Chapter 721: Back to Solstheim

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"Well, this is truly unfortunate!"

"I have a hole in my chest.'

"A keyhole."

"A HOLE IN MY CHEST!" Jon shouted with a devastated face, "A man has one, and a woman has two. Why do I have two?"

"Technically, it is not organic."

"No! I can't!" Jon was in disbelief and sat on the ground while holding his head.

The one exchanging conversation with him sighed and looked at the third person in the room.

"It's alright, master. Technically that's not a third hole." Beth said.

"I don't want to be comforted in this matter by an underage." Jon replied.

The man watching this situation couldn't help but shake his head and sigh.

"Sir Jon, I think it is about time for me to leave Winterhold. While your a.s.sistance to the Order made us most thankful, we can't linger more than this in the normal world." Master Quaranir of the Psijic Order spoke.

Jon didn't turn around for the man but he told Beth to leave first.

"Was your research of value?" Jon asked.

"It was. Your fears are true, your methods have to be radical." Quaranir said.

"I just received one more clue." Jon said, "Atmora."

"The Gray Wind again?" Quaranir asked.

"Not him this time. Those in my shadow are starting to quieten down gradually one by one." Jon said.

"It is all for the good." Quaranir said, "The Gray Wind is a force that carries much malice towards the Elves. Your existence would have been a threat if it were to be left afterward."

"The Gray Wind is the threat you guys should fear." Jon smiled, "I am peaceful unprovoked."

"Indeed." Quaranir nodded with a sneer.

"Do I take that as a provocation?" Jon asked.

"No haha! Not at all, please." On the other hand, Quaranir started to act meekly before changing the topic hastily, "We have also found a clue regarding your request."

"Oh, I thought you guys were not interested in helping me." Jon said.

"Fate is not really our thing to cross but your request was quite specific. It got us interested." Quaranir said.

"Alright. I'll hear it." Jon sat down on a chair.

They were in his library/study at the top of the Dare Tower where he got all his collection on display with a lot of books and scrolls stored in the place.

As for Master Quaranir, the monk from the Psijic Order that was tasked to retrieve the Eye of Magnus, seemed to have been staying in the library for quite some time, maybe more than a few days even.

The Monk faced the Grand Thane and said one word.

"Vivec."

"Interesting!" Jon replied, "And?"

"That's all." The monk replied.

"Now that's infuriating." Jon crossed his arms on his chest, "What about Vivec?"

"That's all we got. We did you a favor in exchange for the favor we received and that name was the only whisper we heard from the Wellspring of Knowledge."

"Goodness!" Jon spoke in agitation, "You know who Vevic is, right? I'd get a proper answer from a 3 day old rather than get anything from Vivec. I mean is he even alive by now?"

"Truthfully, once the Ritemaster heard that the mention of Vivec came from the Well of Knowledge, he did some divining of his own and came to the conclusion that Vivec is probably alive."

"Conclusion? Probably?"

"As I said earlier, we don't really meddle in these things unless we need to. It seems that Fate has some untold tale for you, Sir Jon. And mark my words, Fate is a harsh mistress."

***

Jon was left alone pondering on the words of Master Quaranir alone.

"Vivec? Atmora? And a Shadow Gate?" Jon scratched his head in frustration before touching the keyhole that was on his chest and rubbing it nervously.

"Darling dear!"

Just as he was sunken in his deep thoughts, Alina's cheerful voice rang through the library.

With a single swing of his fingers, a minor illusion was cast on his chest and hid the keyhole from sight with the least undetectable amount of Magicka. As a wizard, he always had a lot of spells hovering over him, and masking such a minor spell with the least amount of Magicka was the only way to slip past Alina's senses.

"I'm here, honey." Jon then called her back.

"What are you doing here all by yourself?" Alina asked and got close enough to Jon for their bodies to press against one another, "The s.h.i.+ps are ready."

"You seem eager to go back to Solstheim." He said.

"You said once that Solstheim will hold a great challenge for you. I am only excited to be of help." Alina hugged Jon playfully.

