Chapter LXIX – Trouble

Their evening was not nearly as relaxing as they had originally imagined.

Once Bishop and Aeyrin retreated into the inn and finally managed to order some food into their room, they ended up discussing the events long into the night. Aeyrin was still conflicted about what she had said to Idesa at the cornerclub. And now they were both a little more concerned about completely disregarding Aeyrin being pregnant when they both eagerly stepped up fully expecting a fight.

They had to start being more careful.

They talked about Alec and Jora and everything that happened that day, but it was not as if they could find any more solutions for anything. And much to Bishop's dismay, Aeyrin had decided.

She would ask Master Lortheim. There was nobody else here now who could tell her what was going on.

At the very least, one good thing came from that day. One of the concoctions that Quintus gave Bishop, hard to tell which one, did actually get rid of the paint completely. Though now Bishop was a little sorry to see it go after he proudly announced to those idiots what it was. What was he even thinking? He was proud to be considered one of the elves. Why was he worried about people's reactions?

Then again, they really did have to start being more careful and getting rid of it was the safest bet.

They had one last thing to do in Windhelm today and then they would decide whether to stay, at least to make sure the elves were alright, or if they should go and leave that job to Brunwulf again. It was what he did well. Better than them. Especially with Aeyrin goading them to be bold.

They still needed to visit the temple. For multiple reasons now.

The place was very quiet. There was almost no one inside. The candles were all illuminating the small temple and the large statue of Talos behind the lectern. The only person there was the old priest. He was sitting in one of the pews and staring at the statue. He didn't even turn around when he heard the door open and some visitors come in.

Aeyrin approached the man tentatively with the delicate silver hairpiece in her hand. He looked quite distracted, but he wasn't doing anything. And the scowl from his face disappeared only when she and Bishop stood before him, finally in his sights.

"Master Lortheim?" She asked carefully. Was he like this because of what happened yesterday?

"Ah. Welcome, children," he tried to give them a kind smile, but he failed miserably. He didn't seem capable of smiling, even though his scowl was gone. "What brings you here? Do you need healing?"

"No, actually," Aeyrin shook her head promptly. "We came to ask you to bless an… item for us." She showed him the hairpiece with a pearl in it. She hoped it would be enough for him to get the hint. He must have seen things like this a thousand times before.

"Oh," he looked at the ornament in surprise before he looked up at them. His expression was… unreadable. Strange. He seemed to be a little concerned, but he didn't say anything hinting at that. "Congratulations on your upcoming union. I… I would be happy to bless this for you."

Well…. He didn't sound that sure of it. But he did say that he would do it.

He took the piece from her delicately and got up from the seat. He seemed a little tired as he walked over to the statue and placed the ornament on the lectern.

"Talos, the Grey Wind, bless this young couple's union, so that they may weather all challenges of life and war together… forevermore."

The way he said the last word was strange again, but it seemed like the blessing was finished. The man's hands lit up in a warm light that looked like a healing spell. Aeyrin wasn't sure if he asked for an actual blessing. She had never seen a blessing cast on an object – it was usually cast on people to give them more vigor or strength or magical aptitude for a short time. It was just a spell, but the temples said they drew strength from faith and the Divines. But items could only hold 'spells' by being enchanted, right? He probably only did that for pretenses – to make people think there was actually something to this blessing.

It didn't matter. It was the tradition that counted.

"Thank you, Master," Aeyrin smiled at him and walked over to retrieve her hairpiece again.

"I hope that Talos's cruel wind of war spares you on the joyful occasion," the man said somberly.

What? Was this the same man that advocated people only being able to know Talos by experiencing real war? Why did he talk about it as 'cruel'? Wasn't he supposed to think that war was some glorious trial by Talos?

Aeyrin couldn't help it. She saw Bishop scowl at her as if to tell her not to ask, but she had to. This mood and talk of his had to have a reason. And she couldn't help the nagging feeling that she knew what it was.

"Master Lortheim, can I ask you something?"

