A PRINCE OF PLOTS
Yarwil and the colleges librarian Urag-Gro Shug had been meticulously researching the strange arrow that sparked the Thalmor incident. Urag's young Imperial assistant came down to the library and sighed when he saw the massive piles of books removed from the shelf and laid on the tables in a pile.
"The ones on the left need to be put away." The elderly orc told him in his raspy voice without ever taking his eyes off the book he was then looked up at his assistant. "In the correct spot this time"
Urag had resisted having an assistant for years because he was so specific and meticulous in how he organized the books. With the growth of the college, he begrudgingly had to accept the help. Despite the fact that he was a wealth of knowledge his grumpiness made the students less than enthusiastic about being his assistant but for the students who were more interested in history and academia than they were actual magic, it was an unbelievable opportunity.
Yarwil made a small frown and looked at the grumpy old orc and then went back to the assistant. 'Thank you young man. It's Tondil correct?"
Tondil took a second as he realized it was the first time, he's ever heard his name used in the library instead of just having an order barked at him. "That is correct sir, and you're welcome" the assistant and Yarwil both looked at Urag. He noticed them both staring, and he stopped reading and sighed.
"Put them back in the correct place …..please" he grumbled with an exaggeration in his voice when he said please. Then at once turned back into his book.
The assistant had a certain smug look on his face. Urag said please, quite the unexpected turn of events honestly.
"If we're done worrying about manners I think I've found something here. We were correct about it being Daedric. This book is a collection of oddities logged by a vigilante of Stendarr. Seems like He found this same prayer on a sword about sixty years ago."
Yarwil walked over to him and looked over his shoulder and began reading the book for himself. He carefully turned the pages as to not damage the old paper. For all his personality faults, Urag keeps these books in amazing condition.
"Says here the wording appears to be gibberish but these are in fact Daedric symbols." Yarwil pondered for a moment.
"It's not gibberish, it's a code." He grabbed the arrow and squinted to read the tiny symbols.
"Do you have anything to interpret deadric symbols"? He asked Urag.
"Of course I do, assuming it's in the correct place" he moved over to his shelf and located the book and laid it out.
Yarwil scanned the pages "That's what I thought. See this first symbol here? It's not a real deadric symbol. If you look closely, you'll see this symbol has four real seemingly random symbols following it. Next this fake symbol appears three times followed by four real symbols. The next batch has two fake symbols followed by four real ones. Each section has no more than four real symbols and no more than four of the fake symbols. Tondil, quill and paper please."
The assistant quickly found the items and handed them to the archmage. He then went back to the beginning and wrote down the looked at the first section again. It was one fake symbol and Yarwil wrote down the first symbol next to it. The next block he wrote down the third symbol next to the three fake symbols, the next he wrote the second letter next to two fake symbols. He continued this until he had found them all. They compared the symbols to the Daedric legend key and found it to say…..non sense.
"Damn, back to the beginning then." Urag said and picked up the arrow. "What are you hiding?"
When he picked up the arrow he moved it past a candle and Tondil noticed some of real symbols had a reflection as it passed the flames.
"It's backwards!" Tondil blurted out. "Set it next to the flame. Some of the symbols glow when it's near a flame. Look!"
The orc moved the arrow around near the flame and saw the glow. Tondil was right. They saw the last symbol glow in the first section, they saw the third from right symbol glow following the three fake symbols. It was meant to read from right to left instead of left to right.
Yarwil quickly wrote the symbols down in the new order and then tried it again.
'A lord that's been too long is a lord who needs to be gone' it stated.
"Does that vigilante mention where he found the sword?" He asked
Urag went through the pages "Eastmarch. I have a map of deadric shrines. Let me see something." He got up and retrieved his map and brought it to the table.
"I'll be damned. A Daedric shrine is in Eastmarch. Doesn't state to whom though. We should send the thane out there when he returns" Urag states
Yarwil took another second to ponder, "No need too. The enchantment seemed unusual to me from the start. It was still strong like it wasn't the bow that was enchanted but the arrow itself. This wasn't enchanted with a soul gem. It was given its power by a deadric prince itself. Ebony material, a message about removing a lord, the arrow was used to rile up Violence, to cause unrest. Has to be Boethia, The Prince of Plots." Yarwil stood up and collected his belongings.
"I need to speak to the Jarl. This information stays in this room please"
Both Tondil and Urag nodded in understanding.
"Seems like an assistant I'd be more appreciate of Urag." Tondil gave Urag a very smug smirk and then proceeded to start collecting books to be put back on the shelf.
...
QUITE COLD
The caravan made its final stop at the stables right outside the gates of Whiterun. The party all grabbed their belongings and had made their way up the walkway. Once they got towards the gates, they saw a large Nord wearing a very expensive set of clothing with a beautiful red and blue pattern running up the sides that came together in the front to form the the outline of a dragon. In each side of him stood three soldiers in a full armor made of Dragons bone. They each had a pendant attached to their chest pieces with the same design as the dragon on his shirt.
