{"id":2498,"date":"2023-06-03T16:33:23","date_gmt":"2023-06-03T22:33:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/baakay.com\/Snow\/?page_id=2498"},"modified":"2023-07-09T10:49:41","modified_gmt":"2023-07-09T16:49:41","slug":"chapter-3-brynjolf","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/baakay.com\/Snow\/volume-3\/part-i-horizons\/chapter-3-brynjolf\/","title":{"rendered":"Chapter 3 – Brynjolf"},"content":{"rendered":"
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 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

He almost didn\u2019t get into the carriage. Qaralana was already settled, gazing down at him expectantly, with a \u201care you coming?\u201d look – and he almost mumbled an excuse in order to run away. He checked his pockets and pouches once more to be certain he had what he needed for the trip, then blew out a huge, anxious breath and climbed aboard.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t believe I\u2019ve let her talk me into this. <\/em><\/p>\n

Qara managed to fill the journey from Riften to Dawnstar with idle chatter, fleshing out the details of the trip she\u2019d taken to the Reach with Harald Stormcloak. He nodded, and smiled frequently at her animated descriptions of the place they\u2019d gone, called Sky Haven Temple. There was a dragon skeleton suspended below the ceiling in the main space, she said, and if he hadn\u2019t known it already he would surely have been convinced that dragons were huge by the time she finished.<\/p>\n

But he couldn\u2019t quite keep his mind focused on his daughter\u2019s words.<\/p>\n

What am I going to say to the old bastard? What could I possibly tell him? What can he say to me? There\u2019s nothing I can think of that can make up for the way he treated me.<\/em><\/p>\n

And Ma. I only knew her for a few years, really. What can I say to her? And what in Oblivion will she think of me, old and roughed-up as I am? Both of them are strangers to me, when you come right down to it. Gallus and Karliah were more like parents than either of them was.<\/em><\/p>\n

Why did I let Qara talk me into this?<\/em><\/p>\n

Again, as they waited to board the ship to Falskaar, he nearly turned tail. Then he looked at her smile and remembered why. He waited until she\u2019d started climbing aboard and was facing away from him to frown.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

She can\u2019t get involved with Dale Perdeti. That\u2019s why. I won\u2019t let him have her. I can\u2019t do anything about the fact that he exists, but I can at least try to protect her. Dragonborn blood is a huge temptation.<\/em><\/p>\n

He\u2019d discussed that very thing with Roggi and Dardeh, long ago. Sitting on their porch beside Andante he\u2019d been just barely able to withstand the pull of Dardeh\u2019s Dragonborn blood singing in his veins, and he\u2019d done it by distracting himself, weaving a tale for them. And as for Andante –<\/p>\n

Brynjolf sighed. It just made him sad to remember those days. He followed Qara onto the ship and settled in for the journey.<\/p>\n

She continued chattering, filling him in on all she had done on her own, and later with Chip, helping the Jarl of Amber Creek. It was beyond odd to realize that his daughter knew more about his homeland than he did. The Jarl was likely younger than he was himself. He had no particular emotional connection to Falskaar – aside from the bad memories concerning his father – and yet the few, wispy memories that kept rising to the surface as Qara spoke had a melancholy tinge to them. He remembered beauty. And wildlife. And a freedom that he\u2019d lost the moment he\u2019d had to escape the island.<\/p>\n

Or maybe I have it now. Sayma\u2019s gone, and as far as I know I may never see her again. So maybe I am free.<\/em><\/p>\n

For a moment he had to struggle to keep his emotions in check. He was grateful for the excuse at hand, looking off the bow of the ship and away from Qara until he had himself under control again.<\/p>\n

I wonder why Qara hasn\u2019t mentioned her mother, or noticed that I\u2019m not wearing my ring. It was probably just that obvious that I didn\u2019t share the whole truth. But I really don\u2019t know whether we\u2019ll ever see her again.<\/em><\/p>\n

They were well underway when Qara went below to sleep. Brynjolf, though, couldn\u2019t relax. The unease that had started as a small tickle somewhere inside grew until it filled his whole body with a sense of dread. It was hard to sit still, and yet he couldn\u2019t very well pace the deck without being in the way of the Captain, Wulf. So after fighting with himself for what felt like hours he finally reached into his pouch and downed the contents of one of the small bottles he\u2019d packed.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s to you, lad.<\/em><\/p>\n

He heaved a sigh of relief and settled down to watch the ship slicing through the waves.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you coming?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

