Falmeret / Skyrim.
A few days later.
Feator Kaslana.
Complete morons!
What absolute, utter morons!
Instead of using their brains and playing at diplomacy!
Instead of even issuing an ultimatum!
Instead of taking someone hostage, since they were so eager to flex their muscles!
No-o-o, the royal gang just had to slaughter the city down to the last inhabitant!
Of course, I understand the danger of the Eye of Magnus, whose magic waves were seriously warping all mages, and therefore all Snow Elves, but…
Total genocide?
Against those they had previously coexisted with quite peacefully, traded with, and generally had perfectly even relations between the peoples?
Yeah…
And the Northern Magical Tower had unequivocally spoken in favor of extermination…
How, in what way, did the only voice of reason in this situation turn out to be the damn religion?
Why did those who, in my home world, usually committed the most terrible acts, turn out to be the most reasonable guys in Tamriel?..
“Eh-heh…” I made a sad face, shaking my head.
“Are you that upset about the destruction of the human city?” Vaysi inquired, her blue eyes showing slight bewilderment.
“It was certainly a very shortsighted act, but…
it was justified.
Even if you didn’t feel the destructive effect of the Eye of Magnus on us, you saw how it affected others.” “It’s not that I’m upset…” I carefully chose my words so as not to arouse suspicion.
“It’s just that it was too risky.
What if, out of desperation, these people had done something to the Eye?
You heard the mages who saw it exclaim — such a thing could send the entire north of the continent to the bottom of the sea.
It would have been simpler to acquire it through diplomacy.” “And what if these short-eared ones refused to give it up?” the blue-eyed elf asked.
“The southerners keep them as slaves.” “Oh-ho, where did you get this appeal to the southerners from?” I chided my distant relative, making her ears turn slightly red and her gaze dart away.
“As for the refusal…
Then we could have struck a precise blow, not carried out a total and complete massacre.
We’re not so weak that we need to attack at night in silence.
Why did we even let them build a city if we were going to destroy it anyway?
It would have been simpler to destroy them before they built their fortifications.
We wouldn’t have needed to find out their plans and trade with them for that — if, of course, the trade was for that purpose.
In short, I’m saddened by the absolute lack of logic in the royal army’s actions.
What’s the point of being as stupid as those we destroyed?
We’ve always surpassed them in intelligence, so why have we stooped to their level?…” “So that’s it…” Vaysi breathed out, seriously pondering my words.
As for me…
At that moment, I was hoping that Ysgramor hadn’t survived after all.
I have no doubt about the royal family’s ability to hide the fact of the massacre from other arriving humans, but if the leader of Saarthal and the now-burned fleet didn’t die, he could prove what happened to the other humans.
They’re medieval Vikings, after all, not seasoned by the propaganda experience of Earth’s last century.
They don’t need proof; they need a charismatic enough person to convince them of something.
“…and if we missed someone…” I voiced my suspicions aloud.
“Many more of those short-ears could return from Atmora.
Who knows how many there will be.
We already took some losses during the assault on Saarthal.
But if even more people come back for revenge…” “Do you think we’ll lose?” my comrade stared at me with cold indignation.
“Vaysi, Vaysi.
Where do these suspicions come from?
I’m not afraid of losing, but of the senseless deaths of those elves who will take the brunt of the avengers’ attack.
How do the royals justify their actions?” I began to explain the situation, being somewhat disingenuous but generally telling the truth.
“Is the life of one of us worth more than hundreds of lives of short-ears and southern slaves in general?
So how does that square with the fact that because of some people we slaughtered, even more Snow Elves will die?” “That’s…” the adorably frozen cutie couldn’t argue with me.
She wasn’t lacking in brains, not even close.
Which is why she wasn’t in a hurry to deny my words.
“Logical…” “Exactly.
And the massacre of defenseless women and children contradicts the honor of a Knight-Paladin.” I gave a more convincing reason for my rejection of such actions.
After all, these are the thick Middle Ages, or even the Dark Ages, and humanism isn’t held in high regard.
Especially for representatives of another race, one truly different from elves, not like the Germans from the Jews in my history.
There it was one race — human — and all attempts at nationalism looked like an outright stupid thing.
“Alright.
Fine.” she exhaled, folding her arms across her chest.
“I understand your position.
But isn’t it time for us to go?” “I can’t stand Undergrounds.
