208 Chapter XII: Suspicions
We did not get even halfway to our meal before we were intercepted by a guard messenger and called back to the keep. I had to hold back my snickers as I watched the poor man wilt in fear while Tolfdir grumbled on and on about impatient youths and not even letting their elders have a meal in peace. The old man was probably doing it on purpose.
Judging by how pale he was when we finally reached the keep, the man would probably have a nightmare or two in the following days.
There were no grand proclamations nor celebratory cheers, the moment all of the relevant 'higher-ups' were present within the keep we started planning damage control and how best to capitalize on the traitors' trials tomorrow and how to best make sure that something as insulting as today's infiltration never happened again.
Most of them lamented the fact that they had to be rid of a large number of their erstwhile friends and in some cases even family but I considered it a much better fate than them springing this up while we were in the middle of a battle or, Divines forbid, a siege.
Now that I think about it this whole thing stunk to high hell with how obvious and low effort it was, Stormcloak had seemingly shown his hand far too early to cause any greater impact... 'almost as if it was all a distraction' the thought came unbidden.
My mind stewed with the many possibilities as we went over the cleanup and by the time we were finally done, Tolfdir still insisted on all of us having a nice meal to unwind. The contrast between the field of gore we found him in and listening to the old man tell stories of old adventures was almost as jarring as the speed at which the young Jarl devoured the food we ordered.
Turns out the kid in charge was a stress eater.
On another interesting note, for defending his Jarl from near-certain death and due to the sudden need of 'honorable men to defend the hold' (Read: Easy propaganda) Thorfinn had been given the rank of Thane and the partial revenue of the section of the city where he lived.
I burned his confused expression into my mind for whenever I learned how to immortalize it fully, it was a wonder he didn't accidentally devour a table with how wide open his mouth was.
Yet even as I left the inn, far more relaxed than before, the thought that something was amiss kept relentlessly pinging in my mind and at this point I'd be an utter fool to ignore it. Before that, however, I had to greet my erstwhile stalker "You can come out now." I said quietly enough for no one but my intended target to hear.
A reluctant moment later Serana stepped out from a nearby corner looking at me with her expressionless eyes.
"Enjoy the show?" I ask blandly. She had been following me for most of my little outing in the city for whatever reason and I found myself curious as to why.
"Am I forbidden from taking a morning walk?" She bites back sarcastically but her voice lacks any true heat.
I roll my eyes and keep walking "So long as you are civilized and remain within fetching distance you can do whatever the bloody fuck you want." I let my words settle for a moment and then speak again "I was wondering why you decided to follow me around while I went and whacked the uppity masses."
I saw her cup her chin in my mind's eye "Hmm, I guess I was curious to see what you would do. When you stormed out you looked just about ready to slaughter anyone and everyone who dared disturb your little domain but it just ended up so... anticlimactic."
"I have my own suspicions as to why the uprising was so pitiful, but that will take some confirmation first." I explain absent mindedly, getting a raised eyebrow in response "As to why I didn't go around slaughtering civilians and butchering surrendered enemies that should be rather obvious."
"Ah yes." She nods sagely "Can't have the masses see their glorious hero stepping on them."
"Something like that." I snort and as we passed the gates of my compound and greeted the guards I decided to change the topic "How has your stay been so far?"
"I have been here for barely a day." She deadpans but before I can return the snark she raises a placating hand "I have mostly been reading up on history and asking around about the current state of the Kingdom, or province as it is called these days."
"I do hope you didn't decide to 'charm' my followers into giving your answers." I looked at her, not threateningly but the implication was easy enough to understand.
She covers her mouth hiding a smile "You do realize vampires can actually talk normally, do you not?"
"Oh, I know that much." I say, and then frown when unfortunate memories make themselves known. I do not speak further until we are seated in my study, myself enjoying my newest vice and Serana drinking some imported wine.
A map of current operations against the Stormcloaks materialized atop my table, it was filled to the brim with tiny marks and notes symbolizing certain places of interest and troop movements. It was one of my more recent possessions and I had it updated regularly by my agents and through frequent messages from Solitude.
"So, what are your thoughts on the current state of the world?" I ask conversationally as my eyes narrow at a specific point on the map.
"The more things change the more they stay the same." Serana answers with as much melancholy as she can express "There are so many more people around and so many new luxuries to explore... but that also means the conflicts are that much bigger."
"Ain't that the truth." I sigh.
"What is truly confusing however is the current civil war." She continues "I could understand many things happening in response to the Dominion's expansion and the ensuing peace treaty but a human supremacist weakening the primary human force baffles my mind."
My eyes lead me down the intricately marked roads around Falkreath as I listen to the ancient vampire speak. After a moment of pleasant silence, I shrug in response "Either he is really that short-sighted or he has been manipulated by the Thalmor for years. Quite frankly I prefer the latter because the former would speak very poorly of the Nordic population's intelligence."
