46 Bar fight

Rictus had left Ken with some additional orders regarding the assault. The most important was to collect as many filled soul gems as possible. One of the biggest concerns was getting his people to the pirate base as quickly as possible. He was too impatient to wait for them to travel all the way to a port by land. It would take too long and there were too many things which could go wrong during a long march, especially since the civil was gaining intensity each and every day. He had proved soul gems could power his teleport runes, so more would be required for transporting his men.

The entire base was a hive of activity. Ken was not wasting a single moment of prep time. Having so many older veterans was already paying off based on the organized chaos going on. They easily reverted to their old military training making sure things got done right and the green recruits were kept in line.

Where once the Restored were made mostly of the slum dwellers and a few veterans, many more veteran soldiers had joined their ranks. The disabled soldiers had been constantly streaming in following the rapidly spreading rumors of a mage capable of restoring their lost body parts. Rictus had made a point to return to the base every couple of days to work his magic on these people. Basically every single one of them immediately joined the Restored. It wasn't truly intentional, but when Rictus healed them, he had greatly improved their bodies since his mind and intent was influenced by how he thought of his own body. Many of the men who showed up were in their late 40s to 50s, seeing as how the war ended around 25 years ago. Now, they felt more like someone in their early 30s would feel.

It wasn't just the appreciation for Rictus, although that was a large portion, which caused these people to join. Many of them just simply did not feel they fit in with normal society anymore. War changes people. The Restored gave them something familiar and a place they could be around people just like them. Rictus had seen similar things back on Earth. There was a certain kind of bond and comradery shared between combat vets which outsiders simply couldn't understand.

Rictus and Ken complemented each other as the leaders of the Restored. Ken was one of the old guard, and everyone respected his authority and experience. He demanded hard work and excellence in those following him and exemplified those traits himself. Rictus was their leader and savior. He pulled them out of their old lives and into something better. His mere presence made them stand a little straighter and work just that much harder. The stories of his magical and fighting prowess filled the Restored with pride and a willingness to follow. Rictus was the leader and head of the organization, while Ken was the heart and soul of it. Rictus gave them direction, and Ken kept them on track.

Rictus spent a good portion of the day creating the mana stones. He worked on making them as large as possible with the least amount of mana he could provide it. It took a few tries to get it where he wanted, but it was a success. The reason he did this though was to delegate the work. Creating just the stone also took significantly less mana than a filled stone. He then left the stones for his mages to work filling them.

They were all quite amazed at the stones. There were stories about some similar artifacts, but they were not very common anymore, especially in Skyrim. It was interesting to note how the stones would work as a partial purifier of mana. This allowed anyone to draw power from the stones, but it was still more efficient if it was the mages own filling the stone. This means his mages could fill the stones with their mana, and he could easily use it for his own purposes. He was really tempted to put off the pirate hunt to experiment more with the stones, but that could wait till after.

Since he was done making stones for today, he needed to follow up on the information he had gotten from his subordinate and the pirates. There was apparently a couple of the members of the group resting in Dawnstar currently. They were important because one of them was a captain who knew the exact coordinates of the pirate base.

Overall, the information he had obtained was not very encouraging. They were apparently a well-known pirate group which had been taking advantage of the chaos caused by the rebellion. Not too long ago, they became significantly more deadly while expanding their influence by a lot. Most of the bandits around the northern coast had fallen to them and even the ones who did not truly join up still offered tribute.

The assault on the Blue Palace had been perpetrated by a conglomeration of different bandit groups which made placing blame a lot more difficult. The city had claimed it was a couple bandit groups located near the city which had banned together. The legion had already sent soldiers and cleared quite a few camps around the hold which calmed the average citizen down significantly. They put the matter down as resolved since they had bigger worries. The people more knowledgeable of the underworld in the city knew differently. It was an open secret that the people behind the attack had framed those bandit camps which had not fallen under them. They were the true culprits of the attack.

The Blood Horkers.

The once small-scale group of thugs had rapidly become one of the powerhouses of the northern Skyrim underworld. Their leader was a powerful battlemage who ruled with an iron fist. There were disturbing rumors about the man which started around the time they had a rapid rise in power. Daedric worship, blood sacrifices, necromancers, the list went on and on with no one knowing the actual truth. Even the lower-level members were not sure everything going on with the leadership. All they knew was that most the captains had become extraordinarily deadly and constantly showed off their skill with a blade, but they were still no match for the leader.

A deadly smile graced Rictus's face as he teleported out of the base. He was looking forward to the confrontation. The blood horkers had overstepped themselves this time and disrupted the peace in northern Skyrim, and he would be the one to restore it.

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Dawnstar was an interesting city. It often flew under the radar compared to the other holds. It had a decent sized port, but it was mostly used as a layover stop before reaching Solitude. Many of the larger trading ships passed it by since Solitude was so close. There were a couple of good-sized mines though which had a strong rivalry between each other. Despite these things, the city was not very large. It was a larger than Winterhold, but that was not saying much.

