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The Forsworn Retribution	By : Samson Category: +A through F > Elder Scrolls - Skyrim Views: 60892 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 3
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Chapter List
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Heretic

The Forsworn Retribution
Part VI - "Budding Champions"
By: Jesse Racine AKA Samson
Original Date Written: September 4, 2014

It had been a long journey, but finally, after days on the road, Maximus and the others walked back in through the gates of Markarth. Each of them a little grimy from the lengthy trek, their legs sore from the strenuous journey, the first things they wanted were baths and beds, and hopefully in that particular order. Svetlana let out a happy sigh, pointing at the Silver-Blood inn. “Oh, I pray to Mara they have free rooms...And fresh mead. It’s been too long since I’ve had a cold drink.” Maximus smiled a little, arching an eyebrow as he remarked “I pray the Jarl’s generous with his coffers.”

Gabriella tried to hide a snicker, smiling to herself all the while. Bunny briefly grinned and glanced up at the noon sky, squinting hard under the bright rays. Absent-mindedly, she commented “It’s too bad Sabrina isn’t here, for this...I’m sure the Jarl’s gonna be pretty surprised, Max. Hey, that reminds me! How come Sabrina doesn’t care about getting any gold for the help she gives us? I’ve noticed she never gets a share.” Maximus instantly developed a cheeky grin, briefly leaning in as he commented “Because she gets paid other ways, Bunny. You should know that, by now. Gabby, you’re with me.”

Gabriella’s eyes widened, a little, in surprise before she went after him, following him up towards Understone Keep. Svetlana looked at Bunny and gave her a quick nod, saying “Ah, let’s let them handle the money. I don’t know about you, but I’m dying to put my feet up.” Bunny smiled a little, giving the priestess a weary look and an equally weary nod as she said “Yeah, no kidding...Let’s get outta here.” As they walked side-by-side up to the tangerine Dwemer doors, Gabriella gave him a look and asked “Do you think he’s going to want word from Johan before he pays us?”

Maximus paused, but only for a moment. Giving her a glance, he admitted “I hadn’t thought of that, actually. He might, but considering that that Silver-Blood guy was the one to hire him, he might not. He might not even know that we had gotten help.” Gabriella gave him a sidelong look, pointing out “He said that if he received reliable word that we had cleared out Red Eagle-” He cut her off, rapidly nodding a couple times. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, I remember. It doesn’t matter, we can let Igmund know, anyway. The sooner we get paid, the better.” She took in an indignant little sniff, turning her head away from him as she flatly proclaimed “Just reminding you, Max.”

A smile quickly grew on his face. He looked at her through the corners of his eyes, a low chuckle escaping him. He slipped his arm around her waist, pulling her close until her hip bumped against his own. She turned her head back towards him, giving him an unusually mild glare. Only after a moment did she push his arm away, and she didn’t move more than a step away from him, either. Just as they started climbing the lengthy stone stairway leading up to the Mournful Throne, something at the top blotted out the Dwemer torches and burning braziers, casting a wide shadow down at them.

Maximus and Gabriella both came to a quick stop, looking up the steps in curiosity. To their surprise, there standing in a row was the Thalmor trio, the male standing in the middle while his female subordinates flanked him. The male, expression stony, eyes alight with anger, spoke with a surprisingly loud, official tone. “Maximus Iron-Heart, by the order of the Aldmeri Dominion, stop right there.” Maximus raised an eyebrow, his eyes darting to Anya. She was giving him the same harsh look her superior was, only...He could see the unmistakable glint of satisfaction in her eyes. All at once, he knew exactly what had happened.

Numerous whooshes filled the room as more Thalmor agents appeared, their Invisibility spells ending just in time for the ambush. There were six of them, all standing in a half-circle behind the two of them, hands upraised for spell casts as they blocked the exit. Glaring at Maximus from under their black hoods, the Altmer men and women seemed to all but disregard Gabriella. The leader confirmed she was of no interest with his next declaration. “Maximus, you stand accused of Talos worship. Come with us peacefully for questioning, or face summary execution. The extra is of no consequence, men...Disregard the Dunmer.”

“What’s the meaning of this, Ondolemar?” The Redguard Housecarl demanded, marching out from the throne room. The male leader gave the woman a dismissive glance, simply muttering “What else, human? Stay out of it, this doesn’t concern you.” Maximus’ eyes remained glued on Anya as she and her sister-in-arms began marching down the steps. The cold, angry look on his face only made the corners of her mouth flicker upwards. Gabriella twisted around, seeing the other Thalmor agents begin to move in, coming close behind the two of them. Quickly looking at Maximus, she worriedly said his name, unsure of what to do, unsure of how he intended to handle the situation.

