AN: I have posted a rewrite for chapter 1 as well at the same time as this chapter. Thank you for your patience, all. I invite you to take a gander at my new first chapter and tell me what you think of it. I would also like to apologize If I spammed everyone out. Being new to the interface, I stupidly missed the "Replace" button.
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Dawn had long since broken over the fort as the dragonborn and his housecarl readied themselves for departure. Before leaving, they closely examined the fort for any further supplies or repairs that it would need. They had already compiled a list of supplies that the fort would need and were to deliver the list back to Solitude, but they were dismayed by how broken down the fort was.
Several of the wounded soldiers survived the night and were able to be completely restored by the golden healing energies of the High Elf. This helped somewhat to ease the tensions remaining from the previous day, but the burials for the dead were a stark reminder that the dragonborn had failed some of the soldiers.
Leaving the unit behind, the two men began the long march to Solitude. They luckily encountered nothing more intimidating on their long journey than a pair of wolves, who were smart enough not to attack the two armed and armoured figures.
The early afternoon sun cheerfully illuminated the walls of city and the bustling crowds went about their business as if a small army of soldiers had not just left the city a short time ago. Slipping through the crowded streets the two men headed for the citadel, well aware of how eager the general would be for word from them and how eager the soldiers would be for supplies to arrive. They regretfully walked past the Winking Skeever and their exhausted bodies urged them to stop and rest. They continued onward, ignoring the needs of their immediate needs in order to fulfill the duties that they had been assigned.
They slipped up the ramp, past the clanging blacksmith, and entered the small chamber wherein Legate Rikke and General Tullius still presided over their map. The legate was the first one to look up as the door opened and her face lit up with a wary smile, "Did you have success?"
Slightly annoyed that the woman had dispensed so quickly with any sort of greeting, the tired Altmer nodded and handed her the message he had been carrying with the words, "It's a request for supplies for the new garrison of Fort Amol. Personally, I would suggest that you send some more archers to reinforce it as well as a mason. That place needs a lot of work to make it truly defensible."
The legate's grin widened and showed her white teeth as she triumphantly took the blue flag out of Fort Amol's location on the map and replaced it with a red one. "You aren't the first group to report back," she began, "but you group was one of the most critical ones due to the fort's proximity to Windhelm. You've done good work, dragonborn, and I think the general would agree that you should be rewarded for it."
She glanced to the general for a moment to ensure he had nothing to add and continued at his nod, "I have here the first part of your reward." She pulled out a large bag of gold, and handed it to the composed mage who murmured a thanks as he hefted the heavy, clinking bag before slipping it into his pack.
She pulled out a pressed and sealed note and handed this to Argis before addressing Ardanthis, "The note is a signed voucher for the Jarl of Markarth to reward you when you can put it in your vault in Vlindrel Hall. You completed a task that was of great risk, and we want the reward to reflect that."
Argis was careful to slip the letter into a pouch on his belt, ensuring its safety. The elf seemed slightly dumbstruck by what had just happened, but he maintained his composure and bowed low to both of the Imperial legionnaires before him and asked in a soft voice, "Where else are we needed next? This war isn't over, not by a long shot, and I want to help see it through."
The general laughed and clapped the Altmer on his shoulder, "We're going to make use of you yet, don't worry. But for now? For now you're dismissed."
The Altmer's face fell into a sharp frown before he smoothed his features and asked in a controlled voice, "Why am I being dismissed? Did I not meet expectations?" The anger in his voice could be heard underneath the composed tones he employed.
His smile tightening, the general added, "It's not always a matter of personal success and failure. We're waiting on news from the other forts so we can better adjust our strategies to compensate for those who failed us. We also want to ensure that you still have a presence within Markarth to prevent the Forsworn from gaining momentum there while we attempt to deal with the problems here."
His smile softened as he continued, "Besides, every soldier needs some time to rest. Enjoy the time that you have to breathe, because your next battle may take that away from you."
Ardanthis opened his mouth as if he were about to say something but closed it and simply nodded. He hesitated a moment before bowing once more, "I will return to Markarth then. Please, call on me when the campaign continues so I can help restore Skyrim."
The general dismissed them with a few last words of good luck and watched the two men leave.
