The Good Doctor

Witch-king (aka Witchie) Fort Neugrad Morning Witchie woke up, the nightmares were getting worse. They were getting longer and worst of all more detailed. He went outside. The fort was busy; some of the soldiers was guarding the wall, others repairing it and the rest were training in the fort courtyard. Witchie went out to see what was left of the battle that had taken place outside the fort. Not much to be seen except blood mixed with mud. The wolf had probably ravaged the assassins in the woods as there was no imperial corpses within sight. He was just about to return to the fort when he noticed something lying in mud on the ground. He went for a closer inspection. It turned out to a massive axe half covered with mud. He took up the axe from the mud and cleaned it off with a bit magic. It was an impressive piece of weaponry. Though it wasn't easy to hold. It was heavy and acted like it was trying to wrestle itself from his grasp. But he refused to let go. Anyone wielding such a weapon must be have been crazy enough to face the wolf. He must have lost the axe here before running off and being killed in the woods, no other explanation to why he would have left his axe and why his corpse isn't around. At least I got a nice trophy. On his way back to the inside of fort with the axe, still struggling to leave his grasp thus slowing him down, he noticed a carriage filled with with what looked like supplies. Some soldiers was taking the supplies into the fort. I could use a mana potion. The summoning has still left me weak. He went to carriage and started to search through the stuff that the men haven't taken yet. While searching he couldn't help but to feel the pressence of magical seals. Probably something secret for the captain. And I guess I'm the one that is supposed to open the seals for him. He let it slide for the moment. The captain would take it up with him later anyway. He continued to search the wagon untill he found a minor mana potion. It wasn't much but he didn't bother to look if there was more. So he drank up the potion and headed towards the prison. There was a cat that he could drain energies from.

Baldur Red-Snow Fort Neugrad Morning Baldur had a pretty uneventful rest. No dreams of Sovngarde, no nothing, which is exactly what he needed. He leaned forward and got out of his bed. It was cold enough to freeze the [censored] off an orc, so Baldur in his loin cloth and bandages hurried up to his quarters to outfit himself in his new armor. He opened the door and was greeted with the sight of his magnificent set of Nordic Carved armor. The metal work on the quicksilver was that of a master. The chest piece was very sturdy in the front, and in the back. It was thick, and looked as if it could withstand anything. Baldur quickly began to equip the suit of armor, the warmth of the fur calling to him. The armor was of course heavy, but the fur added so much comfort to it that Baldur didn't mind. It would take some time to get used to the weight, but Baldur had worn heavy armor before. The helmet took the shape of a bear's head, and offered a ton of protection for the wearer's head. Baldur was absolutely in love with the new gear. He thanked his friend in Sovngarde once more before he analyzed the axes and the shield. "The shield....wow." Baldur never had the time to truly admire the gear the Necro Nords used. He was only now noticing how truly wonderful the craftsmanship of this Nordic Carved armor was. The shield was the most ornamented and intricate part of the armor. It was just absolutely stunning. The axes, while simple were also quite impressive. They were a bit more narrow than the axe he took from his father. These allowed the wielder to hook the opponents weapon or sweep them off their feet by hooking their legs. Baldur tested the axes by banging them on a shield on display on his wall where his father's axe now stayed behind it. The axes smaller blade size did not compromise it's toughness. It was lighter and tougher than his axe, which is saying a lot considering that was Skyforge steel. That impressed Baldur to no end. He looked at his armor and weapons to see if the crafter left any sign of their name or symbol. He wanted to see who actually could make better armor than Eorlund Grey-Mane. He looked at the bottom of the boots he had not yet put on, and Baldur was not surprised to see In all capital letters GM (Grey-Mane) on the heel. Baldur chuckled to himself. "No one out does Eorlund." With that, Baldur threw the shield over his back and sheathed the two axes. He went out to the courtyard and called the men to assemble. He waited patiently for all of them to gather so they could hear what he had to say. He didn't notice Witchie or Reval. Baldur figured they were either in the crowd somewhere and he just didn't see them, or they were waiting in the prison area, he wasn't sure, but it didn't matter. He began to address the men. "As you all know, we have a legionnaire prisoner. He may be a legate, or a lieutenant. I'm not sure, but he's clearly an officer judging from his skill. I don't have to tell you all it's vital we get whatever info we can from him. I'll be straight with you all. I am planning on torturing the prisoner if he doesn't give up the info." This caused some murmurs among the regular stormcloaks. The Necro Nords stood silent. "I know this may not be the most honorable thing to do, but it is necessary. The Thalmor are threatening to take our lands from us, and the Imperials are preparing to give it to them on a silver platter! Now, I won't sit up here and try to justify myself by reminding you the legion has and probably still does torture our men. I won't stand up here and try to win you over by reminding you that those bastards are fighting with those yellow devils who also torture not only our POW's...but our civilians for worshipping almighty Talos! But what I will tell you is I will do everything...EVERYTHING in my power to make sure that we do...not...fail! If you don't agree then you may leave now. I won't stop you. Is there anyone who wants to leave?" "Hell no!" "I said, is there anyone who wants to leave and wash the thalmor's loincloths?" "HELL NO!" Baldur smiled at their reaction. If he learned anything from Ulfric, it was how to win a crowd. "Good. Then I'll go and do what I have to do. As for all of you, I'll need you to gather teams and go to Falkreath. Take enough men to guard the city in case of an attack. Meet up and organize with the guard there, and learn the ins and outs of the city. Necro Nords, you will be in charge of that and act as commanding officers. After Falkreath is secured, send patrols from there to Whiterun and keep the roads well guarded. Now that we know the enemy is here, it is imperative that we don't allow them to walk around the hold freely. And have a small group of rookies bring supplies from the city as well." Archer patrol guard: "Sir, that woman that was on the outside of the gate already brought all the supplies we'll need for a while. We don't know where she is but she left that big wagon of stuff behind, so we took it and put her wagon with the horses." "Good. Then don't worry about that last order. The rest of you keep working on the fort. If you're not working on the fort, you're training. I'll be training with you for a few hours to get used to this armor. Then, it'll be time to pay our new house pet a visit. Dismissed."

Do'jhul Do'jhul wondered to himself why he surrendered. Maybe it was because of the weakness of the Stormcloaks. Either that or he got tired of fighting. In the end, it didn't matter. He was here, in the Stormcloaks Fort. His cell was fairly big. Big enough for him to walk around in. Deciding not waste time here and feel sorry for himself, Do'jhul got up and start doing hand stand push-ups. Wow, it's been a while since I worked out. "78, 79, 80." Finally Do'jhul stopped his workout and allowed himself some rest. While sitting on his cell floor, Do'jhul wondered what the Legate was up to. He's probably gonna try to organize a rescue mission... Nah, that's not Lorgar. In any case, might as well continue with my routine. Standing back up, Do'jhul jumped up and hung from the upper bars of the cell. Hooking his legs, he started doing abs crunches. "371, 372, 373, 374, 375", unhooking his legs from the bars, Do'jhul landed with a soft thud. Finally he decided to meditate, while he waited to be interrogated. It is to suspected. Sitting down, with his legs folded over one another, Do'jhul put his two fists together, closed his eyes and cleared his mind...

