53 What happened next
[AN]: Just to warn you all, this chapter and the next one will be a bit of an info dump with very little going on or personal interactions. This one will be an overview of what has happened during the time skip and the next one will probably do the same.
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Rictus slowly sat himself down into his chair overlooking the vast plains of Whiterun. It was another beautiful day, and the sun was shining beautifully along the plains. Despite how busy he got, Rictus always enjoyed sitting on his overlook and seeing the world arrayed before him. It gave him peace and comfort despite everything going on in the world.
A little over a month had passed since the battle of Japhet's Folly, and things had really picked up for the Restored. Rictus was proud at the growth of his organization. While he personally had not been as busy doing quests, the Restored were making a name for themselves across Skyrim and were in high demand. He couldn't help but smirk at the knowledge of his growing legend.
The immediate aftermath of the battle was mostly a blur. He had been in and out of consciousness for a few days following the conclusive battle with the servant of the Ideal Masters. He had been suffering from the many injuries he accumulated during the fight and from the intense amount of mana he had channeled. He had been very lucky his body was as robust as it was, else it could have been much worse. Turned out that constantly altering your body with magic helped it be more resilient and a better conduit for mana. Apparently, a normal mage would have been torn apart from the massive mana levels channeled during the fight, at least that was what others had claimed. Got to love unintended benefits.
He had woken up back in Winterhold and was quickly informed about what he had missed. While the fight going on between Rictus and the bone goliath had been the most eye catching, there were still other fights happening as well. A group of necromancers had hidden themselves away and were raising the dead for a final stand. Dante and Korir and led a charge against these remaining enemies while Ken was directing the rest of the forces to battle the randomly appearing bonemen and wrathmen. The island had apparently been tainted from the blast of corrupted mana the goliath released. This meant bonemen and wrathmen were sporadically summoned around the island during the massive battle which destroyed most the island.
Rictus was saddened hearing about all the loss of life from the battle. Each group had suffered casualties. The most surprising had been the East Empire Company had lost 2 of their ships. While the land battle had been in the final stages, a group of three pirate ships ambushed the patrolling ships and destroyed them before help arrived. The EEC did sink the remaining pirates, but not without suffering damage to more of their ships.
The Winterhold forces were hit the hardest. Over half of the guards had perished during the fighting. Many died to the enhanced pirates, while another large portion had been loss after the surprise attack by the necromancers who had hidden away. More would have perished had Faralda's apprentices and a couple of the Vigilant's of stendarr not held back the horde while the soldier's reorganized themselves. Korir was really hit hard from the large loss of life suffered by his people. He confided in Rictus his feelings of guilt over their sacrifice for what Korir saw as his personal revenge.
Overall, the Restored fared better than the Winterhold guards. They had lost around a quarter of their forces throughout the battle. Most had perished from being overwhelmed by sheer numbers or surprise attacks. The rouge mages had also done a lot of damage since the newer recruits were inexperienced in fighting mages. There were some deaths which were felt more than others though. Half of the mages of the Restored were killed. They had done their jobs and kept many of their comrades alive, but the long battle had depleted many of their mana reserves which made them vulnerable. One of the enhanced pirates had snuck up on them when they were resting and drinking mana potions. The pirate was put down, but not before he killed quite a few of them. Hawke had also died rescuing a couple of new recruits who were distracted watching Rictus's fight instead of paying attention to their surroundings, and of course there was Roluth's passing as well.
Regardless of their losses, the Restored had greatly expanded their range and membership. Recruitment was booming right now. Some were wounded from the civil war and wanted healing. Some feared the war and wanted to have the safety of a large organization, which wasn't a bandit group. Some wanted the thrill of battle. Some feared the dragons. Some wanted glory. Some just wanted something different in life. All were welcomed by the Restored.
Not all were privy to their secrets though. There were many healthy recruits joining them, but they had more requirements to prove their trustworthiness. The ones who were deformed or missing body parts still made the core of their group and were easier to trust with the secrets of the organization. There was a good reason for this though, even if it could be seen as slightly amoral.
Rictus had found those he personally healed had significantly greater loyalty to him, beyond what was normal for such a thing. It seems there was something about his mana and the Alter body spell being used on someone else which affected a person instinctually. It wasn't mind control and wouldn't change a person's personality, but it almost subconsciously made a person have a higher regard for Rictus and find him more trustworthy. He hadn't been doing anything consciously with the spell for such a thing to happen, but the subconscious had a large effect on spell work. Just like how the older people restored seemed to become younger and healthier than they were before. There was no concrete proof of him altering peoples mind, but some part of him knew this was what was happening.
