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<\/p>\nAs they munched on a bit of bread and cheese the next morning, Dag and Roggi decided to take a southern route back toward Riften.\u00a0 They would continue circling south around the base of the mountain, then leave the road that ran back to Windhelm, instead taking a southern path through a town called Ivarstead.\u00a0 From there, they could turn east toward Riften. Ivarstead would be a good place to catch a meal and some supplies for the rest of the journey.<\/p>\n
It was a pleasant day\u2019s walk through the forest. For once, even the wolves left them alone, although they heard several bears at, thankfully, a fair distance. Dag marveled yet again at the size of a mountain that could take full days to circle.\u00a0 As they approached Ivarstead, the forest thinned and opened up, mixing with yellow-leaved deciduous trees and brush that looked much more like the area around Riften than like the plains outside Whiterun.\u00a0 The path they were on ascended in a series of steep switchbacks; from some of the ridges she could just make out a fairly good-sized lake near the mountain\u2019s foot.\u00a0 Finally, the path became the main way through Ivarstead.<\/p>\n
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Ivarstead wasn\u2019t much to brag about.\u00a0 The trail up the mountain \u2013 the Seven Thousand Steps — began just on the other side of a bridge; they stopped to look up.\u00a0 And up.\u00a0 And up.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe could take a little side trip up there if you like,\u201d Roggi chuckled. \u201cDo a little sight-seeing? You know, since we\u2019re right here and all.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dag shot him a mock-angry glare.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t like the cold.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure it\u2019s very cold on top of that mountain.\u201d\u00a0 Then she laughed.\u00a0 Looking up toward the cloud-obscured summit, though, she shivered.\u00a0 Dardeh had been up there.\u00a0 She couldn\u2019t imagine why.<\/p>\n
They headed to the inn to take a break and get a good meal.\u00a0 The innkeeper was a friendly sort who kept urging them to stay far away from the barrow on the east side of town.\u00a0 It was haunted, he said; he\u2019d seen one of the spirits with his own eyes.\u00a0 Dag nodded, ordered up some food, and sat down at a table next to Roggi.<\/p>\n
Roggi grinned.\u00a0 \u201cI think he was looking for some brave adventurer to go clear out the barrow. Are you a brave adventurer?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot if I can help it.\u201d<\/p>\n
They rested there for an hour or so, enjoying their meal and a couple of ales, then continued to the intersection with an east-west road.\u00a0 It was warm and sunny, and the air was full of the sounds of wildlife; deer and elk bounded through the brush, birds sang, and bees flew past them here and there.\u00a0 Roggi chattered away about nothing in particular, which made Dag happy. It\u2019s kind of too bad that I have to get right back to Riften, she thought.\u00a0 I could enjoy this for a few days, for certain.<\/p>\n
It was late in the afternoon when they rounded a corner and encountered a young Imperial man seated by the side of the road, leaning up against a rock. He looked at them with a pained, nearly panicked expression. \u201cAre they gone? Please help. I can pay you.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Roggi stepped up to him.\u00a0 \u201cAre you hurt? What happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
The man winced, coughed, and said \u201cBandits attacked and ransacked my cart. Can you help me?\u00a0 My camp\u2019s nearby, just over there in the ruins of Nilheim. If you can get me there safely I\u2019ll make sure you\u2019re rewarded.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course we can help you.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go.\u201d Of course Roggi would want to help out, Dag thought.\u00a0 But it felt like there was something just a little off about the whole situation,\u00a0 a feeling that was confirmed when the young man jumped to his feet, saying \u201cthank you!\u201d and started jogging across the bridge toward the tower. He didn\u2019t look hurt at all. But Roggi was already in motion, following the man, who said \u201cit\u2019s just across the bridge and up that hill ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n
It really wasn\u2019t all that far off the road, the tower in question. Dag\u2019s unease was increasing by the step. There seemed to be no reason he should need help to walk this little way.\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t in any danger at all.\u00a0 She drew one of her swords, feeling more certain by the moment that she might need to use it.<\/p>\n
