They\u2019d made an early start of it, getting a bite to eat and securing Roggi\u2019s house before popping into the inn to say a quick goodbye to Iddra and Kjeld.<\/p>\n
\u201cTry not to get yourself all banged up this time, Roggi,\u201d Kjeld had said, earning a chuckle from Roggi and a frown from Dardeh.\u00a0 Yes, that was my fault too, he had thought as the two of them left the inn and headed south out of Kynesgrove.<\/p>\n
As if he\u2019d been listening in on Dardeh\u2019s thoughts, Roggi spoke up.\u00a0 \u201cYou know, Dar, you\u2019re looking at all of it the wrong way,\u201d he said quietly.<\/p>\n
Dardeh glanced over at him.\u00a0 Roggi\u2019s eyes were intense, his face serious.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn what way?\u00a0 All those people are still dead, because I was too slow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Roggi shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut Miraak is gone.\u00a0 The people who are alive on Solstheim can live out their lives as normal.\u00a0 What was it the shaman told you? The land there is back in balance.\u00a0 No more dragons there, at least none that you know of.\u00a0 And as far as Windhelm is concerned,\u201d he added with an expression Dardeh couldn\u2019t quite place, \u201cat least that killer is gone.\u00a0 People can feel as safe walking around at night as they ever have.\u00a0 None of that would have happened if you hadn\u2019t put yourself out there in the way of danger.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dardeh shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cAnd the others?\u00a0 They would also still be alive if I\u2019d been good enough, Roggi.\u201d<\/p>\n
Roggi surprised him by reaching out and patting his shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cYou can\u2019t save everyone, Dardeh,\u201d he murmured.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s enough that you\u2019re trying. That\u2019s really something, you know?\u201d Then he chuckled.\u00a0 \u201cActually, maybe you can save everyone.\u00a0 Isn\u2019t that what you\u2019re doing trying to put Alduin back in his place?\u201d<\/p>\n
Yeah, he\u2019s right. And I\u2019m still probably not good enough.\u00a0 There\u2019s something wrong with me.\u00a0 I can\u2019t save the world if I also want to kill half of it.\u00a0 That\u2019s what Hermaeus Mora saw. That\u2019s what Jine and Dadarh have been telling me. On the other hand\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n He looked over at Roggi\u2019s understanding smile and couldn\u2019t help but smile back.\u00a0 \u201cWe, Roggi.\u00a0 That\u2019s what we are trying to do. You and I.\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi laughed.\u00a0 \u201cI can\u2019t kill dragons, Dar.\u00a0 You\u2019re the only one who can do that.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh was about to open his mouth to argue that Roggi had certainly done his share with Alduin when he heard a disquietingly familiar but very faint sound off to the west.<\/p>\n \u201cIt can\u2019t be.\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi looked at him, frowning. \u201cWhat can\u2019t be?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cListen!\u201d<\/p>\n The sound repeated, this time a bit more clearly:\u00a0 hollow, huge, like thunder but also like the roar of an enormous saber cat at the same time.\u00a0 Dardeh ran to the crest of the hill before them and up onto a boulder, to get a better view.\u00a0 He could just see the word wall where he had nearly died fighting the dragon long before he met Delphine.<\/p>\n \u201cHow?\u201d he yelped.\u00a0 \u201cI killed it!\u00a0 That has to be another one!\u00a0 How is that even possible?\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi climbed up beside him and gasped when he saw the beast circling the wall.\u00a0 \u201cDragon!\u201d\u00a0 He turned to look at Dardeh.\u00a0 \u201cAre we going to\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOf course we are,\u201d Dardeh growled.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019re the only ones who can get rid of it and I\u2019m not going to see it kill anyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n They ran across the volcanic tundra as fast as they could, stopping to dispatch wolves and a saber cat that erupted from below their sight line to rush headlong at Dardeh.\u00a0 He Shouted Ice Form at it and watched it topple over onto its side, then attacked with his scimitars.\u00a0 As the ice broke free and it rose to roar at him, Roggi stepped up behind it and calmly struck its head off with one powerful blow of his greatsword.