19, Sun’s Dawn, 4E 201

“Feels strange, not taking the dog sleds.” I looked over the group I’d gathered.

“The snow will be melting by the time we come back, dog sleds aren’t going to do well on a muddy track.” Hania called from her horse. My own was a big critter, sized to fit my new frame.

“Doubt they’d be able to pull your heavy ass Johannes.” Angven snickered. A few of the men, those I’d picked to join the twins, suppressed their own chuckles.

“Not everyone can look this good.” I flexed in the morning sun. Harald had put a lot of effort in to re-shape my armor and add additional bits to it with my sudden growth. He’d gotten it done on time, if a bit lesser in quality than the original. All the clothes I’d bought from the Twins’ father had needed to be re-tailored too. I was happy for the substantial boost to my size and strength, I just wished I had gotten it a little sooner. Maybe before I’d spent two hundred septims on nice clothes.

[If you knew how to read, perhaps that could have been prevented.]

I glared at the window. They’d popped up so often with skill and level up notices that I’d gotten accustomed to just sending them away. Now I at least read the things, and whatever entity controlled them was an asshole. The fact that it was reading my thoughts was only mildly disturbing. I figured it wouldn’t take too long before I went back to ignoring them out of reflex. No response to that huh?

“Can’t wait to see the look on Riga’s face.” Anglin grinned. Wish I had my helmet on.

“Behold, the champion who fights vampires, bandits, and thousand year old undead, flustered by the mention of a girl.” Angven laughed.

“I’m also the one that fills your pockets, so you might think about what you’re going to say next.” I gave a mean glare at the twins.

“The insolent youth, truly a treasure of leading.” Adalvald chuckled before turning to the pair of them. “You boys should show respect to a champion of Stuhn, even if he is your friend. Especially when he could throw you into the next hold.”

“Thank you Adalvald. Is everyone ready?” Without any more smart comments, everyone assented. The twins were riding shotgun on two of the wagons, with the rest of the unmounted men in the back or driving the wagons. There were five wagons total, three were going to break off at Icehome, we’d gotten word from one of Gromm’s men that they’d be taking my offer. They’d be in time to help sow the fields around Seacrest, fell trees, build their own houses and work in the mines. Honestly, I’d hoped for a little bit more time to get things ironed out, but Kalor had been happy to take the lead as Headman.

“Off to Winterhold then.” With a creak and a Yah!

“Johannes, why are we heading back to Winterhold instead of straight over the mountains? We need to head south don’t we? It’d be easier to go south first and loop back around.” Lodor asked after we’d been on the move for a while.

“To check in with your father and Molnen. It’s only been a few weeks, but I want to know if they managed to root out the other barrow. If they didn’t we’ll be taking a detour before Dawnstar. I’d rather head straight for Carcette, but we need to get our smiths and miners from somewhere, the sooner the better. We’ll also be stopping at the Whistling Mine, see if they’ve gotten my letter. I think they’ll be happy to actually get some iron out of the ground for once.” I grinned. Lodor nodded.

“Timing matters.” The young noble got it.

“Yep. Can’t have your brother sitting around with nothing to do. Harald and Koljan’s people are dead in the water till we get a reliable work crew for all three mines. Hopefully the Whistlers can work the iron mine we found, then Koljan’s people will go after the corundum. The silver is less important at first, we can make steel armor and arrowheads.”

“Jori and I finished a huge batch of his liquid sunlight last night too.” Lodor seemed proud of himself.

“I heard you were down in his workshop. Thinking of becoming an alchemist?” I leaned in a little closer, with a hushed voice. “Or do you just think Lyanna is cute?”

“Is both an answer?” Lodor grinned.

“A good one. Have you picked up any magic from the pair of them yet? You’ve hardly left Jori alone when you had the time, and you’ve gone to every lesson that the mages put on.” I hoped for a positive answer.

