43 Back in Winterhold

Rictus was able to come to an agreement with Morrigan involving a few things. The first was getting her to enchant him a new outfit. The college had a wide variety of unenchanted mages robes, and he was able to find one he liked. It was already very similar to what he was wearing now. It had a similar style to the standard college master robes. The pants were a smokey grey while the shirt portion was a deep green. The outer jacket was black with dark green runes along it which were only obvious under close scrutiny. Some nice black leather boots completed the look.

He also got a couple of more standard master mage robes and normal casual outfits from the college because it never hurt to have some spares. It wasn't realistic to only wear the same thing every single day. No need to stink and wear dirty clothes all the time.

The actual enchanting would have been the costliest, but Rictus supplied the grand soul gems needed for it. He still had to pay for the clothes, but he easily covered that. Morrigan agreed to complete the enchanting as payment for the timely information.

The next thing was about a supply of enchanted weapons and armor for his Restored. They went back and forth on this for a bit but were able to come to a suitable arrangement. He wasn't trying to get extremely strong enchantments, just some weaker ones to supply a little extra damage or protection. Paying for strong enchantments for all his people would be too much trouble. There were not enough master enchanters for that, nor the soul gems for it. They would start with the basics and maybe slowly work their way to better enchantments in the future.

Morrigan was quite pleased to learn he had started a mercenary company. They talked about how when the mages guild started setting up their new satellite locations, it would be beneficial to have some extra nonmagical muscle there to work as guards. A mixture of magical and martial abilities would keep the places safer. Not every situation called for a fireball or ice spike. Sometimes a good punch to the face was a better option. Morrigan planned on setting up a new location in Whiterun first. It was the economic center for all of Skyrim and experienced the most traffic after all. Rictus agreed to the contract for guards and accepted payment in a reduction of price for enchanting their weapons and armor.

They also discussed about a magical item or enchantment which would allow long distance communication. Morrigan claimed she had nothing like that right now, but she was working on it. The way she talked made Rictus think she already had some prototypes but didn't want to tell him about it just yet. He understood though. While they had a decent relationship so far, it was best to keep some things secret. Rictus had no plans on sharing his teleportation magic or his message system if it worked out, but it didn't hurt to see if they would share theirs.

With business talked finished, they spoke a little bit about some of their speculations about things to come. There were a lot more unknowns happening than either of them felt comfortable with. The other Skilled were still a big worry, but they would have to be patient and plan as best as possible. When he was leaving, Morrigan did tell him that Korir had recently returned from Solitude but shut himself up in his house without leaving once. She had heard some rumors but nothing concrete as to what had happened and was fishing for information from Rictus. Too bad for her that Rictus had no idea since he just got here. He had already planned to go see him though.

Winterhold was different. When Rictus was going through the town, he was amazed at the change in atmosphere. Before, Winterhold was a quiet almost desolate place. Now, there was an energy about the place with people bustling around.

Additional smelters and forges were already built with more in the works. There were actual walls going up around the town now. They were not great, but it was a huge improvement from the piles of rocks it was before. There were additional housing and buildings going up all over the place. A couple of large dormitory looking buildings were already partially done. Those would probably be for the refugees and new workers. There already seemed to be more people here than there was before all the work started happening. It was not uncommon to see mages out about in the town now instead of them staying locked up in the college all the time.

Rictus smiled and hummed a happy tune at all the progress made in the city. Still a lot of room for grow and improvement, but the potential could be more easily seen than before. It wasn't there yet, but if things kept like this, Winterhold would be unrecognizable in no time at all.

The atmosphere took a gloomy turn when he approached the Jarl's longhouse though. The guards seemed a bit more slouched and distracted, while the people hurried past it with sad looks upon their faces. Something bad had happened.

When he approached, the guards stood up a little straighter. A bit of hope returned to their eyes at the sight of him. This response put him even more on edge. For the attitude of the guards to change so much at the sight of him meant there was a problem they thought he could fix. A guard quickly stepped forward to speak to him.

"Master Rictus, we are thankful you showed up. We wanted to reach out to you sooner, but we didn't know how or where you had gone. The Jarl needs your help right now. Please go to him and see what you can do. I will warn you; he is not in a good place after coming home."

His curiosity was killing him now. The guard's words were extremely unhelpful as well. Seems only Korir would have the answers. Without wasting any more time, Rictus entered the longhouse as his guards joined those waiting outside.

