![\"\"](\"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/1-1-19-1.png\")
<\/p>\nJust across the river from Whiterun, atop a small hill, was a ring of tall stones. They had passed it on their way in, but hadn\u2019t investigated it.\u00a0 Dagnell was curious, though, and when they arrived at the first of several ancient stone arches leading to the hilltop, she pointed to the henge and started up the path.<\/p>\n
It was a magnificent view of the plain surrounding Whiterun, even better than the place on the roadway where she\u2019d first seen it.\u00a0 She was eager to see the view from the top, and scampered up the trail.<\/p>\n
\u201cWait,\u201d she heard Roggi say behind her.<\/p>\n
She turned back to look at him just as an arrow struck her in the left arm, the pain blinding her for a moment.\u00a0 Its force set her off balance, stumbling several paces backward down the path and almost driving her to the ground.\u00a0 Roggi rushed past her, sword high, shouting \u201cOh, no you don\u2019t!\u201d<\/p>\n
Dag heard the unmistakable sound of an ice spell splattering against the ground just beyond him, and the crack of bone as his sword struck its target.\u00a0 She scrambled up the path, drawing one of her scimitars, to find two reanimated skeletons closing in on Roggi, a third in pieces at his feet, and a mage \u2013 a necromancer, no doubt – ducking in and out behind an ornately designed stone, casting ice spikes at him.\u00a0 Wincing at the pain in her arm but having no time to tend to it, she threw herself at the nearest skeleton.\u00a0 Its attention was on Roggi, and she slashed at it just as it was drawing its bow to fire at him.\u00a0 It fell to pieces at her feet.<\/p>\n
Roggi whirled to dodge an ice spike and managed to clip the third skeleton.\u00a0 It staggered, giving Dag just enough of an opening to run forward and finish it off.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cYou made a mistake coming here!\u201d she heard behind her, and rolled forward on her good side, barely ahead of another frost spell.\u00a0 Looking back, she saw that Roggi had taken advantage of the mage\u2019s attention being on Dag; he rushed the mage, putting all the force of his shoulder into her back and sending her sprawling onto her stomach.\u00a0 He lifted his blade over her and stabbed it straight down, finishing her.<\/p>\n
Dag stood, gritting her teeth against the pain of her arm.\u00a0 Damn, she thought as she examined it.\u00a0 A hole in my new leathers.\u00a0 It can be repaired, but\u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cHere, let\u2019s get that arrow out,\u201d Roggi said, walking up to her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, I think we\u2019d better.\u201d<\/p>\n
He grasped her shoulder with one hand and the arrow with the other.\u00a0 \u201cReady?\u201d he asked, studying her face. \u201cThis is going to hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dag nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI know.\u201d\u00a0 She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, focusing on the warmth and strength of Roggi\u2019s hand holding her shoulder firm.\u00a0 \u201cDo it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Things went red for just a moment as Roggi yanked the arrow from her arm; in spite of her resolve to be tough she shrieked.\u00a0 She opened her eyes and immediately started casting healing on the wound.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell that was not how I\u2019d envisioned starting the day,\u201d she muttered as the pain began to subside.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot at all,\u201d Roggi said.\u00a0 Then he chuckled. \u201cStill, that went pretty well, all things considered.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dag grimaced.\u00a0 \u201cIf I didn\u2019t hurt so much I\u2019d have to smack you for that,\u201d she said.\u00a0 Roggi was failing to contain a grin, and as she looked at him, she started chuckling.\u00a0 \u201cI guess you\u2019re right. They\u2019re dead and we\u2019re not. It\u2019s hard to argue with that. Hey, do you know what this thing is?\u201d she asked, nodding toward the ornately carved stone.\u00a0 It had a conical top with a large hole in the middle.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s one of the old Standing Stones,\u201d Roggi said, examining it.\u00a0 \u201cThey\u2019re all over.\u00a0 They\u2019re supposed to have some sort of magical power.\u00a0 Just another story, I think.\u201d\u00a0 He paused, looking thoughtful. \u201cOn the other hand, I thought dragons and Shouts were just a story, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/1-1-19-2.png\")
<\/p>\n