She knew better than to try and interfere. Even if she weren’t outnumbered, the Thalmor weren’t to be trifled with. Maximus could only give Gabriella a glance before the Thalmor were upon him, shoving her to the side so hard she almost fell off of the stairway. Ondolemar watched as his subordinates stripped Maximus of his sword and supply pack, one of them producing a length of rope to bind his hands behind him. Gabriella’s brow furrowing, she demanded “Where are you taking him? You can’t do this!” Anya gave her a hard stare, snapping out “Silence, Dunmer. Involving yourself is the same as implicating yourself.”

Gabriella desperately looked up at the Housecarl, but the woman simply gave a quiet, resigned sigh, her expression slowly turning more and more apologetic. Anya, a smug tone barely suppressed in her voice, stared into Maximus’ eyes as she declared “Alright, Maximus. Nice and easy, now. Let’s get going.” He almost spat in her face, but one of the hooded Altmer behind him pulled him to the side before he could go through with it. A Thalmor agent holding him by either arm, the Altmeri quickly surrounded him, marching him towards the keep exit. Gabriella gave Ondolemar a harsh glance before following after the group, making sure to keep her distance lest they assume she was planning to intervene.

Maximus was paraded through Markarth, much to the morbid interest of the citizens. Some were bewildered, although those individuals were few and far between. None were openly pleased to see the Thalmor drag off someone new, despite the fact that there were undoubtedly plenty of people who had long given in to the White-Gold Concordat, inside and out. Gabriella stopped following the group by the Silver-Blood inn, watching with an undeniably forlorn expression on her face as Maximus was brought to the city exit. Her eyes downcast, her mouth hanging open a crack, her arms simply hung by her sides, the sense of helplessness visibly crushing her inside. Maximus tried looking over his shoulder, but he was shoved through the city gates before he had a chance to see her.

Svetlana and Bunny raised eyebrows as Gabriella burst through the inn’s door. Svetlana put down her mead bottle when she realized something had to have been deeply amiss. Not only was Maximus missing, but by the way Gabriella was frantically looking around for the two, something she couldn’t have prevented might’ve happened to him. When Gabriella spotted the two of them, she ran over, nearly bowling right into the table in the process. Smacking her hands down into the table, her eyes still wide, she gave a quick glance to the side, ensuring nobody was close enough to overhear as she hissed out “Maximus was taken by the Thalmor! He’s gone, they’ve taken him!”

Svetlana’s eyes widened. She bit her tongue before she yelled, instead quietly breathing out “What?!” as she got up to her feet. Even Bunny, who had never lived with the threat of the Thalmor looming over her head, bounced up to her feet with fear in her eyes. Gabriella tried her best not to babble, blinking rapidly as the corners of her eyes became dewy. “I, I don’t know, it happened so quickly, th-there was nothing I could do! We walked into the keep, and...They were just waiting for us, they took him as soon as we...!” Svetlana’s brow started to sink as she hastily asked “Where is he now? Is he still in Markarth?” Gabriella quickly gave a shake with her head, bringing a hand up to her forehead.

Closing her eyes, she swallowed to ease her tightening throat, forcing out “No, they’ve already left, I...I couldn’t do anything, they’re escorting him with so many people, there was nothing I could...!” Svetlana took in a breath, but simply let it out in an impotent sigh. She similarly brought a hand to her forehead, rubbing her temples with her middle finger and thumb as her other hand found her hip. Bunny quickly offered Gabriella her mead bottle, saying “Here, take a drink, it’ll help relax you...I’m sure there was nothing you could do, Gabby...” Gabriella dropped her arm with an impatient, frustrated sigh, but after a few moments of internal bickering, she finally did herself a favour and took the drink.

Svetlana secretly blinked a few times, trying to fight back some tears before they got out of hand. Before she could get a hold of herself and ask the next logical question, Bunny beat her to it. Hastily, the young Breton demanded “Where are they going? Do you know where they’re taking him?” Gabriella swallowed a big mouthful of the sweet alcohol, giving another shake with her head. Already in much better control of her faculties, she said “No, they didn’t say where they were taking him, they just escorted him out of the city. I have no idea where they’re going, they just marched him out before I could even...” Bunny surprised them both with her fire. Her expression turning hard with determination, she declared “Then, I’ll follow ‘em! They’ll never see me!”

