Chapter 20: Rising Stakes

Present Day

The next morning was spent with Ronan, Torygg, and Zacharius taking apart the dragon that had been slain, bringing it's bones and remaining scales down to the basement. It took the three of them an hour to do it, and once it was done the two brothers were sweating. Zacharius, however, was still very active. He laughed at the young men with cheer in his heart, annoying Ronan and cheering up Torygg.

"This takes me back to the old days, when my sons and nephews helped my brother and I carry the scales and bones into my house to craft into weapons." Zacharius spoke. "They would sweat and pant because they wanted to help their father and uncle with the spoils of war. But they don't know how heavy these things really are, and try to carry six at once. I say 'Kids, you aren't strong enough to carry that many bones yet.' But they never listened."

"We 'pant' are 'pant' not 'pant' kids." Ronan panted.

"You're old enough to be my grandkids. I should know. I have grandkids your age."

"How many?" Torygg asked.

"Enough." Zacharius chuckled.

Torygg smiled before looking at the armor on the mannequin in the basement with them. "So, what armor was this?"

Zacharius walked over, looking at which armor it was he had placed down here. "Ah, this was Caleb Secus's Blades armor. He wore this armor when he went into Bruma's Siege Gate that Mehrunes Dagon summoned, as well as when Dagon himself manifested into this world. It was brought to Sky Haven Temple through unknown reasons. I recovered it during my visit to the Blades Temple, when I discovered Alduin's wall. I wore the armor when I fought against Alduin, and my brother Treyvar wore the armor when we fought at the Battle of Castle Volkihar. He always couldn't resist trying to use Caleb's weapons and armor."

"Why use ancient weapons and armor, though?"

"Sentiment. We Morrigans have always treasured Caleb Secus for his actions at the dawn of the Fourth Era. Out of all of us, however, I may have the most respect for Caleb. Perhaps because I know more about him than any other Morrigan in existence. But that is a story for another day."

Roman's fists tightened. "Why say anything about it if you aren't going to talk about it now?"

"Excuse me?"

"You keep bringing things up and then pushing them aside. Why mention anything if you aren't going to just get to the point right now?"

"An old man can speak however he wishes. The way I speak is meant to peak interest in what I have to say. But my old age has me mention things I don't think are as important earlier than needed. When I notice, I push it aside for a moment."

"Even so, there's things you aren't telling us about your story; things that I think are very important to what was going on. I need to know that the stories around you are true. I need the truth."

Zacharius stepped right up to Ronan; their chests nearly touching. "You want the truth? Then listen to what I have to say. Listen to the story as a whole. Because the answers you seek are in there. It's when they become relevant that is important to me; the one who lived that history."

Ronan sighed, looking away from Zacharius and back at the armor. "Then tell us what happened next." He looked back at the old man. "What happened after you were told to go to Riverwood?"

Zacharius smiled. "Lydia and I slayed a dragon on a mountain, while my friends dealt with their own paths. Most notably Stryger, who was about to get a reminder on the dangers of magic."

Fifty-Two Years Ago

Stryger and Brelyna tumbled upon the ground of the College's courtyard, stopping at the statue in the center. The two picked themselves up slowly afterwards, dusting off the dirt and snow that had accumulated on their robes.

"That landing wasn't as smooth as I'm usually able to pull off." Stryger admitted.

"No kidding." Brelyna acknowledged. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay. My strength isn't leaving my body or anything."

"Good." Brelyna smiled. "Wouldn't want you to disappoint the Psijic Order or anything."

"Don't worry. I never chicken out when the fate of the world is at stake. And I'm willing to give it my all, and then some. Come on."

Stryger and Brelyna immediately headed to the College entrance and opened the doors, seeing what they feared. There was a barrier in front of the door to the main hall, with Mirabelle and Savos at the doorway. On the other side of the barrier was Ancano, using lightning magic to affect the Eye of Magnus. Stryger could feel anger building up inside him at the sight of Ancaro messing with the Eye, and he stepped forward to try and break the barrier.

"That bastard is going to destroy the whole damn College messing with that damn thing!" He started spewing flames from his hands as the Arch-Mage and Master Wizard joined him. With fire, ice, and lightning being flung at the barrier the binds began to weaken, eventually dissipating all together as the four of them charged in. Ancano cared not for their arrival, only keeping his eye on the Eye of Magnus.

"Ancano, what in Oblivion are you doing?!" Arch-Mage Savos yelled.

"I am unlocking the power of this artifact for the Thalmor." He spoke calmly, a hint of cruel intentions in his voice.

