Chapter 3: Breaking the Bulwark
"You're infuriating..." - Argis the Bulwark
Not long after, they saddled their horses that were patiently waiting, who had just finished pasturing the all too green grass that reached their ankles.
Even if revealing his beast blood worried the werewolf to some extent, he took his word for it. They had reached Riverwood, so Corvo's expression softened in worry, as he noticed a few of the townspeople look at him. However, they just smiled friendly and moved on to their business. Argis was right - no one did mind. It amazed him how respected he was. After passing through the town, the Dragonborn opened the door to Sleeping Giant Inn and entered as his Housecarl followed, where they spoke with Delphine. She revealed herself to be this mysterious 'friend' that had left the note in Ustengrav.
It turns out that Delphine was one of the few remaining Blades, an order of warriors who protected the Septim bloodline in the third Era, and slew dragons with great talent in ancient times. After convincing her that he was the Dragonborn by killing a dragon and absorbing its soul, which she needed confirmation of, they teamed up to figure out where the dragons were coming from and set out on the long journey to find out how to stop them. In Delphine's eyes, the best bet was the Thalmor. Even if the Dragonborn despised the arrogant kind of altmers, he did not believe that they were bringing the dragons back.
When they discussed this matter, Cyril and his feud against the Thalmor was mentioned. Cyril was a skilled member of the Blades that was greatly feared among the Thalmor because of his battle prowess. Corvo did not go into details. A sore subject. They traveled to the Thalmor Embassy to look for clues, and it turned out that the Thalmor knew nothing about the dragons, just as the mercenary expected. They were in fact hunting down a former Blade, Esbern, to find out the exact thing themselves. The journey continued with looking for the old man, and when they did find him, their knowledge expanded.
Turns out that the solution to their problem was in Sky Haven Temple, an old fort that was earlier occupied by Blades, proving a valuable resting place for the remaining ones. In Sky Haven Temple, they found out that the only way to stop the World Eater was to learn a Shout called Dragonrend explained at a carving in the wall. Alduin's wall. Who knew more about the Thu'um than the Greybeards did? However, the Shout was lost so the only way to learn it was to speak with the Greybeard's leader, Paarthurnax (a dragon, apparently.) Paarthurnax did not know it either, but he did know how to learn it - through an Elder Scroll.
With that, they sat out to find it. On their way to retrieve the Scroll after speaking to the librarian at the College of Winterhold, they met an old man named Septimus holed up in the ice fields (closely resembling a skeever on alcohol) who told them of its location. It was in a place called the Tower of Mzark, so they had to go through Blackreach, a huge area that acted as a tunnel between most of the dwarven ruins in Skyrim. To get to Blackreach, they traveled through a dwarven ruin named Alftand, which had easy access to their destination. Septimus gave them a cube that was referred to as a lexicon, which was the key to open up the container containing the Scroll.
...
They approached the entrance of Blackreach.
"This must be it," Corvo remarked. They heard two people talking in such hostility as if they would break into combat at any time. His right foot came in contact with a rusty dwemer cog, giving a clattering sound, almost too low for hearing.
"What the -?"
"Shh-sh," the other man hushed him.
He took a stern grip of his Thane's arm, turning him around and pushing him into the wall to the left of the gate opening so the werewolf almost did not have time to think. The Housecarl's right hand was placed at the wall by the left side of the other man's head, supporting himself, as he had turned his head to his left in case the people had heard the slight ruckus. They had not.
"Sulla, let's just get out of here. Hasn't there been enough death?" asked a female voice.
It was followed by a masculine one. "Oh, of course you want me to leave. Just waiting for me to turn my back. So you can have all the glory for yourself!" he called, and they started fighting, which was not a surprise at all. Sulla was brought down, which only left the woman, Umana.
Corvo let out another muffled, short breath.
"At least buy me a drink first."
"Wait, what -?"