The place was a mess. Someone had trashed the place pretty badly. Things were laying broken in the floor where someone had destroyed them. Tables with holes in them, broken chairs which had been bashed against the floor, candle stands thrown across the room, food and cutlery strewn all over, even one of the banners had been ripped. The destruction seemed to end at the throne, where a man slumped down in the shadows.

Korir was an absolute mess. His hair was disheveled, his face seemed sunken in and pale, his clothes were dirty with even some traces of blood on them, his left hand missing a couple fingers, tears had carved patterns down the grim covering his face. The most startling was his eyes. They were bloodshot and seemed dimmed as if he had lost a part of himself. There was no hope in the eyes of this obviously broken man.

The Jarl did not look up as Rictus approached him. Rictus could see a ring in the palm of his right hand which seemed to consume all Korir's focus. This was definitely not a good sign given the significance rings hold for a married man.

"Korir….what has happened?"

Rictus slowly stopped before the man and waited for his response. The broken Jarl slowly tore his eyes from the ring for a moment to see who was trying to talk to him. A tiny spark of recognition momentarily appeared in his eyes before they went back to their previously void of emotion.

"….they took her. In all the chaos…they took him. I was too late. They took her."

The broken voice coming from the man continued muttering the same words. He had returned his deadened gaze back to the ring leaving Rictus standing before him without understanding fully what was going on. It was obvious something happened to his wife, but that was it. This was not something he had been expecting either. While he did not interact with Korir much in the game, he thought he would remember something like this happening.

Deciding to take a risk, Rictus reached out with his magic in order to restore Korir's fingers. The man hardly responded to the magic working on him which was not a good sign. Rictus decided to try something new to see if it would get his attention.

He began circulating his magical power around himself. There was no specific spell being channeled, just raw power. It had no true damaging effects, but it gave off a sense of power and mystique. It was very slight and went unnoticed by Rictus, but his magic seemed to alter the very space around him. There were no visual changes, but the very world seemed to temporarily bend to his unconscious will.

Rictus kneeled in front of Korir as he lifted his head so they would see eye to eye. A comforting yet commanding voice asked the question again.

"Korir. Tell me what has happened?"

The Jarl stared at him, and a bit of light returned to his eyes as he began speaking slowly but quickly gained speed as his story went on. When he had finally finished his story, he slumped down into the throne. Rictus patted his shoulder as his own eyes hardened at the tale.

"Rest my friend and let pleasant memories fill your dreams. We will talk more when you awaken."

The exhausted man slumped even further down after hearing the calming voice. Slowed breathing and soft snores began sounding from the man whose face and body were slowly relaxing as he went off to the land of dreams. He was gently lifted out of the throne and floated towards his bed where Rictus gently laid the man down, who had never lost the grip on the ring in his hand.

Rictus went back out to the main hall and plopped down on the throne. Korir was out of it for now, and it was one of the only unbroken seats. Besides, he was the only remaining thane of Winterhold so he doubted the guards would do anything. The story he was just told was quite different than he had been expecting.

---

Most of the Moot followed what happened in the game. The Jarls and many highborn members of society had gathered in Solitude for the meeting. It was not quite a festival, but many treated it similarly, using it for networking and partying. They had covered many small details about trade agreements and grievances between the holds. The big talks revolved around the Empire and independence. Apparently, the debating had gone on for quite some time with most of the Old Holds demanding change while the others were supporting the Empire. Things had gotten heated and almost devolved into a fight before they adjourned for a meal.

When they came back from it, Ulfric challenged the High King for his position following the Old ways. Most were surprised by such a declaration and were not expecting anything to happen from it besides Ulfric being sent home or arrested. Torygg surprised everyone by moving towards the cleared center area where Ulfric was waiting. The details got a little foggy here, but Ulfric used a shout on poor Torygg. The man never stood a chance and was demolished. It made one wonder if Ulfric thought everyone would immediately accept his claim to the throne after such an act.

General Tullius was the first to respond by calling for the guards and imperials to arrest Ulfric because of his treasonous actions. Before the guards could surround them, Ulfric and his followers sprinted out. There was a flash of red, and everyone began running and screaming, even Korir admitted to running in fear although he was unclear as to why. Seems someone had cast a mass hysteria spell or something similar to aid Ulfic's escape.

That was just the start though. Most all the people and guards had continued rushing after Ulfric after they had regained their wits. The main street thought the city was in an uproar though as people were running around in a panic, picking fights, or just staring off into space. Most likely more illusion spells being cast. It was during this craziness the true change to the canon happened.