The location of the city was a problem though. It was a great place with the naturally occurring deep port, and the small mountains and hills which blocked a lot of the cold and acted as a natural barrier. Geographically, it was located at the heart of the war, at least for now. Technically, Whiterun was in the middle of Skyrim, but Dawnstar directly bored Empire controlled land which led to much of the current battles taking place in the Pale. It was also a coastal city near Solitude. If the Empire had more of a navy presence or if the war went on long enough, there was a good chance of a naval invasion of Dawnstar.

The larger political scope did not really matter to Rictus right now though. His focus was on locating his prey, and what better place to look for some pirates relaxing than a tavern?

Windpeak Inn was fairly standard as far as inns went. It had a large open area immediately upon entering with tables lining the walls. The middle was dominated by a large fire pit which easily warmed the guests. A sizable bar was located on the opposite side of the building and there were a few doors near it leading to rooms for rent.

A decent crowd had already gathered to get away from the constant cold outside and warm themselves with food and drink. A rowdy group of slightly disheveled men were making a bit of a ruckus in the corner.

"You beasts are the worst."

The pretty server had an empty tray and was trying to maneuver her way around the group of men blocking her in. An older Nord with one good eye and wearing worn orange clothes spoke as he reached out to caress her face.

"Come now, dearie, surely we aren't all that bad."

She visibly recoiled at his touch and looked at them in disgust.

"Just…leave me alone! I've brought your mead, now drink it and shut your filthy mouths."

Another younger Nord with a mohawk and a mustache got up real close to her and loudly whispered in her ear with a lecherous gaze while licking his lips.

"Oh, we got other things in mind for our mouths, sweetie."

She quickly broke out of his grasp and started walking away but let out an indignant squeak as the man pinched her rear as he licked his lips. The poor woman started quickly moving while keeping a wary eye on the group who was boisterously laughing at the poor woman.

She was distracted enough not to see where she was going and ran right into Rictus. Thankfully she had already dropped off the mead or else he would have been soaked. Before she could stumble or fall, he reached out and caught her. The dazed woman looked at the mysterious stranger and stuttered out an apology, still thrown off by what had happened.

"Oh..So..sorry sir. I, uh, didn't see you there."

Rictus gently steadied the woman and answered with a smile.

"No problems my lady. I hope you are okay. I must ask, what has you so distracted?"

His friendly way of speaking and easy smile seemed to put the woman at ease a little bit. She threw a glance over her shoulder at the group of men who were chugging their mead while laughing at some joke amongst themselves. She leaned in to speak to him making sure she wasn't overheard.

"It's those cursed blood horkers again. They come in here acting however they please just because the guards are so distracted with the war. They think themselves untouchable, especially Stig and that brute Alding. The sad thing is, they are right. Everyone in town is too exhausted from the nightmares."

The woman nodded at the two men from earlier as she said their names. Rictus raised an eyebrow at the mention of nightmares. He had figured that would have been taken care of by now, but obviously not. The woman noticed this and felt the need to explain herself though.

"Don't you worry about the nightmares. The dreams aren't affecting anyone not from here. Let me know if you need a drink. That's what we're here for."

Rictus nodded at the woman while smiling and looking at the pirates.

"I may have to take you up on that. A quick question before you go though. If something were to happen to these pirates here, would there be any consequences."

The woman stopped and really took a good look at the man before her. She seemed to be measuring him up. After a moment, a more genuine smile appeared on her face as she seemed to find an answer to her inner thoughts.

"Well, the guards are a little distracted right now, and fights are pretty common when people drink. Just you be careful. These men are part of the Blood Horkers. I would hate to see a dashing man such as yourself in a bad situation."

The woman walked back to the bar after giving him her opinion. He couldn't help but smile at her answer and how hips swayed a bit more now than before. Seems he would have a bit of free reign.

As he started approaching them, Stig noticed him and spoke up once he got to him. The rest of the men also turned around to watch the interaction.

"What're ya looking at?"

"I have heard you are part of the Blood Horkers."

The other man puffed up a bit in pride.

"Damn right I am. I've been captaining a crew for 'em well on nine years now. What's it to ya?"

Rictus nodded along as he let a bit of a greedy look cross his face.

"Lots of gold to be had plundering ships I hear."

"Aye, the war keeps the Empire and the locals too busy to worry bout us. Haldyn calls it our golden age."

Rictus shook his head at how open this man was to his criminal activities. Just went to show how much power people thought the Blood Horkers had.

"Where would I go to join up?"

Stig started to take a real good look at Rictus as his eye seemed to focus more.

"Well, I can't just tell that to any skeever that washes up. From the look of you, I'm guessing you a bit too fancy for actually wanting to join us. Look more like someone trying to cause some trouble for the Horkers."

Rictus started to laugh. He was surprised at the man was able to discern that from a look but wasn't really worried about it.

"Hahaha. Oh, you are only partially right my good fellow. I am not trying to cause some trouble. I am going to end the Horkers."

