\u201cHello, Roggi,\u201d Dardeh said quietly, knowing that his voice was unmistakable.<\/p>\n
Roggi\u2019s eyes widened.\u00a0 \u201cBy Ysmir!\u00a0 Dardeh!\u00a0 I didn\u2019t\u2026\u201d\u00a0 He stepped forward to grasp Dardeh by the shoulders and looked him over again.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s really you!\u201d\u00a0 He pulled Dardeh into a quick hug, clapping him on the back.<\/p>\n
Dardeh was glad Roggi couldn\u2019t see how close he was to tears, or know how happy he was to get that hug.<\/p>\n
Gods, Roggi, I missed you so much. You\u2019re the reason I\u2019m still alive. Please let me stay with you, at least for a little while.<\/em><\/p>\n Roggi stepped back again, scanning Dardeh\u2019s face. It seemed to Dardeh as though he looked concerned, but then his usual jovial expression returned.<\/p>\n \u201cYou look, eh\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA little different.\u00a0 I know.\u00a0 It\u2019s been a long time that I was away.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAre you back for good? How have you been? Did you just get back? What happened?\u201d\u00a0 Roggi began and then laughed.\u00a0 \u201cListen to me.\u00a0 Come up to my house.\u00a0 I need to hear it all.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh nodded.\u00a0 He was having a hard time mustering words, wanted to gather this man up and hold him close and knew he would never be able to do that.\u00a0 But at least he could spend time with him.\u00a0 He followed Roggi up the slope and out of the mine.<\/p>\n They passed Kjeld on the way.<\/p>\n \u201cQuitting early today, Kjeld,\u201d Roggi said.\u00a0 \u201cDardeh just got back from Solstheim and we need to catch up.\u201d<\/p>\n Kjeld gave Dardeh the same startled once-over Roggi had, then sighed and nodded.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, and then you\u2019ll be off on some kind of tear again, Roggi.\u00a0 Well, have fun.\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi laughed, then turned to Dardeh as they started down the road to his home.\u00a0 \u201cWell, I don\u2019t know what kind of tear you might take me on, but I\u2019m certainly willing.\u00a0 The mine feels awfully tame after what\u2019s been going on for the past few months.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh nodded, but couldn\u2019t speak.<\/p>\n They stepped into Roggi\u2019s house.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m guessing you could use a drink from the look on your face,\u201d Roggi said, pulling a key out of his pocket and heading for his chest.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t wait for an answer, but reached in and pulled out a bottle.\u00a0 Then he turned and handed it to Dardeh.\u00a0 His face was somber, his eyes searching.<\/p>\n \u201cAll right.\u00a0 I\u2019ve been worrying about you all this time and you can\u2019t imagine what Lydia\u2019s been like. I can see it was bad. Are you all right? Time to start talking, Dar.\u201d<\/p>\n Oh.\u00a0 So he\u2019s been with Lydia after all.\u00a0 I should have expected that.<\/em><\/p>\n He sighed, and looked down at the bottle of mead in his hand.\u00a0 It was only then that he noticed Roggi didn\u2019t have one of his own.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re not going to join me?\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cNope. I\u2019ve been working on staying sober since I got back from Riften.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRiften?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah. Brynjolf.\u00a0 It\u2019s a long story, but I\u2019ll bet it\u2019s not as interesting as yours and you\u2019re going to tell me.\u201d\u00a0 He grinned.\u00a0 \u201cIf I have to sit on you to get it out.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh couldn\u2019t help it; he cracked the first smile he could remember in ages, and chuckled.<\/p>\n \u201cAll right. I won\u2019t make you sit on me.\u00a0 And I do need this,\u201d he added, taking a long pull of his mead.\u00a0 \u201cSo, um,\u201d he started, \u201cyou\u2019ve seen Lydia?\u201d\u00a0 Of course he\u2019s seen her you fool.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWell, not since I left Whiterun, but her letters finally caught up to me.\u00a0 Dar, you really shouldn\u2019t have gone so long between messages to her.\u00a0 And, well,\u201d he said, chewing on the inside of his mouth, \u201cI would have liked knowing you were alive, too, you know?\u201d<\/p>\n Wait, no? He wasn\u2019t with her?\u00a0 Am I a complete idiot? Jealous of her for no reason?