Dardeh was worried about Roggi.
He had returned from Riften in a carriage. That at least had been a good idea, in Dardeh’s mind. Roggi, though, was very quiet and subdued, and Dardeh wondered what had happened besides the obvious trappings of a wedding.
“They’re married safely?”
“Yeah,” Roggi had told him, nodding. “It was kind of hard to watch, truly, but…”
Dardeh had given him a long hug. “I’m sorry.”
Roggi had smiled down at him. “No need to be sorry, Dar. You should have seen her. She was gorgeous.” He described the red dress Frina had been married in and how everything had looked. “She reminded me way too much of Briinda, and that was hard to take. She’s really happy, though.” He shook his head. “I hope it’ll be ok. While you were with Sayma in Hammerfell I tried to hint that she shouldn’t get too involved with Ulfric but obviously that didn’t work.”
“Yeah. It was pretty obvious right from the start that she had eyes for him. When you’re in love with someone you’re in love with him, no matter what anyone else has to say about it.” Dardeh leaned forward and gave him a quick kiss. That seemed to bring back the light in Roggi’s eyes a bit.
“I hope they’ll be happy. I did have an interesting little talk with Ulfric, though.” Roggi looked him in the eyes, and as he had done so often Dardeh almost jumped at the darkness in Roggi’s expression.
“Oh?”
Roggi smirked, and a cold shiver ran down Dardeh’s back. “Yeah. He knows that I’ll be watching and he’d better not do anything to hurt her.”
The look of satisfaction on Roggi’s face made Dardeh sigh. I wonder if we’ll ever be truly free of our demons, either one of us. At least we have something to do that should take his mind off that.
“Well, rest a little bit, love. Then we need to head into town. That Marcus Jannus fellow is waiting for us to come see him at the inn in Falkreath. We might as well go. I need something to do beside chop wood, Roggi, and now that the war is done…”
Roggi nodded. “I understand, but I don’t think it really is, Dar. We are just getting a break.” He grabbed Dardeh’s hands and squeezed them. “I don’t need a rest. Let’s go right now.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah. Let’s go.”
___
At Dead Man’s Drink, Valga Vinicia directed them to the largest of the rooms when Dardeh asked about a visitor who’d been asking for him. When Dardeh poked his head into the room he turned, raising his eyebrows. He was an older man, mostly gray behind a receding hairline. His forehead was heavily lined; his eyes betrayed intelligence and wariness. It looked to Dardeh as though the years had been reasonably good to this man’s purse, at least judging by his clothing.
“You’re Marcus Jannus, yes? I’m Dardeh. You sent a messenger to look for me.”
“Oh bless the Divines you came! Well met, and welcome. We have much to discuss. Will you tell me what happened at Helgen?”
Dardeh grimaced. “It’s odd to have someone ask about this after all this time; but I still remember every second of that day. The Imperials captured a Stormcloak patrol led by Ulfric Stormcloak himself, and took me and a horse thief at the border. Slapped all of us into carts and drove us down from Pale Pass to Helgen, and I still don’t understand exactly how that came about. Someone sold Ulfric out. I don’t know who.” He shook his head. “Anyway. I actually had my head on the chopping block when Alduin attacked. It was that close. And then the flames.” He shuddered. “It was ugly. He pretty much destroyed the town.”
Jannus frowned.
“Did you see if anyone else made it out of there? Where are the families, the children?”
“Ulfric made it out, of course, as did General Tullius and Thalmor Ambassador Elenwen, as well as a couple of soldiers that I’m personally aware of. But that was about all, I’m afraid. I slipped back into town the following day to find something they’d taken from me and… there were a lot of bodies.”
Jannus’ shoulders dropped, as did the hopeful smile he’d had on his face.
“Then it’s as I feared. My brother and his family, lost. Gods damn it all. I had hoped for better news.”
Dardeh racked his brain for anything that might be remotely positive to say about the dragon attack. There really wasn’t much.
“I did see one couple wandering the road a while after the catastrophe; but frankly, even if your family did survive the dragon attack the bandits probably got them. They’ve been in there every time I’ve passed the place since, and it’s been a long time now. So much has happened since then. I’m really sorry I haven’t anything more hopeful to offer.”