He stood on the deck, staring almost blankly at the shoreline, scanning down its length to the east toward where the lighthouse still kept its vigil. It was an almost overwhelming feeling of otherworldly d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu remembering the last time he\u2019d seen this view, just before he stowed away on this vessel\u2019s long-ago predecessor.<\/p>\n

More than fifty years? Has it really been that long?<\/em><\/p>\n

I wonder if this is what it was like for Andante. There\u2019s a moment of happiness with every memory that returns and yet such a sense of loss, besides.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cDaddy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, lass. Did you need something?\u201d He wasn\u2019t really focused on what he was saying as he tried to take in the sights of Falskaar, as if in a dream.<\/p>\n

\u201cI need you to get off the boat and come with me. Good grief, Daddy. We came here for a reason, not to stand around on deck.\u201d<\/p>\n

With great effort, Brynjolf shook himself out of his daze and gave his daughter a rueful grin. \u201cSorry. I\u2019m coming. It\u2019s just very strange to be here again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Qara paused for a moment and then gave him an understanding smile. \u201cI\u2019m sure it must be. It wasn\u2019t strange for me because I didn\u2019t have any idea what to expect. All I could think about was how I could make it home. And then of course all the other things happened and I was too busy to worry about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He thanked Captain Wulf and followed Qara up the steps toward the small collection of buildings that made up Falskaar\u2019s lone port. As soon as he stepped onto the soil, an involuntary shudder ran up his spine.<\/p>\n

This is my home. These are where my life began. But all I feel is strange.<\/em><\/p>\n

Well, Brunulvr, for whatever it\u2019s worth I\u2019m back, at least for a minute or two.<\/em><\/p>\n

He smiled politely at Qara\u2019s animated discussion with the woman and her son busying themselves in front of the trading post, and then happily followed her up the hill and into the forest. He vaguely remembered it as a long walk from Amber Creek to here. At least, to a seven or eight year old boy, it had seemed like an epic journey.<\/p>\n

I ran the whole way, too. I\u2019ve always loved to run. I don\u2019t know how I ended up working in a place where I stayed still most of the time. That\u2019s probably why I loved being…<\/em><\/p>\n

By the Eight. I need to stop this. I need to focus on what\u2019s here, now.<\/em><\/p>\n

It was more than a long walk, he realized as they traveled along the well-trodden roadway. It was, in fact, a journey. There were paths branching off toward the east in several spots along the route; one of them led toward an old fortress, where Qara told him she\u2019d found the first solid, irrefutable evidence of Yngvarr\u2019s plans for war.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cYngvarr?\u201d he asked. It was an unusual name, and he couldn\u2019t place it.<\/p>\n

\u201cYngvarr Unnvaldr, late Jarl of Staalgarde. He thought he should be the King since one of his ancestors was part of the scouting party that founded Falskaar. Or something like that. I tried not to pay any more attention to him than was absolutely necessary. He was a bad man.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brynjolf couldn\u2019t help but be amused. \u201cLike me, lass?\u201d<\/p>\n

Qara snorted. \u201cNo, Daddy. Not like you. You move things around – sometimes without permission.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of the time,\u201d he chuckled. \u201cThat\u2019s what had me leaving Falskaar in the first place.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, ok. Most of the time. But you don\u2019t plot against people and kill them without reason, and you don\u2019t try to manipulate them.\u201d<\/p>\n

This time he broke out into a full laugh, startling some of the birds that had been watching their progress. \u201cThat\u2019s why I\u2019m the best,\u201d he said. \u201cManipulation. How do you think I\u2019ve gotten all those things done without killing people right and left? You\u2019d have grown up in a hovel if not for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Qara gave him an annoyed glare as they approached a crossroad. \u201cDon\u2019t argue with me. Yes, you\u2019re good at what you do. Yngvarr threatened people, backed them into corners, made promises and then reneged on them. He just flat-out lied to them. He had an entire army\u2019s worth of people convinced that they were being robbed of their birthright in some way. You don\u2019t do that<\/em> kind of manipulation. And,\u201d she added, pointing to their right and up to the top of the large mesa dominating the scenery, \u201cyou\u2019ve never blown up an entire town with innocent people in it. Come on. We need to turn left here and cross the river.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brynjolf looked around with the same unsettling feelings he\u2019d had since stepping off the ship. It was familiar and yet it was entirely new. \u201cI remember the name. Unnvaldr. I wasn\u2019t old enough to really understand all the details. And that up there. Borvald, yes? He blew it up?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes and yes,\u201d Qara said with an angry frown on her face. \u201cOne thing\u2019s certain, though. He won\u2019t be bothering anyone any longer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

