235 Chapter XXXIX: Leaving Markarth And A Princely Meeting
(Reyvin's POV)
I make a show of dusting my hands as the limp dead body of Madanach falls head first onto the pavement "Well, that is that dealt with."
"To think this man was once King of this city..." Alor mutters, his tone contemplative "And then just like that" He snaps his fingers "Gone... poof."
Davos chuckles at the confused Falmer and claps him on the back lightly "You will get used to it, kid."
"Crown or no crown, it is just another dead fool." Nightshade stares down at the corpse coldly, getting a nod of agreement from Serana who had been hiding out nearby.
"That he is." I clap my hand to stop any further banter and point toward a duo of my men "Bring him with us, I trust that Jarl Igmund will be very happy to learn that his old enemy didn't manage to slip through the cracks."
A moment later I hear the two Dunmer hoist the corpse up and we start moving.
As we walk down the streets a small crowd gathers around us, though none are quite so stupid enough as to try and approach too closely.
"I can already hear the rumors spreading." I muse aloud.
"And are already making plans on milking them for all they are worth." Davos deadpans.
I pretend to swoon, causing some of the onlookers to step back in either surprise or disgust "You know me so well."
Davos immediately palms his face in regret "Why do I even bother?"
"Pardon me, my lord." Alor interjects "But won't the Jarl be angry now that he cannot deliver his vengeance personally?"
I stop and round at the snow elf with a raised eyebrow "You think he can say or do anything to me?"
Alor blinks before his face twists into an amused expression "No, I guess he can not."
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"What do you mean you already bloody killed him!?" Igmund snarls at me.
'Well, that was unexpected.' My face doesn't even twitch as I repeat myself "Exactly what I have said, he is dead and this whole ordeal is over." I also note Alor giving me a wry look out of the corner of my eye.
"You!" He seems just about ready to start ranting at me but whatever rationality he seems to have left wins out and he takes a deep breath instead "Apologies, I have looked forward to beating the bastard to death for so long that I could not hold back."
"Understandable." I accept the offered olive branch "What about the Silver-bloods?"
"Both surrendered." Igmund scoffs "Like complete idiots."
"Well, no Sovengarde for them I guess." I shrug, earning myself a dark chuckle from the Jarl.
"Their public execution is scheduled for tomorrow morning and their family is to be banished to their distant cousins in Solitude where they will be someone else's problem." Igmund explains "I'd love to put their heads on pikes but I don't need the Stormcloak getting support for no good reason."
"That would be most unwise." I offer neutrally "Though it might have been better to just get rid of the brothers without anyone knowing a thing, at least the public execution will serve to assure the people that the source of the Forsworn was dealt with."
"Aye." The Jarl nods somewhat tiredly "Their raids have been driving me insane and with them at least cowed I will be able to focus on the war effort."
"What of he Silver-blood's holdings?" I ask, simply out of curiosity.
"Spread under the dominion of wealthier commoner families and under the purview of a number of Thanes, most notably the Cidhna Silver Mine will be given to Thane Rath now that he has proven his loyalty."
'He has actually put thought into this, I might need to reevaluate him.' "Our daring infiltrator?" I tilt my head "Fitting, I guess."
"I did not do it because it is fitting" Igmund scoffs "I did it because the young one is so focused on pleasing me he won't have the time to plot behind my back."
I notice the topic of our conversation currently dragging a corpse with the common soldiery and chatting them up, one deeper scan later, which he could obviously not sense, and I offer Igmund a nod of approval "You are not wrong there."
The Jarl gives me an appraising look before seemingly understanding what I did and suddenly looking a fair bit more cautious "About that execution..."
"You do not want me there?" I cut straight into the meat of it "A wise decision."
"I can't be having the Sto-" He stops suddenly and blinks at me in surprise "Wait, you agree?"
"Yes." I deadpan "I have no need to stand on ceremony when everyone that matters will know what happened. And there is no need to give Ulfric more anti elf propaganda material."
