\u201cNow then, there\u2019s no time to waste. You\u2019re going to Fort Snowhawk. If the Legate thinks we\u2019re nowhere nearby, now is the time to strike. Meet the brothers preparing for the attack. Oh, and there\u2019s someone here you might want to travel with. Last I saw he was out talking to the quartermaster. Talos guide you both.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone I\u2026\u201d\u00a0 Frina was confused for a moment. Could it be Ulfric? Did he come to lead us into battle? <\/em>\u201cThank you, sir!\u201d she cried, and dashed out of the tent and across the yard.\u00a0 She peered from side to side, searching for the oversized pauldrons and blue drape of Ulfric\u2019s armor, but saw nothing of the sort. Her heart sank; she slowed to a stop and frowned.<\/p>\n Well now I just feel stupid. Of course Ulfric didn\u2019t come out here to the middle of nowhere and even if he had, why in the world would Galmar say that I of all people would want to travel with him?\u00a0 It\u2019s not like we\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cHey there!\u201d she heard from behind her. \u201cJust going to run past and not even say hello?\u201d<\/p>\n Frina laughed at the familiar voice, and turned to smile at its source.<\/p>\n \u201cRoggi! Galmar said there was someone here I might want to travel with, and he was right. We\u2019re going to go take over another fort, what do you have to say about that?\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi grinned. \u201cI say that I\u2019m happy Ulfric sent me out here to do this rather than sending me to the dungeon to twist arms. I like this work better.\u201d\u00a0 He took her by the arms. \u201cI must have just missed you in Windhelm. Let me look at you. You don\u2019t seem any worse for wear.\u201d\u00a0 He dropped his hands and stepped back.<\/p>\n Frina laughed. \u201cWell I do wish you\u2019d been with me earlier. I fought a dragon. I could have used your help.\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi\u2019s eyes got round. \u201cReally?\u201d<\/p>\n She nodded. \u201cYes. I had this staff to conjure a wraith and used that and a lot of arrows.\u00a0 The Thalmor helped, though.\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi\u2019s brow furrowed and he cocked his head to one side. \u201cThe Thalmor\u2026 helped?\u201d<\/p>\n She giggled at his expression. This seems like old times. My big brother Roggi. <\/em>\u201cWell they were kind of after me, but the dragon had other ideas. It was actually a bit of a miracle that I survived, Roggi. I have greater respect than ever before for what you and Dardeh do. Speaking of which,\u201d she said, looking around for a set of broad shoulders in black armor and seeing only the same group of Stormcloak soldiers that had been waiting impatiently, \u201cwhere is he?\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi sighed. \u201cHe\u2019s not here.\u201d<\/p>\n Something about the tone of his voice had Frina\u2019s head snapping back around so that she could look him in the eyes. \u201cHe wasn\u2019t hurt in the Rift, was he? He didn\u2019t\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi snorted, and shook his head. \u201cNo, he\u2019s not dead, Frina. I wouldn\u2019t be here if he had gotten hurt or died.\u201d He shuddered, visibly. \u201cI can\u2019t even imagine what I\u2019d be, but it wouldn\u2019t be here. Tell you what, let\u2019s start on our way before Galmar comes out and yells at us.\u201d<\/p>\n She shook her head. \u201cNope. Tell me what\u2019s going on with Dardeh.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m surprised. I thought you didn\u2019t care for him,\u201d Roggi said with a tiny smirk. \u201cAlright then. Fort Greenwall went well, but Dar is\u2026\u201d He raised his hands up in a gesture of frustration. \u201cHe\u2019s not in his right mind, Frina. It\u2019s a really long story and it has something to do with his ancestors, and with being Dragonborn, and he needed to get away before he did something really awful.\u00a0 He\u2019s gone to find his sister, in Riften, to see if she can help.\u201d<\/p>\n He tugged on her arm and started walking; Frina nodded and followed along. They made their way out of the camp, running quietly along the edge of the marsh and then cutting south, up the hillside. After a few minutes of travel, she raised the issue again.<\/p>\n \u201cSo what\u2019s the long story about Dardeh\u2019s ancestors?\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi gave her a sideways glance and snorted.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t snort at me, Roggi. No, I didn\u2019t like Dardeh very much at first, but I can see how connected you two are, even if it\u2019s taken some time to get used to the idea. And he was\u2026 nice to me.\u00a0 Like he understood how confused I was about the whole thing.\u00a0 And he loves Talos. I can\u2019t not<\/em> care about him.\u00a0 So. Tell me. What\u2019s the problem?