Camp of the IX Cohort "Aaaaooouuuggghhh..." In the imperial medical tent, Rebec stirs with various barely-human groans. She makes to reach up towards her aching head, but her arms meet the restraints. Groaning again, she lets her head fall back. Captured and beaten to a pulp. "This isn't good," she mutters, her lips cracked from thirst. Her thoughts are still groggy and she doesn't remember the beast or wolf, assuming that her condition is because her captors roughed her up. The imperial medic on duty noticed Rebec's groans and her awakening. He got up from the chair he was sitting on, and gently offered her a sip of water, "Take it slow lass, you got beaten up quite badly, and you still have to recover" Rebec accepts the water, for a few moments only concentrating on the pain that seems to be everywhere. "Thank you," she gasps, falling back. After a few more moments, one eye cracks back open. "Where am I? You're imperials, I see that." The Medic chuckled, "Your in camp Rommulas lass, Falkreath Hold..." The medic placed the cup of water on the table beside the cot, "And so what if were imperial soldiers, what do you think we do, torture POW's and eat children?" He laughed again. "You beat up your prisoners, at least," she growls. "I want to see your leader. I'm no regular Stormcloak. I can be of use to you, imperial or not." The Medic look confused and surprised, "The legate brought you here personally...and he specifically ordered you not to be harmed or abused in anyway, he wouldn't condone such violence against a prisoner of war, and he's not that kind of man to beat up a defenseless woman..." He started to stroke his stubble thinking what to do...he got up from his chair, "I'll fetch the legate, for you." He walked to leave but before he left he turned around and smiled kindly, " Oh, do you want something to eat while you wait? I can get my assistance to feed you." "Whatever I'd eat now, I'd end up wearing, I think. But thank you." Since she couldn't move anyway, Rebec lays back and tries to gather the pieces rattling around in her head. A delivery, Fort Neugrad... My poor wagon. My poor nice goods, being pawed over by Stormcloaks who won't want to pay for them now. With a start she remembers the messages. Erikur's damned dirty dealings. She thinks for a moment, then remembers the false bottom in the wagon where Erikur's Altmer mage attendant, Melaran, had sealed the messages by magic. The Dunmer driver was to meet their contact elsewhere in Falkreath hold after dropping Rebec and her wares off at the fort. It was Thalmor business, she had no doubt. Rebec did not like helping the Thalmor but Erikur had the goods on her for a smuggling deal gone bad. None of that will matter if these imperials execute me, which is more than likely, she thinks morosely. Should never have left my ship behind. Tense, she waits to see what sort of imperial she'll be dealing with.

Lorgar Grim-Maw, Camp Rommulas, Night "Sir I insist- Lorgar growled, he had been back at the camp for only ten minutes and he already had to deal with this nonsense, "I told you Praefect, I don't need medical attention at the moment" "But sir- "I'm not going to say it again, I want Quaestor Jullius taken care of first, no buts..." The NCO swallowed, and saluted, "As you say Legate sir..." And with that he approached Jullius, "Lean on me Quasteor' Jullius complied, and was lead off towards the medical tent, another soldier appeared a few moments afterwords, pointing at the unconscious nord still in Lorgar's arms. "Sir what do you want to do with the stormcloak?" "Bring her to the medical tent-" before Lorgar could finish, the soldier rudely interrupted, "But sir, she's a stormcloak, we should be putting her in chains and- "Will you let me finish legionary? I was going to say, bring her to the medical tent and put her under tight lock-up, two soldiers at the entrance too the tent at all times. Also I want her to be restrained too the cot she'll be resting on. That said, I don't want anyone to lay a finger on her, and get the medic to examine her and treat any injuries she has." A glare from Lorgar silenced any protests forming in the soldiers mind. He saluted the legate, and Lorgar gently passed him the unconscious nord. "One more thing soldier, I want to be informed the moment she regains conscious , I'll have a few question too ask her..."

Reval, Baldur Reval was waiting in his room when a frantic Necro Nord barged in. "The captain! He's awake!" yelled the Necro Nord. Reval, relieved, went to the room and saw the captain with an empty health potion bottle near his nightstand. "Heh, guess you Nords are tougher than I thought. Good thing too, wouldn't want to be the one to break the bad news to any of these troops. Think you'll be able to take control anytime soon?" said Reval, with a small smirk on his face. Baldur thought about what he needed to do, and was not in his usual mood. "Maybe. I'll need you to pick up some of the slack in the meantime. I need you to interrogate the Khajiit. Ask him things like where his camp is, how many of them are there, and what their plans are in this area. He won't tell you anything of course, so I want you to..." Baldur thought long and hard about his next words. He thought about how the Khajiit was willing to cooperate and thought about if he was willing to compromise his honor to get at his enemy. But then, he thought about Skyrim, and his people. Both Nord and Dunmer alike. He thought about what failure could mean. He thought about not the Imperials, but the Thalmor, and then he thought about what the Khajiit and his fellow soldier did, and he knew two things. One, that he was willing to compromise his honor if it meant victory for his land, and two, now was not the time to risk failure because the enemy acts civil. He was going to get some retribution for the men he lost. One way or another. But he had to be smart, or he'd lose even more men unnecessarily. "I want you t...I want...." Baldur got out of his bed with a bit of difficulty and stood up and faced the Dark elf. He felt that it was important he looked him in the eye. "I want you to do whatever it takes to find what he knows, and I want you to get the Witch to help. I will address the men on the subject myself. It's important that I don't keep this from them, lest they lose their respect in me. We must win at any cost. I'll talk to the Khajiit first, and then you will proceed. We'll begin at Dawn after we all get some rest. I'll be there to supervise the procedure. I'm no coward afterall. If I'm going to do this, I'm going to look him in the eye when I do." Baldur wasn't sure what the Dark Elf thought of his request, so he forced a smile and reassured him. "I won't order you to do this. If you want to refuse, I won't stop you." As Baldur waited for Reval's reply, he thought about how easy it was when he was just a soldier. When he didn't have to make the tough decisions, and when all he had to worry about was his brothers beside him, and not the entire army. Baldur longed to be just an ordinary soldier once more. "I've already seen what the Empire would do to its enemies. I know that we can't fail under any circumstances. I swear, by Azura, that this fort will not fall so long I as I live!" Reval said his farewells and proceeded to his room for some well deserved rest but not before telling a handful of guards to watch the Khajiit at all time and to not allow him any opportunity to escape. The guards agreed and promptly organized themselves around the room. Just as Reval was going to his room, in the dim candlelit halls of the fort, he noticed the bizarre figure of the one called Witchie. "I've heard a lot about you. They say you call yourself the Witch King. I don't really care who you are, but you are definitely not like the rest of the people here. Perhaps you could learn more from the Khajiit than anyone else here. I hope we understand each other." With that, Reval entered his room and drifted off to sleep.

