Power Corrupts: Storm-Bound (ch.54) (Patreon)

"I'm going to need either the Jarl or Maven-" I started, fishing for a hostage to bring back. The plan was to use them to convince Ulfric that Nocturnal was taking the offer to break bread seriously, and maybe have the hostage speak in favor of the idea. But, that was probably going to backfire on me. The Jarl was an absolute mess and I can't imagine Maven would be impartial.

"Take Maven. Please," Nocturnal interjected. Almost as if she had asked me to take the woman off of her hands. And that was a red flag if I had ever seen one. All of a sudden, I wasn't sure if I wanted her if she seemed like such a headache. I had enough of those already.

My eyes narrowed, prompting her to explain, "I have no more use for her and I can only hear so many death threats before they all jumble together. It was an interesting experience at first -- a mortal cursing a god to their face, but it's overstayed its welcome," Nocturnal said. So she was pawning off a bundle of rage and anger onto me. Great. Fantastic.

Swallowing a sigh, I nodded in acceptance. Maven was clearly the less valuable… 'hostage,' so it made sense that Nocturnal would offer her up first even if she wasn't hurling death threats. At my acceptance, Nocturnal stood and gestured for me to follow. Doing so, she led me to a door next to the open bar. I sent a glance at the Jarl sitting at the counter, and I think she might have passed out.

Ducking my head to enter the cavern, I saw a second open area. There was a pool of water with a stone bridge going over it, and the surrounding area was covered in odds and ends. I saw an archery range set up, and training dummies, but my attention was stolen by the two people fighting on small stone platforms set up in the water. One fought with a longsword while the other fought with two short swords.

They clashed in a flurry of blows. The one with the longsword was quickly put on the defensive as the dual wielder utilized feints and quick thrusts to drive them back. Their footwork was sure, even as the swordsman was forced to retreat his feet seemed to instinctively know where the footholds were. It looked impressive, but what really got my attention as I walked by was the fact that they were moving with an unnatural grace.

I only really started to notice it after fighting normal humans for a while, but those blessed with a falna and who had decent stats moved with a grace that normal people lacked. The motions they made were a little too smooth, a little too fast. It stood out.

If I had to guess, their stats were around E or D. Which was… I know it probably meant a lot less coming from someone like me, but grinding up stats was meant to be slow. Ais Wallenstine, the previous record holder in Danmachi, reached level 2 in a year and that was practically unheard of. I beat that record because of my own special brand of bullshit but Ais was her own brand of bullshit too.

Most people never leveled up. Grinding, for most, took years. In less than a month, with the flick of a wrist and a Divine artifact, their stats either jumped or they got a lesser bullshit version of Bell's Liaris Freese.

I watched them fight and I wondered what they would look like in another month. Or two. Their stats would have reached A rank. Maybe S. I never would have thought that Nocturnal would end up with the most dangerous familia. It was just a question of how dangerous they were.

The dual wielder seemed to notice my gaze on them, and they spared me a glance. A foolish move because the swordsman lashed out with a foot, catching them in the gut with it and sending them splashing into the water. The victor laughed while the loser groaned, and Nocturnal chuckled to herself as she led me to a door. If memory serves, it was a training room filled with chests.

Nocturnal sighed before she opened the door. Almost as soon as it cracked open, I heard shouting. "You fucking whore thief!" A woman raged, apparently waiting for the door to open so she could resume screaming. From the harshness in her voice, I'm guessing she had been doing a lot of screaming since she was locked up. As the door swung open fully, I saw a woman bound in ropes, a plate of food scattered about in front of her that was soaked in water.

A middle-aged woman, dark hair with pale blue eyes. She might have been pretty in a MILF kind of way if it wasn't for the fact that her face was twisted into a snarl of rage and hate. "You will suffer for this! Rivers of cum are going to flow from your holes after all my men get a turn! That traitorous trash you call a guild will die screaming!"

Sheesh. Maven was chomping at the bit to get at Nocturnal, the ropes that attached her to the far wall bucked as she tried to lunge at her. She was so honed in on Nocturnal, I don't think she noticed my presence at all.

"Oh? With what men will you rape me with?" Nocturnal questioned, her tone aloof as we approached, crossing the room. It was lined with various types of chests, some of which looked like they were being used for storage. "As I recall, your fortune and legacy are mine. Every last piece of gold, every inch of land, all the way down to the last chicken egg -- it's all mine."

I shifted at that, looking between the two. There was obviously some serious bad blood between the two, but it seemed that it wasn't just one-sided. Nocturnal had some too. And, from the sound of it, she's the one that struck first. Stealing the Black-Briar fortune, which would have sent Maven in a craze, which would lead her to send the Jarl after her, and that ended with both women being kidnapped. As a result Maven's secrets were exposed, the Jarl was reduced to a sobbing drunk, and Ulfric Stormcloak had to step in.

