Chapter 38 - A New Team

It was good to have the whole family around the table for breakfast again, Yssha thought. Nevan and Serana had gotten home about mid-afternoon yesterday, and they'd spent the rest of the day exchanging news and stories. Now, not at all to her surprise, Nevan wanted to show Sorine Jurard the library at Sightless Pit, then visit the Dwemer city in Blackreach, now that it could be explored without having to fight Falmer at regular intervals.

That was in her interest as well, since she still wanted smokeless heat for cold weather and what Nevan called air conditioning for hot, but she also ought to go check with Ralis on the Kolbjorn Barrow dig, and she wanted to smith some Daedric armor for Marcurio - to her surprise, she'd discovered that it actually offered better protection than dragonplate. Her and the others' dragonscale was still the best light armor available, though.

At least she had enough Daedra hearts to make a complete set, so she wouldn't have to make a trip to Enthir at the College of Winterhold. She occasionally found those elsewhere, but somehow Enthir had a reliable source of supply for both the hearts and black soul gems, so she bought both any time she was in the vicinity.

She started on the armor while Nevan gave Freyr and his friends from Pinewatch a weaponry lesson, then Ahkrinbo gave all but her a lesson in Dovahzul. The dragons and Dragonborn, everyone knew, preferred it to Common, so it was becoming a status marker to know and use at least a few words. For vodovahhe, fluency was still rare, but she was sure it would become more common in time.

She didn't really want to separate from Nev and Serana again so soon, but she also didn't have the heart to keep him from his research, so after lunch, she called Odahviing. "Nevan and Serana will be making several stops, including picking up writing supplies and two researchers, so do you have anyone available willing to carry them?"

"Of course. Carrying any of our Family is considered a great honor, so ... hmm. Britdunkah is young, barely a thousand, but a worthy fighter and pleasing skydancer." He called her and gave her the assignment, then asked, "And you, thuri? Where are we bound?"

"Marcurio and I will go to Kolbjorn Barrow to see what my partner there has found," she said.

"Very well. Mount, and we go."

Ralis was at the table beside his tent when Odahviing landed and the two dismounted. "Oh, it's you."

Yssha frowned. "You sound unhappy. What is going on?"

Ralis grimaced. "We only got a little ways in when something managed to wake up the draugr. Before I could blink, all the miners were dead and I was next in line. Don't think anyone else made it out alive. This is what I get for skimping on labor."

"I gather you wish us to deal with the draugr."

He nodded. "Unless you do, this whole little venture of ours is over. Might be over either way. It looked like a dead end before the place started crawling. We could have missed something, though. I don't know."

"We will be back as soon as we have done so." Yssha led the way into the barrow, mace and Fire Breath at the ready. Unrelenting Force was good, but against skeletons and draugr, fire was more effective.

The entry tunnel was no problem, but they heard draugr ahead, and they were attacked almost as soon as they entered the first real chamber. The attackers included by a Deathlord using Unrelenting Force that knocked the breath out of her for a couple of seconds, then she Shouted fire at it, sending it up in smoke. The rest were weaker, and didn't take them long to defeat. Once that was accomplished, they examined the entrance chamber, finding some small treasure. Once that was cleaned out, Yssha examined an odd, engraved skull on a pressure plate atop an altar. She found no traps, so she cautiously picked it up.

That opened a door ahead of them, and they could see a pair of boots on a platform in front of a column. Marcurio examined them, then nodded. "Ahzidal's Boots of Waterwalking."

"Bring them along," Yssha suggested. "I do not care to leave something so valuable unguarded around miners who might be tempted to take and sell them."

"You don't think you should leave them with Ralis?"

"I think not, beloved. I know our security; I do not know his, but he certainly cannot stay awake all the time."

"I see what you mean." Marcurio stowed the boots in his pack, and they went to report.

When Ralis saw them, he asked, "Any luck?"

Yssha nodded. "The draugr were very little problem, and we were able to find a way deeper into the barrow."

"Well, perhaps there's some hope for us yet." Ralis managed a smile. "Now, I'll have to go recruit some more miners ... it won't be easy, seeing as none of their friends came back from the first attempt. We'll have to sweeten the pot a bit, this time. I think I'll need ... say, two thousand septims to hire replacements."

