Sorry for the wait, but I managed to make some time to squeeze this chapter out. :)
She woke up to soft knocking on the door.
Terah was far from being a morning person, so it took just about everything she had to gather the will to roll out of bed and answer the door. It was Geldis.
He was taken aback by her appearance at first. Her long, stick-straight hair was a little messy and framed her round face, flowing down over her breasts. She had slept in a plain green tunic that reached down to her knees, and her bright blue eyes were still puffy with sleep. Geldis noticed multiple scars on her arms and some on her legs, but they didn't defile her appearance. He couldn't lie to himself; even in this state he found the little Nord attractive. The fact that the light tunic she wore did nothing to hide her curves didn't help either.
"Oh, it's just you," she said with a drowsy smile.
Snapping out of his stupor, he slapped on a smile, "Goodmorning m'lady. You look like you're still pretty tired. I could let you sleep for a while longer if you'd like."
"As tempting as that offer is, I really need to get up," she said with a big yawn. "Thank you, Geldis."
"Mm hm. Can I offer you some breakfast? We don't have much, but it's somethin'."
"Sure. Surprise me," she said with a weak smile.
Terah shut the door and gathered her armor out of the chest at the end of the bed. After she dressed herself, she braided her hair in her usual braid and pinned it up so it'd be out of the way. Finally, she put on her circlet, grabbed her pack, and head over to the counter.
"Here you go. Warm and fresh," said Geldis with a big smile as he handed her a bowl of hot soup.
"Thank you," she said while taking a seat and smiling at the food. She didn't realize how hungry she was. After taking the first bite, she sat there for a moment, taking in the weird taste. She swallowed and rose a brow, "Tastes like ash."
"I'm afraid there's no gettin' around that," he said sympathetically.
"It's okay, I'm not that picky."
As she continued to eat her soup, she looked around the room, taking in some of the other customers for the first time. There was a grumpy Orcish man sitting at a small table just behind her, sharing a meal with a Dunmer man that looked like was a body guard of some sort. They were both giving her dirty looks, murmuring to each other over their meal. She spotted another Dunmer man sitting at a table farther across the room and could see him staring at her under his hooded clothes.
She turned back to Geldis, "Why are they staring?" she said quietly.
"Well, when a pretty little thing like you shows up outta nowhere and puts up a good fight against one of the best swordsmen we know, it kinda gets you noticed," he said with a wink.
Terah ignored his compliment. "Apparently not in a very good way, though," she said before taking another bite.
"I'll have to admit, showin' off ain't very popular around here," he said as he watched her eat. "But that was impressive."
"Who says I was showin' off?" she asked after swallowing. "It was all fun, nothing more. And thank you," she said with a smile.
He smiled at her, "Teldryn's upstairs waitin' for you, by the way."
"Alright, then." She rose to her feet and dug some gold out of her coin purse. "Thank you for breakfast."
When she handed him the gold, he let his hand linger on hers for a moment. "No problem, m'lady," he said with a grin. She blushed; men hit on her all the time in Skyrim but she assumed it was just because she was famous. This man was legitimately hitting on her, which made her a little uncomfortable.
"See you around," she said while awkwardly avoiding eye contact with him as she stood up to leave.
The moment she was upstairs, she was greeted by Teldryn in the doorway, "About time. Let's go."
She rolled her eyes, "I'd like to take a look around the town, if you don't mind."
"Lead on."
"Do you know where I can find Miraak?"
Terah had asked almost the whole town about Miraak and they've all given her the same strange, distant answers.
"You're really determined to find this 'Miraak' aren't you? What's the deal?" Teldryn asked.
Sighing, she replied, "Long story short, I was attacked in Windhelm the other day. I found a note suggesting that he is in Solstheim and apparently wants me dead." Her instincts told her she could trust this man with the little information she had given him, regardless of the fact that she hasn't even seen his face yet.
"I see. But this is you're first time here, right? Why would someone from here want you dead?"
"You ask an awful lot of questions for a mercenary," she said, trying to change the subject. "I'll need to talk to the blacksmith before we head out."
Walking towards the familiar sound of a hammer on an anvil, she cleared her throat, "Excuse me."
The Breton working the forge stopped and turned to look at her. Wiping his hands on a cloth, he said, "It's nice to see a visitor come through. The name's Glover Mallory."
Mallory. I've heard that name before.
"Mallory." she voiced as she tried to put her finger on the name, her eyes squinted in deep thought. "You're name sounds familiar."
"You don't happen to know my brother, Delvin, do you?" he asked with a smirk.
Finally, it clicked. "Delvin Mallory," she said with a nod. "Yeah."
The smith then looked around cautiously and said in a hushed voice, "So you're a member of the guild?"
"Oh, no not at all. Not really my thing," she replied with her hands raised in defense. "I've been through the Ratway, though," she said uncomfortably. "How's business out here?"
"Not at it's finest, but I manage. Say, where do you get your hands on some amor like that? Are those. . ." he trailed as he looked her up and down. "Is that made out of a dragon?"
Oh sweet Kynareth, please don't already know that I am the dragonborn!
"Umm, yeah. With all the dragons flying about in Skyrim it's not hard to find their scales and bones," she said casually. "I'm friends with a really good blacksmith. He made this set for me." It wasn't a lie; Eorland Gray-Mane had originally helped her design the armor, even if it was originally just meant for her. "It was incredibly expensive."
"I'd be willing to pay a fortune to get my hands on something like that," he said while still eyeing her armor with a smirk on his face.
