Well, here we are, back in Ulfric's Hold, thought Nora as they walked through the gates of Windhelm. The guards nodded politely to them, and the Dragonborn was sure that Ulfric would soon have word of their arrival. Well, one of her targets was here, on the docks, and she didn't feel like sneaking into the city. So far Ulfric had been a man of his word, and she was counting on him to continue.

 

The Candlehearth Inn was as before, and she had no trouble getting rooms. She had two targets in the area, one a warehouse on the docks, another a wrecked ship thrown up on a small island off the coast to the east. She thought they could take them both today, then stay the night, heading for Winterhold in the morning.

 

“Jarl Ulfric would like to speak with you, Thane Nora,” said Jorlief, walking into the inn.

 

At least Ulfric hadn't sent his guards, but instead his diplomatic steward, a good sign.

 

“I have business today,” said Nora, nodding at the man. “Can it wait till this evening?”

 

“Of course,” said the smiling steward. “Jarl Ulfric would like to host you and your people for dinner tonight. And he wishes that you would accept his hospitality and take rooms at the Palace of Kings.”

 

Nora wasn't sure about those requests. So far Ulfric had been very civil with her, and she had the run of his territories. She only had to state her name and the Stormcloaks left her to go about her business. Snubbing him might not be a good idea, though she wasn't looking forward to being propositioned by the man. She had no intention of declaring for him, and even less of being his queen and general. But she could be polite in her refusal and get out of it graciously. Her only worry was her people. She knew that Eldawyn didn't like the Stormcloak cause, or the man who led it. Her three Housecarls were from holds that had either declared for the Imperials or had taken stances of neutrality. Sofia was from Rorikstead, and also had no love for the Stormcloaks. J'Zargo was a Khajiit, a people who were not really welcome here. Elesia was the only true neutral in her party, having no interest in either cause.

 

“I accept,” she said with a smile. It might be a hassle having to fend off Ulfric, but she saw only positives in getting to know more about him, his motivations, his goals. She still wasn't sure who she would support in the long run, though she was definitely leaning toward the Empire. She had to admit that it was mainly because Elisif was supported by them, but was that really a good reason to choose that dog?

 

“I will have your things taken to the Palace,” said Jorlief, motioning for some of the servants who had come with him to gather the baggage.

 

“We've already paid for the rooms here,” said Eldawyn in way of protest.

 

“Don't worry. The innkeep will happily give a refund.”

 

I bet she will, when the Jarl demands it, thought Nora. Well, it wasn't really her concern, and this inn was at least prosperous with all the night traffic it got. She would buy some food for the road here and tip well, which should garner her some goodwill.

 

“So, which will it be?” asked Eldawyn, walking beside her friend out of the inn. “Ship, or warehouse?”

 

“I think the ship first,” said Nora, looking into the face of her friend and realizing that the Altmer just wanted out of this place that hated her kind. “It should prove the most difficult, and the warehouse will be a good break before we go into the den of the beast.”

 

Eldawyn laughed. “I'm not sure Ulfric would like that description.”

 

“And he will not hear it from me,” she said, then looked back at the others following behind. “Or from any of the rest of you. You will all be civil around the Jarl and his people, understood?”

 

There was some grumbling, but everyone agreed after they got their say. Nora still wasn't sure it was a good idea all of them meeting with Ulfric, but now she felt committed.

 

She hadn't been out as far as the Wreck of the Winter War, as the ship was called, so it was a long ride. At least eighty miles, most of it off road, it took almost three hours to get to the section of coast overlooking the island. The trip had been mostly uneventful, except for wolves and Rieklings. The canines were easy enough, as were the little goblinoid bastards, though they had to heal a few of the horses before they could move on.

 

“Okay,” she told her people as she looked across the mile or so of deadly choppy water separating them from the island. “This is the Illusion mage, so I'm not sure what we're going to face. Kill anyone armed, and be ready for anything.”

 

That water looked cold as hell, the kind that would sap the heat out of anyone that tried to cross it. The mage, only known to her as the Fisherman for some unknown reason, had picked a good hideout. Inaccessible to anyone who didn't have the ability to teleport across the gap. She left the horses under the watch of Jordis and J'Zargo, thinking it was their turn, though she hadn't really been keeping close track, something she resolved to do better in the future.

