AUTHORS NOTE: Several sections of this chapter take place all the same time in different places. You may see numbers at the beginning of a section (111,222, etc), any sections with matching numbers are happening at the same time. Any CONSTRUCTIVE criticism on a better way to do that is greatly welcome.
Chapter Text
Two days later. Six month after the Thalmor incident in Winterhold.
Aratore was in the back of the yard finishing butchering the last bit of the fruits of his hunt. It was quite awkward in his leather armor but he had agreed with the assumptions of his knights that being prepared was a necessary precaution for now.
Mud had happily stayed at his feet as he always does while his master butchered. The opportunity to collect whatever goodies get dropped was too much for any dog to resist. Aratore was quite the clean butcher and decided to reward the dog's patience with a nice femur bone from a deer. He heard Astrid and Vhornyak approaching and grabbed his new prize to happily show off.
Vhornyak grabbed the other end of the large bone and began pulling on it to play with the dog.
"That's my bone. You think you can handle this big bone mutt?" He said playfully to the dog. Mud was now so excited that his bite remained attached the bone as Vhornyak lifted it in the air. The dog wagged his tail in joy as the big orc swing him in a slow circle.
Astrid walked over to Aratore and saw the deer skin hanging at his butchering station .
"Why do you have all these deer hair?" She asked him.
"Winter will be here soon, you'll need a new coat." He answered
"Coats are made out of deer hair?!" She asked as she made a pouty face and her eyes started to swell up.
Aratore was remorseful as he remembered not everyone is hunting and butchering by the time they could walk like he was. He wasn't really sure what to say to calm her nerves.
She wiped her eyes.
"Can my coat be made from the prettiest deer?" She asked
He then smiled and kneeled down to her.
"This deer was the prettiest deer that ever lived."
"You sure?" She asked
"Very sure" he said
"Do we make coats from those bunnies too?" She asked
"No, those are for food."
Her eyes began to swell again.
"Food is made from bunnies?!"
"Damnit." He said under his breath.
Finally, Anaelle and Deena had come back from the markets and Astrid ran over to Anaelle.
"Aratore eats bunnies" she said as she grabbed onto Anaelle's out stretched hand.
"Wait until she founds out what you eat." Vhornyak laughed and said.
Anaelle slapped him in his arm.
"What is wrong with you?"
Thankfully, Mud created a change of topic when he dropped the bone and began to sniff in the air. He then growled and ran through the yard and jumped through the fence posts and darted away.
"What's with him?" Vhornyak asked
"He probably smelled a fox, he's very protective of that chicken coupe." Deena responded
Vhornyak just groaned and everyone walked inside leaving Aratore to finish his butchering.
...
Dacur was headed out to the back of his tavern where two traders he had never seen before had an entire carriage of ale barrels.
"I hate to be a bother gentlemen but I received a shipment of Ale yesterday. I won't need this until the end of the week." He said to them.
"We are only hired hands my good man. We were handed a coin purse and said to deliver it here, so that's what we did. Any confusion should be cleared up with the cat." One of them said. He spoke in a strange accent Dacur had never heard before.
"The cat huh? I don't believe M' Arques would appreciate being called that. Never heard someone speak like you lads before, where do you come from." He asked suspiciously.
"We hail from the mountains of High Rock, have been in Skyrim for quite some time though." He answered.
Dacur got closer and noticed a terrible
Odor coming from the traders.
"Jeez, I have a bath house if you gentlemen would like to pay a visit." He took another sniff as he got closer.
"On the house….I insist." He said as made a disgusted face.
"I can't just accept these. I don't even know what these are. They aren't labeled" he said as he opened the top of one of the barrels.
"This is dwarven oil, what is the meaning of this? Who are you lads?" He asked.
Both men grabbed him and one held his arms as the other pushed the back of his head and dunked it into the barrel of oil. Dacur tried to fight but with helpless with his hands constrained. Bubbles began to form at a rapid pace as he fought to find his breath in the liquid. His body fell limp and the bubbles disappeared.
They pulled his dead body from the barrel and threw him in the back of the carriage. Then the back door opened up and a man Dacur had hired as bar help a month ago stepped out. All three nodded to eachother and then began loading the Oil barrels into the back of the tavern.
...
Two ships began to pull up on the coast near the shipping yard. It seemed they had intentionally pulled away from the docks so they were on either side to the bridge to the college. They had what appeared to be very large pieces of cargo covered in a cloth wrapping on each ship. The argonian dock master came out to them. He looked incredulously at the blatant ignorance of the procedure at this dock or any he had ever been to.
"I think you missed by….a lot." He yelled up the ships.
He then saw a bow pop out from the side of the ship and send an arrow through his forehead. Men in steel plated armor, the militia of symphatizers, started to crawl from the ships and began slaughtering the dock workers. With the docks being so far below the city no one could hear anything.
The militia then removed the large cloths to reveal three large cannons on each side of the ship and pointed them at the bridge to the college.
...
Aratore finished putting what food they could store in the house and packed the rest for him to take and sell at the markets. As he was about to leave he saw something suspicious from the front yard. He saw Kriso running away from the college holding a box, she was constantly checking behind her and pulled her hood down to try and cover more of her face as she did as she tried to slither her way through the crowd.
Aratore quickly set down the food and tried to follow her. Winterhold seemed to grow almost daily. Most people not even realizing it was not the most populated city in Skyrim now. The streets were packed to where he himself had to be forceful to get through the mass of people and keep up with Kriso.
He saw Kriso leave the city gates and in this blob of people lost sight of her as she immediately made a sharp turn and headed out into the woods. He finally made it through the crowd and pulled out his telescope to see if he could find her. He scanned in both directions and could never see Kriso. He did notice movement in the trees and focused.
He saw several men skulking their way to the trees towards the city. He turned in his other direction to find the same thing. Some of them were wearing the bone armor he had seen on his travels and then he looked straight ahead down the road. They were too far of a distance to be able to identify any features but he was able To tell it was a large crowd of people on horseback. He twist his telescope to try and stretch its vision and was able to focus at just enough of a distance that he was able to see the two men in front of the Cavalry.
One of them was the stalky tattooed man he had seen in the valley camp and the other was a Thalmor agent with a large scar and on his face.
Aratore ran back into the city in a panic. He needed to find the Thane.
...
Volonare and Elenwen waited patiently atop their horses for nearly a mile from the city gate as they awaited Casix. Elenwen had two guards with her as always but they were becoming uneasy seeing as that the forsworn cavalry were now lining up their horses all around them. A large group formed with weapons ready awaiting the signal to enter the city. All around them forsworn and bandits on foot crept through the forest and started moving closer and closer to the unsuspecting city.
Casix finally arrived and stopped his horse next to them. He had on a different set of armor than Volonare had ever seen him in. It had minimal covering as most forsworn wore. His thighs had a thick plate consisting of the bones of human and elven hands. He wore a shoulder plate that had a base made of more human bones and had the large teeth of an animal he could not identify protruding out as spikes. From the bottom of the shoulder plates was attached a human rib cage that covered his exposed briar heart. From the back was a human spine that lined up with his owns
"Nice of you to join us." Volonare said with sarcasm.
Casix just looked at him and grunted.
"This is Elenwen. Our Lady High Ambassador to Skyrim." Volonare said to Casix
Casix never even bothered to look her direction.
"Our lady." He snickered . "I know who she is."
"My militia should be arriving at the docks as we speak. They will send us a signal when they are ready. Should be easy to see since you insisted we do this during the day. They will take the Imperial as my prisoner and then you can do as you please." Elenwen said.
