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With the Palace being occupied with Pirates, the team of three had no other option but to use the tunnels beneath Wayrest to push in and sneak their way to the library.
"Brings back any memories?" Glymet asked.
"Ones that are not really pleasant." Jonrad replied.
"What kind of memories?" The Princess asked as she walked between the two.
"The War." Glymet replied, "We used tunnels like these to sneak in and out. Divines knew what kind of abominations we had to run through in places like these."
"Sounds cheerful." She replied before stopping, "Here! This secret passage leads to the library. You will have to go in, secure the place, and make sure no one comes in. I'll hide there while you gentlemen go further to the servants' residence. From there, you can follow the service corridors straight to the inner palace. Dispatch any enemy you see."
"Those are too many orders." Glymet said with a smirk.
"Ones you are fully capable of achieving, Assassin." She replied with a hint of anger which made Jonrad wink for his friend to hurry up and not get things complicated.
As she commanded, the two supersoldiers went into the library and secured it for the Princess to hide. She was smart enough to dress like one of the palace servants and hide her jewels. With minor spells she knew, her hiding spot was fully prepared.
Meanwhile, Jonrad and Glymet returned to the secret passages and snuck their way to the chambers behind the palace as Roselle instructed. On the way, Glymet asked.
"The Princess was giving you the cold shoulder, wasn't she?" He asked.
"Yeah." Jonrad seemed less amused about talking to this particular friend, "She is up to what we are up to."
"Well, that's another relationship not working out for you, friend. Just go back to Skyrim and live your life." Glymet poked him.
"Stop sticking your nose, man." Jonrad replied, "You know what, you owe me a relationship that I'll ruin for you."
"That's mean." Glymet laughed, "You know a guy like me with a name like this and a face like that shan't just find a woman and grow old."
"Yeah, you'll be rotting in Oblivion before that happens."
The two finally reached the back chamber which was unusually quiet since the Pirates will be mostly going after the maids of the palace. To make it weirder, there were no maids either.
"They evacuated?"
"Nobody came from the castle's direction so… no."
It was a strange thing to happen and since the unexpected is very unwelcome in this situation, the two still stuck to the plan and remained hidden.
From this place, they were to go to the king's kitchen behind the palace and find the servant corridors which lead around the inner palace. It won't be a fun story if they want to get out but that wasn't a luxury they can account for in this situation.
When they arrived at the kitchen, however, the servants seemed to have gathered in the area. It was as if this place became as busy as a beehive.
"They are working?" Jonrad asked.
"It seems like it. I can smell roasted meat." Glymet replied.
"The city is under attack. What in Oblivion is that fool king doing?"
"Wait! Does this mean the corridor will be available for use?"
"Hmmm." Jonrad thought for a while before spotting a few men coming their way, "Pirates." He whispered.
Aside from looking oddly relaxed in a place they should be ransacking. What was even more odd is that when they walked by the servants, the servants showed the expected reaction of showing fear but didn't show the expected reaction of running away. The servants just greeted the pirates as if they were the masters of the place and relatively kept working.
The two pirates laughed, picked some food, harassed some of the maids, and went on their way.
"Interrogation time?"
"Kill one. Knock out the other."
The two infiltrators rushed in with the shadows and in a coordinated move, they snatched one and broke the other's neck before they could even know what hit them. As they relocated, they chose the method of interrogation to be muffled burning in order to not raise any noise. Of course this would require scaring the shit out of the victim in order to get things right.
And what they extracted in the first few sentences alone was enough to make the two men look shocked as they could never be.
"The King invited the pirates to invade Wayrest."
This explained everything.
Everything.
Saving the Princess, arresting the Nobles, weakening the Knights of the Hour, assassinating the leader of the pirates of Iliac Bay. Every little thing Boethiah asked Jonrad to do led to this moment.
Now that the king's most powerful rivals were taken care of, he is going to use the Pirates in order to push the rest of the opposing factions out of Wayrest then rule the kingdom alongside the Pirates who will be his men and commanders.
It would be an everyday scheme for a king to use but this time, the innocents were caught in the crossfire. People are actually dying due to this.
"Let's get the bastard."
"Yes."
This wasn't something to discuss anymore even if it was for the Princess. Getting the King's head is the only thing that will bring peace to this nation.
They started making a disguise on the move while they headed for the inner palace.
***
It was safe to say that the King has no ounce of remorse towards whatever befalls his nation. If power requires him to sacrifice a thousand souls, a thousand souls it is.
He watched his city falling to an invasion he plotted for while the big families and large forces of Wayrest fight in the frontlines and fall.
"Your Grace, the civilians have evacuated towards the lower city." The Commander of the Guards approached as he knelt down.
"Good. And the casualties?"
"Minimal."
"As expected. They will flee when we open a path for them." The King chuckled, "What about my daughter Roselle? You still can't find her?"
"As you foresaw, Your Grace, she has pardoned the prisoners on your behalf in order for them to join the city's defense." The Commander reported.
"Heh!" The King laughed, "Scum, all of them. Once the Corsairs take the first line, they will all be disposed of. I can rely on your men, can't I, Aldo?"