The path wound to the left and up several sets of stairs.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019re just about there now,\u201d the man called back to them. \u201cI can almost see the camp.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a clearing just below the tower was a firepit with a healthy fire going, a table, and a cooking pot. There were piles of firewood, a tanning rack, fish drying on another rack, and even a chest.\u00a0 It was a camp that had been set up for awhile, not just an overnight stopping place for a travelling merchant. \u201cWell, here we are,\u201d said the man, turning around to face them. \u201cWait here for just a moment and I\u2019ll be back with your reward.\u201d\u00a0 As he scampered farther up the hill, Dag hissed.<\/p>\n
\u201cRoggi! This isn\u2019t right.\u00a0 Be ready.\u201d He turned to look at her, startled, just as three bandits erupted from behind the tower.\u00a0 \u201cWell ain\u2019t this a surprise!\u201d one of them yelled.<\/p>\n
Dag had no time to pull her second sword, so she launched herself at the first bandit, slashing and shooting flames at him.\u00a0 He hadn\u2019t anticipated the flames; they blinded him for the moment she needed to run him through.\u00a0 Behind her she heard Roggi yell \u201cYou\u2019re mine!\u201d and turned just in time to see him utterly skewer the second man, lifting him completely off the ground with his sword. She had only a moment to be startled by his ferocity, because an arrow whizzed past her ear; she looked up the hill and saw their \u201cinjured\u201d merchant firing at her.\u00a0 She sprinted up the hill toward him, angry, screaming.\u00a0 Her momentum and the angle of the hill allowed her to slice upwards, under his bow; he was open and falling before he could fit another arrow to the string.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll mount your head on my wall!\u201d Roggi yelled from behind her.\u00a0 Dag spun around to see him in a deadly battle with the last man standing, a man much bigger than Roggi and attacking like a demon.<\/p>\n
Mustering every ounce of power she had, Dag ran toward them and unleashed a flame attack on the bandit.\u00a0 \u201cAaaah! I\u2019m burning!\u201d the man screamed; and with that Roggi sank his sword into the man\u2019s heart, all the way to the hilt. The bandit dropped, and Dag stopped, doubled over, and gasped for air.<\/p>\n
In between breaths, Dag gasped, \u201cRoggi.\u00a0 Are you ok?\u201d\u00a0 He nodded, also panting, sliding his sword wetly out of the dead bandit. \u00a0Then he grinned. \u201cWe sure showed them, didn\u2019t we?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dag had to laugh. \u201cWe did. I shouldn\u2019t say that was fun, but\u2026that was fun. In a grisly sort of way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Roggi chuckled.\u00a0 \u201cIt was.\u201d Then, as he looked around at the dead bandits and the camp they had set up, his face and his tone changed. \u201cI\u2019m telling you, this province is losing its grip.\u00a0 The bandits get more brazen every day.\u201d\u00a0 His voice dripped hatred.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey definitely asked for it,\u201d Dag agreed. She looked around to see whether it was truly finished.\u00a0 She didn\u2019t see anyone, but she had an uneasy feeling, of the kind she\u2019d learned long ago to trust. \u201cI\u2019m going to check the tower,\u201d she said, \u201ckeep an eye out down here.\u201d\u00a0 She slowly and quietly approached the top of the hill and walked across a stone ramp to the Nilheim tower.<\/p>\n
There was nothing on the lower level of the tower, but she heard snoring above her head.\u00a0 Pulling her dagger, she dropped into a crouch and crept up the circular ramp leading to the second floor. Inside were several crates of mead, a number of bedrolls, a bunch of empty bottles on the floor, and one passed-out bandit.\u00a0 \u201cSorry,\u201d she muttered to herself as she drove her dagger into his heart, \u201cbut I can\u2019t risk leaving you alive. To Oblivion with you and your kind.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dag dragged the dead man down the ramp, but he was too heavy to carry farther. She stood and looked around.\u00a0 The sun was sinking, there was a nice fire outside, mead to drink, and a river nearby full of fish for the catching.\u00a0 She nodded. \u201cHey Roggi!\u201d she called out.\u00a0 \u201cCome help me clean house a little!\u201d\u00a0 He looked up, laughed, and headed toward her, shaking his head in amusement.<\/p>\n
Together they moved the dead bandits down the hill away from the campsite.\u00a0 \u201cHere\u2019s what I\u2019m thinking.\u00a0 I originally intended to push on for a few hours, but this will be a decent place to stay for the night. They had a bunch of bedrolls set up in the tower; it will be a lot more comfy than sleeping by the side of the road. I don\u2019t know about you, but I\u2019m tired.\u201d<\/p>\n