<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cYeah.\u00a0 About that.\u00a0 I\u2019m really sorry. I started letters to you half a dozen times and couldn\u2019t finish them. It was too strange there.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd Miraak?\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh looked Roggi in the eyes. \u201cThe Cultists won\u2019t bother us anymore. He\u2019s dead.\u00a0 But not by my hand.\u00a0 Not that I didn\u2019t try.\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi stared at him for a long moment, then nodded.<\/em><\/p>\n He<\/em> recognizes this.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know why, but he does.<\/em><\/p>\n Dardeh sat on the floor and started talking, while Roggi moved around his home, cooking, straightening, stopping to sit down beside Dardeh, then standing to move around more. The house filled with the scents of cooking fire and food, and warm tea. Dardeh told him everything he could think of:\u00a0 the ebony mine, the Skaal, the dragons, the Lurkers, Apocrypha, Miraak and Hermaeus Mora.\u00a0 And then the killer in Windhelm.\u00a0 Once the words began he couldn\u2019t stop them; they just kept coming and coming.\u00a0 Roggi handed him food; he kept talking around mouthfuls of it, not even noticing what he was eating but distantly aware of the fact that it was good.<\/p>\n Roggi never said a word, but nodded and murmured \u201cmmm-hmm\u201d every so often.<\/p>\n Finally Dardeh started to run out of words.<\/p>\n \u201cI dreamed about Jine again. Last night. He keeps telling me to kill the other one.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know what it means.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell,\u201d Roggi said, breaking his silence at last, \u201cit seems to me that you were supposed to go see Balgruuf about catching a dragon.\u00a0 Maybe that\u2019s the other one.\u00a0 Maybe that\u2019s what you need to do next.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh nodded slowly.\u00a0 Roggi\u2019s a smart man, he thought. A lot smarter than he looks on the surface.\u00a0 I should pay attention to him.<\/p>\n \u201cAll right.\u00a0 That seems like a good plan. Um\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi raised an eyebrow. \u201cWhat is it?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWill you come with me?\u00a0 I could, uh, use the help.\u00a0 After all of that I\u2019m not so sure of myself anymore.\u201d He stopped and shook his head. \u201cThat\u2019s not right. I\u2019m not sure of myself at all, anymore, Roggi. \u00a0And I\u2019m worried about the wrath of the girls once I get home,\u201d he added, grinning.<\/p>\n Roggi broke into a smile that lit up the room.\u00a0 \u201cThought you\u2019d never ask.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh smiled back.\u00a0 It was more than he could have hoped for.<\/p>\n \u201cSo what happened in Riften?\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi plopped down onto the floor beside Dardeh and sighed.\u00a0 \u201cWell, it\u2019s about Dag,\u201d\u00a0 and it was his turn to talk, at great length. She had disappeared one morning after drugging her husband\u2019s mead, leaving her wedding ring and her Thieves Guild things behind.\u00a0 Nobody had seen her since. Brynjolf had been well on the road to drinking himself to death when Roggi had gone to him and nursed him back to health.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s why I\u2019m not drinking, Dar.\u00a0 Not yet, not till I\u2019m sure I won\u2019t go overboard.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t stand seeing him like that. Brynjolf\u2019s my age, a big, strong man and he was weak as a kitten when I first got there. He\u2019s not ready for the grave yet. And neither am I,\u201d he said, meeting Dardeh\u2019s gaze.<\/p>\n Dardeh was dismayed.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd you went to him, even though\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah,\u201d Roggi said quietly.\u00a0 \u201cI was asked to help.\u00a0 It seemed like the least I could do.\u00a0 Bryn\u2026 he just takes things as they come, even me.\u00a0 Usually he does.\u00a0 Not this time, though, not this thing. I couldn\u2019t walk away from that just because our situation was, um, awkward.\u201d<\/p>\n I don\u2019t know Brynjolf at all. But I want to meet him.\u00a0 I want to know what happened. I want to help find Dagnell.\u00a0 Not just for myself but for Brynjolf and for Roggi.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cSo now you really can\u2019t take me to see her,\u201d he murmured.