{"id":1139,"date":"2018-02-04T23:30:13","date_gmt":"2018-02-04T23:30:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/?page_id=1139"},"modified":"2020-02-22T03:58:25","modified_gmt":"2020-02-22T03:58:25","slug":"chapter-12","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/volume-ii\/part-i-dardeh\/chapter-12\/","title":{"rendered":"Chapter 12"},"content":{"rendered":"

It didn\u2019t take Dardeh too long to walk to Riverwood, with the last song he\u2019d heard in Whiterun playing in his head over and over.\u00a0 \u201cDown with Ulfric, the killer of kings\u2026\u201d\u00a0 He shook his head.\u00a0 To think that he\u2019d been in the same wagon with the man, and both of them prisoners headed for the headsman\u2019s block.\u00a0 Living near Markarth, at the far end of the province, the civil war had seemed far away, something that didn\u2019t really concern him day to day.\u00a0 He\u2019d been up to his ears in it ever since he\u2019d come back across the border.\u00a0 At least he didn\u2019t have to fight<\/em> in it. He stepped into the Sleeping Giant Inn shaking his head.<\/p>\n

There was a big, dark-haired Nord behind the bar. A middle-aged Breton woman with a broom swept the floor in front of it.\u00a0 He walked up to her and cleared his throat to catch her attention.<\/p>\n

\u201cUm, excuse me? I\u2019d like to rent the attic room, please.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her gaze snapped to his and her eyebrows rose. Her expression was wary.<\/p>\n

\u201cAttic room, eh?\u00a0 Well we don\u2019t have an attic room, but you can have the one on the left.\u00a0 Make yourself at home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dardeh handed over ten septims and headed toward the room she\u2019d indicated.\u00a0 Ok, he thought. That\u2019s who has the Horn.\u00a0 She knows exactly who I am.\u00a0 Now to get the thing away from her and head back up the mountain.<\/p>\n

There was a quiet knock on his door, and the woman slipped in.\u00a0 She gave him a small but cautious smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo.\u00a0 You\u2019re the Dragonborn I\u2019ve been hearing so much about.\u00a0 I think you\u2019re looking for this.\u201d<\/p>\n

She handed him a very old, curved object shaped like a young ram\u2019s horn.\u00a0 Dardeh looked it over and sighed.\u00a0 All that for this?\u00a0 All right.<\/em>\u00a0 He slipped it into his pack and looked back up at the woman.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to talk,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cFollow me.\u201d<\/p>\n

You\u2019d best believe we need to talk, lady, and you\u2019d better have some good answers for me.<\/em><\/p>\n

She led him across the inn to a large room with a double bed.<\/p>\n

\u201cShut the door.\u201d<\/p>\n

He raised an eyebrow.\u00a0 She wasn\u2019t facing him, so he couldn\u2019t tell what was going on by reading her face. Please gods no.<\/em> He sighed, turned, and swung the door shut. When he turned back to her, she had disappeared; there was an opening where there hadn\u2019t been a moment before.\u00a0 Stairs led down to a substantial room below.\u00a0 There was an enchanting table, an alchemy station, chests and weapon racks, and a large table in the center of the room.\u00a0 Once he\u2019d reached the bottom of the steps she nodded at him.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

She had a different air about her, down here in this room.\u00a0 This was someone who was used to being in charge.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood, now we can talk. The Greybeards seem to think you\u2019re the Dragonborn. I hope they\u2019re right.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dardeh couldn\u2019t help it; he snarled at her. \u00a0I\u2019m tired. I\u2019ve almost died more times than I can count. You people all seem to think there\u2019s something special about me and now you\u2019re giving me this? <\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019d better have a good reason for dragging me here.\u201d<\/p>\n

She nodded. \u201cIt was the only way I could make sure this wasn\u2019t a Thalmor trap.\u00a0 I\u2019m not your enemy. I already gave you the horn, right?\u00a0 I\u2019m just trying to help you. I just need you to hear me out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dardeh sighed and shrugged. It won\u2019t hurt to find out what\u2019s going on here.<\/em> \u201cAll right.\u00a0 I\u2019ll listen.\u00a0 So you\u2019re the one who took the horn?\u201d<\/p>\n

The woman grinned. \u201cSurprised? I guess I\u2019m getting pretty good at my harmless innkeeper act.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m\u2026\u201d\u00a0 I\u2019m annoyed. Really, really annoyed.<\/em> \u201cI\u2019m not amused, and I don\u2019t feel like playing games, if you don\u2019t mind.\u00a0 I did well to make it out of Ustengrav with my skin. You\u2019d better start explaining. Fast.\u201d<\/p>\n

