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<\/p>\nThey were both hot and sweaty by the time they headed into the inn for a meal and some mead.<\/p>\n
\u201cPhew!\u201d Iddra said, wrinkling her nose, as she brought them their food.\u00a0 \u201cYou boys must have been working hard. Best not drive away all the other customers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dardeh laughed.\u00a0 \u201cI know. My Ma would be having a fit.\u00a0 But boy did it feel good to do some plain old work.\u00a0 It\u2019s been too long.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Roggi smiled.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re good at it.\u201d\u00a0 He grabbed his flagon and drained it.\u00a0 \u201cDamn. I was thirsty.\u00a0 I guess Iddra might let me have another,\u201d he said, waving at her and pointing at the flagon.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeen doing it all my life. Or at least since I was big enough to swing a pick.\u00a0 You might not be able to guess looking at me but I used to be a skinny kid with a squeaky voice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Roggi laughed.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re right, it\u2019s hard to tell.\u00a0 It\u2019s like I said, we have to be strong to do that work and you\u2019re built for it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dardeh grinned.\u00a0 Ok, this is good, he\u2019s talking about my build.\u00a0 I won\u2019t read anything into it but a guy can dream, right? <\/em><\/p>\n \u201cMy ma said I was a\u2026 how did she put it?\u00a0 Big handsome brute, just like my da.\u00a0 I never knew my da, and I don\u2019t know about the handsome part, but I guess that\u2019s a compliment.\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi didn\u2019t say anything but he grinned at Dardeh.\u00a0 Well at least he didn\u2019t disagree, right?<\/em><\/p>\n He sampled his own mead.\u00a0 Mead, Roggi had insisted.\u00a0 Not ale.\u00a0 They didn\u2019t have good Riften mead here but Honningbrew was almost as good.\u00a0 And it was good, too.\u00a0 He was thirsty, too, he realized when he looked in the flagon and saw that he\u2019d emptied it.<\/p>\n Iddra brought two more meads to the table and frowned at Roggi.\u00a0 \u201cYou behave, Roggi.\u201d<\/p>\n He grinned and waved her off.\u00a0 \u201cRight, Iddra. I know.\u00a0 I will.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOk,\u201d Dardeh said after she\u2019d walked away, \u201cwhat was that about? You seem to be behaving as far as I can tell.\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi shrugged, and stared into his flagon.\u00a0 \u201cEh.\u00a0 I have kind of a, well\u2026 weakness when it comes to mead.\u00a0 Too easy to get carried away.\u00a0 I\u2019ve been trying hard to be careful since I got back to Kynesgrove and mostly I\u2019m doing better, but not always.\u201d<\/p>\n Then he looked up and grinned at Dardeh.\u00a0 \u201cIddra keeps me honest.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo Iddra is your\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi looked startled.\u00a0 \u201cWhat? No!\u201d\u00a0 He threw back his head and laughed.\u00a0 \u201cIddra is Kjeld\u2019s wife.\u00a0 She\u2019s just a dear friend and kind of a mother hen when it comes to me, I guess.\u201d\u00a0 His smile faded.\u00a0 \u201cI think she\u2019s seen me at the wrong end of one of these too many times,\u201d and he waggled the flagon.<\/p>\n \u201cSo you\u2019re not, uh, married?\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi frowned. \u201cNo. Not even attached.\u201d\u00a0 Then he grinned.\u00a0 \u201cWell, there was your sister.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh laughed.\u00a0 They had talked about Dagnell a little bit while they were picking malachite out of the ground, and it was clear to Dardeh that Roggi had been in love with her and probably still was.\u00a0 Which was more than a bit uncomfortable to think about for all kinds of reasons.<\/p>\n Roggi started talking about her again.\u00a0 And he talked, and talked, about Dagnell and Whiterun and Riften and the meaderies and everything else, while Dardeh ate and smiled and developed a picture of his sister, and drank the mead that Roggi kept ordering for them in spite of Iddra\u2019s frowns.