Argis turned his head to the other man, was puzzled. He then proceeded to notice how close they were standing. It was only centimeters between them, practically breathing the very same air. Corvo's eyes met his, and their expressions softened a little, as they held the eye contact far longer than intended.
It made me wonder how he came to lose his left eye, could clearly see the thin scars reaching from below it. When our eyes met, it was always the same warm, inviting sensation, and I always felt myself drawn to them. When he broke the eye contact and pushed himself gently away from the wall, I felt relieved, as I realized that I had been holding my breath for a brief second and could finally breathe again. Everything that came to mind in that moment was... what in Oblivion just happened?
The blonde then drew his bow, finished off Umana, too.
When the Scroll was retrieved, the Dragonborn proceeded to read it at the Time Wound, at the peak of the Throat of the World where Paarthurnax stayed. It allowed him to see back in time, saw Alduin being banished by the First Tongues, but not truly defeated. The First Tongues (Hakon, Felldir and Gormlaith) used Dragonrend. Dragonrend was a Shout that knocked a dragon out of the sky, making them vulnerable, experiencing the mortality of man. Felldir read an Elder Scroll, and with it, banished Alduin. Somehow, he learned the Shout when they used it. Alduin appeared right in front of him after he was finished reading the Scroll.
He used his newly acquired Shout to bring him down onto the ground, and they fought. After a few minutes, Alduin turned weak. He made it clear that he could not be defeated in Tamriel, and fled. Therefore, they were left with more questions. Paarthurnax suggested to capture one of Alduin's allies, who could tell them where Alduin went. This was to be done in Dragonsreach on the Great Porch, which was built to hold a dragon, Numinex. His skull decorated the Great Hall.
...
Corvo approached his Housecarl, eyes focused on the maps before him. "Argis, do you have a moment?"
"Of course," he replied, as he gently pushed himself from the table, and turned to face him. "What do you need, my Thane?
"You know I'm recruiting members to join the Blades. I don't know why, but I can't seem to trust these people, lad," he began describing his suspicion. The other man crossed his arms, listened faithfully as he continued on.
The mercenary slightly shifted. "My ancestors were Blades, even my father. They were honorable protecting the Septim Dynasty in the third Era, but this time... I don't know. They seem so... obsessed. I don't want to see another innocent life be lost, and hold you partly responsible, so I decided not to sign you up."
"All right, if that's your decision," he replied, somewhat reluctant of allowing his 'responsibility' to wander off alone. Hopefully, he would not stray far from the cities he found the recruits, but Argis knew better. He had to accept it, because there was no way that his stubborn Thane could prevent being sidetracked.
"Watch yourself out there," he added.
The werewolf gave him a soft smile. "I'll be back soon."
Argis had seen his Thane in the field. He was often reckless, but always made sure that Argis would not suffer of his sometimes boldly chosen decisions, taking full responsibility of them himself. Corvo protected his Housecarl just as much as he protected him, and they would both die for each other if it increased the chance for the other to get away, if things got complicated. Luckily, they had never been in that situation. He recruited Lydia, Rayya and Jordis, three of his other Housecarls. He decided to sign up his Housecarls because the Blades would have more use for them than him. The werewolf did not like having servants.
Argis, however, he wanted by his side. Not as a servant, but as moral support, and a second opinion on decisions the Dragonborn made. Unfortunately, he rarely spoke up, resulting in following his Thane's lead blindly. That was the only downside.
I had admitted to murdering the Emperor of Tamriel, and yet, he had my back. If I was in his footsteps, I would barely dare to turn my back… but the lad was so dedicated to his job that he was determined to "guard me and all I own, with his life."
When they were recruited, he returned to Markarth. He had brought Meeko with him, a homeless dog he found long ago who had lived in Breezehome with Lydia. The mercenary told Meeko to go inside, so he obediently did, and then he entered himself. The Dragonborn saw Argis entering the living room with an adorable, grumpy expression, as his hair was somewhat messed up. Apparently, Meeko had just woke him up and said "hi."
