Chapter 86: Bull Crap
"There is something I think you would like to see."
Rictus looked up from his desk where he was writing a letter to Morrigan about getting some new enchantments to see Moira standing there.
"Hold on while I finish this letter real fast."
It didn't take him much longer before he was done. He was writing Morrigan about enchanting his new armor as well as telling her about the supplies he sent. Her and Dante were going to Morthal right now to investigate the vampire rumors. Rictus figured a delivery of silver weapons would only help their venture, and the Restored could easily pump out silver weaponry of all types because of the transmutation spell turning iron into silver. Making sure the letters and orders were in order, he gave them to one of his guards at the door to pass along.
"Sorry for the delay. You have my whole attention now."
He couldn't help smiling at Moira who had patiently waited on him.
"As I was saying, I have something I think you would like to see. Maybe someone would be a better term though."
This immediately caught his attention. Moira didn't normally bring these kinds of things to his attention, so he was quite intrigued.
"Well now I am really curious. What is it?"
"I think it would be better to show you."
Rictus had some free time right now, so he was more than willing to follower along with her for now. He guards fell into formation behind him as they moved through White River Watch. People moved quickly through the hallways as the place buzzed like a beehive. Seeing everyone moving with such purpose filled Rictus with pride. They had come so far so fast.
"Where are we going?"
Moira gave him a conspiratorial look.
"The Changing Room."
Rictus raised an eyebrow in question, but she ignored it as she grabbed his hand and pulled him forward. He was a little surprised they would be going to the Changing Room since he knew there were not any appointments scheduled.
The Changing Room was the location where some of the more physically altering spells took place. Moira had brought several loyal and powerful hagravens there so he could alter their appearances to be less repugnant. This greatly increased their loyalty to Moira, and him by extension. 'Although there was one hagraven that she did get me to make even uglier. I think her name was Esmerelda or something like that. Why Moira insisted I make that one's feathers less dark was also a little weird.'
It wasn't only hagravens who had gotten altered here though. Some of the more loyal and open minded Restored had gotten physical enhancements, beyond the normal, here. Things like enhanced smelling, hearing, and vision were pretty standard, but there were more intricate ones. Claws like that of a sabre cat, troll like regeneration, a couple had even gotten him to give them an argonian's ability to breath under water and webbed fingers, which was much simpler than he had first thought.
He wasn't sure what he was expecting, but the 8 foot tall minotaur was not it. He was a very physically impressive specimen with bulging muscles, grey-brown fur, huge pointed horns, shiny metal bands across his body, and a leather loin cloth. It took a moment before Rictus even noticed the other two minotaurs standing behind the big one. One was only slightly smaller and could have been his offspring. The other minotaur was more slightly built compared to them and had reddish fur with painted patterns swirling across it, but Rictus could tell he was much more magically powerful.
"Umm Moira. Why are there minotaurs here?"
She shrugged her shoulders at the question.
"I remembered you mentioning minotaurs one night and how you thought they were interesting. So I reached out to some of the tribes I know to see if there was any interest. Domihar here was very interested in meeting you."
Rictus faintly remembered doing something like that. He had found it interesting as they had appeared in other Elder Scrolls games, but not Skyrim. They had always been a formidable enemy and were just kind of cool in his opinion. Why they were not included always baffled him. There were a fair number of monsters which didn't reappear from earlier titles in the series though. Domihar stepped forward and addressed him in a deep rumbling bass.
"Many rumors about you. Move outside?"
Rictus wasn't bothered by the halting speech. The room they were in didn't have the highest ceilings so it could be a little uncomfortable for the massive creature. He was very curious as to where this was going so, he led them to the hidden glade where he kept the mutated goats and other animals. Once they reached an open area, Domihar moved away from him while the other two and Moira moved to the side. Rictus had a sinking feeling what this was about. What little he remembered reading indicated that a minotaur tribe's leadership was based off strength. Watching Domihar roar while raising his hands into the air removed any doubt in his mind what was about to happen.