Bunny was already making for the inn exit as Svetlana loudly said “Bunny, wait! We shouldn’t just split up, like that!” Gabriella glanced to the side, becoming uncomfortably aware of the growing number of stares the other patrons were paying them. Were there Thalmor spies, in the crowd? Bunny’s composure started to crack as she flicked a hand at Svetlana, blurting out “Well, someone has to keep an eye on him! I’m the best tracker out of the three of us! Go get Sabrina, I have to get going before I lose them! I’m not gonna let him down, like this!” Svetlana tried calling Bunny back, but she was already yanking open the inn door, rushing out into the sunlight.

Gabriella, in a considerably more quiet tone, said “Lana, we’re making a bit of a scene, here...Let’s get our heads on straight and think, for a minute. Bunny’s right, we’re going to need Sabrina, for this. The Thalmor that took Max looked like mages, and even if they aren’t, they’re Altmer, for Azura’s sake. They could have any number of tricks up their sleeves. What chance do the three of us have, taking them all on?” Svetlana, keeping her voice under control, hissed out “It’s the middle of the day, Gabby, how are we supposed to find her? She could be sleeping anywhere! It’s not like either of us can call her, Max was holding on to her vial, wasn’t he?” Gabriella quickly ran her hand through her bangs and over her head, closing her eyes as she sighed out “Yeah, and they took his pack, too...Wait.”

Gabriella dropped her hand back down, giving a couple quick raps against the table with her knuckles. Raising an eyebrow, she said “A while back, Max told me about what happened on the day we met Sabrina, when he followed her back to her cave. If we retraced the steps we took on our first bounty together, we could probably find her cave, ourselves. I mean, it’s really not all that far from Markarth, so if she knows we’re going to be in the city for the day, maybe she just heads back home in the meantime?” Svetlana gave a few nods, immediately grabbing her supply pack from the floor. “Yeah, yeah, maybe you’re right! It’s worth a try, isn’t it? Better than wasting our time checking out every dark corner in the Reach, anyway! Let’s get going!” Gabriella nodded, turning and rushing for the inn door...

Bunny looked over her shoulder as she reached the top of the hill. She could see Gabriella and Svetlana running out through the city gates, quickly racing down the cobbled road until they passed a nearby mine, where they abruptly veered off the path until they were running southward into the hills. Bunny had no idea where they were intending to go, but she hoped they had some idea of where Sabrina was, and were heading off to retrieve her. Bunny turned her head back around, setting her sights on her target. Luckily, she could see them from her position: a group of black hooded figures, led by two in glinting Elven armour, surrounding one final individual which could’ve only been Maximus...Her Maximus.

They were heading north, towards Kolskeggr mine and Karthwasten. Perhaps their destination was Solitude? If so, it’d take them quite a few days before they could “question” Maximus. Already sweating from the scramble up the hill, Bunny let Sabrina’s thick, black cloak fall from her shoulders, leaving it behind in the grass. It’d simply weigh her down in the trek to come. Not now, not ever, would she let Maximus down. Taking off into the next hill, she kept her eyes on the group from afar, determined not to let them escape her keen vigil until the others could help her stage a rescue.

Troubled minds make for winged feet, and just in time for dusk, Gabriella and Svetlana found the site of their first makeshift camp as a team, together. With the sunlight rapidly fading, the two of them ran back in the direction they remembered Maximus heading in, after he had followed after Sabrina. Keeping their eyes peeled for cave mouths, it thankfully didn’t take them long before they spotted a promising target: a human-sized burrow set in stone, nestled under the shade of a Juniper tree. With hope guiding them, they rushed in, praying they wouldn’t have to wait until daybreak to continue searching.

Gabriella and Svetlana stayed close to each other’s side as they dauntlessly followed the single underground passage. The cave, almost pitch-black, slowly sank into the earth at a steady incline. Aside from a couple turns and a few dips in the slope, the path was fairly easy to manage. The air quickly turned warm and thick, and soon after, a light became visible up ahead, putting a welcoming glow in the passage. Slowing down out of caution, Gabriella and Svetlana both put a hand against the wall to their right, feeling along it as they came close to the chamber entrance. As Gabriella rounded the corner and stepped into the room, she quietly said “Sabrina?...” The voice that returned to them afforded them both a sigh of relief.

“No need to whisper. I’ve been awake for the better part of an hour, now. Come on in.”

