Grey-mane and Battle-Born

[A/N]: Sorry about the lack of chapter yesterday. Busy with life and forgot to schedule the release. A bonus chapter will be released though so not too bad a trade.

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Their victory was absolute. No casualties for them while all the enemies were defeated. The gambit with the goats worked even better than imagined. Rictus was impressed by Ken's cunning. He had been the first one to realize there would most likely not be any trees usable in the ambush spot. Instead, he got lucky when they passed a local goat herder on their way out to the ambush spot. Ken decided to purchase the whole herd to use as a backup plan for when they found no trees. The goats would even be useful as a food source for their new base, so it was a win all around.

Rictus was very pleased with Ken and his men's performance. It was a textbook ambush with no survivors to tell of it. The men were quite happy with being able to defeat some Thalmor, and they quickly looted and disposed of all the bodies. The spoils were quite nice for the group. The horses and carriages were the most practical of the loot while the gear would supply a pretty penny to the right sources. One of the men even suggested selling the equipment to some people he knew in the Stormcloaks so they could ambush more Thalmor. While he was not on the side of the Stormcloaks, Rictus was not a fan of the Thalmor and supported the idea.

The biggest gain of the night was currently standing in front of Rictus. It was Thorald Grey-mane. Saving a member of the famed Grey-mane clan would be worth quite a bit. It was always good for a powerful family to owe you a favor. Saving the son of one of the leaders of Clan Grey-mane and the best blacksmith in Skyrim from the Thalmor would be worth quite the favor for certain.

Thorald was currently studying Rictus. He was fairly imposing with his large stature and black robes. The way the men under his command acted showed just how dedicated they were. Despite not saying anything, the men would seem to perk up unconsciously whenever his eyes would rove over to see what they were doing. Thorald didn't know what Rictus had done, but he knew these men would gladly follow Rictus to Oblivion itself.

"What will happen to me now and what do you want?"

Thorald couldn't help but break the silence between him and Rictus. He had to know if he was saved or just traded from one jailer to another.

Rictus took a second to think about his answer.

"Well, there are a lot of things I want. But I think you mean what I want with you. It is simple really. I don't care for the Thalmor, and my men hate them. This provided a wonderful opportunity to hurt their operations here in Skyrim as well as saving a member of the Grey-mane clan. So, I will get all this easy loot as well as the favor of the Grey-manes when they find out I rescued their son from the Thalmor. Sounds like a good thing for me."

Thorald was a little shocked at Rictus's bluntness about his distaste for the Thalmor and getting a favor out of his family.

"Are you a Stormcloak? Did someone send you to rescue me?"

Rictus could help but laugh at the assumption.

"Haha…no. I am not part of that doomed rabble. I am my own boss. No one sent me either. I heard about this group and decided to act, simple as that."

Thorald could not help but get a little angry at the way Rictus dismissed the Stormcloaks.

"You don't know what you are talking about! The Stormcloaks are a strong fighting force which will soon take Skyrim for the Nords and out from under the Empire and Thalmor. Ulfric is a decorated hero and much better leader than Torygg."

Rictus couldn't help but partially agree.

"I will grant Ulfric is a better military leader and more decisive than Torygg was when he was alive. Ulfric is not a very good ruler, especially when it comes to other races. Besides, the Stormcloaks have mostly been lucky so far in my opinion."

The confusion of Thorald's face was quite clear to Rictus.

"What do you mean by when Torygg was alive? What happened to him? Also, The Stormcloaks have won many fights against the Legion already. Windhelm is thriving under Ulfric's leadership."

Rictus couldn't help but let out a sigh. He did not really want to debate with Thorald, but his men still needed longer to dispose of all the bodies.

"Ulfric killed Torygg not too long ago and is now on the run from the Legion. I am sure even you heard some rumors about that."

Thorald nodded his head. He had thought that was what he heard while in prison, but he wanted to make sure. The guards could have been using false information to trick him somehow.

"Yes, I have. You did not have any rebuttal about the victories of the Stormcloaks or Windhelm. Can it be you see the error of your previous words already?"

Another sigh escaped Rictus. He was hopeful to skip past this.

"No. I do not think I am wrong. Windhelm is still doing okay, but the way they treat the dark elves and argonians is not good. It will eventually breed resentment which could lead to rebellion as you so well know. I cannot say a person is a good ruler when their city is so divided, and they do nothing to resolve these disputes and only make it worse with their lack of oversight."

