We arrived at Rikke's camp, established in the Winterhold region, and looked around the military tents.
I saw blacksmiths maintaining weapons, and soldiers either resting or standing watch. Among them, the wounded stood out.
They lay on cots, bandages stained with dried, crusty blood wrapped around their heads or arms, coughing incessantly in the brutal Winterhold cold.
'War really is a nightmare...'
I had been preoccupied with the whole vampire mess, but seeing the front lines in person was grim enough to make me momentarily forget about Choi Ha-neul's situation.
"I'll help you!"
Eloise shouted as she approached a field medic tending to the patients.
She immediately began casting Restoration spells, and a warm, golden light of recovery enveloped the bodies of the wounded soldiers.
"Haaa... I feel like I can breathe again. Thank you so much."
"May the Divines smile upon you."
"Don't mention it!"
Since the wounds were old, the healing was slow, but the patients' conditions improved significantly. They showered her with thanks.
Eloise wanted to help more, but she had to conserve her Magicka for the battle ahead.
"Greetings."
"It's been a while."
We headed to Rikke's tent, exchanged brief pleasantries, and moved straight into the briefing.
She explained that while Jarl Korir of Winterhold was a traditionalist Nord who remained loyal to Ulfric to the end, the situation had shifted. Having lost the Rift and the Pale to the Imperial Legion, a desperate Ulfric had concentrated seventy percent of his remaining forces in Windhelm.
"Then retaking Winterhold should be easy," I noted.
Rikke didn't agree. She shook her head.
"Not necessarily. The strike team we sent in before you arrived was defeated. They're currently being held as prisoners in the fort's dungeon."
Ulfric might have prioritized Windhelm, but that didn't mean he'd abandoned Winterhold. He had stationed skilled soldiers here who had managed to crush the previous Imperial detachment and take hostages.
"My informants say Jarl Korir asked the people at the college for help, but they turned him down."
"Makes sense. The professors at the Winterhold Community College don't care for politics," Eloise added.
Rikke continued, stating that if we secured the fort, taking control of the city itself wouldn't be difficult.
"First, we need to get the prisoners... Wait, where is that Elf?"
Rikke suddenly noticed the absence of Choi Ha-neul, the core of our team, and questioned us.
"Uh... about that..."
"She's currently been captured by vampires," I answered bluntly.
"Vampires?"
Rikke, who usually maintained a cool head, looked taken aback. Lydia and Eloise shot me looks as if asking if I should have shared such heavy news so casually.
But Rikke was a high-ranking Imperial officer; she wasn't the type to leak sensitive information. Besides, in a world like Skyrim where healing spells and potions existed, the 'she's sick' excuse wouldn't hold any weight.
"I've heard of vampires, but I didn't know they could perform brainwashing."
Originally, it was the military's role to maintain order in Imperial territory and eliminate threats like monsters. However, as the civil war intensified, the watch against vampires had grown dangerously lax.
"I'm sorry about your comrade, but right now, reclaiming our land is the priority."
"I'm aware..."
Leaving only a small contingent to guard the camp, our party and Rikke's unit marched toward Fort Kastav.
Mages, archers, infantry, and cavalry marched in formation. About ten minutes after leaving the camp, Fort Kastav began to emerge through the blizzard.
"Halt!"
At Rikke's signal, the unit stopped.
"What is it?"
"We have to secure the safety of the prisoners first. Since we have a record of failure, we can't afford another head-on assault like last time."
To that end, she organized an infiltration team to slip into the fort and rescue the captives.
Lydia was excluded because her heavy armor clanked with every step, and Eloise was sidelined because she was the primary healer.
"Batte, Hthomp, Keller. I'm entrusting you with the infiltration."
"Yes, Ma'am!"
"Leave it to us."
I and two Imperials—a man and a woman—were selected. Rikke showed us a diagram of Fort Kastav and detailed the mission.
"The prisoners are being kept here in the dungeon. There's a secret passage outside the fort that leads directly to it."
The infiltration team would sneak in first to rescue the captives. Once they were freed, the main force would launch a pincer attack from both inside and outside. That was Rikke's plan.
So, the infiltration team, including myself, crept toward the fort's dungeon.
We hugged the walls as we approached, finding the secret passage at the location Rikke had marked on the map. The entrance was on the ground, buried under the snow. After scraping it away, we lifted the hatch and climbed inside.