Stepping into the daylight, the wizard beckoned Argis to follow him as they wound their way to the Skeever. Entering the quiet taproom, they approached the barkeep, who immediately recognized them. The greasy Imperial's fawning manner and grating voice expressed joy at seeing the two back again, "Good to see you two back again. Here to rent a room for another week or so? I have just the room ready for you now! The sheets were just cleaned, and for those few extra coins I'll have the cot brought into your rooms again. I can tell you're road weary and simply exhausted – come! Sit down, and enjoy a mead and leg of goat!"
"We're only here until tomorrow morning," said the High Elf in a cool tone.
The innkeeper hesitated for a moment before he resumed his ingratiating monologue, "Oh, not a problem. The Skeever welcomes all visitors, regardless of length of stay. Unfortunately, I won't be able to give you your discount for such a short stay. Most regrettable."
Argis frowned and said, "You didn't give us a discount last time either."
"Nonsense!" laughed the innkeeper, "You think I wouldn't give such good customers a better rate? My good sirs, I thought you would have known that I gave you a better rate without you even having to ask!"
Cutting in, the wizard asked in a tired voice, "Is our old room ready? If so, we will rent that and a dinner as well. Please, bring the cot as well as a second wash basin up." He placed a small stack of coins on the counter and looked to the Imperial, as if daring him to try to cajole more septims out of the elf.
The Imperial's smile stayed on his face, but it was more functional than authentic. "Of course, of course," began the innkeeper as he swept the coins into a pocket and produced a key, "Your old room is empty and ready for you. Here's the key. Please, enjoy your stay."
Turning away with the key, the Altmer quickly made his way to the stairs and was quickly followed by Argis. Their room was little changed from the last time they had stayed, and to Argis it felt like he was being welcomed back home. The close, intimate space that the two shared helped to create a more casual atmosphere. It contrasted strongly with the feel of the Blue Palace and Understone Keep, which were majestic but cold. Argis prized the comfort of the small inn room over the splendour of the jarls.
His thoughts from days before haunted him, though, and he couldn't stop wondering about his family. Overcome with a sudden guilt for his inattentiveness to his family, he couldn't enjoy the privacy afforded by the inn.
Ardanthis heaved a great sigh, causing Argis to look up. "My thane?" hesitantly asked the housecarl.
"What's bothering you?" said the Altmer with a critical gaze.
"Nothing, nothing at all."
"I'm not blind, Argis. Your tread is heavier when worried and you're practically stomping now."
"I..." The Nord hesitated with his words. He wanted to avoid the truth, but realized that he couldn't without appearing deceptive. He internally berated himself for his transparency and opted for the truth.
"I would like to see my family," he stated bluntly and quickly.
"Your family?" The wizard seemed stunned at the declaration but he recovered his manners quickly, "Yes. Of course we'll go see them. Are they near Markarth?"
Flooded with relief, the Nord nodded, "They're on a small farm, Frost Oak Farm. We should pass by them with only a slight variation in route if you are willing."
"When was the last time you saw them?" asked the elf with genuine curiosity.
Flushing with shame, Argis merely said, "A long time ago. Long, long time ago."
Ardanthis frowned in surprise but quickly smoothed his features into a more neutral expression, "Would you like leave to make this visit on your own? I would not want to intrude where I'm not welcome."
"No, I wouldn't want you to travel onward alone in any case."
"Very well, but will they react well to an Altmer showing up on their doorstep? I know how the Thalmor's presence in Markarth can make people edgy."
"I imagine they won't be too upset. After all, we-they're quite remote from the actual city so I doubt that the country folk would have a lot of interaction with the Thalmor."
Leaning back in his chair, Ardanthis simply nodded but skepticism was written on his features. Shrugging, he turned back to unpacking a few necessities from his pack and ensuring that he had all the supplies he needed.
Argis relaxed for a moment as the conversation ended, but his quickly grew anxious again. After all, he really had no idea how his family would react to an Altmer, but he didn't want to say that they may react with hostility. He would never admit it to the wizard, but he didn't want to face his family alone. Having not seen them for two decades, he knew he was a stranger to them.
The silence in the room grew stifling to Argis who excused himself to go fetch dinner for the two of them and sighed deeply as he exited the room into the short hallway. He felt like things were on the edge of slipping out of his control. He had already broken the implicit rules of his position to see his family and he had no idea what to expect. Housecarls were supposed to give up their own lives in order to devote themselves to their thanes, and he was doing the exact opposite of that, was he not? Had he offended his thane by overstepping these bounds? He headed past the bar where he was supposed to get the meal from and headed out into the night.