The Nord had his long blonde hair pulled up in a bun and his long beard woven with an intricate braid all the way down to the belly button. White hairs developing in streak all throughout. He wore a necklace with a medallion with the same dragon symbol as the others. The soldiers were all members of the Acolytes of the Dragon. A mercenary group founded by the finely dressed man in the middle. Jorgenson Snow-Shield or as most people knew him, The DragonBorn.
The acolytes were formed after Alduin was defeated. The dragons he awakened still Persisted in greater numbers than anyone had initially realized. He also knew that the threat of the undead and mystical creatures was more of a threat than anyone realized, and he knew himself, along with Travius and Vhornyhak would have their mortality catch up with them at some point. For the last three years he's trained and assembled these soldiers to carry on his legacy and his missions after he has gone. Dragons were few and far between these days, but they fulfilled a much needed role in Skyrim after Harkon and his vampires wiped the Vigilantes of Stendarr from the Skyrim.
"I thought I smelled some toxic gases earlier. Someone has been letting this walking mountain eat cured meats on their travels against, haven't they?" He said in his incredibly deep and thick Nord accent as the two groups Met.
"You just wait until I get some ale in me old man." Vhornyhak embraced the Dragonborn in a large hug.
Travius greeted him with a hug and put his hand on his bear braid. , "Look at all this grey in your beard. Getting into this old age, I think I might be able to best you now"
"I'm aging like wine, Hot Head. These boys here are keeping me fresh" he nodded at his men and they all approached the party and insisted on grabbing the parties bags.
The Dragonborn extended his hand to J' Zargo and gave him a firm shake. "Good to see you. Been quite some time. Haven't had an Admiral in our presence in quite some time"
Travius, Vhornyhak and Jorgensen all had large smiles trying to fight from laughing. J' Zargo just sighed and ignored the comment as he's had to do countless times on this journey. "Always a pleasure Jorgenson"
"My men here will bring your items to dragons reach for you. The Jarl has made arrangements for you all to quarter there. Head up there and see him and then join me in my manor tonight. My chef has prepared us quite a dinner. I'm sure you're hungry after traveling all day. You going to introduce me to your new friends?" he asked as he nodded at Anaelle and Aratore.
"Of course" Travius almost felt silly. He wasn't used to having a partner to introduce.
"The boy here is Aratore. He's been traveling with us. Turns out to be quite a gifted archer. We're Seeing how he likes the life." Aratore reached out and shook Jorgensen hand. He winced at how tight it was. Creating a small chuckle from Jorgensen.
Travius put his arm on Anaelles lower back. "This is Anaelle, she's is with me. Turns out she's quite the shadowmage herself, as well as quite the gifted alchemist." Anaelle extended her arm in a very delicate manor and held out the back of her hand.
"Always a pleasure to meet such a beautiful young woman. A plus to have so many talents that you can catch the fancy of this one"
Jorgensen grabbed her hand lightly and gave it a small kiss. His eyes grew suspicious as he gave Anaelle a quick once over. "Did you guys throw her in an icebox on the caravan? Quite cold for someone who's been traveling all day."
She laughed. "I suppose I just adapted to the Skyrim climate a little too well. Quite the honor to meet you"
"It seems you sure have" his suspicious eyes still roamed over her.
The group then headed through the gates and headed to Dragonsreach.
…..
THE SAME MISTAKES
The group were all seated around the large table in the middle of the main hall in Dovakhin Manor. The stewards were clearing the empty dishes and refilling drink bottles. The table was erupting into laughter as the men all told stories from their days adventuring together. After the events of the last couple days to be able to feel content without cumbersome armor and to let loose a little bit was quite welcome. The drinks had been flowing quite heavily. And the stories were becoming more and more animated.
"I tell you. I will never forget that look on Jarl Balgruufs face" Jorgenson said between bought if laughter.
"You want me to do what now?! I must have misheard you, sounded like you said you want to trap a dragon in my city" Travius said with what was a very good impression of a nord accent.
"Then later when that dragon snapped at him and he slapped it! I thought Erilith was going to have a heart attack right then and there" Jorgenson finally calmed himself from his laughter. "That was the day I found that mammoth tusk on display and Balgruff let me take it. I gave it to Ysolda so she could impress some other merchants. Eight years later she's now my wife and one of the most successful merchants in Skyrim. Blessed me with my twins. Quite the times we had, wasn't it? Seems like a different life"
"It was. But it's why we have the life we have now" Vhornyhak said.
"Aye! Here here! This conversation would not be happening otherwise" he raised his glass and everyone else at the table did as well.
"To life!" He belted and everyone took a drink.
"I hear you guys always mention the four of us, who was the fourth? It was your Housecarl wasn't it?" Anaelle asked.
Travius, Vhoryhak Jorgensen all went silent and got a solemn look on their faces.
"She was. Lydia. Couldn't have asked for a better housecarl, no offense big fellow" Jorgensen said as he looked at Vhornyak.
"None taken. I could never compare" Vhornyak responded with an uncharacteristically drab sound to his voice.
