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<\/p>\nIt didn\u2019t take them long to return to Falkreath. Dardeh walked straight to the guest room to find Marcus Jannus.\u00a0 He\u2019d changed out of his fine clothing into a set of iron armor that would serve him well for the short trek to Helgen Keep.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re back, Marcus,\u201d he said. \u201c\u2019Val\u2019 took a little bit of convincing but he\u2019s agreed to talk to you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marcus smiled. \u201cExcellent! Well done, my friend. I\u2019m ready to go but there\u2019s one more thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m getting too old for fighting. At least by myself, that is. I was hoping that it wouldn\u2019t be too much of a burden for you to escort me to the Keep? There\u2019s another 250 gold in it for you if you will.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell you really don\u2019t need to pay me, but\u2026\u201d Dardeh turned to find Roggi. \u201cOk with you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course,\u201d Roggi said with a smile. \u201cI\u2019m happy to help however I can. You know that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlright then,\u201d Dardeh said, returning his attention to Marcus. \u201cLet\u2019s be on our way.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m right behind you.\u201d Marcus chuckled. \u201cBut don\u2019t go too fast. I\u2019m not really cut out for this sort of thing anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh don\u2019t worry,\u201d Dardeh told him. \u201cBetween my build and this armor I\u2019m not very fast, either.\u201d<\/p>\n
They travelled quietly, and made good time. Once they reached Pinewatch Dardeh turned off the road, knowing that he would need to enter Helgen via the northern gate.\u00a0 As they passed the small pond next to the cabin a mudcrab rose up from its banks and, before Dardeh was able to get out of its way, nipped at him.<\/p>\n
Without thinking he turned and Shouted at it.<\/p>\n
\u201cYOL \u2013 TOOR SHUL!\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He gasped, then, because Marcus had run up beside the crab and taken a swing at the beast with his sword.\u00a0 The fireball \u2013 which killed the crab instantly, cooking it inside its shell \u2013 came perilously close to Marcus.\u00a0 The man backpedaled and missed all but the outermost edges of heat.\u00a0 Dardeh snapped at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou asked us to do the fighting for you. Now stay back<\/em> and let us do that! I could have killed you with that Shout by mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEasy, Dar,\u201d Roggi said, reaching out to touch him on the arm. He turned to Marcus and smiled. \u201cIt\u2019s true, though. I\u2019ve seen him do it. We didn\u2019t go through all this to watch you get roasted alive.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m\u2026 sorry,\u201d Marcus said, shaking his head. \u201cI guess it\u2019s still habit after all this time. Strike first and worry about the consequences later.\u201d He nodded toward the mudcrab and grinned.\u00a0 \u201cYou really are Dragonborn. That thing smells good enough to eat.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh wanted to be annoyed, still, but found himself chuckling instead. \u201cI know many Shouts but that\u2019s the one that just kind of happens most often. I\u2019m sorry I didn\u2019t warn you.\u201d\u00a0 He looked around them, out toward Lake Ilinalta, and smiled. \u201cWe\u2019re not far, now, and I can\u2019t imagine we\u2019re going to run into much else to worry about. Let\u2019s go.\u201d<\/p>\n He\u2019d spoken too soon.\u00a0 Just as they dropped over the ridge line toward the lake two giant frostbite spiders hurtled out of the undergrowth to attack.\u00a0 Roggi rushed past him and attacked one of them, and Dardeh took the other.<\/p>\n \u201cGood thing you were with me,\u201d Marcus said. \u201cI know they aren\u2019t the toughest creatures out here but I couldn\u2019t have taken on two of them by myself. Not at my age.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHeh,\u201d Roggi chuckled. \u201cYou keep saying that but I\u2019ve just recently watched other men your age in real battles against troops. Don\u2019t sell yourself short.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo kidding,\u201d Dardeh agreed. \u201cAnd if I hadn\u2019t been wearing this tough armor Balgruuf would have killed me, and I\u2019m a whole lot younger than he is.\u201d<\/p>\n Marcus smiled. \u201cWell yes, but\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo \u2018buts,\u2019 Marcus,\u201d Roggi said. \u201cI can feel what you\u2019re going to say. You don\u2019t train every day any more. Neither did Balgruuf, and I watched him put a really deep dent in Dardeh\u2019s armor. You\u2019d be fine. You may be a little rusty but, eh.