He took a moment to gather his thoughts a bit more before continuing.

"As for the Stormcloaks' so called victories, are you actually saying a few successful ambushes against Legion recruits is something to celebrate? You do know the Legion here in Skyrim is not one of the Empires true Legions right? The empire sent their legionnaires here and then moved them into supervising positions to help train all the new recruits they have gotten here in Skyrim. Your stormcloaks have basically been ambushing young people without much training in places where you are more knowledgeable about the terrain. I do not consider killing green recruits in your backyard as a true measure of success. Your main saving grace before now was that it was not open rebellion and that the major pass between here and the rest of the empire has been blocked which has kept a real Legion from coming here and stomping your little rebellion. The only people you are actually helping are the Thalmor and the Dominion by killing your own people and weakening the Empire."

Rictus finally stopped for a breath. He had said a bit more than he had been planning, but he thought it was all true. A weak Skyrim led to a weaker Empire which was a good thing for the Dominion. An independent Skyrim could also be a bad thing if the Dominion decided to invade the Empire again since it would make cooperation with the Empire against the Dominion more difficult. Rictus did feel a little saddened by it all. Overall, he did like the idea of an independent Skyrim. He did not care for the approach for independence nor how it would most likely lead to a victorious Dominion should they attack again, which seemed likely.

Thorald seemed a little stunned by everything Rictus had said. He was not convinced the Stormcloaks were bad, but he was thinking about things he hadn't considered initially. Before he could think much more, Rictus spoke again.

"They are finally done. We will be headed back to our base. You are welcome to stay there for now if you are worried about making trouble for your family. This will at least provide an opportunity for them to say goodbye to you discretely. I will send a letter to them and let them know."

No more words were shared between Rictus and Thorald as they made their way back towards Whiterun. Thorald was lost in his thoughts about what to do next. He was still considering joining the Stormcloaks, but Rictus's words about killing recruits in his backyard kept popping into his head. Thorald did not know what to think.

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The reunion between Fralia and Thorald was quite touching. Fralia knew her son could not stay there, but it was tough on her anyways. She was extremely grateful for Rictus saving her son which many were thinking was dead at this point. She agreed to pay back Rictus someway, and the Grey-manes owed him a favor. It was not long after that the two Grey-manes left. Where Thorald ended up going, Rictus neither knew nor cared. Admittedly, he would know the general location due to his sources, but the details are not important just yet.

An unexpected visitor came to Rictus's new base asking for an audience. It was quite a surprise, especially given who had just left.

This was Rictus's first-time meeting and interacting with Idolaf Battle-born. Rictus was curious as to why he had come to visit him. They should not be well known yet since they have only cleared the bandits from here not too long ago. Idolaf looked like many of the other Battle-borns. He was a physically fit and strong looking Nord wearing imperial legion armor, despite not actually being part of the legion. They were meeting on the overlook which was quickly becoming Rictus's favorite spot.

It did not take long for Idolaf to let his reasoning for visiting be known.

"I saw the old Grey-mane coming here. I hope that was not you picking a side."

Rictus raised an eyebrow at his threatening tone.

"I am not aware of which sides you are talking about. Do you mean imperial or stormcloak? Also, Fralia was just coming by here to try and get us to look for her son. I declined to go out and look for him."

Rictus didn't lie. He did not agree to go look for him since he already had him here. Fralia also was trying to look for her son, but the letter sent to her telling her to come here probably helped. Therefore, all things said were the truth, to a degree at least.

Idolaf seemed a little tense at the mention of Fralia's son, but he quickly composed himself after Rictus said he declined her request.

"He is probably dead by now anyways. Better the old lady gives up hope. The sides I was talking about were the ones which matter in Whiterun, Battle-born or Grey-mane. You should already know about our two families. There has been quite a feud going on between the two families. That history lesson is not the reason for me coming here though. I just wanted to meet and congratulate the newest mercenary force here in Whiterun. The Companions have gone a long time with no real competition. It doesn't help that they are basically in bed with the Grey-manes either. It is a good thing they are not the only ones any longer."

Rictus was a little surprised at how open Idolaf acted. He was basically coming to see if the new mercenary company here was backed/supported by the Grey-manes. He hadn't said anything yet, but it seemed he was hopeful to have a better working relationship with Rictus since the Grey-manes had the Companions.