He breathed in the cool night air as he stood in the darkness of the alley, trying to judge how bad of a mistake he had made. He suddenly sucked in a breath and realized that he had said he was going to get dinner a short while ago and hadn't actually returned with it. He immediately darted inside and hurried the serving maid to put the platter together. He rushed back upstairs to the room and was met with the curious stare of the High Elf.
"If you wanted some time to yourself, you could have just asked, Argis," said the elf calmly.
"I did not want to worry you, Ardanthis."
The elf's appearance remained calm but his words picked up an unexpected amount of force, "And that's the problem, isn't it?"
Confusion overtook Argis' face as he asked, "My thane?"
"You hide so much of yourself from me. And honestly, I have no right to your inner thoughts. I will not become one of those thanes who demand his housecarl's most private thoughts, but I would hope that you could trust me enough to just talk to me. Don't you think I see you standing there holding yourself close and clinging to your duty as if it was the only thing holding you together sometimes? Maybe it is because I'm not a Nord. Maybe if I grew up with the stories, the hope and the dreams of a Nord I would understand better – but I haven't. I only see these things forming walls between me and someone I rely on."
He paused in his diatribe to scrub his face with his hands before continuing, "I am such a stranger in this land. I know nothing of your customs or culture beyond what being a mercenary has taught me. And Argis? I need you to be able to talk to me without this hesitation. I need honesty here, here in this country and here in this moment."
Argis was dumbstruck with the outpouring of words and numbly set down the tray at the table before sitting down across from the elf. "I'm sorry, my thane-" he began but the elf cut him off.
"Stop calling me 'my thane!' That is exactly what I'm talking about when I say that duty comes between us. Every time you say 'my thane' you address me as a position." His words took on a trace of longing as he continued, "I'm a living, breathing person sitting here and not some cold lord. I'm not an ideal that I can never live up to."
Argis sucked in a breath and closed his eyes, trying to make sense of what was happening right at that moment. He had felt things were strained and unravelling but this was of a magnitude he wasn't prepared to deal with. He knew that his thane wanted honesty, but there were some things that he was unwilling to discuss. His heart dropped as he realized he could not even begin to find the words to articulate his love for the man sitting across from him, which was the foremost thing he wouldn't discuss even if he could find the words. "Don't disappear on me, Argis," softly spoke his thane.
Argis opened his eyes and met the gaze of his thane, "I'm afraid. I haven't seen my family in over two decades, since I left them to participate in the war against the Forsworn, and honestly? I don't even know if the farm still stands. I'm dragging you to a place where my family will not recognize me and will probably hate me for abandoning them. Furthermore, I don't know how they'll react to an elf. We both know that the Thalmor are present in both the city and country side and are a fearsome group. Even if I can get my family to accept me back, I don't know what they'll make of you. Will they think I sold out to the High Elves and hate me for it? I don't know, but I'm coward enough to know that I don't want to face it alone." His last words slipped out bitterly as Argis reached for a chunk of bread.
In a soft voice, the Altmer said, "Argis, I won't accompany you to your family as a thane, but I will as a friend."
Cracking a small smile Argis looked up and nodded gratefully. They ate in silence without other words needing to be said. To the housecarl, the room no longer seemed tense but had regained its previous intimacy.
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The following day saw the two men leaving the city of Solitude before the morning crush of people filled the streets. Looking back at the city, Ardanthis said, "I'm going to miss this city, but I'm eager to return home at the same time. I miss the sounds of Markarth's waterfalls."
Argis nodded as he made his way away from the city, soundlessly agreeing with the wizard. He was also homesick for the world that he knew best, but he was also afraid of the closed doors in Vlindrel Hall. Resolving not to let the doors become walls, he kept up his steady pace as they made their way to the farm.
The time spent in the wilds passed quickly as the two men travelled light. Nights were often spent fireless to avoid detection and they frequently huddled in the lee of hills or rocks. To keep each other's spirits up they spent the time teaching the other about the various things they knew best. Argis exchanged knowledge of weapon care for herb lore, and Ardanthis learned cooking tips as he taught the warrior to properly mix a potion to the right consistency.
