Epilogue: Phane's Folly

"Poor, stupid bastard," Brunulf tsked, shaking his head. Lifting a bowl from the table in front of Phane's corpse, he sniffed it tentatively, and blanched. "Should've screened his cook more carefully."

The great hall of Broken Tower redoubt was strewn with bodies beginning to rot. Rats crawled all over them, and several had been more than half eaten. Yet he could still see that they had died in considerable agony.

"Thalmor?" his Khajiiti partner asked. She kept licking the back of her hand and rubbing it across her whiskers, as if she couldn't get the stench out of them. The redoubt had been sealed shut when they arrived; as soon as the door opened, they were hit in the face with the putrid odor of decay and death.

"No, too... messy," Brunulf replied, setting the bowl down exactly as he'd found it. "This smells like vengeance... so to speak."

"Hmph," Khisaba huffed doubtfully. "Does the Briarheart have his heart? Pretty penny for those."

Leaning over the dead man, Brunulf carefully examined the wound in the center of Phane's chest. Unsheathing his dagger, he poked a rat in the rear end, persuading it to find its meal elsewhere. Once the obstruction was removed, he was able to see better.

"Looks to have been cut out," he observed. "The laces are severed, not chewed."

"Seems... extreme for robbery," the cat said wryly.

"Indeed." Straightening, he stepped down from the high table and strolled around, looking at the men and women, imagining their final moments. Whatever did you lot do, you sons of whores? he wondered.

"Perhaps the contract is rendered... invalid?" Khisaba said tentatively. "The Night Mother no longer speaks. Does she hear?"

"Questionable," Brunulf said thoughtfully. "This contract was negotiated by Astrid. I've no doubt she would have something to say about it. What that might be..." He shrugged.

"You will of course provide your opinion." The Khajiit chuckled softly and headed for the door. There was nothing more to be done here, and she wished to purge her nostrils of this place.

"Naturally," Brunulf replied with a grin. "When have you known me to hold my tongue, hmm?"

Khisaba licked her sharp incisors and purred. "You know best when to use it, and how."

"Flattery will just get you more of the same, wench," he teased, following her out the door. He playfully tugged her long, slender tail near the base, making her squirm with pleasure. "I think I will gently suggest that Astrid tear up the contract. After all, the Dragonborn, you know. If he'd wanted to truly make a statement of his allegiance in the coming storm, he should have named Ulfric Stormcloak. Some people can't see past their own noses."

A/N: Phane, as mentioned in prior chapters, is dealt with in "Lily's Reach."

This concludes "Duty Calls." I'm so glad everyone enjoyed it! Ashtu and Lydia may make the occasional appearance in "Lily's Reach." We'll see. :)