\u201d He shrugged. \u201cRust falls away pretty quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh grinned at Roggi, who was his senior by a decade and one of the strongest men he knew. He\u2019d said often enough that he\u2019d gotten soft as a miner, but that never had seemed to be the case as far as Dardeh could tell.<\/p>\n They\u2019d almost reached the crossroads south to Helgen when a small campfire caught Dardeh\u2019s attention.\u00a0 There was a group of small tents arranged around it, with several people working in the area.\u00a0 He walked up the slope toward them and almost immediately wished that he hadn\u2019t.<\/p>\n \u201cYou picked a bad time to get lost, friend,\u201d a woman with a bow snarled at him.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not lost<\/em>, lady,\u201d he growled.<\/p>\n A moment later she was enveloped in fire.<\/p>\n Dardeh ground his teeth. I didn\u2019t mean to do that. Why does that happen?\u00a0 <\/em>Even worse, Marcus Jannus rushed past him with his sword raised and took an enormous swing at the woman.\u00a0 Before Dardeh could check to see whether she was dead, an Imperial with a slender longsword stepped out from behind one of the tents at the back and attacked.<\/p>\n \u201cWant a nice piece of razor-sharp steel? Huh?\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh had been moving, and had turned just as the man struck; the blade slid down the back of his ebony armor instead of doing any real damage.\u00a0 He turned to engage the man directly but found himself in the path of a gout of flame.\u00a0 Startled, he swung back the other way to find that Marcus Jannus had retreated after his strike on the archer woman, and was now engaged in broiling a Nord wearing a horned helmet. \u00a0Dardeh jumped out of the way while simultaneously trying to sort out his surprise at Marcus\u2019 previously unrevealed magical talents.<\/p>\n Why exactly did he think he needed both of us? <\/em><\/p>\n Roggi barreled up the slope behind them and finished off the Nord with a couple of quick and efficient swipes of his greatsword. Marcus had chased the female archer upslope into the trees and was casting flames at her; Roggi ran to them and finished her off.<\/p>\n Dardeh trudged up the hill to where they stood catching their breath, and tilted his head at Marcus.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought you were too old to fight?\u201d<\/p>\n Marcus had the good grace to look embarrassed. \u201cWell, I guess it came back quicker than I expected.\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi chuckled.\u00a0 \u201cI told you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell at least there\u2019s three fewer bandits in the world.\u00a0 Let\u2019s get going. We\u2019re not that far from Helgen.\u201d<\/p>\n Not long thereafter they trotted across the yard of the keep. Balfring was standing guard outside the door, and nodded to Dardeh as he pushed it open and held it for Roggi and Marcus. Dardeh was barely inside when Marcus ran past him to greet the dark-haired Imperial waiting inside.<\/p>\n \u201cValerius Tiberius Artoria, you old dog!\u201d he shouted gleefully. \u201cCome here, let us have a look at you!\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh couldn\u2019t help but smile. It was clear that Marcus was utterly delighted to see his old friend, and couldn\u2019t keep the joy out of his voice.\u00a0 When Valerius spoke, though, it was like a bucket of cold water being dashed onto a flame.<\/p>\n \u201cMarcus, why have you come here?\u201d\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t smiling, he didn\u2019t look welcoming, and Dardeh found his hand moving toward his sword.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t believe that Valerius would actually attack. At least he hoped not; but everything about the sudden shift of mood in the room had him on edge.<\/p>\n Marcus didn\u2019t miss a beat, though his huge smile faded immediately.\u00a0 He nodded.<\/p>\n \u201cValerius, I\u2019m sure this is quite a shock to you, and terribly unexpected.\u201d He frowned. \u201cI came here to check on my family. I know it\u2019s been a long while since the dragon attack and yet I was still holding out some slim hope\u2026 But it appears none of them survived. Then I realized you were here and decided it was in both our interests for two old friends to meet again.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMarcus, I\u2019m very sorry,\u201d Valerius said, nodding. Then his mouth drew up into a tiny smile. \u201cBut whatever the circumstances, it does my eyes good to see you again after all these years.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes,\u201d Marcus said. \u201cSame here, old friend. Same here.\u201d<\/p>\n They were both quiet for a moment. Then Marcus\u2019 eyes began to twinkle.<\/p>\n \u201cSo!\u201d he said. \u201cThe Keepers of Hattu, here in Skyrim. Who would have ever dreamed of such a time!\u201d He grinned.<\/p>\n \u201cAlright, Jannus, what is it you really want?