“Lights and Sunfire. Jori seems to think I’d make a good mage with practice.” Lodor lifted a hand and tossed a little orb into the snow.

“You would! Not many can pick things up so quickly. He’s a fast study Champion.” Adalvald called from behind us. I turned to him.

“What about the others? Any luck with Dumb and Dumber back there?” I cocked my chin at the twins. Adalvald smirked.

“Some. Lights is always a good place to start with magic, and they’ve both managed to conjure them. The rest of their practice has gone slower. Lodor, if you’d like, I’ll teach you a spell that would serve you well, with that shield you’re so fond of.” Adalvald offered.

“Gonna teach him how to make it a boomerang?” I wasn’t sure where the quip had come from.

“What’s a boomerang?” Lodor asked.

“A stick that comes back to you after you throw it.”

“Why would I throw my shield? That seems like a good way to get stabbed or feathered.” Lodor furrowed his brow. He had a point.

“Indeed, but no, I was thinking Stendarr’s Shield. It’s a spell adjacent to Stendarr’s Aura and alteration magic. It can be used to imbue armor rather than project the field around the caster. Think of it as a temporary enchantment. If you block a strike from an undead creature or Daedra, it will cause a magical backlash on the target, like a weak form of Sun Fire. It won’t stop the strike from hurting you, it just punishes the thing that did it. Perfect for using on a shield.” Adalvald offered. I looked to some of the other men, plenty carried shields.

“I think that sort of magic should be standard issue. Is it hard to learn?” I asked, I’d been building up a short list of spells that I wanted everyone to know.

“Not particularly, once you’ve learned the foundations around it. Sunfire, a lesser ward, and oakflesh all have similarities to it.” Adalvald was worth his weight in gold.

“Great. Sorry for butting in there Lodor.”

“That’s fine. I’d love to learn it. We’ll have time in the evenings I think.”

“Certainly.”

21, Sun’s Dawn, 4E 201

“Champion.” My favorite elf was waiting precisely where I expected her to be.

“Faralda.” I nodded to her.

“You’ve grown since I last saw you.” The Altmer seemed curious, and on guard.

“Just a few inches. I’ve been sleeping upside down, stretched me out a little.” The Altmer remained stoney faced as ever.

“Go on then.” She stepped aside with a scowl.

“Great to see you too.” I kept on going, only for Faralda to try stopping my second. I felt the crackle of magic forming in time with the shink of a longsword being drawn.

“Faralda, Hania, Hania, Faralda. As fun as it would be to see a spellsword dismember a battlemage, I’d rather not see any body parts today. She’s a Vigilant Faralda, a friend of Jori’s and Adalvald’s second. Go on and show her some magic Hania.” I grinned at the scene unfolding. Hania’s sword was about two thirds of the way drawn, Faralda had a ball of fire in her hand.

Hania slowly raised her left hand, a shape coalescing into a fox. It was a bit pointed, but Faralda stepped aside. Hania had a shit eating grin a mile wide as we crossed the bridge.

“Antagonizing the elves? Or just showing the old gods some love?” I asked.

“Both. Faralda knew me from the first time I came here with Adalvald, she just likes to flaunt what little power she has. If she was nicer, they wouldn’t put her out in the cold every day.” I’d never thought of it like that.

“You think they all hate her as much as she hates us?” I laughed.

“Why else would a senior mage get such a terrible post?” Hania had a good point.

“Fair point. The question then is why does she stay?” We left the question to hang as we reached the courtyard. There were a few students around, but not the one I was looking for. We did turn a few heads, armored nords weren’t exactly the most common sight at the College. Especially one that looked half-giant.

“Champion! My, it feels like its been a year since we first met with all the excitement!” Tolfdir, one of the instructors, called over from the doorway that lead into the Hall of Elements.

“Tolfdir, good to see you. I’ve certainly been busy. How are the students treating you here?” I closed the distance and put my hand out to him. Tolfdir shook it, his own hand comically undersized.

