Solitude and Gratitude

The Blood Horkers were based out of Japhet's Folly and led by a powerful mage named Haldyn. Stig had wisely chosen to tell Rictus the location of the base and how best to get there. True to his word, Rictus allowed him to live and run away as the old pirate mentioned going to Hammerfell before the other Horkers knew who let slip their little secret. Rictus did make sure to get a little bit of Stig's blood though, just in case he needed to track him easily with the clairvoyance spell.

This did leave a partially manned ship full of pirates still in Dawnstar though. Apparently, Stig did not trust the men not to kill him and went by himself instead of gathering up the crew. From what he had shared, the Horkers were becoming a little too dark, even for him. He mentioned dark soul gems and strange rituals which seemed to give the leaders of the pirate band extreme skill with their swords beyond what was normal. He had been overlooked for promotion despite his dedication to the group, but he confessed his relief at being overlooked because something changed after the leaders underwent their rituals. Not only did they gain skill with their weapons faster, but they also seemed to become a little more unhinged, which he claimed was on purpose. It was a slow thing, but he had been around long enough to know when people were losing their minds. Stig had been trying to find a way to leave the Horkers for a while now, and Rictus had provided the perfect opportunity.

Rictus was left in a little bit of a crossroads now. There were a couple different ways to go about attacking the base at Japhet's Folly. He could try and fly over there to set up a teleport spot, but there was a decent chance Haldyn would be able to detect it if he was a strong a mage as Stig claimed.

The other was a bit more interesting. The Horkers had been targeting the East Empire Company quite a lot recently. The EEC was not able to find their base, but Rictus now had its location. He could try and broker an agreement with the Company which would allow him to use their ships as transports for his men to assault the base while they would be able to fight off the pirate's ships. This would keep the pressure off his people since part of the pirate forces will be busy in the naval engagement.

He also had to figure out what to do with the pirate ship still in Dawnstar. There would still be a decent amount of people on the ship since a fair amount of people were needed to keep the vessel in working order and provide raiding parties. Thankfully, this was one of the smaller ships and according to Stig there should only be 15 more pirates on the boat.

It was tempting to try and take the boat over for himself and his faction, but they didn't need one currently. Besides, he didn't have the people needed to sail the ship, and he could always buy a better boat if he wanted to expand. In the end, he decided to just sink the boat. It was easy to fly up in the darkening sky and pull out a couple of large stone spikes he kept in his storage. Each spike was around 2 meters tall and half a meter thick with a metal tip. He had kept a few of them in his storage for just such a situation as this one.

Once released, the two giant spikes quickly picked up speed as the plummeted towards the boat with a little extra push from Rictus. A loud cracking noise could be heard as they easily pierced through the hull of the boat and into the water beneath. The ship groaned as it began breaking apart and sinking into the cold Skyrim waters. People were running around the docks trying to figure out what had happened to make a ship suddenly start sinking like that. As Rictus flew away, he thought it was a little too bad naval engagements weren't as big a deal in Skyrim, else he would be able to easily rule the seas. Maybe he could eventually expand towards the Summerset Isles and become the pirate king?

He shook his head at the thought. He didn't really want to be an outlaw. Maybe if the Thalmor and Dominion start up another war though. Then he may consider it.

----

Rictus got to Solitude early in the morning. The dock area was already bustling with workers moving cargo and people going about their business. It was significantly more impressive than the games made it seem. The port was massive and served lots of different ships from all over Tamriel. It did not take long for Rictus to find his way to the headquarters of the East Empire Company.

The building was probably one of the most grandiose in the port district, which made sense because of their great economic influence in the Empire. The building had large banners with the company logo on it hanging outside an impressive metal door with what looked like ebony embroidery. The inside was just as fancy with its dark hardwood interior with fancy murals along the walls. A large desk sat in the middle of the room where a pretty imperial was working as the receptionist. Upon entering, she looked up with a professional smile.

"Good morning, sir. My name is Maveria. How can we at the East Empire Company assist you today?"

"Good morning to you as well Maveria. You can call me Rictus. I am looking to speak with someone about a business opportunity I think your superiors would love to hear."

The woman gave him a once over. His fancy clothes and powerful presence gave her the impression this was someone who may actually have something interesting to share.

"That is great news to hear. We are always looking for ways to expand our business. Adelaisa Vendicci is still here for now. How about I see if she has a moment to spare before she leaves? May I ask what your business pertains to?"

"Tell her I have recently gotten the location of where some of our mutual acquaintances are based. I think it is a wonderful location and some of my men and I would love nothing more than to help them establish a foothold there as well. No telling what could be recovered from that place. Lots of Horkers to be harvested around there as well."

The seemingly oblivious receptionist just smiled along with he said. They were always looking for new places to expand and resources to harvest. The fact she found him attractive had nothing to do with her willingness to get her superior or the way she swung her hips a bit more as she walked to door leading further into building.

It did not take long before the receptionist returned.

"Adelasia said she has a moment to meet with you now if you are willing. Hers is the last door on the left."

