Roggi read the letter the courier had dropped off and sighed.
Well that’s too bad. It’s just as I suspected, but it’s too bad.
Outside, he could hear the regular beat of Dardeh’s wood chopping, a sound that had become the music of their lives on more days than not. He heard Lydia calling for the children, a muffled sound, but unmistakable; and he smiled.
They were married, he and Dardeh, but he knew without a shadow of a doubt that had there been any chance at all that Dardeh was interested, Lydia would have given herself to him without any hesitation. Even though there was no such chance – for Dardeh belonged to Roggi, and nobody else, and had told Lydia so gently but firmly – she was their friend, and she took her job as Dardeh’s housecarl very seriously. She was also mother to their two children, in an odd and untraditional way, and the girls loved her as much as she loved them.
He was right, Dardeh was. It’s a strange little family. But it’s ours, and we’re happy with it, and I suppose that’s all that matters. He listened again for a moment, and heard Dardeh chop at least three more logs. He reached up to smooth his beard and grinned again. That man surely can chop a lot of wood. It’s too bad there’s no mine close about that we could buy. I’d love to do some digging, too, just for the exercise.
He heard the water begin to leap about in the kettle and rose from his chair, going to the cook fire in order to pour it over the tea. He replaced the lid of the teapot to let the brew steep, and smiled again. It was one of the little rituals they’d already developed in their short marriage; whenever one of them was working outside, the other would make a pot of piping hot tea to call him back indoors when it was done. And Lydia always had some, too, if she was there.
Roggi looked down at the letter again. Nobody else looking at what it said would have had any idea what it meant because it was written in very carefully coded language, but Roggi could still understand every word. It had been more than a decade since he’d learned how to share information this way for the Stormcloaks; but he still maintained enough friends in dark corners to be able, if he was lucky, to find out things that others did not know. And one of those friends in the dark places had come through for him with confirmation of the things he thought he already had known.
So. It was something like two and a half years ago, and it was Ondolemar who was nearly killed by an assassin wearing a mask. They caught the guy and took him away to interrogate him. It wasn’t much later than that when I was in Markarth myself and stole the black mask.
He paced back and forth in the kitchen, thinking about it.
He should have died. If their interrogators got hold of him he should have died; those Thalmor bastards are the worst. I couldn’t come close to their methods, not even on my best days. But if I’m right, he didn’t die. He got away. I have no idea how he did it.
That would explain it though. If they beat him hard enough, and long enough, and all the other things they do – and if they got him in the head just right… Could that be enough to make a man lose his memories?
He sighed and checked the teapot. The water in it was turning a nice golden color.
Almost ready.
So let’s see. We have Vitus Perdeti, who took contracts nobody else could manage, in part because nobody knows what he looked like. Because he wore a mask that completely obscured his face. He disappeared something like two and a half years ago, at the same time a hit on Ondolemar failed in Markarth. I found a mask that completely obscures a person’s face, in Markarth, two and a half years ago. And I showed it to Andante not long ago and he nearly passed out.
It has to be. Andante is Vitus Perdeti. I can’t make it all fit any other way.
And that means that one of the best assassins of our times is also a vampire. A strong one. By Ysmir.
He walked to the door, opened it, and called out.
“Dar! Tea’s ready. Get the girls.”
“Ok, thanks Roggi!”
Roggi went back inside, rubbing his forehead.
Poor Brynjolf. How am I going to tell him this? My brother, you are with one of the worst criminals in Tamriel. He may love you, but you are not safe with him.
The door swung open and Dardeh came through it, smiling as he sniffed the air.
“You made my favorite. I can smell it from here.”
“Take off the grubby boots before you track bark all over the house, Dar. And yes, of course I did.”
Dardeh rolled his eyes. “Talos help me, I married a nag. Why didn’t you tell me you were like this, Roggi?” But as on every other late afternoon, Dardeh smiled and removed his boots, then padded across the floor barefoot and kissed his husband. “Hey, it must be courier day. Another one just came up a minute ago. A letter for you and one for me.”
Roggi frowned, and reached for the folded paper Dardeh held out to him. “Really? How strange. I wonder what…” He broke the seal on the message and flipped the page open to read a terse message: “We need to talk. – D.M.”