Stryger couldn't stand the smugness of the Thalmor guest, and in his rage he found himself stepping forward. Brelyna noticed this and tried to stop him.

"Stryger, wait-" Stryger pushed her aside, pulling out his flames once more.

"Ancano, step away from the Eye, now!"

Ancano turned away from the Eye just to look at Stryger. "I don't have to answer to you, traitor. The Inquisitor will be pleased when I bring you to him, once the power of this Eye is granted to me!"

"That's not going to happen." Stryger threw his hands up, casting a beam of fire right at his foe. Ancano raised one hand against him, casting lightning to block his attack. The magic connected at a certain point, causing a large bubble of magic. Savos realized this, and in haste tried to separate the magic through wards.

"Stryger, you have to stop casting magic!" Savos yelled. "If the magic becomes too unstable it could cause the Eye to unleash a wave of magic so catastrophic it could destroy the College!"

"He's going to use the Eye to strengthen the Thalmor! I must kill him!"

Ancano continued pushing his magic into the lightning he launched, soon overpowering Savos's wards. The magic began to turn on itself, causing it to implode. Everyone was launched back, forced to hear the sound of ringing in their ears. Mirabelle was the first to get up, seeing that Ancano had succeeded in putting another smaller barrier between them and the Eye, continuing his work to unlock the secrets of the orb. Brelyna came to afterwards, noticing Stryger had been slammed against the wall.

"Stryger!" Brelyna picked herself up, ignoring the aches and pains her body was feeling. She ran up to him and checked to see if he was still breathing. Thankfully, his chest was still rising up and falling down, meaning he was alive. She began to smack his face in an attempt to wake him. "Stryger, wake up! Wake up!"

Eventually Stryger found himself regaining consciousness. He looked up at Brelyna and groaned. "What happened?"

"Your spells collided, throwing everyone back. Ancano has placed another barrier up to continue working on the eye."

"Gods damn him." Stryger tried picking himself up slowly. "Where's Savos?"

Mirabelle walked up to them. "I don't know. The wave of magic threw us all back. He must have been thrown further away."

Stryger was now standing and thought he heard the wind. Looking at the entrance to the college he could see that the doors were wide open, letting the snowy breeze in. On the ground outside was Savos, and he wasn't moving. The other members of the college were gathering around his body.

The three of them ran outside to investigate Savos's condition. Stryger kneeled next to his body and rolled him face up. One look revealed all to Stryger: Savos Aran was dead.

"What happened?" Tolfdir asked, standing over Stryger.

"Ancano has tampered with the Eye of Magnus. We tried to stop him but some kind of pulse threw us all back. Savos didn't make it."

"By the Nine." Tolfdir shook his head in disbelief.

Suddenly a guard from Winterhold ran up to the crowd. "What in Oblivion is going on here?!"

Stryger stood up. "The Thalmor agent that was visiting the college has tampered with a magical artifact we were trying to contain. We don't know what has been done with the artifact."

"Well whatever that Thalmor prude did has put Winterhold in danger. Again."

"What do you mean?"

"Some anomalies are attacking the town! They are definitely magical in nature, and they are trying to destroy the hold!"

"Then we will need to focus our efforts on Winterhold's safety before we can deal with Ancano."

"Why not deal with him now?! People are in danger!"

"We won't be able to handle Ancano until we obtain a staff made specifically for the artifact. But we can handle the situation here with the anomalies. Gather the guard to protect the people of Winterhold. We'll handle the anomalies."

"You'd better, mage, or you can consider the college closed forever." The guard began running down to Winterhold to bring his men together.

Stryger looked at Tolfdir and Mirabelle. "Can you two keep an eye on the situation here?"

"Yes." Tolfdir spoke. "We'll watch Ancano and make sure that he can't cause any more damage."

"Good. The rest of us will head to Winterhold and secure the situation. Once Winterhold is safe Brelyna and I will head straight to the Labyrinthian to retrieve the Staff of Magnus." Stryger was about to head off before Mirabelle grabbed his arm.

"Wait." She held out a silver amulet. "Before Savos and I noticed Ancano's betrayal, he gave me this amulet. He told me it would be important to your quest to find the Staff. It was as if he knew Labyrinthian would be where you would need to go."

Stryger took the amulet and placed it in his satchel. "Thank you. I'll make sure to use it once we get there." He then began running down to Winterhold with the others and saw the anomalies they were talking about. They looked like wisps and were flying all around, making a sort of screeching sound.

J'zargo pulled out his lightning spell and smirked. "Shall we compete for points?"