"I thank you for your congratulations. A bit of a rivalry keeps things from getting too stale. Although, I believe the Silver hand are more of a rival towards the Companions than us."

Idolaf's eyes grew a little at the admission from Rictus. Very few people knew the secret of the Companions. The Battle-born clan did know about it and didn't support it. Idolaf wondered how much Rictus really knew about the feud between Battle-born and Grey-mane. It was common knowledge that the Grey-manes supported the Companions. It was definitely not common knowledge the Battle-born provided limited support to the Silver hand. Idolaf was more guarded against Rictus since it seemed he already knew their secret.

"Ah it seems you are very well informed. Your discreetness is a credit to your reliability."

Rictus agreed. He was well informed. There was something which stuck out. Rictus's comment about the silver hand, while true, was more of an offhand comment. Rictus did not miss out on how Idolaf reacted to it though. It seemed Rictus had accidently stumbled upon a hidden gem. The Battle-born were supporting the Silver hand to some degree. Rictus did not know how much they supported them, but he would find out. A smile crept up on Rictus's face which seemed to make Idolaf even more uncomfortable.

"Thank you for the complements. If you or your family have any requests, you are more than welcome to bring them to us. We will mostly only operate in the surrounding areas, and we do not accept every contract which comes our way. My associates will most likely be the ones you interact with the most unless it is a very important and large request."

Idolaf quickly nodded towards Rictus.

"Great. That is delightful to hear. I am sure we will keep that in mind going forward. I appreciate your time, but I must be going. I need to talk to some blacksmiths about more swords for the legion. Good day to you."

Rictus couldn't help but chuckle at the retreating man. Idolaf sped up hearing Rictus laugh. Rictus did not mean for his laughs to be that loud, but he did not really care. He was not a fan of how pompous Idolaf acted when he first got here. Still, the bad blood between the 2 clans seemed to be a little more intense than the game showed. The fact the Battle-Born were coming to him showed they were wanting even more power under them to try and compare to the Companions. Thinking to get a mercenary company which compared to the Companions was a bit of a joke. Rictus was proud of what he had going on here, but he knew the Companions were still the most famous "guild" in Skyrim.

Regardless, he had learned a new fun bit of information. Rictus was not sure if he would actually tell the Companions about this or not. Rictus thought remembered the Silver hand launching an attack at the Companions in Whiterun, but the details were a little fuzzy. Having the Battle-Born support them would explain how they were so easily able to enter the town and approach the mead hall without being detected, as well as for some members to escape. Rictus would make sure to tell his people to keep an extra eye on the Battle-Born clan. They seemed to practice a lot of sneaky actions.

Ken came walking up to Rictus not long after Idolaf left.

"You seem to be quite popular today. You have one more visitor here, and if my sources are correct, another one is on her way here as well."

Rictus quirked an eyebrow at this. He was not used to getting visitors. Killing off a bandit group and claiming their territory made one much more popular apparently. Ken was quick to elaborate when he saw the look on Rictus's face.

"Kodlak Whitemane is asking to speak with you. He also asked if you would mind coming out to the front of the camp since he claims his knees are not what they used to be. The other suspected visitor is a healer from Whiterun. I believe her name is Danica. It will still be a while yet before she gets here."

Rictus nodded along as he stood up from his seat. Rictus decided not to keep Kodlak waiting. Kodlak had been good to Rictus so far in allowing training in weapons as well as generous pay for helping the Companions that one time. Instead of taking the long way down, Rictus simply ran to the edge of the overlook and threw himself off the side. Ken could be seen shaking his head at Rictus's action. The first time he had done this had nearly given everyone a heart attack, but it had become Rictus's preferred way of leaving the base by now. Ken had tried to warn him about the consequences of flying in the Empire, but he had laughed it off and said it wasn't flying, but 'falling with style.'

Rictus quickly fell through the air on his way down to the cave entrance. He loved the feeling of free falling. It was also a much faster and more fun way of getting to the entrance than walking. It only took a few seconds before Rictus had made it down to ground level where he superhero landed right in front of the entrance. The few people who were out in the camp barely batted an eye now at Rictus antics. Rictus still smiled though. He did these things to amuse himself, not those around him.