 

A quick cast and her assault team was on the near beach, looking up the low hill, the forward part of the wreck visible. Nora cast invisibility and moved forward, the rest of her group staying back about twenty yards, giving her room to work. At the top of the hill she found herself looking down on the forward section of the ship. The stern section was separated by a gap, crossed by a board laid as a bridge. Two bandits were on the forward deck, shivering in the cold, while three more were on the stern, gathered around the cooking fire, preparing food and absorbing heat.

 

Nora decided that the bandits on the forward section could get a little colder, and cast Ice Storm over them. The bandits both cried out, a short sharp sound that ended as they fell to the deck dead. The ones around the cook fire looked up, two of them grabbing up bows and notching arrows. Only to catch the Ice Storms cast by Eldawyn and Nora, killing them instantly.

 

Casting invisibility again Nora moved across the plank bridge and onto the stern section. There was a deck hatch, stairs leading down into the semi darkness. The Dragonborn walked softly down the steps, not making a sound. There was a hole in the hull, freezing water below, as well as two cages. The body of a man in the clothes of a fisherman lay in one, a live Nord in the other. And the closed door at the end of the compartment looked like a good target. Nora cat footed it that way, still invisible. The door was unlocked and she pushed it open, cringing as it creaked. A bandit was sleeping on furs, a set of valuable glacial armor on the floor beside her.

 

The woman grunted and opened her eyes, starting to get up when the figure materialized beside her and a glass dagger slashed her throat. Not very sporting, but Nora was not in this for the sport. The faster she could end an enemy with little risk to herself or her people, the better. She quickly searched the body, the armor, the chest in the room, finding nothing that looked like the pages of the book.

 

“Well, fuck.”

 

“What's wrong?” asked Eldawyn, coming into the room and looking down on the dead body of the bandit boss.

 

“I can't find the page,” said Nora in exasperation. The other pages had been easy enough to find, either on the bodies of the mage studying them or nearby. She had seen no mages here. What had Olivia told her about illusion magic? That things were not as they seemed, and to look over the area for anything that seemed not right.

 

“The fisherman,” she said, moving back out to the main cabin and to the two cages. She thought she would try the cage with the body first, while the living Nord looked at her curiously with a distinct lack of fear or hope. The door clicked open under the attentions of a lock pick and she moved in to search the body. Immediately finding the page on the corpse.

 

“Would you please free me?” asked the living fisherman in a tone that betrayed little of the emotional other than a slight bit of anger.

 

Something is wrong here, thought Nora, looking at the page. Why would they have put the most valuable object here on a dead body. And why was the live fisherman acting so strange.

 

“Of course,” she said with a smile, picking the lock, then moving quickly and pulling the Nord into a Judo hold that the man couldn't break.

 

“What are you doing?” asked a wide-eyed Sofia.

 

“Doesn't this setup just seem a little bit wrong,” said Nora, marching the man out of the cage. “One of you search him while I keep him restrained.”

 

“You will regret this,” growled the man in a cultured voice that didn't fit the image of a Nord fisherman.

 

“Found it,” crowed Sofia as she pulled a page that was almost an exact duplicate of the one Nora had discovered on the body.

 

“You fools,” growled the man Nora was holding, anger in his voice, which was now pitched much higher. His image changed, until she was holding the slight form of a woman in mage's robes.

 

“You should have practiced your acting to go along with the illusion,” said Nora, shifting her grip on the woman, both hands going to her head. With a quick twist she snapped the neck, then let the body fall to the deck.

 

Back out on deck Nora cast teleport and had the party back on the beach with the horses. Five more and they were back at the Windhelm stables, ready for the second part of the mission. To take out the mage Erith and get back the Restoration page. Nora wasn't sure how she wanted to play this, but when the guard took exception to her trying to pick the warehouse lock she decided to pull her ace card.

 

“I'm Thane Nora Jane Adams of Whiterun,” she told the guard officer, looking him straight in the eye. “I'm here on College of Winterhold business, and was told by Jarl Ulfric that I would be able to operate in his Hold.”

 

“Yes, ma'am,” said the guard officer, bowing his head. “Are you expecting trouble in there.”

 

“That we are. Mages. But I think me and my friends can handle it. If you hear us scream, and no one comes out, you might want to inform the court wizard.”