Maven didn't respond with words. She spat at Nocturnal and unleashed a wordless howl of rage.

"Can you not rile her up? I'm the one that has to escort her back to the surface, you know." I spoke up, a sigh in my voice. Nocturnal offered a thoroughly unapologetic shrug in response and Maven seemed to take notice of me for the first time.

"You! Kill her!" She screamed at me, veins bulging in her neck, shouting the order with so much force that spit flew free of her face. "I'll pay you your weight in gold and jewels. You can marry my daughter! Just rape and murder that thieving whore!"

Jesus. I sent a look at Nocturnal, who met my gaze evenly, probably wondering if I would take Maven up on that. I shook my head in bewilderment, "Mav-"

"Lady Black-Briar!" Maven screamed, cutting me off.

"Lady Black-Briar," I corrected with the patience of a saint. "Have you been… mistreated?" I asked a loaded question, but I had to ask. She didn't look like anything unsavory had been done to her. But the sheer amount of vitriol was catching me off guard. Maybe it was because I had never seen anyone this mad before, but Maven looked like she was a few BPM from an aneurysm.

Unsurprisingly, Maven looked at me like I was the stupidest person she had ever seen. "Yes! They've stolen everything from me! They tied me up in this room like some sort of common prisoner and-" Maven caught herself, realizing that I wasn't exactly a bleeding heart. "Her men forced themselves on me," She added, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Nocturnal's expression turn stony.

"That is a lie," Nocturnal said, her voice like cold iron. "The height of hubris even now Maven -- to lie in the presence of a god."

"You are no god!" Maven shot back, thrashing in place to free herself, but to no avail. "You're a thieving cunt that's taken everything from me! I'm going to kill you! Even if it's the last thing to do, I will make you beg me to put you out of your misery!" She howled with such hate that I shifted from foot to foot at how visceral it was.

This… was hitting a little close to home. Her thoughts weren't that much different than mine about the Soma familia. Just the sheer amount of hate that blocked out everything else to the point you didn't care how impossible getting revenge was. All that mattered was making them hurt.

I still remembered it. I couldn't ever forget. Zanis falling to his knees, blood pumping out of his throat, seeping through his fingers as he tried in vain to save his own life. I had beaten him then. I was victorious. Yet, that hadn't been enough for me and I ripped his spine out with my bare hands. I tore him apart because dying a clean death was too good for him. Because I had been too angry to be satisfied with anything less.

"Alright, enough. I'm here to bring you back to the surface," I said, stepping forward. I immediately tossed out the idea of undoing her restraints. She would fight me every step of the way to get a shot at Nocturnal. She wouldn't be able to escape, but I didn't need any more annoyances in my life. Maven went still as I reached out, but as soon as I ripped the iron ring out of the stone wall and tossed her over my shoulder, that didn’t last.

She started shouting and screaming more threats, not just against Nocturnal, but me as well. So much for gratitude. I turned to Nocturnal, “Where and when are you willing to meet?” I questioned, ignoring Maven. It was surprisingly hard to do.

Nocturnal had an answer ready, “At the end of the docks at dusk.” She told me, earning a nod. That left a handful of hours to prepare for both her and Ulfric. And me, since I knew I was going to have to play peacemaker. “My thanks for taking her out of our hands.” She said, the slight smirk on her face told me that she was grateful, just not enough to not set Maven off on another bout of cursing.

I swallowed another sigh, “Don’t mention it. I’ll let Ulfric know,” I told her before turning around. As I reentered the main area, I saw several figures paying attention. A dozen of them, lingering in the shadows with their weapons unsheathed. All of them dressed in the shadowy leather that marked them as members of Nocturnal’s Nightingales. A handful of others openly started laughing as I carried Maven out of the area.

I paid them no thought, my mind preoccupied with another matter. The two I had fought before were waiting at the entrance of the place to escort me back. Thankfully, the Jarl had cried herself to sleep so she didn’t notice Maven’s profanities ridden farewell. They said nothing to me as they began leading me back to the surface, unaware that I had a map. I let them keep thinking that I needed the help.

“Kill them. Anything that you desire will be yours,” Maven whispered to me as I walked through the tunnels. I don’t even think she cared that the two could clearly hear her. “You’ll live like a king for the rest of your days.”

This was going to be a problem, I thought as I didn’t bother to answer her. The guards seemed to relax a fraction when they realized that I wasn’t going to do as ordered, though Maven started cursing at me again. But, at the very least, it did get easier to tune her out as we walked through the tunnels. Now that I wasn’t walking blindly down them, it took a fraction of the time to reach the exit.