He mutters a "Well, that was easier than I hoped" To himself, probably thinking that I cannot hear him and looks up at me "How much longer do you plan on staying in the city?"
"We will leave today." I say bluntly "There are many issues I need to deal with and I have already dawdled here long enough, I wish you a pleasant celebration tonight."
Seemingly feeling both ashamed and put out he offers me a strained smile followed by the customary offer of friendship "Thank you for your help Flame-tongue, know that you will always be welcomed within my halls."
"And you in mine." I offer in return and after a strong handshake leave the Jarl to his plans.
Just as I am about to return to my people and finally depart from the city I notice Reynauld and his men boasting to each other about how well they did in the battle. They were so boisterous in fact that they nearly missed my approach until I was right behind them.
"Ah!" Reynauld rounds on me "Court Mage, I trust that you have caught the vile ruffian?"
"I have." I nod "However I have no time to recount my deeds as I have come to tell you that I will be leaving the city within the hour."
"But... but what about the celebration?" Reynauld seems genuinely distraught.
"Duty waits for no man or mer, I am afraid." I say, pretending to be disappointed.
Which seems enough to placate him as he nods sadly "I see." His expression brightens "Very well then, know that we shall raise a toast in your name, and rest assured good sir, that the wards you have placed under our protection will find neither harm nor sorrow under our care."
"Good to hear." I smile at the man "See you on the battlefield Knight Captain."
"You can bet on that, Court Mage!" He raises his sword in a salute and all of his men follow him a bit too dramatically.
'If I didn't see them butcher a bunch of idiots barely an hour back I'd call them complete posers...' Scorch quips.
'Why not both?' I ask back, earning a shrug, and head toward my group. It was time to finally leave this city behind and focus on the bigger problems looming ahead of us.
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By the time we reached Solitude four days later, the first snows had already started falling and even covering certain mountains, the Skyrim weather was always harsh but this winter looked to be an exceedingly unpleasant one for those less fortunate with their lot.
Honestly, the weather bothered me far more than the bunch of idiot bandits who thought that raiding my party was a good idea. Needless to say the roads were just a tad safer after we passed and an entire bandit camp had been thoroughly integrated back... into the soil.
The distant skittering of a massive spider would forever haunt those that were allowed to escape and spread the tale of their fate.
As we ascended up toward the noble quarter of the city I got a perfect view of the massive Solitude Sprawl and saw it appear far more bustling than I ever would have guessed as even while it still looked somewhat ramshackle and destitute in certain areas I could see large amounts of workers milling about a large marketplace while many a new shop was opened all across the vast quarter.
The fact that I had a hand in this newfound prosperity did bring a smile to my face.
A smile which only widened as I saw my dearest lady Elenwen riding out of the city and nearly made her fall of her horse in reaction to my focused gaze.
It took the legionary guardsmen one good look at me and they immediately let me inside the city, and after telling my people to make themselves at home in the mage's tower I made my way toward the throne room, drawing many looks from the visiting lesser nobility.
I even got to experience seeing a kid playing at being me while 'destroying' his friends with a mighty fireball. That got a good chuckle out of me.
The housecarls saluted as I entered the throne room, the lesser nobility parting in front of me like water before a rock as I approached Torygg who was currently busy talking to General Tullius and his Steward Falk Firebeard about troop movements while his ever stoic bodyguard Bolgeir Bearclaw stood vigilantly to his right.
The High King was the first to notice my approach, his expression immediately brightening and quickly drawing the looks of his two companions.
The Steward nodded in greeting, though most of his gaze was still locked firmly onto the map he was holding.
The General simply stared at me, only letting out a short hum in greeting, evidently being curious as to why I was here.
'Well I could always tell him I work here.' I muse but choose to not waste time and instead offer the High King a short bow "King Torygg."
The young King lets out an exasperated huff at the formality but seeing as we were currently being stared at by a bunch of petitioners, even if they were mostly out of hearing range, he chose not to comment on it.
