What in the world is the matter with me? That wasn\u2019t necessary.<\/em><\/p>\n As he slowly calmed, casting his healing spell on himself, he noticed not just Esbern but several citizens standing quietly observing him from a safe distance.\u00a0 And so now they\u2019re afraid of me.\u00a0 That\u2019s just great. I\u2019m glad I didn\u2019t do something foolish like use a Shout on her.<\/em><\/p>\n Once there was no more bleeding, Dardeh looked the body over carefully.\u00a0 She had a note in her pocket, reading:\u00a0 \u201cI have reason to believe the target will be coming to Riften in the next few days.\u00a0 Discretion is preferred, but elimination of the target is of the highest priority. The usual restrictions on exposure are lifted \u2013 you will be reassigned outside Skyrim, if necessary, without penalty.\u00a0 Do not fail me. \u2013 E.\u201d<\/p>\n So, he thought. Elenwen didn\u2019t like the mess I left in her Embassy.\u00a0 I suppose I shouldn\u2019t be surprised. He sighed and motioned for Esbern to follow him out the gate.\u00a0 Could I just go dig up some ore for awhile?<\/em><\/p>\n It was a long trip back to Riverwood, starting with a major delay at the old fortress called Faldar\u2019s Tooth. Dardeh had assumed they would just pass by it and make good progress to the west, but as they approached they heard \u201cGive \u2018em the dogs, boys!\u201d and three fighting wolves attacked from a cage that looked out over the lakeside path they were on.\u00a0 The dogs were hardly a problem.\u00a0 It was the swarm of bandits that slowed them down, both outside the fortress and in.\u00a0 Because of course Dardeh had not been able to convince himself to simply leave once the outside had been cleared of threats.\u00a0 There were bandits inside, and they would simply move to take over the ambush points their now-dead fellows had filled unless he got rid of them.<\/p>\n Esbern had held his own, both in Faldar\u2019s tooth and on the long road back through the mountain pass to Riverwood.\u00a0 Dardeh had been especially glad for his company when they reached the narrowest part of the pass and a fireball had come at him from the dusk ahead. \u201cWhen Lord Miraak appears all shall bear witness.\u00a0 None shall stand to oppose him!\u201d cried a voice in Solstheim accents, and suddenly there were three of them, all targeted on him.<\/p>\n One was enough.\u00a0 He could Shout, if he was lucky, to interrupt a spell being cast, and if he could get close enough he could dispatch a Cultist with his swords, but three at once were two too many, especially in a place with nowhere to hide.\u00a0 Esbern summoned a frost atronach that doggedly pursued them with its huge bulk, and then continued firing firebolts.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m getting too old for this!\u201d he yelped, but he and his atronach made the difference that allowed Dardeh to survive the encounter.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone wants to kill me,\u201d he murmured as they continued on their way.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause you are the Dragonborn,\u201d Esbern answered.<\/p>\n \u201cYes. And I don\u2019t like it much,\u201d he replied.\u00a0 I had a life to live, before this.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t an exciting life, but it was mine and nobody wanted me dead for it.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n When at last they walked into the Sleeping Giant, Delphine met them.\u00a0 Her eyes met Dardeh\u2019s for a moment, but then all her attention focused on the old man.<\/p>\n He looked at her for a moment, as if trying to reconcile the appearance of the woman before him with the Blade he had known years earlier. Then he smiled.<\/p>\n \u201cDelphine.\u00a0 I\u2026\u00a0 It\u2019s good to see you.\u00a0 It\u2019s been a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s good to see you too, Esbern. \u00a0It\u2019s been too long, old friend.\u201d\u00a0 Her voice cracked.\u00a0 \u201cToo long.\u201d<\/p>\n These two lived through so much and they are all that\u2019s left.\u00a0 No wonder he was so anxious to see her.<\/em><\/p>\n Delphine led them to her basement room once again, and Dardeh then learned why Esbern was so valuable.\u00a0 He had been an archivist for the Blades.