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<\/p>\nRoggi smiled as he stepped out of the house holding a bottle of mead in each hand, hearing the giggles and shrieks floating up from below.\u00a0 It was a beautiful day, sunny and as warm as it ever got in Falkreath hold, and his children were taking advantage of it, swimming in Lake Ilinalta.\u00a0 Sofie and Lucia worked hard around the house, helping with chores, pulling up weeds from the garden, learning how to cook alongside Lydia and Dardeh; and when they played, they played hard as well.<\/p>\n
He watched them, for a few moments, wondering again for the thousandth time how it was that he\u2019d ended up with children.\u00a0 Maybe they weren\u2019t the children of his body \u2013 those would have had platinum hair and the bluest of eyes, as both he and Briinda had \u2013 but they were just as much his children nonetheless.\u00a0 He could see their clothes laid out on the deck above where they swam, and grinned, for there was Lucia\u2019s wooden sword holding the piles down from the wind.\u00a0 She was the more naturally aggressive of the two, wanting to learn swordsmanship, to protect their home.\u00a0 She reminded him of himself as a boy, full of idealism and fire.\u00a0 Sofie was domestic, quiet, intelligent and self-sufficient, and much closer in temperament to Roggi\u2019s husband.\u00a0 If not forced by fate into the roles he\u2019d had to take on, that\u2019s what Dardeh would have been like \u2013 a homebody, but one fully capable of taking the reins of any situation that called for it.<\/p>\n
He looked around for his husband, who should have been watching the children, and couldn\u2019t see him.\u00a0 That\u2019s a feat, he thought.\u00a0 Dardeh was such a large man, if not tall, that it was difficult to imagine him disappearing into the undergrowth.\u00a0 Then he heard the thump \u2013 whack of the block and axe, and walked down the steps and around the corner of the house to find Dardeh hard at work chopping firewood.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cHey, who\u2019s watching the kids?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dardeh looked up at him and grinned, his forehead glistening with sweat.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat, are you going to nag me now?\u00a0 I\u2019m watching them, Roggi. You know I could be there in the blink of an eye if something happened.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh. Right. Sorry about that.\u201d\u00a0 Dardeh had a Shout that would let him move across long distances faster than a horse could gallop.\u00a0 As fast as a dragon can fly. <\/em><\/p>\n \u201cYou didn\u2019t just come out here to pester me about the girls.\u00a0 What is it?\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi sighed.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re too clever for me, Dar.\u00a0 I need to talk to you about something.\u00a0 Come sit?\u201d He waggled one of the bottles of mead and held it out to Dardeh, who nodded, buried the axe into the chopping block and wiped his brow with his shirt sleeve. Roggi grimaced.<\/p>\n \u201cUgh. I\u2019ll never get that clean now.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh laughed and reached for the mead. \u201cIt never ceases to amaze me, husband, how a man who used to work in a mine could be so particular about clean clothes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know, I know.\u201d\u00a0 What can I say? It\u2019s the other work that did it. I hated having blood stains everywhere. I got used to hiding it from Briinda and the habit stayed with me.<\/em><\/p>\n They sat at the table on their back deck, looking over the lake and the girls.\u00a0 Dardeh took a drink and set the bottle down, giving Roggi a searching look.<\/p>\n \u201cSo. Whenever you say you need to talk it means you\u2019re going away. What is it this time?\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi looked down at the table, sheepishly.\u00a0 He knows me too well.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s something I need to figure out.\u00a0 Let me ask you something, Dar.\u00a0 What do you think about Andante?\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh furrowed his brow. \u201cAndante?\u00a0 Uh\u2026 I think he is\u2026 well\u2026\u201d Dardeh trailed off, clearly uncomfortable. \u201cCocky? Hard to pin down?\u00a0 A little full of himself?\u201d\u00a0 He met Roggi\u2019s gaze. \u201cHe\u2019s clearly head over heels with Brynjolf, that much I\u2019m clear on, but aside from that, I really don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDo you trust him?\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh snorted. \u201cTrust <\/em>him? I barely know him.