Onmund pulled out his own spell. "You're on, pussy cat."

"J'zargo ain't no pussy." He retorted.

"No," Brelyna joined in. "But you are a perv."

"I second that." Stryger joked as he pulled out his fire spell.

"You're all just jealous because I happen to have a life." J'zargo then summoned his fire atronach. "It's time to kill some things, Prudence."

The fire atronach nodded with delight before it turned to face the anomalies. With a fling of her hand a fireball flew into the air, hitting an anomaly out of the air. The others noticed this and the mages started attacking, flinging their own magics at the intruders. More atronachs were summoned by the teachers, giving Stryger and the other students some more protection from the growing number of anomalies. Frost Atronachs thrusted their fists into the ground, sending shards of ice all around to freeze the anomalies. Storm atronachs sent lightning towards their foes, traveling between multiple anomalies at once. The sheer number of anomalies began to decrease, and soon the tired mages had succeeded in their duty.

"Winterhold is safe now." Stryger wiped his forehead. Despite the cold of the North his body was very warm from all of his fire spells. "By the Eight, we did it."

"Now we just need to get the Staff of Magnus." Brelyna sighed. "After we get a breather to let our magicka replenish."

J'zargo walked up to his flame atronach. "The battle is over, for now. You may return to Oblivion, Prudence. Thank you." The atronach nodded before disappearing. J'zargo turned and faced Stryger. "Now, what's this about the Staff of Magnus?"

"It's the staff that can control the Eye of Magnus. It's hidden in Labyrinthian. We need to get there before Ancano causes a catastrophe to all of Tamriel."

"Then count J'zargo in."

"I'm coming, too!" Online spoke, standing beside J'zargo.

"Are you guys sure? You might be better off here than in Labyrinthian."

"A crazy Thalmor has threatened my home with the very same magic I wish to understand. So yeah, I'm sure."

J'zargo pulled out some scrolls. "And J'zargo has been looking for a way to test out his new spell that works against the undead. This is an opportune time to test it if we're going up against the draugr of Skyrim."

Stryger sighed before he reached into his satchel. "Fine, but if you want to come along you have to learn this spell now." He handed them a blue book with a lock on it.

"What's this?" Onmund asked.

"It's my teleportation spell. I use it to traverse when I need to get to my destination fast. All you need to do is learn how to cast the spell and visualize where you want to go in your head. Then we can all travel to Labyrinthian quickly."

Onmund flipped through the book, scanning the pages for the techniques and everything. When he believed he had it memorized he gave the book to J'zargo and pulled out the spell. J'zargo read through it faster and just like Onmund had the exact same spell ready. Stryger gave the book to Brelyna but she seemed hesitant.

"Are you sure I'll be able to pull this off?"

"I'm sure." Stryger assured her. "Right now you just need to learn it. In order for all four of us to travel we have to know how to use it. We'll join hands and visualize Labyrinthian, then we'll be there."

Brelyna nodded and read through the book. The cold mountain air blew across them as they waited for their fellow classmate to finish reading it. When she thought she had it down she gave the book back, pulling the spell out flawlessly.

"I knew you had it in you." Stryger smiled, closing and locking the book before returning it to his satchel. He then pulled out his spell and joined hands with Brelyna and J'zargo. "Everyone ready?"

J'zargo took Onmund's hand. "J'zargo is ready."

Onmund took Brelyna's free hand. "I'm ready."

"Brelyna?"

Brelyna looked at Stryger with full confidence now. "Ready."

Stryger smiled before closing his eyes. "Visualize Labyrinthian. See the structures that form it's location. Picture the doorway to the inside. And then use your magic to get us there." As he finished saying that the four of them disappeared from Winterhold, leaving the guard who had warned them of the attack stunned and confused.

"I will never understand mages." He grumbled before getting back to work.

Back in Riften Errick, Brynjolf, and Isobel were walking through the main gate. Brynjolf's legs were still sore and cramping, but he muscled through it like a strong Nord should. Errick was smiling about something, but Isobel was curious as to why. What was on the smug bastard's mind? With a hard punch to his arm his smile broke into a frown as he registered what had happened.

"What is it, minx?"

Isobel smirked. "Nothing. Just wanted to get that smug grin off your face."

"Ha, ha, ha. Well if you're curious as to why I was smiling it's because our story can continue now."

"What do you mean?"

Errick looked as if he was about to speak before he stopped. "You know what, forget I said anything. I doubt you would understand it. You two head on back and try to get some rest. I'll handle talking with Maven."

