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As we stepped through the gates of the Solitude common district the the loud hubbub of the ducks slammed into us like a wall of noise and smell, except if the place could usually be compared to a complete mess that somehow ended up working, today it could quite easily be described as complete and utter chaos.
Hundreds of sailors of different origins were moving supplies around and loading them onto a trio of large warships sometimes barely avoiding each other as the crowded walkways were filled to the absolute brim.
I was genuinely amazed by the fact no one ended up being trampled to death.
Letting my sight loose I quickly counted went over the already boarded forces and allowed a satisfied smile to form on my face. A thousand legionaries, Rikke's veterans who fought against both Potema and the Forsworn, and Tullius' own heavy elite from Cyrodiil.
There were a couple dozens of my own people that I managed to free up from their duties in the valley so that no one could accuse me of duplicity. Not like I was relying on my rank and file to do much truth be said. No, that dubious honor fell upon the shoulders of Gelebor and his Paladins as even while not fully recovered the fools demanded to be allowed to join the assault with the zeal of... well Paladins.
Letting my mind wander for a bit I looked over the ships we were going to be using, two of them were built in the usual Imperial style following a mostly galley-like design built for rapid maneuvering yet still far larger than its medieval counterpart as Tamriel had access to much better materials. The ships were armed with a steel-tipped ram and six hull mounted scorpions each, the bolts of which looked like they were made to kill trolls and break other ships into scattered bits of wood from downright scary distances.
It was the third ship however, that truly took the cake as it were. The Jagged Crown, Torygg's personal battleship, and his father's before him. A massive thing looking like an unholy mix between a carrack and a Nordic longship that somehow ended up fitting together into the most imposing pile of wood I ever did lay my eyes on.
The behemoth of a vessel was so large it could easily house an entire five hundred man cohort with lots of space left over for additional supplies, its hull was covered on all sides by wooden walls which looked like they would be a nightmare to attack and as if that was not enough the prow of the ship was dominated by a massive fuckoff ballista with what seemed to be enchanted bolts.
Shoddy work but I guess that not everyone knew how to mass produce enchantments like a living machine.
Reassured of my destination I started walking toward the flagship, two hooded figures falling in behind me and my retainers. Torygg and the General were thoroughly informed of my plans and the presence of the Volkihar women, and while the duo were not incredibly enthusiastic about their presence they were intelligent enough to understand my intentions and allowed my plans to proceed unimpeded.
The whole situation did lead me to overhearing something about the local head of the East Empire Company getting pissy at the King because he did not wish to grant them the island after the fact for what was basically free, which amused me to no end.
The castle was already slated to be given to Serana through the creation of disgusting amounts of false paperwork that would somehow give her the right to it, and almost as a fuck you to the company the Volkihar duo was already planning on creating a dock village which would serve them as a... alternative food source.
As we passed people paused, either to gawk or salute depending on their disposition, their reaction to my 'sudden' presence creating something of an impromptu procession as we made our way to the meeting.
The moment I stepped onboard one of the royal housecarls pointed me toward the back of the ship, a veritable bunker of both material and enchantment, so potent in fact that I would have to invest genuine effort to see within.
We were let in without any fuss and were greeted with the sight of a large table with nautical charts and a pilfered map of Castle Volkihar and its surroundings, said map being covered in numerous notes about magical defenses and traps, courtesy of lady Valerica.
One would not need to take long to understand the need for the overengineered bunker of a room for almost everyone of any note that could be called was present within.
The archmagi accompanied by Phineas were standing off to the side with expressions ranging from bored to knowing as they listened to the rest discuss their plans of assault.
The King stood with his Stewards and Thanes and was doing his best to pretend to not be bored half to death by what was no doubt the fifteenth time the plan was being reiterated. His bodyguard stood at full attention, not letting his charge out of sight for even the briefest of moments.
