Author's Note: Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait. I was away from my computer all summer long. Anyway here's the next chapter. Enjoy! I do not own Skyrim.

The Great Escape

"Make a right here." Lydia pointed out. I nodded and proceeded down the passageway leading her and Esbern back to the Ragged Flagon. "Are we nearly there?" Esbern complained. "I need to get to Delphine as quick as possible!"
"We probably would have left sooner if you didn't take so long to pack, old man." Lydia retorted. "It's probably morning by now." I smiled to myself at this and led on as Esbern tried to defend and justify his packing choices. Suddenly I saw a light up ahead. It didn't look like torchlight, and in fact seemed to be an unnatural shade of indigo. I held up a hand to stop our party and to shut Esbern up. I slowly unsheathed my sword and crept forward. Lydia crept up next to me, weapons at the ready.
"Use that whisper Shout, you got." She suggested. I nodded. Sometime ago, i learned a new Shout that wasn't as loud as the others. In fact, it was barely audible. Now seemed to be the perfect moment to test it out.
"LAAS." I Shout-whispered. The wisps snaked out of my mouth and floated around while emitting a faint glow. The went into the next room where the unnatural light was. Somehow I could still make out the glow through the walls. When I pointed this out to Lydia, she didn't seem to understand nor see the wisps. The glowing wisps stopped and took form around several human-shaped outlines before disappearing. I knelt down. "There are three men in the next room." I whispered. Lydia raised an eyebrow but nodded and crept forward alongside me.

When we got close, I jumped out and slashed at the closest Thalmor soldier. Lydia ran up and gutted the second one before he could react. The third man, who was in robes, concentrated his hands towards us. I pushed Lydia out of the way in time for the indigo bolt of light to miss us both. As I was getting up, I looked down to realize the position I was in on top of her. After what seemed to be an eternity, she snapped out of our trance and pushed me off in time to raise her smiled and block the sorcerer's next attack. The sorcerer raised his hands again. Only to be cut off by a knife thrown into his arm. He looked up in pain to see who had thrown it.
"Esbern!" He snarled.
"Hello, Salvanus." Esbern calmly said. I took the opportunity to grab my sword and plunge it through Salvanus's side. I wrenched my blade out and wiped the blood off with his robes before sheathing it. I went over to Lydia and offered my hand. She accepted it and got up, keeping her eyes on me the whole time. "Pardon me, children," Esbern broke us out of the trance, "but if we could get a move on." I nodded and led the way out.

Eventually, we arrived at the Ragged Flagon only to discover many Thalmor soldiers waiting for us. In front of them, grinning like the dog he was, stood Maul.
"Maul!" Lydia growled. "You backstabbing-"
"Stow it, wench." Maul sneered. "I don't owe you anything. They, on the other hand, paid me. Now be a bitch and come along with no fuss." That did it.
"Maul," I spoke with a chillingly calm voice, holding back all the rage that was building up inside of me, "you are going to apologize to Lydia right now or you will regret the day your mother gave birth to a mongrel like you." Maul's face grew angry and spat at me.
"Fuck you." He snarled.
"You had your warning." I replied. I turned towards Lydia and Esbern. "Brace yourselves." I told them. Lydia covered her ears and ducked down. Esbern followed suit. I faced Maul, took a deep breath and Shouted. "FUS… RO… DAH!" Giant blue wisps launched from my mouth and barreled into the surprised Maul and the Thalmor soldiers. They all went flying into the stoned walls of the catacombs.
"Are.. are they dead?" Esbern asked, amazed at the Shout's power.
"Does it matter?" I replied stepping forward. "If they're not, their superiors will deal with them. Dragonborn or not, they will face punishment for letting us get away. And if they are… works fine for me." I grunted that last part. Lydia noticed this and put her hand on my shoulder. I looked at her and she just stared back before nodding. We made for the exit.

It took us a bit longer getting back to Riverwood than it was for Lydia and I to get to Riften, mostly because we were dragging a half-crazed old man without a horse, but we finally made it back to the inn. "Delphine!" Esbern cried. "I… It's good to see you. It's been… a long time.
"It's good to see you too, Esbern." She replied. "It's been too long, old friend. Too long."
"Not to interrupt," Lydia interjected, "but if we could move on to the threat at hand?"
"Of course." Delphine agreed and led the way to her secret room, filling Esbern in on all outside activity that he missed.
"The Dragonborn being with us changes everything, of course." Esbern concluded as we settled in around Delphine's war table. He took a minute or two to search for something before pulling out a red leather book. "We need to locate the Sky Haven Temple."
"What's that?" I asked.
"It was constructed around one of the main Akaviri military camps in the Reach, during their conquest of Skyrim." Esbern answered.
"Do you know what he's talking about?" I asked Delphine. She just shrugged.
"This is where they built Alduin's Wall," Esbern continued, "to set down in stone all of their accumulated dragonlore. It was where the ancient Blades recorded all that they knew of Alduin and his return. A hedge against the forgetfulness of centuries."
"Like a library full of information about dragons?" Lydia tried. Esbern nodded.
"A wise and foresighted policy, in the event." He responded.
"Sounds like the perfect location to learn more about the dragons and what we're facing." I said. "But one thing I don't understand, why have we never heard of it?"
"Despite its far reaching fame at the time, its location was forgotten." Esbern answered. "But I've found it."
"How?"
"The Blades archives held so many secrets." He answered. "I was only able to save a few scraps."

"But using this place will help us defeat Alduin?" Delphine asked. Esbern confirmed this with hesitation, but I was still lost.
"Wait." I said stopping everyone in their tracks. "You never said, who is Alduin?"
"Alduin is The World-Eater." Esbern sighed in despair. "He is the master of all dragons, and is the one bringing them back to life. His power is immense, and it took three Dragonborns to defeat him all those years ago."
"Wait," I said, coming to the realization, "is he a black dragon by chance?"
"With horns and enormous wings, yes." Esbern answered.
"The dragon from Helgen." I muttered in shock and anger. I looked up at Delphine. "Where do we go?"
"The area in the Reach that Esbern was talking about is now known as Kathspire, in the Karth River Canyon." Delphine answered. I looked over to Lydia who was strapping on her shield and sword. "Let's go."