{"id":4315,"date":"2019-12-05T19:38:37","date_gmt":"2019-12-05T19:38:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/?page_id=4315"},"modified":"2019-12-07T03:35:41","modified_gmt":"2019-12-07T03:35:41","slug":"chapter-8","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/volume-v\/part-i-modulation\/chapter-8\/","title":{"rendered":"Chapter 8"},"content":{"rendered":"

The rest of the trip to Folgunthur was uneventful.\u00a0 They didn\u2019t talk much, which was something of a rarity; usually one or the other of them was chattering about something irrelevant.\u00a0 There was something about Dardeh\u2019s binding, though, that had brought a different flavor to their relationship. It no longer felt to Dardeh as though he was the leader with his follower. No, they were two senior warriors travelling together, each respectful of the other\u2019s different but substantial powers.<\/p>\n

I can Shout. But Roggi also has a Voice. It may not be Dovahzul that he speaks but it\u2019s just as effective in the circumstances where he uses it. It\u2019s amazing to me that I never truly appreciated that before now. I always imagined that I was giving him the respect that he deserved. I really wasn\u2019t. I won\u2019t make that mistake again.<\/em><\/p>\n

They approached Folgunthur cautiously. It looked like any other barrow to Dardeh, which meant there was a decent chance of a draugr exploding from a sarcophagus as they neared the door.\u00a0 But it was silent and calm as they pushed the metal doors open and stepped inside.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

It was immediately obvious why it had been so quiet.\u00a0 The blood \u2013 and parts – of at least three draugr were splattered all over the entry.\u00a0 A bandit\u2019s corpse lay supine in a pool of his own blood just beyond them. There was a pressure plate on the floor; undoubtedly whatever trap it had triggered had contributed to the carnage. A short flight of descending stairs ended at what had clearly been a lowered metal gate, its bottom spikes now visible at the top of the doorway. \u00a0To the left was a metal disc with three holes near the top.<\/p>\n

\u201cDragon claw key,\u201d he whispered, pointing to the disc.\u00a0 Roggi nodded but said nothing.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The room beyond was dominated by an altar in its center. What truly drew attention, though, was the group of rotating animal-themed plinths spread out on either side of it. \u00a0Stationary plaques mounted on the walls above them showed which animal in which position would allow a dragon claw key to open the next door. The keyhole was mounted halfway up the wall.<\/p>\n

There were also dead draugr scattered around in the room, as well as the corpse of someone who had probably just been looking for some adventure.\u00a0 He\u2019d managed to open the gate but had been overcome before he could go through it. But someone<\/em> made it, Dardeh thought after searching the bodies, because the claw isn\u2019t here.<\/p>\n

There was a lone draugr in the winding passage that descended farther into the barrow, easily dispatched with just a couple of arrows.\u00a0 Around a corner, another raised metal gate opened onto an enormous chamber, several stories high and lined with coffins and sarcophagi.\u00a0 Dardeh glanced at Roggi, who nodded. Dardeh readied his bow and Roggi raised his sword.<\/p>\n

As expected, the moment they had both entered the chamber three draugr burst from their resting places and shuffled toward them, growling and snorting.\u00a0 Dardeh jumped as the metal gate behind them dropped into place, trapping them inside.<\/p>\n

So much for using the doorway as a choke point.<\/em><\/p>\n

It didn\u2019t seem to bother Roggi. As usual he barreled full steam into the battle, growling and slashing at the draugr. One of the creatures began casting frost. Dardeh sidestepped around the draugr and loosed a quick bow shot that staggered it. A second shot killed the draugr.<\/p>\n

He was fitting another arrow in place when Roggi cried out; a draugr wielding a greatsword had come up behind them and taken a swipe at him that he\u2019d only partially blocked. Dardeh growled and loosed the arrow; it was a lucky shot that lifted the beast completely off its feet and tossed it to the ground, dead.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Farther down the long room a sarcophagus lid crashed to the floor, landing on a pressure plate that set a pool of oil on the floor ablaze. That kept the draugr in the sarcophagus contained long enough for Dardeh to fire another arrow that hit exactly where it needed to, dropping the beast.<\/p>\n