He had struggled with this idea for a while after he figured it out, but ultimately continued with his work. He was not hurting anyone and helping those in need. If the price they had to pay for being restored was easily trusting him, Rictus did not think it was a bad deal. They still had their own choices and didn't have to follow him. There was a decent amount of regular people who were healed but didn't join them after all.
The increase in recruitment had also been influenced by the Restored finally expanding into many of the other holds. They now had a permanent presence in Windhelm, Solitude, Dawnstar, Riverwood, Ivarstead, Rorikstead, Dragon Bridge, Whiterun, Winterhold, and Falkreath. Not all of these were large compounds, but there were at least a few in each place.
The base in Solitude was probably the fanciest one they had. It had been an older abandoned mansion in the noble district of the city. It had been practically gifted to them by Vittoria Vici and her family in gratitude for helping restore her beauty before her wedding. It was unfortunate the poor woman was still assassinated by the dark brotherhood. Rictus had hoped she would live, but knew it was not very likely. Still, his small act of kindness had gotten them a mansion and the favor of the Vici family. Not a bad deal for such easy work.
They still lacked bases in 3 of the major holds though. Rictus had stayed out of Riften because of the thieves' guild. The town was apparently going through a huge resurgence in crimes which surprisingly did not really dampen the economic boon the war was bringing the city. It was an open secret the thieves' guild and Maven Black-Briar were in total control of the city at this point. Rictus had no desires to get mixed up in that mess of a city. It worked in their favor though because many of the regular upstanding townspeople were leaving the city in favor of other cities. A few of the more skilled workers ended up with the Restored because of the good working conditions and ample supplies. No one really of note had joined, but they did get a couple carpenters and seamstresses which were a good quality of life improvement.
Morthal had no full time base and was not a high priority either. A couple of the Restored had traveled through there for reconnaissance, but they got nowhere with the townspeople. They were a private and distrustful lot who didn't care much for outsiders. His people did not stay very long and left the town after getting a bad feeling like they were being stalked. The only noteworthy interaction they had was with a mage called Falion who showed an interest in meeting with Rictus. His arrival was uncertain as he had not given a time on his visit.
The situation in Markarth was a whole different beast. Just thinking about it gave him a headache. 'I can't believe those crazy bastards actually did it. It is even crazier the empire has unofficially endorsed them.'
The Forsworn had taken the city. Apparently, a large army of the Reachmen along with their unusual allies had attacked the city which had capitulated without too much of a fight. It may have been influenced by the incredibly durable armor worn by the Forsworn elites, or their amazingly sharp weapons. 'Or it could have been the large group of hagravens bombarding the city with high level magic as a group of giants wearing full metal armor and wielding massive warhammers busted down the main gate.'
He couldn't help but snort at that last thought. It was no wonder the city had fallen from such an assault. Heavily armed and armored infantry backed by powerful magics with a group of fully armored giants as shock troopers were not something many forces could resist. Rictus was a little sad he missed such a sight. It was probably magnificent.
The entire thing was made even more impressive since Madanach, the leader of the Forsworn rebellion, sent evidence to the Imperials in Solitude detailing a plot by Jarl Igmund to secretly join the Stormcloak rebellion. The evidence had to of been extremely compelling since Igmund was known to be a staunch supporter of the Empire and peace with the Aldmeri. The validity of such a story was probably not investigated too much though because of the ongoing war. It probably helped that Madanach sent a large gift of extremely finely crafted armor with a promise of continued support against Ulfric as well as loyalty to the empire. Their hatred for Ulfric was quite well known after all.
Their success really showed the failings of the current empire. The empire had rapidly declined since the Oblivion crisis. Valenwood and Elsweyr had been ceded to the Thalmor. Black Marsh had also left the empire and even took control of southern Morrowind, which had not recovered from the eruption of Red Mountain. Hammerfell had left the empire after the White Gold Concords. It was only truly composed of Cyrodiil, High Rock, and Skyrim. Skyrim was in the middle of a civil war which meant the empire only truly controlled half of the province. This goes without mentioning the crazy political situation which was High Rock.