He glanced up from the paper to gaze at Dardeh. “Delvin. He wants to talk to me. Which is interesting because I also have something to share with him.”
Dardeh frowned. “Roggi…”
“And I intend to share it with you, too, Dar, but not when there’s even the slightest chance of being overheard. By anyone.”
The sound of children running across the wooden deck and up the steps toward the back of the house underscored his point, and he chuckled. “You see? What was your message?”
“Dragon.”
Roggi poured him a cup of tea and handed it to him. “Where?”
Dardeh grinned. “The Rift. So I guess we’re talking a trip together this time?”
“It would seem so, my love. And I will make sure you know what I know, just as soon as…”
The door crashed open and both Lucia and Sofie burst through, shrieking and giggling, followed by a slightly winded Lydia. “Girls, I told you to take off your shoes first!” she yelped at them as they disappeared into their bedroom. She sighed, coming into the house and closing the door behind her, then shaking her head.
“Tea, Lydia?” Roggi asked, not waiting for an answer but pouring her a cup.
She laughed. “Of course. Thanks Roggi.”
Dardeh took his tea and moved out of Roggi’s way, toward his favorite chair, and Roggi laughed silently. Bracing himself for the inevitable, that’s what he’s doing. Smart man.
“Um, Lydia,” Dardeh began.
She stopped in mid-sip and put the cup down, then turned to him and put her hands on her hips.
“Where is it this time, Dardeh?”
“Uh, what do you mean?”
Roggi laughed.
“Don’t laugh, Roggi! That only makes it worse!” Dardeh grumbled. He looked at Lydia, and sheepishly said “Riften area.”
Lydia turned to stare at Roggi. “And I suppose you’re going with him as well?”
Roggi chose that moment to take a sip of his own tea, nodding over the cup at her. It was the best way to keep from laughing out loud, he thought; but he couldn’t keep the corners of his mouth from curling up into a grin even as he swallowed the hot liquid.
“Of course I am, Lydia. Not that Dar couldn’t take out a dragon on his own but I feel better about it if I’m there too.”
Lydia sighed. “I know, and so do I, damn it all. Well that settles it. The girls and I will go to Whiterun while you’re gone.”
“That sounds good, Lydia,” Dardeh said, nodding.
“Give our best to the Jarl,” Roggi said quietly, moving toward the chair next to Dardeh. He didn’t get there immediately, though, because a sudden stinging pain caught him on the bottom. Lydia had twisted up a towel damp from his making tea, and had snapped him with it.
“Hey!” he yelped, as Dardeh started to laugh.
“Serves you right, Roggi,” he said through his chuckles.
“Don’t you be making assumptions about me, Roggi Knot-Beard,” Lydia said, hanging the towel up again and taking her teacup. “I still think that hair of yours is far too long and I could do a fine job of shortening it.”
“I’ll just be packing a few things,” Roggi said, making for the staircase, and turning to grin at Lydia as he got there. It’s a good thing the two of us get along but how Dar could ever have imagined there’d be anything more than that… We’d be at each other’s throats in no time at all. It was bad enough with Dag.
His smile faded as he reached the top of the stairs. I’ll bet that’s what Delvin wants to talk about. Dag. Without hesitating, he turned toward the alchemy table. Time to make a few choice poisons to take with us, I think. I’m not liking the way things are going.
“Oh Dag, what have you done?” he muttered as he pulled out several ingredients and got to work.
—-
It was dark by the time they were ready to go, but Dardeh decided that it was worth risking the trip through Falkreath Hold at night just to make good progress on their journey. Roggi had rounded up every cure disease potion they had and shoved them into his pack.
“The last thing we need is either of us to run afoul of wandering vampires. But at least if we do, we won’t be sick for very long.”
“Yes, that’s a good thing,” Dardeh agreed as they climbed toward the western gate of what had once been Helgen. “Now then, Roggi. You were going to tell me what’s going on.”
“Yes,” Roggi said, frowning. “It’s all getting so complicated, Dar, and all of it involves Andante. And the more that I find out, the worse it seems.”
“Just tell me, would you please?”
Roggi heard the edge creeping into Dardeh’s voice. “Sorry. I don’t mean to drag it out but I guess I’m just hoping that I’m wrong.”
“You haven’t been, very often.”
