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The Tenth Hold	By : Singalmo Category: +A through F > Elder Scrolls - Skyrim Views: 23706 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own The Elder Scrolls : Skyrim, or anything related to it. This fiction is purely for entertainment and I do not profit from it in any way.

Chapter List
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As the other four men were retrieving their now highly valuable prisoners, Seved moved into the hallway where the holding cells were. He’d been vaguely certain that at least once cell had been occupied when they hastily made their way through to knock out the guard. He was a bit surprised to see three of the four held prisoners. They were equally surprised to see him, as far as he could tell, yet he was sure they were eager to have their freedom and he needed to use those cells anyway. He first opened the cell of a very green Argonian who introduced himself as Slither. The next cell on that side of the hall contained a young Redguard man called Raj. Seved nearly jumped as he turned to the last cell and its occupant skittered to the back wall and shrank back, crying violently.

“By the Nine!” Seved took a step back and looked at the two men beside him, rather at a loss.

“I believe her name is Inga.” Slither scratched lightly at his arm. “I seem to recall the guards addressing her as that when she was first brought in.”

“How long ago was that?”

“Three weeks ago. The gray-haired Nord has been here the longest. About a month before the civil war started. I came in a month later and have been here for four months. Raj has been here for two.”

“What in Talos’ name did they do to her?”

“Just about anything you can think of, really.” Raj shrank a little. “When talking and beatings didn’t phase her...” His voice trailed off and Seved didn’t need to know much more than that. He took a step toward the cell door and squatted down so he was at eye level with the Nord woman inside. She was still crying and staring at him, as if waiting for him to pounce on her. He pulled off his steel bracers and reached through the bars with one hand, just looking at her for the moment. When she didn’t respond, he finally spoke.

“It’s alright now. They can’t hurt you.” His voice was soft, almost fatherly. She sniffled hard and looked at him, still uncertain.

“Did you kill them?”

“No, but they can’t move right now, nor will they be doing much of anything without my input.”

“Do you swear?”

“By Talos. I will not let them hurt you.” She moved with almost painful slowness toward him. She was hesitant to take his hand and nearly jumped when she finally did. He gently closed his hand around hers and smiled. “Were you afraid I was a dream?”

“Yes... I’ve had it so many times before... but you’re here. You’re real. I’m... I’m safe now?” The tears were still streaming down her face as she looked at him.

“Yes. You’re safe now.” He smiled softly. “Let me open the door, alright?” She nodded and reluctantly let go of his hand so he could open the door to her cell. He was a bit surprised at the sudden rush of energy she had as she surged forward and hugged him tightly. He grunted and wrapped his arms around her, stroking her back and letting her sob gently. “Shh... it’s alright... you’re safe now. Let it all out, go ahead.” He’d long understood the reason that women would cry more often and more openly than men did. He had seen his mother cry when he was a child, and while it had hurt him, she had explained the value of those tears, though she had never said a word. Every time he’d watched a woman cry, he’d seen her at her weakest point. Every time a woman finished crying and collected herself, she stood a little straighter than she had before. Joy or sorrow didn’t matter. Tears made women stronger.

At length the woman calmed down and did, at last, confirm that her name was Inga. She was the one to prompt Seved to tell the three former prisoners his plan for the eighteen Thalmor that had manned this keep. He was a little hesitant, half certain that they would find reason to object to it. Yet the three of them looked at each other silently for a few moments, considering their options.

“Break them, Seved.” Inga’s voice was surprisingly dark in that moment, filled with vengeance. “Do to them what they did to me, and to so many others. I... I cannot stay here with you, yet I dare not walk the road by myself. I have family in Whiterun...”

“If you don’t mind staying for a few days, Inga, I can at least get you to Solitude. From there it will be easy to take a carriage to Whiterun.”

“I would not mind a few days waiting. This place has been exhausting and I would like some proper rest... and maybe a bath if we can manage it.”

“I think we can arrange that.” Seved smiled softly.

“I have no one in Skyrim,” Slither’s tail twitched slightly and the crest of feathers on his head lowered. “I was taken from Anvil. They burned my fishing boat with my egg-brothers on it. I know not how my family is, but I do not know that it would be safe for me to return.”

“We’re close to the sea, and I know I saw where the Thalmor had moored a small boat not too far from the keep itself. A good fisherman would be welcome here.”

“Then I will stay and acclimate myself to the cold waters here.” Slither smiled and nodded. “So long as I have a good boat, I can fish just fine.”

“I know there’s nothing for me in Hammerfell. My uncle sold me out to the Dominion in order to keep his farm. I’m not much of a farmer myself, but I do have a pretty good arm.” Raj nodded. “I’ll stay, too, if you need me.”

“I suspect we’re going to need all the help we can get.” Seved smiled and put a hand on the Redguard’s shoulder. “You’re welcome to stay, brother.” He looked at Slither. “I think we’re all going to have lots to do, at least until we get more people here.”

“Definitely, Seved.” Avulstein had stepped into the hallway. “We have eighteen prisoners. Six men, twelve women, and we still have to look through the keep itself to see what supplies we have.”

“Oh we’ll definitely need to recruit, then... Bring in the men, first. They’ll be a bit faster to process.” He rubbed his chin. “Slither, I want you to go through the entire keep and take down all of the Thalmor banners, big and small, and bring them back here. We’ll put them to a bit better use shortly enough.”

“Right. You want them intact?”

“For now, yes.” He looked at Raj then. “Raj, go with Inga and consolidate the foodstuffs in the mess hall. We need to know how many days worth of food we have and what needs to get used up first.”

“A good plan.” Inga nodded. “And while we’re at it, we can get some better fires going around this place.” The three of them went off to carry out these orders while the four Nords started dragging in prisoners.

