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Another day in the purgatory, Jon took the hammer, put on the armor, donned the camouflage cloak, prepared the arrows and checked with [Greed]. Everything was in place. Last thing was the hood over his head and the key to his room.
"Mister Krilon. The residents of the opposite room last night said they heard something…" The Innkeeper came to nag to him again.
'Again with them.' Jon rolled his eyes.
The people staying in the room opposite to his were causing him trouble once again. They seemed to be displeased with staying opposite to him.
"If you want me out of the room, then prepare one away for me. I'll pay you up." Jon settled it with money. Even when he was stranded alone, he made money like nothing.
"No, Mister. They left the room. I think you are starting to cause us losing customers."
"Fine, I'll rent the other room too." Jon took off a few gold coins and stuffed them in the hand of the man.
A hateful place it was. Markarth was the least city Jon liked in Skyrim. Even Windhelm wasn't that bad.
Jon took off and headed outside the city again, he picked some bounty from the inn on the way out and took the road where it leads him. This time, the contract was around Kolskeggr Mine, a gold mine owned by Markarth and the Silver-Blood family has no business with so it is not protected by them. It was natural for the Forsworn to attack it by then.
Jon had an understanding of the politics in Markarth and how the hidden waters ran. His target was the Forsworn and their leader, even though there was no way the [Sacrifice Magic] he was studying would pay off, he had nothing else to do other than clashing with the Forsworn. According to what Azura said, his cure to get his power back was in the Reach.
Reason and Logic were not that helpful to translate Azura's words. He needed to find a clue to get rid of that accursed vine.
Jon traveled all the way to the mine and kept watching it from outside. If there are Forsworn inside then they should be keeping a lockout. To avoid being spotted, Jon decided to not enter from the front.
It was simply impossible as Kolskeggr Mine had only one way to go in or out. Jon's idea was to walk on the mountain above the mine using Greed. He climbed from the back of the mountain then stuck Greed on the slope above the mine's entrance and started walking down on the wall of the mountain. It wasn't really that hard when he used Greed and he was a few meters above the entrance in no time.
Sure as hell, he heard noises right behind the entrance. People were speaking and the accent was Reachman. He was sure now.
Sneaking a little look, Jon realized that there were only 4 men stationed on the entrance. Rather sloppy.
He kicked the wall of the mountain then loosened Greed for a bit. Using his body's weight, he used Greed like a swing to crash through the entrance of the mine while waving the hammer.
Three fell in one go. The fourth wanted to show resistance but the hammer nailed him to down.
The men who survived Jon were rather unlucky. If they died without knowing what hit them, it would have been much better than seeing Jon crushing the life out of them by breaking their necks.
Jon was now in. He switched from the [Champion's Cudgel] to [Greed] and transformed it into a short bow. Holding a few arrows at the same hand as the bow, Jon was skilled enough to shoot at a fast rate that way.
He walked in the mine avoiding all the traps and the alarms. He met two men sitting around and shot two arrows in less than a second to their throats.
*Thud* *Thud*
They fell dead.
Jon sighed, normal people are so fragile. His level of power is simply enough to make up for his lack of Magic but he is still acting like a cry baby who lost his favorite toy and wants it back.
He sighed again and headed forwards.
Not too far from his previous stop, Jon was ambushed by a Forsworn who seemed to have detected Jon somehow. A fight broke out and three more guys joined up.
Not even waiting for them to surround him, Jon threw [Greed] on one of the Forsworn and [Greed] acted like a liquid and completely covered the head of the man causing it to struggle for air. Jon was already punching a man to his throat causing him to suffocate in a critical state the took the man's axe and threw it towards another who avoided it to land on the fourth's head but the third was mutilated by a kick that dislocated his jaw and fell dead.
(Quadra Kill)
"Shut up, Shadow."
(Seriously, you are good at this. Why use magic when you are this good as a warrior. Your martial arts can be even considered one of the highest ranking even in Akavir.)
"Sigh! Didn't you see that just now?"
(What?)
"That idiot, he snuck up on me. If I had my magic, Shadow. I'd have killed all those fucks without even coming in this mine."
(...)
"Yep, stay shut."
To Jon who came from a magicless world, magic was everything he ever hoped for and part of his identity. To lock him from using magic for over three months, Jon was already furious at everything Forsworn and swore an oath of vengeance for all what they did to him, for chasing his brother and killing 9 of Winterhold's finest men, for causing Nefertiti to disappear god knows where and for simply humiliating him. Every Forsworn blood is to be spilled in Jon's book by now.
Finally, after reaching the end of the cave, Jon found the central place where the Forsworn main gang was gathered.
The place was a mess. Over 11 Forsworn one of them is a Briarheart, there were people too. Women who seemed to have been some villagers kidnapped from the villages outside the mine. By the looks of it, the men were used to labor in the mine and the women were raped. Typical Forsworn. At least they didn't start a cannibalism feast yet.
During the past week and during his stay in the Briarheart Grove, Jon has seen many things like that. The Forsworn were savages whose action denied them from the right to even live. Getting rid of them was like pest exterminating to Jon.
He formed [Greed] into a short bow again and aimed took many arrows.
*Swoosh* *Swoosh* *Swoosh* *Swoosh* *Swoosh*
Five died in a blink of an eye. The remaining ones jumped behind cover or the hostages.
"By Dagon! He is here already?" One of the men shouted.