The escorts said nothing to me as I stepped outside, simply remaining in the shadows. On the other side, I saw friendly faces. Aela and Mjoll guarded the door, making sure that no one tried to follow me in. Their eyes widened when they saw I had a screeching woman over my shoulder, “Is that Nocturnal?!” Aela questioned, treating the furious woman much like a bomb that could go off.

“No, it’s Maven Black-Briar. She’s… a little… upset at the moment about the lack of indiscriminate slaughter of the thieves guild, but she should be… look, can you take her off my hands? I have to go talk to Ulfric about breaking bread with Nocturnal.” I sighed, unwilling to lie to Aela about the woman. She cocked an eyebrow at me in response but she nodded all the same.

I set Maven down and she remained still long enough for Aela to cut off the ropes. No sooner that they were off, the woman sprung to her feet and went to slap me in the face(,) but I simply leaned out of the way.

“You’ll suffer for this,” She spat a threat instead before turning around and marching away, probably to her mansion since she wasn’t walking towards the palace. I watched her walk away for a moment, my lips pressing together into a thin line.

“A pleasant woman,” Aela remarked, earning a huff from Mjoll. “Did the meeting go well?” She questioned, and to that I could only shrug.

“About as well as it could have. Where’s Farkas?” I asked, earning a sigh from Aela.

“Back at the tavern. He said you wouldn’t want us standing around worrying,” Aela told me and Farkas wasn’t wrong, even if I did appreciate the thought.

I let out a small huff, “Sounds like him. I have to go meet Ulfric, but I’ll meet you all at the tavern.” I said, making Aela’s eyes narrow. I probably could have been more subtle, but Aela trusted me, so she didn’t protest. She simply nodded, thinking I had a good reason for it. And I did. Just not the kind of reason that she thought I had.

“Very well, we’ll meet there,” Aela agreed easily enough. She and Mjoll walked off, casting a look over their shoulders at me, but I started walking towards the keep. Walking up a set of stairs, I saw a little girl sitting on the stone railing of a bridge, her legs swinging back and forth.

“Maven Black-Briar,” I told Babette, making her tilt her head sweetly at me. “In a way that can’t be traced to us, or cause any problems.” That was probably too vague, but it felt like a stone settled heavily in my gut. I had killed people before. Assassinating people… the first two times were by accident, really. And reactionary because they tried to kill me first. This one wasn’t.

I knew that hate in Maven. Nocturnal had mocked her for being powerless, but how powerless was she? Ulfric could give her back everything taken -- he had the motivation to, even if it was just to stick it to a god. So, Maven would have power and hate. I had absolutely no idea how the deal between Nocturnal and Ulfric would turn out, but I knew it wouldn’t go well if Maven was involved.

So, she wouldn’t be involved.

“Very well then. A woman who flew too close to the sun and was unable to handle the pain of her burns, so she took her own life to ease her suffering. A tale as old as time,” Babette remarked as I walked by her before hopping off the railing to do the task given to her. She walked off in the opposite direction, and the opportunity to take back the order grew more distant by the second.

I let it go. It had to be done.

Instead, I focused on the task at hand. Walking up the steps to the keep, I saw a half dozen Stormcloaks flanking the door. They straightened up at my approach and let me in with little trouble. The door swung open to reveal Ulfric and his second in command, the former still sitting on the steps, while they talked quietly. Both fell silent at the sound of the door opening, leaving me unable to eavesdrop.

"Thane Jericho," Ulfric greeted, his eyes narrowing.

I nodded my own greeting before launching into the explanation, "Nocturnal has agreed to meet with you at the farthest dock at dusk. She released Maven Black-Briar as a show of good faith," I started, making Galmar frown.

"I don't see her with you," He pointed out.

"She went home to her mansion, I'm guessing it's been a…," Disaster, "trying experience for her. It doesn't look like she was mistreated in any way, but she is very… upset and she's lashing out. I got her out of there and the kindest thing she told me was that she was going to feed me my own testicles." I offered as an explanation, making both men blink.

Ulfric nodded in acceptance, "Then I will give her time to gather herself. As for the meeting…" He trailed off, a frown tugging at his lips. He didn't speak but Galmar seemed to understand his thoughts. When he didn’t continue, Galmar spoke up.

“I don’t like the idea of her setting the place and the time. Nocturnal is a Daedra. It would be different if she were one of the Nine, but she’s not. She sacrificed nothing for this land, for our kind -- she does not get to flaunt our laws.” He said, and I suppressed the urge to correct him about the number of divines. Hestia was new, and the doctrine was thousands of years old. I could forgive a slip up born of habit.

