{"id":1006,"date":"2021-08-12T22:26:10","date_gmt":"2021-08-13T04:26:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/baakay.com\/Snow\/?page_id=1006"},"modified":"2021-08-16T18:40:23","modified_gmt":"2021-08-17T00:40:23","slug":"chapter-16-harald","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/baakay.com\/Snow\/volume-1\/part-ii-starlight\/chapter-16-harald\/","title":{"rendered":"Chapter 16 – Harald"},"content":{"rendered":"
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 <\/p>\n

Harald stepped out from Understone Keep into the night and yawned. It seemed ages since he\u2019d arrived in Markarth, since he\u2019d witnessed a murder; but it had only been a few hours. He\u2019d met important people, including Calcelmo. He\u2019d gotten his first look inside a real Dwemer ruin. And he\u2019d learned more about his father\u2019s history with this area, and heard people\u2019s divided opinions about that history.<\/p>\n

The moons were full. Masser positively loomed over the city, Secunda following along behind like an obedient hound.<\/p>\n

He asked me to meet him at midnight. I think it must be close.<\/em><\/p>\n

He could easily have tossed a rock from the entrance of Understone Keep to the passage leading past the shrine of Talos. He couldn\u2019t fly through the air like a thrown rock, though; and it took him several minutes to find a path that bridged across the city\u2019s rapid streams and led to stairs up to the shrines.<\/p>\n

Hope I\u2019m not late, now\u2026 <\/em><\/p>\n

Not only the time, but the location made him fairly sure that this meeting was related to the murder. Talos worship was solid and widespread in the east, but here in the western fringes of the Reach, not so much. There wouldn\u2019t be much traffic here at midnight.<\/p>\n

From the doorway a ramp led down to a statue of Talos, inside a circular niche with Dwemer pillars around the edges \u2013 an unlikely but oddly satisfying mix of stonework. The place seemed empty. He reached the bottom of the shrine and circled around it to the right, checking the corners and the shadowed benches along the walls for signs of life, and admiring the stonework and its metallic embellishments. He yawned again, passing the far side of the room and starting back toward the front.<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry to drag you into Markarth\u2019s problems,\u201d a voice just to his left said.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Harald jumped backward, his heart pounding. The man who\u2019d given him the note was leaning up against the column closest to Harald.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy Shor\u2019s holy bones, man, you just about scared me to death!\u201d he yelped, his heart pounding.<\/p>\n

The man chuckled.<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry to startle you. I\u2019m used to sneaking around in this city, for safety. They\u2019re always watching me. Think I\u2019m Forsworn. I\u2019m Eltrys.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harald took a deep breath to calm himself, and chuckled. \u201cGreetings, Eltrys. I\u2019m Harald. So what did you want to see me about, in the middle of the night?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter that attack in the market, I\u2019m running out of time,\u201d the man said. \u201cYou\u2019re an outsider. You\u2019re dangerous-looking. You\u2019ll do.\u201d<\/p>\n

That \u201cyou\u2019ll do\u201d would have rubbed Harald the wrong way, ordinarily. But there was something perversely satisfying to him that he might be considered \u201cdangerous-looking.\u201d Most people had always treated him like some sort of fragile objet d\u2019art<\/em> because he was the prince.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll do \u2013 for what?\u201d he asked, grinning in spite of himself.<\/p>\n