Roggi smiled and said \u201cAlright then.\u00a0 I\u2019ll go catch us some dinner.\u201d<\/p>\n
A couple of hours later, they had eaten.\u00a0 Dag had brought one of the crates of mead down to the fire. They enjoyed it, chuckling over their fights with wolves and bandits and sharing stories. Eventually they fell into a companionable silence, watching the flames, each of them alone with their thoughts.\u00a0 She felt comfortable with Roggi, and it made her smile. Not much had made her feel comfortable since the attack on J\u2019hall\u2019s wagon, aside from the moments she\u2019d had with him.<\/p>\n
Dag stretched and took another swig of her mead.\u00a0 \u201cI keep thinking about that bandit and his little scam. I don\u2019t like being surprised. That was some fight.\u201d<\/p>\n
Roggi nodded, staring into the flames.<\/p>\n
After a few moments, he spoke. \u201cUntil we know the limits of our courage, we don\u2019t really know ourselves,\u201d he murmured, almost to himself.\u00a0 That was an odd thing to say, Dag thought; but yes, coming that close to the wrong end of a fight really was testing your limits. They fell back into silence as they watched the fire.<\/p>\n
A few minutes later, Roggi looked over at her with a smile and said, \u201cWe make a pretty good team, eh?\u201d<\/p>\n
She had to laugh.\u00a0 She reached over and squeezed his warm, calloused hand. \u201cYes we do. Everyone we\u2019ve met seems to have thought so, too. You\u2019re the best friend I\u2019ve had in years.\u201d And that, it dawned on her, was surprisingly and absolutely the truth. \u201cI\u2019m serious about that; you really are. It\u2019s been a long time since I\u2019ve had a true friend. And you\u2019re still the best brawler I\u2019ve met in Skyrim.\u201d He laughed. \u201cHey, I\u2019ve met several!\u201d she responded, chuckling. \u201cDon\u2019t make light of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
He reached around to the back of his head and pulled the tie from his hair, then ran his hands through it and massaged his scalp. He sighed. \u201cAhh. That\u2019s better.\u201d\u00a0 His hair was long, longer than hers; a warrior\u2019s hair, shimmering gold and orange in the firelight. Unbound, it fell into his face and down over his shoulders and arms, drawing her attention to them, as he bent to the side to slip the tie into his pack.\u00a0 Dag was startled.\u00a0 He has some serious muscles, she thought with appreciation and a sudden flush of warmth.\u00a0 Why on earth am I just now noticing? It\u2019s not as though he\u2019s been invisible, in that armor.<\/p>\n
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He looked completely, surprisingly different. Roggi the unremarkable miner seemed something else entirely, as though that tie had been binding more than just his hair. <\/em>It suits him, Dag thought. <\/em>It suits him really well. She had certainly seen hints of ferocity from him while they\u2019d been traveling together, but just this simple act made him look the part.<\/p>\n She suddenly had an almost overwhelming urge to touch the muscles she\u2019d never noticed before, remembering his warmth when he had been teaching her his shield techniques and when they\u2019d bunked together in Whiterun, and his strength in holding her while he pulled the arrow from her arm. Dag was startled to realize what she was thinking.\u00a0 This time it wasn\u2019t just the little voice in the back of her mind laughing at her. It had been a long time since she\u2019d been with a man. In fact, it had been a long time since she\u2019d even had the urge to be with a man. She\u2019d thought about Roggi, before, just in passing, but now\u2026 Clearing her throat, she forced herself to reach for the mead instead. No, Dag. Behave yourself just once.<\/p>\n \u201cDamn<\/em>, Roggi, you should do that more often,\u201d she said, after she took a drink and caught her breath, trying to make light of the situation. \u201cYou look – you look like a\u2026\u201c Damn it all, Dag, you\u2019re stuttering, she scolded herself. \u201cI don\u2019t know, a soldier. A Stormcloak or something.\u00a0 A Nord. I\u2019m \u2026 impressed.\u201d\u00a0 And surprised, and having inappropriate ideas go through my head, she thought.\u00a0 Foolish.<\/p>\n Roggi shot her a sharp, surprised look.\u00a0 Then he shook his head and chuckled. \u201cWell I would hope I looked like a Nord, all things considered.\u00a0 But a Stormcloak, is it? That\u2019s an odd thing for you to say.\u201d He frowned, and chewed on the inside of his lip for a moment before sighing. \u201cWell, I suppose there\u2019s no harm in admitting it.\u00a0 I was actually a Stormcloak for awhile.\u201d<\/p>\n Dag was astonished, for just a moment.\u00a0 Then she started to laugh.\u00a0 \u201cNo wonder!