“Ow!”
Sayma winced and rubbed the heel of her hand down the hard lump that was rolling around just under her ribs. It had been a particularly sharp pain, that time.
“Are you alright, lass?”
Brynjolf straightened from where he’d been leaning against the railing, and studied Sayma’s face. His expression was gentle, full of concern. She smiled.
He’s been so wonderful through all of this so far. I never would have expected it, really. I guess Roggi was right about him. All he ever really wanted was a family of his own.
“Yes, Red. I’m fine. She’s just stretching, the little imp. It’s been about this time every night, lately. I’m getting ready to settle and she starts dancing. I swear that foot of hers was trying to dislodge my ribs. It hurts, but only for a second or two.”
“Good. I know you’ve done this before, but it’s all new to me.” He laid his hand on her belly; her heart rose up in her throat to see his green eyes sparkle as the child wiggled beneath his warm touch. He leaned down and spoke quietly. “Calm down, little lass.” The baby, as usual, responded to the sound of his voice by quieting her wild dancing.
She knows her daddy.
Why was I ever afraid of him enough to run away?
He straightened, then leaned back onto the porch railing and smiled out at the warm night.
“Listen,” she said. “I need to make a run to Dawnstar. One more before I’m too big to move easily. And there’s a little job in Solitude I promised Vex I’d do, since I haven’t done anything for the Guild in awhile.”
I also have a contract to fulfill in Rorikstead, but we don’t need to get into that. I really should have assigned it to one of the new ones, but it’s going to be a tricky one.
It wasn’t that the kill itself was particularly difficult – a merchant who had shortchanged one customer too many – but the fact that Rorikstead was so open and so sparsely populated that would make it a challenge. She’d taken the job herself because of all of them she was the one member of the Dark Brotherhood who could vanish completely, long enough to do such a thing. And she’d nearly waited too long. The child was growing heavier by the day. It would be a good while yet, but she wanted to take care of her obligations before she got unwieldy.
“Alright,” he said, frowning slightly. “I don’t like it, but I know you need to go. I’ll get Thrynn first thing in the morning.”
She shook her head. “No. I’m going by myself. Thrynn is too clingy, and I can’t take him into the Sanctuary. He gets nosey when I make him stay behind and then disappear for several hours. Too many questions when I come back.”
Brynjolf harrumphed. “It’s not as though we don’t work together, Sayma. I’ve been in the Sanctuary…”
“But Thrynn isn’t the Guildmaster, and it was an emergency, that day. Both Babette and Nazir think I was really pushing boundaries as it was, having not one but three of you step inside.” She shook her head. “I may be Listener, but I’m not the senior member. It’s a wonder Cicero didn’t throw a tantrum having strangers near the Night Mother.”
“It was my impression that he was very upset about losing Vitus.”
“Yes, but what goes on in his mind is something of a mystery to everyone. The others were willing to accept you, Dar, and Roggi being there because they trust me. Gods know why. But I can’t push it any further.”
“Alright. I understand. I can’t talk you out of going alone, then.”
“No. But I’ll be fine. Shadowmere is fast, and strong. And you know I can take care of myself.”
He cupped her face with his hand for a moment and then leaned in for a quick kiss. “Yes. Go ahead, then. But if the least thing threatens I want you to bolt for a safe place, lass. You know who to contact.” He ran a hand over his chin for a moment. “If you’re going to be in Solitude, look in on Gulum-Ei for me. I’m a bit worried about how business is going, even after having Ulfric look into things.”
Sayma’s mouth fell open. “What did you just say?”
Brynjolf sighed. “I forgot to tell you, didn’t I.”
Sayma couldn’t help grinning at him. Some habits were terribly hard to break, and secrecy was second nature to Brynjolf. He filled her in on how he’d met Frina while travelling with Roggi, and then much later convinced her to speak to Ulfric about looking into the problem with pirates interrupting shipping.
“I didn’t have a chance to follow up with her the last time I saw her, because she was here with Ulfric, getting married. And now that Maven isn’t Jarl anymore… well, I want to make sure we’ve got connections back in order.”
Sayma snorted. “Maven is, and always has been, a thorn in my side.”