Baldur was sweating profusely, which had him worried since it was so cold in the fort. He looked to the left of him and saw that there was a nice fire in the room. The fact that he was cold with that now worried him some more. "Hey, anyone nearby?" A soldier came in and stood to attention. Baldur asked him where was the armor of the dead Necro Nord, and he soldier said the Necro Nords ordered him to give it to him, so the armor was on display in his room along with his weapons. Baldur was relieved that he didn't have to explain why he thought he should have it. Baldur told him to prepare the body to be shipped to his home. The soldier told him he had no home. Soldiering was his life. The man grew up an orphan. He had no other wish than to live and die among his brothers in arms. Baldur thought about this, and about how he died. The last moments he had was one where his men were happy and cheering. Baldur took some comfort in that, and knowing there was no one at home that had to be told of his death was both comforting and depressing. That was one less mourning mother to worry about on the bright side, Baldur thought. To Baldur this was comforting because he knew, or thought he knew he was happy in Sovngarde. He reassured the soldier with this without telling him how he thought he knew this. When Baldur asked about the other men, it was quite a different story. All of the other nine men who died had family. Some even children and wives. Baldur thought about this and contemplated the pain and suffering that being a warrior caused. Both to the men and women who served, and to their homes. And to the homes of the enemies that they slayed. He thought about the Nord love of battle and how chaotic it made the world, and how he hated and loved this war. He loved it because it gave him a reason to fight, but hated it because of it's need for expendable soldiers, and what its loss would mean for his home and his people. He told the soldier to go prepare the Necro Nord for burial in Falkreath, and to get Lieutenant Reval if he was fit for duty, and dismissed him. Baldur turned in his bed to the right and noticed a rather large healing potion on a table next to him. He leaned forward and drank it's contents and almost immediately felt better. His sweating stopped, and his temperature returned to normal, but he was still quite tired, and the pain in his shoulder while a tad numb still throbbed. He decided the best thing he could do was get his rest. The more he did, the sooner he'd be back on his feet in fighting condition. He had a score to settle, and sadly for his enemy, they probably think he's dead. Before closing his eyes, he drank some Cinnamon wine from the table nearby. The health potion had an awful taste to it that gave Baldur a bit of a headache. With that, he drifted off to sleep, with thoughts of the Nord warrior in Sovngarde. Battling Tsun and passing the test. Eating all the moist roast he can eat. All the heavenly sweet Nord mead he could drink. No more pain or misery, for all of eternity....

Reval After the enemy retreated, Reval was completely soaked in blood. However, the pain of the wound he received from his duel was still fresh. Grunting slightly, Reval said, "Soldiers, I order you to carry that filthy cat to the prison for interrogation. The rest of you, tend to the fallen bodies of your comrades. They fought bravely against the Empire and should be remembered as heroes." Reval sadly walked to a body he recognized. "So, you joined the dead before you could prove yourself. Such a shame. You could have been great," said Reval as he kneeled before the corpse of the recruit he had so easily beaten earlier. After reciting a quick prayer, Reval was shocked when he saw the body of the captain on the ground, an arrow through his shoulder. "Everyone, get the captain to the infirmary! He needs medical attention!" Reval ordered some soldiers to carry the captain to the infirmary as quickly as possible. Reval ran through the blood soaked mud into the fort. There the captain was placed on a large bed and given medical attention. Placing a potion of healing on a table near the captain, Reval said, "We have already lost so much today. It would be most unfortunate to lose such a promising individual such as yourself."

Lorgar Grim-Maw, Falkreath Pine Forest, Night Lorgar's face felt like it was on fire, yet he continued along the game trail in the pale moonlight without complaint, followed by Lorgar's last surviving legionary, Jullius. They had been walking for a couple of hours now. Lorgar personally carried the unconscious stormcloak, bridal style. Lorgar's comrade tried to volunteer to carry the captive, but Lorgar insisted on doing it, due to the legionary having a broken leg. Jullius was currently limping, his facial expression pointed towards him being in great pain, Lorgar signaled for him to stop, "Jullius , we can rest for a little if you want..." He quickly shook his head, "No sir, its fine, we have to get back to base as soon as possible..." "If you say so soldier..." They resumed the trek in silence for a good 40 minutes, before the soldier spoke up again, "Sir, what was that thing..." "I don't know Jullius, all I know was that it felt utterly unnatural... it was cold but not like winter cold, but dark cold...I think it was some sort of lycantrope from the hunting grounds of Hircine..." The soldiers face lit up in fear at the mention of Lycantropes and he stuttered out, "Sir...My ma told me that werewolves were only stories to scare naughty children into behaving..." Lorgar chuckled, "'I'm afraid not Quastor, werewolves are a real as me and you. Though they are very rare, I've only encounter one once before..." With that, once again both men remained silent for awhile, until, once again Jullius spoke up, "Sir, are we almost back to camp?" "Yes Jullius, 30 more minutes of walking..."

Witch-king (aka Witchie) Fort Neugrad Night He found himself in the very familiar nightmare. But this time it did not end with the burning village. The scene shifted from the burning village to a large castle hall. The hall was filled with people in black hooded robes and he was one of them. Everyone wearing the black robe, including him, was also kneeling and facing the end of the hall. There at the end stood three hagravens around an altar. On the altar lied a naked woman whom the hagravens channeled a spell on. They were consuming her soul. The room shifted and now he found himself to be at the end of the hall. Everyone was still kneeling but this time he stood on the altar and the hagravens lied dead before him. He was now consuming their souls. Witchie woke up an stared at the empty moonlit fort courtyard. Everything was quiet. The silence was suddenly broken by the footsteps of a guard patrolling the wall. He slowly stood up and stumbled towards the fort. When he got inside he fetched a piece of bread and a bottle mead and then sat down in a chair as he started to eat. When he had finished the meal he fell back asleep, revisiting the same nightmare he had just left.