Kodlak was sitting looking over the plains of Whiterun so he did not see Rictus land, but he did turn around at hearing him. Rictus was impressed the old man's hearing was sharp enough to distinguish him approaching from so far away. Kodlak looked Rictus over as a small smile appeared on his lips.

"I should have known it was you. No one had really mentioned your name, just that a new mercenary company was right here in Whiterun. When I heard they were led by an imposing mage wearing dark clothes, you were the first to come to mind. Shame really. I was hoping you would join the Companions. Talos knows we could use more sensible people who know more than how to swing a blade."

Rictus couldn't help but smile along with Kodlak. There was something about this man which seemed to put people at ease. He was still a warrior, but his demeanor portrayed a wise old solider who had seen a lot in his lifetime.

"Eh, I was never really planning on joining up with the Companions. I liked being a magical consultant, but I am not the biggest fan of all of your members."

Kodlak chuckled remembering how some of his Companions had gotten beaten while underestimating the mage.

"Yes, I can see where you are coming from. Some of those children are lacking sense. Their hearts are in the right place though. They just need some more guidance. Some will definitely be a little disappointed you are not going to join. I am pretty sure Aela, Ria, and especially Mathred considered you part of the Companions already. They even debated taking you with them when they left for their mission not long ago, but Skjor talked them out of it. Something about how they shouldn't need any help with such a simple assignment."

Rictus nodded along. He really did have a good relationship with those 3. Fighting together and then hanging around them so much recently had really brought them closer. Mathred the Mute was a great listener and would not interrupt Rictus whenever they talked. Maybe that was just because he couldn't talk, but Rictus liked to think that didn't matter.

"I am flattered they thought of me. We have fought and feasted together which brings people closer for sure. Thinking of the other members, I do believe you will be more than up for the challenge of molding them into exceptional warriors."

"Hahaha. You flatter an old warrior like myself. Although, I am worried at times who will step up whenever I am gone for this world… Nothing you need to concern yourself with though. I was just wanting to see for myself the group people are saying will be our new competition. I can see the potential in you, so I do not worry about what will happen between our two groups."

Kodlak began to rise as it seems he had done what he had set out to do. Rictus took a look at the man before speaking again.

"Kodlak. I want to warn you. Things are going to get bad soon. It is not truly my place, but you should consider if you prefer to be a hunter or a warrior. If you need any help, I would be honored to assist you."

Kodlak's eyes hardened hearing Rictus talk about hunters and warriors. He had been thinking a lot about that recently, and Rictus seemed to have easily perceived his inner struggle. Perhaps this would be a solution to his worries.

"I appreciate the gesture. I will consider it. I know the impeding civil war seems daunting, but I have made it through wars before. No need to worry about this old man."

Rictus continued to stare at Kodlak.

"I am not worried about the civil war. There are bigger changes coming than a simple war of men. It will not be long till you see it as well. When you do decide you don't want to participate in the eternal hunt, I will help you get the cure if you but ask."

Kodlak narrowed his eyes as he observed Rictus for any falsehoods. He was not sure what Rictus's goal was in offering his help, but Kodlak could sense the sincerity in his offer. He did not know what Rictus meant by bigger changes than war, but he would keep vigilant. Kodlak was old and wise enough to understand some powerful mages could perceive the change in the world better than most. Kodlak simply nodded his head as he made his way back to Whiterun.

Rictus raised a stone chair to sit in as he watched the old warrior leave. He really did want to help Kodlak out. The weight of his eternity was weighing on his shoulders, and it was not a light burden to carry. Rictus continued sitting there as one of their new baby goats snuck up and jumped into his lap for some pets.

Rictus couldn't help but sigh at the goat's antics. He was happy the goat had waited till Kodlak left. The Companions already jokingly called him the goat herder. Their new herd of goats Ken had bought last night sure won't help matters, especially when the young ones constantly begged for pets whenever he went outside.

The baby goat looked up at Rictus with pleading eyes and let out a small bleat as it begged for more pets. Rictus let out another sigh.

"Fine. I suppose I will wait here until the next guest arrives."

The goat let out a content bleat as it got more comfortable in Rictus's lap. Rictus was looking forward to what the healer was going to ask. He got a feeling it would be their first official job offer since gaining control of this place.

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[A/N]: 100,000 words with this chapter... I can't believe the story has made it to this benchmark. My ideal 10,000 word short story apparently has gotten a bit longer than planned. I suppose it happens sometime.