Rastislav
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Arc 8 Chapter LXX: Consolidating The City
🕑 Added 2025-01-19 15:17:56 +0000 UTCA/n: Nearly a double chapter since I like yapping
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(Reyvin's POV)
The army quartermaster shuffled on her feet as I rapidly skimmed through the stack of parchment she brought me, momentarily reminding me of her presence "You may take a seat while you wait." I say without looking up.
She walks away a moment later and I barely catch a relieved sigh.
"What are we looking at?" Demnevanni questions lazily.
"Much of what you'd expect really" I drawl and lean into my throne, the repurposed throne room of Almalexia carrying my voice a bit more ably than one might expect "Ruined or dried out wells, unmaintained roads not critical for the Argonians, numerous food stores raided either by the lizards themselves or some of the less honest Dunmer."
"What else did you expect of the beasts?" He scoffs, generously forgetting about the part where our fellow elves did a part of the damage.
I hold back an eyeroll and give him a meaningful look "My expectations do not remove the need to fix the situation, as you are very much aware."
His annoyed expression remains for all of one second before he realizes what I was getting at "You aren't asking me to tell my 'subjects' to dig wells, are you?" The way he said it I may as well have just asked them to shovel shit.
"Well they can either speed up critical infrastructure repairs." I smirk "Or they can lead the next charge themselves since the rest of us will be too busy to help them."
He tsks and looks away.
"Besides" Now I do roll my eyes "The automatons will be there to help them, I just need some earth moved rapidly and as much as I'd like to do it myself I do have work to do."
"No, no" Baladas raises a hand "I will get them to do it, there is no need to humiliate them like that."
"How nice of you to see my point" I smile beatifically.
He looks like he really wants to flip me off.
"Alandro" I turn to the other Great Lord present "How is public order looking?"
"Excepting a few greedy fools" He scowls "Our fellow Dunmer are happy to be liberated and are cooperative for the most part, even offering meager gifts and places to rest for the soldiers."
I say nothing but do raise an eyebrow at the offer of housing, that kind of discipline and readiness risk is not permissible outside of official leave.
It was all a bit hypocritical since we were currently occupying a number of buildings to house the troops keeping order in the city but such semantics were sometimes necessary.
"They were denied, obviously" He confirms.
Almeril Faren, representing the Redoran until Sarano arrived a day hence, nodded "Good."
Alandro smiles thinly before continuing "As for the violence I have managed to keep it mostly contained." He hesitates for a moment, holding back a visible gulp "A few altercations were still inevitable however, and there were a number of deaths."
"Any by the soldiers?" I ask immediately.
"One group came close" His eyes darken "They have been taught a lesson."
"Good." I smile at him approvingly.
"...Good?" He blinks "My Lord, did you not tell me..." He trails off.
"You cannot be everywhere at all times." I wave his concerns off "You were tasked with keeping order and discipline in the army, continue to do so and your task will be considered accomplished."
"O-of course" He inclines his head, his shoulders slumping with relief.
This drew some eyes but none were quite so over curious as to actually ask.
Nodding in satisfaction I turn to the next item "Sadras, how are the city's supplies looking?"
"Surprisingly good, all things considered." Regnild answers from a lower seat "The Argonians stocked large amounts of food for their army, and most of it was kept within the city. There was some damage from pillaging but there is still more than enough food until trade lanes are reestablished." He pauses and adds "Will probably taste terrible but it is perfectly edible."
"Have someone check on that just in case." I order.
He writes it down without bothering to question it "Very well, as for the building supplies and other non immediately essential resources the situation is much poorer, critical repairs will be manageable but any greater projects will have to wait for imports."
'Imports that just happen to be most accessible by House Sadras shipping down the river to Mournhold's north of course.' I keep my expression blank and merely give him a long look.
His lip twitches upwards and he inclines his head "My house will be more than willing to provide the best rates reasonable."
"Hmmm" I make a vaguely agreeable noise "Very well."
Renglind looks very satisfied as he closes his ledger.
"Will that be all?" I ask as everyone turns silent.
There is some muttering but after a while they fail to bring anything up.
"Excellent" I tap the table "With that you may all return to your duties."