Positioned near them were General Tullius, Legate Rikke, and gaggle of his officers which included the Dawnstar twins, the female half of whom immediately noticed me and gave me a cheerful wave. All of them were far more professional in their attempts to pretend at being interested in what was being talked about but still managed to look bored out of their minds.
And finally at the opposite corner of the table were placed the remaining 'factions' of our endeavor, namely Isran and Celann representing the Dawnguard, and Maren, Alor, and Gelebor representing House Dagoth, said number swiftly joined by Davos and Nightshade who did not care for having the attention of the entire gathering on their shoulders and left me as quickly as they could without seemingly running.
I cleared my throat, causing most to turn their gaze at me "Ladies, gentlemen, Your Majesty." I offer a light bow and a smile "I trust that we are almost prepared?"
"Ah, Reyvin!" Torygg's eyes brighten with excitement "Finally let go of your library?"
"'Twas a most terrible burden to move my posterior, but alas I am here." I deadpan, earning a couple of chuckles from the older mages.
The High King chuckles and waves for me to approach the table "We will be ready to move out within the hour, do you have any new insights to offer?"
"That would depend entirely on the approach you decided on." I hum and give Tullius a pointed look.
Catching my meaning, the middle aged General nods and points at the part of the sea to the castle's south "The current plan is to approach the castle from the south, being that that side holds the most open ground, and disembark our forces via rowboats while providing covering fire with artillery and magic, after that is done we will focus our fire on the most dangerous defenses, repositioning our ships so as to best support our troops."
I cup my chin and let out a thoughtful hum "The artillery will be a boon to begin with, there is no doubt about that... However, we are fighting vampires here, the moment they realize that they are unable to hold us back with their horde of gargoyles or necromantic meat shields they will withdraw deeper into the castle which is no doubt protected by powerful enchantments."
The General's jaw tightens "This was always going to be a bloody grind, we can only ensure that casualties are reduced as much as possible... even if I am certain that we will bury hundreds before the day is out."
I share a quick glance with the college mages, getting a nod from Savos in response. Turning back to the General I point at said mages who were now far more attentive "In that case I recommend that each spearhead is headed by one of the masters, their personal power will ensure that no vampire is able to heedlessly slaughter our men as they focus on taking down the chaff."
Before Tullius can voice his surprise at mages risking their lives, Torygg interjects "The crown of Skyrim will forever remember the aid of the college." His voice was firm and no one wished to question him on what was obviously a positive.
Satisfied with that I looked to Isran "What will you and yours be doing?"
The Redguard steps up and points at the side entrance Serana and I used in our infiltration "My men and I will enter through the supply dock, their defenses will no doubt be heightened but I believe that we can use it to climb up into their... 'thrall pens'" He practically spits the words out "And at the very least ensure they have no fresh supply of blood to heal themselves with."
The whole crowd lets out noises of agreement and support, even Tullius seemed impressed by the idea if not by the potential casualties it would cause.
But I was not quite so reassured "The Dawnguard will not be enough." I shake my head "You will take my own forces and these two ladies" I point to the still hooded Serana and Valerica "With you, that should be enough to hold back any counterattack long enough for us to relieve you."
I can practically hear my officers groaning at yet another crawl through corpses, Alor looking especially uncomfortable with the fact, all of them save for Gelebor, who simply nods his acceptance of is duty with millennia of reinforced stoicism.
Isran looks like he wants to grumble but seeing as he had known me for longer than an hour he simply accepts his fate and nods "Very well."
I am tempted to release a sigh of relief at the fact no one decided to be difficult about this, not even the Thanes (even if Erikur looked like wanted to propose something dumb just so he could feel important) decided to butt heads or let their pride get in the way of dealing with our enemies. It would seem that a potentially apocalyptic threat was enough to cow even the most prideful among us.
Though I may have overstated the danger a tiiiiiny little bit seeing as I could just hide the bow for a literal eternity with Harkon not being able to do shit, but I wanted to be done with this whole ordeal and drowning his ass in the force of an entire kingdom would more than suffice.
