Chapter 631 - Nordic Hustle

A/n: 13 Early Access Chapters on P4treon and MORE! https://linktr.ee/donovel

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Small Teaser: Envy has been created on Chapters 644

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"So he decided to work openly against us."

"I am sorry, Sir. But we may have acted way too soon."

"Are you doubting my leadership, Legate?"

"Of course not, Sir. I was only saying that we antagonized the court members way too hastily."

"We can't wait. The winter funds have almost run out and the lowered taxes have harmed us more. The Stormcloaks are getting provisions from God knows where and you expect me to not seize an opportunity to feed the Legion?"

The General and the Legate had their usual argument this day as well. As a Nord, Legate Rikke tried to ask General Tullius to be lenient when dealing with the Court of Solitude while he insisted that seizing the opportunity would be best for the Legion's provisions issue.

He aimed to secure the Legion enough political power to be able to receive more funds from the Nords for the war efforts. The number of Legion Soldiers under his command may have been doubled thanks to the relentless recruiting campaign he established but the numbers became his problem.

On the other hand, the Politicians of Cyrodiil may have limited the winter funds of the Legion so that it doesn't have too much power than needed. While the Legion is fighting against the Stormcloaks, they have to beg for money from the local lords and scrap whichever they can so they make ends meet.

This may prevent the Legion from overstepping its power but will also cripple it to some extent.

Somehow, that limiter balanced the power which the Legion had but its commander, General Tullius, wanted to use this chance and remove that limiter.

He had Jon to blame for the fall of his plan but there's no way he would deal with Jon anyway. At first, the General attempted to provoke Jon by trying to snatch his monopoly contract which failed then he tried to reel in the Dragonborn by the Lord's Mail armor which also failed. So now Jon is foiling his attempt to take over Solitude.

Just how to deal with that annoying man?

"General Tullius Sir!" At that moment, a soldier rushed into the meeting room.

"Report." The General responded.

"Two reports came just now. One from the Blue Palace and one from the City Gate." The Soldier said, "The watchers stationed around the palace report that Thane Bryling along with a small force of Guards and Jon Dare were seen heading on horsebacks and going out of town. The City Gate Sentries report the arrival of Thane Brina Merilis."

"Finally, she arrived!" The General became relieved at last.

"General General! Wait!" Legate Rikke ran after General Tullius as he walked ahead, "Brina Merilis? The former Legionary? She was the candidate we're after all along?"

"That's right." The General replied as he looked back.

"But this is the first time I hear of this?" Rikke said.

"I've kept it from everyone. I didn't want a certain Jon Dare to find out "somehow" and foil the plan. I also sent a formal notice to the Elder Council to assign Thane Birna of the Pale as a temporary Jarl to Haafingar until we find an excuse to keep her."

The General was planning all along and had his secret game happening in the shadows without the involvement of his right hand, Legate Rikke. This means he suspects a mole under his command a mole that is most likely a Nord.

It felt like an insult but one the General didn't speak and thus wasn't accountable for. Of course, he can't tell his Legate everything he does as strategic plans require a certain level of secrecy.

But that is no strategic field since the General is personally dappling into Politics.

"But Thane Birna isn't from Solitude or even Haafingar to begin with! She's from Dawnstar." Legate Rikke spoke following the General down the stairs.

"And?" The General asked.

"The People here won't accept a Jarl they have never heard of." Rikke said.

"As I said, the position will be temporary until they start seeing her as one of them. Don't you Nords bond too fast?" The General replied.

"No! Many won't let it just slide." Legate Rikke understood what General Tullius wanted from the start and gnashed her teeth.

First, he would force his own Jarl on the court of Solitude to divide and conquer them. Second, since the new Jarl was someone who served in the Imperial Legion, she will easily submit to the higher authority of a General. Third, the Legion will have access to all the funds it needs from Solitude's treasury aside from the War Tax it receives. Fourth, and as the most vital thing, Thane Brina Merilis isn't a big fan of Thane Jon Dare.

The last reason was certainly something very important in order to push Jon Dare's influence out of Solitude. During his rise to power, Jon Dare's first enemy was neither the pirates he eradicated nor the bandits he hunted to extinction, the first enemy he made was his neighbor, the city of Dawnstar.

Dawnstar was known to be a dock for all the ships that trade in the Sea of Ghosts and while it was modest, it was working just fine since the coast of Dawnstar was clear of any rocks and always provided service.

But Winterhold became the jewel of the north overnight. It overshadowed Dawnstar almost completely as Jon Dare constructed his docks and his ships. He even cleared the water with his own hands and magic as he secured safe ways for the ships to pass by and witness the marvels of the reborn Nordic city.

Meanwhile, Dawnstar suffered a setback after another and lost its prestigious spot when Jon made contacts with both the Great Houses of Morrowind and the East Empire Trading Company. All the focus was on him and he delivered an excellent service beyond what is expected. Dawnstar and the entire Pale had a rising amount of unemployment and many of the populace migrated east.

There was also that accident when Jarl Skald the Elder of Dawnstar took a family member of one of Jon's friends as a hostage in order to vex them and got his city raided and his longhouse burnt in an old school Nord raid.

Thane Brina Merilis wasn't a fan of Jarl Skald the Elder and his Stormcloak tendencies and even posed as opposition for his childish actions but she was nonetheless a member of Dawnstar and felt insulted by Jon Dare many times over he annoyance with Jarl Skald. Setting her up against him is a good move for the Legion.

