The house welcomes yet another member of its lower managerial staff as Stonewall has proven themselves weal- diligent and dedicated enough to earn such prestigious posting.
Such oversight will no doubt improve productivity.
That or the company soup store, either works.
And speaking of soup or the lack thereof, the house congratulates Ezra for earning their freedom from the mines with their hard work and a complete, absolute, unquestionable, utter lack of any bribery involved. May they prosper in the light of the sun, free of the toil beneath.
----------
It was... odd, walking through the main hall of the manor, memories which were certainly mine but only ever experienced by a past self which was at the same time me and not. The nostalgia was very real though so I would simply accept that the child who grew up here was just half a soul waiting to be reunited with itself.
No point in getting into an identity crisis if I could simply choose to be both young and old Reyvin, right?
"So this is where you grew up?" Minthara asks, her eyes wandering from the guest rooms to the dining room and then to the stairs leading up to the rooms reserved for family "It feels... normal. Too normal."
"I was a pretty normal child growing up." I huff with an eyeroll "Quite bookish for my age but when your father is a renowned Legate and Battlemage all you want to do is be just like him. Shame he got offed before he could teach me anything advanced though."
She remains silent briefly, probably feeling awkward at the whole 'dead parents' thing but her curiosity gets the better of her in the end as we begin climbing the stairs "So you only knew the basics when you left for Skyrim?"
"Yup." I smack my lips "Just some basic healing, flames, and alteration. He was going to teach me firebolts soon and even gave me his notes on the spell but then the whole Thalmor thing went down and I booked it out of here before I was eaten alive."
"Seeing the so called nobles outside, I can't help but agree." She huffs "I could practically feel their gazes looking at us like prizes to advance themselves with."
I let out a dark chuckle at that "Their reactions when they realize just who you really are will be a balm upon the soul."
She says nothing but her smile would have probably traumatized a child if they saw it.
"Here is the master bedroom" I point offhandedly "I can see you are tired, and no don't try to lie to me about it." I raise a finger to forestall her to which she just pouts "Go and relax, I want to go for a walk and reminisce for a bit."
"Fiiine." She pretends to grumble, the expression shifting into a playful threat "You better join me quickly."
"But of course" I raise my hands in surrender, my voice a perfectly dead drawl "I would never dare disobey your divine majesty."
She huffs and crosses her arms "You better not."
We both stare at each other for a moment before breaking out into a bout of light chuckling.
Voice now far less derisive, I speak "I will be back quickly, just need to clear my head." And go to leave.
As I step back out into the yard I realize the feeling of nostalgia was hitting me far harder than I was initially willing to admit, especially when my gaze wandered to the trio of singed stone pillars next to the stone brick wall surrounding the entire manor.
Images of training with magic and weapons went through my head, the proud or stern, depending on my success or failure, expression on my not quite father's face as he instructed me, and the annoyed yet loving torrent of insults my mother would throw at the both of us due to her own traumas about magic...
So distracted by the memories was I that when I stepped out into the street I barely had the time to move away and summon my weapon as a rather thick piece of wood attempted to smack into where my head was the previous moment.
Unluckily for the assailant however, my hands moved in a blur and before they could even realize they had missed, a flaming sword was resting terrifyingly close to their neck while a hand crackling with crimson lightning was pointed at their stomach, their very shadows preparing to stab them if they did not desist.
"Stop right there thieving scu-!" His battle cry died in his throat as he realized the predicament he was now in "Oh..."
Narrowing my eyes at the initial words, and their obvious sincerity, I slowly moved Blasphemy away from the tall elf's throat and asked "What kind of an idiot attempts to ambush a war veteran with a stick?"
"My plan was not great, I will admit." The increasingly familiar Bosmer looks away sheepishly "But I will not let you steal from that place fiend!"
I blink, feeling more amused than anything else "And how exactly am I supposed to steal my own property you stupid git?"
"Rey?" He not quite flinches away "I.. wha?"
Letting out a snort I unsummon my sword and calm down my magic, giving my 'assailant' a once over. And there he stood, very tall for a Bosmer and with hair just a shade lighter than proper red, Voendel, one of the youths child Reyvin had grown up with, and not a terribly bright specimen either.
"Still unable to string a sentence together?" I mock with a growing smirk "I see nothing has changed in the years I've been gone."
"Shut it you smarmy cunt!" His whole demeanor shifts as he reacts to the mockery almost automatically "How in Oblivion was I to know you were ever to return in the first place?"