Roggi glanced up at him and grinned. \u201cYou\u2019re on fire today.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, but he is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another draugr scurried out from behind a corner and stopped to stare down at its dead comrade, giving Dardeh an opportunity to fire another couple of arrows. One of them caught the draugr as it ran, flipping it up into the air and dropping it to the floor flailing. Another quick shot ended it.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The exit from this space was a circular staircase up. A partially-collapsed wooden bridge led to the stone platform they\u2019d seen from the room below, held up by a hefty stone column. The remains of someone else\u2019s battle with draugr littered the platform. Dardeh followed the trail of corpses around the stone column to the far side; it was there that he found the corpse of the one person \u2013 a Dunmer – who had come through all the open gates.<\/p>\n

His back was up against a blood-spattered pedestal with another claw keyhole at its top. There was nowhere to go from here, but across a wide gap was what looked like a raised wooden bridge.\u00a0 Dardeh examined the body and found two things of interest: the claw key, and a journal identifying its owner as Daynas Valen. He\u2019d been pursuing the treasure of Archmage Gauldur, supposedly split into three portions and interred with the corpses of his three sons.<\/p>\n

Dardeh shared the journal with Roggi. \u201cI\u2019m not sure what we\u2019ll find, but if it was worth this many people dying for it, I\u2019m all for continuing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why we came,\u201d Roggi said.<\/p>\n

Dardeh inserted the claw into the keyhole and, as expected, the wooden bridge dropped into position.\u00a0 Roggi laughed. Waiting in the next doorway were two draugr.\u00a0 Dardeh shot one arrow; then Roggi pushed past him and ran to attack.\u00a0 Dardeh took one step to his left and focused on the second draugr, which he could just reach with an arrow if he timed his shots carefully to avoid striking Roggi. Eventually both of them were on the far side of the bridge, and together they finished the second of the two draugr that had been waiting for them.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

There were more, though.<\/p>\n

The path through the barrow led into a warren of side rooms and corridors all filled with corpses. Some were laid out horizontally; others were standing upright in niches and of those, some had the pale blue eyes Dardeh had come to recognize as those of the quasi-living draugr that needed to be permanently killed.\u00a0 He used his swords to finish a number of those as they worked their way through the barrow, through a set of three metal gates that required four levers to open, and down into a mostly-collapsed stairwell. There once had been two doors at the bottom, but a pile of rubble directly in front of them forced them to turn and slide along one of the stairs toward the far door.<\/p>\n

As they passed the central column, boulders loosed by some unseen mechanism rolled down onto the open stairway, just missing Dardeh.\u00a0 He stepped back, and then heard the growl of a draugr. He peered around the corner to find the archer standing in front of a closed door, the boulders rolling down toward it. As it scrambled to keep from being crushed, Dardeh was able to sink three arrows into it; then it turned and in a remarkable show of intelligence for a draugr, opened the door behind. Rather than step through, though, the draugr turned and began firing back at Dardeh.\u00a0 Roggi ran past Dardeh on the right and rushed down the stairs to attack. One massive swing was all it took.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Dardeh was about to lower his bow when a draugr swinging a greatsword ran through the open door and attacked Roggi. He fired one arrow at the creature and then switched to his blades, sprinting down the stairs to cut the beast down at the knees and finish it off.\u00a0 But there was no rest; another grunt behind him had him turning to find a battle axe swinging down at him. He blocked the blow, but was tiring quickly and had to force himself to keep attacking. It was a very lucky blow with the dragon-slaying blade and its shock enchantments that finally dropped the ancient warrior.<\/p>\n

The two of them stood quietly for a moment, catching their breath before moving into the next room. There was a circular wooden staircase leading down, but blocked by a grate.\u00a0 On either side of a bookcase to their right were stone chairs; opposite the bookcase was a chain pulley that Dardeh started toward.<\/p>\n

\u201cDar.\u201d Roggi\u2019s harsh whisper caught his attention before he could grasp the handle.\u00a0 Roggi shook his head no and pointed to a lever mounted in the floor beside the right-hand stone chair.\u00a0 Dardeh frowned in confusion; Roggi pointed to his right. Beside each of the chairs was an archway, and the one beside Roggi opened into another chamber.<\/p>\n

How did I manage to miss that?\u00a0 Too fixated on the grate to notice an open door? Honestly, I\u2019d have been dead ten times over if not for him watching my back. <\/em><\/p>\n