"I'm afraid, I am feeling too unwell to discuss questions of faith this time, child," he sighed. He looked like he just wanted to be left alone, but she still couldn't help it.

"It's not… philosophy I'm interested in. We… we saw something yesterday. An exchange… on the square. With… someone we know."

The old man suddenly scowled again and his whole body tensed.

"How do you know my protégé?"

That was a loaded question. Aeyrin knew Master Lortheim was suspicious about Jora suddenly being very… popular. It wasn't clear whether he had any ideas why it was, or any theories, but it was dangerous for him to be suspicious in the first place.

"Not the priestess, we only know her in passing. I meant the bard. Alec," Aeyrin took a deep breath. This was for the best. This would not endanger Jora and the cause and she could still find out what happened. Hopefully.

"You do?" The man continued scowling. "How well do you know him?"

"He was a friend." Not exactly, but that's not important. "And then, he began acting… strange and avoiding us. And when he couldn't avoid us, he barely spoke. We saw him taking your priestess somewhere yesterday. We're… concerned. We don't know what's going on with him."

"He is… he is a bright young man, well worth listening to. He found truths in Skyrim which eluded him throughout his life. Now he… now he tries to make others see the light. And… he felt that… Jora might be able to help him in this endeavor. To help him spread the importance of our faith and fight against the Imperial oppressors," the man sighed. He was talking with such strain in his voice that it was hard not to look for hidden meanings in his words.

What did that mean? That just as Ulfric was forcing Alec to be his propaganda lapdog, he was now forcing Jora to be one too? Was it Ulfric? Lortheim said it was Alec's idea, but yesterday he was talking about someone else 'overstepping their bounds'. This was more than concerning.

"You didn't seem too happy about that," Bishop pointed out. There was no going back now. They might as well keep up the questioning.

"'Happy'?! About her being taken away from where she belongs to Shor-knows-where to risk her life?!" The old man suddenly burst out. It was so unexpected that they both flinched. And so did the priest. He himself seemed caught off guard by his reaction.

"You think she's in danger?" Aeyrin instantly panicked. It was still possible that she was escaping from this man. But… this did not sound good.

"No… no… of course not. She is… spreading the word of Talos. It is a noble cause," the man sighed in defeat, back to his strained and oddly practiced words. "Her help around the temple will be missed, that is all."

Well, that was disappointing. But maybe they could rile him up again. It was a little mean, but there was clearly more to this.

But before they could say anything else, the door to the temple opened slowly.

There was an elf there. Dunmer. One neither Bishop nor Aeyrin recognized. Maybe he was a traveler or maybe he just didn't come to the cornerclub very often to have met them. He did walk in slowly and very carefully. His eyes were on Lortheim and he looked… very wary.

"Leave this place, please," the old Nord sighed.

What? Why? Was the elf here to cause trouble? Have any of them caused trouble for the priest before?

The elf flinched. He looked quite shocked by the rejection, but he quickly rushed off and disappeared back outside.

"Why did you do that?" Aeyrin gaped at the priest. She couldn't help it. He was behaving so strangely.

"He doesn't belong here," the man let out an exasperated sigh.

"What? What if he came to try and understand your people better? What if he came to learn about Talos?" Aeyrin shook her head incredulously. What was with everyone trying to keep the elves confined to their quarter? And shouldn't the man be happy that even one of the elves might be malleable to try and get spiritually closer to the Nords?

"Child, I understand that your… privileged status allows you some naïve views on how the world works, but what do you expect would happen if anyone saw him here? Even him entering this sacred place could have done harm. Do you think that one of the soldiers seeing this could not have taken it as a slight? And what happens to the young elf then?"

Aeyrin swallowed her anger at him calling her naïve. He made a valid point, but still.

"But you have respect amongst the Nords! Don't you think that if you show them that there is no need to be enemies with the elves, they might listen?" She shook her head.

"I am too old to change the world, girl," he scowled. "All I can do is try to protect them now from things getting worse and keeping them away from this place is the best I can do for them."