\u00a0 He was pretty sure that he talked back; he knew he laughed a lot, but mostly he just looked, and listened, and enjoyed. They traded stories about mining; Dardeh told him the tales of his trip through the southern provinces, and about riding in a prisoner\u2019s cart with Ulfric Stormcloak and meeting Alduin the black dragon, and killing the other dragon just up the hill behind the inn they were sitting in.\u00a0 That had gotten a frown from Roggi, but it was the only thing that did; everything else got a chuckle or another story, or another round.\u00a0 Iddra was increasingly cross; but Roggi snapped at her and told her to keep them coming, and she gritted her teeth and did so, until finally she shooed them out of the inn.<\/p>\n \u201cEnough, Roggi. You\u2019ve had enough. And so has Dardeh.\u00a0 Go home and sleep it off.\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi had waved her off. \u201cYeah, yeah.\u00a0 Goin\u2019 now,\u201d and as soon as she had turned her back he made a face at it, and then grinned at Dardeh.\u00a0 They rose, and lurched their way out of the inn and down the road to Roggi\u2019s house.\u00a0 Dardeh laughed at himself; it had been a long while since he\u2019d had quite so much to drink and it had been longer since he\u2019d had someone to drink it with.\u00a0 Roggi was a lot of fun.<\/p>\n The inside of Roggi\u2019s house was spare, he thought, or at least as far as he could tell it was pretty spare, but it was neat and clean and he laughed at himself trying to light the fire while Roggi rustled around in a locked chest and brought out even more mead.<\/p>\n \u201cDrink up, Dar,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cI know Iddra\u2019s gonna be mad at me, but\u2026\u201d and he shrugged.<\/p>\n Dardeh laughed.\u00a0 \u201cYou got a deal. If I can get this fire goin\u2019.\u00a0 My aim s\u2019off,\u201d he giggled, trying to strike a spark and failing two times out of three.\u00a0 \u201cBut she\u2019s already mad at you.\u201d<\/p>\n He laughed. \u201cYeah, I know. I keep it locked up so it takes effort to get it out an\u2019 I hafta \u00a0think \u2018bout it.\u00a0 Been tryin\u2019 to be good but some things jus\u2019 require a good night of drinkin’ and meetin\u2019 your best girl\u2019s brother\u2019s one of those things.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh got the fire going and smiled up at him.\u00a0 By Talos he looks good to me.\u00a0 Probably just as well it\u2019s not even an option.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cSo she was your bes\u2019 girl, eh?\u201d he said, setting to on his next bottle of mead.\u00a0 I\u2019m going to hate myself tomorrow but it\u2019s been a long time since I\u2019ve had an evening like this.<\/em><\/p>\n Roggi sat down on the floor, or rather flopped down on the floor, his back against the end of his bed and his feet stretched out toward the building fire.\u00a0 He smiled.\u00a0 It was a small smile, but a smile nonetheless.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah. \u00a0She was.\u00a0 Problem is she\u2019s Bryn\u2019s bes\u2019 girl too an\u2019 she married him.\u00a0 I\u2019d\u2019ve asked her if I hadn\u2019 been such a fool, but I got up on my high horse \u2018bout their line of work and he got\u2019er first.\u201d\u00a0 He looked at Dardeh and winked. \u201cHow \u2018bout you? You got a woman?\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh was startled for just a moment and then cackled. \u201cNo, not me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo? So when you gonna get yourself one then?\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh snickered.\u00a0 \u201cEh, prob\u2019ly never, Roggi.\u201d\u00a0 Of all the questions he could ask me. <\/em>\u201cUnless you count my housecarl. But she\u2019s jus\u2019 my housecarl.\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi waggled his eyebrows at Dardeh.<\/p>\n Dardeh laughed. \u201cI\u2019m serious. She takes care of the house an\u2019 my daughter, and tha\u2019s it. I \u2018dopted a little girl since the firs\u2019 time you saw me.\u00a0 So they try to keep me in line, the two of \u2018em.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo she\u2019s ugly, then?\u201d Roggi said, looking mischievous.<\/p>\n Dardeh poked him. \u201cNo, she\u2019s not. She\u2019s gorgeous. But iss not like that, I swear.\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi laughed, and then started talking again, in between pulls on his mead, and his words got sloppier and sadder as they went.\u00a0 Dardeh just watched him.