Rastislav
patreon
Arc 8 Chapter XLVI: Reinforcements Galore
🕑 Added 2024-12-10 21:32:35 +0000 UTCA/n: Finally about to finish up with Kragenmoor. When I first started the Morrowind arc I fully expected this bit to take like four chapters tops but my dumb ass can't follow a plan to save my life. God do I love my tangents.
-----
(General POV)
Merin Zadir of House Dres cursed his pride as he hobbled after the group of nobles and officers. Oh it was most certainly satisfying to refuse healing for those in greater need but when Dagoth snorted loudly and simply left while shaking his head he knew he only made a fool of himself.
He still did not ask for healing though, his pride could only take so many hits in one day, even if he had bolstered it mightily with the blood of Argonians. His pain inevitably ceased as they soon reached the western gatehouse, a place Lord Dagoth had called them all to for some reason he refused to share.
Lord Aren seemed to be the only one truly relaxed with the situation, the venerable Mer keeping a constant knowing smirk on his face.
They did not need to wait long to get their answers, as a cloud of dust approached the city under the setting sun, and soon from the western hills came hundreds upon hundreds of banners fluttering in the air.
Triangular banners attached to halberds, colored in black and purple and bearing a now familiar crest. Rows upon rows of blackened steel armor, all of it bearing at least the smallest glow of enchantment placed upon it. Most of the marching elves had their faces covered in masks, either of simple plain design of carved with the visage of the saints of old, and to their front marched a hundred elves in cloaks of white fur, all of them armed with sleek crossbows of an odd design.
As the army of some four thousand elves and uncountable automatons approached the city, Lord Dagoth rose his hands welcomingly and the army stopped, saluting him as one, the sheer noise and synchronicity of which sent goosebumps down Merin's spine.
His fidgeting did not go unnoticed and soon the Indoril approached him and wordlessly began healing him, muttering some empty apology about no doubt missing him within all the chaos.
Which only made the Dres even more embarrassed. Was the Indoril coward doing it all on purpose?
Deciding to distract himself from his frustration, Merin Zadir looked down at the approaching force and pondered at just how far the Dagoth would reach before someone finally told him to fuck off.
And just how many would die before they realized how useless defiance truly was.
(Reyvin's POV)
No one really complained as I commanded the army to march inside the city, well excepting Almeril who bluntly told me his rivals would not hesitate to humiliate him for letting what was largely considered a foreign army into a city under his command, and then just as bluntly added that he did not care in the slightest.
There was dedicated to one's duty, and then there was whatever the fuck the Redoran did.
Even as the rest of them whispered amongst themselves, Regnild directing me a distinctly unsurprised look all the while, I still remained standing atop the gatehouse and waited patiently.
Not that I had to wait long as mere moments later my unnaturally sharp hearing caught the slightest shuffle of boots on stone. Well, I caught it after the numerous enchantments carved by my own hand did, but no one needed to know that little detail.
As if on a casual stroll, a figure in immaculate light armor bearing my house colors simply walked up the walls, startling the absolute shit out of most of the nobles around me but ignoring them completely in favor of offering me a lazy salute "Boss."
"Davos" I grin at him "Took your sweet time didn't you?"
His face was covered by his helmet but I could hear him internally screaming out 'Didn't you tell us to wait for the most dramatic moment to appear?!' He held it back of course, and instead bowed "Met some lizards on the way, had to wade through their corpses to get here."
"Hmmm, understandable" I pretended to ponder forgiveness, drawing a mildly confused look from Almeril before he realized what was going on and shook his head.
Davos, apparently having had enough, snorts and turns to said Redoran "Still kicking Faren?"
"My lords are demanding but the work is honorable and rewarding" Almeril answers with a light smirk "I hope your own tasks have not been too... draining on you."
'Did the two strike up a friendship while I was not looking?' I raise an eyebrow 'Then again I was rather busy during those particular celebrations.'
"Eh, it could be worse" Davos directs a quick cautious glance to the rest of them "No offense meant but didn't you all just go through an assault?"
"That we did." Almeril nods "We can share introductions and catch up later, the city still needs immediate work done and I trust your hands are as willing as they are many?"
"Brought half a legion of automatons so you don't have to worry about repairs." Davos shrugs "The troops will be busy making themselves comfortable though."
"Keep the marksmen ready for battle for now." I interject "Oh, and have the healers help those I missed, I didn't train the lot of them for nothing."
And oh boy was the Telvanni looking jealous as I mentioned that.
Davos nods and soon we were dispersing, everyone throwing themselves at work, rescuing those covered in debris, healing the wounded, looting and burning the dead, and counting our own fallen.
By the end of the day the numbers were confirmed and we had lost some one hundred and sixty four actual soldiers and eight hundred and seventy militiamen, joined by seven magi, only one of whom was an actual Redoran while the rest came from the conscripts.
All in all, a great success, even if some turned dour at losing a full third of our force.
Now how does one persuade them to follow me in a counterattack?
The answer was blatantly clear to me in a near instant and by the time I came to the decision my new staff was already in my hand. I would still keep to my choice of not doing every single thing on my own, but no one said I could not make things just a bit easier on my people, right?
They needed to be convinced to follow me to oblivion itself, and while I could do so through religion and rhetoric, that just wasn't my preferred way of doing things. No, I was no born leader, even if I developed the skill over time.
What I was was incredibly powerful, unreasonably so in fact. And so I would convince them by showing that they would always be safe by my side, for my enemies would Burn.
Besides, what is a few more thousand deaths on my soul?
(General POV)
Great Shaman Xelnara worked with clinical detachment as she guided her apprentices in stabilizing those still heavily injured, even hours after the fact the lack of medical supplies left behind at Andrethis in a rush, and the general decimation of the shamans meant that not everyone could be saved.
