The Jarl took a deep breath and asked pleadingly "Reyvin, by all of the gods please tell me you are jesting. I will pretend like I heard nothing if you do."
My firm stare is answer enough and he nods gravely. He goes to say something, but I interrupt him with a wave and indicate that we should speak in private.
He seems to understand and quickly calls over Irileth and Hrongar to his carriage, while Davos and I follow him.
After we take our seats Balgruuf forces down his discomfort and speaks "So, what are we dealing with here and how can you be sure that a Daedra is involved?"
I scratch my chin "I am unsure of what precisely is happening, but I can see the fields are practically saturated with a Daedra's aura. I would need a lot more time to confirm which Daedra we are dealing with."
Hrongar cuts in "You are certain that it isn't some curse on the town?"
I nod "Yes, Daedric influence is very distinctive to those who know where to look. You will have to trust me on this."
As I say this I am reminded of the day I was taught to fear the Daedra.
------------
(Flashback, conjuration lesson)
Phineas leads Tiberius and myself toward an unassuming hatch on the college grounds.
He wordlessly opens it and beckons us inside.
We enter what I remember to be the midden under the college, where the less socially acceptable magic schools are practiced.
He walks wordlessly toward a specific room and upon entering calls for our attention. "Today's lesson will be different than those that came before." He drawls out in his usual dead tone "This lesson will be more of a warning than anything else."
He turns toward the center of a room where an ominous ritual circle was prepared.
"Observe." He commanded and cast a spell at the circle.
The moment the Magicka touched it an incredibly unpleasant feeling assaulted my senses, it felt as if someone was observing me, judging me, and mocking me.
The feeling soon turned more oppressive and overwhelming, almost suffocating to us students. Phineas on the other hand looked like he wasn't even feeling it, though I knew his 'skin' was just a glamor spell.
Finally, after what felt like a day of the most uncomfortable feeling after the itching I felt when completing the strengthening ritual, the Master Necromancer cast another spell and the feeling was gone.
Tiberius and I dropped onto the floor, exhausted from the experience.
Seeing this, our teacher gave us a smile both cruel and sympathetic "Remember this feeling, and remember it well. That is what it feels like to have a Daedra present on Mundus with malicious intent."
I force myself from the ground and ask with confusion in my voice "I have interacted with different Daedra before and it never felt anything like this."
He shakes his head "What you were interacting with were projections with minimal power, and probably only mildly malicious intent," He then points at the circle "This was what a Daedra hungering for your soul feels like."
I always knew they were demons, but this hammered it home.
I give Phineas a grateful nod for the lesson and go to help the whimpering Tiberius onto his feet.
---------
(Back to the present)
Everyone seems to notice the discomfort on my face, and I shake my head while muttering "Daedric influence is almost impossible to miss once you have truly felt it."
"There is another thing." I interrupt before they can start asking questions.
The Jarl looks at me expectantly and I continue "This village is the greatest farmland under your domain, yes?"
Balgruuf nods, confused at why I am asking this.
I sigh "The most probable source of that wealth is the Daedra itself. My guess is some kind of bargain was struck and the village was allowed to prosper in return for something else."
Balgruuf slumps deeper into his seat, while his brother seethes in anger.
I think for a while and say "Before we continue I must ask you to make a decision... Knowing that the source of prosperity for your people is of a Daedric origin you may pretend that I have said nothing and we just go on like nothing happened, you would have my promise of silence. On the other hand, you can hunt down whatever is influencing the land."
Hrongar practically jumps from his seat yells at me "You would have us allow this curse to continue?!"
I stare at him coldly and say "I would have nothing, this is your people and I am merely voicing the options you have."
Balgruuf raises a hand to calm his brother "He is right Hrongar. I am the Jarl and it is my duty to make the call."
The tall Nord warrior seems somewhat pacified by this and sits back down while grumbling.
"Tell me Reyvin" The Jarl cautiously begins "What would be the consequences of just leaving it there."
His brother goes to protest again, but a piercing glare from his lord is enough to shut him up for now.
I mull it over in my mind for a bit and quickly review all I know about the village. Finally, an inconsistency appears in my memory.
Excited at my apparent discovery I ask "Balgruuf, can you tell me how old this town is?"
He hums and says "About thirty or so years, why?"
I quickly pull out my notebook and write down some information I came across about the place "There are many maps and accounts that mention Rorikstead that are far older than that."
Hrongar interrupts "The village was rebuilt by Rorik after the war, everyone knows this."
I raise an excited finger "Ah, but there is the thing. I researched the geography of Skyrim thoroughly before my journey outside Winterhold, and there are multiple mentions of Rorikstead rising and falling in almost a cyclical fashion. It never bothered me as I just accepted it as Skyrim being a harsh place, but now if we add the Daedric influence it could be far more than what is simply an unlucky location."
"So what you are saying is..." Balgruuf asks tentatively "The town is always prosperous but inevitably dies out. And this is somehow connected to the Daedra?"
I nod "Yes, they must probably sacrifice something in return for the prosperity, but that sacrifice usually leads to them inevitably dying out." A sudden thought enters my mind and I mutter without thinking "This has the scent of Clavicus Vile all over it."