Eltrys grimaced. \u201cYou want answers? So do I. So does everyone in this city. A man goes crazy in the market. Everyone knows he\u2019s a Forsworn agent. The guards do nothing. Nothing but clean up the mess.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harald nodded. \u201cSo you\u2019re hoping I\u2019ll help find out what\u2019s behind this, is that right?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes. This has been going on for years. Decades, even. It\u2019s been quiet for awhile now, but\u2026 I\u2019ve been looking for answers and all I\u2019ve been able to find is murder and blood. I need help. Please. You help me find out why that woman was attacked, who\u2019s behind Weylin and the Forsworn, and I\u2019ll pay you for any information you bring me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harald barely hesitated. His father had been involved with the Forsworn and their uprising, decades earlier. This might be one of the best chances he would get to dig up the truth about the matter for himself, as well as to help Eltrys.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cOK. Who was Weylin? Is that the murderer?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, that\u2019s him. He was one of the smelter workers. I used to have a job down there myself, casting silver ingots. That\u2019s how I know him. Knew<\/em> him, I guess. I never knew much about Weylin personally except that he lived in the Warrens, like all the other workers. That\u2019s behind the Dwemer doors across from the smelter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harald nodded. \u201cTell me about the Forsworn. I\u2019m, uh\u2026\u201d he hesitated, not knowing how much about himself it was safe to share, but wanting to learn everything he could. \u201cI\u2019m from Windhelm, so we don\u2019t exactly have first-hand witnesses.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eltrys nodded. \u201cThey\u2019re the remnants of the old rulers of Markarth. Natives of the Reach. Followers of the old ways. The Nords drove them out of the city. Ulfric Stormcloak and his men. That was, oh, close to forty years ago now, but somehow they\u2019re still here; and people just don\u2019t forget, especially not the old-timer Forsworn. They\u2019re killing people. Again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harald was glad Eltrys couldn\u2019t see him flushing when his father was mentioned. \u201cWhat about the woman who was killed? What do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHer name is Margret and she\u2019s not from Markarth; she was an outsider, for certain. Visitors to the city usually stay at the Silver-Blood Inn, so that might be the place to check for dirt about her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harald nodded. \u201cGood. That\u2019s two things I can start with. I assume you\u2019ve been looking into these murders yourself?\u201d<\/p>\n

Eltrys sighed. \u201cOh yes. It all started when I was a boy. My father owned one of the mines. Rare, for someone who isn\u2019t a Nord. No offense \u2013 it\u2019s obvious you\u2019re a Nord.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harald chuckled. \u201cYou could say that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell,\u201d Eltrys continued, \u201che was killed. Guards said it was just a madman, but everyone knew it was a member of the Forsworn. I\u2019ve been trying to find out why ever since. Gotten nowhere so far. And then I got married. Got a child of my own on the way. I swore I was going to give up, for my child\u2019s sake, but it\u2019s just \u2026 like my father\u2019s ghost is haunting me, asking me why!\u201d<\/p>\n

Gods. I can understand that feeling, and my father isn\u2019t even dead yet.<\/em><\/p>\n

Harald grimaced. It wouldn\u2019t be all that long, very likely, before his own father was<\/em> gone, and then it would<\/em> be his ghost haunting Harald.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry. I have reasons for wanting to get to the bottom of this as well, but they\u2019re not nearly as important as your reasons. I\u2019ll help however I can.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks, Harald,\u201d Eltrys said. \u201cLet me know as soon as you\u2019ve found anything. I thought the killings were done, but they\u2019re not, and we need to stop them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLet me get started, in that case.\u201d Harald turned to leave the shrine, more awake now than when he entered.<\/p>\n

A mystery! A dangerous mystery, even, and something that may give me some of the answers I\u2019m looking for, as well.<\/em><\/p>\n

He worked his way down toward the base of the city, trying to decide where to start. The market square was quiet aside from a patrolling guard, and one of the night ladies. Harald couldn\u2019t see the moving lights of guards\u2019 torches anywhere near the smelter. He decided to head that way first, to see whether he could learn anything useful in the Warrens.<\/p>\n

\u201cNeed something?\u201d a sultry voice asked.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Harald whirled to look. She was quite beautiful, with honey-blonde hair done up in various curls and braids that he found fascinating. Oh yes. He could definitely be convinced that he needed something. But he smiled and shook his head.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you, but I have to go help someone out. Another time, maybe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOk, honey. Just keep me in mind,\u201d she said, turning back uphill toward the keep. Harald stared after her for a second before he was able to shake himself back into motion and continue toward his destination.<\/p>\n

