It was a beautiful morning in Eastmarch. Almost a contradiction in terms, Dardeh thought, that this sulfurous, steaming waste should be beautiful sometimes, but it was. The sky was a blue as he’d ever seen it, and there was a light breeze that blew the foul odors away in favor of the green, pungent scents of the conifers that had been fearless enough to set their roots near the road.
Too bad it doesn’t make me feel any better about things.
They’d made an early start of it, getting a bite to eat and securing Roggi’s house before popping into the inn to say a quick goodbye to Iddra and Kjeld.
“Try not to get yourself all banged up this time, Roggi,” Kjeld had said, earning a chuckle from Roggi and a frown from Dardeh. Yes, that was my fault too, he had thought as the two of them left the inn and headed south out of Kynesgrove.
As if he’d been listening in on Dardeh’s thoughts, Roggi spoke up. “You know, Dar, you’re looking at all of it the wrong way,” he said quietly.
Dardeh glanced over at him. Roggi’s eyes were intense, his face serious.
“In what way? All those people are still dead, because I was too slow.”
Roggi shook his head.
“But Miraak is gone. The people who are alive on Solstheim can live out their lives as normal. What was it the shaman told you? The land there is back in balance. No more dragons there, at least none that you know of. And as far as Windhelm is concerned,” he added with an expression Dardeh couldn’t quite place, “at least that killer is gone. People can feel as safe walking around at night as they ever have. None of that would have happened if you hadn’t put yourself out there in the way of danger.”
Dardeh shook his head. “And the others? They would also still be alive if I’d been good enough, Roggi.”
Roggi surprised him by reaching out and patting his shoulder. “You can’t save everyone, Dardeh,” he murmured. “It’s enough that you’re trying. That’s really something, you know?” Then he chuckled. “Actually, maybe you can save everyone. Isn’t that what you’re doing trying to put Alduin back in his place?”
Yeah, he’s right. And I’m still probably not good enough. There’s something wrong with me. I can’t save the world if I also want to kill half of it. That’s what Hermaeus Mora saw. That’s what Jine and Dadarh have been telling me. On the other hand…
He looked over at Roggi’s understanding smile and couldn’t help but smile back. “We, Roggi. That’s what we are trying to do. You and I.”
Roggi laughed. “I can’t kill dragons, Dar. You’re the only one who can do that.”
Dardeh was about to open his mouth to argue that Roggi had certainly done his share with Alduin when he heard a disquietingly familiar but very faint sound off to the west.
“It can’t be.”
Roggi looked at him, frowning. “What can’t be?”
“Listen!”
The sound repeated, this time a bit more clearly: hollow, huge, like thunder but also like the roar of an enormous saber cat at the same time. Dardeh ran to the crest of the hill before them and up onto a boulder, to get a better view. He could just see the word wall where he had nearly died fighting the dragon long before he met Delphine.
“How?” he yelped. “I killed it! That has to be another one! How is that even possible?”
Roggi climbed up beside him and gasped when he saw the beast circling the wall. “Dragon!” He turned to look at Dardeh. “Are we going to…”
“Of course we are,” Dardeh growled. “We’re the only ones who can get rid of it and I’m not going to see it kill anyone else.”
They ran across the volcanic tundra as fast as they could, stopping to dispatch wolves and a saber cat that erupted from below their sight line to rush headlong at Dardeh. He Shouted Ice Form at it and watched it topple over onto its side, then attacked with his scimitars. As the ice broke free and it rose to roar at him, Roggi stepped up behind it and calmly struck its head off with one powerful blow of his greatsword.
“Well then,” Dardeh said, grinning at him. “You really have been working hard, haven’t you?”
Roggi smiled.
“I can’t let you do all the heavy lifting, Dar,” he chuckled.
The dragon circling the word wall breathed fire. Dardeh Shouted it to the ground, then stood back and fired his best arrows at it while Roggi did the same. With a part of his mind Dardeh marveled at what a good archer Roggi was; every shot was controlled and precise, and by the time the great beast fought its way back into the air they had done it great damage. It was bleeding profusely, but not enough to stop it from strafing the nearby giant camp as its predecessor had done.
