Bilge Rat
Soon enough the navy began departing from Winterhold and heading for Solstheim, Surtr flies overhead on his dragon but isn't alone, Charlotte was also up there on Illococoo's back. As is the case whenever sailing through the Northern Sea, Kunkka's Man O' War was required to punch a path through the thin layer of ice that'd grown since the last time they ventured out.
Everything was going pretty well for all intents and purposes, the water was calm, no accidents occurred on the ships, and they'd not even run into any enemy dragons yet...
Surprisingly however, the first threat they encounter isn't even from Solstheim, but instead from Morrowind... A group f Dunmeri vessels appeared over the horizon and cut off their path to Morrowind, anchoring and sending over a couple of messaging birds to communicate their wish for negotiation.
Kunkka allows the bird to birch on his arm as he looks over to Surtr who'd hopped onto the boat from his dragon, "I assume we'll parley? Unless you wish to scrap with the elves too?"
Surtr shakes his head, "No, not yet at least."
"What are you even going to say to them?" Lina asks as she floats over, fire licking her hair. "Solstheim is still technically Morrowind territory, you're invading their land, and I doubt they'll buy the excuse that Miraak was there."
A knowing smirk makes its way onto Surtr's face, "I will deal with it."
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A single ship from each side sails over and lines up their broadsides, not to fire cannons but to enable the Dunmeri Captain to walk over and initiate contact.
He strides over in luxurious robes and two heavily armoured guards at his side, alone with a single mage who eyes everyone on Surtr's vessel suspiciously. "I am Sunver Omaneth, Representative of House Redoran, the rightful owners of Solstheim and all its peoples." he pompously greets while waiting for Surtr to respond.
"I am High King Surtr, ruler of Skyrim and soon-to-be Emperor of the Empire." he simply responds. "Let us cut the politeness. Why are you stopping my ships?"
"You are trespassing into House Redoran territory. We demand that you stop, and compensate for this blatant act of hostility towards our nation."
Surtr tilts his head at the man, "Were you not aware that Solstheim had been taken over by another country? Another Dragonborn named Miraak has begun creating his own Empire, starting with Solstheim. I doubt the men you settled there still live."
"Miraak...?" Sunver asks, eyes slightly glassy.
"Ah... So he's taken control of you too?"
"What do you mean?" the mage behind Sunver questions, having already had suspicions due to Suner's occasional lapse in judgement and the holes in his knowledge.
"If you want proof... Just have him say one bad thing about Miraak. He won't be able to do it if he's under his control." Surtr states as he'd tested this before on his own.
...
Sunver's men look at him expectantly, yet the man stays silent, his lips twitching as if trying to do as told but still failing.
"Do you have a solution?" the mage asks after scanning the man with spells, a hint of desperation in his eyes.
Surtr nods, "I do, I'd like to use it on all of you to make sure Miraak hasn't gotten anyone else. Agreed?"
The mage reluctantly agrees, finding no other solution to this. Not when so far outside of Morrowind. It'd take a week to return, and but then this 'Miraak' could have had them kill themselves or something.
Inwardly, Surtr was barely holding back his victorious laughter. They'd just given him permission to cast his own shout on them, and he wouldn't be as lenient as Miraak was... "GOL HAH DOV!" he shouts and the glowing shockwave washes over the entire Dunmeri ship, bringing all of them under Surtr's thrall.
Their acceptance of the shout only made it easier to control them, not to mention how weak most of them were against such mental attacks.
"Sunver. Have your ships accompany us. We will take the fight to Miraak and free Solstheim." he commands and the Dunmeri Representative nods, returning to his ship to begin aiding the Winterhold Navy.
"Your thrall will not last." Medusa hisses behind him, well aware what Surtr had just done. She and her sister used to utilise such methods in the past, before she traded her beauty for power... "They will eventually break free, and they will know who is responsible."
Surtr nods, "I know that, creature. But it won't matter, I don't intend on allowing them to return in the first place."
The snakes forming Medusa's hair snap at his direction as she scowls at him, "There is a line and while most never encounter it, once you cross it there is no return. You are on the line." she slowly states, locking eyes with the man for a couple seconds before slithering away, leaving to his thoughts.
Nearby, a certain Grand Magus had been observing from a hidden corner of the ship, his glowing green eyes blinking curiously at the magic Surtr had just displayed. "Curiouser and curiouser..."
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"Master... Did you see that...?" Wei asks, looking to Anti-Mage.
"See? I felt it. Vile magic."
"Well... What do we do? We can't do anything against a King... Can we?"
...
"Not yet. But maybe soon...
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The fleet continued on, now with a dozen ships belonging to Morrowind aiding them. They all sail in a rough formation which Kunkka tried to fix during the journey, but didn't manage completely by the time they spotted Solstheim over the horizon.
Then, the dragons came... Around twenty of them immediately flew from the island and circled the boats, too high in the air to actually targets with either spells or cannons.
Surtr stayed around the Navy to avoid getting attacked by many at once, but Charlotte and Illococoo were simply too fast for the enemy dragons to target, forcing them to focus on someone else.