Which was\u2026 what? Oh yes. The Warrens.<\/em><\/p>\n

Focus, Harald. Focus.<\/em><\/p>\n

He reached the lifeblood of Markarth: the silver mine. Just outside it was the smelter where, according to Eltrys, the late Weylin had worked. The noisy stream pouring down from the mountains containing the silver flowed past the smelter and under boardwalks. With the heat from the smelter and the forge just uphill, there was a riot of fungi, flowers, and moss growing on every surface. And across one of the boardwalks Harald spotted a stylized face carved into the stone: a Dwemer carving, mostly covered with moss, next to a metal door. Neither looked well maintained at all.<\/p>\n

Just the kind of place you might want to stow your culturally-unacceptable people. <\/em><\/p>\n

He grimaced, recognizing how sad it was that he even knew about housing for the culturally-unacceptable. But that was part of why he was here: to find out more about his father and whether the nasty things that were said about him were true.<\/p>\n

The Warrens were more or less what he\u2019d expected. Piles of rubble were everywhere, the excavation having never been finished. Only a couple of pitiful fires on the floor kept the place from being completely dark. Dwemer-metal doors spaced along each side of the hall reflected back what little light there was. He was grateful that he could see the few figures moving about; it would be far too easy to get mugged in a place like this. Not even the familiar odor of wood smoke could disguise the overpowering stench of mold, and unwashed people, and neglect.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

A man in ragged clothing leaned up against a pillar near the entrance. He gave Harald a frown as he approached.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Warrens isn\u2019t a place for your type,\u201d he said sourly.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy type? What is that?\u201d Harald asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell dressed. Armored. Clean<\/em>. Whaddya want?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry,\u201d Harald said. \u201cI meant no offense. Did you know Weylin?\u201d<\/p>\n

The man grimaced. \u201cOh yes. I know everyone who sleeps in the Warrens. I\u2019m kinda the one who passes the keys around. I guess someone else will be taking his room now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo what is this place?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s where you go when you can\u2019t afford a room anywhere else,\u201d the man said. \u201cAbout the time they opened the mines, someone got the bright idea to throw a few beds in here. Keeps people alive enough that they can still hammer rock or shovel coal into the smelter, so the Silver-Bloods make their coin.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harald nodded. He\u2019d seen people in Windhelm living under constructions that barely deserved the name \u201croofs,\u201d perched on rickety underpinnings above the streets of the Gray Quarter. Even the Dunmer, in buildings that should long since have been torn down and rebuilt, had it better than those folks. This place smelled worse because it was closed in, but there were solid roofs and it was warm. Still, he didn\u2019t know which set of awful conditions would produce that familiar look of hopeless anger more quickly.<\/p>\n

\u201cListen, I need the key to Weylin\u2019s room.\u201d He didn\u2019t dare say why; mentioning Eltrys might get him a reaction he didn\u2019t want.<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry,\u201d the man told him. \u201cBut you don\u2019t exactly belong here.\u201d<\/p>\n

That comment put Harald\u2019s teeth on edge. \u201cYeah. You made that clear already. But let\u2019s get this straight \u2013 I wasn\u2019t asking<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

He knew the tone of voice to use to get results; he\u2019d heard his father use it hundreds of times. He could do a decent-enough impression of power. It worked, too; the man with the keys looked startled for a moment and then narrowed his eyes again.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, don\u2019t get all upset! Here, take it!\u201d He rummaged in a grimy pocket and handed Harald a piece of metal. \u201cIt\u2019s down at the end.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harald nodded and started down the hall. He had to fight to keep from looking behind, waiting as he was for a blade to come through his armor and into his back. A shudder ran up his spine anyway as he passed a mound of skeletons, not-quite-covered with soil. That was where the stench was coming from, to be sure. Not too far past the bones, a woman sat coughing, huddled in a pile of dirt. She wasn\u2019t even making the effort to get near one of the fires for comfort\u2019s sake. She looked up at him as he passed and shook her head.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t want to be here. Nobody wants to.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d Harald murmured, not really knowing what else to say or do.<\/p>\n