\u201d Valerius asked, in a tone that said he had faced Marcus\u2019 sly maneuvering many times before.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t forget, I know you. So out with it!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, you do know me, old friend, better than most. Very well. I aim to rebuild this town, and make her my home.\u201d<\/p>\n What? \u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Dardeh glanced at Roggi. He\u2019d been keeping his own counsel, standing next to the wall; but at Marcus\u2019 startling proclamation his head snapped up.\u00a0 They stared at each other for a moment.<\/p>\n Look at him. He knows what I\u2019m thinking.\u00a0 We could help. He likes that kind of work and I\u2026 well I need something besides war. We could help them remake Helgen and maybe, just maybe that would make me feel a tiny bit better about all the lives that were lost because of me.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cRebuild?\u201d Valerius snorted. \u201cJannus, I have no intention of helping you or anyone else rebuild the town. I\u2019m here on\u2026 other business.\u201d<\/p>\n Marcus nodded. \u201cYes, yes, I know, Valerius, but if what I propose is true, perhaps we can be mutually beneficial to one another. All I\u2019m asking is that you hear me out. After that, if we\u2019re not in agreement we can part ways and you\u2019ll likely never see me again.\u201d<\/p>\n Valerius looked at Dardeh, as if hoping for some sort of guidance.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t ask me.\u00a0 I\u2019m as surprised by this idea as you are. But I\u2019m also intrigued. I think you should hear him out. And if the truth be known your \u2018other business\u2019 holds some fair amount of appeal to me as well.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut Valerius,\u201d Marcus continued, \u201cthere\u2019s plenty of time to get to all of that later. Let\u2019s just catch up on old times.\u201d\u00a0 He so genuinely wanted this \u2013 just the opportunity to spend some time with an old comrade \u2013 that Valerius\u2019 expression softened.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, you\u2019re in luck, Jannus. Those bandits left some fresh wine downstairs. And I need a drink.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes. I could use a drink too, old friend. Let me say goodbye to our new friends here, and I\u2019ll join you.\u201d<\/p>\n Marcus turned to Dardeh and smiled.<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t thank you enough for your help. As agreed, here is your compensation.\u201d\u00a0 He handed Dardeh a fat coin purse.\u00a0 Dardeh thought about handing it back, for a moment; but Roggi caught his eye from across the room and shook his head no.\u00a0 Dardeh smiled, and nodded, and slipped the purse into a pocket.<\/p>\n \u201cSo why did you never mention rebuilding Helgen until just now?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI apologize for that,\u201d Marcus said, a somewhat sheepish look on his face. \u201cI certainly wasn\u2019t intentionally keeping anything from you. I just wanted a chance to meet with Valerius before I brought it up. But yes. I want to make Helgen my home.\u201d\u00a0 He looked around and waved toward the door. \u201cBut she certainly has seen better days, that\u2019s for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n To his complete surprise, Dardeh\u2019s mind suddenly was back inside the tower, cringing in fear as Alduin\u2019s head came crashing through the stone and the ear-splitting wail of the great dragon\u2019s fire breath wrought havoc on his hearing.\u00a0 He saw once again the thatched roofs collapsing inward, engulfed in just a few moments; the men and women dropping to the ground, charred and screaming.\u00a0 He gritted his teeth against the panic that welled up from inside him. Calm down<\/em>. It was a long time ago. Alduin is dead. You killed him.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s an understatement.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou know, I grew up just across the border in Cyrodiil, and Helgen was always a place my family visited when I was a boy. I have many fond memories of those days. And now, with my brother and his family gone\u2026 Let\u2019s just say that he\u2019d be happy that I settled here. Now, from what I could tell as we came in it\u2019ll be a lot of work cleaning everything up, but nothing impossible. Then we can take a look at what\u2019s left of these buildings and start rebuilding from there. I\u2019m sure there\u2019ll be plenty of work for you, if you\u2019re interested.\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi spoke up from behind Dardeh. \u201cWe\u2019ve both been miners, most of our lives. We both can swing a pickaxe with the best of them.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh turned to smile at him.\u00a0 You knew what I wanted from the moment he mentioned it, didn\u2019t you?<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWhy don\u2019t you take a day and think about it?