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The arrow leapt the space between Frina and the Orc atop the Rift Watchtower and buried itself in him.\u00a0 She saw him drop; then she heard his groan as the sound reached her.\u00a0 She waited for another moment or two with her bow drawn, squinting into the fog for signs of movement anywhere near the place.\u00a0 Finally she started slowly down the side of the rocks, making her way toward the bodies of the two other Orc bandits that had fallen to her arrows outside the tower itself.<\/p>\n
A few of her stray arrows littered the area, and she picked those up. The dense fog had turned everything gray \u2013 stone tower, wooden ramps and stairs, and bandits alike \u2013 and while she had gotten the two she\u2019d seen moving it had taken a long while.\u00a0 These bandits had nothing much on them worth hauling all the way to Riften; but she did take their few coins, a couple of lockpicks, and a dagger or two, and crept quietly up the stairs to the top of the tower.\u00a0 The Orc bandit chief had taken a long time and a great many arrows to defeat.\u00a0 He had a substantial sack of coins on his belt; she took those and opened the nearby chest to find the stolen copper and onyx circlet she\u2019d come for.<\/p>\n
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Frina smiled, and then took a seat at the bandits\u2019 table.\u00a0 It was time for a snack before making her way to Riften.\u00a0 After the last few hours, she was ready for a moment or two of peace.\u00a0 She dug a red apple out of her pack and started munching on it, its perfect tartness waking her mouth and its sugars refreshing her energy.<\/p>\n
Peace. It\u2019s hard to come by, isn\u2019t it? I thought we might have achieved that, Ulfric and Galmar and all the rest of us, but I guess there are a lot of things I didn\u2019t really understand.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n Elves, for example.<\/em><\/p>\n It hadn\u2019t been until she met Nurelion that Frina had given much thought to the matter.\u00a0 Elves were the enemy. They were to be hated. They were a blight on Skyrim and were to be gotten rid of.\u00a0 She had believed those things all her life; it was the other reason, aside from her sister Briinda\u2019s example, that she\u2019d been so eager to join the Stormcloaks to drive out the Empire that bowed to the Aldmeri Dominion\u2019s demands.<\/p>\n But seeing Nurelion painfully lowering himself onto his deathbed had shaken her.\u00a0 The old alchemist had spent several of her human lifetimes searching for the Phial, only to be unable to test its properties because it was broken. \u00a0As she mixed potions in her apartment she imagined what she might have felt like, after having spent all of her short life preparing to fight beside Ulfric, if they\u2019d lost in Solitude \u2013 if Ulfric or Roggi, or even Dardeh had been killed. That thought had set her back, as well. Dardeh was one of the people who didn\u2019t look like a Nord, and at first she\u2019d thought of him just as she\u2019d thought of the Dunmer \u2013 except that Dardeh had become her friend, and he was Roggi\u2019s husband, and she would have been heartbroken if he\u2019d been killed.<\/p>\n I might have wanted to lay down and die, too.<\/em><\/p>\n She\u2019d noticed, after that, how many elves there really were in Windhelm.\u00a0 Nurelion had been one; but there were the stable owners, and the woman who sold miscellaneous goods in the marketplace.\u00a0 The Gray Quarter, of course, was populated mostly by Dunmer; and the docks had a wide assortment of people of all races.<\/p>\n And Ulfric let them all stay.\u00a0 He could have driven them out, but he didn\u2019t. He was the Jarl of the city and the future High King, and he could have cleaned out Windhelm of all but Nords; but he didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n Maybe, she\u2019d decided, it wasn\u2019t the fact that they were elves that was the problem.\u00a0 After all, most of them were just scrabbling about to keep bread in their bellies, just like everyone else, and were hardly a threat of any kind. Maybe it was specifically the Thalmor that were the problem, not mer in and of themselves.<\/p>\n After a few more days had passed with no further contact with Ulfric, Frina had decided to search the bulletins posted outside Candlehearth Hall to find something to do.