Chapitre 340: Unexpected Help
An extra was supposed to be published last week for 5000K votes. Well, here it is.
Also, a Sponsered Character returns today!
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"All that time, you were a Thane?" Svidi asked.
"Jon foresaw some trouble happening in his absence and talked with Jarl Korir to give me the title. Mama has to watch the house when Baba is out."
"Hahaha, I see. So, Lady Boss, what is the plan?" Elishka questioned.
Alina took a deep breath before answering that and looked at the people in front of her, there were all the key figures of Winterhold.
"Before we start, we have some matters to address. Just a while ago, we took the people of the Imperial Guild of Commerce to the Jarl's Keep and signed all the necessary papers. The Legal Office in our Company has gone through the agreements and we are good to go. Still, the situation with the Imperials this time was worse than predicted. They tried to push Erikur on us so that Winterhold fall into their hands and they manipulate the affairs with the Company. It was one dirty move indeed even though they were bound to fail, our company is deeply rooted in the Hold and our inner system that Jon came up with ensures that no one can ever hinder us except whipping us all out. Therefore, we need to respond to this move the Empire took. Being the Behemoth they are, I don't have a clue how to get back at them. Wulfur, how do you think Jon would respond in our situation?"
Alina directed a very important question to Wulfur of all people. He is the only one who can understand Jon and they completely trust each other.
"... Jon appears to be rational and likes to play fair but that's only a facade. Jon is obsessed with being in control and gives the opponent the illusion of having a chance of winning before completely shredding them to pieces and doing a wired dancing over their corpses." Wulfur said so with a remorseful smile.
"He gave the Empire many chances to get on his good side but they always tried to bite his ass. I asked him once about the reason why he doesn't have a bad feeling regarding the Empire and avoiding Ulfric. He said 'the influential Nords who sided with the Empire are somehow good people; we have Jarl Balgruuf, Jarl Idgrod, King Torygg while some are just some arrogant fucks. On the other hands, the ones who sided with Ulfric are either incompetent Jarls like Laila Lawgiver or Fanatics like Skald the Elder. The difference between the two sides is that The Nords who sided with the Empire think of the big picture even though the Empire itself is rotten to the Core while the ones on the side of Jarl Ulfric are mostly rotten themselves'. I say we can't make such a big decision without Jon but if you want to harass the Imperials, you can just give them the cold face."
"How so?"
"Make trouble with them and lessen the supplies we send to their fort. If they sent anyone for explanting, lock them in the Black Room. If they caused trouble, kick them out of the fort."
Alina nodded.
"You are right, making their life harder is a good start. Sev, that Captain whose arm was cut by Wulfur, news on him?" Alina asked Sev.
"Yes, My Lady. He was taken by a Legion Priest to get his arm
reattached."
"Then deliver this order to not let any Legionnaire into town even for medicine."
"Yes."
"Trudvar, our newest inmate in the Black Room, that slime Erikur, I don't want him out even if the Aetherius and Nirn collapsed on each other. And assign him that Redguard torturer that Jon talked about."
"It already happened, my lady. The torturer requested some special items for the torture and we are gathering the inventory for him."
"Special items? Like knives, razors and poisons?" Alina asked.
"No, it was some flowers, butterflies, a drawing of a Bosmer girl and a narwhal tusk." Trudvar said.
"... Huh?"
"My reaction exactly. Still, Boss would always give the Redguard whatever he asks for. The guy is effective and clean, still, no one understands what he does. Some say that those who he tortures lose the bright of their eyes and remain silent forever." Trudvar explained.
"..." Alina was still having a hard time understanding how can torture happen with such strange tools.
"I am not sure what to expect from the first three items but I don't want to know what will happen with the Narwhal tusk... if you catch my drift." Ongeim shuddered in cold sweat.
"Fine, fine. With that out of the way, we can finally start our business." Alina clapped her hands and changed the subject. "First off, I need to tell you how my eyes are back to normal, it is all related to Jon…"
Alina started telling an edited story about how she met a spiritual being that helped her recover and told her of Jon's status. She was also given the means to find him.
"This is fantastic news. My Lady, whatever it is, we will do it." Ongeim spoke.
"Thank you, Captain. We need to gather our best and head out to the Reach. I am sure Jon will make his own ruckus and we will find him right away." Alina said.
