{"id":1244,"date":"2018-03-09T20:52:16","date_gmt":"2018-03-09T20:52:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/?page_id=1244"},"modified":"2020-02-22T04:51:03","modified_gmt":"2020-02-22T04:51:03","slug":"chapter-19","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/volume-ii\/part-i-dardeh\/chapter-19\/","title":{"rendered":"Chapter 19"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Dear Lydia:<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>I\u2019m sorry it\u2019s been so long.\u00a0 It\u2019s going to be a few more days yet before I get back, maybe more than a few, I\u2019m not sure; so I\u2018m sending the courier along ahead of me.\u00a0 I may have found someone who can tell me about my sister.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><em>You wouldn\u2019t believe what I\u2019ve been through. I went to the College, and met the archivist.\u00a0 He sent me looking for an old mage named Septimus Signus, who said I could find the item I need in Blackreach and gave me a couple of contraptions to get me there.\u00a0 Do you know of Blackreach?\u00a0 It\u2019s the weirdest place I\u2019ve ever seen.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1246\" src=\"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2-1-19-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2-1-19-1.png 1920w, https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2-1-19-1-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2-1-19-1-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2-1-19-1-1024x576.png 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><em>To get there I first had to go through an old Dwemer ruin.\u00a0 Let\u2019s just say that I had more than a few close calls.\u00a0 Those old Dwemer constructs are still alive, not just standing around like the ones in the museum in Markarth, and they really hit hard.\u00a0 In fact, the only reason I made it to where I needed to be was that I had one kind of iffy invisibility potion that I made myself.\u00a0 It let me sneak past the Centurion that was trying to steam me alive.\u00a0 One of the things Septimus gave me unlocked a stairway down into Blackreach.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><em>That place is dark. It would be pitch black if not for this gigantic lighted ball in the middle of it, up near the roof, and all sorts of glowing mushrooms and floating \u2013 things that glow.\u00a0 There\u2019s just enough light to see the Falmer by.\u00a0 I was able to sneak around most of them and find the lift that led up to another Dwemer place, the Tower of Mzark.\u00a0 And that\u2019s where I found, well, the thing I\u2019d been looking for.\u00a0 I\u2019ll tell you about it when I get home.\u00a0 I don\u2019t trust a piece of parchment for holding those words.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1247\" src=\"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2-1-19-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2-1-19-2.png 1920w, https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2-1-19-2-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2-1-19-2-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2-1-19-2-1024x576.png 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><em>I had to go back to Septimus and give him the cube he was looking for, so that set me back several days.\u00a0 Now I\u2019m back in Windhelm.\u00a0 While I was selling some of the stuff I gathered along the way \u2013 there was a lot of it, thus the coin purse I\u2019m sending \u2013 I started talking to the smith.\u00a0 Seems that he has met my sister!!!\u00a0 He told me about a man who knows her and is from Kynesgrove.\u00a0 With any luck he\u2019ll be there when I get there and we can go find her.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><em>I can hardly believe I\u2019m this close to finding her after all this time. I hope you understand why I can\u2019t come straight home.\u00a0 Please give my love to Lucia and tell her that her Papa is fine and can\u2019t wait to see her again. <\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><em>All my best,<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><em>Dardeh<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Dardeh looked the letter over, then folded and sealed it and beckoned to the courier.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSame deal as before, yes?\u00a0 You take this letter and this purse to Lydia and it arrives to her in exactly the same condition as it was when I handed it to you, or I will come and find you.\u201d\u00a0 He smiled.<\/p>\n<p>The courier nodded. \u201cYessir.\u00a0 No problem at all, I will get it to her right away.\u201d\u00a0 He turned and scurried out the door as quickly as he could move.<\/p>\n<p>Dardeh leaned back in his chair next to the fireplace.\u00a0 Candlehearth Hall was beginning to feel familiar and comfortable what with all the time he spent there, he thought.\u00a0 An evening with a nice bottle of ale next to a warm fire was just what he needed after everything he\u2019d been through.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t help but frown, though, thinking about the things he hadn\u2019t told Lydia.<\/p>\n<p>There was, for instance, the small matter of the bandit who had attacked him as he made his way down from High Hrothgar.\u00a0 He had drawn his swords, but what had gotten the man was his Shout.\u00a0 He hadn\u2019t actually thought about it.\u00a0 From somewhere deep inside him \u201cYOL!\u201d had erupted; the man\u2019s body had rolled down the hill toward him, leaving scorched marks in the snow.\u00a0 Dardeh had stood, staring at him, for a long while, wondering why he had Shouted the man to death without a moment of hesitation.