Macman253 Posted May 21, 2013 Share Posted May 21, 2013 Felix nodded, the woman was apparantly uncomfortable with his procedure so he decided it would be best not to. 'I assure you it is not malevolent in its intent, but if you prefer I do not then I wont...' He said with a slight smile. The Nord Battle-Mage was very distant. His destination was Whiterun so he agreed to follow. It was not long before the acrid stench of death drifted into his nose, the city smelled of rot and decay and he felt his heart sink. Such is the devastation wrought on the land. Felix tapped his metal staff on the cobblestone street, the vibration echoed through the immediate buildings to give him a clear view. The siege had destroyed much of the shops and houses and the now burning pile of corpses filled the air with the scent of cooking pork and human hair. He felt a sickness come across him and decided it would be best if he went up to Dragonsreach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nethgros Posted May 21, 2013 Share Posted May 21, 2013 The time Mendil and Udilin spent in Windhelm amounted to them going through the city from the docks to the entrance. The city itself was in good shape but the people were in obvious fear, and talk of the Thalmor was present everywhere. Along with this was talk of Whiterun, which seemed to have taken quite a beating. This seemed like as good a place as any to start looking into the Thalmor, so Mendil arranged for a wagon outside of the city to take them to Whiterun. Soon they would see just what these evil mer were capable of... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AurianaValoria1 Posted May 21, 2013 Author Share Posted May 21, 2013 Okuras followed the others to Whiterun, her lips curling back as the scent of smoke and blood reached her nostrils. The once proud city had been brought to its knees by the recent battles with the Thalmor. The Argonian flexed her hands inside her gauntlets and narrowed her eyes. This had gone on for too long, and she voiced this to the others as they walked to Dragonsreach. "Something has to stop this. Tamriel cannot take this tug-of-war much more. But what will it take to end it, I wonder?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mythicdawnmaster Posted May 21, 2013 Share Posted May 21, 2013 "To sever the head of this Thalmor serpent- The Empire need to crush them once and for all." Sienna bitterly interjected after Okuras's comment, As she passed the bodies she blessed them not, nor did she bow her head- every inch of respect Sienna once had for her adversary was long, long gone. Now there was only bitterness, hate, and anger. Not the best traits for a holy warrior to possess, but they served Sienna well in keeping her alive. "Hmm, It looks like the drink isn't an option then... we must help these people. If you all have nothing else on your agenda's, perhaps the Jarl has something for us? We aren't all healers that much is clear, he may have a lead on where these elven scum have crawled off to." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zephyr2011 Posted May 21, 2013 Share Posted May 21, 2013 Two days earlier Ra'Qassar had been shooting fish in the Whiterun River, quite peacefully with some wealthy dolts that payed him to show them a good spot for fishing. He didn't take advantage of them and gave them a fair price, but, all the same, he wished he had. It had been a peaceful and profitable day. The merchants couldn't understand that standing there quietly and remaining still was how Ra'Qassar caught scores of fish. They also couldn't fathom why he was going after tiny, petty little river betties and other small fish instead of the larger salmon or trophy fish. They did not understand that the small fish had many more uses, particularly in his alchemy and that they often had excellent meat or eggs that, in bulk, made good, hearty meals. The whole of the day had passed wonderfully except for the constant stream of questions the travelers posed to him, but that was the nature of being a guide. The next day was far worse. Ra'Qassar had stayed at the Bannered Mare that night, he had always enjoyed Ysolda's company and saw no reason to make the trek up the mountains to his home when he would probably have more work in the morning. He had much work to do. The city was in an awful state and then in the wee hours of the morning the Thalmor attacked. There was about six score of them, a formidable force to be sure. The Thalmor didn't send massive armies towards the city any more, they kept gambling with outfits of mages and officers trying to defeat the guards of the city. There were only about a hundred and fifty able bodied fighters in the city by that point. Though they outnumbered the Thalmor, it was only just, and the Thalmor had much greater skill. Thankfully the companions assisted, as did Ra'Qassar. The day was long and bloody. Ra'Qassar leapt along the crumbled walls, pelting the Thalmor with arrows dipped in poison while the fierce warriors cut them apart. Blood bathed the road that lead to the main gate and along the plains district. Thankfully, that was as far as the Thalmor got. Ra'Qassar managed to kill most of the mages with well placed arrows and not even the fine Thalmor officers could outmaneuver the Companions and the torrent of arrows rained down by the town guards. Ra'Qassar fought almost unconsciously, he barely thought about it any more, acting on instinct so much, his sight picture was all mental now and he didn't even need to look down the shafts of his arrows as he brought death from his lofty perches. He pondered how ironic it was that a great hunter like himself found the least challenge in hunting 'the most dangerous game' of them all: men and mer. They threw themselves willy-nilly against one another, trying to be victorious through their lust for battle and conquest. It was sad really. The locals fought for home and hearth, and so they were