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<\/p>\nDagnell and Roggi left the inn before sunrise the next morning, while most everyone was still abed, hoping to make some decent progress back toward the Rift before day\u2019s end. They made their way out the gates and around the winding path back toward the road, but as they approached the stables the sound of angry voices stopped Dag in her path.\u00a0 She held a finger up to her lips and motioned for Roggi to follow her quietly.<\/p>\n
As they crept up beside the stable, hiding just out of sight around a corner, Dag fought to suppress a gasp.\u00a0 A fully-armed, threatening Redguard man in Alik\u2019r mercenary armor faced toward the road.\u00a0 Talking to him was none other than the Redguard tavern wench who had waited on them at the Bannered Mare.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Dag whispered to Roggi.\u00a0 \u201cIt was<\/em> her!\u201d\u00a0 He nodded, frowning, and moved as though he was about to draw his bow. Dag shook her head. If the other Alik\u2019r were around, this would be a battle they couldn\u2019t win.\u00a0 One of the mercenaries was bad enough; three would be deadly. There was only an outside chance one of Roggi\u2019s arrows could eliminate the first before the other two struck, if they were, in fact, around.\u00a0 Dag scanned the area for signs of life and saw none, but that didn\u2019t mean they weren\u2019t waiting just out of sight.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat is this, Kematu? Why are you here?\u201d the woman hissed.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t run from us any longer, \u2018Saadia,\u2019 if that\u2019s the name you\u2019re using these days,\u201d the man called Kematu murmured, smiling menacingly. \u201cCome along quietly.\u00a0 There are people who are \u2026 anxious to see you.\u201d<\/p>\n Just as Saadia started to protest, chaos erupted.\u00a0 From behind the stable roared a large, dark figure, who hurled himself at Kematu.\u00a0 Saadia flattened herself against the side of the building, trying to stay out of the way. Kematu pulled his scimitars and countered the attack with the skill of a seasoned mercenary.\u00a0 The attacker was impressive, but clearly not as experienced; Kematu scored a slash across one of his arms that forced a hiss of pain from him and set him back a couple of paces. Then, one of the most remarkable things Dagnell had ever witnessed happened.<\/p>\n Kematu\u2019s assailant dropped his arms to his sides, gathered his breath, leaned forward, and created the loudest sound Dag had ever heard a human being make.\u00a0 It was as if his voice had become a giant\u2019s bludgeon; Kematu flew backward through the air at least twenty paces and landed on his back in the dirt. His attacker sprinted forward and finished him off with what she now could see was a set of Redguard scimitars, then cast a healing spell on his wounded arm.\u00a0 It was all over in not much more than a minute, if that.<\/p>\n Dag stared, astonished, certain that her mouth had fallen all the way to her waist.\u00a0 She looked at Roggi, whose eyes were round.\u00a0 \u201cHe shouted,\u201d Roggi breathed in awe.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s an understatement. What in Oblivion was that?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo,\u201d Roggi said, shaking his head. \u201cI\u2019m telling you. He Shouted. It\u2019s a thing the old Nords used to train to do, or so the stories go.\u00a0 A Thu\u2019um.\u00a0 A very powerful shout.\u00a0 They say that Ulfric Stormcloak can do that, but I\u2019ve never heard one before from him or anyone else, so I always thought it might just be a legend.\u00a0 There\u2019s nothing else that it \u2013 that<\/em> \u2013 what he just did — could possibly have been.\u201d<\/p>\n I don\u2019t have a clue what he\u2019s babbling about, Dag thought, but that definitely was something I\u2019ve never seen. Or heard. Then she paused, remembering the guards who she had heard claim Ulfric shouted High King Torygg to death with his voice.\u00a0 I wonder if that\u2019s what they meant.\u00a0 And where are the city guards, she thought, looking around and seeing none.\u00a0 They had to have heard that. She shook her head, stood, and walked forward, just in time to hear Saadia hiss at the man who had saved her.<\/p>\n \u201cYou could have warned me that you were going to set me up like that, Dardeh!\u201d<\/p>\n The dark-skinned man who stood there looked like a Redguard, but at the same time not like a Redguard.\u00a0 He was short, shorter than Roggi, but of truly massive build that looked even more massive in a set of well-polished steel armor.\u00a0 His features were delicate, almost pretty; not a typical Redguard man at all.