That was… such a disappointing attitude. But he looked so… exhausted. Aeyrin wanted so much to argue, but she could see already that there would be no point. And before she said anything else, the man dismissed her outright.

"Please, leave me now. I am… tired. And… for my sake, I would appreciate it if you didn't spread around that I have blessed the union between an elf and a Nord. If you believe I have respect amongst them, believe me as well that it would all be gone if the word got out. And worse…"

What did that mean? People would just turn on a priest for this?

Or would he actually be punished for this by the 'authorities'? By Ulfric?

Bishop quickly grabbed her hand and began to lead her outside. She didn't protest. The priest's words kept ringing in her head unpleasantly.

First the unpleasantness at the square last night and now this? Was her attempt at encouraging the elves to regain their freedom all misguided?

Was she just making things worse for everyone?

…

It was a sobering realization.

Aeyrin couldn't stop thinking about it. She just wanted to help the elves get the lives they could have in this city. But could they have those lives? Was there any hope of that? Even if there were people who sympathized with them, there were many more who despised them. And unfortunately, most of them carried weapons around town. Who would speak up? Only Brunwulf was untouchable enough to do so with his wealth and influence. But not even Lortheim could.

In his twisted way, maybe the priest really was sympathetic towards the elves. He did bless their wedding after all. Now his uncertainty about it became clear. He must have been so worried about the consequences.

But maybe he was even afraid to refuse them. Maybe the poor man had to think about so many consequences to his actions in this messed up city, he didn't know what to do anymore.

Maybe Jora was really in danger and maybe he wasn't the stern overseer Aeyrin had thought him to be.

After all, what did she know? She knew nothing about the man. She knew nothing about his relationship with Jora. She knew nothing about Windhelm, not really, not about how it was when she wasn't here, causing a stir.

Not about the people who would make the lives of her friends feel like a stroll through Oblivion even if all they wanted were some basic courtesies.

It felt wrong. It felt wrong to tell someone to keep their head down and toe the line when they were being oppressed. But maybe it really was the safest option. And Bishop encouraged it as well. He always said that people needed to be smart about fighting tyranny. He had plenty of experience with that. Biding one's time was integral in situations like these, according to him.

She knew he was right when she told him she might want to go back to talk to Idesa and he only encouraged her.

But she couldn't help but feel sick about it, and this time it was not because of her nausea.

Still, it was the right thing to do. There were people like Brunwulf fighting for the elves' rights here. And in the meantime, the Dunmer themselves really didn't have to risk their lives. What would be the point of that?

They headed to the Grey Quarter again soon after returning from the temple. It was too early for anyone to be in the cornerclub, so they headed over to Revyn's shop instead. Maybe Idesa would be there – they didn't know where she worked herself, if anywhere, but if she wasn't helping out at the shop, Revyn would know where she was anyway.

"Hla aka. F'lah. I didn't think you'd need to resort to shopping in my squalor," Revyn chuckled the moment they entered his modest shop. "What can I do for you?"

"Hey, Revyn," Aeyrin smiled at him wryly. "We're actually looking for Idesa. Do you know where she works?"

"Nowhere," the Dunmer scoffed. "She used to be a nursemaid for the Cruel-Seas, but since the Butcher business and the orders, she couldn't work the hours they needed her to so they fired her. She's just been hanging around since and mooching off me. But what can ya do? It's not her fault there's no work out there. Well… not for our kind."

Divines, that made Aeyrin feel even worse. Maybe Idesa was hoping to establish some better relationships with the Nords so that she could get a job again. Was she really gonna do this? Tell her to stop fighting for her basic rights?

But then she remembered the encounter in front of the tavern again and the scene at the temple.

"Ides!" Revyn yelled. And soon, they heard someone descend the rickety steps by his counter.

"What are you hollering about, f'lah?" Idesa sighed, but when she descended enough to see the visitors, she smiled. "Oh. Hey."