<\/p>\n Roggi sighed.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry, Dar,\u201d he said. \u201cI should have taken you to Riften to meet him before.\u00a0 Well, we\u2019ll go soon.\u00a0 Maybe Delvin will have found some information.\u00a0 Maybe we can help them somehow.\u00a0 Although Delvin has pretty much the best spies anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd Delvin is\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA name that many people know, and a person who few do,\u201d Roggi murmured, his eyes focused on the floor, clearly deep in thought.\u00a0 \u201cAnd someone we don\u2019t want to cross, for any reason.\u00a0 I\u2019ve met him several times.\u00a0 He\u2019s a great guy. Works with Brynjolf.\u00a0 But he, uh\u2026\u201d Roggi looked up at Dardeh.\u00a0 \u201cHe knows people.\u00a0 Who know other people.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh stared at him for a moment in confusion. \u00a0Then it slowly dawned on him. Who would a member of the Thieves Guild know that would cause that kind of reaction?<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re talking Dark Brotherhood?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah.\u201d Roggi nodded. \u201cBut that\u2019s why he might have learned something about Dag. Lots of connections. And if he gave us some leads, well\u2026 I\u2019m a pretty good listener myself.\u201d<\/p>\n I have no idea what he\u2019s talking about, but I\u2019ll go to Riften with him.\u00a0 I should at least meet my brother-in-law.<\/em><\/p>\n They talked more, Roggi sharing what he\u2019d learned of happenings in Whiterun through messages from Lydia.\u00a0 They were well, but the situation in Skyrim as a whole was not and she was worried.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know, Roggi. Maybe it wasn\u2019t such a good idea for me to adopt Lucia.\u00a0 I don\u2019t seem to have been a very successful father so far.\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re enough of a father for her if she knows that you didn\u2019t just disappear.\u00a0 That\u2019s all she needs, Dar. She\u2019s a tough little girl.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh smiled at him.\u00a0 \u201cAll right.\u00a0 If you say so.\u201d<\/p>\n At some point in the evening Roggi tilted his head sideways and said, \u201cWell. I can\u2019t help it. I have to ask.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s all this?\u201d\u00a0 He waved at Dardeh\u2019s face and gestured toward his head.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d\u00a0 Then it dawned on him.\u00a0 I look so different.<\/em> \u201cOh that.\u00a0 It\u2019s\u2026 hair.\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi snorted.\u00a0 \u201cReally.\u00a0 Yes I know it\u2019s hair, Dar.\u00a0 But why?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s cold in the north part of Solstheim.\u00a0 Colder than Skyrim.\u00a0 It helped.\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s not really why.\u00a0 It just reminds me, that\u2019s all.<\/em><\/p>\n Roggi wasn\u2019t buying it, that was obvious from his expression.\u00a0 But he didn\u2019t press the issue further.<\/p>\n A long while later, Dardeh crawled under the covers next to Roggi, feeling uncomfortable about it but having been reassured that there was no need for him to pay for a bed.\u00a0 He gritted his teeth and stared at the ceiling and closed his eyes, certain that he wouldn\u2019t be able to relax for being aware of Roggi next to him; but in spite of everything their combined warmth had him drifting off.<\/p>\n Then his eyes opened.<\/p>\n He found himself again at the Bannered Mare, seated on a bench next to the fire, looking as he had before Solstheim.\u00a0 The bard was singing off-key, there were people milling about, laughing and coughing, dishes clanking, the fire crackling, the aroma of roasting meat drifting out from the back room \u2013 all the familiar and comforting things he\u2019d come to love about the inn.<\/p>\n \u201cHello there, Dar,\u201d a sweet voice murmured next to him.<\/p>\n He looked up and smiled. Ellte was a warm and comforting presence, even though he knew she wasn\u2019t really alive. She appeared to him as she had been before her illness; grey, but tall and strong, with a mischievous glint in her eye.<\/p>\n \u201cMa.\u00a0 What are you doing here?\u00a0 I\u2019m dreaming again, aren\u2019t I?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, my sweet boy.\u00a0 But it doesn\u2019t matter, let me talk to you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOf course, Ma.\u00a0 I\u2019m happy to see you.