\u00a0 And his hair, arranged in rows of braids, along with his full beard, were blonde.\u00a0 Bright blonde hair, Dag observed, is not a thing one sees often in a native of Hammerfell.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I had told you, you wouldn\u2019t have come. Well you\u2019re safe now, aren\u2019t you,\u201d he grumbled in a very deep but gentle voice, settling his scimitars back into place.\u00a0 \u201cThey won\u2019t bother you again.\u201d<\/p>\n Saadia sighed and relaxed. \u201cI\u2019m sorry. Yes, you\u2019re right.\u00a0 Here. I suppose you should have this,\u201d and handed him a coin purse.\u00a0 She straighted up and took a deep breath.\u00a0 \u201cWell, I thank you. Now I can go back to my life in Whiterun.\u00a0 You\u2019ll always be welcome at the Bannered Mare, Dardeh.\u201d\u00a0 She turned and jogged up the path toward the city gates.<\/p>\n Dagnell stood up from her crouch, approached the man called Dardeh and cleared her throat. \u201cUm, we didn\u2019t mean to be intruding on that.\u00a0 Whatever it was.\u00a0 But\u2026is everything ok? Your arm?\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh gave her a long look, then squinted and leaned closer, close enough for her to see that his eyes were of different colors: one bronze and one green. \u201cSorry to stare,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s just that I wasn\u2019t expecting to see another Redguard woman with a scar in the same city.\u201d<\/p>\n Dag felt Roggi tense beside her, and looked at him, shaking her head.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s ok,\u201d she said, reaching out to touch his arm. Then she returned to Dardeh. \u201cIt is odd, to be sure. I wasn\u2019t exactly expecting it, either. Can I ask why you were looking for\u2026 one of us?\u201d<\/p>\n He chuckled. \u201cWell, Saadia there was being pursued by those bounty hunters for reasons that aren\u2019t mine to share. Let\u2019s just say that I couldn\u2019t just leave a kinsman in trouble like that. There were too many of them to take out as a group, so I picked off a few here and there and then figured out a way to lure the ringleader out here,\u201d he said, pointing at Kematu\u2019s body.\u00a0 He stretched and rotated his massive shoulders, loosening up tight muscles. \u201cWasn\u2019t expecting him to be quite that tough,\u201d he said, sheepishly.\u00a0 \u201cBut yeah, I\u2019m fine.\u00a0 Thanks for asking.\u201d<\/p>\n He cracked his neck, looked surprised, and then laughed. \u201cThat sounded awful, didn\u2019t it? As for me, I\u2019m looking for my sister. Well, half-sister,\u201d he said, waving his hand at his hair. \u201cSame father, different mother.\u00a0 My mother was a Nord.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGood,\u201d said Roggi.<\/p>\n Dardeh smiled and looked Roggi over. Thoroughly and with great appreciation, Dag thought, grinning, noticing what she thought a particularly mischievous twinkle in Dardeh\u2019s eyes. I see how it is. Roggi just appeals to everyone, I guess.<\/p>\n Roggi didn\u2019t seem to be aware of the way in which he was being regarded, though, and just nodded back at Dardeh.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m a Nord,\u201d he said, as though he needed to explain the single most obvious thing about himself.\u00a0 Dag had to stifle a cackle.<\/p>\n Dardeh smiled, an attractive, genuine, good-natured smile that went right up to his odd-colored eyes. \u201cI guessed as much.\u201d\u00a0 That was generous of him, Dag thought.\u00a0 A dumb comment like that would have fully deserved a sarcastic response, and would have gotten a fine one from her.<\/p>\n \u201cAnyway, it probably seems a strange thing to do. I\u2019ve never actually met my father, but just before my ma passed she told me about this girl. If she really exists, she\u2019s the only family I\u2019ve got. I was told that she has green eyes and a scar, and you\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c\u2026have green eyes and a scar,\u201d Dag finished, nodding.\u00a0 \u201cBut my family has been gone for a very long time now, since I was not much more than able to hold a sword. I was the only child, unless ma and da were hiding one somewhere.\u00a0 Sorry about that.\u00a0 I guess I\u2019m not the only one who was prone to scratches from sharp blades,\u201d she finished, laughing.<\/p>\n Dardeh glanced at her again.\u00a0 \u201cSpeaking of which, what in Oblivion are those things you\u2019re hauling around?\u00a0 Don\u2019t you have some proper weapons?\u201d<\/p>\n Dag felt herself flushing.\u00a0 \u201cWell I\u2019m sorry they don\u2019t meet with your approval.\u00a0 They were the best I could come up with after mine got liberated by some bandits.