Chapter 146 Negotiation

"I'm afraid not. As you so crudely put it my list of enemies includes a good half the other nobles in Highrock. Only when I reach the current capital where my mother rules will I be mostly safe." she said calmly like she was discussing the weather.

I crossed my arms in front of my chest in annoyance "What you are asking for is not worth what I get. You are asking me not only to get you to Highrock but to cross half of it, albeit the narrow part, as an open guard. Even if your enemies are reasonable enough to understand you were paying for this and thus it wasn't worth growing angry with me. Which I very much doubt. It would leave me effectively restarting my return to Skyrim. And I am in a hurry." I say flatly.

"How about my daughters hand in marriage? She's only a year younger than you and of royal blood as well." She offered with a scheming gleam to her eye.

My mood dropped and my gaze sharpened on her.

"Try anything like that again and I'll kill you myself." I said and meant it.

Her expression stiffened and sweat beaded her face as my killing intent rolled over her.

"Understood." She said with a shaky tone.

I reigned in my bloodlust and returned to a neutral expression. Killing intent was a strange thing. It wasn't some mystical nonsense that generated from nothing like in a chinese novel back on earth. In this world it was a direct result of killing anything with a soul, the more sentient the stronger the effect. At the exact moment of death the soul of whatever you kill sort of collides with your own though you wouldn't feel it normally. When this happens the souls unwillingness to die slightly taints your soul.-

One or two times and the effect is minimal. Once you've killed more than five people however it becomes a force, a sort of feeling when released. And it gets worse the more you kill. It's one of the reasons veterans fresh from war terrify people instinctively. That killing intent on them hasn't settled yet and is getting broadcast in a small area around them. I've killed over a thousand people so far so even amongst veterans of war my killing intent is horrifically dense.-

"What do you desire then? I can offer great riches." she asked after regaining her composure.

"If I might make a suggestion?" Alontar chimed up.

"You have an idea?" I asked him surprised.

"You stated your identity as the daughter of the current queen yes?" Alontar asked for clarity.

"I am indeed." she said with an intrigued expression.

"There happens to be a particular item that I know has been sitting in your vaults. A Dwemer puzzle chest. I believe that would be an acceptable piece of extra payment for this matter." he said calmly.

"Why exactly would a random puzzle chest be worth this much trouble?" I asked him with a raised eyebrow.

"Because if the contents are what they are believed to be it's a priceless thing." She said with a tinge of mockery.

"And those contents are?" I asked intrigued.

"A key to the workshop of Sotha Sil, the Clockwork god. Or at the least an item of importance to him" Alontar said seriously.

"Let me guess, you need tonal magic to crack the puzzle?" I asked with a chuckle as I understood the trick.

"That is the assumption. We spent almost twenty years attempting to crack the puzzle with even all of our archmages being unable to so much as illicit a single change in it. It became a mere curiosity in our vaults after that. I'm surprised you'd be interested in something clearly useless. I suppose it would be a fair price for what is being asked however so i'm sure my mother would give it to you." she said clearly thinking she's on the winning side of this deal.

"Alright then. We will see you safe to Sharnhelm in exchange for you pressuring the forebears to agree to Skyrim's proposal and for that puzzle chest. That does make me curious how you even obtained such a thing." I said curiously.

"It's no grand tale really. As everyone knows Almalexia murdered the clockwork god and raided his belongings. Clever as he was he naturally kept everything secured in chests like the one we possess. After the Nerevarinne killed her the belongings of the clockwork god were scattered amongst the noble houses of Morrowwind. Thieves naturally also took interest in these things as the belongings of someone like the clockwork god were worth great swaths of money at the time. We naturally purchased this one as we believed that with our great mages working together we'd be able to solve the puzzle and reap the glory and reward." she said bitterly.

"Only to discover that you weren't as capable as you thought. Classic case of hubris before the fall. Let me guess, you paid out the nose for the thing only for it to be a glorified paperweight?" I said with a laugh.

"Yes well I doubt you'll fare much better." she said with a annoyed snort and turning of her head as she got back in the carriage. "Sharnhelm." she said firmly over her shoulder before the door shut.