\u00a0 Here is a man, he thought, who isn\u2019t drinking for the fun of it.\u00a0 He\u2019s drinking to escape. And he\u2019s done it before.<\/p>\n On the other hand, Dardeh was drinking for the fun of it and wishing he wasn\u2019t; because the more he drank the better Roggi looked to him.\u00a0 And he didn\u2019t want to inadvertently do something to anger Roggi or jeopardize what looked like it might turn into a real friendship.<\/p>\n So he took a deep breath and spoke. Best get the hard part out of the way now.<\/p>\n \u201cSo you sure you won\u2019 take me there to meet \u2018er?\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cNo, Dar. I need to stay clear of Riften. Y\u2019see these last few months well, we kinda\u2026\u201d He trailed off, chewing on the inside of his lip.<\/p>\n Dardeh stared at him for a few moments and then realized what he was hinting at.\u00a0 \u201cOh wait, you\u2019re still, the two of you\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n He\u2019s sleeping with my sister.\u00a0 My married sister.\u00a0 By the Nine. <\/em><\/p>\n \u201cYep,\u201d Roggi said, frowning.\u00a0 \u201cSometimes. \u00a0We know issnot right but Dar, your sister, she\u2019s special an\u2019 I\u2019m \u2026 \u201d\u00a0 He trailed off, looking miserable.<\/p>\n Dardeh sighed.\u00a0 I suppose I should be angry or outraged or something but how can I say anything about this? I wouldn\u2019t even be here if not for the same kind of situation. It\u2019s not my place to pass judgment. I guess it runs in the family.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWell I guess we\u2019re all special in this cart,\u201d he murmured, and sighed.\u00a0 \u201cTha\u2019still doesn\u2019t tell me why you won\u2019 go there with me. Iss not like you can, I dunno, get together with a big brute Dragonborn sittin\u2019 in between you.\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi laughed. \u201cNo, iss not that, it\u2019s Bryn.\u00a0 He\u2019s my friend, Dar, and I just can\u2019 face \u2018im right now. Can\u2019t believe what I\u2019ve done to \u2018im, an\u2019 I hate all of it.\u00a0 An\u2019 I\u2019m not exac\u2019ly a fan of what he does for a livin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh yeah? You said tha\u2019 more than once. Wha\u2019s it that he does?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh he\u2019s at the top of the Thieves Guild, nothin\u2019 special.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh stared, and set his bottle onto the floor very carefully, trying to make sure he set it down upright so that he wouldn\u2019t spill it, and not entirely sure he could accomplish that.<\/p>\n \u201cThieves Guild? Really? As in \u2026 the group ev\u2019ry single person I ran across down there was complainin\u2019 about?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYep.\u00a0 The same,\u201d Roggi said, tipping his bottle up and frowning when he realized it was empty.\u00a0 \u201cSo\u2019s your sister, actually.\u201d\u00a0 He pulled himself slowly up onto the edge of the bed and reached over it, into the chest, for another pair of bottles.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, I\u2019m set,\u201d Dardeh told him.\u00a0 \u201cIf I drink any more I\u2019ll wish I hadn\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi grinned. \u201cWell iss never enough for me so,\u201d and opened another for himself.<\/p>\n Dardeh sat there watching him.<\/p>\n \u201cMy sister\u2019s in the Thieves Guild.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh not just that, Dar. She runs it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re kiddin\u2019.\u201d\u00a0 Tell me he\u2019s kidding and I\u2019m not blood related to the head of the Thieves Guild.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cNo. I\u2019m not. And tha\u2019s why I won\u2019t go to Riften with you,\u201d he said, listing to the side a bit.\u00a0 He uprighted himself and laughed.\u00a0 Then he frowned.\u00a0 \u201cIddra\u2019s gonna be so mad at me.\u201d He laughed again, a short, bitter-sounding burst of a laugh.<\/p>\n \u201cNot if you come with me to High Hrothgar,\u201d Dardeh told him.\u00a0 What am I saying?\u00a0 I don\u2019t want to let him out of my sight but \u2013 <\/em><\/p>\n Roggi\u2019s eyes got huge.<\/p>\n \u201cI know I\u2019m drunk but did you just say High \u2026 Hrothgar?\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh smiled at him.