The wizard's demand for openness seemed to be more than met as Argis described what he remembered of the farm from his childhood. The miles slipped by as the housecarl told of rough planting seasons, natural bounty, the terrifying threat of the wolves in the forest, and the closeness of the home. He always ended his stories with, "But I know that that home is somewhere far in the past, and not still there." Despite this statement, the wizard could hear the wistfulness in the Nord's voice.
The land's dips and rises began to become more pronounced as they entered the Reach but they persevered. Argis felt like his feet knew the way back to the farm, despite the years between now and when he was last there. They crested a small hill and could see a small trail of smoke wandering into the sky, as appropriate for a cooking fire. Argis blew out a breath that he didn't know he was holding. He was relieved that the farmstead was still standing and he hurried to see if it was still his family still lived there. They followed a small path into the trees that still ringed the farmhouse and Argis barely looked where he was going as he walked rapidly towards the small cottage that was peeking through the trees.
The small yard in front of the house had a small boy sitting in it, who was throwing grain and seeds to some chickens which squawked and retreated into their coop as the clanking warrior approached. The young boy's blue eyes widened as he called out, "Mother! Mother there's a strange man here!" He began to back away towards the house in fear. His eyes widened even further and he nearly screamed, "And a yellow elf!"
Argis looked back to see Ardanthis slowly stepping out of the forest with a pained expression on his face.
A woman with clear blue eyes and long brown hair rushed out of the house and grabbed the boy's arm hissing, "Norn, get inside now and stay with your brother." She straightened up as the boy rushed into the house and the door slammed behind him, "What can I do for you, sirs? I swear we know of no Talos worshippers and are devoted to Kynareth."
Argis's heart was nearly broken by the fear in her voice and he stopped moving. He heard a whispered step and knew that the wizard was moving up to stand near him. He cleared his throat and said, "Is this Frost Oak farm?"
The woman suspiciously nodded and said, "It is. I've legally inherited it from my father when he passed and the named remained the same."
Argis closed his eyes for a moment as he received the news that his father had died. He opened his eyes and said softly, "Selta, it's me, Argis."
Confusion covered her features as she asked, "Argis? Who- oh by Kynareth." Understanding dawned on her face and she slowly approached the housecarl. She looked up into his features and gently ran a hand along his tattooed cheek and then the scarred features of his other half, softly muttering, "It really is you, isn't it?"
Her gaze jerked to the Altmer behind him and then she whispered in a pleading voice, "Please tell the Thalmor we're innocent. We haven't done anything wrong. Please!"
Argis gently took her hand and said, "He's not with the Thalmor, and he hates them as much as we do. He's actually a thane of Markarth." Argis decided to omit the fact that Ard was also dragonborn, not wanting to overwhelm his sister.
Her gaze bouncing between the two men, it finally settled on the elf and she gave a grudging bow, "Honour to you."
Sighing slightly at the use of the traditional greeting for thanes, Ardanthis walked forward and gave his own bow, "Call me Ardanthis, or Ard for short, good lady."
She eyed him with only a tinge of disdain and nodded before turning back to Argis, "Come into the house, brother. I assume you have questions."
She slowly opened the door and said in soothing voice, "Norn, it's alright. Neither of them are bad men." The tone and cadence of those few words nearly made Argis' jaw drop with surprise. Selta sounded so like his own mother that it felt for a moment like he had never left home at all.
"What...what happened after I left, Selta?" he asked as they slid into two chairs at the square table in the middle of the room. Ardanthis look up a position by the window. Leaning on the wall next to it, he simply looked out the window as a way of giving the two siblings some sort of privacy. Argis knew, though, that the elf was listening and watching closely.
Norn, the young boy, was standing next to a cradle with a baby sleeping in it and he slowly approached the sitting Argis. Knowing how his scarred features and blind eye must appear to the young lad, Argis smiled at him. "He's your uncle, you know. You should give him a hug," said the boy's mother in gentle reproach as she pushed the hesitant child towards Argis. He boy wrapped his arms around Argis' broad torso as far as they would go and then let go and quickly retreated back to his mother.
She clucked her tongue at the boy and said, "The chickens need to be properly fed now – and don't forget to close the fence behind you!" He warily ran out of the house to do his duty, but looked back often with curiosity.