“Yes, I’ve heard the fort is full of them,” Jannus said, nodding. “But appearances can also be deceiving. If I am right, these are no ‘bandits’ at all. I have it on good authority there is a man known only as ‘Val’ inside the keep. He’s the leader of a small group of – mercenaries, for lack of a better term. Their aim is to kill Thalmor wherever they’re found. That they’ve come out of hiding is beyond mysterious. They’re insurrectionists. A resistance movement, if you will.”
Roggi had been quietly standing in the doorway, listening to their conversation. When he spoke up, Dardeh felt a shudder run up his back, for he spoke in the voice of the Inquisitor, one that completely lacked its usual warmth.
“Insurrectionists, eh? And you say that you know this man?”
Jannus apparently also heard the dangerous edge in Roggi’s voice, for he frowned as he turned toward him.
“I do. His name is Valerius Tiberius Artoria. We served together as Captains in the Imperial Legion during the Great War. He was a good man in those days. An honorable man. Then the Aldmeri invaded and murdered his wife, son and daughter in cold blood.”
“What? They murdered his family?” Dardeh was appalled.
Jannus nodded. “They marched them down the streets of the Imperial City and tortured them until they were dead, right in front of the Imperial Palace itself. They said ‘Let it be known that any family members of Imperial officers found anywhere else in the province will receive a similar fate.’”
Dardeh watched Roggi shaking his head, staring at the floor. His jaw was visibly tight. Jannus had no way to know Roggi’s background. And of course Roggi knew altogether too well how much most people hated torturers and wasn’t about to reveal his own status as one. Jannus, fortunately, didn’t appear to notice his discomfort.
“There were many such atrocities committed by those wretched maggots within those walls, and even more unspeakable tragedies in the rest of Cyrodiil. We were under orders to flee the city for Skyrim when they invaded. We left our people and our families defenseless. Most did not survive. The few that did make it out of there were scattered as refugees throughout the rest of the Province. The plan was to regroup here in Skyrim, rest and resupply our forces, and return to the Imperial City to retake it. That took almost a year. Surely you know the history?”
“Only vaguely. What happened to the city?”
Jannus shrugged. “When we finally returned to the city there wasn’t much left. We split our forces and I led the charge from the southern Waterfront District, while Valerius attacked from the west. ‘March right down to the main gate and knock on the door,’ he said! The man had guts, that’s for sure. After we retook the city, though, he started to change. He knew his family was gone, but when he learned they were tortured in the streets…”
Jannus slashed his hands through the air in a frustrated gesture. “He went mad and vowed to avenge their deaths. He started conducting covert operations that were unknown even to me, his closest friend. He took a handful of his most loyal men and began assassinating Aldmeri officers and diplomats wherever he could find them.”
“Huh,” Roggi muttered. He was frowning, seemingly staring off into the distance.
“What, Roggi?”
“I wonder if that’s where Perdeti got that last contract of his.”
“For Ondolemar?”
“Yeah. I knew there were people desperately dedicated to taking out the Thalmor, both inside the various military groups and outside them. It would make sense that someone would have contacted the Man in the Mask.” His voice was quiet, contemplative. “Not that it matters, but it’s interesting.”
“I wouldn’t know,” Jannus said. “Valerius did some of the killings himself, and got his men to do others. Of course all of this, the attack we did, was without knowledge or consent from our commanders. When they were caught – and it was almost inevitable that they would be – well, let’s just say justice was swift. But the Aldmeri feared making a martyr out of him, as they knew the people were aware of his family’s torture and murder.”
“This is Valerius you’re talking about, right?” Dardeh said. “Well, they obviously didn’t execute him if he’s holed up in Helgen.”
“No, but under pressure from the Thalmor, Titus locked him and his men away in the Imperial Prison intending it to be for the rest of their lives. Soon after, I decided my service had come to its end and retired from the Legion. But you don’t get to be a Captain and not accumulate a few favors.”
Roggi spoke up again. “Let me guess, you helped him escape from the prison?”
“Well, yes and no. I wasn’t actually involved in the operation. But a young lieutenant who served under me was stationed there after I retired. He found an ancient passage out of the prison that had long been forgotten about. We always heard the stories about it from ages ago, but none of us believed they were true. But Lt. Buckingsly found the passage! Buckingsly slipped a key into Valerius’ cell and created a diversion which bought Val enough time to escape under cover of a storm one night.”