\u00a0 One notice, oddly enough, was from the Jarl of the Rift asking for help ridding the ruins of Bthalft of a bandit group that had been harassing travelers.\u00a0 Another was a request from Aval, one of the Dunmer merchants, to retrieve the circlet from the Rift Tower bandits she had just dispatched.<\/p>\n She had pondered the Bthalft job for a long time.\u00a0 Ulfric had <\/em>asked her to help the people, after all.\u00a0 He hadn\u2019t put any kind of conditions on that request; and even though this job was in the Rift it was posted in Windhelm. And maybe, just maybe, doing something to help one of the Dunmer would make her feel the tiniest bit better about the attitude she\u2019d had for so long, that she was beginning to feel a bit guilty about.\u00a0 So she had headed south, and up into the Rift to Ivarstead to rest for the night before taking on the bandits.<\/p>\n The fog had been thick and heavy all day.\u00a0 Approaching Bthalft was like walking blind into the sea.\u00a0 And because the sound of her weapons carried so well the bandits had found her before she found them.\u00a0 She scrambled to take out the first of them with an arrow, but could see the next just behind, running toward her with a warhammer at the ready.\u00a0 Frina grabbed her staff and conjured a wraith, distracting the man for a moment while she ran back down the hill and away from him.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ll be so much easier to rob when you\u2019re dead!\u201d he yelled from just behind her.\u00a0 She turned just in time to see the wraith stagger and drop to one knee.<\/p>\n Uh oh. I\u2019m in trouble now.<\/em><\/p>\n And then the fog turned to her advantage for just a moment. She hadn\u2019t seen the giant frostbite spider coming out of the woods until it was almost on them.\u00a0 Neither had the bandit.\u00a0 The spider took a giant leap into the air; Frina rolled aside, and the bandit had no way to prevent the gigantic fangs dripping with venom from sinking into him.\u00a0 He\u2019d already been wounded at the hands of the wraith; the combination of lingering poison and physical trauma by the spider crumpled him into a ball in the leaf litter.\u00a0 Frina attacked the spider with both weapons, hammering away at it as fast as she could, and the wraith recovered its feet and joined her in the struggle.<\/p>\n Once they\u2019d brought the creature down she returned to the ruins to look for signs of more bandits.\u00a0 Frina saw nothing other than the crates and sacks of food they had arranged in the area; but she frowned as she heard voices and the clanking of a hammer on metal.\u00a0 She crept forward, through the ruins and up to the top of a rock outcropping on the far side, and fought the urge to gasp at what she saw.<\/p>\n Below her, nestled up against the edge of the mountain and given some small cover by the aspens nearby, was a military camp.\u00a0 She watched and listened for a few moments, and then the fog thinned enough for her to see the red and brown of Imperial uniforms on the people moving about.\u00a0 As clearly as though he\u2019d been hunkered down beside her, Frina heard Ulfric\u2019s voice: \u201cIf you come across any Imperials in your travels \u2013 well, I expect you\u2019ll know what to do.\u201d<\/p>\n Yes. I know what to do. I\u2019m still a Stormcloak, even though the war has ended. I will always be a Stormcloak. It may be about the Thalmor in the end but these are the people who were trying to kill us. They need to leave.<\/em><\/p>\n Frina pulled out her bow and took careful aim at one of the soldiers walking back and forth near the campfire and cooking spit.\u00a0 In spite of the fog, in spite of the distance, the arrow shot straight down across the brush and between the trees and caught the man squarely between the shoulders, his light armor doing nothing to keep him alive.<\/p>\n She spent a few moments taking potshots at the soldiers who ran to his position in a fruitless effort to help him, and took down at least one more of them. Then she ran back to Bthalft and climbed the hill behind it to find a different vantage point.\u00a0 As the Imperials swarmed up the slope toward the ruin she picked them off, one after another, until only the commanding officer was left.\u00a0 Just as she was fitting an arrow to the string she heard the unmistakable snorting of a bear nearby.<\/p>\n Damn. Need to run. This bear could kill me before I had a chance to draw my weapons.