Especially after the pilgrimage, you know.” I looked with displeasure at the entrance to the cave, where, according to the Jaeger scouts, several giants were hiding.
They had also arrived from Atmora on their giant ships, but their level of development was even lower than that of the local Vikings.
Which is why a kind of kill order had been issued for them, with a reward offered in every city.
Quite resistant to magic, they possess monstrous physical strength in battle, making them very serious enemies.
After all, not all Snow Elf settlements are large and able to fight off such creatures without losses.
Not to mention that these creatures don’t shy away from eating elves and humans alike.
I involuntarily recall fighting them at low levels.
Those were some infuriating creatures, killing even in the heaviest armor with a couple of blows.
That’s why they sent me to deal with them.
Because, not using armor but using the blessing of Auri-El, I was too fast for their blows.
In theory, of course.
I hope the giants’ dwelling will be large enough for me to maneuver properly.
Otherwise…
Fireball to the face and a quick retreat.
I’m not going to risk my hide unnecessarily; I’m no heroic moron.
“Vaysi, how many giants did our scouts count in this cave?” I asked, looking at the bones scattered here and there in the passage, among which there were definitely elven ones.
Or human ones.
But the latter is unlikely — this is the western part of the Throat of the World, and humans haven’t settled here yet.
“Four, why?” Vaysi glanced at me, apparently not paying attention to the small details.
She has that trait, which ultimately makes her adorably angry at herself.
“We were blatantly lied to.” I wanted to use a harsher word but held back.
“Judging by the number of bones…
And by when they were first seen here…
I’m afraid there are at least twice as many…” Da-a-amn it…
Lousy Snow Elf scouts, honest word.
How could they mess up so badly.
Seven giants and two of their smaller offspring!
The giants, extremely similar to humans and elves, were gathered around a huge, now extinguished fire.
However, the charred tree trunks stacked like a hedgehog clearly indicated that a fire had once burned here.
“What’s the plan of action?” Vaysi asked me, pulling her rapier from its sheath as quietly as possible.
It was clear she didn’t really want to face so many giants, but her sense of duty as a Knight-Paladin was stronger.
“Considering there’s only one exit, and our enemies don’t understand magic?” I chuckled, recalling a long-tested method for dealing with enemies in narrow tunnels.
“Fire runes in front of the exit, and then we’ll meet those trying to put out the flames.
The bigger the cabinet, the louder it falls.” “Interesting expression…
From the southerners, is it?” she glanced at me with interest.
“In the books available to the First Blade, there was a story about a human slave who said that, impressing some minotaur.
Our southern kin were so impressed that his name didn’t disappear from history.” I quickly found a justification for my knowledge, without even preparing an answer in advance.
Being able to beautifully justify one’s oddities was simply necessary in a different society, so I learned this from an early age.
So, without thinking long, we first set up frost runes that would slow down the giants charging at us, making them fly straight into the fire runes following the frost ones and set themselves on fire.
The temperature change won’t destroy their legs or cause them much damage, but in reality, there’s something that wasn’t in the game.
Pain.
Oh, our enemies will experience it in full measure.
And what could be simpler than killing a screaming, pain-wracked ogre, honestly?
Or an elf-eater, in our situation.
Putting on the most insolent and provocative face, preparing my voice with a few coughs for the most mocking tone, I stepped into the direct line of sight of the giants’ settlement.
“How can I call you something nice?
You’re just Giants of Thought, so I need to pick something that will reach your, shall we say, High intellect…
Oh…
Why are you getting angry?..” They probably didn’t understand what I said.
Not smart enough to know the Snow Elven language, and no one has bothered with theirs…
But it seems the tone of my voice and my appearance enraged them enough that some of them started getting up from their seats.
Oh no, that’s not enough.
Throwing a few harmless but annoying fire bolts at the faces of the remaining ones, I achieved what I wanted…
And hit the gas in the opposite direction.
“For that, I’d want to kill you too.” Vaysi commented as I ran out and hid right around the corner of the cave entrance.
“That’s how we live.” I saluted with two fingers, knowing perfectly well how it looked from the outside.
How ma-a-any people in my previous life wanted to punch me in the face for that.
The result of our little trap wasn’t long in coming.
First, the bone-chilling cold after the warmth of the cave, and then the simple fire explosions caught the giants fully.
I was smart and agile enough to bypass the magic runes along the wall itself; the giants didn’t think of that.