“So what happened to Valerius?” Dardeh asked. “What about his men?”
“They went straight to Hammerfell to join the Redguard rebellion against the Aldmeri Dominion. It was rumored a brotherhood calling itself ‘The Keepers of Hattu’ was formed after the signing of the Second Treaty of Stros M’Kai. Most people passed these rumors off as baseless gossip. But the name ‘Hattu’ always intrigued me. Hattu was the mountain where the Redguard hero Frandar Hunding and his Sword-Singers made their final stand against the Armies of Hira. It was a bloody battle in their history, but their victory led them to a new land they named Hammerfell which began the modern day Redguard society.”
Jannus looked at Dardeh and flushed.
“I’m… sorry, I shouldn’t be telling you about Redguard history.”
Dardeh grinned. “It’s fine. I’m only half Redguard, and I don’t know that much of the history because I was raised Nord. I’m used to it.”
“Good, I don’t feel so embarrassed then. The name is a metaphor, meant to imply a final stand, much the same as the one Frandar made at Hattu Mountain. This brotherhood was made of all races, all united in a singular cause under the banner of the Hammer and Anvil.”
“The cause being to defeat the Thalmor, yes?” Dardeh noticed Roggi nodding vigorously off to his side.
“Yes, I see you’ve been listening. Not only defeat them, though. That would not be enough. But to cleanse Tamriel of the Thalmor and their racist Aldmeri Dominion forever.”
“A fairly extreme position, in other words. Alright. So what makes you think the Valerius you knew is the same person involved with this group?”
“Yes, interesting isn’t it? I’ve heard the name Valerius Artoria associated with them on more than one occasion. First, who better to lead such an organization than someone as skilled in warfare as he? Second, who better to intimidate your enemy than a legend well known as an assassin of their kind, even if he were dead? And if he is still alive and his men still serve with him it seems logical that they would return to Skyrim along with the Thalmor.”
“Hmm. And who better to enhance a legend than another one, one of the most infamous assassins of our time?” Roggi said quietly. When he noticed Dardeh staring at him, he looked up and grinned. “Sorry to interrupt. It’s just one of those things that keeps working at my mind. Who put the contract on Ondolemar? Because after him the next logical target would have been the Embassy and Hers Truly. We might have had a chance of being rid of her.” He waved his hand. “Sorry. Don’t pay any attention to me.”
Dardeh looked at Jannus’ confused expression and smiled. “Don’t worry about it. We knew someone who… died recently, and the circumstances surrounding it are still a bit of a mystery. And neither of us is a friend to the Thalmor. We’re both guilty of a little wishful thinking on that front. At any rate, what exactly does all of this have to do with me?”
“I need you to go try and talk to Valerius.”
“Again – why me? Why not you? You’re the one who knows him.”
“Because you’re the Dragonborn. You’re someone who commands respect just by virtue of existing, and also because you survived Helgen. I’m someone who, after all this time, he might reasonably be suspicious of because I know too much. Reason with him; tell him Marcus Jannus requests a meeting with him. Tell him I’ll come to the fort alone – present company excluded, of course. Give this ring to him. It was his wife’s wedding band. If any of his men try to accost you, show it to them and tell them it is a gesture of good will from me. They’ll give you quarter if they know I sent you. Tell them Marcus Jannus sent you to see Valerius Tiberius Artoria on urgent business. Show them this note with my seal, but tell them it is for Valerius – his eyes only.”
Dardeh glanced at Roggi, whose eyes were unreadable. Then Dardeh turned back to Jannus.
“Give me just a moment if you would.”
“Of course.”
Dardeh stepped closer to Roggi and whispered.
“What do you think?”
“I think it could easily turn out to be some kind of trap, Dar. The whole thing smells of Thalmor to me, but I’m not convinced that I understand how, exactly. I don’t know if Elenwen’s goons are going to be waiting for you at Helgen or whether we’re going to end up being the heroes after all.”
Dardeh nodded. “I want to at least do this much for him. He made a pretty public spectacle of looking for me and that doesn’t feel like something someone would do if he meant to kill me or sell us out.”
“That’s a very good point. OK, Dar. Let’s do it. But we’re leaving if it seems fishy once we get there, understand me?”
Dardeh squeezed Roggi’s hand and smiled. “Thank you. I knew I could count on you being with me.”
