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[Madman198237]

Still doesn't solve the popular opinion, and theoretically at least I am next in line, with the minor problem of having been usurped and therefore the legal line of succession has been more or less ignored for the moment.

[Maximum Spin]

Still doesn't solve the popular opinion, and theoretically at least I am next in line, with the minor problem of having been usurped and therefore the legal line of succession has been more or less ignored for the moment.

I bet if he happens to die and you come triumphantly back to the hold, you will find you have rather more supporters than you had when you left. That tends to be the way of things.

[IronyOwl]

I think we want to start by exploring the loyalties of the Hold and contacting some old allies of mine. As for how it's won, well, I'd challenge him to a duel if I thought there was even a chance he'd honor the terms. But since I'm certain that his word of honor is as useless as his beard is wispy, I think we'd be best served by killing him and everyone who supports him in a good old fashioned battle.

Breaks-the-Chain rubs his chin thoughtfully. "Won't it be hard to figure out who's loyal without tipping him off that we exist and are planning to murder everyone else in a battle?"

[chubby2man]

Towering pines crowd the dirt path the group travels down. Land of rocky forests, mist shrouded and beautiful in the dawn light.

The pantheon bid farewell to the orphans fondly, with Walks-in-Shadow giving a few quick lessons in how to be sneaker. They vowed to remember all of what the young gods told them and did for them, before continuing on their journey, their golem walking behind them watchfully.

They cross the borders of the hold uneventfully, but all can feel a gloom deepen, as the mists cling to the forest floor even against the noon day sun.

A few miles away from Bears Falls, a village Rilfar had visited in his youth, the Pantheon stops to decide on their course of action. 

Rilfar is aware of two notable players in the area.

The first is Svorga Hermidotr, Thane and respected Steward of the Jarl Faris Scarred-Heart, who stole Rilfar’s throne.

She is the reason he is still alive, arranging for the imperials to keep Rilfar locked up and presumed dead so Faris would stop searching for the true heir.

She would most likely be in Falkreath Hold itself, and would be aware of any weakness or opportunities, one would presume. While highly respected and kept alive for the sake of legitimacy, there can be little doubt that if her loyalties were questioned Faris would dispose of her.

The other is the current head of the Argonian Silver Roots clan by Lake Ilinalta. The Silver Roots were part ruin delvers, merchants, and dangerous spellswords. Walks-in-Snow was the formidable matriarch of the clan, and managed to parley her family’s talents into political power in the xenophobic Nord culture. While she respected Rilfar’s family, one can imagine that she will seek security of her family over any former allegiances.

The leader of the Silver Roots would most likely be found at their compound on the shores of Lake Ilinalta.


Faris Scarred Heart was a notable warrior, long lost uncle to the former Jarl. He was thought to be dead until his return at the head of a legion of undead. His powers are unknown, though rumors abound even to the dungeons of Helgan of dark blood pacts and vampirism.

He is most likely to be found in the Hold of Falkreath.

What is your course of action here?

You may split up into a max of 3 parties to pursue different objectives.

Let me know if your character uses any sort of information gathering power, or if you want to investigate certain things.

[IronyOwl]

"I would like a chance to parley with the Silver Roots," Breaks-the-Chain says after a few long moments in contemplation. "There is no telling their specific wants or disposition, but any who make their fortune dungeon delving in a strange land have my respect. I would have no compunction against providing them with all I am able to in exchange for their aid.

Speaking of which, ruins are often home to all sorts of villains and rogues. We could see about scooping up some bandits or vampires of our own if we wanted to take the scenic route."

[Kilojoule Proton]

"The cooperation of the Silver Roots clan would indeed be helpful for reclaiming this Hold, and it sounds like they have no shortage of magical resources we'll want on our side if Scar is as steeped in necromancy as he sounds. Perhaps we can scrounge up a suitably impressive gift from these ruins or provide the clan some assistance with their endeavors?"

"We should make contact with Svorga soon. It looks like she may be in a rather precarious situation in the false Jarl's court, and we'll need to make sure we can alert her or be alerted to possible changes in the field. I'd wager she has a good idea where everyone's loyalties lie and has ideas on drawing the Jarl and all his supporters out into a pitched battle. The question is, should we do it now? If so, Walks-in-Shadow, would you be interested in periodically relaying messages to and from her? I do have a theurgic invocation we can use to talk and even send small items through, but not having been introduced, I'd need a possession of hers for it to work, and it's unlikely I can open a link more than once every other day. I suppose we could always hire or build a messenger instead."

"If we're not meeting the Silver Roots or diving into ruins right away, I'd like to find a quiet place to work for a week. After Girtek and Ahvardnbthar, I have some construct ideas I'd like to test..."

[Sudurandom]

"We should make contact with Svorga soon. It looks like she may be in a rather precarious situation in the false Jarl's court, and we'll need to make sure we can alert her or be alerted to possible changes in the field. I'd wager she has a good idea where everyone's loyalties lie and has ideas on drawing the Jarl and all his supporters out into a pitched battle. The question is, should we do it now? If so, Walks-in-Shadow, would you be interested in periodically relaying messages to and from her? I do have a theurgic invocation we can use to talk and even send small items through, but not having been introduced, I'd need a possession of hers for it to work, and it's unlikely I can open a link more than once every other day. I suppose we could always hire or build a messenger instead."

"I could do that. It will take some effort and I'll need to see her first, but I believe I could speak to her in her dreams. Or I could just sneak in. I'm well suited to that as well. Maybe I should see if the local tavern needs a bard?"
(I'd need to use a miracle for speaker in dreams, but it would be at the end of the day so I'd be getting the effort back before too long.)