"Quite." She agrees easily but then her brows furrow in thought "But why exactly are the Thalmor so fixated on their quest for imaginary purity? I must be missing something because them trying to conquer and 'cleanse' the world just doesn't add up with their goal of making the Altmer more powerful."
My eyes snap to High Hrothgar, represented on the map as a neutral ground "They believe they are after the towers." I say blandly.
"The towers..." She doesn't get it immediately but the moment she does she freezes for a short moment "By the gods, are they insane?!"
"And there you have it." I look up from my map, a glint of amusement in my eyes "The Thalmor."
"No wonder everyone hates their guts." Serana slumps into her chair.
I chuckle "Not like they could even do much against a metaphysical concept to begin with. The worst part of this whole conflict is that it is in the end pointless, though I guess it does give them the excuse to form their own empire which fair enough I guess." I finish with a shrug to which my guest nods.
We sit in companionable silence as I keep pouring over maps and reports before it all finally clicks as I look at the passage connecting Falkreath with the Rift. The passage and Helgen were some of the first places the forces of Whiterun had conquered, the entire passage was either collapsed or walled off in specific thin chokepoints as to make crossing it without massive casualties near impossible.
Near impossible without magi or heavy artillery that is, and considering the terrain there the artillery was definitely out of the equation... leaving only their mages.
"Cheeky fuckers can plan." I practically spat though there was a bit of praise in my voice.
"Finally found what you were looking for?" Serana asks, looking up from the history book she was pouring over.
"Yep." I smack my lips in annoyance "I am going to have to go now, make sure not to murder anyone while I am gone."
As I am about to teleport away I hear her say "Wait."
I stop and look at her "Do you need something while I am gone?"
"May I come with you?" She asks after only a moment's pause.
Many questions appear in my mind at her request but I simply settle on "Why?"
"I have been still and cooped up for far too long, it is... uncomfortable."
It still amazed me how expressive she managed to be with her utterly emotionless tone and almost stone-like expression. Her plight was understandable however so I simply nodded in response "I will be teleporting to Solitude first and return swiftly, then you can join me."
"Very well." She gets up from her seat "I will prepare in the meantime."
The moment she leaves my study and I lock the door magically I activate my mark and recall circle in Soltiude and once again become one with the spaghetti.
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My passage through the surprisingly active Blue Palace went uninterrupted, people were running about like headless chickens in preparation for something and even the guards only gave me a passing glance as I walked toward the throne room.
Something got everyone excited and one cursory look swiftly informed me of exactly what.
Queen Elisif was giving birth.
I found Torygg pacing around in front of the room, his nervousness so grand it had an aura of its own. Falk and Bolgeir were looking over him with amused eyes as they all waited for the big news.
"A good evening to you all gentlemen." I greet them as I approach.
Torygg looks relieved for whatever reason "You got the message then? Great!"
"What message?" I blink.
He stops pacing suddenly and gives me a confused look "I sent a message requesting your presence just in case something went wrong."
"You do realize such a message would have taken close to a day to reach me without magical help, right?" I slowly point out.
He raises a finger, thinks for a moment, and lowers it with a frown of shame "I really should pay more attention to such things." He mumbles before looking at me fully "Why are you here then?"
My presence seems to have distracted him from his current predicament so I simply state "There was a revolt in Winterhold that we crushed almost immediately." All three of the present Nords turn deathly serious as they hear my words.
"Ulfric?" Falk asks.
"Indeed." I nod "I had a feeling that I was missing something and when the feeling didn't go away for hours I started suspecting it was some form of distraction, some cursory exploration of the current state of the war revealed this:" I summon the map on a nearby table and point toward Helgen pass.
Both Falk and Torygg give it a serious look before sharing one themselves. Finally it was Falk that speaks up "You suspect they wanted to distract us with the situation in Winterhold while they attack the pass?"
"That or they just wanted me delayed." I say without any arrogance "They would reasonably need magi to crack through that position and I do not believe the Stormcloak has any of my level and thus the distraction."
Falk shakes his head "I've no doubt he has managed to recruit some powerful clan mages, do not underestimate them."
I shrug "I will be cautious, do not worry."
He narrows his eyes and frowns, probably thinking that I was being arrogant, but doesn't try and press his point and instead asks "I am guessing you want us to sent reinforcements while you hold off the attack?"
"Yup." I agree. Working with Falk was always such a treat, the man knew exactly what he was doing at all times and it showed "Just think of whatever forces you can scrounge up and send them my way, I have to get moving as soon as possible if we want to still control the pass."
"Then go." Falk says firmly "We will send all the help that we can."
I nod at the Steward and turn to the conflicted King "Sorry that I couldn't stay for the celebrations but duty calls and all that." He smiles sadly but nods in understanding.
"Oh and Torygg." I say as I turn to leave and see him look up "Congratulations."
The last thing I hear before I teleport out is one of the midwives running out of the King's chambers and telling him that he just got a healthy son.
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A stone for ya boi Torygg!
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