He returned to stand before Jannus and nodded. “Alright. Give me the note and the ring. We’ll head up to Helgen and see what’s going on.”
“Excellent. Please return to me as soon as you can. I will prepare to leave and be ready to go when you return. Make haste young one, and may fortune favor the foolish.”
Dardeh laughed. “Young one, is it? That’s great. Are we foolish?”
“Well, here’s hoping that we aren’t.”
__
They ran up the slope toward the western gate of Helgen which was, much to Dardeh’s surprise, actually a gate once more. What had been just an open gap in the curtain walls for the entire time he’d known the place now sported a massive double door, built in a stockade style and looking very solid indeed. Dardeh pulled on the handle, then pushed the gate, and realized that it must be barred from the inside.
“Guess we’re going around the long way,” Roggi said.
“Yes. Whoever is inside this time knows how to build up defenses. Interesting. The last few times we’ve come past there have been bandits in there, but they never bothered to shore up the place at all. Maybe there’s something to what Jannus said.”
“Let’s go find out.”
It was a fairly good run to circle around the base of the hill that held the former town of Helgen and its Imperial keep. Dardeh couldn’t help but shudder a bit as they passed the dark opening of the keep’s underground cavern. He remembered altogether too clearly emerging from that opening alongside Ralof, wearing a borrowed Stormcloak cuirass, trying to duck out of sight as Alduin the World-Eater passed over them on his way to the east. It had been a day much like this one, even: bright, sunny, and deceptively peaceful everywhere except inside Helgen itself.
Never could have imagined on that day that I’d end up killing that big dragon. Or having so many of them become a part of me. I wish I’d had my power then. Maybe I could have saved this town, or some of its people.
The southern gate of Helgen stood open, as it had from time to time during the intervening period since that fateful day when Alduin had returned. To Dardeh, that felt like a good sign. Always before, the bandits that had squatted in the keep had closed and locked the two remaining gates, here and at the eastern crossroads, leaving only the open western gap to defend.
They slowed to a walk and moved up the slope toward the blackened bones of what once had been the homes of Helgen’s residents. Not more than a few moments had passed when a group of four men, all brandishing weapons, ran toward them from the grounds of the keep proper. The first of them was an older man, balding, but powerfully built and holding a massive warhammer at the ready.
“Stop right there!” he shouted, slowing to a stop himself just a few paces away from Dardeh. “Don’t even think about moving. You see my friends coming? They won’t hesitate to kill you if you so much as breathe funny.”
Dardeh heard Roggi’s sword sliding out of its sheath and shook his head without breaking his gaze with the older man before him.
“No, Roggi. It’s fine.”
Roggi harrumphed, but Dardeh heard him re-sheathing his sword.
“Now,” the man before them growled, “who are you and what is the meaning of this intrusion?”
Dardeh looked the men over. All of them were wearing mismatched armor of the types bandits usually favored; but unlike bandits, who wore whatever they could find, this armor fit them well and was in decent repair. These were seasoned veterans who knew that it was important for armor to fit well even if it was meant as a disguise.
Dardeh grinned.
“That whole ‘bandit’ thing works well for you. Great disguises! Or at least they would be if I hadn’t cleaned at least two other groups of bandits out of this place since Alduin trashed it. I know bandits when I see them. You aren’t bandits.” He heard Roggi’s snicker from behind him and grinned more.
The man’s brows nearly met in the middle with his frown.
“A funny guy, eh? How funny would it be if we gut you like a horker?”
The way the man said ‘horker’ reinforced Dardeh’s opinion. It was a refined accent, not one belonging to an uneducated bandit.
“Sorry, I meant no offense. Listen, I have an urgent message for Valerius. I know he is here, and I need to see him.”
“Never heard of him. You are mistaken. There is nobody by that name here. Be on your way. We don’t want to hurt you.”
“And you’re not a bandit, and neither am I. Marcus Jannus sent me, and I need to get this message to Valerius.”
The man frowned again, but Dardeh was certain he’d seen a flicker of something pass across his face for just a moment.
“Don’t know him either. You are mistaken.”
“Come on. This is getting tiresome.” Dardeh’s temper was beginning to fray just a bit, and he felt his temperature rising.
“I don’t know who you are, stranger, or what you want, but I advise you to choose your words very carefully from here on out.”