He continued picking his way through and over the piles of rubble, down the long hallway. He tried the key in both doors at the end; the one on the right clicked open.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t quite the most depressing sight Harald had laid eyes on but it was certainly close. There was one chair, and one table holding a moldy piece of bread, a slice of cheese, and a pickaxe; but the \u201cbed\u201d was a pile of hay with a fur tossed over it, and none too fresh-smelling, at that. Harald stared at the unremitting bleakness of the room and thought of his own warm, cozily-furnished cabin. His eyes began to sting.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not right that I should have so much and these people should have so little. It\u2019s just not right.<\/em><\/p>\n

But what can I do?<\/em><\/p>\n

He caught a shuddering breath and looked around again, finally spotting the chest against one wall. Peeking inside he saw a horse hide, a few septims, a piece of charcoal and a note, which he removed to look at.<\/p>\n

\u201cWeylin,\u201d it read, \u201cYou\u2019ve been chosen to strike fear in the heart of the Nords. Go to the market tomorrow. You will know what to do. \u2013 N.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOk, so he was acting under orders,\u201d Harald murmured to himself. \u201cBut who\u2019s N?\u201d He pocketed the note and turned to leave. He wasn\u2019t sorry that Weylin was dead; the man had committed a murder at someone else\u2019s direction, and he had gotten what he\u2019d deserved. But living like this? It wasn\u2019t something anyone truly deserved.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

He walked past the coughing woman on the floor, back to the man near the door and handed him the key and a large handful of septims. \u201cThanks,\u201d he said. \u201cSorry about before. See if you can get her something for that cough.\u201d Without waiting for a response, he pushed his way out into the fresh air, and gratefully took a big gulp of it.<\/p>\n

There was a Nord blocking his path \u2013 a big guy with chestnut hair shaved on the sides, dressed in leather armor. He sneered.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou been diggin\u2019 around where you don\u2019t belong,\u201d he growled. \u201cIt\u2019s time you learned a lesson.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs that so?\u201d Harald replied, sounding a whole lot more self-assured than he felt. \u201cWho sent you, exactly?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSomeone who doesn\u2019t like you askin\u2019 questions,\u201d the Nord growled, raising his fists. \u201cCome on! Let\u2019s see what you\u2019re made of!\u201d<\/p>\n

Harald stood there for a moment, startled, long enough for the other guy to land a solid punch on his jaw. Then, recovering his wits, he raised his own fists and tried not to laugh. His father had insisted, over the years, that Harald learn how to defend himself; and he\u2019d sparred with Roggi and some of his father\u2019s other advisors. He wasn\u2019t an expert fist-fighter, by any stretch, but he could hold his own.<\/p>\n

And I\u2019m wearing heavy armored gauntlets. This guy is a fool.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Harald took a few hits that were going to leave nasty bruises. But he was younger and quite a lot quicker on his feet than the lumbering brute who was trying to intimidate him. It wasn\u2019t much of a fight, truthfully. Harald kept landing one heavy-gloved fist after another. He laughed when a woman standing nearby yelled \u201cwho taught you to fight?\u201d just seconds before he drove the Nord to his knees.<\/p>\n

\u201cUgh, you mangy piece of pit-bait!\u201d the man growled as he struggled to catch his breath and rise to his feet.<\/p>\n

Harald grinned. \u201cThanks. Now are you going to tell me who sent you, or am I going to finish the job and send you to the gods?\u201d<\/p>\n

As though I would really do that. But he doesn\u2019t know that about me. I didn\u2019t grow up around Chip and his family for nothing.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI was sent by Nepos the Nose,\u201d the Nord answered instantly. Harald thought he saw a bit of real panic in the eyes darting back and forth in the fellow\u2019s well-bloodied face. One of those eyes was already swelling and starting to turn blue. \u201cThe old man hands out the orders.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve been most helpful,\u201d Harald said cheerfully, walking back across the footbridge and up toward the forge. Once he was safely away from the thug, he pulled off one gauntlet and checked his jaw, gingerly. It didn\u2019t seem to be bleeding, and it definitely wasn\u2019t broken, but it was going to hurt.<\/p>\n

Guy was really a good fighter. He just wasn\u2019t expecting to be up against someone who\u2019s been trained by the High King\u2019s own staff.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The fatigue was beginning to creep up on him again. On the way in, he\u2019d seen a small bed tucked into a corner of Markarth\u2019s exterior wall, and figured he might use it. But it was still the dead of night; this might be an excellent time to sniff around inside the inn with the fewest people looking on.<\/p>\n