Even calling it the empire at this point was a bit of stretch. If fighting was to break out again between the empire and the Thalmor, it would most likely not be in the empire's favor. This doesn't even touch on the soon to be killed Emperor who was still coming to Skyrim despite the death of his cousin. 'Or maybe it is because of her death?'
Regardless, the Emperor would surely perish. Rictus had considered trying to save the emperor, but such a thing was not an easy task. The emperor was already marked for death by the Dark Brotherhood, and once they get a contract, they will keep trying until they complete it. Rictus had no desire to constantly fight assassins. He knew the first assassination attempt would be done by impersonating the Gourmet. He did not know exactly where the cook was found though. He knew the Gourmet was a male orc, and he was staying at some inn which was most likely in northern Skyrim. His people were looking, but he was not holding out hope.
He knew there could be some juicy rewards though even if he only saved the emperor once. If he saved the original Gourmet, then that would be a bonus. There were bound to be some great rewards for saving the emperor, but it may not be worth it. There was a good chance the assassin would be one of the Skilled and no reason to fight someone like that again, at least for now.
'Hmm. The assassination could benefit me though. I don't remember the name of the guy who contracts the Brotherhood against the emperor, but it does highlight the political turmoil inside the capital. A crumbling empire does offer a lot of opportunity for growth. Maybe there could be a new Emperor… or empress. We could start here in Skyrim and then expand from there. Putting someone on a throne could be quite fun.'
A shake of his head banished his fantasies of a new empire with him guiding its direction from the shadows as he returned his thoughts back to Markarth. He concluded it was still not a good time for the Restored to expand there during the turmoil. His decisions were not always taking into consideration.
He looked down at the hastily scribbled note which he read for the hundredth time. It only had the words 'Soon My Love'. He had received this note a week ago along with a very promising recruit which he had already made into one of his Minions.
Illia was a powerful Imperial mage who had a great aptitude for ice magics. She had apparently been the apprentice to the leader of all the hagravens, Moira. Illia had been part of a smaller coven in the Rift. She had admitted to having doubts about the hagravens when her mother was about to undertake the ritual. This was all stopped though when a summon for a Great Coven came. It was at the Great Coven where she had met Moira that her thoughts and perspectives on hagravens had been overturned. Moira had shaken some of her beliefs and was impressed by the mage. The two of them had worked together and overcame the other covens making Moira gain the title of Grand Matriarch. It had been Moira who had sent Illia to find him before the assault on Markarth. Her job was to watch over him as a protector while Moira was busy in the Reach.
Rictus had some faint memories of drinking, dancing around a fire, and a ring when he had first heard Moira's name. Seemed certain words would trigger parts of his memory about his first interaction with Sanguine, but it still was not clear. He decided to do the manly thing and not worry about it all until he finally met Moira. Regardless, he had gained another powerful Minion from it.
The assault on Japhet's Folly had shown him the importance and impact of proper Minions. He was still selective of them, but he was not as miserly about it as before. There was now a total of 8 Minions. Ma'randru jo was his first Minion. He had been quite upset about missing the fight and had followed Rictus around like a lost kitten for a few weeks before he was sent off with the Caravans again.
Reysera had dedicated herself to learning more about the teleportation magic and was currently in control of their messaging system. It worked similar to the old operator system back on Earth. The messages would all be sent to the central control center which was near Whiterun. Then the messages could be distributed further along. This allowed better mana conservation for those really far messages. Having all the information flow through their main base allowed the culmination of information from the various holds as well. Reysera proved a much better teacher and manager than combatant, although she had been working hard on that aspect since her failure at the pirate base.
Illia had become one of their heaviest hitters regarding pure destructive magics. She had used the boost in alteration to enhance her combat abilities with armor spells and more customized ice spells. She controlled ice the way Rictus could control stone. Given the wintery climate of Skyrim, it was quite the good ability.
One of Reysera's contacts had also arrived and became part of the Restored. Dravynea the Stoneweaver was an older dark elf woman who had been working in the mines of Kynesgrove on their mining tunnels. She had quickly joined the Restored after witnessing Rictus's proficiency with stone and wanting to learn from him. Of all the Minions, she had the most proficiency working with stone. Her former title of Stoneweaver was not in vain. Her addition had greatly increased the build speed for many of their structures.
