23rd of Sun's Height

We're in Winterhold at the College. I've got some mages looking into how to replicate my Ice Form shout at scale with staffs. If we can do that, we can capture whole swaths of the Altmer army and the Thalmor alive. We just have to grab them, restrain them, and wait for them to thaw out. If this works out at all, I've of a mind to take the regular army prisoner and execute the Thalmor once they give up whatever information we can get from them. I dumped some gold on the mages and they're digging into how to create an enchantment that can capture my shout so that we can use the enchanter to remove the enchantment from the item to learn it. Once that works, then we can use that to create the enchantment for the staffs. I'll have to come back and shout now and then until we can get something that captures it successfully.

If we can take lots of them alive, then we'll have to come up with prison camps for the army regulars. We have some islands off the northern coast where we should be able to keep them until the war is over. Some of the islands already have old ruins we can use for shelter. It won't be a resort but as long as we ship them food and supplies, it won't be a death sentence either. I've already warned Ulfric that if he's too harsh with them, it will just breed another rebellion. So far, he's been listening to what I have to say about not creating another rebellion. A small part of the city expansion is almost ready to open. I'm pleased with the clean up of the existing part of the Grey Quarter and new expansion. Ulfric's also stopped forcing them all into a same tiny area and booting most of the Argonians to a single structure that's outside the walls. A couple of them are skooma addicts and they're still stuck outside but the rest have been allowed to move into the city. They're also getting paid the same as the Nords for their work now, so I'm pleased with that, too. Some of the Dunmer have the means to buy houses in other parts of the city. One family of them has bought the old Arentino house and cleaned it up. They've even adopted the boy and told me privately that they'll be dealing with Grelod the Kind. I gave them some gold to help with Aventus' expenses since he's been quite ill, probably due to exposure and scavenging for food and from living in an unheated house for some time now. Now that Dunmer have begun to join the fight as Stormcloaks, many of them are starting to get respect and even gain some acceptance. They've been surprised at how this has changed how much of the population of Windhelm views them and how many are now willing to accept them now that they're actually participating, instead of just demanding protection from their Nord neighbors.

Korik, the jarl of Winterhold, is training his "army". I say "army" because six louts who all have two left feet do not constitute an army. They'd be hard pressed to manage a den of skeevers much less Imperial regulars or Thalmor. I've suggested that they start breaking down the wrecked houses and using those supplies to rebuild new residences and buildings. Once they're built, they can be offered to anyone willing to relocate to Winterhold and start an approved business. What Winterhold needs is a nice restaurant, a bath house, an alchemist, a blacksmith, a book seller and few other businesses. I've also suggested that they offer bonuses to anyone with magical ability who's willing to serve in the Jarl's army. If Korik were a tiny bit smarter, he'd be training up the magical wing of the Skyrim Army. A few dozen really powerful mages would go a long way toward giving him some credibility and some of the status that he craves among the other Jarls.

I've suggested that instead of focusing on conventional troops that he start working with the College to train anyone with a shred of magical ability. He's not happy about this since he hates the College and blames them for everything that's gone wrong in Winterhold, but he's at least thinking it over. If he doesn't reconsider soon, I'm going to suggest to Ulfric that he replace Korik. Korik's a better fit for Bruma and its certainly a more prestigious position. He's at least competent enough to ensure that there are patrols and such and loyal enough to Ulfric that I don't think the Cyrodiil nobles will be able to sway him into defecting. Korik's smart enough to realize that if he were to defect that the nobles would promptly kill him and seize power for themselves.

24th of Sun's Height

I stopped in Windhelm to see how things are going. Someone, probably Brunwulf, finally tossed Rolf Stone-Fist into the harbor as the tide was going out. I suggested this to Suvaris ages ago, but she's too kind to actually do it. Just a quick hip bump as she's walking past him would have done the job. He's always drunk and its easy enough to make sure he falls in as he's roaming around shouting insults. The guards talked to Rolf about the incident. All Rolf knows is that it was definitely a Nord and definitely male, because all he saw were the hands. No one else seems to have noticed anything. Quite a few have said plainly that Rolf just fell off the dock while drunk, including the guards who on the docks at the time. One of the guards that I spoke to thinks that Rolf is making the story up to excuse his own drunkenness. That's entirely possible and even plausible. The real question is would the guards protect Brunwulf and the answer to that is a resounding yes. I think that's an even more plausible explanation, so as far as I'm concerned Rolf is probably right and Brunwulf probably finally had enough of Rolf acting like an ass. I know I certainly have and I don't even live in Windhelm, despite keeping a house there, mostly at Ulfric's insistence. Ulfric would like me to live there, but Frostfall is far more comfortable and my base of operations is in Whiterun not Windhelm. If there's going to be an invasion of the Thalmor, it's likely to come via Pale Pass and I'd rather be closer to Falkreath so that I can put a stop to it sooner.