It was dead quiet inside, with only a lone man in rags sitting at the bar. Harald moved around the place, peeking into the rooms, their tidiness a stark contrast to the rooms in the Warrens. The innkeeper and his wife were fast asleep; so was a younger man in the room at the far side of the inn. Harald passed by an open door and stared at the bed, a simple slab of stone. He didn\u2019t want to wake the innkeeper, either to ask questions or to rent that unaccommodating bed.<\/p>\n

Up a few stairs at the end of the hall, though, was another door, this one locked. Harald chewed the inside of his lip for a moment. This has to be the room Margret was in. And I need to find out about her. It\u2019s not really right of me to pick this lock, but under the circumstances\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

He looked behind him to make sure the beggar at the bar wasn\u2019t watching, then knelt down and picked the lock. It was another occasion to be grateful for the years he\u2019d spent with Chip and Qara. She, in particular, was especially talented with locks, and had been eager to insist that Harald learn what he could about them, too. He smiled to himself as he worked the tumblers, listening to their sounds. Qara was a good friend, and a sweet girl, and maybe even a little more than that; but she was opinionated and stubborn in a way only his mother could equal. Maybe that\u2019s why we get along so well. Who knows? <\/em><\/p>\n

The lock clicked open, and he slipped into the room. This space was well-appointed, with snacks and drinks on the tables and a comfortable-looking spread on the bed. He glanced at the sacks and satchels and then moved to the bedstand. The single drawer held a variety of small items; but most interesting was a journal, which he pulled out to read.<\/p>\n

Thonar Silver Blood made all the decisions, working from the Treasury House, she had written.<\/p>\n

The Jarl\u2019s brother? And why\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

He had his answer when he turned the page. Margret had been in Markarth at the direction of the Imperial general, just over the border in Bruma County, and was trying to obtain the deed to Cidhna Mine, the mine here in Markarth.<\/p>\n

Harald ground his teeth. It didn\u2019t seem to matter how many years passed, the Imperials were determined to regain control of Skyrim. Ulfric had explained it to him, many times: they had a precarious and tentative relationship with the Empire, based primarily on trade; but they governed themselves and worshipped as they chose. The Empire, still groaning under the yoke of the Aldmeri Dominion, couldn\u2019t seem to deal with that notion. Ulfric had continued warning anyone who would listen that they needed to work together against the Thalmor; but if this journal was correct, it would seem that his words continued to fall on deaf ears.<\/p>\n

So I have one group that hates Father and what he did because he\u2019s Nord, and they hate the Nords owning everything. The other group enjoys owning everything, but hates Father because he wants to use the wealth from mining to prepare for the future; and therefore he stands in the way of their short-term gain. And people on both sides are operating to kill people on the other side. <\/em><\/p>\n

He took the journal. He wasn\u2019t fond of stealing things, but this was important information to share with Eltrys. What he needed to do next, though, was get some sleep, so that maybe his mind could make sense of this all.<\/p>\n

There were a few more people at the bar when he shut the door behind him, all yawning and breaking their fast quietly. He managed to slip through them without too much fanfare, and assumed he hadn\u2019t been noticed. But when he emerged into the dim morning, there was a guard blocking his way.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cYou. I\u2019ve seen you sniffing around. Asking questions.\u201d<\/p>\n

The alarming thing about this, to Harald, was that this city guard \u2013 like all of the other city guards in Skyrim \u2013 was dressed in Stormcloak blue. This was one of his father\u2019s men, accosting him for being curious.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd it\u2019s a problem to ask questions?\u201d he said, struggling to keep his voice even and not defensive.<\/p>\n

\u201cBack. Off. You don\u2019t want to know what happens to troublemakers here,\u201d the guard answered.<\/p>\n