\u201d Marcus said. \u201cThat will give Valerius and I time to catch up and come up with a plan. Can you return to see us in a day or so?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSure. You bet,\u201d Dardeh said.<\/p>\n \u201cThank you once again, friend. I\u2019ll see you both then.\u201d<\/p>\n Valerius headed toward the door that led down into the keep proper, smiling at his old friend.<\/p>\n \u201cNow then, Marcus,\u201d he said, \u201clet\u2019s go get that wine!\u00a0 You\u2019re in one piece, so I trust your trip went smoothly\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh grinned as the voices dimmed, the two men walking down the stairs laughing at each other.\u00a0 He turned to grin at Roggi.<\/p>\n \u201cSmoothly, indeed. Who knew that he was a fire mage, under that iron armor?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI had a feeling there was more to him than we saw on the surface,\u201d Roggi chuckled. \u201cSo many of those old soldiers from the Great War have skills that they haven\u2019t used in ages, that only need a little prompting to bring to the surface.\u201d<\/p>\n They left the Keep and stood in the courtyard for a moment.\u00a0 Dardeh looked around at the almost overwhelming amount of rubble and destruction in Helgen and shook his head.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know they\u2019re going to need our help, right? I mean, it already smells better in the keep; someone cleared out the corpses. But still, look at this place. It\u2019s going to need a lot of muscle just to clear the debris.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah,\u201d Roggi said. \u201cThat\u2019s why I told him we\u2019d both been miners. By Ysmir, Dar, it\u2019ll feel good to put my back into something besides cleaving people up, you know?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, I do.\u00a0 In the meantime we have some time to kill before they\u2019ve hammered out all the details, and\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi gave him a sideways grin, one eyebrow raised. \u201cWhat is it? You have something on your mind?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes.\u00a0 You probably won\u2019t like it.\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi sighed. \u201cOk. I was hoping we could just go home and relax for awhile, but that\u2019s not going to happen, I guess. Just tell me.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh grinned. Roggi\u2019s such a good guy. <\/em>\u201cWell, we do need to go home first, and we\u2019ll rest till tomorrow. Let\u2019s head out while I explain.\u201d<\/p>\n They started back down the road toward Falkreath.\u00a0 It was a long walk all the way back to Mammoth Manor, but the tale might make the time go by more quickly.<\/p>\n \u201cWay back, Roggi \u2013 way, way back, when I was trying to find the Elder Scroll I needed to read up at the Throat of the World, just before Oengul told me about you \u2013 I had to get the help of a very strange mage named Septimus Signus. He was once at the College of Winterhold but went to search for an old Dwemer artifact and never returned. He was the one who told me how to get through Blackreach to the Tower of Mzark to find the Scroll, in exchange for transcribing a lexicon there. It was supposed to act as a key to this huge Dwemer sphere in the cave where he\u2019s been living, up north in the ice fields. As far as I was able to tell \u2013 and you have to understand, saying that the man speaks in riddles would be putting it kindly \u2013 he thinks the Heart of Lorkhan is in this sphere.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLorkhan? The old god? Ok\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cExactly. It\u2019s a little crazy, but he was helping me out. Tit for tat, you know? How did he put it? \u2018One block lifts another.\u2019 I had promised him his lexicon in exchange for the information, and I took it back to him as agreed. But there was a problem \u2013 he couldn\u2019t read it. What he could see, or so he told me, was that it needed Dwemer blood to activate it as a key.\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi snorted. \u201cOf course. The blood is always the key. But getting Dwemer blood is impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah. But he thought that a mixture of all the existing mer races might work as a facsimile.\u00a0 The closest thing we can get. He gave me this extractor thing, and as I came across \u2026 specimens \u2026 I grabbed the blood.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t very hard. There were people trying to kill me from every sort of group you can imagine.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo you have all of it?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI do, and the extractor has been just sitting in the safe at home forever. You know, kind of like the tool kit you kept in the chest in Kynesgrove.