"By listening to the news?" I raise an eyebrow and cross my arms "You know, the ones in which I was named specifically as one of the 'conquering heroes'?" I add with air quotes.
"Who listens to that drivel anyways?" He waves me off as if I had just spouted something ridiculous "They always lie so what is the point?"
"Not this time." I chuckle "Anyway, attempted murder aside-"
"I was not trying to kill you!" He immediately interrupts.
I slowly raise an eyebrow, look down at the small log he dropped, then at his admittedly respectable musculature, my eyebrow slowly but surely attempting to disappear within my hairline as he grew progressively more unsure.
"Alright, fine!" He huffs "I was not thinking when I should have been, there. Happy?" He huffs.
"Indubitably." I drawl and his eyes narrow "Anyway as I was saying before you attempted to pitifully defend your actions, how about you join me for a late night stroll and tell me what has been going on in the district? I am sure we can find some ambitious street vendor selling food at this hour as well, tempted?"
"Sure thing." He fails to hide his enthusiasm at meeting an old friend "I just hope it isn't one of those 'enthusiastic walks' you always talked about."
So I made the joke even when my memories were not yet awakened... Interesting "No, my enthusiasm has been exhausted by charging straight into the afterlife to fight a god... for now."
He gives me a long look, and slowly realizes I was not fucking with him "The propaganda wasn't full of shit then?"
"Why don't you tell me about what the rest of you idiots have been up to and I tell you about my misadventures in return, eh?" I ask and wave my hand for him to follow as I begin to walk.
With a reluctance I did not know him to hold, he accepted and we spent a good few hours discussing things. It was... interesting.
And by that I mean I got to listen awkwardly to the mundane issues of a group of friends I had forgotten I had while realizing just how utterly insane my life had become in just a few years of time.
It did not take me even an extra moment of thought to realize I would not have it any other way.
------
By the time morning came, and I managed to dislodge myself from the grip of a mumbling dragoness, my mansion had already been occupied by my guards and servants. It was large enough to hold my direct retinue an some twenty guards on permanent duty, while the rest of them were housed in the neighboring mansions which we rented or bought without a care for the price.
If the owners were unwilling to sell... weeeel Jackal was Davos' right hand for a reason and they quickly found themselves with all of their dirty secrets displayed in neat Dunmeri styled calligraphy and one word away from being sent to the authorities.
I still did pay them however, after all it was unquestionably I who was being the cunt here, no matter how much smuggling the fuckers were engaged in for whatever reason.
And speaking of the professional spy/assassin, he now stood before me while the rest of my subordinates were relaxing in the other parts of the living room.
"I have gathered a preliminary examination of the factions and groups of interest within the city and the surrounding isle, as you commanded your lordship." Jackal bows his head "However if we were to name every single group as their own block of power we would be here all day so I have seen fit to organize them into sufficiently similar groupings."
"Good." I nod "I do not care for the minutiae and I have you to deal with the information gathering for a reason." He bows a little deeper "Now tell me, what are these factions I am supposed to watch out for?"
"By your will." He raises his head "I have seen fit to divide our targets into two differing levels of influence, the higher one being the leadership and high nobility while the lower are those of influence but not true power."
"Appropriate." I fold my arms in front of my face "Go on."
"I shall begun with those of a higher influence, if it please you" Seeing me not move whatsoever he goes on "The first group I would name would be the hardcore loyalists, Emperor Mede's staunchest supporters and true followers of Talos' dream. They are not the most numerous but most of them are positioned around the City Isle itself, preventing any potential coup should any of the others grow too ambitious. Of these loyalists the greatest names would be the Count of Anvil, and that of Bravil."
"The western flank and the center." I hum along "Wise of Titus to focus on those, continue."
"Indeed" Jackal nods "I would also note that the highest council of the Empire has been thoroughly suborned under His Imperial Majesty's grip and are unlikely to prove themselves an obstacle."
I just whistle appreciatively. That he had no one but the most loyal in his council must have taken Titus decades to orchestrate.
"The next group of interest are the gloryhounds, those in the Imperial administration who wish to relive the glory days of the Empire and reconquer its lost territories. Earning themselves a place in history with whoever earns their loyalty." His eyes shift to the hall and vaguely in the direction of the stairs "They are unified under the leadership of the General Julius Gracchus, with the Count of Bruma joining them recently, and are most likely to fall in line under Her Ladyship. I would also note that they count as the second most numerous group."
