Rastislav
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Arc 8 Chapter XXV: Flame And Deluge
🕑 Added 2024-11-05 22:26:36 +0000 UTC(General POV)
Storm clouds gathered above the city of Skingrad, what started as a warm if slightly windy day swiftly turning to one better spent in the cover of one's home.
Unfortunately for both the residents and their liege lord, Count Ferontius had chosen this exact moment to hold his great announcement, and even if the weather was poor many of the citizens would not miss the opportunity to see their usually reclusive ruler.
What was even more surprising was that the Count's son, named after the very hero below whose statue they stood, was also with him. The young man having arrived days ago from his mother's domain in the hinterlands and looking like he wanted to be anywhere else.
A good chunk of the people looked curious as their lord stood upon a small wooden platform, a wooden construct usually used for the rare hanging repurposed to give the man who stood atop it at least the semblance of being imposing.
A much larger portion of the people looked on with hatred, all the grievances accumulated over the past few decades slowly bubbling below the surface, doubly so within those who came with arms concealed below their understandably thick clothing.
Ceix Dives boldly stood in the first row of the crowd, outright glaring at the Count with his right hand Lorain doing much the same to his guards, and even as Ferontius pretended they were not there he could not help but be unsettled by the steel in the gaze.
Something was different today, yet he could not put his finger on it.
A few minutes later, after the populace stopped gathering, the Count loudly cleared his throat, not fully managing to conceal his own discomfort at being present, and spoke "People of my fair city." His voice quivered ever so slightly "The past decades have been hard on all of us, the deva-"
As the platitudes began, so too did the plan.
---
Below the stage, a pair of human and elf stirred from their hours long silence, the dozen or so barrels filled to the brim with a particular alchemical mixture being their target.
"Come now, my apprentice" The man spoke in an oddly cheerful voice "There is work to be done."
Cantilla smiled at her teacher and skipped after him "How do you want to do this?" She asked as they approached the barely stable mixture.
"It is your little friends bout of chaos, no?" The man grinned at her "The choice is yours, my dear. Just remember that we have a task to complete."
"Hmmm" Cantilla hummed as she placed a finger just below her lower lip "I think we shouldn't make it too easy for him, give us a bit more time to do our actual job, no?"
"Oh how positively devious!" Her teacher clapped his hands, producing absolutely no sound with the act "Go on then my dear, rip open the jaws of the void!"
"With pleasure~" She practically purred and started rearranging the barrels.
---
Above the cave known to the truly few, the Count still spoke "-I realize that some of you may think my decision to be a few decades late but I assure you-"
As Ferontius spoke, Ceix frowned deeply "What is she doing?" He hissed quietly.
Lorain stepped a bit closer to him and muttered "You think they were caught?"
"Doubtful." Ceix shook his head minutely, even if his hand clutched at the pommel of his rapier that much harder "They are taking too long however, they are giving him too much time to speak." The last part left him with an almost panicked hiss.
Uncaring for Ceix's growing unease, Ferontius went on "-And so, with your doubtless support, I will petition the Emperor to send us assistance, and will in turn lower the burdens placed upon you, so that we may all grow and prosper!"
A small wave of excitement passed through the crowd, many of them looking on with doubt in their eyes yet as each second passed hope ever so slowly began rearing its ugly head.
Ceix was growing both panicked and furious as a quiet cheer soon turned into a much louder one, the window of opportunity slowly passing him by.
It was exactly at this moment that a good chunk of the podium was consumed by a loud explosion of flames and concussive force, sending many of the guards sprawling face-first into the ground and seemingly completely covering the summit of it in a violent inferno.
Even the statue of Rislav the Righteous was not spared as the ancient monument was shoved back, the relatively thin legs of the great hero's horse being too weak to support the entire weight of it under the sudden pressure as a millennia old fixture of the city was broken.
The crowd was stunned for a moment, only the fire being audible before the whole area broke into screams of panic.