Lorgar Grim-maw Outside Fort Neugrad Afternoon The icy wolf charged Lorgar as he prepared a mighty swing at the great beast. But the swing missed as the beast dodged to the right and knocked him back with backside of it's paw. Lorgar flew through the air and tumbled around when he landed on the ground before regaining the balance and finally landing on all four. The beast was also down on all four as it circled and growled at him. The beast roared as it started charging, Lorgar had just gotten back on his two legs. But the beast was already upon him. It jumped at him with it's big foul jaws aiming for his head. Lorgar managed to get his axe up and block the jaws with the handle. he fell backwards with the beast on top of him, the handle between it's jaws snapping only inches from his face. Lorgar could feel the cold breath from the beast. It smelled like rotten flesh. Lorgar gathered his strength and threw the beast to the side using the axe as leverage. It tumbled around before landing on all four and started to circle and growl yet again. Lorgar was quickly back on his feet, while wolf was still regaining the balance, readied his axe and howled at the beast in an attempt to mock it. The wolf charged again. This time he knew what he should do. He readied the axe in mighty swing as wolf closed in. When the wolf was close enough he swung the axe in great spin, the beast tried to dodge. The first swing missed but when Lorgar spinned the axe around him hitting the wolf from the very direction it tried to dodge to. The axe hit the beast in left shoulder, the sound of ice breaking came from where the axe landed. The wolf howled in pain as it instinctively slashed at Lorgar with it's right claws. The claws hit across the chest scratching his armor, leaving deep claw marks. Lorgar quickly shoved the other end of the axe into the beasts face so hard it turned around with face away from him. With the beast's back exposed he raised his axe. But he never got a shance to deal the blow as the wolf kicked him in the stomach so hard had to bend over. The beast swiftly turned around to face him with it's right paw raised. Lorgar managed to raise his axe to parry the blow. But as the claws hit the axe so did the axe get ripped out of his hands and it flew away to land a couple of yards away. With nothing but his hands left he rammed his right fist in an uppercut into the jaws of the beast. More sound of ice breaking. The wolf grabbed him at the shoulders with both it's "hands", raising him into air with his face close to the beast's. The wolf stared into him with big light blue eyes. Lorgar roared at the beast with all his voice could muster. But the beast roared back at him with a deafening intensity. He could feel and smell the cold foul breath of the beast yet again. As the beast was about to finish it's roar and close the jaws around his head, he kicked with both his feet into the stomach of the beast. The beast released him as it staggered backwards. Lorgar fell onto his feet and managed to regain balance just as the beast slashed it's right claws at him. He didn't have time to dodge and the claws teared across his face. Lorgar fell onto the ground. He did not move. The beast watched him for a couple of seconds before it set off to hunt the other legionaries. Lorgar tried to stand up slowly. The pain across the left side of the face was unbearable, he could still feel the cold claws in the wound. When he got back up onto his feet he started to stumble towards the treeline while reaching for his bow. The beast was halfway towards his men as he got to the trees. He tried to hurry up but he was still shaken by the hit. He got further into the woods. Then he heard it, screams of horror as the beast tore through his men. He started to run. Trying to ignore the pain and dizzyness. When he rounded a tree he saw the beast raising one his men into the air the same way it had just raised him and was about to shew the mans head off, the man was screaming in horror. He pulled an arrow out if quiver and readied the bow for a shot. He could not afford to miss. He realesed the arrow and it flew between the trees right into the back of beast's skull. The wolf fell down onto the man it helled. Lorgar ran forward drawing another arrow. But when he aimed for another shot at the beast, but then it suddenly dissolved into fragments of ice. He ran forward to the man with the arrow still half-readied at the bow. The man was covered in ice fragments. Lorgar helped the man get up from the big pile of ice shards that had formed from the wolf. The man was pale and shaking heavily. Lorgar, still not sure if the beast was dead, looked around to see how many had died. Four lied dead on the ground. One of them had the guts ripped right open with the intestines two yard away. Another one had lost the left arm and the head. The other two corpses was in better condition but they were still covered with deep claw marks all over them. The captured stormcloak lied also on the ground but didn't have any claw marks on her. When Lorgar checked on her, he noticed she was only unconscious.

Captain Baldur Red-Snow Location Unknown Night Baldur had shaken the Nord until he woke up, as he had done to the Necro Nord. The man started screaming in pain as if he was still being brutalized by that Khajiit. When he settled down, he turned to the Captain, his eyes wild and wide open in confusion. "Wha, wasn't I dead? I felt the warhammer, and..." Baldur stayed silent. He had an idea of where they were, but he didn't want to believe it. None of them did. The Imperial they just killed appeared behind them and confirmed what they all were thinking. "You're in sacred territory. You are in Sovngarde." They all span around so fast from being startled, that they even scared the legionnaire. They were all speechless at the sight of the Nord appearing out of nowhere. Especially after he just got brutalized. Baldur didn't want to believe he could die so soon and so easily. Baldur apologized to the Nord recruit for getting him killed, and the Nord reassured him and said it was an honor to serve. He looked to the Necro Nord, and suddenly recognized who he was. He looked to the soldier and took off his helmet and realized he was the one that was put down by that arrow. The Necro Nord asked the Captain how he died, and Baldur explained what happened. Baldur asked is that how he suddenly came back to life, and the Nord legionnaire told him what he tried to explain to the others, which was that they cannot die in this place. He then told them that he felt the call to Shor's Hall, and was headed that way with his men before they ambushed them. Baldur gave no apology. They may be both Nords, but he was still his enemy in his eyes. The Imperial said that would soon change once they had an eternity to make up. Baldur wasn't excited like his companions were to see Shor and his hall. Baldur did not wish to die before he proved himself. He felt that he did not deserve to be here. The men pressed on to Shor's hall when they heard screams of agony and despair further on. Baldur and his companions ran ahead to see what the commotion was and was greeted with a sight that froze them in their tracks. It was the greatest thing Baldur had ever seen. It was a huge magnificent hall with walls of stone, and doors that only the mightiest of men could ever hope to open. They could feel the glow of light from the inside glowing from the windows beckoning them to enter, but the never ending waterfall just below it seemed to taunt them, and challenge their courage. The only access to the other side was a mighty and treacherous bridge made of the bones of a large animal. Maybe a whale. The thought of crossing such a bridge over such a fall sent chills down Baldur's spine, but the hall of Valor would be worth it. "Unending food and all the mead I can drink for eternity!" Baldur almost completely forgot about his mortal problems at the thought. His mouth began to moisten when images of ox heads and roast began to fill his mind. And he could practically taste the sweet strong taste of heavenly mead coating his throat as he lets it pass between his lips. The sound of another man screaming quickly snapped him out of it. Below them was yet another scene of wonder. A large hearty Nord twice the size of an ordinary man was laying waste to the Legion men they had encountered earlier. The man gave a huge cry and swung his battleaxe around his head and batted away another one of the men like they were nothing. This Nord clearly possessed immense strength. The last two men gave everything they had, and the giant man swung his axe and decapitated both men in one swing. "Try again." Said the large being that guarded the bridge. Baldur knew who he was. It was the legendary Tsun, shield thane of Shor. Baldur would once again have the chance to prove himself after all. They made their way down the hill into Tsun's direction. Tsun noticed them, and made his way towards the crowd. His great big muscles rippled and seemed to bulge with every movement he made. The only armor he wore protected his legs and groin in the form of a skirt plated with metal. His entire back, arms and chest lay exposed. The rippling of his arms would suggest that his skin was every bit as strong as armor. "So, will you all be fighting me in a group, or will you try your luck in one on one battle?" "You and me Tsun. One on one." Baldur unsheathed his axe and shield and prepared himself for battle. Tsun looked at him disapprovingly, and said, "You are not yet ready." Baldur got angry at this and demanded that he let him show he was ready. Tsun stomped the ground and let out a shout that sounded like thunder into the sky. The power resonating from it froze him in his tracks. "You do not understand. You are not yet of this world, warrior. You are not ready to join the land of the dead. You must go. Your men can stay." Baldur couldn't believe it. Now that he wanted to be dead and stay, he could not go. Tsun told him not to worry. There would be a place for him in Sovngarde once his trial on Nirn was complete, and his amount of days had ran out. The Necro Nord stepped forward and proclaimed his challenge. One on one combat. Tsun accepted, and told him to come. Before he did, he put his hand on Baldur's shoulder. "Sir, you are a worthy warrior, and I am proud to have served you. I want you to have my armor and weapons when you return to the land of the living. The men will not object. It is custom for us to give our armor to another warrior anyway due to the expense of the gear. The armor is only given to those who are deemed worthy. You sir, are worthy to join our ranks. The men I'm sure will agree." The Necro Nord held his hand out and Baldur grasped his arm from the inside at the joint as the Nord did the same to his. After that, Tsun bid Baldur farewell, and unleashed a mighty thu'um that sent him back to the land of the living. Baldur woke up in a bed staring at stone. He was back in the fort. Immediately he felt the pain in his shoulder from the arrow, and saw hat his upper body was patched up and covered in bandage rags. He remembered everything that happened with almost perfect clarity, but he wondered if what he saw was real. "Was I dreaming, or did I really visit the land of our sacred dead?"

