“Treacherous,” she observed plainly. “Our defenses will hold, nonetheless. I will have to confer with the front, however. In the meantime, please escort our guest to the dungeon. Make him comfortable, then gag him,” she ordered. “Make certain he can’t speak, or it’s your life.”
After that, Audric faded out, resenting himself, hating Elenwen, and wishing he hadn't hesitated with Ulfric the night before.
A guard leaned against the makeshift battlement, bored. She had been left to keep watch while a small contingent cleaned up the last of the Elven rabble. She stiffened and whirled around though at the sound of hooves. A figure was approaching rapidly. As he gained distance, his silhouette became ungainly, too big to be one man, riding lopsidedly.
Then, she recognized the Thalmor garb, and raised her weapon. They continued to beeline for the camp.
“Stand down!” one rider cried, frantic. He ripped his hood down and revealed a human face. She wavered, but kept her sword raised. Still, she failed to cut him down when he tore into the camp, almost tumbling off the horse.
“My name’s Name’s Etienne Rarnis!” he panted. “I’m with the splinter group, here with Master Audric Bellamy —” he tried to explain as he hauled his cargo — the other rider, limp — from the saddle.
She shook her head. “He hasn’t returned yet. It’s been days, I’m sorry to say. But why…” she gestured at the Thalmor robes.
Etienne managed to prop himself under his burden like a crutch. “This is him.” Gently, he removed Audric’s hood to expose his face, caked in dried blood. “It barely seems it,” he said, holding back tears, “but it is, I swear. Please, he needs help...he’s barely breathing.”
“Alright,” she offered her arms. “Don’t go into hysterics, we’ll take care of him.”
Her face softened as she carried the Breton in her arms. The Dragonborn in her arms. What a strange day. “Like I said, we’ll take him to our healer. And if she can’t mend him, there are any number of talented hands in this country.”
“I don’t think we have the time for that,” he protested.
Ulfric was in the midst of a circular argument with Tullius when they were both interrupted by Etienne. He barely announced himself before lunging into a piecemeal explanation. “He’s...he isn’t well...what an understatement…”
“Start over, son,” Tullius said. “Breathe a moment.”
Ulfric’s brow furrowed as he listened, and his mouth went dry. His worst fears confirmed, he didn’t stick around to hear the rest of Etienne's story. He found his way to the healer’s tent, but tarried outside, nausea budding in his gut as he envisioned all the conditions he might find Audric in. Steeling himself, he entered, and somehow it was worse than he’d anticipated.
Audric was laid out on a cot, stripped, all his wounds uncovered, burns and scars in crosshatch. His face was wrong: his eyes were closed, as if in tranquil sleep, and no pain pulled at his mouth. His red hair fanned around his face and shoulders, revealing angry welts and monstrous bruises along his neck, his chest, and abdomen. An especially aggravated wound framed his jaw, where some despicable contraption had kept it shut.
Rage and anguish rose in Ulfric with bile, and he took to his knees at Audric’s side. He dared not touch him, but his fingers ghosted near the gouges in Audric’s wrists. He wished only to sew this boy up, to breathe life into him again, to erase the travesty and make all the pain go away.
When he was kindly asked to leave, he acquiesced without ado, but before leaving, he removed his necklace. This prized possession, this family heirloom, this tainted treasure that he had missed for so many months...it was worth returning it to the thief who took it in the first place, if it meant the charm placed upon it might help at all.
Ulfric almost regretted it later, when in the night, Audric came to with blood-curdling screams. Weeping, he considered that death might have been more merciful.
It has been five months since I updated this and I sincerely apologize. I hope this installation makes up for that, and I hope I can continue to make up for it by updating more regularly.
"Divide and Conquer" Ulfric Stormcloak/M!DB, 16e/???
“Treacherous,” she observed plainly. “Our defenses will hold, nonetheless. I will have to confer with the front, however. In the meantime, please escort our guest to the dungeon. Make him comfortable, then gag him,” she ordered. “Make certain he can’t speak, or it’s your life.”
After that, Audric faded out, resenting himself, hating Elenwen, and wishing he hadn't hesitated with Ulfric the night before.
A guard leaned against the makeshift battlement, bored. She had been left to keep watch while a small contingent cleaned up the last of the Elven rabble. She stiffened and whirled around though at the sound of hooves. A figure was approaching rapidly. As he gained distance, his silhouette became ungainly, too big to be one man, riding lopsidedly.
Then, she recognized the Thalmor garb, and raised her weapon. They continued to beeline for the camp.
“Stand down!” one rider cried, frantic. He ripped his hood down and revealed a human face. She wavered, but kept her sword raised. Still, she failed to cut him down when he tore into the camp, almost tumbling off the horse.
“My name’s Name’s Etienne Rarnis!” he panted. “I’m with the splinter group, here with Master Audric Bellamy —” he tried to explain as he hauled his cargo — the other rider, limp — from the saddle.
She shook her head. “He hasn’t returned yet. It’s been days, I’m sorry to say. But why…” she gestured at the Thalmor robes.
Etienne managed to prop himself under his burden like a crutch. “This is him.” Gently, he removed Audric’s hood to expose his face, caked in dried blood. “It barely seems it,” he said, holding back tears, “but it is, I swear. Please, he needs help...he’s barely breathing.”
“Alright,” she offered her arms. “Don’t go into hysterics, we’ll take care of him.”
“You don’t understand!” Etienne cried. “He...he was…”
Her face softened as she carried the Breton in her arms. The Dragonborn in her arms. What a strange day. “Like I said, we’ll take him to our healer. And if she can’t mend him, there are any number of talented hands in this country.”
“I don’t think we have the time for that,” he protested.
Ulfric was in the midst of a circular argument with Tullius when they were both interrupted by Etienne. He barely announced himself before lunging into a piecemeal explanation. “He’s...he isn’t well...what an understatement…”
“Start over, son,” Tullius said. “Breathe a moment.”
Ulfric’s brow furrowed as he listened, and his mouth went dry. His worst fears confirmed, he didn’t stick around to hear the rest of Etienne's story. He found his way to the healer’s tent, but tarried outside, nausea budding in his gut as he envisioned all the conditions he might find Audric in. Steeling himself, he entered, and somehow it was worse than he’d anticipated.
Audric was laid out on a cot, stripped, all his wounds uncovered, burns and scars in crosshatch. His face was wrong: his eyes were closed, as if in tranquil sleep, and no pain pulled at his mouth. His red hair fanned around his face and shoulders, revealing angry welts and monstrous bruises along his neck, his chest, and abdomen. An especially aggravated wound framed his jaw, where some despicable contraption had kept it shut.
Rage and anguish rose in Ulfric with bile, and he took to his knees at Audric’s side. He dared not touch him, but his fingers ghosted near the gouges in Audric’s wrists. He wished only to sew this boy up, to breathe life into him again, to erase the travesty and make all the pain go away.
When he was kindly asked to leave, he acquiesced without ado, but before leaving, he removed his necklace. This prized possession, this family heirloom, this tainted treasure that he had missed for so many months...it was worth returning it to the thief who took it in the first place, if it meant the charm placed upon it might help at all.
Ulfric almost regretted it later, when in the night, Audric came to with blood-curdling screams. Weeping, he considered that death might have been more merciful.
It has been five months since I updated this and I sincerely apologize. I hope this installation makes up for that, and I hope I can continue to make up for it by updating more regularly.