Rictus thanked the woman with a smile and a wink as he made his way back causing a slight blush on her cheeks.

The door was easy to find as it was already open waiting for him. An aging imperial woman wearing traditional imperial armor with the company logo on it was waiting for him standing behind a desk as she overlooked a map of Tamriel. Once Rictus fully entered and closed the door, she wasted no time in getting down to business.

"What do you want for the location of the Blood Horker's base?"

He appreciated her bluntness and understanding of his trip from his brief message. It was always good to deal with competent people.

"At the moment, there is not much I need. I will share the location for a couple favors though."

The woman turned around to fully appraise the man before her with a suspicious look. Favors were a complicated thing. Much more difficult than money.

"What are these favors?"

"The first is simple. I want you to take your ships to attack the base as soon as possible. Next, I would want you to stop a couple of them near the coast of Winterhold to pick up some soldiers and myself. We will attack the base on foot as you fight the rest of the ships."

Adelasia's face gave nothing away.

"You plan on using Jarl Korir's guards too assault the pirate base?"

He had figured a higher up in the company would have a decent understanding of what was going on and stay on top of information.

"His people as well as some of my own group. I believe we have a common enemy we both would like to see gone. You need the disruption of trading ended while we are looking for revenge. You need the base gone anyways, and I am willingly supplying you disposable soldiers to assault the base. If we fail, they will have been weakened for your own forces to attack. If we succeed, you saved your employee's lives and got rid of a growing problem without spending ridiculous amounts of money on mercenaries brave enough to fight them. Although, I wouldn't say no to some resources thrown our way either when we win."

Adelasia seemed to come to a decision after thinking about his words. She knew what had happened to Jarl Korir's family. Revenge was a great motivator for even the most honorable of men. Besides, she was going after them anyways and now had free soldiers. If she hadn't already heard tale of a man named Rictus who was the remaining Thane of Winterhold, she may have been more hesitant to take the deal. She reached out a hand for Rictus to shake.

"You are in luck it seems. I was about to sail towards Windhelm with some of our fleet in a few hours. We have a few additional warships in the area already I can pull into the assault. I just need a location, and we can end those pirate scum."

"Japhet's Folly."

The woman let a small vicious smile grace her face as she turned back towards the map. With a bit of a flourish, she drew and stabbed a knife right on their destination. Rictus couldn't help but smile as well. He loved it when a plan comes together.

He soon left the building after finalizing some details. Adelasia had even let slip that part of the reason the East Empire Company was so desperate to take down the pirates was because they had recently lost a trading convoy. The main reason it was such a big deal was because the convoy had a large amounts supplies meant for the Imperial Legion here in Skyrim. It even held a large collection of soul gems destined for the commanders of the Legion. The fact they lost such a shipment looked bad for the Company's image and needed to be rectified with all haste.

Knowing the pirates had a large cache of soul gems was not encouraging at all. At least the shipment held mostly miscellaneous supplies and equipment like tents, clothes, and cooking supplies. Had it been fully stocked with weapons and armor; Rictus would have most likely sped up his timetable and risked teleporting his people directly on the island.

Before leaving, he stopped and chatted with the receptionist for a moment. A little bit of flirting got him some interesting gossip about what had been going on with the company recently. The pirates had not only been harassing ships, but they had pillaged the warehouse as well during their assault on the palace. To make matters even worse, she had heard that the shipping maps had been stolen not long before the assault.

The final bit of gossip was about one of her superiors at the company. The woman had apparently been in the palace when it was attacked and suffered some disfiguring wounds. It was a bigger scandal because she was supposed to get married in a week. No one knew if the wedding was even happening anymore, but the groom was arriving in the next couple days. The wedding was the talk of the town and more extravagant than originally planned as a distraction for the people from the war and the recent attack on the capital, but it would all be for not if the groom declined the contract because of her disfigurement.

Despite not planning for it, Rictus found himself entering Solitude and making his way to the noble district near the palace. There was evidence of a recent attack if one looked closely. The most glaring thing was the number of guards and soldiers on patrol. Increasing security made sense though. The security still was not that great since a couple gold coins had easily and quickly gotten him into the city ahead of most of the waiting crowd. Money still had power over many people.

The first stop be made was to the ever-famous bards' college. It was a visibly impressive building with a tall stone tower jutting above most the other mansions in this part. When talking with Larina after saving her from the necromancers in Hob's fall Cave, she had mentioned a flute belonging to her master being the cause of her capture. Rictus had a moment to spare and decided to return it while he was here.

As he made his way up the steps and into the gazebo like area before the College, he heard a beautiful voice.

"Ahem. Mi mi mi mi."

An imperial woman with carefully managed blonde hair and wearing extremely fine and form fitting apparel was out on the balcony practicing her singing. As Rictus drew closer, she was drawn from her practice.

"Pardon me. Just, um, warming up. A few people are coming by later to decide on the entertainment for the upcoming wedding. My name is Pantea Ateia. Don't forget it. Someday, everyone will be saying it."