 

The man gulped and nodded, leaving Nora to smile. She worked at the lock and felt it click, then called up an Ice Storm spell and slowly opened the door. To find a group of people, four arrayed as bandits, two in the robes of mages, lounging around the room. Boxes were stacked along the walls, proving that this was a working warehouse, but the tables and chairs in the center showed that it was being used as something else. The bandits reached for their weapons while the mages started casting. Nora was ahead of them and settled an Ice Storm over the group. Everyone went to the floor, some dead, some still hanging on, while what had to be the senior mage, Erith, changed her casting, healing herself with a powerful spell. There wasn't enough healing in the world to save her from a trio of arrows that penetrated her chest, and with a sigh she fell to the floor, dead.

 

Lydia and Jordis moved into the room and executed anyone still alive, while Nora searched Erith's body, coming up with the restoration page. They took anything valuable they could find, including a good set of armor, and left the warehouse.

 

“Taken care of?” asked the officer.

 

“Yep,” said Nora, tossing the enchanted breastplate to the man. “There's six bodies in the room, and I think you'll find this of value.”

 

“What were they doing that attracted the Dragonborn's attention?” asked one of the other guards.

 

“They stole forbidden magical tomes from the College of Winterhold, and one of the masters gave me the quest to get them back.”

 

The man made the sign of Talos as he muttered the words of a prayer under his breath. The Nords were on the whole such a superstitious lot, afraid of magic, yet in love with the artifacts made by wizards.

 

“Well, that takes care of our business here,” said Nora, looking over her people. “We have three or four hours before dinner with the Jarl. We can shop a bit, then bathe and get dressed.”

 

“I think we should walk out of this nest of snakes and teleport away,” said Eldawyn, getting nods from many of the others.

 

“I promised Jorleif that I would come for dinner and stay the night in the palace. I don't want to be branded a liar. At least not when it isn't necessary to lie," she said with a smile. "So, we will have a nice formal dinner with the Jarl, I will refuse his advances, and we will go on from there. Everyone watch your tongues. Say nothing that could be taken as an assault on his cause. In other words, let me do most of the talking.”

 

Looking at the faces of her people she wondered if this was a good decision. But as she said, she had told the steward that they would have dinner with the Jarl, and she didn't want to be seen as someone who ran away from an obligation.

 

* * *

 

The Palace of Kings was different this night, dressed up as a place of celebration and not a command center of an army. Nora and her people were arrayed in their good party clothes, only ceremonial daggers on their persons. Other weapons were locked away in the rooms they had been given in the palace. Nora had found her own room more than satisfactory, though she could have wished it hadn't been placed so close to Ulfric's own quarters. Was he planning something? He seemed an honorable man, but he had made it clear that he desired her, and men had tried to play tricks to get the pussy they wanted before.

 

The center table had been set for a small banquet. She had expected a larger gathering, but Ulfric seemed to have decided to not overwhelm her with too many of his followers. Jorlief was present, of course. As well as a couple of Stormcloak senior officers and some of the most prominent citizens of Windhelm. Ulfric himself looked out of place in his finery, a gold circlet on his brow. Servants hovered around the table, setting guests at their appointed places. Nora was not surprised to see that her spot was just down the table from Ulfric's place at the head. She looked over at Eldawyn once the Altmer had been seated by her side. She was not sure how her friend would fare at this gathering, and was determined to be there for her if the conversation became too tense.

 

“You look lovely tonight, Thane Nora Jane Adams,” said Ulfric as he took his seat.

 

“You are very gallant, Jarl Ulfric,” she replied, noting that the man had freshly trimmed hair and beard. He was a handsome man, despite the scars on his face. In this society that was actually attractive, proving the possessor was a storied warrior. “And most handsome tonight.”

 

Ulfric laughed, something she had never seen him do. It was a deep laugh, filled with humor. “You mean I clean up well,” he said with a twinkle in his eyes.

 

“I wouldn't have put it that way.”

 

“Because you were a trained politician on your world,” said Ulfric with another laugh.

 

“Against my will. I preferred to take care of the people who needed, my, attentions, by myself, without letting bureaucracy get in my way.”

 

“Which I take to mean that you killed what needed killing without pushing the task onto others,” said the Jarl, grinning. “I can respect that. And how is your lovely Altmer friend tonight?”

 

Eldawyn turned her gaze on the Jarl, not really angry, but definitely not warm. “I was not sure I would be welcome here, Jarl Ulfric.”

 

“Oh, I have nothing against your people. I have quite good relations with Master Faralda at the College. And you have met some of the Altmer who work in my city, including that lovely woman, Niranye. What I can't stand are the Thalmor.”