Taking the dismissal for what it was soon the room is left empty save for one.
My eyes meet those of Davos, his form completely unmoving in a dark corner of the room as it was for the entire two hour long meeting "You indicated you found something new?"
"Three somethings actually" He corrects "Stalked your hammer-wielding friend for a while and saw him entering a shop like he owned the place. Don't know what exactly he was doing but might be wise to question him on it?"
"I think not" I say after a short hum "He grew up in this place and he is allowed his secrets."
Nerevar could have made my job much, much harder if he wanted to. He did not.
Me not bothering him needlessly was perfectly reasonable.
"Whatever you say, Boss" He shrugs and continues where he left off "Anondor took over a small tower to the east of the inner city, he's set up a small shrine to Auri-El and is spending most of his time there, the other Falmer are also visiting."
'That could prove troublesome, still they have the right and Anondor needs the peace of mind.' I frown "Tell them to keep it discreet, they've earned a lot of respect for the army but an ounce of prevention and all that."
"Will do." He nods "As for the third thing, well... We managed to find a Camonna Tong hideout below a large manor in the outer city, and I am unsure how to proceed."
"Did you establish contact at least?" I ask, intrigued by the presence of the usually very isolationist thieves' guild. Scratch that, they were extreme enough to trade with Dagoth Ur at one point so I will not be holding my breath on their usefulness.
"Only observation." He answers "They don't seem terribly well organized from what we've seen and were serving more as a smuggling operation for the occupied populace than any kind of power bloc in their own right."
Could also be just a bunch of edgy kids deciding to recreate a notorious guild "So simply getting rid of them might annoy some of the more influential locals" I frown.
"Why not just talk to them and have them work for us?" Davos asks "Sure having them here may be annoying but so long as they don't create chaos they shouldn't really be a problem."
"That would be the most expedient solution" I mutter "But we would have to take into account how the last iteration of their guild viewed outsiders and cooperation with them."
I pause "Speaking of that, has there been any issues with Furius' cohort?"
Davos blinks and shakes his head "None that I've head of. Mournhold is a big place and there is still a number of humans living here, so they are at least used to the idea of them."
"Small mercies I suppose." I sigh.
"You can't really fight beside someone and hate their guts just because they are different, Boss" Davos shrugs "Well unless you are a cunt but there ain't no helping those idiots."
We share a short chuckle at that.
"So, what do you want me to do with them?" He brings us back.
"Contact them for now I suppose" I restrain my urge to just whack anyone too annoying "They were useful for the populace and having their voices added to ours would be a boon. Maybe propose a restructuring into an actual merchant company? That would make them much less annoying to deal with."
"Umm, Boss?" Davos winces "You do realize they would still keep doing what they were doing already, right?"
"Well obviously" I roll my eyes "I'd just be able to seize all their legal assets in an instant if they annoyed me. Carrot and stick, Davos, carrot and stick."
Davos smirks after a moment "That kind of bait is too juicy not to bite on, that much is for certain." He pauses and asks "Won't this annoy the Sadras' interests though? They were looking forward to setting up in Mournhold."
"I am already giving them a massive boon with the Skyrim trade deals and Regnild's most recent scheme. There is no way in Oblivion I am about to give exclusive access to my future capital's economy to any one organization" I scoff "That is just asking for issues to crop up later."
"Capital, Boss?" He frowns.
"At least politically" I shrug "What better way to reunite a people than reconquering an ancient seat and making it the center of it all once again? And that is without mentioning its strategic and economic position."
"I guess that makes sense." He mutters after a while "I'm just afraid you will keep moving as around, especially after we've finally settled into Silruhn Fell properly."
"Oh don't worry about that" I wave him off "I am too used to the cold to spend too much time here, it is an issue I will have to solve later but one that I will solve no matter what."
The frown leaves him and he grins "Sure thing, Boss."
"Happy you won't have to tell the wife you are moving?" I ask with a cheeky grin.
He shudders "Don't wish that kind of evil on me."
With a snort I wave for him to get to work "Go on then, I'm sure Nightshade won't appreciate it if you failed to get the Camonna under us."