She glared at him.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll explain what I want when I want, got it?\u00a0 You\u2019d already be dead if I didn\u2019t like the look of you when you walked in here.\u00a0 But I had to know if the rumors were true.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dardeh tossed his head back and laughed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d be dead? Really?\u00a0 Well isn\u2019t that something.\u00a0 I\u2019ve killed four separate dragons and absorbed them when they died. Absorbed<\/em> them. Let that thought percolate for a moment.\u201d\u00a0 He shook his head.\u00a0 This isn\u2019t how I should be behaving, he thought, but this woman is too much.\u00a0 \u201cNo, I don\u2019t think so. But if you start explaining who you are and why you took the Horn, right now, I\u2019ll stay and listen.\u00a0 Otherwise, I have a few thousand steps to climb.\u201d<\/p>\n

She stared at the floor for a moment and took a deep breath, then blew it out and looked back at Dardeh.\u00a0 \u201cMy name\u2019s Delphine. I\u2019m part of a group that\u2019s been looking for you \u2013 well, someone like you \u2013 for a very long time.\u00a0 If you really are Dragonborn that is.\u00a0 Before I tell you any more I need to make sure I can trust you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dardeh almost walked out; he moved toward the foot of the stairs.\u00a0 Then he turned to face Delphine again.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, I really don\u2019t need to prove a single thing to you.\u00a0 Would you like to see a dragon bone?\u00a0 I can go pick one up off the grass in Whiterun where I killed that dragon.\u00a0 Or you could run on out to Eastmarch and find the one I killed out there.\u00a0 What exactly is it that you expect me to do for you?\u00a0 And for what reason?\u201d<\/p>\n

This whole thing is bringing out the worst in me. I\u2019m starting to take myself seriously. This is ridiculous.<\/em><\/p>\n

Delphine frowned.\u00a0 \u201cCan you do it? Can you devour a dragon\u2019s soul?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what I just told you.\u00a0 I absorbed something from them.\u00a0 Whether it\u2019s a soul or not I can\u2019t say, but it certainly feels that way when it happens.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right.\u00a0 You\u2019ll have a chance to prove it to me soon enough.\u201d\u00a0 She walked to the table and pointed at a map lying there.\u00a0 \u201cThe dragons weren\u2019t just gone somewhere for all these years, they were dead. My predecessors killed them. And now something\u2019s bringing them back to life – their burial mounds are emptying out. I need you to help me stop it. I know where the next one will happen.\u00a0 If we succeed in killing that dragon I\u2019ll tell you anything you want to know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dardeh chewed on the inside of his mouth for a moment. I can do that, all right.\u00a0 Maybe I\u2019m the only one who can. <\/em>He thought back to the dragon in Eastmarch.\u00a0 If it wasn\u2019t right to leave that one out there, maybe it wasn\u2019t right to leave the others. \u201cAll right.\u00a0 How do you know this?\u201d<\/p>\n

She nodded. \u201cFair question.\u00a0 That stone you brought back to Whiterun was a map of the burial sites, and I\u2019ve plotted out the ones that are empty now.\u00a0 The pattern is pretty clear.\u00a0 It\u2019s spreading from the southeast, down in the Jeralls near Riften.\u00a0 The one in Kynesgrove is next if the pattern holds.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dardeh sighed.\u00a0 \u201cThat makes sense.\u00a0 I killed one out on the tundra down there. All right.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go kill a dragon.\u00a0 You won\u2019t mind if I take the soul, I presume.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t push it.\u201d She glared at him.\u00a0 \u201cLet\u2019s get going. We can travel together or split up and meet there, your choice.\u201d<\/p>\n

You know, Dardeh thought, I can\u2019t think of anything I\u2019d like less right now than to travel halfway across Skyrim with you.\u00a0 If it\u2019s ok with you.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s meet in Kynesgrove.\u00a0 I have a couple of things to do before I leave. I know the way.\u201d Sort of. I\u2019ve been at least to that side of the province. <\/em><\/p>\n

Dardeh walked back up the stairs while Delphine was changing into her travel clothes.\u00a0 He stepped over to the bar and bought a tankard of ale, and tossed it back, then sighed.\u00a0 OK.\u00a0 That\u2019s better.<\/em><\/p>\n

Delphine led him to the door and pointed up the road that led to Whiterun. \u201cKynesgrove is this way.\u00a0 I\u2019ll meet you there.\u201d<\/p>\n