The ground started shaking as Rictus could feel Domihar try controlling the earth around him. Not really in the mood to play games, Rictus unleashed his full magical might as he commanded the stone around him. Domihar's eyes widened in fear and surprise as giant stone spikes sprung up all around him with one stopping an inch from his face. Rictus was starting to understand why so many people in stories just killed people instead of sparing them. It got tedious after a while. He took this moment to look over the trapped minotaur before glancing at the smaller red one.
"Is this enough of a demonstration of strength, or will a more permanent demonstration be in order?"
The red minotaur inclined his head.
"My apologies, but some traditions run deep in my people. Strength, magical or mundane, is very important to us. Thank you for not killing Domihar. He is a most able guard. My name is Domiarza, leader of the Dreadhorn tribe. It is a please to meet you."
Rictus raised his eyebrows in surprise at how articulate Domiarza was in comparison to Domihar. Even Moira seemed a little surprised at the turn of events. Seemed she didn't know that one wasn't the true leader. He waved his hands and returned the ground around Domihar back to normal.
"Well now that nonsense is out of the way, why are you here?"
Domiarza could pick up the annoyance in Rictus's tone, so he spoke quickly.
"Everyone think we are little more than mindless beasts, but that was not always the case. Many ages ago, we were a proud and powerful people. The first empire would not have been what it was without us. I want to see my people returned to such."
Rictus gave him a skeptical look at his impassioned speech. One of the goats enhanced by dragon bones and horns came over to investigate what was going on, and Rictus began petting the horse sized goat whose dragon like tail began wagging as he boredly replied.
"That's nice, but what does that have to do with me?"
The minotaur looked a little thrown off guard at his actions and the monstrous goat like creature. It took a moment before Domiarza responded.
"I have heard and seen how you were able to alter the hagravens. I wanted to know if such a thing would be possible with my people. We have lost much and as embarrassing as it is, the rumors of minotaurs being mindless beasts isn't totally unfounded. We are not stupid, but many lack the same aptitude I possess. Whether that is because they lack the same unbroken line as I do or something else, I do not know."
A stone chair rose from the ground for Rictus to sit down in as he thought about the request. It was definitely interesting. He hadn't really done much of anything directly influencing the brain of another creature. The brain was a highly important and temperamental organ. Making changes could be highly erratic and unpredictable. Still, it was tempting. Rictus couldn't help thinking about how this could be a great opportunity. He still wanted to try uplifting some falmer back into snow elves. This could be a good starting test.
"Hmm. There is no guarantee I could do what you want. Altering a hagraven's appearance is not nearly as complicated as what you are asking. What would I get out of this deal?"
Domiarza took a knee before him while adopting a solemn tone. The other minotaurs quickly dropping to a knee as well.
"The might and loyalty of the Dreadhorn tribe would be yours. If you promise to return my people how they were before, we will devote ourselves to your cause. We will be devoted defenders and fiercely loyal, no matter the command. Whatever you ask of us, we will do everything in our power to fulfill your command. When you succeed, we can quickly grow our tribe and incorporate the others under you as well."
Rictus looked at the pleading minotaurs, who even taking a knee were taller than many humans. 'Having some followers as physically imposing as them is very tempting. Few creatures are as strong as a minotaur. If I explain the risks and they still wish for it, who am I to deny them? The things I could learn from this also have lots of potential. Getting another group of devout followers would just be a nice bonus.'
Moira smirked a little at the far off look in Rictus's eyes. She already knew his answer. This wasn't exactly how she thought this would go, but as usual, her Darling exceeded all expectations. There was no doubt in her mind he would succeed in this just like he had in everything else. When he did succeed, it would not only be the Dreadhorn tribe, but minotaurs from all across the land would flock to him. The magical might of the hagravens, and the physical power of the minotuars, all owed to one person. Moira shivered in anticipation at how high her Darling would soar.
Rictus didn't notice how distracted Moira was as he responded to Domiarza.
"I accept your offer. While I cannot guarantee anything, I will do what I can for you and your people."
As he looked up at Rictus, Domiarza knew he made the right decision as hope filled him.
"When can we start?"
------
Looking at the quivering body being taken for disposal made Rictus let out a sigh. Messing with the brain of a creature was just as perilous as he had feared. Thankfully, Domiarza had been able to supply some 'subjects' who had been more than willing to be experimented on. The fact their other choice was death for their actions of killing and other nefarious purposes didn't matter too much to Rictus.
