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<\/p>\n\u201cYou think you stand a chance?\u201d the conjurer snarled, casting flames into Frina\u2019s face.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Frina ducked, wincing as she felt the fire\u2019s heat on her cheeks. That was bad enough; but off in the distance, over the roar of the flame spell, she could hear a dragon\u2019s roar increasing in volume as the beast flew closer to them.<\/p>\n
Got to get out of sight!<\/em><\/p>\n She threw all of her weight against the woman and staggered her for a moment. That was all the time she needed to attack with both weapons \u2013 both freshly-sharpened weapons \u2013 and take the mage down.\u00a0 She wasted no time, simply turned and ran for the opening of the cave, healing her burns as she went.<\/p>\n I sure hope you appreciate this, Oengul.<\/em><\/p>\n She\u2019d taken some smithing materials down to the Stone Quarter the morning after moving into her new apartment.\u00a0 If nothing else had existed to prove that she\u2019d been in the Battle for Solitude the condition of her gear surely did. She\u2019d been eager to borrow the smith\u2019s grindstone to repair it.<\/p>\n \u201cSo you\u2019re the castle blacksmith,\u201d she\u2019d said just to be friendly.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course I am!\u201d he snapped. \u201cWhat do I look like, a tavern wench?\u201d\u00a0 Oengul was largely bald, and what hair he had was gray. He most certainly didn\u2019t look like any tavern wench Frina had ever encountered.\u00a0 She raised one eyebrow at him as she settled onto the grindstone\u2019s seat.<\/p>\n \u201cAh, I\u2019m sorry. Don\u2019t let my words cut too deep. I\u2019ve just been working the forge too hard trying to get this sword right for the Jarl.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cReally?\u201d Frina had asked as she started pedaling. \u201cWhat\u2019s special about that particular sword?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell\u2026\u201d\u00a0 He scratched his head. \u201cNothing, yet. He wants it to look like High Queen Freydis\u2019 sword. She ruled from here in the Second Era and the edge on that sword was legendary.\u00a0 Getting the real sword would be better than making a replica but, well, I\u2019m not a warrior to get it from its resting place. It\u2019s down to the southeast of Kynesgrove, best anyone knows. Place called Cragwallow Slope.\u201d<\/p>\n Frina had nodded, and turned her attention to her own weapons, but she\u2019d determined right there and then to get that sword for the smith.\u00a0 Help Windhelm, that\u2019s what Ulfric had told her to do.\u00a0 And she intended to do so. The alternative was to consign herself to a life of sheer boredom or maybe serve drinks at Candlehearth Hall.<\/p>\n The bonus to getting the sword was that it was destined for Ulfric. She\u2019d thought about that as she\u2019d worked and listened to Hermir, his apprentice, gush about him over and over again.\u00a0 I think she wouldn\u2019t be very happy if she knew what has gone on between me and the Jarl.\u00a0 But I surely understand how she feels. <\/em><\/p>\n And thus she had come south and east and into the mouth of a cave, just barely ahead of being spotted by a dragon that was patrolling the southern end of the volcanic tundra.\u00a0 She worked to slow her breathing, to get a sense of what was there.<\/p>\n It was clearly occupied; a large brazier stood at the end of the passage just before her, a mammoth skull suspended above it.\u00a0 She moved forward and turned right at the brazier, through the tunnel and toward a bubbling sound that was suspiciously familiar.<\/p>\n Alchemy station?<\/em><\/p>\n An opening to the left was full of ferns, and mushrooms, and illuminated by a large hole in the ceiling, obviously open to the sky.\u00a0 It also held another mage standing before the alchemy station she\u2019d heard.\u00a0 Frina had just enough time to register all these things before the mage cast flame at her.<\/p>\n She backed up into the tunnel and readied her bow, then got off two shots by ducking in and out of the corner.\u00a0 She missed the first shot but landed the second, which staggered the woman.\u00a0 Frina was grateful that this mage didn\u2019t have a very good aim; it gave her time to grab her melee weapons and move in close to take the woman down before she could begin casting again.<\/p>\n There was another passage leading away from the far wall, into a series of caves: narrow but very tall gaps between masses of rock.\u00a0 Some areas had light filtering in from far above; others were dark.\u00a0 The floor was covered with a surprising amount of plant life \u2013 ferns, grasses, and even a few small conifers – some of it tall enough to obscure her view forward; such was the case as she rounded a corner and nearly collided with another mage, wearing what looked like dwarven metal armor. She was able to dispatch the mage with a couple of quick bow shots, but not before the mage\u2019s conjured flame atronach drifted into range and began tossing fireballs at her.<\/p>\n Frina turned tail and dashed back toward the cave system\u2019s entrance, grabbing the wraith-summoning staff as she went.\u00a0 She could hear the voices of angry mages behind her, getting nearer by the moment.