\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi grimaced. \u201cDon\u2019t remind me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSorry. It\u2019s just\u2026 similar. And I feel guilty that I still have it after all this time.\u00a0 How about we pick it up and run it up to Septimus?\u00a0 That\u2019ll leave my plate completely clean and I\u2019ll never have to think about it ever again. And we\u2019ll be able to go back to Helgen and focus on that afterward.\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi sighed. \u201cThat\u2019s a long trek. But I know better than to argue with you, Dragonborn.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh grabbed Roggi and kissed him. \u201cYou\u2019re a good man, Roggi Knot-Beard.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, yeah. So you all keep telling me. I think you\u2019re all nuts.\u201d<\/p>\n __<\/p>\n Dardeh wasn\u2019t even sure that Septimus Signus would remember him after so long a time.\u00a0 They made their way into his cave and carefully down the long ramp to where the old man was pacing back and forth, muttering to himself.<\/p>\n \u201cSeptimus?\u201d<\/p>\n The mage turned and peered at Dardeh. \u201cWhen the top level was built, no more could be placed. It was, and is, the maximal apex.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh heard Roggi snort, but didn\u2019t address him.\u00a0 Instead, he pulled out the extractor and showed it to the old man.<\/p>\n It had occurred to him while riding in the wagon from Whiterun to Winterhold that he\u2019d had that extractor for a very long time now; and blood, being what it was, tended to congeal.\u00a0 He\u2019d broken out into a cold sweat worrying about it.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t know what kind of magicks Septimus knew, but Urag gro-Shub at the mage\u2019s college had given him the impression that the man was powerful indeed.<\/p>\n If the blood in the extractor isn\u2019t usable, we may be in for a very bad time.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve brought all the blood samples you asked for. Sorry it\u2019s been so long.\u201d I was just busy saving the world and stuff.<\/em><\/p>\n Septimus snatched the extractor out of his hand and shook it vigorously.\u00a0 \u201cI can almost hear them! I feel their life energy.\u00a0 Come, I will make the mixture.\u201d<\/p>\n He went to his worktable and fiddled about with something \u2013 perhaps adding ingredients, Dardeh couldn\u2019t tell.\u00a0 He did, however, recognize the lexicon\u2019s runed cube on one of Septimus\u2019 shelves as the old man reached for it.<\/p>\n Septimus manipulated both the lexicon and the blood extractor.\u00a0 The several blue-tinted discs on the sphere\u2019s surface lit up, much in the same way the contraption holding the Elder Scroll had responded to lighting up its blue discs. Suddenly, with a metallic screech and a rumble, the front surface of the sphere pushed inward and downward; and what had been a solid door of Dwemer metal opened onto a descending staircase.<\/p>\n Dardeh trotted down the stairs and stopped in confusion.\u00a0 There at the bottom of the stairs, at the center of the sphere, was a simple lectern with a thick, colorfully-bound book atop it.<\/p>\n Septimus ran down the steps and gave a cry of exasperation.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat is this? It\u2019s just a book!\u201d<\/p>\n He stepped closer, and his eyes opened wide. \u201cI can see! The world beyond burns in my mind! It\u2019s \u2026 marvelous!\u201d<\/p>\n And then the most horrid thing happened.\u00a0 Septimus slowly rose from the floor of the sphere, as if being lifted by invisible hands.\u00a0 Dardeh had seen mages rise thus when casting the most complex and powerful of their spells, but Septimus was doing nothing other than looking from side to side.\u00a0 Then he dropped.<\/p>\n In the spot where he had been standing appeared a pile of purplish, shimmering dust. It looked the same as what had been left behind when Dardeh had Shouted the guards to death in Dragonsreach\u2019s main hall.<\/p>\n \u201cNO!\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi had been lingering up near the exit to Septimus\u2019 hideout and came rushing down the ramp when he heard Dardeh\u2019s cry.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong\u2026 oh!\u201d He stopped just short of stepping in Septimus\u2019 ashes. \u201cWhat happened to him?\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh\u2019s hand shook as he reached out to take the thick tome from the lectern. \u201cI don\u2019t know, Roggi. This book, though; I hope it was worth it.\u00a0 He said that whatever he could see was marvelous.\u00a0 I hope it was.\u201d He shuddered. \u201cLet\u2019s get out of here. I feel sick.\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi slipped an arm around his shoulders. \u201cAre you going to be ok?\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh leaned against Roggi\u2019s warmth for a moment and then nodded. \u201cYeah. I just want to get out into the sunlight. Let\u2019s go.