"Didn't the elders say we should stay put?" The gloomy Wulfur asked.
Alina glared at him.
"Screw that. They don't even have the guts to order Jon around and they want to order me? No, I am done being everyone's favorite girl and I am doing what I have to do for Jon and for Winterhold."
[A/n: in case you're not getting the image in my mind for Alina, she talks like Anna Henrietta from Witcher3, so fuckin class]
Wulfur nodded and didn't say anything.
"Now, let's focus on the problems we at hand, as Jon's representative I can mobilize 200 men under his name and as Thane myself, I can mobilize 200. This is 400 in total. I don't want to leave Winterhold unguarded so I want to have the best combination of soldiers, any suggestions?"
"My Lady, according to what we know, the Reach is a rocky area with many twisted roads and hidden caves. Horses won't serve us much so we can't take our cavalry. We certainly need our heavy troops and light troops so I suggest a combination of both." Trudvar said.
"I see. What are the numbers we have?" Alina asked.
"... My lady, only the Boss knew and he kept making many camps in different places so no one can know the exact number of our forces. What we can tell is that we have already surpassed the limit of 1000 man in our Mercenary Corps and if anyone found out the real number of our troops, the company is going to be in trouble." Elishka said.
"Wait, we have more than a 1000?"
"Yes, the Boss kept them in many places and under different Jobs than Mercenaries like guardsmen, local militia and caravan guards. He said that only the commanders know how many they control and there is only one person other than him knew the total number the company can mobilize." Trudvar said.
Alina could think of only one person. She looked straight to Wulfur.
Wulfur nodded and took out a file and passed it to Alina.
She looked at what's inside and barely kept a poker face.
'Hey, was Jon trying to participate in some war?' she thought.
In front of her, the file contained details about the different teams of the [Dare Corps] and their commanders. In total, Alina was introduced to the real power of the company. To summarize it, it was an Army and a Navy.
The [Dare Fleet] consists of 1 Dragon Ship which is the Flag Ship 'Queen Potema's Revenge'; 8 Cruiser Ships which are 'Roaring Flame', 'Thunder Wrath', 'Iron Maiden', 'Winter Grace', 'Bloody Witch', 'Sea Ghost', 'Knife Head' and 'Hasty Bee'; 25 Gun Boats named by numbers; and all that was powered by a total 800 sailors known as the 'Dare Marines'.
She looked at Ongeim who controlled all that number and he smiled shyly. That man was not only a good friend of Jon but also can control all that large number on his own. Still, the wonders didn't end here.
The [Dare Corps] was much more diverse. It had the infantry known as [Team 1] armed with spears, swords and shields and called the 'Dare Troopers', their number was 2000 under the command of Wulfur, the mages, known as [Team 2], are armed with Fireball, Lightning Strike and Frost Orb spells and called the 'Dare Cannoneers', their numbers was 200 under her lead; the shooters of [Team 3] armed with lever-action crossbows called 'Dare Arbalists', their number was 1000 under the lead of Housecarl Trudvar; [Team 4] was consisted of the cavalry known as 'Dare Dragoons' whose number was 800 under Jon's personal lead; and finally [Team 0] under Jullanar's lead and their information were classified.
The total was around 5000 unit.
'Just how in Oblivion do we keep all that fed?' Alina was facing her first test as a leader of how to stay composed in front of this ridiculas power.
Of course, none of that was as large as Imperial Legion or the Stormcloak Alliance but the quality of the troops was always something Jon made sure of. If the information on the file was true them many of these troops have already learned the Batte-Spirit arts and studied martial arts.
Jon was not the one who would shy out in terms of teaching. Of course, he would keep the super powerful spells and techniques to himself but he would be generous and distributed a variety of Battle-Spirit training manuals of the different Bootcamps. He even made many logistic and support teams as well as battle simulations and how to mix the teams together. In battle, the teams wouldn't go fight on their own but would mix themselves as one greater army because it is impossible to fight with one kind of soldiers.
In the end, even if a hundred Erikur tried to take over the company, the troops can simply put Winterhold a whole on the lockdown and completely take over Winterhold.
Was the Empire trying to take over Winterhold because they know about the company's power or did they try to take over because they didn't know? The answer makes two completely different situations.