Gabriella and Svetlana both stepped into the cave’s only evident chamber, their eyes quickly roaming around in surprise. Maximus had told Gabriella that Sabrina owned an impressive collection of books, but seeing it with her own eyes, she couldn’t help but think he had made a bit of an understatement. There had to have been over a dozen full-size bookshelves, all packed to the brim with thick tomes, all crammed into a cavern chamber that had probably felt cramped even before all the other furniture had been shoved inside. The makeshift fireplace crackling on the far side of the chamber normally would’ve made for an extreme fire hazard, but thankfully, Sabrina had been smart enough to keep the burning belly of the furnace far from the natural mouth, providing warmth and light without the risk of her miniature library going up in smoke.

Sabrina sat at a circular wooden table, not far from the chamber entrance. The table, covered over with a crimson velvet cloth, was illuminated by a single tall, black candle, lit in the center of several thick stacks of tomes. Sabrina, wearing only her black shirt and ruffled pink panties, quickly lowered the stick of black lipstick in her hand, setting down the diminutive mirror she held in her other hand just as hastily. She gave her lips a quiet smack to ensure the lipstick was evenly distributed, then looked over at the two of them with a genuinely pleased smile. Sliding her regal wooden chair back a few inches, she stood up and said “I’m surprised you guys wanted to make a house call, but I won’t complain. You could’ve just signalled for me, I would’ve gone to meet you. I guess it w...Hey, where’s Max?”

Gabriella quickly walked deeper into the chamber, answering with a blunt “He’s why we’re here, Sabrina. The Thalmor took him.” Sabrina’s eyes widened. Her brow immediately sinking, her head leaning forward, her mouth hung open as she demanded “What?! When, where?!” Svetlana hated herself for it, given the situation, but she couldn’t help letting her eyes drop to Sabrina’s crotch. Sabrina’s panties were tight in all the right places, showing off the fat, globular bulge of her neglected undercarriage, the lengthy outline of her relaxed manhood clearly visible as it rested over her swollen orbs. She could even spot the shape of the ring Sabrina wore on her cock, nestled up around her base. The sight was remarkably arousing, yet unbelievably frustrating, at the same time...

Such a big cock, such pent-up balls, all on display for her to admire, but only because Sabrina had become comfortable enough with her taste for men that she no longer thought anything of flaunting her body to women. Getting fucked by Maximus had become such old hat to her, by then, that she didn’t even seem to consider the girls lusting after her, too. Was there such a thing as a greater torture? Of course, Svetlana could’ve been overthinking things, Sabrina could’ve merely been comfortable enough with the others to stand before them in her underwear, simply because she felt close to them. Either way, it ended up making Svetlana bite her lip, knowing she hadn’t turned Sabrina into her own meek sex slave with just one encounter. It hurt her pride, but it drove her to try harder, at the same time...

Pulling her head out of the gutter before she could doubt her own sexual prowess any further, or start drizzling down her thighs for that matter, Svetlana quickly stepped forward and said “A few hours back, not long after we got back to Markarth. I wasn’t there, but Gabby saw the whole thing. Bunny went after them, she kept insisting that she was the only one who could keep an eye on him.” Gabriella raised her eyebrows and added “It was her idea to get you, too. With Max gone, we couldn’t signal you. If we’re gonna be dealing with Thalmor, Sabrina, we’re gonna need you. Altmer are a bit more serious than Forsworn, and they already have several hours of marching ahead of us.”

Sabrina didn’t react, for a few seconds. She simply stared off into the distance, lips remaining parted a crack. Gabriella and Svetlana could practically see the gears spinning behind the vampire’s eyes, thoughts zipping to and fro and she considered the situation. Without warning, she abruptly spun around on a heel, smacking her hand into a tome so hard that every stack of books over the table tilted to the side. She pulled it over, threw it open, and started flipping through pages. Her expression turning cold, she demanded “Do either of you have a map of Skyrim or Tamriel?”

Gabriella and Svetlana gave each other a look. Svetlana gave a little shrug and a shake with her head, prompting Gabriella to look at Sabrina and say “N-No, we’ve never needed one, before-” “Damn it, fine. Just listen close, then. I don’t want to have to do this a second time.” Sabrina muttered, quickly flipping through a few more pages. She finally stopped at one, adjusting her spectacles with one hand as she ran a finger down the page with the other, stopping halfway down. Lips delicately shifting as she silently read the words, she briefly closed her eyes and nodded, seemingly to herself.

Swinging the thick book shut, she turned back towards them, slowly taking in a deep breath. They watched in curiosity as Sabrina brought her hands up, bright red spheres of light instantly quivering into life in the palms of her hands. Ominously, the candle on her table suddenly blew itself out, and similarly, the flame in her makeshift fireplace started to waver and falter, as if blown about by some imperceptible breeze. Sabrina abruptly waved her arms around, gesturing wildly for a few seconds before throwing them down towards her feet. A blinding flash of red light burst throughout the chamber, causing both Gabriella and Svetlana to flinch and close their eyes.