One of the Argonians felt sorry for him and swam out to pull him in. I asked Shavee why in Oblivion she pulled him out instead of letting the tide take him. He's been the instigator of the worst of the behavior to the non-Nord population in Windhelm. Shavee shrugged and said that maybe having someone who isn't a Nord save him might get him to change his ways. So far, Shavee hasn't been right, more's the pity. I suppose I'll have to deal with him myself at some point. He'll either stop or he'll be facing me in a duel. I doubt that Ulfric will give me too much static over it, since it will quiet the city down considerably. Still having him tossed into the outgoing tide has put a stop to some of the others that Rolf used to be able to get to join in his pathetic display. None of them want to end up riding the tide out of the harbor.

I've pointed out to Rolf that he might as put a sign around his neck that says "I'm totally inadequate as human and a Nord because I have to abuse others to feel better about myself." That made him angry but not angry enough to take a swing or a stab at me. We'll see if that has the desired effect or not. If it doesn't, maybe I'll try baiting him again. I definitely get the impression that my verbal barbs hit a bit close to the bone. Either way, the bad behavior will end. Otherwise, I think I'll hire a bunch of drummers to go play outside his house every morning, when I know he's hung over. A few weeks of that might sort him out.

I think that after what I had to say about Rikke, Ulfric's more inclined to listen to me. He still thinks that he's High King because I wanted to get Rikke without picking up a bounty. I hate to break it to him, but if I really wanted Rikke that badly, the Circle would have helped me find a way to draw her out so I could take her. That was never my objective in ending the civil war so quickly. I'm out to get the whole damn structure that let someone like Rikke operate so openly that she didn't care if her underlings knew she was sending people to to block for no reason and so used to abusing her authority that even Hadvar didn't think to question it. I'm out to get the whole damn structure that let the Thalmor take prisoners and torture them before murdering them in heinous ways like leaving them to starve to death in the abandoned prison where I found Kai or simply marching them out of sight and murdering them. I'm out to get the whole damn structure that turned the Penitus Oculatas into Thalmor imitators.

26th of Sun's Height

We're back at Frostfall and we'll be here for a few days while I get Istar Cairn-Breaker settled in. With Ralof gone to Solitude for a while, I asked Galmar for someone I'd served with who could come and manage the guard here at Frostfall. I'm not so worried about the vampires any more, although we get them from time to time. All the guards here are equipped with scrolls for sunlight spells and Fire Atronachs to deal with the vampires. The Thalmor, however, concern me greatly. With us being gone so much, I want someone here that I trust to look after the girls safety and to take them to Delphine if Frostfall ends up overrun by Thalmor.

I've had some discussions with Talesin about how well the Thalmor could withstand a dragon attack. He says that their glass towers won't withstand it. Between the fire and frost, the dragons wiil likely be able to destroy much of Summerset. Durnehviir in particular will be quite difficult for them to deal with since he's only partially undead. Anything they do to try to turn "turn" him might result in freeing him from the Ideal Masters and making him fully alive again. If that were to happen, gods help us all. He might be my temporary ally since I can and do call him from the Soul Cairn but unlike Paarthurnax or even Oda, I seriously doubt that we're anything even remotely friendly.

I have no illusions about Durnehviir. He'd turn on us in an instant if he though he could get away with it. He was already immortal so he can't really become a lich, despite being an extremely powerful necromancer in his own right. I rather suspect that having had thousands of years to study necromancy in the Soul Cairn, he's far more powerful a necromancer than any of the Thalmor mages who seem to be largely limited to shock and paralysis spells. He plans to rip their souls out and then raise them to turn on the others. He plans to offer their souls to Ideal Masters in exchange for their help in undoing the damage that's been done to him by his time in the Soul Cairn.

Paarthurnax doesn't trust Durnehviir. Durnehviir knows that I can take him in a fight, even when he's trying to use Soul Tear on me. I've shown Durnehviir the Thalmor uniforms and elven armor. I've told him that anyone wearing either one is fair game for whatever gets them either out of the fight or gets them to attack their own side. I've suggested a few carefully selected targets for frenzy spells followed by the Soul Tear is probably a good option.