[IronyOwl]

"The cooperation of the Silver Roots clan would indeed be helpful for reclaiming this Hold, and it sounds like they have no shortage of magical resources we'll want on our side if Scar is as steeped in necromancy as he sounds. Perhaps we can scrounge up a suitably impressive gift from these ruins or provide the clan some assistance with their endeavors?"

Breaks-the-Chain nodded. "A unique gift or specific assistance might be wise. More generally, I can render their lands impossibly fertile or craft flawless items from any material I wish. The latter might be wise if we're relying on them in battle."

[Maximum Spin]

I'm more than happy to weave some prophecies to help.

[SOLDIER First]

Krihrada focuses her mind on their current task. Securing a powerbase in Falkreath Hold meant deposing Faris Scarred-Heart, but they would have to do so in an honest manner if they wanted to avoid gaining the ire of the people. Strange that they were the ones bound by honor and not their opponent, considering an army of undead was not her first idea of honest means, but she would not claim to know Rilfar's home nor his people better than he did.

Intellect and divine gift mingle within her thoughts. She asks herself a question: What method should they pursue to eliminate Faris while maintaining the loyalty of Falkreath's citizens?

Spoiler: Actions (click to show/hide)

Krihrada commits one point of Effort for the scene to use The Best Course, asking the above question.

[chubby2man]

Krihrada focuses her mind on their current task. Securing a powerbase in Falkreath Hold meant deposing Faris Scarred-Heart, but they would have to do so in an honest manner if they wanted to avoid gaining the ire of the people. Strange that they were the ones bound by honor and not their opponent, considering an army of undead was not her first idea of honest means, but she would not claim to know Rilfar's home nor his people better than he did.

Intellect and divine gift mingle within her thoughts. She asks herself a question: What method should they pursue to eliminate Faris while maintaining the loyalty of Falkreath's citizens?

Spoiler: Actions (click to show/hide)

Krihrada commits one point of Effort for the scene to use The Best Course, asking the above question.

Faris rules through fear of his army of the undead, eliminating it would break his support.

[SOLDIER First]

Krihrada could almost slap herself. It's so utterly simple. She should have thought of it the moment she'd learned Faris was capable of creating undead... Well, no matter. She announces to the group:

"The key to Faris' control over Falkreath lies in the fallen souls which he has corrupted with his foul magic. The people of the hold have no love for him; they are terrified beyond belief by the undead he has set upon the streets, spreading a foul miasma every which way they shamble. Not one peasant of sound mind in all of Nirn would willingly follow the lead of one so barbaric as to raise dead from the earth to do their bidding."

This is no mere hunch - she is utterly certain of every word she speaks, awash with conviction as much as she was with divine power. She now turns to address the deposed Jarl directly.

"Rilfar, your great-uncle rules purely through fear and intimidation. If we were to break the spell he has cast upon your people, at the barest minimum we would be hailed as the heroes who stamped out the accursed influence of Faris Scarred-Heart and his legion of undead. The citizens of the hold would trample themselves into the dirt in their haste to reinstate their true Jarl to his throne, free from corpses arisen and marked by a clear and vested interest in their well-being as it would be. And if we were to be particularly lucky in this endeavor, our deeds could earn us a smattering of new followers to our burgeoning pantheon, providing us with our next, if perhaps not small, step towards achieving true divinity."

"To achieve our goal, we must destroy" - her fist impacts her palm to underline the word - "the undead that Faris has unleashed upon Falkreath. This I know to be fact. I daresay, if we pool our efforts together as one, the difficult part shall be only deciding how."

[IronyOwl]

"A battle it is, then. If time is of no concern, I'd like to trawl through nearby ruins for lackeys, particularly skilled ones with nothing to lose and everything to gain. With a few champions and treasures from the forgotten places of the world, I'd be better suited to negotiating a main force from the Silver Roots, and have the makings of an army as I understand it."

[chubby2man]

"A battle it is, then. If time is of no concern, I'd like to trawl through nearby ruins for lackeys, particularly skilled ones with nothing to lose and everything to gain. With a few champions and treasures from the forgotten places of the world, I'd be better suited to negotiating a main force from the Silver Roots, and have the makings of an army as I understand it."

Between Rilfar, who grew up in these lands, and two masters of knowledge who draw upon gathered reports and archives. They present 3 promising locations, unlikely to have been delved by the Silver Roots clan.

Shrine to Clavicus Vile:
A shrine to Daedric Prince Clavicus Vile. However, the shrine has been locked, set only to open in 111 years. Not much more is known other than it is rumored to have fabulous treasures.

Fort Sauntar:
Fort Sauntar was the base site of Imperial Theurgic expeditions into Skyrim. Few have ventured into it due to the murderous inhabitants who slay any outsider. Reports say that a ritual went wrong, merging those unlucky enough to be caught in its radius with Daedric energy.

The Grove of Falkreath:
A old Nordic place of reverence. Here it is said the Great Stag resides and protects the people and nature of the area. Likely to be heavily guarded by the Hold, but there is an ancient barrows within, likely holding valuable treasure buried long ago.

[SOLDIER First]

"Thinking it over, Fort Sauntar is the location I would most like to investigate," Krihrada says, thumbing her chin. "I hold no love for Daedric Princes or their misguided followers, so I would prefer to stay away from a shrine devoted to one of the most fickle and untrustworthy of them all. As for this Grove... well, I am not exactly a proponent of devotion, either. Such a place is a better fit for someone more spiritually-minded than myself."

"Now, the supposed home of a theurgic ritual gone horribly awry, publicly known to kill any mortal that dares go near, the twisted remnants of the experimentation that took place within wandering its grounds forever... I wish to see firsthand the results of this ritual, and perhaps whatever sort of theurgic knowledge was kept there. If nothing else, it shall be quite the interesting excursion, I say." She smiles, just a little.