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAlright, alright. Well the truth of the matter is that his father \u2013 who abandoned Dar\u2019s mother before he was born \u2013 had a contract to kill Ulfric, before he was killed himself.\u201d Roggi didn\u2019t look at her; rather, as they emerged from the woods onto the roadway, he peered from side to side through the snow and fog, checking for threats.<\/p>\n Frina stopped short.\u00a0 Icy fingers of dread crept up around her throat.\u00a0 A contract\u2026 to kill\u2026 Ulfric?<\/em><\/p>\n The implications rushed through her mind. There were only a few types of people who got contracts to kill people. The Morag Tong, for one. The Dark Brotherhood, for another.\u00a0 Was Dardeh\u2026?<\/p>\n \u201cAre you coming, or not?\u201d Roggi called from a few paces up the road.<\/p>\n Frina shuddered, and ran ahead to meet him.<\/p>\n \u201cWait, Roggi. Dardeh is supposed to kill Ulfric?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo. No. That was his father.\u201d Roggi ran his hand over his face and sighed. \u201cWell\u2026 it\u2019s complicated. His father was Dark Brotherhood, it seems. Dar never knew his father. But not long after he and I started travelling together he started getting visions of him. Dreams. Uh\u2026 visitations, I guess, the way he describes it. He keeps hearing his father tell him to finish it.\u201d<\/p>\n He started walking again, shaking his head. \u201cI don\u2019t know, Frina. I\u2019m worried about him. He\u2019s so angry <\/em>these days. And you\u2019ve seen how powerful he is. He and Ulfric had a few run-ins early on and they really don\u2019t like each other much, and I fear I\u2019m the reason. So I agreed he should go to see Sayma. Maybe she can help. Something has to help. Otherwise something really bad is going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n Frina walked silently beside him for awhile, trying to sort it all out.\u00a0 I guess it makes sense that Ulfric would be a target. Enough people were against him from back in the Great War, and he is technically rebelling against the Empire now\u2026 <\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI guess he is pretty much the biggest threat the Empire has, especially since the Emperor was killed.\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi snorted. \u201cI\u2019m not worried about Ulfric<\/em>, Frina. Ulfric and I have had too much water flow beneath the bridge for me to be personally concerned about him. Yes, I want him to succeed. But it\u2019s Dardeh I worry for.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHuh,\u201d Frina said. \u201cI\u2019m still confused. He told me about it, you know.\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi stopped walking. He didn\u2019t look at her, but he stopped.<\/p>\n \u201cWho told you about what?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUlfric. He told me about what happened between the two of you.\u201d<\/p>\n Frina stared at her brother in confusion as the color drained from his face. He turned to her and took her by the arms again.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat exactly did Ulfric tell you?\u201d<\/p>\n I don\u2019t understand this. Why is he looking at me like this? <\/em>\u00a0The pressure on her arms grew greater; Roggi\u2019s expression revealed that he wasn\u2019t aware of how tightly he was gripping.<\/p>\n \u201cHe told me that he was in love with Briinda. That he wanted to marry her. That he tried to change her mind about you, and tried to change your mind about her, and it didn\u2019t work.\u201d<\/p>\n His eyes were\u2026 unreadable. Unfathomable. She felt as though he could see everything there was to know about her simply by watching the way she breathed. Suddenly Frina remembered that the hands gripping her arms ever more tightly were those of the Inquisitor, the hands that had made the man in Ulfric\u2019s dungeon scream in agony, and she started to panic. She squirmed.<\/p>\n \u201cOw, Roggi, that\u2019s too much. You\u2019re hurting my arms.\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi\u2019s eyes widened; it seemed as though he came back to himself with an almost audible shift. He dropped his hands immediately, and stepped back. \u201cI\u2019m sorry. I\u2019m\u2026 so sorry, Frina. It\u2019s just that I\u2026\u201d\u00a0 His eyes narrowed, then, and his brow furrowed. \u201cThat\u2019s what he told you?\u201d<\/p>\n Frina nodded and rubbed her arms. \u201cYes. I thought it was kind of sweet, actually, how he realized that the two of you were meant for each other and he backed down. And he said\u2026\u201d\u00a0 As the moment replayed itself in her mind she giggled in spite of herself.<\/p>\n \u201cHe said what?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat you didn\u2019t believe it but that you could have had anyone in the world. I think he really does like you, Roggi.\u201d<\/p>\n She expected to see a smile. Or something. She did not expect the long silence that followed, with Roggi\u2019s head dropping down. She did not expect to watch him stare at the ground, the muscles in his jaws working as he searched for words.