"Grab me a sweetroll while you're there, okay?"

"You got it. Want anything, Brynjolf?"

"Just the gold you owe me." Brynjolf spoke.

"All right, then. I'll see you guys when I'm done." Errick walked across the bridge and into the Bee and Barb, noticing all of the commotion inside. There seemed to be a bard talking about his encounter with a dragon on his way to Riften. Errick tried not to pay it any mind. He still had no plans of fighting dragons and wasn't going to start; not unless he had some serious upgrades to his armory. He walked up the stairs to Maven's favorite spot, noticing her sipping on her own Mead.

"So, Sabjorn is in prison and the meadery is within my grasp. Well done, Errick Entius. I was more than right to hire you for the job." Maven tossed him a coin purse. From the sound of the jingling there were twelve-hundred gold coins inside it.

"I aim to please." Errick smirked. "I also found out who funded Sabjorn from a letter in his office. Brynjolf is investigating it right now as we speak. It turns out the person who bought Goldenglow was responsible for Honningbrew, as well. Whoever's doing this is obviously trying to wedge you from the guild."

"Who would be stupid enough to do that?"

"An interesting question. Don't worry. With me on the Guild's side we'll be able to stop whoever it is trying to screw up our deal."

"See to it that you do, or there will be serious reprocussions for you and the other rats in the Ratway."

"Ooooohhhhh, I'm shaking in my boots. Have confidence, Maven. There hasn't been a job I haven't managed to complete." Errick walked away from Maven and headed down to the bar. "Hey, barkeep, I'll take a sweetroll and a Black-Briar Ale."

"That'll be ten septims." Kereeva spoke.

"You got it." Errick placed ten septims on the counter while Kereeva placed the sweetroll and ale in front of him. He took the roll off the plate and carried it and the rum out of the inn, heading off to the back entrance to the Guild.

*"I swear I've seen this handwritin' before." Delvin grumbled while he and Brynjolf sat at his table in the Ragged Flagon. As soon as they arrived he wasn't even given time to stretch his stiff legs before having to hold an emergency meeting with the senior members regarding their new found information.

"Don't strain too hard, Delvin." Brynjolf said with a large yawn. "Old brains aren't that flexible." Delvin had been pouring over the two documents with the mysterious symbol since their return, the Goldenglow Bill of Sale and the Honningbrew Promissory.

"Trust me, I've been cursin' this old brain of mine all day. I know I've dealt with this writin' before, and Gujul-Lei sounds bloody familiar." Delvin rubbed his bald head agitatedly before staring at something beyond Brynjolf. Brynjolf turned to see Isobel climbing on top of Dirge, vigilant as ever at his post and not paying any attention to the person mounting him. "She's been all over that man like a child in a tree." Delvin chuckled, Brynjolf couldn't help by smile as Isobel sat on Dirge's shoulders and rested her arms on his head.

"I've never seen him tolerate someone like that." Brynjolf muttered quietly.

"Aye, that's for sure." Delvin said and went back to his papers.

"Delvin." Brynjolf said suddenly and leaned on the table. "How come you sent me to Battle-Born when he specifically asked for Isobel?"

"I thought she had enough on her plate as it was and you needed to get out of the city." He said simply, the corners of his mouth slightly turned upward.

Before Brynjolf could make a retort he was distracted by the enthusiastic murmur of Isobel chatting with Dirge. His ears strained to try and pick up any of her inaudible words, but the sounds of Delvin rustling papers and the clanging pots of Vekel preparing dinner drowned out any chance of him making out any of their conversation.

"Whatcha thinkin' bout, boy?" Delvin asked with another grin. "You seem to be in deep thought."

"I think I'm going to spend some time upstairs for a bit." Brynjolf sighed and got up. "That trip to Whiterun really sparked my appetite for fresh air."

"Oh sure, sure." Delvin waved him away as he turned back to his papers. Brynjolf made to give Isobel a quick, casual smile as he passed her and Dirge on the way through the Flagon, inciting a beaming smile from the Breton and a stern nod from the bodyguard. It wasn't until Brynjolf was several steps away did he hear Isobel's nattering.

"...So then I kicked her in the nose and she let go, but as I went to get up she bashed my nose in with the base on her battleaxe, that's when I told her I was pregnant..."

'What a child.' Brynjolf chuckled to himself.*

Isobel had a hard time trying to finish her story when Brynjolf had taken her concentration out of the Flagon with him, and gave Dirge a severely abridged version of the following events before promptly sliding off his shoulders.