Brynjolf frowned. “Mine too, at the moment. I’m beginning to think there are things she hasn’t been telling us. It may be time for us to work out some – alternate arrangements. And it’s possible that we have even better contacts in Windhelm than we knew.”
The implications of that statement had Sayma’s mind whirling. Could it be that he’s finally getting tired of being Maven’s hired thug? Finally?
“I’ll be certain to check on him. And I’ll slip in the back of the warehouse, too, and see whether he’s been holding out on us again.”
Brynjolf nodded. “I don’t think he has. Shipping was disrupted for too long, and I suspect that Maven had something to do with it. If he’s sitting on a mountain of wealth, then I’ll have to rethink my suspicions.”
The door behind them opened, and Iona stuck her head out. “I’m heading off to bed now. Young Bryn has finally gone to sleep. He misses his cousins, I think.”
Sayma turned and smiled at her. “Thanks, Iona. And yeah, you’re probably right. The two of us are not exactly exciting company.”
She listened to Iona cross the house and leave by the back door, then turned to smile at her husband. “I think it’s bedtime for me, too. I’ll need to leave at first light, if not sooner.”
Brynjolf grinned at her, and took her by the hand. “Alright then.”
___
Dardeh looked around in confusion. They’d descended into Helgen Keep to look for Korst, and hadn’t found him so far. Now he and Roggi were in a familiar space. The caged-in corner with the bar was still there; the raised area on the opposite side of the room was still there. But where there had been three individual cells in a line, next to a bloody rack, now there was a row of cots. Where there had been a hanging cage, now there was a torch sconce against the wall. He shook his head.
“What is it?” Roggi asked him.
“This used to be a torture chamber. It’s one of the places I remember most clearly from the day Alduin came, because it turned my stomach.”
“Huh.” Roggi looked around and shrugged. “Well it’s not any more. I would think that would please you.” He tossed Dardeh a smile.
“Yes. I’m glad to see it cleaned up and put to good use. It’s just an odd feeling, given everything that’s happened since then. I never would have expected to meet someone who… used such a place.”
“To say nothing of marrying him.” Roggi grinned at him.
Dardeh opened his mouth to formulate a reply but was, happily, interrupted by a heavy voice calling from the upper doorway. They both looked up to see Korst enter the room.
“I heard you were looking for me.”
“Yes. We took care of the necromancers. Brittleshin is clear now. What’s next?”
Korst nodded. “Good to hear. Now let me check…” He pulled out his list again and crossed the completed task off. “Ah yes. The bandit leader who formerly occupied this fort is not happy that we killed his people and took over Helgen. He is trying to regroup his forces near Pinewatch, and they have dug out the old mine there. They are making weapons and preparing to attack us and take Helgen back for themselves. See what you can find and report back to me. And take Herd with you.”
They returned to the yard, where Balfring pointed out a man in a helmet that covered his entire face. Dardeh approached and verified that he was Herd.
“Come with me. Korst says it’s time to get you into the field.”
“Right away! I can’t wait to show you what I can do.” His voice was that of a young man – potentially very young indeed. Dardeh exchanged a quick glance with Roggi but couldn’t read anything from his expression. “But…uh… where are we going?”
“We’re going bandit hunting. It seems the former occupants are preparing to take this place back. We’re to cut them off before they have a chance.”
Herd nodded. “Bandits have neither courage nor honor. I will give them a coward’s death.” Roggi made a satisfied noise and nodded at the man.
Yeah. I can’t imagine he’s too bothered about taking out bandits, himself.
It wasn’t too far from Pinewatch when Dardeh realized one of the major issues in having a companion wearing a helm that covered his entire face. Just down the slope from them were two patrols – one of them Imperial soldiers – in a pitched battle. Two of the Stormcloak there were also wearing full helms, and Dardeh panicked as Herd and Roggi raced to join them.
He can get hurt right in front of me and I won’t even know it’s him!
Several of the Imperials broke away from the center of the skirmish. Dardeh aimed carefully and Shouted them down, the flames knocking them back and injuring them enough that he was able to finish them off easily. He heard Roggi growling behind him, and swung around in time to see him take his foe down. Herd, at the same time, planted his feet, raised his hammer over his head, rose up to his toes and then used gravity, all of his weight, and the momentum of his swing to shatter the skull of the last Imperial standing.