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t exactly in a position to head back home to replace them.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh laughed. \u201cWait a moment.\u201d\u00a0 He walked over to Kematu\u2019s corpse and pried a perfectly matched set of desperately sharp-looking scimitars away from its stiffening fingers.\u00a0 \u201cTake these,\u201d he said, handing them to Dag. \u201cI already have mine, he doesn\u2019t need them any longer, and I\u2019d hate to see some\u2026\u201d he paused, glancing at Roggi, then finished, awkwardly, \u201csomeone who isn\u2019t Redguard have them.\u201d<\/p>\n Dagnell looked down at the scimitars and felt her eyes filling up.\u00a0 No. I will not cry, she told herself sternly. But these weapons felt as good in her hands as the ones she\u2019d lost. Her mind\u2019s eye saw herself emerging from her hiding space, wailing over the gaping maw that had been her mother\u2019s neck, finding the dead raider\u2019s scimitars and, in her grief, adding a few fresh wounds to his stiffening corpse.\u00a0 She saw herself practicing with them, taking down prey, fending off attackers, becoming more and more expert in their use.\u00a0 She saw what had once been J\u2019hall, and her hands weighed these new scimitars again, testing them for balance. It was like being able to breathe again. \u201cThank you,\u201d she said quietly, her voice catching. \u201cYou have no idea how much this means to me.\u201d<\/p>\n She cleared her throat and looked back up at him, smiling. \u201cHere, at least take these off my hands, would you? Run them up to the smithy and sell them off for as much as you can get. Please. Maybe they\u2019ll buy you a couple of nights in a soft bed.\u201d She handed Dardeh her old swords and settled the scimitars into place with a satisfied sigh.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, I suppose I need to go start searching for yet another girl with a scar.\u201d He smiled and started to move toward the city.<\/p>\n \u201cWait a moment,\u201d Dag said, reaching out to touch his arm and stop him. \u201cI really need to know. What that was? The thing you did?\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi sighed. \u201cI told you already.\u00a0 It was a Shout.\u00a0 He Shouted.\u00a0 Listen to me sometimes, woman.\u201d\u00a0 Dag had heard the tales, too, as a kid, but outside of Nord country they were told in the way you\u2019d tell a story about a constellation in the sky; dim, often mis-told, folk tales with no bearing in reality at all.<\/p>\n Dardeh laughed, and nodded at Roggi. \u201cYeah.\u00a0 I just learned that I could do that a while ago.\u00a0 A dragon\u2026 well, never mind.\u201d He shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cIt sounds ridiculous even to me and I\u2019m the one that was there. That shout is translated from the dragon tongue as Unrelenting Force, for obvious reasons.\u00a0 I have a few of them now. It\u2019s a strange thing, but it\u2019s pretty handy in a tight spot.\u00a0 It\u2019s a relief to talk to someone who knows what I mean.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWait,\u201d Roggi said.\u00a0 \u201cAre you saying that dragons are real?\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh grimaced.\u00a0 \u201cOh very real,\u201d he agreed. \u201cBig and nasty, and they don\u2019t like people. Some speak with fire and some with frost, and you can\u2019t get too close to the front end of them, for all the teeth. I\u2019d hate to tell you what the first one did to some of these Whiterun guards.\u201d He shuddered. \u201cI\u2019ve had to kill several of them now. I wouldn\u2019t recommend it for a leisure activity.\u00a0 Learning their language is useful for that, though.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDragon\u2026 language.\u201d Dag said, shaking her head. If not for the fact that she was standing there, upright, within arm\u2019s reach of two men, she\u2019d have sworn she was dreaming a children\u2019s story.<\/p>\n Dardeh ran his hand across his braids, looking embarrassed. \u201cI know, it\u2019s bizarre.\u00a0 That’s how they explained it to me, though. You have to, well at least almost everyone has to, study the words for a long time before they can make them work in that way.\u201d\u00a0 He paused. \u201cUnless you have the gift.\u00a0 I just more or less knew how to use the words when I heard them.\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi’s brow furrowed.\u00a0 “Who is ‘they’?”<\/p>\n “The Greybeards,” Dardeh said, as though it was the most common thing in the world.\u00a0 “Well, Master Arngeir, I should say. The others don’t exactly talk.”<\/p>\n \u201cDragonborn?\u201d Roggi gasped. \u201cCan it be? Are you \u2026 Dragonborn?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUm,\u201d Dardeh said, looking embarrassed.