Chapter 13: Inspecting the troops

[27th – 30th of Rain's Hand 4E 202]

After the Valtheim alliance had been signed between Whiterun and Eastmarch, Stormcloaks had quickly moved into the hold, and I felt happy about that. Getting Jarl Balgruuf allied with Jarl Ulfric was something one could not do in the game, and based on what I had learned about Ulfric before, the way I had been treated by General Tullius and also my task to help restore Talos worship, the recent events seemed to be reasonable and promising.

On a nice day at the end of the month of Rain's Hand – April as it was called on Earth, I remembered, coincidentally (?) both in the German and the English language – Ralof asked me if I was willing to join him on a small tour to visit the joint Stormcloak/Whiterun positions and camps in the western half of the hold. Since I had been back from Windhelm and the Valtheim alliance had been signed, I had been able to make some significant progress with house building, and I could afford to be off for a few more days. This time Jordis was tasked to supervise my building construction site, and Antonius was coming with me; we were going to leave early in the next morning.

Just before I retired to my bed I visited Dragonsreach to see if Steward Proventus Avenicci had any news for me. He did not, but once again I could not avoid hearing complaints and even curses from the Jarl's children. Dagny, his daughter, passed close to me and stated:

"Blasted war. I was due a new dress from Solitude, but it will never get here."

She probably had a point, but did she have to announce it like this to everybody? Nelkir, the Jarl's youngest, was for some reason the boldest and told me right away:

"Another wanderer, here to lick my father's boots. Good job."

He should have known me, and when I looked at his father, I could see Jarl Balgruuf, who must have heard his son's comment, shrug his shoulders and look uneasy. Must be hard to raise children properly sometimes.

Back in Jorrvaskr, I went to bed early, as usual, to make sure that I was properly rested on the next day.

As I had done a few times before, I went to clear Valtheim Towers. Those stupid bandits never learned, and a group of them always came back once the place had been raided by troops or adventurers like me. Travelers had mentioned that the bandit presence there had become quite annoying again, with excessive tolls being collected for safe passage, and I failed to understand why the Whiterun Jarl did not bother to keep the location permanently occupied. Anyway, my companion and best friend Morga, a young and very strong female Orc, liked to take advantage of situations like this one, and we cautiously approached the towers, with the later afternoon sun in our backs. Morga was not very stealthy, but I was, and thus I went first to find a good spot to get first hits with my longbow. I managed to distract the lone guard at the entrance of the southern tower, making sure to just injure them, and while I continued to send arrows to more bandits on the walkway and higher up, the stupid enemies did not even noticed that my Orc friend entered the southern tower. Inside, I knew that she was a fighting machine and nobody would be able to stop her. It did not take long for three bad guys to start running across the walkway, but I could stop two of them with my arrows, and Morga sure would be able to handle the rest.

Slowly I lowered my bow and got it on my back, and then I walked towards the southern tower and got inside as well. Making my way to the very top I passed a couple of wounded bandits, but did not pay attention to them. From the wooden platform on the top of the tower I looked around, and my Khajiit eyes soon identified a lone person outside of the northern tower; they had likely not even noticed that the place was under attack. Using my bow again, I scored a hit, and when another bandit stepped out onto the walkway on the northern side, I managed to hit them, too, at the second attempt. Morga should be able to clear the northern tower now, and I collected the wounded bandits here and placed them all on the ground in a large storeroom. Half an hour later Morga was back, and she carried two young female bandits on her shoulders – yes, she was that strong. I did not have to ask to know that she had killed all of the males and the older females, as she had done in here, too. Thus, we had a total of four reasonably young and pretty bandit women in here, and for the time being we made sure that they were all properly bound and gagged, while we collected the available loot.

When we had eaten our supper, without feeding our captives, our fun time was going to start. On the next day we were going to use the four young women to carry the collected loot to one of our hideouts, but for now we were going to have some fun with them first. Morga was a lesbian, and while she and I worked together nicely and even sometimes shared body heat when we stayed outside in cold areas in Skyrim, there was absolutely nothing going on between us. We had found out that we shared a hobby, though – binding and abusing young pretty women, and tonight we were going to have a feast, with four of them available to us. The orc and I both smirked, and we were both looking forward to the upcoming amusement...