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1248\" src=\"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2-1-19-3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2-1-19-3.png 1920w, https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2-1-19-3-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2-1-19-3-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2-1-19-3-1024x576.png 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>Is this what the man in that dream \u2013 Jine &#8212; meant?\u00a0 We kill them all?\u00a0 My ancestors \u2013 and I?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>He hadn\u2019t told Lydia about using the name Dragonborn to get into the College, and then again to convince Urag gro-Shub, the Archivist, to let him see information on the Elder Scrolls. It was pretty useful. \u201cAre you just someone\u2019s errand boy?\u201d Urag had asked.\u00a0 Dardeh had bristled and dropped his title on Urag\u2019s desk, so to speak, to be met with suddenly gracious assistance in his research.<\/p>\n<p>He had asked Urag what he knew about the history of Stros M\u2019Kai.\u00a0 Aside from the snide comments about a Redguard not knowing his own history he\u2019d been really helpful.\u00a0 The books he located spoke of the snake charmers of the island, one of whom was named Avik.\u00a0 Could this be the Avik to whom Jine was related, according to his surname?\u00a0 If so that meant Dardeh came in part from a family of snake charmers.\u00a0 Something about that tickled the back of his mind, and he had thought about it all the way through the Dwemer ruin and Blackreach.<\/p>\n<p><em>Is that the power he was talking about, that we all share?\u00a0 Snakes are hardly dragons, but maybe? Would this dragon thing be something that comes from my ancestors? Could any of them have been Dragonborn \u2013 if the need had been there?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>He hadn\u2019t told Lydia about the dragon attack in Winterhold, just as he\u2019d been leaving to find Septimus Signus, when he used an old Akaviri blade he had picked up in Sky Haven Temple that seemed to do much more damage to a dragon than a regular blade.\u00a0 Or the snow bear he had Shouted at, sending it flying off a cliff to its death.<\/p>\n<p>Dardeh definitely hadn\u2019t mentioned the bizarre encounter he\u2019d had while leaving Septimus Signus\u2019 hideout for the second time, after his trip to Blackreach.\u00a0 He had been walking up the icy ramp to the cave\u2019s exit and found his way blocked by something horrific: \u00a0a writhing mass of tentacles with what looked like hundreds of greenish eyeballs, all of which constantly changed size and position in an unsettling, fluid movement.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1249\" src=\"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2-1-19-4.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2-1-19-4.png 1920w, https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2-1-19-4-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2-1-19-4-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2-1-19-4-1024x576.png 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am Hermaeus Mora,\u201d it had said to him in a voice as deep as the Void. \u201cI am the guardian of the unseen, and knower of the unknown.\u00a0 I have been watching you, mortal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dardeh had nearly passed out.<\/p>\n<p>A Daedric prince.<\/p>\n<p>Hermaeus Mora wanted him to collect blood from every type of elf so that Septimus Signus could use them as a key to a Dwemer lockbox there in Septimus\u2019 quarters.\u00a0 And then, he pronounced, Signus would die, and Dardeh would become Hermaeus Mora\u2019s champion.<\/p>\n<p>Dardeh had refused, vigorously.\u00a0 Hermaeus Mora had laughed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMany have thought as you do.\u00a0 I have \u2026 broken them all. \u00a0You shall not evade me forever,\u201d he had said.<\/p>\n<p>Dardeh wouldn\u2019t share that with Lydia.\u00a0 The dragons were bad enough.\u00a0 There\u2019d been another one, between Windhelm and Kynesgrove, and he\u2019d fought it as hard as he\u2019d ever fought anything.\u00a0 All he could think of was the wooden buildings, the thatched roofs, and all the people inside; and he\u2019d answered fire with fire and stabbed with the long Akaviri blade, finishing the beast by driving that blade through its skull into its brain, roaring his rage.<\/p>\n<p>He also hadn\u2019t shared the fact that now, after all of the travelling and fighting and exploring he\u2019d done already, he needed to climb back up that godsforsaken mountain again, all the way to the top, just to read the Elder Scroll he had found in Mzark.\u00a0 That would have worried her too much.\u00a0 It also would have borne the potential to make him even more a target than he already was if someone got hold of the letter.<\/p>\n<p>He wasn\u2019t ever going to tell Lydia these things, if he could possibly help it.<\/p>\n<p>He had come back into Windhelm via the docks, up through the narrow passage to the city, and had headed straight for the Temple of Talos.\u00a0 He stood for long moments, looking up at the gigantic statue of his god standing astride a slain dragon \u2013 or perhaps a gigantic snake.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1250\" src=\"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2-1-19-5.