Ken you believe it

AN: When talking about the story, my brother mentioned I should do a bonus chapter from the POV of Ken while he went to Solitude. It just so worked out that I had some extra time and that this chapter was fun to write so I can finally give you all a bonus chapter.

Hope you like it.

----

(Ken's POV)

A sigh escaped him as he finally neared Solitude. The rain and the cold had made for a terrible trip, and he couldn't help complaining about his aching joints. Even though they didn't hurt anymore after his alteration, complaining about achy joints was just something he felt obligated to do because of his age.

The Restored had set up their teleporter outside of Solitude unlike most the other Holds. The only other one outside the city was in Windhelm. Each of the ancient cities had some special magics in them which made the teleportation more expensive and likely to be detected. Solitude was a bigger worry though with it being the base of the legion and Thalmor. The fact that Sybille Stentor was the court wizard also played a role. She was easily the most powerful and learned of all the court wizards in Skyrim.

All this led to Ken having to make his way to the city on foot. He regretted trying to stay inconspicuous and travel by foot instead of carriage or horse. That would have made it much easier for him, but then his life had never been the easiest and being outside was good for him.

No one really paid much attention to the old man wearing a cloak traveling to the city which was just the way he liked it. Being the second in command of the Restored was immensely fulfilling, but sometimes it was nice to just be another face in the crowd, especially since he was going searching for information. 'Hmm…I suppose this is why Rictus is always running off. It is a bit freeing.'

Walking through all the crowds, he kept an ear out for any interesting news. Unfortunately, there was not anything noteworthy being said. Most were talking about normal daily activities like work or shopping. Some talk of the war happened, but it was all old news to him. He did notice a beggar everyone else ignored.

"Spare some gold for a veteran?"

As Ken approached him, the ragged man turned one good eye to him.

"Can you spare a septim? Lost an eye during the Great War, or I'd earn it myself…"

A bit of pity entered Ken's eyes as he looked at his fellow warrior. He moved his shirt to the side showing the many scars he had accumulated during his time in the war.

"Where did you get yours, friend?"

The beggar's eye had a faraway look.

"Anvil. I was on the field at Anvil, and when I was struck down, they left me. You understand?? They left me for dead. I didn't leave them."

As he was getting upset, Ken placed a calming hand on his shoulder. The beggar stared out over the street as he kept talking.

"I was the finest scout in the Legion, once. Tracked down all the places in the wilds that were causing people trouble. Lost my helmet in one of the old caves. My pretty, pretty helmet. Life just got worse after that. Kept losing things. So many things…"

Ken just listened to the man as he spoke. Sometimes a person just needed someone to listen, even for just a moment. No one pays attention to the beggars on the street. Even the ones that give money usually just drop a coin instead of stopping. The ones that do stop usually just nod their heads without really paying any attention. Ken understood the way the man felt. He was the same way not so long ago. He placed a small pouch of coins in the man's hand.

"Take this."

He paused a second to look the man in the eye.

"If you spoke true about earning gold yourself, go the Restored. Tell them Ken sent you. They will take care of you. From one veteran to another, you will not regret it."

He patted the man on his shoulder as he straightened up and gave one last word of encouragement.

"Some still remember and care about the sacrifices we made. You too can be Restored."

With that that taken care of, he walked away without sparing a second glance. He had done all he could to help, but it was out of his hands now. Hopefully the beggar will make the right decision. Thinking back on his words, Ken couldn't help but cringe a little. 'I'm starting to sound like a damn priest. You too can be Restored? Good thing no one else overheard that. I'd never hear the end of it.'

As he moved further into the city, he made his way over to the open market space. After perusing the wares, he stopped in front of a bored looking Nord woman. She ran a food stand with a few different bottles of alcohol standing prominently in front.

"I heard some of the caravans have been targeted by bandits recently. Hope it hasn't messed with your stock of spiced wine."