Hearing Vhornyak of all people sound so somber made Anaelle felt guilty as she had obviously brought up a sensitive subject.
Travius saw the look on her face and grabbed her hand. "We were in an intricate underground cavern that spread through several dwarven ruins called Blackreach. We accidentally awakened the automaton guards. The noise they created then alerted all the Falmer in the caverns. At most we never encountered more than a dozen falmer at once and that was difficult enough to deal with. Within a matter of seconds, the entire cavern was swarming with hundreds of Falmer. They didn't know we were there yet but they were blocking our only exit. We waited it out, hidden for two days on a ledge.
Falmer are persistent bastards. They could smell us and for those two days they searched for us non stop. We had all finally accepted we were going to have to fight our way out, seemed better than starving. While we gathered our composures and prepared to fight our way out Lydia had her own plan. She jumped off the ledge and ran through the crowd of Falmer screaming to garner their attention away from the exit. She allowed us just enough time to escape before they got her. Tore her to pieces." He had developed a lump in his throat while he relived her act of selfless bravery.
"Lydia was never one to be interested in notoriety. She just did her job and did it well. She cared about her home and would do anything to keep it safe. If she hadn't of done that, we all would Have died and Skyrim would have fallen to Alduin and his dragon minions. Everything we see here today is only because of Lydia and most people don't even know her name." Jorgensen said as he lifted his glass in the air.
"One more toast tonight. To the woman who is the real savior of Skyrim. To Lydia" everyone raised their glasses and then downed their drinks. Jorgensen then wiped his watering eyes.
He then stumbled a bit. His life wasn't as filled with nights in the taverns as he was when they were together, and he the alcohol was hitting him Hard. He walked over to Aratore and slapped him on his back. "Come boy, I want to show you the most impressive room you'll ever see!. Anaelle you too."
Dovahkin manner was a huge two story home built next to the western watch tower, where Jorgenson first discovered he was the Dragon Born. The downstairs was a large main hall with a table large enough to host a royal council with every jarl in the province. Off to the left side was a huge kitchen and the stewards quarters. The upstairs had four bedrooms and a massive library, An enchanting table that collected dust and a small alchemy lab that Jorgenson could make healing potions on.
However, the most impressive part of the home wasn't its massive size, it wasn't the golden decorations or the multiple taxidermy statues from everything from deer to Charus. It wasn't even the fully intact dragon skeleton that sat atop the roof like an ornament. It was the Armory and trophy room that extended along the entire right side of the house.
Travius and Vhornyak had one themselves but it paled in comparison to this one. The group opened the door and those who had never seen it were awestruck. Three dozen mannequins, fifteen display cases and forty two weapons between racks and plaques. He had any type of heavy armor known in Tamriel. Deadric Artifacts, jewels, dragon priest masks, weapons, rare books, staffs, he even had an Elder Scroll. If it could be collected in his line of work, he would have it.
Everything was meticulously cleaned and organized. He had even taken the time to write the name of each item and a brief of explanation of how he acquired it. A museum of his Adventures. Anaelle, Aratore and J'Zargo walked around in amazement. Anaelle would almost squeal when she saw something she recognized. Aratore was dumbfounded looking at the items. Many of these things had origins that he thought were only myths and items of legends. J'Zargo had stopped at the rare books and was like a child going through some of them. Urag back at the college might cry if he saw some of these he thought to himself.
Jorgenson happily watched the mesmerized trio drop their jaws at his collection. He took great pride in this room. Not only was it a reminder of all he accomplished it was quite frankly worth an unbelievable fortune that would make sure his family and loved ones were comfortable their whole lives. Everyone all the way to his great grand children would be reaping the rewards of his adventures if things got tough.
Travius and Vhornyak let the others have their joy. They were certainly as impressed as anyone else but they were there when so much of this was collected it looses its luster.
"Now that I have a minute with just the two of you, I wanted to get the conversation out of the way. We got word today of what happened with those Justicars. It was him wasn't it?" Jorgensen asked.
"Aye, pulled his dramatics as always. Then the coward iced a crowd of bystanders and disappeared. Apparently, he lied to his men about why they were there and then abandoned them to die." Travius responded
"Sounds like him. He operates in the Rift now mostly. I have a few men posted out there and they keep an eye on him. Same bastard he always was. I'm glad you put The Thalmor in their place even if only for one moment. Seems like you had a bit of dramatics of your own though, executed them in the streets I hear." He said with a slight bit of judgement in his voice.
"You could easily say I learned that from them. I protected a threat to my home and one of my dearest friends." Travius retorted.
"Dont get me wrong Travius. You did no wrong in my opinion. I'm quite proud of you. Don't expect that it's over though. You Made them look vulnerable. That's the one thing Elenwen will not abide. The Inquisitor seems to never learn his lesson and continues to underestimate you but Dont expect Elenwen to repeat his mistakes."
"They'll just make all new ones" Vhornyhak said.
"Aye" he huffed . "Protect your people. Protect your home. Just remember their image and their reputation means just as much to them. You could spark another war if you're not careful."