<\/em><\/p>\n Frina had scurried away from the camp, away from Bthalft, down the road and across the river through the fog to the Rift Watchtower where she now sat.\u00a0 It was still cloudy, but the fog was beginning to break up and the light breeze brought birdsong floating up through the trees.<\/p>\n She finished the apple and stretched.\u00a0 It was a long way to Riften, still. That was where she needed to go to collect the reward for having destroyed the bandit camp at Bthalft. She didn\u2019t expect a reward for routing the Imperials; but she hoped she would see Ulfric smile when she reported it to him later on.<\/p>\n __<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t take this the wrong way, but you look a little sickly,\u201d the woman told her just inside the gates of Riften.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel it, too. Rockjoint.\u00a0 Where\u2019s there a shrine?\u201d Frina asked her.\u00a0 There had been dozens of wolves on the way from Rift Tower to the city, and she\u2019d gotten nipped several times.<\/p>\n \u201cJust over there is the Temple of Mara.\u00a0 Go underneath the arches and out by the gates.\u00a0 There\u2019s a \u2026\u201d the woman dropped her voice and leaned in closer, \u201cshrine of Talos.\u201d\u00a0 She looked around. \u201cI still never know whether it\u2019s safe to say that out loud or not. Or I suppose you could go into the Temple but they\u2019ll try to sell you an expensive amulet before they heal you.\u00a0 It\u2019s ok if you want to get married, I suppose. But the shrine in back is free.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThanks,\u201d Frina said, smiling. \u201cI\u2019m not looking to get married quite yet. I\u2019ll go find that shrine.\u201d<\/p>\n She made her way down the boardwalk and turned left at the Temple. So this is the place. <\/em>\u00a0She stopped for a moment and looked up at the bright red banners and the stairs leading up to the temple door, and sighed.\u00a0 This is where we were all coming, to watch Briinda and Roggi have a second wedding ceremony here in Skyrim. I wish we\u2019d been able to see it. Briinda would have been a beautiful bride. Roggi would have been a\u2026 <\/em>She stopped herself in mid-thought as the image in her mind shifted, and she imagined Roggi standing before the priest of Mara with Dardeh instead.\u00a0 She shook her head.\u00a0 Undoubtedly it had been a wonderful occasion.\u00a0 And there was no denying how much the two of them cared for each other.<\/p>\n She spotted the shrine of Talos, behind the temple grounds and beyond the open archway, past the small graveyard.\u00a0 In spite of its bleak surroundings the shrine made her smile. It had stood the test of time and the Thalmor ban; and when she knelt before it she felt her illness wash away and her sadness lift.<\/p>\n Perhaps it was meant to be. Perhaps Talos knew that Dardeh would need to fight the dragons, and that he would need Roggi by his side. <\/em><\/p>\n She rose to her feet and made her way out toward the marketplace.\u00a0 Somewhere nearby was the keep where she\u2019d need to go to report that the bandits had been taken care of, but she didn\u2019t know where.\u00a0 Undoubtedly someone would be able to tell her.<\/p>\n Frina spied the blacksmith first, just beyond the circular cluster of market stalls.\u00a0 She had a few things to sell, items that had been too good to leave behind on the bodies.\u00a0 She started toward him and then stopped short as one of the vendors caught her attention.<\/p>\n \u201cMake love like a saber cat\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n The voice \u2013 strangely familiar and yet not familiar at all — pulled Frina toward the central area.\u00a0 I know this voice. Who is that?<\/em><\/p>\n She walked slowly around the edge of the marketplace and peered at the man standing in the stall, calling out extravagant claims about whatever he had in the large red flasks before him. \u00a0He hadn\u2019t been in fine clothing standing beside Roggi that night in Windhelm, but there was no mistaking the tall man with red hair and a scar. \u00a0She snickered, and approached him from the front.<\/p>\n The man glanced at her, and then away; and then did a double-take.\u00a0 His eyes narrowed for a moment, but he never stopped his patter.<\/p>\n \u201cLearn a library\u2019s worth of knowledge in moments with my Falmerblood Elixir!