She rushed down and stopped in front of them with a self-pleased grin on her face. "Thanks for yesterday. The snowberries were all pissing themselves when your wolf started to growl."

"That's… actually why we're here," Aeyrin sighed. She still really didn't want to do this, but she knew she had to. "I… I think I got a little… naïve… with what I told you in the basement. I didn't realize things would escalate this quickly and this much."

"What are you talking about? Those fucking snowberries didn't do anything," Idesa scoffed.

"Would that be the same if we weren't there?" Bishop sighed. "Look, I get it, you wanna fight for yourself, but you can't be stupid about it."

"You don't 'get it', f'lah," Idesa scowled at him. "You can't get it. I appreciate you standing up for us. You are one of us. Both of you. But you don't get the same fucking treatment we do, no matter what. You can't 'get it'."

"You think I've never been in a crappy situation I needed to fight through to get out?" Bishop shook his head. "Believe me, I get how important freedom from tyrants and bullies is. But the way you get out isn't a fucking head-first slide. You break your neck like that and what's the point then?"

"'Head-first'? Things have been shit ever since we came here and they're just getting worse and worse, orders or not. How long are we supposed to live like this? How long are we supposed to just bide our time and hope for a miracle? You were right the first time, hla aka. We need to try," Idesa nodded in determination.

Gods, she agreed with her so much, but she still felt so guilty about inciting this dangerous situation.

"She's right," Revyn piped up, joining the conversation. "We've suffered this for too long. We can't even walk the streets of this city now. When we show them we're not afraid to do so, they'll have to stop eventually. They just thrive on trying to intimidate us, but most of them are fucking cowards."

"Not all of them though," Bishop sighed. "Didn't your revolt teach you how deadly it can get?"

"That was with those fucking orders! They have no right to treat us this way now!" Idesa huffed. "We are supposed to have our rights back! This was supposed to be over. Why isn't it? Because we let them. We let them continue to treat us like this."

"This is gonna end badly," Bishop gave her a somber look. He knew this all too well – the will and spirit to finally break the chains. But when you listened to that and not the caution and reason nagging on you as well, it tended to just make shit worse.

There was not much else to say. They said their piece. And Aeyrin still wasn't sure if she had it in her to deter them. But she worried so much about how things would turn out.

Maybe… maybe they would just try for a bit and find out that it wouldn't be so easy. Maybe they would realize they needed to do this carefully.

But one thing was for certain, and Revyn punctuated it with his next words.

"Things are already bad enough."

…

There was nothing else to do. The elves were ultimately in charge of their own situation here. And Bishop kept reassuring Aeyrin that it wasn't on her. They weren't mindless idiots – they made their own decisions. Clearly, since they didn't listen now.

So, with an uneasy feeling, the two of them left the Grey Quarter once more and returned to Candlehearth to spend the rest of the day there. It felt strange to be thinking about leaving right now, after all that was brewing underneath the surface, but they would have to at some point.

But… maybe they could still stay for a few more days. There was no rush to leave yet.

Even though they really didn't have much to do. But staying in the peaceful inn would be a nice opportunity for Aeyrin to rest as much as she needed.

And restful stay it was.

For a while.

The very next day, a painfully familiar scene repeated itself once more.

Bishop and Aeyrin were just enjoying their hearty breakfast. It was a calm morning like any other. But then, they noticed someone rushing up the stairs into the common room. The woman looked around, and then approached a few tables only, avoiding Bishop and Aeyrin. She whispered something to the people there and they all got up and rushed outside.

"Ah, fuck," Bishop growled as he slammed his tankard back down onto the table. This was trouble for sure. And he noticed whom the woman talked to – most of the Nords had been there two days ago to see the spectacle in front of the gates.

"You… you think it's… that guy again?" Aeyrin looked towards the last people rushing out in concern. It really was the same scene from a different angle. There were others left in the common room, but some of them weren't Nords and some just looked like they wanted to be left alone. The ones interested in watching the scene were clearly already outside.

