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"-cher!"
Ugh, who by Dagoth's unwashed loincloth is yelling so loudly in the morning?!
"Teacher!" the voice resounds once again, now closer.
My eyes snap open and I sigh in annoyance, only to blink rapidly as I see Sybille, who up to that point was snuggled against me, barely holding herself back from launching a massive blizzard in the voice's direction.
I take a deep breath "What do you want so early in the bloody morning Marco?"
Said elf enters the room we were in, takes a second after seeing us, and turns around with surprising speed "Sorry!"
Sybille interrupts my response as she growls "You will explain to me in great detail why you thought waking me up so early was a good idea or I will turn you into a popsicle."
Marco winces slightly and clears his throat "I hum... there was a commotion in the palace, something about raiders or something, I didn't quite catch it all but they sent me up to get you two."
Sybille groans in exasperation "Of course they would." she stills then "Wait, how did you even enter my rooms?"
He simply points behind him and not a moment later Davos peaks inside "Mornin' boss."
I wave lazily in greeting "So is there really a commotion or are the two of you trying to be smart?"
Davos shrugs "Apparently the Reachmen went a bit wild" he pauses and shrugs again "well wilder than we expected so they are calling for an emergency meeting."
Sybille slumps back into a lying position "Fine, now get out."
Marco seems just about ready to say something dumb as he is one to do, but Davos drags him outside before he can commit suicide via angry vampire.
I get up and start putting my clothes on, a thought strikes me and I ask "You wanna bet the Thalmor are behind this?"
I hear a light snort behind me "That would be a fools bet."
I let out a mirthless chuckle and get back to pulling on my pants.
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(General pov)
The Blue palace looked as serene as always with its gardens perfectly groomed and its halls without a speck of dust, the early spring air wafted through the widely opened windows as the army of servants prepared for yet another peaceful day.
Unfortunately the day soon turned everything but peaceful as multiple riders wearing the insignia of Imperial scouts started dismounting and rushing inside, bringing grave reports to the groggy High King and his stoic Steward.
Soon an emergency meeting was called for and all the higher dignitaries of the city and hold were gathered in the throne room.
The two established thanes both seemed disinterested in the situation and were busy looking at the reactions of others, likely scheming about potential gains they could get out of the situation.
The King looked half asleep, but was awake enough to give everyone the feeling of his own alarm and despair at whatever news he received.
As the Court Mages made their appearance an impatient Sybille Stentor immediately looked to the Steward "Falk if you don't tell me why I was forced to get up so early right now I swear I will kick you out the window."
Falk merely gives her a challenging look and remains silent.
Legate Rikke, who was forced to attend court for the first time in months much to her chagrin, looked just about ready to say something when her eyes met with the other Court Mage's who gave her a narrow stare, to which she merely rolled her eyes and remained silent, who returned the favor by kindly asking his colleague to be patient.
Not long after Thane Helm and his brother Bolvar arrived from the sprawl and Falk finally spoke "Thank you all for coming here on such short notice." He pauses for a moment "We have received some very unfortunate news this morning, large bands of Forsworn raiders have invaded the western hold and if the reports are to be believed two villages have already fallen and Haraldstead has been put under siege."
"Were we not scouting for this exact reason?" A scowling Reyvin interjects.
Falk frowns "They came far faster than was reasonably expected, and the reports also mentioned that they were equipped far better than expected."
"How much better?" Rikke asks immediately.
"Nothing too outrageous, but there were reports of them wearing some armor and being armed with some steel weapons." he responds patiently.
Reyvin cups his chin "Better than the bone sticks they tend to use, that much is certain. I am guessing that we don't have any kind of idea where they got the weapons from, any hidden armories they might have raided?"
Falk looks ready to responds but an annoyed voice interrupts him as Erikur speaks up disdainfully "They are just a bunch of barbarians, no amount of weapons will save them from actual soldiers."
"Those barbarians" Reyvin frowns "Have managed to fight the Nords off for centuries now, you would do well not to underestimate them."
The Thane hesitates for a moment, remembering how unwise pissing this particular elf is and tensely questions "You cannot seriously tell me that you think them our equals in battle?"
"Of course not" The elf scoffs with an eyeroll "I am just saying that they have other strengths, something I have already informed the steward off months ago."
Everyone turns to Falk and he nods "I was indeed briefed on the Forsworn's capabilities and unfortunately the Court Mage's words do have quite some merit, as the Reachmen have numerous lesser mages within their ranks."
This time Rikke interjects "Merely having lesser mages would not be enough."
Falk raises an arm "I was getting to that Legate, patience please." She nods and Falk goes on "Thank you, as I was just about to say, they are led by covens of what is known as Hagravens, rather potent mages working in concert with the Daedra Namira."
A mixture of gasps, insulted grunts and straight up spitting sounds resound through the hall.
"Indeed I am afraid we are going to be dealing with more than mere raiders this time."
"Do we have a plan of action?" Bryling finally joins the conversation.
The Steward shakes his head "We are here for that exact reason, if anyone has suggestions or information they should voice it now before we begin with the planning."
Helm perks up "My warriors are eager to strike at the bastards, just point us at them!"
"Oh yes, do throw yourself at the enemy, save us the trouble." Erikur snarks.
"Why you little!"
The sound of a throat being cleared interrupts their spat "Gentlemen" the voice is followed by a wave of instinctual fear, by now familiar to most residents of the palace "If you wish to have a pissing contest do so in the privy please." they remain silent "Am I clear?" the feeling doubles down.
"Yes." "Of course, excuse me."
"Good." The feeling is gone "Now does anyone have a plan that isn't lets just smash into them and hope our manliness is greater than theirs?" Reyvin looks at Rikke "Legate, you are the actual army officer, would you care to give your suggestion?"