<\/p>\n \u201cWell then,\u201d Dardeh said, grinning at him.\u00a0 \u201cYou really have been working hard, haven\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi smiled.<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t let you do all the heavy lifting, Dar,\u201d he chuckled.<\/p>\n The dragon circling the word wall breathed fire.\u00a0 Dardeh Shouted it to the ground, then stood back and fired his best arrows at it while Roggi did the same. With a part of his mind Dardeh marveled at what a good archer Roggi was; every shot was controlled and precise, and by the time the great beast fought its way back into the air they had done it great damage.\u00a0 It was bleeding profusely, but not enough to stop it from strafing the nearby giant camp as its predecessor had done.<\/p>\n \u201cWatch out for the giant, he\u2019s nasty!\u201d Dardeh yelled at Roggi, then turned to face it as it swooped overhead.<\/p>\n \u201cJOOR- ZAH FRUL!\u201d<\/p>\n The shock wave of his Shout struck the dragon, limning it with a blue glow; it screamed its frustration but landed near the giant\u2019s camp and was immediately set upon by the giant, fearless in spite of the dragon\u2019s much greater size.\u00a0 He pounded and yelled, and Dardeh and Roggi stood well back and kept firing arrows at the beast, until at last the giant took a knee.\u00a0 Dardeh pulled his special sword and Shouted \u2013 \u201cWULD!\u201d \u2013 to reach the dragon and finish it before the giant had a chance to stand.\u00a0 He backed away just far enough to still absorb the dragon\u2019s power, then sprinted to where Roggi stood, shaking his head.<\/p>\n \u201cNo one can doubt that you truly are Dragonborn!\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s still the most amazing thing I\u2019ve ever seen.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh chuckled.<\/p>\n \u201cWell I have to admit, that felt good. But we\u2019d best clear out before that giant gets testy. I\u2019ve run into him before. He doesn\u2019t like his kills stolen.\u00a0 By the way, though\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi raised one eyebrow.\u00a0 \u201cWhat now?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cArngeir told me where there\u2019s another place like this, with a word of power.\u00a0 It\u2019s south of here, off the road, and I want that word.\u00a0 If we go get it we can then head back to Whiterun just as easily from there.\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cAnd another day or so later.\u00a0 Lydia\u2019s going to have both our hides if she finds out you\u2019ve been back and didn\u2019t go straight home. Well who am I to argue with the Dragonborn. Let\u2019s get going.\u201d\u00a0 He stowed his bow and grinned at Dardeh, then started trudging south.<\/p>\n \u201cYou seriously don\u2019t have to keep calling me \u2018The Dragonborn,\u2019 Roggi,\u201d Dardeh grumbled.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s embarrassing.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cToo bad,\u201d Roggi laughed, poking him in the arm.<\/p>\n Several times he\u2019d looked over at Roggi while he was chattering away, and just smiled.\u00a0 Maybe it would be all right after all. By the time they reached the entrance to the old mine Arngeir had marked on his map, Dardeh was beginning to feel a bit more like himself.\u00a0 Roggi kept him chuckling.\u00a0 And the more he thought about it, the more he had to see the truth of some of what Roggi said.\u00a0 Miraak was<\/em> dead.\u00a0 His armor, his sword, and that ridiculous mask he wore were all tucked into Dardeh\u2019s pack.\u00a0 If he hadn\u2019t gone after Miraak that particular plague would have continued to spread through Solstheim and maybe even to the mainland of Tamriel. \u00a0He had<\/em> played a large part in bringing that to a halt, along with Storn, and Frea, and even Neloth.\u00a0 That didn\u2019t make up for the deaths, not really; but at least he had done something<\/em> right here and there.<\/p>\n They climbed through the stifling derelict mine slowly, taking care of their footing for the rotten wooden ramps.\u00a0 There were several skeletons shambling about, all of whom took great exception to their presence; but one swipe from a sword sent their bones flying to the corners of the cavern.\u00a0 It was once they opened the upper doors onto a large ledge that they saw the real adversary.<\/p>\n The huge, brownish-green dragon perched atop the upper curve of the word wall, its wings spanning most of its width.