Almost shouting I woke up, and I needed a few seconds to realize that I was in my bed in the attic of Jorrvaskr instead of the Valtheim Towers. I had had a nightmare again! I did not even know a person named 'Morga', and clearly the other me in the dream had behaved in a way which almost made me vomit. What was happening to me, and why? Where were those evil dreams coming from?

Commander Ralof had an aide with him, and so there were four of us leaving the city in the early morning, plus my two adolescent saber cats, of course. The Stormcloak had pondered taking horses, but finally decided against that option for reduced visibility. "After all", he said, "one never knows where the Imperials might have some spies."

Our goal for today was going to be Granite Hall, and I was happy to travel in that direction once more. For the first hour or so there wasn't much conversation between us, until we reached the Western Watchtower. This place stirred memories, of course, as it had been the location of my first dragon fight, both in the game and in this real Skyrim. The guards there were now a mix of Whiterun hold guards and Stormcloaks, and they had already almost completely repaired the tower to compensate for the damage the attack by Mirmulnir in the previous year had done to it; it provided an outlook to the area west and north, and any potential enemy troops should be easily visible from here, unless they moved during the night or under the cover of fog or rain. I was happy to see that there was one Dunmer among the Stormcloaks, and there did not seem to be any problem with that. Ralof commented this:

"As a true Nord, I used to strongly dislike magic when I was a kid,as this was the way we were raised, specifically in the Eastmarch. However, even Jarl Ulfric employs a court wizard, and with the many Dunmer in Windhelm, seeing some magic being done was inevitable. Above and beyond that, working the fields with the climate there is next to impossible without magic. I am glad that I have had some friends changing my mind, and at least since the events at Helgen and when I was honored by given command of one of the first combined warrior/mage squad, I am really happy to see Dunmer among the soldiers."

"And", I added with a smirk, making sure that only Ralof could hear me, "the Daedric gift also helped, right?"

Ralof grinned and nodded, and we continued on our journey. Further west, after we had passed Fort Greymoor – the Jarl still could or would not spare the troops to occupy it – we came along the various landmarks I had seen before, both when playing the game and when I had traveled towards Solitude with Athis and Antonius end of last year. We met a few farmers and merchants, and they all mentioned the improved safety on the roads provided by the many troop movements. We also briefly talked to the farmers owning the farms along the road, growing tundra cotton, wheat and more, and they basically said the same.

Also, while we walked, Commander Ralof provided some background on the Stormcloaks. I did, of course, have a lot of theoretical background knowledge from playing the game, and I had even bothered to read some of the books in there. However, that had been some time ago, and my memory wasn't that good. Besides, as I had already learned, not everything here in this real Skyrim was exactly like in the game. Thus, I listened with attention when Ralof explained:

"The Stormcloak movement actually already started after the Markarth incident, when Jarl Ulfric was forced out of the city again after he had been restored peace and free Talos worship there."

"That was when? Right after the Great War, right?"

"Correct – that happened in 4E 175. From that time on, Jarl Ulfric – well, he wasn't quite Jarl yet – felt that the Empire was not fair and something needed to be done."

"He was not Jarl yet? Oh, his father was still alive?"

"Yes, Hoag Stormcloak, also known as the Great Bear of Eastmarch, died in 4E 183, while his son Ulfric was imprisoned due to his involvement in the Markarth Incident. Can you imagine, Ulfric was not even given permission to attend the funeral, and he had to smuggle his eulogy letter for his father out of prison!"

"That's tough. So, from that time on, Ulfric started to make plans for a rebellion?"

"Kind of, yes. While High King Istlod was alive, there was no real fighting, as Ulfric respected him a lot, but then he died, about five years ago, and the Moot elected his son, Torygg, as new High King."