And there they all gathered down at the city gate.

Thane Jon Dare of Winterhold and Whiterun, Thane Bryling of Haafingar, Thane Brina Merilis of the Pale, and following them was General Tullius of the Imperial Legion, Military Governor of Skyrim, and Commander of the Northern Imperial Legion.

Rikke felt like her head was about to hurt so badly.

Jon's mount was a large Flame Horse Atronach that looked both majestic and devilish as he seemed to have lent Bryling a similar one, compared to Thane Brina and General Tullius whose mounts were ordinary horses that seemed agitated from their Daedric counterparts.

"General!" Jon called, "I believe this is our first time meeting in an official ceremony."

"Thane Jon." The General returned the greeting half-heartedly and refused to shake hands with Jon.

"I see we're blocking the road of Thane Brina, excuse my poor manners." Jon said.

"It is nothing, Thane Jon." Brina Merilis passed Jon and Thane Bryling to stand by the General.

"Come on, Thane Brina, we're all friends here. No need for such stiffness!" Jon laughed loudly and acted all friendly before looking between the General and Thane Brina, "You two do your own thing, we'll catch up later over some mead since I am running out of time."

Jon Dare seemed to be eyeing what the two were up to as he smiled and rode ahead past the gate. Thane Bryling rode after him in a composed manner.

"My Lady, I am sorry for your loss." Thane Brina spoke to Thane Bryling.

"Thank you for your sincerity, my Lady." Bryling replied.

"I do wish to pay my respect to our former High King and Queen." Brina said.

"I won't be escorting you sadly, my Lady. If you excuse me, I have my duties to attend to." Bryling said and ignored both Brina and the General.

Following Bryling, there were over 20 Armed Guards who seemed to be prepared for a raid or something as well as a Priest riding a horse and carrying an ornate tray that has a War Horn and a Circlet accessory.

"What is that?" General Tullius asked.

"That is an offering for the dead." Both Legate Rikke and Thane Brina replied before looking at each other and greeting the other politely.

"Is it another Nord tradition? Where are they taking it?" The General asked.

"To an Altar. If the offering wasn't taken to any of the Eight Divines, it is probably being taken to the Ninth. The Horn belonged to High King Torygg and the Circlet to Jarl Elisif."

"They are offering it to Talos? Don't they fear that we may pursue and arrest them?" The General asked.

"Jon Dare is not one to shy or hide whatever unreasonable acts he does." Brina Merilis said, "Before the Stormcloak Rebellion, he was known to be hunting official Thalmor Justiciar publicly. Now that he is casting his flaming steeds in the city, he won't shy from wiping out an attachment of Imperial Soldiers."

"So becoming a criminal isn't something he minds?" The General spoke in an imposed manner.

"There won't be evidence to hold him accountable, General. He makes sure that even the corpses turn to dust that is scattered with the wind to Oblivion. He also performs the rites of Soul Trapping on the people that have great animosity towards him in order to prevent them from returning as undead and haunting his Northern Paradise." Brina Merilis said as she kept staring at Jon Dare, "He may give you the illusion that he is playing by the rules but the moment you believe that, he would have already cheated, doubled down on his bets, drained everyone else's money, and hogged all the pot for himself."

"When men acquire too much power." The General sighed.

"As I said, he would give you the illusion of playing a politician just to let his other plans pass by. I accepted your offer for the reasons you have told me, General, but if this turns into a losing game, I am afraid the consequences will be severe." Brina said.

"We know his aim, Lady Brina. His means may be radical but we only have to wait for the Elder Council to approve your Jarl Title. Jon Dare is going to send a caravan to Cyrodiil but what he doesn't know is that we have already sent ours an hour after the death of Jarl Elisif. We also won't let his Caravan just pass quietly." The General replied.

"I see you have prepared." Brina said, "But not enough."

"What do you mean?" The General frowned.

"You are making this whole situation about Jon Dare if you haven't noticed. He's a conman so he is making you focus on something rather than his actual goal, General. You never really know what trick the magician will play next."

"So it is a trick?" General Tullius asked.

"If it is only one." Brina laughed and pointed towards the Castle Gate.

There, a caravan was seen entering the city bearing the black and red banner of the Dare Dragon Trading Company. It was timed with the announcement that a caravan will come to bear the will of the people to the Emperor and so this is the target.

At the end of the caravan, Jon Dare stopped with his atronach horse and another person met him. That other person was clearly a woman and she exchanged an obvious smooch in the middle of the road with Jon. As she turned, General Tullius recognized the woman and felt uncomfortable.

"As I said, you don't know the magician's next trick." Brina said, "Now, he pushes his beautiful assistant to the stage just to distract everyone."

Seeing Alina Dare, who was leading the caravan, General Tullius was worried about what game was happening but also pleased that the person he selected to assist him was an expert in the tricks of Jon Dare. This time, it won't end like the incident of the Dare Dragon Company's Exclusive Contract over Winterhold Resources (which ended in a disaster) and the incident over contacting the Dragonborn.

Jon's caravan that was heading to the Imperial City is here in Solitude and it will be easy to track.

"Let's go and make some plans." The General turned with his horse and hurried back to his castle with Thane Brina and Legate Rikke following behind.

The game was afoot and everyone was ready to hog the big sweet roll known as the Hold of Haafingar. Little did they all know of a Crisis approaching with the dark skies.

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A/n: 13 Early Access Chapters on P4treon and MORE! https://linktr.ee/donovel