"What else would it be?" Bishop sighed. "Come on, let's go." It was not as if he was gonna let the elves deal with this alone when they were right here. But he did stop in his tracks for a bit and turned back to Aeyrin with a meaningful expression on his face.

"If shit escalates…"

"I know," she sighed. No street fighting for her. It was too dangerous without her armor. A punch or a kick in the stomach could end in tragedy in a mere second. And for what? She wanted to protect the elves too, but there was someone else who needed protecting now too.

They didn't wait any longer before they rushed outside as well. Aeyrin stayed a little back in the similarly small crowd this time while Bishop weaved his way to the front. A familiar scene was there to greet them.

This time it was Revyn, Idesa and Faryl there, looking determined. And of course, the same idiotic lumbering fool was not willing to let them walk through the square without being harassed. It seemed like he was even more riled up this time. After all, Idesa had mentioned that Ambarys and Revyn sometimes needed to go to the markets, but maybe the events two days ago made it impossible now.

Or maybe they used to go there more covertly.

But now all three of them were strolling around the square defiantly and facing the Nord bruiser without as much as a flinch. It was… inspiring.

It was dangerous.

"What the fuck did I tell you about coming here again?" The Nord snarled at them hatefully.

"And what the fuck did I tell you about harassing them?!" Bishop instantly interjected. The idiot was unarmed. That was fine. He knew he had to be more careful too, but it was not like getting beaten up would do that much harm to him. But he was not gonna let it come to that anyway.

"Look, the elf fucker's back!" The man scoffed. "Where's your face pictures? No longer 'one of the elves'?"

"He is one of us. And you're not going to threaten any of us anymore," Idesa snarled at the man. "We have a right to go wherever we want in this city and brain-dead snowberries like you will not stop us!"

"You really think so, greyskin filth?" He laughed at her. "Come on then! Let's show these assholes their place!"

The guards were in the same place as two days ago – by the gates and watching the spectacle. They weren't the same ones as back then, but apparently, it didn't matter. They weren't going to stop this idiot.

"Do you have nothing fucking better to do with your pathetic life?" Bishop rolled his eyes at him and stepped in front of the elves protectively. "Leave them alone and you might get out of this with your ugly mug intact."

"I for one am itching to fix it for him," Idesa growled, but Bishop only threw her a threatening look.

No fucking way he would let the elves fight. The guards were just waiting for that, for a little hint of aggression from them. They would all be arrested instantly. And who knew if Brunwulf would manage to get them out?

He wasn't exactly eager for a fight either, but he wasn't sure if this could be dissolved without one. Karnwyr was nowhere in sight, but that was a good thing. Though he would surely scare anyone off again, the guards weren't going to ignore him. And Bishop didn't even want to think about what they would do to him. It was good that he decided to wander the city this morning. Maybe he was sleeping in Valunstrad in someone's garden again. He liked it there.

Aeyrin must have been boiling by now. But he was glad that he didn't even know about her in the small crowd. It was important that she lay low.

So, as it were, here he was again. Him and this brain-dead lummox.

"Just try it, little knife-ear bitch and see what happens! The man snarled. Come on! Who's with me?!" The Nord called out.

The people in the crowd though mostly began to look around nervously. There was one Nord who seemed like he would go over to the idiot, but he was unsure. The rest… were they looking around for Karnwyr or something?

Heh, he could be so intimidating when he wanted to. And who would blame these people? A wolf would rip them apart in seconds if they attacked his… well they probably thought Bishop was his master.

Some of the people slipped back into the tavern again. And that only riled that man up even more.

"Fucking cowards! I'll handle these fucks myself!"

Revyn stepped forward, but Bishop promptly pushed him back. The elves were rearing to go and he couldn't tell them to stop risking themselves like this. That didn't work the last time. So he had another excuse.

"Leave that dumbass to me. We have a score to settle," he growled. It was true, though he cared little about revenge on someone like him. But it was a valid excuse. And fortunately, Revyn didn't protest.