Our conversation was rudely interrupted by a group of bandits just when we looked for a nice spot to have lunch; they had maybe expected to surprise us, but Hanni and Nanni gave us a warning, and we were able to fight them off easily. Really, I should have expected that two Stormcloaks in proper armor and myself with my size should be enough to warn bandits, but some tried anyway. Of course, with the increased number of troops moving on the roads, maybe they had become desperate. Once we had healed our minor injuries and enjoyed our meal, we walked on, and I asked the Stormcloak Commander:

"So, what kind of a person was High King Torygg like?"

"In the opinion of many he was too young and inexperienced. He was a puppet king of the Empire who betrayed us, the people or Skyrim, for the Empire's good graces and money. He may even have sympathized with our cause personally, but he would have never led Skyrim to secede from the Empire."

"Maybe he was afraid that if he did that Skyrim might stand alone against the Aldmeri Dominion?"

"Yes, that was likely one of his main motivations. But anyway, during Torygg՚s reign Jarl Ulfric managed to get three additional hold sunder our control, with Winterhold, The Pale and The Rift sympathizing with us and being our allies, all peacefully. My Jarl aimed to become High King instead of Torygg, and in early 4E 201 he traveled to Solitude to drive this. We all know what happened, but few know all of the details."

"The fight between Ulfric and Torygg?"

"Aye, that. The two had some discussion between themselves first, and Ulfric realized that he'd never be able to change Torygg՚s mind. So, he challenged him in the old Nord way. Torygg was much younger than Ulfric, but my Jarl literally had decades of fighting experience on him. Ulfric had already been fighting in the Great War!"

"But wasn't he also using his Thu'um?"

"Yes, he was, and maybe he should not have done that. Torygg had very little martial training, and the duel would have been more convincing and plausible if both sides had just been using their swords. I am not sure what exactly had happened there, and Ulfric does not talk about it."

My Imperial housecarl used this opportunity to chime in:

"I may be able to shed some light on that, if I may."

We both looked at him and nodded. Antonius smiled and explained:

"In Solitude, I happen to know a girl who is a maid in the Blue Palace."

Of course, what else!

"My Thane, Commander, in Solitude I always spend my free time with Sabine, but this does not keep me from talking to others! But anyway, that girl happened to serve High King Torygg when Jarl Ulfric showed up, and she was able to hear most of the conversation between the two of them."

"Indeed?"

"Yes, she was, and while she did not talk to many about that at all, you know I have a way to persuade people."

That he did, for sure; I was curious about what might follow and listened attentively; in addition to his charm and gift of persuasion Antonius also had quite a good memory for details.

"First, there was indeed a proper challenge to a duel, something like this: 'I, Ulfric Stormcloak and Jarl of Eastmarch, son of Hoag, the Great Bear of Eastmarch, do challenge the High King, Torygg, son of Istlod, in the sight of both Gods and men to a fight for the Crown of Skyrim, in the ancient way allowed by tradition!'."

"All right, this is likely what most people heard and agree on, right?"

"I believe so, yes. Next, Torygg՚s young wife, Elisif, begged her husband to have the guards arrest Ulfric instead of accepting the challenge, but Torygg must have known that he could not; his position as High King would be almost impossible if he refused."

"Aye, a challenge like this, properly given, is indeed an ancient tradition of ours" Ralof confirmed. "A High King properly challenged by a Jarl cannot easily get out of that without losing a lot of respect."

"The maid told me that Torygg and Elisif spend a short private moment with each other and assured each other of their love, before Torygg prepared for the duel; he needed to change into his armor and take his blade. When the fight started, it must have been apparent that Ulfric was the much better warrior. After some taunting Ulfric made his opponent go down after scoring a deep hit on his leg, cutting through muscles and tendons, and Torygg barely managed to stand again. Despite this injury, Torygg managed to gash Ulfric՚s cheek, but soon after the Jarl of Eastmarch broke the High King's sword with mighty swing of his own."

"So, why us the Thu'um now?"

"I don't know, and probably only Ulfric himself knows, but maybe he thought that he had made his point. Torygg lost a lot of blood from his deep leg wound. Based on what I got told, the Jarl of Eastmarch shouted loud to everybody: 'This is what happens when you seat a boy with no battle experience upon the throne of men! He cannot even protect himself; how do you ever expect him to protect you?' Now, Torygg visibly struggled, was getting paler by the second and was about to drop down to the ground, when Ulfric finally shouted him with 'FUS RO DAH' and plunged his sword deep into his opponent's chest."