\u201d<\/p>\n They started up the stairs of the sphere toward its door, Dardeh taking the lead.\u00a0 He hadn\u2019t gotten more than halfway up it, though, before he had to stop.\u00a0 A familiar and despised mass of greenish-black tentacles covered with eyes appeared, blocking the passage before him.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat in Oblivion?\u201d Roggi\u2019s voice echoed the shock Dardeh remembered from his first encounter with Hermaeus Mora.<\/p>\n \u201cCome, my champion,\u201d the eerie, otherworldly voice oozed.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat do you want from me now?\u201d Dardeh felt the same panic, the same icy desolation rising in him that he had felt after watching the Daedric Prince pull the life force from Storn, leader of the Skaal people on Solstheim.<\/p>\n \u201cNow you have my Oghma Infinium.\u00a0 It contains the knowledge of the ages, as revealed to Xarxes, my loyal servant. For hundreds of years it\u2019s been shut away from the world.\u00a0 Septimus was a useful tool for unleashing it.\u00a0 Now it is in your hands. Let us work wonders together.\u201d<\/p>\n The being began to fade out of existence.\u00a0 But Dardeh had more to say to this creature.\u00a0 He opened his mouth and nearly screamed.<\/p>\n \u201cI am not your champion, you monster!\u201d<\/p>\n The green mass became opaque once more, and one of its eyes, the central one \u2013 the eye Dardeh remembered seeing when its owner spoke to Storn and then again to Miraak \u2013 fixed on him.\u00a0 Hermaeus Mora spoke again, and it was clear this time that he was not in any way pleased to have been called back or called out.<\/p>\n \u201cWho do you think brought Septimus here?\u00a0 Who do you think protected you on your journey to open the box and loose my knowledge on this world?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI protected myself, with my swords and my Voice. I did what I did of my own free will, in the same way that I fought Miraak in order to protect the people of Solstheim.\u201d<\/p>\n There was a horrid, gurgling noise that made Dardeh\u2019s skin crawl. He realized that Hermaeus Mora was laughing at him. Laughed at by a Daedric Prince. I could have done without that.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cYour free will is an illusion. Whether you acknowledge me or not is your own business. But I will be in your mind.\u201d<\/p>\n And the aspect of the Daedric Prince faded away.<\/p>\n Dardeh sank to his knees, shaking.\u00a0 He shut his eyes and shook his head, feeling sick, and found himself moaning.\u00a0 A warm hand rested on his back.<\/p>\n \u201cDar. Are you alright? What was that thing?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHermaeus Mora,\u201d Dardeh said, barely able to get the words out. An enormous shudder that began deep in his core wrung its way out through his body.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s who, or what,<\/em> I met on Solstheim, Roggi. That\u2019s why you never heard from me.\u00a0 He was behind Miraak. He maneuvered me into\u2026\u201d his voice caught in a sob as he remembered seeing the entire Skaal village surrounding Storn\u2019s body, mourning his loss.\u00a0 He shook his head. \u201cHe owns me, Roggi.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHorker shit,\u201d Roggi spat. Dardeh felt Roggi\u2019s powerful hands slip under his arms and lift him to his feet, then turn him around. \u201cOpen your eyes and look at me, Dardeh.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh did so, slowly, remembering how desolate he had felt arriving back in Windhelm on his return from Solstheim. Roggi was frowning, staring at him, but behind the frown was concern, trust, and love that shone through, warming him.<\/p>\n \u201cWhatever that thing was, Dar, it no more owns you than Paarthurnax does. It\u2019s powerful, sure. Daedric princes are.\u00a0 But you\u2019re the Dragonborn<\/em>, Dardeh.\u00a0 You have power of your own. You\u2019re one of a kind.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh found himself speaking, but it seemed as though his voice came from far away somewhere.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I wasn\u2019t, not until Hermaeus Mora killed Miraak, because Miraak was Dragonborn too. I didn\u2019t kill him, Roggi. I tried. Oh did I ever try. The two of us hammered at each other with everything we had. It would have been a terrifying thing to see, I\u2019m sure.\u00a0 But in the end it was Herma Mora who did Miraak in, and when he did it he said it was because he had found a new Dragonborn.\u00a0 Me, Roggi.\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi shook his head.\u00a0 Dardeh stared into his husband\u2019s blue eyes and saw unshakeable trust; and he felt the panic that had once more risen up into his throat begin to subside.<\/p>\n \u201cDar. It doesn\u2019t matter. You did what you had to do. And then you came back and took care of Alduin and helped bring the Civil War to an end, and none of that has anything to do with a wriggling mass of green tentacles.