\u201d<\/p>\n My goodness, even I am not foolish enough to fall for that kind of line. And I\u2019m pretty foolish!<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cHello, \u2018Brunulvr,\u2019\u201d Frina said, unable to keep the grin off her face. \u201cIt\u2019s good to see you again.\u201d<\/p>\n He heaved a sigh.<\/p>\n \u201cUgh,\u201d he muttered, setting the flask down in front of him. \u201cCaught like a rat in a trap. I can\u2019t say that I ever expected to see you<\/em> here, lass.\u201d \u00a0In spite of his words, his mouth curled up into a small grin.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I never expected to be here, especially not so soon after the end of the war. So what is your name, really?\u201d<\/p>\n He tilted his head to one side as if weighing his options and opened his mouth as if to speak, but suddenly Frina had a flash of a memory. Roggi and Dardeh, in a moment when it had seemed as though events might be tearing them apart.\u00a0 Roggi had said he hadn\u2019t ever expected to meet Dardeh, or\u2026<\/p>\n \u201cWait! It\u2019s Brynjolf, isn\u2019t it! I heard Roggi and Dardeh talking about someone named Brynjolf. It has to be you!\u201d She smiled, feeling proud of herself for having remembered what she heard.<\/p>\n The red-haired man chuckled. \u201cAye. Brunulvr was my father, and he really did speak like that.\u00a0 It makes for a handy cover if I need one sometimes; and, well, it wasn\u2019t truly a good time for me to be Brynjolf in Windhelm right then.\u201d<\/p>\n She looked him over.\u00a0 This was definitely the same friendly face she remembered from that night in Windhelm, when she\u2019d been practically beside herself with excitement for having Ulfric\u2019s war axe in her hands.\u00a0 My how things have changed since then. I\u2019m not sure whether it\u2019s for the better or not.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cSo what exactly is it that you\u2019re selling out here?\u201d she asked with a grin, nodding toward the large flask.<\/p>\n \u201cWell,\u201d he said, looking around to see whether or not anyone else was listening, \u201ca load, if you want the truth of it.\u201d\u00a0 Both of them laughed.<\/p>\n Then he leaned closer. \u201cListen, lass, I have a question for you. Are you still in Windhelm now that things have settled?\u201d<\/p>\n Frina nodded. \u201cYes. Ulfric gave me a place to live, but I\u2019m still trying to find a landing spot as far as something to do is concerned.\u00a0 That\u2019s why I\u2019m here, actually. I did a bounty job for the Jarl here.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell,\u201d Brynjolf said, \u201cmaybe you can help me out if you\u2019re on your way back there.\u00a0 Meet me in the Bee and Barb after the market closes down and I\u2019ll fill you in. You would be doing me a big favor and I won\u2019t forget it. After all, we are almost extended family.\u201d<\/p>\n Frina was confused, and must have looked it; for Brynjolf chuckled. \u201cMy wife \u2013 the wee Redguard lass,\u201d he said, dropping into Brunulvr\u2019s accents for a moment, \u201cis Dardeh\u2019s half sister. And since Dardeh\u2019s married to Roggi, and Roggi used to be married to your sister, that makes us practically related.\u201d\u00a0 He grinned widely, and Frina snorted.<\/p>\n \u201cIt makes us nothing at all, but I will be happy to come find you in the inn anyway,\u201d she giggled.\u00a0 \u201cI need things to make me feel useful.\u00a0 And if Roggi trusts you, that\u2019s good enough for me.\u201d<\/p>\n Brynjolf pointed her toward the keep.\u00a0 As she left the marketplace she heard him calling out \u201cGrow back that missing limb with my genuine Falmerblood Elixir!\u201d<\/p>\n __<\/p>\n \u201cHere\u2019s the situation,\u201d he said quietly.<\/p>\n The bar was buzzing.\u00a0 There were people yelling at the waiter, and yelling at each other. Others laughed riotously or coughed as though they had swallowed a fish whole.\u00a0 The noise made for excellent cover, though Frina had to stand right in front of Brynjolf to hear what he was saying.<\/p>\n \u201cMy organization works fairly closely with the East Empire Company. Not directly, you understand,\u201d he said smoothly when Frina raised an eyebrow, \u201cbut we \u2013 how should I put it \u2013 help facilitate all sorts of business, all through Tamriel.\u00a0 Well, as you might imagine, the war put a bit of a damper on some of that.