 

“You don't have to worry about me there, Jarl Ulfric,” said Eldawyn, her gaze turning into a glare. “I hate the bastards myself. I think their influence on the Isles is a disgrace to the heritage of the Altmer.”

 

“I didn't think so. And how do you feel about Talos?”

 

“He's a deity,” said Eldawyn emphatically. “Not one I worship, but I have seen too much evidence of his Godhood to have any doubts.”

 

Ulfric nodded, looking pleased. “Some of my people are bigoted, but I cannot afford to be. Mostly Nords serve in my army, which makes sense since this is our land. But I have Bretons, Imperials, Redguard, Altmer, Dunmer and Bosmer in my ranks. Even a few Orsimer. They rally to me because my cause is freedom of worship, along with opposition to the Thalmor. Something to remember when making up your mind who to support.”

 

That last had to be aimed at Nora, and she really felt for the man. He had watched his world getting pulled down around him and had decided to fight back. If she hadn't heard from General Tulius that the Empire was also planning to declare for Talos in the future she would have been even more tempted to join his cause. But that was something she couldn't pass on to the leader of the rebellion, much as it would smooth things over.

 

“Is it true that you're not from Nirn, Dragonborn?” asked a woman sitting next to Jorlief.

 

“And you are?”

 

“I am Tova Shattershield,” said the sad faced woman. “And I must thank you for bringing the killer of my daughter to justice. But I was asking you about your origins. I find it frankly unbelievable that someone who looks like a lovely Nord woman is from anyplace other than Nirn.”

 

“Here we go,” said Sofia from down the table, rolling her eyes.

 

“Jarl Ulfric. How long before dinner is served?” The servants had given everyone their ordered drink, and platters of biscuits, cheese and olives were in place on the table for people to snack on. She had been surprised at the olives, something not grown in Skyrim, before remembering what a major seaport the city was.

 

“About a half an hour I do believe,” said Ulfric, raising an eyebrow. “Why? What do you have in mind?”

 

“A demonstration. Something that is sure to bore my own people to death. And nothing harmful. But I think you will find it of interest.”

 

“Then go ahead,” said Ulfric, leaning toward her in his seat.

 

Nora removed the small device that she always carried in her belt purse and set it on the table. “This is not magic. Not sorcery. Such do not exist on my world. And it is not illusion, but the recorded images of that world as I experienced them.”

 

She engaged the device, loaded with the newest presentation she had edited. She wondered if someday she would be showing a feature length movie. Possibly, but today she had twenty-five minutes.

 

“So, the world I grew up in was a paradise in many ways. Not without its problems, and they grew.”

 

The view of the city of Boston from above caused many intaken breaths around the table. Airplanes in the sky, cars speeding along the elevated roadways. Massive towers of glass and steel, in the day reflecting sunlight, then at night, the electric lights shining through the windows. A view of Sanctuary, people playing in their yards, robots working on keeping the hedges trimmed and cars washed.

 

The oohs and ahs came from around the table, the loudest coming from Tova, the biggest doubter. And then came the hush, a few cries, as the huge bomb detonated to the south of the city, mushroom cloud climbing into the sky. Windows shattering on the large buildings, fire playing through the streets, incinerating people. A view of the city after the fact, dead, lifeless. All of the shrubbery burnt to sticks and ash.

 

“The war came without warning. We thought it would happen someday, but someday was long in the future. Until our enemy had had enough of us and struck. We struck back. There were no winners of that war, only the few survivors.”

 

The next view was of people running to a vault entrance, standing on the elevator and descending into the ground. It wasn't Vault 111, but footage Nora had found in 81. The next scene was the inside of vault 111, the cryo chambers, the glowing radroaches.

 

“Myself, my husband and our infant son made it into one of the underground vaults, safe. Only we weren't. The bastards froze us. Over a hundred years went by, and a team came into the vault, woke me and my husband, then killed Nate and took Shaun. I was refrozen, to wake years later into a world I wasn't ready for.”

 

The long view of the outside world. Lush vegetation that had recovered from the bombs. Mutated animals, two headed cattle and deer, large ugly bears. Some more gasps as the camera caught a deathclaw attacking people, ripping them apart. Scenes of the wasteland, rusted cars everywhere, ruined buildings. The sight of a farm, a few people struggling to grow crops and survive. A raider encampment, barbaric looking people lounging around.