"My militia." Casix said
"I beg your pardon?" Elenwen asked
"They are my militia now. Seems not long before you approached me to do your dirty work you baited the Imperials into destroying your processing facility, let them think it's the only one.
The Empire sent the Orphans and they slaughtered everyone as your slithering Justicars snuck out during the fray. When word spread, the men didn't appreciate you using their brothers as cannon fodder.
It seems the militia was not actually loyal to you or your cause, but they were fiercely loyal to their leaders. So I took care of that."
He then reached back and grabbed a large cloth sack and dumped its contents on the ground. It was the heads of the militias leaders and the Thalmor who were stationed with them.
"I offered them vengeance for the slain brothers and now they are my men. Sound familiar?" He said to them with a smirk.
"The signal is when my bombs go off. I have a the rest of the militia attacking from the east, another crew of my men coming in from the west. We enter from the main gate from the south."
"Bombs? What bombs? This city and the college are too valuable. You are only suppose to target the council members and their families and kill only those who get in your way. Not destroy the whole city. What kind of agreement did you make with this savage Volonare?" Elenwen spoke with her trademark lack of infliction, even in a tense moment.
Several arrows then came flying through air and landed on Elenwen's bodyguards, killing them. Then a forsworn jumped on the back of her horse and put a blade to her throat.
"You wouldn't dare! Do you have any idea what kind of authority I wield?" Elenwen sneered at him.
"Right now? None it seems." Casix smirked at her.
"I made the deal with him I needed to make Dear Sister. Unfortunately, it seems your goals and ours do not match. We are not seeking a means to further your political endeavors. We are seeking revenge. Rightful justice you have denied me for too long." Volonare said as he turned his horse around to face his sister.
"I do hope you don't mind, but I'm going to insist you write another letter. Let the Isles and the rest of the world know, The Orphans are no
More. Skyrim's protectors are dead." He then turned to slowly ride off with Calix and the army all followed them.
Everyone rode past and pushed through Elenwen as if she wasn't even there. They slowly rode to avoid being spotted before they heard the signal.
"I must ask, Why ARE we doing this during the day?"
Volonare asked him.
"Best time to set up my trap for the Orc." He said
"When you see him, be sure to call him Beast, my way of saying hello." Volonare said to him with a devilish grin.
...
The same carriage that visited the tavern now pulled up in front of the school house. They were outside playing, starting the end of their day there.
"Not much need for that here. You passed the Tavern when you entered the city." The head teacher told them.
"Not alcohol. Jarl is preparing you for winter. It's dwarven oil for your heat lamps. Just dropped a couple off at the Guards bunkhouse as well." The driver told her
"Oh my. Time does fly." She then thought for a second.
"We haven't the time to make room inside for these yet. Would you be so kind as to just leave them in front and I'll have our Vhornyak move them for us when it's time."
"This Vhornyak must be quite generous."
The other man said
They pulled the carriage to the front of the building and unloaded several barrels of dwarven oil.
...
111
"What do you not understand about this?! We need reinforcements! If the legion won't send help then send word to the other holds! Aratore
Found an entire forsworn army in the wilderness and I've seen them myself near the city! Forsworn never come this far east, something is going on!" Travius angrily barked at Kraldar
"Then figure it out and stop them! Isn't that what you do, Travius? That boy doesn't know what he saw, he probably can't tell one savage from another. Now stop this pestilence at once! You are already making people afraid enough with you and your crew walking around in your armor all day. Take a break from having sex with your wife in every little corner you can fit in and go investigate it." Kraldar snapped back at him.
Travius walked up the table and pushed all the blue prints for the arena off the table. Kulba and Thonjolf both sat there in silence, they both agreed with Travius but didn't want to anger the Jarl
"You're obsessed with this arena! When is the last time you even left this house? Complaining about me and my wife while you remain huddled over this table for months now. Do you even have any idea how people are in this hold now? Let alone this city? That's alot of peoples safety to ignore." Travius yelled back.
"Fine! Taken a dozen guards to go clear them out and I'll pay them a bonus." Kraldar said dismissively.
"A dozen? They have hundreds. What do you want me to do with a dozen?" Travis asked
"Hundreds?" Kraldar asked. That seemed to snap him into reality.
"What do you think I meant by army? We need the Legion or we need a full scale mercenary outfit." Travius said
"We don't have the money for that. We'll send word to the companions. I know they don't have great numbers but they are highly skilled." Kraldar told him
"Don't have the money?" Travius asked as he contemplated but ultimately decided against telling the Jarl off.
He saw Malfor walk in and decided he was too frustrated with the Jarl and adding a Thalmor into the debate wasn't going to make things easier. He stormed off and headed towards the front door but stopped as he heard Malfor speak.
"Kriso and all of her informants have left the city. I'm afraid it's too late." Malfor said
"Too late for what?" Kraldar asked frustrated.
"To prepare." He answered
They could all hear a loud commotion come from outside. Travius, Malfor and Kalba all ran outside to see what was happening, fearing the worst.
As soon as they stepped outside they saw a carriage being chased a crowd of people dumping oil on over everyone it passed as it charged its way through the western footpath out of the city.
Then they heard a boom and the distinct whistling sound of a cannonball and then another loud crash as it struck the stone bridge to the college, breaking off a large piece that fell down into the shipping docks below. Then they heard several more cannons being fired crashing into the stones until the entire bridge finally collapsed sending anyone walking in it to their deaths and destroying everything in the shipping yard below it. Leaving the college and the
hundreds of people in there on an average day trapped in this island in the sky.
...
111
"It's even bigger than you?" Astrid asked Vhornyak with astonishment.
He laughed. "Lots of things are bigger than me."
"Like a dragon?" She asked him
"Dragons are definitely bigger than me kiddo.
So are trolls, lots of bears, frost spiders. Lots of things are." He said to her
She continued to walk around the armory and look at all the shiny and glowing items in this room that had been completely forbidden to her until now.
"How do you fight things that are bigger than you." She asked him.
"Well, usually I'm smarter than them but taking their legs out seems to do the trick. Unless you can just hit them in the head, then just hit them in the head." He said to her.
Vhornyak could hear a large chorus of yelling and swearing that was growing increasingly louder from outside.
Anaelle and the girls heard it as well. Deena stopped tending to the meal she was preparing and Astrid stopped looking through the armory as they heard the commotion pass by their house.
"Stay here." Vhornyak said to her as he grabbed him hammer and stepped out the front door.
When we walked out he saw several people laying in the ground groaning and several more people angrily charging at a carriage that was moving as fast as it could through the crowded streets. Running over anyone who didn't move out the way fast enough as people tried to scurry out of the way of the carriage. Vhornyak headed toward the rampaging caravan and noticed it was leaving a trail of liquid behind it. He put his fingers in the liquid and then smelled them. It was dwarven oil.
He then looked again at the carriage and saw several forsworn appear from the back and were now lifting the barrels and started dumping dwarven oil onto the unsuspecting crowd. He then heard a series of loud booms come from the college and saw the bridge start to collapse. He ran back into the house and immediately found Anaelle at the door.
"What was that?!" She asked him as soon as he made his way in.
"Something just blew up the bridge to the college and are flooding the streets with oil."
Anaelle immediately jumped up and checked for her daggers.
"No, You stay here with them." He ordered
"I'm not just going to stay here while my college is destroyed." She said and tried to push past him.
They then heard Astrid begin to cry and Deena said
"You're not going to both leave us are you?"
Anaelle looked back and saw their frightened faces.
"They will need protection, Anaelle." He said. She knew he was right.
"Do whatever you need to do and show whatever you need to show. Just protect my daughters." He said as he left out the door.
...
111
Yarwil walked through the hallway on his way to the research lab where saw the door was wide open and just sighed.