They reached the bridge Qara had mentioned, and Brynjolf paused halfway across it to look around. Off to the east and quite a way downstream from them, he could just about make out a windmill. He might not have noticed it if not for the motion catching his eye. He didn\u2019t recall what was there. After wracking his brain for a moment he tsk\u2019d and shook his head.<\/p>\n

That could have been built any time in the last fifty years. It\u2019s foolish of me to wonder why I don\u2019t recognize it.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cDaddy?\u201d Qara called from up ahead.<\/p>\n

\u201cComing. Just trying to get my bearings.\u201d He trotted to catch up with his daughter, wondering why exactly he felt so unsettled and anxious. Even telling himself that it was just the strangeness of the situation didn\u2019t seem to help. He was grateful that they were moving; it helped keep him from coming completely out of his skin.<\/p>\n

The road made a sharp turn to the left after the bridge, then swung gently right toward what he presumed was the base of the cliffs. Those, he remembered. The small, frightened boy living inside his sixty-winters-old body remembered the nearly uncontrolled, nearly catastrophic run down those steep cliffs. He\u2019d been barely able to keep his feet securely under him, and yet he\u2019d been too afraid of being caught to slow to a walking pace. All he\u2019d wanted was to get away to some safer place, no matter what it took.<\/p>\n

I need to relax. This is ridiculous. I\u2019m an old man now. He\u2019s an even older man. And I can still run, even if I\u2019m not as fast as I was when\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

Shor\u2019s beard. I need to relax.<\/em><\/p>\n

Soon enough, they happened upon something that distracted him. A hundred paces or so ahead of them, there was something on the side of the road that did not look right to Brynjolf – or, apparently, to Qaralana, who grabbed his arm.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s that?\u201d she whispered.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know, lass. Stay back a bit and I\u2019ll go look.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brynjolf crept forward, keeping low, until the object came into clearer focus. It was a cart – or what had once been a cart. One wheel was off, or at very least broken. There didn\u2019t seem to be any activity around it, at least from where he stood, but he smelled death as clearly as if he\u2019d been standing next to it. There was something about that scent that had stayed just as clear to him as it had been when he was one of the undead himself.<\/p>\n

He heard a faint cry, shaky and pleading.<\/p>\n

\u201cHello?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Brynjolf hurried to the downed carriage with Qara on his heels. They reached the man, only to find a grisly scene. Emptied chests and a second broken cart lay in ruins as though they\u2019d been simply thrown aside like garbage. At least half a dozen men and women lay dead in puddles of blood. The man who had called to them wore what looked to Brynjolf like a guard\u2019s uniform. He was propped up against the cart\u2019s remaining intact wheel but was hunched over, his expression pinched and desperate.<\/p>\n

\u201cH-hey! You!\u201d the man called out weakly, his words gurgling in his throat.\u201cP-please help me.\u201d<\/p>\n

This one\u2019s not long for the world unless we do. <\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThank the Nine someone finally came by,\u201d the guard mumbled. \u201cI\u2019ve been out here for days.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happened?\u201d Brynjolf asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was on my patrol when I heard screaming down the road. I rushed over only to find a caravan under assault by bandits.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brynjolf heard Qara tsk, somewhere behind him. \u201cMore of Yngvarr\u2019s thugs, I\u2019ll bet,\u201d she grumbled.<\/p>\n

\u201cI tried to help,\u201d the man continued, \u201cbut there were too many. I\u2019m afraid I was wounded during the fight. Took a hefty blow to the stomach. The bandit must have thought he killed me because he moved on. I just pretended that I was dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was a good choice, lad. It probably saved your life.\u201d Brynjolf began rustling through his things, looking for a healing potion amongst the other flasks and ingredients he\u2019d brought along.<\/p>\n

The man nodded. \u201cAfter the fight ended, while they were looting the carts, I overheard them talking. The leader of the group was a – a dangerous marauder we\u2019ve been trying to catch for months now. His name is Jarrik. They call him Jarrik the Crusher. If you\u2019re on your way to find him, well – be careful. He and his gang are a dangerous bunch.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo are we,\u201d Qara hissed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re holed up in Mammoth Cave, far to the northeast.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you know where it is, lass?\u201d Brynjolf asked quietly. \u201cI\u2019m afraid I don\u2019t remember well enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think so, Daddy. We can certainly find it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf\u2026 you have any potions you could spare I\u2019d be thankful,\u201d the guard asked, almost wheezing.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course,\u201d Brynjolf said \u201cThat\u2019s what I was looking for just now. Take it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I have more if that\u2019s not enough,\u201d Qara added.<\/p>\n