\u00a0 Ever since I met you I thought you were too good a fighter to be a miner.\u00a0 If that makes any sense.\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi grinned at her. \u201cI told you it was something I picked up when I was younger. A true Nord fighting for his homeland, and all that. Well, I didn\u2019t stay with them too long. Long enough to see a lot of fights, and other things, I guess. Some things I\u2019d rather not have seen.\u00a0 I learned some things, too.\u201d\u00a0 He stopped for a sip of his drink, then cleared his throat. \u201cFor one thing, I\u2019m not so sure that Ulfric Stormcloak cares about anybody but Ulfric Stormcloak, in spite of his big words.\u00a0 I don\u2019t much like the Empire telling people who they can worship, but I really don\u2019t care for the way Ulfric treats the Dunmer. I saw things that\u2026 well, it\u2019s just not right.\u00a0 Nobody deserves to be treated like that, and I can\u2019t respect the man who does it and encourages other people to take that attitude. So I left. I\u2019m not proud of it. I left some good men out there.\u201d<\/p>\n He shook his head and sighed. \u201cBut now? No, I\u2019m just a miner. And I like my mead a little too well.\u201d His voice had changed with the last remark, his tone self-deprecating. There he was, making light of himself yet again, and she didn\u2019t like it at all.<\/p>\n Dag frowned, looking back at the fire.\u00a0 She grumbled. \u201cWhy do you sell yourself short? Don\u2019t give me that. You may not be a soldier right now but you could, easily enough, and from what I\u2019ve seen, you could probably lead them. And besides, what\u2019s wrong with being a miner? I couldn\u2019t do that. I\u2019d have the whole mountain down on top of us all in half a day. You shouldn\u2019t listen to people who tell you you\u2019re not good enough. I wish you would stop doing that.\u201d<\/p>\n She was raising her bottle to her lips when Roggi quietly put his hand over hers and lowered the bottle to the ground. She turned to him, startled. He reached up to gently touch her face, running his fingers down her cheek, then tipped her chin up and kissed her.<\/p>\n It was a gentle kiss, not insistent but full of longing, his mouth soft and warm and tasting of mead, his beard and his hair brushing against her skin. It was truly one of the sweetest kisses she had ever tasted, and while she was surprised, she happily returned it for several delicious moments until he pulled back to look at her, waiting.<\/p>\n That was a kiss that had been waiting to happen for some time, not some sudden impulse like the one she\u2019d had, to touch his arms. She very much wanted to know how those arms would feel around her, but this was Roggi and she wasn\u2019t sure how to read him.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s\u2026\u201d she began, trying to catch her breath, then trailed off and grinned. \u201cThat is also something you should do more often. You\u2019re very good at it.\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi reached for her and pulled her to him.\u00a0 This time it was not a tentative kiss but full of desire and urgency, one that demanded an answer.\u00a0 When he pulled back to look at her, his eyes were full of fire and she was nearly limp.\u00a0 This was the same man who had been worried about sharing a room in Whiterun?\u00a0 Dag paused for what seemed like an eternity but was probably just a moment. \u00a0Answer the man already<\/em>, her other voice snapped at her.<\/p>\n She smiled, as much to that other voice as to him. \u201cIt\u2019s late and I think we should turn in, don\u2019t you?\u201d\u00a0 She nodded toward the tower.<\/p>\n He smiled and murmured next to her ear quietly, playfully, his tone warm and rich and every bit as seductive as Brynjolf\u2019s could be. \u201cMmm-hmm. What do you say, if tonight we find a way to keep warm?\u201d He ran his hand down her arm.<\/p>\n Dag wondered whether her legs were going to hold her up.<\/p>\n He stood and helped her to her feet. Then he chuckled. She couldn\u2019t help but laugh too.\u00a0 Good, Dag thought. I wasn\u2019t expecting this, but good.\u00a0 It was time to find out whether Roggi Knot-Beard was as lovely a playmate as she had always suspected he might be.<\/p>\n And, as it turned out, he definitely was.<\/p>\n As they munched on a bit of bread and cheese the next morning, Dag and Roggi decided to take a southern route back toward Riften.\u00a0 They would continue circling south around the base of the mountain, then leave the road that ran back to Windhelm, instead taking a southern path through a town called Ivarstead.\u00a0 … <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/1-1-20-4.png\")
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<\/p>\nPart I: Survivors<\/a><\/div>\nPrevious<\/a> \/ Next<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"