As he talked, he subtly flashed a pendant marked with a R. Her eyes widened for a moment before she stood a little straighter. Evette San was one of their informants. The Restored had bought out her father's debt in exchange for her keeping an ear out in the market for them. Many people liked her signature spiced wine, especially the bards. Bards tend to get around, in more than one way, and they were prone to gossip. Who better to get information from bards than the woman who sells them their alcohol. She reached down for a bottle for him.

"Thankfully the Divines have been looking out for me so far. Others here have not been so lucky. Many had hired the same mercenaries to guard them which has people talking. Some even say they are the ones responsible, but most don't believe such rumors."

She handed him a bottle of spiced wine. He gladly accepted it as he laid down some coins.

"Well, I am glad you are still doing well. Thanks for the wine and give your father my regards."

She simply smiled and nodded as he moved away. Finding an out of the way alcove, Ken popped open the cork and pulled off the small note attached to the inner part of it.

*Suspicious beggar. Gissur. Nord. Black hair. Marketplace – opening or closing*

He memorized the note before casting a small flame spell to burn it. He was no mage, but Rictus had forced him to learn flame and healing. It did come in handy sometimes. It also seems like Evette has been paying attention and going above and beyond. He would make sure to properly reward her even if the lead didn't pan out. Such initiative was a good thing as long as it was done right.

Originally, he was going to ask around and then leave a message for his contact in the Penitus Oculatus. He was hopeful to meet with them to find out the truth about the emperor's death, but it didn't seem like that would happen today given the sun's position. This Gissur character could show up at any time, and he the inquiry about the emperor could wait a little longer.

While he was watching over the marketplace, he saw a couple of the Restored going to meet with a merchant they had a contract with. None of them noticed him which was exactly what he wanted. Another person seemed to have eyes on his people though. Taking a closer look, Ken thought this could be his target.

He was an average Nord male with dark black hair and greasy, splotchy facial hair. Gissur acted like a beggar and even looked like one, but closer inspection showed Ken a different story. His clothes were too nice and appeared artificially dirtied to his eyes. There was a bit too much fat for him to be a true beggar. Being around beggars and a beggar himself for so long made identifying certain traits easy for him. The things he observed raised some red flags in his mind. If his guess was correct, the man was most likely a spy for someone, and it wasn't the Restored.

After a few minutes, his target left the marketplace and moved further into the city. Ken followed him at a distance while staying discrete. Gissur obviously had some experience in getting lost and making sure no one followed him. It was nowhere near enough to throw Ken off the trail. He had been doing this a lot longer and at higher stakes than his target.

After moving around the city for a couple hours, the sky was growing dark as the sun set. The long shadows and dim lighting proved perfect for sneaking since the sky was dark and the lanterns around the city hadn't been lit yet. Ken was a bit surprised at where they seemed to be headed though.

Gissur had snuck up near the walls of Castle Dour. Ken was impressed to see the man quickly but carefully make his way up and onto the stone wall that separated it from the rest of the city. As he moved closer to the wall, he noticed extremely small indents a person could use to scale it if they knew the right spots. Taking a moment to stretch, Ken couldn't help but smile to himself. It felt great to be back out in the field and doing something. 'Maybe I should follow Rictus's example more. This is much better than paperwork.'

After taking his time to scale the wall, Ken looked around for his target. Thankfully, his enhanced eyes showed Gissur sneaking past Castle Dour and near the Temple of the Divines. The man looked around before quickly entering a door to a tower along the wall right before the temple. He hummed to himself as he looked at the tower. 'If I remember correctly, that is supposed to be abandoned by the previous owners…" Not wasting any more time, he made his way to the door.

Pressing his ear against it, he didn't hear anyone right there. Since the door had opened silently, he slowly opened it up to see if he could hear anything. Testing his luck, he peeked into the room. The room appeared empty, but a light could be seen coming down the stairwell of the northwest wall. Sneaking his way closer, Ken noticed the signs of recent use in the room. There were still lots of dust and spiderwebs, but some of it had been disturbed recently, especially as he made his way to the stairs. He passed a large table with a tactical map of Skyrim as he started hearing people talking. At the bottom of the stairs, he could finally understand what they were saying.

