Tortured

Brom opened his eyes and saw that he was outside, it was lightly snowing, and the sun was shining. He was watching the man who got stabbed in his last dream, chop wood.

"Wow! Show me how dad!" Brom heard the same kid's voice.

"Haha, of course. You are a big man now, aren't you?" The man laughed with a deep and hearty voice.

"Yeah!"

Brom swelled up in pride as he walked towards the man chopping the wood. But when he got closer, the woman who was this child's mother, called from the house.

"Help!" Upon hearing this, the scene flashed and changed.

Brom turned and looked at the house and saw it was on fire. The sky was now raining ash instead of snow and he was being dragged away from the house. The man was nowhere to be seen.

"Noo!!" Brom heard himself scream.

Then he was hoisted up by the Thalmer elf who had been dragging him and the elf hit him on the head, knocking him out in the process.

Brom woke up still hearing that woman scream covered in a cold sweat. Then he realized it wasn't a woman's scream he was still hearing, it was his Horse's! He quickly ran through the fort and outside where he saw the horse throat had been slit, next to it there was a blood splatter and some human footprints leading towards the gate. Cursing to himself, Brom sprinted following the track and saw a man trying to sneak into the forest.

Brom, fueled with the anger from both his horse dying and the dream, easily caught up and tackled the man. He slammed his foot onto the man's head and knocked him out.

Taking the man inside he put him in the old Skeever fighting pit. There were still some skeevers in cages ready to be released from when the bandits used this fort. While waiting for the man to wake up, Brom went back to the room he slept in and got his armor on. He also got the most important valuables from the horse. Going back to the fighting pit, he sat down in the main chair near the release lever and waited for the man to wake up.

Brom was going to use the pit as a torture area, Skeevers do low damage and he would be able to use Healing Hands to keep the man alive. This would serve dual purpose in letting him practice restoration magic and could give him some information on who he needed to hunt down later. While he was waiting Brom, started studying a new spell tome he found in the fort. A novice destruction spell called Sparks.

-Logvas's Perspective-

Logvas opened his eyes and saw… a stone floor? That can't be right, the last thing he remembered he was killing that monster's horse then running off and… he jumped to his feet and looked around. he had been captured by him, the monster of a man who had destroyed their forces.

"Good, you are finally awake." The monster said with an air of overwhelming power.

"I won't betray our leader!" Logvas shouted defensively.

The monster was sitting in the old leader's special chair. And Logvas finally realized he was trapped in the Skeever pits. Quickly scanning around he saw that they were still in their cages. For now.

"Of course not, but which leader is that? The one with his brains painting my fort walls maybe?" Amusement was evident in his voice.

That monster was laughing at this, not only that, he had already claimed this place as his! Logvas was angered that such a thing could happen and started shouting curses at Him. Then the monster was suddenly enveloped in a string of lightning, it crackled around him seeming not to harm him. Then the monster extended his hand and shot lightning at the cage around the pit.

Logvas fell to the ground, there was lighting all around him. The very cage was ready to kill him! He really started panicking and looked for an escape. Then he heard a familiar sound, the sound of the locks on the skeever cages being opened. Horrified Logvas looked up and saw the monster was watching with a smile while lightning still crackled around him. He then quickly looked at the monster sized skeevers that were specifically bred to be huge and ferocious, easily able to kill a man in seconds.

"You talk and I'll let you die"

Logvas scoffed, the skeevers would kill him before his will gave in. He closed his eyes and waited to be attacked. Then he felt it, ragged sharp claws ripping into his left leg and crooked teeth in his right shoulder. Dropping to the ground he started screaming in pain, he was being eaten alive. Logvas was just conscious enough to notice an itching feeling crawling over his body. He ignored it, it would all end soon enough anyway.

A minute passed and he was still screaming in pain and then two minutes and still, he had not died. Confused he opened his eyes to see that the Man who killed all his friends was healing him! He was keeping him alive just enough to be continued to be fed on. Logvas realized that this torture would not end until he gave in. but he was proud and would not let this monster break him in only a few minutes.

Logvas's world became nothing but pain and the sound of his screams echoing off the walls. But it never ended, he was eaten alive over and over but he couldn't die! Logvas broke down and started crying, he was helpless and lost all his hope. He was willing to do anything to make the pain stop, he just wanted to die already. Then it stopped, the pain stopped, the itching was still there but after a few seconds, he felt fine.

Stunned he looked up the man who made him experience hell with confusion.

"Talk, and I won't release the others"

"Fine! Please, just stop!" Logvas was broken.

"Then Talk!" The man shouted with force.

"Yes Okay. We ran into a different bandit group and joined with them. They promised revenge on you for our loyalty. We agreed! I don't know his name but when he sent me here to kill your horse he told the others to march towards Fellhammer! That's all I know I swear!!"

Logvas was on his knees, crying in shame and fear. He looked up at the monster and saw his relief. Lighting was once again crackling around him.

"If you are not telling the truth, I will bring you back from oblivion and let the rats feed on you forever"

Logvas eyes widened as he was sure this monster was capable of such things. Then he saw it stand up and extend its hand. Light flashed in his eyes then Logvas ceased to think, getting his wish of peace.

-Brom's Perspective-

Torturing that man was the biggest moral hurdle Brom had to jump so far. Feeling a little sick, Brom knew that this was a necessary skill if he was to build a kingdom later. Leaving the corpse to rot in the pit. Brom headed back to his room in the fort and sat down, he still had some time before dawn.

He was exhausted from only getting a fitful few hours of sleep then having to deal with that bandit. All of this after his long journey from The Mine. Sighing Brom laid down, he could still get some sleep before he had to walk to Dawnstar. He would deal with those bandits when he was rested and had another horse. Damn horse murderer making him walk, to Brom, in his tired state, it almost justified the torture he just did to the man. Too wound up to sleep, Brom sat down and meditated on his magica.

He had gotten into this habit when he learned that the more you drain your magica the deeper it would get. He related it most to a muscle, the more you exercise it the stronger it grows. Quickly summoning it and firing it off in spells allowed him to use it faster and make it easier to control. Then slowly releasing it in a steady wave until he was completely out, made it produce more the next time. And casting spells that were barely in his magica capabilities helped make it stronger and denser. So Brom would switch between these methods and drain his magica each way at least once.

It was a slow and tiring process; it definitely was not like what other fan-fiction novels had called cultivation. Or if it was, it was a very weak version. And with no way to check his stats like in the game, he had no idea how much he was improving. He only knew he never felt that much stronger after, but he could tell a slight change. This was just enough to convince him I was doing something and so he continued.

After doing this a few separate times Brom felt drained enough to finally pass out and even all his stress and worries couldn't fight this wave of exhaustion. Falling back to sleep quickly, he did not dream again that night.