He nodded.\u00a0 \u201cYeah.\u00a0 I\u2019ll be behind you.\u201d<\/p>\n

He watched her figure dwindle into a speck before starting to trudge down the road himself.\u00a0\u00a0 There aren\u2019t that many people in the world that I really dislike.\u00a0 And that\u2019s one of them. <\/em><\/p>\n

_________<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

He could hear the dragon roaring as he ran up the path behind Kynesgrove.\u00a0 He pulled his bow out, and armed the dwarven arrows he had bought from the Bosmer at the Drunken Huntsman in Whiterun.\u00a0 Glad I got my armor back.<\/em> Adrienne Avenicci had charged him an arm and a leg to repair the steel plate, but it had been worth every penny already; he must have run across a dozen wolves and a couple of bears on the way to Kynesgrove, and hadn\u2019t sustained more than a scratch.<\/p>\n

He looked up to the sky and was even happier that he\u2019d spent the money. This wasn\u2019t just any dragon; it was the big black one he\u2019d seen at Helgen.\u00a0 Not a doubt about it.\u00a0 Not just any dragon. When did I ever imagine I\u2019d be thinking such a thing?<\/em><\/p>\n

The beast was circling around one of the great circular mounds, the like of which dotted the entire landscape of Skyrim.\u00a0 Dragon burial mounds. He\u2019d never known what they were and had walked over several in the Reach as a child.<\/p>\n

Suddenly there was a roar from the sky above. Within the roar, Dardeh heard words.<\/p>\n

\u201cSahloknir, ziil gro dovah ulse!\u201d<\/p>\n

A light, whirling and soaring, emerged from the dragon mound.\u00a0 There was a rumble, and the surface of the dirt began shaking, moving.<\/p>\n

\u201cSlen tiid vo!\u201d<\/p>\n

I know this, Dardeh thought.\u00a0 He just called to a dragon, told it to rise.\u00a0 Its name is Sahloknir.<\/p>\n

There was a sharp, cracking noise, and the dirt of the mound fell away.\u00a0 A huge skeleton rose from within the circle of stones.<\/p>\n

Dardeh drew his bow and fired at the skeleton, but to little effect; the skeleton was shimmering, and flesh was reappearing on it in the reverse of what happened when he absorbed a dragon soul.\u00a0 The skeleton-becoming-dragon roared.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlduin, thuri! Boaan tiid vokriiha suleyksejun kruziik?\u201d<\/p>\n

Sahloknir just named the black one for me.\u00a0 Alduin, is it? I know that name. He\u2019s the World-Eater.<\/em><\/p>\n

Dardeh fired arrow after arrow at Alduin, and nothing happened.\u00a0 They bounced off the beast\u2019s black hide as though they were made of meat rather than metal.\u00a0 The dragon circled around Dardeh and called down to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cFul, losei Dovahkiin? Zu\u2019u koraav nid nol dov do hi.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ah but I do know what you said, Dardeh thought as he drew his swords and ran toward the skeleton that had nearly reconstituted itself into a dragon.\u00a0 You called me the false Dragonborn and said I don\u2019t understand your tongue. He shouted into the sky.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes I do, Alduin.\u00a0 Watch me!\u201d<\/p>\n

Dardeh dashed to the dragon\u2019s back end and began attacking its tail, then backing to get out of the beast\u2019s reach.\u00a0 He saw Sahloknir gathering breath.<\/p>\n

\u201cFUS-RO!\u201d<\/p>\n

The blast from his Shout struck Sahloknir just as it was opening its mouth, and staggered it backward.\u00a0 Dardeh attacked again with his swords, and the dragon started to bleed.\u00a0 He danced around it, slashing whenever he got within reach, then rolling or backing away.\u00a0 But it was going too well; Sahloknir turned and, before Dardeh could step aside, blasted him with flames.<\/p>\n

Dardeh staggered, cried out.\u00a0 His pulse started pounding in his ears.\u00a0 I\u2019ve lost.\u00a0 I\u2019m going to die<\/em>.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t die. I have to keep going.<\/em><\/p>\n

He ran, burning and gasping for breath, for the edge of the burial site\u2019s clearing, to where he could drop down and get at least a tiny bit of cover.\u00a0 The heavy armor held in heat just as well as it held in cold, and he felt as though he was still burning as he ran. Tears of pain were streaming down his cheeks as he cast every bit of healing magic he could muster with his left hand and wrestled potions from his pack with the other.<\/p>\n

It hurts so much.\u00a0 I\u2019ll never be able to move soon enough to kill the dragon.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

