'Malborn…'

The horse and its rider spirited past the Blade, and Delphine heard some curses coming from the horseman. She backed off, looking around, but saw no one. It was dusk already, and she did not expect Malborn to be there, but it sure looked like him. What was he doing there anyway? And why had he come from that direction? There were a lot of questions she could not answer. She kept looking at the shadows. She feared that the Thalmor might have been on his trail, but if that was the case… The Dragonborn might have been dead. Or worse, captured.

Her doubts got finally alleviated by the typical, glacial and sarcastic voice of the Assassin.

'Malborn! Come back. You shivering dishonor of Valenwood…! Curses, by the Soul of the Black Knight, a thousand curses on you…'

Delphine had troubles seeing him at first, but when he walked in the torchlight she immediately recognized him. His face was covered again, with the hood shadowing his forehead and hair and the mask hiding his nose and mouth; and, since it went up to the ears, hid even the long scar. The Blade had, again, troubles attributing the face he saw to the face hidden behind that mask and that hood. Nevertheless, she was happy to see him alive and in a good mood.

'So?' she asked, impatient.

'I'll tell you on the way,' said the Assassin, gesturing her to follow.

Azrael whistled at the copse near the rocks, and Delphine saw the red eyes of Shadowmere coming closer in the dim light. The noise made by her hooves was quite muffled for an animal, or a creature, of that size. The Assassin ran towards her, grabbed her neck on the run and jumped on her back. Delphine sprinted quickly in his direction, grabbing his hand and mounting the beast herself. The Dragonborn slapped the horse on the neck and gripped her hair. Delphine held tighter. Shadowmere reared up and neighed loudly, as she often did, and then began galloping at her usual astounding speed.

Delphine heaved a deep sigh and grabbed the waist of the Elf with one hand while she tried to take her own hair away from her face. Once she managed, she grabbed a shoulder of the Dunmer with the free hand.

'Did you run into any obstacles?' she asked.

'Malborn risked his neck,' he answered, 'but the Thalmor played too bold and allowed me to save him. Other than that no, no major issues along the way. Our Bosmer asked me to start a distraction to slip away, and it just so happened an acquaintance of mine was there to help me. I got past the guards problem free, for me, clearly, and then got the information and ran.'

'Why did you come from that direction?'

'We used a secret passage into a cave. The Thalmor used it to hide corpses, and there was a Snow Troll below who fed on the poor sods they killed. The Troll rests peacefully, save for a few burns, and we got out. Malborn found that horse near the stables unguarded and grabbed it without thinking twice.'

'Did he play along or did you give he troubles?'

'No, he did alright. Sufficiently subtle while discussing with me back in part room, kind of calm when they captured him… I don't know how he did when he was alone, but since the guards took so long to get to me I presume he did a good job. Won't be able to ask him, but that's fine.'

'And in the party room?'

'All good. We surpassed the infamous Thalmor Justiciar Staring-Menacingly-At-You test, so I guess we put on a good show. The true show was the one I did in the corridors, a bloody and serious one.'

'You're talking about the guards?'

'They dropped like flies. You'll be happy to know that it was quite the blood bath inside, and only Altmer blood has been spilled.'

'That is something,' admitted the Blade. 'And about the Dragons?'

'They know nothing more than we do.'

'Really?' she asked, having a hard time believing him. Even his glacial and deadly serious tone hadn't been enough to convince her. 'That seems hard to believe. You're sure about that?'

Azrael rummaged around in his bandoliers for a while, and then took out a small but decorated sheet of paper. He handed it to the Blade without losing sight of the road. They were approaching Dragon's Bridge, and he needed to find an alternative way around. Meanwhile, the Blade read the scarp without believing her own eyes. They were information about the status about the Dragon Investigation, and it was leading nowhere even for them.

'Who's this old man they're looking for?' asked Delphine.

'Yes, about that…' sneered the Assassin. 'All your talks about you being the last member of the Blades and such… The Thalmor are looking for some fella who is apparently a living member of the Blades. Name's Esbern.'

'Esbern?' she exclaimed. 'He's alive? I thought the Thalmor must have got him years ago. That crazy old man… Figured the Thalmor would be on his trail, though, if they were trying to find out what's going on with the Dragons.'