The man shakily lifted the flask to his lips and downed its contents. Only a moment or two later he sighed, and his features relaxed. \u201cAhh, that\u2019s much better,\u201d he said quietly. His breathing slowed and deepened, and color began to return to his face. \u201cThank you kindly.\u201d<\/p>\n

He looked around at the bodies strewn around the carts and sighed. \u201cNow please, leave me to bury the dead and pay my respects.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you sure, lad?\u201d Brynjolf asked. \u201cBecause we could help, easily enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you\u2019re just barely recovered,\u201d Qara added.<\/p>\n

The man shook his head. \u201cNo, I\u2019m fine now, thanks to you. I need to do this. I hope you\u2019ll understand.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brynjolf nodded, and walked solemnly back to where Qara stood. \u201cSo let me guess. You think we should go get this man.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Qara\u2019s eyes flashed. \u201cOf course! I can\u2019t just let someone like that live after what he did here! Besides, if we don\u2019t take care of him he might try to pick up where some of Yngvarr\u2019s lieutenants left off. I can\u2019t have that. Jarl Agnar can\u2019t have it. There were too many people lost.\u201d<\/p>\n

She looked as serious as he\u2019d ever seen her. It was impossible not to give her a grim smile in return. \u201cLead on, then. Let\u2019s take care of this problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

They needed to backtrack all the way to the crossing and then take the road that curled gracefully around the base of Borvald\u2019s mesa. Brynjolf kept pausing to stare up at the place; even from here at the base of the plateau he could see signs of the conflict Qara had described. There were stones missing from the wall here and there, as well as scorched treetops visible behind it – all pointing to the power of the fires and the huge explosion that Qara had barely escaped.<\/p>\n

The road branched again on the far side of Borvald. The sign at the crossroads there pointed toward Fort Urokk in one direction, and an arrow marked \u201cMammoth Keep\u201d had fallen to the ground.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you know which way this used to point, lass?\u201d<\/p>\n

Qara shook her head. \u201cNo, I\u2019m not. But I have gone down the eastern road here, to Fort Urokk. I don\u2019t remember seeing any other big buildings on the way. I think we need to cross the river again to find Mammoth Keep.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAye. Let\u2019s go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Across the bridge the road headed directly north. Not far up it, though, a smaller dirt path branched off toward the northeast. Qara stopped and looked around, carefully studying the horizon.<\/p>\n

\u201cOk. I know where the main road leads, up to the north. My guess is that the keep we\u2019re looking for is down this dirt path. See how close we are to the mountains on this side? Staalgarde – or what\u2019s left of it – is up in the mountains that way. So are Fort Urokk and the fane where Yngvarr died. This is where all the keeps seem to be in or next to the mountains. I say it has to be there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood thinking. Let\u2019s go.\u201d<\/p>\n

The path\u2019s well-trodden width was a sign of many people passing along it, regularly and recently. It rose gradually as they neared the base of the mountains. Eventually they reached a place where the thick forest opened out to a clearing with signs of fairly recent logging. A few moments later, Brynjolf spotted the top of an old tower tucked in against the foothills. If he turned his head and focused he could barely make out the faint sounds of water and the creaking of wood. People were ahead. He dropped into a crouch and continued forward as quietly as he could.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

This keep was just across a short bridge over a wide stream that flowed down from the mountains and disappeared into the rocks beyond the keep. The mill just in front of the stone buildings wasn\u2019t being used at that moment, but the water wheel turned. The rhythmic thumping from just beyond the bridge said that someone was chopping up firewood. Brynjolf turned and signaled to Qara that she should wait, and then slunk up behind the greasy-haired man in dirty leathers and took him down with a sneak attack. The man didn\u2019t even have time to cry out.<\/p>\n

Vitus would have been proud of that one.<\/em><\/p>\n

There was a metal gate barring entry to the keep\u2019s courtyard, but the inset door was unlocked. They pushed it open and moved through it, expecting resistance but finding none. It wasn\u2019t a great surprise given the increasing darkness of the sky at this hour. They were probably having the evening meal. Movement caught Brynjolf\u2019s attention, though, at the far end of the courtyard near a forge. He peered into the murk and finally saw the outlines of an Argonian standing before the smelter. He didn\u2019t want to alert the lizard, so he pulled out his bow.<\/p>\n