And you don\u2019t want to know what happens to people in my father\u2019s dungeons, Harald thought, fighting to keep his composure.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not trying to cause any trouble,\u201d he said instead.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell you\u2019re finding it,\u201d the soldier told him.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you know who I am?\u201d Harald said as his anger rose. Then he instantly regretted it. The guard sneered.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t care if you\u2019re the Emperor from the Imperial City,\u201d the guard responded. \u201cThis is your last warning, outsider. We keep the peace, here. Stay out of our business.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harald frowned at the soldier\u2019s back as he headed for the gate. Just the fact that he was being warned away from the issue told him there was a need to investigate it further. But at that moment he was too tired to do anything but follow the guard out through the gate, and then find the bed he\u2019d spotted earlier, fall onto it, and sleep like a stone for several hours.<\/p>\n

He woke again in mid-afternoon. He\u2019d go back to the temple at midnight, but in the meantime he decided to look for Nepos the Nose. It seemed logical to him that a person important enough to be quietly giving orders would be important enough to live on the upper levels of Markarth, where the keep was. He wound his way up to the heights, and stopped a passing citizen.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you know where Nepos\u2019 house is?\u201d<\/p>\n

The man laughed. \u201cRight behind you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harald turned and glanced at the door, then chuckled and looked at the citizen again. \u201cThanks. You\u2019ve saved me a lot of time.\u201d<\/p>\n

He stepped into an entry foyer, with a short flight of steps at the end. A young woman stood there barring his passage.<\/p>\n

\u201cExcuse me. What\u2019s your business here?\u201d she snapped.<\/p>\n

Harald thought about simply saying he was there to see Nepos, but instead frowned and asked, \u201cWho are you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you must know, I\u2019m the maid. And the master of the house is old and needs his rest. So if you don\u2019t have any business, leave.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harald peered at her. Yes, she was wearing a maid\u2019s apron, but the way it hung on her left side told him there was at the very least a dagger under it. Behind her two men were moving around, one with a broom and the other with a rag in his hand, both trying their best to look like servants cleaning the home. He didn\u2019t buy it for a moment.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll need to be on my toes with these people<\/em>.<\/p>\n

He opened his mouth to start explaining why he should be let through, but an old man spoke from within the home, out of Harald\u2019s line of sight.<\/p>\n

\u201cWait. It\u2019s ok, my dear. Let him in.\u201d He sounded tired, and maybe a bit resigned.<\/p>\n

Harald started up the steps, passing the girl. \u201cHmph,\u201d she said. \u201cYes, Nepos.\u201d He looked back at her and saw that she\u2019d moved her apron clear of the dagger\u2019s handle.<\/p>\n

This is more dangerous than I thought.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

It was immediately obvious why Nepos was called \u201cthe Nose.\u201d The old man seated before the fire had one of the largest noses Harald had ever seen: long, narrow, and hooked downward at its tip like a falcon\u2019s beak. He was reading a book and didn\u2019t look up as Harald approached.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry about my housekeeper,\u201d Nepos said. \u201cShe\u2019s a little protective of me. Now, what is it you want?\u201d<\/p>\n

Harald decided to be direct. \u201cYour housekeeper isn\u2019t the problem. She\u2019s just doing her job. But you sent a thug after me to beat me up. I want to know why.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, and you made him look foolish, didn\u2019t you? Well done. And you\u2019ve proven to be a real bloodhound. Well, you\u2019ve sniffed me out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo it was you who sent Weylin out there to commit murder.\u201d<\/p>\n

The old man sighed. \u201cI\u2019ve been playing this game for almost forty years now, sending the young to their deaths all in the name of the Forsworn. But I\u2019m tired. So tired.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen why do it?\u201d Harald exclaimed. \u201cWhat reason do you have?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause my king told me to,\u201d he answered. Harald was about to protest \u2013 surely his father had never ordered such a thing, especially given his history in the area \u2013 but Nepos cut him off as if he knew what Harald had been thinking.<\/p>\n

\u201cMadanach. When the uprising fell at the hands of the Nords, they threw him in the mines. I don\u2019t know how, but he still lives. I get his messages, and I hand out his orders without question.\u201d<\/p>\n

