Chapter 18 - Reward For A Job Well Done
"Hard enough for you, Vomit Boy?" Yang asked Jaune teasingly, as she watched him tear into the roasted bear me-at enthusiastically. Jaune paused in his feasting to glare at her (or, at least, try to), and she desperately tried to hide her smile in her mug of ale, finding his pout oddly endearing.
"Har har." Jaune drawled drily, before pausing to take another bite. This time, instead of doing his best starving Beowulf impression, he savored the flavor, enjoyed the juiciness of the meat as he chewed. Sure, Skyrim could do with more spices (and the invention of the Dust stove), but they'd spent most of the past month on the move, between the Volkihar kill teams hunting down Serana and her scroll, and the fact that they'd always been rushing, scrambling for the next item. It had been a while since he'd had the time to just sit back, relax, and enjoy a hot meal (that he or Yang hadn't cooked). Finally swallowing, he then spoke up: "I'm surprised, honestly."
Yang raised an eyebrow, and motioned for him to continue.
"I would have thought for sure that the Companions would have invited us back to Jorrvaskr instead, or come here with us." Jaune admitted thoughtfully. "I mean, it's not like them to ever turn down a chance to feast and celebrate."
Yang choked into her drink. She'd hoped he wouldn't notice; the Companions had, indeed, with much slapping of backs and raucous cheering, tried to invite her and Jaune back to Jorrvaskr, when they'd victoriously emerged from Volkihar Cathedral. In the end, she'd managed to convince them otherwise, though she'd done it by letting them completely misunderstand the reason why she wanted to take Jaune to the Braidwood Inn, in the scenic and remote Kynesgrove. She'd picked up a little bit of jealousy from Ria and, surprisingly, Njada, before the other Companions had ushered them away with knowing smiles.
She had considered bringing them along, to assist in her investigation, but while the Companions were a solid and reliable group, they were far more of a blunt object than she'd have liked. Sure, they'd be miffed if they found out she'd left her out of something related to dragons, but she herself barely knew what she was looking for. They'd have probably turned the place torn the place apart, going on a wild dragon hunt, if they'd known the truth. Also...
Yang subtly eyed Jaune, and couldn't help but smile as he happily finished off his third leg of lamb. He needed the rest, and while she liked the Companions, she knew they could be a bit too boisterous and physical for him. Especially Ria. And if Ria was draped all over him, she'd have to spend the night making sure someone didn't try to put a knife in his back again. No, much easier for everyone's sake if she and Jaune handled the "investigation" alone.
A frown creeped onto her face, as she recalled Martin's words when she'd read the Scroll. Skyrim was a harsh land, she couldn't deny that, and that was before the dragons had begun returning. Of course it would be dangerous for Jaune, an outsider. And she knew that he had attracted the attention of some of the daedra, even before he'd held Auriel's Bow. Sure, the Dawnguard were now safeguarding Auriel's Bow (and she would be giving Jaune some archery lessons), but he'd already used it.
But she was Dragonborn! She could, would, keep him safe! She would not (could not) lose him. It wasn't like she had a choice; as far as she knew, it wasn't even possible for him to be here, let alone return him back to Remnant. And besides, he was happy here! She didn't need to send him back, as long as she could ensure his safety and happiness by her side...
"Hey, Yang, you okay?" Jaune asked, cutting through her thoughts, and Yang realized she'd been busy mentally rambling. Well, she was a Nord; if she wanted something, she didn't beat around the bush.
Shaking her head, she put her mug down, and looked at Jaune in the eyes, as she asked: "Hey, Vomit Boy... got any plans after this?"
"After this?" Jaune echoed, confused. "You mean, after I finish eating?"
Yang rolled her eyes, and waved her arms around vaguely as she emphasized: "No, I mean, you know... after all this."
"Oh... you mean, stopping the dragons, and that fake Dragonborn who sent those cultists after us?" Jaune asked, as he interpreted her wild gesturing. Yang nodded in affirmation, and Jaune paused, thinking it through. Finally, he answered: "I... honestly, I don't know."
Yang let out a breath she hadn't even known she was holding. She'd been so sure in him that she wouldn't have known what to say, what to do, if he'd said he wanted to find a way back home. Instead, leaning forward, she pressed: "Oh? You've really never made any plans for the future?"