\u00a0 I\u2019ve missed you so much.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re confused about things, aren\u2019t you.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh nodded. \u201cI can\u2019t fool you, can I?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI see that it\u2019s time to tell you some things about your father.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe talked to me, Ma.\u00a0 He said you\u2019d done well.\u201d<\/p>\n She smiled.\u00a0 \u201cDid he, then?\u00a0 What a sweet-talker that one is. Dar, you need to know something. Your father\u2026 well, he could be lovely if the urge struck him, but at heart he was a brutal man. He had no mercy in him and not very much in the way of honor.\u00a0 He was a killer, Dar.\u00a0 An assassin.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh blinked.\u00a0 \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou heard me.\u00a0 Did he tell you to kill people?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, and so did Jine.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAh, that one has spoken to you as well.\u00a0 Well, my dear boy, that is all part of you. Jine was from a different time. He and his, they charmed snakes, they killed to survive. Your father\u2026 he enjoyed killing people.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh\u2019s mouth dropped open and a shudder ran up his spine.<\/p>\n \u201cA wise man told me something, once,\u201d she said. \u201cHe said \u2018if a man kills too many, too long, he has his heart stolen by the color and smell of blood.\u2019 \u00a0That is what happened to Dadarh.\u00a0 His family \u2013 it\u2019s a long line of violent men, Dar.\u00a0 But your father was especially so. He tried to change, he honestly did. Saban, his wife, she tried.\u00a0 She thought that having little Dagnell might help center him a bit.\u00a0 He tried hard, but in the end he was a killer and it finally caught up to him. \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMa.\u00a0 Why? If he was so bad, why?\u201d<\/p>\n She smiled.\u00a0 \u201cWhy do you love your big blonde Nord? I know you\u2019re there with him. You couldn\u2019t stay away, could you.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh looked down at his hands and sighed.\u00a0 There wasn\u2019t a reason. There never had been a reason.\u00a0 It had just happened.<\/p>\n \u201cYou saw me, Dar. I used to be a pretty thing.\u00a0 He was a handsome brute, just as I told you.\u00a0 We looked at each other and there was simply no help for it.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh looked back up at his mother.\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 That was who he\u2019d seen, the lovely blonde girl who had warned him about taking a dark path.\u00a0 \u201cThat was you!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, my dear boy.\u00a0 And that\u2019s why I\u2019m here.\u00a0 I want you to remember that you are not just your father. You\u2019re also the fine, strong, sweet man you\u2019ve always been, my son.\u00a0 Don\u2019t forget that part of you. Don\u2019t let your heart be taken. Perhaps\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh smiled.\u00a0 \u201cPerhaps what, Ma?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPerhaps you just need someone to care for.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou mean besides Lydia and Lucia?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n He smiled at her.\u00a0 \u201cI love you, Ma.\u201d<\/p>\n And then she was gone.<\/p>\n Dardeh\u2019s eyes fluttered open.\u00a0 For once, his dreams hadn\u2019t left him shaking and afraid.\u00a0 He turned his head and looked at Roggi\u2019s broad back, listened to him snoring lightly, and smiled.<\/p>\n At least for tonight I can pretend, can\u2019t I.<\/em><\/p>\n He lay there listening to Roggi, watching the slow movement of the covers as he breathed, savored his warmth. And he relaxed, and went back to sleep.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Dardeh made his way down the slope into Steamscorch mine, torn between excitement and dread.\u00a0 He had longed to see Roggi again since he had left him behind to heal in Whiterun, but he didn\u2019t know what sort of reception he would get after so long.\u00a0 All the words he\u2019d written to Roggi were folded … <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/2-2-2-1.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/2-2-2-2.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/2-2-2-3.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/2-2-2-4.png\")
<\/p>\n