“Watch out for the giant, he’s nasty!” Dardeh yelled at Roggi, then turned to face it as it swooped overhead.
“JOOR- ZAH FRUL!”
The shock wave of his Shout struck the dragon, limning it with a blue glow; it screamed its frustration but landed near the giant’s camp and was immediately set upon by the giant, fearless in spite of the dragon’s much greater size. He pounded and yelled, and Dardeh and Roggi stood well back and kept firing arrows at the beast, until at last the giant took a knee. Dardeh pulled his special sword and Shouted – “WULD!” – to reach the dragon and finish it before the giant had a chance to stand. He backed away just far enough to still absorb the dragon’s power, then sprinted to where Roggi stood, shaking his head.
“No one can doubt that you truly are Dragonborn!” he said. “It’s still the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen.”
Dardeh chuckled.
“Well I have to admit, that felt good. But we’d best clear out before that giant gets testy. I’ve run into him before. He doesn’t like his kills stolen. By the way, though…”
Roggi raised one eyebrow. “What now?”
“Arngeir told me where there’s another place like this, with a word of power. It’s south of here, off the road, and I want that word. If we go get it we can then head back to Whiterun just as easily from there.”
Roggi shook his head. “And another day or so later. Lydia’s going to have both our hides if she finds out you’ve been back and didn’t go straight home. Well who am I to argue with the Dragonborn. Let’s get going.” He stowed his bow and grinned at Dardeh, then started trudging south.
“You seriously don’t have to keep calling me ‘The Dragonborn,’ Roggi,” Dardeh grumbled. “It’s embarrassing.”
“Too bad,” Roggi laughed, poking him in the arm.
Several times he’d looked over at Roggi while he was chattering away, and just smiled. Maybe it would be all right after all. By the time they reached the entrance to the old mine Arngeir had marked on his map, Dardeh was beginning to feel a bit more like himself. Roggi kept him chuckling. And the more he thought about it, the more he had to see the truth of some of what Roggi said. Miraak was dead. His armor, his sword, and that ridiculous mask he wore were all tucked into Dardeh’s pack. If he hadn’t gone after Miraak that particular plague would have continued to spread through Solstheim and maybe even to the mainland of Tamriel. He had played a large part in bringing that to a halt, along with Storn, and Frea, and even Neloth. That didn’t make up for the deaths, not really; but at least he had done something right here and there.
They climbed through the stifling derelict mine slowly, taking care of their footing for the rotten wooden ramps. There were several skeletons shambling about, all of whom took great exception to their presence; but one swipe from a sword sent their bones flying to the corners of the cavern. It was once they opened the upper doors onto a large ledge that they saw the real adversary.
The huge, brownish-green dragon perched atop the upper curve of the word wall, its wings spanning most of its width. It almost looked asleep. There were several badly damaged huts striving mightily to stay upright on the flat ledge, but all of them looked precarious and wouldn’t supply much cover. And the clearing itself wasn’t large enough for much maneuvering around a grounded dragon.
Dardeh glanced at Roggi and pulled out his bow. They could at least get the drop on the beast. Roggi nodded and took aim with his own bow, then looked back at Dardeh. Dardeh nodded, and they both loosed their arrows.
The dragon’s head jerked back in surprise and it shrieked before launching itself into the air. It circled the summit of the mountain and came back to shout frost at them. Bows weren’t going to be fast enough, but Dardeh didn’t trust himself to be fast enough either if he grounded the beast. He thought for a moment and then Shouted.
“MUL – QAH DIIV!”
The horns and armor of Dragon Aspect gathered about Dardeh. This would last long enough for him to bring down the dragon. Roggi shot him a startled glance, but they had no time to talk as the dragon strafed them again. Dardeh’s power to Shout needed to recharge. In the meantime, the best they could do was dash between the scant cover of the three ruined cabins and fire as many arrows as they could at the beast.
