Chương 627: The Bloody Wedding (3)
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It wasn't really something for Jon if Maven Black-Briar rallied up a legion of thugs and came at him screaming for war. The appearance of an Arch-Wizard, however, was worrying to an extent.
If you are an Arch-Wizard, you are not an Arch-Wizard for nothing. You usually have enough tricks and ideas that would make you a fearsome opponent and a destructive force. That's why Jon managed to hide for a long time under the skirt of Nurina since the very first thing that was known about him is the fact that he is an Apprentice to an Arch-Wizard.
But now that Maven has her own Arch-Wizard, the game is about to get destructive. That Arch-Wizard seemed to know a thing or two about Job and had a good head above his shoulders seeing how fast he retreated in a fight he wasn't prepared for.
"Just who is that Dunmer?" Jon wondered, "There is no information from the Lore I know regarding him."
If the Dunmer was in the game, Jon would immediately recognize him since he has recalled and recorded all the lore he knows but such a character is so unique that it can't be not lore-worthy.
A Dwarven Staff, an Artificial Eye with a dwarven design, and a Prosthetic Arm. And that name Maven called… Mecinar.
He felt dangerous.
"Lord Jon Dare, we are honored to have you in our midst." Yet a voice had to break his chain of thoughts.
"Jarl Elisif, the honor is all mine." Jon had to stand off his chair in order to greet the Jarl of Solitude.
Currently, he was invited to the Court of Solitude on the wedding day a few hours before the ceremony.
"Thanks to your major contributions in the last trade meeting, I hear we averted a serious famine in the Reach." Elisif said as she dragged the chat with Jon.
Jon became silent for a second, looked meaningfully at Elisif the Fair, the beautiful Jarl of Solitude, and nodded.
"Yes, things were rather simple, the problem was regarding the workforce." He said.
"But migrating people from the major cities to establish farming and herding communities especially in this time of war… this is a brave step." She added.
"People tend to mess up their priorities when they are fearful. The food stock was endangered because the armies were marching everywhere, the refugees were targeting the big cities, and the bandits were forming up and scraping what they got to find. By putting a strict rule of repopulating the countryside and enforcing the laws by militias and guards, it may have sounded oppressive at first but the Lords would easily start to notice the difference in their granary stocks. By that, they would spare more soldiers to the security of their farming towns rather than sending them to war and the armies would grow less and less on both sides. This will result in lessening the intensity of battles and maybe in 10 years, we can just put it all back and find ways to adjust."
"Indeed. No one thought this would be possible." Elisif said.
"You just have to beat it into both people and lords in order for no one of them to overstep their roles." Jon explained.
Jon was lately acting as an Advisor to many holds and lords through the Dare Bank of Investment. Many people wanted to get their hands on the easy interest-free loans but Jon used it to enforce his ideologies on the businesses he gives money to and by that, he now gives loans to other Lords then instructs them on how to manage their holdings to maximize the profits and pay him back faster.
This may sound like a charity but Jon's main goal was to invest in these businesses and rather than taking Interests on his loans, he would take Shares in order to share the business's earnings and losses which was a much more ideal and honest system.
The Court of Solitude as well as the Court of Windhelm, the two main players of the civil war, were already big clients in the Dare Bank. Add to it the Court of Whiterun, Winterhold, and Morthal, Jon was already managing the economy of that much Imperial Skyrim land even though his main holdings were on Stormcloak territory.
What was out of Jon's control were the Court of Riften thanks to the influence of the Black-Briar family, the Court of Markarth thanks to the influence of the Silver-Blood family, and the Courts of Falkreath and Dawnstar due to personal grudges between Jon and their Jarls.
"Let's not hold each other on such a fine day then. I believe that we should start celebrating early for my friend Vittoria but it seems we have court duties early in the morning." Jarl Elisif said as she headed towards her seat.
The court quietened down as Elisif started attending to the business of the Hold with her Thanes but Jon was quick to notice how incompetent she was at handling these kinds of affairs and being very fearful of the Imperial Authority of General Tullius. While Falk Firebeard, the Steward, and Thane Bryling, the Main Advisor, would always push Elisif to oppose General Tullius, it was quite obvious how her weak personality would get in the way of achieving important things.