\u00a0 All I have to go on is the fact that Bryn keeps him nearby, and I wouldn\u2019t trust him either if not for you, Roggi. Like him, yes, absolutely; trust him? Not as far as I could throw him. Why would I trust a con artist? You, I trust. You tell me Brynjolf\u2019s a good man, and I take your word for it.\u201d<\/p>\n All right. Fair enough. <\/em><\/p>\n He nodded.\u00a0 \u201cWell here\u2019s the thing, Dar.\u00a0 Andante isn\u2019t who he seems to be.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe knew that. He doesn\u2019t remember who he is.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s just it. Remember the night they stopped here to get the Scroll?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe talked for a bit. He was starting to recall things, he said. He wasn\u2019t happy about it; I could see that on his face. In fact, he looked almost distressed. Remember how he just excused himself and came outside? Palest I ever saw a man, even for a vampire.\u201d<\/p>\n There was dead silence, while Dardeh\u2019s odd-eyed gaze bored into his.<\/p>\n By Ysmir. Did I really just say that? I can\u2019t believe I just did that.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cA\u2026\u201d\u00a0 Dardeh cleared his throat and then spoke, his voice carrying heavy, deep overtones. \u201cDid you just tell me that Andante is a vampire?\u201d<\/p>\n Well, there it is. That\u2019s the voice. I have to come clean now.\u00a0 <\/em>Dardeh was basically a pacifist, was a sweet, loving man.\u00a0 But he was also the Dragonborn, and when he spoke in those tones, Roggi had learned, it was best to just hunker down and do whatever it was Dardeh wanted him to do.<\/p>\n Roggi groaned. He pulled a hand down over his face and then sighed. \u201cYes, I did, and I\u2019m an idiot. But now you know. Ok. Let me tell you the whole thing.\u201d<\/p>\n He proceeded to do just that.\u00a0 He told Dardeh how he\u2019d learned that Andante was a vampire when he\u2019d turned and seen the glowing, golden eyes. He described the black mask that made a person\u2019s face completely disappear, and how he had the overwhelming sensation that the mask was actually Andante\u2019s.<\/p>\n Dardeh stood and paced the deck, casting an occasional glance down at the lake to check on their children.\u00a0 He turned back to Roggi, frowning.<\/p>\n \u201cSo why is it that you were there in the first place, Roggi?\u201d<\/p>\n Damn, I knew this would happen.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI, uh\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n He jumped as Dardeh\u2019s meaty hand slammed the table in front of him.<\/p>\n \u201cRoggi, you have got<\/em> to stop this!\u201d Dardeh shouted.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ve just got to.\u201d\u00a0 He lowered himself back into his chair, slowly.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought we had agreed, Roggi. No more secrets.\u00a0 There have been enough of those for two lifetimes. No more. You can\u2019t keep doing this to me. I trust you; but you make it harder and harder every time you pull something out of the dark like this. You tell me you\u2019re going to visit Kjeld and I find out you\u2019re really visiting Andante?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI wasn\u2019t visiting him like that<\/em>, Dar, good grief. I\u2019m not doing it to\u2026\u201d Roggi stopped when he saw the look in Dardeh\u2019s eyes \u2013 angry, betrayed, distrustful and sad. \u201cDamn it, Dardeh.\u00a0 I\u2019m sorry.\u00a0 I\u2019ve just been hiding things for so long, it seems like it\u2019s all I can do.\u00a0 It\u2019s automatic.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh sighed, and placed one warm hand over Roggi\u2019s.\u00a0 \u201cI know. And I love you. But you have to tell me what\u2019s going on.\u00a0 Please?\u201d<\/p>\n I\u2019ll try, Dar. I\u2019ll try, for you.<\/em><\/p>\n He nodded. \u201cAlright.\u00a0 Here\u2019s the thing.\u201d<\/p>\n He told Dardeh about his visit to Riften, his talk with Galathil using the hood he\u2019d taken from Markarth long before.\u00a0 Dardeh\u2019s face got stormier and angrier as he spoke, but he kept pushing along with the story until he got to the end of it.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s it. What do you think?\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh stared out over the lake; he started to speak several times but stopped.\u00a0 Finally he turned back to Roggi.<\/p>\n \u201cFirst of all, I thought you were done with all that. And second of all, Brynjolf told you not <\/em>to lean on her.\u201d<\/p>\n I thought I was done with it, too. I\u2019m not proud of it, but I can\u2019t help it.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2026 I am, Dar.\u00a0 Now I am, anyway.\u00a0 I left the mask there, in Riften, with Andante. No more. But we had to have something to go on.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou realize that\u2019s a little hard to take at face value.