When they looked at Sabrina again, they were surprised by the change that she had undergone. A vivid red aura surrounded her body, and her eyes were blazing red like beacons. Her feet spaced apart at shoulder-width, her arms upraised and stretched out by her sides, her mouth was agape for a moment before she spoke in a booming, extremely deep voice. “Northwatch. The Imperial will be taken to Northwatch!” A split-second later, the aura coming from her body died away, and her eyes fell shut. She fell back into her chair, landing hard enough on her jiggly, manslaying posterior to elicit an “Oof!”

Left blind in the dark, neither Gabriella nor Svetlana could see Sabrina bring a hand to her forehead. Letting out a little groan, she closed her eyes at the sudden headache she was experiencing. Back to her usual light, feminine voice, she mumbled out “W...What did I say? D-Did you catch that?” White light filled the chamber as Svetlana twirled a hand above her head, creating a ball of Candlelight with a little pop of Magicka. Momentarily squinting under the light, she mumbled out “What, did you not hear yourself? Granted, you sure didn’t sound like yourself...” Sabrina raised an eyebrow, briefly gesturing with her hand before touching her forehead, again.

“Of course not, which is what makes divinations such a bother. You need a witness, and in my case, that involves trust I can’t normally afford. What did I say, anyway?” Gabriella crossed her arms over her chest, mounting impatience causing her to rapidly tap a foot against the ground. Trying not to let her tone get sharp, she said “All you said was that Max was being taken to some place called “Northwatch”. You didn’t mention where it was, or anything. I’ve never heard of it, so I don’t know how much help that was.” Sabrina lowered her hand from her face, giving a few blinks as she looked upwards in thought. Quietly, she said “...I have to admit, I’ve never heard of any place named Northwatch, either. At least we have a name, though. That’s more than we had a minute ago.”

“We have a lot more than that. I know exactly what Northwatch is.”

Gabriella and Sabrina both looked at Svetlana, raising eyebrows in curiosity. Svetlana’s eyes were wide and hard, staring off at nothing in particular. Her lips set in a hard line, she muttered “It’s a Thalmor base, or so I assume. Most people who “disappear,” thanks to the Thalmor, are never talked about. People are too scared it’ll happen to them, if they do. But, you do occasionally hear stories, and I’ve heard the name “Northwatch” come up more than once. Supposedly, it’s far to the north, past the mountains and at the coast, right at the edge of Tamriel, itself...Close to the border, and far, far away from prying eyes, I’d imagine.”

Svetlana raised an eyebrow, glancing back and forth between the other two women. “Most people the Thalmor take are never seen again, right? Some come back, but...The people who get taken to Northwatch? No. Never. I’ve never heard Northwatch get brought up in a story which involved the Thalmor letting someone go. They just vanish. Northwatch is probably the worst kind of Thalmor attention.” Gabriella hastily blurted out “Well, if they’re taking Max to the coastline, then we’ve still got plenty of time to catch up. It’d be a couple of days before they reached the mountains, let alone crossed them. On top of that, I didn’t see any of them carrying supply packs...”

Sabrina suddenly jumped to her feet, and thanks to her lack of a bra, her perky monsters for breasts gave a great bounce around in her shirt. Her eyes widening, she exclaimed “That’s even worse, they could have horses or a cart prepared, in that case! That could cut down their travel time by over half! We need to get moving, j-just, let me get dressed!” Sabrina ran around her table, rushing off towards the dead fireplace. When she took a sharp turn and ducked behind a bookshelf, Gabriella and Svetlana lost sight of her.

After a minute of waiting, Sabrina came running back out, reestablishing her usual black ensemble with her skirt, thigh-high lacy stockings, and boots. Gesturing at the cave passage behind them, she urgently snapped “Get going, already! You wanna save Max, or are you gonna let some High Elves take him away from us?!” Well, when she put it that way, Gabriella and Svetlana couldn’t help but turn and bolt for the exit. Sabrina remained close behind them until the trio burst back out into the moonlight, upon which time she led the way as the group headed northward, her natural sight in the darkness making her the better trailblazer...