\u201cWell I certainly don\u2019t know what to think about any of this,\u201d Dag said.\u00a0 \u201cBut my arm is mostly better and we need to continue.\u201d\u00a0 She looked up at the sky; the sun was nearly overhead.\u00a0 Between meeting Dardeh and this adventure with the mage, they hadn\u2019t gotten very far; she\u2019d gotten wounded and wasn\u2019t going to be able to keep up their normal pace without some rest. \u201cI\u2019ll be more careful about just wandering into interesting places from here on.\u201d\u00a0 She looked the mage over.\u00a0 The woman had only a few coins and a bit of food in her robes, all of which Dag was happy to claim.\u00a0 One did not leave coins on the table.<\/p>\n
They started back toward the east, walking in silence and more slowly than usual because Dag was feeling quite drained.\u00a0 She shot an occasional glance at Roggi, none of which he seemed to notice.\u00a0 How is it, she wondered, that a guy who claimed to be nothing more than a simple miner was so good with a sword and bow, and knew what to do with her arrow wound without a moment\u2019s hesitation?\u00a0 She started thinking about their first few conversations, and pictured him in Kynesgrove.\u00a0 Suddenly something occurred to her.<\/p>\n
\u201cRoggi,\u201d she asked, \u201cI\u2019m curious about something. I know you said your family has always been in Kynesgrove, but I only saw you in town while I was there. Is the rest of the clan away somewhere else?\u201d<\/p>\n
He frowned, and didn\u2019t look at her, but he positively growled. \u201cIn a manner of speaking, yes,\u201d he spat between clenched teeth. His tone made it clear that he wasn\u2019t going to elaborate.<\/p>\n
Dag was taken aback.<\/p>\n
The only other time Roggi had been short with her was the first time they\u2019d met, when he had gotten angry about his inn debt. There\u2019s something major here, Dag thought, and it isn\u2019t good. He had a home there in Kynesgrove, but he was alone in it and drinking away every septim he made and then some. Away – in a manner of speaking. That could simply mean he\u2019d had a falling out with his family.\u00a0 On the other hand, her parents were away, in a manner of speaking, too.<\/p>\n
Her thoughts were interrupted as Roggi suddenly pulled his bow and, with a single arrow, took down a wolf she hadn\u2019t even seen approaching.\u00a0 He barely missed a stride.\u00a0 She stared at him, amazed. \u201cYou are really good at that, you know. That was impressive.\u201d\u00a0 He nodded and made an expression that might have been intended as a smile but fell far short.<\/p>\n
They walked along in silence for some time; nothing Dag could think of to say would be anything other than an annoyance, she was sure, and she didn\u2019t want to raise the tension level if she could help it.\u00a0 Every so often she glanced at Roggi. He seemed to be relaxing, but there was none of his usual banter. She hadn\u2019t realized how much she had come to enjoy that mindless chatter.\u00a0 Just as Dag was beginning to resign herself to a silent afternoon, Roggi spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cSorry about before,\u201d he said. \u00a0It wasn\u2019t much, but he at least didn\u2019t sound like he was about to take her head off.\u00a0 That, at least, was a relief.\u00a0 She just nodded.\u00a0 She didn\u2019t want to risk upsetting him again.<\/p>\n
They continued on past the towers and high bridge, and down into the river valley.\u00a0 Just as the shadows began growing longer, they reached the abandoned prison.<\/p>\n
\u201cRoggi, I think we\u2019re going to need to make an early camp.\u00a0 I\u2019m feeling a bit under the weather.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at her, concerned.\u00a0 \u201cAre you all right?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI will be.\u00a0 That arrow took more out of me than I realized.\u00a0 But I need to stop now rather than pushing on.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRight.\u00a0 You sit down and I\u2019ll see whether I can catch some fish and make a fire.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dag sat down, gratefully.\u00a0\u00a0 She would be fine after some rest and food, but right then she needed to simply sit.\u00a0 She watched in silence, listening to the river, and to the birds discussing their day. Roggi puttered about, setting up a small cook fire, then disappeared down the bank of the river.\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t gone long.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat went well,\u201d he said, smiling, and holding up two fat fish. \u201cThey were jumping.\u00a0 Dinner will be shortly.\u201d<\/p>\n