She nods "Could we get a map please?"
Falk claps his hands and a table is brought inside, while a servant sneakily hands the King a cup of steaming coffee.
'Lucky bastard' Reyvin grumbles to himself.
Everyone gathers around the square table while Falk starts pointing out the enemy positions "They emerged from the canyons and valleys to the west, the reported size of the warband is about two thousand warriors, mostly light infantry." he points at two dots "These two villages have reportedly been burned to the ground with the residents killed or taken." he then points to a larger marking representing a walled settlement "Haraldstead has been surrounded last night and probing attacks have already started, if they manage to push through the strategic pass it guards about a dozen other villages would be easy pickings."
"It could be bait." Reyvin muses aloud.
"How so?" Falk questions with his now perpetual frown.
"It is widely known that the King has a vested interest in the ruling family of that specific settlement." The elf says carefully and notices the King's grasp on his cup tighten ever so slightly, after a slight pause he continues "It would not be too outrageous for them to have learned of this and use the entire thing as bait."
"But what would the goal of that even be?" Helm asks, confusion evident in his eyes.
Reyvin shrugs lazily "I don't have the faintest idea if I am to be honest, they could have troops waiting in ambush, or merely expect us to tire ourselves out in a forced march just to arrive at an already conquered holdfast. It could very well be anything." he frowns and turns to the Legate "Speaking of, how quickly can our men reach the settlement?"
She takes a moment to look over the map and nods to herself after some thought "Close to four days if we factor in the time it would take to organize our men and to maneuver a large force through the uneven terrain."
The elf sighs "They would be long dead before we got there."
The cup in the King's hand cracks a tiny bit, but he remains silent, still waiting for the others to speak up, but he is inevitably disappointed, as Rikke's analysis of the situation is almost perfect.
Seeing the uncomfortable silence spread through the hall Reyvin frowns and after a long sigh that drew many glances his way says "There is a way to save them..." 'Why me...'
Torygg almost jumps at him as he grasps his shoulders "Tell me!"
With an eyeroll he untangles himself from the King's grasp "I could get there today using... certain means, and do my best to help slow the attack as much as possible." He exchanges a glance with Sybille who nods after a moment "Sybille could follow after me and we should be able to hold them off long enough for you all to join up with us and kill the Namiran cunts." as he points out their religious views his voice unconsciously turns vicious.
Torygg pays that no mind and stares at him with stars in his eyes "You would do that for me?" he asks, astonished.
Reyvin snorts "You do pay me, do keep up." chuckles spread through the crowd as everyone seems to relax slightly.
"Ah, to be so easily forgotten" Sybille sighs dramatically.
Torygg winces and goes to make an excuse but she merely laughs in response "It is fine Torygg there is no need to be dramatic about this, it IS our job to help you."
The King composes himself and takes a breath "Yes, you are right of course, I will make sure the two of you are suitable rewarded."
"I take my Daedra hearts temporally frozen" Reyvin quips immediately and before anyone can respond he looks to Rikke and Falk "Just make sure you don't dawdle too long, the two of us might be good, but we are not army-killer good just yet."
"Of course Reyvin, do not worry." Falk nods.
Rikke on the other hand seems stuck in a nostalgic memory as she gives him a respectful stare "You really are your fathers son kid."
Reyvin scoffs falsely "Oh please, I am so much better than him."
The sound of running steps interrupts them as a guard barges in "Sorry to interrupt m'lords but two mage-lookin' blondes just arrived at the Palace gates, said something about a Flame-Heart clan or somethin'"
"Let them in quickly" Reyvin says before anyone can process the news, this earns him some very confused stares but he only smirks in response "I may or may not have forgotten to inform everyone that I have called in some professional assistance for our little Reachman issue." the doors open just then and a pair of twins walk in, Reyvin without looking at them goes on "Allow me to introduce Bor and Brienne Flame-Heart of Dawnstar, my colleagues from Winterhold and skilled Battlemages."
Torygg seems stuck between glee and annoyance, something shared by Falk and Rikke. The Thanes on the other hand seem completely lost.
"Ah there you are Reyvin!" Bor greets him jovially "Finally decided to share some of the glory, eh?"
His sister sighs in exasperation "Ignore him, he was so giddy when he received the letter, he even forgot to pack food."
A crisp cough from Falk interrupts them, and they both snap their eyes to Torygg and immediately bow "Forgive the disrespect my King" they say in perfect sync.
Torygg takes a long, tired breath "Even if your friend here" He glares lightly at Reyvin, but there is no heat behind it "Forgot to inform me of your arrival, any help is gladly welcomed in these difficult times."
"We are honored to be here." Bor immediately responds "What he said." His sister snarks.
Reyvin claps his hands "Well, we are going to need to get moving if we want to get to Haraldstead before it is a nice pile of ash and blood, so if you will all excuse us."
"Wait, where are you off to?" Bor interrupts.
"Oh you know, just going to heroically hold off an army while the rest of you trudge through the hills and forests, you know the usual." Reyvin drawls in response "That is..." He pauses and looks the twins over "Unless the two of you got a mode of fast transportation in the past couple of months?"
They both frown and shake their heads.
"Oh well" The Dunmer shrugs "Come with me then, we might as well catch up as we pack up."
"Sure" Bor nods and follows after him, Brinne at least has the decency to send an apologetic look to the highest nobility of her homeland as she follows them.
Sybille naturally doesn't care in the slightest and simply disappears from the room as if she was never there.
The mundane dignitaries of the Palace turn completely silent as they are left there, no one knows what to say until Falk grunts in annoyance "Gods damned mages..."
And for what might be the first time in the history of Solitude, everyone agreed on something.
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