Teldryn chimed in, "I'll admit, it is fine armor. Even if it isn't very well suited for the ash."
Terah had almost forgotten that Teldryn was with her at the moment. Remembering her objective, she asked, "Anyways, do you have any ebony arrows for sale?"
After her transaction with Glover, she and Teldryn walked down to the Earth Stone. There were several people building something around the stone, but she couldn't tell what. Something was off about the builders; their eyes were glazed over and unfocused, and it seemed like they were chanting something.
"And when the world shall listen," said a mindless man.
"And when the world shall see," said a woman just after.
Gjalund wasn't exaggerating when he said something wasn't right here.
"You there," a voice called from behind them. The voice had come from an older Dunmer man dressed in fine red robes with golden designs on them. "You don't seem to be in the same state as the others here. Interesting. . ." he trailed while looking her up and down.
"Neither do you," Terah said to the stranger, studying him as well. "What are all these people doing here?"
Shifting uncomfortably in the presence of the stone, Teldryn began to look around at the construction site, an odd feeling he couldn't describe creeping up on him. He felt as if he had been here many times before, but in a dream, perhaps.
"Well, they're clearly building something," he said in a snarky voice. "I'm very interested to find out what happens when they finish."
"You haven't tried to stop this?" she asked.
"And miss seeing the end result of this madness? Absolutely not! It's far too fascinating," he said, eyeing the stone. "I'll continue to observe them and see how this all plays out."
"So," she started. "You somehow do not succumb to this unknown force. But instead of finding a way to help these people, you choose to observe them?"
"Did I stutter?" he scoffed. "Since you're not here to build, may I ask what it is you're doing here?" he asked.
Teldryn was far too distracted to be paying attention to the conversation. An unknown force kept pulling him towards. . . something. He couldn't place a finger on it.
"I'm looking for someone named Miraak," Terah said with hope. Maybe this man has a clearer memory of him, seeing that he isn't under the influence that the rest of Raven Rock is under.
"Miraak. . . Miraak," he repeated. "It sounds so familiar," he said while stroking his beard.
She sighed. Gods dammit. Not another one of these vague answers. Terah was about ready to pull her hair out if she had to go through this again.
In that moment, Teldryn had spotted a nearby pickaxe. It was as if the pull he had been feeling focused itself purely on the axe, forcefully drawing him to it. He blankly stared at it while Terah's conversation with the man slowly faded out of his mind. Build. That was all he could think.
"Oh. Wait, I recall. But that makes very little sense," he said, shaking his head in disbelief. "Miraak's been dead for thousands of years."
"Wait. . .but. . ." she stammered, her brows furrowed together as she shook her head in confusion. "I don't understand."
Luckily, Terah had glanced over to Teldryn to stop his actions in time. He had slowly found his way over to the axe and picked it up, ready to assist in the construction. She ran over to him and smacked him on the back of the head. Hard.
"Ow, woman!" he yelled, putting his arms over his head defensively.
"Drop that!" she scolded him, yanking the axe from his hand and tossing it away from him. Grabbing by the shoulders and shaking him, she yelled in his face, "Snap out of it, Teldryn!"
"Okay, okay, I'm out of it!" he yelled back, arms up in defense.
She sighed, the worry in her chest slowly fading away. "That scared the Oblivion out of me. I can't afford to lose you to whatever this is," she said, giving his shoulders a light squeeze. "I'm going to need your help."
"I'm sorry," he said softly. His mind had become much more clear now. "I'll try not to let it happen again."
Letting go of him, Terah turned to the stranger. "How has Miraak been dead for thousands of years?"
"I'm afraid I can't give you any answers, but there are ruins of an ancient temple of Miraak near the center of the island. I'd check it out if I were you," he said as he dismissed himself to study the construction site some more.
Terah looked at the stone. She approached it and sensed an odd kind of magic radiating from it. Since she was dragonborn, there was much ancient magic within her that protected her from the stone's influence. So, she lifted a hand to touch it.
"Someone's a hypocrite," Teldryn teased from behind her.
"Trust me," she said, turning her head to glare at him. "I'm fairly certain it won't work on me. I'm just. . . curious."
"I don't feel too good about this," he said doubtfully.
She allowed herself to touch the stone. It was cold and slimy, but she didn't feel any different. "See," she said to Teldryn, her eyes never leaving the stone. "Nothing."
Suddenly, a deep, dark voice perforated through her mind. It seemed to reside within her, but surround her as well.
Here in his shrine
She gasped and jumped back from the stone as if her hand had caught on fire. Her eyes were wide with shock.
Teldryn was instantly by her side with his arm placed around her shoulders. With concern in his voice, "Is everything alright? What happened?"
"I. . . I heard. . ." she stammered. "I'm fine. It was him. I heard him speak. Miraak."
Wanting to hear more, Terah practically threw herself back at the stone.
That they have forgotten.
Here do we toil
That we might remember.
By night we reclaim
What, by day , was stolen.
Far from ourselves
He grows ever near to us.
Our eyes one were blinded
Now through him do we see.
Our hands once were idle
Now through them does he speak.
And when the world shall listen.
And when the world shall see.
And when the world remembers.
That world will cease to be.
Removing her hand from the stone, she had a contorted look on her face as tried to make sense of what she just heard. "We need to get to that temple," she said before taking off toward the town, dragging Teldryn along behind her.
Not everyone's dragonborn is a member of the Thieves Guild, you know. =p