There didn\u2019t seem to be anything in the open room, so Dardeh threw the lever.\u00a0 A circular plate rotated in the opening, closing the room off; the grinding noise of a similar plate came from the other end of the room.\u00a0 Dardeh moved past the bookcase to find that the far archway had opened up another room. This one wasn\u2019t empty, though. A draugr, alerted by the noise, was gathering magic in its left hand and raising a sword in its right.\u00a0 Somehow it missed Dardeh, instead stepping out into the doorway and firing an ice spike at Roggi.\u00a0 Dardeh began striking it with his double-edged sword only to have it fire an ice spike at him as well. He groaned, but threw his weight forward at the creature, knocking it down. It wasn\u2019t able to regain its feet, and the two of them killed it.<\/p>\n

The room behind the dead draugr held three of the familiar rotating pedestals, but no clues as to what their correct positions might be.\u00a0 Dardeh kicked at one of them in frustration.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny ideas?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought I saw some of these columns in the other room. Shall we go look?\u201d<\/p>\n

Dardeh grinned. \u201cWe shall. Good catch. I\u2019m not sure where my brain is today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roggi said nothing but did give him a knowing wink. Dardeh chuckled.<\/p>\n

Yes, Roggi, you managed to scramble it. It may take me awhile to feel completely certain of myself again.<\/em><\/p>\n

After some trial and error they found that the fixed pedestals in the first room held plaques that needed to be mirrored by the movable trio in the second room.\u00a0 The first attempt resulted in poison-tipped arrows flying at Dardeh when he pulled the chain. He barely avoided them. Finally the gate retracted and they made their way down the very dark staircase.<\/p>\n

\u201cI keep thinking I see something moving in the shadows,\u201d Roggi mumbled.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know how,\u201d Dardeh said. \u201cIt\u2019s just all shadows down here.\u201d\u00a0 He got to the bottom of the stairs and squinted ahead, only to have movement attract his attention well ahead. \u201cHeh. Ok, I\u2019m seeing it too. Spider.\u201d<\/p>\n

There were in fact two spiders, which he eliminated with three quick arrows. The passage dipped down into a partially flooded area and then up again and through a set of wooden doors.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh!\u201d Dardeh said. \u201cHere we go. This is what we needed the claw for.\u201d At the far end of the chamber they\u2019d entered was one of the puzzle doors with the great circular rings and a claw-shaped keyhole at its center.<\/p>\n

\u201cTaking bets on draugr?\u201d Roggi asked.\u00a0 There were three coffins on either side of the hall, all closed and seemingly sealed; but they each had been in too many of these rooms before to make assumptions about their safety.<\/p>\n

\u201cNope. You\u2019d win,\u201d Dardeh said.<\/p>\n

As expected, as they passed the center point of the space lids began exploding upward from the coffins and the residents therein climbed out to attack. \u00a0For a moment or two it looked as though it would be a simple battle, easy to take on one at a time, but in a heartbeat everything went sideways. Three draugr at once converged on Roggi.<\/p>\n

Dardeh hadn\u2019t used his Voice since they\u2019d left the Imperial camp in Whiterun Hold. He\u2019d been almost hesitant to do so, the memory of being helpless because of a Shout fresh in his mind.\u00a0 But when Roggi cried out in pain there was, in the next moment, a fireball enveloping two of the draugr. One dropped dead immediately. The other found itself sliced to ribbons a moment later. Dardeh swung to his left and stepped around Roggi, killing in two blows the third of the beasts that had attacked him.\u00a0 He took one step to the right and one deep breath as the lid popped off another sarcophagus, and without pausing cut down the occupant before it could completely raise its body out of its bed. A heartbeat later two more draugr rose from their rest.\u00a0 Dardeh hurtled across the room and struck one of them so hard that it flew into the air before falling apart and landing in two pieces.\u00a0 He whirled left to face back into the room, sprinted past Roggi, and hammered at the final draugr non-stop until it slumped back over the sarcophagus from which it had barely emerged.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

He stopped, panting, and turned to look at Roggi.\u00a0 A slow grin broke across Roggi\u2019s face.<\/p>\n

\u201cWow. That was really something.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell,\u201d Dardeh grinned back between breaths, \u201cI was mad. It\u2019s nice to know I\u2019m good for something once in awhile.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, you\u2019re definitely good for something, Dardeh,\u201d Roggi said. \u201cDon\u2019t ever doubt yourself on that front. Thank you. I was about to have a really bad time with them if you hadn\u2019t stepped in. It just got out from under me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dardeh smiled. \u201cWe make a pretty good team, Roggi.\u201d<\/p>\n