The Forsworn started to make threats and shoot back at Jon who also hid behind cover. He wasn't really hiding but he was thinking.
'I was being expected?' Jon thought.
Something was wrong for both sides. Jon was expected but he ambushed them and they still fill for it despite knowing he'd come.
'What is going on?'
Jon discarded the thoughts amidst confusion and started to fight back the arrows that were targeting him.
He took an arrow that was tied with some bones and feathers while its head was dyed with blood. Jon took the arrowhead near his lips and started muttering words.
"Zii do Vus krazahd daar wo yah zey aax ahrk kinz niist haal."
The technique Jon was using was called the 'Totem Arrow', it was literally a homing arrow that can pierce anything. The Hedge Magic that Jon used was a mix of [Chanting Magic] to the Spirits of Nirn and powered by his own blood using the [Blood Magic]. To chant words that has a chance to be understood, Jon used the Dragon Language.
After preparing the arrow, Jon notched it and twisted the bowstring while pulling to give it a curve and loosed. The arrow flew splendidly in an arc and hit the man who spoke just a while ago in his shoulder pinning him to the wall behind him.
The shot was so impossible that it caused the others to lose focus for a second and Jon used the chance to kill two more.
Two of the remaining three ran towards the captives and wanted to kill them to force Jon out of cover but what they couldn't foresee was Jon actually racing them towards the captives and throwing the hammer at one of them while intercepting the other one with a Clothesline.
"See no evil." Jon mocked the man who fell.
"You bast…"
Jon then blasted the man's head with a stomp.
"Speak no evil."
There was one Forsworn left that can fight, the Briarheart.
Briarhearts are not really bright and sometimes need commands from the ones who are they used to. Jon saw the process happen a few times in the Briarheart Grove. The first few voices that the Briarheart listens to are the ones he or she obeys. Voices are the key to control those things.
The Briarheart was already ordered to fight Jon, it held a steel sword in a hand and a lightning spell on another. Jon used [Greed] to pull the [Champion's Cudgel] from far away like a chain then transformed [Greed] into a shield.
Fighting a Briarheart in his state was risky. He had no magic and can only use his martial arts.
The Briarheart charged at Jon while shooting Lightning spells that Jon blocked with [Greed]. The Briarheart jumped to strike Jon from above but it was a stupid mistake to jump in a fight. Jon avoided and waved his hammer at the Briarheart smiting him away.
The Briarheart endured and landed away.
The annoying thing with this Briarheart was how its heart was hidden under a metal plate nailed into his chest. A shame! If Jon can snatch the heart then it would be game over.
The Briarheart charged again but Jon bashed him faster with the [Greed Shield] and waved the hammer at the left arm of the Briarheart smashing it in one go. The Briarheart was enraged and it waved its sword at Jon's arm that held the hammer but Jon withdrew it fast sacrificing the hammer that fell to the ground.
Jon the formed [Greed] into two hands palms on his hands. With those oversized hands, Jon could grab the Briarheart's right arm and attack with the other the Briarheart's guts. His stomach was opened but the damn thing refused to die.
Taking a page from Sheogorath's book, Jon pulled out the intestines of the briarheart with his free hand then warped them around him immobilizing it.
The body of the Briarheart was badly damaged and it could no longer sustain more injuries so it stood still. Jon smiled and clapped with the [Greed Hands] on the Briarheart's Head.
"Hehe! Hear no evil."
The head was completely turned into mush.
Jon made a satisfied smile and looked at the people behind him then gave a nod.
"Are there any more of those?" Jon said.
The people were scared shitless but they shook their heads.
"You are free to leave but I advise to follow me out. Not sure what will happen."
They nodded.
"Perfect."
Jon turned around to the last remaining Forsworn, the one pinned from the shoulder by a cave wall.
"I have some questions. Answer them and you will die swiftly with your balls intact. Don't answer them and I will fondle your balls until they become at the size of your head and will make your lungs drawn on your own blood. Capeesh?"
***
Outside the mine, a large band of Forsworn was surrounding. Their head was none other than Alaric of Karthspire.
"You said the Nord entered here?" Alaric spoke to a man
"Yes, Prince. Elder Nepos had me follow him all the way here. We have him cornered."
"Go back to Elder Nepos and thank him, Morven. Thank him for all the information he brings to us from Markarth. We've got this." Alaric said and made all the men point their weapons at the cave.
The wait began for Jon to come out but an hour has passed.
"Should we go in there?" A man asked.
"Wait, he has to come." Alaric said.
Just as he said so, a few things flew out from the entrance of the mine. They rolled over until they reached Alaric's feet.
"This…" The men gasped.
These were the heads of the men who were waiting for that cursed Nord. If not to capture him then weaken him enough but it seemed that he prevailed.
Not only that, he was inviting them in.
Aaric was enraged and was about to step in to kill the Nord himself but his men stopped him. That Nord was a scary opponent even after he was weakened and was put under the Soul Shackles of the Briarheart Tree.
"Leave me be. I'll kill him with my hands." Alaric kicked his men away.
"Be patient, Prince. We will go with you. Formation!" Alaric's aid calmed him down and called for a formation to enter the mine.
Alaric was in the heart of that Formation. No one knew what trap is waiting inside for the Jon to personally invite them in but better safe than sorry.
Yet, there was no way anyone would be safe from what happens next.
Jon's head was already healed and a great deal of his power returned to him. His most essential power as a Dragonborn.
"YOL TOOR SHUL!"
