Thalmor Plots : V

» Sat Jul 14, 2012 8:56 am

If you read the Dossier on Ulfric Stormcloak you find the following comments:

Spoiler

As long as the civil war proceeds in its current indecisive fashion, we should remain hands-off. The incident at Helgen is an example where an exception had to be made - obviously Ulfric's death would have dramatically increased the chance of an Imperial victory and thus harmed our overall position in Skyrim. (NOTE: The coincidental intervention of the dragon at Helgen is still under scrutiny. The obvious conclusion is that whoever is behind the dragons also has an interest in the continuation of the war, but we should not assume therefore that their goals align with our own.)

Anyone have any ideas, theories, evidence on what the Thalmor were planning to do if the dragon hadn't attacked at almost the critical moment?

» Fri Jul 13, 2012 11:56 pm

Anyone have any ideas, theories, evidence on what the Thalmor were planning to do if the dragon hadn't attacked at almost the critical moment?

Two of the likeliest possibilities IMO:

1) Convince Tullius to hand Ulfric over to them for "interrogation" instead of exectuing him. He was allowed to escape from their custody once before because it suited their agenda; it might make them look like bumbling fools to outsiders if it happened a second time, but that would be less important to them than ensuring that he stays alive and is eventually free to continue leading the secessionist movement. In fact someone else pointed out that this could be the reason Elenwen made the trip all the way to Helgen, because it was that important to them to keep the war going as long as possible.

2) Tip off the Stormcloaks (through intermediaries not known to be Thalmor agents) regarding Ulfric's capture and current location, in the hopes that a successful rescue attempt would be made. And perhaps be on hand when it occurred to cause any distractions they could that might help it succeed.

» Fri Jul 13, 2012 8:09 pm

Well they had already tried to talk Tullius into placing him in Thalmor custody, but he wasn't about to give up the opposing general and planned to execute him right there in Helgen. So I guess their next move would be to try to covertly help the Stormcloaks to free him before he gets executed.