"Eager to get another beating, huh, elf fucker? I'll oblige," the man snarled and he didn't give Bishop any more time to react. He lunged at him instantly, fists clenched and ready to strike.

Bishop jumped out of the way, but the man expected it and changed his course mid-through. He managed to only deliver a harsh blow to Bishop's shoulder.

Bishop counter-attacked instantly. He swung his fist and connected with his face. He could feel something crack under the impact – likely his nose, but the lummox didn't even flinch. He had blood pouring out of his nostrils, but he was ready to return the favor right away.

His fist connected with Bishop's face promptly and Bishop, for one, did not keep a stoic face. He let out a pained grunt when he felt the dull pain reverberate through his face. He staggered back a bit, but when the man lunged again, he managed to actually punch his stomach before he got too close.

This went on for a little while longer. The guards only watched as Bishop and the Nord exchanged a few more blows. It was really not clear who was even getting the upper hand, but everyone watched in anticipation – some worried, some excited.

But then, Aeyrin noticed something.

Just as the man punched Bishop again, making him stagger back a bit and cover his nose, his hand darted to his belt and she saw him pull something out.

A… knife?!

Aeyrin had been standing there with her fists clenched, trying so hard not to get in the middle of this. She knew she had been through some awful stuff, but right then, just watching Bishop get beat up felt like the hardest thing she ever had to do. She kept reminding herself that he would just be a little achy afterwards. It was a fist fight. They happened a lot and he would be fine. She would heal him instantly. She had to remind herself of this.

But this was no longer a fist fight.

There were people in front of her and she couldn't get past them fast enough. Before she knew it, the man lunged at Bishop once more, knife in hand.

No!

"TIID KLO!"

Everything stopped in an instant. The horribly chaotic scene stilled.

It was the only thing she could think of.

She quickly pushed past the few people left in there and rushed towards the scene. She instantly pried the knife from the man's hands. And then… she didn't know what to do with it. Should she keep it… or?

She decided to just toss it aside, letting it clatter onto the ground, far away from the man. But by the time she was done with all this, the time resumed to flow again.

Bishop's eyes widened when he realized what happened. When she used that Shout, something really bad must have been about to happen.

Now the lummox looked utterly confused, but he didn't even notice Aeyrin behind him yet. She was tempted to do something. To punch the shit out of this sorry excuse for a Nord.

But in the chaos, as everyone kept looking around in confusion, someone finally seemed to have woken up.

"Hey! That's enough!"

The guards rushed forward, weapons drawn and menacing. The scene repeated itself, again, although this time, there were no encouragements to disperse.

"You three, hands behind your backs! Now!"

It was a little satisfying that the guards addressed both Bishop and Aeyrin and the Nord. It wouldn't have been surprising at all if they left that idiot be. But there was still the danger of someone else being pulled into this shit instead.

"Go. Don't get yourselves fucking arrested," Bishop quickly hissed at the elves behind his back. They needed to get out of here before they Gods-forbid tried to stand up for him and Aeyrin. That would likely not end well for them. But on the other hand, passersby who were significantly further from the scene were now staring at it. Aeyrin's Shout attracted a lot of attention.

They weren't the only ones to take the hint though. It seemed like everyone disappeared within a second. Clearly, nobody could be sure if they would get pulled into this mess.

"Hey, just a street fight! What gives?!" The Nord huffed, but he did obey and put his hands behind his head.

"You pulled out a knife!" Aeyrin gaped at him accusingly, which made Bishop's eyes widen.

A knife? He didn't see a knife.

Fuck.

Thank the fucking Gods for her noticing.

"What did you do to me with that fake Shout, that disgusting magic of yours, you knife-ear bitch?" The Nord yelled at her, but before anyone could say anything else, the guards interjected again.

"Enough!"

'Fake Shout'? What? 'Magic'? Well… it was kind of magic, but she knew what he meant – he though she did some magic to pretend to be the Dragonborn? This man was really… unbelievable. She just stopped time itself!