Lightly amused at his term of address for Minthara I just wave for him to go on.
"The third, and likely most numerous group." Jackal flips the notebook "Would be those I deigned to note as simply self-interested. They may be won over by either policy, threat of violence or blackmail, and could be used both for and against your will if played correctly. The Counties of Chorrol, Kvatch, and Blackwood fall into this rather wide category."
"I have also noted down the Westweald under Skingrad to be of a more... reluctant outlook." He gives me a slightly sheepish look "Gathering information on them has proven to be something of a challenge and all I could get with an acceptable degree of certainty was that they would protest any mention of going to war."
"Skingrad was ravaged quite thoroughly in the war." I hum "They will be brought into the fold one way or another, just make sure to penetrate whatever spying protection they managed. I do not like unknowns."
"Your will be done." He inclines his head "One last group of influence remains, though I would not call them as such in this instance."
"It is traitors, is it not?" I ask lightly.
"Unfortunately so." He admits, not one bit surprised I could guess "The County of Leyawiin has had numerous dealings with Dominion territories, so much so that I suspect their Count and much of the nobility of the city has long been suborned with promises of wealth and influence."
"And a respectable threat of annihilation no doubt." I huff with some amusement before turning serious "Have extra agents brought from up north, I want exact confirmation of just who and how many have fallen, and I want a plan of purging them should it prove necessary."
"A plan is already in the works." He says with a perfectly blank face, even if I can feel his smug satisfaction.
"Good." I nod in approval.
"That is it for those of greater influences." Jackal returns to his notes "The rest are those of a lesser powerbase but still enough to become an asset or annoyance should they be maneuvered properly."
"The Thieves' Guild is willing to cooperate with us." He immediately begins "For the right price they will provide proof of corruption and information when your own cadre of agents find themselves incapable or insufficient in number."
"Pay them fairly." I note "Best not have them annoy me."
"Of course." Jackal nods and goes on "The Fighter's Guild has proven itself... reticent, in recent times and have begun demanding greater and greater payment due to supposed increases in job hazards as they put it."
"Corrupt leadership?" I ask with a raised eyebrow.
"A mix of truth and lies it would seem." Jackal responds wryly "It will take us some time to find out which is which." His eyes light up somewhat as he remembers something "I have also noted down the Synod as being in something of an alliance with the old Fighters' Guildmaster, as they have been the most active Mage's Guild inheritor and their services have grown in demand as unrest grew."
"The Synod." I snort derisively as I remember that one group of idiots in the Rift "Bunch of incompetent posers the lot of them. Note them down for dismantlement into a proper college when the time comes, clandestinely of course."
"Naturally." Jackal allows himself an eye-smile "The next group would be an alliance of merchants with the vast majority of them unified under the East Empire Company after the fall of the West Empire Company. They mostly seek to protect their rights and wealth in these uncertain times and are likely to be placated by simple way of concessions or promises of beneficial policy."
"Any more of them worth mentioning?" I ask as I feel him coming close to the end.
"Just the Vampirum Order, and College of Whispers." He hums lightly "The vampires we were yet unable to contact as they have hidden quite deeply after your reception while the college has already attempted to approach your loyal scribe." Alor "And extract information from him."
The way he phrased it made me raise an eyebrow.
"Apologies were offered after sufficient threats had been delivered by your Retainer." His eyes shift to a grumpy as all hell Edrassa "A gift of delicacies in both food and drink should be coming to the manor post haste."
"Acceptable." I say idly "And of their goals?"
"Power, as most mages are wont to do." He shrugs "They could be bribed but are known for their use of the less... palatable magicks so I would humbly recommend all dealings be left outside scrutiny."
"The last group, though I would not call them such just yet, would be the faith."
"No doubt a Talos resurgence." I note "Glory hounds and traditionalists I expect?"
"Indeed, my lord." He nods "Most will follow Lady Minthara out of duty but there will be grumbling. I will continue my observation of them."
"Very good." I clap my hands and get up, but before I dismiss the agent I remember a certain cunt "Oh and do be sure to look for a certain jester-looking fellow by the name of Cicero. I wish him and the coffin he lugs about found swiftly."
"By your will." Jackal bows again though I feel his confusion at the command.
'Did you think I forgot about you you slimy cunt?' My eyes taken on a cruel gleam as I consider how very useful a demigod's corpse in the Night Mother will be.
----------------
From the ground do stones scoop
lest you be met with fate worse than soup.
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