Dragonborn Saga

Chapter 723: 21 Years of Planning

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Frostmoth Fort was at the southwestern edge of Solstheim and it is where the Dare Troopers gathered.

Jon negotiated with Councilor Morvayn of Solstheim to have his 500 Troopers land on the island with their gear and weapons. This would be a breach of the contract which stated that no more than 50 personnel of the DDTC should be on Solstheim for more than 24 hours. The loophole here is that those Troopers won't stay on the island for a continuous 24-hour stay and the ships will be used as lodgings. Moreover, all the operations that will happen on the land will be done by using the five ships to circle around the island, drop off the Troopers, and then take them away after they finish their combat tours.

There was a lot of playing with the loopholes in this process and the First Councilor was sweating from the mere mention of House Redoran by the end of the negotiation since his position was really weak in this whole ordeal.

What guarantees that Jon Dare might not take the chance and completely take over Solstheim or keep stalling? The man has a reputation for being a schemer but at the end of the day, he is also a famous hero whose name is written in gold.

And on top of all that, there was House Telvanni's wizard, Master Neloth, who was also a resident of Solstheim and quite the oddball who seemed to be talking with Jon Dare quite frequently.

It wasn't comforting at all but little could the First Councillor do.

***

"Our situation is like this. There are Six Stones where the enthralled are sighted. The problem here is that the Ash Storms never settle down around those parts of the island." Alina pointed the locations on a map for Solstheim to the 10 Sargents that lead the Troopers.

"That's kinda my fault." Jon said and all in the room looked at him with attention as he explained, "Realism mods!"

"Anyway…" Alina ignored him, "… the Six Stones of the All-Maker are as follows; the Earth Stone north to Raven Rock, the Beast Stone at the center of the Ashlandic part of the island, the Wind Stone northeast of the island, the Sun Stone not too far from here to the east, the Tree Stone southwest of the Skaal tribe in the center of the Temple of Miraak, and finally the Water Stone northwest of the island."

"Where should we hit first, my lady?" An officer asked.

"The hits will be synchronized when the command is given. The Boss will explain why." Alina said and pointed at Jon.

"Earlier, I had a conversation with Master Neloth of House Telvanni. He stated that the mental waves emitted from the All-Maker Stones will make short work of those who aren't strong enough to resist them. For now, a team led by me and Wulfur will head deep toward the hottest zone on the Island, the Temple of Miraak. Once we're in there, we will do something regarding the people captured at the stones. We suspect resistance and so all of you will be laying siege to the temple while we're inside. Whoever attacks you are to be subdued without using lethal means unless you really have to. We're dealing with thralls here."

"And the Stones?" An officer asked.

"Once the Temple is dealt with, those around the temple won't be freed but we will start hitting the rest of the All-Maker Stones first before returning to the temple if needed. Once the people are freed, your orders are to escort them safely to Frostmoth, to Raven Rock, or to the Skaal tribe. After that, the effect of the mind-controlling magic shall go down by a wide notch and you can then return and lay siege to the Temple again." Alina answered.

"Basically, your objective is to start abducting all those who are enthralled and isolate the Stones with magical runes. This will prevent the mind-controlling from spreading." Jon said.

"What are we trying to achieve, sir… Boss?" Another officer asked.

"Our enemy, Miraak, is isolated beyond our world and his emergence is planned to be on Solstheim if his plan goes the way he wants. He is mind-controlling the good people of Solstheim and turning them into his puppets to build himself a large array from the six stones of the All-Maker with his temple in their center. By usurping the power of the All-Maker, he is planning to return to Nirn. His other goal is to eliminate me and take my place as the Dragonborn of this age." Jon revealed the whole situation which he kept vague the entire voyage.

It was kinda expected anyway and none of the officers voiced any more questions. Alina then explained.

"I will be head strategist as usual, Jullanar will oversee the S&D (Search and Destroy) operation force. The teams from 1 to 6 will be the main operational teams, and teams 7, 8, and 9 are the reinforcement force that will be stationed here in the fort. Finally, team 10 will be our mobile force. Further orders will be transmitted at 9 in the morning. Dismissed!"

***

"I can't help but think that you are handling this situation with a very different approach." Wulfur said.

"21 Years." Jon replied.

"What?"

"That's how long I was planning… 21 Years. Imagine having a college exam where you know its problems 21 years earlier than you should."

"That's cheating."

"Hardly." Jon replied, "I'm kinda worried now."

"How can you know the future and be worried?"

"What do mortals fear the m…"

"The Unknown… or the force of chaos. Whatever it is you always say." Wulfur replied before Jon finished his question.

"Indeed. The unknown gives us a sense of worry and fear. We fear the unknown forces of chaos because it takes our planned order away. Now imagine you already have your order very much together. Would you fear anything?"

"Yea." Wulfur replied, "The chaos will never be quelled. The chaos is infinite."

"Exactly! So you've been listening, brother." Jon nudged Wulfur's shoulder with pride, "Order is forever finite, and once shit hits the fan…"

"What's a fan?"

"Some rotor blades used for ventilation."

"You never showed me that…"

"When shit hits the fan…"

"The blades are going to rotor through shit and you will have a ventilation system infested with feces."

"Too much imagination as expected from you." Jon said and returned to the subject, "As I said, there is always the unknown factor."

"Even with your 21 years of planning?"

"Heh!" Jon smirked, "You'll see what I have in store once things start unfolding."

"So you haven't encountered a variable yet?" Wulfur asked.

"Regarding this matter, two of them." Jon said.

The Dragonborn DLC quests have indeed changed. First, Jon was called to Solstheim by the Skaal rather than getting targeted first by Miraak. Second, Miraak initiated the attack on the Dragonborn after Jon "kidnapped" the Oghma Infinium and it took a different form than expected.

There are even more details. Alfhild and Fengrim of the Skaal, the two Caenlorn Beasts. These two are an offshoot from the Lore that Jon was proud to know very damn well.

But unlike his plans that he laid ages ago, he has now gathered over 500 followers to overtake Miraak. That alone would overwhelm the entire game engine, let alone Miraak.

"Will you give me any spoilers of your plans then?" Wulfur asked.

"Okay." Jon smiled, "How about… Sloth?"

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