"Locked at all times means locked at all times." He said as he walked through the door but stopped in his tracks when he saw four students collapsed on the tables with their throats slit. He then noticed everything was thrown about as if it had been through a storm.
He started to open drawers and boxes and realized anything of value was gone. The gauntlet potions, the blue prints for the shipping crates and all his research materials for the blue powder. All of it gone. He looked to the small desk by the door and found a note.
"Too late" it said.
He then picked up the note and found a spare key that he was worried had went missing.
"Damn Thalmor! I knew this was going to come back to bite us!." He began screaming
He ran through the hallway and into the packed courtyard.
"Lock down! No one leaves this campus!"
J' Zargo saw him in the courtyard and ran over to him.
"Find those damned Ambassadors! They took everything! The entire lab has been cleared out!"
He yelled and starting running towards the Bridge to see if they had already left the city.
As he was almost one third of the way across the bridge he stopped when he heard booming sounds from below
"Was that a cannon?" he asked himself
He was then answered as he was knocked over and a loud crash hit the underside of the bridge. A large piece broke off and he watched countless of his students fall to an inevitable demise. He ran back along with anyone else who still could as two more crashes sent the rest of the rest of the bridge to the waters below. He narrowly made it back to the courtyard as the bridge crumbled beneath every step he took.
...
111
The guard captain looked through his the packed bunkhouse and yard as he saw almost the entirety of his men were here in the yard. He was quite confused as many of these people were off shift.
"What are you all doing here right now?" He asked as he walked inside.
"We were hoping you could answer that for us?" A guard answered him.
"You sent us all a letter about some kind of meeting today." Another responded.
"I did no such thing, and why are their barrels of oil all over the place?" He asked, his voice indicating more confusion.
"Some vendors dropped it off, said the Jarl was getting an early start on winter. We don't have room to store all that so we left it where they placed it for now." The same guard said to him.
"No, the Jarl has not been able to acquire any oil, someone has been hoarding the supply chain." He didn't recognize the two guards who were talking to him and became suspicious.
"I don't quite remember your name, sir. You seem to be more knowledgeable than myself today though. What was your name again?" He asked them.
"Doesn't matter. You won't be alive much longer anyway." One of them responded.
Then with no warning they heard a large explosion from the college and everyone jumped to attention.
"Excuse me?" The captain asked.
The conversation had become lost in the noise of all the guards mobilizing to see what was happening at the college then the two unknown guards disappeared in the chaos.
"Someone find them!" The captain yelled but was drowned out by the noise.
Then he saw one of them from the corner of his eye as a small fireball was projected from his hand and came hurling towards an oil barrel and then everything went black.
...
111
The Calvary was creeping towards the gate as they heard a boom.
"That was the bridge, get ready men!" Casix yelled and put on his helmet. This was different than the helmet he wore with the deer antlers. This was made with a trolls skull that covered his own face with etchings scratched all over it and a slight glow, indicative of an enchantment.
Volonare looked over to him with an approving grin.
"You ready to avenge your father?" Volonare said
Casix groaned and looked back at him.
"I think we're going to have a long and prosperous partnership." He said still awaiting a reply from Casix.
"Shut up, elf. There will be no partnership." Casix said to him.
"All of you people with metal suits and stone houses think you're so much more intelligent than everyone else. You think one step ahead while I think three."
Volonare looked around nervously while members of the cavalry matched their speeds and began to ride at his side. All of them looking at him.
"I will say. I'm quite proud of my theatric display when we met. Pretending to walk away, making my heart glow. Destroying that table I think really sealed our deal. The look on your face as you thought you were manipulating me will
Be ingrained in my mind forever. Your arrogance is unforgettable, I'll give credit to that impressive feat."
Casix took a moment to enjoy the look on Volonare's face as he realized he had never been in charge and his own methods were being used against him.
"I have no yearning to avenge my father. He was a good man and a mediocre soldier but a fool of a leader. He thought he could make us all coexist by using his words. He wanted to be like you, cunning and diplomatic. He thought he could live in your world and that's what got him killed.
I have no such desires to be in your world so I will destroy it. I will rape your leaders, I will enslave your women and I will have your children raise their swords in my name. I will eat those who refuse. History sees The Forsworn as a failure. The empire sees us with pity and the Thalmor see us as pawns. I will undo your history and start anew. In this new history the Forsworn will be known as conquerors."
Casix then took a small glass vial with a blue liquid and small leather wrapping with a tiny needle sticking out of the end. He tossed it to Volonare.
"I've had men infiltrating this city for months now. That's one of the experiments from the college your lady back there coveted so much."
The Thalmor had heard much about these potions and he was excited to have this. Even if he was a bit distraught at the conversation.
"You do serve me a valuable purpose though. The name of the Inquistor strikes much more fear into these people's hearts than The Ink Son will….until today.
Get your vengeance you have been projecting onto me. Kill their hero and crush their spirits. But do know that after today, if I see you or any of your kind in my lands again I'll feast on your bodies and use your skin as a tapestry to shade my children from the sun."
Volonare simply nodded to him in respect and called for his horse to run. He ran off the road and into the woods towards the city.
...
There was an unexpected calm and quiet in the streets as people gathered around to see what used to be a bridge lay broken and destroyed on the cliff below.
Five city guards had all made their way to help disperse the crowd.
"Inside, now!" They would yell
"Into your homes or into the tavern, we are not asking, move now!" One of them was heard yelling.
The city has ninety guards. Fifty of which were on duty at any given time. The bridge collapse was timed almost perfectly for a shift change as all but a dozen guards were in the bunkhouse either preparing to go home or to start their shift for the day.
Travius was trying to help the guards send people away when he heard Aratore running towards him.
"They're here! They're here." He desperately yelled to him.
Just as Travius turned around to see his panicked steward, the anxious quiet of the city was soon brought to an end when the tavern and guards bunkhouse both Exploded and were completely engulfed in a fiery tomb for those inside.
Travius and Aratore were both blown off the road. The flames ignited the oil in the streets and ran like a river of fiery death as its waves his way through the masses. The screams could be heard all the way at the college as innocents were burned in the unnatural heat of Dwarven oil.
...
As soon as they heard the Bridge collapse, the Jarls personal guard began preparing to evacuate the Longhouse but hearing what the two loud explosions had out them into over drive.
Kraldar kissed his wife goodbye. They had been together so that he didn't need to speak, all she had to do was look into his eyes and know what decision he just made. She gave him one last long kiss and then she was hurried off by the guards. Kraldar ran back to the main hall where he saw Thonjolf
"I'm not leaving my city. I failed enough not heeding my Thane's warning." he said
Thonjolf nodded at him.
"I was never leaving" he said as he drew his sword.
Theyboth turned and started running for the front door. From behind them they felt the ground get cold as a sheet of ice ran through the floor, Knocking them all over. The ice started to form as if it were an unchecked weed up the walls and ceilings.
"All of this work, all this sacrifice, it's a shame what your Thane forced me to do"
They heard a voice behind them and looked up from the ground and saw Volonare walking towards them.
...
222
Travius slowly got to his feet, his ears were ringing and he could see confused panicked people running around looking for their loved ones or an escape route as ash and the smell of burning flesh consumed their senses.
Travius found that he had been blown on to the steps of the longhouse. He looked around and realized it was the tavern and guard bunkhouse that had fell victim and a deep suspicious came over him as to why the Longhouse was not a target.