Ceix rose his hand and hundreds of those under his banner unsheathed their weapons, many of them immediately moving to calm the crowd while Ceix and Lorain started walking to the podium, at least a hundred of their fellow rebels following as the deluge of rain that was threatening to fall for the entire hour of the speech finally decided to descend.
The delay in the explosion was an unfortunate development but he could still turn this around, even if he had to force the people to remain and listen to him.
They had to listen to him.
The rainfall increased with each step he took and just as he approached the platform and was about to turn around and address the at least somewhat calmed populace, the flames dispersed, revealing a rather unfortunate sight.
Count Ferontius knelt clutching the charred remnants of a smaller human, all the while a quintet of rings on his right hand shone with protective light.
The moment the flames cleared, the Count's gaze immediately zeroed in on Ceix, his now recovered guards forming up now that they knew he lived.
Ferontius kissed the charred corpse's forehead and stood, the only indication of his distress being dried out and charred tears of blood covering his cheeks.
Without a word he unsheathed his sword, which immediately lit up with powerful runes, and pointed it at what he knew to be the leader of the rebels "Kill them." The voice came out in a rasp before it repeated as a scream "KILL THEM ALL!"
Ceix did not hesitate and did much the same, grim resolution in his heart as he realized the whole plan went up in flames "We fight." He spoke clearly and loudly "Let us take down this blasted tyrant!"
And yet, even as he and his men charged the outnumbered guards, Ceix couldn't help but notice the horrified looks of his fellow citizens.
All chaos broke loose in the rain covered streets of Skingrad.
-----
Cantilla was still skipping along her teacher's gait, the terrified screams and furious roars having long since started spreading all around them.
If anyone were to see the two they'd probably rapidly loosen their bowels as they beheld a duo grinning from ear to ear, each sound of pain or despair making their expressions more and more ecstatic.
"Ah, what wondrous symphony!" The man cheered as the looting began "Such a shame it is so rare."
"I think the rarity is half the fun." Cantilla chirped "Things would be rather boring otherwise."
"Ha!" Her teacher barked a laugh "What a delightfully deranged mind you have, my dear!"
The young woman preened at his words, the skip in her step growing that much more lively for it.
Finally, the two reached the Chapel of Julianos, her teacher wasting no time in rapidly slitting the throat of the terrified and outraged priest who saw them enter, his body discarded and forgotten in an instant, neither of the duo caring one whit for the golden chain around his neck.
Centilla's teacher began tapping the southern wall of the chapel, somehow managing to seem both patient and not as he meticulously investigated the entirety of the stone surface. Finally, something seemed to click and the wall split apart, opening a passage forward for the both of them.
They rushed through the damp tunnel, none of their earlier cheer present whatsoever as they came closer and closer to their target with each and every step. Every tile was checked out and every corner observed as they approached the underground entrance to Castle Skingrad.
The tunnel seemed to go on forever but just as Cantilla was about to break the silence they reached a distant light, a wooden doorway reinforced with heavy iron with only the smallest hole letting the light shine through.
They did not need to wait long before they heard clicking sounds of chains being unlocked and latches pulled, a mere moment later the door was swung open and the both of them slinked within, daggers well in hand an spirits at high alert.
But there was no need for such caution as they were welcomed with the solitary figure of their contact, a rather obvious vampire to any of those educated enough to spot the signs "Cantilla." Aloncius greeted before turning to her teacher "Master Cicero."
"Aloncius, my good friend." The now identified Cicero's scratchy voice greeted the vampire "So goo to see you are capable of keeping your word."
"I am ambitious, not stupid." The vampire scoffed "Our agreement still stands then?"
"Yes, yes, of course." Cicero pretended to simper "You give us access to the vaults below the castle and we owe you two kills."
"The agreement was five." Aloncius immediately cuts him off.
"Ah but we ensured your dear Count survived to fight the little Dagonite." Cicero giggled shrilly "The two will sow chaos wherever they go, leaving the poor, downtrodden city in wait for a savior..."