"My Thane..." he begun sleepily, barely able to keep his eyes open, truly looked precious where he was standing, bridal-carrying Meeko in his arms as Corvo grinned amused. "I assume this stupid mutt is yours?"
The mercenary was compassionate to the dog. "Ah, c'mon, lad," he replied with a smile as he petted it. "He's not stupid, all right?"
"Why not a cat?" Argis huffed. "They drool less."
Corvo was somewhat surprised by that as he could not help but hide the mischievous smirk. "Ha, didn't know you had a sense of humor."
"What's his story, anyways?"
He began explaining. "Meeko was in a shack in the wilderness, next to his dead owner. I couldn't let him stay there, so I brought him to Whiterun," he clarified. "Now when the one taking care of him there joined the Blades, I didn't have the heart to leave him alone. So I brought him here, where we go back and forth."
"Your heart's in the right place, all right," he replied, was not against the idea but still somewhat skeptical of leaving the dog wandering around in the house when they were not around. "I assume he won't be any trouble?"
"I doubt it. He's an obedient dog, for sure," he said and then kissed the dog on its head. The other man placed the Irish wolfhound at the floor, moved his hands to his hips as he looked at it with a confused expression.
Corvo moved his eyes to his Housecarl. "Get some sleep, lad. Sorry if he woke you."
"It's fine, Thane," he replied, dismissive of the thought. "Glad to see you made it back in one piece."
"I was recruiting Blades, Argis," he defended himself a bit exasperated.
Argis took after the bridge of his nose as he sighed. "We both know you can't resist -"
"All right, fine," he admitted defeated as he cut him off. "Guilty as charged."
They had been in quite a few close calls, so the Housecarl wanted to know how much in danger he had been. "What was it this time - a dragon?"
"Nope," the mercenary replied, much to the Housecarl's relief. "...Two dragons."
"By Talos..." he muttered exasperated.
...
They traveled to Whiterun where they spoke with Balgruuf.
"I need to trap a dragon in your palace."
Argis was quite exasperated of his Thane's use of words, rubbed his eyes with his right index finger and thumb as he closed them.
Balgruuf's eyes widened. "I must have misheard you. I thought you asked me to help to trap a dragon in my palace," he repeated to make sure that was what the mercenary meant. His shock was understandable.
"My Jarl, I'll have to apologize on behalf of my Thane -" the other man broke in.
The Dragonborn cut him off. "I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important."
"You're infuriating," the Housecarl stated muffled so only Corvo could hear it.
"Shush."
"Of course, you already saved Whiterun from that dragon. I owe you a great deal, but I don't understand," Balgruuf said, went his attention at Argis who obviously was the sensible one. "Why let a dragon into the heart of my city when we've been working so hard to keep them out?"
"The threat is worse than we know, my Jarl," Argis added. "Alduin has returned."
Balgruuf could not risk letting his guard down with the Stormcloak rebellion and the Imperials fighting each other. Because of this, the Dragonborn had to arrange a peace truce between the two sides, in the debating hall in High Hrothgar. After two short conversations, they agreed to meet up. However, Esbern and Delphine showed up too, so they had a little argument with the Greybeards. The Greybeards found these two Blades to be 'bloodthirsty barbarians,' using Arngeir's phrasing, while the remaining Blades found the Greybeards to be people that accomplishes nothing and only 'pray up in their mountain.'
He agreed with the Greybeards in this matter because the Blades found the power of the Thu'um to be a tool to exploit, while the Greybeards always chose wit before brawn. Even so, they were allowed entrance. He hated politics. After a while, they finally came to a truce, where he was lucky enough to come to a good result, as he stayed neutral. After the council was over, Esbern told them how to summon an ally of Alduin.
The old man had heard of a Shout that he could use to call for Odahviing, the Winged Snow Hunter.
I felt guilty saying "Dawnstar was a fair trade for Markarth" so openly in front of Argis during the council. He lived there, for the love of the Gods. It came out completely wrong. I wanted nothing more than to keep a neutral truce, and that was the only way, without allowing Maven to take control over Riften. She practically owned the Guild I was part of, so I'd rather die than to see her rise to even higher ranks... and power.