Bunny had managed to keep an eye on the group all throughout the first day of journeying, but found herself growing concerned as time wore on and her targets showed no signs of slowing down to set up camp. When she realized they were planning on pulling a double march into the night, she downed a tincture she had created several days before in her secret, ongoing quest to make a lust potion for Maximus. The tincture, as she expected, flowed energy less to her groin and more to her head, proving at least one of her theories about alertness redirection even if it still failed to achieve her greater goal. Finding herself freshly energized, following the group throughout the night became much less daunting, though no less a chore.

Bunny wasn’t sure how deep into the night it was when the Thalmor group finally slowed their march. She breathed out a sigh, but her relief was short-lived. One of the Thalmor cast a ball of Candlelight over his head, illuminating the area around the group in a wide radius. In the tear the spell produced in the shadows, Bunny could see a small collection of horses, tied to a set of wood posts just off the path. She couldn’t be sure thanks to the distance, but a small row of shapes sat on the ground by the horses, leading Bunny to believe the Thalmor already had supply packs readied. That, at least, would explain their harsh march. Now that they had food and transportation, however, would they finally stop and rest, or would they simply keep on going?

Bunny’s eyes turned desperate. She couldn’t deny how romantic of an idea it was. Launching a one-woman assault on the evil Thalmor, rescuing the man she cared so much about, and proving her own worth in the process was the stuff of bard’s tales. Even her severely depleted reserve of arrows wasn’t much of a deterrent, considering the extreme power of her new Glass bow. The more she thought on it, the more ready she felt to take the leap and draw her weapon. Time was running out, for Max...She had the cover of night, she had distance. She had the means and the will. How hard could it be, killing a few Altmer in the night? So what if they were Thalmor, so what if they had bested the Empire? She-

She practically leapt out of her skin when a hand came down on her shoulder, giving her a firm grab. She had to clap a hand over her mouth to block a loud gasp, listening as a man chuckled in amusement. Although his tone was friendly, he was clearly serious about his warning. “Not quick enough, lady. They’re in our territory, now. We’ll be having the fun. You can head on back to your Karth River camp, or wherever you’re from.” Bunny lowered her hand, raising an eyebrow as she looked to her side.

A young Forsworn man knelt beside her, an axe hanging loosely from his left hand. He gave her a smug half-smile, then rose to his feet. He could only get a few steps ahead of her before she hissed out “Hey, wait a second! There’s an Imperial with them, I need him alive. He knows stuff that my family needs, stuff about the Empire!” The man looked back at her and simply gave a little shrug. Nonchalantly, he said “Well, that’s a bit of a problem, lady...We’re just about to ambush them, and we’re planning on wiping them out. You’re a bit too late with that one, sorry.” Bunny’s eyes widened. She tried calling after him, but he simply turned his back on her, noiselessly rushing down the side of the hill...

Whatever Maximus thought about the Thalmor before, he could no longer say they didn’t have a strict work ethic. The march for almost twelve straight hours had been brutal, and even though they had been all but completely, mercifully silent during the journey, he had the sinking suspicion their hospitality wouldn’t remain quite so pleasant once they reached their mysterious destination. It wasn’t until deep into the night, when the group slowed their march, that one of them finally spoke. A female to Maximus’ left broke the long calm by uttering “The horses should be just up ahead, provided nobody had the nerve of attempting to steal them.”

Anya kept staring straight ahead, not even glancing over her shoulder as she stated “I volunteer to escort the prisoner on my personal mount. As the primary investigator of his Talos worship, I feel it’s my responsibility to keep the closest eye on him.” Maximus raised an eyebrow as the first female to speak piped up again, stating “You were the original discoverer of his foolish heresy, Anya, but you are far from the primary investigator. You aren’t even a full Justiciar. I’ll escort him.” Anya barely looked over her shoulder, retorting with “I possess the evidence, I hold the written testimonies. If it weren’t for my diligence, it might’ve taken much longer to catch him. I am the lead investigator, for all intents and purposes, and I desire to oversee the questioning.”

Maximus couldn’t tell what they wanted more, to torture him or to sleep with him, but either way, openly bickering about whose horse he shared was a tad petty. The hooded woman’s tone grew a bit testy. “Northwatch is not meant for the common soldier’s eyes, it’s restricted only to agents with a certain trustworthiness. You’ll be permitted to stay the night for rest and recuperation, but beyond that-” One of the men cut off the vitriol by casting a Candlelight spell, creating an intense orb of light over his head. He was clearly trying to remain as impartial as possible, although his choice of words essentially amounted to a spoken sigh.