“The same as always, headstrong and sure of themselves. Confidence is a helpful thing, until they confidently light themselves on fire.” The old mage chuckled.

“I’ve run into some of that with the vigilants that joined me, though they have come around to my own lessons.” The vigilants, even though they all knew their way around a sword, had made great progress in the past week. It’d be months before I was satisfied, but the fighting men would need just as long to wrap their heads around magic.

“Oh? How did you manage such a thing?”

“I punched one of them in the mouth. Hard to bitch and moan with a split lip.”

“My! I don’t think I could get away with that here. They won’t even let me use itching spells for punishment anymore.” Tolfdir’s grin made it hard to tell if he was being honest or joking.

“What has the world come to, not even an itching spell? Surely they used to light your pants on fire for slacking off.”

“And worse! I suppose that you’re here for a reason?” Tolfdir straightened.

“Looking for Riga, and the Master Mage.”

“Ah! Riga has been a most promising student, though she hasn’t exactly been here for very long. I hope you don’t intend to whisk her away again so soon.” Tolfdir seemed to have some genuine concern.

“No, just to say hello. We’ll be here in Winterhold for the evening, but I’m intending to leave as soon as the sun rises again.”

“Ah, well, she should be studying with Instructor Neloren, our illusionist. She’s taken to conjuration too, in the most unusual spells.” I heard Hania’s armor clink as she stiffened.

“Like what?” The lady knight asked, only a touch hurried.

“Familiars mostly, beyond the simple wolf and raven that most bother to learn. She has been trying to summon a troll, a bear, among others. Her skill at banishing magic is growing too.” That brought a grin to my face. She’d taken my advice to heart. We were going to be fighting beasts that specialized in throwing disposable minions at us, it would pay to have some of our own.

“That’s good to hear. Are they as strong as the real thing?”

“Not quite. She’s had trouble keeping the trolls manifested for more than a few minutes, and preventing them from attacking the first thing they see. Instructor Gestor had to destroy two of them from what I heard. The bears are slightly more docile, but also hard to keep.” Tolfdir smiled.

“Suppose that accounts for the banishing magic then?”

“Quite. Given some months, I think that she will have a mighty retinue of ghostly beasts to protect herself with. But you were looking for Master Mirabelle as well.”

“Yes, there are some things I wanted to speak with her about.”

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

“I will take you to her. This way Champion.”

Tolfdir led me into the hall of elements, and towards the Arch-mage’s quarters, before stopping short of them and taking a side door. We hadn’t been standing before the final door for more than a moment before Mirabelle’s voice called out.

“Enter, Champion. Thank you Tolfdir. Why don’t you take Hania to go find Riga?” An amused looking Tolfdir nodded.

“At once Master Mirabelle. Hania, if you would.” He gestured back the way we’d come. Hania looked distraught.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll come looking for you in a while.”

“Champion.” She nodded, but didn’t seem happy about it. I entered the office to see Master Mirabelle behind her desk, a series of tomes floating around her.

“Multi-tasking?” I took a seat across from her.

“Searching for a very particular thread left by second era scholars. I’ve made it a hobby of mine to critique their work and see what they missed.” Mirabelle let the tomes close and settle on her desk.

“Hindsight is always twenty twenty.”

“Hmm?”

“A saying, there’s a mundane test for gauging someone’s eyesight. Twenty twenty vision is the standard for healthy eyes. Probably don’t need such things around here.” I caught my self. Two slips in as many days, I was losing my edge. Then again, everyone thought I was strange enough already.

“Ah, well I see your point. All three mages who wrote these tomes studied clairvoyance, and came to similar conclusions by varied methods. Maybe you would have something to add? Clairvoyance does seem to be a gift of yours.” Mirabelle played her hand.