\u00a0 He knew everything.\u00a0 But he was old, and his mind wandered a bit, and he went off on long, rambling tangents that had even his old friend becoming a bit testy with him.\u00a0 Dardeh stood to the side and tried to suppress a grin.<\/p>\n At last, though, Esbern pointed to Delphine\u2019s map and said \u201cYou see? Right here. Sky Haven Temple, constructed around one of the main Akaviri camps in the Reach, during their conquest of Skyrim.\u201d<\/p>\n I know that place, Dardeh thought.\u00a0 At least the outside of it.\u00a0 It\u2019s on top of one of the mountains.\u00a0 I always wondered what that was.\u00a0 Sky Haven Temple?<\/p>\n \u201cSo we\u2019re going there, I guess?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, this is where they built Alduin\u2019s Wall.\u00a0 It was a hedge against the loss of recorded information.\u00a0 It holds everything they knew about Alduin and his return.\u00a0 There\u2019s no guarantee, of course, but it should tell us what we need to know.\u201d<\/p>\n Delphine looked at Dardeh and nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI know that area of the Reach.\u00a0 It\u2019s near the place they call Karthwasten.\u00a0 We can meet you there or all travel together.\u00a0 Your choice.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh looked down at himself.\u00a0 My armor\u2019s a mess again. I need something better. I\u2019m tired.\u00a0 I need to see Lucia before I take on something else and I need to reassure Lydia that I\u2019ll be all right.\u00a0 I need to reassure myself that I\u2019ll be all right.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll meet you there,\u201d he said, raising his eyes to meet Delphine\u2019s gaze.\u00a0 \u201cI won\u2019t be too long behind you. I have a couple of important things to take care of at home first.\u201d\u00a0 At home.\u00a0 Huh. Somehow Whiterun is home, now, not Markarth.<\/em><\/p>\n He stood there looking at the map for a moment while Delphine and Esbern walked back up the stairs to the inn.\u00a0 He heard her voice.<\/p>\n \u201cOrgnar, this is it. The inn is yours.\u00a0 I\u2019m probably never coming back.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell. That\u2019s something to think about.\u201d\u00a0 Orgnar\u2019s deep rumble was full of surprise, the first time Dardeh had heard something aside from a monotone grunt from the gruff barkeep.<\/p>\n \u201cTake care of yourself, Orgnar.\u00a0 Goodbye.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah\u2026 sure.\u00a0 You too, Delphine.\u00a0 You be safe.\u201d<\/p>\n I would almost say I detect a little emotion there. It\u2019s strange times we live in.<\/em><\/p>\n ______<\/p>\n All the way back to Whiterun, Dardeh thought about the Thalmor in the Ratway, and the Khajiit in Riften\u2019s marketplace.\u00a0 The more he thought about them the more uneasy he became, the more his stomach roiled, and the happier he was that he could spend a night resting peacefully.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t like this. It\u2019s one thing to kill an enemy who\u2019s attacking.\u00a0 It\u2019s another to make them suffer before they die.\u00a0 Where is this coming from?<\/em><\/p>\n Back to the Reach.\u00a0<\/em> Where I will undoubtedly have all sorts of chances to kill more people whether I like it or not.<\/em> He was still shaking his head as he walked into Breezehome.<\/p>\n Lydia was standing behind the counter, peeling potatoes, and looked up.\u00a0 Her eyes widened.<\/p>\n \u201cDardeh!\u201d<\/p>\n Before he could even respond, she dropped the knife, ran to him, and threw her arms around his chest, pressing herself to him.<\/p>\n Dardeh was stunned, not only by the fact that she was hugging him but that her hug was so strong.\u00a0 A warrior\u2019s arms, no doubt about it. And a woman\u2019s body, no doubt about that, either. He held his arms out to his side, not wanting to touch her, not wanting to give her the wrong impression.<\/p>\n She suddenly realized what she was doing and pushed back from him, her face red as flames.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry, my\u2026 Dardeh.\u00a0 I shouldn\u2019t have done that.\u00a0 I\u2019m just happy that you\u2019re back safe.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh looked at her and smiled, sadly.