“If we could avoid speaking about such matters so liberally in front of our prisoner, we’d be better off. See there, our supplies appear to be untouched. Our mounts appear to be in check, as well.” Anya and her rival fell into a cool silence, dropping the issue for the time being purely because someone had intervened. At the drop of a hat, they could go right back to arguing. The steeds snorted and snickered as they awoke, the bright light rousing them from their communal slumber. Anya took a step forward, but paused. Her ears pricked up, and her head barely turned to the side. It might’ve just been the wind, but that rustle in the bushes was a little too close, all the same...

The very instant the whistling hit her ears, she turned around, dove right into Maximus, and tackled him down into the dirt, using her own body as a shield. A moment later, some of the horses cried out as arrows struck them, the dark brown shafts biting deep into the frightened animals. Arrows flew into the group, whistling between and around them in a cloud of death. One of the hooded Thalmor men turned at just the wrong moment, a choked grunt catching in his throat as an arrow impacted with his left eye, piercing into his skull as he collapsed in a limp heap. Maximus grunted under Anya’s weight, teeth gritting hard. Not only was she even taller than himself, but in her suit of armour, she was practically crushing the wind right out of his lungs.

When the weight partially lifted a second later, he opened his eyes, looking up into the big, orange, almond-shaped eyes of an Altmer, a sight he had never hoped to experience so closely. It was a little surreal, feeling her breath on his forehead, half of her face blindingly bright from the Candlelight shining above them. Anya gave him a hard, though genuinely startled look, loudly ordering him to stay put close to the ground. Then, she got up off of him, pulling her Elven sword from the sheath hanging at her hip. The injured horses collapsed as the poison coating the arrowheads coursed through their veins, shutting down their bodies like faulty engineering. The remaining horses panicked and pulled themselves free from their posts, snapping their bindings before taking flight into the night.

Each of the hooded Thalmor agents gestured with a hand, metallic clangs creating a raucous din as they coated themselves with Mage Armour, the spells giving their bodies a blue aura. They each twirled their other hand and created Bound weaponry, summoning ethereal Daedric swords and axes, wreathed in phantasmal blue flame. A few of them thrust out their free hands before themselves, creating swirling orbs of purple-black light. Maximus watched with widening eyes as Storm Atronachs materialized through the portals, collections of stone in vaguely humanoid shapes floating amidst blue clouds of lightning, electricity constantly streaming between each stone.

Anya and her sister-in-arms created Wards in front of themselves, and with the Stoneflesh spells protecting the hooded Thalmor, another volley from the Forsworn was endured without injury. The three Storm Atronachs the Thalmor had summoned made unnatural bellowing sounds, their bodies clattering as the stones forming them pulled upwards, arranging themselves into arms by their sides. The Atronachs pulled their long limbs back, thrust them out, and launched beams of lightning into the hills, briefly illuminating the environment as the savage Bretons raced down towards their prey.

At first, all Maximus could do was listen as eruptions of Magicka filled the air. Eventually, however, he turned over on to his side, struggling against his bound wrists all the while. One of the Thalmor fired a harsh burst of lightning from his hand, hitting a Breton square in the chest. The woman was able to endure the blow, largely due to her natural resistance to Magicka, but a following strike from a Storm Atronach knocked her down to the ground. The hills seemed alive with Forsworn, Maximus only able to catch glimpses of them every other second as the lightning spells illuminated them, mouths agape as they let loose bloodthirsty war cries.

Before Maximus even knew it, the battle was suddenly over. Coming into melee range was the worst possible decision the Forsworn could’ve made. When the Thalmor weren’t blasting the Bretons with Lightning Grasp spells, they were cutting them down with their Bound weaponry, a task made particularly simple after the Forsworn had been clubbed around by the Atronachs. When the din of battle abruptly ended, Maximus had hardly a moment to recognize it before Anya was coming over him, grabbing him by the collar of his armour.

Angrily, she ordered “Get up, Imperial. You must’ve thought this was the Eight smiling upon you, hmm? I don’t think so.” As he got up to his feet, he muttered out “Anya, you just kee-” His brow shot down as her hand suddenly clapped over his mouth, grabbing his face painfully tight. Within kissing distance, Anya narrowed her eyes and snapped “Shut your mouth, prisoner! How dare you attempt to speak to me! Nothing gives you that right!” Maximus stared into her eyes, watching for a moment. He raised an eyebrow as her eyes not-so-subtly darted down from his, going to his chest before rising to his throat, then finally heading back up to his eyes. Did he detect a trace of hypocrisy?