He took one last look around as the flames in the street began to dwindle. He found Aratore begin to sit up in the street and he saw Vhornyak coming running to his aid as they made eye contact. Seeing them allowed Travius to feel comfortable checking on the longhouse. He went to open the door but it would barely move. He knew it wasn't the barricade bar because then the door wouldn't move at all. He stepped back and kicked the door, causing it to open slightly but still
Not enough for him to see inside, much less enter. He stepped back farther and charged at the door with his shoulder. As the door broke free he heard shattering sounds as his momentum pushed him through the doorway.
He almost fell to ground as he entered to an ice floor. He then heard the door slam behind him and ice began to crackle and form back around it. The entire Longhouse was consumed in ice that formed a circular hallway like a cavern in a cave.
Throughout the walls of this corridor were the frozen and shattered pieces of the jarls guards. He then found Jarl Kraldar and Thonjolf on their knees trapped by a coil of ice that slithered up their bodies and covered their mouths.
"Quite the drug your college has made." He heard Volonare's voice and he saw him approach from behind the Jarl.
He had a blue hue swarming his body and Travis could feel an immense magical presence radiate from him. His robe was covered in a pattern of sharp ice spikes that ran down the arms and across his shoulders.
"No wonder he was so protective of them." Volonare said as he flicked the empty syringe in the air.
...
222
Vhornyak quickly jumped out of the street when he saw the flames turn the corner from the tavern and head straight for him. He started to run towards the tavern avoiding the streets by running in between the shops and houses. He was relieved when he got there and saw Aratore starting to sit up and Travius standing by the Longhouse opposite the main road.
Vhornyak grabbed Aratore arms and helped him stand up. Aratore looked around with a mortified looks his face. He was in complete shock as he could hear nothing but screams and panic everywhere around him.
"Hey! Hey" the orc said to him.
Aratore still seemed off in another mind when Vhorynak gave him a fairly hard wake up slap.
"You there?" Vhornyak asked him but Aratore still continued to dissociate in his shocked state.
Vhornyak grabbed him by his face and put it in front of his own as Aratore attempted to speak but it only came out as gibberish.
"HEY!" he yelled loudly in his face.
Aratore finally seemed to snap back into the moment and Vhornyak let go of him.
"Where.. is Travius, where are the girls, where is Trish?" He asked as he checked for his telescope.
"Travius is checking on the Jarl, Anaelle is at home with the girls, I hope Trish was not at the college." Vhornyak answered.
"Not today." Aratore said. He seemed to be back in reality now and handed Vhornyak the Telescope.
"Look south." He said
Vhornyak looked south and felt his heart fell into his stomach as he saw horse drawn forsworn charging towards the city.
What remained of the city guard began to form around them and went silent as they could
Hear the off balance rhythm of a stampede and the ground began to shake in a slow but increasing intensity.
"Where are the rest of you?" Vhornyak asked the guards.
"This is it. They blew up our bunkhouse during shift change. Many more were caught off guard by the fire. Our captain is dead. The men you see here are what's left." One of the guards told
Him with a beaten down tone.
Vhornyak looked back down the road at the charging army with the telescope. He then looked around at the dozen guards and the chaos of confused and frightened citizens.
He looked to the Longhouse expecting to see Travius walk out at any moment but instead he saw the door became encased in ice and frost slowly begin to form in the outside walls.
Malfor cautiously approached him and when Vhornyak saw him he growled and reached out grabbed him by his throat. Malfor tried to fight him off but could not out power the orc and the restrictive grab he had over his throat.
"What did you do?!" Vhornyak growled at him.
"I was…not..not….aware." Malfor tried to speak but could barely breath with the giant hand around his neck.
"Hey! Hear him out." Aratore pleaded with the Orc.
"He didn't evacuate with the others. They left him here to die same as us."
Vhornyak skeptically released his grip from the Ambassadors throat. Malfor regained his breath before he spoke.
"The boy is right, I was only informed minutes before you. I was here to tell you several of your citizens mobbed the carriage before it left the city. It still has a couple barrels on it. We can hide it by the entrance. Your Bosmer can ignite it with his bow Enchantments. Use their own weapons against them. We're never going to win this battle, but we can take as many of them with us as possible." He said.
Vhornyak shook his head.
"Alright, alright. Let's be quick about it"
...
333
Yarwil paced in the courtyard. The entire college was now congregated there as he wanted everyone out in the middle to keep an imbalance of weight from toppling the college.
Yarwil stared into the open cliff side where a bridge once stood. They could hear the faint screams and see the smoke billowing from several parts of the city. He knew they needed to get back to the mainland, not just to save themselves, but to help the city.
"How many have we lost?" he asked J' Zargo
"Many were on mid day break. Many were unfortunately in the city. This one believes most have survived. If we are to call being trapped here surviving." He responded to him
They heard the cannons again and the college shook as a cannonball crashed into the bottom. with the bridge gone, the college now supported solely by a column of rock that more narrow than itself. Then heard several more cannons fire in rapid succession as column was repeatedly fired at. The column began to fall over quickly tilting the college and sending dozens of people sliding out of the courtyard and fall down the cliff side. Several more crashes and then entire college began descending towards the ocean side.
J' Zargo grabbed a broken pillar and held on for dear life as the entire building plummeted. He looked up and saw Yarwil at the other end of the pillar. He closed his eyes and extended both of his arms letting go of the pillar asd J' Zargo saw a green dome of magical energy radiate from Yarwil and enlarged itself. He was creating some sort of force field, an alteration trick J' Zargo had never seen before. The magical aura continue to grow consuming J' Zargo and several dozen students. He saw several pieces of debris slam into the force field and break apart as it grew and grew consuming as many people as it could.
The force field fell at a much slower speed as those who were fortunate enough to be inside of it could see the less fortunate bodies and pieces of the buildings debris plummet and crash into the coastline below them. The force field finally landed on the shore, Yarwil continued to hold what last little bit of debris fell on top of it.
Yarwil finally broke the spell and the force field dissapeared. J' Zargo walked over to him and put his hand on his shoulder.
"You been in these books so long this one was worried you forgot how to use your magic. You're going to have to teach J' Zargo that one." J' Zargo said.
...
333
"We've got a barrel on each side of the main gate. We're all going to hide between the buildings. When they pass that gate, blow those barrels. We'll use the disruption to flank them from our sides." Vhornyak said to Aratore who was moving on a vantage point on top of a store.
Vhornyak noticed dozens of people heading towards the gates. All wielding whatever weapons they could find. Woodcutting axes, meat cleavers, farming equipment and even swords they collected from deceased guards.
They were afraid, they were overwhelmed, but they were still coming. Vhornyak and the guards looked at all the people coming towards as more continued to congregate, ready to fight.
"Hundreds of men charge your gates. Death most likely awaits." He yelled at the increasing crowd.
"Death is already here. Don't want to be a rude host." An Argonian yelled out and the people all cheered.
Vhornyak smirked and shook his head in approval.
"Death is a milk drinker anyway!" Vhornyak yelled and everyone again cheered.
"Take your positions. We have a city to defend."
He said to one last loud cheer as the army was less a hundred yards away.
Vhornyak then turned to Malfor.
"You know how to fight? A little bit different than torturing someone."
Malfor let out a slight grin.
"You just swing your hammer, young man. No need to worry about me."
Vhornyak never noticed until just now when he called him young man, Something was different about this Thalmor. He did not call him orc, beast, monster, mutt, any of the derogatory terms he would usually hear from the Thalmor.
Sudddenly they heard the cannons fire again and heard loud crashes that sounded like they were coming from the cliffside. They turned to the college and saw it rumbling, they heard several more crashes and then the college tilted to one side and then one more series of crashes and the stone column that was now the only support for the college gave way and the entire college fell and disappeared down the cliff side.