Once his ability to Shout had returned, Dardeh used Dragonrend to bring the dragon to ground. He and Roggi attacked it with everything they had, dodging the snapping jaws and the huge tail that smacked against rock over and over, trying to flatten one or the other of them in the process. Finally, Dardeh rushed to its side while it was distracted with Roggi, and sank his swords as deep into it as he could. The dragon burst into flames, and Dardeh reveled at the heady sensation of its soul merging with his own, his power expanding with the addition of that of the great beast. Then he stepped toward the wall, the blue swirl of the Word of Power rushing around him and the word becoming a part of him. Laas. Life. He would be able to sense the presence of living things around him.
When it was over, he drew a deep breath and opened his eyes, smiling.
“That was good. That will be useful.”
He heard a cough near him, and turned to look. Roggi was standing with his mouth open, sword still in his right hand, staring at him.
“What is that, Dar? That’s the most awful-looking thing I’ve ever seen.”
“What are you talking about?”
“That… spell. The Shout you did. Your eyes are … glowing. Like fire. And you have … horns.”
Oh yes. I must look to him like Miraak looked to me.
“It’s called Dragon Aspect. It makes me… very strong.”
Roggi nodded slowly. “I could see that. It’s, um… unsettling. I hope you won’t be doing that too often.”
Dardeh chuckled. “I hope I won’t need to.” Then he sighed. “This is one of the reasons I’ve been a bit off.”
“Why do you say that?” Roggi asked as he stowed his weapons and searched the body of the dragon for loot.
“I’m not sure it’s a good thing for me to be so much stronger than normal people. Dragons are one thing. But people are another. It would be too easy to use that much power. I saw Miraak doing that. I know what it feels like. Pulling in a dragon, like that, learning these words, it’s very…” He trailed off, not knowing how to describe the delicious sensation of feeling his very essence expanding, his ability to stop his adversaries growing greater with every breath, without it sounding almost obscene.
Roggi looked at him for a moment, then nodded slowly. “It’s a very tempting thing, power is.”
Dardeh nodded. “And that’s one of the reasons I need you with me, Roggi. I don’t need to use it if you’re fighting the dragon with me, at least not most of the time. You’re darned fine with that sword of yours.” He grinned. Maybe you can save me, Roggi. Save me from myself.
Roggi chuckled. “Well, I’m actually better with smaller weapons, but a beast this size would never come down with a knife. You need a bit of reach, it seems to me.”
“A knife, is it then?” Dardeh said. “I can hardly picture you in a knife fight. I’ve never seen you with one.”
Roggi grinned at him. “I keep it in my boot.”
“Ok. Good to know. I’ll be sure to stay away from your boots.”
The trip back to Whiterun was relatively quiet after that, even though they climbed to the top of the escarpment and headed west along its edge rather than descending to the road below. There was the usual complement of wolves and one or two bears. Once, as they passed through an especially grassy area, Dardeh found himself fighting off a group of three skeevers. As the last one squeaked to its demise he heard Roggi speaking behind him.
“Only a fool lets himself get surrounded.” Yes, he’d heard that phrase often enough while he’d been learning basic swordsmanship from some of the older men in Markarth.
He turned and glared at Roggi, who was grinning from ear to ear.
“You calling me a fool?”
“Well, they were just skeevers,” Roggi snickered. “It’s not like you needed to Shout fire at them or anything.”
Dardeh punched him in the arm. “Don’t make me hurt you.” Then he grinned and they continued on their way.
Roggi kept up an almost non-stop stream of chatter as they walked. Only once did he become quiet, and it was as they passed an old ruin of a tower, across a short bridge to their right.
“We could stop there to camp,” Dardeh said, noticing the remnants of what looked like a previous campsite outside the base of the tower.
“Um, no, that’s ok,” Roggi said quietly. “That’s Nilheim. I’d… rather not, if that’s alright. Let’s go a little farther down the road before we stop.”
“All right,” Dardeh said, tentatively. “Is there something wrong?”
“No, not really,” Roggi said, shooting him a small sideways smile. “Just… Nilheim has some memories attached for me and I’d like to let them stay there.” He sighed. “Dag.”
Dardeh nodded. “Oh I see.” Well, no I don’t, but I don’t think I want to ask. We’ll just let it go. “Well then it’s on you to find us a decent camp site.”