\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi winced. \u201cYeah. I know. I don\u2019t blame you. It\u2019s easy to say and not so easy to prove. But it\u2019s as much a part of me as, I don\u2019t know, looking for the dragon words is part of you.\u201d<\/p>\n It was Dardeh\u2019s turn to wince. \u201cOuch.\u00a0 Alright, I get it. We both are doing the best we can, I guess.\u201d\u00a0 He gave Roggi a small smile. \u201cAnd Brynjolf, he\u2019s a vampire too?\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi nodded.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s a little hard to get past that, but yes. That\u2019s what Andante told me. That\u2019s probably why he was wearing different armor the last time we saw him, now that I think about it. Special enchantments and such.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh snorted. \u201cHuh. It\u2019s not hard for me to imagine. The two of them have always been practically joined together, for as long as I\u2019ve known them; it would make sense to me that they\u2019re the same.\u00a0 Andante strikes me as the sort who doesn\u2019t take no for an answer.\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi shook his head. \u201cNo, it wasn\u2019t like that. At least that\u2019s what he told me. He said Brynjolf was the one who made the first move.\u00a0 At any rate, Dar, the reason all of this matters is that when I told him what I had learned he\u2026 well, Andante thinks he knows where Dagnell is.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh\u2019s eyes opened wide. \u201cWhat? Where?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIn Dawnstar. He thinks that she may be the Listener of the Dark Brotherhood.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh\u2019s mouth sank open for a moment.\u00a0 \u201cShe\u2019s\u2026 what?\u201d He shook his head. \u201cWow.\u00a0 That\u2019s just\u2026 wow. Ok, ok, so let\u2019s say she is, for the sake of argument. Why has he not then just asked her about it? He does work with the Listener, after all.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBecause, Dar. The Listener of the Dark Brotherhood. If he\u2019s wrong it could be really bad.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh. Right. No need to poke a sleeping bear.\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi nodded. \u201cHe seemed really in awe of her. My guess is that as a description for her, bear falls a little short of the mark. So we developed a plan.\u201d He described the plan, treading as carefully as he could around the fact that it involved details that only he and Dagnell would have known before this.<\/p>\n \u201cDo you remember when Brynjolf and Andante were here? \u00a0You started raging about Ulfric, and we started talking about the one man who could pull off that kind of hit.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh rubbed his forehead. \u201cYeah. Vaguely. A man in a\u2026 mask.\u201d He stared at Roggi, his eyes round.<\/p>\n I hope I\u2019m right about this. If I\u2019m not I could be getting myself into so much trouble and probably effect Dar and Lydia too. And the girls.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s when Andante excused himself.\u00a0 He told me he was remembering things.\u00a0 Dar, I think there\u2019s a chance that he\u2019s the one we were talking about. The man in the mask. A professional assassin of the highest order.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWow.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah.\u00a0 And so.\u00a0 That\u2019s why I need to leave again, for a few days.\u00a0 I need to talk to Delvin.\u00a0 He\u2019s the one with the connections.\u00a0 He can help me put the pieces together, the timing of things.\u00a0 For example, when did that man disappear from Cyrodiil, exactly?\u00a0 And why did I find that mask in Markarth? I don\u2019t know what it all means, but.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut?\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi glanced down toward the lake, saw the two girls splashing each other, and sighed.<\/p>\n \u201cI know that Andante loves Brynjolf. I can see it. I could hear it in his voice. But Bryn and Dag \u2013 they\u2019re our family, Dar.\u00a0 They need to be together. And you need to know your sister.\u201d\u00a0 He turned to meet Dardeh\u2019s gaze.\u00a0 \u201cAnd that\u2019s all of it. Every bit of it. No more secrets.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh nodded, slowly.<\/p>\n \u201cOk.\u00a0 Thank you.\u00a0 That\u2019s a lot to take in.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know it is.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRoggi, here\u2019s the thing. What if Dag is <\/em>there? What if she\u2019s the Listener? Brynjolf is a…\u201d\u00a0 He trailed off, shaking his head. \u201cWhat in the world happens then?