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2-1-19-5.png 1920w, https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2-1-19-5-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2-1-19-5-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2-1-19-5-1024x576.png 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>I wonder if he was as confused as I am, back when he was mortal and discovered that he was Dragonborn.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n<p>He reached out to touch the shrine.\u00a0 The idea that the god he worshipped had also been Dragonborn was more than a little overwhelming. He kept hearing Arngeir cautioning against the arrogance of power. Maybe he\u2019d been feeling a bit of that, he thought, when he used his status to get into the College in spite of having little magic, or to cow Urag into bringing him material on the Elder Scrolls.<\/p>\n<p><em>I\u2019m not like you. I\u2019m not a god. I\u2019m just one man. I can\u2019t do it alone. Talos guide me.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The energy of the shrine when he activated it felt particularly warm and light on that cold day.<\/p>\n<p>He had left the Temple and gone to see about selling some things to Oengul.\u00a0 They\u2019d been haggling over bits and pieces for a few minutes when it occurred to Dardeh that of all the places he\u2019d asked about his sister, Windhelm had not been one of them.\u00a0 There had just been too many other things to deal with.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI wonder, Oengul,\u201d he had said.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m looking for my half-sister and I wonder if there\u2019s any chance you might have met her.\u00a0 She\u2019s Redguard, with black hair, but with green eyes and a scar down the side of her face.\u201d\u00a0 He drew a finger down his left cheek to illustrate, as his mother had described it to him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOh, of course, I know just who you\u2019re talking about,\u201d Oengul replied, barely looking up from sharpening the sword he was working on.\u00a0 \u201cShe\u2019s been here any number of times.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dardeh\u2019s mouth fell open.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo you know where she is now?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo, haven\u2019t seen her in some little while, but I\u2019ll tell you who might know if anyone does.\u00a0 Roggi Knot-Beard, down in Kynesgrove.\u00a0 Last I heard he was still working the mine down there. He hadn\u2019t shown his face around here in, oh, ten years or so and then suddenly turned up with this girl. I got the impression he was pretty sweet on her.\u00a0 Go find him.\u00a0 I\u2019ll bet he knows.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1251\" src=\"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2-1-19-6.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2-1-19-6.png 1920w, https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2-1-19-6-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2-1-19-6-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2-1-19-6-1024x576.png 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThank you.\u00a0 Thank you so much.\u00a0 You can\u2019t imagine how long I\u2019ve been looking for her and all I find is hints of where she was before.\u00a0 I\u2019ll go there first thing tomorrow.\u201d\u00a0 He sold Oengul a particularly nice sword for far less than it was worth, as a show of gratitude for the information.<\/p>\n<p>Dardeh took another long pull of his ale, grinned, and stretched his feet out toward the fire.\u00a0 First thing in the morning.\u00a0 I can\u2019t believe I have an actual lead.\u00a0 It\u2019s been months.\u00a0 The Elder Scroll is just going to have to wait for a bit.<\/p>\n<p>__________________<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCome in, and shake the cold off,\u201d the woman behind the bar called to him.\u00a0 He made his way to her and slid onto one of the stools.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019d like an ale, please,\u201d he said, sliding a few coins across the bar.\u00a0 \u201cAnd, uh, bread and cheese?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSure thing.\u00a0 One moment,\u201d she said, rustling about for a few moments and bringing him his snack.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m Iddra.\u00a0 Let me know if there\u2019s anything else you need.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dardeh started munching on the bread and cheese and then caught her attention again.\u00a0 \u201cUm, I\u2019m looking for someone who\u2019s supposed to live around here.\u00a0 Oengul up in Windhelm sent me this way.\u00a0 His name is Roggi?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The woman smiled.\u00a0 \u201cOf course.\u00a0 I think he\u2019s in the mine right now, but if he isn\u2019t you might check his house. It\u2019s the second one down the hill.\u201d\u00a0 She frowned. \u201cUsually I would have told you to just turn around and look, he spent so much time in here just drinking away what he made and then some, but he\u2019s been, well\u2026 different since he came back from being away this time.\u00a0 It\u2019s good for him, not so good for me.\u00a0 Still, the mine\u2019s where you should check first. It\u2019s usually a safe bet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThanks, Iddra. I\u2019ll head out there now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He finished his food and rose to head out the door.<\/p>\n<p>Steamscorch Mine wasn\u2019t too far away, just in back of the inn and up a short rise.\u00a0 He opened its doors and looked around, grinning.\u00a0 <em>Malachite.\u00a0 Lots of it. <\/em><\/p>\n<p>There was a pickaxe leaning against the wall of the downward ramp.