FVN Chapter 296: Chapter XXII: Don't Make Me Come Up There!
Chapter 296: Chapter XXII: Don't Make Me Come Up There!
Chapter 296: Chapter XXII: Don't Make Me Come Up There!
With my rush of adrenaline finally settling I found myself staring into the distance while chainsmoking without even noticing it at first. The day's events replayed in my mind even as a full hour passed and the troops were busying themselves dealing with the bodies and giving medical aid to the wounded.
The only times I would be distracted from my mental descent were when a dying legionary was brought before me, only to be removed just as quickly as I brute-forced them back to full health. At least it helped me from getting truly high with how many cigars I went through.
Either from the aforementioned dying soldiers or from the blood that was still slowly, and ever so reluctantly, seeping from my person, a small pool of blood now surrounded the small tree stump I was seated on, the surrounding smell of waste and viscera blessedly blocked out by a light wind I called forth with my blessings.
Aside from the mortally wounded, none save Anondor came close to me, the ancient Paladin holding a silent vigil while I accepted the fact that thousands of men and women died by my hand in mere hours. Not the degenerated Falmer or the reanimated Draugr, not even Forsworn barbarians... No, it was actual people, or at least what I considered to be people in any case.
"How endlessly noble of you pops." Scorch drawls with immense amusement.
I scoff lightly "Everyone is a hypocrite, at least I openly admit it."
"Uh huh." He somehow manages to maneuver his face into a perfect deadpan "You openly admit it in your sulky internal monologue."
"I do not sulk." I immediately bite back before pausing, my expression slowly shifting into one of disgusted horror "Oh God, I am sulking, aren't I?"
"Eh" Bird boi shrugs "Considering you just committed what those fuckers back then would probably consider a cardinal fucking sin I don't think mere sulking is the worst you could be doing right now."
"Jesus fucking Christ Scorch." I mutter "I could not have put it more repugnantly if I tried." "I can probably do better if you let me think!" He informs me with too much happiness.
We stare at each other for a whole minute before I sigh in defeat "Dear gods we really are terrible people."
"Always have been." He bobs his head smugly.
As one we turn to Anondor, who was standing there and listening the entire time, we had forgotten he was even there by this point.
The old elf notices immediately and offers a sad smile "All of us cope with what we must do in different ways, my lord." He inclines his head slightly "Even back in our ancient conflict with the Atmorans such deeds weighed heavily on the magi and champions of our people, but I do admit it was to a much lesser degree, what with numbers on both sides being much lower than they are in this age."
I offer a thankful nod for his words and return to staring into the distance "Warfare, I have learned... Is unfortunately just one big calculation." I begin lightly "Our numbers versus theirs... Our losses versus theirs and so on and so forth." A pause "It is why I accepted Tullius' request so swiftly."
"You knew the consequences immediately and still chose to follow through?" Anondor asks, his voice lacking any judgment.
"I did." I confirm easily "I could have held back even further than I did today, allowed the battle to drag on for weeks if I so chose... But in the end, I did not see any benefit in more loyalists dying needlessly."
The Paladin looks at me with a mix of surprised and aghast "You... you were still holding back?" He mutters with a respectable amount of fear in his tone.
"Quite." I chuckle "Or did you think Ulfric escaped by chance?" I raise an eyebrow.
He stares at me for a while before finally managing a weak "...But why?"
"The rebellion is over." I restate firmly "They have lost far too many to death and surrender, their outside support is crushed so thoroughly they would have to remake those contacts from scratch. All that is left is securing Torygg's legitimacy so thoroughly no Nord would even think of questioning him until he is well and truly dead at the ripe old age of one fifty."
Realization starts to dawn in the ancient Paladin's eyes "You mean to have the young King do the deed himself?"
"Indeed." I nod "An assault on Windhelm will be more than easy now that their garrison has been so thoroughly depleted, and my own people already run the Grey Quarter. All that is left is to bring Torygg so that he may execute Ulfric like the cowardly dog he is, and then we can focus on the true enemy."
Anondor nods gravely "Auri-El's children who have strayed from his brilliant light."
"And the Thalmor." I raise a finger in lecture "Can't forget those deranged kinsmen of ours." "I once held all our distant kin in high regard." He shakes his head in genuine sadness "To think all but the descendants of the Chimer would turn themselves to madness."
I scoff "Don't think the Dunmer are free of it either." I correct him immediately "House Dagoth is the way it is because of my own beliefs, until relatively recently the Dunmer of Morrowind were a bunch of religious extremists their so-called Alm the living gods drawing their power from the betrayal they committed upon the chosen champion of our people and that they committed against my own ancestor when he learned of their deeds."
admiration.
By Dagoth, some of the lesser pyromancers finally managed to cast fireballs just because of
what they saw me do!
'Bunch of fucking lunatics.' Scorch evidently approved.
In any case, we had a two-day break before Tullius started planning on assaulting the city,
but I found myself with a much better idea all of a sudden as I felt a sentry almost shit himself with fear once I stepped a tad too close to the city walls.
And so I found myself approaching the gates of Dawnstar, Anondor, Thorfinn and Tiberius at
my flanks. I did make sure to tell Tullius to summon the twins from Solitude before I did so
however.
I could practically taste the fear of the guards rising as I approached the city, the only thing stopping them from either attacking or running was the ornate white flag held by my Paladin.
Just to fuck with them further I stood there silently for a good ten minutes, this evidently caused a good fifth of the city to slowly approach a panic, so much so that the cunt Skald found it within himself to climb atop the gatehouse, albeit reluctantly.
"What in oblivion do you want?" He yelled, not as scared as his men to his credit.
"Is that any way to greet your King's Court Mage, Skald?" I ask cheerfully, but sadly he did not
have the sheer gall to correct me on this, they had spyglasses and minor seers in the city, they knew damn well what happened outside their walls.
He sighs as his hand twitches toward his axe on instinct "Just say what you will, Dagoth."
"Much better" I clap my hands, a couple of the gate guards almost jumping away at the action "My offer is simple." I smile as my crown covers my face "Get your fat behind outside this fucking gate right fucking now or I will make what happened to Ulfric's little posse look like a fucking picnic." My words struck true but the good Jarl was still a bit reluctant "Don't make
me come up there skald or by all the Divines I will fulfill my promise of gelding your bald
ass!"
The Jarl pales as his eyes dilate in pure fear, it did not take him a minute to have the gate open
and he practically sprinted outside to present his weapon to me.
'That is what I fucking thought bitch.'
You too may avoid getting gelded
all I ask in return is a mere pittance of stones.
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