The woman put on a slightly haughty look as she gazed at Rictus. He just nodded his head. Sometimes it was better to just go along with it. Besides, if his memory served him right, this was the person he was looking for. He always appreciated getting lucky in finding just the right person at the right time as if some divine being guided him.

"I believe you are just the person I was looking for. I recently recovered this flute and believe it could be yours."

As he showed her the flute, her eyes widened in surprise. She never actually thought she would see this thing again.

"That's mine! Wonderful! I had just recently received a ransom note for it. That flute has been handed down for seventeen generations! My student Larina had some strange notion about it being able to make the dead dance. It's just a flue. A really old and valuable flute, but just a flute."

Pantea seemed overjoyed at having the flute back in her possession. She didn't even ask anything about her former student's wellbeing. She looked back at Rictus with a slightly strained smile.

"I don't have any money to give you, but I can show you a few tricks I learned playing for the Winterhold wizards if you are interested?"

Her tricks actually proved pretty interesting. She had figured out how to amplify her voice with magic which allowed her to project it farther than others with less effort. The other one was just a variation of the magelight spell which floated around the user in lazy circles. Not immediately practical, but they did give insight into how other people could come up with changes to traditional spells. The lesson also served as a bit of a warning in how there were spells out there which were not covered in the games before. Overall, he was glad he took the bit of extra time delivering the flute.

The next house he stopped at was quite impressive. It was a large 3 story stone manor with plenty of windows affording good natural light. All the window shutters were closed though, and the house was quiet. He worried for a moment no one would be home, but he was able to see a few people inside with his detect life spell. Not waiting a moment longer, he knocked on the door.

A well-dressed maid was the one to answer the door.

"My lady Vici is not taking any visitors at the moment."

As she was about to close the door, Rictus kept it open with telekinesis, and gave a little bow as he was speaking.

"I have heard your lady is in need of some healing. I happen to be a mage of some skill in the restoring arts and came to offer my services."

The maid looked on with a mixture of suspicion and hope.

"How do I know you really are as good as you say? You wouldn't have been the first to come and try and trick us."

Her fears were quite well placed, but they were inconvenient for Rictus. He decided he should go big or go home with his show.

He placed his hand on the stone railway beside him. A quick slash with his dagger opened a large cut along his arm. The maid covered her mouth in shock, but before she could say anything, the wound closed before her eyes. A quick look at the nonplused mage before her and the lack of wound, proved his ability. She quickly led him further into the house without saying much more.

A woman was staring out the window looking away from the city. A hood hid her face from sight. The maid quickly approached her and spoke softly to her.

"My lady. I think I may have found someone who could actually help you."

The woman slowly turned her head to look who would try and help her this time. There had been many come by and heal her, but not all the scars and wounds went away. She thought at least this one didn't look upon her with pity or disgust. She looked at him with dispirited eyes and despondently spoke to him as she fully removed the hooded cloak covering her.

"Okay. Do what you will mage."

Rictus approached her to get a better view of the injuries. She had a scar running down the left side of her face which started near the top of her head and ran to her neck. Her hair was missing along the scar. It also went through where her ear should have been, but instead there was an ugly looking bump where her ear had been ripped off during the attack and healed before it could be attached by a master of restoration. She was also missing her ring finger and pinky on her left hand.

Deciding a little more showmanship wouldn't hurt, he began to cast his magic. A golden glow shone from his hands and moved to cover the woman. He was able to quickly restore her fingers with no problem. Next, the scar along her face faded and was replaced by smooth skin. Her ear was returned to normal and perfectly matched her other one. He even regrew her dark hair down past her shoulders where before it had been cut short and even removed to better see the wound.

As the light slowly faded away, the maid stood in shock as she looked at her master. She looked good as new, if not even healthier than before she was wounded. Vittoria knew something was different as she had felt the magic coursing through her and her skin itching. She reached up with her hand to scratch at her ear which itched the worst. She stopped scratching in shock and took a better look at her hand with all its fingers there. A mirror was located on a wall on the other side of the room, and Vittoria wasted no time in running towards it. Tears started falling down her face as she took in all the changes.

She turned around and threw herself at Rictus, hugging him as tears fell down her face. He could barely make out her words of thanks and gratitude for healing her. The next hour passed quickly as he stayed to eat lunch at Vittoria's insistence. She tried to get him to stay longer and give him a reward, but he declined. It was time for him to go since he had wasted enough time already. He did tell her if she felt the need to reward anyone, there was a newly created group named the Restored he was associated with which were thinking of expanding to Solitude and wouldn't mind a good word or recommendation of living spaces.

Vittoria watched as the mage left. She felt extreme gratitude for the healing and even had hope again for her upcoming marriage. She did not know who this man was, where he came from, or what the Restored would need, but if it was in her power, she would provide it. The cousin to the emperor had quite a bit of pull in this city after all.

Something he said as he was leaving did worry her.

"Why did he think I need more guards along the ramparts during my marriage ceremony though?"

----

[AN]: A little bit of tangent dealing with Vittoria. I couldn't help myself with it though. Don't worry, there is a bonus chapter after this one.