<\/p>\n \u201cHow is it that he happened to be telling you these things?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe had dinner together. He was just talking. He wanted me to know why sometimes things were a little strained between the two of you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIs that all that happened?\u201d Roggi raised his head slowly to look at her. She thought she saw several things in his expression: relief, perhaps, but something else. Wariness. Maybe even anger. Her own temper started to rise.<\/p>\n Well what business is it of his, anyway? I know they were at odds over Briinda but that was years and years ago. It\u2019s not as though Ulfric and I fell into bed together.\u00a0 Although I suppose that is what Ulfric was hoping for, maybe. It sounded that way to me. But he was a gentleman about it when I told him I was afraid.\u00a0 Why should I tell Roggi all of that?<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cNot all, Roggi, but certainly nothing for you to be concerned about. He was\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t like what I\u2019m thinking that means. Frina,\u201d he said, reaching for her hands. \u201cYou can\u2019t believe anything that man tells you. You just can\u2019t<\/em>. He\u2019ll do anything to get what he wants.\u201d<\/p>\n Frina felt tendrils of anger start to creep up her spine and grasp at her temples. \u201cAre you saying he lied to me?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sure in his mind everything he said was the absolute truth. It\u2019s true, he wanted your sister. It\u2019s true that he tried to get between us. It\u2019s true,\u201d he said again, his voice dropping. \u201cBut you can\u2019t let him get his hooks into you.\u201d<\/p>\n Frina saw red.\u00a0 She snatched her hands away from Roggi and started stomping her way down the road again.<\/p>\n \u201cYou are not my keeper, Roggi,\u201d she snapped. \u201cI don\u2019t quite understand why you think it\u2019s any of your business what I did with Ulfric, or why you have so little faith in me that you would think one kiss would do me some permanent harm.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo that\u2019s how it is after all,\u201d his voice came from behind her. She heard his footsteps as he hurried to catch up to her. \u201cI guess it really is a good thing Dar went south. I don\u2019t know whether I could keep him under control if he thought Ulfric was having his way with you, too.\u201d<\/p>\n Frina was truly exasperated. Nothing he\u2019d said really made any sense to her unless she saw it as him treating her like the child she had been when he was married to her sister, the child she hadn\u2019t been since her mother and father fled Skyrim in grief, taking her with them.<\/p>\n \u201cWell I\u2019m a grown woman, Roggi. A warrior, just like you. They are calling me Snow-Hammer these days. I fought at Fort Sungard while you and Dardeh were in the Rift. Ralof and I captured a huge shipment of riches up near Markarth. I helped Galmar forge documents and took them to the Legate near here and I fought a dragon. Without the two of you. I can handle myself.\u201d<\/p>\n She looked at their surroundings. This is not the time to be arguing these things. <\/em>She lowered her voice and hissed at Roggi.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd we need to shut up and pay attention now, because we\u2019re coming up on the path to the fort and I really, really don\u2019t want to be the cause of this attack failing, do you?\u201d<\/p>\n Indeed, Fort Snowhawk stood just off the road to their right.\u00a0 It seemed quiet there; she could see the light of a few torches flickering, their movements giving away how few men were posted on its walls. It looked as though Galmar\u2019s forgery had worked and that they truly had caught the Imperials unprepared.<\/p>\n She crouched, and moved deeper into the shadows alongside the road. It was dark, and cold, but the wind had dropped and she was afraid of alerting those sentries that there were. Behind her, she heard Roggi sigh.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d he whispered as he moved up beside her. \u201cYou\u2019re always going to be Briinda\u2019s kid sister to a part of my head and it isn\u2019t fair to you, I know. I just\u2026 be careful, with him, Frina. Be careful with Ulfric. I don\u2019t want you to get hurt. I\u2019ve known him for a long, long time now.\u201d<\/p>\n She turned to look at him. Roggi did look sorry. And concerned. And genuine.\u00a0 And she couldn\u2019t stay annoyed with him, no matter what.<\/p>\n \u201cI know you have. So has Galmar. And Galmar would lay down his life for Ulfric.\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi frowned, sadly, she thought. He nodded. \u201cI know he would. Just\u2026 be careful.\u201d<\/p>\n Frina dropped back beside Roggi and gave him a quick one-armed hug.\u00a0 \u201cI will. Thank you. He\u2019s really\u2026 special, Roggi. To me, I mean.\u201d<\/p>\n He nodded again. \u201cI am beginning to see that. I hope everything will be alright.