"So yeah, that's what happened, I'm gonna go hassle Delvin for a bit. Call Brynjolf da if he comes back in here, okay?" She said hastily as the bodyguard's haggard mouth failed to hide a smirk. With a brief glance back at the Flagon door she moved towards the tavern and Delvin's table.

"Hey, Delv. Any luck?" She asked as she leaned over his shoulder, pretending to be interested in the papers she had read several times already.

"Nope." Delvin mumbled. "I'm thinkin' I'm gonna have to dig out some old documents, read up on previous contacts to the Guild and whatnot." Isobel glanced at the Flagon door again.

"Where did Brynjolf go?" Delvin smiled knowingly at her question.

"Oh, y'know. Probably up and 'round the market. Why?"

"Just wondering." Isobel said and gave Delvin a couple pats on the shoulder. "I'm uh...going to go train for a bit, call me if you need any help."

"Will do, Issy." Isobel heard as she passed him. As soon as she entered the cistern she sped over to the secret passage, wanting to try and see if Brynjolf would still talk to her after she pushed his buttons so many times over their journey. She was still hung up on trying to figure out Brynjolf's behavior during their rabbit meal, and frankly she just enjoyed his company.

As soon as she had climbed out of the cistern the secret passage opened. Errick was standing there holding a bottle of ale and a sweetroll. Isobel's name was literally carved into it.

"Really, Errick?" Isobel scowled, taking the delicious treat from his hand.

"What?" Errick shrugged. "You told me to get you a sweetroll. I wanted to make sure you knew it was yours."

"Yeah, but then the others would think you were hitting on me." Isobel took a bite out of the sweetroll. It was still warm inside making her taste buds react with delight.

"I don't mix business with pleasure a lot, although a friends-with-benefits work ethnic is not frowned upon. Most of my female partners-in-crime agreed to that kind of stance."

"Expecting me to agree?" Isobel talked with her mouth full.

"First, swallow. Second, repeat?"

Isobel swallowed the last of her sweetroll. "I said are you expecting me to agree to that?"

"I would expect you to make your own decisions regarding our work ethnic. So no, not so long as you got eyes on Brynjolf."

Isobel looked at him scoldingly.

"Shutting up." Errick joked. "Speaking of Bryn, were you planning on following him?"

"That was the plan. Wanna come along?"

"Sure. I've got nothing better to do right now."

Isobel nodded and began walking out to the marketplace with Errick in tow. The day was bright and fairly warm, making Riften as attractive as it could possibly ever be, which meant more civilians were out crowding the streets. She scouted the packed marketplace and most of the residential streets while shielding her eyes from the sun's rays, growing more and more frustrated until she turned down an alley walled by the Honorhall courtyard. There he was, fiery hair blazing in the sunlight, standing in the middle of the desolate street in front of the stone wall of the orphanage. Isobel wondered what he was doing, tilting her head slightly until she saw a ball fly over the iron barbs above the courtyard wall and land into Brynjolf's outstretched hands. With a tender motion he tossed it back to the other side.

Oh Gods, he's playing catch with orphans. Isobel thought as she covered her smile with the back of her hand. What was it about manly men playing with children that was so attractive even to women who didn't want kids? She continued watching the ball fly back and forth over the stone wall, children's shouting heard even where she was standing.

Slowly she stepped towards Brynjolf, not wanting to disrupt his play but wanting a closer view. However she was completely caught off guard when Brynjolf made to throw the ball over the courtyard wall and instead whipped it at Isobel, causing her to catch the ball on reflex but still be startled.

"Come to join, lass?" Brynjolf laughed wholeheartedly.

"Only if you'll let me."

"Of course." He grinned as Isobel threw the ball up and over to the orphans and she couldn't help but smile as well.

"So...do you do this often? Play with the kids?" Isobel asked.

"Sometimes." Brynjolf shrugged. "You want me to introduce you?" Isobel caught the airborne ball and hesitated as Brynjolf gestured her towards him. "C'mon." He coaxed as Isobel approached, taking the ball and tossing it over the wall. She was taken by surprise when she felt his large hands grab her hips and hoist her up, her stomach rioting at his touch as she held onto the iron barbs and looked over the wall. There stood four children, all around ages eight to eleven and all gazing up at her curiously.

"Cute, aren't they?" Brynjolf said as he pulled himself up by Isobel's side.

"Did you just say cute?" Isobel laughed, finding his choice of word adorable. Brynjolf looked somewhat embarrassed as he cleared his throat.