\u00a0 \u201cSo it would seem. Whether I like it or not.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWould you boys please tell me what in the name of Stendarr you are talking about?\u201d Dag snapped.\u00a0 \u201cI am lost.\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi turned to her. \u201cThe old legends say that the dragon language was passed down from the Dragon God of Time, Akatosh, to the ancient Nord heroes,\u201d he said. \u201cBut only someone with dragon blood is supposed to be able to learn the words without long training.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t believe it was real.\u00a0 But we just heard him Shout, and he\u2019s not old enough to have trained for years and years. And he went to High Hrothgar. I\u2019m going to have to think about that for a while.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThanks,\u201d Dardeh said. \u201cYou explained it better than I could.\u00a0 I\u2019m still trying to figure it all out myself.\u00a0 The only thing I know for sure is that I can do, well, what I did. I\u2019m pretty sure I\u2019m not related to any dragons, but then again I\u2019m kind of half and half anyway, so who knows.\u201d\u00a0 He laughed and gave Roggi another appreciative smile.<\/p>\n Dag looked between the two of them, wondering what to make of it all.\u00a0 Then she decided that it didn\u2019t matter.\u00a0 It made her head hurt, and she had enough things to worry about, up to and including a skooma dealer in the Rift.<\/p>\n \u201cAnyway,\u201d she said, admiring her new weapons again, \u201cwe have a long way to go to get back to Riften.\u00a0 If you\u2019re ever there,\u201d and then paused.\u00a0 \u201cWell I was going to say look me up, but who knows whether I\u2019ll even be there. I hope we\u2019ll see each other again someday, though.\u00a0 It was good to meet you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLikewise,\u201d Dardeh said.\u00a0 Then he sighed.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s too bad, really. I would have enjoyed having a sister like you, someone tough. And a brother-in-law like you,\u201d he added, flashing another brilliant smile at Roggi.<\/p>\n \u201cOh no, no, it\u2019s not like that,\u201d Roggi stammered.<\/p>\n Dag laughed.\u00a0 He was always so eager to point that out. \u201cWe\u2019re not married, Dardeh.\u00a0 I needed a friend to travel with me on a job, and lucky for me that he is, too. He keeps saving my hide.\u201d Roggi smiled at her.<\/p>\n \u201cI see.\u00a0 Ok then,\u201d Dardeh said, grinning at them but mostly at Roggi.\u00a0 \u201cBe safe out there.\u00a0 And keep an eye on the sky. You\u2019ll probably hear one of those bastards before you see him. And if you do, find some good solid shelter.\u201d\u00a0 He waved and walked up the path toward Whiterun.<\/p>\n He hadn\u2019t quite gotten out of earshot when one of the cityguards came lumbering toward him in what passed for a trot.\u00a0 \u201cWe heard a Shout. What is it, dragons?\u201d\u00a0 Dardeh\u2019s deep laugh floated down the path; the guard turned back and the two of them continued on toward the city.<\/p>\n \u201cGood thing it wasn\u2019t a real emergency,\u201d Dag laughed. \u00a0She took a deep breath and exhaled.\u00a0 \u201cWell if that wasn\u2019t the strangest thing ever, I\u2019m an Argonian.\u00a0 Let\u2019s get going, shall we?\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi nodded.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s kind of too bad, actually,\u201d Dag said, glancing back at Dardeh\u2019s retreating form.\u00a0 \u201cIt would be fun to have a brother.\u00a0 He\u2019d be a good one.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cToo bad,\u201d Roggi said, thoughtful.\u00a0 \u201cHe seems like a nice guy.\u00a0 Imagine having the Dragonborn for a brother!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd he likes you,\u201d she said, poking him in the ribs.<\/p>\n \u201cBy Ysmir!\u201d Roggi yelped.\u00a0 \u201cWould you stop that? You have said that about almost everyone we\u2019ve met!\u00a0 I\u2019m getting embarrassed!\u201d<\/p>\n Dag started giggling and couldn\u2019t stop.\u00a0 Roggi, however, did not seem amused.<\/p>\n Dagnell and Roggi left the inn before sunrise the next morning, while most everyone was still abed, hoping to make some decent progress back toward the Rift before day\u2019s end. They made their way out the gates and around the winding path back toward the road, but as they approached the stables the sound of … <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/1-1-18-2.png\")
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<\/p>\nPart I: Survivors<\/a><\/div>\nPrevious<\/a> \/ Next<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"