\u00a0 It\u2019s time to have this conversation, I guess.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cLydia, I\u2026\u201d\u00a0 He slipped out of his pack and dropped it in the corner, earning himself a grimace from Lydia.\u00a0 He grinned.\u00a0 \u201cSit down for a moment.\u00a0 I need to talk to you.\u201d<\/p>\n I should be used to this by now.\u00a0 It never gets any easier, though.<\/em><\/p>\n He reached for one of her hands and took it in both of his own, then met her gaze.\u00a0 \u201cListen, Lydia.\u00a0 You need to understand something, and we need to get it straightened out right now.\u00a0 You remember that I told you I\u2019d never take advantage of our situation, right?\u201d<\/p>\n She nodded.<\/p>\n \u201cWell that wasn\u2019t just me being a nice guy. I am a nice guy, of course,\u201d he said, grinning, \u201cbut that\u2019s not it. There\u2019s never going to be anything between the two of us aside from friendship.\u00a0 It\u2019s not personal.\u00a0 You\u2019re really quite wonderful, you know, and I\u2019m really pleased that you are glad I\u2019m home.\u00a0 But it just isn\u2019t going to happen, and it\u2019s because of me, because of who I am and have always been, for as long as I can remember.\u00a0 Do you understand?\u201d<\/p>\n Please, please don\u2019t make me spell it out.<\/em><\/p>\n Lydia looked at him, thoughtful.\u00a0 At first she looked a bit hurt, but then her expression slowly changed to one of comprehension.<\/p>\n \u201cOh, I see.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh heaved a huge sigh.<\/p>\n \u201cThank the gods.\u00a0 Lydia, you would be just perfect if that was something I was interested in. I hope you know that. I mean, it would be really wonderful to make a proper family of it for Lucia but it\u2019s just not going to be.\u201d\u00a0 It was true, too, he thought; she was beautiful, and willing to do whatever he asked of her, and he had a feeling that if he asked her to follow him into battle she would be ferocious and would save his hide more times than he could even imagine.<\/p>\n She nodded, and then grinned, a mischievous grin that made Dardeh almost regretful for a moment. \u00a0I\u2019ll bet she\u2019s a lot of fun.<\/em> \u201cWell. I didn\u2019t mean to make you uncomfortable, Dardeh.\u00a0 You are, though, rather \u2026 appealing.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know,\u201d he said.\u00a0 Then he shook his head and laughed, running one hand over his braids.\u00a0 \u201cI mean\u2026 wow that came out wrong, didn\u2019t it?\u00a0 I have been told that before, is what I should have said.\u00a0 Nice guy with a big head, eh?\u201d<\/p>\n Lydia laughed.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s all right, my Thane.\u00a0 The Dragonborn is allowed to have a big head.\u201d<\/p>\n The Dragonborn.\u00a0 Well there goes my good mood.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWell.\u00a0 Yeah. \u00a0About that.\u00a0 I have to get some better armor and I have to go back out and be Dragonborn some more. Tomorrow. I don\u2019t want to do it but it seems that I\u2019m all they\u2019ve got.\u201d\u00a0 He looked at her and sighed.\u00a0 \u201cYou know I\u2019m really just a miner, right? I grew up mining silver out around Markarth.\u201d<\/p>\n She shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ll never be \u2018just\u2019 anything, Dardeh.\u00a0 I think you need to get used to that.\u201d\u00a0 Then she nodded toward the door of Lucia\u2019s room.\u00a0 \u201cYou might want to go say hello to the newest member of the household.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n She grinned.\u00a0 \u201cGo see.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh rose and went to the door of Lucia\u2019s room, then knocked gently.\u00a0 \u201cMay I come in?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, Papa, but don\u2019t make a loud noise, please,\u201d she responded.<\/p>\n Dardeh raised his eyebrows and looked back at Lydia, who was grinning from ear to ear.\u00a0 He pushed open the door and looked in.\u00a0 There was Lucia, on her stomach on the floor, with a fox nuzzling her neck.<\/p>\n \u201cA fox.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, may I keep him, Papa?