"That is manageable," Yssha said, handing him the coin.

"I never get tired of that sound. It'll take me a few days to dig up some more laborers, but swing back when you get a chance. See how we're doing."

"Send a courier when you have news, please."

"I'll do that - partner."

Nevan and Serana were still gone when Yssha and Marcurio returned, so she went back to work on the Daedric armor. By the time Rayya called her for supper, the cuirass was done and ready to enchant, and the helmet was half done.

Everybody else was at the table by the time she took the cuirass up to the enchantry to drop it off, and Marcurio was telling the rest about their day. " ... just a routine barrow run, yeah. No major surprises, which was a pleasant change. What about you two?"

"We picked up Sorine and Calcelmo," Nevan said. "I was afraid Calcelmo was going to have a stroke when he saw the temple and library, and again when we got to Blackreach's central city - hells, I almost did, myself, there! It's incredible - almost undamaged, probably thanks to being in a cavern. It'll take days to map just the city, probably years to map the whole Hold. We're going to try to get permission to use one of the buildings as a research center - lab, library, whatever we need."

Yssha studied him, a bit bemused. "You would prefer that to adventuring?"

Nevan looked like he didn't really want to answer, but he nodded. "Don't get me wrong, please. I've enjoyed the adventuring, especially since I thought that was the only thing I'd be any good for in this universe. I never bothered mentioning my other skills, because they seemed useless."

"So what are these skills?" Marcurio asked curiously.

"First, you have to remember I'm - I was - an Imperial military officer, which means I had to be well-educated. A graduate of the Imperial Military Academy, which I am, has to have three doctorates, at least one of which has to be in a field that's useful in establishing a colony. For me, that's agriculture, but at a tech level this universe isn't even close to. Useless skill number two is galactography. Number three is my personal-interest one, and that's actually useful now - archaeology, with a minor in historiography." He smiled at the blank looks. "Even trying to define galactography would be meaningless here, given what I know of your cosmology. Archeology you know, and Calcelmo is a historiographer specializing in the Dwemer."

"I ... see," Yssha said slowly. "I will not keep you from what you want to do, of course. But may I still call on you for special things where your strength and combat skills are necessary, or at least likely to be helpful?"

Nevan looked upset at the question. "Of course, thuri - I'd be hurt if you didn't. I swore to you voluntarily, and that hasn't changed. I'd still be here most evenings, and teach the kids in the mornings, though I may be late sometimes; time is hard to tell, underground, and your clocks are limited at best."

Yssha smiled gently. "Then feel free to enjoy your archeology and historiography, vahriini. And I would like it if you would inform me of any particularly interesting discoveries."

"Of course, thuri!" Nevan grinned. "And thanks. I do feel a bit guilty, since I know you like having a full team, but I'm sure you'll be able to find another spell-sword to watch your back."

"And mage, of course," Serana added.

"That goes without saying," Yssha agreed. "I would expect you to stay with Nevan." It would seem strange adventuring with someone else on more than a temporary basis, but next time she saw her honorary uncles, she could ask them if they'd be interested.

Over the next few days, she finished smithing and enchanting Marcurio's new armor, and she smiled when he first put it on. He looked good in whatever he wore, but in Daedric armor he was positively imposing as well.

She hadn't seen or heard anything from Andreius and Sorcalin by the time another courier arrived, which was rather disappointing. "Another note from your friend Ralis," the courier said, handing it over. "I hope everything is all right."

Well, last time hadn't been too bad, even with just her and Marcurio, so Yssha called Odahviing. When they got to the barrow and found Ralis, he was unhappy again. "And now you're back. Great, just great."

"Your note was not very informative," she said. "What is it this time?"

"Draugr again. I mean ... we should have expected it, right? What else do you find in these damn crypts, but waves and waves of draugr? At least six of the diggers are dead. The rest of them ran off, and I don't blame them. You've had some luck with these things before. Do you think you could... go back in? See if anyone's still alive?"

"Certainly." That was the bargain, after all ... more or less. And Ralis himself certainly couldn't do it. So she and Marcurio went back in.

Yes, there were more draugr, along with a number of dead miners, some minor loot, and one of Ahzidal's enchanted rings - a necromantic enchantment that might help Serana.