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know, my love,\u201d Roggi told him. \u201cBut it\u2019s like you said. There are too many secrets. It\u2019s time.\u00a0 Maybe they\u2019ll completely reject each other but I don\u2019t think so. I don\u2019t. They were meant for each other.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd Andante?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI really don\u2019t know. That\u2019s going to be the biggest question.\u00a0 If that\u2019s who he is, Dar, he\u2019s one of the most dangerous men in the world and there are people trying to find him.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know how we keep him safe.\u00a0 Or even whether we should.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh stood, and heaved a sigh.<\/p>\n \u201cGirls!\u201d he shouted down toward the lake, his massive voice carrying effortlessly across the distance. \u201cTime to get out now, you\u2019re going to be all wrinkly!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAww, Papa!\u201d Lucia\u2019s protest floated back up to them.<\/p>\n \u201cNow<\/em>, Lucia,\u201d he answered.<\/p>\n He turned to Roggi.\u00a0 \u201cWell then. I guess that means you\u2019re off to Riften again.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah. That\u2019s my plan. I\u2019ll leave in the morning.\u00a0 That gives me tonight to make it up to you.\u201d\u00a0 He slipped his arms around Dardeh\u2019s waist and pulled him close in for a kiss.\u00a0 I\u2019m always grateful for this little bit of extra height. Sometimes it lets me imagine I\u2019m as strong as he is.\u00a0 Which is a fool\u2019s thought. <\/em>\u00a0He pulled back and smiled at Dardeh. \u201cThanks for not turning me into an icicle or something.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t be an idiot, Roggi,\u201d Dardeh said with a grin. \u201cI love you and you know it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah. I do.\u201d\u00a0 I do, because you show me every day. I wonder if I\u2019m even close to being what you\u2019d hoped I would be. <\/em>\u201cI love you, too, Dar. I\u2019m a really lucky man, and don\u2019t think I don\u2019t know it. I\u2019m sorry to be such a trial sometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n They pulled apart as two giggling, shivering girls came scampering up the stairs.<\/p>\n \u201cGet in there and put on some dry clothes before you both freeze to death,\u201d Dardeh laughed at them, following them toward the house.\u00a0 Roggi smiled and followed them.<\/p>\n Guess it\u2019s time for me to do some washing.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n __<\/p>\n Sayma walked up the road into Kynesgrove, wondering why she was doing this to herself.<\/p>\n I\u2019m being foolish. It\u2019s just going to hurt. But it\u2019s been so long since I\u2019ve seen him, and I just want to see for myself that he\u2019s alright. <\/em><\/p>\n She\u2019d been debating whether or not to make this side trip for the entire time it had taken to get to Windhelm.\u00a0 All it would do would be to add time to the excursion, time away from the Sanctuary, and her home, and that was time she didn\u2019t really want to spend.\u00a0 But Andante was missing, and she was both annoyed and frustrated by the fact that they really needed him to not be missing.\u00a0 The Night Mother had given her two different assignments, one of them the type of assassination that she knew Andante could do better than most anyone else. And in spite of her determination that it should be otherwise, she missed his strange sense of humor, as well.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere is he, Babette?\u201d she\u2019d asked a couple of days prior.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know for certain, Listener,\u201d Babette had told her in her unique, evasive way.<\/p>\n \u201cBabette. He came and spoke to you the last time he was here. I\u2019d ask Cicero but that would be as useful as speaking to one of the horkers on the beach.\u00a0 Nazir has no idea where he\u2019s gone, and none of the new ones even know him.\u00a0 You\u2019re the only one left, and the two of you have a connection that I do not share.\u00a0 Now, where is he?\u201d<\/p>\n Babette had smiled up at her, her pale face with its glowing eyes a sight that Sayma never had gotten used to seeing.\u00a0 The idea of living on other people\u2019s blood made her shudder.\u00a0 I know that I do, too, in a sense; but a single taste of a victim\u2019s spilled blood is different than having your entire existence depend on consuming it.<\/em>\u00a0 She remembered the conversation she\u2019d had with Andante about it, about how she\u2019d spilled so very much blood while becoming the Listener, and she remembered his odd reaction to it.<\/p>\n Funny how he never shows himself to me.\u00a0 He\u2019s always so careful to have an illusion spell going.\u00a0 I wonder what he looks like without it.