Just as I am about to conclude the outline of the plan with some minor addendums Falk speaks up, his words directed at Torygg but loud enough for everyone to hear "And where will you be, my King?"
Without the barest hint of forethought or hesitation the young ruler of Skyrim foolishly declares "At the front leading the charge, obviously."
Dead silence descends onto the room, a single second passes where only breathing is heard... and then the room explodes in noise. Tullius tries patiently explaining how that is a terrible idea, the Firebeards practically shake Torygg while competing with each other at who can make up the more expletives, Shalazar and Savos cackle like maniacs, Tolfdir sighs in nostalgia, and the Thanes looking quite done with life... and all this happens at the same time.
And continues for a whole minute with even more people joining in on the bandwagon of exasperated terror.
Finally having enough of this I clear my throat while enhancing the noise with illusion magic, startling most of those present into silence. Once everyone had calmed down I spoke "Are you done?"
An uncomfortable moment passes before sheepish looks and awkward apologies are exchanged as everyone realizes what absolute idiots they were being... well, everyone except the old mages who were still internally laughing their asses off.
With the exception of Shalazar, naturally as he was laughing out loud.
"Right." I draw out "Torygg, you can't be on the front."
Falk nods, almost in victory, as Torygg protests "If the King does not lead, how will his subjects follow?"
I sigh "We've been over this, Torygg. If you die like a complete idiot far more people are going to suffer than 'merely' those who you call family and friends. You can join the fight but charging in headfirst into a deadly gauntlet of traps and Daedra-enhanced enemies is not acceptable."
"But-" He tries to protest again.
And that was enough of that "You have a son." I cut him off mercilessly.
He chokes on his words for a moment, letting his shoulders slump and nods in defeat, and in doing so allowing us to finish up with the meeting.
I am so holding this over his head once we get back, truly there was no better blackmail than telling his wife what he wanted to do.
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Things both slowed down and sped up after that. Sped up in the sense that it was not long before we were sailing onto the Sea of Ghosts and toward our destination and slowed because we were sailing, and sailing was fucking boring.
Still, the ship was moving slowly enough that I could crack out the painting equipment and do some practice as we travelled. Reaching our destination was going to take us a bit over half a day, leading to us arriving exactly at the dawn of the following day as to make sure we held every possible advantage, so I would have quite a bit of time to kill.
Almost as if the world itself was listening to me, it decided to hit me with a particularly frustrating form of 'Nuh uh' and a fog slowly descended upon us after only two hours of sailing, turning my genuinely good attempt at a landscape into a waterlogged mess.
I was tempted to summon Krein to clear the fog out out of sheer petty vindictiveness but I held back. This fog was obviously summoned and Harkon was no doubt planning to use it in his defense, so removing it at a critical moment would probably allow us to surprise the bloodsucking twat.
Seeing as my current attempt at relaxation was utterly ruined I descended into the ship's hold and started churning out scrolls for my men, the Star of Azura was brimming with power after my excursion to the Forgotten Vale and I always carried scroll worthy parchment with me, so I had resources to burn.
Speaking of the vale, I really should come up with a new name for the damned thing.
Hours passed in that blissful monotony of creation, my hands blurring with practiced precision without even the briefest pause, and almost as if it were a mere blink that passed, dawn had arrived.
I left the downright ungodly amount of scrolls for my men to pack up and ascended upstairs, the mist parted just as I walked out onto the deck, giving me a perfect view of Castle Volkihar in all its magnificent gothic half-ruined glory.
All around me the soldiers were getting ready, and the engineers were already loading up the artillery pieces and doing final checks on the war machines. The elder mages were all discussing the wards they could observe and planning countermeasures while the mortal leaders were staring ahead with determination.
A mental ping drew my attention and a moment later a savage grin wormed its way onto my face. I was already planning on ruining the fucker's day but now I was going to make him wish he was never born.
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Thou shalt feed mine stone addiction.
This is a threat.
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