\u00a0 When she reached the crack in the rocks that opened onto Eastmarch she slipped outside, crouching low near the rocks just in case the dragon was still nearby.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t. Frina caught her breath for a moment or two and then re-entered the cave.<\/p>\n A few moments later she took down the flame atronach, catching it by surprise with a well-placed arrow.\u00a0 As it exploded on the cavern floor, the angry voices of both male and female mages in passages beyond came nearer; so Frina ran back to the entrance once more.<\/p>\n Once it was quiet again she pushed back through the tunnels and found herself at the entrance to a room that might once have been set up as a study or a ritual chamber, but which had been severely damaged by the elements.\u00a0 Carved stone pillars that might have once held up the ceiling or provided support for walls sat at crazy angles or lay in broken segments on the floor, far below, in a pool of water. Short fences lined the path around the sunken center of the room, protecting anyone traveling through from falling.\u00a0 There were several bookcases resting unevenly along the walls and Frina could both see and smell moldy, ruined books on their shelves and floating in the pool beneath.\u00a0 There was another mage standing near the bookshelves.<\/p>\n Frina took a quick shot at him and did some damage but did not finish him; he cast a warding spell and moved out of her line of sight.\u00a0 Frina backed up into the tunnel a few paces, bow at the ready, and waited.\u00a0 It took only a few moments before another flame atronach appeared at the opening to the cavern, alongside the well-warded mage.<\/p>\n \u201cThe problem with your spell,\u201d she said under her breath, \u201cis that you make yourself very easy to spot.\u00a0 A very good target, I mean.\u201d\u00a0 And with that she fired another arrow that flew into and through the mage\u2019s spell and caught him squarely in the chest.\u00a0 Still he moved toward her, healing himself as he came.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t you see? I am master of the arcane!\u201d he growled; then he began casting flame at her.\u00a0 Frina tsk\u2019d and fired off one more shot at the man.\u00a0 Then she retreated back along the various tunnels once more and waited for things to quiet down.\u00a0 If they thought she had left, they would not be on their guard.<\/p>\n When she returned to the ruined cavern she found the flame atronach still patrolling, but on the far side of the room.\u00a0 It cast fireball after fireball at her but she used the low fencing to her advantage, ducking in and out of cover as she shot arrows at the creature.\u00a0 Finally, one of them pierced it and it fell, exploding shortly thereafter.<\/p>\n Frina circled the room and continued through the passage on its far side, following the light provided by braziers.\u00a0 The path eventually opened into a large chamber, this one containing the remains of what looked like a large structure.\u00a0 It reminded her of the guard towers dotting the landscape around Whiterun aside from the fact that it was built far into the mountain itself.\u00a0 She stopped for a moment to wonder why such a thing would exist and then squinted as motion caught her eye.\u00a0 Far across the open space was another flame atronach, and seated on the floor beside it a mage in heavy armor, wearing a helmet much like the one Dardeh used.<\/p>\n She aimed carefully and shot the atronach.\u00a0 It fell, and exploded; and Frina took a blind shot through the flames of the explosion at the mage.\u00a0 She heard a grunt as her arrow struck its target.\u00a0 The mage hadn\u2019t been killed, though.\u00a0 He ran forward, casting an elemental armor spell on himself as he growled, \u201cI\u2019ll see you burn.\u201d<\/p>\n Frina grabbed for her melee weapons and dashed forward, jumping down off the ledge into his path and swinging hard at him.\u00a0 To her dismay she heard a female voice off to her right somewhere yelling, \u201cOver here!\u201d\u00a0 The woman distracted her; but she also distracted the mage bearing down on Frina just long enough for her to strike a solid hit, pushing him backwards. Before he could recover, she unleashed a flurry of blows on him that took him down.<\/p>\n Frina looked to her right just as the elven conjurer who had been their distraction advanced on her and began casting flames.\u00a0 She gritted her teeth against the pain; there was no time to cast a healing spell or reach for a potion.\u00a0 She simply started striking with both weapons, as hard and fast as she could in spite of not really being able to see her target.\u00a0 The mage was wearing only lightweight robes.\u00a0 As soon as Frina\u2019s first blow struck, the flame spell was interrupted and Frina was able to finish her off.<\/p>\n She healed her burns as best she could while wandering into the center of this space. It had obviously been used for some magical ceremony or other; a ring of lighted candles filled the floor, while an arcane enchanter, tables, and bookshelves surrounded them.\u00a0 A large chest against one wall drew her attention.\u00a0 Opening it Frina found some coins, one or two pieces of nondescript mage gear, and a very old sword.\u00a0 She pulled it out and examined it closely; while the pommel and grip were slightly worse for wear the steel itself gleamed, its edge straight and unblemished and clearly razor-sharp.