“Well, not since I met you, anyway.” Roggi smiled at his husband. “Before that I’d say I didn’t always show the best judgment. At any rate. The note that came at the same time as yours was from Delvin, like I told you. My guess is that he’s gotten some word back from Andante. And my guess is that Andante was right, that Sayma read the fake contract involving Nilheim and gave herself away. I don’t know why else he would want to see us. If we’d been wrong he could have sent a note saying that.”
He paused as they passed an Imperial soldier heading in the other direction.
“The Legion’s always looking for tough, reliable men. If you’re interested, our headquarters is in Solitude.”
Dardeh opened his mouth as if to say something, but Roggi put a hand on his arm to stop him, and shook his head.
“Thank you,” he said to the soldier, and continued walking. When the man was well out of earshot he turned to Dardeh. “Don’t even think about mentioning the fact that I was a Stormcloak, Dar. It was a very long time ago and this is Imperial territory now.” He poked Dardeh in the ribs. “Because of you, hothead. I’d have thought you would remember that.”
Dardeh sighed and ran a hand over his braid. “Yes, I know. I just can’t help thinking about that, Roggi. If I ever took a side in this mess you know it would be Ulfric’s.”
Roggi shot him a sharp glance. “What? Really?”
“Yes, and that’s what makes it so annoying. I wouldn’t be a Stormcloak for his sake. Not ever. I still would rather have taken him out back in Windhelm, I hate him that much. But I’m a Nord and Talos is important to me. I can’t side with the Empire.”
“I can’t say that I ever thought I’d hear such a thing from you, Dar.”
“Yes, well,” Dardeh grumbled as they pushed forward. “That’s why I won’t take a side. Ulfric gods-damned Stormcloak. And his poor attitudes about the Dunmer and everything else that has pointed ears. And Redguard. He’s a narrow-minded, bigoted…” He trailed off and tossed his hands into the air.
Roggi snickered. “Yeah, he is. I still wish I’d been there to see his face when you told him his Shouts were what all the beginners learned first.”
Dardeh chuckled. “It was a fine moment, sure enough. Now then. What was in Nilheim, Roggi?” Dardeh said quietly. “You never told me about that part of it.”
What was in Nilheim? Roggi stopped, looking at the man who had made him remember what it was like to be genuinely in love, and loved in return, and smiled to consider how differently life had turned out than he’d thought it would, when he was at Nilheim.
I don’t even know what to say about it. What was in Nilheim was one of the sweetest nights I ever passed, and a bundle of hopes, and the ghost of something else that might have been. What was in Nilheim was possibilities, for both me and Dagnell, that maybe life didn’t have to be so bleak and lonely after all.
I wouldn’t trade that night in Nilheim for anything. It’s as precious to me as all the nights with Briinda were, and all the nights with Dardeh have been since then. But those promises and hopes were false. It hurts that I’ve had to use them this way, to trap her into revealing herself.
I can’t tell Dardeh this.
“Well, my love,” he said slowly, “it was where Dag and I were first… “
“Together,” Dardeh said, frowning. “Must have been not long after I met you.” He was silent for a moment, but then smiled. “I understand why you had to use that, then. You’d have been the only two people there. It wouldn’t mean anything to anyone else.”
Roggi nodded. And you are the most wonderful and understanding man in the world.
“So,” he said, starting back up the path with Dardeh trailing behind, “if that’s what Delvin wants to see us about, and Dag really is Sayma Sendu, she’s the Listener of the Dark Brotherhood and we have a very treacherous path to tread.”
“I want to meet her, regardless,” Dardeh said flatly.
“I know you do. And I want to see her again, to see what has happened to her. And, Dar, I want Brynjolf to have his wife back.”
“Does he want her?”
Roggi pondered this question as they passed through the burnt bones of Helgen and past, toward the pass west of Ivarstead.
“He does. He says that he does, at least, and the last time I saw him I could feel that was the truth. But…”
“But?”
“But Andante.”
“Oh. And let me guess, that’s what the other note was about.”
Roggi glanced sideways at Dardeh. He won’t like this, I’m certain. “Well the last time I talked to Delvin I asked him if there was anything he could think of that might help us prove whether or not that mask belonged to Andante. What he had for me was that there was a botched hit in Markarth, a big one, about the same time as the assassin from Cyrodiil disappeared. So I, uh, got in touch with an old contact out there to see what he might tell me.”