\u00a0 Lydia said it was ok.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh laughed, and traded another grin with Lydia.<\/p>\n \u201cWell it seems you two have decided things already.\u00a0 As long as you\u2019re responsible for him I don\u2019t see why not.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh thank you, Papa!\u201d\u00a0 She put the fox aside, gently, and rose to hug him.<\/p>\n He held her tightly for a moment, smiling.\u00a0 I love this child.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know how it happened, but I do. I hope I can take care of her well enough.\u00a0 At least she\u2019s not cold anymore.<\/em><\/p>\n _____<\/p>\n Dardeh did not sleep peacefully that night as he had hoped. His dreams tossed him about like the earth sliding after a quake. \u00a0He saw the Stormcloak soldier stepping on a dead Imperial\u2019s arm; dragons breathing fire and halving men with their teeth; cultists throwing fireballs at him.\u00a0 He slashed at them, stabbing, shouting at them with all the power his voice and his Voice could muster, but nothing he did had any effect.\u00a0 He saw the Khajiit trembling in agony, held aloft by his sword and his arm, bleeding into the stones of Riften, and in his dreams he wept, wondering why this was so.<\/p>\n The dreams subsided for a moment, and he drifted off toward rest again.\u00a0 Then, as if emerging slowly from a dense fog, he saw a place he thought that he recognized.\u00a0 A tower, in the Reach, where he and his friends had sometimes played when he was a boy.\u00a0 He recognized the Dwemer door and the spot where birds made their nests, season after season, only to have their eggs stolen by mischievous boys.\u00a0 I know this. Why am I seeing this?<\/em><\/p>\n A figure stepped forward from the fog and stood, defiant, glaring across the expanses of the Reach.\u00a0 A Redguard man, dark of skin and hair and powerful of build, wearing nothing but boots and the bare-chested armor of the barbarians of the Reach.\u00a0 He carried Redguard scimitars and a cruel expression.<\/p>\n Dardeh peered at him, with the eyes of his dream, unable to see anything more distinct than that and yet feeling as though he should know this man.\u00a0 Who is this?<\/em> He strained to remember, his dream-eyes strained to see, and yet nothing came clear.\u00a0 Then he heard a deep voice speaking.<\/p>\n \u201cDardeh.\u201d<\/p>\n He thrashed about, trying to turn to see where the voice was coming from but unable to make his body or his head do what he desired, his frustration growing more with every moment.<\/p>\n \u201cDardeh?\u201d<\/p>\n This time it was a woman\u2019s voice.\u00a0 He blinked and opened his eyes, to find himself completely tangled in the bedclothes with Lydia standing over him.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sorry, but you asked me to wake you early.\u00a0 It\u2019s early now.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh.\u00a0 Of course.\u00a0 Thank you.\u201d\u00a0 He watched her leave and then looked around the room, trying to catch his bearings.\u00a0 What was that all about?\u00a0 <\/em>He rose and slid into his new armor, then had a small breakfast.\u00a0 I’m confused. I need to quiet my mind.<\/em><\/p>\n He gave Lydia a hug before he left, murmuring \u201cthank you\u201d quietly next to her ear, and she hugged him back tightly.\u00a0They smiled at each other, and he was grateful yet again to have her on his side.<\/p>\n It was a beautiful, quiet morning in Whiterun.\u00a0 Only a few souls were stirring at this early hour, but one of them was Heimskr, the priest of Talos who ordinarily stood shouting his teachings in obnoxious fashion, most every day.\u00a0 At this hour he knelt, silently, meditating before the statue of Talos.<\/p>\n Dardeh joined him.\u00a0 Together they worshipped, and thought, and hoped for the future, in perfect silence.<\/p>\n It was almost a very short trip for Dardeh and Esbern. They had barely made it to the top of the stairs in Riften when a shape came rushing out of the fog toward them.\u00a0 Dardeh barely saw it in his peripheral vision, but that was probably what saved his life.\u00a0 The dagger that had … <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/2-1-16-1.png\")
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