Back to Ralis to report. "We cleared the draugr, but I fear the miners that were missing did not make it - we found their bodies, as well."

His reply was disgusted. "I should have figured. Damn. Well, at least we can get back to work. But hazard pay keeps piling up, and this won't be getting any cheaper. I'm going to hire some mercenaries this time, too. Having some people around who know how to fight should... Well, it'll set the miners at ease. And hopefully keep them alive. But they won't be cheap either. It's going to hit three thousand this time, I'm afraid. Have you got that on you?"

She nodded and handed him the money, adding, "This is becoming expensive. I hope it will prove worth the cost."

"We're going to be making this back fifty-fold, partner. Trust me on this. I'll go hire a new crew, and some brawny types to keep them safe. Come back and check in on us. Nothing can stop us this time."

"I hope you are correct. Send a courier as usual if you need us."

They moved away from the camp, but as Yssha was getting ready to call Odahviing, Marcurio stopped her. "I don't know about you, dearling, but I've been spoiled - I don't like going into places like that at what's gotten to be half strength. And they get worse the deeper we go. I think we ought to pick up reinforcements."

"I agree, beloved. I was thinking about asking Andreius and Sorcalin if they would be interested, the next time we see them."

"Why wait? Judging from past performance, we've got a few days before Ralis calls us again - I'd say use that time to find them."

"The way they like to travel, that could be a challenge, but I agree again. It is early enough we can go to Castle Dour and see if they are still there."

They weren't, but they'd told Captain Aldis that they intended to go to Markarth, then Whiterun, so Odahviing flew relatively low and slowly along the road to Markarth. Nothing there, so he changed course for Whiterun. About halfway there, he saw an Imperial and an Altmer riding, and circled to identify them. When he did, he landed about a hundred feet ahead, with Kyne's Peace ready in case the horses spooked.

Yssha and Marcurio dismounted and approached the other two, who'd stopped and were dismounting themselves. When they were within conversational distance, Andreius grinned. "What's up important enough to come looking for us, kiddo?"

Yssha smiled. "Nevan and Serana have decided on a change of career, so I would like you two to become a permanent part of my team, if you would be interested."

The two she was addressing looked puzzled. "A new career?" Sorcalin asked. "What would that be?"

"Archaeologist and Dwemer researcher," Marcurio replied. "His education in his original plane is mostly useless here, but he did study archaeology and historiography for enjoyment. Between the library in the Sightless Pit temple, and Blackreach having all its Falmer Restored, he wants to use his education, not just his combat skills."

"And we have become accustomed to working as a four-person team," Yssha added. "It no longer feels right with only two."

Andreius and Sorcalin exchanged glances, then Andreius said, "We can't promise anything long-term just yet, but we'll try it out for a while, at least. Do you have room for us at your home?"

Yssha chuckle-purred. "Easily. When Rayya planned Lakeview Manor, she added several guest rooms. Or I have homes elsewhere you are welcome to use."

"Collecting houses, are you?" Sorcalin said with a grin.

"Only three deliberately, one of which I no longer own. Lakeview, because I prefer living in the country, and Windstad Manor, which is under construction so I can get my rather noisy and smelly smithing and alchemy out of Lakeview. The rest were gifts after we killed Alduin, and the palace my vahriinne insisted on in Helgen."

Sorcalin shook his head, chuckling. "It's hard to imagine that, youngster. You, of all people, tolerating a palace and throne."

"It was not by my choice, I assure you," Yssha said with a sigh. "But I must admit the Mirmulnir Throne is most attractive."

"Mirmulnir?" Andreius asked. "Does that mean something?"

"It was the name of the first dragon I killed. It means Allegiance Strong Hunt. His death taught me I am Dovahkiin - Dragonborn as a title, Dragon Hunter Born as a name - and that I can Shout." That made her think, and she continued. "Well, actually, anyone willing to put in the time and effort can learn to Shout. I just learn Shouts with no effort, and use them naturally."

"You mean we could learn it?" Andreius asked. "Seriously?"

"Yes, certainly. You should learn Dovahzul, the dragon language, first, because to Shout, you must be able to think in our language."

"We'll meet you at Lakeview," Andreius told her. "And start learning Dovahzul as soon as we can."