Aratore could see the entire college crash into the ocean from atop this roof and panicked forms second before calming down. He knew he needed to focus on them charging and tried to keep it out of his mind.
The ground was now shaking so hard the ashes began to bounce and Aratore could feel the rumbling on the rooftop below his feet. He crouched behind a chimney chute and waited.
The others on the ground remain hidden behind buildings, hiding behind carriages and debris of the buildings that stood tall and proud nearly ten minutes ago. He knew the amount of time since the bombs went off could be measured in minutes but it felt like he waited for days as this army of primitives he had only heard about before were past the stables and merely yards from cities entrance. He pushed the red soul gem on his bow and his arrow became engulfed in flame.
Vhornyak pulled his hammer and remained just enough distance away to keep
Himself from being caught in the blast the unsuspecting army was about to witness. He stood in defiance so his attackers could make sure he was the first thing they saw before the flames.
He saw a Briarheart in front with a troll skull helmet and what appeared to be armor made from human bones pull out a flail. Instead of the usual spiked metal ball on the end he had the end of a spear with small spikes pulled backwards. Clearly meant to rip pieces of his enemies as it was pulled out.
Vhornyak stood alone with his hammer out yelling at the oncoming army. He had accepted that this was probably going to be his last battle. Whether or not the barrels worked decided how long the battle would last.
The sound was now deafening and the earth shook so much his armor was rattling. Just as the army approached he saw the man in the troll
Helmet point his flail at him and then he was flown from his horse as Aratores arrow came just at the right time to ignite one barrel sending an explosion that caught the second barrel and the front row of the oncoming army were ignited and blown back and the main road was blocked by debris of burning forsworn and their horses.
The horses behind them began panicking and throwing off their riders to avoid the flames adding to the blockade of bodies that slowed down the invaders. With two large purple flashes Malfor cast two enormous storm atronachs who immediately began swinging and raining stone and lightning down on the forsworn. This allowed the guards and the townspeople enough of a buffer to come from their hiding spots and have more even numbers to fight off the invaders. This seemed liked a small victory at fist until they saw more and more soldiers on foot entering the city from the west and charge at them.
The army at the gate just kept charging as well. The explosions took out a few dozen but they quickly were able to defeat the Atronachs as hundreds more started to plow through the wreckage of bodies and swarm the city.
Vhornyak searched for the troll helmet but was lost in the mass of soldiers. With only a matter of a minute he could no longer see a body standing that wasn't wearing forsworn armor. What little
bit of defenses they had were already wiped out as they city was swarmed.
They heard another loud explosion and Vhornyak looked towards the new plume of smoke coming from the south east side of the city. He knew that spot very well. He visited it almost everyday. The school house. He swung his hammer at anyone who came near him as he fought his way out of the crowd
...
Aratore ran from rooftop to rooftop trying his best to keep his eye on Vhornyak as he knew this army was too large for a single archer to make any impact besides give away his location. He followed Vhornyak until he saw him find an opening in between the buildings as the Orc ran as fast as he could towards the schoolhouse.
Aratore pulled out his telescope and looked towards the schoolhouse. He was saw bodies scattered all over the yard. He had a sense of dread as he realized it was mostly the children lying there. He then saw another group of soldiers wearing the same plated armor as the militia from Whiterun. He realized as they were all waiting behind the burning schoolhouse that they were waiting for a signal, or someone, to attack.
He pulled away and looked at the city as a whole and almost began to cry. The large army was slaughtering any male they could find in the crowded streets and appeared to be herding any woman or children. He then noticed they started to run inside homes and businesses and began pulling people from their homes and were rounding people up in the streets, being sure to separate the men, woman and children.
The explosions and the oil setting off more and more smaller fires as people's homes and businesses burned. He looked to his own home and saw Trish sneaking into the back yard. He knew there was no way she could get in the front door without a forsworn seeing her. He jumped off the rooftop of the general good store he was on and made a soft landing in a delivery carriage behind the store and ran to towards his home.
As he got closer he saw two forsworn trying to kick down the front door of his home and Trish was nowhere in sight. He quickly dispatched two arrows into the soldiers trying to kick down his door when he was tackled by another forsworn soldier. The forsworn pinned him to the ground and lifted a rigid sword made of bone and aimed it at his chest, and just as he was about to lower it another soldier yelled.
"Stop! Look at his pendant! It's their symbol. He's with them."
The forsworn sheathed his sword and inspected the pendant.
"The Ink Son requires you presence" he said
Both soldiers tied up Aratore and put a hood over his head and began to drag him away from the chaos towards the schoolhouse.
...
444
Vhornyak ran as hard as he could until he got closer and closer to the school house, the closer he got to the carnage it became evident he was too late. He came to the wooden fence and jumped over it with one huge leap.
"No! No" he yelled as he ran through the schoolyard to see the burned and dead bodies of dozens of children. Children who were riding his shoulders and climbing has back just yesterday. He stopped his running and stood in the middle of the carnage and spun in circles just looking and crying.
"No! Why? No" he cried as he fell to his knees and began to bawl and wail at massacre in front of him.
"Mr. Vory?" He heard from his left. He crawled over to the voice and found the little girl who made him the doll and had befriended Astrid.
He picked her up and saw she had lost both her legs from the knees down and the entire right side of her body was burned. She was crying profusely but stopped once he picked her up and stood on his knees. He wanted to console her but had no idea how. He just cradled her in his arm and let her see a friendly face for as long as she could. He knew what she didn't, that she wasn't much longer for this world.
She gave him a big smile and reached her hand over and poked the top of one his bottom fangs and giggled. She then lifted her other hand to show him the doll she been carrying. It was the one she made of him.
"Mr. Vory." She said as she made one last strained breath and then her eyes went still and he no longer felt her labored breathing in his arms.
He gently laid her down and crossed her arms across her chest and laid the doll on top. He began sobbing again as he looked around the the field of dead children all around him.
He then yelled as long as he could. Not a battle roar, not a painful cry. He just yelled, his loud thundering voice caught the attention of the militia as they moved there their way behind the burning building.
In his oblivious emotional state he didn't see or hear them start to move towards him as they formed a wide circle around him. His attention was finally drawn away from his grief when he heard a voice yell from behind him.
"You wail like these children beast." Casix said to him.
...
444
Anaelle looked out the window and stared in horror as she saw an army of Forsworn rampaging through the streets slaughtering people and tying up others. She thought with the fire dying down she could get the girls out and find the others but with an amry outside and it still being daylight she knew she wouldn't be powerful enough to sneak all three past these invaders. Anaelle ran upstairs to grab the gauntlets potions that Yarwil had given her, a few healing potions, Travius crest coin and Morikei. Then she quickly ran back down the steps and looked out the window again and then called for the girls.
"Grab your doll, baby." She said as he reached out her hand for Astrid to grab.
She led them into the kitchen where she opened the hatch to the basement and the frightened girls followed her down there. The basement hatch no lock from the underside so she took off her own belt and tied it around the handle and then moved the large shelf that was in the basement underneath the door. It wasn't completely secure but enough that anyone would have to fight their way through it.
"Misses Anaelle, what's going on?" Astrid asked her. She sat down and pulled her knees towards her chest and tried to bury your frightened face.
"How about I tell you a story, sweetie? A story about a princess." She said to her.
"Ok. I like princess stories." She said
"Good. I know the best Princess story of all time." Anaelle said to her sweetly.
...
444
Travius threw a ball of fire towards Volonare but he simply raised his hand and a large cloud of ice and wind arose from the ground and swallowed his flame.
Volonare put a hand on each of Kraldar and Thonjolf's heads and a blue streak of
Ice ran down both their bodies. They both let out muffled horrid screams as their bodies froze solid and they both shattered into bloody chunks just like the guards by the door.