Ulfric nodded, and I was right on the money with his motivations. “I am of the same mind. Everywhere the Daedra have walked, they have sown chaos. Order must be restored."

I agreed on that point. There was just one major issue. "Easier said than done. Nocturnal has the Skeleton Key, and her guild is strong. I only saw about a dozen down there, but that's all she would need to kill the lot of you." I pointed out, earning a deep frown from Galmar. "Nocturnal seemed reasonable for the most part -- she said that Jarl Lilia stayed of her own volition and from what I saw, that's true. She was drinking by the barrel when she wasn't drunk crying. Using force is just going to get you killed."

Now Ulfric was frowning too. "A falna makes that much of a difference?" He seemed to wonder with a shake of his head. "No. In that case, we can't allow her to pick the location of our meeting. Return to her and tell her this -- we will meet here, in the palace with Jarl Lilia, or we will not meet at all-" Ulfric was going to continue, but he cut himself off when I shook my head.

There was something that I had to make clear. "I'm helping because I value stability, but I'm not your errand boy," I told Ulfric flatly, and met his gaze evenly. "I went down there to negotiate a meeting between the two of you, and I did. You want to renegotiate, then send someone else."

Simply put, Ulfric wasn't the boss of me and I wouldn't let him pretend that he was. It wasn't just because I didn't care for his politics or meta knowledge, but Hestia was officially neutral. If the captain of her familia was seen jumping at the orders of Ulfric, the leader of the Stormcloaks, then that might tip the balance against us.

Galmar took a slow step forward, his eyes narrowing into slits as his grip on a sword at his belt tightened. "You will show Jarl Ulfric more respect, boy." He warned in a dangerous tone. And it was in that moment, I realized I didn't particularly react well to threats, implied or otherwise.

I took a large step forward and stood in front of him until his chin was practically touching my chest so he was forced to crane his head back to look up at me. "That's my line," I told him in a low tone. "I am not your ally. I'm not your friend. And I'm not your errand boy."

"By the Nine," Galmar started, going a bit red in the face.

"Ten," I corrected him, an edge in my tone. "By the Ten. Hestia joined the Aedra pantheon, sacrificed her power to restore the Nine because she thought it was the right thing to do. She's your god now. And the woman that I love. So, if you disrespect her one more time, I'm going to step on your head and crush it like an egg faster than you Jarl can say Fus." Galmar glared in response, the tension growing thicker by the second.

Only to be undercut by the sound of chuckling. Chuckling that came from Ulfric who was behind Galmar. Galmar backed off a bit, turning around so we could both look at the man sitting on the steps. He looked at me with sharp eyes that didn't quite match the small smile tugging at the edges of his lips. "You speak as if you have experienced the Thu'um."

"Twice. A couple of Deathlords hit me with it," I told him, wondering if I should have kept that information a secret. Ulfric looked at me for a moment, his eyes roaming to find any obvious evidence that I told the truth.

Then he grunted, "Forgive my friend and I," He offered the apology like he was demanding it be accepted. "These have been stressful times. If you are willing to give your word that no harm will come to us at the docks, then I will accept it as the meeting location."

I met his gaze for a long second before I nodded, "I'll deal with whoever breaks the peace," I warned, not making the promise he was trying to extract from me. "I'll see you at the docks." I told him, knowing that I had overstayed my welcome. Turning around, I started walking away and I couldn't help but wonder if I just put an enemy at my back.

The silence was heavy as I reached the door, but before I could open it, Ulfric spoke up. "The Thu'um," He started, making me pause with a hand on the door, "is not just dangerous because of the power the words hold. To shout reality into submission, you have to understand the word of power. Completely and utterly. And in doing so, the word changes you. It is why the Graybeards live at the throat of the world. There, they can meditate, removed from worldly concerns, where they can learn how to not let the word control them."

Ulfric let out a quieter sigh, yet the sound reached me in the silent hall. "The Unrelenting Force is perhaps one of the easiest words to learn, but also the most dangerous. A man, his will, is not unbreakable. Eventually, he will hit a wall that destroys him."

Ah. He was overestimating me. He thought I had already learned to Shout.

"Thanks for the advice," I told him without looking behind me. "And take care not to hit your own wall. The Thalmor managed to break the empire, and they can break Skyrim just as easily."

I didn't wait to hear his answer.

…

Another chapter that fought me. I think the problem is that I'm excited to do the arc that comes after this, so this arc feels like it's dragging. Let me know what you think because I’m thinking of rewriting the arc, or at least condensing it, and I want to know if it's a case of it just being in my head or if it really is dragging that much.