"These here Runa, Hroar, Samuel and Francois." Brynjolf gestured to each child with his head. "Kids, this is Isobel." They all looked at her, her heart going out to such younglings who were confined to a tiny, barren yard.

'And no family...' She thought sadly. She would've ended up in a place like this had her Guild not taken her in, maybe even this specific orphanage had she remained in Skyrim after the bandit attack. Another pained thought singed her head when she remembered her baby brother, Milo, would've been around their age had he not been axed at their mother's breast.

Errick wondered just what all the fuss was about with the orphans, and made to grab a box nearby. He slid it onto the wall and climbed up top. The four children in front of him were around Lucy's age, and they looked at the three thieves with interest.

"Is she one of your friends?" Runa asked as she picked up the ball, her brown eyes had dark circles under them and a bruise on her right cheek.

"Um..yeah, she's my friend." Brynjolf flustered, making Isobel beam.

"Is she your girlfriend?" Samuel questioned. This time both Brynjolf and Isobel felt awkward.

"No laddie, she's not." He answered sternly.

"Does she do all the cool stuff you do?" Hroar asked with sparkling eyes. "Uncle Brynjolf says he's going to teach me a bunch of tricks when I'm older!"

"Uncle Brynjolf?!" Isobel squeaked, Brynjolf looked humiliated yet again.

"Yes." Errick spoke, smiling at the young children in front of him. "She and I can do all of the cool stuff Uncle Brynjolf can, and then some."

"Are you one of Uncle Brynjolf's friends?" Samuel asked.

"I am, although Uncle Brynjolf might still be a bit mad at me for a spat we had yesterday. My name is Mr. Entius. A little orphan named Lucy should be coming to live with you guys in a few days. When she gets here play nice, okay? I don't want her telling me that she got picked on by the other orphans just because she's the new girl."

"Are you going to adopt her?" Francois asked. "Constance is handing out flyers to let people adopt us."

"Uh..." Errick hesitated. "Mr. Entius hasn't decided whether or not he wants to adopt. I'm usually very busy and spend so much time away from home. If I were to adopt any children I'd have to find someone who would also make a great mother."

"What about Isobel?" Hroar asked. "She looks like a motherly type."

When Errick heard that he covered his mouth to stiffle a chuckle. Isobel suddenly became flustered. "I'm really not his type."

"And don't let her charming looks deceive you." Errick joked. "She acts a lot more like you guys than a mother."

"Look, Isobel, Errick, and I gotta go now." Brynjolf said quickly as the orphans started to protest. "Don't you let Mercer catch you whining like that or you'll never get in the Guild." Brynjolf scolded and they immediately fell silent.

"They're really sweet." Isobel said as they dropped to the dirty alley road, following Brynjolf's lead. Errick jumped off the box and followed behind. From the looks of it he was heading back to the cistern.

"Aye, poor little bastards." Brynjolf sighed. Isobel wouldn't have had the slightest idea that Brynjolf had this softness to him, this was the same man who stood on her throat for an amethyst and robbed a naive woman after deflowering her. "Did you know Delvin grew up there?"

"No."

"Mhm, back when Grelod was called The Kind because she actually was. Now she's such a crusty old crone her nickname simply stuck to her as a joke. It was probably Delvin that drove her over the edge." Brynjolf laughed, gaining a few chuckles from Isobel.

"I heard Grelod died a few days ago." Errick spoke, remembering a rumor from inside the inn. "Still, though, at least those kids have a home for now. Hopefully they'll find good homes themselves. Or they could always grow up and join us in the Guild."

"Where were you raised, Brynjolf?" Isobel asked. The question had slipped out before she could catch herself, hoping she wasn't intruding Brynjolf's invisible boundaries.

"I'm from Falkreath, lived right next to the graveyard." He answered, and to Isobel's amazement he didn't sound defensive. "Where are you from?"

"The Imperial City."

"Same." Errick chimed in.

"You know what I mean." Brynjolf smiled. "Where were you born? Where were your family from?"

"My family were nomads, we weren't from anywhere...Grandfather said having origins and traditions was stunting..." They were barely even halfway to the mausoleum but Isobel felt a sudden desperation to keep Brynjolf above ground, especially on such a beautiful day, and if he didn't want to play with orphans she would find something else for them to do.

"Do you want to go for a walk by the lake?" She blurted, the words slurring into each other like swamp water. She immediately felt stupid, they had already spent a day together walking, and most of the time they were butting heads. Brynjolf merely slowed his step, a faint delay in his answer.

"Aye."

Errick seemed to smile. "Great. More fresh air. You should never have to deal with the stench of shit your whole life."