"Argis, about Markarth -" he tried pragmatic.
"Thane," he cut him friendly off. Corvo stopped walking, turned to his Housecarl, who had stopped moving as well. "Everything you did here today was for the better. Every corrupted Jarl has been replaced."
He paused. "Honestly, I'm amazed how well you did. No hard feelings, my Thane."
The lad never fails to amaze me.
Delphine spoke to the dual-wielder before he had the chance to set the plan in motion. She knew about Paarthurnax, and she wanted Corvo to kill him, just because he was a dragon. She threatened with the fact that the Blades would not help if he refused to do as they said.
"He's proved himself a trustworthy ally," the Dragonborn stated as he had great respect towards the dragon - Paarthurnax was strong enough to stand up against Alduin. "If you want further help to expand the Blades, you'll have to do it on your own. Paarthurnax's life will be spared."
"What is better - to be born good or to overcome your evil nature through great effort?"
Minutes passed. He was trying to persuade her to leave it be, but she would not listen, so the discussion became rather heated.
"You go too far, Dragonborn," Delphine warned. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't put you down right now as a traitor to the cause!"
Very heated.
"I'll give you two. I'm the only one who can stop Alduin, and one more thing," he began, and suddenly started speaking in Dragon tongue like the thundering sound by Whiterun the day he found out that he was the Dragonborn of the 4th Era.
"Dreh ni fus bahi!" (Translation: "Do not force wrath!")
"Thane!" the Housecarl called as he took a stern hold of his Thane's right arm, holding him back.
They were all just as surprised. Even the Dragonborn himself.
"By the Gods, the power of the Tongues!" she called concerned. "Very well, I have no desire to die here today. Are you sure this is what you want?"
The Dragonborn's expression hardened. "I've already said my part," he clarified. "We will not speak of this again."
"Very well, Dragonborn," she replied defeated. "Though it goes against our better judgment, we will abide you by your decision and allow Paarthurnax to live."
Finally, Delphine listened, and moved onto her business. The mercenary took after his forehead with his right hand, was almost shaking, because he had never expected to react in such a way. It felt like the dragon blood was consuming him. Like he became more and more alike the dragons that were so desperate for control and power.
"Blast," he muttered. "What's happening with me?"
The other man was dismissive. "It's nothing," he stated. "Let's go."
"Argis," he warned as he turned around so he faced his Housecarl. Argis' expression softened a little, while the other man had tightened his brows. "Stop following my lead without question, lad. I need you there not only because of moral support and your sword-arm, but as someone who keeps my feet planted on the damned ground."
"Thane," he said stern, tried calming the situation.
"Corvo," he corrected him determined.
"By Shor, start looking at me as a person and not a godforsaken title!" he added.
"That's not what I meant!" the other man snapped, so Corvo got a bit surprised, as his expression softened a little. "I look at you as one heck of a lot more than a title!"
This was the first time ever that I had seen him upset in any way. It was so unusual that it almost came as a shock, because Argis was such a self-controlled man, never letting himself lose it.
They both had calmed down. "I'm sorry," Argis began - closed his eyes - then opened them again. "I didn't -"
"Stop," he cut him off. "Glad to see you break out of that damned emotionless bulwark that I always see you in, lad. By all means, Argis, question my every move. Dragons were created to dominate, and I swear I feel... a lust for power," he muttered as his expression softened - causing the other man to do the very same - as he continued.
"Swear to me that if it goes too far, you put me down -"
"It won't come to that," he cut his Thane off determined. Corvo stepped forward so it was only centimeters between his head and his own, looking him directly into his eyes.
"Swear to me, lad."
There was a moment of silence, but reluctantly, he finally replied.
"I swear."
A/N: The dialogue with Delphine is taken from the mod "The Paarthurnax Dilemma."