Jon got bored fast and snuck out of the court down the main hall with the excuse of feeling hungry. There, he ran into the Court Wizard of Solitude, Sybille Stentor.
"Jon Dare."
"Sybille Stentor, to what do I owe the pleasure?"
"You are in my court so I am the one who is pleased to meet you, my Lord."
"Thank you, my Lady."
The two mages greeted each other within expected mannerisms.
"Greetings aside, you had to make a big ruckus yesterday." Sybille said.
"Which one?" Jon asked cheekily.
"I see you have more bravado than the last time you shouted in this court."
"Ah, the good old days."
"You have been hunting Familiars all night last night and apparently had to pick a fight with someone very dangerous." Sybille said.
"The Familiars thing aside, what do you know about this man?" Jon asked.
"I am rather surprised you know less than I do. Isn't the affairs of Maven Black-Briar more important to you than us?"
"To be honest, despite how many times I try to investigate those pesky Black-Briars something always gets in the way. I got introduced to that something last night and I am not pleased to make his acquaintance. So… what does Solitude know?"
"He's an Outlaw Arch-Wizard."
"And what laws outlaw him?"
"The Imperial Authority seemed to have crossed roads with a Dunmer called Mecinar a few times but they didn't clash directly. He was once hired by the Forebears of Solitude yet he was chased away by King Abbas."
"I am familiar with the Sultan of Hammerfell. He's an upright man with strong adherence to traditions and laws. If he is against this Mecinar then there is a good reason why." Jon concluded.
"Indeed. Also, from what we know, both House Redoran and an authoritative figure in Mournhold known as the Old Woman has paid huge sums to Morag Tong to issue writs on that man." Sybille said.
"Even the Old Woman? And now he is here in Skyrim!" Jon frowned.
"Yes, he is." Sybille said, "The Magic society in Skyrim is quite narrow so we would be of a little help yet we need you, Lord Jon, to deal with this man personally, if possible."
"Sadly, I have much on my hands." Jon bluntly refused, "If he looks for me to cause trouble, I'll deal with him. Aside from that, I have no spare time to waste on him."
"Understood." Sybille nodded without much reluctance.
The two of them smiled at each other in a shallow way before looking around to divert the subject.
"So that's the infamous Pelagius Wing." Jon pointed towards a certain big sealed door in the palace hall.
"Yes, that is it." She replied.
"Why is it still closed?" Jon asked.
"Excuse me? I think it's common knowledge that it is sealed for a good reason." Sybille said.
"And does that reason still stand?"
"Well… The Pelagius Wing has been a bad omen since the time of Pelagius and Queen Potema so no one goes in there. Even the guards standing on it would always hear faint noises and creepy itches from inside."
"So it has stayed in this state for ages. Dear me!" Jon wondered since when did the situation have to stay like that.
After all, the Pelagius Wing isn't dangerous anymore since Sheogorath and the Ghost of Emperor Pelagius the Mad have both been evicted. Jon personally did that almost 3 years ago.
Maybe the wing was sealed for a number of years while the two mad entities were playing around so the people just didn't notice it was cleared.
"Why don't you and I go on a field trip into the Pelagius Wing?" Jon asked Sybille.
"If that's the way you seduce girls, Lord Jon, then I am badly not interested." Sybille replied.
"Bah! I wouldn't seduce you even if my life depended on it." Jon waved his hand and headed towards the Pelagius Wing alone.
"Lord Jon, I must warn you. I've been detecting Daedric Presence in that wing for years. It won't do us good if we just go in with everyone in close proximity to this place." Sybille caught up to Jon while trying to stop him.
"Really?" Jon looked at her nonchalantly, "I thought the few hundred wards you placed on this place alone would take care of Mehrunes Dagon himself if he showed up."
Sybille stopped her pace and considered Jon's words.
"Now I feel flattered." She said.
"Don't be. The Daedric presence coming from inside just needs to be exorcised." Jon said, "If it was an entity living within, we would certainly feel it once we go in."
"It is mostly incorporeal."
"And why would that stop us, I wonder." Jon said so as he went to the door of the Pelagius Wing and tried to open it.