Brynjolf looked at Errick. "You've never had to deal with the stench of shit for almost your whole life, Errick."

Errick scoffed. "I haven't always lived in luxury, you know. My family was poor even before I came out of my mother's womb. Now that I'm the greatest thief to ever exist, I have plenty of wealth. Unfortunately most of it is back in Anvil in Cyrodiil right now. At least my friend is guarding it while I'm away."

"Who's your friend?" Isobel asked.

"Hmm, let's just call him Chase. He's a well-know mage back in the Empire. It's hard being his friend, though. We end up arguing about trivial things every once in a while."

"Sounds familiar." Brynjolf muttered, looking at the fish swimming near the bank of the lake. "Speaking of trouble with friends..."

Errick reached into his jacket and pulled out a coin purse. "As agreed." He tossed it over to Brynjolf, who noticed it was a bit heavier than what Errick promised.

"This feels like more than four-fifty."

"It's the full six-hundred. Consider it an act of charity, which is highly uncharacteristic of me and must be the work of the nefarious Spartan."

"Who?"

"Long story. Nobody will believe it anyway."

"You are a very strange man, Errick Entius."

"Thank you. I try." He looked at the fish still swimming at the bank. "Want some fish for dinner?"

Brynjolf looked at Isobel and saw her shrug. "Sure, long as you're catching them."

"Of course." Errick pulled out a fishing pole from his jacket and cast it in, catching the attention of one fish. The fish grabbed at the bait and Errick immediately pulled it out of the water. "You two go on ahead. I'll catch some more fish and meet you back in the cistern."

Brynjolf and Isobel looked at each other before casually laughing, continuing their walk along the bank while Errick caught more fish.

Meanwhile in Whiterun Akira had returned from her mission, feeling her fatigue kick in as she stepped closer to the gates. While she knew giving Daisy to Isobel's father was the right call, it didn't help matters as she tried to return to Whiterun on her own. Her muscles felt sore and her back needed the weight of her gear off of her shoulders. Her battle axe was the only thing keeping her balanced as she came to the gates.

As the gates opened she was face to face with Farkas.

"Farkas!" Akira exclaimed, surprised at the Nord's appearance.

"Akira." He acknowledged. "You've been gone for a while."

"I had work to do."

"I know." Farkas looked at her with curious eyes.

"What?" Akira asked, confused as to why he was looking at her.

"Your nose." He replied. "Who hurt you?"

Akira was confused until she remembered the events of earlier today. "Oh, that. I ran into a would-be thief on the road. She gave me a well-placed kick to the face and cut my glove open, giving me a good gash."

"What happened to the thief?"

"She got a bloody nose, too. I let her father take Daisy so they could get to Riften. The poor old man's legs looked like they were ready to crumble from his weight. I'll need to head there soon to get her back."

"Aye." He said, before his smile dropped. Suddenly his eyes seemed to change into a Wolf's eyes, startling Akira. A moment later they transitioned back. "Athala?" He asked.

Akira blinked. How did he know she and Athala were bound. But then she remembered Farkas's wolf Fenris, and the bond he had shared with Athala. Rather than try to deny it she nodded. "Yes."

Farkas was about to talk before a long road could be heard. The sound of flapping wings came after and as Akira and Farkas turned around they saw it.

"Dragon!" Akira yelled, dropping her pack onto the floor. Farkas immediately pulled out his greatsword, ready to face off against the ancient creature coming to fight at his home. Akira pulled out her axe and ran in the dragon's direction, seeing it land outside the city gates. Despite her muscles arguing with her to stop and rest she ignored the pain, running as fast as her legs could carry her. The dragon landed on the ground and began to breathe ice towards her, slowing her down but not stopping her.

"Akira!" Farkas yelled from behind her.

Akira enjoyed the cold that hit her body, giving her muscles some relief as she brought the axe down onto the dragon's face. It roared in pain as the blade of her axe scratched across its face, stopping the path of ice it shot. Farkas had now caught up and brought his sword down upon its wing, cutting through the thinner skin and tearing part of it. The dragon was annoyed and snapped at him, making Farkas jump back.

"Fall to me, dragon!" He yelled, swinging his sword again at the beast. The dragon turned it's body and swung it's tail, knocking back the companion into the stables. When Akira saw this her rage took over, and with a quick breath she spoke her only word of power she knew.