Roggi whistled appreciatively. “Well done. That’s quite a swing you’ve got there.”
Herd nodded. “Thanks. I hate bandits.”
Roggi chuckled. “I’m with you there.”
Dardeh looked at the carnage and frowned. “I don’t know why we’re still getting Imperial patrols. Don’t they know they lost?”
“Maybe not,” Roggi said quietly. “I mean, the bandits aren’t giving up either, are they. They’ve all put too much into this to just walk away from it, same as any of us.”
“I suppose so.” Dardeh started up the path that led to Pinewatch’s front door and then stopped. “Wait, didn’t Korst say something about a mine? This doesn’t look like a mine.”
“No, but that does,” Roggi said, pointing back across the road.
There was a short stone cairn marking the entrance to a well-worn and recently-used path into the hills. Dardeh approached the path, slowing and dropping into a crouch when he heard the familiar sound of a hammer striking an anvil. He looked back at Herd and nodded, drawing his swords and pointing forward. He didn’t get a chance to direct their progress further.
Roggi suddenly darted up the hill alongside the path with his sword high, howling rage in a way that sent chills up Dardeh’s spine. The shouting of unfamiliar voices said that the battle was joined. Dardeh rounded the outcropping of rock behind which Roggi had disappeared just in time to watch him rip his sword from a bandit’s body and then head for an archer uphill from them.
Herd grunted from behind Dardeh, who spun to see that he’d been waylaid by two other bandits back near the road. An ice spike zipped past Dardeh’s head, cast by a bandit mage uphill from him. Dardeh hesitated for a moment wondering which way to go, then growled and ran to help Herd finish the two bandits. Once they were down Herd made for the mage. Dardeh followed, but then veered off the path to the left as an archer joined the fray from above them both. He ran back up the grassy incline where Roggi had gone and headed for the archer, who stood with his bow drawn, taunting. Two other bandits were behind the archer, the slope hiding all but their heads from Dardeh’s vision.
“YOL– TOOR SHUL!”
The archer died almost instantly; and while Dardeh had expected that, he still ran to the man’s corpse to be certain. Across an open gap, he could see the door to the mine and the two additional bandits he’d glimpsed, both furiously trying to pat out smoldering spots in their clothing. The sound of battle off to his right had Dardeh swiveling to look. He gasped in surprise to see a fully equipped encampment there, with four tents and a nearly-complete smithing setup. In the middle of it was Herd, fighting a female bandit. Dardeh stepped up behind her, intending to help finish the battle, but she fell dead just as Roggi hurtled past both of them, screaming.
“You should have stayed in your precious forest, Elf!”
The ugliness of the sound took Dardeh’s breath away for a moment. Only the sight of Herd rushing to Roggi’s aid got his limbs moving again. He watched as Roggi viciously finished the Bosmer archer – one of the two people Dardeh’s Shout had burned – and Herd killed the other bandit.
“That’s the end of that.”
Roggi sounded perfectly normal now, but Dardeh was still distressed and was certain his face must betray that. Roggi glanced at him, cocked his head to the side, and frowned slightly.
“What is it?”
“Where did that come from, Roggi? That thing about the Bosmer.”
Roggi flushed for a moment. “I was angry.”
“Yes, but why that? You’ve never been…” Dardeh trailed off, not quite knowing what to say.
“What have I never been this time, Dar?” The edge in his voice made Dardeh flinch. The steel in his gaze was even worse. Dardeh felt his temper flare; and before he could stop himself he blurted out what was on his mind.
“You’ve never been an outright racist, Roggi. You’re the one who always said he was angry at the way Ulfric failed to rein in the abuse against the Dunmer. Was that all just a story?”
Roggi grimaced, and the color in his cheeks deepened. He opened his mouth as if to respond and then shut it and turned away. Herd backed away from them and began checking the pockets of the dead bandits.
He’s annoyed at me for calling him out, but he’s angrier at himself because I was right.