Captain Baldur Red-Snow Location unknown Night Baldur woke up in a grass field staring at a magnificent display of stars. He didn't remember at first what happened, but then the events came rushing back into his head. He got up immediately to check his wound, and found that it was not there. "Did Witchie heal my wound or something? Where the hell are my men?" He looked around and noticed that a Necro Nord was beside him, unconscious. Baldur shaked him until he too came out of his rest. The soldier asked where he was, and Baldur said he was not sure. The place was not an area of Skyrim that he recognized. The men got up and began make their way down the valley. The place had large stone figures in hoods looking down on them as they walked on. Baldur's eyes were transfixed by the display in the sky. He had never seen such an awesome aurora in Skyrim before. "Have you ever seen a sight so beautiful in your life, soldier?" "No sir." As Baldur gazed on, the soldier put his arm in front of him, and told him to stop. Baldur looked down, and saw why. In the distance were some imperial legion soldiers. About ten of them, and they all appeared to be Nords. Baldur was eager to get some payback, as was his soldier. The men appeared to be surrounding someone, but Baldur couldn't get a good look at who it was. All he could see was blue. It was one of his men! Baldur and the soldier wasted no time. They sneaked up to the crowd of men by going around a small hill, then they gave their battle cries, and charged downwards, using the momentum to crash into the men, taking them off guard. The Necro Nord was wielding two Nordic Carved war axes, and had a Nordic carved shield on his back. He spun in a circle like a humanoid typhoon and slit two imperial throats before they could unsheathe their weapons. Baldur burried his war axe into one man's cranium, and used the shield to quickly knock the head off of the blade. The other men simply ran in the other direction afraid for their lives. A man knocked on the ground was yelling at the others to come back. "Hey! Stop running! There's no need to be afraid!" Baldur put his large Nord boot on his head, and told the man they had every reason to be afraid, as he was about to show him. "You don't seem to understand, this is S-" Baldur cut him off by stomping his brains out into the grass. He wasn't in the mood to hear [censored] in an attempt to have his life spared. Baldur was out for blood. When Baldur was done scraping the man's grey matter off of his shoe, the Nord was standing by the Stormcloak on the ground, and Baldur went to see who it was. "Sir, does he look familiar to you?" Baldur couldn't believe his eyes at first, but the man on the ground looked like the Nord that was killed by the Khajiit! The same one that he made an example of, and ended up being made a meat shield for the cat. Baldur couldn't comprehend what this meant. He started to feel wobbly and his vision began to fade. The Necro Nord thought he was going to pass out. Baldur began to breathe increasingly fast, and his heart rate began to rise. "Where the hell are we?!?"

Lorgar Grim-Maw, Rebec Near Fort Neugrad Noon "SIR what the fuck is that thing?!" The thing that was charging us, appeared to be a lycantropy, similar to a werewolf, but twisted, an abomination. "Get the fuck out of here NOW, tell tribune Brutus what happened, i'll cover you!!!" The various legionaries were about to voice there protest of leaving their legate to the mercy of whatever that thing was, but a viscous glare from Lorgar was more then enough for the men to turn around and begin to run. Before that he ordered his men to to quickly bind there prisoner, he turned towards the Nordic captive " Lassie your choice, go with my men willingly, or try your luck with that thing..." "You mean that thing isn't one of yours?!" Rebec shouts at Lorgnar. There isn't much time to debate, and with her escort gone and the fort busy with its own problems, she allows herself to be bundled off with the imperials. Beasts and mages, that's surely elven work, she thinks along with a few choice curses. Still, going with the imperials could present opportunities. The sailor is always an optimist. Admittedly, the entire situation doesn't call for a lot of optimism, however. Some of the legionaries, still reluctant and wanting to fight beside there officer, saluted Lorgar, "Sir it was an honor..." "On the contrary, the honor was mine soldier" Lorgar saluted, and turned to face the incoming abomination, Lorgar unslung Bylderfang from his back and slowly started to advance on whatever that thing was , while shouting his units motto, "We are the fang's of Mede, hear me HOWL"

Witch-king (aka Witchie) Fort Neugrad Afternoon The captain had just been hit by an arrow in his shoulder. He ordered the men to retreat back into the fort but Witchie did not follow them. He jumped down the wall and stood besides the gateway, out of sight for anyone on the outside. Reached for the last magicka crystal in his robe. And started to charge the summoning spell. This is going take it's toll. He stepped out into the gateway and realesed the spell. He felt as all of the magical and physical energy disappeared from his body as the great beast before him took shape. The beast had the basic shape of a werewolf but it was twice as large and the fur had the same color as ice. It was a twisted creature made up from both unholy flesh and ice. A creature from Hircines realm, the Hunting Grounds contained a climate from every place a predator may roam. From deep djungels to snow drenched mountaintops to deep seas. This was a creature from the coldest parts of this realm. The very air around went cold as the beast let out a fierce howl and then swiftly ran off towards the assassin's direction. But it wasn't a spell that was used lightly as Witchie felt his vision blurr and his very body shaking. He slowly stumbled back behind the wall and fell down against it. He could hear beasts roar and soldiers screams of horror fade as he drifted from consciousness. Now you face a real wolf... And everything went black.