“I might say the same to you. You’re at the very least an officer of some degree, and possibly a former noble of some sort. And I’m the Dra…”
“Dar.” Roggi’s calm tones made Dardeh stop, and breathe, and settle his internal flames back into their usual place.
“Yes. You’re right. I’m sorry.” He held the ring and the note out in the palm of one hand. “Look. I have Valerius’ wife’s wedding ring. A gift from Marcus Jannus. I also have a note here that’s for Valerius’ eyes only; you’ll see that it’s still sealed. I don’t know what’s in it and you won’t either, but you can see that it’s addressed to him and written in Marcus’ hand, and since I’m certain you know both of them I’m sure you’ll recognize it.”
The man took one step closer, without lowering his weapon, and looked at the items in Dardeh’s outstretched hand.
“Let me see that. Hmm.”
Dardeh spent the next moment or two trying not to laugh as the man tried to cover his own embarrassment.
“Did you say Marcus Jannus? From the war, Marcus Jannus? Why didn’t you say so? Very well. I will take you inside, but remember, all of us have our eyes on you. If you try and start trouble, it’ll be the last trouble you ever start.”
Roggi barked out one sharp burst of laughter. Really. He has no idea who he’s addressing.
“Lead on.”
The older man turned and trotted into the familiar space before Helgen Keep, with Dardeh and Roggi following. The three additional soldiers – for Dardeh had no illusions that these were anyone but Valerius’ former Imperial troops – closed in behind them. It didn’t worry him in any way. He could easily turn and clear a path through them with flames should it turn out that he was wrong about their identities.
As they entered the keep, a middle-aged man wearing steel plate rose from his chair next to a small table on the opposite side of the circular space. Dardeh cringed. It had been just there, beside the small table, where he and Ralof had found the body of Ralof’s friend, the man whose armor and axe Dardeh had been forced to use in order to make his escape from this place.
Even after all this time. Even after helping Ulfric to win his war. It still bothers me.
“Balfring!” the man snapped in the tones of a commanding officer. “Who is this person and why have you brought them here?”
“He has an urgent message for you from Marcus Jannus. There were only these two men. I thought you would want to talk to him.”
“What? Marcus Jannus? Balfring, have you gone completely mad? That’s impossible.”
“I thought the same thing, sir, but it’s true. He showed me a letter to you with Marcus’ seal. ”
Dardeh smiled to himself. ‘Sir.’ Balfring, you’re not a very good actor but it seems that you are a very good soldier.
“And sir,” Balfring continued, “somehow Marcus has found Sabrina’s wedding ring and sent it to you.”
It seemed to Dardeh that the man who could only be Valerius blanched a bit as he turned to face Dardeh.
“Very well,” he said, scanning Dardeh from top to bottom and then looking Roggi over as well. “Balfring, you are dismissed,” he said. “All of you may return to your patrols.”
Not even going to attempt the bandit bit any more, eh? Good to be done with that.
“Yes, sir,” Balfring said. He left the area, and the three others sheathed their weapons and followed suit. Valerius stepped closer to Dardeh and narrowed his eyes.
“I don’t know who you are or why you’re here, so you’d better have some good answers to my questions. May I see that ring?”
Dardeh nodded. “Of course. It does belong to you.”
Valerius took the ring and turned it over and over in his hand, and the expression on his face was unmistakable. Dardeh glanced at Roggi, whose gaze was riveted on Valerius; and his heart broke a little bit. Only someone who had lost a spouse could ever share in the exquisite pain of that loss. Dardeh could see it on both their faces. If he’d had even the tiniest doubt that this was Valerius Artoria, it was gone in that moment.
Valerius sighed and looked up at Dardeh. “You say you were sent by Marcus Jannus? Where is he now?”
“He’s in Falkreath, waiting for us to return and hoping you’ll allow us to bring him here to meet you.”
“Do you know how he came to have this ring?”
“No, I don’t. But I am very sorry for the loss of your family.”
“And so am I,” Roggi murmured.
“Thank you. I loved them very deeply. I … nearly went mad after they were murdered by those Aldmeri dogs. I wanted nothing but vengeance. Every day of my life has burned with nothing but the desire to make them pay for those murders.”