\u201d\u00a0 He shuddered, visibly. \u201cBy the gods that thing is disgusting.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, it is. Thanks, Roggi. I\u2019m not sure what\u2019s wrong with me just now. It\u2019s like all the terrible things that happened have come back to haunt me again.\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi gave him a quick hug. \u201cSometimes that happens to me, too. I\u2019m just really good at hiding it. You\u2019ll be ok. So tell me something. What\u2019s in that book?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh.\u201d\u00a0 Dardeh had forgotten that he was holding the heavy tome.\u00a0 He looked down at it and shrugged. \u201cHmm. Let\u2019s see.\u201d\u00a0 He flipped open the cover and saw odd symbols in intricate patterns.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s it say?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know. It reminds me a lot of the Elder Scroll, actually.\u00a0 It\u2026 Oh!\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh felt a searing sensation in his brain. It was much the same as the thing he\u2019d felt when he first read the word FUS on the wall in Bleak Falls Barrow, and it also happened without any warning or opportunity to stop it. It was an opening, a filling \u2013 an inscribing<\/em>, almost, of knowledge directly into his mind.\u00a0 Suddenly he felt that if he were to heal himself from a wound, the spell would be more powerful; if he were to cast any of the few destruction spells he\u2019d learned, it would carve a more lethal path before him.<\/p>\n \u201cOh by the gods. Talos help me,\u201d he gasped.<\/p>\n \u201cDar, what\u2019s happening? What is it?\u201d<\/p>\n Finally the sensations died away.\u00a0 As Dardeh looked at it in awe, the book itself dissipated and vanished.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s gone!\u201d Roggi yelped.<\/p>\n \u201cYes.\u201d\u00a0 Dardeh took a few deep breaths, and then pulled Roggi to him. \u201cHold me for a minute, Roggi.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOf course.\u201d Roggi hugged him tightly and rubbed his back, and slowly the warmth came back into Dardeh\u2019s body and soul.\u00a0 Finally he pulled himself back from the comfort of the embrace and met Roggi\u2019s concerned gaze.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2026 this will sound crazy, but I don\u2019t know how else to describe it. It wrote<\/em> the information into my mind.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt what?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMagic, Roggi. I\u2019ve never had more than a bare smidgen of it. Just enough to cast a healing spell once in awhile.\u00a0 And now I know\u2026 things. That I didn\u2019t, before. It\u2019s like when I realized I knew how to speak Dovahzul. It felt like someone with a hot knife carving the words into my head. I think I could hurt someone with an ice spike, now. Magic.\u00a0 I\u2026\u201d\u00a0 He shook his head. \u201cI\u2019m a Nord, Roggi. We don\u2019t use magic.\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi looked shocked for a moment. Then he chuckled. \u201cWell some Nords do, Dar, just not all of us. I don\u2019t but that doesn\u2019t mean anything, really. I wouldn\u2019t worry about it if you suddenly have a new tool in your kit.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not that, Roggi. It\u2019s what he said, just before he disappeared. \u2018I will be in your mind.\u2019\u00a0 I can\u2019t stand it. I want it out.\u00a0 I\u2026\u201d He put a hand on either side of his head and squeezed for a moment; then he dropped his hands in frustration.<\/p>\n Roggi shook his head. \u201cDar, it\u2019s just knowledge. It\u2019s power. You don\u2019t have to use it. Just let it be and he\u2019ll have no influence over you.\u201d\u00a0 He took Dardeh\u2019s hand and started up the ramp, pulling Dardeh after him. \u201cLet\u2019s get out of here. We need to get back home and figure out what we\u2019re going to do about Helgen. Yes?\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh nodded. \u201cYes. Thanks, Roggi.\u201d\u00a0 He smiled, trying to be reassuring.<\/p>\n But inside he was wailing.\u00a0 Just don\u2019t use it. Right. You\u2019ve just said that to the guy who burns people alive without realizing it.<\/em><\/p>\n It didn\u2019t take them long to return to Falkreath. Dardeh walked straight to the guest room to find Marcus Jannus.\u00a0 He\u2019d changed out of his fine clothing into a set of iron armor that would serve him well for the short trek to Helgen Keep. \u201cWe\u2019re back, Marcus,\u201d he said. \u201c\u2019Val\u2019 took a little bit … <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/5-1-3-2.png\")
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<\/p>\nPart I: Modulation<\/a><\/div>\nPrevious<\/a> \/ Next<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"