He hugged her back and kissed her forehead before nodding.

"And what will you do once we get there?" Jon asked.

"I'll just stay at the sidelines and watch you kick a.s.s like a good wife." Alina said.

"Really?"

"No! I'll find the biggest a.s.s there is to kick and kick it before you do."

"Why are you so violent, woman? We try to solve things peacefully first."

"Really?"

"No! We kick a.s.s first."

Jon and Alina looked at each other silently before laughing. The two seemed a little bit nervous for each other, which was good, but they had to go seek out an enemy this time and with the amount of preparation they had, it should go according to plan.

***

*Solstheim*

It was bad, nothing was going according to plan.

The Redoran Guard lost many members as of the last few days they should start calling reinforcements from the mainland as soon as they possibly can.

Those who were standing guard at night were enthralled by the ash storms and disappeared somewhere, those who didn't disappear were attacked by Ash Sp.a.w.ns that started to reappear earlier this year, as for those who were still standing, they were terrified and demoralized to no end.

Councilor Lleril Morvayn of House Redoran sent many messengers by sea and magic to the mainland indeed but no news ever arrived. The second best option was to seek out Master Neloth of House Telvanni but the Redoran are a prideful bunch and they wouldn't resort to that option until they are really desperate.

Earlier this morning, Captain Modyn Veleth of the Redoran Guard has taken a force of young Dunmer and crossed the Bulwark with them in order to repel the Ash Sp.a.w.ns looming around the settlement while there are no ash storms.

If this mission was to go wrong, it would be the straw that broke the netch's back and Councilor Morvayn would have no leeway from seeking help from the neighboring Telvanni wizard. Lucky for him, Master Neloth was actually visiting Raven Rock to study the sight of the digging done by the brainwashed citizens nearby.

At that moment, the servant of Councilor Morvayn and his second, Adril Arano, walked in hurry into the Councilor's Manor.

"Councilor! Five s.h.i.+ps are approaching the sh.o.r.es." Adril shouted.

"What? Five! At once?" Councilor Morvayn jumped off his seat at once, "Is it House Redoran?"

"No, Councilor. They bear the flag of Skyrim."

"Nords? Why?" The Councilor wondered, "Trading?"

"They have sent a messenger on a boat with a message. They are requesting to deploy their forces on Solstheim." Adril Arano handed Councilor Morvayn a sealed letter.

Right away, the Councilor took the letter and opened it with his eyes going left and right so fast as he read the words.

"Grand Thane of Skyrim Jon Dare? 500 Troopers? Provocation from an unknown enemy on Solstheim?" The Councilor was trying to grasp what he was reading but his mind was lagging behind.

"500? We don't have one-fifth of that." Adril Arano exclaimed, "It's an occupation force!"

"He is requesting to deploy his troopers directly to fort Frostmoth. He's basically asking us to let him in."

"That's too polite, Councilor. We can't trust his intentions." Adril said.

"Yes, we can't but we have no choice either way if he wants to do so without respecting our authority." Councilor Morvayn said.

"You're saying that Skyrim is willing to provoke House Redoran, councilor?" Adril asked.

"Jon Dare is not Skyrim. House Redoran isn't something others cross just because they can either. Still, we can't let him roam the land for free." The Councilor thought, "It seemed that whatever is happening on Solstheim has conjured the wrath of our Nordic investor."

"What should I tell them, Councilor?"

"Tell Jon Dare that I would like to inspect his forces before letting them in. Ask them not to land in the dockyard but far to the north."

"You mean the Earth Stone?" Adril asked with a worried face.

"Yes. If he lands one-fifth of his force there for the Redoran Guard to inspect, we will see the true objective they are here for. After that, it wouldn't matter whether we agree to let their whole force land or not."

The Councilor had a plan in mind and was going to make sure that Jon Dare hasn't come this time as an enemy. However, if Jon Dare was still a friend of House Redoran, this would be good news. This man from Skyrim might be the answer to all his prayers.

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