“I understand,” Roggi said, so quietly that Dardeh wasn’t completely sure Valerius had heard him. Dardeh looked at him, seated next to the wall, staring at the floor, his arms wound about himself. He had to fight the urge to gather up his husband and hold him near; but this was neither the time nor the place for that.
“But enough of that,” Valerius continued after clearing his throat. “Let’s see this letter you brought.” He broke the seal and started reading, a smile slowly taking his mouth. At last he chuckled. “Yes. Ha ha! Marcus Jannus, it’s certainly you alright. But what do you want with me?” He looked up at Dardeh. “Tell me, how has he found me here?”
“He heard a bandit named Val had taken over the fort and it seemed to him the sort of thing you might have done, especially since the Thalmor moved north into Skyrim as the civil war heated up.”
Valerius grinned. “Very clever, that one; always was. Bandits! Ha. Well, that’s not far from what we’ve become, to speak the truth. It made for an easy ruse. Living our lives in the shadows like caged skeevers.”
Roggi rose and approached them. “Jannus told us that you are an honorable man, having served with distinction in the Great War. I served myself, although much later – and I am sure he wouldn’t say such a thing lightly.”
Valerius swapped a quick glance with Roggi and grimaced. “Honor? Bah. Any honor I had died with the first Aldmeri diplomat I assassinated. I’m not the same man he knew.”
Roggi looked him over for a moment, and then slowly shook his head. “I’ve served under men your age who were also in the Great War. There are… many ways that a man may demonstrate service, or honor. Not all of them are immediately obvious to outsiders, and yet they are no less honorable.”
Dardeh felt as though someone had driven a knife into him. I’m so sorry, my love. I’m so sorry that he made you do those things, that he thought it was necessary for you to do those things. I’m sorry that you need to keep convincing yourself, after all this time, that you are a good person. You are. You were and are a good and kind and honorable man and you did what you thought your king required.
“Well,” Valerius said with a smirk, “no doubt he’s filled your heads with tales of glory from the war and stories of the Keepers of Hattu. Sadly, that man no longer exists.”
“And neither does the miner from Markarth who escaped from this place the day Alduin fired it, Valerius,” Dardeh said quietly. “Time and events change all of us, but they do not change what we once were.”
“This hatred has consumed me. Taken my life,” he answered quietly. “It’s true that I’d still be rotting in that damned prison in the Imperial City if not for Marcus but… now I’m just rotting here, instead. And rot is, nonetheless, still rot. The only difference, really, is where and how the rotting happens.”
“That doesn’t have to be the case,” Roggi said, his voice soft and heavy with emotion that Dardeh recognized, but Valerius probably wouldn’t. “People can continue to change even when it seems they’ve nowhere else to go in their lives.”
Dardeh’s eyes were threatening to tear up, as they so often did to his dismay. He shook his head and tried to make his voice as matter-of-fact as he could manage.
“And that is precisely why you should let us bring Jannus to see you. Perhaps he can help. I don’t know what he has in mind, or why he thought he needed the Dragonborn to deliver the message, but I’m sure there’s a reason.”
“So you are in fact the Dragonborn?”
“Yeah,” Dardeh said, grinning. “I’d show you but I can see that you’ve already put a lot of work into this place and, well, one dragon burning it nearly to the ground is probably enough, don’t you think?”
“He would, too, the showoff,” Roggi muttered, drawing a laugh from Valerius.
“Well alright. I’m sure that once he sees what I’ve become he’ll be off again soon enough but go tell him I’ll meet with him. If nothing else we’ll get to say our proper goodbyes to one another. We never got to do that before.”
Dardeh found himself giving the man a little half-bow as a salute. Not so many years ago they would have been on opposite sides of a field of battle, but there was something about the man that spoke to him. If nothing else he recognized his own weaknesses.
He gestured for Roggi to follow him, and they left the keep and made their way back out the gate of Helgen.
“It’s never going to go away, you know?” he said after they’d been walking for a few minutes.
“I know,” Roggi answered quietly.
“I was talking about having Alduin attack here. I’ve never been so terrified, not even in Skuldafn when I thought I would never see you again. It’ll never go away, not completely.”
“I wasn’t thinking about that,” Roggi murmured.
Dardeh glanced at him. He was staring straight ahead, his gaze sweeping the road for hazards; but Dardeh knew he wasn’t really thinking about the road, either.
“I know,” he said.