Gritting his teeth, the vampire nodded "Very well, that trade is acceptable."
Cicero beamed while Cantilla returned the vampire-slaying poison dart to her belt pouch.
"Follow me" The vampire commanded and started leading them through the corridors of the castle, none of the mercenaries nominally under Ferontius' command deigning to stop them whatsoever as their true employer passed them by.
Soon they reached a massive stone doorway, numerous runes covering its surface as odd glass-like crystals that did not seem belong on Nirn looked like they were chewing through the stone itself.
Aloncius did not bother explaining how things worked and merely proffered a key practically glowing with the aura of its enchantments.
"Do make sure to survive, finding reliable help is incredibly bothersome these days." The vampire quipped dryly and left the two of them without a second's hesitation.
"Well then, my dear Cantilla." Cicero's too wide smile somehow managed to widen "Shall we?"
Without waiting for a response he pushed the key into the only obvious keyhole before him and felt the castle shudder as the wards were deactivated, the stone doorway slowly moving away as the two descended into the darkness beyond.
-------
On the other side of the city, to its northeastern entrance, a force of some two hundred warriors with many carts dragged behind them slowed to a halt as they saw the smoke rising from behind Skingrad's walls.
Hassildor frowned deeply "It would seem we are late." The vampire did not care one bit for the deluge of rain currently slamming into his face as he glared at the ruined remnants of his once grand domain.
"Or maybe just in time." The Falmer beside him pondered, none of the water even touching him as a near-invisible shimmer of magic surrounded his form "I've found that coincidences tend to be rather rare when it comes to things of this scale."
Having had much the same experiences when it came to troubled times, Hassildor merely grunted in agreement and nudged his horse forward "Come on then, each second wasted is a potentially dead citizen."
Agreeing with the sentiment, Alor followed after him, their enturage doing much the same a moment later.
Hassildor did not expect to simply be let in though, so he grabbed the lance attached to his barded mount and unfurled the banner rolled around its tip, revealing a magically bright dragon banner "Hail to the gates!" He called out loudly.
Loudly enough to startle whoever yet remained atop it, for his head twitched to the side just in time to dodge a crossbow bolt.
Holding back the urge to leap atop the building and rip apart the foolish mortal, Hasslidor growled "Do you not see the banner I hold you phillisitne? Open this damned gate in the name of your Emperor!"
"Like I am stupid enough to fall for that!" The scared but forcefully firm voice of the gate-guard's leader reached him "You must be here to join the bloody rebels, and there is no way in Oblivion you are getting through on my watch!"
Hassildor was just about to respond but his highly sensitive ears managed to hear something through the loud deluge of rain.
"Oi, Sarge" A voice hissed.
"What?!" The same voice which denied him answered.
"Rebels approachin'." The other one answered "Dozens of the bloody bastards."
"Fuck." The apparent 'Sarge' cursed before addressing Hassildor again "Oi, you lot! Wait there while I contact my superiors, we will see if you are speaking the truth then!"
"He seeks to lie to me so openly?" Hassildor muttered more amused than offended, he turned to his companion with a raised eyebrow "Do you think I should just jump up there and get this over with?"
"Hmmm." The Falmer pondered for a moment before shaking his head "No, I do believe my lord has taught me of something quite necessary in situations such as these."
"Oh?" Hassildor leaned in "And what is that?"
The Falmer clapped his hands, removing the invisibility spell from a massive metal form behind him and revealing what looked to be a much larger Dwemer Centurion with the usual Dagoth twist on it.
Alor smirked at the gaping vampire as the massive construct began lumbering towards the city gates. As the machine rose its hammerhand, the elf finally gave his answer "Presentation!"
The gates shattered, revealing a group of lightly armed and armored rebels stuck in what could barely be called a proper fight with a group of city guards, all of them now deathly silent and still as they stared at the automaton.