"Let me just bring you the key. I have a copy…"
*Click*
Yet the door opened in Jon's hands.
"That was?"
"Lockpicks. Nasty little devils, they are." Jon said, waving a small blade and a lockpick around.
"That's a lock made by the best locksmith in all the land." Sybille said pointing towards the door.
"I am pretty sure Wulfur doesn't build locks for you." Jon replied and went in.
Sybille had to follow him inside as she kept her key in her pocket and nervously proceeded.
The inside of the Pelagius wing was vast but dark and dusty. It looked like its version from the game which Jon played in the past despite the rest of the palace looking more like its modded version. Still, the place was quiet and eerie.
Jon evoked two spells on his left and right to call a few Mouse Familiars to run around the place and cast Candlelight wisps towards the dark corners of the place. Soon after, a battle of real rodents and magical ones started to take place and all the rats and skeever infesting the Pelagius Wing were mascaraed by Jon.
"Using magic to get rid of rats that infest an old house. It is like hitting a mosquito with a greatsword." Sybille mocked Jon.
"More like… why wouldn't you do such a thing from the start and leave the place to rot like this?" Jon asked.
"A Wizard's Skill shouldn't be degraded to do something so mundane, Lord Jon." Sybille replied.
"Ah! That mindset." Jon said as the way he looked at Sybille changed.
Altmer had a way of thinking that magic, such as all sacred things, shouldn't be used in things that bring disdain to the caster such as cleaning things with magic. They viewed magic as a holy power that comes from their alleged origin, Aetherius. Thus they view the Arcane as something that should be separated from the Mundane. Of course Sybille is no Altmer but she adopts the same way of thinking.
On the other side of this school of thought, Jon stands on the front that believes in adopting magic in all aspects of the Mundane Life shall bring more advancement and understanding to the world. After all, Winterhold was built on that basis and it is the closest thing Jon could build to a utopia.
He didn't entertain Sybille's thoughts and ignored her until the search was done.
"No Daedra here so far. I think we already flipped the place upside down and all the windows were opened. It looks nice now that it gets some sun." Jon said to Sybille who was hiding in a shadowy corner.
"It was nice when it was dark though." She said in vexation.
"Tell Falk Firebeard that I cleaned the place while we were at it." Jon said and started heading down towards the main hall of the Blue Palace before Jarl Elisif headed out to the wedding.
As Sybille followed him while avoiding every ray of sunshine, the two heard a ruckus coming from the main hall.
"What is going on?" Sybille immediately took the lead and asked the nearest guard to the scene.
A common villager was standing in the middle of five guards as he was simply trying to meet the Jarl and demanding an audience.
"My Lords! How can this be? A man comes and asks to meet their Lord and you push him away? This is unacceptable! How can you do this? The Eight frown upon you!"
"Ysmir's Beard! What's going on down there?" The shouting attracted Falk Firebeard who came from above to see what was going on.
"This man came from Dragonbridge and claimed that he hears howls at night and feels the earth shake." A guard replied.
"And?" Falk asked.
"It is just the storm from a few days ago, Sir." The Guard said.
"No! It is not a storm. That one was no natural storm." The villager said as he struggled among the guards, "And not just the storm, my Lord, it happens every night now."
Jon watched the scene on the internet and said nothing as he deduced something. An unnatural storm, wind howling, earth shaking. If he connects the dots together along with the date, it would be that night he and Serana had a… nevermind!
"Varnius, this is the third time you come and today is not suitable." Falk said to the man addressing him with that name.
Varnius!
The name clicked in Jon's mind. Howls… Earth Shakes… it is not what he thought first.
"Falk!" Jon called.
"Lord Jon." Falk seemed startled by Jon who kept his presence thin till now.
"A man of your Hold is coming to seek help from his Jarl. You truly are going to let him down?"
"But…" Falk spoke with a tired face, "Today is an important day as you know. Also, we investigated this situation before and we suspect it is the Stormcloaks. We also can't spare the men during these critical times." Falk said.
Jon found something that put him in a very excellent mood right away.
"Then I'll offer my help in this matter." Jon stepped in right away and looked at the man with an opportunistic smile, "I am Jon Dare and I am going to solve your problem… inshallah." with thumbs up.
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