It was a good thing she set up the battle ward or she was certain the birds would have returned by now.
She fought the urge to curse at herself as she looked up and saw... horror.
A massive, incalculably complex circle filled to the brim with rune upon rune stacked atop each other layered atop each other, some of the languages she knew, some she could recognize, but one she had never even seen or heard of before.
She did not have much more time to ponder things as she felt the Magicka above her begin to sizzle under some unknown power, and the once purple circle of runes was set aflame in cold harsh grey, the ensuing silence lasting only for an instant before the spell was activated and what felt like the hammer of the foreign gods themselves fell upon their camp.
Her battle ward held for ten seconds.
The one she threw up in a panic held for five.
The one attached to her necklace, made for such emergencies, held for three.
Her final layer of defenses managed to hold, taking every single remaining wisp of her Magicka as she did her best to protect at least the large medical tent she was stationed in. She did not truly know if she had succeeded until her consciousness returned to her.
(Reyvin's POV)
As I lower my hand with a deliberate slowness I hear Scorch whistle from my shoulder "Geneva suggestions, amirite?"
I let out a snort "Oh please, I didn't even make it self-replicating."
For whatever reason, Savos began to cough uncomfortably. Did he eat something bad?
Ignoring the gawkers I turned to Legate Furius "Legate, I feel like letting the enemy reorganize after that would be a disservice, kindly harass them until they return to their own lines." I looked to Davos "Send the marksmen with him, they should be able to keep up."
The Legate grins and salutes, already marching away, while Davos doesn't even bother moving. My orders were already being relayed by one of the nearby agents, none of whom had shown themselves to my allies.
Quite satisfied with the results I summoned a bottle of mead and took a sip, killing a third of the remaining enemy army was thirsty work indeed. It was very lucky for my psyche that Argonians were so easy to dissociate from. How many have I killed so far, ten thousand? Fifteen?
It doesn't matter because by the end of all this I would kill far, far more.
I shook the dark thoughts away and looked to the gathered representatives of the great houses "We rest for two days, and then we strike back."
No one said a single word in protest.
-----
A day later I found myself standing atop the northeastern walls of Kragenmoor, staring off into the distance as Davos finished giving me his report on the progress of Silruhn Fell, Anondor leaning back against a nearby tower entrance in silent vigil all the while.
"So the giants have been pacified fully?" I ponder aloud, lightly scratching at my chin as I did "Maybe I should see about enhancing them somehow... always good to have some extra help." Apparently the constant dragon visits unnerved them and they were getting uppity, good thing Krein didn't need to bother with them.
Davos visibly suppressed a shiver at the thought "Not like I can stop you if I wanted to Boss" He shakes his head "Anyway yeah, once your Companion friend calmed them down again we could expand into the valley itself. Most of the tradesmen remained in the city proper but the farmers were getting annoyed they had to walk down the entire wall just to reach their fields, so Karsus decided the change was necessary."
"He did send something to that effect while I was still in Cyrodiil" I nod along "Not like our defenses there serve any true purpose anymore anyway. Reaching it by conventional means would be a nightmare."
"True enough." Davos shrugs "Haven't had a proper degenerate Falmer attack for weeks before I left, so things should be mostly safe." He pauses "Still sent parties into the tunnels just in case though."
"Probably wise" I hum "Any more interesting happenings?"
"Beyond some idiots trying and failing to establish a poor man's Dark Brotherhood? No." He shakes his head.
My eyes narrow instantly "That was... fast."
Davos' relaxed expression shifts and he sighs "Boss, what happened exactly?"
"Managed to cull the last members of that order and used their 'Night Mother' as fuel." I answer bluntly, to his immediate and unsurprised nod "I am not sure if the void is already trying to get its hands on new tools, or we are dealing with... fans."
"Definitely the fans" He snorts "The lot of them were so incompetent I almost felt bad for cutting them down to the last."
"Weep not for the stupid, you'll be crying all day" I drawl in response.
We both share a snort and shake our heads, effectively ending the conversation until I spoke again about a minute later "How is the wife and kid by the by?"
Davos contains a smile "Things are going pretty well, little bugger is far too energetic but Nightshade has him under control."
I just snort "Just wait till he begins walking, that is where the true fun begins."
He doesn't even bother questioning the words and simply nods.
Ah, he has ascended beyond being baffled by me. How... sad.
---
A few hours later, the true reason behind my choice in venue was made apparent, as in the distance the sound of marching boots could be heard, and another tall cloud of dust was thrown up by yet another small army making its way to Kragenmoor.
Their march was far less synchronized than that of my own troops, making me feel incredibly smug about myself. What made me feel even more superior, and slightly disappointed if I was being completely honest, was the numbers and equipment of the forces approaching the city, even if I knew this was only the initial relief force and the actual armies would follow a few days later.
Sure there were an extra four thousand of them, but only two of those four were actual Redoran professionals, another thousand looked to be the force sent by House Dres, clad in medium chitin-based armor and armed with spears and shields and of seemingly middling discipline.
The final thousand did make me raise an eyebrow though.
The Telvanni obviously sent the least number of people but also the most individually powerful of the lot as I could easily count some fifty battle mages of varying skill accompanied by two hundred or so well equipped bodyguards.
The Sadras sent what looked to be every mercenary they could get their grubby little hands on, the lot of them being the most diverse of the whole group and armored in anything between a mage's robe to full plate orichalcum in the case of a couple of them.
And finally the most surprising group of all, just over two hundred Indoril warriors, robed plate armor, saintly visages carved upon entire helmets, and mohawk plumes galore, this particular group seemed even more battle ready and disciplined than the Redoran.
Curious and curioser.