Dardeh was trying to figure out how to defuse the situation when Roggi turned back to him. His color was still high, but his expression told Dardeh that he’d been right in his assessment of the situation. He spoke very quietly, almost under his breath.
“I’m sorry, Dar. That really was beneath me. It’s just that I hate bandits so much for what they did to us. Still. After all these years. And I guess you never really lose what you heard when you were a kid.”
Dardeh sighed. “Yeah, I know. You just surprised me, Roggi. For a second I wasn’t sure who was in front of me. It’s ok.”
Roggi shook his head. “No, it isn’t. I need to move on. I really do. Apparently I haven’t.” He looked around at the remains of the battle and one side of his mouth rose. “But we really did take care of them. I hope most of them were out here and not in the mine.”
“Well, let’s go find out.”
It was a pretty standard-looking mine, to Dardeh’s eye: well-constructed with plenty of support timbers. A main passage had down-sloping branches to either side. He saw a few areas of iron poking out from the walls; a tug on his arm and a point from Roggi showed him the corundum vein about halfway down the main tunnel. They grinned at each other.
Nothing like two miners scoping out a new mine.
A tap on the shoulder from behind him, and another hand pointing, caught Dardeh’s attention. Herd had spotted a bandit standing in the tunnel’s second intersection. He hadn’t seen them yet, and they hadn’t made enough noise to alert him to their presence. Dardeh was closest to him, though; he pulled out his bow and took the man down with a single arrow. The three of them moved quietly – or at least as quietly as Dardeh was able to move – toward his body.
To the right of that intersection was a large pit mine, well-constructed with a wide wooden ramp leading down. A movement above him and to his left caught Dardeh’s attention. There was a ledge there, with a woman sitting at table, a chest and a cage door behind her. He fired one arrow at her and, as she moaned and tried to rise, a second that killed her. The noise alerted another bandit partway down the ramp into the pit; Dardeh swiveled and fired a single arrow that took her directly in the heart.
Herd went down into the pit to investigate, and came back up shaking his head.
“No exits down there. I’m not sure how we get to that ledge.”
“Back to the first intersection, then,” Roggi whispered. “I thought I heard noise down there.”
The passage that had been on their left coming in was in fact a very tall one, evidence that this mine had been worked for a long time. About halfway down its length, a rope bridge crossed the tunnel; and in the center of it stood a bandit. Dardeh didn’t think; he simply drew his bow and killed the man with one well-placed arrow. The body toppled over the rope railing, thudding onto the rock beneath.
They pushed forward into the passage. Dardeh was focusing on the structures at its far end, watching for enemies, when a bandit ran past him heading for Herd.
How did he miss me? How did I miss him, for that matter?
He pulled his swords and reached the man just as he was engaging Herd. Between Dardeh and Herd it took only a moment for him to fall; but the sounds of their battle had alerted the bandits Dardeh had been worried about, farther down the tunnel. Roggi ran toward them and Herd followed, with Dardeh trailing behind.
“You’re a disgrace to your own kind!” Roggi howled at the man he fought. Herd, on the other hand, was an uncommonly quiet fighter. Dardeh watched him run ahead swinging a war pick to engage and defeat the second bandit, a woman.
This area was where the smelter was located. While Dardeh admired the cleverness of hiding the operation inside, a part of him wondered how hot it must make the mine when things were busy. Passing the smelter, he nearly stumbled into a narrow, descending tunnel just beyond it. There was a caged storage room at the bottom, with a man standing inside examining the items, perhaps taking an inventory.
“You’ll be so much easier to rob when you’re dead!”
Dardeh wasn’t sure where the voice came from. All he knew was that the man in the cage turned and locked gazes with him. Without thinking, he Shouted; a huge ball of flame encompassed the entire chamber and when it dissipated, the man lay dead on the floor. He wanted to investigate the room but didn’t get a chance, for two women attacked from another descending tunnel to Dardeh’s left. He drew his swords.
The tunnel’s rough and very narrow construction made it a natural choke point. The first bandit fell to a series of three quick attacks. The second had a massive warhammer; its length and her momentum let her clip Dardeh in the shoulder. He stepped back, yelping with the pain and worrying as she lifted the hammer again how he was going to get free of her; but Roggi squeezed into the space beside him and blocked the hammer with his sword. Dardeh winced at the sound of the collision and the nearly visible shock wave running up Roggi’s arms, even as he healed his own damage. Roggi grunted, but kept pushing the bandit back. A plume of frost, cast by an ice mage in the space beyond the narrow tunnel, drifted toward them but didn’t quite reach its target.
