Homesteading VI

"Ah, Mr. Gora! You've finally made it! Oh, bless the Divines you came! We have much to discuss. I thought for sure the Thalmor had your little insurgency dead to rights, but you can tell me how you escaped later, what matters most is what happened at Helgen! Will you tell me what happened there?" Marcus asks intently.

"You already know Helgan was attacked by a dragon. Have you ever seen one in person?" I ask him in turn, slightly taken aback by him knowing my body's former acts in some form of insurgency.

"Well, no, now that you mention it…" Marcus says with a downtrodden look.

"I was lucky to get out who I could in the chaos. The town was completely laid to waste." I tell him.

"Then it is as I feared. My brother and his family, lost. Gods damn it all. I had hoped for better news." Marcus says with remorse.

"Even if they had survived the dragon attack, bandits moved in shortly after and would have captured them or worse." I explain to him.

"Yes, I've heard the fort is full of them. But appearances can also be deceiving. If I'm right, these are no 'bandits' at all. I have it on good authority there is a man known only as 'Val' inside the keep. He's the leader of a small group of, mercenaries, for lack of a better term. Their aim is to kill Thalmor wherever they're found. That they've come out of hiding is beyond mysterious. They're insurrectionists. A resistance movement if you will." Marcus says getting lost in his own thoughts.

"Killing Thalmor? Sounds like a man I'd want to know." I say with a devilish smirk.

"I thought as much, his name is Valerius Tiberius Artoria. We served for many years together in the Imperial Legion as Captains under Titus Mede II during The Great War. He was a good man in those days. An honorable man. Then the Aldmeri invaded and murdered his wife, son, and daughter in cold blood." Marcus says with a dark specter of the past flashing before him.

"Of course, that's what those bastards do best… How did they do it?" I ask in disgust.

"They marched them down the streets of the Imperial City and tortured them until they were dead, right in front of the Imperial Palace itself. They said, 'Let it be known that any family members of Imperial Officers found anywhere else in the province would receive a similar fate.' There were many such atrocities committed by those wretched maggots within those walls, and even more unspeakable tragedies in the rest of Cyrodiil." Marcus says with a particular venom in his voice before continuing.

"We were under orders to flee the city for Skyrim when they invaded. We left our people, our families, defenseless. Most did not survive. The few that did make it out were scattered as refugees throughout the rest of the Province. The plan was to regroup here in Skyrim, rest and resupply our forces and return to the Imperial City to retake it. That took almost a year. Surely you know the history? If not, this book will help you understand a little of what we went through." Marcus says, handing me a book on The Great War.

"Thank you for this, do you mind telling me what happened to the city?" I ask him after taking the book.

"When we finally returned to the city there wasn't much left. We split our forces and I led the charge from the southern Waterfront District, while Valerius attacked from the west. 'March right down to the main gate and knock on the door,' he said! The man had guts, that's for sure." Marcus reminisced.

"After we retook the city he started to change. He knew his family was gone, but when he learned they were tortured in the streets… He went mad and vowed to avenge their deaths. He started conducting covert operations that were unknown even to me, his closest friend. He took a handful of his most loyal men and began assassinating Aldmeri officers and diplomats wherever he could find them. Of course all of this was without knowledge or consent from our commanders. When they were caught, well, let's just say justice was swift." Marcus continues.

"How did he avoid execution?" I ask with interest.

"The Aldmeri feared making a martyr out of him as they knew the people were aware of his family's torture and murder. So the Thalmor pressured Titus to lock him and his men away in the Imperial Prison for the rest of their lives." Marcus explains.

"But, if the Empire locked him up, how did he get out?" I ask intrigued by his tale.

"Well, soon after his arrest, I decided my service had come to its end and retired from the Legion. But you don't get to be a Captain and not accumulate a few favors." Marcus says with a sly smile.

"So, I'm guessing you helped him escape?" I say taking a guess as to what had happened.

"Well, yes and no. I wasn't actually involved in the operation. But, a young lieutenant who served under me was stationed there after I retired. And he found an ancient passage out of the prison that had long been forgotten about. We always heard the stories about it from ages ago. But none of use believed they were true, and demised them as fairy tales, but they were true and Lt. Buckingsly found the passage!" Marcus exclaims joyously.

"So, on a dark and stormy night, Buckingsly quietly slipped a key into Valerius' cell and created a diversion which bought Val enough time to escape." Marcus continues.

"What happened to him and his men after the breakout?" I ask with growing interest.

"From there, they went straight away to Hammerfell to join the Redguard rebellion against the Aldmeri Dominion. It was rumored a secret 'brotherhood' who called itself 'The Keepers of Hattu' was formed after the signing of The Second Treaty of Stros M'kai. Most people passed these rumors off as baseless gossip. But the name 'Hattu' always had me intrigued." Marcus says stroking his chin in thought.