Selta sighed as she watched the boy leave the house. She turned to the warrior, "Argis, why did you come back? You've been gone for twenty years, why now?"
"Because..." he began hesitatingly, "Because of guilt, honestly. I realized that I didn't know if this place even still stood or if any of my family lived. I guess I finally stopped looking at my own life long enough to wonder about someone else's. But what happened to mother and father?"
Nodding sadly as Argis spoke, the woman replied, "They both worked hard immediately after you left. They never stopped wondering about you, you know. Oh don't wince, Argis. Yes, after the battle father expected you to return from the victory and help with the farm, but then when you didn't they feared you died. They had quietly resigned themselves to your death and it was two years later that father heard about the 'farm boy turned soldier' who had gained the praise of the Jarl of Windhelm. He was ecstatic that you had come so far and believed that you would one day return with glory and riches to work the land after risking your life so often. As the years went on they put me to do more and more work until I was doing everything you once did and every hand was needed on the farm.
After the first decade of your absence father...he made a hard decision. With no word from you, he didn't want to risk the farm going fallow when just our family could no longer work it. So he looked for a husband for me who would work the land with us. I was married and my husband, Balvor, moved in, making life easier for all us through his labour.
I think the happiest day of father's life was when he heard you were appointed as a housecarl to a thane. He spoke constantly of how far you had risen, especially to my husband. I think it made my husband resentful that this perfect son was constantly held over his head when he worked the farm day in and day out. I think... I think he was secretly happy to hear you failed. When your thane died, I think father's heart died with him. He barely worked after that and seemed to slip into despondency, but he prepared to receive you back in shame. That day never came but I think he waited for it until his tired heart just stopped beating. We made the long journey to the Hall of the Dead in Markarth to make sure he was properly buried. We looked for you while we were there, but no one knew where you were."
Argis' eyes were wide with surprise and his mouth opened and closed in shock as if he were going to say something to refute what he just heard. Selta looked at Argis dispassionately, "Did you think we just stopped thinking about you after you left?"
"I-I just didn't think that I had such an...an impact."
"You did," she said simply. She resumed her story with, "Mother seemed to feel displaced after that. She felt like a stranger in our home, especially with my child on the way. She contracted a simple cold, but it seemed to eat away at her until nothing remained. We shut the farm up and made the journey to Markarth again. After that? After that Balvor and I settled into the farm, and while things haven't always been perfect, they are not bad either."
The woman finished her story and looked at Argis with suddenly exhausted eyes. The burly Nord hung his head for a moment before looking back up at his sister. "I'm so sorry, Selta," he whispered with sincerity. He truly was guilty for leaving his sister to bear all of those struggles and essentially forcing her into marriage out of necessity.
Her gaze softening, Selta cupped Argis' face and smiled, "I'm just glad you're alive, but what happened to your- to you?"
Argis grinned at her question and said in a jovial tone, "It's a long story."
Selta's expression mirrored his, "I've got time to hear it. The farm work can always be done later."
Argis told his story from the beginning, how he was trained, the battles he fought as a housecarl, what Keldin had been like, how Keldin had passed, and the rest of his narrative. He carefully avoided mentioning his relationship with Firjald, and exaggerated as little as possible. His story seemed to entrance Selta who laughed and gasped as Argis' tale unfolded. Argis showed her the scars that related to each tale as he was telling and made his body into a canvas of sorts for her to read. With two decades of reunion to be had, the two whiled away the time and had eyes only for each other.
They both seemed to have forgotten the Altmer near the window, and Ardanthis became as still as a statue as he looked outside, but his attention was on the stories being told inside the cottage. He listened as Argis' narrative reached the time when he was assigned to the Altmer thane and listened with great interest to how he was described. The housecarl described the wizard well, touching on Ardanthis' resistance to being trained in blade work and his skill in both destruction and restoration magics. Interestingly, he omitted the fact that Ard was a dragonborn which made the elf wonder at why that particular detail was skipped.
Argis was in mid-sentence when the front door softly creaked open. A tall Nord with jet black hair and blue eyes quietly let himself in, "Selta, Norn told me that two strange men came to the cottage." His eyes flicked between Ardanthis and Argis before he added, "And I see that he told the truth."
Selta smiled reassuringly, "Balvor, this is my brother Argis and a thane of Markarth is here as well. We don't often get such esteemed company."