He felt himself start to get emotional. Rather than allow his feelings to take over, he pulled out the dragon claw key once more and turned it over to examine the symbols on its palm. Bird, bird\u2026 dragon. Because of course. I can\u2019t get away from the dragons.<\/em><\/p>\n

The heavy circles swung into position; the claw depressed the lock and swung all of the circles around to display the dragon symbol, and as the gigantic door dropped slowly down into its opening Dardeh readied himself for whatever was beyond.\u00a0 He suddenly remembered waiting for a similar door to retract, in Skuldafn.<\/p>\n

Huh. I don\u2019t know why I\u2019m so nervous right now. I was alone then, and facing more deadly enemies than what we\u2019ve seen here.<\/em><\/p>\n

On the other side of the puzzle door the corridor doglegged to the left, and to another set of wooden doors.\u00a0 Dardeh tried to still his heart. He said a quick prayer to Talos and pushed them open.\u00a0 A half-flight of stairs took him to a landing that opened once more to the left, onto a massive chamber that wrung a gasp from him.<\/p>\n

It is like Skuldafn! Just look at it!<\/em><\/p>\n

It was a very long rectangular space, with ranks of thick columns on either side. Each column had candlelit niches inset, but whether the skeletons in them were real or just carvings, he couldn\u2019t tell. About halfway down the hall was a set of stylized dragon heads.\u00a0 At the far end, on a raised platform, was a large sarcophagus.<\/p>\n

Like Skuldafn. And this is going to be either a dragon priest or another draugr of great power.\u00a0 I was alone in Skuldafn, save for the love I felt for Roggi.<\/em><\/p>\n

He turned to glance at his husband, who was scanning the room just as he had.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not alone this time.<\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019ll be fine.<\/em><\/p>\n

They crept forward, slowly, as silently as they could.\u00a0 As they passed the center point of the room the thing Dardeh had been expecting happened.\u00a0 The lid flew from the huge sarcophagus and from it rose a draugr wearing a familiar, and dreaded, horned helmet. Roggi raised his greatsword and sprinted toward it.<\/p>\n

Draugr deathlord.<\/em><\/p>\n

Worse, four weaker draugr also rushed at them, two from either side.\u00a0 Dardeh raised his bow and fired off two quick shots at the deathlord, expecting the rest of the draugr to converge on him.\u00a0 But they all attacked Roggi.<\/p>\n

It was dark.\u00a0 He could see that at least one of the draugr had a weapon with a life-draining enchantment.\u00a0 The deathlord began to inhale, readying itself to Shout.<\/p>\n

He hesitated for a moment, thinking of the sound of Roggi\u2019s voice when he\u2019d said \u201cDon\u2019t ever do that again,\u201d and then shook his head. His mind, his body, every part of him was at that moment the sum of all the dragons whose spirits he had absorbed; the sound and the flames burst from him almost without conscious thought.<\/p>\n

\u201cYOL \u2013 TOOR SHUL!\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the draugr flew backward and dropped dead.\u00a0 The other lesser draugr staggered, but rose to attack Roggi again. The deathlord stopped for a moment, shook itself, and rushed for Roggi once more. Dardeh sank two more arrows into the deathlord, hoping to stop it; but the sound of another sarcophagus opening had his heart dropping. He saw yet another draugr pushing itself upright from its resting place.\u00a0 It was time for the swords.<\/p>\n

He stepped right and made three quick slices. One draugr fell. A half turn to the left; three more swipes and down went a second.<\/p>\n

He heard Roggi cry out in pain and hurtled down the stairs to where the deathlord and one other draugr were doggedly attacking him.\u00a0 It seemed for a moment then as if there was something else directing his strikes as he cut through the lesser draugr to attack the deathlord. \u00a0It wasn\u2019t the spirit of his father, with his deadly scimitars flashing. It wasn\u2019t Jine lifting him up and tossing him forward. It wasn\u2019t even the rage that had propelled him when he\u2019d seen nothing but Miraak taunting him and could do nothing but attack, attack, attack.\u00a0 And yet it felt like all of them at once.\u00a0 Dardeh couldn\u2019t feel his arms screaming in pain from muscle fatigue. He wasn\u2019t aware of his rapid breathing.\u00a0 He simply struck, and struck, and struck again until the deathlord that had been ignoring him to threaten Roggi instead fell, sliced to ribbons.<\/p>\n