The speech was directed to another man standing in the room holding his helmet under his arm. He was a Redguard with an unusually paler skin which may expose his mixed Bretonic heritage.
"Yes, Your Grace." Aldo bowed, "The Fleet will attack the city until the Main Plaza where the people were trapped. Until then, we will stop our attacks and wait for Your Grace to muster the defense. All as planned."
"Great." The King turned around from the window exposing the fact that he was already in his battle armor, "Let's get ready, shall we?"
The King walked off the window and looked around.
"Somebody bring me my sword." He called then looked around the room, "And where in Oblivion is my Chamberlain?"
"He hasn't returned yet, Your Grace." The Commander replied.
"I just gave him one simple job to get rid of that manwhore Roselle is seeing and he can't just get back in time?" The King cursed, "Leave some of your men behind then. Order them to Arrest Roselle and lock her in her chambers until the deed is done."
The King was planning for something so obvious. Once his rivals are all gone, he will head down the city with all of his men and heroically saves the day and be praised as a Hero of Wayrest.
It is one sure way to power and dictatorship. The pirates shall then be rewarded and their lieutenants shall secretly fill the vacant positions in Wayrest.
"How filthy!"
Yet as the King and his men walked off the Throne Room, the hallway outside was rather dark and empty. Usually, such a place should be filled with guards and servants whole lit with sorts of torches and candles. But it was oddly dark and frighteningly quiet except for the voice of a man who whispered from somewhere hiding behind the echo of his voice.
"What is that? Sorcery? Magic?" The King looked to the men around him then roared, "SHOW YOURSELF!"
The soldiers of the king ran at the front to intercept the unexpected assailant but at that moment, a stream of arrows and flying weapons came raining towards them as if it was an army on the other side. In a second, five died, in the one following it, seven, and more after.
The King, the Commander, and the Pirate Captain all went pale in an instant. The hidden weapons aside, those arrows felt like the Wrath of Azura.
"Archers in the dark! Hide!" Aldo shouted as he covered the king with his shield and pushed him back to the throne room.
"Retreat to the room! Fortify the door!" The Commander shouted.
This had to be at least no less than ten archers with very good training. Elite Soldiers that no one knew about.
The arrows kept coming through the door until it was locked by the soldiers then things became quiet outside. Inside, however, was a chaotic situation of soldiers and knights sustaining casualties and injuries that didn't seem light by any means. Some were even showing symptoms of poisoning.
The King's men barricaded the furniture of the throne room and readied whichever ranged weapons they had for the coming fight only for it not to come. What came, however, was a voice the King never expected.
"Father!" She called.
"Ro… Roselle?" The King's eyes widened, "They took you a hostage?"
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"Father." She spoke in a fearful tone behind the door, "Is it true, father? You caused all this to happen?"
"I didn't cause anything, daughter." The King replied with anger, "Who are those men outside?"
"Father, they say you're the one who hired the pirates. Is… is that true?" She asked in a regretful tone.
"Don't believe them!" The King shouted, "Your father will come for you. I told you… I always told you those traitors are always trying to take things from us. What I did… I did it for Wayrest. For us. This is what I always warned you from. Those men… who are they! Stop hiding like the cowards you are!"
"Ironic!" Roselle snorted with a sad face before speaking in a grim voice, "Those men are with me… King Jelric."
Silence was never this cold in the palace of Wayrest even with a city on fire outside of it. The King just couldn't comprehend how it happened even though… he always knew… he always knew his daughter would be a threat.
Just not this kind of threat.
"Roselle. What have you done?" He asked as his anger kept boiling, "Who did you side with?"
"You made sure I side with no one, King Jelric. You were wary of me since you are the king who murdered his father and got rid of the legitimate heir." She said.
"ENOUGH!" The King shouted.
"Like father, like daughter, I assume." She said, "It runs in the family."
The King who demanded to see his enemy kept hiding behind his guards as he had no idea what's on the outside. Even though the Princess cornered him, he still has the upper hand since there is an army of pirates that will eventually head this way.
"What should we do?" Aldo, the Pirate Leader, asked the King.
"We make our defense until reinforcements arrive." The King said.
Outside the room; it was only Jonrad, Roselle, and Glymet. The two men were the shooters from earlier and they were expert archers. After all, the scariest thing in this world is an archer with good stealth.
"What should we do next?" Roselle asked.
"He should be back now." Glymet replied.
During the time Roselle was speaking, Jonrad snuck out through the window and scaled the wall outside before sealing all the windows around the throne room by melting the locks and the hinges with his Flame Magic.
He then returned from the window and immediately headed towards the door of the Throne Room and cast [Hear Metal] to melt the lock and the hinges as well.
"You're ready?" He then asked Roselle.
"Do it." She nodded.
Immediately, Jonrad punched a hole in the door and a few arrows started flying towards it, one of which managed to get cleanly through but Jonrad had already removed his hand. The ones inside thought more holes would follow as the enemies outside should be ready to break in but that also wasn't the case.