By the looks of it, Jon kept Winterhold free of spies by inviting all the spy organizations that can fill the blanks and managing them himself. So the chance of the Empire knowing anything about that was low. Still, the power didn't exist to be hidden, one day that power will have to come out to the light and new rules will be put.
Alina sighed and put down the files.
"Thanks, Wulfur." She said, "Now that we have more than what we need. We should think of how to mobilize at least 400 soldiers to the Reach. As I said before, Jon's badge and mine afford that number so I am taking the liberty assembling a force consisted of 50 Cannoneer, 100 Arbalist and 250 Troopers, [Team 0] will scout and do its usual work as we expect it to do and the supply line will be secured from our outpost in Whiterun. Jon Battle-Born will see to it."
"It is all good and fine, my lady. But we either have to move by land or by sea. By sea will take a long time and we have to land in Solitude to reach the Karth River. Landing in Solitude will make us go through a thousand inspections by the Imperial Legion and an unauthorized landing will make the Empire look for trouble with us right away. We can move by land and the best way is to go through the Pale, the only problem is that Jarl Skald of Dawnstar won't let us pass and we may need to move by force costing us people and time. It is your choice, my lady." Trudvar said.
"It is as you said, housecarl Trudvar. I am…"
"I will handle that." Wulfur spoke out.
"Elaborate." Alina asked.
"Ongeim and I will handle Jarl Skald, you will pass without a problem through the Pale." Wulfur said.
"Fine, will discuss your plan together." Alina agreed once she saw the determined look on Wulfur's face.
"With that, I think everyone knows what to do, your files all contain your duties. Please, be…"
"Excuse me, my Lady!" Sev, the secretary, came from outside and interrupted Alina.
"What is it?"
"A man came from Morrowind, he said he is friends with Boss Jon and he heard of his capture. He said he can help."
"What is his name?"
"Lanmas Sadar."
[A/n: Lanmas Sadar is a sponsored character by Matthew Landin.]
Lanmas Sadar, of course Alina remembered the name. He is a Nord of Clan Sadar of the Rift. He was a person captured by the Blood Horkers and got freed by Jon in last battle against them. He works in Morrowind and promised he would repay Jon one day for saving him.
"Fine, Sev. I will see him."
Alina moved from the conference table to the main large office and sat behind it surrounded by Wulfur and Trudvar. Lanmas Sadar entered the office and greeted Alina right away.
"Crimson Moon of the Great Clan Moonblade, greetings."
"Lanmas of the Ancient Clan Sadar, it is a pleasure. Please sit."
Alina greeted a fellow member of the hidden clan who was on the good side of her clan. Sadar Clan is mostly involved with the Drama and focuses its power on the trade with Morrowind and Black March.
"I will go straight to the subject, Thane Jon saved my life and my clan sent me news of his disappearance in the Reach while I was in Mournhold. My employer agreed to let me come and help, she also gave me an item that can help greatly and said that the Company can use it to mobilize a lot of power." Lanmas said and put a box in front of Alina.
Alina hesitated for a bit but she took the box and opened it. Inside it, there was a large seal that seemed to befit of a Royal Court. That seal carried the Insignia of the Empire and another Insignia of a 'tilted scale'. Alina knew what it meant.
"This is a Royal Seal ordered by Emperor Tiber Septim to be given to the Great House Hlaalu of Morrowind. The Holder of that seal can go through any Imperial Legion inspection without a hitch and can even request aid from the Legion. My Employer said that she will lend it to the Company until Thane Jon is found." Lanmas said.
Alina looked with wide eyes to the seal and then looked at Lanmas. She remembered hearing the name of his employer once but she can't remember it exactly.
"I am sorry, who was your employer again?" Alina asked.
Lanmas smiled and rested his back to his seat.
"She is called 'The Old Woman of Mournhold'."
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Chapitre 341: Hedge Magic
A/n: HUN KAAL ZOOR (Call of Valor), @g0lb0r has been summoned from Sovngarde.
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"Gods! That crazy man returned!"
"Look at him, all blood and guts! He did it again, didn't he? That crazy man."
"He's insane. Don't look to him in the eye."
"Why allowing such a man in town? He clearly enjoys killing, what if he goes berserk on the people?"