“How long have you had the listening spell in the Jarl’s hall? I did buy those books for a reason. Clever stuff, I have to admit.” I played my own right back. Before I’d left from Winterhold, I’d visited the Arcaneum and bought a small fortune’s worth of tomes, mostly focused on things useful for surveillance and stealth. I’d been curious about what other sorts of magic there were, beyond the immediately useful destruction spells.

“When I was asked to assist in finding the bandit spy, it seemed a convenient resource.” Mirabelle admitted.

“I doubt the Arch-Mage endorsed that. He seems content to maintain the isolationist position of the College.” That drew a mild flicker of irritation from the mage.

“Tread carefully with your words Champion. I won’t tolerate any insolent remarks. We are not as spineless Korir was.”

“I mean no disrespect, but I can’t say that I approve. The College has unleashed two disasters on the hold in less than a century, and done little to clean up its own mess. Milek was one of yours. He killed over a hundred people. The current opinion of the College is poor, to say the least, and I’m creating an alternative to the money that you bring in. That isn’t meant as a threat, or a warning, its just a statement.” I calmed the mage before she could take offense.

“Your point?”

“You need a public relations win more than Korir ever did. When I threatened Faralda about the locals supplying the college, that was a bluff, they couldn’t afford to do it. This time next year, they won’t need your money, which means that a lot of locals around here will start asking questions about why they tolerate a dangerous bunch of mages living on their doorstep. The Arch-Mage may think he’s being inoffensive and not bothering anyone by keeping the college shut off, but he isn’t. He’s painting you as a bunch of mysterious, unpersonable wizards that occasionally spawn a catastrophe. Ignorance breeds suspicion, suspicion leads to resentment. It doesn’t help that Nords have a history of getting the raw end from mages. You know I’m right, otherwise you wouldn’t have listened in on the Jarl’s conversations.”

“That sounds like a threat, Champion. You are building an army. You’ve played a part in the gristly executions of several mages so far. To me, it seems like you’re about to make an ultimatum.” Mirabelle, sharp as ever.

“I am, but it’s not one where I’m the thing you need to worry about. You and the Arch Mage will be dead this time next year anyways. Ancano will kill you both because of a discovery the College makes. When we kill Ancano first, the Thalmor will retaliate. I think you would like to have the locals on your side when that happens. I already have a plan to take him off the board, but I will need your help. At least your blessing.” I laid it all out in the open. Mirabelle remained silent for over a minute.

“How do you know that? It sounds like you’ve just made up a creative story.”

“You already have the answer to that. Clairyvoyance as you called it. Divine visions, memories that haven’t been made yet. I don’t know what the hell it is, but I do know, and I’ve been right so far.” I shrugged before continuing. “I’ll help you take care of your Thalmor problem, and keep you alive. In return, I need your master enchanter to work with these.”

I reached down to my belt and dumped several dozen black soul gems onto the desk. Mirabelle’s eyes widened. Each one, save for Milek’s, represented an innocent person that had been sacrificed for some awful purpose. I didn’t like the idea of using them, but they were too valuable to ignore. It was enough to outfit six men in the finest magical armor and weapons that could be produced today.

“That’s… I don’t like this Champion. The Arch-Mage will never consent to a guest of the college being harmed, especially not one with such backing.” Mirabelle looked very uncomfortable. Seemed she was willing to make jokes, but not really see them through.

“I could just walk out there and kill him right here, right now. You claim ignorance, I’m banished from the college, and I find someone else to enchant the equipment I need. Good luck dealing with the locals when they decide that they’re tired of your shit.” I started to gather up the soul gems. Mirabelle held up a hand.

“What do we find that provokes the Thalmor?”

“The Eye of Magnus. The Psijic order takes an interest, Ancano wants to seize it for the Thalmor, Arch-Mage Aren tries to stop him, you help, you both die, someone else puts Ancano to the sword. It’s a fucking disaster. We can avert two of those things by getting rid of the elf before he does something stupid. I’ve got a fairly straight forward plan for that.”