He stood over its remains, panting, and stared at it for a moment as he sheathed his sword. It had, around its neck, an amulet that seemed to have some magical property he couldn\u2019t identify; Dardeh bent to remove the amulet, then stood up slowly, his sore muscles making themselves known. He turned to Roggi, who likewise was catching his breath and downing the contents of some healing potions.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you alright?\u201d he asked, feeling himself slowly returning to his own center.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be fine,\u201d Roggi said. \u201cAre you?\u201d<\/p>\n

Dardeh looked down and took stock of himself.\u00a0 Though he was bleeding from dozens of minor cuts, and incredibly tired, he found himself smiling.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I am.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ever since we realized we were going to have to fight in the war I\u2019ve been\u2026 unraveling. Seeing things nobody else could see. Getting angrier and angrier. And then I lost my center. But this. This was something else. I\u2019m not sure what happened.<\/em><\/p>\n

He stepped up to Roggi, took his head in both hands and kissed him. Then he pulled him close into an embrace.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m better than OK, Roggi. Thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roggi pulled him close as well and held him for a moment before releasing him. \u201cWell I\u2019m not sure what I did, but you\u2019re welcome for it, Dardeh.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dardeh grinned. \u201cYou hardly ever call me by my full name. And when you do I\u2019m usually in trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou hardly ever turn into a whirling dervish right in front of my eyes. That was something. Seems like a time to give a man his full name.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

They walked slowly to the back of the chamber and discovered two more keyholes operated by the claw.\u00a0 The one to the right dropped a row of metal bars, opening access to a staircase up.\u00a0 In the room at the top of them was what Dardeh had hoped they would find: a word wall, its word of power glowing and calling out to him.\u00a0 He approached it, accepting its energy as it rushed into him, imprinting itself on his mind: DIIN.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is it this time?\u201d Roggi asked, coming up behind him.<\/p>\n

\u201cFreeze. And I already have the other two words.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo now you can freeze someone as well as burn him to a crisp?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRemind me not to make you mad.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re stronger than I am, Roggi.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, but you\u2019re louder.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dardeh threw back his head and cackled.\u00a0 \u201cOf that there can be no doubt.\u201d He stretched his arms out behind him and groaned. \u201cI am going to be so sore. What say you we start back? I could use a few hours in that sauna again before we have to go back to Helgen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSounds good to me,\u201d Roggi said. \u201cAre you sure that\u2019s all you want?\u201d<\/p>\n

Dardeh chuckled. \u201cOh, no I definitely want more than that,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I\u2019d like to try it without the ropes and the gag this time if that\u2019s ok.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was Roggi\u2019s turn to laugh as they headed out the door.<\/p>\n

\u00ad__<\/p>\n

\u201cCareful, Dar.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dardeh grinned under his helmet and facemask. \u201cDon\u2019t worry.\u201d<\/p>\n

They\u2019d gone to Falkreath to sell some items and pay a courtesy visit to the Jarl, and had come away with a task that only they could reasonably handle.\u00a0 Hunters had been chasing game south of the road to Helgen, up past one of the sites where bandits regularly squatted, and had come across a grisly sight. A small cabin, owned by one of the hardy few who chose to live outside the protection of any city wall, had been badly scorched and its former inhabitants were outside, burned to death, their bodies huddled in the fetal position. Only one thing could do that much damage, the Jarl had said, and only the Dragonborn could take care of such a beast.\u00a0 They were to go there and eliminate it.<\/p>\n

They had found the cabin easily enough.\u00a0 Inside it, in one of the few locations that had been protected from the flames held a note.\u00a0 The people who had lived here had definitely seen a dragon, flying back and forth near the peak just south of the cabin; so that was where Dardeh and Roggi went.\u00a0 A path through the forest led to a place Dardeh had never seen before:\u00a0 a long run of stone steps leading under a huge broken arch and to the opening of a cave.\u00a0 Dardeh had dispatched the two ice wraiths inside with a Shout and had then stood shaking his head.<\/p>\n

I do use them as a convenience, don\u2019t I, those Shouts. When did that come to be? Was it that I decided that I was better than everyone else because I\u2019m Dragonborn? Is that really it?<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