\u201d<\/p>\n Then he pointed ahead of them. \u201cI think I see the others. Up behind those rocks over there.\u201d<\/p>\n There were a number of blue-clad figures crouched under the trees and behind the boulders on their left, just above the roadway. As Frina reached them, the leader silently split the group, sending half back the way she and Roggi had come and waving the two of them forward to descend the other side of the rise, directly across the road from the fort\u2019s main gate.<\/p>\n Frina hung back a bit as the Stormcloaks rushed the Imperial barricade.\u00a0 She could see a few figures atop the fort\u2019s old towers, silhouetted against the light of a purplish aurora. It was the perfect opportunity to pick off a few enemies before getting into the heart of the battle. One of them, an archer, was too focused on the fighting directly below him to notice the arrow coming at him from across the road; he cried out and fell back as it struck him.\u00a0 She finished him off with a second shot and began focusing on the man who had been standing beside him. That man, though, jumped down onto a ledge in Fort Snowhawk\u2019s fa\u00e7ade and disappeared into the darkness.<\/p>\n Seven or eight more Stormcloaks ran by on either side of Frina.\u00a0 Well, she thought, any surprise I had is gone; best move in closer.<\/p>\n She circled around to the right of the barricades just as several Imperials dropped down off the same tower she\u2019d been targeting a second before, and she swore under her breath that she\u2019d lowered her bow too soon. They, and a mage from inside the fort\u2019s walls, rushed out past the barricades and attacked.<\/p>\n It was bedlam. It was dark, bodies were everywhere, and the noise was overwhelming. She pulled out her combat weapons and started hacking at everything that looked like an Imperial, hoping that she was avoiding her allies. To her side, an Imperial started yelling that he\u2019d suffered worse during training, only to be cut short as Roggi slid up beside her and hammered his blade down through the man\u2019s shoulder. It felt like a lifetime, but finally a path was cleared and the Stormcloak forces swarmed through the gate and into the courtyard of the fort itself.<\/p>\n It was clear that the enemy was mostly on the towers\u2019 roofs and on the walls.\u00a0 Roggi was looking up as he ran forward; Frina took a few steps in and narrowly missed being pierced by an arrow from above.\u00a0 She turned and grabbed her bow, firing alongside another Stormcloak archer at no fewer than four figures just above them. Two of them dropped, whether from Frina\u2019s arrows or someone else\u2019s, she couldn\u2019t tell. Behind her, the sounds of battle were even more frantic than before; amidst the screams and clashing of arms she caught a few distinct words.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m going to put you down!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t believe it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot like this!\u201d<\/p>\n As the men atop the walls ducked out of sight Frina swiveled and ran through the second gate into a smaller courtyard filled with tables and dead men. There was a short stairway to her right, with a man scurrying along the wall above it. She was about to take aim at him when a sound to her left had her full attention.<\/p>\n \u201cCome on! Come on!\u201d Roggi yelled.<\/p>\n Then there was a sickening crunch, and a moan.<\/p>\n Frina scanned the area, frantically, and saw what she\u2019d hoped never to see. Roggi was just past the next archway, on his knees, gasping. Behind him, an Imperial archer was nocking an arrow and advancing on him with a cruel smile crossing his face.<\/p>\n \u201cNo!\u201d Frina shouted, dashing through the opening while drawing her own bow.\u00a0 She stepped past Roggi and swung left as the Imperial faded back, finding him and firing at him.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is what you want, huh?\u201d the man snarled at her, taking aim.<\/p>\n Frina leaned left just enough that his arrow whizzed past her. Then she loosed her own.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, it really isn\u2019t!\u201d<\/p>\n The arrow struck the man in the chest and he collapsed, moaning.\u00a0 Behind her, Frina heard Roggi growling.<\/p>\n \u201cBad idea!\u201d<\/p>\n She turned to see what he meant and then shrieked as a sword ripped through the back of her armor. Only the fact that she\u2019d been turning had prevented her from being sliced in two. She gasped and started healing herself; Roggi dashed past her and fell forward into the Imperial with the bulk of his weight and his momentum carrying the dragonbone sword down and through the man.<\/p>\n Both of them stopped for just a moment, Roggi downing healing potions and Frina casting her spell.\u00a0 They didn\u2019t have a chance to speak, but they shared a concerned and yet relieved glance. A Stormcloak woman rushed past them to attack yet another Imperial archer who appeared from around the corner.<\/p>\n \u201cNot impressed!