<\/p>\n \u201cThere we go,\u201d she murmured.\u00a0 \u201cOengul will be pleased.\u201d\u00a0 She headed for what looked to be the exit, a dirt ramp leading up and turning back toward the cave entrance.\u00a0 She was taking no particular care to be quiet, and jumped when she heard a man\u2019s voice behind her.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re dead!\u201d<\/p>\n She spun around, grabbing her weapons, just in time to see one final mage casting an armor spell on himself.\u00a0 She ran forward, ducking low just as he began to cast fire at her and sweeping his legs with her war pick in the move that had served her so well so often.\u00a0 It did again; the mage lost his footing and fell over backward and she ended him quickly.<\/p>\n \u201cThe flame spells are getting tiresome.\u00a0 Don\u2019t you people know anything else?\u201d she grumbled to the corpse. \u201cI\u2019m glad hair grows quickly, though. Well at least I have the sword.\u00a0 Now to get it back to Oengul.\u201d<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n \u201cMy lord?\u00a0 We\u2019re sorry to disturb you, but I thought it best you had this news immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n Edwyn Wickham looked up from the book he\u2019d been studying in the Archmage\u2019s quarters as the figures approached.\u00a0 He sighed.\u00a0 He\u2019d felt a degree of understanding approaching just then, tantalizingly close but not quite close enough. \u00a0The materials Urag gro-Shub had assembled for him about the early days of the Empire had been intriguing, some of them first-person accounts of various events that were quite thrilling to read.\u00a0 He\u2019d felt as though there was something he was missing, though, some connection to the present day that was vital to his future endeavors but which he did not quite<\/em> understand.\u00a0 And as Agryn Gernic spoke to him he felt that wisp of understanding dissolve.<\/p>\n Why did you have to die, Harkon?\u00a0 I needed you to confer with, to check my reasoning and question my conclusions.\u00a0 I needed the insight of your much longer life. I believe I know how to proceed, but\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n He set the book aside.<\/p>\n \u201cI trust you had no difficulty getting in to see me?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOf course not,\u201d Vyctyna laughed from her seat in the vestibule. \u201cInvisibility has its advantages.\u201d<\/p>\n Edwyn smiled. \u201cThat is a certainty. Now what is the news?\u201d<\/p>\n Agryn grimaced.\u00a0 \u201cI was pretty sure the rest of this lot wouldn\u2019t have heard it yet, given how focused they are on their own research. Solitude has fallen, my lord. General Tullius of the Imperial Legion has been killed. Ulfric Stormcloak and his forces now control Skyrim.\u201d<\/p>\n Edwyn was glad for a moment that he was seated as he felt the shock of this news rush through his body.\u00a0 How did they manage? How did they do it?\u00a0 <\/em>He stared at the floor for a moment, his unfocused gaze moving back and forth across the stones as his mind tried to sort through a thousand scenarios at once.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not the outcome I had expected, but it is what I had feared,\u201d he murmured.\u00a0 He looked back up at his right hand man. \u201cAnd the Lady Elisif? Is she\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Agryn nodded. \u201cShe is safe, my lord. That\u2019s the intriguing thing. We would have thought he\u2019d proclaim himself king immediately, but Stormcloak has announced that he will wait for the Moot, and Elisif will continue to rule Solitude.\u00a0 Under supervision, of course.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat is good to hear.\u00a0 Quite a … relief.\u201d<\/p>\n Edwyn stood and walked out into the vestibule, pacing back and forth. \u00a0It was<\/em> a relief, to be sure, to know that the sweet Elisif had come through the war unscathed. But for the smallest of moments his mind had shouted at him, clamoring that he might be free, that he might be able to take Serana as his bride rather than Elisif, that he might live a life directed by his own preferences rather than by a very old plan that he had only taken a small part in developing.\u00a0 He was surprised to realize he\u2019d thought such a thing, even as briefly as he had.<\/p>\n But now I must tread especially carefully.\u00a0 Should I take a single misstep this entire delicate construction we have endeavored to erect over the years could come tumbling to the ground. It may not have been my plan but its outcome will be my power and I <\/em>shall see it achieved.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cHow did they manage, I wonder?\u201d he said aloud, not really expecting an answer. \u201cThe little rag-tag group of rebels in inferior armor shouldn\u2019t have had a chance against the power of the Empire.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, sire, one thing that helped them was that they had the Dragonborn with them. I understand it was quite overwhelming with both he and Ulfric Stormcloak using the Voice to clear the way through the Imperial troops.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe Dragonborn.\u00a0 Hmm.\u201d\u00a0 Edwyn stared at Agryn and, as he had a few moments earlier, felt the significance of that information calling out to him but the meaning<\/em> of it eluding him by the slightest of margins.