\u201d<\/p>\n Frina nodded. \u201cI\u2019m sure it did. Not much having to do with the Empire is welcome in Windhelm these days.\u201d<\/p>\n He shook his head. \u201cNo, don\u2019t confuse it with politics. This is a company, and it\u2019s strictly business.\u00a0 Here\u2019s the thing. Someone or something has been interfering with the shipment of goods all along the seacoast. You know what\u2019s been going on in Solitude. I assume you were there.\u201d<\/p>\n Frina just nodded.<\/p>\n \u201cThat leaves Windhelm as the major trading port in Skyrim until Solitude is back in shape. And something\u2019s been scuttling shipping in Windhelm, too, even though there were no battles there.\u201d<\/p>\n Frina frowned. \u201cI\u2019m not sure I understand. What does this have to do with me?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBased on everything I saw, and things I\u2019ve heard, I would wager you have Ulfric\u2019s ear \u2013 at least on a good day.\u201d<\/p>\n His ear and not nearly enough of anything else as far as I\u2019m concerned. <\/em>She felt herself blushing as she realized what she\u2019d been thinking, and was grateful that the light in the Bee & Barb was fairly dim.\u00a0 She nodded. \u201cI guess I do.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTalk to him, lass. Convince him to look into it. He needs the shipping lanes to be open as much as anyone else does. Right now, in particular. Skyrim\u2019s been through a lot and is going to need trade in order to set things right again.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re right,\u201d Frina said, smirking at him, \u201cand something tells me that you\u2019re not putting me up to this task for purely altruistic reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n Brynjolf\u2019s eyes twinkled, and he grinned.\u00a0 \u201cAh, see, there it is. I knew you were a clever lass after listening to Roggi talk about you.\u00a0 Never mind about that; it\u2019s just as well that you don\u2019t know the details, but I promise you that we\u2019ll all be better off if things get back to normal on the waterfront. Will you talk to him?\u00a0 I think the suggestion will carry more weight if it comes from you than from me.\u201d<\/p>\n Frina stared at him for a few moments.\u00a0 The man was clearly as unscrupulous as the day was long, but she knew that Roggi and Dardeh held him in high esteem.\u00a0 And he did have a valid point. She\u2019d even heard Ulfric and Galmar talking about trade being important to the recovery efforts.<\/p>\n She smiled.\u00a0 \u201cSure, Brynjolf.\u00a0 I need to report in anyway, as soon as I get back. He\u2019ll want to know what I was able to accomplish on this trip.\u00a0 I\u2019ll talk to him.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThank you,\u201d he said, smiling.\u00a0 \u201cNow then, I have about enough time for one drink before I have to get home to my family.\u00a0 My treat.\u201d\u00a0 He gestured toward the bar and waved at the Argonian waiter.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re on,\u201d Frina said, smiling.<\/p>\n __<\/p>\n Frina could hear Ulfric\u2019s voice coming out of his map room as soon as she entered the keep.\u00a0 She smiled to herself as she headed in that direction, trying to keep from becoming too excited. He might well be too busy to spend time with her, and she would understand that. The fact of the matter was, though, that she\u2019d barely thought about anything else but him since leaving him the night he\u2019d given her the apartment. Even when other things had been foremost in her mind \u2013 such as surviving the draugr that guarded the White Phial \u2013 everything she\u2019d pondered had been colored by its relationship to Ulfric.<\/p>\n She\u2019d thought about Roggi, too; in particular, she\u2019d recalled his pleas for her to be careful around the Jarl.\u00a0 She didn\u2019t know Ulfric the way Roggi did; she\u2019d only known him for a short time.\u00a0 She knew that he was much, much older than she was, that he was a veteran of many battles, that he probably had no time for a young, if earnest, woman to hover around him.\u00a0 But it didn\u2019t matter.\u00a0 When she thought of Ulfric she thought of his stirring speeches, and his gifts to her, and his company as they shared a meal, and his sincere concern that she not feel pressured in any way.