The first shot went wide. He heard the Argonian say \u201cHuh? What was that noise?\u201d just before the second, perfectly-placed arrow caught it in the heart.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood shot, Daddy,\u201d Qara said, coming up behind him. \u201cYou\u2019re almost as good as Chip!\u201d<\/p>\n

He chuckled. \u201cWe can thank Niruin,\u201d he said. He hadn\u2019t trained with the Guild\u2019s master archer for some time, but both he and Chip had had years of instruction, and it often made the difference between success and failure. Qara had taken some training with him, too, the results of which she demonstrated a moment later when a voice behind and above them called out \u201cAha! Found you!\u201d She swiveled left, located her target, and brought him down all in one smooth motion.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not as good as Chip,\u201d she said, \u201cbut I have gotten a lot of practice recently. I\u2019ll have to get Chip to tell you about the huge cavern we went through. There was plenty of practice there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beside them on the right, stairs led up to another open area just inside the curtain walls. From here Brynjolf had a better sense of the layout of the keep\u2019s four towers. A barred cage door without a lock to pick blocked the tower to their right, but they thoroughly explored the other three, all of which were largely empty. The bandit in the lookout atop the tallest tower met the same fate as the wood-chopper below. The remaining two towers were empty save for one thing: a trap door set into the floor of one.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Crusher must be inside,\u201d Qara whispered. \u201cLet\u2019s go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brynjolf nodded, slowly and carefully pulled the trap door open, and dropped down into the keep proper. It was as he had expected – round rooms connected by narrow stairwells and corridors – and from here their sole option was to descend. As he reached the lowest level he began to hear the bandits moving about, and once again missed the superior hearing he\u2019d had for a time. Without it he had to get far too close to the bandits to hear what they were saying, which sometimes yielded valuable information.<\/p>\n

The nearest man, though, had no pearls of wisdom to share. \u201cDamn. I\u2019ve got a rock in my boot,\u201d he grumbled an instant before Brynjolf took him down in another well-executed dagger attack.<\/p>\n

There were two ways forward, one behind a gate; that was the direction Qara pointed to and he nodded, creeping forward to open the inset door. The lass has good instincts, he thought as he swung it open. Anything valuable will be behind lock and key, and that includes the boss.<\/p>\n

Why am I not under lock and key, then? Maybe I have no value anymore. <\/em><\/p>\n

This didn\u2019t look much like a place holding wealth, though. Beyond the gate and at the foot of some steps the floors were packed dirt and the walls partially collapsed. There were sturdy beams holding the ceiling in place, though, and Brynjolf wondered whether they had inadvertently tunneled into an old mineshaft and simply left it connected to the keep. It didn\u2019t matter, though. There was a woman leaning up against one of those beams, lazily guarding a doorway. She was so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she neither heard nor saw the father and daughter approaching with death in their grips.<\/p>\n

They descended once more, this time down a rough slope that made it clear they were in a mine – an iron mine, it turned out, as the veins and chunks of ore in the area revealed. There were a few people here, either actively picking at the rock or leaning up against the walls. Brynjolf and Qara took a few minutes to make certain none of these people would sound the alert ever again and made their way back into the keep proper, back to the first room they\u2019d entered.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The other exit from that room led to what he\u2019d been expecting to see: a large central space, towering up several stories and full of alcoves, rubble, and furnishings. Here the bandits had set up their base, with bookshelves, tables, and crafting stations along the walls. A man bent over the enchanting table, so engrossed in what he was doing that he never knew Brynjolf was behind him – and never knew anything else afterward.<\/p>\n

Qara, however, had several decades less experience in moving silently. When one of her soft-soled boots scuffed the floor, a voice from above called out \u201cHelloooo?\u201d Brynjolf whirled, looking for the source of the voice, scanning the balconies overlooking the space. He saw nothing there, and was beginning to get a bit nervous about their position out in the open when a large man with a battleaxe strapped to his back sauntered out from another room.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

There was no time to hide, or to formulate some clever attack; Brynjolf just rolled forward and came up to a standing position with his sword burying itself in the man\u2019s chest. As he pulled the sword free and Qara knelt to examine the body, another voice from above them had Brynjolf swiveling again, looking for any further movement.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cDaddy!\u201d Qara hissed. \u201cThis is him! Jarrik the Crusher! There\u2019s this note on him\u2026 and a key. We should probably find what it opens.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAye,\u201d Brynjolf whispered. \u201cRight after we clear this place out.\u201d He mounted the nearest stairs to find that what he\u2019d assumed was a full balcony was, in fact, just a large open space leading to a dead-end. He had just started back toward the stairs when he heard two things.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, well! What do we have here?\u201d That was a man.<\/p>\n