'So, you thought the Thalmor knew all and they though the Blades knew all…'

'Ironic, isn't it? The old enemies assume that every calamity must be a plot by the other side.'

'And who is this guy? The information I gathered tells he is a loremaster.'

'He knew everything about the ancient Dragonlore of the Blades. Obsessed with it, really. Nobody paid much attention back then. I guess he wasn't as crazy as we all thought, and that means we need to find him quickly. He'll know how to stop the Dragons if anybody does. Do they know where he is?'

'Riften. Ratway.'

'You'd better get there, then. Oh, and when you find Esbern… If you think I'm paranoid, you may have some trouble getting him to trust you. Just ask him where he was on the 30th of Frostfall. He'll know what it means. Talk to Brynjolf. He's… well-connected. A good starting point at least.'

'No, not him…' whispered the Assassin.

'Why?'

Azrael looked back at the Blade sitting behind him on the back of Shadowmere. Delphine noticed a strange glow in his red eyes, a sad and ironic spark that showed at once the weight that Elf carried on his shoulders. Secrets, sins… He looked invincible and unbreakable, but he was far from perfect. At the very core of his being he was tranquil, but on the middle-ground between that and the outside that was far from the truth. The Assassin thought long, but then decided to combat mistrust with trust. Just for once, he had to trust someone normal. He only other person that he considered worthy was Babette, and she was far from normal. Delphine, although she had seen it all, was still deeply human.

'Long story…' sighed Azrael. 'Do you want to know the dark past of your Dragonborn? The true one?'

'Well… Knowledge is power.'

'And this once, use it carefully,' the Assassin warned her. His voice had been cold, but there was a threatening undertone that echoed with the entire force of his being, from the Dragon to the Elf. 'And, if you ever wandered where I learned to be a killer, you'll have your answer. You could probably keep track of me as long as I remained with the Companions, but then my trace begins to… shimmer. Doesn't it?'

'It does. I had troubles discovering what you did after.'

'Well… Prepare yourself. I had some issues with Brynjolf because I traveled to Riften three times, visiting a contact, on account of the Dark Brotherhood.'

One big weight seemed to drop off his shoulders. He suddenly felt lighter, and sighed deeply with relief. But after that, his lips shaped again the sarcastic sneer, as he waited for Delphine's response. He had no intention of keeping talking and spoiling his own fun.

'Why did you do that?' asked Delphine. Azrael almost got disappointed: her voice was cool.

'Momentary decisions and a strong sense of being lost. Thanks to them, and people I encountered while with them, I am what you see now.'

'So, if the rumors are true… Who of you killed the Emperor?'

Delphine froze solid on the saddle when she heard the glacial and sardonic laughter of the Dragonborn.

'Titus had arrived to the end of his days,' he said. 'He just wanted to understand what our encounter was about, and then he wanted to live no more. He asked me to kill him. But, and this time don't put your icy mistrust walls around you, if he asked me I would have probably spared him. In the end, we had a meeting with Fate. And Fate in inescapable.'

Shadowmere turned quickly and traversed the Dragon Bridge very rapidly. One guard only had the time to scream that someone had dashed past. As soon as they reached the other end of the Bridge the horse turned left, avoiding the other part of the small village. They would have returned to the main road in a few minutes.

'You took a risk telling me this,' commented Delphine, after a while. This time Azrael nodded slowly, noticing that her voice was no longer completely cool. 'From what you know of me, I could have turned on you and stabbed you in the back.'

'No, you wouldn't have. You are a Blade. You obtain your goals with every means necessary. Your only duty is to protect the Dragonborn, not the Emperor. And duty is the only destiny you know.'

'You are quite smart, I'll give you that. You manage to exploit emotions and use people's thoughts against them without even hurting them. You've got a sharp mind. And I'm saying this as a true compliment; I haven't said one in decades.'

'Thank you,' replied the Assassin. His voice was emotionless, but there was no sarcasm in his tone.


'What…?'

Delphine sensed a branch grazing her hair, and she instinctively lowered her head. Her sight was unclear, but it was rather obvious that they were in a forest. The outlines of the trees were quite recognizable, and the rays of moonlight came fragmented by the foliage. The Blade raised her head, seeing the Dragonborn in front of him.

