Chapter Ten

When they reached Kynesgrove, a sudden blizzard came up, a woman coming from the inn and running up to them. "No, you don't want to go up there!" she cried. "A dragon...it's attacking!"

"Please calm yourself," Dar' said, looking at her. "Where is the dragon now?"

"It flew over the town and landed on the old dragon mound."

The Khajiit let out a hiss before running up the hill with Delphine. "We're too late it seems." She intoned, looking towards the mound.

"Lorkhan's eyes!" the Breton woman shot back as she saw it. "Look at that big bastard! Keep your head down-let's see what it does."

They reached the top of the hill, the dragon from Helgen speaking in a language they couldn't understand before shouting at the mound. "This is worse than I thought." Delphine muttered as the ground erupted and a skeletal dragon crawled out, its flesh returning to it. "Ful, losei Dovahkiin? Zu'u koraav nid nol dov do hi." He said to her, seeing her stare at him with a snarl on her face. "You do not even know our tongue, do you?" he said so she could understand. "Such arrogance, to dare take for yourself the name of Dovah."

The black dragon turned to the other. "Sahloknir, krii daar joorre." He said before flying off, the other launching into the air. "I am Sahloknir!" he roared. "Hear my Voice and despair!"

"I do not despair, nor will I!" Dar' roared back, flames coming from her mouth as she drew her bow and began shooting, Inigo and Delphine helping her to bring the creature down. "I'll be damned," the Breton said. "You did it." she started to move forward, the male Khajiit stopping her before nodding towards his friend, watching her absorb the soul as the dragon went back to its skeletal state, Dar' walking over to them after snagging some scales and bones, putting them in her pack. "So you really are..." the other woman said in an awestruck voice. Blinking at the looks she got from the two felines. "I owe you some answers, don't I?" she said finally. "Whatever you want to know-nothing held back."

The female Khajiit asked several questions, mentioning that she had seen the black dragon at Helgen. "So what's our next move?" she intoned at last, watching Delphine stare at her. "The first thing we need to do is figure out who's behind the dragons. The Thalmor are our best lead. If they aren't involved, they'll know who is. I don't have anything solid to back that up, but that's what my gut's telling me."

The reply was a nod. "I'll meet you back at Riverwood then-I need to head over to Riften before returning." The pair moved off, Inigo looking at her. "So Delphine's a Blade eh?" he said as they reached Riften Stables. "She didn't seem all that sharp to me."

Dar' stared at him before bursting into laughter, removing her goggles to wipe her eyes. "By the Divines Inigo," she said as they stopped to rest. "How long have you been waiting to use that one?"

The other Khajiit grinned, watching her yawn before helping her over to a clear area nearby, setting up camp among the trees, seeing her start the campfire. She cooked up some stew, seeing a couple of the guards come over from the smell and allowing them a bowlful as the pair ate before curling up on their bedrolls.

-*Timeskip*-

The next morning they packed up and went into the city, finding the Nord that wanted to speak to her. He told her his name was Brynjolf and what he wanted her to do. Dar' mentally shook her head, purposely screwing up before returning to him and hearing him tell her to head for the Ragged Flagon in the Ratway, slyly returning the ring to the Argonian she had stolen it from before heading down. "I only steal from those who deserve it Inigo," she said in a low voice. "That's why I screwed up-because it wasn't right."

Inigo smirked, following her into the Ragged Flagon. They met up with Brynjolf again, getting their assignment before heading out. She hit Haelga happily, managing to bluff Bersi before heading into the Bee and Barb. The female Argonian glared at her, handing over the money before blinking, Dar' handing her a pouch with twice the gold and nodding to her with a smirk. "You're helping us?" the reptilian hissed quietly. "Why?"

"Just because I'm doing this doesn't mean I don't care Keerava." Came the quiet reply. "And besides, I was only like that to Haelga because something about that woman rubs my fur the wrong way."

Keerava grinned slightly, showing her sharp teeth. "Ain't that the truth?" She said before raising her voice a little "And tell Brynjolf I shouldn't have said what I did-it was a misunderstanding." She added with a wink, watching the pair leave and smiling to herself. 'I pray to the Hist she doesn't get in trouble for this,' the Argonian thought.

Dar' headed back down to the Flagon, dropping off the payments and following Bryn into a second area, getting the same feeling from Mercer Frey that she had gotten from Haelga, nodding before leaving the back way, looking at Inigo. "Let's head back to Riverwood," she intoned, heading for the stables and taking the carriage back where they needed to go, chatting between themselves.

-*Timeskip*-

The pair entered the Sleeping Giant, Delphine meeting them. "You're here," she said. "Come with me."

She led the way downstairs, looking at them. "I've figured out a way to get you into the embassy." She went on, seeing Dar' look at her. "Didn't take you all that long, did it?" came the question, the Breton sighing slightly. "Been at this a long time Dar'Mora. While the Thalmor have been looking for me, I've been watching them. I need you to head up to the Winking Skeever in Solitude-I have a wood elf contact there waiting."

"Can he be trusted?" Inigo asked.

"Don't worry about Malborn." Delphine said, looking at him. "He's not a dangerous character like you, but he hates the Thalmor at least as much as us. He's a wood elf-the Thalmor wiped out his family back in Valenwood during one of their purges that we never hear about. Luckily they don't know who he really is, or he wouldn't be serving drinks at the Ambassador's parties."

The female Khajiit looked at her companion. "Inigo, I should probably do this one alone." She said, seeing his orange-red eyes fix on her. "Would you be all right staying here at the inn until I return? That is, if it's all right with you Delphine."

The Breton nodded. "He's welcome to," she said, watching as she was handed 20 gold for the use of a room for a couple days. "I will meet you up there at Katla's Farm after you talk to Malborn." She added, the pair heading out. "Be careful Dar'." Inigo murmured as he watched them go, heading up to see if he could be any help to Orgnar.

(A.N.: Took a few creative liberties with a couple of things-I love being part of the Thieves Guild but hated angering Keerava. Also, I always got a kick out of the line Inigo says after the quest listed below and really wanted to include it.

Dragon Translations:

Ful, losei Dovahkiin? Zu'u koraav nid nol dov do hi: according to UESP, the translation means 'So, my false Dragonborn? I do not recognize you as dragon' [I won't get into literal translations here-you can find that on the page on the site for 'A Blade in the Dark']

Sahloknir, krii daar joorre-Sahloknir, kill these mortals.)