 

“The world had fallen to barbarism. Gangs of bandits, what we called Raiders, taking what they wanted from everyone. There were some havens of civilization if you could call them that.”

 

The view of Diamond city as she had first seen it, several thousand people sheltering behind the guards and the green walls.

 

“It looks awful,” said one of the other guests, holding her hands in front of her face.

 

“It was, and I was ill prepared for it. So, I had to become a warrior, first to protect myself, then to save what little civilization there was.”

 

Nora and friends attacking the Raiders in Corvega, gunning them down with sniper rifles and shotguns. The raiders looked fearsome, but they fought stupid, boasting as they charged people with weapons while holding only baseball bats.

 

Supermutants, standing out in the open with their swinging meat bags. Nora and friends gunning them down. A scene of Nora in the air, a jetpack holding her up as she launched missiles into the big brutes. Gunners, well-armed and armored, also falling to the self-trained warrior.

 

A view of power armor running along the ground while a Gatling laser incinerated swarms of ghouls, disgusting in their appearance. Nora fighting alongside Hancock, showing them that not all of the ghouls were savages. Flying through the air in power armor, launching a mini-nuke at a target. The suit landing hard, to take on some humanoid robots with a swinging blade. The battle over, the helmet of the suit retracting to show Nora's tired face.

 

“And then it was back to rebuilding civilization.”

 

The scene of Warwick Farm, people living in the sewage treatment plant while tending to small patches of crops. The scene switched, the farm now boasting many new buildings, many rows of crops. An attack on the farm, and dozens of heavy lasers striking out at the attackers, burning them down. Another farm, another rebirth, then another. Diamond City, reborn, more housing growing out of the stands. Buildings on the outside of the city rehabilitated. Hangman's Alley, rebuilt.

 

Then the scene of the Prydwin in the air over Boston Airport.

 

“We made enemies, and one day two of them attacked us within hours of each other, striking at our military command base.”

 

Hundreds of synths attacking the Castle while Coursers in power armor supported them. Mini nukes going off and destroying the robots, while Minutemen in their own power armor took on the Coursers. Laser mounts striking out and slaughtering the enemy. The battle over, wreckage everywhere, while scores of flying machines swept in to be engaged by even more lasers. The aftermath, burned out vertibirds all over the place.

 

“The Institute and the Brotherhood of Steel, our two primary enemies, both fell as military powers that day. I took over the government of the Commonwealth and reorganized the command of both Brotherhood and Institute. We spread our democratic form of government out from Boston, and that was where we were when I was snatched from my people to end up here.”

 

“Did you ever find your son?” asked Tova, her face now showing her concern for someone else.

 

“Oh, I found him alright,” said a bitter Nora. “He was sixty years old, and in charge of the organization that was the greatest evil in the Commonwealth. Not what I wanted to find, but there he was. I deposed him and put him in prison.”

 

Nora could feel the tears starting to roll down her cheeks. Ufric reached over and put a hand on her shoulder, giving her a quick gentle shake.

 

“I am so sorry. The things you faced. Terrible. Beyond our understanding. But you were triumphant.”

 

“And do you resent coming to our world?” asked Jorlief, looking her in the eyes.

 

“At first. But you have such a beautiful world, so pure and pristine, unlike my own. And you are all at risk, while my world is set on a path that no longer needs my hand. So, no. I do not resent it. Not anymore.” She looked over at Ulfric. “So you see, Jarl Ulfric. I have a destiny here. One which is more important than your rebellion, not that I'm saying it is not important. Just not as vital as taking down Alduin.”

 

“And when are you going to challenge the Wyrm?” asked a barbaric looking warrior that Nora thought was one of Ulfric's senior officers.

 

“After I saw him outside of Kynesgrove I would have said never. That is why I am training for that fight. Soon I will be taking my master's quests at the College. I will have one chance at him. Being a dragon, he can choose the time and place of engagement. And if I come near to defeating him he can simply avoid me while continuing to feast on the souls of the slain while growing in power.”

 

“You are a wise war leader, Nora Jane Adams,” said Ulfric, looking at her somberly. “You are correct in your assessment of the tactical situation. It must hurt to know so many souls are going to feed that monster, but to also know that if you challenge him too soon, all those brave souls will have been lost in vain. I don't envy you your destiny.”

 

“All very well and good,” said the barbaric warrior, she thought his name was Galmor Stonefist. “But why don't you come in on the side of the rebellion. With your voice and magic you could win battles for us. As soon as the kingdom is united under Ulfric, you will have a free hand to do as you will. You...”