“That’s… The Eye was lost after the Night of Tears.” There was something in her eye, a real worry.

“You’ve already found Saarthal?” I made a guess. The way she stiffened up said I’d gotten it right.

“There is no possible way that you could know that. The Arch-mage and I have kept it to ourselves.” Mirabelle kept her tone steady, but the weight she was putting on the desk spoke to other emotions.

“Like I said, I don’t know how I know, I just do. So, will you help me or not? I’ve already given you a big edge towards staying alive.”

“I need to speak with the Arch-Mage.”

“I’ll expect an answer when I return, I’m not sticking around for long. I expect to be back in a month or so. I’ll be making my moves with or without your help.” I gathered up the soul gems and stuffed them back into a bag.

“Good luck Champion.” Mirabelle gave an absent minded wave as I stood and left. Harald and Koljan would have the first batch of new arms and armor ready by the time we got back, hopefully.

I found Hania and Riga in the courtyard, the two had chosen a slightly secluded corner to sit in. Hania grinned when she saw me, and elbowed Riga. The girl looked confused at first, then shocked.

“Johannes! You’re so…! How’d you get so big!?!” Riga stumbled over her own words.

“Woke up like this a few days ago. Come on, I want to talk to you, but not here.” I gestured for them to follow me. Riga looked a bit curious, but she could wait. I stayed quiet till we reached the twins’ house. The pair of them were sitting in front of the fire, catching up with their sisters.

“Johannes, the Jarl’s expecting you for dinner.” Angven spoke first.

“I figured. Lodor’s still at the hall?”

“He is.”

“Shit, alright.” I hadn’t been sure of Mirabelle’s magic listening before, and turned around abruptly.

“Something the matter?” Hania asked.

“Nothing we can’t solve quickly. Riga, Tolfdir mentioned that you’ve gotten good at banishing magic. Would that work on a rune?”

“It should, they can be delicate unless they’re set into something, like an enchantment.” Riga explained.

"I can help with that." Hania lifted a hand, something swirling in it.

“Good. We have some housekeeping to do. You don’t feel anything funny in here, aside from the enchanted weapons, do you?” I decided to make a sweep of the Twins’ house while we were here. I couldn’t feel anything, but that didn’t mean too much with how poor my senses were, and how many enchanted items were adorning me.

“No, nothing really.” Riga looked around, appraising. Hania nodded in agreement. Anglin gave me a funny look.

“Something we should be worried about?”

“No. The master mage put a spell in the Jarl’s hall that lets her listen to things. I doubt she’d have gone to the trouble of doing it here, she wasn’t interested in me so much as what was going on in the Hold. Come on Riga.” It was a short jaunt back to the Jarl’s hall. Bellin and his son were seated at the high table, the place had a cheerier atmosphere than it had before, new decorations and banners.

“Champion! I feel snubbed, you went to see… ah! That’s understandable.” Bellin winked as he saw Riga behind me. Lodor had a smirk.

“Of course, now before we get to talking, you’ll have to entertain some of my strangeness. Riga?” I let the girl take the lead, she was slowly walking around, eyes roving over the hall.

“What’s all this?” Bellin asked, his interest flicking between us.

“I’ll tell you once we find what we’re looking for.” It didn’t take long.

“Clever woman.” I held up a small statue, it was a marble figure with golden bits of decoration. It had been from the time before the collapse, a warrior holding an axe and shield bearing Winterhold’s crest. Rolvar spoke.

“It was supposedly a gift from the College.” He sounded bitter.

“It’s a fine piece of history. A word to the wise Rolvar, always be skeptical of gifts from mages. Especially ones that seem to have no interest in you, until they do.” I set the figure back on the shelf behind the throne. It had been imbued with several types of spells. Riga didn’t know what they did, but I was pretty sure I knew. Audio and visual surveillance, maybe some sort of spell to let it move.