"No!" Travius yelled as he cast his sword and charged at Volonare.
Volonare made a pulling motion with his hand and a large piece of the ice ceiling came falling down towards him. Travius grabbed it with telekenesis and threw it towards Volonare, whom pulled both of his hands out to his side and the ice block snapped in two pieces and passed by him.
Then a large gust of icy wind appeared from the ground and inside of it was another frozen chunk that knocked the wind from Travius as the gusting wind blew him into his back. Travius found it hard enough to breathe in the icy death cave and struggled to find his breath, exacerbating the difficulty of trying to stand up
On the ice.
As he tried to stand Volonare forced a large block of ice around his hand and hit him
In the head knocking him back down.
"When I first met you I really did see the potential in you and was quite heart broken that you would not be one of the lesser races to serve The Thalmor when the inevitable happened." Volonare said as he kicked Travius in his side
"You live right under the proof of our superiority and refuse to see it. " he said as Travius tried to get up but an ice fist met his face again and he fell into his back.
Volonare then knelt down and straddled him. He used one hand to hold Travius right hand to the ground and with his other hand he formed a large ice spike.
"This college and this wretched city lay a shell of its former glory for a century. The college run by Dunmer and Nords, barely able to survive." He then jammed the ice spike through Travius' palm, pinning it to the ground
Volonare then reached over and grabbed his left hand and formed another ice spike. Travius screamed and tried to pull away but the repeated blows to the head had him too weak and confused.
"Then one day an Altmer takes over your college. Less than a decade later, after years and years of failed leadership,your college is now the premier institute for advancement and discovery. Even for a traitor, your Altmer Archmage made something greater than the rest of you barbaric humans and mutts could ever dream of." Volonare then drove the ice through his left hand.
Travius tried to cast his flames but they just fizzled out as the powerful ice negated any attempt to free himself. He remained painfully trapped to the floor, at the mercy of The Inquisitor.
...
555
Vhornyak immediately turned around and noticed he had been surrounded. He then saw Casix, the Briarheart in the troll skull helmet and he growled and pulled himself off his knees and started a brisk angry walk. His grief had turned into rage as he picked up his pace and was now running full charge at Casix. Casix pulled his flail and swung the spike at Vhornyak. The chain must of been six feet long and Vhornyak was clearly not expecting it to reach that far as the spear dug into his stomach.
Casix then pulled the chain and Vhornyak could feel it trying to remove his contents of his stomach with him. He quickly grabbed the chain and yanked as hard as he could with both hands and snapped the chain with a loud pop. He didn't need the gauntlet potions or his berserker rage. The sight of the massacred children gave him all the adrenaline and anger he needed.
Undaunted by this impressive show of strength, Casix retrieved two small axes from his waistband and charged at Vhornyak himself. Vhornyak swung his hammer sideways at Casix, who ducked at just the last second and rolled himself behind Vhornyak and swung his axes and slammed them into the back of both Vhornyak's thighs, causing him to fall onto his knees and unable to stand up.
"How dare you grieve for these children"
Casix said to him as he rolled again in front of Vhornyak.
He swung his axe towards the orcs chest but Vhornyak managed to grab the axe and strip it from Casix hands. He then swung it back at him but Casix quick rolling maneuver caused the axe to strike the ground.
"How many of my people have you slaughtered? How many children have you left to die while you slain and mutilated their fathers for a bag of gold?"
He then whipped his other flail at Vhornyak and the spear stuck in his right shoulder. Vhornyak yelled in pain as Casix yanked on it and it ripped it out of his shoulder bringing with it a large piece of flesh.
"You let these people think you are a protector. A hero. Do these people know who you really are? Do they know how you really aquire the blood they lick from your boots?" He tauntingly asked him.
"I collect bounties. If you weren't a threat, you wouldn't have a bounty." Vhornyak said.
Casix put his foot on the spear stuck in Vhornyay's stomach and pushed on it. The spikes digging further and further into Vhornyak's stomach causing another pained scream.
"A threat? They choose to live outside your fragile society you and your kind built on top of our ashes and corpses. YOU are the threat. All they were doing was living, and you took that from them."
Casix responded.
Vhornyak had enough of this and tried to jump from his knees but the pain it caused his damaged legs prevented him from getting off his knees.
Vhornyak hung his head in shame and frustration as he was stuck on the ground at the mercy of this strange man he who had never met but clearly knew him.
Casix put his axe on Vhornyak's chin and he tilted his head back up.
"Shame won't save you now."
Vhornyak looked up at him and grinned.
"No, but this will."
He then quickly jammed his left hand into Casix exposed briarheart and began to pull, he pulled a vein loose and blood began to drip from Casix chest.
Casix groaned in pain and several arrows began to fly from the militia into Vhornyays back and then Casix lifted his axe and in one swoop cut off Vhornyak's Arm from the middle of his forearm.
Vhornyak fell into his back further pushing some of the arrows into his flesh. Casix then placed his foot on the orcs chest as he looked at his arm and yelled. Casix leaned over and the blood dripped from his chest onto Vhornyak. Even with all his pain he never took his eyes off Casix.
"Look at them, look at those you failed." Casix demanded.
Vhornyak refused to take his eyes off Casix who was frustrated with the his demands not being met and kicked Vhornyak square in the face. He then knelt down and grabbed his head and turned it to where he could see the field of dead bodies and the circle of militia start to close in on him.
"I want you to know what it's like to be in this position. To lie bleeding and broken on the ground after your home was attacked and those you care about massacred. Let it burn in your mind. This is what you have down to so many others." Casix said to him and then got up and kicked his face again.
"Cauterize his wounds. He's the guest of honor for our victory feast." Casix yelled and the militia all cheered back.
...
555
Volonare then formed an icy jagged dagger and pointed the edge at Travius sternum and very slowly applied pressure.
"All of his work, all of his effort now gone because a few people like you and your beast just cannot learn to accept your place in life. You refuse to accept where you belong." He said as he made one last push and drew the ice into his chest and pulled down, creating a slit down Travius stomach.
His cries of pain fell on the un caring ears of Volonare. He removed the dagger and then stuck his hand into his chest through the open slit and grabbed a hold of his lungs. Travius could feel a devastating cold take over his breath. Every involuntary movement of his lungs caused the ice become more and more potent and every exhale he took created a chilled wind. He continued to scream in agony as his veins turned a dark blue and his face began to form vine like patterns of ice as he could now feel the freeze pump through his veins.
His armor began to freeze causing his skin to become frost bitten and Travius could feel his armor stick onto his skin as ice began to form from the wound and slowly creep up the ebony, causing the plates to separate and dig into his skin. It followed up his chest and down through his arms. Travius was finally showed involuntary mercy as his body began to give out and he slowly lost consciousness. But as the ice made its way down his arms to his gauntlet, it found its way to the hidden compartment on his left wrist. The ice shattered the soul gems and Travius could feel three small punctures in his wrist.
His body began to engulf its self in flame. Melting the ice on his hands and armor and allowing him to free them. He grabbed Volonare's hands and pulled on them removing them from his chest as the wound closed its self behind him. His eyes began to twitch and his muscles involuntarily flexed and moved.
He pushed the Justicar off of him with an immense force that send him flying back several feet. He jumped to his feet and as Volonare stood back up and sneered at him. He realized Travius had somehow been injected with the potions and knew he could now have his own induced magical power matched.
Travius veins began to glow blue and every breath he took created a cold push of air, even with the potions his body was unable to remove the magic Volonare had put into his lungs. Adrenaline from the stamina potion took over as he charged at Volonare who quickly put up a thick wall of ice that Travius just plowed through and tackled Volonare.