Dardeh frowned at him. “Roggi.”
“I know, I know. But it was about the only thing I could do, and it got me some information. The hit was on the Thalmor Justiciar there, and it went sour. The prisoner was taken away for questioning. He was wearing black armor and a black hood with a mask that completely covered the face. They noticed it in particular because it was so terrifying.” He paused for a drink from his waterskin, and looked at Dardeh again. “That’s the mask I stole. Now, you know as well as I do what the Thalmor do to people who are being ‘questioned.’ You’ve seen some of their places. That prisoner should never have walked out of there alive but he did, and everyone but the target himself died.” He shook his head.
“So,” he said, holding up one finger, “nobody knew what the Man in the Mask looked like because of the mask.” He held up a second finger. “And only Ondolemar is left alive of the people who might have seen him. My personal thought is that Ondolemar didn’t get to see his face, otherwise he’d have had bounty hunters everywhere looking for the man. And,” he held up a third finger, “the only way the assassin could have walked out of there alive after Thalmor ‘questioning’ is if he was just about the best there was and could kill people without even thinking about it.”
“Even if they’d beaten his memories out of him,” Dardeh said.
“Exactly. And Andante almost passed out when he saw that mask on me. So you see where I’m going with this. It looks like it all adds up with the timing. I need to run it past Delvin and see what he thinks.”
Dardeh shook his head. “And if you’re right, Roggi, our brother is with a very dangerous man.”
Roggi nodded. “Who is also a vampire. Who also happens to really love Brynjolf.”
“Hmm. I wonder what lengths he’d go to, in order to keep Brynjolf with him.”
“That’s the question, right there.”
—-
The dragon was a small one, a blood dragon that had taken over the perch at Lost Tongue Overlook, a spot that was nearly as far south as a person could go in Skyrim. Dardeh and Roggi had been here before, removing a stronger dragon. This fight would have been easier to begin with; but between Dardeh’s Dragonrend Shout and his specialty sword, the fight took no time at all. Roggi found himself face-to-muzzle with the creature at one point, and by downing a potion of fire resistance was able to land a great many blows to its face before Dardeh finished it off.
Dardeh came out from behind the skeleton once he had absorbed the dragon’s power, and shook his head.
“Roggi, we’ve talked about this before. You get in too close. Some day I’m going to come around from behind one of these things and find you in its mouth.” He took Roggi’s hand and squeezed it. “And you know that would just about kill me, too, don’t you?”
Roggi nodded. “Yes I do. But I haven’t got anything to work with except this blade and I’ll be damned if you get to have all the fun, Dar.” He leaned over and kissed his husband. “Dar, I’m not going to leave you. I promised. And I’m going to keep my promise.”
He laughed as he started down the stairs. “At least not yet. At some point I’m going to be old and feeble and you’ll have to leave me behind.”
“Maybe by then Lucia can help me with the dragons.” Dardeh smiled. “Or maybe we’ll have gotten all of them by then.”
They were nearly halfway back to Riften when Roggi raised the issue again.
“Dar, have you changed your mind about Paarthurnax?”
“No, not really.” Dardeh shrugged. “I don’t know, Roggi. Look at all the odd things that have been happening around us. I thought the truce would hold, too, but…”
He went silent as the disc of the sun went black, two overpowering explosions rocked the trees around them, and darkness raced out to cover the sky.
“By Ysmir! Again!”
“Why does this keep happening, Roggi?”
“I don’t know but it’s not good. Who would want to make the sky dark like that?”
They stood silent for a moment, looking up at the sky in amazement and horror.
“A vampire?” Roggi said, finally.
“Talos help us,” Dardeh replied. He started walking again. “I don’t know what Delvin will have for us but our next stop after that is Winterhold. They’re the only people I can think of who might know what this means.”
“Right. This time I’m coming with you.”
___
Delvin insisted that they make their way to Honeyside before anything serious would be discussed.
“They’re not here? Still?” Roggi asked.
“No, but hold yourself together till we get to the house. There’s some things to say about that and I expect you’ll find them very interesting indeed.”
Delvin let them into Honeyside, and they settled themselves around the table.