Herd shouted. Dardeh whirled to discover that a bandit in steel plate had come up behind them from the other side of the loot cage. Herd had the battle well in hand, so Dardeh turned his attention back toward the ice mage; but he was nearly knocked down by Roggi, who had dispatched the woman with the warhammer and then pushed his way through the small area to attack Herd’s opponent.
“You’ll need to do better than that!” he screamed.
It was total chaos in such a small hallway. Dardeh knew he was going to have to deal with the mage, so he took a moment to find a resist frost potion in his pack, downing it.
For once I’m going to be semi-prepared.
He started down the tunnel and then howled. The mage before him also had shock magic and used it, leaving Dardeh gasping, his muscles screaming in pain and refusing to respond. He retreated into the small vestibule and began healing himself; the other two men ran down the tunnel to engage the mage. Dardeh looked on in awe as they worked like a well-trained team, circling and dodging, attacking during her moments of distraction, wearing her down until Herd brought his pick down into her skull for the killing blow.
“Well there. That’s that,” Roggi said.
“Are you sure you two haven’t worked together before?” Dardeh said as he entered what turned out to be a small bedroom area. “That was impressive.”
Herd chuckled. “No, I’m just used to watching the other guy move when I fight in a group. I picked up on Roggi’s patterns and just filled in the gaps. And she didn’t see any of it coming. No wonder she’s stuck way back in the mine. Cast a spell? Sure. Fight in a real battle?” He made a rude noise.
Dardeh looked around. It was very quiet now.
“I don’t think that’s all there is, though.”
Herd shook his head. “No. Back by the cage. There’s a ramp that goes up on the other side. I think it leads out to that rope bridge.”
“Maybe that’s how they get to that ledge that overlooks the entrance,” Roggi murmured.
Dardeh nodded. “Ok, let’s go find out. I’ll lead. If nothing else I can draw fire.”
The passage did, in fact, lead to the rope bridge. As he reached its halfway point, Dardeh heard a man with a Colovian accent scream about him getting lost. He looked around – and up – just in time to avoid colliding with a woman in steel plate. As he reached for his swords, Roggi once again moved up beside him and took her down with one massive stroke. Once again, a quiet corner of Dardeh’s mind marveled at both the strength of the dragonbone sword and the strength of the man wielding it. Behind them, Herd had taken on the Colovian and was having no trouble beating him down; Roggi ran back to assist him anyway.
Once more, sound and motion above him caught Dardeh’s attention. On a ledge at the top of the ramp, a Khajiit mage was starting down toward him. The area was free and clear. Dardeh grinned, leaned forward, and Shouted. This time his fireball mostly missed its target; but the Khajiit had pitifully poor armor, and the scorching it took was enough to give Dardeh the advantage. The mage never even got a spell going before Dardeh’s double-edged sword took him down.
Dardeh heard a commotion behind him and turned just in time to see Roggi and Herd finish off the last bandit and her dog, who had snuck up behind all of them from across the bridge. Herd, once more, landed the killing blow on this bandit, the chieftain judging by her armor and the large amount of gold she carried.
“Well done!” he told them as he rejoined them. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Yeah. Get the loot. And we should remember to tell the others about all the veins in here. You saw them too, didn’t you, Dar?”
“Sure did. I’m sure they’re going to need metal for the new construction.”
“Thanks for letting me tag along,” Herd said.
“Are you kidding?” Dardeh laughed. “You got half of the best kills. I should be thanking you for letting me tag along, both of you.”
___
The assignment in Rorikstead took no time at all. As Sayma had expected, between a potion of brief invisibility and her Nightingale powers it was simple to complete the contract, slip out of Rorikstead to the north and find the ever-patient Shadowmere waiting for her. She had to laugh, though, as she pulled herself up into his saddle.
Not quite as easy getting up there these days. I must be an idiot to come out here on my own.