Baldur The sound was like a thousand blades being grinded at the same time, except louder. Baldur thought the Imperials launched some kind of spell, but saw that the khajiit was being affected too. Baldur fell to his knees as did everyone else, and could barely make out Witchie with a crystal in his hands walking towards them, due to the sound blurring his vision from the intensity of it. He then proceeded to put a frozen collar around the khajiit's neck from his stalhrim blade. Baldur was about to say something, but thought better of it. Witchie couldn't have known the cat gave up just now, so he let it go. Baldur got up to his feet, barely and looked around to count the casualties. There were about seven of the soldiers dead from the cat, two from friendly fire and the rest knocked on their butts from Witchie's spell. And of course there's Reval finally waking up now. So all around 10 casualties. Nine killed, and 1 injured. Not as bad as he thought. They took some time, but the other soldiers eventually got up as well. Baldur ordered them to collect their dead, and to help lift the cat and take him into the fort's prison area for later questioning. After the dead were collected, and Reval was taken to get patched up, Baldur began to walk his way back into the fort. The Necro Nords ran out of the fort to see what was wrong with the men when they all dropped down in agony, and Baldur explained that Witchie had sprang his trap. The rookies started telling them about their Captain's bravery. "Man, it was amazing! The Captain stood as though he were Ysgramor himself in front of that Khajiit!" "Yes, we saw that from the gate," said the Necro Nord. "Did we hear singing by the way?" The recruit laughed. "Ha, that was the best part! He started singing while he got ready to fight that bastard! Our Captain is a warrior bard. Captain, how did that song go?" Baldur was absolutely floating from all the praise. Baldur began to sing the song and the men started cheering in response. Baldur couldn't have been happier at this moment. He added in some more lines to make it sound better for the men. They'd need a morale boost after what the Khajiit did. Baldur was about to give an encoure when suddenly a Necro Nord dropped dead in front of him. The men ducked and raised their shields when they saw the arrow protruding from his head. We started darting all around but couldn't see anything. Then we heard what sounded like a wolf cry coming from the direction of the forest. Baldur looked by some trees and saw a huge Nord with an axe on his back pointing right for him with a bow. His men raised their swords, but Baldur ordered them to get back to the fort. "It's an assassin, don't worry about him! Just get that dead soldier to the fort, and raise your shields." Baldur started back to the fort with his men when he felt something pierce his right shoulder. He reached for his back and felt the arrow sticking into it. The arrow cut right through his Captain issued light armor. The chainmail under it did little to stop the piercing of the arrow. Baldur felt his strength fading quickly. His mouth grew dry, and then suddenly wet again, the taste of blood wetting his tongue almost as if in immediate response to his dry mouth. He dropped to his knees and saw himself lifted off of the ground as he was picked up by one of his troops. Last thing he saw was his blood upon the snow just before he passed out. Baldur started chuckling at the sight in pain. "Hehe, how...ironic. Baldur Red-Snow."

"Sir stormcloaks approaching-"" Lorgar cut off the soldier, "I see them..." There was three of them, two males flanking a female. They wore standard issue armor, the two males bore two-handed swords, while the leader bore a one-handed axe. Lorgar signaled his men too take cover in the nearby bushes, Lorgar himself was crouched, whispering silently to his soldiers, "Kill the two soldiers, I want the leader alive if possible..." "Yes sir..." The stormcloaks arrived at the tree-line and entered the glade, the female spoke up, "Boy's spread out..." "Yes Ma'am- The stormcloak never had a chance to finish his sentence, due to an arrow piercing his throat, and the second stormcloak was felled with an arrow to the chest moment's afterword. Before the leader could even react, a half dozen bows were pointing at her. Lorgar, obviously triumphant approached the female stormcloak, "I advise you to surrender lass..." Before she could respond, one of his soldiers shouted, "SIR Do'jhul has been subdued and- Lorgar wasted no time, he drew his great bow and approached the tree-line, he narrowed his vision and saw the Khajit being lead away with some sort of ice collar by the stormcloak forces, one of his soldiers said, "Sir you cant fire from that- Lorgar drew a massive steel tipped arrow from his quiver, whispered some words that his men couldn't understood, and fired at the nearest target, while howling a three note tune, meaning "I'll get you out".

WItch-king (aka Witchie) Fort Neugrad Afternoon Baldur had just given the signal. Witchie ordered the men to move forward quickly and quietly. He wanted to get the drop on the khajiit. The captain started to send out more men to face the khajiit who had thrown his weapon and shield to the ground. But it didn't help the men though as the khajiit was tearing them apart with his claws. When he saw how the khajiit tore the men apart he hurried up even more. Witchie was almost on top of the khajiit when he rushed to the fort, jumped up the wall and landed besides captain. Enough! He let the mist fall, he would need the magicka. And started to run towards the fort. As the khajiit was too fast for projectile spells he was going to use a spell that would affect the entire area. But he didn't have time to designate who it would affect so it would simply affect everyone except himself. He prepared the spell as he ran into the fort. The captain had already traded some blows with the khajiit. He ran up the wall and was right behind the khajiit when he released the spell. He yelled as the spell turned his voice into an piercing shriek that caused everyone to drop to the ground holding their ears in agony. While shriek still lingered in the air he ran up the khajiit who was laying on the ground covering the ears like everyone else and pointed the tip of his sword at the cat's throat. Pressing the blade so hard against the cat's skin that it was on the brink of cutting the throat right open. He was almost out of magicka though, so he reached with his empty hand into the robe and grabbed a magicka crystal. Magicka crystals are simply crystalized magicka, it was a common practice in the days of old that mages stored their magicka as crystals as a reserve. Though it was a tricky process and much magicka often went to waste in the creation of the crystals. Even adept mages could only store enough magicka to fuel the most simple novice spells. How common this practice was in this age he did not know. He released the magicka inside and felt as the crystal crumbled in his grasp. With this new magicka he quickly made use of the frost enchantment on his sword and formed a collar of ice around the khajiit's neck. "If you try anything..." he said with the coldest voice he could muster.