They crept forward and turned left to find another huge run of wide stone steps with landings at several points.\u00a0 To either side were tall pillars with heavily weathered, stylized dragon heads at the top.\u00a0 They passed by another ancient broken arch halfway up the slope, and Dardeh caught a glimpse of the distinctive shape of a word wall.\u00a0 He was reaching for his bow when a huge plume of frosty fog blew down from the sharp mountain peak nearby and obscured the view.<\/p>\n

\u201cWas that a dragon on top, or not?\u201d he whispered to Roggi.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think so. Give it a shot anyway. We\u2019ll be ready.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dardeh took aim and held his breath for a moment; and as the fog cleared a bit and he could see the top of the word wall, loosed the arrow toward a point just above it.<\/p>\n

He could tell almost immediately that he had missed. But the target, a beautiful gray and silver dragon, vaulted into the air screaming and came directly at them.<\/p>\n

\u201cDragon!\u201d Roggi screamed.<\/p>\n

Dardeh looked up at it, as it flew nearer, and smirked.\u00a0 Dream on, dragon.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cJOOR- ZAH FRUL!\u201d<\/p>\n

The shock wave of his Shout struck the beast just as it passed overhead, and it screamed its rage and confusion in response. There was only one open area anywhere nearby, and that was exactly where Dardeh currently stood.\u00a0 He bolted for the scant cover afforded by the broken stone archway, readied his swords, and waited as the dragon \u2013 a young one, by the looks \u2013 reluctantly landed in front of him.<\/p>\n

Then he rushed it.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

In almost every other dragon battle he\u2019d been in, Dardeh had circled to the back of the beast, safely out of reach of the snapping fangs. He\u2019d used his Shouts to keep it subdued and to interrupt attacks, and had counted on his strength as an archer and the enchantment of his secondary blade to take it down.\u00a0 But Roggi was well behind him this time, not closing in on the head of the beast as he usually did.\u00a0 And the dragon turned as he attacked its tail, swiveling around with an incredible speed for such a large animal.\u00a0 He found himself side-stepping away from a very close-up and angry dragon. Even so, his left arm took a raking from one of the creature\u2019s fangs.\u00a0 He howled with pain, and even moreso with anger.<\/p>\n

Suddenly he found himself once again slashing, screaming, and slashing again, just as he had when fighting the draugr deathlord in Folgunthur.\u00a0 He was distantly aware that his arm was bleeding, but it didn\u2019t matter; he knew his body was not built for such rapid and sustained battle, but it didn\u2019t matter. He slashed, and hammered, and slashed some more; and finally leaped forward, swinging himself up onto the dragon\u2019s head. It flailed about, trying to shake him off; but he slashed at it several more times, then flipped his double-edged sword over in his hand and stabbed down into its skull just as hard as he could.\u00a0 The dragon shuddered, and then dropped.\u00a0 Dardeh jumped down as the beast\u2019s skin began to crackle and smoke.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

He stood there, waiting, and closed his eyes as once more the essence of a lesser dragon flowed into him.\u00a0 Behind him, he heard Roggi say \u201cDragonborn!\u201d in the awed way he so often did, and he broke into a smile.<\/p>\n

Roggi will never forget that I am Dragonborn. He\u2019ll never stop being awestruck by that. But he also knew that I was using the Shouts as a crutch. Something to hide behind, something nobody else can do quite as well as I can. But in these past few days I\u2019ve learned something else. <\/em><\/p>\n

I am more than just a Dragonborn with a gift that sets me apart. I\u2019m more than just a miner. I\u2019m a swordsman, and a damn good one. I am everything that Jine told me I was, and could be. I\u2019m a Nord, I\u2019m a dragon, and I\u2019m a Redguard, and with this man beside me I can do anything.<\/em><\/p>\n

As the last burst of energy entered him, Dardeh flipped the helmet down off his head and turned to smile at Roggi.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s get this word and get going to Helgen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever you say, Dragonborn.\u201d<\/p>\n

Part I: Modulation<\/a><\/div>\n
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The rest of the trip to Folgunthur was uneventful.\u00a0 They didn\u2019t talk much, which was something of a rarity; usually one or the other of them was chattering about something irrelevant.\u00a0 There was something about Dardeh\u2019s binding, though, that had brought a different flavor to their relationship. It no longer felt to Dardeh as though … <\/p>\n

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