But Bryn would never let me live it down if I admitted that. I can hear it now.
They made their way north, bypassing Robber’s Gorge. It looked to her as though someone had chased the bandits out recently, but she didn’t want to get close enough to test her luck. There was a heavy fog settling in over the river valleys, limiting visibility; so she was grateful for Shadowmere’s sure-footedness to guide their way. She stopped just south of Dragon Bridge to eat a meal, and was happily settling in for the final push to Solitude when things went sideways.
It started with an odd sound just on the periphery of her hearing, barely making an impression on her consciousness. It was hollow, and distant, and yet somehow filled the sky. She looked around, but didn’t see anything unusual.
As they passed Dragon Bridge’s inn and started up the long rise out of town, she heard it again. This time it was much closer; and she frowned.
I know this. This can’t really be happening, can it?
Only a few moments later a huge, iridescent shape roared directly over her head. Without knowing exactly how she got there she found herself on the ground, crouching behind a tree.
Gods damn! A dragon!
In her terror Sayma found her mind back atop a hillside in the Rift, when a great green dragon had vaulted into the sky right in front of her. She started shaking, the same way she had on that day so long before.
Where’s Dar? I need Dar! And Roggi! I can’t kill this thing by myself!
The huge beast landed in the road just downhill from Shadowmere and began fighting with a contingent of Stormcloaks who poured out from somewhere nearby. She could hear them taunting it, and watched as bloody patches began to appear on its wings from their attacks. It roared in fury and rose into the air again, circling around to strafe the soldiers.
She suddenly – and unexpectedly – found an almost otherworldly calm settle over her. She straightened up from the crouch she’d assumed and pulled out her bow, walking toward the dragon at first and then breaking into as much of a trot as she could manage carrying the child. The dragon crashed to the roadway once more; Sayma pulled out one of her best arrows, took aim, and let it fly. She saw it sink into the creature’s neck and saw it flinch backward.
I can do this.
I killed the Emperor of Tamriel in his cabin. I can at least help kill this dragon!
She lost track of time, then, as she and the soldiers battled the creature down the hill, ever closer to Dragon Bridge. It would rise into the sky, attack them, and then settle to the ground again; and yet, weirdly, it never once aimed its breath attack at her, seemingly ignoring arrow after arrow to focus instead on the Stormcloaks.
Finally it was injured enough that it landed in the center of the town, unable to fly. Citizens ran for the inn, or the now-empty Penitus Oculatus barracks, or even the lumber mill, desperate to get under any cover they could find. Sayma crossed over the road just below the inn and stood on its lawn, firing again and again, while soldiers slashed and prodded and beat on it just below her.
It’s beautiful, she thought as she slowly drew her swords. It’s much more beautiful than the one I killed with Dar and Roggi. And it needs to die. She hopped down off the ledge just as one of the soldiers drove his sword deep into the creature’s neck. It jerked backward and then fell forward, dead.
And then it started to burn.
Sayma, and all the soldiers around her, drew back from it, scrambling to get out of the way of its heat. People exclaimed, wondering what was happening. Sayma said nothing, but she began searching the area for Dardeh. It was the same thing that had happened when they’d fought the silver dragon in Falkreath; she knew he had to be near. As the last of the dragon’s flesh was consumed, there was the muffled sound she remembered having heard before, and the bright energies of the dragon’s soul rushing about the area. It got brighter and brighter in front of her, and she closed her eyes and cringed away from it and its overwhelming heat until she could sense that everything had ended.
“Dar?” She opened her eyes and walked closer to the creature’s skeleton, bare of flesh and blocking most of the road. “Dardeh, where are you?”
“Dardeh’s not here, ma’am,” came a voice from nearby. She turned to see one of the Stormcloaks shaking his head at her. “I haven’t seen him in the area since we took Solitude. I think he and his husband went back home to Falkreath.”
“But he has to be here. The dragon…”
She turned and stared again, numbly, at the skeleton. As the implications of what had happened registered, she turned desperately cold, shaking in spite of the flames that had burned in front of her just moments before.
The dragon was dead. Its soul had been taken.
And she was the one who had taken it.
She sank to her knees and began shaking once again.