"I never really thought about what I'd do after I died, Yang." Jaune replied matter-of-factly. "It's just... sometimes, this all feels like a dream. Like I'll close my eyes, and when I re-open them I'll be back in Beacon, you know?"
Yang certainly did; sometimes she feared that she'd wake up and Jaune would just be gone. She kept her silence, though, as he continued: "Doesn't really matter, though. I'm here now, and people here need help, so I'll help them. And what about you?"
"Me?"
"Yeah... what do you plan to do after stopping the dragons, dealing with Miraak, and finding Raven?"
"Eh." Yang shrugged. She hadn't really thought about it, having been too pre-occupied with protecting Jaune and Skyrim for the past few months, but she was a Nord; living in the moment and being spontaneous came naturally to her. "Figured I'd just go back home for a bit, share a few drinks and stories with my Pa, and then adventure through the rest of Tamriel."
"Sounds fun." Jaune offered, a bit too nonchalantly in Yang's opinion. Her frown disappeared, however, when he added: "Think you'll have room for one more?"
"Always, Vomit Boy." Yang said sincerely, going back to her ale to avoid looking at Jaune. She still felt curiosity gnawing at her, though, and even though she knew she could ruin everything... she still found herself worrying. Under her breath, she wondered out loud: "Are you really happy here, Jaune?"
"Huh? What was that?"
"Nothing, Vomit Boy." Yang snapped defensively. Well, since she'd already brought it up... "What if... just, hypothetically speaking, what if there were-"
Of course, it was at this exact moment that a villager burst in, shouting about a dragon attack.
-DRAGON BURIAL MOUND, KYNESGROVE, AT THE SAME TIME-
Delphine was many things.
Owner of the Sleeping Giant Inn, and a quiet, unassuming innkeeper in Riverwood.
Farengar's research partner in the return of the dragons, and the one who had tipped him off about the Dragonstone in Bleak Falls Barrow.
Acting Grandmaster of the Blades, by virtue of being one of the only survivors of the Great War and subsequent Thalmor reprisals.
Right now, though, most pressingly, she was correct.
She was also about to be turned into dragon food in the next ten seconds, unless she got very lucky.
"Look out, Delphine!" Esbern cried out, throwing a magical blizzard up as the newly-resurrected dragon dove at her, breathing fire all the way.
The two spells met in mid-air, and a very lucky Delphine got knocked on her ass as the two opposing forces detonated in a wave of energy.
"Come on, get up!: A hand gripped her shoulder, tugging her into cover; an unfamiliar sensation for one so used to life being hunted by the Thalmor.
That was something she was happy to have to get used to, though.
Esbern, best known back in the day as that eccentric paranoid old man, had survived the Thalmor. And he'd been hiding in Skyrim, right under her very nose, the whole time.
Finding Esbern had honestly been a complete accident for Delphine.
Originally, when the stories of Helgen had first hit Riverwood, Delphine had been thrilled. Sure, the return of the dragons was potentially apocalyptic, especially if her initial suspicions that they were connected to the Thalmor were correct.
But she was one of the few that Esbern had told his tales to, of ancient prophecies lost to time. One of them had been of the Last Dragonborn; a hero to rally around, when all hope seemed lost.
And so, when Helgen was burned to the ground, she jumped to action, persuading Farengar to get the Dragonstone, so that she could prove that her theory, all the old Blades lore Esbern had shared with her, had been correct.
And, for a time, it seemed like she had been vindicated. Rumors came out of Whiterun of a new Dragonborn, a warrior who had slayed the dragon and eaten its soul, before heeding the Greybeards' summons when they'd Shouted. She'd gotten her hands on the Dragonstone, and been able to match dragon sightings to known dragon burial mounds.
All she had to do, was talk to this new Dragonborn.
Her predecessors knew the Greybeards well, in the same way that she knew the Thalmor well. They knew of the tests of the Dragonborn, and she easily followed their ancient wisdom, sneaking into Ustengrav, the tomb of the Greybeards' founder. She easily stole his horn, and replaced it with a note leading to her, knowing that, if the Dragonborn passed the Greybeards' trials, they'd be directed to retrieve the horn. And the Greybeards, for all their faults, knew how to see if one was Dragonborn. The Thalmor wouldn't be able to fool them.