'Where are we?'

'Past Falkreath. We're near Riverwood,' he replied.

'What happened?'

'You fell asleep, Lady Doubt. You've been slumbering since we crossed the border to the Reach.'

'You should have waked me.'

'Why? To save your pride?' said the Elf, his mocking wit very much awake. 'You were sleeping so peacefully. It would have been a crime to wake you.'

'When will you sleep?'

'Since we should be at Riverwood before dawn I'd like to take a nap at the inn. If you don't mind.'

'I don't. You can stay there as long as you will.'

Shadowmere turned left. Delphine recognized now the road that led from Falkreath to Riverwood, and they were almost the slope that led to Helgen. Azrael was clearly avoiding the city, and smart thing he did, for there was no one but bandits in that burned down ruin. They were instead crossing the forest and getting to the road that went along Lake Illnalta.

'Back when I came to you before going in the Embassy…' said Azrael, pausing for a moment and letting her remember. 'You said you imagined me different, behind the mask. What did you expect?'

'I don't know. Maybe someone a little more typical in appearance. Someone less recognizable by the face alone. Even in a crowd of Dark Elves you'd be easily recognizable, if anything by your height. By the way, how did you get that scar on the cheek?'

'Escaping Morrowind. Morag Tong assassins left me that as a reminder.'

'A reminder of what?'

'That you can't hold something too dear if you don't have the strength to protect it.'

That cryptic phrase left Delphine wondering, but she preferred to reason on the enigma hidden in the sentence than ask him what he meant. He would not have said it straight, or he would have done that immediately after. Azrael was not one who held things back. If there was a truth to be said, it would have been said. No matter the cost. His failing in mentioning what exactly he had kept dear was a clear sign of his uncertainty about the matter. She did not inquire any further, and changed the subject.

'I was also surprised by how you can hide your hair in the hood. They are a long.'

'I had troubles with some helmets and cowls,' said Azrael, back to his cold tone. 'With this one I manage to keep them inside. They are black as coal, so it's not hard to hide them. Sometimes, especially when I jump or roll multiple times, some locks fell on my chest. That's not too annoying, anyway.'

'Your beard also surprised me. Usually it's your priests that keep them long, and I totally took you for one when you walked up to me in that black tunic.'

'True,' admitted the Assassin. 'Most of us keep it short or shaven. I used to, before my flight.'

Shadowmere turned again, and took the main rode beside the lake. They should have been home in a few minutes. Now that she needed again to stay quiet and rely on Azrael to complete a task, her tension was raising again a bit. But not as much as before. She now trusted the Assassin, in her own suspicious way. Nevertheless, she could not deny that Azrael had become something more than the Dragonborn to her. He had quickly become a comrade, and after that short revelations about his past she could have called him a friend, even. She almost didn't dare to say that word. She, always in her own way, cared for him, much beyond the point duty can require.

'Listen…' she began. 'About that thing with Brynjolf. Am I sending you into a difficult situation?'

'It might take some time, but I'm quite confident I'll manage. I've just got to resolve some old matters, and hopefully all will be fine.'

'Be careful with Brynjolf. He has the back-up of the Thieves Guild.'

'Figures… Well, that rabble of robbers doesn't scare me. If they try to get it their way, I'll make sure to teach them mine.'

'Your way isn't always the right one, Assassin,' said Delphine. 'Not all matters can be resolved with the help of a blade. Eradicating the very roots of a threat isn't always the right thing to do, for sometimes those roots need to submit and not to succumb.'

'We've got a philosopher. Great…'

'Look who's talking. One that has bored me with his lectures on how I cannot understand things you can and such.'

'It wasn't that boring.'

'Maybe it wasn't. Anyway, don't lower your guard with the Guild. They've got more means that your can think. They don't kill. They never do. When you'll walk into their den, you'll have to play their game, and that is not a game about killing. It's a game about blackmail, extortion, bribery and intimidation. In any case, do not challenge them. I need you.'

'Don't worry, Lady Doubt. I'll manage.'

'You will, but you know why?'

'No, but I suppose you're about to tell me.'

'Because you're a quick learner. Not because you're good with a blade.'