Roggi grinned at him. “You’re on.”
____
Lydia did not like his hair.
Not a bit.
At first she gave him the same startled glance that everyone else had, and had shrunk back from him, just a bit. Then she gave him a tentative hug and said, “I’m glad you’re home safely.”
But after the greetings, the hugs she and Lucia had given Roggi, the squeals of delight Lucia had made when Dardeh had picked her up and swung her around in a circle; after the meal Lydia had made and insisted they all share together; after all that, Lydia had gotten stern with Dardeh.
“It has to go,” she said.
“Lydia, it’s just hair. Come on.”
“Dardeh, you look like a bandit. Or a wild animal. Or a Redguard, instead of a Nord. Nobody in Whiterun will recognize you and half of them will want to run you out of town, not treat you like their Thane. It has to go.”
“Lydia, no, I need to keep this. It means…”
“It means what? You just said it yourself, Dardeh. It’s just hair. Now sit down and I’ll get you looking like a human being again.”
Roggi called up the stairs. “Better just do it, Dar. She’s pretty ferocious if she’s crossed.”
Lydia rolled her eyes and shouted back. “Stop eavesdropping, Roggi, or I’ll come cut your hair, too. It’s getting pretty long.”
“I’ll just be helping Lucia do some shopping, if you need me,” came floating back up the stairs, followed by the sound of the door shutting.
Dardeh chuckled, then sighed. What does this hair mean, after all? he thought. It means I didn’t save Storn, or the others. It means I took months to get to Miraak and didn’t even get to be the one to end him. Maybe it does need to go.
So he sat down in the chair and listened to Lydia tell him about all that had transpired in Whiterun since he’d been gone, and thought idly about what Roggi would look like without that long tail of blonde hair, and laughed at the stories of Lucia and her fox. He took special note of the tone of Lydia’s voice as she told him that she’d been spending time at Jorrvaskr, training with “a friend,” so as to be ready for any skirmishes that might erupt in the area.
A friend. I see. And at Jorrvaskr, no less. So she really wasn’t with Roggi after all. I shouldn’t be so excited about that but I am.
And as the stories told themselves, as the great coils of heavy Redguard hair dropped from the sides of his head and his beard was trimmed back to its normal, neat length, he felt lighter in spirit as well as in body. He was home.
After Lydia was done with him, and had swept up the cuttings, and he’d worked his remaining hair back into its tight rows of braids, he went to one of the chests near the door and pulled out a number of metal ingots and other smithing supplies.
“If Roggi comes back before I do, tell him I’m at Adrianne’s smithy. There’s something I need to work on. If he brings some supplies I’ll work on his things as well,” he told Lydia.
She smiled at him and gave him a genuine hug, and a peck on his cheek. “Thank you. You look like my Dardeh again,” she said. “Now don’t you dare go months between letters any more or I’ll have to show you how much I’ve improved with a greatsword.”
He smiled at her. “And you sound like my mother, Ellte. That is not a bad thing, mind you,” he added quickly as her eyes started to flash. “Thank you, Lydia. It really does feel better. And so do I.”
For the next few hours Dardeh sweat and pounded and shaped the ebony and leather he’d brought with him, just the way he had in his dream, until it felt right. The skies had long since gone dark by the time he finished with it. It was beautiful armor, gleaming black, and would protect him far better than anything he’d ever owned. It was the armor he’d worn when he spoke to Jine af-Avik beside the shrine of Talos.
He slipped it on to check the fit, and was adjusting straps when there was a whistle behind him. He turned to find Roggi standing with his arms crossed, head tilted to one side, nodding.
“Lydia told me you’d be here. Look at you. That’s really something. You look like …”
“Like what?”
“Like the Dragonborn,” Roggi said with a smile. “There’s something to be said for making your own armor. Speaking of which…” He slipped out of his cuirass and turned to work on it with a piece of metal, while Dardeh struggled to keep his mouth from gaping open at the sight of Roggi’s broad, pale, muscled back as he bent over the workbench.
The Dragonborn. And the Dragonborn’s best friend.
Maybe we’ll save the world after all, Roggi.