\u00a0 And she thought of the kiss they had shared, and how very much she wanted to know whether it would ever be repeated.<\/p>\n She turned the corner to the map\u00a0 room.<\/p>\n I\u2019m sorry, Roggi. I know you\u2019re worried about me \u2013 and it makes you all the more dear to me that you are \u2013 but I think that I \u2026<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cStormblade,\u201d the deep voice greeted her.\u00a0 \u201cIt is good to see you. I was beginning to wonder where you had gone.\u201d<\/p>\n Frina looked up to see Ulfric\u2019s eyes smiling at her even while his face kept a neutral expression.\u00a0 She saw that Jorlief and Captain Lonely-Gale had been talking to him, and some part of her awareness took note of the fact that both of them quietly left the room without a word; but she didn\u2019t take her eyes off Ulfric.\u00a0 It was just so very good to see his face again.<\/p>\n I missed you, too.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been trying to do as you suggested, my lord, and help the people.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHave you indeed? And what do you have to report?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, sir, I\u2026\u201d\u00a0 She began to tell him about all of it, and the words tumbled out of her in a great rush.\u00a0 Nurelion, and the White Phial.\u00a0 Yes, he said, he\u2019d heard of that and was saddened to report that the old mer had died within the last day or two. Frina\u2019s throat tightened, and she found herself wiping her eyes; Ulfric took her by the hand and led her to one of the chairs flanking the small table at the back of the room.\u00a0 Her words followed her travels up to the Rift, to Ivarstead, and to the ruins of Bthalft.\u00a0 Ulfric listened, nodding from time to time.\u00a0 He poured her a cup of wine from the flask at his table and took one for himself, and sipped, and listened more.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd then! Then I found an Imperial camp.\u00a0 I almost managed to get them all. Almost. But there was this bear, and I was just me, and I\u2019m afraid I left the Legate alive.\u201d\u00a0 She looked at his face, worried that he would be upset with her.<\/p>\n \u201cIndeed. Where was this camp?\u201d Ulfric asked quietly.<\/p>\n \u201cHere,\u201d she said, jumping up and pointing to its location on the map that had once been adorned with both red and blue flags but was now covered with blue. \u201cJust here, behind the ruins. The bandits were really nothing, in comparison.\u00a0 But I got lucky with my bow.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat was well done,\u201d he said, nodding.\u00a0 Then he took her hand again, and led her back to the table.\u00a0 \u201cI was certain you would know what was to be done. Go on.\u201d<\/p>\n Frina heaved a sudden sigh of relief and took several swallows of her wine, then realized what she\u2019d just done.\u00a0 Easy, Frina. That isn\u2019t water. <\/em><\/p>\n She told him of the Rift Watchtower, and retrieving the circlet for the very appreciative Aval.<\/p>\n \u201cGood. It is good for you to help all of the people of Windhelm. I\u2019m certain they will all know of your gesture before long. The people love you, Frina.\u201d<\/p>\n She had been staring down into her cup but her gaze flew up to meet his at those words.\u00a0 The people love me, Ulfric?<\/em> He\u2019d said a similar thing to her once before, in the context of the war. The people love me. But how do you know that to be the case? <\/em><\/p>\n She paused for a moment, considering how to proceed.\u00a0 \u201cWhether they love me or not doesn\u2019t matter, my lord. What matters is whether they love you<\/em>. All of them, not just in Windhelm. And they will love you even more if you are able to help them rebuild, now that the war is decided in our favor.\u201d<\/p>\n Ulfric clearly hadn\u2019t been expecting something so direct from her.\u00a0 One eyebrow went up; he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.<\/p>\n \u201cIs that so.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, it is,\u201d she found herself saying, rushing forward regardless of the wisdom of it. \u201cThere\u2019s a problem with trade. I learned about it from an acquaintance in Riften, someone Roggi knows and trusts.\u201d\u00a0 She saw Ulfric\u2019s expression tighten, wary but attentive, and explained everything as quickly as she could.