Yes I will. But I have to get it while it\u2019s on the ground.<\/em><\/p>\n

Sahloknir was shifting in circles, roaring, and even though Dardeh hadn\u2019t regained his stamina or health well enough to run, he had to do something.\u00a0 He shifted position just enough to get a decent vantage point for bowshots and began unloading dwarven arrows into the dragon as fast as he could draw.\u00a0 Alduin was still overhead, roaring in what sounded like laughter to Dardeh.\u00a0 He looked up at the black beast, snarled, then forced himself out onto the mound and drew his swords.<\/p>\n

One more try.<\/em><\/p>\n

Again, Dardeh dashed for the back of the dragon and began his assault on it.\u00a0 Sahloknir turned again, preparing to shout fire, but once again Dardeh used Unrelenting Force to interrupt the fire.\u00a0 He ran to the edge of the mound and drew his bow.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Sahloknir must have been nearly dead already, Dardeh thought as his arrow sank into the dragon\u2019s neck.\u00a0 It crashed to the ground and began smoldering and crackling as Dardeh approached.<\/p>\n

Behind him somewhere, Dardeh heard Delphine approaching, her steps crunching on the soil.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be damned, you did it! That was well done. Come on, I\u2019ve been wanting a closer look at one of these buggers.\u201d The footsteps stopped.\u00a0 \u201cWait, something\u2019s happening.\u00a0 Gods above!\u201d<\/p>\n

Dardeh snapped at her as flames began to erupt from the corpse.<\/p>\n

\u201cStay away from it if you don\u2019t want to get burned.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Once again the soul of the dragon rushed to surround him, swirling and roaring and entering him as though it had belonged there all along.\u00a0 Dardeh closed his eyes and took it in.\u00a0 I\u2019m almost beginning to enjoy this.\u00a0 I don\u2019t think that\u2019s a good thing.<\/em><\/p>\n

He opened his eyes and turned to face Delphine.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood enough for you?\u201d<\/p>\n

She had the good sense to look embarrassed.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s true, isn\u2019t it? So you really are Dragonborn. \u201c<\/p>\n

He couldn\u2019t help it. He sneered.\u00a0 \u201cI did tell you so.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI owe you some answers, don\u2019t I?\u00a0 Go ahead. Whatever you want to know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dardeh stuffed a few dragon bones and scales into his pack.\u00a0 Then he and Delphine walked down the hillside, to the Braidwood Inn in Kynesgrove below, and each had a tankard of ale while she told him about her theory.\u00a0 It had to be the Thalmor behind the returning dragons, she thought. The war had been effectively over with the capture of Ulfric, but then the convenient appearance of Alduin had set him free and the war was back on.\u00a0 Between the war and the dragons, the Empire was stretched thin, and weak, and the only group that benefitted from that was the Thalmor.\u00a0 But she had no proof.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we could get into the Thalmor Embassy\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s this \u2018we\u2019 business?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cYou mean me, don\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n

She sighed. \u201cWell yes. They know me. They\u2019ve been hunting me for years because I\u2019m the last of the Blades.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dardeh sighed.\u00a0 \u201cAll right.\u00a0 How do I get in there?\u201d<\/p>\n

She looked thoughtful.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m not sure but I have an idea.\u00a0 Let me work on it for a bit. \u00a0Meet me back in Riverwood.\u00a0 If I\u2019m not there by the time you get there, I won\u2019t be long behind you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dardeh left the inn and started trudging west once more.<\/p>\n

He thought about how close he had come to dying this time, and what had kept him going even when it looked like everything was hopeless. Alduin, according to legend, was the World-Eater.\u00a0 Everything and everyone that was important in the world could disappear if that was true.<\/p>\n

That by itself was good enough reason to keep going in spite of the pain of dragon fire, but that hadn’t been all.\u00a0 He\u2019d thought again about the blonde Nord man he met in Whiterun.<\/p>\n

Part I: Dardeh<\/a><\/div>\n
Previous<\/a> \/ Next<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It didn\u2019t take Dardeh too long to walk to Riverwood, with the last song he\u2019d heard in Whiterun playing in his head over and over.\u00a0 \u201cDown with Ulfric, the killer of kings\u2026\u201d\u00a0 He shook his head.\u00a0 To think that he\u2019d been in the same wagon with the man, and both of them prisoners headed for … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Chapter 12”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":941,"menu_order":12,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1139","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1139","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1139"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1139\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2320,"href":"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1139\/revisions\/2320"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/941"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}