\u00a0 Well, no matter. At least he\u2019s always respectful. <\/em>Even when he\u2019d offered her the skooma, he\u2019d been exceptionally polite about it.\u00a0 He was one of her best, and that was why his disappearance was so annoying.<\/p>\n \u201cI think,\u201d Babette said, giving her a coy smile, \u201cthat there was some mention of the Dawnguard.\u00a0 That\u2019s my best recollection. Where he might have gone from there is anyone\u2019s guess.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBabette, you\u2019re being difficult. Why on earth would either of you have anything to do with the Dawnguard?\u201d She shook her head. \u201cNever mind. Don\u2019t answer. All right. I\u2019m going to take a quick trip to Riften.\u00a0 If I don\u2019t find him immediately I\u2019ll head right back.\u00a0 You and the girl will take care of things at my house, yes?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOf course, Listener. We\u2019ll make sure he\u2019s well taken care of.\u201d<\/p>\n That was something Sayma knew she could count on. Babette wasn\u2019t always forthcoming with information that had anything to do with vampires, but she did know how to keep things running smoothly; and when she gave her word about a thing that word would be kept.\u00a0 It was one of the most important parts of living for over three hundred years, or so she\u2019d said.<\/p>\n Sayma had taken the ferry to Windhelm.\u00a0 Rather than immediately purchasing a carriage ride to Riften, though, she had decided to walk to Kynesgrove.<\/p>\n It\u2019s going to be difficult enough to walk into Riften and look for Andante. I\u2019ll have to go into the Flagon and hope he\u2019s there, and that will be hard, all by itself.\u00a0 But why am I doing <\/em>this?<\/em><\/p>\n She sighed and shook her head.<\/p>\n Because he\u2019s my friend, or at least he was; and I miss him. Because at one time I thought we\u2019d be together. I just want to lay eyes on him, hear his laugh.<\/em><\/p>\n She stopped in front of the squat, thatched-roof house and stared at the door, wishing she could knock.\u00a0 How many times had she stood just here, on her way back to Riften from some job or other, looking forward to an evening with her best friend? How many times had it ended up with her slinking out this same door before dawn, having spent the night?<\/p>\n It might have been him.\u00a0 But it wasn\u2019t.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n After a few long moments, she shook herself into motion again and made for the inn.\u00a0 It was familiar inside, warm, welcoming. Iddra the innkeeper called out a greeting and Sayma had to catch herself to keep from addressing her as a friend. Instead, she slipped onto a barstool and ordered up an ale and some bread and cheese.\u00a0 She would bring the topic up, see whether she could find out where he was this evening, and then figure out some excuse to go knock on his door, or visit the mine, or go where Iddra told her to go.<\/p>\n \u201cI hope you can help me,\u201d she began. \u201cI\u2019m looking for an old friend. Roggi Knot-Beard. I know he lives here in Kynesgrove, but I don\u2019t know where. Do you know where I can find him?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, goodness,\u201d Iddra said with a chuckle. \u201cYou must be an old<\/em> friend. Roggi hasn\u2019t lived here for some time now, not since he got married.\u201d<\/p>\n Sayma felt a shock wave run through her body.\u00a0 Married? Roggi? <\/em><\/p>\n Her heart had no business sinking the way it did.\u00a0 But it did. She was confused and unaccountably sad, wondering who had taken her place with him and knowing she had no right even to think such a thing.<\/p>\n \u201cReally? He\u2019s married? But I thought his wife\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Iddra chuckled again. \u201cOh no, dear.\u00a0 You definitely aren\u2019t up to date, are you? That was such a long time ago now. Almost another lifetime. No, Roggi\u2019s married to the nicest boy.\u201d She laughed at herself. \u201cBoy. Listen to me. The man\u2019s name is Dardeh and he\u2019s what they call Dragonborn. He kills dragons.\u00a0 There was one right up on the hill behind the inn, did you know that? Came right up out of that old burial mound.\u00a0 Dardeh got it.\u00a0 It was quite the sight to see, that big skeleton just sitting there like that, after he got done absorbing its energy.\u00a0 Anyway, that\u2019s Roggi\u2019s husband, a great strapping Redguard. They live out at the west end of Lake Ilinalta now, and have adopted a couple of kids.\u00a0 He stops in once in awhile, if there\u2019s business to do out this way, because there are always the dragons to take care of and Roggi usually comes with him. You should see the two of them together, they are just the cutest couple. Just silly over each other, they are\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Sayma heard the words, felt them pouring over her like the waves off the Sea of Ghosts.