“Whose house is this, exactly?” Dardeh said, looking around. “And do they mind that we’re always coming and going in it? You would think it belonged to the Guild itself.”
“Technically, it’s Dagnell’s house,” Delvin said. “And she’s technically the Guildmaster. But she left, so…”
“So it’s Brynjolf’s house,” Roggi continued. “Because he’s married to her. But he decided to give it to Andante to live in, so…”
“And none of them is actually living here right at the moment, so I have taken it upon myself to name it Guild property. Unofficially, of course,” Delvin grinned. “Oh I don’t know. Brynjolf and Andante stay here often enough. Bryn says he’s moved back to the Cistern but whenever they’re in town he’s over here doing who knows what with Andante.”
Dardeh coughed.
“I think we can guess,” Roggi said. “But anyway, Delvin, what’s going on?”
“Well. First off, Andante came to see me the last time they were here. He’s absolutely certain that Sayma Sendu, the Listener, is really Dag.”
Roggi whistled. “Really.”
“Really. He said when she read the part of the message about Nilheim she dropped the job on him like a hot potato. I’m sure he wouldn’t have made that up.”
Dardeh nodded. “Well then. I need to find a way to see her then. We both do.”
Roggi smiled at him. Thank you, Dar. You could have made this difficult but you didn’t.
“Now here’s the other thing,” Delvin continued. “I poked around the edges, while I had him in front of me. How long has it been that you’ve been in the Brotherhood, things like that. I’m sure he knew I was digging. But he said it’s been a bit over two years.”
“Which is just about the time…” Dardeh began.
“…that I found that mask,” Roggi finished.
Delvin raised one eyebrow.
“All right, Delvin. I stole the mask. Right out from under them. I’m a good thief, too. Happy now?”
“Exceedingly happy, Roggi. It’s good to know when you’re right about things, and I often am.” Delvin looked at Dardeh and grinned. “Just wanted to make sure you knew what you had here,” he said calmly.
“And he’s a nag, too, Delvin,” Dardeh said, nodding.
“Before I strangle you, Delvin, let me tell you this,” Roggi said with a smirk. He then went over all the information he’d gotten from the contact in Markarth, and all the conclusions he’d drawn from it; and the longer he spoke, the more vigorously Delvin nodded.
Roggi ran out of details to share, and it went silent for a moment.
“So you’re pretty certain that Andante is the Man in the Mask,” Delvin said.
“I am,” Roggi said. “Hang on one second.” He rose from his chair and disappeared down over the stairs.
“What’s he doing?” Delvin asked.
“No idea.”
A few moments later Roggi reappeared, holding a folded piece of black cloth. He waved it in the air. “It was still in the wardrobe. It’s the mask.”
“How do you know it’s the same one?” Dardeh asked him.
Roggi flipped the mask onto his head.
“By the Eight, Roggi, take that thing off,” Delvin said.
“What he said, Roggi. That’s… awful,” Dardeh added.
Roggi took the mask off, and slipped back into his chair. “I left it here the night I found out about Andante being a vam…” He stopped, and his eyes widened.
Dardeh sighed and ran a hand down his face. “Roggi…”
Delvin waved one hand in the air. “Yes, yes, he’s a vampire, and so is Bryn. I figured that out awhile ago. Bryn forgets to do his illusion spell sometimes. I’m pretty upset about it, too, but there’s not a damned thing I can do about it. At least he hasn’t tried to eat anyone in the Guild. Yet.” He shook his head. “So. We know that Dag is now Sayma Sendu and she’s the Listener of the Dark Brotherhood.”
“And we know – or at least we’re pretty close to sure – that Andante is…”
“Vitus Perdeti,” Delvin finished. “The Man in the Mask, an assassin from Bravil, the one who went missing around the same time as the botched job in Markarth, which was just about when Andante surfaced. And my contacts – the other ones, not Andante – tell me that Ondolemar, the Thalmor Justiciar, has a hired dog who’s been looking for him ever since he escaped.”
Dardeh’s mouth fell open. “Roggi, that means he did see Andante’s face! We were talking about this on the way here, Delvin.” Dardeh stood and began pacing the floor. “Oh this is bad.”
“Yes, it is,” Roggi said. They’re in trouble. Both of them. I don’t know how I feel about Andante but Bryn’s in trouble, and that’s very bad. He was staring at the table, trying to sort through all of the pieces of information, and found himself mumbling. “And then there’s the sun.”