Volonare, now stuck beneath his foe, formed another ice dagger and stuck it into his side. The adrenaline preventing him from feeling the pain, Travius reared back his fist and slammed it down to toward Volonare. This gave Volonare enough of chance to roll out from underneath him.
They both stood up and walked in a circle staring each other down. The combination of the three potions put Travius in a state of near dissociation. He began to move faster and faster at a steady pace as his body required constant movement. His mind so eager to exercise that he simultaneously cast his sword , readied a flame spell and gave himself a defensive armor spell all at the same time. His heart was beating so hard you could almost hear it clank the inside of his armor.
Travius noticed the blue aura surrounding Volonare seemed to dampen. He sent a large stream of fire towards him and Volonare responded with his own stream of ice. With their matched powers from the potions, both spells just met in the middle and formed a powerful
Magic barrier to eachother.
As Volonare's Aura began to fade, Travius' flame slowly started to overpower the ice and slowly move towards Volonare. The Justicar then powered his spell with both hands but the flame just crept closer and closer until his ice was engulfed and he jumped out of the way of the flame.
His aura had completely disappeared now and he tried to cast another spell but nothing happened. Travius slowly walked toward him as Volonare tried to step backwards away from him and frantically tried to cast more spells but nothing seemed to happen. Travius knew what the Justicar didn't, he knew the potions leave you depleted after they wear off.
Volonare was panicked and tried to back away faster but without his own magical enhancement he tripped on the icy floor of his own making. He struggled to get back up when Travius grabbed him by this long braid and pulled him off the ground and into his knees. He tried to draw his own sword but Travius grabbed it with a telekenis spell and threw it across the iced room.
Volonare had no words, no more tricks, and no more time. Travius lifted his bound sword and ran it lightly across his forehead just as he had done to the Justicars six months earlier.
He lifted his sword above his head and was about to swing at Volonare when he heard a terrible ringing static in his head and a shock that made him seize inwardly. His mind started to flash images he didn't understand
As he held his head and yelled in pain.
He saw Breton Knights yielding a blood covered flag of the crest on his coin, deadric warriors, a blood soaked crown, he saw an arrow with an ebony tip and an inscription written down its side. Each of these images had a flash of a black serpent between them that appeared closer and closer each time.
Volonare took advantage of the vulnerability and pulled a dagger from his boot and ran at Travius and landed the dagger in his shoulder. Travius snapped out of his daze enough to respond and grabbed into Volonare's hands before he could pull it out.
"See? An Altmer designed these drugs and your lesser mind can't handle it. Too much power for a human." Volonare said to him.
Travius reared back his head and then butted his forehead into Volonares face. The impact sent him flying towards the ground with a small cloud of blood. Volonares nose was clearly broken and part of his skull felt cracked.
"I can hear your heart from here, it's only a matter of time before it gives out." Volonare said
As he tried to pull himself off the ground.
Travius then walked over to him and grabbed him by his hair again and forcefully yanked him on his knees.
"I always knew you weren't the hero these ignorant slobs think you are. Your city burns and yet you're in here with me. All your money, all the adoration, all the love you've been shown and this is how you repay it."
Volonare spoke. Even In this predicament he had to try and get under Travius skin.
Travius again heard the ringing and felt the shock but this time he was able to keep
His composure as his mind flickered the images.
Travius grabbed Volonare's face.
A large brick castle with blood seeping from the grout flashed in his mind*
He pushed his thumb into Volonare's functioning left eye.
in image of An army of Dragon Acolytes approaching an island on several large warships*
Volonare howled in agony as Travius hooked his thumb around his eye
in image Young boys being trained to use combat magic*
Travius then yanked his thumb away in one quick pull
an image of his coin spinning through the air and landing in a pool of black water.*
Volonare frantically grabbed at his face as Travius pulled his eye from his socket. He held the eye in his hand for a moment and admired it and then tossed it back at Volonare's face.
Volonare bumbled in his blindness to find his balance. He tried to stand up but as he got
off his knees Travius put his hands in his shoulders and slammed him right back down.
Travius grabbed him again by hair and tilted his head back and stared into his empty eye socket.
Volonare could feel Travius frigid breath in his face and began a slow maniacal laugh.
"I can take my last breath but I'll never truly die, at least not for you. I am a part of you now and forever. Every breath you take will freeze your lungs. Every word you speak will sting the air with the bitter cold. You carry a piece of me. When you come back down, you'll see. I'll live in your nightmares and in your worst moments. I've made my impact on this world in ways you could never dream to accomplish." Volonare said to him.
"I'll see you in my dreams then." Travius said as his entire body become consumed in an infernal blaze and his body began to levitate. He reached out his arms and the heavy flames extended from him to the ice surrounding them as it began to crack and melt.
Volonare could only hear the crackling of the flames and feel the water drip down from him as Travius then lowered his arms and with a loud boom the ice melted at once and became a scolding cloud of rain. Volonare could feel a wave of heat as boiling water began to pour onto him. He screamed in agony as the skin melted from his bones and his muscles began to be exposed and scorched.
Travius leaned over him and took the time to enjoy Volonare's agony until his screaming subsided and sighed a few labored breathes and the mutilated Justicar died just as how he lived. With Ugliness and pain.
Travius didn't realize that the ice had made its way through the seams and cracks of the longhouse. He heard the walls began to creak and moan and the floor began to buckle and pieces of the ceiling began to fall. He ran as fast as he could towards the door.
The mixture of the potions fighting themselves in his body caused his heart to continue pounding at an unsustainable pace and then he felt a tightness in his chest as his heart suddenly stopped beating. He fell to the ground unable to breathe or move. His vision slowly starting to dissipate as the pieces of the longhouse collapsing all around were just a blur.
He could feel his consciousness leaving his body and the last glimpse he could see was the blurry image of a human figure in a dark brotherhood armor and hood and what looked like a Khajit. In his mind he heard a distant indistinguishable voice say to him.
"Death is not your destiny today."
...
555
Yarwil took a deep breath. He counted and saw he had saved twenty two including J'Zargo and himself. He looked around and shed a tear as he saw his college and the mangled bodies of his students laid out all over the shore. Skyrim's beacon of knowledge and advancement, a decade of hard work from him lie crumbled and destroyed and infecting the sea.
J' Zargo noticed something in Yarwil's eyes he had never seen before. Anger.
"Fifteen hundred students. We had nearly fifteen hundred students. You stood with me for ten years as we re-built this college. It only took Six months of letting the Thalmor in and it's all gone!" He shouted in frustration.
"And now we have twenty students. And they need you just as much as the five hundred did. They need you to be the calm and level man leader you always are. Let it out and then wipe your tears and be the Archmage." J' Zargo said to him.
Yarwil took another look around, his students seemed lost and afraid. Traumatized, but safe. He knew he needed to be the leader he has always been to maintain that safety"
"The cliffside tapers off here to the west. We need to get back up to the city….or what lays left of it." Yarwil said as he dried his eyes.
"Look for any survivors on the way out" J' Zargo said the other survivors as they gathered around the Archmage and Master Wizard.
"And stay alert"
They all followed the archmage down the coast as they all prepared for the horrors they could see in the city.
...
555
Anaelle and the girls sat in a corner of the basement. Anaelle sat between both girls who leaned into her as she tried to tell them a story but her voice just echoed to nothing as they were too distracted by the sounds of horror coming from above them.
Then they heard what Anaelle had feared would happen. The loud bang of their front door being busted open and then the clanking of multiple footsteps above them. The loud clunky sound tapped with the creaking of the floor caused all three of them to go silent. She had made a note of everything in the basement as she did when she walks into any room. Not much was kept down here but a large safe with a ward barrier, extra gardening supplies and a couple empty shopping crates.