The pirates all put their hands on their weapons at his admission. Rictus was surprised to see an almost reluctant look on Stig's face. Seemed someone may actually have not been a fan of the Horkers anymore and wanted out. Rictus was quick to speak again.

"If you are willing to tell me the location of the Horkers main base, then I would be willing to let you go with your lives."

The pirates all looked among themselves and started laughing at Rictus whom they outnumbered 5 to 1, which did not include the rest of their members back on the boat. Stig was the only one who was not laughing. He had a bad feeling in his gut and had been in too many life-threatening situations to ignore it. He took a step back and slightly nodded his head without the others noticing. The mohawk pirate named Alding was the first to speak again.

"I think we will just kill you instead. Show this town whose really in control now."

With that the 4 pirates fully drew their weapons and moved to attack him. Rictus was more than happy meeting violence with violence as his executioner's ax appeared in his hand.

Alding brought his sword down in a mighty overhead swing as the other pirates began to surround him. Unexpectantly, Rictus did not move and only raised his left arm above his head. A vicious smile appeared on the pirates' face as they saw his dumb reaction to the attack.

The sound of clanging surprised them and all the other onlookers. They were expecting a meaty sound and screams, not the sound of metal hitting something hard. None were more surprised than Alding though. He stared blanky at the arm which had stopped his sword despite there being no armor there. A strange pattern which looked like scales could be faintly seen on the arm though.

"This counts as self-defense."

Before Alding could react to the words, Rictus's ax crashed down on the top of his head with the weight of a mountain despite being wielded one handed. The poor man died instantly as the ax was firmly lodged in his head now. The other 3 pirates stood in shock at what just happened. Not letting them collect themselves and finally putting all those unarmed fighting lessons with Roluth to good use, Rictus attacked with the aid of leaguestep spell which greatly increased his speed and reactions.

He sent a strong right punch at the pirate directly to his left. It sent the man reeling backwards which was unfortunate for him as there was a roaring fire there. He fell onto the burning logs and his rough tunic and greasy hair instantly set the poor man on fire.

The other two pirates went on the attack as Rictus moved back into a guarded position after the punch. One wielded a mace and attacked his right side while the other had a dagger and tried to move behind him while sending a swipe at his left side.

A step forward and to his right put Rictus inside the guard of the mace wielding pirate and out of reach to the other one. The pirate had not expected such a move and had overextended his swing. Rictus sent a quick swipe with his reinforced and extended nails at the man's unprotected throat. The pirate dropped his weapon and clutched at his now bleeding throat as he fell to the ground.

The other pirate tried to stab Rictus in the left kidney while his back was turned. Hearing the man coming, Rictus quickly moved left and was lucky as the dagger went in between his side and arm. He suddenly clamped down on the pirate's arm and ripped the dagger from his hand. While keeping the arm trapped, he spun around and used the pirate's own dagger to stab into the side of his neck.

Looking around, Rictus noticed the pirate he punched into the fire rolling around on the ground trying to put out the flames. A wet thud and the pirate stopped moving as what looked like a metal arrow pinned his head to the floorboards. Rictus reached out with his magic and telekinetically brought the arrow back towards his forearm where he had shot it out from.

The only sound in the inn was the crackling of the fire as everyone stood in shock at sudden violence. Their shock continued as a tarp appeared out of nowhere and the bodies floated towards it. Once there, the tarp folded around them. Then, a mop from behind the bar flew over and started mopping up the blood. Sand fell from Rictus's sleeve and scrubbed over the bloody floors. In a matter of moments, there was almost no sign of the battle which just happened. All eyes moved towards the one responsible.

Instead of addressing everyone, Rictus simply motioned for Stig to follow him as he levitated the bodies out the door. As he was about to exit, he dropped a large sack of gold coins on the table by the door while nodding at the pretty waitress and the man behind the bar.

Stig followed him without any protest and a far-off stare in his eye. He had only met one other person who made him feel as powerless as he did now. Now Stig had to decide between the two monsters.

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[AN]: We are getting closer to the big battle. There is only 1 chapter this week. Next week will be a double release, and then we will be at the attack of the pirate base. I will probably end up releasing all the chapters about the attack at once, so that should be about 3 chapters probably.

I have been struggling a little bit with what to do when 2 Skilled come into conflict. I don't really know if I want someone who has a Skill to be able to gather more than 1 or not. Most of thoughts are against gaining more than 1 Skill. I like the idea of solely focusing on Alteration magic and all the possibilities it could bring instead of having to add in different magics as well. Maybe I am being lazy though.

There is a small portion which thinks I should follow the more obvious choice of being able to gain those skills from others though. I just feel like that sort of thing seems to happen in a lot of stories, and if I did it then this will become more about collecting the skills since that would be the logical thing to do. Even if the MC didn't another character would have to do it since I am trying to be at least a little realistic in how I write.

Let me know your thoughts on it though. I always appreciate additional input. Don't know for sure what I will do just yet since I haven't gotten that far.