\u00a0 She smiled at Iddra, and nodded, and tried to make polite conversation, but her mind was having the hardest time grappling with what she\u2019d just heard.<\/p>\n Roggi and\u2026 Dardeh?\u00a0 <\/em>She remembered meeting Dardeh in Whiterun; remembered the looks he\u2019d given Roggi.\u00a0 But that was just before Roggi and I spent that night at Nilheim.\u00a0 Roggi was definitely not interested in Dardeh. Or any man. \u00a0What has happened since the last time I saw him?<\/em><\/p>\n She finished her snack in a daze, thanked Iddra, and left the inn.<\/p>\n I guess I\u2019ll go back to Windhelm and catch the carriage to Riften, then<\/em>.<\/p>\n She passed by Roggi\u2019s house again and found herself wiping her eyes.\u00a0 It\u2019s just the cold wind. <\/em>\u00a0As she trod the familiar path toward the Windhelm stables she shook her head.\u00a0 It\u2019s my own damned fault.\u00a0 I have nobody to blame but myself.<\/em><\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n She pushed open the door from the Ratway to the Ragged Flagon, and walked quietly around the perimeter of the space toward Vekel\u2019s bar.\u00a0 She cast her eyes around the place, noting that things were still being kept up nicely, that there was a good amount of business being conducted.\u00a0 Vekel was behind the bar, smiling at and flirting with Tonilia as usual, and she had to stifle the urge to call out to them.<\/p>\n I\u2019m supposed to be in charge here, and I can\u2019t even say hello to my family.\u00a0 This is the worst.\u00a0 I can\u2019t very well go up to Vekel looking guilty as sin, and I can\u2019t act as though I\u2019m looking for someone.\u00a0 This is so much harder than I expected.<\/em><\/p>\n She automatically looked at the two seats Brynjolf had most often occupied, but they were empty of anyone with red hair.\u00a0 She hadn\u2019t really expected to see him, but had still hoped for at least a glimpse.<\/p>\n What would I have done, if he were here? Really, what would I have done? Walk up to him and say \u2018hello, Red, I\u2019m sorry, I still love you, please don\u2019t be mad that I just walked out on you like that?\u2019 Ridiculous. It would have been too hard. I\u2019m glad he\u2019s not here.<\/em><\/p>\n No, I\u2019m not.<\/em><\/p>\n She nodded at Vekel, and pushed a few coins across the bar in exchange for a drink, then turned and made for the nearest empty seat in a dark corner.\u00a0 And caught her breath.<\/p>\n \u201cBut how long ago was it, Delvin? Do you know?\u201d a quiet, warm voice murmured, from the other side of the wall of crates she sat next to.<\/p>\n Sayma\u2019s eyes went round, and she suddenly found it necessary to study her tankard very closely.\u00a0 Roggi.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWell,\u201d came Delvin\u2019s unmistakable voice, \u201cthat’s hard to say. It had to have been at least two, maybe two and a half years ago. Maybe a little more. All of a sudden the network couldn\u2019t find him, or so they said. That\u2019s when the rumors started, anyway. It was a good few months at least before all the things happened here, with Mercer Frey and all that.\u201d<\/p>\n Sayma rose, quietly, and made her way across the room to a seat that gave her a clearer view. She sat down and raised her tankard, sliding her gaze carefully in the direction of the voices.<\/p>\n There they were. Delvin looked no different than he had the last time she had seen him.\u00a0 Probably wearing the same set of armor, too, the old goat.<\/em> She smiled to herself thinking about it.\u00a0 Seated across from him was Roggi.<\/p>\n Her heart rose into her throat.\u00a0 He looks wonderful.<\/em> His hair was still tied up in a long tail, his face relaxed and healthy-looking. The light armor he wore did nothing, even with its long sleeves, to conceal what were clearly much more developed muscles than he\u2019d had the last time she had seen him.\u00a0 Her gaze ran down the length of his arms and came to his hands, and then stopped when she saw the ornate ring.<\/p>\n The Bond of Matrimony.\u00a0 He really is married.<\/em><\/p>\n It must suit him. He looks so much healthier than he did the last time I saw him.<\/em><\/p>\n Sayma found herself blinking back tears, and was angry with herself for it.\u00a0 She looked around the room, searching all the tables and corners, and she neither saw nor heard the flashy vampire she\u2019d come searching for.<\/p>\n \u201cDamn it,\u201d she muttered.\u00a0 She stood again, and moved back to her spot nearer to Roggi and Delvin, and settled down to eavesdrop.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s just about the time I found that hood.\u201d\u00a0 That was Roggi, speaking quietly.<\/p>\n \u201cFound<\/em> it, did you?\u201d Delvin said with a smirk.