\u201d the man sneered, just before the Stormcloak drew her sword and cut him down.<\/p>\n Frina ran around the ledges atop the walls and then jumped down into the smithing yard, where several Imperial soldiers had backed up into the shed that housed the workbench and forge.\u00a0 The woman who had been beside Frina also spied them, and pulled her bow, shouting \u201cGods damn you!\u201d<\/p>\n I\u2019m not waiting for them to break free.<\/em><\/p>\n Frina sprinted into the clump of soldiers, whirling and swinging her weapons as quickly and as hard as she could.\u00a0 One of the Imperials crumpled into a pile at her feet. She backed out of the shed, giving her fellow Stormcloak the chance to fire a few more arrows at the remaining enemies.<\/p>\n They emerged from the shed into the open and moved to attack the archer. Frina saw another Stormcloak coming down the stairs across from her and met her glance for just a moment; then the two of them rushed forward to cut off the Imperials. The woman on the stairs took a massive swing with her halberd and missed, but Frina stepped up behind the Imperial and cut him down with her pick. Just as she did that, though, she heard the juicy sound of a sword sliding through armor and flesh, and turned to see another Imperial soldier skewer the archer they\u2019d been trying to protect.<\/p>\n \u201cNo!\u201d she screamed, slicing at him as hard as she could.\u00a0 Her pick caught his head and killed him instantly; and the momentum of the blow threw him forward against the wall.<\/p>\n A few minutes later it was finished. One or two additional Imperial soldiers came into the forge area, but there were two or three Stormcloaks for each one of them, and they didn\u2019t last long.\u00a0 Frina was nearly knocked off her feet by one of them and turned to see that Roggi and a Stormcloak swordsman were chasing him down the stairs; Roggi caught up to him first and lifted him wholly off the ground on his sword, then slammed him back to earth.<\/p>\n Frina pushed her helmet and scarf off for air and slowly surveyed the scene before her. The three bodies draining themselves into the smithy had her staring, blankly.<\/p>\n I killed two of those men myself.<\/em><\/p>\n I never really thought there would be so many of them that would die by my hand.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThat went well,\u201d Roggi said behind her.\u00a0 She turned and smiled at him as he approached.<\/p>\n \u201cYou saved me up there,\u201d she said, nodding toward the walls above.<\/p>\n \u201cNot before you saved me. I thought I was a goner there for a second. That\u2019s one of the closest calls I\u2019ve had in a long time.\u201d He grinned at her.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t you dare get yourself killed, Roggi Knot-Beard. I couldn\u2019t bear it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNah. Don\u2019t worry about me. I have a deal with Dar that I\u2019m going to be making him tea when I\u2019m an old man.\u201d<\/p>\n Frina giggled at the mental picture; then her eyes filled as she considered the sweetness of it.\u00a0 She reached up and scrubbed at her eyes with the back of her hand, and coughed.<\/p>\n \u201cI guess we need to go back to Windhelm now.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah. I think we should go as far as Dawnstar and grab a boat. What do you think?\u201d<\/p>\n Frina nodded. \u201cSounds good to me. I\u2019m\u2026 tired.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd it\u2019ll be faster, too\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n The way Roggi\u2019s voice dribbled off into nothing made Frina smirk. \u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n He grimaced. \u201cAnd we\u2019ll see Ulfric faster.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t start.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo. I won\u2019t. I understand how it is. Trust me, I really do. Just promise me something.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOf course, Roggi. What is it?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJust\u2026 be careful. Ok?\u201d<\/p>\n He looked so earnest, so unlike the angry, threatening Inquisitor she\u2019d seen earlier that she couldn\u2019t help but smile.<\/p>\n \u201cI will. And thank you for caring about me, even after all these years.\u201d<\/p>\n He nodded, and cleared his throat.<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s go.\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi extended a hand to her. She smiled again and took it, grateful for the warmth of his companionship as they left the fort and started back toward the east.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m back, Galmar,\u201d Frina called as she made her way into the camp yet again. \u201cThe Legate was a little wary about my armor but I told him I was just trying to blend in on the road. That\u2019s true enough. He believed the document and even gave me some money for a drink. I … <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/4-2-15-1.png\")
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