He had been working on the brain of the minotaurs for a couple days now. It provided a welcome break for now, especially since there hadn't been anything major needing his direct attention. Once word came back from some of his people looking out for new attacks or something he could act on, he would. Until then he had time for some magical experiments.
"Well, I almost had it with that one. We just need to make sure our next volunteer is bathed before I start with the procedure. That should keep my allergies under control. I hate sneezing."
Rictus still wasn't entirely sure this was the best approach, but it had been fascinating all the same. He had started with a magical scan of Domiarza's brain and tried replicating the overall structure. Not really a scientific process in the terms of his knowledge of neurology and evolution since things weren't ever that simple, but this was a magic world so it could happen. Besides, this was still preliminary testing, so mistakes were bound to happen. Their long-term plan was just raising the young minotour calves differently, but that would take years for results. Since they had devolved over time, it stood to reason they could reach that high point again with time. Additionally, the experiments had improved Rictus's fine magical control which was always a good thing.
Working on the minotaurs had also gotten him thinking about some of the other monstrous races across the land. He had already interacted with giants a few times and found them much different than people thought. Many thought they were stupid, but not him. Their thoughts may move a bit slower, and they didn't speak much, but that didn't make them dumb. Just because a giant didn't talk to an adventurer, who had brazenly walked into his camp, stolen items, ate handmade mammoth cheese, and then attacked said mammoth, before they rocketed them into space didn't mean the giant was a monster. Most people would react the same way as it did.
In fact, many of the so called 'monster' races were not entirely as monstrous as many believed. They even possessed some level of intelligence as evidence by them creating homes or basic weapons and armor. Rictus wasn't fooling himself into thinking they were all misunderstood though. Some liked nothing better than to kill or eat people, like the falmer. Still, it brought up some interesting possibilities.
Could the Restored potentially interact with some of these species more and maybe even recruit some of them? Maybe he should investigate this some more. Giants, ogres, goblins, spriggans, riekling, and many more. There were lots of different ones with lots of different potential. 'Should the Restored start a cultural exchange program? What would that even look like? Are their satyrs here as well? We already have goats so that would be a fun group to recruit. I don't know why, but simply thinking of a human goat hybrid makes my shoulders relax. Weird.'
Any further ruminations and testing were disrupted by Ken rushing towards him. Once he got close, he simply held a totem which was glowing red.
"Reysera is in trouble."
Rictus immediately gave him his full attention. These totems were given out to members as a way to signify if they were in danger. Red was not good at all.
"What's going on?"
Ken pulled out a small note and handed it to Rictus. He could recognize Reysera's concise writing.
'Found the Vale. It's incredible, but dangerous. Falmer. Need support.'
Quickly reading it over, Rictus was filled with frustration at his own inability to do anything. He knew Reysera's general location, but that was it. Flying off right now would not solve anything since by the time he got there, they could already be dead. He wasn't sure why Reysera hadn't immediately created the teleport glyph once they found the Forgotten Vale. That would have allowed the Restored to send reinforcements via the unlinked glyph here at their base. Maybe she had been too caught up in what they were doing so that was why she hadn't done it yet?
"Prepare a relief group. Until she completes the link on her side, all we can do now is hope they stay safe."
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[AN]: Sorry for the delayed update, but here it is. Like a lot of things with this story, I hadn't planned on this being a chapter at all. I loved the minotaurs from Oblivion and kind of wanted them to make an appearance. I didn't think I would write about them, but it ended up happening any ways.
Next chapter should have some of Reysera's POV and things happening in the Forgotten vale. I hope everyone had a great holiday season and are having a happy new year so far!
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Pepey_LePew
Pepey_LePew Thanks so much for taking the time to read my story, and this note. I don't know why you would waste your time on it, but thanks regardless. If you have any ideas or improvemtns for the story, please let me know. I love reading comments and use some of the more interesting ones.
For those looking for some fun trivia, I got one. The Georgia Aquarum is one of the largest aquariums with more than 10 million gallons of water. It is a fun place to visit, and I am not saying that because I just did that yesterday...
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