"Shut up, woman. This man was hurt by the Hagravens and has a grudge on them. They say he attacks Hag Covens and kill those Briarheart Warriors they make. He is making the Reach a safer place."
"Are you seriously thinking that way?"
"Well, after the trouble those nasty Forsworn started three months ago, all the traders are fearful to come to Markarth and the prices went up. At least he is teaching the Forsworn their place."
The uproar of the people of Markarth was clearly about the man known as the 'Witch Hunter. A large man carrying a Hammer who goes out every morning to hunt down the Forsworn camps around Markarth.
This was obviously Jon.
It has been a week since his head concussion was fully healed and he became able to speak and Shout again. He still doesn't overdo it that much. Anyway, since that day, Jon quit from the Smelter and took Wulfur's hammer, the [Champion's Cudgel], which he retook from the corpse of Grosh, and started hunting down the small Forsworn camps around the Reach. There is an Ear Bounty for every Forsworn killed and many Head Bounties for known Forsworn leaders and Hagravens.
[A/n: Ear Bounty is when a Bounty Hunter kills a nameless bandit and returns with their ears as proof. Head Bounty is when a Bounty Hunter brings back the head of a known Wanted.]
Jon was infamous for his daily Bounty Hunting that seemed to be scaring even the Nords. He always returns covered in blood and carrying a head or two with him while appearing to be really injured by many arrows sticking on him and a lot of burn marks covering his arms.
The truth wasn't completely far from that. Jon's aim was to gather as many materials as he can get to use magic once again. He had a few ideas on how to remove the vine around his torso but the damn thing proved to be a true leech. It fed on Jon's blood and evolved into something absurd and became bound by soul with Jon, still, Jon didn't have the power to command it around only because he was already sealed by the vine.
It was very annoying. Jon almost tried everything the past weak to exert enough power to control the vine from the Thu'um to the Hedge Magic put all proved futile because Jon's core power is locked down and it was the key out of this problem.
In the end, these annoying vines are just a part of Jon exactly like [Greed] yet they don't follow Jon's will because he still hasn't established authority over it. It is was a nasty thing to deal with.
Jon advanced through the town and mixed among the crowd until he reached Understone Keep, Markarth's center of power. He showed the bounty paper to the Guards and someone came for him.
"Krilon! Good job today." Faleen, the Jarl's housecarl, came personally to greet the Court's favorite mercenary.
"Here are the things." Jon handed over the ears and the head he has.
"Let's see. Man! That sure is a lot. Good job! Here is the bounty, don't spend it all in one place."
"Thanks."
Jon said and turned away. He was keeping his face and identity hidden to not attract enemies. Krilon is his Dragon Priest mask name and he kept his face under a hood. Faleen surely has seen him in the Blue Palace as she was accompanying Jarl Igmund of Markarth.
Anyway, after he got the payment, he headed straight to the Silver-Blood Inn. Inside his room, there were many things that can make Nords go insane.
Jon may have lost the ability to cast Magic or release Energy but that is not what is magic all about. Magic has other forms like Enchanting, Alchemy, Shouting, Meditating, Sword Singing, Chanting and many other forms. Jon may be an expert when it comes to Casting, Shouting and Enchanting but he is also knowledgeable when it comes to finding absurd ways to make magic. Right now, Jon was practicing the [Hedge Magic].
He was focusing on the [Sacrificial Magic] as of late and tried to accumulate power to himself by killing enemies. He made a soul trapping weapon and started practicing on the Forsworn he was hunting. The results were rather disappointing.
Sacrificing requires a connection with a Higher Being that the Ritual of Sacrifice is dedicated to by exchanging the sacrificed souls that the Daedra desire with Power and Energy. Jon had no pact with any Higher Being that accepts sacrifices. He knows some Daedra on a personal level but still, Azura made it very clear that she doesn't accept mortal sacrifices, Sheogorath is not the one to do such a boring thing, Vaermina seeks suffering so mortal are preferred alive in her book and Hircine is the God Patron of the Forsworn. Not too many options here for sacrifice.
Other than Sacrifice, Jon discovered a new aptitude growing in him once he broke through the 'Ebon Blood Stage'. This aptitude was none other than the [Blood Magic].
What is [Blood Magic]?