After two weeks of fruitless waiting, however, she'd had to change her plans. For some reason or another, the Dragonborn hadn't shown up, and the Thalmor Embassy was hosting a party. Her contact had told her that, after that month, they would be getting reinforcements from Alinor, battlemages to help deal with the dragons and the escalating Civil War. In other words, security would be even higher than it already was. She needed to strike right then, or she'd never have another chance.
Against all odds, the infiltration had been a success. Her disguise and fake identity had held up against scrutiny, and the Thalmor all but rolled out the red carpet for the hidden Blade, whom they had standing orders to kill-on-sight.
Once inside, she'd gotten one of the party guests drunk, and as he'd started a distraction, she'd quickly slipped away, heading straight for Elenwen's Solar. The head of all Thalmor forces in Skyrim, Delphine knew Elenwen was sharp and meticulous about documenting her findings. If there had been any leads on the dragons, any connections between the Thalmor, the dragons, and the Dragonborn, Elenwen would have notes on it.
Unfortunately, the Thalmor knew even less about the dragons than she did. In fact, they'd even considered the possibility that the Blades had been behind the return of the dragons, knowing of the order's past as dragonslayers. It would have been hilarious, if it hadn't meant that she'd snuck into the heart of the Thalmor's operations in Skyrim for nothing.
Something had caught her eye, before she'd climbed out of the window. A newly-written note, regarding some information from a prisoner they were torturing. It had seemed innocuous enough, but there was a name on the parchment that stood out to her. The Thalmor had found the former Loremaster of the Blades, hiding in the sewers of Riften.
Delphine had departed for Riften that very night, and within two days, with Thalmor agents prowling through the city, she found herself standing in front of a locked-and-chained door under the city.
Esbern, of course, had not survived this long by being naive and trusting, and had refused to even entertain the notion that another Blade had survived and sought him out, until she'd given him their code, the code known only to the survivors of Cloud Ruler Temple, when they'd escaped and scattered as the Thalmor had broken in. "Remember the 30th of Frostfall"; the day the Great War started, when the Thalmor presented the Emperor the heads of every Blades agent within the Aldmeri Dominion.
Even when he'd been finally convinced to let her in, however, he'd still been hesitant to go with her. After all, he'd explained, the return of the dragons, if it were caused by the dragons returning to life, could only be explained by the return of Alduin, the World-Eater. And if the World-Eater had returned, and there was no Dragonborn to stop it, then the world was doomed. The gods had abandoned them, and he had grown tired of running. It would make no difference whether he died in the sewers of Riften or somewhere else.
That was when Delphine revealed what she knew, that there was a Dragonborn running around somewhere. Numerous eyewitnesses, including the Companions, confirmed their existence. Most of all, she had the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller. Sooner or later, the Dragonborn would come to them.
His resolve renewed, Esbern had agreed to leave with her, and had told her what he had known, which had been a lot. The most important, was that the forerunners to the Blades, the Akaviri Dragonguard, had recorded Alduin's original defeat on a wall, aptly named "Alduin's Wall". And he knew how to get there, to the hidden temple of the Dragonguard. From there, they could rebuild the Blades, safe from the Thalmor!
It'd taken them a week to sneak by the Forsworn, tribal savages native to the region, and scale the mountain hiding Sky Haven Temple. But they were Blades, and more than that they were Blades who'd actually survived this long. Eventually, their skill and determination carried the day, and Delphine found herself watching Esbern, as he'd deciphered the wall.
She'd been less than happy to find out that Alduin had been defeated by a Shout. After all, that meant their best bet would have been to go to the Greybeards... and, since the Blades and the Greybeards did not get along, they needed the Dragonborn. Who still wasn't there.
In the lack of anything better to do, they'd decided to do a stake out around Kynesgrove, the next projected site of a dragon resurrection. After all, they still didn't know how Alduin resurrected the dragons (or if it really was Alduin), and knowledge couldn't hurt.
After a few weeks, their efforts had finally paid off. Five minutes ago, a massive black dragon had swooped down from the mountains to the East, before hovering over the burial mound. Delphine had been tempted to attack, to take the chance to wound the black dragon before it noticed them. Esbern had counselled caution, however; they needed to watch the process.
