Dawnstar Under Siege (3)

Now that my target was growing colder with every passing second, I was able to start enjoying my time amidst the pirates as I wielded my axe freely, finding more and more pleasure in the bloodshed around me as I worked through the various enemies, gathering more and more experience with death as I swung my axe wildly.

With a Ward in one hand and a Quicksilver axe in the other, I was able to wade through the pirates clogging the palisade with ease, slashing through limbs and slamming my axe into their guts and chests as I pulled agro towards me, giving the others more openings to utilize.

Many of the pirates were discarding the shields they wielded and opted for a more offensive stance, anger clouding their judgement as the previously pathetic people of Dawnstar managed to put up a large threat to them now, killing their comrades in droves.

That anger had nowhere to go except towards us, blinding them of the dwindling numbers that allowed us to slowly encircle them as we added to the body count, suffering minimum casualties on our own side thanks to me acting as a conductor of their rage, grabbing their attention and using that to lead them to an early death.

Blood soaked the snow covered road of Dawnstar, flowing down into the harbor as bodies began to pile up in the streets, deep wounds leaking the beautiful crimson liquid that signified our win as we corralled the pirates together before cutting them down one by one.

Cutting them down was easy, and we made short work of the remaining pirates with precise stabs and slashes, putting them down and restoring peace to Dawnstar, even if it was momentary.

Brina flicked blood off of her Imperial Sword and climbed atop a palisade, standing steadily above everyone as she began to shout out orders to the citizens, pulling them from their early celebrations as she reminded everyone that there was indeed a second ship still lingering out in the ocean, watching and waiting.

I had no idea who or what might be on that boat, but considering the training and discipline that this batch of the pirates showed, whoever was on that other boat were likely formidable warriors of all kinds, and I had no desire to lose my life to carelessness.

So, while Brina organized and shepherded her flock through cleanup and new preparations, I had Rayya return to my side as we started our own preparations, getting our gear maintained and having any wounds or muscle tears healed up by Madena, who winced at the scent of blood that permeated our bodies.

With that out of the way, I began to tinker with some spells and kept watch over the harbor with Rayya beside me, my Thrall holding my bow loosely as she too looked out over the calm waters, daring the pirates to make another move.

However, it would seem that they were well versed in sieges and well disciplined, as the boat turned away and began to sail out of sight, leaving the citizens of Dawnstar with a lingering sense of dread and fear as they wondered when they might return.

There was little chance that they gave up on Dawnstar altogether, but they might be going about capturing it or subjugating it in a different way, one that might just be enough to bring this place down to its knees...

I was curious about what they wanted to do, so as the day slowly crawled by with everyone on edge, I turned my attentions instead to spell crafting, altering my spells slowly to benefit me and my style more then the base versions could.

Ward, for example, was shifted into two separate forms; a tower shield that blocked most things coming at me, and a smaller buckler form that I could use to block things with more precision and speed, freeing up my mobility at the loss of a stronger defense.

There was a lot I wanted to try, and this lull in the siege was perfect for me to experiment as I needed, all while Rayya and I continued to enjoy the depravities of a city experiencing such a troubling time.

Relief from the mounting stress was something that everyone craved, and with almost all of the citizens dealing with the harsh reality that they had just killed someone, it was a hectic time as well.

This world was different from my own in many ways, but the sheer dissonance that occurred through the killing of another person was still something that could ruin a person, even in a harsher, colder world like Tamriel.

People here were used to hearing about death through rumors and hearsay, through news carried and embellished by the couriers that traversed the frozen expanse of Skyrim, but just like in my own world, hearing and doing were two vastly different things...

So, Rayya and I played our parts with relish as more and more citizens craved the blissful comfort of intercourse to distract themselves, allowing me to grow stronger and further ensnare this lowly Hold.

Dawnstar and Falkreath... I had deep connections with both, and I had plans for the remaining seven Holds that comprised the beautiful, wonderful, dangerous land of Skyrim.