\u00a0 He picked it up and slung it over his shoulder.\u00a0 <em>Can\u2019t imagine they\u2019d refuse a little help and I\u2019m itching to hit some rock.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>There was a surly-looking Nord standing at the entrance to a side passage, his arms crossed.\u00a0 \u201cMining is hard work,\u201d he said as Dardeh approached.\u00a0 \u201cBut we\u2019ll pay fair coin for anything you dig up.\u00a0 My name\u2019s Kjeld. I run the mine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood enough. I\u2019ll be happy to dig some up for you.\u00a0 I\u2019m from out by Markarth and mining\u2019s what I know.\u201d\u00a0 Dardeh smiled at him.\u00a0 \u201cListen, I\u2019m looking for someone named Roggi.\u00a0 You wouldn\u2019t happen to know where he is, would you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The man chuckled.\u00a0 \u201cTurn around and look at the table. He\u2019s right there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dardeh glanced behind him and saw the back of a seated man, with long blonde hair pulled into a tail. He was obviously eating a snack and his attention was on it and nothing else.\u00a0 Dardeh nodded thanks at Kjeld and walked over to the table, to where he could see the man\u2019s face.<\/p>\n<p>And he almost passed out.\u00a0 The blood first rushed away from his head and then back into it; his mouth went dry.<\/p>\n<p><em>It\u2019s him.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>By the Nine it\u2019s him.\u00a0 He\u2019s Roggi Knot-Beard?\u00a0 I know his name now. I know his name. I can\u2019t believe it. I wasn\u2019t sure I\u2019d ever find him.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Roggi looked up at him in surprise as he realized someone was next to him; then a brilliant smile broke over his face. \u00a0It was the same smile Dardeh had seen in Whiterun, all that time ago.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWell, look who it is!\u00a0 Good to see you, Dardeh!\u00a0 What brings you here?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dardeh\u2019s knees were threatening to give out on him.\u00a0 <em>He remembers me.\u00a0 By Ysmir.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u201cUm, uh\u2026 can I share the bench for a second?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Roggi frowned. \u201cOf course. Are you all right?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI will be, just give me a second. I\u2019m just \u2026 really surprised.\u201d\u00a0 <em>By finding out it\u2019s you, by what on earth is going on with this body of mine right this second.<\/em>\u00a0 He slid onto the bench beside Roggi and scolded his heart for racing just because of the proximity of this man he\u2019d been thinking about, ever since they had parted in Whiterun. He blew out a deep breath and then turned to face Roggi.<\/p>\n<p><em>Same blue eyes. Same wonderful voice.\u00a0 Same beautiful smile.\u00a0 I can\u2019t believe it.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was, uh, looking for you.\u00a0 Or whoever it was that turned out to be Roggi.\u00a0 Oengul sent me down here when I was asking about\u2026\u201d\u00a0 He paused and shook his head. \u201cI really can\u2019t get over it, that you\u2019re Roggi.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not like we\u2019ve never met.\u201d\u00a0 He grinned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWell yes, but you never gave me your names,\u201d Dardeh replied weakly.\u00a0 \u201cI could have kicked myself when I realized that later that day.\u00a0 So here\u2019s the thing.\u00a0 You remember I was hunting dragons, yes?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Roggi\u2019s eyes twinkled.\u00a0 \u201cYes. And you wouldn\u2019t believe how many people told me I was crazy when I mentioned I had met the Dragonborn.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dardeh grimaced. \u201cYes, well.\u00a0 That has turned out to be a whole lot more trouble than it\u2019s worth. Don\u2019t go just spreading that around, please? It seems to get me into all sorts of tight spots these days.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOf course not,\u201d Roggi told him, nodding.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll try to keep my mouth shut.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dardeh looked him directly in the eyes and felt faint again. The reaction he felt every time he looked at the man was visceral.\u00a0 Overwhelming.<\/p>\n<p><em>So he\u2019s the one, Dar?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Dardeh blinked.<\/p>\n<p><em>Yes, Ma.\u00a0 He\u2019s the one. You told me I\u2019d know it when the time was right and I do.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Why are my dead relatives talking to me, anyway? Am I crazy?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>He shook his head to bring himself back to the moment.\u00a0 \u201cSo, here\u2019s the thing, Roggi.\u00a0 I\u2019m a little overwhelmed right now, because,\u201d he paused, realizing that he really was overwhelmed, \u201cI\u2019ve been looking for my sister, not just hunting dragons. You remember that, yes?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Roggi nodded.\u00a0 \u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWell Oengul sent me down here to talk to you. Said you\u2019d been to Windhelm in the company of a Redguard girl with a scar.\u00a0 And we both know who you were with when I met you in Whiterun.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Roggi frowned.\u00a0 \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Oh? What\u2019s this reaction?