The girls began crying as they heard more and more footsteps and then large bangs and glass shattering. The basement was directly below the kitchen and the armory.
Anaelle had a sense of dread as she realized they were rummaging through the armory. She was of course concerned about what these invaders could get a hold of in there but more so knowing her husband's trophies and written accounts of his adventures over the years were being pillaged. The girls began crying louder as they heard a tugging at the cellar door.
"Let's check down here. They have to be hiding their jewels and money somewhere. These monsters got quite rich killing our people." She heard from a scruffy male voice.
Ananelle pulled the girls heads on her shoulders. She began slowly humming a slow melody as she heard the invaders pulling harder and harder on the door. She could see her belt begin to stretch and one loop popped loose.
Astrid started to cry loudly until Anaelle covered her mouth. She had a look of hesitation on her face as her hand lit up green and she put a calming spell on Astrid.
"I need you to do Misses Anaelle a favor ok? I need you to crawl in that wooden crate over there and then Deena will join you and you guys can play nap time, does that sound fun?" Anaelle whispered to Astrid.
"That doesn't sound fun at all, but let's do it!" She excitedly exclaimed in her spell induced state.
Both headed to the crate as the banging became louder and louder and the belt snapping was seeming like an inevitability.
"You won't fit in here Anaelle." Deena said to her worriedly.
"I know."
She put her hands in either side of Deena's face.
"Make sure she stays quiet." She then paused and looked at the scared pregnant teenager.
"Whatever you see, whatever you hear, please don't hate me." She said and then hugged her.
Both girls crawled into the container and Anaelle put the top back on the crate. The door to the basement was now open and the invaders were trying to move the shelf from above when Anaelle hid in the corner, pulled out her daggers, and made herself invisible.
Five forswron invaders stepped into the basement and gave them selves a moment to adjust to the darkness when one of them saw the safe.
"There it is, I knew it was somewhere." He said as he leaned down and tried to open the safe but was soon zapped by a strong lightning ward that burned his hands and sent him scurrying back.
"We don't need their jewels and money anyway. That armory provided us with what we need." Another said as they all laughed at him.
He got up and dusted himself off.
"Well, keep looking, there has to be something down here. The Ink Son said they have three girls living here."
"Check these shipping crates. They wouldn't keep them here just to stay empty." He told the rest.
They opened one empty crate and found nothing and moved onto another. Deena could look out between the pieces of wood and knew it was only a matter of time before they opened the crate they were in. She was mostly perplexed because she didn't see Anaelle anywhere, did she abondon them? She couldn't have, she thought.
The men finally made their way over to the crate the girls were in. Just as the lid was about to be lifted she heard a slicing sound and the man froze as blood began to drip down the top of his head and through the spaces in the wood did the crate.
"It's his wife! Get her." One of them yelled when they saw Anaelle seemingly appear out nowhere with a dagger in their fellow soldiers head.
She popped out of sight again and then reappeared behind another of them and gave a large dramatic snarl and she popped her fangs out and dig them into his neck.
"Monster!" One of the yelled and she disappeared again.
The three remaining soldiers got in a circle with their back towards eachother and their weapons drawn. They were clearly nervous as they moved in a circle trying to find the vampire who had just killed two of them with little to no effort.
Astrid's spell had worn off and she began crying and panicking as she heard the snarls and the commotion. Deena quickly put her hand over Astrid's mouth as she continued to watch between the sheets of wood.
The soldiers heard a bottle fall and break in the ground and turned toward the noise. As they were all facing the same direction Anaelle appeared behind two of them. Drilling her dagger through one of their throats and biting into the neck of another.
The third guard panicked and accidentally dropped his sword. He went to pick it up but Anaelle stepped on it. She snarled at him and slowly walked toward him. Her face and chest covered in blood as she made sure to show off her fangs as much as possible. She had learned quite well over the last two centuries how to use vampirism to strike fear into people and she was certainly applying it now as a wet spot began to form the man's crotch.
She kept walking towards him until he backed into a wall and she put both hands on the wall behind him and started to sniff him as if she were an animal looking for the scent trail of prey.
He trembled in fear now as she lightly brushed his face with her fangs. She had decided she had enough of toying with him and laid her hands on his chest and put him
Under a calm spell.
"Where is my husband and where is Vhornyak and Aratore? Don't you dare tell me you don't know who they are ." She said to him.
"We have captured the Orc and the Bosmer. Your husband was in the Longhouse fighting that one eyed Justicar when it collapsed. I give you my word I don't know anything beyond that." He answered.
The nice thing about calm spells is you don't have to question whether or not someone's lying.
"You're going to go out there and tell everyone the house is cleared and no one was in here. It looked like we escaped before you got searched it, do you understand or do I need to leave a little
Nibble to remind you?" Anaelle said to him.
"Yes Ma'am. You can't hide here forever though. The Ink Son intends to take this as his own home." He answered.
"Thank you for the help. Remember, you never saw me, this conversation never happened and no one was here." She said.
He simply nodded and ran out of the basement and out the front door. Anaelle quickly grabbed her supply bag and opened the crate for the girls. They were both happy to leave the box and jumped out quickly.
"Is there a kitty? Not like a J' Zargo, like a small
Kitty. I heard hissing." Astrid asked.
"Yes, the kitty scared the bad guys away." Deena answered her.
Deena sheepishly looked at Anaelle. You could see a mixture of a respected fear and amazement on her face. Anaelle had seen this look before and knew it usually becomes more in the fear side as time goes on, but the Deena smiled at her and gave her a hug.
"Thank you and your kitty" she said
"She didn't see anything." Deena then whispered in Anaelle's ear.
"This is our best chance. We need to get out of this house while we can. I need you both to be very brave right now." Anaelle said and then abruptly stopped as she heard a creaking sound above them.
Whoever made the sound was aware they were heard and froze. Anaelle motioned for the girls to stay down as she slowly crept towards the ladder and started to walk up. As she approached the kitchen floor her intuition told her to look behind her.
She turned her head slowly and was stunned to see a redguard with long dreadlocks and Dark Brotherhood armor.
"Long time no see, Princess." The Redguard said to her.
"Kainnan?!" She said in a state of shock
"What are you doing here?" Anaelle asked Kainan with complete bewilderment.
"I have a transport outside the city to get you and the girls out of here. I'll explain everything, but we need to go quick. They are already coming back." He said to her as he extended his arm to help pull her up.
She refused his help and pulled herself up and then waved for the girls.
"Last time someone rescued me from an invasion was two hundred years ago and it did not go as planned. I'm not leaving without my husband and my family again." She said dismissively to him.
"It worked out well enough you're telling the story two hundred years later." He said to her
She gave him an angry glare but she knew he was right.
"Your husband's barely living body is in my carriage where M' Arques looks over him. M' Arques is a good trader but not much of a fighter, we need to go now if your husband has any chance of survival." He pleaded with her.
She was helping the girls out of the basement who were both startled to see a Redguard standing in their kitchen.
"Our window to escape without being seen is closing with every second. I promise I'll explain everything but we need to go now or all of you die, including your husband." Kainan impatiently huffed.
As much as Anaelle disliked her former colleague, she knew that he had no better plan. She also knew that even if they haven't always seen eye to eye that she had no reason not to trust him, especially if M' Arques is curiously involved.
"I'll explain everything at the carriage." He said again.
"I know you will. If you dont, I'll turn your mind to mush digging the truth out." She said to him.
"There she is." He smiled and then lead them out the door