“Bastards. If they want to know what we think, all they had to do was walk down here! I’ve sent two letters to the Arch-Mage and gotten nothing in return. Not even a recognition of the fact that the Jarl has changed!” Bellin was furious. He had every right to be. The mages may have been an ancient and storied institution, but they were in his lands.

“Savos Aren is a stereotypical mage, hidden in his study and rarely leaving it. He had nothing to do with this, he doesn’t give a damn about what happens out here. To him, if it’s across the bridge, it isn’t his problem. This was Mirabelle’s doing, and she did it because her hands are tied by the Arch-Mage. She would be more pro-active and outward facing if she could, I think.” I tried to steer the conversation to be less hostile.

“We’ll see if things across the bridge aren’t his problem when it’s a damn catapult…” Bellin grumbled, but sighed as the anger left him. “I don’t have time to worry about these mages. You’ve solved that problem for me, for now at least. Tell me, how are things going in Seacrest? Lodor tells me that Koljan’s lot found you.” The Jarl sat back down in his chair.

“They did, and we’ve drawn up a plan to get to work. The Whistling miners agreed to my terms, they’ll have iron on your ships soon enough. Thanks for letting us borrow them. The hull you’ve had laid down looks good too, by the way.” I took a seat across from him.

“Ah, just following what we agreed on. It will be good to have our own mines, instead of being put over a fire by those parasites from Dawnstar. Lodor says that will be your next stop.”

“It’s the plan, but I wondered how Molnen’s done? Any news?”

“None yet. He mentioned that he’d have a courier come our way by the end of the month.” Bellin shrugged.

“Then we’ll be making a detour at Mountain’s Seat. I was skeptical of letting him handle it in the first place, even with his claims of having a healer and holy man. We killed all of the ringleaders that we knew about, but we also found a few black mages with the bandits. One mage and some militia aren’t enough to take down a barrow.” It’d been a mistake letting Molnen do it alone. I should have sent Hania and Grimvald, a few other experienced men.

“Molnen is a clever man, and eager to make a good account of himself. You’ve shaken things up here Champion, lots of room for new thegns and new ideas. The young ones that were thinking of joining Ulfric have all heard of what you did, and see a cause closer to home. The favor of the gods too.” He gestured at my armor. It didn’t look nearly so nice as it had when I first got it.

“I can’t promise any blessings, but if there are more men like your sons willing to fight, I’ll happily take on more trained warriors.” I looked around the hall, there were a few of them it seemed like, men in finer armor than the usual guards. I recognized a few from the cavalry that had joined Korir.

“You hear him.” Bellin called to those present, that had been poorly hiding their listening. I waved a hand at them.

“Don’t get up now, I have other things to handle. If you want to join, you can head to Seacrest like everyone else. You’ll be paid and trained like all the rest. If you do well, I’ll learn your names then.” I headed off any over eager noble sons. They quietly gathered up at one table, no doubt planning the trip.

“Bellin, there’s some other things I wanted to talk about.” I leaned over the table and lowered my voice. “I’m going to lay the foundation for getting rid of our local Thalmor agent. His name is Ancano, he’s ostensibly an advisor for the College, but he’s a spy. The College wants him gone, but they’re hesitant to move against the elves openly. Have you found anything about Korir dealing with the Thalmor before I came along?”

“Two letters. One was addressed to the Jarls of Skyrim, reminding them of their duty to enforce the treaty. The second was a warning, that evidence of Talos worship had been reported in Winterhold. Korir didn’t seem to have responded to it, but there will be Justiciars coming soon, no doubt.” Bellin kept quiet, but his opinion on the matter was plain as day.

“Unless they cause an immediate problem, don’t rise to any bait. Don’t let them kill anyone. I’m going to leave Anglin here, along with men I’ve trained in some unique methods. They’ll make the elves disappear in the snow. The Thalmor don’t have enough agents to occupy all of Skyrim, there won’t be more than two of them, but they may have soldiers for escort. Eastern Skyrim is a dangerous place for elves these days.” I pointed to the Stormcloak banner hanging from the rafter.