formidable and inspiring, not like the disgusting Thalmor. when the battle finally came to a close most of the Thalmor were dead, about a score of them managed to flee, some heading up into the wooded area near the falls, others north or east to Eastmarch. The rest lay in piles, either blazing or waiting to be burned. All the nord dead were already cared for, sadly about three score of the warriors had fallen and another two score were wounded following the battle. On this day, Ra'Qassar was tending to the forty some odd wounded from the previous day's battle when he was summoned to the jarl's presence. Balgruuf was growing anxious about the Thalmor, he had called all the citizens to Dragonsreach before the fighting reached the gate yesterday. Now he longed for a way to end this bloody conflict, at least in his hold. Ra'Qassar was a renowned hunter and warrior and one whom the jarl looked to quite often in these troubled times now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Macman253 Posted May 21, 2013 Share Posted May 21, 2013 (edited) Felix listened to his companion speak, the voice of anger and retribution coming from their lips as if Talos himself was speaking through them. He knew where this would be going but he had never been a warrior like his fellows. Felix knew little of war but he knew quite a lot about sneaking and was quite good at it. 'I don't mean to speak out of place but are we talking of declaring a war on the Thalmor? Because if we are... count me in.' He said after Sienna had spoken. He looked to where the Bannered Mare once was and smiled, Ysolda had either cleared out of the city or was at the keep but he pushed aside his personal business. The Thalmor pressed a much larger concern, he had been a self-serving rogue for his entire life but now he felt like he had to do something. Edited May 21, 2013 by Macman253 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AurianaValoria1 Posted May 21, 2013 Author Share Posted May 21, 2013 (edited) Okuras squinted at Felix, "We're already at war with the Thalmor...or did you not hear about the Concordat being dissolved? In any case, it's not a matter of open battles anymore. The Legion obviously cannot push back the Aldmeri Dominion, so someone is going to have to destroy the elves on their own. Someone independent from the Empire's forces. Someone who can infiltrate, set fire to headquarters...take them down from the top." Rilgumskar had beaten them to Dragonsreach, already moving to heal the injured. Jarl Balgruuf appeared to be in deep discussion with a khajiit at the moment... Edited May 21, 2013 by AurianaValoria1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mythicdawnmaster Posted May 21, 2013 Share Posted May 21, 2013 (edited) Sienna chuckled at Okuras's words and grinned. "Infiltrate their headquarters? I haven't heard anything so insane in many years- It's not just about pushing back the troops here in Skyrim, their source is Alinor, the Summerset Isles. That island is a fortress itself, guarded by the most elite of their order... I'm afraid nothing short of a full scale invasion with all of the Legion's troops to spare would bring that about. But let us pray there are an assassin or two awaiting to cut off the shiny heads of the Thalmor's dictatorship... But as for those stationed here in Skyrim... well, I can think of a number of people mad enough to try and take out the Thalmor's headquarters." Sienna gave the woman a large and knowing grin and proceeded up to Dragonsreach, seeing that the Jarl was in attendance she did not disturb, and would Instead await her place like the others. Perhaps this idea Okuras had was not mad after all... one way to topple an entity is to sever It's head, and without rulers the Thalmor would dissolve... still, it was a grand and impossible task... but maybe someday. Edited May 21, 2013 by mythicdawnmaster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Macman253 Posted May 21, 2013 Share Posted May 21, 2013 Felix nodded, he knew of the Concordat being dissolved but he was talking of rallying the people to fight them, Skyrim's Jarls were too devastated by the civil war to fight the Thalmor now, that is why they marched across Skyrim sacking and looting with abandon because noone could stand up to them. 'You are right... the time for full scale battles is over Okuras but an invasion of Summerset Isles would require a liberated and unified Skyrim.' He said as he leaned on his staff. While he agreed with Sienna on the idea of invading Summerset Isles but he highly doubted they would be lucky enough to have someone assassinate the leader of the Aldmeri Dominion. 'Infiltrating a fortress isn't hard, it's getting out alive that is the tricky part.' He said with a slight smile as he spoke from many years of experience. 'All I know of the Thalmor here in Skyrim is based on rumors, I did hear of a Thalmor fort near Solitude... but that is all I know.' He said honestly, he never had much of a reason to track the movements of the Thalmor until recently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AurianaValoria1 Posted May 21, 2013 Author Share Posted May 21, 2013 (edited) No one seemed to notice the khajiit, who matched the color of the plains, as she followed the road to Whiterun. It wasn't as if she were trying to stay unnoticed. In fact, she was humming a little tune as she went along. Her pockets were full of all sorts of valuables she had...found...in Dragon Bridge - and lucky for her, no one had taken note. Most of the travelers she had passed were refugees from Thalmor raids, and they took her for either a mercenary or a caravan guard... ...not the thief she was. As she continued along the road, she suddenly spotted a pile of Altmer bodies, a few decapitated. Interesting, this one thinks.... Edited May 22, 2013 by AurianaValoria1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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