Most of the people in the palace had left to chase after Ulfric or at least followed the chase. These people were not aware of what happened till later. Korir had followed along for a little bit, but then realized it was not worth it and that Thaena was no longer with him. He had quickly made his way back to the palace, only to find more destruction.

In all the confusion, someone had led an attack on the palace. They appeared as a mostly organized but motely group. Their weapons and appearance gave off ideas of pirates or bandits. Some were engaged with fighting the few remaining guards and nobles, while most were carrying away valuables. There were quite a few people dead already and their bodies obviously looted.

Korir had wasted no time in fighting these men. He was already prepared for a fight since he rarely went anywhere unarmed or without some armor under his robes after the incident with the magical anomalies. The attack was too organized to be a coincidence in his mind. What are the chances a random group of bandits assault the capitol of Skyrim? And what are the chances they are able to make it all the way to the palace? And what are the chances they would attack right after Ulfric had created such a spectacle and pulled most all the guards and soldiers from the entire city away from their posts? Korir was a supporter of Ulfric, but he could not stop his mind from thinking these things. They just lined up too perfectly for it not to of been planned out before.

He was eventually able to make his way to the throne room in the palace. The fighting had been fierce to get here. He had even lost a couple fingers to an especially skilled fighter wielding a dagger, who if they weren't so arrogant would have probably killed him. Thankfully, the fighting had mostly died down as the attackers were more focused on taking their loot away then fighting and killing by this point. The sight before him in the throne room was one Korir will never be able to forget. The timing was just too terrible for the poor man.

A burly Redguard with a black captain's hat and a dark looking iron armor breastplate was standing near the throne. He wielded a large scimitar covered in blood while a dark energy flowed from his other hand. He had a bandolier around his chest which were covered in some kind of dark looking stones. His scimitar, which had a large black pommel, had just been removed from a body which was falling to the ground. An eerie light came from the body and moved towards the man's bandolier. The man turned and flashed a sinister smirked at Korir as he started approaching the other person who had been shielded by the now dead body. He stopped his advance though when he heard a large commotion coming from the entrance to the palace. A small tsk left the man's mouth as he turned and fled out one of the windows.

Korir was frozen where he stood. He woodenly moved towards the remaining survivor of the incident. Before he reached the woman though, he collapsed at the now dead body of the defender. Tears streamed down his face as he gently reached out.

"My Thaena…."

He softly caressed the face of his dead lover. The one person who had been by his side despite all their hardships. His confidant and closest companion. He held the body of his wife as he wept.

Korir may have disliked mages, but he knew a lot about them and even had some affinity towards magic. He knew what the eerie light signified. He knew what those dark gems along the bandolier were. He also knew the significance of it all combined together.

The mother of his child, his lover, his wife, his soul mate, her soul had been ripped away. They would never be reunited in the grand halls of Sovngarde. She would face untold torment and suffering, and he could do nothing.

The now broken man started to cradle the body of his fallen wife. As he shifted his hands behind her to better hold on, he froze once again as he touched something. He slowly moved his wife's body to get a better look at what she was covering.

An anguished cry broke free from the already broken man as he fully collapsed. Sobs racking his body. The sounds of his pain echoing out throughout the palace as he held the desecrated bodies of his dead wife and child, knowing he would never be able to hold them again, in this life or the next.

---

Rictus sat in silent sadness still thinking over the things he had heard. He partially understood the horror of what black soul gems represented. Unlike before his time in Skyrim where matters of the soul were mostly based on faith, things were different here. The afterlife and souls were a known and tangible thing. He could not imagine the pain of actually Knowing the damnation a loved one would have to suffer.

A piece of paper laid by the side of the throne. For some reason it drew Rictus's attention as he picked it up.

A hard and deadly glint appeared in his eyes after looking at it. His mana began running rampart at the thought of the injustice. The world seemed to tremble around him. The very air distorted at his fury.

He would find the ones who had done this. Their days were numbered.

His magic flared around him again further distorting space and reality. The crude drawings of a child who had thought he had an almighty protector now safely tucked away into his robes.

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[A/N]: Well... that happened. I'm not saying that got me...but I almost got something in my eyes writing this. First time my own writings got me that way. I guess I am a little invested in the story sometimes. Not the best written chapter, but I was a fan.

Well, this was the chapter and story line I talked about last week. Who doesn't love a good revenge story? None of this was originally going to happen, but the idea of the pirate with a soul stealing sword attacking the capital was too good to pass up once it popped into my head. Let me know what you guys think though.