Was she getting hot under the collar? If he didn’t want to before, then now he certainly wished he could punt her between the legs. Aggressive, domineering women were one thing, but a ball-busting elven twat abusing her position to get a sick kick at his expense was quite another. Seething inside with animosity, he simply smiled when she pulled her hand back, fantasizing about all the lovely, cuddly things he’d do to knock her down a few pegs and keep her there. If there was one thing he had learned over the years, it was that sometimes, an unsavoury individual was just waiting for someone else to put them in their place and keep them in check.

“Stand down, Anya. Getting a little carried away, don’t you think?” One of the men said, raising an eyebrow. Anya glanced sidelong at her comrade, taking a step back from Maximus. One of the Thalmor walked over to the corpse of their sole casualty, commenting “We can’t leave Derion here, he deserves better than to rot with these filthy natives...” Maximus narrowed an eye as he listened, Anya continuing to keep a close eye on him. Another Thalmor idly commented “Prepare him for transport, then. The rest of you, check the supplies. I’ll see if I can’t find where our mounts ran off to. This journey might’ve just gotten a bit longer than anticipated...”

For Gabriella and Svetlana, running throughout the night was exhausting in the extreme. Well before the sun had even thought of rising, the two of them were on the verge of collapsing. They had just barely gotten back to Markarth when the two of them started falling down in need of sleep, their clothing drenched with sweat, their panting raspy and harsh. Sabrina wanted to urge them to go further, but thought better of it. After all, she needed a place to rest, too. It was hard to fathom simply sitting still while Maximus was in danger, but when rest was so clearly needed, she didn’t fight it. With the two of them practically tripping over their own feet, Sabrina took the initiative and led them in her arms, guiding them towards the nearest dark corner of the Reach...

Not long after, Sabrina sat in the abandoned mine shaft, just around the corner from the cave mouth. Her arms wrapped around her legs, she hugged her knees to her chest, despite her massive bosom getting squished against herself making it a fairly uncomfortable position. Sabrina glanced away from her feet as Gabriella mumbled something in her sleep, briefly fidgeting around on her side. It had taken mere moments for the two of them to pass out, but Sabrina couldn’t make herself vulnerable quite so easily. Instead, she couldn’t help but obsess over the situation they were in.

Gabriella fidgeted again, curling up into a tighter ball as she mumbled Maximus’ name. Her voice seemed to stir Svetlana, who twitched and lightly kicked a leg out, as if she were still chasing after Maximus in her dreams. Sabrina gave a light sigh through her nose, sadly raising her eyebrows as she looked away. She knew the three of them were thinking the same thing. Even in sleep, they were concerned for Max. Sabrina couldn’t lie, she wouldn’t lie: she was sick with fear for his fate.

She knew she had every reason to hate him, and yet she simply didn’t. At the very least, whichever part of her still resented him for reinforcing her feminization was small enough to be trivial. Now, she...She really did care about him. Somewhere along the line, it had simply occurred. She almost couldn’t believe it, but she truly did need him. If bolting out of her sanctuary for a rescue mission wasn’t proof enough, the thoughts consuming her mind certainly were. She simply wanted him back.

All she could think about were the things she’d miss, if she lost him. She knew Gabriella and Svetlana were thinking the same thing, grappling with the same concept in their dreams. It had become more than just gold, sex, or in her own case, blood. It was purpose, it was companionship. As odd as it was to consider, given that this was Maximus, he had clearly become important to each of them. Sabrina closed her eyes, bringing a hand to her forehead as her eyes began to sting. She missed his smile, the way he’d hold her in his arms. In some weird way she didn’t even want to begin to try to understand, she even missed the way he forced himself on to her, taking her whenever he could no longer control his lust...Whenever even the sight of her became too much for him to bear, and he had to bury himself inside her.

She wanted him to like her. His attention had become the second biggest addiction in her life. It shamed her to admit it, even to herself, but she knew full well it was true. She wanted to wake up beside him as the sun set, kiss him good morning, and...Who knows, maybe moan around his fat pole after he took her by the hair and guided her down for a goodnight blowjob. Then, she could resume her passionate study of Magicka, and watch over him in the night like the tender guardian she truly felt like, in her heart of hearts. Tears slowly trickled down her cheeks. If the Thalmor took him, none of that would ever get to happen. Her secret fantasies would die, along with him.

Gabriella, Svetlana, Bunny, and herself...It was up to them all to liberate him from the Thalmor’s hate and persecution. Sabrina couldn’t speak for the others, but she wasn’t about to let the Thalmor rob her of the best thing to happen to her in over a decade. She needed meaning, and Maximus had given it to her...She’d pay him back, one day. Saving his life would be a good start.
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The Forsworn Retribution