"So, even without using a shout, Torygg was almost dead already, right?"

"I believe that he was, yes, according to what I heard."

"Using his shout at the end, when the fight was almost over anyway, was not dishonorable at all! Jarl Ulfric just made a point and demonstrated his capabilities!"

"I agree, Ralof, but some people might have seen this in a different light."

"Apparently some did, as Falk Firebeard, the steward, ordered the guards to arrest Ulfric and close the city gates."

"Yes, and poor Roggvir, who allowed Ulfric and his few companions to leave anyway, was arrested and executed for treason."

I almost shuddered when I thought about the mandatory execution scene the player would inevitably encounter when entering Solitude for the first time. So, overall, the fight might have been honorable, but apparently the rulers of Solitude had decided that it wasn't. Indeed, Jarl Ulfric could have handled the issue in a much better way, but it was clear again that he was a lot, but definitely not a diplomat.

After a good night's rest at Granite Hill, in the guard barracks there, Ralof spent a day inspecting the troops stationed here, and he also did not forget to ask the locals about the behavior of the soldiers. While the organization of the Stormcloaks was less formal than that of the Imperial Legion, Ulfric and Galmar had some very strict rules, including not allowing any plundering and bad treatment of citizens, and officers sometimes asked people if this had been done properly. As far as I knew, this actually worked quite well, and I was happy about it.

The small town called Granite Hill was, as I had learned earlier, right on the border between Whiterun and Falkreath and not far from the border to The Reach, and it was located right on the crossroads, too. Both Falkreath and The Reach were under Imperial control, so that occupying that position was crucial. Fortunately, with Whiterun being neutral until recently, the Imperial legion had not bothered to station troops here before, and the occupation by the Stormcloaks had been a peaceful one. The local citizens did not really care, as long as guards were there to protect them from occasional bandits and wild animals. Now, Stormcloak soldiers and Whiterun hold guards together manned the town and had guards posted specifically on the roads leading west towards Markarth and south towards Falkreath.

In the last few weeks, as we were told, some hold guards from Falkreath had been here as well, and the local forces had not harmed them, but just talked. The local garrison commander explained with a smile on his face:

"The guards from Falkreath were told about the change of the situation and that this location, Granite Hills, was now Stormcloak territory. We also emphasized, as instructed, that anybody who believed in Talos was welcome on our side and that we'd try not to harm others unless we absolutely had to."

I liked to hear that and asked:

"Did they come again, maybe with others?"

"Apparently,", the local troop commander was happy to tell us, "word got spread in Falkreath at least, and the second group of guards who showed up defected entirely. I expect more soldiers from the other side to comer over, too."

"Won't the Jarl of Falkreath learn about that quite soon?" I asked.

"Probably yes," Ralof replied, "but even when he does, what can he do? Anyway, with the road here blocked by us, at least he will have trouble informing the Legion headquarters in Solitude about the recent events."

"Well, those who know their way in the wilderness can bypass this area, but large troop movements will be almost impossible without us at least noticing. Still, we need to be careful; there might be a hidden Imperial camp somewhere."

That was probably true; at least in the game, every hold, as far as I recalled, had a Stormcloak camp and an Imperial camp, and the locations were definitely not marked on the usual maps. We also learned that soldiers from The Reach had shown up only once so far, and they had been captured. News from Markarth would get to Solitude much faster than from Falkreath, so this seemed to be safer. Anyway, we had to expect that the Legion already knew about the new situation or would know about it soon.

[Author's Notes: A detailed description of how the duel between Ulfric and Torygg may have happened is shown in chapter one of the story "call To Valor" by "Starrynightwriter"; my dialogue here was partially inspired by that story.

As already mentioned in book A, Granite Hill does not show up in the vanilla game, but can be added with mods.

FYI: Due to the continuous issues on this site I have started to cross-post this story on AO3; I have recently got an account there and just posted chapter one of book A (same author name and story name there). ]