\u00a0 \u201cYeah I did.\u201d\u00a0 Then he explained what was going on, and what had to happen.\u00a0 \u201cAnd I don\u2019 wanna do it alone, Roggi.\u00a0 I\u2019m scared, truth be told.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe Dragonborn says he\u2019s scared. Tha\u2019s somethin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, well, iss also the truth.\u201d\u00a0 I\u2019m terrified. I\u2019ve had people, dead people, talking to me in my sleep. I seem to be getting better and better at killing people and I don\u2019t even like killing. And I have to go back in time and hope it helps me defeat the first of the dragons? Damn straight I\u2019m scared.\u00a0 Please come with me.\u00a0 If I die at least I won\u2019t have been alone at the end.<\/em><\/p>\n Roggi smiled.\u00a0 \u201cYeah, I\u2019ll come with you. Travel with th\u2019 Dragonborn? \u00a0Of course I will, Dar.\u201d\u00a0 He laughed.\u00a0 \u201cI hope you don\u2019 mind if I call you Dar. I don\u2019 think I can get my mouth t\u2019 say your whole name right now.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh cackled. \u201cIt gets better. My da\u2019s name \u2018parently was Dadarh.\u00a0 My mother had some sick sense of humor \u2018cause if I was gonna use my Redguard name I\u2019d be,\u201d and he stopped for a breath, \u201cDardeh at-Dadarh. Jus\u2019 try sayin\u2019 that a few times.\u201d\u00a0 He giggled.\u00a0 \u201cBut I\u2019m Nord, s\u2019far as I\u2019m concerned.\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi smiled. \u201cI won\u2019 even \u2018tempt it right now. And I like it tha\u2019 you\u2019re Nord. I\u2019ve seen Nords with better tans than yours,\u201d he snickered.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah but not this hair, I bet,\u201d Dardeh said, running his hand over his messy braids.<\/p>\n \u201cTrue \u2018nough.\u00a0 Hey, can \u2026 you help me get up? I think I need to get onto tha\u2019 bed or I\u2019ll be sleepin\u2019 on the floor.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSure,\u201d Dardeh said, struggling to his feet and helping Roggi up.\u00a0 Neither of them was especially steady and they both giggled like boys as they maneuvered him onto the bed.<\/p>\n Roggi patted the other side of the bed.\u00a0 \u201cHop in,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cI won\u2019 bite.\u00a0 I\u2019m gonna be out cold in \u2018bout five minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh couldn\u2019t believe what he was hearing.\u00a0 \u201cUh\u2026\u201d\u00a0 If you knew what I was feeling right now you\u2019d never make that suggestion.\u00a0 I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever wanted something so much.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cNo I\u2019m serious. You\u2019re not \u2018n any shape to go back to th\u2019 inn anyway an\u2019 there\u2019s room.\u201d There was, too; Roggi had a double bed that took up half his living area and would have room to spare even with two miners on it. \u201cClimb \u2018board.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOk,\u201d Dardeh said hesitantly.\u00a0 He sat on the side of the bed and, at great length, wrestled his boots off, then slid under the covers.\u00a0 His heart was threatening to beat its way out of his chest.\u00a0 He turned to look at Roggi and heard a snore.<\/p>\n He giggled.\u00a0 Roggi wasn\u2019t kidding, was he. Out cold.<\/em><\/p>\n ____<\/p>\n The next morning they were both groaning, and grinning sheepish grins at each other.<\/p>\n \u201cWell,\u201d Roggi said, \u201cI don\u2019t know how much I told you last night but I hope you\u2019ll forgive me for\u2026whatever it was.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh laughed.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t worry about it.\u00a0 Just get yourself ready and you can make it up to me on the road.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAll right.\u00a0 I probably should apologize to Iddra before we go, but I fear the wrath,\u201d he snickered. \u00a0\u201cI do need to talk to Kjeld. I\u2019ll just\u2026 ask him to apologize for me.\u00a0 That always goes well.\u201d\u00a0 He grinned and reached for the door handle. \u201cCome meet me outside the mine in a few minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh got into his heavy mail and sighed.\u00a0 It was good armor, but it weighed a lot.