Balvor eyed Argis coldly, "This is the brother who abandoned you?"
"Balvor!" Selta snapped in anger.
Argis rose slowly and without anger. He looked to his sister, "He has a right to his words, Selta. He has cared for our family farm in my absence and I wanted to thank him for it."
He turned to face Balvor, "If you had any fears about my trying to reclaim this farm, then you can release them now. I never intended to retake the farm or demand it back. It belongs to you and my sister." His gaze softened as Norn peeked in the door, "And your children."
Balvor sighed and nodded, his relief evident. Despite the peaceful resolution, the carefree ease between Selta and Argis was broken as they were painfully aware of the two other men in the room. Selta patted Argis' hand and rose, "I suppose I can't put off the farm work forever, can I?"
Argis smiled and added, "If you ever need anything, do not hesitate to call on me at Vlindrel Hall. If I am not there, word will be sent to me."
Polite words and promises to visit were exchanged as the thane and housecarl left the farm. Argis looked back frequently while the elf was broodingly silent. No conversation passed between them as they were each lost in their own thoughts. They closed the distance between them and the city of stone rapidly and it was late in the afternoon when they arrived back in the city.
"We are not going to see the Jarl today, Argis. Right now, I'm just exhausted and starving for something not out of an inn." A quick stop in the market netted them fresh supplies for the Hall as they had cleared out its larders before leaving, knowing that nothing would survive their absence. The two men made their way to Vlindrel Hall and felt at home amongst the precarious pathways and roaring waterfalls. Markarth was not as populous as Solitude, but its narrow walkways and vertical architecture made it feel as busy as the port city.
The heavy doors of the Hall opened and the dark interior yawned open before them. The pale green light of the eternally burning dwemer torches provided limited light without the fireplaces also cheerfully crackling away. The wizard sighed happily and gestured twice, spinning luminescent balls into the interior and smiled as they held to the walls they touched. Walking into the now-bright home, Argis slipped his pack off as Ard started a cheerful fire with a clipped gesture. Argis went to each of the rooms and quickly got the wash basins. He quickly stepped outside and filled them from a nearby water fall before ducking back inside, carefully balancing them.
Grinning at Argis, the elf muttered, "As comfortable you've taught me to be in these leathers, I miss my robes. Say, could you put something together for us to eat? You know I'll just burn it." His grin became a little sheepish with his last comment.
Argis returned the grin, "I'm going to spend the rest of the night checking over my armour from all the wear it's seen recently. I'll have something put together for us soon."
The elf nodded his thanks and slipped into his room, the magelights he had cast dwindled slowly and released the room back to the softer glow of the hearth fire. Argis went to his own room and rapidly took off the dirty armour and sweaty clothes beneath. He glanced at the closed door regretfully, reminded of the intimate space the two men had shared while in Solitude. His relief at returning home quickly overwhelmed any misgivings he may have had over closed doors. He quickly finished changing and returned to the hearth to finish searing the salmon and grilling the leeks.
His thane was taking an abnormally long time to come out of his room and Argis smirked as he carefully turned the fish. The poor wizard was probably trapped in the straps of his own armor. He had just finished plating the meal when he heard his thane approaching.
The warrior's calloused fingers deftly finished setting the table and the Nord called out, "Get trapped in your own arm-" his words cut off abruptly as he looked up and saw his thane. The Altmer stood before him in comfortable blue robes, but what had arrested Argis' words was the golden, glittering amulet hanging around the elf's neck.
"You- you're wearing an amulet of Mara," he stated dumbly.
Ardanthis nodded and continued hesitatingly at first, but his words quickly spilled out, "I could feel the connection you and your sister shared, and it made me long for a family of my own. My own parents were culled by the Thalmor early on, so I never really knew them. I was lucky to be taken in by my master when I was, and now he's gone too." He sat heavily at the table and stared off into the distance for a moment of reflection, "I'm never going back to the Summerset Isles, and I need to accept that and build something here in this country."
Giving the wizard a brittle smile Argis casually noted, "Oh? The women of Markarth should watch out then."
Looking to the Nord, Ardanthis carefully replied, "Not the women, Argis. Not the women."
Argis numbly nodded, his heart and mind fighting as the former soared with hope and the latter tried to reign it in with practicality.