\u00a0 \u201cDo we know who this person is?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t,\u201d Vyctyna said. \u201cWe could find out for you, though.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes,\u201d Edwyn said. \u201cDo, please. I\u2019m not certain why <\/em>it is important that we know his identity but I am certain that it is.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s Dragonborn, that\u2019s why,\u201d Vyctyna mumbled.<\/p>\n Edwyn walked to her and stared.\u00a0 \u201cWhy is that fact important, Vyctyna?\u201d<\/p>\n She smirked at him. \u201cYou\u2019re always going on about the Dragon Fires and all that, aren\u2019t you? Isn\u2019t he the guy who could do all of that?\u201d<\/p>\n Edwyn froze, the hair on his neck rising.\u00a0 She\u2019s right. That is perfectly stunning. She\u2019s right; he is Dragonborn and thus\u2026\u00a0 But no.\u00a0 The Amulet of Kings was destroyed long, long ago.<\/em><\/p>\n Still\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cPerhaps you are right, my dear. I highly doubt that the tales from that long ago will be taken seriously by the people vying for power in the Imperial City, though.\u00a0 Nor do I expect they know this man.\u00a0 However, I do have a feeling that it is imperative we find out where and who this Dragonborn is.\u00a0 I would hate to have an unknown element create havoc of our plans.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd what do you want us to do about Solitude, sire?\u201d Agryn asked.<\/p>\n \u201cThat is the question of the moment, is it not.\u201d\u00a0 Edwyn paced back and forth a few times, stroking his chin. \u201cI had hoped to draw out this \u2026 engagement<\/em> of mine for some time. However, it seems to me that Ulfric Stormcloak has forced my hand. If I am to retain any possibility of gaining real power in Solitude I will need to marry Elisif sooner rather than later. That will require slipping her out of the city under the watchful eyes of the Stormcloak guard.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWill she be willing to do that?\u201d Agryn asked.<\/p>\n Edwyn smiled. You have no idea, my friend. Elisif is very much anxious to please me.<\/em> \u201cI believe she will, particularly if I put it to her carefully.\u00a0 Elisif is nothing if not prideful, and I suspect she will look favorably on the opportunity to complicate Jarl Ulfric\u2019s life.\u00a0 And I can be quite persuasive if needs must.\u201d<\/p>\n Vyctyna snickered.<\/p>\n \u201cYou find that amusing? Well the remaining problem is that of securing a route out of the city.\u00a0 I can likely get her as far as Proudspire without problems; after all, I am<\/em> her betrothed and of course I wish her to visit my home.\u00a0 After that\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s an escape hatch under the tower, you know,\u201d Vyctyna said. \u201cThe one by the marketplace. It leads under the walls and comes out near the docks.\u201d<\/p>\n He stared at her.\u00a0 \u201cReally. I had no idea.\u00a0 That might work very well in that case! Spirit the lady down to the docks, take a ferry to Windhelm and from there a carriage to Riften.\u00a0 Is that exit not guarded, though?\u201d<\/p>\n Vyctyna laughed. \u201cYou\u2019re not the only one who can be persuasive, you know.\u201d<\/p>\n Agryn frowned. \u201cTyna\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t worry, Aggie.\u00a0 Like I told you before, all I need to do is look interesting. It works every time.\u201d<\/p>\n Edwyn nodded.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s settled, then.\u00a0 Let us make our way to Solitude. \u00a0You two go at once. I will need to make certain that things are under control here at the College but I will follow you shortly. \u00a0The sooner this is done, the better.\u201d<\/p>\n Edwyn made the rounds in short order, making certain that once again Master Wizard Tolfdir understood that he was in charge. \u00a0Things had been extremely uneventful here in Winterhold since the Psijics removed the Eye of Magnus, the civil war having been raging elsewhere; so he had no real concerns about the College. He made potions and stored materials that he would not need on the road, and gathered his Colovian finery, and then descended from the Archmage\u2019s quarters to begin the journey to Solitude.\u00a0 Arvak would be able to circumvent the roads by travelling over the Sea of Ghosts; he might even arrive in Solitude before Agryn and Vyctyna did.<\/p>\n He paused in the courtyard and looked around.<\/p>\n This place is mine.\u00a0 Castle Volkihar is mine.\u00a0 And before very much longer, the capital of Skyrim will be mine, as well as its Jarl. And then\u2026 Tamriel.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cYou think you stand a chance?\u201d the conjurer snarled, casting flames into Frina\u2019s face. Frina ducked, wincing as she felt the fire\u2019s heat on her cheeks. That was bad enough; but off in the distance, over the roar of the flame spell, she could hear a dragon\u2019s roar increasing in volume as the beast flew … <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/4-2-23-2.png\")
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<\/p>\nPart II: The Storm<\/a><\/div>\nPrevious<\/a> \/ Next<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"