Jonrad out his palm outside the hole and then mustered all the Magicka within with one strong push. He cast [Flames] and overcharged it through a door.
"Magic!"
"A Fire Mage!"
The people inside completely retreated off the door before things would get ugly. Lucky for them, the spell is short-ranged thus none of them was harmed.
But that wasn't the purpose.
Jonrad was spewing the Flames everywhere around the door and not before long, fire started spreading in the enclosed room.
Fire, smoke, heat. A disastrous mix in a room full of people.
While the men inside tried to put off the fire, Jonrad had enough Magicka to spare on making it worse for them and before they knew it, they were suffocating.
The windows were impossible to open, even the door they locked completely sealed. It finally started to look grim.
The King stayed at the back of the room behind a big table as much as he could but five minutes were all it took him to start suffocating as well. It was then when Glymet gave the signal to stop the fire.
The Life energies inside the Throne Room were already diminishing so fast that they dropped from over 30 to just 7 and in bad conditions. Jonrad immediately melted the lock and pushed the door down.
The door fell with an echoing noise and as expected, those survivors were the ones that managed to force open a window in order to breathe.
Death by suffocation, surely a terrible fate to inflict but what's done is done.
The King had the Commander and the Pirate Leader on his side while the remaining four were instantly shot by four arrows from the bow Jonrad wielded. With the hand that held the bow, he had prepared extra arrows that he would flip and shoot almost instantly.
"Alik'r Archery!" Aldo exclaimed.
A skill exclusive to the horsemen of the desert, no one would ride and shoot as fast as they do and this was some sight to witness yet a horror, however, to those who stand at the wrong side of those arrows.
"Roselle! You traitor!" The King could no longer contain himself from anger and held his sword up.
Jonrad and Glymet were ready to take down the remaining three but Roselle spoke.
"Why?" She asked.
Why would a king betray his country?
To act as a hero at the end of the day?
It was obvious, when a King kills his predecessor, the other nations and the nobles hardly recognize his authority or legitimacy as a ruler. By being a Hero, King Jelric will gain the legitimacy he needs.
But why be a hero this way?
Why not work for the people and get the praises of the public? Why act as a thief and a thug? Why tarnish the name of the rulers? Why the greed? Why the evil? Is it fear from those in control? Is there no pride in one's nationality at all?
That is what her question meant.
Of course, there's no answer. Those who think they are right just because they desire to be so are nothing but sinners.
When it is said to them: "Make no mischief on the land," they say: "Why, we only Want to make peace!". Of a surety, they are the ones who make mischief, but they realize it not.
When they are told to believe as the others believe, they say "Shall we believe as the fools believe?". Of a surety they are the fools, but they do know not.
"Kill them." She passed the judgment.
Jonrad and Glymet finally had their way and like hungry wolves, they bounced at their prey, dispatching them in minimal moves.
"Wait! Wait! Stop! Don't kill me!" The King retreated, tripped in his clothes and his back hit a wall, "If you kill me, you will still have to deal with them. The pirates. They are too many."
He spoke like a coward would and as the blade was at his throat.
"I can call it off! I can stop them." He said.
"You can?" Roselle asked.
"I hired them! I am the only one who knows how to pay them." He said, "They won't cross me until they get paid. They know that… they know that the only way for them to get paid is me. There's no gold in Wayrest anymore."
"What?" Roselle shouted, "You… you paid them with our gold? The treasury?"
"I only… I only planned to confiscate what the nobles hoarded. It is ten, no, twenty times what the treasury had. Those greedy bastards had it all."
A choice!
On the tip of a blade, the King spilled his beans. It wasn't long after that when he discovered that all his daughter had was Jonrad and the other man clad in black armor.
Two men just dispatched his elite guards and toppled his scheme on his head.
***
"What's it with corrupt rulers and pirates?" Jon asked in frustration.
"Scum get together, son." Jonrad replied.
"But the Princess took care of him, right?" Alina asked.
"Of her own father? She wished she had the strength to do so but we needed to exchange him for the safety of the city. The pirates wanted their reward and so we ordered them to retreat until and exchange the King for the prisoners they took."
"Then?"
"After the exchange, the Pirates left but Princess Roselle always knew that they would return one day very soon. Glymet and I traced them back to their Den in Hammerfell and got rid of King Jelric and those who know of his secret. By that, both my Sixth Labour and the Brotherhood Assassination contract were complete. However, I was no longer welcome in Wayrest. Roselle regrets killing her father till this day."
Jonrad had that distant look in his eyes filled with sadness over a ruined past.
"Where did you go next?" Jon asked.
"We had to complete the job Uther Nere gave us. Find the brotherhood listener and kill her. However, during the Pirate attack, the Dark Brotherhood sanctuary was discovered and its members were slaughtered. Glymet heard about another Sanctuary here in Skyrim, specifically in Falkreath."
Both Jon and Jullanar narrowed their eyes upon hearing that.
"You returned to Skyrim back then?" Alina asked.
"No, only Glymet came. I stayed in Bruma because I got tired from traveling. Still, the story of what happened to him in Falkreath was the stuff of horror."
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