"…That is not a lot to go on Gissur. You are supposed to give us confirmations, not guesses."

A winy voice responded.

"But I need that money, I earned it! I have my own expenses you know."

"Silence. You are most useful, but do not presume. We have plenty of other informants who are much less…offensive."

"That may be, but not many are willing to give you consistent information on the Restored, are they?"

A moment of silence passed between them as Ken tightly gripped the two daggers hidden on his waist. He recognized the tone and accent of the unknown speaker. Hearing the last words, he made up his mind as he silently moved up the stairs while drawing his weapons.

At the top of the stairs was a very large bedroom with a large double four-poster bed coming out from the wall, with a couple baskets to the right, a small round table to the left, a long chest at the foot of the bed and a wall shelf above the bed holding books. In front of that was a wooden table with food on top of it. The people at the table had his full attention though.

On one side sat the beggar Gissur who was eating with one hand while sneaking food into his pockets with the other. A Thalmor wearing their iconic robes sat opposite him. Two more elves were standing in golden armor at his back. The sitting Thalmor steepled his hands before talking again.

"Do not overestimate your…"

The Thalmor wizard suddenly stopped talking as everyone looked at him in surprise. The reason for him stopping was apparent as a large dagger was lodged firmly through his eye socket and into his brain. Ken then dashed into the room as the Thalmor soldiers drew their weapons. A feral smile appeared on his face at the challenge. Killing the wizard first allowed him to fight without worrying about pesky spells.

Ken quickly moved to the right to confront one of the elven scum while keeping the table between him and the other one. The Great War had provided him lots of experience fighting skilled elven warriors. Their greatest advantage laid in the fact they had been wielding a sword since before he was born. Combine the skill with their armor which weighed next to nothing, and they were difficult opponents. Unfortunately for these two, they greatly underestimated him.

His dagger shot out and deflected the downward slice to the side while he grabbed onto the sword arm of his opponent. Using the grip on the arm, Ken pulled causing the already unbalanced Thalmor to stumble forward. A quick upthrust with his dagger, and it pierced under the unprotected chin and up into the skull. Dazed and confused eyes stared back at him as he withdrew his dagger with a twist. 'One down, one to go.' Ken turned his attention back to the other fighter.

The other soldier approached much more cautiously after seeing his companion so easily dispatched. He would not be making the same mistake. Using his extra reach to his advantage, the soldier focused on controlled jabs and defense. Ken would dodge or use his dagger to divert the attacks but struggled closing the distance enough for his dagger to reach anything vital.

Their dance continued on with neither gaining an advantage. A smirk soon appeared on Ken's face which unnerved the Thalmor soldier. Where once the soldier's strikes came close to landing, they continued to be more easily countered or dodged. The Thalmor's face twisted in fear after realizing what was happening. He was being played with. Seeing the look in his opponent's eyes, Ken let out a dark chuckle.

He had been taking his time to get a measure of the Thalmor and learn their technique. It had been a long time since he had a chance to fight one in a controlled environment and wanted to see if they had changed their sword arts. Learning weapons had always come easily to him, but after the battle of Japhet's Folly, he could learn new techniques and pick up on his opponent's pacing and fighting styles after just a couple minutes.

The warrior's strikes became wilder as he tried his best to stop Ken's advance, but it was all for naught. Dodging a quick strike at his stomach, Ken sliced open the elf's wrist where the armor was weak. Before the blade fell to the ground, he punched them in the face tilting their head backwards from the force and leaving their neck invitingly open. A quick cut and the Thalmor was on the ground clutching his throat as he quickly bled out.

Sweeping his eyes across the room, he found Gissur running down the stairs as gold coins dropped from his hands. The beggar had snuck over to the dead wizard and looted the body during the fighting. Greed was a powerful force. Scampering down the stairs, Gissur knew if he made it outside, he would be safe from the insane old man. He made it over halfway across the room when a sharp stabbing pain happened in his lower back. Next thing he knew, he was face first on the ground. Fearfully, he turned around and saw Ken's dagger embedded in his spine above his waist. Tears streaked down his face as he fruitlessly tried moving his legs as Ken stalked towards him.