The black dragon, Alduin, Shouted at the burial mound, and they watched in horrified awe as the burial mound burst open, and a dragon skeleton crawled out. Flesh and scales slowly burned themselves back into existence around it's skeleton, forming the rest of it's body, and within seconds a fully-grown dragon was in front of them, prostrating itself before Alduin.
Alduin had then suddenly turned to their hiding place, sneered contemptuously, and ordered the newly-resurrected dragon to kill them, before flying off. The resurrected dragon had then turned to them, declared that it's name was Sahloknir, and that it would be their doom, before shooting up into the sky...
"Damn it, Delphine, help me here!" Esbern snapped at Delphine, and she came out of the daze that had taken her. Evidently, she'd hit her head when she'd fallen, and had ended up lost in her memories.
Sahloknir roared, somewhere above them, as it circled around the clearing, toying with them. And, for the first time since the 30th of Frostfall, Delphine felt a sense of helplessness overtake her. Shaking off Esbern's hand, she looked at him, and told him: "Esbern... I guess the gods really have abandoned us..."
"What are you talking about?"
"The Dragonborn, the one we put all our hopes in..." Delphine trailed off, unable to finish. If she tried, she'd have given in to despair.
Esbern gripped her hand tightly, and replied: "Delphine... you're the one who convinced me to join the fight once more. I'm not leaving you, old friend. And if we both fall... then I hope the Dragonborn finishes what we have started."
"You make for poor sport, joor." Sahloknir murmured disappointedly, as it landed right on top of them. Truthfully, the mortals in front of him were too old to put up any sort of challenge to him, and he easily used his Fire Breath to blast away the Frost spells the male threw at him. There was little honor in killing them, but his liege, Alduin, had demanded it, and he would obey. The least he could do for them, though, was make it quick and painless, and he ignored their feeble attempts at resistance as he reared his head over them, and prepared to strike.
A blonde with a white shield jumped between him and the pair, and his shield glowed a bright white as he blocked the dragon's strike. Sahloknir recoiled in confusion, staring at the newcomer, before grinning in excitement. Finally, a worthy foe!
"FUS RO DAH!"
The sudden Unrelenting Force Shout slammed into the side of his head, and Sahloknir's head was smashed into the ground. Before he could recover, a figure pounced on him, landing on his snout, The last thing he saw before he died was a fist flying into his eye.
Yang wiped the blood and gore off her fist, as the dragon's body began disintegrating behind her, and nodded at Jaune. Jaune waved his shield back, before turning around to check if the elderly couple behind him were fine.
To their surprise, as Yang absorbed the dragon's soul, the two suddenly fell to their knees in front of her, faces filled with awe and wonder. Before Yang or Jaune could react, the woman pulled a horn out of her backpack, and exclaimed: "The legends were true... there really is a Dragonborn!"
"The gods haven't abandoned us!"
"Dragonborn, we are the last of the Blades, sworn to serve you, the greatest dragonslayer! I suppose you want the Greybeards' horn?"
A pregnant pause followed, as Jaune and Yang tried to digest everything they'd just heard. Finally, Yang turned to Jaune, and asked: "Any idea what's going on?"
Jaune merely shrugged, unwilling to admit that he'd forgotten all about the Greybeards' quest, or that he was fazed by the sudden appearance of people swearing allegiance to his friend.
Author's Note: To make up for how late the previous chapter was, I decided to bang out a short chapter.
Sorry for how dry and exposition-filled the Blades section is. But yeah, it's necessary to progress the plot, before we go into the final stage.
To quickly explain the changes from canon:
In the game, the original sequence of events is that Delphine meets the Dragonborn when they come for the horn, she brings them to Kynesgrove, they infiltrate the Embassy to see what the Thalmor know, then they find out about Esbern, pick him up, and he brings them to Sky Haven Temple to find out about Alduin's Wall.
In this story, Delphine gets the horn, but while waiting for the Dragonborn decides to infiltrate the Embassy first, finds out about Esbern, recruits him, and they go to Sky Haven Temple. When they find out about Alduin's Wall, they decide to head to Kynesgrove, to find out more about the dragons coming back... which is where they run into Jaune and Yang.
It was also a good way to show just how outclassed most mortals are by dragons again (and by extension, how much Yang outclasses mortals), and show how the world's been progressing while Yang and Jaune were busy with the Dawnguard-Volkihar Shadow War. Also a good way for me to show more about the two.