\u00a0 It almost looked asleep.\u00a0 There were several badly damaged huts striving mightily to stay upright on the flat ledge, but all of them looked precarious and wouldn\u2019t supply much cover.\u00a0 And the clearing itself wasn\u2019t large enough for much maneuvering around a grounded dragon.<\/p>\n Dardeh glanced at Roggi and pulled out his bow.\u00a0 They could at least get the drop on the beast.\u00a0 Roggi nodded and took aim with his own bow, then looked back at Dardeh.\u00a0 Dardeh nodded, and they both loosed their arrows.<\/p>\n The dragon\u2019s head jerked back in surprise and it shrieked before launching itself into the air.\u00a0 It circled the summit of the mountain and came back to shout frost at them.\u00a0 Bows weren\u2019t going to be fast enough, but Dardeh didn\u2019t trust himself to be fast enough either if he grounded the beast.\u00a0 He thought for a moment and then Shouted.<\/p>\n \u201cMUL \u2013 QAH DIIV!\u201d<\/p>\n The horns and armor of Dragon Aspect gathered about Dardeh. This would last long enough for him to bring down the dragon. Roggi shot him a startled glance, but they had no time to talk as the dragon strafed them again. Dardeh\u2019s power to Shout needed to recharge.\u00a0 In the meantime, the best they could do was dash between the scant cover of the three ruined cabins and fire as many arrows as they could at the beast.<\/p>\n Once his ability to Shout had returned, Dardeh used Dragonrend to bring the dragon to ground.\u00a0 He and Roggi attacked it with everything they had, dodging the snapping jaws and the huge tail that smacked against rock over and over, trying to flatten one or the other of them in the process.\u00a0 Finally, Dardeh rushed to its side while it was distracted with Roggi, and sank his swords as deep into it as he could.\u00a0 The dragon burst into flames, and Dardeh reveled at the heady sensation of its soul merging with his own, his power expanding with the addition of that of the great beast.\u00a0 Then he stepped toward the wall, the blue swirl of the Word of Power rushing around him and the word becoming a part of him.\u00a0 Laas.\u00a0 Life. He would be able to sense the presence of living things around him.<\/p>\n When it was over, he drew a deep breath and opened his eyes, smiling.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was good.\u00a0 That will be useful.\u201d<\/p>\n He heard a cough near him, and turned to look.\u00a0Roggi was standing with his mouth open, sword still in his right hand, staring at him.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat is that, Dar?\u00a0 That\u2019s the most awful-looking thing I\u2019ve ever seen.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat are you talking about?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2026 spell.\u00a0 The Shout you did.\u00a0 Your eyes are \u2026 glowing.\u00a0 Like fire.\u00a0 And you have \u2026 horns.\u201d<\/p>\n Oh yes.\u00a0 I must look to him like Miraak looked to me.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s called Dragon Aspect.\u00a0 It makes me\u2026 very strong.\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi nodded slowly.\u00a0 \u201cI could see that.\u00a0 It\u2019s, um\u2026 unsettling.\u00a0 I hope you won\u2019t be doing that too often.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh chuckled. \u201cI hope I won\u2019t need to.\u201d\u00a0 Then he sighed.\u00a0 \u201cThis is one of the reasons I\u2019ve been a bit off.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy do you say that?\u201d Roggi asked as he stowed his weapons and searched the body of the dragon for loot.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not sure it\u2019s a good thing for me to be so much stronger than normal people.\u00a0 Dragons are one thing.\u00a0 But people are another.\u00a0 It would be too easy to use that much power.\u00a0 I saw Miraak doing that. I know what it feels like. Pulling in a dragon, like that, learning these words, it\u2019s very\u2026\u201d\u00a0 He trailed off, not knowing how to describe the delicious sensation of feeling his very essence expanding, his ability to stop his adversaries growing greater with every breath, without it sounding almost obscene.<\/p>\n Roggi looked at him for a moment, then nodded slowly.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s a very tempting thing, power is.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh nodded.\u00a0 \u201cAnd that\u2019s one of the reasons I need you with me, Roggi.\u00a0 I don\u2019t need to use it if you\u2019re fighting the dragon with me, at least not most of the time.