"Nobody touch any weapons and march. To the Palace. Now!" The guards ordered them again.

Great. They were arrested again? This was becoming a disturbing pattern in Windhelm. They did not actually do anything illegal now though, did they?

But whatever the case, Aeyrin and Bishop already knew whom they would have to deal with now.

Compared to that, this lummox was almost preferable.

But at least the elves were fine for now.

…

The Nord was taken away by one of the guards as they entered the Palace. Bishop and Aeyrin had no idea where he was taken, but it was not the same place they were. Instead, the two of them were ushered by the other guard towards the throne.

Ulfric was there, unfortunately, with his gaudy crown still on his face, and the second he saw them, he scowled deeply and let out an exasperated sigh. As if this was a common annoyance.

Well, it kind of was, unfortunately.

The guard rushed over to Ulfric and whispered some lengthy explanation to him. With every word, Ulfric's face became more and more deadpan.

In the end, he dismissed the guard and finally looked at the two of them.

"Are you seriously making trouble in my city again?" He growled. "Every single time you are here you end up stirring things."

"We didn't do anything! The man was harassing the elves and he started the fight!" Aeyrin instantly defended them.

"You Shouted at him!" Ulfric snarled.

"I didn't! I didn't Shout at him. He pulled out a knife so I made sure he… lost it," she huffed. "And he was the one who kept preventing the elves from…"

"I don't care!" Ulfric fumed. "This is none of your concern. You were told many times to stop meddling in my city's affairs. Do you want another night in prison?!"

"For what?" Bishop scoffed. They didn't do anything illegal.

"For disturbing the peace! For Shouting in the streets. Not to mention the report I got about your wolf going feral a few nights ago," Ulfric instantly retorted.

"He didn't go feral. That idiot was…"

"Enough!" Ulfric interrupted Bishop's next excuse. "I have just about enough of you two. Just leave. Unless you really want me to draw consequences from this. Leave the city and we'll forget this. I have much more important issues to deal with than you upstarts making a ruckus."

Bishop and Aeyrin stayed quiet. The truth was, he really did call the shots here. He could imprison them and nobody could do anything about it. Maybe Brunwulf would get them out again, but… they'd done this before. It was so much hassle and stress and what-ifs. And for what? Hopefully the elves saw that they would get instantly arrested for stuff like this and maybe it would help them realize they needed to be more careful. That was really all they could hope for.

Maybe they should just leave.

"I have military operations to deal with," Ulfric continued to growl. "A war to fight. The last thing I need is dealing with you two again and your petty squabbles."

'Petty squabbles'? People in his town were harassed and suffering daily and he still didn't care.

Bishop knew they should just leave. Right then. He didn't know what had gotten into him, but this whole deal with the elves and the way Ulfric kept dismissing it pissed him off. Those were his people. And even though he didn't know what he could possibly do about it, he did have a sudden uncontrollable urge to at least do something satisfying. Something to make him feel a little better about how this shit went down again.

"Right, the war must be rough right now. Did you hear about Markarth?" He smirked. He didn't know why. Every time he remembered, it made him so happy to know that all of this asshole's efforts in taking the city would be in vain. And he really wanted to drive that nail in.

Ulfric's face darkened considerably. The last time they'd seen him show this much anger beneath his stony façade, it was when he was demanding answers about Alduin. Bishop actually flinched at that expression and Aeyrin shut down completely, scared to say anything else.

"Out! Now! This instant before you regret it!"

His voice boomed through the Palace and even his guards looked nervous.

It seemed like Bishop did hit a nerve there. It was so fucking satisfying.

But also really risky. They should really get out while they still had the chance.

Both of them exchanged a quick look and then turned on their heels to march away. They would only stop at the inn for a minute and get out of there, right after Aeyrin healed Bishop's nose and welted eye.

It was really time to go before Ulfric lost it completely.

And they could only hope that this served to deter the elves from any drastic action.