darkness once more.
(Ragnar)
'Eh, I'm sure they'll be fine.'
(-)
It took around twenty minutes for the other guards to come and help sweep the place.
That was rather unfortunate for Festus. The old man was hidden away in one of the many bedrooms deeper inside, sleeping on one of the cots and was killed instantly via many sharp swords.
This meant Gabrielle was away during my assault on the sanctuary, I'll have to keep an eye out for when she gets back.
Regardless, after gathering the bodies and burning them, we trekked back to Falkreath where I was ushered into the guard's barracks for a quick cleaning for my armor and I.
Which amounted to me just scrubbing myself down with a wet rag, but it got the job done I suppose.
Gods I miss modern plumbing and showers.
I stood before Siddgeir lounging on his throne, the Captain of the Guards standing to his right, while Nenya stood silently on his left.
"Jarl Siddgeir," I didn't know what to say, so I just played it safe and addressed the man politely.
"It's good to see you…Ragnar, right?" Siddgeir hummed, "Let's get on with this little meeting, shall we?" He leaned forward just a bit, "I've been briefed on what happened by my guards and the report I've read, and I intend to reward you for this tremendous accomplishment, but I'd like to hear what happened straight from you, just to fill in any missing information that might have escaped the guards."
I nodded, "Alright, I can do that." Where to start…and what to leave out…
"I became aware of their presence when I became the target of their leader, Astrid," I began, "She attempted to kill me in the middle of the night, if not for my companion coming up to ask me something I would have been dead lying in my bed."
"A short battle later, we managed to defeat her. After disarming her, we decided to leave her tied up alone in a locked room." I let a smirk rest on my face, "We knew an assassin of her caliber could get out of a little rope binding, and she fell for it."
The guard captain smacked his fist into his palm in realization, a small gasp of understanding escaping his lips. "She was baited into escaping back to her hideout, giving you the opportunity to follow her and find out where they were hiding."
"Exactly."
The man frowned a tad, "Why choose to engage with them once you found their location? Why not come to us directly and report those findings?"
"With all due respect sir, I was just the target of an assassination and I just found the base of where they resided, I wasn't exactly in the most logical state of mind."
The man was going to speak out again but Siddgeir motioned for him to be quiet.
"And that's when you dealt with them?" Siddgeir questioned.
"Yes sir. Once I found their location I jumped the woman before she could get inside, killing her quickly. After that, I went inside and saw another twelve or so members inside." I laughed sheepishly, "I admit, going in and fighting them was definitely not the best course of action, but I did manage to kill them all so I'd think that's a win!"
The Jarl hummed, "And you're sure there were only twelve?"
My brow furrowed, "There was one that was in the back sound asleep, I guess it wouldn't be far fetched to assume some of them just weren't there at the time I attacked." The frown melted from my face quickly, "But now that we have the guardsmen patrolling I think that they're not going to try…whatever it was they aimed to do!"
'There. Just enough truth to sprinkle on top a mountain of bullshit, that should make it fairly believable. Damn I'm good at this' I mentally praised myself.
"Hmm," Siddgeir began, a tired hum played from his throat, "it seems we have much to thank you for, Ragnar." A tiny smile played on the Jarl's lips, but it was empty. The kind of expression one would make when they need to be polite, "Not only for your contributions to the Falkreath populace, and freeing those civilians from those bandits, but also rooting out a very dangerous rot from our soil." The man sneered, "To think the Dark Brotherhood was meddling around right under our noses, it sickens me to think of what they have accomplished while we sat here, blind to their schemes!"
He sighed, "But thanks to your efforts, that problem has been uprooted and burned. Hopefully, we'll never have to deal with them again. But I will now be dedicating a small number of my guards to patrolling the sighted area of their base, in hopes of preventing any living members of that blasted organization from reclaiming their lost base."
Siddgeir paused to let that statement hang in the air, I had no idea who it was for though; it was just the four of us assembled in his hall.
'I guess the man likes his gravitas…' I mused.
"However, let it not be perceived that Falkreath is ungrateful for this massive contribution to its continued wellbeing. For this truly monumental gift you have bestowed upon us, along with your other various contributions around the hold, it is only right that we bestow upon you the highest reward we could possibly give."
Siddgeir nodded to Nenya. The elvish woman stepped forward, holding out a scroll tied with a red ribbon. I muttered a quiet "thank you," as I took the parchment.
"Ragnar," Siddgeir's voice boomed, "For your deeds for the hold of Falkreath, it is my right as Jarl that I bestow upon you the title of Thane and all the privileges that come with it. Furthermore, given the significance of rooting out that guild of assassins, you have been awarded with the deed of the land you have currently been using for your mining operations." The Jarl smiled, "It is our honor to welcome you to our lands, Ragnar."
"The honor is mine, Jarl Siddgeir," I rumbled, "Thank you for this gift, my Jarl."
"Now that the pleasantries are out of the way," Siddgeir intoned, "Let's go over some of your new responsibilities as a thane and landowner in Falkreath." At that moment, Nenya produced even more documents, piling them into my arms. "As a Thane, you now have the privilege of having your voice heard during hold meetings." His gaze hardened, "This does not mean you get to vote on policies, this means you have the opportunity to talk to me directly about issues or concerns you have, but it does not guarantee a response from me."
A pause, before he continued. "Furthermore, as Thane you will have discounts at a variety of locations, but that isn't a privilege you inherit, it's very much up to the store owner to decide this. If I catch word of you abusing your position then you will be detained."
He sighed, "There's some other duties and privileges we can go over when they become relevant, like succession of land, or accession in title, but in summation; you're effectively an advisor for me." He clapped his hands, "Now, as a landowner you are required to pay tax to the tenant. However, with a mining business like your own there's a way you can pay tax without giving us septims. You simply need to give us the amount of tax you owe in whatever ore you excavate; in your case it would be silver."
Siddgeir stood up abruptly, "I'd love to answer any questions you have, but unfortunately, I have some urgent matters to attend to. Please, if you have any questions, please direct them to Nenya. Follow me Melrun, let's go over which of our guards will start their new duties."
Siddgeir and the Captain of the Guard swifty left the room, leaving the elf woman and I alone.
I glanced at her tired, but resigned face as she looked at me expectantly.
"Ah, I'd rather not get too into this so late," I laughed lightly. "Let's pick this up some other time, preferably during the day."
Nenya's posture noticeably started to relax, "If you say so Thane Ragnar. If you'd follow me, I'll show you out."
I followed silently behind Nenya, and unseen to her a small, victorious smile grew on my face.
Phase one, complete.
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 (›)
[+7 STR, +6 END, +11 INT, +6 DEX]
People under your leadership: [150]
Happy: 67
Neutral: 53
Unhappy: 30
Sorry for the massive wait everyone, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! The next one might be a little longer than you'd all probably like, but Zelda Tears of the Kingdom comes out next week! Mama's gunna play the shit out of that game!
Also, been getting some messages about giving a link to a discord, so for those who care I have a link to an author's discord I'm very active in https/ /: discord . gg / wd3tU YWVCd – just remove the spaces.