Letting two pairs of painfully growling enemies pass, letting them run out of the cave, we cut through the nearest leg of the next pair in one motion.
Not completely, but enough for them to fall to the ground, and the ones behind them to crash into them, creating a pile-up.
“Distracting!” I called out to Vaysi, rushing towards the four that had run out first.
“Got it.” came the serious tone from the elven girl, and I finally activated the blessing of Auri-El.
Or the River of Time, for simplicity.
The world slowed down.
I sped up.
The world became slower as usual, testifying to the change in the flow of time for my body.
The tongues of flame on the giants’ legs and clothes began to writhe more slowly, and the ogres themselves seemed to sink entirely into some viscous slime.
In a normal state, even they could still react to me, but blinded by pain?
No-o-o, now the situation was like a human and a fly.
I was practically invulnerable to them, and it was intoxicating.
Especially considering the fact that I hadn’t taken armor.
Run up to the first giant, desperately stomping his feet in an attempt to put out the stubbornly clinging magical flame.
Wait for the moment when the far leg starts to lift and the near one becomes the support.
Cutting through the leg with the flame-wreathed flamberge wasn’t difficult, forcing the enemy to begin a long, drawn-out howl of pain a few moments later.
And try to kill me with his club, yes.
But that was about as difficult as it is for an ordinary person to hit a fly buzzing around.
Theoretically possible, but in practice…
Not wasting the time of the River of Time, I rushed to the next giants, almost identically repeating what I had already done.
These ogres aren’t smart enough even in normal conditions to learn from the same type of attacks, let alone in the current battle.
While cutting through a leg, I threw a quick glance back, noticing how Vaysi, not particularly slowed down even now, was finishing off the giants that had lost their balance and fallen.
We make a great tandem, after all.
This cutie doesn’t complain that I take all the glory and the main role for myself, because her Duty is more important to her than Pride.
Another Snow Elf in her place would be offended at having to be essentially support and a cleaner.
“Oh-ho…” I muttered as the last giant’s cub turned out to be agile enough to dodge a precise thrust to the neck.
And that would be fine, but I had already started exterminating that batch of enemies that had been in the pile-up.
They untangled themselves, the bastards.
And these ones, having managed to put out the fire on each other — which wasn’t very strong after the ones that had run through earlier — tried to swat me like that same fly.
Remembering that even one hit from their clubs would be bad, I deemed it necessary to step back, not forgetting to send a few fire bolts.
They were just a distraction.
Because at my speed, I could get into melee range faster.
The giants, covering themselves with their hands, did exactly what I needed.
They lost the ability to swing their clubs.
And thus became defenseless.
I read the beginning movements of their legs before they could surprise me with kicks from their lower limbs.
Limbs that once again became legitimate prey for me, as well as for the arriving Vaysi, who, even without acceleration, deftly maneuvered among the giants, simultaneously freezing them to the bone and creating a similar slowness effect to what I had with the River of Time.
“Eat.” I said laconically, thrusting the flamberge straight into the open mouth of the giant’s cub.
His teeth slid helplessly over the masterpiece of the elven smiths of the Chantry of Auri-El, which I hadn’t named yet, and then the last ogre died ingloriously.
Turning my stance, with a sharp jerk of my hand, I cut through his entire head to the right side, then took a reflexive step back and deactivated the River of Time, returning my body’s time to its normal flow.
“Quick work.” I nodded with satisfaction, turning towards Vaysi, who had also finished clearing out all the semi-sentient creatures I had wounded.
“We need to file a complaint with the commander of the Valyaslin Jaegers.” she mentioned the name of the city whose inhabitants this tribe of giants had been bothering, slightly irritated.
“His subordinates are incompetent.
Unworthy of being called Jaegers.” “Write a report?” I asked, wiping my blade of giant blood, and when the amount was satisfactory, I returned the flamberge to its sheath.
“Not yet.
I should talk to him first, and depending on his words, I’ll make a decision.
If he admits fault, he’ll get off with a warning.
I am, after all, a captain of the Knight-Paladins, even if I’m quartered as a retainer to the First Blade.” she gave me a reproachful look, but I was as unshakable as that mountain behind us.
“If not…
It’ll be worse for him.” And that ominous tone didn’t bode well for the local commander.
Well, if he really digs in his heels.
My cutie has a well-developed sense of justice.
Eh, I need to speed up with her, ahem, seduction.