Landing down near the Captain, Do'jhul noticed he disappeared. He must've dodged my attack. Clever... for a Nord. Do'jhul then felt a presence behind himself and instinctively dodged out of the way. He saw the Captain with his shield raised and inching toward him. I need a weapon! An opportunity presented itself when a Nord wielding a greatsword rushed at Do'jhul. Dodging the swing, Do'jhul quickly came up and slashed at the Nord's face, ripping the skin off of his head. The Nord screamed in pain reeling from the attack, Do'jhul picked up the man's greatsword and used it like a regular sword and cleaved the Nord's head in two. Turning around to face the Captain, Do'jhul smiled and said, "It's good to face a worthy opponent", and then burst forward in a thrust attack aiming for the Captain's chest... "Fuck!" Baldur raised his shield to block the thrust the Khajiit had sent his way. The impact actually damaged the shield, but it did it's job. The sword knocked some of the bolts out of the shield, and the wooden planks inside came undone and fell out. Baldur was tired of losing men, and decided that he'd hold off the cat himself until Witchie decided to get off of his ass and attack. "Men, stand back! Block off the cat's exit and watch for the enemy." Baldur was pissed. He sent forty men after one opponent and they couldn't lay a finger on him. He was simply too fast and too strong for them to get at him. The only way they were going to get him was to take advantage of his overconfidence, and catch him off guard. Witchie must have been preparing some spell or something, but whatever he was doing, he needed to hurry up soon. Baldur thought about calling out his other men, but this was now a matter of honor. The cat had embarrassed his men, and sending anymore soldiers would just lower their morale further. No, Baldur would stop him with the men he had, or not at all. He figured if the cat could defend himself from 40 men plus a Captain and a witch, plus archers on top of a fort, he deserved to stay free. So he did battle with him, and tried not to feel too bad about the situation. Afterall, this beast was no ordinary enemy. Baldur wondered at first why the archers ceased their firing. A look at his shield, and one of he dead soldiers showed why. The cat was just to fast to hit, and it caused some of them to hit our own guys. "No more fucking around." Baldur threw down his ruined shield, and picked up a second axe off of the ground. After that, he stood with his axes ready for the cat's next assault. Baldur began to sing as the battle continued to try and annoy the khajiit. "A new rug for my quarters and a body to plunder, You'll find that I'm stronger than recruits and a dunmer! Baldur Red-Snow, from the city of Bruma, My stones are as large as Masser and Secunda, From your mother's bosom, you still drink secretions, Its to be expected from a cat in the Legion, I'll shave off your whiskers with my axe in one stroke, I'm no milk drinking kitty, I'm a bloody Stormcloak!" Do'jhul looked at the Stormcloak Captain quizzically. Starting to laugh, Do'jhul said, "Hahaha, you Nords are funny. Even now when you're getting beat, you still try to throw around jokes to taunt your enemies", as he laughed Do'jhul walked closer to the Nord and stopped right in front of him. The Nords head came to about Do'jhul's upper abdomen. Dropping the greatsword on the ground, Do'jhul looked down at the Nord and said, "I admire your courage, Nord. You have me." Baldur was a bit disappointed that the cat decided to give up before their battle. He really wished to prove his combat skills against this warrior khajiit, but it was not to be so. The cat dropped his weapons and proclaimed the battle was over. It wasn't exactly how he wanted this situation to go down, but he did catch himself a valuable prisoner. The odds after all were against him, if he stayed to fight, but in all honesty the cat probably could have just took off, try his luck and run if he really wished. That is, if Baldur didn't decide to send out more troops, which Baldur did not plan to because it would have been too embarrassing. But the cat didn't know that. "I guess we didn't need Witchie afterall. Fine, come wi..." A piercing screech filled Baldur's ears.

Baldur Red-Snow Fort Neugrad Afternoon Baldur's stomach dropped. He wasn't afraid of battle, but the men were getting brutalized to his dismay. He anticipated the killing, but it didn't make it any easier to see knowing his command was the reason they died. They're expendable. But that doesn't make me feel any better about it. Baldur watched in horrer as the giant cat used one of his men as a meat shield to protect himself from the blow of a war hammer. The sound of breaking bones made one of the recruits begin to wretch his insides out. The bright amber color appeared strange upon the white snow to Baldur. It was clear the soldier had drunken some mead before the fight to calm his nerves. The man that had been struck was the same nord again that he had made an example of in the beginning. Baldur shook his head in sadness. Not every man was meant to be a soldier. At least he could finally rest in Sovngarde, Baldur thought. Baldur saw a black mass begin to drop towards his direction. Baldur was ready and itching for a fight. He was pissed off at what the cat did to that recruit, and was determined to take a pound of fur and flesh out from this cat for his sacrifice. He rolled forward to appear behind the khajiit after he landed and swung his axe backwards, hoping to catch the khajiit off guard. He held his shield arm ready to block a counter strike in case of a counter. Hurry up and make your move, Witch King... thought Baldur.

As the duel turns into a full-out melee, Rebec starts forward, then stops again. It all smells wrong. This beast must be a demon of Oblivion, for one thing, but even so, his suicidal act is too suspicious. And now the fort's gates are open. This is just what the imperials want, she thinks to herself, scanning the forest line for the attack she assumes must be coming. The sailor can play the role of a Stormcloak regular well enough but in her mind's eye, the enemy are not imperial soldiers but reavers, bandits, just the nameless and faceless targets that stand between her and her payoff. "Your captain might be in trouble," she says to Witchie, gesturing to the fort. "I hope you have some tricks up your sleeve. I'm going to scout around a little bit. One or two of you, come with me." With that she turns and, not waiting to see if any of the Stormcloaks follow, heads warily toward the tree line, in the direction of the hidden imperial soldiers. Both axes are out now, held ready to throw or hack whatever comes out of the rain.