One by one, Seved stripped the six Thalmor men and hog tied them, setting them in the cell that Inga had occupied. He had meant it entirely as a dig against these men and he could tell by the looks he was getting from a few of them that it was not lost on them. He would know for sure once the poison began to work its way out of their systems. Next they started bringing in the women. For the present it was easier to strip them naked and secure them in two of the remaining cells. Their wrists were placed in the shackles on the walls. Valdrid and Geriald then worked together to tie the women’s legs to various sticks and things, spread nice and wide so that when they did come around, they could not shut themselves to torment. Seved took the three largest banners and tied them to the very tops of the cell doors, the Thalmor sigil facing inward. The black cloth served its primary function to keep some of the cold out, since Seved had noticed a rather nasty draft coming in from the rear entrance to the keep, which was not much further down the hallway from the cells. It also served to block off sight for the prisoners. They could not see what was happening in the hallway or the other cells, which he knew would add to their fear. With the symbol facing inward, it would torment them further, seeing constantly the sigil which had failed to protect them from their Nord captors.

The interrogator and the former captain of the keep he saved for last. Stripped down, he brought them both into the great hall of the keep where he’d remembered there were two racks. He secured them to these, which would keep them on display for the time being. While the hall was still warming up, however, he tossed more banners and furs onto them to keep them warm. The last thing he wanted was for any of his prizes to die of the cold.

The prisoners secured now, the men took better stock of what they had. Raj had found more proper clothing for Inga and she had been glad to change out of the rags she’d been wearing for the past three weeks. He and Slither had also changed into better clothing as they had worked at taking stock and building fires. Avulstein took over assisting Inga in the kitchen, keeping the two hearths going, one better suited to cooking while the other warmed up the room. Geriald and Valdrid organized their supplies better and brought a great pile of bedrolls, furs, and blankets into the single bedroom that was in the keep, which had belonged to the captain. Seved assigned Raj and Slither to guard duty for the present and told them to feel free to torment and tease the women as much as they liked, but not to take any of them just yet. He wanted them terrified and squirming before he broke any of them.

Seved himself rearranged the bedroom, making sure that the eight of them would be as comfortable as he could manage while sleeping. Thorald, happy to be up and moving again, took to the forge and constructed a fire bowl which he then brought into the bedroom and set it up in the corner, starting a small but nicely warm fire in it which would help to warm up the room faster. The metal dish in which the fire rested meant that it wouldn’t lose heat too quickly, but it would have to be checked every so often. Seved was impressed with the simple design and told Thorald that as he felt up to it, more should be made, to help force the cold of Haafingar out of the keep. Inga at last called to the others, stating that supper was ready. Seved went down to tell Raj and Slither, and at the same time double checked the security of his prisoners. He cast a few simple spells on the cell doors which would discourage any tampering, at the very least. As Seved joined the others in the mess hall, Valdrid came in with bottles of Black-Briar Reserve that he’d found in a well hidden stash. They were chilled from the cold outside which made the brew that much sweeter.

With full bellies, work was resumed with a renewed vigor. The Gray-Mane brothers built another fire bowl and took it down to the cells. They built another slow-burning fire which Raj and Slither could tend to as they continued their guard duty for the evening. Seved had found a large tub and scrubbed it down before setting it up in what had been the office. He whistled and his horse trotted merrily into the shelter of the keep’s wall, laying down where the wind was less harsh. Satisfied that the horse was alright, he began bringing in water from the well to fill the tub. Inga was boiling water over the fire to add to the cold that would be in the tub. Seved assured her that the well outside was deep enough that the water wouldn’t freeze over and that it was fresh and clear, not straight out of the sea.

Inga was allowed to bathe first and the men gave her privacy for that. While she bathed they decided that Seved and Thorald would take first watch for the night and relieve Raj and Slither of their duties to let them sleep. Geriald and Avulstein would take the next watch and Valdrid would get up at dawn to stoke the fires. Day shifts could be determined later. When Inga was finished she claimed the bedroll at the furthest corner from the door, which was also not too close or too far from the fire and made herself comfortable. Raj and Slither were next for the bath and took up more protective positions in the room. Geriald and Valdrid simply freshened themselves a bit before taking up bedrolls. Avulstein bathed a bit more properly, as did Thorald. Seved freshened himself up and then took the tub outside to dump the bathwater. He brought the tub inside to dry, then, where it wouldn’t freeze. With everyone sleeping that should be then, it was time to keep watch.

Seved took strips of cloth from one of the smaller banners which he’d torn already during the fighting and used them to blindfold and gag the former captain. He then clapped his hand on Thorald’s shoulder and looked at the Interrogator. No words were needed between the two men. Thorald took his meaning well enough and pulled the ruined banners away from the woman’s naked form.

“Now, you little cunt, I get my turn.” Thorald sneered at the woman who was just now able to start struggling in her bonds. “Don’t think I haven’t forgotten all you did to me, and all you teased me with while I was in chains. Now it’s my turn.”

Seved grinned wickedly as he headed for the main door of the keep to patrol outside briefly. Another voice was whispering to him now, this one far more ancient and wise than the others. It gave him instructions which he listened to carefully. He knew what these were. Specialized wards that he could place along the perimeter. They slowed the wind and lessened the cold a little. The shrouded the keep from prying eyes. They warned off predators. This would do for the time being at least. His work finished outside, he headed back inside to go and look at his prizes more closely. He paused to admire Thorald’s work. He’d used the woman’s own hair as a gag to keep her from screaming too loudly. She was still struggling against him at that point, but Thorald was stronger than she was and Seved knew it. He chuckled softly and moved on toward the holding cells. He had sixteen other prisoners to play with, after all.
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The Tenth Hold