\u00a0 The words kept coming.<\/p>\n I\u2019m babbling. But he hasn\u2019t interrupted me yet.<\/em><\/p>\n Finally she found herself at the end of her tale.\u00a0 She took a breath and looked directly at him.<\/p>\n \u201cSo I think I should go talk to the people at the East Empire office and see what is going on.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOut of the question.\u201d\u00a0 Ulfric rose from his chair and paced the room, shaking his head.<\/p>\n Frina was stunned.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n Ulfric didn\u2019t look at her; he merely waved his hand in the air.\u00a0 \u201cI spoke clearly enough for anyone to understand. It is out<\/em>. Of the question<\/em>. It is definitely worth finding out what is going on, but that woman will never tell you, and it would be dangerous for you to attempt it. She will require persuasion.\u00a0 I shall send a courier to fetch Roggi immediately and he can get to the bottom of it. He is better at that type of work than almost anyone else I know.\u201d<\/p>\n Frina stared at him for a moment, confused; then a cold chill started at the bottom of her spine and ran, tingling all the way, up to the base of her skull.\u00a0 That type of work.<\/em> That meant the work that resulted in the horrific things she and Dardeh had heard from the dungeon here at the keep.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, you can\u2019t!\u201d<\/p>\n Ulfric turned slowly to stare at her. \u201cWhat do you mean, I can\u2019t?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t make Roggi do that anymore.\u00a0 It\u2019s not good for him. It\u2019s not good for anyone.\u00a0 He needs to be at home. With his children. And with Dardeh.\u201d<\/p>\n She watched in astonishment as Ulfric sneered. When he spoke, his voice was heavy with sarcasm.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, of course. The Dragonborn. He is without doubt the most important person in Tamriel.\u201d<\/p>\n Frina felt the chill that had passed through her change, slowly, to anger.\u00a0 She knew that she should keep her mouth shut, but she wasn\u2019t able to do it.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat, are you jealous<\/em> of him? Because he\u2019s the Dragonborn? I don\u2019t know whether he\u2019s the most important person in Tamriel, but he\u2019s the most important person to Roggi.\u00a0 And Roggi was my brother. I love Roggi. I don\u2019t like what it does to him when you make him\u2026\u201d\u00a0 She waved both hands in a frustrated gesture.\u00a0 \u201cOf all people, I would think that you <\/em>would know better than that. You don\u2019t torture<\/em> people! It\u2019s an evil, evil thing!\u201d<\/p>\n There was dead silence in the room for a long, dreadful moment.<\/p>\n \u201cThank you for bringing this matter to me, Stormblade,\u201d Ulfric said quietly; too quietly, she thought, and too formally.\u00a0 \u201cI will be certain to give it my close attention, as the Jarl of Windhelm and rightful High King of Skyrim!\u201d<\/p>\n By the time he reached the end, he was shouting at her.<\/p>\n Frina turned and ran from the room, and down the long hallway of the audience chamber.<\/p>\n \u201cFrina!\u201d\u00a0 he bellowed from behind her; but she just ran to the doors and pushed them open.<\/p>\n She ran to her apartment, and paced back and forth, wondering whether or not the guards were now going to burst in and take her back to the Jarl in shackles.\u00a0 But nobody came.\u00a0 She paced, and she paced, and the more she thought about it the angrier she got that he hadn\u2019t listened to her, had shouted at her, had pulled his rank on her that way.<\/p>\n Eventually she opened the door again.\u00a0 The sun was on its way down, but it was still early enough that people would be about their business.<\/p>\n And she headed for the docks.<\/p>\n The arrow leapt the space between Frina and the Orc atop the Rift Watchtower and buried itself in him.\u00a0 She saw him drop; then she heard his groan as the sound reached her.\u00a0 She waited for another moment or two with her bow drawn, squinting into the fog for signs of movement anywhere near the … <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/4-3-1-3.png\")
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<\/p>\nPart III: Complications<\/a><\/div>\nPrevious<\/a> \/ Next<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"