Baldur saw that the Khajiit was still fresh, and thought better of sending out his best men. The Khajiit made it a point to send them out, and he knew the enemy wanted to see what they could do. So instead he gave the men the order to stand aside and let the regular stormcloaks come through when he gave the order. "Two score up front, now! We're moving in." Baldur was confident. Even if he did lose men, they wouldn't be very valuable in the long run. It was a cruel thing to think, but sadly it was the truth. These men were his brothers, but they were expendable, as all soldiers are. Even him. They would die well, that's for sure. "If that's how you want it furball, fine! CHARGE!" The Stormcloaks began to pour out of the gates. The sound of their battle cry was deafening. The slaughter that was about to take place wouldn't be the best thing for morale, but it would be a significant tactical win if they could get any info out of the cat, or at least make demands for his safe return. The cat's main mistake was showing his skill in combat. That's the main reason Baldur knew he was valuable. One way or another, this fight would be worth it. And if the Legion were crazy enough to take on his entire fort, he'd be ready. Baldur charged in as well with his men and prepared for the worst. He didn't notice any enemy soldiers so far, but that did not mean they weren't there, so he positioned himself so that there wouldn't be a clear shot of him while he charged the cat. "Archers, shoot for the legs now!" Do'jhul anticipated where the arrows where going to strike and immediately dodged out of the way. Closing his eyes and imagining still cool pools of water and drops dripping, Do'jhul prepared himself for the onslaught. Then it began..... ..... The first Stormclaok up rushed in front of the rest wielding a steel greatsword. the Nord then charged at Do'jhul and swung downward towards the Khajiit's head. Almost if on sixth sense, Do'jhul dodged the attack and as the Nord kept going from the momentum of the swing, Do'jhul kneed the soldier in the stomach and then took the man's head and swiftly broke his neck in two. Two more came. The one to Do'jhul's left wielding a shield and axe and the other a warhammer. I'll take the out the one with the shield first, then deal with other one. The Nord with the shield rushed in and attacked, aiming for Do'jhul's head. The Khajiit anticipated the attack and caught the man's arm and broke it, making him drop the axe. The Nord in rage tried to hit Do'jhul with his shield but the Khajiit swung around the Nord and held both of his arm's in place. The other Nord with warhammer swung down towards Do'jhul's head, but Do'jhul used the Nord he just incapacitated as a meat shield and the warhammer came down and crushed other Nord's head. In shok of killing his own comrade, Do'jhul took the opportunity and unsheathed his claws and slashed the man's throat open. Turning to the rest of the Stormcloaks, Do'jhul started to run and then leaped high into the air and aimed for the Captain....

Lorgar Grim-Maw, Near Fort Neuraud, Noon "Sir, we have to-" Lorgar merely laughed, "Stand down soldier..." The soldier's face was filled with shock, Lorgar merely chuckled and reassured the crouching legionaries, "If anything those stormcloak are the ones who will be needing help..."

Do'jhul The Dunmer was able to block Do'jhul at the last second, but at least he was able to land a blow on the Elf's chest. The elf reeled back in pain holding on to his wound and gasping. Do'jhul could tell his enemy was getting ahead of himself. He was just playing around with the elf, testing his combat prowess. Just then in a split second, the Dunmer grabbed his axe of the ground and swung at Do'jhul's chest. Raising his shield just in time, Do'jhul was able to deflect the blow; though the impact of the hit was so great that Do'jhul shield reverberated and knocked back into Do'jhul's chest, causing a large bruise. In his anger, Do'jhul took his shield and bashed the Dunmer's head with it. Walking up to the elf, Do'jhul picked him up easily and threw him towards the fort. All of a sudden, the front gates to the Fort opened and Do'jhul saw the Captain and a couple of the infamous "Necro Nords" lined up shoulder to shoulder, ready to come to the aid of their fallen comrade. He also noticed archers on the battlements. Hmph, looks like they're trying to capture me. Well let's have a little fun. Do'jhul then walked a little farther towards the fort and stopped about a few feet from the Dunmer lying on the ground. Do'jhul then spoke in a loud voice towards the Captain. "I had fun with your novice fighter. He has potential. Never want to eat fruit before it is ripe. Now, that I got your attention Captain, it's time to see if the Necro Nords live up to their reputation", Do'jhul then sheathed his sword and threw to the side, likewise with his shield. He the got into the fighting stance of the Khajiiti martial art, Whispering Fang, and shouted, "I have no weapons. Lets who will win. Come!"

Baldur Red-Snow Fort Neugrad After Noon Baldur was looking in the direction of the woman and could barely make out the Lieutenant and his men in the mist. Baldur smiled in anticipation of his maneuver. It almost seems too easy. He thought. The whole scene felt wrong. One legionnaire walks up to an enemy fort, and challenges them to a duel with a soldier of our choosing. All by himself with no protection? No fellow soldiers? This khajiit may be a beast, but Baldur could tell he was a cunning one. No one would be this stupid. He had to know they wouldn't just let him go. Unless he betted everything on the Nord sense of honor that is too often exaggerated by outsiders. No, as he just said, this beast was cunning. He couldn't be that stupid, could he? Baldur began to frown, and grew steadily worried. Both of his lieutenants were out of the safety of the fort, and he was about to give the order that put them both in the open, on top of some of his finest soldiers. He began to wonder what his father would have done, and realized this was exactly what he'd do. Goad the enemy and get them to make a move, then strike when they were open. Baldur felt for this before, but he would not let it happen again. He had to set up precautions. Baldur whispered to the soldier next to him and ordered him to get all archers up on the battlements immediately and prepare for cover fire for those who were below. "Aim at the cat too if he tries to run. Shoot for the legs." Then he told the other soldier next to him to get the Necro Nords and the Stormcloaks organized by the gates and be ready to swarm the Khajiit and Reval as soon as they heard any sign of other enemies. His plan was to surround the two with bodies so no one could help or take them away, and the men in the back would subdue the cat if he tried to fight his way out. That's if there really were legionaries waiting out in the distance somewhere. They may lose men, but he'd make sure he captured that Khajiit and keep his lieutenants no matter what. This Khajiit was highly skilled, so it stands to reason he's got some weight in the Legion. He may even be a Lieutenant. His capture would be worth a few deaths. After a few moments everything was in place. Getting the men into place didn't take too long, as most of the men were already by the walls because of all of the commotion. Baldur decided that it was time to put his plan into motion. He lifted his hand and to get ready to signal. He waited to take in the moment. This would be his first military order that could cause the deaths of his men. He took in the scene. The clash and clang of metal from the two fighters, the bitter cold air that stung his lungs as he breathed, the pitter patter of rain upon his helmet, and the dull thud the rain made as it hit the ground and mingled with the snow and mud alike. He took it all in. He wanted to remember this moment for better or worse. It would be a defining moment in his career as a Captain, and it would set the mood for his men and the rest of his campaign as well. "Okay, it's now or never." Baldur dropped his hand to give the signal. As soon as he did, he charged down to the gates, and waited with his men. He had the Necro Nords at the front, in case archers were hiding outside, because they were wearing heavy armor, and it would protect them well against standard issue legion arrows. He realized that him going along would be just one more officer out in the open for the enemy, and would be exactly what his father wanted if he were his enemy now, but he was not one to sit in the fort while his men risked their lives. Baldur would go into battle as much as he could to prove to himself and his men he was worthy to be Captain. If his plan failed, he'd make sure he at least took out some Imperials in he process. The men opened the gates and awaited the Witch King and the Necro Nords to take action. "Lets see what you can do, "Witch King."