Chapter XVIII: Tullius
"You blew up the entire assault force... With a single spell." General Tullius deadpans at me when I finish explaining the battle at the pass, the veteran commander so often portrayed as unflappable and serious was seemingly having trouble holding back his sheer incredulity.
"Indeed I did." I nod proudly, completely ignoring the fact I ended hundreds of lives in a short moment "I also found out that a sufficiently potent fire spell turns the ground to glass upon detonation!" I explain enthusiastically to the mildly disturbed officer "You learn something new every day."
"Moving on" Tullius gives me a pointed look while Tiberius stares at me as if I grew a second head. Rikke remains unmoved however, she had learned to expect insanity from me and wasn't about to bother with entertaining me with a reaction.
"Right." I nod "After the battle I sent out my familiar to gather information and found out that there was an army of approximately three thousand warriors waiting on the other end, though I wouldn't worry about them attacking again anytime soon as their morale was thoroughly shaken by my work."
The General starts flipping through a bunch of scout reports and mutters "We had no idea the rebels were moving in such force." He frowns deeply "Our scouts failed to inform us of any enemy movement beyond the border, they in fact assured us that they noticed no force larger than a garrison moving about which is the only reason I saw fit to redirect some forces toward Falkreath."
"Probably because they were trying to infiltrate The Rift." I explain easily "While the local forces are not so skilled as to be able to hide an entire army, taking out a bunch of scouts or just plain misdirecting them is definitely within the skillset of some of the locals, especially when you count in the massive mountain standing in the way of any communication. And I have no doubts that Ulfric has done his best to recruit as many of the more talented agents to his cause as possible." I tilt my head in remembrance "Well, those that my own allies in the hold failed to recruit at the very least. Looks like Maven will be on the receiving end of some choice words when I am done here."
The Legionary General pulls out a personal journal and starts making notes on the eastern hold "I have heard that Riften is a cesspool but there was little tell of skilled agents among their number."
"Which is kind of the point." I quip.
His upper lip twitches either due to frustration with himself or with my irreverence... possibly both.
Deciding to skip the potential pissing match I speak again "Still, I'd recommend informing yourself about each and every hold while you are here, potentially even each settlement as every one of them has their own strengths and weaknesses, and underestimating them or taking them for granted will only lead to a waste of men. That and Nords do not appreciate their traditions getting snubbed, even the minor ones."
Rikke gives Tullius an amused glance and the General, visibly holding back his annoyance with the prodding he had no doubt already received from his subordinate, chooses to change the topic "In any case..." He gives us both a pointed look "The Legion thanks you for your assistance in dealing with a potential disaster, the appropriate authorities will be informed of your deeds."
"Much obliged." I offer him a lazy nod and then with a bit more energy I clap my hands "And with that out of the way maybe we should finally get to the real reason I am here?"
Some enthusiasm finally returns to the General as leans on the large table standing in front of him "Yes, if I am reading the situation correctly you wish to aid us in the taking of the city now that you have done sufficient damage to head off potential magi intervention?"
"Indeed." I approach the aforementioned table housing a highly detailed map of Falkreath's hold and indicate a paved road leading from the Pale Pass all the way to Solitude "Falkreath is by far the most important land supply route from Cyrodiil to the loyal parts of Skyrim and conquering it as fast as possible is a top priority, and I am here to make sure it happens without catastrophic losses on our side."
The General nodded his assent immediately "That is why we have been pushing this front with such vigor in the first place." He looks up at me with an appraising eye "I am told you played a part in making this strategy."
"It was nothing complicated so do not expect me to be some kind of hidden strategic genius." I immediately wave him off "I know the basics but anyone with true skill would likely outmaneuver me without much difficulty."
Much to the surprise of his two subordinates, Tullius lets out a quiet chuckle "To think I'd meet a mage who doesn't think they know best." He shakes his head and his amusement with it "Do not let that false humility blind you to a potential talent, however, no matter how unlikely it is that you may have it."
Instead of debating him I simply shrug "Something has to differentiate the truly powerful from the merely competent, knowledge of the self being rather high on that ladder. Now, what can you tell me about the enemy forces?"
Instead of telling me he pulls out a stack of parchment and offers it to me.
One clairvoyance assisted speed read later I looked back up to the trio of Legion officers who were currently discussing the continued siege bombardment of the city.
Tullius was the first to notice me and after signaling the two others to wait he greets me with a raised eyebrow "I trust you are sufficiently informed?"
"I am indeed." I nod and return the notes "The situation is fairly favorable for us if one discounts the rebels' home field advantage." I surmise non-committedly. And that was the truth of the matter, we had something close to seven thousand men, mostly from Solitude and Whiterun and some from Cyrodiil while the enemy had only about three thousand warriors with another three thousand militiamen of different kinds to support them.
All in all a relatively equivalent force when the rebels' defenses are added into the equation.
I also learned that Tullius had brought only three thousand legionaries with him from Cyrodiil, a bit frustrating but I could understand wanting to keep watch on the Thalmor while Torygg mopped up his own lands with minimal help.
