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This time, Ralof had finished his enemy earlier than I did. However, he did not interfere with my fight, which I was grateful for.

Ralof smirked at me, and pointed at my side as he teased, "Told you you should have gotten that armor."

I rolled my eyes at him and looked around the room. This was the reserve, and in the game, there were several potions in the room.

And after a quick look, I found them.

Three red potions, one green potion, and another blue potion.

Health, Stamina and Magicka.

Probably lesser potions, considering their size and where we are. But still better than nothing.

I quickly gulped down a Health potion, and as the red liquid trickled down my throat, the effect was instantaneous.

I felt an itchy feeling in my back and on my side, and looking down I saw the cut healing fast enough to be seen by the naked eye, and while my back remained black, the pain was fading away.

Drinking down a second one for good measure, I followed with the Magicka potion, and this time, it was my connection with the Force, which had been strongly weakened by the lightning bolt, that was restored.

I was thus left with a Potion of Minor Healing and a Potion of Minor Stamina, which were small enough to get in my trousers' pockets, and so I pocketed them as I wasn't feeling tired, and my health was good enough.

"You good?"

I nodded at Ralof, and as we exchanged a grin, we continued running.

Unfortunately, our fun was short lived, as the next area was the torture rooms. And unlike the game, there were no Stormcloaks fighting the Torturer and his assistant. Instead, all we found were three cages, with flayed men inside.

Ralof's face turned grim, while the Torturer looked at us in surprise, "Stormcloaks running here? What exactly is all this fuss about?"

Ralof growled like a beast and charged the Torturer, but his assistant got in the way, blocking the two axes with his mace. He was of another level, compared to the ones we had killed until now.

At the same time, the Torturer thrust both hands forward, forming a kind of ball with his hands as he shot lightning at me.

With both hands taken by my swords, I couldn't use Energy Absorption. So, instead, as I rushed at the Torturer, I moved a finger to use Force Pull.

The Torturer, who wasn't expecting that, got interrupted in his casting as he took a step back, while I arrived in front of him, having only gotten electrocuted a little.

But as I expected the fight to be over, the Torturer took out a dagger from god knows where, and managed to intercept my swords.

He was weaker than me, but he managed to use the force of the clash to jump back, and thrust his palm at me.

What came wasn't a stream of lightning though, but a shard of ice.

Icicle, the Adept Rank Spell!

This would hurt much more than a sword to the side, and would drain my stamina. Moving both of my swords in front of me, I managed to block the projectile, and continued rushing at the Torturer.

He continued firing Icicles at me, but I parried each and everyone of them, until I reached him.

He tried to use Frostbite to force me to defend, but I decided to tank it, and swung my swords.

I felt my chest turn cold, to the point it started hurting, while I started feeling tired. However, it only lasted for a moment, before I severed both of his hands, followed by his head.

[Torturer killed. Rewarded 500 Points.]

Taking a chilly breath, I turned to look at Ralof. He had the upper hand, but he wasn't finished. So even if he had somehow managed to survive all the way here on his own, he would have never won against the Torturer and his assistant.

My greed for Points beckoned me to attack the assistant in his back and get the kill, but I stopped myself from doing that. Not because it would be dishonorable, but because it would be rude to Ralof, and wouldn't be worth it in the long run.

Moreover, with how complex this saving mission turned out to be, I expected great rewards from its completion.

While Ralof finished off the Torturer's Assistant, my gaze wandered through the room, before stopping on one of the cages. In there, was no flayed man. Instead, it was a man in robes, with a book and a few septims at his feet.

Kicking the door off its hinges, I grabbed the book, and shamelessly stripped him down.

This man was a mage, who had somehow ended up here. In the game, the book at his feet was a skill book for the lightning destruction spell, Shock.

As for his hood, it had an enchantment to increase the amount of Magicka its wearer had, while the robes increased Magicka Regeneration. I didn't exactly remember the exact values, but they remained interesting nonetheless.

I didn't want to put them on, as they would get damaged in the next battles. Thankfully, there was a bag on a table in the middle of the room.

Quickly stepping between the two fighters, making Ralof laugh and the assistant grunt, I picked up the bag, and was pleasantly surprised when I found another healing potion inside. I had forgotten about it.

I brought the bag to the cell, took out the potion and the lockpicks, placed the enchanted clothing at the bottom before placing my three potions on top, and the lockpicks.

I wasn't going to use them, but you can't stop a hoarder from hoarding.

By the time I was finished, Ralof was also finished with his fight. He had a satisfied expression on his face as he closed his eyes, muttering, "My brothers in Sovngarde, this was for you."

I smiled at the show of camaraderie, but my gaze stopped on the last thing I considered interesting in the room. No, not the book about the Dragonborn. I know his story well enough already.

Instead, it was the two handed, Steel Greatsword hanging off the wall.

That, I was sure, wasn't in the game. Was this a reward for me?

Well, I'm taking it anyway.

Discarding the two swords I had been using to fight, I grabbed the Greatsword, and the moment I held it, I knew it was the right weapon.

I could actually feel the weight of it, despite it not being bothersome, nor would it hinder my movements. It was just enough to give me a feeling of power when I swung it.

I gave it a couple of swings, and Ralof praised, "You look mighty, brother!"

I grinned, and with a bag on my back and a giant sword in my hands, continued running down the keep, heading for the last group of Imperials in the keep.

The following room was already half in the cave, with barely any construction left. The room was quite beautiful, with a small stream of water trickling down the middle of the room.

Getting in the room, I counted 14 Imperials, with 10 Officers and 4 archers. Quite the challenge, I must say. There's definitely more of them than in the game.

Fortunately for us, they were looking away from us, at the moment. And so, without any further ado, I rushed at the closest, an officer in heavy armor.

I must not have been as quiet as I hoped, however, as he turned around just as I reached him, and prepared for my strike.

I saw the way his eyes widened, and his mouth deform as he screamed, "Stormcloaks!"

However, as the rest of the Imperials turned around, they were greeted with the gory sight of me, bisecting the man at the waist with my greatsword.