Seeing a motion ahead of him, Ken took his eyes off the beggar in time to see the door open. A Thalmor Justiciar in hooded robes stood staring at him with a group of soldiers at his back. The man looked at him for a moment before a flicker of recognition appeared in his eyes.

"Subdue him."

Four soldiers rushed at him as Ken cursed himself for his stupidity. Throwing the dagger had been a good idea, but now he was weaponless against 4 soldiers and a Justiciar. Two of the soldiers charged him straight up with their weapons drawn while the other 2 moved to flank him.

Taking the initiative, he rolled into the far right one and kicked out at his legs and causing the elf to fall on his face. Not wasting any time, Ken snatched away his sword while reaching his left hand and drawing the dagger from his opponent's waist. Not wasting any time, he threw the knife at one opponent while stabbing the sword into the downed elf's neck. A pained cry indicated the knife hit his target, but it was slightly off and hit the shoulder joint instead of the neck like he wanted.

Two streams of fire came at Ken from his remaining opponents. Seemed these Thalmor soldiers were more proficient with their magic than the first two he killed. Ken was able to dodge to the side as the right side of his clothing got singed. Ripping off the burning clothing, he threw it at his opponents as a distraction. They flinched as he closed the distance to the wounded one. Deflecting the wild swing, he elbowed the Thalmor in the face before pulling the knife from his shoulder. Moving the knife across the stunned and injured elf's throat was all too easy for him. 'Two down, three to go.'

More streams of fire came towards him as he rolled underneath them and towards his remaining opponents. In the middle of the roll, a green paralyze spell impacted him. It wasn't enough to actually paralyze him, but it did interrupt his roll. An armored boot impacted his face as he tried to rise. A lightning bolt hit his leg at the same time causing the muscle to stiffen up momentarily. The two attacks were enough to unbalance him as he fell to the ground. A mace impacted his sword arm, and he dropped the stolen sword. Ken grunted in pain as an ice spike stabbed through his calf and anchored him to the floor.

He stared up at the Justiciar who was standing imperiously over him with magic crackling along his arms. The Justiciar gave him a cruel smile.

"Well, well, well. Looks like we have found something interesting."

---

Down in the bowels of a castle, a man was hanging from chains along a back wall. Blood poured from his many wounds as two robed figures stared at him.

"Hmm. This one has proven more stubborn than most."

"Everyone talks, in the end. It is only a matter of time."

Ken turned his one remaining bloodshot eye up at the two Thalmor interrogators. Time had kind of run together while down here, but he knew it couldn't have been more than a couple days. They had tortured him almost constantly since coming here which always messes with one's sense of time.

Seeing his hate filled stare, one of the interrogators backhanded him.

"Do not look at your betters that way or else you will lose that one too."

His head slumped in exhaustion after the hit. He took solace in the fact that he had revealed nothing to the knife eared bastards nor would he. They could never make him betray Rictus or the Restored. The two also couldn't hide their looks of apprehension and slight fear of him. He had managed to kill three of the previous interrogators before they chopped off his arms.

A noise could be heard as the ground shook, loose pieces of stone falling upon them all. The interrogators looked around outside the prison cell in confusion trying to figure out what had happened. They quickly turned around as a strangled croaking sound came from behind them. Unease built within them at the slightly deranged but joyful expression on Ken's face as they realized he was laughing.

A familiar tingle had flitted across Ken's skin. He continued shaking as laughter wracked his exhausted body. Soon the jerking movements stopped as soft words slipped from his lips. The Thalmor drew closer as they tried to hear what he was saying.

"…doomed."

He kept repeating the word in between chuckles which only got louder as he saw the confusion on his jailers faces. They were already dead. They just didn't know it.

Rictus had finally arrived.