He goes to leave halfway through my sentence and then stills utterly before slowly turning his gaze to me "You are one evil, evil Mer, Boss."
I just smile.
He chuckles and takes his leave.
"Now then." I mutter to myself as I teleport to my temporary chamber "It was high time I finally cracked you open." Before me now stood a standing table and a dark violet cover book, the very same I got as a reward for fixing Morrowind.
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"My Hortator." The Sworn Mer guarding my door looks at me with concern "Are you well."
Holding back a grumble I wave him off "Just a minor headache, think nothing of it."
I see him frown behind his masked helm but he steps back "By your will."
Minor headache my grey ass! That book was evil! Nay, it was beyond evil!
The chucklefuck that gave me the system must have found it incredibly funny to dangle the exact information I craved the most before me and make it as unreasonably complicated as inhumanly possible.
Fucker didn't even bother sending a fully translated version over, which meant I had to decipher the damn thing first before even attempting to make use of the concepts held within. And that is without adding the fact the magic itself used runes even more alien than Magnus'.
Bah! I shouldn't be complaining, the simple fact I was given anything was already more than excellent and a bit of effort to reach my goals was what made reaching them worthwhile to begin with.
There was probably some hidden lesson in there as well that I was too whiny to consider right now.
I already took far too many things for granted, anything from magic to my bloodline to the impression I made on people that made them more interested and agreeable. Not being able to unlock the highest concepts of space magic after one read should be the expected result and that was that.
Slightly less frustrated I let out a long exhale and feel the stress of the night leave me "What time is it?" I ask the guards who began following me.
"Just after noon, Hortator." The same one from earlier responds "Scouts have reported sightings of Lord Sarano's army in the distance, they should arrive in some three hours."
I pause and turn to him "And why was I not informed of this?"
He looks away "We knocked on your door but you would not answer, and Lord Davos told us you wouldn't mind it."
'Fair enough' I keep walking "He was correct. I do not need to micromanage everything."
The guards visibly relax.
"Come on then" I wave for them to follow "I have yet to visit the temple."
All three of the 'Good Daedra' were practically beaming at the idea of me ransacking the place, but when I directed a thought of repurposing it their way they turned even more excited.
Bunch of hyperpowered highschool girls, I swear.
---
(General POV)
"We should leave." Her second in command said for the fiftieth time that day "Even if they haven't noticed us yet, they will, and you know how annoyed the high and mighty types get with people like us."
Varana held back a sigh "What people like us Fradir? We are but pious helpers of the oppressed people they have come to liberate."
The stocky elf scoffs "You may call yourself Kingpin, Varana, but we both know we have nowhere near the influence we once did."
"Mhm" She hums irritatingly "And any large movements might do exactly what you were afraid of happening."
Fradir clutches at his hair and grunts angrily "Damnit woman, they have the woodsmen with them! If we don't get out we are fucked!"
She just smiles at him "Relax, panicking will do us no good, and we have too many to move anyway."
The stocky elf grumbles but reluctantly agrees "Fine, I can accept that. But what do we actually do about it?"
Varana massages her forehead "We lay low and attempt to seamlessly integrate over time. It will be a hit on our profits but our only other options are running or meeting with the authorities."
Fradir huffs, finding the mere idea of the latter incredibly funny.
Their underground base is a whirl of activity as they exit their secluded meeting spot, dozens of eyes falling on them immediately, all of them apprehensive about the massive shift in circumstance and their possible futures.
But before Varana could so much as speak up, the light around them all shifted and they found themselves surrounded with dozens of figures all armed and armored for battle to differing degrees.
The Kingpin of the reformed Camonna Tong kept her panic down as she began counting their attackers but with each passing moment the realization of just how outmatched she was began to settle.
So she tried the diplomatic approach "Greetings friends-"
She went to speak further but one of the armored figures in a white fur cloak pointed a rather dangerous looking crossbow at her, causing her to wince and slowly raise her hands, the rest of her business partners hesitantly doing much the same.
Still unwilling to just roll over she spoke "Are we being arrested for something?"
The only ambusher currently not showing any hostility, much the opposite really as he lounged in her own chair at the high table, chuckled "Nothing just yet." He straightened in his seat and clapped his hands "Consider this a bit of a... meet and greet as it were."