Danica Pure-Spring had also been granted the status of Minion. Not long after Rictus had returned to Whiterun, she had searched for him and his tutelage. She had been banished from Kynareth's temple for an undetermined amount of time. Being responsible for harming one of the most import symbols to your god, which also led to the death of several pilgrims, was heavily frowned upon. The Eldergleam was perfectly fine still, but that was not the point. Still, it had benefited Rictus since he now had a master of restoration magic under him who's magic had been greatly enhanced by becoming a Minion.
There had also been an internal promotion from minion to Minion. Maes had been a Nord which had joined the Restored with Reysera. He had been the mage who was always working the forge. It was somehow fitting he showed great talent for the transmutation spell and working with metals. He had been placed in charge of the mages and miners at Halted Stream Camp, which was an old bandit camp north of Whiterun. The Restored had been given the bounty quest directly from the Jarl's steward. The reward for the bounty had been control over the camp as long as they provided Whiterun some of the iron mined there. The additional source of iron under the control of a loyal mage who could also transmute the iron into gold provided even more economic stability for the Restored. Moving Maes also had the benefit of having him out of the main base where he would constantly talk about his new wife and how they wanted a family.
The young necromancer saved by Roluth had also joined up and became a Minion. Revixit Stultus, who went by Rev, had been fully restored and was now beyond dedicated to their cause. Some limitations had been placed on his practice of necromancy though. Rictus was not really against it, but he understood the stigma against it and did not want his organizations reputation to suffer too much. Revixit was no longer allowed to raise humanoids, except in life of death situations. Instead, he was limited to only raising creatures, which was not too bad a restriction in Rictus's mind.
The young man had readily agreed and had actually found it worked better for him. His favorite creature was an undead bear which was affectionately named Honey. Combining his knowledge of anatomy, necromancy, and alteration magics had changed Honey into a monster. Its size had been increased, teeth sharpened, claws elongated, and its skin and bones reinforced with metal. The undead was even more powerful when Rev was personally controlling the beast and could easily shred through a group of armored bandits. He had claimed that his undead control spell actually worked better with animals than humanoids due to the lingering mana and soul fragments found on humanoids compared to animals. The addition of alteration magics had allowed Rev to alter the spell which expanded the undead's senses while being controlled. He had also been sent on a few intelligence gathering missions where he controlled small skeevers or other pests which could easily make their way into people's home without being noticed. The inclusion of the necromancer had gotten a little attention from others, but it was not too bad. A few other necromancers in hiding had actually made their way to the Restored and joined because of Rev. They were the ones who just loved the magics of necromancy without actually becoming a homicidal maniac.
Finally, Rictus had made Faralda one of his Minions. It had been a long time coming really. She had been one of the first mage friends he had made in Skyrim, and they had fought together a few times. She had been quite surprised at the entire process. Then after learning the archamge also had a similar blessing for enchanting, she had been upset. The fact the archmage did not select her for the blessing despite all the work she had been doing as an enforcer was quite insulting. That had been the final straw as she had unofficially left the college. To make it even more insulting towards Morrigan, she had taken the position of court mage for Jarl Korir. Rictus would have loved to hear what Morrigan thought about that, especially since Faralda did not even tell her. The controlling nature of Morrigan probably threw a fit at such a thing. It probably didn't help that the Synod, one of the two major magical institutions within the empire, was making heavy inquiries about the College's research and about some of the Synod's missing members who had been exploring Skyrim.
Rictus couldn't help but smile at Morrigan's misfortune and how he had poached one of the master mages from the college. He could admit to himself he was still feeling being a bit upset after finding out she had withheld information on Skills from him. The Synod had definitely not received information about the College of Winterhold having a powerful artifact from him. Just as the College of Whispers, the rival magical institution to the Synod, did not receive information about how the College of Winterhold had a similar stance on Conjuration magics and necromancy to themselves which could help them prove that the teachings of the Synod are a political minority in the empire, and deserved to be treated as such.
His smile only widened at the troubles that would cause for the archmage. 'What good is all this information if I can't use it for my own petty vengeances. Besides, it will be good practice in leadership skills for her. I am just helping her grow as a leader.'
Rictus continued chuckling to himself as he looked forward to what will come next for him and his Restored.
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[AN]: Not a super actiony chapter, but it was needed. I sadly could not squeeze everything into one chapter this week so next chapter will also be a bit of an info dump again. After that, the story will start progressing again.