Crouching low and moving with absolute silence, we searched for the prisoners. We heard footsteps coming from the bottom of a staircase around the corner.
I held my breath and aimed my loaded crossbow at the soldier. My vision zoomed in, and for a moment, time seemed to slow down.
—Thwip!
"Urgh!"
The Stormcloak soldier took a bolt to the forehead and collapsed. He was wearing a helmet, but the high armor penetration of the crossbow punched straight through it.
"What kind of weapon is that?"
The man named Hthomp asked in a low whisper.
"It's called a crossbow."
"That's one strange-looking bow."
We moved forward, picking off the rebels occupying the interior one by one, until we finally reached the dungeon where the prisoners were held.
"They say even Riften fell? Is that true?"
"It is. I heard the Pale was seized too..."
"Unbelievable. What is Lord Ulfric going to do now..."
The guards were chatting, so I peeked my head around the wall to scope them out.
"How many enemies?"
In response to the soldier named Keller, I mentally counted the sentries. There were about ten.
"This won't be easy..."
It was a lot for just three people to handle. If I had my usual party, it would be a breeze, but since I didn't know the combat capabilities of these two, a direct confrontation was risky.
"RAID!! WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!!"
Just as I was weighing our options, a Stormcloak sentry outside raised the alarm about the Imperial assault.
"Crap!"
"We have to hold this place!"
The guards outside the cells grabbed their weapons and scrambled toward the exit in a panic.
'Now!'
Seizing the opportunity Rikke had created, we sprinted to the iron bars.
"We're here to get you out."
"Reinforcements are here!"
Seeing our Imperial uniforms, the prisoners recognized us as allies and cheered at the thought of escape.
The cells were locked, and while we didn't have lockpicks, I spotted a ring of keys nearby. We grabbed them and began opening the doors.
However, because there were so many keys, it took some time to find the right ones.
"The battle has already started outside."
"Time for some payback!"
A chest in the corner of the dungeon caught my eye. When I opened it, I found their gear. The prisoners quickly donned their uniforms and headed out with us.
"They should have met up with the prisoners by now."
Rikke, who had been waiting for the moment, mounted her horse and raised her sword.
"All units, advance!"
—RAAAAA!
At her signal, the Imperial soldiers roared and charged the fort. The roles were the exact opposite of what they had been during the siege of Whiterun.
"Ambush...!"
Realizing the scale of the attack, the rebels locked the main gates and went into a defensive posture.
The battle between the Stormcloaks holding the fort and the Imperials trying to reclaim it began in earnest.
—Boom! Thwack!
"Aargh!"
Spells, arrows, and stones flew through the air. The Imperial soldiers at the base of the walls were sitting ducks.
They tried to push forward, but the spiked wooden barricades and iron gates stood firm, protecting the Stormcloaks. The situation was turning against the Legion—until the gate opened.
"We need that gate open!"
Lydia shouted while blocking arrows and stones.
The Legionaries hacked at the barricades and pounded on the gate, but it wasn't enough to secure an entry.
"Get the ladders!"
At Rikke's command, soldiers lugged massive ladders over five meters long toward the walls. The hooks at the ends caught on the battlements.
"Not on my watch!"
"Wait—!"
The rebels quickly kicked the ladders away, sending the climbing soldiers tumbling backward.
For five minutes, they struggled in this losing engagement. Imperial casualties began to mount under the relentless barrage from the walls.
—Rumble...
Suddenly, the immovable iron gate began to move.
"What's happening?"
Lydia, who had been protecting Eloise, looked up at the battlements and spotted me standing at the mechanism.
The infiltration team and the prisoners had burst out of the dungeon, but the Stormcloaks were too distracted by the main army to notice us. Their eyes were fixed entirely on the outside, and they never saw us emerge from the keep's interior.
"Quick, attack them...!"
I blocked Hthomp, who was raising his axe to strike the rebels in the back.
Attacking them while they were vulnerable was good, but the most critical objective in any siege is securing the entrance.
I shoved through the rebels preoccupied with the defense and sprinted toward the gate release mechanism.
"Who the hell are you!?"
A Stormcloak archer cried out in shock, but I ignored him and pulled the lever with all my strength.
—CREEEAAAK!
"The gate's opening!"
The rusted iron gate groaned with a metallic screech and began to rise.