\u00a0 You\u2019re darned fine with that sword of yours.\u201d\u00a0 He grinned.\u00a0 Maybe you can save me, Roggi.\u00a0 Save me from myself.<\/em><\/p>\n Roggi chuckled.\u00a0 \u201cWell, I\u2019m actually better with smaller weapons, but a beast this size would never come down with a knife.\u00a0 You need a bit of reach, it seems to me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA knife, is it then?\u201d Dardeh said. \u201cI can hardly picture you in a knife fight. I\u2019ve never seen you with one.\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi grinned at him.\u00a0 \u201cI keep it in my boot.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOk.\u00a0 Good to know. I\u2019ll be sure to stay away from your boots.\u201d<\/p>\n The trip back to Whiterun was relatively quiet after that, even though they climbed to the top of the escarpment and headed west along its edge rather than descending to the road below.\u00a0 There was the usual complement of wolves and one or two bears.\u00a0 Once, as they passed through an especially grassy area, Dardeh found himself fighting off a group of three skeevers.\u00a0 As the last one squeaked to its demise he heard Roggi speaking behind him.<\/p>\n \u201cOnly a fool lets himself get surrounded.\u201d\u00a0 Yes, he\u2019d heard that phrase often enough while he\u2019d been learning basic swordsmanship from some of the older men in Markarth.<\/p>\n He turned and glared at Roggi, who was grinning from ear to ear.<\/p>\n \u201cYou calling me a fool?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, they were just skeevers,\u201d Roggi snickered. \u201cIt\u2019s not like you needed to Shout fire at them or anything.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh punched him in the arm.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t make me hurt you.\u201d\u00a0 Then he grinned and they continued on their way.<\/p>\n Roggi kept up an almost non-stop stream of chatter as they walked.\u00a0 Only once did he become quiet, and it was as they passed an old ruin of a tower, across a short bridge to their right.<\/p>\n \u201cWe could stop there to camp,\u201d Dardeh said, noticing the remnants of what looked like a previous campsite outside the base of the tower.<\/p>\n \u201cUm, no, that\u2019s ok,\u201d Roggi said quietly.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s Nilheim.\u00a0 I\u2019d\u2026 rather not, if that\u2019s alright.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go a little farther down the road before we stop.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAll right,\u201d Dardeh said, tentatively.\u00a0 \u201cIs there something wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, not really,\u201d Roggi said, shooting him a small sideways smile.\u00a0 \u201cJust\u2026 Nilheim has some memories attached for me and I\u2019d like to let them stay there.\u201d\u00a0 He sighed. \u201cDag.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh nodded.\u00a0 \u201cOh I see.\u201d\u00a0 Well, no I don\u2019t, but I don\u2019t think I want to ask.\u00a0 We\u2019ll just let it go. <\/em>\u201cWell then it\u2019s on you to find us a decent camp site.\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi grinned at him.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re on.\u201d<\/p>\n ____<\/p>\n Lydia did not like his hair.<\/p>\n Not a bit.<\/p>\n At first she gave him the same startled glance that everyone else had, and had shrunk back from him, just a bit. Then she gave him a tentative hug and said, \u201cI\u2019m glad you\u2019re home safely.\u201d<\/p>\n But after the greetings, the hugs she and Lucia had given Roggi, the squeals of delight Lucia had made when Dardeh had picked her up and swung her around in a circle; after the meal Lydia had made and insisted they all share together; after all that, Lydia had gotten stern with Dardeh.<\/p>\n \u201cIt has to go,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cLydia, it\u2019s just hair. Come on.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDardeh, you look like a bandit. Or a wild animal.\u00a0 Or a Redguard, instead of a Nord. Nobody in Whiterun will recognize you and half of them will want to run you out of town, not treat you like their Thane.\u00a0 It has to go.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLydia, no, I need to keep this. It means\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt means what?\u00a0 You just said it yourself, Dardeh. It\u2019s just hair.\u00a0 Now sit down and I\u2019ll get you looking like a human being again.