 

“Enough, Galmor,” said Ulfric, glaring at his second in command. “Thane Nora is doing what she sees as best, and I will stand for no browbeating of this courageous woman. Besides, I would hate to see her hurt you.”

 

Galmor looked like he was about to laugh, then thought better of it. The servants started bringing out the main courses, and the dinner party devolved into a series of small conversations. Everyone wanted to get a chance to talk with Nora, and she talked to whomever was close enough where she didn't have to yell.

 

“How many shouts do you know, Dragonborn?” asked a woman in wizard robes. “Our Ulfric is very accomplished, but I understand that it took over a decade of study to learn his shouts.”

 

“Yes,” said Ulfric, laughing. "Ten long boring years on that cold mountain. Meditating. Practicing. Only to learn Unrelenting Force fully, and the first words of two other shouts. And you learned Unrelenting Force in an instant, yes?”

 

“I learned Unrelenting Force in three instants,” said Nora, laughing. “First from a word wall. Then the Greybeards taught the second word, but they withheld the third until I ran an errand for them.”

 

That reminded her. She needed to see Master Arngeir about the shout that could bring down Alduin. And she needed to go to the College to give Olivia the pages and start on her Master's Quests, if she was deemed worthy. But which to do first?

 

“Just like the Greybeards,” said Ulfric, his smile growing. “Even though you have the talent to instantly learn shouts, they make you wait.”

 

And they use you as an example of someone who learned too much, too fast, she thought, looking closely at the man. Even though he studied for a decade he hadn't taken in the wisdom of the Greybeards. Something for her to think about as she fought for every advantage. However, she needed to get that knowledge, since every day delayed was more souls going into the ravenous maw of Alduin.

 

“But, Thane Nora, how many shouts have you learned?” asked Ulfric, raising an eyebrow.

 

Might as well tell him, thought Nora, not seeing any harm to it. “I know a half dozen shouts fully, and another dozen partially.”

 

“Amazing. You would be an asset to either side in this war.”

 

“So let her declare,” growled Galmor. “Better to choose now than to be backed into a corner and forced to choose.”

 

As long as I choose you, all will be well, thought the Dragonborn. She was coming to understand Ulfric a little more. But understanding wasn't the same as approval.

 

“Now, let us not talk of such matters,” said Ulfric, turning a stern look on his second of command. “Nora has many things to think about. So, let us enjoy this time for lighter conversation.”

 

At the end of the evening Ulfric escorted Nora to her room, and the Dragonborn made ready to reject him as gently as possible. She didn't think him a bad man, despite what he had done to Torygg. He was a leader of a cause, and did what he had to do. He surprised her when he kissed her hand and turned to go. He then turned back for a moment.

 

“I have to tell you; I am grateful that you intervened in the Reach on behalf of my people.”

 

“It wasn't only for them, Jarl Ulfric. People on both sides were about to die in a battle that made no sense.”

 

“Well, whatever your motives, you saved some good Stormcloaks. Though, to be honest, it would have been better for me in the long run if the battle had occurred.” Ulfric shrugged his shoulders. “I know that sounds heartless, but in the equations of war, any fight where we kill more of them than they of us is in my favor. But thank you for their lives.”

 

The man walked away, Nora following him with her eyes as he walked through the door of his quarters and it closed behind him. The man was such an enigma. His cause was everything. While she didn't think him a bigot herself, he was willing to tolerate it since it didn't impact directly on the cause. He would send people to their deaths, but he didn't rejoice in the glory, the false glory, of death in combat. If only he had embraced the other peoples of Nirn and put his bigots in their place, he might be leading a mighty alliance of those who despised the Thalmor. Instead, those useful swords, those useful mages, were on the outside looking in. Maybe he did need someone like her on his side, but so did Elisif, and she wasn't willing to alienate her dear friend.

 

“I'm surprised you're here,” said Eldawyn, already naked and lying in bed. “I thought sure that silver tongued snake would get into you this night.”

 

“Tempting,” said Nora, stripping quickly out of her clothes and joining her friend in bed. “But I already have enough complications in my life. Now, I'm horny as hell, and here's my dear Altmer friend waiting up for me. So what should I do?”

 

Eldawyn leaned in to kiss her friend, and soon they had no thoughts for anything but to please each other.