"YOL!" She yelled as a wave of fire shot from her mouth. It collided with the dragon and burned it, causing it to look back at the other warrior it had missed. Akira charged forward, jumping onto its head as Zacharius had done to the previous dragon. The dragon snapped as it tried to shake her off, but she held on long enough to get her footing right. With her axe high in the air she jumped, bringing it down onto the dragon's head in one feral swing. The dragon gave off its death throes before collapsing.

Akira panted as she climbed off of the dragon, sheathing Temperance back into its holster and turning towards Farkas. The companion had stood up with a painted expression, but otherwise he was alive.

"You okay?" She asked.

"I'll live." Farkas answered, sheathing his sword onto his back.

Akira nodded before noticing the dragon was burning like it had when Zacharius had slain it. Soon its entire body was engulfed in flames before a wave of energy began flowing out of it.

Straight into Akira.

"What?" She asked as the dragon's soul was absorbed into her body. Once it was done there was nothing left but the bones. Akira looked at her injured hand and felt some kind of magic working on it. She removed the cloth she had tied around it to stop the bleeding and found that her wound had been healed. There wasn't even a scar to prove she had been cut by a dagger earlier.

"By the Nine." Farkas spoke as he limped towards her. "Are you-"

"Dragonborn?" Akira finished his question. She was still stunned by what had happened that she didn't notice the crowd that had gathered around her. The outer guard had gathered around the dead dragon, along with a few farmers that had been tending the fields when the dragon arrived. One guard in particular was staring at her with the same curiosity of the guard that pointed out Zacharius's Dragonborn heritage.

"I can't believe it." He spoke, getting her attention. "You're... Dragonborn."

Now Akira was willing to believe it. "Yes, I guess I am."

"What are you going to do?" Farkas asked.

Akira turned to face him. "Once Zacharius comes back to Whiterun, I will join him. I am, after all, the Breton with a fire in her soul." She turned back towards the dragon, grabbing a few bones from inside it. "Come on, Farkas. The rest of the Companions should hear about this."

As Akira and Farkas left for Jorrvaskr to recover from their run-in with the dragon, Zacharius and Lydia had managed to deal with their own dragon. After exiting Ustengrav they made way to the mountains, climbing up the path to the top. The roars of the dragon could be heard as they climbed higher, eventually reaching the top where a word wall could be found. The dragon noticed the intruders on his claimed territory and swooped down to catch his prey. Zacharius and Lydia immediately jumped into action. Lydia used her bow while Zacharius pulled out a lightning spell, sending quick shocks to stop the dragon from using its magic breath. When the dragon fell to the earth the two warriors immediately went to action, bringing their swords to strike it's head. Eventually the dragon was overpowered and died on the floor.

"Another dragon down." Zacharius smiled. The dragon began to catch fire and release its soul to Zacharius, giving him more knowledge than he had before. Now that the words of a dragon could be learned he knew how to speak not only words of power but also words of the Dragon tongue. If a dragon were to speak to him in their language he might be able to speak back with their own words.

"You're getting pretty good at this, my Thane." Lydia praised.

"As are you, Lydia." Zacharius complimented, walking towards the word wall. The chanting of heroes past continued to drum in his ears as he approached. Upon the wall was a glowing word that continued to echo in his mind until the word began to imprint itself onto his soul.

"ZUN!"

Zacharius felt himself getting knocked back a bit, reaching his hand for his sword to make sure it was still in the sheath. When he felt the grip he sighed. "I think I just learned how to disarm my opponents."

"With a word?" Lydia asked.

"Yes. Perhaps now when a bandit attacks us we can disarm him before he can swing. That might be useful."

"If it makes my job any easier I'm all up for it." Lydia joked

Zacharius chuckled. "Well now, the dragon is slain and Morthal is safe. Let's head to Riverwood and meet up with this 'friend'."

"How long did it take to get to Riverwood?" Ronan asked.

"A full day, and nothing eventful happened after I faced that dragon. For the rest of my friends, however, things got pretty eventful. Scarlai assassinated his target, Akira learned more about the history of the Companions, Errick learned more about his fellow guild members, and Stryger... Well, Stryger had a big responsibility to handle. All in all, out of what everyone was doing at that moment, Stryger had the most eventful moment of that night."

AUTHOR'S NOTE: So I'm sure you guys would have figured it out from the end talk but the next chapter isn't going to have a Zacharius scene in it, aside from the intro and outro talks that are in almost every chapter. The next chapter will, however, go into more character development for the rest of the characters. Stryger's little exploration into the Labyrinthian will obviously be the driving factor in the chapter, so it'll likely be named that. Anyways, leave a review if you're enjoying the return of this story, and anything you might like to see.