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWas her name, by any chance, Dagnell? Because I never got her name, either.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He nodded.\u00a0 \u201cYes, that\u2019s her name.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dardeh smiled.\u00a0 \u201cI can\u2019t believe it.\u00a0 I just can\u2019t believe it.\u00a0 Roggi, that\u2019s my sister.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Roggi\u2019s eyes opened wider. \u201cWait a minute.\u00a0 What?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dardeh nodded, and told him the story.\u00a0 All he\u2019d had to go on, all this time, was his mother\u2019s deathbed story: his father\u2019s name, his wife\u2019s name, where they\u2019d all been, what his sister was supposed to have looked like \u2013 and her name.\u00a0 Dagnell.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWell, I don\u2019t quite know what to say,\u201d Roggi said quietly.\u00a0 \u201cI wish we\u2019d known, back then.\u00a0 Too bad we weren\u2019t bright enough to tell you our names, but we were, eh, how to say it.\u00a0 In a bit of a hurry to get out of town. Or at least she was.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Oh really?\u00a0 Well, it doesn\u2019t matter now.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Dardeh found his arm moving, as though he was about to grab Roggi\u2019s hand, and he had to catch himself.\u00a0 <em>What am I doing?\u00a0 Just because we know each other doesn\u2019t mean I can get\u2026 familiar.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo can you take me to where she is? Introduce us? Tell me where she is?\u00a0 Roggi, she\u2019s the only family I have in the world.\u00a0 It would mean so much.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Roggi frowned and shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWh&#8211;\u00a0 why not?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know where she is.\u00a0 I know where she <em>went.<\/em>\u00a0 She went to Riften.\u201d\u00a0 He raised his gaze to meet Dardeh\u2019s; he looked sad.\u00a0 \u201cShe, uh, married a man named Brynjolf.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dardeh blinked.\u00a0 \u201cWait, I\u2019ve heard that name.\u00a0 I was supposed to look him up, quite a long while ago now, to find some information.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Roggi chuckled.\u00a0 \u201cAnd you thought he\u2019d give you information?\u00a0 No, not Bryn.\u00a0 You have to get on his good side to get information out of him. Or pay him a good chunk of change.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>So he knows this Brynjolf, this guy I was supposed to meet but didn\u2019t.\u00a0 And he knows him well enough to call him by a short name.\u00a0 And if she married him\u2026 that means he\u2019s my brother-in-law.\u00a0 By the Nine.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Dardeh blew out a breath.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cListen, I want to talk to you about this, more.\u00a0 A lot.\u00a0 But it\u2019s working hours and I\u2019ve already taken up a lot of your time.\u00a0 I know I\u2019m not really dressed for it but I can be, in a minute and, uh, I\u2019m a miner.\u00a0 From Markarth.\u00a0 How about I help you dig up some malachite and I\u2019ll treat you to a drink later. What say you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Roggi smiled, and Dardeh felt butterflies dancing in his stomach.\u00a0 \u201cSure thing.\u00a0 You know, it takes uncommon strength to work the mines in Skyrim.\u00a0 The earth is cold and hard.\u00a0 Like the heart of a Nord.\u00a0 Let\u2019s get to it.\u201d\u00a0 He stood and headed down the ramp deeper into the mine.<\/p>\n<p><em>Is my heart cold and hard? I\u2019m Nord.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n<p>The dragon fire rising up in him told him otherwise.\u00a0 He was not cold and hard.\u00a0 He was hot, hot and pliable, like steel being pounded into the shape of an Alik\u2019r saber.<\/p>\n<p>He slipped out of his armor and followed Roggi down to find some malachite.<\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align: left; float: left;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/part-i-dardeh\/\">Part I: Dardeh<\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: right; float: right;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/volume-ii\/part-i-dardeh\/chapter-18\/\">Previous<\/a> \/ <a href=\"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/volume-ii\/part-i-dardeh\/chapter-20\/\">Next<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dear Lydia: I\u2019m sorry it\u2019s been so long.\u00a0 It\u2019s going to be a few more days yet before I get back, maybe more than a few, I\u2019m not sure; so I\u2018m sending the courier along ahead of me.\u00a0 I may have found someone who can tell me about my sister. You wouldn\u2019t believe what I\u2019ve &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/volume-ii\/part-i-dardeh\/chapter-19\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Chapter 19&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":941,"menu_order":19,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1244","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1244","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=1244"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1244\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2327,"href":"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1244\/revisions\/2327"}],"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=1244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}