\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi called up the stairs.\u00a0 \u201cBetter just do it, Dar.\u00a0 She\u2019s pretty ferocious if she\u2019s crossed.\u201d<\/p>\n Lydia rolled her eyes and shouted back.\u00a0 \u201cStop eavesdropping, Roggi, or I\u2019ll come cut your hair, too.\u00a0 It\u2019s getting pretty long.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll just be helping Lucia do some shopping, if you need me,\u201d came floating back up the stairs, followed by the sound of the door shutting.<\/p>\n Dardeh chuckled, then sighed.\u00a0 What does this hair mean, after all? he thought. It means I didn\u2019t save Storn, or the others. It means I took months to get to Miraak and didn\u2019t even get to be the one to end him.\u00a0 Maybe it does need to go.<\/p>\n So he sat down in the chair and listened to Lydia tell him about all that had transpired in Whiterun since he\u2019d been gone, and thought idly about what Roggi would look like without that long tail of blonde hair, and laughed at the stories of Lucia and her fox. He took special note of the tone of Lydia\u2019s voice as she told him that she\u2019d been spending time at Jorrvaskr, training with \u201ca friend,\u201d so as to be ready for any skirmishes that might erupt in the area.<\/p>\n A friend.\u00a0 I see.\u00a0 And at Jorrvaskr, no less.\u00a0 So she really wasn\u2019t with Roggi after all.\u00a0 I shouldn\u2019t be so excited about that but I am.<\/em><\/p>\n And as the stories told themselves, as the great coils of heavy Redguard hair dropped from the sides of his head and his beard was trimmed back to its normal, neat length, he felt lighter in spirit as well as in body.\u00a0 He was home.<\/p>\n After Lydia was done with him, and had swept up the cuttings, and he\u2019d worked his remaining hair back into its tight rows of braids, he went to one of the chests near the door and pulled out a number of metal ingots and other smithing supplies.<\/p>\n \u201cIf Roggi comes back before I do, tell him I\u2019m at Adrianne\u2019s smithy.\u00a0 There\u2019s something I need to work on.\u00a0 If he brings some supplies I\u2019ll work on his things as well,\u201d he told Lydia.<\/p>\n She smiled at him and gave him a genuine hug, and a peck on his cheek.\u00a0 \u201cThank you.\u00a0 You look like my Dardeh again,\u201d she said. \u201cNow don\u2019t you dare go months between letters any more or I\u2019ll have to show you how much I\u2019ve improved with a greatsword.\u201d<\/p>\n He smiled at her.\u00a0 \u201cAnd you sound like my mother, Ellte.\u00a0 That is not a bad thing, mind you,\u201d he added quickly as her eyes started to flash.\u00a0 \u201cThank you, Lydia.\u00a0 It really does feel better. And so do I.\u201d<\/p>\n For the next few hours Dardeh sweat and pounded and shaped the ebony and leather he\u2019d brought with him, just the way he had in his dream, until it felt right.\u00a0 The skies had long since gone dark by the time he finished with it. It was beautiful armor, gleaming black, and would protect him far better than anything he\u2019d ever owned.\u00a0 It was the armor he\u2019d worn when he spoke to Jine af-Avik beside the shrine of Talos.<\/p>\n He slipped it on to check the fit, and was adjusting straps when there was a whistle behind him.\u00a0 He turned to find Roggi standing with his arms crossed, head tilted to one side, nodding.<\/p>\n \u201cLydia told me you\u2019d be here. Look at you.\u00a0 That\u2019s really something.\u00a0 You look like \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLike what?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLike the Dragonborn,\u201d Roggi said with a smile.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s something to be said for making your own armor.\u00a0 Speaking of which\u2026\u201d\u00a0 He slipped out of his cuirass and turned to work on it with a piece of metal, while Dardeh struggled to keep his mouth from gaping open at the sight of Roggi\u2019s broad, pale, muscled back as he bent over the workbench.<\/p>\n The Dragonborn.\u00a0 And the Dragonborn\u2019s best friend.<\/em><\/p>\n Maybe we\u2019ll save the world after all, Roggi.<\/em><\/p>\n It was a beautiful morning in Eastmarch. Almost a contradiction in terms, Dardeh thought, that this sulfurous, steaming waste should be beautiful sometimes, but it was.\u00a0 The sky was a blue as he\u2019d ever seen it, and there was a light breeze that blew the foul odors away in favor of the green, pungent scents … <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/2-2-3-1.png\")
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