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, no, Delvin. You know better than that. I \u2013 what is it that Andante says? I liberated it from its previous state of confinement. It was in an evidence chest and it looked like it would be more useful on my head.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere you go. You really should have taken Brynjolf up on his offer.\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi chuckled.\u00a0 \u201cNo. I\u2019m done with that, Delvin. I have more than I can handle between Dar and the girls. But listen. I\u2019m really beginning to think I\u2019m right about this. I just really don\u2019t know how to go about proving it. Do you have anything for me at all?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell,\u201d Delvin said slowly, \u201clet me think.\u00a0 There were rumors of a hit that was botched, out in Markarth. That was about the same time he disappeared. It might even be connected to that hood of yours. You might look into that. I\u2019ve always wondered if it was him, not that anyone knew what he looked like. But if it was, the Thalmor probably killed him.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOr tortured him,\u201d Roggi muttered. \u201cIf he was from Cyrodiil they\u2019d have been more than interested in anything they could squeeze out of him about operations down there.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell you\u2019d know about that more than I, my friend.\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi sighed. \u201cYeah, and I wish I didn\u2019t. Dar is not happy about any of this.\u00a0 But I\u2019ll look into Markarth. The timing is right.\u201d\u00a0 He stretched his shoulders and looked around.\u00a0 \u201cWhere\u2019s Bryn?\u201d<\/p>\n Sayma\u2019s head swam, trying to note and make sense of all the various pieces of information she was hearing. Roggi had an offer from Brynjolf, and based on Delvin\u2019s tone it clearly involved the Guild. And the talk of knowing about torture; that was just too confusing. Delvin had ties to the Brotherhood, but Roggi?<\/p>\n \u201cOh who knows,\u201d Delvin snorted.\u00a0 \u201cIf I could peel him off Andante for more than five minutes at a time I\u2019d be a happy man.\u00a0 Never thought I\u2019d see the day.\u00a0 The last I knew they stopped in here for a few minutes, and then took off west again.\u00a0 Bryn said something about Falkreath and Andante told me he was heading to Dawnstar. I think he was pullin\u2019 my leg.\u201d<\/p>\n Peel Brynjolf off Andante?\u00a0 What? <\/em><\/p>\n Falkreath. The only reason Bryn would go to Falkreath would be the Sepulcher.\u00a0 And Andante never came back to Dawnstar.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n What is going on?<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cOh come on, Delvin, have you seen the way he looks at Bryn?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOf course.\u00a0 I just never expected anything to come of it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, strange times, Delvin.\u00a0 After all, we have dragons now.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, and Maven as Jarl. Whoever would have imagined that actually coming about?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHa!\u00a0 Well.\u00a0 Thanks for that tidbit. I\u2019ll do some more digging. I don\u2019t have my old network anymore but that at least gives me a place to point my nose.\u00a0 And if I run across Brynjolf and Andante I\u2019ll tell them to get their backsides back here.\u201d<\/p>\n Delvin laughed.\u00a0 \u201cRight.\u00a0 Good to see you, Roggi.\u201d<\/p>\n Sayma heard the chair scraping, and turned her head just in time to see Roggi stare directly at her.\u00a0 It was an endless moment, as she took in all the details of this face she still loved in spite of the time that had passed, and fought to keep her own expression neutral.\u00a0 He doesn\u2019t know what I look like. He has no reason to suspect that it\u2019s me.<\/em><\/p>\n Roggi nodded, and then continued on his way out of the Ragged Flagon.<\/p>\n And Sayma sat quietly, shaking in the corner, a Guildmaster who could not reveal her presence to her own Guild.<\/p>\n The world has changed. It has gone on without me. And both of them have gone on without me. <\/em><\/p>\n It\u2019s my own fault.<\/em><\/p>\n Roggi smiled as he stepped out of the house holding a bottle of mead in each hand, hearing the giggles and shrieks floating up from below.\u00a0 It was a beautiful day, sunny and as warm as it ever got in Falkreath hold, and his children were taking advantage of it, swimming in Lake Ilinalta.\u00a0 Sofie … <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/3-2-11-2.png\")
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<\/p>\nPart II: Counterpoint<\/a><\/div>\nPrevious<\/a> \/ Next<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"