Her eyes still kept scanning the area as he spoke and she almost regretted it as in one of the corners of the room she saw a fully covered elf wearing the distinct markings of the Morag Tong.
"Our little family is of course more than willing to discuss cooperating with the honored Hortator's men." She smiled at the seated elf as she shifted gears "However, would it not be more... expedient if we all calmed down a bit?"
The mere thought of a Dagoth of all people being Hortator still made her shake her head at the state of the world sometimes but such was life.
The armored elf shrugged and raised his hand lackadaisically "Fine."
Their ambushers ever so slowly lowered their weapons, even if they kept them unsheathed.
Varana lowered her arms and happily strolled over to the table as the elf indicated for her to sit down "Thank you. I am Varana, the leader of our little family. May I know your name?"
"Davos." He answered simply, offering no further information "And it is indeed a pleasure to meet you, Kingpin."
Oh, they were far more informed than she thought...
That was not good.
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Alandro Indoril paced atop the outer wall of Mournhold, finally having managed to get a moment for himself after he ensured the troops would not attempt anything.
The task given to him was deceptively difficult, even with the expectations he himself carried, and it took all of his effort and attention to direct his now undermanned force to keep order.
He was not foolish enough to understate the results of his work to the Hortator but he felt obligated to obscure the effort it took so as to not needlessly stress the new leader of his people.
Not that he doubted the elf was more than aware of everything happening around him at all times.
Seers were terrifying to deal with.
Still, he could not keep his frustration from constantly bubbling up under his skin. Even the fight for the throne of Necrom was won by a mere fluke, his mere association with the one who blessed the land giving him just enough leverage to take the position while the family of the previous Grand Ascendant squabbled amongst themselves.
What followed only served to make him question his position more and more. The glories he expected when travelling to Old Ebonheart and later to Mournhold were still there, but with glory came the test of his own adequacy.
A test he had failed terribly.
Even now he remembered the hundreds of his own Mer, dead and trampled under Argonian boots, simply because he could not follow a basic plan and hold back his assault by a few minutes.
A lesson in humility if there ever was one...
But where there was failure, there was also a path to redemption, and when the Hortator, a Mer far more worthy than he, told him his work was good he felt all the pain and frustration worth it, and that he came out of it all a better Mer.
So why was he still feeling so uneasy?
He would need to speak to so-
"You alright there, child?" An unfamiliar voice called out to him.
He rounded on the newcomer, once more lambasting himself internally for missing the elf's approach, and it certainly was an elf, even if his armor was less than conventional.
"Who are you?" Alandro asked him, surprised by his own reluctance to think the elf a lowly one. There was something about his aura that demanded respect.
That and he had seen him near the Hortator on multiple occasions, he would not rush to a conclusion just yet.
"Just a concerned passer by." The Mer answered simply "You seem troubled."
Alandro felt like he should be honest with this individual for a reason he could not identify, but an enlightened individual did not foolishly follow his emotions at all times "And what is it to you who are afraid of showing his own face?"
"Good try" The elf chuckled and unsheathed his blade, foregoing the odd hammer hanging off his belt, causing Alandro to immediately reach for his spear.
"What do you want?" The young Grand Ascendant repeated.
"Just curious really" The armored elf swung his sword around lazily "How far her blood has come." He turned on his heel, now pointing his blade at the descendant of Almalexia "Come on then, you look like you have some frustrations to work through."
Now this, Alandro was far more willing to do.
Especially if he got to wipe the grin off the smug prick's face in the process.
Needless to say, by the time the armored elf was done with him, the younger elf had reconsidered all of his life choices, had his life flash before his eyes at least three times, and was taught more about spearmanship by a swordsman than any of his instructors ever managed.
As the unknown elf left him panting on the wall, beaten and bruised, Alandro felt like all his problems had suddenly become much lighter.
And then a signal horn sounded, telling all of the approaching allied army.
With a tired exhale, the Grand Ascendant jumped on his feet, and began slowly healing himself. He had learned much in his time since he left the outskirts of Necrom.
He wondered if his parents would recognize him by the time he returned.