The entire time they were eating, Dag\u2019s mind was racing.\u00a0 She had the barest of inklings about what had happened to Roggi, and it was going to drive her crazy until she could confirm it.\u00a0 But how to raise the issue again?\u00a0 Finally, after they were done and sitting quietly by the fire, she spoke up. It was going to be awkward, and probably really obvious, but she had to try it.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know,\u201d she began, easing into the topic as gently as possible, \u201cI never told you much about me, except what happened with J\u2019hall and the short end to our little caravan. I mean things about me from before I ended up beating you up that day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Roggi looked at her and laughed. Good, that meant maybe he was open to talking again.\u00a0 He had seemed friendly enough while they were having their meal, but she didn\u2019t want to inadvertently make things worse again.\u00a0 She smiled at him and then looked back at the fire.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, my grand story is that I was born on Stros M\u2019Kai.\u00a0 Grew up working at the docks, gutting fish, odd jobs here and there, that sort of thing.\u201d She snorted. \u201cEveryone I\u2019ve met since I left home assumes I\u2019m from somewhere on the mainland. It\u2019s annoying. It\u2019s like they forget we exist except in the old songs.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cReally? Well you have travelled a lot, then.\u201d<\/p>\n
She sighed.\u00a0 \u201cNot until relatively recently, when I finally had enough coin to come see the rest of the world. A couple of years now. It was too hard just trying to outlast my childhood, and there\u2019s no money for travelling when you\u2019re just trying to stay alive and keep some food in your belly, all on your own.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at her, surprised. \u201cOn your own?\u201d<\/p>\n
She nodded.\u00a0 Now to find out what\u2019s what. \u201cYeah.\u00a0 Bandits, when I was just little.\u00a0 I mean, I was so little that I could hide in tiny spaces and not get caught.\u00a0 My parents\u2026 were not so lucky.\u201d She shrugged. \u201cSo you do what you have to do, and that\u2019s what I\u2019ve done for all these years. Will it keep me alive and fed and reasonably content? That\u2019s pretty much all that matters. I don\u2019t know what kind of person that makes me, but that\u2019s how it is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Roggi nodded, his face grim, then frowned into the fire pit.\u00a0 Yes, Dag thought.\u00a0 I was on to something there.\u00a0 Then he took a deep breath and spoke, softly, as though from a distance.\u00a0 Dag knew that tone of voice.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/1-1-19-3.png\")
<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is why I hate bandits. I told you I wandered around a bit. I \u2026 did what had to be done. Or at least what I thought had to be done at the time. It actually took me a long little while, but every last one of them got what he deserved.\u201d He paused and shook his head. \u201cProbably more than they deserved, actually. I\u2019m not proud of it. I figured that a true Nord would avenge his people. But sometimes I wonder what makes me any different from them.\u201d\u00a0 He sighed. \u201cThen I went back to Kynesgrove and grabbed a pickaxe. And that\u2019s about all that needs to be said about that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dag was saddened. \u00a0So there really had been some kind of bad run-in with bandits, as she had suspected. \u00a0It almost didn\u2019t matter what the details were. She wondered who in his family he had lost; most of them, she would wager, based on what he had said earlier.\u00a0 It was hard to picture him doing violence for revenge, but there it was. She sighed. \u00a0There was one certainty, though: what made Roggi better than the bandits, revenge or not, was that he was a good man who cared<\/em> whether or not he did the right thing.<\/p>\n \u201cWell I\u2019m very sorry that we have that in common, Roggi. I was quite content with sharing a short fuse, a wicked punch, and an appreciation for good mead.\u201d<\/p>\n He looked at her, startled, then tossed back his head and laughed, his eyes twinkling again.\u00a0 \u201cThat we do.\u201d<\/p>\n She grinned at him, then reached over and squeezed his hand, a gesture that brought another smile to his face. My dear Roggi, she thought.\u00a0 You\u2019ve been carrying that around by yourself for far too long. I\u2019m glad you shared it with me.\u00a0 I\u2019m glad we understand each other.<\/p>\n Dag took first watch while Roggi slept.\u00a0 She was impressed with how relaxed he looked.\u00a0 The man slept like a rock. I wonder when the last time was that I slept like that, except for when I was utterly exhausted, she thought.\u00a0 Maybe if I dropped some of my secrets I\u2019d sleep better, too.<\/p>\n She fed more sticks into the fire and listened to the sounds of the river rushing down out of the mountains.<\/p>\n Just across the river from Whiterun, atop a small hill, was a ring of tall stones. They had passed it on their way in, but hadn\u2019t investigated it.\u00a0 Dagnell was curious, though, and when they arrived at the first of several ancient stone arches leading to the hilltop, she pointed to the henge and started … <\/p>\nPart I: Survivors<\/a><\/div>\nPrevious<\/a> \/ Next<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"