\u201cZUN- HAAL VIIK!\u201d<\/p>\n

Brynjolf heard the words without understanding their meanings, somehow surrounded by and comprised of a sharp, metallic clank. That was Qara – and he watched in awe as the sword the man had been holding flew across the room and landed next to the body of Jarrik the Crusher.<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t have time to stop and ponder the situation, though. It seemed that Qara had managed to draw all of the drowsy bandits from the rest of the keep. They kept coming; just when he thought they might have gotten the upper hand more people emerged from the shadows. The next few minutes – or maybe it was a lifetime, he wasn\u2019t sure – were full of blades, and flames, and arrows fired from above that exploded when they struck the floor or him. And one of those explosions struck him full-on.<\/p>\n

For a moment, stunned and gasping, Brynjolf thought he was done. At least I won\u2019t have to face Brunulvr. I wonder if I\u2019ll see Dynny or Vitus in the Evergloam. <\/em>He began healing himself feverishly, running up the stairs toward the dead-end that would provide at least a moment of cover, to hang on, to make sure Qara survived. The problem, as it turned out, was that one of the bandits was up there already, and two others were hot on his heels. He managed to cast one more round of healing and then his reflexes kicked in; he whirled to face the two bandits that had followed him and darted between them, leaping down from the balcony to the floor below. That afforded him another chance to heal up.<\/p>\n

He knew Qaralana was still alive, for he heard bandits taunting and insulting her. He was concerned, though, because he could neither see nor hear her. Then another blast of sound accompanied by the same piercing clank <\/em>he\u2019d heard earlier reminded him that she was, after all, Dragonborn and was well able to defend herself. And just as well, at that, for the three bandits behind him were catching up. This time he stood his ground and laid into them, one by one, with his blade and his knife. He might well be nothing more than an old thief but he\u2019d seen plenty of combat over a long lifetime and knew how to dance around uncontrolled two-handed attacks and unpracticed single-blade attempts. Before long, the three were down and, to his relief, there were no more explosive arrows in or near him.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

He ran across the room and into one of the corridors, to find Qara facing down three foes: two humans and a Khajiit. She was casting flames at them and the part of him that still shrank from fire, even after all these years, had him hesitating for just a fraction of a moment. Then the nearest enemy wound up into a huge swing that would at the very least fracture bones if it landed, and his other instincts – those of a father – took over. He threw himself forward, blades at the ready, and shouldered the man out of the way just enough that the weapon narrowly missed Qara and flew out of his hands. The force of the blow ended with his arms on Brynjolf\u2019s pauldron. It still hurt, it still forced the air from his lungs for a moment, but Brynjolf was able to use the man\u2019s disrupted balance to his advantage and rammed his sword up under the bandit\u2019s ribs. As Qara finished the bandit closest to her, he stepped over the corpse at his feet and slashed at the one remaining man, with the little stamina he had left. It took him several tries before the man finally staggered to his knees, to meet Qara\u2019s finishing blow.<\/p>\n

They moved silently, back into the main keep, eyes and ears on alert for more enemies. But it seemed that they\u2019d ended the last of them. Brynjolf sighed and rose from his crouch, turning to face Qaralana.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell done, lass,\u201d he said. There wasn\u2019t anything more he could add. It had been a remarkable thing, to him, seeing his daughter mow down her enemies, seemingly unflappable and definitely more powerful than he was himself. \u201cApparently being Dragonborn really has its uses.\u201d<\/p>\n

Qara nodded solemnly. \u201cIt does. And I was glad to have the chance to use it. I don\u2019t want to lose my Daddy. Nobody should lose their father.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brynjolf sighed. I guess there\u2019s no getting around it, is there.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we need to find what this key opens, though,\u201d Qara continued. \u201cMaybe this note will help. And then we\u2019ll want to get to Amber Creek and let them know that this group has been taken care of.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAye. Lead on, lass.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Home Previous \/ Next   He almost didn\u2019t get into the carriage. Qaralana was already settled, gazing down at him expectantly, with a \u201care you coming?\u201d look – and he almost mumbled an excuse in order to run away. He checked his pockets and pouches once more to be certain he had what he needed … <\/p>\n

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