He stood, slowly, and turned to look directly at Harald for the first time. Harald thought he saw a moment of shock, the spark of recognition as he gazed at someone who might easily have been Ulfric Stormcloak back when he was still an Imperial soldier. He shook his head.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow then. I\u2019m very sorry, my boy, but you don\u2019t imagine you\u2019re getting out of here alive, do you?\u201d<\/p>\n

Harald had been more or less expecting an attack, but he hadn\u2019t expected the old man to be the one leading it. He leaped backward, barely missing Nepos\u2019 dagger. He turned and dashed for the door. He heard the two other men drawing blades, and the housekeeper casting an armor spell; but he got lucky and managed to weave past them, throwing himself against the doors and out into Markarth with all of them hot on his heels.<\/p>\n

\u201cHot\u201d wasn\u2019t just metaphorical, either. One of them \u2013 he didn\u2019t look behind to see which \u2013 cast flames at him at close range. Another of them struck with his sword, but Harald\u2019s heavy armor deflected the main force of the blow and the blade glanced off. Harald threw himself over the side of the ledge where Nepos\u2019 house stood and onto the next set of pathways below.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou ready to die today, huh?\u201d he heard behind him.<\/p>\n

And then something happened. He didn\u2019t know what, either at that moment or later; he was far too busy running down the stairs out of range of the fire, and trying to stop the bleeding from the shallow sword strike he\u2019d taken. Behind and above him, though, he heard swords clashing, and a man screaming; the maid was yelling \u201cI\u2019ll kill you if I have to!\u201d and a man was shouting other battle cries. It took Harald a moment to stop his downhill momentum and turn back. He didn\u2019t want civilians being killed just because Nepos and his people had followed him out into the streets. As he made it back to the level of the Talos shrine, a guard was putting an end to one of the servants.<\/p>\n

Harald frowned, realizing that everything had gone quiet again. He trotted back up toward Nepos\u2019 house but stopped as he reached the bottom of the last stair.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Nepos, the housekeeper, and the other male servant lay dead in a grisly pool, alongside one of the city guards. It didn\u2019t take much imagination to see what had happened. Whoever was casting the flames must have gotten a guard as well, and he\u2019d attacked, drawing in the other guard from below.<\/p>\n

Damn it! There goes my chance to learn anything else about the Forsworn from these people. I guess there\u2019s nothing left to do but talk to Eltrys at midnight.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

He followed the guard patrolling past the shrine of Talos at a discreet distance, slipping through the doors once the soldier started up the stairs at the far side. There was something wrong. He saw movements, and heard breathing and a sword being drawn, and had just registered that Eltrys\u2019 body lay in a pool of blood at the statue\u2019s feet when a city guard stopped him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe warned you,\u201d he said, \u201cbut you just had to go and cause trouble. Now we have to pin all these recent murders on you, silence witnesses\u2026 work, work, work.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat did you do to Eltrys?\u201d Harald cried, even though he could see perfectly well what they\u2019d done.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cSame thing we do to all the other natives who want to change things around here. We had a nice little deal going between Thonar and Madanach until you and Eltrys started snooping around. Well. You wanted to find the man responsible for those killings. You\u2019ll have plenty of time with the King in Rags when you\u2019re in Cidhna Mine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harald thought furiously for a moment. He could<\/em> run. But if these men in his father\u2019s colors were really traitors working for the Forsworn, probably others outside were, as well. Even if they weren\u2019t, they\u2019d see fellow guards chasing him and assume the worst. There wasn\u2019t any real chance he could outrun them. Plus, if they were right and the King in Rags really was in the mine\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll come quietly,\u201d he murmured, sheathing the sword he\u2019d drawn.<\/p>\n

The soldier sneered. \u201cYou\u2019ll never see the sun again, you hear me? No one escapes Cidhna Mine. No one.\u201d<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Home Previous \/ Next   Harald stepped out from Understone Keep into the night and yawned. It seemed ages since he\u2019d arrived in Markarth, since he\u2019d witnessed a murder; but it had only been a few hours. He\u2019d met important people, including Calcelmo. He\u2019d gotten his first look inside a real Dwemer ruin. And he\u2019d … <\/p>\n

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