“Yeah,” Delvin said. “That was the other thing I needed to tell you about. As you might imagine people are a bit fussed about this development. So I got in touch with my contact at the College.”
“Why doesn’t it surprise me that you have one of those,” Dardeh said dryly.
Delvin smirked. “One of the wizards. He’s been with us for years, since Gallus’ time, fencing stolen goods. He did some digging in the old books and such. Turns out there’s been a lot of interest in a thing called Auriel’s Bow lately, and one of the things it was supposed to be able to do is…”
“Turn the sun black,” Roggi said.
“Exactly. Well, it just so happens that there’s a group that’s been forming out in that old fort southeast of here, on the road to Morrowind.”
“The Dawnguard,” Dardeh said, nodding. “Annoying. Every time I move someone’s asking me to join it. Wouldn’t that be just the thing, they say, having the Dragonborn be a vampire hunter, too? No thanks.”
Delvin laughed. “Well… guess what group got its leaders wiped out not very long after the first time that sun thing happened?”
“No,” Roggi said.
“Yes. And guess who happened to be in town the day before it happened?”
Roggi looked at Dardeh, and then at Delvin. “Andante and Brynjolf.”
Delvin nodded. “It took me a bit to put the two and the other two together, but there it is.”
Roggi leaned over and put his head in his hands. “This is so bad. This is so, so bad.”
It was quiet for a moment, and then Dardeh’s deep voice broke the silence.
“We can’t let him keep obscuring the sun. It’s as bad as Miraak trying to grab Solstheim, Roggi. It’s almost as bad as Alduin devouring all those souls.”
“Do you know what you’re saying, Dar?”
“Yeah. I’m saying it’s bad. At least we don’t need to go to Winterhold anymore.”
“What do you have in mind?” Delvin asked. “It’s not as if you can ask the Dark Brotherhood to get him. He is Dark Brotherhood. And I’m fresh out of ideas and contacts at this point.” His voice dropped to a grumble. “Ever since Astrid died I’ve lost that little bit of pull. I suppose if we can get Dag back…” He smacked the table. “Can you believe it? Guildmaster and Listener? Why in the world would she disappear like that, the little minx? What a sweet setup, and she ditched it.”
“No idea, Delvin,” Roggi murmured. Unless it was because of me. It might have been because of me. I have to find her. It’s the only way I can make it up to anybody.
“Well,” Delvin said, pushing himself away from the table, “I’ve got to get back down to the Flagon. Like it or not I’m more or less in charge right now. I’d like it to be less, but mostly it’s more. Stay here tonight, you two. Nobody else is using the place.”
He made his way to the door and then stopped, chuckling. “Unless Bryn and Andante show up tonight, in which case you’ll have a nice, cozy…”
“Delvin!” Roggi yelped. “Really.”
“Night. Let me know if I need to do anything more. It would be good if we could get Dag back. No matter what she did. The place is still better than it was for years and it’s all her doing.” He waved and left.
Roggi threw his legs out in front of him and leaned back in the chair, running both hands over his head. “Damn it, Dardeh. Damn it. This is so bad.”
Dardeh’s voice behind him was deep and solemn.
“You know this can’t go on, don’t you?”
“No, it can’t. And we have to get to him, somehow, before the bounty hunters do, or someone else is going to get hurt along with him.”
“Like Brynjolf.”
“Bryn, or Dagnell, or anyone at all in their way. You know how those people are, Dar – they won’t care if there’s collateral damage.”
“Maybe we should get Ulfric out there somehow. Stand in the way of things. You never know what might happen.”
In spite of himself, Roggi snickered. “You hate him more than I do. How is that even possible?”
Dardeh came up behind Roggi and took one of his hands, gave it a squeeze. “He hurt you, Roggi, that’s how.” He dropped Roggi’s hand and came around to slip back into his chair again. “That, and he’s an ass.”
“That’s the truth.” Roggi straighted up again. “But Andante. What can we do? Are you saying that we need to take him out? By Ysmir, Dar. He loves Brynjolf.”
Dardeh sighed. “And does Brynjolf love him?”
Roggi stared at Dardeh. It never even occurred to me to wonder that.
“I… don’t know.”