It is unstudied magic that gets classified under the Hedge Magic. The only reason why it is not studied is that it requires talent, in Jon's case, he developed his Blood by breaking through the 'Ebon Blood stage' and awakening that talent. Jenna Firemane, Jon's Grandmother, is a known user of the Blood Magic as well as some vampires. With a wide variety of uses, the Archetypes of the Blood Magic can be summarized as 'Human Body Manipulation', 'Vitality Manipulation', 'Mind Manipulation', 'Marking', 'Curses' and sometimes 'Enchanting'.
Jon could only think of how stupid he was to leave his limbs behind in the Briarheart Grove where he cut them, using the blood magic on them can lead the Forsworn to him or worse, put a curse on him. Luckily, he killed all the Hagravens in Alaric's camp.
There was one more type of Hedge Magic that Jon used rather well. He didn't know a proper name to it but he called it [Fate Magic].
Such as the name, it was an extremely Dangerous and a very obscure Magic. Jon used it to escape the Forsworn when he burned the Heads of the Hagravens and three 'Wraiths of Crows' appeared. This was not something he fully intended to, he didn't know such a creature would appear from the start but he used the Heads of the Hagravens a medium of power to call forth a guardian entity from Oblivion. Due to the similarities between Hagravens and the Wraiths of Crows combined with the 'Will' of Jon all offered to a Fire powered by a Soul Gem he found at the Hagravens' nest, the [Fate Magic] worked out. Jon can say that [Fate Magic] is rather an ironic and a naughty one that can never be fully harnessed or completely understood. It depends on the way of performing a certain ritual combined with the Will of the Caster and a power source. Its downside is the complete randomity of the results and the chance of backfiring splendidly.
The last type of Hedge Magic Jon researched was the [Chanting Magic] or the [Singing Rituals]. Although not as dangerous as the [Fate Magic], the [Changing Magic] needs years upon years of understanding. How so? Well, to use the Magic is to sing and to sing one needs a listener. The listener, in that case, is not the Higher Beings like the Original Spirits but on the contrary, it is the Normal and the Lesser Spirits.
Known as Faeries or Fey, Spirits are beings that reached a certain maturity regarding the Magical aptitude enough to cause mutation in their Souls evolving them to a different being. For example, a lesser soul being like a tree or an animal went through some fortuitous encounter and gained more power than it should, there is a chance that this power causes an evolution by affecting the Soul and upgrading it causing the creature to gain consciousness and a higher awareness of its own. That awareness is translated in more complicated thoughts that need to be addressed by a language and it is known as the Faerie Language which can be different from a Faerie to another in many cases.
The [Chanting Magic] is used to contact the Faeries by speaking words they understand and ask them to aid the chanter. Jon saw that Chanting Magic twice. Once by Alina when they were healing Jullanar's eye and Alina contacted the Spirits of the Eldergleam Sanctuary to give them enough power that can heal Jullanar, the second time was with the Hagravens who kept singing to the Evil Fey in order to do divination of some sort. Jon clearly observed the way the sang or rather screeched with their nasty voices to call forth some sort of energy.
In that late night, Jon summarized all the sorts of the Hedge Magic he discovered and put theories to. As an Arcane Theorist, his work was rather scientific and put the Hedge Magic in a form that the world hasn't seen before. In such a predicament, Jon discovered a new Magic for himself to toy with.
The [Hedge Magic] contains [Sacrificial Magic], [Blood Magic], [Fate Magic] and [Chanting Magic].
The [Sacrificial Magic] needs a connection with a Higher Power that desires sacrifices and willing to exchange it with power.
The [Blood Magic] needs the ability to Cast or Enchant, not useful in battle.
The [Fate Magic] is too risky and to perform one spell, one needs a ton of preparations beforehand.
The [Chanting Magic] needs a bond with a spirit as well as understanding its language.
Jon closed the note in front of him with a grim face.
He may have put an advanced theory than tops anything in the world regarding the Hedge Magic based on nothing but observation but he lacked every requirement to use that Magic effectively.
"Dammit!"
He was clearly not pleased of his lacking of power… or so he thought.
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Took me quite a while to come up with the Hedge Magic archetypes and uses. What do you think Jon will do with such magic? And what Archetypes you think can fit with the Hedge Magic?
Your comments help the novel.
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