At least he had the foresight to bring specialist units like the engineers I met earlier. The legionary force he brought with him consisted of six cohorts, specifically: One of engineers, two of artillery, one cohort of spellswords, another of elite light cavalry, and finally a unit of elite heavy infantry to help train the local recruits.
A well-rounded composition considering his intentions and role in the war. Why summon up a bunch of infantry if the local forces were enough to fully cover the frontline and you had the ability to instead cover their weaknesses?
"The unit of elite rangers is also an issue." I add after a moment, referring to another piece of information I got from Tullius' notes "While I doubt they would be able to defeat me, having a unit of over a hundred elite archers shooting enchanted arrows at me would be rather problematic in the case of an assault."
"The enemy has been holding them in reserve for the most part." Tullius adds "The only instant in which they were deployed is when we tried having Tiberius here harass the tower guards with his... summons." I can practically feel the man's disdain for the Dremora but he hides it well under the guise of professionalism.
"Wise of them." I say with some approval "And a perfect chance for us to demoralize them."
All six eyes move to me as I offer them a vicious grin "For you see my dear comrades, I have come up with a cunning plan."
Tullius raises an eyebrow.
Rikke deadpans.
And Tiberius shivers.
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(General POV, the following morning)
The defenders of Falkreath rose from their slumber and as they have done for weeks prior many went to relieve their comrades unfortunate enough to be assigned to the night guard.
An armored Nord woman climbed up one of the gatehouse towers to the south west of the city, it was known to be the most dangerous part of the wall as it faced the camp of the filthy imperials directly and was thus placed under most of the enemy's artillery fire.
Her eyes met with a tired comrade of hers who rose a hand in greeting "Ho there Anna, already mornin'?" The man asked groggily.
Before she could answer her eyes were drawn toward an odd sight, a lone legionary officer walking toward the walls with determination and a complete lack of fear.
Recognizing the summoner that brought no end of frustration to the defenders, Anna immediately rushed to call the marksmen, maybe they would finally be rid of the damn heathen.
(Tiberius' POV)
'Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!'
(Reyvin's POV)
"And you are quite certain I did not just send a promising officer to his death?" Tullius asks tersely, ever since I had voiced my idea he had been giving me odd looks I couldn't quite place.
"Relax General." I wave off his concerns, visibly far too relaxed for the situation at hand, something which annoyed the General fiercely "Worst case I will just run out there and retrieve him."
"And what if he is killed instantly?" Tullius asks, evidently still not all that content with simply watching things unfold.
"He has enough cannon fodder to survive." I say flippantly, earning another odd look from the middle aged Imperial "Oh come on now, who am I offending? The fucking Daedra?"
Apparently getting enough of my shit the General turns to his Legate and starts asking for his daily reports from the scouts and quartermasters, leaving me to my devices.
The fingers of my left hand move in practiced patters as the glaive in my right glows a dangerous red, an extremely complex spell circle slowly forming in front of me and my anticipation growing by the minute.
(Rebel POV)
It took the dozen or so marksmen assigned to the south-western section of the wall less than half a minute to arrive, all of them took positions and swiftly aimed at their target who was suddenly surrounded by a group of thirty armored Dremora.
But before even one of them could loose a single arrow a bright flash of crimson light appeared within the dead center of the enemy camp and within the blink of an eye a fork of bring red lightning smacked right into the heads of each and every one of the marksmen, precisely powered in such a way as to splatter their brains all over their allies.
One of the more sharp eyed among them seemingly noticed something in the enemy camp and swiftly hid behind the thickest stone wall he could find.
"Ulfr, what is going on?!" Anna yelled from her own covered position.
The man seemed just about ready to start hyperventilating but the question brought some focus to him and he managed to gasp out "Fl-Flame-t-t-tongue is h-here!"
A wave of despair spread among the Stormcloak troops atop the wall and like an avalanche continued through the entire city.
And then the Dremora started bombarding the gate with fireballs.
(Reyvin's POV)
"And bullseye!" I exclaim cheerfully, the charred cracks spreading atop the walls and towers bringing a sadistic smirk to my face.
"I see your boasts were not empty." Tullius comments from beside me "A couple more raids like this one followed by a fire attack and their morale will be broken enough for an easy assault." He easily surmises my entire plan.
"That was the point, yes." I nod "My presence alone is enough to scare them shitless apparently."
Immediately understanding the source of my certainty he mutters "Ah yes, your..." He trails off uncomfortably.
"Third eye General, no need to dance around the subject." I look at him with some amusement "I do know you were at least somewhat friendly with my father."
He nods with a hint of sadness in his eyes and mutters "Yes, he was... a dear comrade."
"That you lot betrayed." I quip but before he can defend himself I raise a hand "It matters very little right now, I am not my father nor were you obligated to do something stupid for a dead man."
The General offers a stiff nod and looks ready to change the topic but movement from the enemy makes me stop him in his tracks.
"It seems that some of the fools are braver than we believed, a bunch of cavalrymen are about to rush Tiberius." I do not wait for him to comment and start cooking up another long range spell.
He looks at me for a brief moment and nods "I see you have things well in hand, I will leave you to it."
"Have no fear General, they are all within my grasp." I say ominously as I am surrounded by the crimson glow of my spell.
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