Evidently everyone hears me, as they are now looking at me with a mix of fear and curiosity.
"Think about it" I continue muttering "He is known to make deals that lead the other party into incredible misery while seemingly very beneficial for them at first glance."
"And that lines up perfectly with your theory." Balgruuf adds.
I nod.
We are silent for a long while as we await the Jarl to make the call.
He seems to be in a very shitty position if his constantly changing expression is anything to go by. His brother tries to start a conversation but the Jarl's shaky hand once again shuts him up.
After a good five minutes, Balgruuf lets out a long, tired sigh and says while shaking his head in defeat "I cannot allow this to go on." His voice turns firm "It might cost the entire hold greatly, but I will not have my people consort with Daedra and bring calamity on us all."
I see Davos giving me a sly smile from the side and suppress an eyeroll.
Balgruuf stands up and nods to himself "We will do all we can to free those not guilty from this curse, but those that bring calamity on their neighbours are to be put to death."
His brother lets out a satisfied grunt, and they both head outside, before they can do whatever they were planning I fake-cough to catch their attention and give them both an amused look "What exactly are you doing?"
He seems confused and asks back "Getting rid of the cult of course."
I stare at him blankly and ask "And how do you know who is in the cult exactly? There are at least five hundred people living here."
"I umm.... didn't consider that." He slumps back into his chair.
I snort, and before they have the time to get offended I say "If we are to hunt the cult down, we need a plan."
"We?" Hrongar asks.
"Yes we." I say firmly "Even without having a Jarl owe me for my help" I wink at Balgruuf and he snorts "It is still a moral good to liberate those unwilling from what I expect is a dire fate."
"What would you have us do Flame-tongue?" Asks Hrongar.
"First, we pretend like everything is in order. We walk in there, and you do the whole speech about how the hold protects its people and whatnot, while buttering them up." The Jarl chuckles at my cynicism but doesn't interrupt me "Then while everyone is in a festive mood, we will subtly question the people about odd happenings."
"Any inconsistency is to be looked at and reported when we are done." I say firmly. Everyone nods along and I go on "When we get a suspect, Davos here" I point at my retainer "Is to follow them and possibly find evidence or further clues of the cult."
Said Dunmer seems incredibly uncomfortable with the idea, but still nods.
"Don't worry Davos I will pay you extra for this." I say, amusement lacing my voice.
And before he can even react, Balgruuf cuts in "The hells you will. The least I can do is pay him myself."
Davos, surprisingly, looks at me first and I nod with a raised eyebrow.
Well if you wanted me to trust you, this is definitely a way to do it.
I look back to the Nords and continue on with my plan "Then, when we get all the clues we need and if possible the cults main base, we storm the town and put them to the sword."
Everyone looks at me dumbfounded. Balgruuf asks slowly "You came up with all of that on the spot?"
"My brain is very big." I snort.
Everyone seems to relax a bit at my joke.
"I cannot have you do this service to my hold for nothing." The Jarl says.
I shrug and quickly name something that I still have trouble getting my hands on "If you insist of giving me something, using your connections for a stock of ebony will suffice."
He hums in thought and quickly agrees. Slowly getting up he claps his hands "Alright people, lets get to work."
Everyone leaves the carriage, and just as I am about to exit myself time seems to stop.
Once again I feel a presence where the Jarl once sat.
Gathering my emotions I turn around and give a polite bow "Prince Mephala, always a displeasure."
She giggles "Oh I know my dear, but do not worry I am here to help this time."
"Like you helped with that spider horde" I practically spit out.
She pouts "But they just wanted to play with you."
"Play with my insides maybe" I scoff.
"Quite" She laughs.
I turn serious now "So why exactly are you here if I may be so bold as to ask?"
She stretches seductively and hums out "The little worm that is hiding below this place owes me something." her smile turns vicious "I want him dead."
"Which worm exactly?"
"Oh you will know if you continue down this path."
This damned woman! "So... you want me to do what I was going to do anyways?" I drawl out.
She smiles 'shyly' "Yeeeees... but" She raises a finger "I said I was here to help."
"Then please do, oh grand lady of annoying chittering." I roll my eyes.
She pouts "You are not cute at all."
I sigh an sit down, saying nothing.
She huffs at my refusal to play along "Fine. When you get to him, know that he is vulnerable to sunlight."
I raise an eyebrow "A vampire?"
She shakes her head "No, you were right that it was a Daedra."
I blink "Since when are Daedra weak to sunlight?"
She tuts at me with false offence "How very racist of you Dagoth, there exist different kinds of Daedra."
I snort "Right, well you all seem the same to me."
She chuckles "When you are done with him. A... colleague of mine has left something down there that will be very helpful where you are going."
I deadpan "You aren't going to elaborate on that are you?"
"Nope" She giggles out with a popped p.
I let out a long, tired breath "Well.. thank you for your help I guess?"
She gives me a hungry look "You could pay me back by staying a while, they won't notice a thing."
I give her a cruel smile "Nope." while popping the p as well.
She laughs and suddenly I am once again exiting the carriage in the real world.
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Roses are red, violets are blue, I desire your souls, but your stones will do.
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