“That it is.”

“Riga, that’s part of what I wanted to talk to you about. I’ve had Jori and Adalvald training the twins on magic, if you could keep that up with Anglin, I’d appreciate it. It’s mostly illusion, and some conjuration, like I wanted you to learn. Same reasons too. Jarl, we may need to borrow some extra soldiers from you if the Thalmor are moving in a large group, but the ambush it self will be Anglin’s job. The idea is to catch them between towns where they won't be missed for a while. Riga, with your banishing magic, you might be useful too seeing as you’ll be in the area. They’re liable to set up the same kinds of magical defenses around their camps as the Vigilants did for us. You could cut a hole in that perimeter.” I started into my plan. Bellin seemed keenly interested at the suggestion of some elf murder.

“Jarl Ulfric sent a summons for soldiers from Korir, once the business with the necromancers was done. I sent a reply telling him that the seat had changed hands, and that we were still hunting down the last of their ilk. Should I let him know that we’ve got our own plans to resist the Thalmor?” Bellin asked. I hadn’t told him what I knew about Ulfric’s involvement with the elves, long ago as that had been.

“Nothing specific, just that you have interests that need to be handled closer to home. There are going to be a lot of people interested in what’s going on here, and we still have a few months before anything else will distract them.” I kept it vague. Still hadn’t mentioned the dragons.

“As you say then. I’ll trust your judgement Champion, but this secrecy around what you’re preparing for doesn’t give much to work with. What is your plan for the Thalmor? Ambush them, what else?” Bellin looked a bit annoyed with me, but understanding at least.

“Take their fucking heads of course, I intend to return the favor for all the Blades they killed and send a wagonload of skulls to their embassy. Stamp Talos’ mark on them for good measure.” That would get their attention, especially the Imperial dragon that would be underneath it. A lot of attention. Whether it would work for my ultimate goal, I had no idea.

“That’s…” Bellin’s eyes had gone wide. Lodor finished.

“That will start another war. There’s no way the Thalmor would believe the Empire had nothing to do with it.”

“Maybe. Better than letting Ulfric start a war that kills thousands of Nords and Imperial Legionnaires. What do you think the Thalmor will do when the fist of the Empire is fighting a bloody civil war, the legions out of position and a great deal of blood and treasure spent? Would you rather march on Cyrodil or Summerset?” I let the point hang. Bellin stayed quiet for a while.

“Is this what you’ve been trying to hide? Something you saw?” Bellin asked.

“Part of it. The war that Ulfric is going to start will tear Skyrim right down the middle, and it’s exactly what the Thalmor are hoping for. Skyrim provided the army that let the Empire take back Cyrodil, the Nords have always been the core of its strength by being a deep reserve of hardy soldiers. If Skyrim is exhausted by a civil war, you can bet that the Thalmor will launch a new invasion when it will hurt the worst. This plan stays between us, nobody else Jarl. Even if you don’t win the moot, though I hope you do. Ideally, my plan with the Thalmor won't take off until after the vampires have been dealt with.” If Bellin didn’t sign on to my plan, it was pretty much dead from the starting line. I’d still do my best to kill as many Thalmor as I could, but it may prove tricky if he…

“I’ll back you. It’s a better plan than Ulfric has at any rate. Better to die atop a pile of dead elves than drown in our own blood.” Bellin thumped the table. He looked to Lodor with tired eyes. “Seems the Champion’s going to give you plenty of opportunities to make your own name.”

“Seems so.” Lodor nodded, a grim understanding on the younger man's face.

“I’ve been following him for a while, nobody knows mine yet.” Anglin spoke up from my right.

“Damn it Anglin!” I jumped that time.

“Sorry boss, you said I should practice being sneaky.”