\u00a0 Carrying himself and it up the mountain was at least as much effort as mining a vein of malachite, and his head hurt. He wasn\u2019t looking forward to the climb.<\/p>\n He approached the mine just as Roggi emerged, and had to fight to keep his jaw from dropping.\u00a0 There was no more slightly-bedraggled miner.\u00a0 Roggi was in a set of clothing that looked warm and solid, with a substantial bandolier and bracers. It looks like a wealthy man\u2019s clothes, he thought, and I don\u2019t think Roggi is a wealthy man. But he sure looks good in it.<\/p>\n \u201cIs that going to be enough?\u201d he said, pointing at the clothing but admiring the greatsword slung over Roggi\u2019s back.<\/p>\n He looked for the grin he\u2019d come to expect from Roggi, but instead the man\u2019s face was dead serious.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s lined,\u201d he said, tapping on the one obvious metal plate at his hip.\u00a0 \u201cAnd I\u2019m good with this thing,\u201d he added without the slightest hint of bragging, nodding backwards toward his sword, \u201cand a bow. Let\u2019s get going.\u201d<\/p>\n He turned toward the west and started walking down the path from the mine. Dardeh stood there, staring in amazement for just a moment.\u00a0 So he\u2019s not just a miner.\u00a0 I guess I should have known that from when I saw him with Dagnell, but he seems different this time. <\/em><\/p>\n They were about halfway across the volcanic tundra when Roggi spoke.<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t get over it.\u00a0 Here I am travelling with the Dragonborn.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh snorted.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t make such a big deal about it, Roggi.\u00a0 I\u2019m just a guy. You watched me mine. That\u2019s what I\u2019m good at.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut I heard you Shout.\u00a0 I only know one other person who is supposed to be able to do that, and I never heard him do it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh?\u201d Dardeh glanced at him, grinning.\u00a0 \u201cYou know Ulfric, then?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah,\u201d Roggi said.\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t smiling.\u00a0 \u201cAnd I never heard him Shout. He\u2019s not Dragonborn.\u201d He glanced at Dardeh. \u201cI was a Stormcloak, for a time.\u201d<\/p>\n Well, well.\u00a0 It gets more intriguing by the moment. He knows Ulfric?<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWell, don\u2019t get too impressed.\u00a0 It\u2019s all just a bunch of noise. And, ok, a little bit of fire, and some frost. Stuff like that. Unfortunately, it seems as though I\u2019m the only one who can deal with this particular mess and if I don\u2019t, we\u2019re all going to regret it.\u00a0 So I\u2019m glad you\u2019re with me. I need to get up to the top safely and I\u2019m not sure I can do it alone.\u201d<\/p>\n He desperately wanted to see Roggi smile again, and he didn\u2019t understand what was wrong.\u00a0 Just as he was about to say something, a wolf came barreling up the hillside toward them.\u00a0 Roggi drew his sword and calmly sliced the beast in half.<\/p>\n Dardeh stopped and looked at Roggi, and suddenly, for no reason at all, everything seemed funny to him.<\/p>\n \u201cMy hero,\u201d he said, trying hard not to grin.<\/p>\n Roggi stopped and stared at him, looking stern, maybe even a bit annoyed.\u00a0 But the tiny smile playing about on Dardeh\u2019s mouth would not be denied.\u00a0 He was travelling with Roggi, and he couldn\u2019t imagine too many finer things right then.<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t wait to show you a dragon,\u201d he said, trying and likely failing to look serious.<\/p>\n Roggi stared at him for a moment, then burst out laughing.<\/p>\n And they continued on toward the foot of the mountain.<\/p>\n They were both hot and sweaty by the time they headed into the inn for a meal and some mead. \u201cPhew!\u201d Iddra said, wrinkling her nose, as she brought them their food.\u00a0 \u201cYou boys must have been working hard. Best not drive away all the other customers.\u201d Dardeh laughed.\u00a0 \u201cI know. My Ma would be … <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2-1-20-2.png\")
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<\/p>\nPart I: Dardeh<\/a><\/div>\nPrevious<\/a> \/ Next<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"