Instead he smiled in greeting "Finally you return Reyvin. I thought I would never get to introduce little Trygve to the reason he still has a father."
I raise an eyebrow at that "There is no need for such dramatics but I wouldn't mind meeting your whelp."
Torygg points at me with faux accusation "That is your Prince you are talking about!" He japes.
"A thousand pardons your kingliness." I bow dramatically "It won't happen again!"
We stare at each other for a moment before bursting into laughter.
Apparently someone was not as amused as Tullius cleared his throat and began "If you are quite done..." And Torygg had the decency to at least look ashamed.
I, of course, had no such issues and simply turned to the General "Yes, General Tullius?"
"We have been hearing all manner of rumors coming forth from Markarth, mostly about your sudden presence there." His gaze turns a fair bit sterner then "Then came the news of the deposition of an entire clan and the death of the missing King of the Reachmen."
The General shares a quick look with Torygg who nods and speaks "An explanation would indeed be welcomed here."
"As you wish." I nod and pointedly glance toward the petitioners "Though we may wish to retire to a less... acoustic environment."
And so we did, just after Torygg made sure that no proud noble was offended by it of course. No need to antagonize people needlessly, especially when you were currently busy with a state-wide civil war.
I gave them a full report on both the cults, the Forsworn and the Silver-bloods, even going so far as to regale them of the capabilities of the Breton knighthood which earned a very satisfied smirk from Falk, a truly rare occasion.
General Tullius was also very satisfied with the development, the lack of troops from Markarth was starting to be noticed at the frontlines and while the city's force of heavy infantry was not going to be all that useful with the current skirmish focused phase of the war they would still allow for other troops to focus on such tasks instead.
Torygg was simply happy that his people were now under less risk, and even swore that he would make sure the innocent Silver bloods would find their place in his city, an offer he also wanted to extend to some of the less fanatical Forsworn once they calmed down somewhat.
By the time we were done, the sun had already set and the General and Steward left me and the King to our own devices, Torygg wasting no time in practically dragging me to his private quarters and before a surprised Elisif.
The Queen Consort of Skyrim had been angry with me for a fairly long time after the Kingsmoot debacle, as I was the one who made sure she could not leave her room at the time. Motherhood had seemingly mellowed her out and the young woman greeted me warmly and without a hint of her earlier fury.
Torygg had a goofy smile on his face as he showed his son off, going on and on about how he had his eyes, or his cheekbones or any other minute detail. Both Elisif and I shared a look of exasperated amusement as he kept praising his months old child to me.
I did make sure to scan the child and took great pleasure in telling the parents that he was in perfect health. Elisif, being rather tired from her overenergetic brat's antics, shooed us out of the room not long after.
Torygg let out a tired but contented sigh "What a woman" He mutters.
"Kindly drool over your wife when I am not there." I quip, causing the young King to scratch the back of his head in embarrassment.
His look suddenly turns a fair bit more serious as he asks "How long until it arrives?"
"Just about a year or so, I can't make a precise prediction but any later would be odd." I inform him flatly, though I fail to suppress the mix of dread and excitement that appears in the back of my mind.
"So we still have time..." Torygg nods "I have been making sure to have the cities prepare but the mere thought of those beasts attacking even Solitude makes me dread the casualties."
"In this instance I advise that you trust in the Divines." I say cryptically.
"What does that even mean?" Torygg huffs.
"Not something that is mine to reveal, unfortunately." I shrug "Though I advise you focus on dealing with your current predicament as I may be unavailable for some time."
"Oh?" Torygg quirks an eyebrow, not overly worried about my apparent absence "What will you be doing?"
I offer him an annoyingly cryptical smirk "Going hunting."
"You know, you could just tell me you were going to deal with the vampires." He deadpans.
'Watch out pops, he is learning!'
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A stone for ya boi Torygg, for he has both friends and maidens!
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